Piniero, Playoff schedules, and ALCS Game 5

- Piniero

There's been a lot of excellent discussion about the Piniero signing. Look at the comments for the below post, to start. Other articles to read include Fungoes, the Society of American Baseball Research chapter in St Louis; comments at That's a Winner; and of course Viva El Birdos.

All of it is making me slowly realize my initial thoughts that this is a good signing may be wrong. The problem is I don't know what the right answer for the rotation is. We've been through this. Wainwright and Looper are givens. Reyes? I still he's a good option, but I know his manager/pitching coach don't trust him. Mulder? Carpenter? Thompson? Wellemeyer? Who knows who fills out the rest of the rotation. For a free agent fix, what are our options? Jae Seo?

I guess it's wait and see who declares for free agency time.

- There's a great article at sportsline.com about playoff scheduling and the current malaise affecting MLB. Well worth the read.

- Some comments about the just completed ALCS Game 5:

1. I loved the Beckett/Lofton confrontation. Beckett's a competitor; Lofton is too. Lofton had already admitted to some gamesmanship before his first AB (he homered) against Dice-K, which I'm sure rankled the Red Sox a little. Beckett's 3-0 pitch to him, that he thought was ball four, was clearly a strike. Beckett let him know what he thought after Lofton hit the fly ball. Lofton, of course, didn't back down. That's all good to me. Frankly it's about time a little emotion showed up, since I don't think Manny will get drilled with a fastball (that he richly deserves for showboating, by the way).

2. Speaking of Manny, nice 390' single, slap head. When did he forget to hustle out of the box? All this 'Manny being Manny' excuse spin is horseshit. He should have been hustling, and he shouldn't act like he won the series when he hits a HR while his team trails by 5 runs. It didn't matter; he wouldn't have scored anyway; but come on - you're fighting for your playoff life; you gotta care a little bit.

3. Speaking of the 390' single, exactly why are there 6 umpires on the field again? Oh, yeah - to prevent mistakes like this. The replay clearly showed the top of Sizemore's glove at the bottom of the yellow stripe, and the ball landing above his glove. HOME RUN. Six guys screwed that up. MLB should mandate what was suggested during the division round - make the two umpires down the lines stand further down the lines, like at least half way, so they don't have to run to get into position (and miss a call because their vision is jumping around). I'm not an advocate for replay in baseball, but the umps could have used it tonight. That play was the most egregious error since the Jeffrey Maier 'homer' in 1997.

4. Youkilis' triple in the seventh? All Gutierrez' fault. Yes, Sizemore didn't hustle and the ball glanced off his glove, but realize this: A ball hit by a right handed hitter to right field will ALWAYS slice towards the line. Always. I know this and I play beer league softball now. A Major League outfielder should damn well know this. Gutierrez should have anticipated that ball slicing back to him, and been in position to make the play. Sizemore knew it, and fully expected Gutierrez to play his position correctly. Gutierrez didn't; Sizemore tried to cover; and you saw what you saw.

5. So, assuming Schilling wins on Saturday, who pitches Game 7 for Boston? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Here endeth the experiment

Well, I blogged over at mvn.com for about a month. I'm back over here. We won't go into why, however, it's nothing that mvn.com did, and I'm glad I got an opportunity to write over there.

One by-product is I was introduced to Dustin Mattison, who writes for the blog Whiteyball - a great resource for news on the Cardinals farm system. His site is bookmarked under Cool Cardinals Links to the right, and is worth a look.

If you're interested, and missed it, I've included a link to all the stories I posted there in the margin. Below my LEAGUE CHAMPS Rotisserie Baseball roster. You may not care about my fantasy team, but I do - and the reward for my obsession was a not insignificant amount of scratch (which my wife has already spent, by the way).

Speaking of scratch, the Cardinals signed Joel Piniero today to a two-year, $13 Million dollar deal. This will keep him in St Louis through the 2009 season, and provides some much needed depth in the rotation. As I pointed out here, the Cardinals had holes to fill in the rotation; this gives them Wainwright, Looper, and Piniero as definite starters next season. What remains to be seen is who will fill out the final two spots. KFW? No friggin way. Reyes maybe, but I firmly believe that will depend on whether LaRussa returns or not. Mulder says he'll be ready for spring training, but after two surgeries in less than a year on his shoulder I think he's much more of a question mark than he's saying publicly.

In the same linked article above we briefly discussed the Cardinals payroll for next year. With Piniero's signing, the numbers stand at $80.55 Million.

Personally - I think this is a good pick-up. Piniero was solid down the stretch, much more so than we had a right to believe (seeing as he was jettisoned by Boston). With the clubs dearth of starting pitching, and slim pickings expected on the free agent market, this is a good move.

Some non-related Cardinals news

Writing for mvn.com has been interesting, at least. Hopefully my loyal readers have wandered by the site to see what's being said by all the writers, not just myself.

No, I do not look like Fredbird in real life, but I thought it was a funny photo to use so I'm going with it.

Some non-Cardinals notes:

- The Padres elimination game last Monday was tough to take for this town. Their best pitcher gives up 6 ER in 6 1/3 innings, and then their franchise pitcher blows a save that would have put them in the post-season - for the second time in three days, no less. The really odd thing about that inning in Colorado was the absolute lack of change-ups that Hoffman threw to the 4 hitters he faced. By my count, he threw 2 - both for balls, and one bounced. Hoffman not being able to locate (or have any confidence in) his change-up is what undid him in that game. Some of my co-workers (I'd been off work since my second son was born, Friday was my first day back) mentioned that the change-up gap had come up on local sports radio here, but I've not heard anything about it nationally. Interesting.

- The Chargers are really bad. More to follow if they lay a gagger this Sunday in Denver - and since they haven't won in Denver in consecutive seasons since joining the NFL, I fully expect a gagger.

- Some in blogdom have railed against the off-day format for this year's playoffs, and I can't agree more. TV driving (a) a playoff game in Boston to start at 2130 EDT, (b) a playoff game in Chicago to start at 1700 EDT (the only, mind you, majority daytime game ballpark left in the majors), and (c) the ridiculous fact Boston vs Anaheim will have 2 days off before Game 3 is played just makes me sick. Baseball series aren't played this way from April through September; why do the powers-that-be in baseball allow greed to play a role in determining who makes the World Series (beyond payroll greed)? Why is the most difficult thing about playing baseball (the day after day grind) allowed to be less important when the chips are down? It makes no sense.

The amount of abuse St Louis has taken since winning last year has been a favorite topic of mine to defend around here, but let's not discount the role favorable scheduling played last playoffs. Allowing the Cardinals to throw Carpenter in Game 4 on REGULAR REST against what had been the hottest team in the NL (Padres) immediately prior to the playoffs starting was a huge advantage for the Cardinals.

Maximize TV revenue is today's mantra. Gone are the days where you could sneak a radio into class and listen to a day game in the playoffs (as I did all through high school). MLB says it's got the fans interest at heart; it wants a big national audience; it wants to recruit kids to be baseball fans. Starting every game at night guarantees most kids (at least the ones with involved responsible parents) won't be around when it finishes. Starting a game at Fenway at 2130 guarantees young Sox fans won't be awake to see how it turns out, which to me is really criminal.

Having the Division Series be on TBS exclusively is a 'Fuck You' to the fan that should be discussed separately.

That's enough for now. For my thoughts on Jocketty's dismissal see mvn.com. Also, vivaelbirdos has a great article on Jocketty that's worth reading.

So Long and Thanks for all the Fish

The one year anniversary of this site is this Sunday, however, the odds of there being a gala celebration a la Kissing Suzy Kolber is pretty low.

One, I don't have the readership that most excellent blog has.

Two, I've been called up.

MVN.com offered me a writing position on their Cardinals blog, and I decided to take it. Why? Because what difference does it make if a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it. I figured what the hell. I'm writing there under my real name, not this psyudomym; and I hope it becomes a springboard to bigger things.

I intend to keep the same posting schedule (Tues/Fri) for the rest of this season; after that, who knows.

I may still post periodically here (you can't forget where it is you come from), but for all the Cardinals content, surf on over to MVN.com.

It's been a blast writing here for the past year. Thanks to all who stopped by to read this and even left a comment or two. I would certainly still be toiling in the wilderness without you.

Read This

I came across this article while at ussmariner.com. Read it, and read it all the way through. I think you'll enjoy it.

It's HOT

We've had a heat wave here the likes of which I've not seen since I left my parents home in LA in search of fame and fortune. Wow. 104 degrees at the homestead; we fled to the beach, where it was a cooool 90.

Once again proving it's good to be a guy - my wife, who is mit kinder, didn't get to sleep until after 2 this morning - a combination of the heat, physical pain, and the fetus just beating the shit out of her because he's hot too. I don't know how she hasn't gone insane the last 4 days. I'm not sure how I haven't.

Anyway, back to the team of interest. First off, I spent most of the last 5 days in a media blackout, so I didn't realize Juan Encarnacion had been horribly injured until after I posted on Friday. Believe what you want about Juan E - he didn't hustle, he's a liability in the outfield, whatever. The fact of the matter is, he carried the club offensively throughout the month of July; his grousing when Rick Ankiel got called up is completely understandable (he hadn't really done anything to merit a benching); and he's played hard since that day when he's had an opportunity. To be injured so greviously on such a freak play is awful. No one deserves to get hurt as badly as he did, not even Barry Bonds. Baseball has a short list of players who've suffered eye trauma; for most, the prospects of getting back on the playing field isn't good. Hopefully Juan bucks the trend and is able to make a full recovery.

