RYAN FRANKLIN NEEDS TO GO

Ryan Franklin started the 2011 season as the Cardinals closer. In fact, he assumed that role in May of 2008 and has manned the post ever since. It's pretty obvious to me that his glory days are over now though. Take Opening Day of this year for instance and you will see Exhibit A (Blown Save #1). Returning home from the first road trip of the season, Franklin was actually booed by the Busch Stadium crowd. I think we all remember his response to the media after that one. Ryan, take it from Jimmy Dugan: "There's no crying in baseball!"

It took 4 blown saves in 5 chances before La Russa finally demoted him. I'd like to be able to tell you that moving to middle relief solved the problem and everything is great. Unfortunately, that statement is far from the truth. Does everyone remember last month when Mitchell Boggs was optioned to Triple A Memphis to work on his stuff? I recall reading Matthew Leach's Cardinals inbox where the question was raised "Why stick with Franklin over Boggs?" Matt answered the question by informing readers that we can't send Franklin down: the only way to get rid of him is to make it permanent (release him).

Well ladies and gentlemen, I think that time has come. I think Ryan knows it too. It has to suck to be kept away from games that are on the line. The only times he pitches now are when we need someone to eat innings while we are getting blown out. We're less than a month away from the All Star Break, which means that the season is almost halfway over. If we want to contend with the surging Brewers and those pests in Cincinnatti then we need pitchers who can come on in relief and slam the door on the opposition.

Ryan Franklin is no longer that guy for us. I understand that he has a long and proven track record with the Cardinals. He has been there for us over the past couple of years, and we really didn't have to worry about him. The fact of the matter is: "That was then and this is now". Franklin is 38 years old. If this were 22 year old Eduardo Sanchez or 26 year old Fernando Salas, the club could simply send him to the minors and figure out what was going wrong.

As stated before, we can't do that here. A lot has been said over the years about Tony La Russa and that he is almost loyal to a fault. I can't say enough good things about the Cardinals skipper of the past 16 years, but I think that he needs to open his eyes. It's time to cut the cord.

With that being said, Franklin was one of many problems for the Redbirds last night. The Nationals and Livan Hernandez kicked our butts. Being shutout 10-0 while only mustering 3 hits is pathetic. I'll give credit where credit is due: Livan pitched a hell of a game. I had the pleasure of meeting him during Spring Training this past March, as you can see from the picture below. Let's be realistic though: Hernandez isn't Roy Halladay. We should have played a lot better than we did.

5 straight losses isn't good. On the plus side, Matt Holliday comes off the DL tonight. Hopefully the Cards can win tonight and avoid 2 straight sweeps...



CAN YOU SAY CHOKE

Tuesday night, Jaime Garcia didn't have his best stuff. In the beginning of the game, he didn't need it. Pujols and Berkman each hit a bomb, and the Cardinals had some unlikely sources come through in a 3 run 5'th inning. The Birds were up 6-1 going into the bottom of the 5'th when Ryan Theriot forgot how to use his glove.

Brendan Ryan was our shortstop in 2010. Brendan is one of the best defensive shortstops in the game today, but he couldn't hit worth a crap (at least when he was wearing a Cardinals uniform). So we sent him packing to rainy Seattle and the Mariners, and traded Blake Hawksworth to the Dodgers for Theriot. Theriot came in, and from Day 1 of Spring Training you could see that the guy knows how to get on base. He's batting lead-off for us, just finished a 20-game hitting streak, and is hitting .296 on the year.

On the field it's another story. Theriot's fielding skills are pretty pathetic. We're not even at the halfway point of the 2011 season and he has already made 13 errors. Watching him Tuesday night made me want to cover my eyes or hide my head under the blanket. That seems to happen a lot lately...There were 3 balls hit to him in a row, and he couldn't make a play on any of them. At one point he booted the ball and was crawling on his hands and knees with it in front him, but he still couldn't pick it up.

Nobody is perfect, and Theriot is trying his best. It just seems that having a sound defensive shortstop who is also a solid hitter is impossible, at least in St Louis anymore. I am by no means saying that the loss on Tuesday was all Ryan Theriot's fault. Although his defensive miscues were difficult to watch, he contributed at the plate with 2 hits and 2 walks. No, for last night's disaster I blame the Cardinals bullpen...

Miguel Batista was a Washinton National in 2010. He started the bottom of the 7'th inning in relief of Jaime, with a 4 run lead. All he needed was 9 more outs. Instead, Batista, Miller, and Motte combined to give up 6 runs, and all of a sudden we were down by 2.

The bullpen has been shaky all year. It makes me wish that our starters could throw complete games every time out, so that we never have to hand the ball over to the guys in the pen. I know that being a relief pitcher in the Major Leagues has to be hard. Sometimes you only get one shot to get a guy out. But here's a news flash: it's your job, so do it!

