Ok, Opening Day weekend is over and the Cardinals won the series over the Cubs. It is all about winning series’ to end up on top of the National League Central.

Friday was the OPENER and a few disappointments I had BEFORE the game even started.

• 1. The Pep Rally- really? It was more for business to selling their wares and make money. Quit calling it a pep rally. I know there was a stage with music and someone screaming in the microphone extolling the virtues of the Cardinals of 2012. But come on, get players, announcers and VIPS to the stage to call it a rally.
• 2. The first 30 minutes that the stadium was open, the concession stands were not equipped to handle “cash”. Of course they begged you to use a credit card, but no thanks on that. Finally the cash drawers arrived about 30 minutes after the gates opened. First game bugaboo.
• 3. Jumbo Dog Combo is $8.50. The combo is just adding chips. Getting pricey. Families have to hate it.
• 4. The ceremony was GOOD. Just a minor problem that the nasty weather kept the Clydesdales from seeing the inside of Busch Stadium. I understand it, but not a great, great opener without them.
• 5. We lost 9-5.

Saturday and Sunday were winning days and the ring ceremony was awesome and Lance Lynn looks to be a viable starter in the rotation. Jake Westbrook is getting tons of praise for losing weight and being in shape but I am hearing he has a better delivery and that is essential for a groundball pitcher. Matt Carpenter was on fire and maybe Lance Berkman will become the next Wally Pipp! Don’t think so but fun to speculate.

Now the Reds- Lets keep winning the series.

By: Tom on Apr 16th, 2012
Tagged as: Cardinals

Heading to the ballpark tomorrow and expect to “take it all in”. If I could only go to ONE game, this would be it. Nothing like OPENING DAY in St. Louis. I attended an Opener is Cincinnati a few years ago when they played the Cardinals and it was weak sauce. Nobody DOES IT BETTER!

What am I doing?

Schedule

10:00 a.m. – 1 p.m.          Cardinals Official Opening Day Pre-Game Pep Rally, sponsored by Hardee’s:  The Cardinals will host a pre-game pep rally in the Ballpark Village Lot, located directly across from Busch Stadium, at the corner of Clark Street and South Broadway. Local rock band Trixie Delight will perform from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Fredbird and Team Fredbird will be on hand to give away Opening Day tickets, autographed items and other Cardinals prizes. Fans can stop by the Hardee’s Photo Booth, where they can get their Opening Day picture taken for free and visit the Hardee’s Mobile Diner where, with the purchase of a Combo Meal, they will receive a complimentary Opening Day t-shirt.  Other sponsors include: Budweiser, the United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, Dunkin Donuts, Energizer, First National Bank, Fox Theater, Fox Sports Midwest, Girl Scouts, Krispy Kreme, Lumiere/River City, MO Secretary of State, Muny, Papa John’s, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Tan Company and Qdoba

11:45 a.m.                           Gates open

                                                Busch Magnet Schedule Day:  All fans with a ticket ages 21 and over will receive a magnet with the 2012 Cardinals schedule, compliments of Busch Beer.

1:30 p.m.                             Pre-game ceremonies begin with an appearance by the famed Budweiser Clydesdales.

                  Introduce Missouri Governor Jeremiah “Jay” Nixon, St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley and St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay         

                  Introduce Fredbird & Team Fredbird.

                  Cardinals Hall-of-Famers will be introduced via a Ford Motorcade around the warning track, led by the 2013 Ford Escape.

                  Video Tribute to the 2011 World Champions

                  Introduce representatives of the last four World Championships who will escort in the Cardinals last four World Championship trophies….Mike Shannon (’67), Tommy Herr (’82), David Eckstein, Jim Edmonds (’06) and Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan (’11)

                  Introduce the reigning World Champion St. Louis Cardinals via Ford Motorcade (2012 Ford Platinum F-150s and 2012 Ford Raptor F-150s)

                  The family of U.S. Army Specialist Jeffrey L. White, Jr. will raise the 2011 World Championship Banner in Leftfield.

