Washington Post says the Cavs have traded for Antawn Jamison in 3 team deal that involves sending Drew Gooden to a Western Conference team.

UPDATE: Rumor is now that it is Big Z and a first rounder for Jamison. 

Without involving JJ, this is a good deal for the Cavs.  They get their stretch 4, a good defender and someone that will allow them to keep most of their depth.

I like this deal alot.

A link: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/35447900/ns/sports-player_news/

The Cavs still maintain Wally World's Bird Rights.  Despite what he says, he has no intention of returning to the NBA as his knee is shot.  But because they have his rights, they can sign him in a sign-and-trade and use his contract to pick give a struggling team some salary cap relief in exchange for a PF.

I sincerely hope it isn't to package him with JJ Hickson or Big Z to bring in Antwan Jamison.

This past year, the Cavs wore these various uniforms:

Full-time rotation

2008/2009 Alternates

via www.sportslogos.net

Over the last few years, they've worn the creamcicle Orange alts and the yellow throwbacks that have the similar checkered pattern up the side as the blue modern alts.

Ultimately, the Cavs have very few throwbacks to chose from going forward.  They have obviously the alternate colors of ones they've worn already (going with wine instead of gold) or they have the horizontal striped uniforms that haven't been used at all.

I doubt they want the 90's-2000 era black and blue garbage.

Does anyone know what their plans are for throwbacks/alts this year?

Chris Duncan has been traded to the Boston Red Sox for the charred remains of Julio Lugo.  No links yet.

Lugo was a disliked player in Boston because of his inability to perform at the level he did in Tampa Bay.  He will likely go onto the bench or may even replace the futile Brendan Ryan at SS, but Lord..I hope not.  He also has the opportunity to go into a platoon with Skip vs LHP as Lugo hits them at a pretty good clip this season.

Continue reading this post »

mclain                                   hoot

31-6, 1.96                          22-9, 1.12

the defending champion cardinals are looking to become the first back-to-back champions since the '61 and '62 yankees.  the 1967 team returned almost fully intact, this year however, with a healthy gibson for the full season.

in a year loaded with amazing starting pitching, gibson stood above the rest. hoot mowed down opposing batters at an alarming rate. gibson went 22-9, but in his 9 losses posted a 2.14 ERA. he threw 28 complete games, 13 of which were shutouts. of the 6 games gibby didn’t complete, all 6 were his removal for a pinch hitter.

to put this staggering number into a visual picture for you, NEVER in the 1968 season did  red schoendienst come to the mound to get the ball from gibson. he was that good. he posted a 1.12 ERA, the lowest ever for a pitcher that threw over 300 innings in a season. gibson pitched in 10 more games in ’68 than in ’67, but gave up 20 fewer runs.

this is also not gibson's first dance, either.  gibson goes into the '68 series with a 5-1 lifetime record in the world series with a 1.00 era.

if gibby was dominant this season, mclain was consistent.  starting the most games in the major leagues this season, mclain logged equally the most innings.  with that, he was able to win 31 games and post a sub-2.00 era.  being prone to the longball, it is unclear whether that is a factor of playing in tiger stadium or if mclain has a tendency to be gopher happy.  each of the last 3 seasons, he has led the league.

the only cardinals hitter with any real experience vs mclain is maris.  maris has faced him 25 times with 6 hits (3 doubles and a triple) and 2 walks/2 strikeouts.

for the Tigers, their offense was ranked first in baseball in OPS+, tied with the reds.  for comparisions sake, gibby was 2-0 vs the reds with his 2nd highest strikeout/9 ratio of the season.  the highest was against the 2nd best offense in the national league, the pittsburgh pirates. both pittsburgh and cincinnati were below league average in strikeouts, while detroit was slightly above. detroit led the league in homeruns, which lends credence to tiger stadium being behind mclain's gopheritis. if gibby can establish his command early, he may be able to use busch stadiums expansive space to keep the tigers in the yard.

for the cardinals, despite winning fewer games than the tigers, the pressure is on them to win again this season.  they have the best pitcher in the league and the highest payroll in the league.  a win in this series and they would have undeniable rights to being the team of the decade, knocking off the yankees (2-2 in the 60's) and the dodgers (2-1 in the 60's).

first pitch @ 8:00 pm est on mlb network, pregame with bob costas interviews at 7:00.

Ben, by this fan's eyes, was the best post defender we had in the Orlando series and it will sad to see the 'Fro go.

But pragmatically, when I saw this story I automatically thought about his $14 M salary next year and how that money could be used elsewhere to get a legit post scorer to go with Lebron and Mo.

