An Interesting Tidbit
I am surprised that more has not been made of the fact that Marat Safin, on his way to the Australian Open Finals this evening, has been the ultimate American killer. After beating some no name loser in the first round, he went on a killing spree starting with Todd Martin, moving on to James Blake, then #1 Andy Roddick, before beating Agassi in a thriller. When has something like that ever happened before? Am I the only one who found this to be even remotely interesting?
Some Questions to Ponder
1. How could I have been so naive about the whole Pete Rose situation?
2. Why is the Sports Guy such a great columnist? Where can I get some of his skills?
3. Who gave Meryl Streep a mandate for voicing her political opinions at the Golden Globes?
4. Can teams in first place please stop firing their coaches and learn some patience?
5. Why do I feel like I haven't seen any high profile girl on girl kisses in a while?
6. Is there really any sanctity left in the institution of marriage after the whole Britney Spears thing?
7. If Justin Timberlake is the next Michael Jackson, does that mean that eventually he is going to turn weird and black as he gets older?
8. Can the Blues get any production out of anyone besides Keith Tkachuk, Pavol Demitra, Doug Weight, and Chris Pronger?
9. When is Jimmy Kimmel going to get some legitimate guests on his show?
10. Can anyone really justify ranking Barry Larkin as a better shortstop than Ozzie Smith?
2. Why is the Sports Guy such a great columnist? Where can I get some of his skills?
3. Who gave Meryl Streep a mandate for voicing her political opinions at the Golden Globes?
4. Can teams in first place please stop firing their coaches and learn some patience?
5. Why do I feel like I haven't seen any high profile girl on girl kisses in a while?
6. Is there really any sanctity left in the institution of marriage after the whole Britney Spears thing?
7. If Justin Timberlake is the next Michael Jackson, does that mean that eventually he is going to turn weird and black as he gets older?
8. Can the Blues get any production out of anyone besides Keith Tkachuk, Pavol Demitra, Doug Weight, and Chris Pronger?
9. When is Jimmy Kimmel going to get some legitimate guests on his show?
10. Can anyone really justify ranking Barry Larkin as a better shortstop than Ozzie Smith?
By Decree
Although I am truly and abundantly excited to see our good friend Opus back in the Sunday Comics, Bill the Cat needs to be prominently involved in the future of this recent resurrection of the strip.
Oh, Albert!
As an avid Cardinals fan I am less than optimistic about the 2004 season and beyond. As much as I love Busch Stadium, I am excited about the new one they are building. I looks like it could be pretty nice. The only down side to the stadium project, and it is quite a down side, is that the owners will be able to use this as an excuse.
Fan: Why can't we sign any real free agents?
Owner: We have to spend most of our money right now on the stadium.
Fan: Why are you raising ticket prices so much?
Owner: Well the state didn't give us enough financing for the new stadium.
Fan: Why aren't we staying competitive with Houston and Cincinnati and Chicago?
Owner: We won't be able to free up enough money until the new stadium is paid for.
Fan: (muddled whimper of despair)
Owner: (maniacal laugh)
I can only hope that our new stadium doesn't end up with a crappy new name. I can just see it now: The brand new "Paul Allen is going to find a new and more exciting way to screw your and your family by raising cable prices because he paid a gagillion dollars to name it Charter Stadium Stadium." Gussie Busch would be rolling in his grave.
Well this all brings us to our newest concern facing the Cardinals, Albert Pujols' arbitration. I don't know where to start. I will save my rant on the evils of the arbitration system in baseball some other time though. I was hoping that when people though of the Cardinals they would think of the Gas House Gang, Stan The Man, the Wizard, and Albert Pujols. Things now are not looking so well on that front.
We all knew that it would cost the Cardinals a lot of money to pay Albert now that he is arbitration eligible. Mr. Pujols has seen a string of players come through the Cardinals farm system get traded away, from Placido Polanco to J.D. Drew to Eli Marrero. He has also recently seen the Cardinals seemingly let some of their role players just walk away for no good reason. It seems that he was just as surprised as I was when the Cardinals did not resign Eduardo Perez after he became our best bench player. Now Pujols is afraid that down the road the Cardinals would treat him the same way.
Now, I wish that I could speak for the organization, but as a fan I hope they are with me on this one. Albert is different than those other guys. J.D. and Eli had their injury struggles. Everyone has waited for them to reach their full potentials, but we can only wait so long. Eduardo hopefully will get a chance to show his stuff everyday for the hapless Devil Rays. Placido was a tough one to let go, but under the circumstances we did get the best third baseman in the game in return.
Albert however is different than them. He is the real deal. Now things do happen. Players do get hurt. Players like Don Mattingly or more recently Nomar Garciaparra seem to flatten out after injuries that stifled what could have been hall of fame careers. (Note: I am not closing the book yet on Nomar, but Boston almost did this off-season.)