                  Introduce the Chicago Cubs and the starting lineups

                  American Bald Eagle flight, courtesy of the World Bird Sanctuary of St. Louis

                  Color Guard – The U.S. Marine Corps

                                                A moment of silence to former Cardinals pitcher Bob Forsch

                  Shannon Magrane, singer and Season 11 contestant on American Idol, will sing the Star-Spangled Banner.

                                                U.S. Air Force Flyover – Two F-16s

                  Ceremonial First Pitch

2:15 p.m.                             Game Time

Let’s hope for a victory over the Cubs!

By: Tom on Apr 12th, 2012
Tagged as: Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals

What a stark contrast watching last nights’ game and then comparing it to games the past few years. Twice this season I have seen a pitcher not get lifted from the game which became a certainty last season. Mitchell Boggs was allowed to pitch two innings and he did a marvelous job. With LaRussa he would have been either one batter or one inning and done. A few games ago the Cardinals didn’t do the Tony patented right-left-right switching of pitchers throughout the inning. I like it!

Beltran looks to be in fine shape as he got the Cardinals started with a first inning homer and then later David Freese continued his good start with a home run and two RBI’s. There was a great performance from Kyle Lohse to move his record to 2-0 followed by Boggs and Motte who closed out the win. Today we can go for a sweep but don’t forget it is an early start time.

AAA- Memphis

The New Orleans Zephyrs hosted the Redbirds and shut them out 2-0 to see Memphis record tumble to 1-5 for last place in the Pacific Coast League Northern Division. The Redbirds managed six singles in the game with Matt Adams collecting two of them and putting his batting average at .348 for the season. Eugenio Velez, second baseman, also collected two hits in the game. On the down side we find Zach Cox striking out three times and Adron Chambers and Bryan Anderson twice to dash any hopes of a comeback.

Brandon Dickson pitched respectably as the starter by going six innings and allowing nine hits, two runs, one walk and whiffing two batters but also garnered the loss. He was followed to the mound by Jess Todd with 3 strikeouts and two innings of work and was un-scored upon.

The Memphis Redbirds play at 11:30AM on Wednesday to finish the series with the Zephyrs.

BOX SCORE

TEAM STATS

AA- Springfield

The Springfield Cardinals defeated the Midland RockHounds 5-2 in day baseball yesterday. The team managed only 4 hits in the game but a reun single by Jake Shafer and an RBI single by Tommy Pham allowed the team to score all 5 runs in the last two innings of the game.

Scott Gorgen was the starter and pitched six innings and allowed one run while walking none and whiffing 6 batters in his outing. Keith Butler hurled 1.2 innings and received the win on one hit and 3 strikeouts. The game was closed out by Sam Freeman on 1.1 innings and one walk with two strikeouts. The Cardinals are 3-3 on the season and in 2^nd place in the Texas League South behind the Tulsa Drillers. The next game is Thursday as they travel to play Frisco in a 4-game series.    BOX SCORE   TEAM STATS

A-Quad Cities

The River Bandits defeated the Peoria Chiefs for the second night in a row with a 7-1 score. Quad Cities were led by second baseman Luis Mateo as he smacked three hits which included two doubles to move his average to .421 on the season.

Starting hurler Kyle Hald only tossed one inning and gave up one run and was followed by Willy Paulino with three strong innings to acquire the win. Danny Miranda tossed three innings and gathered three whiffs and the game was closed out by Heath Wyatt and two innings of work. Both teams go at it again tonight in Peoria to finish the 3-game series.  BOX SCORE   TEAM STATS

A-Palm Beach

Mile O’Neill and Starlin Rodriguez each got two hits and Chris Edmonson drove in two runs but the Bradenton Marauders won the game 6-2. Casey Rasmus collected a double in three at bats. Drew Benes was the losing pitcher as he was hit for three runs and four hits in his 3.2 innings work but he did garner 6 strikeouts. Iden Nazario did not allow any runs in his work but Rickey Martinez was lit up for three runs. Aidan Lucas finished the game for Palm Beach. Both teams play again tonight to finish the series. BOX SCORE    TEAM STATS

