Tag Archives: Kolten Wong

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

Posted on by
1

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 …

Continue reading →

Counting Down To Opening Night: 16

Posted on by
Reply

It’s Friday! It’s officially spring! The first day of the NCAA tournament really was March madness! And it’s just 16 days until the Cardinals play the Cubs on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball!

Time to celebrate!

16

Yes, definitely plenty to celebrate today … including Kolten Wong, the current No. 16.

The Cardinals first-round draft pick in 2011, Wong has been a favorite here at AMF ever since then — he was here in the Quad Cities from late June on that season and thus a member of the Midwest League championship team (along with Trevor Rosenthal and Oscar Taveras, among others). Tara interviewed him back in August 2011 and got Kolten’s impressions on his fledgling pro career two months in.

Just under two years later, he made his major league debut with the Cards in Chicago.

And in the time since, he’s experienced the full range of emotions both on the field — and off. There was the unfortunate ending of World Series Game Three in October 2013, followed by the death of his mom at age 47 from cancer that December.

On the joyful end of the spectrum, there was this moment from Game Two of the National League Championship in October (which, of course, is what the above photo is from).

Ah, perfect feel-good moment for a Friday morning.

Just 16 more days!

My Voting For The United Cardinal Blogger Awards

Posted on by
Reply

Each November, the United Cardinal Bloggers vote for awards on that year’s Cardinals season, as well as the best of our peers. Here’s a look at my choices for 2014.

united-cardinal-bloggers-lgCardinals Team Awards
Player of the Year

Nominees: Matt Carpenter, Matt Holliday, Jhonny Peralta

My choice: Jhonny Peralta. He did what he was acquired to do, which was increase the offense by the shortstop, and even led the team in homers with 21 for good measure. Plus he was very good defensively, with the fifth-best defensive WAR in the National League at 2.6.

Pitcher of the Year

Nominees: Lance Lynn, Pat Neshek, Adam Wainwright

My choice: Lance Lynn. While a case could be made easily for either of the other two (and especially Adam Wainwright), my pick is for Lynn because of the complete season he put together. No post-All Star slump, as he had a 2.22 ERA after the break compared to 3.14 before, plus he had a 3-0 record and 1.99 ERA in August to lead the team when Wainwright struggled through a “dead arm” period. Lynn also had career bests in ERA at 2.74, WHIP at 1.26 and bWAR at 3.7.

Game of the Year

Nominees: May 20 (Adam Wainwright one-hitter), May 31 (Oscar Taveras debut), NLDS Game One, NLDS Game Four, NLCS Game Two

My choice: NLDS Game Four. Beating Clayton Kershaw once in October, after the tremendous regular season that would earn him both the NL Cy Young and MVP awards, was terrific. Doing it again, to clinch the division series, with Matt Adams doing all the damage with a three-run seventh inning homer? Incredible. Just take a look at that homer again, and the reactions from Kershaw as well as the Cardinals players, the crowd (go, Mrs. DeWitt!) and of course Adams himself. Continue reading →

October Baseball’s Emotional Rollercoaster

Posted on by
Reply

How’s your mood this afternoon, 18 or so hours after yesterday’s NLCS Game Three loss?

Mine is still bad.

Emotional+rollercoaster+_8bb60080880a1600ffe893b9a80a9efbIt wasn’t surprising I was angry about the outcome of last night’s game when I went to bed, even though it was tempered a bit after watching the Royals win. (No, I’m not a Cards fan who hates the Royals. I was a Cubs fan in 1985. I harbor no resentment, plus love a good story — and the 2014 Royals are a fantastic one so far.)

When I woke up this morning, I was still angry and continued to feel that way on my drive to work. My thought was the mood lingered because I knew I had to face the Giants fan at work — a lifelong, die-hard Giants fan who spent Monday and yesterday being mad about Sunday’s outcome.

Yet even after our talk — which literally was a water cooler conversation since he happened to be filling his water bottle when I was going to fill mine — my mood hadn’t changed one bit. I didn’t want to hear his concerns that Posey, Panda and Pence aren’t hitting — your team won the game! Gift-wrapped by Mike Matheny! And your team has had all kinds of gifts given to them this October — just be grateful!

Those were not my exact words — well, OK, some were, like maybe that last sentence. And maybe it wasn’t really a quiet discussion, since my friend in the office next to mine was laughing when I walked back.