What Ben has to say on the issue:

If Wallace chooses to retire, he will almost certainly seek a buyout since retiring outright would cost him next season's salary. But he said money will not be the determining factor in his decision.

"I think I deserve [a buyout]," Wallace said. "But if I don't get one and I've just got to give it up, that's what I'll do."

From a business standpoint where that buyout ends up could be big for the Cavs.  Even saving $7 M would be a step in the right direction.

With Andy likely to ask for a ridiculous amount of money (over $10 M a year), having extra money from Ben's contract to maybe take someone else's big man contract would help this team build to get past the only team that really beat them this year, Orlando.

If tomorrow you woke up and found a blank, already signed Presidential Executive Order laying in the street by your house (you know the government, very wasteful...can't keep track of anything) which way would you fill it out?

Option 1:

A completely healthy and ready to roll Chris Carpenter.  Chis comes with a guarantee that he will not face any more physical problems for the duration of his current contract.

Option 2:

Dan Haren.

Discuss.

On KTRS last week, Bill DeWitt Jr. said the organization was kicking around the idea of replacing the 'CARDINALS' on the road uniforms and changing it to  'St. LOUIS' under the Birds on the Bats.

I'm kind of a sentimental guy when it comes to stuff like this, so it probably strikes my ire more than most.  The only reason teams generally change their uniforms is a) to create a pseudo new era that differentiates from an older one or, in most cases b) to make more money.  People by a grey Pujols jersey in 2004 and they have no need for a new one as long as he is with the team.  Change the uniform and they have to get the newest incarnation.

Now, as to the change itself.  The Birds on the Bat with Cardinals on it has appeared on the chest uninterupted since 1933, sans one season.  That season was 1956.  In 1956, the Cardinals unveiled a new uniform that featured only the Cardinals script across the chest with a 'Batting Bird' on the sleeve.

This uniform was so widely rejected that the man who designed it was fired and the Cardinals returned to tradition the next year.

There have been modest changes to the uniform over the years. 

• 1951: Yellow bat added.
• 1957: Piping removed from uniform
• 1956: Red bill removed from blue hats.
• 1962: Uniform number moved to front of uniform.
• 1964: Red hat added to home uniform
• 1965: Red hat used exclusively
• 1971: Pullovers with red/white/blue sleeve stripes added
• 1976: Pillbox hat.
• 1976: Powder blue road uniform
• 1979: Uniform number moved from front to sleeve
• 1981: Uniform number moved back to front.
• 1985: Grey road uniforms return.
• 1992: Pullover uniforms replaced by button up uniforms.
• 1992: Blue hat returns on the road.

That's it.  Sans adding the Sunday alternate hat, the uniforms have remained the same since 1992.  Not only that, but the chest wordmark has been the same (other than a tad modernization) since 1951.

Sixty years of tradition.  The Cardinals refuse to wear BP jerseys during spring training because of tradition.  They don't have a third uniform because of tradition.

I know to some, this will be exciting.  "Hey, NEW UNIFORM!" but for me, it's a bit sad.  Marketing is the only reason you do this.  The Cardinals already have the STL on the ballcap, it's not like people are confused as to where the team hails from.

I hope this doesn't happen.  In the case of someone like Baltimore, the city name returned to the chest where it had been prior to Peter Angelos buying the team.  This, however, would return the city name to the front of the uniform for the first time since 1933.

As we get into the final dozen games of the NBA Season, the Cavs who started the season on a record breaking pace find themselves still within reach of pretty prestigious company.

First, let's breakdown the schedule:

Home Games:

• New Jersey
• Minnesota
• Dallas
• Detroit
• San Antonio
• Washington
• Boston
• Philadelphia

Road Games:

• Washington
• Orlando
• Philadelphia
• Indiana

Not easy, not in the least.  We've got playoff teams in Dallas, Detroit, San Antonio, Boston, Philadelphia, Orlando and fierce rivals in Washington (who have both beat the Cavs and sans a majestic meltdown would have blemished the home record)

Continue reading this post »

I did this last year, I figured I would do it again this year.

http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1

Group ID #188657

Password: izturisstillsux

Fill out your brackets by noon tomorrow (I think).  The more the merrier.  I think we had somewhere near 100 people in it last year.  If you win, you get nothing.  Most of us won't even remember you won (I don't remember who did last year). 

Have fun.

I'm sorry if this isn't the type of thing that belongs in a Fanpost but it is something that has been a problem for me for most of the season: Finding these shorts to buy.

