tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20910947374079968572024-03-19T05:11:04.795-07:00Cajun CardinalCardinals and Crawfish...Anything better?Harrison Hudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14584938813530937887noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091094737407996857.post-43118961563833260462015-01-31T07:16:00.000-08:002015-01-31T07:18:47.358-08:00UCB January Project: The Timeless TicketIt's any baseball fan's dream -- the ability to essentially travel back in time to witness any game of their choosing. Every fan, of course, would approach their choice differently; in fact, I'm sure many would find it too overwhelming to whittle their wide scope of possibilities down to one, single, solitary moment in baseball history.<br />
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No easier is the task of selecting a single game from the annals of Cardinal history, which is what the United Cardinal Bloggers have in store as a fitting cap for the year's first month. A simple glance back into one's memory may reveal countless things worthy of such a bestowal. Think of the great moments of the past, whether immortalized or forgotten. Was it the momentous occasions, the World Series matchups, the things you find memorabilia for on a bookshelf or mantle? Or was it the quieter times, where the real feel of the sport lies?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>COURTESY NPR.org</i></td></tr>
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The seemingly endless days of summer, the oft-overlooked heroes of a forgotten time. What would you do for a glance at someone like Stan Musial or Bob Gibson at the height of their career? Now, after you've thought about that for a moment, what would you do for a sighting of them in their fledgling days -- those moments that lay treasured as some of the best-kept secrets in baseball.<br />
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Imagine the day -- September 17, 1941 -- nothing like the summer days I described in the last paragrahph, but a great day for baseball at Sportsman's Park. The Browns were out of town on a trip to Washington, so the Cards were alone in the city, and it was a good chance for the weekday crowd to take advantage of a doubleheader with the Boston Braves. An extra game of baseball, though, was not all that was in store.<br />
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Yes, after the Cards took a 6-1 victory in the <a href="http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1941/B09171SLN1941.htm" target="_blank">first game</a>, a young, lithe outfielder by the name of Stan Musial got the nod for <a href="http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1941/B09172SLN1941.htm" target="_blank">game two</a>. His stats, while not overwhelming, were excellent for a debut outing. He went 2-for-4 with two RBI, essentially the best batting performance for St. Louis that evening.<br />
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That little doubleheader that launched a legendary career? I'd love to be a part of the lucky crowd of 7,713 that got to witness what baseball is all about.<br />
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Harrison Hudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14584938813530937887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091094737407996857.post-88251650807785287002014-12-31T09:48:00.001-08:002015-01-31T07:16:56.511-08:00UCB December Project: Five Top Stories of 2014Without further ado, here's my take at the December UCB project, naming the five top stories of 2014.<br />
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<b><i>Taveras "opens the sky"</i></b><br />
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What better way to make your MLB debut than belting a homerun as your first big league hit. There was something even better with the dearly departed Oscar Taveras' opening shot. <i>It was like he opened the sky</i>, his surprised teammates noted, as the sun began to break through the clouds on a dreary, misty day in St. Louis. As the young outfielder took in his standing ovation outside the dugout, the rays of light shone in his direction like a celestial spotlight. Rest in peace, Oscar.<br />
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<b><i>Cards pitch in to make it work with Molina out of commission</i></b><br />
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When Yadier Molina sustained a thumb injury while sliding into third base during an early July encounter with the Pirates, Cardinal Nation collectively held their breath. How would the club sustain itself without a player like Yadi, who not only is famed for his intense coverage of baserunners, but for his leadership qualities and other little advantages he brings to the diamond? Well, last season, we got to find out.<br />
