[Pagelzilla]

Well, the regular season kicks off tomorrow for the Brewers which is always a huge binge-drinking holiday here in Milwaukee. Anyone going to any games this weekend?

I'm so excited for this season to start. I had the honor of going to spring training this year in Arizona and had a great time watching a ton of games. It really got me back in the mood for some baseball.

[El_Diablo]

St Louis Cardinals are my home team (even though I work in Denver right now) so this should be an incredibly interesting season.

obviously we lost Pujols but I don't think we need him.
last year was his worst season - statistically - of his entire career, we didn't have Adam Wainright, and we still won the World Series.

now Wainright is back with Chris Carpenter in the starting rotation, we have a stronger bullpen, and we attained stronger defense up the middle. Pujols was inconsistent at best last year and it still didn't stop us from winding up on top of the baseball world. with the emergence of David Freese, the resurgence of Lance Berkman, and the stability of Carlos Beltran and Matt Holiday I don't see how we miss the post-season; let alone make another run at the championship.

and we started off on the right note.
MLB opened the season (in the US...) with the Cardinals taking on Miami in their brand new stadium. we took a no-hitter into the 7th before winning on what was supposed to be the Marlins night, effectively cursing their new ballpark with a grand opening loss

go Cards!
best team in baseball.

[hambones]

Glad to see another Cardinals fan on here. Last night was sweet. Can't wait to see what waino can do in milwaukee. I would add more but your post is pretty much word for word what I wanted to say haha.

The home opener is gonna be sweet for the Cardinals. We get to do the whole world series/home opener ceremony in front of the Cubs. Not to mention Wainwright will be starting that game, it's gonna be awesome.

[El_Diablo]

QUOTE (hambones @ Thursday, Apr 5 2012, 14:16)

the Cubs

[hambones]

when the Cubs start 1-0 or 0-1 they have gone on to not win a World Series for the past 103 years

[TDP992]

QUOTE (hambones @ Friday, Apr 6 2012, 02:52)

when the Cubs start 1-0 or 0-1 they have gone on to not win a World Series for the past 103 years

LOL

Marlins are 0-2 but I know we're too awesome to not make playoffs. Lomo hanley reyes stanton, plus the new rotation, barring an injury we're in the playoffs!! And marlins in the playoffs are 2/2 in winning world series.

[gtaluva]

I know the baseball season is a marathon not a sprint, but I think the Brewers have to sweep or atleast win the series against the cubs starting today. I think the Cardinals are gonna be a powerhouse this year and the Brewers need to get a spark and keep it going all year. Heres hoping for a good race all season long for the NL Central, of course with it ending with the Brewers winning the division 2 years in a row!!

[El_Diablo]

Ozzie Guillen is already trying to get himself fired lol...

"I love Fidel Castro."
-Ozzie

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/break...0,5365104.story

[Jay]

QUOTE (El_Diablo @ Friday, Apr 6 2012, 03:55)

last year was his worst season - statistically - of his entire career

I only got to see the Cards play once last season and that was against the Mets when Pujols drove in two double plays and effectively lost the game single-handedly. He was poo. Was really shocked to see them go all the way, even though I support them.

That being said, if the Angels do well this season I won't feel bad.

[Cuban Warlord]

Being from Ohio I root for both the Reds and Indians but I must say that the Indians are probably my #1. They've started off poorly but I think they can turn it around.

[BabeRuth]

Pujols finally hit his first HomrRun.

[El_Diablo]

historic drought.

people in St. Louis are still laughing.

[hambones]

hahahahaha

[StoneHead37]

With the sluggers the Yankees possess, they should be better than 19-14. Frankly, they should be 29-4 with their lineup consisting of Jeter, A-Rod, Teixeira, Cano, Granderson, Swisher and so on, but that's besides the point. I swear, this team only hits when they want. If just two of any of those six guys I've just mentioned were hot, they'd win 7 or 8 games out of 10. Instead, Jeter will get a lead-off double, but the next three are unable to get him to score. I know Teixiera usually starts his seasons off slow, but he really needs to wake up and start belting those balls over the wall. I'm a Yankee fan to end, but not when they're behind the Orioles record-wise.

[darthYENIK]

QUOTE (El_Diablo @ Thursday, May 10 2012, 17:16)

historic drought. people in St. Louis are still laughing.

The whole f*cking world is laughing. The Angels are a god damned joke. Every game the lineup is different, regardless of how well they might have played the game before. The fact that Wells is in the line-up when Bourjos or Trumbo or Morales is not is ridiculous. The bullpen consists of maybe two pitchers who actually have the ability to get three outs in a row, the rest couldn't get out of an inning without at least giving up one run to save their lives. And then there's Albert f*cking Pujols. If Pujols was the only problem, I'd be happy. I'll say this though, the starting rotation is still pretty good, but you can't win games on pitching alone, and even the best have sh*tty nights, like tonight.

I'm admitting it. I was blinded by Pujols. Its been so long since they've had a GM that actually did something in the off season, that I forgot about all the other sh*t the Angels had to deal with last year. And they're still there.

Anyway, Hamilton is a f*cking beast.

[Big Slow]

To give Pujols the slightest bit of credit, he jumped ship from the National League to the American League. That's basically taking 11 years of dealing with a certain set of teams and pitchers, and throwing it out of the window. Personally, I've always thought American League pitching was superior anyway, so couple that with having to face a ton of pitchers you've never faced before is a daunting task. Now, he was regarded as the best hitter in the game, so if that was true, he'd have made more adjustments by now. A lot of hitters who go to different teams with big contracts don't tend to get going for awhile (recently: Fielder, Jose Reyes, Adam Dunn to name a few).

