BASEBALL - WEEK 5
Big game for the Blues in about 3 hours! TOB is hopeful, but not expecting the series to come back to St. Louis for a seventh game. On a positive note, if they do lose, TOB can get rid of this rodent growing on his face that has officially started scaring children. TOB is not sure how the playoff beard situation got started, but it is a great way to be lazy and look like a bum without consequence! The Blues are in an alleged transition year, going this far has been quite a treat, and it has distracted much of St. Louis from a difficult to watch Cardinals team. Hopefully by the time the Blues are eliminated (could be today, could be a month), the Cardinals are closer to back on track and TOB won’t have to text his friends angrily for 3-4 hours every night. Ah, one can dream. And now, a word from our sponsor:
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Various Team TOB observations:
St. Louis Cardinals: It appears the Cardinals are just going to be about an 85 win team, and there isn’t much they can do about it. After a terrible start, then an 8-1 stretch, they are settling in to one step forward, one step back which will likely define the season. A few good wins in a row, then Wainwright looks painfully ineffective. Leake, Lynn, and Wacha appear to be very solid #2 starters as expected. Martinez looked very sharp in his last outing, which should continue. The problem is, Wainwright will remain in the rotation until his arm falls off (usually TOB is very cruel about nostalgia, but in this case TOB concedes that Waino has earned it). The injury bug has started to pop up, which is never a good thing, but with the Cardinals having a bunch of basically replacement level players, it shouldn’t affect them too much unless it hits Carpenter or Molina. Begrudgingly, TOB has to admit Wong is playing much better, but he is still an idiot on the bases. Club Randy (Randall Grichuk) has had a few good days, he needs to get more consistent at the plate, but his fielding has drastically improved over last year. Keep it going Randy!
New York Yankees: Aaron Judge is a huge man. Hard to believe he is able to make such good contact with those long arms, am I right Jason Heyward (nice!)? Hicks, Ellsbury, Castro, they are all playing well. Yanks could be building for the future and winning now. Glad I took the over on 84.5…
Mark Reynolds: Who knew he was still in the league? TOB certainly didn’t. Having a great year for the surprise Rockies, Reynolds is already at 10 HR and sporting an OPS over 1.000. Despite a low batting average and some shaky defense, he was a really fun player to watch for his one year in STL. TOB is rooting for you Marky Mark, keep it up.
Pittsburgh Pirates: One of TOB’s sleepers to start the season, the Pirates just cannot get going. The Marte suspension hurts, and McCutcheon seems to be past his prime (weird fall from grace he had, perennial MVP candidate just a few years ago, he appears to be over the hill at just 30 years old). They have time to turn it around, but it seems they are destined for about 70 wins and more disappointment.
Chris Sale: 2-2 with a 1.38 ERA, Sale is having a fantastic first season in Boston. Unfortunately he is receiving very little run support. It’s only a matter of time before he starts cutting things up (TOB predicted Sale would lose his mind at some point during the season, this prediction is not looking good. Fortunately, there was no way for TOB to bet on this.).
Heyward vs. Fowler Update:
Heyward: .697 OPS through 28 games (100 AB). Starting to revert back to last years’ numbers. It’s been a rough week for Dexter. Still very little power, even though he’s getting good pitches to hit in that line-up.
Fowler: .707 OPS through 26 games (100 AB). Fowler has been fairly consistent after a slow start. Took a bit of a step back this week, but is trending in the right direction. Well, except for the shoulder strain that has kept him sidelined for a couple of days. Damnit!
Manfred Mann’s League of The Blind Update:
Silky Johnson’s Player Haters (Cubs, Yankees, Tigers, Angels, Braves Padres): Wins – 87 / Pace – 489. Still at the .500 pace. Braves and Padres are what they are, Angels could be a pleasant surprise if they stay hot.
Dexter’s Laboratory (Red Sox, Rangers, Cardinals, Royals, Diamondbacks, Reds): Wins – 85 / Pace – 472. Rangers are a big disappointment, Diamondbacks are carrying the load at this point.
Synderhard-on for Kershaw (Dodgers, Mets, Blue Jays, Pirates, Rays, White Sox): Wins – 82 / Pace – 455. The Mets are in shambles. Syndergaard is hurt, Harvey is getting sent home for violating team rules.
Blake Street Bombers (Nationals, Giants, Rockies, Orioles, Brewers, Twins): Wins – 97 / Pace – 542. This could be a runaway for the Bombers, all teams at least .500 except the Giants, who should turn it around before too long.
Cano Corn (Astros, Indians, Mariners, Marlins, Phillies, Athletics): Wins – 84 / Pace – 472. Rough week, but the top end talent should keep Cano Corn solidly in second.
Best Moment of the Year (to date):
The Mets actually won a game, how about that!? How can they make that embarrassing…here’s how:
http://nypost.com/2017/05/06/mets-accidentally-tweet-picture-of-dildo/
What’s Annoying TOB this Week:
The Budweiser Superbowl commercial allegedly caused some controversy since it was pro-immigration. TOB doesn’t actually recall any controversy, seemed like a classic strawman argument. However, upon further review, I reject the premise of the commercial. One of the key moments is when Adolphus Busch is walking down a street and someone says, “You don’t look like you’re from around here.” The problem with that is, he looks just like everyone else walking down the street! He’s a brown haired, brown eyed guy in a goofy hat, pretty well fits the time period they are portraying. They could have said, “You don’t sound like you’re from around here,” or some other derogatory comment. The one thing he does have in common with everyone in the commercial, is that he looks exactly the same.
Best Comment by an Announcer (to date):
Prior to getting hurt, the Cardinals moved the struggling Stephen Piscotty to the 2nd spot in the lineup. While mentioning this, Jim Edmonds stated, “Well, they have a lot of great athletes in that line-up, can hit guys pretty well anywhere.” Really? Who are these great athletes you speak of, Jimmy? Yadi Molina? Jedd Gyrko? Matt Carpenter? Matt Adams? Jhonny Peralta? Sure, Fowler and Wong are good athletes, but other than that it’s a bunch of lumbering guys who do the best they can to not trip on their way to first base.
Raging Bulls Update:
One game into the season, the Bulls took a tough loss on a walk off hit by the Cardinals. Going to be a bit of a transition year for the Bulls with the starting 3-4-5 hitters from last season out of the lineup. We will need to play better defense and string together some big innings to keep up with the Cardinals and Red Sox. That is, if we ever play again, apparently it isn’t going to stop raining until July.
Game Blouses Update:
Solid victories with limited line-ups the last few weeks. A loss or two would probably help prior to the playoffs, too many times we have gone in undefeated and bounced in the first round. Will need more big kicks from Mike McClelland and smooth base running from Phil to keep things going.
Donut Shop Talk:
TOB’s father has a donut shop in south St. Louis city, “St. Louis Hills Donut Shop” at the corner of Hampton and Loughborough. Great donuts, not a lot of sports knowledge by the random customers who like to chat about the Cardinals and Blues. Occasionally TOB will hop in for a cup of coffee and a cheese flip, listening to the ramblings of borderline insane people. This section will chronicle some of those conversations.
Last week the big frustration is with Matheny not playing Jose Martinez. Also, Stephen Piscotty was the worst signing the Cardinals have made in a while. Well, fortunately for them, Fowler and Piscotty got hurt, so Martinez started. Unfortunately, he pulled his groin in the 1st inning, so insert Matt Adams. That’s good I suppose, more athletes!
-Tony on Ball
