Maclowery

It's still confusing. The local St Louis media reported 8 years, the national media reported 5, and no one seems to know what's going on. Unless one side is simply wrong, I think they may have offered a 5 year guaranteed with 3 option years.

First rule of Cardinal Pixie Dust Club is you Don't Talk About Cardinal Pixie Dust Club. Anyway, I don't expect the Cubs to be dumb enough to sign Ankiel. Pitchers have figured out his hellaciously obvious holes in his swing. His defensive range is average, and his outfield arm is absurdly awesome. I made it the last season and a half as a Cards fan legitimizing his depressing 400 PAs by hoping for one of his sniper-rifle-speed put-outs from the warning track. The guy might strike out awfully two or three times a game, but maybe he'll have an awesome throw! Right?! O wait. You guys should all cross your fingers that the Pirates sign him.

wait cardinal fans would be mystified that one of THEIR players got better after leaving town? because we're frequently mystified by the parade of scrubs turning into usable players in st. louis. Haha. Well, in this case I was more specifically referring to Cardinal players generally chased out of town by pissy fans, then signing with the Cubs. I suppose it's a short list. I very well understand the plight of all my Cub fan buddies watching St Louis's mystifying ability to make Jeff Weavers and Ryan Ludwicks play well for a little while.

As hilarious as Elias was, no, he quit youtubing, partially due to overwhelming mockery. I would be shocked and awed if Hendry signed another underperforming Cardinal heel. I can't lie that I snickered when I first heard you guys signed Miles - that just astounding - but Hendry seems to have paid another million to apologize for that. Signing Rick, who has universally been figured out by any pitcher worth his salt - would be a really bad move. That said, he'd probably pull a Marquis and suddenly produce above league average, leaving the Cardinals fanbase mystified.

That holding call was [expletive].

Rick Ankiel strikes out swinging (2 runners left on) Rick Ankiel flies to short (1 runner left on) Rick Ankiel grounds into fielders choice Rick Ankiel strikes out looking Rick Ankiel grounds into double play Rick Ankiel doubles, 2 outs none on

I wonder if an NL team will sign him. I hope he retires - he was a fixture of my Braves-hating early teen years, and as much as I disliked him then, I don't want him to further tarnish his legacy. I mean, jeez, he's just been awful this year. Man, that Braves rotation was awesome.

Pujols' wife had a kid with Downs before they got married that Pujols has raised as his son. He's done a ton of charity work for Downs in general. Watch a replay and you can see his concern. I think he would have acted relatively the same regardless, but this episode just reinforced my opinion that Pujols is a class act that trumps team rivalries. Hate his stats, but it's silly to hate the man.

I wish I had the link, but, well, I'm hammered. The aerodynamics of the ballpark (New Yankee) create a steady wind shooting out toward the right field wall. I remember after the first month or two, when homers in Yankee 2 were just absurd, that there was talk of installing massive wind-breaker sail things. Inevitably, the home-run rate dropped enough that people stopped freaking out about it. But the place still seems to be way, way overly homer-friendly in a way that the designers did not anticipate. As opposed to Houston's field, where the Crawford boxes basically shriek for a dinky fly-out to right field to somehow become a homer, but a 410 foot blast to center field is a weird fly-out with the CF running up that Outer Limits-logic ramp thing. /rant for standardized fields over.

I assume that fellow was under the influence of INBEVANHEISBUSCHENWEISER products last night. I even ran that through a Cards Talk filter and it still made little sense.

He has repeatedly stated that he will take under-value for a competing team if he feels it would help him win more rings. I agree that he'll most likely stay a Cardinal. With his absurd stats and peripherals and on and on, you could make the argument that he's 'worth' 40 million or whatever number you toss out. Bottom line; I expect him to re-sign with the Cards for a 24/per extension. I agree that he would probably get 30 million+ with the Red Sox. I believe this is one of the reasons the Cards were more aggressive with trades than many teams - if they'd pulled last year's [expletive] "We Have a Fighting Chance With This 80 Win Team" maneuver, he'd be that much more likely to consider a franchise more interested in rings.

Eh, we were a third place-talent team enjoying first due to the Cubs underperfming and the Brewers not being in 2008 anymore. Wellemeyer is despicably bad, and Lohse is really struggling as well. Not all of us are flipping the kayak yet. I don't think our additions have guaranteed us the division, nor did the last two blowouts ruin our season. We were a really badly-put together team, suffered some nasty setbacks, had some terrific pitching and the best hitter in the league having an incredible season, all of which somehow got thrown into a LaRussa stew that kept us in 1st place through 100 games. Now we've traded for a real 3rd baseman, a real LF, and a SS who none of us expected, and is suddenly red hot (and looks like Obama). I think our stock has jumped. Of course I feel like we should win the division due to our moves, just as you all have a justifiable expectation to win the division with all the talent that's in your lineup and rotation. It should be a fun race. I expect Houston and Milwaukee to fall off the pace. Good luck! Cards/Cubs rivalry is my favorite thing about baseball! Except of course our world series wins. (Alright alright, I had to make one poke :D) Here's to a fun September guys.

It's easy for Cards fans (myself included) to bitch and moan when LaRussa pulls his nutty moves, and it comes back to bite us. There've been so many times that he's done a double switch, or taken out a reliever pitching great, or pinch-hit for a hot hitter, etc, etc, that many fans just go crazy - and not in a Jack Buck Go-Crazy-Folks way. On the other hand, the guy wins. Everywhere he goes. For thirty years. So, although he pisses me off on a weekly basis, I also give him massive credit for making this 2009 team 5 games over .500, somehow, when we really could easily be 10 games under. Anyway, regarding Duncan/Lugo, I don't expect Lugo to be very productive for us. Then again, Duncan was simply a nightmare this season, in the field, at bat, and on the basepaths. Well, wait, on the basepaths he was solid, since he was really good at demolishing the SS or 2B to interrupt a double play.

