The St. Louis Cardinals experienced both highs and lows during a series sweep in Cincinnati on August 9-11.
Though the Cincinnati Reds were not picked by many to be in first place in the National League Central Division in 2010, that is precisely where they sat as August opened. The early leaders, the St. Louis Cardinals, had slipped to two games off the pace heading into a crucial three-game series in the Queen City that began on August 9.
Adding fire to the matchup, Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips uttered remarks critical of the Cardinals prior to game one that were not widely publicized until afterward.
“I’d play against these guys on one leg,” Phillips told the Dayton Daily News. “We have to beat these guys. All they do is bitch and moan about everything, all of them. They’re little bitches, all of them. I really hate the Cardinals. Compared to the Cardinals, I love the Chicago Cubs. Let me make this clear: I hate the Cardinals.”
In game one, Chris Carpenter blanked Cincinnati for six innings before tiring in the seventh. He did not allow a runner in scoring position until the sixth and made a seven-run fourth inning stand up for his 13th victory as St. Louis won 7-3.
Second baseman Skip Schumaker, who launched a fourth-inning grand slam in game one, may have spoken for many of the Cardinals with his reply.
“Let them keep talking and we’ll see how it plays out.”
It didn’t take long for a reaction on the field as game two began with a wild melee.
Phillips and Yadier Molina touched off the skirmish. As the Reds second baseman approached the plate to lead off the bottom of the first inning, he tapped the Cardinals catcher on the shin guards with his bat. While Phillips typically does the gesture as matter of habit, given the charged environment, Molina took exception.
“You think I’m in a good mood about the comments you made last night?” Molina said he told Phillips after kicking away Phillips’ attempt to be friendly. “Then don’t say, ‘Hi,’ to me. You are not my friend, so don’t touch me. You don’t have to touch me. That’s stupid.”
The benches and bullpens emptied, and the two managers and long-time adversaries, Tony La Russa and Dusty Baker, were among those mixing it up before being ejected and later suspended for two games each.
Here is the video from the Cincinnati television broadcast.
Carpenter, in the midst of exchanging words with his ex-teammate Scott Rolen, was among a group pushed up against the screen as the pile kept moving. The Cardinals pitcher suffered scratches on his back when he was kicked by Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto. Cueto is shown at the back in the initial camera views, but sprinted around the group to the screen before engaging. The most damage was inflicted on Cardinals reserve Jason LaRue. The former Reds catcher stepped in trying to protect Carpenter from Cueto’s flailing cleats.
“I turned around and I’ve got Cueto kicking me in the back with his spikes,” Carpenter said. “He ends up kicking my backup catcher in the face. Totally unprofessional. Unbelievable. I don’t know where that guy learned to fight.”
LaRue’s injuries included bruised ribs and a concussion, the severity of which was not immediately understood. Molina answered that day with a second-inning solo home run that helped the Cardinals take an 8-4 game two win.
Behind Colby Rasmus’ grand slam on his 24th birthday and the pitching of Adam Wainwright, the Cardinals took the much quieter game three by a 6-1 score. In sweeping Cincinnati, St. Louis reached the 15 games over .500 mark and recaptured the division lead.
Any positives for St. Louis were short-lived.
LaRue was placed on the 15-day disabled list on August 10. On the 12th, MLB announced a seven-day suspension for Cueto, the maximum sentence reportedly allowable under the current rules. The pitcher did not appeal. He effectively missed just one start, returning to action on August 21, adding insult to the injury and increasing outrage among many Cardinals fans. Cueto did not appear in the final series between the two clubs, held in St. Louis over Labor Day weekend.
LaRue was much less fortunate than Cueto. As more about the severity of his injuries became known, LaRue was moved to the 60-day DL on the 19th, officially ending his season. He ultimately announced his retirement on September 18 amid concerns over brain damage including memory loss. The 36-year-old’s career was done after 922 games and 12 MLB seasons, the first eight years served as a member of the Reds.
