Random Thoughts in Late September

It's been seven and a half weeks since I last posted to this blog. It's not I don't have anything to say, it's just that as I continue to get my life back, I have less time to write than while I was recovering from the kidney transplant.  As an update, my doctors have lifted all of my dietary and fluid restrictions and I am able to eat and drink pretty much whatever I like. I don't see any of my transplant team until mid December and my lab work is down to every other Monday morning.  So, life is good and I am keeping busy working a part time job and looking after my 97 year old mother.

I have spent the last four weekends in my old stomping grounds, Columbia, Mo. watching my beloved Missouri Tigers play football. Mizzou is 4-0 and really hasn't played anyone tough. They were rated as high as number six, but then beat 24 ranked Boston College and slipped to 8. A win last week over Vanderbilt dropped the Tigers to #11. My guess is the voters in the A-P poll don't think the Tigers schedule is as tough as the rest of the SEC teams ahead of them.  That is a logical assumption but keep  in mind Missouri has beaten ranked Power 4 opponent and the conference schedule was set by the SEC conference.  You know what's strange?  Today Mizzou climbed back into the ninth spot in the Associated Press poll despite having a bye yesterday. They've also moved up to number 9 in the coaches poll. I guess the writers and coaches think not playing anyone is better than winning.  Go figure.

As far as the NFL I haven't watched a game all season and have a lot of other things I can do on fall Sunday afternoons.  I might watch a game once it gets cold in December, but I have better things to do than waste my time on a league that has twice crapped on St. Louis football fans.

The 2024 MLB regular season came to a conclusion today with my beloved St. Louis Cardinals finishing eleven games back of the Brewers in the NL Central and missing the playoffs, again.  I haven't watched the team in over a month because they had mediocre starting pitching, a crappy bullpen outside of their closer and an offense that never came close to it's potential.  Still the birds ended up four games over .500 in a lame Central division.  If I owned the organization (the DeWitt Family does) I would give someone else beside John Mozielak a chance to be the general manager.  And, while he appears to be a nice guy, I would fire manager Ollie Marmol too.  He hasn't won in two years. It's not entirely his fault because Mozielak hasn't given him much of a team to work with.  But, as the saying goes, you can't fire the whole team.

Have people in the United States gone insane?  I can't believe millions and millions of voters say they will vote for Donald Trump.  The man is a pathological lawyer, somewhat senile and apparently thinks the voters are dumber than he is. Kamala Harris is more liberal than I care for but I will vote for her to save our democracy in the United States of America.  Now, having written that, I don't think anyone has ever said "I think I'll go look at a random blog to decide whom to vote for as president."

Does anyone know why Google no longer has a workable system for posting images on a Blogger? I've tried reading the instructions and even that doesn't work.

Have a great rest of September!

Congratulations to the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2023

The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York expanded its list of players by two this past Sunday afternoon.  Inducted into the Hall were Fred McGriff and Scott Rolen.

I Consider myself fortunate to have seen Rolen play for the Cardinals at Busch II and the new St. Louis stadium that opened in 2006.  He was a key to the Cards National League title in 2004 and the Birds run to the World Series championship in 2006.

Rolen played for four major league teams during his 19 year career but note he's wearing a Cardinal cap on his HOF plaque.

The Baseball Writers Association of American selected McGriff, who was a unanimous choice of the Hall's Contemporary Baseball Players Era Committee, in December.  I saw McGriff play  in person on many occasions during his career when he would come to St. Louis as a member of the Padres, Braves, Cubs and later the Dodgers.

I particularly remember the 1996 NLCS series in which McGriff played a key role in the Braves win and return to the World Series.  It seemed as if McGriff was at the plate whenever runners were in scoring position.  He homered twice in the seven game series and drove in seven runs with an .858 OPS.  McGriff also destroyed the Cardinals in the last three games of the NLCS that year in which Atlanta outscored St. Louis 32-1.

Images courtesy of the National Baseball Hall of Fame

Chicago Cubs announcer Pat Hughes was also inducted into the Hall of Fame Broadcasters wing as the 2023 Ford C. Frick Award winner.  He was joined in the Hall's Writer's Wing at the Cooperstown festivities by John Lowe who received the Baseball Writers Association of America's Career Excellence Award.

