Albert Pujols

[Ritchie200]

Ok, I know we don't usually do sports here, but holy crap!  Albert is now up there with The Babe and Reggie with three home runs in a single world series game!  We love Albert here in St. Louis.  Please look close in the background on this home run.  They don't love poor Albert in Texas!  
Jim


http://www.sawauto.com/uploader/up/noooo.gif

[bigsbybender]

I was playing a gig when that was on the big screen in the back, I made an announcement about how big a deal that was. There were several Cubby fans there that only had some angry words in reply.

The Cardinals had better hold on to him (I don't like the trade/free agency rumors). They need another franchise legend to go along with Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Ozzie Smith, Dizzy Dean, and Lou Brock. Another championship might prevent him from leaving over a salary dump.

I'm not a Cards fan per se, but I am for this series. They hit a late season stride after an up and down season, but look legit right now.  I say the series goes 6 games...


j.

[Ritchie200]

THe Cubby fans must have been trashed.  The Cards/Cubs rivalry has been around since dirt.  We go up there, they come down here.  I've never heard about any incidents, ever - unlike other places.....  It's a fun rivalry and fans from opposing cities can walk around without fear.  Something I've never seen at any other park other than St. Louis is that when an opposing team does something spectacular, the Cards fans will applaud enthusiastically.  Even the Cards players know that the fans here appreciate good baseball, no matter who delivers it, and are not offended.  I think that is why clubs and players like to play here.  However, I'm sure there are a few bad eggs!  

I say we get them in 5!  Although it would be good for the city to clinch it here!

Yeah, I think with the playoff and series windfall, they will figure out a package Albert is happy with.  A friend of mine goes to the same church as Albert and knows him personally as their kids are the same age and doing community outreach.  Albert sometimes appears short and irritated on interviews as he does not like talking about himself and some of these reporters like to pull his string.  My buddy said he is the nicest, most down to earth guy, you would ever want to meet - and he has been that way from a rookie to today.  Good to know SOME of the heros are living up to the status!

BB, where are you at again?

Jim

[Willabe]

Hummmm......                 I don't think red is a good color on him, but he just might look good in Cubby blue standin at 1'st base here in Chgo.


              Brad            

[Ritchie200]

Ok Brad, we don't need any BAD juju goin' on - what a nightmare!!!!  

By the way, what is your take on the Cards/Cubs rivalry?  St. Louis has always found the Cubs fans to be a classy bunch.  I'd like to know your opinion from the DARK side!

Jim

[bigsbybender]

BB, where are you at again?

Right now I live in Mason City, IA which is near the IA/MN border on Interstate 35. This city is firmly in Twins Territory, but anywhere south and east of me is all Cubsland. Of course Des Moines has the Cubs AAA affiliate, the loyalty of which extends out to the major league team. Further south in the state down the big river is Cards' territory though. This is a good place for Baseball lovers though, there are no MLB teams in this state but there are so many nearby that we get most of the games from: Minnesota, Milwaukee, both Chicago teams, Kansas City and St. Louis on radio, television or both.


j.

[Willabe]

By the way, what is your take on the Cards/Cubs rivalry?  St. Louis has always found the Cubs fans to be a classy bunch.

I think you're right Jim, I don't remember ever hearing of any thing bad happening at a Cub's/Card's game at either park. I've seen the stands at Wriggly filled with "Card's Red" through the years at Cub's/Card's games (and vice versa, "Cubbie Blue" filling the stands in St. Louie) and everybody seemed to be getting along just fine. I've been a Cub's fan since I was a little boy. The Cub's and Card's are 2 of the oldest franchise teams in all of baseball. It's said their rivalry is second only to the Yank's and Red Sox and with a 5 or 6 hour drive either way on I-55 it's a nice little trip to go take in a game and see a little bit of America.
 
I got no problem with the Card's or St.Louie, (besides Chuck Berry hail's from there) although I'm not big on Tony LaRussa (did I spell his name right?) but I could be wrong.

As far as Albert.....

Well he's got my vote and I say that as a life long Cub's fan, he's done a lot of damage to the Cub's through the years !!!!! --- BUT --- he seems to  --Really --  be a "one of a kind Man" , not only - on - the field, but also off, in his family and in the community. My hats off to him and I'm glad he broke out last night and did what he did. 3 dingers in 1 game is 1 thing, --- BUT ---, 3 out of the park round trips in 1 game, in not - just - the playoffs,   BUT ,  in the world series???   Now he's at the top, him , the Babe, and Reggie!!! This is a big deal!!! In baseball any way.

I'm going to add this only because baseball and history in America as far as I know it and see it/remember it are intertwined. Did I say I LOVE Baseball?        

I grew up on the far NW side (in the city limits) of Chicago. and I was almost 1 year old when my parents bought that house in Dec. 1959, that house - WAS HOME! I know a lot of you guys here would have loved my dad, talk about stories and a sense of humor? All my friends called both my parent's by their first names (now that was when we got to high school), Larry and Eleanor as mom and dad asked them to, my buddies would have done just about anything for those two. They would come over to see me and end up fallin on the floor laughing at the stories mom and dad would tell them. (I just sold that house 6/7 years ago after my dad past.) My dad was a depression era kid and WWII vet (4 years in the army, spent 3 in New Guinea) and he took me a few times as a young boy to Wriggly and made sure I went to a couple of opening day games.

 He also told me a story a few times about him and his buddies sneaking in to Wriggly (this story was about before the war) by having pitching in and then have one guy buy a ticket and he would hide a rope under his coat, then after getting in and up to a second story walk way he would throw down the end of the rope for the other guys to climb up and get in free.

