Sometimes our emotions lead us to a situation  that when it’s over we say to ourselves..  DID I REALLY THINK THAT?

…DID YOU REALY THINK THAT THE BLUES would win in this round of the playoffs? The Blues reached the playoffs in the last week of the regular season. They had a tremendous “run” to reach that point. But….they were the 8th ranked  team as a “Wild Card” team in the playoffs (there are 8 playoff teams from each conference). Sooo.. the lowest ranked team (in this case, #8) plays the #1 team. Winnipeg was the top team in the Central Division. Look at some of their final stats—56-22-4-final record; 277 goals-tied for 1^st in Cen Division. The Blues brought in a 44-30-8 final record;  they scored 254 goals; 5^th in the Central Division. The Best team was playing the lowest ranked Playoff team. As much as we love the Blues, it looked like a 4 game series was what we’d see.

…From my spectator eyes, the Blues have played a zone in their defensive end in games 1 & 2 as the Jets kept possession of the puck for long periods of time in their offensive zone. It’s true that the longer the game goes on in any sport, the more that the better team will control the game. That’s true here too…the 3^rd period has belonged to the Jets as the Blues seemingly, just “run out of gas”. On the bright side — Jimmy  Snuggerud scored his 1st NHL goal while Jordan Binnington has also been very good, to my eyes, with 41 saves in game 2. The Jets are charging the net “hard” and have tumbled into Bennington a couple different times. I think it’s an intimidation factor on their part. Blues haven’t responded while I’ve been watching the games.

….DID YOU THINK THAT THE BLUES WERE DONE?  Think Again! Last night the Blues were TOTALLY DIFFERENT! The Blues came out and looked like a different team! From the opening drop of the puck to the end, the Blues were aggressive. They forechecked with strong physical checks throughout the game. By the 1st TV timeout, the Blues had piled up 26 hits. They had 39 in the first period, and finished with 63 in the game.  Winnipeg wasn’t idle. They had 68 hits, and the combined 131 hits were the third-most in a regulation playoff game since the NHL started tracking hits in 2005-06.

….Pavel Buchnevich scored 2 goals in the first 3:11 of the game! The Blues crowd was loud and cheered with passion. The Blues were relentless throughout the entire match. Final Score of Blues 7 Jets 2 says it all!

…DID YOU THINK THAT the Cardinals would improve over-night? They have some good & some bad stats… on the Batting side…the Cardinals are 2^nd in NL with a .264 team average. The Cubs are #1 but are just a single percentage point ahead of StL @ .265. In runs scored, most important stat to me, the idea offensively is to score runs!, the Cards are #8 (of 15 teams). The Cards are tied for #5 in fewest strikeouts offensively. I thought that the Cards would be ranked higher in stolen bases.  StL  has 21 Stolen bases in 25 games and are tied for 9^th in this category.

…DID YOU EVER THINK THAT THE NL CENTRAL would be the speed merchants of the NL? Clearly, the NL Central has taken the lead in the NL in the “running game”. Ranked #1 in the NL in stolen bases is Chicago with 40. Milwaukee is #2 with 34 SB’s. At #3 are the Pirates with 31. In the 4^th spot in the National League in stolen bases is Cincinnati with 26!! WOW!

…DID I REALLY THINK that veterans would grab all of the headlines in the MLB this April? Well…take a look at some “new” names who are having a tremendous April….

…being paid $325m, DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT the any team would pay a player $325m that wasn’t  special ?  In Los Angeles, it’s 26 year old, Yoshinobu Yamamoto(LHP-starter). Last year Yamamoto lost time to injury for much of the 2024 season. His 4 starts were all in the World Series (all were Dodger wins). This year, in 5 starts he’s posted a 0.93 ERA (just 1 run in 5 starts).  He’s looking like WHAT THE DODGERS THOUGHT HE WOULD BE.

….DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT ONLY THE DODGERS would have some good young players?  How about San Diego Padres: Gavin Sheets – He was signed to a minor league deal in February. Sheets is now San Diego’s everyday DH and his .323 average outpaces the first four years of his career with the White Sox by nearly 100 points. Another rookie having a tremendous start is SF Giants: Randy Rodríguez – The 2nd-year right-hander is yet to allow a run or walk a batter through 10 appearances, striking out 13.

