Tag: St. Louis Cardinals (Page 7 of 20)

      Mikey’s MLB power rankings

      September 25, 2010 /

      Things have shifted a lot in MLB since I took a hiatus last weekend. Wow, have they ever shifted. The Rockies have now lost 5 in a row and are fading out of the race. The Phillies have won 11 in a row to take over the top spot. The Rays are ahead of the Yankees now in the AL East and the Twins are as hot as the Phils. The Braves are whopping 7 games back of the Phillies now. Damn, this is getting fun.

      1. Philadelphia Phillies (93-61)—Peaking but maybe too soon. Still, when you have Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels, it’s not really fair. And everyone else is getting healthy now.

      2. Tampa Bay Rays (92-61)—They finally overtake the Yanks, but have company up here. Still, they’ve been consistent all year and they have David Price at the top of their rotation.

      3. Minnesota Twins (92-61)—Even without Justin Morneau, this is a very dangerous team. But are they peaking too soon as well?

      4. New York Yankees (92-62)—When I heard the New York sports talk guys being all gloom and doom after a split with the Rays this past week, I didn’t understand it. But when you look at the remaining schedules of both teams, you get it. A loss to Boston last night probably didn’t do much for Yankees fans’ confidence.

      5. San Francisco Giants (87-67)—Making for one of the most compelling pennant races, because the winner will move on while the loser may not even take the wild card.

      6. San Diego Padres (86-67)—Looking back, that long losing streak came at the right time, and the wrong time, at the same time.

      7. Cincinnati Reds (86-68)—The magic number is 3. I wonder if Brandon Phillips will get a Christmas card from the Cardinals’ organization this year.

      8. Atlanta Braves (86-68)—Now trailing in the wild card race by a half-game. This is another compelling race that shouldn’t have been so compelling, but seriously, how do you hold off the Phils and that pitching staff?

      9. Texas Rangers (85-68)—Magic number is 2, will they be the second team to clinch?

      10. Boston Red Sox (85-68)—I don’t think they’ve officially been eliminated yet, but it’s getting very, very late. And what a shame for a team that really is as talented as most of the teams on this Top 10 list.

      External Sports, MLB

      Report: Colby Rasmus requested a trade earlier this season

      September 5, 2010 /
      St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Colby Rasmus makes the out against Chicago Cubs batter Aramis Ramirez during the first inning of their MLB National League baseball game in St. Louis, Missouri, August 15, 2010. REUTERS/Sarah Conard (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

      The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is reporting that Cardinals’ centerfielder Colby Rasmus requested a trade earlier this season due to frustrations with manager Tony La Russa.

      The La Russa-Rasmus relationship remains a source of intrigue. During spring training Rasmus made clear the issues he confronted as a rookie. He and his father, Tony, then began a series of July hitting tutorials at a county high school that annoyed the manager. Club sources insist that Rasmus’ frustrations with La Russa led him to request a trade earlier this year and that his lengthy absence last month due to a right calf strain also resurrected concerns. The organization has long considered Rasmus untouchable in trade talks. Few dispute his talents and potential but there remains a question of toughness and willingness to accept criticism. There are those who share the same clubhouse who wonder if La Russa has “lost” Rasmus, or if Rasmus has permanently withdrawn from the taskmaster.

      I’ve never understood why La Russa continues to give Rasmus as many days off as he has. Here the Cardinals are yesterday, playing the Reds in a pivotal series and Nick Stavinoha (0-for-3) is starting over Rasmus (double in the ninth as a pinch hitter). Even if Rasmus is a mental midget (I’m not saying he is – just going off the report above), he’s too talented to ride the bench as much as he does.

      This is an interesting storyline in St. Louis and certainly one worth following with La Russa questionable to return next season.

      External Sports, MLB

      Mikey’s MLB power rankings

      August 28, 2010 /

      Wow, things are getting wild. The Rays and Yanks are now tied for first in the AL East, and the Red Sox are not going away. The Padres have a commanding 6-game lead. The Braves have lost four straight, but the Phils could not capitalize. The Reds are hot and the Cards are not. The Twins and Rangers have not been hurt by recent mediocre play. So there you have it, and here you have your power rankings….

      1. New York Yankees (78-50)—It was only a matter of time before the Rays caught up, but until Tampa goes ahead in the standings, the Bombers are still the team to beat.

      2. Tampa Bay Rays (78-50)—Joe Maddon’s team sure doesn’t mess around, do they?

      3. San Diego Padres (76-51)—If you keep waiting for the Padres to come back down to earth, you’re going to be waiting until possibly November.

