Month: October 2015

The 2015-16 Blues: Strengths and Weaknesses

· Leave a comment ·

You ever pick up an interesting looking book and want to flip to the end of the book and read the ending? Save the time, heartache and see what lies ahead. Well, that’s the Blues in a nutshell for fans.

It’s time for hockey in St. Louis, and that means a few things. Doom, gloom and the urge to flip to the end of the book and see what the last page reads. Let’s talk strengths, weaknesses and what to expect.

Strengths-

  • They have a guy named Vladimir Tarasenko. Yes, he exists as a single engine destroyer all by himself. A potential 40-50 goal scorer with talent that can make the opposing team look like cones on the ice instead of real bodies. Tarasenko scored 37 goals last season with Jori Lehtera dishing him pucks for a majority of the season, so what do you think he can do with Paul “The Hometown kid” Stastny and Alexander “The Nose” Steen setting him up? The sky is the limit for the Russian Martini. Tank is shaken and stirred, and the effect is equal on the fans. He is also the only Blue who can perform well in the playoffs, which gets me thinking more about cloning than practicing his ways on the other Blues. He’s a theme park ride folks and is the greatest weapon the Blues have in 2015-16. He turns 24 in December by the way.
  • Goaltending won’t be a problem any time soon. Sure, Jake Allen started hot and fizzled late in the playoffs this past spring, but on a team that couldn’t average more than 2 goals a game, it didn’t matter if Patrick Roy was in net. The Blues have the perfect setup if egos and emotions don’t come into play. Brian Elliott is the seasoned vet, a man who has spent enough time behind supposed #1 guys that he could stitch a jersey with a dull needle. Allen is the young sort of battle tested gun who is hungry for more action. Jordan Bennington and Phoenix Copley(who I think could be the future steal of the T.J. Oshie trade) wait behind these men. Allen and Elliott are great goaltenders and each are capable of leading this team. The question is gets set in motion as #1 and who is the guy in February? Good problems to have.
  • Youth is nice. Yes, the team lost a general in Barret Jackman but it helped the team get young on defense. Petteri Lindbolm gave the fans a sneak peek of something special late last season, and could win a spot this season as a full time guy. Colton Parayko is knocking on the door, especially with Robert Bortuzzo suffering a camp injury. Look at 18 year old Vince Dunn, a hungry kid who bounced his statistics from 36 points in 63 games to 56 points(18 goals) in 68 games in the OHL this past season. Sure, it’s the OHL but the point is the Blues are getting younger. Part of the greatness from the Oshie trade was clearing room for guys like Robby Fabbri, Ty Rattie and Dmitri Jaskin. The Blues are just getting younger and younger, unlike other teams.

Weaknesses-

  • Can Paul Stastny become the player his contract calls for? Yes, he started off 2014-15 injured and out of sync in a new system and found himself on the second line somehow. However, this year Stastny is getting first line minutes and will be paired with Tarasenko. Can he rise to the occasion? The dude is making some sweet cash for the next few years and the team needs more than 46 points in 74 games and definitely need more than the ONE point in the playoffs? Will Stastny be the next Paul Kariya and come to the team with promise and basically decline year after year or will he become an elite performer again? Maybe touch 70 points again for the first time in five years? We shall see. I feel like he is the X-Factor in this offense.
  • Steve Ott. The man who stole playoff minutes from more talented co-stars. The guy who I think is the most overrated useless chunk of redheaded madness in the world outside of Carrot Top. Okay, that was harsh but still I stay up late at night wondering how many minutes and games Ott’s presence will cost younger more integral players. He plays too much even on the third or fourth line and wish he wouldn’t have been resigned. I think Chris Porter can do his job and for a lot less money but that’s just me. Ott may slow the team down more than help it in 2015-16.
  • The head coach. Yes, I know Ken Hitchcock has a lot of wins, a Stanley Cup, and the tenure few coaches can hold onto as they near the end of the their career but can this team find traction under him after years of flops? What will make this season any different than the last? If so, why? Mention “buy-in” and the bunny gets it!(Con Air reference for the non film-addicts). Look, he has talked with his coaches about change and such but can the fans believe it? Will we see reckless play and a lack of goal production in the playoffs? Will he allow lines to get comfortable and link up or will he constantly change them due to a fear of losing his job? Will he finish the season or be asked to leave midseason like the last Blues coach or two? This is Hitch’s last hurrah in this city? What will come of it? Will his system hinder or help the Blues expand?

Four years ago: Carpenter, Halladay, and hospitals

· 1 Comment ·

Time flies, but tragic situations never leave the mind. Ever. Pardon me as I blend Cardinal baseball and a tragic stop in my family’s history. A personal dose for a beautiful October day, as I flash back to a less pretty day. October 7th, 2011.

Four years ago at this time, I was in a small hospital room at St. Louis Children’s hospital. My son, Vincent, was taken to the emergency room earlier that afternoon because he was pale white and not breathing normally. It would be later announced that he was suffering from SVT, which is superventricular tachycardia, which is caused by Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome. Basically, there is an extra pathway sending signals towards your heart causing it to speed up. One pathway is enough so this extra route causes more action and jumped the kid’s heart rate into the 200’s. In other words, not good. We were shoved into a small room at first with about 20 nurses, doctors and surgeons.

Eventually we were moved into a slightly bigger room with less people. Family came and went. Sad faces. After they electric shocked Vinny’s heart(causing my wife to crumble), he was stabilized but he had a breathing tube shoved down his throat. We were miserable but he was worse. There’s nothing worse in life than feeling defenseless as a parent in a hospital. Anyway, let me tie this to the Cardinals before you click away.

October 7th was Game 5 of the NLDS between the Cards and Philadelphia Phillies. Chris Carpenter and Roy Halladay would oppose each other in Citizens Bank Ballpark that evening to see which team moved on to the NLCS. After a hard fought series that seemed like 16 games instead of four, two buddies were duel for the next series. What a game to take in with your son clinging to his life?

