Two major questions face the St. Louis Cardinals as the calendar page turns from 2010 to 2011: What will happen with the Albert Pujols’ contract talks, and how will the team perform next season?

As the New Year dawns, we’re wondering what you think is most likely to happen in 2011: Does Albert sign? Does he walk away? Do the Cards falter again in the race? Or do they find themselves back at the top of the NL Central?

Vote in the poll accompanying this story: In the midst of winter and with spring training six weeks away, we’re itching to see what Cards fans expect in the year ahead …

The St. Louis Cardinals have accepted the Pacific PYA into its Red Bird Rookie program.

Bret Rossomanno, PYA director, made the announcement at the Dec. 21 board of aldermen meeting, saying being in the elite league will make a great impact on the PYA’s youngest players.

“This means free baseball for T-ball-age children and 8-year-old children, Rossomanno said. “Among the benefits are equipment, uniforms and baseballs provided by the Cardinals.”

Acceptance in the league is a milestone in the life of the local Little League baseball program. It was achieved by lots of people working together, Rossomanno said.

Participants were Stephen Flannery III and the Pacific Park Poard, as well as Tim Baker, Sheila Steelman and Nettie Painter, who brought the idea to Pacific for their support.

The Red Bird Rookie program goes beyond the ballfield.

“This is about the development of the child,” Rossomanno said. “Our coaches will attend three days of coaches clinics to help them teach children proper fundamentals of baseball.”

The city of Pacific has agreed to build a vehicle bridge across Brush Creek and public restrooms near new ballfields that the PYA is constructing.

“We hope to see those in place when our seasons starts April 1,” Rossomanno said.

Mayor Herb Adams credited Painter, a longtime Busch Stadium volunteer, with bringing the Red Bird Rookie Program to Pacific.

“One evening I was on my back porch and Nettie came to the door and wanted to speak to me,” Adams said. “She told about a program that she saw, the Cardinal Care program. When she explained it to me she was so excited.

“Many would have said she was nuts, that there was no way Pacific would be selected by the St. Louis Cardinals,” Adams said. “I can tell you that this whole project started with excitement, with believing in something. I sent her to Tim (Baker) knowing that he would know what to do.”

Baker contact Rossomanno, who in turn went to the PYA board.

Adams said he continues to challenge Pacific residents to think outside the box to get things done.

“There are better things out there. It can happen for us,” Adams said.

As a Red Bird Rookie team, Pacific PYA joins 20 leagues, serving nearly 4,000 kids in the St. Louis Metro area, and parts of rural Missouri and Illinois.

Cardinals Care has distributed more than $14 million to support organizations in and around St. Louis since its inception in 1997.

Cardinals Caravan visits Jan. 14

The St. Louis Cardinals’ annual caravan will make a Jan. 14 stop in Springfield, the Double-A Springfield club announced Thursday.

Players have yet to be determined, but fans can meet players in an 11:30 a.m. luncheon at Hammons Field’s indoor facility and again at 6:30 p.m. at the Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions at JQH Arena.

Admission is $5 for the luncheon, which will include a garage sale of collectables. A ticket to the tournament will be required for the evening session.

The Caravan will make two other stops in the Ozarks: at noon Jan. 15 at the Legett & Platt Athletic Center on the Missouri Southern campus in Joplin; and 6 p.m. Jan. 15 at Rolla High School.

ST. LOUIS (AP)—St. Louis Blues winger Patrik Berglund(notes) needed a little spark of emotion to get going.

Berglund broke out of a 10-game scoring drought with two goals to lead the Blues to a 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night.

The 22-year-old scored twice in a span of 4:20 in the first period to break a 1-1 tie. The win helped the Blues keep pace in the tight Western Conference. They had won two of their previous seven home games after starting the season 8-0-1.

Jaroslav Halak(notes) stopped 35 shots to improve to 13-10-4. Halak had given up 11 goals on 67 shots in two losses to Detroit earlier this season.

Berglund got the second two-goal game of his career. He scored twice in a 2-0 win over Los Angeles on March 24, 2009. The 25th overall pick in the 2006 draft, Berglund whistled a shot off defenseman Niklas Kronwall(notes) to give St. Louis a 2-1 lead.

“I think I’ve been more and more emotional lately,” Berglund said. “Maybe that brings out the aggressive play in me.”

Berglund turned in one of the finest performances of his three-year career. His two-goal outburst gave St. Louis a lead it kept for the win.

“When he gets that first stride going, he’s a load,” St. Louis coach Davis Payne said. “We got a real strong game out of him.”

Erik Johnson(notes) and Matt D’Agostini(notes) also scored for the Blues, who won for the third time in five games. Johnson tallied on a power play in the opening period. It was his second goal of the season and first in 25 games. D’Agostini converted on a breakaway to give St. Louis a 4-1 lead in the second period.

St. Louis started out strong, scoring three goals on its first 13 shots. That aggressive play set the tone for the entire game.

“We came out of the locker room knowing we wanted to set the pace of play,” Payne said. “I thought we did a real good job of that early.”

Detroit coach Mike Babcock agreed.

“You’ve got to start on time and you’ve got to get the lead in this league. Or else it makes it hard on you.”

