hey now, you’re an all-star

The All-Star Break is coming! It will be here before Mulder and Clement… er… I mean.. before you know it. Yeah. As you may be aware, the rosters are mostly fan-selected and tend to be packed with players from densely populated, prominent areas [blatantly favored by ESPN/FOX] like New York and Boston. Seeing as the ASG will be played in Yankee Stadium, I’m certain this year will be no different; I propose that we counteract these fans and get some of our boys on the roster.

I’m not saying the Cardinals need to make up the starting nine; Cesar Izturis has no business being an All-Star selection unless all other shortstops in the league are mysteriously abducted by aliens. However, I think Yadi has always been overlooked for catcher voting not only for the All-Star team but also for Gold Gloves; as far as I’m concerned, this needs to be rectified. Then there’s this other kid on the team who kind of made a big splash on his first and second major league debuts… I think an All-Star selection would be fitting for him.

Rickrolling the Mets as retribution for ballot box stuffing (at least in my mind) went lovely except for the fact that they didn’t continue the song all year, so we’ll have to settle for stuffing the All-Star ballot box to show the northeasterners who’s boss. You can go down to the stadium to snatch all of their ballots and literally stuff the ballot box, but that 1) kills trees and 2) requires a lot of effort. If you’re a mouse-clicking voter, you can legally vote 25 times per email address. You can vote every day if you are so behooved. You can also check out this handy site if you need another email address.

You do whatever, but part of my Yadi-Ankiel voting campaign is also to vote for guys who are worthy but unlikely to make the team. So I wouldn’t vote for Jose Vidro or David Ortiz as AL DH, but Garret Anderson might get some of my 25 votes. Of course, I’ll still vote for Ickle Davey Eckstein for AL SS.

no title needed

What a rare treasure.

He may be sharp as usual, but I can tell from his voice his health is fading (he’s pushing 90, wtf do you expect?) and how sad the day will be when Stan is no longer with us. In the meantime, we’ll honor him and appreciate him for as long as he’s with us… and then some.

Happy Stan Musial Day, everybody.

free hugs

Izzy has my care & concern.

If I saw him in the grocery store, I think I’d have to hug him (as opposed to say, kicking him in the shins). He sounds extremely desperate, unique to any other time I have ever heard him speak about his performance or condition. I’m glad that Paletta found enough evidence to disable him for a few days and get him off the roster.

Otherwise, the options as I see them are 1) continue as-is: bad idea for obvious reasons or 2) DFA: ill-advised, for I’m sure another team would claim him. Worse closers than Jason Isringhausen not only exist but are paid handsomely. As poorly as he has been pitching lately, I feel like you don’t just give up on a guy nor do you send a guy to the gallows on a regular basis when he has consistently put out everything he has to offer and resultingly is the franchise save leader (eight away from 300 saves).

If Izzy wasn’t able to obtain a disability diagnosis, I would have been loudly screaming for a psychologist visit. Of course, it probably would have been like screaming in an anechoic chamber [aside, I think Liam would be the only one who wouldn't need to google that term], but that’s never stopped any of us from complaining about medical practices. [See: Mark Mulder's shoulder, Carpenter's elbow.] Zach Greinke of the Royals was placed on the DL officially for “personal reasons” a couple spring trainings ago; later, it came out that he had left spring training because of an anxiety disorder (social, to be specific). I suspect Rick Ankiel would have had a legitimate claim for similar treatment post-2000 postseason. And that is all we will speak of that even though we no longer have to weep at his downfall, for he is reborn as a damn fine centerfielder [even if he regrettably no longer wears the high socks].

That said, there’s nothing in the world wrong with having a psychological disorder… as long as you get treatment. Psychological issues carry such a stigma in our culture thanks to crazy ladies who drown their kids, pathological men who kill for sport, and suicidal students who tote guns to campus. Unfortunately “Lady Keeps Shit Together, Thanks Pharmaceutical Industry” never makes the six o’ clock news. The worst is generally suspected in someone who has a psych disorder, but with therapy and possibly medication, the impact of psych disorders can be reduced to a very manageable, normal to near-normal level.

I won’t lie, I’ve had my own trouble with psychological issues as I’ve progressed through school. So has half my department, and I suspect the other half isn’t being honest with themselves about their issues. Some events just take a toll on you and life is hard to handle on your own. It’s ok, it happens, don’t feel ashamed, just get treatment posthaste. I did, because I believe in Maslow’s hierarchy – basic needs must be satisfied in order to satisfy higher-level needs and function at a higher level.

What this means in terms of Izzy, if indeed he has some psychological issues now, [I'll keep away from the term disorder because 1) I don't diagnose psych disorders, I only refer and 2) I definitely don't have complete enough information to diagnose even if I were licensed for it] which I would suspect, seriously how would you not after recent events?, gratuitous comma, is that he has more important personal things to attend to before he can think about pitching which are completely independent of physical (hip/hand) health.

I really don’t fucking care if the infected hand is merely the public reason for getting Izzy out & away from here, as long as he’s getting the treatment he needs to get better. Kind of like the same thing with Spiezio: the guy has bigger things to take care of than baseball even though what we see is the impact that the problem has upon baseball.

