• Lance Lynn is overrated.  He bumps a lot of four seam fastballs in for strikeouts and collects a lot of wins but does so because he receives a ton of run support.  Honestly, he is a 4th rotation slot guy looking like an ace with his flaky record.  He is 10-1 but is starting to break again in June.  He got whipped by the Marlins and was saved by the bats.  He blew a 3-0 lead tonight against the AAA Houston team and that is not acceptable.  Losing to the Marlins is one thing.  They have Jose Fernandez and Giancarlo Stanton to deal with.  The Astros have Erik Bedard to put you to sleep on the mound and Brett Wallace to look disappointing.  They don’t beat very good teams ever.  At least not this week.  Lynn pitched horrible tonight and except for coaxing the Cubs into looking like idiots, has struggled in June.  What happens when the offense doesn’t spot him 6 runs?
• Speaking of losing to the Astros, if the Cards follow through and lose this game, they can find their own damn way to Oakland.  An ass whopping will be waiting for them there.  No excuse to lose to Houston when you are the Cardinals.  They are pick me up games.  Schedule makers giving you a night to rest your starters.
• The Blues can sign Patrik Berglund to a one year deal and Kevin Shattenkirk to a 4 year deal and I won’t bark.  I just want to know what this team is going to do to put themselves over the hump for next season.  Will the returning corps of Perron, Oshie and Berglund net us a deeper playoff plunge or offer more disappointment?  We took a step back last season so what happens now.   There isn’t a lot of money but hopefully Armstrong can be crafty and net us a difference maker.  We can’t look at men on our roster to grow up anymore.  They are who they are.  They won’t get better.  Alex Pietrangelo won’t turn into Al Maclinnis all of a sudden.  The three potential all star kids won’t become Jarmoir Jagr next season.  Chris Stewart will always be a streaky talent.  What will be done?  I know Hitch took over in midseason two years ago and had a lockout last year but this next season carries what kind of prediction?  It can’t just be a playoff appearance.  We expect more.  We know Brian Elliot can’t find a way to stop LA in a playoff series.  We know there isn’t a big time get the hell out of my way goal scorer on this roster.  I do know Halak has playoff juice to spare but can he stay healthy or is he trade bait?  So many questions and not one bit of certainty.  That’s the Blues.  There is a reason we haven’t won the cup since…well ever.  Several coaches have left our team and went on to win Cups.  Scotty Bowman.  Joel Quennville now has two after being fired.  It’s a sign of bad times.  What happens next year?  Please don’t let the Blues become the pitiful Chicago Cubs and have us keep punching out the painful proclamation, “Maybe next year”.  We Deserve Better Than That.  
• My kid got sick again today.  A 104 degree fever and a high heart rate.  My kid had major heart rate problems early in his life so when that spikes, he has our attention. Whenever the kid gets sick, he gets our attention.   For the most part, he is a brute savage who is fiercely independent.  However, he has spent a few rounds in the ring boxing at the tender young age of 21 months, so he has our attention.   Damn kid.
• White House Down is genuine summer entertainment.  More to come Friday. 
• I was going to see Despicable Me 2 tonight(first one was aces) but well…see the post above about my kid.  Shit happens.  So do kids and fevers.
• The Cards just had problems pushing across Matt Holliday after a 1 out double and a steal.  He was there with 1 out and Freese struck out and Shane Robinson(we know why he is playing) grounded out.  You don’t waste scoring opportunities against the Astros.  That’s like being handed a winning lottery ticket and dropping it in a sewer drain.  It’s just stupid.  If they lose, this one will frustrate the shit out of me.  Very good teams don’t lose to awful teams after having a 3-0 lead early on.  Lynn is to BLAME.  He blew it.
• Ray Donovan is on Showtime On Demand right now and if you like hard boiled LA crime stories that mix in rough Boston accented tough guy family history and great character actor filled casts, check it out.  Liev Schreiber, one of the most underrated actors in the business, anchors a fine cast as the title character, a “fixer” with serious daddy issues(who doesn’t when they were created by Jon Voight) and has an array of trouble to deal with when that particular dad gets out of jail too early.  Bloody fists ensue and hot strong willed women stand by waiting to cuddle our hardened street warriors.  This show is one to look forward to.  
