Category Archives: General Baseball

Throwback Thursday: That Time AMF Was In Deadspin

Posted on by
Reply

Once upon a time, on the annual slow sports period that’s the day after MLB’s All-Star Game, a post I wrote for Aaron Miles’ Fastball was featured on Deadspin.

It was on July 17, 2013, following Mariano Rivera’s final appearance as an All-Star the night before. To refresh your memory of what that had been like, check out the video here — and perhaps you’ll have the same reaction I did: Edward Mujica was an All-Star? Totally forgot that little tidbit …

Anyway, having watched the All-Star Game, the next day I’d been thinking about the time my Yankees fan friend Kat and I went to St. Louis to see two of the three games between our teams in June 2005. And because we went to Saturday and Sunday’s games early to watch the Yankees’ batting practice, we saw a group of relievers huddled together in left field both days and, led by Mo, realized just what their discussions were about. Thus, “The Tale Of Mariano Rivera And The Ball Thrown Out Of Busch Stadium.”

And, a little while later, this.

deadspin-20

Obviously, very cool — and resulted in a tremendous amount of traffic to AMF, though it’s only the second-most popular post in AMF history.

You can search Deadspin and still find it there, and it’s awesome that Kat’s photo lives on in the Deadspin archives. However, the link there to the post does not work since the demise of Aerys Sports, but is still available here.

Ah, memories … which might just be the same thing Tanyon Sturtze (second from the right in Kat’s photo) is thinking as well when he remembers his Yankees career.

 

NFC Championship Game Was Great, But Not Like Game 6

Posted on by
Reply

Like many of you, I watched yesterday’s NFC championship game between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks.

GTY 461739872 S SPO FBN USA WAUnlike most of you, I am the rare combination of St. Louis Cardinals fan for baseball and Chicago Bears fan for football. Which means I wasn’t rooting for the Packers — I know there are quite a few Cardinals/Packers fans (I am related to several) who obviously were rooting for their team, and the Cardinals/Rams fans were for the Packers also rather than see a division rival win.

So, personally, I was ecstatic over the outcome. More than ecstatic, actually, to see the Packers implode that way.

But I definitely disagree with Bob Nightengale.

Capture

Sure, I get it — sloppy game to start with, as we remember the ball that bounced off David Freese or the one that neither Matt Holliday nor Rafael Furcal could come up with in Game 6. Yes, comparisons can be made with the four interceptions that Russell Wilson threw yesterday.

The comeback that Wilson led, with the Seahawks scoring 15 points late in the fourth quarter was definitely amazing. Incredible plays, like Seattle recovering the onside kick after Wilson scored a touchdown with just over two minutes left. Then the two-point conversion pictured above. We even had the moment similar to Josh Hamilton’s Game 6 10th inning homer — kind of — in Mason Crosby’s game-tying field goal with just 14 seconds left to send the game to overtime.

And there’s the biggest difference: time.  Or, rather, no time. Continue reading →

Thank You, Anthony Rizzo, For Guaranteeing The Cubs Won’t Win The NL Central

Posted on by
Reply

Like many of you, I saw the oh-so-social-media friendly “promise” that Chicago Cub Anthony Rizzo made on Thursday that the team would win the National League Central division in 2015 — it was an easily tweetable sound bite, for sure. I rolled my eyes after reading it and moved on.

How often have we already heard grand proclamations about their “guaranteed” success in 2015? Joe Maddon! Jon Lester! Kris Bryant! The Sporting News! Even Back to the Future 2!! Wooooooo!!!!!

Yesterday I was catching up on baseball news during lunch and read about Rizzo’s comments — he made them during a Cubs Caravan stop at an elementary school. I saw the actual quote of what he said. And laughed.

“It’s going to happen this year.”

Now, the grammar is perfect there in its written form, but I loved seeing those words coming from a Cub. And in case you’re wondering why …

its20gonna20happen1

its_gonna_happen

Continue reading →

Say It Ain’t So, Joe! Not The Cubs

Posted on by
1

When the news first broke last Friday afternoon that Joe Maddon opted out of his contract and was no longer manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, I was hopeful.

Joe-maddonHopeful it could mean a change for the Cardinals, as I tweeted at the time. Not that I really believed John Mozeliak would make a change and remove Mike Matheny as manager, but I could dream.

