SB Nation User Blog: the Tewk

road rage

the Tewk — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 05:31:34 -0000

I started my 'road record' thought when someone on a thread said something like "hopefully we can take care of business at home (against the Phillies)." I wondered... are we actually playing better on the road than at home? And sure enough, after the 3 of 4 wins in Atlanta, the Cards actually do have a slightly better record on the road (+6) than at home (+5).

And only two other NL teams, the aformentioned Phillies (+5) and the Brew Crew (+2) have a winning record away from home so far this year. My next question was how bad has it been, league-wide. As of this morning it stands at .4325. That seemed, indeed, rather low. Last year, league-wide, the NL won .4564 on the road

The 2 and a quarter percent decrease from last year is pretty significant, I think; but I don't have any reasons that jump out at me to account for it. Statistical anomoly? A bit of it may be the NL's woeful performance this year in inter-league play, but it was bad in '07 too. And, as point of reference, the AL currently stands at winning road ganes at a .4556 clip.... another 2 and a quarter point difference from this year's NL mark.

Any theories as to why the dip in road wins?

a few comments, questions, re Mulder

the Tewk — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:12:35 -0000

(not that I am looking forward to, or trying to contribute to, a Mulder mania)

- I remarked after the 7th inning last night that if MM didn't throw an inning in this game, then why was he even put on the roster. Moot point

- If I had been in a coma for a year or so and woke up just in time to see him pitch last night, to my eyes it would not have been in the least remarkable. What I mean is the rhythm of his delivery seemed exactly the same as I remember it before. But hasn't there been some talk/reporting that during his re-hab he had changed his arm angle? If so, I could not discern it.

- Like most VEBers, I suspect, I was the most pleased about the fact that he threw strikes and didn't walk anybody {altho I think the ump gave him one, maybe two, calls... possibly the oft-seen wider strike zone in the last inning of a relative blow-out, or maybe even sympathy/respect for a veteran trying to come back} Even if so, Mulder was consistenly close to the plate.

- The two bloop hits also seemed 'familiar' to me. Hasn't Mulder always been a victim of that kind of thing? That's my memory of his previous work, anyway. I think because he has a lot of movement on his breaking stuff. Watching a flared, "lucky" hit off him also seemed like the old days, to me.

- lastly, the future question: what do we do with him now?: a) reserve him for a few more 'safe' one-inning stints; b) allocate him as the long-relief guy for the next week or so; c) pencil him in for a start; d) trade him back to Oakland {just kidding}

NL poor in inter-league play

the Tewk — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:56:01 -0000

I was just gazing at standings this morning and noticed a deep peculiarity in the "last 10 games" column. The National League is a whoping 34 games under .500 over the last ten contests. I knew the AL was winning the inter-league war, but I did not think it was that bad. The last 10 games numbers really hit home.

Only the Brewers, at 8-2, have a winning record for the last week and a half... with the Mets, Cubs, Rockies and the Birds at 5-5. On the other side, Kansas City (with some help from us) has a sparkling 9-1 mark... but that aberration by no means accounts for the disparity.

My simple question is: what do you think explains this huge dip between the leagues? {and note, the numbers have been similar in the past few years also.}

the case FOR Tony ?

the Tewk — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 05:29:28 -0000

I apologize if this has already been discussed to death, but as one who was on that medium-sized bandwagon (pre-season) that LaRussa was NOT the man to be in charge of a younger, have to scrap, quasi-rebuilding team... the dude (TLR) has done pretty well.

Like most of the rest of you, I have endured my little squabbles and head-scratching re TLR from time to time. But other than batting Kennedy (GAK) in the 3 hole the second game of that doubleheader last week... and (once again) staying with Izzy too much when there was obviously some kind of problem, he seems to be staying out of the way and not ruining things with a lot of over-managing.

Your thoughts on this? Should we be in a semi-apologetic mode, re TLR ?

No room for Hatteberg

the Tewk — Wed, 28 May 2008 05:22:34 -0000

I realize it is a far-fetched idea -- and I am the same guy who wanted us to pick up Jeff Conine last year -- but because of my TV market I get to see a lot of Reds' games, and I have grown to appreciate Scott Hatteberg a lot over the last few years. I really believe his experience and attitude would be a positive for this young and interesting club we have this year.

The kee-bosh negatives rule the day: His versatility is too limited to justify a roster spot; who would have to go in order to even open a spot (assuming we continue to carry 12 pitchers)?; the always argued premise that bringing in an old veteran crimps/blocks the progress of a youngster; and even if management decides that Itz, Miles, Ryan and AK are one MI too many, there are probably better options for the 13th player add-on.

