On the topic of Mark McGwire..

Oh wait, the Blues won! In the first 4.5 minutes or so, the Blues scored twice on the road in French Canadialand following a tough loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Not a bad loss in the large perspective--they had won the previous 4 games and may have been tired and given up one--but this new House of Payne has seen the team playing much better. They have been more aggressive and I think that fact has spurred the defense and goal tending to last season's best-2nd-half-NHL-winning-record-form.

As soon as the 3rd period hit I had that sinking realization similar to having to poop, at the pit of the stomach or abdomen: The Blues have played awful in the 3rd period whenever they play well the rest of the game. Or maybe the feeling was a by-product of me trying to catch up on the shot-per-goal drinking game (it wound up being 7 btw). Either way, I don't know if it's because they are exhausted, which undoubtedly they are, but mayhaps more so then the other team?

All I knew was the 3-1 lead was in jeopardy (greatest gameshow ever btw) and the following goal by Pouliot confirmed my fears. And I got nervous, I knew what was coming. At the 1 minute mark my teeth clenched like I was at the dentist and that bitch (a very nice, warm person actually) was ripping my gums out. That kind of payne. If anyone ever reads this and wants to ask andy katie or tim, I called this entire game before it happened.

Props to Andy McDonald, after an amazing game-saving save by Mr. Conklin, for saving my night. It led to $5 pitchers at trivia night where I was too happy, as opposed to wallowing.

Oh, Mark McGwire..oh yeah, forgot about him because he hasn't been in the news recently. Bill McClellan, a columnist for the STL P-D and my dad's favorite, doesn't necessarily touch sports all that often. But it's the St. Louis paper and like any citizen of Our Great Cardinal Nation, he has an opinion.

Bill McClellan on the evolution of the Cardinals fan

And it's a good one. If you like to be insulted as a Cardinals fan. And it doesn't change how I feel about certain players.

I will always love Mark McGwire, hell I had a fucking lucky charm that I would put in my pocket for every game when it was clear he would chase The Record. I grew up watching baseball, but I was a kid. I thought I was a part of history.

The Chase was in middle school, when I was old enough to start barely thinking for myself, and 1998 was the year I realized I loved baseball, not just liked it. Does my level of devotion and enjoyment stem from steroids? I hope not, but it stems from that time, and I just can't make myself harbor ill-feelings to any of those players.

That was then, I was a kid. This is now, I'm 22. Barry Bonds was in high school, an enemy of McGwire. Different story then.

You get caught cheating now and I will despise you. And if a Cardinal gets caught cheating now? I will be devestated and destroyed.

But I think that maybe what McClellan misses in his article is that, while McG may have cheated, McG might just be the only reason a lot of the fans lovethe game enough to care about it. He brought us in. He kept bringing us back.

If McGwire were caught in 2010, it would be like Albert Pujols being called out. It would make me seriously consider quitting baseball and moving to hockey full-time. But like I said, I was a kid, and a lot of other people were too, and a lot more people around the country and world were adults but just not baseball fans. Now we are. And now we care, a lot more, because of #25. We're hypocritical. It's ironic. But that's the truth.

And that's the answer to Herzog's quote in Mike Smith's article on stltoday.com about McGwire. Don't know if it's in the paper copy of the P-D since I'm away at school, but I wish I had read it on the front page at home. Anyway, the quote:

“The people in in St. Louis give Mark McGwire a standing ovation the other day, and Jack Clark said every steroid user should be banned from baseball, and they booed him. Now, what the hell is the matter with society when that happens?”

I just stated my opinion on cheering McGwire as a player. Hypocritical, wrong, whatever. Let's not even get into his coaching thing 'til at least spring. But Herzog is spot on with his assessment of Clark's treatment. Fuck that booing.

I met Jack Clark as a kid and he stuck around until WELL after he had to at a River City Rascal's game to sign my t-shirt. It was him and one college-age player. 10 fans. Everything else in the stadium was empty except employees. My dad talked to him, I don't know about what. But he was an amazing player to watch, and maybe I met him on a good day, but he was an amazing human to meet as well.

Don't boo him for being a devoted baseball purist before a lot of McGwire fans even knew what watching a home run was like.

Next Up? Maybe my NL/AL views.

the worst part about winter - no baseball

Let me start by saying that I do not expect anyone to ever read any of this. I have nothing different, new or exciting to offer any sports fan that isn't readily available in higher quality at many of the other wonderful blogs and websites run by Cardinals fans. Viva El Birdos, link down to the left, has a great community and is a great place for hardcore or casual fans. The analysis and debate featured there is great. Check that shit out. I cuss too much for a lot of people, so don't bother if you can't handle mere words.

That being said, I am a college student going to school in Kirksville, MO. Grew up in St. Louis county and can't remember a time in my life that I was not a Cardinals fan. I have a miscellaneous collection of Cardinals memorabilia that is probably minuscule compared to a true collector, but I have no money so I pick up free things, garage sale items, etc. Only pictures I have on my PC:





The 2009 baseball season was the first one where I was able to spend money and effort into actually attending games. I've gone to 1-5 games or so a season since at least 1993, the first year I have ticket stubs for. Last season I went full circle. I attended two spring training games in Jupiter, followed by my first Opening Day, 8 games throughout the season, and concluded by my 10th and final game of the year, that fateful Saturday night vs. the Dodgers where Busch Stadium was quieter than I have ever heard before. They served hot chocolate at that first and last game. I drank beer instead. Beer an inning is the preferred method for Cardinals games at my home.