• Mowing the lawn sucks.  Trying to figure out a lock cap on a gas can is in the brutal heat is worse.  I pulled a deadly trick today.  I let Vinny roam the backyard while I mowed the back strip.   I got it done before the rain but poor Vinny got sick.   Bad daddy move but life goes on.  Kid is tough.  Best thing about mowing is being done with it.
• I have three different coffees in my house right now and I trading off between them. I don’t drink a lot of beer or soda so I stick to coffee, sugar/aspartame free energy drinks and water.   Mostly coffee and water.  I like it, as you know, bold and black.  As sophisticated as Helen Mirren and black as Viola Davis’ skin that makes this man sing like Buddy Guy.  It’s almost iced coffee time and that(thanks to the brilliant Pj Nolan) can be made right at home.
• I am starting to put one foot off the Pete Kozma train.  His average is dipping and his defense isn’t enough to let him hit .230.   He has been steady and lasted just about as long as I hoped he would.  Either let the red hot hitting Ryan Jackson come back up or take a look around the league for trade deadline options.   Kozma is starting to trend down.  He still gets big hits but they are getting fewer by the week. I don’t need him to hit .290 and bang in 60 but his offense is feeble at best right now.
• The Cards do have areas of need.  Don’t let the nice record fool you.  They have been steady in June but are failing to break out and get a bigger lead in the division.  I won’t whine too much about being 18-21 games over .500 but when the team stays around that water mark for three weeks, there is a problem.  The Cards starting pitching had frayed in June and their lineup is painfully eruptive yet still can’t solve lefties.  The remedy.  Get a power right handed bat off the bench and find a way to drop Ty Wiggington, who is slowly decaying in the dugout.  Get rid of Shane Robinson(average player at best) and get a righthanded bat who can play some outfield and you can keep Kozma on the bench or bring up a kid from Memphis.  I like our bullpen the way it is but there are so many moving parts its hard to put a finger on it, especially with a month to go before the deadline.  
• Film-Addict Items posting this week.   Channing Tatum piece.  July Staff Picks.  White House Down review.  James Remar Charactor Actor spotlight.  
• Lance Lynn went 7 innings and retired the last 8 he faced.  Nice work but still doesn’t make up for the one horrible inning where you give up 4 runs to the Astros.  Nope.
• The NBA Finals are done.  Stop talking about them ESPN.  Talk about football camps. BASEBALL.  Tennis.  Hockey.  Lebron James is a big boy now and has 2 rings and more coming.  Get with it and stand against it.  The Spurs blew it big time.  They let the hungry dog back in the cage and lost everything.
• The last 25 minutes of Dark Knight Rises is pure greatness.  Christopher Nolan’s finale couldn’t live up to the Dark Knight but it was still a fabulous wrapup with a good bad guy and a sharp way of tying up the entire story.  The chase scene at the end and the big reveal of the mysterious string pulling villain worked so well with the Gotham under nuclear attack mode and Nolan kept it all grounded.  The final 7 minutes that includes a fine excerpt from the great American novel a Tale of Two Cities with Hans Zimmer and James Newton-Howard’s beautiful score is so fitting and poignant.  Makes me wonder how much better Man Of Steel would have been if Nolan had produced and directed.  
• My Man of Steel review may be toned back from a 4/5 to a 3/5.   Just thinking about it more and more and putting it up against other summer and 2013 films.  Snyder and Cavill made a good film but I don’t think it was a great one.  That’s the blues of being a critic.  You have a deadline and sometimes your mind changes days afterwards.  I’d give it a B+.  I don’t have a problem with Superman doing what he did in the end if you know what I mean.  Sometimes bad men have to be STOPPED.  
• Matt Holliday just struck out with Carlos Beltran on base.  3 more outs and this team loses to the Astros.  This may release the hounds on the flaws on this team being camouflaged by a good record.

