When someone sends you a link like this it makes you take time to pause and reflect and just wonder. Here is a unique item that would be cool to know you owned one when the time came.

In 2008, a Michigan-based company called Eternal Image began selling major league baseball caskets for $3,500, which come complete with mini bats for handles, and urns bearing Major League Baseball team logos for $799. Eternal Image has since sold 100′s.. According to Nick Popravsky, the company’s vice president of sales and marketing, “team logo casket sales were up 32 percent in 2009. The company’s sales of MLB urns and caskets are nearing 3,000. And while there may be no Cubs-Cardinals pennant race in 2010, the two teams are neck and neck for the lead in National League casket sales.” This really gives meaning to the term Die-Hard fan..Nick tells us how this journey into baseball heaven began.. “We started out with just five teams to see if the market would accept this, and they have. People love it,” Popravsky said. The company has expanded its product line to include caskets for all 30 MLB teams and the kind of headstone medallions” So if you’re a Cubs fan who wants to see them win a World Series before you die..Well, you can’t guarantee that, but you can be buried in a Cubs casket just in case it happens..then no one could call you a bandwagon fan..a Die hard fan for sure.

Yes, I would like to own one.

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It is time to watch those great movies from the past in anticipation for Opening Day. For me, March 31st, Opening Day in St Louis is a great tradition. The Clydesdales, the organ pounding, the crowd loving every player and of course the Old Timers show up and this year Stan Musial is still around for us to see and cheer.

What movies do you like that are about baseball ? Here is my Top Ten baseball movies.

10.) The Rookie – The real-life story of Jim Morris, a high school science teacher and baseball coach who, as a 37 year old, motivated his team by telling them he would go to a major league tryout if his team won the state tournament.

9.) Little Big League – The Twins owner passes away, so his 12 year old grandson takes over the team.

8.)Benchwarmers – I like comedies.

7.) A League of Their Own – The story of the war-time All American Girls Professional Baseball League.  ”There’s no crying in baseball.”

6.) Soul of the Game – As Branch Rickey was trying to find the right player to be the first African American player in Major League Baseball.

5.) Eight Men Out – The story of the 1919 Black Sox scandal.

4.) For Love of the Game – Kevin Costner plays an aging righty who has a decision to make. Should he be traded away from his Tigers team after an illustrious career, or should he retire into the sunset.

3.) Major League – Again, I like laughing, and Major League provides lots of them.

2.) Bull Durham –  Kevin Costner plays long time minor league catcher Crash Davis.

1.) Field of Dreams –  Costner plays a farmer from Iowa who hears voices in his corn field that tell him to build a baseball field.

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9 days until I am at Spirng Training.

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It is time for some more fantasy information. It is Fantasy Friday.

Check out my list and telling me where I am faulty in my thoughts.

SHORTSTOP

1. Hanley Ramirez

2. Troy Tulowitzki

3. Elvis Andrus

4. Jimmy Rollins

5. Jose Reyes

6. Derek Jeter

7. Stephen Drew

8. Alexei Ramirez

9. Rafael Furcal

10. Ian Desmond

11. Alcides Escobar

12.  Starlin Castro

13. Cliff Pennington

THIRD BASEMEN

1. Evan Longoria

2. David Wright

3. Ryan Zimmerman

4. Alex Rodriguez

5. Adrian Beltre

6. Mark Reynolds

7. Casey McGehee

8. Michael Young

9.  Jose Bautista

10. Scott Rolen

11. Pablo Sandoval

12. Pedro Alvarez

13. Aramis Ramirez

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Today I yield to another blogger, Jamie Shoemaker  and the charities that he supports along with a great interview with umpire Mike DiMuro….

Here is a snippet and for the rest of it check out Through the Fence Baseball

Through The Fence Baseball recently sat down with Mike Di Muro.  Mike worked the home plate during Roy Halladay’s perfect game last year and most importantly, he chats with us about the UMPS CARE Charities auction that starts March 8th! Mike comes from a family of MLB umpires and we are glad to help UMPS CARE Charities on their upcoming auction. Click here to visit the auction! Help a cause!

As always we are helping the charity as well, 50% of all donations to the site will go toward UMPS CARE Charities! Look over at the right hand side of the page for details.

So we sat down with Mike Di Muro….

 

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CardinalsGM hopes you support this great cause.

Click here to visit the auction! Help a cause!

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First glance shows that the Cardinal are in good position to get out of the gate quickly and win some ball games. Of course to analyze this I am using numbers from the 2010 schedule. Let’s also remember, even though we want to forget, the Cardinals did very poorly against teams that were sub .500 last year.

San Diego – The Padres finished 90-72 and only 2 games behind the World Champion San Francisco Giants. The Padres ended the season very poorly and Ryan Ludwick admitted he pressed too much after he was traded.

