I remember when SBN began adding ads to its pages.  It wasn't really a big deal, at least not to me.  I've got some history in journalism, and I'm in CIS, so I get that there's definitely going to be ads on any webpage, but the ads have really overtaken the page.  It started as a few bars on the side.  Then it was an image in-between blog posts, but now the ads are really taking over the page.  I understand SBN's desire to take over the sports blog world, and I know that they'll generate most of their money via ads, but must they do it with basketball shoes that I have to scroll past to get to the main article?  Do I need SHOES in my face when I enter the hallowed ground of VEB?

One of my favorite parts of VEB, Minorleagueball, etc... is that I can (could) go there and just learn.  Read and learn.  

And now I'm having basketball shoes thrown in my face. 

SBN needs to start aiming their marketing at the right market, or GTFO.  I don't care about Carmelo Anthony's shoes.  I care about the game last night.  So let me read about that.  

Poll

How do you feel about the ads?

19%

The ads are fine

8 votes

31%

They disrupt things a little bit, but I get it

13 votes

24%

They're really annoying and maybe should be scaled down

10 votes

7%

They should focus on the market they're advertising to

3 votes

17%

They should F off and die

7 votes

41 votes | Poll has closed

Hey all! Welcome to the 2011 Cardinals War Room. I'll be checking in here frequently so post any comments or questions you have. My internet went out about ten minutes ago, so I'm now connected at the local denneys. THANKS CHARTER!!!!!!! :DDDDDDD I've got all my lists printed and coffee is poured, so I should be good to go for the next three rounds. Very exciting stuff. Haven't hit the word cap yet, even though it seemed like I had enough. Jdizzy I expect to see you roving around the comments section. I'll be kinda disappointed if the Pirates don't choose Cole with the first pick.

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Hello all, and welcome to the third MOD. Today we’re going to discuss who I’m seriously looking at for each pick.

 

Round One: Javier Baez, Blake Swihart, Kolten Wong .  All are guys I think will go around pick 22.  In a draft loaded with pitchers, it seems more and more likely that the Cards will draft a position player, and I think I’ll end up doing the same.  Baez has some promising upside, but I’d probably go with Wong or Swihart over him.  The Cardinals have a strong group of minor leaguers that will arrive around 2013-2014, and it’s reasonable to assume that Swihart/Wong will be ready by then.  Josh Bell is a guy I don’t want to be too optimistic about because I think there’s a solid chance he’s drafted before 22.  If he’s still available he’s another possibility.

 

Round Two: It’s tough to start naming guys this late in the draft (79).  I’m really on the fence here, since this pick would usually go to a signable college guy.  The problem is that we don’t have any supplemental round picks, so I’m thinking a HS guy could go here.  I would go for someone like Granden Goetzman if he lasts this long..  Larry Greene is another guy I could see going in this range, and the Cards have been connected to him.  Same goes for Alex Dickerson.  He recently worked out for them at Busch Stadium.

 

Round Three: I think the second round will dictate the third.  Probably going to go with the best available at this point.  This pick will be nice to play around with too.  Maybe a guy like John Stilson could fall to here.  I’m pretty open minded about this pick.

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Poll

First round choice will be:

8%

Swihart

2 votes

21%

Wong

5 votes

26%

Baez

6 votes

21%

Bell

5 votes

21%

Someone else

5 votes

23 votes | Poll has closed

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MOD two is going to cover some guys that I think the Cards will target in the first round with their 22nd pick.  Like we’ve discussed previously, I think the Cards draft will be difficult to predict, since they’ve recently decided to start drafting falling stars (Wallace, Miller, Cox).  My draft (hopefully) will look similar and we’ll get a shot at someone who could fall due to signability or injury concerns (Dylan Bundy and Matt Purke).  I’ve been doing my due diligence and checking up on other mocks leading up to the draft, and there are a few conclusions I’ve made.

 First: RHP Dylan Bundy could, and probably will, fly off the draft board.  I think he’ll go early in the MinorLeagueBall mock, but if he doesn’t, I may do backflips.   I am developing a pretty big prospect crush on him already, mostly because we share the same first name.  That seems reason enough to draft someone.  Also, he reportedly sits in the upper nineties with his fastball, which isn’t too shabby

Continue reading this post »

 Jdizzy my email is dttl89ATgmailDOTcom.  I could definitely use some input from you

 

 

Hey everybody, welcome to the Cardinals MOD!  I’ll be updating everyone on the state of the Cardinals draft in preparation for the mock on June 4th.  There will be a number of contributors throughout the process.  Let’s begin by reviewing the recent history of the Cardinals draft and assessing the Cards current position in the draft.