Until recently, I hadn't seen them for sale ANYWHERE but through a Google search I finally found these children's version on the cavsteamshop website:

via www.cavaliersteamshop.com

Now, these aren't Authentic (which I'd prefer to have) but at this point I'd take the cheaper made Swingman shorts if anyone knows a seller that has them out there.  Are they available at the arena?

These are as hard to find as Mo Williams jerseys.  I can't believe that a guy who was an All-Star had so few jerseys made to be sold.

On the 104 player list from 2003, Alex Rodriguez tested positive for 2 different anabolic steroids (per SI.com).

I'm a little worried that a few Cardinals could be on this list.  We dodged a big bullet with the Mitchell Report but I don't know that we would be that lucky with this 103 list.

I'm not even sure why this list is being released.  This was supposed to be anonymous and some how the Feds are releasing all this information.  That shouldn't be.

Just wanted to get the communities take on what might be brewing on the trade front for the Cavs?

I think we've seen the most pressing issue against the likes of Los Angeles and Boston is the front court.

There are two obvious options (one I'd really like to see done):

Marcus Camby -  He's not getting any younger. He's 35 years old and his contract is only 2 years with $8 M next year and $7.5 the year after that.

He's a great rebounder and defender but he lacks a certain amount of versatilty of being able to step out and guard a guy like Al Harrington on the wing.

Which brings me to the more positive addition I can hope for:

Amare Stoudamire.  The Suns are looking to deal Amare to the Eastern Conference to give themselves cap room and to get better.  The Cavs have expiring contracts to offer, Daniel Gibson and JJ Hickson.

Amare costs more, for sure, than Camby.  He's not going to be given away.  He's also a bit of an 'attitude' guy which could upset the balance of the team.  Actually, any trade is likely to upset the balance of the team. 

This is the situation Ferry finds himself in. He has a team that is the best record in the Eastern Conference but is in dire need of a lowpost defender if they hope to win a 7 game series vs either Boston, LA or San Antonio this postseason.  How does he address that without completely disrupting the great team he's already put together.

While it may not 100% pertain to the VEB-readership, there is a large sentiment amongst Cardinals fans that this off-season has been a failure.  On my drive home today, I was listening to MLB on XM and they were discussing on their Hot Stove program how in emails and phone calls, Cardinals fans by a wide margin have been the most disgruntled with this off-season.

I thought about this for a good while and wondered, "Is he right?  Are we bitter towards the things the team is doing?  If so, do we have a right to be?"

The more I thought about it, the more I rifled through teams to see how and why they would be upset.  I limited it to teams that either competed for a playoff spot or were right on the cusp:

Brewers - Snuck into the Wild Card after Bud Selig screwed the Houston Astros.  They lost their top two pitchers this off-season.  They did, however, make a move to solidify their bullpen, a weakness they've had for years.  Bringing in both Trevor Hoffman and Jorge Julio, they seem to be ready to close out victories...if they had any starting pitching to get them there.  Offensively, they've replaced the ever valuable Craig Counsell with....Craig Counsell.

With the Brewers, though, it is a double-edged sword.  They went all in last season with the Sabathia trade because they knew that was probably their best window to make the playoffs for the first time in decades.  Their homegrown players would be seeing pay increases that would stiffle other such moves.  Likewise, fans can be angered that the higher than usual turnouts Sabathia brought them has increased revenue and that revenue isn't showing up in the off-season signings.

Mets - Place hands beneath sternum and apply swift upward pressure with both arms.  Mets fans have every right to complain about how utterly terrible their FAILPEN has been over the last few seasons but no right to complain about the off-season.  They traded for one of the three best pitchers this decade in Johan Santana last year and have added to that this year by signing two low risk/high reward guys in Tim Redding and Freddy Garcia.  They are likely to be bring Oliver Perez back in the coming days at a discounted price.  To top that off, their FAILPEN has become a K-PEN (yes, it makes as much sense as calling a guy named Fransisco 'K-ROD') with the signing of ALL-TIME SINGLE SEASON MEANINGLESS STAT LEADER!!!

Atlanta - Hudson goes down, Smoltz leaves for Boston, Tom Glavine is in a frozen state of stasis.  Braves quickly moved in the market to try and give away two of their young middle infielders for Ryan Ludwick and Jake Peavy and were rebuked for both.  Their fans must have been livid.  They would have stormed the stadium to burn it down like Sherman taking the Ole South....if only their fans actually knew where the stadium was!  Never fear, the Big Sachem in the FO took care of things. Atlanta success is built on pitching, Coca Cola and Delta Airlines and he took care of one of those.  Bringing in veteran pitching in the way of Derek Lowe and Kenshin Kawakami, Chief Nokahoma still won't be getting too much action but atleast the other teams overtly racist mascot won't be celebrating too many roundtrippers either.