At the conclusion of the August series, Rasmus had noted:
“There was a lot of riff-raff going on. It might have woke a sleeping giant.”
If so, that giant was Cincinnati. The Cardinals soon gave the division lead back as the Reds ended up taking the Central by five games. The Cardinals did not again demonstrate the kind of emotion seen during the August 9-11 series the rest of the way.
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[...] 13. The muddled middle 12. Herzog to the Hall 11. Garcia’s emergence 10. Puma or Elvis? 9. The fight in Cincinnati 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. [...]
Certainly is going to be interesting times playing Cincy this year and very interesting to see what happens when Cueto is on the mound… or at the plate. Oh, for 5 minutes of the return of Bob Gibson! Another big HR in that series was Skip’s grand slam in game 1, Carp’s game. He doesn’t hit many, but that one was very well timed indeed.
I had intended to note Skip’s big hit, so added it above. Thanks for the reminder.
If I remember right, 3 different Cardinals (Colby, Skip & Yadi) all hit the first grand slams of their MLB careers last year and all came vs. Cincinnati. Yadi’s on opening day and Colby & Skip in that August ‘brawl’ series.
Here are the specifics.
Yadier Molina hit his first professional grand slam on Opening Day in Cincinnati joining Mark McGwire and Scott Rolen as the only Cardinals with a grand slam on Opening Day. Two more Cardinals would hit their first Major League grand slam at Cincinnati as Skip Schumaker hit his on Aug. 9 and Colby Rasmus two days later on Aug. 11. Rasmus became the fifth player in MLB history to hit his first MLB grand slam on his birthday.
Too bad MLB doesn1`t have the guts to really penalize the gutless cueto for kicking LaRue.That means itys up to the Cards to get revenge.Then again the gutless kickwad Cueto has to be there at the game for anybody to get retribution.Everytime i listen to the video it shows what what jacklegs the Reds announcers are.
I’ve had some pretty interesting arguments with some Reds fans (and Cardinals fans surprisingly) who blame the whole thing on Molina. Each one of these people insisted the remarks made by Phillips were irrelevant and Molina should have just kept quiet about the shin guard tapping. There have also been some who blame Carpenter. But the argument that ticks me off the most is that Cueto was being pinned against the backstop by Cardinals players and was just defending himself. I have watched that video dozens of time and it clearly shows Cueto surrounded by REDS players. Why would they pin their own pitcher against the backstop? I think it is obvious that Cueto inserted himself into the melee and his teammates were trying to pull him out. He was in no danger from his own teammates and was kicking towards Carpenter and LaRue.
It will be interesting next year if Carp pitches against Cueto. Dusty Baker will probably keep that from happening.
The best coverage I’ve seen of the brawl was posted at Viva El Birdos… There are several vids and pics there, with video slowed down so you get a good look at the action. As the pile surges toward the net, Rolen pushing Carp backwards, Cueto and Gomes run around the pile to get at Carp… Cueto braces himself against the wall and starts kicking Carp in the back while Gomes grabs at and tries to punch him. LaRue, seeing the kicks, moves forward toward Cueto but is held back by Gomes as Cueto kicks him in the face and chest… repeatedly.
http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2010/8/12/1619545/the-brawl-and-who-did-what-in
Pushing and jawing… that’s standard for a benches-clearing event. Kicking with spikes is not and should not be tolerated. Cueto got off light, missing just one start. Big Mouth Phillips, of course, was the instigator of the whole thing… first by his unprofessional public comments and then with the shin tapping schtick and mouthing off to Yadier.
And I lay the rest at the feet of Rusty Faker… who should have benched Phillips and made him apologize, as TLR would have done if roles had been reversed… or as Jim Riggleman did with Nyjer Morgan after the game in Washington where he blindsided Anderson on a play at the plate. Faker has zero class… hated him with SF, with Chicago and still hate him as a Redleg.
