Buzz Bissinger, author and friend of Tony La Russa, makes a series of comments critical of the St. Louis Cardinals organization.
I follow author Buzz Bissinger on Twitter for the same reason people slow down on the highway when there is an accident – morbid curiosity. For reasons only clear to him, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer regularly goes off on series of profane 140-character tirades against seemingly anyone and everyone – from his wife to LeBron James to Alyssa Milano.
Among his Saturday morning’s barbs were ones targeted at the heart of the St. Louis Cardinals. Given the team’s recent poor play, Bissinger was hardly alone in his criticism. What makes this different is the source and the specificity.
In the past, the closest to home that Bissinger, a friend, collaborator and business partner with Tony La Russa had come to the manager was a series of shots directed at Lou Piniella prior to the Cubs skipper’s retirement announcement and some relatively mild criticism of the hiring of Mark McGwire as Cardinals hitting coach over the winter.
That changed on Saturday. Bissinger started off pretty tame, almost normal.
“I think Tony La Russa is great etc. etc. (save the jokes) but except for 3 games against Reds, they have played with no intensity all year.”
It didn’t take long for him to go off on one of his patented rants, however. Here are some of Bissinger’s subsequent Cardinals-focused tweets, unedited (NSFW). A few of the latter ones are in response to comments from others.
“Something in the Card organization is terribly wrong. Getting rid of Jockety stupidest move ever. Kept idiotfuck Luhnow instead.”
“Hiring McGwire terrible move even though batting coaches don’t do shit. Tony never should have done it. Been there too long? Silence……..”
“The Cardinals could win the WS (except Franklin sucks). Have the pitching. So why are they playing like they don’t give a shit…”
“Two weeks ago, everybody including me thought Cards had finally hit stride after sweeping Reds. Now nothing but excuses.”
“Obvious answer to Cardinal woes: Alyssa Milano takes over as manager. Pujols strikes out with bases loaded. Alyssa: ‘Yay! You tried Hard!’”
“Of course top heavy. But DeWitt is cheap. And if team collapses, Albert will leave. He should.”
“For all the stats in the world, if players don’t care, come into park distracted, defeatest (sic), then streaks are not accidental.”
In response to the Post-Dispatch’s Joe Strauss drawing more attention to his tweets, Bissinger replied.
“You watch them play every day. I don’t. You explain what the fuck is happening….”
Is Bissinger speaking for himself, or also sharing the thinking of the manager, who is not under contract for 2011, when he typed the following?
“Let me be clear: I love Tony La Russa. Brilliant gutsy manager. Most interesting man I have met in sports. But mesh is no longer right.”
If you dare, you can join the over 16,000 people who follow Bissinger on Twitter here.
Update: In response to learning of Bissinger’s comments from the Post-Dispatch, La Russa predictably distanced himself from the comments, not the man. He “…described Bissinger as a friend with whom he had last spoken several weeks ago. However, La Russa said,
‘He isn’t connected enough to me that he’s stating my opinions. I think that’s the important point there.’”
Update #2: I found a June article in The New Republic in which Bissinger discusses why he tweets. Here are a couple of nuggets:
“I am an angry man, which is one of the reasons I have resumed therapy and take four different pharmaceuticals. I wake up angry, stay angry during the day except to my dog and children, and go to bed angry at night. Most of my anger amounted to a running dialogue of abuse and self-abuse while working alone at home. But with Twitter, I now had an outlet. I used profanity, because that’s the way I talk, the perfect sentence being one in which the f-bomb appears as adverb, verb, adjective, and noun, as in, ‘You kind sir, go fxxxly fxxx yourself, you fxxx of a fxxxhead.’”
“Some say I am two-faced because of my original anti-blog stance, or that I am a washed-up windbag, or that I am seriously demeaning myself…” (what follows is a general purpose 140 character profanity-laden tweet)
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Is it possible to find a more flattering photo of Bissinger? Or is his bitterness inspired by self-esteem issues?
I have not read Bissinger’s book about or with Tony. One of the potential pitfalls to closely associating with an author is the association can linger, whether it genuinely persists or not, in real life.
This reads like Bissinger’s views. TLR would be unlikely to consider hiring McGwire a “terrible move.” TLR stuck his neck out for McGwire and paid a price for their friendship. Bissinger seems to be trying to score points with his devoted readers by turning on Tony.
Jumbo, I agree, that pic reminds me of a stoned Steven King photo
He doesn’t look like Stephen King. He looks like he belongs in a Stephen King novel.
He is just about as upset with the cardinals losing as are you right Crdswmn?
Have you been yelling out those comments…….off air of course?
These are a mans thoughts……….and he shares them. He has a unique perspective. Nothing he says is “wrong” in my experience…………. they are very “qualitatively directional” as to his loyalties and his friendships………….