Scott Rolen is shut down for the year. I personally applaud that decision. Get better Scott and tear it up next season.

The club gets to a game over .500 for the first time since April...and KFW lays his traditional egg. 11-0 whitewash yesterday. Ouch. Based on reports in the Post-Dispatch today, Reyes is officially out of the rotation for the year. With that, and the expiration date having passed on KFW, what's the Cardinals rotation look like for the rest of the year? Apparently Wainwright, Looper, KFW, Piniero, Mulder, and Maroth. The six-man rotation is a novel concept, much like hitting the pitcher 8th; the Club is, I believe, 17-11 since La Russa moved his hurler up one spot in the order, so who's to say the six-man rotation won't work?

Despite the gagger yesterday, St Louis is 3-1 on this homestand. Taking the next 3 from Pittsburgh, in preparation for their road trip to AZ and CIN, will be important. Luckily the two clubs they're chasing also got shellacked yesterday, so we're still 2 games out. Anything can happen from here on out.

One shining moment amidst a bunch of clunkers

I had hoped that the team would take 2 of 3 in Houston, but thought they would lose 2 of 3. Woody had been hot; Oswalt usually hypnotizes Cardinal bats; and then we can beat up on the rook. Didn't quite work out that way.

Houston of late has been a house of horrors for the Cardinals - except for one indescribably exquisite HR in the 2005 NLCS - so losing 2 of 3 doesn't bother me. What's more important is they didn't lose much ground to the Cubs, and they made up the one game they lost by beating Cincinnati last night 8-5.

Some comments on happenings around Cardinal Nation.

- Looks like I was dead wrong about Joel Piniero. He's pitched quite well since being acquired. He certainly pitched well enough to win on Thursday, but for the fact the Cardinals haven't figured out Albers like the rest of the NL has.

- Lots of type has been spent concerning the physical condition of Scott Rolen. He is, and remains, one of my favorite players; if he asked out of his final AB on Wednesday because he was in too much pain, well, that's a warning shot to the organization. Shut him down and let him heal. Making the playoffs this season is a long shot, anyway; even if by some miracle the Cardinals do make it, it's unrealistic to believe they'll survive past the NLDS. I'm not saying we should mail in the rest of the season, not by a long shot - the team's fought hard these past 3 weeks to get back into contention, and will continue to do so - but the long term health of Rolen is much more important than keeping him active at 50% or less for the rest of this season.

- Should they make the post-season, what will their rotation be? You gotta go with your best 3 starters, of course. Wainwright being the ace of the rotation is a no-brainer. I would think Looper's earned a chance to be the #2 starter. So who do you choose for #3? KFW, no friggin' way. Too inconsistent, and it is true he seems to have reverted back to his first half form in recent starts (I can't believe a rainout in Chicago would have messed with his head/preparation so much he's lost the bubble). So it's Piniero or Reyes. Reyes, although he has pitched much better in this turn in the rotation, is still VERY prone to the big inning, whereas Piniero has been tough.

So I'd go with Wainwright, Looper, and Piniero. Note that I use no statistical analysis to back this up; call it a hunch.

Of course, this is all subject to change depending on how the month of September plays out.

At any rate, Wainwright attempts to pitch the club back to .500 tonight against the Reds, and we will be waiting anxiously to see how that works out. Our old friend Jason Marquis works today for Chicago against those Astros, and the Brewers send Dave Bush to the mound at home against Pittsburgh.

Let Slip....the Dogs of War!*

7-0 whitewash. Nice.

For the first time since April 16, we're not rooting for a loser. Keep chugging, fellas.

Now, as a .500 team that happens to be in second in the division, let the serious discussions begin about making the playoffs.

Just keep an eye on the Reds in the rear view mirror. They're just as hot as the Cardinals are right now.


*Originally written by some dude named Shakespeare

Focus....FOCUS!

A couple of quick thoughts.

With Chicago and Milwaukee beating each other up this week at Wrigley, a golden opportunity presents itself to climb into second in the division or (dare I say) into the lead. To take over the division lead would take something of a miracle, as the Cubs and Brewers are virtually tied for first, Cardinals trail by 2, and both teams can't lose all three games! (although it would be cool, I'm not ready to rip the space-time continuum).

Not to mention it still makes me chuckle that we're talking about a team that's been under .500 since April 16 taking the division lead in September.

So let's focus on what's important here - taking 2 of 3 from Houston and getting level again.

Houston's had a tough year, have played better of late, but are tied with Pittsburgh at the bottom of the Central. It appears Woody Williams has regained his St Louis mojo, and Oswalt is (as always) one of the elite pitchers in the league. Nice of the Astros to line up their two best pitchers for us in the first two games of the series. It's the thought that counts. Matt Albers will toe the slab in the third game.

Adding insult to injury, today comes word that Garner and Pupura have been fired. From a callous perspective, a little disarray in the clubhouse will probably help. Of course, if Cecil Cooper is a breath of fresh air, then the club might get a bounce and play really well. We'll see.

Cardinals counter with Looper, KFW, and Piniero on the hill. Not exactly Carpenter, Mulder and Suppan, (or even Wainwright, Reyes, and a pitching machine) but they've pitched fairly well of late - St Louis wouldn't be a game under .500 without them (take that any way you want).

So let's keep our focus this week - get to .500. After that start worrying about catching the Cubs.

Nobody cares about your fantasy team - SMS version

I have (amazingly, for how much time I spend agonizing over it) not blogged much about my fantasy team this season. The club has recently run into a rough stretch, for two reasons:

- the Indians aren't hitting. Yes, the entire team has stopped hitting. Victor Martinez has hit 2 home runs since the All-Star Break. C.C Sabathia has given up 2 ER OR LESS in his last 7 starts (including tonight); he's 1-3 in those starts (including tonight's loss). Fausto Carmona: 1.80 ERA since 15 July; he's 4-4.
- My pitchers quit winning. See the Indians starters above, as well as Dice-K (Boston doesn't seem to hit for him - 3-3, 3.06 ERA since the break).

So tonight I'm monitoring the Indians game. Sabathia's starting, as mentioned, against Kansas City. Should be a grapefruit game, right? NO. Indians get 6-hit, lose 2-1.

But here's what really gets me. Cleveland's scuffling. They need some momentum; they're desperate for some momentum. They trail 2-0 in the 6th, get a 2-out clutch hit, cut the lead in half. Seventh inning, they get a 1-out triple from their #9 hitter. Up steps Kenny Lofton.

He's the leadoff hitter. A speed guy. Knows how to lay one down.

Did I mention the team's struggling? Need some momentum?

I can tell you what LaRussa would have done in that situation with Eckstein - somewhere in that at bat, Eck-er would have tried to lay one down on a safety squeeze. Damnit, get that run it. This pitcher's working his but off, and has been for over a month. Give him a break.

Instead, Lofton fouls off 2 pitches and waves at the third. Sit down. Blake then rolls out to second. Inning over.

Managers have to be willing to step outside their comfort zone occasionally and try to shake up the team. Again, LaRussa's did that by moving the pitcher to the #8 position in the order - and the team has taken off (there are other factors, I know, but you get the idea). Would it have killed Eric Wedge to try something new, like a squeeze? If it doesn't work, so what? You've still got a guy on third and your #2 hitter up. If it does, and you tie it, who knows what would have happened next?

A team that has no confidence at the plate needs help scoring runs. Way to sleep at the switch, Eric.

Yet another bone of contention with the MLB front office

It's nice to have a home field advantage again; since dropping the first game of the last home series with Milwaukee, the Cardinals have won 10 of their last 12 at home. It's a large part of their current surge - the ability to win at home.

Milwaukee's loss tonight means the two teams are even in the loss column. Milwaukee has played 4 more games than the Cardinals, which accounts for the two game deficit in the standings. Chicago has also played more games than St Louis (2).

While looking at the Cubs and Cardinals records against the NL, I noticed they have remarkably similar records. St Louis is actually better against the Central (30-22) than either the Cubs (27-26) or the Brewers (28-27). Cubs are .500 against the other two divisions; Brewers 1 game over, and St Louis 6 under (most of those losses are against the East).

Adding up their records against the NL, here's how it shakes out:

Cardinals 55-53 .509
Brewers 57-55 .508
Cubs 57-56 .504

That's right - without Interleague, the Cardinals are leading the Central by percentage points, and have a 2 game lead in the loss column. So it may come to pass that St Louis has the best record in the division against the division but won't win the division.

I hate interleague play. Thanks a lot, "Bud".

Don't Look a Gift Horse In The Mouth

Some will say, well, they lost 2 of 3 in Chicago (and may have lost 3 of 4, considering Zambrano was pitching).

I say, they just completed a 6-game road trip to the two cities they're chasing, and they went 4-2.

I say, they departed on the trip 5.5 games out of first and return 3 games back.

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Now, the team plays 13 of its next 17 games at home - where they've suddenly become very tough to beat. Here's the golden opportunity to move even closer (or even take) over the lead in the Central.

For the first time this season, I've become more interested in the Cardinals than my fantasy team. Though that may be in part due to the fact that my once commanding 14 point lead is now down to a single point.

Thanks for the beer, fellas

Nothing like taking 3 from the division leaders to propel yourself firmly back into the pennant race.

The most ridiculous part of this remains the fact St Louis is still 2 games under .500 for the season. They shouldn't be 2.5 games back and be 2 games under .500.

Take 1 game from Chicago this weekend and it's a winning road trip. Take 2 and we split in Chicago, which would be a major victory. Anything more than that is in the realm of impossible dreams, where it will stay - especially since our best pitcher (Wainwright) pitched today, so he won't go against Chicago.

