I am delighted to announce blingboy is the winner of The Cardinal Nation Blog’s Cardinals Social Media Night ticket contest. His article submission, entitled “Deep Time Baseball Venues in St. Louis,” is an extremely well-researched and photo documented look back at old-time ballparks, with a focus on long-lost St. Louis fields.
Even if you did not enter, you can still rub elbows with blingboy, his guest and the other attendees at the St. Louis Cardinals’ first 2011 Social Media Night. Special $20 event tickets are on sale for the event, to be held Tuesday evening, May 17 as the Cardinals entertain the Philadelphia Phillies at Busch Stadium. The single price includes a Lower Left Field Box seat for the game, a special pre-game social hour and event t-shirt.
Here are the details about the Cardinals 2011 Social Media Night:
- Tickets are now on sale
- Date of Event: Tuesday, May 17 vs. Phillies
- $20 price includes the following:
- Field Box ticket to the game
- “Tweet Me In St. Louis” T-Shirt
- Access to a Pre-Game Social Hour
- Pre-Game Social Hour
- 6 PM – 7 PM in the Group Sales Corner (located across from the Champions Club entrance)
- Chance to “Tweet Up” with your Twitter followers and Facebook friends
- Drinks will be available for purchase
Congratulations to blingboy and the other contest entrants and look for the second part of “Deep Time Baseball Venues in St. Louis” in the future.
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Crdswmn’s essay was also very fine.
Very true. Finishing second is admirable.
Second out of two? Thanks for the praise Brian.
Congrats BB.
There was at least one other submission that did not make the cut.
ST. LOUIS — While acknowledging that the plan right now is to “ride the hot hand” when it comes to closing out games, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said he’d like to see former closer and veteran reliever Ryan Franklin get some of the future opportunities to finish games.
“It’s evolved over the last couple weeks,” Mozeliak said of the Cardinals’ bullpen and specifically the ninth inning. “Whoever is available and whoever is hot. Still, ( we’d ) like to get Franklin into that mix. ..(. We have to make ) the opportunity available to him. If you are in the snake-bitten mode the only way to get out of it is pitching.”
Franklin has been (relegated) to a long relief role, though he has not been used much in the past week. Franklin did not warm up during the Cardinals series against the Florida Marlins — a four-game series that the Cardinals split.
He was not involved in Friday’s game as Jaime Garcia went the distance against Milwaukee.
(“He’s got to be contributing,)” Mozeliak said. “Whether it’s the eighth, the ninth, the seventh or sixth. For him, he needs the opportunities.”
Mozeliak went on to describe how historically teams have not been able to go with the closer carousel or perform at peak success without a designated ninth-inning closer to ( build a bullpen ) around. The youth/inexperience in the current Cardinals’ bullpen gives them the possibility of going deeper into the season with this hot-hand approach, Mozeliak said, but it’s (probably not ideal.)
(He’d like Franklin to get more opportunities) to shake his funk and maybe get back into the save situation, (just as he’d prefer the young guys to stake their claim to it too).
“At some point (you’re) trying to get guys to define their roles,” Mozeliak said.
***
The key words I’ve parenthesized……….. Moves have been made do to injuries….. Cardinals are running in 1st place with young blood……..that wasn’t going to see the bigs this year……….. Tony isn’t letting Mo have back his “powdered eggs”…….. and he’s is threatening to put Mo in a position where he is going to take a bath or make an unpopular move resolving the Franklin situation…………. when Mo speaks in this manner, he has been given an assignment by the silent one………………..
BD is more worried about getting some value for a reestablished Franklin in trade…..than he is concerned about what that Franklin move might cost a forming bull pen…………………and that “is” whats going on here.
The thing maybe Mo isn’t considering, and maybe Tony is considering, is that the team has evolved over the course of Franky’s tenure as closer. Its evolved into a team that Franky the closer isn’t a good fit on. Franky is a contact pitcher and he needs speedy aggressive outfielders with good arms and a middle infield that can and does save his butt. This is now a team that needs a closer who misses bats.
Of course, after Boggs and Motte flamed today, Mo might get his wish.
Tallet should be back shortly, we’ll see how that goes.
Mo is right on this one. You have to Franklin back in to the mix because you are killing the rest of your bull pen by not using Franklin. I could care less whtehr it was a save situation. Today would have been an excellent opportunity to use him.
Disagree with the trade value issue for Franklin. He would have to pitch awfuly well to have trade value. If he pitches that good, he becomes untradeable in that a front running team isn’t going to trade a solid contributor.
Bling’s comments on this are an interesting take.
Yes, I think BB is right on.
Shucks.
I’ll enjoy the game and the pre-game happy hour. Probably be the only one there who doesn’t do facebook or twitter.
The Cards have some minor leaguers from the Dominican Republic who are off to good starts in 2011: RHP Carlos Martinez who debuted yesterday at Quad Cities; CF Oscar Tavares; C Audry Perez.
In recent years, Albert has been the great player born in the DR. We signed and traded Placido Polanco, now 3B for the Phillies. Both are from the Santo Domingo area of the island.
