I think everyone in Cardinal Nation can relate to this little girl.
Happy Holidays.
Follow LS Murphy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/LSMurphy
True Success Comes from Adversity
by: Brian F. Logush
Before I get too deep into this piece, I'd like to remind all Cardinal fans of one thing: Albert Pujols is not, I repeat, NOT LeBron James. I have seen that floated around all day, and it isn't even close to the same thing. Pujols wasn't born and raised in the St. Louis area. He didn't make up his mind weeks ago, have ESPN dedicate a whole show on his announcement and tell Peter Gammons that he was taking his bats to SoCal. He didn't throw use his foundation as a cover-up while doing it. Albert Pujols is a far better human being than LeBron James. Remember that.
Now, onto business.
Shock. Disbelief. A Mistake. Those are the words that immediately came to mind when I read on Twitter that Albert Pujols had signed a ten-year contract with the California Angels. After days of having the Miami Marlins shoved down our throats as the team to sign Number 5, they backed off, having signed an under-rated starter (Mark Buehrle, 4-year/$58 million), a solid closer (Heath Bell, 3-year/$27 million), and the reigning NL Batting Champion (Jose Reyes, 6-year/$108 million). I suppose they figure that was enough for one offseason. Then, late Wednesday, reports of the dreaded "mystery team" surfaced, and Cardinal fans felt a touch more uneasy. Was there really a team lying low, waiting for the Marlins to leave so they could jump in and scavenge the market? Was it just Dan Lozano with gamesmanship, trying to get the Cardinals to panic and overpay? Doubtful. John Mozeliak wouldn't fall for that. Wow. We sure are paying Matt Holliday a lot of money to drop fly balls in crucial situations and have small insects fly into his slightly larger-than-average skull. Anyway....
But once I accepted the fact that when the Cardinals and Marlins meet on Opening Day there was going to be a glaring omission from the line-up and ceremony, I started to understand and appreciate what the Cardinals didn't do. I applaud Mozeilak and DeWitt for standing their ground, and refusing to give in to demands that were, in a business sense, asinine.
Unless a player is twenty-two and bionic, there is no way, and The Rock means NO WAY, to justify a ten-year contract. And you especially don't give out a contract of that length to a man who takes eight seconds to run to first base and, in all likelihood, will not play out his entire contract due to injuries.
By not spending $250 million plus on one player, Mozeliak and Co. have some room to fix gaping holes on the roster. With Furcal likely gone, Allen Craig fresh off the operating table, and no proven shortstop on the roster who can give you 140 or so games and perform adequately, maybe the team takes a run at Jimmy Rollins. It's too bad the Pujols saga went on the way it did, otherwise the club might have had a shot at local-boy Buehrle to shore up the rotation. Ryan Madsen would be a nice piece in the bullpen to help get to Jason Motte, as would Andrew Brackman.
This is the best option for the future of the club. They aren't tied down to one player for the next decade. They now have a chance to make their team better, and while having Pujols at first base for the rest of his career would be great for him, for us as fans, and for baseball, since there is rarely a player with one team for their entire career. But that ideology is gone as Pujols, like Fievel, heads West to start a new chapter of his life.
Good luck, Albert. You helped bring this team three pennants, two World Championships, and jaw-dropping post-season moments (hey, Brad Lidge is available!) You are a three-time MVP, Gold Glove and Silver Slugger recipient, and renowned humanitarian. I don't blame you for taking the money and leaving St. Louis. I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing. What bothers me is what you said a few years ago. "It's not about the money. I've got my money. It's about winning and that's it."
I don't see where California gives you a better chance of winning than St. Louis. That's my concern. You talk about how you would listen to your family, to your God. My fear is you gave your agent an equal say, and you let him drown out the people closest to you.
Cardinal fans shouldn't be mad at Albert Pujols. It's for the best, people. It's not like he signed with the Cubs.
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter: @Brian_Logush, for all things St. Louis sports and world going-ons.
Before I get too deep into this piece, I'd like to remind all Cardinal fans of one thing: Albert Pujols is not, I repeat, NOT LeBron James. I have seen that floated around all day, and it isn't even close to the same thing. Pujols wasn't born and raised in the St. Louis area. He didn't make up his mind weeks ago, have ESPN dedicate a whole show on his announcement and tell Peter Gammons that he was taking his bats to SoCal. He didn't throw use his foundation as a cover-up while doing it. Albert Pujols is a far better human being than LeBron James. Remember that.
Now, onto business.