Observation……………… This AP situation……….the Ludwick trade……….and some other examples of player relations with the organization are creating problems. No matter what we seem to be seeing, the players are aware of a growing adversarial gap between management and team. Each player inevitably begins looking at their own career options and aspirations………instead of their shared team aspirations……………where ever this happens, there is trouble. It is sometimes difficult to see with the Cardinals because they have so few long term commitments, and those players that enjoy them seem to be model citizens in every way…………We have a serious” every man for himself” avalanche that is overwhelming the team……………………
My observation a week ago, after Fridays win, that the Cardinals just gave up all their momentum from the sweep…………………..appears to be uncomfortable evident. I made that observation because I recognized this behavioral problem in some of the Key Cardinal personnel………… Molina, Ryan, Schumaker, Lopez to name a few of the most obvious, because of variations in their game deportment, and competitive choices………….Etc,etc……..
This is the interesting part…………there is a small window of opportunity to avoid the obvious, developing. The Reds are showing signs of front runner fatigue. They could drop a few in La before heading up to Frisco………………………..SF can rake………but Tim L has hit a hump. If we lay off the garbage, he can be beaten, especially if we get to him early. That would position us to take the series.
In short, we could be two back by mid week………………or………season is over…….everyone will then relax and begin producing to enhance career options…………like all the other losers.
I doubt that BD cares………..they may make another PR move if they find one that has a 0 liability clause.
The truth contained in some of Buzz Bissinger’s statements is tainted by his reliance upon expletives. I certainly have no problem with fact that Tony should have such a treacherous friend, collaborator and business partner. There is only one reason that neither of them would ever step on a snake: professional courtesy.
This may teach TLR that he is better off favoring Brian Walton with exclusive interviews. Brian seems unlikely to start to seek attention via vulgarities and name-calling.
Buzz Bissinger is everything this town needs: Someone in the media with enough piss and vinegar to speak the truth, even if it is a personal friendship on the line. Ever since I moved here from Philadelphia, I watch these postgame news conferences with TLR and wonder if the Cardinals have an employee designated to clean up reporter piss from the chairs when TLR looks at them askance. Almost every “sports reporter” here in Mayberry lives in fear of having their press credentials stripped if they dare speak ill of Cardinal Nation. Jim Hayes is a Philly guy but he lost his balls somewhere on the PA Turnpike heading west. I don’t even read Burwell’s crap anymore. There’s a reason his radio show got the axe. HE SUCKS. Bernie is somewhat critical at times but even he seems to sit down to pee when it comes to LaRussa. Too bad Slaten in batshit crazy. I wish Bissinger would trade in cheesesteaks for toasted ravioli and move here to give us some real reporting.
Buzz is absolutely right: Losing Jockety was the beginning of the end. The only person that should be pleased Mo is in charge of this sinking ship is Scott Boras, because Mo is truly that man’s bitch in a contract negotiation.
Here’s a great story that ran recently in Philly Mag on Bissinger.
http://www.phillymag.com/articles/a_savior_for_the_city/
Oh yeah…sorry for the expletives. News flash to Floyd the Barber: Aunt Bea is dead. It’s OK to cuss.
RC– I am not crude. I am polite with my yelling.
1. Schumaker, 2B
2. Winn, RF
3. Pujols, 1B
4. Hollliday, RF
5. Jay, CF
6. Molina, C
7. Feliz, 3B
8. Ryan, SS
9. Carpenter, P
Am I seeing right? The pitcher is batting 9th?
“Let me be clear: I love Tony La Russa. Brilliant gutsy manager. Most interesting man I have met in sports. But mesh is no longer right.”
This by a factor of ten, the most revealing statement of the day……….. study it contextual usage, and the meaning and significance of the word…….Mesh………… and you have a very interesting story indeed.
WC, how many old codgers do you see at Rock concerts, country concerts, pop concerts hanging out with everyone from Korn to Michael Jackson…… Hanging out with Bill Parcells, Bobby knight, and numerous other hugely successful coaches and personalities?
He is truly a superstar of his generation, not just in terms of baseball managing but life in general.
In regards to him meshing…. It goes back to my belief that this next generation is a little different and he may have to do a little fine tuning to get the most out of his players this day and time. They are different than the past players.
NewsroomCancer, welcome. I think I can guess how that handle came about. As you have certainly learned by now, St. Louis is a different place from Philadelphia; the Midwest different than the East Coast. Like you, I have lived in both regions, though in the opposite sequence.
I am not a backer of the use of profanity simply for shock value. Even though he is from Philly, a writer of Bissinger’s talents shouldn’t need it to get his points across. I included his comments verbatim because I felt they were a part of the story, but I don’t plan on dumbing down this blog to the level of talk radio or worse, either.
“I don’t plan on dumbing down this blog to the level of talk radio or worse, either”
Hear! Hear! I know that Philly is a Pitri dish that cultures low class potty-mouth garbage. As such profane people who propagate it have no business being seated amongst those of polite society, their stinking tripe and drivel ought to be banned from The Cardinal Nation blog.
Well, we already knew what 57 thinks of the east coast. Newsroom shares my often stated opinion of the mainstream sports media in St. Louis. I don’t really agree with him about Bissinger who adds nothing to the conversation IMO. We already know about the problem and stating it emphatically and with naughty words doesn’t do jack. Just a fading nobody abusing past associations to gain another 15 seconds of fame.
