Cardinal Nation Globe

Cardinal Memories

2009-06-26T14:38:00.005-04:00

This month the United Cardinal Bloggers (UCB) are discussing their St. Louis Cardinal memories.

Most of my most vivid Cardinal memories happened relatively recently. Since I didn't grow up near St. Louis and don't live there now. Most of my memories take place between the years of 2004 and 2008 when I lived in eastern Kansas and took frequent trips to Busch Stadium.

1. The 2006 World Series Victory Parade: Definitely a good memory. My wife and I left our home at like 4:00 in the morning and were in downtown St. Louis by 10am. We lined up just outside the bowling/Cardinals Hall of Fame and were in a prime spot to see the players and trophy make their final turn before going into the Stadium. It was a Mardi Gras-like atmosphere: beads and VERY lax open container laws.

2. The Storm of July 19, 2006: You've probably seen the video clips like this on YouTube, but I was there. I still think about it every time the sky gets dark before a storm. The starting lineups had been given, the national anthem had been sung, and all of a sudden these dark black clouds come out of nowhere. I was sitting in the bleachers that evening so we took cover in a nearby stairwell. I remember hearing and seeing the portable vendor cards being blown over and seeing the grounds crew in the middle of all that LAYING on the tarp to keep it on the field. The ride back to my hotel near the airport was also an event. The Metrolink trains were shut down and they had to bus us all back. I didn't get back to my room until 2:30am.

3. The Death of Josh Hancock: Not a good memory but nonetheless vivid. I attended the last game Josh Hancock pitched in. The next morning my wife and I were down at the stadium preparing to take the tour. The ticket windows had a sign saying that all tours were canceled for the day. We were confused and a little upset. We walked around the stadium to see a news crew set up and decided to walk by and see what was going on. A reporter and a camera man came up to me and asked about my reaction to the death of Hancock. That was how I found out. I was completed stunned. I thought about how we had just seen him the night before. By the time we left, fans were already creating a memorial at the gates by the Musial statue.

David Eckstein is one of the greatest players to ever play the game of baseball

2009-05-22T19:34:00.003-04:00

Hey, I'm a big fan of David Eckstein too, but this is just a little over the top [Awful Announcing].

How would you react if Albert used?

2009-05-07T16:56:00.009-04:00

Probably just about everyone knows by now that Manny Ramirez has tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug and will receive a suspension of 50 games for his violation. There have been various reactions to the news. My reaction is mixed. It's one of shock, disappointment, but also a tinge of happiness. Manny is a great hitter and I hate to see the game of baseball get a bad rap. At the same time, I want the game clean and Manny, just by the way he conducts himself, is a disgrace to the game. Just to throw this out there... Manny's PED may have been for bedroom performance rather than on-the-field performance.

Now, I wasn't a big Mark McGwire fan. Sure I thought he did some amazing things and I liked the fact that he helped win some games for the Cardinals, but all-in-all I thought he was just a one-dimensional player. So, McGwire's allegations of PED use didn't really affect me too much, I wasn't that upset.

Albert Pujols, on the other hand, is the best player that I've ever seen. He's much more than one of the greatest hitters of a generation. Albert is also a gold-glove defender, a great baserunner, and a man of outstanding character. Some people have said that the things he does on the field are not natural. He certainly seems superhuman sometimes. It pains me to say this but... what if? I mean, Albert is right up there with Manny and A-Rod and the latter two are now tainted. How would you react if Albert failed a drug test? I would be completely heartbroken. I know I sound like a 14-year-old girl here, but I would. I'm a year shy of 30, have graduate degrees, and I would be completely heartbroken if Albert Pujols was found guilty of using a PED. I would think back to all of the things that I've seen him do live and on television, the money that I've spent on his jersey and eating at his restaurant, all of the religious-oriented speeches that he has made, and feel completely cheated.

Musial among Western Pennsylvania's finest

2009-05-05T11:02:00.005-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posts over the past month, I hope to start blogging regularly or at least semi-regularly soon.