Yes, once again I am bitter. The best news from yesterday came out of Wrigley Field, where the Cubs came from behind and beat the Brewers 5-4 with Starlin Castro's walk-off single. This is even more frustrating, because St. Louis should have picked up a game on Milwaukee, but thanks to Theriot and the bullpen, we are still tied in 1'st place. Can't wait to see what the Cardinals have in store for us tonight...(sarcasm, like always)

THE ONLY TIME I WILL EVER SAY THIS: ROOT FOR THE CUBS (FOR 2 DAYS ONLY!!!)

No need to rub your eyes or adjust your computer screens. Your eyes are not deceiving you. I just asked you to root for the Cubs. There is no need to go out and buy a Zambrano jersey or a blue hat; please have more class than that! I am simply asking that you cheer on the South siders for the next 2 days ONLY, while they finish their series with Milwaukee.

Thanks to the Cubs 1-0 win last night, St. Louis is now tied with the Brewers for 1'st place. We didn't even have to step on the field. Please root loudly for your beloved St Louis Cardinals, but keep an eye on the score in Chicago. I know it's a "Cardinal" sin (pun intended) to root for the Cubs. I would never ask fellow St Louisans to do such a thing unless it was really important...

The Cubs are 11 games out of first place right now. In my opinion, they are not a threat to us. If I end up regretting that statement and the Cubbies win the division, I will eat a bar of soap. They are however playing the Brewers: the team that literally gave us a spanking over the weekend and knocked us out of first. Meanwhile, the Birds are in the nation's capital, preparing to do battle with the Washington Nationals. Tony La Russa has no control over what happens at Wrigley. Unfortunately neither do we...The Cubs can really help us out tomorrow and Wednesday.

Most fans would say that we don't need the Cubs help, or we just don't want it. After the pounding that I witnessed this weekend, I would have to disagree. I hate to say it, but we could use all the help we can get.

I know it's only June 14. There is still a lot of baseball left to be played. It seems to me that St. Louis WAS getting by just fine. We lost 3 of 4 to the Giants, but then we swept the Cubs and took 2 of 3 in Houston. We went to Miller Park with high expectations, but Braun, Fielder & company showed us what they are capable of...

If you can't bring yourself to do it, that's okay. I completely understand. It's going against every fiber of your being as a member of Cardinal nation. Mark my words: this is (hopefully) the only time I will ever cheer on Chicago. Who knows, we might need their help down the stretch if they match up with the Brewers again, or when they take on Votto and the Reds. I'm hoping that it won't come to that, and we will be so far out in front by then that nothing else will matter. A girl can dream, right?

THE NEW CARDINAL KILLER: PRINCE FIELDER

The Cardinals were swept the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend, and swept out of first place in the process. Sure I'm bummed about it; what Cardinal fan wouldn't be? St. Louis finds itself in second place in the NL Central now, 1/2 game back of the Brew Crew. I didn't see that coming. Everyone said that Milwaukee would be a force to be reckoned with this season, but I was pretty skeptical at first. I guess I was still worried about Cincinnatti.The Brewers simply played better baseball than us, and they deserved to win. It seems that the Cardinals forgot how to crawl back into games and get those come from behind victories.

I am not Tony La Russa. I have not managed 5,002 Major League Baseball games. On a side note it is reassuring to see that he hasn't changed his hairstyle since the late '70's. Right on Tony. I'm not second guessing his decision, I'm simply saying that I would have done things differently. We were up 3-0 going into the bottom of the 6'th. Pitcher Jake Westbrook was solid up until this point. Then he gave up a single, a double, and another single. Still no outs. So far this season, Westbrook has proven that when he starts to fall apart, he loses it fast.

Fireballer Jason Motte was warming up in the bullpen in a hurry. The score was now 3-2 with a runner on, and Prince Fielder coming to the plate. I would have made Westbrook step off the mound and check on the runner a couple of times in order to stall, and allow Motte a few more warmup tosses. Prince Fielder is one of, if not THE hottest hitter in baseball right now. Westbrook's day should have been over at this point. Jason Motte should have come into the game and faced the Prince. Instead, La Russa left Jake in, and Fielder blasted the ball over the wall to give Milwaukee a 4-3 lead that they would not relinquish.

I can't predict the future. Motte might have given up an even longer home run than Westbrook did. I just don't know why Tony didn't take him out before Prince came to the plate. All of this damage was done with no outs. It was obvious that Jake was done, so why let him pitch to someone who could make us pay dearly for a mistake?

The Cardinals were outplayed and outmanaged while we were swept. We went into the series leading the NL Central by 2 1/2 games, and left Milwaukee with out tails between our legs, now down by 1/2 game. I'm sure Brewers fans are thrilled, but as a die hard Cardinal fan I am just plain disappointed.