 

Good morning ladies and gents,

The latest round of fresh material hits now.  With the archive footage of the 25 things back in 2010 when I wasn’t responsible for a 19 month old man beast landing last night, this fresh dose merges the two corners into a completely established centerpiece.  Allow me to open fire here.

1.) Canelo Alvarez takes center stage and DELIVERS!  On Saturday night in Texas, the fiery red headed Mexican champion stepped into the ring against seasoned veteran Austin Trout.  Both fighters were undefeated and both wanted to put their fist through each other’s head.  This is boxing at its finest and a reminder to the impatient bastards that call the sport dead that it is far from it.  These two got into a ring and engaged each other with meaningful hand to hand combat for 12 rounds with the intent of inflicting pain.  There’s something wonderfully old school about it.  Clearly, in my mind, that Canelo easily won the fight.  Several boxing pundits at ringside will tell you different but the match I saw from my couch saw a younger fighter taking apart an older won.   Canelo landed the bigger punches, never appeared hurt or rattled, slipped many of Trout’s shots and controlled the fight.  When Canelo lost a round, he was more than likely taking a breather and not getting beat up.  His power is what made the difference in this match.   Everybody heard about the power yet still doubted the kid coming in.  I partially agreed. He hadn’t fought a big time contender and was still waiting for the moment. In Texas on April 20th, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez found the moment and seized it.  He wanted the fight, took control and slowly yet surely beat up Trout.  Austin never made Canelo look afraid or threw a shot that laid a dent.  Canelo did and sealed the fight with a 7th round knockdown that was classic Alvarez.  13 seconds into the round, he walked in and fired a straight right hand that buckled Trout’s knees and sent him eating mat.   The biggest reason people will say Trout could have won(once again, ludicrous) comes from the fact that he is a nice guy.  Yes, he is gracious, cool, classy and genuine.  He gets all of those trait confirms from me.  However, Canelo beat him straight up, Teddy KGB style.  Canelo looked improved, slipping Trout’s desperate punches, bobbing and weaving like Ali but hitting like Frazier.  I felt the kid’s punches back here in the Midwest.  He’s got atom bombs for fists and uses them well.   He wasn’t getting tired either.  Canelo takes his time, charges up the guns and fires, then lays back, waits, charges back up and fires.  It’s his style and always has been.  If he gets a shot against an aging Floyd Mayweather Jr., Canelo is going to find him and bruise him.  If Floyd can get past the underrated Robert Guerrero, he will get a stiff test from Canelo.  If you don’t think so, watch the fight tonight.  Go ahead.  Make a date.  I had Canelo winning 116-111 because at no point in the fight did he seem hurt at all.  Save me the talk about the busier fighter rule.  Here is what I think wins a fight.  Control.  Power of the punches.  Who was hurt?  Who landed the thuds and made a dent?  Anybody can throw a punch.  Few can land cleanly with consistency.  Quality over quantity folks.  Read it up and ice your kidney later.

4.) Oblivion is a letdown to say the least. Since my colleague Moore reviewed it for the site, I was able to catch it and just watch it like a normal movie lover. Going in I was hoping for a riveting science fiction blast of entertainment because I like Cruise and he doesn’t waste our time with his work. I left trying to understand what happened to a solid idea for a film? The biggest problem with the film is it carries ZERO payoff. Sure, we get an answer(somewhat) to Harper’s riddle and his struggle and find out what exactly happened to him before the earth was obliterated, but in the final moments a sweet little bowtie is placed on the film and it sinks the film deeper in muck. The climax is disappointing and the resolution is downright corny and second rate. When in doubt, Hollywood screenwriters resort to a failsafe tactic in their writing and here they did it again in a manner of speaking. Oblivion starts off hot, starts to die slowly and ends with a thud. Cruise is an underrated actor and usually nails his roles(you don’t have 12 straight 100 million dollar grossing films and 3 Oscar noms for no reason) but here he is miscast in the role and brings the movie down. Freeman just kind of shows up and spits out inspirational jargon. The women’s parts are very underwritten. Worst of all, the film has no soul. No emotional impact. If it had half the heart and soul of Derek Cianfrance’s A Place Beyond The Pines, the result may have been more worthy. As it is, Oblivion is a disappointing stinker which may deserve a look on DVD or a late night stop on cable. Next up….Pain and Gain.

