...the Retired Numbers @ Busch
-----
| St.
Louis Sports Online 99.9% Original Content--Since 1995--The Online Source for St. Louis Sports CitySPORTS Atl|Bal|Bos|Chi|Cin|Cle|Dal|DC|Den|Det|Hou|Ind|KC|LA Mia|Mil|Min|Mon|Nsh|NO|Orl|NY|Phi|Pho|Pit|Sea|SD|SF|StL|Tor|Tpa SPORTS Scores|AOL|CNNSI|ESPN|Fox|Globe&Mail|Yahoo|Sportsline|USA2Day NEWS BBC|CNN|MSNBC|FOX|SLATE|SALON|TIME|NEWSWEEK|theAtlantic LEAGUES, ASSOCIATIONS, STL TEAMS & STADIA MLB|NFL|NHL|NBA|PGAtour|SLU|Blues|Cards|Rams LIVE RADIO STREAMS & STL WEATHER KFNS|KMOX|1380|KNBR|KLAC|ESPN STL|92.3CLE|97.5PHI|stlweather =====
Sunday Sports Review Show Intro mp3 #1 (featuring Ozzie Smith, Tony La Russa, Bruce Weber, Jerry Kill, Rich Herrin and Charlie Spoonhour...and Joe Buck)
|
=====
So Far So Good (May 8) So far—so good
scroll down....The 2013 Major League Baseball regular season is now a month old. After five weeks, the St. Louis Cardinals have the best record in the National League and they are currently in first place in the National League Central Division. About a month ago in this space, we offered these thoughts about the first month of the new season for the Red Birds: “Bottom line, St. Louis needs to hold their head above water during the difficult stretch known as April. Survival should be the Priority One for month #1. And in order to be successful with this strategy, the Home Team cannot give away games on the base paths or defensively or score loads of runs in one game and none the next night while losing both. Bluntly, the margin of error for (Manager Mike) Matheny’s 2013 Cardinals is razor thin.” At the end of the day (or in this case, five weeks), mission accomplished. It is NOT Over... (May 5) It’s been a pretty good week for
the St. Louis Blues.
Last Saturday night at the Scottrade Center with eight of the Chicago Black Hawks’ players scratched in anticipation of the upcoming Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Blues defeated the Hawks. That win secured the 4th seed in the Western Conference for St. Louis and home ice advantage in Round 1 of the playoffs against the Los Angeles Kings. Then on Tuesday night before about 1,500 empty seats at 14th & Clark, St. Louis coughed up a lead with less than a minute remaining in regulation. But then Christmas came early for Our Blue. Despite being outplayed in OT by the Kings, LA goaltender Jonathan Quick ventured too far out of his crease & the Note scored the winner in bizarre fashion. scroll down....
Blues Lose to LA... (May 11) The
answer to the question is “only One Round”.
more Huss:
Take Five (May 15)That turned out to the answer to the question posed here in this space last week: “will the St. Louis Blues last one round or two rounds in the 2013 National Hockey League Stanley Cup Playoffs”. Said another way: welcome to another typical spring in the Gateway City. There have been 45 Blues hockey seasons here in the Lou. There have been zero Stanley Cups won. Well, here we go again. It is Mother’s Day weekend and the Blues are now making plans for their summer vacation: Again. Instead of preparing for a Market Street, Clydesdale-led Stanley Cup parade in late June, the Note are making tee times: Again. We suggested in this space last week that the Note was in a good spot with LA needing to win four of the five remaining games. Obviously we were wrong: the Kings ended up winning four out of the next four games. In this year’s edition, our Blue held a first round, two games to none lead against the Los Angeles Kings. After losing Game 3, St. Louis had an early 2-0 in Game 4 on the West Coast: only to let it slip away. While it was a very physical series, St. Louis held its own against the defending Stanley Cup Champions. scroll down....
scroll down.... =====
|
=====
posted May 11 The answer to the question is “only One Round”. That turned out to the answer to the question posed here in this space last week: “will the St. Louis Blues last one round or two rounds in the 2013 National Hockey League Stanley Cup Playoffs”. Said another way: welcome to another typical spring in the Gateway City. There have been 45 Blues hockey seasons here in the Lou. There have been zero Stanley Cups won. Well, here we go again. It is Mother’s Day weekend and the Blues are now making plans for their summer vacation: Again. Instead of preparing for a Market Street, Clydesdale-led Stanley Cup parade in late June, the Note are making tee times: Again. We suggested in this space last week that the Note was in a good spot with LA needing to win four of the five remaining games. Obviously we were wrong: the Kings ended up winning four out of the next four games. In this year’s edition, our Blue held a first round, two games to none lead against the Los Angeles Kings. After losing Game 3, St. Louis had an early 2-0 in Game 4 on the West Coast: only to let it slip away. While it was a very physical series, St. Louis held its own against the defending Stanley Cup Champions. But once the Blues lost Game 5 in OT at the Scottrade Center, the confidence level dropped. Prior to Game 6 and despite the local media’s attempts to remind everyone that legendary Monday Miracle game in 1986 was also a Game Six (which the Blues ended up losing Game 7 the next night), the local hockey faithful carried that familiar St. Louis spring look on their faces. In words of a classic line from one of the Three Stooges shorts, Blues Nation “looked as if the Sword of Damocles was hanging over their heads”. At the end of the night/early morning of Game Six, Blues Nation was right. In the past decade, St. Louis only advanced to the second round only once. History also tells us that during that 25-year stretch of consecutive playoff appearances, the Blues only advanced to the third round only twice and have never reached the Stanley Cup Finals. The Nation has seen this movie before: over and over and over again. Call it the Pavlov Theory. Razors were being sharpened to shave playoff beards throughout town. Welcome to another typical spring here in the Gateway City. For local hockey fans, this latest nightmare is finally over. Here in St. Louis, anticipation was high in 2012-13 for our Blue after a 109-win season and first round playoff series victory over San Jose. 2012-13 was to be the first full year with Coach Ken Hitchcock in charge: a much needed adult overseeing a room full of underachieving hockey players with over-inflated egos and under-inflated resumes. But instead of puck handling, skating and fighting in October, Blues Nation was asked to endure a work stoppage, then buy tickets for a 48-game reduced season in fourteen weeks and then cough up higher prices to watch their heroes in the first round of a four-round playoff tournament. Incredibly Blues Nation, as in the words of Tammy Wynette, stood by their men. And once again, Blues Nation got their hearts broken. Yep, we have seen the movie over and over and over again in this town. As the off-season begins, the annual ritual of who should stay and who should go now begins. In the upcoming off-season meeting, the new Ownership group needs to make some tough decisions. Let’s review: in the past decade, St. Louis had five different head coaches and three different General Managers. So let’s see: what has been the constant? Could it be the core of formerly young, now young-veteran players we’ve been told is the future of this hockey club? From year to year, these guys have just not delivered. It’s irrelevant whether these guys are underachieving or whether these guys have been overrated, the bottom line is the bottom line: the results are not there and this group of players has been the constant. Current Head Coach Ken Hitchcock appears to be likely aware of this very fact. When asked what he would tell his team after losing Game 6 and the series, the veteran Hitchcock said, “What I'm going to tell them is it's not good enough. If you want to be a champion, it's not good enough. You can't allow the goalie to outwork you. If you want to be a champion, you're going to have to find a way. We took everything to the beach, but we didn't finish putting it in the water." Said another way, the bottom line is the bottom line. Perhaps the question can be asked this way: who on the current St. Louis Blues roster is considered “untouchable”? Who is that marquis player on this roster that you can build a team around? Who is the Blues’ Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane or, Alex Ovechkin? And let’s put it still another way: for an Ownership Group that has far from deep pockets, are they really getting their money’s worth from this bunch? I don’t know either. Yep, the new Ownership group needs to make some tough decisions. So welcome to another long, hot summer, Blues Nation. Once again you’ll watch from the outside looking in as the Kings, Chicago Blackhawks and others compete for the Cup. The answer to the question is “only One Round”. That turned out to the answer to the question posed here in this space last week: “will the St. Louis Blues last one round or two rounds in the 2013 National Hockey League Stanley Cup Playoffs”. And one other question remains unanswered: a question posed to me over a decade ago from one of my faithful WGNU Radio listeners. “What will we see first, the Chicago Cubs winning a World Series or the St. Louis Blues winning a Stanley Cup?” For another long, hot summer, that question remains still unanswered. Welcome to another typical spring in the Gateway City. posted January 11 In
the wee hours of the first Sunday of 2013, the cry “Game On” could be
heard all across North America.
To hockey fans everywhere, their international nightmare is over. Life can now resume normally. Zambonis at hockey rinks on both continents can be dusted off and gassed up. After 113 days and the cancelation of 625 regular season games, the National Hockey League and its Players Association reached a collective bargaining agreement. Staring directly at the latest and likely final deadline (as well as millions of lost revenue dollars) Commissioner Gary Bettman & the Association’s Donald Fehr finally found consensus. Perhaps the best news for hockey fans is the new agreement will be at a minimum of eight years. Said another way, after the eighth season, Bettman will be 68 years old and Fehr will be 72 years old. Hopefully each will be drawing a pension and playing shuffleboard somewhere the next time this becomes an issue. 2013 marks the twentieth year of Bettman’s reign as NHL Commissioner. 2013 also marks the third work stoppage under Bettman’s tenure. I wouldn’t consider that a resume enhancer. But as expected the smiling and spinning Commissioner with every hair on his head perfectly in place issued a mea culpa: in the form of a boiler-plated published statement. “We know that no words of apology or explanation will soften the disappointment. I read the letters. I followed the tweets. I read the blogs. We have a lot of work to do. The National Hockey League has a responsibility to win back your trust and support, whether you watch one game or every game.” Gee, I wonder how that one played on the sincerity-meter. Memo to the Commissioner: “win back your trust and support?” Good Luck with that. Still it’s Game On But does anyone even notice? Does anyone even care? After three work stoppages in twenty years that included the cancelation of an entire season, the Lords of the NHL still don’t get it. Bottom line: the NHL really isn’t that significant. Folks, this isn’t the National Basketball Association. The NHL is not even in the same universe as Major League Baseball or that rich & arrogant cartel better known as the National Football League. The NHL is a regional sport that drawn lower national television ratings than Poker Tournaments. Heck, in the early years of its current national TV contract with NBC, late-night funny man Jay Leno made hockey the punch line of his jokes: on the nights immediately after the network aired Stanley Cup Final games. This is a league that has way too many franchises. In this bureau’s opinion: there are five or six too many teams. That translates to 125-150 players that have no business playing professional hockey. The mere presence of these slugs water-down the quality of the product. Having them occupy space on the ice prevents the true stars of the NHL to display their talent. Cheap shots and stick penalties result because the slugs just can’t keep up. How can you put this on the same plane as MLB, the NFL or even the NBA? “We have a lot of work to do. The National Hockey League has a responsibility to win back your trust and support, whether you watch one game or every game.” Yep, good Luck with that. And good luck with trying to entice fans to part with their discretionary cash in this economy to buy tickets to watch this stuff. Meanwhile, behind this backdrop, the St. Louis Blues have to pick up the pieces: again. Here in the Gateway City, the local hockey cult has begun searching through their closets for those retro Steve Durbano, Phil Roberto or Gino Cavallini jerseys. Heck, even that insignificant silly local media hero, the Towel Man, can now come out of his basement, run down to Wal Mart and purchase some new and improved cloths to rotate for the trained seals on Opening Night at the Scottrade Center. Throughout the week one could turn on any radio or flip to any TV channel and find a Blues player, coach, executive or an alumni member smiling, spinning and practically begging for forgiveness. Bottom line: they have no choice. Predictably the local media have overreacted to hockey’s return. To illustrate: this week I listened to a local gab-master on the bandwagon: boasting how the shortened-season will work in the Blues favor because they have “two quality goaltenders”. (To that end, inquiring minds wonder whether this high quality duo is in hockey-shape or prone to injury due to inactivity.) Fortunately, Head Coach Ken Hitchcock is not as gullible. The Coach is a realist. When asked about “momentum” from last year’s playoff appearance the coach responded quickly, bluntly and directly, “Gone, gone ... rebuild it right from the start. Assuming that we’re going to be able to just come in and where we finished (is where) we’re going to be able to start up is unrealistic because of where guys are at physically and mentally.” So as the Lou prepares for hockey’s return, the real question is: how much damage has this work stoppage caused? Bringing it home: just how many fans will be dropping more than a few bucks to drive downtown to watch a lower rung NHL team on a Wednesday night, especially when the weather starts getting warmer? How many of those casual fans, folks who go to only three or four games a year, will attend in the spring of 2013? This is a critical period for the Blues. The team has new ownership and suddenly they have to re-establish a jilted fan base that already has a delicate psyche from past perils with this franchise. To make matters worse as we have said in this space previously, St. Louis’ is cash strapped. I am told the margin of error between any financial success and loss is razor thin. Only time will tell just how much damage this work stoppage has done to the St. Louis franchise and its local fan base in the near term. One thing is certain: there isn’t much room for error. The Blues need a lot of friends now that will buy tickets. And just giving away bobble-heads or free food isn’t going to cut it. “As we prepare for the season opener, I want to apologize to all Blues fans, especially our season ticket holders, suite holders, and sponsors,” Blues Owner Tom Stillman wrote earlier this week in an open letter. “We share in your disappointment and frustration about the lockout and the lack of Blues hockey over the past three months. Moving forward, our aim is to make up for lost time and to earn your continued support. With the lockout behind us, we reaffirm that commitment. But we know we cannot succeed without you, and we hope you will continue to support us at this critical time.” Yep, it’s a critical time indeed: all over the NHL and especially here in our town. In the wee hours of the first Sunday of 2013, the cry “Game On” could be heard all throughout North America. Welcome back to the National Hockey League. Hopefully there will be someone there to welcome them when they return to the ice. Charlie Brown and the NHL posted November 25 Baby Boomers Generation-Xers and Millennials alike are familiar with and grew up reading the comic strip Peanuts. The creator/philosopher, the late Charles Schultz, provided life lessons through his characters as well as their trials and tribulations. . Case in point: we’ve all seen the cartoon of Lucy holding the football while Charlie Brown prepares to kick it. Charlie was running full force approaching the ball with great anticipation, hope and vigor: only to have Lucy pull it away from him at the last minute. Bringing this analogy closer to home, the St. Louis Blues & their fans are Charlie Brown. Sometimes it is way too difficult to be a member of Blues Nation: almost cruel. Despite having our town’s most loyal