Subject: Ryan Franklin

• Tough Times Ahead for Cardinals Pitching

  April 2, 2008

• Cards Blog: Wainwright should have received the 'W'

  April 22, 2008

• Cards Blog: Wainwright should have received the 'W'

  April 22, 2008

• Tough Times Ahead for Cardinals Pitching

  April 2, 2008

• It Hurts to Say It: The Case for Lance Berkman for MVP

  May 30, 2008

• Heartbreaking Loss in D.C. Could Have Been Avoided

  June 6, 2008

• Cards: Another Day, Another Bullpen Collapse

  July 22, 2008

• The Case for Kyle McClellan as the Cards Closer

  July 28, 2008

• Joe Mather a Bright Spot in a Frustrating Season

  July 29, 2008

• Watching Cardinals' Bullpen is Second-Worst Pain Ever

  August 6, 2008

• McClellan, Perez, Show Against Marlins They are Future of Cardinals Bullpen

  August 12, 2008

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

  April 1, 2009

• Awards Time: The Best of the Cardinals and the Cardinal Blogs

  I've spoken in the past of the United Cardinal Bloggers project, I know. Well, see, it's the time of year when those of us who take part in such things all gather 'round the flickering monitor screen and take a vote. We vote on things large and small, exquisite and banal. And then, when all the votes are tabulated, the christening of the winners takes place in the UCB Fortress of Solitude. What? We can't have a Fortress of Solitude? Why not? Superman had one. Oh, I get it. You think that a 197

  November 25, 2008

• Top 10 Stories about the 2009 St. Louis Cardinals

  Spring training is officially underway, with real, no-foolin' games being played and everything. The beginning of a long, twisty road that leads through summer and into autumn, hopefully ending late in October with a nice, new piece of hardware to add to the trophy case at Busch Stadium.At the very least, it promises to be an interesting season, one which will likely go a long ways toward deciding how the fan base views the Cardinals' new-found commitment to a build-from-within philosophy. In fa

  February 26, 2009

• Playing Like a Cardinal in 2009

  A couple of days ago I received a very nice email, from a man who works in the Cardinals' Fan Development Office (I assume that's what used to be referred to as marketing), passing along a link to the Cards' new batch of advertisements for 2009. They're using the Play Like a Cardinal theme again this year; it worked pretty well last season, I suppose, and personally, I thought they were pretty good. (In fact, the only one I really didn't care for was the commercial with Jason Isringhausen c

  March 16, 2009

• Ryan Franklin's New Beard Must Be Stopped

  Okay, the time has come for someone to put their foot down, and that foot is me. Something has got to be done about that thing on Ryan Franklin's face.  I don't know what the fuck it is, or exactly what Franklin thought he was going for when he started trying to cultivate it, but this has gone too far. Franklin's beard, or whatever you want to call it, has reached a Little Shop of Horrors sort of status at this point. And I'm looking for a man with an axe to help me do what must b

  April 14, 2009

• Cardinals Post-Game Notes: April 16, 2009

  Just a couple of quick impressions from the Cards' first contest of the year against the Chicago Nine.  

  April 16, 2009

• "La Russa Becomes The First Manager to Think for the Cycle"

  blogs.seattleweekly.comThat's the line one of the best baseball writers on the planet, the Seattle Times' Larry Stone, uses to talk up the intelligence of the animal rights activist formerly known as Cards manager Tony La Russa in his always-hilarious "Power Rankings" column.Stone happens to think pretty highly of the Redbirds: he has them and their 17-8 record sitting atop his weekly rankings.Are the Cardinals really the best team in baseball right now? The Dodgers or Red Sox probably deserve t

  May 4, 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

• Josh Kinney v2.0: Now 65% More Awesome

  To this point in the 2009 season, the Cardinal bullpen has been one of the most consistent strengths for Tony La Russa's squad. The offense was brilliant early, then fell apart completely at the seams. The starting rotation has been mostly strong, but injuries and less than sterling performances from Todd Wellemeyer, as well as Adam Wainwright's struggles to find consistency, have led to the occasional adventure. But the relief pitching has been remarkably strong, even with the frustrations over

  June 22, 2009

• All-Star Game Opening Ceremony Highlights for the ADD-Addled

  Did the sweeping music of the All-Star game's opening ceremonies lull you to sleep? Did the "All-Stars Among Us" video bore you to tears, or just cause you to change the channel? Did all that talking by MC Joe Buck aggravate you? If so -- but you still want to catch up on a bit o' baseball history that happened right here in St. Louis tonight -- here's your rundown, courtesy of a television that's older than the American League's winning streak.Ryan Franklin and his beard are introduced.