Official Minor League Website

GAMEDAY AUDIO (free)

By: Tom on Apr 11th, 2012
Tagged as: Cardinals, Minor League Noise

Tonight in the St. Louis Cardinals Kingdom- Plowing Through the Farm

AAA- Memphis Redbirds (1-4)  vs. New Orleans Zephyrs (4-1)

Brandon Dickson 1-0 1.69 ERA vs. Alex Sanabia 0-0 1.29 ERA

Gametime 7:00 PM at the Miami Marlins affiliate.

Gameday Audio (free)

AA- Springfield Cardinals (2-3)  vs. Midland RockHounds (3-2)

Scott Gorgen 0-1 3.38 ERA vs. Arthur Griffin 0-0 0.00 ERA

Gametime is 12:08PM  in Springfield against the Oakland affiliate.

Gameday Audio  (free)

A-Quad City River Bandits (2-2) vs. Peoria Chiefs (2-2)

Kyle Hald 0-0 no ERA vs. Willengton Cruz 0-1 54.00 ERA

Gametime is 6:30 PM at the Chicago Cubs affiliate.

Gameday Audio (free)

A-Palm Beach Cardinals (2-2) vs. Bradenton Marauders (1-3)

Seth Blair vs. Hunter Strickland (no record for either)

Gametime is 6:35 EST in against the Pirates affiliate.

Gameday Audio (free)

By: Tom on Apr 10th, 2012
Tagged as: Minor League Noise

Let’s look at the Cardinal affiliate fared over night.

St Louis Cardinals 7 – Cincinnati Reds 1

The Cardinals were powered by 3 early home runs in the first inning by Matt Holliday, David Freese and Yadier Molina to help a early struggling Jake Westbrook to his first victory of the game.  BOX SCORE

AAA- Memphis

The Redbirds lost in extra innings 5-3 to the New York Zephyrs. Leftfielder Maury Cazana had two hits including a home run as did the leftfielder Cedric Hunter. Matt Adams, Ryan Jackson and Adron Chambers each contributed two hits in the loss. Nick Addition was the starter and went five innings allowing three runs. Nick Greenwood, Chuckie Fick, RJ Swindle and Maikel Cleto each blanked the Zephyr but Adam Reifer was the losing pitchers by allowing two runs on tow hits in one-third of an inning pitched.   BOX SCORE

AA- Springfield

The Springfield Cardinals were defeated by Midland 5-4. Rainiel Rosario had three hits including a three run homer to lead the way and Kolton Wong had a solo homer to supply the team runs. Wong leads the team in hitting with a .474 batting average. Tyler Lyons, Justin Wright and Jesse Simpson allowed all five runs in the first six innings pitched. Eric Fornataro and Jorge Rondon each pitched scoreless innings to finish out the game.   BOX SCORE

A-Quad Cities

The River Bandits of the Midwest League outlasted the Cubs affiliate Peoria Chiefs in their home opener by an 8-3 score. Anthony Garcia had the big blow with a three run double in his only official at bat. Nick Martini and David Medina each collected three hits and shortstop Matt Williams had an RBI and two hits. Samuel Gaviglio started the game and lasted 6 innings and allowed 3 runs and was followed to the mound by prospect Robert Stock and his 4 strikeouts. Brandon Creath got the win and Logan Billbrough finished the game.    BOX SCORE

A-Palm Beach

The Palm Beach Cardinals defeated the Bradenton Marauders on a walk-off home run by Nicholas Longmire to finish the game at a 2-1 score. Geoffrey Klein got one hit and the other RBI while Chris Edmonson collect two more hits. Anthony Ferrara was the starter going 5 innings followed by Dean Kiekhefer with scoreless 4 innings of work. Chase Reid shut the door and was the recipient of the win.

