Tag / Cardinals

by admin

Cardinals All Time Leaders – Through 2015

cardinalsWith 3 months until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue today with the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Cardinals began life in 1891, joining the National League the following year after the dissolution of the old American Association.  They took on the Cardinal name starting in 1900.  I’ve seen them play 30 times, most recently in a loss against the Cubs in the 2015 NLDS.

Home Runs

Name Total
Scott Rolen 7
Jim Edmonds 6
Albert Pujols 6

Hits

Name Total
Scott Rolen 22
Albert Pujols 22
Jim Edmonds 20

Runs

Name Total
Jim Edmonds 16
Albert Pujols 14
Scott Rolen 13

RBI

Name Total
Albert Pujols 16
Scott Rolen 15
Jim Edmonds 14

Doubles

Name Total
Ryan Ludwick 4
Albert Pujols 3
Scott Rolen 3
Jim Edmonds 3
Fernando Vina 3
Jason Heyward 3

Triples Continue reading →

by jim

The Jason Heyward Era Begins

CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 05:Jason Heyward #22 of the St. Louis Cardinals hits a double in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs during the Opening Night game at Wrigley Field on April 5, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)The Cubs made another splash in the free agent market today, signing former Cardinals outfielder Jason Heyward to an 8-year, $184 million contract.  The deal gives Heyward two opportunities to opt out, once after 3 years and again at an as-yet-unannounced timeframe.

Heyward becomes the team’s new center fielder, which is not his natural position.  Given that most of his WAR value comes from his stellar defense and his baserunning abilities, playing him in center is likely to blunt his effectiveness.  That said, the winter is early and he could slide back over to right field should Jorge Soler be moved in a deal for additional pitching.

In addition to adding Heyward (and John Lackey) to their roster, the Cubs also manage to subtract them both from the Cardinals, weakening a divisional rival.  At this point, the Cubs look to be the favorites to take the NL Central next year, if not the pennant.  Time will tell if everything plays out as expected.

by admin

2015 Final Standings

baseballs3Now that the Cubs have been swept from the NLCS by the Mets, the physical attendance portion of the 2015 baseball season, for me, has come to an end.  I made it to 39 games this year, in 4 stadiums (1 new) across 2 countries.  Here are the final standings for those games, and the 15 different teams that I saw in person this year.

2015 Team Records
Team Won Loss Winning Pctg
New York Mets 2 0 1.000
Kansas City Royals 3 1 0.750
Detroit Tigers 3 1 0.750
Toronto Blue Jays 2 1 0.667
St. Louis Cardinals 2 1 0.667
Minnesota Twins 4 3 0.571
Seattle Mariners 1 1 0.500
New York Yankees 1 1 0.500
Cincinnati Reds 1 1 0.500
Chicago White Sox 16 18 0.471
Chicago Cubs 3 5 0.375
Baltimore Orioles Continue reading →
by admin

Heading To The LCS

FlyTheWFor the first time since 2003, the Chicago Cubs are headed to the NLCS, having defeated the Cardinals in the NLDS in 4 games.  They await the winner of the Dodgers/Mets series, who will host game 1 of the NLCS on Saturday.  The Cubs, who last appeared in the World Series in 1945, have never won an NLCS, losing in 1984, 1989, and, of course, 2003.

Yesterday was also the first time in franchise history that the Cubs won a post-season series at home.  In 1907 and 1908, the team clinched their World Series victories in Detroit against the Tigers.  In 2003, the NLDS wrapped up in Atlanta, with the Cubs taking game 5 against the Braves.

by admin

Playoff Pitching Leaders

baseballs2As the Cubs and Cardinals prepare to kick off their NLDS series later today, it’s time to take our first ever look at the pitching leaders from the 17 post-season games I’ve attended since the White Sox won the AL Central in 2000.

