Now, I also know that those that follow baseball are probably more impressed with Rays comeback and Red Sox swoon, but I'm a Cards fan and even though their comeback wasn't as dramatic because they were playing the Astros on the 162nd game of the season and won it in no-doubt fashion and the excitement came only from the Braves losing to the Phillies in 13 innings. Lots of folks might think the Cards didn't win, the Braves lost it.
I'm not one of those people. The Cardinals still had to win no matter what the Braves did in September and win they did, going something like 18-8.
Only the Red Sox swoon out did the Cardinals comeback, but the Cardinals had done it before. Back in '64 the Cards trailed the Phillies by 8 1/2 games and they came back and won the Series that year. Could it happen again? Who knows but I am hopeful.
Coincidentally, the Cards trailed the Braves by that exact amount.
I am not taking anything away from what the Rays did. Like the Cardinals, they had to win no matter what Boston did.
Anyway, Wednesday night may go down as the greatest night in all of sports and I watched it all. Amazing stuff.
Now I'm going to sign this post with my customary sign off on the StlCardinals.com site.
Go Cards!!! I am the band leader!!!
Your thread is reborn. Return it to the first page.
Well Folks, what a ride it's been. First the Cards do the unlikely and get the Wild Card. Then they do the unheard of and take out the Phillie Pitchers. Then they do the improbable and beat the best home team on their turf.
Is this another year for the Cards. All they have to do is the Rangers and its #11 in 11.
I'm diggin' this series. Two heavy hitting offenses with unpredictable starting pitching (though I'm thinkin' the starters for both teams are better than folks think). Both Bullpens have been superb in the playoffs. And both teams have heroes in David Freese and Nelson Cruz.
However, I'm giving the edge to the Cards because of homefield advantage and no one and I mean no one is hotter than the Redbirds.
Go Cards!!! I am the band leader!!!
I just hope Nyger Morgan stops being such a douche now.
No kidding. "Injoy watching the 'cryin birds' in the World Series" Mighty Mouth. lol
Edit: Almost forgot...
Go Cards!!! I am the band leader!!!
(I'm the super stitious sort and the Cards haven't lost a series since I started doing the "Go Cards!!! I am the band leader!!!" thing. lol)
Haven't followed baseball much at all - even when the Indians looked semi-ok - so I ain't got a race in this horse. Go whoever wins! ;)
Greatest...Ballplayer...of...All...Time...Period.
Go Cards!!! I am the band leader!!!
Greatest...Ballplayer...of...All...Time...Period.
Rickey Henderson, Andre Dawson, and a host of others would like to have a few words with you. I might be willing to give you "Greatest Hitter of All Time", but hitting is not the be-all and end-all of baseball. And even if it were, there's still Barry Bonds. Pre-roids he was, quite possibly, the greatest all-around ballplayer of all time. Post-roids he became the home run king.
Greatest...Ballplayer...of...All...Time...Period.
Rickey Henderson, Andre Dawson, and a host of others would like to have a few words with you. I might be willing to give you "Greatest Hitter of All Time", but hitting is not the be-all and end-all of baseball. And even if it were, there's still Barry Bonds. Pre-roids he was, quite possibly, the greatest all-around ballplayer of all time. Post-roids he became the home run king.
Point taken, draco. Perhaps I exagerated about "greatest ballplayer" but he's definitely the best hitter and 3 Gold Gloves says he's a pretty good fielder too. Better hitter, but a solid defender.
As far as the Steroid Era, some great players aren't going to make the Hall of Fame because of it. One thing I'm thankful for is Pujols has never tested positive for ****'s and he volunteers to be tested frequently. For that alone, it makes his accomplishments that more incredible. To be mentioned in the same breath as Babe Ruth, Stan "The Man" Musial, and others and no one saying "it's because of the 'roids" (disregarding the troll comments on baseball sites) is pretty damn good.
Go Cards!!! I am the band leader!!!
...there's still Barry Bonds. Pre-roids he was, quite possibly, the greatest all-around ballplayer of all time. Post-roids he became the home run king.
Point taken, draco. Perhaps I exagerated about "greatest ballplayer" but he's definitely the best hitter and 3 Gold Gloves says he's a pretty good fielder too. Better hitter, but a solid defender.
As far as the Steroid Era, some great players aren't going to make the Hall of Fame because of it. One thing I'm thankful for is Pujols has never tested positive for ****'s and he volunteers to be tested frequently. For that alone, it makes his accomplishments that more incredible. To be mentioned in the same breath as Babe Ruth, Stan "The Man" Musial, and others and no one saying "it's because of the 'roids" (disregarding the troll comments on baseball sites) is pretty damn good.
Go Cards!!! I am the band leader!!!
