Tag Archives: Busch Stadium

Mariano Rivera, Skip Schumaker and Michael Wacha — Oh My!

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What do the just-retired greatest closer of all time, a Cardinal-turned-Dodger-now-turned Red and the Cardinals rookie sensation all have in common? Nothing, it would seem — yet posts we wrote about those three were what you read the most at Aaron Miles’ Fastball in 2013.

12-31 collageAfter looking at our picks for the top five stories of the year yesterday, we close out the year today with a look at the most-read posts. And, as you can already see, it’s certainly not a Cardinals only list — although of course they dominate the list. Just not at the top.

No, our No. 1 post of the year (in terms of readership numbers) is one about the man who is used to ending things instead of starting them, Mariano Rivera. Watching the All-Star Game tribute to Mo on July 16 reminded me of the time my Yankees friend Kat and I went to Busch Stadium in 2005 for the Yankees-Cardinals series. We had the opportunity to see something very few people probably even noticed before that Sunday’s game, which I wrote about in The Tale of Mariano Rivera and The Ball Thrown Out of Busch Stadium. It was a fun, entertaining post — and it ended up in Deadspin (which was a surreal moment, and one I had to capture via screenshot). So lots and lots and lots of people ended up reading about what Mo did that day, and it was by far our most read post of the year.

deadspin Continue reading →

Catching Up With The Cardinals: December Edition

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If you’re like me, the quietness of the Cardinals’ offseason combined with the business of the holiday season lends itself to feeling out of the loop.

No worries! Let’s catch up on the latest news together, shall we?

saint_louis_cardinals_logoThe biggest story this week is one that ended without actually ending. The Cardinals appeared to be all set to finalize the purchase of the Memphis Redbirds, as announced in mid-November. With John Mozeliak in attendance at last night’s City Council meeting, the plan was to finish up the details and obtain the council’s approval.

That plan hit a snag when the council members began arguing they hadn’t had sufficient time to review the changes to the plan or the Xs and Os of how it would/could all work.

With a Dec. 31 deadline to complete the purchase, the timeline grows tighter and tighter with each delay, this time until the council reconvenes on Monday. Continue reading →

A New Deal: Matheny Earns 3 More Years

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As usual, when the Cardinals announce a “baseball operations” press conference, the rumor mill starts churning.

Chris Carpenter’s retiring? Matt Carpenter’s extension? The finalization of the purchase of the triple A team? The first off season trade?

Wrong, wrong and wrong again. Well, sort of.

Chris Carpenter is retiring. But, that was the secondary announcement of the presser.

photoThe spotlight story was Mike Matheny, not Matt Carpenter, getting a three-year extension.

Bill DeWitt Jr. introduced the new deal by reiterating his belief that the best way to operate and maintain a franchise is to retain the “core pieces” of its success. Matheny, both he and John Mozeliak said, is an integral part of that success.

“Why now?” Mo said, anticipating the question before it was asked. The answer was simple: the organization knows now that they want Matheny for the long haul. There’s no sense in dragging out the inevitable or – more importantly – letting it be a distraction during the 2014 season. Continue reading →

One Week Later – Time To Reflect

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A week ago this morning, the butterflies were already building. I was nervous. The reality of winning two games in Boston with the Red Sox on the verge of a history-making win seemed slim. But hoping beyond reasonable hope is what sports fans do. Michael Wacha gave the Cardinals as good a chance as any, and the law of averages seemed to imply that the offense was “due,” as they say.

It could happen. Crazier things had.

That was then.

looking backNow, I’m finding it gradually easier to look back. Just as fans hold out hope until the bitter end, they also feel the hurt when the fairytale ends. It’s not technically our loss, but it stings like it is. Our summer is invested in the success or failure of our team; we inhale and exhale — quite literally! —  based on what our players do; attitudes and emotions can be swayed because our team is up … or down.

As I watched Game 6, as our team’s World Series hopes slipped further and further out of reach, I said aloud to my dad, “Sometimes I wish I didn’t care so much.”

Admittedly, I have a tendency to care too deeply about pretty much everything. Cardinals baseball is no exception. When they’re up, I’m up. When they’re down, I’m down. When they are confident (a la Adam Wainwright’s comments before heading back to Boston), I can be confident. When they’re disappointed, I’m devastated.  Continue reading →

So, This Is It.

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Fenway awaits. Bring it on, Boston.

Fenway awaits. Bring it on, Boston.

“It starts with Game 6…” Adam Wainwright said, after predicting a “legendary” comeback for his Cardinals.

The team ace and Game 5 starter was certainly not satisfied with his performance in the final game at Busch Stadium. He knew that his leadership could have shifted the series in favor of the Birds. Instead, the offense that has been sputtering came nearly to a stop. (Kind of like the plane the team sat on for roughly six hours yesterday awaiting their takeoff to Boston…)

And with that, it all comes down to this.

…no pressure or anything, guys.

As a Cardinals fan, October baseball is almost expected these days. As a baseball fan, it’s never taken for granted. Continue reading →

Kelly And Company Escape With Game One Winner

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It didn’t look good.

That moment many have feared since Joe Kelly returned to the starting rotation —  the Joe Kelly 1moment the league catches up with his magic tricks — appeared to have arrived. Too many pitches. Too many base runners. Too much adrenaline booming through his usually mellow veins.

That was the first three innings. The good news is, it takes at least nine innings to tell the whole story.