On a small 19 inch hospital television, my dad and I watched the game. My mom and wife tried to but the kid being in bad shape held their attention more. I’d be lying if I told you I wanted to stare at my poor kid for three hours while he lied there helpless. I wanted to watch baseball. I’m not a doctor and never sought out to be. I was at the mercy of doctors, nurses, fate, and whatever you want to slide into the emotional blender. I needed baseball. At our lowest moment, sports can be the greatest painkiller. A time travel special. A glorious distraction that turns our bodies away from the harshness of life.

Skip Schumaker put the Cards ahead 1-0 in the first inning, and I could have swore the Phillies would break through for at least a run against Carpenter. Here was a guy who refused to lose that fall. He was Lee Marvin in the Dirty Dozen. Clint Eastwood in High Plains Drifter. Chuck Norris in Delta Force. Rambo in First Blood. Chris Carpenter didn’t care if he was pitching in a hitter’s park sandbox. He didn’t care about the noise. He didn’t care about the odds. All he did was pitch the game of his life or another gem. After all, he pitched two complete games and three straight gems to finish September. After the Phillies got to him on October 2nd, Carp wanted revenge and he got it. He didn’t allow the Phillies to score that night. He allowed three hits, struck out three and induced 19 groundball outs. He didn’t just beat the Phillies. He took away their dignity and in the end, their best hitter in Ryan Howard, as the slugger crumbled to the ground after making the 27th out.

This win was much needed. My dad and I smiled at each other throughout the night; Two men appreciating the game like it was our first one together. Between innings, doctors came in and gave us updates on Vinny. Nurses came and went. A few family members said hello and left. I was a six foot tightened case of emotions that night. The thing about hospitals is you are never in control. You enter them and all bets are off. The docs can tell you everything is okay but the next day it may not be. When I needed a lift the most, Carpenter, Skip and the Birds gave it to me.

The rest of that postseason is fine history. The Cards beat the Brewers in six, and after falling to their knees against Texas, fought back in arguably the greatest playoff game of all time. Championship #11 belonged to St. Louis. Health returned to Vincent. He left the hospital only to return a short while later for a stomach procedure but has been healthy since. These days, his weight and height are in the high 90’s when compared to other kids. He’s a beast for all intents and purposes.

SAMSUNG

It’s a date I’ll never forget. I refuse to forget. You can’t forget where you came from because the moment you do, you leave yourself very vulnerable for what’s coming ahead. Four years ago, Chris Carpenter outdueled a Doc on the field, and the real docs helped keep my son alive. That’s baseball and life rolled into one night.

Thanks for reading.

Matt Carpenter: The 2015 Cardinals’ MVP

· Leave a comment ·
Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

If there is one guy who can pick up a stone and sling it at the immortal Jake Arrieta, it’s Matt Carpenter. He has a history of knocking down tough guys in the playoffs. Clayton Kershaw, anyone?

When I sat down and started thinking about which St. Louis Cardinals player meant the most to this 100-62 team, it came down to two players for me. Neither was a pitcher. As good as the rotation and bullpen was, it’s hard for me to give to a player who only appears in a fraction of the games. For me, unless a pitcher is unreal like Clayton Kershaw, the MVP is an everyday grinder. For me, it came down to Matt Carpenter and Jason Heyward. While Heyward was a steady hitter from early May until the end of September and a gold glove candidate in the field, Carpenter takes the top spot here because of his effect on the Cardinals.

This offense does go where Carpenter’s bat takes them. When he hits, they win. When he seems to spiral out of control and go into a massive slump or becomes unlucky at the plate, they lose or don’t win as often. Carpenter had 52 multi-hit games in 2015 and the Cardinals record in those games was 35-17, which is a .673 winning percentage.  When Carp collects a couple hits, the Cards seem to win a lot of games.

In 2015, Carpenter had another great statistical season. He started off hotter than anyone in baseball, hitting .372 with an OPS over 1.000. He cooled off in May and went into a prolonged slump in June and July, taking off a series in Pittsburgh due to exhaustion and dehydration. He also moved out of the leadoff spot in late April and wasn’t the same afterwards. Chalk it up as a weird coincidence or a crazy stat, but Carpenter seems to be at his best when he leads off.

In 314 at bats in the leadoff spot in 2015, Carpenter hit .314 with an OPS of 1.023. He slugged .634 from the leadoff spot. In 260 at bats elsewhere, he hit .224 and his OPS was below .700. One can say he simply happens to hit good when he is in the #1 spot, but the stats back up the fact over the past three seasons that Carpenter likes starting things off.

Carpenter’s .871 OPS in 2015 is only two points shy of his 2013 breakout season total. His OPS+ of 135 is only five points shy of his 2013 total. Carpenter’s WAR(via baseball reference) of 4.0 isn’t as otherworldly as his 6.4 in 2013 but still stands as a solid mark.

What separated Carp from the pack in 2015 were his power stats. The man became a lethal power bat. Carpenter led the Cardinals in home runs(28), RBI(84), doubles(44), runs scored(101), and on base percentage(.365). He was 2nd to Randal Grichuk in slugging(.505). His ability to get on base consistently compelled the Cards to win a lot of baseball games but his ability to strike a lethal blow to the opposing team with a home run or double was just as decisive.

Carpenter’s 151 strikeouts also led the Cardinals and that was a product of his expanded strike zone. Carpenter’s swing seemed to adapt to more a power stroke and that led to the higher percentage of whiffs. In 2015, offspeed pitches got the best of Carpenter, especially in June(25 percent whiff percentage) and September(30 percent). Still, the higher strikeout total can be digested as long as the OBP, SLUG and overall production stayed prevalent, which it did in 2015. Also, Carpenter drew 81 walks.

The defense isn’t flashy but Marp can make a great play when needed. Carpenter won’t win a gold glove at third base but he gets the job done and can also play second base, first base and the outfield. His versatility in the field outshines his sharpness at one particular position.