Scott Rolen Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame

Former St. Louis Cardinal and Philadelphia Phillie third baseman Scott Rolen has been elected to the Professional Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America.  He will join Fred McGriff this summer in induction ceremonies at the hall in Cooperstown, NY.  McGriff was selected to the hall by the Contemporary Era Committee.

I had the chance to watch Rolen many times at Busch Stadium II and Busch Stadium III, while he was a member of the Cardinals between 2002 and 2007.  Rolen was a good third baseman offensivly but I didn't think his production would land him in the hall.  However, he is one of the best defensively I've ever seen play the position.  While with the Cards Rolen played on two world series teams.  The Cardinals lost to the Red Sox in 2004 and then won it all against the Detroit Tigers in 2006.  Rolen was an integral part of both teams.

I hope Rolen will go into the Hall with a Cardinal hat on his induction plaque.  He played more years with the Phillies but put up better numbers with the Cardinals and was selected to four All-Star teams during his time in St. Louis.

He played a total of 17 years in the big leagues, seven with the Phillies, six with the Cardinals, parts of four years with the Reds and a partial season with the Blue Jays.  His career stats included a .281 batting average, 316 home runs and 1287 RBI.

Rolen and McGriff, who played for the Blue Jays, Braves and Rays, will be inducted into the baseball hall on Sunday July 23rd.

Congratulations Albert

Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals has just joined the 700 club.  700 HOME RUNS.  Pujols drove a 1-1 slider from Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Phil Bickford deep to left field at Dodger Stadium in the top of the fourth inning to reach the milestone homer.

Ironically, Pujols did it in Los Angeles where he had played the last 10 years of his career before signing with the Cardinals earlier this year.

Pujols is 4th all time on the home run leader list behind Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth.  Bonds achieved his record during baseball's steroid era and many so called experts believe it to be tainted by steroid usage.

Earlier in the game, during the third inning, Pujols hit homer 699 off of Dodger starter Andrew Heaney into the left field pavillion.  It was measured at 434 feet.

Pujols is in the final season of his career with the Cardinals having announced earlier this year this would be his last.

Baseball HOF Class of 2022

Congratulations to the National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees for 2022.  Nine new members joined the hall this afternoon in ceremonies in Cooperstown, New York.

The newest members are:  Bud Fowler, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Miñoso, Tony Oliva, Buck O'Neil, and David Ortiz.  For a well written article and videos from the induction ceremony, check out this article by Anthony Castrovince written for MLB.com.

I was lucky enough to see four of them play or manage in person during their careers.

Gil Hodges - I did not see Hodges play in person because I was too young as he completed his playing career.  But, I saw him manage the "Miracle Mets" of 1969.  That team won the National League pennant and then went on to upset a highly favored Baltimore Oriole team in the World Series.  I can remember watching a St. Louis Cardinal - New York Mets doubleheader in July and not being impressed so much by Hodges managerial skills, but the amount of talent the Mets had on that team and pitching staff.   But, in looking back, I realize now that team was managed by a man who knew he had talent and managed those young players to an NL Championship over a highly regarded Chicago Cubs club that faded down the stretch in September.  One other thing about Hodges, he died way too  young of a heart attack.

Jim Kaat - I had the opportunity to watch Kaat play with the St. Louis Cardinals for four years at the end of his career and saw him at Busch Stadium II eight or nine times in 1982 when the Cardinals won the World Series.  Kaat was a pitcher at the end of his career.  He craftily changed speeds and locations to keep hitters off balance.  In that 1982 season Kaat was 5-3 with an ERA of 4.08.  In his four years with Cards Kaat was a work horse pitching in 176 games and over 290 innings.  Kaat pitched a total of 25 years and ended his career with 283 wins and a career ERA of 3.45.  His selection is long overdue.

