Signs of Life

Nine games in the early 2011 season have left our Cardinals floundering.  Some fans have already thrown in the towel in disgust, heading off in search of less painful entertainment options.  But yesterday, others who donned their “true fan” label as a badge of courage were rewarded to what we can only hope will be more typical (winning) Cardinal baseball.

The record is not pretty at 3 wins and 6 losses, but the Cards have had some strikes against them.  The most obvious has been lack of run support coupled with costly fielding errors.  Leading the league in double plays (not the defensive kind) hasn’t helped much either.  And then there’s Albert…. With a string of unAlbertlike games and a batting average of  .143,  is it any wonder that Cardinal fans are wondering if we all fell down the rabbit hole?

There are, however, signs of life.  Slugger Matt Holliday returned yesterday, 9 days after his emergency appendectomy, showing he was back and ready for action.  David Freese belted his first homerun and collected his first 3 rbi of the season, helping the Cardinals score their inaugural “6 serious runs.”  Kyle Lohse, showing strength and command, went 8 full innings with no walks, 5 strikeouts and only 5 hits.  He threw 96 pitches, 65 for strikes.  Couple that with previous stellar early outings by Jaime Garcia and Chris Carpenter (whose records are unfortunately tarnished by lack of run support) and a strong showing from Kyle McClellan - and we have reason to hope this is just an unlucky/slow start.

Two of my favorite bloggers have taken the high road from all the grumblings and cussing about the comedy of errors we have witnessed lately from our hobbling redbirds.  If you need to be nudged away from the ledge, I highly recommend stopping by their sites for a positive reality check.

Bob at On the Outside Corner posts “There Must Be A Pony In There Somewhere”

And Mark at Retrosimba reminds us of the many, many years that our “Cards Turned Bad Starts Into Great Seasons.” 

Sure, one good game does not a rally make.  But the Cardinals are not dead and buried.  So chin up, Cardinal Nation.  There are signs of life!  ;)

The boys continue their western road trip tonight against the Diamondbacks with Kyle McClellan on the mound at 8:40 CT.  You never know what baseball magic you may see.  So tune in with us and watch the rally continue!

Go Cards!!

The Berkman Bandwagon

Mark your calendars:  the date was April 4^th.  Lance Berkman made it into my inner circle of Cardinal love. 

Lance Berkman had a clean slate with me.  I knew he was a former Houston Astro, but that was about it.  (The “new baseball fan” status still gives me an excuse for my unfamiliarity with everything not Cardinal-related.)  The Cardinals picked him up in the off-season and the first things I hear about him are 1) Big Puma 2) Fat Elvis and 3) bad knees….. not exactly a glowing report to hang your cap on, Lance.  ;)

Being a fan of our up-and-coming babybirds and pulling for those young guys to get their due chance with the big club, I am not a huge fan of Tony LaRussa’s propensity to favor new-to-me veteran additions to the roster.  Sure, those veterans have experience…. but I don’t remember any of it (new baseball fan excuse.)  So those guys have to give me a reason to love them.  They have to show me some heart, hustle like their job depends on it or at least have a personality that makes me forget that they’re blocking the babybird pipeline to the Majors.

 

Last night, Lance Berkman had all three.  I was shocked to see him tear around the bases in a hit and run, ending up at 3^rd!  Bad knees?  They sure looked to be working well to me.  Then the Fox Sports camera (and microphone) caught Berkman as he headed to the dugout, smiling ear to ear, stop at the steps to shout a heads-up to Skip Schumaker, warning that the pitcher was throwing inside.  Big points to FSMW for showing that exchange.  Personality and teamwork on display makes me happy.

Add to that the (boring) stats from last night that Berkman drew two walks in his first two at bats and hit a rbi single to help spark hope in the almost-rally of the 8^th inning and Lance has earned himself a spot in my heart.  Fellow United Cardinals Blogger Christine Coleman was quicker to the Berkman bandwagon than I was.  She pointed out to me at the game on Sunday how quirkily entertaining it is to watch Lance nervously walk in little circles in the outfield after every pitch.  (Quirky works for me…. See: Brendan Ryan.)   

