The Cards Diaspora App: UPDATE
Soccer Was Played At Busch Stadium
Aaron Miles Robbery Story Comes To TV!
Rally Pig? Why Not.

Being a Great Influence is Great

Written by Trumbsy on .

Man, oh man, was this past weekend awesome, or what?  Can you guys believe those crazy Redbirds were able to just go out and DOMINATE the Brewers like that? 143-1

WHO KNEW THEY HAD IT IN THEM???  (Answer:  EVERYONE.)

Anyhow, completing a sweep is always fantastic, but this weekend was particularly special to me.  And it’s because my trips to St. Louis have always been an adult only affair.
(NO BABIES ALLOWED EXCEPT FOR GROWN ONES DAD I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT YOU I PROMISE!!!)

They were boozy, profanity laden excursions that encouraged supreme selfishness and an overwhelming sense of entitlement.  Those games were about ME, dammit!  And the delusional part of my brain always seemed to think the Cardinals should KNOW that and therefore try harder to win those games.  It’s completely insane, I realize, but I suffer from ridiculous illusions of grandeur.

In any case, this trip proved to be much different, as this ended up being the year we finally brought my nephew along for the ride.  As a 10 year old, he was finally deemed old enough to enjoy the experience of gorging on baseball and our related neuroses for three straight days.  So he and his best friend joined our ever expanding traveling pack of Iowa bred Cardinal fans to make this our first St. Louis trip that involved children’s museums and Build-a-Bears.

And let me tell you something, it CHANGED me.

I watched all three of those games with a dramatically different mindset.  It was no longer about wanting the Cardinals to win for me.  It was about PLEADING with them to win for my nephew.

(Pleading so hard, in fact, that I think I gave myself a hernia.)

I wanted lots of home runs and exciting plays at home and dramatic double plays.  I wanted him to have the experience we've all had at some point in our lives that cemented and defined our fandom.  I mean, I VIVIDLY remember the day that my personal investment in Cardinals baseball went from passing interest to borderline obsession.  It happened over the course of a single half inning and by the end of it, I was hooked. That was A HUNDRED YEARS ago, but I’ll never forget that game or the feeling I had.   It’s unshakeable.

So, I spent a large amount of time just staring at these two 10 year old kids like a total creep just WAITING for them to realize how absolutely freakin’ AWESOME it all was.  I was irrationally concerned with them enjoying the absolute SHIT out of those games.

Now don’t get me wrong, I was just as personally invested in the outcome as I've ever been.  But somehow these wins seemed to mean more knowing that we were creating a whole new generation of fans as a result.  Each night that we got to watch the victory fireworks over Busch Stadium was another affirmation for these two boys just how great it is to care deeply not just about any team, but THIS team.

And while I can’t say for sure that this was the weekend that hooked them for good, we definitely gave it our all.  We played the Cap Dance game on the jumbotron.  We high fived and fist bumped until our hands were sore.  We JAMMED THE F@$# out to Allen Craig’s at bat song.  We were ALL IN.

Ultimately, this series brought out the kinder, gentler fan in me.  I swore less.  I listened more. And instead of going out partying until the wee hours after the games, I went back to the hotel and got my ass handed to me in UNO and Skip-Bo.  (While sweet, these kids are RUTHLESS!!!) I don’t know if it’s permanent, but I feel like I became a little less of an asshole over the weekend.

IT’S LIKE I DON’T EVEN KNOW MYSELF ANYMORE!!!

In any case, it made me realize that THIS is what sports are all about.  It’s not about me.  It’s NEVER been about me.  It’s about the bond between all of us fans who are in it together.  My Dad influenced my love for Cardinals baseball.  And now my nephew and his best pal have joined the pantheon.  We have done our part to insure that the next generation isn't overrun by delusional Cubs fans.  And for that, YOU ARE WELCOME.

PS:  I have to mention that my nephew’s best friend looks eerily like a young Kyle Lohse.  We, of course, teased him about this all weekend with DELIGHT.  He hated this comparison until Sunday.

15-0? 15-0.

Written by athooks on .


Please note the first arrow. Where the ball is supposed to be. In Tyler Greene's glove.

Now look at where the ball ACTUALLY is. Scooting towards right field. How did it get there? It went through Mr. Greene's glove, between his legs and into the grassy part of the diamond. 

Greene
Not good, Tyler. Not good.

The 2012 whipping boy didn't cause the Cardinals to surrender 15 runs and score 0 runs (at least totally), but that moment frozen above was the floodgate getting yanked up and a 3-0 manageable deficit soon become 5-0. Then 8-0. Then 15-0. The worst shutout at home since 1961 for the Cardinals.

A historically bad loss.

Butt kickin's are going to happen over 162 games. But keeping the players that push the boulders off the hills that turn wins into losses and losses into blowouts don't have to.