5.) TV intrigue.  I have finished the first two seasons of Game of Thrones.  A riveting, bloody, brutal and truly fascinating medieval series with so many stories and angles to explore.  Next up for visiting are Southland and Hell on Wheels.  I don’t read many books these days. I love television too much and find more fun and insight there.  I am dying to get into Ray Donovan with Liev Schrieber(a criminally underrated talent), which is about a Hollywood fixer with deadly family ties and an existence that lays its cement around the disposal of moral integrity and bodies at the top of Mulholland Falls.  Schrieber is perfect for the role.  Dexter rightfully needs to conclude this summer and will.  8 seasons is enough.  After the plot reveal in Season 7, all signs pointed to closure.  Great groundbreaking series that paved road for Showtime’s brave original programming.  I miss Rescue me and Lights Out but understand their departures to an extent.  Always something juicy around the corner on premium cable.  Mad Men is back and after a bumpy two hour premiere righted itself in the second episode.  Jon Hamm is better than ever and I will be contacting his publicist(got the number) for an interview this next week.  Hoping my STL roots seal the deal there.  Onward…

6.) Final Bits.  A Place Beyond The Pines is the best movie I’ve seen in months and matters.  Check it out.  Latest musical crush in The Fossil Collective, a folk alternative rock band.  I really like their easy going sound and lead vocals.  Find The Intouchables at your local redbox.  It’s funny and has decent drama that doesn’t manipulate at all.  (Story time) I told my son before bed tonight that politics may be a better arena when he is older.  I can’t lend my life to it now but I can imagine a BUFFA powered campaign.  I told him to keep his soul behind his tie if he does indulge and to never let go of his intentions.  If then, cut and run.  He smiled briefly and then spit up.  I wish The Crow wouldn’t be remade but like Tom Hiddleston for the lead role.  I would be lying if I said the desire to be a cop has left my body for good.  Something I find fascinating and noble about that profession.   Go to bed knowing you are making a difference.   If I didn’t have a family, I’d run back into it.  That isn’t a “I wish I didn’t have what I have” by any means.   I love my family.  Just saying an open thought.  I’d be a good cop and could stay clean and fight the noble fight.  Watching the work of the Boston PD in Friday’s thrilling capture of the second bombing suspect set me in awe of their work.  It’s not all showy, ego driven or full of hollow care.  They had the weight of the city on their shoulders, followed leads, did the ground work, knocked on a thousand doors and made a clean arrest.    I hate the conspiracy queens and the religious nuts trying to grab headlines from a horrible event.  They always pop up here.  Look, sometimes people just want to watch the world burn.  It’s not complex or morally ambiguous.  It’s just bad men doing bad things.  It wasn’t a mass murder or suicide bomb related(takes away religious motive) and wasn’t far reaching enough to draw in corruption.   Anybody can make a fucking bomb and leave it somewhere and set it to go off.  The good guys still have the upper hand in this dirty war and you better be glad for that.  My mind centers on the innocent 8 year old boy who just wanted to congratulate his dad on finishing a 26 mile race and got killed instead.  For that, the bombing suspects deserve to be tortured like helpless mice.  The Boston PD kept it clean and got the job done.  That’s inspiring.

That’s all I got.  Stay classy folks and thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

Dan L. Buffa

First, a little precusor to the list.  After 12 games, the biggest problem on this team is the bullpen finishing games.  Blowing them up by dropping live grenades on the mound after starting pitchers and the lineup put forth a ways to find a happy conclusion to a game.   This has happened three times in the first 2 weeks of play.   Bad for business and it may not end if certain things aren’t done to prevent heavy fire.

1. Jason Motte is done for the year.  An MRI showed a torn ligament in his elbow and if we put on history caps on, Rafael Furcal’s elbow didn’t improve with rest.  Expect an announcement in early May that Motte is going down for Tommy John surgery.  It’s a fact of every pitcher’s life to find that operation sooner or later.  Motte puts a lot of torque on that elbow when he fires gas and its caught up to him.  The 2013 Cards aren’t getting any favors when it comes to injuries.  They lost Chris Carpenter, Rafael Furcal and Jason Motte before either contributed anything this season.   A top starting pitcher, starting shortstop and closer.  That’s our deck right now.  One thing is clear after four series.

