Despite the fact that prior to the 2011 World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals only faced the Texas Rangers in three interleague games back in 2004, a number of the Cardinals players are already familiar with many of the Rangers personnel.
The Cardinals’ top farm club, the Memphis Redbirds, takes on the Rangers’ Triple-A club over a dozen times each season in Pacific Coast League action.
In 2011, Round Rock, located near Austin, carried the Rangers flag after what amounted to an affiliate swap with the Houston Astros and the Oklahoma City PCL club. The Rangers had been in Oklahoma City from 1983-2010.
Though the major league Rangers reached the 2010 World Series while the Cardinals missed the playoffs, the Cards were superior at the Triple-A level. Memphis posted a stellar 12-7 regular-season record against Oklahoma City in 2010 and even more importantly, swept them out of the playoffs in three straight. The Redbirds enjoyed the regular-season edge at home (7-3) and on the road (5-4).
This season, however, Memphis lost five of eight to Round Rock both at AutoZone Park and away for an overall 6-10 record against Texas’ PCL club. Plenty of other teams struggled against the Express as well as Round Rock won 87 games, taking their division by 17. Memphis came in second, winners of 77 contests, with their division champion, Omaha, ousting Round Rock in the playoffs.
The Redbirds logged two of their biggest innings of the year against Round Rock, plating seven in the seventh inning on April 30 en route to a 10-7 win and five runs in the fourth inning on July 26 in what would be a 10-4 victory. To be fair, the Express also had two five-run innings against Memphis’ PCL ERA champion pitching staff.
In terms of individual accomplishments, Tony Cruz was an Express killer. On April 28, the catcher had a walkoff RBI single in the 10th inning of a 6-5 Memphis win. Just two days later, Cruz victimized Round Rock pitcher Zach Phillips for a grand slam, one of six grand slams by a Redbird in 2011. Even better, the next batter up, Aaron Luna, also went deep off Phillips, making it the first of three back-to-back homer attacks for Memphis this past season. On July 26 at Round Rock, Nick Stavinoha drove in six runs, tying for the biggest RBI day by a Memphis hitter in 2011.
In 2010, the Redbirds logged four walkoff victories against Oklahoma City, including in three consecutive games in late July. The successful batters were Daniel Descalso, Mark Hamilton (twice) and Bryan Anderson. Last September 8, Joe Mather launched two home runs in Game 1 of the PCL playoffs versus the RedHawks. Two days later, Lance Lynn (see photo) spun his most masterful performance as a professional, setting the Memphis team record by striking out 16 Oklahoma City batters in the first-round playoff-clinching contest.
On a lifetime regular season basis, Memphis is 108-119 against the Rangers’ Triple-A clubs – Round Rock in 2011 (6-10) and Oklahoma City prior (102-109).
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Interesting perspective and info Brian. None of the other outlets have this angle covered, that’s why this site is so great!
I am thankful this year for an exciting season and for the opportunity to watch the Cards play in the WS! Who would have thought? It’s a great year to be a Cards fan.
Let the games begin…
Cards lineup
1. Rafael Furcal (S) SS
2. Jon Jay (L) CF
3. Albert Pujols (R) 1B
4. Matt Holliday (R) LF
5. Lance Berkman (S) RF
6. David Freese (R) 3B
7. Yadier Molina (R) C
8. Nick Punto (S) 2B
9. Chris Carpenter (R) P
I don’t like this Jay in the two hole here. I’m hoping he makes my thought process look bad tonight.
I think he is threatening to play small ball RC……..I like that………why not Punto though? The Holiday move is provocative……….. He said no more, and look what Holiday did……if Berkman can’t hold 4th……….. why fifth instead of 6th….. in front of Freese instead of behind? The answers……… as far as chemistry……..no excuse really…….it was clearly a mental issue for Matt………. is it possible that threatening to bunt in front of AP … and then putting a proven choke behind him…..he is inviting Washington to walk AP????????????? Maybe setting Matt up to go OPO which is really his best opportunity………………… if Holiday tunnels here……….. what will anyone say about Tony’s motivation…………..
