Talking About Birds: A St. Louis Cardinals Podcast

The 2026 autopsy ends with prescriptions. Nate and Ben draw up fixes for the Cardinals' bullpen, third base and center field, including Ben's plan to spend $40 million on relievers and flip them at the deadline, plus a grade for Oli Marmol and a Fall League check-in on Tai Peete and Tekoah Roby.

Plus: who should replace us on the show, a defense of $2 Casey's pizza, John Mozeliak's Angels, and Ben's case for Christmas every other year in You're Out.

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The 2026 autopsy rolls on. Nate and Ben grade Chaim Bloom's first full year running the Cardinals, re-grade every trade from the Sonny Gray deal to the Dustin May deadline flip, and celebrate a farm system that is suddenly loaded, led by Rainiel Rodriguez, Liam Doyle, and Jesús Báez.

Plus: the kid who broke youth soccer, humanity's post-building future, a Brewers–Rays World Series preview, and Nate struggles with who the closer was in the return of What Year Is It?

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The autopsy continues, this time sorting the 2026 Cardinals into who got lucky and who got robbed. JJ Wetherholt was the unluckiest man on the roster and is primed to break out; Kyle Leahy and Michael McGreevy had “zombie” seasons the regression ghouls will come for; and Nate and Ben map out the bullpen, the Jimmy Crooks catching puzzle, and two (three?) very deserving Gold Glove finalists.

Plus an $8.99 gourd, a zucchini canoe, a cursed week for Chicago, a full playoff check-in, and the triumphant return of the best game they’ve ever made: Pope or Nope.

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The autopsy continues. Nate and Ben go player by player through the 2026 Cardinals, and the central mystery is brutal: the offense dropped 62% in value from the first half to the second, while — somehow — the pitching staff doubled, even after trading Dustin May and JoJo Romero. They dig into Victor Scott's fading experiment, Ivan Herrera's concerning collapse, why they've both gone Burley-pilled, and whether Matthew Liberatore is still a starter.

Plus the $10 gourd lords, a disastrous bet on Renaissance Faire jousting, a full playoff check-in, and the end-of-season edition of Who Charted?

Have a question or comment for the show? Text or leave us a voicemail at: (848) 48-BIRDS (848-482-4737)

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The season's over, so Nate and Ben grab the scalpel and perform the 2026 autopsy. They walk the final rankings — a middle-of-the-pack offense, a rotation that punched above its weight, a bullpen that gave it all back, and a top-ten defense that held the whole thing together — and ask why a team that won fewer games than last year somehow feels like a success.

Plus the 2027 holes and a Jazz Chisholm pitch, favorite moments from Josh Baez's debut to Jordan Walker's Home Run Derby, playoff picks, and the season finale of Draft Day: Heroes & Hatchlings.

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The Cardinals are officially eliminated, so Nate and Ben start making peace with a season that — against every expectation — still counts as a success. They dig into the bullpen that sank it, the Michael McGreevy puzzle (no strikeouts, sub-4 ERA), Jordan Walker's career-best breakout and the defensive metrics that somehow hate him, and the home/road splits that make Busch look haunted.

Plus an incredible Costco piano story, Nolan Arenado catching fire in the desert, Quinn Mathews pitching his way into 2027, Justin Verlander's last dance, and a new game — What Year Is It?

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Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina went into the Cardinals Hall of Fame together, and Nate and Ben get appropriately misty about a pairing we'll probably never see again. Then they celebrate the young core carrying September — Thomas Saggese's breakout, Leo Bernal's Yadi vibes, and another Josh Baez feat of strength — plus Mason Miller's absurd reliever season and why relievers deserve their own award.

Also: a deeply important debate about eating horse, Ben's 24-hour LARP-themed endurance race, Elly De La Cruz spurning the Reds, the Mets getting mad at their own fans, and a round of Who Is This Guy?

Have a question or comment for the show? Text or leave us a voicemail at: (848) 48-BIRDS (848-482-4737)

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Umpire Doug Eddings picked the wrong night to make it about himself. Nate and Ben break down his meltdown against a rookie, Oli Marmol's now-legendary response, and what it all says about accountability and robot umps. Then, with the Cardinals down to a 0.2% playoff shot, they look at the bright side: Leo Bernal raking, Cooper Hjerpe's dazzling debut, and Gordon Graceffo turning into the bullpen's best arm with one new pitch.