Wins

Name Total
Mark Buehrle 2
15 tied with 1

Losses

Name Total
Matt Clement 2
15 tied with 1

ERA (> 6 IP)

Name Total
Chad Billingsley 1.35
Mark Prior 2.20
Greg Maddux 2.57
David Wells 2.70
Jose Contreras 2.81

Strikeouts

Name Total
Mark Prior 13
Continue reading →
by admin

Playoff Batting Leaders

baseballs3Now that the Cubs have gotten past the Pirates in the Wild Card game and will face off against the Cardinals in the NLDS, it’s time to take our first ever look at the offensive leaders from the 17 post-season games I have attended since 2000.  So, without further ado, we start off with:

Home Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 3
B.J. Upton 3
Moises Alou 2
Miguel Cabrera 2
Chipper Jones 2
Eric Karros 2
A.J. Pierzynski 2
Scott Podsednik 2
Manny Ramirez 2

Hits

Name Total
Moises Alou 9
Juan Uribe 8
Derrek Lee 8
A.J. Pierzynski 7
Mark DeRosa 7

Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 6
A.J. Pierzynski 5
Continue reading →
by admin

2015 Predictions Revisited

baseballs2Six months ago, as the 2015 baseball season was scheduled to kick off at Wrigley Field, I made my annual predictions as to who would win what.  Now that the regular season has come to an end, it is time revisit those predictions and see what, if anything, I got right.

American League

East: Blue Jays

After a middling first half, the Blue Jays turned things around after the All Star break, especially after acquiring David Price and Troy Tulowitzki at the trade deadline, earning them their first division title since 1993.

Central: Indians

Well, I correctly predicted the end of the Tigers reign after four seasons, but I wrongly assumed that the Royals would regress after their World Series appearance last year.  Instead, they went and ran away with the AL Central crown while the Indians struggled to stay out of the cellar.

West: Angels

It came down to the final day, but the Rangers, who finished in last place in 2014, managed to hold off the Astros and the Angels to win the division.

Wild Cards: Tigers, Mariners

I completely missed the boat here, as both teams failed to live up to their pre-season expectations.  The Yankees return to the post-season and so do the surprise Astros.

AL Champion: Angels

Cy Young: Felix Hernandez

MVP: Mike Trout

Only one of these seems like a possible choice at this point, with Mike Trout the frontrunner for the MVP award.  The Cy Young award is up in the air at this point.

National League

Continue reading →

by admin

2015 All Star Break Standings

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersAs the baseball world turns its sights to Cincinnati for tonight’s All Star Game, it’s time to take a look at the team records for the 21 games I attended, at 3 different stadiums, in the first half of the baseball season.

2015 Team Records

TeamName Won Loss Winning Pctg
Detroit Tigers 2 0 1.000
St. Louis Cardinals 1 0 1.000
Minnesota Twins 3 2 0.600
Chicago White Sox 11 9 0.550
Toronto Blue Jays 1 1 0.500
Cincinnati Reds 1 1 0.500
Baltimore Orioles 1 1 0.500
Chicago Cubs 1 2 0.333
Continue reading →
by admin

Franchise Four – NL Central

Major League Baseball is asking its fans to vote for the four most impactful players who best represent the history of each franchise.  The winners will be announced in July at the All Star Game in Cincinnati.  Today, I will give my Franchise Four picks for the National League Central, minus the Cubs.

F4Reds5 Hall of Famers should make this an easy choice, but the permanent exclusion of the all-time hit king adds a slight wrinkle to the proceedings for the Reds.  Let’s say that Johnny Bench and Frank Robinson hold down two of the spots.  That leaves Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, Barry Larkin, and Pete Rose for the final two slots.  I’m going to go with the exiled Rose and Morgan.

F4Brewers

For a franchise that dates back to 1969, the Brewers, once you get past Robin Yount and Paul Molitor, don’t have much to choose from.  Ryan Braun, despite his association with PEDs, get my third slot.  I guess I’d give the final position to Rollie Fingers.

F4Pirates Continue reading →

by admin

Fitbit Week 10

Week10_FBThanks to the return of baseball, we get our first week using the Fitbit where every day surpassed the 5500 step mark, leading to my best week step-wise since January.  The week got off to a good start on Easter Sunday, which also happened to be Opening Night, with the Cubs taking on the Cardinals.  Thanks to the farthest parking spot I’ve ever used while attending Wrigley Field, I nearly surpassed 10,000 steps.

The work week was rather normal, with afternoon coffee trips helping to accomplish the day’s goal.  Friday, baseball returned to the south side, with a train ride and a hike to the upper reaches of the upper deck contributing to a nearly 9000 step total and a record, at least for the last 10 weeks, of 23 floors of steps climbed.  A return trip to US Cellular Field on Saturday helped to keep the streak alive.

Total steps: 53,555

Daily average: 7650.7