However the way the guys are throwing the ball right now it may not matter. So for now let's just enjoy the ride.

Five and a half..... 5 1/2......

If you read this site, there are probably two things we have in common. One is obviously an affection for the St Louis nine. The other is a love of most things baseball, to include cinematic treatment of America's Pastime.

Which means you probably love 'Major League'.

Vaughan's next pitch is crushed towards South America. Cerrano's gonna need a visa to catch this one...

The Indians in that movie had a pretty good team, but still spent the majority of the year hovering around .500. Until that one thing happened to "put it aaallll together".

The mood, at least according to published reports out of St Louis since Friday, in the Cardinal clubhouse since Ankiel joined the club has been positively upbeat. They've played 4 of their best games since last Thursday. Even the 2-1 loss Friday night was a nail-biter between two great pitchers. And in the other 3 games, the offense has positively exploded, with the pitching being solid across the board.

You don't think we've had our Rachel Phelps moment by calling him up, do you?

This team remains flawed. Not enough starting pitching. Too haphazard an offense. And yet, through all that, they're only 5.5 games out of first.

If I were the Cubs and Brewers, I'd be looking over my shoulder every day now. They should have left this Cardinals team for dead months ago. But they could never put the final stake through the team's heart. And now, with all that talent on the team, and all that playoff experience, and all that baptism by fire since 2000.....

And Edmonds looking more and more like the Jimm-E of 2004-2005 each day, and Rolen driving the ball, and the kids (Ryan, Ludwick, and Rick Ankiel) providing a spark...

"I figure it will take 30 more wins to win this thing. Each time we win...a piece comes off."


Other notes:
- I attended the Chargers mini-camp at MCAS Miramar yesterday. Photos and story to follow this week. I have some doozies, so stand by. I think the lads at 'Kissing Suzy Kolber' will be pleased.

- I've updated my fantasy team roster and will be adding links this week. As my team is in free-fall, but still has a 6.0 point lead in the standings, I've started to become anxious...but it's not a full-fledged panic yet (would it kill you, Justin Morneau and Victor Martinez, to hit a few more HR before the season ends?)

- I've added a new Cardinals link to the margin - Cardinal Nation Globe. Check it out.

Chris Young is a class act

Continuing the maddening, lurching, schizophrenic path this season has taken, the Cardinals lose 5 of 6 to the two worst teams in the NL, and turn right around to take 3 of 4 from the best pitching staff in baseball - the Padres.

I got to think the Padres must dread playing in St. Louis. It's been a house of horrors for them for years. Only since they moved into Petco Park have they been able to consistently beat the Cardinals in San Diego. Why, in the last salad days of Jack Murphy/Qualcomm, we OWNED the boys in Brown and Yellow. I used to loove going to games there. Saw my only in person no-hitter there. Not so anymore; now the Cardinals lose 2 of 3 every year here.

But in St Louis, they always seem to get ambushed. Which is, even in this lost year (which still finds the team only 5.5 out and 6 under), they still own the Padres at home.

But I don't want to talk about that. I want to discuss Chris Young. And to do that, I'll start with Rick Ankiel.

As you may (and if you read this blog, probably do) know, Rick was the #1 pitching prospect in baseball from 1999-2000. Made the majors in 1999. Second in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2000. Forgot where the strike zone was in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Braves, knocked around for 5 years before hanging them up as a pitcher and trying to make the majors as a hitter.

Well, he's back. Called up today, started in RF tonight and batted second, hit a 3-R HR in the seventh. Storybook stuff.


Cardinals fans have long memories. This is why they booed Rickey Henderson 16 years after he broke Lou Brock's single season steals record. So they know all about what Rick's gone through these last 7 years. So as he strode to the batter's box in the top of the first inning, they gave him a standing ovation.

Chris Young then stepped off the rubber to allow the applause to build.

He didn't have to do that. He's trying to win. He spent the first 6 innings allowing only 3 hits, 2 walks and 1 run to the Cardinals. But he felt it important to recognize the effort Ankiel's put in in trying to make it back to the majors. And that's the definition of a class act.

I am a Cardinals fan. Have been since I was 7, will be (barring the team moving to Mexico) for the rest of my natural life. But I have always reserved the right to cheer for the guys who play the game right, or who are examples of the kind of men we should all strive to be.

Chris Young is one of those men.

Baseball is Life

After the euphoria of taking 3 of 4 from Milwaukee, many in the blog-o-sphere (myself included) thought the Cardinals had a legitimate chance of returning to the pennant race. Especially after they one the first game at Pittsburgh - a team we've pretty much abused throughout this millennium in their home ballpark.

And then the Cardinals lose 5 straight to two of the worst teams in the NL. Now 3 games under .500 after the all-star break, 8 under overall, and 8 back.

Yep - that should just about do it.

In come the Padres. They're hot. They just got finished sweeping San Fran at home. Winners of 4 straight. David Wells is on the mound - a lefty. Not looking good.

So of course, the team ties a Major League Record with 10 consecutive hits - and explodes for ten runs in the fifth inning. 10-5 is your final.

I don't get it. Much like life, you got to take it one day at a time.

Do I think the team has a reasonable chance of competing for a playoff spot? No. I just want them to finish at .500. That, after all that's transpired this year, would be a accomplishment.

Piniero? Why?

On to the 4 game winning streak! From all accounts, the Cardinals looked like a team that played hard and knew how to win, which is refreshing (especially this season).


On the heels of the trade deadline, let's discuss pitching for a moment.


Cardinals acquired Joel Piniero from the Red Sox. I did a modicum of research on Piniero. Here's what ussmariner.com had to say:


"The Cardinals just traded for Joel Pineiro. On purpose! He now gets to team with Spiezio again. Hope the pharmacies stay open late in St. Louis."

And here's what Viva El Birdos had to say:

"the cardinals picked up joel piniero for a ptbnl. this guy's career era away from capacious safeco field is above 5.00. even in his good years (2002-03) his era was largely a ballpark illusion --- more than 1.50 lower at home than on the road in both seasons. i don't know why the cardinals even bother with players like this"

Of course, I can't find the numbers now that I looked at yesterday, but suffice it to say that Piniero's pitching numbers since 2005 are so bad only SIDNEY PONSON pitched worse.

So naturally the Cardinals have decided to give him a slot in the rotation and bump Brad Thompson, one of the rare starters the team has used this year that can actually get people out consistently, to the bullpen.

Why do we insist on giving these hopeless rejects a chance? It's as if the Cardinals clubhouse has turned into the Betty Ford clinic for recalcitrant pitchers. I can see the slogan now: 'Made the Majors? Having trouble sticking? ERA over 4.00 career? Lost more than you've won? Then come on down! We've got a uniform and a plane ticket for you. Believe in yourself!"

When you want pitching really bad, you get really bad pitching. If La Ro Ro and Dunc would stick with Wainwright, Looper, Reyes, Thompson, and a pitching machine as their rotation, they might actually make up ground in the race. Sure, you'd lose with the pitching machine...but would you notice the difference between the machine's outing and KFW's? Or Maroth's?

[update 2300] So much for the 4 game winning streak. Looper and Maroth get baked.

[update 2 August 2129] I found the story I was looking for yesterday. It's here. Never mind about the article, just read the gray box at the top right hand corner.

Well, That Really Didn't Solve Anything...

I thought the team needed a 5-2 homestand - take 2 of 3 from Chicago, and 3 of 4 from Milwaukee. They went 4-3. So we really haven't solved anything; they're still not quite out of it, but not quite in it, either.

Some random thoughts from this recently completed homestand:

- The Cubs have the look of a legitimate playoff team. In fact, I daresay right now they are the best team in the NL. This pains me for a couple of reasons: (a) it's the Cubs; (b) I hate to see a team that spends $300 million rewarded immediately - it makes the hole in the space/time continuum that much bigger; (c) Jason Marquis is on a winner AGAIN (although his 11-1 pasting in the salvage game of that series was fun). It's not a big pain, though.

- How good would Milwaukee be if their bullpen was worth a shit? Realistically the Cardinals should be very fortunate they're not 11 games out and buried right now. A legit playoff team doesn't blow leads of 6-0 and 5-0 in consecutive days.

- Welcome back to the fight, Scott Rolen.

- Anthony Reyes finally got off the schneid (is that even a word?). Apparently he looked good as well. I continue to maintain he's a better option both short-term this season and long term for the franchise than KFW (or, unfortunately, Mike Maroth), so it would be nice if the team pulled him aside now, said, 'nice start kid - you're on the big club for the rest of the year, so just pitch', and let him go to work - regardless of the outcome.

- Team's .500 at home again.

- I haven't been keeping that close tabs on the pennant race, mostly because the club's been so bad for long stretches this year. But today I noticed that St. Louis is only 4 games out on the loss side. Yep - the Brewers have played 4 more games, and the Cubs 2 more, than the Cardinals. Not sure if that's significant, but there you go.

So it's off to Pittsburgh and the Nation's capital for 6 games. With two of the NL West's teams (San Diego and LA) coming to town on the next homestand, the club needs a good trip here. 4-2 at least. 5-1 puts them back at .500 for the season. I don't know if I could stand that much excitement.

Atta Boy, Skip!

Striding to the plate after David Eckstein couldn't get the sac bunt down n the tenth inning, Skip Schumaker hit an 0-1 pitch into the right field seats, breaking a 2-2 tie and leading the Cardinals to a 7-2 win. Way to step up, Skip!