Plus White Sox and Giants previews, a genuinely bad American League, and the Dodgers being mid for at least a moment.

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The curse rolls on: the podcast is haunted, the Cardinals keep losing players, and JJ Wetherholt is the latest to hit the IL. Nate and Ben map out the team's slim 2.5% path to October, make the full-throated case that JJ is getting robbed in the Rookie of the Year race, and marvel at Josh Baez's absurd swing metrics. Plus a wave of call-ups led by Leo Bernal taking over behind the plate.

In league news, Arte Moreno sells the Angels for a record sum, the Rays' stadium saga inches forward, and expansion looms.

Have a question or comment for the show? Text or leave us a voicemail at: (848) 48-BIRDS (848-482-4737)

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The show is cursed. Last week's audio came out haunted, three Cardinals hit the IL in a matter of days, and Nate and Ben have made peace with the grudge ghost now living in the podcast. Between hauntings they cover a tired, banged-up team still hanging around the wild card: Masyn Winn's season-ending thumb, Josh Baez's wildly unlucky start, and a Kyle Leahy who's quietly pitched like an ace for two months.

Down on the farm, Rainiel Rodriguez keeps mashing, and the Cardinals now have baseball's second-best farm system. Plus Pirates and Dodgers previews, the Astros' bizarre firing of Dana Brown, and a new game about ballpark calories.

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Talking About Birds is listener supported on Patreon. Support the show and join our private discord server at: www.patreon.com/talkingaboutbirds

Joshua Baez made maybe the greatest MLB debuts of all time — three home runs, three different pitches, three different parts of the ballpark. Nate and Ben soak it in, then dig into a Cardinals team that's back above .500 and squarely in the wild card hunt: Jordan Walker solving the slider, Alec Burleson leading baseball in a brand-new defensive stat, and a rotation that keeps winning while defying every metric.

Down on the farm, Rainiel Rodriguez is climbing toward the top of prospect boards. Plus Phillies and Orioles previews, a very strange batch of league news, and the return of an old friend.

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The Cardinals are hovering around .500 and mostly out of the race — but the offense is waking up at the perfect time. Alec Burleson is launching bombs, Ivan Herrera is crushing everything again, and José Fermín looks like the next guy about to break out. Nate and Ben dig into all of it, plus why Kyle Leahy is quietly the ace of this staff and what's gone wrong with Matthew Liberatore.

Down on the farm, Nolan Gorman is destroying Triple-A with a new swing. Plus Cubs and Reds previews, Tim Anderson's retirement, and our Draft Day check-in at the three-quarter mark.

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The Cardinals sold at the deadline — Dustin May and JoJo Romero are Brewers, Lars Nootbaar is a Diamondback, and the returns are genuinely exciting. Nate and Ben break down the four prospects coming back, why the Dustin May signing worked out about as well as it possibly could have, and the catching logjam Bloom still didn't clear.

Plus: Quinn Mathews makes his MLB debut, Tink Hence gets a surprising DFA, previews of the Rockies and Phillies, the Harrison Bader drunk-scooter saga, and much more!

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It's the last episode before the trade deadline, so next week's Cardinals might look completely different. Dustin May has pitched his way into a real trade chip, and Lars Nootbaar, Ivan Herrera, and even Masyn Winn could all be on the move.

Plus: the offense is somehow leading baseball in hard-hit balls in July and still can't score, Blaze Jordan quietly became the best third baseman on the team, and previews of the Blue Jays and Yankees.

Have a question or comment for the show? Text or leave us a voicemail at: (848) 48-BIRDS (848-482-4737)

Talking About Birds is listener supported on Patreon. Support the show and join our private discord server at: http://www.patreon.com/talkingaboutbirds

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The Cardinals have lost four in a row and each one hurt in a different way. They gave away a 7-0 lead to the Diamondbacks. Riley O'Brien hit a guy to bring in the winning run against the Angels. And underneath all of it, the offense has fallen off a cliff — 28th in baseball over the last 30 days, with Jordan Walker and the Furminator the only Cardinals hitting above average.

