Tag Archives: St. Louis Cardinals

December 31, 2011

Sal’s Top 5 Sports Stories of 2011

By nalstradamus

My final post of 2011. It’s been a great year for me personally and I’m looking forward to making 2012 even better. I made a few resolutions for 2011 and I hit them all. I ran my first full marathon, I completed P90X, got a new job and started a blog. I’m having a hard time picking goals for 2012, but I’m sure I’ll figure something out in the next few days. Anyway, enough about me. I’m going to end 2011 with a short review on my top 5 sports stories of the year. I know there have been many stories to choose from, but this is my list and if you have another top 5 feel free to share them in the comments section. Have a safe and happy new year! All the best to you and your families for 2012.

1) Vancouver Canucks Stanley Cup Playoff Run

This many people crammed in a small space...probably a bad idea

There was an unreal buzz in downtown Vancouver during the long Stanley Cup playoff run by the Canucks. I live right in the middle of downtown Vancouver so I experienced the mayhem after each game. I will never forget game 7 against the Blackhawks. The nervousness we all felt watching that game was amazing and the yelling and cheering that lasted all night was incredible. Of course it all ended badly as the Canucks lost game 7 at home and we all know what happened after. I was walking down Granville after game 7 and left just in time before the tear gas started. A dark night, that has forever scarred this city.

2) The St. Louis Cardinals winning the World Series

Photo by REUTERS

The Cardinals played the best 3 months of baseball I’ve ever seen. Coming back from a double digit game deficit late in the year to make the playoffs was a ridiculous feat in itself. They followed that up by beating the World Series favourite Phillies on the road against the best pitcher in baseball. The improbable feats continued in the World Series where arguably the best game in playoff history took place in game 6 with the Cardinals coming back twice while being down to their final strike of the season. It was a season that you couldn’t script any better in Hollywood. It was also an end of 2 eras in St. Louis with Tony La Russa riding off into the retirement sunset and Albert Pujols becoming a gazillionaire with the Angles via free agency.

3) Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers

Aaron Rodgers is the best QB in the NFL

The Packers led by arguably the best QB in football have been dominating the competition in 2011. They started off the year with a Super Bowl win and continued their winning ways in this year’s regular season. They almost went a full year without a loss going undefeated from Dec. 19, 201o to Dec. 18, 2011. Aaron Rodgers has solidified his place among the best QB’s in the game with MVP type numbers: 4643 yards, 45 TD, 6 Int, 68.5% comp. pct and 122.7 QB rating. The Packers are the favourites to win it all again this year and it looks like the only thing that can stop them is themselves.

4) Sidney Crosby and Concussions in the NHL

Will Sid the Kid have to retire early if his concussions continue?

The biggest story in the NHL season is the absence of the best player in the league Sidney Crosby. Crosby was able to return for a few games, but after a seemingly insignificant bump has now found himself in the press box again suffering from lingering concussion symptoms. There is a significant fear in hockey circles that possibly Crosby may permanently be hampered by concussion symptoms. Crosby means so much to the league and having him not playing is a loss for all hockey fans. Crosby may be the best player not playing due to a concussion, but there have been many others that are missing time or have missed time due to concussions: Chris Pronger has been lost for the season and possibly for his career, Shea Weber, Jeff Skinner, Simon Gagne, John Michael Liles, Colby Armstrong, the list goes on. Many people have offered potential solutions to the ever growing problem including the re-addition of the centre red line, bigger ice surface, softer pads, better helmets, more clutching and grabbing, no touch icing, etc. Unfortunately, there is no easy solution.

5) Lokomotiv Plane Crash

(AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)

Tragedy struck on September 7 when the entire Lokomotiv KHL hockey team was killed in a plane crash. Several former NHL players were on board including the head coach Brad McCrimmon. I attended a pre-season Canucks game shortly after this crash and there wasn’t a dry eye in the place after an emotional video montage was played highlighting each player killed in the crash. The Lokomotiv team plans on playing in the KHL again in 2012-2013.

 

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October 28, 2011

The Improbable Champs

By nalstradamus

Photo by REUTERS

Looks like I’m owing one of my buddies money after all :) The Cardinals have just completed likely the most incredible three months of baseball ever seen. Their story is well known by now: overcoming a double digit deficit in the regular season to eek into the playoffs, defeating the odds on World Series favourite Phillies on the road against the best pitcher in baseball and then most recently the magical game 6 performance where they were down to their last strike of their season twice and battled back to win. If there was ever a team of destiny, the Cardinals would be it.

