The Time is Near...

by LS Murphy

Last night, most people watched the New Orleans Saints defeat the Indianapolis Colts in the Superbowl. Or they watched the commercials. Either way, the event signaled the end of the NFL season and moved us that much closer to Florida dreams. In other words, Spring Training will get underway shortly.

The off-season is almost over with only minor moves left. Fans await the anticipation of David Freese's performance at third. Some hoping he is the answer to the hot corner, others still hoping for a deal.

We await the performances of Rich Hill, Blake Hawksworth, Mitchell Boggs, Jaime Garcia, and Kyle McClellan. Who will be the fifth starter? Will they all get a turn or will one of them stand out and own the job?

We will watch with great anticipation each throw of Brad Penny. Can Dave Duncan resurrect yet another pitcher's career? I certainly hope so for as much as the team is shelling out for his salary.

And our eyes will still be on the front office. Will Mo make another move before Opening Day?

No matter what happens, baseball is around the corner. None of us can hardly wait anymore. Especially since we know our team, our beloved St. Louis Cardinals. will take us into October and to our 11th World Series title.

follow LS Murphy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LSMurphy

No Surprise About Gibson's Thoughts

by: Brian F. Logush

You cannot argue with Bob Gibson's storied, Hall-of-Fame career. Don't even try. 251 regular season wins. 2 Cy Young Awards. The 1968 NL MVP. A 1.12 ERA in that same season. 14 consecutive seasons with over eleven wins (He pitched 17 seasons total). He even swatted 24 home runs in his Cardinal tenure.

So why am I not shocked when Gibson says that people like Jack Clark and Carlton Fisk need to lay off Mark McGwire and let the man do his job?

I should be shocked. I should be jaw-on-the-floor, no-words, holy-crap-Bruce-Willis-was-dead-the-whole-time stunned. This is Bob Gibson we're talking about. One of the most tenacious pitchers of the entire 20th century. The man who was so dominant at his position that the league decided to lower the mound five inches after Gibson's epic 1968 campaign. The man who hasn't exactly forgiven baseball officiating for lowering his territory.

But why am I not?

Is it because Bob works for the team? Doubtful. If Tony LaRussa gets hacked off at a color-commentator for criticizing Yadier Molina's "running", what would he do to someone who actually contributes to the team? No, this is just Gibby being Gibby. He is brutually honest, and doesn't really care. He just says whatever pops into his head, popular opinion be damned.

I think it's because Gibson told ESPN Radio's "Mike and Mike" this past July that had steroids been around in his playing days, he may have taken them. The discussion begins around 7:30. And more recently, he told Post-Dispatch writer Rick Hummel that he would have been "tempted" to use steroids had they been offered to him. He cited the drive to compete, the urge to be better than your opponent as reasons to take steroids.

Does this change our perception of Gibson? Should we think less of him because he believes McGwire should be left alone? He also says he would accept admitted-users if they ever get into the Hall of Fame.

Now that is a ceremony I would like to watch. I accept that McGwire won't be getting in. And I doubt Jason Giambi and Andy Pettite will. But Alex Rodriguez is the intriguing candidate. If he gets voted in, how will the rest of the enshrined accept him? Gibson says he would. But would Reggie Jackson, who hopes no known juicers get into Cooperstown?

The Hall already has players who did not-so-great things. Mike Schmidt received the third-highest percentage of votes in voting history, and he admitted to playing with amphetamines during the 70s and 80s. Willie Mays was tied to the same drug. And Gaylord Perry may be the most famous cheater with a plaque, as he confessed to using a greased-up baseball throughout his whole career.

Everybody, including myself, has their own views on McGwire. That doesn't matter. What Bob Gibson thinks doesn't matter. But he has a point. The time for questioning and slamming McGwire needs to come to an end. Spring training is less than three weeks away. It's time to put all the negativity aside and focus on the task at hand.

Here We Go

by LS Murphy

Eighteen days and counting until pitchers and catchers report to Jupiter, Florida. There are still questions for the team but that's nothing unusual. Most teams have holes. The Cardinals have one major glaring hole to fill. Third base.

David Freese is the favorite going into spring training for the hot corner. Is he ready? Only spring will tell. Maybe another rookie will emerge. Maybe Joe Mather will jump forward and steal the spot. Or maybe, just maybe, Mo will make a deal that will bring someone in for the job.

The minor hole is the fifth starter. There are many pitcher to fill this hole so it isn't as big a deal as third base. Rich Hill could recover into a solid starter under Dave Duncan. Kyle McClellan could move out of long relief. So could Blake Hawksworth. There's always Mitchell Boggs, who managed a few starts in 2009. Of course, we can't leave out Jaime Gracia either. Maybe he's not ready after recovering form Tommy John surgery.

There's a lot left to accomplish before opening day. I can't wait to watch it all unfold.

Follow LS Murphy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LSMurphy

McGwi-roids

I'll be honest, over the years its been a turnoff to engage in steroid discussion. The bottom line for me is that steroids in baseball has always had two sides.

Heads - The players merely did what players forever have done - get an edge in the game by any means necessary. Antiquated cheating schemes of spitballs and corked bats have been replaced by the more modern, and much more profitable, steroids and all other banned performance enhancing drugs, Cialis and Viagra not included in this distinguished list. When a person is faced with a choice between right and wrong, and the wrong choice not only has an immeasurable short term financial benefit, but has absolutely no short term consequence outside of risking individual health, that choice becomes debatable.

Tails - While the media and society have been banding together to villify the specific steroid using players and publicly destroy their lives, the team owners have been sitting behind bullet proof glass counting the stacks of dollars that have been rolling in due in large part to those villians. Never was it important to these owners to preserve the game from these cheaters when the game of baseball was losing the interest of the fan during the 1990's. While these owners turned their head away from the growing use of performance enhancing drugs, they simultaneously turned toward the millions of dollars being generated as a result of them. The owners have been the undercurrent that has swept away the purity of the sport of baseball.

All that covered, let me tackle the Mark McGwire steroid admittance situation specifically. First of all, it's about time the "truth" has come out. Not that we have been waiting for some clarification for 10+ years, but the slap-in-the-face that has been to deny and hide from the issue has become annoying to say the least. Secondly, you could have made things simpler by actually telling the truth about your steroid use instead of lying about telling the truth about your steroid use. Taking steroids "a few times" throughout the decade is a far cry from the reality that you used it on a regular schedule like every other everyday steroid user. Lastly, we may buy the tickets to attend the games and help pay your ridiculously outrageous, counterfit salaries, but we're not buying the separation of steroids allowing you to be healthy enough to play, however it didn't assist you in your actual performance. My grandmother's buttcheeks!

And one more thing, for all the media types that are so concerned at what these steriod admissions are doing to our youth, why don't you stop complaining about asterisks and home-run records and the hall of fame voting, and actually shed some light on the dangers and consequences of these drugs. It's getting hard to believe that the reason society is so disappointed and outraged at these steroid users is because of the image it shows the youth of our nation. All we really hear are the teardrops falling from all your boyhood dreams that have been shattered based on your outdated, over-idolization of sports stars. Get over it. They're people with problems just like the rest of us.