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Recently in Texas Rangers CategoryHappily Ever AfterPosted on October 30, 2011 at 1:37 AM
Once upon a time, there was a baseball team.This baseball team wasn't the richest team, though it wasn't poor by any means. It wasn't the strongest team and it wasn't by any means the fastest team. It wasn't even considered the best team within its region, much less in all the land. This team had many players that made up its merry band. It had the Warrior, who could battle teams with amazing firepower and also could undermine them with guts and guile, depending on the situation. It had the Young Gun, a man who started building his legend early and then continued to develop it. There was the Legend, one known far and wide as the most intimidating, the most amazing, the most everything of players. Aiding the Legend was the Hired Hand, imported indirectly from the mountain tribes to help the Legend in his times of trial. To go along with these two was the Rival, a man that had started out as a fierce member of an opposing tribe, only to become a trusted member of this team. There were others, of course. The Local, the Phenom, the Lefty, the Poet, the Gunslinger, the Finisher. All sorts of names and characters made up this unique team. Every year, the Lords of Baseball held a contest in the fall of the year, when the leaves were changing and the north winds began to blow. This contest was to see just which team would be able to hold the title of Best Team and feast on the adoration of those that followed these brave and intrepid men. Teams came from far and wide, down long and winding roads, to get to the tournament, well knowing that only eight of them would be allowed inside the gates once they arrived at their destination. Filed Under: Arizona Diamondbacks
| Atlanta Braves
| Boston Red Sox
| Milwaukee Brewers
| New York Yankees
| St. Louis Cardinals
| Texas Rangers
| Toronto Blue Jays
Comments (6)
This Fairy Tale Still Has A ChapterPosted on October 28, 2011 at 8:29 AM
 Last night, I tweeted before the bottom of the 11th that "this game really needs a Jimmy E home run." Then David Freese walked to the plate. David Freese, the A-ball player that Cardinal fans thought was a throw-in when the deal was made to send Edmonds to San Diego back in 2007. So as he stepped to the plate and worked the count, I thought about this blog and said to myself, "I could write that story." (Though, obviously, not as well as some of these guys.) Then Freese swung, and I said to myself, "Do I get to write that story?" That question was quickly answered as the baseball nestled in the grass of the center field batter's eye, quickly scooped up by an exultant fan. And suddenly, the team that was dead for the umpteeth time in the last couple of months crawled out of that grave and said, "Guys, you are going to have to do better than that to keep us down." The fan base has called them zombie Cardinals and never did that description seem so accurate as last night. The Cardinals couldn't hold off the relentless Texas onslaught and seemed like it was going to finally put them down. Every time the Cards scored to tie the game, Texas immediately responded. A 7-4 lead in the seventh seemed fairly insurmountable, especially given Texas's bullpen, especially when a rally in the bottom of the seventh fizzled out. And yet they weren't done. One in the eighth, though they left the bases loaded and seemed to have not quite been good enough. Then, the ninth. Two runs down against Neftali Feliz, one of the best closers in the game. And therein lies the difference between 2010 and 2011. In 2010, the Cards always seemed to make a game of it, always getting the tying run on or to the plate but never being able to cash in. This year, this run, they seem to do it. Still, you have the tying runs on with Freese up and he's down to his last strike, against a flamethrowing closer looking to get his franchise their first win. The magic is over, right? As one of those football analysts says, "Not so fast, my friend."
