Adam Wainwright says he will fight somebody over bad barbecue
Lockhart, Texas Barbecue Capital Of The World
St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright has mad respect for good barbecue.
Basically, the 2010 NL Cy Young Award runner-up loves everything about it, but don’t let him catch you messing up what could have been perfectly good barbeque.
“I can eat good barbeque every single day of my whole life, without question, no doubt. I can tell you that right now. I love it. I’m obsessed with it. Also, bad barbeque makes me want to fight somebody … When I have a really bad rib or a really bad pulled pork, it just makes me angry. It’s such a great piece of meat to ruin.”
Tell us how you really feel, Mr. Wainwright.
Mike Matheny wants home-plate collisions banned
First Hand Experience
If you want to have a conversation about home-plate collisions, St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny would be a good guy to speak with. He played catcher for 13 seasons. His own playing career ended because of a concussion and he now manages the Cardinals.
Matheny, who says he considers himself “old school” in his approach to the game, is taking a rather new-school stance. He told MLB.com on Tuesday that he thinks Major League Baseball will eventually ban collisions, and now he thinks that’s a good idea.
“This game will get to the point where there will no longer be a collision at the plate. And I am 100 percent in support of that. I’d just love to hear the rebuttal,” Matheny said, “because what I’ve personally witnessed was enough for me to change my mind. It actually took me a little longer ’till I got to the realization of the risk we’re putting these guys in and the runner, too. The runner is stuck in a spot sometimes where if he doesn’t do it, he feels like he’s let his team down. Take it out of their hands. This isn’t a collision sport. There’s enough of a physical grind with guys being out there for 162 games. We’ve got the physical aspect of this game. It doesn’t need to include that one spot.”
Matheny says he’s requested a meeting with Joe Torre, MLB’s executive vice president of baseball operations, to discuss the matter also a former catcher, to talk about what’s become one of the most contentious on-the-field issues in baseball in recent years.
Curt Schilling’s bloody sock sells at auction
Fraud
A bloody sock worn by Curt Schilling while pitching for the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 of the 2004 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals was sold for $92,613 at a live auction on Saturday night at the Fletcher-Sinclair Mansion.
Schilling had loaned his sock to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum but when his Rhode Island-based video game company “38 Studios” went bankrupt, he decided to sell the sock that was bloodied as he pitched on an injured ankle.
Bidding began at $25,000 several weeks ago. An anonymous bidder submitted the winning bid.
This was not the famous bloody sock he wore during Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS against the New York Yankees.
MLB Playoff Pumpkin Carving
The good folks at The NOC have somehow found a professional pumpkin carver, and in the spirit of the MLB postseason he has carved logos of New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, and San Francisco Giants into pumpkins.
Fan Creates Ultimate Albert Pujols Sign For NLCS
Brilliant
Marty Prather of Springfield, Mo made a deal with a buddy of his: You paint some amusing signs of Albert Pujols not in the playoffs and I’ll trade you some pizzas for them, Marty owns some Dominoes franchises and voila! We have a fun painting of the back of Albert’s head as he sits at home in front of a TV watching the NLCS on Fox TV.
Bryce Harper Wears Red Contacts
The Rite
In Game 2 at St. Louis, Washington Nationals center fielder Bryce Harper applied a large amount of eye black to his face for the glaring afternoon sun.
Yesterday in Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the Cardinals, Harper wore special contacts to reduce the sun’s effects and to see the ball clearer. It just so happens that the contacts make his eyes look red.
Harper is looking for every advantage he can get. He was batting .100 (1-for-10) heading into Game 3 of the NLDS.
Years ago, former All-Star Brian Roberts had this to say about the contacts: “You’re able to focus and see the spin and rotation of the ball better. But it freaks people out. You kind of look like Satan.”
Every Fan Of Major League Baseball
The folks at The NOC are at it again, this time with a parody video featuring “Every fan of MLB.” The St. Louis Cardinals fan commenting on Albert Pujols is so true it made me chuckle.
Mama Margie’s Major Meltdown: Dusty Baker & Johnny Cueto
Dusty Baker & Johnny Cueto
Every Thursday Sports Grind Entertainment will present you with the Mama Margie’s Major Meltdown. The recipient of this honor goes to Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker and starting pitcher Johnny Cueto for playing the blame game argument after being snubbed for this years all-star game. Every year a few deserving players are snubbed but Baker believed Tony La Russa left Cueto and second baseman Brandon Phillips off the National League squad because of a brawl between his team and the St. Louis Cardinals in August 2010. Cueto is 9-4 with a 2.26 ERA, fourth best in the NL and neither were candidates in MLB’s “Final Vote” program. However Reds players where not totally left out as first baseman Joey Votto was selected as well as La Russa selecting outfielder Jay Bruce and closer Aroldis Chapman.