I’m gonna give TLR the benefit of the doubt because he’s been in the zone with his calls. When you’re hot you’re hot WC, and Tony’s been hot. I don’t like this lineup but I’m still predicting a Cardinals win tonight in a high scoring affair.
Seems like I said this in my missing post……….how does Tony handle his pitching in a slug out……. he has pulled starters to protect 1 or 2 runs ………very very early on…………..
Jay gave us what I expected last night……not much in the two spot but my boy Craig with the game winning ribby. Nice.
Its getting blustery out there. Took my dog for a walk and it made my elbow sore. . . the left one.
Through 6.5 innings, TLR is looking smart. Got an RBI out of Craig. Brought in Rzep to K two of their pinch-hitters. So far, so good. Lets hold them to 2 and collect the W.
Dotel is great.
Wooooooooooooooooooooohooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
You keeep it up Kman and you may get serious consideration for poster of the year.
For incoherent woohoo gibberish? I started posting that after each win a couple of weeks ago, baseball makes me superstitious, not always in a good way.
Btw. Is it a cash prize? My wife might not mind me spending so much time watching games and checking out this site if so. Jk. There are a lot more knowledgeable posters here than this novice.
At least you know when stuff is gibberish. This gives you a leg up on some of the competition.
Tell your wife its about honor, not moola.
She has to deal with me wearing unwashed shirts almost every game and clapping 3 times after outs and I don’t want to admit what else. She is a saint.
We are already doing better than 2004.
one up.3 to go.I`ll take it.Thanks Cards.
More help is on the way for the future, from a strong farm system. http://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/10/19/2502022/st-louis-cardinals-top-20-prospects-for-2012
Jumbo-nice to see some positive views from a outside source.Thanks for the link.I$t will be very interesting to see how these guys on the list turn out.Cards have gotten help from Lynn and Sanchez already with Dickson doing okay in his few games.Cleto and Matt Carpenter both seemed slightly overmatched but will be better with experience,I notice Tony Cruz,Mark Hamilton and Kozma didn`t even make the top 20 prospect list from Sickels.My hope is Cards sign Furcal for 2 years at a reasonable deal and bring up Ryan Jackson in late 2012 to be Furcals backup so Jackson can transition to the starters job by late 2013,
A TLR article in the NY Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/20/sports/baseball/la-russas-genius-strategy-and-sentimentality.html?_r=1&ref=sports
Amazing how when the Cardinal play well, TLR gets all the credit, but when they don’t, the players get all the blame.
Holy smokes I wish I had a job like that.
He’s all cuddly now. A cuddly genius.
Don’t you just wish you had a job
Sorry, low blow but it was just too tempting. For all I know you now have one.
Crdswmn-why even worry about who gets credit for what? Worry about the WS.Enjoy this.
Listening to ESPN this morning here is the take on last night’s game. The game was crucial to the Cardinals but the loss was no big deal to the Rangers. Allen Craig was over matched by Ogando and hit a luck pitch. If Ron Washington had pinch hit Torrealba, the Rangers would have won. If it weren’t for the bad call in the 9th, the Rangers would have won.
Okay, so we need to suck some more tonight so we can go into Texas up to 2-0 and suck there to win it all.
crdswmn-agree.I don`t give a damn how lucky or how freaky a victory isas long as the Cards win.As far as i am concerned the Cards are due several breaks because of Dwnkinger in 1985,Clarks injury in 1987 and Carp`s injury in 2004.Sometimes being a little lucky is the difference maker.
There are always breaks, its a game of inches. Nobody mentioned the long drive that nearly carried over their center fielder’s head, on that wet soggy night, but lacked a few inches. Like Nut said, a well played game. On both sides. I applaud them all for a great display of baseball.
Granted, it would have been less great if we’d lost.
crdswmn is a devoted defender of the faith. East coast heathens.
