Dear Dave, It's Just Business

When Chris Duncan was traded on July 22^nd this year for Julio Lugo, I didn’t think much of it. It was definitely a “my trash for your garbage” type trade with the Boston Red Sox. Duncan was quickly becoming a problem amongst fans and was bringing down team morale with each start while the Red Sox were simply looking to dump Lugo after signing him to an outrageous contract for a player clearly on the down side of his career. It was a good move for each team. Boston could forget about Lugo and Duncan could get out of the scrutiny he received for being the pitching coach’s son.

I expected Dave Duncan to be a little angry after Chris was traded. How often do you get a chance to be on the same Major League team as your son? How often do you get to work with someone that close to you on a level like that? In 2006 and 2007 it was fun to see. But by the time 2009 arrived, the novelty of that act had worn off with fans.

I did not expect a “cleaning house” trade like this to create such a stir. Duncan is still angry, to the point that he no longer talks to the media and is still threatening to not return next year. While I applaud Duncan for being protective of his son, he comes off as ignorant and blind in this situation.

For those who did not see the story printed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch by Joe Strauss, you can find a link to it here. After reading the article, I have found several problems with Dave Duncan’s thinking and would like to propose a few arguments in the hopes of getting him to stay.

NOTE: Anything written in italics is the property of the Post-Dispatch and is in no way the property of fromoutofrightfield.blogspot.com.

“He is angry—publicly so at a St. Louis media he believes stoked last month’s trade of his outfielder son Chris to the Boston Red Sox.”

The media’s job is to tell the general public what the situation is. In the case of the Chris Duncan trade, the media simply stated Duncan’s numbers for the year (which by this point don’t need to be repeated) and openly stated that this was probably best for both Chris and the Cardinals. Only a few media personalities were malicious, and those guys are usually the ones who don’t like anybody.

Quote Tony LaRussa: “I know when it comes down to making a decision, Dave has tremendous personal and professional interest invested in the guys here and the guys here next year. He values them deeply.”

If this is the case then Dave Duncan should have no problem signing a new contract. Both Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright are vying for the 2009 N.L. Cy Young Award and Joel Pineiro is the best groundball pitcher in the game (not to mention the most efficient). The closing situation is close to being filled for the next two years with Ryan Franklin close to signing a new two year contract extension. Kyle Lohse is locked up for three more years and there’s a chance that John Smoltz could be back next year. All of these guys have combined to create one of, if not the best pitching staffs in the Majors this year. This is Duncan’s baby, why would he want to walk away from something that he has taken so much time to build up?

“Chris was not shown respect,” Duncan said. “The stuff he dealt with, the stuff he heard and was subjected to…I don’t know of any player in this town who went through what he experienced in the time I’ve been here.”

In a way, I agree with Duncan on this. The treatment of his son was not fair; it very rarely is when you are the coach’s son. But Chris was definitely not the first person to deal with scrutiny from the fans and the media and was certainly not the first person to deal with it while Duncan has been here. It wasn’t that long ago that Jason Isringhausen dealt with this. Last year, Isringhausen had a strong April followed by a horrible May which saw him blow six save opportunities in a row until he was finally pulled from the closer’s role. Before that, fans would boo him constantly along with the media questioning his health. Sounds awfully familiar to what happened to Chris doesn’t it? Izzy was lucky as LaRussa pulled him out of the game before it was too late. Chris had been hurt for two years but was still playing every day, thus hurting his credentials as a Major Leaguer.

Quote LaRussa: “For two years he played hurt when he probably shouldn’t have played. To me, he’s a hero for how he hung in there; but he’s treated like he’s responsible for anything that went wrong.”

I seem to recall a third baseman that played here recently that was scrutinized by LaRussa for playing through pain and not telling anyone about it. Remember Scott Rolen? In 2005, Rolen was tackled by first baseman Hee-Seop Choi while trying to run out a groundball. Rolen hurt his shoulder and required surgery and he was never quite the same player. In the 2006 playoffs, Rolen’s shoulder began causing him great pain but he still continued to play through it. Instead of confronting Rolen about his pain, LaRussa simply took him out of the starting lineup and chastised Rolen for hurting the team by playing through pain. Rolen eventually asked for a trade at the end of the 2007 season. What’s different about Rolen’s situation and Duncan’s? Nothing. Both guys were clearly hurt and were struggling. While I admire any athlete that tries to play through pain and earn their large paycheck, if you are hurt to the point that you can’t perform you should say something. The team is better off and will most likely praise you for having the guts to admit that you’re not 100%. (NOTE: This is not the case for J.D. Drew. Just because you cut your fingernail too short doesn’t mean you can’t play.)

In response to Chris Duncan refusing to see a surgeon after a trip to Houston: “At some point the club should protect those who don’t protect themselves. Chris didn’t protect himself. And no one else protected him either.”