Cueto did offer this explanation as to why he thought he didn’t make the team:
“I thought the way I pitched this year, I’d have a chance to go to the All-Star Game. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know if the manager of All-Star Game is (ticked) at me because I went out with one of his girlfriends.”
Billy Hamilton Steals 100th Base
touched by the wheels of steel
Baseball scouts have called him the fastest man in baseball. At any level. And we bet you’ve never heard of him unless die hard MLB fan or one of the Class-A Bakersfield Blaze. Billy Hamilton, 6-foot-1 160-pounder, prospect of the Cincinnati Reds came into Monday night with 98 stolen bases on 119 attempts in only 77 games. He finished the night stealing two bases to reach the 100th mark.
Quite impressive when you consider a quarter century has passed since Vince Coleman, the last man to eclipse the century mark in the bigs, stole 109 bases for the St. Louis Cardinals. And Hamilton is well ahead of Coleman’s record for the most stolen bases in a season at any level, 145, set in 1983 with the Class-A Macon Redbirds.
“If I ran a (40-yard-dash) time, it wouldn’t be as fast as how fast I run when I’m stealing a base,” said the Taylorsville, Miss., native, who spurned a football scholarship to Mississippi State to sign with the Cincinnati Reds in 2009. “I’m more of a game-situation guy.”
Hamilton led all professional baseball players in stolen bases last year with 103. This season, his 100 stolen bases are 45 more than anyone else, at any level of professional baseball.
To add to Hamilton’s lore he also shares the same name as former Boston Beaneaters Billy Hamilton who played in the 19th century, and sits third on the MLB list of all-time leaders in stolen bases behind the likes of Rickey Henderson (1,406), Lou Brock (938).
Emergency Surgery Saves Mark Ellis Leg
Scary Stuff
Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Mark Ellis was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday following emergency surgery to remove pressure on his left leg, and will remain hospitalized until the middle of next week. He is expected to be out for at least six weeks.
“He was sent to the hospital, and testing showed elevated pressure in several compartments of the lower leg,” Dodgers trainer Sue Falsone told reporters following the Dodgers’ 6-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. “There was trauma to the area where everything kind of swells up, so you have to open up the fascia and basically release that pressure. They will keep an eye on it and most likely close that wound up on Tuesday.”
Ellis, 34, is the fifth position player and fourth regular that manager Don Mattingly has lost in a span of 11 days.
He was injured during the seventh inning of Friday night’s 6-5 Dodgers victory when he took a short toss from shortstop Dee Gordon on a fielder’s choice grounder by Shane Robinson and was upended by Tyler Greene on a hard but clean slide. The surgical procedure included having blood and fluids drained from his leg if they waited three or four more hours, Ellis may have lost his leg.The Dodgers already have center fielder Matt Kemp, third baseman Juan Uribe, left fielder Juan Rivera and utility infielder Jerry Hairston Jr. on the DL.
Ellis is batting .273 with two home runs and nine RBIs in 37 games with the Dodgers, who signed him as a free agent in November to a two-year, $8.75 million contract. The 11-year veteran had a fielding percentage of .900 or better in each of the previous seven seasons, and his .991 career mark entering this season was the second-best in history among second baseman behind Placido Polanco’s .993 mark.
Infielder Ivan DeJesus was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque to fill Ellis roster spot.
Mike Matheny Fines Himself For Missing National Anthem
Rook
St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny fines players fifty dollars for missing the National Anthem before a game and admitted over the weekend he has fined himself on two occasions. One of the few things that Matheny has implemented is that all Cardinals players must be on the the top step of the dugout for the National Anthem to show they are ready to go to work.
If a player misses the Anthem, Matheny fines the player $50 and the money goes directly to charity. However Matheny said he twice has not been able too live up to the rule he implemented due to different start times and he’s missed the Anthem so he went ahead and fined himself for the slip up.
St. Louis Cardinals Mike Matheny Admits Mistake Says Learning On The Job
Rook
St. Louis Cardinals rookie manager Mike Matheny was second-guessing himself after Tuesday’s night Win over the Cincinnati Reds.
