Tag / Cardinals

by jim

2014 Predictions

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersThe 2014 baseball season is scheduled to officially kick off tonight, last week’s trip to Australia not withstanding.  For the fourth consecutive year, I’ve looked into the crystal ball to make my picks for the upcoming season.

American League

East: Rays

Central: Tigers

West: Angels

Wild Cards: Red Sox, Rangers

AL Champion: Tigers

Cy Young: David Price

MVP: Mike Trout

National League

East: Nationals

Central: Cardinals

West: Dodgers

Wild Cards: Braves, Giants

NL Champion: Dodgers

Cy Young: Stephen Strasburg

MVP: Jason Heyward

by admin

All Time Team Records

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersAnother exciting baseball season is upon us, and it is time once again to look at the all-time team records for games that I have attended.  Some changes from last year:

– A horrible 2013 dropped the winning percentage for the White Sox 9 points.

– The Miami Marlins join the roster of teams I have seen in person

All-Time Team Records

TeamName Won Loss Winning Pctg
California Angels 1 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 12 2 0.857
Florida Marlins 15 8 0.652
Philadelphia Phillies 10 6 0.625
Toronto Blue Jays 9 6 0.600
Chicago White Sox 220 187 0.541
Tampa Bay Rays 7 6 0.538
Colorado Rockies 7 6 0.538
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 15 13 0.536
New York Yankees 9 8 0.529
Chicgao Cubs 191 170 0.529
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by admin

#256 – Ricky Horton

51TAName: Ricky Horton

Rank: 256

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 1988

After months of rumors and speculation, the White Sox and Cardinals finally consummated the trade that sent Ricky Horton and Lance Johnson to the south side in exchange for Jose DeLeon on February 9, 1988.  GM Larry Himes planned on plugging Horton in to the starting rotation, saying, “He was a key pitcher for Cardinals with the way they used him. Now he gets the opportunity to take the ball every five days for us.”  Hopes were so high that manager Jim Fregosi tabbed Horton to take the mound on opening day.

After compiling a 3-6 record in his first nine starts, however, Horton was moved back to the bullpen, where things went from bad to worse for the next two months.  “I tried to think of the season as two halves,” Horton said.  “I put the first half out of my mind and tried to start over fresh in the second half.”  Horton turned his season around, becoming the most consistent lefty in the pen for the White Sox until August 31st, when he was shipped to the Dodgers in exchange for pitcher Shawn Hillegas.

Horton’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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by admin

#266 – Sean Lowe

Sean_LoweName: Sean Lowe

Rank: 266

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1999-2001

Sean Lowe joined the White Sox organization in February of 1999 when he was acquired from the Cardinals in exchange for a minor league pitcher.

Lowe spent the entire 1999 season with the White Sox, putting up a 4-1 record and posting a 3.67 ERA.  In 2000, while the White Sox were winning their first AL Central title, Lowe struggled, with his ERA ballooning nearly 2 runs to 5.48.  He bounced back in 2001, starting 11 games, saving 3, and lowering his ERA back to 3.61.

Lowe’s time on the South Side came to an end on December 13, 2001 when he, along with Kip Wells and Josh Fogg, was shipped to the Pirates in exchange for Todd Ritchie.

Lowe’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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by admin

2013 Predictions Revisited

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersBack in April, on the eve of the 2013 baseball season, I looked into my crystal ball and tried to predict the outcomes of the division races and the major awards.  Now that the season has come to an end the playoffs are in full swing, let’s take a look back at how things unfolded and how wrong my predictions were.

American League

East: Rays

Nobody really predicted the Red Sox bouncing back from their miserable 2012 campaign and winning the division this year.  The Rays, meanwhile, managed to beat the Rangers in the tie-breaker game and make it as the second wild card.

Central: Tigers

This one was practically a no-brainer, although the Indians did make a race of it.

West: Angels

The Angels once again made a huge splash in the free agency market and then underachieved miserably during the season.  The A’s, despite their precarious stadium and underfunded roster, took the division handily.

Wild Cards: Blue Jays, A’s

Despite totally remaking their roster, the Blue Jays failed to reach the playoffs once again.  The Indians and the Rays were the actual wild card teams.  Overall, for the AL, I managed to get one division winner correct and 3 of the 5 playoff teams correct.

National League

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by admin

Ballpark Tour: Busch Stadium

Stadium Name: Busch Stadium

Location: St. Louis

Home Team: Cardinals

Years in Service: 1966 – 2005

Visits: 1

Busch Memorial Stadium, more commonly known as Busch Stadium, was the home of the St. Louis Cardinals from 1966 until 2005.  The stadium also played host to both the St. Louis Football Cardinals from 1966 until their move to Arizona in 1987 and then the newly-relocated Rams in 1995.  Following the 1995 season, the stadium was retro-fitted for baseball use only, replacing the astroturf field with grass and installing a new scoreboard.  The stadium was demolished during November of 2005, in part to make room for its replacement.

I made my one and only trip to Busch Stadium on June 21, 2001 for an exciting Cubs victory over the host Cardinals.  It was a packed house that day, and we had standing room only tickets, so I didn’t get to see much of the stadium.  I do remember a conversation with a local, who in a deep southern accent, kept talking about Todd Dunwoody, who got the start in right field that day in place of Sammy Sosa.

by jim

2013 Predictions

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersContinuing the tradition started two years ago and continued last year, here are my picks for the baseball season that is just getting underway.

American League

East: Rays

Central: Tigers

West: Angels

Wild Cards: Blue Jays, A’s

AL Champion: Angels

Cy Young: David Price

MVP: Mike Trout

National League

East: Braves

Central: Brewers

West: Dodgers

Wild Cards: Giants, Cardinals

NL Champion: Braves

Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw

MVP: Matt Kemp

by jim

All Time Team Records

As we head into the 2013 season, here all the all-time team records in games that I have attended.

All-Time Team Records

Team Won Lost Winning Pctg
California Angels 1 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 12 2 0.857
Florida Marlins 15 8 0.652
Philadelphia Phillies 10 6 0.625
Toronto Blue Jays 9 6 0.600
Chicago White Sox 209 171 0.550
Colorado Rockies 7 6 0.538
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 14 12 0.538
New York Yankees 9 8 0.529
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#320 – David Riske

David RiskeWimmer5206

Name: David Riske

Rank: 320

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 2006

David Riske came to the south side on June 15, 2006 from the Red Sox in exchange for Javier Lopez and took Sean Tracey’s spot on the roster.  One week later, Riske was suspended for three games for intentionally throwing at the Cardinals’ Chris Duncan, which ignited a war of words between Dave Duncan, the Cardinals pitching coach and Chris’s father, and Ozzie Guillen.  And that was the highlight of his White Sox career.  Following the season, Riske left the White Sox as a free agent.

Riske’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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#338 – Fred Manrique

Name: Fred Manrique

Rank: 338

Position: 2B

Years With White Sox: 1987-1989

Fred Manrique was acquired prior to the 1987 from the Cardinals in exchange for Bill Dawley.  After getting a smattering of playing time during his previous trips to the show, Manrique became a serviceable second baseman for the 1987 South Siders.  In 1988, Manrique got even more playing time, but his production fell off somewhat from the previous year.  In 1989, Manrique bounced back after starting the year in the minors, just in time to be included in the trade that sent Harold Baines to the Rangers in exchange for Wilson Alvarez, Scott Fletcher, and Sammy Sosa.

Manrique’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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