i am back on the road today; just a few quick items:
first, some followup to yesterday's attempt to project the pitching staff. a very knowledgeable source who is in jupiter dropped me a note to say that, according to duncan, 5 of the 7 relievers are already locked in. presumably the five are isringhausen, looper, rincon, flores, and thompson - the same five who drew 100 percent support in our projection. although i mused that perhaps thompson was slightly less than a lock, my correspondent believes brad's spot is guaranteed. quoting: "they like his guts, they like that he throws strikes."
here's a new blog / beer klatsch for you intrepid cardinal fans trapped in enemy territory on the north side: cards fans chicago. per the site's subhead: possible events might include group tickets to see the cards at wrigley and/or miller, and a tavern-based "cardinals game of the week" with drink specials.
and here's an old blog with a new format and a new address: cardinals diaspora has moved. ryan launches the new site by projecting not just the pitching staff but the entire 25-man roster (deivi cruz, we hardly knew ye).
the post reprints a wire-service article about darryl kile's influence past and present. this from mike matheney: "Every once in a while -- not very often -- you come across people who make everybody else around them better. I've never seen anybody put so much effort into other people, and you could tell it was sincere." the cardinals have only missed the playoffs one time since kile arrived here in 2000, and he continues to make a difference; the "play a hard 9" ethic is kile's child at least as much as it is tony's.
back to reg'r posting tomorrow.