Save the WPS!

"Ooooooh, can you believe it? Abby Wambach has just saved the USA's life!" Ian Darke made this call at the end of the USA vs. Brazil WWC quarterfinal. For those of you who lived under a rock at the time, Megan Rapinoe served a beautiful ball to Abby Wambach in the 122nd minute of stoppage time, and Abby(or that beast in the air) buried it in the back of the net. 
Watching the replay still gives me chills.

All of a sudden, women's soccer was back on the map in the United States, and bigger than ever. People from all walks of life jumped on the bandwagon. Wambach was fairly well-known before, but that fateful game last July bumped her and Hope Solo into bona fide celebrity status.

Did Abby and company take a break after the exhausting and emotionally draining World Cup? No. They got right back on the horse with their professional soccer league (WPS). Now that same league is in serious jeopardy. The USSF is debating on whether or not to sanction WPS as D1 for the 2012 season. Social media is abuzz with protests and pleading. This is great, but we need more. There has to be other ways to get the word out. #savewps please!

I live in South Florida, and I had the pleasure of attending several magicJack games this past summer. When the ladies got back from Germany, attendance at the matches nearly quadrupled in size. The outpouring of support was both astounding and incredible. I think what amazes me the most is the level of dedication that WPS players have.

Can you imagine running your butt off for 90+ minutes in the sweltering summer heat? Once the final whistle blows, all you can think about is a shower. Yet after every game, each and every player took to the sidelines, signing autographs, posing for pictures, and engaging their fans in small talk. Thousands of screaming kids (and plenty of adults) got their balls and posters signed. I watched Sarah Huffman patiently wait for a mother to learn how to work an iphone camera so that she could take a picture of her kids with Sarah. It took forever. Huffy could have easily walked away or moved on, but she stayed put with a smile on her face. Let me ask, what other professional league has players that do this? None! Sure, if you catch an MLB player on a good day he might sign a ball for you, but probably not. These women want to see their league succeed and they know that guestures like this mean a lot to their fans.

I was also fortunate enough to watch a lot of magicJack practices. Towards the end of the season I went almost every day. Sometimes I brought my dog. I would set up my lawn chair and just watch them do their thing. The team probably thought I was a practice stalker. Not quite. It was like Christmas for a soccer fan. I had the chance to watch some of the best in the world play the game, in an informal setting, a couple of minutes from my house. If you're a baseball fan, it would be like watching Albert Pujols take batting practice in your backyard. It was incredible, and I wish I had savored it more.

I played on a youth team growing up, but we weren't very good. In Saint Louis it can get pretty chilly in the winter months. My mom hated sitting on the cold bleachers, freezing, watching us lose, so she signed me up for indoor volleyball as soon as I was old enough. That experiment didn’t last long though, and soon I was right back out on the pitch. I had the chance to play soccer in college but my financial circumstances didn't permit it.

I worked full-time, I started smoking, and I quit running. Then I watched Wambach and co. play on a daily basis. It inspired me to kick the smoking habit and get my butt back in the gym. I'm running up to 6 miles a day now, and I am faster than I can ever remember being. I'm 25 years old and about to finally graduate from college. I don't have a crazy dream to play in the WPS-I know that ship has sailed. They still motivated the hell out of me though.

I was hoping to get a job with the league or a team in some capacity. When mJ went down, that only left 5 teams to choose from. Every article I've read, whether it was from Beau Dure, Equalizer soccer, or All White Kit, is optomistic about the future of the league. 2013 talks about West Coast expansion and up to 7 new teams joining the ranks. If the league dies now they won't have a chance.

If USSF doesn't sanction the league, they could continue play as D2 for a season. The national team stars would probably be gone though, and that's what draws the crowds. Investors and sponsors will be hard to come by. It seems like women's soccer in America has always been fighting an uphill battle. There a lot of young girls out there who dream of being the next Abby Wambach. I witnessed this myself last summer. They came to games in large groups, and drug their families along with them. The fan base isn't just the teenieboppers anymore. My 26 year old boyfriend used to scoff at women's soccer, but the mJ ladies successfully converted him.

I see so much potential for the league. Sure it has its problems, but it's still here - for now. The only way to fix it is to keep it going. Please sign this petition and help us spread the word.

http://www.change.org/petitions/us-soccer-for-womens-professional-soccer-sanction-the-league-to-be-division-one-under-ussf

You can also join the conversation on twitter.  #savewps

WHERE DO I BEGIN...

I have 2 days worth of games and events to discuss today, but I don't know where to start. Let me warn you: the things I have to say aren't good.

