Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

I didn't see anything last year that would lead me to believe he's on the decline.
No doubt that contract will outpace him. Personally, I don't get the move by the Angels. Maybe they think Pujols is worth another half dozen games and that'll be enough to contend for the West and/or Wildcard. I wouldn't be surprised if he played a third of the season at DH this year.

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

Depends on how you look at it.

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

After losing Reyes to the Marlins...I feel your pain St. Louis.

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

Sorry to see Pujols go. He had an opportunity to create a legacy in St. Louis. But a quarter billion dollars is a quarter billion dollars. Plus, he might be able to play until he is 42 as a DH in the American League.

Don't blame management one bit for taking a pass on this deal. The real question is how do they plan to spend the $20+ million every year that they didn't plunk down on one player?

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If you guys haven't seen this yet it is pretty funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-zgYXjBb9Y

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Beltran ... two years ... $26 million. No replacement for Albert but he will fit nicely somewhere in the middle of the lineup. Looks like they will put him and his bad knees in right field. Good to see the organization part with a little of the Pujolis cash. Still a little left over to beef up the bullpen.

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Blowing the dust off this. Great game, Lohse pitched one of his best games! Frucal was all over the ball, Freese continues to be a threat along with the rest of the team. Best of all Cards Win 4-1!

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

Could be the best game I've seen Lohse pitch. During the last week or so, Freese was in a bit of a slump and there was talk about benching Frucal because his hitting was almost non-existant. Go figure?

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Home run derby in Milwaukee! Got a little hairy there in the 9th from some odd plays but I am really liking how aggressive the Cards are playing this year.

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

Was home yesterday and was able to watch the whole game.

McClellan looked sharp until that dropped third strike. Then ... snakebit ... the wheels came off and he was the McClellan I have seen too many times.

Garcia was good after he settled down. Nice to see him pitch like that on the road. With Gallardo's record against the Cards, I'm not sure why the Brewers started him for the home opener.

Furcal and Freese had another good day at the plate and I was impressed by how Jay can play center field. Glad that Beltran is contributing some offense, hope he stays healthy.

Always makes me nervous when the Cards score a bunch of runs. They seem to often come out flat the next day. Today ought to interesting anyway with Greinke and Wanno. With another right-hander on the mound, I Wonder if Matheny will give Greene any at-bats today?

Is it just me, or do the Cards seem to have way too many outfielders on the roster?

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

Greene does need some time, but when Descalso is doing so well what is to be done?

IIRC we are about 2 deep in the infield and about 2 1/2 deep in the outfield with a couple of the backups being listed more than once. And yes it did seem like a repeat of Sep 1st 2011 all over again, works for me though.

The boys are doing well but Matheny has yet to be tested which is where I am most anxious about. Pujols was one think but losing a seasoned manager is entirely different. I'm not sure we would have won last year if Tony was not at the helm.

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And Furcal ... After all the talk of being the everyday second baseman, Greene is starting to look like the odd man out ... again.


Was never a big LaRussa fan. But Tony had nerves of steel and a real talent for irritating / distracting the other team. He looked like a genius last fall. As for Matheny, I'm sure there will be a learning curve but, for now, I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. I'm really more interested in how the rotation and bullpen will perform for Lilliquist ... if Loshe's and Garcia's outings are any indication, I'm encouraged.

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Anxious to see Wainwright pitch today. Not worried that he is going to be healthy but I do want to see him get a W on the first day back.


Edit: Just saw the lineup on FB- No Greene.

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Can't win them all. Damn MLB TV had a blackout for Saturday afternoon but I got to listen. The Brewers had awesome pitching and the Cards just could not get bats on the ball. I don't think Wainwright pitched to bad for being out for a year, looking forward to tomorrow!

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

Wanno did okay, 6 SO but not as sharp as expect later in the season. Greinke was as tough as usual at home. Salas was ... well ... Salas.

Cards bats ... flat. Descalso now batting .200 ... left-hander tomorrow ... time for Greene? And, what the heck is going on with Holliday?

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I really think Holliday chokes under pressure, call it opening day jitters if you will. When I watch him bat he is very emotional even *****y at times when the ball does not go his way and is in for a strike. But he can slam the ball over the wall and does ok in the outfield.

Descalso did just as well as the rest of them today. Did you see the play he had today? I only heard it but sounded like he made an excellent save and got the out. Greene does need his day, I just hope there is not something more going on with him. We will see tomorrow.

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Yep, I saw it. Difficult stop and a nice throw in a key situation.

I've also wondered if there is something else going on with Greene. Who knows? Maybe Matheny is having his own Tony moment with him?

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Man! I missed most of the game, just getting home and it's the 8th. Flipping MLBTV is not working but I do have the audio. Looks like Greene got the start and the boys are hitting good even Holliday!

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I'm looking forward to tomorrow night. I wonder how many times FS Ohio will show the 2010 brawl between Cincy and STL...

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

Who knows, more than once I'm sure:D Do me a favor, have your boys keep the Cuban Missile on the bench:r

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

The story of this game was Lynn. The boy is tough as nails. Gives up a HR. How does he react? Strikes out the next 4 batters.

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

Awesome! This is a game I'm going to watch the re run of! Looks like Lynn had 8 SO's? How did Greene do on the field?

Also, correct me if I'm wrong but the Cards have 13+ hits 3 out of the last 4 games? Pretty good if you ask me:tu

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

Lynn was impressive tough. Had to look to be sure, but Greene had NO chances today. He looked okay standing out there though. Btw Greene's only hit was off a right-hander.

