Game 139 Open Thread: September 6, 2005

mattmo rusch
14-6, 3.91 5-8, 4.83

lloyd mcclendon got sacked. i have mixed feelings about it. he was a major pain in the ass, seriously lacking in class --- rude and scrappy and impertinent a la billy martin, maybe a little like whitey herzog. he never matched billy or whitey's success, but then he never had their talent to work with. . . . i will say this for him: his teams always played with pride and without apology, no matter how far down in the standings, and that's to be admired. here's hoping mcclendon gets another chance with a more competitive team.

this series of pix posted recently at Stl Pretty War put me in mind of hurricane katrina. a little reminder that blight --- of neighborhoods, communities, people --- doesn't only result from natural catastrophes. it's around us every day --- and we are called to respond to it daily, not just when it's in the headlines . . . .

ooops forgot, i'm s'posed to be talking baseball here. so let's talk nick stavinoha, whom john sickels of Minor League Ball scouted recently. "I was VERY impressed with his bat," sickels wrote. "If what I saw was any indication, this could be a huge bargain for the Cardinals." sickels also has a short piece on ex-stl farmhand coco crisp, of whom he says: "He should have a long and productive career, and is a good example of a Grade C/C+ prospect who develops his skills."

the birdwatch muses on pujols' rbi production . . . bellyscratcher has some excellent news (for card fans) from the cub front office. . . . according to uss mariner, the cardinals suffer somewhat more than their share of arm injuries.