Chris is a grown man and should not have to be told what to do. If anything, this was the perfect time for Dave Duncan to be a dad and advise Chris to go see the surgeon. Instead of pointing fingers at the Cardinal organization, shouldn’t Duncan be looking at himself in this case too? If anything, his words of advice would mean more to Chris than any of his teammates or even LaRussa, especially when Chris was struggling the way he was.

“So somebody wanted to get him out of the organization, and they’ve accomplished what they wanted to accomplish.”

This could not be further from the truth. Reports were that Chris Duncan was one of the most liked guys in the clubhouse as well as in the front office. In my personal experiences at batting practice, whenever I called out his name, Chris would at the very least turn around quickly, smile and wave. He was cordial and never appeared to dog it out on the playing field. These are hardly credentials for someone to have a vendetta against him. The move was purely in the best interest of the team and of Chris. He needed a fresh start and the Cardinals needed some fresh air. Do you need more proof that this was the right move for the Cardinals? The team is 26-9 since the trade, as opposed to just five games over .500 with Chris in the lineup.

Dave Duncan is a great father and I find it honorable that he stands up for his son. Any man willing to do that is worthy of praise and I hope someday I am able to stand up for a son of my own. But in this case, Duncan needs to settle down, breathe and look at the facts. Chris was struggling and needed a change of scenery, so that is what he got. The Cardinals needed an extra bat to protect Pujols, so they made room in left field to acquire Matt Holliday.

In baseball, players are traded, demoted, promoted and moved every day. When it happens, it’s nothing personal. It’s just business.

Friday Wrap-Up

As the weekend draws near and the week that was comes to a close, we take a look back at the three things we learned in St. Louis and three things to look for in the coming days ahead.

WHAT WE LEARNED

1. ADAM WAINWRIGHT IS THE REAL DEAL

When Wainwright faced off against Wandy Rodriguez of the Houston Astros on Tuesday, I honestly expected them to lose. Rodriguez is a great up and coming pitcher and the Cardinal offense has been sluggish. The combination of those two things usually spells defeats for St. Louis, no matter who is on the mound. But the one run the Cards scored on an Albert Pujols double in the first inning proved to be enough for Wainwright, who pitched around trouble in the first and sparked the team to victory by striking out Jason Michaels with the tying run at third in the top of the 8th. He followed this by doing his best Chris Carpenter impression. By pitching eight innings or shutout ball, Wainwright passed Bob Gibson for second on the list of most consecutive starts of at least six innings pitched while giving up two runs or less. It was Wainwright’s 12th consecutive start to meet these standards. Who’s in first? John Tudor with 15 consecutive. That is some great company to be keeping.

2. THE OFFENSE STILL HAS SOME ISSUES

At the beginning of the week I wrote that the Cardinals needed to start scoring at home. While they did take two of three from the Astros, they did it with pitching and not offense. The Cards mustered a total of seven runs in three games against Houston, which is hardly pouring it on. Granted they did face Wandy Rodriguez, Roy Oswalt and Brian Moehler (who isn’t that great but for some reason makes the Cardinals look like they were all just called up from Triple A Memphis), but I’m still concerned as they have been slowly getting more and more sluggish all month. So far in August, the Cardinals have scored a total of 102 runs, which is slightly better than how they did in the month of May when they only scored 99. This fact has been overshadowed by tremendous pitching as the Cards have only given up 72 runs total. Over the last week, St. Louis is batting .256 as a team with five home runs and 19 RBIs. While these stats are alarming, there is some good news. The Washington Nationals are in town this weekend, which will be a good opportunity for everybody to get hot again.

3. STEVE SPAGNUOLO IS CHANGING RAMS CULTURE

I know it’s only preseason still, but I am getting legitimately excited about Rams football. After a 24-21 victory against the Bengals last night, the Rams defense looks like a completely different unit than it did last year. On the Bengals first play, James Butler recorded a sack and James Laurinaitis recovered a fumbled snap to place the Rams at Cincinnati’s 20 yard line, which five plays later resulted in a Rams touchdown. The Rams defense created four turnovers last night (including a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown by James Butler) while the offense played perfectly as far as holding on to the ball is concerned. Through three preseason games, the Rams are plus nine in turnovers. This team is still a ways away from being a true competitor, but Spagnuolo has these guys competing and going in the right direction (which is towards the opponent’s endzone).



WHAT TO LOOK FOR

1. SMOLTZ’S FIRST HOME START AS A CARDINAL

After a great Cardinal debut in San Diego last Sunday, John Smoltz will make his first Cardinal appearance at Busch Stadium tonight against the Washington Nationals. While another outing like the one he had against the Padres would be nice, everyone would settle for anything better than what Kyle Lohse has produced since April. Smoltz’s stats support Cardinal fan hopes that he should be able to deliver. At Busch Stadium II, Smoltz appeared in 20 games going 14-3 with 94 strikeouts while recording a 4.88 ERA. Smoltz has only had one start in Busch III, during which he went eight innings, striking out two and only allowing two runs on his way to earning the victory.