Let's start with Tuesday night. Kyle McClellan was 6 outs away from beating Roy Halladay and walking away with the W. That's pretty impressive for a guy in his first season as a starter, going toe to toe with the best of the best.

Tony lifted K-Mac in the 7'th for a pitch hitter, so it was up to the bullpen to close out the game. Kyle had gotten 21 outs at that point, while only giving up one run. Unfortunately, the game was far from over. The Cardinals bullpen deteriorated before my eyes. It took 64 pitches from 5 different relievers to secure 3 outs and get to the bottom of the inning. The top of the 8'th began with the score 2-1 Cards, and ended at 10-2 in favor of the Phillies.

Don't get me wrong - I'm angry that the pen gave up 9 runs in a single inning. I think the most frustrating part though was how they gave up those runs. I wouldn't be happier if the Phillies smacked us around, but it would be much more understandable. Instead of throwing quality pitches, we beaned batters and walked in runs.

Tuesday was the Cardinals first of several games without #5 in the lineup. A win would have been a huge confidence booster, both for the team and the fans. Instead, we witnessed a meltdown to remember.

How did the club react to the embarassing 8'th inning? They announced yesterday that Miguel Batista has been released. I don't agree with that move one bit. Batista is 40 years old and way past his prime, I will admit that, but he was a veteran presence in a very young bullpen. I know that his strikeout to walk ratio was pitiful, but I'm pretty sure that he wasn't the only problem!

Batista was supposed to be the long-man in the bullpen. He could eat up innings for us. Tony had already used him once as a spot starter. I think that he was a valuable piece to the bullpen, and we gave up on him a little too early. He really wasn't doing that bad for us. However if John Mozeliak has decided to start trimming the fat, when can we send Ryan Franklin packing??



As for Wednesday night, the Cardinals couldn't muster anything against Cliff Lee. He pitched a 6-hit shutout, and St. Louis was handed their second consecutive loss. It's a good thing that the Brewers keep losing when we do. Remarkably, we are only 1/2 game out of first place. The Reds are 2 games out though, and closing fast.

We have an awful lot of rookies on the team right now. We have an inexperienced bench, and our best player is injured. The good news is that Nick Punto and David Freese are both doing well in their rehab assignments. Hopefully both will be back with the big club soon.

The announcers last night kept saying that playing against Halladay and Lee wouldn't give us a fair indication of how our team will perform without Albert, because they are 2 of the best pitchers in baseball. Al, Dan, and Rick, I hope you're right.

Hang in the Cardinal fans...

CARDINAL NATION: DOWN, BUT NOT OUT

From the picture above it looks as though Albert Pujols is preparing to attempt a headstand. That would make the man in the red polo his spotter...right?? I WISH!
The news came down from the Cardinals front office yesterday afternoon: our first baseman has a broken bone in his left wrist. He will likely miss 4-6 weeks due to the injury. That means that Albert has a reserved spot on the bench until sometime in August. I'm sure Adam Wainwright and David Freese can save him a seat....
As news spread about Albert's date with the DL, one could almost hear the cheers and clapping coming from the other cities in the NL Central race. I'm willing to bet that Brandon "Big Mouth" Phillips had to sit on his hands to keep from tweeting his joy. Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun & company probably threw a party. My take on the situation? Not so fast boys.

Albert joining an already crowded Disabled List is bad news for St. Louis. It figures that he would get injured right when he was heating up at the plate. His batting average was steadily climbing, but it will now sit dormant at .279 until his return.
There is some good news in all of this, I promise. Don't hit the panic button just yet. Hear me out Cardinal fans...
For starters, Albert was hitting .279! He had the worst offensive start of his career in 2011. Because of his dismal start at the plate, other guys had to step up and make things happen. Remember Daniel Descalso? How many late-inning heroics has he come up with so far? Pujols's injury clears the way for more Zeroes to become Heroes.

Another plus to the situation is that Lance Berkman will probably anchor first base in Albert's absence, which in turn gets John Jay's hot bat into the lineup. One thing that people tend to overlook is Albert's gold-glove winning defense on the corner. That will be missed just as much as his bat. It's obvious from the couple of chances he's had at first so far that Lance is a tad rusty: I think a few more reps in practice could work wonders.

As long as Berkman doesn't break a hip and Ryan Theriot remembers which hand his glove goes on, my Redbirds will be just fine. When Albert Pujols returns to the lineup in August, there will still be a lot of baseball to be played. As much as people might like to believe it, one guy does not define an entire team.

I hate to say it St Louis, but we might have to get used to winning without #5. It could be good practice for next year...

