THE BEAT GOES ON…. A wonderful 60’s song from Sonny & Cher. There’s a constant BEAT at home, work, recreation, etc and of course sports. When it’s a GOOD BEAT….it’s Fantastic! Take a look…
….the BEAT IS ON for the Cardinals. As I write this, they hold a 23-17 record. If the Cardinals continued at exactly that same rate, they’d win 93 games!! WOW!! This tremendous April & first ½ of May has really put us into a good-looking playoff position. Now…I still do believe that they’ll fall off some as 2026 unfolds for them. Riley O’Brien was a shocking surprise to me (and probably most fans) as a closer in these first 6 weeks. He finally blew his 1st save earlier this week.
…This last series the Oakland…oops ..Sacramento (soon to be Las Vegas) Athletics depicts very well the type of season that the Cards are experiencing. The BEAT JUST KEEPS GOING ON…. With 2 outs, 2 strikes and trailing by 1 run, it looked like things were over for the Red Birds. But, on the next pitch, rookie JJ Wetherholt was hit on the right leg by a 2-2 pitch with Yohel Pozo on 1st base. Catcher Iván Herrera than wacked a 1st-pitch single past A’s 3b Zack Gelof to bring in the tying run. On the following pitch, RF Jordan Walker dropped the first pitch he saw into right field for a double, scoring Wetherholt and giving the Cardinals the lead. Closer Riley O’Brien(more on him later) earned the save with a scoreless bottom of the ninth, handing St. Louis a huge win and a series victory to wrap up a seven-game road trip.
…But now, THE BEAT IS ON to learn more about this new closer-Riley O’Brien. Sit back…it’s quite a trip!! Riley O’Brien was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2017 (8th round). He made it as far as AA, then he was traded to the Reds during the infamous 2020 season. He opened 2021 at AAA and made a cameo MLB appearance with them that year. He was then traded early in 2022 to Seattle for the even more infamous PTBNL (player to be named later)—MLB language for “take this guy off our hands”. He was 27 years old and worked at the AAA the whole year. His reputation was that he had “good stuff” but his K%-BB% ratio was too poor to suggest MLB success. The Cardinals acquired him in a cash deal in November of 2023. In Spring (2024, he demonstrated that he certainly had impressive stuff but could he “control it”? So he passed the eye test on day 1. He got hurt late in camp and he was out until late July. His 2024 Spring appearances were impressive enough that a month of rehab at AAA brought him back to the MLB team. It was a bit rough, and I believe he got dinged up again. He started the 2025 season at Memphis but made it back to MLB in late May. He wasn’t always a “star” but overall, he had some really “nice” season totals. He did enough to be included on the short list of Cards pitchers expected to close in 2026, after the trade of Ryan Helsley. He had some early success and his role on the staff grew. Sooo..what a slow, long, up & down trip it’s been for him. He was brilliant in April –like almost all MLB pitchers, he has enough speed on his pitches but they must be in the right spot against each hitter. Only time will tell as the BEAT GOES. O’Brien, and for that matter–for all players, they must adjust, modify, rethink, etc constantly as the league continues to study & evaluate them daily. O’Brien and all the young Cardinals players are all going through this constant, day-day, adjustment period.
…the BEAT IS ON NOW for the Cardinals due to their early success. With the projected 2026 payroll that is significantly lower from previous seasons down to around $99million–$111 million. Ignoring that the Cards are still paying approximately $59m to players no longer with the organization ( So that means that about 1/3 of the Cardinals salaries is going to non-Cardinals!!) This “move” indicated a MAJOR PIVOT in financial strategy and on-the-field goals for the Cardinals. It looked like it was going to be “tough” to watch them. But surprisingly, the Cardinals have played good ball demonstrating speed on the bases, bat on ball, accepting walks instead of swing at Pitchers’ pitches. Their weakness has been Starting pitching in the first 6 weeks of the season. But don’t forget, the season is 6 months long!!
…Despite the glossy looking W-L record, when one must look with a wider scope at the NL team statistics (15 teams). As I write this The Cardinals (as I write this) are 7th in runs scored; 10th in hits; 8th in stolen bases; 11th in batting average. On the mound, the Cards are 10th in NL in team ERA; 11th in WHIP; 11th in HITS against them and 15th (last) in strikeouts. Their W-L record (25-18-3rd Place) sure exceeds our expectations (at least mine) AND these so-so pitching stats.
