I went to Wrigley to watch a rather interesting game saturday.

Highlights.
- I don't know exactly how mad Carpenter was at Brendan Ryan when he tunneled him, but he was absolutely fucking fuming at Anderson for throwing a rundown 3rd out into left field.
- Hawksworth was wheeled out on a stretcher right in front of me taking a smoke break outside wrigley (I left for a cig when Salas was warming up). I decided that while I hate him taking the ball in any game that doesn't already carry an 8 run lead in either direction, it wasn't a good time to tell him what a bum I thought he was on the mound.
- Cubs fans at the stadium were remarkably nice, this of course wasn't a Cubs/Cards pennant race battle, but I was still suprised at the level of decency they had.

I'm also on board with the "throw tonights game to let Cincinnati celebrate via cell phone" idea. Go Pirates.

I saw the replay of the Anderson's overthrow and it looked pretty bad, which happens a lot when people get their first shot at the big leagues, but I also couldn't figure out why we had a dwarf playing third base.  Does Eddie Gaedel have a grandson?

In the past, LaRussa has drawn the line on pitchers wanting to have their personal catcher and I respected him for it.  But I can't help but wonder if we don't find ourselves in the current situation because one or more of the veterans, especially Carpenter, made it clear that he would be very unhappy if TLR expected him to pitch to someone other than Molina.

I'm with you and Artie on hoping that the Reds clinch tonight but for entirely different reasons.  There are quite a few players on the Reds team that I like and others that I at least respect.  Assuming they are the adults that I like to think they are, I think it would be good for them to be excused from participating in that sort of nonsense.  But I'm usually disappointed with people, e.g., Hoffman's contractual provision for a private suite.

artie_fufkin wrote:

I like Rolen and of course my affinity for Edmonds is exceeded maybe only by yours (and Rocket's, but that's ground not worth covering again), but in spite of whatever influence they may have in the clubhouse, the Reds are a very cocky team. And it's not just guys like Gomes and Phillips anymore. Votto has taken to standing in the batter's box to watch his home runs clear the wall lately. Almost every last one of them bitches whenever a close pitch is called a strike. And then there's Cueto. Anyone heard anything since about his supposed "family emergency" that kept him out of St. Louis?
It's been a long, long time since I've loathed a baseball team as much as I loathe this year's Reds. Maybe the '87 Giants.

You've obviously watched them a lot more than I have and I confess that I've seen a lot of stuff out of Votto in my limited exposure recently that have changed my opinion of him.  I really don't have that much interest these days and for some reason our local stations don't seem to be carrying the Reds games a much as they were previously.  Comcast has had about 4 channels that show two out of three (Braves, Cards, and Reds) on a regularly basis.  For the Cards, it's never on a Sunday.  Otherwise it's pretty much of a toss-up.  As I mentioned before, our local cable guide is completely useless.

Sadly, I'm afraid that bout the Reds had with the Cards - which I don't blame on either Molina or Carp (well, maybe a little on Carp) -- and the wrist slap treatment that Cueto got has really brought out the worst in them.  And they certainly don't have the right manager to keep it in check.

But in addition to Rolen and Edmonds, I also enjoy the redemption that Walt is getting.

Last edited by Mags (9/27/2010 12:10 pm)

artie_fufkin wrote:

But Walt doesn't need to redeem himself. That the Cardinals didn't recognize his value is their fault.

And a testament to the political skills of LaRussa.  The only way they could keep LaRussa from destroying the farm system, or rather keeping it down was by replacing Walt with someone who didn't have the same sense of loyalty to TLR.  After 2006, TLR had wrapped himself in Pujols and they were afraid to go directly to the problem and fire him.