In the end, Carpenter’s ability to get on base, hit for power and put together an all around consistent season at the plate and in the field makes him my MVP candidate for the Cardinals. He battled some tough spots, but more than any player personified the grinding aspect of this 2015 team. When he is on, the Cards seem to win games and his effect at the top of the lineup is vital to their success.

You can’t go wrong with Jason Heyward, but my Cardinals MVP of 2015 is Matt Carpenter.

Sure, Carpenter is only 0-16 against Arrieta with five walks and four strikeouts, but everything changes in the playoffs. Certain players have a way of stepping up. Carpenter is one of those guys.

“Kingdom”: Muscles and Heart rolled into a fist

· Leave a comment ·

“Every man will whisper to themselves at some point. Am I one of the weak or one of the strong?”-Alvey Kulina

In life, all men know and understand that they reside in a kingdom. They spend their entire life wondering where in that kingdom they belong. Down with the peasants. Cleaning up the streets. Defending with a sword in their hand. Hiding inside their home. Do they belong next to the throne or in the crowd watching the king? That follows all of us around every day.

Creator Byron Balasco(Without A Trace, Huff) didn’t just bring us a show about MMA and its fighters. This show is special because it stretches outside the octagon and into an uglier harder to depict fight in our life. The dysfunctional aspect of family. Nobody hits harder than your own family and the way they look at you. A stranger can punch you in the face 10 times but if a brother looks at you like something lesser than a man, the effect is shattering. The training, fight scenes and testosterone ballet in Direct TV’s Kingdom is fine seasoning and will keep you away, but the powerful hard knock portrayal of inner demons, family rust and the dangers that await these characters outside the ring is what will spin in my head for weeks until the second season premiere on October 16th.

What’s so good about this show? Everything, but let me be more detailed and articulate for those of you who need more a brochure for your next TV show binge.

Frank Grillo, a man with Atlantic City going on inside the high arches of that Italian hair, was born to play Alvey Kulina, the patriarch of a family of MMA fighters. Grillo is a 50 year renegade hitting his stride after years of hard work stealing scenes from stars like Liam Neeson, Tom Hardy and Jason Statham. Grillo sinks every ounce of himself into Alvey, a former fighter who is hanging on to life by investing his time as a trainer and mentor to his sons. Everything about Grillo is authentic and Balasco hangs the show on his shoulders, and the man doesn’t disappoint. You may feel like you know Alvey after a few episodes but by the 9th hour, every picture you have drawn will be tossed because he’s unpredictable and vulnerable in ways most tough guys are not on television.

If Grillo helps shape the soul of the show, Kiele Sanchez(who co-starred with Grillo in The Purge: Anarchy) is the heart of the show as Lisa Prince, Alvey’s woman and Achilles heel. Sanchez isn’t a name you will know before the show, but after you watch episode 10, she will be an actress to remember. Sanchez isn’t intimidated by the male dominated cast. She’s the Queen that nobody wants to push aside. In the same vein as Alvey, viewers will think they have seen Lisa and her arc before as the show opens up innocently, but things soon spiral out of control and that allows Sanchez to have some fun with Lisa.

Matt Lauria is a cracked glass of rage as Ryan Wheeler, a former champion who gets released from prison and has to deal with all his demons like they are residents in a house he can’t sell. He reconnects with Alvey, a man he respects but also a man who is with the woman he loves in Lisa. Kingdom does “messy” like no other show. Lauria never lets you get too close to Ryan, a violent man with enough rage to fill six rings of sorrow. This show balances itself on the tripod of lust with Alvey, Ryan and Lisa trading blows hour by hour.

Let me say something. I love Jonathan Tucker. Everything about the actor appeals to me. He has so many speeds the man is like a human treadmill. Comedy. Action. Romance. Wildness. Wacky. Heartfelt. Tragic. Tucker can play them all. I’ve loved Tucker since his work in the short run of NBC’s Black Donnelly’s. He squared off with Timothy Olyphant’s Raylan Givens on Justified earlier this year but his work as Jay Kulina will demolish everything he has stepped foot in before. Tucker unfolds here as a man who has snorted every drug and burned every bridge but seems like the most well adjusted “right where I need to be” person on the show. Tucker is a live firecracker as Jay, a fighter on the comeback trail.

What do you think of Nick Jonas? He sing and girls love him. Well, toss that out the window. Whatever the answer is, prepare to rethink it as he tackles the role of Alvey’s youngest son, Nate. This kid was the last person on my list of “I hope to see him in a physical fighting role sometime soon” but as the moral of the show pertains, forget about pre-conceived notions. Jonas is a quiet ball of fury here as a kid who doesn’t know what he wants but knows that breathing keeps all options open. Nate Kulina is the youngest but he is also the most responsible person on the show. Nick Jonas is going to blow you away and it looks effortless.

Mac Brandt does great work here as the fighter and drug pharmacy to the Kulina family. The “Freckled Dart Board” doesn’t get nearly as much screen time as the majority of the cast but puts it all to good use. He makes you want to see more of him. The wolf has some juice here. Also putting in fine work is Joanna Going, the “wife” and mother of the Kulina boys. You won’t know whether you should love or hate Going’s Christina, but the ride doesn’t stop hitting bumps until the final moments of the Season 1 finale. The trademark of this cast is deception. Right when you measure them for an overhand right located for your forehead, you don’t see the uppercut smashing you in the ribs.

Balasco has crafted a show that looks simple on the surface but breathes like a stoked fire with intensity. The Kulina’s gym, Navy Street, is on the fringe with bills and staying open. Jay and Nate are trying to establish themselves in the fight world and Ryan is reestablishing his ring persona while fighting all the urges outside of it. All the while, Alvey and Lisa seem to fighting the ugliest part of life. Cutting strings with the past and trusting the future. The actors may look gorgeous but their characters are all broken piles of glass. Speaking of glass, Lauria’s rage filled moment at the gym is so harrowing and out of control that I felt like smashing a mirror just to see if I got the same rush. Kingdom makes you want to hit a bag until your knuckles bleed. It’s workout video, graphic novel and poetic speech about identity that you won’t see coming.