….the BEAT IS ALWAYS ON for MLB managers. Every game, every situation is closely scrutinized, kicked-around, etc, etc. One of the most successful MLB Managers in recent decades was Bobby Cox (Atlanta). He just passed away last week. While he was manager, the playoff system was far less involved. You won the division and then played for the league championship. He was the 1st manager since Casey Stengel to have qualified for the postseason 10 times (4 managers have since accomplished that feat with the expansion of the playoffs). All managers have rules for their team. Cox had 3 simple rules (they are really unbelievable)—1) Wear your hat right 2) Don’t cover up the “A” on the front 3) Show up on time. He simply had the expectations for the players that they’d perform on the field with pride and self-driven effort..plain & simple!!
…the BEAT REALLY ISN’T ON in Columbia, MO. In late November, Head Coach Eli Drinkwitz signed a contract extending his HC position until 2031. The 6-year deal, two years longer than the extension he signed earlier this year, is worth $64.5 million and makes him easily one of the top-10 highest paid coaches in the country. It’s rather amazing to me! He took the reins of the MU football team in 2020, and holds a record of 46–28 in six seasons @ Columbia, MO. He has led Mizzou to 5 straight bowl appearances and achieved back-to-back 10-plus win seasons in 2023 and 2024.
…Keep in mind that there are now 36 traditional bowl games & 11 more bowl games (soon to be extended) in NCAA tourney games. Sooo…that means over 70 teams are going to a bowl game of some sort of bowl each year—still a big deal to get a bowl invitation?? Coach Drink has just 2 seasons (of his 6 seasons @ Mizzou) over .500 in the SEC. I’m still surprised by the enormous salary that MU has given to Drinkwitz. He’ll never have to work another day again in his life after his Mizzou stint.
…the BEAT STAYS ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL CONFERENCES….doesn’t Missouri really belong in the Big 10? Sure, the Big 10 has also expanded by adding 4 west Coast teams (Oregon, UCLA, USC & Washington) so now they are the Big 14, but nearby schools like Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Purdue would make road trips (for teams & fans) much more accommodating. Yet, the trips to the Coast teams still gives the players a “feel” of a national conference. The Big 10 & the SEC really are the elite conferences in the NCAA (with the best TV network (hence more money). Switching from the SEC to the Big 10 would be a logical, lateral move for Mizzou.
….the BEAT IS CONSTANTLY ON for college football coaches and their staff to RECRUIT! Signing day is the key day—it’s the culmination of months of recruiting. On the 1st day of signing, almost all the “star” recruits are signed. The battle for these players will decide, in a major way, the success of the battles on the field. SEC recruiting success from #1—the best quantity AND quality recruits ( in parenthesis in the national ranking) are listed below:
#1 Alabama (4th) #2 Tennessee (5th) #3 Georgia (6th) #4 Texas (8th)
#5 Texas A&M (9th) #6 LSU (12th) #7 Oklahoma (15th) #8 Florida (16th)
#9 South Carolina (23rd) #10 Mississippi St (27th) #11 Vanderbilt (30th) #12 Ole Miss (32nd)
#13 Missouri (33rd) #14 Auburn (52nd) #15 Arkansas (60th) #16 Kentucky (69th)
Of the top 50 recruits nationally according to 247Sports’ Composite Rankings, 21 have given a verbal commitment or signed a letter of intent to an SEC program, as of Wednesday, December 4. I’m a bit concerned that Mizzou is ranked #13 of 16 SEC teams in recruiting. That doesn’t sound good to me.
…the BEAT is always ON for the “stars” of a sport to produce. Quietly, at least in St Louis, NYY 1b Aaron Judge is on the verge of establishing a remarkable record. If he hits 34 more home runs in2026(he currently has 16 home runs), he’ll be the 1st MLB player EVER to hit 50 home runs in 5 different seasons! Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire & Sammy Sosa each did it four times!
…The BEAT IS ALWAYS ON to keep the REWIND a 2-page article. Sooo…THANKS FOR YOUR READ! Bob
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