Category Archives: 2015 Cardinals

The Cardinals October Accomplishments Since 2003

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You might still be adjusting to the fact it’s Oct. 15 and the Cardinals postseason has ended, and it’s possible you’re having to deal with fans — real or very recent — of the team that beat them to advance to the National League Championship Series. Whether you’re looking for a way to feel better or ammunition to quiet those Cubs fans, here’s what the Cardinals have done in the postseason since the last time Chicago’s North Side team made it this far in the playoffs.

2011-WORLD-SERIES(Depending on how recent and how knowledgeable any new Cubbie fans around you are, it’s possible you’ll have to explain to them that the Cubs have been to the playoffs since 1908, and they did win the NLDS in 2003 also. Oh, and they won the NL Central and made it to the playoffs in 2007 and 2008, but no one ever mentions that … likely because they were swept out of both Octobers.)

Since the Cubs last played in the NLCS 12 seasons ago, the Cardinals have:

Been to the playoffs 9 times
2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

Won the NLDS 7 times
2004 over the Dodgers
2005 over the Padres
2006 over the Padres
2011 over the Phillies
2012 over the Nationals
2013 over the Pirates
2014 over the Dodgers

Won the National League pennant 4 times
2004 over the Astros
2006 over the Mets
2011 over the Brewers
2013 over the Dodgers

Won the World Series twice
2006 over the Tigers
2011 over the Rangers

Had three National League MVPs
Albert Pujols in 2005, 2008, 2009

Had one Cy Young Award winner
Chris Carpenter in 2005

None of this changes the outcome of Tuesday’s game, obviously, but at least it can provide a bit of comfort in all that we as Cardinals fans have enjoyed in recent years.

And if it doesn’t, maybe this will … all 6-plus minutes of it.

 

Game 3: Important To Win? Yes, But …

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The setting for the National League Division Series now shifts to Chicago’s North Side, with Game 3 starting later today at 5 p.m. Central Time.

As you’re no doubt aware, it’s The Jake Arrieta Show!!! — meaning why are the Cardinals even bothering to play today, right? Shouldn’t they just forfeit and go have a nice team dinner instead — especially since, according to a stat I heard Matt Vasgersian spout off before yesterday’s Game 3 in the American League Division Series between the Royals and Astros — the team that wins Game 3 takes the entire series 80 percent of the time?

NLDS logoStatistics … they’re great.

Given that the Cardinals have a recent postseason history to look back on, we can also see just how that 80 percent stat holds up for our Redbirds — especially helpful considering the Cards won all four series.

Against the Dodgers in last year’s NLDS, they won Game 3 with Kolten Wong’s seventh inning 2-run homer putting them ahead, 3-1.

In 2013, Game 3 was in Pittsburgh, with Joe Kelly starting against Francisco Liriano … who was pretty unbeatable at home then, if you remember. Neither of the starters factored in the final outcome — a 5-3 Pittsburgh win.

Looking back to 2012 and the NLDS against the Nationals, Game 3 was a start by Chris Carpenter against Edwin Jackson — and Edwin was kind to his old teammates from the previous year. The Cards easily won 8-0.

Then there’s 2011. Game 3 was the first at Busch Stadium of the series, with the Phillies taking this one 3-2. All of the Phillies runs came on a home run by Ben Francisco, pinch-hitting for Cole Hamels in the seventh inning, off Jaime Garcia.

In summary, in their four-year run of winning the division series and advancing to the NLCS, the Cardinals have won Game 3 twice — then gone on to lose the NLCS. They’ve lost Game 3 twice, obviously still advanced to the NLCS, won the National League pennant each year, and then both won and lost the World Series.

So when all the hype kicks in about The Jake Arrieta Show!!! during the game (which I’ll definitely have the television muted for), just remember that losing this game isn’t necessarily doom and gloom for the Cardinals — despite any statistics the announcers (or Cubs fans) might spout off.

 

 

And So The Cardinals Meet The Cubs Again

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So much for my hope that Sept. 20 was the final game between the Cardinals and Cubs this year.