Minnesota - Johan Santana. Gone.  Torii Hunter. Gone.  Fransico Liriano. Angry.  Free Agents. Non-Existent.  This little team that shows up as a blank space in the out of town boxscores in most newspapers seems to find a way every year to be in content without doing much of anything FA wise.  Can their fans be THAT angry that the ticker on MLB Network shows NOTHING as their off-season moves?

St. Louis - Wait for 2009!  That was the cry by the fanbase and newspapers.  Money was going to be flowing, AJ Burnett and some sluggers would be holding press conferences at Shannon's.  Happy times would be here again.  No more whinning about the Cubs outspending us.  No more having to watch guys that some thought were actually dead show up in ST to win spots over players in our farm system.  No more having to rely and the mystical powers of the Giant Rabbitt LaRussa and the Sage of the Bullpen Duncan.

We had 3B in bulk. We had OF'ers in bulk.  We had a farm system full of shiny red fruit, plump to be picked for big trades.

And yet, we see that same MO.  Took a bad contract from someone at SS for a player that was terrible the season before and signed some salty vets for the bullpen.  And when we talked about making a move, it was for things we had cheaper, younger and better versions for.

I can see why some might be upset.

Thoughts?

Here is the game thread Larry gave us.  First pitch on MLB Network at 8 pm EST.

suppan               perez
12-7, 4.12        3-13, 6.55

over at tradesports.com, the cardinals are trading at $45.60, the mets at $53.70 . . . . at those odds, cards seem like a pretty good buy, but damned if i'm buying any shares --- i'm the kiss of death in the markets. guaranteed new york win if i'm holding a contract on st louis.

miklasz has the lineups:

ST. LOUIS	NEW YORK
eckstein ss	reyes ss
wilson lf	lo duca c
pujols 1b	beltran cf
encarnacion rf	delgado 1b
edwards cf	wright 3b
rolen 3b	green rf
molina c	valentin 2b
belliard 2b	chavez lf
suppan p	perez p

this is only suppan's fourth career start at shea stadium. his last came on may 19, 2004, his 8th start for st louis -- matched zeroes with steve trachsel (tonight's passed-over met starter) for six innings, departed with a no-decision. the cardinals scored in the 8th and won 1-0. he pitched another good game at shea on may 4, 1998, against a met lineup that prominently featured matt franco, butch huskey, and carlos baerga. supps (pitching for the arizona diamondbacks in their 1st season) went 6 and a third, allowed 1 run on 4 hits, got another no-decision; his team won 4-2 in 11 innings. and his first start there came on friday the 13th -- june 13, 1997 -- during supps' first full season. he gave up 10 baserunners and 2 hr in five innings, but the two dingers were solo shots and he stranded ev'ybody else; picked up a cheap win thanks to 8 runs of support from his bosox teammates.

i'm sure we'd all take our chances with any such like out of jeff this evening. they're a win away from the pennant -- get that win boys, and we'll all be celebrating later tonight.

Links:

Main Thread

Overflow I

Overflow II

What is it about 2006 that we seem to discredit?  When we talk fondly about NLCS Game 7s, it is 2004 with Edmonds catch and Rolen's HR.  Even taking back further, we talk about the series as a whole in 2004 as being incredible.  This 2006 series was no worse.  Sure, it didn't have the last-at-bat game ending hits but it had excitement. 

Game 1 was a pure pitcher's duel. 

Game 2 the Cardinals were down 6-4 with 7 outs to go and thanks to the bats of Speizio and Taguchi the Cardinals tacked on 5 to even the series. 

Game 3 featured tonight's pitching protagonist FREAKING WINKING AT THE OPPOSING PITCHER AND THEN DEPOSITING THE BALL IN THE BULLPEN!

Game 4, well...I was at Game 4 (my only game ever at the new Busch and I'd rather not talk about it)

Game 5 Pujols put his bat where his mouth was against Tom Glavine, leading us up to

Game 6, the Cardinals had their Ace on the mound and once again he left it with the good guys trailing.  With the World Series a mere 27 outs away, our backed-into-the-playoffs-heroes let us down. 

So here we stand, again, in a Game 7 of an NLCS game.  And, yes, again Jeff Suppan will take his bizarrely clutch self out to the mound and hope to pitch his way to another pennant for the club that snatched him off the scrap heap.  And yes, again Scott Rolen will hit another HR...but, er wait...we'll get to that later tonight.

