Sammys Boombox

Wipe that grin off your face, Fielder. Why would you even swing the bat against him? He's not going to throw a strike and has owned you by throwing the ball nowhere near the plate!

They may have ended up over their pythag, but the collapse is definitely monumental because their performance during September was far below what they had done all season. Sure, they were playing over their heads the first five months, but not by a large enough amount for anybody to expect them to collapse the way they did. Obviously the Cardinals are playing well, but they are definitely not meeting as much resistance as you would expect in the playoffs. They have been handed 4 runs tonight. They are winning by 4. They pounded the Brewers in Game 2, but other than that, they've relied on the Brewers mistakes to stay in this series. That's the kind of stuff that happens in the playoffs nearly every year. Sometimes it goes the Cardinals' way. Sometimes it doesn't. I mean, we sit here on the one hand damning them for making the playoffs with "undeserving" teams, yet they are also the team that lost the first World Series anyone had lost to the Red Sox in nearly a century (swept, no less, after winning 105 games in the regular season). They play in a division that gave up back to back division wins to the Cubs. They have their share of luck, and they have their share of decent team construction. People can cry about the luck all they want, but not every team is as poorly constructed as the Cubs are 9 times out of 10. They're obviously well-constructed. The key to success is getting to the playoffs consistently by consistently winning around 90 games a season. The playoffs are such a crap-shoot. That's why they get in these situations, because they're constantly in the playoffs. It doesn't mean I can't be pissed when the other teams makes it easy on them.

They may have ended up over their pythag, but the collapse is definitely monumental because their performance during September was far below what they had done all season. Sure, they were playing over their heads the first five months, but not by a large enough amount for anybody to expect them to collapse the way they did. Obviously the Cardinals are playing well, but they are definitely not meeting as much resistance as you would expect in the playoffs. They have been handed 4 runs tonight. They are winning by 4. They pounded the Brewers in Game 2, but other than that, they've relied on the Brewers mistakes to stay in this series. EDIT: Not to mention the Braves collapse was greatly influenced by injuries to the rotation. The bottom line is that it's frustrating they are here because so much had to happen for them to be here. A lot of it is how they have played, but most of it is how other teams played.

Yes I would. I'm tired of them losing their ace and winning the world series. They did it in 06 and they're possibly going to do it again this year. Why would it be better if they were better? Because it seems like everything has to go exactly perfect for the Cubs to win a World Series (or even be in the position the Cardinals are in now). However, once again, the Cardinals are in a season where they shouldn't be contending for a World Series and are knocking on the door of a pennant. Like 2003 for the Cubs? Hell, I know the 2007 team was swept in the first round, but they had little business even making the playoffs, much less winning the division. I just don't know why it would be "better" to see a dominating Cardinals team. A dominating Cardinals steam has much better chance to be bad news for a long time. If they win this, meh, so what? Yeah, it sucks, but in this new Theo-driven realm I say let them enjoy their backdoor shenanigans (yeah, that's right). That time will be done soon. There's not a right or a wrong here. From an overall perspective it is better that the Cardinals were not a juggernaut this season. But at the moment it's frustrating because they have a chance to win without being that good. This isn't just about how good the teams are, but how they got where they are. The 2003 and 2007 Cubs didn't take advantage of a ridiculous collapse to get into the postseason. The 2003 Cubs won most of their playoff games because they had stellar starts, not because the opponents were kicking the ball all over the place and aces were having meltdowns. The Cardinals have had everything handed to them in the last few weeks. EDIT: Most of the annoyance is not just how they got where they are, but how the opponents are playing against them in the playoffs.

Even if they get out of this inning without allowing a run, Greinke is now throwing a lot more pitches.

How awesome was that strike one call that completely changed that at bat? Thanks blue. Exactly. Really bad strike just now to Pujols too. Did they forget to go over defense in ST? Really annoying to listen to announcers that have no clue what they're talking about too. That should have been an easy pick for a MLB 1B.

Yes I would. I'm tired of them losing their ace and winning the world series. They did it in 06 and they're possibly going to do it again this year. Why would it be better if they were better? Because it seems like everything has to go exactly perfect for the Cubs to win a World Series (or even be in the position the Cardinals are in now). However, once again, the Cardinals are in a season where they shouldn't be contending for a World Series and are knocking on the door of a pennant. Obviously they both would be frustrating, and it would suck for the Cardinals to be running away with the division during the regular season, but for me it's more annoying that they're in the position they're in because of the ineptitude of Atlanta, Philadelphia, and the Brewers over the last few weeks.

That ball was a line drive off the top of the wall. It would of been a great catch. Jerry H however cost them 2 runs. Hart's problem around the wall is that he tries to time a running jump to make the catch instead of getting to the wall and making a stationary catch. He did the same thing in Game 3 and had a similar miscue in Game 2 on a ball near the RF foul line. They're not cans of corn, but if he was playing fundamental defense he would have made at least 2 of those 3 catches. Obviously those last 2 runs are on Hairston more than Hart.

Corey Hart has now been the spark for three Cardinals rallies in this series because he doesn't know how to field a fly ball near the wall.

