St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez is ferociously disputing a lawsuit -- in which the 24-year-old is accused of giving a woman non-life threatening STDs ... after swearing he was clean.

The woman behind the suit, filed in district court in Miami, claims she began a romantic relationship with Martinez in 2012 -- and the two had an on-and-off relationship for years.

According to the suit, the two reconnected last year -- and began having sex again on Dec. 16th. Two days later, the woman claims she began to feel ill and later tested positive for multiple STDs.

The woman claims she had grilled Martinez about his sexual health before they hooked up and he "swore to God that he was not infected with any sexually transmitted disease."

Soon after the woman informed Martinez about her condition, he allegedly bolted for the Dominican Republic and never called her back.

Now, she's suing him for battery, negligent transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, fraud and more ... and she's demanding more than $1.5 million in damages.

We spoke with Martinez's attorney Ruben Scolavino who tells us Carlos adamantly denies the allegations.

Carson Palmer's teammates still have his back -- especially superstar defensive end Calais Campbell -- who says the QB is still a WARRIOR who just had one bad day at the office.

Palmer got all sorts of heat after throwing 4 picks in the NFC championship game -- but clearly, his teammates aren't throwing him under the bus.

But the best part of this encounter is when the 6'8" 310 pounder admitted he tried STAND-UP COMEDY a few years ago!

Turns out his brother Jared Quay is a professional comic -- and says he's trying to get Calais to get back onstage. Question is ... will he do it? Check out the clip.

Gotta respect when a politician is honest ... like when Jeb Bush admitted to us he didn't know about the MLB hacking scandal yesterday because as he put it: "Man, I'm running for president. I've been busy!"

The former Gov. was leaving NBC in New York when we asked about the FBI investigation into the St. Louis Cardinals for allegedly hacking the Houston Astros to steal top secret information.

Bush has a serious MLB connection, considering his brother George W. was a co-owner of the Texas Rangers.

The "no sex before a game" theory for athletes is TOTAL BS ... so says former NFL superstar Ottis Anderson -- who tells TMZ Sports, he wasn't exactly celibate back when he won Super Bowl MVP.

The St. Louis Cardinals all-time leading rusher was being herded around NYC today ... when we asked him if abstaining from sex before games actually gives you a noticeable testosterone boost.

Ottis -- who also played for the NY Giants -- tells us he thinks it's a complete myth that dumb people are buying into ... and encouraged athletes to bang away.

The Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals are facing off on the field tonight for Game 1 of the 2013 World Series -- but the real battle is between two bearded baseballers.

With beards like this, both teams are clear winners.