Regardless, the Cardinals, Albert Pujols, and the fans have all bonded. We are a family. Albert, and his agent, and the Cardinals organization need to recognize that. The organization seemed to be doing their part by offering a 5 year, $55 million contract. Albert however turned it down, stating that he would not offer the Cardinals a "hometown discount" for his services because he does not trust them from a business perspective.
Maybe they deserve not to be trusted. Maybe baseball organizations as a whole deserve that fate, but I always hoped that maybe we were a little better than the average organization. But, of course, the Cardinals do not play their games in New York, or Los Angeles, or Chicago, or some other big city. They play in St. Louis. We obviously do not have as much money as those organizations, and we apparently have less because of the new stadium.
If a contract cannot be worked out between the Cardinals and Albert Pujols, and we end up in arbitration, I only hope that sometime over the next three years, before Pujols can become a free agent, that we can work things out.
Albert, we love you here. We love what you have done on the field. We love having you in St. Louis. We love hearing about how well you take care of your son.
To the Cardinals, I hope you can work things out. I hope the new stadium is the greatest thing to happen to St. Louis since 1904. I hope we see a world series in St. Louis soon. I sincerely hope that Albert Pujols and all the Cardinals can regain your trust as an organization.
And I only hope that somebody reads this.
Fan: Why can't we sign any real free agents?
Owner: We have to spend most of our money right now on the stadium.
Fan: Why are you raising ticket prices so much?
Owner: Well the state didn't give us enough financing for the new stadium.
Fan: Why aren't we staying competitive with Houston and Cincinnati and Chicago?
Owner: We won't be able to free up enough money until the new stadium is paid for.
Fan: (muddled whimper of despair)
Owner: (maniacal laugh)
I can only hope that our new stadium doesn't end up with a crappy new name. I can just see it now: The brand new "Paul Allen is going to find a new and more exciting way to screw your and your family by raising cable prices because he paid a gagillion dollars to name it Charter Stadium Stadium." Gussie Busch would be rolling in his grave.
Well this all brings us to our newest concern facing the Cardinals, Albert Pujols' arbitration. I don't know where to start. I will save my rant on the evils of the arbitration system in baseball some other time though. I was hoping that when people though of the Cardinals they would think of the Gas House Gang, Stan The Man, the Wizard, and Albert Pujols. Things now are not looking so well on that front.
We all knew that it would cost the Cardinals a lot of money to pay Albert now that he is arbitration eligible. Mr. Pujols has seen a string of players come through the Cardinals farm system get traded away, from Placido Polanco to J.D. Drew to Eli Marrero. He has also recently seen the Cardinals seemingly let some of their role players just walk away for no good reason. It seems that he was just as surprised as I was when the Cardinals did not resign Eduardo Perez after he became our best bench player. Now Pujols is afraid that down the road the Cardinals would treat him the same way.
Now, I wish that I could speak for the organization, but as a fan I hope they are with me on this one. Albert is different than those other guys. J.D. and Eli had their injury struggles. Everyone has waited for them to reach their full potentials, but we can only wait so long. Eduardo hopefully will get a chance to show his stuff everyday for the hapless Devil Rays. Placido was a tough one to let go, but under the circumstances we did get the best third baseman in the game in return.
Albert however is different than them. He is the real deal. Now things do happen. Players do get hurt. Players like Don Mattingly or more recently Nomar Garciaparra seem to flatten out after injuries that stifled what could have been hall of fame careers. (Note: I am not closing the book yet on Nomar, but Boston almost did this off-season.)
Regardless, the Cardinals, Albert Pujols, and the fans have all bonded. We are a family. Albert, and his agent, and the Cardinals organization need to recognize that. The organization seemed to be doing their part by offering a 5 year, $55 million contract. Albert however turned it down, stating that he would not offer the Cardinals a "hometown discount" for his services because he does not trust them from a business perspective.
Maybe they deserve not to be trusted. Maybe baseball organizations as a whole deserve that fate, but I always hoped that maybe we were a little better than the average organization. But, of course, the Cardinals do not play their games in New York, or Los Angeles, or Chicago, or some other big city. They play in St. Louis. We obviously do not have as much money as those organizations, and we apparently have less because of the new stadium.
If a contract cannot be worked out between the Cardinals and Albert Pujols, and we end up in arbitration, I only hope that sometime over the next three years, before Pujols can become a free agent, that we can work things out.
Albert, we love you here. We love what you have done on the field. We love having you in St. Louis. We love hearing about how well you take care of your son.
To the Cardinals, I hope you can work things out. I hope the new stadium is the greatest thing to happen to St. Louis since 1904. I hope we see a world series in St. Louis soon. I sincerely hope that Albert Pujols and all the Cardinals can regain your trust as an organization.
And I only hope that somebody reads this.
Screamin' All Over This Town
Well, the New Year has arrived, and I do not know what to do with it. I cannot believe that this is my first post of the New Year, but things come and go too quickly.