Minnie Miñoso - I believe I saw Miñoso play for St. Louis in 1962.  (I was nine years old and my Dad took me to several games that year, but I can't say for certain it was before Miñoso got injured on May 11, when he collided head first into the concrete left field wall).  His season was cut short by the skull fracture and wrist fracture from trying to chase down that Duke Snider line drive.  He came back later in the season but  got hit in his left arm on August 19th by a pitch from the Mets Craig Anderson.  Two days later while playing left field he had to leave the game with a swollen arm.  X-rays revealed a broken forearm.  It was somewhat ironic that his career in St. Louis ended with being hit by a pitch.  Miñoso had led the American League in being hit-by-pitches for ten years as a member of the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians.  Miñoso had a career that started when he was 25 with the Indians and stretched over five decades.  Minnie played a game with the White Sox when he was 56 years old to be able to say he had played in those five decades.  He amassed a total of 2113 hits, 195 homers and 216 stolen bases leading the American League in that category three times.  To say Miñoso was fast during his prime, would be an understatement. He was selected to the Hall by the Old Timers committee.

David Ortiz - There's not much I can say about him that hasn't been written.  I saw him and the Boston Red Sox play in person against the Cardinals in Game Three of the 2013 WorldSeries.  The Redbirds won the game 5-4 on a bizarre play in the bottom of the ninth.  But, Ortiz was on base three of four times he came to the plate.  He had a single and two walks.  In that series he hit .688 with a 1.948 OPS.  It was a small sample but indicative of his whole career.  I was also at Fenway Park on September 9, 2015 while on vacation; Ortiz's second to last active season.  He came up in the third inning and hit a three run home run off of Blue Jays pitcher Drew Hutchinson.  But, what was more impressive was his show of strength in batting practice.  From my perch on top of the Green Monster, I watched him drive ball after ball into the outfield seats, including one that flew over our heads above the "Monster" and out of Fenway onto Lansdowne Street.  He was a very strong man and a very good baseball player.  He is deserving of his first ballot election.

Thoughts on September

If you read this blog you know I have been a long time St. Louis Cardinal fan.  The Cardinals had a hell of a run this month.  They won 17 games in a row and cemented themselves a position in the MLB post season tournament.  The problem for St. Louis is it will most likely face the Los Angeles Dodgers in MLB's hokey one game wild card playoff.  The Dodgers will probably start Max Scherzer, who owns the Redbirds.  My guess is Adam Wainwright, who has had an amazing year will get the start for St. Louis.  I think it will be one and done for the Cards, but I had the same thoughts in 2011 when they played the Atlanta Braves in the one game playoff.  That year ended well for the Cardinals as they won the World Series.

-For me it was a very good month.  I had laser surgery on both of my eyes to remove cataracts.  The results of the surgery were almost immediate.  I am seeing 20/22 out of one eye and 20/40 out of the other eye just days after they were repaired.  And colors which had been kind of dull previously are now vivid.  Watching the sunset has once again become a thing of beauty.

-I hope you had a good September and that the coming month is even better for you.  I will write soon.

MLB Completes Its "Regular" Season

The COVID-19 regular season of Major League Baseball has stumbled to the finish line.  Most of the season was less than what we have come to expect in quality.  For starters, the team rosters expanded up and down as needed, a lot of the pitchers on double header days were Triple A players who frankly weren't ready for the show.  And to top it off the doubleheader games were only 7 innings.  Again, not what one would expect from MLB baseball.

The season was only 60 games long for most teams, less for others.  But, with the use of a host of made up as you go tiebreakers, MLB now has 16 teams that qualified for post season play.  And outside of the first round playoffs which are best of three affairs, the division and league championship series will be played at neutral sites.  Why?  Because baseball could have a hard time getting games played on time in cities such as Minneapolis, Buffalo (home of the Toronto Blue Jays this year) and Denver.  So, in its great wisdom MLB will play in "bubble" sites in four warm weather cities.  This way the games will be finished by the end of October and MLB will get a giant paycheck from its television partners.  Which is why MLB has pushed this sham for the past two months.
 

I don't really care who wins the World Series this year, because whoever the team is will be a joke.  Sure, I've been a long time St. Louis Cardinal fan, but this year I just don't care if it wins or not.  Ultimately, every record from this season should have an asterisk placed next to it so future generations know the season was a scam.

MLB Is a Joke

I haven't watched many baseball games since the return of this thing MLB wants to call baseball.  Sure, it is played like baseball but it's still a bastardization of the game we know.

I watched the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs play a "double header" yesterday.  What I saw was only a shadow what it should have been.