…DID THE CARDINALS REALLY THINK THAT WILLSON CONTRERAS would be the player that he’s been for them? They just signed him in February to a 5-year, $87.5 million contract. That’s $17.5m/year. The deal includes a club option for 2028. The current average in the MLB salary for players with 4+ years of experience in 2024 was around $4.66 million. Soooo…Contreras is way above the average.  Willson Contreras is one of the veteran players on this young team. He was approached this off-season by the Cardinals to be moved. He decided to stay in St. Louis. He seems to have become a fan favorite after overcoming much adversity in his short career with the Cardinals.

….But the reality is that Contreras has been one of the weakest players in all of baseball in 2025. Players with High Contracts play most every day.  His salary, I REALLY THINK,  is the only logical reason he continues to be penciled in every day. Contreras is showcasing a -0.5 WAR. His stats list him as the 26th worst player in baseball. He is not providing any value on defense and has shown minimal offensive production, which is supposed to be his strength. Apparently, he was approached by the Cardinals about being “moved” (MLB lingo for being traded) this off-season, he refused. He was obtained to be a catcher but…apparently, the Cardinals had no idea his catching techniques were so poor. Frequently (for the MLB level), the batters swung and hit his glove. That is catcher’s interference. I don’t know if he did it in Chicago too…or if the Cards tried getting him closer to the plate? Currently, Contreras holds a -0.5 WAR (wins above replacement)…In other words…-0.5 means a replacement is BETTER than Contreras!!! According to some MLB data, Contreras is considered the 26^th WORST player in baseball! Those aren’t MY stats…those are MLB stats!!! He’s been moved to 1b….he’s clearly NOT a sharp defensive player around 1b. It wasn’t like he was experienced @ 1B… Contreras had played first base in 11 MLB games, but not since 2019. As I write this (4/25), he holds batting marks of—Avg- .200; 2 HR, 9 RBI’s with 30 strikeouts (ouch). He has struck out 30 times in 102 plate appearances.

….Speaking of catching. I REALLY THINK that MLB catchers are clueless about ‘framing” a pitch. Yanking a pitch laterally on an outside pitch & putting it behind the plate is very poor technique. When I was umpiring Senior Men baseball, which I did for several years. When a catcher, moved his glove laterally and stopped behind the plate, it was an ‘AUTOMATIC’ ball. In fact, I’d tell the catchers discretely between innings, that “every time you move your glove laterally after the catch, I know it’s a ball…thanks!” This shoddy “framing” style is across the entire MLB.

….Let’s bring in the automatic electronic strike zone. Any part of the ball over any part of the strike zone IS a strike. Not how far you move your glove. That isn’t framing!! Btw…framing to me.. is catching the ball and bringing it back towards your heart maybe 2 or 3 inches on every pitch then holding it.

….Now, I REALLY THINK that it’s time to give Mozeliak some credit before his departure. In 2011, Mozeliak engineered a series of late season moves that transformed the Cardinals. The Redbirds went from 10 ½ games back in late August to winning the franchise’s 11th World Championship. But..that wasn’t his only success. Under John Mozeliak, the St. Louis Cardinals reached the postseason 10 times. During that period, the Cardinals also won the NL Central Division title 6 times, including 3 consecutive years from 2013-2015.

….But it wasn’t only in the Lou that his handling of the team was recognized. Baseball America named the Cardinals the 2011 Organization of the Year, the first time the franchise had received the honor. Mo was the 2011 recipient of the MLB.com Executive of the Year award. He was named, along with Tony La Russa, as the 2011 Baseball Men of the Year by the St. Louis Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Of course, he made other “good” moves over the many years of Cardinal winning baseball. But…everything runs “its course”. It’s said that he leaves behind a some “good” prospects” in the Cardinal system. Remember, MO was fulfilling the intentions of the owners. Best of Luck to him down the road.

…Well, that’s what I THINK ABOUT THESE SPORTS TOPICS…. HOW ABOUT YOU?  Where do you come down on them? Anxious to hear from you!  Thanks for your time & read! LGB!!  Bob