Cardinals ***Offical 2012 STL Cardinals World Champions Thread *** - Page 157

**BigRedChief** · 08:57 PM

St. Louis Cardinals: 7 reasons fans should feel good about 2012

Posted Wednesday, October 24, 2012, at 9:26 PM

St. Louis Cardinals fans are likely feeling deflated after the collapse that put an end to the team's dreams of a World Series repeat, but there is good reason to be excited.

With all of the odds against them, the Cardinals managed to push their 2012 season beyond any anticipated boundary.

Given all of the season's changes and the adversity the team had to fight through, the fact that they played in October at all was an anomaly in itself. On paper, it made sense for the Cardinals to be in the playoffs, but few saw them as a true threat.
As the season continued, even fans began to doubt as they watched the team seemingly crumble in June and July. When the Cardinals finally came to life in September they went 11-5 in the last 16 games of the season to lock up the second Wild Card position in its inaugural year.

That run, despite it's crushing end in Cincinnati in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series, lots of good came from the Cardinals' season and playoff run.
Following in no particular order are 10 reasons Cardinals fans have to be excited about the 2013 season.

Trevor Rosenthal
When rookie fireballer Trevor Rosenthal made his first trip to St. Louis, it was obvious almost instantly that he was something special.
Between his 100 mph fastball and the general inability for almost anyone to hit off of him, he became a huge part of the Cardinals playoff run.

He pitched in a total of 19 regular season games before the 22-year-old rookie from Lee's Summit, Mo. got his first taste of postseason baseball and he put on quite a show.
In 8.2 IP over seven postseason appearances, Rosenthal held opponents to only two hits and no runs.
It's possible that down the stretch he may have already earned his spot in the rotation for 2013.

Shelby Miller
The long-coveted fastball pitching prospect Shelby Miller also made his first trip to St. Louis in 2012 and put on a good show.
In 13.2 IP over six regular season games, Miller surrendered only two runs on nine hits. His postseason performance was more of the same with two runs on four hits in 3.2 IP.

Despite a dismal first half of the season in Memphis, Miller got himself together and still managed to make one major league start before the end of the season -- a very impressive start at that.
Against the Cincinnati Reds in the final game of the regular season, Miller posted 5.2 hitless innings. He gave up no runs and collected his first major league win.

Expect to see a lot more of Miller in St. Louis early in 2013.

Joe Kelly
When Joe Kelly made his major league debut on June 10, few could have guessed the importance he would play throughout the remainder of the 2012 season.
Kelly started 16 games for the Cardinals this season filling in for Jaime Garcia and Lance Lynn, but it was the postseason when he really came through for his teammates.

When starting pitchers struggled time and again in October, it was Kelly who came to their rescue.
In seven postseason appearances, Kelly threw 7.2 innings and surrendered only two runs on six hits. Kelly came through for the Cardinals from the bullpen.
There's a good chance that could be his home in the future.

Mike Matheny
When the Cardinals hired Mike Matheny to take over for Tony LaRussa, many question bringing in a manager with no experience to such a storied franchise.

He had a few hiccups and growing pains along the way, but for a rookie manager to get his team where Matheny did this year speaks volumes.
His players have a strong respect for Matheny and credit his positive style with being a driving force behind their 2012 success.
True, he didn't get them through the NLCS, but the team made it to an all or nothing Game 7. That's good experience for the players obviously, but also for Matheny. Not only did he learn a lot about managing in the media pressure cooker that is postseason baseball, he also got a taste of what it felt like to win as a manager.

NLCS loss means more drive to win
While the NLCS loss was a good lesson for a young manager, it's an even more important lesson for a young player.
The 2011 championship lit a fire under young players like Lance Lynn and Jon Jay. That fire helped drive them to extremely successful sophomore seasons.

What happened in 2012 will likely do the same for Rosenthal, Miller and Kelly. Their 2013 season may not be like Jay or Lynn's 2012, but now they've gotten a little taste of what it feels like to be a winner.

Both the excitement and the public humbling can be a great experience for any young player.

The run was without several key components
In a season riddled with injuries, none were as crucial as those late in the season.
The loss of Lance Berkman and Rafael Furcal significantly weakened the team's bench. Instead of having Pete Kozma, Allen Craig and Matt Carpenter to pinch hit, the team wound up having to use them in the lineup.

The loss of Jaime Garcia and Jake Westbrook also rocked the Cardinals. Instead of having Lynn and Westbrook also available from the bullpen, Lynn was pushed back into the rotation after a very successful NLDS bullpen stint.

Having gotten as deep into the playoffs as the Cardinals did in spite of the injuries is quite the accomplishment.

They did it without Pujols, LaRussa and Duncan
Few in the world of sports gave the Cardinals a fighting chance when Albert Pujols left the team to play on the west coast. Surely this team couldn't be as good as they were?