For starters both teams had a roster full of minor league players to get them through the two games.  And the games were not full games, but administratively shortened seven inning affairs.  I used to play seven inning games in high school.  The players on the Cards and Cubs yesterday who are not first year players are getting paid millions of dollars to play.  So, why are they too lame to play full games?  They won't play full games because MLB knows it will have to make up a butt load of games every time a team comes down with COVID-19.  As an example, the Cardinals have played three double headers in the last five days due to the many games that have been postponed due to having someone on their team or travel party come down with the virus.

Other observations yesterday that have not existed in the past.  Both clubs used designated hitters in both games.  This is because MLB has rammed the DH down the throats of National League teams.  Both the Cubs and the Cardinals are charter members of the National League and neither has been in favor of the rule.  But, commissioner Rob Manfred, ordained from on high it would happen and it has.  I could write another couple of articles on the DH and how it removes strategy from the game.  But, Manfred is looking for instant offense and he digs the long ball.  This game being played now, results in a strikeout, walk or home run more frequently than you realize.  This is not the game that has been played by Americans for hundreds of years.

Finally, the first game of the doubleheader yesterday lasted three hours.  That's bad enough for nine innings but remember this game was only seven innings long.  Projected out to nine full innings the game would have been three hours and 31 minutes.  That is unacceptable.

But, this joke of a game will continue.  Why you ask?  Because MLB will get millions of dollars from its network broadcast partners once the game gets to the post-season.  And when that happens, the owners will all get their pockets lined with TV money.  The rich get richer and the rest of us will have to do without the real game with all big league players.

Just shut it down now!

Making Up the Rules as It Goes

Major League Baseball continues to shit the bed almost daily.  It continues to make up new rules as new problems arise.

The latest MLB screw-up is saying winning percentage will decide who wins the divisions and who makes it into the post-season.  Both Miami and St. Louis have missed more than half of their season to date and MLB is hinting those games will not be made up in its two month schedule.  What?

For the 60 years I have watched the game, every team has played the same number of games to determine the winner of each division and who qualifies for the playoffs.  The only exception has been when teams who have no mathematical chance of post season play don't play out the full schedule.

But, now Rob Manfred and his cronies, have decided the season must be completed on time.  Why, you ask?  The commissioner's office which just did nothing for four months because of the pandemic, now wishes to finish the season on time?  The real answer is the game's TV partners want the playoffs in October.  So, guess what fool made this decision? (Manfred)

I'll say it again just as I have in my past few posts.  Just, shut it down now!

Are You Kidding Me?

Image from the Mooresville Tribune

This is a bit late but I have to express my feelings on the "agreement" reached between Major League Baseball owners and  players.  The season will begin in roughly three and a half weeks and unless both sides wake up and get their heads out of their butts I don't think I will be watching much professional baseball.  MLB can promote this half baked idea as baseball but it doesn't mean we have to watch it or spend our money on their crap.

I am a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals so this is how I see things I would be forced to watch.

First off, MLB could screw up a one car funeral.  Playing two thirds of the game against division rivals makes good sense.  But, playing one third of all games against the American League is a dumb idea.  And speaking of dumb ideas, how does using a designated hitter make the game safer?  If anything it exposes more players to risk by adding a player to each lineup.  The National League has continued to play the game as it was intended.  For 44 years since the DH was implemented by the American League the NL has not fallen to this gimmick that removes strategy from the game .  My guess is most National League fans don't like and don't want to have to watch it.  And the joke of it all is putting a runner on second base at the start of each extra inning.  It cheapens the game and it makes a mockery of runs scored statistics and ERAs.

And since there will be no fans allowed to attend the games they will all be shown on TV.  Watching baseball on television is boring.  I don't plan on spending too much time watching batters stepping out of the box after each pitch or pitchers wandering around the back of the mound whenever the mood strikes them.

I miss seeing baseball a lot, but I'm not sure I will watch much of this bastardization of the game.

Congratulations to the Newest HOF Members!

Derek Jeter and Larry Walker are the two newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.  I count myself fortunate to have not just watched both of them play but to have watched them in person.  I saw Walker on a number of occasions at Busch Stadium II in downtown St. Louis and that's where I also watched Jeter play with the New York Yankees against the Cardinals on June 11th, 2005.