Year Top player WAR No. 2 player WAR Disparity
2011 Albert Pujols 5.4 Lance Berkman 5.2 0.2
2010 Albert Pujols 7.1 Matt Holliday 5.2 1.9
2009 Albert Pujols 9.2 Brendan Ryan 3.4 5.8
2008 Albert Pujols 9.6 Ryan Ludwick 4.5 5.1
2007 Albert Pujols 8.3 Scott Rolen 2.3 6.0
2006 Albert Pujols 8.3 Scott Rolen 4.6 3.7
2005 Albert Pujols 8.2 Jim Edmonds 6.8 1.4
2004 Albert Pujols 9.4 Scott Rolen 9.2 0.2
2003 Albert Pujols 10.9 Jim Edmonds 7.3 3.6
2002 Jim Edmonds 7.2 Albert Pujols 5.8 (1.4)
2001 Albert Pujols 6.9 Jim Edmonds 6.4 0.5
The WAR table was in a NY Times article, the point of which was that Albert has help from his supporting cast this year more so than in the past. Partially due to him putting up the lowest WAR of his career and partially due to a stonger cast.
It seems like it makes a big difference when there are two strong players backing him, Edmonds/Rolen, Holliday/Berkman. Obviously, two would be better than one, but interesting to see it. Brendan sort of sticks out like a sore thumb.
Let us hope that Albert’s WAR trend line does not continue.
Ick, and what happened in 2007?
Father Tony……the humanist……. Texas played very well last night……they did many many things that showed that they know their opponent…things they wanted to do…… Tony has gathered a team around him …….. for a change….AP isn’t chasing….thanks Tony……..hopefully Molina stops the John Jay bat waggle, and starts looking for hits……….. you better pray Holiday is back at 5th … Berkman 4th ……. lets hope Punto plays second until Skip shows his readiness………
Ron Washington seemed intent on not being out maneuvered by Tony………. so he out maneuvered himself a little in the attempt……….. that team was well prepared…….we have Garcia against they’re RH monsters…in cold weather which seriously inhibits all the finger pressure stuff he does……..Texas at -119 is about right…… Tony has attempted to get things done for about a month ……. and he has …… but be serious, we will take some hits here………second round coming up…… how will the BP respond to a bloody nose? Are they just going to pick up a failed starter every time? Is Tony going to sacrifice in front of AP again? …………..
I have to laugh at Mo taking big chunks of credit for his Colby move…….and the shrewd acquisition of talent that he gleaned from MLB in exchange ………. all the stupid moves and non moves now forgotten……….moves that were Tony’s fault……. Franklin is gone……. Theriot is sitting …… the junk lefties gone…………and those were always bad moves….they didn’t need to be proven in competition……. Salas wouldn’t be on this team if Mo could have dodged his “need” any longer..for 250.000 dollars…………. we went 2/1 with the Cubs and Houston to get here……….the Braves and the Phillies did the work……….. but we are here, and Tony has pulled a team around him, and they are responding to each other……. in battle……….. I think thats great stuff………it makes them all better players……… AP has regained his esteem it would seem…..will he hold it……. lets see if we can take a punch here………. because its coming……. Tony has everyone in his head right now……..he is ministering to his flock……….. lets hope he doesn’t decide to march into Jerusalem and start turning over tables……….
I still don’t see my wonderfully predictive post that disappeared yesterday Brian………..
Maybe Brian got the word, Westy. Let it go. Black choppers.
it was a nice technical piece BB……..you would have enjoyed it………..
I found the post in the spam filter and approved it.
October 19, 2011 at 11:32 am
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/bryan-burwell/article_1a7d4600-77b9-5e2f-9618-1e09bfd2130b.html
AP is completely immersed in his career position………. that is either incredible stupid from a competitive standpoint……….or he is drunk his own mythological brew…………… bottom line…I hope they walk the myth ……… ofter…….CJ Wilson misses up allot…….and throws 94…….Freese/Holiday/Berkman from the right side…even Molina away …… might touch this guy………if they are watching the strike zone and not the count………………
As for them………the have good swings….around the body…..they are only watching the strike zone…………. big meat eater……….. we have to hit our spots…….trending toward the bottom third..changing speeds……. and we must field like banshee’s if the pitchers can get that far along in their part of the deal ……………. if we kick the ball around……. its going to be a long / short series..
