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Posted on 03.31.08 by dancurry @ 8:57 pm
Opening day of the baseball season is a de facto national holiday. On a rainy day, Wrigley Field was filled with 41,000 fans anxious to see the Cubs march toward the NL Central crown. I was glad to be there, too, but for different reasons—a break from politics and a way to keep my eye on the Cardinals’ rival while silently rooting against them. It worked, the Cubs lost 4-3. A great pitching duel between Carlos Zambrano and Ben Sheets came apart at the end when both teams’ closers allowed three runs. In the 10th, Milwaukee scored a run for the winner. A great day in the cold March rain of Chicago. |
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Posted on 08.10.07 by @ 8:22 am
Baseball fans everywhere—even those who despise the St. Louis Cardinals—can appreciate the electric moment last night in St. Louis when Rick Ankiel, with a one-handed flick of the bat, drove a 384-foot home run into the ethernet of baseball history. Dean Barnett captures it well, from the perspective of a non Cardinals fan. As a lifelong Cardinals’ fan, I can tell you that Ankiel has an almost mythical status in Cardinal country. First, he was going to be the generation’s version of Sandy Koufax, the once-in-a-lifetime talent with a 97 mph fastball and free-drop rollercoaster curveball. When he gave up pitching and started playing the outfield, all Cardinals’ fans I know were keeping one eye on his progress to see if “Young Musial,” as some called him, could somehow follow in the rare footsteps of those who convert from a pitcher to a hitter. It will be fascinating to see how far Ankiel’s considerable talent can take him. Probably not as far as the myth, but he’s given us all another reason to learn from his perseverance.
Technorati Tags: baseball, Busch Stadium, Cardinals |
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Posted on 08.09.07 by @ 7:13 am
There’s a potential good news baseball story emerging that could be a welcome respite from the bittersweet Barry Bonds’ home run record tale. The St. Louis Cardinals are reportedly calling up Rick Ankiel, the man already part of baseball lore as one of those rare cases where a player completely loses the ability to throw the ball straight. Ankiel was a pitching phenom—described by some as a talent rivaling Sandy Koufax—who blew up during the 2000 playoffs and eventually was forced to stop pitching. Ankiel, always a tremendous athlete and good hitter, tried to salvage his careeer as an outfielder in a move most thought was futile. Well, he’s 28 years old now and is leading AAA baseball with 32 home runs and 89 RBI. And he’s a very good outfielder with a howitzer arm. Ankiel (who vaguely resembles a younger Eric Zorn, the Chicago Tribune columnist/blogger pictured above right) still has some plate discipline issues, but it will be interesting to see if he can successfully transition back to MLB. I’m sure part of the press horde that was following Bonds around will descend on St. Louis this weekend as Ankiel dons the uniform the first time as a Cardinals’ outfielder.
Technorati Tags: baseball, Busch Stadium, Cardinals |
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Posted on 03.01.07 by dancurry @ 6:07 pm
When Cubs fans here in northern Illinois think of Ron Santo, they channel his disappointment on barely missing election to the baseball Hall-of-Fame again. Me, I think of Ken Boyer. If Santo gets in the Hall, Boyer deserves to go too. Although the debate here in Chicago doesn’t include Boyer, it does in St. Louis, here and here. Consider their similar stats: Games Hits Batting Average Home Runs Stolen Bases Golden Gloves All-Star Selections Most Valuable Player Award Growing up in St. Louis and playing a lot of third base, Ken Boyer was somebody I deeply admired. I was seven years old when he won the NL MVP in 1964 and hit one of the most memorable HRs in team history, a grand slam in game 4 of that year’s World Series. The Cards had fallen behind 2-1 in games and things were looking glum in my world because it was 3-0 Yankees in the sixth inning. Boyer hit one right down the left field line at Yankees’ stadium off Al Downing for a 4-3 lead that held up. The Cards went on to win that WS in seven games. Despite that crucial HR, then Cards announcer Harry Caray was always needling Boyer on the air as a player who couldn’t get the big hit. There must have been a personality clash because Boyer was a great player. As much as I deeply admired Boyer, at the same time I deeply despised Santo. His habit of clicking his heels after a Cubs’ win in early 1969 was too much to bear for this St. Louis fan because the heavily favored Cards, winners of the ‘67 and ‘68 NL pennants, were floundering. You can bet I was rooting for the Mets once the Cards were eliminated. Over the last several years, it was hard to sustain my dislike of Santo. He’s not a good announcer but he’s proven to be a man of character and integrity through his well-publicized bout with diabetes. If I were a Cubs’ fan, I’d love the guy.