And so much for the temporary Pirates fandom for me and many other Cardinals and non-Cubs fans, eagerly rooting for the Bucs to win Wednesday night to give us a more palatable National League Division Series.

NLDS logoNope. Not to be — just like Jake Arrieta told everyone on Twitter last Sunday.

Which means here we are, on the brink of THE MOST HISTORIC PLAYOFF MATCH-UP IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD!!! BASEBALL!!! Never mind, as many obviously haven’t realized, that such a meeting has only been possible since the addition of a wild card team into the playoffs in 1995. So “historic” might be a bit of a stretch, despite how often that word has been tossed around since Wednesday night.

Details! What do they matter?

Before Wednesday’s game, I purposely wouldn’t think about the Cardinals facing the Cubs in the division series. Neither would any of the Cardinals/non-Cubs fans I know. Because that outcome seemed too dreadful to contemplate.

Now I can admit that, deep down, I figured the baseball gods would find this all too tempting to avoid. Even for the hype alone.

The baseball gods obviously found it all too tempting (poor Gerrit Cole), so now we are dealing with such pre-game storylines as “Feel-good Cubs threatened by playoff staple Cardinals” a noted Cardinals fan writing that the Cubs are “the hottest, most beloved, most exciting team in baseball” and a Chicago writer beginning his NLDS preview by rehashing all the wonderful, media-hyped tough talk of Joe Maddon from the series a couple weekends ago — which, to me, seems like it means nothing now that October is here, the little dust-up between the Cubs and Pirates Wednesday night notwithstanding.

As much as I hate to admit it, this is the Cubs’ world right now.

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Hopefully That Was The Last Cardinals-Cubs Game Of 2015

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Interesting weekend, wasn’t it?

And by “interesting,” I mean nauseating.

Interesting/nauseating to see the sports media giddiness revved up even higher over the Cubs.

Looking-AheadInteresting/nauseating to see the “speeches” Joe Maddon makes that get breathlessly covered by that same sports media infatuated with his “wisdom.” Like his brilliant “we don’t start stuff, we finish stuff” on Friday — the same day Dan Haren hit Matt Holliday in the batting helmet yet poor, poor Anthony Rizzo had his pant leg beaned (prompting, of course, the above tough-guy words from Maddon); the day after Chris Coghlan finished something, for sure — Pirate Jung Ho Kang’s season with a slide far to the right of second base and with his leg up to hit Kang in the leg and fracture his tibia (and a slide by Coghlan that looked all the more egregious when shown again yesterday afternoon on CSN Chicago after the Cubs broadcasters were comparing Yadier Molina’s slide into Addison Russell to that play — which was an inning after Yadi’s slide happened, and to which there was really no comparison at all other than both slides were toward second base); and the day before Kolten Wong was hit by both Fernando Rodney and Trevor Cahill and Greg Garcia was hit by Hector Rondon (and no Cubs were hit).

What’s that saying about actions speaking louder than media-friendly speeches?

Anyway, may yesterday’s game please be the last time the Cardinals have to face those Media Darling Cubs, their Style Over Substance Manager and their Breathlessly Amazing Roster of Players (Jake Arrieta! Addison Russell!! Anthony Rizzo!!! KRIS BRYANT!!!!!!!!!) in 2015.

Before the weekend even began, I knew that if any kind of postseason match-up involving these two teams were to take place, it would be torturous. Living closer to Chicago than to St. Louis, I’ve had the privilege of seeing the fan bandwagon grow and grow and grow ever since Maddon became their manager, the media attention increase more and more and more as the months go along — and I’m ready for it to stop. Especially after this weekend.

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Cubs As The Cardinals Competition: Yay or Nay?

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shirtAnother Cardinals vs. Cubs series begins in about 15 minutes, and I’ve prepared myself by donning the appropriate attire — this new t-shirt I received from a coworker about a week ago.

Awesome, isn’t it? For me personally, it would be better if it had the word “anymore” at the end (and that complete story, if you don’t know and do care, is available in the About section) but my story is certainly a rarity. Cardinals fans become Cardinals fans and stay that way; Cubs fans become Cubs fans and stay that way.