Right-hander Kyle Lohse had shut out the Reds and had thrown only 90 pitches when Matheny did not let him start the eighth with the Cardinals leading 1-0. A dominant outing was nothing new this season for Lohse, who had allowed only one run in each of his first two starts.
Matheny’s over-managing kept Lohse from becoming the second three-game winner of the season after the Reds evened the score in the eighth with the help of two errors, one by reliever Mitchell Boggs. Afterward, Matheny showed he is not above admitting a mistake.
“In hindsight, absolutely I’d like to put him back out there,” he said. “I know that watching a win go away from your starter hurts. It hurt as a player and it hurts as a manager. You realize the guy deserves to come out of there with a W.”
He said the decision to take out Lohse was not made easily.
“Lot of consideration of leaving him in there,” Matheny said. “But that fourth time going through the order can be a tough thing, I have a tremendous amount of confidence in our bullpen right just like I will tomorrow. At that point, I thought we were in really good hands.”
Rally Squirrel Part Of St. Louis Cardinals World Series Ring
Happy Flight
The rally squirrel has moved on from T-shirts and stuffed animals to World Series rings. The World Series championship rings the St. Louis Cardinals received over the weekend pay homage to the squirrel that served as a good luck charm last fall.
A tiny squirrel appears below the Cardinals logo and just above the player’s number inside a home plate with bats crossed.
The Cardinals won two straight to upset the Philadelphia Phillies in the division series after a squirrel scampered across home plate as Skip Schumaker batted against Roy Oswalt.
Read more: http://aol.sportingnews.com/mlb/story/2012-04-15/rally-squirrel-part-of-championship-ring-design#ixzz1sBx3SRRc
Lance Berkman Gives Away Teammates Truck In April Fools Prank
HEY! That's My Truck
St. Louis Cardinals Lance Berkman pulled off the best April Fool’s prank yesterday, when just prior to the third inning he drove a 2009 white Chevrolet Silverado onto the warning track at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla. The public address announcer declared that it would be given away to a lucky fan.
However the truck wasn’t Berkmans or the Cardinals to give away it in fact belonged to teammate Adam Wainwright, who was in the dugout at the time.
Wainwright watched as the supposed prize winners, a father and son and cousin to World Series MVP David Freese, climbed into the pickup bed and Berkman drove them toward the home dugout. Wainwright did a double-take as the truck drove around the field and was in shock when he realized the truck belonged to him.
“Hilarious,” Wainwright said of the practical joke. “Those are the kinds of things that keep baseball pretty fun.”
Cardinals Broadcast Fails To Identify Player
MAJOR FAIL
Minor League Guy is actually Oscar Taveras, the second ranked prospect in the entire St. Louis Cardinals organization. Taveras, at just 19 years old, won the Midwest League batting title last year at Quad Cities with a healthy .386 average. In fact, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently profiled him as a player who will sell tickets in the future:
Taveras, a native of Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, signed with the Cardinals as a teenage free agent for $145,000 in 2008. He made his debut domestically in 2010, and later that year hit .322 for rookie-level Johnson City. That striking ability to hit is what the Cardinals saw when he first tried out for them at 16.
But with all that the Cardinals broadcast team failed to identify him.
St. Louis Cardinals Will Wear Gold Caps & Jerseys For Home Opener
12 in 12
The St. Louis Cardinals will be on the road in Mimai to help the Marlins opening their new ballpark but when the Redbirds arrive back home they will be donning a new pair of caps and jerseys.
On April 13 the Cardinals return home to play the Chicago Cubs, who haven’t won a World Series in 103 years, the ring ceremony will commemorate the Cardinals 11th World Series championship.
Lance Berkman Says Bud Selig Used Extortion On Houston Astros
Fat Elvis
St. Louis Cardinals Lance Berkman says baseball Commissioner Bud Selig used extortion to get new Houston Astros owner Jim Crane to change leagues as a condition for the team’s sale in November.
Berkman told ESPN.com and CBSSports.com in an interview at Kissimmee, Fla.: “I feel basically like the commissioner extorted Jim Crane into moving the Astros.”
Although a key figure on last year’s World Series champion Cardinals, Berkman still has a soft spot for the Astros and Houston, where he played for 12 seasons.
Four months ago, Berkman termed it a “travesty” that the Astros were being forced to move to the American League in 2013 to facilitate baseball’s scheduling realignment. And Berkman said he’d feel comfortable using the word “extort” in face-to-face conversation with Selig, should the opportunity present itself.
