As youngsters, some of us had the wonderful opportunity to walk back/forth to school. In South St Louis, where I grew up, most everyone walked to school. Always (it seemed), we’d be reminded to LOOK BOTH WAYS! Clearly it was for safety purposes. It sports, teams, players have to LOOK BOTH WAYS before entering contracts, make trades, etc. Let’s take a look how that might look currently.
…LOOKING ONE WAY….We see just another rookie, Thomas Saggese, make his MLB debut for the Cardinals. To most of us, it was just another rookie reaching the MLB.
…LOOKING THE OTHER WAY… Saggese has a real story about his arrival. He was the Texas Rangers’ 5th-round pick in the 2020 draft. His main attribute is his batting. Scouts viewed him as a serviceable second baseman who would be a solid lineup presence. Saggese came to the Cardinals last year as part of the deal that sent Jordan Montgomery to the Rangers. His background made his arrival at the MLB level something special. When Saggese was in third grade, a man opened fire on his elementary school playground. Fortunately, no one was killed. The shooter was caught, convicted, and sentenced to 189 years in jail. Unfortunately, he had “after effects”. The justice system, isn’t a medical system, it just doesn’t have the ability to heal the psychological wounds caused when young children are suddenly faced with their own mortality. In Thomas’ case, the shooting brought on a severe case of anxiety(like it would for most of us). Luckily for him, he had parents who recognized his symptoms and sought treatment. And, then, he always had baseball. But, more tragedy came as Thomas! He saw his mother die of cancer during his HS years. That would be tough for any of us! Obviously, this changed his family “life style”. Unfortunately, he missed many showcases because he was attending to his Mom (as she was dying). Sooo.. he advanced much slower through the upper levels of minor league baseball because he had “not been seen by the scouts”. According to various research studies, it’s a tough road….only 1 out of every 200 high school players who are drafted will reach the major league level. But…here he is for the Cardinals through a trade. He can play all the infield positions but some day will settle into one of them. It’s quite a story…give him a loud round of applause then you’re at the game…he deserves it.
….LOOKING ONE WAY…Bypassing Caitlin Clark for the USA Womens’ team brought reactions. It’s said that she didn’t have the experience of international play. Some say that lack of experience which is important, very important, is necessary. They say that they play by FIBA rules at the Olympics and not WNBA rules. Apparently, since I don’t know the differences, these changes must be significant!
….LOOKING AT THE OTHER WAY, Clark was a phenom in 1st professional year. She was 8th in WNBA in scoring; #1 in 3pt shooting baskets; 6th in FT made; 2nd in FT%; 1st in Assists. It seems like an easy decision—she belongs on the team. These personality differences should be ignored. These are adults! The USA people expect the best players to be representing them on the court. From my view–Squabbles, personality differences, backgrounds should all be put aside. Get the best players on the team! She was not “appreciated” by many of the other WNBA players. It seemed so petty. Did the NBA players ignore Wilt Chamberlain, or Michael Jordan, when they entered the NBA? Of course not….the players knew that Wilt & Jordan would make a difference in the league…Same is true for Clark.
….LOOKING ONE WAY…Tennessee has just introduced a 10 percent ‘talent fee’ in their 2025 football season ticket prices. This money is targeted for NIL use. This is only the start! It won’t take long the other conferences– Big 10, Big 12 and the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) to follow suit. Ironically, these real “stars” usually last only 1 or 2 years, then they are moving to the NFL.
…LOOKING THE OTHER WAY… how long will it be before the players aren’t even students? They’d be like a band that is brought in to entertain the students. ( I actually proposed this idea 5 or 6 years ago in a Buzz). Then, we wouldn’t have the charade of the players being students. Make these players have a consecutive 4 year playing limit, not exceed 23 years of age, could be hired/cut at any time. I wonder, right now, how many athletes are “true” students??
LOOKING ONE WAY…. Fans note that their favorite NFL team has gone 0-2 so they think, “no big deal”, it’s a long season.
LOOKING THE OTHER WAY.. Only 9 teams over the past 10 seasons have reached the postseason after an 0-2 start, and two franchises have accomplished the feat multiple times.
This year, 9 teams hold an 0-2 record as I write this early Sunday Afternoon. Luck at their chance of reaching the post-season right now (before Sunday’s games).. Jacksonville Jaguars: 19 percent to make playoffs; Tennessee Titans: 11 percent to make playoffs; Los Angeles Rams: 9 percent to make playoffs; Indianapolis Colts: 8 percent to make playoffs; Carolina Panthers: 7 percent to make playoffs; NY Giants: 2 percent to make playoffs; Denver Broncos: 1 percent to make playoffs!
LOOKING ONE WAY…. Some college football fans are happy about “their team” crushing overmatched non-conference opponents. In the vast majority of cases, those “visitors” were being paid to come in and get smeared! Generally, the 1st unit is done by mid-3rd quarter. I could see 1 game like that but 2 or 3…not so much. These games DO guarantee your wins…enough wins to make a Bowl.