Grillo is the bottle cap that’s ready to pop. You watch him and you see an actor who pulls pages of dialogue and looks from his bones. He’s the most authentic fighter you will see on any sized screen in 2015 and beyond. A man who has finally found a role fit for his amount of rage, charisma and stature as a true tough guy with a poker deck full of secrets.

What makes Kingdom different? The visceral punch that it hits you with and the way it defies normal TV family drama. This show is a pit bull with teeth, heart, and soul to make your time spent with it seem justified but required.

As Mac Brandt would say, “show some self respect” and watch Kingdom. Season 2 starts in a week.

Cardinals NLDS opponent: Cubs or Pirates?

· 1 Comment ·

Tonight, the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates take aim at each other for the final undecided playoff spot in the 2015 postseason. The NL wildcard spot. While they duel, the St. Louis Cardinals await the victor at Busch Stadium for Game 1 Friday night. As we wait for the skies to go dark and the final order of regular season business to be resolved, I ask you this question Cardinal Nation. Who are you rooting for? Who do you want the Cards to face in the NLDS? Let me tell you who I want.

I’ll take the Cubs and for a few reasons. 

*Big bats have little experience in the postseason. The majority of this Cubs offensive attack is green when it comes to playoff experience and that means something. It’s a different beast in the postseason. The crowds are louder. Every at bat means something. The stakes are as high as ever. The opportunity to acquire something special looms over the regulars. You can tell me how good Jake Arrieta has been in the second half or how polished Anthony Rizzo has become at the plate, but they haven’t tasted the playoffs yet. They don’t know what it’s like. The only thing Rizzo knows about the playoffs is making ill-advised predictions. Jason Hammel has three starts in the playoffs. Dan Haren hasn’t pitched in October since 2009. Jon Lester has the most experience. A lot of these Cubs are new faces in the postseason.

*The Cubs rotation is weaker than the Pirates, not by much but enough. After Arrieta, Jon Lester is the likely candidate to start the NLDS. At most, Arrieta will pitch one game in this series. While they only hit .216 off Lester, the Cards beat him three times in 2015 and hit three home runs. He isn’t invincible, and neither is Hammel or Haren. If the Cards get Kyle Hendricks, they beat him in their one start. The Pirates have Francisco Liriano and J.A. Happ, two Cardinal killers, waiting for the Birds. The Cubs starters, while posting the third lowest ERA behind the Cards and Pirates, aren’t as formidable in a short series.

*The Cubs bullpen is weaker than the Pirates. Pittsburgh’s bullpen ERA of 2.67 led the Majors in 2015. The Cards had the 3rd best bullpen ERA. The Cubs have the 8th best, which is solid but not as scary as the Pirates. In the playoffs, the bullpen efforts are magnified. There are tons of small leads and the Cubs bullpen is more likely to break. If I have to chose between Tony Watson and Pedro Strop, I’ll take Strop. If I have to choose between Jorge Soria or Fernando Rodney, I’ll take Rodney. If I have to choose between Mark Melancon and Hector Rondon, I’ll take the latter. And so on so on. The Cubs’ late inning crew isn’t as formidable and has less playoff experience to boot.

*The Pirates are a better overall hitting team. They ranked 11th in runs scored(697), 9th in batting average(.260), 9th in on base percentage(.323) and slugged two points less than the Cubs as a team. While the Cubs can hit the long ball, the Pirates are more balanced and can break through against many pitching staffs. They have speed in Starlin Marte, Gregory Polanco and Josh Harrison and home run bats in Pedro Alvarez and Andrew McCutchen. The Pirates played the Cards better overall in 2015.

Both teams have very good managers in Joe Maddon and Clint Hurdle. Each field is an extremely loud and difficult place to play baseball games in.

I understand losing to the Cubs would be a very bad ending to the 2015 campaign. Depressing in fact. There’s something sinister in that potential result should the two teams meet in the Division Series. The Cubs were supposed to be playoff ready in 2016 or 2017 but instead used a very good second half and an unreal Arrieta to earn a Wildcard play in spot. The gap is closing and with a playoff victory over the Cards, the rivalry would be as fresh as ever. A loss to the Pirates would be unfortunate but more of a year to year build from Hurdle’s bunch after seasons of falling short. Let’s be honest. The Cards don’t need to lose to either of these teams, so in the end it’s a matter of which poison you want. All three teams had amazing seasons. Both batches are potent. Which one stings the most?

In the end, the Pirates pack a better all around punch. Sure, they don’t have their breakout talent in Jung Ho Kang anymore or have a 100% lethal A.J. Burnett, but still have a great rotation and lineup that hits Cardinal pitching well and played a lot of close games this season. More than five games between the Cards and Bucs ended in a walkoff this season. A playoff series would be very similar and for my money, their bullpen is what separates these two clubs. Plus, the Cubs are more free swingers, strikeout prone and can be locked down.

If I had to choose which team I’d like the Cards to face in the NLDS in 2015, I’d take the Chicago Cubs. You can’t tell me that series wouldn’t be thrilling. As my dad said after a Cards comeback victory over the Cubs this season. “We gave them a taste. Now that’s enough.” If the Cubs make it out of Pittsburgh with a victory, it will be appropriate for the sheriff in town to quickly shut them up.

That’s my take. What’s yours? Tell me in the comments section and thanks for reading. You can also find this article on KSDK Sports page.

Finally, Jaime Garcia is back in postseason action

· Leave a comment ·

Jaime 2015It’s been a long time since Jaime Garcia has been healthy when the playoff started. Four years to be exact. I’m sorry, but 2012 doesn’t count. When Jaime Garcia took the mound in an NLDS game against the Washington Nationals, lasted less than 3 innings, got hammered and informed the press afterwards he had pitched hurt. That wasn’t as shocking of a revelation as Manny Pacquiao saying he fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. with a bum rotator cuff but it was enough for General Manager John Mozeliak to question Garcia’s loyalty. The next two seasons Garcia made a total of 16 starts and zero playoff innings.

