an international incident
by tom s. on Jul 10, 2010 12:36 PM EDT
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well, if there is a good palate cleanser to two dispiriting walk-off losses and another plain old loss, it must be crushing bud norris and his fellow astro-men 8-0.
then again, insofar as the wainwright game was a fine cabernet to follow wilted salad, moldy potatoes, and stringy and slightly rancid beef, today's game with jeff suppan may end up being the freezer-burnt ice cream that leaves you walking home, saying you will never go back to that restaurant.
i will say i can stomach close losses to good teams better than sweeps by awful teams. it was very therapeutic to see the cardinals demolish a not-very-good pitcher who has given them such trouble in the past.
our resident robot has a very nice rundown of the relief pitching prospects available in the system over at future redbirds. i agree with his basic premise -- salas and sanchez both seem like plausible major league relievers, with reifer showing potential, and an group of longshots trailing behind. still, it's good to know a year after spending right-handed relievers like the proverbial drunken sailor, the club has largely recovered from its largesse in that department, though watching gregerson's progress still burns a bit.
in a sad coda to the revolutionary trade, jack zduriencik's nude body was found in a seattle hotel's hot tub this morning. police reported that he was found apparently strangled, yet an enormous and disconcerting smile remained on his face. mariners officials reported that the plans to a top-secret defensive analysis system developed by tom tango appeared to have gone missing overnight, and the three women were nowhere to be found.
a CIA analyst, speaking on a condition of confidentiality, suggested that the entire event may have come about as a result of the coincidental similarity between the english word "sabermetrics" and the russian term for "ballistic missle." "somewhere, an FSB analyst is extremely confused, extremely annoyed, or both," said the source.
baseball commissioner bud selig stated that early evidence indicated that the three women returned to Vladivostok early this morning traveling under false passports. he indicated that he would lodge a protest with the russian baseball agency as soon as he figured out if there was one. he stated the international incident would not negatively impact the proposed development of the Crimean Winter League
dave cameron, fangraphs contributor, called the trade "one of Jack Z's best" and stated that the three women would be the final piece the mariners needed to solidify their absolute domination of the AL west for years to come, assuming that their whereabouts could be discovered and that they could be made to play baseball in the united states.
cliff lee was able to contact his agent by phone from sebastopol and indicated that he had been repeatedly questioned as to whether the "ultimate zone ratings" utilized microwave- or radar-frequency emissions. he further requested clarification as to what exactly borscht was.
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a rec for you kind sir
Optimism carried too far becomes dementia.
by RosevilleRedbird on Jul 10, 2010 12:51 PM EDT reply actions
I can confirm every word of this post
Of all sad words of tongue or pen; the saddest are these: 'It might have been!'
by mysterui on Jul 10, 2010 12:56 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
It's all clear now
I always thought Tango was a suspicious name, and now the pieces fall into place: Russian spies, “Defensive analysis,” and a secret military codename using the NATO phonetic alphabet.…
Damned Blackhearts.
Stay outta my baseball! Go bug S.P.H.I.N.X. if you need something to do.
I'm out of champagna. How about some 7-Up and Mad Dog 20/20?
by The Continental on Jul 10, 2010 1:31 PM EDT reply actions
so the cards are looking to add character guys?
Willie Mcgee?
Miguel Cairo?
Bernie williams?
F.P. Santananananagelo? sorry had to put him in we used to raz him at the old bush..
This guys so good(Pujols) He should be illegal-Pirates announcers
a lantern in the tower
don’t look now, but guess who was playing third base nad hitting in the 6-hole for the Reds last night? Our boy, Miguel Cairo.
Funny thing is, he has three hits and two rbi’s.
Still, better them than us.
a handy link in the depths of the impossible-to-navigate
http://mlb.mlb.com/multimedia/tp_archive.jsp?c_id=stl
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
wow two direct contradictions of ricky horton there
astros walk pujols to get to holliday… holliday its 3 run shot… bad decision according to horton to walk Pujols
Pujols hits two run shot with Lopez on 2nd in 9th…. bad decision to not walk Pujols
WOW great job rick
Rasmus can hit lefties
cardinalred
St. Louis Sports blog
by stlcardsfan4 on Jul 10, 2010 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions
when asked if he was mourning mr. zduriencik's untimely demise
Mr. Cameron replied that any claim of death was premature. “Z’s weighted three-year averages show a strong tendency towards being alive.” Cameron claimed zduriencik’s current state was consistent with what he called “a pulse slump” and looked forward to zduriencik “regressing to his norm.”
