By Chris Brown – STL Baseball Today

Cardinals starter John Lackey told ESPN’s Buster Olney on Sunday night that he intends to pitch “for a couple more years” after talking with his family. The soon to be 37-year-old currently holds a 2.90 ERA and 1.22 WHIP this year while leading all Cardinals pitchers with a 4.1 WAR (wins above replacement) value.

The owner of a 3.42 ERA over the past three years, Lackey could be in line for a multi-year deal this winter. Lackey has expressed interest in remaining in the National League, ideally with the Cardinals, who might be interested in bringing him back on a short term deal.

As Olney later pointed out, the Cardinals have Michael Wacha, Adam Wainwright, Jaime Garcia, Carlos Martinez, and Lance Lynn under control for next season, potentially complicating a potential deal with Lackey.

CARDS ECLIPSE 3 MILLION FANS

For the 19th team in club history, and the 12th consecutive season, the Cardinals have eclipsed more than 3 million tickets sold in a season. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch provides the details:

The Cardinals remain on pace to sell more than 3.4 million tickets this season and reach at least 40,000 tickets sold for all 81 home dates. They drew 45,139 to Saturday’s game against the Pirates. The Cardinals use ticket revenue to help set their major-league budget, and ownership has often described the symbiotic relationship between the player payroll and the tickets sold.

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Feature image used under Creative Common by Arturo Pardavila III. No changes made. Image license.