Many times, in our jobs, hobbies, entertainment, things seem to change but really THE BEAT GOES ON in its usual way. Same is true in sports…

…in the 1st round of the MLB -AL playoffs, the BEAT DIDN’T GO ON as the #5 &#6 seeded teams won the 1st 3 game round. (#6 seed) Detroit upended (#3 seed)Houston 3-1 & 5-2 to sweep the AL Wild Card Series. In the other AL Wild Card Series#3 KC beat #4 Baltimore in 2 straight wins—1-0 & 2-1.

……But, the BEAT GOES ON for the Mets after their terrific “come back” against the Brewers in the 9th inning. Pete Alonso blasted a opposite field 2 run HR to win the game for NY. Brewers ace closer-Devin Williams (from STL-Hazelwood West HS) was left in to pitch 2 innings and really struggled in his 2nd inning. This was highly unusual to be left in the game. It turned out to be a disaster. I don’t blame Williams (I’ve never coached a pitcher who wanted to come out of the game—especially a big game). When reviewing the stats, Trevor McGill (21), actually had more saves than Williams (14) but he had been used earlier in the game (1 perfect inning)

…I can’t say that I watched much of either series. There still is 2 more Series in each League before the World Series which is schedule to start on somewhere between Oct 25 or Oct 22 depending on how short/long the Division Series requires.  I really enjoy baseball but playing 7 months up to Halloween is too long for me. Despite those pleas, the MLB owners keep marching towards the bank as THE BEAT GOES ON!

…The BEAT STOPPED..IT DIDN’T GO ON as #9 Mizzou got crushed  by unranked Texas A&M 41-10! This was their 1st quality opponent in 2024. Well, maybe not..Vanderbilt is better, much better than anticipated (see next paragraph) The Tigers got beat in the line (off & defensively). The A&M running game was really never stopped until very late in the game when substitutes were on the field. I wouldn’t be surprised if MU dropped out of the rankings after this lopsided loss. Next opponent is U-Mass (another FBS school). The Tigers will win easily but, actually, what does it mean—beating schools who are listed in a  lower level? They won’t move up in the rankings with a win over UMass.

….But…Mizzou wasn’t the only favorite that the BEAT STOPPED AND DIDN’T GO ON…#1 Alabama fell to Vanderbilt. It was Vandy’s FIRST win over a top 5 team in football in school’s history! It was a tough day for Top 11 teams…other than Bama, #4 Tennessee fell to Arkansas, #10 Michigan lost to Washington; #11 USC lost to Minnesota. NCAA football, in the highest level of conferences, has become more competitive—that’s fun for the fans (not so much for the losing coaches 😊)

…THE BEAT DOESN’T GO ON IN IOWA! We constantly read about the removal (firing) of the NCAA Football Coaches. And…yes it does occur because big money is involved for these “big time” schools. When your team loses, the money dries up and the coach is replaced. But… THE BEAT GOES ON for some Football coaches. A good example is Kirk Ferentz. Ferentz (Iowa) is in his 26th year @ Iowa (most of any HC). His lifetime record is 196-119.His last sub-.500 season was 2012 when he posted a 4-8 record. Since 1999, he’s led the Hawkeyes to 21 bowl games in 25 years. He doesn’t fool people…his teams execute the plays. e.g By percentage, it’s fascinating. Iowa is under center for 76 percent of its run plays and in shotgun for 76 percent of its pass plays. Sooo…he’s tipping his hand to his preference (run or pass), but it still works. This emphasis on fundamentals has led 41 of his players to be in the NFL currently! Over 220 Iowa football players have reached the NFL during Ferentz’s stint as HC. Currently, the only StL players on the Hawkeyes is Zach Ortwerth from SLUH and Joseph Anderson from Westminster Christian Academy. From nearby Edwardsville is Eric Epenesa, who also is a Hawkeye.

…THE BEAT GOES ON & ON & ON for Luis Arraez! He’s just won his 3rd straight batting title while being on 3 different teams!! Winning his 1st batting title with the Twins in 2022, then the 2nd with the Marlins in 2023, Arraez was on the open market this past off-season. Finally, The Marlins paid the Padres enough money to cover the remainder of Arraez’s $8.4 million salary, minus the league minimum. The Padres then traded four minor leaguers to the Marlins in exchange for Arraez. Arraez is the first Padre to win a batting title since Tony Gwynn in 1997. Ironically, the NL batting champion now receives the “Tony Gwynn Award.”

….Arraez was on the market this past off-season. I guess the Cards weren’t interested in trading for a $8.4m player who’s  a singles hitting, batting champion? Pardon my sarcasm. The Cards finished 22nd of 30 teams in scoring runs this past season. He’ll be a free agent again this year. Maybe their feelings will change in a year? Last year, even the Cardinals announcers made the comments that “this Arraez is a hitter”.