  July 14, 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

• Foul Territory: Unreal goes outside the lines during All-Star Week

  July 22, 2009

• Circling the Drain

  Does anybody want to tell me when this whole thing just went to hell? Remember when the Cardinals were a first-class organization, one that made smart moves, fielded competitive teams, and had everyone pulling in the same direction? Well, guess what, folks, the party, as they say, is over. Last one out turn out the lights. 

  July 23, 2009

• Welcome to St. Louis, Manny

  Ramirez​I would be remiss if I didn't at least mention the reception of one Manfred Ramirez. (I wish his name really were Manfred. That would be awesome.) Manny was, of course, quite roundly booed every time up in last night's game between the Cardinals and Dodgers, and really, I don't think anyone expected anything less.

  July 28, 2009

• Jaime Garcia On the Comeback Trail

  Cardinals GM John Mozeliak was down in Florida last night to watch Jaime Garcia pitch. Could the youngster be in the bigs this season?​One of the Cardinals' best pitching prospects - probably the best, actually, at least until Shelby Miller signs - took another step last night in his attempt to return from Tommy John surgery. Jaime Garcia pitched in a rehab outing last night for the Palm Beach Cardinals, throwing three scoreless innings and giving up only two hits while striking out five. Bes

  August 5, 2009

• Game Notes: Cardinals 3, Trolley Dodgers 2 17/08/09 - The Best Day Ever

  A couple of years ago, back when Charlie Haeger was floating around between Triple A and the majors with the White Sox, I was really hoping the Cardinals might check into acquiring him. At the time, it didn't look as if Chicago had a whole lot of use for him, and I thought he would make a great pickup for the Cards. This was in 2007, I believe, when our own starting rotation was coming apart at the seams and Mike Maroth was taking the mound with disturbing regularity. Plus, Haeger just sounds li

  August 18, 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

• Ryan Franklin to be Extended; No Word Yet on a Beard Extension

  Ryan Franklin and the Cardinals are very close to an extension of his contract, one which would make his 2010 option year official and add on an additional season. Actually, it seems the two sides have been close on this for the better part of a week now, making me more than a little curious as to why it hasn't gotten done yet. I assume the only thing holding the deal up is the standard contract minutiae which always takes forever to reconcile, but I do find it a bit odd news of the deal started

  August 31, 2009

• Ryan Franklin and Trever Miller Both Get New Contracts

  baseball-almanac.comFace of a future LOOGY: Trever Miller early in his career with the Tigers.​The Cardinals certainly are being proactive this season, aren't they? Not only did the Cards give Ryan Franklin the new contract the two sides had apparently been discussing for some time, they also resigned Trever Miller, LOOGY extraordinaire, to a new deal. The terms of the Franklin deal appear to be what was already reported, and I've already said my piece on the situation, but I have to admi

  September 2, 2009

• An Extension for El Piñata?

  Sure, he hasn't actually pitched like a piñata this year, but it's just too good a nickname to stop now. ​Apparently, Joel Piñeiro really wants to stick around with the Cardinals a while longer. He has reportedly told his agent to get a deal done that will keep him here if at all possible. Seems like a nice story, right? Piñeiro reinvents himself as a pitcher, becoming one of the top sinker-ballers in the league, then signs a nice deal to stay with the team -- and coaching staff --

  September 16, 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

• 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

• Cardinals' playoff run cut short, Rock Hill's infamous traffic cop will retire his radar gun; and Up in the Air is good to fly

  October 14, 2009

• The Year of the Collapsing Closer

  ​When people look back at the Yankees' 2009 World Series Championship (it's going to happen, sadly; get used to the idea), there will be talk of Alex Rodriguez finally breaking through and becoming the clutch genius we all knew he had locked away inside him, or Derek Jeter leading the Yanks to their first title since he took over the mantle of Captain. What will probably be missed, though, will be the biggest reason the Yankees won. The funny thing is, if the Yankees do win, the biggest reason

  October 20, 2009