Flash forward to this weekend and Garcia is ready to give the Cards a dose of nasty on the mound against the Cubs or Pirates in the NLDS. He doesn’t have to hide an injury this time. Just be deceptive enough to cause hitters to go insane at the plate trying to guess where his next pitch wants to dance. This Jaime Garcia is a far better pitcher than the young one who took the mound in the memorable Game 6 against the Rangers in 2011.

In every way, Garcia was more efficient in 2015 and harder to hit. His fielding independent pitching was 3.01 and his ERA+(which adjusts it for a player’s ballpark) was 162, which is 62 points above average. Garcia was good on the road, at Busch and anywhere else the Cards needed him to pitch. This is a guy who doesn’t need a lot of pitches to break a lineup. He doesn’t induce 7 foul balls in an at bat like Lance Lynn or struggle with his location like Michael Wacha. Garcia’s pitches have so much movement that hitters have zero clue which pitch is coming or where it will end up. His ERA of 2.43 and WHIP of 1.05 is filthy and among the best in the league. Once an risky gamble of talent, Garcia looms as one of the best kept secrets in October.

Is he pitching differently? Yes and no. In 2011, Garcia relied on his four seam and two seam fastball along with his slider and changeup. His slider got the most whiffs per swing while his two seamer did damage as well. In 2015, he is relying on that slider to collect a high whiff rate and throwing his fastball. Over the 2015 season, Garcia has thrown his fastball an average of 26 percent while relying on his two seamer and slider. Garcia isn’t throwing the curve a lot in 2015, but hitters are swinging and missing on it when he does choose the bender. As the season has gotten older, Garcia has used his changeup more as well. If there is one change between 2011 and 2015, it’s the higher use of his four seam fastball to go with his regular two seam heater attack. When he throws off speed, it appears as a golf ball to hitters.

Call it older age and higher knowledge or a more adept sense of his craft, but Garcia is a different pitcher right now and it’s exciting to watch.

A healthy Garcia gives the Cardinals a unique weapon in the playoffs. A guy who can pitch anywhere and carries a huge chip on his shoulder for time lost. While Garcia is still only 29 years old, he has to feel like his career is just beginning and there’s a lot to prove as the Cards varied assortment of young pitching filters through. Pitching that is cheaper and more flexible in their options than his own plans. 2015 may not feel like the final stand for Garcia in a Cardinal uniform to fans, but for Garcia it’s a chance to bury the hatchet.

For the first time in four years, Jaime Garcia is a legit playoff weapon for the Cardinals.

Research courtesy of Baseball Reference and Brooks Baseball

Blindspot Episode 2: 5 Things We Learned

· Leave a comment ·

blindspotEpisode 2 of NBC’s Blindspot brought more clues, a few explosions and a gun battle, culminating in a possible connection between the two lead characters. Let’s recap with 5 things we learned Monday night.

*Kurt Weller and Jane Doe may have know each other as kids. When he was ten years old, Weller’s friend disappeared. Before she was taken, there was a tree accident that left the girl with a scar on the top of her back, a scar that Jane also has. Could this mystery woman be Taylor Shaw, Weller’s friend who vanished? Blood tests come back next week.

*Is Jane a Navy Seal or an assassin? Another memory shows her taking out a priest at a church for a flash drive, something that makes Jane question whether she will like the person she eventually remembers. The weapons training also brings back the mysterious ruggedly handsome man(IMDB with that description, not me) who may be connected to Jane. Maybe the person who sent her on this amnesia driven mission.

*Another clue brings the FBI agents and Jane to a former Army pilot suffering from PTSD and someone who could be operating as a drone pilot with ridiculous levels of government clearance. The team checks him out, spooks him, and his house explodes. After they question his commanding officer, her car explodes. Another explosion rocks the agents outside the fellow army officer who may have turned the pilot in when he went off the edge. This sets them on a chase for him and the girl he kidnapped.

*The tattoos may seem like dead ends at first, but there is a connection between the army officer, Musgrave, they question and the fact that Weller may know her from his childhood. Are they leading the agents away from something bigger or direct clues to something she may not even be able to fathom?

*The end finds Jane grabbed in her apartment by the rugged bearded guy who keeps following her around. Who is he and what did he do to her? More importantly, did she tell him to do it?

That’s the clue in the finale. The man telling Jane she had this all set up, leading me to question whether we can really trust her in the end. Weller and her will go down a romantic plot angle that may doom the show, but I think in the end, she will be as mysterious and deadly as any suspect they chase. I don’t trust the wickedly beautiful and deadly Jaimie Alexander. Do you? Are you tuning in next week for another dose of Blindspot? I am. This rabbit hole is getting more interesting every commercial break.

Looking back on the 2015 St. Louis Cardinals

· Leave a comment ·

Piscotty injuryAs a general rule of thumb, sports fans shouldn’t take anything for granted when it comes to their teams making the playoffs, but the Cardinals make it hard to be civil in that area. For the fifth straight season, the Birds on the Bat will enter the playoffs. Second only to the New York Yankees in playoff wins since 2000, the Cards begin another round of October action as a top dog, the only team with 100 wins.  The hunt for a 12th championship begins on October 9th so what do you do until then? Talk about playoff rosters and look back on the season that got us to this moment. I’ll save roster talk for Sunday or Monday. Now I want to look back on what just happened…in the last six months. Ready or not, here I come.