Am I the only one watching the game?
I had to tend the grill and missed the homer. Missed the three amigos doing nothing. Some nice fireworks from the bottom of the order.
Pitcher down at ninth has paid off.
Let us hope the top of out order doesn’t do what the top of our order does so well.
Small ballers again.
Well, ok. We are up by three with Carp pitching. I like our chances. But I have already lost track of how many times we have failed to advance a runner. Yadi, Carp and Skip that I can think of. Hopefully it won’t come back to bite us.
Buzz and NewsroomCancer love Walt Jocketty, but are strangely unable to spell his surname. Hmmm……
And the Freak is driven out.
Matt has an uncanny ability to not drive in runs.
Hmmm is right Jumbo. An online version of Slaten’s program would get old in 5 minutes.
I have visited Philadelphia. There are lots of nice people there, in the city of Brotherly Love, established by the Society of Friends. However, if there are many more folks like Buzz and his agent, who posted above, then I would not want to settle down there.
Pedro Feliz and Randy Winn are helping Carp get this team out of the dumpster.
Seems like kind of a quick hook for Tim.
Lincecum just gave up 4 runs to the Cards. That’s like 20 runs against other teams. He needs to hang his head in shame.
I would have thought Carp would go more than 111 piches on seven days rest. Now comes the nail biting.
I should be away from my computer during a Cardinal game more often! My, MY! A measly walk and a single from our Boppers, some power from a B-Teamer and all the rest of the hits and runs supplied by our courageous small-ballers! Barring another major bullpen melt-down, a much deserved win for Chris has been nailed-down!
That’s exactly the correct usage and context for the word mesh RC……………..Its application is possibly a bit more provocative. Now analyze which players he might be talking about within the context of sentence…..(paragraph)?
Well one thing about the Cards is a guy can be a hitting standout pretty easy.
A weak small baller drove in Matt… I should think that Matt would be the one driving-in a weak small baller! It matters not… A win is a precious win for the scrapper who has been screwed out of so many of them…
All of our batters have gotten at least one hit, except for Skip…
Tonight’s lineup, with the pitcher back at ninth, is important. The masterplan has been dissed to some extent. There is a possibility of winning by some means other than getting runners on ahead of Albert and Matt. If Tony sticks with it, its a profound development. The thing I am struggling with is that it shifts focus away from the triple crown chase which I can’t see Tony doing. Who could have given such an order, and why?
The impication of fly balls that go deep like that one are just plain scary…
Yeah, unlike the one I was talking about (which was caught), there is that one by Sanchez…
“Who would have given such an order and why?”
I’d like to shake his hand!
Hallelujah.
Did Pedro Feliz just get 4 hits in his first two games? Hail Mighty Pedro, your adoring fan salutes you.
Well, we stopped the skid at 5… I don’t expect any more 5 game winning streaks, I don’t expect to win the Central Division. Hell, I don’t even expect to win the Wild Card. All I’m hoping for now is that our boys maintain a winning record for 2010 and enhance their individual records. When we come back next season, without Tony, we talk seriously about making an actual run for it.
Tim Lincecum may have captured the Cy Young Award last year, but for tonight, he is no match for Mighty Pedro!
There are 43 games left to play. The Cards are only 4 or so behind the Reds. No big deal.
I was flying high until we arrived in Philly for that 1 out of 4 series. The flames of my hopes were fanned again when we took 4 straight from the Braves and then we pooped-out again! Then, I was really feeling the rush of Post Season play, when we came out of the All Star break with that big time winning streak. Then, again, the wind was taken out of my sails. Finally, I thought that we could begin thinking about putting together several sweeps when we handed the Reds butts to them in their own backyard. The rest is academic…
Perhaps next season we will reward all that talent and goodness with genuine leadership.
No, Lincecum is no match for Chris the Scrapper!
I am happy for Pedro. This is a place where he can be a hitting standout.
Sooner or later, Mr. DeWit is going to make Matt start buying a ticket.
Mr. Holliday’ stats are ok. Whether the Cards should have given him a monster deal is a question. But Bill Dewitt loves to be generous.
Pedro has been doing wonders and no doubt exceeding his own expectations.
Maybe McGwire gave Pedro a slurp of Geritol, wink, wink.
I was thinking maybe Pedro hadn’t run into Mark yet. ahem.
Nice job Pedro. One thing for sure is these late season pickups seem to hit like Ty Cobb for a while when the cardinals first pick them up. Guy may hit .400 for the remainder of the year. We hope. Great job by Carp, he set the tone.
Geritol is our favorite drink, here in Mayberry. It helps me stay up late to look at the Lawrence Welk Show and Hee Haw.
And Geritol turns Pedro into Lincecum’s lord and master. McGwire says it helps Feliz realize his natural abilities, but does not inflate his statistics. Everything Pedro is doing should not disqualify him from HoF consideration.
Stephen Strasburg came out of his game with an elbow injury. We won’t get to test him on Thursday.
Sorry to hear about Strasburg. I was just thinking after what happened to Timmy it would be fun to see him nibbled to death by ants.