There are no perfect solutions to the playoff format for MLB, and I am for keeping the current format. However, there are a few aspects that people want from a pennant race/playoff format, and many of those clash drastically. I have not seen anybody else propose the following format, but I'm sure it has been because it's not that complicated. 2 leagues with 2 divisions each. This works with AL or NL. 4 wildcards in each league. Best-of-Three Wild Card Series (LWS) starting immediately after season ends with no off days after the regular season or before the start of the LDS. All three games played in the higher seeded teams park. The division winners get a bye. Best-of-Five LDS. Best-of-Seven LCS. (Would be ok with Best-of-Five) Best-of-Seven WS. This makes the race for each division important, which makes the purists happy. The race between wild card seeds 2 and 3 becomes important (they will play each other but all the games will be in the #2 seed's park). The race between wild card seed 4 and the first team left out is still important. There would be many potential races each season of great importance. It solves the AL East problem as well as decreases the chances of a mediocre team winning their division (larger divisions) while good teams are left out. While introducing other problems, I think this format is a decent compromise and better than any 5-team format.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7089985/theo-epstein-verge-taking-job-chicago-cubs-sources-say Kurkjian's interview makes it sound like the Cubs are many years away from even thinking about contending. Why does everything have to be so exaggerated with this team?

No matter what happens I am very happy to see Ricketts not letting the Chicago media know all the details behind what he is doing. The Chicago media tends to turn everything with the Cubs into a soap opera. I think it's a good decision to alienate the media and keep the negotiations private.

It looked like there was a cloud of beer hanging over the bleachers because so many beverages were thrown into the air.

Easily, my favorite sports memory was Kerry Wood's HR in Game 7. It's even higher than the Packers SB win. Sosa's HR is my second favorite sports memory. Aramis' GS was the moment I let myself believe the Cubs could actually go to the WS. What a mistake... Alou's HR in Game 7 was pretty exciting as well. Simon's HR was pretty awesome and the Glanville three-bagger was great. Man, the NLCS was so much fun minus the things that really sucked. I've been waiting 8 years to feel relevant again late in October. Probably have to wait at least 2 more.

So angry with the Cubs organization for the product we've seen on the field in the past decade. I know it was better than any recent decade, but this division was setup for them to financially dominate and they completely dropped the ball. Seeing the Cardinals continually have cheap talent sickens me. How are they able to keep all of their rotation, trade away their best prospect, overpay for the player they got in return for that prospect, take a flier on a 2010 bench player who turns into a top 5 hitter in the league, and still get better production from an unexpected source at the position that the aforementioned prospect was supposed to fill? All the while, they have one of the best hitters in the game playing at half of what he is worth (for an entire decade now).

I keep having this nightmare. I'm watching the last game of Pujols' career with St. Louis and then the next day I wake up and I'm watching the last game of Pujols' career with St. Louis and then the next...

Phillies vs. Braves: 12-6 Phillies vs. Cardinals: 3-6 Cliff Lee, you suck. Ryan Howard, you suck. Hunter Pence, you suck and you're still annoying. Oh, Carlos Marmol, you suck too.

Steve Buechele. Kevin Orie. Probably already mentioned, but I haven't read through the posts.

This is an extremely frustrating game to watch.

I do think that you're allowed to try to jump over a receiver, especially if he's little. Fixed.

Glad to be 1-0. McCarthy is a great coach, but I am very disappointed to see the same mistakes being made that made a 13- or 14-win team in 2010 a 10-win team. Stop taking the ball out of Rodgers' hands with a 2-score lead. Don't unsuccessfully run-out the clock early in the 4th when your offense has been basically unstoppable. Even if you go down and get just a field goal it's an 18-point game. Rodgers was only given the chance by McCarthy to run the offense for two series in the second half. One was a 3-and-out and the other resulted in a TD. Give him the rock. Brees had many more series (5, 6, 7, ?) to try to score in the second half. It's never a good idea to give the other team many more chances than you give your own just because you have a 2-score lead. Also, work on special teams coverage. It's aggravating that the same two major issues from last season nearly cost the Packers a win tonight.

I'm not going to believe anything I hear from the media. They had no clue Hendry was going to be gone. Ricketts plays things close to the vest it appears. I'll wait until the press conference.

Anybody know what Pujols' career stats are against the Cubs? I keep hearing his HR totals, but he's played a good chunk of games against them and I'm pretty sure he's got a ton of K and an AVG much lower than his overall career AVG.

That can't possibly be true. We haven't run into 7 outs. From Aramis Ramirez in the 2nd inning to Kosuke Fukudome in the 4th inning, 11 of 16 hitters reached base. From Ramirez in the 2nd to Koyie Hill in the 5th 16 of 22 hitters reached base safely on a hit or BB. Didn't realize you were talking about a specific timeframe vs. the entire game. I could see how that wasn't clear.

That can't possibly be true. We haven't run into 7 outs. From Aramis Ramirez in the 2nd inning to Kosuke Fukudome in the 4th inning, 11 of 16 hitters reached base. From Ramirez in the 2nd to Koyie Hill in the 5th 16 of 22 hitters reached base safely on a hit or BB.