Sunday, September 30, 2007

Three things I know...

  1. Hey Mets fans, this collapse wasn't pretty. They never are. If anything, I almost-kind of-feel sorry for you because I know what it's like to go through something that's close to a collapse. I mean, it's bad enough that you lost, but you've got to hear about this as being a "monumental" sort of collapse from the national media, and to make matters worse, from PHILLIES fans too... of all fans? (shutter) I know, it's hard. But this wasn't your year. Neither was last year, when my Red Birds nearly choked as well but slipped through to eventually kick your butts and revel in our glory with the near collapse a distant memory :) I guess that wasn't comforting. Never mind.

  2. Does anyone else notice that the "Central Division Champs", the Cubbies, have only 2 more wins than the Cards did last year at the close of the regular season? The same team that had to hear they "backed" into the play-offs from every news outlet? The Cubbies, who even played one more game than the NL Central Division champs of last year, have 85 wins. Again...we need to hear this, only TWO MORE wins than the Cards had last year. I am offended at the indifference.

  3. I went to a movie theater yesterday to watch Superbad (One of my friends will be crowned with the nickname McLovin' before all is said and done ) and during the time alotted for previews, we were subjected to some weird acapella theater show of dudes who had looks on their faces like they were being poked in their happy places. It was so horrendous and corny, I thought we were being punk'd. They played 10 minutes of that mess for a crowd of people who paid to see "Superbad"? I don't understand. But more importantly, I actually said the words: "I know it's Ramadan, but I swear I want to shoot myself right now."

Friday, September 28, 2007

This is What Getting the Last Laugh Looks Like

All it took was two consecutive days for the Cardinals to play pay-back ball against foes, both new and old.

On Wednesday night, the Cardinals, sick of seeing a Brewers ball club pound them and still find reasons to complain as they did in the first game of the series, took it upon themselves to play the role of a big brother teaching their little brother a lesson in whining when winning. In a series blessed with a surplus of retaliatory pitches, the final straw occurred when Brewers reliever Seth McClung gave Pujols the old plunker with one out in the eighth inning- unfortunately (for the brewers) after both benches were warned earlier in the game by homeplate umpire Tom Hallion. Brewers manager Ned Yost and Mclung were both ejected, but more importantly, Albert Pujols reached first base to start an eventual 4 run rally that jacked the nail in the Brewers coffin on the game and perhaps their play-off chances. Does it make sense taking an eliminated team's psychological war-fare more seriously than securing a series sweep and gaining on the team ahead of them, who had already lost-mind you, in the Cubs? NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! Maybe they don't deserve to win after all. Apparently they're not mentally prepared for this all.

The next night, the Cards carried over their pay-back and bitterness at having to fly to NY for a make-up game of the "rain out" from that late June series in New York when the Mets were playing hotter baseball. That game could've actually been played if the Mets were patient enough to wait out the pathetic hour it took for the weather to clear up. Instead, with a double-header looming for the Mets the following day, the club persuaded some puppet body to postpone the game. The Cards knew all too well what the Mets were playing at and the Mets' errant decision appears to have cost them, as the Cards, behind a strong outing from starter Joel Piniero and timely hits from Pujols and Ludwick, gave Gotham's fans something to cry about for the second year in a row. For the first time since May, the Mets are not in sole possession of first place in their division after Pedro Martinez and the Mets lost to the Cardinals 3-0 Thursday night.

As both playoff hopefuls witnessed first hand, it doesn't pay to play a team vying for a consolation prize. The Cardinals appear to be swearing by the phrase, "If I'm going down, I'm taking every body with me".

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

A Picture Worth a Thousand Words

Surprise Surprise! 100% of Cardinal fans (I assume) from last week's poll would rather the Brewers win the divison than the Cubs. Well, the Cubs are still 2 games ahead of the Brew Crew but there's still time for the Cubs to choke! And even if they make it to the post-season, I think these tickets (pictured right) should do the rest of the work.