…Currently MLB general managers & owners lean heavily towards power hitters. There has always been the idea that a team needed 2,3 or 4 power hitters in the middle of their lineups. Currently, teams seem to strive for power up & down the lineup. Batters who get on base don’t receive the same level of attention (or salary). Yet…those “good hitters” in the #1 & #2 spots of the batting order, get on base often and that means that the #3,#4, #5 power batters will get more plate appearances.

…The BEAT GOES ON for the LA Angels in a different way.  This Beat is their playoff draught!  The Angels haven’t tasted post-season water since 2014 when they reached the ALDS. Since 2011 the Angels have had Mike Trout in their lineup. He seems to be a 1st ballot HOF’er. The Angels, with Trout for 6 years, had Shohei Ohtani! Ohtani was always putting up strong numbers. He won AL Rookie of the Year, two AL MVP awards, made 3 all-star games and won a pair of Silver Slugger thus far in his career for the Angels. Yet they could never reach the Post-season. Ohtani signed with the Dodgers soooo..he’s left Trout behind and already is tasting the post-season water with the Dodgers.

…..There are a very small group of schools THAT THE BEAT GOES ON regarding the NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament. There are 3 teams who have been eligible for every NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament but have failed to be chosen (even just once)!! The teams are: Army, William & Mary and The Citadel. The 1-time exception was Army. Army was invited once but HC Bobby Knight turned it down. He thought his club would do better in the NIT. So…..what happened…Army lost the 1st game of the NIT to Notre Dame! BTW…there are 44 teams who have never played in the NCAA Mens Basketball tournament. But….none of those teams have qualified to be eligible every year.

… THE BEAT GOES ON & ON & ON about the value of passing the ball in the NCAA. There’s no doubt that passing the ball has risen to a higher percentage of the offensive plays. I’m not opposed to passing the ball but I would think that teams that have a more balanced approach of running AND passing will have a higher win rate.  Alabama , who were upset this week against Vanderbilt. Their exciting win over Georgia pushed them upward. As one looks at their team stats.. Bama 1060 passing yards with 887 rushing yards. That’s 54% passing, 46% rushing. I would think that it’d be tougher to prepare defensively for a team that can move the ball either way. Georgia (a tremendous team also) has 1209 passing yards & 517 rushing yards. Clearly, they are more 1-sided..

… THE BEAT GOES ON ..off-season begins when Playoffs end. Sooo…it’s not here yet but… the Cards have 6 players due for arbitration. 3 players due for arbitration for the 1st time are Lars Nootbarr; Brendan Donovan & Andre Pallante (for the 1st time). All 3 of these players had “good” years when measured vs the expectations set by the club & fans. Others who are projected arbitration salaries are Ryan Helsley, John King & JoJo Romero. This 3-some had very good, good, good-, years in that order. The projected total for these 6 players is $18.7m.

…THE BEAT GOES ON & ON with the Cardinals. GM Mozeliak outlined the plan by calling it a “re-set”.  Clearly, that was a synonym for “rebuild”. The Cards are already full throttle in the rebuild program. Mo realizes that the word “rebuild” is a poor word to use to fans. It actually means—“we’re going to lose; we’re going to use young, unproven players; we’re not going to be a contender yet… but we expect that you’ll attend the game & be happy because we’ll win again—some day! Good Luck Mo with this “plan” in your final year (at least 1 year too long). Change is also on the horizon after a disappointing 2024 season that saw the Cardinals draw 2,878,115 fans in 80 home dates at Busch Stadium. It’s the lowest figure in a full season at full capacity since drawing 2,634,014 fans in 1997, which was DeWitt’s second season as owner. …Personally, I’m surprised that the number is that high. Of course, that’s the paid attendance, not the actual number of people at the game in actual attendance (which seemed to be far less). Of course, some fans feel that the paid number is far more important than the actual attendance. They feel that the Cards are still “making money” on the absent, yet paid, fans.

…Mozeliak will converse with manager Oli Marmol on any potential changes to the major-league coaching staff. Roster construction will again also be his responsibility. One decision on the horizon is whether to exercise club options on Lance Lynn (due $11 million next year), Kyle Gibson (due $13 million next year) and Keynan Middleton (due $6 million next year). At most, I only expect 1 of the 2 (Lynn & Gibson) to return. Middleton is gone. The Cardinals have three impending free agents: Paul Goldschmidt, Andrew Kittredge and Matt Carpenter, though the club privately informed Goldschmidt at the end of the year that it would not be bringing him back. I go back to a statement that I made over a year ago.  The DeWitt’s will be selling the team in the next year or 2. He’s stripping the team of any “major” expenses (i.e. highly paid players).

….Thanks for taking your time for the read!  I’m interested in YOUR thoughts on any of the topics.  Agree/disagree…it doesn’t matter. Have a good week!  Bob