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A July 9 entry on my old blog read as follows:<br />
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<i>It’s obvious.</i></blockquote>
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<i>It takes a lot to achieve success; especially when you’re on a baseball field. A fluid, hard-working team is what can make the difference between a postgame celebration and dejected walk back to the clubhouse.</i></blockquote>
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<i>But sometimes, in the name of success, one of the links of the analogical chain that comprises a baseball club find themselves knocked out of competition.</i></blockquote>
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<i>Tonight, Yadier Molina found himself in one of those situations, spraining his thumb on a third inning slide into third base. He exited the game after the inning, and his capable backup Tony Cruz replaced him.</i></blockquote>
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Cruz, along with A.J. Pierzynski -- who, as a free agent, was recently picked up by the Atlanta Braves -- and, on a much smaller scale, George Kottaras, picked up Molina's duties for a time and kept the club intact, even without a leader like Molina.<br />
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<b><i>Cards start NLCS on high note</i></b><br />
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As if they needed to be any closer, as tight-knit as a baseball club can be. Game one of the series with Los Angeles set the tone for what was to come. Despite being down 6-1, the Cardinals showed they still had enough -- and perhaps, more than enough -- fight left in them, as Matt Carpenter's solo homer in the sixth was the prelude to a massive seventh inning, where the Redbirds came alive with eight runs. The Birds withstood a late Dodger rally and took game one in stunning fashion, 10-9.<br />
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<b><i>Seth "Double Play" Maness</i></b><br />
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It's meant as a higher honor than such a nickname bestowed upon ... some former players, but Maness, in his relief outings, displayed that he had a knack for getting batters to ground into double plays. In 2013, he forced sixteen, while he was responsible for twelve last season.<br />
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<b><i>Through struggles, Waino shows he's still the one</i></b><br />
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There was a lot of finger-pointing towards Adam Wainwright as his some of his struggles and shortcomings began to show again last season, but through all this, and through all the adversity a season can bring, Waino secured twenty wins and posted the lowest ERA (2.38) of any Redbird starter. Along with Molina, Wainwright is a kind of "face of the franchise," and he showed he still had the power to make that claim last season.<br />
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Well, that's my take. Thanks for reading; hope you enjoyed it, at least to some extent.<br />
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<br />Harrison Hudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14584938813530937887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091094737407996857.post-86157763860452714122014-12-26T10:17:00.000-08:002014-12-26T10:17:11.577-08:00New BeginningsIt's been much too long. Starting afresh with a new blog, I'm entering the world of Cardinals blogging once again. I'd like to extend an unconscionable apology for allowing this project to fall into intense disrepair, and I hope that you will enjoy reading my takes on Cardinal baseball.<br />
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Yesterday, I watched a bevy of games from last season -- part of Fox Sports Midwest's annual Christmas Day marathon, which is an excellent thing -- and, in reality, that was the first time I could verily get into baseball since a bruising October took me out of it.<br />
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First, the Cards' season was ended, the hopes of a pennant charge dashed -- which is bad enough in itself. However, something happened later that month that put things into perspective and showed that sometimes, baseball needs to take the back seat. That would be the tragic passing of Oscar Taveras, a young outfield prospect that had much to live for, in an automotive accident.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5IZrp7j7zni8_oApdQLA9LaJDZqyuTrt7LboqeJX4RZXAQiTiEPGUTg2ekOx_osSEC8XrlKcUnZAi4oH-E1nV1TNlvZkXcI9-nhlSg6Rgjsnu4e-DH8o-t9r5oSF7Spg2321kUuQC6vnA/s1600/download.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5IZrp7j7zni8_oApdQLA9LaJDZqyuTrt7LboqeJX4RZXAQiTiEPGUTg2ekOx_osSEC8XrlKcUnZAi4oH-E1nV1TNlvZkXcI9-nhlSg6Rgjsnu4e-DH8o-t9r5oSF7Spg2321kUuQC6vnA/s1600/download.png" /></a>That was just too much to bear. Yesterday, then, was the first time I could watch baseball or hardly anything pertaining to it in several months. The selection of games, which ranged from extra-inning comebacks that followed a late-game un-gluing, to Taveras' first hit, an exhilarating homerun that seemed to "open the sky," as his teammates put it, brought back some of the excitement, the rush that I had missing.<br />