And no, I did not really get to record a few seconds of the game for ESPN as previously posted. That was after the game and apparently the camera crew abandoned their post. Cause if I were to get a hold of the cameras during the game, it would've been awesome blossom (extra awesome). And somebody at ESPN would've been fired.

Now, let us all just look at these already printed WS tickets for the Cubs and just laugh.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Sunday Night Baseball

My sister and I discussed how sad it would be that we'd have to wait another 6 months before being able to go watch our Cardinals play at Busch Stadium. That's half a year, people! Knowing this was our last chance at seeing our beloved Redbirds play, we made a decision to go down after the 7th inning stretch, expecting the gates to be open for all to enter...or so we thought.

Living in St. Peters, it took us 35-40ish minutes to drive downtown. We listened to the radio as the crowd at Busch gave Craig Biggio a standing ovation for his final game at Busch (most likely). We also heard Stan "the man" Musial play "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" on his harmonica (I KNOW! We MISSED IT). They were honoring Mike Shannon for 50 years (how OLD is he?) with the Cardinals organization. And of course, the Astros tied the game 1-1 in the top of the 8th. So we assumed, but mostly hoped, we'd have time to make it for some 9th inning heroics.

As we walked towards Busch, we noticed some Cardinal fans-here and there-walking in the direction away from the stadium. This horrified us, as one of our cardinal rules (pun intended) is never to leave a game unless, say, your appendix bursts. We tried to enter the gate closer to the outfield, only to have the usher/entry-nazi tell us "turn around ladies, you can't come in tonight". The funny thing is, we didn't even fake anger or belonging. Instead, my sister just said with mild disappointment in her voice, "How come?" Yes, we could've stood there for 10 minutes pretending to look for non-existant ticket stubs in our purses with fake outrage, but we just moved along, figuring another gate would be open. And of course it was.These developments don't bode well for security, but well, that's another article.

Anyways, we saw that the Astros had magically (seriously, we parked less than 5 minutes away) scored 2 more runs on a Carlos Lee 2 run HR-which explains the small exodus we saw earlier. But we were still excited to be back at our baseball house of worship.

We stood with the other standing-room-only folk and soaked it in. I have to say, though, the ushers have some strong regime going on, as we noticed quite a few seats everyone could have sat in, except that we didn't. So, what I'm trying to say is, the ushers should ease up a little bit or expect some underground insurgency to emerge, outraged at the anal rules they're implementing. We're not all Anheiser Busch employees! Let us move down into their seats when they leave or are no-shows. I'm just tell you how it is! Power to the people!

It was just like old times looking down on a familiar field drenched in lights and dotted with unformed figures. A come from behind was the only way towards victory as we were losing 3-1 but we didn't lose hope. Before the bottom of the 9th inning, we watched a video from the always hilarious Brew Crew broadcaster, Bob Uecker (just a biiiiit outside), in honor of Mike Shannon. At the end, we all applauded and gave a standing O to our "big boy" and Mike stood, waved and blew kisses to us all. Gotta love him... but really, how old IS he?

In the bottom of the 9th, it was all heroics and excitement. Brad Lidge came in to close, but an Astros win was not to be. Miguel Cairo got a base hit. Ryan Ludwick walked. Eckstein was lifted (could be his last Cardinals home game!) for a gimpy Phat Albert. But the crowd was in a festive mood and any appearance from Pujols draws standing O's these days, especially with the clutch pinch hits he's giving lately. So the hair raising ovation continued as the announcer proclaimed "#5, Albert Pujols". Pujols got an RBI single that was nearly a HR, with Ludwick advancing to third and still no outs . And yes, he's so hurt he can barely run to first, but ain't he great anyway? Rick Ankiel stepped in and won the game with a 2 run triple. The team pounced on one another and jumped for joy, all on ESPN for once. In fact, the producers let me go behind the camera to record the game for 10-20 seconds. I've got the pictures to prove it. Oh, I forgot to mention that? That's weird. I must be jaded or something.

