How do we want to do this? Do we want to do this?

Is the idea of getting a bunch of cheap tickets a good one? I'll front for the tickets if we do this, but only if they're cheap seats. What are your ideas?

Out of towners, are there specific parts of the calendar that would make you more likely to come?

Join us for a Cardinals Watch Party !! $3.50 22oz. domestic drafts during all games!! Cardinal Ticket Giveaways during the 7th inning of all Wednesday & Saturday Cardinal games!

Join us Saturday during the game to win tickets to the Wednesday, May 23, 2012 game against the Padres !

In order to win:

1) Like our Facebook Fanpage

2) Check in at The Post on Facebook

3) Leave a comment on this thread

4) Come watch the Game at The Post! (Must be present to win)

Raffle takes place during the 7th inning. Come get your Post on!

Ticket Giveaways occur during every Wednesday & Saturday game of the regular season

Okay, so I said I was going to compare Shane Robinson to Stan Musial, but I’ve changed my mind. That would be a pretty lame fan post if I did that because, well, it just would be. But to keep from disappointing you, I did decide to compare other current Cardinal players to former Cardinal greats. Check them out below. I have accumulated the projected stats of six current Cardinal players (assuming that they continue at their current pace) and I have compared them to the final total of six former Cardinal players at the same age. So for example, since Shane Robinson is 27, I would have compared him to Stan Musial at 27. Look at the stats below and make your selection as to which of the two players you would choose. (I had to use the underscore key to adjust the spacing since this editor wouldn't let me do it automatically). After you make your decisions, you can observe the key at the bottom to see which player you actually selected.

Player______ GP___AB____R_____H____ HR___RBI____BB____SO____SB____AVG
Player 1_____157___565___130___167____60____148____93____153____23____.295
Player 2_____156___594___87____184____27____109____75____39_____2_____.310

Player______ GP___AB____R_____H____ HR___RBI____BB____SO____SB____AVG
Player 3_____158___630___113___230____9_____77_____68_____72____32____.364
Player 4_____150___648___91____200____15____65_____33_____15____4_____.309

Player______ GP___AB____R_____H____ HR___RBI____BB____SO____SB____AVG
Player 5_____125___486___83____167____9_____37_____32_____51____19_____.343
Player 6_____156___643___94____183____15____46_____31_____134___74_____.285

Player______ GP___AB____R_____H____ HR___RBI____BB____SO____SB____AVG
Player 7_____153___549___68____153____32____122____54_____135____0____.279
Player 8_____151___552___95____168____32____97_____56_____77_____8____.304

Player______ GP___AB____R_____H____ HR___RBI____BB____SO____SB____AVG
Player 9_____54____212___32____86_____23____81_____27_____59_____5____.404
Player 10____154___483___62____97_____22____75_____93_____116____2____.201

Player______ GP___AB____R_____H____ HR___RBI____BB____SO____SB____AVG
Player 11____162___653___113___176____32____108____77_____144____9____.269
Player 12____146___549___91____176____11____90_____81_____29_____4____.321

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If you have chosen all odd numbers (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11) then you have selected current Cardinal players. If you have chosen all even number (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12) then you have selected former Cardinal players. The numbers are revealed below:

1 – Carlos Beltran (projected total)
2 – Stan Musial
3 – Rafael Furcal (projected total)
4 – Red Shoendienst
5 – Jon Jay (projected total)
6 – Lou Brock
7 – David Freese (projected total)
8 – Ken Boyer
9 – Allen Craig (projected total)
10 – Mark McGwire
11 – Matt Holliday (projected total)
12 – Enos Slaughter

It looks like a good year so far, offensively. Let's hope these guys can stay healthy and keep up the pace. Go Cards!

< While our starters appear to be struggling at times, why are we not seeing more frequent visits to the mound by our pitching coach. His tardiness at times is quite glaring. One could assume that building a log of information is quite necessary, if in fact this is what is commanding his attention. But, hello, the game is on the field, and our beloved Cardinals have just lost their 4th game in a row. Certainly too soon to panic, but not too soon to get someones attention. Are there others within the span of Cardinal Nation who would agree? Or, are we pointing fingers too soon? Would love to hear your thoughts...

I knew the headline would draw you in. But check out these stats and truly consider the question.