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

Unless you live under a rock, I'm sure you've heard about Albert Pujols' wrist injury by now. He was 3 for 3 with a home run so far in the game when he went down. Hard. I had a friend in attendance yesterday whose Facebook status read, "And that's the quitest I've ever heard Busch Stadium..." I think fans collectively held their breath as he writhed around in pain on the grass: I know I sure did.

The good news is that the injury may not be as bad as it looked. He has been diagnosed with a sprained left wrist and will undergo further testing today. If the results of said tests show anything significant, our All Star first baseman and face of the franchise may be headed to the Disabled List. So many of his teammates already occupy the DL that there might not be any room for him!

If Albert can't play for a couple of weeks then I think my Cardinals are in big trouble. Although the past 2 games at Busch have been exciting with several lead changes, our starting pitching has been anything but impressive. Westbrook, Garcia, and Fernando Salas were lucky that Matt Holliday and Skip Schumaker had some late-inning heroics up their sleeves (or should I say socks) to get their pitchers off the hook.

The key word here is lucky. If Matt Holliday was still injured then we probably wouldn't have won Saturday's game. Instead we would have ridden an 8-game losing streak into Sunday afternoon. Thank God Matt is back, and looking healthier than ever.

Now a congratulations to the man of the hour, Skip Schumaker. I read that the walk-off yesterday was his first Major League home run EVER off of a left-handed pitcher. It couldn't have come at a better time, that's for sure. This brings up a valid point however, and a question that I have to ask...

I read Buzz Bissinger's "3 Nights in August". The book is basically an in-depth look at what goes through Tony La Russa's mind before, during, and after a baseball game. It seems that the skipper is a numbers guy. He pays a lot of attention to match-ups, and pores over pages of statistics before game time every night. He even keeps index cards with his scribbles in his pockets as reminders.

Tony had to know that Schumaker had yet to hit a home run off of a left-handed pitcher. After Descalso was thrown out trying to stretch his single into a double, I'm willing to bet that the thought crossed his mind. Lucky for us, Kozma had started the game. With Punto on the DL and Tyler Greene back in Memphis (thankfully!) Tony didn't have a choice but to let Skip hit. If he pinch-hit for him to no-avail, who would play second base in extra innings?

If Kozma hadn't started the game, or Berkman was still on the bench, or Pujols was still healthy, what would La Russa have done? Managing a professional baseball team has to be hard-work, which is why he makes the big bucks. It is also why he has managed over 5,000 games in his career from the dugout steps, while I sit at home on my couch with a beer in hand ready to second guess him!

Here's to hoping for good news this afternoon about Albert, and another congrats to Skip Schumaker. I hope it was a Father's Day to remember!

MR CLUTCH! (IT'S ALL IN THE SOCKS)

Last night's game against the Kansas City Royals was exciting to say the least. The best part about the eventful evening was that the Cardinals FINALLY came out on top. I would have preferred to win by more than one run, but beggars can't be choosers.

Who was the man of the hour? Matt Holliday of course! We were down by a run with 1 out in the bottom of the 8'th inning. I had a bad feeling that the game would end like the rest of the past week's worth, in bitter disappointment. Luckily Holliday had other ideas, and his 2 run bomb to straight center field gave us a lead that we would not relinquish. The Cardinals desperately missed their left fielder when he was on the DL, and last night he reminded us why. 

As we all know, our boys were in a 7-game losing streak heading into last night's game. It's common knowledge that baseball tends to be somewhat of a superstitious affair. Yadier Molina, Ryan Theriot, Skip Shumacher, Matt Holliday, and several of the guys on the bench decided that it was time to switch up their routine, because the team couldn't snap out of their downward skid. Enter the high socks...

I'm all for teams doing whatever works for them. If they believe in it, then go for it. High socks, shaved heads, and rally caps are cool with me. Some guys like Pedro Cerrano from "Major League" take it a little too far. The only thing I ask is that they wash their underwear, because dirty sweaty undies aren't lucky: they're gross.

The socks worked. I for one think they're kind of goofy. I guess Pujols and Berkman felt the same since they didn't rock the socks. Baseball isn't a fashion contest though. The only thing that matters is the end result: who goes home with the W. Last night it was St Louis, even though we won by a thread. I'm hoping that that's all the inspiration the team will need to right the ship. I want to see them come out swinging today. Get the lead fast and don't look back. With Jaime Garcia starting, there is a good chance that they can make that happen for me.

