Sports

Is that better?

Jason Ketteman — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 10:14:19 GMT

Well, the Cards kept the deficit below double-digits last night behind Jason Marquis on the mound. I GUESS that's better than the all-out, embarassing drubbing they endured the night before .

There's no doubt that the ChiSox are a great team. However, it's not the end of the season yet and there's lots of room between then and now to heal, improve, trade, promote, and the like. Likewise, there's lots of room for other teams to hurt, worsen, dump salary, abuse, etc their team. I'm not worried yet just because we've lost two games to a phenominal team.

The thing is, while Albert Pujols wouldn't have made up the 13 and 8 run deficits, he WOULD have changed how the Cards lineup was pitched to. Period. That alone could have changed the outcome a bit. Not that the Sox wouldn't have scored 33 runs (yikes!) across the two game, and they probably would have kept most of their 40 (Yikes!) hits from the same period, but it's at least conceivable that we would have had more than 11 runs produced. Let me explain...

First, I believe that 11 runs with the lineup we have across 2 games is perfectly respectable. Pitching was the much larger problem against a team that had no trouble capitalizing on that problem. But, while I don't believe it's reasonable to think AP would have come out of the gates, fresh from the DL, jacking a bunch of homers out of the park, he is a force to be respected and he would have given the Sox pitchers cause to be slightly less agressive with the players that would have been around Albert. As it was, those players were pitched to agressively because there was less threat (although Rolen can hardly be considered NO threat these days) that something huge would break open.

On the other hand, the Cards still put up 27 hits across the games. The problem wasn't a lack of baserunners - it was power. It was getting more of those guys to cross the plate. THAT IS something AP provides and I'd expect him to provide almost immediately in his return from the DL.

Anyway you slice it, we lost those games and probaby would have anyway even with AP. The production was NEARLY there. AP would have closed some of the gap in runs scored, but he doesn't pitch.

...maybe he should?

Later

The Chicago White Sox ARE THAT GOOD!

Jason Ketteman — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 00:21:07 GMT

As much as it pains me to admit it, and certainly, the St. Louis Cardinals pitching staff helped, but there's no doubt in my mind that the Chicago White Sox are an incredible team. I don't know that I've EVER seen (not one, but two) such lop-sided games as the last two. I don't know that I've ever seen a team hit so well from the top of the lineup to the bottom. Of course, I have to remind myself that we've been in the AL for the last two games and get to DH. Any way you shake it, TODAY'S Cardinals are no match for the White Sox. Maybe when we get everyone healthy... (sigh...Albert...swoon...)

Er...In any case, I'm neither impressed nor happy that Marquis managed to stay out there tonight for 5 innings after Mulder got pulled in 3 the previous night. First, the bullpen was all sore from watching all the flyballs from Tuesday night's game. TLR really had no choice.

However, second, Marquis is a bit on the "psychologically tender" side, it seems. I wonder if he'll pout about this outting and be even more worthless than he usually is. (Yes, I know he is a league and the team leader in wins. So what?)

Marquis needs to grow up and get consistant. He's too bull headed. Mulder needs to admit that he's hurt and sit on the DL for a spell. Suppan is Sup (yawn!). Carp (thankfully) is Carp (woo hoo!). Ponson needs to visit Ballys or something. That dude DOES NOT impress me.

Welcome to the Cardinals (again) Anthony Reyes. Puh-lease don't (to use Tim's word ) STINK!

Uugh. Later.

Mulder and Thompson and Ponson, oh MY!

Jason Ketteman — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 10:49:27 GMT

Ahhhh.... What a fiasco last night in Chicago. Yes, everyone and their sister in CardinalNation is blogging about last night's debacle, but most tend to be focusing on Mulder's implosion. Let's set some things straight...

First, yes. Mulder was TERRIBLE. Should the Cards officials dump him? I don't think so. Let's give the guy a chance to get his act together. Give him a few starts off. DO NOT put him in the pen though. As Jeff Gordon says , we saw last night how reassigning starters into the bullpen works out. Also, what would we get for him now? His value needs to be built back up before he's traded. The Cards certainly paid enough to warrant that.

But let's not forget the aforementioned bullpen. I am a HUGE Brad Thompson fan. He's a 12-year-old-looking stud of a pitcher. But last night, he pitched like he was 12.

And then there's Sydney Ponson. Wow, Syd. You weren't distracted and bitter about being dumped into the pen, were you? We couldn't tell. Don't be surprised if you don't stay in the pen long, dude. You could find yourself on the way to Springfield or Memphis soon enough.

For the record, there's not a darn thing Albert could have done about last night, except maybe changed the final to 20-8 or something. It's not like the good guys didn't get 16 hits themselves.

Anyway, while last night was terrible, it's important to keep things in perspective, as Dan says. My favorite quote from Dan in reaction to seeing last night's game live: "I had to cheer Timo Perez. Don’t ever make me do that again..."

Finally, Jeremy (via email) summed up last night well with: "They kicked our Pujols." :)

Uugh. We'll see what happens tonight.

Later.

Izzy!

Jason Ketteman — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 20:22:00 GMT

It looks like folks (here, here, and here, for starters) are ready to dump my favorite whipping-boy, Jason Isringhausen, after last night's follies.

The thing is, I was there. It was a sweet, fun game. It was a hoot to think that our Boys wearing Birds were still firing away; still pluggin' and chuggin' without Albert's stick. There was showing of many of the role players (Molina, Taguchi, etc) stepping up to fill in the voids left by the injured of the platoon.

Then, Izzy shows up. Oh well. Grrrr....

Later.

Chris who?

Jason Ketteman — Tue, 30 May 2006 23:58:00 GMT

OK, who loves Anthony Reyes?

Meeeeeeeee!

Dude was awesome tonight.

He could make Chris Carpenter going on the DL a little easier to swallow. (Too bad he couldn't get the win.)

Later.

Bonds' way out...

Jason Ketteman — Sun, 14 May 2006 11:23:00 GMT

Not that I have delusions that Barry Bonds would read my little ole' blog, but I've been pondering what could come of the Career Home Runs record currently held by Hank Aaron (755) - and threatened to topple, probably next year, by Bonds.

Popular (and my) opinion are that Bonds is a liar and a cheater for taking steroids while playing baseball. Any other conclusion is ridiculous. Supporting Bonds (as his home town blindly does) is, in my opinion just short of condoning what he's done.

Bonds has had opportunities to take whatever higher roads were available to him, be an upstanding citizen, a man of integrity - admit what mistake he's made and apologize to the fans. Stopping his play of the game wouldn't have been as necessary as many call for now. He would have been a guy that screwed up, but owned up to it. He could have salvaged a LITTLE of his respect. We all know how Barry choose to act instead.

However, I see one last way Barry could show a little respect for the game and the fans he has so far shown only disrespect to.

It would be a noteworthy mark for Barry if he'd hit 754 home runs and immediately declare his retirement. Don't tie Hank. Certainly don't beat him. Respect him by acknowledging that Hank did it with style and without the enhancements you took - stop at 754 and acknowledge that Baseball and its fans deserve truly superior (yet not enhanced) sports heroes to hold its most sacred record.

Will it happen? Not likely. But I sure wish it would - for Barry's sake, his legacy, his family, Baseball, and the fans. Unfortunately, Barry is probably more likely to relegate himself to a DH role for the next number of years it takes until he owns the title. But it'll only be owned in his mind. Fans won't accept it as much as look for the next person who might be able to legitimize it.

Later.

Aaaarrrrhhhhh! Baseball frustrations...

Jason Ketteman — Sat, 06 May 2006 23:39:00 GMT

OK, sure. I know some of my (few) regular readers WILL NOT be thrilled about this post, and I typically have stayed away from a lot of sports postings, but...