It’s also rare that series between the two teams are actually of any baseball significance. Sure, the rivalry is usually important to fans — for bragging rights or trash-talking or the chance to be obnoxious to that rival fan you know or are related to (which, in my case, is a pretty large number). Yes, there was that important Three Nights in August series back in 2003 though the season ultimately ended up with the Cardinals at home in October, plus Cards fans will always fondly remember Carlos Marmol and his role in 2011’s magical September run to the wild card.

Yet this year is different. We’ve heard since Joe Maddon was hired as Cubs manager that THIS IS IT!!!! for the Cubbies, and the hype has just continued on. To be fair, their performance has been good enough to give them the fourth-best record in the majors — though just the third-best in the National League Central — and firmly into the second wild card spot. But I’m not sure the hype has matched the accomplishment thus far.

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There Is A Bright Side To The Cardinals Losing To The White Sox

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Obviously, it’s never fun when the Cardinals lose a game — even when they have the best record in baseball (though, even after two losses, the next team closest to their 51 wins is the Astros at 47) . It’s even less fun when they lose two in a row to a team that is as bad as the White Sox.

Positive-AttitudeYet that’s where we are right now, after the late-and-very-rain-delayed 7-1 loss in which Seth Maness and Randy Choate created quite a mess for Marcus Hatley to wade into during the ninth inning (yes, the water-logged description was intentional) and make his major league debut. A 2-1 Sox lead grew out of hand into that final score.

Ah, well. That’s baseball.

Want to know the bright side?

Seeing the Sox sweep the two-game series from the Cards annoys Cubs fans.

Just Tuesday night’s win did the trick.

I got a message from my long-time friend and long-time Cubs fan Debbie yesterday. “So how can the Cubs get swept by the Cardinals and then the White Sox find a way to win last night?? Just doesn’t seem right!”

Sure, it’s a mild annoyance — and the fact the Cubs have won two straight over the Mets to now trail the Cards by only 9 1/2 games in the NL Central helps improve their moods, I’m sure.

Still, there is one thing that can unite Cardinals fans and White Sox fans everywhere: success that ticks off Cubbies fans. A two-game sweep by the Sox over the Cards is obviously nothing like the South Siders winning the World Series in 2005 followed by the Cardinals winning in 2006 as far as really annoying those North Siders fans.

But it’s enough to take the sting out of these two losses a bit.

The Cardinals Just Keep Rolling Along

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On the day the St. Louis Cardinals had the fifth player from their Opening Day roster go onto the disabled list, they did what was expected: won.

happy faceIt was win No. 40 of the season, and on June 12. The Cardinals are the first team in MLB to reach 40 wins this season. The next NL team to reach that plateau won’t do it until at least Tuesday, if the Dodgers win their next four straight. No AL team will reach 40 wins until at least Wednesday, if the Astros (how awesome is that?) now go on a winning streak after destroying King Felix Hernandez and the Mariners last night.

Not surprisingly, the Cardinals still have the best record in MLB, and also have the biggest division lead — the second-place Pirates are 6 1/2 games back. (If the Pirates were in the NL East, they’d be in first at the moment.)

As for last night’s game, Jaime Garcia was impressive — again. He pitched eight scoreless innings, allowed only four infield singles, struck out six and didn’t walk a batter. In fact, he hasn’t walked a batter since his season-debut on May 21 … four starts and 30 innings ago.

And while Kolten Wong, Matt Carpenter, Mark Reyonds and Yadi all went hitless, it didn’t matter. Jon Jay hit a first inning triple that drove in Everyone’s Favorite Man (and Woman) Crush Randal Grichuk, who’d singled. Jaime was up next and singled to score Jay.