Continue ReadingOnce More Into The BreachPosted on October 27, 2011 at 6:47 AM
While it may have not been the driest rainout in history (not being in St. Louis, I'm not sure what the weather actually did, but I know that at least earlier in the evening, there wasn't much coming down), it could have been one of the most important. Or it could have postponed the inevitable.The difference may come down to Jaime Garcia and how well he can pitch tonight in Game 6. As we all know, Garcia is very tough at home and the Rangers have struggled some away from Rangers Park. All that said, this is a rematch of Game 2, a game that was 1-0 in the ninth inning. It's not that it's a walk for the Cards. There have been a lot of stats thrown around, something that Jon and I talked about on the UCB Radio Hour yesterday evening. The Cards have won four of five when they have trailed 3-2 in the World Series. The home team has a significant edge in these kind of situations. There are all sorts of things you can look at and I'm sure there are a number of stats that back a Rangers win as well. In my mind, you have to throw out any stat that doesn't apply directly to this team. This team didn't play in 1982, when the Cardinals came back home and took care of the Brewers. While I'd love to see history repeat itself, as it seemed to do a lot this summer as this team turned into the 1964 squad, it's tough to see where that's all that relevant. What we do know is that the season hangs in the balance tonight. I like the position that the Cardinals are in, but I realize that the narrative works to the Rangers advantage as well. So many people looking forward to Game 7, the idea that the rainout works in the Cardinals' favor, all of that seems to lead to an opening sentence tomorrow morning of "The rain could delay the Rangers' parade, but it couldn't dampen it." So I am significantly worried about this evening, as I think most Cardinal fans are. We can talk about who is going to go in Game 7, if Chris Carpenter will start again on three days' rest, if it'll be a bullpen game, if Derek Holland will take Matt Harrison's slot since he'll be fully rested. All of that is legitimate talk, but the Cards have to keep their focus on tonight. Speaking of tonight, Lance Berkman moves up to fourth, Matt Holliday drops to fifth, Skip Schumaker will be hitting second. Like most all of those moves, as Holliday has been struggling and could be feeling the hand injury more than he's letting on and Schumaker matches up better against Colby Lewis than Jon Jay does, especially with Jay scuffling. (By the way, the great thing about Berkman returning for 2012 is more great Berkman quotes like this one: "You do feel the pressure. But if you can't hit in the fetal position you shouldn't play in the big leagues." Man, how great is it having this guy around?) Either tonight or tomorrow, we are possibly looking at a changing of the guard. While I think Albert Pujols will be back next year, there is still a good deal of uncertainty on that. Edwin Jackson won't be back. Will Rafael Furcal? I'm not so sure if that's the best of ideas, but it's possible. Schumaker? Nick Punto? Kyle McClellan? Lots of people could be walking away, though I bet a good chunk of them return. Somebody that will be returning is Adam Wainwright, who had his options officially exercised. I love the story that he begged to be put on the World Series roster, a request that was never really considered. But how great would it be to start Waino for 2-3 innings in Game 7? Would be amazing, in my mind. Really looking forward to having him back in the rotation next year. Five years ago the Cardinals finished up the Tigers and won #10. Hopefully they can use today to stay in the hunt for #11.  Winter Is ComingPosted on October 25, 2011 at 7:13 AM
I started Monday off with a dead battery in my car. I ended Monday with a dead battery in my team.After Game 3, Cardinal fans were riding high. Albert Pujols had a career--make that historic--night and things were looking good. After Game 4, Cardinal fans tipped their cap to Derek Holland and realized that a 2-2 tie wasn't too bad with Chris Carpenter going the next night. Nobody told us that it wasn't just Holland. It was more that the May Cardinals had returned. Multiple opportunities to score wasted? Check. Double plays of all sorts and sizes? Check. Carpenter getting no run support? Check. A bullpen stumble? Check. Look at this Series without Game 3. The Cardinals have scored six runs in four games. Pujols doesn't have a hit, I don't believe. The starting pitching has been very good, but the bullpen has two losses on its record. These are not the things that inspire confidence in a team. As for last night, there is plenty of blame to go around, including communication equipment, apparently. My focus really is on Matt Holliday. Three times the Rangers intentionally walked Pujols to get to Holliday. Here's what happened: Top of third: Pujols walked, meaning first and third with one out. Holliday grounds into a double play. Top of fifth: Pujols walked, meaning first and third with two out. Holliday grounds out to shortstop. Top of seventh: Pujols walked, meaning runner on first with two out. Holliday singles, moving Pujols to third and himself to second on the throw. The seventh would have worked out if David Freese could have gotten a bases loaded hit with two down, but he couldn't. Still, that third inning really gets me. A fly ball, a groundout to the