Maddon was indeed who I wanted as Cards manager back when Tony La Russa retired following the 2011 World Series — he was, as Tara wrote at the time, “the overwhelming AMF favorite.” As she wrote in November 2011:

He has personality galore, but he also has an understanding of Cardinal Nation. He did, after all, grow up as a Cardinals fan. He’s done wonders with a bare-bones budget in Tampa Bay. He works well in bringing up young players. But he also has enough “old-school” in his blood to satisfy the traditionalist.

During my lunch on Friday, I was listening to sports radio station the Score in Chicago. It wasn’t a surprise they were predicting Maddon would be coming to the Cubs — not a surprise because what team wouldn’t want Maddon?

Now it appears that Friday prediction of Maddon to the Cubs will be a reality. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports had the news yesterday, as did Mark Gonzalez of the Chicago Tribune.

Ugh.

Really, Joe?

I knew the Cubs would be getting their “real” manager sometime in the next year or two, meaning the manager who would be the final piece of their rebuilding process Theo Epstein began when he became Cubs president in 2011. And I figured that real manager would be a big name — but I was thinking, given his history with Theo, it would be Terry Francona. And that would have been fine. After 2004, I don’t really like either one. They’d be perfect together in Chicago. Continue reading →

The Time I Talked My Way Into Camden Yards

Posted on by
Reply

With the Cardinals headed to Baltimore to play in Orioles Park at Camden Yards this weekend for only the second time ever, it reminds me of the first of my own two visits to the ballpark.

It was on Opening Day 2005, it was brief — and it was free.

Camden Yards

                 My own photo, from July 2008

I was actually in Baltimore for work, attending a fundraising conference at the Baltimore Convention Center that began on Saturday. The convention center is across the street from the warehouse side of Camden Yards so, during breaks between seminars, I’d see all the action and preparations at the ballpark as it was being readied for Monday’s Opening Day. It was killing me to see it all so close and know I couldn’t go.

The A’s were the Orioles opponent for that first series of 2005 and, at the time, they were my favorite American League team. Nine years later, I have no idea where I found the time to keep up with them in addition to the Cardinals. But I loved that Moneyball/Big Three era of A’s teams, particularly because they were such a contrast to the Cardinals of the time. Opening Day 2005 found only one member of their Big Three remaining — as of course you remember, Mark Mulder was a Cardinal (which, having watched his slide in the second half of 2004 for the A’s, did not thrill me) and Tim Hudson was a Brave — meaning the lone remaining A, Barry Zito, was starting on Opening Day.

The game began at 3 p.m., which was the same time as my final seminar. As I stood on the convention center balcony during the break before the seminar and saw all the activity right there across the street with game time nearly there, I knew I had to go over there once the session ended. Continue reading →

Sometimes, The Greatest Moments Are Unscripted

Posted on by
1

Ah, the 2014 All-Star Game … also know as Derek Jeter Tribute Night.

I’m not going to join in the fray over what Adam Wainwright said or did — frankly, I’d rather dedicate this song to Adam Wainwright instead — although I do want to talk about Derek Jeter’s first at-bat against him.

Ah, Derek Jeter in Cardinal red ...

Look, it’s Derek Jeter in Cardinal red!

Yes, it was all choreographed to perfection beginning with the “RE2PECT” commercial running on FOX once the top of the first inning ended. Then, at Target Field, having the introduction of Jeter by the late Bob Sheppard was a wonderful touch. The standing ovation from the fans, the tipping of his helmet to the crowd, the requisite camera shots of Jeter’s parents in the stands, the applause by the all the National League starters on the field, the silence on the FOX broadcast so we could all absorb the moment, even the chance to hear Jeter telling Jonathan Lucroy “have a good one and congratulations to you, all right?” as the crowd begins to chant “Der-ek Je-ter” — top notch, of course, because that’s the way it was all supposed to be.

The first pitch from Wainwright, still silence from Joe Buck and the crew, the crowd settles down. Another requisite shot of Jeter’s family and then, through the silence, one man’s voice rings out …

“Over-rated.”

Continue reading →

Ever Been To A Ballgame In The Middle Of A Flood?