Carp is a fiery guy it appears to me. There is no doubt Carp’s actions furthered the brawl. But I thought Rolen grabbed Carp and basically pushed him all over the place and it was evident that Carp was in over his head at that point. He seems a much better talker than a brawler. He needs to stay further away from the action. The injuries he collected that day may have contributed to his late season collapse.
I also think what Cueto did was ridiculous HB. He should have been punished more severely than he was, thats for sure. If he would have swung on a player or two I would have thought much more highly of him. Kicking is just too sissified for my taste.
I don’t begrudge Phillips for his comments as those thoughts are more prevalent imo throughout the national league by many players than many would believe. Its probably more of a feeling about how the cardinals are allowed to carry themselves on the field, without emotion, and that may seem snobby to many of the other teams.
No way should Phillips have been benched for his comments. You have your right to say what you want in this country, even if its something that many don’t like to hear. But in this case, the many were St. Louis fans. I doubt many outside of the Cardinals fan base thought those comments were too harsh. I thought Phillips spoke his mind and I thought what he said was a rather refreshing change from the norm of political correctness. There is no rule that says you have to like your competition. Ty Cobb is one of my all time favorite baseball players and he actually hated many of his teammates as well as the opponents.
Morgan went out of his way to hurt somebody, this, Phillips did not approach imo. Nyjer was kept out of the lineup to prevent further trouble is what i think.
RC wrote: ‘Nyjer was kept out of the lineup to prevent further trouble is what i think.’
You’re exactly right, and that’s exactly why Phillips shouldn’t have been in that game. It was like throwing a lit match on an open container of gasoline. Even someone as dumb as Rusty Faker should have known that playing him that day was asking for trouble.
What WC says about him being a coward, trying to get warnings to protect himself from being thrown at, has merit. That’s the act of a coward, whose mouth is bigger than the rest of him. Just like kicking someone in the back is the act of a coward… or kicking someone in the face who’s being held back by your teammates.
You’re right that Carp added fuel to the fire. But your description about Rolen tossing him around is off. They were roomates when Rolen was a Card and remain friends. He was trying to push Carp away from trouble, Carp knew that, and was not defending himself. But that sudden movement in the pile was misinterpreted and fired things up. The next day there was video of Carp & Rolen meeting and talking before the game… along with the explanation I’ve noted above.
I agree that Carp got dinged up and that those injuries affected him down the stretch.
As for Phillips, freedom of speech is limited by your employer when your comments can be interpreted as representing the views of the team and not just your personal views. That’s the difference you’re missing… and that Phillips missed.
The entire affair had it’s roots in the previous season… when Smoltz threw about 100 balls out of play in one of his starts, complaining that they were slick and hadn’t been properly rubbed up with mud. Then Dunc made a comment in the papers the next day about Arroyo using pine tar. That, I think, was the genesis.
Then in an earlier 2010 game in Cincy, Carp made comments post-game (a game he won) that the balls in that game were slick and that it would be a shame if someone got hurt by a ball getting away from a pitcher. That was a not-too-subtle warning… and combined with a visit by TLR to Jocketty… seemed to put an end to the slick balls controversy. But it set the stage for later problems.
I had forgotten about some of that stuff HB. Good call. When I say I don’t think there will be payback against Cueto, I don’t mean there won’t continue to be bad blood. Perhaps some lively times.
Well HB, the Reds ended up winning the division while the Cardinals crumbled which causes me to believe that Dusty played it right. The Reds played together as a team down the stretch while the Cardinals seemed to be lifeless.
I may be off about Rolen but he damn sure shoved Carp around and into a mess of folks, and Carp got his tail kicked literally. Rolen didn’t do him any favors imo. And believe what you will, but Rolen is on the Reds, not the cardinals so he wouldn’t be trying to protect Carp from anything if it came down to it. The look on Rolen’s face when it started didn’t look like he was feeling love for Carp as he shoved him into the wall.
How do you know that what Phillips said wasn’t felt by the entire Reds team? Not one teammate scolded Phillips publicly.