"We were men - flesh and blood - and we played baseball in the sunshine. We hit doubles off the wall, slid hard into second base. We had fights, and we made love. We sang songs and prayed on Sundays. . . . We felt pain. And we felt joy. There was a lot wrong with the world. But we weren't sad, man. We had the times of our lives." Buck O'Neil, from "The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America."
by tom s. on Jul 10, 2010 3:08 PM EDT via mobile reply actions 10 recs
Need to adjust for the city factor
Seattle is a laid back city. Z’s Flannel Independent Pulse is just fine.
by ncgostl on Jul 10, 2010 4:19 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
He also mentioned the measurement error involved in measuring pulse,
pointing specifically towards the biases in the heart monitors. Dave was quoted as saying “JRF – the inventor of the modern heart monitor has said himself that you shouldn’t trust such measurements in a SSS”.
by vivaelpujols on Jul 10, 2010 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions
OT: I know those losses sucked,
but Cardinals fans are now officially twenty points less confident than Rams fans, who overtook Blues fans to win the St. Louis confidence derby this week.
Here’s hoping Bud Norris is only the beginning.
Yeah, I was kind of surprised by that.
Then I considered what each fanbase is being “confident” of. Rams fans may be “confident” that they’ll win 4 games this year, while Cards fans are looking to go deep into the playoffs.
Plus, of course, hope springs eternal. Or at least as long as the off-season.
I'm out of champagna. How about some 7-Up and Mad Dog 20/20?
by The Continental on Jul 10, 2010 3:48 PM EDT up reply actions
we're in 2nd place @ 46-40, 2 games back of the Reds
when the season began, expectations were a lot higher than that. Then we went 18-8 in April, raising expectations that much more.
Then the injury bug bit.
We’re still looking at a 90-win season. Smarter people than me can debate about whether the Reds are for real. Personally I still think we’ll win the division. I definitely think that we should win the division.
If the Reds win the Central, however, and the Cards fall short in the WC race, well….
Everybody knows the Rams are terrible, so no one expects anything from them. The Cards have the best player in the solar system, good offense, good defense, and good pitching (when it’s not busy being injured). We should be clobbering teams; instead we’re having difficulty putting together more than two wins in a row.
The Cards have yet to have a really sustained hot streak going since the end of April, when they avoided the sweep in San Fran and then won 4 in a row against ATL (those first two games against ATL could have gone either way). IIRC the quirks of the 2nd half schedule favor the Cards over the Reds…..the GOB are fickle indeed….
Johnny Mo is shopping for "personality"
" When you think about our clubhouse personality, you think ‘businesslike’. I would use the word ‘professional.’ I think we could use a true ice-breaker at times," Mozeliak said. “I think sometimes a level of tension develops. You play 162 games with the same group of guys from February to hopefully late October, sometimes you have to be able to take a step back.”
Mark DeRosa is cited as bringing “positive intangibles” last season. Let’s hope the FO doesn’t go looking for an injured utility guy with “positive intangibles”.
I'm out of champagna. How about some 7-Up and Mad Dog 20/20?
by The Continental on Jul 10, 2010 3:46 PM EDT reply actions
they could probably get the real mark derosa
if he’s willing to play with a wrist that doesn’t work again
I guess he wouldn't even need to play.
He could just hang out with the guys and tell knock-knock jokes.
He may not be able to snap a towel very well with the injured wrist, but that didn’t stand in his way last year.
I'm out of champagna. How about some 7-Up and Mad Dog 20/20?
by The Continental on Jul 10, 2010 3:54 PM EDT up reply actions
seriously
why not just hire a ‘clubhouse coach’ who just hands out and organizes the fantasy football league? No need to take up space on the 25 man roster…
and fire Boog from the fantasy football league too?
last dude fired from the FFL organizing role was Welley…
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
Brendan Ryan? Joe Mather?
they don’t need no wrists!
……wait.
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
Sounds like they need to get a clubhouse dog or something
German Shepherds make great pets.
Not afraid to nitpick
merit badge
excellent use of unicorn.