Posted on by
3

It’s been a while since I’ve written about the Quad Cities River Bandits, since they unfortunately (for those of us here, anyway) are no longer a Cardinals minor league affiliate as they were through 2012. Yet the now-Astros Midwest League team still plays at Modern Woodmen Park, the beautiful riverfront ballpark along the Mississippi River in Davenport, Iowa.

Although, at the moment, the Mississippi surrounds Modern Woodmen Park.

It’s an island, as the river reached more than 20 1/2 feet on July 4 (which is more than five feet above flood stage) — the sixth-highest flood in Davenport history. Yet the ballpark remains high and dry thanks to the tremendous engineering that went into remodeling the ballpark about 10 years ago to build in flood protection, as well as an only-when-needed flood wall that can be installed. Which means we have the opportunity to watch the Bandits play even as the water flows around the ballpark instead of beyond right and center fields as usual … once we cross the walkway over the water, that is.

Yesterday the River Bandits hosted the Brewers-affiliated Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in a doubleheader, thanks to a rainout on Saturday. So a friend and I went to the game and I, like so many others there, had to get photographic evidence of this unique occurrence. Because it’s obviously not often you go to a ballgame in the middle of a flood.

Now you can see what the experience was like as well, and it sure beats thinking about the now-third place Cardinals, doesn’t it?

flood2

Here’s what you see as you approach the ballpark, as the parking lot had enough dry land in the last row for about five cars.

Flood - 2

The walkway, which takes you above and over the flooded parking lots.

Flood -1

The parking lot from the walkway. Yes, that’s a ferris wheel in the background — the newest addition to the ballpark this season.

Continue reading →

Did You Know, Or Care, That Albert Is Close To Homer No. 500?

Posted on by
1

Yesterday morning I saw a headline somewhere that said Albert Pujols had hit home run No. 496 in the Angels loss to the A’s Monday night.

I’ll admit it — I had no idea he was that close to his 500th homer. I’ll further admit to not really paying attention to how he’s doing this season, except for occasionally seeing tweets from someone who still does a “Pujols Watch” regularly.

This afternoon, I saw a link to an article in USA Today with the headline “As Albert Pujols nears 500 HRs, does anyone even care?” The point made by Bob Nightengale was more that steroids have tainted what used to be a sacred milestone, despite the fact only 25 players in MLB history have reached that total.

albert-pujols

Those were the days …

And while that point is certainly valid, as I was reading I wondered if Albert approaching homer 500 would be a much bigger deal if he was still a Cardinal.

Which is pretty much what I then read Fred McGriff say in the article too:

“I think we all thought Albert had a chance to hit 700 homers after seeing what he did in St. Louis,” says McGriff, “but it’s been tough for him out in L.A. Maybe that’s why he’s not getting the attention.

“I’m sure if he was still in St. Louis, they’d be blowing it up pretty good out there.”

Albert hit 455 home runs with the Cardinals, yet — due to injury last year and his struggles during his first season in Anaheim (Los Angeles of Anaheim?) — he’s only hit 51 so far as an Angel. He’s hit four in 14 games this season, which of course is the same number as Jhonny Peralta has hit and one behind his teammate Mike Trout. Continue reading →

The One Weird Trick That Could Prevent Pitching Injuries

Posted on by
2

The news this week was startling.

On the heels of Kris Medlen, the projected ace of the Atlanta Braves, needing ligament replacement surgery for the second time in his career comes the bad news this week that Jarrod Parker of the Oakland A’s will undergo the same surgery, also for the second time. For the A’s and Braves, it’s been body blows this spring: Medlen’s teammate Brandon Beachy likely is headed in that direction as well as Parker’s fellow starter A.J. Griffen, who will be out at least through May with a sore elbow.

wallace_four_seamerThen there’s Patrick Corbin, the young lefty ace of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who the D’Backs said this week is out for the season after a partial tear of his elbow ligament and will undergo replacement surgery; lefty Jon Niese of the New York Mets had to leave Sunday’s game against the Cardinals with “elbow discomfort.” And the Dodgers’ top pitching prospect, Ross Stripling, first felt a sore elbow and then, after an MRI, got the news that he too would take the knife.

