You've gotta go back to one of Bernie's first columns on The Athletic to see what this team is missing now. Well...apart from talent.

It's fear. And not by us, but by the opposition. Go read what players said about the Cardinals when they were off the record - they were genuinely intimidated by LaRussa and that 2000-2010 era squad. They hated playing the Cardinals. Hated going into Busch. Hated seeing LaRussa and Duncan glowering across the line.

This team wouldn't rattle a DI college squad.

:rolleyes:

Two runs in 20 innings against the worst team in baseball.

All is well.
:sulk:

Can we trade for Scherzer?

Sure.

One of Gorman or Carlson has to be the centerpiece. Still wanna do it?

The Cardinals wouldn't simply pay the man as a FA despite him openly lobbying to come to STL.

Easily the most embarrassing miss of the Mozeliak era. But hey, at least Moe figured out the error of his ways and brought in Mike !@#$ing Leake the following season.

HOW DOES JOHN MOZELIAK STILL HAVE A ****ING JOB!?!?!??!??!?

{kicks puppy}

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Seriously. I would support anything to jump start the offense. Tees. Hit the pitcher 3rd. Electroshock therapy. Matheny for hitting coach. Snipers. Re-sign Pedro Feliz. I don’t care. Do anything.</p>&mdash; CardsCards (@StlCardsCards) <a href="https://twitter.com/StlCardsCards/status/1141541952120397825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 20, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

yeah, that ship has sailed. What a missed oppertunity. :sulk:

Wtf is Tommy Edman?

Wongs replacement when he gets traded at the deadline for pitching?

And Miller gives up a 2 run bomb in the 11th. **** that guy. And then **** him again.

:facepalm: that ending

Yup, more of the same stupid ****ing shit we had with Matheny. Dumb ****ing baseball.

BAAAAAAAAAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!!

Oh man, just **** this team in its stupid ****ing facehole. Jesus tapdancing christ.

No, it's not good enough to send a guy from 3rd on a bang/bang play with 2 outs when you were down 2 in extras. Nah, can't just risk an out to no goddamn benefit at all. No, you gotta dodge that bullet and then bring A PITCHER IN TO PINCH RUN SO HE CAN GET PICKED OFF!!

And FFS, Jack - just exactly what the hell were you looking at? You couldn't have been looking at the defensive alignment because if you were - you looked right at Castro as he crept in behind you. And your response was to look up and THEN get set.

I mean what in the holy hell was that?

Friggen great team you put together here, Moe. Lord.

**** that guy. How many games has he blown this year?

yeah, Flaherty spaced out but that’s not his job to be a pinch runner. He totally ****ed up being a pinch runner just days ago. So of course the mentality of you got to trust our guys to get the job done, get him right back out there, back my guys. WTF? Didn’t we see enough of this BS with Matheny? This isn’t his job. He’s not ready to take on this additional job. We dodged a bullet last time when he didn’t **** up a knee, mess up a hamstring etc. but nooooo let’s roll the dice on losing our best pitcher again. :#

I didn’t sign up for Matheny II

Mike Shildt on Jack Flaherty's base-running error: "Jack is a plus runner. The reality of it is he wasn't prepped well enough, and I take responsibility for that, to put him in a spot he wasn't able to have success."

You ****ing just did the same thing a couple of days ago. Don’t be pissing on our boots and tell us it’s raining.

Now, we have our best pitcher ****ed all up in the head. Fantastic job MathenyII

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jack Flaherty wouldn’t leave the field... <a href="https://t.co/SSDuVgTUkg">pic.twitter.com/SSDuVgTUkg</a></p>&mdash; Tara Wellman (@tarawellman) <a href="https://twitter.com/tarawellman/status/1141915898896367617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

If Mo was a movie producer tasked with finding a hot female lead for a new film he would undoubtedly hire Kathleen Turner.

How does everyone feel about Puljos coming back after 8 years? I'm not going to be there but if I was, I'd give him a way longer and louder ovation than any other returning player has ever received. He's still has his foundation in St, Louis doing good work. We won 2 WS. That doesn't happen without him.

I know it was a gut punch at the time. How he left sucked but we got to watch the best 11 years any baseball player has ever had in the history of baseball. He's earned it.


