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NFL Mock Draft 2013: New Mock Has Rams Targeting Robert Woods

2012-05-16T12:01:16Z

Another May day, another 2013 NFL Mock Draft—and another draft scenario in which the St. Louis Rams are targeting one of their two most glaring needs, in this case wide receiver, that weren't totally addressed in a 2012 NFL Draft that didn't go as expected. WalterFootball.com has updated its far-off mock draft again, and this time they have the Rams taking Robert Woods with the No. 3 overall pick. (Hopefully that's by way of the Redskins...)

The Rams actually did a better job with their wide receiving corps than they did the offensive line in 2012, taking Brian Quick to lead off the second round and selecting Chris Givens later, but Robert Woods is one of the biggest names in the 2013 draft world here in 2012 and he's a popular pick for anybody in the range most mock draft types have the Rams choosing in right now.

Of course, all this depends on how Brian Quick performs in his rookie season—but right now I wouldn't complain about the Rams landing Woods, except inasmuch as it means they were one of the worst teams in football again.

More NFL Draft news and analysis from SB Nation St. Louis:

Robert Woods would be nice, but the Rams do have less-obvious needs than wide receiver and offensive tackle.
But at this point, a 2013 NFL Mock Draft is useful mostly to confirm your worst fears about your favorite team. The Rams will never have a good wide receiver again!
A lot of draft talk can be safely ignored if only Rodger Saffold and Jason Smith finally develop.

Cubs Vs. Cardinals Final Score: St. Louis Delivers 7-6 Walkoff Win

2012-05-15T22:32:49Z

The St. Louis Cardinals went from disappointment to elation in the span of one inning during a dramatic 7-6 win over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday afternoon.

The Cardinals entered the ninth inning with a 6-5 lead on the Cubs, but Alfonso Soriano launched a solo home run off of Jason Motte to even the score. It was Soriano's first home run of the season. In the bottom half of the inning, the Cardinals regrouped and won the game on a two-out RBI single by catcher Yadier Molina.

The win snapped a four-game losing streak.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. Visit Viva El Birdos for more in-depth coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals. For more news and updates from around the MLB, drop by Baseball Nation with Rob Neyer, or dig deeper into the stats at Beyond the Box Score.

Rams Free Agency 2012: St. Louis Signs LB Mario Haggan And OL Barry Richardson

2012-05-15T21:40:17Z

On Tuesday, the St. Louis Rams announced the addition of a pair of players.

LB Mario Haggan and OL Barry Richardson have signed free agent contracts with the Rams.
— St. Louis Rams (@STLouisRams) May 15, 2012

The 32-year-old Haggan is a nine-year veteran of the NFL who most recently played for the Denver Broncos. Haggan has appeared in 121 games over the course of his career and posted a career-best 87 tackles in 2010. Prior to his four-year stint in Denver, he spent five seasons with the Buffalo Bills.

Richardson is a four-year NFL veteran; he started every game for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2010 and 2011.

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Rams be sure to visit Turf Show Times. Visit SB Nation NFL for more news and notes around the league.

Lance Berkman Scratched From Lineup, Reason Not Known

2012-05-15T18:13:20Z

According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the St. Louis Cardinals 1B Lance Berkman was scratched from the lineup on Tuesday, but the reason has not been made clear just yet:

Lance Berkman is not in the lineup. Last-minute scratch apparently. Will get updated info. Freese starts at 3B. Carpenter to 1B. #stlcards
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) May 15, 2012

Berkman missed 20 games earlier in the season with a calf strain that led to a 15-day DL trip. Despite the injury, Berkman has hit an impressive .344/.462/.500 slash while still awaiting his first home run of the season.

In Berkman's place, second-year backup 1B Matt Carpenter gets the start against the Chicago Cubs.