2. ALBERT PUJOLS’ 100TH RUN SCORED ON THE SEASON

Pujols scored his 99th run of the season against the Astros on Thursday. If, and when Albert scores his 100th run, it will be the eighth time in his nine year career that he will score 100 runs. The one year he missed the mark? 2007 when Albert scored 99.

3. THE BRAD PENNY AUCTION

Brad Penny was released by the Boston Red Sox this week to create room on the roster for Billy Wagner. While Penny started out with Boston okay, his second half has been forgettable. In his last five starts, Penny was 0-4 with an ERA of 9.11. While these numbers aren’t very attractive, Penny does have upside. Before going to Boston, Penny was a career National Leaguer spending time with the Marlins, where he won a World Series (2003), and time with the Dodgers, where in 2006 he was named the starting pitcher for the National League in the All-Star Game and made the All-Star Team again the very next year. For Penny’s career he is 101-83 with an ERA of 4.18. Just an idea, but why not take a chance with Penny? The Cardinals need a 5th starter and Penny has shown he can succeed in the National League. Plus, you have already found plenty of gold within Boston’s trash, why not take another chance? Adding Penny would only confirm the Cardinals have the best rotation in all of baseball. Just throwing that out there.

That’s it for the week. See all of you back on Monday.


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Baseball: A Game of Words

Last Tuesday, Dave Duncan and Tony LaRussa were separated for a ball game for the first time in the legendary duo’s career. Duncan took a leave of absence sighting “personal reasons” for his decision to leave the ball club, yet another first for Duncan.

Just one day later Duncan rejoined the ball club. Upon his arrival he simply told the media that he is back and that he is not going to comment on the reasons he left the Cardinals for a night. He continually repeated himself, just stating that he was back and that was the end of the story, almost as though his absence on Monday night had never even happened.

While Duncan is allowed to keep his silence for personal reasons, he is a public figure and does have the responsibility of talking to the media because that is what public figures do. This normally wouldn’t be that big of a deal if it weren’t for the timing of Duncan’s personal leave. Last week, his son, Chris Duncan, was released from the Red Sox organization after hitting .188 for Triple A Pawtucket. It is speculated that Dave Duncan’s leave was to attend to his son for mental support, though this is all just hearsay.

His silence may also be from the way Duncan believes his son was treated in the media and this is a chance for Duncan to “get back” at St. Louis outlets, which have never been known for being overly tough on players.

Of course, this is all just speculation. But the timing of Duncan’s silence is rather unusual. He will talk eventually. He’s going to have to.

This is just one example of the relationship between sports figures and the media. Players and coaches put up a stone wall and it’s up to the reporters to break down the façade brick by brick until the person either says something stupid or just gives up and starts talking.

However, staying silent is not the best way to do this. What is? Why, sports clichés of course. The simple phrases and mumbo jumbo that comes out of a player or a coach’s mouth to describe how a game went or how a player has struggled or been on fire are meant to make you sound like you’re saying something without saying anything at all. Tony LaRussa has become a master at this.


You can’t read or listen to a sports interview without hearing at least one cliché. But the trick is learning the subtext of what a player is actually saying when he tells a reporter these one-liners. For your education, I present several well known baseball phrases along with their actual meaning in the game of baseball, especially Cardinal baseball.


CLICHÉ: It’s a beautiful day for baseball.

MEANING: It’s sunny, but the temperature is 98 degrees with a humidity level of 200%. But the field looks terrific!



CLICHÉ: He’s got the batters eating out of his hand.

MEANING: The Cardinals are facing an unproven rookie who is most likely left-handed.



CLICHÉ: We’re going to play a hard nine.

MEANING: The Cardinals were down 2-0 in the bottom of the ninth, but somebody got hit with a pitch and Colby Rasmus walked so Albert Pujols hit a walk-off home run. Total hits on the night? One.



CLICHÉ: He really grinds out at-bats.

MEANING: He fouls off a lot of pitches and forces a full count before striking out. This most likely means Skip Schumaker.





CLICHÉ: He’s got good mechanics.

MEANING: He sucks.



CLICHÉ: He’s a gritty player.

MEANING: He sucks but he’s most likely short and tries really hard.






CLICHÉ: We got a real pitcher’s duel going on right now.

MEANING: This game is really, really boring.






CLICHÉ: This game is a real slugfest.

MEANING: Todd Wellemeyer is on the mound.





CLICHÉ: He’s trying to pitch out of a jam.

MEANING: Jason Isringhausen is trying to close out a game.





CLICHÉ: They are one strike away.

MEANING: Brad Lidge is on the mound about to give up a heartbreaking home run to Albert Pujols in the 2005 playoffs.




CLICHÉ: That’s a home run in any other ballpark.

MEANING: Somebody just flied out to the centerfield wall at Minute Maid Park over 420 feet away.





CLICHÉ: We’re happy to make it out of here with a victory.

MEANING: The bullpen made a laugher into a 1-run game.




CLICHÉ: It was a total team effort.