I found this piece of news that I thought readers would enjoy: Stan Musial will be inducted into the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) Hall of Fame. Musial, of course, was born in Donora, PA. Just a little Donora trivia for you: Donora was home to a 1948 smog event that led lawmakers to the Clean Air Act. Donora is also the birthplace of Ken Griffey Jr.

Also... USA Today has a nice piece on Dave Duncan, "The pitcher's repairman."

2009 Predictions: Postseason and Awards

2009-04-03T00:05:00.001-04:00

Wrapping up this week of prognostications, here is my attempt at predicting the 2009 postseason and awards winners.

NL playoff teams:

Phillies (East)
Cubs (Central)
Dodgers (West)
Cardinals (Wild Card)

AL playoff teams:

Red Sox (East)
Indians (Central)
Angels (West)
Yankees (Wild Card)

World Series matchup:

Red Sox vs. Cubs

World Series Champs:

Red Sox

Cy Young Award winners:

Johan Santana (NL)
John Lester (AL)

MVPs:

Albert Pujols (NL)
Grady Sizemore (AL)

Batting Champions:

Albert Pujols (NL)
Miguel Cabrera (AL)

HR Champions:

Adam Dunn (NL)
Josh Hamilton (AL)

Make sure to check out other UCB blogs at www.UnitedCardinalBloggers.com

2009 Predictions: NL West

2009-04-02T00:05:00.001-04:00

1. Dodgers
2. Giants
3. Diamondbacks
4. Rockies
5. Padres

This always seems to be a tight division race and I wouldn’t expect anything else in 2009. The Dodgers will win the NL West but I think the vastly improved Giants will give them a run for their money. With Webb and Haren at the top of the rotation in Arizona, I expect the Diamondbacks to remain close behind. I just don't think they have the offense to take the pressure off of their pitching staff. The Rockies will finish 4th with the Padres bringing up the rear once again.

Tomorrow, I’ll finalize my portion of this UCB project with predictions for the 2009 postseason and awards.

2009 Predictions: NL Central

2009-04-01T00:05:00.001-04:00

1. Cubs
2. Cardinals
3. Reds
4. Astros
5. Brewers
6. Pirates

The Cubs are still the team to beat in the division and I wouldn’t be surprised if Jake Peavy ends up there before long. If Carpenter, Wainwright, and Lohse are able to stay healthy, I think the Cardinals will finish second in the division with a shot at the Wild Card. The St. Louis bullpen has more seasoning and it’s hard to be as bad as they were last year. Cincinnati has a very good rotation and has chosen to go with an approach of speed and defense after the exit of Griffey and Dunn in 2008 – they will be better. The Pirates will definitely remain in last place, and Brewers have certainly taken a dive, meaning that the Astros will finish in 4th.

Check back tomorrow from my attempt at predicting the outcome of the NL West.

2009 Predictions: NL East

2009-03-31T00:05:00.001-04:00

1. Phillies
2. Mets
3. Braves
4. Marlins
5. Nationals

Despite the Mets offseason moves to add K-Rod and Putz at the end of their bullpen, the Phillies, and maybe even the Braves and Marlins, are better teams. All three teams have a better starting rotation top-to-bottom than New York, at least I think. I’ve heard some people on MLB Network say that Florida has the best starting staff in the division. The Braves have added some nice starting pitching to their staff most notably Lowe and Kawakami. Really I think the 1 and 5 finishing spots in this division are set with the Phillies and Nationals respectively. The 2, 3, and 4 positions in the NL East at the end of the year are a toss-up between the Mets, Braves, and Marlins.

Tomorrow, I’ll try to forecast the NL Central.

2009 Predictions: American League

2009-03-30T00:05:00.001-04:00

I’m generally pretty crappy at this sort of stuff but here it goes, the first round of UCB predictions for the 2009 season. My general rule is to go with starting pitching. This gets me in a lot of trouble because, 1) there are few pitchers that are reliable every year and 2) as we Cards fans know, sometimes it’s the bullpen that kills you.