-120 7 /12 Cardinals……………. very little movement in these lines……….. allot having to do with a very large number of unknowns………….. This is truly a heavyweight fight between brawlers….horseshoes clearly showing through the padding on their gloves………. bottom line….Texas got ripped by the Rays in game one………got off the canvas…..and beat them up…….. We showed some character after game one with Milwaukee……… the point…….if Tony doesn’t allow for lead swings in this one……he will savage his Pen in a hurry……..thats not so good…………
I’m a little surprised that the Cardinals didn’t score more last night but I’ll take the W. I’m not as optimistic for tonights game. I know Jaime has been good at home but the fact he will throw a lot of cutters in to the RH hitters cares me a little bit. Carp was able to stay away from the strength of those guys but it seems to me that Jaime trys to go down and in on RH hitters and if he is not sharp he could get blistered. I’m going Rangers 7 Cards 5. And Colby has been really tough on RH hitters this season but I believe the Cards to be as good a hitting bunch as there is in the ML at the moment so I think the Cards are gonna score some runs.
The temptation to turn early on a power pitcher has really hurt AP…. lets hope Freese and Holiday respond………….. this is a Furcal/Berkman surprise party……lets hope they walk Albert a bunch…
You really had to be impressed with the Rangers defensive positioning………. only good locations by their pitchers validate that……….they played well………… I hope Garcia goes 5 or 6……if he does, I like our chances………. in truth……you might see Westbrook tonight……his sinker might be a good pitch in this weather………..
1. Rafael Furcal (S) SS
2. Jon Jay (L) CF
3. Albert Pujols (R) 1B
4. Lance Berkman (S) RF
5. Matt Holliday (R) LF
6. David Freese (R) 3B
7. Yadier Molina (R) C
8. Nick Punto (S) 2B
9. Jaime Garcia (L) P
This is the lineup with all the appropriate moves…………Tony is in control…………..lets hope he deals with the DH in a “realistic way”…………. until Texas declares it starter……… its difficult say what that might be about ………….. Craig second isn’t the solution………… the real solution is AP 4th ….Craig 5th Holiday 3rd against the LH…………. it isn’t going to happen though……
We need to give Garcia padding from the beginning……. lets hope RC is on his game looking for those crooked numbers……….
Look for Lance and Jay to carry the boys offensively tonight. Maybe Freese will get a knock or two but the heavy lifting imo will be done by Jay and Lance.
http://espn.go.com/espn/commentary/story/_/id/7127302/theo-epstein-get-tony-la-russa-albert-pujols-cubs
A womens view of all the Hyperbole…………
Har. Haven’t enjoyed one that much in a while. Thanks Westy. Best part, the east coast chick thinks Missouri has an “upstate”. kkkkkkkkkk.
Theo is so perfect for the Cubs.
Good read but Pujols will never leave St. Louis and neither will Tony. Now I can see Pujols using the Cubs to get more money out of the Cardinals and for that one reason alone Epstein will surely bid on Albert’s services just to try and jack up the Cardinals payroll.
Is there some significance to the fact this piece was written by a woman that I am not seeing? I don’t buy into what she is selling, but I wouldn’t buy into if it was written by a man. And I don’t see anything in that piece that couldn’t just as easily have come from a male writer. I am not accusing anyone of anything I am just trying to understand why the writer’s gender is relevant.
Significance????????????????? We all assign significance to values in a matrix CRD …………or to a position in a structure that has a seeming ” qualitative abeyance “……………………. as an artist, I recognized by subtle inference, her arousal at the thought of having such intellect and machismo become part of Cubs lore……….. in this very complex (and very expensive) package of mid western livestock ………….. with California seasonings……….and Caribbean spices …………… …………….how not faire lady…….
Okay, so a male writer cannot have “arousal at the thought of having such intellect and machismo become part of Cubs lore”? Even ignoring the sexual subtext of that statement, how is that gender based? Males and females can become “aroused” in a nonsexual way by the same things (i.e food, smells, etc). Let’s just dig into this shall we WC?