Shock. Disbelief. A Mistake. Those are the words that immediately came to mind when I read on Twitter that Albert Pujols had signed a ten-year contract with the California Angels. After days of having the Miami Marlins shoved down our throats as the team to sign Number 5, they backed off, having signed an under-rated starter (Mark Buehrle, 4-year/$58 million), a solid closer (Heath Bell, 3-year/$27 million), and the reigning NL Batting Champion (Jose Reyes, 6-year/$108 million). I suppose they figure that was enough for one offseason. Then, late Wednesday, reports of the dreaded "mystery team" surfaced, and Cardinal fans felt a touch more uneasy. Was there really a team lying low, waiting for the Marlins to leave so they could jump in and scavenge the market? Was it just Dan Lozano with gamesmanship, trying to get the Cardinals to panic and overpay? Doubtful. John Mozeliak wouldn't fall for that. Wow. We sure are paying Matt Holliday a lot of money to drop fly balls in crucial situations and have small insects fly into his slightly larger-than-average skull. Anyway....
But once I accepted the fact that when the Cardinals and Marlins meet on Opening Day there was going to be a glaring omission from the line-up and ceremony, I started to understand and appreciate what the Cardinals didn't do. I applaud Mozeilak and DeWitt for standing their ground, and refusing to give in to demands that were, in a business sense, asinine.
Unless a player is twenty-two and bionic, there is no way, and The Rock means NO WAY, to justify a ten-year contract. And you especially don't give out a contract of that length to a man who takes eight seconds to run to first base and, in all likelihood, will not play out his entire contract due to injuries.
By not spending $250 million plus on one player, Mozeliak and Co. have some room to fix gaping holes on the roster. With Furcal likely gone, Allen Craig fresh off the operating table, and no proven shortstop on the roster who can give you 140 or so games and perform adequately, maybe the team takes a run at Jimmy Rollins. It's too bad the Pujols saga went on the way it did, otherwise the club might have had a shot at local-boy Buehrle to shore up the rotation. Ryan Madsen would be a nice piece in the bullpen to help get to Jason Motte, as would Andrew Brackman.
This is the best option for the future of the club. They aren't tied down to one player for the next decade. They now have a chance to make their team better, and while having Pujols at first base for the rest of his career would be great for him, for us as fans, and for baseball, since there is rarely a player with one team for their entire career. But that ideology is gone as Pujols, like Fievel, heads West to start a new chapter of his life.
Good luck, Albert. You helped bring this team three pennants, two World Championships, and jaw-dropping post-season moments (hey, Brad Lidge is available!) You are a three-time MVP, Gold Glove and Silver Slugger recipient, and renowned humanitarian. I don't blame you for taking the money and leaving St. Louis. I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing. What bothers me is what you said a few years ago. "It's not about the money. I've got my money. It's about winning and that's it."
I don't see where California gives you a better chance of winning than St. Louis. That's my concern. You talk about how you would listen to your family, to your God. My fear is you gave your agent an equal say, and you let him drown out the people closest to you.
Cardinal fans shouldn't be mad at Albert Pujols. It's for the best, people. It's not like he signed with the Cubs.
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter: @Brian_Logush, for all things St. Louis sports and world going-ons.
We Will Survive
by LS Murphy
Okay, maybe right now it does feel like the end of the world. But it's not. The St. Louis Cardinals will go on and, in the long run, we will be better without Albert's salary to weigh them down.
Are fans angry? Absolutely. We all thought that Albert was above the pettiness of who has the bigger dick... I mean salary. He fooled us.
Do the fans feel betrayed? No doubt. We all thought that Albert's love of this city and this organization was heartfelt and true. Why would he say that he wants to be a Cardinal for life and turn his back on us? Why would he stand proudly as a statue is erected in his honor if he wasn't going to return? He lied to us.
Are the fans hurting? Yep. It hurts. When our idols lie to us, betray us, and tell us we aren't good enough, it cuts into your heart and tears it apart. Because in St. Louis, you are more than a baseball player. You're put on a pedestal. You're worshiped. You ARE everything this city represents. And when it turns out that you don't want to be here anymore, it hurts everyone.
Albert Pujols is the greatest player of his generation. There isn't any doubt about that. But, when he signed that ridiculous contract with the Angels, he proved that he was just like the rest of them. He fell off his pedestal. He will no longer be worshiped. He doesn't represent the honor and dignity of St. Louis. In other words, Albert Pujols is human.
So take the positive out of this:
2) Our team will survive and continue to win World Championships.
3) We will survive.
Goodbye Albert. And good luck living up to the expectations a huge contract brings. California is an entirely different entity than St. Louis. In California, you'll be just another man. It's what you wanted.
Follow LS Murphy on Twitter:https://twitter.com/#!/LSMurphy
Mike Matheny Named Manager
by: Brian F. Logush
In a move that came as a surprise to some, Cardinals General Manager John Mozeliak named former Cardinals backstopper Mike Matheny as the next manager of the eleven-time World Champions. Matheny was selected over current third-base coach Jose Oquendo, former Red Sox manager Terry Francona, scrappy Joe McEwing, and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg (which, by the way, would have pissed off every Northsider, and made the hiring that much more worth it).
