Beware of my Redbirds! They have the second best record in the NL (behind only the Dodgers) despite Carpenter, Ludwick, Ankiel, and Glaus all spending time on the DL. When Carpenter is healthy, the rotation is very solid. Go look at Carpenter's stats this year...he hasn't allowed a single earned run in 23 innings and has a .61 WHIP! Franklin has rounded into a very good closer, and when Ankiel and ludwick are healthy the lineup should go back to mashing.

Dobbler said:

Blargh... don't remind me. My cousin married a Cards fan and Facebook spams us with all her propaganda. I'm glad I respect LaRussa and the Cards as a team, cuz I sure can't stand watching Pujols bust it all over the Cubs.

Cubs are really struggling right now...having lost 9 of 11...guys losing their cool all over the place. Of course Bradley and Zambrano aren't known for being level headed guys, so that should have been expected. But the Cubs lack of run production has just been amazing. The Cards recently swept a three game series where St. Louis didn't score more than 3 runs in any single game. That is just crazy. But with Aramis on the DL, D. Lee apparently on the downhill side of his career, will the new youngbloods step up to create some offensive production for the cubbies?

Well, the Cubs lack of run production really doesn't surprise me that much. Lee has never been the same since the wrist injury, and Theriot and Fontenot were not likely to match last year's stats (IMO), same with Soto to a lesser degree. Thus the Ramirez loss really hurt. I still think the Cubs have a chance/thought it would be a good 4 team race before the season started (Reds have less margin for injuries than the other 3 though). Cardinals are a major factor if Carpenter stays healthy. The loss of Weeks really hurt the Brewers. I don't think his start was a fluke - he was going to break out this year. Brewers have a major hole in the leadoff spot, and I'm still more concerned with their general poor plate discipline/lack of walks (good start, but already regressing) than I am about the starting pitching that the media always gloms on to. Brewers starting pitching is good enough.

And Stag, yeah the Indians look bad; but, really, nobody in that division looked great to me pre-season, and there's still not anyone that jumps out at me. I think the Royals have a shot - though I'm not sure how long Greinke can keep this up (I hope for all season).

Um

Can any more Mets get hurt or sikc. I mean GEEZ already.

Stag Lord said:

sorry stag, just can't get over this one.....

EAST W L PCT GB HOME ROAD RS RA DIFF STRK L10
Philadelphia 32 21 .604 - 12-14 20-7 293 258 +35 Lost 1 8-2
NY Mets 29 24 .547 3 17-9 12-15 249 231 +18 Won 1 6-4
Atlanta 26 27 .491 6 12-14 14-13 228 236 -8 Lost 2 3-7
Florida 26 30 .464 7.5 12-16 14-14 259 287 -28 Lost 1 5-5
Washington 14 39 .264 18 8-19 6-20 243 316 -73 Lost 3 1-9

Listen - I love seeing the Braves struggle as much as the next guy. But tis still only june, and they are rigth there in striking distance. Teh Phillies are hot - heading into the LA series they were like 8-2 in their last 10 (granted, they dropped 2 out of three out there). but I think they could cool off, and i still think with the Braves fireppower, they can make a run at this thing.

If I'm worng though - I'll be prefectly happy.

And down goes Sosa - another cheater who hopefully will be kept out of the HoF. we kinda knew baout him already though - this just confirms it. There are veyr few guys from that era you can still look up to - Ken Griffey JR, Jeter, and that's about it. everyone else seems to be an open question (and I'm no Jeter fan, BTW).

I think that there are a lot of players from that era that played clean; it just so happens that the majority of the "superstars" are coming up dirty, which is most unfortunate. But I think (operative word, I guess) that players like Greg Maddux, Trevor Hoffman, Omar Vizquel, Randy Johnson, et al were probably clean. I do think that the slow leak of the 103 names is ridiculous; the "anonymous" sources are cowardly in my opinion. Just put all of the names out there and be done with it: quit picking and choosing the big names, let us see the second string catchers and random middle relievers, too.

one of the guys on aroudn the horn had a great thought. announce a rlease date (abotu a week ahead of time) and allow anyone who wants to admit it, then release the howle list so we have a more complete picture and can give credit to the clean guys and those brqve enough to admit their mistake.

foxpillow said:

Actually, Randy Johnson mentioned in a recent SI article that he "might" have taken something and didn't know it. Basically he said during his heyday in Arizona (when he won 2 or 3 CYs), he was taken a bunch of stuff from GNC, and possibly, unknowingly, taken a substance that now would be banned. He was 37 when he came to the Diamondbacks and put up his best numbers ever.

Stag, my birds are coming to town and Pujols is freaking hot. Beware. And the Thursday Santana vs Carpenter day game is making me want to skip work and take a 3 hour lunch break at a local sports bar.

