Tag Archives: Cardinals

My Cardinals 2014 Wish List

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As most everyone else does between Christmas and New Year’s Day, I’ve been thinking much about what I want to see in 2014. As the snow falls and the temps waver from low to high single digits, it’s only natural to think about spring … and baseball … and what I want to see from the Cardinals as the weather warms (both the temperature and my spirits!).

2014Taking a look back at last year’s New Year Wish List makes me wonder how much will change between now and October, but it’s fun to look ahead and wish, nonetheless.

So, as I watch the end of the college football season and look ahead to 365 days of new opportunities, here are 14 things I’m hoping to see from the 2014 Cardinals.

14. Visits to Busch, complete with a tour of Ballpark Village

We’ve been hearing about BPV for so long. This winter, watching the progress as it becomes a reality, has me yearning for the first opportunity to see it in person. (Like I need another excuse to visit the happiest place on earth!) The legacy that is St. Louis Cardinals baseball deserves a showplace worthy of its history, and here’s hoping the city does it up just right!

13. Chris Carpenter’s developing role

I know “front office guys” don’t usually show up in game recaps or headlines. But, I hope to hear what Carp is up to throughout the year. I mean, don’t you? Continue reading →

20 Questions With Baby Bird Jeremy Schaffer

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This week’s 20 questions is with Chiefs’ 1st baseman Jeremy Schaffer. Jeremy played 75 games for the Chiefs in 2013.

Jeremy Schaffer (@jschaff8)

schaffer (2)1. How did you get started in baseball?

I always loved baseball since I was a kid a played a lot of it with encouragement from my parents.

2. Who was your biggest influence growing up?

Both of my parents, they have always been there for me.

3. When/how did you decide you wanted to pursue this career?

I realized in high school that it was a possibility so I just went for it from there.

4. How did you react when your dream of playing pro baseball was first achieved?

Excited and overwhelmed because it’s something you work so hard for.

5. What do you remember from your first professional game?

I started off 0-2 and then got my first base hit against the Greenville Astros in Johnson City. 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 →

Today, and Every Day, Thankful for Baseball

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I’m not sure where my life would be without baseball.

baseballheartI realized this yesterday, when thinking about Thanksgiving and the multitude of blessings I am so grateful for: my family, friends, good health (even though I now can’t eat or drink everything I used to enjoy without getting sick), a good job where I can see the end result of my efforts every February, money for food and clothing and shelter … the list could go on and on. It also includes the chance to do something I’ve been compelled to do since I was a kid — write — and know that people read and even react to it.

Much of the writing, obviously, is here and about the Cardinals and baseball. I don’t remember when I first started watching baseball — it was a very, very long time ago. Baseball became a daily part of my summers back when my brother turned 8 and started playing and my Dad was his coach. In high school, when my family got cable TV, the magic fact we received WGN and the Cubs played in the afternoon is part of the reason I first followed them. (The cuteness of Jody Davis was the other.) In college, my daily routine of listening or watching every Cubs game led to an internship with the team — and afterward a 10-year baseball break that lasted until Harry Caray died in 1998. That year’s Cubs team brought me back to baseball, yet Mark McGwire made me notice the Cardinals. It took a couple years, and a typical Cubs season in 1999 following the gloriousness of 1998, to finally bring me to where I am today: on the right, and red, side of the rivalry since 2000.

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 →

Nightmare Game One Sets Cards Against The Odds

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alexanderYuck.

Last night was a “Murphy’s Law” kind of night — not what the Cardinals wanted (or expected) in Game 1 of the World Series.

It was ugly all around. Adam Wainwright struggled as much as Waino ever does. Pete Kozma — in the game for his defensive abilities — had a pair of mistakes through two innings (one of which ended up in an overturned call at second base), and Shane Robinson bobbled a ball that resulted in three early runs.  Waino and Yadier Molina reinacted Jon Jay and Carlos Beltran’s lack of communication from the NLCS, watching a pop up drop between them. Beltran made a sensational leaping catch to rob Big Papi of a grand slam in the second inning, only to leave the game with a rib contusion from slamming into the low outfield wall.

With the bases loaded and one out in the fourth, David Freese played the opposite of World Series hero and bounced right into an inning-ending double play. The next inning, with runners at second and third with two away, it should have been Beltran’s at bat. Instead, it was Jon Jay who, despite coming up with some big hits before, wasn’t a likely hero against lefty Jon Lester.

Oh yeah. They were facing a lefty, too. Continue reading →

Twas The Morn Of Game One

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2013 WSTwas the morn of Game One, when all through the land
Every creature was scurrying ’round, every fan.
The schedule was cleared for that evening with care,
With hopes of a Cardinals win finding them there.

The ballpark sat ready, all quiet and snug,
But, soon it’d be roaring with noise from above.
Ringing through Fenway, from foul pole to foul pole
As 40,000 strong cheered loudly, with one goal.

For Boston or St. Lou, the die-hards would clatter,
Two cities alike, two rich histories that matter
Because, as they worked for a trophy, a ring,
They played for those lost, who could no longer sing.

A summer of victories, some home, some away,
Had led both the Sox and the Cards to this day.
As the hour crept closer, the sun fading fast,
The mission grew clearer, each knowing their task.

With Wainwright and Lester, the battle begins
Strikes early and often will help their team win.
Matheny will watch from his perch on the step,
Carefully planning which move he’ll try next.

Now Waino! Now Yadi! Now, Beltran, and Adams!
On David! On, Matt-squared! On, Jay, Pete and Allen!
To the top of the Monster! To the top of the wall!
Now smash away, mash away, bash that baseball!

Two teams that reflect one another’s best traits
Two fan bases ready to jump, shout and pace.
Since 2004 this reunion’s been wanted.
Revenge for the Birds, from the series that’s haunted.

The butterflies flutter, the energy builds
The team that we love soon will take to the field.
It’s this that they’ve worked for. It’s now that they can
Set the stage, stake their claim, finish the plan.

It’s the best time of year, it’s the autumnal classic
And baseball’s best teams hope for October magic.
With a chorus as one, clad in red fans will call,
“Let the series begin! Let’s go now! Let’s PLAY BALL!”

Tara is a St. Louis Cardinals reporter for Aaron Miles’ Fastball. Follow her on twitter @tarawellman.

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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 →

Holliday’s Cardinals Fly High Over Rockies

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When the Cardinals score 11 runs, there are certainly plenty of moments to highlight. It’s even better when they snatch first place back in the process. Last night’s win provided both.

Since it was Joe Kelly Day, let’s start there.

Holliday blasts a 2-run homer and his 4th hit of the night in an 11-4 Cardinals win.

Holliday blasts a 2-run homer and his 4th hit of the night in an 11-4 Cardinals win.

Kelly certainly didn’t look phased by the loss in his last outing against the Brewers. Or, perhaps, he was simply comfortable with the task at hand — getting the Cardinals a much-needed win after dropping game one in Colorado and only scoring two runs in the process.

Through five innings, he kept the Rockies scoreless, giving up just three hits and two walks. The downside? He left after five with what he later described as tightness in his right calf and knee that has been “feeling weird” as of late. After a rather lengthy discussion at the mound with Yadier Molina, Mike Matheny, and a trainer, he continued throwing with two outs in the inning. A couple of mind-90s pitches later, and he was eligible for the win. So, there was that. Continue reading →