Sad to hear that. Reminds me of a few years ago when the Cards came up to the Friendly Confines and a pitcher (I think?) died in his sleep

4/29/2007 12:08:36 PM

unbelievable.

4/29/2007 12:17:39 PM

sad......that is right by my house. must have been between the stadium and 170

4/29/2007 12:36:03 PM

i could not believe this when I saw it on ESPN NEWS

this fucking sucks

RIP

4/29/2007 1:16:58 PM

Very sad. I couldn't believe it at first. I was thinking it had to be the local high school team Cardinals..certainly not the pro one!

4/29/2007 6:10:00 PM

Daryl Kile and now Hancock...that is just horrible

4/29/2007 6:51:32 PM

Cubs are just bad luck all around. They can't win shit and then when they come to play us something shitty happens.

RIP Josh.....guy was a pretty likable guy from what I could tell and a pretty solid reliever.

Man has it really been 5 years ago that Kile died????

4/30/2007 1:10:45 AM

Carpenter on the 90 day DL. I think our season has officially ended.

5/5/2007 5:49:44 PM

Quote :

"Cubs are just bad luck all around. They can't win shit and then when they come to play us something shitty happens. RIP Josh.....guy was a pretty likable guy from what I could tell and a pretty solid reliever. Man has it really been 5 years ago that Kile died????"

hah

if it weren't for that darn cubs curse, hancock would still be talking on a cell phone while doing 13 over and sloshed and maybe stoned today

5/5/2007 6:26:13 PM

Yeah I don't feel so bad for Hancock anymore. I'm just happy it's himself he killed and nobody else.

5/5/2007 6:27:26 PM

Go cubs

5/5/2007 9:43:10 PM

I never thought I would see the day that I was happy to see Braden Looper on the hill for the Cards.

He is our only consistent starter right now.

Reyes and Wells are 0-8 and 2-9. Nice moves Jockettey in letting Weaver, Suppan, and Marquis walk.

5/29/2007 12:42:21 PM

I live in St. Louis now and the entire town is kinda pissed that Hancock's dad is sueing the bar he was at, the tow truck driver he hit, and even the guy on the side of the road that the tow truck driver was helping.

What ever happened to being responsible for yourself? And I don't think it is about the money. I would assume that Hancock was worth over a million bucks.

5/30/2007 9:34:38 AM

Honestly we are pretty good except for Reyes and Wells. I think they are a combined 2-18. That is horrible. I never thought I'd be pining for Jeff Weaver. Maybe we can drop him when Carpenter gets back.

6/3/2007 1:07:27 AM

Wow great game so far tonight.....Pujols just got thrown out at 3rd in the bottom of the 13th.

Duncan up with 2 outs and a man on....Cards have had so many chances this game. Pretty much symbolizes the whole season so far. Kip Wells is pitching in relief so a run here would be really good.

6/21/2007 1:14:12 AM

this isn't even close to St Louis and on top of that, baseball sucks




Man i can't wait til Nov/Sept.

6/21/2007 3:14:38 AM

We just can't seem to put any kind of sustained winning streak together. It's very frustrating, cause we really have nobody in the rotation right now that you can just count on to get you a win on most starts. I don't think Milwaukee is all that great, but I really don't think we have what it takes to catch them.

6/21/2007 9:40:14 AM

^^Come again? I don't understand your first statement. And if you don't like baseball then stay out.

^Yeah really....but if Mulder and Carpenter come back by say August 1st and we have them both for at least 2 months we could make a run.

