Often while sleeping, I dream. Almost always it centers around my thoughts for the day or the plans for the next day. Sometimes, it’s really a nightmare with some really bizarre things happening (in my mind)! Recently, I had a really, wild crazy night of dreams.

 …First off in this crazy dream, the Cards are in last place in the Central division as April ends. WOW…my dream machine is really cranking out some weird stuff. It has the Cards @ 10-19 for April. If that WAS true, it would be the first time the team has ever finished in last place in the NL Central at the end of April. This is their lowest win total in April in the Central since it was formed in 1994.

…My bad dream continued…but somehow..it’s going way, way back in Card history. I saw something really faint…couldn’t hardly make it out. Then… I recognized it….The last time the Cardinals finished April in last place in their division was in 1988 when they were one of 6 teams in the NL East. Going deeper…the last time the Cardinals finished in last place for the SEASON was 1990. Manager Whitey Herzog left after 80 games that year & the team collapsed. The last time before that? 1918! No… I wasn’t watching them play in person @ that time!! My Dad wasn’t even watching them yet!!!

…Rolling back over ….thinking that I’m done “with my dreams”for the night….I fall off to sleep…then wake up partially as I think see a couple men in the hallway. They are talking loud enough for me to hear.  Apparently, they’re soccer guys talking …actually arguing….about the long term outlook of the MLS in the Lou. The taller guy with long brown hair(Pro MLS) says in spurts, he’s all “worked up” so that I can barely understand him…there are several points he blurts out…the MLS has been a genius in the planned expansion of the league. He continues to spit out…we have too many people, too much money, our sponsors/owners have too much money for the league to fail! Plus we have natural athletes and are very attractive to good  foreign players—although they are not the highest level players. We have organized fans & our youth coaches are already the highest paid youth coaches in the world…then he gets interrupted …by the 2^nd guy—who’s older, a bit of gray in his beard, blurts out, “yea…those are true to some level but our kids coaching is terrible. Either it’s purely recreational with little, to no teaching going on (like outdoor baby-sitting) or it’s a ”pay for play” model. That model often infers (at least to “some” parents) that it’ll “really help” their son/daughter get that soccer scholarship as a HS Player. The man gets louder & shows his anger as he continues”. Many of those standalone youth clubs are simply competing for parent’s $$…and in a big, big way. There are OOT trips, multiple fancy uniforms-warmups, full-time job salaries for these “select” coaches, shirts, etc, and other financial factors that totally eliminate the poor kids from playing. Let me change that to…the poor Kids AND the lower middle class kids. In the USA currently, it appears to me that soccer is an upper middle class(and above) sport. Poor kids, no matter how good they might be, have little to no chance to get up into or through the ranks. Look @ the ghettos of the Big Cities. How many of those “city” schools have genuine, competitive soccer teams? Or…how many kids are out there kicking around a soccer ball? I still see their voice levels rising but then they’re walking away shaking their heads. The hallway is empty and quiet… I fall back off to sleep again.

…I slept a couple hours this time but then “saw” people at the end of my bed. They acted like they didn’t know that I was here! Both men were very animated. One man blurted out,” Now Contreras isn’t going to be our “every-day catcher”. The Cards are going with Andrew  Knizer—a no-hit catcher and benching or platooning a guy that they paid $87m for 5 years The Cards are throwing HIM under the bus because they have a crappy pitching staff and”. The Other man interrupted him, “We miss Yadi so much”. Well…that’s true so some extent. Its hurt us defensively. Yea…I hear its his “pitch calling”.  Man #1 now feeling like his buddy agreed with him.   We jumped-the-gun and gave him a huge contract. If his catching “trumps” his hitting……ugh….that’s the last I heard.

…I must have slept a short time when in a dream, I I sat up and saw a guy walking in a red jacket with his hands in his pockets towards a pitching mound. Hands in the pocket means different things to different people.  Some people, maybe many, think it reflects that the person is feeling insecure, defensive, or lacking confidence in what they are saying or doing.   Oh…now I recognized that man with his hands in his pockets as he walked towards a small hill…yep… it was Ollie walking to the mound. I guess to make another change.  I rolled back over & dozed off.

…Then I heard 2 men whispering….but I could still hear them. One said quietly..we all knew that the Cards needed starting pitching…heck, for that matter their entire pitching staff needed an upgrade. They ignored it! The Cards still switch closers almost every week-10 days.  Heck, we’re not only unsettled in our pitching….check out our OF…one day this guy sits…the next day another guy sits…its musical chairs based on the “analytics” of each player vs that starting pitcher. They all seem to be looking over their shoulder…especially O’Neill. “You can’ play baseball nervously” said the older of the 2 men! Heck…you can’t do ANYTHING nervously. That was the last I heard of that group.

….Light was just barely popping through the next time that I woke up. I didn’t see anyone directly this time but I thought that I saw a guy in a Blues jacket.  He was sweeping out something…..oh….I guess he was sweeping out the Blues defensemen (at least some of them). Scandella had to be bought out. He seemed to sweep  Parayko away….but then swept him back…he did that several times. Would.. could  Parayko ever regain the defensive play of a couple years ago. Everyone reaches a peak in their performance at SOME time in their lives… never at exactly the same time for everyone. Has he already passed it in HIS career? He was still sweeping as I returned to my sleep mode.

….Immediately thereafter I see …Walking…or skating.. I couldn’t tell — my vision was still cloudy in my half-sleep mode…. was Jordan Kyrou. The leading scorer on the team but carrying with him 2 heavy packages. One package  had some shiny stuff on it. It contained his 29 goals & 32 assists. But then I smelled something, It was the other package—the one he wanted to dump that smelled—His +/- bundle.  It was filled with his -33 (meaning while he’s on the ice, the opponents scored 33 more goals than the Blues did). Luckily..that smell dissipated quickly and I closed my eyes and quickly went back to sleep.

… About an hour after sunrise,  I woke up hearing “Boos”! It was a very unique sound coming from Busch III. Cards fans, like spoiled children, don’t seem to understand that EVERY team goes to Winning seasons & losing Seasons unless you’re willing/able to pay several hundred million dollars to your team(like NYY & LA Dodgers). That’s not in the Cards DNA. At this point, it doesn’t look like the Cards actually have the talent to wiggle into the vastly expanded playoff system. StL fans really are spoiled…the Cards have only suffered through one sub .500 season this entire millennium. In 2007, the Cards finished 78-84, 3^rd place.  Look @ the 1990’s…the Cards were sub .500 five times!! I rolled back over knowing that the “new day” was very near. WAKE ME UP was my thought @ that moment.

…I woke up for the final time and jumped up out of bed! A fresh day was beginning…. I hadn’t slept well and still felt tired…and usually  I can’t  remember any of my dreams.  Maybe, you are able to remember YOUR dreams😊 Have a good day…nope…have a good night’s sleep tonight. (I hope I do too😊) Bob   ***I’d love to receive YOUR thoughts (or dreams) on any part of this Buzz. Just email to me rjryansr@charter.net or send to me on Facebook (Bob Ryan). If you’ve never read the responses ….you’re missing something. Always interesting; coming from many different angles. They are all listed on my Facebook page – right under the Sports Buzz itself.