This was all part of growing up in Chgo. of how life was back then, of the Chicago Cub's, of dad reading the Chgo. Trib newspaper and reading the comic strip's out loud to me, telling me what's funny, teaching/explaining to me what they're making fun of and why it was funny. I'd bet it was pretty much the same in St. Louie?
 
Stories of days past gone by and how it was. Dad taking his son to some of same place's, (or making it happen) where he once went as a young man and had fun himself, a great thing.

I love baseball, (to me it starts with winter ending, spring starting, flowers blooming, veggie gardens being planted)

Sunny Skies, Green Grass, Hot Dogs, Cracker Jack, the National Anthem, The 7 Inning Stretch, (gotta love that) Young and Old and in between all having a great time, can't see anything wrong with that!!!!

In closing, --- I  Love ---  the movie "Field of Dreams", what James Earl Jones had to say towards the end about baseball/time/America/history, I think is true, but who am I?


             Brad                

[G._Hoffman]

Even the Cards players know that the fans here appreciate good baseball, no matter who delivers it, and are not offended.  I think that is why clubs and players like to play here.

Or it could be the fact that playing in Wriggly Field is too bloody cool for words.

It was a great game, though, and Pujols' performance was quite spectacular.  Though personally, I was just as impressed (if not more so) by the 5 consecutive hits, and 4 in four consecutive innings.  HR's are cool and all, but (as a Twins fan), I've always been more of a small ball kind of guy?


Gabriel

[Ritchie200]

HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jim

[bigsbybender]

Mr. Freese..........

[PRR]

"ST. LOUIS -- David Freese refused to let the St. Louis Cardinals' magical season end Thursday night, hitting a dramatic 11th-inning home run for a 10-9 victory over the other guys."

 

[G._Hoffman]

One of the great games, in one of the great World Series, in a VERY long time.  At the very least, this is the best series since the Red Sox 2004 curse breaking series!



Gabriel

[Ritchie200]

WORLD CHAMPION CARDINALS!!!!!

[bigsbybender]

Who would have thought.......  The extra innings in game six showed how much they wanted it. Freese and Berkman really came through in these last two games.


I won't feel too bad for the Rangers (although being one strike away from the championship in game 6 must have been heart wrenching).... they'll still have the best team in the American League West for years to come.


j.

[G._Hoffman]

Who would have thought.......  The extra innings in game six showed how much they wanted it. Freese and Berkman really came through in these last two games.


I won't feel too bad for the Rangers (although being one strike away from the championship in game 6 must have been heart wrenching).... they'll still have the best team in the American League West for years to come.


j.

Freese got a well deserved WS MVP for his efforts, though it could have gone to Carpenter or Berkman too.

And having the best team in the AL West isn't EXACTLY something to write home about, at the moment.  When Nolan Ryan stops getting all buddy buddy with W, I'll start wishing Texas well.  Until then, the only team they should beat is the F*#king Yankees!  (Hey, some things are more important than politics, and hating the F*#king Yankees is one of them!)


Gabriel

[Ritchie200]

Hey Brad,

The guy who picked up Freeze's walk off home run ball in game six gave it back to Freeze.  He is a HUGE Cards fan and was at the game with a buddy from Chicago wearing a fricken CUBS shirt!!   They let them both into the locker room (not sure why they let the enemy in..... ).  Freeze gave him an autographed bat and a ball with all the real signatures of the Cards players.  He said he didn't realize his buddy was going to wear that shirt, "this is ridiculous!!"

Jim

[Willabe]

He was our SPY! He planted a few dig cameras and a few little mics.                                                                                                  

Don't know why anyone would show up with any other teams shirt than the two that were in the world series.

Well I have to say, my hats off to the world champion Cardinals.       

I wanted Texas to win only because they never have before, they had it down to 1 strike, twice and couldn't get it done.     


          Just wait till next year,       Brad     

[G._Hoffman]

He was our SPY! He planted a few dig cameras and a few little mics.                                                                                                  

Don't know why anyone would show up with any other teams shirt than the two that were in the world series.

Well I have to say, my hats off to the world champion Cardinals.      

I wanted Texas to win only because they never have before, they had it down to 1 strike, twice and couldn't get it done.      


          Just wait till next year,       Brad      

In game 6, Texas had 3 blown saves.  THREE!  In one game!

You don't get to win if you do that.


Gabriel

[bigsbybender]

The game relies more and more on the bullpen..... fatigued relievers can make or break a series.

[G._Hoffman]

The game relies more and more on the bullpen..... fatigued relievers can make or break a series.

Well, maybe, but there is another part of it.  The more a hitter sees a pitcher, the better able they are to predict the pitches, so by game 7 of a series, the hitters are usually going to be very familiar with the pitchers, particularly the relievers who are pitching almost every game. 

Of course, there is also an argument to be made that there aren't really enough big league pitchers for a post expansion 30 team Major Leagues.  Certainly, if we were still back at 24 teams, there are a lot of guys who wouldn't make it to the majors. 

Personally, though, as a big fan of pitching and defense, I think it might be time to go back to the 15" pitchers mound.  I'd love to see Justin Verlander get himself a sub 2 ERA!  I mean, really, how can we compare modern pitchers on a 10" mound to Sandy Colfax or Bob Gibson on their 15" mound?  If you are going to have 30 teams, though, you really need to do something about the sub-par quality of the pitching you are going to have to bring up.  Most guys can learn adequate defense, and there are probably enough hitters to go around, but the lack of sufficient starting pitchers is probably part of the reliance on the bullpen.  Give me Jack Morse pitching 10 shutout innings in game 7 of 1991, though.


Gabriel