I say we have to give him at least half a season to get adjusted. If he plays this way longer than that, then he deserves the criticism he's receiving now. Unfortunately, with a contract as big as the one he got, it's difficult to give him that amount of time.

[El_Diablo]

QUOTE (Big Slow @ Sunday, May 13 2012, 20:50)

To give Pujols the slightest bit of credit, he jumped ship from the National League to the American League. That's basically taking 11 years of dealing with a certain set of teams and pitchers, and throwing it out of the window.

everyone recognizes this.
no one is denying it.

the point is that it only ADDS to his humiliation.
because it shows that he just made a really stupid decision. he never should have left St. Louis. he had every reason to stay and not a single good reason to leave.

the final deal that STL offered him was only about 5 million dollars per-year less than he's making now in LA.
so it wasn't about the money.
STL gave him 2 world series championships in just 10 years. most players do not get 1 in 30 years.
STL gave him every reason to believe that they would always be contenders and always have a shot at more championships.
STL deified him. they were ready to build a golden statue of him larger than Stan Musial's.

he could do no wrong in STL.
there was no pressure. there was nothing but love and support.

he threw it all away.
for what?
I cannot figure out.

[hambones]

QUOTE (El_Diablo @ Sunday, May 13 2012, 22:10)

he threw it all away. for what? I cannot figure out.

$$$$ and he gets paid after he retires. pujols is obviously off to the worst start of his career, but it's not just that he has a low average, HR and rbi count. He's striking out way more often and he's not walking nearly as much. he's swinging and missing on more pitches this year, hurting his reputation of being one of the smartest hitters. his on base percentage is in the 230s.

he's just playing like sh*t. it reminds me of griffey when he signed with the reds and he was cursed lol

[Big Slow]

QUOTE (El_Diablo @ Monday, May 14 2012, 00:10)

QUOTE (Big Slow @ Sunday, May 13 2012, 20:50) To give Pujols the slightest bit of credit, he jumped ship from the National League to the American League. That's basically taking 11 years of dealing with a certain set of teams and pitchers, and throwing it out of the window. everyone recognizes this. no one is denying it. the point is that it only ADDS to his humiliation. because it shows that he just made a really stupid decision. he never should have left St. Louis. he had every reason to stay and not a single good reason to leave. the final deal that STL offered him was only about 5 million dollars per-year less than he's making now in LA. so it wasn't about the money. STL gave him 2 world series championships in just 10 years. most players do not get 1 in 30 years. STL gave him every reason to believe that they would always be contenders and always have a shot at more championships. STL deified him. they were ready to build a golden statue of him larger than Stan Musial's. he could do no wrong in STL. there was no pressure. there was nothing but love and support. he threw it all away. for what? I cannot figure out.

I completely agree with you. He should have stayed in STL. Maybe winning two championships in such a short amount of time gave him reason to find a bigger challenge, though I suspect it was likely the bigger paycheck. Pujols and his wife have both stated the reason he left was because STL only offered him a 5 year $150 million deal, instead of a long term 10 year deal like he got with the Angels. I can understand feeling slighted, but to leave a situation like that when you can re-negotiate another deal down the line? How much money do you really need? Even Jered Weaver re-signed with the Angels rather than test free agency because the Angels offered him a good deal and he realized there's only so much money people can give you before it becomes frivolous.

I still think he's going to come around at some point, and this will all blow over, but he's going to have to take the negative criticism until then.

[darthYENIK]

QUOTE (Big Slow @ Monday, May 14 2012, 16:35)

QUOTE (El_Diablo @ Monday, May 14 2012, 00:10) QUOTE (Big Slow @ Sunday, May 13 2012, 20:50) To give Pujols the slightest bit of credit, he jumped ship from the National League to the American League. That's basically taking 11 years of dealing with a certain set of teams and pitchers, and throwing it out of the window. everyone recognizes this. no one is denying it. the point is that it only ADDS to his humiliation. because it shows that he just made a really stupid decision. he never should have left St. Louis. he had every reason to stay and not a single good reason to leave. the final deal that STL offered him was only about 5 million dollars per-year less than he's making now in LA. so it wasn't about the money. STL gave him 2 world series championships in just 10 years. most players do not get 1 in 30 years. STL gave him every reason to believe that they would always be contenders and always have a shot at more championships. STL deified him. they were ready to build a golden statue of him larger than Stan Musial's. he could do no wrong in STL. there was no pressure. there was nothing but love and support. he threw it all away. for what? I cannot figure out. I completely agree with you. He should have stayed in STL. Maybe winning two championships in such a short amount of time gave him reason to find a bigger challenge, though I suspect it was likely the bigger paycheck. Pujols and his wife have both stated the reason he left was because STL only offered him a 5 year $150 million deal, instead of a long term 10 year deal like he got with the Angels. I can understand feeling slighted, but to leave a situation like that when you can re-negotiate another deal down the line? How much money do you really need? Even Jered Weaver re-signed with the Angels rather than test free agency because the Angels offered him a good deal and he realized there's only so much money people can give you before it becomes frivolous. I still think he's going to come around at some point, and this will all blow over, but he's going to have to take the negative criticism until then.

That was only part of the reason Jered Weaver stayed in Anaheim. The bigger part I'd say is that he's comfortable playing and living a short drive from where he grew up and where his parents and family live. Free agency would have probably had him signing in the east, or maybe he would have stayed in Anaheim, but he would have cost them a lot more. He likes where he is, and it's not like he is too underpaid. Pujols probably should have done the same. Sure he's not from St Louis, but he's been there long enough. Hell if that happened the Angels might have went after Fielder instead. And we'd all be happier.

Oh well, if "ifs" and "buts" were candy and nuts and all that.