MEANING: Chris Carpenter pitched a shutout with someone other than Pujols or Holliday hitting a home run.



CLICHÉ: We’re going to savor this victory.

MEANING: I’m stopping by Taco Bell on the way home to get some nachos and then I’m going to bed because we play the same team at noon again tomorrow.


CLICHÉ: They caught us on an off-night.

MEANING: Neither Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright nor Joel Pineiro were on the mound tonight.


These are just a few. Feel free to add your favorites and say what they mean.

FORF'S 2010 NHL Predictions

Hey puckheads, it’s nearly close to being almost that time, and I’m sure somewhere in the world a pond is starting to freeze. If you’ve been following the fragments of hockey coverage going on in the major media outlets, you’ve seen the predictions for the upcoming NHL season. Well, it’s my turn, and since I’ve never been wrong with my predictions for FORF, these predictions should be no different.

First we’ll get the Eastern conference playoff contenders out of the way.

1. Pittsburgh Penguins: In America you’re innocent until proven guilty, in hockey you’re the Champs until someone dethrones you. Last year’s champs like a fine wine will only get better with age.

Washington Capitals: A strong playoff run last season leaves Alexander Ovechkin and Co hungry for a shot at dethroning Sid.

3. Boston Bruins: A team that may have been a surprise last year won’t be turning any heads this year, if only because all eyes will be on them from the start. Look for Tim Thomas to either build on his Vezina Trophy year or fall into obscurity, either way the Bruins who are deep in goaltending should have a strong year.

4. Philadelphia Flyers: Jeff Carter looks to build on his breakout season, and adding Chris Pronger to the mix sure doesn’t hurt them…Goaltending remains an issue for the Flyers, but they should stay a playoff team if all doesn’t go well for them.

5 . Ottawa Senators: Goaltending may be an issue, and the distractions Dany Heatley may cause could derail this club, but on paper this already was a high powered offense before the Sens picked up Alex Kovalev.

6. Montreal Canadians: A top line of Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta, and Michael Cammalleri would make any defense wet themselves, but is this team a one line show? Look for Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn to have breakout years if this team is going to go anywhere. Finally this will be the year that Carey Price nuts up and becomes one of the elite backstoppers in the NHL.

7. New Jersey Devils: There has been a changing of the guard in East Rutherford as this team no longer needs Marty Brodeur to steal games for them. Zach Parise and Travis Zajac provide more firepower, and old dogs Patrick Elias and Brendan Shanahan don’t exactly need to learn new tricks to be successful in this league.

8. Tampa Bay Lightning: So the Barry Melrose experiment failed early, and may have left a bad taste in everyone’s mouths. And sure Steven Stamkos wasn’t the second coming of Pat Kane in his first year. But when you throw Vincent Lecavalier, Marty St. Louis, an older and wiser Steven Stamkos, and a Ryan Malone out there, it can’t be all that bad can it? And word on the street is this Victor Hedman kid is for real. He won’t be winning Norris Trophies just yet, but the Bolts are very happy that he fell to the number 2 overall pick. Look for Antero Nittymaki to grab the starting reigns early in camp.

Eastern Conference Surprises:

Should my predictions be incorrect, I expect to replace one of these teams with the Carolina Hurricanes. Finally I’ll be on record when the Washington Capitals do reach their first Cup Final in the Alex Ovechkin era.

Now for the more interesting and more important Western Conference.

1. Calgary Flames: A Blueline with Dion Phaneuf and now Jay Bouwmeester is just scary, almost as scary as a top line of Jarome Iginla, Rene Bourque (who set a career high point total in only 58 games), and Ollie Jokinen.

2. San Jose Sharks: Sure they’ll win the division, two strong top defensive pairings and two outrageously skilled top forward lines will guarantee that. Oh and that Evgeni Nabokov isn’t too shabby either. The big question for the Sharks will be, can they finally go deep into the playoffs?

3. St. Louis Blues: Yes, you read this right, and yes the ranks are in order. Finally yes this does mean the Blues will win the Central Division. A perfect storm of goaltending, young guys hitting their stride and vets sinking into their new roles, combined with turmoil in the rest of the division doesn’t come around that often; Andy Murray won’t let this opportunity go to waste.

4. Detroit Red Wings: I struggled with putting the Dead Wings in the home ice advantage area, (you’ll see why), but when in doubt the Red Wings have shown that they deserve the benefit of that doubt. They sure aren’t getting any younger though and I don’t expect much of a playoff run for them.

5. Anaheim Ducks: Bobby Ryan’s only going to get better, Corey Perry showed last year why he was a first round pick in 2003, and Ryan Getzlaf may contend for the Art Ross and Hart Trophies in 2010. Great goaltending, solid D and good depth in the second and third lines make this an easy regular season for the formerly Mighty Ducks.

6. Columbus Blue Jackets: I really wanted to put them in the fourth spot, but they’re going to have to prove to me this season that they belong there. Steve Mason will one day be the best keeper in the league, but will it be next year? Rick Nash challenges Alex the Great for the Richard Trophy. Both are good news for Jackets fans.

