I need an accurate ticket count. I counted up the responses in the previous Fanpost and only came up with 14 tickets. The minimum for group sales is 25 and the party room minimum is 30. So please comment here with the number of tickets you want. Please don't confuse me with the +1 or whatever. Just say how many tickets you want. If there are enough then I will take care of the group purchase and people can pay me on game day like last year.

So we are about a week and a half away from VEB Day v3.0. Thus it is probably past time that I got this fanpost up so that we can decide where we are going to meet up before the game and what we might want to do after. In the last fanpost we voted on the meeting place and 3 places came up with approximately equal results. Therefore, I am going to repost the poll with those 3 options to see if we can get a consensus. With the game starting at 6:15 I figured that we would probably want to make the meeting time around 4-4:30. The poll will be open for voting till Monday 6/14 at 11p.

As for postgame activities, we can either organize it now in this fanpost or we can discuss it when we get together at the game.

See you soon!

Poll

VEB Day v3.0 Meeting Place

20%

Al Hrabosky's Ballpark Saloon

5 votes

37%

Broadway Oyster Bar

9 votes

41%

J Buck's

10 votes

24 votes | Poll has closed

Today I bought a block of 25 tickets for the 3rd Annual VEB Day. As detailed in previous fanposts, the game is Saturday 6/19 at 6:15pm against the Oakland A's. The tickets are in Section 509 which is the bleacher section behind the Cardinals bullpen. The tickets are in blocks in different rows but they are all in the same section. It was the best I could do in the bleachers. We can probably do some trading to get everyone closer together. The only option for one solid grouping was in the upper deck and the bleachers are way better seats for a similar price.

With the assorted fees the tickets are $31.00 apiece. To pay with PayPal just click the link and enter my email address (nchlebowski at hotmail dot com). You can also pay me via check or money order. I will be sending out an email to everyone who indicated interest in the previous fanpost. If you wish to pay by PayPal the price is $32.00 to cover the fee that PayPal charges for the payments. There is a way to avoid the fee if you do a personal transfer of the money from a PayPal account. If you wish to pay another way just let me know when I send out the email. I can send out the tickets or hold them depending upon your preference.

I would appreciate payment as soon as you can as I have fronted considerable $$$ for this.

We have suggestions for Broadway Oyster Bar and other places as a meeting place. Other suggestions are welcome but keep in mind that not everyone is 21. I imagine that postgame activities will require an id but the pregame meeting place needs to include all ages.

Poll

Pregame Meeting Place

17%

Al Hrabosky's

5 votes

31%

Broadway Oyster Bar

9 votes

24%

J Buck's

7 votes

0%

Hot Shots

0 votes

27%

Other

8 votes

29 votes | Poll has closed

Per this fanpost, the date of the annual VEB get together has been decided on and the winner is the Saturday 6/19 game against the Oakland A's @ 6:15p. I think that the best deal on seats is the bleachers which are about $30/ticket. If we can get a group of 25 then the tickets should be $25 per and we get to sit together and geek out. I have the ability to pay for the group tickets however I need firm commitments from a good portion of the potential attendees before I am going to plunk down the cash. Please email me if you think you are going to attend so that I can put together a list. I probably need to know by the end of this month so that I can buy the tickets before all the good areas are sold out. Please give me your name and contact info in the email. My email address is nchlebowski at hotmail dot com.

 

BTW - You can tweet at me @Indakind

blasphemy

1 a: the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God b: the act of claiming the attributes of deity 2: irreverence toward something considered sacred or inviolable
heresy
1 a: adherence to a religious opinion contrary to church dogma b: denial of a revealed truth by a baptized member of the Roman Catholic Church c: an opinion or doctrine contrary to church dogma 2 a: dissent or deviation from a dominant theory, opinion, or practice b: an opinion, doctrine, or practice contrary to the truth or to generally accepted beliefs or standards
excommunication

1 : an ecclesiastical censure depriving a person of the rights of church membership 2 : exclusion from fellowship in a group or community
I have an idea for the Cardinals which might be considered blasphemy, heresy and which might be grounds for excommunication from this and other Cardinal related blogs which I enjoy reading and (occasionally) commenting on.
I think the Cardinals should leave Rick Ankiel in center field and move Colby Rasmus to right field. I know this idea will not be very well accepted for a number of different reasons. Colby Rasmus' positional value being much higher as a CF and Ankiel's arm being a greater weapon in RF are two reasons of many. However I think there is a compelling argument to leave Ankiel in CF and here are my reasons:

Talent  Ankiel has more athletic talent than any Cardinal player or prospect. To be able to be the Clayton Kershaw of 9-10 years ago and then have the quick bat of a Carlos Beltran is unbelievable. The talent it takes to go from that type pitching prospect to that type of hitter in less than 1K atbats is incredible.