I've decided to annoint a new Cardinal killer. Lance Berkman, when he played for the Astros, did a pretty good job of this back in the day. I'm sure everyone remembers Carlos Beltran of the Mets in his heyday giving Cardinal pitchers fits. The newest Cardinal killer is Prince Fielder. He took us out like we were a plate of double cheeseburgers.  Prince has the Cardinals number.

I just hope this doesn't last long, or it's going to be a long second half of the season. The Birds take on the Nationals starting Tuesday. Jaime Garcia takes the mound for us and looks to turn things around. Let's hope he can come off his last outing (a loss in Houston) and put up a W for the good guys.

MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL...THE LAMEST SHOW ON EARTH

I watched a Cardinals game live in person last night. The Palm Beach Cardinals vs. the Charlotte Stone Crabs. Who is that you ask? That, my friends, is Minor League Baseball. High Class A ball to be exact. Living in South Florida has its advantages all right: sunshine, warm weather year round, pools and the beach. As long as you don't mind the crabby old people (aka snowbirds) that flock down and take over in the winter months, it's really not that bad. Most of them have no depth perception and shouldn't be driving, but they are usually back up North by late April anyway.

I am 100% spoiled for 2 months out of the year, and I bet you can guess which months those are. That's right: February and March: St Louis Cardinals Spring Training in Jupiter, FL. Roger Dean Stadium and the Spring Training complex is 10 minutes from my house, and I promise you that I did not plan it that way. I decided to go to college in Florida because I figured if I had to finish my degree, Florida was the place to do it. The Cardinals were an unexpected but awesome bonus for me.The thing is, Spring Training only lasts a month and a half. When the trucks leave and the major leaguers fly back to St. Louis to start the regular season, what am I left with? Besides a handful of autographed baseballs and some great memories, the answer is that I am left with the Palm Beach Cardinals.

As of June 12 they are 25-37. There's still a lot of baseball left to be played, which means they could straighten things out, or it could be a really long season. Now to me, baseball is baseball. I enjoy watching almost any game. Minor League games are usually high-scoring affairs, which means that there is usually always some sort of action happening on the field. Even though most of the guys on the roster are people you and I have never heard of, they play their hearts out. Everyone runs out infield grounders and hustles back to the dugout when the inning is over, because everyone is trying to make it to The Show, and you never know who is watching. It's refreshing to see this.The Palm Beach Cardinals play in the Florida State League. Their opponents range from the Jupiter Hammerheads (Florida Marlins) to the Fort Myers Miracle (Minnesota Twins). One of the cool things about this is that we have the opportunity to check out some of the prospects in other organizations. Both of the Cardinals 1'st round draft picks in 2009 and 2010, Shelby Miller and Zach Cox, began the season in Palm Beach. Both tore it up down here and were promoted to AA Springfield in less than 2 months. Good for them, unfortunate for me. We are left with the guys who are probably going to be at this level for quite some time...

Understandably, it is hard to get people to come to Minor League baseball games. The interns at Roger Dean are forced to be creative in order to get butts in the seats. In between almost every inning there is some sort of activity on the field: racing the mascot around the bases, riding big wheels, dizzy bat spins. You name it, they're probably done it at one time or another.

Every weekend there is a promotion of some sort. The place will be full of little leaguers one night and cub scouts the next. With those kids come their parents. The kids want hot dogs and nachos, and the parents want beer. The lines are ridiculously long. This must be how the stadium stays afloat and makes any money: overpriced food sales, just like the Majors!

Last night was "Pooches in the Park". You can bring your dog to the ballgame. Most Major League stadiums do this once a year: Roger Dean does it once a month. Tickets for a Palm Beach Cardinal game are $8 a piece for adults, and $2 if you have your student ID. You can't beat that.

Minor League Baseball games aren't for everyone. The games seem to drag on. It makes the Majors look like a track meet, because the Minor Leaguers don't seem to be in any rush to get the night over with. The Cardinals pitcher hit one of the Stone Crabs last night. When our catcher came up to bat in the bottom half of the inning, the Stone Crabs pitcher threw behind him. The batter obviously took offense to this and charged the mound, chucking his bat at the pitcher. Both benches and bullpens cleared, and a lot of people got ejected. At least they try and make it interesting for us...

Just in case you were wondering, Palm Beach lost to the Stone Crabs with a final score of 8-2.

THE CARDINALS NEED TO SPICE UP THEIR UNIFORM OPTIONS

I missed Thursday night's 9-2 win over the Astros. Unfortunately, I saw every pitch of the 8-0 trouncing handed to us by the Milwaukee Brewers last night. Figures, eh? I don't have many good things to say about the Cadinals performance last night, save for a congratulations to Tony La Russa for managing his 5,000th career game.