2. Mitchell Boggs isn’t the answer.   Look, I like him and admire his tenacity.  He was once a starter and failed here.  He didn’t get much of a chance to close two years ago.  However, he doesn’t have the mentality and pitch arsenal to get the ninth inning door slammed.  As Bruce Hornsby said, that’s just the way it is.  Boggs has already blown two saves and completely blew up the home opener on Monday.   He won’t get any better with time.  Closing doesn’t work that way.  You either do it good or you suck.  Scars show eventually.  You can charm his arm or give him a confidence boost but right now he isn’t getting it done.  On Friday, he put the tying run at the plate before shutting down Milwaukee.  Today, he had a 3-2 lead and gave up two hits to blow it before recording an out.  That’s unacceptable against a feeble Brewers offense that got shut out for 25 innings straight this weekend.  Boggs is a great setup man and did it very well at the end of 2011 and during 2012.  Put him back there. On Friday he allowed the tying Milwaukee hitter to come to the plate.  On Sunday, he allowed the game tying run to score before recording an out.  In a 10-6 game last night, he allowed two baserunners in Pittsburgh before deciding the fans sitting at home had enough and he got the game ending strikeout. Why Matheny gave him the assignment befuddles my mind at times?  If Motte goes down, why do you change multiple roles instead of just one?  Why not throw Rosenthal or Kelly into the closer role instead of switching around Boggs as well?  He isn’t cut out for it. Sure you could let him find his way and watch him blow a few more games, but no one wants a replay of 2008 when the team blew 20 ballgames.  The biggest loss to the team will be Motte if the people in white coats tell us his elbow is chopped liver on May 1st.  I  can’t sit here and tell you for sure what the right move is.  I can tell you MItchell Boggs isn’t the man for the job.

3. Trevor Rosenthal and his golden arm would be my pick to close but he hasn’t looked that effective so far this season either.  Every time Boggs has faltered, Rosenthal or “Rosie” as his new nickname goes, has also been hit the same day.  Rosenthal throws a moving fastball at 101 mph and breaks off a killer changeup but his pitch selection(aka when to throw what during a pressured moment) has been rough to say the least.  You can’t teach that and can attribute only a little of the blame to Yadi Molina, who only calls the pitch and can’t summon its location.  Rosenthal needs to inhabit the role Motte had in 2010 before he closed.  The strikeout arm who comes in and faces any batter for 1 or 2 outs late in the game.  He needs to float around the bullpen, take an inning here and there, and regain his confidence.  The closing role may be his still this season but right now isn’t the time.

4.  Edward Mujica isn’t the closing option.  He is an excellent 7th inning arm but is too much of a contact pitcher to deal the ninth frame.  He could work as an interim closer but what happens to the 7th inning, a place of trouble before he arrived last summer.   Joe Kelly is an interesting option because he closed in college and the minors and has a decent arsenal of pitches to mess with but I am not sold on that idea yet.  If it comes to that, I am ready to walk that bridge.   For all the minds wanting to throw it on the chat room floor, Keith Butler isn’t the option.   He was promoted to Memphis but needs work there.  He got lit up by MLB hitters in spring training and has been impressive in AA action.   Eduardo Sanchez still has to prove he has his control and and head in order, but that time comes when he leaves the DL for a forearm strain.  Memphis doesn’t have an option and that is why I put out an idea on Twitter and in the public that has gotten mixed feelings.  This looks like a game of charades.

5. Brian Wilson is coming off Tommy John Surgery(his 2nd round) and isn’t throwing at full strength yet, but if the Cards problems persist, lets be honest and say that certain perimeters have to be taken if not thought out.  Wilson is a proven closer, intense as it gets and yes carries a quirky personality that can only be hated if it exists on another team.   Wilson’s teammates loved him because he kept things light and competed when called upon.  Forget the personality quirks.  I enjoy his go for broke humor but crave his mound presence more.  If he checks out this month or in May when he throws hard, give him a one year incentive laden deal and make an effort to shore up your bullpen.  This team did next to nothing in the offseason except sign two over the hill talents(Ronny Cedeno, Ty Wiggington) and are now pressed to seek out bullpen salvation.  You can only give away so many games in April before they reflect on your letdown in October.  The NL Central will be won by 5 games or less and if you blow 5 games in April, that won’t be forgotten in your mind in months.

