WOW- The Final Five Months Seems Less Than That Looking At These Pictures

These photos are all from the St. Louis Cardinals official website.

This first photo is looking northeast toward the arch between towers 3 and 4 on what will be the left field stands. Obviously, poor Busch Jr. is at the north end forming the background of the photo. The arch is not visible due to the tower. Below that is the artists rendering of what it will ultimately look like. These arches are apparently from the Eads Bridge and will hang over the western entrance of the new park.


Next is the "official" "front" entrance to the park with the highway 40 overpass behind (see previous post about this and below). Below that are two perspectives on how this will look when finished. But on the second picture below, what they don't show is highway 40 running along the right side of the picture close to the right field stands.



From two weeks ago, again, note how close highway 40 seems to be. Aren't they going to move the overpass? From the looks of the next artist rendering below this picture, I guess not. I think this detracts from the beauty of the new ballpark.


Next we have two perspectives from what the view inside the stadium will be from these left field/homeplate area seats they are building.

Finally, the perspective looking in from centerfield into the homeplate/left field stands area, which is the inside of the front of the ball park pictured above.

Time sure seems to be flying by. Welcome, summer. Everyone have a good, safe weekend.

Top 10 Speeches We Will Never Hear But Should

World Magazine's Blog linked to a website that has the "Top 100" American Speeches of all time. Most of them are from a liberal slant. But what is interesting is what is missing. Here are the speeches that through history should have been made, or should be made now, but, for various reasons, we'll never hear. In no particular order, here are what could have been excerpts from those speeches:

1. The Kieschnick 2004 LCMS Convention Speech: "I'm sorry for endorsing syncretism, unionism, political back room dealing, changing this synod beyond recognition, and not being a theologian when I should be. And CFW Walther is my hero. I will from now on uphold the Lutheran Confessions. Lord, have mercy on me, a pitiful, helpless, and sinful man."

2. The Nixon Resignation Speech 1974: "Yeah, I did it. I knew all about Watergate. And if you all don't shut up about it, I've got a document in my pocket that'll put all of you in jail or Vietnam by noon."

3. The Clinton Speech 1998: "I DID have sexual relations with that woman. And that one. And that one. And that one. And, believe it or not, that ugly one over there. And the "Man From Hope" is hoping he'll have it with that one. WOO-HOO, YEE-HAW! You know, y'all are awful nosey. Now, let's talk about the economy."

4. Pete Rose Gambling Speech 1989: "I'd sell my soul to the devil for an inside tip on the 3rd race at Aqueduct. Of course I bet on baseball."

5. Mark McGwire 2005 Congressional Committee Speech: "I'm here today to talk about the past. I took performing enhancing drugs, and I'm sorry I did. Please forgive me. Kids, don't do what I did."

6. Michael Jackson 2005 Speech: "I have been convicted to confess that my lifestyle is all wrong. It IS wrong to sleep with little boys that are not your own children when you are a grown up. I am very sorry for all the confusion and pain I have caused. It is also wrong to turn into an ugly white woman when you started out as an attractive black man. Please accept my apologies. And, yes, one more thing...I have wasted my adult years living like a freak."

7. Ted Kennedy 1969 Chappaquiddick Speech Part 2: "Oh, who am I kidding? You can all see what really happened there. You're not blind, or the fools I have taken you for. My sins are many. Lord, have mercy on me. Now, I'll just go away and you'll never have to see me again."

8. Hillary Clinton 1992 60 Minutes Speech: "I lied. I AM just like Tammy Wynette. No matter what Bill does or will do, I will always stand by my man. How else could I hope to obtain the power I crave."

9. George Bush 1988 Republican Convention Nomination Acceptance Speech: "And when congress comes to me with a proposal to raise your taxes, here's what I'll tell them: 'Read my lips: no new taxes- has never been my motto.'"

10. Scottius Maximus 2005 Best Blog Ever Acceptance Speech: "I'd like to thank the academy and all the "little people" who made this possible. You know who you are, so I won't bother calling you by name. It's all about me, anyway. Always has been, always will be."

(Sorry about that last one. I couldn't resist.)