Few gave them a chance after longtime manager Tony LaRussa decided it was time to retire.
Few gave them a chance after pitching coach Dave Duncan left the team.
The Cardinals did it despite all of that. That's something any fan should be proud of.

No, they didn't hoist a trophy. There will be no parade or tickertape.
What there is, though, is hope for next year and that will come sooner than you may think.
After all, pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in just four short months.

From a blog I was sent on twitter: http://www.dailystatesman.com/blogs/...es/entry/50051

BIG_DADDY · 10-22-2012, 10:14 PM

What an awesome game, 6 elimination games in a row.

**BigRedChief** · 10-22-2012, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BIG_DADDY

What an awesome game, 6 elimination games in a row.

Congrats Big Daddy! Enjoy the moment. Your team earned it.

**BigRedChief** · 10-22-2012, 10:43 PM

TLR's 1st season as Cards manager team wins 88 & loses in Game 7 of NLCS. Matheny's 1st season - 88 wins & Game 7 loss of NLCS

kcpasco · 10-22-2012, 10:46 PM

Looks like Verlander for games 1 4 and 7. So if SF wins this thing they definitely earned it.

jd1020 · 10-22-2012, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

TLR's 1st season as Cards manager team wins 88 & loses in Game 7 of NLCS. Matheny's 1st season - 88 wins & Game 7 loss of NLCS

1995 Cards - 62 wins, 4th place, and 22.5 GB.

2011 Cards - 90 wins, 2nd place, WS champs.

rico · 10-22-2012, 11:09 PM

Didn't we lose in similar fashion in 1996 to the Braves after a 3-1 series lead? Ugh, was hoping to relive 2006, not 1996.

King_Chief_Fan · 10-23-2012, 06:44 AM

Good season for a team that had some questionable pitching.

Matheny - no match against Bochy (sp)
rookie coach with a long way to go when it comes to managing a championship series

Holiday - done and should be gone...way over paid and did not contribute

Craig - what happened to his bat

Freeze - what happened to his bat

Jay - what happend to his bat
(anyone see a theme with this bat thing - kick McQuire to the curb)

Kozma - minor leaguer who came in with a blast and out with a thud
not ready for prime time

Lynn - dont' know what to say about that dude - started out great as a starter and then what

Molina and Beltran - can't do it by themselves

BIG_DADDY · 10-23-2012, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Congrats Big Daddy! Enjoy the moment. Your team earned it.

THANK YOU, it was awesome if you were a Giants fan.

tooge · 10-23-2012, 07:33 AM

can we change the name of the thread now please? It's the Official Cardinals Choke away a 3 games to 1 lead thread and/or the Giants rule thread. Thank you.

Deberg_1990 · 10-23-2012, 07:45 AM

Best part of the game. Lil Wayne sings Take me out to the Ballgame!

me....Lil Wayne sings Take

Frazod · 10-23-2012, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tooge

can we change the name of the thread now please? It's the Official Cardinals Choke away a 3 games to 1 lead thread and/or the Giants rule thread. Thank you.

Actually they still get to keep the trophy from last year. As well as the other 10.

O.city · 10-23-2012, 08:12 AM

Go sign Elvis andrus, bring up Tavares to play cf get healthy and see what happens

Frazod · 10-23-2012, 08:16 AM

I assume I won't get much grief for my Holliday hate today, either. Useless piece of shit. I always enjoy watching his hitting sink to the level of his fielding during the playoffs.

**BigRedChief** · 10-23-2012, 08:20 AM

We need a top line SS. We have none in the pipeline to play opposite Wong at 2B. How we get one is problematic. Yes, we have lots of young pitching. But, we cant give up our young pitching. Thats how we will be able to compete with those teams with billion cable TV contracts. Mo's going to have to work some magic.

DJ's left nut · 10-23-2012, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

We need a top line SS. We have none in the pipeline to play opposite Wong at 2B. How we get one is problematic. Yes, we have lots of young pitching. But, we cant give up our young pitching. Thats how we will be able to compete with those teams with billion cable TV contracts. Mo's going to have to work some magic.

We have a kid named Greg Garcia in AA that happened to be Wong's double play partner in Hawaii. He was playing SS all season in Springfield because of the presence of Wong at 2b, but he is probably better suited for 2b in the majors.

That said, I think he might be every bit the prospect Wong is. He appears to have slightly better range than Wong and his batting eye is top shelf. He honestly reminds me a lot of what I saw in Matt Carpenter 2 seasons ago when he was riding a great batting eye and decent glove past Cox within the system.