Pittsburgh – A dismal 57-105 and a mile out of first place. If the Pirates want to beat the Cardinals all they have to do is invite me to a game, it happens every time against the Bucs.

The Cardinals start a 10-game road trip.

San Francisco – We are talking about the World Champion SFGiants. The pitching rich team that surprised many people in baseball last year. They finished 92-70.

Arizona- 65-97 sees them last in their division.

Dodgers- I like this team to make some noise as I feel they underachieved a bit and may spike for a new manager. In 2010 they finished the season with an 80-82 record and 12 games out of first place.

Nationals – They certainly made some off-season noise but they are still lacking a bit. Washington at 69-93 were last in their division.

Cincinnati – Division leaders in 2010 that squabbled with the Cardinals all year. Ended the season with a 91-71 record.

Houston – Did they sleep all winter? It appears they did little to help their team in the off-season and they were 76-86 to end 2010.

Atlanta-Finished 91-71.  This is a team that may challenge the Phillies for the division title.

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27 games in April (counting opener on March 31) and they face 4 bottom finishing teams from last year. The Cardinals play one first place team, the Reds, and two second place finishers from the 2010 season. Majority of the teams they play this month finished under .500.

My Prediction for April: 17-10

Your thoughts?

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Today I want to give a bit of a lesson on OPTIONS and how they work in MLB to the best of my recollection. What prompted me to this is that the Cardinals sent a few players down to the minor league camp this week and Zack Cox was one of those and his arbitration clock starting ticking when they exercised an option on him for it.

What are OPTIONS?

When a player is first added to the 40 man roster, he is given a total of three option years. While they are often referred to as options, this is a little misleading. In a given option year, a player may be sent down to the minors and recalled as often as the team pleases while only using one option. In other words, an option is a season during which the club may to move him to and from the minor leagues without exposing him to other clubs. Basically, options are another measure of control that a team has on its prospects–one that allows a club to send its prospects that need a little seasoning or are blocked at the major league level down to the minors, where they can get in some good at-bats and work on their issues. There are a couple of exceptions to this rule, however.

One of these exceptions is that a player optioned to the minor leagues may not be recalled for at least 10 days, unless the club places a player from the 25 man active roster on the disabled list during the 10-day window, in which case the prospect may be recalled. Another is that a player with 5 years of Major League service may not be sent to the minor leagues on an optional assignment without his consent. Thus, teams don’t have options on some arbitration eligible players due to their service time, as well as all players eligible for free agency. These players are usually designated for assignment, a topic that will be explored later in the waivers session. Let’s just look at the prospects for now.

After his three option years are exhausted, a player is out of options. Then he must clear waivers before he may be sent to the minors again.

An option year is used:

However, an option year is NOT used:

Also, in very rare cases a player may be eligible for a fourth option year if he has been optioned in three seasons but does not yet have five full seasons of professional experience–where a full season is defined as being on an active pro (major or minor) roster for at least 90 days in a season–thus short season leagues like the Pioneer and Northwest leagues don’t count as a full season for players.

This exception is really quite rare though, as teams would have to sign a player to a major league contract immediately (like Matt Wieters or Buster Posey was, I believe), then keep that player in the minors for three full years. It doesn’t happen often, as most players are signed to a major league contract when they’re about ready to contribute on the major league level.

This is it in a nutshell. Keep your eyes and ears primed and when your Buffalo Wild Wings friends start talking about baseball players and their options, you can join in the conversation.

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Be sure to check out my LIVE BLOGGING while I am in Florida for SPRING TRAINING later this month.

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In this scenario you can not have both. Recently another attack came out about how Albert Pujols is not a nice guy. He may do some nice work for charity purposes, he may have donated time to children’s research but when it comes to dealing with the public and/or fans of baseball, this writer says he is downright “not nice.”

But I am a Cardinals fan and I want results on the field. I am not a personal friend of the athlete and don’t wish to intrude on their time for conversation pieces or even autographs. I have very few of them. If it was a public event where they were given them or selling them for charity, I might secure one. In the case of Albert Pujols I want results on the field. If an athlete doesn’t do something illegal or immoral then they can do as they please. Allow them to have their time to use as they want and quit infringing on them.

Here is a snippet from the article:

Pujols does not look up—ever. He does not show emotion—ever. The fan can be a grandmother; the fan can be a 6-year-old boy. It matters not. Like 98 percent of his teammates, he’d rather be shaving wild emus than sitting here. The rest of the Cardinals, however, attempt to hide it. For a full hour, Pujols doesn’t. Because of his endorsement deal with Upper Deck, he signs only pictures and baseballs (every other player signs whatever’s presented to him). He rarely smiles, concealing any emotions (and his face) behind a pair of sunglasses.

Within the Cardinals’ organization, this has been a well-kept secret for years—that the Albert Pujols everyone wants to love isn’t all that loveable. Many familiar with Pujols aren’t surprised by his rumored contract demands—the 10 years, the $30 million annually—because the numbers meet the ego.