6/21/2007 11:21:39 AM

I hesitate to get too excited, but

http://tinyurl.com/2xnypn

Quote :

"Ankiel is closing in on big leagues again By Joe Strauss ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 06/22/2007 MEMPHIS, TENN. — Those who saw it still talk about "the bomb" Rick Ankiel drove over the right-field fence last month, over a berm and past a walkway at Round Rock's Dell Diamond. They talk about his right fielder's arm, center fielder's speed and his aptitude for learning a proper drop step needed to run down balls hit over his head. And lately, the only organization Ankiel has ever known has pondered the proper time for promoting its former star-crossed pitcher to St. Louis as a position player. As the talk grows louder, Ankiel reminds himself not to listen. "I just get excited about being successful," he says. "I try not to get too excited about where I'm at now because you never know what's going to happen." No one is more entitled to that philosophy than Ankiel. Ten years after being drafted, seven years after winning 11 games as a too-young-to-drink rookie lefthander and six years after virtually vanishing from the major leagues, Ankiel is close to accomplishing the truly Ruthian feat of moving from a major-league starting rotation to outfield. In between he has experienced a lifetime's worth of professional and personal angst. His return would represent an organizational as well as a personal triumph. "I want to go up there and stay there and play for years," Ankiel says. "I don't want this to be a novelty where people say, 'Wow, look, he made it back' and then I go away." Ankiel has had enough of being someone's novelty. He lived it for the last five years of his pitching existence, until his inability to retain command of his brilliant assortment proved too much to carry. Now a month shy of turning 28 and one of only two remaining players in the organization from the 2000 NL Central Division championship team, Ankiel is ready for something else. "I'm 27 now," he says. "I need to prove I can play or get out of the way." Proving himself was no problem a decade ago. Or has it already been an eternity? USA Today named Ankiel its high school player of the year in 1997. Two years later, managers in the Texas League and Pacific Coast League named him the top prospect in their respective loops. Ankiel reached the major leagues after 52 appearances spread over four affiliates, where he had struck out 416 and allowed 225 hits in 298 2/3 innings. Now he is trying to progress just as quickly as a hitter. Two years after the experiment began, and one year after missing an entire season because of a knee injury, Ankiel is pushing for the Pacific Coast League lead in home runs (19) and RBIs (53). Yet he remains at Memphis mostly as a matter of inconvenience. If Ankiel were promoted and struggled, the Cardinals would be unable to return him to Memphis without first putting him through waivers. Any team could then pluck Ankiel for nothing except the waiver fee. The club acknowledged this week that if it had remaining options on Ankiel, he probably would have been promoted to replace disabled center fielder Jim Edmonds. Ankiel must instead wait, likely until at least mid-August. "We discussed it, but we felt that Rick needs as many at-bats as he can get and to experience a lot of situations," says Walt Jocketty, who was in his third year as Cardinals general manager when the club selected Ankiel in the second round of the 1997 draft and subsequently signed him for $2.5 million. "We had talked about giving him 400-500 at-bats, then bringing him up in the fall. But if he continues to progress as he is, we may bring him up sooner." Manager Tony La Russa offers a bit more conservative estimate, insisting "the more at-bats he takes, the better his shot is here. He's learning every game he plays down there. It is Triple-A. He's learning. He's adjusting. He's hitting .280; he's not hitting .380. It would be great to leave him there all year." The Cardinals have done everything possible to retain the rights to the one-time prodigy, including conspiring with Ankiel's agent, Scott Boras. As he passed through waivers shortly after his position switch, Boras warned prospective takers Ankiel would not pitch for them. Only a portion of the salvage plan is dedicated to seeking a return on a 10-year-old investment. "I have a very strong feeling for him as a person as well as a player," Jocketty says. "It was unfortunate he came to a point in his career where he couldn't go on as a pitcher and was ready to go on in a different direction. "I knew he was a great athlete. I'd seen him hit. I knew he was athletic enough to play the outfield. He was interested in doing that. It just came down to giving him time to develop.""