      4. Minnesota Twins (74-55)—Watch out for this team in the postseason. All of a sudden, with Brian Fuentes and Matt Capps, they have a pretty sick bullpen. Joe Nathan who?

      5. Texas Rangers (73-55)—Josh Hamilton has an excellent shot at the triple crown, and this lineup has to send shivers through the collective spine of the Yankees’ pitching staff.

      6. Cincinnati Red (74-54)—Speaking of triple crown, how about Joey Freaking Votto?

      7. Atlanta Braves (73-55)—They can’t sustain losing streaks at this point in the season, but are still hanging tough.

      8. Boston Red Sox (74-55)—In what other division can you be 19 games over .500 and in THIRD place?

      9. Philadelphia Phillies (71-57)—They had their chance to close the gap this past week, and blew it.

      10. San Francisco Giants (71-58)—Lots of talent, but can they put it all together? P.S. What is wrong with Tim Lincecum?

      External Sports, MLB

      Breaking down the 2010 National League Wild Card race

      August 26, 2010 /
      St. Louis Cardinals Albert Pujols receives high fives in the dugout after hitting his second two run home run of the night in the fifth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on June 29, 2010. UPI/Bill Greenblatt Photo via Newscom

      Before their sweep of the Braves this week, I would have said that the National League Wild Card is a three-team race. But now that the Rockies are putting together a very Rockie-like charge, this is definitely now a four-horse competition in the NL.

      Let’s break down the contenders and make a prediction.

      (Side Note: I’m fully aware that the Phillies and Cardinals still have a great chance of catching the Braves and Reds in their respective divisions, but I’m going by the standings as of Thursday, August 26. In a couple of weeks, I’ll update this list so for now, let’s just call this Version 1.0.)

      Philadelphia Phillies
      Games Remaining: 36
      Games Back: 0
      What I Like About Their Chances: I like the Phillies because quite frankly, they’ve been here before. They know what it takes to play good baseball in the month of September and their roster is chockfull of veteran players. Even though they haven’t shown it of late, the Phils also still have the best lineup 1-8 of any of the four Wild Card contenders and a three-headed monster in Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt (who has been outstanding in the month of August) and Cole Hamels. This is, by far, the most talented team of the four listed…

      What I Don’t Like: …that said, this club isn’t playing very good baseball right now. In their last seven games, they’ve won only two and they were just swept at home by the Astros. Also, despite all of their offensive firepower, they’ve managed to score just 16 runs in those seven outings. They also have six more games against the Braves, who they are just 5-7 against this season. This is a club that seemingly can’t put it all together this season and you just get the sense that something’s missing.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, MLB

      Mikey’s MLB power rankings

      August 21, 2010 /

      With football season upon us, that’s when baseball gets real interesting. To me, there is no better time of year than that first weekend in October when you have four MLB playoff series and a full slate of NFL games. As for the pennant races, they’re starting to shift and some teams are beginning to pull away while others lose hold on their position…

      1. New York Yankees (75-47)—A one-game lead but the Mariners are in town this weekend, so it’s as good a time as any to start padding the margin over the Rays and Sox again.

      2. Tampa Bay Rays (74-48)—Still hanging on, as the Yankees continue to look in their collective rear-view mirror.

      3. San Diego Padres (73-48)—The Giants had their five-game winning streak, and the Padres answered with one of their own, widening their late August lead to 6 games over the G-men until losing last night. Is there any question about manager of the year here?

      4. Atlanta Braves (72-50)—Bobby Cox hopes his team will feast on Cubs’ pitching at Wrigley while the Phils face the Nats at home.

      5. Texas Rangers (68-53)—The Rangers lost four in a row this past week but still have a seven-game lead over the A’s and Angels. I’d say they have nothing to worry about.

      6. Minnesota Twins (71-51)—As we suspected, the Twins keep adding to their lead, now 4.5 games over the White Sox.

      7. Cincinnati Red (71-51)—Just when the Cardinals made a statement, the Reds have now won 7 in a row while St. Louis has lost 5 straight, giving Dusty Baker’s boys a 4.5 game lead and increasing the chances Brandon Phillips will start smack-talking again, if he hasn’t already.

      8. Boston Red Sox (69-54)—Time is running out on the Sox, and also on Roger Clemens’ days as a free man.

      9. Philadelphia Phillies (69-52)—They’ve stayed hot, but so have the Braves. Do you think the Phils wish they still had Cliff Lee?

      10. San Francisco Giants (69-54)—Only trailing Philly in the wild card chase by one game, two in the loss column. But a recent slide took them out of that spot and their hopes of a division crown are fading away.

      External Sports, MLB

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