7. Vancouver Canucks: They were a good team with a great goalie last year…not much will change, except they won’t challenge Calgary much for the Northwest Division lead.

8. Chicago Blackhawks: They won’t start the season well with all their distractions on and off the ice, but they’re just too good of a team to not make the playoffs. A late surge with the return of Marian Hossa will put them over the Minnesota Wild for the 8^th spot late in the season.

Western Conference Surprises.

Well one of them I’m staking my reputation on, the Blues’ Central Division Championship, the other I’m not counting on just yet; the Calgary Flames will give Canada it’s first Stanley Cup Parade since 1993.

8/26/09 Sports Munchies

In today's episode:

1. We do the usual Cardinals round-up for the week.

2. We discuss Chase Daniel's chances of making the Washington Redskins' Roster as the 3rd string quarterback and compare his plight to the plot of the Lion King.

3. We talk about what John Smoltz really means to the Cardinals.

SPECIAL GUEST: Future FORF college basketball analyst Ryan stops by to talk some baseball and talks about being the lone Liberal on the show.

Want Munchies on the go? DOWNLOAD OUR PODCAST! Just copy the link below into your address window and left click the audio file listed at 48MB to download.

http://www.archive.org/details/Munchies1.7

TEAM OF DESTINY?

As August begins to turn into September, the race towards October starts to pick up speed as the six month marathon suddenly becomes a 30 game sprint. These last few games can either make or break a team’s chances of punching their tickets for a trip to the eight team tournament that is played every October (since 1995).

The last couple years have not been too kind to the Cardinals come September as late season collapses have done in any hopes of postseason baseball in St. Louis. In 2007, the Cards were attempting to make a playoff push despite the fact that Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen were in severe decline and Albert Pujols was having the worst year of his career (I use the term “worst” very loosely). However, the Cards managed to be seven games out of the Wild Card race with a little over a month to go. The team would go on a tear for a week and actually get to a season high one game over .500 and be only 3.5 games out of the Wild Card lead. But that was short lived as the team went on to lose nine games in a row.

The 2008 version was slightly better. At this time last year, the Cards stood at 73-59 and were in the midst of playing their best baseball all season. They were only 3.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the Wild Card lead. However, fortunes turned quickly as just a week later, the Cards dropped to 74-63. Things only got worse from there as they played a game under .500 the rest of the way to finish four games out of the Wild Card.

The Cardinals currently lead the Central Division by 8 games and with the way the Cubs are playing, postseason play could almost be a certainty. The Cardinals also have history on their side as they have never blown a lead this large with so few games left in the season. When you have a large lead, you don’t have to play great; you just have to play well enough to survive.

Take the 2006 World Champion version of this Cardinal squad. On August 25, 2006, the Cards lead the Central Division by just one game with a record of 67-60. Ten days later, they had turned that into a 6 game lead and were eleven games over .500. We all remember what happened with that team. They struggled almost the rest of the month, at one point losing seven games in a row but held on just long enough to win the division. If that team can hold on long enough to make the playoffs, I am confident that the 2009 version, which is much more talented in all facets of the game, will be able to hold off a struggling and quite injured Chicago Cubs ball club.



Several things would have to go wrong for this team to not be playing in October. But there have been so many things that have gone wrong already this year, and yet, the team has been in first place the majority of the season (91 game days) and have been no further back than three games out of the lead. Chris Carpenter was out for over a month and still the team fought through it. Adam Wainwright struggled with control problems in his first few starts but still, the team fought through it. Todd Wellemeyer forgot how to throw a baseball, and the team survived long enough for him to wind up in the bullpen and then the DL. Kyle Lohse has been hurt several times in freak accidents and hasn’t been the same pitcher, but the team has prevailed. The offense didn’t wake up until late July and the team prevailed. This team even survived having to put out a lineup that had both Chris Duncan and a poorly hitting Rick Ankiel in it. If surviving that dreaded combination isn’t a sign that this team is destined to make the playoffs, than I don’t know what is.

Even having to survive all of those ordeals, there were several things that did go right for this team. Things that will have to continue to go right for this team to go deep into the playoffs.

1. CHRIS CARPENTER AND ADAM WAINWRIGHT

The Cardinals two best pitchers both have 14 wins, which is good enough to be tied for second for the Major League lead. Both have an ERA well under 3.00. The Cardinals are 6-0 in Carpenter’s last six starts, with Carpenter receiving the winning decision in five of them. Both Carpenter and Wainwright must continue to anchor this team’s rotation for the club to be successful in the coming month as the offense still shows signs of sluggishness (look at previous road trip for example).

2. JOEL PINEIRO


Pineiro picked the perfect time to establish his deadly sinker which has allowed him to accumulate the most groundouts in the Majors (282). Pineiro hasn’t lost since June 28 and is in the midst of having his best season since 2003 with the Seattle Mariners when he went 16-11 with a 3.78 ERA. If Pineiro continues to have a career year, there is no question that this team will be playing in October.