I ask you, VEB bretheren, why do the 2004 and 2005 teams mean more to us than the 2006 team?  Why does Pujols' HR vs Lidge matter more than Yadi's giddy scamper around the bases?  Seemingly the only thing from the 2006 NLCS that rises above the two juggernauts the years before is Wainwright's nasty curve.

Soup's Word of the Day: pertinacity

the barber                           larsen

13-5, 2.87                        11-5, 3.26

maglie, a former giant was outright sold by the indians in may after making only 2 appearences for them. from mid august on, maglie went 8-1 posting a 2.21 era, during which he beat cincy twice and milwaukee once, the exact difference the dodgers finished ahead of both teams in the pennant race.

larsen, dreadful at home (4.24) as opposed to on the road (2.19). ultimately, lost his spot in the rotation for much of july. larsen switched his delivery, using no windup and having better results. although posting a pedestrian w-l record, he threw a 2.15 era and earned himself a start in game 2 of the series. larsen's problem is that he isn't a strikeout pitcher. his k:bb ratio is damn near 1:1.

in game 2, larsen was spotted a 6-0 lead and still didn't make it out of the 2nd inning. larsen wouldn't be credited with any earned runs but was lifted after giving up a single, 2 walks, and error and a sacrafice fly.

maglie started game 1 and outdueled yankees ace whitey ford. mantle tagged maglie early with his first homerun of the series and afterwards 'the barber' settled in and stymied the yankees offense sans a billy martin dinger. it is somewhat of a suprise that larsen is starting today. stengal had hinted at skipping him with the series tied. last year's version of this series, stengal went with 25 year old bob grim in game 5 only to see the yankees lose and give brookyln the 3-2 series lead.

first pitch @ 7:00 pm est on mlb network

And you don't!

Ok, that may not be true but I came home today and there it was.  It is a Hi-Def channel with the sides cut off to make it standard definition but that doesn't matter to me.

The channel isn't supposed to launch until January 1st, but my cable company added it and as I type this the 2005 World Series DVD program is playing with a crawl at the bottom that says the channel goes live on January 1st.

Even if it is just this precan'd stuff everyday until then, I don't care.  I'm like a kid on Christmas morning.  I can't look away!

If 100 years wasn't bad enough,

Since the Chicago Cubs last played in the World Series, these expansion franchises appeared in the Fall Classic:

New York Mets - 1969, 1973, 1986, 2000
Houston Colt .45s (Astros) - 2005
San Diego Padres - 1984, 1998
Colorado Rockies - 2007
Florida Marlins - 1997, 2003
Arizona Diamondbacks - 2001
Seattle Pilots (Milwaukee Brewers) - 1982
Minnesota Twins (franchise broke from Senators) - 1987, 1991
Los Angeles Angels - 2002

Toronto Blue Jays - 1992, 1993

Tampa Bay Rays - 2008 (1 Game Away)

Montreal Expos (Washington Nationals) - Never
Washington Senators (Texas Rangers) - Never
Seattle Mariners - Never


So hold out hope in the fact that the Rangers, Nationals, and Mariners won't be going anytime soon.

Teams who have won the World Series since the Cubs last won:

Pittsburgh Pirates
Philadelphia Athletics
Boston Red Sox
Boston Braves
Cincinnati Reds
Cleveland Indians
New York Giants
New York Yankees
Washington Senators
St. Louis Cardinals
Detroit Tigers
Brooklyn Dodgers
Milwaukee Braves
Los Angeles Dodgers
Baltimore Orioles
New York Mets
Oakland Athletics
Philadelphia Phillies
Kansas City Royals
Minnesota Twins
Toronto Blue Jays
Atlanta Braves
Florida Marlins
Arizona Diamondbacks
Anaheim Angels
Chicago White Sox

Take solace in knowing that the St. Louis Browns, Montreal Expos, Kansas City Athletics, Seattle Pilots, Houston Colt .45s namesakes don't exist anymore so they can't best you.

Pray that the Giants don't win one in San Fransisco, the Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers, and Washington Nationals don't reach that mountain top.

And root as hard as you can against the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays.

39 teams have existed in 1 form or another since the Cubs last won a World Series.

All but 14 of those teams have done what the Cubs have not.

It's not even really fair anymore. No fan deserves that much suffering.

“Interest exists in retaining pending free-agent Jason Isringhausen after the franchise’s career saves leader required surgery earlier this month to repair a torn tendon near his right elbow.