6.  The lineup and bats have done their job.   With the exception of the Kennedy game in Arizona and Zito game in San Francisco, the hitters on this team have spoken with force and put serious runs on the board.   They scored 9 runs on Matt Cain in one inning, bombed Bronson Arroyo’s proposed no hitter, and once again smacked around Yovani Gallardo over the weekend.  They don’t just put up 2-3 runs in an inning.  They are capable of scoring 7 runs in a frame and all with two outs, like last night in Pittsburgh when they turned a 1-1 game into a 8-1 in less than 10 minutes.   The averages up and down the lineup aren’t completely eye catching but so far the job is being done.  They have done enough to have this team start 10-3 instead of 8-5.  Matt Carpenter has a red hot week of hitting.  Jon Jay is getting on base on the road.  Pete Kozma has played a decent shortstop and also contributed with the bat.  Carlos Beltran is running better and is streaky at the plate as usual.  A special mention goes out to Matt Holliday and Matt Adams.  Holliday is suddenly a mighty bat with RISP.   So far in 2013, he is cranking baseballs all over the field.  He is doing it in clutch spots, a situation he hasn’t always been great at.   Adams has three home runs and 12 hits in limited duty, proving to the coaches and fans he may be taking over first base in 2014 and pushing Allen Craig to right field or forcing the issue.  The Big Husky can hit and doesn’t hurt himself at first base.  The team suddenly has some bench depth and it doesn’t include Wiggington, a pure waste of 2 million dollars and a man who hadn’t hit well in four years before 2013.  I don’t care if he is Richard Pryor in the clubhouse.  He is a waste at the plate.  When you’d rather seen Shane Robinson hit over Ty, something is wrong.  Pay scale wise.

7.  I like this team.  We smacked around the Reds after handing them a game.  We shut out the Brewers for 29 innings. We smacked around the SF Giants in their park.  The Cardinals are playing just fine for a team dealing with serious losses.  They aren’t letting adversity get them down.  The STL Cards aren’t built that way.  Their MO is put your head down, fill the weak spots, and soldier on.  We can hang with anyone in this division.  I can only imagine if we find reinforcements how strong we could be or if certain areas(BULLPEN) improve.  You never know.

8. It is no secret that the rotation has been super impressive so far.   They recorded three straight shutouts, including a dazzling display of pitching from Jake Westbrook and Shelby Miller.   Westbrook took the Reds series by shutting them down in a 10-0 domination.  Miller mixed fastballs and curves and surprised the Brewers with his ability.  He outdueled a very good Kyle Lohse on Friday night.  Adam Wainwright threw a complete game on Saturday.  Lance Lynn continued his inconsistency last night in allowing 4 runs on 7 hits in 5 innings after pitching well against the Reds last week.   Lynn is a question mark but overall the rotation is a high point on this team in 2013.

9. Mike Matheny is a good manager and fit for the terrain of tough choices and badge of honor tactics but he has to give up on this Mitchell Boggs project and also this inclination that when a man comes out of the bullpen it is his game to blow up.  If a battered around reliever doesn’t look to stay in the game, have someone ready.   Get someone ready before a pitch is thrown.  Sometimes pressure is bad on a pitcher on the mound.  Breathing behind him with another arm throwing also can spark an emotional recovery.  Matheny really rocked the boat when he upended the bullpen in March by selecting Boggs as the closer and throwing it into disarray.  Now three games have been given away and more will be unless he makes the tough choices.  Part of the job Mike.  You may walk and talk like John Wayne in a uniform but its time to give the words some boots during the game.  He has had to roll with some decent punches so far, but the ship needs to be moving ahead before too long.  Lots of offense and good starts(Garcia should be 3-0) will be wasted.

10. As I finish this up, the Cards just scored to make it 1-0.  Before I can send out a report, the offense has already fired off a run.  With or without a healthy Beltran or Freese, the bats get the job done.  Tonight, Shane Robinson is in for Jon Jay, who gets a day off after 13 games straight.  Robinson walked, Beltran singled and Mr. Clutch Matt Holliday knocked in Robinson.  Shuffled or consistent, the lineup scores runs.  The relief corps needs to follow suit.

That was a bullpen heavy assessment but they are the biggest problem I see right now.  The problems deserve more discussion than the successful operations.   Part of blogging is knowing where to lay your hammer on.  The focus is on the bullpen, a group of arms that is dangerously close to riding off the rails.  The rotation is delivering the innings.  The pen needs to back them up.  April games don’t win pennants but they sure do factor in a close division race.  The Cards could have swept the Reds and Brewers but gave it up.  Talking about the past has a way of sounding redundant but this is baseball and its a long summer so over-analyzing comes with the territory.

By the way, it’s 2-0 Cardinals now.  The bats work.