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
I find that hard tp believe that Mo actually said that
I still think they’re going to mostly stand pat at the trade deadline. Beyond getting a non-headcase shortstop, I don’t see what else they really need. Frankly they don’t have that much salary room, and probably should protect their minor-league depth.
If there actually is any clubhouse tension, I guarantee it will be eased by winning.
Boog seems like the perfect remedy for clubhouse tension
by vivaelpujols on Jul 10, 2010 4:48 PM EDT up reply actions
you'd think that, but he's had an absolutely miserable year
his shtick is probably a lot more hilarious when he’s not OPSing .550ish or whatever, on top of not being nearly as sure-handed in the field as he was last year….
I observed a very long stretch where he didn't smile. period.
talk about downer. and with La Russa taking a shot at him gently correcting him about too much moping, I’d bet he has the opposite effect right now.
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
I wouldn't mind if they guy they got replaced Miles
by vivaelpujols on Jul 10, 2010 4:47 PM EDT up reply actions
I thought this was the only thing Miles was good for
Turns out he’s not even providing the clubhouse levity. We could bring back Spiezio….he’ll bring back some good times.
by Merry CRasmus on Jul 10, 2010 6:12 PM EDT up reply actions
Isn't Miles the guy who was really depressed when he left the Cardinals?
Certainly doesn’t seem like a guy who’d brighten up the clubhouse.
by vivaelpujols on Jul 10, 2010 6:14 PM EDT up reply actions
I assume
I don’t see where the guy can really play, so I like to imagine the guy is proficient at well timed attaboys. I like to pretend every decision is rational and that there is some nebulous intangible aspect he provides that I can’t see, much less quantify. Please don’t ruin this for me!
by Merry CRasmus on Jul 10, 2010 6:20 PM EDT up reply actions
no, he was depressed when he hit the cubs.
you’d be too.
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
So they need someone who can tell a killer fart joke?
I mean, sign me up then! My WAAM (Wins Above Aaron Miles) is probably only about -3.3, which is of course terrible in terms of on-field production and ability. However, my wFARTJOKE is pretty good… I think.
VivaElBirdos: Celebrating glorious mustaches since 2009
by redbirdnation8206 on Jul 10, 2010 5:15 PM EDT up reply actions
Your voice has changed
But your breath still smells the same?
by Merry CRasmus on Jul 10, 2010 6:11 PM EDT up reply actions
Tonights all-star lineup
Fox_Sports_MW: Cards 7/10- Lopez 3B, Schumaker 2B, Pujols 1B, Holliday LF, Jay CF, Stavinoha RF, LaRue C, Suppan P, Greene SS
....my quick smells like french toast...
Twitter: @mstreeter06
by mstreeter06 on Jul 10, 2010 4:26 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Man
We really need Ludwick, Freese, and Rasmus to get healthy quickly
....my quick smells like french toast...
Twitter: @mstreeter06
by mstreeter06 on Jul 10, 2010 4:27 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
agreed
I was just about to bitch about “Why does Tony dick with Colby so often” but then I remembered that he has that tender hammy. I’m fine with him sitting out through the ASB, given what we’ve seen with Lud’s hamstring injury.
I also wouldn’t mind seeing Anderson called up (DFA Miles anyone?) and letting Yadi sit for a bit. He’s just been terrible with the bat lately.
Miles isn't getting sent down as long as he's hitting >.300
Of course that’s built on him hitting the ball so soft that the outfielders can’t get it and there’s a zero percent chance of him keeping this weak shit up, but he’s not getting sent down anytime soon unfortunately.
Not afraid to nitpick
What about Stav?
When do you think he’ll be gone? He’s officially hitting like shit and Jay has been amazing. When Ludwick comes back, Stav gets DFAd or sent down.
by vivaelpujols on Jul 10, 2010 4:38 PM EDT up reply actions
i sure hope so
can’t help but remember those preseason comments about how he “has nothing left to prove in AAA” though. i wouldn’t be surprised if jay goes down when luddy comes back. i also wouldn’t be surprised if miles is still around when freese comes back
"Moneyball: It's kind of like communism."
There is no way Jay goes down instead of Stav
Even Tony can’t do that. Jay is OPSing over 1.000 in the same amount of playing time as Stav. And he’s a far better defender. It’s just… there’s no way.
by vivaelpujols on Jul 10, 2010 4:46 PM EDT up reply actions
This is TLR you're talking about.