I'm about to go CRAZY over St. Louis Cardinals baseball these days... Let me itemize:

It seems we can pummel teams that generally suck. We have no trouble with the Phillies, Pirates and the like... But against teams that can ACTUALLY play baseball (and have the W-L records to prove it), we can't muster even a decent resistance to them.
Jason Isringhausen drives me absolutely nuts. I know, he's a premiere closer according to the media pundits AND his stats. But his stats do not describe the unnecessary pain he puts the fans through EACH AND EVERY TIME he closes a game. He's unbelievable.
And this year, more than any other year, Al Hrabosky is sounding less and less credible (and just the fanboy he's paid to be) by constantly deflecting and making excuses for the likes of Izzy, Juan Incarnation's previous slump, etc. I love to watch Cards games on Cards networks because of the blatant bias, but don't say stupid things the viewers can obviously discredit just because it might be contrary to the party line.

On the other hand:

It's nice to see Mark Mulder FINALLY get his 100th win. He should have had it 2 games ago that he pitched, and again the last game he pitched, but he was sabotaged by his own team in both cases.
Juan Incarnation has been strokin' lately. It's nice to see him contribute and show signs of being the player he was described to be. Let's hope he keeps it up.
Albert Pujols is (still) an amazing stud of a man.

For the record, I do love baseball (not just Cardinals). I am planning on allowing myself to rant, rave, celebrate, and possibly mourn the Birds on the Bat on this blog more often...

Later.

Stop messing with BASEBALL!

Jason Ketteman — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 02:34:00 GMT

It only seems appropriate, on this most patriotic of holiday seasons, to use my hard earned (by someone else, not me) freedom of speech to complain. Not just about meaningful things, mind you, but about completely valueless things as the grand cosmic order of things go.

Frankly, I'm tired of Major League Baseball messing around with baseball. Who do they thing baseball belongs to anyway? This year, they want to change the home run derby to not just be about American League vs. National League (which it never really was anyway), but they want to turn it into a political event by designating people as representatives from their country. (As documented here and here.)

Jeez. Like I said, it was never A.L. vs. N.L. in the first place. It was always one guy vs. everyone else. It was always mano-a-mano. It was just a good time, watching each other tear the cover off the balls. Most of the time, the Also-rans sat around whooping it up when the real big boys got up there and put on their clinics. THAT'S a good time. THAT's what the derby is all about. FUN!

MLB seems to want to render all joy and merriment from baseball entirely. Years ago, it was interleague play. Most recently, it was “making the All-Star game MEAN something”. Now this. Let's make a political statement, try to get a “my country is better than your country” thing going on. Oh yeah, and we also have this whole World Baseball Tournament thing we're plugging to. So, that'll fit right in. To top it off, most common fans probably have the naivete to think that voting for their All-Star picks actually means their choice might get the spot. Well, that's true if you all happen to vote for who will bring in good ratings. To keep someone less worthy from getting the spotlight, MLB made “layers” of votes so that choices could be fixed by those that actually know the game (like Managers and MLB Execs themselves”. They have their own sets of voting that happens in between the public voting close and before the official list is announced.

SERIOUSLY! Stop with the gimmicks. The game is what it is. You're not suffering from attendance drops (overall). You're not suffering from workage issues (for now). You're not suffering from poor TV ratings. Leave it alone. Remember, you (MLB) could be where you were but a few years ago, post-strike, when you actually had problems. Or worse, you could be the NHL.

Whatever. Just give me (well, my team) our World Series rings and be done with it. We're all ready for it.

Later.

Izzy or Izzn't-he?

Jason Ketteman — Sat, 09 Apr 2005 18:55:00 GMT

Well, the Boys of St. Louis' summers pulled one out yesterday at the local home opener against the Philadelphia Phillies...but they certainly made everyone think it would end up differently.

Frankly, I'm not too surprised or upset that it took so long for the guys to win. That's the thing with this crew, both last year and seemingly this - never count them out. If you're up 5-1 (as the Phillies were yesterday), the Cardinals are more than capable of coming back to win, which they did.

What bothered me were really two things. First (in order of drama, impact, and frustration), Izzy yet again insisted on having the bases full before he agreed to put the Phillies away. I'll never understand it. He must like the rush, need the pressure, or something. It drives me nuts.