We got a win in our final game at Busch this year and luckily I was there to see it and get my Cardinal fix. And even though it was announced the next home game would be March 31st, 2008 (weird), it's good to be a Cardinals' fan. Even now.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

TOP TEN...reasons it's okay the Cardinals have been eliminated

10.)I can now give my full attention to The Office

9.)I can look forward to the Cubs losing in some embarassing fashion

8.) I won't have to regrow my finger nails after chewing them off during a Cardinals play-off game

7.) The Blues will make up for time usually devoted to watching a nightly game

6.)I can jump on the Heroes bandwagon

5.) I can write a lame "Top Ten..." list explaining why it's ok the Cards aren't in it this year

4.) I will re-learn what life is like without watching the Red Birds contend in October

3.) Ownership can't pretend like everything is okay and will face backlash if nothing is done or more Adam Kennedys are brought in.

2.) I don't have to worry about my team getting swept in any post season series

and the #1 reason it's okay the Cardinals have been eliminated...

1.) who are we kidding? I'm going to be so bored over the next month! I can't go to pep rallies? I can't purchase post season tickets!? I can't have any more kosher hot dogs or nachos!? What will I do? Who am I? What's happening!?

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

You Like Him! You Really Like Him!

Rick Ankiel is near and dear to your hearts.

100% of the poor suckers lovely people who actually voted on last week's poll, "Will you still root for Rick Ankiel" answered yes.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Bye Bye Birdies...

Well, Cardinal fans, it's been quite the season. There have been an oddly high number of rough patches we've gone through together. From the Carpenter downer to the Ankiel shocker to--GOD, do I need to go on or have you been living in a cave under the sea?--we've seen and heard it all. Who knows what all of the madness means. Is this the price you pay for winning the world series? I honestly don't know. But you can't deny those redbirds had every possible attack on their team morale and still managed to make it interesting until the final few weeks of the season.

But let's not pretend this last week's mounting losses didn't leave a bitter taste in our mouthes. I liken it to the feeling you get after losing a really close play-off game. Or maybe it's the feeling you get after the realization your season is over. Regardless, here's a toast to the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals. No matter what false hopes you had for this season or the disappointment that still lingers over their recent fall, you can't deny the knowledge that winning the World Series last year isn't still comforting (even in the slightest bit. Come on, don't by shy, let that hidden smile out. Bragging rights apply-even here).

When all is said and done, there will be only one team and one fan base that feels satisfied. It's all or nothing! Second place isn't comforting to anyone. Maybe in some weird twisted way, the unrelenting lack of luck has been God's way of breaking the news to us that we wouldn't win this year.

Wait, hear me out! We got our first sign opening day, when we learned Carpenter was hurt. And from then on out, the barrage of "signs" kept coming. And instead of leaving us in the dust in July, we were given the gift of opportunity to believe into September. Let's be honest, we were never going to win with this pitching staff, especially with Carp out. Besides, we can look forward to next year and the excitement of (hopefully) starting our season with the youngsters, and not Adam Kennedy, for example (I will never let that go).

I'm going to pull a Cubs line and say "there's always next year". Don't be shocked. I'm not ashamed to use it. Here's why: I believe that with all of my heart because the actual possibility and history are there. We came off a World Series win last year with 83 wins, for crying out loud. I think God has firmly established that every team but the Cubs is allowed to say that will full fledged certainty. And yes, I'm going out in style by insulting the team that handed our butts to us over the last few days. It's just that, geez, we won the World Series last year and they're still trying to break 99 years of agony. And if there's anything I'm looking forward to more than anything else, it's the excitement of possibly being able to chant "100 years! 100 years!" at a Cubs-Cards game next year. Hopefully in Wrigleyville, where they'll feel over-protective of their environment hell hole and over-come with frustration at the truth.

If you still don't feel better, just remember there are people starving in the world and you're still whining about a game. There, you should feel better. And if not? You need to move to Chicago and become a Cubs fan (couldn't help myself).

God bless and good night. I look forward to objectively, ahem, critiquing the remaining teams. Stay on the look out for Rams notes, too. It ain't pretty, but it needs to be done.