AL East:
1. Boston Red Sox
2. New York Yankees
3. Tampa Bay Rays
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Baltimore Orioles

The Red Sox are my pick to win this division because of pitching and a proven team work ethic. The Yankees have spent the $$$ and on paper have some of the best players in baseball – they do not have the best team. I loved watching the Rays in last year playoffs but… They have the youth and talent, but as we’ve seen in many years past it’s hard to keep up the results and repeat. The Blue Jays, in my opinion, have faded and the Orioles won’t be ready to compete for a few more years.

AL Central:
1. Cleveland Indians
2. Minnesota Twins
3. Kansas City Royals
4. Detroit Tigers
5. Chicago White Sox

I really like this Indians team. They were injury-ridden during the first half of 2008, which prompted the trade of CC Sabathia and Casey Blake. Remarkably, Cleveland played much better after the trades of two of their key players and finished the season with an 81-81 record. If they can stay healthy, I pick the Indians to win the AL Central. If the Indians core players (Hafner, Martinez, etc.) can’t stay off the DL, I will go with the Twins. You can never count the Twins out of anything! The Royals have gotten better and have a better top-to-bottom pitching staff than the Tigers, at least in my opinion. Detroit also is very poor defensively.

AL West:
1. LA Angels of Anaheim
2. Oakland Athletics
3. Texas Rangers
4. Seattle Mariners

I don’t expect Anaheim to win the division by 21 games as they did in 2008 but the Angels will take the AL West crown again in 2009. Oakland is better, but they will likely trade Matt Holliday at the deadline. The Rangers always have horrendous pitching – maybe they should put team president, Nolan Ryan back on the mound. The Mariners have several years of rebuilding to do.

Check back on Tuesday for the NL East, Wednesday for the NL Central, Thursday for the NL West, and on Friday for playoff and award predictions. Also, we now have a new UCB Homepage that you can check for all updates and projects.

Albert makes SI cover

2009-03-10T14:56:00.004-04:00

Albert Pujols makes the latest cover of Sports Illustrated. Image and story courtesy of Bird Land.

UCB Links - Mt. Rushmore; Expectations of the Best Fans in Baseball

2009-03-10T14:40:00.007-04:00

As part of the ongoing roundtable discussion, Trey of The Cardinal Virtue recreates Derrick Goold's Mt. Rushmore project and surveys the UCB. Check out the discussion.

Ryan of Cardinals Diaspora is set to post next. His question concerns what "the best fans in baseball" expect of Cardinals players: scrappiness, hustle. Ryan also brings up a Cardinal Nation taboo, booing.

Pujols will not play out of respect; Barton explodes

2009-03-02T12:14:00.006-05:00

Albert Pujols will not play in Thursday's exhibition game between the Cardinals and Team Dominicana.

Stay classy Albert!

Brian Barton, one of my favorite non-regulars and rocket scientists, had an offensive explosion in yesterday's game. Barton had two homers and six RBI.

Here's the lineup for today's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. If you follow the Cards like I do on XM, the game is scheduled to be broadcast on Ch 177.

UCB Roundtable - A franchise player not named Albert

2009-02-23T23:01:00.002-05:00

There has been quite a bit of talk/anxiety concerning where Albert will be after his contract is up. He has said that he would like to stay in St. Louis for his entire career. On the other hand, he has expressed the desire to consistently win and after this off-season one has to wonder if the organization is willing to put up the dough to supply this on top of giving Albert proper compensation.

We all know that Albert is a model player to build a franchise around. He provides one of the top and most consistent bats in baseball, a stellar glove at first base, and extraordinary leadership and character.

My question for you all is: Besides Albert, if you could pick one player in baseball to build the St. Louis Cardinals franchise around, who would it be and why?

