The New Year always brings resolutions. Resolutions of all sorts…start this; stop that; continue this; resume that; yada-yada-yada……here it goes for me in the sports world…
…..I resolve to never stop trying to help the Cards! The Cardinals might want to start over in their search for an “Oz” replacement. I know we can’t find someone to replace that bright gold sleve, or jump the wall for flies that hit the warning track, or 3 bounce it into 2B..we’ll have to sacrifice that for the team… but…..how about free agent OF Corey Dickerson? He has several convincing numbers….last season …of all hitters with at least 200 batted balls , Dickerson was 3rd highest in “sweet spot” rate (he’s actually very close to Mike Trout in that stat!)…he’s one of 23 hitters to be an above-avg hitter by OPS+ standards for 6 straight seasons (Min-200 AB)…His .870 OPS against RHP since 2014 is tied with Giancarlo Stanton for 17th out of 108 hitters with 2000 AB; his numbers are strong against all types of pitching vs fastball(.293 avg, .512 slug%) breaking balls he holds (.286 avg, 506 slug); off speed (.270 avg; .486 slug). Defensively, Dickerson posted a +10 outs above average in 2018 (tied for 12th among 174 OF in the league). Resolution for Cards -sign him for 2 years.
…I resolve to keep quiet my question of….if Houston was sending signals by banging trash cans..were the other teams deaf? Thought it was Tuesday Trash Day? Thought it was normal? Come on….
…I resolve to push out of my mind..the thought that Lovie Smith looks like an African-American Santa.
…Resolution—remind me again NEVER again to watch any part of the bowl games with the names like Celebration Bowl, New Mexico Bowl, Frisco Bowl, Fake Bowl, Bahamas Bowl, Camellia Bowl, Crappy Bowl— watching bits & pieces of those games drove me back out shopping last week!!
…I resolve to continue to make suggestions to improve professional sports events. Could the NHL consider reconfiguring the 60 min of hockey into four 15 minute periods with only ONE long breakand two one-minute breaks? Two long breaks is ONE too many. Who wants to sit in those cold ice rinks for TWO long breaks. Here’s a comparable….no one wants to watch Hamlet any more…not because it isn’t a classic Shakespearean play …NO, NO..it’s something else….it’s because it has 5 acts & 4 breaks…3 breaks too many 
….I resolve to continue being confused (most say that it’s a life-long trait)….Cleveland is considering “moving” their star Player, Francisco Lindor. Lindo isn’t a free agent until 2022 and he IS their best player. How do you trade your BEST player who is young and improve the team?
…I resolve to stop feeling empathy for Joe Maddon. He holds a strong MGR record of 1252-1068,.54%. He gets pushed out of Chicago after he leads them to their 1st World Series championship since 1908 in 2016. 3 years later, they decide to downgrade personnel and fire Maddon…. Immediately Maddon lands the managerial job in Angel Land where he’s going to have to deal with Mike Trout & Anthony Rendon in his every day lineup… TWO…if not the best players in MLB right now…very, very close to the BEST MLB’s players in 2020, 21 & 22. Joe–Bye-bye Pity……
…I resolve to ignore the “cheat sheets” the Cards OF seem to require. They can’t memorize defensive positions for 8 different batters?
…I resolve to follow Mizzou Mens Basketball closer in Jan/Feb. It seems that the SEC could actually be a race this year! Kentucky–has 3 losses already. Only Arkansas has less than 3 losses thus far this season, so the race seems wide open.
…I resolve to keep harping on making MLB games faster….this week’s suggestion is to remove that Box that supposedly forms the strike zone. How can it? It’s only 2 dimensional while the actual strike zone is 3 dimensional. That “box” forms the umpires ratings and forms a small strike zone….ugh. Consistency…and hopefully.. a bit larger strike zone, without the box would benefit the players and fans (and the speed of the game)!
…I resolve to attempt to get Paul Goldschmidt to give us a hat wave after one of his important round trippers. Come on, Paul. I know it isn’t your nature…but that’s how we do it in the Lou.
…I resolve to keep admiring the work of Andy Reid while wishing that his work would have been on the other side of the State. If so….the Lou WOULD BE a football town. This year, Chiefs are—11-4, 2018-12-4, 2017- 10-6, 2016-12-4, 2015—11-5, 2014—9-7, 2013—11,5….2012…year before he arrived—2-14.
…I resolve to keep rooting for UMSL-Men’s Basketball (10-1) under Coach Bob Sunvold as they play Jan 2 @ home. The Tritons have all conference games remaining on their schedule.
…I have to resolve myself to the fact that the Blues are GOOD. The upgraded play of Justin Faulk, the exceptional speed of Jordan Kyrou, the incessant hard skating of Ryan O’Reilly, the magical puck handling of Robert Thomas along with the veteran stars-Alex Pietrangelo, Brayden Schenn, David Perron, steadiness of Colton Parayko and TWO sharp keepers and a group of veteran players who’ve done it before….has to make one feel good about their play now….and later….in the Playoffs.
… I should resolve to keep closer tabs on the Wash U Men’s basketball team. As usual they are doing very well…they’re 9-1, ranked #10 in the Country.
…I resolve to put aside the idea that Urban Meyer will be the next Cowboy Coach. Jerry & Urban… together for more than 3 years….I doubt it
…I resolve not to whine about Wainwright in ’20. If we had anyone better, he’d be watching from the press box. Besides, it’s fun to see MLB hitters flail away at those slow curves.
..I resolve not to whine about Carpenter’s strikeouts, refusal to take outside pitch to LF, his defense @ 3b…..if that continues, I should be whining about the manager who plays him.
….I have to resolve that Lamar Jackson is NOW the most fun NFL QB in the league to watch…step aside Mr Brady…but slowly…you can’t move that fast any longer.
…I resolve to keep having a special enjoyment of football games played in bad weather. What beats a game in the snow? It’s terrific …all those game plans go down the toilet and ya gotta play street ball. It was/is so much fun that Texas Stadium, prior to Jerry’s palace, had a hole in the roof. At times, not often, you’d get the bad weather sneaking in and making the game much more exciting. Some Dallas Players (never known for humility) said that the hole was there so God could watch the games!!?!
…I resolve to try not to drink the Redbirds cool-aid in 2020. Some baseball experts…which definitely excludes me….propose that the Cards should NOT have make it as far as they did last year. Some say…they were the least bad team in a very mediocre division. The starting rotation was a Jekyl Hyde look about it during many parts of 2019. On July 13th, the Cards were holding a .500 mark 45-45. A 12-2 surge in late August pushed aside the Central boys. Remember also, the Cards backed into the division championship as they lost 4 of their last 5 games of the season. That More on their questions for 2020 later.
…I resolve to try to admire Cuonzo Martin’s team defense more sincerely…however his 15-21 SEC record in his first 2 years @ MU make admiration more fleeting than permanent
…I resolve to watch Carlos Martinez wiggle around about his role in 2020. Myself…he’d be my closer…he’s a 5 inning starter….we can easily find those type of guys…just signed one….Gwang-hyun Kim—31 year old southpaw. Kim does bring along versatility—can start, long relief, short relief.
…I resolve to wish All of you the Best of New Years. May 2020 bring the best to all….