And a special Cardinals treat is in store! Their repeat hopes may have been dashed but their charisma in the locker room (hint hint) still lives. By the way, if you're still in love with the Cardinals after this season, consider yourself a true fan. Bravo. If you can't admire the way they attempted to win this (weak) division with all the death, injury and rehab that marred the players, you've got issues that run deeper than baseball.

And of course, GO CARDINALS!

Saturday, September 08, 2007

"What We Lost and What We Never Had" explains it all

I'm too emotionally drained to explain how I feel about the Rick Ankiel turn of events. Am I frustrated and do I feel my his perfect comeback story is tainted? Yeah. Am I still rooting for Ankiel with all my heart? Yeah. Anyways, here's the story from deadspin.com.

What We Lost and What We Never Had

The Rick Ankiel thing, for Cardinals fans, has always been about hope. There was hope in 2000, when we thought we had discovered a 19-year-old Steve Carlton. There was hope in 2001 when we believed a young man could conquer his demons. There was hope in 2003 when we anguished as another young star went under the Tommy John knife. And, yes, there was hope in 2004, when we cheered as the prodigal son returned to rousing applause that was the sonic equivalent of a wool blanket on a cold November night. There was always an innocence to the hope; against all rational thought, we believed in Rick Ankiel because if you could believe in him, you could believe in anything. It made Cardinals fans proud of themselves; it was through our support, we believed, that Ankiel could frame his various comebacks. We would be patient; we would wait for him in a way we couldn't see other fanbases doing. It came from the very best part of us. We were so proud of ourselves. Whatever your thoughts on the jaw-dropping New York Daily News story this morning, that innocence is now replaced with ... something else.

It's worth noting -- if you'll allow us, as a commenter amusingly put it this morning, to get our Tony Snow on for a moment -- that this isn't a case of a guy taking a bunch of HGH, becoming a superhuman and pounding a ton of home runs. In 2004, Rick Ankiel was still a pitcher, recovering from Tommy John surgery and rehabbing in Memphis. (We remind, as Slate pointed out, HGH is hardly a "performance enhancer;" as they put it, steroids are like doing heroin, while HGH is more like smoking weed.) He was a guy who had gone through so much, so much, and was just trying to make it back to a semblance of what he once was, using a substance that was not banned by baseball at the time. As anyone who saw Ankiel at that time knows, the Ankiel of 2004 has no connection to the Ankiel of 2007; that's why his story has been so great, so transforming. Rick Ankiel is not hitting a ton of home runs now because he took HGH in 2004.

But yeah: Do we put that much detail into that paragraph if this is Alex Rodriguez receiving HGH, or Derrek Lee? Probably not.

Our fellow Cardinals fans will go through similar dissembling over the next few weeks -- because this isn't going away; Ankiel is going to be remembered for this much longer than Rodney Harrison ever will -- and, as Bernie Miklasz pointed out this morning, certain people will defend Ankiel no matter what, and others will think of him as a juicer until the end of time, and the truth will remain somewhere in the middle. (We certainly aren't going to stop wearing his jersey or anything.) And that, friends, is what this story is really about: It's not about HGH, it's not about the Cardinals, it's not even about Rick Ankiel. Fourteen hours ago, Rick Ankiel was what we loved about sports: His story existed in the black-white world we demand of our sports. His story was pure; it was impossible not to be happy for him.

But as much as we try to make it not so -- and boy, do we try -- the sports world is gray. Ankiel is not a monster or The Bad Guy now that we know he accepted HGH in 2004. But he's not the Guy In The White Hat Here To Save Our Games we all believed -- needed to believe-- he was either. His story is a human one. His story is gray. It always was.

That we now realize this, so vividly, is what we truly lost, at 8 a.m. this morning, picking up our newspaper as we stepped onto the subway, the world entirely different than it had been 10 minutes before, yet, of course, exactly the same.

Like everyone else, I am going to die. But the words – the words live on
for as long as there are readers to see them, audiences to hear them. It is
immortality by proxy. It is not really a bad deal, all things considered.
-J. Michael Straczynski

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