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Posted on 01.21.07 by dancurry @ 8:15 pm
Unintentionally, ESPN has been helping teams win championships with its incredibly inept prognosticating. In the just completed major league playoffs and World Series, ESPN “experts” were wrong 37 of 39 times picking three playoff rounds involving the St. Louis Cardinals. Then, this week, all eight ESPN experts picked the New Orleans Saints to beat the Chicago Bears. All eight were wrong, of course. That means in 45 of 47 games or series’ I was following closely, the ESPN experts got it wrong. That should tell people a little bit about the worth of “conventional wisdom.” Both the Cardinals and Bears players said afterwards they used the ESPN picks as extra incentive to win their championships. Someone at the World Series waved a memorable sign that read, “Experts are Idiots.” Who can argue?
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Posted on 01.02.07 by dancurry @ 9:48 pm
It was not as big as I thought, but well made. Couldn’t tell how heavy — started to pick it up until I got the evil eye from a security goon.
Technorati Tags: Busch Stadium, Cardinals |
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Posted on 11.10.06 by dancurry @ 8:53 am
With apologies to Elizabeth Roskam, Chuck Goudie, Eric Zorn and many others, this is hands down the best ad of the political season.
Technorati Tags: Busch Stadium, Cardinals |
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Posted on 10.28.06 by dancurry @ 12:44 am
The ghosts of 1968, 1985 and 1987 have been zapped in the Red October sky of St. Louis. Particularly 1968. That Cardinals’ team was loaded with talent and was ahead 3 games to 1, winning exactly the same pattern of games the 2006 team did after four games. The 1968 Cardinals lost their last three games to the Detroit Tigers, while this year’s team finished off the Tigers in five games. I’ll never forget the pain of that ‘68 loss, just as Chuck and Eric will never forgot the joy. The 1985 Cards also broke a lot of Midwestern hearts, blowing a 3 to 1 series lead, as did the 1987 Cards with a 3 to 2 lead. When the Tigers’ Curtis Granderson slipped in CF in game four and a key hit dropped behind him, I guarantee every STL fan over 40 thought immediately of Curt Flood and that errant step forward that helped lose game 7 in 1968. When Granderson went down, STL fans knew the curse of the outfield divot had been exorcised and the series was over.
Technorati Tags: Busch Stadium, Cardinals |
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Posted on 10.20.06 by dancurry @ 2:18 pm
One of my most vivid memories of baseball is encapsulated in the program above. I had that program for many years and it was thrown away at some time, only to re-emerge when I found this website this morning. I was 10 years old when my father took me to game 1 of the 1968 World Series, one of the most anticipated pitching matchups in WS history. Bob Gibson had just completed one of the finest seasons by a pitcher in the modern era with a 1.12 ERA. He was opposed by 31-game winner Denny McLain. My dad had a pass to the Stadium Club at old Busch, a 1960s era “skybox” perched in fair territory near the left field foul pole. We hung around there for about half the game and then visited some friends of my dad in a section behind home plate. My dad knew many of the players and umpires and we somehow were allowed to sit in the aisles next to these wonderful seats and saw Gibson mow down the Tigers, striking out 17. One of the best baseball writers ever, Roger Angell, devoted a chapter to Gibson’s performance that afternoon and interviewed Tigers’ hitters Willie Horton, Al Kaline and Norm Cash. They said Gibson on that day was the best pitcher they’d ever seen. I remember the imagery of Tigers’ batters swinging and missing at rising fast balls, utterly helpless. Of course the Series turned out to deeply disappointing to that 10-year-old kid after Detroit rose from a 3-1 deficit in games and won game 7 after Curt Flood, a man who my father introduced me to, broke the wrong way on a late inning fly ball and Mickey Lolich shut the door on the Redbirds. Back then, the heavily favored Cardinals were disappointed. I’m hoping that 38 years later, the heavily favored Tigers will return the favor.
Technorati Tags: Busch Stadium, Cardinals |
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Posted on 10.08.06 by dancurry @ 11:04 pm
It might seem far-fetched, but STL already has beat the odds — 18 of 19 ESPN “experts” picked San Diego to beat STL just a week ago. This evening, the Cards dispatched the Padres in four games. Watch for Chris Duncan to hit four home runs against the Mets in the LCS. Despite my April prediction, I’d like to see a rematch of the 1968 World Series, Tigers and Cardinals.
Technorati Tags: Busch Stadium, Cardinals |
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