3. CARDINAL OFFENSE


The acquisition of Matt Holliday has definitely panned out the way the Cardinals need it to….so far. In 28 games with St. Louis, Holliday has hit .398 and driven in 27 RBIs as well as belting six homers. With Holliday hitting the way he has, not to mention Ryan Ludwick taking better and better swings at the plate, the offense has definitely come to life in the last month or so. However, the team must score more runs at home to help out their pitchers. In 60 home games, the Cardinals have scored 253 runs, good enough for an average of 4.21 runs per game, as opposed to 66 games on the road and scoring 312 runs to average 4.72 runs a game. This team is making a run at having home field advantage throughout the National League side of the playoffs, which means scoring at home is that much more important. If this team can continue to average nearly five funs a game on the road and start scoring more at home, you are looking at a trip to the World Series.

4. ALBERT PUJOLS














This might seem redundant since we just discussed the importance of the Cardinal offense, but Pujols is a side of the Cardinal attack all by himself. He has noticeably cooled off since the All-Star Break, but that was to be expected. His presence in the lineup is help enough for the Cardinals. With Pujols batting in the three hole, teams start having to second guess themselves frequently, especially since Holliday and Ludwick are backing him up. Albert must continue to stay healthy and play consistently for the offense to run on all cylinders. If not, the Cards could be in trouble.



5. JOHN SMOLTZ


With Kyle Lohse landing on the DL again, Smoltz’s presence becomes that much more important. After one start, it appears that Carpenter’s verdict that Smoltz had been tipping pitches was correct as Smoltz pitched five shut out innings against the Padres while striking out nine (seven in a row at one point). Smoltz will most likely be making more starts than previously expected, and if Lohse isn’t able to pitch at an appropriate level, Smoltz may be thrown into the postseason rotation. Even if Smoltz does end up in the bullpen, which is pretty likely, he will be able to pitch the 7th or 8th inning which is becoming more and more problematic as Jason Motte struggles and Kyle McClellan begins to tire.

If all these things go correctly, the Cards will waltz into October. If not, well, you can look on the bright side, the Cardinals aren’t the New York Mets.

BONUS BLOG!

If appears that the conspiracy against Chris Duncan is a nationwide thing. Less than a month after being traded, Duncan was released by the Red Sox before he even made a single plate appearance for Boston. In 92 at-bats for the Pawtucket Red Sox (Boston’s Triple A Affiliate), Duncan hit .188 with 2 homers. Meanwhile, Julio Lugo continues to bat over .300 for St. Louis.



MORE BONUS BLOG!
We aren’t all baseball and hockey here at fromoutofrightfield.blogspot.com, we are also avid football fans, especially college football. Posted below is a link to a rant about the Missouri Tigers and the call from other Big XII schools that the Tiger’s should be “humbled” this year. Hope you all enjoy.

A TIGER RANT!

http://www.tigerboard.com/boards/missouri-tigers.php?message=6815284

Sports Munchies 8-19-09

In this episode we discuss

1. The St. Louis Cardinals Sign John Smoltz

2. The St. Louis Rams start Camp

3. Scott Boras is the devil, and the return of the Chris Duncan Watch

Wainwright + Carpenter = Keys to Success

With the Cardinals beginning to pull away in the Central Division race, the front office is frantically looking to plug the team’s final two holes, a right handed reliever and a legitimate 5th starter for the rotation. Luckily, Todd Wellemeyer went onto the disabled list recently, making it impossible for Tony LaRussa to even attempt putting him back into the rotation….for now. I hope Wellemeyer finds his stuff again, I really do. But this has just been an off year for him and it’s time to shut him down and let him forget about baseball for a little while until he gets his head on straight.

For once I will not be writing about the problems that the Cardinals have, but rather what has been going right. There have been two people all year that the team and its fans have been able to count on all year to show up. Two guys that have stepped up to be imperative leaders on this squad.

No. It’s not Albert Pujols or new found Cardinal Matt Holliday.

I’m speaking of Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter.



This one, two punch in the Cards’ rotation has been amazing. Wainwright is currently tied for the National League lead in wins with 13, while Carpenter is in second with 12. Carpenter currently has the second best ERA in the Majors with a mark of 2.27. Wainwright is not too far behind with a 2.73 ERA. Wainwright is fourth in the Majors with 165 innings pitched this season, while Carpenter has been the most efficient pitcher, averaging 13.56 pitches per inning which just barely edges out teammate Joel Pineiro (13.69).

Pitching has been key this year, especially since the offense did not wake up until the trade acquisition of Matt Holliday. Carpenter and Wainwright both stepped up to the challenge, keeping their team in the game when their team could barely muster three or four runs. It will not surprise me if both Carpenter and Wainwright finish one and two in the National League Cy Young Award Vote.

The pitching one, two punch is not an uncommon thing amongst postseason contenders. In fact, a pitching duo has historically led to a championship. So get out your Batman and Robin costumes, here are the greatest postseason pitching duos of the last fifteen years.