I am disappointed we are not going to get to play against him. I was looking forward to it.
57, I just don’t understand your outlook on our chances. But I suppose living too close to Miller Park has that effect. Just think about it for a minute, every winning streak I ever heard of started out with one in a row. So we are right on track.
Maybe somebody should talk to Matt about letting Pedro have is old number back.
You’ve got a bright outlook, blingboy, and I find no fault with it. We are too far into the season for anything, but hope for a remarkable and sustained offensive resurgence.
As I’ve said before, we may or may not reach post season play, dependent upon lapses in our offense, meltdowns in our bullpen and the danger of burn-out in our Starting Rotation.
Forgot the link to the photo
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/64gOx0q6WX4f1RphXrB1IA
Cueto is pitching tonight. Maybe we will get some justice with a Reds loss.
It’s still early in their ballgame (2nd Inning), but it’s nice seeing the Dodgers kicking Cueto the Kicker. Reds are losing 2-0…
Ethier just smacked a homer… Reds are losing 3-0 now…
Dodgers got 3 runs out of Cueto in 2 innings so far.
Batting before a Spring Training home crowd, hey? I right-clicked and saved-as: Thanks, blingboy!
Jimenez took the loss tonight.
Until his last outing, I had been anticipating 20 wins for Adam by the end of this month. Now, I am reduced to hoping that he will get his 18th before Jimenez and that he will get his 20th during the Labor Day Weekend series against the Reds…
Yes! Dodgers scored another run off Cueto. 4-0 in 3 innings.
Now it’s 5-0. Go Dodger Blue!!!!
With homers from Kemp, Gibbons, Ethier and Theriot, Cueto the Kicker has been throwing a veritable Home Run Derby to the Dodgers! The first out has not even been recorded in the 3rd Inning and the Reds are already losing 5-0!
Speaking of spring training and Strasburg, I saw him start against the Cards in Viera on March 14. He went three scoreless on two hits and a walk. Here is one shot I took.
I guess Pedro would have to talk to Joey Bombs too.
http://picasaweb.google.com/7nbdablz7/SpringTraining2009#5315078357158031554
Heard on TV Strasburg is likely done for the year. Too bad.
7 should be retired for Ducky Medwick.
Other pretenders in La Russa years include: DeRosa, Kennedy, Belliard, Luna, Drew, DeShields.
Another right-click, save-as for my Gallery: Thank you, Brian!
The picture of Joe Mather from two Spring Trainings ago is super, blingboy!
I wince at the idea of retiring jersey numbers, but yes, Number 7 belongs solely to Ducky Medwick (he fulfills even the strictest of criteria)…
I liked the Mather photo too, 57, although the bat looks like it could use some viagra!
If Pujols would somehow manage to win the Triple Crown, perhaps today’s generation would discover how good Medwick once was (see 1937).
My grandfather used to talk about Ducky Medwick with awe.
Cueto out after 3 innings and 4 HRs. Not sufficient justice in my book.
Poor Pedro. Not only Medwick and all the other worthy #7s mentioned above, but also a fellow I had the honor of meeting once in my youth. Cardinals second baseman in 1942 wore #7 that year. You ain’t gonna believe this.
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1942&t=SLN
No kidding? You actually met and talked with Creepy Crespi? You have no idea of how envious I am: I’ve studied and admired the 1940s Cardinals ever since the 1960s!
My grandfather knew him at McDonnell Douglas and I met him a couple times when I was little. I heard some stories back then that I didn’t believe then or later until finally I read about it online recently. You ain’t gonna believe this either.
“During an Army baseball game in Kansas, he suffered a compound fracture of his left leg while turning a double play.[1] Soon afterwards, he broke the same leg during a training accident, and later he broke it a third time during an impromptu wheelchair race while in the hospital.[2]
While he was recuperating at the hospital, a nurse accidentally applied 100 times the appropriate quantity of boric acid to his bandages, causing severe burns on Crespi’s leg and leaving him with a permanent limp.[1][3]
After his retirement from McDonnell Douglas, Crespi discovered that he had not been retired from baseball, but rather had been on the disabled list, when the major league had first implemented its pension plan during the 1940s. This discovery entitled Crespi to his major league pension.[
57% of the people voting in the Dodger pole pick St Louis to win central………………….
The door is opening…………..Reds haven’t been beat down in awhile………Cueto took a beating….
it 7/1 right now setting up a favorable scenario for both the Dodgers and the Cards tomorrow…….. Hope Garcia is up……………… if we coast into the long road trip with some momentum, we could climb back in.by mauling the Pirates while the Reds scuffle with the Giants………….
that’s also a favorable scenario for Lohse I’d guess. They will need him.
Cincy now down 7-1 in the fifth, I’ll have to find out how it turns out in the morning.
Wow! That’s really, really heartwarming! Rather than keeping that nugget to yourself, you’ve just enriched my perspective on the Wartime Cardinals of the 1940s. Thank you, blingboy!
Well BB you went to bed…………………..7/5 now….7th inning…..Reds are relentlessly tiring the Dodger Pen, so they won’t be to disadvantaged tomorrow………………… This game is not over…….6Hrs
Reds lost 8-5.