"The Planet Of The Ex-Cardinals"

New movie coming out for Memorial Day weekend, starring:

Tony Womack, Yankees
G- 42, AB- 163, R- 25, H- 45, 2B- 4, 3B- 1, HR- 0, RBI- 9, TB- 51, BB- 10, SO- 26, SB- 15, CS- 2, OBP- .322, SLG- .313, AVG- .276, OPS- .635


Edgar Renteria, Red Sox
G- 40, AB- 163, R- 22, H- 40, 2B- 7, 3B- 2, HR- 2, RBI- 14, TB- 57, BB- 12, SO- 24, SB-2, CS- 0, OBP- .297, SLG- .350, AVG- .245, OPS- .647


Woody Williams, Padres
W- 2, L- 2, ERA- 4.84, G-6, GS- 6, CG- 0, SHO- 0, SV- 0, SVO- 0, IP- 35.1, H- 42, R- 19 ER- 19, HR- 4, BB- 14, SO- 27


Steve Kline, Orioles
W- 2, L- 2, ERA- 5.63, G- 20, GS- 0, CG- 0, SHO- 0, SV- 0, SVO- 1, IP- 16.0, H- 17, R- 12, ER- 10, HR- 4, BB- 11, SO- 17


Mike Matheny, Giants
G- 36, AB- 123, R- 13, H- 31, 2B- 9, 3B- 0, HR- 5, RBI- 22, TB- 55, BB- 10, SO- 24, SB- 0, CS- 1, OBP- .314, SLG- .447, AVG- .252, OPS- .761


Danny Haren, A's
W- 1, L- 6, ERA- 5.19, G- 9, GS- 9, CG- 0, SHO- 0, SV- 0, SVO- 0, IP- 50.1, H- 58, R- 38, ER- 29, HR- 6, BB- 27, SO- 42


Kiko Calero, A's
W- 2, L- 0, ERA- 8.68, G- 10, GS- 0, CG- 0, SHO- 0, SV- 1, SVO- 1, IP- 9.1, H- 13, R- 9, ER- 9, HR-3, BB- 4, SO- 12


Marlon Anderson, Mets
G- 36, AB- 39, R- 6, H- 13, 2B- 2, 3B- 0, HR- 0, RBI- 1, TB- 15, BB-4, SO- 5, SB- 0, CS- 0, OBP- .409, SLG- .385, AVG- .333, OPS- .794

From my critic's chair, here's my review of the "plot" so far in 2005:
1. I'd still love to have Anderson and Matheny on the team (thumbs down for the Cards).
2. I'm glad to have Mulder rather than Haren and Calero (thumbs up for the Cards).
3. I'm glad Renteria is gone (thumbs up for the Cards).
4. Boston "gave" Renteria way too much money (thumbs up for the Cards).
5. I'd love to have Womack's steals. The Cards aren't running enough, but I guess they don't have the speed they did. (?) (Thumbs down for the Cards).
6. Woody Williams on the DL? Nooooo. It COULDN'T be, could it?! (Thumbs up for the Cards).
7. I'd rather have Gabe White and Randy Flores than Steve Kline. (Two thumbs up for the Cards).

So, it looks like six thumbs up and two thumbs down for this film, a net gain of four thumbs. (Huh? Well, you know what, I mean. I hope.)

Stay tuned for the sequel, coming to a theater near you in a few weeks..."Beneath The Planet Of The Ex-Cardinals."

The Pirates Are Good

These Pittsburgh Pirates are not the same. This team is not GOING to be good, they ARE good. I remember thinking they had blown up their team a couple of years ago. Now I'm not so sure they didn't know what they were doing all along. I know they have lost 12 in a row to the Cardinals, but they have given the Cardinals all they can handle the past two nights. Granted, the Cardinals are at less than full strength, but there are some things I can just sense are happening: the Pirates are gaining confidence to go with some outstanding pitching. I won't predict they will make the playoffs just yet, because they won't. But they are definitely moving in the right direction. Something I didn't think was happening in 2003 when they had their fire sale to the Cubs.