Another thing that impressed me yesterday - Tony La Russa and John Mozeliak finally agreed with me on something: Tyler Greene stinks! I was wondering how many more errors the guy would make before the club would finally do something about it. I have a baseball with his autograph on it from Spring Training. I got it because he was a first round draft pick at one point, so I figured it was a good investment at the time...I doubt I could get 50 cents for it with the way he has been playing. I might have to pay someone to take it off my hands instead. Friday night, he struck out twice in the same inning. I guess that performance earned him a one-way ticket back to Memphis!

I'm a Cardinals fan. I don't want to see guys like Greene or Ryan Franklin struggle. I feel for them, just like I'm sure their coaches do. However, enough is enough. They have jobs to do and games to win, and players are either assets or liabilities for their clubs. Let's write Franklin off next! I want to see my Birds doing this dance again come the end of October.

BASEBALL MOVIES: THEY DON'T MAKE THEM LIKE THEY USED TO

The current 7 game losing streak for my Redbirds depresses me. I said yesterday that La Russa needs to find a way to stop the bleeding. News flash Tony: You need a bigger band-aid. There aren't enough good things to say about last night's performance, or any of the dismal displays from the past week for that matter. Therefore, I'm not going to dwell on it.

My boyfriend and I recently discovered the wonders of Netflix. It's like Blockbuster for lazy people, and we are hooked. Thanks to Netflix, I have rediscovered my youth in the form of baseball movies. Growing up, I was just as big a baseball fan as I am now. My dad used to tell me that I knew the Cardinals roster by heart at the age of 4: I'm sure that doesn't surprise most of you.

One of my favorites from when I was younger was "Rookie of the Year". An 11 year old kid slips on a baseball and breaks his arm, the tendons heal too tight, and he in turn becomes a pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. Of course he was horrible at Little League before this happened. We all know that this is totally unrealistic. The Cubs do need all the help they can get though... :) Most kids grow up with a dream to become a professional baseball player, so "Rookie of the Year" allowed all of us to live out that fantasy as a pre-teen through somewhat nerdy Henry Rowengardner.

Next on my list is "Little Big League". It probably wasn't as popular as Rookie of the Year, but I liked it better. A 12 year old's Grandpa dies and leaves him the Minnesota Twins in his will. Billy then decides to fire the manager, and manage the team himself. In order to motivate the team he says to the players, "You guys are on baseball cards. What could be cooler than that?"

Possibly the most dorky of them all was Christopher Llyod's "Angels in the Outfield". The California Angels are having a horrible season. Roger is a big fan of them, and also a ward of the state. He asks his dad when they can be a family again, and his dad replies, "When the Angels win the pennant." Roger prays to God for help, and winged Angels come to the rescue. At least the other 2 featured actual baseball players. "Angels in the Outfield" had Matthew McConaughey and Tony Danza...cause that's believable.

Those are the baseball movies that I loved watching when I was little. As I grew up, my dad introduced me (probably a little to early) to the Major League movies. This was back when "Wild Thing" Charlie Sheen was still a nutjob, but a loveable one; the days before his "Winning" and "goddesses" and "violent torpedoes of truth". There was "Major League", "Major League 2", and "Major League - Back to the Minors". In April of 2011, Charlie announced that he was in the process of making another one. Who knows what he was smoking when he said that though, so don't hold your breath.

I recently watched a movie called "For Love of the Game". It featured Kevin Costner as an older pitcher for the Detroit Tigers whose girlfriend was leaving him. He was pitching against the Yankees, and throughout the game we saw flashbacks of his life leading up to that point. Of course, he was in the process of throwing a perfect game through all of this. Minus the sappy stuff, it was a pretty good movie.

Another more recent one is Dennis Quaid's "The Rookie". It's based on a true story, and I have to admit that it was also pretty decent. Quaid's character, Jimmy Morris, lived in a Texas town where all anyone cared about was football. He had his shot at baseball and got hurt in the Minors. He stayed in his small town and became a teacher and a coach, but at his age he still threw 98 mph. His players convince him that if they win districts, he has to try out for the Majors. Of course he does, and goes through the Minors, and ends up making it to the Show playing for the Devil Rays. If you haven't seen it yet, sorry for ruining it, and you should watch it asap.

I'm not saying that the movies discussed above are the best ever. There's "Field of Dreams", "The Natural", "Bad News Bears" (The original, not the lame Billy Bob Thornton remake), "Bull Durham", "Summer Catch", "Mr Baseball", "The Sandlot", "Fever Pitch", and "A League of Their Own". I don't really want to write about all of them, and I'm sure you don't want to read about all of them.

