I haven't posted in a while because I've been busy with school work and having a blast at SkyZone on Saturday night.  If you live in St. Louis and haven't been to SkyZone (and are in good enough shape), you must experience it.

Anyways, the Cardinals have played three Spring Games since I last updated.  There was a rainout on Friday, a Cardinal win over the Astros on Saturday, a 7-3 win over Washington on Sunday, and a "crushing" 6-5 loss to the Mets yesterday afternoon.  Ryan Ludwick has been hitting the ball extremely well lately and in the spring in general.  He was 4 for 7 in the last two games with two doubles, a home run, and three RBI.  Ludwick is tied with Joe Mather and Colby Rasmus with the team lead in RBI (7) this spring.  That dude who usually plays first base for the Cardinals (and will NOT play first base for the Phillies, BUSTER OLNEY!) is 3 for his last 6 including an RBI yesterday.

Alright, now that I've fatally dipped into the shameful Buster Olney report of the Philadelphia Philles apparently discussing a trade idea that would swap their star first baseman Ryan Howard with Albert Pujols, I have no choice but to address it.  I'll give Buster credit for referencing the enticing talks the Red Sox and Yankees had back in the day where they were considering a Joe DiMaggio for Ted Williams trade.  And like that idea, this one between the Cardinals and Phillies will never happen.  In fact, acording to Phillies executives, these talks were never happening.  And they would be kidding themselves discussing it anyway, as good of a player as Howard is.  Maybe if they threw in Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Roy Halladay, and the 2008 version of Brad Lidge, then maybe I would take this idea alittle more serious.  

Actually, even then would I laugh in the faces of Phillies' management.  I would never ever want to see Albert Pujols in a different uniform.  Are you surprised? NO Cardinal fan should be supportive of that.  There is more importance to having this rare embodiment of greatness than just winning to the Cardinals.  Albert Pujols could even more-so enhance the legacy of the entire St. Louis Cardinals franchise forever.  The franchise has the opportunity to be proudly associated with a guy who could legitimately be mentioned as the best baseball player ever.

This is about more than winning, folks.  It's about an expanding legacy St. Louis Cardinals fans can take pride in through generations.  I hope you realize that.  I hope you realize the magnitude of this rare priviledge that your beloved Cardinals have right now.  Count your blessings and have a good night.

Peace.

Boxscores courtesy of MLB.com.  Pujols for Howard story courtesy of ESPN.com.

Albert Pujols (back stiffness) and Matt Holliday (sore ribcage) are still on hold for this week.  Pujols hopes to be back by the weekend, and Holliday may be back by Monday.  Learn more about that here.  I don't know what the deal is and why these two are experiencing this soreness early in spring, but hopefully it isn't something that may return during the regular season.  We're all eager to see the Cardinals' best players on the field.

Kyle Lohse pitched well today in the game against the Marlins.  Lohse went four innings and only allowed two hits.  I would say so far so good for the number 3 and 4 starters (Brad Penny and Lohse). 

The Cardinals won the game 5-3 thanks to a ninth inning rally where they scored all five of their runs.  Shane Robinson had a big two-out two-run triple to highlight the rally.  Joe Mather and David Freese also drove in runs in the inning.  Here's the boxscore.

Overall, it was a good day on the field for the Cardinals.  Good pitching from Lohse and a nice late rally on the way to a win is not too shabby.  Now let's get those big bats back.  Peace.

Boxscore courtesy of MLB.com

Brad Penny was quite impressive today in the Cardinals' 6-4 win over the Nationals.   He was given four innings of work and only gave up one hit.  He was facing a Ryan Zimmerman-less Nationals' squad, but that doesn't mean we can't be happy about this performance.  Penny is an integral part of this team's questionable improvement over last season's team.  Will he be better than Joel Pineiro?  He certainly has the talent to top Pineiro's performance as the Cardinals' third starter last season.  Penny had a rough go with the Red Sox last season with an ERA over five and a sub-500 record (7-8).

Check the boxscore if you want.  You will notice a familiar name on the Nationals' side.  That "Duncan" is the very same whipping boy of many Cardinals fans for the past couple of seasons, especially last season.  I bet former members of the anit-Duncan mob are licking their chops for when the Cardinals' play the Nats in the regular season.  I bet they can't wait for Cardinals' pitching to feast on one of the least favorite players of the past decade among Cardinal Nation.  It will be a dream come true.  Lil Dunc will be dropping balls and striking out for the opposing team this time.  That is, if he makes the Nats' major league roster, which isn't set in stone yet from what I know.  And if he doesn't make the Nats' major league roster, he'll be ridiculed even more for not making the cut for the worst team in baseball.

