***Official 2015 STL Cardinals Thread***

[BigRedChief]

2011 World Series Championship
2012 NLCS. One win from another WS appearance.
2013 World Series. Two wins from another World Series Championship
2014 NLCS. Three wins from another WS appearance

• Made the postseason 10 times in the last 14 seasons.
• Only 1 losing season since 2000.
• Reached the World Series 4 times since 2004 and won as many championships (two) the past eight seasons as it did from 1965 to 2005.
• Made the NLCS 9 times including the last 4 years 2011-2014
• Three million attendance? Take it to the bank.
• 65 post season wins since 2004. 22+ wins more than any other team.

[O.city]

On the Montero double, I still contend when it was 0-2 after he just swing thru 2 fastballs looking bad you waste a change atleast once.

[Hootie]

Originally Posted by jd1020

Rondon has blown 20% of his save opportunities this year.

I learned last year in the Royals playoff threads that Cards fans know everything about every team and it's better to just not question them

[George Liquor]

This thread would be a whole lot better I'd hootie weren't allowed in it.

[Hootie]

My 9 posts have been quite the detriment, I know

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by BDj23

This thread would be a whole lot better I'd hootie weren't allowed in it.

So would the Earth. But we'll start small.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by jd1020

Rondon has blown 20% of his save opportunities this year.

He saved 29 in five months last year - he's mentally equipped for the role. If he were injured or if his stuff was off, I'd understand. Instead his WHIP is better than last year, his h/9 is way down, his LD rate is down and his ERA is comparable. He's the same pitcher he was last season and has actually even added a tick of velocity.

C'mon - I'm positive you've watched him plenty this year - can you really say his stuff isn't as explosive as it's ever been? I've probably seen him throw about 8 times now this season and every time he's just bringing wipeout stuff to the hill. Yes, he had a rough week in May when he blew a couple of saves. In his next 4 outings he struck out 3, gave up 2 baserunners, secured a save and got a win. Then he walks a guy and Maddon ****ing buries him.

It makes no sense. I get putting him behind Motte right now because Motte has the hot hand (though he's going to burn you guys; just wait). Behind Strop though? Or refusing to use him in jam situations? Maddon's treating the guy like he's Joe Borowksi out there.

But hey - works for me. Strop tried to gear up and overthrew the piss out of that pitch so Peralta tattooed it.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Hootie 2.0

I learned last year in the Royals playoff threads that Cards fans know everything about every team and it's better to just not question them

What's it take to ban a troll in this thread?

**** off, rapist.

[Hootie]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

So would the Earth. But we'll start small.

I could just quote Bill Simmons and pretend it's my own material

[Hootie]

Rofl. You guys are some thin skinned mother ****ers lmao

[George Liquor]

Originally Posted by Hootie 2.0

My 9 posts have been quite the detriment, I know

You're just a jackass and nobody likes you in here.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Hootie 2.0

Rofl. You guys are some thin skinned mother ****ers lmao

I've invited you to add something - anything - to the conversation. JD had a substantive rebuttal and hey, grownup baseball talk may ensue.

You, OTOH, are just openly trolling so yes - you should have your ass banned from this thread.

But hey - keep on sportin' that Moose shirsey and claiming you were there through the lean years. You and the other 90% of your fanbase can rally around that particular bit of bullshit.

[DJ's left nut]

Going backwards a little bit, has anyone else gotten the impression that Wacha's change isn't nearly as good as it was last year and his fastball movement has dialed down a great deal?

It seems like he's trying to throw 97 mph straight gas above the letters past guys or even trying to use a cutter more often to draw weak contact. As a result, he seems to have lost the feel for his change and his fastball isn't sneaking past guys much at all.

Wacha may have been named to the AS team, but Carlos Martinez has been far more impressive this year, IMO.

[jd1020]

There's a lot of thing I don't understand with Maddon. There was no reason that Motte shouldn't have been available but for some reason he chose to bring him in the first game yesterday after Ramirez gives up a homerun and strikes out the next batter. 2 outs and still with a 3 run lead that was literally the most useless pitching change and hurt for this game. I can't understand why Fowler is still the leadoff hitter. He's complete garbage against RH pitching. I can't understand why Castro still bats 5th when he's barely a replacement level player this year. But what I've learned from these relief pitchers is that hoping for a 1-2-3 inning from any of them is like sticking your dick in a blender. Rondon has been dealing in his new role. When he was closing it was a roll of the dice. His games were littered with 4+ batters faced. I can't argue with using either Strop or Rondon in that situation. They've both been good and bad. I can only question why Motte was wasted in game 1 yesterday.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Going backwards a little bit, has anyone else gotten the impression that Wacha's change isn't nearly as good as it was last year and his fastball movement has dialed down a great deal?

It seems like he's trying to throw 97 mph straight gas above the letters past guys or even trying to use a cutter more often to draw weak contact. As a result, he seems to have lost the feel for his change and his fastball isn't sneaking past guys much at all.

Wacha may have been named to the AS team, but Carlos Martinez has been far more impressive this year, IMO.

Both pitches actually rate better this year than last ATG Pitch F/X. His FB velocity is up a touch, though.

His Change shows more movement laterally than 2013 and basically the same as 2014 (7.0 vs. 7.2). There is a touch less downward bite (4.5 vs. 5.0).

Given that, I'd probably say it's a case of the eyes telling a lie based on a presumption.

[Mi_chief_fan]

not sure I've ever been this pissed after a win. There are some horrible umpiring crews in MLB, but I challenge anyone to find one worse than these clowns.