Where FANtasy meets the Mekong

by akaitori on Apr 17, 2009 8:14 AM EDT Comment 4 comments

As per a horse that I left at the Post . . .

Great to see the 8-3 start. Anecdote - your call as to whether it's doom/gloom or a depraved rave. I spent the last week traveling around northern Thailand including hill tribes and opium museum and hall of opium. Felt that I was in Morpheus' time warp when I returned: Carp done after ten innings; Piñata nearly giving away a lead. Thompson blowing another save on the way to Memphis. Then I KNEW I was in Morpheus' grip when I saw Cards beat the Cubs in Wrigley to extend first place. I highly recommend the Golden Triangle as the best place to be a Cards fan this year.

I fear, however, the reality will soon displace the euphoria. I simply do not see this team continuing its winning ways. Team is already three deep into Memphis pitching staff, and inveitably the make-shift starters and bullpen will pressure those who are legitimate MLB hurlers. Does anyone besides me think K-Mac, Franklin, Kinney and the Lefties will use up a season's worth of innings by mid July? Now here is the bad news - given the fact that the team has the credibility of a Pravda editorial with its medical forecasts, I seriously doubt we will see much of Glaus or Carp this year. Sadly the combination of AAA lifers (Thurston, Barden, Ryan) and AAA maybes (Boggs, Walters) will not be solid replacements.

Time to head north of Chaing Rai again. . .

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well that was….. interesting….

Because chicks dig the intentional base on balls.

by Felonius_Monk on Apr 17, 2009 11:11 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Two weeks into the season

and some of us are already pissing away our chances. Way to keep moral high! How about instead of focusing on all the negatives we look at what has gone well so far this year? Our offense has been terrific, and even if they don’t perform at this level all year, a slight dropoff from our current production isn’t going to hurt us that much. Yeah, the closer’s role has been shaky, but we haven’t even seen what Perez will bring to the table this year, other than two shut-out innings in AZ. This is a long, long season and yeah, it sucks that we’ll miss Carp for a month or two, especially after he was looking so dominant. But before ST, were any of us counting on very much from him? No, so we are in the same spot as we were before ST began. Let’s give Walters and Boggs a chance before we start complaining about how all is lost for Cardinals this year.

Patiently awaiting the day Colby Rasmus does this: .275/.381/.551/.932, 29HR, in St. Louis...

by RunninRedbird on Apr 17, 2009 11:45 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

If our bullpen is in bad shape

Then the Cubs bullpen is in shambles. Through the first 9 games they have three different relievers with 6 innings pitched already. They have three relievers with more innings pitched than two of their starters. They also have two pitchers on their staff that look like they may have trouble getting to the 6th inning on any start (Harden, Marshall) and they only have one pitcher at AAA that has big league stuff that can come up and give them a breather (Samardzjia, who should be on their roster anyway).

The Cubs should have kept Kerry Wood and should have picked up more arms to compete for bullpen spots. Cutting Gaudin really doesn’t make any sense to me at all. I think that McClellan can be just as effective as Marmol when he’s pitching well, he just doesn’t have the flash and panache.

Our bullpen hasn’t looked good early, but as least we have options — the Cubs are stuck with what they have and have very little to deal to improve mid-season through trade.

"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 Apr 17, 2009 11:52 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs