Subject: Jason Motte

• Young & Restless: Will 2009 finally be a breakthrough year for top Cardinals prospects?

  April 1, 2009

• The Seven Brightest St. Louis Cardinals Prospects

  September 10, 2008

• Baseball Card of the Week: Ben Sheets

  It's Christmas time here in the Gateway City, and in honor of this most wonderful time of the year, I've decided that this week's Card of the Week is going to be a little bit different. See, this week, instead of featuring a player who recently won an award, or signed a big contract, or exposed himself to a television camera, I'm going to ask Santa Claus, or perhaps Cardinals GM John Mozeliak ("Santa Moze"), to bring me something. 

  December 19, 2008

• Last Night: Tony Takes his Best Shot with Brad Thompson

  That very well may have been the worst game of the year. Now, I know that it's only the ninth game of this young season. I don't mean it was the worst so far. I mean that if we actually see a worse game all season, it's going to shock the living shit out of me, because honestly, I just don't see how a game could actually suck more than that contest we witnessed last night. On the upside, the Cards are still playing very well, with a 6-3 record. On the downside, well, that's sort of what I w

  April 15, 2009

• Cardinals Nickname Poll: Call for Jason Motte Nominations!

  You know him, you love him, but now it's time to start thinking of a nickname for him. Yes, we're referring to up-and-comin', goggles-sportin' Cardinals reliever Jason Motte.

  May 1, 2009

• Maybe Duncan's Just Too Busy?

  Adam Wainwright has discovered a flaw in his delivery, and will shortly be back to perennial Cy Young contender form. He and Chris Carpenter, papier mache ace extraordinaire, were looking at some video yesterday, and, wonder of wonders, they found out what was wrong with Adam's mechanics! I'm a little curious, though: where was Dave Duncan in all of this? 

  May 11, 2009

• Roster Problems

  Yesterday afternoon, we saw what was, in my ever so humble opinion, the best start so far this year from a Cardinal go to waste. Chris Carpenter deserves some apologies, and a better outcome next time out. The question, of course, is how do you get him a better outcome next time? 

  May 26, 2009

• Motte's Walkoff Mistake

  In the future, I wonder if the slider will come to be known as "Motte's Folly?" I can only hope so, because that would at least make the ugliness we witnessed at the end of last night's game worth something. 

  June 10, 2009

• Postgame Thoughts, 18th June: Double You. Tee. Eff.

  -Okay, so Jo-El Pineiro crapped the bed quite mightily in the first inning, but he certainly had some help from the defense. Just an ugly inning all around, the sort that we really haven't seen too many of from the Cards lately. Typing that, I find myself a bit surprised, to be quite honest. It hadn't even really occurred to me until just now that the Cardinal defense has improved markedly from where it was earlier this season. I still think Skippy Schumaker is hurting the team at second ba

  June 19, 2009

• Mark DeRosa Joins the Cardinals

  When I heard last night that the Cardinals had acquired Mark DeRosa for Chris Perez and a player to be named later, I went through what I like to call a three part response. Part one: "Hey, we got DeRosa! Sweet! Good job getting a deal done, Mo. Glad to see them upgrade the team." Part two: "Chris Perez? Man, that sucks. Damn. I really like Perez. Seems like an awful lot to give up for a three month rental of Mark DeRosa. Well, still cool they got him, but I hate losing Perez." Pa

  June 28, 2009

• Game Notes: Cardinals 5, Brew Crew 0, 7th July

  -- I think that may have been the Cards' best win of the year so far. Facing the staff ace of their chief rival for the division, playing the first game of a truly pivotal three-game series, and they come up big, even sans Albert heroics. Too often, this team only performs when Albert Pujols puts them on his shoulders; outstanding to see the guys batting on either side of him in the lineup make their contributions count. 

  July 8, 2009

• The Cardinals Second Half Preview

  First, and most importantly, you'll have to forgive the lack of a clever title. I thought and thought, then thought some more, and really just didn't like any of the options I came up with. Some were too obscure, some not obscure enough, some didn't make much sense, still others lacked any tie to the subject at hand. Thus, in the interest of clarity, I give you this dull and lifeless title. Nonetheless, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive. Second, does it bother anyone else that

  July 17, 2009

• Game Notes: Cardinals 10, Dodgers 0 - A Vintage Ass Kicking

  -- Chad Billingsley is really, really good. It isn't often you see a pitcher with that kind of ability, that combination of velocity, movement, and location. Personally, I think Billingsley needs to learn to use both sides of the plate more effectively, as he essentially stays in the same area all game long, especially to right-handed hitters. Working to the third base side of the plate more often would add another dimension to what is already a pretty impressive repertoire. You might be as

  July 29, 2009

• Russ Springer: An Opportunity Missed?

  Russ Springer was claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Rays just the other day, and I can't help but wonder if the Cardinals didn't miss an opportunity by not putting in a claim of their own. Springer, you'll remember, spent both the 2007 and 2008 seasons with the Cardinals, pitching remarkably well both years, particularly '08. In fact, for most of last season, he was probably the Cards' most dependable reliever, though Tony La Russa was extremely cautious (and wisely so, in my opinion), a

  August 9, 2009

• Game Notes: Astros 4, Cardinals 3 08/27/09 -- An Ugly Loss

  failblog.org​-- I hate Brian Moehler. A lot. It never fails to irritate me when the Cardinals get shut down by some journeyman pitcher, and it happens every single time they see Moehler. Somehow, he has still never lost to the Birds, despite being an incredibly mediocre pitcher overall. Hell, take out his numbers against the Cards, and I could almost see him being a below-average pitcher. It's maddening. Memo to any team who thinks they might see the Cardinals in the playoffs: pick up Brian Mo

  August 27, 2009

• Game Notes: Cardinals 13, Redlegs 0, 1/10/09 -- Carpenter Does it Himself

  The Cardinals have had many, many great hitting pitchers in their long and illustrious history. Bob Gibson hit 24 home runs in his career and posted a .751 OPS in 1970. Mark Mulder was a designated hitter during his college career at Michigan State, as was Dan Haren at Pepperdine. Jason Marquis is a former Silver Slugger award winner. Both players in the worst trade the Cardinals have ever made, Rick Wise for Steve Carlton, were very good hitters. So there is plenty of history in the annals of C

  October 1, 2009

• NLDS Game One Recap: Dodgers 5, Cardinals 3

  Okay, so it wasn't quite the start the Cardinals were hoping for. Okay, so maybe that isn't quite strong enough. ​Going into last night's game, the Cardinals should have been confident. Hell, even I was confident, and I am never, ever, ever confident when it comes to October baseball. The 'Birds were facing a team they had beaten like a rented drum all season long, with their ace on the mound squaring off against a very nice, but also very beatable journeyman hurler in Randy Wolf.&nb

  October 8, 2009

• Ryan Franklin vs. Matt Holliday: Playing the Blame Game

  ​So the question must eventually be asked, you know. I don't want to have to ask it, and I'm sure you probably don't want to have to try and answer, but the question will not just go away. So here goes. Who was really at fault for the Cardinals ninth-inning, two-out implosion Thursday night? Was it Matt Holliday, the man who shall now be known forevermore as Ol' Three Ball Holly, or Ryan Franklin, the Cardinals' budget-conscious, Dave Duncan reclamation project version of Brad Lidge? 

  October 10, 2009