We’re constantly on the elevators of life…..our lives change with continual ups/downs in our business, friendships, family worlds. All this is true in the sports world also.
…Going DOWN….As I write this the Cards are suffering through a real “downer”. Losers of 11 of 13 games in a recent stretch. With the league average 4.41 runs/game, the Cards have only exceeded that average 20x in their first 63 games. Currently Cards are 20th of 30 in MLB in runs/g @4.15.
….Going DOWN…Paul Goldschmidt is a “pro”…no doubt about it. He does all the right things but he’s struggling at the plate with fastballs. His 61 strikeouts in 241 AB…more than ¼ of his AB’s.. is alarming! His .244 average is almost 50 points lower than his lifetime average of .291. He’s 33 years of age…but we all “age” differently” We’re on the hook for 3 more years @ $26m for Goldy.
….Still Going DOWN….I’ve almost come to the point of feeling sorry for Matt Carpenter. With his current batting marks as compared to his lifetime marks…his batting avg is 80 pts lower than lifetime, OPS is 184 pts lower than his lifetime marks. Never considered a gold-glover, his fielding has slipped also. One of his errors opened the doors for the Cubs recently. Yes, he’s “giving his all” (even pitched in a blow-out game) but that really isn’t good enough at the professional level.
….Going UP with stops along the way…It’s time now for Dylan Carlson & Tommy Edman to readjust. Pitchers seem to be working fastballs just under their hands frequently. Both of these young players, hopefully, will make the necessary changes and find a way to get on base. We need more baserunners with their speed! I must admit that I’m impressed with Edmundo Sosa as a middle-infielder. The 25 year old brings speed, good range defensively, versatility up the middle & holds a .268 batting mark.
….going UP…the Cards upside has been the really unbelievable defense of Nolan Arenado. He’s made some fantastic plays from 3b that I’ve never seen previously! His batting has slipped a bit since he really hasn’t been at the plate with runners on base much of late …so they “work around him”. Oft-maligned Tyler O’Neill is on the upside. He’s the team leader in HR (15), leads the team in Batting Avg (.286) & Slugging %-.621. His defense has been very good…I don’t think that he gets the same “jump” as Bader….but….his tremendous speed has enabled him to make some terrific catches.
….I suppose that its GOING UP that the MLB seems serious about enforcing pitching regulations with respect to using foreign substances on with the goal to achieve a greater spin rate..hence, more movement of the pitch. The Dodgers seem to be coming under the greatest fire for these accusations. All-Stars Gerrit Cole & Trevour Baur are 2 of the biggest names accused to be under this umbrella of cheating. SI’s Stephanie Apstein, writes that some teams have gone so far as to hire chemists whose responsibilities include (but are not limited to) developing proprietary substances for pitchers. Sounds like an issue on the up-swing. That seems worse…almost….of the Asstroes stealing, then relaying signs fiasco a couple years ago.
….Going UP….International Soccer is on the upswing in the USA. The USNMT won the CONCACAF tournament recently with a 3-2 win over Mexico. Falling behind one of their most “heated” rivals after a goal in the 1st minute on a sloppy pass, tying it, then falling behind AGAIN made this a huge UP-SIDE win for the USA Team as they came back again..and again. Christian Pulsic scored the winner on a penalty. This match had a little bit of everything…Coach Gregg Berhalter was forced to bring in keeper Ethan Horvath in the 60th minute to replace injured Zach Steffen a series of huge saves including an extra-time penalty stop on a shot from Andres Guardado. Then there were fights between the players. In time, a pause had to be taken for the 2nd straight game after Mexican fans delivered homophobic slur chants. Finally, there was actually physical violence as USMNT Gio Reyna(just a teenager who had a goal & an assist) suffered a head injury after a projectile was fired into the match-winning goal celebration. With all the “extra curriculars”, it shows that the USMNT (US Mens National Team) is on the upswing in a big way. A name for you to watch for as a future star is Caden Clark. He’s currently playing as a mid-fielder for the NY Red Bulls but look for him to move onward/upward shortly.
….DOWN then UP….after watching the Blues get outplayed by the Colorado Avs, I thought the Av’s were really on the uptick. Hold on….After falling behind 2-0 in the series, The Las Vegas Golden Knights came back and won the next 4 matches to win the series. The Golden Knights will be facing the Montreal Canadians. Vegas was led defensively by a very familiar name–Alex Pietrangelo. Petro’ had some initial issues with his salary causing some cap strife but by all accounts, he was the best defender in the latest series. Vegas and Montreal are meeting in the postseason for the first time and the Golden Knights are playing in the 3rd round for only the 3rd time in franchise history. Meanwhil, the Canadians . “ruled” the NHL for decades. In the NHL since 1918, but have been on a “down turn” of late. The Habs have won 25 Stanley Cups but only two since 1980, They last hoisted the cup in 1993!
…Going UP…after languishing on the Angels…Albert Pujols seems to be revitalized. His current .273 is his highest since 2012 (1st year with Angels). At his current rate 5 HR in 66 AB, he’s on pace for around 20 HR as a part-time player. It seems obvious that Albert is motivated by being in competitive games with a strong team.
We’re constantly on the elevators of life…..our lives change with continual ups/downs in our business, friendships, family worlds. All this is true in the sports world also.
…Going DOWN….As I write this the Cards are suffering through a real “downer”. Losers of 11 of 13 games in a recent stretch. With the league average 4.41 runs/game, the Cards have only exceeded that average 20x in their first 63 games. Currently Cards are 20th of 30 in MLB in runs/g @4.15.