Trey of The Cardinal Virtue says:

My favorite non-Cardinal has been for many years Vladimir "the impaler" Guererro. Sadly, he seems to have gotten older fast. Though I'm a big proponent of starting pitching for building your team, I think the conerstone, "face of the franchise" guy needs to be an everyday player. The guy I would currently pick for this position other than Albert would be Joe Mauer of the twins. He's a young but established commodity who plays a premier postion (catcher) and seems to keep his nose clean and be a good leader. Catchers have a shorter shelf-life than other positions players, but Mauer seems like a good enough athelete that he could switch positions later in his career. The one other downside to Mauer is that he currently doesn't have great power, but he may mature in that area as he gets older, which is often the case with players of his ilk. Anyway, it's an interesting question, but Mauer would be my guy.

Mike of Stan Musial’s Stance says:

I agree with Trey, in that the face of the franchise should be an everyday player vice a pitcher.

I'm torn and can't decide between these two players, so I'll list both..

Based on his freshman season, his poise at the plate, the fact that he came up and immediately hit, his defense at third, and my impression he's an all-around good guy, Evan Longoria would be a great player to build around. My only hesitiation, and the reason why I can't decide, is he hasn't played a full season yet, and we don't know if he'll suffer from the 'sophmore slump'.

The other guy didn't drop off at all from his Rookie of the Year campaign; in fact, he won the MVP award. Dustin Pedroia. He's David Eckstein with power. The dude batted fourth in a four-game series against the White Sox in August last year, and only went 11-17 with a couple of HRs. Tremendous defense at second, good clubhouse guy, good guy period.

Also, they're both young, so they would be the face for the better part of a decade.

Haedar of Redbird Ramblings says:

as for players that compare to albert all around, there isn't many...but griffey jr. comes to mind; that is, griffey in his early years between 1990 and 2000. the man was the best centerfielder by far for a decade and he won 8 gold gloves in a row with seattle. it was said to watch griffey in and out of the lineup with cincy because of various injuries (both "normal" and "freak" injuries). he has been a model citizen always and a great 5 tool player when healthy and he is a sure first ballot hall of famer.

another guy that I can't not mention is jimmy edmonds. his only fault was being on the same team as mcgwire and pujols for all or the majority of the time with the cardinals (if I remember correctly) and tim salmon and garrett anderson with the angels. he also was a five tool player that did everything with that swagger and some hollywood flare that the fans in saint louis loved so much. so, I'd also build a team around jim edmonds circa 1998-2006. well, that's all I got.

as you can see, I really like my all around centerfielders...

honorable mention: chipper jones, vintage bernie williams, and possibly grady sizemore.

Daniel of C70 at the Bat says:

Wow, this really is a tough one. When you take Albert out of the question, it's a very difficult choice.

I agree with the earlier sentiments that the player should be young if you are going to build a team around them. I also agree they need to be an everyday player, not only because your fan base sees them daily but also because the injury factor is much less.

Really, the first name that came to mind was Hanley Ramirez, but I'm not sure if I'd go in that direction. He's not exactly a defensive whiz and may have to move off the shortstop position in the near future. Still, he'd lend excitement and could be a face of a franchise for a while.

I like the Longoria selection. I think he'd be an excellent choice.

Michael of Whiteyball says:

This is a great question. There are many criteria to look at when building a team around a franchise player, but I think this exercise shows you how irreplaceable Albert Pujols really is. There are very few players with his combination of skills, attributes and attitude. You want a player who is young, consistently great hitter, good fielder and a leader on the team and in the community. Positional scarcity would be great, but I believe the aforementioned requirements would take precedence.

If you consider age and contract into the equation, a player like Evan Longoria would be my, and many people’s, first choice. He has an unbelievable team friendly contract with 5 years remaining and two team options of 1 and 2 years. He’s 22 years old and under club control for 8 more years (9 years total) that will pay him 44 million dollars over the life of the contract (including his first year). He has also donated $725,000 from the contact to the Rays charity and has made many PR friendly statements about the club. Not to mention that he’s good with the bat and the glove. His UZR last year was 14.9 at third base and he put up an outstanding .358/.551/.909 slash line in his first season. If he increases his walks he will be among the elite hitters in the game.