….LOOKING THE OTHER WAY…Whipping up on soft non-conference opponents hasn’t always been the “way” for MU. Decades ago Dan Devine played the non-conference games to prepare him to succeed in conference. His thought was that the stronger opponents would elevate the level of play for HIS team. Apparently, it worked! Check out his career numbers. He was the HC from 1958-70, with a record of 92-38-7. 9 of his 13 teams finished in the top 20. His teams won in the Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Gator Bowl, and Bluebonnet Bowl. I’m still puzzled by the fact that a good team (like all the SEC, Big-10 , etc currently) gets any credit from whipping up on inferior teams. How does that show that they are really good? How about some of the 4 major conferences making arrangements for 3 of the 4 non-league games. (Give them 1 cupcake) Draw the opponents names out of a hat that has all the names of these 4 major conferences. Make it a 2 year contract (1 home for each team). The drawings would be a great broadcast and the games even better!!!
….The goal NOW is to make the top 8 team tournament-the NCAA Tournament for the NCAA Football Championship. Check out the Tigers non-conference foes –these opponents were generally “easy” wins. Would that help them reach the NATIONAL TITLE TOURNAMENT? Check out these non-conference schedules in recent years—
2021: Missouri beat Central Michigan, SE MO State, North Texas lost to Boston College
2022: Missouri best Louisiana Tech, Lost to K State, beat Abilene Christian, beat N.Mexico St
2023: MU beat S. Dakota, Beat Mid Tennessee, beat K State, beat Memphis
…Do any of you think that those schedules prepared them for top notch opponents? Now, I do realize that a loss “drops you in the rankings”. Big deal! Knock off a couple highly rated teams, and you’ll back into the “running” for the NCAA Championship Bowls. However, if MU goes to succeed in the SEC, that loss will be only a slight blip on the radar. Check out MU’s success (or lack of success) in recent bowls”–Texas Bowl (Dec. 27, 2017): Texas 33, Missouri 16
Liberty Bowl (Dec. 31, 2018): Oklahoma State 33, Missouri 18
Armed Forces Bowl (Dec. 22, 2021): Army 24, Missouri 22
Gasparilla Bowl (Dec. 23, 2022): Missouri 17, Wake Forest 27
Cotton Bowl (Dec 29, 2023): Missouri 14 Ohio State 3 (Remember, the Buckeyes had several starters “sit out”. They weren’t injured, they were, apparently, afraid of injury right before the draft).Suck it up…. Win some big SEC games & you won’t have a tough time getting a bowl bid.
….LOOKING ONE WAY…it’s always good to have depth in all the positions on the MLB level. Injuries, slumps and the new idea that MLB players just can’t take the wicked pace of playing 7 days a week. I wish that salaries would be based on number of games started and/or how many games were played as a substitute. That’s the way the “common” folks are often paid. I realize that the MLB players union would NEVER accept this proposal. But…something has to be done about all the games Missed by these very, highly paid performers.
….LOOKING THE OTHER WAY…That’s true…good depth is a prerequisite for success. But, sometimes, you can have too many players at the same spot. Right now, the Cardinals have 3 catchers–Willson Contreras, Ivan Herrera, Pedro Pag’es. It was assumed last April that Contreras would be the primary catcher. In his 84 games this year, he batted .262, 15 HR (in 301 AB), his OPS was .848. These are very strong batting numbers for a catcher but not the durability expected. For the last couple years, Herrera has been touted as the “future” catcher. He did hold a good .288 average. But….it was seen quickly that this throwing arm wasn’t strong enough for the MLB. He played a very short time (around a week). It was seen quickly that most teams were running very often against him. Coming in late through a trade was Pedro Pag’es. Pag’es played better than expected. He clearly “beat out” Herrera. One has to go….personally, I’d try trading Contreras. I think that the Cardinals could get a better quality batter for him( and they need much more hitting prowess. The Cardinals HAVE to get better players up & down their roster. Trading Herrera (while more attractive to some fans) wouldn’t bring much in return. Maximize your assets. Herrera will be replaced in a year or 2 by the next catching “phenom” anyway. Maybe Pag’es will be the “man” ?
…LOOKING ONE WAY.. I remember Luke Weaver. A RHP for the Cards—rather mediocre. He was a starter with a 15-17 record in his 3 years in StL. He bounced around—Arizona- 3 years, 2 teams in 2022, 3 teams in 2023. He looked like he was on the way out… but then ’24 came.
…LOOKING THE OTHER WAY: In 2024, some NYY coach got the idea to make Weaver a set-up man!! He’s a changed man! This year, he has posted 22 HOLDS & 2 SAVES! It’s not by luck. He’s 6-3 with a career low 3.02 ERA. He has posted 95 strikeouts vs 26 walks while batters are hitting a scant .177 against him! What a change!! Wish he was still a Cardinal!
…LOOKING ONE WAY… this wraps up this Buzz…Thanks for your time & read!
…LOOKING THE OTHER WAY….Thanks for your read! Responses from YOU on any part of the Buzz are invited. I put all responses up on my Facebook page (right underneath the article). Check them out… there are always tremendous responses! Thanks! Have a good week.. Bob
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