"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


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[Rams Fan]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Dotel had done his job to that point.

Moot now. Can't wait for this asshole to hit the ****ing road.

Lefties have an OPS of .938 vs Dotel.

Not. Good.

[Rams Fan]

Sometimes, I think this team is really good. Other times, I think it sucks.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Originally Posted by Rams Fan

Lefties have an OPS of .938 vs Dotel.

Not. Good.

You're missing the point. He got the ground ball out of Fielder we needed.

Regardless, watching this team get micromanaged - and piss-poorly at that - is ****ing frustrating.

[Rams Fan]

Down to Jay.

[Rams Fan]

I am done with this team unless they win the next 2.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Originally Posted by Rams Fan

I am done with this team unless they win the next 2.

Then you're probably done with this team.

I wouldn't be shocked to see them get swept.

[Rams Fan]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Then you're probably done with this team.

I wouldn't be shocked to see them get swept.

I would. They'll get at least one of the three, tomorrow will be a lot like the 11 inning game I think.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Originally Posted by Rams Fan

I would. They'll get at least one of the three, tomorrow will be a lot like the 11 inning game I think.

This team goes how the "big three" go.

And Holliday is the only one of the three that seems to hit against Milwaukee.

I expect Westbrook to get shelled, and Carp to pitch a gem on Thursday and get no run support, as usual.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

This team goes how the "big three" go.

as it should.

Milwaukee has been to the playoffs once since 1982. They sent their long term CF and SS and a top pitching prospect for Grienke. They gave top prospects for Krod they will lose fielder next year. They are all in this year. 2013 is our year.

[Marcellus]

Good thing football season is starting up. This is the most gutless Cards team I have seen in a while.

[Swanman]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Chases 3 pitches out of the zone.

Dude NEVER used to expand his zone.

This year, he's flailing at all sorts of shit.

Pujols picked a bad year for his production to start to decline markedly (although his HR numbers are climbing this year). I have a feeling he may cost himself a lot of money unless things pick up. A terrible 0-5 last night and his average sits at a pedestrian .279. Although if he actually ran out ground balls, his average would be up a few points.

[VAChief]

Originally Posted by Swanman

Pujols picked a bad year for his production to start to decline markedly (although his HR numbers are climbing this year). I have a feeling he may cost himself a lot of money unless things pick up. A terrible 0-5 last night and his average sits at a pedestrian .279. Although if he actually ran out ground balls, his average would be up a few points.

He definitely has spoiled us...he had his small droughts in the past, but the WORST you could expect in the past from him 3 key at bats like that last night would have been a couple of walks (didn't give in) or a couple of hard hit balls. He looked more like McGuire at the end of his career when he was trying to hit with knees made of glass.

[OnTheWarpath15]

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseb...a4bcf6878.html

The Cardinals aggressively improved their supporting cast at the trade deadline. Around baseball, the moves were viewed as their bid to enjoy one last fling with Albert Pujols before free agency took their superstar away.

This team hopes to keep Pujols, or course, but it is trying to win now. General manager John Mozeliak admitted as much after subtracting unhappy outfielder Colby Rasmus and adding Edwin Jackson, Octavio Dotel, Marc Rzepczynski, Corey Patterson and Octavio Dotel.

But here’s the thing: A deeper bullpen, a better starting rotation and improved shortstop defense won’t help a team much if its stars don’t star in big-game scenarios.

The trade-deadline upgrades gave the Cards an opportunity to make a playoff run. But it’s up to the key players to seize that opportunity.

Management did its job. Now the players must do their job -– and Pujols failed miserably Tuesday night during the team’s 5-3, 10-inning loss.

* Albert flied out to center field after Patterson drew a one-out walk in the first inning.

* Albert was called out on strikes with Patterson at first base and two outs in the third inning. That pitch was low, admittedly, but Pujols did not have a stellar at-bat.

* Albert popped out after Patterson’s two-out RBI single put runners at the corners in the fifth inning.

* Albert came up with the winning run on second base and two outs in the bottom of the ninth. The game was there for the taking . . . and he flied out weakly to right field on the first pitch.

Pujols stranded six runners in all. If he had a good swing in this game, frustrated fans can’t recall it.

In this corner of cyberspace, we don’t spend a lot of time blaming individuals for team failures. A lot of stuff went wrong Tuesday night.

Jackson allowed a two-strike, two-out homer, showing why he hasn’t made the most of his considerable ability to this point of his career.

Back-up catcher Gerald Laird opened the door for the third Milwaukee run with a passed ball.

Skip Schumaker failed to use a back-door slide to score on the game’s pivotal play. He may have been safe anyway, despite the "out" call at the plate, but he needed to make that play indisputable.

Dotel failed to hold the Brewers in the 10th inning after closing out the ninth in relief of the injured Lance Lynn.

In the end, though, the game came down to Albert’s vexing inability to deliver the big hit.

This is a player who wants massive dollars in a free-agent deal. He isn't a one-man team, but wants to get paid like it.

He welcomed the challenge of putting up numbers in the walk year of his contract . . . and so far he hasn't quite met that challenge.

Pujols took an 0-for-5 collar in the team’s biggest game of the year. He is hitting .279, nearly 50 points below his career average.

He is hitting .274 this season with men on base and two outs. He is hitting .286 with a runner at third base and less than two outs. He is hitting .250 with the bases loaded.

Pujols has been very good overall, but he hasn’t been his usual superhuman self. And in the biggest games, he hasn’t measured up to Milwaukee’s best players.

With Matt Holliday, Lance Berkman and David Freese stacked up behind him, teams have to pitch to him. Pujols has drawn just six intentional walks this season, compared to 34, 44 and 38 the previous three seasons.

Pujols is getting every opportunity to be a hero. He is getting every chance to make the most of his team’s “win now” approach.

The next two games would be a really, really good time to start converting the opportunity.

[raybec 4]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseb...a4bcf6878.html

Who edits that shit?

[OnTheWarpath15]

Originally Posted by Rams Fan

I am done with this team unless they win the next 2.

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Then you're probably done with this team.

I wouldn't be shocked to see them get swept.

Originally Posted by Rams Fan

I would. They'll get at least one of the three, tomorrow will be a lot like the 11 inning game I think.

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

This team goes how the "big three" go.

And Holliday is the only one of the three that seems to hit against Milwaukee.

I expect Westbrook to get shelled, and Carp to pitch a gem on Thursday and get no run support, as usual.

And the only guy we have that hits Milwaukee worth a shit is out for the night. Tweaked his left leg during warmups.

Awesome.