*Mike Matheny solidified himself as Manager of the Year. I don’t care about narratives, storybooks or whatever jargon his critics will drudge up. Matheny’s work this year was tremendous. Not only did he win, but he did so in the most improbable manner possible. Yes, he plays his guys like Jon Jay too often and weighs too hard on his closer Trevor Rosenthal, but the job that Matheny did under the circumstances is more than admirable. It needs to be teachable. With his training room full of veteran limbs seeking care and the Memphis roster being emptied on the big league club, Matheny pulled the right triggers in directing his team towards a triple digit win season. If wins aren’t the standard that a manager should be weighed by, I am not sure what system you are running. If it’s the trust a player feels in his leader, Matheny led in that category back in 2012. In his 4th season, Matheny had to dig deep, do a lot of patchwork and find a way. He did.

*Injuries. In other words, the medical attention this team needed and how it didn’t seem to affect the box score. 2015 will be marked by the blows this team took and its ability to keep moving forward. I’ve overused the Rocky analogy but it just fits this Redbird team. They lost their ace pitcher in Adam Wainwright three weeks into the season, lost their starting first baseman, starting left fielder, starting centerfielder, and parts of their bullpen and just kept moving forward. How do you define resiliency in baseball? The ability to collects results no matter what gets thrown in your direction. This is no fairy tale. This was a boxing match and the Cards won by a landslide on points. They slipped the jab, moved around the ring and kept their feet moving for the entire fight before dropping the hammer in Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

*The year that Jaime Garcia finished a season healthy. He didn’t get going until late May and missed a few starts in June with a muscle pull, but Garcia endured and pitched the best ball of his career. The 20 starts mark the most he has put together since 2012, but look at the difference in performance. In 2012, his WHIP was 1.36. In 2015, it was barely above 1.00. In 2012, he was worth 0.6 Wins above replacement. In 2015, he was worth 3.9 WAR to the Cards. An ERA that was 3.92 in 2012 shrunk to 2.43 this season. The new Garcia brandished a healthy shoulder as well as a more efficient pitcher on the mound. The last time the lefthander entered the playoffs, he was hiding a bum shoulder that would self destruct in the series against the Washington Nationals. This fall, he enters as arguably the Cards nastiest pitcher. A weapon instead of a liability.

*John Lackey turns back the clock and redefines home cooking. Lackey put on a show from early June through the rest of the season, but his work at Busch Stadium was unreal. Posting a 1.93 ERA at home in 17 starts, Lackey gave the Cards league best rotation a little extra grit and pitched above his preseason expectations.

*Carlos Martinez goes from “5 inning emotionally unhinged guy” to arguable ace inside six months. Martinez stepped up in more ways than one in 2015, becoming one of the team’s most steady arms and enjoying a stretch of 11 games of consecutive quality starts. He won 14 games, struck out 184, and pitched 179.1 innings. His season was cut short, but he proved that he belongs near the top of this rotation and not as a #5 guy. If he keeps getting better, Martinez is going to be a handful for years to come.

*Matt Carpenter puts together another quiet MVP type year. The man exploded out of the gate in April and May only to severely stumble in June and July. Where Carp goes, the offense goes with him. When he returned to the leadoff spot on July, Carpenter collected four hits(2 home runs) and reminded people that sometimes conventional wisdom doesn’t apply to athletes. While it would be easy to assume he could hit anywhere in the lineup, Carpenter does prefer the leadoff spot and the stats backed it up. In the second half, Carpenter has hit 19 home runs and slugged .592. An on base specialist for his life, Carpenter has hit 28 home runs and smoked 44 doubles in 2015. He’s scored 101 runs and drawn 81 walks to go with the eye opening strikeout total of 151. With a bigger stick comes a higher probability to miss, so I’ll take the K’s with the extra power. On a team that struggled to exhibit power, Carpenter has supplied the most from the leadoff position. After a midseason swoon, he found his stoke in a big way.

*Jason Heyward answers the bell and fulfills the promise. He came to the team nearly a year ago in the wake of Oscar Taveras’ passing, and was ridiculed in April when he started off with a chill in his bat. From May 1st, Heyward has been steady at the plate and a renegade in the field. Heading towards another gold glove and owning 9 assists(all that seemed to be game changing plays) in right field, Heyward leads the team in overall WAR and versatility. He may always let the HR/RBI baseball card mafia down, but when it comes to all around game and the ability to change it, Heyward fulfilled the promise of the winter preview. The team would be smart to sign him.

*Yadier Molina works wonders behind the plate again. Sure, his bat may not exhibit the power Yadier displayed in the past, but he still drove in 61 runs and handled this MLB best pitching staff. When it comes to catchers and WAR, the measurements aren’t fair or detailed enough to truly show how important Molina is to this team. So you look at catcher’s ERA, which is the average the pitcher has when Molina is behind the plate. Molina led the National League with a 2.79 CERA and caught 41 percent of potential base stealers. With all the injuries and newcomers to this staff and balancing it all, Molina showed once again why he is so valuable.

*The rookies make a dent. Randal Grichuk could have been an easy rookie of the year candidate if he doesn’t get injured. His 47 extra base hits still rank among the leaders in rookie hitters. Stephen Piscotty joined the team in late July and has done nothing but hit since he arrived. The sacrifice fly against Atlanta in July. The 2 run double off the Cubs in early September. Piscotty and Grichuk combined for a highly impressive season that gave the Cards a much needed boost. Tommy Pham finally made an impact in the second half and has put himself in roster contention. The next man up method is so memorable due to guys like Piscotty, Grichuk and Pham.

There are others. Trevor Rosenthal had a great season, slashing 20 points off his WHIP while saving 48 games. Kevin Siegrist turned into a dynamic setup man and a workhorse. Kolten Wong’s sophomore season had its up and downs but he still has 43 extra base hits. Matt Holliday’s power numbers were down in an injury shortened season but his OBP is still potent. Lance Lynn suffered a few bumps in the road down the stretch but still gave the Cards another durable solid season. Jhonny Peralta’s production didn’t dip much from 2014, even though his second half wasn’t the best.