I’d say you’ve dug into that quite a ways CRD ……………… if there wasn’t an undercurrent or mystic of the “feminine consent” or permission if you will, to the approach of a breeding male in her statements, I would be at a loss to dignify her opinions in any other context………..or as I like to say…….”it wasn’t about baseball”…………………….
It seems like female sports media figures sometimes try to come up with a little different twist to sort of play up or take advantage of the ‘women’s perspective’ angle. Why not? But in this case the writer is Johnette Howard, Nobel nominee, the real deal. She doesn’t need that to get a leg up on the competition. That much is obvious just from reading the article. Sports fans are fortunate that calibre of writer writes about sports.
I agree BB………… I enjoyed her article………I thought it was well written……… We will talk about the why in November…………..
I’m still trying to figure out what about the article shows the “womens’ perspective”. There is nothing in that article that screams “female”. If the writer was not identified, I wouldn’t be able to tell anything about the gender of the article writer. Therefore, no one has answered my question.
Perhaps Westy wanted to point out that a woman’s perspective was indistinguishable from a man’s.
I marvel at the pre game piece………….. be honest……..the sentiment is obvious……..but is the pressure really on BD………..or does it fall on Albert to consent to less? Give it some thought……….. has the AP you’re seeing right now, been apart of this team in the first 5 months? Especially………in his own mind………
Has the line swung over the Cards yet?
Jaime ought to make Hamilton skip the rope and test that bad hammy.
Lewis is pitching well…………..they are a good team………. Molina is clearly focused on his own celebrity………….he has quieted his hands some but he is clearly looking for a mistake….. not so good……….. I’m actually really comfortable with it to be honest………
Garcia has that pause move in his windup again……….thats Dave………..he seems to be doing okay with it………..they are going to tee off here shortly though……….
The point of this statement is simple……….. Garcia is experimenting with that presentation………like any other “adjustment” , it will evolve as he uses it……. graduating back to the mean………..its the loss of control in transition that is the danger………..hopefully it will just be walks or a few hits, but its coming….. hope we strike first…….
RC………clearly they have bee working with Jay……..or at least attempting to effect him…………
no matter what they do, he still winds up to the same point when he is loading……..way to late….as opposed to loading earlier and being able to adjust his swing plane by moving his hand position on the read…………..same problem Colby continues to have………… good hitters don’t………….. they will move him out of 2 when the DH happens………if he continues to slump……..you may see Skip or Craig out there…..
Garcia met the challenge…………bravo……… I hope we don’t force him to do that again with no run support…………… we need to sober up and give Lewis some credit……… lets hit what he’s giving…..not what we wish he was throwing……..
1 hit through 5 innings…………wow…………. we need Molina to double to right……right after Freese doubles to right……….just before Punto doubles to right………
Wow………….good stroke……….. great play………….. great game………… this is AP’s chance…..make it happen……..take over the MVP race……… I hope Jamie has another inning…….
Thats not a DP that Skip of Theriot make………………and look how much it was needed…….. Jamie is going into the 7th
This series is turning into an expose’ on the benefits of a world class middle infield. It’s really no place for a utility guy, not if you’re serious.
Bingo……………. I hope they get to Jamie here so we can pinch hit for him, taking the dignified way out, I don’t think Tony wants to see him pitch to Napoli again…………
Good situation………………… he isn’t going to waste a pitch on Craig this time……Craig needs to shorten up and try to hit a single…………..
Thats what I’m talking about…………….
Jeesh, the edge of my seat is wearing a crease in my backside.
He’s going Salas I guess………………….he was wild and high yesterday…….hope he’s settled down…………………. man, a 1 zip win would be really hard on Texas……….
Lets get a run in the bottom of the 8th and depress the Rangers even further.
Danny just has to put it in play ,…………no dream swings……..
Big swing by Descalso…………….chump
But we only have one Craig.
Hope they knocked the cobwebs off DD
That one big swing…….let them set him up to pull something into a rotated defense……..its stupid to play that way……………..
What a time for an error………….
Thats a good team……….. problem…….Adrus steals second anyway so thats not a big issue….they could have tried to score that run…..but they were playing for the win not the ties………thats smart baseball…………………………
Lets see what Lynn brings………..they have a closer……….are we any good there? Great game………we haven’t seem Motte with runners on in so long, you forget how slow he is to the plate……Tony was wise to protect him there……they need him……..