So, while I was warned that I would love Berkman this season because he had a “great personality,” I stubbornly held out for proof… and spunk.  Welcome to the club, Lance Berkman.  You’ve earned a new fan.  (Mr. Theriot, I am still waiting.)

The Cardinals did end up with another loss last night.  They are now 1-3 in 2011. (Note: the Cardinal win came on Sunday while the United Cardinal Bloggers were in attendance at the game – not that that matters, but I think it might?)  David Freese wasn’t feeling the love yesterday.  He went 0-4 and has a batting average of .154 which is still better than Pujols’ batting average (now at .125.)  Aren’t early season statistics fun?  They don’t mean much, but yet we all want to make something out of them.  Brendan Ryan is batting .083 for the Mariners right now if you were curious  ;)

And of course I have to mention Hunky Holliday: On March 31^st, Matt had a power explosion with 3 hits, a homerun and 2 RBIs.  The very next day Holliday was in the hospital for an emergency appendectomy.  Then, 3 days later reports come out (yesterday) that Matt asked to be kept off the 15 day disabled list because he believes he would be able to return before then.  Superman?  Possibly.  Stud?  Definitely!  ;)

late edit:  link to FSMW video with Hunky talking about his surgery and recovery:  click HERE.

The Cardinals take on the Pirates again tonight at 7:15 CT with Kyle McClellan on the mound.  I feel a win.  Go Cards!!  ;)

P.S.  Hey Angela, I am working on that post about all the fun from the United Cardinal Bloggers (UCB) event at Busch on Sunday---with pictures… promise! ;) 

Feeling Silver And Gold

Pardon me for a minute as I wipe away the cobwebs that I've unintentionally allowed to pile up around my little section of this site lately. Real life and such, you know.

Gold Gloves came out two days ago and Silver Sluggers yesterday, and I was borderline giddy to see so many Cardinal boys rolling through the lists. I mean, do you realize that it's already been over a month since we last saw the boys of Busch? I'm sad just thinking about it! Suddenly though some of the favorites are in the news, and people have more to talk about besides the non-news of Pujols' contract negotiations or which players might or might not get traded in all the Hot Stove chatter (Erika can't take any more talk like this!!!).

First up, the Gold Gloves (Derrick Goold has all the numbers-y stuff here):

For Albert, he takes home his second GG, after picking up his first four years ago in that distant memory known as the 2006 championship year. Watching Albert play first is like watching a coiled spring that is about to *boing* and fly across the room (I teach middle school - this is a daily occurrence). He literally snaps at the ball sometimes, diving to get a ball that he had no business getting to, making crazy picks out of the dirt when the defense is just hurling junk at him (No offense boys, but did you look at what happened at third after Freese went down? I saw a lot of 'YIKES' throws this year). My absolute favorite play though is when he and Yadi have that crazy ESP thing going that allows them to pick guys off of first with no real signal that I've been able to discern.

Speaking of our GG catcher, Yadi never fails to impress. His cannon of an arm gunned down half the runners that even attempted to go off of him, but most teams are too smart to even try. His numbers don't even look that gaudy when compared to the league leaders in terms of number of runners gunned down, but that's also because those catchers had probably twice the chances and allowed three times as many runners to advance safely. Not quite fair to match up the counting numbers then. The fact is that you could rotate most of the lineup (minus Albert and Holliday) in and out and not notice just too terribly much when you combine defense and offense. No Yadi? Yikes. People noticed that. To be fair, Jason LaRue, Matt Pagnozzi and Bryan Anderson didn't get a chance to log a lot of innings, but when they were out there, people took note.

The question that was posed to me (beyond the one I thought myself that had something to do with Brendan of course) was this: "What did your boy (Adam Wainwright) do to not be deserving of the award this year that he picked up for the first time last year?"