CJ of The Cardinal Virtue says:

A-Rod. Hands down.... * vomit *

Chet of 4thebirds says:

Someone mentioned A-rod, and I'd have to agree. Seriously.

If we're talking franchise player to build upon, and not pinstripe-hatred or media frenzy, both of which cloud most issues, then yeah, A-rod.

Otherwise, the Longoria choice looks good, and I'd considered Tiexiera, but every time I type in the name of the later, my spell checker asks me if I'm kidding?

And before any fans jump me on the Clean Machine issues, I would think the roid dilemma is behind him, and it's not like St. Louis can pretend it has an all-time spotless moral record when it comes to, let's say, poor judgement, which happens to everyone sometimes.

There's just enough good years left for A-rod if you count from now. In '12, maybe I'll have to learn how to spell Teh-sheer-uh.

Mike's (Stan Musial's Stance) response to Chet:

Even without the steroid issue, you start with a lot of off-the-field stuff that you have to deal with. And while he's still a talent, he'll turn 34 this summer. Obviously he'd help a team for sure, but in my mind he's starting to move out of that "cornerstone of a blank slate" discussion.
Mike’s (Stan Musial’s Stance) response to Chet:

I agree. A-Rod (Roid?) is a heck of a player, but I believe he's too old to
be a guy I want to build around for several years. If history is any
indication, and steroid use does skew the metrics, he's got about 3 really
productive years left, then the decline starts in earnest.

Sarah of la Beisbolista says:

This is a tough one, and I tend to agree with the suggestion of Evan Longoria, because I think in a few years he'll have enough experience under his belt to be a true leader. In the meantime, I like Lance Berkman. Yes, he's old (relatively speaking), but he's solid defensively and is a pretty stellar power hitter. He's one of those "face of a franchise" players, much like Albert, and he is a community supporter. Also (although I shouldn't speculate, especially considering recent events), he's at the top of the list of players whom you wouldn't guess have any skeletons in the closet.

Can I pick the Lance Berkman of 5-7 years ago?

The other name that crossed my mind is Matt Holliday, but I didn't spend too much time on it.

ps--I would organize a loud and violent protest if the FO even *hinted* at signing A-Rod, and it has zero to do with steroids. The man is more fluff than he is baseball player, and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if it turned out he only used steroids to make himself *look* better.

Andrea of Bugs & Cranks says:

I think Sarah means The Thing that Ate Lance Berkman.

This is a tough one, because I don't spend a lot of time doodling little hearts in my notebook margin about guys on other teams. I reserve those for Albert, Adam Wainwright and Scott Rolen (sniffle sniffle).

But if I had to pick one...

Ryan Braun. He's 25 years old, in his first two years he's averaged a .301 BA, a .350 OBP and a .588 slugging percentage. He has also averaged 35 home runs, 101 RBIs, 15 stolen bases and 91 runs scored. That's pretty darn good for his first two years in the bigs. In the field, he struggled a little at the Hot Corner, but not everybody can be Rolenesque. However, since they moved him to left field he seems to have found his groove. He didn't record a single error in 2008. Also, he seems like a nice guy who isn't going to fill the clubhouse with drama and shenanigans. Plus, he's cute. So there ya go.

Pip of Fungoes says:

Alex Rodriguez has several things going for him, but several things working against him, not the least of which is his age (33). Given other other options, I'm going to go with a player who hasn't yet reached his peak age over someone a few years past it. That list includes:

David Wright, just turned 26
Joe Mauer, 26
Hanley Ramirez, just turned 25
BJ Upton, 24
Evan Longoria, 23

Wright and Longoria (and Mauer) are great options, but the Cardinals are hopefully going to fill their 3B hole with Wallace soon, so 3B (or C or, obviously, 1B) is not as big of a need as SS or CF. That leaves Ramirez, who still has a few years left at SS, and Upton. Ramirez just signed a six-year deal at the beginning of the '08 seasion that goes through 2014 at a pretty reasonable number ($70m), whereas Upton is under team control but not signed long-term. My pick? Ramirez, with Upton a close second.