4. DAVID CONE, DAVID WELLS (New York Yankees)


YEAR: 1998


We start with, quite possibly the best team to ever play Major League Baseball. The 1998 Yankees won 114 regular season games, 125 including the playoffs. You could argue that if your offense is as prolific as the Yankees’ was in ’98, you don’t need a 1, 2 pitching punch. Not necessarily the case. The 2001 Mariners won 116 games in the regular season but didn’t make it to the World Series.

In the 1998 season, David Cone recorded a 20-7 record while Wells went 18-4. Wells pitched a perfect game on May 18, 1998, an accomplishment that Cone would repeat a year later. Wells pitched in Game 1 of the World Series against the San Diego Padres and lead the Yankees to a 9-6 victory. Cone took the mound in Game 3 and while he didn’t receive a decision, he did hold the Padres to three runs through seven innings, giving the Yankees time to amount a comeback to win the game and take a commanding 3-0 lead in the series.

3. GREG MADDUX, TOM GLAVINE (Atlanta Braves)


YEAR: 1995

The first thing that should come to mind when thinking about the Braves during the 1990s should be their incredible pitching staff. Or Bobby’s Cox’s ever expanding gut. Either one is acceptable.

The Braves were stacked in 1995 with pitching. With Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine (both 300 game winners) leading the charge, it’s no wonder why they won it all in 1995. Maddux pitched Game 1 and Game 5, winning the first game. He threw a complete game in Game 1, giving up two unearned runs.

Glavine won Games 2 and 6 compiling fourteen innings pitched with an ERA of 1.61 on his way to being named World Series MVP.

2. PEDRO MARTINEZ, CURT SCHILLING (Boston Red Sox)


YEAR: 2004

While the 2004 postseason is best known for a stained sock instead of an awesome back and fourth seven game series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Houston Astros that saw walk-off home runs in back-to-back nights and a legendary diving catch to save the game by Jim Edmonds and a go-ahead home run off of Roger Clemens by Scott Rolen (don’t worry, I’m not bitter that dirty laundry is more legendary than pure awesomeness), it’s often forgotten that Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling gave the Red Sox the duel aces they had been looking for.


In 2004, Schilling won over 20 games while Martinez tallied 16. In the two World Series games they pitched in, the Cardinals were only able to muster a total of two runs. Martinez pitched seven shutout innings in his Game 3 start.






Yeah, that catch isn't nearly as cool as a blood stained sock.

1. RANDY JOHNSON, CURT SCHILLING (Arizona Diamondbacks)


YEAR: 2001

The best 1, 2 punch any team could ask for. Randy Johnson was in his prime as was Curt Schilling. This duo was near unstoppable, and Curt Schilling didn’t need to paint a red spot on his sock in order to pitch well. And Johnson, what can you say about him in 2001? You knew he was going to be on his game when he managed to hit a bird in mid-air during spring training (see YouTube video). Guess the bird wasn’t guessing fastball.



During the regular season, Schilling won 22 games with an ERA under 3.00. Johnson won 21 games, but bettered Schilling with a 2.49 ERA and struck out 372 on his way to a Cy Young Award. Schilling was second in the Cy Young Vote.

In the World Series, the two combined to go 4-0 with a 1.40 ERA in 39.1 innings pitched. Johnson even came into Game 7 in relief of Schilling the night after winning Game 6 against the Yankees. Oh, and both pitchers were named Co-MVPs of the 2001 World Series.


So will the trend continue for the Cardinals? Only time will tell. Personally, I think Wainwright and Carpenter have the best chance of becoming the next great postseason duo. They have something none of the teams above had. Something dangerous and something consistent and something unstoppable.

Yes, this time I am talking about Albert Pujols.

If There's a God, He Hates Chicago

I always struggle with the existence of God or some other kind of intelligent designer. On the one hand the positive argument seems too convenient, on the other hand, there’s the city of Chicago; God must really hate the people of Chicago.

Sure I’ll concede, the city is pretty nice. The improv comedy scene is stellar. The shopping is pretty sweet, if you’re into that sort of thing… (I am). But that’s the tourist side of town, and anyone who lives his or her days as a Chicago citizen will tell you it’s a tough life.

First let’s forget about the 2005 White Sox, because a) It was a fluke, and b) the South Side of Chicago doesn’t count. Disregarding that one year, the city of Chicago hasn’t won a championship since the Bulls won in 1998, but who likes the NBA anyway? The Bears haven’t won a Superbowl since 1985 and lost a heartbreaker in 2006 due to the heroics of Rex Grossman… Everyone knows how long it’s been since the North Side has had a parade in October. In fact had archaeologists not recently dug up evidence of a World Series Parade, that information may have been lost to history forever.

