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.

Baseball? You Don't Need Any Stinking Baseball...

I hate Time Warner Cable.

Yes, I'm using the word 'hate' here. Why? Well, without turning into a raving lunatic, let me just say this: ordered Extra Innings in 2005. They didn't turn it on. I called the next day to inquire why. They turned it on and CHARGED ME AGAIN. Four phone calls and four months later, they turned off my cable TV (during Game 2 of the 2005 NLCS, by the way) because it was delinquent. Seems when they assured me they had corrected the problem, the operator entered the wrong code and charged me a third time, making my account $200 in arrears. They turned on my cable and fixed the billing problem that night. I won't go into detail as to how I accomplished that.

So when AT&T came around this past December offering phone/cable TV/internet connectivity for a low price, I jumped at the chance to leave Time Warner once and for all. Since then the following things have become apparent:

a) Channel 4 Padres is a cable subscriber service only. So I won't have Padres games on TV this season.
b) Roadrunner is a faster internet connection than DSL. This may be obvious to you the reader, but it wasn't to me.
c) MLB has decided to renew the MLB Extra Innings package only on DirectTV.

Today the cable subscribers reportedly agreed to match DirectTV's offer to carry out-of-market games for MLB. MLB, being the savvy public relations people that they are, quickly released a statement that the offer did not come close to matching DirectTV's offer.

Let's look at this from two perspectives:

1. If DirectTV had exclusive rights to carry out of market games, I would have been screwed becasue I don't have DirectTV.
2. If DirectTV and the cable companies decide to carry the out of market game package, I will be screwed because the AT&T bundled cable provider is DISH NETWORK. And they haven't indicated any interest in matching DirectTV's offer.

Do you see the irony?

I can't believe my hopes for seeing any Cardinals games on TV (not involving the Padres, of course) rest with John friggin' Kerry.

Those that forgot the past...probably lost money on this game

Kentucky 67, Villanova 58.

The AP summary of the game can be found here.

I'd like to thank CBS for forcing me to suffer through USC/Arkansas (which hasn't been closer than 10 since EARLY in the second half) instead of switching to this game, or even the Saluki/Holy Cross game, which was also competitive until Southern Illinois pulled away late. Thanks again, asshats.

I'm not a smart man, but I'd like to point out the following things that I predicted happening:

- Nova started fast, leading 18-13.

- Nova then didn't score for 6 minutes, turning a 5 point lead into a 3 point deficit.

- Additional scoring droughts pushed UK's lead to 10.

- Furious comeback saw the Wildcats close to within 5 late.

- Nardi misses a wide OPEN 3 that would have cut the lead to 2.

- Nova loses by 9.

Two other truths bore themselves out tonight: Kentucky hasn't lost a first-round game in 16 years; Villanova nas never advanced to the Sweet 16 in 3 consecutive years (People who didn't know the history of these programs, or did and chose to ignore it, lost money tonight).

Yet I still picked my alma mater to win this game in my pool. Sentiment will kill you every time. I did have tonight's winner going out to Kansas on Sunday, though. Reality had to set in somewhere.

For the first two days of the tournament, my record is 25-7. Pretty good. What's more amazing is all my Sweet 16 selections are still alive after the first round. That's never happened.

So now I'm reduced to rooting vicariously for the Xavier Musketeers. My brother has a passing interest in them (class of 2004). They only play one of the heavy favorites to win the whole thing: Ohio State. I might lose interest in this tournament entirely after tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow: Let me close with an old Irish Blessing:

May the road rise to meet you;

May the wind always be at your back;

May the sun shine warm upon your face;

May you stop doing Car Bombs when the horizon starts to blur;

May your Corned Beef and Cabbage hit the spot;

May the Uberhot redhead at the bar actually talk to you.

And some appropriately themed Irish attire:

Well, it's up

My Villanova NCAA tourney preview is posted over at Deadspin. You can read it here. Enjoy.

Well, the brackets are out....

...and the Wildcats made the tournament! Hell yes! Final Four here we come!!!

Better look over the brackets first...

uh, we open with Kentucky. Wildcats haven't lost a first round game since 1991. Actually they didn't lose that year, either; they were banned from the tournament due to recruiting violations. And Tubby Smith may be coaching to keep his job (no small motivation). Oh, boy.

If they win: Kansas. Probably the best team in the country right now (outside of Georgetown). Were getting clobbered by Texas recently in the first half, then poured it on in the second to win (of course, Durant turning his ankle didn't hurt). Yikes.

AND Villanova has never made the sweet 16 in three consecutive seasons (they made the Sweet 16 two years ago and the Regional Finals last year).

Well, perhaps the Final Four is a little ambitious. I'll be happy with a first round win.

On a high note, Deadspin is running previews of each game on their website. Yours truly penned the Villanova preview - so look for it. I'll post the two items I cut from my submission here after it runs over there.

I'm still a little surprised Syracuse and West Virginia didn't make the NCAA field. After Nova lost to Georgetown at home and Marquette in Milwaukee, I felt they had to win their remaining 3 regular season games and 1 Big East tournament game to get in. I also had a sneaking suspicion that, because there are upsets in conference tournaments and the team that is supposed to win doesn't always, Syracuse at Villanova was an NCAA elimination game. It really helped Nova's cause that they, the Orangemen, and the Mountaineers all went out in the same round of the Big East tourney. If WVU wins against Louisville, they're probably the 9 seed playing Kentucky instead of Nova. If Syracuse completes the 7-point play against the Wildcats, they might be in the tourney instead of Villanova.

I'd rather be lucky than good.

Big East Tourney - Finals preview

Ten games. 9-1 record. Correctly called the Catholic confrontation nailbiter. I've ordered a wheelbarrow to haul my balls around in for the rest of the weekend.

Before we preview G'Town/Pitt, Cardinal relief specialist Josh Kinney will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery on Tuesday. Kinney had thrown 2 ineffective innings this spring, giving up 6 runs total. It seemed odd that a guy who was virtually unhittable during last Sept/Oct would regress so badly in such a short time. I'm actually relieved that the root cause was something he had no control over, and had been (apparently) tearing for quite some time.

This makes it even more important that Jason Isringhausen is able to go for the season opener. Losing him would shift Wainwright back in to the bullpen, throwing a spot in the starting rotation open, meaning one of the long/middle relievers would shift into the rotation, meaning 2 spots would open up in the bullpen - just a mismash of issues. So here's hoping Izzy's first appearance this coming Thursday goes well.

On to the tourney.