Where Carp went wrong was making those comments. I say hit a few of the Reds and then maybe they will rub up the balls right next time. No weak threats. Thats a bunch of mumbo jumbo. And sounds a little femalish imo.
I wouldn’t doubt other players on other teams have similar feelings about the Cardinals. I wouldn’t doubt there are other players on other teams who have similar feelings about other teams. I believe the whining accusation does hark back to the slick ball incident. But as Confucious say, people who live in glass houses should not throw stones. I seem to recall a controversial whining issue involving the Reds and Orlando Cabrera in the NLDS.
RC — You’re a riot… Sorry, I’m a little harder to stir up than some other folks here whose chains you take impish pleasure jerking on…
The Cards kicked the Redleg’s tails all year… 12-6 head-to-head. Took 2/3 in every series played, including all the series at the Smallpark. They did a better job beating up on the weak teams in the Central than the Cards did, got career years from some guys and big help from their farm system with less impactful injuries.
And with all that, they still only won 5 more games. They had a winning record against ONE team with a record over .500, the A’s. They’ll have a hard time winning the Central this year unless we again have major injury trouble… which is possible.
And just where was Colby during the brawl? Unwilling to stick up for his teammates because he was pouting about that bus stuff?
I should have said they beat us 2/3 in one series at the Smallpark. The only series they won from us all year. Cards made up for it sweeping them in August.
If it’d been a two team race HB the Cards would have been in the playoffs. Unfortunately it wasn’t.
I do what I can HB.
However you want to color it HB, the Cards won the division. They were the better team. Beating the weak team counts as much as beating a good team don’t you think?
Who do you think can sustain an injury better, the cards or the Reds? Who has the deeper pitching staff? I don’t believe the Cardinals are a clearly better team right now than they were in 2010. They seem pretty similar to me. You can’t expect the pitching staff to do any better than they did last year can you? thats the cardinals pitching staff. Can you expect Pujols or Holliday to do better than last year? The hope seems to rest on Theriot, Berkman, and Skip having much better years than they did last year. And thats really wishful thinking imo. Right now you would have to believe that the Cardinals are a preseason third place. Now that doesn’t mean that they can’t win it all but its not all that clear that are a better team right now than they were last year, while the Brewers are clearly better and the Reds aren’t any worse.
Colby and Holliday were in the back of the pack watching like they should be. The leaders do the fighting, Albert, Molina, and Carp.
Probably sitting back there hoping somebody got their ass whipped.
oops..Reds won the division.
Honestly RC, I don’t think the Reds were/are a better team. They got lucky and the Cards had serious injury problems. There’s a reason they hadn’t won the division in 15 years and why the Brew Crew have never won the Central.
In fact, at the end of last season I analyzed the two team’s schedules and found that the Reds had an easier schedule, seven more games against sub-.500 teams, and seven less games against +.500 teams than the Cards.
The Cards played 3 more games each vs. Atlanta, Toronto and the Angels, 2 more games vs. the Snakes, and 1 more game each vs. the Phils, Padres, and Brewers. Eight of those games were against +.500 teams and 6 against teams under .500. The Reds, meanwhile, played 6 games vs. Cleveland who the Cards didn’t play at all, 2 more games each vs. the Dodgers & Marlins and one more game each vs. the Giants, Cubs, Pirates and Washington. Only one of those 14 games was against a +.500 team (the Giants).
The difference is 7. Eight more games for the Cards against +.500 teams vs. only 1 for the Reds. 8 – 1 = 7. Conversely, 13 more games vs. sub-.500 teams for the Reds and only 6 for the Cards. 13 – 6 = 7. A schedule easier by 7 games in a division where the Cards and Reds were separated by only 5 games.
HB, you make a sound point. I believe that Brian has a beef with unbalanced schedules too.