My point here is that the Cardinals 7-game losing skid is depressing me. I'm sure a lot of Cards fans are in the same boat as me. I wanted to talk about something that might bring a smile to your face. Even though the kid movies are pretty lame to watch at 25 years old, I sure loved them when I was younger. I wish kids today still watched them, instead of Pokemon and that other crap I can't pronounce. Hopefully my kids will love these classics too (I wonder if VHS will still exist then?).

I'm entertained with most any sports movies, true or fiction. Netflix has even dedicated an entire category to my screen called "Sports movies with an underdog" to the suggestions and movies I may like. They just don't make baseball movies like they used to anymore....

RICK ANKIEL: ONE OF THE BEST STORIES IN BASEBALL

2 straight sweeps = 6 losses in a row. Yet for some reason (don't ask me how) the Cardinals are only 1 game out of first place. We've been lucky, and I have a feeling that luck is about to run out. Tony La Russa, it's time to stop the bleeding. Big surprise: I'm bitter. Yadier Molina's game tying home run in the top of the 9'th gave me hope. Danny Espinosa crushed that hope with one swing of the bat.
I don't want to talk about how bad my boys are doing right now. I don't think Cardinal fans need a reminder of how horrible we have been playing. A glance at the box scores of the past 6 games is depressing enough. It was only a week ago that we took 2 of 3 in Houston, but it feels like a lot longer than that.
I'm done ranting. Instead, I'm going to talk about one my all-time favorites. He was a Cardinal forever, but now he dons a Nationals jersey. We saw him play only half an inning in the series opener before he hurt himself. I for one was bummed because I was looking forward to seeing him play...

Who am I talking about? You guessed it: of course it's none other than Rick Ankiel. His story is one of, if not THE best in all of Major League Baseball. I'm surprised no one has made a movie about him yet. In case you're not familiar with Ricky, or you can't quite recall how incredible his journey has been, here's a quick walk down memory lane. Enjoy the ride.
Rick Ankiel was drafted as a pitcher by the Cardinals out of a small high school in South Florida (less than 30 minutes from my house in case you were wondering). Before even stepping on the mound as a professional baseball player, word was spreading that he was the next Sandy Koufax. That's an awful lot for an 18 year-old to live up to.

Ankiel met the challenge head-on. He was named the Minor League Player of the Year for all of baseball in 1999. He was on the fast-track to the Majors, and he didn't disappoint when he made it to the show in '99. He was merely 20 years old in 2000, his first full year with the Big League club. He made a fashion statement with those high pants and old-school long striped socks. He was impressive throughout the season; that is, until the Birds reached the playoffs.
He started Game 1 of the NLDS against the Braves and had a memorable meltdown in the 3rd inning. He then started Game 2 of the NLCS and couldn't get out of the 1'st after letting loose another 5 pitches to the backstop.
Rick went back to the minors to try and get his stuff under control. Unfortunately, things got worse instead. He briefly re-appeared in the Majors, and after being sent down again he decided that he was done being a professional pitcher.


Most guys, after experiencing what he had, would have hung it up and walked away from the game. Remember, he received a $2.5 million signing bonus when he was 18. Ankiel had always been a solid hitter though. He went all the way back to Single A and made up his mind to try and make it back as an outfielder.
Did he make it? Oh, did he ever. Rick was back at Busch in August of 2007 as an outfielder for Tony La Russa. He hit a 3-run bomb in his first game back, and to this day it is one of the only times I have ever seen Tony show emotion during a game. The skipper has said that it was one of his proudest moments as a manager, seeing Ankiel's career come full-circle again. Tony, those dark glasses don't hide anything you big softie. Look who got a curtain call in his first game back.

He manned center field for us for the next 2 seasons. I think most can recall those 2 crazy outfield assists against the Rockies. Cardinal fans held their collective breaths when he collided with the wall in '09. He gave us a thumbs up as he was carted off the field though: what a trooper. He signed with the Royals in the offseason and ended 2010 in a postseason run as a member of the Atlanta Braves. He even sent a shot into McCovey Cove last year to win a playoff game against the eventual Champion Giants.
Now Ricky plays for the Washington Nationals. His hitting has declined since he was a Redbird: He was barely batting .200 going into the series against the Cardinals. No matter how and when he finishes his  career though, Rick's is a story of strength and perserverance in the face of adversity.
As an example of his character, when the Nationals came to town earlier this season, Rick took out a 1/2 page ad in the St Louis Post-Dispatch, thanking Cardinal fans for their support over the years. Now how many pro baseball players would do something like that? It's been a pleasure cheering for you Rick, and I will continue to do so!