Amalgamation

Well, lots of things have happened since my last entry. There are several things I'd like to talk about, so grab a snack and enjoy.

Redbird Rollercoaster: The Cardinals have put me on an absolute emotional rollercoaster during the last few weeks. Last weekend, the Cards took three of four from the first-place Brewers and showed signs of a potential comeback in the NL Central. They scratched their way back into two games and comfortably won another against the Brew Crew, and I was very excited about the quality of baseball I was seeing. The pitching was good (13 scoreless innings by the 'pen), the hitting was timely, and the Cards were showing an energy that fans haven't seen for quite some time.

Then, the Cardinals traveled to Pittsburgh with the opportunity to really gain some ground on the Brewers and Cubs, as they were taking on the Mets and Phillies respectively. St. Louis took game one, and things were looking very promising. And on the second day, Tony LaRussa sent Braden Looper to the mound, and God said, "Let there be multiple Pirate hits and runs." The Pirates saw Loopers fastballs, and they said the pitches were good. I couldn't resist putting this Bible reference in because I remember thinking that only divine intervention could possibly keep the Pirates from burning Looper for seven earned through four innings. The final score was 15-1 in favor of the mighty Bucs.

Game three between the Cards and Pirates went 11 innings, and the Pirates came out on top after a David Eckstein error allowed the the eventual winning run to reach base. At that point, I felt so alone. I thought to myself that the Cards could salvage the road trip by doing well against the Nationals -- I mean, they ARE the Nationals. Surely, I thought, the Cards could take three from the NATIONALS.

Game One: The Nationals win in the bottom of the 9th to give the Cards another walk-off loss.

Game Two: The Cards get mashed 12-1 by the Nats. Mike Maroth was laughable, giving up five runs in 2/3 of an inning. During his previous apperance, he gave up seven earned in 1.2 innings. His ERA is now over 11 with the Cards. I think I can finally see how he lost 21 games a few years ago.

Game Three: The Nats win 6-3, thus pretty much driving a nail into the Cards' coffin.

The only hope for St. Louis is to dominate their final series with the Cubs and Brewers, but given their recent play against two of the worst teams in the majors, I'm not too hopeful.

I'll now give my impressions on some of the milestons that were reached this past week.

Glavine wins number 300: Congrats to one of the best pitchers to ever throw a baseball. He's only the 5th lefty to ever win 300 games. I think he'll be the last pitcher for a long time, maybe even ever, to reach the 300 win mark. Randy Johnson is 16 away from 300, but he just had back surgery and might not ever pitch again. If Johnson doesn't do it, I think that may be the end of the line for 300-game winners. Mike Mussina has the most wins of any active pitcher behind Johnson, but he's only got 245. Pitchers just don't throw as often as they used to, and they come out of games earlier, thus giving them fewer decisions in games where the bullpen is relied upon to finish the job. Again, congrats to one of the classiest guys in the game today.

A-Rod hits number 500: I just hate that he had to do it in a Yankee uniform. I, along with most other followers of baseball, believe he will ultimately hit 800-plus homers IF he stays healthy. Motivation will also be another factor since he is making such a ridiculous amount of money so quickly. If he does become the all-time homerun king, I hope he's not still in a Yankee uniform. P.S. - I hate the Yanks.

Bonds hits homerun number 755: Baseball fans have known it was inevitable for quite some time now. So, how do I feel? Well, as a baseball lover, I'm deeply saddened that there has to be so much controversy over Bonds' accomplishments. I do appreciate the fact that he has hit 755 homerun, and I will continue to do so until he is found guilty of steroid use. Do I think he used them? Yes, but until he is actually proven guilty, I will appreciate his feats -- even if I have to really grin and bear it. People must still realize that strength does NOT equal homeruns, and much skill is still involved to hit a round ball with a round bat, squarely. That's the baseball purist in me; however, if he is proven guilty, I will lose the respect that I have for him right now. I just wish it didn't have to happen like this.