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And I'm glad it did.<br />
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You may not know me, but I'm really not the type that constantly scours websites for trade rumors, either genuine or baseless, or keep a fiercely watchful eye on every minor-league prospect. I just love and appreciate the game of baseball. I play it, I watch it, I love it. It's just baseball.<br />
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With all that being said, I pick up on news as I go. This is an offseason in which I have devoted a little less time than usual in dissecting and discussing the moves emanating from the parent organization. Something I'm anxious to see is how the club actually approaches the outfield situation, which saw the addition of a big name, Jason Heyward, in a trade which also saw the departure of Shelby Miller to the Braves, and relief pitcher<br />
Jordan Walden.<br />
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However, there's still time -- and sure changes, minor or not -- and as a wise person once said, there's a lot of baseball to play. It's just taking its time to get here.Harrison Hudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14584938813530937887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091094737407996857.post-17082819327914199452014-11-26T14:57:00.000-08:002014-12-30T19:32:55.769-08:002014 UCB Awards BallotIt's that time of year again. As we continue to drift away from the conclusion of the 2014 season, and begin to become entranced with the holidays, there's no better time than the present to cast our votes for the 2014 Cardinal Blogger Awards.<br />
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<li><b><u>Player of the Year:</u> Matt Holliday</b></li>
<li><u style="font-weight: bold;">Pitcher of the Year:</u> <b>Adam Wainwright</b></li>
<li><u style="font-weight: bold;">Game of the Year:</u> There were few games that filled me with pride more than <b>Game One of the NLDS</b> against the Dodgers.</li>
<li><u style="font-weight: bold;">Surprising Player of the Year:</u> <b>Pat Neshek</b></li>
<li><u style="font-weight: bold;">Disappointing Player of the Year:</u> <b>Justin Masterson</b></li>
<li><u style="font-weight: bold;">Cardinal Rookie of the Year:</u> <b>Kolten Wong</b></li>
<li><u style="font-weight: bold;">Acquisition of the Year:</u> <b>Jhonny Peralta</b></li>
<li><u style="font-weight: bold;">Cardinal Moment of the Year:</u> I remember hearing the news of a rookie named Oscar Taveras, who "opened the sky," according to his teammates, with his first MLB homerun. </li>
<li><u style="font-weight: bold;">Most Anticipated Cardinal:</u> <b>Rob Kaminsky</b></li>
<li><b><u>Best Individual Cardinal Blog:</u> <a href="http://retrosimba.com/">RetroSimba</a>. </b>I mean, who doesn't love some history--especially in the excellent way Mark presents it.</li>
<li><u style="font-weight: bold;">Best Team Cardinal Blog:</u> <b><a href="http://cardinalsfarm.com/">CardinalsFarm</a>.</b></li>
<li><u style="font-weight: bold;">Best Media Coverage:</u> <b>Derrick Goold</b></li>
<li><b style="text-decoration: underline;">Best Rookie Cardinal Blog:</b> <b><a href="http://www.cardsconclave.com/author/doug/">Baseball Geek in Galveston</a>. </b>Doug, now writing under the Cards Conclave banner, never fails to convey his message, well-thought-out as it is, without a welcome tone of cordiality and a certain personal hint that helps a reader identify with the author, a quality that is unfortunately lacking in today's media world. I've met many wonderful friends through the UCB, but none so much as Doug--he is always there with a helping hand, whether it be a post suggestion, advice, or anything else.</li>
<li><u style="font-weight: bold;">Post of the Year:</u> <b><a href="http://www.cardsconclave.com/2014/09/27/thinking-playoff-baseball/">"Thinking of Playoff Baseball" by Dan Buffa</a>. </b>This, with its memory-provoking lookbacks and calm, laid-back feel, grabbed my vote. </li>
<li><u style="font-weight: bold;">Best UCB Project:</u> <b>Bloggers as Players</b></li>
<li><b><u>Best UCB Podcast:</u> Gateway to Baseball Heaven</b></li>
<li><u style="font-weight: bold;">Best non-UCB Podcast:</u> <b>Best Podcast in Baseball</b></li>
<li><u style="font-weight: bold;">Best 'Twitterer':</u> <b><a href="https://twitter.com/chambersb7">Ben Chambers</a></b></li>
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Harrison Hudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14584938813530937887noreply@blogger.com0