Do you have any idea why Bonds started on the 'roids? In 1998, he became the first (and so far only) player to ever join the 400/400 club. And nobody cared, because they were too busy paying attention to Sosa and McGwire. This is a man who, statistically speaking only, was the 34th best player EVER. And that was only through 1997. At that time, he was the best active player in the league. By 2005, he was number 6. I think that even without the 'roids he would have been Top 10, just statistically. And his fielding was phenomenal, as well. Tell Albert to give Barry when he hits 10 Gold Gloves. Maybe Barry will spot him the other 4 of his 14.
Yo dawg, I heard you like the Cards, so I put a Card on a card so you can look at a card while looking at a Card.
EDIT: It should be a baseball card. <(QoQ<)
...there's still Barry Bonds. Pre-roids he was, quite possibly, the greatest all-around ballplayer of all time. Post-roids he became the home run king.
Point taken, draco. Perhaps I exagerated about "greatest ballplayer" but he's definitely the best hitter and 3 Gold Gloves says he's a pretty good fielder too. Better hitter, but a solid defender.
As far as the Steroid Era, some great players aren't going to make the Hall of Fame because of it. One thing I'm thankful for is Pujols has never tested positive for ****'s and he volunteers to be tested frequently. For that alone, it makes his accomplishments that more incredible. To be mentioned in the same breath as Babe Ruth, Stan "The Man" Musial, and others and no one saying "it's because of the 'roids" (disregarding the troll comments on baseball sites) is pretty damn good.
Go Cards!!! I am the band leader!!!
Do you have any idea why Bonds started on the 'roids? In 1998, he became the first (and so far only) player to ever join the 400/400 club. And nobody cared, because they were too busy paying attention to Sosa and McGwire. This is a man who, statistically speaking only, was the 34th best player EVER. And that was only through 1997. At that time, he was the best active player in the league. By 2005, he was number 6. I think that even without the 'roids he would have been Top 10, just statistically. And his fielding was phenomenal, as well. Tell Albert to give Barry when he hits 10 Gold Gloves. Maybe Barry will spot him the other 4 of his 14.
I'm not sure if I offended you so I want to say I wasn't trying to. Barry was a heluva player and I don't want to take anything away from what he did. My comments were more about the shame that players like Barry will have to wait to, or might never, enter the Hall of Fame. My opinion on ****'s in baseball is if everyone is using them and thus everyone's performance was enhanced, then the accomplishments of the players who out did everyone else are still valid.
That said, since baseball decided to "get clean" so to speak, there has been no player before, during, or after the 'steroid era' to do what Albert has done as far as hitting in the first 10 years of their career.
I'm not saying Albert is better than Barry Bonds. When I said "Greatest...Ballplayer...of...All...Time...Period", I said it in the heat of the moment and meant no disrespect to any other player or their fans.
The only reason I even mentioned steroids was not to give players like Bonds a black eye, but because I've seen the accusation thrown around that Pujols is on steroids without any evidence by fans of other teams and or players.
Would it matter to me if he was on ****'s? Yeah, probably, but only because I've been under the impression that he wasn't and there is the assumption that the game was "cleaner" before steroids, which is a false assumption because of what I said about everyone using them.
I'm not sure if I offended you so I want to say I wasn't trying to. Barry was a heluva player and I don't want to take anything away from what he did. My comments were more about the shame that players like Barry will have to wait to, or might never, enter the Hall of Fame. My opinion on ****'s in baseball is if everyone is using them and thus everyone's performance was enhanced, then the accomplishments of the players who out did everyone else are still valid.
I'm not saying Albert is better than Barry Bonds. When I said "Greatest...Ballplayer...of...All...Time...Period", I said it in the heat of the moment and meant no disrespect to any other player or their fans.
You didn't offend me. I just wanted to make sure that there was at least one other person out there who could appreciate the fact that Barry was the real deal before he decided to 'roid up. Beofre the 'roids, he was already a HR and SB machine, a mulitiple Golden Glove winner, multiple MVP winner, and already on pace to break the record for career walks. He really was an all-around great, not just a great hitter, or great fielder, or great base-stealer. He was all of them, and the walks actually show him as being not just a great hitter, but overall great at the plate.
I was up till 4:00 a.m. watching highlights and interviews. David Freese, the hometown kid, gets MVP honors for both the World Series and NLCS, set a record with 21 post season RBI's. So many records broken in this Series. I'm in awe and the only regret I have is my Dad wasn't able to watch it with me.
I'm in awe, seriously. It is great to be a Cardinal fan today.
And...
The streak holds true. The Cardinals didn't lose a Series since I started ending my posts with "Go Cards!!! I am the band leader!!!"
And so, I'll end the post with that and then just wait for the news of whether Pujols re-signs with the Cardinals or not.
Go Cards!!! I am the band leader!!!
