Search Results for Rafael Furcal

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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

There's a reason while the Cardinals have been recognized as one of the more environmentally-conscious teams in baseball.  Some teams would have seen a six-run lead as something to waste, using that cushion and cruising to a 6-2 win or...  [Posted on May 3, 2013 7:09 AM]

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The Wagonmaker Rides High

It sounded like it was only a matter of time.  Thankfully, this time the sounds were right.Yesterday afternoon, it leaked out that the Adam Wainwright negotiations had reached a productive end.  Wainwright will sign a five year, $97.5 million extension...  [Posted on March 28, 2013 6:46 AM]

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Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin

While it wasn't as dramatic as a hand appearing out of nowhere and making out the roster on the side of the Jupiter clubhouse, the writing on the wall was starting to become clear.  Yesterday, Ronnie Cedeno was weighed on...  [Posted on March 20, 2013 7:59 AM]

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Crazy Rumor Weekend

When the games on the field aren't that interesting, it seems like the off-the-field stuff makes up for it.  The Cardinals were shut out both Saturday and Sunday, capping a week of limited offense, but were quite active in the...  [Posted on March 18, 2013 7:57 AM]

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Halfway Home

We've hit the midpoint of spring training.  Three weeks from today, we're avoiding stupid April Fool's jokes and focusing on the pitching matchup out in Arizona.  It's a long spring this year, what with the World Baseball Classic going on,...  [Posted on March 11, 2013 8:15 AM]

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Confirming The Obvious (And Not As Obvious)

You know, during the winter, there were a lot of days where there just wasn't anything to talk about.  Things were slow and we grasped at whatever crumbs we could find.  Yesterday, well, yesterday wasn't one of those days.Let's start...  [Posted on March 8, 2013 6:54 AM]

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The Ride Starts Early

Last year, the Cardinals were a feast or famine team at times.  Score big or score none.  You weren't always sure what team was going to show up.  While the traditional spring caveats (it's early, it's spring, not the makeup...  [Posted on March 5, 2013 11:15 AM]

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Losses On And Off The Field

While the Cardinals had trouble with Washington this weekend, the focus by Sunday was on what they lost away from the diamond.  The news most of us had been anticipating came along and Rafael Furcal was shut down from baseball...  [Posted on March 4, 2013 9:25 AM]

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A-Thumping We Will Go

You know that on those spring road trips, a lot of the regulars pull rank and don't have to go.  It gives them rest and it avoids any stiff backs or any other bus-related injuries.  So yesterday's lineup had no...  [Posted on February 27, 2013 7:01 AM]

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Baseball, Blessed Baseball

What a wonderful weekend.  Baseball has made its return, albeit in exhibition games where the scores don't mean much (though, as the Yankees found out, you can't call them meaningless games).  We get to hear and see the crack of...  [Posted on February 25, 2013 7:01 AM]

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New Spring Worries

We always want spring to be this time of excitement, of renewal, of getting ready for the season ahead without having to deal with the issues that might bring us down.  This is the fun time, right?However, real life tends...  [Posted on February 21, 2013 11:15 AM]

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Elbowing Into The Conversation

There are headlines in the spring that are fun to read.  "Wainwright Faces Hitters."  "Taveras Takes His Cuts."  Stuff like that is what we want out of our spring training coverage, especially in the first week.  We want to hear...  [Posted on February 20, 2013 7:09 AM]

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The Last Week Without Baseball

Look at the calendar.  We're always working for the weekend, of course, but more so this week than most.  See that, right there on Saturday?  Yep, that's the first spring training game of the year, a little tilt with those...  [Posted on February 18, 2013 7:57 AM]

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New Season, Same Rituals

Pitchers and catchers report next week.  Well, technically they do, but we've already seen lots of pictures of players like Adam Wainwright and Trevor Rosenthal throwing, and odds are they are throwing to somebody and not just letting the balls go loose...  [Posted on February 8, 2013 10:28 AM]

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Skipping Town

In every post you read this morning dealing with the fact that the Cardinals traded Skip Schumaker to the Dodgers last night, you will find two points:A. Schumaker is a wonderful personB. Baseball is a businessTo the former, there's plenty...  [Posted on December 12, 2012 7:02 AM]

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Winter Meetings In Spring Temperatures

The general manager meetings start in Nashville today.  If the climate in Nashville is similar to what it is here--and it should be--it might be less meetings and more pickup softball games.  I know that we don't often have white...  [Posted on December 3, 2012 7:00 AM]

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Cardinal Bloggers Awards: 2012 Ballot

Every year about this time, the United Cardinal Bloggers make their selections on who should win the Cardinal Blogger Awards.  This is the sixth time we've handed out these awards and each year is as much fun as the last.The...  [Posted on November 30, 2012 2:12 PM]

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Stan Musial At 92: Still The Man

As you know, tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  Many of us will gather around tables with family and friends, pausing to give thanks for all that we have.  If you are a Cardinal fan, when your head is bowed, likely a passing...  [Posted on November 21, 2012 7:35 AM]

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News From The Fringe

No, not the alternate dimension where Walternate was running everything nor the Observer-laden future (though that would make for an interesting post series, this is true).  These are those bits and pieces of news that keep filtering out in this...  [Posted on November 15, 2012 6:47 AM]

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Exit Interviews: The Synopsis

So, after 2 1/2 weeks, 45 players, one manager, one general manager, and a whole lot of blog posts, the Exit Interview series has come to an end.  I hope you enjoyed it.  I know it gave me a better...  [Posted on November 11, 2012 3:35 PM]

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Exit Interview: Rafael Furcal

To give myself a reason to look back on this season, I've started this series of blog posts to review each player that spent time in St. Louis during 2012.  More summaries than anything, I imagine the player coming into...  [Posted on October 30, 2012 9:30 AM]

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We Interrupt This Series

Not the World Series, though I will say that watching the Giant pitchers dominating what is a very powerful Detroit Tigers staff makes me feel a little better about the way the NLCS ended.  As of this moment the Tigers...  [Posted on October 28, 2012 9:50 PM]

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Strengthening Their Position

After Friday, while there wasn't necessarily a state of panic within Cardinal Nation, there was definitely some unease.  The Cards had blown a ninth-inning lead and stood just a game and a half ahead of a surging Milwaukee squad....  [Posted on September 24, 2012 6:36 AM]

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Laboring For A Win

After the last week, a win is a win is a win and you can't complain too much about it, but yesterday's victory against the Mets was a little more nerve-wracking than you'd care for when you are drawing...  [Posted on September 4, 2012 6:47 AM]

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The Plague

Someone go fumigate the travel bags and team plane.  Because, apparently, suckiness is contagious.Sure, the team has been struggling lately, but Adam Wainwright was on the mound.  Adam Wainwright.  The Wagonmaker.  The lanky sheriff that strides into town and...  [Posted on September 1, 2012 10:07 AM]

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Unfulfilled Expectations

After Monday night, when the Cards had won to put the Pirates three back and to make ground on about everyone else in the wild card race, things were looking good.  It seemed likely that the Cardinals had put...  [Posted on August 30, 2012 6:47 AM]

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Better Than The Alternative

The Cardinals were able to take two of three this weekend from the Reds. While that's a good thing for their playoff hopes, it's more like a mosquito bite to the chances of actually taking the division.  Whether that matters...  [Posted on August 27, 2012 7:30 AM]

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Sweeping Our Cares Away

With two outs in the bottom of the fourth on Thursday, the Cards were down 4-0 and looking very much like the frustrating, non-broom-wielding team that we've seen much more often than we'd like this season.  Dallas Keuchel, who gets...  [Posted on August 23, 2012 7:42 PM]

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Running Out Of Time

The Cardinals had a prime opportunity this weekend, hosting the team ahead of them for the last wild card slot.  A series sweep would have been outstanding, but two out of three would have at least had them tied...  [Posted on August 20, 2012 9:23 AM]

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Broken Broom

So close.  So close to a sweep and going into the Pittsburgh series tied with the Pirates for a playoff slot.  But just as the Cards got the broom out of the closet, the handle snapped off and they...  [Posted on August 17, 2012 10:25 AM]

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Thanks, Arizona!

Tim Tebow may have had the birthday, but the Cardinals got the gifts.(Side rant: I never watch ESPN anymore.  Maybe occasionally a few minutes of a ballgame, but on the whole, not really.  Part of the reason is because,...  [Posted on August 15, 2012 6:33 AM]

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The Stopper

If there's one truism for this season, it's this--it's so good to have Adam Wainwright back.You have a Cardinal team still smarting from a fifteen-run smackdown and really needing a split against a contending team.  Unfortunately, the Giants were...  [Posted on August 10, 2012 8:44 AM]

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Pick An Adjective

Embarrassing.  Frustrating.  Ugly.  Back-breaking.  Historic.  Anger-inducing.  Aggravating.Pick your word and it fits last night's debacle between the Cardinals and the Giants.  It started rough, got worse and finished up as a spectacle worthy of an R rating for graphic...  [Posted on August 9, 2012 6:47 AM]