...and now for something completely different.
The world of St. Louis sports is tumbling down in front of me.
First, the Cardinals blew their chances of making it to the post season, and now they have made no real big noise this off season. Give me Greg Maddux or give me death.
Second, after the season ending injuries to Al MacInnis and Barret Jackman, the Blues have no way of winning anything even mildly related to the Stanley Cup. Now they not only need one or two more top flight scorers to help Doug Weight on the second line, but now they need to shore up their defense too. And by the way, whatever happened to Brent Johnson, and who is Reinhard Divis? If Chris Pronger does not win the Norris trophy this year than there is no justice in the world of sports.
Third, this just in: the Mizzou men's basketball team sucks! Does Quin Snyder have another year of eligibility left? He was a point guard right? If Rickey Paulding and Arthur Johnson do not step it up NOW, Mizzou may be waiting outside the NCAA tournament. Has a team ranked in the top five during the preseason ever not made the tournament at all? This is scandalous.
Finally, Jeff Wilkins is the best kicker in the NFL right now. So maybe the farthest he can kick one is 50 yards. So what? Mr. Wilkins makes better tackles than any other kicker out there. Has any kicker made a more athletic, heads up play than the one Jeff made on that onside kick recovery during the playoff game? Unfortunately, he was the only consistent scoring threat we had this year. My apologies to Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce, but they do not throw passes to themselves. Should the Rams fire Mike Martz? No, especially not after a 12-4 season! Should the Rams get rid of Mark Bulger and Kurt Warner? Yes, Martz has lost confidence in Bulger, and the other players do not like playing for Warner. Why is Bobby April still with the team? I have no idea. Could we please get James "The Hammer" Hodgins back? God, I hope so.
I have to start a whole new paragraph to talk about the defense. Our defensive line needs help putting consistent pressure on the opposing quarterbacks. Maybe we need to draft better. Our top draft picks from the last two years, Damione Lewis and Jimmy Kennedy, are underachievers at best. Our top three linebackers, although I like all of them, cannot put together 16 solid games of football between the three of them, and our secondary is in shambles. Couldn't we get Aeneas Williams to play corner and free safety? Oh yeah, by the way, who is going to replace Lovie Smith?
Well at least Daryl Doran and the St. Louis Steamers are back in town! Isn't Daryl like 50 years old now? Did anyone know that the MISL All-Star game was going to be in St. Louis? Are there any players that anyone has ever heard of in this league?
(SCREAM)
...and now for something completely different.
The world of St. Louis sports is tumbling down in front of me.
First, the Cardinals blew their chances of making it to the post season, and now they have made no real big noise this off season. Give me Greg Maddux or give me death.
Second, after the season ending injuries to Al MacInnis and Barret Jackman, the Blues have no way of winning anything even mildly related to the Stanley Cup. Now they not only need one or two more top flight scorers to help Doug Weight on the second line, but now they need to shore up their defense too. And by the way, whatever happened to Brent Johnson, and who is Reinhard Divis? If Chris Pronger does not win the Norris trophy this year than there is no justice in the world of sports.
Third, this just in: the Mizzou men's basketball team sucks! Does Quin Snyder have another year of eligibility left? He was a point guard right? If Rickey Paulding and Arthur Johnson do not step it up NOW, Mizzou may be waiting outside the NCAA tournament. Has a team ranked in the top five during the preseason ever not made the tournament at all? This is scandalous.
Finally, Jeff Wilkins is the best kicker in the NFL right now. So maybe the farthest he can kick one is 50 yards. So what? Mr. Wilkins makes better tackles than any other kicker out there. Has any kicker made a more athletic, heads up play than the one Jeff made on that onside kick recovery during the playoff game? Unfortunately, he was the only consistent scoring threat we had this year. My apologies to Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce, but they do not throw passes to themselves. Should the Rams fire Mike Martz? No, especially not after a 12-4 season! Should the Rams get rid of Mark Bulger and Kurt Warner? Yes, Martz has lost confidence in Bulger, and the other players do not like playing for Warner. Why is Bobby April still with the team? I have no idea. Could we please get James "The Hammer" Hodgins back? God, I hope so.
I have to start a whole new paragraph to talk about the defense. Our defensive line needs help putting consistent pressure on the opposing quarterbacks. Maybe we need to draft better. Our top draft picks from the last two years, Damione Lewis and Jimmy Kennedy, are underachievers at best. Our top three linebackers, although I like all of them, cannot put together 16 solid games of football between the three of them, and our secondary is in shambles. Couldn't we get Aeneas Williams to play corner and free safety? Oh yeah, by the way, who is going to replace Lovie Smith?
Well at least Daryl Doran and the St. Louis Steamers are back in town! Isn't Daryl like 50 years old now? Did anyone know that the MISL All-Star game was going to be in St. Louis? Are there any players that anyone has ever heard of in this league?
(SCREAM)
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