WORLD CHAMPS

Well guys after having a few months to let the championship soak in I have come to the conclusion that it was the greatest baseball any of us will probably get the pleasure to watch. Coming down to a 4% chance of simply making the playoffs, the cardinals played with their backs to the wall down the stretch, writing a story that holly wood itself would have deemed fantasy. The dominance that Chris Carpenter displayed in late September and October caught everyone off guard. Shutting out the Phillies at home in an elimination game had to be his greatest achievement of his career. Luckily for us it didn't stop there.

The entire way, the pundits, fans, even players from other teams (nyjer morgan) doubted the resolve of this team. As we all came to see, it didn't matter what anyone said except what came from within the clubhouse. Having several doubting moments myself since I kept making the mistake of listening to the pundits, I was elated in game 6 when Freese hit the ball off the right field wall. No question the most memorable moment in my sports viewing life. The only bittersweet aspect of the whole thing was the looming possibility of #5 leaving. I'll admit, after they won I had complete confidence that he would stay. Unfortunately this is another era of sports that we live in where team integrity has gone way down the priority list. The loss of El Hombre is painful but there is great reason to have hope in what this team can do in 2012 and beyond. The addition of Beltran and getting Waino back will be a giant boost for the new manager. I look forward to 2012 and seeing what Matheny is made of. The era of Albert, Tony and Dave has come and gone and I am so grateful to have been able to witness it.

49ers

49ers 4-1! Who would have thought? I keep waiting for the bottom to fall out and so far it has not. Big challenge this week vs the Detroit Lions! That defensive line was so dominating vs Chicago last monday night!

Lefties

Is a left handed specialist all that necessary? Not when his name is Trever Miller. His job is to come in, face one batter and get him out. Let's see how well that is working out for him this season. He has allowed 18 of 39 1st batters reach base this season. That is a .462 OBP (2nd worst in MLB). Look, if your job is to come in and face lefties and get them out and they are getting on nearly 50% of the time you have no business being on the team.

On a much happier note, from out of nowhere Skip Schumaker is hitting .350 since June 4th and has raised his average from .207 to .288. I gotta admit I never would have expected that to happen 38 games ago!

Back to bad news the Cards have hit into 111 double plays this season and are on pace to eclipse their old NL record of 166 set in 1958. I guess having a high team batting average has to come with some sort of downside.

I am Lazy

But right now I want to say this:
MLB and Holiday Inn decided to donate $1,000 for every hit during the All Star Game tonight to cancer research. Really, a whole $15,000? I know every penny counts, but come on! MUCH smaller companies have given over $14 million to Cardinals Care for the StL Cards turning double plays the last ten years. That is a bit over a million a year, and you put up $15,000. That is officially weak.

Apocalypse Now

I was watching Apocalypse Now the other night for the first time in a long long time! I forgot how great of a film it truely is. Its such an intense piece of work. How it didnt win the Best Picture of 1979 I will never understand. Robery Duvall as Col Kilgore is just simply fantastic! What a crazy jourbey the whole movie is. I watched the Redux version so there were some added scenes not in the original film. I remember reading about how Marlon Brando showed up for filming really fat and thats why his scenes as Col. Kurtz are shot in the shadows so you cant really see him, funny thing is I think this actually worked to make the film better. I would like to see what the plans were for the Character Col. Kurtz would have been had Brando been in shape? I always enjoy films where the main character is a mystery, here in this film you have Martin Sheen as Capt. Willard. Really kind of a non likeable character yet you find yourself interested in his mission but eventually you start to understand how truely screwed up he is becoming and you start to feel for him and also Col. Kurtz to an extent. The stories about the making of the film are as interesting as the film itself! A true fim classic!

Cards

You guys need to beat The Nationals! These are the games you cant let slip away

Wait, how many outs are there? 2 already? Damn....

The cardinals are the best two out hitters in baseball. That is the only reason they are currently in first place because it seems like they always have two out.

The cardinals offense has been rolling this year at a rate that not too many had anticipated. As I have mentioned in previous articles, the bats are hot and continue to be hot. It isn't even certain players, it is everyone on the team! Even when Laird (who is on the DL) is in the lineup, he contributes with at least a hit or two. This is the first year in several years where I examine the nightly lineup and don't immediately think "Boy I hope Albert does something tonight." It is nice to look up and down the lineup like Tony did during the bash brother days and think "I'm sure someone will come through for us tonight."

There is no explanation for what Daniel Descalso is doing right now. It is like he stole the go ahead in the 9th inning gene from the Reds this year and is keeping it all to himself. I can't imagine a situation where St. Louis will have to send him back down to Memphis, his glove is just as good as Freese's and his bat is made of clutch.

However the purpose of this blog was to discuss the plethora of double play ball the cardinals have hit into this year. As of the 24th of May the Cardinals have hit in 61 double plays!! At this rate, the Cardinals are on pace to not just set new records for double plays, but to shatter the old marks. The all-time National League record for team GIDP is 166 times, a mark set by the 1958 St. Louis Cardinals. (Interesting side note: the Cardinals also hold the record for fewest in a season, with just 75 in 1945.)

Something is going to have to change if the cards are going to be known for going deep in the playoffs this year instead of being drowned in futility from getting on top of too many balls with a guy on first. That is one record that St. Louis wants NO part of.