Game 11: Pittsburgh vs. Georgetown. G'Town won the only meeting between these two schools in the regular season. Pitt was one of the top 5-10 teams until late in the year; G'Town has been on a roll of late. Win for the Hoyas may mean a #1 seed in the NCAAs; Either way, these two teams will be #2's when the brackets come out tomorrow. I dislike both these teams, so I probably won't watch the game (because they both can't lose); but I'm going to ride the hot hand here, and go with the Hoyas.

Big East Tourney - Semifinal Round Preview

26-2. Twenty-Six to two.

Apparently spreading the scoring droughts throughout the game was boring, so Villanova decided to get them all out of the way up front. That's the only way I can explain a Division 1 basketball team scoring 2 points for the first 10 min and 55 seconds of a conference tournament game. Wow. I forgot to set my TiVo to tape this game, and now I'm really glad I did.

To their credit, the Cats fought back to make it almost a game; in fact, after the 9:06 point of the first half, they outscored Georgetown 55-36. But it was way too big a deficit to overcome. That, coupled with off shooting days for Reynolds and Sumpter, their porous interior and transition defense, and the absence of Mike Nardi due to a calf injury/ankle sprain sustained against Syracuse last Saturday, and we all pretty much saw this one coming.

Enough moping. It took Louisville guard Edgar Sosa divining Tyus Edney's famous length-of-the-court drive (to beat Missouri in the 1995 NCAA tourney second round) for West Virginia not to win their quarter final game. Without that, I'd be 8-0 predicting the winners. Oh, well. 7-1 is pretty good, too. WVU has a better record than Villanova (they won the head to head meeting), and a big win against #3 UCLA earlier in the year; I thought if they advanced further in this tourney than Nova that they could replace Nova in the NCAA. That could still happen; the Cats were lethargic for the first half against G-town, and WVU took Louisville to the limit in losing. But it also could not. We won't know for sure until Sunday.

On to tomorrow's prognostication:

Game 9: Notre Dame vs. Georgetown. Irish handled a game Syracuse team. G'Town embarassed Nova and then hung on during a furious Cat comeback. ND can shoot from outside; G'Town runs a modified version of the old Princeton offense and pounds the ball inside. Georgetown won their earlier meeting, demolishing the Irish by 18 in MD. Prediction: Don't like the Hoyas, but they are good this year. G'Town in a nail biter.

Game 10: Louisville vs. Pittsburgh. The slashers vs the big inside threat. Louisville pounded Pitt in their regular season matchup, winning by 13 at Pittsburgh. That should provide more motivation for the Panthers. Prediction: Pittsburgh advances. This would set up a conference final against the two best teams in the league during the regular year, which is what God and Chuck Norris intended. And that's good.

Chuck Norris doesn't sleep; he waits.

Big East Tourney - Quarterfinal round preview

Four games. 4-0 record. I should have bet on these games instead of throwing money at the $390M Mega Millions jackpot.

Since I had such success today, I will temp fate and put my perfect record on the line by looking at tomorrow's matchups at Mono Sodium Glutenate, er, Madison Square Garden.

Game 5: Villanova vs. Georgetown. Yet another matchup against these historic rivals. G'Town has lived up to expectations for this season after barely losing to eventual National Champion Florida in last year's NCAAs. Villanova defeated DePaul today, but two disturbing trends emerged: (a) only Reynolds and Sumpter are reliable scorers; (b) the Wildcats interior defense is truly awful. DePaul drove the lane at will. These teams met twice this season, each winning a nailbiter on the other teams' home court. Prediction: My heart's with the Cats, but my $$ is on the Hoyas.

Game 6: Syracuse vs. Notre Dame. The Irish never could quite get off the bubble in the last two years. Good enough to make the NCAA, they were left at the altar twice. Not this year. Picked to finish 11th in the conference, they are instead the #16 team in the land. Syracuse clinched a trip to the Big Dance by dismissing UConn in the first round. The teams did not meet during the regular season. Prediction: Syracuse has not lost a conference tournament game since 2004. That streak ends at the hands of the Irish.

Game 7: West Virginia vs. Louisville. Mountaineers set a conference record by hitting 17 threes in their dismantling of the Providence Friars in the opening round. These teams didn't meet during the regular season, either. WVU will try to light it up from outside again. Louisville has some slasher-style scorers and is more athletic than the Mountaineers. Should be a good game. Prediction: My disgust for Rick Pitino knows no bounds. Mountaineers prevail on GP.

Game 8: Marquette vs. Pittsburgh. The Warriors survived a gutty Red Men effort to advance out of the opening round. Pittsburgh awaits with some huge 7-foot white guy who's actually pretty good. The teams met twice this year, Marquette won both by a total of 7 points. I think this will be the best game of Day 2. Prediction: It is extremely difficult to beat a team three times in one season. My aversion to the Panthers finds its roots in Sean Miller's teams, but the third time is a charm here. Pitt advances.

Big East Tourney - Opening round preview

Due to the overwhelming response to the Trivia Time (exactly 0 responses), I'm going to suspend it until the regular season starts. Answer from this weekend's question will be at the end of this post.

Most prognosticators are predicting Villanova has made the field of 64 (or 65 if you count the play-in game. Which, by the way, is the biggest piece of crap in college basketball. CONGRATULATIONS, you've won your conference tournament and made the NCAA --- just kidding. You need to play one more game for the right to lose to the #1 team in the country.). I still hedge my bet. I think they need to win their first round game against DePaul to qualify. Time will tell.

And that time starts Wednesday at the Big East Tournament! All 10 games over four consecutive days will be broadcast on ESPN, starting at 0900 PST tomorrow. Let's take a moment to preview the games:

Game 1: Villanova vs. DePaul. The Blue Demons haven't been any good since some old guy named Meyer coached them back in the 1970s. Besides, they hail from the home of the Cubs (two strikes). Villanova probably doesn't need to win this one, but as the #9 seed in the tourney why leave any stone unturned? DePaul won the only meeting between the two this year, 73-65 in Chicago. Prediction: In a shock, I'm picking the Cats.

Game 2: UCONN vs. Syracuse. Syracuse is the hotter team, having won 5 of 6 to close out the season. Perennial power Connecticut has struggled this year, falling from league Co-Champs a year ago to being the bottom qualifier for this event. Syracuse is assumed to be in based on their big win against G'Town last week, but like Nova can't afford to leave any room for doubt. Huskies are making preps to host a NIT game. The teams split their two meetings this season, each winning at home. Prediction: The Orangemen have more to play for, so they're the pick.

Game 3: Providence vs. West Virginia. Hard to believe Beilein's Bombers are considered a long shot to make the NCAAs at this point, but despite a quality win against UCLA, they are. The Mountaineers probably need a deep run this week to get in; a mis-step by either Nova or 'Cuse would greatly help their chances. Those wacky Friars boast the Conference's top scorer in senior Herbert Hill. Friars try to light it up inside; Bombers chuck it from the cheap seats. Friars won by 3 on 20 Feb in Providence. Prediction: Hill gets his, but on this court, where Beilein has done very well the past two years, he's tough to bet against. West Virginia takes it.