*shrug* I dunno. Guess I hadn't really thought about it. The Gold Glove awards are kind of a 'win one and keep winning until you retire or spend the year on the DL' type thing. Non-New York loving AL fans are probably still seeing smoke come out of their ears trying to comprehend how Derek Jeter picked up the GG this year. He's not the top defensive shortstop in the league anymore. He is the star power, and he is the incumbent. Case closed. But in Adam's defense (get it? defense? never mind), if there was one award he was going to pick up this offseason, that would not be the one I would have chosen. Still waiting on the Cy to be announced of course, but I'm not going to be surprised at all if/when he loses to Roy Halladay. Dude's a beast.

Nope. Not talking about Brendan. This isn't the same day and age where you can hit for peanuts and glove like Ozzie and win stuff, especially when you don't play on a coast. If he was going to lose, I've made peace with losing to Tulo. It's a defense award, but you just can't win it when you hit that badly.

On to the Silver Slugger. You know, I've never been one to get riled up about Silver Sluggers. I don't even get how these awards are chosen. Some are voted on by peers, some by writers, some by managers and coaches. What a mess. The BCS doesn't make any sense, but at least it uses a common algorithm every week.

*ahem* I digress.

King Albert picked up his sixth (third in a row) Silver Slugger, and people almost sound surprised about it. I mean, yes, obviously Joey Votto had a really really great year this year. People are still talking about him winning the MVP award. I'm not entirely sure myself if I could have written down Albert's name over Votto's for MVP this year, and that's saying something. The word 'impartial' is not in my vocabulary when it comes to having to not pick sides and one side is my favorite team. I want my boy to win. I'm glad Albert won. It means he has the offense and defensive awards, now wouldn't it be a trip if he loses the MVP?

Holliday picked up his fourth Silver Slugger. In all honesty, talks of his 'clutch' performance are beyond old. The Cardinals opened up their wallets and brought in a great player. The great player played like he was supposed to. Some people howled every time he couldn't bring Albert home after an IBB, but there were a lot of them! You can't expect anyone to be able to get a hit every time the guy on front of you gets on base. It just does not work that way. Matt Holliday earned this one.

These three guys aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Just writing about them again I'm ready to see them all out there every day playing.

Winter is going to be cruel. Even all this silver and gold, while making me smile more than a little, cannot help the days tick off fast enough! Maybe I'll post again soon... or at least make sure a month doesn't zip on by again!

Stand For Stan Day (& good-bye 2010)

Courtney and I with our Flat Stan's.  10.2.10

Saturday, October 2^nd, 2010 was “Stand For Stan” Day at Busch Stadium. Having decided a few weeks ago that Courtney and I needed to go to one last game for the 2010 season, we thought going to Stand For Stan Day would be the best idea. We know that everyone was able to see the awesome ceremony on TV during the middle of the 6^th inning, but being there was an unbelievable experience. I have seen several other tributes to Stan Musial throughout the years, but this was the first one I have been to that was all about The Man. As the top of the sixth inning came to an end, John Ulett announced that it was time to stand as Stan Musial was about to make his way around the warning track. The music – like from the triumphant climax of your favorite sports movie – began to play and I grabbed my camera and handed Courtney one of our Flat Stan the Man's. We stood to join the rest of the crowd in waving them and cheering as The Man entered from the right field corner. I noticed right off that all of the guys in both the Cardinal's and Rockies dugout were all standing out in front of it; our guys with their own Flat Stan's and some of the Rockies had them too! Then Courtney directed my attention to the bullpen. All of the guys in the bullpen were standing on the fence on their tippy-toes waving their Flat Stan's at Stan Musial as he rounded the warning track. I almost cried. It was the cutest thing I think I had ever seen, and knowing how much personality some of the guys in the bullpen have, it was almost like they were all little kids again. I am starting to tear up thinking about it now. Stan continued to round the outfield and each section roared with cheers as he passed. Once Stan got to the Cardinal Dugout, he shook hands with every single player, and several people around us all said at the same time “Oh, look! There's Red!” as he shook hands with Mr. Schoendienst. We couldn't help but hope it would last longer. No words were spoken, no speeches were made, no pause in the action – just a tribute to the greatest Cardinal to ever wear the uniform, and it was perfect.