For more news and updates from around the MLB, drop by Baseball Nation with Rob Neyer, or dig deeper into the stats at Beyond the Box Score. Also, check out Viva El Birdos for more in-depth coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Cubs Vs. Cardinals Lineups, Starters, TV Time And More

2012-05-15T15:33:34Z

The Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals are back at it on Tuesday afternoon, and the lineups that Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse and Cubs counterpart Paul Maholm will face have been posted. Here is a look lineups and TV time for Tuesday's contest:

Cubs Lineup

1. David DeJesus RF
2. Tony Campana CF
3. Starlin Castro SS
4. Bryan LaHair 1B
5. Alfonso Soriano LF
6. Ian Stewart 3B
7. Welington Castillo C
8. Darwin Barney 2B
9. Paul Maholm P

Cardinals Lineup

1. Rafael Furcal SS
2. Skip Schumaker CF
3. Matt Holliday LF
4. Allen Craig RF
5. Lance Berkman 1B
6. Yadier Molina C
7. Matt Carpenter 3B
8. Tyler Greene 2B
9. Kyle Lohse P

Game Date & Time: Tuesday, May 15, 12:45 p.m.

Location: Busch Stadium

TV: FS-Midwest

MLB Draft 2012: What Will The St. Louis Cardinals Do With Their Albert Pujols Compensation Pick?

2012-05-15T15:00:53Z

The St. Louis Cardinals go into the 2012 MLB Draft with a lot of draft picks to burn—five in the first 59 picks, to be exact, thanks to the various players they lost to free agency in the offseason following their World Series victory. No pick, however, will hold quite so much narrative value as the last part of their Albert Pujols compensation—the No. 36 pick in the supplemental round. (The Cardinals also get the Los Angeles Angels' first-rounder.) In their baseball mock draft, John Sickels and Matt Garioch of our own Minor League Ball connected the Cardinals with a high school outfielder for that portentous pick.

Nick Williams is his name. He's from Texas, and ostensibly committed to the Texas Longhorns, and he's exactly the kind of toolsy, high-speed outfielder the Cardinals targeted multiple times in their 2011 draft, starting with Charlie Tilson. Garrioch likes his well-rounded set of hitting skills, and ESPNHS suggests he's got the defense for center field and some power potential.

It's hard to say who the Cardinals will draft this far ahead of draft day, but a player like Nick WIlliams would definitely fit their MO of late.

NFL Mock Draft 2013: St. Louis Rams Have Less Obvious Needs, Too

2012-05-15T14:30:04Z

The St. Louis Rams have some really obvious needs—needs they've had since before they ended up taking Michael Brockers with their first pick in the 2012 NFL Draft—and that's made their behavior in the average 2013 NFL Mock Draft a little more predictable than it might otherwise be. If Robert Woods is available wherever the mock draft writer has them finishing, they take a wide receiver to breathe down the necks of this year's picks, Brian Quick and Chris Givens; if he isn't available, they take whichever offensive tackle has leapt up the draft boards most recently.

This is all fine, and probably accurate, but the Rams do have other needs, as they demonstrated by taking Brockers in the first place. This is a team that won two games last season; they did it by underperforming in all the facets football has to offer. If Cortland Finnegan or Janoris Jenkins doesn't take, they could need a defensive back; if Isaiah Pead doesn't impress as an every-down back and Steven Jackson finally collapses, they could, unfortunately, draft a running back. All kinds of things could happen in the next year, though the thing I hope happens is that they just play really well and take a complementary player with, say, the 25th pick in next year's draft.

More NFL Draft news and analysis handpicked from SB Nation St. Louis:

Of course, the Rams might still have a high draft pick in that scenario if the Washington Redskins suck.
And if the Rams end up with a really high draft pick, they'll complicate the whole draft by not creating a quarterback controversy.

NFL Power Rankings 2012: Where Does The Draft Leave Bottom-Dwellers?

2012-05-15T14:00:57Z

The St. Louis Rams began the 2012 NFL Power Rankings preseason already down in the basement, and it looks like even a solid 2012 draft wasn't enough to lift them very far out of it. ESPN's first set of May power rankings sees them stuck at No. 29, between Justin Blackmon and the Jacksonville Jaguars and Brandon Weeden, Trent Richardson, and the Cleveland Browns.

Considering the Rams had the league's worst record last year, that is a prediction of minor improvement. But it can't be what Jeff Fisher, Sam Bradford, and the Rams' newest rookies were hoping to see coming into a season already fraught with stadium concerns.

It's possible to imagine a much-improved Rams team as soon as this year; the problem for power rankings writers looking to predict that is that it's going to entail a complete reformatting and reinstallation of the Rams' offensive and defensive gameplans. It's a big bet to put on Jeff Fisher and company, and it seems like national writers won't be willing to do it until they see him execute it in the regular season. If they do, expect the Rams to move up quickly.