In a season that seemed more rockier than the record actually showed due to injuries, the Cardinals showed why they are so tough and will be for years. They react instead of panic.  They didn’t make a big midseason trade or enjoy a smooth ride this season. They didn’t have a 30 HR/100 RBI guy or two. They couldn’t hit at times. They made a lot of games close and painful. They emptied their Memphis roster. In the end, they won 100 games. While the Mets and Blue Jays had to trade their way to an improved roster, the Cards relied on their internal methods like they always do and come into the playoffs stronger than ever.

While fans shouldn’t expect this to happen every year, it’s hard to not think of October baseball without the Cardinals coming in as favorites. It’s as likely as Pumpkin Spice Latte’s brewing at Starbucks and leaves growing on trees.

Relax. Leave your nails alone. Save your stress and anxiety for next weekend when the real games start. The hunt for the World Series. The quest for 11 wins begins on October 9th. Are you ready? The Cardinals are and this month should be another memorable run.

Rick Ankiel’s Fall: 15 Years later

· Leave a comment ·

AnkielThere wasn’t a more bittersweet moment in my eight years up on the Manual Scoreboard at Old Busch Stadium than when Rick Ankiel lost control on the mound on October 3rd, 2000.

15 years later to the day, I think back about that fall.

When I think about Rick Ankiel’s story, I think of three parts. The rise in the Cardinals farm system as a premier pitching prospect, the fall due to the wildness in the 2000 playoffs, and the rise as a hitter in the Major Leagues. No matter how you cut it, his tale is bittersweet. Ankiel turned 36 years old on Sunday and is out of baseball. He has a book coming out later this year about his experiences as a professional baseball player, but when I think about Rick, one moment comes to mind.

1999. His arrival against the Montreal Expos on August 23rd on the road. In a season dictated by Mark McGwire’s encore show, Ankiel struck out 6 batters, walked 2, threw 82 pitches and went five innings. The debut showed a unique talent. It wasn’t a flash in the pan. In 2000, Ankiel came into his own as a legit talent. He won 11 games, struck out 190 batters in 175 innings and seemed to be a future #2 or ace. He was 21 years old and full of untapped potential. He possessed the greatest curveball I’ve ever seen thrown by a baseball player. It was nasty and had a 12-6 descent that aggravated hitters. (more…)

Jonathan Tropper: The mind behind Cinemax’s Banshee

· Leave a comment ·

troppIn March, I talked to writer/creator/executive producer Jonathan Tropper about Cinemax’s Banshee. Here is the conversation as Season 4 preps for launch.

Banshee’s third season finale brought fans to their knees again with the death of another central character in Gordon Hopewell(played so well by Rus Blackwell), the capture of a fan favorite in Job(Hoon Lee) and ended with Proctor(Ulrich Thomsen) and Hood(Antony Starr) chatting no longer like rivals but possible partners in crime. Another hour that reminded us that the show is never letting up or slowing down. Co-creator and executive producer Jonathan Tropper spoke with me over the phone about the finale, unveiling Hood’s background, and how Season 4 will be completely different than what you expect it to be. Another chat between two guys who love Banshee.

Dan Buffa-How does the weekly anticipation for a new episode feel on the creator’s end?

Jonathan Tropper-Once it’s done shooting and on TV, it’s a piece of a cake for me. I’m halfway through season 4’s script. Season 3 can take care of itself at this point.

DB-Being the co-creator of these rich characters, how hard is it to ultimately plot their demise, like we saw with long time residents, Siobhan Kelly, and in the finale, Gordon Hopewell? 

When we aired episode 5(Tribal, where Trieste Kelley Dunn’s Siobhan is killed off), even though I planned it and looked over the script while seeing the early cuts, I haven’t let myself really watch the end of the episode until after it aired. It was upsetting. I love Trieste and the character. You love to keep everyone around. However, we made a commitment when we started the show that there has to be really severe consequences for what Lucas and Carrie have done. We don’t want to be the show where things get hairy for a little while and then everything is put behind them. Lucas has done some bad shit and so has Carrie. You don’t get to escape. The consequences don’t stop coming. 

DB-A lot of shows are complacent and resist making these dramatic changes to the show. Banshee goes full speed ahead. You are fearless.

JT-Our attitude always was, “We were damn lucky to get on the air and we were lucky to find our viewership, but the goal really is we treat each season like a brand new show. We try very hard to not make the same story twice or the exact same 10 episodes we just made without flushing stuff about the show that people really like. 

DB-One of the the highlights for me of “All of Us Pay Eventually” was diving back into Lucas’ past and connecting the dots between his army activities and his specialized skill set exploits? How long has this history dose been in the works?

JT-It’s interesting. We definitely try to create the sense of these characters’ past with the Welcome to Banshee website, anywhere from 15 years ago to 10 years ago. The idea is that you have come into the end of a very long story. Both (David, co-creator)Schlickler and I along with Greg Yaitanes are big Star Wars fans, so you are coming in at Episode 4. We didn’t have it all so carefully worked when we did our first season, because you never expect to get the chance. Once we got on the air, we realized we can go back and flesh out his past. A big idea when we were coming into Season 2 was “What if Lucas Hood wasn’t the first time he became someone else?” That’s when it occurred to us that he may have had another life before he even met Carrie.

DB-Lucas is pretty good at shedding identities and moving forward, unlike his adversaries Kai and Chayton, who know exactly who they are. 

JT-At 18, he’s in the army. Then he is in covert ops. He’s never actually been a real adult. Now, at the age of 40, he doesn’t have any idea who he is, which makes him a very complicated character. 

DB-That makes it great TV. Who wants a regular guy at the center of this kind of show.

JT-His tortured soul is spilling out over the entire town and torturing everyone else. 

DB-When I think of Lucas Hood, I remember this great line from a Showtime series called Brotherhood, where a man compared his gangster brother to a tornado because of the damage he inflicts on those around him.

JT-That’s a great line. Like Brock says, everything he touches turns to blood. 

DB-Being the creator and co-producer of the show, does every script that we see on screen have your fingerprints, in some way, on it?

