C70 At The Bat

Marking McGwire: Ump Show

As we’ve talked about all summer long, 20 years ago the baseball world was riveted by two individuals.  Other things were big, other things got attention, but by this time of the season, it was Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.  Each of their at bats could get a national look in.  If MLB Network had [...]

On the morning of July 15, in discussing the managerial move, I wrote this: Mike Shildt takes over, which is what the front office has been positioning him for as well.  I’d give pretty good odds that Shildt will keep the job after this season, but we’ll see what the club says when they have [...]

Shildt No Longer Interim

The Cards have announced a press conference for 4 PM to, according to sources, sign Mike Shildt up for the next three years.

Years ago, young men went out west searching for gold, riches, and glory beyond measure.  The 2018 Cardinals?  Yeah, they understand that. When you have a West Coast swing this late in the season, it doesn’t always bode that well for your chances.  Add to the time lag and different rhythms for your body the [...]

Marking McGwire: #54

Home run #: 54 Date: August 26 Opponent: Florida Marlins Location: Busch Stadium Pitcher: Justin Speier Score: 1-0 Inning: 8 Outs: 0 Runners on: 1 Distance: 509 feet End of day Sammy Sosa total: 52 End of day Ken Griffey Jr. total: 43 There wasn’t any thought of a pennant race when the Marlins came into Busch Stadium in August of 1998.  The [...]

Jack and DeJong

Derrick Goold started this.  Please direct all your complaints to him.  Last night’s game recap, inspired by John Mellencamp. Jack and DeJong A little ditty about Jack and DeJong Two American kids growing up in the heartland Jack he’s going to be a baseball star DeJong smashing home runs that go really far Suckin’ down [...]

Marking McGwire: #53

Home run #: 53 Date: August 23 Opponent: Pittsburgh Pirates Location: Three Rivers Stadium Pitcher: Ricardo Rincon Score: 2-4 Inning: 8 Outs: 2 Runners on: 0 Distance: 393 feet End of day Sammy Sosa total: 51 End of day Ken Griffey Jr. total: 42 “Do you want to know the terrifying truth or do you want to see me sock a few dingers?” [...]

By late August, everyone in the country was focused on the home run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.  There was a sense of excitement around the sport, something that it had been sorely missing since the 1994-95 strike had wiped out the World Series.  While Cal Ripken’s passing of Lou Gehrig‘s consecutive game [...]

Marking McGwire: #52

Home run #: 52 Date: August 22 Opponent: Pittsburgh Pirates Location: Three Rivers Stadium Pitcher: Francisco Cordova Score: 0-0 Inning: 1 Outs: 2 Runners on: 0 Distance: 477 feet End of day Sammy Sosa total: 49 End of day Ken Griffey Jr. total: 41 When I was growing up, I always thought that the big power hitters were supposed to hit fourth.  [...]

The late night games in Los Angeles make it difficult for this old body to watch very much and get up and write a post the next morning, so we’ll probably recap the LA series tomorrow or Friday.  However, with the Cardinals moving into the first wild card position and within 2.5 games of the [...]

Marking McGwire: #50, #51

Opponent: New York Mets Location: Shea Stadium End of day Sammy Sosa total: 48 End of day Ken Griffey Jr. total: 41 It seems very possible that the press conference in Chicago took a significant load off of Mark McGwire‘s back.  Realizing he could have fun with this historic run, he pounded 15 home runs in 21 days [...]

When last we got together, the Cardinals were riding an eight-game winning streak and were within striking distance of the wild card.  While they don’t have a lengthy winning streak anymore–actually, at this moment, they don’t have a winning streak–those playoff hopes are very much alive.  Let’s get into it! Thursday (5-4 loss versus Washington) [...]

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