Continue reading →

Good, Bad, Ugly, Joy All In Game Two Win

Posted on by
Reply

We all love happy game endings — no matter what it takes to get there.

Game2

Photos: St. Louis Post-Dispatch/STLToday.com

Of course, we shouldn’t expect the 2014 Cardinals to do anything different in October than what they did the previous six months before they reached the NLCS, right? Why wouldn’t Game Two of the NLCS be filled with drama and a range of emotions, when it’s this team playing? The Cards had good, bad and ugly before the ultimately satisfying and joyful conclusion of a walk-off 5-4 win over the Giants.

Actually, we probably didn’t expect how they won last night. Four home runs from the team that hit the fewest in the National League during the regular season — even though they had turned on the power in the NLDS against the Dodgers.

You really can’t script October.

Although, if we could, we certainly wouldn’t want any kind of story to include an injury to Yadier Molina.

But that unfortunately happened, as a strained left oblique forced him from the game in the sixth inning. No update on his condition yet today, but we all know that kind of injury takes time to heal.

The game was tied 2-2 when Yadi left, after the Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the first on (who else but) Matt Carpenter’s solo homer and a 2-0 lead with a bases-loaded Randal Grichuk single. Both obviously contributed to the “good” portion of the game. Continue reading →

A Photo In Honor Of Today’s Cardinals Win

Posted on by
Reply

After the sad photos to describe Friday and Saturday’s games, here’s one to summarize today’s 8-3 Cardinals win.

happypanda

Eight runs! Seventeen hits — although the first 13 of them were singles! Seven for 16 with runners in scoring position! Four hits for Kolten Wong! Two hits — including the first extra-base hit — and an RBI from Daniel Decalso! A home run by Peter Bourjos! Lance Lynn — not spectacular but good enough especially when he needed to be! Pat Neshek with six Orioles up and six Orioles down in order! Trevor Rosenthal with a 1-2-3 inning! (Thankfully, since it wasn’t a save situation.) No homers by the Orioles! Mike Matheny challenged a call and it was overturned! And a highly entertaining ejection of Buck Showalter! Continue reading →

Matt Attack! Cardinals Score Four In The First

Posted on by
3

If you were going to create a perfect Saturday afternoon for baseball, chances are good it would look a lot like St. Louis did yesterday afternoon — bright blue skies, sunshine, temperature of 83 degrees at 3 p.m. on July 19.

collageOf course you’d want a really compelling match-up to go with your perfect afternoon, like two teams battling for the top spot in their respective divisions.

All those elements came together yesterday, with the 54-44 tied-for-first-in-the-NL-West Dodgers and the 53-44 one-game-behind-the-Brewers-in-the-NL-Central Cardinals doing battle. Since it’s a Saturday home game, the Cardinals are wearing their alternate uniforms (which just add to the perfect day ambiance even more).

Plus, to make it even better for people like me who will take any available television option besides Dan McLaughlin on FOX Sports Midwest, the game is being broadcast on FOX Sports 1 with Kenny Albert and Eric Karros announcing — in addition to FOX Midwest with McLaughlin and Tim McCarver.

Oh, and this game just happens to be the United Cardinal Bloggers annual progressive game blog — and I’m leading off the coverage with the first inning.

O happy day! Hopefully, that is …

Yes, the Dodgers and Cardinals are back at it again after Friday night’s 3-2 Cards win in which Matt Holliday drove in all three runs with a double and home run, Kolten Wong scored the two runs Holliday didn’t, Lance Lynn allowed two runs and struck out nine, and the bullpen — Seth Maness, Pat Neshek and Trevor Rosenthal — threw three scoreless innings and allowed just one hit.

In addition to the bright blue sky and sun, the green of the field looks extra vibrant on the FOX 1 telecast — much more than on FOX Midwest, as I had to change the channel and check once I noticed. Hmmmm, guess FOX 1 has some super-duper extra-green camera.

The starting pitchers, Zack Greinke and Joe Kelly, have faced each other before — last October, to be exact, in Games One and Five of the NLCS. Game Five was the last time Kelly faced the Dodgers, while Greinke started against the Cards three weeks ago today in Los Angeles. Here’s to a better performance from Kelly, as he gave up four earned runs that last game and was the losing pitcher, and a worse one from Greinke, who gave up one run, four hits and struck out 10. Continue reading →

From 5 Back To First Place, 7 Days Later

Posted on by
Reply

It’s been quite a week for the Cardinals, hasn’t it? Last Sunday, after two straight disappointing losses to the Miami Marlins, the Cards were five games back in the National League Central and in third place behind the Brewers and Pirates.

wong

Love the sign! (Photo: STLToday.com)

Now, with winning five of the past seven games including a 10-2 victory over the Brewers on Saturday, the Cardinals are tied for first place.