The bullpen wave their Flat Stan's at Stan Musial.

The St. Louis Cardinals Organization has been campaigning all season to convince President Barack Obama that Stan “The Man” Musial should be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom – the highest civilian honor. 

The organization has done a fantastic job with this campaign. The Flat Stan The Man picture that every member of Cardinal Nation could print off their computers, take with them wherever they went this summer and then post pictures on the Cardinal's website was pure genius. I surely hope that their efforts were not in vein. Stan Musial most certainly deserves this honor as his character is not only a true representation of the Cardinal's organization but also as a stand-up human being.

Stan finishes up his trip around
the stadium.

Throughout the game, everything had to do with Stan “The Man”; the word puzzle of the day, the vision test, the highlight videos of poignant moments in his career on the scoreboard between every half-inning. And while this was obviously the main attraction, the Cardinals also paid tribute to Ernie Hays, retiring organist, throughout the game and Jay Randolph before the game. If you think about it, kind of bittersweet considering the season we just went through. But, like anything else, the Cardinal's did a great job in recognizing those two as well. While Jay may not have always got everything right this year, he had an amazing career and I respect the job he did. As for Ernie Hays – one of the nicest people you will ever meet. Courtney and I met him on the metrolink after a game a few years back and he was the sweetest man. He let us bug him about his job and explained to us how very few organists are left in major league ballparks. I surely hope that whoever fills Ernie's bench next year will be able to live up to his standards. We will miss you, Ernie!

The walk-off "beating" of Matt Holliday

To wrap it up, the Cardinals ended their season on a 5 game winning streak and winning 7 of their last 8. It is frustrating (the word of the season apparently) at the same time to see the team win 5 in a row after a dismal season, but I will take it and move forward. Thankfully, Courtney and I were able to end our season on a high note; a walk-off 1-0 win in the 11^th inning on a base hit by Matt Holliday and an infield beating by his teammates. One of my favorite things to see – and Courtney and I have seen a couple of those this year. While we looked back and asked each other “where was that the last couple months?”, we know that we have so much to look forward to next year. Though the majority of the starters in the last 3 games were playing in Memphis most of the year, I am very pleased with how this team finished. The 2011 Cardinals may look different, but one thing is sure; we will love them no matter what.

The 2010 season is over, and I am proud of the Cardinals for not giving up completely. Welcome to the offseason, friends...its gonna be a long winter. We have each other to make it through. 

Girl Talk - The Best Part

Oh, dear Cardinal Fans, our season has come to an end.  Our Redbirds played 162 games.  The good, the bad and the ugly all combined for a final 86-76 record. The Cardinals ended the 2010 season winning 5 straight games, including a sweep of the Rockies to finish in 2nd place in the National League Central.  It was not the most glorious of seasons, but we certainly had some fun along the way.

It is Monday and we are sticking with our 'Girl Talk' round table format for another week. Today we are looking for those golden moments of the 2010 Cardinal season.

This week's topic:
  What one event/game/player was the highlight of the 2010 Cardinal season (for you)?

Cadence:  I have enjoyed plenty this season – yes, hard to believe with the not-so-stellar season but I believe there have been plenty of good things too. I could repeat my first post with CDD saying my favorite thing this season was fan photo day and getting pics with all those players, but I won't.

Instead, I will say, quite simply, that Jaime Garcia has been the best part of the 2010 Cardinal Season for me.