Meanwhile the pitching staff has quietly been top ten over that same stretch. Development or luck? We dig in with the deadline coming up. Plus: John Mozeliak joins the ESPN booth and says absolutely nothing, a Reds and Cubs preview, Who Charted?, and the worst fishing story ever told on this show.

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Jordan Walker is the first Cardinal in history to win the Home Run Derby. He beat Kyle Schwarber in Philly, hit four in a row off the magenta ball to close it out, and looked like the coolest person in the building while 40,000 people booed him.

JJ Wetherholt signed an 8-year, $112.5 million extension. Kyle Reis joins us to break down the entire MLB draft — Trevor Condon at 13, a 17-year-old shortstop named Rocco Maniscalco at 50, and why Kyle calls it the best Cardinals draft class since 2020. Plus: who gets extended next, MLB's salary cap propaganda ads, and much more!

Have a question or comment for the show? Text or leave us a voicemail at: (848) 48-BIRDS (848-482-4737)

Talking About Birds is listener supported on Patreon. Support the show and join our private discord server at: http://www.patreon.com/talkingaboutbirds.

Play Nate's game at: https://crossonym.com/

Jordan Walker is an All-Star. Twenty-one home runs, a 142 wRC+, and the breakout is officially real. Meanwhile, JJ Wetherholt — 9th in fWAR among all position players — got snubbed, and we have thoughts.

The Cardinals lost four straight to the Brewers, who are perfectly built to expose this team's weaknesses. The wild card picture is tightening, the trade deadline is approaching, and the Pirates somehow have higher playoff odds despite being behind in the standings. Plus: Verlander retires, Kyle Leahy can't be explained.

Have a question or comment for the show? Text or leave us a voicemail at: (848) 48-BIRDS (848-482-4737)

Talking About Birds is listener supported on Patreon. Support the show and join our private discord server at: http://www.patreon.com/talkingaboutbirds.

The Cardinals are 44-38 and the playoff picture is getting tight. Playoff odds dropped from 55% to 33% in two weeks, the Cubs are surging thanks to Pete Crow-Armstrong's MVP-level June, and seven games against Chicago and Milwaukee are about to define the trade deadline conversation.

Rainiel Rodriguez might be the best prospect in baseball. He's 19 years old, crushing Double-A with a 1.023 OPS in June, and hitting opposite-field home runs that look like a lefty pulling them. Plus: the bullpen had its worst month of the season, Burleson is the unluckiest hitter alive, Liberatore bounced back, and John Mozeliak is somehow the Angels' new interim GM.

Have a question or comment for the show? Text or leave us a voicemail at: (848) 48-BIRDS (848-482-4737)

Talking About Birds is listener supported on Patreon. Support the show and join our private discord server at: www.patreon.com/talkingaboutbirds.

Play Nate's game at: https://crossonym.com/

JJ Wetherholt is on pace for a better rookie season than Albert Pujols in 2001. He's got the best June of his career, he's 7th in fWAR among all position players, and he's a legitimate MVP candidate. C70 joins us to talk about what that means.

Masyn Winn is showing signs of life, Nathan Church looks like a different hitter since coming back, Blaze Jordan has already eclipsed Gorman's season production, and the bullpen is falling apart. Plus: the Home Run Derby is changing formats again, Quinn Matthews might be close, and we close with You Income You Lose Some — guessing career earnings of Cardinals legends.

Have a question or comment for the show? Text or leave us a voicemail at: (848) 48-BIRDS (848-482-4737)

Talking About Birds is listener supported on Patreon. Support the show and join our private discord server at: http://www.patreon.com/talkingaboutbirds.

Play Nate's game at: https://crossonym.com/

The Cardinals are 40-31 with a 55% chance to make the playoffs, and the trade deadline conversation just got real. Do you trade Dustin May and JoJo Romero, or do you owe it to Walker, Burleson, and the rest of the young core to go for it?

Alec Burleson is the fifth-best hitter in baseball against right-handed pitching. Josh Baez hit four home runs in one game. Blaze Jordan is already looking like an upgrade at third. And Andre Pallante might actually be a different pitcher now.

Have a question or comment for the show? Text or leave us a voicemail at: (848) 48-BIRDS (848-482-4737)

Talking About Birds is listener supported on Patreon. Support the show and join our private discord server at: http://www.patreon.com/talkingaboutbirds.

Play Nate's game at: https://crossonym.com/