Tyler Greene isn't contributing to the Cardinals in a positive fashion. We can sit here and rip him a new one, but that's been done.

We all wish him the best. But the Cardinals are in for a dogfight these last 50 games. They can't afford to carry Tyler Greene and also absorb injuries. Like the one to Allen Craig that will sideline him for a couple of days, thus putting Greene in a position to effect the outcomes of the aforementioned 50 games. 

It's time.

It really is. 

Tyler Greene made a good effort, but he needs a reset. And we do too. 

Cardinals Playoff Odds

Written by athooks on .


Reds. Pirates. Braves. Nationals. 

Math.

The Cardinals, after another night of silent lumber, are 10 games over .500 and playing (generally) well. But it seems like a crapload of teams are ahead of them in the standings. Some by a little. Some by a lot.

We're not as sidways as in 2011 when the Cardinals had a 1.1% chance of making the playoffs on 08/27/11 and ended up with the 19th best regular season comeback to get a playoff berth in history:

Odds2
So we checked in to see what our buddies over at CoolStandings.com had to say about 2012. And it turns out that we need not worry quite yet. The Central Division odds aren't great, but overall? The Cardinals are more likely to be in the playoffs than out:

Odds
That's 65% chance the Birds will play extra baseball in 2012.

We'll keep an eye on this. Mainly because it's math made easy. We were terrible at math.

Kyle Loshe's Next Big Thing

Written by Aaron Hooks on .


One of my favorite pro athlete run-ins occurred in the men's room of Lumen in downtown St. Louis. Big-1

The private event space was hosting something or another where some Cardinal players came to hang out. It was the end of 2008 and Cardinal pitcher Kyle Lohse had just come off a 200 inning, 15-6 season entering free agency.

Feeling he was healthy and worthy of a top 2 in the rotation salary, the Cardinals singed him to a 4 year/ 41 million dollar contract. 

Big money. 

So In Lumen there are 2 stalls and a toilet in the restroom downstairs. Walking in with my buddy, we notice Kyle Loshe is at one uninal and a random is in the stall.

My buddy goes to the other urinal and looks over at Loshe. When he looks back, my buddy says:

"HUGE... (beat)... contract."

I couldn't see his face, but he chuckled. For about 1/8 of a second, he was probably terrified. But the situation worked out for Lohse. Besides. There was a divider. Buddy couldn't see anything anyway. He's not a looker. Never look at the urinal. Ever. 

Things always seem to work out for Kyle Lohse, though. He could have met a creeper. Instead he got a laugh.

Right after he singed his signature contract, he dropped to 117 innings and a 6-10 mark in 2009. In 2010, 92 innings and a 4-8 run. His WAR (Wins Above Replacement) was a -1.45 for the combined seasons. Meaning, he was getting 10+ million dollars to be a win and a half below what the Cardinals would have got had they plugged in the most average Major League pitcher.

We openly wondered if this was the worst contract the Cardinals ever signed.

2011 saw Loshe bounce back. Finally fully healthy.

And now, in 2012, he's got to be in the discussion for NL Cy Young after moving to 12-2 with a sub 3.00 ERA in a win over the Brewers Sunday night. 

Oh, by the way, he happens to be a free agent after the season, too. A 33 year old in his prime. With Scott Boras as his agent. In other words, unless the Cardinals are looking to run this contract back for 2013-2017, then Kyle Loshe's run as Cardinal is entering its twilight. 

Yes, it's too early to write off the chance that Lohse comes back. After all, he's been mum on what he's looking for in his next deal. But suffice to say, it's not going to be cheap. And the Cardinals aren't as quick to forget the first two years of this contract as we are. The chances of him re-upping in St. Louis have to be 50/50 at best. 

I'm OK with that. 

We'll see where this goes. If someone wants to overpay Lohse, I'll be a little sad to see him go. If the Cardinals can get him locked for 3 and an option for a good price, I'll love to have him back. 

Just like in 2011, we have another Cardinal playing great baseball with one foot out the door. This time we're prepared, though. Armed with the knowledge that we can get through this either way.

Don't worry for Kyle Loshe. He'll be all good. Let's enjoy what he's got left in 2012. 

A Sweep? Leads Monday Ramblin's...

Written by athooks on .