Yes, in the first three innings, Kelly struggled. A single, a hit batter, and a wild pitch in the first; another runner at second base with two outs in the second; and a double, two walks, a botched 1-2-3 double play and a base knock in the third, and the Dodgers — behind Zach Greinke — had a 2-0 lead.

But, we know how this story goes. Where Adam Wainwright is the Ace, Michael Wacha is the Boy Wonder, and Shelby Miller is the Near-Perfect Game guy, Kelly is the Escape Artist. He weaves his way into, and then out of, trouble. He ties himself in knots, bound with the chains of one of baseball’s most potent lineups. And yet, he escapes.

It baffles the minds of the sabermetricians. The numbers don’t always add up. He shouldn’t be this successful. He keeps getting lucky.

… I think he gets lucky a lot. And I have nothing against getting lucky. Continue reading →

Wainwright Leaves No Doubt – Cardinals Are NLCS Bound!

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Before Adam Wainwright took the mound  to try to carry the Cardinals into their third-straight NLCS, before newbie Matt Adams and Mr. October David Freese blasted their way past those pesky Pirates, before 47,000+ fans made their way through the gates at Busch III to see which team had more magic left, Adam Wainwright thought about his last NLDS Game 5 start. Waino Winner

That game didn’t quite go according to plan. Six runs in 2 1/3 innings? Not exactly vintage Waino. But, the Ace said, that may have been the problem. That night against the Nationals, Wainwright — who has always deeply admired Chris Carpenter — wanted to recreate a magical night from one year earlier: Carpenter’s shutout in Game 5 against the Phillies.

“To be honest, I wanted to replicate his game,” said Wainwright, whom the Nationals roughed up for six runs before the end of the third inning. “That was the wrong kind of thinking. I needed to be me. I needed to be focused and be prepared and be me.” Continue reading →

Cardinals Release Details on Division Series at Busch

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With their first Central Division title since 2009 and the best record in the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals have home field advantage in the best-of-five 2013 National League Division Series that starts Thursday in St. Louis against familiar rivals, the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Cardinals are making their 10th appearance in the postseason since 2000 and the 26th postseason appearance in franchise history.

3471__nlds-primary-2013A number of tickets for the Division Series games at Busch Stadium are available at cardinals.com/postseason.

Here are details on how fans can enjoy postseason baseball in St. Louis.

Game Schedule & Highlights

NLDS Game 1 – Thursday, October 3, 2013 – Busch Stadium – 4:07 p.m. on TBS

  • 1 – 3 p.m.  Pre-Game Pep Rally in Ballpark Village Parking Lot
    • Music by DJ Todd Thomas, entertainment, prizes, Fredbird, Team Fredbird, 2011 World Series trophy, Hardee’s Mobile Diner and more
    • Former Cardinal pitcher Andy Benes will sign autographs from 2 -3 p.m.
    • Budweiser Clydesdales will be staged in the Ballpark Village Lot
  • Gates open at 2 p.m.
  • All fans receive a Cardinals Rally Towel, courtesy of Mercy
  • Pre-Game Ceremony starts at approximately 3:30 p.m.
    • Budweiser Clydesdales will parade the warning track
    • National Anthem by Four Digit Chord, an a cappella group of civilian and military volunteers at Scott Air Force Base
    • Service members from Scott Air Force Base will hold a large flag during the anthem
    • Colors presented by 375 AMW Honor Guard at Scott Air Force Base
    • Cardinals broadcaster Mike Shannon will throw the ceremonial first pitch

Continue reading →

Wacha Wows In One-Hit Winner

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Wacha 2All too often, kids come into professional baseball hot off of a collegiate career with potential through the roof. It’s not unusual for the transition to pro ball to take some time. It IS unusual for a guy less than a year removed from his final college game to not only be invited to Spring Training, but also force his way into the conversation about the Big League rotation.

When Cardinal veterans like Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright jump on board, you have to believe there’s something to it.

This spring, Molina said the 22-year-old Michael Wacha was Big League ready. Wainwright, when asked about the 2014 rotation said, “He’ll be there.”

Cardinals fans know first hand what happens when a guy doesn’t live up to the astronomical expectations. Colby Rasmus? Brendan Ryan? Tyler Greene? Not pretty. And with a rotation of Wainwright, Jaime Garcia, Jake Westbrook, Lance Lynn and Shelby Miller (which left out Joe Kelly and Trevor Rosenthal), there was no need to rush Wacha. Continue reading →

Lance Lynn Lives!

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There was a chance. After giving up a single and a walk, he had a moment … a small one, but a moment, nonetheless. In his defense, most anyone would have had a moment when the throw from Tony Cruz to Daniel Descalso ended up in center field, allowing the first run of the game to score.

Lynn is certainly allowed a moment of frustration there.

More often than not, though — at least as of late — that “moment” turns into a catastrophe. The frustration steals away his focus and BAM. It’s all over.

LynnI’ll admit it — I was ready for it. I was bracing for “in play, run(s)” to flash across my iPhone screen. I was even more resigned to it when Lynn promptly walked the next Milwaukee batter to put two on with two outs in the second inning.

Whether he wants to believe it or not, he was pitching for his rotation life last night. Based on the rumblings from the top of the food chain (i.e. John Mozeliak), the organization isn’t entirely pleased with the repeated “maturity” struggles. No one has ever questioned Lynn’s stuff. But, keeping the attitude and emotions in check? That’s been in question for a while now. Continue reading →