To be serious, I will always stand by a more sympathetic view of the Chris Duncan drama.  Lil Dunc had alot to overcome during his time here.  Of course, being on a team where your father is the pitching coach on is never easy.  As expected, fans had the ever popular "The only reason he's on the team is because his dad is the pitching coach" excuse to hide behind, not to mention hide behind their anonymity on the interwebs.  Once he became notorious for his shaky fielding, Duncan became an easy target for ridicule.  Thankfully, he had a saving grace for a couple of seasons to keep him from becoming the complete punching bag of the fans he eventually became by the 2008 and 2009 seasons.  He had some pop and hit 43 home runs through the 2006 and 2007 seasons.  I also want to point out a very crucial base hit Duncan had in the 2006 World Series.

With two outs in the third inning in Game 1 of the World Series, Duncan hit a two-out RBI double that gave the Cardinals a 2-1 lead at the time.  After the RBI double, on the very next pitch, Albert Pujols hit a two run home run that extended the lead to 4-1.  That inning, in my opinion, set the tone for the rest of that game, giving the young Antony Reyes a lead, and possibly allowed the rookie to pitch with confidence and ultimately craft a gem.  Of course, the Cardinals won that game and won the whole Series.

But I bet fans would rather remember the negative.  They would rather remember the drop Duncan made in Game 5 that lead to a two run home run by Sean Casey that gave the Tigers a lead at the time.  

I'm not trying to say Chris Duncan was the reason the Cardinals won the World Series, not even close.  I'm just trying to point out that fans love to rag on players and will always remember the negatives more than the positves.  When the negatives pile up, as they did with Duncan, then that player will become an easy target for ridicule.  But that's the way it is in sports.  I'm not trying to tell you that you were wrong to ridicule Chris Duncan if you did.  I'm just telling it like it is.

Let's all move on.  Peace.

There's not a whole lot worth noting from today's Spring Training game.  Adam Wainwright made his spring debut today in the Cardinals' 7-6 loss to the Minnesota Twins.  Wainwright was roughed up a bit in two innings of work, allowing four runs on five hits.  Adam Ottavino had more difficulties today as he let a two run Cardinal lead get away.

On a positive note, the Cardinals' regulars bounced back rather nicely after being blanked yesterday by Red Sox pitching.  Colby Rasmus hit his second home run of the spring, a two-run shot, in the fifth inning.  Skip Schumaker had a nice day, going 2 for 4 with an RBI and run scored.  David Freese had a two-hit day but also committed a throwing error.

As you may or may not know, Albert Pujols is out with lower back pain.  He was originally scheduled to play yesterday but was scratched from the lineup.  It shouldn't be too big of a deal, and I hope he can get back out there later this week.  Even the great Albert Pujols needs Spring Training, and he hasn't gotten a lot of game action so far.

Here's the boxscore from today.  That's all I really have for today.  Peace.

Boxscore courtesy of MLB.com. 

Before I begin with the game, I must address a subject very important that I'm sure many St. Louisans are interested in: Mark McGwire.  I think it is finally time to express my distaste for one thing in particular concerning the current Cardinals' hitting coach.  Here is goes.

*Ahem*

Why the hell do people STILL have trouble spelling his last name???  To this day, when I surf message boards, people still tend to spell it "McGuire."  Are you kidding me?  This guy was one of the most recognizable public figures in St. Louis in the late '90s.  You couldn't turn on the T.V. in the summer of '98 without hearing something on the news related to McGwire's famed but now tainted home run chase.  Fast foward to 2005 with McGwire's infamous congressional hearing regarding his alledged steroid use where he refused to talk about the past.  His name was all over the news in St. Louis then.  Fast foward again to earlier this year, when McGwire finally admitted to his use of performance enhancing drugs during his playing career.  Once again, he has been all over the news.  How do you not know how to spell his name by now?

Honorable mention related to this topic: Ryan Ludwick's last name does NOT end with a 'g'.

Moving on...

Okay, I apologize for all of that.  I'll admit, I was going for some extra filler in this post because there's not a lot else for me to say today.  The Cardinals lost a tight game today to the Red Sox 6-5.  Here's the boxscore.

