"Official" 2011 St. Louis Cardinals Thread

[BigRedChief]

This is so unreal. We were dead. No hope. A season over. Somehow, someway we find some team chemistry and squeak into the playoffs on the last day of the season.

Only to find us facing one of the best pitching staffs assembled in years with home field advantage. We somehow, someway find a way to beat the best pitcher in baseball on the road in an elimination game.

We have to go on the road and beat the team with the best home record in baseball. A team who mortgaged their future to make this run .We somehow, someway find a way to beat them on the road and make our 18th World series trip.

We take game 1, we give away game 2 and home field advantage. Albert goes off for probably the best performance in World Series history and we take game 3 easily. Games 4 & 5 our bats fall asleep, Phone gate happens and its not looking too good.

Game 6, one of the best baseball games of all time and it takes place in a season ending go home game. Cardinals are down 2 runs in their final chance on the season, twice. They are down to their final strike of the season, twice. They give up a 2 run homer in extra innings. In the bottom of the inning their final 3 batters are a combined 3-26 in the Playoffs and a pitcher because the bench is empty. Somehow, someway they get some runners on and the comeback player of the year drives in the tying run. Mr. Freese hits the walk off home run. We will see you tommorrow night.

Game 7, With our bulldog on the mound pitching on 3 days rest he is able to give us 6 good innings and get us to within 9 outs of our 11 World series title. Texas meltsdown, probably left over from last nights game and its over.

The underdog, come back team who had no business even being in the playoffs wins a World championship. They make movies about events like this in life. Events that you remember even if your not a fan of the sport or team for the rest of your life.

When it is your team.......Priceless


.

[tk13]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Put down that crack pipe.

We are not the Pirates and Royals.

You're right. We've both won a game.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I kept trying to tell people this in the offseason.

John Mozeliak and Tony LaRussa are absolutely ****ing incompetent.

Who exactly were you telling this to? I don't recall anyone on here being a proponent of Ryan Theriot at shortstop.

The truly damning thing is that almost everyone realized how abjectly horrible this team was put together, and run-of-the-mill baseball fans should not be able to figure that out before spring training.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by tk13

You're right. We've both won a game.

sorry not meant to diss your team. If you frequesnt this theread often, then you know I give props to royals fans all the time. You guys are great fans that deserve to root for a winner.

Just stating the reality that we haven't lost 90 games in a real long time but the Royals and Pirates do.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Put down that crack pipe.

We are not the Pirates and Royals. Maybe you should just take a break from the Cardinals this year?

I've been talking to my boss about this.

As Cardinals fans, we've spent the last 10+ years without never having dealt with a 'bad' team. We've had underachievers and injury problems, but never just 'bad' teams.

This is a bad team. It doesn't get on base. It doesn't have any depth in the lineup. It doesn't have a decent bullpen and the back of its rotation is mediocre at best. It has no speed and it's probably the 2nd worst defensive ballclub in baseball. However, unlike the worst defensive team in baseball (the Brewers), the Cardinals have built a pitching staff that relies on its defense to generate outs.

Yes - we're a bad baseball team. It has some good players, but it's a bad team. You cannot build this pitching staff and back it with this defense. You cannot have a team built around power in the middle then surround it with players that don't get on base (especially when part of the 'power' comes from Lance Berkman who is absolutely spent).

We're not the Royals or Pirates - they're a threat to lose 100. But the Cardinals aren't going to play .500 ball and if that's the case, they're only a handfull of loses along the way to losing 90.

They're absolutely a threat to lose 90 ballgames. And in the end, that's probably the best thing that could happen to this organization long-term.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Who exactly were you telling this to? I don't recall anyone on here being a proponent of Ryan Theriot at shortstop.

The truly damning thing is that almost everyone realized how abjectly horrible this team was put together, and run-of-the-mill baseball fans should not be able to figure that out before spring training.

no chit, who here thought Berkman an dtheriot were good pickups? Who here thinks the GM is doing a bang up job?

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Who exactly were you telling this to? I don't recall anyone on here being a proponent of Ryan Theriot at shortstop.

The truly damning thing is that almost everyone realized how abjectly horrible this team was put together, and run-of-the-mill baseball fans should not be able to figure that out before spring training.

I live in Columbia - my office is full of Cardinals fans (including some of the 'true fan' variety). And my introduction to message boards was a Cardinals board I've been on for a decade or so. I apologize to Kyle, but the world does not revolve around CP.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

sorry not meant to diss your team. If you frequesnt this theread often, then you know I give props to royals fans all the time. You guys are great fans that deserve to root for a winner.

Just stating the reality that we haven't lost 90 games in a real long time but the Royals and Pirates do.

We haven't, but there is a really good chance that we will. We're going to have a really, really bad rotation this year, and our offense is the same bumbling mess it was last year.

I think DJ is being a bit hysterical. This team has assets, and the right manager could make a massive difference.

Fire LaRussa and Mozeliak. That way you also get rid of McGwire's dumbass.

Let Carpenter walk, save 15 million
Let Berkman walk, save 8 million
Let Theriot and Schumaker walk, save another 6 million.

Make Craig your everyday RF, Jay your platoon guy and 4th OF.
Give Descalso/Greene a shot to man the MIF. If one of them can start from there, great.

