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"Come on, Rick. I know this bar pretty well. Let's go inside and get a drink," Mark Mulder says to Rick Ankiel, patting him on the back. The pair walk inside the bar closest to the bus stop. The building looks gloomy and forlorn in the shadows of nightfall, but on the inside, it is buzzing with life and activity. Sitting at the bar they spot an impressive figure, who at that exact moment turns around.
"Ricky! Mark! We've been expecting you !@#$%^&. Come on over. I'll buy you a !@#$%^& round!"
They sit on the stools next to the intimidating source of the booming, expletive-riddled voice and shake hands with their old comrade. "Hey Mark, nice to see you again. Sorry about your ankle. The usual?" the barkeep asks.
"You got it," Mulder answered.
The barkeep turns to look at Rick, "Let's go with a Jack and Coke," said Ankiel.
"And I'll take another shot of !@#$%^& tequila," boomed the man at the bar slamming down his shot glass before the man even had time to ask.
"Hey, thanks for the drinks, man," Mark said to the man as the barkeep poured his scotch into a tumbler full of ice.
"Don't mention, it," Chris Carpenter said, "Seriously, don't. Brad Penny owes me a round after I beat him in Street Fighter, so it's on him."
The bartender hands Chris his freshly poured tequila. Carp salutes the other two with his shot glass and downs his shot, slamming it on the bar afterwards. He turns to say something but is interrupted by the slam of the door, as a visitor in a black raincoat stumbles through the door... - Yahoo Sports
Other Things Going On in Baseball...
- Yu Darvish is still experiencing neck stiffness and looks unlikely to be ready for Opening Day. - MLB
- Jurickson Profar will be out 10-12 weeks with a torn shoulder muscle. - MLB
- Bryce Harper says "No" to beer and Coors-and-a-shot. - Hardball Talk
- Some more info about the new replay system. - Hardball Talk; MLB; Sports on Earth
- This - Cut4
via mlb.mlb.com
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The Durham Bulls will be having a Star Wars night. And they will be wearing these. - Hardball Talk
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I love reading stories about Albert Pujols. It helps me appreciate and understand him that much more. - Joe Posnanski
Obligatory:
- If you haven't seen Kris Medlen's new Twitter avatar, you should and here is your chance. - Hardball Talk
- Bud Selig, maybe you've heard of him, talks about his favorite Opening Day. - MLB
- RIP Clayton Kershaw. - MLB; Sports Illustrated
- Here is some very cool footage of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. (Side note: there is someone in my class named Gehrig after Lou Gehrig. True story. Seriously, why would I make that up?) - Cut4; Baseball Researcher
- Fortune Magazine named Derek Jeter the World's 11th best leader. - Sports Illustrated
- Scott Boras, everyone. - USA Today
- You can now download a free copy of SABR's Emerald Guide to Baseball 2014. - SABR
- Ever thought about R.A. Dickey's life and think "That would make a great movie." Your thoughts might become reality. -Hardball Talk
- To prepare for the regular season, here is a full league preview. - SB Nation
Hmm... I feel like I am forgetting something... Oh yeah, that Miguel Cabrera thing!
- Miggy and the Tigers have agreed (or are close - I am getting conflicting reports) to an 8 year contract extension for a whole bunch of monies (again, conflicting reports). - SBNation; MLB
- Some people are not happy about it. - Hardball Talk
- Some think is may be a little much.
Kudos to whoever convinced Detroit they were violating the "Tigers must have 1st baseman with the highest AAV" rule after trading Prince.
— Craig Edwards (@craigjedwards) March 27, 2014
What the Cardinals Are Up To...