 

Before I divulge the writer, let me tell you he has written pieces about other athletes and their inabilities to like or get along with the public in a public setting. The author is Jeff Pearlman and here is the rest of the article.

We know that it is possible to be both a good guy and still get results on the field. Look no further than Jim Thome. He is one of the greatest guys you could ever meet. But for my purposes I am asking you to make a choice.

Would you rather have an autograph or an RBI?

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Those words come from the song “Don’t Bring me Down” by Electric Light Orchestra. What does that have to do baseball? I am going to give you a few teams that are lying in the grass, like a snake, waiting to come out and take over their division and on to the playoffs. I would venture to guess that is what the San Francisco Giants did in 2010. They were not particularly on anyones radar at the start of the season to be crowned World Champions.

Who gets that distinction in 2011? Let’s preview a few teams that are considered good but not top tiered teams to win it all. Boston, Philadelphia, New York Yankees and San Francisco are the teams most are touting as the teams to beat. Here some of the teams that I give the “snake in the grass” title for this season.

The winner of the American League Central. I believe it could be the Twins or the White Sox.

Minnesota Twins- The Twins added Tsuyoshi Nishioka who was a standout in the Pacific Coast League. Add him with a healthy Morneau and Joe Nathan and this team may be an underdog worthy of attention. The White Sox added players and lots of money to their roster.

Chicago White Sox- The players add on the South Side of Chicago are Adam Dunn, Paul Konerko, Jesse Crain. But gone from the team are Bobby Jenks and J.J. Putz. If Ozzie Guillen doesn’t implode, this team could make it to the playoffs in 2011.

From the National League we have the Milwaukee Brewers as they added to strong pitching arms in Zack Grienke and Shawn Marcum coupled with Prince Fielder’s new deal makes them a formidable team for 2011.

Atlanta Braves could easily take any other division but they are in the East and secure the Wild Card spot. This is a very good team that will win many game with Jason Heyward, a 5 tool player, and Brian McCann holding a bat and look for a resurgence of Chipper Jones to compliment them. In the rotation they have Jair Jurrijens, Derek Lowe, along with Minor and Hanson.

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As I follow all of the Spring Training games I am amused at the number of fans that are so serious about the outcome of a Spring Training game. I don’t get excited until the last week. That is why my attendance in Florida will be during the final week to see all the players that make the Opening Day roster.

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Brandon Dickson had a good day .He allowed two runs, but only one earned, over three innings, with four hits, one strikeout and one walk over three innings.

“I’m happy with how I did,” Dickson said, but “I know there’s a lot of room for improvement.”

Lance Berkman was scratched on Thursday due to what the club called “tightness in his legs.”  Zack Cox got the start as designated hitter, batting fifth, while right fielder Mark Hamilton moved from the No. 5 spot in the batting order into Berkman’s scheduled fourth position.

Tidbits from Cardinals Website:

The Cardinals are leaning toward right-hander Kevin Thomas as their starter Sunday against the Marlins. Thomas would take the spot of Chris Carpenter, who is sidelined with a left hamstring strain. Both manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan said that no final decision on Sunday’s starter has been made. … Mitchell Boggs said Thursday that his lower back strain was improving, two days after he suffered the injury. … Colby Rasmus, Allen Craig, Ryan Theriot, Skip Schumaker, Lance Berkman, Zack Cox and Shelby Miller are among the players scheduled to make the trip to Kissimmee, Fla., for Friday’s 12:05 p.m. CT game against the Astros. Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday are not on the travel roster.

My plans are set for Spring Training. I will be leaving on March 22nd and returning on March 29th with trips to Viera, Port St Lucie, Kissimmee and of course Jupiter. WOO HOO for Major League Baseball!

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Here is my updated (for March) estimated standings for the end of 2011. You can see two things from the February posting. I have moved the Cardinals from first to third with the loss of Wainwright and the light injuries to 36 year old Chris Carpenter. Coupled with reserve Nick Punto and Mitchell Boggs having issues, this doesn’t bode well for them. I move the Brewers into first place due to their pitching staff. Let me know where I have really missed it on these projections!

American League East

Red Sox              97            65

Yankees              93            69

Rays                     84            78

Blue Jays            77            85

Orioles                75            87

American League Central

Twins                    88            77

White Sox           83            79

Tigers                    81            81

Royals                   68           92

Indians                  65           96

American League West

Rangers            92               70

Angels               86               76

Athletics           79               83

Mariners          70               92

National League East

Phillies            95                67

Braves             90                75

Mets                 80                82

Nationals       76               85

Marlins           72              88

National League Central

Brewers                90             73

Reds                      88            75

Cardinals             84            77

Cubs                      76             86

Astros                  68              94

Pirates                 67              95

National League West

Rockies                  90           75

Giants                     87           78

Dodgers               82             82

Padres                   81            83

Diamondbacks  68            94

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