SB Nation User Blog: Molina4MVP

Glaus has surgery, out for Opening Day. Who plays 3rd?

Molina4MVP — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:45:44 -0000

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/6D7842289569D8198625754600645790?OpenDocument

With Glaus out for the first week or so of the season, who do you think we should go with at 3rd base? Should we roll with Joey Bombs every day? Maybe start a platoon? Just toss the dice and see what Brett Wallace can do (even though it is probably too soon...). Would we give Freese a chance?

If you have any ideas, toss them out.

(Sorry if this isn't an acceptable reason for a fanpost, i just thought it would be intetesting to see what people thought regarding the news of Glaus's surgery.)

Sign Sidney Ponson!

Molina4MVP — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 04:42:09 -0000

With our starting pitching troubles at the moment, I think we should sign Sidney Ponson.

In 9 games this season with the Rangers, Ponson is 4-1 with a 3.88 ERA. He was just designated for assignment because he has a bad attitude. We should wait and see if he clears waivers, and if he does, we should try to sign him. We could use him until our boys get healthy and then release him if he struggles/has behavior problems. (He didn't have any alcohol problems in Texas, he just got mad at the manager for taking him out of a game he struggled in when he pitched on only 3 days rest http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3431411&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines )

At home, in what seems to be considered at hitters park, he went 2-0 with a 4.41 ERA in 6 starts. he faced the twins, royals, A's (twice), Astros, and Indians.

On the road, he went 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 3 starts. He pitched at Seattle, Minnesota, and Tampa Bay.

He had 25:16 k:bb ratio, but had allowed 71 hits in 55.2 innings. These aren't staggering numbers, but I feel like they will be better than anyone we could call up to fill his place. He also suffered from having a sub-par defense behind him, and he got by on his 57.3% groundout rate, which would do well with us.

This would be better than calling up a young guy that isn't ready (i.e. Jaime Garcia, who I am a BIG fan of, but could struggle early because of his limited playing time above AA. It would be better to avoid having to rush him up into the majors) or throwing Parisi out there or converting K-Mac to a starter.

Some may disagree, and that's cool. I just feel that this would be an easy temporary solution for our starting pitching problem that we have right now, (I'm sorry if this has been brought up already, I have been out of town all weekend at a wedding).

Brewers sign Jeff Weaver

Molina4MVP — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 23:31:26 -0000

I didn't see anything about this yet, but if i has been mentioned, sorry.

According to MLBtraderumors.com, the Brewers have signed Jeff Weaver http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/04/brewers-sign-je.html

He signed an incentive-laden minor league deal. Wow, Boras is really making his paycheck with some of his clients this year, huh?

If anything, this could be Ben Sheets insurance (in case of injury), but if he regains any of his "old form", he could replace any of the lower arms in the rotation that might slip or become ineffective. I kind of see him as a better Mark Mulder-type option for the Brewers...

Over at Brew Crew Ball they had a fan post discussion about the signing here http://www.brewcrewball.com/2008/4/15/399069/jeff-weaver

Here's hoping he makes a magical trip up sometime in the next 3 days to pitch against us!

A Farwell to Former Cardinals

Molina4MVP — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:02:05 -0000

In preparation for Opening Day I have been watching the 2006 Postseason the past few days. Having just seen Spiezio's 2-RBI triple in Game 2 of the NLCS I just realized how much I am going to miss him (It's sad what has happened with his life, but I will always appreciate what he did for us). That got me thinking about all the players that won't be here anymore so I decided to do a little reminiscing about some of our departed redbirds from last season.

I realize that this has already been written about, but I figured that this is a great day to ponder my favorite memories of some of the players that won't be with us this season. I guess this is just my calm before the storm that will be the 2008 regular season. So here are some of my favorite memories of the players that are gone:

Scott Rolen: I was so excited when we got him (i love my fellow Indiana boys) even though we had to give up Placido. Obviously he was amazing in the '06 World Series (.421/.476/.737), but it was his glove that always made me happier than anything he did at the plate. I can't think of one single moment that stands out above all the rest only because he was always impressive. I wish I could do anything in life as well as he played defense at 3rd...