Nick of Pitchers Hit Eighth says:

Well, since I have a real hard time arguing with the choice of either an Evan Longoria or a Hanley Ramirez, and I don’t want to ‘pile on’ to their already extolled attributes – I’m going to go another route.

I would choose Tim Lincecum.

Lincecum won 18 games (or 25% of the team’s total wins) for a bad Giants ballclub in 2008, posting a 2.62 FIP. His k/9 ratio is high, his k/bb ratio is high, he was a +7.5 wins pitcher in 2008 worth $33.9mm according to fangraphs (or about $33.5mm more than what the Giants paid him). There is always the chance of these young, high-inning starting pitchers breaking down (hi Mark Prior!), but for now Lincecum looks like the real deal.

I know and certainly agree with the argument for taking a position player, someone who will go every day, as your cornerstone. But for the sake of discussion, I felt it necessary to get a pitcher in the talks. Lincecum (well, and David Price) was the first one who leapt to my mind. He turns only 25 in June, is team-controlled for another 5 seasons (I believe I have that right) – perhaps longer if the Giants can scrape enough cash off of Barry Zito’s charred underside to give Lincecum one of those arbitration-buyout deals.

All that said, I have to admit I was tempted to choose Matt Wieters.

Sarah of la Beisbolista says:

Well, now, if we're talking pitchers, I want Cole Hamels. Also young, also good, and (shout out to Andie) also way cuter than Lincecum.

(Here's where I would attach a photo of the margins of my notebook paper where you'd see hearts drawn around the names "Cole" and "Big Puma".)

Josh of Redbirds Row says:

As hard as it is to pick someone from the Brew Crew, I would look over at first base for my pick. The Prince grew up in baseball much like Griffey and doesn't seem to be affected by much. He is a much better athlete than his frame would show, and I think he is the perfect everyday player given that well...it is hard to hurt all that...body.

That makes it easier to pick Fielder as well because we will hopefully never need a first baseman as long as AP or Prince or playing.

Jeff of 5 o’clock blogger says:

Lots of great players mentioned so far. My pick is David Wright. At age 26, he's just entering his proverbial prime years. During his first four full seasons, he's averaged 42 doubles, 29 homers and 82 walks per and more or less maintained in 2008 the increased walk rate he showed from 2006 to 2007. He plays what I'm told is excellent defense (I'm not that handy yet with more modern fielding metrics) and seems to be a nice kid who doesn't punch his wife or throw on-field tantrums.

Not only would he be a good pick as the centerpiece for a real-world baseball team, he's also my choice around whom to build a fantasy team in my keeper league.

My take:

I think that Michael of Whiteyball may have said it best, “I think this exercise shows you how irreplaceable Albert Pujols really is.”

My first choice would be Joe Mauer. I’m an old-school guy who thinks that you need to be strong up the middle. Mauer offers stellar defense, an outstanding bat, top-notch game-calling, and exemplary character. I couldn’t think of a better player (besides Albert) to build my team around.

Grady Sizemore would be my second choice for similar reasons - a rare combination of glove, bat, and character. Since I live in northern Ohio, I get to see Sizemore play on TV quite a bit. I tell you this guy does so many things every single game and you just don’t see them on the highlight reel. It also seems like his uniform is dirty by the second inning every single game.

Headar of Redbird Ramblings mentions the 1990-2000 version of Ken Griffey Jr. – definitely tempting. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s the greatest centerfielder of my time and the best “natural” homerun hitter. My only problem is that Griffey never seemed to be a vocal leader or a take charge of the clubhouse kind of guy, but maybe I’m wrong.