fan base (OK, blindly loyal), the Note has endured years of setbacks and heartbreak. From the Solomons to Ralston Purina to Harry Ornest to Mike Shannahan and/or the Kiel Partners to Bill Laurie to Dave Checketts to now Tom Stillman, Blues fans endured pains only shared by the followers of the Chicago Cubs. But 2012-2013 was supposed to be different. Last season, the Blues actually made the playoffs and won in the opening round. They now have a real Head Coach and a real hockey man as General Manager. Those young players we were told possessed all that potential were actually making strides. Heck, Management felt so strongly the team was going in the right direction they even announced a ticket price increase for 2012-2013. Despite being swept by the Stanley Winners in LA in Round Two, there was a renewed optimism with Blues Nation. Going into the summer it was OK to be a hockey fan again. And then, Lucy pulled away the football in the form of a work stoppage. It’s now the last week of November and no National Hockey League game has been played. The Owners and the Players Association have not reached an agreement. Players are skating in Europe while Zambonis throughout North America are collecting dust. The NHL has been canceling weeks now months of games. At this writing, the League has wiped out all regular-season games through December 14. To date 422 regular-season games (34.3%of the regular season) including the annual New Year’s Day Winter Classic and the January 27, 2013 All-Star Game in Columbus, Ohio have been canceled due to the work stoppage. Meanwhile, there appears no end in sight to this nightmare. Twelve months ago the NHL was boasting about a new $2 billion rights with NBC. But it is now on hold. Meanwhile in Canada, where hockey is the king of all sports properties, networks are faced with hundreds of programming hours to fill the hockey void. The NHL has been a ratings grabber for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. while bringing big-time revenue for Canada's national network. , "It's not optimal for us," Jeffrey Orridge, of the CBC, told Reuters. "There is no substitute for live hockey and the advertisers that buy spots at a certain rate card because of the audience it generates." The work stoppage reason is the usual issue: money. The owners are asking the players to accept a lower salary cap and the players disagree. As we move into December, while talks are continuing, based on the tone and the language, things don’t appear optimistic. "I think it's frustrating for everybody and disappointing for everybody that's it's taken this long and we're still far apart," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said this week. "We're dealing with a union that really isn't trying to negotiate, make any deal that we can live with for the long-term health of this game. We're hoping that with the passage of time, the players will come to realize that what we’ve proposed has been more than fair.” To put it mildly, NHLPA Executive Donald Fehr disagrees. "We've identified what's important to players, but they seem to be so far at least unwilling to treat those concerns in a serious way," Fehr said in a telephone interview. "On the big things there was as of today no reciprocity in any meaningful sense, no movement on the players' share, no movement on salary-arbitration eligibility, no movement on free agency eligibility, no agreement on a pension plan," This bunch makes the Congressional budget fighting look civil. Meanwhile behind this backdrop, that optimism which was felt throughout the summer with the hockey crowd in the Gateway City is rapidly turning into apathy. The longer this thing goes on, the more the hockey fan base erodes locally and nationally. And now much like Charlie Brown having to pick himself up and dust himself off after missing his football kick, the Blues have to again pick up the pieces. This time it won’t be easy in the stands and off the ice. In the spring a new ownership group bought the team from Dave Checketts and his syndicate. The Blues had been for sale for some time when their main investor, Towerbrook Capital, pulled out. Despite Checketts smooth delivery and warm smile, no new sugar daddy was found. When Stillman’s group took over, they assumed control of an organization that was loaded with much overhead. The new group started the painful process of downsizing, restructuring and streamlining the organizational structure. Among the steps was a buy-out for then team President John Davidson: who was handed a going away present by Checketts: a contract with three years remaining at $1.7 million per year. Sources have told this bureau that right now the Blues have severe financial problems (or in the words of those sources “the Blues are broke”). There is concern about keeping the lights on at the Scottrade Center and previous long-time, full-time employees have been demoted to part-time status. Those folks have been performing admirable volunteer community service work as there just isn’t hockey related tasks needed these days. Without the revenue streams of ticket sales, concessions, television rights and licensed merchandise, logic tells you the Blues situation will only keep getting worse as this work stoppage drags on. The longer it goes and the more games that are canceled, the sport seasons gets closer to the Super Bowl, Spring Training and the NCAA Basketball Tournament. It would be really tough to try and win back displaced, disgruntled and neglected hockey fans in that environment when the weather starts getting warmer. Yep, the St. Louis Blues and their fans are Charlie Brown. And with no end to the work stoppage in sight, that football keeps getting pulled. Good Grief! Football in the Show-Me State--The Thanksgiving Edition posted November 22 Although this is the Thanksgiving season, most football fans around the Show Me State really do not have much to be thankful for. You can drive straight out Interstate 70 starting under the Gateway Arch and finishing at the Kansas border while stopping in Columbia along the way and you likely will not find many happy football fans around these parts these days. We will focus most of this discussion in the 573 and 314 area codes. Let’s begin in Columbia. Last year the head honchos at Ol’ Mizzou concluded that the long-term success (aka: revenue and profitability) of the school’s Athletic Program would be best served not as a member of the Big 12 Conference. Said another way, the Administration was looking for a new Conference for the school to generate more money, sell more tickets and peddle more licensed merchandise. So after fumbling an opportunity to land in the Big Ten Conference in 2010, the University pursued another venue where they would live happily-ever-after. After a short courting period, Mizzou found their new fraternity house in the Southeastern Conference: the strongest college football conference in the nation these days. Last October the deal was brokered by school administration and SEC Commissioner Mike Slive. Missouri would become an official member of the SEC in July 2012. That promptly triggered new logos and slogans for Missouri Athletics and new black & gold stuff that were instantly available at your favorite Mizzou retail establishment. Slive was very familiar with the University of Missouri. You may recall that back in the early 1990s he headed an outside group of consultants hired by the school to defend improprieties by the school’s basketball program then-headed by long-time coach Norm Stewart. During one of the recesses at the hearing, Stewart told reporters of Slive’s group, “I don’t know what we are paying those guys, but they are worth every penny”. With the St. Louis and Kansas City TV markets and an established fan base the SEC found Missouri an attractive fit. Throughout the spring and summer, the University, its alumni and followers geared up for the new adventure. In so doing, they also overestimated their chances: setting up false expectations of their heroes. But reality welcomed Missouri into the SEC like a cold shower on a winter’s morning. Suddenly it’s real: Missouri is in with the Big Boys. Suddenly instead of Iowa State or Texas Tech, powerhouses like Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina are on the schedule. In the end, the Tigers could not even beat SEC second-tier Vanderbilt or non-Conference far-from-powerhouse Syracuse on the artificial tundra at Faurot Field. The best Ol’ Mizzou can do in Year #1 of their excellent SEC adventure is post a 6-6 season if and only if the Tigers can knock off #9 Texas A&M. (Can you say 5-7?). So while Mizzou football fans are not thankful with these turn of events, the school is in line to make a pile of money as a member of the SEC. You see, the Conference splits a portion of the bowl revenue generated by the member schools. There will be a bunch of SEC schools going bowling this year. This makes the Missouri Administration thankful. Meanwhile, 125 miles to the east Gateway City football fans are also not too thankful. It’s also way too easy and also way too cruel to joke about the past eight-ten years of professional football in St. Louis. It’s been a lost decade. The sorry numbers speak for themselves. From 2004-2011, the Rams regular season won/loss record is 37-91 (.289 winning percentage). From 2007-2011, the team is 15-65 (.1875 winning percentage). In January, long-time Head Coach Jeff Fisher was given a pile of money to try and improve the Rams fortunes. This would take an extreme makeover. Fisher and his new front office buddy, GM Les Sneed new this would be a long, slow & painful mission. The process started early as the duo purged some of the older high-salaried players: all the way down to the team’s punter and place kicker. St. Louis went from being one of the oldest to now one of the youngest in that rich & arrogant cartel better known as the National Football League. In the meantime the Rams signed free agents on the defensive side and locked down Defensive lineman Chris Long and linebacker James Lauranitis to new long-term contracts. Then in early spring, about a month before the draft, St. Louis shopped around and eventually peddled the coveted #2 pick in the draft to the Washington Redskins for a series of top draft choices in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Subsequently the Rams traded down the Washington #1 pick down to acquire additional draft choices, particularly in Round 2. Suddenly there was some excitement churning around town and returning to the facility formerly known as the Trans World Dome. There was actually noise within the walls of the Dome. Fans weren’t leaving early in the 4th quarter of home games. In Week 5 Fisher’s 2012 Rams accomplished something that hasn’t occurred since the morning of November 5, 2006: a Rams team owning a winning regular season record. But as Rams fans were feeling good and thankful, just like Ol’ Mizzou, reality arrived. St. Louis has not won a game since that Week Five win over the Arizona Cardinals. Along the way, the team was outclassed by Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers and then traveled to London: only to lose there by 44 points to the New England Patriots. For Gateway City football fans that old familiar feeling was returning and that is far from thankful. That feeling is also starting to show on Fisher. To illustrate: when asked on the day after his team was trounced by the New York Jets at the Dome if he was frustrated, Fisher snapped back, “Frustrated after yesterday? Of course I was. Frustrated after every loss. There’s times I’m frustrated after wins. It’d be a nice way to feel this weekend.” We suggested in this space late last summer this would be a long, winding project back to respectability. The Rams’ success in September and early October only teased the fans and the local adoring media. Now as the Thanksgiving bird is being carved, St. Louis is 3-6-:1 staring at a trip to the desert and a visit to our town by the San Francisco 49ers. Still, it could be worse. You could be a follower of our state’s Kansas City Chiefs. Consider this: their 1-9 record makes them an odds-on favorite to earn the #1 overall-selection in the April 2013 rich & arrogant cartel better known as the National Football League draft of college players. But a dying man’s final words might speak the loudest. Kansas City native 81 year-old Loren G. "Sam" Lickteig passed away on Nov. 14, 2012, Mr. Lickteig’s Kansas City Star obituary read: “81 year-old Loren G. "Sam" Lickteig passed away on Nov. 14, 2012 of complications from MS and heartbreaking disappointment caused by the Kansas City Chiefs football team. (Ouch: yet inquiring minds wonder if such remarks have been posted over the past century in the Chicago Tribune or Sun Times of someone’s passing on the North Side.) Yep, there’s not too much to be thankful for football fans here in the Show Me State. Still it does beat the alternative. It really does. And besides, it’s less than 100 days before pitchers and catchers report to Florida. Thoughts of Albert, Nick and Ryan.... Mark Bausch Editor stlsports.com posted October 28 Word
trickled out that the post-season began for Albert Pujols in a way that
El Hombre de Los Angeles had not planned: 'minor' knee surgery.
So it went for Pujols, who, after a horrific start (culminated by the sacking of long-time Angels' hitting coach Mickey Hatcher--nice way of marking your property, Albert), rebounded nicely to post very good numbers, including a 285 batting average, 85 runs scored, 30 home runs, 313 total bases, 52 walks, and .343 on-base and .516 slugging percentages. But careful inspection of Pujols' career statistics reveals that the aforementioned 2012 data are the worst yearly figures in those categories, in his twelve-year big league career. Phrased differently, in every other season of Albert Pujols' entire career, he posted a higher batting average, scored more runs, hit more home runs, had more total bases, walked more times, and had higher on-base and slugging percentages. Of note in 2012 are Pujols' 52 walks--during the 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons his walk totals were 104, 115, 103, and 61, respectively. Stat geeks know that such a trend does not bode well for Pujols, whose thirty-third birthday is in January. One more trend: the Angels' yearly home attendance figures for the 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons were 3.4, 3.3, 3.2, 3.2 and 3.2 million, respectively. The Pujols-led (or was it the Mike Trout-led) Angels 2012 attendance? 3.1 million. As Cards' broadcaster Mike Shannon might say...'you've got some work to do out there in California, big boy'! As for Ryan Theriot (a reserve on the Giants in 2012--with 352 regular- season and six post-season at-bats) and Nick Punto (who, in 2012, split 160 at-bats between the Red Sox and the Dodgers), is it possible that the presence of one or both of these veterans would have helped the 2012 Cardinals? Says here (with the aid of hindsight) that the Tyler Greene shortstop experiment flop, combined with the Rafael Furcal injury merry-go-round...left the 2012 Redbirds woefully thin at the important infield positions. It isn't hard to imagine that GM John Mozeliak will aim to fortify his middle infield depth during this offseason...an offseason where Mozeliak and Cardinals fans everywhere will dream of what is to come in 2013, including fastball after fastball, delivered by one young hurler after another. ===== ....Jaime Garcia? Chris Carpenter?! Mark Bausch Editor stlsports.com posted October 8 For
the 75 days between June 5 and August 19, Jaime Garcia did not pitch
for the St. Louis Cardinals. In what was diagnosed as a left shoulder
strain, Garcia watched as Joe Kelly assumed his role in the rotation
and provided one of the mosr pleasant surprises of the 2012 regular
season.
=====Flash forward to today--Game 2 of the NL Division Series. If Joe Kelly pitches to more than a batter or two, then most likely today's Game 2 STL starter has failed. That starter? Jaime Garcia. Garcia has been strong in his most recent appearances--in those four starts (Sept 15, 20, 25 and Oct 1) he completed at least six innings in each and allowed a total of seven runs. But on August 30, Garcia allowed six runs and nine hits when facing today's opponent (Washington)....at Washington.' Garcia's home/away splits are welll-publicized...so his Game 2 start at home seems warranted, despite the fact that he missed 40% of the regular season. Of course, Chris Carpenter, the Game 3 starter...made only three 2012 regular season starts and missed 90% of the season. Jaime Garcia and Chris Carpenter: the balance of the Cards 2012 fortunes rides on their arms. As the Cards Fall to 2nd Place, Their Manager is Tested Mark Bausch Editor stlsports.com posted May 25 Last
night, as the Cincy Reds completed a four game sweep over the
Atlanta Braves, the Cardinals lost a high-scoring squeaker to the
Phillies, and thus dropped out of the top spot in the NLCentral for the
first time in the 2012 season.