"Jaime Garcia celebrates his 3-hit complete game shut-out
 on August 22nd against the Giants."
St. Louis Post Dispatch

Not really a surprise that he was as good as he was. When we saw him briefly in 2008, I thought he had some good potential. Now, to see what a great job he has done – coming back strong from Tommy John surgery and stepping up as the #3 starter – I have been blown away! Garcia has definitely been a bright spot in a dismal 2010 Cardinal season; going 13-8 with a 2.70 era (ranking 4th among starters behind Johnson, Waino & Halladay) and putting up his first-career complete game shut-out (which I was in attendance for). One moment in particular that I felt he stepped up was August 10^th in Cincinnati; being the starting pitcher during the game of the infamous brawl, he was able to compose himself and pitch like a veteran as the Cardinals went on to win. The kid is good, and I can't wait to see more from him in 2011. 

Erika:  Matt Holliday.  Last year during the offseason I spent far too much emotional energy hoping and fretting about the chances that Holliday would be a Cardinal in 2010.  A slugging, handsome Oklahoma boy like that was destined to join my dear Cardinals.  He signed.  I was in heaven.  

After watching Holliday struggle to find his groove early on, it was a pleasant relief to see his bat catch fire in the 2nd half.  So many impatient fans were disappointed when ol' Matty was struggling offensively at the start of the season.  Shoot, even Holliday himself was frustrated.  But since the All Star break he has been the more consistent powerhouse we were hoping for.  

Hunky Swing - photo by Erika

Since mid July Holliday has hit .331 with a .413 on-base percentage and a .541 slugging percentage.  In interviews Matt has frequently referred to the baseball season balancing itself out, stating every player goes through phases.  Personally, I really savored Hunky's hot phase here at the end.  Without a doubt, Holliday has been my bright spot.  He played with 100% hustle in the outfield all the way to the final out, and (the gals knew this was coning...) watching Matt 'Hunky' Holliday dig in at the plate has been the highlight of my 2010 Cardinal season!

Jacqueline:  Nobody does it bettah, or as I like to say he’s like buttah! Albert Pujols is simply the best player I will ever watch play the game. In 2010 he was without a doubt the best part of the season. Yes, we have grown to expect it. Yes, we are spoiled by his stellar play. But I refuse to hold that against him. 

photo Credit: Chris Lee, St. Louis Post Dispatch

Since I grew up hearing about Stan the Man and Gibby, I cling to the miracle that I have Albert Pujols to watch every day. But ya don’t have to take my word for it. Here’s the individual stats that matter. I’m not gonna bore you non stat heads with a lot of numbers. I’m just gonna tell you his ranking in the National League in those categories that make him an MVP year in year out. Albert ranks 1^st  in HRS, RUNS, RBI and is tied for 1^st in SLG and WAR. He ranks 2^nd in OBP, OPS,  and WPA. He ranks 6^th in BA and 19^th in CLUTCH. All these stats are courtesy of our friends at FanGraphs. Here’s the link http://bit.ly/dmTSn8 if you want to peruse them or need a description of what WAR, WPA and CLUTCH mean. We all know Albert is so much more than numbers. As I watched the Stand for Stan ceremony yesterday, there is no doubt in my mind, there will be one just like it for Albert one day. He is now and forever a Cardinal. I’m verklempt. “Discuss amooangst yooaselves”.

Angela:  Get ready for something really sappy (this doesn't happen very often), but for me, the best part of the 2010 season was the people. I'm sure that I'll remember the players and I will probably remember the disappointment of the season overall, but this season I got to attend eight Cardinal games (a personal high) in three different cities with people that are closer than close (family members), friends that I hold dear to my heart, and thanks to the miracle of Twitter and this blog, fans that I never would have had the chance to meet otherwise. I saw some fun games (Stavinoha's HR off Trevor Hoffman in MIL), some unexpected games (Hawksworth's nice start in the sweltering KC heat), and a laugher or two (18-4 on CDD night at Busch). In just those three examples I met or spent time with 8 different Cardinal fans to the core. 