Several things to like about this game. Taguchi played well in CF. Molina cut down Willie Harris twice trying to steal (although the first time it appeared Harris beat the tag). Thompson limited the damage to 2 runs through 6 innings - and picked Andruw Jones off first for good measure. AP with yet another clutch HR - this one to tie the game in the 8th. Rolen homered. Yes, it was piling on, but given his offensive struggles this year it was good to see.

And most importantly, the team trailed 2-0 after 5, with Eckstein's single to start the game their only offense, and still came back to win.

I said earlier I would be very pleased if they ended up 5-5 on this road trip. They did, and I am.

What's this? Momentum headed into a key 7-game home stand against the Cubs and Brewers? Maybe my last post was a trifle premature.

Then again, KFW is starting Tuesday night. Let's not get too excited (yet).

RIP, 2007

Chris Carpenter to have Tommy John surgery. Good luck on your rehab, my friend. We'll add you to our intentions.

Mike Maroth gets pummelled by Atlanta.

This photo sums it all up.

Photo courtesy of Deadspin.com and joesportsfan.com

I have to ask: When they looked at Carp's elbow earlier in the year, and decided he needed to have bone spurs removed, don't you think they would have noticed his shredded elbow ligament then? How did they miss that? Were no X-rays taken of his arm?

Carp has been hurt - literally - since day one of the season, and his return was a hope and a prayer in my book. But this new diagnosis, somewhat out of the blue (at least until last week), boggles the mind. It sounds a lot like the medical bungling of Rolen's shoulder injury 2 years ago. I asked it before, and I'll ask it again - do we have quacks on the Cardinals medical staff?

[Update 22 July 8:50pm] Bernie Miklasz asks this exact same question in his Sunday column. Proving we here at the Stance have our fingers on the pulse of those burning questions you want answered. :) Or it could just be coincidence.

No Way

You're kidding, right? Can't be.

KFW threw a 2-hit shutout? Nah. I'm living in bizarro world. Hang on, I've got a phone call...

"Hello? What? He did? No shit. Yeah. Yeah. See you then."

Guess he did throw a 2-hit shutout for 8 innings. Cards win 6-0. Apparently, the Novena is working. So keep going once around the beads, burning those votive candles, giving to the poor.

Can't hurt.

More importantly, the Redbirds have won 3 of 4 since being blown out of 'The Vet' those first two games after the break. That levels their record at 3-3. Hey, got to start somewhere.

So it's on to Atlanta for 4 against the Braves. Keep building momentum, fellas. 9 out in the Central, 7.5 out in the Wild Card. I have no reason to think this is a playoff team. But, if I can finally fix my softball swing (which I did) and start driving the ball again (which I am), any thing's possible.

KFW a winner. Wow. Don't blink, you might miss it.

Now Wellemeyer is hurt

Whacked his elbow on his knee during his last start. So he's headed to the 15 Day DL.

Which means we're stuck with Wells (hereafter abbreviated as KFW).

So we go to war in the second half with Looper, Wainwright, Thompson, Maroth...and KFW.

Perhaps now is a good time to start a novena to St. Jude.

Wells instead of Wellemeyer?!?!?!?!

Well, the All-Star game extravaganza is over yet again. NL loses, AGAIN. Oh, I long for the salad days of my youth (1980s) when the NL ruled this exhibition.

So the AL will host the World Series again this year, as they have every year since 2001. I despise this method of selecting the host team, and have a much better alternative, but that's a blog for a later time.

Today we discuss Kip friggin' Wells returning to the starting rotation. Let's look at this logically: Wellemeyer is 3-1. Wells is 3-11. The Cardinals are 7-1 (I believe) in Wellemeyer's 8 starts. Wells is 3-11. Wells has a 0.82 ERA as a reliever.

So why is this a good idea? Has La Russa finally lost his mind?

Tony's job is to give the team the best chance to win. Wells has not done that when it counted. Just because he had a great spring, and then had a reasonably successful 3 week stint in the bullpen, doesn't invalidate the 3 in-between months of shitty pitching. Wells, as a starter, does not give this team it's best chance of winning. He essentially gives them NO chance of winning. Tony might as well start sending me out there every fifth day.

I hope LaRussa and Duncan aren't stubbornly sticking to Wells as a starter in a lame attempt to salvage their reputations as geniuses overhauling journeyman pitchers.

Stick Wells in the bullpen or release him. Let Wellemeyer keep starting until Mulder and/or Carpenter return, with Brad Thompson holding down the other slot. You've already (probably) permanently damaged Anthony Reyes with your incessant yo-yoing of him between AAA and the majors, as well as constant tinkering with his delivery/pitches.

Where have you gone, Fernando? The Senior Circuit turns its lonely eyes to you...

So much for the first half

I'll bet the Redbirds are collectively glad to have the week off, if for nothing else, to regroup from a below expectations first half.

Some quick notes before I'm booted off the computer for the night:

- Lots of people in Redbird Nation don't like Taguchi. I've seen that sentiment on message boards and in blog articles over the past year (since I joined in the fun). I have not been able to figure out why. For those who don't like him, read this short article on Taguchi that appeared in today's Post-Dispatch. That attitude is why he's one of my favorite players.

- Lots of hitters decline the HR derby invitation because they're afraid it will mess up their swing. I think AP accepted this year because he's looking for his swing. Since he's not hitting HR with the regularity we've come to expect from him, perhaps entering this competition is a good idea. However, I always caveat that comment with this thought: Edmonds entered the HR derby in 2003, and stated later that he hurt himself doing it. His production clearly suffered that year after the All-Star break (28 HR, 67 RBI first half; 11/22 second). This team cannot afford AP to go in the tank in the second half. Again, just a thought.

Posts may be scarce this week. See you for sure after the break.

Mets fans don't like Taguchi? OK, that I do get.

Wishful thinking and bad defense

After I wrote my last post, I thought it may have been wishful thinking to believe the Cardinals could sweep San Francisco. We were to face 2 of the best young pitchers the Giants have in Lowry and Lincecum, and then a lefty (Zito) who, like all lefties, will give our lineup fits.

And then the first two games happened. And if certain folks could FIELD their POSITION, LaRussa's boys would have won both games.

First, Friday night's 4-3 loss. Key play: Taguchi's drop of Benji Molina's fly ball led to three runs - and a 4-0 lead. I love Taguchi. He's my favorite Cardinal after AP. I play softball most nights in a Taguchi #99 shirt. He hustles, was willing to re-make his approach at the plate in the minors just to have the opportunity to play at the Major League level in the States, and he's a great defensive outfielder. Although you wouldn't know it from last night's highlights.

Sorry, So - I love ya, but you should have made that catch. Cost us the game.

Of course, it is always difficult to predict what would have happened if a particular play had been made or a hit had been gotten in a specific situation. However, I think it's entirely reasonable to believe LaRussa would have deployed his bullpen almost the same way (maybe Franklin instead of Cate in the eighth) and that the Cardinals would have started the ninth tied 1-1. Then Duncan's double wins it.

Next, tonight's 7-6 loss. Aaron Miles had one of those horrible innings. His 3 errors (in one frigging inning!) led directly to 3 Giant runs, indirectly to a fourth, and the margin of victory. If he fields his position, the Cardinals win this game 6-5. The throw to first on Sweeney's slow roller - shit happens. The ball Randy Wynn hit that went through him - inexcusable. The other bad throw - the first two plays were clearly in his head at that point.

We've lost enough games because our starting pitching is God-awful, or because our big bats haven't produced this year. Now, with the first two finally starting to click, to be betrayed by our defense? That REALLY hurts.

So much for being .500 at home. Best case scenario is we win tomorrow and go into the break 5 games under overall, 21-22 at home. Ugh.

I can't wait for the All-Star break. At least my Rotisserie Fantasy team is kicking ass....

kids: If you want to learn how to play short, DON'T watch the highlights of this game.

The Cardinals reach .500! The Cardinals reach .500!

Hey, Happy Day! We're a .500 team again!

Er.....at home.

See what this season has been reduced to? I'm actually excited that the Redbirds are now 20-20 at home. Although they very nearly weren't, based on the game highlights courtesy of the WWL. Let's thank the designers of Busch III for making the warning track out of concrete - otherwise Stephen Drew's 9th inning double scores the tying run from first. Instead, it's second and third with one out, Izzy walks them loaded, and gets the inning ending twin killing.

Hope for the future? StL took 3 of 4 from the Diamondbacks - one of the better teams in the league. It's tough to leap over two teams, and they are still 4 games under .500 overall, but they're now only 7.5 games back of Milwaukee. If by some miracle they can sweep the Giants (matchups: Lowry vs. Maroth Friday, Lineceum vs. Looper Saturday, and Zito vs. Wellmeyer Sunday - not the most favorable for the Redbirds, I'd say), they'd enter the break only 1 game under. To play as badly as they have this year and only be 1 game under at the break would be a miracle.

Well Done

As was announced by MLB this afternoon, Chris Young (P, Padres) won the All-Star bakeoff and was added to the NL roster.

Pat yourselves on the back, dear readers - well done.


Apparently Chris is pretty pumped about it as well.

Fix this Injustice!

The All-Star teams were announced today. I have one major gripe:

Chris Young is not an All-Star.

Young is 8-3 so far this year in 16 starts. Against the best team in the AL, Boston, he allowed one hit over 7 innings and struck out 11. Chris is second in the league in WHIP, first in fewest hits allowed per 9 innings, 4th in strikeouts per 9 innings, and third in ERA. His stats are as good or better than those of Brad Penny, Jake Peavy, Ben Sheets, and Cole Hamels, all of whom are All-Stars.

I implore both my readers - go to mlb.com and vote for Chris. Vote early and often.