6/22/2007 9:41:01 AM

Quote :

"THE DARK DAYS On the day Ankiel announced his retirement from pitching, La Russa voiced remorse for his unconventional handling of him during the first round of the playoffs in 2000. Trying to protect Ankiel, who was 21 then, La Russa had veteran Darryl Kile attend a news conference for the presumptive Game 1 starter. The ploy backfired the next afternoon when Ankiel, the Cardinals' true Game 1 starter, suffered a loss of command that marked the beginning of the end of his promising career as a starting pitcher. From there, Ankiel's career went into free fall. His next four seasons became a series of closeted practices, false starts, injuries and doubt. "I don't want to be guessing about what he was feeling," La Russa says. "I'd rather stay away from that." Ankiel's struggles became more pronounced shortly after his father, Richard Patrick Ankiel, was sentenced to six years in federal prison for his role in a Bahamian drug trafficking ring. A half-brother also had entered the penal system because of a drug offense. Shortly after Richard Ankiel's drug conviction, Ankiel's parents divorced. The spiral led Rick to heed Boras' advice to leave Florida after the 2000 season and stay for two months in Newport Beach, Calif., with a former teammate, infielder Adam Kennedy, whom the Cardinals had dealt to Anaheim. "It's been seven years," Kennedy says. "I got to see him enjoying baseball again, running around the outfield again, hitting and stuff. Off the field this spring, he was more calm and a lot more focused." If seven years have dulled anyone's memories, Kennedy remembers well the first impression Ankiel created. "To this day, a healthy Ankiel is better than anyone I've ever seen," he says. "The best fastball, the best curveball, the best changeup I've ever seen. All in one guy." THE ROAD BACK Ankiel made it back to the major leagues as a reliever in 2004 but suffered more frustration the following spring, when he again began to obsess over his wavering command and found it difficult to eat or sleep. One morning in early March, La Russa praised Ankiel's progress as the lefthander worked behind his manager. As if on cue, Ankiel spiked a curveball on the front edge of a plate, sending the ball over the bullpen backstop. Several days later he walked out of camp. "It was a tough road back as a pitcher. I'm not sure he ever really felt comfortable with that," Jocketty recalls. "It was obvious that day he'd had enough." The same day Ankiel left camp, Jocketty contacted him about trying to play in the outfield. Ankiel, after all, had been a star hitter at Port St. Lucie (Fla.) High as well as having a dominant arm. While with Johnson City in 2001, he had hit 10 home runs in 105 at-bats and made the All-Star team as a designated hitter and pitcher. "My mind was totally on the pitching side of it and retiring," Ankiel says. "I wasn't really sure (about playing again). I told them I'd call back. I'm glad I did." Scratching his way back in 2004 had been a slog. Success was as fleeting as his next wild pitch. "This would be better by far," Ankiel says. "That was a grind. The story was always going to be there. This is something new. There's a lot of notoriety that goes along with it. It's something I can build on. People seem to think it's a pretty cool thing. I'm enjoying it. I'm definitely looking forward to what's ahead now." BRIGHT FUTURE One Cardinals official recently described Ankiel as Memphis' best player "by a long shot." Two rival scouts who attended a recent Redbirds home stand shared the sentiment. "I don't want to put any limitations on him," Memphis manager Chris Maloney says. "He's going to be a very good big-league player. He's going to be a run producer. He should if he keeps improving." Memphis hitting coach Rick Eckstein concurred. "You're talking about a guy who potentially can hit for a high average and certainly can hit for power," Eckstein says. "I don't think you can put a cap on his ceiling. That's what most intrigues me. Other guys in this league have gone to the big leagues and you know what their ceiling is. With him, I don't know you can say that." Ankiel has modified his stance since spring training. He stands more upright and has opened his right, or lead, foot. Predominantly a pull hitter, Ankiel has struggled against some of the Pacific Coast League's top pitching — he struck out in nine of 12 at-bats in a recent series with pitching-strong Nashville — but devours anything less. He followed the Nashville series by belting three home runs in last Saturday's game at Iowa. "His strength is his aggressiveness. With that, he pulls the ball more," Eckstein says. "If he harnesses that the right way, he can be successful. Is he ever going to be a guy who'll bang the ball off the left-field wall every day? I don't know. But has he made adjustments so that he's not getting himself out as often? Yes." Eckstein, older brother of Cardinals shortstop David Eckstein, tapes and stores every at-bat on his computer. Almost daily Ankiel seeks out his hitting coach for a look. "It motivates you to see what's behind his eyes," Eckstein says. "THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE" "Learning how to hit when you don't feel good is the biggest challenge," Ankiel says. "But when you're not seeing the ball very well, how do you handle it? When you do feel good, anybody can hit." Feeling good has long been a hurdle, regardless of role. Ankiel missed the 2002 season after suffering a sprain in spring training that led to elbow ligament replacement surgery. He was sidelined for all of last year after suffering a torn knee tendon in a spring training intrasquad game. He briefly landed on the disabled list last month after a collision on the field. Yet it is the complications beyond the physical that have made Ankiel a curiosity to some, a psychological study to others and, in blunt terms once used by Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan, an unwitting performer within "a freak show" attended by media "vultures." Ankiel now stands in the outfield because he came to detest what the pitching mound represented. "It's a thing of the past. It's gone. I've moved on," he says. Ankiel occasionally will discuss pitching with teammates or a coach, but the talk is fleeting. It became a relic within a painful part of his life that sprouted during the 2000 playoffs and only recently receded. "What we're talking about isn't hidden," Ankiel says. "It's about what I'm doing, not necessarily about what's happened before. The stuff before became annoying. I mean, come on. Let's move on. This is a new thing, and I'm happy with it." "He's got a chance," Maloney says. "He's got a heck of a chance." Given the places Ankiel has visited these last years, he will ask for nothing more. jstrauss@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8371"

