Step 1: Tarps On. Step 2: Go To Game. Step 3: TARPS OFF

About this episode

The episode discusses the Cardinals' current performance, the tarps off movement, and player updates including Nolan Gorman and Matthew Liberatore.

The Cardinals are 28-19 and there's a shirtless movement happening in right field. Tarps off started as one row of guys on a Friday night, expanded to the entire section by the weekend, and now the Cardinals have officially designated it as a high-energy zone. We dig into what it means, how long it can last, and whether two guys who have admittedly aged out of the tarps off crew can still appreciate it from a distance. Nolan Gorman is having an MVP-level May. His expected wOBA in May is .427, he's leading the team in exit velocity and barrels, and his defense at third has quietly become solid. We talk about whether this version of Gorman is different from the streaks we've seen before, and what it means if the Cardinals actually have their third baseman locked in. Matthew Liberatore had 14 strikeouts over two starts and a 7.45 ERA. That gap between his stuff and his results is the Liberatore experience in a nutshell, and a .536 BABIP might be the explanation. We talk about whether this is just bad luck or the continuation of a real pattern. Plus: Matt Pushard is back with a completely different pitch mix, George Soriano's changeup is reaching Devin Williams territory, Victor…

People in this episode

Hosts: Nate Heininger, Ben Simorka

Topics covered

• Cardinals performance
• tarps off movement
• Nolan Gorman's stats
• Matthew Liberatore's pitching
• player updates
• trade deadline speculation

Keywords

• tarps off
• Nolan Gorman
• Matthew Liberatore
• Cardinals
• Busch Stadium
• baseball
• MVP-level performance
• pitching stats
• trade deadline

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: St. Louis Cardinals

Places: Busch Stadium

More episodes of Talking About Birds: A St. Louis Cardinals Podcast

• Screaming Singles · June 11, 2026 · 1h 39m
• Blunt Rotation · June 4, 2026 · 1h 35m
• Bootstrap River · May 28, 2026 · 1h 40m
• What Even is a Horse · May 14, 2026 · 1h 26m
• The Cardinals are Offensive · May 7, 2026 · 1h 29m
• Double Jay Double You · April 30, 2026 · 1h 33m