Manager Tony La Russa and pitching Dave Duncan have broached the possibility of Perez closing in Memphis or spending next season in St. Louis in a different relief role.”

Perhaps over the weekend you missed these little nuggets being busy with, well, whatever it is you do on the weekend.

However, In Joe Strauss' article about building the bullpen for 2009, and it goes into lengths about how Dave Duncan thinks that while Perez is improving, he needs Dave Duncan Complete Home Makeover, which includes losing weight and a brand spanking new higher arm slot, all in the name of consistency.

Tell me, is this going to be the same medical staff that will deem whether or not Izzy warrants an incentive based contract for next year that was the same to deem Matt Clement ready for Opening Day, Mark Mulder only a few weeks away and saw no problems with Chris Carpenter...until he experienced more and more pain.

Pardon me if I think it would be a colossal failure on the GM's part to be 'being open-minded to doing something' in the Izzy department, as John Mozeliak said. Why is that such a collassal failure of an idea?

John tells us why:

"Given his role, what he's accomplished and what he's represented to us, we need to think about it."

Bringing back an injured closer with a bad shoulder, bad arm and bad hip because of 'what he's accomplished' smacks of 'we want to get him 300 saves'.  And as LaRussa has proven over the years, if you give him the matches he will light fire to the library if need be.

So, already on the table?  Status quo.  The failpen will be fixed by rewinding back to April 2008, sending Chris Perez to Memphis, putting Izzy back in the pen, counting on Josh Kinney to get healthy and bringing back Russ Springer.

Yikes!

Dear Sir or Madam,

This is a letter to inform you that we are deeply sorry they your team has been eliminated from Major League Baseball playoff contention. We understand you must be upset and we understand if it takes you a few days to embrace the concept we will put forward to you.

But, we ask you, join us on the Tampa Bay Rays bandwagon and help us ride it all the way to victory!

Reasons to join the Rays bandwagon:

1) The little guys - A franchise that has been in oblivion, choked out by the overspending AL East teams finally has it's first taste of success. While it seems likely they will be around for years to come, nothing in baseball is a given. Wouldn't it be nice if a team that built from within in a division of overpriced FAs won the World Series? Wouldn't it send a great message to Royals, Pirates and Nationals fans that with patience (and smart people) you too can climb out of baseball hell?

2) You hate the Red Sox - A popular feeling amongst a lot of fans. The annoying bandwagon fans (heh - irony), the sudden feeling of superiority for winning 2 titles in 90 years. What better way to stick it to the Red Sox and keep them from using all their money to buy another World Series than to root for the ugly stepchild of their own division.

3) You want to laugh at the Cubs - 101 years is symetric. But we can't get there unless year 100 ends the same way as the other 99 for the Cubs. What better way to laugh at the Cubs than to have another team, just like Arizona, Florida, Toronto, Minnesota, Mets, and Anaheim to come completely into existence and win a World Series since the Cubs last won the Series. In fact, with how pathetic the NL is, the Rays may end up being the only thing standing between the Cubs and destiny.

4) George Steinbrenner lives in Tampa - Hate the Yankees? That's a rhetorical question. We already know the answer to that. Want to stick it to the Boss as he sees Yankee Stadium fall without another World Championship? How about a World Series in his own back yard!

5) Joe Buck thinks Tampa is a female product - Forcing Joe Buck to have to leave the New England area to broadcast a baseball game, to force him to act like he actually knows who the players on the Rays are and to make him have to stuff himself into those tiny pressboxes in the Trop is a noble reason to back this team.

6) Parity - For all the lambasting of baseball for not having a salary cap, a Rays World Series would fight back the claims that there exists a competitive imbalance in baseball because of the 'Haves' and 'Have nots'.

7) More cowbell - Like the Rally Monkey of Anaheim, the 'red soul patch' of St. Louis and the Bloody socks of Boston, the World Series needs more cowbell.

We hope you will take these under consideration when you begin to plan your 'adopted playoff' team for this years MLB Postseason.

Thank you for your time and we hope to hear from you soon,
Hardcore Legend
VEB President of the Bandwagon Rays fans

Is there such a thing as a 'Must Win' in Week 3?  Probably not.  However, this is as close as it gets.

The Redskins play their 2nd home game of the season.  They will only have 6 left after Sunday.  Those 6 are against Divsions foes (DAL, NYG, PHI), 2 cupcakes (CLE, STL) and a legit AFC Powerhouse (PIT).  If you want to make the playoffs in this league, you win 6 of 8 at home and go .500 on the road.   To get to 6, Skins have to beat NO, ARI, CLE, STL and take 2 of 4 against likely playoff teams in DAL, NYG, PHI and PIT.  A task that isn't nearly as hard as having to win 3 of 4 should the Skins cough up one of their easier wins.