right side, something to get that run in besides a double play. Of course, you have the bullpen issue, leaving in Marc Rzepczynski to face Mike Napoli (who will almost certainly be named MVP of the Series if the Rangers win, causing much more gnashing of teeth among Angels fans) because the bullpen coach heard "Lance Lynn" instead of "Jason Motte" and didn't have Motte ready to go. Which lead to the first pitching change to issue an intentional walk only. How in the world this kind of mistake happens is almost inconceivable. What did Tony say, "Get me the beard" and they thought Lynn's scruff counted? Forget the bullpen phone, let's get flags for the dugout to wave. Red means Motte, green means Fernando Salas, the striped one means Rzepczynski. Why not? It's not like it's a big secret who they have asked for. The ninth was all sorts of problems. Allen Craig, who'd already been cut down on a failed hit and run, took off with the count 3-2 on Albert with nobody out. Apparently AP called his on his own and if he'd been disciplined enough to go through with it, it'd been no harm, no foul. Instead, Pujols swung through ball 4, Craig is out and what had been a rally was snuffed out. Holliday walked next, but Lance Berkman struck out and was out by a step at home when the ball got away, a step that was probably the result of him not leaving out of the box immediately due to not being sure what had happened. All in all, it was the ugliest game from all facets, hitting, pitching, managing. The only person to come out unscathed, really, is Chris Carpenter, who threw a heck of a game. He made two mistakes, one that Mitch Moreland put into the upper deck and one that Adrian Beltre hit while falling down. (Seriously, still not sure how Beltre hit that one that hard while landing on one knee.) Other than that, he took care of business in a manner befitting the ace of the staff. He deserved a much better fate. Another unheralded point? Texas's defense is really good. If the Rangers win this series, it's going to be because they have made significant plays in the field. We've seen a game-saving play in every one of Texas's wins and David Murphy's catch to end the third might have saved another run and possibly been the difference. Instead of those famous happy flights, the last trip of the season is a crappy flight. The Cards head home bloodied, but hopefully unbowed. There's still hope in this situation, even as we smart over the Game 5 loss. You want hope? Let's talk hope. This wouldn't be a perennial nominee for Most Optimistic Blog in the Cardinal Blogger Awards if I couldn't give you some hope, now would it? Let's talk about the fact that this isn't necessarily the biggest obstacle this team has faced this season. We know they were 10.5 games back and have extended their season beyond anyone's wildest dreams. We know that the Cards were down 1-0 to Philadelphia in a best of five and trailed Game 2 by four runs, but were able to respond. So far, this team has played its best baseball with no margin for error. In fact, the World Series was the only postseason series that they HADN'T trailed in, getting down twice to Philadelphia (forcing them to win two games in a row, one on the road) and trailing Milwaukee as well. They can rally. You have Jaime Garcia going in Game 6 back in Busch Stadium. We saw what Garcia did the first time around and we know how well he does at home. If he can handle the pressure of an elimination game, if he can keep from coming unglued if something goes wrong, the Cards should be able to take that game. Colby Lewis did pitch well against Garcia in Game 2 and goes again in this one, but the Cards could and should be favored. That gets you to a Game 7, where you never know what can happen. TLR will be using every body he can, mixing and matching since there's no tomorrow. So far, since the All-Star Game has "counted", there's not been a Game 7 and the home field advantage has never come into play. There's a first time for everything, and imagine how nuts things would go if Pujols hit a walk-off home run to win the World Series. As much as I'd hate to validate the ASG being tied to home field, I'm good with that. Even if the Cardinals fail in this quest, though, there's a lot to be proud of. I got a NL Champions t-shirt this weekend and, while I've never rooted so hard for a piece of clothing to be dated, I'll be proud to wear it for a long time to come, because this team represents never giving up, fighting for what you want, never letting the odds determine what you do. Does this team still have that in them? We'll find out Wednesday night.  Dying Quail Kills CardinalsPosted on October 21, 2011 at 9:00 AM