The Red Sox actually had the Cardinals no hit for six innings.  It was a tough day for the regulars.  To their credit, for the first five innings, the Cardinals had to face Josh Beckett, Jonathan Papelbon and Hideki Okajima.  It was actually the kids who came through offensively as the Cards made a late charge to take a couple of leads in the eigth and ninth innings, both of which were blown by Eduardo Sanchez (in the eigth) and Evan MacLane (in the ninth, credited for the loss).

Chris Carpenter made his spring debut today.  The projected Opening Day starter for the Cardinals went two innings, gave up four hits and a run.  Not too bad, I guess.

Overall, it was a rather rough day on the mound and at the plate for the Cardinals.  Today was forgettable.

I guess that game summary wasn't too short.  Either way, I really wanted to address the odd existance of St. Louisans who still do not know how to spell Mark McGwire's name.

Check your spelling, folks. Peace.

Boxscore courtesy of MLB.com.

Today's Spring Training game against the Marlins reflected much to be happy about.  For one, the Cardinals finally came away with a win, prevailing over the Marlin 7-4.  Here's the boxscore.

The highlights start with Joe Mather, who drove in four runs in a 2 for 3 ballgame.  Mather is already making good impressions this spring, and as mentioned in an earlier post, he should be a top contender for the fourth outfield spot.

Yadier Molina also had a good day.  Yadi was 2 for 2 with an RBI and run scored.

On the mound, there were mostly positives.  Kyle McClellen, a top contender for the last spot in the starting rotation, made the start.  McClellen pitched for three inning, struck out four, and only allow one hit.  If La Russa and Duncan are really considering giving McClellen a starter role, then I hope they let him pitch for more innings in the later spring games instead of just a few innings.  That's okay for the earlier games, but it would be nice later on to see how well K-Mac is able to hold up as he gets into the about the fifth or sixth innings of games.  McClellen's proven to be a good multi-inning pitcher, but I'm skeptical of just how far he can go and how durable he can really be.

Rich Hill, likely to be McClellen's biggest competition for the last spot in the rotation, also pitched today.  Aside from giving up a home run, Hill pitched fine.  He went two innings, allowed two hits, and struck out two batters.

Aside from a rough outing from Blake Hawksworth, who allowed three runs in an inning and a third, the pitching was outstanding today.  There's not much else to say.  Tomorrow afternoon, the Cardinals play the Red Sox.  That should be interesting.  Chris Carpenter is going to make his Spring Training debut in that game.  Meanwhile, the Red Sox will have Josh Beckett starting.  It's too bad this has to be a Spring Training game, or I would expect this being an intense pitcher's duel where each team is just scratching to outscore eachother.  Ah, well.

That's all.  Peace.

Boxscore courtesy of MLB.com.

Special post: Mizzou vs Kansas.

Despite a pretty ugly and deflating Mizzou loss to Kansas (final score was 77-56), today was a pretty exciting day.  The atmosphere was terrific at Mizzou Arena and the first few minutes of the game, where Mizzou built a seven point lead over the hated rival Jayhawks, were full of energy.  This was my first time actually attending a Mizzou basketball game, and I look forward to many more.

Even standing in line was fun. About an hour before they opened the doors, for whatever reason, every went stampeding to the doors, creating a big glob of fans gathered in front of the entrance.  You would think people were rushing there because the doors were finally opening, but as far as I know, it was completely pointless.  The highlight of the waiting in "line" period (it was nothing like a line at this point) was when people started throwing doughnuts into the crowd, and there were tons of them.  Where they came from, I have no idea.  There were also Twislers and other treats being tosses around.  It was probably the most fun I have ever had waiting in line.

All in all, it was a memorable day.  Obviously, it was hard to watch Mizzou take the beating that they did.  The end of the first half was probably the most miserable part of the game.  Kansas had a 16-0 run going into halftime.  Everything was going in for KU and nothing was going in for the Tigers.  It was brutal to watch.  Nonetheless, college sporting events are always a blast.

Moving on, though... 

I guess I should talk about the Cardinals now.  After all, this is a Cardinals blog.  Of course, being Spring Training, there isn't much to say.  Unfortunately, the Cardinals lost again today, 6-5 in ten innings to the Florida Marlins.  That first win of Spring has been pretty elusive thus far.  Of course, I could care less about the wins and losses at this point of the spring.  Like I always say, win or lose, there's always something positive to take away from a Spring Training game, and there appeared to be something very positive to take away from this afternoon's game.