Even if you bump Albert up to $30, you still have $15 that you can use on finding another starter and infielder.

Let Lohse walk the next year, and funnel that money into extensions for Wainwright and Rasmus.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I live in Columbia - my office is full of Cardinals fans (including some of the 'true fan' variety). And my introduction to message boards was a Cardinals board I've been on for a decade or so. I apologize to Kyle, but the world does not revolve around CP.

Not to break out the No True Scotsman fallacy, but what kind of bumbling ****ing idiot would actually believe that Ryan Theriot wouldn't be one of the worst SS's in baseball?

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I live in Columbia - my office is full of Cardinals fans (including some of the 'true fan' variety). And my introduction to message boards was a Cardinals board I've been on for a decade or so. I apologize to Kyle, but the world does not revolve around CP.

I've got to see my team win 4 World Championships in my lifetiime including one in person. We have won more WS than any other team besides the Yankees. We have had our share of winning.

I also remember the late 70's as clear as a game this week. To see my team take it on the chin after watching Gibson, Brock etc kick azz for 10 years was painful but it passed and we were good again.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

I've got to see my team win 4 World Championships in my lifetiime including one in person. We have won more WS than any other team besides the Yankees. We have had our share of winning.

I also remember the late 70's as clear as a game this week. To see my team take it on the chin after watching Gibson, Brock etc kick azz for 10 years was painful but it passed and we were good again.

There is nothing mystical about the uniform. Those teams were good not because of birthright or because you root for them, they were good because the organization was run well and they made tremendous personnel decisions.

This team sucks because John Mozeliak is a terrible GM and Tony LaRussa is years past his usefulness.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

We haven't, but there is a really good chance that we will. We're going to have a really, really bad rotation this year, and our offense is the same bumbling mess it was last year.

I think DJ is being a bit hysterical. This team has assets, and the right manager could make a massive difference.

Fire LaRussa and Mozeliak. That way you also get rid of McGwire's dumbass.

Let Carpenter walk, save 15 million
Let Berkman walk, save 8 million
Let Theriot and Schumaker walk, save another 6 million.

Make Craig your everyday RF, Jay your platoon guy and 4th OF.
Give Descalso/Greene a shot to man the MIF. If one of them can start from there, great.

Even if you bump Albert up to $30, you still have $15 that you can use on finding another starter and infielder.

Let Lohse walk the next year, and funnel that money into extensions for Wainwright and Rasmus.

I can get on board with all this but the Carp part. Until Carp's replacement is ready (Miller) we need to keep getting the last juice out of carp.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

There is nothing mystical about the uniform. Those teams were good not because of birthright or because you root for them, they were good because the organization was run well and they made tremendous personnel decisions.

I respectfully disagree.

One of the first memories I have in my life is watching the 64 World Series with my Dad and Grandpa. They certaintly seemed larger than life to me at the time.

I grew up hearing tales of on this day they watched Stan the man play. Heard about how my Great Grandpa once had Diizzy Dean spend the night at his house. I grew up in an era when I couldn't watch the team in person or on TV. I spent my summer nights listening to KMOX and imagining the events happening that Jack Buck and Harry Carey were describing that evening. To a kid stuck in bum****t egypt, they were indeed mythical.

As an adult, I'm aware of reality. there is no real magic, there is no Santa Claus. But, that boyish zeal and belief is as part of baseball as it is in me.

My son (a 5th generation Cardinal fan) was there in person with me to share the experience when we won the WS. Two years ago we were in row 7 behind home plate playing the Cubs, bases loaded, Pujols up at the plate. He had already had several Grand Slams that year. We had no hope that he would get a pitch to hit. From our vantage point directly behind home plate, we saw the mistake pitch and Albert didn't miss it either, that grand slam ball landed, on the fly, right where I took this picture. The longest and hardest ball I've ever seen hit in person. Mystical? A magical moment? Probably not, but, it was a damn good moment.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

The Cardinals are a legitimate threat to lose 90 this season.

Theriot is horrible, absolutely horrible. And Schumaker remains a piece of shit.

So now guys like Westbrook are nibbling because they're afraid of contact and now he's walking the ballpark. Always good when you can spend $9 million on a guy then surround him with players that ensure he has no chance to succeed.

Berkman's getting beat by belt high 90 mph fastballs and Albert can't be bothered to run to 2b on a ball blasted down the line and off the wall (that the LFer had to go to his knees to retrieve).

They're lazy, they're disinterested and they're lifeless. Even if they weren't all these things they'd be a station to station ballclub that relies on hitting HRs to win while playing piss-poor defense.

They're absolutely everything a Cardinals team should never EVER be. And if you sign Albert Pujols long term, this is what you get until he retires.

I'm no longer apathetic towards re-signing him. I'm actively opposed to it. I want the whole ****ing team shipped out except for Rasmus, Holliday and Wainwright. This team is rotten to its core.

I hate to agree with this, but have to.

I'd be shocked if this club goes .500 this year.

And I absolutely agree with the last paragraph.

Best thing that could happen to this organization is to burn it to the ground and start over. Adios, TLR. Adios, Mo. Enjoy being an Angel, Albert.

[Rams Fan]

Jaime is on fire.

[Buck]

Yup, Jaime is bringing the good stuff today.