• The Boston Massacre is horrible and tragic.  As a parent and runner, seeing an 8 year old boy run up to his dad to congratulate him on finishing a 26 mile race in the biggest marathon of the year only to be killed in an explosion is absolutely horrifying.  Bad men are all over and terrorism is a beast with many heads.  9/11 taught us that the hard way.  In my mind, the security points prevented a bigger tragedy but still 3 dead and 154 hurt is a bad day for the city and a big day for runners and family.   It makes me sit back and think what I will tell Vinny when he starts to ask questions.  I will tell him this.  The world is full of bad men but is my belief that more good people exist than bad so the fight is ours to take.  Hearing about it is one thing and seeing pictures, videos and stories just lays its hooks into me.  I do hope the media coverage starts to lighten up.
• The Place Beyond The Pines is the best film I have seen this year.   Powerful tale of fathers and sons.
• The Blues need, need, need to win the final majority of games at home.  They sit in 7th place before tonight’s game.   Scoring a few goals would help an improved defense and goaltending situation.  The acquisition of Jay Bouumeester and Jordan Leopold has made the defensive structure in front of the net prevent excessive rebounds.  Now the boys need to score.  The 6 game winning streak was nice but its over and now we have a 2 game losing streak.  One more thing.   PLAY RYAN REAVES!

Jason Motte is heading to the DL with an elbow strain, or a flexor tear or whatever the Cards sell us in the following weeks. He is out for a little while or maybe a month.  We can whine all day about that but it is a product of the game and hits many pitchers in baseball.  The biggest concern is how the team rolls with it.  The team has inserted Mitchell Boggs as the interim closer.  Here is why I don’t like that move.  Boggs is an excellent setup man.  He led the league in holds in 2012 and put up outstanding numbers.  Along with Motte and a late addition in Edward Mujica, he helped slam the door on NL teams in the last part of 2012.  He has found his niche after starting, relieving, closing, relieving, and finally setting up.   Leave him there.  He is only going to go back there once Motte returns, which he will in May. Why mess with him again?  Let’s not McClellanize poor Mitchell Boggs and shift him around in different roles.  Why not let Trevor Rosenthal, the floating cannon armed rookie get a shot at closing?  Are the Cards afraid he would be too fucking good to remove when Motte returned.  I have digested all the hype on Rosenthal and believe in the kid.  He has a deadly array of pitches, ranging from a 101 mph fastball to a 80 mph changeup.   He has lights out stuff.  Let him close for a month.  What can be lost?  Nothing.  You wouldn’t lose any momentum or fool anyone with a change of roles.  Rosenthal still hasn’t been completely exposed to the entire National League.   He is a little secret in a way and that works in our favor if you ask me.  Once again let me state that I like Mitchell Boggs and think he is a high quality setup guy.  Why change that?  Let Rosenthal close.  He is a roving young gun right now, without a role on the team and resurfacing in different areas.  He is perfect for the temporary closer assignment.  Let’s not let the ninth inning turn into a crime scene again like did right for seasons upon seasons between the demise of Izzy, the conversion of Wainwright to the bloom and the doom of Ryan Franklin.   Let’s keep it strong and load another bullet into the chamber for those final three outs.  Just my thoughts.  I am sure Boggs will close about 80 percent of the games he tries to save.