Closer Ryan Franklin saw his first bit of action today, and had a very encouraging two innings where he only gave up one hit and recorded a strike out.  Obviously, Franklin is a huge concern for the Cardinals, specifically from the perspectives of Redbird Nation after watching his 2009 season end in a downward spiral leading up to that disasterous loss to the Dodgers in Game 2 of the Division Series.  The closer position is Franklin's to lose, and if he can consistantly perform at least close to par with what we saw for most of last season, it will be very difficult to find any glaring weaknesses on this Cardinals team.  Remember, this is a guy who pitched in the All Star Game last season and retired Derek Jeter, Joe Mauer and Mark Teixeira all in a row.  People say that Franklin was a fluke, but I'm not going to accept that.  Not yet.

Anywho, here's the boxscore from today's game.  Colby Rasmus had a good game, going 2 for 2 with a home run.  I'm looking forward to seeing what Kyle McClellen and Rich Hill can do tomorrow, as they're both scheduled to pitch.  And let's come away with a WIN this time!

Peace.

Boxscore courtesy of MLB.com.

TWO STRAIGHT LOSSES TO START SPRING TRAINING! EVERYBODY PANIC!

(You might see this jif used a few times throughout the summer-- sarcastically, of course.)

There wasn't a whole lot worth noting about yesterday's Spring Training game, the second of the spring for the Cardinals, that ended in a 7-3 loss to the Mets.  Here's the boxscore.  You may notice a nice looking three-inning line from a Cardinals' pitcher. A perfect performance through three innings of work by a good young prospect named Lance Lynn was the highlight of the game for the Cardinals.  Lynn showed some impressive stuff as he struck out three batters in his outing yesterday afternoon.  Again, I never advocate looking too far into early Spring performances; I'm not saying this is the next prodigy on our hands.  But you never know.  Maybe he could keep impressing Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan and he may just be a serious contender for a roster spot in the bullpen.   There is, without question, plenty of room for competition for a bullpen spot.  There almost always is.

That Albert Pujols guy made his Spring debut yesterday.  He went 0-2 with a sac fly.  He also got to meet with Kobe Bryant.  It really is pretty neat that Albert is forming friendships with some of the greats in different sports.

Matt Holliday also made his spring debut yesterday.  He walked twice and also doubled in the game.

That's all for now.  And I mean it this time!

...Actually, I don't mean it.  I also wanted to just say how psyched I am about Mizzou vs Kansas this afternoon.  This could end up being the highlight of my freshman year in college.  I have to acknowledge my Tigers, and here's to hopfully a wild day in CoMo!

M-I-Z!

Z-O-U!

Okay, seriously, that's all. Peace.

Boxscore courtesy of MLB.com.

First official post, hurray!

So, the Cardinals have played their first Spring Training game.  The final score (the Cardinals lost to the Mets 17-11) was something you'd expect when guys you've barely heard of are pitching.  I only recognized the names of two of the Cardinals' picthers who went yesterday, and those were Adam Ottavino and Eduardo Sanchez.  Most of the damage done to the Cardinals was off of an apparent knuckleballer, Charlie Zink, and a kid named Francisco Samuel. Zink gave up seven runs (five earned), and Samuel gave up six runs (all earned). I never heard of either of them. 

Not that it matters.  You usually see the guys who are not exactly competing for a roster spot on the major league club in the earlier Spring Training games.  We'll see more familiar faces on the mound next week.  Kyle McClellen will make the start Sunday, and newly acquired lefty Rich Hill should follow McClellen in the same game.  McClellen and Hill look like the top two considerations for the fifth starter role. I hope Jaime Garcia gets thrown into the mix as well; the guy is a stud! 

That's all for now.  Here's the boxscore for anyone curious at how certain players did in the opener.  Of course, being a single Spring Training game-- the first one, no less-- you can't look too far into these performances.  Nice to see Luddy crank one out and drive in three.  Joe Mather, who I suspect would be in the running for a fourth outfielder position, had a good game at the plate as well.  However, he played first base yesterday and made an error.  Good thing we already have this other dude who plays first base who's apparently really good. 

I love how I say "that's all for now," but then keep rambling.  I guess that's a sign of hope for this sucker.  I should shut up now.  Peace.

Boxscore courtesy of MLB.com.  Starter news regarding Sunday's game courtesy of stltoday.

Alright, let's give this a shot.  The first Spring Training game has been played, and I am psyched for the upcoming baseball season.  I will hopefully be able to post something after every game this season. For Spring Training, I'll probably do it alittle less frequently than game by game, but I certainly plan on reflecting on all 162 games as well as other storylines surrounding the Cardinals this season.