“If he called me, I would tell him,” Berkman said. “I think that’s exactly what it was. To tell (Crane), ‘We’re going to hold the sale of the team up until you guys agreed to switch?’ It just happened that the Astros were being sold at an optimal time for that to happen.”
It’s not the first time Berkman has kicked sand Selig’s way. In September 2008, after MLB determined an Astros-Cubs series should be played in Milwakee after Hurricane Ike, Berkman said: “Major League Baseball has always valued the dollar more than they do the individual, the players and their families.”
Selig took out a two-page ad in the Houston Chronicle to justify the move. Crane agreed to buy the Astros for $680 million last May but sought to renegotiate erms after the Players Association and the commissioner’s office agreed on a realignment plan that would place 15 teams in each league.The Astros were reluctant to switch leagues because of increased travel costs and increased short-term costs to produce a designated hitter.
Crane told ESPN.com that he did, in fact, receive a price reduction to $615 million with former Astros owner Drayton McLane and the other 29 MLB teams making up the difference. Crane isn’t complaining about the settlement and, apparently, not looking for sympathy from Berkman.
“I think it was a good deal for baseball,” Crane told ESPN.com. “I think it was a good deal for our owners. Would we have preferred to stay in the National League? Probably, yeah. But that wasn’t the deal that was presented to us.
“Lance can say what Lance wants to say. He has great ties to the Astros and was a great player there for years. We certainly understand that he’s opinionated, but I wouldn’t use that strong a term (‘extort’). I think it was just a business deal that got renegotiated.”
While it may be all fine with Crane, we’ll see if there might just be a fine from Selig.
Glad to know the Fat Elvis listens to the show since I’ve been saying this exact same thing since the notion of the Houston Astros being moved into the American League was brought up.
Tony La Russa Has A Book Coming Out
2,728
Tony La Russa has written a book with Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch detailing how the St. Louis Cardinals roared back from 10 1/2 games out of the playoff picture to winning the World Series in 2011.
“One Last Strike: Fifty Years in Baseball, Ten and a Half Games Back, and One Final Championship Season” is scheduled to be published this fall.
Lance Berkman Shows Up To Spring Training With Porn Stache
Junior From Reno 911
The St. Louis Cardinals are asking a lot out of Lance Berkman this coming up season as he moves from right field to first base for the departed Albert Pujols. Berkman coming off being named NL Comeback Player of the Year has taken it upon himself to show up this years spring training even in lighter shape than last year.
Looking trim wasn’t the only thing New Braunfels own wanted to show off at Jupiter, Florida. No, Berkman wanted to show off his new porn stache he grew since helping the Cardinals win the World Series.
Epic
Albert Pujols Name Dropped From St. Louis Restaurant
Imagine If He Left Oh Wait He Did
The owners of the St. Louis restaurant that beared Albert Pujols name, the Pujols 5 Westport Grill, dropped the slugger’s name from the establishment. The bar and grill opened Thursday with a new name, the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame Bar and Grill.
A 10-foot, bronze statue of Pujols likeness, donated in November, will remain on the grounds of the complex. Todd Perry, chief executive of the Pujols Family Foundation, said there were no plans to remove it. The restaurant does not own the statue. Business had slowed since Pujols signed a 10-year, $240 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels in December.
Restaurant owner Patrick Hanon said “it didn’t make sense” to continue his relationship with Pujols.
“The Pat Hanon family remains fully supportive of the mission and work of the Pujols Family Foundation and thanks Albert and Deidra for their friendship and partnership in the restaurant for the past five years,” Hanon said. “We wish them only the best.”
Pujols’ name had been associated with the restaurant since 2006.
“I want to wish Pat Sr., Dave, Pat Jr., and the rest of the Hanon family nothing but success and happiness with their new restaurant,” Pujols said. “They are passionate about what they do and that is why the Hanon’s are the best in the business.”
Skip Schumaker’s Baseball Card Features Rally Squirrel & No Skip
Rodent Famous
Cant take the the 2,383 MLB plate appearances from St. louis Skip Schumaker but baseball card company Topps can take away from him appearing in their 2012 edition of cards. Schumaker was fine with the Rally Squirrel stealing his thunder during Game 4 of the Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies in October. That was then and this is now.
“It’s pretty ridiculous,” Schumaker told FOXSportsMidwest.com. “I have a shoe on my baseball card. And a squirrel. It’s pretty ridiculous.”
As part of a “Going Golden” promotion in the new 2012 Topps Series 1 set, the Rally Squirrel will be featured on special gold cards that will be inserted randomly into packs. The card says Schumaker’s name in the bottom left corner but shows only the bottom of his right leg and cleat. Prominently featured instead is the Rally Squirrel darting in front of home plate.
“It’s not disappointing, it’s just ridiculous,” Schumaker said. “I don’t know how else to explain it other than that. You expect to have some sort of action shot or something but it’s like a mascot card to me. ”I’m not frustrated, I just think people are going to look at it and laugh and that’s ridiculous. I don’t care about what I look like or anything but it’s literally just a squirrel that has nothing to do with me.”
“The Rally Squirrel was fun during the series and it worked, so people had fun with it,” Schumaker said. “I had fun with it and everybody thought it was a good thing for the fans. Torty was funny, but is Allen Craig going to have a tortoise on his card? I just think it’s pretty ridiculous. ”That’s really the question. Are they just going to have animals on cards now?”
Steven Tyler Tells Joe Magrane His 15 Year Old Daughter Is Hot, Humid, & Happening
For those that don’t know Joe Magrane had an 8 year career in Major League Baseball and even pitched Game 7 of the 1987 World Series for the St. louis Cardinals against the Minnesota Twins. Magrane can now be found on MLB Network where is one of their top anchors.
However last night on American Idol he was just dad as his 15 year old daughter Shannon Magrane auditioned in front of the judges. One of those judges, Steven Tyler, creepy said to Joe that his daughter was “hot, humid and happening”
Deidre Pujols Says St. Louis Cardinals Fans Deceived
He Left
Albert Pujols wife, Deidre, says that St. Louis Cardinals fans “have been deceived” by published reports detailing the financial commitment the ballclub was willing to make to its franchise player. Pujols eventually signed a 10-year, $254 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels, some $44 million above what the Cardinals were willing to offer.
Deidre Pujols says it was more significant than that, and that her husband was stung by the fact they, at least initially, were only willing to guarantee five years of a contract.
As she put it to the “Greg and Sandi Show” on 99.1 FM in St. Louis:
“The offers that people have seen on television, I’m going to tell you what …. had that offer been the one that was given to us, with guarantee, we would have a bird on the bat. … What I’m saying is it wasn’t a guaranteed situation. When you have somebody say, ‘We want you to be a Cardinal for life’ and only offer you a five-year deal … it kind of confused us. … Well, we got over that insult and felt like Albert had given so much of himself to baseball and into the community that he at least deserved the opportunity to have real life-long — you know, I tell you what — we didn’t want to go through this again. Free agency, it’s stressful.”
Pujols became a free agent,the Cardinals initial offer was five years guaranteed for $130 million, far less than the roughly $198 million they offered Pujols in spring training. Their ultimate 10-year, $210 million offer deferred a significant portion of salary without interest.
Danica Patrick Yahoo’s Most Searched Athlete In 2011
TALENT
Yahoo today released its Year In Review data for 2011, and there isn’t a single NFL or MLB player on its 10-deep list of “Top Searched Athletes.” Perhaps far more notable is that five of the top 10 are women, including the top spot, which went to the GoDaddy.com girl, Danica Patrick. Danica jumped all the way to No. 1 from No. 6 last year, when Manny Pacquiao topped the 2010 list.
Last year, the only NFL player to make the list was Brett Favre, at No. 4.
But the biggest surprise is that it appears web surfers have finally given up the hunt for new photos of Anna Kournikova. She was No. 3 in 2010, but didn’t make Yahoo’s list this year. Two others to drop off were skier Lindsey Vonn and soccer’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
- 1. Danica Patrick
- 2. Tiger Woods
- 3. Manny Pacquiao
- 4. Maria Sharapova
- 5. Serena Williams
- 6. Kris Humphries
- 7. Hope Solo
- 8. Kobe Bryant
- 9. Lamar Odom
- 10. Caroline Wozniacki
Yahoo also tracked which teams were searched for most often, and there MLB dominated, with five selections, including the No. 1 New York Yankees. The NFL had three teams, the NBA one and soccer checked in with one. The surprise there is that the Miami Heat didn’t make the list.
- 1. New York Yankees
- 2. Pittsburgh Steelers
- 3. Boston Red Sox
- 4. Green Bay Packers
- 5. Texas Rangers
- 6. St. Louis Cardinals
- 7. Detroit Tigers
- 8. Chicago Bears
- 9. Manchester United
- 10. Los Angeles Lakers