With that in mind, look at where the Skins schedule goes after this week:

@ DAL

@ PHI

vs STL

vs CLE

@ DET

vs PIT

Worst case scenerio, Washington wins this week vs Arizona, loses the next 2 divisional games and wins their 3 cupcakes and loses to PIT.  Then we go into the BYE 5-4.

5 wins needed in 7 games remaining. 

See how important this week is?  A stumble this week makes much more difficult games far more important. 

We won't be catching Dallas for the playoffs, but 2 teams are coming out of the NFC East for the Wild Card this year, you can almost bet on that.  To get that, we have to pick off either New York or Philadelphia. 

Philly has Pittsburgh, Chicago and us heading into a BYE. 

The Giants are starring 6-0 in the face with what has to be the easiest schedule in the NFL in the first half, only to be brutalized in the the final 10 games.

So, anyways, back to my point.  The Redskins must win this week if they hold out any hopes of actually making the playoffs this season.  I know it seems a bit extreme but for a team with a new coach and a new system in place, it is vitally important that the 'should win' games be won, no matter the time of year.  It sets the tone for the Skins heading into divisional play on the road and allows them to go into the BYE with (at worst) a winning record.

In probably the dumbest business decision of his career, Edmonds disowns St. Louis media and the Cardinals organization after today's game:

No, what he did was this, according to Mike Claiborne of KTRS:

When FSN's Brent Stover and Claiborne (KTRS) approached Edmonds after the game for a quickie on-field interview that has become standard procedure for MLB rights holders, Edmonds blew them off and said:

"I'm (censored) done with St. Louis TV and radio and I'm (censored) done with the Cardinals."

And then he walked into the Cubs dugout. -B

 

I've got no problem with what Jimmy does as a baseball player on the field.  If he goes 4 for 4 with 4 Grand Slams vs the Cardinals, so what.  That's his job, that is what he is supposed to do.

However, this is different entirely.  A couple Cubs fans asked me a few weeks ago, "Don't you hate Jim Edmonds now that he is a Cub?"  I said, to them, how could I hate Edmonds just because of the team he plays on?

But, if he really did say what Claiborne and Stover say he said, I'm done with Jim 'There is more to life than Baseball' Edmonds.

In 2008, we saw the greatest collection of living HOF'ers at Yankee Stadium.  It was a special moment, and really, it'll be hard to top that.

However, I think I've got one better.

Instead of having the greatest collection of living HOF'ers at Busch Stadium, let's have the greatest collection of living Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

They can have them lineup at their positions as follows:

1B
Orlando Cepeda
Keith Hernandez
Mark McGwire
Albert Pujols

2B
Red Scheondiest

SS
Ozzie Smith
Edgar Renteria

3B
Mike Shannon
Scott Rolen

LF
Lou Brock

CF
Willie McGee
Jim Edmonds

Then the fun begins.  They bring out the long line of talented catchers the Cardinals have had over the years.

C
Tim McCarver
Ted Simmons

Mike Matheny

Joe Torre

Next, they bring out the litany of elite pitchers the Cardinals have had.

Pitcher
Bob Gibson
Chris Carpenter
Bob Forsch
Matt Morris

We get to a truly special moment with this 'who's who' of closers.
Closers
Al Hrbosky
Bruce Sutter
Lee Smith
Dennis Eckersley
Jason Isringhausen

And finally, they bring out Stan the Man in a red convertible and drive him around the ballpark.

It's after game 114, and let's take a look back at where Tony LaRussa Cardinals teams have stood at this point in the season:

             Game 114    Final       Finish
1996     61-53            88-74     27-21
1997     52-62            73-89     21-27
1998     54-60            83-79     29-19
1999     57-57            75-86     18-29
2000     62-52            95-67     33-15
2001     59-55            93-69     34-14
2002     65-52            97-65     32-13
2003     59-55            85-77     26-22
2004     75-39          105-57     30-18
2005     73-41          100-62     27-21
2006     62-52            83-78     21-35
2007     54-60            78-84     24-24
2008     62-52            ?????

The Cardinals were able to play above .500 to close out the season in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, finished out playing .500 baseball in 2007 and below .500 in 1997, 1999, and the magical 2006 season.