TS Eliot had it right. The world didn't end last night, but the Rangers definitely didn't end the game with a blast. Unfortunately, they didn't have to.There's a lot of focus on Albert Pujols this morning and him deflecting the ball Jon Jay threw in enough that Yadier Molina couldn't get Elvis Andrus at second base, setting up first and second with nobody out. There's no doubt that some of the blame has to go there, but it wasn't the biggest issue of the inning, I don't think. Then again, your mileage may vary. There were so many to choose from. --Ron Washington sending Ian Kinsler with nobody out in a one-run game and Kinsler just getting in there ahead of the tag. --Tony La Russa deciding to remove Jason Motte and his high-90s heater for Arthur Rhodes, who matched up well against Josh Hamilton for an out, but not the needed strikeout. --If you are an "announcer jinx" type of person, you had to hate hearing Joe Buck say that the Cards were playing in their 107th World Series game and they'd never had a 1-0 win in that time span. --Maybe you want to go back an inning or so, when Daniel Descalso came up with runners on and two out instead of David Freese, who would have been in that slot if TLR hadn't done his regular defensive replacement move. For me, though, I can't help but think back to that flare that Kinsler hit to start the inning. Another step closer and that ball is caught, there's one out, and Motte can go after Andrus with the crowd behind him and nobody on base. I don't blame TLR too much for having the "no doubles" defense in there, because you don't want to start an inning with a runner on second. Unfortunately, with Kinsler's speed, that's basically what happened. I am also surprised somewhat that TLR did make the Rhodes/Motte move. It makes sense if runners are on first and second, I think, because you can get the out and even if the runners move up, you only risk a tie game if you can get Michael Young out. With a runner already at third, though, and nobody out, you need a strikeout. Rhodes, for all his value, wasn't going to give you that most likely. If Hamilton is fully healthy, the move is more defensible, but the idea that he was going to hit Motte's fastball (at least with any sort of authority) was really diminished by his groin injury. You knew, though, that this was coming. I give credit to Kevin who called it on Twitter before the inning started, and while I teased him a bit, I had a low-level anxiety going as well. The narrative was that La Russa was a managing genius and the Cardinal bullpen was dominant. There came a time when the narrative was going to switch and after all the play of TLR on Thursday after Game 1, that time was likely coming soon. And you have to give all sorts of credit to Texas on this one, not even counting their gutsy play in the ninth inning. They made the plays when they had to, especially Andrus having a diving stop and glove-hand flip that stopped a run from scoring in the fifth. If Furcal's hit goes through, the game takes on a different tone. It could have easily snowballed on Texas there, but they didn't let it. Which is why they won. Overlooked in all of this, though, is the incredible, outstanding work that Jaime Garcia did. Seven scoreless innings after some shaky outings in the postseason. Getting the key outs, and then looking in line to get the win when Allen Craig--again--got the big base hit to drive in the tiebreaking run off of Alexi Ogando--again. Now, even though the Cards are tied 1-1 just like they were after Game 2 of the NLDS and Game 2 of the NLCS, there's a little less optimism in the fanbase, I think. First off, in both of those series, they had split on the road and were coming home. Now, the Cardinals have to go down to Arlington, which isn't necessarily the best place for this team--and the starting pitchers scheduled--to play. The first two series, the Cards lost the first but won the second, meaning that happy flights and happy thoughts got to last for another day. This time, there's no happy flight--for the first time in 18 tries--and you have a down note to dwell on until Saturday's first pitch. The Cards are going to be playing in warmer weather (it should be around 75-80 at game time, instead of 40-45) in a smaller ballpark and having their less pitchers in that environment. It's not exactly the mix that kept the low scores in the first two games, and the Cardinals really don't want to get into a slugfest. Kyle Lohse has a 0.71 GB/FB ratio in 2011, while Edwin Jackson has a 0.79 this season. (For comparison's sake, Chris Carpenter has a 0.88 this year in a down year for him, Garcia has a 1.15 and Jake Westbrook has a 1.47, the reason why some think he should get a start in Texas.) The Cardinals will also being going up against two lefties that they've not seen before (or not much, at least), which typically has been an issue for them. This may be Prince Fielder's revenge--if the Cards had started in Arlington and split, we'd feel a lot better. Does that mean that this series is over? Not by a long shot. First off, c'mon, what would this team do with a 2-0 lead? They can't do things the easy way, we know that by now. If you are down 1-0 in games and 4-0 on the scoreboard to Cliff Lee in a best of five series and are able to come back and win, this setback isn't going to crush your spirits. Secondly, this team, unlike probably any in recent Cardinal memory, is set up to really take advantage of the DH rule. The Cards get to start Craig (which, granted, means he can't pinch hit with the game on the line, but you have to have tradeoffs) and make a potent lineup that much deeper. With lefties coming, you'd think Furcal/Craig/Pujols/Lance Berkman/Matt Holliday/David Freese/Molina/Jay/Nick Punto. That, my friends, is a darn solid lineup. There aren't going to be very many easy innings with that one out there. Third, it's true that the Cards have in the past struggled with new pitchers, especially lefties. That said, the guys in this lineup have hit lefties and, down the stretch, even players they didn't have a lot of video on, they were able to beat. Matt Harrison had a very solid year this year, there's no doubt about it. He struggled in August, but righted the ship and was very effective down the