2013 hasn’t been kind to the Cards.  They didn’t even stretch out in camp before Chris “Wyatt Earp” Carpenter called in severely sick and told the team his right arm was useless due to a reemerging nerve damage issue.   They lost their rock before spring.   Then, our worst fears about Rafael Furcal’s condition came true and he will be out with Tommy John Surgery.   Before a week of games were played, the Cards lost 19 million in salary with two players hitting the deck.  A top rotation arm and a starting shortstop.   Mike Matheny hurt his back and required surgery.  He missed a week but I hear he is so tough they didn’t even put him to sleep during the operation.  Man is tough as nails unless he is holding a knife.  Anyway, the Cards have seen David Freese and Carlos Beltran miss time due to minor injuries.   Motte just went down with a elbow problem.  They cut Ronny Cedeno because he really isn’t that good.   The Cards have lost three huge pieces and a real game hasn’t been played yet.  However, this team rolls on in part due to great strategy and brains from its coaches and general manager and owner.   The Cards have the amazing ability to take punches, barely raise their payroll and contend for the season while building for the future.  They have built an arsenal of young pitching talent and fielded young players in their lineup(Jon Jay, Allen Craig, Yadi Molina, Freese, Matt Carpenter, Pete Kozma, Matt Adams, Motte, Boggs, Rosenthal) while bringing in consistent offensive producers like Matt Holliday and Carlos Beltran.  They can take a loss like Adam Wainwright in the spring of 2011 and turn around and win a championship.  They can enlist 14 starting pitchers and lose a player to death and still make it to the NLCS like they did in 2002.  They can lose Carpenter, Berkman, and Furcal in 2012 and come within a win of the World Series.  This is what the Cardinals do in a time of dismay and sudden loss.  They roll with it, take the hits and keep on moving forward.  It brings to mind the Rocky Balboa speech to his kid in the sixth and last installment of the movie series.  Outside his restaurant, Rocky tells his son why he must step back into the ring and fight the young champion and how there’s nothing embarrassing about never giving up or crying about circumstance.  You win in life by taking the hits and moving forward at the same time.  The St. Louis Cardinals DO THAT every single year.  They contend, fight, scratch, claw and kick their way to wins and a playoff berth.  They don’t go down easy or complain about losing a vital piece of their team.  They aren’t built that way.  Credit La Russa with that.  Credit Mozelaik and Matheny and the coaching staff with that.  It’s not in their DNA to fold up and go home.  These Cardinals fight and I can tell you the Cincinnati Reds may be favored to win the Central but it won’t come easy because the Cards have a deep roster of young talent and money to spare.  In baseball, nothing is set in stone and you never know what can happen.  That’s what makes it great and what makes the Cardinals an efficient and respected franchise.  You know why the Cards are hated around the league?  They win every year or die trying.

They play a few road games, win one and lose two and return home.   What can be said about this team that hasn’t already been debated over and over again?  They always seem to sit on the brink of greatness before muddling backwards.   It’s a difficult and disappointing habit for a player but also exhausting and confounding to a fan.   The Blues take huge steps forward with a great home stand against good teams and fall flat against shitty teams on the road.  Last night they seem to be coming back in Calgary and then Jarome Iginla somehow sneaks one by Jaro Halak to seal the game.   Let me run off on my Halak rant now and you can hate me later.  HE ISN’T A #1 GOALTENDER.  He has had solid seasons as a Blue but never has completely taken the #1 job.  He gives up a ton of soft goals and while it is not all his fault, the team doesn’t seem to play as strong for him as they do for Jake Allen, who is 8-2 and needs to be in net more often than not.  At this point in the season, you have to forget about who makes more money or who was supposed to lead in goal and go with the hot hand, which is still Allen.   Iginla’s goal needed to be stopped.  The defenseman made a great play and blocked the big bodied winger from getting a clear shot but somehow Iginla snuck it past Halak.   He can’t give up those type of goals at that particular time.  It just can’t happen!  He wasn’t the only reason the Blues lost but he was a huge factor.   He gets a shutout the other night in Edmonton because he faced only 19 shots and didn’t have to save the game.  When put on the pedestal of carrying this team in a crucial stretch, Halak has failed.  I don’t think he is a #1 goalie.  At least not in St. Louis.

The Blues made a breakthrough last week.  They swept their homestand, beat three decent to great teams and put their foot back in the Not Fucking Around Crew ring.  When this team is right, they are fucking dynamic and hard to outlast.  They may get outplayed on the overall quality of play front(winning faceoffs, forecheck) but looking at the scoreboard is the best measure of any team and the Blues have won 5 of 6, including a pair of recent overtime triumphs.   The last involved a beautiful give and go between Vladimir Sobotka and Chris Stewart.    Stewie is on fire as of late, scoring 7 goals and assisting on 7 goals in his last 7 games.  He earned player of the week honors.   The man is a 20 pounds lighter version of his previous devilishly talented self.  He has the hands of baby jesus and made Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller look like chopped meat in net in sealing the win on Saturday.  The team is currently at fourth in the conference and plays Vancover tomorrow with the returning services of Andy McDonald.  All the injured parties are returning to the pack as we speak, which should only strengthen the team.   What eats at me is the painful fact this team will let us down again?  It’s a sad fact and one that I hope is wrong.

If you need a reason to get hooked on Banshee, watch this breathtaking fight scene from the show’s first season, which concluded in blazing fashion on Friday night with Season 2 to begin filming shortly.  I call this The Albino VS. Lucas Hood.  Brutal is the word here.