And as the Cardinals and starting pitcher Kyle Lohse prepares to tangle with talented but still-winless Cliff Lee (who missed a handful of starts as he served a sting on the DL for the ever-popular oblique strain), you can bet that still-new manager Mike Matheny now knows for sure that his honeymoon is over. A look at the bottom of tonight's batting order is revealing--rookies Matt Adams and Shane Robinson are hitting seventh and eighth, respectively...and the bench players available to Matheny include Daniel Descalso, Tony Cruz, Skip Schumaker, Adron Chambers and Steven Hill. Of course, the first six in the lineup (Rafael Furcal, Tyler Greene, Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran, David Freese and Yadier Molina) can do plenty of damage--with Furcal, Beltran and Molina leading the way, offensively, at their respective positions. But the disabled list includes the likes of Lance Berkman (out 8-10 weeks after today's knee surgery), Matt Carpenter (oblique strain, out at least another ten days or so), and last year's surprise twins--Allen Craig and John Jay (both of whom are healing and not far from returning to active duty). But they're not active yet, the Cardinals' bullpen has but one lefthander in the bullpen: Mark Rzepczynski, and the next ten games are against three competitive NL East squads--the Phillies at Busch, the Braves at Turner, and the Mets at Citi Attention Mike Matheny: no #2 pencil needed...but you are about to be tested, Big Boy. Matheny's
Test
date
score W-L GB[losses in white] 5.25 5 PHI STL 3 25-21 .5 5.26 4 PHI STL 0 25-22 1.5 5.27 3 PHI STL 8 26-22 1.5 5.28 8 STL ATL 2 27-22 0.5 5.29 4 STL ATL 5 27-23 1.5 5.30 7 STL ATL10 27-24 1.5 6.01 0 STL NYM 8 27-25 2.5 6.02 0 STL NYM 5 27-26 3.5 6.03 1 STL NYM 6 27-27 3.5 6.04 5 STL NYM 4 28-27 3.0 |
=====
So Far So Good... posted May 8 So far—so good The 2013 Major League Baseball regular
season is now a month old. After five weeks, the St. Louis Cardinals
have the best record in the National League and they are currently in
first place in the National League Central Division.
About a month ago in this space, we offered these thoughts about the first month of the new season for the Red Birds: “Bottom line, St. Louis needs to hold their head above water during the difficult stretch known as April. Survival should be the Priority One for month #1. And in order to be successful with this strategy, the Home Team cannot give away games on the base paths or defensively or score loads of runs in one game and none the next night while losing both. Bluntly, the margin of error for (Manager Mike) Matheny’s 2013 Cardinals is razor thin.” At the end of the day (or in this case, five weeks), mission accomplished. The Cardinals start has been quite solid. During this first month, St. Louis drew a challenging schedule. The opening stretch consisted of 32 games in 35 days: that included three games in San Francisco, four games in Philadelphia, three games in Washington and six games at Busch Stadium against top NLCD foe Cincinnati. Now, fast forward five weeks and the overall grade is “mission accomplished”. Let’s review. In the three games at San Francisco, the Red Birds won two of three. In the four games at Philadelphia, the team split the series two games to two. In the three games in Washington, St. Louis swept the series: winning all three games in DC. And finally in the six games at Busch III against the Reds, the Cardinals won four of six. At this writing, St. Louis is 20-11: the best record in the National League and winners of six in a row: despite playing only a dozen of the 32 games at home. To date, including one rainout in Pittsburgh, Cardinals are 13-6 in games not played at Busch Stadium. Hence, so far—so good: the Cardinals achieved Priority One and currently have the best record in the Senior Circuit. The key to St. Louis’ early success has been their starting pitching. It has been solid. To illustrate, on the morning of the first Tuesday of May, the numbers compiled by the Red Bird starters have been quite impressive:
St. Louis starters have won 19 of the
teams 20 victories. On average, starters have gone 6.4 innings pitched
in the first thirty-one games. Cardinal starters currently have
the best team Earned Run Average in the National League. At this
writing, Jake Westbrook leads the National League in ERA (1.07) and
Lance Lynn leads the NL in wins (5). After 31 games played, Edward
Mujica has saved 8 of the 20 Red Bird victories.
(Side note: I would have lost all those bets.) Drilling down further, these numbers are more intriguing. St. Louis starters have seven blown saves to date. Said another way, the Red Birds are 5.90% in save opportunities. Yet, they are in first place in the Division with the best record in the National League. Offensively, the Red Birds have been solid during the first month. As of the morning of the first Tuesday of May, St. Louis has the fourth best team batting average in the NL (.257) and has scored the second most runs (150 or 4.84 per game). During the recently-completed four-game sweep in Milwaukee, St. Louis hitters compiled 29 runs in four games. Said another way if six is a serious number, then there were a lot of 50-cent drinks sold these past four days. With those numbers in the books it’s time to review and break down the next piece of the Cardinals 2013 schedule: the month of May plus two games. From May 7 to June 2, St. Louis has 25 games in 27 days scheduled. Assuming these are played as scheduled, fifteen of those games will be played at Busch Stadium and ten of those games will be played elsewhere. Of those twenty-five scheduled games, only two of them will be played against National League Central Division fraternity brothers (the first two of this stretch in Chicago). Twelve of these scheduled games will be against opponents that currently have a losing record and thirteen of those scheduled games will be against foes that currently have a winning record So on paper, the next leg of the Red Birds 2013 odyssey appears more favorable than the first stretch in terms of number of home games and current strength of schedule. To that end, the goal is to improve their win/loss record and pad their lead over the next month. On the morning of June 2 they need to improve on their current three-game lead in the National League Central. However there are question marks and concerns out there on the horizon. While the work of the starting staff cannot be disputed, the seven-blown saves to date by the St. Louis bullpen is a red flag. The Cardinals have caught a little lightning in a bottle with the recent success of Mujica and his eight saves to date. In his career, Mujica has only a dozen saves: with eight so far in 2013. Every successful team over the past forty years had a dominant closer and/or a shutdown bullpen. There is nothing more devastating to a ball club’s psyche to cough up leads in the ninth inning. Time will tell if Mujica will continue keep his success or if a different option would surface on this vital component of the roster. Stay tuned The 2013 Major League Baseball regular season is now a month old. After five weeks, the St. Louis Cardinals have the best record in the National League and are currently in first place in the National League Central Division. To date, “mission accomplished”. So Far—So Good It is NOT Over... posted May 5 It’s been a pretty good week for the St.
Louis Blues.
Last Saturday night at the Scottrade Center with eight of the Chicago Black Hawks’ players scratched in anticipation of the upcoming Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Blues defeated the Hawks. That win secured the 4th seed in the Western Conference for St. Louis and home ice advantage in Round 1 of the playoffs against the Los Angeles Kings. Then on Tuesday night before about 1,500 empty seats at 14th & Clark, St. Louis coughed up a lead with less than a minute remaining in regulation. But then Christmas came early for Our Blue. Despite being outplayed in OT by the Kings, LA goaltender Jonathan Quick ventured too far out of his crease & the Note scored the winner in bizarre fashion. Then two nights later before about 500 empty seats at 14th & Clark, the second coming of the lumbering Defenseman Bob Plager in the form of Barret Jackman scored the winning goal with less than a minute remaining in regulation time. Suddenly, St. Louis holds a 2-0 series lead against the defending Stanley Cup Champions. So yeah, it’s been a pretty good week for the St. Louis Blues Now on Kentucky Derby morning, our ice heroes are in Los Angeles in preparation for Game 3 of Round One. The Kings are very good at the Staples Center and it’s not out of the realm of possibility of them winning the next two at home. That would then make it a two out of three series. But said another way, in order to advance to Round Two, LA would need to win 4 of its next 5 games. To this bureau, the Blues are in a good spot. Suddenly, fans and media alike are predictably overreacting to the Blues success this week and are all elbowing for a front row seat on the bandwagon. I don’t know if it’s because we are truly a forgiving nation or if it’s the fickleness of sports fans dying for a winner. Isn’t this the same rudderless, practically-irrelevant NHL that after six months of bickering and canceling games then crammed 48-games into a fourteen-week span to then declare it a “season”? Aren’t these the same hockey fans that six-months ago swore about never, ever, ever returning to rinks again are now growing silly playoff beards and saving their nickels and dimes for overpriced playoff tickets? A forgiving nation or sport fan fickleness? You make the call. In any event, to these eyes the Blues are in the driver’s seat for Round One. But predictably, the local media is over-reacting to the Note’s recent success. Despite only completing 50% of the job in Round One, over this week local airwaves on more than one occasion, references were made to St. Louis as a “Team of Destiny”. This week, a piece appeared in our town’s only newspaper tried to draw parallels between the 2013 Blues and the 2012 Stanley Cup winning Kings. There were also others on squawk radio and misspelling on internet bulletin boards performing advanced calculus concluding: “if San Jose wins & if Detroit wins, then the Blues get home ice in Round 2”. Even this week at the ball park while covering the Cardinals-Reds matinee, my favorite Fox Sports Midwest regular overheard my “questioning” all this Blues Love and told me, “you know in the playoffs you can get on a roll and if you can get a hot goaltender, etc.” Interrupting his soliloquy I responded, “You know, if I were thirty years younger and if I were 90 pounds lighter and if I were two feet taller, I might be playing in the NBA” Good Grief---STOP THE MADNESS—Lets review Winning the Stanley Cup is the most grueling accomplishment in all of team sports. You have to endure an 82-game regular season (or in this case, a crammed 48-game season into a 14 week period) to only get an invitation. Then you have to win sixteen more games over the next 6-8 weeks to then be crowned the Champs in mid or late June. Since this is Derby weekend, let’s describe it this way: the Blues have only completed one furlong in the mile-long marathon. Still, you do have to feel sorry for and understand the frustrations of the long-suffering St. Louis hockey fans and local hockey media. The Blues were one of the six teams in that first wave of NHL expansion in 1967. St. Louis is one of two of those six franchises that had never won a Stanley Cup (the other ceased operations thirty-five years ago). Perhaps misery loves company & comparing it to another frustrated fan base might help. In October 2004, I covered the 2004 World Series against the Cardinals and Boston Red Sox. You might recall at that time, Boston had not won a World Series since 1918 and the long-suffering Sox fans had their hearts broken time after time after time. Because of the overflow of media covering that Series, I was assigned to over the games from the left field bleachers. It was really a fun experience watching the Series from the stands while interacting with fans of both teams out in the bleachers. On the evening of October 27, 2004, the Red Sox held a 3-0 series lead. It was the top of the 8th inning and Boston led the Red Birds 3-0. Looking around, I noticed an older male fan sitting in the bleachers: all alone, wearing a Red Sox cap quietly watching Game Four unfold. I approached the old-timer and said “things look pretty good for your side”. He smiled and asked me to stop the talk: “don’t jinx it—this thing is not over”. Memo to Blues fans and the local hockey media: “don’t jinx it—this thing is not over”. BTW: It’s not even close to being over. At this writing, the Blues have won 50% of the games needed to advance to Round 2. Should they make Round 2, St. Louis will likely play either Chicago or Anaheim and if they make it past that, they will play likely the survivor between likely Chicago and Anaheim. Then and only then will they qualify to return to the Stanley Cup Finals since the first term of the Nixon Administration. Fortunately, veteran St. Louis Head Coach views this realistically. H realized you have to win Round 1 to make it to Round 2. This week, Hitchcock spoke candidly of the Round One matchup saying “We have to prove to ourselves and to Los Angeles that we’re an equal opponent. And until we win hockey games, until we push them out of some of the competition, then kudos to them. They deserve what they got. They were a little bit better than us across the board. They went a little bit deeper, and now it’s our chance.” It’s been a pretty good week for the St. Louis Blues. “Don’t jinx it—this thing is not over”. It’s not even close to being over. It's Mozeliak's Team... posted February 17 “I am pleased that we will be keeping our
baseball leadership in the front office and on the field together for
at least the next two years. Mo has done an excellent job over the past
five years and I have enjoyed working closely with him. We share
the same vision for the Cardinals; continued excellence at the Major
League level, while insuring future success with a strong player
procurement and development program.”