6/22/2007 9:48:14 AM

^Great find. I still think he could have worked it out as a pitcher....he was only 21.

I just read on ESPN that we got Mike Maroth from the Tigers. It is still unknown what the Tigers get in return. He is 5-2 in 13 starts with a 5.06 ERA this year....maybe Duncan can work his magic. Also I read that we signed Tomo Okha off waivers earlier this month. Least they are trying. Anything has to be better than Wells/Reyes right now.

6/22/2007 2:32:43 PM

Kip Wells has to be the worst pitcher in the Majors.

13-3 what a way to start the 2nd half.

7/13/2007 10:54:41 PM

How about that fucktard Larussa not playing our boy in the allstar game? BRILLIANT

7/14/2007 12:22:22 AM

Well unless we really turn it on here in the 2nd half.....it's not really going to matter because there will be no playoffs.

But if Rolen/Edmonds start hitting and Carp and Mulder can come back I am still positive. Carpenter would take Wells spot and that would improve us 10 games better right there because we lose every start Wells makes. 3-12 is absurd with our team.

7/14/2007 8:48:12 AM

I heard that Mulder and Carp were doing well a few weeks ago...whats the latest on them coming back? Moulder might be garbage cause he hasnt pitched in 2 friggin years, but he has to be better than our current pitchers.

7/14/2007 10:51:34 AM

I keep reading that Carpenter could start within a week....Mulder I read that it could be another month or more. He hasn't been great when he has pitched, but when he is out there we at least have a chance. When Wells/Reyes start, we really have almost no chance.

7/14/2007 5:17:30 PM

Carp to undergo Tommy John surgery....out 10-15 months.

We are done.....let's start trading some old guys. Start with Juan Encarnacion and Aaron Miles.

[Edited on July 19, 2007 at 10:06 PM. Reason : Nice pickup with Maroth BTW 10 runs in 5 innings tonight ]

7/19/2007 10:03:28 PM

i remember when this thread meant something

7/19/2007 10:19:26 PM

^^ i'll come out of partial TWW retirement to say that I agree. clean house and move on for '08

7/19/2007 10:36:04 PM

I just saw that shit on baseball tonight...wonderful. Oh well...the thread can't die. We really do need to reload for 08 though.