Will Mighty Pedro maintain his 1,250 OPS while wearing Birds on a Bat?
Clearly not, but it’s a good start.
The Cards looked better with Winn against the RHP Lincecum. Winn has a career OPS of around 750. He should be playing vs. RHPs until Rasmus returns.
Lineup:
1. Ryan, SS
2. Jay, CF
3. Pujols, 1B
4. Holliday, LF
5. Lopez, 2B
6. Feliz, 3B
7. Molina, C
8. Craig, RF
9. Garcia, P
‘TWAS ALL ABOUT CHRIS CARPENTER
- with a supporting cast led by Winn and Feliz
“In an important showdown of former Cy Young Award winners, Chris Carpenter emerged the winner after 111 pitches and 71/3 innings. Carpenter left to a standing ovation from a Busch Stadium crowd of 44,477 as his team halted a five-game slide to win 5-1.”
“gottheblues” said on: August 22, 2010, 10:29 am
Cards biggest competitor is the Cards. They will get good starting pitching the rest of the way. Will Holliday actually hit when it counts? Can any of the sub .250 hitters get on enough to produce a couple of runs. Can they not run themselves out of innnings? Can they give the other team only 27 outs and can TLR not lose any more games for them? if so their in…
“rcampbell01″ said on: August 22, 2010, 7:52 am
TLR never looks back at the “mistakes he’s made because he “knows how to manage” and therefore, makes no mistakes. The team was good enoough last night to hang in there after TLR removed his pitcher in the 8th. Why anyone would remove Carp or Wainwright when they’re having no trouble is beyond me. Even when they are bad, Carp and Wainwright are better than anything down there in that bullpen. Did they turn a corner? We may know a week or so from now. One game at a time…
“Richfromiowa” said on: August 22, 2010, 7:43 am
Carpenter did what ace pitchers are supposed to do when his team is in a slump, he stopped the bleeding, at least for a game.
“azbruce” said on: August 22, 2010, 12:48 am
It’s only 1 win, so I’m not going to get too worked up just yet, especially since the Cardinals pretty much have a weak-hitting lineup. Even if the Cards were to win the 3 games they have in hand on the Reds, they would still trail the Reds by 2 games. I’m wondering if the manager would like to have back the 2 games he basically threw away with his curious managerial moves – the 20-inning loss to the Mets and the debacle in Denver. I bet those losses are looking very large to him these days.
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/article_21e3b705-b578-5a58-9fb1-2d4f34c58661.html?mode=comments
From whom could we possibly expect a lineup featuring the likes of Brendan Ryan at Lead-Off and Flip Lopez in the 5 slot? We should be thankful, however, that the pitcher is at least batting in the 9 slot…
“This pretty much settles it…………….TLR is a idiot…………..”
Hear! Hear!
Now I see where the game discussion was last night. In the future, would someone please tell me what thread the game is being discussed on?
When you consider the odds of two great pitchers having bad outings back-to-back, then you will know how our weak lineup stacks-up against Zito. Zito can go the distance and it is very doubtful that he will sustain a third consecutive bad outing. Assuming that we will get the usual effectiveness from Jaime, taking us to the seventh inning, we can win the game and take the series if our small ballers continue to step-up and if our bullpen doesn’t collapse…
Can we find fault with a 10 pitch inning and 3 infield outs?
Talk about a Latino connection, Jaime certainly kept Pedro busy; with all three outs at the hot corner!
A great Jaime-induced DP!
Two 10-pitch innings, back-to-back! Jaime is normally poised and lookin’ sharp, but he’s definitely not known for such efficiency!
Does our first hit of the game come from any of our .300 hitters? No! It comes from a .232 hitter! Thank you, Pedro, for coming aboard and getting our small ballers fired up!
27 pitches in 3 innings? What’s gotten into Jaime?
Jaime’s 7-pitch AB was followed by Brendan’s 9-pitch AB! Our small ballers are not only wearing-down Zito, but hitting doubles off of him!
Zito actually walked Jon in order to face Albert with 2 on base? Wow!
All right, Albert! Give Zito what he deserves!
2 on base and only 1 out… What will Matt do?
All right, Matt! Hell, our Boppers are small ballin’ ‘em to death!
Productive fly-outs like that are perfectly acceptable, Flip!
Mr. DeWit finally told Matt start hittin or buy a ticket.
We’ll be getting into their bullpen by the end of 5th inning…
Hell, we’ll take RBI singles any day of the week! Sure am happy that Matt took the memo seriously, blingboy…
4 IP and 41 pitches! Jaime Garcia!
I can’t see where today’s lineup is any more insane than the Lopez, Craig, AP, MH, Feliz that we saw Friday. The pitcher ninth tells all like I was saying yesterday. If it’s Tony’s idea, I’d be stunned.
I’ve found myself on the wrong thread a few times too, crdswmn. Or posting something having to do with a conversation going on on another thread. We’re not rocket scientists I guess.
Good to let Craig play regularly and see if he comes around, sort of like that bomb just now.