Bad pitch…………..a walk was better than a pitch up in the zone……..thats all he wanted…….
All big swings by Skip…………..walk-off hero syndrome……he doesn’t have to throw a strike
Close game, somebody had to lose.
I’ll say this…………I always thought a split at home was the way to win this thing……. we need to win one in Texas…….and then defend at home……..with momentum……… we played well…almost…
Texas has good pitchers, so is not easy to beat.
Jumbo-The bullpen wasn`t going to be perfecrt forever.Texas had their best postseason starting pitcher and Cards failed to get anything going.It happens.Makes me angry because Cards could have really tightened the noose.The offense still has to wake up and maybe getting Craig 3 or 4 ABs in Texas will help .Failure to be able to bunt was terrible.Garcia pitched well.
!-1 now.Best of 5.
I am not happy with the outcome of last night’s game. I don’t think we have a chance to win one in Arlington. It is not like playing in Miller Park, it is virtually unknown to us, and the Rangers will pound us there.
Crdswmn-for all we know the first couple of games might have been the best pitched games of the series.Texas is a hitters park and a few slugfest might happen.The Rangers aren`t the 1927 Yankees and their staff isn`t the 1965 Dodgers.So why give up the ship already? Cards are not going to rollover and die.
Man oh man Jaime was outstanding last night but give credit to Colby, he was on top of his game as well. That was a great game to watch win or lose. Well played on both sides for the most part. Allowing the runner to move up to second there in the ninth was big but give credit to Ron for really pressing the issue. Having Ian steal second was key but took some rather large stones to pull off.
I believe both of the first two games went according to who had the better pitcher going that particular night. I had the Cardinals in game one and liked the Rangers last night. I haven’t looked over the numbers for the game three starters but it would appear Harrison may give the Rangers an edge, but I will hold off on predicting the outcome until I have researched the numbers a little bit more.
I put this on another thread by mistake, but what is the deal with some of the vets running out on the media last night?
No happy flight last night.
Sports writers trying to get some mileage out of that. There was a prominent article about that on Yahoo with a picture of Pujols and a non-complimentary headline.
KB-so everything would be peachy if Albert had stayed and said “i blew it” and answered the same questions from a bunch of headline hungry reporters.Passan can kiss my butt.Jeez the writers act like Albert and gang are the only bunch that didn`t stay around for the stipud Q & A session.The writers remind me of the dumbass reporters who stick their microphones in some homeowners face who house is burning down and ask the question’ “how do you feel/”
Hey, if you re-read my post I did’t say anything of the sort, or express a personal opinion on the article other than to say that Passan chose to make it an issue. Don’t kill the messenger, I didn’t write it, just pointing it out as an fyi, it’s out there. As an aside, when I posted that I hadn’t gotten to the bottom of this thread to see that BB had already linked it.
Personally, If you want my opinion Bdub, I would say that everyone is entitled to have a bad day no matter how much they are paid (and an in-game error can happen or aftergame pc can be skipped every now and then). And on the other hand, there are some things that a pro athelete has to do that come along with the position, even if it is not fun.
With those ground rules set- As far as last night, I don’t have an opinion on whether he should have stayed or not bc I haven’t (and don’t have the time to spend) researched how often that has occured or what the particular circumstances were, so I don’t have enough information to feel comfortable expressing an opinion.
KB-not knocking your opinion at all.WSorry if it came out like that.My intention was to say if Passan doesn`t like AP not sticking around its his problem.Not sure about MLB rules regarding who has to be available after the gameas.No intention to slam you.In a perfect world everybody would love for all athletes to go up to the m8ike a say “aw shucks i was just lucky tonite or gosh i just tried my hardest and it didn`t happen” .Lou Gehrig like .Same old cliches etc;.Well it didn`t happen and Passan has a spastic fit.
Just imagine if Albert had answered Passan after the game with a surly ticked off retort to another idiotic question.What would have Passan written then?
