Column Title Today

Could it have been more dandy? Sure, I enjoy freestyle rhyming just as much as any other South Side/8 Mile hoosier, but I feel the above title is especially fancy...

It's Getting Pretty Fucking Old

I have really enjoyed watching the Cardinals play this year. I still can't put a finger on it, but I know that my interest level has been reborn after fearing that it would never return after 2006 quenched my thirst for a World Championship.

These guys battle. They're fun to watch play the game the "right way." And, they seem to be in 90% of the games they play. That is rare in 2008 Major League Baseball.

However, sitting at the bar at F15teen yesterday afternoon and watching the Cardinals and Tigers, I honestly felt my mood get strangely angry as I watch---once again---the Cardinal bullpen piss one away.

Seriously, how many fucking times in one week can you give up a bases loaded walk?

The thing that makes the bullpen's recent implosion so frustrating is that the 2008 Cardinal bullpen was supposed to be the one part of the team that was stable going into the season. Instead, the bullpen has taken a Cardinal road trip that really should be 6-0---and that's not bullshit; they really should be 6-0 versus the last two American League Champions---and turned it into 3-3.

The Cardinals keep giving up leads late and pissing games away, and it seems to me to be much moreso than recent seasons.

Courtesy of "ChaCha 67-68" on STLToday.com's Bernie's Pressbox, here's a list of the Cardinals' Seventeen blown games this year that they were tied or led going into the 7th, 8th, or 9th innings:

1. April 2 - Cards lead 1-0 into the 8th inning versus Colorado, but Franklin blows the game. Cards lose 2-1

2. April 7 - Cards rally to tie the game at Houston, but the bullpen gives up the game-winning home run to Tejada.

3. April 17 - Cards lead 3-0 to 8th. But, the bullpen blows the lead, and the Cardinals wind up losing in 10 innings.

4. April 22 - Cards rally late to tie Milwaukee. Bullpen loses in extra innings.

5. April 25 - Cards lead 2-0 in 9th behind Looper. Isringhausen blows the lead and the game. Astros win 3-2.

6. May 7 - Cards lead 3-0 into bottom of the 8th at Colorado. Isringhausen blows another one, and the Cardinals lose to the Rockies. 

7. May 9 - Cards Lead into 9th at Milwaukee, but in the bottom of the 9th, the Brewers rally with one out and win the game 3-2 in another Isringhausen blown save. 

8. May 15 - Cards lead 5-1 in 5th versus Pittsburgh and lead 5-4 into the 8th. Isringhausen blows another save opportunity...this time in a crucial 8th inning role. Other relievers let the ship sink even further as the Pirates score 9 in the last 2 innings.

9. May 25 - Cards lose in 10 in Los Angeles. Mike Parisi blows the game as the Dodgers come back to win in 10 and avoid the sweep. 

10. June 2 - This one is on Adam Wainwright, but it's still another 8th inning loss. The Cardinals lead 4-0 with two out in 7th, but Wainwright gives up a grand slam, and they lose it in the 8th at Pittsburgh. 

11. June 5th - Joe Mather hits the go-ahead home run in the 9th after a furious comeback in the second game of a doubleheader at Washington, but Franklin blows it by getting nobody out in bottom of 9th. 

12. June 12 - The Cardinals rally in Cincinnati to the game in the 7th inning. But, the bullpen gives up 4 runs, and the Cardinals lose it 6-2.

13. June 17-  The Cardinals are in a 1-1 tie with Kansas City, but lose it in the 8th as Ron Villone gives up a home run. Royals win 2-1.

14. June 18 - The very next night, the Cardinals lead 2-1 with 5 outs to go. Kyle McClellan gives up 2 home runs to the Royals. The Cardinals lose 3-2.

15. June 22 - The Cardinals lead 2-1 in Boston looking for sweep, but Rick Ankiel falls down attempting to catch a fly ball. The Red Sox homer off of Parisi in extra innings as the Cardinals lose another game they had in the bag in the late innings.

16. June 25 - The Cardinals take leads in the 7th and 8th innings, but they blow the lead both times, and then they blow the whole game with a walk-off loss at Detroit in the bottom of the 9th.

17. June 26 - The Cardinals rally to take a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the 9th against the Tigers, but Ryan Franklin gives up a game-tying home run to Gary Sheffield, and Mike Parisi walks in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th.

Just imagine if the Cardinals would have won half of those games that they wound up losing late. They'd have the best record in baseball by nearly 4 games. I don't know what the solution is, but it speaks to the caliber of the club and the resilience of its players that they've managed to battle through the bullshit listed above.

The Debut of Cougars Next Door Monday

It's coming. And, it's coming this Monday.

After a variety of columnists either decided against writing for the site or just flat-out disappeared after writing a couple of times, I'm on a bad losing streak here lately...so I wanted to actually see a picture of one of our Cougars Next Door before confidently promoting the debut of the section Monday June 30th.

I have now seen...and so I now believe.

And, I have a pretty good feeling that you will enjoy what you see from our first Cougar Next Door Monday morning.

World Series of Poker Stuff

I couldn't be more sincere when I say I'm flattered/humbled (is that possible for someone as arrogant as me?) by the number of emails congratulating me for qualifying for the World Series of Poker.

I knew there was a large amount of interest from some hardcore fans of the game just based on seeing how many times the poker columns have gotten read, but man...I'm blown away by how many people are thrilled and actually pulling for me to have some form of success out in Las Vegas next week.

To use a wrestling term, usually I'm the heel (the bad guy), and now there are people pulling for me, making me the face (the good guy). It's unfamiliar territory, and I actually feel some pressure to perform.

Who fucking knows what will happen? I write the same thing to everyone who emails...and I say the same thing to everyone who talks about it: I just want to play the game that got me there in the first place. If I do that and my pocket aces lose out to some random who played KingJack offsuit like he had pocket aces, then so be it. That's part of the game.

Either way, I'm looking forward to it, and it still seems surreal.

To bring those of you interested in the World Series of Poker experience and the ensuing evenings of fun and games in Las Vegas next week, I'm happy to let you know that Producer Joe and Ryan "Big Grease" Pickett will be making the trip with me, and they'll be updating the goings-on here on insideSTL.com, and they'll be taking pictures at the WSOP...and at the Hard Rock Hotel pool.

I'm sure Producer Joe will handle his liquor on his first trip to Las Vegas quite well.

It all starts next Wednesday...and hopefully it lasts much longer than next Thursday.

What do you think about the Cardinals' stats presented above? The Cougars information? Or the trip to the WSOP? Log-in and post your comments below, or email me at tmckernan@insidestl.com.