I completely agree with CJ of The Cardinal Virtue… picturing Alex Rodriquez in a Cardinals uniform, even before he was outed for using steroids, makes me throw up a little in my mouth. The guy is a pre-Madonna (pun intended), completely full of himself and insecure at the same time.

Visit That’s A Winner tomorrow for the next installment of the UCB Roundtable.

UCB Roundtable is Underway

2009-02-22T21:54:00.005-05:00

The latest United Cardinals Bloggers Roundtable discussion is underway. So far, Pitchers Hit Eighth and The Rundown have prompted their questions. I just sent out my discussion question to the group a few minutes ago. We will share ideas tomorrow and a transcript will be posted here on Tuesday, February 24. C70 has the complete posting schedule.

Kennedy released

2009-02-09T17:07:00.004-05:00

This is a surprise! Adam Kennedy has been released. Now there's an opening at second. Any word on whether the Cards have been in discussion with Orlando Hudson?

Read ChetTheJet's musings over the 4thebirds.

Shoulder surgery puts Glaus out 3 months

2009-01-22T17:42:00.005-05:00

Troy Glaus just had shoulder surgery that will put him out about 3 months. Not great timing in my opinion. On top of that, the 12-week recovery period would not include a probable rehab assignment.

From the P-D:

General manager John Mozeliak said Glaus notified the club of his concerns "several weeks ago" and early last week traveled to Washington, D.C., to receive an injection in the area, but the anticipated improvement never occurred.
"He let us know this weekend it wasn’t where he wanted it," Mozeliak said. "That’s what brought everybody to this point."
Pressed why Glaus waited three months into the offseason for surgery, Mozeliak insisted, "Frankly, we didn’t even know it was a possibility until recently."
Prospects David Freese and Brett Wallace appear leading candidates to assume Glaus’ role for at least the season’s first month. Wallace, last year’s first-round draft pick, is among the Cardinals’ non-roster invitees to spring training.
Mozeliak noted reserve outfielder Joe Mather and low-visibility free agent signing Joe Thurston as additional possibilities to hold the position until Glaus’ return.
"We may also look at external options," Mozeliak said.

Sorry folks... it's hard to be optimistic about this.

Read other posts on this topic: C70, la Beisbolista, and 4thebirds.

Bernie doesn't read my blog

2009-01-08T20:52:00.004-05:00

I'm depressed (not really). I just found out that Bernie Miklasz doesn't read my blog... or any of the UCB blogs for that matter. Bernie writes, "The fan base seems angry. On the talk shows and in the blogosphere, where the rage bubbles into a rapid boil, there's chatter of a boycott, of customers giving up their season tickets." What!? Where are these blogs? Not on my reading list. I've seen discontent, but not anger... at least not here. Bernie needs to update his blog roll.

Cardinals on MLB Network

2009-01-05T19:28:00.007-05:00

For those of you that have access to the MLB Network on your local cable system... Tonight at 9:00PM* Cathedrals of the Game will feature the Cards' roost, Busch Stadium. The show will re-air at 1:00AM and 4:00AM for you night owls.

I also see that it will air tomorrow (Jan 6) at noon and 5:00PM.

Also, tomorrow at 10:30PM, MLB-N will show highlights of the 1946 World Series between the Cards and Red Sox... hopefully with a Cardinals slant to it. They've been showing highlights from the 2004 World Series for the past couple of days and, as you could expect, the production is heavily slanted towards the Red Sox.

*All times eastern

On the topic of Busch Stadium... I highly recommend picking up a copy of A Day in the Life of Busch Stadium, the 2008 yearbook from Cardinals Publications. I received it as a Christmas gift. The people at Cardinals Pub always do a great job with Gameday magazine and the yearly calendars complete with game schedule, and this book is no different. A Day in the Life features a lot of great behind-the-scenes photos of the people and activities that really make Busch Stadium run. The book chronicles the gameday activities occurring at the stadium beginning at 5AM and ended well after fans have left.