Tonight we should have just as good of a pitched game as the past two nights. Mulder v. Redman. I'm a little sluggish today after last night's 12 inning affair, and I am expecting more of the same tonight. Better grab a quick nap. The season has definitely heated up as far as I'm concerned.

And in case you missed it the past two nights, the highlight plays of the game are linked on the Cardinals official MLB website, under the heading More Sights And Sounds. What can you say about Albert Pujols except: Best. Player. In. The. Game.

I'm Getting Bad Reception

My son is in Youth Choir. There are at least 15 other youth. On Sundays when they sing, there is usually piano accompaniment. And we are sitting at least 50 feet, sometimes probably almost 100 feet, from the choir. Yet my wife says she can hear him singing. All I hear is a piano and a bunch of kids crooning. He sings bass. There are about three other basses in the choir. I listen carefully for his voice. But I can honestly say I have never distinctly heard it. And it is not that he's not singing. The director of the choir has made comments regarding his singing voice, and he is not bad.

Is this a mother phenomenon? Are women just naturally THAT MUCH more attuned to hearing their children's voices? Another mother of a choir member made a comment about how so-and-so sounded so good one Sunday. I just nodded my head. I had no idea what she was talking about.

I don't get it.

2005 Cardinals Nicknames

Ladies and Gentleman.
Your 2005 St. Louis Cardinals and their nicknames (to make the list you must have had some playing time this year, or played a significant role in a past season).

Starring:

David Eckstein- "Albert Eckstein", "Hoppity Hooper".
Larry Walker- "Uncle Larry", , "Charming and Delightful Ol' Uncle Lar'", "Hello, Larry".
Albert Pujols- "Phat Albert", "Prince Albert" (actually "King Albert" or just "The King" is more appropriate now). "El Conquistador". But I think "Race", after Jonny Quest's ultimate bad-ass Race Bannon, could become popular.
Scott Rolen- "Rawhide" (Perhaps I should explain this one. Rawhide fits for these reasons- his glove work, his hitting, and the fact the theme from Rawhide begins "rollin', rollin', rollin'.)
Jim Edmonds- "Jimmy" as Mike Shannon calls him, or "Jedmonds", "Jed", or "Legolas" as I like to call him.
Reggie Sanders- "Reg", "Sandman".
Mark Grudzialanek- "Grudzilla", "The Bee" (as in- his name could be in a spelling bee).
Yadier Molina- "Yoda", "Yads".
Mark Mulder- "Plain M&M" (as opposed to the peaNUT variety below), "Fox".
Chris Carpenter- "The Tool Man".
Jason Marquis- "Grand".
Jeff Suppan- "Wrong Way" (still almost too painful to say even after 7 months), "Soup", "Soupy", "Campbell's".
Matt Morris- "Peanut M&M", "Gimli", "Moon Man Morris", "The Joker", "Space Cowboy", "Blackbeard".
Hector Luna- "Moon-a", "Eclipse".
John Mabry- "RFD", "Carolina".
So Taguchi- "Gooch", "Tags".
Abraham Nunez- "Honest Abe", "Lincoln", "The Patriarch".
Bill Pulsipher- "Hacksaw".
Ray King- "Burger".
Jason Isringhausen- "Izzy", "Iz-man", "Wizard of Iz".
Carmen Cali- "Corn", "Gas-can", "Blowtorch".
Julian Tavarez- "Freddy", "The Hook".
Cal Eldred- "El Dorado" (one of my favorite John Wayne pictures).
Randy Flores- "Floss" (like dental floss- can be unpleasant but can get the job done), "Trojan".
Mike Lincoln- "The Ghost", "Phantom", "Abe", "DL".
Al Reyes- "The Hydrant", "Rolaids Relief".
Brad Thompson- "Goose Egg" (for his propensity to post zeroes on opponents).
Gabe White- "Kotter", "Kaplan".
Einar Diaz- "Defense Department".
Scott Seabol- "Sea Gull".
Roger Cedeno- "Little Caesar" (after Cardinal one season legend Cesar Cedeno).
Cody McKay- "Knuckles", "Lights Out" (after his scoreless 2 innings pitched in April 2004).
Bo Hart- "Not Jackson", "Lion".