stretch. Interestingly, lefties hit him harder than righties, which may mean Skip Schumaker gets the call instead of Punto. His ERA at home was .80 higher than his road ERA, closing in on four. He can be hit. Derek Holland in Game 4 might be the Cards' best chance of getting things back on the winning track, though. Holland won a lot of games at home, but his ERA was 4.69 there. Like Holland, his August was weak but September was strong. His postseason ERA is over 5, which gives some hope as well. Both of these guys are new to the World Series stage. While Lohse and Jackson haven't necessarily played in the Series, they are more experienced in big games and hopefully won't rattle with the spotlight on them. If this team is able to take the quality at-bats that we've seen them take, you like their chances of taking at least one of Games 3 and 4. Then you have Carpenter in Game 5 and you'd hope to win that one. Come back and you need one of 6 or 7, and Garcia would go in 6 to give the best chance. Is it easy? Heck no. Is it doable? Very. And this team has a habit of doing the difficult. As Mal says, "We have done the impossible and that makes us mighty."  Cardinals Stick To The PlanPosted on October 20, 2011 at 6:36 AM
Step 1: Win Game 1 behind Chris Carpenter. Step 2: Win Game 2, a "happy flight" game. Step 3: Win Game 5, a Carpenter start AND a "happy flight" game. Step 4: Win one of Game 6 or Game 7 at home. After a series where the starters had nothing and the bullpen reigned supreme, a little more baseball order was restored on a very cold night in St. Louis. The temperatures and the moisture in the air might have helped keep balls in the ball park, but there's no doubt that Carpenter had the stuff you expect out of your ace. He made one mistake, a ball that got up to Mike Napoli, who turned on it and roped it down the line for a two-run home run. Other than that, he kept the fearsome Texas offense in check, getting numerous groundballs and never letting Texas really threaten a big inning. Then, just like in the NLCS, Tony La Russa made exactly the right moves. He pulled Carpenter in the top of the seventh and sent Allen Craig up with two on and two out. All Craig did was plate the winning run and, if the ball hadn't bounced just the right way on Nelson Cruz, could have added a run or two of insurance as well. The bullpen was lights out again, with only Fernando Salas stumbling a bit (allowing a walk and a hit), but Marc Rzepczynski struck out both batters he faced with two on and one out in the seventh to keep the score at 3-2. There were a lot of positive signs coming out of this game. There were still the good at-bats that we've seen most of the last two months. The Cardinals hit the ball hard at times off of C.J. Wilson and the Texas bullpen, even if they didn't always have something to show for it. For example, David Freese roped one to center that looked like it'd have gone out of the ballpark if the temperature had been about 65 instead of 45. Late in the game Rafael Furcal hit one that got the crowd excited as well before Cruz ran it down right at the warning track. However, Cardinal fans can't start planning parade routes just yet. The Cardinals really had to win this game and they did. Texas probably didn't have to win it to get a title. There is still some significant work to be done and hopefully Jaime Garcia is up to the task. Plus, how will the Cardinals react to actually having a lead after the first game of a series? The stats show that the team that wins Game 1 wins the Series 19 of the last 23 times. Since 1993, the home team winning Game 1 and the World Series winner have been one and the same. However, there were similar stats for the NLDS and the NLCS and the Cards bucked them. There's no reason why Texas can't buck them in this Series. Granted, I like where the Cardinals are sitting now, I liked how they played last night, and I'd much rather be up one game than down one game. I just don't think we can get all that comfortable yet, even if they are sticking to the plan. A Game 2 victory would help me feel much more secure. What are the odds of that? Well, it is Jaime Garcia at home and we know how effective he's been there. Looking at the Rangers' overall stats, it doesn't look like there is much difference between how Texas hits lefthanders vs. how they hit righthanders. However, they are a significantly less powerful team on the road, so the Cards have that going for them. We'll probably hear a lot about how the Rangers' Game 2 pitcher, Colby Lewis, is the inverse of Garcia, how he's much better on the road than at home. It's a true statement--teams slug 100 points less against him when he's not in Arlington. That's probably because he's a pretty extreme fly ball pitcher (GB/FB 0.70). Those balls are not likely to carry in a cold Busch Stadium either, so the Cards are going to have to hit line drives and grounders through the infield to win this one. (Lewis does have a really cool birthday, something I'm pretty sure Christine Coleman will agree with me on.) I like the Cards' chances in this one and would really like to go to Texas up 2-0. Let's make that happen, Redbirds. Couple of quick notes before I wrap this up. First off, you can see my response to KMOV's inquiry about what the Cards have to do to win the Series over here. Secondly, I do want to note that I have a short baseball/religious metaphor coming this afternoon. If you are not a Christian and don't care to read about things like that, you may want to skip it. It's not deep and it's not preachy, but just wanted to give fair warning. Game time is 7:05 tonight. Let's hope for the same results as last night!  Here. We. Go.Posted on October 19, 2011 at 6:34 AM