He's a perfect 2 hitter, but I don't know that he can play SS at this level. If he can cut down a little on the strikeouts while maintaining the walks while playing an average SS, he's a legitimate prospect. So he needs to refine his approach a little bit to perhaps be less patient and keep himself out of those deep counts that are leading to the slightly inflated K numbers, while also trying to continue to lay off the bad pitches so as not to hurt his BB numbers.

It's obviously a couple of pretty substantial qualifiers, but much like Descalso and Carpenter before him, Garcia's an under the radar name that is worth keeping an eye on.

01-04-2012, 10:08 PM
BigRedChief Has a particular set of skills Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: On the water Casino cash: $-621038 VARSITY	*Offical 2012 STL Cardinals World Champions Thread * St. Louis Cardinals: 7 reasons fans should feel good about 2012 Posted Wednesday, October 24, 2012, at 9:26 PM St. Louis Cardinals fans are likely feeling deflated after the collapse that put an end to the team's dreams of a World Series repeat, but there is good reason to be excited. With all of the odds against them, the Cardinals managed to push their 2012 season beyond any anticipated boundary. Given all of the season's changes and the adversity the team had to fight through, the fact that they played in October at all was an anomaly in itself. On paper, it made sense for the Cardinals to be in the playoffs, but few saw them as a true threat. As the season continued, even fans began to doubt as they watched the team seemingly crumble in June and July. When the Cardinals finally came to life in September they went 11-5 in the last 16 games of the season to lock up the second Wild Card position in its inaugural year. That run, despite it's crushing end in Cincinnati in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series, lots of good came from the Cardinals' season and playoff run. Following in no particular order are 10 reasons Cardinals fans have to be excited about the 2013 season. Trevor Rosenthal When rookie fireballer Trevor Rosenthal made his first trip to St. Louis, it was obvious almost instantly that he was something special. Between his 100 mph fastball and the general inability for almost anyone to hit off of him, he became a huge part of the Cardinals playoff run. He pitched in a total of 19 regular season games before the 22-year-old rookie from Lee's Summit, Mo. got his first taste of postseason baseball and he put on quite a show. In 8.2 IP over seven postseason appearances, Rosenthal held opponents to only two hits and no runs. It's possible that down the stretch he may have already earned his spot in the rotation for 2013. Shelby Miller The long-coveted fastball pitching prospect Shelby Miller also made his first trip to St. Louis in 2012 and put on a good show. In 13.2 IP over six regular season games, Miller surrendered only two runs on nine hits. His postseason performance was more of the same with two runs on four hits in 3.2 IP. Despite a dismal first half of the season in Memphis, Miller got himself together and still managed to make one major league start before the end of the season -- a very impressive start at that. Against the Cincinnati Reds in the final game of the regular season, Miller posted 5.2 hitless innings. He gave up no runs and collected his first major league win. Expect to see a lot more of Miller in St. Louis early in 2013. Joe Kelly When Joe Kelly made his major league debut on June 10, few could have guessed the importance he would play throughout the remainder of the 2012 season. Kelly started 16 games for the Cardinals this season filling in for Jaime Garcia and Lance Lynn, but it was the postseason when he really came through for his teammates. When starting pitchers struggled time and again in October, it was Kelly who came to their rescue. In seven postseason appearances, Kelly threw 7.2 innings and surrendered only two runs on six hits. Kelly came through for the Cardinals from the bullpen. There's a good chance that could be his home in the future. Mike Matheny When the Cardinals hired Mike Matheny to take over for Tony LaRussa, many question bringing in a manager with no experience to such a storied franchise. He had a few hiccups and growing pains along the way, but for a rookie manager to get his team where Matheny did this year speaks volumes. His players have a strong respect for Matheny and credit his positive style with being a driving force behind their 2012 success. True, he didn't get them through the NLCS, but the team made it to an all or nothing Game 7. That's good experience for the players obviously, but also for Matheny. Not only did he learn a lot about managing in the media pressure cooker that is postseason baseball, he also got a taste of what it felt like to win as a manager. NLCS loss means more drive to win While the NLCS loss was a good lesson for a young manager, it's an even more important lesson for a young player. The 2011 championship lit a fire under young players like Lance Lynn and Jon Jay. That fire helped drive them to extremely successful sophomore seasons. What happened in 2012 will likely do the same for Rosenthal, Miller and Kelly. Their 2013 season may not be like Jay or Lynn's 2012, but now they've gotten a little taste of what it feels like to be a winner. Both the excitement and the public humbling can be a great experience for any young player. The run was without several key components In a season riddled with injuries, none were as crucial as those late in the season. The loss of Lance Berkman and Rafael Furcal significantly weakened the team's bench. Instead of having Pete Kozma, Allen Craig and Matt Carpenter to pinch hit, the team wound up having to use them in the lineup. The loss of Jaime Garcia and Jake Westbrook also rocked the Cardinals. Instead of having Lynn and Westbrook also available from the bullpen, Lynn was pushed back into the rotation after a very successful NLDS bullpen stint. Having gotten as deep into the playoffs as the Cardinals did in spite of the injuries is quite the accomplishment. They did it without Pujols, LaRussa and Duncan Few in the world of sports gave the Cardinals a fighting chance when Albert Pujols left the team to play on the west coast. Surely this team couldn't be as good as they were? Few gave them a chance after longtime manager Tony LaRussa decided it was time to retire. Few gave them a chance after pitching coach Dave Duncan left the team. The Cardinals did it despite all of that. That's something any fan should be proud of. No, they didn't hoist a trophy. There will be no parade or tickertape. What there is, though, is hope for next year and that will come sooner than you may think. After all, pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in just four short months. From a blog I was sent on twitter: http://www.dailystatesman.com/blogs/...es/entry/50051 Last edited by BigRedChief; 10-24-2012 at 08:57 PM..
Posts: 81,272