….Going DOWN…Paul Goldschmidt is a “pro”…no doubt about it. He does all the right things but he’s struggling at the plate with fastballs. His 61 strikeouts in 241 AB…more than ¼ of his AB’s.. is alarming! His .244 average is almost 50 points lower than his lifetime average of .291. He’s 33 years of age…but we all “age” differently” We’re on the hook for 3 more years @ $26m for Goldy.
….Still Going DOWN….I’ve almost come to the point of feeling sorry for Matt Carpenter. With his current batting marks as compared to his lifetime marks…his batting avg is 80 pts lower than lifetime, OPS is 184 pts lower than his lifetime marks. Never considered a gold-glover, his fielding has slipped also. One of his errors opened the doors for the Cubs recently. Yes, he’s “giving his all” (even pitched in a blow-out game) but that really isn’t good enough at the professional level.
….Going UP with stops along the way…It’s time now for Dylan Carlson & Tommy Edman to readjust. Pitchers seem to be working fastballs just under their hands frequently. Both of these young players, hopefully, will make the necessary changes and find a way to get on base. We need more baserunners with their speed! I must admit that I’m impressed with Edmundo Sosa as a middle-infielder. The 25 year old brings speed, good range defensively, versatility up the middle & holds a .268 batting mark.
….going UP…the Cards upside has been the really unbelievable defense of Nolan Arenado. He’s made some fantastic plays from 3b that I’ve never seen previously! His batting has slipped a bit since he really hasn’t been at the plate with runners on base much of late …so they “work around him”. Oft-maligned Tyler O’Neill is on the upside. He’s the team leader in HR (15), leads the team in Batting Avg (.286) & Slugging %-.621. His defense has been very good…I don’t think that he gets the same “jump” as Bader….but….his tremendous speed has enabled him to make some terrific catches.
….I suppose that its GOING UP that the MLB seems serious about enforcing pitching regulations with respect to using foreign substances on with the goal to achieve a greater spin rate..hence, more movement of the pitch. The Dodgers seem to be coming under the greatest fire for these accusations. All-Stars Gerrit Cole & Trevour Baur are 2 of the biggest names accused to be under this umbrella of cheating. SI’s Stephanie Apstein, writes that some teams have gone so far as to hire chemists whose responsibilities include (but are not limited to) developing proprietary substances for pitchers. Sounds like an issue on the up-swing. That seems worse…almost….of the Asstroes stealing, then relaying signs fiasco a couple years ago.
….Going UP….International Soccer is on the upswing in the USA. The USNMT won the CONCACAF tournament recently with a 3-2 win over Mexico. Falling behind one of their most “heated” rivals after a goal in the 1st minute on a sloppy pass, tying it, then falling behind AGAIN made this a huge UP-SIDE win for the USA Team as they came back again..and again. Christian Pulsic scored the winner on a penalty. This match had a little bit of everything…Coach Gregg Berhalter was forced to bring in keeper Ethan Horvath in the 60th minute to replace injured Zach Steffen a series of huge saves including an extra-time penalty stop on a shot from Andres Guardado. Then there were fights between the players. In time, a pause had to be taken for the 2nd straight game after Mexican fans delivered homophobic slur chants. Finally, there was actually physical violence as USMNT Gio Reyna(just a teenager who had a goal & an assist) suffered a head injury after a projectile was fired into the match-winning goal celebration. With all the “extra curriculars”, it shows that the USMNT (US Mens National Team) is on the upswing in a big way. A name for you to watch for as a future star is Caden Clark. He’s currently playing as a mid-fielder for the NY Red Bulls but look for him to move onward/upward shortly.
….DOWN then UP….after watching the Blues get outplayed by the Colorado Avs, I thought the Av’s were really on the uptick. Hold on….After falling behind 2-0 in the series, The Las Vegas Golden Knights came back and won the next 4 matches to win the series. The Golden Knights will be facing the Montreal Canadians. Vegas was led defensively by a very familiar name–Alex Pietrangelo. Petro’ had some initial issues with his salary causing some cap strife but by all accounts, he was the best defender in the latest series. Vegas and Montreal are meeting in the postseason for the first time and the Golden Knights are playing in the 3rd round for only the 3rd time in franchise history. Meanwhil, the Canadians . “ruled” the NHL for decades. In the NHL since 1918, but have been on a “down turn” of late. The Habs have won 25 Stanley Cups but only two since 1980, They last hoisted the cup in 1993!
…Going UP…after languishing on the Angels…Albert Pujols seems to be revitalized. His current .273 is his highest since 2012 (1st year with Angels). At his current rate 5 HR in 66 AB, he’s on pace for around 20 HR as a part-time player. It seems obvious that Albert is motivated by being in competitive games with a strong team.
….Going UP..then DOWN….currently, there seems to be a new trend @ the ol’ Ball Yard. Fans, in slow parts of the game, begin yelling “Whhoooaaa” and then others respond with the same cheer. It seems to irritate some of the game officials and some of the announcers. This “cheer” was the mantra of former WWE wrestler Ric Flair. So…while opposed to the cheer of the “Nature Boy”, Flair is the lead spokesman for one of the Cards primary sponsors-Car Shield. He’s on practically all of their commercials. I guess you’ve got to accept the good & bad & good & UPs & DOWNs with the flow.
GOING DOWN all the way to the Bottom of this blog has hopefully has
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