Cardinally Christmas

2008-12-22T16:07:00.003-05:00

(phone rings)

Hello.

Hi, this is [so-and-so] from Stan Musial's office...

(at this point, I'm thinking, "what?"... but don't say anything)

... we just wanted to inform [your wife] that her Stan Musial autographed baseball has been shipped and should be arriving within the next two days.

Okay, Thanks.

Although I love surprises on Christmas Day, there's always a bit of excitement involved when you find out about what you're getting early... no matter what age you are.

I hope all of you out there in Cardinal Nation have a Merry Christmas.

Let me know in the comments section if you get any Cardinals gifts for the Holidays.

Pre UCB Radio Chat

2008-12-17T21:47:00.003-05:00

I'm going to be on UCB Radio tonight. I will be doing a little chat beforehand (see below). Everyone is welcome to join in the chat and/or call into the show.

Should Cards take a chance on Cabrera?

2008-12-15T00:15:00.004-05:00

The Baltimore Orioles have released Daniel Cabrera. Should the Cards take a chance on him? The guy has a gun for an arm, great stuff, and the ability to make batters miss. His problem has been control and consistency. Dave Duncan could be exactly what he needs.

I know that the Cards have been looking for a lefty starter, but there's no need to pass on Cabrera just because he's right-handed. This could be a diamond in the rough. Bird Land had an interesting post last week discussing how important a left-handed starter really is - it's worth a read.

Cards possibly discussing Ankiel trade with Braves

2008-12-09T06:59:00.002-05:00

I just found this news in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution deeply embedded in an article about Greg Maddux. Apparently there are indications that the Cardinals and Braves have been discussing a trade that would send Rick Ankiel to Atlanta for either Kelly Johnson (2B) or Yunel Escobar (SS). Wow! Really!? Escobar!? That guy is a great ballplayer!

Cards trade for SS Greene

2008-12-04T10:59:00.003-05:00

The Cardinals have traded for shortstop Khalil Greene.

I like this move. Greene has a good glove and I fully expect him to rebound over a horrendous offensive season last year. Also, his offensive numbers should improve away from Petco Park in San Diego.

'Gas House Gang' has NY origins

2008-12-02T15:44:00.006-05:00

Over the past couple of weeks I've been reading John Heidenry's book on the Gas House Gang. The book is really more about Dizzy Dean than the rest of the 1934 Cardinals but, regardless, is a good read and lends a lot of interesting information. One nice tidbit of information included in the book is the origin of the term 'Gashouse Gang.'

As CNG readers know, I like to write about different aspects of Cardinals tradition, culture, and lore, so this piece of trivia naturally interests me. Before reading chapter 7 of Heidenry's book I, like many Cards fans, didn't really know what 'Gashouse Gang' meant - it was just a term that I used for the 1934-era Cardinals and really just took the term for granted as a standard piece of Cardinal Nation vernacular speech. Now I know that the term was largely a creation of New York sportswriters and it actually rooted in the geography of NYC, not St. Louis.

I had always assumed that 'gas house' was synonymous with 'gas station' and given the rough and dirty appearance of many of the players on the '34 Cardinals, the team was given that nickname because many of the players looked like that worked as a mechanic at a gas station. I was wrong.
If you look up 'gas house' on Merriam-Webster.com, you'll see that the term refers to a 'gas works' - a plant used for manufacturing illuminating gas (for gas lamps). There were hundreds of these plants in New York City but in the late 19th century an area on Manhattan's lower east side became popularly known as the Gas House District. Today, the area is known as Peter Cooper Village - Stuyvesant Town. This was rough neighborhood - gangs and violence - like Five Points in the movie Gangs of New York. One of the gangs was known as the 'Gas House Gang'.

By 1934, when the term was coined in reference to the Cardinals, all but four gas tanks in the Gas House District were gone but it was still known as a bad neighborhood. A New York sportswriter said that many of the Cardinals players were so rough and dirty that they looked like they could have been members of the 'Gas House Gang.' The term stuck.