And with those words St. Louis Cardinals’ Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. announced a contract extension for the team’s General Manager John Mozeliak: tying him down as GM until 2016. Also De Witt announced the team has agreed to pick up the 2014 option for its second-year Manager, Mike Matheny. “I’m grateful to work with Bill DeWitt and his ownership group and I know it is a privilege working for such an historic franchise as the Cardinals,” said Mozeliak. Regarding Matheny, Mozeliak added, “Mike had a tremendous year and we believe in his leadership and look forward to continued continuity on the field.” These announcements only validated what we suggested in this space last season. The Cardinals are now John Mozeliak’s team: good, bad or indifferent. 2013 marks Year #2 of the post-Tony La Russa era in St. Louis. La Russa’s sixteen-year stay in the Gateway City was the most successful such stretch in franchise history. That tenure included, eight of his teams qualifying for the playoffs, three National League pennants and two World Series Championships. More importantly, under La Russa’s leadership, the suits saw no reason to get involved with any on-field baseball issue. And behind this backdrop the suits were very pleased 3 million+ fans came dutifully through the Busch Stadium turnstiles every summer. During his stay, La Russa was the de facto Chief Operating Officer of the ball club. While he at times was head-strong, incorrect and loathed by a small portion of mispellers on internet bulletin boards, you cannot argue with the results. The buck stopped with him. Case in point, La Russa was the driving force of a late July 2011 trade to Toronto that acquired pitching help which catapulted the team to eventually win the World Series. But now, the Cardinals are John Mozeliak’s team. As the 2013 spring begins in Jupiter, Florida, more and more pieces of that La Russa era are fading away. Two in particular: This spring Lance Berkman and Chris Carpenter will not be in camp. Both men were respected elders that kept the locker room on track. Despite their injuries in 2012, both Carpenter and Berkman were present as the season rolled on. These two veterans had the gravitas & resumes to jokingly or forcefully make their point when any teammate got out of line. With a 2012 rookie manager, the presence of these two veterans in the locker was valuable. But neither will be around in 2013. So as the players arrive in Jupiter, it’s now Mozeliak and Matheny’s job to take charge, control and display leadership right out of the box. As outlined earlier, that was never an issue during the La Russa years because the Manager was always in charge. And the first test of this leadership might come in the form of a promising rookie who at this writing cannot buy an alcoholic drink legally in the state of Missouri. Enter Oscar Taveras: Considered the top prospect in the Red Bird organization, Taveras will be 21 years old on June 19. In 2012 while playing in Double-A Springfield, Tavares hit .321 in in 124 games/531 plate appearances with 23 home runs and 94 runs batted in. while striking out 56 times. Taveras played in the Future’s Game last July in Kansas City. According to MLB.com, Taveras is ranked as the #3 Top Prospect for 2013. Said another way, Oscar Taveras has a bunch of folks in Cardinal Nation excited about his potential: especially with the local media. Throughout this winter there has been grass root cheerleading by many local radio gab-masters, TV talking heads & newspaper scribes to give young OT some PT. Labeled “The Phenom” in our town’s only newspaper, Matheny was quoted he will give his 20-year old prospect “a good look”. But here lies the first test of 2013 leadership. Will Mozeliak and Matheny avoid the temptation of diving into the flavor of the week while ignoring the long-term strategy of the organization? Let’s look at the facts. First, while Taveras is intriguing, he has not taken one at bat at the Triple-A level, much less the Major League level. Before jumping to any conclusion, perhaps it would be more prudent to let the process evolve. Another fact: the Cardinals have three returning starters in the outfield. Two of them (Matt Holliday and Carlos Beltran) are making a lot of money. But it should be noted that Beltran is in the final year of his contract. So just connect the dots, folks: if Taveras continues to hone his skills with a full Triple-A season in Memphis and assuming his progress continues, he is called up in September for a 2014 full-time right field audition. Another fact: with the versatile Matt Carpenter on the roster, the Red Birds already have that needed fourth outfielder. It would seem to this foolish having the promising Taveras play on a part-time basis while he can continue to develop playing every day in Triple-A. Final Fact and perhaps the most important one: barring something drastic, there is no good reason to start Oscar Taveras’ arbitration clock any faster than it needs to. (BTW: we have been down this road before from the overreacting to past Red Bird “can’t misses” from Joe Magrane to Donovan Osborne to Todd Zeile to Rick Ankiel to Colby Rasmus. In each case, the word “underachieving” comes to mind: although Ankiel and Rasmus do remain cult heroes with the apologists on Fox Sports Midwest.) Bringing it back to our leadership thesis, last month at the annual Cardinal Winter Warm-Up, the Red Birds’ Top Organization Prospect Oscar Taveras was a no show. We don’t know why. But we do know the importance of a first impression. Taveras’ absence likely did not make a good first impression to the sometimes-stubborn citizens that make up the Show Me State. You see, you only have one chance to make a first impression. To that end, inquiring minds can’t help but wonder what would have occurred had young Mr. Taveras been a Cardinal Winter Warm-Up no-show when La Russa was in charge. Inquiring minds also wonder if/how Taveras’ absence was addressed by the new regime. Yep, the first test---And so Spring Training 2013 begins. “I am pleased that we will be keeping our baseball leadership in the front office and on the field together for at least the next two years. We share the same vision for the Cardinals; continued excellence at the Major League level.” Welcome to John Mozeliak’s team: Good, bad or indifferent. Stadium Games Again in STL... posted February 2 This weekend it is the annual Debutante
Ball for that rich & arrogant cartel better known as the National
Football League. On Sunday night the San Francisco 49ers will take on
the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII. Folks all across the fruited
plain are planning parties, buying goodies, awaiting those
multi-million dollar 30-second commercials, and wondering if Beyonce’
will lip sync the halftime Super Bowl: all under the annoying and
condescending narration of CBS’ Jim Nantz.
The game will be played way down yonder in New Orleans at the facility named the Superdome. It was the same location where seven and one-half years ago horror stories emerged from the monster known as Hurricane Katrina. The Dome served as a shelter during the hurricane. That storm devastated the Big Easy: causing millions of dollars of damage to the New Orleans area as well as to the Superdome. Now the Big Dome in Louisiana is spruced up, running and looking better than ever: waiting for the big game to start with football fans and all their discretionary cash. Meanwhile here in the Gateway City, another Dome was the center of discussion. On Friday, a panel of arbitrators ruled in favor of the St. Louis Rams regarding a clause in the team’s 1995 lease. The clause required that every ten years, the Edward Jones Dome be deemed as in the upper quarter of facilities in that rich & arrogant cartel better known as the National Football League. 2015 is the next ten-year benchmark. Both sides submitted opposing arguments with St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission’s proposal estimated at $125 million. The team’s counter-proposal was over $700 Million. At the end of the day, the arbitrators sided with the Rams. OK—raise your hand if you are surprised by this. You shouldn’t be. In their ruling, the panel wrote “First, the facilities as a whole are lacking, principally because of the small footprint on which the dome is built. (The E Jones Dome) is the smallest in the NFL.” The opinion continued: “Since the Dome was opened in 1995, seventeen of the twenty-two domes built have been open-air stadiums. In order to be first tier, the Dome must be open or, if closed, must have an operable roof and abundant natural light inside.” Meanwhile the Rams avoided the temptation of spiking the football with this favorable ruling. In a statement, Executive Vice President of Football Operations Kevin Demoff said, “"The St. Louis Rams are pleased with the Arbitrators' First-Tier award. The independent decision acknowledges that significant improvements are required to put the Edward Jones Dome on equal standing with most National Football League stadiums and to enhance the fan experience. The Rams are hopeful that the Convention and Visitors' Commission will implement the arbitrators' decision and work toward achieving First-Tier status by the March 1, 2015 measuring date as set forth in the parties' lease." And once again throughout the Gateway City, panic has returned to the air. For those of us that have followed Our Town’s botched expansion efforts in the early-mid 1990s, from the Eagleton Finance Company offering the then Los Angeles Rams the sun, moon, stars, planets and galaxies to relocate, this is no surprise. Back then, the Los Angeles Rams held all the leverage. It was St. Louis that was constructing a football stadium without a team. It was St. Louis that was desperately searching for a tenant to the new palace. It was St. Louis needing to save face after blowing a sure opportunity to land an expansion franchise. It was St. Louis that was negotiating from a position of weakness And just like when the then-Los Angeles Rams held all the leverage in 1995, now in 2013, St. Louis Rams hold all the leverage. The arbitrators only confirmed it. So what happens next? How about addressing the question and solution everyone does not want to ask? To that end, last May, this bureau offered a few thoughts & suggestions. On May 20, 2012, we penned these observations in this little piece of cyberspace: “the Rams counter-proposal brought out the big elephant in the room. Folks, it simply makes more financial sense to pursue and build a new football versus renovating an existing complex while making it unusable for other conventions for as much as two years. Bottom line, the City of St. Louis cannot afford to lose the revenue these out of town conventions bring to the region for an 18-24 month period. Plus, haven’t we heard in the past from the CVC that our town has lost many conventions in the autumn months because the Dome was being used for football? So this bureau believes the ultimate answer to this issue is the one no one wants to talk about: should a new football stadium be built: and if so, who is going to pay for it? Those are the real questions: and one each side can provide a well-crafted list of talking points. But bottom line: a new stadium is the ultimate matter that must be decided: not trying to make the current Dome pretty. I’m not taking sides, but we should look at the facts. Should the Rams leave town, the chance of another rich & arrogant cartel better known as the National Football League team relocating here is less than remote. Is that a bad thing? How will all that lost revenue for downtown be recouped? How much will the national image of St. Louis drop by losing another NFL franchise? The answer my friend, is way above my pay grade. But let’s stop wasting everyone’s time and go right to the ultimate question: the real solution to the long term future of the Rams in the City of St. Louis is the building of a new stadium in this region. That statement leads to the obvious and ultimate question: just who is going to pay for this? Logically, the Rams should be here in St. Louis and a new football stadium should be paid by a combination between the team and the region. Key words: should be. But again, this one is way above my pay grade.” Those were our thoughts then and not much has changed. (Side Note: it’s nice to see seven-plus months after this bureau posted this piece that our town’s only newspaper has recently come to realize what might be the best long-term solution. Too bad you were late to the party when your epiphany occurred, but welcome aboard.) Meanwhile, as talks continue, conspicuous by his silence is Rams’ Owner Stan Kroenke. He’s just sitting back watching it all fall into place. This week Kroenke sat back quietly watching the City of Shrewsbury reluctantly agreed to tax-increment financing triggers for one of his proposed Super Wal Mart complexes. Just a suggestion, we hope the cities of St. Louis, Maryland Heights and Fenton watched these events unfold very closely. But with all that said there are two undisputable facts: 1) Kroenke and his Rams hold all the leverage in negotiations for improvements or a new St. Louis area football facility, and 2) there is a reason why Stan Kroenke is a very rich man. Stay tuned---this reality has several episodes remaining. And raise your hand if you are surprised by this. You shouldn’t be. Mark Bausch  St. Louis Sports Online editor@stlsports.com ==================== posted November 10 Role Models in Radio; Role Models in Coaching? There's always good radio to be found the
day after the Philly Eagles lose. That's because 97.5 The Fanatic
employs long-time sports-talk radio pro Tony Bruno, who, with wit and
wisdom and alacrity, persuades most (but not all) of his
ever-insufferable listeners not to jump from the top of the nearest
tall building. The wonder of the internet brings Bruno and his
Philly-based station to anyone looking for an entertaining listening
experience.
In a similar vein, the Cardinals' flagship radio station, 'The Voice of St. Louis' (TVoSTL), in the mid-afternoon of Wednesday, November 7, 2012, supplied a great deal of potential. Hosts and callers alike on this station, during the mid-afternoon time slots, lean right-of-center (ya think?!)...and the day before (November 6) was election day. 'The Voice of St. Louis' (TVoSTL) has always tilted a bit to the right. For example, you can bet the mortgage that long-time CBS VP Robert Hyland had no use, in 1972, for most of the positions held by that year's Democratic presidential nominee (George McGovern). But somehow, back in those days, the political views of the newsreaders and hosts at TVoSTL were, if not difficult to ascertain...they were at least restrained. Hyland himself voiced an occasional, usually right-of-center 'editorial' in the early a.m. (before what is now called morning-drive), but his opinions were not delivered with the 'in-your-face' and 'take-no-prisoners' mentality that a certain Cape Girardeau-born nationally-syndicated personality (heard five days a week on TVoSTL) has popularized. And the 'take-no-prisoners' approach to talk-radio has metastasized: in all likelihood, the locally-based right-of-center show that commences on TVoSTL at 2 pm (and other regional shows like it around the country) would not exist were it not for the popularity of the nationally-syndicated show that precedes it. ===== On Tuesday, November 6, voters in Missouri re-elected Democratic senator Claire McCaskill...while voters in the United States re-elected President Barack Obama. These results virtually guaranteed that compelling mid-afternoon radio would be found the next day on TVoSTL. Indeed, during the 2 o'clock hour on November 7, while discussing the election results and a 60 Minutes TV segment that featured a chilly and forced conversation involving US senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Harry Reid (D-NV), TVoSTL's mid-afternoon local host chimed in with his own view, agreeing with the notion that it would be hard for anyone (including the Republican leadership in the US Senate) to work with Reid, saying "Yeah, I hate Harry Reid too." First, I chuckled--I was right! Then I groaned and quite literally thought of Robert Hyland, whose approach to radio is missed by many. But Hyland is gone, and a man with the golden EIB microphone has acolytes all over the United States. My chuckle and groan was followed by a click, as I changed the station to a St. Louis-based sports-talk station, whose update guy was discussing the St. Louis University men's basketball program and its head-coaching situation. Back to sports, and to SLU basketball in particular. To recap, in the wake of what is apparently a life-threatening medical issue, SLU head coach Rick Majerus has relinquished his coaching duties and has been replaced, on an interim basis, by veteran basketball man Jim Crews. Crews, who played (1972-1976) and served as an assistant coach (1977-1985) at Indiana for more than a decade while the Hoosiers were coached by Bob Knight, was, beginning in 1985, a head coach at Evansville and then Army, for 24 successive seasons (seventeen and seven years, respectively), during which time his teams qualified for four NCAA tournaments. From a basketball perspective, SLU's athletics department is fortunate that Majerus, prior to the 2011-12 season, was able to persuade Crews to return to coaching and join his staff at SLU. My own thinking about Crews, though, centers on a post-game press conference held at the Arena at SIU-Carbondale, after an Evansville-SIUC game. I don't recall the outcome of the game. I don't remember anything about the game itself. I'm not even certain as to the game's exact date, although I am certain it was in the late 1990s. What I do recall, vividly, is being embarrassed, as a 1980 graduate of Evansville, to be in the same room with Jim Crews, as he, while serving as Evansville's head basketball coach, berated and belittled...INTENTIONALLY...a young man who was apparently the Aces' beat writer for the Evansville daily newspaper. The reporter, who didn't look a day over the age of thirty and did not at all resemble the late Mike Wallace in demeanor, had the temerity to politely ask a mundane question about something that had transpired during the game he had just witnessed...a game that, as part of his job description, he was required to describe to his paper's readers. Jim Crews would have none of the reporter’s questions and the reporter did not persist in asking them. Crews left the closet-sized room for the comfort of his team's locker room, leaving most of the other half-dozen or so in the tiny room shaking their heads. I do not recall, ever, in person, witnessing a more childish, silly and needless display of (bad) attitude by a person in a position of leadership. Well, that's not exactly true. A couple of months later (late in the decade of the 1990's), Bob Knight visited Jupiter FL as a spring-training guest of his buddy, then-Cardinals manager Tony La Russa. During one pre-game session near the Roger Dean stadium first-base line, La Russa and a horde of media left the area, and Knight and I remained in place, alone for several minutes. While the details are not important, suffice it to say that as Jim Crews was to that Evansville-based basketball reporter, Bob Knight was to yours truly. Mr. Knight was not interested in idle chat of any type that morning, and had a rather direct way of expressing that perspective. Furthermore, his approach is not likely to be found in the classic book 'How to Win Friends and Influence People'. ===== No one can deny the (broadcasting) excellence of Rush Limbaugh, in terms of listenership and revenue generation. Limbaugh is a wealthy man and a man of significant influence. No one can deny the (coaching) excellence of Bob Knight, in terms of four-year player graduation rates and national championships. Bob Knight is in basketball's Hall of Fame, and, like Limbaugh, a man of significant influence. But the effect of Limbaugh, on aspiring broadcasters...and the effect of Knight, on aspiring coaches--it seems to me that the plusses and minuses of those effects can (and should) be debated, in part because, in fact, only a fraction of their work is on public display. What listeners hear, on the radio, from Limbaugh...is unique to him...and impossible to duplicate. And what goes into Limbaugh's daily 'performance' is something unseen to his listeners; it is private. Indeed, Limbaugh's private life is just that: private. But in radio studios all over America, the talk-show posers try to imitate the master. Including the clownsuit at 2 pm on TVoSTL. Click. And what fans of college basketball saw of Knight, on the bench, was certainly unique to him...and also impossible to duplicate. One can argue, I think, that Bob Knight succeeded as a college basketball coach in spite of his public demeanor, not because of it. But even today, in high school and college gymnasiums all over America, the coaching posers still try to imitate the General, in all his glory. ===== Bob Knight was dismissed, at Jim Crews was dismissed, at Army, in September of 2009, under cloudy circumstances that some said involved physically accosting and verbally abusing Army players (i.e. cadets). Crews’ offense was, according to the athletic leadership at Army, the last in a string of missteps. His dismissal came only a few weeks after signing a three-year contract extension (with a two-year option), and just weeks before the start of the college season. Three years after his dismissal at Army, one hopes that Jim Crews emulates the results associated with Bob Knight, and leaves out the General's 'colorful' side. That dog won't hunt in the genteel college basketball climate that is St. Louis University, whose most successful modern-day coach (the late Charlie Spoonhour) opened practices to the public at the old gym on Pine Street and, for awhile, was arguably the most beloved sports figure in St. Louis. It really was a site to see—while Spoonhour watched his team do 3-on-3 drills, runners were circling the track above the court. Runners as in students and faculty. Other athletes were exercising courtside, too…but there was an excitement in the air: everybody wanted to be a part of Spoonball—it was fun and all of St. Louis knew it. One hopes that interim coach Jim Crews gets the memo. posted November 1 Serves at the Pleasure...Tick-Tock. Tick-Tock. 'Serves
at the pleasure' is an interesting phrase and is often applied to the
Attorney General of the United States (who serves at the pleasure of
the President). 'Serves
at the pleasure' also
applies
to a number of jobs in sports.
=====In essence, 'serves at the pleasure' means 'don't get too comfy, Big Boy'. Among the many jobs in sports that 'serve as the pleasure' applies to...is hitting coach for any of the thirty major league baseball teams. In fact, with few exceptions, most baseball coaches (hitting, pitching, bullpen etc.) at the major league level generally sign one-year contracts and are evaluated at the end of each and every season. In other words, MLB coaches 'serve at the pleasure' of their managers and general managers...in part because the supply of men qualified to be major league coaches far outstrips the demand for their services. In addition, many MLB coaches crave all that is professional baseball, and genuinely enjoy plying their trade at the major league level, so much so that some of them would work in the big leagues without asking for any financial compensation. The position of hitting coach is among the most tenuous of all MLB coaching jobs. Since the Joe Torre-as-manager era in St. Louis (just over two decades), men serving as Cardinals' hitting coaches have included Don Baylor, Chris Chambliss, George Hendrick, Dave Parker, Mike Easler, Mitchell Page, Hal McRae, and, for the 2010, 2011, and 2012 seasons, Mark McGwire. In other words, after three years or so, the average Cardinals' hitting coach finds a new stadium and a new batting cage to call home. Tick-tock. Tick-tock. In his three years as the Cards' hitting coach, Mark McGwire has generally earned high praise from baseball insiders. McGwire and his family make their primary residence in Orange County, California...a short drive from 'Angel Stadium of Anaheim' (the home stadium of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and former Cards' slugger Albert Pujols) and a longer drive (about fifty miles) from Dodger Stadium. Early in Pujols' first season with the Angels, hitting coach Mickey Hatcher (thirteen years experience) was fired. Long-time Angels' minor-league hitting coach Jim Eppard was hired to replace Hatcher, and early last month (October 2) it was announced that Eppard would return in 2013. On October 15, it was announced that the Dodgers fired their hitting coach. As this is written (November 1), they have not named a replacement. McGwire, in his first two seasons as hitting coach in St. Louis (2010 and 2011) essentially served at the pleasure of Tony La Russa, his favorite manager as a player. It was La Russa who championed McGwire's return to organized baseball after an absence that was likely due to a combination of family responsibilities (three sons, two born in the early 2000's) and the stigma associated with his involvement in baseball's steroids scandal. Then, early in McGwire's first season as the STL hitting coach, his wife gave birth to triplets. And at the conclusion of his second season (2011) as hitting coach (by all measures a successful one as his students, including star pupil David Freese, won the World Series), Tony La Russa, the man who, as manager, brought him to St. Louis twice (first, as a player on July 1, 1997 and then as hitting coach prior to the 2010 season) announced his retirement. To the surprise of some Cardinals' insiders, McGwire was asked to return as the team's primary hitting instructor for the 2012 season. To the surprise of some of those same insiders, McGwire accepted the offer made by GM John Mozeliak, and signed on for a third season. For the 2012 season, Mike Aldrete (the team's assistant hitting coach in 2011) was promoted to the position of 'bench coach' for new manager Mike Matheny, and three-time Cardinal John Mabry was hired as Aldrete's replacement. McGwire and Mabry worked well together, and although the team's hitters were, in baseball terminology, 'streaky', as a team they ranked among the National League leaders in most offensive categories. Mabry is well-liked by his students and possesses a firm but easy-going demeanor. If his hiring for the 2012 season was viewed by GM Mozeliak as insurance in case McGwire were to leave his post, well...you'd have to think Mozeliak would be satisfied. Meanwhile, on October 25th, Mozeliak announced that Dyar Miller would not return as the team's bullpen coach in 2012. No announcements were made about the rest of the Cardinals coaching staff. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
November 1 For some time now, the ring tone on my
cell phone for incoming calls has been the Budweiser song, “Here Comes
the King”: as performed on the Busch Stadium organ by the legendary
Ernie Hays. When anyone calls my cell phone, that familiar tune
emits. I always enjoy watching the reaction of others when my
cell phone rings and blurts out those very familiar chords. In all
cases everyone simply smiles because everyone can name that tune.
=====This morning, those familiar notes rang out. It was my wife Pam telling me she was watching a local TV newscast that just announced that Ernie Hays had died at the age of 77. Folks, I must confess that when I heard the news I was taken aback. You see, Ernie’s passing not only marks the end of a special era in St. Louis sports, but also of a good friend. I’ve known the Maestro for over twenty years. Proudly I can say that I’m not only his friend but also a fan. But still, I thought of the lyrics of American Pie: this is the day the music died. Born on New Year’s Day 1935, Ernie Hays was a unique character. He was a member of the Greatest Generation: serving our country proudly in the military. His education and early career was centered on electronics: honing his stills at Mc Donnell-Douglas and Western Electric. But Ernie Hays will always be best remembered as the Music Man of St. Louis Sports. He had that something special. Much like Harold Hill parading down the streets of River City, you couldn’t help but follow Ernie’s lead as he pounded the keyboard. Ernie Hays was the Pied Piper. When he belted out the famed Budweiser jingle or his rendition of the St. Louis Blues or When the Saints Go Marching In, those in attendance followed and applauded to the rhythm. You just couldn’t help it. 1401 Clark can only wish it rocked as raucously as 5700 Oakland Avenue did when Hays pounded the keys before and during a Blues/Black Hawks or Stanley Cup playoff game. Busch III can only dream it would enjoy the same vigor when the Maestro revved up the crowd as the Clydesdales appeared from the old wagon gate prior to World Series games. No one whipped the crowd into frenzy better than Ernie. And he did it the old fashion way: without silly CD sound effects or obnoxious graphics only Pavlov would use. Nobody did it better. Although his fingers might not have been as nimble as decades back, the Maestro had the magic touch. For forty years, five different decades and eight Presidential administrations Ernie entertained tens of millions with his unique style. In 2010, the Maestro announced his final concert will take place at end of the baseball season. The curtain would come down during the final weekend of the regular season in October against Colorado. “So I was in Wal Mart with my grandson and he asked me, ‘Grandpa, would you make a sound like a frog?’ I naturally asked why. My grandson replied, “Well, Grandma said that once Grandpa croaks she will take me to Florida.” Ernie spun that story to me while we were eating dinner together in the Busch Stadium Press Lounge prior to the Friday October 1, 2010 Cardinal/Rockies game. With pristine timing much like the lyrics from Billy Joel’s Piano Man, he was always “quick with a joke”. During his later years at Busch, Ernie’s role became somewhat diminished. It seemed some front office suit with a Master’s Degree but no knowledge of St. Louis baseball history felt it would be better to kick up mood of the crowd with “special effects” and gimmicks. Truth be told, Ernie was not pleased with this decision. Still he remained a good and faithful team player: appearing when scheduled and never showing any disagreement. Surrounded by his family on the field in his final appearance at Busch III, Hays received an award from the team and a Jefferson City proclamation prior to the finale. As expected, his remarks to the crowd were humble & gracious. Also as expected, a standing ovation followed. Throughout the years, I’ve been a part of a select group: a member of Ernie’ email distribution list, I would receive tidbits from him constantly. It was like Forest Gump’s box of chocolates. You never quite know what you’ll receive: as Ernie’s contributions range from patriotic to inspirational to humorous to off-color. But despite the occasional image of a prankster, the Maestro was a devoted family man who loved life and his country dearly. . “Well, were all in the mood for a melody. You’ve got us feeling alright.” Yeah, I must confess that when I heard the news I was taken aback. You see, Ernie Hays’ passing not only marks the end of another era of St. Louis sports, but also of a good friend I can say that I’m not only his friend but also a fan. But still, I thought of the lyrics of American Pie: this is the day the music died. Bravo, Bravo, Maestro—Thanks for the memories. St. Louis High School Basketball News  Lonnel Cole posted February 4 They met as foes at the recent Coaches vs. Cancer Shootout,
but they could end up in Columbia facing off against foes of their
respective peers, in Missouri Class 3 and Class 5.
When the Cardinal Ritter Lions upset the undefeated and top-ranked Vianney Golden Griffins 69-66 in boys high school basketball as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Shootout at Scottrade Center, it could have been a Missouri state tournament preview. No, as a Class 5 (Vianney) and Class 3 (Cardinal Ritter) program, the teams can't potentially clash at the state's final four in Columbia next month.  However, with Ritter (13-4) displaying its postseason form after some early-season losses, and Vianney (19-1) boasting only the Ritter blemish, it's possible that both Catholic school powers could be among the last clubs standing after it's all said and done. "That streak was neat and special but it's not what we'r trying to accomplish," said Vianney coach Kevin Walsh, subsequently noting that a deep postseason run is the prime objective. Cardinal Ritter's conquest of his club at Scottrade came behind a game-high 26 points from Ritter's 6-8 superstar Cameron Biedscheid (expected) and 22 poins from his teammate Charles Jones (unexpected). The Golden Griffins, who were led by senior guard Tony Cochran's 21 points were ambushed by Jones' barrage of points after he came into the game averaging less than four points per game total. "They have a very special player in Cameron (Biedscheid) and we thought somebody else is going to beat us and somebody else did," noted Walsh. The Lions, who led 19-12 after the first quarter and trailed 29-28 at the half, didn't have pressure on themselves as consensus underdogs.But it could have been pressure going up against an undefeated large-school program. "Coach (Marvin) Neals told us in the locker room before the game that we had nothing to lose and they had everything to lose, so we came in with that mentality," relayed Biedscheid. Neals said his club defense set the tempo and he elaborated on how. "We tried to make sure we put pressure on the ball, pressure on the shooters and pressure them all over the floor," said Neals. "We respect them. Vianney has a great basketball team." That strategy allowed Ritter to force the Golden Griffins into 12 turnovers, while Ritter had only six. Suffice to say, Ritter's upset of Vianney on such a large stage was a source of pleasure beyond the mere victory, according to Cardinal Ritter College Prep president Leon Henderson. "It was a great victory for the team and the school," said Henderson. "They showed a lot of courage and determination in beating the top school in the area. Most of all we're proud of the great sportsmanship and dignity they displayed in representing Cardinal Ritter." Ritter, which has won six state titles, as recent as 2010, will conclude their regular season slate with three AAA conference games starting Monday Feb 6 when it hosts Trinity (8-10) from a previous postponement due to bad weather. After the Trinity game, the Lions play at St. Dominic (9-9) on Feb.10 and then they conclude the regular season at DuBourg (4-14) on Feb.17 before commencing district play. In addition to Biedscheid, who flaunts an area-best 31.5 scoring average, Ritter has just one other player in double figures now in 6-1 senior guard Ryan Hill who's averaging 10.2 points. But that's deceiving, given the scoring potential of Charles Jones and the fact that traditionally a Marvin Neals-coached team hits its stride down the stretch. Speaking of 'down the stretch', that is when Walsh said he wants his Golden Griffins to be playing their best basketball as well. They will conclude their regular season with three Metro Catholic Conference (MCC) games starting Feb.10, when they host DeSmet (14-6), play at SLUH ( 11-9) Feb.14 and then at CBC (12-9) in the regular season finale Feb.17 before staring district play. The Golden Griffins have been led all season by the trio of 5-10 senior guard Tony Cochran (17.4 points per game), 6-5 junior guard Brad Woodson (13.9 points per game) and 6-10 senior forward George Woods (10.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game along with 41 total blocked shots). Lonnel Cole posted December 13 The Gateway Tech Jaguars had one of the St. Louis
area's most lethal dual threats in high school football
in senior quarterback Paul Rice. Recently voted the Public High
League's player of the year by the coaches, Rice helped lead his
team to the state quarterfinals.