A sweep? Are the Cardinals contractually allowed to sweep? I thought that was going to incur some sort of fine on Mike Matheny. Or open up the skies to showers of frogs and newts… Sweep

Has there ever been a more Olympic story than Oscar Pistorius? Today many people, including myself, are going to be doing a lot less complaining. About
everything…

That 5 game over .500 mark had a strong gravitational pull. But now that the Cardinals have busted through to the next plateau and made it to 10 games over, is this the start of a legitimate post-season run? With three upcoming against the Giants at home, both battling for a playoff spot, the Cardinals have to stay at the 10+ mark and try to keep pushing to 15. It’s the Tony LaRussa method of not worrying about the standings, but trying to get as many games over even as possible…

Eventually your paycheck is going to be taxed at 100% and then you’ll have to work a whole other job  trying to get as much back from your earnings as possible. Anybody want to work on reducing taxes? If so, drop me a line and you’ve got a vote…

We’ve got the keychain winners locked and loaded. Winners are being contacted for mailing addresses…

Track and Field is missing out on a big opportunity: every single one of the 100M finalists last night had some sort of camera routine when they were introduced. Can we not get some music going with some lights and make this into a thing? Seems like a no-brainer…

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Who Wants A Cards Diaspora Keychain?

Written by athooks on .

Who wants a keychain?

Pretty much everyone, right? Unless you’re living in Clayton or something, you have to lock your doors. And unless you’re from Collinsville, you’re going to use a keychain and not twine.

And beer. It’s the weekend and you want a tall frosty bottle of beer, don’t you? You need a way to get that damn cap off.

Good thing our friends from WholesaleKeychain.com are here to help everyone live free and drink easy.

They’ve done CardsDiaspora.com a solid and sent over a beer opener sample pack engraved with our URL so all your friends can think you’re super cool.

CD_KeyChain
We want to give you one.

We’ve got 4 to send out to anyone that wants one. If you’re interested, just leave a comment below (about anything) and we’ll mail them out next week. If more than 4 people comment, then we’ll draw out of a hat and send them out at random.

Comments will close SUN 08/05 @ 11p CST.

Seriously, though… if you need something to give out at an event/function/party, check out WholesaleKeychain.com – quality people, making quality keychains for people everywhere... but Collinsville.

Those people need a bath.

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See You In St. Louis

Written by Trumbsy on .


You guys, I'm waaay too excited to sleep. I'm leaving the Windy City tomorrow, taking the I-55 Hellway south and headed to the promised land. 

OFF TO ST. LOUIS I GO, BITCHES!!!!  

Now, don't get me wrong. I love Chicago and think it's the best city on the planet.  (This is, of course, based on my relatively limited knowledge of all cities on Planet Earth. I'm sure Taipei is lovely this time of year.) 

That being said, I look forward to this trip every summer. My family is awesome and getting to a three game series in STL is a huge priority. It's a weekend in which I actually get to watch baseball with people who don't inherently hate my guts. 

WHAT A NEAT THING!!!

It's the BEST and I am basically beside myself at this point. Three days, three games and so many opportunities to make fun of the Dubs, hate on the Reds and wish for a fiery Pirates implosion with no real threat to my person. 

HOW CAN THIS POSSIBLY GO WRONG???

My plan is threefold:

1.  Eat lots of hot dogs, maybe grab some nachos on the side. (Extra jalapenos, hold the black olives because THEY ARE DISGUSTING AND CANNOT BE TRUSTED.)

2.  Drink a few cold brews. (By which I mean, I have to HYDRATE. Duh.)

3.  Watch the Cardinals lay waste to the Milwaukee Brewers for three straight days.

It's a flawless strategy. 

I'll see you in St. Louieeeee, my friends.

 

Down On The Farm. With Bo.

Written by athooks on .


We get email at Cards Diaspora. BoFarm-1

Most of the time it's cut rate Cialis offers for Fresh WC. But we get email.

Every now and again, we get some good email. And today happened to be one of those days. Friend of the site Bo sent over his farm report culled from several sources and complied here for your enjoyment. So in lieu of actually coming up with something for ourselves, we're going to rip it off and post it here, give it a little graphic, and not compensate him at all. He lives in Denver, anyway. So what can he do.

With Zack Cox shipped out, I was curious what the Cards had left to work with at 3B - considering 3 of their top 6 picks in this past draft played the position. Here's an update on some Cards draft picks from 2012.

RHP, Michael Wacha. Enough has been written about this kid's 5K performance the other day with Cards' scouting director, Dan Kantrovitz, tweeting that his fastball sat at 95 mph and touched 97. Mozeiak was on hand too.

OF, James Ramsey, the Florida State version of Tim Tebow, was the Cardinals 1st round pick, 23rd overall. Many considered this selection a reach and thought the Cards could have nabbed him at 36th overall. But Ramsey signed below slot and maybe that was the plan with the new CBA rules in place, which fine teams for over-spending on draft picks. Ramsey hit .364 his senior year and drove in 67 in 65 games. He made the jump directly to the Cards' High-A affiliate in Palm Beach. In 27 games there he is hitting .266 with 9 RBI and 35 Ks.