 

2010:  The Cards took IF Zack Cox (25) in what was a marginally surprising move that was pretty well accepted by most of Cardinal Nation.  Cox was a guy whose draft stock fell a tad because signability concerns and worries about his ability to stick at 3rd.  Most blogsters at the time felt the Cardinals lucked out with this pick.  So far Cox is hitting a combined .335/.362/.439 between rookie ball and A+.  Other picks in the  top 100 include RHP Seth Blair (46), RHP Tyrell Jenkins (50), and RHP Jordan Swagerty (75).  I’ll include OF/Heartbreaker Austin Wilson (379) as a notable here.  He turned down some serious cash from the Cards to pursue his education at Stanford.

 

2009: RHP Shelby Miller (19) was the first pick for the Cardinals in 2009.  Miller was another guy that fell, and has been nothing short of spectacular since entering the Cardinals system.  He’s been the top rated Cards minor league prospect and has showed some pretty spectacular results with a 3.87 K/BB ratio through two levels.  Other picks in the top 100 include C/RHP Robert Stock (67) and RHP Joe Kelly (98)

 

2008: The Cards first pick in 2008 was 1B/3B Brett Wallace.  He fell a bit due to concerns about which position he would play professionally and his athleticism, even though he was widely accepted as a very advanced college bat.  The Cardinals essentially managed to turn Wallace into Matt Holliday.  Woot.  Wallace had a .304/.375/.487 line in the minors and has hit .266/.342/.387 in almost 300 PAs for Houston over two years.  Other top 100 draftees: include RHP Lance Lynn (39), OF Shane Peterson (59), and IF Niko Vasquez (91).

 

2007: The 2007 draft was frustrating for many Cardinals fans.  The selection of SS Pete Kozma (18) was considered a stretch by most.  Kozma possesses a very wide skill set, but he doesn’t really have any standout tools.  Kozma had a.241/.316/.349 line in nearly 2000 PAs in the minor leagues and was just called up to St. Louis.   Other top 100 draftees include: RHP Clayton Mortensen (36), RHP David Kopp (71), and RHP Jess Todd (82).  I’ll also include current IF Dan Descalso (112) as a notable.

 

2006: RHP Adam Ottavino (30) was the top pick for the Cards in the 2006 draft.  He seemed like a textbook pick for the Cardinals at the time since he was a boring right handed SP.  He struck out a few more batters than the Birds are typically interested in, but that was overlooked since those K’s were against college hitting.  His performance in his pro career thus far has been pretty disappointing, posting a career walk rate of 4.3/9 that has only increased with age.  Other top 100 draftees include: RHP Chris Perez (42), LHP Brad Furnish (54), OF John Jay (74), and 1B/OF Mark Hamilton (76).

 

The Cardinals choose at 22, 79, and 109 and are in a great position this year since they have traditionally drafted pitchers who coerce ground balls at the college level.  There are plenty of guys like that to choose from.  The other major line of thought right now is that the Cardinals will take an OFer in the first round, which is very plausible.  The Birds are shorter on picks this year since they have no supplemental round picks, and I would imagine they will continue to spend quite a bit on picks they feel they can attain lots of value from.  I could see the Cards snapping up anyone who is high on their board but manages to fall to the later first round.

 

Right now, I plan on taking the best available player on the board.  In the following weeks, we’ll break down probable picks in the Cardinals draft positions and put together a draft board.  I’m looking forward to the experience, and I hope you do the same. 

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Hey Indians fans :)

I'm from St. Louis and my father and I are roadtripping to a number of northern baseball towns, and Cleveland is on the list, since the Tigers and in town (he's originally from detroit area) and I have a baseball crush on Grady Sizemore.  People post this question from time to time at vivaelbirdos...so I thought I would reach out to the other SBNers and see what was happening.  We'll have pretty much all saturday and we're going to the game on sunday.

Neither of us have been to Cleveland, and since we'll be spending two days there it'd be cool to check out the town.  We're planning on hitting the Rock hall of fame since we're both musicians...Good idea?  Bad idea? We're also looking for good places to eat, hang out, etc...

Is there anything we should check out while we're at the ballpark?  Our tickets are in section 101... how's the view?

Thanks for any input!!!

Hey gang,

I drop by here every once and a while to check in on my cross state rivals, and I'm leaving the friendly confines of Busch III and visiting KC on May 28h when the Royals play the Twins...Just kind of curious about your stadium, things to check out in the city, where to eat, and if i need a parking pass or if i can park in the city and walk.

My seats are Row D section 304.  Are they good or bad????

Thanks!

I wrote this for my college paper

I figured i'd put it somewhere where someone would actually appreciate it. : )

After a stunning 2006 and a less than spectacular 2007, the St. Louis Cardinal’s can expect a team in transition from an injury riddled, aging roster, to a (very) slightly less injured roster with a lot more potential for the future.