Lance Lynn was finally tagged with his first loss of the season this weekend, but he still sits atop the majors with a record of 6-1. The loss throws off his pace of finishing with 30+ wins, but he has still done remarkably well for his first full season as a starter. In fact, if you were to compare him to other former Cardinal stars at his age, he is actually way ahead of the curve. Check out the following comparison:

In his second season with the Cards, Lance Lynn has chosen to wear #31. He probably didn’t choose that number with this thought in mind, but there are two other Cardinal legends who have worn that number at some point in their career. And in fact, they happen to be the only two Cardinal starting pitchers with their jerseys retired (of course they retired with different numbers). So let’s compare Lance Lynn to those two individuals: Dizzy Dean and Bob Gibson.

On April 16, 1935, Dizzy Dean started in his first game of the season. He lasted only 0.1 innings and gave up 1 run on 2 hits. The box score doesn’t indicate why it was so short of an outing, but the Cardinals lost the game.

On April 13, 1961, Bob Gibson pitched in his first game of the season. He lasted 5.2 innings and gave up no runs on 5 hits. He struck out four, but finished with a no decision

On April 8, 2012, Lance Lynn made his first start of the season. He lasted 6.2 innings and gave up one run on 2 hits. He struck out 8 and got the win.

After Game #1, Lance Lynn is the only victor.

Over his next three games, Dizzy Dean pitched a total 21 innings, giving up 21 hits and 5 runs. During that span he also struck out 9. At the end of the month of April, his record was 1-2.

Over the next three games for Bob Gibson, he pitched a total of 13.3 innings, giving up 17 hits and 8 runs. During that span he also struck out 9. Still, at the end of the month of April, he had no decisions.

Over the next three games for Lynn, he pitched a total of 20.1 innings, giving up 14 hits and 3 runs. During that span he also struck out 16. At the end of the month of April, he was 4-0.

After the month of April, Lance Lynn still has a good advantage.

Dizzy Dean made up ground in May and June, sometimes pitching on only one or two days’ rest. He got his sixth win on his last start in May, giving him a record of 6-4. By that time, he had given up 28 runs on 80 hits and had struckout 49 batters.

Bob Gibson finally got his first win of the 1961 season on May 3, lasting 7.2 innings against the Pirates. He didn’t get his sixth until July 5, by that time compiling a record of 6-5. Also by that time, he had given up a total of 42 runs on 86 hits and had struckout 81 batters.

On the contrary, Lynn reached 6 wins by May 7, and to date has a record of 6-1. So far he has given up a total of 9 runs on 26 hits and has struckout 44 batters. He’s on pace to catch Gibson in strikeouts by sometime in mid-June and should catch Dean on his next start.

Again, Lance Lynn has the advantage.

Now while it’s sometime tricky to compare projected totals to actual totals, those are the only stats that we have. So let’s have some fun.

Dean finished 1935 with a record of 28-12 and an ERA of .304, giving up 324 hits and striking out 190. He pitched in 50 games.

Gibson finished 1961 with a record of 13-12 with a 3.24 ERA, giving up 186 hits and striking out 166. He pitched in 35 games.

Lynn is on pace to finish 29-5, with a 1.81 ERA, giving up 124 hits and striking out 210. He is scheduled to pitch in 33 games. Again those are just projections.

Now while it is highly unlikely that Lynn will finish with those sorts of numbers, the start he has had to his season is significantly better than the start that Gibson and Dean had to their seasons when they were 25. Dean’s numbers a bit skewed by the fact he pitched in so many games, but he finished the season second in the MVP voting. If Lynn can finish anywhere in the 20s in wins, he could probably put himself in that argument.

Lance Lynn has quickly transitioned from bullpen surplus to ace of the staff, and now leads the league in wins and is also in the tops in ERA. If these projections actually play out, then we could be in line to have a 3rd starting pitcher's number retired.

Knowing how accurate these stats are, make sure to tune back next week when I compare Shane Robinson to Stan Musial. Have a good one Cardinal fans!

Cardinals fans got their first big-league glimpse of Tyler Greene in 2009. Over 48 games, he hit .222/.270/.324, struck out a ton, played slightly below average defense, and didn’t display a full understanding of big league pitching. He raked in Memphis that year though (.291/.362/.489), so things were looking up.

He returned in 2010, hitting .221/.328/.327 over 44 games while striking out a ton, playing slightly below average defense, and appearing genuinely befuddled by big league stuff. He raked in Memphis that year though (.284/.355/.486), so things were looking up.

Mr. Greene was back in St. Louis in 2011, hitting .212/.322/.288 over 58 games. He still struck out a ton, still played below average defense, and showed few if any glimpses of his supposed power. He raked in Memphis that year though (.323/.422/.579), so things were looking up.