And of course, as always, also starring Mike Shannon as "Mikey", "Uncle Mikey", or "The Moon Man".

Looky What I Got

It's a hot little number. My wife has one, my son has one, and now I got one. Isn't she a beaut?

All the study Bibles I had before are from a reformed perspective. Well, not anymore, baby. (I know, God's words are all the same as in any other NIV Bible. But I get tired of reading footnotes that deny the Real Presence, or the regeneration at Baptism).

Well, I Never...

saw a catcher who could pick off runners like the young Molina. He does it again in tonight's game. Unreal.

Advice to Cardinals NL opponents:
Don't take a lead off first. Just stand on the bag. That will save you the embarrassment of being picked off.

Random Thoughts On A Beautiful Spring Day

1- What ever happened to Susie Chapstick?
2- Can you play the drinking game "quarters" with coffee?
3- What if baseball field dimensions were all the same at every stadium, but football field dimensions were different from stadium to stadium?
4- How come we know we can eat some mushrooms and not others? Who were the mushroom pioneers, and why don't we honor them? The same goes for any food. Someone had to be the first to try it out. And I'm sure some did not make it.
5- Who's the best late 70s/early 80s Canadian Rock band: Rush, April Wine, Triumph, or Loverboy?
6- How come goldfish aren't gold?
7- How come silverfish aren't fish?
8- Is it legal (or healthy) to eat a breakfast bar for lunch?
9- Who were the Nephilim? No really, who were they? Nobody really knows. But they surely were important or God would not have mentioned them in Genesis.
10- What was wrong with the dude in the Looking Glass song, "Brandy"? If Brandy was such a fine girl, and would be such a good wife, then he was either gay or a total maroon. Or, maybe, he was the one that had taste and the group Looking Glass was a bunch of liars.
11- I want Sugar Smacks, Sugar Crisp, and Sugar Pops to come back.
12- Is "the Moe" a good haircut for summer?
13- Did Billy Preston have the the biggest afro in the history of the world?
14- Pipe or cigar smoke?
15- Anyone still have any Wacky Packages from the early '70s?
16- What is a sith and why do they want revenge?
17- Does gum decay after you spit it out? And if you spit out a piece of hard candy for whatever reason, is it still candy, or is it then a half-digested disc of super-hardened sugar? And what does that make you if you put it back in your mouth- a candy eater or a connoisseur of half digested foods?
18- Why are blackberries red when they're green? Why aren't they redberries until they become blackberries? And why are there no redberries when we have the black and blue varieties? Raspberries look pretty red to me, why don't we call them redberries? The only redberry I ever heard of was this Baron guy.
19- The amount of shopping a man will do with a woman while they are dating is equal to the amount of shopping that same man will do with her for the rest of his life.
20- I love the new Real Men of Genius radio commercial about the guy who starts his barbecue with gasoline. Hilarious stuff. Especially because it hits so close to home.
21- Why are there still no Berserkers?

Busch Photo Update

From the Cardinals official website. Looking east/southeast toward the Mississippi River, Busch III is beginning to border Busch Jr. The right field/first base stands are almost done and ready for actual seats to be placed. Once the left field/third base stands reach the fourth tower going north (in the middle of the bottom of the picture), then the waiting will begin for the season to end, and the destruction of Busch Jr. But I still can't figure out what they are going to do with Highway 40 to the immediate south. Surely this highway will be re-routed, right? You can't have a highway right up against the stands. The street level picture demonstrates this.



This looks weird. This is looking east with highway 40 at the right of the picture, and the "main" entrance to the park right in front of you. See what I mean, the highway looks like it is two feet from the south end of the new ballpark. What's going on here?

Dream On, Dream Until Your Dreams Come True?...Well, I Surely Hope Not

I need someone's help.

I keep having a dream where I'm getting paged and trying to call the number I am paged to, but for some reason my fingers can't dial the right number. I get so frustrated, hang up and try again, thinking I have it this next time, but I hit the wrong numbers again. This process repeats itself 4 or 5 times, and I become increasingly more frustrated the more I dial. Then I wake up.


