El Birdos Gets ESPN Love

by JWO on Jan 20, 2009 1:45 PM EST Comment 41 comments

I'm sure many will come across this article from regular Internet surfing, but Jerry Crasnick with ESPN provides a VERY nice write-up and summation of the Cardinals offseason situations in his latest column.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hotstove08/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&id=3846058

I also noted with some interest that "Viva El Birdos" was directly cited as a source of "constructive criticism". Kudos to the site managers for getting the attention of the national media guys.

On top of it all, Crasnick offers a very fair (IMO) overview of how Mozeliak has operated in this offseason. We might be frustrated by the pace of decisions, and players that "got away", but Mo's deliberate, reasoned attack to player development and growth is a major positive.

Any thoughts on all this?

0 recs | Comment 41 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Sign Ben Sheets.

We should Sign Ben Sheets. D.GOOCH

Sign Ben Sheets.

-- GOOCH

by GOOCH24 on Jan 20, 2009 2:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Garland

Wow more talk of John Garland. Pretty sure we don’t want him. Pretty cool to see El Birdos on ESPN though.

by Gibson on Jan 20, 2009 2:35 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Mr. Crasnick

A rotation of Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, Lohse, Joel Pineiro and Todd Wellemeyer looks good enough on paper.

It does? Does the paper he’s writing on not include the fact that Carp has thrown 3 starts since the beginning of the 2007 season? Apparently.

"I just wish that the late Harry Caray were still around so I could hear him mispronounce 'Kosuke Fukudome' every fukun' night" -- Dennis Miller

by fourstick on Jan 20, 2009 3:58 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Carp looks good on paper

Just not on the field.

by vivaelpujols on Jan 20, 2009 4:04 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I beg to differ...

Carpenter on the field at any point this year would look GREAT to me.

Sometimes I wonder,
"Why is that frisbee getting bigger?"

...and then it hits me!!

by cardzfanbub on Jan 20, 2009 4:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He looked good to me.

It didn’t work out, but it was damn good to see Carp throwing in a game.

by spants on Jan 20, 2009 4:22 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Having Pinata in our rotation

tells me that it isn’t good enough, on paper or otherwise. Ugh.

"A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein." - Joe Theismann

by TurdFerguson on Jan 21, 2009 10:01 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Boggs?

>>Instead, they’ll give an opportunity to Mitchell Boggs, who went 9-3 and led the Pacific Coast League with a 3.45 ERA for Triple-A Memphis last year. And if Boggs isn’t the answer, P.J. Walters, Clayton Mortensen and Jess Todd will be next in line. <<
Did JMo tell this guy that? I would be shocked if we started the season with Mitchell Boggs in the rotation. Surely they will grab a reclamation project for Dunc to work on before turning over a rotation spot to Boggs. I can envision Boggs getting some starts next season, just not being handed a rotation spot of ST.

by jjray on Jan 20, 2009 4:30 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I wouldn't mind that though

Boggs would probably be at least as good as Garland or Wolf, but Boggs has some upside. The only remaining FA pitcher who I would want to see instead of Boggs or McClellan would be Sheets or Pettite. Maybe Perez if his price drops down.

by vivaelpujols on Jan 20, 2009 4:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I had thought

I was the only one who didn’t sour on Boggs after his few outings last year.

Don’t think he’ll break camp with the Cardinals, barring catastrophe, but I’m definitely optimistic that he’ll be ready to come up and be effective when he’s needed this season.

by liam on Jan 20, 2009 5:55 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm not sure about that though

Boggs has very serious command issues (at least based on last season) with his fastball and very inconsistent breaking stuff. I’m not sure he is better than Garland or Wolf right now. With that said, if the choice is start Boggs for pennies or sign Garland or Wolf to any kind of $5-9M, then that’s an easy choice.

If Carpenter pitches the bulk of this season, it will be an absolute godsend. I’m not holding my breath though.

"Your Holiness, I'm Joseph Medwick. I, too, used to be a Cardinal."-Joe Medwick, to Pope Pius XII.

by redbirdnation8206 on Jan 21, 2009 9:57 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Boggs has had good command in the minors

His minor league track record is very consistent. His strikeout rate has dropped with each level, but his command has stayed around the same and his homerun rate has always been very good. Next year he could easily have another solid season as he has had the last 3 in the minors. About 6 innings a game with an FIP in the low 4’s, with good enough stuff to limit hits at a good enough rate to have a high 3’s ERA.

by vivaelpujols on Jan 21, 2009 7:23 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

a little weird

to get mentioned in the same breath as Bernie’s Boiling, Raging fanbase, but I’ll take it. Any time Ben Sheets gets mentioned in the same article as the Cardinals I swoon a little.

by DanUpBaby on Jan 20, 2009 7:07 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

i thought women were the only ones who swooned dan?

what is it that men are supposed to do? i wouldn’t know because obviously i’m not a real man.