3B, Steven Piscotty, selected in the supplemental round, with pick number 36, started off up at Quad Cities, the Cards' class-A affiliate. The 3B prospect has appeared in 25 games with 1 HR and 11 RBI while posting a .309 average and a .387 OBP. Piscotty played at Stanford with infamous Pirates first-round selection Mark Appel who elected not to sign and return for his final year in school. A curious play at 3B, Piscotty only hit 12 HRs in 172 career games at Stanford. He did post a .340 career average and 132 career RBI, but he has a distinct lack of power for a position you'd typically expect more from.

3B, Patrick Wisdom, the Cards' supplemental round pick, number 52 overall out of St. Mary's in California, has batted .277 in 35 games at the hot corner in Batavia. So far, 3 HRs, 15 RBI.  But he has shown some patience at the plate for a 20 year old taking his first professional cuts. He has drawn a team-high 17 BBs vs. 23 Ks to give him a .371 OBP.

C, Steve Bean was the Cards' supplemental round selection at #59 overall, out of Rockwell HS, Texas. He was a "premier North Texas catching prospect with a solid bat and outstanding arm." He got off to a rough start at Johnson City, batting only .125 in 24 games with 1 HR and 5 RBI. He's since been moved down to the Cards' Gulf Coast League affiliate where he has appeared in 2 games, collecting 1 hit in 8 ABs for a, you guessed it, .125 BA. But keep in mind, Mr. Bean is still shy of his 19th birthday.

3B, Carson Kelly, out of Westview High School, Oregon, was selected in the 2nd round, 86th overall. It took nearly triple slot value to pry him away from the Univ. of Oregon - Kelly signed for $1.6m. Only a couple weeks past his 18th birthday, the 6'2" 200 lb Kelly has already belted 7 HRs in 32 games at Johnson City. However, he is only batting .240 with 5 BBs for a .275 OBP. Give this kid some time and we could see big things out of him.

A couple late rounders having noteworthy starts:

Tulane catcher Jeremy Schaffer was taken in the 18th round 570th overall. Cards moved him to 1B. He finished his senior year at Tulane so he'll already turn 23 next January.  In 35 games at Johnson City he's hit 6 HRs and collected 31 RBI while posting a .299 average. He has K'd 26 times however to only 6 BBs.

RHP Mariano Dixon Llorens out of Miami Dade CC South was taken in the 25th round 780th overall. This 19-year-old right-hander impressed down in Johnson City. He appeared out of the bullpen 8 times, collecting 2 saves and did not allow a run. In 15.2 innings he struck out 28 batters and walked only 6. But Llorens was moved up to Quad Cities and his first appearance, August 1, was ugly. He came on in the 9th to protect a 10-8 lead. The result? 1.0 IP, 2 2Bs, 1 HRs, 3 ERs, 27.00 ERA, and an 11-10 loss. 

Thanks again, Bo. 738 words. Not a single fact we checked. Hopefully you weren't making this up.

  

MLB Trade Deadline Notes: NL Central

Written by athooks on .

The MLB trade deadline came and went on Tuesday and the Cardinals were predictably silent. They did acquire RH relief pitcher Edward Mujica from the Miami Marlins for 2010 first round draft pick Zack Cox. Traded

So far Mujica is 0-3 with a 4.38 ERA in 2012. He has kept RH batters to a .211 average, though. Effectively positioning himself as the Cardinals replacement Kyle McClellan.

Not exactly Larry Walker stuff here.

Cox wasn’t exactly AAA and with David Freese proving himself to be a 130 game guy and the defacto face of the franchise, Cox was expendable. He wasn’t going to transition to 2B and the Cardinals are OK with corner OF depth. I’ll go ahead and wish him luck, even though it’s been since 2010 when I thought about Zack Cox.

Meanwhile, around the NL Central the Reds made an impact moving by getting Jonathan Broxton from the Royals to set up Aroldis Chapman. Plus, the addition of Joey Votto in a couple weeks will be like acquiring a superstar via trade. The Reds have somehow surged to 11-2 with him sidelined with a knee injury.

The Pirates looked hard at a Justin Upton deal with the D-Backs. And this was a scary idea for the rest of the division. Pair him with MVP candidate Andrew McCutchen and that’s a dynamic top of the order that can beat you in multiple ways. Instead, the Bucs opted to ship less talent out of town and get 1B Gabby Sanchez from the Marlins. In limited action in 2012, Sanchez has stunk.

So at least we can hang our hats on that.

I was going to do a little research on some close/late stats for the Cardinals, but Bernie Miklasz has done it all. LINK HERE

The Cliff Notes version? These boys need to grow a pair. If they were even less than average in 1 or 2 run games in the seventh inning on, then the Cardinals would be right there with the Reds in the NL Central. Instead, they’re in danger of falling to double digits off the pace for the division.

Hell, I guess we could have shortened that up to: they lost a series in Chicago. You think they’re doing good?

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Tweet Without Comment

Written by athooks on .


TweetTR

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