Back in the 1980s, two Cards from the Dominican were ace RHP Andujar and cleanup hitter 1B Pedro Guerrrero, respectively signed as amateurs by the Astros and Dodgers. Both were from San Pedro (Saint Peter) de Macoris (of the fishermen).
Today’s question: do you know the first Cardinal player from San Pedro de Macoris?
There was a guy named Guzman about 40 years ago.
Speaking of prospects from the DR, we have Cleto now, who has reportedly hit 100 mph on the gun recently for Springfield.
Congratulations blingboy, you have won again. Santiago Guzman is regarded as the 8th San Pedro de Macoris area lad to reach the majors, whereas the 3 years younger Juaquin Andujar was 11th. Source: The Eastern Stars, by Mark Kuransky.
I agree Cleto is a good prospect. He hails from Santo Domingo, much the largest city in the country.
Bullet number one …dodged…….. ……….. hope we’re shooting back………..
Narveson has had his head torn off by just about everybody…………… if you just take a realistic approach………..you kill him……… Kmac is handling a flat team………..nicely…..but he will red line after the 6th inning….
People wonder why I give Westie a hard time but from crap like this it is obvious. Westie just throws as much crap as he can against the wall to see what sticks. When it sticks, he doesn’t hesitate to let you know that he predicted the scenario but when it doesn’t stick (which is probably much more than when it does) he never has the character to go back and point out where he was wrong. I can tolerate a little bravado when it is accompanied by a little humility. Unfortunately that’s not what we get here. So since Westie continues to not have the guts to point out his errors, I guess I will have to continue to do it for him
. Of course there are so many I can only bother with the most egregious 10% but its a start.
Why do you think they need to be pointed out at all? Do you think the rest of us can’t figure it out on our own?
Because I think Westie is too narcissistic to realize it himself and on the chance he does I’m sure he thinks no one here is smart enough to realize it.
Why do you care what WC thinks? Shouldn’t he be entitled to say what he thinks? Who is he hurting?
I am sorry CC, but I don’t see the point to this “mission” of yours. The only thing you have ever accomplished is to chase WC away for a period of time.
Why should I care what you think
He is totally entitled to say what he thinks. Find where I have even hinted he should no longer post here or be ignored. You certainly can’t say the same thing in his case – he has said that several times in my regard. Yet, If this entitlement is so sacred to you why have you never admonished him when he tells others to basically shut up or tells the board owner that people should be basically censored. a little inconsitent there aren’t we? (See, I can point it out with you also.) I am probably inconsistent at times and I would have no problem with someone pointing that out. I’d either try to explain myself or if I had been truly inconsistent would admit it.
If I think it is prudent for people to be able to defend what they say with some level of logic instead of clogging up a message board with a bunch of unsubstantiated musing attempted to be passed off as fact or as that of someone who is more knowing than others, am I not entitled to that as well? Again, where is your consistency?
I’m sorry if you dont see my point. I dont want Westie to go away. If he chooses to do so, I consider that his problem and his loss as well. when my post bother him, he gets personal and/or runs away. When his post bother me, I respond to them. why is his way better than my way?
And let me add to the above – why should Westie care what I think? When did you ask him that when he posted a much nastier reply to me than I have ever posted to him?
Forget it CC. I can see this is pointless. You two are like a couple going through a bitter divorce; too blind to see that you are both at fault and neither willing to take the high road.
I look at it differently. Why is there fault on either part? No one has done anything wrong.
See Brian’s post below. Enough said.
Kmac is handling a flat team (brewers)………..nicely…..but he will red line after the 6th inning….
He got his pitch count down………..there were no more errors………I was surprised by that………
If you didn’t think that the Brewers had some issues……..what were you watching?
my message 8 states as much. I’m in a constant state of humiliation…… just trying to image why you think I’m writing this for you Brazilian …………… but you are here for some reason….right……….be silent.
As I read my response here, it seems apparent that I am showing a lack of discipline in how I handle my bench players………….so as a personal admonishment………I will abstain from doing game commentary……or anything else for that matter……. for 7 days. I’ll do my best. Oh…the agony……..
At this or any other site, I peruse the baseball-related conversations and pick and choose which ones to let pass and which to comment about. Some posters are best taken less literally than others, but they are what they are. I have tried to make everyone welcome here.
One thing I am consistently bored by is posters talking about other posters. Perhaps that is just me but that is my take as a reader…
I’m sorry I got involved Brian. I should have known better.
The other side of the ‘squabbling’ issue is that it does help to flesh out what would otherwise be generic lifeless internet posters. Adds some color to the black and white most sports boards are. Sort of like character development in a novel, it can be skimmed by readers only interested in the nuts and bolts of the plot.
Tony must really be liking T.Green these days. Surprised he’s not sitting after hsi bunting fiasco yesterday.
Kmac is showing no signs of that first inning stress……….. Doubt if the Brewers use up there pen with the big Greinke start coming tomorrow…….this game might be over………unless we get Franky up for the 9th………..