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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">When Albert Pujols enters the HOF, people will point to his numbers...<br><br>But this is it. This is everything ❤️<br><br>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBone546?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JoeBone546</a>) <a href="https://t.co/nkxBgCe0eF">pic.twitter.com/nkxBgCe0eF</a></p>&mdash; Sports Illustrated (@SInow) <a href="https://twitter.com/SInow/status/1141891634088620033?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Best player I've ever watched. But we'd be in worse shape if we re-signed him. It sucked for a bit but I have no animosity.

Yup, it was awesome having the best player in the game for a decade or so but we got lucky he didn't stay.

I'll be there tonight, giving him a long ovation from 157. I'm sure Wacha can Make Albert Great Again, if only for a night.

I bought an economy pack of double a batteries at sams I’m gonna throw at him Sunday night

Very cool.:thumb:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TyYOujJidco" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

2011 seems like decades ago :(

yeah, pujols coming back has highlighted how far we have fallen since 2011. There is no competitive fire, drive to win. Seeing Carp/Waino in the dugout and Pujols/Molina on the field drives that point home. This team/Mo/Dewitt/Schildt/Players are all fat and happy. They need to get back that “edge” on the field. Get some ****ing drive to go all out to win.

That was really special. Weird game, too. Goldschmidt became the first guy to ever hit a ball out of Busch III, that odd emergency delay, and the fans booing Wacha when he walked Albert and Gallegos when he buzzed him.

How loud was it there in person? TV s always unreliable. Was there just a spattering of boo's or did some not cheer?

The first ball hit out of Bush III (on the fly) and they dont even tell us how far? What was up with that?

And while I'm bitching....what the **** is up with the Fox Sports Midwest showing the off center angle view? Your filling the screen with background stuff. You should focus on whats happening. Pitcher throwing to the batter. You cant see the movement of the pitch any better, in fact makes it worse. Why?

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NiNV4skeZeU" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

What a great scene. Class move by Yadi to give Albert his moment.

Wacha's was a light booing. Gallegos was legitimately booed. It wasn't Brandon Phillips, but there was some force behind it.

He got a standing O when he came out on the field for warmups. He stopped throwing to actually watch a tribute video they made for him that covered his career highlights and milestones in both St. Louis and LA. He got a standing O when he left warmups and went in to the dugout, one at every AB, and another one when he was pulled for a pinch runner in the 7th.

We tried to get him to come out for a curtain call after getting pulled, too. It was an extremely welcoming environment.

Outstanding. Pujols has earned every bit of that.

Glad Cards fans got to experience him through his glory years. The Royals have done plenty wrong the last 30 years, but I will always hold a special place of loathing for them for skipping on drafting Albert. How do you let a guy that went to Fort Osage High and Maple Woods CC, both within 15-ish miles of your ****ing stadium, slip through your fingers like that? Just.....indefensible (and likely how we ended up with Bubba ****ing Starling, but that's another story). /mini-rant

I'm happy for Cards fan that they got to cheer on a legitimate home grown Hall of Famer. As a Royals fan, I'm jealous. You guys had your Mahomes way before the rest of us knew what that felt like.

Best 11 years of any baseball player that ever lived. Heard on a podcast yesterday that he has a total of 88 WAR for his career. 90% of that number was the 11 years with the Cardinals. 10% with the 7.5 years with the Angels.


This pic is from 2005. We had 11th row seats behind home plate. Pujols hit a grand slam off the Cubs. The ball landed right here where we took the pic on the concourse by the exits. Bounced once and out of the stadium into the street. Pujols said it was the hardest ball he ever hit after the game.

nice ovation they gave him! was cool to see.

Standing ovation for a visitors teams player hitting a home run. And a curtain call?:eek:

Has that ever happened?

video

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Albert Pujols hit a home run at Busch Stadium and St. Louis fans were loving it 👏 <br><br>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MLB</a>)<a href="https://t.co/jPpN4GK8tb">pic.twitter.com/jPpN4GK8tb</a></p>&mdash; SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1142534979626385408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Chase Utley in Philly a year or two ago, I think. But this is some good stuff, no matter what team you're a fan of.

What are the odds Yadi told him what pitch was coming?

Probably not 2005, but still cool.

yeah probably 2007? Anyway........

We deserve better than this club. This effort from everyone connected to the Cardinals organization. Trout deserves to play on a winning team and a great fan base.