#2 Derek Jeter - "The Captain"

Jeter's selection was a given.  The only question I have is who didn't vote for him?  Jeter was one vote away from unanimous selection.  As I write this the identity of the Hall of Fame elector is unknown and what that voter was thinking is even more difficult to comprehend.  Jeter had a career with almost 35 hundred hits in over 11 thousand at bats and a lifetime .310 batting average.  The image of Jeter to the left is from a trip I made to the Bronx two years ago.  The image of him is on the exterior right field wall of Yankee Stadium.  I was standing on River Avenue when I took the photo.

The day I saw Jeter play against the Cardinals in St. Louis he was 2-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.  In the field he handled five chances flawlessly.  Normally I wouldn't remember one players day from 15 years ago, but I remembered he had a good day and went back to look it up.  "The Captain" was not a favorite of mine at the time, but as the years passed he earned my respect and now I am proud to be able to say I saw him in person and believe him to be one of the best to ever play shortstop in the history of the game.

The Yankees beat the Cardinals 5-0 the day I saw Jeter play.  But, he wasn't the only future Hall of Famer on the Field.  Larry Walker also played that day coming into the game as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 8th for Cardinal outfield So Taguchi.  And who you ask was on the hill for the Yankees when Walker came into the game?  Why none other than HOF reliever Mariano Rivera who was elected unanimously to the Hall last  year.

The match up ended up in Rivera's favor with Walker being called out on strikes that afternoon. As it turns out Rivera got a four out save and another Hall of Famer, Randy Johnson, got the win.

Larry Walker playing for the St. Louis Cardinals

Walker was near the end of his career that afternoon, but he had an illustrious one.  Walker had a lifetime average of .313 in 17 seasons with 383 home runs and 230 stolen bases.  He started his career with the Montreal Expos then moved to Colorado to play for the Rockies and ended it with his last two years in St. Louis.  In 2004 Walker was a trade deadline pickup and he helped the Cardinals to the World Series that year against the Boston Red Sox.  Walker hit .293 in the 2004 post season including six home runs with two of them coming against the Red Sox in the World Series.

Walker retired after the 2005 season and in those two years he became a huge fan favorite in St. Louis.  Walker says he will enter the Hall with a Colorado Rockie hat on his plaque.  Walker will become just the second Canadian to enter the Hall.  He will join former Chicago Cub pitcher Ferguson Jenkins who was inducted in 1991.

Walker and Jeter will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 26th along with former Cardinal Ted Simmons and labor leader Marvin Miller who were selected by the Modern Era baseball committe a little over a month ago.

Congratulations to the Hall of Fame class of 2020!

Wow, Did I Miss Calling that Series!

In my previous post of nine days ago I predicted the Atlanta Braves would sweep the St. Louis Cardinals in a National League Divisional Series.  I blew the call.  The Cards won the series three games to two this afternoon and advance to the National League Championship Series against either the Los Angeles Dodgers or the Washington Nationals.  (The outcome has not been determined as I write this).

In the decisive game this afternoon the Cards scored ten runs in the first inning and the rest, as they say, is history.  Redbird starter Jack Flaherty was sharp and pitched six strong innings giving up only one run as the Cards went on to win 13-1.  Flaherty is only 23 years old and if you are not familiar with him, watch him pitch.  He is something special and might be one of the great ones if he stays healthy.  Many times this season he pitched when his teammates did not give him run support or the bullpen blew a save.  But, he still  posted an 11-8 record with an ERA of just 2.75.

This Cardinal team has surpassed my expectations, especially when you think how feckless it was at the All-Star break. On July 12 the Birds were 44-45, three games back of the then division leading Chicago Cubs.  I don't know what will happen from this point on but the rest of the season is gravy.  Game one of the NLCS will be Friday night in either Los Angeles or St. Louis.

So Long September

My St. Louis Cardinals wrapped up the 2019 season by playing mediocre baseball in a mediocre division.  The Birds won the National League Central Division with a record of 91-71, two games ahead of a beat up Milwaukee Brewers team and seven games in front of an overrated Chicago Cubs team.  Next up the Cards will play the Atlanta Braves in the National League Division Series starting on Thursday October 3rd in Atlanta.  I wouldn't be surprised to see the Braves sweep the Cards.