With Yadier joining in the small ball jamboree, I must say that I am a believer in our guys winning ballgames, despite Tony’s insanity…
Allen Craig wants to shed his sub-Mendoza stigma, bypass small baller status and become a Big Bopper!
Seems like it always starts with one in a row, aye 57.
Like I said…………Tony is a genius………………………………or Zito stinks………….I’m not watching until later.
Jon Jay ain’t gonna let this game slide-by without his contribution. I look for him to hit one of his doubles the next time up….
Does the fact that Zito had one of his worst outings of the season have anything to do with today’s success of our wonderful opportunists? Naw! Westy is right: Tony is the genius behind this game…
When Zito gave up the fly balls in the first inning, I could see that it would be an incomplete game for Zito. Our guys made damned sure that it would be woefully incomplete!
Piniella retiring today, after their game.
Jay steels second, Albert gets walked. Up until Friday that would have been trouble. Not now.
Why, Matt swung at the first pitch that came his way and promptly killed the rally!
It’s probably good that he popped-out… We don’t want Jaime going stale, sitting in the dugout for too long…
Burrell is the ONLY Giant to get hits off of Jaime so far today…
Nope! Jaime didn’t get stale…
Precisely 50 pitches in 5 innings. Jaime could… go… all… the… way!
With two DPs induced (SS to 2nd to 1st) and such a low pitch count, Duncan’s shirt buttons must be poppin’ !
Mota pitched to Flip as though he were facing King Albert…
Studwick just smacked a 2 RBI double…
Now, THAT is what I call a classic Yadier opposite field gem! It’s only the 5th inning and every single one of our batters have gotten on base at least once…
Even Jaime is getting his licks at the plate!
When comes to either a righthanded pitcher or a lefthanded pitcher, for Brendan; it don’t make no big never-mind no how!
‘Twasn’t the double I expected, but Jon delivered an RBI just the same…
Putting in leftys against Jay just doesn’t work.
Tony has gotten a lot smarter since the game started.
I believe we will be even with the Giants in the wild card standings, with Philly still ahead of us. Won’t matter once we pass the horrible Reds next week.
Jaime is sailing along. Seven days rest.
Is that Jaime or Adam? I can’t tell.
58 pitches in 6 innings! This is SO un-Jaimelike! If he’s not careful, his first CG will be accomplished with less than 100 pitches!
We’ve got 3 members of the multi-hit club today: Matt will have one more opportunity to join it…
Yadier is already a member of that multi-hit club and he joined it in great style!
Jaime is going into the 7th inning with not only with less than 60 pitches, but also with a shut-out: An absolute shock!
bb, do you think anyone tells LaRussa what to do? He may not get people to follow his orders but I doubt he follows the orders of others — even that of the guy that signs his paycheck.
68 pitches in 7 innings!
That’s the 3rd time that Brendan got on base: He’s taking this Lead-Off man business seriously!
Jon just started an exclusive 3 hit club…
Bases are juiced for Matt and the multi-hit club beckons…
I agree with that CC. The PHE thing affected Albert’s individual pursuits as much as any belief by Tony that it would win more games. I believe that very firmly, no matter the official line Tony always gave. So I don’t think Tony would just up and decide to abandon the practice just because getting a few more runners on ahead of Albert was not resulting in more wins. My opinion, based on the way I see things, is that the change was initiated by Albert himself, to give the team a better chance of pulling out a few more wins, even if it costs him some personal glory. Yes, I’m shocked and stunned, but I believe that is what has happened.
Matt really blew it! It’s a damned good thing that the game wasn’t on the line!
Poor Matt, he wants to not suck so bad. He has shown the ability to not drive in runs with great efficiency.
I can’t believe that Jaime has gotten himself to within 6 outs of a CG (not to mention the shut-out)!
Our pitcher is boldly going where no Jaime has gone before!
80 pitches in 8 innings! Incredible!
Live long and prosper 57……….live long and prosper
Jaime has been magnificent today. I mean WOW!!!
I love this umps strike zone and it definitely shows how hard it is to be a pitcher with Zito’s stuff if the ump isn’t giving you off the edge pitches for strikes. Doesn’t bother Jaime because he is a pitch to contact guy.
Except for his sacrifice, Flip has gotten on base every time he has come to bat!
That was an 8 pitch AB: Pedro is no easy out! He is also the 4th member of the multi-hit club…
Feliz is en fuego
He needs to get rid of that spring training longshot number.
But when Yadier GIDP, Feliz might as well be in Tierra Del Fuego….
Days like today the game of baseball looks easy.
Allen just joined the small baller multi-hit club!
lets don’t use em all up today boys. lets save some for next week.
nice standing O for Jaime.
TLR shows you why they pay him the big money today with this lineup. Man what an offensive explosion and boy is it good to see. Hopefully this will be the start of our next 10 gam winning streak. We have two in a row after today..
Nearly half of our hits (7 of 15) and nearly half of our runs (4 of 9) have been off righties…
That’s Flip playing first base.