The Texas Rangers lost 66 games this season.The Texas Rangers have lost three games this postseason, only one of which was pitched by Justin Verlander, and even in that game he wasn't the Verlander we saw all season long. The Texas Rangers were shut out eight times during the season and one time this postseason. The Texas Rangers lost 24 one-run games this season. In fact, they had a sub-.500 record in that category. The Texas Rangers lost nine games against National League teams this season. All of that is not to denigrate the Rangers in any fashion. They are a very solid team that will be very tough for the Cardinals to beat. If the Cards lose to them, it'll be pretty easy to tip your cap and say that they were the better team. There's no shame in losing to a team that is constructed in this manner. However, they aren't perfect. They aren't a 110-win juggernaut that can't be stopped. Take away their 15-5 beatdown of Detroit in Game 6 and they are only averaging 4.4 runs a game this postseason, and that is including two extra-inning games where they put up four runs in the deciding frame. With a few breaks, we could be seeing a rematch of the 1968 and 2006 Series instead of facing a brand new opponent, as Detroit was in every one of those games save the last one. There's a lot of talk about how potent the Rangers offense is and it is a very powerful one, no doubt about it. But good pitching beats good hitting (and vice versa, of course) and the Cardinals have some good pitching. If the Cardinals can be a ground ball team, if they can win the games Chris Carpenter and Jaime Garcia start, if they can continue to grind out at bats like they have for the last couple of months, they have an excellent chance to win the Series. Not to play the "no one believes in us" card, but on the whole the national media is going for Texas, even if they expect a close series. And that's fine. Texas has a lot of reasons to pick them, but it's also true that the national media can be miserable at times with their prediction success. Absolutely no one picked this matchup at the beginning of the season. Absolutely no one picked this matchup at the beginning of the playoffs. I mean, look at this tweet from Tim Cowlishaw. Could you be more wrong? It obviously gets easier the closer you get to the end, just because you have fewer choices, but that doesn't mean that these people still can't pick the wrong one. So tonight it's Carpenter vs. C.J. Wilson. That's it. You play one game at a time and you go from there. The Cards need to win this game to keep home field advantage, to get an early lead in the series and keep some pressure on Texas, to make sure they don't squander a Carpenter start. It's not over if they don't win, of course--we've seen exactly how well this team plays with its proverbial back against the wall--but there's going to be a lot more ease in Cardinal Nation if they are able to pull it out. Carpenter says his elbow feels fine, so let's hope we can see another dominating performance out of him. With that out of the way, let's take a quick look at some of the stories floating around. One great thing about the Cards being in the World Series is that there are a TON of Cardinal stories floating around everywhere you look (as you can tell by the lengthy list below). It's a beautiful thing. One of the stories that I wish hadn't really been written right now is Brian Burwell's column on the future of Albert Pujols. I get that this is possibly the last time in Cardinal red for Pujols, but is this really the time to be speculating about his free agency, especially in a St. Louis newspaper? It seems to me that there is plenty of time to do that after the Series is over. That said, there were a couple of good things that came out of that article, besides Burwell's personal conclusions that Pujols wants to stay. (Which, by the by, I believe as well and I've been mentally working on a post about why--and I'll write that post after the postseason.) First off, you can tell the team is still loose and enjoying themselves. Pujols's ribbing of Arthur Rhodes, asking the Rangers if they wanted him back, is a sign of that. The other is this quote: I just wish I could spend more time with Stan. He's sick now and not able to come around as much. But just last week (before the home opener of the NLCS) I went over and rubbed his arm and told him to give me a couple of those postseason hits that I know he still has in him. If Albert Pujols is getting hits from Stan Musial, man, how can the Cardinals lose this thing, you know? Texas should just save their time and effort! There's a lot of talk around about Lance Berkman and how he rejected the Rangers back in the offseason because he thought they were an average team. (Of course, he also killed a trade to them in August as well, which the Cardinals are glad that he did.) I think it's awesome to see Berkman not try to shy away from those comments, not try to soften them or add context to them, but to come out and say, "Look, I said that and I was wrong." Not too many people care to flat out say they were wrong in front of a national media horde, so major kudos to Berkman for that. Jake Westbrook and Skip Schumaker are on the World Series roster, Kyle McClellan