Their triumph was truly a team triumph. There were good performances such as MVP David Freese’s, but there were important contributions all over the line-up, bullpen and rotation. Chris Carpenter showed unreal heart with his gutsy game 7 performance when it was clear he was running on fumes. Allen Craig, a little known player to the casual fan, came up with key hits throughout the series and also had a home run saving catch in game 7. Blue Jay castoffs Dotel and Rzep (I’m getting lazy and will not type the full name) were solid when called upon from the ‘Pen. The Rasmus trade with the Blue Jays was likely the turning point of their season. I doubt any of this happens if that trade did not occur. I wonder how Colby Rasmus feels tonight…for Blue Jays fans you’d hope this puts a charge in him to be better next year and beyond.

The Cardinals win is a tough pill to swallow for the Rangers. Losing a World Series is tough enough, losing 2 years in a row is agonizing, but losing after you had the trophy within reach with one more strike…twice…must be devastating. The Rangers pitching let them down in the end, setting a World Series record for base on balls in a series. As all baseball fans know, walks always come back to bite you in the ass. The offence will continue to be the Rangers’ strong point heading to next season, but the starting pitching will be a point of focus in the offseason. It is likely CJ Wilson pitched his last game as a Ranger tonight and he likely cut into his free agent pay day with an awful postseason performance. I do think the Rangers will continue to be a force in the seasons to come as their foundation is too strong to crumble away into obscurity.

Photo By REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine/REUTERS

The final thing to address is the future of now free agent Albert Pujols. The best hitter in baseball already turned down a massive contract extension prior to the season and it was looking more and more like his days as a Cardinal were fading. However, most feel this World Series win likely has locked up not only Pujols, but also manger Tony LaRussa. I just can’t either of these 2 men leaving the Cardinals now.

Maybe that’s what the baseball gods wanted in the end…because Pujols in any other uniform just doesn’t seem right.

Image via Wikipedia

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October 18, 2011

World Series Predictions

By nalstradamus

The World Series is set to go on Wednesday and it’s shaping up to be a stellar series. On one hand you have the hottest team in baseball in the St. Louis Cardinals that have been virtually unbeatable for 2 months. On the other hand you have an offensive juggernaut in the Rangers that seemingly cannot be stopped by any pitching staff. So who are you picking to win it all? I have to stick with my original prediction and go with the Rangers, but to help with your choice lets break this match-up down a bit more.

Starting Pitching

Texas: CJ Wilson, Colby Lewis, Matt Harrison, Derek Holland

St. Louis: Chris Carpenter, Edwin Jackson, Kyle Lohse, Jaime Garcia

Edge: Slight lean to Rangers

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Both of these rotations don’t blow you away or make hitters shiver in their boots; however, the Rangers rotation is slightly more trustworthy than the Cardinals back-end of Jackson, Lohse and Garcia. Lohse and Garcia are a combined 0-4 so far in the playoffs with 5.74 and 7.45 ERA’s respectively.

Bullpen

Texas: Feliz, Adams, Uehara, Gonzalez, Oliver, Feldman, Ogando

St. Louis: Motte, Salas, McClellan, Rhodes, Boggs, Dotel, Rzepczynski

Edge: Rangers

Feliz is lights out as closer and the big edge here is with Ogando who can come in and pitch 4+ innings and be dominant if a starter struggles. The Cards are solid, but the Rangers pen is deeper and more talented. Although Uehara has been giving up bombs each outing he’s appeared in.

Infield

Texas: Beltre, Andrus, Kinsler, Young/Moreland

St. Louis: Freese, Furcal, Schumaker, Pujols

Edge: Rangers

Pujols alone almost made this a push because he is the best player in this series without a doubt, but the Rangers have boppers and all-star talent all over their infield.

Outfield

Texas: Cruz, Hamilton, Murphy, Gentry, Chavez

St. Louis: Holliday, Jay, Berkman, Craig, Patterson

Edge: Push

Nelson Cruz is the hottest hitter in the playoffs, Hamilton is a former MVP. The Cards are just as solid with Holliday and Berkman. Gentry and Jay are both solid defenders. If there was a slight edge it would be on defence as Cruz has an absolute cannon in right.

Catcher

Texas: Napoli, Torrealba

St. Louis: Molina

Edge: Cards

Napoli may be a better power hitter, but Molina is light years ahead of either Ranger catcher in defence and cutting down base runners. Molina’s arm may be one of the most important weapons in this series as the Rangers love to steal bases and push the envelope.

Coaching

Edge: Cards

LaRussa is a legend and you have to give the edge to him here. Washington’s no pushover or anything, I mean anytime you can bring your team to back to back World Series is an amazing accomplishment.

Intangibles

Edge: Cards

This is simple, the Cards have home field advantage.

