 |
 |
|
12-7, 3.69 |
4-12, 5.75 |
couple of items i didn't get to in this morning's thread. first of all, Gateway Redbirds has published its chat with mike maroth; he took some questions from fans and gave some answers, which is pretty cool for a professional athlete. more of them ought to do it. i'd sooner he answered the question "why can't i get anybody out"? but i guess if he had the answer for that the question wouldn't be necessary . . . .
second question/answer item: if you're a trivia fan, check out the new trivial baseball blog. one new head-scratcher every day. today's question is: what's the highest tally of triples hit in a single season over the past 25 years, dating back to 1981, by a player 30 years or older? head back there tomorrow for the answer --- and a new question.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
i have a plea for this week's games. i realize i'm tilting at windmills, but here goes: let's try to keep things in perspective during the game threads.that's asking a lot when the cubs are the opponent; they always seem to bring out the worst in our community. last year, even with the cardinals far out in front of the pack and the cubs hopelessly out of the race, the game threads were marred by vulgarity and nasty, hateful remarks --- real first-class stuff. not what you'd expect of the so-called best fans in baseball.
i was embarrassed by it --- pissed off too, as some of you may recall. and if it was that bad last year, with the cards 15 games out in front of the cubs, i shudder to think how ugly it might get this week, with the cardinals in desperate straits and the cubs hoping to knock our team out of the race for good. if the games don't go our way, there's gonna be --- to put it mildly --- some disappointment and anger.
i get that; it's natural. fans have emotions; if you didn't react to a bad play or a painful loss, you wouldn't be a very good fan. but adults learn to keep their emotions in check when they're in public. and since this is a public place, i expect everybody to emote appropriately and within reason. express anger and frustration if the situation warrants (and i hope it never does; i hope the cards win every game 10-0), but do it without alienating some (or all) of the other people sharing the thread with you. i know it's not healthy to suppress your emotions; gotta let them out. but you can do it without crossing the line. and if you don't know where the line is, read the community guidelines.
i also encourage you to read these wise words from Salvomania, written in the throes of last september's near-collapse:
Sure, I get upset, and frustrated, in the moment as I watch Wainwright, and then Looper cough up multiple runs to blow yet another tight game (why can't we get Orklando Palmeiro out?). But I've seen enough games this year, and over my lifetime, to know that incredible, thrilling victories come along with ugly, disappointing losses . . . .
Nobody likes to lose when you play a game, but handling losing with dignity and perspective is part of playing (and being a fan). And if you can't do that, that's your right, but it sure is unpleasant to be around you.
that ends my appeal. here are tonight's lineups:
| CHI | STL |
|---|---|
| soriano lf | kennedy 2b |
| theriot ss | schumaker rf |
| lee 1b | pujols 1b |
| ramirez 3b | duncan lf |
| floyd rf | edmonds cf |
| derosa 2b | rolen 3b |
| jones cf | miles ss |
| kendall c | molina c |
| z p | wells p |