I’ve come up two words — sure, from someone who has nothing to do with baseball but a guy who knows coaching.
Do you have more words? Feel free to vent away.
Or not. Whatever makes you feel better after that sweep by the Padres.
And, as we all are very well aware, tomorrow begins an important series against the Dodgers — THE MOST IMPORTANT SERIES IN THE HISTORY OF BASEBALL. Or something like that.
Because, yes, despite everything, the Cardinals are still very much in the thick of the playoff race. Really.
Aaron Miles' Fastball 
Every time I’m ready to call it quits on this season, someone comes up big and draws me right back in. It’s time. Time for someone to step up and pull a Carpenter … perhaps the Bulldog himself?
Games like this are draining. That’s about the only thing I know for sure.
This team is completely frustrating. I love them and know they can play better than they are right now. I hope this weekend’s series … THE MOST IMPORTANT SERIES IN BASEBALL HISTORY … goes excellently for the Cards. So what does that mean… I want the Cardinals to sweep the Dodgers. Yup. I want to be stingy. I want the Cardinals to win all of the games. Because these close games… I’m not digging it. DO BETTER CARDINALS. We know you got this!
Matheny reminds me of a guy in his garage, covered in grease, working on his hot rod, always tinkering, always tuning, making one more wrench turn, replacing one more part. He thinks he’s improving the car, but his moves aren’t making a difference. In fact, sometimes that extra wrench turn ends up snapping off a bolt.
I think the Cardinals’ rookie manager needs to be sat down and explained in simple terms how a bunt almost always is the wrong move, that pinch-running for one of the team’s few run producers ends up costing chances later in the game. What if the Cardinals had tied the game? Now you have Chambers instead of Craig in the lineup. Brilliant.
Why wouldn’t Molina bunt on his own? He knows that’s the environment his manager has built this season — any runners on base, you bunt them over.
I don’t know why Matheny has to feel the need to inject his dubious acts into every single game, but the terrible record in one-run games and extra innings isn’t a coincidence or an accident. These are the games where a manager’s influence is most profound.
As far as THE MOST IMPORTANT SERIES IN BASEBALL HISTORY, it would be nice if the manager would consider that this series is just a little more important than it is. Starting Garcia on the road again when he has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that he is Mike Maroth away from Busch in his career is stubbornness and an undeserved sense of loyalty to one of his players. Oh, no, we can’t start Shelby Miller, that’s putting too much pressure on a rookie! So if we’re expecting any better results than the Cardinals first three-game sweep by the Padres since 1995, we’re only setting ourselves up for disappointment.