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And Now Another Cardinals Pitcher To The Disabled List …

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There’s another Cardinal name to add to the growing number on the disabled list: Lance Lynn.

nurse-e1397756375763During his start last Sunday night against the Dodgers, Lynn’s forearm tightened up. He left the game after throwing 98 pitches in five innings. On Tuesday, he traveled to St. Louis for an examination on his forearm and the current diagnosis is a strained muscle in his right forearm. More details from STLtoday.com:

Mozeliak added that the club believes Lynn’s 15-day stint on the DL, which will be backdated to Monday, will provide sufficient time for him to recover from the injury. Lynn is expected to miss two starts.

Taking Lynn’s spot on the roster is Tyler Lyons. Here’s further information from the Cardinals press release.

Manager Mike Matheny has tabbed Lyons to start tomorrow afternoon’s game against Kansas City.

Lyons, 27, will be making his second appearance of the season with the Cardinals, after having made three starts (13.0 IP/17 strikeouts) from May 5-16.

Following his option to Memphis on May 16, Lyons has been one of the top pitchers in the Pacific Coast League, going 3-1 with a 2.36 ERA (26.2 IP/7 ER) his last four starts at Triple-A. Lyons’ overall mark at Memphis is 5-2 with a 2.61 ERA (seventh in PCL) in eight starts, striking out 56 (sixth) while walking only nine in his 48.1 innings of work.

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If We Can’t Watch A Game, Did It Really Happen?

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Oh, where to begin with last night’s Dodgers-Cardinals game?

Or should I say alleged game? For all I know, it could have been an elaborate hoax like a modern day version of “The War of the Worlds” since the game was only on the radio for many of us.

And perhaps I wouldn’t have gone to such dramatic lengths to find and keep up with the game were that contest not the one chosen for the annual United Cardinal Bloggers Progressive Game Blog — I had the first inning to recap, so knowing exactly when it started was obviously of prime importance. Here’s more on the UCB progressive blog, plus an intro for the game. This is the eighth year for the project, and the game chosen is traditionally one on FOX that’s available to all the bloggers involved regardless of where they live (since many of us don’t live in St. Louis).

Unfortunately, FOX did not cooperate with the UCB plan in choosing their games and who would see see what in their home market. That was the first glitch, as evidenced by the broadcast schedule from 506Sports.com.

111-map

Yes, lots of Cardinal red on that map — much of the U.S. would see the game. But I live in the Quad Cities, which is represented on the map above right on the border of Iowa and Illinois with the QC … in green. Yes, green for Royals and Cubs as my FOX game of the week. Because we didn’t have enough of those teams last Saturday, apparently.

Yet as game time approached, I discovered Mother Nature must be a Cardinals fan — the Royals and Cubs were rained out. Hooray! That had to mean I’d get the Dodgers-Cardinals game, right? There’d be no way I’d end up with the Red Sox-Rangers, not when that was being shown in so few markets.

Then we discovered Mother Nature must really be a Sawx fan, or perhaps a Josh Hamilton fan. Because she made it rain in St. Louis too. Enough that everyone got to see the start of the Sawx-Rangers. Not that I really paid attention …

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Remember This Cubs Tweet From Saturday Night?

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If you frequent Twitter and were checking it Saturday night, perhaps you saw the Cubs’ reply to the Royals’ tweet about the outcome of that evening’s (unfortunately) rain-shortened game.

CubsTweet

Clever, right? Ha ha, the Cardinals lost, thanks for the huge favor of putting the Cubs one game closer when May isn’t even over yet, Royals! Fist bumps all around!

Sure, it’s great that the person now handling the Cubs Twitter account has a sense of humor and is engaging and interacting with fans. And, sure, it’s certainly Twitter friendly to play up the long-time Cards-Cubs rivalry — look at the number of retweets and favorites of that for proof. Yes, the Cardinals Twitter account certainly could step up the creativity and the interaction … and maybe even take over the “#WeAreGood” hashtag the Cubs account (and Cubs’ fans) love so much.

But have you paid attention to what the Cubs have done since beating the Diamondbacks on Saturday night, after the Royals beat the Cardinals?

On Sunday they lost to the Diamondbacks 4-3, which resulted in them losing the series as well — Arizona won in 13 innings Friday night.

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