Should the Cards make Busch more "Intimidating"?

by KYCards on Jul 17, 2008 3:09 PM EDT Comment 19 comments

I pose this question because I see how the Red Sox seem to have such a HUGE home field advantage at Fenway. The Red Sox are a good team...not great but good. But when they play at Fenway their park seems to help them out in many ways. This season Boston is 36-11 at home while playing below average baseball on the road at 21-29.

I'm not sure if it's the Green Monster, the history there or because the media pumps that place and the team up so much but something happens to teams that go into Fenway. Except for our Cardinals just about every team that goes to Fenway this season turns into Don Knotts in the Ghost and Mr. Chicken. There has to be something to it. A few weeks ago the Twins were a red hot team on a big win streak, they go into Fenway and are swept. Big time offensive teams like the Angles are shut down there in the playoffs. There has been two no-hitters there in the past two years. Even the 2004 Cardinals fell apart there.

Now I am not saying the Cardinals should build a large green wall in left field or have a large statue of Al Hrabosky in center field but should the Cards think about adding something to Busch to give it more of an intimidating feel for visiting teams in the future? With the stadium being so new, I doubt there will be any "add-ons" anytime soon...but adding something down that road that might make visiting teams be in awe might not be a bad thing. Of course we have the Arch overlooking the stadium but that doesn't seem to put the fear in the hearts of guys like Lance Berkman or Ryan Howard.

This whole thing is kind of tounge in cheek...and maybe a little more history in the new Busch will help....but I think we still need "something" for a little extra home field advantage...anyone agree?

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I'd say it's more of the fact that

a) The Red Sox are a really good team
b) They are used to the funky dimensions
c) The crowd is bonkers night in and night out

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by Mr Redbird on Jul 17, 2008 3:49 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

agree

With all those points and add some.

I think Fenway feels a lot smaller too, at least from watching games on TV. It feels like a tiny park to me, not just because of the wall, but the fans seem like they are hanging over your neck. Plus they are just nuts and ruthless. Unlike Card’s fans who typically applaud good plays by both teams, and nice people majority of the time.

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by Iowa on May 6, 2008 11:07 PM EDT

by lynx on Jul 17, 2008 4:22 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

it is

foul balls routinely go out of the park, or onto the roof of the press box. it’s very intimate.

go cards, o's, and phillies.

...boiler up.

by moboiler on Jul 17, 2008 7:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Bingo

The Red Sox fans are crazy and really don’t give a rats a** about it. Thats the major intimidating factor for the Red Sox is their fans. Without them I doubt many teams would have such a hard time playing there as they do now.

by MikyMan05 on Jul 18, 2008 1:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Here's an idea

Let’s grow a big bush in the hitter’s eye in center field and trim it to look like Braden Looper’s ugly mug. That’ll scare away opposing teams.

Then again, maybe not. Doesn’t work all that well when he’s pitching, after all…

by mojowo11 on Jul 17, 2008 5:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Interesting question

I think the Red Sox fans have the largest part in the intimidation factor. There was a comment when we were at Fenway how the stadium never stops bustling. There’s always chatter and people moving around, but, remarkably, all the fans are able to direct that energy towards cheering when something good happens.

Also, Busch III is a pretty open stadium, which dilutes the noise factor that the enclosed Fenway is able to harbor. Perhaps we could pump up some more noise when we get a base hit to get in the head of the opposing pitcher?

One other idea: I have thought for years that Cardinals fans need to create some sort of unique cheer that could unnerve the other team. Maybe similar to a soccer chant. Like it or not, the Jose “Ole” cheer with the Mets can be pretty intimidating if there’s a rally brewing. Maybe something along those lines. You would need a large following to implement that, though.

/my two cents

Rockin' the Red

by rockin the red on Jul 17, 2008 6:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

good idea with the chant

cardinals fan are too nice…we need to get a little hateful…cheering jim edmonds when hes a cub? come on that reaction shoudve been more like damons return to fenway boo the shit out of him…maybe we should get a “rally” cardinal(i use the term very loosely) we need more characters…the 90s phillys si what im thinking …steve kline was such a breath of fresh air…flipping off larussa(priceless) anyways maybe the chant will catch if someone comes up with a good one…how sad is it that the yadi chant is the loudest one?

by pujols_5 on Jul 19, 2008 11:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

boston fans

are the last ones we need to emulate.

