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The Home Stretch

Posted on February 6, 2012 at 7:11 AM
Filed Under: St. Louis Cardinals | United Cardinal Bloggers
Can you feel it?  That weight that has been lifted off our collective shoulders?

No more do we have to worry about some inferior game.  No more do we have to put up with talk of quarterbacks and touchdowns.  We can now focus on the important things in life--like the fact that it is less than two weeks before pitchers and catchers report.

You can already see it, can't you?  The crisp white uniforms contrasting with the bright red caps.  The bright Florida sun beaming down while players with numbers like 67 and 82 play catch or stretch on the green grass.  The pop of the glove as multiple pitchers throw to multiple catchers. The sounds of baseball in the air.

Two more weeks.

Unfortunately, those two weeks may seem like an eternity.  The Cardinals haven't done much lately, which isn't surprising due to their full roster.  Oh, they are supposedly close to a minor league deal with Alex Cora, but when that's what passes for news, you know it's a slow time.  Cora wouldn't be likely to see St. Louis barring injury, which is good.  It's also a testament to the fact there's a new regime that we can think that--most of us would have been a little more leery about the signing had Tony La Russa still been here.

The Roy Oswalt situation still is up in the air.  Bill and I talked about that last night on Gateway To Baseball Heaven and agreed that this idea that the Reds are now interested in Oswalt seemed a bit convenient.  After the Rangers had publicly backed out, it only left St. Louis on Oswalt's list, reducing his leverage to get the $10 million he wanted.  With the Reds supposedly in on him--even as they admit they would have a tough time finding the payroll room--it has to give the Cardinals pause.

It's one thing to let Oswalt go to Texas or Boston or some such.  However, the Reds have made some improvements this offseason and were the 2010 champs.  The core of a very good team is still there and adding Oswalt could theoretically tip the balance of power in their direction.  So do you go a bit higher on your offer to keep him away from the Reds?  Do you hope that Cincinnati is too far away from Mississippi and he won't want to go there?  Because he'd still be in the NL Central and still in the middle part of the country.  I could see the Reds being an intriguing place for him.

Whatever the case, if Oswalt wants to get to camp with everyone else, he's going to have to make a decision quickly.  That doesn't mean he will, though.  Cardinal fans remember that Kyle Lohse signed with the team after spring training had started in 2008 and that worked out OK.  It can happen, but you'd think from the player's perspective they'd like to get everything lined out so they can get in the proper mindset.

Since we last wrote, Edwin Jackson has signed on with the Nationals, giving the Cards another draft pick in the June first-year draft.  Now they have picks 19, 23, 36, 52, and 58, so they have a chance to get some front-line talent into an already burgeoning farm system.  Jeff Luhnow may be gone, but the front office has made some very solid picks in the last few years and if the philosophy is still there, they could make some hay with that many selections.  Should be an intriguing time when the draft rolls around.

Off the field, Fox Sports Midwest made it official and reinstated Dan McLaughlin to the TV booth.  I saw some pictures of Dan from the Cardinal Caravan and he has lost a lot of weight, looking more like the announcer we knew from a few years ago rather than the oversized one of the last couple of seasons.  He's saying and doing the right things and obviously FSMW was convinced of his sincerity.  In a related note, we are scheduled to have Geoff Goldman from FSMW on the UCB Radio Hour a week from this Wednesday and I'm sure this topic will be one that comes up.  (Side note: see the three-man weave of McLaughlin, Ricky Horton, and Al Hrabosky will be returning to the broadcasts this year--hope they have more of a pattern of who is doing the work when.)

A couple of links to close the day.  Our friends at Joe Sports Fan have a redesigned place and a project for the fan base.  They are looking to do a weekly podcast, but they are tapping the listening audience for some funding.  If you are interested in contributing to hear Matt, Josh and Chris on a regular basis, head on over to their Kickstarter page.

Also, my last post dealt with the UCB's postseason publication.  As of this writing, over 400 people have downloaded Happy Flight and we couldn't be more pleased.  If, for some reason, you are not one of those, head on over now and check it out.

Two weeks.  Two more weeks before we really get started.  The Starks were wrong: SPRING is coming!


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Heroes
Matt Holliday (5)
Matt Carpenter (4)
Rafael Furcal (4)
Carlos Beltran (3)
Jaime Garcia (3)
Jon Jay (3)
Kyle Lohse (3)
Lance Lynn (3)
Yadier Molina (3)
David Freese (2)
Adam Wainwright (2)
Lance Berkman (1)
Allen Craig (1)
Shane Robinson (1)
Fernando Salas (1)
Jake Westbrook (1)

2011 Top Hero: Lance Berkman (24)
2010 Top Heroes: Matt Holliday and Albert Pujols (24)
2009 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (28)
2008 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (25)

Goats
Matt Holliday (4)
Carlos Beltran (3)
David Freese (3)
Jaime Garcia (3)
Jason Motte (3)
Marc Rzepczynski (3)
Adam Wainwright (3)
Rafael Furcal (2)
Tyler Greene (2)
J.C. Romero (2)
Fernando Salas (2)
Mitchell Boggs (1)
Matt Carpenter (1)
Tony Cruz (1)
Daniel Descalso (1)
Jon Jay (1)
Erik Komatsu (1)
Kyle Lohse (1)
Victor Marte (1)
Eduardo Sanchez (1)
Jake Westbrook (1)

2011 Top Goat: Ryan Theriot (12)
2010 Top Goat: Brendan Ryan (14)
2009 Top Goats: Rick Ankiel and Todd Wellemeyer (13)
2008 Top Goat: Troy Glaus (13)

2012 Happy Flights
Happy Flights: 7
Happy Flight Opportunities: 12
Happy Flight %: 58%

Through 5/20

    Cardinal Nation Approval Ratings (March 2012)
    Adam Wainwright 91.9% (down 2.8%)
    Chris Carpenter 90.1% (up 3.2%)
    Lance Berkman 88.6%
    Tony La Russa 88.2% (up 17.4%)
    Yadier Molina 87.4% (up 3.7%)
    Matt Holliday 87.3% (down 3.8%)
    David Freese 85.5%
    John Mozeliak 85.4% (up 13.3%)
    Mike Shannon 85.3% (up 0.4%)
    Jose Oquendo 84.7%
    Derrick Goold 82.8% (down 5.0%)
    Mark McGwire 82.6% (up 20.1%)
    John Rooney 81.5% (down 2.8%)
    Mike Matheny 81.1%
    Bill DeWitt 79.8% (up 8.8%)
    United Cardinal Bloggers 78.9%
    Skip Schumaker 73.3% (up 9.2%)
    Jim Hayes 71.9% (down 4.2%)
    Jon Jay 71.1%
    B.J. Rains 69.5% (down 0.9%)
    Kyle Lohse 68.9% (up 13.8%)
    Dan McLaughlin 68.0%
    Joe Strauss 67.7% (up 10.2%)
    Ricky Horton 67.5% (down 1.6%)
    Al Hrabosky 66.4% (up 3.2%)
    Albert Pujols 54.9% (down 45.5%)
    Colby Rasmus 46.5% (down 35.3%)

    2011
    Dave Duncan 87.9% (up 0.9%)
    Matthew Leach 85.5%
    Pop Warner 76.7%
    Ryan Franklin 72.8% (up 3.1%)
    John Vuch 68.9%
    Jeff Luhnow 66.4%
    Dan Lozano 58.7%

    2009
    Rick Ankiel 83.9%
    Chris Duncan 69.1%


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