Fans of baseball thank you.

Well, at least I got that bathroom remodel done...

I turned on today's Fox Game of the Week and had my eyes assaulted by the Milwaukee Brewers against the Cubs.

Assaulting my ears was the non-harmonious nasal intonations of Matt Vasgerian (of the Padres).

Ah, the Cubs and Vasgerian. The Perfect Storm of Suck. I turned it off and painted my bathroom.

Opinions, BBWAA, and hypocrites

Normally Fridays at work are slow, so there's plenty of time to flip through the myriad of sports-related websites that I monitor from time to time. Including ESPN (the WWL in the left-hand margin site list).

Where I stumble across this puff piece discussing Sammy Sosa's candidacy for the Hall of Fame.
Apparently, now that Sosa has hit 600 HR, whether or not he did steroids is irrelevant. He's a first-ballot Hall of Famer!

So if Mark McGwire had hung around to hit another 17 home runs, would he get a free pass too?

Let's see: Sosa hadn't hit more than 40 HR in a season in his life until 1998, the first of his 4 consecutive seasons with at least 50. Odd that such a power surge would start when the hitter is 30. And let's not forget, Ol' Slammin' Sammy was suspended for using a corked bat. There is no evidence corking a bat makes any difference in one's ability to hit a ball for distance. However, it does prove that Sammy was willing to do anything to gain a competitive edge.

There are those defenders of Sosa who point to his Congressional testimony, where he declared on the record he didn't due steroids, as proof of his innocence. Funny - isn't that what Rafael Palmerio did as well? That worked out well for him.

And I won't even start discussing Barry "Incoming Message from the Big Giant Head" Bonds.

Whether or not Sosa gets into the Hall is not up to me. What really irritates me is members of the BBWAA who have taken it upon themselves to crucify Mark McGwire for ALLEGED steroid abuse (alleged in a fruitcake's book, and based on a can of androstenedione that was in his locker during the 1998 season - never mind that substance was completely legal at the time) now have deemed Sosa above such scrutiny.

Talk about a bunch of hypocrites.

The (Not So) Game of the Week

Before we get too far from the weekend, I'd like to comment on our national game viewing options, courtesy of Fox Sports and ESPN, for 23 and 24 June.

23 June: Yankees visited Pac Bell Park to play the Giants.
24 June: Indians visited the Ted to play Atlanta.

On the day of the games, here is their respective positions in their respective divisions:

Yankees - second in AL East, 10.5 games behind Boston.
Giants - Last in NL West, 11 games behind Arizona. Oh, and on an 8-game losing streak.
Indians - second in AL Central, 1 game behind Detroit.
Braves - third in AL East, 3.5 games behind the Mets.

In the meantime, Boston is playing San Diego. The best team in the AL against the second best team in the NL by percentage points. NONE of these games were seen on prime TV.

When Boston plays New York, the powers that be have no problem shoving THAT smarm-fest down our throat. God forbid when, a possible world series preview is in progress, those games be shown nationally.

Saturday's game in San Diego should have been on FOX at 1:05p. Not on local TV at 7:05. Sunday's game should have been at night on ESPN.

Did I mention that Sunday's game was 9-1 Jake Peavy against 10-1 Josh Beckett. Last time two pitchers with W-L records that good faced each other was 1997 (11-1 Clemens against 9-1 Denny Neagle; also an interleague game, coincidentally). Time before that? 19-friggin-hundred.
And the two are only the front-runners in their respective leagues for this year's Cy Young.

That doesn't happen very often, does it? Think that game would merit a national telecast?

Nope.

The other thing I don't get is, Bos/SD was a West Coast game. It could have shifted to an afternooon start and still fit the regional telecast business model blindly practiced by today's sports programmers.

I'm sure there's a perfectly infuriating explanation for this, like the TV contract MLB signed with their broadcast partners doesn't allow changing games/start times until August. Or some such crap.

All I know is, one of the marquis series of the regular season (based on how the teams have played so far) was trumped by games involving the barely relevant Braves and the completely irrelevant Giants.

Strangers in an unholy land?

My wife's family is from Fall River Mass - which makes her a Red Sox fan. To drive this point home, we only bought tickets for 2 baseball games this season; May 11 against the Cardinals (when the athlete masquerading as a ML pitcher named Kip Wells lost 6-0) and today against the Red Sox. So we take you live to PETCO Park in Downtown San Diego!

Yep that's the AL's best warming up. Note, again, the outstanding seat location - Section 114. Eat THAT, Withleather.com!

It's 'Padres Trading Cards and Storage Cubes for Kids (presented by Upper Deck)' day at the ballpark. My wife asks if she can have one. Dude tells her they're for kids. She points to her belly (6 months pregnant). Dude smiles and hands it over. Moral: If you don't ask, you never know.

Game synopsis:

- SD Lineup: Against the AL's best, Padre manager Bud Black decides to sit the Giles brothers and Josh Bard, his first stringers in RF, 2B, and C. In hindsight, not a good move.
- BOS Lineup: Francona, not messing around, plays all his regulars, except Dustin Pedroia, thereby saving me an 0-4 on my fantasy team. Thanks Terry!

- First Inning: Jake Peavy hits Alex Cora, a harbinger (as it turned out) of his afternoon. Beckett looks sharp, retiring the side in order.

- Second Inning: Peavy gets JD Drew to ground meekly to 1B Adrian Gonzalez, who underhands to Peavy for the out. Peavy falls down as he gets to first, probably because Drew yelled "I suck!" as he got to the bag. Check that - Drew would have to give a shit first.
- Jason Varitek bloops a ball down the third base line. Khalil Greene gives a half-ass effort until he realizes LF Russell "Frankenstein" Branyan has no play, then kicks it into gear. Result: Ball falls harmlessly fair, Branyan and Greene collide. Varitek ends up at third, as Peavy hits the deck again (trying to tag him out). Padre 3B Kouzmanoff, apparently, decided to get a beer as the play started, making no effort to catch the ball and then making no effort to cover third. The hit is charitably scored a Triple. This will also be a recurring theme. Peavy strands the BoSox Captain at third. Beckett gives up a two-out single to Frankenstein but works around it.

- Third Inning: Peavy is betrayed by his defense (and some good hitting by Boston), giving up 3 runs. Boston goes with the pitch, hitting to the opposite field to get 5 hits in the inning. Could have been a lot less, if the following things hadn't happened. (a) If CF Mike Cameron hadn't been playing Coco Crisp like he was the second coming of Babe Ruth. (b) If RF Jose Cruz JR had attempted to throw out Alex Cora at home. He's playing Right - best arm in the OF, right? Instead, he caught Ramirez's fly ball.... crow hop.....crow hop....throws to second. What the hell was that? (c) If 2B Geoff Blum hadn't kicked JD Drew's slow roller to second. There were 2 out at the time, would have ended the inning. CHARITABLY scored an infield single (pretty sure the official scorer is a Boston Ex-Pat. Or was taking booooooong hits between pitches). (d) Cruz had tried to get to Lowell's soft liner RBI single. A little effort (perhaps a slide/dive?) and he can catch that ball. Wow. Varitek hits the hardest ball in the inning and lines out to Frankenstein (who made a nice running catch). Beckett gives up a leadoff single to Blum, who advances to third with 2 out and is left.

- Fourth Inning: Beckett singles and Cora walks, but Big Papi flies to RF to end the threat. Greene doubles to left with two out, but is stranded.
- Why is it that the 'MAKE NOISE' sign comes on everytime Peavy gets 2 strikes on a hitter? Are Padres fans that slow they can't think for themselves?
- Marine Corps hymn is played in the middle of the 4th. This pisses off the guy next to me. Why? He's a Marine (quote: "those guys are recruits! Not real Marines!") High comedy.

- Fifth Inning: Peavy gives up 2 singles to start the inning, but gets out of it. Beckett, still with a 3-0 lead, has his 'I'm Keith Hernandez!' moment for this game, giving up a 2-run double to Termel Sledge. Sledge eventually gets to third with one out, but is left.
- My wife gets drilled with a novelty ball, courtesy of the Pad Squad.

- Sixth through eighth inning: Peavy's gone after 5. Beckett sets down 9 of 10 after Sledge's double. In the top of eight, Linebrink comes in and grooves a 3-0 fastball to Varitek, who launches it 422 feet into the sandbox. 4-2 Red Sox. PETCO erupts. Beckett pitches the eighth even though Hideki Okajima is ready. Gets a Standing Ovation from the Red Sox faithful at the end of the inning.
- Conservatively, there were 25,000 Sox fans in the park out of 44,449 paid customers. And they were loud at the right times.

- Ninth Inning: Trevor Hoffman comes in to pitch. No one at PETCO notices (except your correspondent, of course) until he's announced. Then there's a cheer. I officially think all Padres fans are dead from the neck up. Hoffman introduces himself to David Ortiz: 87 MPH fastball (strike 1), 72 MPH change (strike 2), 72 MPH change (sit down). Ortiz never took the bat off his shoulder. Beautiful.

That's Papi with the 'what the hell just happened' look?

- Paplebon runs in from the pen. PETCO again erupts. Grudging respect for Boston fans: they pay attention, and know the game. This will be the last complement paid during this post. Frankenstein works the count 3-2 before striking out. Kouzmanoff is overmatched. Blum grounds weakly to second.

4-2 is the final.

We adjourn to Ghiradelli's chocolate store so the wife can celebrate her win, and then TGIF's for copious amounts of beer to mourn another NL team losing to an AL team. Crap.

Cards trade for Mike Maroth

Hey Look! A timely post! WOW!