I'm going to go try to find a puppy and kick it. - Brad Thompson AND THAT'S A WINNER!

by gdm426 on Jan 20, 2009 8:12 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think he's got the rickets

he’s always falling over, or as he calls it “swooning.”

hecanthithecanthithecanthithecanthit

by Alxfritz on Jan 21, 2009 12:38 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

pass out?

I dunno… “What makes a man, Lebowski?”
the dude: “I dunno, a pair of testicles?”

4B - beer baseball bands blog

by Cards Fan in Chitown on Jan 21, 2009 12:53 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The dude abides

There was Gibson in the Reds' dugout, visibly manhandling about three Reds and tossing them bodily out of the dugout and onto the field...He was the toughest athlete mentally I ever saw, and the greatest competitor. JACK BUCK

by ISawGodInGibby'sRightArm on Jan 21, 2009 12:59 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I'M A MAN BABY!!!!

I'm going to go try to find a puppy and kick it. - Brad Thompson AND THAT'S A WINNER!

by gdm426 on Jan 21, 2009 2:19 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

are you 40?

*cough Ben Sheets *cough Sheets

I must be getting a Sheets cold.

by bearcatcardfan on Jan 21, 2009 2:39 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

ouch

I'm going to go try to find a puppy and kick it. - Brad Thompson AND THAT'S A WINNER!

by gdm426 on Jan 21, 2009 5:51 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Strong men also cry...

Strong men also cry!

by mattybobo on Jan 21, 2009 10:52 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I was talking about this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoMmbUmKN0E

*cough Ben Sheets *cough Sheets

I must be getting a Sheets cold.

by bearcatcardfan on Jan 21, 2009 6:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

awesome, that was the best

I'm going to go try to find a puppy and kick it. - Brad Thompson AND THAT'S A WINNER!

by gdm426 on Jan 22, 2009 1:59 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

did you mean

“I’m a man, baby”… or “I’m a man-baby!”

4B - beer baseball bands blog

by Cards Fan in Chitown on Jan 21, 2009 1:22 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

a little from column A, a little from column B

I'm going to go try to find a puppy and kick it. - Brad Thompson AND THAT'S A WINNER!

by gdm426 on Jan 22, 2009 2:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

its not what you say

its how you say it.

“she had a crack baby.”… “she had a crack, baby!”

"I'm as nauseous as I've ever been. I have a terrible headache. My head is pounding. I feel like throwing up and I'm having trouble swallowing. And the beauty of it is, you want to feel like this every day." - Tony LaRussa

by adiueordie on Jan 25, 2009 1:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Eats, shoots, and leaves.

Eats shoots and leaves.

by spants on Jan 25, 2009 1:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

normally women only, I suppose,

but in exchange for Mozeliak signing Ben Sheets I will not only swoon but also go all atwitter.

by DanUpBaby on Jan 21, 2009 9:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

all atwitter, isn't that what Gould's doing over at the PD?

it’s so hard to keep up with all these new fangled websites & such

I'm going to go try to find a puppy and kick it. - Brad Thompson AND THAT'S A WINNER!

by gdm426 on Jan 22, 2009 2:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Nice

It’s sweet to see our discontent getting some press! Maybe his shout out to the petition will get it some more signatures!

On with the (good) youth movement!

by aet15 on Jan 20, 2009 7:43 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

maybe Ben will see that

and realize all the love he would get if he were to sign with the Cards. Everyone wants to be loved.

* sarcasm might be involved in this comment

by mattyfrommo on Jan 20, 2009 8:02 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

everybody loves somebody sometime,,,,, everybody falls in love somehow,,,,

something in your pitches told us Ben Sheets,

VEB’s sometime, is now,,,,

i’m no Dean Martin, but i tried,,,,

I'm going to go try to find a puppy and kick it. - Brad Thompson AND THAT'S A WINNER!

by gdm426 on Jan 20, 2009 8:22 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

no kidding

that’s why I don’t understand why anyone would sign with the Mets. Remember how the Mets fans treated Beltran . . . Matsui . . . well, the list goes on. They boo just about anyone who doesn’t perform exactly how they want it.

On with the (good) youth movement!

by aet15 on Jan 21, 2009 12:03 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I'd rather . . .

get love from a 2K RPM rotary saw striking my nether regions than get love from ESPN. Maybe that’s my Midwest bias against those Nor’eastern strokes speaking, but . . . an opinion nonetheless.

With that being said, I did read the write-up by Crasnick about the Cards. It was interesting and somewhat informative.

And yes, that rotation LOOKS good on paper. Then again, a lot of folks projected the Cards ’08 bullpen to be the r0x0r. Yuh huh . . . more like r0x0r-bottom.

"Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile." -- Vince Lombardi

(No, I'm not a Packers fan)

by Donut King on Jan 20, 2009 10:53 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Very cool and weird. The Eastcoast Sports Promotion Network just acknowledged there are other teams in baseball besides the sox, yanks, and cubs. I’m amazed.

by CardFan@theLake on Jan 21, 2009 12:38 AM EST reply actions 1 recs