by jdub176 on Jul 20, 2008 2:32 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think the fans are way too polite at Busch III

"Never judge a taco by its price" - Dr. Gonzo

by KennyWang on Jul 17, 2008 6:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

+1

Just as the members of Red Sox Nation are arrogant about their squad’s awesomeness following 2 world series triumphs in four years and ruthless in their jeering and taunting of the opposition, Cardinals fans at Busch are arrogant as to their make believe moniker as ‘the best fans in baseball’ and ruthless in their policing of said fans to remain polite and orderly throughout the game. Watching the last Cubs-Cards series was abysmal as the joint seemed like a funeral parlor. You readers who still live in the Lou and attend games need to stop sitting on your hands and make some noise. Otherwise, Busch really adds no home field advantage other than we get to bat last. Compare that to Wrigley and that’s why they’re in 1st

by bagofballs on Jul 18, 2008 9:29 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Nazi ushers don't help either

I’ve actually been yelled at on more than one occasion for resting my foot on a vacant bleacher in front of me. Seriously? It’s a metal bleacher! Is my shoe going to hurt it!?

Fans get reprimanded for yelling at opposing players too. The opposition feels WAY too comfortable. I say give ‘em hell!

by mojo7102 on Jul 19, 2008 3:40 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

I know the ushers are doing their job, but there is a huge difference between being loud and being disruptive. There is an usher in section 597 of the bleachers that does a particularly good job of taking the fun out of a game.

by ebo on Jul 19, 2008 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't think the ushers fear for the metal bleacher...

It’s that they want you to respect the fact that you may have been walking in spilled soda or beer, or have sticky Cracker Jack, or gum, or dog shit on the bottom of your shoes. And that they don’t want the next person who sits there to get that on their pants.

You shouldn’t ever put your shoes on any seating surface in public—-whether it’s on a train, a station, a stadium, a theater, a coffee shop, wherever. It’s just plain rude and inconsiderate.

by salvomania on Jul 20, 2008 12:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Cubs are in first place...

...because their fans are rowdier?

by jdub176 on Jul 20, 2008 2:35 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I also have to say..

That in 2006, the Cards were 49-31 at home and 34-47 on the road. Last year we were 43-38 at home and 35-46 on the road. Just food for thought.

by jdub176 on Jul 20, 2008 2:43 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah!

I never thought I would see the day when Don Knotts and The Ghost and Mr.Chicken would be mentioned on this site lol hilarious! It is a great movie by the way.

"Even when the rain falls, Even when the flood starts rising, Even when the storm comes, I am washed by the water!" -NeedToBreathe

by Calhoun on Jul 17, 2008 7:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Fenway atmosphere

Is electric—-part of that is the intimacy of the ballpark: it is small, and perhaps the geometry of the park holds in the sound as well.

But the fans are like a European soccer crowd: always chanting--and these are spontaneous, fan-generated cheers, not lame scoreboard or loudspeaker-driven cheers—-and always creating a huge buzz during any even semi-critical at bat.

Watch a Red Sox home game and listen to the crowd when the opposition has, say, runners at 1st and 3rd and two out in the 4th inning and a 1-2 count on the hitter: the crowd will be audibly buzzing, rooting for that put-away strike three.

Now listen to a Busch crowd in a similar situation, and all you have are crickets. Although maybe that’s just the sound of salsa and nachos.

There is an intensity at Fenway, while at Busch it’s a relaxed “hangin-on-the-porch” vibe.

by salvomania on Jul 18, 2008 12:11 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think this kind of thing is usually overblown

I think a big part of what the Red Sox have in Fenway is that they are a really, really good team.

A point of reference for me is my recent experiences as a Green Bay Packer fan. For several years people went on and on about the Lambeau mystique. It got to the point where if they went 6-2 at home people would be stunned. But that’s because the team was damn good at about every position, and the fans fed off of it.

Eventually the Falcons, a dome team, beat them in January in the playoffs. The defense became noticeably slower in the years afterwards, and all of a sudden they were getting it handed to them at home with some regularity.

I don’t think this is because of a change in the fans. What happens on the field drives the reactions from the stands, pretty much across the board. I will admit St. Louis brings a more laid back vibe than some others, but I don’t think that’s really a bad things. It’s just kinda who we are, generally speaking of course.

by Merry CRasmus on Jul 18, 2008 7:04 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs