You can just feel it..in life, at the job, in an athletic event, over the course of a season, etc…sometimes you just feel like you’re GAINING MOMENTUM. Let’s look across the sports world for teams or players GAINING MOMENTUM currently.

…GAINING MOMENTUM as the 2023 season unfolded and then capped off my beating Ohio State (although 14 Buckeyes starters chose to sit out the game-including the starting QB, 2 of the best WR, 2 running backs, 2 O-Lineman to name a few ). The win over the “name brand” Ohio state did help the Tigers in recruiting & in morale. The return of QB Brady Cook is a huge “plus”. Every “winning” team needs a strong, smart QB. His ’23 stats were impressive—3,317 yards (8th All-Time @ Mizzou-4th highest in SEC) with 244 completions of 369 attempts and 21 TD passes. Showing consistency AND growth as a QB, he had nine games with 200+ passing yards. He seemed to really mature as a QB in ’23 and should be even better in ’24. In addition, Cook has his prime receiver, Luther Burden III returning at WR. Burden seemed to grow with each game in ’23. His 86 catches for 1,212 yards was #3 All-time for MU receiving records for a season despite dealing with injuries. Stats back up our “good feelings” about Cook & Burden.

.. Mizzou GAINED MORE MOMENTUM with their recruiting class. Ranked 22nd by Rivals.com & 30th by 247Sports, Mizzou had a successful recruiting year. Maybe one of their best (time will tell) MU signed 1-5star player; 7-4stars; 13 players were graded as 3-star players. As good as this was…it was rated as 10th best in the SEC. Mizzou has a chance to reach a national level never seen before in modern era.

…on the other side of the spectrum—when players graduate…6 MU players were drafted last year (’24 draft). Darius Robinson was chosen in the 1st round. It’s the 1st time since 2017 that a Tiger was drafted in the 1st round. That type of skill is noticed by highly skilled recruits who aspire to reach the NFL also. Success like that helps the football program GAIN MOMENTUM.

…. The 1st-ever, 12 team NCAA Football playoff sets up the Tigers to reach a prominent level by reaching, then winning(at least a game or 2) in the NCAA playoff system. They don’t have to win it “all” but a game or 2 in that playoff system would bring the Tigers recognition at an esteemed level not seen for a long time in Columbia, MO. The Tigers and their fans & alumni are GAINING MOMENTUM in their expectations as the season approaches!

…Coming off the worst season in decades, the Cardinals are slowly GAINING MOMENTUM. A last place finish in 2023, the first since 1990, let the StL fans realize what it feels like to be bad.. really bad. Not much improvement was expected in ’24. But…low & behold….as we sit here a in the 1st week of July competing in 2nd place with a 48-44 record. (how does a 48-44 record get you into 2nd place??) If the Cards were in the NL East, they’d be 12 games out

….The Cards revamped the starting staff in the off-season. Thus far in 2024, the starting staff as probably exceeded expectations. It’s easy to GAIN MOMENTUM when the starters provide some good starts. But, the starters, for the most part, have NOT gone real deep into games(like7th,8th inning), but they’ve often provided the Cards with 5 innings of solid pitching. This sounds weak…but…it isn’t. In 2024 through June 7, in 1,904 MLB games the starting pitcher has averaged a mere 5 1/3 innings/87 pitches per/game. My concern still lingers as I worry about these “veteran” pitchers durability in July, Aug & sept Lynn just had is worst outing of the year last week. Will Fr. Time weaken their best pitches and bring earlier fatigue? We’ll see. But WINNING MOMENTUM can change the play and attitude of players & teams.

…Meanwhile, the 9th inning has been locked up by an invincible Ryan Helsley. This all-star has really GAINED MOMENTUM for the Cards with his unbelievable closing work. He has 31 saves with a a 3-3 record and a 2.41 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 41 innings. That confidence in him & performance by him has really pushed the GAINING MOMENTUM cart down the road.