 Gateway
Tech quarterback Paul Rice,(number 5 with ball) who led the
Jaguars to a 10-3 mark and the Class 4 state quarterfinals is pursued
by Miller Career Academy defender Markese Marbley (also number 5) in a
sectional game this fall won by Gateway Tech 52-14.
photo by Leon Algee Meanwhile the Soldan-International Tigers produced one of
the area's top passing combinations in quarterback Steven Irving and
receiver Paul McRoberts.
All in all, the Public High League maintained a level
of credibility in the recently concluded 2011 gridiron campaign.Rice
passed for 2,037 yards and rushed for another 1,678 yards to help spark
the Jaguars to a 10-3 mark. Irving passed for 2,653 yards and 32
touchdowns, including 23 to McRoberts, who caught 64 passes for 1,607
yards to go along with those 23 scoring strikes, as the Tigers posted a
7-4 mark. Soldan defender Kawan Griffin, on the other hand, was one of
the area's top pass rushers, getting credit for 18 sacks.
The Jaguars were bidding to become the first PHL program
since the 2007 Vashon Wolverines to make it to the state semifinal,
which is essentially the equivalent of the state basketball final four
tournament. But along the playoff journey, the Jaguars had to beat
longtime league nemesis Career Academy twice- first 30-14 in the
district rounds, then 50-14 a couple of weeks later in the sectionals.
Beating the same team twice in the same season is never a
small feat as the Jaguars learned just the previous year, 2010, when
they blew out Roosevelt 63-28 in the district rounds, only to lose to
the same Roosevelt team 23-20 in overtime, a couple of weeks later
in the sectionals.
"We had been preaching that all week," said Jaguars coach
Jason Dulick,
who was assistant head coach last year with the Jaguars before assuming
the head coaching position this season. "It's hard to beat
the same team twice. We let them know what happened to them against
Roosevelt last year. We were ready to play. We had a team with strong
leadership."
Gateway Tech's season came to an end with a 31-14 defeat to host Farmington in the Missouri Class 4 semifinals, while Soldan's season ended a couple of rounds earlier when the Tigers were overwhelmed by powerful 14-1 Mary Institute-Country Day (MICDS, which made it to the state final before losing, 47-12 in the regional rounds. Another PHL team, the Vashon Wolverines (6-4) fell
in a Class 4 regional round contest to Ladue 59-24. But even in a
losing cause, the Wolverines had stellar performances from quarterback
Derrick Mitchell Jr. and receiver Carlee Hemphill. Michell passed for
242 yards and four touchdowns, while Hemphill caught all four of those
scoring strikes, covering 7,9, 20 and 50 yards.
Vashon's defensive coordinator Jason Williams, whose unit has to practice against Hemphill probably could have been speaking for Ladue's defensive coordinator when commenting on Hemphill's skills, which enabled him to catch nine touchdown passes this season for over 800 yards. "He's an excellent route runner and a sure-handed receiver," said Williams. "He has a knack for finding a soft spot in a club's zone defense." Vashon had battled back from a 1-3 start to make the playoffs. Furthermore with a roster laden with underclassmen (such as defensive line standouts Malik Joseph and Denzel Warren, receiver Brandon Jones and Mitchell, among others), the Wolverines could be projected to go deeper into the playoffs next season. "It was definitely an up and down season for us," said Wolverines veteran coach Reginald Ferguson. "We got off to a really bad start and managed to straighten some things out by districts. We're losing a few great players on the offense like Hemphill and (receiver) Marvin Gilmore. But we were young team. The good thing is all of those young players gain more valuable experience. We will be okay next year." ==================== Editor St. Louis Sports Online editor@stlsports.com ==================== posted
October 16
Tony La Russa, IMB and the Sweetheart
Dear reader, if you were lucky, you had a high school sweetheart or two. I had mine...and in my mind's eye, the young lady in question was the prettiest girl in school. But the prettiest girl in school went away to college. There, she found another gentleman's charms a little (a lot?!) more to her liking than those of yours truly. On the night we parted, it was obvious her mind was made up because my words and logic were insufficient as far as changing her mind was concerned. What sticks in my mind is that it seemed that the young lass was the umpire, that I had struck out looking, and her last words were 'yer outta here!'. She was so certain that the new fella was her #1 guy...I don't think the late Johnie Cochran (the lawyer that got OJ off) could've persuaded her otherwise. Her mind was made up and she was certain she was right. (And now we'll find out which friends and family members read stlsports.com...) Back to baseball. But before the main entree...a short story. One night in the late 1990's, a half-hour or so after an extended mid-September extra-inning game at Busch Stadium II, a game that the Cardinals lost, yours truly was the only media-type in the manager's office...when a couple of 'Friends of Tony' were hustled in through the side door. The couple, who were introduced to me as married to each other, were apparently long-time California-based friends of manager Tony La Russa and his family. They traded stories about the visitors' children...and a bit of chat ensued about the game that had just ended. La Russa was clearly relaxed in their presence, and took pains to say...'now this is off the record, but our last pitcher...'; and his voice trailed off. It was as if he was apologizing to his visitors for his team's sorry performance. His words were not condescending but simply stated what was obvious. The implication was clear--the manager did not have significant confidence in the lefthander in question; the team was far out of contention and the pitcher was a late-season call-up who had already failed a couple of times in a season marked with similar failures by other hurlers. The next day, I asked La Russa about his general thinking pertaining to the way he utilizes his bullpen. His response? "Look. It is not that complicated. I replace pitcher A with pitcher B if I think B has a better chance of getting the hitter out. It is not that complicated." I've never forgotten that conversation...one that was punctuated with a sharp hand gesture from the manager aimed in my general direction. ===== A good friend of mine (we'll call him IMB) long ago made up his mind regarding the managerial skills and abilities of the current Redbirds' skipper, Tony La Russa. IMB is the ultimate Cardinals' fan, but not all that unique as far as adult male southern Illinoisans are concerned--Cardinals' baseball is like religion in these parts. How serious is IMB's jones for the Redbirds? When baseball season ends, he cancels his cable TV subscription, because, in his words, "the only reason I get cable TV is to watch the Cardinals, my beloved Cardinals". IMB's cable TV comment is an exact quote. As long as his health and employment allow him the time, IMB watches and studies and dissects every pitch of every single Cardinals' game. The man knows his baseball. I have discussed the finer points of baseball, and Cardinals baseball, with IMB...for hours. And over the past couple of months, Tony La Russa's utilization of his pitching staff has been a signficant part of that discussion. Trust me when I say this: like many from these parts, IMB is NOT a fan of Tony La Russa. ===== A primary reason, if not THE primary reason, that IMB finds fault with the managerial style of Tony La Russa has to do with his perception of the way La Russa manages his pitching staff. "My Dad feels the same way I do," IMB told me. "Whenever La Russa, late in the game, heads to the pitching mound, he gets up and TURNS OFF THE TELEVISION." (Emphasis added because IMB was shouting as he uttered these words.) IMB continued: "La Russa acts like he has to put his stamp on every game he manages. You don't see other managers changing pitchers the way he does. He wears out his relievers. He overuses his bullpen. It has been going on for years, and I am sick and tired of it." IMB is in good company regarding (part of) his perception of Tony La Russa's handling of his pitching staff. Within the past 72 hours, MLB Network's Peter Gammons, ESPN's Jayson Stark, and TBS NLCS commentator Ron Darling (who started 130 games for La Russa's Oakland A's in the early 1990's) and more than one Fox Sports Midwest staffer...all supplied their views that La Russa utilizes his bullpen more than any other manager. Over and over, on national radio shows and on local radio shows...for several years, from people who should know better--the same sentiments have been expressed by literally dozens of broadcasters, writers, and baseball fans: Tony La Russa changes pitchers more than any other manager. So is this sentiment...this perception...is it real? What statistical evidence is available regarding how Tony La Russa, while serving as Cardinals manager for sixteen seasons, has utilized his bullpen? Three sets of season-long stats, and three related questions, come to mind (for the 1996-2011 Cardinals regular seasons, all managed by La Russa): *total number of complete games per season for Cardinals starting pitchers (STL CG) DO LA RUSSA'S STARTING PITCHERS COMPLETE FEWER GAMES THAN OTHER NATIONAL LEAGUE TEAMS? *average number of innings that the Cardinals' starting pitcher completes per start, before he is removed for a reliever (STL IP/S) DO LA RUSSA'S STARTERS PITCH FEWER INNINGS PER START THAN OTHER NATIONAL LEAGUE TEAMS? *total number of relief pitchers used, per season, for the entire Cardinals season (STL RP) DOES TONY LA RUSSA USE MORE RELIEVERS THAN OTHER NATIONAL LEAGUE MANAGERS? Let's go to the videotape. ===== In the Table below, STL CG and NL team CG (avg) are the number of complete games for the Cardinals and for the entire National League (per team, average), respectively, and STL rank in NL is how the Cardinals ranked that season, in the National League, in complete games. (discussion continues below table)
For example, in the Cards' 2004 105-win
regular season (in yellow
above), their starting pitchers completed four (!) games...a total that
matched the average number of complete games by the other fifteen NL
squads that year. Four complete games placed the Cards in a tie for 7th
place for the year.
For La Russa's entire sixteen-year run as the STL manager, his teams average seven complete games per season...while, during those sixteen years, the other NL teams averaged six complete games. In other words, Tony La Russa's starting pitchers complete slightly more games than other NL hurlers. No evidence of Captain Hook here. ===== Do La Russa's starters pitch fewer innings (per start) than other NL starters? In the Table below, STL IP/S and NL team IP/S (avg) are the innings pitched per start, for the Cardinals and for the entire National League (per team, average), respectively, and STL rank in NL is how the Cardinals ranked that season, in innings pitched per start. (discussion continues below table)
For example, in the Cards' 1997 73-win
regular season (in green above),
their starting pitchers averaged 6.2 innings pitched...a total that was
two-tenths of an inning greater than the average number of innings
pitched by the starting pitchers for the other thirteen NL squads
that year. The 6.2 innings pitched per start, in 1997, placed the Cards
fourth-highest
for the year in that category.
For La Russa's entire sixteen-year run as the STL manager, his team's starters average 6.1 innings per start, while, during those same sixteen years, the other NL teams' starters average 6.0 innings per start. In other words, Tony La Russa's starting pitchers remain in the game slightly longer than other NL teams' starters. No evidence of Captain Hook here, either. ===== Does Tony La Russa replace pitchers more often than other NL managers? In the Table below, STL REL and NL team REL (avg) are the total number of relief pitchers used, per season, for the Cardinals, and for the entire National League (per team, average), respectively, and STL rank in NL is how the Cardinals ranked that season, in total number of relief pitchers used.. (discussion continues below table)
For
example, in the Cards' 2011 90-win regular season (in blue above),
468 relief pitchers made appearances. Relievers for the other fifteen
NL staffs were utilized (on average, per team) 487 times. Restating,
the average NL manager, in 2011, changed pitchers 21 more times than
Tony La Russa.
In the 2011 season, the Cardinals placed fourteenth in the National League in the number of relief pitchers used. Only two NL teams (Philadelphia and Arizona) utilized relief pitchers fewer times than the Cardinals. For La Russa's entire sixteen-year run as the STL manager, his team's relievers averaged 456 appearances per year, while, during those same sixteen years, managers for the other NL teams used 455 relievers per year. In other words, Tony La Russa, over the course of sixteen NL seasons, used EXACTLY ONE more relief pitcher, per season, than his fellow NL managers. Still no evidence of Captain Hook here, as well. [Side Note #1: The original Captain Hook was Sparky Anderson, who, in the 1975 and 1976 seasons, did the left-right-left-right relief pitcher shuffle years before Tony La Russa made his managerial debut with the Chicago White Sox in 1979.] [Side Note #2: Sixteen years in STL...averaging 88 wins with multiple post-season appearances; Tony La Russa's managerial career in St. Louis alone puts him in the conversation for Hall of Fame consideration. Think about it. One more World Series title and a couple of more seasons in STL would solidify that very argument.] ===== So back to sweethearts and IMB. IMB has demonstrated, time after time, that he just does not like Tony La Russa. It is likely that no amount of logic and facts are going to change his mind. At this point he has too much invested to look at things in a different way. Nevertheless... For the past sixteen years, Cardinals' starting pitchers completed one more game than starters on other NL teams (per season). For the past sixteen years, Cardinals' starting pitchers pitched slightly more innings, per game, than the starters on other NL teams. And for the past sixteen years, Cardinals' relievers have made one more appearance, per season, than relievers on other NL teams. But hey...about all those folks, like IMB, 'hating on' Tony La Russa? Something tells me that the Cardinals manager would revel in all of the criticism, and take on twice as much of it...if in return he could collect one more World Series championship as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. IMB won't change his mind, though. And that high school sweetheart? Well, Miss Amy...she didn't change her mind, either. WDBX Sunday
Sports
Review
SSR Show Intro mp3 #1 (featuring Ozzie Smith, Tony La Russa, Bruce Weber, Jerry Kill, Rich Herrin and Charlie Spoonhour, and Joe Buck) SSR Show Intro mp3 #2 (featuring Jan Quarless, Rick Ankiel, Ron Caron, Walt Jocketty, Brian Jordan and Joe Buck) |
==========
posted May 15 Random thoughts & questions as Major League Baseball contacts the WWE for officiating advice It just keeps getting worse for the St.
Louis Blues. They will now have to watch in one Western Conference
semi-final round are the team’s hated rivals (Chicago & Detroit)
and two lower seeded teams in the other semi (Los Angeles & San
Jose).