Game 4: St. John's vs. Marquette. The Red Men return to the tournament after missing last season's affair because they sucked. Marquette has stumbled down the stretch, losing 4 of their last 6 but still being ranked #19 in the country. Prediction: The days of Lou Carneseca and Chris Mullin are long over. Warriors should roll into the second round.

Congratulations to Scottie Reynolds on being named Big East Rookie of the Year.

Answer to the weekend question: Nolan Ryan (292 games).

MEGA millions....for a small investment.

We'll get to the trivia question for the weekend in a minute.

This week, the CA lottery Mega Millions jackpot passed $200,000,000 (it looks more impressive written out that way). Whenever the jackpot for a lottery drawing reaches a ridiculous number (like this one), all red-blooded Americans are obligated to buy a ticket. Why? Because it's easier to make money this way than it is to earn it the hard way - by working hard. I sometimes think the Founding Fathers edited the last draft of the Declaration of Independence, the original sentence was "...life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, with as minimal effort as one can get away with."

So I picked out 6 numbers, did 5 quick picks, and entered the Tuesday drawing. I didn't win. Then, I began to think (which isn't necessarily a good thing) - what if I ran a statistical analysis fo the recent drawings, to see if a pattern existed? Wouldn't that improve my chances at winning? Of course it would! I'm a smart guy, I can GAME THE GAME.

This consumed me for the better part of 3 days.

After looking at the facts, and examining the clues, I arrived at what I thought were, for sure, the mortal lock numbers to win this jackpot (now at $275M). I also picked 4 lesser (but still good) combinations, and, as insurance against Lady Luck's fickle mind, I went with 5 'QuickPicks' (numbers chosen at random).

The result?

Well, the jackpot is projected to be $340M for next Tuesday's drawing. I had as many numbers (2) that hit as the QuickPicks did; and none of the 4 that hit were on the same line.

I'll be applying lessons learned and picking again for Tuesday's drawing.

Trivia Time. Answer to Thursday's question: Bill Madlock won 4 NL batting titles during his career.

Weekend question: Who lost more games than any other pitcher in the 20th century? HINT: He's in the Hall of Fame.

Update 3/3/07 1245: Nova leads Syracuse by 7 late. Go Cats!

Trivia Time

Answer to yesterday's question: All of their fathers played in the Negro Leagues.

Today's question: This could be easy, but still: Among eligible players not in the Hall of Fame, who has won the most batting titles? Extra credit if you know how many he won during his career.

Villanova 78, UConn 74. Phew. Now if they can beat Syracuse, they may sneak in.

Time to start drafting my 3 tidbits for Deadspin. Even if they're not published.

Trivia Time

Answer to Monday's question: Mickey Mantle.

Today's question: Since today is the last day of Black History Month: What do Major Leaguers Orlando Cepeda, Lyman Bostock, Luis Tiant, and 'Oil Can' Boyd all have in common?

More info (possibly) later today.

Eulogy for a Giant

(When I started this blog, I started thinking about this post. Mostly because I knew I wouldn't be there on this day, or at any time during this week. Military service will do that. And I'm afraid that, as I try to write it, it won't measure up to what I want. But here goes, anyway.)

My father died one year ago Tuesday. He was 65.

You learn things you really didn't want to know when a parent dies. Some are important; some are trivial. One of the trivial things I learned was that the Rite of Christian Burial doesn't include a provision for a eulogy. This surprised me, because every funeral I've ever seen on TV, or attended in person, there is a eulogy - and it's performed by a family member. I thought I'd have to say a few words about my Dad. Who can say a few things about their Dad? But the priest, a friend of my father's, gave a brief sermon and he touched on Dad's life. It was what my father would have wanted. The obit in the paper that week was a good synopsis of his life (my siblings and I crafted it). But I needed to say more.

My father was a tremendous athlete. He still holds a shot-put record for the state of Missouri. It helps that they quit using that particular weight at the high school level, but he's the guy who threw it the farthest. My father played 4 years of Varsity football in high school, and 4 years of Varsity football in college. (He's in the photo; I wear his number now on my softball jerseys). My dad was good enough he was invited to try out by the New York Giants (the Sam Huff/Frank Gifford Giants, not the pansy team they field now) and the Baltimore Colts (the Johnny U Colts). These were two of the best teams in the game in the early 60s.

The fact that he didn't want to spend his young adult years getting his head kicked in speaks volumes to his character. I don't know if he'd have walked away from the game had they been paying what they pay now, but I suspect so.

I got my love of the Cardinals from him. I remember the first and last games I attended with him. The first was at Old Dodger Stadium (the Dodger Stadium of my youth ceased to exist when Fox added luxury seating behind the plate, cut down the foul territory all over the field, and took out the scoreboards that were behind first and third base). We sat in left, where my favorite Cardinal (Lou Brock) patrolled. I came as close to catching a ball that day as I would for 20 years; some bozo listening to a transistor radio (he wasn't even paying attention!) caught it just before it hit him in the mouth. St. Louis was god-awful in those days, and the Dodgers would go to the World Series in 1977. Cards got smoked 11-0.

The last game was eerily familiar. Again we got down there early for BP. Again our seats were in left. Again the Cards got shut out. But this time it was Game 4 of the 2004 World Series, 3-0 to Boston. Yep. I was there when Boston clinched it's first title in 86 years. My singular regret from that day is I didn't get a picture with my Dad while at the game. I have it in my head, and I visit there occasionally; but I would have liked to share it with my son.

The next August he was diagnosed with liver cancer.

He was in a lot of pain, but you never knew it. He went from a 250 lb man to a 210 lb shell in just over 5 months as the cancer, and the kemo, and the other treatments took their toll on him. But he didn't complain. He taught his classes literally up to the day he died (he was forced to stop 2 weeks before the end). And he handled the ordeal with dignity and humility. Courage is facing the unknown calmly, even though you know it will not end the way you want it to. My Dad had more courage than anyone I've yet met.

When you lose someone close to you it leaves a huge hole. It takes a while to get your bearings straight; to figure out what's important and where you can go from that point. I'm still trying to figure all of it out. What keeps me going? The belief that there is more to existence than this 'crude matter'. The chance to be the father to my son that my Dad was to me. I will never get over the loss of my Dad. But my life didn't end that day. And he would expect me to keep living.

RIP, Dad. I miss you.