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Starting To Roll

"If they hang on here, the Cards will have won--is it ten of their last eleven, John?""Ten of their last eleven, Mike."When I heard that on the radio last night in the ninth, it took me by surprise.  The Cards...  [Posted on August 7, 2012 7:00 AM]

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The Sweep Is On

All weekend long, the Cardinals honored the 1982 World Champions with a reunion, special recognition, and even old uniforms.  Then they did their best impression of the 2004 squad and dominated Milwaukee all the way around.We've already covered most of...  [Posted on August 6, 2012 10:35 AM]

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Four Out Of Five Ain't Good Enough

Apologies for the long gap.  Between work and birthday happenings, I wasn't able to get to writing.  If the Cards lose tonight, I might have to swear it off for a while again because they've played some excellent ball...  [Posted on August 5, 2012 4:34 PM]

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Slipping Back Into The Muck

There was a lot of momentum going with the Cardinals into Wrigley Field this weekend.  It looked like the team we'd hoped would be around all year had finally showed up.  Friday seemed to confirm that things were different,...  [Posted on July 30, 2012 7:23 AM]

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Is This What We've Been Waiting For?

The Cardinals finished up a 6-1 home stand.  Yes, you read that right.  No 4-3, no win one, lose one, an actual good run of baseball.  Let's talk about the last two games before we get into whether we...  [Posted on July 27, 2012 10:50 AM]

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"All Day And All Night"

Going into last night's game, the Cardinals had faced Cy Young winners eight times this year.  Those pitchers were 5-2 with an ERA under 2.00 against this squad.  Clayton Kershaw was a part of that with his shutout earlier...  [Posted on July 25, 2012 6:50 AM]

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This Weekend Has To Be Better, Right?

Six games.  Six games the Cardinals have played since the All-Star Break.  Six games in which the highest offensive output for either team was five games.  Six games when the Cardinals had the runners on late to win.  Six...  [Posted on July 20, 2012 9:37 AM]

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Frustration Returns

If there's any word I've used on this blog regularly during the last couple of years, it would have to be inconsistent or some form of it.  Streaks and momentum seem to have no meaning to this squad and...  [Posted on July 18, 2012 7:35 AM]

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The Tissue-Thin Difference

"The tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill."--John Updike Last night, the Cards were a strike--the thinnest of differences in baseball--away from having a thing done ill.  They had scored no runs on Mike...  [Posted on July 17, 2012 6:59 AM]

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Bitten By The Past

That's not exactly the way we hoped the Cards would start the second half.Facing a team ahead of them in the standings, a team they really needed to do well against, the Cards are swept due to, mainly, a...  [Posted on July 16, 2012 9:27 AM]

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Fire 'Em Up

Before we get started on the second half of the season, a couple of thoughts about this year's All-Star Game:It was extremely good to see Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan again.  I'm not saying that I'd want them...  [Posted on July 13, 2012 10:41 AM]

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Wrapping The First Half

Various work-related things have kept me from catching up on the Marlins series that ended the traditional "first half" of the Cardinals series.  Now, for you, the wait is over!Friday (3-2 loss)Hero: It's tough to know who to give...  [Posted on July 10, 2012 6:50 AM]

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Winning When They Should

Two games against the Rockies, two wins.  That's what good teams are supposed to do, but it's not always been a given with this Cardinal squad.  Let's look at the last couple of nights.Wednesday (4-1 win)Hero: Matt Holliday.  There...  [Posted on July 6, 2012 12:02 PM]

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Losing Twice

Before we get into all the stuff that happened on Tuesday, both on and off the field, let's take a moment to revel in Monday night's win, shall we?First off, Hero status is given to Allen Craig.  It's not...  [Posted on July 4, 2012 10:14 AM]

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Salvaging the Weekend

Two games against the Pirates and, well, at least they snapped the losing streak.  To recap:Saturday (7-3 loss)Hero: Matt Holliday.  The only Cardinal with more than one hit, Holliday also drew a walk and drove in a run.Goat: Lance...  [Posted on July 2, 2012 6:43 AM]

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One Play CAN Make A Difference

In an alternate universe, the post in this space is lamenting numerous scoring opportunities and crediting Carlos Zambrano for bending but not breaking last night.  Instead, we're talking about a five-game winning streak for the Cardinals, a game that...  [Posted on June 27, 2012 6:47 AM]

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The Beat Reporter's Nightmare

By their own admission, beat writers aren't necessarily fans of the team.  There has to be some emotional distance between them and the ones that they cover.  So while the pure fan can fully enjoy games like last night's...  [Posted on June 26, 2012 6:51 AM]

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