Also, in another ongoing series, I dream that I am in college and I have a class I started attending at the beginning of the semester, but I have somehow forgot about attending it since then. Until it is time for a big exam. Which causes me to wonder, should I even go, or should I blow it off? What will the prof say, seeing as how I haven't showed up for weeks for class? And the classes at my school were always small enough to notice if someone was not there. Then I am in panic mode until I realize I have graduated and the test shouldn't affect me too adversely. Then I wake up.

Does anyone know what these dreams mean? (And, if I don't post for a few days, don't call the cops. It probably just means someone called the white coats in and I'm "away" for awhile. But it couldn't be that bad- could it?).

The LA Nerds?

The Cards-Dodgers series was entertaining to watch, and I was happy with the results. But I do have a question (I know, I always have a question). Has there been a more nerdy looking battery than the Dodgers' Jason Phillips and Duaner Sanchez? Check it out:


Relief pitcher Sanchez

Sanchez action photo

Catcher Phillips

It was funny to see the two stand on the mound together when they had to talk things over because they both have this odd eyewear. They look like swimmer's goggles. It looked like they should be playing underwater baseball. I only wish I could have found a picture of that. Someone with a camera should snap that shot, because it would surely end up on Fox Sports pictures of the week. The only thing that would have looked funnier would have been to have the manager come out to the mound to join them wearing a scuba mask.

Is this the new trend in sports, this goofy goggly thing? Even Kurt Rambis and Clark Kent looked cooler than this. And yet, there IS something kinda cool about being THIS square. If that makes any sense.

I'm Telling You I Could Make Up This Crap

Unbelievably and inadvertantly funny article linked at World Magazine's Blog. It seems Hollywood types are trying to create series to appeal to a "Christian" audience. But they just don't get it. Gilligan's Island looks more and more Shakespearean every day. From World, here are some of the crack ideas:

Fox's Point Pleasant, "about a teenager who is the daughter of the devil" flopped. Fox said it had trouble meshing "teen lust with spirituality." The jury is still out on next season's Book of Daniel, featuring "a pill-popping Episcopal priest who has the ability to talk about his drug addiction with a hip, modern-day Jesus," and Briar + Graves, with "a hard-drinking, gun-toting excommunicated priest who has sworn to battle evil in the name of God. Along the way, he teams up with a neurologist who is in the process of examining her own beliefs."

Well, folks, put me in touch with Fox. I have several ideas for new TV series that are just as good or better than these:

1- "Tuco and Hemp"- Story set in the old west, picks up where "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly" left off. Tuco, as you'll remember, made a living with Clint Eastwood's nameless gunslinger. Eastwood's character would "capture" the wanted man Tuco, bring him to the local authority, collect the cash prize, and as Tuco was about to be hung, shoot him down and rescue him. The two would travel to the next town and repeat the process, collecting quite a bit of money.

One day, the man with no name is a no show, and Tuco is hung. Only the rope he is hung with possesses the spirit of a "good angel", named Hemp, and breaks off before he hits bottom. Tuco once again escapes.

The rope-angel around his neck speaks to Tuco, convincing him the Lord has spared his life. Traveling the old west as the circuit preaching duo "Tuco and the Rope That Hung Him", they encounter adventure after adventure while preaching tolerance and respect to the cowboys they meet.

2-"Panthera"- A motorcycle riding Siberian tiger travels with a Calvinist preacher on his Harley back and forth from coast to coast, encountering numerous "seekers" on the way. Each week at the end of the episode, the tiger would corner that week's "seeker", and, through no action of the stranger, either mauls him to death or spares him. This would be a fascinating way to teach the Calvinistic doctrine of "double predestination", and the drama of whether the stranger lives or dies would surely have folks turning in.

