Monday, July 31, 2006

at what price belliard?

this smacks of trading for trading's sake. luna for belliard seems like a great way to take on salary, but that's it. while it is true that belliard will probably be taking more time away from aaron miles than was hector, it still doesn't really solve any problems. not that they would have taken it, but couldn't we have given them miles and some low level prospect or something? my dislike of gollum is occasionally proved unnecessary, but only occasionally. he's got a few clutch hits for us, but not nearly enough to make me like having the shortest middle infield in the majors. hector luna, on the other hand, may not have always come through in the clutch, but he did hit. it seems like we left him on base in the ninth quite a few times this year when he represented the tying run...

whatever, in a year or two, it may prove that walt saw the possibilty of magic, or some such nonsense, but for the time being, belliard seems like a good money sink and nothing more. here's hoping there's another (meaningful) trade in the works.

Friday, July 28, 2006

why is it that we've struggled so mightily with one of the worst teams in baseball? why do left handed rookies look good when they play us? why do both scott rolen errors in a year come against the fucking cubs?

i think dusty's poisoning our water coolers.

whatever... the remainder of this series will go the cardinals way. even this game wasn't without merits (like JEnc's homer), it's just that every time we could have made some headway, the cubs played world class baseball for a few seconds, then dropped back down to their usual caliber.

looking forward to a day game massacre... it seems we're much better at day games than night... that doesn't bode well for the playoffs, but it makes for a great finish to this series, anyway.

oh yeah, and amaury marti (my future favorite cardinal) went three for four with a homer in springfield... can we get this guy up to memphis soon, please?

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

one day late

i should have posted yesterday, still on a high from the sweep and the four game streak. after last night, i don't have anything so cheerful to say as i might have before. if we can turn it around and take the series, i'll be less worried, but this team seems to get discouraged easily.

the highlight of yesterday was reading the following line on the official site:

"Rolen can pitch," La Russa said. "He's got cutters, forkballs, sinkers. But I hope it never gets to that."

i hope it never gets to that, either, but a little part of me kind of hopes it does, just once.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

oh, snap

a rather inauspicious beginning for weaver, i would say.

perhaps the whole thing wasn't his fault. after all, randy flores did come back from injury just in time to suck against a tough opponent. josh hancock wasn't the pitcher i've been touting all year, and josh kinney gave up a couple more home runs to go with his first major league pitch.

it's the anemic offense that upsets me most. facing the offensively hottest team in the nl right now, i could have accepted losing that game 15-9, but not 15-3. what is our problem with left handed pitching? are we destined to make it to the divisional series, only to have (hypothetically let's say) the padres trot out a few aa lefty starters and have us cool petco park with our patented new high powered fan system?

let's hope the guys (including jeff weaver) put it behind them and move on. i can't take another losing stretch right now.

Friday, July 14, 2006

i did, did you?

yes, i stayed up to listen to the whole game. i knew what the final outcome would be. how, you ask? i may not have faith in god or my fellow man, but i have a powerful faith in the cardinals.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

three day withdrawal

three days with no baseball in the middle of the summer is great for our players, but for me, it's like trying to hold my breath for the same length of time. ok, maybe a better analogy would be not eating for three days, which i might actually be able to survive; thinner, desperate, but still going. the all star game was fine (except for phil garner putting cabrera in at third as a defensive replacement instead of rolen... makes as much (defensive) sense as tlr putting yadi in center, and it cost the nl home field advantage), but hardly memorable, and didn't quite fulfill my need (the all star game is like methadone, to use yet a third simile to describe the same thing).

some post-break thoughts

aubrey huff to the astros... i know a lot of cards fans and bloggers were hoping to snag this guy, but it doesn't seem that big a loss to me. true, they traded him for some bags of sunflower seeds, but still, i don't think it pushes them over the top or anything.

rotation woes... i'm not exactly an optimist, but when it comes to the cardinals, i guess i generally expect things to go pretty well. the last two years have spoiled us in terms of win totals. the rotation should regain some footing in the second half. reyes is strong, weaver is an improvement on ponson, and eventually, mulder might be able to throw a ball better than they did in my third grade coach pitch league twenty years ago. carp has taken some bad breaks, but is still dominant, and i think we're hitting marquis' good stretch he seems to have every year at a good time.

trade deadline... we need to trade for a real left fielder. i'm perfectly content with luna, gollum, and luna at second, but the left field travelling roadshow has got to stop.

wow, this might be my longest post. go second half cards!

Monday, July 10, 2006

m(iles) precious....

aaron miles (who i'm still going to call gollum; look at the eyes and teeth and try to deny it) gets a free pass for the rest of the month. so does josh hancock, though i was never that bothered by him. true, he's had his issues, but fewer problems than the bulk of the rotation, and there have been a few times this season that he's pitched like an absolute champ.
izzy blew another save, but i'll let him slide on this one as well. the error shouldn't have been; even our gold glove caliber first baseman can have troubles, and we have to protect that oblique. if craig biggio wants a sac fly, it's pretty hard to keep him from getting one, short of walking him.

all star break time is great for the team, but hard for me. hell, during baseball season, days the cardinals have off are hard for me. i guess i'll watch the baseball circus of the stars tomorrow, though i hate that it determines home field advantage (can't we just give it to the struggling nl for a few years? please?).

we needed that series. we really needed that series. hell yeah, gollum.

Monday, July 03, 2006

finally!

a deserved win! we almost lost control there, but dingers from el hombre, rolen, and jedmonds are welcomed back after a relatively low power stretch (ok, so scotty has three in his last four games, but still...). and if the rumors are to be believed, moves are about to be made.

in celebration, we went to the batting cages at tower tee, where i learned that i can't really hit a fast-pitched baseball anymore, and by fast i mean 60mph. however, my softball hitting skills have improved significantly. i also learned that my hands aren't as tough as they once were, as i lost quite a bit of skin. thank god for superglue!