Trivia time

I'll probably post more later. For now, here's the trivia for today:

Answer to Friday's question: Augie Galan (Cubs, 1955), Dick McAuliffe (Tigers, 1968), and Craig Biggio (Astros, 1997).

Today's question: Who has hit the most career HR in Yankee Stadium?

Nothing like a quiet rule change to prove wrongdoing was done

Slow work day.

Perusing this week's SI in better detail (between midnight feedings for the Little Dirka), I noticed a small note that MLB has announced some rule changes for 2007. Now MLB changes the rules that govern the sport only slightly more frequently than Catholics pick a new Pope, so this is news. Let's delve a little further into the changes:

1. Tie game no longer forces a do-over. I guess this is a good rule; if the teams are tied 5-5 in the seventh, and AP has hit 3 HR's on the afternoon, the game will continue the next time weather allows, instead of starting over from scratch and wiping out all those statistics. A victory for stat hounds everywhere! Can this rule be retroactively applied to make stats from all those washed out games in last century count? No, guess not.

2. The Derek Jeter Rule. You can't go into the stands anymore for a foul ball? Is this move designed to protect the players or the fans? You also can't go into the dugout anymore? Don't we reward extra effort in this country? (I think the dugout caveat to the new rule is overkill; with protective fences in place around all dugouts (except Fenway, I think), players don't go in there very much anymore anyway.)

3. The Kenny Rogers Rule. No more warnings if the baseball you pitched is found to be damaged or scuffed. Think they found evidence of tampering on balls during Game 2 of the World Series? I think so. Too bad this rule didn't include 'automatic 10 game suspension if you don't wash your hands'.

What a week.

Well now Mrs. Rant is sick. So this will be another short post.

I'm lucky my body treats infection the same way Jason Kidd treats his wife. Minus the frolicking with other bacteria/viruses, of course.

SI has a nice article on spring training this week. I had heard rumors that the Dodgers were contemplating moving from Dodgertown in Vero Beach, FL, to Arizona, ostensibly as a 'cost-saving measure'. Never mind they had one of the best complexes in Florida, and all the history that echoes through there. Looks like they're moving to Glendale (home of the Pink Taco, er, University of Phoenix Stadium) starting in 2009. What a crock.

One of the best things about the Submarine Force (hey! Two posts this week comparing events in the sporting world to the military!) is we remember our history. Whether it's by being on a boat named after a boat that served during WWII (like SEAWOLF) or talking with submarine veterans at the annual Submarine Birthday Ball, it is a tangible link to those who went before, and I believe it strengthens the force. From the article, it sounded like the Dodgers organization understood that - at least until recently. Sure, Koufax, Wills, Snyder, Hodges, and the other great Dodgers may still pass through spring training, and may still give motivational speeches; but some of the mystique is gone with the passing of Dodgertown into history.

Greed eventually ruins everything. It sure is for the 4 major sports leagues in this country.

Anyway, off the soapbox. Here's your trivia fix for the weekend:

Trivia time: Answer to yesterday's question: Bill McKechnie (Pirates, Cardinals, Reds), and Dick Williams (BoSox, A's, Padres).

Today's question: Name the three men who have played an entire season (150 games or more) without grounding into a double play. Hint: All three played after World War II ended.

Enjoy your weekend. There may be a post here following the Nova/Rutgers game on Saturday.

Rick Ankiel

Viva El Birdos posted a rather fanciful 2007 season idea with Rick Ankiel at the center. Which got me thinking about the only time I saw Ankiel pitch in person.

I spent the second half of the 2000 season deployed to the Western Pacific on a submarine, so our sports news was spotty at best. I knew the Cardinals won the NL Central, and that they beat the Braves 3-0. I later figured out that they lost the NLCS to the Mets. My wife taped all 8 Cardinal games from that playoff year, and I watched the Braves series on my off-watch time, in the wardroom, with another officer who is a die-hard Cardinal fan.

Watching Ankiel self-destruct in Game 1 was disturbing. It was as if a switch in his head got shut off. All of a sudden he couldn't consistently throw strikes anymore. And it was between half-innings, too - he was fine in the first, then the wheels came off.

Only Rick knows if the shock La Russa's surprise announcement that he was pitching Game 1 of the NLDS in his rookie season is what eventually set him over the edge. I won't speculate on that. I know La Russa kicks himself for that decision; I believe he said as much in 'Three Nights in August'.

The other thing about Ankiel is I never felt about him the way I did about J.D. Drew. Drew had prodigious talent, but always seemed to be coasting; he could work harder, but why? Ankiel never came off as a spoiled rich kid. He knew he had talent, but he worked to use it. So as time went on and Ankiel struggled to regain his form, I rooted for him to make it all the way back.

And I was there when he did. September 7, 2004, at Petco Park against the hometown Padres. It started out shaky (leadoff single to center), but ended strong (sac bunt, popout, ground out). And I remember, even though I was sitting waaaaaayyy up in the rafters on the third base side, down the LF line, that the team met him at the top step to congratulate him as he left the field. The kid had made it back to the majors. There was, at least it seemed from 300 feet away, a genuine display of happy emotion for him and his success.

We know now that Sept 2004 was an Indian Summer; a last hurrah for Rick Ankiel the pitcher, a tantalizingly short glimpse into what might have been for the southpaw. And as he tries to play his way onto the ML roster as an outfielder, I sincerely hope he makes it. If only as a late inning defensive replacement and bat off the bench, I hope he makes it.

Trivia time. Answer to yesterday's question: Curt Flood (7), Willie McGee (3), Jim Edmonds (3). Obviously Jimmay has won more than 3 Gold Gloves, but I'm only counting the ones he won as a Cardinal.

Today's Question: Since I follow the Cardinals and live in Padre-ville, here's a question that touches both: Name the only two managers to take three teams to a pennant. Bonus if you can name the three teams each managed into the post season.

We're On The Road To Nowhere

Short post - we have a sick baby.

Norv Turner. Nice. I am a fucking genius.

Interesting article in today's Post-Dispatch on Rick Ankiel. I give the kid a lot of credit - at least he's trying to make the most out of his talent, even after his major setback. I may elaborate my thoughts on Rick later this week (baby condition allowing).

Nova predictably lost to Marquette, 80-67. Hello NIT.

Trivia time. Yesterday's answer - Frankie Frisch. Told you it was easy.

Today's question: Name the only 3 Cardinal outfielders to win a Gold Glove. Bonus: List how many each man has won.

F%$$#@g Hoyas....

I'll get to the trivia answer (and today's question) in a moment.

G'Town 58, Nova 55.

Very frustrating. Especially since it was a game that the Cats could have easily won. I turned it on to see Nova sink 2 free throws and up their lead to 11 at 29-18. Hoyas then went on a 9-0 run to end the half, culminating in a 3/4 court buzzer-beater 3 pointer. 29-27 at the half.

