Pre-Hall of Fame Announcement Blogging

As far as the 2008 Hall of Fame announcement of the final ballots are concerned, here are my choices amongst those elgible for induction:
Harold Baines
Bert Blyleven - anyone in the 3,000 strikeout club belongs in the Hall of Fame.
Andre Dawson
Rich "Goose" Gossage - you can't put Sutter in without Gossage or Smith
Tommy John
Don Mattingly
Mark McGwire
Jack Morris
Dale Murphy
Tim Raines
Jim Rice
Lee Smith

Cardinal Award Ballot

I've joined up with my fellow Cardinal bloggers and have filled out the 2007 Cardinal Blogger Award Ballot.

1. Cardinal Pitcher of the Year
*Ryan Franklin

2. Cardinal Player of the Year
*Albert Pujols

3. Game of the Year
*August 16 at Mil—2 home runs from Molina, 7 scoreless by Wainwright

4. Cardinal Rookie of the Year
*Brendan Ryan

5. Surprise of the Year
*Third-place finish


6. Cardinal Blog of the Year (no voting for yourself!)
*Viva El Birdos

7. Surprise Player of the Year
*Ryan Franklin

8. Disappointing Player of the Year
*Chris Carpenter

9. New Cardinal Acquisition of the Year
*Joel Pineiro

10. Most Anticipated Cardinal
*Colby Rasmus

Burwell's new book

I just finished reading Bryan Burwell's new book and while I was pleased with much of it, I cannot get over his strong dislike of Mark McGwire.

For the most part, I found his arguments valid and was interested in seeing how Stan the Man's statue came to be and why. I completely agree with the players selected for the all-time St. Louis team and that the MV3 were all listed. The Steve Carlton trade was easily one of the worst in Cardinals history and in the next few years, we will see if the Mulder trade is around that mark as well.

But, for the die-hard fan, I strongly recommend this book.

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Welcome back, Tony

It's great that Tony La Russa has decided to return to the St. Louis Cardinals. Sadly, Walt Jocketty won't be coming back.

I'm taking somewhat of an off-season hiatus and blogging when I can.

But how do you feel about Tom Glavine becoming a pitcher for the Cardinals?

Now the Cards can plow ahead with their plans for ’08. The retention of pitcher Joel Pineiro was an excellent first move. (And an early indicator that La Russa would return.) Pineiro bought what Duncan was selling and he did good work for this team.

Interim Cards GM John Mozeliak got the green light to give Pineiro a two-year, $13 million deal to keep him out of free agency. DeWitt’s approval proved he really is willing to bump his payroll up a notch for next season.

Now the Cards can move on to other issues, like what to do about free-agent shortstop David Eckstein, how to fill the void left by Juan Encarnacion’s eye injury and what else can be done to shore up the pitching rotation.[...]

He wants his new GM to work with player development czar Jeff Luhnow to make this happen. He needs his manager to buy into that commitment.

La Russa has no trouble integrating young players. We saw that last year, when pitchers Adam Wainwright, Tyler Johnson, Josh Kinney and Anthony Reyes played huge postseason roles.

We saw it again this season as Chris Duncan, Brendan Ryan and Rick Ankiel assumed big roles. Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina and Brad Thompson grew on La Russa’s watch, too, as Tony proved willing to give younger players lots to do.[...]

Albert Pujols battles on for La Russa, which is all you need to know. Jim Edmonds and Jason Isringhausen want to finish their careers in this program, which is also telling. Future Hall of Famer Tom Glavine has shown some interest in finishing his career here, too.

Cards vs. Pirates

September 28, 2007
St. Louis 6, Pittsburgh 1
Winning pitcher - Russ Springer (8-1)

September 29, 2007
St. Louis 7, Pittsburgh 3
Winning pitcher - Adam Wainwright (14-12)
HR: Rick Ankiel (11)

September 30, 2007
St. Louis 6, Pittsburgh 5
Winning pitcher - Kip Wells (7-17)
SV - Jason Isringhausen (32)
HR: Scott Spiezio (4)

Milestone watch:
Scott Spiezio needs 4 hits for 1,000 career hits.
Jim Edmonds needs 2 hits for 1,800 career hits.

And that is the season for 2007.

Cards vs. Mets (Makeup Game)

September 27, 2007
St. Louis 3, N.Y. Mets 0
Winning pitcher - Joel Pineiro (7-5)
SV - Jason Isringhausen (31)

Milestone watch:
Scott Spiezio needs 6 hits for 1,000 career hits.
Jim Edmonds needs 4 hits for 1,800 career hits.
Albert Pujols needs 1 runs for to tie for 10th in club history with 845 Cardinal runs.

Cards vs. Brewers

September 24, 2007
St. Louis 5, Milwaukee 13
Losing pitcher - Adam Wainwright (13-12)
HR: Gary Bennett (2)

September 25, 2007
St. Louis 1, Milwaukee 9
Losing pitcher - Braden Looper (12-12)

September 26, 2007
St. Louis 7, Milwaukee 3
Winning pitcher - Brad Thompson (8-6)
HR: Albert Pujols (32)

Milestone watch:
Scott Spiezio needs 6 hits for 1,000 career hits.
Jim Edmonds needs 4 hits for 1,800 career hits.
Albert Pujols needs 1 runs for to tie for 10th in club history with 845 Cardinal runs.

Cards vs. Astros

September 20, 2007
Houston 18, St. Louis 1
Losing pitcher - Braden Looper (12-11)

September 21, 2007
Houston 6, St. Louis 3
Losing pitcher - Joel Pineiro (6-5)

September 22, 2007
Houston 4, St. Louis 7
Winning pitcher - Brad Thompson (7-6)
SV - Jason Isringhausen (30)
HR: Rick Ankiel (10)

September 23, 2007
Houston 3, St. Louis 4
Winning pitcher - Kelvin Jimenez (3-0)

Milestone watch:
Scott Spiezio needs 9 hits for 1,000 career hits.
Jim Edmonds needs 4 hits for 1,800 career hits.
Albert Pujols needs 4 runs for to tie for 10th in club history with 845 Cardinal runs.

Cards vs. Phillies

Again, my schedule has kept me busy so I apologize for the lack of updates!

September 17, 2007
Philadelphia 13, St. Louis 11
Losing pitcher - Brad Thompson (6-6)
HR: Ryan Ludwick (14)

September 18, 2007
Philadelphia 7, St. Louis 4
Losing pitcher - Mike Maroth (5-7)

September 19, 2007
Philadelphia 1, St. Louis 2
Winning pitcher - Randy Flores (3-0)

Milestone watch:
Scott Spiezio needs 10 hits for 1,000 career hits.
Jim Edmonds needs 5 hits for 1,800 career hits.
Albert Pujols needs 4 runs for to tie for 10th in club history with 845 Cardinal runs.