In football my beloved Missouri Tigers are off to a 3-1 start after having laid a big turd in Laramie, Wyoming in the season opener.  Mizzou wasn't ready for the Cowboys and lost the contest despite getting up 14-0 on its first two possessions.  Since then they have played two bad teams in West Virginia and Southeast Missouri.  They pounded South Carolina 34-14 two weeks ago, but South Carolina will be lucky to finish with a .500 record in the SEC.

And I won't miss the heat of September.  This has been one of the warmest September's I can remember in my life and I am old.  The temperature today was 94 degrees on the last day of the month.  I look forward to cooler fall temperatures.  But, at the same time I don't look forward to the cold and snow of the season that comes after fall.

That's my take on the completed month.  Talk to you in October.

Random Thoughts at Baseball's All-Star Break

My beloved Cardinals baseball team has fired Mike Matheny as its manager and now starts the second half of the season with interim manager Mike Schildt.  I'm not sure I would have made the change to Schildt now.  If the Cards are serious they would have named a new permanent manager immediately.  My choice would have been former infielder Jose Oquendo who reportedly relates well to Latin players and young players.  But, the Cardinals went interim instead.  Perhaps Oquendo doesn't want the job or the Cardinals have something else planned.  I am skeptical the team will get back into the National League Central division race this season.

-The MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday night epitomized everything wrong with the professional game.  Just like regular season games, batters were swinging for the fences in each at bat and striking out at a record pace.  While the home run is an exciting part of the game its pursuit results in a lack of action on the field.  Wake up MLB.  As far as the All-Star Game, thank God we won't have to deal with it for another year.

-Finally, if you put a gun to my head and ask who will be in the World Series this year, I will say the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers.  The Dodgers have struggled at times, but in my opinion they are the best of a mediocre National League.  Ultimately I expect the Dodgers' pitching to put them into the series.  I also think the Red Sox are much better than any team that would face them in the World Series.  The Bosox pitching, hitting, defense and speed will carry them to their second world title in the last six years.

Farewell Red Schoendienst

Copyright Baseball Hall of Fame

This past week one of my St. Louis Cardinal childhood favorites passed away at the age of 95.  Albert Fred "Red" Schoendienst was nearing the end of his career when I first saw him play as an eight year old in 1961 at Busch Stadium I.  I wasn't old enough at the time to realize I was seeing a Hall-of-Fame second basemen.  Schoendienst had a long distinguished career including four years with the Milwaukee Braves in the late 1950's,  During that period the Braves went to the World Series twice and won it in 1957.  Red was recognized as one of the best second basemen of his era for his hands and range.

Later in his career he managed the Cardinals to the 1967 and 1968 National League pennants.  In 1967 the Birds won it all beating the Boston Red Sox in seven games.  Schoendienst worked and consulted with the Cardinals until earlier this year.  RIP in Red.

I have been a frequent critic of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, but not this weekend.  Writer Rick Hummel, who is also in the Hall-of-Fame in the writers wing, wrote the following article looking back at how Mr. Schoendienst was remembered by those with he whom he came into contact.  The copyright on the following article is with the Post-Dispatch.  Here is the link to the article.

MLB Games are Just Too Long and Boring

Greetings oh  blog reader.  As I write this I am watching the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds play a divisional game from Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.  The game is being played at a snail's pace and honestly isn't any fun to watch.  It just moved into the top of the 5th and is almost two hours old.  Major League Baseball is boring because the games are too long.  I was offered tickets by a friends to a Cardinals game earlier this week and fortunatly I had other plans.  Fortunate because it was 93 degrees and I knew the game would last over three hours.  The seats were great seats, but also in the sun.  So while I love the game of baseball I was glad I didn't go to the Cards and Marlins game.

I've written about these long games on several occasions.  The average game time is well over three hours in the National League and even longer in the American League.  There are several reasons that the times have gotten out of hand.