Needless to say, I watched National Treasure instead of the second half.

But I did turn it on in time to see the team give up a 55-53 lead, and Clark miss a 3-ptr with 5 seconds left.

If their Tourney hopes aren't dead, they certainly are severely injured. Today's game at Marquette takes on the appearance of a must win. Marquette is the #12 team in the country going into this week. Yikes.

Figures. Georgetown rips our heart out again. If they'd managed to hold on and beat Florida in last year's tournament, who knows what would have happened?

Trivia Time. Well there was an overwhelming number of answers submitted (read: zero), which means either (a) I stumped everyone, or (b) my readership has dwindled to just me. I'll go with (a) - it's easier on my ego. Answer: Artie Wilson hit .402 in 1948 while playing for the Birmingham Black Barons.

I said I'd make the questions range from easy to start the week to hard on Friday, so here's today's hanging curveball: Which Cardinal great was known as 'The Fordham Flash'?

Answer tomorrow.

Dean Spanos hates San Diego

Before we get to today's trivia question, some minor news:

Norv Turner is interviewing for the Chargers open head coaching position (as is Rex "I'm not Buddy" Ryan and Mike Singletary).

Norv Turner.

58-82-1 in two disappointing stints as a head coach (Redskins, Raiders).

This is the guy the Chargers will hire. It makes sense - Norv Turner possesses the requisite characteristics to keep the Spanos' tradition of winning teams in SD intact. Unfortunately, the Coronado Bay Bridge will be shut down due to the number of former fans high-diving into the sparkling waters below. That would keep many thousands of sailors from reaching their work stations/ships at Naval Air Station North Island. Our Armed Force readiness will be seriously affected, meaning the terrorists will have won.

The Secretary of Defense must step in and prevent Norv Turner's hire. Our War on Terror depends on it!

----------------

On to the trivia post: Since I post at night (after work and once Little Dirka is in bed), I will post a question on Sunday-Thursday nights. That way (a) West Coast readers get first crack at the question, and (b) East Coast afficionados can check it out with their morning coffee/bloody mary/bong hit. Other items of interest:
- Correct answer will be posted with the next trivia question.
- First commenter with the right answer will be credited alongside the question.
- I will try to make the questions harder as the week goes along.
- There will be no theme to the questions - that's too much work and I'm tired.
- Questions won't just be about the Cardinals (although most of them probably will).

So here we go:
Who was the last professional baseball player to hit .400? (Hint: It ain't Ted Williams).

Answer Monday.

And I STILL don't have my GIGANTOSAUR jersey!

I feel.....Like.....SINGING

Pitchers and catchers reported today!
A-A-A-A-Alleluia!
Jimmy E is on the way!
A-A-A-A-Alleluia!
Wells searching for his lost stuff!
A-A-A-A-Alleluia!
Carp is more than tough enough!
A-A-A-A-A-A-Alleluia!

AP hacking in the cage!
A-A-A-A-Alleluia!
Duncan's play causes fits of rage!
A-A-A-A-Alleluia!
Wilson just wants more contact!
A-A-A-A-Alleluia!
Ecker has that skill he lacks!
A-A-A-A-A-A-Alleluia!

Tony furrows his brow anew!
A-A-A-A-Alleluia!
Dave's got lots of work to do!
A-A-A-A-Alleluia!
Hang the banner very soon!
A-A-A-A-Alleluia!
In hell I have a reserved room!
A-A-A-A-A-A-Alleluia!

Trivia questions start tomorrow.

To the tune of 'Jesus Christ Has Risen Today'. Yes, there is something seriously wrong with me. I had the first stanza in my head all morning.

Martygate - the day after

Yep, unaccountably steaming about the Schottenheimer firing - and I'm still not a fan of the Chargers.

Ah, this reminds me of the salad days of Bobby Ross and Busby Berkeley - when the team went to the Super Bowl, then had some less than stellar seasons (which I will blame on the animosity between Ross and Berkeley Breathed for the purposes of this article) followed by Ross' firing in 1996. The Chargers next 3 seasons (at least until Bobby Beathard left)? 4-12, 5-11, 8-8. It didn't get appreciably better until Der Schott arrived (2000 - 1-15; 2001 - 5-11).

What really makes me shake my head and smirk is this rampant belief that the Chargers are a class organization. Back in the days of Fouts, Joiner, J. Jefferson, Chuck Muncie (OK, maybe not druggie Muncie, but he was a BAD-ASS on the field) and General Winslow (his son thinks he's a soldier; must have gotten it from somewhere), yeah, they were a great organization. But how about since Alex Spanos bought the team in 1984?

Winning seasons: 1987 (strike year, 8-7), 1992, 1994, 1995, 2004, 2005, 2006.

That's right: SEVEN winning seasons in 22 years. That's not exactly a stirring record of success. Not counting the strike season, half of those campaigns were managed by Der Schott.

So I have to scratch my head in wonderment that Der Schott was fired yesterday. Obviously he was doing the job on the field with the players he got from AJ Smith. If he was fired because (a) he backed his assistants pursuing other jobs that advanced their careers in professional football (a position I firmly believe is correct and exemplifies what a true leader does), and (b) because he wanted to hire his brother as the Defensive Coordinator (OK, that's a little strange), I think Dean Spanos made a very large mistake here.

And I still don't have my GIGANTOSAUR jersey.

I'm sure the catfight will surface on YouTube shortly

Marty Schottenheimer got canned today.

This is why I'm glad I'm not a Chargers fan. Only an organization completely inept could screw up this horrendously. At least with the Cardinals and the Lions you EXPECT them to suck because their ownership/leadership was inept. But the Chargers tempt fans (like the Sirens of Greek mythology) with promising players and good records, only to piss it away.

Must be something in the Mission Valley water that makes everybody hate each other (a la Bobby Ross and Beathard), not talk to each other (Smith/Schott) or just plain crazy (Alex Spanos).

You mean to tell me that, with all that money laying around courtesy of the NFL, and all that talent on the roster, AJ Smith and Schottenheimer couldn't find a way to get along? What a pair of babies (a term my focus group (Mrs. Rant) informed me was least likely to get me sued).

14-2 last year. Yes, they laid an egg in the playoffs, but 14-2! And 12-4 two years ago. Apparently that couldn't breed at least a tacit working relationship, if not respect.

Not to mention that their two major coordinators are now coaching the Dolphins and Cowboys. Which means a new offense for next season, replacing what was one of the most dangerous in the league.

So how do you find a coach to take over for a guy who put up the best record in the NFL? At this late juncture. With most of your assistant coaching jobs open. And with precious little time before the draft. What's his expectations going to be? 13-3? Lost in the AFC championship game? See ya.

