This link made the rounds a bit over the weekend in the wake of the news of Muhammad Ali's death, but here's a two and half minute audio clip of Jack Buck - sounding just like Jack Buck did the last time I remember hearing him speak - interviewing a young Ali (then Cassius Clay) before his first fight with Sonny Liston in 1964. It's a treat. You get to hear Ali rattle off some of his best lines, reminding everyone why he was always credited with being such a skilled orator. And you can hear Buck chuckling along, sounding amazed by Ali's humor and incomparable presence.
About 15 years ago, when Rick Reilly's back page column in Sports Illustrated was still close to being considered a must-read, he wrote a feature about Buck and mentioned a recent encounter Buck had shared with Ali. Both men, unfortunately, had the same afflication: Parkinson's disease. Ever the self-deprecating comedian, Buck was quoted in the column as saying this, "I shook hands with Muhammad Ali recently. It took them 30 minutes to get us untangled."
Good ole, Jack Buck. And if you want to donate to help fight Parkinson's you can do that here.
If you took an all-Cardinals break yesterday - after all, it was an off-day, why would you possibly need VEB? - here's what you foolishly missed.
Felix Jose
Felix Jose was a very good player for the Cardinals for two years in the early 90s and then he was gone. But he won't be forgotten on my watch.
Randal Grichuk
Randal Grichuk has been a bit underwhelming this year and Joe Schwarz detailed how he may have a problem with pitch recognition. It's possibly a bigger problem than any of us could have imagined.
"Is that a pitch?"
— tom (@Tom_sveb) June 6, 2016
"No, Randal, that is a photocopier."
"That's a pitch?"
"Wastebasket"
"This is -"
"Coffeemaker" https://t.co/TY8hrwPEvj
Down on the Farm / Kolten Wong
I know so little of the goings of our farm system on a day-to-day basis and rely on blogs such as this to fill me in and Josey Curtis does a great job with that here. Speaking of, in a bit of shocking news yesterday, Kolten Wong was optioned to Memphis yesterday. Lil Scooter has the details. I'm a big Kolten Wong fan so here's hoping he gets on the right track soon. But until then...
Matt Carpenter
...the Cardinals have a new second baseman although there's a good chance you're already familiar with his work.
Have a great Tuesday, everyone.