As we stand, the Cardinals seasons rank as far as wins after 114 games as follows:

2004 - 75
2005 - 73
2002 - 65
2008 - 62*
2006 - 62*
2000 - 62*
1996 - 61
2003 - 59
2001 - 59
1999 - 57
2007 - 54
1998 - 54
1997 - 52

So, as we stand today, this is tied for the 4th best season under Tony LaRussa's reign.

Now, flash forward to the present.  We stand behind the Chicago Cubs for the National League division and the Milwaukee Brewers for the Wild Card. 

The Chicago Cubs are on pace for 97 wins.
The Shirt-untuckers are on pace for 90 wins.

For the St. Louis Cardinals to finish ahead of the Cubs for the division lead, they would have to go (theortically) 36-12 from this day forward.  That would statistically be the best finish to a season the Cardinals have played under LaRussa.

For the St. Louis Cardinals to finish ahead of the the Brewers (which season series says they have to) for the Wild Card lead, they would have to go (theortically) 29-19.  That would be the fifth best finish to a season the Cardinals have played under LaRussa.

The 5 better closes?  1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004.

What was unique about each of those seasons?

Continue reading this post »

This is the one that wins it for the NL. Hope it doesn't end in another tie; Bud Selig will never get out of Yankee Stadium alive.

By the way, the guy was safe at the plate on McLouth's throw home; ball beat the runner and  Martin made a beautiful pick, but he didn't get the tag down --- tagged him on the thigh after the runner's foot had already crossed the plate.

You has said when I pointed out what appeared to be footage from July 2, 1971 Pirates/Cubs games that if I ever found anymore to pop in and let you know.

While watching the end of Clemente during the Pirates rain delay, this caught my eye.  It was actual game broadcast footage (not 'canned' footage from a MLB Films camera) of what appears to be Clemente gunning out Billy Williams advancing to 3B.  On quick review, it appears it happened the next day and it happened in the 8th inning. 

This would mean that SOMEONE has footage from both games of that 3 game series.  What is odd is that the Clemente throw happens in the 8th inning and usually, the final innings of a game are only recorded during special event games (No-Hitters, Perfect Games, 4 HRs, Pennant Winners, etc) and there doesn't seem to be anything special about this game.

Anyways, here is the link to the photos of the footage.  It is used as part of a montage, so no announcers were heard.  As with the last time, if Cubs fans have any extra knowledge about this footage, please let me know.  I'm not 100% certain it is from that game but I'd be stunned if Williams would have tried to run on Clemente twice in the span of 2 years like that.  If he did, shame on him.

http://kinescopestealshome.blogspot.com/2008/06/clementecubs-game-new-twist.html

Interesting article in the Commercial Appeal today about Anthony's feelings in regards to the way the Cardinals have handled him. 

Prior to his demotion from St. Louis to Memphis on May 4, Reyes said he hadn't spoken to Duncan in about a month. There were reports out of St. Louis about a rift between the two.

"If there is, I have no idea," Reyes said. "I haven't said a word to him. I don't know why people keep bringing that up.

Apparently the two nary a speak.  Anthony goes on in the article to 'play dumb' about why Dave would dislike him or not 'embrace' him while he has been a pitcher in St. Louis.  Don't take that as him lying, just that he acts as if he doesn't understand.

Brad Thompson is also quoted in the article as not having noticed any bad blood between the two while he was up with the club.  He's very supportive of Anthony's talents.

I'm sorry if this rehashes the Reyes v Duncan argument but this is a situation that shouldn't exist.  Dave Duncan shouldn't be like the wise old man in the cave that only speaks to you when he feels it absolutely necessary.  If Anthony hadn't spoken to Dave for a month before his demotion, then Dave wasn't doing his job.

Someone in the front office needs to address this.  Is this really status quo?  Dave doesn't talk to the pitchers on the roster unless absolutely necessary?  Shouldn't he be evaluating each pitcher's performance and offerings thoughts, tips, suggestions?

With this story, it seems that the Anthony Reyes situation is unamendable.

Story is here

Ok, well maybe they aren't RUN by idiots but perhaps covered by idiots?  Needless to say, this brilliant work by the media branch of the Astros organization needs a refresher course on how the MLB All-Star Game selection is run.  Maybe it's this kind of brilliance that has Carlos Lee 4th overall in OF voting?

Whatever it is, I have to wonder how long this bumper actually runs on their network before someone realizes the mistake.  The Astros announcers are very quick with the glib or pithy comments about the Astros opponents.  You'd think they'd make quick work of bashing this one.

NOTE: If for some reason at 1:35 AM I have forgotten that some how the fans elect pitchers for the All-Star Game, please get me a V8 Splash and smack me in the back of the head.

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