And where the F**K is my GIGANTOSAUR jersey!?!?!?!

Effin bastards.

Masters of the Main Line

Villanova 56, St. Joe's 39.

For those readers not familiar with the geography of Philadelphia PA, Villanova University sits at one end of Lancaster Avenue, and St. Joseph's Wayward Rest Stop for Red-Headed StepChildren sits at the other. So once again the smart, well educated, coherent disciples of St. Augustine prevail in this mini-border war.

I keed, I keed. Actually I don't consider this rivalry as intense as some other ones for the Wildcats (Georgetown, Syracuse, and Connecticut immediately jump to mind; throw in Pittsburgh when I was matriculating as well). St. Joe's has a good team once in a blue moon; Nova has one once a decade. We typically beat up on them Hawks. Other than their mascot's annoying habit of constantly flapping his wings, they don't bother me. Martelli is actually funny.

But, winning the City Series is nothing to sneeze at, and with this victory Villanova has won it for the second straight year.

16-7 is pretty good on a team loaded with Freshmen and Sophmores. I figure they have a good shot at winning at least 3 of their remaining games (Cincinnati, Seton Hall, Rutgers), and an outside shot at 3 more (G'Town, Syracuse, UConn). Beating Marquette in Wisconsin? Probably not. 20 wins and an 8-8 record in the Big East should be good enough to get them into the NCAA tourney for a third straight year.

6 days until pitchers/catchers report. I'm going to start a new feature here once the team reports: A daily trivia question. Answers will be posted the following day. Credit will be given to the person submitting the first correct answer along with the actual answer. These questions will focus on Cardinal Trivia. I have enough items to carry me from the start of spring training through 30 September, so I hope you enjoy the feature.

Put your Super Bowl behind you for one more year...

Colts 29, Bears 17. Turnovers made the first quarter exciting, but other than that...well...Chargers/Patriots was a better game. And Colts/Patriots was a more tense game.

Some random thoughts from the event:

- Rex Grossman will take the heat for this loss. And he did throw some awful passes - which I found odd seeing as he played his college ball in Florida so he should have been used to playing in the rain. But the Bears offensive gameplan cost them this game. 11 first downs (and at least 5 of those came after they were down by 12)? Wow.

- Devin Hester is a mighty dangerous man - and I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought, 'Well, Ohio State scored on the opening kickoff and got their asses kicked.' after he did the same thing.

- If I never see the Chevy ad where guys are taking their shirts off to clean a car again, I'll die happy. Made me choke on my nachos.

- The Career Builder ads were the best.

- I made waaaaayyy too much chili. I'll be eating chili for about 2 weeks. Need any homemade chili? Let me know and I'll send you some.

- Prince was OK - not as awful as Paul McCartney or the Stones were, but nowhere near as good as U2 was.

- I couldn't hear Nantz or Simms for most of the telecast because my son was loud throughout - and I was much happier with his commentary on the game.

- Flat screen TV's are great! Now I need to see it with the HD settings.

Anyway, that's it - 10 days until pitchers and catchers report. Woo Hoo!

Update [2/5/07 1300] : I remembered a few more things I wanted to point out from the game:

a. Peyton Manning is a big fat pussy. To wit: (1) after the horrific handoff to Addai (or was it Rhodes?) that turned into a fumble recovery for the Bears, Manning made NO EFFORT to cover the ball. I swear he ran away from the contact. At least when the Sex Cannon fumbled he tried to dive on the ball, contact be dammed. (2) after pitching the ball to Rhodes (or was it Addal?) on his 'scramble' in the third quarter, he stopped. Normal people would have tried to throw a block for the guy with the ball. Or kept it and tried to make some yardage. But apparently Laser Rocket Arm is made of porcelain.

b. I'd like to send a personal shout out and thank you to Hunder Smith for muffing that extra point hold, and Adam Vinateri for missing the field goal at the end of the half. I had 6/4 as my numbers. And a cooooool $200, if you please...

IT'S SUPER BOWL WEEKEND! (whoo)

I blew off my normal Thursday column becuase I'be been sick. Two trips to the ER in the last 10 days. Steroids. Water weight gain. Unable to sleep with the pain. I don't recommend it.

But I have been able to monitor all the Super Bowl silliness, and, Rex Grossman/Kyle Orton posts aside, it's been pretty disappointing. Bill Simmons taunting us from Miami. Negro Bowl I. (The coverage of Dungy vs. Smith has been enough to make me vomit.) So I can't wait for the Super Bowl to be over - at least I won't have to listen to the hype any longer.

Once my teams get knocked out (or fail to qualify - thanks Rams for blowing those games against Seattle), my rooting interest passes to rooting AGAINST teams I hate. Does this make me a bad person? Probably. But I don't care. So watching the aforementioned Seahawks, Dallas, G-Men, Ravens, and Patriots head into the off-season has been mucho enjoyable-o. Leaving me with ambivelance concerning tomorrow's contest.

I haven't had anything emotionally invested in the Super Bowl since Pats/Eagles (and ended up with the short stick that day - although I did win a cool $125 in my football pool for picking the third quarter score. Nice). I (the master of opinion) don't have one when it comes to this game. My disgust for all things Chicago begins with the Cubs and ends with the Blackhawks. My dad thought Johnny U was the greatest quarterback to ever play the game, so there's a certain soft spot for the Baltimore Colts - but I don't like the Indy Colts. Ultimately I can root for an entertaining game. And I will.

And a couple of super bowl ads that make me laugh. AND that my numbers come up again in our pool.

So as I count down the days to spring training (11 days until pitchers and catchers report to the Cardinals Complex in Jupiter), today I'll be making copious amounts of Dad's special chili (Miss you Dad), watching Little Dirka try and keep his balance while sitting, and preparing for our modest party tomorrow.

All signs point to a satisfying weekend. Villanova just beat Louisville 57-53, augmenting their NCAA tourney resume. See you after the 'big game'.

A frustrating ending for the Cats

Notre Dame 66, Villanova 63.

This is the same team the Cats torched by 15 last week, shooting 57% from the floor. Not so much good shooting Saturday - apparently the weather in Indiana makes the rims less forgiving.

Because of softball practice (among other things) I mercifully didn't sit through this entire game. But I did turn it on with 1:03 remaining, and the Cats down 64-60. Here's the sequence:

- Falls gets a foul call when he jumps into Nardi. Nardi fouls out. Falls sinks 2 free throws, 66-60 Irish.

- Nova ball. Redding fouled on a 3-pointer. Makes first. Misses second. Misses third deliberately, Sumpter falls on it. Jump ball. Possession: Nova. 66-61.