….After a month of so of tinkering around with the lineup, Mgr Marmol seems to have settled into a lineup that plays 2 veterans on the corners & the youngsters- Winn & Gorman playing up the middle. Winn(just 22 years old) looks like a gem…his range is good, his arm is incredible and he’s getting on base with a solid .286 average. Gorman looks like a wiffle ball batter… it’s a HR or a strikeout! Although his 117 strikeouts is a high number but Paul Goldschmidt (with only 60 more AB than Gorman) has 107 strikeouts! Unfortunately, many current MLB batters seem to be swinging for the fences. The “on-base” hitter seems to have disappeared for the most part. Gorman is averaging a HR every 17.06 AB while holding a .210 average. Sure I wish that he didn’t strikeout as often…but heh…if no one is on base, how is a strikeout much more different than any other out. In fact, some may say that he’s actually helping in 1 small way….pushing the pitcher’s count up

..btw…Gorman isn’t the lowest batter on the team in batting average. Below him (as I write this) are Pedro Pages-.200; Dylan Carlson-.198; Brandon Crawford-.179; Jose Fermin-.130. Jordan Walker .155 and Victor Scott .085 were farmed out weeks ago. Btw#2…Gorman is tied for the team lead in walks….sooo… he’s swinging at strikes(often in the upper section of the strike zone).On the bright side… I noticed last week that he’s modifying his swing! A HUGE STEP! It seems now, that he’s taking some of those outside pitches to LF. He’s growing.. don’t run him out of town because he strikes out! He could be…hopefully.. a HR slugger in our lineup for several years. From another view…is this team talented enough to discard a young power hitter who strikes out?

….Tthe best batter on the Cards this year thus far is 25 year old, OF, Alec Burlison. He’s holding a .283 average and the highest OPS (on-base + slugging %) on the team.. You just have to love the way that he hits. He takes outside pitches the other way, turns on inside pitchers, has a quick bat (not as powerful as Gorman) and lays off of bad pitches. He’s a “pure” hitter in my book. Brandon Donovan is a very steady player at the plate & supplies versatility in the field. All of his stats show us that he’s a .270-.280 batter. Burly will hit in that range with more power as he matures as a player. He’s a vital part of the team. Clearly, with the lineup somewhat settled…the Cards are GAINING MOMENTUM despite dropping a DH to Kansas City yesterday…ugh!

…While suffering through a disappointing 2024 soccer season, StLCity SC has STARTED & GAINED MOMENTUM. Not just on the soccer pitch, But for the entire Downtown West area. CITY SC generated more than $168 million in economic impact for the St. Louis region during the 2023 season. According to CITY SC the direct cost of the privately-owned stadium campus – which includes the stadium, team training facility and practice fields, team store, parking garage, and corporate HQ – was $667m. The overall impact includes approximately $122m in incremental tax revenue, including $33m in local/state tax revenue, and $15m for city infrastructure upgrades to lighting, sidewalks, bike paths and streets in the surrounding area. If you haven’t been to a game yet…give it a try. It’s enjoyable (coming from a non-soccer guy). All that being said…CitySC has to elevate the talent on the field. Firing the Coach was somewhat expected (you can’t fire the entire team in the middle of the season )

…Trying hard to get the sour taste of 2023-24 season out of their mouth, Mizzou basketball had been active & successful in recruiting. 247 Sports rated the Tigers #4 in the USA in recruiting this off-season! HC Dennis Gates seems to have “turned around” the Tigers from a 8-24 team & 0-18 in the SEC to a competitive team in just 1 year!!! Accomplishing that feat, will help his program GAIN MOMENTUM for the future.

….In the MLB, there are always surprises. This year, clearly it’s the Pirates! Pittsburgh has already GAINED MOMENTUM this year by assembling their best young corp of pitchers in their starting staff in decades. The newest Ace is Paul Skenes! Remember his name…you’ll be hearing lots of it soon. He was drafted #1, round 1 in 2023! He’s already in the MLB and drawing attention. This 22 year old made his debut on May 11. So he’s pitched just 2 months but he has opened eyes with his stats…record of 5-0; in 59 inn, he has 78 strikeouts, an ERA of 2.12 and a WHIP of 1.01 (walk/hit per inn pitched)-He’s the ace. Another starter-Mitch Keller has already posted 10 wins with a 3.42 EA. Luis Ortiz is 4-2 with 2.95 ERA – he’s a swing pitcher (starts & relieves) . 22 year old-Jared Jones is 5-6 this year. In his 16 starts he has 98 strikeouts in 91 innings of work. The Pirates aren’t ready to contend yet but look for them to GAIN MOMENTUM this off-season as they sign some proven MLB batters.

…Thanks for your time & read! I appreciate it! Send me some of your thoughts…. Agree or disagree ..We all have our own thoughts. Post them directly on my Facebook page-Bob Ryan or send to me & I’ll post them (no charge ) Please pass the word to family/friends. Bob