amp, amp up verb
To enliven, dynamize or fire up. [Perhaps a conflation of the words "amp" and "ramp up."]

Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter, placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 2 with persistent swelling in his right elbow, has been increasing his rehab work and has reported no problems. “He’s been working every day,” manager Tony La Russa said. “So far, no setbacks. He’s starting to amp things up little by little.”

The Colonel
Nickname for Todd Wellemeyer.

do damage verb
To create runs and inflict pain on pitchers

“The guy’s a proven hitter his whole life. Ever since he’s been playing pro ball, he’s been doing damage.” — Chris Duncan

ethereal adjective
Amazing; other-wordly.

“It [the Rockies 12-10 come-from-behind victory over the San Diego Padres April 5, 2005] was ethereal.” — Cory Sullivan

“The Cardinals were again wire-to-wire winners in the NL Central, led by a Cy Young-level campaign from Chris Carpenter and another all-world year from the ethereal Albert Pujols.” — Mark Donohue, Baseball Toaster

expand verb
To get a hitter to increase his strike zone, i.e., to swing at pitches outside of the actual strike zone.

filthy adjective
1. Pitching so as to be unhittable 2. a pitch having extreme speed or movement.

“He was filthy. But when hasn’t he been filthy?” — Billy Wagner

go Worrell verb
When a player, responding to a seemingly innocuous question during an interview, crosses the line between expected rookie protocol and unabashed honesty, with tendencies toward frustration and anger, which may result in the player being traded immediately. Named for Mark Worrell.

DM: What do Cardinal fans need to know about you that they probably don’t already know?
MW: It is a ridiculous that an organization won’t give a guy like me a chance. I have absolutely dominated at almost every level and I have been at Triple-A for two years now. I have said all those other things in interviews but now I am just going to go ahead and speak the way I feel. I am tired of serving as a back up; I feel I deserve better than that. I know that I am just as good or better than anyone other reliever in the league. I would just like to get an opportunity somewhere and I really don’t see that with the Cardinals.

hard contact noun
A hitting philosophy espoused by the Cardinals, emphasizing a batter’s individual skill over a single approach, such as hitting for power.

“We probably talk less about the home run than any team in baseball. We talk about hard contact. If you’re a guy who’s got legitimate power, you make hard contact and use the whole field. If the home run’s in your skill, fine. If not, we’ll take the singles and doubles.” — Tony LaRussa

Hard Nine
Cardinal team motto coined by Tony La Russa, ca. 2005

That’s all La Russa talks about — ‘Go out and play a hard nine.’ — David Eckstein

Iron Cap
Nickname for Anthony Reyes (deprecated as of 2008).

Little Cesar
Nickname for Cesar Izturis, coined by Joe Strauss (deprecated as of 2008).

locked in adjective
In a state of heightened focus or concentration.

“At times I thought he was locked in. His swing looked like the old A-Rod.” — scout Jeff Schugel

mash verb, masher, noun
1. To hit for a high slugging percentage. 2. a player who mashes.

“They [NL teams] don’t have to have a designated-hitter type per se, where American League teams can fill that spot, you know, with somebody who can mash.” — Jim Leyland

mug verb, mugging, mugged
To botch or blow (as in a lead).

I don’t think anybody on this club wanted to be associated with mugging that lead. — Tony LaRussa, 10/02/06

pitch to contact verb, pitch-to-contact noun
A pitching philosophy that emphasizes groundball outs over strikeouts, via command of the fastball and getting hitters out early in the count.

“He made a lot of big pitches to get double plays. That’s the one thing we’ve been preaching to him. If you pitch to contact, we’ll catch it. We’re good at that.” — Ron Gardenhire

“Maybe I was tying to make too perfect a pitch instead of pitching to contact. That’s when I’m at my best, when I pitch to contact.” — Doug Davis

rake verb, raked, raking
To hit well, as for a high OPS.

“Kubel can rake. He’s always hit for average, has good plate discipline, and has added power to his game this year.” — John Sickels

sick adjective
Unbelievable; unnaturral so as to be outside the seeming realm of possibility.

He’s [Pujols] on an ungodly pace,” Glavine said. “What he’s doing is sick. Given that the way he’s swinging the bat, if the game is on the line, you’re stupid if you let him beat you.”

Sikeston player noun
A Cardinal-specific synonym for Four-A (AAAA) player. (Sikeston is almost exactly halfway between St. Louis and Memphis on I-55.)

stunned adjective
The union-required word used when someone is accused of using performance-enhancing drugs.

“Andy is just surprised and stunned and has no knowledge of any such activity.”- Randy Hendricks, Roger Clemens’s and Andy Pettitte’s representative