Josh Hancock News

The odds of a first-year minor-league baseball player ever making it to the major leagues are long to begin with.

Maintaining a playoff-caliber pitching staff is one of the great management challenges in sports, right up there with developing Pro Bowl quarterbacks and securing clutch playoff goaltending.

Pronounced dead before the season even began, the St. Louis Cardinals were slotted to duke it out with Pittsburgh and Houston for last place in the NL Central, not Chicago and Milwaukee for first. via The Maneater

“It just started to get worse. "The last game that I threw in, I told them after the game I'd like to see the doc. I got sent down the next day but still kept my appointment to see him.”

The St. Louis Cardinals observed the one-year anniversary of reliever Josh Hancock's fatal crash without fanfare. via KMOV-TV Saint Louis

“Jacob still remembers the events of that evening and he is still recognized in public because of the coverage of it. A year after the accident this helps bring a certain amount of closure.”

The driver of the tow truck involved in the accident that killed Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock a little more than a year ago has settled with the ballplayer's insurance company, the driver's attorney confirmed ... via STLtoday

“I think when you look at how we once operated to where we are today, there's definitely people -- players, front office -- that approach things differently”

The Cardinals marked a solemn anniversary on Tuesday subtly, quietly and not at all publicly. via St. Louis Cardinals

“We're trying to work the starting pitcher and get into the bullpen early.”

Sports Columnist Bernie Miklasz [More columns] Before the Milwaukee Brewers entertain any serious notion of knocking off the defending champion Chicago Cubs in the NL Central, they'll have to find a way to ... via STLtoday