May 13th marked the 55th anniversary (1958) of Stan Musial’s 3,000th career hit. Coming off the bench as a pinch-hitter at Wrigley Field, Musial slapped a double off Cub reliever Moe Drabowsky for hit #3,000. Harry Caray’s call remains legendary. How has the game changed? When The Man stroked hit #3,000, he became only the eighth player to reach that career plateau. So I guess it’s now safe to say the Rams made the right decision regarding Titus Young? Somehow I don’t think the New York media will be as open and understanding to soon-to-be 34 year old outfielder Rick Ankiel as their counterparts in St. Louis. AND FINALLY FROM THE “HAND OUT THE CIGARS” BUREAU: According to Fox Sports.com, “Blackhawks fan Donna Lebano attended Thursday 5/9/12th 5-1 playoff win over the Minnesota Wild while very much pregnant, and despite going into labor while sitting inside the United Center, she waited until the final horn sounded before rushing off to the hospital. Lebano experienced her first contraction in the second period, with the Blackhawks leading 3-0, just one win away from the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. She didn’t even consider leaving. “No way was I leaving. We are a Hawks family. I had to see the end of the game.”” Just what the Blues fans want to hear: validation of the next generation of Chicago Black Hawk fans. posted April 28 Random thoughts & questions as the Stanley Cup playoffs begin and Cinco de Mayo will start five days later Once again I am rolling my eyes listening
to local hockey fans and media bloviate on the Blues securing the 4th
place in the Conference for home ice advantage in Round One. Forgive my
skepticism, but didn’t the Blues have home ice advantage for Rounds 1
& 2 last season?
In this bureau’s opinion, Rick Horton teamed with John Rooney is absolutely excellent radio and a first class broadcast. Also, in this bureau’s opinion, Jim Edmonds has been a refreshing addition to the apologists of Fox Sports Midwest. It is especially refreshing that to some of the FSM regulars seem not very comfortable with Jimmy Baseball on the set. Should the Detroit Red Wings make the NHL playoffs, all of the original six of the NHL teams will qualify for the playoffs. It’s amazing how much influence the World Wide Leader in Cable Sports Programming has? Case in point: during Thursday’s broadcast of that rich & arrogant cartel better known as the National Football League’s draft of college players, teams “on the clock” held off their announcement until the ESPN commercials have finished airing. AND FINALLY FROM THE “OLD FRIENDS IN DIFFERENT PLACES” BUREAU: With the end of April approaching, it might be fun to check in with a few of our former heroes. On the morning of the final Saturday of April, Kyle Lohse is 1-1 with a 2.52 earned run average in 25 innings pitched. Meanwhile, Lance Berkman is batting .333 in 80 plate appearances with 2 home runs and 15 runs batted in. Mike's at: posted March 15 Random thoughts and observations
as office photocopiers across the fruited plain get oiled up for the
announcement of the 2013 NCAA Basketball Brackets
So let me see if I understand this correctly: white smoke means they have selected a fifth starter for the Cardinals, right? Wanna feel old: Happy 70th Birthday, Bob Plager (this week) Thursday afternoon provided another example of why listening to baseball on the radio still trumps everything. During the 2nd inning of the Cardinals/Braves exhibition game on 3/14/13, Red Bird announcers Mike Shannon & John Rooney were announcing the game while having a good time. You really can tell both like each other and it makes for a good broadcast. Plus, unlike the apologists on Fox Sports Midwest that read their infomercial-style talking points while reminding you where tickets can be purchased, Mike & John were improvising: including Rooney imitating both Red Rush and Harry Caray (who would have been 99 years old this month). It was another wonderful reminder that baseball is better on radio. So when will we start seeing St. Louis Rams Wide Receiver job postings on Monster.com? AND FINALLY FROM THE “LET’S GO TO THE BALL GAME” BUREAU: In a story that would make the prisoners of Stahlig 13 from Hogan’s Heroes proud, according to Sky Sports.com: “A group of Galatasaray fans were caught trying to dig their way into Schalke's Veltins-Arena on Monday night in a bid to see their team training in preparation for Tuesday’s Championship League encounter in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Stewards discovered them trying to create a passage under a perimeter fence using only their bare hands, but with the ground frozen, they did not get very far."It's true, after their final training session, our Turkish friends were caught trying to dig a way into the stadium through the frozen ground," chalke's director of sport, Horst Heldt, told Sky television. "The stewards prevented them from doing so." The game was a major event in Gelsenkirchen, which has a large resident Turkish population, with many Galatasaray shirts intermingled among the host Royal Blue spectators” Well, I suppose this is one way to avoid the Stubhub fees posted February 27 Random thoughts & observations as
inquiring minds wonder when the next time the University of Missouri
Men’s Basketball Team will win an SEC road gamel
OK, so raise your hand if you
are surprised that Steven Jackson is exploring free agency in that rich
& arrogant cartel better known as the National Football League.
We offer best wishes and continued good luck to baseball broadcasting legend Joe Garagiola as he eases into retirement. Always the gentleman, the 87-year old Joe G is one of the best story tellers around, a proud son of the Hill in St. Louis and is well-deserved member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. We’ll miss you Joe. Mike Garafolo of USA Today sports writes: New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has taken a steep discount on the going rate for elite NFL quarterbacks to help the team allocate money elsewhere and make at least one more title run in his career. Sports Illustrated’s Peter King first reported Brady has agreed to a three-year extension at $27 million, less than half the $20 million-per-season rate the New Orleans Saints' Drew Brees received last year and the mark the Baltimore Ravens' Joe Flacco hopes to eclipse this year. The person familiar with the agreement said Brady will receive a signing bonus of $3 million, along with base salaries of $7 million, $8 million and $9 million in 2015-17, respectively.” Simply amazing: Where else can a soon-to-be 36 year old be considered a hero because he is willing to take a pay cut for “only” $9 million a year for the next three years? Has it really been 33 years since the United States Olympic Hockey Team defeated the-then Soviet Union in the semi-final round of the Olympics at Lake Placid? AND FINALLY FROM THE “IT’S ALL THE WAY YOU LOOK AT IT” BUREAU: On the morning of February 26, 2013, the St. Louis Blues have 22 points: good for fifth place in the NHL Western Conference pecking order and only one point out of 4th place. On the other hand, the Blues and their 22 points are only one point ahead of 6th place Detroit, two points ahead of 7th and 8th place LA and Dallas and three points from dropping to tenth place in the Conference. posted January 13 Random thoughts & questions as NHL
scramble to get into shape for a seven-day training camp
We were saddened to hear of the
passing of long-time St. Louis area High School coach and official Ray
Cliffe. A member of the University of Missouri’s 1946 Cotton Bowl team
and a member of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Mr. Cliffe inspired
thousands throughout the Gateway City. From his days on the south side
at old Cleveland High School, whether as a teacher, a coach, an
official, mentor or friend, he was the ultimate role model for young
people: who despite his gruff exterior had a heart of gold. We’ll miss
you, Coach.
Nobody asked me, but wouldn’t it make lot of sense for the National Hockey League to hold an outdoor “Winter Classic” in one of the original six cities as the show-time opener of its reduced 2013 hockey schedule? And wouldn’t it also make a lot of sense to play this game at 12 Noon Eastern Time on Sunday January 20: immediately before the start of the NFC and AFC Championship Games on NBC—the network that will not be airing any pro football that day? Still, no one asked me. Rather than going into the weeds over some debate about political correctness, can’t we just all agree that at age 73 Brent Musberger’s eye sight is still very good. It’s interesting that with all of the Head Coach openings with several teams in that rich & arrogant cartel better known as the National Football League, that the names of Mike Martz or Steve Spagnuolo don’t come up. AND FINALLY FROM THE “ONE FOR THE ROAD” BUREAU: Should you decide to play a drinking game during this weekend’s New England/Houston playoff game where you would have to down a shot every time CBS announcer Jim Nantz would gush over Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady, allow us to offer one piece of advice: please don’t drive home. posted January 10 Random thoughts, questions &
observations as we all try to remember to write 2013 on our checks
So if a National Hockey League game is played after a four-month lockout and none one pays any attention, does it make a sound? Instead of “Roll Tide”, the BCS Championship Game should be “Roll Tidal Wave”. Still inquiring minds wonder just how many college football fans across the fruited plain switched the remote over to Jay Leno or David Letterman instead of watching the talking heads during their post-game debriefing at the World Wide Leader of Cable Sports Broadcasting. Don’t get me wrong, I am very happy for him—soon-to-be 37-year old Lance Berkman with his two bad knees gets a one-year $10 million contract. But does this actually mean the economy really is getting better? Perhaps the best investment tip for early 2013 is buying pharmaceutical stocks. Think about: you will have all these NHL players that have been sitting around for six months or so, now trying to cram in a 50-game schedule where they will be playing four games a week. Those aches should make the drug stocks soar. AND FINALLY FROM THE “I’M STILL OUT THERE” BUREAU: Mike Cole of NESN.com writes: “Then there’s Jose Canseco. Baseball’s biggest tattler has some pretty ambitious goals for 2013, and he shared them on Twitter The former slugger kicked things off by saying that he was going to unleash his 10 resolutions. Naturally, Canseco repeated No. 5 twice, so it was actually a list of 11 resolutions. So that’s extra ambition, actually. He wants to do it all in ’13, too. Whether it’s taking on Shaquille O’Neal in a cage match, developing an anti-aging drink or having dinner with Bud Selig, it’s going to be a busy year for Canseco. Oh, and the fact that he sees himself as an A-list celebrity is nothing short of hilarious.” Happy 2013, Jose: It’s nice to have you back. posted December 3 Random thoughts & questions
as the San Francisco 49ers come to town with 70-degree temperatures
expected in the first weekend of December
We offer our heartiest
congratulations to long-time St. Louis sports personality Ron Jacober
on his induction into the Missouri State Hall of Fame. A terrific
person, Mr. J is a very good friend of ours here at St. Louis
Sports-On-Line and we could not be happier for this richly deserved
honor.
Wanna feel old? Happy 50th Birthday Bo Jackson On Friday the Pittsburgh Pirates outbid the New York Yankees to acquire the services of catcher Russell Martin. Come on, admit it: did you ever think you were hear the words “the Pittsburgh Pirates outbids the New York Yankees” in a sentence? You can’t help but wonder just how many (or how few) people these days are actually missing the National Hockey League. AND FINALLY FROM THE “IT’S NICE TO HAVE YOU BACK WHERE YOU BELONG ” BUREAU: For those of you like me who remember the days of the old St. Louis Football Cardinals, you likely recall also the Big Red Line: the dancing group that performed during games and at many events around town. During many of those 4-9-1 seasons, the Big Red Line was the best reason to go to the football games. Well, the ladies are back together and put up a website www.stl-bigredline.com complete with stories and photos from the not too distance past while offering their support for current St. Louis. It was fun to visit the website and go down memory lane and I encourage everyone to visit it. It’s hard to believe next month will mark the 25th anniversary of the Football Cardinals’ departure from St. Louis posted November 29 Random thoughts &
observations as the calendar changes from November to December
The passing of former Major
League Baseball Players’ Association Head Marvin Miller is one that
should not be ignored for those playing the game. No one changed the
landscape of Baseball in the past half century more than Miller did.
With his intelligence and savvy, Miller constantly outsmarted and
outmaneuvered Commissioner Bowie Kuhn. In a just world Miller
should be in Baseball’s Hall of Fame. Every current and past player
over the past forty years should offer homage to the work of the
95-year old Miller for their livelihood and life style.
Those sighs of relief you heard late Saturday night were from TV executives across the county as Notre Dame defeated USC. Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse for the National Hockey League, we offer this contribution from the Associated Press: “According to a Grand Rapids police report obtained by MLive.com, Detroit Red Wings’ prospect Riley Sheahan twice registered a blood alcohol level of 0.30 percent following his 10/29 arrest. The driving limit is 0.08 percent. The benchmark for the ''super drunk'' designation is 0.17 percent. Police say he was wearing the costume of a purple Teletubby, also known as Tinky Winky, during the stop. The ''super drunk'' charge carries a penalty of 180 days in jail and possible deportation.” (You just can’t make this stuff up.) I must have missed the memo: exactly when will that groundbreaking ceremony for the spot we are told will stand Ball Park Village take place? AND FINALLY FROM THE “FRIENDLY CONFINES” BUREAU: According to an 11/28/12 NBCChicago.com on-line story: “Two wild coyotes were spotted hanging around Chicago’s Wrigley Field late Saturday night. Will Byington was photographing a live band at the Cubby Bear entertainment complex when the doormen reported that a couple of coyotes were outside the stadium. Byington, armed with his camera, and a couple of employees headed outside to investigate. "The scary thing is that they didn't seem afraid. You'd think they'd be cowering, but they didn't seem vicious," Byington said. "First time I've ever seen it," said Byington, who lives in Wrigleyville. "You hear stories about them venturing out and spotted around parks and whatnot, but they were right in the street with cars zooming by and honking. It didn't seem to faze them." While many of the Windy City residents are concerned about wild animals roam in Rahm Emanuel’s kind of town, one of the posters the Comments Section of this cyber-story tried to put a good spin on the situation: “Maybe it is a good omen. The present of the coyotes puts the Billy Goat curse away for good. Coyotes dominate goats. The Cubs will win the world series this year.” posted November 23 Random thoughts & questions
as holiday shoppers prepare for their version of Midnight Madness
Inquiring minds can’t help but
wonder how Missouri Athletic Director Mike Alden reacted when he first
heard the news that Maryland and Rutgers were accepted as the newest
members of the Big Ten Conference.
Listening to the national pinheaded pundits criticize Grinnell College’s Jack Taylor’s 139-point performance in one game is silly and humorous. Here is the bottom line, in one game scored eleven more points than the entire St. Louis University team did in their last two games. It seems to this bureau with the major salary commitment made by the Toronto Blue Jays, there will be much more scrutiny on centerfielder Colby Rasmus (or as the Fox Sports Midwest apologists used to call him: “Colby”) If it is true that absence makes the heart grow fonder, then how come more fans are not missing the National Hockey League these days? AND FINALLY FROM THE “ NOT THE BEST GIVEAWAY” BUREAU: Brian McIntyre of the Shutdown Corner.com writes: “Even with the Pittsburgh Steelers down to 37-year-old Charley Batch and newly signed Brian Hoyer at the quarterback position, few are giving the 2-8 Cleveland Browns much of a chance to upset the 6-4 Steelers this Sunday at Cleveland Browns Stadium. The list of doubters apparently extends to the Browns marketing department, who will be handing out white -- yes, white -- flags to fans entering the stadium this Sunday as part of a promotion with The NFL Ticket Exchange. "Arrive early Sunday. All fans in attendance will receive a Browns Inflatable Flag courtesy of @NFLtix Exchange," the Browns official Twitter handle announced on Thanksgiving Day.”” Somehow I don’t think renewal invoices for 2013 Browns’ season ticket holders will also be included with the white flags. posted November 18 Random observations and
questions as we stop to reflect and be thankful for what are really
important in our lives: and they won’t be found on a diamond, court,
gridiron, or ice
Happy 92nd Birthday Wednesday to
the Greatest Cardinal of them all, Stan Musial. One of the highlights
of the 20112 baseball post-season was a when The Man appeared at Busch
Stadium and was received as royalty. Please allow me to once again
share a favorite story about #6. A few years back, The Man was asked to
predict what his batting average would be in today’s era of
over-expansion, watered-down pitching, smaller ballparks and lively
baseballs. Musial replied “probably about .250 or .260”. But then The
Man smiled with that familiar grin and explained to the stunned
reporter: “you’ve got to remember, I am over 80 years old”. The Man
remains the greatest.