It isn’t just Passan, it almost every media person covering the series who is lambasting the vets for leaving. In an event as big as the WS, I think the players have a responsibility to answer the media’s questions, whether they like it or not. That said, some of the media are taking it to the extreme and are acting like whiny two year olds, but that is just my opinion.
Agree the players have an obligation to speak with the media – win or lose. I haven’t read what others wrote, so I can’t say if some are overreacting. By itself, it isn’t a huge deal perhaps, but it seems another mark against a team that had always prided itself for doing things the right way. After all, this isn’t New York.
Whiny two year old—–Joe Strauss.
The official team site is running a damage control article that explains the lack of players available for interviews was an oversight, blaming it on MLB. (Though interestingly, no one is suggesting the process changed between Games 1 and 2.) Pujols was unapologetic about being invisible after the clubhouse opened while Berkman was conciliatory, stating it did not look good.
Well certainly it was somebody else’s fault. It always is.
Unless I read it wrong, the article seems to suggest that the process is not the same for the losing team as it is for the winning team. If that is true, why is that? It seems to me that if the process were the same there would be less room for error or misunderstanding. I am not suggesting that that was the case with Albert, but a uniform system at least would make it less open to questioning the process as opposed to the behavior of the player.
The PD says that MLB does not typically invite players from the losing team to the post game press conference.Starting pitchers are required to be available the day before their start.
In the same articl Albert gives his reasons why he wasn`t there.So people can make whatever out of this what they choose.Some deal with the media better than others.I guess its a good thing Ted Williams isn`t playing now.The knights of the keyboard along with every blogger or wannabe would being having a field day.
I don’t think its a big deal that it happened but it becomes a big deal when everyone tries to cover it up to make it seem like it was an accident.
I guess Motte, Freese, and Jay didn’t have to pack for the trip to Arlington as did Holliday, Albert, Yadi, and Lance. Didn’t Tony say that those guys had to pack for the trip, Which is why they weren’t there?
It would be curious to hear when was the last time that a teams superstars weren’t around to speak with reporters or do they always leave early when they are headed out on a road trip?
Your Ted Williams reference is nice but can’t we also say that Babe Ruth would have been a tabloid moneymaker in today’s world? OR that the Mick would have been a flaming drunk had we had the internet and the media we have today back when he played? In other words its hard to justify todays player actions by using those old school guys, who wouldn’t have been the heros we know them to be had they had to live with todays media coverage.
I just think of it as humans being humans. I have never put a baseball player on a pedestal and never will because it is a recipe for disappointment. Albert is what he is, and what he is is a fallible human who has been built up to be something he is not. I think it is clear from all we have heard about Albert that he is not a leader. Best player does not always equal leader. I thought the acquisition of Berkman was in part to get that leader type in the clubhouse. The media has played its own part in this by selling Albert as this big deal and now have discovered that what they were selling isn’t as good as they thought it was. Surprise! Get over it. I don’t care for Keith Law, but he did say the media needs to move on from this and I agree. The media is making their mock outrage into a story about them and I am really getting sick of it. Let’s just play the Series and shut up about it.
With Albert 0-6
Holliday 1-6 2GIDP
Furcal 1-7
Jay 0-7
Yadi 0-7
a combined 2-33 isn`t cutting it .
Albert`s WS totals are now 8-36 3 2Bs 1 HR 2 RBI .222 BA that isn`t cutting it either.
How about Freese and Craig in the middle of the order, 52? I’d take my chances with it. Tony would rather lose the WS than risk disrespecting his big stars. Not that we’ll lose, just saying.
Nonsense BB.No way TLR would rather lose.Don`t you think the middle guys are better than they have shown so far? You got to go with the ones that got you there in the first place.I do expect Freese and Craig to have big games in Texas along with the rest of the offense.
Yah I know its nonsense. I expect great baseball one way or the other. No telling who the heros will be.
I like your thought process BW………no need to panic. Nobody has hit a whole lot and the Cards are even at one game a piece. I expect the Big 3 to crank it up a tad in Arlington. Also Craig will be in the lineup so that will help as well.
I like the Cards in game 3 to grab back the home field from the Rangers.
