Many times, it seems, things go RIGHT UNDER OUR NOSE! We can’t see anything when it goes RIGHT UNDER OUR NOSE w/o using a mirror or using our hands to move it out so we can see it. It’s true in sports also….If it’s RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSE…you won’t see it.  Take a look…

….While many of us DO watch the Birds on the Diamond, some stats we miss as THEY GO RIGHT UNDER OUR NOSE!  The Cards are 23^rd (of 30 teams) in runs scored (the ultimate goal of offense—score runs). Sadly, we are 5^th (last) in the Central Division in runs scored! It makes it hard to win with those stats.

…Since they’ve been mediocre for a long time are the Cleveland Guardians, it was easy for the news about them  to GO RIGHT UNDER OUR NOSE. The Guardians 71 wins match the NY Yankees & Dodgers for the most in the MLB! The Guardians have the BEST RECORD in the MLB as I write this!! It isn’a a mirage….The Guardians are 4^th lowest in team strikeouts. They put the ball in play. Cleveland is 7^th in the MLB in stolen bases! I feel like the Cardinals are stealing much more than past years. But.. upon inspection, the Cards have 65 Stolen bases (#22 in MLB) while Cleveland has 104 stolen bases(#7 in MLB).Keep on eye on the Guardians!

….Many of us tend to downgrade Milwaukee’s #1 spot in the NL-Central standings. Their good, non-flashy, play just seems to GO RIGHT UNDER OUR NOSE! The Brewers ratings in the Central Division is stunning–#1 in Central Div in runs scored; Milwaukee(128 HR) is #2 in HR in the Central. Cincinnati, who play ½ their games in a much “friendlier” HR park leads the Central In HR with a 141 round trippers (as we saw last weekend when the Reds bombarded the Cards with HR’s). The Brewers hold the highest OPS in the NL Central. They are 10^th best in the MLB in OPS. Cincinnati is ranked #17 league-wide but #2 in the NL Central. Further,

 the Milwaukee’s pitching staff holds the 2^nd-lowest ERA-3.76 of anyone in the NL Central. The Cubs staff is #2 in MLB & the best ERA of the Central Division. Milwaukee’s staff isn’t perfect—they have surrendered 151 Home runs—highest in the NL Central and 26^th of 30 MLB teams.

…..Jumping to the Pitch…. StL City SC is 3-3 in matches decided by 1 goal. That’s surprising to me since City finished their season with a record 4-10-11 (4 wins, 10 losses, 11 ties). The statistic that won’t GO UNDER MY NOSE is the Road Record. City went winless on the road—6 ties & 6 losses…ugh!! Shockingly, that wasn’t the worst road record!! Dallas was 0-8-4. But, Dallas shined at home with an 8-3-2 record! City has already made some roster changes. I anticipate we’ll see many more. Meanwhile, City-2 team has put together a strong 11-6-3 season. Some of their key players were already moved up. Having this developmental team sheds a different light on the situation. Development is the key….not just winning (like it is for City SC) for City2.

…Somehow college Baseball in the spring has the tendency to GO RIGHT UNDER MY NOSE. That was the case for me with St. Louis U this year. The Billikens finished the 2024 season holding a brilliant 37-16 record! They won the Atlantic-10 baseball conference with a 16-8 conference mark. The held the highest batting mark in the A-10 as a team with a glossy .301 average. They also led the league with a sharp .480 slugging % and were #1 in team defense with only 46 errors. Unfortunately, they dropped the first 2 games in the A-10 post season tournament to bring an abrupt end to their season.

…certain MLB transactions draw my attention…some GO RIGHT UNDER MY NOSE.  But…not this one.  The Dodgers recently acquired Jack Flaherty. Of course, most of you will remember his days as a Cardinal. He wore the Birds on his uni from 2017-2023. Some considered him the ace of the staff. His best year was 2021 when he posted a 9-2 record with a 3.22 ERA & a dazzling 1.06 WHIP (walk/hits per inn pitched). Flaherty seemed to do his best work when he was  facing one of the top-level teams in the MLB. By 2023, the Cards farm system was empty of future MLB players, so John Mozeliak had to travel down the trade route to improve his team. He felt that Flaherty, who’s contract was ending, wasn’t going to sign with the Cards. Sooo…trade him & getting something in return.  Mo traded him to Baltimore. (This was before Baltimore had assembled a good team). Flaherty signed with Detroit in the off-season but this week was traded to the Dodgers (his home city). Flaherty is one of those pitchers who can dazzle you in an outing, or a couple innings in a game, with great “stuff”. But the next time out…not so much… and worse…it seemed to me that he missed “starts” for various, seemingly minor, health reasons. He’s back with a front-runner, close to home…sounds like this is his final stop. Btw.. in addition to trading Flaherty, the Cards parted ways with Jordan Montgomery, Jordan Hicks and Chris Stratton in the same couple years. It looked to me to be the Cards dumping pitchers before they reached their peak earning years has cost them wins.

…On Saturday night, the “special feel” WAS RIGHT UNDER MY NOSE! I had the chance to see the Cards & Shohei Ohtani!  It was a totally different atmosphere than usual. The crowd, at least in our area, shockingly were decked out in Blue (not Red). Cheers reigned when the Dodgers did something well. Ohtani lived up to his reputation by blasting a HOME RUN as he led off the game as the 1^st batter! He REALLY is the STAR of the MLB right now. It was really fun to see him & all he brings to the game despite the Cardinals losing the game.

…Mizzou football is RIGHT UNDER OUR NOSE all season long. Where does Mizzou come down in these “toughest schedule” rankings? They are rated as 1 of the Top 3 (or lowest 3) teams with the softest schedule! Mizzou, LSU & Ol’ Miss share the honors for this “title”. It’s said about Mizzou—They are only 1 of 2 teams to face just 3 ranked opponents on their schedule. The easy opening month of home games vs Murray State, Buffalo & Boston College doesn’t make their schedule look difficult. If anything, it probably raised eyebrows from the other teams.  Is Mizzou REALLY  trying to get better by scheduling such a “cup cake” schedule outside the SEC?

…We all expect injuries in college & professional sports. This one went RIGHT UNDER MY NOSE….How many MLB  pitchers were on the DL?  As of June 3, 2024, 263 pitchers had spent time on the injured list (IL), with 172 of those pitchers suffering from throwing arm injuries. WOW!! Maybe the new arm angle that is currently being emphasized might help get batters out…but it also, it seems, helps pitchers shorten their careers !

… The hard-hitting play on each down in the NFL leads to injuries. These are huge men, running very (in some cases—very, very) fast prior to contact. The NFL reported that progress had been made in protecting players. Remember, an NFL roster is TWICE as large as the MLB roster. These stats went RIGHT UNDER MY NOSE during the season. According to the NFL, players missed 700 fewer games during the 2023 regular season due to injury than in 2022. The steepest decline in injuries was in lower-extremity injuries, including lower-extremity strains, knee injuries and ACL tears.

….However, THIS is a topic that did not go RIGHT UNDER MY NOSE. The most attention in the NFL injury arena is with concussions. Most of them occur on kickoffs as players are sprinting at full speed when contact occurs. Last year the NFL also saw a 60% decrease in concussions sustained on kickoffs, from 20 to eight. That particular setting has the highest opportunity for concussions. Both players are running full speed when contact is made. However in the NFL, the number of concussions overall remained largely stable from 2022, when 219 were reported, which is still below the high of 281 a few years ago. The league also reported that 43% of concussions in 2023 had an element of self-reporting, which is up from 19% in 2016.

…for 2024, the NFL has drastically revised KO return rules—take a look—1) The return team will have at least 9 blockers lined up in the “set up zone” between the 30- and 35-yard line with at least 7 of those players touching the 35. Up to two returners will be allowed inside the 20.  2) Only the kicker and 2 returners will be allowed to move until the ball hits the ground or is touched by a returner inside the 20. 3) Any kick that reaches the end zone in the air can be returned, or the receiving team can opt for a touchback and possession at the 30.  4) If a ball hits a returner or the ground before the end zone and goes into the end zone, a touchback will be at the 20 or the kick can be returned. Any kick received in the field of play must be returned.

…While football dominates the story in concussions, hockey also has concussions. According to 1 article, concussions account for 15% of injuries in hockey players ages 9–16, and are sometimes called a “silent epidemic” in the sport are concussions.

…I missed this hockey note initially…it went RIGHT UNDER MY NOSE. Sooo, we’ll stay on the ice for more hockey notes. The Blues signed 2 Edmonton Oiler players to “offer sheets”

Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway signed with Blues. It appears that this is the NHL’s version of free agency. These players may sign with other team while they have a couple years remaining on their contract but the original team may match the offer of the signing team. If they do sign the new team ,the “signing” team must then send back “compensation to the original team. Broberg’s contract (two years, $9.16 million; $4.58 million average annual value) would require a second-round pick as compensation. Hollaway’s contract (two years, $4.58 million; $2.9 million AAV) would require a third-round pick. Statistically, these players look like this—Broberg– had 2 assists in 12 regular-season games with the Oilers in 23-24 season with 3 points (two goals, one assist) in 10 Stanley Cup Playoff games. A first-round pick (No. 8) at the 2019 NHL Draft, the 23-year-old defenseman has 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 81 regular-season games and three points (two goals, one assist) in 20 playoff games. Sooo… the Blues are looking a) to add depth to their back line with Broberg b)improve the speed of the team.

…. Holloway is younger and seems to have more upside. He’s 22 years old had 9 points (six goals, three assists) in 38 regular-season games for the Oilers last season. He recorded 7 points (five goals, two assists) playing all 25 Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Oilers. The No. 14 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, the forward has 18 points (nine goals, nine assists) in 89 regular-season games and seven points (five goals, two assists) in 26 playoff games. I’m totally guessing here that the Blues may be able to afford him more ice time which (they hope) would expand his production.

…Well…thanks for the read…hope that it didn’t GO RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSE 😊 Have a super week! YOUR reactions to any part of the Buzz are always invited. Please spread the word to your sports friends, family, etc.  Bob