and Adron Chambers are off of it. The McClellan move was pretty obvious, even to him, and it's not surprising that if Schumaker is healthy, the Cards would rather him and his experience over Chambers. Chambers has a lot of talent and his speed would be nice, but he's looked pretty overmatched at the plate during this postseason. To get you primed and ready for today, you can hear my conversation with Rangers blogger Dan Edmonson on the right hand side of this blog (or find the link on my Conversations page) and I will be on a Fayetteville (AR) radio station today at 1:30 Central time talking about the Redbirds. You can listen on 92.1 FM if you are up in that area or, most likely if you are reading this, you can listen live on their website. Hope you will tune in to see how many stumbles I can have in a 10 minute window! That long and storied book known as Cardinal baseball history gets another chapter tonight. Let's hope it is gripping, thrilling and ultimately satisfying. Go Cardinals!  Calm Before The StormPosted on October 18, 2011 at 6:38 AM
Gotta make this quick today, but being that it's World Series week (continue to get a kick out of saying that) and there are some new Twitter followers (and hopefully, by extension, new readers of the blog) due to being included in this list yesterday, I figured it best to have something up. Regular readers, don't worry--it'll be the same drivel you are used to.The biggest news would have to be Chris Carpenter's elbow. Apparently he had some soreness there after his last outing, sending waves of concern around Cardinal Nation yesterday. Reports are now, though, that everything is fine and it's not a big deal, which is either a load off of your mind if you are an optimistic Cardinal fan or, if you are one of those "cloud in every silver lining" folks, you wonder if the organization is just feeding you a line and hoping to calm fears. I don't think the Cards would take a gamble sending him out there for Game 1, though, if they really thought something was wrong. I see a lot of the national media is predicting Texas will take the Series, and that's fine. I'm not claiming bias or anything of that sort. Texas is a very strong team and probably should be the favorite. That said, I'm glad to see that some of the media are going with the Cardinals. The Cardinals have more going for them than an underdog, "team of destiny" vibe. That bit of intangible, the way this team has come together and played the last two months, can't be overlooked, but there are still plenty of weapons on this squad. In fact, there's a pretty good path to winning this series. That plan would be win Game 1 behind Carpenter, especially as CJ Wilson has struggled some in postseason play. Win Game 2, because that gives you a happy flight. Win Game 5, which gives you another happy flight (and it's a Carpenter/Wilson rematch), then win one of the last two at home. Simple, huh? We'll see if the Cards can do it just the way we drew it up. Cards are going to have 12 pitchers on the World Series roster, which is no surprise given how successful that was in the NLCS, but they've not announced if there would be any changes. The only one that I could imagine, as I've said before, is to remove Kyle McClellan and replace him with someone. The club might go with Jake Westbrook. I'd lean toward Eduardo Sanchez. Whatever the case, I figure that'd be the only difference in the rosters, especially if they aren't sure about Skip Schumaker's health. There are a few housekeeping things before I wrap this entry up. First off, if you aren't subscribing to Conversations With C70 via iTunes, you may have missed a couple of episodes as I failed to mention them in a main post. (If you are using iTunes, might I request you rate and/or review the show over there?) You can always find them over on the podcast page, but the discussions with Christine of Aaron Miles' Fastball and Bob of On the Outside Corner were definitely worth highlighting. One of the members of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance is Seedlings To Stars, which is a blog dedicated to the minor leagues. They recently did a number of features on Cardinal minor leaguers, so check out their writeups on Maikel Cleto, Brandon Dickson, and Trevor Rosenthal. Also, if you are in the Fayetteville, Arkansas area (home of my alma mater, Go Hogs!), you'll be able to hear me on 92.1 FM tomorrow afternoon around 1:30 to talk about the Cards and the Series. If you aren't in that area but want to hear me ramble on, you can listen live right here. We'll try to look more at Game 1 tomorrow. Until then, enjoy all the Cardinal talk on Twitter and everywhere else!  Know Your Enemy 3: World Series EditionPosted on October 17, 2011 at 2:11 PM
I'm so glad that we've been able to continue this recurring feature through yet another round of playoffs! This time, I pigeonholed Steve from World Series 41, Rangers Fan 1 (yeah, that title is going to have to be modified now!) and asked him some questions about the American League entry in the World Series. You can follow Steve on Twitter at RangersBlogger if you want to get the perspective from the other side after this series. You should find my answers to his questions up on his site soon and, after the jump, he'll give us the scoop. Continue ReadingWe WON'T See You Tomorrow NightPosted on October 17, 2011 at 6:37 AM