Just saw the story on ESPN. Viva El Birdos has also commented on it, as well as supplied a link to the SB nation Tigers page.

Maroth was a member of my fantasy team this year. I took him immediately after we completed our draft mostly because I did a crappy job of drafting pitching, but he actually was a solid guy for me. He had 3 wins when my other 8 pitchers combined had 3 wins. I eventually released him because his ERA was over 5.00 and I had obtained some better pitching (CC Sabathia, Fausto Carmona) to replace him.

Maroth is a gamer. He pitched in a Sunday night game on ESPN against Carmona and went 8, giving up 5 ER. This was after he gave up 4 of those runs in the first before he got the second out. Maroth righted himself and pitched very well against the potent Indian lineup. This start was especially noteworthy because the Tiger bullpen had been mauled over the previous 2 games and Leyland really needed his starter to get deep into the game. Maroth did. I like that kind of toughness in my pitchers.

Mike's a stop gap for a rotation in disarray. He's a lefty coming off arm surgery, his fastball tops out at 81 MPH, and he nibbles now (which is why his walks per 9 inn is up this year). That said, he's CERTAINLY a better option in the rotation than F-in Wells. Or Tomo Ohka. And I'd expect he'll get a shot to stick in the rotation as Mulder and (hopefully) Carpenter come back off the DL.

So, Welcome Mike Maroth. Good luck, and keep the ball down.

Start collecting those cans

Tomo Ohka? We signed Tomo Ohka?

I'll bet Walt Jocketty feels like a buyer at Kobey's swap meet. Or like he's pushing a shopping cart around the streets of St Louis ransacking trash bins for aluminum cans and bottles.

We signed Tomo Ohka?

Remember, he was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays. Toronto is only slightly more dysfunctional than the Rangers, if you've been following along on line. Toronto is the group of Canadian knuckleheads who tried to get B.J Ryan to pitch when he needed Tommy John surgery earlier this year - and then lied about his actual injury status for 2 months.

We signed Tomo Ohka?

Granted - our rotation isn't very pretty (Wainwright, Reyes, Wellmeyer, Thompson, F-in Wells). And I whole-heartedly agree with Larry Borowsky's analysis on Monday. Who should we have signed? Marquis? He had worn out his welcome and no longer gave a shit in St Louis. Suppan? Too pricey at $10 mil per (which we wouldn't pay Carpenter) Weaver? - seen his ERA this year (north of 10.00) Tejeda? Only a member of the worst starting staff in the Majors (all 5 Ranger starters are available in my fantasy league, and you'd have to be REALLY desperate for wins/innings to pick one of them up). Padilla? See above. Eaton? One good year does not a $8 million dollar pitcher make. and so on.

Fact is, Carpenter going down and F-in Wells being much, MUCH worse than advertised has really hurt this club. Signing Ohka really emphasizes how desperate the starting pitching situation is. At least (a) they're not paying the majority of his contract, and (b) he has 2 weeks to get himself squared away or the club releases him.

Anyone else think Ryan Franklin should get a shot? The club is 6 under .500 and currently dead in the water. Why save Franklin for the end of the game when you so rarely get to the end with a lead to protect?

Rotisserie Update

For 4 consecutive weeks, I've posted the best numbers in my league. I attribute this to many work hours spent combing the Sportsline.com web page instead of doing real work, shrewd management of the team, and pure dumb luck. My 3 most crucial moves so far:

a. Picking Richie Sexson up off waivers. His last 3 healthy season he's averaged 30+ HR and 100+ RBI. He may hit .200 this season, but he'll hit 20 HR and knock in 80. And I'll take it. Replaced: Shea Hillenbrand.
b. Trading Jorge Posada, Milton Bradley, and Akinori Otsuka for C.C. Sabathia. I got Aki back via waivers, and the dude I traded Bradley to subsequently dropped him. Yes, Posada is leading the league in hitting, but my other catcher is Victor Martinez (who led the league in RBI until today); I had 6 wins through 4 weeks. Sabathia has 6 wins by himself for the club. I moved from last in wins to second in 3 weeks. Replaced: John Danks.
c. Adding Reggie Willits. He's only hit .325 and stolen 13 bases since Garret Anderson went on the DL. His SB prowess vaulted me into a dogfight for second in steals. I now also have a 20 steal margin on the 4th place team. Replaced: Garret Anderson.

There've been a couple of other events, like having Fausto Carmona on the roster (he's 5-0 for my team), sticking with Dustin Pedroia (hottest hitter in either league since 12 May), Mike Lowell's resurrection (who would have thought he'd be leading the Red Sox in HR and RBI on 1 June?), picking up Okajima to cover the saves Paplebon doesn't get, and so on. Actually Paplebon has been a bit of a disappointment - he only has 13 saves so far. Hell Al Reyes has 10.

I have two decisions upcoming: what to do with Jon Lester if he returns to the bigs (trade him? Drop Paul Byrd?), and what to do with Garret Anderson (which OF do I drop?). Anderson's the bigger question mark since I don't have a big bat in the OF HR and RBI-wise. All my outfielders are fast guys who hit for average (Casey Blake is eligible in the OF which is why he's positioned there). But right now I enjoy an 11 point lead. I'm hoping that, with the season a quarter gone, the rankings won't be as volatile as they were the first month, and I'll stay there for a while.

Now if only Papleboner can get some more saves.....

If it looks like s*%t and smells likes s*%t, then...

Kip Wells. The Jason Marquis of 2007.

Initially I thought his troubles were simply due to the Cardinals not scoring any runs. I got to watch him lose to the Padres 7-0 in person, and although he didn't pitch particularly well, that fact was masked by Jake Peavy throttling the Cardinals as he allowed 3 hits through 7 innings of work.

However during Saturday's rain delayed 'Game of the Week' (how can the game of the week include a team that's 7 games under .500? Wouldn't Indians/Tigers have been a better choice?), I got to watch Kip dissolve in Houston. Here's the abridged play-by-play for the bottom of the 5th, in case you missed it:

- Has Brunson 1-2, hangs a slider. Brunson's first hit of the year.
- Hangs a slider to Everett. Single in the left-center gap. First and Third.
- Over-runs Sampson's sacrifice bunt for an error. Bases loaded.
- Hangs slider to Biggio, who hits it right at Spiezio at third. Brunson forced at home. Bases remain loaded, one out.
- Pence lines high fastball off wall in right for double. Two runs in, second and third.
- Infield back, Berkman grounds to second. Sampson scores, two out, runner at third.
- Lee walked (unintentional intentional walk).
- Loretta grounds to second.

See the trend? Give Wells a mulligan on the muffed sac bunt. That could happen to anybody, although a major leaguer should make that play 100 times out of 100. But his problem is execution. Way too much of the plate 1-2 to start the inning. Hanging breaking stuff gets hammered at this level. Wells' problem is execution, plain and simple. He's gotta execute, or he's going to be the first 20-game loser in a long time for St. Louis.

Or perhaps La Russa will send him down.

And perhaps giving him #21 wasn't the greatest equipment managing decision of all time.

On another note, I thoroughly enjoyed McCarver blasting A-Fraud for bungling a play in New York's nightmare of a seventh inning Saturday. With runners at first and second, and the ball hit to the outfield, A Rod should have stayed at the bag. Pitcher backs up home, and the first baseman becomes the cut off man in the center of the diamond. This is so basic even I know it.
No wonder the Yankees suck this year - fundamentally, they're not very sound.

Rotisserie update later this week. Suffice to say I have a sizeable lead in the league, and don't want to jinx it.

Reyes to AAA and other randomness

I find it mildly surprising that Anthony Reyes was optioned to AAA on Sunday. Actually I find it very surprising.

The Cardinals have scored, on average, 2.11 runs per start in support of Reyes. Now unless your name contains a Gibson, Koufax, or Drysdale in it, that's not enough run support to be successful. Additionally, he's gotten LESS support than good ol' Kip Wells (who, to be fair, has only earned 2.76 runs on average per start) but his ERA is better (6.08 to 6.20). Why not option Wells?

(strange interlude - I realize that comparing these two is like trying to decide whether to call it poop or BM. Either way you're talking about shit.)

Do the Cardinals really think that sending Reyes down AGAIN will help straighten him out? He's been on the yo-yo string for the past 2 years, and from where I sit he hasn't gotten any better. He's young; this is a bad team; what's the harm in letting him learn from the school of hard knocks? Jeremy Bonderman lost 19 back in 2003; most folks consider him a pretty good pitcher now (I consider him the ace of that staff, but my opinion is colored by the fact that he pitches for my rotisserie team). Maybe he'd be a little more comfortable if he wasn't constantly checking his locker to see if there's a plane ticket for Memphis stuck in there.

Or perhaps he's constantly racking up frequent flyer miles because he frustrates the hell out of LaRussa and Duncan, and they're trying to teach him a lesson. I don't know.

Other random thoughts:
- I'm tired of playing hot teams. I want to be the hot team for a while.
- Thanks to the Nationals for returning Cardinal Nation to reality following the sweep of the Pirates.
- Did you notice the Pirates are currently in second in the division? Of course, they're 5 under...
- Rolen, Edmonds, and AP start to show signs of life, and Molina breaks his wrist. Out 4-6 weeks. Wow. Brian Esposito was called up to take his place.

That's it for today.

Fantasy update - Week 9

Well, it's decision time.

I've posted my fantasy roster in the margin to the right, because I KNOW my reader(s) were dying to see it. At any rate, after mucho tinkering (and many dirty looks from the wife) I left my roster alone for almost 2 weeks - and amazingly zoomed into first place in the league! Lassiez-faire works!