RC………..Colby has a new swing key today…………. he is lifting and pressing his hands back….getting it of his shoulder………… it really helps him adjust swing planes…………. they have been feeding him that low pitch or worse knowing what he likes, tempting him to swing from that low position hand positioned golf swing…………….
Good move by Tony…………..warm up Franklin and let KMac think that over as he heads out…..sobering…………..
ouch. I guess its a way to get some use out of him. He’ll be rubbing up balls pretty soon.
Too bad.
Just in case you don’t see the friction between Mo and Tony……….. Tony just let a 22 yr old kid walk two batters in this game……….give that some thought,,,,,,,,,, Sanchez is on the edge right now…….
Now Salas is the closer…..Guaranteed………. question is………what unpopular move will Mo make to let Tallet back in……………..
13 pitchers for a few week experiment. Hamilton will send Stavinoha back to 3rd string catcher duties in Memphis. Unless Craig’s leg injury is more serious, then he’ll give Sanchez a 10 day trip to Memphis, followed by a quick recall to send Hamilton back down.
Meant, TLR will give Sanchez a 10 day trip to Memphis…….
The real issue is what happens when Skip comes back in a few weeks? That’ll divide Cardinal nation. Sanchez, Salas, Craig, Greene, or Descalso could be in jeopardy. Greene is safe b/c he can play OF. Craig is needs to be healthy to stay.
It really doesn’t matter what people feel about Skip, he’s staying, but I expect pot shots to come forth about “core players”, “who TLR hates now”, “capricorns in the clubhouse”.
Greene sucks. Craig and Descalso don’t.
If anybody needs to spend some time in Memphis it’s Franklin. I know we can’t do that unless he goes on the DL.
The bloom is off the rose for Sanchez. I like the kid, but he is a work in progress.
Kmac joins the 5 win club. Good outing.
Sanchez/Salas did better than Boggs/Motte.
Having a #5 with 5 wins makes up for a #1 with none.
The Brewers are flat…….in trouble……….save for that last 13 pitch war with a nice bat control infield hit…………..that was all self inflicted damage……….. Sanchez hand show….but no command……Salas showed what he thought…………
The “youth” of Sanchez shows when the pressure is on……….he met that pressure early with just a clear desire to impress…….nothing to loose……..now that he is balancing success/failure scenarios……on this level….he is looking a bit timid, actually loosing confidence………… Tony probably lets him pitch in the 6 of 7th next week……maybe 2 inning stints……..unless Mo snaps him off…….and make no mistake….Mo wants that to happen. He would like to be able to unload Franklin in July and have this kid to fill in………….. it isn’t about baseball.
“Pujols has never spent a single September day with an average below .300. Watching him labor in May offers a contrast but, according to a suddenly prominent support staff, also screams for perspective. McGwire, assistant hitting coach Mike Aldrete and video coordinator Chad Blair provide a safety net that Pujols now embraces.
“There is nobody besides myself who knows my swing as well as Chad Blair. Mac has been great. Aldrete is awesome. I trust these three guys more than I trust myself sometimes,” Pujols said.”
There are many things of interest in this article…….these paragraphs……….. Targeting and its relationship to “swing aspiration” are the source of all his troubles………and how those effect the complex architecture of his swing………. there is an appearance here that he is opening up a bit….. in the end, just burying the rest of the crap will bring him around. Tony isn’t helping. Unless these things are achieved with team goals in mind……..he will just bury his teammates in self celebration. Move him around in the order Tony, like you do everyone else………………
Albert quote in this morning’s Strauss article:
“I remember success.”
The fact that Franky didn’t even warm up during a game for the whole 7 game homestand is strange. Like he’s in the doghouse besides the ineffectiveness. Or something. The starters going deep might be all there is to it, or it could be a loss of all confidence by Tony and Dave. Any ideas?
He was warming up right next to Sanchez during the Cards half of the eighth.
I guess the main site got it wrong.
“…right-handed reliever Ryan Franklin — who didn’t even warm up during a game on the concluded seven-game home stand — ”
http://stlcardinals.scout.com/2/1070703.html
You can’t always believe what you read I guess.
I try to shave off the rough edges from those reports, but missed that one. Franklin did indeed warm up yesterday.
Maybe they are looking to get him work in less stressful situations. You pointed out that our Starters went significant innings recently, plus the games where they didn’t we were certainly still in the games. I haven’t seen too many games where we were being blown out in the 4th, 5th inning. Besides Carp’s Ariz. game and Westbrooks stint in the double header. Franklin was still the closer during Carps game and saw work during Westbrooks game, I think. I can see the “doghouse”, but maybe circumstance is involved as well. If the starters keep pushing late into games, then TLR can put it off. One less worry for the Manager, IMO. He knows it needs to be addressed, but if he can delay the inevitable without 1)hurting the team and 2)disrespecting a veteran, then I think he’ll keep sweeping it under the rug. Conflict avoidance at it’s best. Besides, do you really want to pay what’s left of Franklin’s salary while he pitches in another uniform?
So many variables, still plenty of time to deal with them.
Another possible reason would be that he was throwing full bullpens with Duncan before a couple of the games trying to get straightened out. That would render him unavailable a lot of the days.