I’d like to think it was just a coincidence that the recent passing of the inventor of the ligament replacement surgery on pitchers, Dr. Frank Jobe, came as the news of so many pitchers becoming patients casccaded across MLB Network and ESPN. It was Dr. Jobe who first performed the groundbreaking transplant surgery on Dodgers’ lefthander Tommy John, taking a tendon from his right arm to replace the shredded ligament in his left elbow. The surgery was such a success that it became one of the few medical procedures named for the patient rather that the doctor who invented it.

I’d also like to think it was coincidence in light of the news of so many pitchers needing surgery that the Cardinals announced Tuesday they’d cut ties with longtime team physician Dr. George Paletta.

It’s that last bit of news I’d like to address here.

For years, some Cardinals fans had blamed Dr. Paletta for the drawn-out, stumbling, bumbling treatment of the team’s pitchers, from Matt Morris to Andy Benes to Mark Mulder to Matt Clement to Chris Carpenter to Jaime Garcia and I’m sure more pitchers I’ve forgotten to list. The team announces a pitcher is day-to-day, then on the disabled list, then “progressing nicely” (a phrase used so much it became an internet meme — once, I saw the phrase used as a caption of a prostrate Abraham Lincoln on his deathbed). And finally, the seemingly inevitable: surgery.

So many fans have become used to a track record of pitchers coming back after surgery that they’ve taken to chat boards, social media and sports call-in shows asking why, if surgery is inevitable, the Cardinals don’t simply send their pitchers into the operating room at the first sign of trouble? And it seems at first glace to be a pretty good argument; delaying surgery only delays the successful return of a fan favorite to the mound and to the cheers of the crowd, right?

Continue reading →

Five Seat Warming Topics For The Cards

Posted on by
Reply

It’s official folks.  Pitchers and catchers report to Jupiter, Florida in less than 2 weeks.  Theimageedit_1_2075168311 waiting is nearly over with and the anticipation is going to start boiling over.   Sometimes fans forget about the 45 days that happen before the real 162 game stretch begins.  This is where rosters start large and full of promise and end up shredded and cut to size.

With that goal in mind, I am going to take a look at five things that strike me as interesting about this 2013 Cardinals team.   There are a lot of things worth talking about but here I will give you five for now.

5.) Daniel Descalso has one very good agent.   One thing that struck me about John Mozeliak’s media session at the Winter Warmup was his icy feelings towards the Descalso camp.  Dirty Dan wanted 1.6 million and the Cards were offering 900,000 and sticking to it.  Yesterday, Descalso signed for 1.2 million, a price met by the Cards due to the fear of the first arbitration trial for the Cards in like….forever.  Was this a good deal?  For Descalso, it sure is.  He gets financial security but I am not sure where the Cards are going to justify him with the at bats and playing time.

Descalso isn’t fighting Pete Kozma for starts anymore.  He is fighting the future in Kolten Wong and the seasoned veteran edge of Mark Ellis.  He may have won at the bank but in the field not so much.  Ellis didn’t come here to play behind two younger players.  Descalso’s OPS(on base percentage plus slugging percentage) was downright horrible last year and his batting average(.238) wasn’t much better.  In a dog fight there isn’t much he offers to the team in reality over a defensive wizard like Kozma or a younger buck like Greg Garcia.

I like Descalso and appreciate his fine contributions over the years, but his defense has gotten worse and his bat doesn’t do enough to justify a spot.  His 1.2 million isn’t as bad as Ty Wiggington’s 2.5 last year but it still leaves me scratching my head.

4.) Hey Joe.  I am talking about California Wildfire fighting Joe Kelly.   The jack of all trades who happens to work out with pizza in his mouth(at least according to twitter) is coming into spring with his role undetermined.  It’s a good thing Kelly doesn’t let those kind of shenanigans affect his preparation.

In 2013, Kelly served as part time Porsche parked in the garage and part time excellent fill in starter.  He went from missing in action to taking Shelby Miller’s rotation spot in the playoffs(yeah that’s just happened).  Unlike 2 of his fellow rotation dogfight participants, Kelly has a strong mental makeup and doesn’t let his spring training status stop him from working hard.  If it were up to me, I would carve out a spot for Kelly in the rotation right away but since he is so versatile, I can’t be too sure.

Continue reading →