This is considered a dangerous play, seeing as Matheny has no professional managing experience. Sure, he has been a bench coach, and he is the coach of an eighth-grade boys baseball team, but this is just slightly different. Being the manager of the most decorated National League team, and second-most decorated team of all-time, is going to be more of a challenge than anything he has seen in his career.
Personally, I would have liked for The Secret Weapon to get the job. He's been in the organization for a long time, has been learning from LaRussa, and, in all honesty, could be the key in persuading Pujols to stay. Not that I'm worried about the Marlins courting him. That's asinine.
Matheny must prove that Mozeliak made the right decision. I don't expect everything to go perfectly during his first-year. There will be a learning curve, and he will make mistakes. What matters, and what is most important for the team in the long-term, is that he learns from them. While under more scrutiny and pressure, being a player and being a manager are really not that different. To succeed, you have to adapt. As a hitter, you study an opposing pitcher, learn his timing, and wait for that breaking ball that you know is going to hang for just one more moment, and blast away. As a catcher, you follow your pitcher, see how he controls himself, his timing.
Being a manager, I imagine, is more of the same. Every opposing club has trends, and players and traps that need to be avoided. Notice that Ryan Braun has been expanding his zone, and encourage more sliders. David Wright has been hitting to right field more often this year, so don't put too severe of a shift on. Tim Lincecum has won six straight, so have a clubhouse attendant put an eighth in his locker, just to dull his reflexes. Hey, you have to (ab)use home field advantage however you can.
I wish Mike Matheny all the luck next season. I have no doubt this will be the most challenging part of his baseball career. But I have two tips for Manager Matheny:
1.) Instead of using the phone to call the bullpen, just send a text. I'm sure bullpen coach Derek Lilliquist can read. But check to see if your carrier gets decent service inside Busch III first.
2.) Stay away from hunting knives. We don't need you missing the postseason because of an injury. You just got the job. Play it safe, Mike.
I'm ready for the 2012 season to begin. Carpenter, Freese, Holliday, Molina, Motte, Wainwright, and your starting first baseman... Lance Berkman!!
What? What'd I say??
I am now on Twitter. Feel free to follow me @Brian_Logush for all things St. Louis sports, current events, and mild insensitivity. #nofilter
In a move that came as a surprise to some, Cardinals General Manager John Mozeliak named former Cardinals backstopper Mike Matheny as the next manager of the eleven-time World Champions. Matheny was selected over current third-base coach Jose Oquendo, former Red Sox manager Terry Francona, scrappy Joe McEwing, and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg (which, by the way, would have pissed off every Northsider, and made the hiring that much more worth it).
This is considered a dangerous play, seeing as Matheny has no professional managing experience. Sure, he has been a bench coach, and he is the coach of an eighth-grade boys baseball team, but this is just slightly different. Being the manager of the most decorated National League team, and second-most decorated team of all-time, is going to be more of a challenge than anything he has seen in his career.
Personally, I would have liked for The Secret Weapon to get the job. He's been in the organization for a long time, has been learning from LaRussa, and, in all honesty, could be the key in persuading Pujols to stay. Not that I'm worried about the Marlins courting him. That's asinine.
Matheny must prove that Mozeliak made the right decision. I don't expect everything to go perfectly during his first-year. There will be a learning curve, and he will make mistakes. What matters, and what is most important for the team in the long-term, is that he learns from them. While under more scrutiny and pressure, being a player and being a manager are really not that different. To succeed, you have to adapt. As a hitter, you study an opposing pitcher, learn his timing, and wait for that breaking ball that you know is going to hang for just one more moment, and blast away. As a catcher, you follow your pitcher, see how he controls himself, his timing.
Being a manager, I imagine, is more of the same. Every opposing club has trends, and players and traps that need to be avoided. Notice that Ryan Braun has been expanding his zone, and encourage more sliders. David Wright has been hitting to right field more often this year, so don't put too severe of a shift on. Tim Lincecum has won six straight, so have a clubhouse attendant put an eighth in his locker, just to dull his reflexes. Hey, you have to (ab)use home field advantage however you can.
I wish Mike Matheny all the luck next season. I have no doubt this will be the most challenging part of his baseball career. But I have two tips for Manager Matheny:
1.) Instead of using the phone to call the bullpen, just send a text. I'm sure bullpen coach Derek Lilliquist can read. But check to see if your carrier gets decent service inside Busch III first.
2.) Stay away from hunting knives. We don't need you missing the postseason because of an injury. You just got the job. Play it safe, Mike.
I'm ready for the 2012 season to begin. Carpenter, Freese, Holliday, Molina, Motte, Wainwright, and your starting first baseman... Lance Berkman!!
What? What'd I say??
I am now on Twitter. Feel free to follow me @Brian_Logush for all things St. Louis sports, current events, and mild insensitivity. #nofilter
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