The Cards head to Pittsburgh three-and-a-half games off the pace in the NL Central.  The Reds continue to hold the division lead. Since St. Louis swept Cincinnati to take a one-game lead in the division race, the Cards have dropped five of eight games. In that same time, the Reds have gone 8-and-1. The Cards also remain in the hunt for the National League Wild Card. The Redbirds and Giants each trail the Phillies by two games in the Wild Card race.

Hall of Famer and former Cardinal reliever Bruce Sutter joins the Phillies organization.  The Phils announced Monday they hired him as a minor league pitching consultant.  He is expected to work with franchise through the end of the minor league regular season. Sutter spent four of his 12 major league seasons in St. Louis and helped the Cardinals to the World Series title in 1982. He led the National League in saves five times and was honored with the 1979 Cy Young Award. He was inducted into Cooperstown in 2006, and is depicted on his Hall of Fame plaque wearing a Cardinals cap. He also played with the Cubs and Braves, and retired after the 1988 season. He retired with 300 saves and a 2.83 career ERA.

Rookie quarterback Sam Bradford could get the start this Thursday when the Rams head to New England to take on the Patriots. Head coach Steve Spagnuolo said the Oklahoma product would get the start if A.J. Feeley isn't available. Feeley suffered a thumb injury in Saturday's 19-17 win over the Browns in Cleveland Saturday.  Bradford, the top overall pick in this year's draft, relieved Feeley in Saturday's game and was 6-of-14 passing for 24 yards. However, he avoided being sacked, after suffering four sacks in the preseason opener against the Vikings. Feeley completed five-of-six attempts against Cleveland for 45 yards and one score. So the thumb is neither up or down on his condition. 

The search for a new owner of the Blues continues. According to the "Post-Dispatch," SCP Worldwide partner and vice chairman Mike McCarthy says his group is pleased with where it's at in the process.  He added that they have no deadline to pursue.  SCP is Dave Checketts' company, which is looking for a new partner. About three months ago, TowerBrook Capital Partners said they were pulling out of their stake in the Note, which is as much as 75-percent of the team. However, TowerBrook has said it would wait until Checketts could find a replacement. While TowerBrook hasn't been in a rush to sell up until this point, the investment group may be wanting to speed up the process now. The capital gains tax will grow to 20-percent from 15-percent next year, and the company could save on taxes if the deal's done by the end of 2010.

Again The Cardinals open a 10-game road trip tonight with the first of three against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.  Kyle Lohse gets the nod in tonight's 6:05 start. It's the righty's second start since coming off the 60-day disabled list where he was placed to undergo forearm surgery back in May. 5;22 start