BOX SCORE

=====================================================

OVER THE WEEKEND-

Top pitching prospect Shelby Miller made his Triple-A debut on Sunday in a losing effort by Memphis. Miller’s outing spanned 63 pitches, but that only got him through three innings. He threw 42 of his pitches for strikes.

Oscar Taveras hit his first home run of the season and led his team to victory in Springfield.

Matt Adams has homered in his first three games for Memphis.

The River Bandits were able to gain their first victory of the season.

——————————————————————————————

By: Tom on Apr 10th, 2012
Tagged as: Cardinals, Minor League Noise

Shane “Sugar” Robinson belted his first home run in the Major Leagues as the Cardinals took two out of three from the Brewers for a good start to the season. Carlos Beltran went 3 for 5 and Lance Lynn took his game into the 7th with 8 strikeouts for the win on Sunday.

Molina, Jay, Berkman and Descalso each got the day off.

TEAM LEADERS after Four Games

By: Tom on Apr 8th, 2012
Tagged as: Cardinals

None of us will ever forget Game 6 as it  it was one of the best World Series games of all time.  A+E Networks Home Entertainment/MLB Productions has some to give away and you can win right here at Cardinals GM.

Game 6 is being released as part of the “Baseball’s Greatest Games” series on April 17. And we have three copies of the Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack to give away right now.

How DO I WIN?

Three ways to win….

1. Hit the “like” button on our facebook.

2. Comment on one of our blogs on Monday through Thursday of this week.

3. Become a “follower” on twitter of CardinalsGM.

Random drawing will take place on Thursday just before the HOME OPENER. Winners will be notified.

Didn’t win, but would LOVE to order one of these awesome sets?

2011 World Series Game 6:

http://shop.mlb.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12643416&cp=1452371.2366583

2011 World Series Collector’s Edition DVD set: http://shop.mlb.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12179276&cp=2366583.2498437

COURTESY of A+E Networks Home Entertainment/MLB Productions

By: Tom on Apr 8th, 2012
Tagged as: Cardinals

Since I usually don’t write a new blog on Sunday I have decided to at least keep some new content here on that day of the week.

So I will link the standings and stats for each league for you to look at on Sundays.

Happy Easter!

STANDINGS

STATISTICS

SCHEDULE

-ALL above links provided by Major League Baseball –

By: Tom on Apr 8th, 2012
Tagged as: Cardinals

Cardinals 11 Brewers 5

By now everyone who cares knows the Cardinals won 11-5 yesterday at Miller Park in Milwaukee. The fans at the event were ramped up and got really excited in the first inning as their team scored two runs and their hometown hero, Ryan Braun, came up to the plate. Jaime Garcia allowed those two early runs but settled down and effectively pitched into the seventh inning.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals were blasting hits off of their ace Yovanni Gallardo which included three home runs in one inning and four total. Furcal got on base three times, Beltran homered, Molina swatted one out and Freese blasted one deep into the left field stands. One other Cardinal highlight was the first major league hit of Erik Komatsu as he legged out a hit off the pitches glove and the boxscore shows a hit for it. Box Score

Today Adam Wainwright will face Zach Greinke in an afternoon contest.

Some bloggers thoughts after the game:

Saint Louis Sports

Aaron Miles Fastball

Redbird Rants

i-70 Baseball

C70 At The Bat

=================================

Elsewhere in Cardinal country:

AAA-Memphis 3   Oklahoma City 12

The Memphis Redbirds took one on the chin with a 12-3 loss to the Oklahoma City Redhawks. Matt Adams hit his second home run in as many days along with a double as the team couldn’t put runs across the plate. Adron Chambers had two hits along with Amaury Cazana and Ryan Jackson. The pitching failed as a parade of hurler couldn’t stop the Redhawks attack. Bryan Broderick started the game and pitched four innings and allowed eight hits and six earned runs as he walked one and struck out four to settle with a 13.50 ERA. Adam Reifer hurled three scoreless innings followed by Mikael Cleto with a horrible outing by allowing six runs and walking two and not recording an out. Nick Greenwood finished the game with two scoreless innings and struck out three batters.  Box Score

AA- Springfield 4  Frisco 1

The Springfield Cardinals evened their record at 1-1 on the young season as starting pitcher John Gast tossed seven innings and allowed one run while fanning seven batters and walking only one for a top performance. He was followed impressively by Keith Butler and Jorge Rondon each pitching one scoreless inning.