Right?

Continue reading this post »

Let’s look at the 2012 Cardinals by the numbers:

• · They are currently 20-11. That is tied with three others for the most wins in the major leagues.
• · They have scored 174 runs. That is the most in the major leagues. Texas is the next closest (170).
• · They have given up only 99 runs. That is second in the majors only to Washington (91).
• · That gives them a run difference of +75. That is the most in the majors with Texas coming in second at +65. The next closest is Atlanta at +24. Side note: Milwaukee has the worst run difference in the NL with -30.
• · They have won 12 games on the road. That is the most in the majors, tied with Texas.
• · They also have more wins against their division than any other team in the majors and are the only team to be undefeated against teams outside their division.

Now let’s see why that is. Start with the offense:

In the National League, the Cardinals are:

• · 1st in batting average
• · 1st in on base percentage
• · 1st in slugging percentage
• · 1st in RBIs
• · 1st in homeruns
• · 1st in hits
• · 1st in runs
• · 2nd in triples and 2nd in stolen bases (I guess we they can’t be first in every category).

As individuals in all of the major leagues, the Cardinals have:

• · 4 players in the top 30 for batting average
• · 6 players in the top 30 for RBIs
• · 4 players in the top 30 for homeruns
• · 6 players in the top 30 for hits (Furcal leads the league)
• · 5 players in the top 30 for runs
• · 3 players in the top 30 for stolen bases

Now to the pitching. In the National League, the Cardinals are:

• · 1st in least amount of walks
• · 2nd in ERA
• · 2nd in least amount of runs allowed
• · 2nd in WHIP
• · 4th in least amount of hits allowed
• · 5th in least amount of homeruns allowed

As individuals, the Cardinals have:

• · 3 pitchers in the top 15 for ERA
• · 3 pitchers in the top 7 for wins (Lynn leads the league)
• · 2 pitchers in the top 30 for WHIP

Now to the fielding. In the National League, the Cardinals are:

• · 1st in fielding percentage
• · 1st in double plays
• · 1st in errors (meaning the least)
• · 2nd in stolen bases allowed
• · 2nd in assists

We won’t get into the individual fielding stats.

The point being, the Cardinals are playing all-around good baseball right now. As a team, they lead in just about every single major category and as individuals, they are also tops in just about every single category. It’s a good start for manager Mike Matheny. And remember, all of this is without Pujols (left via free agency), Carpenter (injured), Berkman (injured), and also without the best stuff from Wainwright. This could be a scary, scary team come October.

The St. Louis Cardinals are now tied for the most wins in all of baseball! Not a bad start for the team that lost both their manager and their top player this past offseason. While this may not come as much of a shock to us loyal Redbird fans, I guarantee that it was unpredictable to the rest of the league. Of course we knew that Lance Lynn was going to start off 6-0 and that Beltran was going to hit 10 homers in the first 30 games. And we also knew that Matt Carpenter was going to carry the team through the Lance Berkman injury. (I hope you recognize my sarcasm). But for those who didn’t know, here we are! The Cardinals are back to win another crown. Now let’s take a look at some other headlines that actually could be labeled as a surprise:

Let’s start with the American League playoff race. If the season were to end today, the division leaders would be Texas, Cleveland, and Tampa Bay. Most of you probably expected Texas, but what about Cleveland and Tampa Bay? The tigers return with one of the top pitching staffs in baseball and also made one of the biggest splashes this offseason in signing Prince Fielder, yet they sit two games back of Cleveland, having recently been swept by the Mariners, who had a .414 winning percentage last year.

And while some expected Tampa Bay to do well, did you really expect them to start off by sweeping the Yankees? And would you have had that high of expectations if you knew that three of their top starters would miss significant part of their season so far? (Longoria, Upton, and Jennings). I mean, yes they have a great pitching staff, but their staff is ranked 21st in the majors for quality starts. Yet they still sit on top of the always competitive AL East.

Okay, so the Yankees aren’t on top of the AL East, but they’ll still make the playoffs, right? Well, not if the season were to end today. Now that baseball has expanded to a two-team wildcard, the one-game playoff would actually be held between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles haven’t been to the playoffs since 1997 and the Blue Jays haven’t been there since 1993 (the year they won the Series). Could this be the year that the Yankees don’t make it? We’d have to expand the playoffs to 6 teams if that happened! You can’t have the playoffs without the Yankees!! (That was also sarcasm).