I only write about this because in Izzy’s words I sense desperation that I’ve never before detected and that is completely out of character for him. The guy was willing to be DFA’d and sent to the minors just to get out of the current situation. He asked out of the closer role. That’s simply not the competitive, driven Izzy we know and love (and some boo, boo on them). Something has changed in him, something is not the same.

Clearly, Izzy needs some time off. Who knows how long? I’ll not claim to know. But I have reason to believe that he will fight to return and thus I anticipate seeing him back on the mound.

temper temper

Oh, Yadi. Nobody can blame you for wanting to make sure your pitcher is getting the same treatment on ball and strike calls, but where has your normally cool demeanor gone? Backe tosses one at your pretty face after picking a fight with your BFF Albert, ok, I’d probably get bent out of shape over that one too. But stripping in front of the home plate ump?? Don’t get me wrong, a good part of me wanted to scream “TAKE OFF YOUR TOP” and you had already been ejected (at that point, why not get your money’s worth?), but you were one pissed-off puertoricano last night.

In Yadi’s defense, the ump did get all in his business first. To me, it looks like our Holy Moli made a comment while in the crouch position (not uncommon for Yadi or any other catcher in the league) and it’s pretty obvious that whatever was said, Paul Schrieber took exception to. Blue abruptly turned and walked directly in front of Yadi, got in his space and began “discussing” an unknown topic (I’m going to theorize that it involved Momma Molina or Yadi’s catching abilities), but I’m sure it involved repetitious use of one of Yadi’s favorite phrases, “fooken booshee”. Not too long later, Yadi gets the heave-ho and continues to “discuss” with Schrieber.

Tony comes out and at this point, I’m just waiting for him to get ejected too. Ump has a short fuse tonight and it’s not taking too much to set him off; strike one was probably coming out of the dugout, strike two was probably arguing for a player just ejected. Watching Tony on replay, he wasn’t as animated and he seemed much more calm than, say, Lou Piniella arguing another call, but Tony also didn’t back down. While this is going on, Yadi meticulously removes each piece of his catcher’s gear, nonmaliciously tossing it at the feet of Blue. I say nonmaliciously because we’re all aware of the cannon that is Yadi’s right arm; if Yadi had meant to hurt the guy, he would have been knocked over long ago. Reportedly, “You catch” is lip-readable on Yadi. Eventually, Tony gets strike three and he’s out as well. Oquendo has to escort Yadi to the dugout and take over the bench for the remainder of the evening.

Conspicuously, I didn’t catch quotes form the players, so I’m not sure what the rest of the team thought, but Wainer appreciated the sentiment.

“That was awesome,” Wainwright said. “If you’re going to get tossed, you might as well make it a good one.”

Update: Duncan didn’t entirely mind it either.

“Well, I thought it was a pretty good show,” said pitching coach Dave Duncan, a former major-league catcher. “I think Yadi at that point was pretty frustrated. And probably felt there should have been communication, not ejection.”

Also, video from the Brewers is available on mlb.com Turns out I almost got my wish; Yadi almost took off his top while Oquendo was walking him to the dugout. /Update

Here’s to hoping the Cards fire it up against the Pirates for the next few days. If you’re going to the stadium, don’t forget to remind Adam LaRoche of his batting average. If you’re feeling particularly cruel (and you know Buzz Bissinger would like for us to be) you could offer him some Strattera so maybe he can pay attention in the batter’s box and raise said average.

Also, Jim Edmonds as a Cubbie? Ugh. I’m not sure what would disgust me more: seeing him in blue pinstripes or seeing the bleacher bums who have previously unmercifully heckled him turn and embrace him. It’s bad enough that he couldn’t finish his career with us, but to finish with the division rivals? Hell, why don’t we let Houston have him for a few games too? I was all prepared to show up at the stadium and participate in the biggest standing ovation ever during his first plate appearance, but I have seriously mixed emotions about doing that if he’s going to be a Cub. However, I guess he already has his ring so it’s not like he needs to end his career playing for a World Series contender or anything.

are you thinking what i’m thinking

I don’t think Rick Ankiel can legally wear long-sleeved shirts in Missouri any longer except when carrying a concealed weapon permit.

Really? Are you sure you can’t pitch? Even when the bullpen needs a rest, just for kicks ‘n’ grins? What if we just pretend that home plate is third base and you’re just standing on that damn hill at Minute Maid Park? Seriously, throwing out the speediest guy in the majors as he tries to advance to third on a sac fly? And then, as if he was off having some cerveza while Willy Taveras was nailed, Omar Quintanilla thinks it would be a good idea to stretch a double into a triple. Wrong-O. I think those plays deserve a name; The Catch is already taken and the only word that comes to mind when I watch replays is “dumbasses”. Do with that what you will.

I think we can add “Run on Rick Ankiel, even if you hit it to the warning track” to the list of Things That Are Ill-Advised When Playing the St. Louis Cardinals, somewhere around “Run on Yadi, ever” and “Upset Albert prior to plate appearance”.