LIVE From Busch Stadium!

When you get an email from St. Louis Cardinals offering you free tickets, food, drink, and a chance to mingle and meet other writers and bloggers, you would have to be absolutely insane to pass it up, right?

We are here!

We thought so too.

Erika and I are currently hanging out in the Ozzie Smith suite at Busch Stadium with some of our favorite people, despite the fact that we just met many of them today or last night. I think there are still stars in our eyes from getting to meet so many people and do the things we have been able to do so far, and it is currently only the end of the second inning!

We were ushered in through a nice area with conference rooms and an area to meet and talk with various members of the Cardinals front office, including John Mozeliak. Mo chatted for a bit about various topics, then took a few questions from all of us, which we greatly appreciated. While I am sure that he skirted around some questions and did not give answers to the satisfaction of some members in attendance, I feel like we got a decent amount of information.

Chattin' it up with Mo

When asked about Pujols, we did get the company line of, "We tried really hard to get a deal done, but negotiations have been shut down as of right now, and we do not anticipate to bring them back up until the end of the season. At that point we feel confident that we can still get a deal in place, but we have to do what is in the best interests of the club." What did you expect?

When asked about the status of Wainwright's contract, in light of him being on the disabled list and not able to fulfill the stipulations of his contract extension, Mo said that the team had not as of yet had extensive discussions with the Waino camp, but that he has certainly earned the right to all that and more. Good answer! (Yes, I am wearing my Waino shirt. What did you expect?)

An interesting question to me was one about if he as a general manger ever looked back at guys that he had traded away, a form of "buyer's remorse" as it was. He said he did not, as it wouldn't really do him any good anyway (and then joked, "Isn't that what the media is for?").

When asked if he had any plans to get more involved with social media, namely all of us, Mo just kinda of went, "Well... no." At least he's honest! He said it is definitely a conversation he can have in the future, but he had not as of yet.

We were here!

I know there were other questions and answers, lots of information he passed out, but those are the clear ones for me. After Mo took off we learned about the new dynamic pricing program, which changes the prices of tickets based on the demand for each individual game. We also talked about about the 1120 program, which gets you a pair of vouches for $11.20 that will then get you into the game that night. The trick of it is that based on the game that day and the availability of tickets, your seats could be anywhere from field boxes to standing room only. It was at this point that I realized (again... still... some more) that I need to move to St. Louis so I can take advantage of programs like that!

A few other random pics, since it's now the fourth and I actually want to, you know, watch some of the game...

We met Fredbird!

Jim "the Cat" Hayes with Daniel Shoptaw from C70

Our view. No complaints!

There will be more later, but it might not be until tonight. Enjoy the game! GO CARDS!

Making Peace with the Hot Stove

When my own mother called last week, legitimately worried that I might be burning all my Cardinal gear in a big bonfire out back, I realized that my previous blog post may have been a tad…. ummm, overly dramatic. 

I do continue to randomly spout off (to anyone within earshot) that Mr. Mozeliak and the Cardinal ownership are dumber than a box of rocks if they dump ol’ Brendan and his magic glove, but I have adopted a few mental strategies that (so far) are helping me survive each day with that big stupid boulder hanging over my head.

Happy Thought #1: 

Maybe this is all just a clever Cardinal experiment created to motivate Brendan to step up his effort. You know, push him harder to fix whatever is broken and get him to apply himself. Let the Boog think he has to fight for his job and watch the magic return.  After all, a little friendly competition (disguised as brutal rejection) is good for everyone, right? 

Happy Thought #2:

As hard as it is for me to spit this out, maybe it is best for Brendan if he gets the heck out of TLR territory. Perhaps the pressure of the Albert thunder grumbles, the Carp death-stare and the LaRussa doghouse are the reason for Ryan’s performance issues at the plate.  That’s a lot of pressure for a quirky young ballplayer from California, regardless of his defensive wizardry.

Aside:  Blame this thought process on a sappy little poster from my childhood bedroom wall. It was of a stunning black horse running majestically through a field of yellow wildflowers. “If you love something set it free” was printed in the corner.  (Looking back on it now, the horse was a poor choice.  Who is going to set a horse free? It should have been a chipmunk or a squirrel or something…)  

Anyway, if we truly love our Brendan - and hope to continue to enjoy his acrobatic athleticism on the field - we may indeed need to set him free. Let him go play with a team who will appreciate him in all his mustached goofiness.  

A California team would be best. With an outfield full of yellow wildflowers.

Happy Thought #3:

That Ryan Theriot guy is kinda cute. ;)

More Happy Thoughts...

And of course there are amazingly awesome Hot Stove contributions from wonderful Cardinal bloggers that make me smile and forget my Brendan worries.  

Today Daniel over at Cardinal70.com composed "A Cardinal Christmas Carol".  It is *amazing* incredibly funny stuff... and yes, Brendan's got a part in it.  So, if you suffered through this dribbly post here, consider yourself rewarded - here's the link to a future Cardinal Holliday classic (yeah... I meant to spell it like that.)  ;) 

http://www.cardinal70.com/a-cardinal-christmas-carol.php 

psssst... Mom (if you are reading this): See? I am doing just fine.

I am making peace with the Hot Stove, and Hubby has hidden the matches.  

Your weekend project: the chance to be Mo

The Cardinals are on a roll after the All-Star break, winning Thursday and Friday against the Dodgers and scoring 15 runs in the two games while giving up only 5. Also on Thursday, general manager John Mozeliak was given a three-year contract extension. That will keep him on as GM through 2013 with an option for 2014, which means he has some pretty important decisions coming up.

So, as a project this weekend, let’s pretend you’re Mo. Two questions for you:

1. What moves, if any, would you make in the next two weeks before the trade deadline? Who would you trade, from the major or minor leagues, and for who?

2. What are your plans for Albert Pujols?

Let's hear your thoughts!