Potential  I believe that Ankiel might have more potential than Rasmus. In less MiLB AB's and limited MLB AB's, Ankiel has proven that he has incredible power and a very quick bat. Furthermore, Ankiel has already proven that he can make adjustments at the MLB level.

Mental State  I think the most compelling reason to leave Ankiel in CF and move Rasmus to RF has to do with the mental makeup of both players. Rasmus is a baseball rat. So long as he is playing in the Major Leagues, I doubt he would care what position he is playing. He will hit and play like he has done at every level of baseball he has played. Ankiel, on the other hand, is clearly mentally fragile. For all his talent, he seems to get rattled by things he cannot control. Right now he seems very comfortable in CF and he is a much better defender there. I worry that putting him in RF where he makes more mistakes, might distract him from his hitting and send him into a funk. This is something the Cardinals cannot afford.

Defense  I think the Cards will be a better defensive club with Ankiel in CF. Ankiel is clearly more comfortable getting jumps on balls in CF. Furthermore, Ankiel's arm would be a serious weapon in CF throwing to all bases. While Rasmus' arm is very good and would play well in RF, it is clearly not the match of Kershaw's Ankiel's. With Rasmus' range in RF, the Cards would cover a ton of ground in the OF. With Ludwick/Schu in LF the OF defense might be the best in baseball. With Barton/Duncan out there it would be merely very good.

Ankiel may be the single most important player to the Card's near future. If he learns some plate discipline he will become one of the 10 most feared hitters in the NL. If he teams with Pujols and Rasmus to form the new MV3, the Cards could start another long run of excellence. That is why I believe it is the club's best interest to leave Ankiel where he is comfortable.
I know this post will be considered both blasphemy and heresy to most but I hope to avoid excommunication from this community despite my heretical beliefs.
Anyway, GO CARDS! I look forward to the journey this year.

Looks like the Cards won't have to offer arbitration to Troy Percival to get draft pick compensation. I would love to have him back but if there is an area the Cards can afford to let someone walk and still have a strangth, it is the bullpen. I would guess that if this deal is still not finalized by the 12/1 deadline to offer arbitration the Cards will offer it then...unless they have an agreement with Percival not to do so. Anyway here is the link:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3132471

I think that the Cards should pursue Miguel Tejada to fill the anticipated SS vacancy.

The pros:

1. Only has two (2) years remaining on his contract. Contract would come off the books after 2009.
   
2. Owed "only" 13mil/year for those years. This is not big money for his offensive production. Yes he is not quite the hitter he was a few years ago but he is a definite upgrade to the Cards lineup and he might rebound with a chance to contend.
   
3. He is a defensive upgrade. While it is clear that Tejada's range is diminishing, he is an upgrade over Eckstein.
   
4. Probably would not take a ton to get him. I'm thinking Haerther, Hamilton and two minor league relievers (O's desperately need bullpen help).

The Cons:

1. Range on defense diminishing. Clearly Tejada would be better served to move to third base but with Rolen that ain't happening. On the other hand, Rolen's glove at third reduces Tejada's range deficiency.
   
2. 13mil/year is still alot of money. No doubt but the SS hole is closed for two years and the Cards can wait and see on Ryan and Jose Martinez to see if either can fill the hole long term.
   
3. Another older player who could get hurt. While true, Tejada has been amazingly healthy throughout his career. Furthermore, it is not like the Cards have an abundance of MI prospects.

I think this makes the most sense of anything the Cards could do with the SS position. The team really needs another impact RH hitter and Tejada fills that bill in the one obvious open spot on the roster. Kennedy can leadoff and Tejada can hit 4-6 depending on the pitcher and how well Rolen and Jimmy are hitting.

Anyway I'm sure y'all will let me know if I am being crazy.

Go Cards! Forgot to add links: Contract: http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2005/01/baltimore-orioles_112321768568552760.html Stats: http://www.baseball-reference.com/t/tejadmi01.shtml