Furcal and Beltran keep cranking them out. Hoped to see Matt Carpenter hit one of his Spring Training drives into the gap but he was 0-for whatever. Even little Shane Robinson hit a 3-run HR.

Nice start all the way around. The real pitching test will be Westbrook in Cinncy.

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I wish he was in the rotation, but he's off to a good start in the pen.

I predict a Cardinal win tomorrow, since they're going up against Homer Bailey.

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You called it, after the 1st inning he should really consider changing his name to Bob or something.

It was a pretty sloppy game. Westbrook took a loooong time to settle down and the Ump did not help either sides pitching get in the zone. Frucal had a great play to erase the error he had. Sometimes I don't know how that guy does it. Tough luck on Phillips, hope for the Reds sake he is not out very long, say 2 more games:D

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I set up the computer to watch the game and fell asleep right before the first pitch. Looked like I picked a good one to miss.:D

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Well, it took till game 2 but they showed the brawl.

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Kung-fu Cueto :rolleyes:

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:r

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

Great pitching tonight. Mott was a beast in the later innings! The bats are still hitting well but they seem to be toning down a bit, which is still more than enough. Probably going to miss the game tomorrow but hoping for a SWEEP!

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

Good game tonight. Great pitching on both sides.

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It was Andy. The ump was much more consistent than last night. I just remembered that Cueto is on the mound tomorrow and I may have spoke to soon:D

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I would like to get one win in this series. Leake was decent, but Cueto should be lights out.

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

Pitching ... Pitching ... Pitching. Can't win them all but not worried about the bats if the rotation and bullpen continue at this level. Boggs has been impressive and consistent ... not used to both at the same time from him ... what's up with that?

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

I'll take it. I use the pitch FX on MLB TV and according to that he was right on the corners or end of the strike zone the entire time. What is up with the offense just taking strikes and not swinging? I was thinking they were waiting for a good pitch but they were struck out quite a few times looking. I hope this does not swing over to swinging at bad pitches to compensate.

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

I've noticed an effort up and down the lineup to get as deep as possible in the pitch count with the starters. I've also seen more than average disagreement with where a few umps are calling strikes.

Discipline at the plate has really paid off for the Cards. That's easy when you're hot. I just hope they can resist the urge to press when those little slumps come along.

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

Working the count has worked for the Cards this year. You can see the advantage over the Reds' offense the last few days b/c they can't seem to work the count. Hacking at the first two to three pitches doesn't seem to be getting results.

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

Komatsu looks very promising. He has a veteran approach at the plate. Do you guys think he'll still be on the roster when Carp and Wainright come back?

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

Not sure, he had some great at bats. Missed the 14 pitch one but saw him hit Chapman which was nice. Wainright is back, Carp is the one out.

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

thanks for the win, Matheny. He pretty much gave that one away by giving Berkman and Freese the day off. A win given to Cincinnati on a silver platter and the Reds still struggled to pull one out.

Good series guys.

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

Yeah.. Good game though from what I saw. Hope Berkman heals up before the opener in St. Louis:tu

I did notice no one knows what to make of Chapman, the ump looked like he was having a hard time keeping up with the strike zone with him. And the Cards just looked silly trying to hit him as well.

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

No offense here, but I think you might have been listening to the Cards broadcast team a bit heavily here. Carpenter got a called strike three that was outside of the zone, but other than that, the zone wasn't that much wider than it has been all day. The plate umpire had a wide strikezone today all around, not just with Chapman. The pitch that the Cards dugout was up in arms about really was right down the middle.
The Cards announcers made me sick when they said that the umpires were caught up in Chapmania and were giving him calls b/c they were fans of his. The Reds announcers are all homers too, but that was a bit overboard.

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

Berkman was up in arms not the entire dugout. Why would you listen to the Cards broadcast? I missed that part of the game so I can't say one way or the other. Be happy you all got a win:tu

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No Reds tv today, so I switched between the Cards tv broadcast and the Cincy radio broadcast. Plus, it's always good to hear what the other team's people have to say every now and again. If I listened solely to the Reds commentary, I'd be drinking the Kool-aid and have already bought my non-existent Reds WS tickets.:D

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

That is a good idea as it's hard to find an honest voice if you are getting owned by a pitcher like today:D I also see what you mean about all the Cards heavy hitters sitting the bench. Berkman was out but Mathney said he would have pulled him anyways. The Cards have to stay healthy just like any other team but they are not made of sugar and I'm not sure how it will sit with them if it continues.

Is there a time line on Phillips returning?

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

Berkman has a sore calf and Freese was due a day off. Don't know the story on Beltran ... only heard of couple of outs on the radio. Nevertheless, Molina was the only starter without a hit ... says something about the bench.

From looking at the box score ... hate to sound like a broken record ... the game today looked like it was about pitching. Garcia was awful and Cueto's line didn't look like Cy Young either. Overall, with the good performance from the Reds bullpen, we're lucky the game wasn't a lot more lopsided. Even the ending might have been different if Matheny would have picked someone other than Salas ... that guy hasn't impressed me in a long time.

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I haven't heard. He's not on the DL, so I imagine Thursday off (maybe Friday) and we'll see him back.

Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

Well, this is awkward.

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Re: St Louis Cardinals Fans Sound Off!
 

As they used to say at NASA ... "Houston, we have a problem."