The St. Louis Cardinals are the National League Champions.What else is there to say? I mean, write this script in Hollywood and while it'd make a fun movie, with tortoises and catch phrases and squirrels and the link, it's not going to be one of those believable outcomes. I mean, down 10.5 in late August and go on to the World Series? A team that digs their hole by blown saves and gets out of it with a dominant bullpen? Are ya kiddin' me? And yet, and yet..... David Freese, the NLCS MVP by basically destroying any baseball that came toward him, may have said it best about last night's game. He said he'd never been in a 12-6 game that felt like 1-0. Until the bullpen really asserted itself in the latter innings, no lead felt that safe. Another iffy job by the starting pitching, this time Edwin Jackson giving up four runs on three homers in two innings, meant the bullpen had to step up and, yet again, they did. Fernando Salas was running on fumes by the end of his outing, but he still had enough for a key strikeout. Octavio Dotel continued his dominance of Ryan Braun. And, even with a comfortable lead, Jason Motte was out there ending the game, getting the honor of striking out Mark Kotsay to send the Cardinals to that Classic in the fall. It's mindboggling, really. There won't be many Cardinal fans that aren't sleep-deprived tonight, staying up watching highlights and analysis well into the wee hours of the morning. This team--and that's the best word for them right now, team--has done the impossible and that makes them mighty. If you believe in the intangibles, if you believe in teams of destiny, then I think you believe in this team. There's no doubt that they have come together to play inspired ball, that they do whatever it takes to win. And there's no doubt they have genuine care and concern for each other as well. Waiting to start champagne showers until everyone is there. Spending their immediate moments after winning chanting "Happy flight! Happy flight!" We have time to worry about the Texas Rangers, a very solid team with a hunger to do better than last year's loss in the Series. We have time to wonder if this run is enough to keep Albert Pujols, who is going to his third World Series. (And let me say, it was an extremely classy act for Pujols to call time and let Prince Fielder get to soak up his ovation in what easily could be--probably was--his last at bat as a Brewer. Those that don't care for the man have to give him that much.) We have time to see if Kyle McClellan stays on the World Series roster, given his lack of use in a series that saw so many calls to the bullpen. We can debate how much chemistry--that element so prized in the offseason--has meant to this club. We can do all of that. Tomorrow. Right now, it's time to bask, it's time to revel, it's time to enjoy the moment. The work will be there. The questions will be there. This moment won't be. To all my Cardinal friends, happy flight!  Browse past entries in the Texas Rangers category by date |
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 HeroesLance Berkman (24) Albert Pujols (19) Matt Holliday (15) Chris Carpenter (10) Kyle Lohse (9) Yadier Molina (9) Ryan Theriot (8) David Freese (7) Jaime Garcia (7) Jon Jay (7) Jake Westbrook (6) Allen Craig (5) Kyle McClellan (5) Colby Rasmus (5) Edwin Jackson (4) Skip Schumaker (4) Daniel Descalso (3) Rafael Furcal (2) Gerald Laird (2) Nick Punto (2) Marc Rzepczynski (2) Fernando Salas (2) Mitchell Boggs (1) Daniel Descalso (1) Lance Lynn (1) 2010 Top Heroes: Matt Holliday and Albert Pujols (24) 2009 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (28) 2008 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (25) GoatsRyan Theriot (12) Albert Pujols (11) Jake Westbrook (10) David Freese (8) Ryan Franklin (7) Jaime Garcia (7) Fernando Salas (7) Kyle Lohse (6) Kyle McClellan (6) Colby Rasmus (6) Skip Schumaker (6) Miguel Batista (5) Chris Carpenter (5) Daniel Descalso (5) Matt Holliday (5) Jon Jay (5) Jason Motte (5) Allen Craig (4) Rafael Furcal (4) Tyler Greene (4) Yadier Molina (4) Lance Berkman (3) Mitchell Boggs (3) Gerald Laird (3) Edwin Jackson (2) Trever Miller (2) Corey Patterson (2) Marc Rzepczynski (2) Matt Carpenter (1) Maikel Cleto (1) Tony Cruz (1) Octavio Dotel (1) Mark Hamilton (1) Lance Lynn (1) Nick Punto (1) Arthur Rhodes (1) Eduardo Sanchez (1) Raul Valdes (1) PJ Walters (1) 2010 Top Goat: Brendan Ryan (14) 2009 Top Goats: Rick Ankiel and Todd Wellemeyer (13) 2008 Top Goat: Troy Glaus (13) Cardinal Nation Approval Ratings (March 2011)Adam Wainwright 94.7% (down 0.9%) Matt Holliday 91.1% (up 6.6%) Albert Pujols 90.4% (down 8.3%) Dave Duncan 87.9% (up 0.9%) Derrick Goold 87.8% Chris Carpenter 86.9% (down 6.7%) Matthew Leach 85.5% Mike Shannon 84.9% (down 4.6%) John Rooney 84.3% (up 8.1%) Yadier Molina 83.7% (down 8.3%) Colby Rasmus 81.8% (up 5.0%) Pop Warner 76.7% Jim Hayes 76.1% John Mozeliak 74.1% (down 12.0%) Ryan Franklin 72.8% (up 3.1%) Bill Dewitt 71.0% (down 12.0%) Tony La Russa 70.8% (down 10.2%) BJ Rains 70.4% Ricky Horton 69.1% John Vuch 68.9% Jeff Luhnow 66.4% Skip Schumaker 64.1% (down 17.0%) Al Hrabosky 63.2% (up 19.0%) Mark McGwire 62.5% (down 10.7%) Dan Lozano 58.7% Joe Strauss 57.5% Kyle Lohse 55.1% (down 11.7%) 2009 Rick Ankiel 83.9% Chris Duncan 69.1% Looking for St. Louis Cardinals Tickets? TicketCity is your source for New York Yankees Tickets and World Series Tickets. Looking for Cardinals tickets? Stop by OnlineSeats. We’ve got Blues seats and even Rams games. Go to the coasts as well and catch a Celtics game or get Dodgers tickets. Referrals |
