Not Everyday

Baseball teams don't play everyday. They usually get about day of rest each week, in between series (multiple games against another team). They travel to another city, then they play 3 or 4 games (a game each day) and then they travel again. The travel and the series help spread the wealth so teams get to use their (mostly) new stadiums and cash in on their fans exuberance.

More Home Runs!

Pretty exciting game with a lot of runs scored, mostly off of home runs. Not exactly a pitching duel. Albert Pujols hit two home runs, not very common (for someone to hit more than one in a game. Runners scored off of each increasing Pujols's RBI (Runs Batted In). Batters get credit for each run the assist in scoring. That's the RBI number in the statistics.

HIt by Pitch - Tony's Double Standard?

The Cardinals got clobbered by the Angels again on Saturday, 9-3. NOt much happened in the game that was noteworthy, except...

Tony LaRussa has always been pretty outspoken about pitchers hitting batters, and recently indicated he thought it would be appropriate for some type of suspension for pitchers who hit a batter. Reliever Brandon Looper hit a batter in the elbow. What will Tony do or say about that incident? Hmmm... remains to be seen.

Hell's Angels

The Cardinals looked like they had broken the code to get back on trak with a .500 or better record (more wins than losses). The Angels put a stop to that by beating the Redbirds 10-6. Quite a wholloping. Games don't usually score that high. The Angels got 6 runs in the 7th inning. After being down 4-0 at the bottom of the 4th, the Angels had quite a comeback. The Cardinals had 3 different pitchers in that inning, trying to stop the Angels batting offense.

Top and Bottom of the inning are mostly self explanatory. The top is when the visiting team is up to bat (they bat first). The bottom of the inning is when the home team bats. The home team gets the last chance to score.

Home Runs Rule - No Save for Reliever

Cardinals lost to the Reds, 5 to 1.

Adam Wainwright had a tough night (obviously). Three home runs - Ouch. Wainwright was the losing pitcher because the runs scored on him and he turned the game over to the relief pitcher in a losing status. Now, if the relief pitcher had won the game AFTER that, the relief would be credited with a save. As it was, the relief pitcher was given a losing position and stayed there.

Pitchers - HItting the batter...

The Redbirds beat the Reds thanks in large part to Albert Pujols. He hit a 2 run homer (that's him and another guy already on base) in the seventh inning.

Tony La Russa has long been an advocate of pitchers being suspended for hitting a batter. Seems to want the accountability. The pitchers are professional and the idea of "sending a message" by hitting or almost hitting a batter with a near deadly weapon is untenable. The Card's other catcher, Gary Bennett, was struck in the head by a fast ball the other night and had to leave the game. He says he's okay, but the long term impact hasn't been determined.

Pinch Hitters

So Taguchi was pinch hitting when he singled over the outfielder's to get an RBI and put the Cardinals ahead of the Cincinnati Reds on 6/5.

Pinch Hitters are subsitutes in the line-up (list of active players, their positions, and their batting order) while a team is batting (on the offensive). Usually, a pinch hitter is subbed in for a pitcher, but cna be anyone that will be replaced next time the team takes the field. You can't bat unless you are in the line up, but you can subsitute players. For example, pitchers are notoriously bad hitters, so Taguchi was subbed in to bat, then the next time out, a different pitcher was subbed in for Taguchi.

Ayway, the outfield came in close because they expected Taguchi to hit it just over the infield. He hit it over their heads and got on base, but also advanced a runner home, an RBI - Run Batted In. That means he gets credit for assisting the runner to score.

Fall from Grace

So what's happened to the Cardinals? From getting to the World Series to barely getting out of Houston, the fall from grace has been phenomenal if not disheartening. I still love those Red Birds, but gosh, it would have been hard to imagine this would happen after the thrill of victory last October.

Enjoy the Game

So, pick a team, any team. Usually, you should pick one from your home town or close by. Team stuff is easier to come by, and you won't get beat up if you go to a game. I picked the Cardinals, since they're the closest team. The Cards were a good team for much of the Midwest because KMOX used to broadcast their games with jigawatts of power. I even used to hear the station in Florida, way back when. I'm not sure how that's going since the Cards have a new radio station now.

Anyway, you can pick up on team happenings by listening occassionally to the news, or getting email feeds from CBSSportsline. I use that services to get the final score for the Cards games.

Anyway, picking one team personalizes the game for you; gives you some stake in the game. You don't have to get a tattoo or anything, just last year's T-shirt (usually cheaper in the off season).

Basic Rules

So it seems like baseball players HAVE to be smarter than football players, right? When was the last time a baseball team was punished for having too many men on the field.

Anyway, just nine men on the field at a time for the team pitching. They are on the defense and position themselves according to what they think is going to happen. Sometimes the infielders come in closer if they expect a bunt, sometimes they stay back -- something to watch for.

So the team at bat is on the offense trying to score runs by advancing runners around the bases. Only the nine guys who are playing "the field" are allowed to bat. Substitutions are made when the team is at bat, with the exception of the pitcher. The "call to the bull pen" signifies the team in the field is going to change pitchers for one reason or the other. Either because his arm is shot, or they want a better match up between the pitcher and the batter (right hander vs left hander).

What's in a name?

So you probably have seen a baseball game a time or two, but have you really enjoyed it? It took me a while to find something I liked about the game. I read the book "Three Nights in August" which was about Tony L, and his team several years ago during a Cubs/Cardinals series of games. It gave me a new insight into the game. You might enjoy it. Don't get it for the character development, pithy dialogue or anything like that. Just expect to learn about baseball from the inside out.

The Catcher

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina will be sidelined four to six weeks with a fractured left wrist.

The catcher is an important part of the team for a lot of reasons. As you can guess, the pitcher/catcher combination is the most active during the game. The catcher usually stays in the whole game and plays something like 3 games and rests for a game. The catcher helps the pitcher decide what pitch to throw, but also keeps a 90 mile an hour pitch in play by either catching it, blocking it from going past him or running after it. He keeps runners from advancing to second base if they try to "steal" second (advance after the pitcher starts to deliver the pitch and the batter doesn't hit it). Molina has a great arm and is incredibly fast, so not many guys steal bases off of him.

Molina's been playing with the Cardinals for a few years and is an integral part of the team. He plays more than anybody else. The impact of him being sidelined is significant.