My final prediction: Rangers in 6

Series MVP: Michael Young

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September 28, 2011

Losing in the Most Painful Way Possible

By nalstradamus

I can’t believe I missed all the madness. I had an Arctic Monkeys concert to go to tonight so I missed all the ridiculous drama in MLB tonight. When I left the apartment the Yanks were up 7-0 in the 8th inning and the BoSox were leading by 1 late. Things were tense in Atl when I was leaving, but things looked good with Atl up 3-2 heading to the 9th. What the hell happened? I walk out of the concert with my ears ringing and my phone going bananas with texts saying ridiculous nonsense. I didn’t believe any of it, but now I’m home and looking at the highlights…HOLY S#$%!

First of all, I have to talk about the Rays. Given the circumstances, is that not the best comeback in baseball history? A game tying shot with 2 outs and down to your last friggin’ strike with a batter that was sitting for the previous 3 hours coming up cold swatting a jack? Unreal! The Rays definitely deserve the Wild Card after that magical comeback and the Red Sox definitely did not deserve to make the playoffs after horribly fading down the stretch and losing 2 out of 3 to the last place team in their division. The BoSox will have to take a hard look at their starting staff and bullpen this offseason because this is what let them down in September.

In the NL the Cards completed their seemingly impossible comeback by destroying the Astros while the Braves painfully ended their season when a nervous ninth led to a blown save and eventual extra innings heartbreak. Plain and simple the Cards deserve the Wild Card, taking care of business all throughout September while the Braves offence disappeared in September leading to their grand collapse. I think the Braves will be fine in seasons to come, they’re a young team and they’ll only get better and better. But yeah, this will sting a bit.

Photo via AP

Predictions on 1st round playoff matchups

Tampa vs Texas

Winner: Texas, I have to stick with them because they are my world series pick, but Tampa has all the momentum in the world. This pick is all pride :)

NYY vs Detroit

Winner: Detroit, one evil empire misses the playoffs and another bounced in the opening round. Sounds good to me. Yanks have all the offence in the world, but other than CC who is starting?

STL vs Philly

Winner: Philly, their rotation is just too sick to lose.

Arizona vs Milwaukee

Winner: Milwaukee, more pitching, more hitting and they have a Canadian in Axford…that should be good enough

 

 

 

1 comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , | posted in Baseball

September 27, 2011

Chokin’ It

By nalstradamus

I

It’s coming down to the final game in both the AL and NL Wild Card chase. Unbelievably, both races are deadlocked coming down to the final game of the season. Both the Red Sox and the Braves looked like sure bets to make the post-season, but both have choked their way to the brink of missing the playoffs. The Red Sox blew a 9 game lead in 23 days and the Braves let an 8.5 game lead slip away in the last 3 weeks. From a fan’s standpoint I’m hoping both races remain tied after tomorrow forcing a 163rd game to be played. 1 game of desperation is intense and I’m greedily crossing my fingers for this can’t miss TV possibility.

If you are a Yanks fan which team would you rather face? Your arch rival who limps into the playoffs with question marks all over their starting rotation and bullpen? Or a seemingly less dangerous team in the Rays who you’ve historically owned in the past, but is coming into the playoffs red hot and full of confidence? If I was the Yanks I’d totally throw tomorrow’s game and let the Rays win in a walk and hope the Orioles can pull off an upset win against the Sox. The Sox may look like the inferior team of the two choices, but these are the Boston Red Sox, they are capable of suddenly turning it on and be the best team in the league. They also seem to play their best against the Yanks and their offence is just as dangerous as the Bronx Bombers.

If you are the Phillies you probably don’t care. Your team is the best in baseball and will match up well against either the Braves or Cards. I think they would prefer to play the Braves because the Braves don’t have a guy named Pujols. The Cards have a better offence than the braves and their bullpen is deep with all their trade deadline pick-ups.

Pitching match-ups for tomorrow:

Boston: Lester  Baltimore: Simon

Tampa: Price  NY: TBD (probably a reliever)

Philly: Blanton  Atlanta: Hudson

STL: Carpenter  Houston: Myers

My predictions:

I just can’t see the Red Sox losing tomorrow, Simon is a gas can. I also think the Rays win because David Price is a big game pitcher and the Yanks just won’t put up much of a fight. In the NL I’d be scared if I was a Braves fan because St. Louis will win against a Houston team that has already lost 104 games. However, one bright spot for the Braves is Blanton has struggled against Atlanta going 1-3 in his last 4 starts against the Braves. Hudson on the other hand is 3-1 in his last 4 starts against Philly.

So in conclusion I think we’ll see a 163rd game between the Red Sox and Rays and I think the Cards complete the unreal comeback and snatch the Wild Card away from the Braves.

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