The Mets don't want Halladay because they know he alone won't pitch them back into the East lead. I'm sure they know that's a favorable trade on the books, but 2nd Place doesn't matter. Obviously the final year of the contract counts, but I would be really surprised if a team 9 games down were buyers for a pitcher.

No, it wouldn't be enough. Maybe if we were the only bidders, but someone is going to offer 2-3 good MLB ready players for Halladay. His NTC comes into play, as well, too. He seemed pretty vocal about wanting to play in a large market NL team. As a Cards guy, I obviously would love for us to get him, but I don't see it happening - especially after the latest twitter tweet (whatever the hell that stupid website wants to call them) stated that the Jays want Rasmus, and the Cards aren't budging. Anyway. I don't know much about what Halladay wants, personally. Cards fans point out that he is close friends with Carpenter, and that he has talked about enjoying St. Louis. Again, I assume that's irrelevant, as the Jays have stated pretty clearly that they won't move him unless it's a great offer - and I don't think we have what they want. Other NL teams? The Dodgers could use a veteran ace, but I honestly don't know their MiLB stockpiles. Seems like the Phillies cast their dice with Pedro. So, basically, I'm really nervous that Halladay jumps to the Brewers, who have the talent to trade for him. I think the Brewers can afford to put together a better package than the Cubs can - and honestly, the Cubs staff is strong. Cards and Cubs both need batting more than pitching, specifically for the playoffs. Basically, I'm hoping he either stays in Toronto, is traded to an AL team like the Angels or Rangers, or somehow magically becomes a Cardinal without us blowing our rather small stockpile of immediately tradeable MiLB assets. If I had to bet, I'd guess he stays in Toronto until the offseason, then is moved to the Angels.

Wellemeyer had a really ugly mustache today. Pineiro looks greasy with his. Thompson hasn't reached puberty yet. LaRue briefly shaved his badass stache, but luckily has grown it back.

Now hold on one second! Rasmus and Ludwick are hot right now! We only have 6 crap hitters! 6 I tell you!

I like how we've let their one hitter account for 3 of their 4 runs. really smart. Your best hitter has accounted for all of your runs too :D

It was very visible for a few days. His story is that he fell over a suitcase in his dark hotel room, and as a result got a shiner and a bunch of rug burn on his arms or something.

I believe the quote was taken out of context; initially it was some NYPost blog that said that in order for the Yankees to be considered, they would have to also take on Wells' absurd contract. ie, Halladay won't stay in-division without coming with a huge financial anchor attached. I still think the Blue Jays keep him. Assuming the Phillies get Pedro, I imagine they won't push hard for Halladay. I certainly don't expect the Cardinals' front office to okay a trade that big. Maybe the Angels, Dodgers, or Rangers somehow swoop in. I basically don't want him to go to the Brewers.

Rasmus' last few weeks have pretty much guaranteed him Untouchable status. Maybe if Ankiel and Duncan weren't so drop-dead useless, and Ludwick regressing out of All-Star fluke season numbers, the Cards would part with Rasmus - even then, I'd doubt it. As it is, he's the second-best performer in the lineup. I don't think the Cards have what it takes to get Halladay; if not, I guess I'm hoping he stays in the AL or goes to the Phillies.

Does anyone frequent any solid Brewers web-boards? I'd be curious to know if anyone defends Braun. The guy puts up great numbers, but even before this, I gotta think he'd be in the public opinion as one of the 5 worst sportsmen in the league (other than PED dramama stuff).

I am reasonably sure it was written by a (rather stupid) Cardinals fan. He went team by team and picked out names. Bunches of key Cub players, bunches of key 2004 Red Sox players. I can't find the thread, but someone on a Cards forum asked for a clarification from the rotoinfo admins, and received a terribly unprofessional response with misspellings, an "lol" tossed in to the middle, and a paltry excuse as to why Burnitz was on twice (now 'corrected'). It's a really crappy attempt at getting some press for their fantasy site.

I suppose you Cubs fans can take heart in the hope that he's so infuriated with how miserably the rest of the Cards are hitting, defending, and running the basepaths that he's that much more likely to bolt for a gigantic contract somewhere else. I'm not sure which set of fans are more upset with their team right now. I think if Pujols came out publically and said "Our front office did a terrible, terrible job creating a team around me, the best talent you've seen since Musial and Gibson. Blame Dewitt, I'm signing with the Red Sox for a quarter billion." , it would result in our majority owner DeWitt becoming public enemy #1 in St Louis, most likely resulting in a lynch mob. Or, perhaps, some mild boo'ing from the bleachers.

I think the Cubs firing on all cylinders beat the Cards firing on all cylinders this year. Only the most absurd, McGwire-jersey-wearing Cardinals fans would say "we totally can win 100 games this year!" Of course the Cardinals will regress - but I still think 90 wins is a pretty achievable number. In April, the Cards were firing on just about all cylinders. The Cubs are looking underwhelming. Once June or so rolls around, and the Cubs pitching starts performing closer to 2008 levels - and their offense kicks in, I expect the two teams to be neck and neck for much of the season. If either team wins fewer than 87 games, I'll be very surprised. Just as it's silly to hear fringe Cards fans talk about the Cubs 2009 as a trainwreck destined for 80 wins, it would be a mistake to expect the Cards to start wholesale underachieving and wind up 4th again. I think fall will be very entertaining.