7/19/2007 10:50:03 PM

BRING BACK BO HART!!!

7/19/2007 10:51:20 PM

signed

7/19/2007 10:58:37 PM

just got back from the game


w00t braves

7/19/2007 11:00:26 PM

suck my white ass


except i'm beginning to get used to losing...so whatever

7/19/2007 11:03:12 PM

i'll come out of partial TWW retirement to say that I agree. clean house and move on for '08, but i'd say clear it out a little higher up the line than just juan encarnacion

bye bye tony

hello joe girardi

[Edited on July 22, 2007 at 12:59 AM. Reason : first post in almost 7 months...wtf]

7/22/2007 12:59:29 AM

Braves dominate the World Champs once again

7/22/2007 1:01:35 AM

^Pretty good post for a Braves fan.....of course they wouldn't know what it is like to have POSTSEASON success.

P.S. look up the Cards/Braves playoff records and tell me once again how much the Braves dominate.

7/22/2007 8:15:59 AM

w000t Schumaker with the two-run bomb in the 10th

it's a long season fellas, we still have time

7/22/2007 11:15:13 PM

Glad I stayed up to watch the Braves dominate again.

Rolen needs to start hitting like that routinely.

7/23/2007 8:04:53 AM

Wow only 6 games back after winning 3/4 against the Brew Crew....the problem is I don't think the Brew Crew is the team to beat now. The Cubs have a solid 5-man rotation and we don't get Carp back now. If Mulder can come back and be solid that would be huge....anything would be better than Mike Maroth...what a shitty deal that was looking at it now.

Cards got Joel Piniero from the Red Sox today for a minor leaguer....La Russa should start him and kick Maroth to the curb. I like Piniero and still think he has decent stuff and is only 28. Plus he has never pitched in the NL so who knows. He was decent for Seattle and beats the hell out of Reyes/Wells/Maroth.

7/31/2007 6:36:33 PM

could Mike Marotherfucker suck any worse?

8/1/2007 10:49:59 PM

I think the Pirates are just that good

8/1/2007 11:51:50 PM

The game is already over and Maroth comes in and gives up 7 in less than 2 innings.

How did this guy ever make the Majors? His stuff isn't good, his control is terrible, and he has no confidence at all. What a waste of a trade....Piniero hopefully can at least be a .500 pitcher

8/2/2007 11:08:30 AM

Piniero....

We suck ass.

Mike Maroth is the worst player to ever make the Majors. I faced tougher pitching in slow-pitch softball.

8/4/2007 9:12:08 PM

Bump for only being 5.5 back and Ankiel hitting a dinger!

P.S. I take back what I said about Piniero, he was pretty damn good tonight. Hopefully he keeps it up.

8/10/2007 12:37:52 AM

what in the world is going on...are we actually in this thing?

8/15/2007 9:28:56 PM

Quote :

"phishnlou All American 12940 Posts user info edit post i remember when this thread meant something 7/19/2007 10:19:26 PM"

If the Cubs lose to the Reds again tonight, the Cards are 3.5 back of Milwaukee and 2 back of your great Cubs. Our worst season in 10 years and still might come back and win the division without Carpenter or Mulder. Amazing. Plus we are only 2 back in the loss column.

Pujols, Rolen, and Edmonds all homered tonight...great start by Piniero....maybe we gave up on this team too quickly.

8/15/2007 11:54:43 PM

w00t

only 3 games back...

8/26/2007 11:31:55 AM

Great game by Wainwright today...4-1 win over the Braves.

BrewCrew lost and they actually have 1 more loss than us but 2 more wins so they are technically 0.5 a game ahead of us. Marquis with a typical outing for the Cubs and they are losing as well. Things are really looking up.

8/26/2007 6:57:50 PM

tonight should be fun

Cubs v. Brewers, Cards v. Asstros


thank god for picture-in-picture

8/28/2007 9:19:25 AM