With the bat, the Cardinals were led by Kolton Wong and his three hits with two triples and 3 RBI’s and catcher Nick Derba contributed two hits for the game. Oscar Taveras also knocked in a run.  Box Score

A- Quad Cities 8  Kane County 0

The River Bandits were able to hold the Kane County Cougars scoreless after giving up 11 runs the night before. Hector Hernandez was the winning pitcher as he hurled five innings and gave up 5 hits and struck out 6 batters. Brandon Creath, Logan Billbrough and Heath Wyatt each pitched in the game and were not scored upon.

Catcher Juan Castillo pounded out 3 hits and first baseman Roberto De La Cruz collected two hits to lead the team on the offensive side of the game. But it was left fielder Anthony Garcia’s double that plated two runs to put the River Bandits in the lead and go on to victory.  Box Score

Jupiter 7 Palm Beach 3

The Palm Beach Cardinals had an outstanding performance by Seth Maness erased as they lost in 10 innings. Maness pitched 7 innings and allowed five hits and two runs while striking out four batters and gave way to Alden Lucas who gave up a run, Chase Reid gave back two runs and received the loss and Dan Kiekhefer allowed two for the losing cause.

That’s it for last night. Check back tomorrow for another recap and some news and information.

By: Tom on Apr 7th, 2012
Tagged as: Cardinals

Friday Farm Work – St. Louis Cardinals

It is my intentions to take a look at the Cardinal affiliates in my blog each Friday during the season. Hope you care enough to check them out.

Memphis 4 – Oklahoma City 3

The Memphis Redbirds (AAA) won their opener with Oklahoma City 4-3 off the strong bat of second baseman Pete Kozma. Kozma went 3-for-4 and a home run to lead the team to victory. Adron Chambers got two hits along with Ryan Jackson and Amaury Cazana. Newly acquired Cedric Hunter drove in one run and was the starting right fielder. Matt Adams smacked his first home run of the season.

Brandon Dickson took the mound for the opener and tossed 3.1 innings and gave up five hits, one run with one walk and no strikeouts to garner the win. Browning, Fick and Swindle each were not scored upon. Eduardo Sanchez gave up two runs and three walks in his closing out of the game. Box Score

Frisco 1 – Springfield 0

The AA affiliate was shutout in their opener as they only was able to gather four hits for the team. Jose Garcia, Kolton Wong, Adam Melker and Niko Vasquez each singled for the Cardinals. Sixteen batters struck out in the game with Garcia whiffing three times.

Scott Gorgon took the loss with 2.2 innings pitched and one run on two hits, two walks and six strikeouts. Kevin Thomas, Eric Fornataro and Sam Freeman each were not scored upon in the game. Box Score

Kane County 11 – Quad Cities 10

I don’t know where to start here as I was in attendance. Tyrell Jenkins, the 19 year old prospect started the game and had all hard stuff to throw. He was a bit wild and ran out of gas in the second inning as the Cougars put up nine runs to take a lead. The River Bandits (A)  put up six of their own and things swung back and forth all night long in almost freezing weather.

Louis Mateo had three hits as did Roberto De La Cruz and Colin Walsh had the only home run for the River Bandits in the game. In the pitching department things were very bleak. Robert Stock came in after Jenkins and he gave up five runs and four hits in 1.1 innings of work. Box Score

The Florida State League Palm Beach Cardinals will open up tonight in Jupiter Florida.

By: Tom on Apr 6th, 2012
Tagged as: Cardinals