The players might be the ones that make the games happen, but the fans make it the experience. Thank you for sharing it with me. I hope to meet more of you in 2011!

Those are our 2010 highlights.  Add your own in the comments below!  We'd love to read 'em... reliving the good stuff helps ease the pain of *gulp* the reality that the season is over.  =)

Thanks for reading!

Sincerely,

The Cardinal Diamond Diary Gals

A little perspective: no matter what, it’s the team (and the game) we love

A note from Ang...
Are the boys going to make a run at a playoff spot? They continue their absolutely baffling ways of beating good teams and losing to bad ones, so I suppose if the boys play winning teams the rest of the year (they don't - darn) it's always possible. Either way, we're not giving up hope yet!!!
We have a surprise for all of you - not one, but TWO new writers! Cadence and Courtney Rippeto are a fabulous sister duo located in the St. Louis area, and have thankfully accepted our offer to join the team. More about them will be coming in the next week, but their big premiere is here now talking about their experience with photo day!
Enjoy and show them some love so they come back next week! ;)
Go Cards!
Ang


Entering the weekend 8 games behind the Reds, we took the time to enjoy the Friday and Saturday Cards/Reds games for what they were worth; photo day on the field and booing Brandon Phillips.

Courtney and I attended the first game of the Cards/Reds series on Friday night and we just knew that we were looking forward to hearing the roar of boos that Brandon Phillips would receive from the adoring Cardinal Nation after he ran his mouth in Cincy during the previous series. We all know what happened there. Needless to say, he was greeted with boos every time he came to the plate and every time he even came near to the ball. Even the foul ball that he got a piece of was thrown back on to the field. As much as I HATE it when that happens (hello, we are NOT Cubs fans), I had to applaud the guy who threw the ball back. Probably one of the greatest things I have seen. I think he would agree that it was worth him getting thrown out over. :)

Obviously, if you watched any of the games, you would know that the “love” for Brandon Phillips continued all weekend. Even the Reds fans sitting next to us on Saturday said “I hope that he gets a hit so it will shut them up.” HAHA. Sorry, Reds fans, but the hate will never disappear for Phillips, and he brought that upon himself.

To end Friday night, after another fantastic Jaime Garcia performance, Busch Stadium had another fireworks night. And after getting to see the Mizzou Tigers marching band battle the Fighting Illini marching band before the game (Go Mizzou!), it was quite a great end to an awesome night. We couldn't wait to get to Saturday's game.

While almost everyone else was focusing on the fact that “the season is over”, we were busy enjoying a day we had been looking forward to since early this season – yes, I bought the tickets in May. Saturday, September 4^th was fan photo day on the field at Busch Stadium. Having missed out last year, I was determined to go this year and enjoy it to the fullest. (Courtney’s friend, Laura, came with us – so that is who the blonde is in all of our pics!) Courtney had gone last year and I knew I couldn't miss out. Although my fave (Luddy), who I had been looking forward to seeing earlier in the season, wasn't there, I still couldn't wait to go!

We knew we were in a great position to get close to the players, having placed ourselves in kind-of a corner of the roped off area, we were certain there would be opportunity for us to at least try and get the attention of our favorites. We had NO idea what was about to happen! First the coaches made their way around the field, waving to the fans and being very courteous. Then, the first round of players entered the field; Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, and Jon Jay. Those three almost ran around the field so quick, I forgot they were even there! But, I guess since they were starters, it was understandable considering pre-game rituals and superstitions.

As more players proceeded to enter the field (Brendan Ryan, Randy Winn, Matt Pagnozzi, Nick Stavinoha – we called him Dr. Thunder and he got a kick out of it!, Pedro Feliz, Bryan Anderson) we saw Matt Holliday coming our way. Somehow, we got his attention and lured him over to take a photo with us! It was so surreal that we couldn't believe it...he even had his hand on my shoulder! Pretty amazing. Needless to say, we were so stunned in our excellent convincing skills that we thought we would try it with other players as the rounded the field.