I’m not disagreeing with you HB. The cardinals didn’t play well down the stretch for reasons that were basically a lack of depth. Injuries are part of the game and the cards were ill equipped to deal with them from a depth standpoint. That did them in. They go into 2011 with the same issues. If anybody gets injured they will struggle again.
RC, there was a depth problem and there was a not all being on the same page issue. Two seperate things. Given the weak division, one or the other of those might not have been fatal.
I don’t like the page the org is on, but at least it seems they will all be on it. Based on what you say, that it a big plus, and maybe will help overcome the injury issues that they couldn’t overcome last year.
no injuries and the cardinals should win the division. Mo has done all he could do with Tony at the helm and I believe Mo has put the cardinals in the best position to win in the last 3 years. Like I said if someone gets hurt they may finish 3rd or even 4th. But injury free they should win the division.
RC — Agree that lack of depth was a big problem last year and may well be one in 2011. A bench of Laird, Jay, Craig, Greene & Descalso is 4/5ths green as grass and there appears to be little behind them at 3A, particularly on the infield.
To me, the turning point last year came at the end of July, after Ludwick was traded and then Freese went down for the season. The team muddled through for a few weeks, even managed to regain 1st place in the Cincy sweep. But a few games after that, Colby had the leg problem that kept him out 2 weeks and the team had no 5 hole hitter on that disasterous road trip to Pittsburgh, DC and Houston where they went 2-8 and fell behind Cincy for good.
The loss of Freese & Luds made the team extremely vulnerable to LHP. At the end of July they were 20-15 vs. LHP, at the end of the year, 26-28. That means they went 6-13 vs. LHP after Freese & Ludwick were out of the picture. At one point, from 8/24-9/21 they lost 10 consective games started by a lefty, half of them on that Pits/DC/Houston road trip.
LaRue might have been ready to retire, even without this final injury. Ironically, most of his career, he played for the Reds.
Catcher is a position vulnerable to concussions. Edmonds could play past one, Matheny and LaRue not.
While Cueto was an idiot, these kinds of events are best worth forgetting. Guys get paid to play the game, not wrassle.
Real men would have paid them back by taking the division title away from them at the end of the season when they were floundering. Failing that, it would be incredibly lame to plunk Cueto this year, especially if the Reds are ahead in the standings.
I agree Bling. The Cardinals basically laid down after the Reds series and therefore need to let it go. They were beaten by the team that wanted it more. What can you say about that? Nothing. You take your medicine, keep your mouth shut and try to play better down the stretch next year.
RCW and BB- i say payback should come sometime.Do you thinks Cards should just say thats okay to Cueto? I really doubt the incident will be forgotten.
When the great Pujols is part of your team, you have a layer of responsibility that other teams don’t have. So you have to be careful about making somebody mad. Can’t risk Albert taking one off the elbow or some other fragile spot. Might change the history of the world. Nobody is going to do anything about Cueto without Albert’s ok, and my guess is they aren’t getting it. And if Albert happens to be signed by then, Bill will personally castrate the guy who gets Albert thrown at.
BW, I believe the cardinals should have gotten payback right then. I’m not big on mouthing. If you want to fight, then fight. Talking is for people who can’t fight.
I’ll tell you a quick story. We played a team a few years back and they hit my catcher in the back with a pitch. Then mouthed at him as he went to first base. The next time he batted they hit him again, and my guy took a few steps toward the mound and i yelled for him to stop. I went to the umpires and told them to handle it….they didn’t. I told my guy if that guy hit him again to beat the living hell out of him. The next time he batted they hit him again, and David went to the mound and our team poured out onto the field and left no doubt about who the man was. We left numerous players from Wetumpka on the ground unconscious with busted faces all over the place. It was a ridiculously ugly mess. But if the umpires or the other teams coach can’t handle it all you can do to protect your guys is to just handle it. But I’m really really against mouthing. Our guys didn’t say one word the entire game. You havee to take care of that type of stuff right then.