But not learning from my success, I've begun to tinker again. Mostly because I need more saves (I'm currently 7th in the league with 14). I have arguably the best closer in the AL right now, Jonathan Paplebon, on my roster; trouble is, Boston blows everybody out, so he doesn't get to pitch much in a save situation. Last night he threw a scoreless inning... in a 10-6 game....because HE NEEDED THE WORK.

So I picked up ex-Padre Aki Otsuka off waivers. He's the Rangers set-up man (closer: Eric Gagne). This is the second time that Aki has appeared on my roster. The first time, I used him as trade leverage to pry CC Sabathia from a competitor (as well as Jorge Posada and Milton Bradley - of course, at the time I didn't anticipate Posada leading the league in hitting). I really needed the wins (I had 6 through 5 weeks). Worked out great for me.

Aki will be a closer option for me and should get save opportunities - I don't trust Gagne's health, and expect he'll break down at least one more time this year.

I now have a glut of pitching - including Duchscherer (DL), Phil Hughes (DL), Jon Lester (DL), and Dice K - someone has to go. Actually some 3 will have to go eventually. For now, there's one roster spot for 2 guys.

If you're reading this, you're either family, I paid you to leave a comment (so I don't appear to be toiling in anonymity), or you follow the Cardinals. Remember Izzy's hip issues last year? 10 blown saves, never could get the extension he needed to throw the curveball or keep the fastball down, was shut down in Sept? Duchscherer has an arthritic hip. He's not the same pitcher he was last year (All-Star). He'll be dropped because I don't believe his 6+ ERA is worth the couple of saves I could get from him. Aki will replace him on the roster.

Since it appears Dice K won't miss a start due to the stomach flu, and because he leads the league in wins (7), I'll move him back into the active roster. Most likely casualty? Mike Maroth. He's been a stud (3-0) in wins, although not in ERA; but someone needs to get cut, Byrd and Carmona are hot, Sabathia, Bonderman, and Garland are keepers, so Maroth loses out. I feel bad about this, but that's the business.

The last decision concerns Howie Kendrick. He's 2 for 10 so far after coming back off the DL, and I have until 6 Jun to get him back into the lineup or the computer will drop him automatically. Here's the conundrum: I was going to drop Pedroia, but he's hot and hitting .275 for the year. I thought about dropping Gordon, but he appears to have turned the corner. So now what? Either Hill or Pedroia will get cut, but I can't figure out who. Too bad Kendrick isn't eligible for the OF; that would be a no-brainer (cut Adam Lind).

Have an opinion? Feel free to voice it below. I'd be interested.

Can't keep my mouth shut

I've got work - real work - to do today, as I returned from a week of leave on Thursday morning, and I should be doing that instead of this.

However, this decision by the Hancock family really bothers me.

Brian Burwell, who I have had occasion to disagree with (especially when he defends Barry Bonds and lampoons Mark McGwire), actually posted a good opinion article on this subject.

Allow me to pile on.

I was a bar regular once. I hope your life never devolves to the point that you find solace on a bar stool. However, there is a fraternity-like atmosphere that exists amongst the regulars. You look forward to seeing them; they become your extended family. The bar tenders are part of that family; they know your name and what you're having. I will admit to enjoying walking into my bar, having the gent (or lady) tending that night nod hello, then going and pouring my drink for me (if you care, mine was MGD in a bottle).

Which brings me to my point - bartenders TAKE CARE OF THEIR REGULARS. If Josh Hancock was a regular at Shannon's restaurant, as we are now led to believe, they would DEFINITELY have tried to pursuade him to take a cab home. I guarantee it. The folks working the bar at my place did it for me on more than one occasion. My fellow regulars would tell me to take a cab when I had too much - again, they're your family.

At my bar, one of the regulars hosted a Christmas Eve party for some friends/family (read: other bar regulars). As I was dating his roommate at the time, I went. He, predictably, got drunk, continued drinking after the party broke up, passed out on a couch in the garage (they had turned the garage into a party den) in the wee hours while smoking a cigarette, and set the house on fire - starting with himself and the couch he was laying on. The emergency workers don't know how he survived - but he did. During his recovery, the bar held at least one (and I think more) 'pass the hat' events to help defray the cost of his medical bills.

THAT's how far some places will go for one of their regular paying customers - you know, the guys who support their tip jars and help pay for the lights and the booze.

Attempting to hold Shannon's employees or the restaurant itself culpable for what Josh did that night is ridiculous. Josh decided to drink that night. Josh decided to drive against the judgement of others who cared for him. Josh was distracted while driving by his cell phone call. Josh chose to not wear his seat belt.

Josh killed himself due to his recklessness. Thank God he didn't take the tow truck driver or the stalled motorist with him.

I won't comment on including them in the lawsuit, for I'm trying to give up cursing as a part of my daily speech.

Does Dean Hancock want to sue those responsible for his son's death? Then I have a suggestion for him: Start with yourself. I'm quite sure you KNEW he was self-destructive; you KNEW he had an alcohol and possibly a drug problem; you KNEW he had a lot of free time to get into trouble. He was your son. Parental responsibility doesn't end once a child is out of college; it's a lifetime committment. YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING.

But you didn't. And you will have to live with that for the rest of your life.

Don't blame the innocent for your failings as a father.

Cards at Padres - Game 2

This post is late - oh my, is it late - this seems to be the trend this year for the ol' blogger here.

No excuses - we're all busy.

Cardinals lost this series 2-1, losing 3-0 on Sunday, and have since smacked Brett Tomko around to win against LA 8-3. Some belated impressions of last Saturday's game (a much more pleasant experience than the 7-0 whitewash the previous night):

Five in the third was fantastic. However, it should have been 1. I thought AP had hit it out when the 3-2 pitch left his bat; I don't know if the damp SD air knocked that ball down or if he just barely missed it, but it definitely died on the track. The most inexplicable part of that ball is how Sledge missed it. He appeared (from my excellent vantage point in the Toyota Terrace down the LF line) to be there in time to make the play; next thing you know, the ball is rolling towards Mike Cameron. Wow.

The scary thing is, if Sledge makes that play, Edmonds lineout to CF is the last out of the inning. One Run. Taguchi never gets to bat with the bases loaded. And the rest of the game is significantly different. For one, LaRussa plays the 6th different after Looper was hit by a pitch (which caused my heart to jump into my throat, by the way - our best pitcher so far gets plunked. yikes). I'm willing to bet either (a) he hits for Kennedy there, or (b) some sort of squeeze would have been called. Likewise, Bard's leadoff single to start the bottom of the 8th leads to a completely different strategy by the Padres, as they try to push across the tying run.

Of course, the StL relievers probably wouldn't have been Springer and Johnson, but you never know.

I had sarcastically proclaimed, after Friday's meek showing, that I would be happy if the Cardinals had an inning with more than 1 hit in it. So, like I said, the 5-spot was nice. But they didn't hit the ball with authority; they had only 3 hits after Taguchi's double (and one of those was a GIFT - how did Yadi get credit for a single on a ball that went THROUGH Branyan's glove? That was an error when I played the game); and we all saw them get mowed down the next day.

My loyal fan-ness to this team will not wane or diminish, but after the last 6 seasons of good baseball, this is tough to watch.

Cards at Padres - Game 1

Yep, it's time for the annual trek to the Litterbox and the Cardinals' lone series in San Diego. Since virtually everyone who cares about the Cardinals is aware of their 7-0 loss last night, and has probably digested all the info there is on the game, here's some tidbits for you from last night:

- Kip Wells is just as awful in person as his stats would suggest. Rarely tops out above 90 on the radar gun with his fastball. He followed a great job striking out Adrain Gonzalez in the 3rd by hanging a slider to Khalil Greene - who promptly belted it into the leftcenter field stands. Nice lapse of concentration, Kip.

- Russell Branyan must star in Wells' nightmares. I can't believe the HR he hit in the second inning had enough juice to get out. Off the end of the bat down the LF line. When you're going bad, even luck laughs at you.

- Padres fans started the wave in the top of the third inning with the score 2-0, cementing their place among baseball fans as the most ridiculous. Wave started in the upper deck.

- I sat in the upper deck.

- It was 70s retro night - and the best part of it was the dance off before the start of the 6th inning. Winner - the girl with the Beyonce' glasses and hair from 'GOLDMEMBER', boobs flapping in the wind (not exposed, which was probably a good thing), and the Oh-so-classy spider tattoo between the breasts. There's a nice girl to take home to Mama.

- To his credit, Tony LaRussa is trying to jump start this offense. Two stolen bases last night (Duncan, Rolen). Hit and Run on a 2-0 count with AP at the plate and Kennedy on first. And so on. But there's not much you can do when:
(a) the ball hardest hit by a Cardinal was Kip Wells' double;
(b) the other hard hit ball landed in Brian Giles' glove (Duncan's liner in the 6th);
(c) the Cardinals only got one guy to third all night (Wells);
(d) Jake Peavy is pitching. Usually the Cards look feeble against Jake, as do most all NL teams. But I always had that feeling in years past that the Cardinal offense was capable of hitting Jake in any inning or situation. Not last night.

So on to game 2. Chris Young hasn't lost at home since last 22 Sept, and the Cardinals have now gone 24 innings on the road without scoring a run. Looper, our best starter (!), faces Young tonight, so the offense won't have to do much. Which is good, because they probably won't.

