Rick Ankiel has certainly been hot this series against the Reds. He has been the difference for sure in us winning the 3 game set. To be honest though, everyone has been hot, noone played poorly, made errors or pitched badly at all. Izzy, Reyes and Ludwick had frustralting moments in the series. I didnt, like the look of todys game when we went 2-0 behind but it just shows the character of the team that we can win from behind as well as from the front. La Russa has shown that his lineup is not predictable every game as he had miles batting second today – and has had a number of different batters in front and behind of Pujols this year so far. Versatility is key for this team, we have players who can play 2/3 positions, guys with pure speed and guys with a lot of power. I really like our chances of winning the division. I thought Looper did ok today, not the best game that he will pitch by a mile but it was effective in him outpitching Harang. Ive also seen the reds quite a bit this year and they do not have a lot of luck in games – well hit balls never find gaps and they also have guys who can clear the fences. The cubs next and i will do a preview on how i think the series will go tomorrow – a must read post.

Positives – Good spirit, Great hitting and pitching – quality all through the team

Negatives – Players able to pick themselves up after a bad outing

Final – Cincinatti Reds 2 St Louis Cardinals 5

Until tomorrow…

I think i saw…

WILT – Carrie Underwood – Inside Your Heaven

Bottom line 2/3. Took some drama to get there though. Cards lost the Friday night game in the ninth after Looper had made his best start of the year. A shame that Izzy couldnt hold on for him. However, much to the debate – izzy is our closer and so, he isnt going to put up the best PCT in saves per opportunities this year, he will get saves and hes one of the best at putting bad outings behind him.

Then the madness started. Ausmus,needs a chill pill. Wainwright clearly didnt throw the ball intentionally at him – i dont think he could do it even if he wanted to – its not his style. I cant remeber that he has ever hit anyone intentionally, if he did want to hit someone, why hit Ausmus, hes rubbish – they would have had to bring Towles off the bench and that wouldnt have been good. Adam being the professional he is went on to complete the game and show why he is a cy young contender. Im glad skip managed to pull off the crucial hit that won him the game.

Sunday, Backe evidentally through at Molina. Its not coinidental that the catchers are getting all the wild pitches – and the ball after he called time, sorry, im not buying that. Lohse did a great job in starting and he was backed up by some good relief pitching. Unfortunately, my MLB.TV was down so i couldnt watch but the radio was still working which was a godsend – i was not happy at the time. Still 2/3 isnt bad at all – just need to go on a run this week and streak into first.

At least the cubbies runs have dried up at last – Go Cards

Until next time…

I think i saw…

WILT – Taylor Swift – Stay Beautiful   

Right from the get-go, the home plate umpire came in for a bit of stick from the Brewers bench for calling a few low pitchers from Lohse as strikes and thi carried on all the way through to Kendall even arguing wth the umpire in extra innings. The cards finished the game with a fielder short so La-Rue played first, miles went to SS and Pujols – yes – Pujols played seconf for the first time in his ML career. All these risks and we still went down 9-8 in the 12th. Sure, this cards side showed they had a lot of character coming from 8-3 down to tie up the game. Unfortunately, Izuturis got hurt by a wild pitch from gagne and a bizarre throw from weeks scored the cards tying run. There is not much more you can pack into 4 and a half hours. I watched the game on TV and was on the edge of my seat all night - literally. Great game, great entertainment, shame we couldnt complete the two game sweep.

Positives – Good comeback, great hitting, franklin looked sharp, showed depth and flexibility of the side

Negatives – the loss must be hard to take after 12. Pujols could have injured himself at 2nd, Lohse pitched dodgily for the first time in a cards uniform.

Final after 12 – St. Louis Cardinals 8 Milwaukee Brewers 9

Now, they must head off to Pittsburgh and take 2/2 before coming home to host the Stros over the weekend. I will update after the pirates series and hopefully looking forward to the weekend

until then…

I think i saw…

WILT – Taylor Swift – Picture to burn

P.S. Congrats to Ms swift on a great night at the cmt awards winning the coveted best video. She deserves it for producing some great country music and im a big fan

So, the 2008 redbirds have finally lost a series – the first of which i hope will not be many, added to which, this series loss came against the team which will probably have the worst record in baseball come september. However, if these kids keep up the pace to which they have started – they will definately not be a pushover for any ballclub. They 2 hitted the cards into the ninth before we finally got some offense going. With any luck we can continue that mini rally into today’s game vs the brew crew, which Wainwright will pitch. Also it is the first time the Cubs look down on us this season….but only by half a game. That should all be corrected by the time we are done tonight Not really much to say except i hope Ankiel has had all the rest he needs to come back and hit a big game tomorrow, we need some of the big bats to start helping out the pitching a little bit – and please try to cut down on the DP’s tonight eh?