3- "Osteen's Obstacles"- Mega-smiler Joel Osteen is kidnapped by a band of rogue dwarves, led by Mini-Me, and taken to various countries in the world where Christians are persecuted, tortured, and martyred. Osteen encounters self-doubt and difficulties connecting with his audiences, who for some reason don't respond to his gospel of wealth and happiness as their children's eyes are gouged out, arms cut off, and spouses murdered for the sake of Christ the Lord. Osteen must then search "within" to answer the tough questions, like "why doesn't my flock drink more latte at my services?", or "why isn't my 'living without a Mercedes' ministry doing better?"

4- "Gollum Pyle, USMC"- To capitalize on the popularity of "Lord Of The Rings" with the Christian audience, Smeagol could get his own sit-com. Based on the 1960s Gomer, Gollum is inducted into the marines and sent to Camp Henderson, where he could be the classic "fish out of water". Sergeant Carter would have to break out the Prilosec each week.

Sgt. Carter: "Pyle, if you don't put that ring down and look at me when I talk to you, that ring is going to end up buried in a place you can't reach."
Gollum: "Master hates us. Sergeantses hates the precious."
Sgt. Carter: "Pyle, quit calling me 'master'. I am a sergeant. Now get moving, Pyle. MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!"

5- "Morris' Beard"- In the year 2250, clipped remnants of Matt Morris now famous beard are found by a humanoid group that was "left behind" at the rapture. The group believes the beard to possess special powers, and when word leaks out about this, the "anti-Christ" comes looking for it. This should appeal to all those premillenial "Left Behind" fans out there.

See, I can write crap just as good as Hollywood can, no?. Somebody get me Fox's number.

Lord Of The Beer

(Photo courtesy of Fox Sports website)

Either hobbits play soccer in Germany, or those are the second biggest glasses of beer I've ever seen.

Another Lawn Ornament...I Think

(Photo courtesy of Fox Sports Website)

Sorry, Cardinals, but I think I'll pass on the Busch seats. I like this lawn ornament better. It's more of a conversation piece.

Lawn Ornament For Sale- Only $470

I gotta get me one of these!

The Cardinals are selling a limited number of seats from Busch Stadium that will be saved from the demolition this fall. For only $470, you get two seats, which includes the price of shipping anywhere in the US.

Seriously, what else could you do with these seats besides mounting them in your yard? If you haven't sat in one, let me inform you, they're not that comfortable. You wouldn't put this in your living room, would you? No. Family room? Maybe. Den? I suppose. Kitchen? Possibly.

If I didn't secure them to my lawn, I would probably put wheels on them and keep them indoors. That way I could wheel them in and out of the closet just for watching Cardinals games...or for getting a haircut.

But wait a minute. Look at the bottoms of these things. Does "sit-down skiing" appeal to anyone?

Roger Freed, Cardinals Legend

Basking in the glow of Monday's record comeback by the Cardinals, my mind hearkened back to another Monday, a forgotten Monday, in the now quite long ago past. Monday, August 22, 1977, to be exact. I was approaching my 14th birthday, and the Cardinals were fighting for their lives.

It had been a great summer. The Cardinals had at one point been 8.5 games back of the Cubs in June. The Cubs had come out of the gates that year as hot as the Cards were last year. They seemingly couldn't lose in May and June. But they did their usual swoon-thing, and dropped back to earth. This Cubs team did the seemingly impossible, and broke a baseball rule of thumb (they "came from ahead" as Jim Rome would say). They finished the season at .500, after being 25 games over .500 in June. But I digress...

On 8/22/1977, the Cardinals were 9 games back of the division-leading Phillies, and a game and a half from second place. The Phillies had already won, and what little hope I had left in this fun year of baseball was almost gone as the Cardinals entered the ninth inning trailing the Dodgers 5-1. Al Hrabosky pitched the ninth and gave up a run. By this time Al's best days as a Cardinal were gone. Anyway, even though I never turned off the radio, I really didn't expect to "witness" what I heard that wild ninth inning.

A 6-1 deficit in those days of "deader" balls and a cavernous, Astro-turf laden Busch Stadium seemed too enormous to overcome. This was before the fences were moved in to promote more home runs. So, I was content with the fact that the Cardinals had reached the point of no return, and would soon be 10 games in back with six weeks to play.