It’s been a while, so hopefully the Rams will remember how to react as a favorite going into a game. And not only that, but those new Cardinal “Saturday Home Game” uniform jerseys will be available at your local retailer just in time for Christmas So do you really think Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig will veto this week’s mega-trade between the Miami Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays: especially when Selig did not say word one after the Boston Red Sox’ salary dump to the Los Angeles Dodgers last September. AND FINALLY FROM THE “IT’S ALL HOW YOU LOOK AT IT” BUREAU: This week the MLB Network gathered a group of its analysts to nominate the best single play of the 2012 baseball season. Former player Harold Reynolds offered up a second inning play of an August 28 game in Pittsburgh when Cardinal catcher Yadier Molina was involved in a violent home plate collision with a Pirate runner. Although Molina held onto the ball for an out, he left the game with an injury. You might also remember the reaction (OK, overreaction) by a few of the Fox Sports Midwest Apologists that night: referring to Reynolds’ nomination then as headhunting” and “intentional” and “retaliation” by the team-paid mouthpieces. So I guess it comes down to where one’s paycheck comes, eh? posted November 12 Random thoughts &
observations as the National Hockey League and NHL Players’ Association
continue to lose money and salary
Despite all the gnashing of
teeth by local fans and media on the Monday after, admit it: if on
Sunday morning 11/11/12, you would have offered Rams Nation a tie in
San Francisco against the 12-point favorite 49ers, most would have
taken it. Still the tie reminds one of the days of the old St. Louis
Football Cardinals. Remember all those 4-9-1 records the Big Red
compiled?
I’ll bet those TV Networks are chomping at the bit of the thought of a possible Oregon-Kansas State BCS Championship match-up. To take it further, I wonder if the Network suits are scheming a way to wiggle Notre Dame into the Big Game. With a win against Syracuse in Columbia this weekend, the University of Missouri would be Bowl Eligible for 2012. Really, Really, Really? If Scott Boras can land a big-money, long-term free agent contract for Kyle Lohse, then you have to take your hat off to him and award him the all time “Silk Purse out of a Sow’s Ear” Award. AND FINALLY FROM THE “KEEPS GOING, AND GOING AND GOING, BUREAU”: This weekend SMU defeated Loyola Marymount 73-58 in the debut of the Mustangs’ New Head Coach, Larry Brown. Yes, it’s THAT Larry Brown. SMU is the 14th coaching job for the 72-year old Brown: who is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. I’m guessing the Harlem Globetrotters will be next on his resume: probably when the old coach turns 80. posted November 8 Random thoughts &
observations while reflecting with thanks and the highest respect for
those honored guests as we approach Veterans’ Day
Has it really been 43 years
since St. Louis Blues Center Red Berensen scored six goals in one game
against the Philadelphia Flyers? The radio calls of those goals by the
late, great Dan Kelly are legendary.
Wanna feel old: on Friday November 9, Happy 81st Birthday, Whitey Herzog and Happy 78th Birthday Bob Gibson. Just in case you haven’t noticed, after nine weeks of the regular season the Indianapolis Colts (who actually had a worse 2011 regular season record than the Rams) have the same 2012 win/loss record as the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos (the landing spot for the Colts’ former quarterback. Memo to the National Hockey League and the NHL Players Association: hasn’t this gone on long enough? AND FINALLY FROM THE “LOOK OUT OLD MACKIE’S GONE ” BUREAU: We wish former Cardinal Hitting Coach Mark McGwire well in his new job with the Los Angeles Dodgers. McGwire proved a lot of people wrong and made Tony La Russa’s insistence of joining the Cardinals’ coaching staff look very good. But in the end, though, family trumps everything and #25 made the right decision to head west. posted November 1 Random thoughts and observations
as the Gateway City endures the chill of October turning into the chill
of November
To all those St. Louis Rams’ season ticket holders who were complaining last February about the New England Patriot game being moved to London: now aren’t you glad you did not pay for that? When you consider the devastation on the East Coast, it was probably best the New York Yankees did not advance to the 2012 World Series. You see, Game Five would have been played at Yankee Stadium on the night Hurricane Sandy arrived in the Big Apple. But then again, it is also very possible the San Francisco Giants would not have allowed a fifth game to be played anywhere. Is it just me, but isn’t this man-crush CBS sportscaster Jim Nantz has with the New England Patriots and specifically Tom Brady getting beyond annoying? I was going through some old newspapers from last March. Back then, a bunch of the St. Louis Post Dispatch sports staff predicted the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to win the World Series. AND FINALLY FROM THE “GLASS HALF-FULL” BUREAU: Although the Green Bay Packers and the New England Patriots took them to the woodshed and with their next game scheduled in San Francisco, it should be noted that at the mid-season break, the Rams still have more victories than their entire 2011 regular season. Remember: five or six wins would qualify as a successful 2012 season. Random thoughts and observations
as the Detroit Tigers now understand how the St. Louis Cardinals and
Cincinnati Reds felt
According to the National Weather Bureau in St. Louis, the temperature under clear skies in the Gateway City at 7:00PM on Wednesday October 24 was 64 degrees. It would have been a nice night for a baseball game. We send our best to former Cardinal outfielder turned broadcaster Chris Duncan. Over the summer, this bureau got to interact with Little Dunc in the Busch Stadium Press Box. He is a hard-working person, driven to hone is craft and extremely astute in his knowledge of the game of baseball. But above all, Chris Duncan is a good guy. We wish Chris well and look forward to seeing him next April. Wanna feel old: twenty-seven years ago Friday night (10/26/85), umpire Don Denkinger made that famous wrong call in the 9th inning of Game 6 of the 1985 World Series. BTW: it’s worth saying again, that Denkinger missed call in Game 6 did NOT cost the St. Louis Cardinals a World Series Championship. With so many sports cable and sports radio stations throughout the fruited plain, one of them is likely to be silly enough to bring Bobby Valentine and Ozzie Guillen on board as “baseball experts”. AND FINALLY FROM THE “COST OF HIGHER EDUCATION” BUREAU: According to an October 23, 2012 on-line Associated Press story: “The University of Missouri athletics department is tightening employee use of school-issued credit cards after an audit found a series of improper purchases, including bills for more than $7,600 from a Las Vegas strip club. Department spokesman Chad Moller said that director of video operations Michael Schumacher had repaid $7,605.50 for two credit charges from a May 5, 2011, visit to Olympic Garden. One of the charges included a $2,000 tip on a $4,400 bill at a nightclub billed as the "only Vegas strip club on the Strip." The university has deactivated 32 credit cards out of the 120 that had been issued to athletics employees before the audit, Moller added.” Meanwhile tuition, books and fees at Ol’ Mizzou continue to rise. Comments? Contact Mike at: mike@stlsports.com Random
thoughts and observations as the Gateway City prepares to decide the
2011 World Series
Nutshell recap of Game Three of the 2011
World Series: just another chapter in the legend that is Albert Pujols.
Well, so much for all that hype from the local media about the St. Louis Rams’ 4-0 pre-season record. According to published reports, because of the actions of a few Boston Red Sox players, Major League Baseball is considering an alcohol ban in all team clubhouses. Said another way, there could be an alcohol ban in facilities named Busch Stadium, Miller Park and Coors Field. Final Score from Columbia, Mo: Oklahoma State-45, Missouri-24. And Ol’ Mizzou really still wants to join the SEC? AND FINALLY FROM THE “BACK TO THE WORLD OF HIGH ECONOMICS” BUREAU: Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal offers his thoughts on the Red Birds soon-to-be free agent first baseman: “The Cardinals will regret allowing a player of such stature to hit the open market. Game 3 might be remembered as the night that Albert Pujols priced himself out of St. Louis for good. Or, it might be remembered as the night that the Cardinals decided that they could not afford to let him ago. Don’t expect Pujols to conduct a complete money grab and sign with, say, the Marlins, if they are the high bidder. But the Cardinals are going to face competition, more competition than they imagined when Pujols was batting only .257 with a .326 on-base percentage, a .395 slugging average and with eight homers on May 29. Either way, Pujols wins. He was always going to win. And Game 3 of the World Series offered a vivid reminder of why he is such a transcendent figure within the sport. Teams want to be rational, and it is not rational to award lengthy contracts to players in their 30s. But on Saturday night, Pujols again showed that he is an exceptional case, one mighty swing at a time.” posted October 19 Random
thoughts & observations as the Gateway City bundles up to welcome
the World Series back to town
While I’m thrilled that the local economy will be raking in much cash during Games 1 & 2, I still hold the opinion that I shared in this space in October 2004 and in October 2006: no Wild Card team should ever have home field advantage over a Divisional Champion in a World Series. I wonder what they are thinking these days down in Atlanta. Has anyone seen or heard from John Davidson? Didn’t those in-the-know media types insist a couple of years ago that Cardinal Hitting Coach Mark McGwire was going to be a distraction? AND FINALLY FROM THE “CRYING IN ONE’S BEER” BUREAU: Fox Sports.com writes on October 14, 2011: “Not only are Green Bay Packers fans basking in a Super Bowl victory and a 5-0 start, but they're also enjoying some of the lowest prices for beer in the NFL. According to Business Insider, the average price for a beer at Lambeau Field is $5.25, just a quarter higher than Cleveland Browns fans, who enjoy the cheapest beer in the NFL at $5.Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum sits one of the NFL's worst teams. The winless St. Louis Rams (who haven't had a winning season since 2003) charge their fans an average of $9 for a beer, according to the report.” OMG: this is too easy!! Feel free to insert your own thoughts right here. Random
thoughts & observations as the National League Championship Series
returns to the Gateway City
So with the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and all teams based on the West Coast eliminated, will the World Wide Leader in Cable Sports Programming even cover the League Championships or World Series this season? Matt Reitz of NBC Sports' Pro Hockey Talk offers this preview of the St. Louis Blues and their 2011-12 NHL chances: "The reality is the Blues have a lot of question marks surrounding their potential. They need to stay healthy, they need to figure out a way to mix (Jamie) Langenbrunner and (Jason) Arnott into the fold up front, they’ll need their second and third pairings on the blue line to play strong defense all season, and they need their up-and-down goaltender to keep the puck out of the net. There’s too much talent to ignore here — expect the Blues to win the battle with a few other teams to sneak into that final playoff spot in the Western Conference. They may finish behind the ‘Hawks, Wings, and Preds in the Central, but that still may be good enough for the 8th & final spot in the West." Call me cynical, but there are a lot of "needs to" and "may" in this analysis. The passing of Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis marks the end of an era in professional football. One of the founders of the old American Football League, the often-unpredictable and occasionally eccentric Davis went against the grain and occasionally sued (and always won) against the power brokers of that rich & arrogant cartel better known as the National Football League. Davis was a thorn in the side to many in the league’s rich boy country club ownership fraternity. For that alone he will be missed. For the second straight season, two of Major League Baseball’s highest paid players, Ryan Howard and Alex Rodriquez, made the final out in their teams postseason. AND FINALLY FROM THE “BOTTOM LINE IS THE BOTTOM LINE” BUREAU: During their 6PM newscast prior to Game 5 of the Cardinals/Phillies NLCD series, one of the station’s reporters aired a segment on how much better St. Louis food is than Philadelphia food. Particular, how much better the Gateway City’s toasted ravioli tastes than the Philly Cheese Steak. Those interviewed revealed how much better the St. Louis delicacy is and there is no comparison to the steak sandwich. Once that segment end, the newscast broke for a paid commercial from Arby’s: promoting its newest menu product—a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich. Who says money doesn’t trump everything?
Random thoughts & questions as the
calendar changes from September into October Since
the St. Louis Rams finished in second place in the NFC West in 2010,
shouldn’t they be entitled to a “second place” schedule in 2011?
While we wish them well in 2011-2012, t this year’s St. Louis Blues’ motto of “Don’t Stop Believing” really does not instill confidence for a franchise that hasn’t won (OK, never) a Stanley Cup in forty-five years? With the Red Sox coughing up a sure playoff spot and with the Patriots losing to the Buffalo Bills, inquiring minds bet these days aren’t the happiest time for the Boston area fans, as well as their satellite office in Bristol, Connecticut that doubles as the World Wide Leader in Sports Programming As we approach the end of September, let’s post our final 2011 review of former Red Birds and their performances. Shortstop Brendan Ryan is hitting .248 with three home runs and 39 runs batted in. Starting pitcher Brad Penny is 11-11 with a 5.30 earned run average: striking out 74 batters in 181.2 innings pitched and going to the playoffs for Detroit. Reliever Blake Hawksworth is 2-5 with a 4.13 ERA. AND FINALLY FROM THE “I’D LIKE TO BUY A VOWEL ” BUREAU: According to Fox Sports.com: “Brad Marchand knows that the Stanley Cup celebration of him and his teammates was a bit "excessive," but fortunately for the young Boston Bruins winger, the damage isn't permanent. Marchand, in a diary for ESPN.com explained that a tattoo he got after the Bruins won it all back in June turned out to have a little bit of a typo. "Let me clear something up," Marchand said. "After we won, a bunch of us got tattoos here in the dressing room of the [TD] Garden. Mine originally was misspelled. Instead of saying Stanley Cup Champions it said Stanley Cup Champians. I don't even know how that happened. "After I got it, I came in the room and someone was like 'it says champians ... with an A,'" he added. "So I went back and the tattoo guy fixed it after that."” As if the Boston sports fans don’t have enough grief they have to endure these days, eh? Comments? contact Mike at: mike@stlsports.com |