Weekend round up

I had no inside data. I was just guessing. But, it came as no small surprise to me that Josh Hancock was legally drunk (0.157, as reported by the Post-Dispatch) at the time of the accident that killed him. However, the fact that he was drunk when he died led to some nasty comment threads being left at Viva El Birdos (one of my favorite Cardinal blogsites) in the game thread for that day.

I'm sorry Hancock is dead, because of the hole he has left in the lives of those who loved him. I lost my father little over a year ago; that left a gaping hole in my family, although we knew the end was coming. I can't imagine the pain Hancock's family and friends are dealing with right now.

That said, he should have known better than to step behind the wheel and drive after knocking a few back.

I highly doubt last Sunday morning's drive down the highway was the first time he'd driven drunk.

I also highly doubt that no one in the organization knew he was a partier and didn't have the maturity a 29-year old should. Where's the leadership? No wonder the team is drifting along right now.

Banning alcohol in the locker room - whatever. That's not going to deter someone from going out for a drink after the game. Great PR move, no appreciable effect in real life.

So that saga starts the week. Carpenter going on the DL for 3 months to have surgery and repair his elbow ended it. Yikes. Of all the starters the Cardinals used last year (Carp, Mulder, Suppan, Marquis, Ponson, Reyes, Weaver), only Reyes remains in the rotation. I don't think that was the plan coming out of spring training.

Why is the club 12-17? Edmonds' struggles aside, here's why: Wainwright hasn't pitched as well as he did during he spring. The reclamation project (Wells) has been god-awful (just like his career to-date indicated). Reyes increasingly looks like a 'never-was' - all hype, not good enough at the Major League level. Looper - well, Looper has pitched his ass off. And the band-aid squad has done the best they can (Kiesler, et al).

I don't forsee much improvement on the horizon. Is 29 games in too early to start 'playing out the string'?

Wow. Like. Long Time

I'm far, FAR too busy for my own good.

But you don't care. That's irrelevant. That's not why you stopped by.

So, as I watch the Cardinals trail Jeff (Crespi Hi) Suppan 3-1 in the third, some thoughts:

(1) I hope to God they don't find alcohol or drugs in Josh Hancock's system. That would make a sad event much worse. What happened Sunday morning was horrific. Deadspin wrote a nice article, I thought, of a fan's perspective on the tragedy. This, coupled with LaRussa's DUI and Carpenter's elbow, make me very glad to see the end of April 2007.

In other news, I'm in an AL-only fantasy league for this year. This is my first experience with the Rotisserie Fantasy League dementia. So far, it's been somewhat all-consuming; my wife would call it 'Obsessive'. Had I been keeping up with my mandate to post twice a week, you'd know many if not all of my trials and tribulations in April; allow me to summarize some of the humorous ones (at least, in my mind):

1. My best three starting pitchers are Matsuzaka, Bonderman, and Garland. They've had 15 starts. Going into tonight, how many wins? 3. All Dice-K.
2. Garland lost a win when Bobby Jenks couldn't protect a 1-0 lead in Oakland. 2 weeks later, Garland lost a win when Aardsma lost a 5-3 lead at home against Detroit. Bonderman lost a win when Jones blew a 3-1 lead against KANSAS Freakin' CITY. Suffice it to say I'm dead last in my league in wins.
3. If it wasn't for Mike Maroth, I'd have 4 wins. Maroth, who I picked up as a free agend following the draft (because I was stupid and didn't draft enough pitchers), has 2 wins - and should have 3, but he couldn't get out of the 5th against Anaheim with a 5 run lead. Nice.
4. My best hitters so far: Victor Martinez (who got hurt because Cleveland was dumb enough to play their opener in a snowstorm), who has subsequently cooled off while trying to work through a quad injury; Posada (who I've traded away for pitching - C. C. Sabathia, to be exact); and Howie Kendrick (who's on the DL after being hit in the hand by a pitch).
5. Despite that, and the fact that Michael Young can't hit his way out of a wet paper bag right now, I'm 4th in the league in hitting. Thank you, Aaron Hill and Adam Lind. Also I'd like to congratulate Kenny Lofton for playing like a 26-year old (even though he's 39).
6. Johnathan Papel-boner is my closer. I laugh in the face of adversity.

I will keep updating this site with tidbits from my fantasy league, because I've found this (so far) much more compelling than the Cardinals.

Redbirds lost 8-1 in the end to Suppan, who went the route. Beaten Saturday by Marquis. Beaten today by Suppan. Why do I get the feeling that Jeff Weaver could string together 6 quality innings against this lineup?

Anyone else see the graphic where the OPS for Cardinal RF and CF is last and 27th in MLB, respectively? Kinda sums up their futility at the plate, doesn't it?

Different day, same result.

Mets 4, Cards 1.

Good news: Rolen Homered. Duncan threw out Valentin at the play (great play by Molina to get back and tag Valentin after Eckstein's relay tailed up the first base line).

Er, that's about it.

More errors. More non-clutch hitting with RISP. More outfield gaffes (this time Shumaker). And to add insult to injury, Chris Carpenter complained of elbow pain yesterday and will miss his next start. It's a good thing the team has a number of off-days this week; I'm not sure who would be tapped as the emergency starter by LaRussa.

Our hopes ride with Braden Looper to avoid the sweep tomorrow.

I know they're not going to go 0-162, but I'd like to get a win sooner rather than later.

Oh, and a note to the Cardinal management: concur with raising the world champs banner on opening day. I think, in hindsight, the ring ceremony could have waited until after the Mets left town. They really felt they were the better team last season; I'm SURE they were even more motivated to play well in this series after watching the Redbirds celebrate their championship on successive nights. Just an opinion.

Yikes

U-gly. U-gly. Nah-nah-nah-NAH, nah U-gly.

What a way to start the year on national TV.

Observations from the 6-1 loss to New York:

- I like So Taguchi, but he didn't have a clue out there last night. Let 140-year old Moises Alou go first to third on a SINGLE to left-center. Did the best Reggie Sanders impression I've seen on Delgado's double off the wall. Gave up on a short fly ball to left that Eckstein had to flag down. Chris Duncan could not possibly have done any worse.

- Did anyone else get the sudden sick feeling Carp might be tipping his pitches - especially in the 2-5th innings?

- why, why, WHY did they decide to throw NOTORIOUS first-ball fastball hitter Alou a fastball on the first pitch in all 3 at bats Carp faced him? Results: single, screaming line drive that Edmonds flagged down, foul ball off the foot (at least that pitch rode in on him).

- They didn't hit this spring, and they aren't hitting (yet) now. 1-7 with RISP shouldn't surprise anyone.

- Can we just concede games that Glavine pitches to our opponent and move on?

On the bright side, Johnson and Flores pitched well, and Eckstein continues to chug along.

Thank God today's a day off.

Cardinals Preview

I have been remiss in my blogging duties. A lot has happened in the sportsworld over the past 2 weeks, and I won't bore you with trying to recap it here. However, a few points of order:

- Never bet on Kansas to win the NCAA tourney as long as Bill Self is the coach.

- The only thing better than Villanova making the tournament was watching North Carolina collapse at the end against Georgetown. I've not enjoyed a college basketball game as thoroughly as I enjoyed that one in a loong time. Although you can safely put me in the 'not a fan of Georgetown' camp, there are few teams in college basketball I despise as much as Duke and North Carolina (or the entire ACC for that matter).

- Yesterday's final 4 was singularly disappointing. The Final Four team I like least will play Ohio State for the national championship. As far as Florida's last opponent, UCLA: Howland is a pretty good coach, but how he could get schooled two years in a row is beyond me. In both games Afflalo was taken out of the game by Brewer (in yesterday's contest, the officiating didn't help much either). By midway through the second half, it appeared no one on UCLA wanted to take a shot.

- Joakim Noah wears his hair like Aurora at Pure Platinum. Also, he pushes off under the rim (and gets away with it) more than any big man in recent memory. If the refs from the OSU/G'Town game work FLA/UCLA instead, it may have been a very different outcome.

- I've entered a fantasy baseball league this season. I hope to do well, but since I (a) passed up Manny Ramirez to draft Ichiro, and (b) drafted Kiko Calero, I may end up in the cellar. This is why I picked the Browns as my team name: "First in booze, first in shoes, and LAST in the American League." Seemed appropriate.

2007 Cardinals predictions:
I feel like Bill Simmons - making predictions without doing any research. Will Leitch published a cute preview last week, but it was too much 'I'm so happy we won last year, this year doesn't matter' that it left me wanting. I am second to none in my glee at last season's result. But I think everyone is missing something about this season's team:

83 wins.

I really, really, REALLY believe that deep down in the psyche of this club, they will/are carrying this gigantic chip on their shoulder; all because the smart boys said they didn't deserve to be the champs because of their regular season record.

For crying out loud, Pujols still holds a grudge against the SCOUT that SIGNED HIM because his report allegedly said AP couldn't hit at the major league level.

Add to that, the consumate competitor in Chris Carpenter, a Scott Rolen eager to prove LaRussa wrong for benching him twice in September/October (and to regain his 2004 form), what I expect to be a monster year from Adam Wainwright, the resurrection of Ken Bottenfield (as Kip Wells this time).....the list goes on and on.

Competition in the division will be tougher this year, and the race will be much tighter. StL can't afford three 8 game losing streaks this year, or they'll finish out of the money. But this team will win more than 83 games. Write it down. Anything less than 90 would be a surprise to me.

Yes, this is a Cardinals website, first and foremost. Yes, I'm an unabashed fan for the birds on the bat. But these guys are competitors, and competitors don't just reach the Promised Land once and call it good.

Can't wait. Carp against Glavine in just under 3 hours. The first title defense in 24 years.

Go Cardinals.