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Albert Pujols said Mike Trout told him playing in this series feels like the posteason every at-bat, every play.<br>Pujols said he told Trout, &quot;I lived that for 11 years here.&quot;</p>&mdash; Ben Frederickson (@Ben_Fred) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ben_Fred/status/1142568141878386694?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Funny how things have changed. St Louis went full Cleveland in 2011, but let's not let facts get in the way of the narrative.


https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/...G43M0uLN42Xqys

A warning to any fans thinking of attacking the statue of Albert Pujols at West Port Plaza and tearing it down à la Saddam Hussein: Security guards have been posted there.

Eh that’s the author’s addition (thought don’t doubt fairs) and quotes on the article sound reasonable of disappointed and/dumb fans but little anger. Any jerseys getting lit in streets?

I dont know what "full Cleveland" means. What am I missing?

Pujols was my favorite player since Gibson, not just because of the greatness but the competitiveness.

I'm sure you can go to the 2012 thread and find me bitching about the cheap Cardinals not paying him. Then bitching about his leaving for 10% more.

But, 8 years later its obvious that it was the best outcome for the Cardinals and him too. His reputation would be trashed with most fans due to his decline in play and all the injuries. We saw the best 11 years of any baseball player who ever lived wearing the birds on the bat. 2 WS championships. That deserves every loud and long standing ovation.

Like when Lebron left Cleveland, Cards fans acted the same way about "Pujol$" leaving. It was nasty. It seems everyone is now pretending that never happened.

I was pretty pissed at the time, mainly because at one point he said he'd stay and obviously had no intention of doing so. That sucked.

But unlike James, he got paid, and that was it. He began to decline almost immediately, and has never even sniffed the success he had in St. Louis. Anaheim is basically a place where superstars go to waste their careers; he's been irrelevant since the day he left, other than the occasional milestone achievements he's reached. And he also never actively participated in a game that hurt the Cardinals. There was no Bronco Neil moment where he gleefully ****ed us over. I'm sure he wouldn't have received a standing ovation and curtain call had his first home run in Busch been one that cost us a World Series.

Mainly it's just kind of sad. He could have been like Brett, Rivera or Chipper Jones, but instead he took the money and ran. I'm all sure that extra money is great, but they don't cheer him like that in Anaheim, and there's no way he doesn't miss it.

Oh well. At the end of the day, the Cardinals got the best years of his career, and the Angels paid for them. Thanks for the memories.

:hmmm:
I just talked about that in my post. I was pissed at both sides. I was probably the norm.

Time heals all wounds. That healing is helped by the 8 years of time. We now know it would have sucked if he had stayed due to his decline and injuries. He was almost a DH from year 1. NL no DH. If he stayed, it would have got ugly.


Seeing the reaction this weekend, if he selects the STL cap for the HOF, he gets a statue at Bush III.

Yup. In Clevelands case, i get it. The over the top "decision" announcement. The way Lebron strung the team along for months just to build hype around the decision. Most importantly, Lebron didn't finish what he started. He didn't win Cleveland a championship for a city that had the longest championship drought at the time. Plus, he was homegrown in Ohio.

I guess I never got the hate for pujols. He gave 11 years where he was underpaid. He didn't leave in a bad way. I mean, I would be pissed as all hell if mahomes ever leaves kc but if he plays for 10 years and delivers us a super bowl let alone multiple, how can I be mad at that?

A decade later we see it was good for all sides. pujols left not for money, but more years guaranteed. Cardinals didn't want to give him that and they were right. STL didn't get hamstrung by a bad contract. Albert got to play in a DH league with guarantees that force him into a lineup so he can keep chasing career leaderboards. And Anaheim, let's be real... Nobody gives a shit about baseball there so pujols' brand alone probably has made them a good amount of money. All sides won in the end.

People were pissed at Albert because he said he was insulted with the Cards $190MM offer or whatever it was. He got more from the Angels but the Cardinals offer would have been over paying him given his drop off.

He also repeatedly claimed it wasn't all about the money then went for the $$.

I’ve never felt bad about Pujols leaving for that contract and hear little to the contrary. One of the best players in MLB history and also not a complete asshole about it.