However, before that, we saw the Phillies bullpen simply unravel to surrender the win. The Cards were patient while hurler after hurler threw balls and wild pitches to not only walk the bases loaded, but walk two runs in. Yet, in the midst of this rally, Scotty Rolen comes to bat. Now, I love Scott Rolen. He's a phenominal 3rd basemen. He hustles all the time. He can swing a bat. Actually, that third one is what frustrated me yesterday.

Everyone involved and watching that game saw the horrible pitching the Phillies were doling out. Patience at the plate had already rewarded us with the lead. However, what did Rolen do? Rolen swings at the first pitch he sees. Was it a strike? From my vantage point, it would have been borderline. It didn't matter though. He had no count yet. Ball or strike, it made no difference. He would have seen at least another two pitches. Even if it was a strike, the pitchers hadn't put two strikes together back-to-back in a couple of innings - or at least within the inning. Rolen, had he been patient MIGHT have either seen a grooved pitch that he could have cranked from his wheelhouse OR he might have gotten a free trip to 1st base, sending one of his teammates in to score. But NO! He had to swing at a borderline pitch to end the inning and the rally. Uugh!

Had Izzy lost the game for us (like he tried), the Rolen bat would have made more of a difference. As it was, the 1-run advantage was enough. So, in the end, I'm happy. I don't care about good or bad wins. I just like wins. So, we won against a potentially rough Phillies lineup. Good for the Birds!

I hope today turns out as well, although it doesn't look like it will. :(

Later.

Ahhh....welcome back, Baseball!

Jason Ketteman — Wed, 06 Apr 2005 00:52:00 GMT

Finally! The 2005 MLB year has begun. How I missed thee! Without hockey to spell me (in fact, it's my favorite sport to watch), I felt that Opening Day was always an eternity away. Fortunately, “eternity” in this case was only April 5th, 2005. It's on that day (today) that the St. Louis Cardinals resume their pursuit of the World Series title that eluded them last year.

So, tonight was game 1 of 162. St. Louis at Houston. It was a fun, although at times tense, game.

Chris Carpenter was brilliant. Well, he was way better than most could expect the first game of the season. He pitched extremely well, had only a minor lapse, and recovered nicely. That's nice. It's very nice to see Carpenter start out well. He was sorely missed at the end of last year and it's nice to have him back.

The St. Louis offense was stellar. They abused Oswalt and tiny Minute Maid Park. Jim Edmonds made a statement about concerns with him having another great year after last. Contribution was made from up and down the lineup (save the pitcher). I like seeing Dave Eckstein slappin' balls around and hustling down the line. He's got some zip and nearly beat out a couple of throws to first base. Grudzielanek was quiet, but contributed in other ways.

Defensively, the Birds were relievingly good. I've been worried about the middle fielders all off-season. Yet Eck, Grudz, and Edmonds did very well. Granted, Rolen helped Eck out a time or two, but that's part of being a team. Nice work, guys.

The dark spot in the game was, surprisingly, our bullpen. Collectively and individually, it was like watching a bunch of minor leaguers (at best). Reyes was very unsettling to me since he was a rock last year. Tavarez, while always a bit of a loose cannon, seemed to be under a cloud for having to pitch in MMP since his little tirade (read: temper tantrum) last year. King wasn't where he should have been (or where I expected him, at least) and Izzy is still the same “Heartattack Isrinhausen”. Fortunately, while the pitchers may have been throwing at a AAA level, the 'Stros were lucky to be playing college ball most of the game.

All in all, it was a very positive game. I'm confident that the bullpen boys will get their act together. In fact, with a different home ump at the helm tomorrow, it may turn into a completely different commentary. After all, Montague was being EXTREMELY tough tonight. The first trip through the pitchers in a season always makes me nervous. I want to see how each first outing goes before I pass judgement. Carpenter passed with flying colors tonight. Marquis starts out in the hole with me since he's never really won me over anyway. But I'll certainly give him a chance. He's earned that much.

Play Ball!