- Sumpter misses 3-pointer. Cunningham fouled on rebound. Makes both. 66-63. (Pacing.)

- 20 seconds left. ND throws in bounds pass away. Nova timeout. (Pacing faster, rolling eyes.)

- Nova works for a shot. Redding open left of top of the key, misses. Ball goes THROUGH a ND defender out of bounds. Nova ball. 5.9 seconds left (I start ripping my hair out).

- In bound play is an abortion. Somehow Cunningham gets a floating lob hanger pass and pass to Sumpter for a wide open 3 (same spot Redding missed from). Clank. ND rebound. Foul. 1.3 seconds left (I turn off TV).

So they really could have won this game with a little clutch shooting. ND has won 17 in a row at home now. Tomorrow the Cats host Pittsburgh, the best team in the league so far this season.

Oh, and Weaver formally signed with Seattle. What a doofus.

No post tomorrow - it's an anniversary (or something) at the Rant household, so I'll have to give the missus my undivided attention [sigh]. She's very demanding that way. :)

RIP, Bing Devine

Vaughan P. "Bing" Devine, the General Manager who built the Cardinal World Series teams of the 1960s, died today in St. Louis. He was 90.

Best known for his fleecing of the Cubs with the Broglio for Brock trade, he also signed such notables as Bob Gibson (he was pretty good), Curt Flood (good), and Julian Javier (named his son 'Stan' after the patron of this blog).

I can't really be sad for anyone who dies at the ripe old age of 90. He had a full, rich life and did what he loved - worked in baseball. With any luck, we all should live that long.

Rest your oars, Bing. You earned it.

Weaver Falling

The Post-Dispatch is reporting that Jeff Weaver is close to signing with the Seattle Mariners.

I guess that talk last October about coming back to the Cardinals was just that - talk.

I don't begrudge today's star athlete's desire to cash in. I object to the amount of money they make because (a) they aren't worth it, and (b) it ultimately drives the price of basic necessities up for me, however, if I had the talent and drive athletically I might sign with the highest bidder, too.

But I've always wondered why some guys, when they find or fall into a great situation (like Weaver found in StL last season), are so quick to leave it. Seattle was a bad club last season (78-84) that has gotten weaker over the winter. Why would anyone want to leave the Defending World Series Champs for that environment? Seattle hasn't made the playoffs since 2001. They haven't finished above .500 since 2003, while StL has made the playoffs every year this millenium (except 2003), and hasn't finished below .500 since before the turn of the century (1999 to be exact).

LaRussa and Duncan obviously liked the guy, worked with him, stroked his ego, and returned him to his Detroit Tiger form and nastiness - doesn't that count for something?

Apparently not.

Maybe he has a thing for Venti Lattes. Or depressed sweater-wearing pasty white women. Or he likes the fatties. Or he likes anonymity. Whatever. I don't think there's any chance he'll enjoy next season the way he enjoyed the end of the last one.

Well, thanks for the quality starts in the playoffs, Jeff. Enjoy the wilderness. I hope six months from now you're not kicking yourself for signing with Abbott and Costello.

Wildcat Rising

V for Villanova, V for victory; B for something something something....

It's amazing what two victories over top-20 teams will do for your reputation.

The mighty Cats vaulted to #27 in the USA Today poll, and #30 in the AP, with last week's wins over Villanova West (er, that school Weis works at) and the Texas Durants. They kept rolling tonight with a 82-73 victory over the Friars of Provi-dum College.

Oh, that snapped a 12-game home winning streak for the Rhode Islanders.

'Nova is now 4 games into the toughest 6 game stretch on their schedule. They're 3-1. Next is a rematch in Indiana (which will go unnoticed thanks to Peyton Manning) against the #22 Irish, then a home game against #9 Pittsburgh (the class of the Conference this year).

I had my doubts about the lads making it to The Dance for a third straight year. However, with an RPI of 21, their defense tightening, and Scottie Reynolds playing like the McDonald's All-American he was last year, anything is possible. If they can shut down Texas without their best player (Curtis Sumpter sat out the game with a 'deep bone bruise'), who knows what they can do the rest of the way?

No Villanova team has made the Sweet 16 three years in a row. It's waaaaaaayy to early to be counting those chickens, but why not? That by itself would be a major achievement for this group.

Go Cats.

Scenes from the Rant Household

Yep, two days late. Lots of activity at the Rant household...which I won't bore you about here.

Currently Villanova is leading the Texas Durants 26-23. This is the only national broadcast for the boys (unless they make the Tourney), and they look, well, O.K. They've missed a number of wide-open shots or the lead would be much more than three. Oh, and Durant? He's for real. 11 points in the first half - and he looks like he's playing at a different speed than the rest of the boys on the court. Ol' Bill Simmons is right about that.

Of course, the hot topic this weekend will be the NFL Conference Championships. I read Simmons' latest article, and my comment is simply this:

Want some cheese with that whine?

Look, my anti-Patriot stance has nothing to do with how the Pats are doing it with mirrors. Or that Belichick has somehow morphed into Knute Rockne. Or that Brady is already the best clutch QB since Montana and may become the greatest QB since Unitas. Mrs. Rant actively roots for them (now that the Chargers have completed their yearly gag). For me, it boils down to three things.

ONE: Super Bowl XXXVI. I'm sure you're shocked to find out I root for the Rams (although my allegiance dates back to the 1979 group: Vince Ferragamo, Wendell Tyler, Jack Youngblood, Fred Dryer, and Nolan Cromwell).

TWO: The saturation of coverage. Since 2001 we have been inundated with stories on how great Belichick's system is, and how cool Brady is. Tedy Bruschi. Mike Vrabel. Blah blah blah. Enough already. I hated the Dodgers as a kid because I got tired of hearing how good they were. I can see they're good - I don't need to be bombarded with that fact. Same for the NY Mets of the 1980s (the fact that they were the Cardinals' biggest rival from 1985-1989 didn't help them), the Lakers of the 1980s, and the Yankees of the 1990s.

It's so bad I can't enjoy teams for how good they are. I hope they lose just so the talking heads will shut up.

THREE (and last straw): Patriots get knocked out last year by Denver. Can they lose gracefully? Yes. Their fans? 'We didn't get beat - we gave the game away.' How arrogant. How wrong.

Indy can't beat those fucktards by enough to make me happy. Maybe THAT'll shut their fans (and their most famous blog apologist) up. Unfortunately, I doubt it; but for 3 hours tomorrow, It would make for a most gratifying day.

NFC: I'm torn between the feel-good story and my natural pre-disposition to despise all things Chicago. So I think I'll just....enjoy the game.