For starters, umpires are not calling the strike zone as it is written in the rule book.  The book says a pitch over the plate from the letters to the knees is a strike.  But, for must umps, the strike zone exists between the waist and knees.  Batters take extra pitches looking for a free pass.  This results in more pitches seen in each at bat, which results in a longer game time.  For most hitters and pitchers the game is a cat and mouse contest.  The pitcher gets the ball back from the catcher and he steps off the rubber and does any number of things from rubbing up the ball, to walking around the back of the mound to blowing on his hand to God only knows what he will do next.  While the pitcher is wasting time the batter is stepping out of the batters box.  The hitter goes through a litany of tightening his gloves, looking down the foul line to the base coach for signals, knocking dirt out of his cleats, taking a couple of practice swings and then stepping back into the box.  If you're lucky the pitcher will throw to the hitter and the game resumes for one pitch.  If not they go through this routine again. Each at bat is too long, the inning becomes even longer and the fans get bored waiting for something to happen.  This could be resolved by the Commissioner of Baseball, Rob Manfred, issuing an order that the hitters will stay in the box and the pitcher on the rubber.  If they don't the pitcher is assessed a ball for each violation and the hitter is assessed a strike each time he steps out of the box.  It wouldn't take long for them to learn their bad habits won't be tolerated.  The commissioner also needs to order umpires to call strikes as they are written in the rule book.  If not they get a warning, that if repeated enough could result in suspension or termination.  The commissioner needs to realize fans do not go to the games to watch the umpires call balls.

If MLB is serious about picking up the pace it would also limit the amount of times between innings to 90 seconds.  As it is now MLB allows some networks to run up to three minutes of commercials each half inning (ESPN/ABC is a prime offender).  Baseball makes a ton of money off of TV rights so its TV partners need to show as many commercials as possible.  But, if the TV networks went to a grid system, they could charge more for each spot and reduce the number between innings.  MLB has to remember the fans in the stands who have to sit and wait every time TV shows a commercial.  These are the same fans who in some cases are paying over $100 per ticket to get into the ballpark. Baseball needs to show some consideration to those paying for tickets and not roll over for broadcast rights holders. If baseball would reduce the amount of time between innings it could result in a savings of at least 24 minutes per game.

If baseball is serious about shortening its games it's not that difficult.  My guess is nothing will change any time soon because of the amount of money being made by MLB and its business partners the way things are at this time.

Huckster Stadium

I had an old friend of mine once refer to Busch Stadium as "Huckster Stadium".  It's been about five years since he said it and the home of the St. Louis Cardinals has become little more than a blatant display of commercialism.  Each year there are more and more advertisements on the outfield walls, each half inning brings sales pitches from the PA announcer and to top it off every part of the game has an "Official Cardinal" sponsor.

I still love the game.  I was there last Thursday and watched the Cardinals beat the Mets 4-3 in 13 innings even though the game lasted over four hours.  (Major League Baseball would say that's not bad for a long extra inning affair, but it's way too long.  I will go into why baseball is played at a snail's pace in a future blog.)

When the game ended I was ready to go back for another game.  But after watching four games in a row on TV.  I am not sure I will go back unless someone gives me free tickets.  And to top it off the 2018 version of the Cardinals is mediocre at best.  The team has a terrible defense and an un-dependable bullpen.  I hope I'm wrong but this Cardinal team will be lucky to finish the season at the .500 level.

Stay tuned for more on this boring team that plays games that are averaging well over three hours each.

2017 Hall of Fame - Baseball

Congratulations to the newest inductees into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.  John Schuerholz, Bud Selig, Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Ivan Rodriguez are the newest members of the Hall.  I was fortunate to have seen this class play in person or see the game they had touched.

I saw several Schuerholz teams in person namely the 1985 Kansas City Royals and the Atlanta Braves of the 1990s.  As a St. Louis Cardinal fan I was disappointed in 1985 when the Royals came back from a three to one World Series game deficit to beat the Cardinals.  I lived in Central Missouri at the time and the Royals were my favorite American League team and I had seen them play five or six games that season at Kauffman Stadium.  But, when the Royals beat the Cards, especially in game six, it was a tough day.

I also saw Schuerholz teams that knocked the Cardinals out of the playoffs on several occasions in the late 90s. The thing I remember about those Braves teams was the pitching of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz.  All three of them are now enshrined in the Hall at Cooperstown.

I was never a fan of Bud Selig but ultimately he does belong in the Hall of Fame because of the labor peace that existed after the strike of 1994.  He told those in attendance at his induction speech that was the toughest fall he has ever had.  I am still critical of Selig for letting the greed of owners and players cancel something that neither World War One or Two could terminate.  Selig will also be remembered and have to bear the responsibility for presiding over the games PED scandals of the late 90s and early 2000s.