And so, I'll end the post with that and then just wait for the news of whether Pujols re-signs with the Cardinals or not.
Go Cards!!! I am the band leader!!!
I hope he does. I'm not a Cards fan, but I live in the middle of Missouri, so everybody else around is a Cards fan, though they'll likely jump on the Royals' bandwagon if they ever become a good team. Pujols is definitely the best thing to happen to the cards since Ozzie, and I hope they can come to an agreement. Failing that, I hope he goes to the Angels.
Once the series hit 2-2, I knew it was going to be a 7-game series. I just didn't know who would win Game 7.
I hope he does. I'm not a Cards fan, but I live in the middle of Missouri, so everybody else around is a Cards fan, though they'll likely jump on the Royals' bandwagon if they ever become a good team. Pujols is definitely the best thing to happen to the cards since Ozzie, and I hope they can come to an agreement. Failing that, I hope he goes to the Angels.
Once the series hit 2-2, I knew it was going to be a 7-game series. I just didn't know who would win Game 7.
The folks I've been talking to think he will stay but after he sees what he can get on the open market. Someone is going to offer him the money he wants and the Angels are a good bet for a team with the funds to afford him and has a need for a power hitting first baseman. If he sticks to wanting a 10 year deal, the American League will be more incline to give him that amount of time because of the DH.
Though, I'm hearing rumors that along with the league change for the Astros that Interleague play may become year round or at least more prominent during the season because of the imbalance of having 15 teams in each league. Also, folks are saying that that might bring the DH to the National League. Those are just rumors and even if they do happen it might take a couple of years.
Anyway, my point is if the DH comes to the National League, having an aged Pujols in your line-up wouldn't be as big a problem. The gossip says the Cards offered him $195 million for 9 years before Spring Training and he turned it down but I don't know how reliable the sources are for that figure. The media are the ones that came up with $30 million a year for ten years figure and everyone I've talked to says that's bogus.
The concensus of the fans in St. Louis is 7 years at somewhere between 23-28 million (maybe even 30 if necessary) with club or player options for another 2-3 at a lower rate.
Most folks think the Cards will offer a little less than what another team offers and he'll take it because of comfort in St. Louis, but really who knows?
All I can say is if he goes elsewhere for more money, I'm pretty sure he'll still be respected in St. Louis and it won't be ARod-like with the fans turning on him. Though he has said that he wants to go to a winning organization so if he winds up with the Cubs or something like that, that might change things.
I hope he does. I'm not a Cards fan, but I live in the middle of Missouri, so everybody else around is a Cards fan, though they'll likely jump on the Royals' bandwagon if they ever become a good team. Pujols is definitely the best thing to happen to the cards since Ozzie, and I hope they can come to an agreement. Failing that, I hope he goes to the Angels.
Once the series hit 2-2, I knew it was going to be a 7-game series. I just didn't know who would win Game 7.
The folks I've been talking to think he will stay but after he sees what he can get on the open market. Someone is going to offer him the money he wants and the Angels are a good bet for a team with the funds to afford him and has a need for a power hitting first baseman. If he sticks to wanting a 10 year deal, the American League will be more incline to give him that amount of time because of the DH.
There's really only 3 times that can afford to set/pay the market price for him, and they're all AL teams. The Dodgers would be the fourth team on that list if it wasn't for the McCourts' marital issues.
I think it's unlikely for the NL to institute the DH, I think it's likely that there will be more than ~15 interleague games a year, and I think it's likely that AP will stay with the Cards if they can get close to what the Angels, BoSox, and Yankees are offering.
LaRussa has retired which adds another wrinkle to the "will they or won't they" Pujols drama. I'm not going to speculate on that other than to say I don't think it will make that much of a difference in Pujols' decision to stay or leave.
The big deal is with LaRussa's retirement the Cardinals are also losing their Pitching Coach, Dave Duncan. "Dunc" is considered one of the best if not the best pitching coach in baseball and many people think he may be the first Coach to be named to the Hall of Fame.
Dave spent part of the season tending to his ailing wife with his two sons, both of whom were big league ball players, Chis and Shelley. It was widely speculated that Dave would retire even though he still has a year on his contract and I'm sure that played into Tony LaRussa's decision to retire. Dave and Tony worked together for almost their entire careers as Coach and Manager.
One thing is for certain, whether Pujols stays or leaves, the Cardinals' dugout is going to look a lot different next year.
As far as what the Cardinals should do now, I say the number one goal should be to re-sign pitcher Adam Wainwright right now. We do not need another drama after next season. They extended Chris Carpenter's contract before the post season so he's taken care of. Adam is the go to guy now. We've still got a pretty good pitching staff and Adam is the main reason behind that.
There are some other moves that can be made as well but Wainwright has to be priority number 1.