In other words, the cardinals should have handled it then, now is too late imo. Doing something now will be worthless and only make the cardinals seem more like bitches, to steal Brandon’s word. The entire incident only caused the Reds to charge to win the division, and the Cardinals to fold. I doubt the cardinals have much fight in them. But I’m betting the Reds will fight if the need be. No (I) In Reds, but there is one in Cardinals.
High ground is using the game to make a statement. Baker will use the same tactic if he has to. The league will intervene if you stay focused………….. Molina should have shut up………Molina should have just put down the fist………got it over with………it was expected…….. he fell right into it.
He won’t next time……….I wouldn’t think………….but I can honestly say I don’t know that. Best thing that could happen would be Laird producing at the plate, pressuring Molina…………….. I’ve pick us for 3rd place………I don’t see any reason to change that………….
RC, there are some who suggest that TLR didn’t want Garcia (or Wainwright, who pirched the next day) to risk ejection or suspension. I am old school, so I expected payback then too, but it didn’t happen. I spent the rest of the season hoping Cueto would get a line drive to his pitching hand.
I was thinking more along the lines of a line drive off the forehead crdswmn. It was a missed opportunity to get even imo. Its not gonna be a good thing if the cardinals try to get payback in 2011. I believe it will work out badly for them.
TLR didn’t want Garcia or Wainy doing anything that might get Albert thrown at in return. So they did nothing. Nobody will do anything about such incidents in the future either, unless Albert gives the word, which he won’t.
Bling, you are smarter than many….what gives? You must have you an inside source.
I imagine Carp is the only player in this group who has that kind of fight in him anyway. The rest of them probably could care less about that kind of mess. You have to get written authorization to have an emotion when you are part of the cardinals and that takes too much time. The brawl is already over by that time.
Maybe I’m a highly placed important guy with a reserved parking space. HB and Jumbo better start agreeing with me just in case.
bb — It will only help me if that reserved parking space is at Minute Maid in Houston!
Buttload of ‘I’s” in Cincinnati…
A buttload beat the heck out of a boatload though HB.
Depends RC… whether you’re in prison… or the Navy.
RC — That guy who said you were ruining the lives of your players was too hard on you. By teaching them to commit assault and battery on the other team you’re not ruining them at all… just preparing them for future lucrative careers in the WWF or (if they go to prison, get out and grow a really nasty, peroxide-stained mullet) clones of Dog the Bounty Hunter!
HB, There is absolutely nothing wrong with a a good fight if you are forced to do so. The key is when you get in one knowing how to come out on top.
Also HB, for the record I’ve had more kids drafted by MLB in the last 5 years than any high school in Alabama has had in the last 20. And last year alone I had 5 division one signees, one drafted, and one d2 signee. I had 4 more kids sign this year. We pump them out here HB. Its a baseball factory here at RC.
I’ve had 20 of my former players fight in Iraq and Afghanistan as well. And we haven’t lost one of them yet…thank god. You see my school puts more kids in the military each year than any other in Alabama.
Many come to play but few are allowed to be a part of the hive you see.
You see HB, in this day and time, parents are looking for a little more than just a place to play. We are a different place thats for sure. If you are heard to have sipped alcohol you are off the team. If you make less than a B you are off the team. We lift weights 6 days a week, throw 7 days a week. If you miss a workout you are off the team. We eat out as a team once a week. We attend a movie as a team once a week. They have to be at home by 11 on friday and saturday nights. They are never allowed to say a negative word about the other team during the game. Class HB, having a little class is a good thing..
And last year I had a coach walk up to me and put his finger in my face and he had 20 players pour out of my dugout on him, nothing physical but they were coming to protect me.
They were punished for doing that but you get the point. You mess with one of them you mess with all of them. Thats what a team does.
But teaching them to do right thing not only when somebody is watching but also when no one is watching is a good thing HB, but there may come a time when you have to get physical, and believe it or not that can come in handy in some parts of life.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1478936768228&set=a.1151862391573.24182.1078032747
good looking group HB.