Positives – Rico Washington’s double Tray Glaus’s pair, Reyes did ok without his usual fastball, defense good

Negatives – Very little offense, double plays (far too many)

Final – San Francisco Giants 8 St Louis Cardinals 2

until next time…

I think i saw…

WILT – Deep Blue Something – Breakfast at Tiffany’s

This will be by far, the saddest post i ever write. This man has given me so many great memories on the show Leading Off. It is by far the best baseball show we have access to in the UK. I was incredibly saddened to hear of the news that he passed away and he will be greatly missed by all viewers of the show. He will never be forgotten by myself for the many laughs with which both him and Vinny have provided me with. I am sure that everyone has their favourite memories of Johnny. Unfortunately, i never did get to see him play live, that is a great regret for me – although i have seen quite a few highlight clips of Johnny and a lot of his baseball stories which were always incredibly interesting - more than all of this, from the articles i have read, he was a great family man and therefore my sympathy goes out to all of his family and all of his friends including Vinny – all of whom, i cant imagine how saddened they all are at the news.

RIP Johnny Marz and once again my condolances to his family

Well, i was hoping to post my thoughts on a cardinals win but Lincecom was hot today. The only time i ever thought we had a good chance was at the end when the bullpen came out. Every time a runner got on base he would just calmly pitch a DP ball or a SO. Amazing performance, and if what he has done to the cards over the last week is for real – he may end up with over 15 wins this year.

Onto the cards and im happy they gave Rico a start, in for Glaus, he did ok – he looks very good defensively, i think better than Troy but he presumably isn’t there for his defense. Albert had a frustrating night as did the entire offense actually. Piniero did better than his first outing and there is every chance that he could be back to his best in 1 or 2 outings time.

Not much to talk about in the way of superb offense, defense or pitching from the Cardinals. Thompson did well out of the pen, Ankiel made a few great grabs in centre, especially the 1st out on the second pitch – as soon as it left his bat i thought it was a homer or at least a double but Ankiel was playing him just perfect

All i can say is better luck tomorrow – they didnt play a bad ballgame today, they just didnt play a good one and it would have needed something special to touch lincecom today – im just glad that it is the last time we will see lincecom this year, imagine that – done with SanFran for the year after April 20 :-0

Final – San Francisco Giants 3 St. Louis Cardinals 0

Positives – Still got a chance to win series tomorrow, Thompson bounced back well, some good defence plays

Negatives – double plays – too many. ludwick needs to start.

until tomorrow…

I think i saw…

WILT – Taylor Swift – Picture to Burn

Hi all. I did watch the game last Sunday. Piniero was good for the first couple of innings if i remeber correct. I think he may be ok – just needs the starts. He goes again tonight so i guess we’ll see. Apparantly, Ryan is nearing a return as is Springer. Mulder, i would imagine to make his return during the early stages of next month maybe. Now, onto the baseball…

We only managed 2 each with SanFran. This was an ok result – i still felt a series win was definately possible. This was follewed with 2/3 vs the Brew Crew. I managed to see the final game of the series – it was actually broadcast live on our TV. Its quite refreshing to actually watch a game on TV. Lohse pitched real well and for the second time this year, Franklin was unable to help him get the win at home. It is rather worrying me – watching Franklin pitch like this at home.

Last night was better though, the bats started flying and it was real important to get a good start in this Series. The Redbirds still have not lost a series yet and have the most wins in baseball at the moment so you can say that its not all bad news. There is, well, just about every other Major League team who would love to say that.

I predict that we will roll over the Giants again tonight but it may be tougher with Lincecom on the hill. He’s been very good so far this year – not losing a game yet, but Piniero should be better for that outing last Sunday and im expecting him to post his first W of the year.