Instead, I want to examine something that has bothered me about the Cardinals for quite some time now. OUR UNIFORMS ARE REALLY LAME. There's really not a nice way of saying it. The Birds on the Bat have been an institution for a long time now. The Cardinals logo and jerseys have not changed in forever. I'm not saying that a total overhaul is necessary, but a little facelift wouldn't hurt.

Take the Brewers for instance. Before they take the field, they have a few different options as to what they are going to wear. As a matter of fact, most Major League ball clubs have instituted a number of different uniform choices. The Padres have their camo, but most other teams have at least one choice of alternate shirts that they can wear. I read somewhere that for most teams, the starting pitcher gets to choose what jersey the team will don on a given night. There was a video online from the Chicago White Sox a couple of weeks ago, when one of their pitchers was warming up before the game and then realized he was wearing the wrong jersey. His teammates laughed at him while he changed.

Then you have the St. Louis Cardinals. None of our pitchers have to worry about that problem. The Redbirds wear white when they are home and gray when they are on the road. It has been like this for almost as long as I can remember. The only change is when they are playing Sunday afternoon home games, and they break out their "Bird hats". IT'S BORING. I'm not saying that they need to bring back the V-neck powder blues from the 80's. No one wants that. But a red alternate jersey would really spice things up. The batting practice jerseys that the Cardinals wear before games are pretty spiffy. Why not do a variation of that?

I don't know who makes these decisions. I'm assuming that John Mozeliak, the Cardinals GM, has better things to do with his time than worry about what his boys are going to wear each night. John, I think you should appoint someone as head of the Cardinals uniform committee. St. Louis is behind the times. The Rockies have 5 different uniform options, and we have 2. We need to get on the ball. I know that Major League Baseball games are not fashion contests. I just think that it's time to change it up a little.

Hopefully our boys play better tonight and I have something more interesting to talk about tomorrow!

I DIDN'T WATCH THE CARDINALS GAME LAST NIGHT...WHAT A SHOCKER

I didn't watch the Cardinals game last night. I know, what a shocker. I didn't record it either. Instead, my boyfriend and I along with 2 friends drove to Miami to take in a Florida Marlins game. Let me start by saying that Cardinals baseball on TV is 10x better than Marlins baseballl in person...

The Marlins were playing the Atlanta Braves, and this was the final of a 3-game series. The Braves won 3-2, and in the process handed the Marlins their 9th consecutive loss. Ouch.

We had front row seats behind the Braves bullpen. $28 a piece. Those seats would cost an awful lot more in any other ballpark. They didn't announce the attendance at the game, and I'm sure there was a reason for that: the number would have been embarassing. As you can see from the picture above, baseball isn't very popular in Miami.

Sure, the game was exciting. Marlins pitcher Chris Volstad had a no-hitter going into the 6'th inning. The Braves scored 3 runs in the 6th though, and Volstad topped it off by giving up an RBI single to the opposing pitcher. That last run proved to be the decisive one, as the Marlins lost by 1 when it was all over. My friends and I were an animated bunch. Yes, we were THOSE people. One of the Braves outfielders, Matt Young, had a .111 batting average going into tonight's game. His swinging bunt single broke up Volstad's no-no, raising his average to an "impressive" .143. The next time Mr.Young came to the plate he got a standing ovation from 4 obnoxious fans in the front row of Section 103. 

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know how I feel about the Buster Posey/Scott Cousins debaccle.      

Dan and I felt the need to voice our opinions at last night's game with "Scott Cousins is Innocent" t-shirts. I have never received so many compliments. The back of the shirt read "What's worse than Dan Uggla in April? DAN UGGLA IN MAY!" Uggla wasn't in the starting lineup, but he made a pinch-hit appearance and proved his worth when he struck out looking. That's one thing the Marlins can feel good about: sending Uggla to the Braves in the offseason - they obviously dodged a bullet there.

My take on last night's visit to Sun Life Stadium? For starters, seeing as the tickets aren't expensive, the beer should be cheaper too. The Marlins fired their hitting coach on Wednesday and the new one was on the bench on Thursday. I'm not so sure their hitting coach was the problem though.

There were probably more Braves fans in attendance than there were people rooting for the Fish. That's pretty sad to admit in your home ballpark. And don't worry, the Marlins have a new state of the art stadium opening in 2012. You know, because that was necessary. If you can't get fans to come when the tickets are cheap, do you really think they are going to want to pay more money to sit in nicer seats and still watch their team lose??

A quick thank you to Braves bullpen coach Eddie Perez for remembering me, and giving my friend Marc a ball after he begged for 1 the entire game... On a side note, the Braves bullpen catcher's last name is Butts. That has to suck, wearing your name on the back of your uniform when there are people like us around to antagonize you.

Moral of the story: I hope our same seats are available when the Cardinals come to town in August.