Aaron Miles was one in the next group to come by. We talked to him for a second and he even stopped in his tracks to read my shirt, “It Ain't Right til it's Wainwright”, and he gave me the thumbs up (the pics below are him reading my shirt, and then posing for us) and told me he liked it. In fact several of the guys really liked my shirt; too bad Waino was pitching and he didn't participate in photo day, so he couldn't see the shirt like I had hoped. Dennys Reyes and Fernando Salas came around next. Again, very nice, but kinda scooted along without stopping to talk.

The group of Felipe Lopez, Trever Miller, and Ryan Franklin were the next to walk by. Trever Miller was a hit with this crazy curly wig he wore (which he explained on the Sunday pre-game show to be a way to loosen up the guys and make them laugh in the clubhouse – it worked with the fans too!). While Lopez and Miller were stopped taking pictures with other fans, I chatted up Ryan Franklin asking if he would take a photo with us. He replied “Sure! Just a second, ok?” What was he waiting for? He was rounding up the other guys to come over and take a photo with us! Totally awesome of him.

At this point, we were even more geeked and couldn't wait for others to show up. Courtney wanted a picture with Jason Motte and we all wanted one with Colby Rasmus. Jaime Garcia was also tops on our list. So, as they kept coming, we continued to reach out to the players to get photos with us as well as help a fellow cardinal fan who was much shorter than me standing behind us. She was desperate for a picture with Skip Schumaker, so we made sure we helped her get one. For some reason, the guys just couldn't say “no” to a group of girls begging for photos with them. This, of course, was good for us.

Some of the bullpen guys made their way around the warning track and I got Mitchell Boggs while waiting for Jason Motte. Both pics were achieved and they were both so sweet to us. We expressed our appreciation for them stopping to take photos with us.

When another group made their way around the corner, we noticed that Mike MacDougal wasn't getting much love, so we asked him if he would take a photo with us... “Sure!” And we had officially made it up to 7 different players! Meanwhile, we helped our short Cardinal friend we met get a picture with Blake Hawksworth. Courtney said to him “Hey, I follow you on twitter!” He was very responsive and said, “Really? That's awesome.” Whether he actually meant it or not, he was very nice about it.

In the last group, we were super confident that we could get the last two on our list; Jaime Garcia and Colby Rasmus. We were extremely successful and we also got Kyle Lohse in there too! All three had to be so tired of fans yelling at them and wanting pictures, but they were so sweet to us and obliged.

What these guys might not know is that they made our day! Win or lose, we were never going to forget how awesome it was to get pics with all these guys.  See, how we look at it is that this is our team. Whenever something like this happens, you seem to forget a stretch of bad play and remember that this is baseball, the sport we absolutely love.  And they are the team that we absolutely love. Yes, they did lose, but there was no shortage of amazing memories that we will never forget. Thank you, St. Louis Cardinals for hosting this event and thank you to the players for being so amazing and courteous to the fans, we truly appreciate it.  

Hopefully this is just the beginning of many entries to come from us. Courtney is divulged in pharmacy school, so you will mostly see my writing, but because we do so many things together (in regards to the Cardinals) it will likely be a combined effort. We really look forward to sharing our Cardinal experiences with all of you in Cardinal Nation!

--

Cadence (and Courtney)

Right Down To The Very Last Pitch...

When I got up this morning, I didn’t bother reading any headlines, articles or blogs about the Cardinals because I already knew what they would say.  It is what the weary beat writers and naysayers spout every morning after a loss and I am just plain tired of  the complaining about how the Cardinals can’t hit or the managers can’t manage or how our postseason chances are slipping away.