Jim Edmonds: No brainer. 2004 NLCS game 7. Not only the catch, but the Home Run off of Roger Clemens. I wasn't able to get a ticket to the game, but I went to the Westin with some friends and we watched the first 4 innings there before going up to the stadium and waiting outside the doors and watching from there until the final out was recorded and they let us in. (I also went crazy when he got the bunt single in the first game of the world series that year. I thought that was a symbol of how we were going to win, by doing whatever it took.)

Scott Spiezio: The aforementioned triple was simply amazing. I feel like he did so much for us as a bench player that I will always have a soft spot in my heart for him. Although I could have done without the whole Red Goattee craze that caught on among friends...

David Eckstein: His gameplay was fun to watch, especially when he would run to first after walking or getting hit by a pitch. I remember sitting in my apartment watching the cardinal game with some friends when he hit the walk-off Grand Slam. I can't remember a more unexpected way to end a game (except for Mabry's home run against the Reds a year or two earlier that capped a 7(?) run comeback in the top of the 9th). Especially after he had shown bunt during the at-bat. Oh yea, and he was our World Series MVP. I guess that's pretty good too.

Juan Encarnacion: This one may be a little different than the others, but I will still miss him nonetheless. I always felt like he got a bad rap in STL (but I don't want to get into all of the "he didn't look like he hustled" or whatever, that's not what this is about). I know he struggled in the '06 postseason, but his triple in Game 4 of the NLDS (that won us the game) will always be my favorite memory of him.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Again, I know this has been done, but with the season starting tomorrow, I wanted to say my goodbyes and reminisce a little bit before I head to Busch tomorrow.

Vaya con Dios, former Birdos.

Running GameDiary Friday 2/29 vs. Mets.

Molina4MVP — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:42:33 -0000

Some people were posting in the main thread about the game but I thought it might be easier to just have a seperate diary for the game today for those watching or unable to watch but wanting to follow the action.

Juan Gone hit a Home run in the first to make it 3-0 cards.

In the bottom of the first Waino gave up 2 runs and miles couldn't handle a forceout at 2nd base on a poor throw by Ryan.

Colon signs with Red Sox, Who do we get?

Molina4MVP — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 01:17:40 -0000

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3262747

Since Bartolo signed a Minor League deal with the Red Sox, that leaves very few options for the Cardinals to choose from if we are to get another Starting Pitcher before the start of the season. Personally, I like Jeff Weaver because we know he will eat innings (and I am an eternal optimist that believes he could recapture some late '06 magic), as opposed to a pitcher coming off an injury.

Other than him, pitchers that would accept a one-year deal don't seem like they would really be worth it, although we probably need someone to throw some innings before Clement gets back.

Would it be worth it to offer Kyle Lohse a $8-10mil/One year contract to see if he bites?

Ted Simmons HOF

Molina4MVP — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 02:55:52 -0000

Ok, I'm kinda on a Hall of Fame kick right now, so I'm just gonna keep on going. I was wondering if anyone knew why Ted Simmons didn't get enough recognition for the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility (when he received too few votes to remain on the ballot).

I'm not saying he's a gauranteed Hall of Famer, but I believe he should have a shot at it.

He was a 9 time all-star, silver slugger, All-Time Hits leader for catchers, and ranks in the top 100 of all players in hits (87th), RBIs (65th), Intentional Walks (16th), and Doubles (59th).

Was it because he wasn't on a bunch of contending teams (only made the playoffs one time in '82 as a Brewer when he lost the WS to the Cards)?

I was just curious if anyone remembered the '93 voting (his only year of eligibility) and knew if there were extenuating circumstances as to why he didn't get any votes.

Troy Glaus is #8, will we retire #25?

Molina4MVP — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 02:33:24 -0000

I don't know if this has been discussed (if it has, just ignore this) but Troy Glaus will wear the #8 jersey for the Cardinals, not 25 like he used to wear.

I hope this means that we will eventually retire #25 for Big Mac despite all the Performance Enhancing Drug allegations.

Maybe I am in the minority, but I feel that retiring 25 is the right thing to do because Big Mac had such a huge impact on the Cardinals. I'm not saying he is blameless or innocent of what he is accused of, I just feel that, because he was so important to the Cardinals, we should honor him by retiring his number. This seems like a big step towards that.