Nothing would surprise me.
You're the fail to my win?
"There is not a better feeling in the whole world than knowing that you are the best team in both leagues."- Bob Forsch on winning the 1982 World Series.
by MaytheForschbewithyou on Jul 10, 2010 4:49 PM EDT up reply actions
Jay almost certainly goes down
so that he can get “regular playing time”. Remember that Stav is a professional pinch hitter.
Silly humans, this world is for robots.
If Jay gets sent down ahead of Stav I am going to write an entire article completely eviscerating Stav
It will feel good.
by vivaelpujols on Jul 10, 2010 5:02 PM EDT up reply actions
Hmmm...
Maybe I’d like to see Stavinoha stick around just to read that!
VivaElBirdos: Celebrating glorious mustaches since 2009
by redbirdnation8206 on Jul 10, 2010 5:18 PM EDT up reply actions
I have no confidence in the right thing being done here
I mean, they called up Miles to begin with.
Of course we’re basically grooming Jay to be a 4th outfielder, but I’m sure the whole “regular ABs” thing will come up even though he’s clearly better than Stav. That said, Jay is getting insanely lucky so far himself, but at least we know he does one thing well at the MLB level which is play defense. He seems to be a decent contact hitter with a little bit of pop so something like .280 .330 .400 doesn’t seem too unreasonable. Stav isn’t really that much worse than that as a hitter, but Jay is a legitimate CFer would would be playing in the corners, and Stav is a chair.
All I can hope is that being 2 games down in the 2nd half of the season kicks them to make some smart decisions.
Not afraid to nitpick
Stav is a chair that is bolted to the f'ing floor.
You're the fail to my win?
"There is not a better feeling in the whole world than knowing that you are the best team in both leagues."- Bob Forsch on winning the 1982 World Series.
by MaytheForschbewithyou on Jul 10, 2010 4:50 PM EDT up reply actions
if you saw stavinoha’s somersault a few days back, then you know his chair positioning is more flexible than that.
i wouldn’t have expected stavinoha to start over winn. tlr may have some dumb note cards that say winn can’t myers, but i gotta wonder if winn’s performance has been bad enough that even his backers can’t ignore it.
St. Louis Cardinals -- 2006 World Champions
See I'm much more bearish on Stav than most
I personally doubt he has the ability to wOBA above .300 in the majors.
At any rate, Tony seems to like Jay and if he’s able to get lucky for another week until Luddy comes back, I think he’ll stay and Stav will go.
by vivaelpujols on Jul 10, 2010 4:50 PM EDT up reply actions
ZiPS has him at .272 .311 .402 which feels right to me
Swings at everything so he’ll make enough contact not to hit .230, will only walk against Dontrelle Willis level command and can hit a few home runs here and there. He could be a useful bench bat except for the fact that our system is stacked with useful 4th outfielders/possible starters.
Not afraid to nitpick
I don't know
He just looks so bad at the plate I can’t imagine him aprroaching league average with the bat. He reminds me almost exactly of Yuniesky Betancourt – swings at everything, has a modicum of pup, make contact (but not hard contact) – not to mention both are fat. Yuniesky’s wOBAd .296 in his career.
Stav now has wOBAd .257 in a little under a half a seasons worth of playing time in his career – he’s not even really getting that unlucky with a .275 BABIP. That doesn’t mean much in itself, but he’s 28 years old and just looks miserable.
by vivaelpujols on Jul 10, 2010 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions
re: your last line
remember September/October 2006. Tony can be baffling but he is capable of conceding the obvious.
I am choosing to be optimistic that when we start getting guys back from the DL, the Tony/Dunc/Mo brain trust will do the right thing and clear out the guys that are sucking.
Stavinhoa’s time with the team is limited, I think. It’s Miles that worries me.
My hope too
But I have those same fears. Say what you will, but our bench production to date has not been all that bad, even though I think we have several of the wrong people there. I don’t see it lasting if we go with Stav and Miles over Greene and Jay long term. I really think the hammer is going to have to fall before we keep the right people in the right roles, but maybe if Greene and Jay keep hitting they can maintain key roles once we’re healthy.