10-22-2012, 10:14 PM	#2341
BIG_DADDY THE RED MENACE Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Texas Casino cash: $2568410	What an awesome game, 6 elimination games in a row. __________________ The diabolical genius of Marxism-Socialism is that it provides the emotional and intellectual road map for autocrats to persuade millions of people to support their own enslavement to government. ~Mark Levin April 15, 2019
Posts: 32,522

10-22-2012, 10:43 PM	#2343
BigRedChief Has a particular set of skills Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: On the water Casino cash: $-621038 VARSITY	TLR's 1st season as Cards manager team wins 88 & loses in Game 7 of NLCS. Matheny's 1st season - 88 wins & Game 7 loss of NLCS __________________ Mahomes is not a game manager. Release the Kraken.
Posts: 81,272

10-22-2012, 10:46 PM	#2344
kcpasco MVP Join Date: Sep 2007 Casino cash: $6143463	Looks like Verlander for games 1 4 and 7. So if SF wins this thing they definitely earned it.
Posts: 15,945

10-22-2012, 11:09 PM	#2346
rico ON CP YOU’RE SOMEBODY’S BITCH! Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Da SEI Casino cash: $2304809	Didn't we lose in similar fashion in 1996 to the Braves after a 3-1 series lead? Ugh, was hoping to relive 2006, not 1996.
Posts: 13,302

10-23-2012, 06:44 AM	#2347
King_Chief_Fan Praise Him Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: none ya Casino cash: $4755486	Good season for a team that had some questionable pitching. Matheny - no match against Bochy (sp) rookie coach with a long way to go when it comes to managing a championship series Holiday - done and should be gone...way over paid and did not contribute Craig - what happened to his bat Freeze - what happened to his bat Jay - what happend to his bat (anyone see a theme with this bat thing - kick McQuire to the curb) Kozma - minor leaguer who came in with a blast and out with a thud not ready for prime time Lynn - dont' know what to say about that dude - started out great as a starter and then what Molina and Beltran - can't do it by themselves
Posts: 12,362

10-23-2012, 07:33 AM	#2349
tooge MVP Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Liberty, MO Casino cash: $754112	can we change the name of the thread now please? It's the Official Cardinals Choke away a 3 games to 1 lead thread and/or the Giants rule thread. Thank you.
Posts: 17,150

10-23-2012, 07:45 AM	#2350
Deberg_1990 In Search of a Life Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: San Antonio Tx. Casino cash: $274454	Best part of the game. Lil Wayne sings Take me out to the Ballgame! me....Lil Wayne sings Take __________________ Originally Posted by Cassel's Reckoning: Matt once made a very nice play in Seattle where he spun away from a pass rusher and hit Bowe off his back foot for a first down. One of the best plays Matt has ever made.
Posts: 68,470

10-23-2012, 08:12 AM	#2352
O.city In Search of a Life Join Date: Jul 2009 Casino cash: $-575936	Go sign Elvis andrus, bring up Tavares to play cf get healthy and see what happens
Posts: 84,162

10-23-2012, 08:16 AM	#2353
Frazod Did you hear what I said? Join Date: Aug 2000 Casino cash: $-616615	I assume I won't get much grief for my Holliday hate today, either. Useless piece of shit. I always enjoy watching his hitting sink to the level of his fielding during the playoffs.
Posts: 121,720

10-23-2012, 08:20 AM	#2354
BigRedChief Has a particular set of skills Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: On the water Casino cash: $-621038 VARSITY	We need a top line SS. We have none in the pipeline to play opposite Wong at 2B. How we get one is problematic. Yes, we have lots of young pitching. But, we cant give up our young pitching. Thats how we will be able to compete with those teams with billion cable TV contracts. Mo's going to have to work some magic. __________________ Mahomes is not a game manager. Release the Kraken.
Posts: 81,272