Finally, it has been a pretty tough week for me with exams and allbut i expect normal service to resume over this weekend and through next week

Until next time…

I think i saw…

WILT – George Strait – Give it away

So, its 1 each. I had expected us to be 2-0 on the series at this stage but the game is not about who should win – it is about going out there to do it. i didn’t see anything of Thursday’s game but i have seen a repeat of Friday’s game. We were helped out yesterday by some really dumb base-running from the Giants mixed with some great defense, offense, pitching and Albert. As soon as he walked to the plate i knew he was going to jump all over the first pitch he saw – hes been doing that a lot more often so far this season, and it seems to have been working. He catches pitchers by surprise and that spells touble if you are in the middle of the diamond. I heard Wainwright did ok on Thursday and Lohse has just been awesome so far this season. I am really obtimistic about this team and where we can go this year – the guys just need to stay healthy and take it a game at a time. I was a little unsure of the positioning last night of Schumaker/Barton – i would have had them hitting the other way around – or Schumaker 9th and Barton as lead off. However, as i dont think Ankiel will have too many off days it might not happen all that often,it will be interesting if Ludwick is given the day off and the OF 3 are Ankiel, Barton and Schumaker, just where he wood accomodate for those guys in the lineup. There is no doubt if they stay healthy that Ankiel, Pujols and Glaus are going to be the RBI men this year. All eyes will be on Piniero tomorrow and i will be watching to cover that game – the finale of the series.

Until then…

I think i saw…

WILT - I’m With You – Avril Lavigne 

Yeah. As i thought, i did not get much time to watch any baseball on the opening part of the week. I did however keep track of the box scores. Albert finally got his offensive season started last night with a couple of bombs, especially the first – and they turned out to be the series clinchers. I was really impressed with the pitching especially Reyes in Game 2 – he tossed 3 scoreless when it looked as if we were gonna lose that game. I think we were unlucky to lose the first game late again, especially after fighting back so well. I dont think i would muck around with this batting order at the moment. I love the idea of Izturis batting ninth – just another lead-off and if he dont get on base then you still have your real lead-off on deck. I obviously did not see any games so i cannot give my usual positives and negatives, nor can i comment on how good Houston really are but i would say if the cards keep winning series after series, people cannot help but think that they are the real deal in 08. We should – looking ahead at least take 2-2 with the Giants but realistically 3-1 and that would put us 10-3 on the season.

Coverage-wise, i have my birthday party on Saturday so unfortuntely wont be covering the Saturday (wellemeyer) game but i will definately be doing the Sunday game – Piniero’s return and the deciding rubber. i hope to post on Friday/Saturday though and update my series prediction as well as to discuss the other important things.

PS – I did see the Cubs game the other night where they were 7 up after 3 and only won in the 12th because the Pirates had to pitch with Evan Meek and the really had noone else. Extremely amusing television Would have been better if Pirates won though

Until next time…

I think i saw…

WILT – The View – Same Jeans

The first sweep of 2008 for the St. Louis Cardinals has arrived in style. Once again, another great start from a cardinals pitcher – this time Kyle Lohse who was very unlucky earlier in the week in what turned out to be the season opener against the Rockies. He has now pitched 13 consecutive scoreless innnings to start out the season and is 1-0, a great start for him. Ankiel was absolutely superb today both offensively and defensively – his play in the ninth is a must see if you have not seen it yet. Glaus was also made a great defensive play to turn a spectacular double play. Molina hit a couple of great doubles and the Cardinals generally were fantastic on offense, defense and pitching. Nothing negative came out of this game at all and this is a great way to travel into Houston.

As for the Nats, well, they will be disappointed to have been swept so early in the season and im really not too sure how good this sweep really is yet. Zimmerman looks like he is playing on a one man team at the moment. Once again the SP did not do much wrong out there – and for a rookie lefty he is very unlucky to take the loss against an inspired Lohse and the whole Cards team. They just really need to get some bats going and i have made a mental note to see how they get on next week. Defensively they are pretty solid although Johnson did make one particulary embarassing play in foul ground where he lost the ball in the sun. This series was a tale of teo lead off men – Barton gets on base(s) with his speed, Guzman gets out. It must be frustrating for him and i wouldnt like to knock him as it looks like he does have talent as does the entire Nationals team – id just like to see Young in there – it was a lot more intimidating. Belliard didnt play today either and i think he must be their everyday 2B if they are to do well this season.

Positives – Lohse’s hot start, Ankiel, Barton and the relief pitching.

Negatives – None, seriously none, but i would say how many times does Pujols have 2 consecutive hitless games – that will turn into a positive tomorrow as 3 is impossible

Final – Washington Nationals 0 St Louis Cardinals 3

No day games in Houston, which isn’t so good for me but i will keep track of the box scores and i will post at the end of the series hopefully to announce another sweep

Until next time…

I think i saw…

WILT – Kenny Chesney – No Shoes, No Shirts, No Problems