This diagram (actually an Euler diagram {wiki}) sorts out professional baseball team names. Even more interesting is the accompanying list of links and explanations for every team name included. Link -via Jason Kottke
The Cardinals name came before the mascot. They were the St. Louis Perfectos for a year and they had red striped uniforms. A sports writer heard a woman say what a lovely shade of cardinal it was, and the name stuck. I'm just glad they're no longer the Perfectos.
We're talking about words not insects.
Seems like a dumb mistake to me.