First, to TV, where a big move regarding over-the-air coverage, an integral component of Cardinals broadcasting for more than half a century, could go the way of the way of .400 hitters and untainted baseball records.

The team might drop KSDK (Channel 5) next season and move all its local telecasts to Fox Sports Midwest. That would leave the 12 percent of the market that doesn't buy cable or satellite programming without local telecasts, which have slowly migrated to FSM through the years. In 1995, KPLR (Channel 11) had the over-the-air rights and aired about 60 games. This season, KSDK has just 19 games in the final year of its four-year contract. FSM, meanwhile, has increased its schedule and now offers 130 games.

On the surface, that might not seem like a big deal because 88 percent of the market wouldn't be affected. But the ratings show a greater disparity in viewership between cable and over-the-air broadcasts. Games on "free TV'' rated 34 percent better than FSM's games in the past decade.

It's not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison because most over-the-air games in recent seasons have been on Sunday afternoons, whereas FSM's numbers include weekday afternoons and late-night telecasts as well as a bevy of highly rated prime-time contests. But that may be more telling; the huge discrepancy in viewership seems to indicate that a large group of fans who can't afford cable or satellite simply makes time to watch the free telecasts.

Cardinals vice president Dan Farrell stressed that a decision hasn't been made about KSDK and FSM.

"We're still talking to both of them,'' he said. "They're talking to each other."

It also is possible KSDK could have a shorter schedule next year, say 10 games, with the others going to FSM. As usually is the case, money is a key and FSM has a big advantage over KSDK. Both sell advertising, but only cable reaps significant subscriber fees.

"Over-the-air has been very successful for us; we've had good ratings and a good partnership with Channel 5,'' Farrell said. "But with that said, (FSM) does an equally good job covering the team. It's really going to be driven by the economics.''

If the Cardinals go exclusively to cable, they would follow the lead of the Blues, who last season abandoned KPLR for FSM in a messy deal that led to some cable and satellite subscribers being shut out of 35 telecasts.

But there would be one difference if the Cardinals follow suit. Fans without cable still would be left with the 10 or so local Redbirds telecasts by Fox on KTVI (Channel 2). NBC did not select any Blues games to carry over the air last season.

RADIO REPORT

The team's radio arrangement has irritated fans since the summer of 2005, when the club abandoned the powerhouse signal of KMOX (1120 AM), the broadcast home for more than five decades, in favor of buying a controlling interest in weaker KTRS (550 AM) and moving the broadcasts there.

But there is an exit clause after this season, and sources say KMOX is pushing to get the Cardinals back. Another possibility is a partnership between KTRS and WXOS (101.1 FM), which has a strong signal that fills gaps left by KTRS. WXOS made a pitch for such an arrangement this season but was turned down.

Cardinals president Bill Dewitt III said that in addition to economics, factors being weighed include the reach of the signal plus "the history of relationships (with stations) that have been recent and in the past. All that filters into the mix.

"And one of the things that is the main driver is how fans react,'' he added. "That's something we try to keep the pulse of.''

More than two-thirds of participants in a survey in each of the past two years on the Post-Dispatch's website, STLtoday.com, voted for KMOX when asked to pick the station they want to broadcast the games.

The Cardinals' broadcast decisions are expected before the end of July.