- Should we really be surprised Joe Kelly was named the 5th starter? - Aaron Miles' Fastball
- Mike Matheny is who he is. Even though he might frustrate us, we could do a lot worse. (Thanks to Christine Coleman from Aaron Miles' Fastball for tweeting me this link and thanks to flood for e-mailing it to me!) - Gammons Daily
- Here is a brief overview of what the Cardinals have been doing this week before regular season games commence. - Cards Conclave
- This is probably one of my favorite reviews of the 2014 Cardinals thus far. - Fangraphs
- And here is a good preview. (Thanks flood!) - MLB Daily Dish
- Mark Ellis is looking forward to his first Opening Day as a St. Louis Cardinal. - MLB
- The Cards have signed David Aardsma to a minor league deal, most likely to compete for the remaining bullpen spot. - Hardball Talk
Aardsma receives minor-league deal for now, like Neshek, not placed on 40-man right now. Will throw today. Opportunity drew him. #Cardinals
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) March 26, 2014
- And his first order of business was to apologize to Jhonny Peralta. MLB
- This Saturday is the Dugout Dash, a 5K and 1K run/walk. I think you can still sign up. - Dugout Dash
- The picture on this link... Yeah, don't want that on my screen, thanks. But, sacrifices must be made. This is where Derrick Goold is storing his collection of Cardinals stories. - Write Fielder
- The Yadier Molina love is real. And if we love him, we will give him rest, right? - Medium
- Do you want Matt Adams on your fantasy team? (Thanks flood!) - Fantasy CPR
- Matt Carpenter's spring training has been much different than usual, and that is a good thing. - STL Today
- Kolten Wong looks to have a rookie campaign more in-line with his past performances and not his forgettable 62 at bats last season. Let's give the kid - err, I guess he is older than me - young man, a break, right? - Sports on Earth
- The Cardinals recently announced Pete Kozma is available for trade. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. - Mad em Dashes
- Awww! Look at them all together being friends! - Twitter
KNOW THY ENEMY
- Here is a preview of the whole NL Central. - Grantland
- And predictions. - Cards Conclave
- And here is a preview of the Pittsburgh Pirates (thanks again, flood!) - Beyond the Box Score
- And here is a preview of the Milwaukee Brewers! - Viva el Birdos
- Joey Votto walks. - Fangraphs
- Aroldis Chapman, despite the two black eyes, is feeling much better after taking that line drive to the face last week. - MLB
- Joe previews the Cincinnati Reds with an interview with Red Reporter. - Viva el Birdos
- HANK, THE BALLPARK PUP! - Fox Sport
Viva el Stuff
- More re-cappers come out of the woodwork with dr. howl, stlcardsfan4, and WyoCardsFan making their debuts.
- dr. howl continues to look at the 2014 Cardinals roster with this fanpost about Matt Carpenter. - Viva el Birdos
- zoomzoomj88 linked this fanshot to the Cards MLB 14 The Show ratings. - Viva el Birdos
- We probably need to pay fink for the VEB day tickets. His e-mail is in his profile to find out specifics. You are going to give us your bank account number, right fink? - Viva el Birdos
- Don't forget to enter your predictions for the annual predicitions contest. The prizes are awesome and you don't want to miss out! - Viva el Birdos
- A play in one act. Scene: Dave and Busters. - Viva el Archives
- bgHumphrey writes his weekly VEB Week in Review. Get all caught up from last week! - Viva el Birdos
- Don't forget to read Monday's links if you haven't already! - Viva el Birdos
Other Stuff
- The St. Louis Blues are in a dogfight with the Boston Bruins (Boston...) for the President's Trophy, the trophy that goes to the NHL team with the best record at the end of the season. After their 5 - 1 win over the Minnesota Wild, the Note currently lead Boston by one point. - St. Louis Game Time
- The St. Louis Rams, meanwhile, are preparing for the NFL Draft Day. With two first round picks (2,13) the Rams have a lot of flexibility and potential in this upcoming draft. - Turf Show Times
- Florida, Dayton and Arizona, Wisconsin advance to the Elite Eight after winning last night. More March Madness continues tonight. - SB Nation
- Joe suggested this link to me and I am glad he did. It will warm your heart, I swear. I love stories of athletes doing good things. - Club 93.7
Weekly Scoreboard:
| Monday, March 24 | Cardinals | 3 | Mets | 5 | |
| Tuesday, March 25 | Cardinals | 5 | Marlins | 6 | Recap |
| Wednesday, March 26 | Nationals | 2 | Cardinals | 3 | Recap |
| Thursday, March 27 | Marlins | 6 | Cardinals | 4 |
Please send links to a girl in need. Tweet me @lil_scooter93 or e-mail me at lil_scooter93@msn.com. I want to thank everyone that has sent me links this past week! I really appreciate it!