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Originally posted by LinnTate:
Of course, the big story of the day is [URL=Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala-D'oh-cious]the Rockies dealing Larry Walker to the Cards[/URL]. Injuries have been a problem for Walker this years, but even at 37, he's a big step up for the team over the platoon of Mabry/Lankford/Sanders/etc. I don't know if our pitching will hold up down the stretch (though Morris had a good outing last night), but I guess we can just pummel our opponents into submission.

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An embarrassment of riches for the Cards, I'd say. Walker's going to add another nice lefty bat and a great glove in right. The team plans on batting him SECOND and moving Renteria back to his preferred sixth spot. Reggie moves to left. Not a bad little lineup!

According to local press, Walt Jocketty (one of the best, if not THE best, GM's around) polled the team before making the deal, making sure nobody's feelings or egos would be hurt by the acquisition. The chemistry of this team is THAT good. The only problem...which position player do you move down to AAA???? All of the bench guys have contributed a ton...Taguchi (a big homer against the Cubs), Anderson (over .300 as a PH with 2 homers), Luna (who can't go down without being offered back to Cleveland), Mabry (hitting over .300 and red hot lately), Cedeno (hitting well over .300 and being paid by the Mets). The weakest link, honestly, is the still-disabled Ray Lankford, a local fave and the career home run leader at Busch!

They made room for Walker by DL'ing Kiko Calero, but eventually a position player will have to go down...

Most importantly...another gutty win today. A new hero every night...Yady Molina with a big GW RBI. And a standing O from the crowd for Walker before and AFTER the strikeout. Another reason St. Louis is the best baseball town going...

It looks like the Cardinals have made their decision.

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The Cardinals also have told disabled outfielder Ray Lankford that his options are to accept a minor-league assignment or receive his release.

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This is a bittersweet decision for me. Lankford and I are the same age and I have watched his entire career as a Cardinal. Save for the dustup with LaRussa in 2001 he might have spent his entire career in St. Louis and his contributions to the team over the course of that career are considerable. I was thrilled to see him return to the game as a Cardinal after taking a year off.

Today, though, for the good of the team, it's probably time for him to step aside. No matter where he goes, I'll always see him in Cardinal red.

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Originally posted by Metacritic Games Editor:
What the hell is up with my Angels??? Can't even beat the lowly Texas Rangers??

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The Angels are back, baby! 5 of 7 road victories (over the lowly Twins and Royals) put us one game up on the wild card. Yes, it's sad that I'm replying to my own posting, but that's what usually happens when you discuss the Angels. Nobody gives a crap.

GO HALOS!

Well at least you guys, and trust me, I was rooting for them every step of the way, have a world championship in the 2000s. Very few teams can claim that. Go Dodger Blue!

Nobody wants to root for my team...is it because they are overachieving or because you're scared of these Kirk-Gibson-less, first-place-type guys? Wow, that relives an unbelievable memory I had concerning Kirk Gibson (aka, Dead Man Walking) in the 1988 World Series. Well, Orel H. isn't anywhere near L. A., at least not yet. Go Dodger Blue!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mark f,

Today's Dodgers game was one of those hard- pills-to-swallow games. It was basically in the bag, and then the dick (or was it the balls?) escaped. Well, baseball is the sport where you have to endure more of those kinda games than any other. 162 games a season. No other sport could bear such mental (and physical) cruelty!

The Royals pull that kind of crap at least twice a week.

Wow, mark. I wandered into my favorite watering hole yesterday afternoon to kill a couple of hours and several million brain cells and happened upon the first game of the Dodgers' three game series with the Cubs (I'd forgotten they are all day games in Wrigley this series). Your guys were leaving all kinds of guys on the bases until the Cubs finally played the Russian Roulette that is their bullpen and gave up six runs in the ninth inning. That game probably says more about the Cubs' shortcomings than the Dodgers strengths, but it's still a big way to start a series against a team they could face in the first round of the post-season.

Well, MGE, what a difference a couple of weeks can make. Your Angels aren't just in the hunt for the wild card, but for the division.

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Today's game will be the real test. Kaz Ishii, who started out great, has gone into the toilet lately. He wouldn't even be pitching except that Penny hurt his bicep at a game I went to last Sunday. (It's NOT my fault.) If the Dodgers win any games with Ishii starting, it bodes very well for us. I'm gone for a week, so hopefully nobody will leave the gas on with the pilot off. Later, Gators.

Last Sunday night ESPN showed the clip over and over again of Penny throwing from the mound for the trainer and pitching coach. He looked to be in a lot of pain. At least seeing it in person, mark, you only had to watch it once.

The Dodgers' loss to the Cubs today was less the fault of Ishii and more a rare return to form for Kerry Wood who looked like his old self in a complete game.

I'd like to see less of that, personally.

The Cards dropped a home run derby to the Braves this afternoon, which isn't the worst thing in the world as we gave as good as we got.

Almost.

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After the home run derby yesterday, I'm glad to see the Cards scoring runs and not giving them up in equal numbers today. Haren pitched well enough, and the 'pen was fine, but the real joy was seeing Rolen get hot after an 0-for-14 spell.