The Cardinal’s outfield will be missing a couple familiar faces this year, but will be gaining some whose names you should probably learn.  Yes, Jimmy “Ballgame” Edmonds is gone, but so are his diminishing speed, bat, and glove.  In his place, at least for the beginning of the season, is Rick Ankiel, a speedy and powerful ex- Cardinal’s pitching prospect.

In 2005 Ankiel began the season as a recovering young Cardinal’s ace.  That spring, he switched to the outfield, and amazingly made his way all the way back to the big leagues, this time as an outfielder.   Matthew Leach, MLB.com’s Cardinal’s beat writer, is also excited about Ankiel.

“Rick Ankiel is a ridiculous talent, someone who makes things look so easy,” said Leach “To me, he's a can't-take-your-eyes-off kind of player.”

Left field will still have Chris Duncan and his unpleasant fielding skills, but his bat is more than good enough to make up for it.

Right field is a little more of a question mark.  The two leading candidates are Brian Barton and Ryan Ludwick.  Barton is an undrafted RF from University of Miami, taken from Cleveland in the Rule V draft. 

Barton, if he wins the job, could fill the lead-off void left by David Eckstein.  He’s also pretty fast, and has a nice glove, but his throwing strength is lacking.  He’s also had some knee problems in the past, but seems to have recovered perfectly.  Ludwick was a reserve outfielder last year, and did a pretty nice job  Ludwick brings some power to the table as well as pretty average defense.  

One name Card’s fans should get to know is that of Colby Rasmus, a 2005 first round draft pick that has jumped to the top five of nearly every baseball analyst’s prospect list. 

Leach says that, “Colby Rasmus looks like a special player, and it will be fun to watch him grow into the player he's going to become.”

Rasmus is probably ready for the Cardinal’s starting CF job, but will go to the team’s AAA Memphis affiliate for a little more seasoning before he is brought up.

Skip Schumacher and the loser of the Barton/Ludwick competition will back up the outfield.  Minor leaguer Joe Mather will most likely see some playing time as well this year.

Continue reading this post »

I'm doing a semester long ethnography project in one of my classes on hockey.  I really don't know much about it but I'd like to find a good hockey blog/site that i could find some information on hockey.  If anyone knows of any and post a comment it would be awesome.

Part two.
Now that the cards are done, who are you pulling for?

I think I'm turning into somewhat of a Brew crew cheerleader.  Anyone but the cubs

I can not for the life of me find any kind of video on Eddie...could someone help me out???

I drive a 2001 Hyundai Tiburon..it's black
My favorite color is teal
My birthday is August 21st.
I play guitar...and sing...in a band...
We're the Double D's
Were on myspace
www.myspace.com/daveanddylanmusic
That should fill my 300 charachter quota...

He was non-tendered by the braves, thus making him a free agent...
HOLY $hit...
how great of a signing would that make...I know we have Kennedy, but...it's Giles...
The Asstros also aquired Jason Jennings for WIlly Taveras, Jason Hirsch, and Taylor Bucholz.
RIPPED OFF...that makes my day, I swear...The 'stros could have gotten more for that package, but they didnt...sweet

Poll

Giles...

71%

Why do we need another second baseman?

47 votes

12%

Maybe...

8 votes

16%

I think he'd be a pretty good aquisition

11 votes

66 votes | Poll has closed

Whadda ya think...from what Mlb.com's rumor mill blog says....
I like it.  I think Thames is going to perform just like j'cion, if not worse.  And if we do get Thames i htink he'll recieve no more than a bench role.  Thames strikes out a lot more than J'cion and has never hit higher than .256 in a season.  

Another interesting peice is that j'cion began his major league career in Detroit...

I like Maroth.  He's an innings eater guy, and is quite comparable to Jeff Suppan.  Their Eras are relatively close for the 2006 season (.07 difference), and Maroth has, throughout his career, tossed more average innigs per year.  Maroth started the season as a starter, then went on the DL, and came back for limited relief work.  I can see Maroth in the 3-5 hole.

I wouldn't miss Blooper, and while i like j'cion (quit throwing things at me) I think it's time that he moved on, since  he's upset with management about his lack of playing time in the playoffs.

Poll

J'cion & Blooper for Maroth & Thames???

3%

Let's just keep things the way they are now

6 votes

1%

NO PLEASE DONT DO IT

2 votes

53%

DO IT, DO IT!!!!

90 votes

31%

I think it's not a bad idea

53 votes

9%

Eh...it;'s just swapping spare parts

16 votes

167 votes | Poll has closed

I was watching the Reds play the braves today...and the game was tied at 6.  Brandon Phillips hit a homerun to untie the game....and he got a curtain call...which got me thinking...when's the last time we had a curtain call and furthermore what has happened to our team's mentality.  We seem like a very morbid and dull team.  We have lost out winning mentality and have been content with medeocrity...let's fight back.
GOOOOOO CARDS