I don't remember the exact sequence of events, the last 28 years have dulled my memory too much. In fact, I had a hard time finding this game on the internet when I remembered it Tuesday. I did find the box score at Baseball Almanac, but what I remember as one of the greatest games I heard on the radio is largely forgotten. I wish I could give the details, but I can't.

But I do remember this. The Dodgers couldn't get anyone out. And as the Cards got closer and closer, the excitement building, and the announcers (had to be Buck and Shannon) crisply calling the play by play, I remember thinking to myself that it would be more devastating to lose after making a comeback than it would have been to lose quietly. Who wants to get their hopes up for a miracle and then have those hopes doused with gasoline and set on fire?

And I also remember this. It was 6-5, two men on, and still only one out, when Roger Freed stepped to the plate. In the late 1970s, the Cardinals had very few power hitters. Simmons could pop a few, and so could Hendrick (who wouldn't come to the Cards until a 1978 trade with the Padres), but otherwise it was a singles hitting team. Freed was the exception. Although usually coming off the bench to pinch hit, he seemed to supply the Cardinals power when they needed it most- at the end games. He is best known for his walk off grand slam against the Astros in 1979, but I will always remember him most for this game.

Freed deposited a pitch from Dodger reliever Charlie Hough in to the left field stands. As my memory is faulty, I think this is how it went down. The Cardinals had completed the greatest comeback I had ever heard of to that point, and I'd witnessed it all on the radio because the Cards didn't televise home games in those days. Sometimes I wish it were like that again, but that's because of the team of Buck and Shannon, which obviously can never happen again. I'm sure before cutting to commercials, Jack uttered that much missed phrase, "totals and highlights in a minute."

So, the Cardinals scored seven ninth inning runs on that day, just like the Cardinals did Monday night this week. The only differences were that the Redbirds only trailed by 5 runs in 1977, and were the home team, so the home run by Freed was a walk-off.

Although they would win again the next two days to run their record to 71-55 (finally moving ahead of the Cubs and within 8 games of first), the 1977 Cardinals swooned shortly thereafter. They went on to finish the last 38 games with a record of 14-24, but did manage to catch the dreadful Cubs, thank God.

It's funny how baseball has been such a part of my life. So when things like Monday's miracle happen, they make you recall bits and pieces of happenings that are long since buried by the unrelenting passing of time. I'm happy that my son likes baseball as much as I do, because now when he's 41 (God willing) and the Cardinals pull off another comeback of historic proportions, maybe he'll think back to this game that happened when he was 15. Life's funny sometimes.


Roger Freed died in 1996 at the age of 49. I don't know how or why he died, but I do remember thinking of this game when I learned of his death that year. I probably haven't thought of it since then until now.

Roger just seemed "clutch". You always felt the Cardinals had a chance if he would pinch hit at the end of a game. To most, he'll always be the guy who hit the walk off grand slam. But just remember, he hit a spectacular home run two seasons before that to cap off another remarkable comeback.

So now I must ask- does anyone else remember this game?


Baseball Almanac Box Scores
Los Angeles Dodgers 6, St. Louis Cardinals 8
Game played on Monday, August 22, 1977 at Busch Stadium II

Los Angeles Dodgers.......ab.....r.....h.....rbi
Martinez 2b ..................5.....0.....1.....0
Russell ss ......................5.....1.....2.....0
Smith rf .........................4.....1.....1.....0
Cey 3b ............................4.....2.....2.....1
Garvey 1b ......................5.....0.....1.....0
Monday cf ....................4.....0.....1.....0
Baker lf .........................2.....1.....1.....0
Davalillo ph,lf ...............2.....0.....2.....1
Yeager c ........................4.....1.....1.....4
Hooton p .......................3.....0.....0.....0
Rautzhan p ...................0.....0.....0.....0
Hough p ........................0.....0.....0.....0