And finally there’s the Chicago Blackhawks. There’s a lot of glory involved in being a ‘Hawks fan. They’re an Original Six Franchise, their esteemed alumni include none other than Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Jeremy Roenick, Chris Chelios, and Ed Belfour…just to name a few of the more famous ones. However the glory ends there. The Stanley Cup hasn’t paraded in Chicago since 1961, (Blues fans that’s longer than our entire history). More recently, from 1998 until 2008 the Blackhawks had all but been dead from the October drop of the puck (a quick playoff exit in 2002 at the hands of the St. Louis Blues being the only bright spot in a dark time). This of course was during a time where average ticket prices exceeded $50, and home games weren’t even shown on TV in an effort to force home attendance for fans. The Hawks finally hit rock bottom in 2004 when ESPN named the Blackhawks the worst franchise in all of professional sports.

But as quickly as the wheels had seemingly fallen off the wagon, the team began a turnaround. After several top prospects including Eric Daze, Tuomo Ruutu, and Rene Bourque, all fizzled out or found success with other teams, the Hawks finally turned the ship around in 2006 by not only drafting Jonathan Toews at third overall but also acquiring Martin Havlat and Bryan Smolinski.

In 2007, the Hawks earned the top pick in the draft and with it took highly skilled American Patrick Kane.

In 2008 both Kane and Toews contended for the Calder trophy with Kane eventually winning after leading all rookies in points (Toews led all rookies in goals). Finally 2009 marked the first time in six years that the new-look youngster-laden Blackhawks reached the playoffs. With a solid rebuilding plan in place, it seemed to be only a matter of time before the Blackhawks earned their fourth Stanley Cup.

But let’s not forget the title of this think piece. What started out as a good plan, and quickly blossomed into a solid organizational stance may be in the midst of a supernova-esque destruction. Ask any hockey fan who the best young program in the NHL was in 2008-2009, and they would naturally say the Chicago Blackhawks. The NHL even recognized the by awarding Chicago the Winter Classic. I myself although I hated to say it, have been quoted saying that the Blackhawks had a good model to imitate in the Blues’ own rebuilding process. Hell, the Blackhawks led the league in home attendance a mere four years after ESPN named them the worst franchise in sports. This of course all happened before the summer of 2009.

It started off simple, a team seeking scoring brought in a proven goal scorer when they signed Marian Hossa to an admittedly odd 12 year deal worth $62.8 million. A team needing depth signed Tomas Kopecky, and John Madden. For maybe an hour or so this seemed like a good idea, until the city of Chicago, and indeed the rest of the NHL ran the numbers and found two problems. Problem #1, and the more obvious one: in a salary cap-run system struggling with a bad economy, how on earth can a team expect to hold onto a core group of talent when more than $5 million dollars is going to one player each season? Fans reacted in outrage when they realized that it would be a miracle if the Hawks could hold onto Hossa, Toews and Kane (who both lose their entry level restrictions after 2010 and will be seeking huge paydays), Duncan Keith, Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg (who they almost lost to the cap in 2009 anyway), and Brian Campbell who is making $7 million of his own. Problem #2: The NHL found an oddity in the deal that called for Hossa to make only $875,000 in each of the final four years of the outrageously long contract (which would end when Hossa turned 42) after making $5-7 million in the eight years prior. With that information the NHL is now building a case against the Blackhawks by saying that there must have been some kind of agreement involving retirement before the end of the deal, and the drop off in pay is an effort to reduce the salary cap hit should Hossa retire. If this is the case, the Hawks could lose draft picks as a punishment.

Quickly after these allegations arose, Hossa found himself in more controversy when he announced he could miss the first four months of the season due to a shoulder injury. It couldn’t get much worse for the Blackhawks right?

Wrong. This is why I’m sure that if there is a God, he really hates Chicago. On August 9^th, Buffalo Police arrested number one overall pick Patrick Kane for Criminal Mischief and Robbery. What was at the center of this alleged incident? Alcohol? Nope. Drugs? Nope. Hookers? Nope. Money? Well maybe, if by money you mean twenty whole pennies. That’s right, allegedly, when the driver of the cab in which Kane and his cousin were riding didn’t have two dimes, four nickels, or twenty pennies to complete making change for the $13.80 fare, the two boys (yes young boys under 22) punched the driver repeatedly, took their money back, taunted the driver by asking him over and over again “Do you know who I am?”, and then fled the scene. (As a responsible journalist I should note that Kane has plead not guilty so all the facts are not out at this time.)

Call it the EA Sports curse, (Kane recently appeared on the cover of NHL10), call it a young star with a huge ego, or call it whatever you wish, (Personally, I call it ridiculous. We can save these stories for the NBA and NFL) one thing is for certain…Each day I get a little bit more proud to be a Blues Fan.

8/5/09 Sports Munchies

In today's episode:

1. We gloat about how with Albert Pujols back to his old self, the Cardinals are officially the team to beat in the NL Central.

2. We pay a visit to an old friend and see how the minors have been treating him.

3. We play "Good Guy-Bad Guy" for all three of the major sporting leagues...that's right, three.

Hosted by Martin Winkler and Kevin Lorenz.