If it seems like it’s been a while since they were in first, it has. The last time? April 5. Not that we need a reminder of what most of the first half of the season has been like …

So it’s definitely good to see this position once again. First place!

Of course, gaining so much ground so quickly wouldn’t be possible without the Brewers having lost each of the last seven games and 11 of their past 12. And, given what they were dealing with as a team yesterday with the death of Jean Segura’s infant son, it seems wrong to gloat too much about yesterday’s Cards win in particular.

Instead, what about the five Cards wins this week — and especially Friday night’s comeback win?

Continue reading →

Hey Cardinals, Are You There? Do You Even Care?

Posted on by
4

Quick, what’s the first word that comes to mind when thinking of the 2014 Cardinals? Underachieving? Frustrating? What-the-hell-is-up-with-these-guys?

faceAll are accurate, but I’m going with frustrating. That’s the exact word used by my Giants fan pal at work when he saw me yesterday: “It must be frustrating to be a Cardinals fan these days,” he said as a form of greeting after his team took three of four.

Yep, it is frustrating.

And, yep, pity from a Giants fan.

Ugh.

Beyond that, though, it’s now been 19 innings since the Cardinals last scored a run, during the seventh inning of Oscar Day on Saturday. Of course, even the excitement of Oscar’s arrival and debut game home run seem long gone by now, with the malaise of back-to-back shutouts by the Giants and the Royals and an offense of seven total hits, 12 strikeouts and 11 left on base combined from those games.

Ho hum.

Hey, Cardinals, are you there? Do you guys even care?

I’ve been wondering that, both in watching these past two games and in reading a post from Scott Wuerz on his Cheap Seats Blog at the Belleville News-Democrat website, which begins like this:

I’m probably wrong. In fact, I hope I am wrong. But it just seems, from the outside looking in, that the St. Louis Cardinals have a bunch of guys on the roster who don’t really get all that excited about playing baseball.

I hadn’t really paid attention until the Arrival of Oscar Taveras, who smiled throughout his debut and seemed to be aware of the fact that he’s the life of the party. They go about their business and I’m not saying that they don’t work hard. But for too many of the Cardinals players it seems like it’s only business, no passion.

Accurate? Seems like it to me, just as a fan watching on TV. Wuerz probably has more insight, given he covers the team so is privy to more than what we see on television or from the stands at Busch. Continue reading →

Since A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words …

Posted on by
Reply

Since we know the old saying “a picture is worth 1,000 words,” here’s a photograph to sum up last night’s Yankees 7-4 win over the Cardinals.

Photo: STLToday.com

Photo: STLToday.com

Shelby Miller allowed all 7 runs on 9 hits with 2 walks and a strikeout.

And he was sad.

For the Cardinals on offense, they had 13 hits — one more than the Yankees. They also left 13 on base and were 3 for 15 with runners in scoring position. Kolten Wong did go 4 for 5, however, and drove in a run in the 8th.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Cards had a chance as Allen Craig singled and Yadier Molina was walked by Yankees closer David Robertson. But then Jon Jay, pinch-hitter Matt Adams and Daniel Descalso each struck out. Yet, according to Mike Matheny in this article from Jenifer Langosch, that was all just fine.

“That’s really the story I want to leave this room with — these guys kept fighting,” Matheny said. “We had an opportunity there. I really admire the fact that these guys kept playing the game, kept taking good at-bats.”

Yay! Good at-bats — with three K’s in a row! Juice boxes for everyone!

The San Francisco Giants are in town tonight to start a four-game series at 7:15 p.m. If it seems like it’s been a while since the Cards played them, it has — their last games were almost exactly a year ago, with a doubleheader on June 1, 2013, that the Cardinals swept and a loss the next day in which Yadi had a memorable outburst.

A coworker is a Giants fan and he gave me this scouting report on the series: “It will be a split. The Giants are terrible on the road, but they have the best record in the majors.”

Yuck.

But, yes, the Giants are 34-19 and obviously in first place in the NL West. As for their road record, it’s 15-10 … so not exactly terrible. At least the Cards home record is now 15-9. Tonight’s pitching match-up is Ryan Vogelsong vs. Jaime Garcia.