Detroit goalie Chris Osgood(notes), with 399 wins, was looking to becoming the 10th goalie in NHL history to record 400.

The Red Wings, who had a two-game winning streak snapped, were without leading point-producer Pavel Datsyuk(notes), who suffered a broken bone in his right hand in a 5-4 overtime win over Vancouver on Wednesday.

“He’s our go-to guy when we need a goal or to get the power play going,” Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom(notes) said. “He’s going to be missed, that’s for sure. That’s why we need all the guys to step up.”

Johan Franzen(notes), who scored the Red Wings’ first goal, took over for Datsyuk on a line with Tomas Holmstrom(notes) and Henrik Zetterberg(notes). Datsyuk has 12 goals and 27 assists. He has played in at least 75 games each of the past six seasons.

Lidstrom cut the deficit to 4-2 during a two-man advantage in the second period. Patrick Eaves(notes) followed with his eighth goal just over five minutes later.

Detroit outshot St. Louis 15-4 in a scoreless third period. Halak made several big saves in the closing minute.

“There’s no question they were hanging on and we were pushing,” Babcock said. “The bottom line is the cellophane they had from post to post.”

Halak received plenty of help from his teammates, who blocked 10 shots.

“It’s always nice to get a win against a division rival,” Halak said. “Especially against Detroit, they got a great team. We needed to get some points and I’m pleased with the effort.”

Notes: Detroit defenseman Brian Rafalski(notes) has eight assists in his past five games. … St. Louis has sold out all 17 of its home games this season. … St. Louis Cardinals players Matt Holliday and David Freese were in attendance. … This was the first game of a five-game homestand for St. Louis. … Detroit is 8-5-1 on the road. … St. Louis center T.J. Oshie(notes), out with a broken ankle, turned 24 on Thursday.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Blues winger Patrik Berglund needed a little spark of emotion to get going.

Berglund broke out of a 10-game scoring drought with two goals to lead the Blues to a 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night.

The 22-year-old scored twice in a span of 4:20 in the first period to break a 1-1 tie. The win helped the Blues keep pace in the tight Western Conference. They had won two of their previous seven home games after starting the season 8-0-1.

Jaroslav Halak stopped 35 shots to improve to 13-10-4. Halak had given up 11 goals on 67 shots in two losses to Detroit earlier this season.

Berglund got the second two-goal game of his career. He scored twice in a 2-0 win over Los Angeles on March 24, 2009. The 25th overall pick in the 2006 draft, Berglund whistled a shot off defenseman Niklas Kronwall to give St. Louis a 2-1 lead.

“I think I’ve been more and more emotional lately,” Berglund said. “Maybe that brings out the aggressive play in me.”

Berglund turned in one of the finest performances of his three-year career. His two-goal outburst gave St. Louis a lead it kept for the win.

“When he gets that first stride going, he’s a load,” St. Louis coach Davis Payne said. “We got a real strong game out of him.”

Erik Johnson and Matt D’Agostini also scored for the Blues, who won for the third time in five games. Johnson tallied on a power play in the opening period. It was his second goal of the season and first in 25 games. D’Agostini converted on a breakaway to give St. Louis a 4-1 lead in the second period.

St. Louis started out strong, scoring three goals on its first 13 shots. That aggressive play set the tone for the entire game.

“We came out of the locker room knowing we wanted to set the pace of play,” Payne said. “I thought we did a real good job of that early.”

Detroit coach Mike Babcock agreed.

“You’ve got to start on time and you’ve got to get the lead in this league. Or else it makes it hard on you.”

Detroit goalie Chris Osgood, with 399 wins, was looking to becoming the 10th goalie in NHL history to record 400.

The Red Wings, who had a two-game winning streak snapped, were without leading point-producer Pavel Datsyuk, who suffered a broken bone in his right hand in a 5-4 overtime win over Vancouver on Wednesday.

“He’s our go-to guy when we need a goal or to get the power play going,” Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom said. “He’s going to be missed, that’s for sure. That’s why we need all the guys to step up.”

Johan Franzen, who scored the Red Wings’ first goal, took over for Datsyuk on a line with Tomas Holmstrom and Henrik Zetterberg. Datsyuk has 12 goals and 27 assists. He has played in at least 75 games each of the past six seasons.

Lidstrom cut the deficit to 4-2 during a two-man advantage in the second period. Patrick Eaves followed with his eighth goal just over five minutes later.

Detroit outshot St. Louis 15-4 in a scoreless third period. Halak made several big saves in the closing minute.

“There’s no question they were hanging on and we were pushing,” Babcock said. “The bottom line is the cellophane they had from post to post.”

Halak received plenty of help from his teammates, who blocked 10 shots.

“It’s always nice to get a win against a division rival,” Halak said. “Especially against Detroit, they got a great team. We needed to get some points and I’m pleased with the effort.”

Notes: Detroit defenseman Brian Rafalski has eight assists in his past five games. … St. Louis has sold out all 17 of its home games this season. … St. Louis Cardinals players Matt Holliday and David Freese were in attendance. … This was the first game of a five-game homestand for St. Louis. … Detroit is 8-5-1 on the road. … St. Louis center T.J. Oshie, out with a broken ankle, turned 24 on Thursday.