In the National League, things are also a bit different this year. Joining the Cardinals on top of their divisions are LA Dodgers and Washington Nationals. Last year the Dodgers showed more fight in the courtroom than on the field and the nationals have never won a division. Actually, they did win in 1981 but that was due to a players’ strike, and they were winning in 1994, but that season also ended in a players’ strike. So let’s hope the Nationals drop a bit in the rankings so that we can avoid another such incident.

The Wildcard teams in the NL would be the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets. Yeah, we all knew the Mets were the better of the two New York teams!

But let’s not stop there, let’s also discuss the season-ending awards given to the league’s top players. And let’s start with the MVP. The MVP of the American League is quite simple, as Josh Hamilton has swept every category. He is 18 points ahead in batting average, 4 ahead in homeruns, and 10 ahead in RBIs. Looks like we have our first Triple Crown winner since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967. And if he continues on the pace that he is on now, then he will shatter both the homerun record and the RBI record, hitting 76 and 194, respectively. And what is it that you say!? Josh Hamilton is a free agent after the season? Looks like the Angels may swoop in with another 10 year offer for too much money. Sorry Texas fans!

In the National League, Matt Kemp dominates the discussion, but he is denied the Triple Crown by his very own teammate, Andre Ethier (30-27 in RBIs). Not far behind in some of these categories are Jon Jay (BA), Rafael Furcal (BA), Carlos Beltran (HR, RBIs) and David Freese (RBIs). Again, Cardinal fans totally predicted that! And like Hamilton, if Kemp continues on his torrid pace, he will also set record highs in homeruns and RBIs. But I expect both of these guys to get asterisks next to their names because anyone who can hit more than 40 homeruns today MUST have used steroids. So congrats Hamilton* and Kemp* on your MVP awards!

The NL Cy Young award goes to none other than our very own Lance Lynn. If he continues on the pace that he is on, then he will finish with a record of 31-0 with a 1.40 ERA. That’s pretty realistic. And who finishes second in wins? None other than Kyle Lohse, with a record of 26-5 for the Redbirds. We should have traded him when we had the chance. And back to the topic of Lynn, if he finishes with such numbers (which we have no reason to believe he won’t), then he’ll be the run-away favorite for the NL Rookie of the Year award also, beating out the Cub’s Bryan LaHair.

For the AL Cy Young, the race is a lot tighter, but why not give it to the guy that was predestined to receive it before the season even began? Yu Darvish, you’re our winner with a 22-5 record and 238 strikeouts. Welcome to the big leagues, Yu! I hope you finish better than Hideo Nomo did. But like Nomo, we’ll give you the Rookie of the Year award. Cepedes was a close second.

Manager of the Year has to go to Mike Matheny, for exceeding all expectations in following the legendary TLR. And in the AL it has to go to Buck Showalter of the Orioles. Anyone who can turn that club into a bunch of winners deserves that award.

So what are my predictions for the World Series? Well you have to go with the Cardinals! My prediction is St. Louis over Texas again (sorry Ron Washington), and we’ll do it again in 7. La Russa will be brought in to work the bullpen and Chris Carpenter will get the save, earning the closer’s role in mid-September.

Not a bad year for baseball.

Other notable stats to look for:

Adam Dunn completely shatters the strikeout record, breaking the current record before the All-Star Break.

Also happening before the All-Star break, Valentine and Red Sox agree to part ways by mutual consent. Red Sox finish last and hire Curt Schilling. Next year, they finish even worse and then try with John Kruk. Eventually they realize that hiring Baseball Tonight personnel isn't the way to go, though it does grant them 2 games a week on ESPN.

Lastly, Jamie Moyer decides he isn't ready to retire, so the Angels, looking for a veteran arm to round out their staff, also offer him a 10 year contract and hundreds of millions of dollars.

Hey, I know all of this is a bit crazy, and it may be a bit pre-mature, but if Mel Kiper is allowed to post about next year’s NFL draft, then I should be allowed to post about this year’s baseball season. See you at the World Series, Cards fans! Be sure to bring your rodents!

May this thread bring good (but not quite enough) luck for the Diamondbacks!

Here we are, the inaugural Roger Dean Project 2.0 Gamethread. Personally, I can barely stand the excitement.

Which one of our sub-2.00 ERA starters will keep up the pace? Will Carlos Beltran teach Justin Upton a lesson, or will he pull his hammy in the on-deck circle? And what would happen if an eel happened to be spotted in local waters?

On the off-chance you think a comment is inappropriate or trolling, flag and move on.

Finally, this thread is neutral grounds, so please close your robes, at the least.