JT-I plan the whole season with the writers. We outline all the episodes together. After the writer do a draft, I read it and note it. Adam Targum reads it first and it comes to me. I make a final pass and tend to rewrite certain dialogue. Being a bit of a control freak, I have a very specific way I hear these characters in my head. The writers obviously write a lot of great stuff that stays in there. Then there are certain instances where I know Job wouldn’t say something in this particular way, so I end up putting my spin on it. The final script goes past my desk, which is common for all shows.

DB-The characters are your babies, so there is a sense of ownership there, so it’s only right to step in when needed.

JT-Sometimes it may not even be fair, and it just sounds wrong to me. It doesn’t mean it would sound on TV, but you lose a certain objectivity at some point. You have to make sure it all sounds the way you created it in the beginning. My job is keeping it consistent.

DB-The finale serves up a dual sided revenge/rescue action extravaganza with Hood/Hopefull raiding Camp Genoa and Proctor taking down Frazier with Hector. How exciting is it to create and write action scenes for the stunt crew to bring to life?

JT-We love doing it. We sit in the writers room and imagine how it’s going to play out. We write them out scene by scene. Then we find the location and then we rewrite it to fit the location. When Marcus and his team get there, they are very creative and while respecting the story points, they present certain sequences and very often they add a lot to it. 

DB-Banshee’s action is second to none sir. I know you’ve said that you take a lot of inspiration from the old school action films that play in the middle of the night on cable, and I recognize a lot of that.

JT-We are just really determined. Any time we pay tribute to something, we’ll pay tribute to it, but we are really determined to not be derivative except in the best possible way. We want to pay tribute to everything from 80’s action to Tarantino, but at the same time we want it be unique to us. 

DB-The clash between Carrie and Stowe brought back memories of the Olek battle. A constant on Banshee are these signature all out brawls that feature men and women beating the crap out of each other. You don’t see that anyone else on TV.

JT-We don’t even think about it. We make our female characters every bit as dangerous as our male characters, so there really is no reason they shouldn’t fight each other. They are just as deadly. 

DB-That’s another way Banshee raises the bar. I watch way too much TV and most of the shows stay grounded and don’t explore anything that involves a certain risk. 

JT-Greg and I came from other gigs, so the philosophy that came about was, “We’d rather fail spectacularly than have a dull success.” I’d rather shoot for it and fail than play it safe and have a Season 3 that feels just like Season 2. 

DB-There are elements from other shows, but with Banshee, it’s that “HOLY SHIT” factor that keeps getting pushed up. 

JT-We don’t necessarily try to top ourselves. We just don’t want to get complacent.

DB-The abduction/extraction of Job at the end sets up a room full of possibilities for Season 4 but it puts our favorite wise cracking computer hacker in a horrible position. Captured and nowhere near a computer.

JT-The biggest problem is the guy they need to help find Job is in fact Job. He has always been the brains of the operation. How do you even begin to find him without his resources? I don’t really want to get into Season 4 because what we have planned is so surprising but this doesn’t play out like you would expect.

DB-The last scene of the episode didn’t full lay out but hinted at a possible Proctor-Hood alliance? Is that a wrong way to look at that conversation? Two men who may be more useful to each other than they are sparring against each other?

JT-Certainly now that Hood isn’t the sheriff, He and Proctor wouldn’t be enemies so we will definitely see that relationship head in a different direction. 

DB-Banshee doesn’t work like most shows, where there is a true good guy and bad guy. There are shades of gray involved so a possible Hood-Proctor alliance shouldn’t surprise the hardcore fans of the show.

JT-We’ve always been careful that our villains are never fully villains and our heroes are never fully heroes. Everyone has a certain level of humanity to them and sympathetic in their own way. No one is really good or bad. They are alpha males pursuing their own agendas. Hood and Proctor’s relationship will continue to evolve and change. 

Watching Antony Starr work is a weekly pleasure. How happy are you with the actor’s portrayal of your central character?

JT-It’s fantastic. The truth is when we wrote Lucas Hood four years ago, he was imagined as a different character than the way Antony plays him. He was imagined as a lot more verbose, smart ass, overtalking things and being this brash conversationalist. Then Antony came in and brought this gravity to it and this twinkle in his eye to where he gets it but he doesn’t have to talk about it as much. We then started writing more towards the way Antony played him. He’s become a very different character than we first envisioned but it’s hard to to remember that even because by the first three episodes, we were already writing him differently due to the way Ant brought him to life. Now I can’t imagine him any other way. 

DB-It’s amazing work. Starr does a lot without saying much. Most actors need that dialogue to properly build a character.

JT-Ant created such a sense of burden in the way Lucas handles everything and the weight that Lucas carries the guilt and the pain. When he did that, it changed the way we wrote the character and the show itself. He raised the stakes, like this wasn’t just an action show, it’s a guy who in tremendous pain and that angst ended up spreading out to the whole world of Banshee. That all came from the way Antony built the character. 

DB-You see that back in the first season with the pilot. That internal struggle of Lucas.

JT-We were always a character driven show. We try to not let that get lost in the action. That’s how we sold it originally to HBO before Cinemax had original programming. We told them it was a character driven show with a slightly preposterous premise. When we went to Cinemax, we amped up the action but we always try to be a character driven show.  

Banshee addicts, you can trust Tropper with your Friday nights and know that the show will never get lazy and always push the envelope. With these creators, you have a group that is determined to blow you away every single week. They go big or they go home. Tropper and Yaitanes are fanboys of old school cinematic action just like it’s audience, so it creates a trust between makers and receivers that something special is coming every week. As the real Lucas Hood said back in the pilot, “You can always reheat a steak but it’s never quite the same.” In a way, that’s Banshee. Always evolving but keeping the soul intact, thanks to creators like Jonathan Tropper.

Season 4 premieres in January, 2016. The entire third season of Banshee is available on Cinemax On Demand or Max Go.

(Photo Credit-Gregory Shummon/Cinemax)