RC — Can’t see the picture. Get a page telling me I don’t have access. Shame. I was looking forward to seeing the team and you, all sporting long, peroxide mullets.
Danged if you didn’t let an old Texan pull the chain on the chain pulling champion!
They are all shirtless and flexing their muscles. Didn’t see any mullets.
I’m an attention seeking egomaniac HB, you gave me a opening
And all this time I thought you were a sassy 16 year-old girl!
I just play a sassy 16 year old girl on the internet.
RCW-sounds like a strict routine.No room for a misstep? Where`s all the fun? Sounds kind of similar to another manager you don`t miss a chance to snipe at?
The difference is my leaders are expected to do more than the others. If my younger players get out of line I punish the leaders on the team. You see they have been there, done that, and know what is going on. The young guys don’t know what to do yet. Developing leadership and the team concept is where we may differ BW. I don’t have pets that can show up late if they want or do as they please. My leaders have to be at the field first before anybody else gets there while the cardinals guys may not show up until they want. Bad for developing team chemistry.
And it may be undoable with grown men, I don’t know. But I do hate to lose as much as Tony. We are similar in that one respect.
And the fun is in the 10 straight Area Championships along with a state championship and a National Championship. 400 wins in 10 years also is fun. The 3 first round players to go along with all of the other drafted guys and the college scholarships are also fun. And when the game starts my guys are excited to be playing the game they love. I demand emotion out of them while they are on the field. If you strike out 4 times you better be on the top step cheering louder than your other teammates. You go to church on sunday, but when you are on the baseball field you had better act like you love it or I’ll find somebody else who does.
We don’t act like we are in church while we are playing the game.
RCW-that approach might work with high school kids.I don`t think it will work in the high ego high dollar world of Pro sports.
Nice patting yourself on the back there RCW.
Not patting myself on the back there BW. I’ve stated many times before, people don’t come to watch people manage, coach, or umpire. They come to watch the players play and that goes for whatever level you choose to watch.
A program whether it be high school, college, or a ML team is only as good as the people that are in it. When somebody watches a ML game, they don’t care about BD, Mo, or Tony LaRussa for that matter. They are watching their team play and hopefully win.
Our particular program is only as good as the players that are in it. I get calls from all over asking about their kids transferring and I tell them all the same thing. There is no miracle dust I throw on somebody and they magically turn into a great player. “The benefit to our program is your kid being able to play and be around kids who are already in it. Me being the coach is not a reason to leave where you are now. If you are looking for the best coach in this area go to Columbus High School where Bobby Howard is the coach. He is the best baseball guy around, not me.” That is just about word for word what I will tell somebody.
I played for Ronnie Powell, who was the pitching coach at South Alabama for 20+ years, Pat Murphy, who was the coach at Arizona State, and those two guys were fiery competitors. I’d like to believe that I know the game because of the knowledge that those two guys passed down and maybe I picked up a little bit of knowledge from them. But I am a workout freak, not a baseball guru. Our long toss program and weight lifting routine is second to none, but I wouldn’t put myself in the top 25% of baseball coaches in Alabama, much less the country.
In other words, our system deserves a few pats on the back, not me. Nor do I desire a pat. Like I have stated before, if you knew me you wouldn’t know I coached baseball. I’m a pretty low key guy off the field.
That is quite a regimen; I got goosebumps and heard the theme from Rocky in my head while reading it. One question: If a player’s parent repeatedly criticizes the coach and/or other players on the “warrior nation blog”, is the player kicked off the team? As you say rcw, “having a little class is a good thing”, and that would qualify as classless in my book.
RC I think you have a stalker.
So TPS a parent of a player has less free speech rights than a non parent, is that your theory?
Free Speech Rights? I didn’t say or imply that his posts are illegal, but they are inappropriate. “Free Speech Rights” protect him from being arrested by the government for saying stupid/inappropriate things, but they don’t protect him from the criticisms of private individuals or organizations. You must have taken civics from a coach that was forced to teach a class. I’m just curious if he would tolerate behavior similar to his own from a parent of one of his players. Let’s leave the Bill of Rights out of it.
