Monday August 17th, 2009

Well I'm going to start today with a Cardinals update from the following weekend.
Friday night Wainwright did a little bit of everything for the Birds on his way to his league-leading 14th win of the season. Waino pitched 7 shutout innings and could have probably pitched further into the game but with a Wednesday start coming up against the Dodgers he was pulled prematurely. All was well and good with his pitching but he also got the scoring started with a 3rd inning homerun. The rest of the offense kept things rolling and the Cards went on to win 9-2. Saturday night was not as impressive a game with Pineiro and the billpen not nearly as sharp as they have been this season but we prevail none-the-less 7-4 to stretch the division lead to 4 and a half games over the Cubs who are in absolute freefall mode.
Sundays game was the most impresive of the weekend, at least the ending was, and a game in which a team can use as a jumping point towards the playoffs. After a less than impressive back-and-forth contest and two lengthy rain-delays, the Cards headed into the bottom of the 9th down a run with the daunting task of coming back against one of the finest closers in the league in Heath Bell. Bell hadn't blown a save since late May. After a leadoff single by Ryan Ludwick, Mark DeRosa hit a rocket shot off Bell's ankle, but the ball bounced right to firstbase for the out. Ludwick however, moved over to second on the play. The next batter Yadier Molina then came through with a single to tie the game and give Bell a blown save. With most of the fans gone for the day, rookie Colby Rasmus gave the remaining fans something to cheer about. Rasmus yanked an 0-1 pitch into thr right field seats and the Cards had completed the sweep of the lowly Padres. This was the second walk-off homerun for Ramsus on the season, and it pushed the NL Central leading Cardinals to a season high 15 games over .500 and stretched their division lead to 5 games over the Cubs and 8 games over the Brewers.
The walk-off win helped to give the Cardinals 8 wins in their last 9 games and the finished the week at 5-1.
The Cards are in Los Angeles to face the NL West leading Dodgers tonight, in a match up of teams going in opposite directions. With Chris Carpenter taking the hill looking for his 8th straight win and the Dodgers countering with a young knuckleballer making his Dodger debut, it looks to be an advantage in the Cards favor. With Mitchel Boggs going tomorrow and Waino taking the series finale, the Cards are looking to take another series and gain some ground on the team with the best record in the National League.
Draftee Update: The Cardinals and first round draft pick Shelby Miller have agreed to terms. Miller will recieve a $2.875 million bonus.

Around Sports:
Stasburg has not signed yet with the 12 midnight deadline looming. Many sources have been reporting that the Nats have offered around $15 million with incentives that would push the deal over $17 million, which would shatter the record bonus of $10.1 million that Mark Prior recieved after he was selected #2 overall out of USC behind Joe Mauer in 2001. I think this kid would be making a huge mistake but not signing. Right now his stock is as high as its going to get, and I truly believe that not signing would only lead to his mystique being damaged playing somewhere for a year. There is no benefit of him not signing, not for him or the Nationals.
Sign of things to come? Marc Bulger with be out about 2 weeks with a broken pinkie on his throwing hand. The injury occured on a transfer from center. Kyle Boller will take over the first-team duties while Bulger is out.
McNabb is excited about the possibilities that exist with him and his new teammate Micheal Vick being on the field at the same time. My thought is it is still too early to tell, but Donavan and the Eagles might have just become the fastest offense in the NFC and maybe the NFL.
The Detroit Tigers aquired Aubrey Huff from the Orioles for a minor leaguer today. The firstbaseman is batting .253 with 13 homeruns and 72 RBI's. Not much else to say on that subject.
Future Hall-of-Famer John Smoltz was officially released by the Boston Red Sox today, making him available to sign with any team he wants. I predicted last week that he would end up with the Texas Rangers, but with his release today, the pool of interested teams has increased. Some of the teams with interest include the Dodgers, Cardinals, Rangers, Astros, and Marlins. Smoltz figures to draw significant offers to land play in a playoff race. The teams that miss out on Smoltz will also have the opportunity to look at Vicente Padilla or Russ Ortiz, both of which became available as free agents on Monday.

Baseball Picks for Tuesday August 18th, 2009

Indians over Angels
Mariners over Tigers
Rockies over Nationals
D-Backs over Phillies
Pirates over Brewers
Red Sox over BlueJays
Rays over Orioles
Giants over Reds
Braves over Mets
Rangers over Twins
Astros over Marlins
Royals over White Sox
Yankees over A's
Cubs over Padres
Dodgers over Cardinals