Totals ..........................38.....6.....12.....6

St. Louis Cardinals .....ab.....r.....h.....rbi
Brock lf .........................4.....0.....1.....0
Mumphrey cf ..............4.....1.....1.....0
Templeton ss ..............4.....1.....2.....1
Simmons c ...................4.....1.....2.....1
Hernandez 1b ..............3.....2.....2.....0
Anderson rf .................4.....0.....1.....1
Reitz 3b .......................4.....0.....1.....0
Bosetti pr ....................0.....1.....0.....0
Tyson 2b .....................3.....1.....1.....0
Denny p .......................0.....0.....0.....0
Oberkfell ph ................1.....0.....0.....0
Carroll p ......................0.....0.....0.....0
Iorg ph ........................0.....0.....0.....0
Metzger p ...................0.....0.....0.....0
Rader ph .....................1.....0.....0.....0
Hrabosky p ................0.....0.....0.....0
Freed ph .....................1.....1.....1.....3

Totals ........................33.....8.....12.....6

Los Angeles.. 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 – 6 12 1
St. Louis.......0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 – 8 12 1

Los Angeles Dodgers IP...H...R...ER...BB..SO
Hooton .......................8.0...7...3.....3......3....5
Rautzhan ...................0.0...2...2.....2.....0....0
Hough L (5-10) ........0.1....3...3.....3.....0....1

St. Louis Cardinals IP...H...R...ER...BB..SO
Denny .....................3.0...7...5.....5......1....2
Carroll .....................3.0...1...0....0......2....0
Metzger ..................2.0...2...0....0......1....2
Hrabosky W (6-4)..1.0...2...1....1.......0....1

E–Russell (24), Hernandez (8). DP–Los Angeles 3. PB–Yeager (3). 2B–Los Angeles Cey (21,off Hrabosky), St. Louis Hernandez (26,off Rautzhan). 3B–St. Louis Hernandez (4,off Hooton); Templeton (12,off Hooton). HR–Los Angeles Yeager (13,3rd inning off Denny 3 on, 2 out), St. Louis Freed (4,9th inning off Hough 2 on, 1 out). SH–Hooton (12,off Denny). HBP–Baker (5,by Denny). SB–Russell (11,2nd base off Denny/Simmons). CS–Anderson (2,2nd base by Hooton/Yeager). HBP–Denny (4,Baker). U–Art Williams, Paul Runge, Lee Weyer, John McSherry. T–2:37. A–28,222.

Strange Goings On In The Bronx

Scientists are trying to explain this strange site seen in the Bronx since last night, coincidentally commencing after the Yankees lost yet another game to fall to their worst record in 10 years:



What could be going on? A friend who lives there tells me there is something called Mt. St. George in this particular borough. I hope whatever it is doesn't blow- the destruction could be massive. Stay tuned...

I Have Proof- This Blog Shows The World What Culture Really Is!

My name is a Latin derivation, so I guess this makes sense. Italians are cool. I found this quiz at Kiihnworld. But I'm wondering...do all the answers have pictures of women's legs? Was this a women's quiz I took? Oh well...

Your Inner European is Italian!

Passionate and colorful. You show the world what culture really is.

Who's Your Inner European?

'Splain, Star Wars Fans

I'm not a Star Wars fan. But this is shocking to me. No, not the "porn" on the inside. The fact that an "actor" is used for this Star Wars character, R2D2. In this day of high tech special effects, computer imaging and the like, what possessed the producer to make a little man get inside this gizmo and "act"? Wouldn't it be cheaper for someone to just build a robot that could make whistling noises and roll around? Seems like a no-brainer to me. Does this guy have 3 legs like the character? If not, how does a 2-legged man control this 3-legged contraption? And if you're going to stuff some dude down inside, why get a 70 YEAR OLD? How does that go down?

Producer: Let's get someone, an actor, to play R2D2. We can stuff a little person down a metallic cylindrical oven-like thing.
Lackey: Sounds good, chief.
Producer: And let's get a guy with 3 legs.
Sycophant: Another good idea, chief.
Producer: But let's not get someone in the prime of life who's a picture of health. No, let's get an old guy, say, at least 70, to get in this bucket of hell and stumble around. Maybe you can stick some porno pictures inside to entice him to get in and make him wheeze more than he would have otherwise.
Toady: That's a winner, chief. This can't miss. You're a genius.


I don't get it.