I agree that it worked out well for both sides. Obviously had he returned to play in against the Cards the next year the response would have been very different than in 2019

Correct. There was definitely some animosity towards him at first, but as others have pointed out, that has faded with time.

I'd like to see the Cardinals trade for him at the waiver deadline his last year then buy out that services contract.

Reyes hurt again

I wonder what pujols does after his angels contract. I imagine he'd only keep playing where he can be a regular bat. And he'd only be a regular bat on a bad team. A bad team might take a flyer on him to sell tickets. Because he really only needs 2 - 3 more years to break the rbi record. Could actually break the HR record in 4.

What a waste of top tier talent. :shake:

For the record Carpenter is still a ****ing clown. His extension is dumber than the Fowler contract.

Yep. Lost at the plate, then they show him in the dugout and he looks like he's ready to cry. ****ing useless ass headcase. :shake:

I mean it’s not like 1B is locked down and we have at least 3 good 3B prospects in the minors...

Bases loaded, 9th inning. Pujols up.

They have already won may as well throw him a ****ing meatball.

Ill be glad when he is out of town, the constant dick sucking has grown old.

That's all, folks.

Good grief Pujols has been dealing with a lot of emotion this weekend? Well he has $250MM to cry into. He isn't a ****ing victim.

To be fair, it was the only reason to watch this abortion of a game. I just turned it off.

And we are nearing the 1/2 way point of the season and he's still taking horrible AB's in the leadoff spot. Our offense is sputtering all the time but MathenyII keeps putting in the lineup where he can do the most damage to the offense.
You want to keep Carp in the lineup, fine and dandy. But, move him down the lineup for crissakes.

Good thing we gave him a completely unnecessary extension.

CARDINAL FOR LIFE!!!!

Get your Powder Blues now, folks! I'm really just surprised the Cards haven't taken this opportunity to sell 'throwback' Pujols powder blues.

Must be a league rule against it or something.

And now we find out Hicks has a torn UCL. As if this season couldn't get any shittier.

wellll that sucks. At least we know he didn’t blow it out from overuse. How many arms did Matheny blow out from overuse? They should have been using Hicks more this year. Kept holding him back because it wasn’t a “closer” situation. So they don’t get credit for taking it easy of a young relievers arm.

Rosenthal was never the same but he had a shit ton of miles on that arm when he blew out.

I’m sure DJ/Hamas probably knows but from my non-scientific eyeball test, I was seeing 99mph fastballs instead of the regular 102-103 ones. Wonder if he told coaches there was anything going on?

He may not have been pitching a lot but it might be better for him to tone it down a little.

C-Mart is going to step into the closer's role.

Welp...

Fire Mo and Shildt then. Hilarious how Bernie was drooling all over that clowns managerial skills last year until the collapse ROFL

he was sold to us as the new breed of manager. He was going to use all this new information and stats to make decisions. We are still the same type of club.

The new manager may not have bible study but he has and plays favorites. Still has this BS mentality of “have to trust our guys” to get the out. Everyone knew you’d be better off walking Ortiz in the 2013 WS. Everyone knows Carp is not getting it done in the lead off spot. Fowler underwhelms with inferior defense. Bader and Wong overachieve with defense but don’t seem to be progressing with the offense. The record nearing mid-season is who you are.

The dynasty didn't die because of Taveras.

The dynasty died because Mozeliak isn't wearing any clothes and once Luhnow left the organization he was exposed as the risk-averse fraud that he is. Taveras wouldn't have fundamentally altered this team significantly.

As for Hicks - well there's really nobody to blame with Hicks. Dude throws 103 with a slider. I was hoping he'd get through 3 seasons before he blew up, then we could get it fixed and get him through 4-5 more before he completely came apart.

What frustrates me more than Hicks is that we had Hicks Lite in Helsley and because we kept dicking around with his role, he's injured now as well.

That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that's the line of demarcation. Just like the '01 series was for v the Yankees.

yep, you don’t lose your planned legitimate 3rd hole hitter suddenly, one of your best pitching prospects, give up talent for a 1 year rental that leaves. That’s a lot of top level talent out of your talent pool in one year. Add in Matheny’s stubbornness and Mo’s aversion to risk and that demarcation line is clear now.

I'm done watching these worthless soft assholes for a while. **** it. They wouldn't even have the 3 runs if not for a massive error by the A's.

Im boycotting this bullshit.