I may be one of the few Cardinal fans who will say this today, but I actually enjoyed yesterday’s game. Sure, the final score was crummy, but right down to the very last pitch, I knew we had a chance.  And the game was full of moments that made me smile.  Albert may not have hit his 400^th homerun, but he had a 3-hit night.  Matt Holliday sent one flying out of the park in the first inning. Jon Jay may have only gotten one hit, but I love that he tears out of the batters box and down the line to 1^st base trying to beat the throw on an easy infield hit.  Even Yadier Molina and his catcher’s knees had some extra energy as he ran the bases.  And of course there is Adam Wainwright and the way his determined piercing eyes give him an entirely different (scary) demeanor on a night he’s pitching.

In the 9^th inning when the boys came off the bench and sparked a rally, I thought “we are going to WIN this one!” Skip Schumaker, Randy Winn and Aaron Miles all made things happen.  Then Jon Jay’s RBI brought the Cardinals back within one run of tying the game. Even as Felipe Lopez stood in, switch-hitting at the plate with the bases loaded and 2 outs in the final countdown, I was glued to the television, firmly believing I would be witnessing a come-from-behind Cardinal victory.

But the victory celebration would have to wait.  The Redbirds lost and that’s the way it goes sometimes.  The Cardinals record will show an L for the August 24^th game against the Pirates, but that loss certainly does not tell the big picture for me.

If you haven’t figured out by now, I love baseball.  Warning: I am one of those fans who will occasionally cheer for the opposing team – not by mistake because I’m not paying attention, but because the hit or the play was just too good not to applaud.

So, even after a Cardinals loss like last night, I can smile because I saw some wonderful baseball.  Sure the wins and losses matter – they matter A LOT – but this is the game of baseball.  Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose.  Anything can happen and that is why they play 9 innings and why teams like the Pirates and the Cubs and the Brewer even bother to take the field.  And that is why each game has the potential to provide countless individual moments of baseball magic that keep us coming back for more, that give every fan hope and that make us believe our team can still win… right down to the very last pitch.

The boys are back at it again for the last game of the series against the Pirates tonight at 6:05 PM! Albert will hit that 400th homerun and the Cardinals will win - I just know it!  ;)

FYI:  Today you can catch my article "What Is It About Aaron Miles?!" over at i70baseball.com.  Love him or hate him, Miles is certainly an interesting Cardinal issue.  Here's the link - and thanks for reading!  

GO CARDS!!  =)

Diamond Diaries Heads to St. Louis!

It doesn't matter if the Cardinals win or lose, it's how much fun we have ...

Well, of course we would have preferred the two Diamond Diaries nights at Busch Stadium this week (Monday and Tuesday) be Cards wins. But we did get to see: a successful debut by Jake Westbrook, a birthday-present-for-me homer from Albert on Monday, several hits by Brendan over the two nights, a Colby jack, a Hunky homer and pitcher Aaron Miles. (And a lot of other defensive plays, hits and runs we are still trying to forget – ouch!) We also had a blast making all of our chick comments in person and taking plenty of photos! Plus we had the chance to meet several Twitter pals, which – in all seriousness – was awesome. We also checked out as much St. Louis baseball history as we could and visited the Missouri History Museum to see the Cards history on display, took the Busch Stadium tour and even visited the former site of Sportsman's Park.

So here's a photo special with a few of our pictures from this week. Enjoy! (We did!)

Outside our favorite place!


And inside too.

It was a tweet-up, as we met Cadence and Courtney!


It's probably not a surprise that Erika took a lot of Brendan photos.


And a lot of Hunky photos too!


Or that I would take as many pictures of Chris Carpenter as I could ...


No matter what he was doing.


Angela took photos while doing her Adam Wainwright imitation in his seat in the dugout.


We enjoyed learning more about the history of baseball in St. Louis.


And, all too soon, it was time to say good-bye – to Busch Stadium, St. Louis and each other, but only until the next time!

So, we're going to take the rest of the weekend to look through our photos and relive the memories, but we'll be back with regular posts again on Monday. Go Cardinals!