That was an intense game last night to watch. Great baseball in many parts, some great defensive plays, baserunning and clutch hits by both sides. Hope the unraveling at the end wasn’t us getting too comfortable, I guess I really hope it wasn’t something more than that either. We need to keep the magic going.
What a time for Albert to miss a cut-off throw. Rivals the Holliday ball in the belly. Looked like he tried to sneek a peek at the runner rounding third, which is just what Albert would think to do. That and the throw tailed on him. Doesn’t matter how good you are, this game can get you.
I thought the pitchers did a great job. Nothing you can do about a bloop, a boot and a routine fly.
Our hitters will have to redeem themselves in Texas because we can’t expect to keep getting pitching like we got and niether can the Rangers. Might see a couple of those slugfests everyone was predicting.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-passan_pujols_world_series_game_two_cardinals_10201
What a world…………………..Passan reads here………by the way……..he is stirring the pot for a reason
Elvis steals that base off Motte in the first 2 pitches anyway……… he held Kinsler at 3rd because they were playing for the win…….not the tie…….. Weak throw……..a guy looking for a Jeter type miracle,…..STTTTTufffffff happens………
These guys are pitching us tough………… in the end….way too much pressure on Punto to get the bunt down…….he needed to be able to take that AB with the sacrifice as his focus……..that was miss played after the control problems the kid showed………….. the big privilege swings of Descaslo and Shumaker…..before they got down to business was once again stupid………..
Bottom line……….. we lost the round………what we’re talking about is how much damage was done to the fighter………before the next……….Lohse is famous for calling Texas stadium a Joke……. they will turn up the heat………… we better take that dose of smelling salts……..and start punching……..we could hit more Hr’s than them……….lets do it………..by the way ……. I’m heading for Dallas shortly….good luck on your play by play with Jumbo…….rock the house shrimp………………
“Tony La Russa, not sure exactly what happened? Sorry. Not buying it. He was protecting Pujols because that’s what the Cardinals have done for a decade, and that’s why he’d be best served re-signing this offseason and not going to a place where someone may dare call him out for an error. Here, they genuflect.”
“A leader leads through good and bad. And if Albert Pujols truly wants to consider himself as one, and the Cardinals continue to empower him accordingly, perhaps next time he’ll think twice before he leaves the kids to mop up his mess.”
Passan doesn’t quite get it about Albert and the Cards. The team, the players and the FO, know what Albert is and what he isn’t. That’s what all the ‘clubhouse’ stuff was about last winter and earlier this year. That’s why Mo took the chance with Berkman and why BDW went along with it. That’s why they took a chance with Theriot at SS.
Albert is a great player and he is not necessarily due any critisism because he is not the sort of leader personality that some other guys are. Maybe leaving the ‘kids’ to face the media after the loss was a bit cowardly, but on the other hand, the media would have hammered on Albert’s error as though it were the sole factor contributing to the loss, just because he’s Albert.
It should be remembered, though, that what Albert doesn’t bring to the table is an important element in figuring his value going forward.
I admire the young guys like Motte and Jay for taking what the money guys wouldn’t.
I’ve got news for you, there isn’t one word in that article that isn’t fact. It doesn’t matter but it is fact.
It’s not news RC. I don’t dispute any of the facts Passan states. He just doesn’t understand that Albert isn’t trying to be something he’s not and the Cards have learned not to expect him to be. The strategy is to do a work around, protect him from criticism, hire character guys to take up the slack. That last didn’t work too well last night I take it, but its Lance that will get the talking to, not Albert.
I’ve said it all along, if you hit and play good defense the rest can me masked. Albert is a baseball monster, who like you said, hires a full time PR firm to manage his every word and move. Maybe they took the night off last night
But I’ve stated this for years now, if you are a veteran you do what you want, come and go when you want, and leave when you want. That is not new news either. The youngsters on the other hand have to follow the script. Thats all that happened last night. Same ol same ol.
Now here’s real leadership.
http://larrybrownsports.com/everything-else/lingerie-football-leagues-toronto-triumph-team-members-quit-in-protest/93751