No, it wasn’t Tony’s lineup against lefties, any more than it was the same lineup against the 2 righties. It was the fact that our guys simply exploded. All the credit (every bit of it) goes to them and to Jaime.
Plenty of credit to go around, 57.
Jaime Garcia just threw an 89 pitch shut-out! I can’t believe it!
Wow. Just wow.
Anybody want to buy a generator cheap?
Our Rookie and his brigade of small ballers did one helluva job!
Holliday is still on track for about 95 RBI though.
Talk about sensational Rookies: Jon Jay got 3 hits and Allen Craig drove in 3 runs!
I love Matt and have absolutely no regrets that he takes up so much of the budget. But he nevertheless blows it whenever he leaves 3 men stranded….
We’re only a year into Matt’s six year deal and I have no doubt that he will ultimately gain hero status in almost everyone’s eyes….
But today’s 1 for 5 performance pales in comparison with what a couple of our Rookies did…
That’s the thing that gets me CC. As often as he goes back to the dugout hanging his head having left runners out there, he still has quite a few. Not much of a clutch hitter I guess. If the offensive strategy moves away from being focussed on Albert and Matt doing all the damage, as appears the case from the last two days, Matt might feel less pressure. He looked bad up there with the sacks jammed and two outs. I’ve also noticed that his power is very, very streaky, not at all the guy who will pound out homers and doubles avery couple games. That means he is not really all that suitable as a cleanup hitter. Maybe eventually the preconcieved ideas will give way and he will be moved around a little to find where he is most productive.
Might Pedro has got these guys motivated, leading by example.
TLR took the pressure off Craig by slotting him 8th. The rookie was like a deer stuck in the headlights batting 5th.
Matt woulld be a great #5 hitter I bet.
I agree: Until and unless he becomes less streaky as a Cardinal, he’s definitely not doing the job of a Clean-up hitter…
If the Reds have a burning desire to beat the Dodgers today, they’re having a great deal of difficulty so far. After 5 innings, they’re tied-up 2-2…
Actually the best move would be Holliday at 3 Pujols at 4. If bb is right and Pujols is calling the shots and wants what is best for the team …….
Pirates, then Nationals, then Astros, then Reds again. Time to make up some ground over the next couple of weeks!
Originally, I had anticipated perhaps some trouble from the Nats, but sweeps of both the Pirates and the Astros. After the Cubs had beaten us 2 out of 3, however, I began to design my hopes differently… The original thought was to increase the margin between us and the 2nd place Reds. Now, I simply want to catch them and perhaps go into the Labor Day Weekend series a game or two ahead…
After 7, the Reds are now ahead of the Dodgers 3-2…
The key, I think, would be getting Matt out of the 4 spot. Today, for example, Holliday came up in the middle of a small ball rally in the third and came through. In the fourth, with two outs, Pujols was walked after Jay stole second. Textbook example of the masterplan in action, Matt comes up expected to make them pay, and fouls out. In the seventh, another textbook example, two down and the sacks jammed after Ryan and Jay get on and Albert is pitched around and walked. Matt strikes out.
Personally, I think 2nd or 5th would be best, but I respect the idea of him 3rd. When Colby comes back, I hope Tony tries a few things along those lines. Hopefully, Colby noticed what is going on, seeing Jay steel 2nd because he could, ahead of Albert, and will take heart.
One other thing CC, and I consider it important. I don’t think Albert told Tony what Tony must do. I think Albert told Tony what Tony could do without rubbing Albert the wrong way, if he thought it best. And probably also said that he thought it would be best. He let it be known that his signability would not be adversly affected if some changes were made to try to win this thing. Albert could be moved to fourth, no problem. I don’t know if that would help win games, but now Tony has the option.
I like the idea of Matt at either 2, 3 or 5 and I like the fact that Jon had stolen so boldly. I like especially your optimism, blingboy, and the aggressiveness indicated by Nutlaw. Here’s hoping that Colby comes back a Cardinal-with-a-future, rather than someone succumbing to Tony’s ego. Our guys really need to continue to play as though it were next year (without Tony in the picture).
Bling, I believe Albert in the 4 hole ala Ryan Howard in the Phillies lineup would be an intriguing lineup decision. It definitely couldn’t hurt to try something different but I, like Jumbo, will give way to TLR’s expertise on these matters.
I’m still trying to process Jaime’s 3-hit, 89-pitch masterpiece! I am simply overwhelmed…
If Broxon doesn’t pitch batting practice to the Reds, the Dodgers will have the opportunity for a walk-off…
I will say it would be fun to watch a more aggressive team in terms of base stealing and the like. Hey maybe Tony will try more of that in the games to come.
Sure enough, Broxton is pitching batting practice and the Dodgers have only a snow ball’s chance in Hell. Reds are winning 5-2 and the top of the 9th is not yet over…
57….I believe the cards are gonna have to beat the Reds….they are not gonna lay down and give anything to the Cardinals.
Warrior, that’s what I meant when I said, “The original thought was to increase the margin between us and the 2nd place Reds. Now, I simply want to catch them and perhaps go into the Labor Day Weekend series a game or two ahead…” As for today, there was that fleeting hope that the Dodgers would beat the Reds when they went into the 9th only a run behind….