I can’t shake the suspicion that these guys needs to keep hitting out of their minds to have the right roster in place for the last couple months.
by Merry CRasmus on Jul 10, 2010 6:30 PM EDT up reply actions
That would be the logical move, of course
I think LaRussa is a stick-in-the-mud, but not blind. Jay’s been impressive this time around so I bet he sticks this time.
VivaElBirdos: Celebrating glorious mustaches since 2009
by redbirdnation8206 on Jul 10, 2010 5:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Skip @ #2?
that’s different.
Is it safe to be somewhat encouraged that Jay is batting ahead of Stav?
If you had told me in January that would be our lineup on 7/10
with Miles coming off of the bench…even now, my urge to post something clever withers away into stoic apathy.
by Kind_Al on Jul 10, 2010 4:59 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
no miles!
but stav? BLEH.
Albert's grand slam, 7/3/09
Waino's CG, 7/4/10
@zoomzoomj88
Jeff Passan is an asshat
Tired of the yearly TESS. I blame Tony.
this could be worse
also when taking into account that rasmus, luddy, and freese are all hurt, it doesn’t look that bad at all
no miles, stavinoha isn’t batting 5th, and molina gets the much needed break that everybody has been begging for
i want Greene ahead of Stavinoha and LaRue 9th but that’s my only quabble given the circumstances
Rasmus can hit lefties
cardinalred
St. Louis Sports blog
by stlcardsfan4 on Jul 10, 2010 5:06 PM EDT up reply actions
Knowing Soup is pitching takes a lot of fun...
out of anticipating going to the game. As does seeing Stav play. Colby smoked the ball three times last night. Shame he’s hurt.
Tyler Greene looked good last night (except he could have made it to third on his double if he hadn’t stumbled and failed to pick up th third base coach as he approached second).
by Willie McGee's Twin on Jul 10, 2010 4:40 PM EDT reply actions
how serious is colbys injury?
I’m in chicago for the weekend n missed the game last night, is this just a day-to-day thing n they r gona just shut him down the next 2 games or what? It would be a shame to finally get freese n luddy back after the break n then see colby out or on the DL. Thanks if anyone could update me. Also just checked out some rumors on espn and it says mozeliak is still lookin for a SP and this is the likely list: Westbrook, Carmona, Lilly and Sheets. None of those guys really excite me except maybe Carmona, but I think he would cost us way too much. I wouldn’t mind Westbrook but I don’t think Lilly is a good fit for us and I really don’t want Sheets.
by mick311 on Jul 10, 2010 4:47 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
actually, I kind of like the idea of Lilly going under the Duncan microscope
he’s kind of a head case though I think.
yea i dont know about career wise but
This year he has been so inconsistent. He has had some really good starts and some really frekin bad ones. I always thought he was more of a fly ball pitcher than a ground ball pitcher. I’m sure Duncan could work his magic with him though.
by mick311 on Jul 10, 2010 5:00 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
he's got upside, that's for sure
as an innings eater he’s a hell of a lot better than Suppan.
No way the Cubs trade him within the division though….
At least we wouldn't have to bat against him then
I’m probably not remembering correctly, but hasn’t he done the usual lefty job on our offense more times than not?
by ArkansasTravs on Jul 10, 2010 5:41 PM EDT up reply actions
i doubt colby's injury is serious
i think the first inning double is when he tweaked it and he played for several innings after that
"Moneyball: It's kind of like communism."
stros lineup
Bourn cf, Keppinger 2b, Berkman 1b, Lee lf, Pence rf, Feliz 3b, Quintero c, Navarro ss, Myers p
Albert's grand slam, 7/3/09
Waino's CG, 7/4/10
@zoomzoomj88
Jeff Passan is an asshat
Tired of the yearly TESS. I blame Tony.
montage!!!
The Cat promises us zaniness! Guaranteed!
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
damn, i want some montage
i need to be able to pay and extra $10 to get pre and post games. how is that not win-win-win for me, mlb and fsn?
"Moneyball: It's kind of like communism."
The Cat re: Cal Eldred 'comeback': what do you say to that?
Carp: Are we on the air?
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
complete with Shannonism!!!
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
Come join us in the gamethread. If you want. No pressure or anything.
I'm out of champagna. How about some 7-Up and Mad Dog 20/20?
by The Continental on Jul 10, 2010 7:05 PM EDT reply actions
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