Nonetheless I sigh. Hatteberg is a good stick (strikeout rate under .120) even with limited power. Although he has been anchored at 1b in recent years, he is a former catcher, and could be an emergency back-up for not only Pooh but possibly for Glaus at 3rd and maybe even for the weak-hitting LaRue.

The wild version of what I would like to see is ... trade Duncan, DFA Kennedy, call up Rasmus, and let the Reds pay for use to use Scott Hatteberg.

Money questions, e.g. Frank Thomas

the Tewk — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 02:14:36 -0000

first off, no jumping on me... I am not suggesting we pick him up; I'm just curious how the money is handled when a high-dollar contract player like Thomas gets released.

The situation as I understand it:

Thomas may have cooked his own goose (with Toronto, in any case) by getting a two-year contract ('07-'08) which stipulated that if he had 1,000 plate appearances over '07 and '08 combined, it would guarantee him a third year ('09) at 10 million.

Since he did surprisingly well in '07 (95 RBIs) and therefore had a lot of AB's, the pressure was on for him to justify the looming '09 obligation by producing again in '08. He's off to a slow start. And tho' the Blue Jays deny the '09 thing as being a factor... in any case he was released, with 8 million still guaranteed for '08.

My basic questions are these:

1. If Thomas is picked up by another team, does that new team have to pay ANY of his '08 salary, or is Toronto completely obligated for the remainder of the 8 mil for this year?

2. Is that new team obligated to the part of his deal with Toronto, re. possible guarantee for '09.? That is, if Thomas does well enough to get the 350-some plate appearances he needs to combine for 1,000, will they be obligated to honor the '09 part? Or... is the slate wiped clean, except for the money already guaranteed for '08?

Knight, Parsells, LaRussa

the Tewk — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 06:34:28 -0000

In case anyone didn't notice... and would care to see it:

ESPN is advertising a three-way interview, featuring Bobby Knight, Bill Parsells, and our boy Tony. It's well known that these three guys are buddies (and it figures they would be).

To be seen 10:30 am today (Sunday) and repeated at 11 pm (EST)

Christmas time advice?

the Tewk — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 18:15:17 -0000

The situation...Strangely, I am more enthused (that is to say interested in) this coming Cardinal season than I have been in a while {'06 and '07 really beat me up,}
Add... I am as computer illiterate as they come, and I have just a dinker Dell PC, with cable feed.
Add... There aren't enough Cardinal games TELEVISED (free) that I get to see: getting only the fortunate times that St. Louis is carried by ESPN, national Fox, FSN-Ohio Fox {only Reds' games}, and of course WGN (Cubs)and TBS (Braves). {I live in metro Louisville and thus no chance at St. Louis stations.)
Add... For the last three years I HAVE subscribed to the MLB-Radio package, but a) radio just don't cut it compared to being able to SEE on TV, and b) tho' I am fond of them, I have observational reasons to believe that Shannon and Rooney are... let's just say, 'incomplete' in their observations.

Equals... I want to splurge this year and subscribe to some kind of TV package over the internet.

Thus... I seek advice, perspective and instructions from my (maybe) kind fellows here at the VEB... who have used computer-fed TV packages before.

NOTES: I'm only interested in Cardinal games and a 162-game package is probably more than I can handle, time-wise, and money wise.
I remember reading horror stories from some users, (blackouts, faulty or clumsy tech) and given my low level of computer competency, I don't want to get frustrated, or have to buy a new computer, or put more buzzers and bells on the old war-horse to get it to 'work.)

Suggestion -- rather than clutter up dairy space with info irrelevant to others, I welcome any kind VEB-er to use my e-mail.

Thanks in advance, and I hope I have not violated a rule here, but I quake at jumping into this project all by myself.

the Kennedy 'pass'

the Tewk — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 22:04:51 -0000

I know that second base seems to be the black hole of fan interest/attention -- and in Cardinals' management philosophy, the step-child player position...(low budget priority)
but in scouring recent blog comments I am somewhat surprised that Adam Kennedy is getting such a pass on criticism.
Was it just me???... or was Kennedy not indeed the second biggest flop of '07 (losing out only to the unfathomably bad Kip Wells) ?
I have been seeing very little talk (or concern) about the prospect of going into '08 with AK as our second baseman. To quote Bob Dole, "where's the outrage."
Especially, I must add, given the all-to-ready dissing of Aaron Miles.
I'm NOT lobbying for Miles to become the starting 2B, I'd just puzzled why there is so much concensus that Miles should "go" as our backup MI, whereas little is said about the atrocious Adam Kennedy.