Under 12 timeout...Nova 48, Texas 38. Enjoy the rest of the game.

[UPDATE: Nova 76, Texas 69. Two Top-25 upsets by the 'Cats this week. Niiiiccceeee.]

Communist Opressors 24, Chargers 21

Photo: Jim Baird of the SD Union-Tribune.

God Dammit.

Smarmy NE fans can STICK IT

I just finished reading Bill Simmons' article for 12 January - it's not bad, you might want to check it out. As no surprise, he picks the Patriots to win this weekend here in San Dog. My response to this:

San Diego will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.

Reasons why:

1. Martyball officially died on Oct 1, 2006. The Chargers lost a game they had controlled to the Ravens because Marty, predictably, took the air out of the ball. Since that game they are 12-1 and have won 10 straight.

2. Belichick had a questionable record overall (41-55) and playoff record (1-1) before Tom Brady joined the team. Since then he's won 3 Super Bowls. I'm not going to suggest that Philip Rivers is the next Tom Brady, but he could be - you got to start somewhere.

3. LDT.

4. The bye week. Teams with the extra week off are 51-13 since 1990.

So sorry, Boston - get your grousing faces ready. Sports Talk Radio needs you to lose - what other big fan base of losers will call in for the next 8 months to whine about how their team was better but got screwed (a la the Denver loss last year)?

Now - how will they get to the Super Bowl? Here's how (as Deadspin BallGirl, AKA Mrs Rant pointed out):

They have to play the Ravens. The blew the 1 Oct game and they know it. AND they'll get the rematch in their building. Emotion is a HUGE part of football - the Chargers will be riding a lot of emotion in the AFC Championship game.

So start spreading the news - Chargers in the Super Bowl. The bandwagon has officially left the barn.

And I have credibility - after all, I predicted the Cardinals would win the World Series. What? This is a Cardinal site, you say?

So what?

Mulder stays...FEED ME!

Mark Mulder has re-signed with the Cardinals. Two years, $13M, option for 2009. I'd like to quote Mark (as reported in the Post-Dispatch article) on this event:

"I had fun here and the one thing that ate at me was that no one in St. Louis — not the coaches, the fans, even some of my teammates — nobody in St. Louis has seen what I'm capable of doing," Mulder said from his Arizona home. "Even in 2005, it wasn't that bad, but it wasn't what I'm capable of doing. That wasn't the sole reason for coming back, but it was one of the reasons."

Oooh. I just got all tingly.

Why? Because this sounds like Chris Carpenter circa 2003. He had something to prove - he knew he had the talent to pitch in the big leagues, and he wanted to prove he was still capable after his surgery in 2002. I was misty-eyed during Carp's Game 3 of the World Series gem (oh, wait - Little Dirka poked me in the eye that night), because Carp had fought through 2 tough injuries to showcase his Cy Young stuff on the biggest baseball stage. A culmination of his journey back through all that pain.

I don't know if Mulder has the same bulldog streak Carpenter has. Returns from 2005/06 say no - he got lackadaisacal too many times when things went wrong (The balls Mark Bellhorn and Geoff Blum hit off him in San Diego still haven't landed yet). However he was willing to go out there and fight even when he knew his arm wasn't right, which means he may have that desire deep down. If he can back up what he said above, Redbird Nation can sleep well.

Jeff Weaver? The ship with your chances of re-signing with StL just sailed, my friend. Enjoy the view from Scott Boras' basement until you sign with the Texas Rangers. I would have liked to see you back, but here we are.

On a humorous note - the Dodgers announced the opening of an all-you-can-eat-section in the right field bleachers next season. Yep, for $35 ($40 on game day) you can see how much ball park food (hotdogs, popcorn, peanuts, nachos, soft drinks) it takes before your stomach explodes and/or your heart stops. Seeing as the Dodgers have no left-handed power on the roster, you're going to need to eat all that food - it could be a long season in Chavez Ravine.

Note that beer is not included on the menu. Communist Bastards. Walter O'Malley would have included beer. Of course, Walter O'Malley wouldn't be charging $40 a ticket to sit in the bleachers. My first game at the Stadium? Seventy-five cents for a bleacher seat.

Think Kobayashi will be blacklisted from buying season tickets?

Nova beats Georgetown - AGAIN.

Banner day in the Rant household - the Wildcats of Villanova secured their first Big East Win of the season, smiting lowly Georgetown 56-52. I soooo love sticking it to this bunch of pretentious bastards (the whole school is full of them; I have nothing per se against the basketball team). So to recap, Georgetown teams coached by a Thompson and featuring a Ewing are no match for the Rulers of the Main Line.

And all this with our best player fouling out after scoring only 5 points.

Nova moves to 12-4 on the year, although only 1-2 in the Big East. Very, very early in the season; there's no need to panic.

Oh yeah, there was some college football game on yesterday, too. You might have heard about it.

One more item - Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr were voted into the Hall of Fame today. Well deserved for Gwynn. I had the pleasure of being a season ticket holder and watching him during the 1997 season - statistically his finest offensive year. The man hit .500 with runners in scoring position that season - superhuman. It seemed like every time the Padres needed a key hit, he would double up the alley in right center.

Ripken? He's pretty good, too. I think his consecutive games streak was over-hyped, but he's a member of the 3000 hit club and a 2-time MVP, as well as a 19-time All Star. Nice selection.

McGwire got only 23.5% of the vote. I've already shared my thoughts on that subject. I'm a little too pissed off to vent on this vote result yet - maybe in a couple of weeks after I give it some careful thought.

What's really bullshit, though, is Wally Joyner got no votes. You got to be kidding me! Bobby Bonilla got 2 and WallyWorld none? There is no God.

Anyway, I'm still digging out from moving this weekend, so there may be a dearth of posts for about a week or so. But don't despair, dear reader - I'll be back.

Apparently Jake Peavy has huge balls, too

Jake Peavy is a competitor. He's not afraid of anybody who steps into the batters box. Apparently that attitude carries over into real life, too.

Today Jake was to leave for a goodwill tour in the Caribbean. He was probably late - watch must have stopped - so he double parked his car at the Mobile Regional Airport to drop off his bags. Officer Friendly saunters up to him and tells him to move his car.

Jake does what all of us want to do when an authority figure is being unreasonable. He told the cop to stick it. Naturally Jake was arrested. I'm quite sure that action stopped all double-parking at the Airport. Yep - traffic probably flowed much smoother for at least 10 minutes. Or until Mr. Letter Of The Law moved on.

Must be a regional airport thing, we never have that kind of blatant disregard for public safety laws here in San Diego.

Unconfirmed reports stated the rent-a-donut is a Hispaniola native agitated because the goodwill tour was only of the Dominican Republic.