Pujols is red hot and teh mets are hurting. Doesn't look like a good week in teh offing, what with teh red Birds and teh Yankees looming. We ahve three number five starters in teh rotation at the moment, pelfrey can't get out of the fifth inning, and santana has been in a slump. Delgado and reyes are still weeks form coming back and if beltran needs surgery on the knee (he's getting an MRI today) i think its time to just see what the kids can give you - cause this thing will be done.

Its hard to figure baseball. teh undermanned Mets finally are showing a little grit - but the lineup of has beens and role players they are running out there will be lucky to play a couple of games over .500 until we get the big guns back. i really would like ot see Omar make a run at aubrey Huff or Nick Johnson. I want no part of Adam Dunn, thanks very much.

And thankfully, the interleasgue nonsense ends after this weekend, I am SO sick of that gimmick.

Stag Lord said:

Why? I enjoy watching the Giants play the A's. Its fun to see the two Bay Area teams battle for supremacy, and to revisit the higlights of the 1989 World Series when these two teams were the best in baseball.

CAuse tis too much. I'm an old school pursit - i like it when the AL and NL teams have no familairity with each other when they face off in teh WS. i guess one series a year with your natural rival in the other league is Ok - but the 2 series thing is too much and i would arther see the teams I am watching for the wild card or the division more thna some anonymous, no juice series against the orioles or Royals or what have you.

Its just too much and there is too much hype surrounding it.

Well anyway - its almost football season.

Sigh.

J-E-T-S, sanchez, sanchez, sanchez!

Stag Lord said:

I know the Mets have been looking bad; but, it's still too early to write them off. If they can get Beltran back, & the Phillies run into a key injury, things could change quickly

So, I'm hoping others watched the All-star game. By far the best all-star game in sports for me. Good game. Dobbler - how was it received in St Louis - is it being viewed as a success? Depth of the AL talent is what won them the game, IMO. That, and, escuse me; but, really - there's a guy on 3rd in the eigth, Howard comes up, and the AL puts a shift on. The NL is down only 1 run. Seriously, Howard HAS to just go the other way with a ground ball & tie the game up. That's why that guy is soooo overrated.

i've been screaming (it feels like) forever at the phillies to teach him how to bunt. He does that 2-3 times with the shift on and they will stop shifting.....heck if he bunts it hard enough (and loses aother 20 pounds) it could be a double.

LordofBrewtown said:

General consensus is that it was a success. National ratings were down slightly from last year, but the local ratings (St. Louis area) blew away ratings from any previous year.

Most St. Louisans felt that the city was represented well and that Pujols was genuinely celebrated as the best player in baseball. There were a few quibbles that Stan Musial wasn't given the same treatment as Ted Williams was when the game was in Boston. Joe Torre was the only person to leave the dugout to greet Stan the Man. But that is pretty minor.

As for the game itself, Pujols was a disappointment, but after being booked 14 hours a day representing St. Louis, the Cardinals and MLB, I personally think he was just gassed. The Cardinals played a double header on Sunday against the Cubs, Pujols got back to STL at 2 AM that morning and was up in a few hours starting All Star Festivities. It should also be noted that Pujols was the only batter in the Homerun derby who didn't bring his own pitcher. The normal cardinals batting practice pitcher took a vacation, so Pujols borrowed a Pirates coach. Did you see the stress on his face when he tried to hit a home run for the fan? I've never seen him that stressed, not even in ninth inning, game altering situations. Honestly, I don't care all that much about the HR contest, I was just worried about Pujols overextending himself, possibly causing him to hurt himself or alter his swing (which he did).

I'm looking forward to the second half. I think there are some awesome races that are going to be played out. And there is a trade out there (for Roy Halladay) that is serious going to alter one of them.

Did this thread die? it's been almost two weeks? Or is everyone just gearing up for the August races?

As a Diamondbacks fan...well, that's all that needs to be said, I guess.

Um.. Go Giants!

This is probably the first year I have seriously followed baseball, and its partly because I really enjoy the style of baseball that the Giants play. Amazing pitching, good defense, close games, and not a lot of home runs.

Home run games are boring. I began to hate home run games during the end of Barry Bonds's career. The entire three hour game came down to whether Barry hit one home run or two, and whether the other side hit two home runs or three. Boring. Not to say that Bonds wasn't an amazing player (or the greatest player in the history of ever), but it makes for extremely dull games. 178 tedious minutes, 2 minutes of excitement. Like waiting for a new amusement park ride... fun, but overhyped and not worth the wait.

The Giants right now could sure use a little more offensive firepower before the trade deadline, but their games are exciting.