I withdraw my question. As he detailed above, rcw runs his team better than any in the MLB, and especially the Cardinals, so there are no possible criticisms to speak of.
I am aware of what how the 1st Amendment applies, I am a lawyer. I used the term generally, not specifically to make a point, a point which you missed. But since you are a flame and run coward, you would not know anything about me or how I express my opinions, now would you? Nor do you know anything about RC or this blog or anything else that matters to anyone on this blog besides yourself.
Parent behavior is totally irrelevant to me. Kid behavior is not.
tp I believe your love of the cardinals is super. I feel much the same way about Auburn University Athletics. I’ve had numerous players parents who hated my ever loving guts and me theirs. But their kids played every inning of every game because they were the best players and deserved to play. You see my kids will kill for me because their actions are all I care about and their parents thoughts or actions are irrelevant to me or the team. I have went up against superintendents, principles, and school board members because they were putting politics ahead of the well being of one of my players. And I haven’t lost a battle yet.
But I have had players who I didn’t think were a good fit for our program and I’ve called other local coaches and set those kids up at those schools because those kids didn’t fit into our system of teamwork. Just called the kid in and said I wish you luck but you can’t play here.
I’ll have to take you on your word on that. To answer Crdswmn question, I do think you you have responsbility to zip it being a parent of a player (less free speech rights as she eloquently put it), but that’s my opinion.
You caught me, I do love the Cardinals. I’ll be back to Flame and Run if Auburn loses.
Based on his username, I would guess tps is either:
(a) A fan of the movie “Office Space”;
(b) A software engineer;
(c) A member of Cardinals management; or
(d) All of the above.
Sound like anyone you know RC?
It wouldn’t surprise me at all if it was C.
Reds had a problem………….Dusty got them through it. They fear the Cardinals and sometimes it takes a dust up to get things done……………………..
Likely truths……….Dusty and Phillips likely talked before the game about this. Phillips had every reason to expect that he was going to be thrown at in that AB………he was fearful. He tried to create a confrontation……….hoping that warnings would be issued………..he did………they were……….
Is he by definition a coward………….. unquestionable……………….is Dusty Baker smart…….you bet he is. He stayed out there as long as it took to light that match on a windy day………..he got what he wanted………………………..
Its part of the game……………………are we that smart,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,????? Baker made an appraisal of the situation and acted………….he wanted warning not injury……….does he have a punk team……….hell yes………………… did we become the chumps with all our false bravado???…………..without question……..
We took back the initiative………..and as WC so thoughtfully pointed out……….gave it all back as Molina amongst others strode around like a peacock with his HR swing for the next 10 days as he and the rest of the chumps went down in smoke……………….that is why TLR isn’t such a good coach. WC didn’t miss the signs……………. we have a poor team chemistry……… AP had passed the deadline……….every AB was a party…….win or loose………… Has Mo changed it……… if Berkman can feed…………..I think he will if He can stay on the field…………..unlikely though.
Most scenarios have AP leaving……….including the lame duck season in which he feeds on the loosing carcass…………… BD has given himself a number of chances at saving that Money…..he is at the wheel………………
Westy-only you can turn a brawl into a rant about Pujols and DeWitts dollars.
BW–In many of WCs posts there are some subtle gems that are worth noting. You just have to read more closely.
Crdswmn-and a hell of a lot of delusional hot air and nonsense mixed in.
Thanks 52………………………………………
There is something appealing about a pile of millionaires having a brawl. You’d think they’d have seconds or retainers or something to handle that sort of thing. Like stunt doubles. A guy gets plunked and a bunch of lawyers pile out of the tunnels and start arguing.
I’d take that job.
I didn’t mean arguing with baseball bats, crdswmn, but if you’d still be interested, I’m sure you’d kick some butt.
Who said anything about basebal bats? I meant the arguing part.