If our offense maintains, we have a much better chance against the Pirates than the Reds do when they go against the Giants hottest pitchers.
With the Reds’ 5-2 win, we remain 3 1/2 behind…
RS-RA Differential
+99 Cardinals
+101 Reds
We’ve allowed them to catch us: We really need to do something about that…
While we’re at Washington, the Reds will be facing the Cubs (without Derrick Lee).
While we’re in Houston, we can only hope that the Brewers will do to them what they did to the Padres… Between now and the Labor Day series, we really cannot afford to lose a single game!
We have plenty of time 57. The new look balanced attack no longer has a bunch of guys below Matt in the order that know they don’t matter. The new look relies on the rookies and the retreads. Those who buy in will play and play hard. It will take a week to get this thing humming along and we will hardly feel that speedbump labor day weekend. Won’t even tap the brakes.
The rest of the way, a lot is going to hinge on 5th starter, Lohse or Suppan.
RCWarrior says:
August 22nd, 2010 at 5:49 pm
Bling, I believe Albert in the 4 hole ala Ryan Howard in the Phillies lineup would be an intriguing lineup decision.
I have to thank Jumbo for pointing out that RC doesn’t know that much, so I can disagree without feeling foolish.
RC, Albert has just spent three quarters of a season proving that he can do so much more than what a cleanup hitter does. He creates havoc and makes things happen. He takes the extra base, goes first to third, goes second to home, advances on throws, steals bases. If you want a guy up there who is most likely to get into scoring position some how some way, and maybe over to third with less than two outs, on the Cards, that guy is Albert.
Item #2 is we are a bit short on top of the order guys, and Albert is the best of what we do have, hands down. He needs to be in the top.
Once Colby gets back and gets his feet under him Tony will have some choices. We only have so many middle of the order guys and so many top of the order guys, and Colby needs to be one of them. We’re up to our ears in 6-7-8 guys. Ideally, he should be hitting fourth rather than Albert. Lets face it, Colby is not the guy you want trying to make things happen on the bases.
I’d like to see: leadoff guy, Jay, Albert, Colby, Matt. But if there is nobody to leadoff, then Jay, Matt, Albert, Colby, fifth guy. Either way, two things have to happen and one of them is Colby has to step up. Tony’s thinking seems to have expanded recently, so maybe those batting cage guys have gotten new marching orders.
Ohlandorf is 1-10 but that doesn’t mean he’s twice as bad as Lohse (1-5). His ERA isn’t horrible, 3.90 I think, and he’s pitched pretty well lately. But he’s with the Pirates, so he doesn’t get much offensive support. With Lohse tomorrow there is the possibility Ohlandorf could get some support for once. So it may not be a cakewalk.
Bling, that right there is definitely some radical thoughts on the batting order. That I’ll give you. Hopefully Tony will make some life altering lineup changes and the team will respond in turn TO those changes.
Yea, and hopefully Colby can play as well as you hope he can down the stretch. I know he hasn’t quite played up to the expectations you or a lot of others have for him thus far but just maybe he can step up and do something down this last straight-a-way. When you are on the bottom the only place to go is up right?
Mighty Pedro should bat cleanup. If the Cards overtake the Reds, it will owe to Pedro. He has been a breathe of fresh air. Pedro has something to play for (2011 contract).
Jumbo he has been hot from jump street. That seems to happen with every late season pickup the cards get. Nice to get em and heat em up when you get em.
Pedro and Randy Winn strike me as guys who might burst into flames they are trying so hard.
I’m feeling an 8 wins and 2 losses these next 10 games. That would be a good mark and I believe it is attainable.
Pedro was signed by the scout who inked Juan Gonzalez, Pudge Rodriguez, Wilson Alvarez, among others. Those were the days when there was a ton of talent and not many ML scouts.
Anybody heard when Colby will be ready to play?
Once Colby gets back in the lineup everyday, I fully expect him to live up to my expectations at least.
Most of baseball’s media hype is about bonus babies, stars, and the big contracts for veterans. Not a lot of media coverage in post-peak guys. This could help explain why vets in their early to mid 30s are under-valued. Feliz does poorly on a lousy Astros team, so he is branded washed-up. This enables the Cards to pick him up dirt cheap and he still has a little gas in the tank. 3B is a valuable defensive position. Feliz helped Garcia today.
One of the ways Feliz helped was allowing Lopez to start at second against the lefty. Flip was in the thick of it offensively all day.
I think I was in 1st grade when Lou Piniella was a rookie. I never liked him for some reason. That’s probably to his credit. Best wishes Lou.
A couple of closeout thoughts on the original subject of the thread.
1) First of all, I made two additions to the original post. One includes TLR’s predictable reaction and the other is a link to a background article about why Bissinger tweets.
2) I suspect NewsroomCancer may have made a one-stop post here, but in case not, here is a great example why Philly is Philly and I am glad I don’t live there. The city is charging local residents $300 for a license to allow them to blog on the internet. Honest. Can help but wonder how Buzz will react to that…