Jeff  Bagwell was always a thorn in the side of the Cardinals.  It seemed as if each time the Houston Astros had runners in scoring position, Bagwell was coming to the plate at Busch Stadium.  There was a period in the mid 2000's when the Cards and Astros were rivals and seemed to run into each other each post season.  And one of the reasons the Astros were there was because of Bagwell.

I consider myself fortunate to have seen Tim Raines play against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium II on many occasions when the Montreal Expos came to town.  Having watched Lou Brock in his prime I always enjoyed seeing the role that speed played in manufacturing runs.  Raines was one of the best having stole over 800 bases in his career and having a success rate of stealing over 84 percent.  He was a switch hitter and had power from both sides of the plate.  I know because I saw him homer off Cardinal pitchers from both sides of the plate when he played against the Redbirds.

Ivan Rodriguez was one of the best catchers I ever got to see play in person. I did not see him as often as Raines and Bagwell because he played most of his career in the American League.  But, there was one afternoon in 1996 when I was travelling and in Milwaukee.  The Brewers played a day game at old Milwaukee County Stadium against the Texas Rangers and Rodriguez in early July.  Let's just say  "Pudge" owned the day.  He homered in the first inning on a blast into the left field stands and then came back and homered again in the sixth inning and drove in three more runs in what turned into a blowout.  To top it off Rodriguez also threw out a would be Milwaukee base thief and showed off that marvelous cannon of an arm that he owned.  That day made me a fan of Rodriguez for the rest of his career.

This Team is Brain Dead

Last Friday night I wrote how poorly the 2017 version of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team is playing.  After I wrote that the 'Birds" won three out of four and got my hopes up for a possible pennant run.  Because St. Louis plays in the weakest division in baseball, I thought in the back of my mind they still have a chance.

But, after watching them get to within a game of .500 the Cardinals have lost two straight to a mediocre New York Mets team.  Last night the Mets won 7-3 after a poor start from Cardinal right hander Mike Leake.  Leake gave up seven runs in two innings.

The trip to New York could have finished on a bright note but mis-management and lack of focus cost the Birds the final game of the series.  The Mets won 3-2 today after the Cards had taken a 2-1 lead in the eighth inning on a Tommy Pham home run.

I don't know why, but for some reason Cardinal manager Mike Matheny sent left-hander Brett Cecil to the mound to start the bottom of the eighth. Cecil was promptly lit up by Met's pinch hitter Wilmer Flores, who jacked his 17th HR of the year to tie the game.  Cecil is OK against left-handers but I have no idea what Matheny was thinking.  Hopefully, it was the upcoming left-handed hitters in the Mets lineup that prompted the move.

Then in the bottom of the ninth the Mets put runners on the corners against Cardinal setup man Trevor Rosenthal with two outs.  Rosenthal gave up a sharply hit ground ball to Jose Reyes that Cards first basemen Matt Carpenter fielded on one hop.  But, Rosenthal didn't get off the mound right away and with no one on the base Reyes beat Carpenter to the bag.  The Mets scored, the Cardinals lost and go three games under.  So, much for my new found enthusiasm.

There is something fundamentally wrong with the team and it's not going to get any better until management gets rid of the attitudes and players going through the motions.  At this point the Cardinals should be sellers at the trading deadline.  This team has no chance of winning even in a weak division.

Tomorrow it gets even tougher as the team opens a three game series against the Cubs in Chicago.  If you haven't noticed the Cubs are unbeaten since the All Star break.  They will probably remain unbeaten through the weekend.

Another Chance and the Same Old Result

My beloved Saint Louis Cardinals started the second half of their season tonight in Pittsburgh.  I have been excited all week because they were only five and a half games back of the first place Milwaukee Brewers.  The Cardinals ended the first half of the season strong and were just two games under .500.

But, the optimism was misplaced.  The Cardinals closer, Seung-Hwan Oh, couldn't get out of the ninth inning and the Birds lost 5-2 on a walk off homer by the Bucs Josh Bell.

The Cards bullpen is a huge problem as is the defense.  Cardinal fans have given the bullpen the following names because they are terrible.  Closer Oh has become "Oh-No".  Set up man Trevor Rosenthal is "Blows 'Em All" and 7th inning specialist Matt Bowman is "Blowman".

I fear it is going to be a long second half of the season.