It was also fun watching the Cubs give up a lead to the Dodgers today. I get much joy in watching the Cubs stumble...its one of my (many)failures of virtue...

If the Braves and the Cards meet in the postseason, I'm already planning on hitting the ATL for a game or two. It'll be easier to get those tickets in Atlanta than to try to get them here. That should be a fun series, if it happens...

In all, this was an exciting weekend for NL fans. The Dodgers/Cubs and Cards/Atlanta matchups played like a preview for the first round of the post-season, though given the Cubs' implosions in the two out of three games with the Dodgers, their claim on the wild card is looking suspect. Wood and Prior finally showed up, sure, but their middle relief is a disaster and Sosa's continued presence in the four spot is baffling given his lack of production.

ATL is a good call for round one, pE. I'm starting to wonder if I drive south might be in order for me as well, but then I'm getting a bit too confident, aren't I?

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Early Prediction: Get ready for a "RED" World Series... Angels vs. Cardinals.

Did you see the Angels go into New York and SWEEP the Yankees this weekend?? I think things are beginning to click a la 2002. And the word on the street is that Troy Glaus will be back and ready to DH around mid-September. I can't wait to face Texas & Oakland those last three weeks.

Another prediction: The Wild Card will come out of the AL West. Either the Yanks or the Sox are staying home...

Mercy, not just an early prediction, but a bold prediction at that.

I guess I'd best play as well.

NL East: Braves
NL Central: Cardinals
NL West: Dodgers
NL Wild Card: Cubs

AL East: Yankees
AL Central: Twins
AL West: Angels
AL Wild Card: Red Sox

NLDS: Braves @ Cardinals, Cubs @ Dodgers
ALDS: Twins @ Yankees, Red Sox @ Angels

NLCS: Dodgers @ Cardinals
ALCS: Angels @ Yankees

World Series: Cardinals @ Yankees (sorry, MGE)

Cards in seven.

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My only change from LT's lineup is the Oakland A's instead of the BoSox as AL Wild Card. I never bet against the A's in August and September. That would, I think, pit the A's against the Yankees and the Twins at the Angels. My predictions there:

Angels over Twins in 5.
A's over Yankees in 4. (I'll take Mulder, Hudson, and Zito over the patchwork Yankees rotation).

Angels over A's in 6.

I'm with you on the NLDS.

Cards over Angels in 6.

(9/1/04) -- After 2 straight losses by the Angels to the Red Sox -- How is it that the Angels, after a day off, sent out John Lackey and Aaron Sele to start against Boston when they had time to set up Colon, Escobar, and even a now-healthy Washburn????? I mean, the Angel offense scored 7 runs per game... You'd figure their staff could hold an opposing team under 10 freakin runs! dang... this hurts...

I was thinking of you as I was watching the games last night and tonight, MGE. The question you pose is baffling, but you can take some consolation in the fact that it happened again a Red Sox team that is streaking against all probability.

Besides, if you want to talk about painful, how about the Yankees Tuesday night? I walked in to my favorite sports bar to catch a bit of Cards game and ended up settling in from 15-0 on at the Jake.

Also in the news tonight, the Milwaukee Brewers are the first team in the NL Central to be eliminated from the divison title.

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I couldn't believe that Yankee score when I saw it. They can say it's only one game, but that kind of a loss is a true body blow to a team in my opinion. If only the Rangers and Angels could hang in there, there'd be a chance that the Yanks could be eliminated from the playoffs with the Sox playing this well. Thanks for keeping the MGE in mind with the Halos... It's disgusting how good the Cards are doing at the moment, by the way.

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Originally posted by Metacritic Games Editor:
It's disgusting how good the Cards are doing at the moment, by the way.

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You misspelled "wonderful."

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Originally posted by Metacritic Games Editor:
It's disgusting how good the Cards are doing at the moment, by the way.

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Ah, September call-ups!

The bad news: according to local scuttlebut, Steve Kline may not pitch again this year. The team is trying to play this off, but a torn groin muscle ain't nothin' to sneeze at. This may lead either to ONE left-handed pitcher on the postseason roster OR the use of the unproven Ankiel or Flores as second lefty. Not the way I'd like to set things up.

The good news: after going to Tuesday night's game, it's nice to see the top players playing "anything you can do, I can do better." Rolen triples, Edmonds homers, Pujols homers, Edmonds homers AGAIN, Renteria hits a bomb. Let's keep this up.

But who is the NL MVP? I'm reticent to include Bonds, who is an AMAZING hitter on a decent team, but I'm sure he'll get it. Beltre is probably my pick: his team is not very good offensively, so his numbers mean even more.

Then you've got the STL three: Rolen (who has slipped in the last few weeks), Pujols (who is so consistent on a bad heel), and Edmonds (who gets left out of most of these debates but whose slugging and on-base percentages are amazing and whose defensive circus catches add to his value). They'll take votes away from each other. But I'll take a world championship over an MVP any day.