High Sock Sunday

Cole Claybourn discusses Oscar Taveras’ tragic death with ESPN Evansville 105.3

by Cole Claybourn on October 28, 2014

I spoke with ESPN Evansville 105.3 on Monday about life, career and tragic death of Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras. I did my best to describe what he meant to the Cardinals organization and how they’ll move forward without him. Thanks for listening. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/174275602″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] Follow Cole Claybourn @HighSock_Sunday or [...]

Transcript: Cardinals GM John Mozeliak’s conference call on Oscar Taveras’ death

by Cole Claybourn on October 27, 2014

Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak is in the Dominican Republic with manager Mike Matheny to attend the funeral services for 22-year-old rookie Oscar Taveras, who tragically passed away Sunday as a result of a car accident. Mozeliak took time on Monday evening to speak with media members on a conference call. Below is a transcript [...]

We can all learn from Oscar Taveras

by Cole Claybourn on October 27, 2014

When Oscar Taveras didn’t get called upon to start Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, it all but solidified the fact that the talented rookie’s role in the 2014 postseason would be reduced to pinch hitting and late-game replacements. It wasn’t much of a surprise because, after all, it was fellow rookie outfielder [...]

Seth Maness’ girlfriend logs on to his Twitter account, does some stupid things

by Cole Claybourn on October 14, 2014

You know the old saying. Never let your girlfriend have access to your Twitter account. Seth Maness did not follow that rule and learned the hard way Tuesday night. Just minutes after Randy Choate’s throwing error led to a 5-4 extra innings win to put the Giants up 2-1 in the NLCS, a few peculiar [...]

Kapler hopes Fox Sports 1 sabermetric broadcast during NLCS allows viewers to engage, learn

by Cole Claybourn on October 10, 2014

The interest in advanced metrics in baseball statistical analysis has reached such high levels that Fox Sports 1 is implementing it in the way it broadcasts playoff baseball this season. Game 1 of the National League Championship Series between the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals will air on FOX at 7 p.m. [...]

No time for petty drama during the playoffs

by Cole Claybourn on October 4, 2014

Look at the picture above. It’s stupid. And unnecessary. All of it. First, some context. In case you missed it, which you probably didn’t if you’re reading this website, Yadier Molina and Adrian Gonzalez got into a pretty heated discussion last night after Adam Wainwright hit Yasiel Puig with a 90 mph pitch in a [...]

Matheny got it right with NLDS rotation

by Cole Claybourn on October 1, 2014

The July 31 trade that sent Joe Kelly and Allen Craig to the Boston Red Sox for John Lackey will be looked back on as the likely catalyst to helped propel the St. Louis Cardinals over the proverbial hill they seemingly couldn’t climb over the first half of the season. But that trade ended up [...]

Confidence the key for Grichuk’s success this time in St. Louis

by Cole Claybourn on September 20, 2014

Randal Grichuk‘s first two stints in the Major Leagues weren’t exactly what he envisioned they’d be. The talented young outfielder, who came to St. Louis in the David Freese–Peter Bourjos trade on Nov. 22 of 2013, made his debut on April 28 and struggled in his first nine games. He batted just .143 in 22 [...]

August project: High Sock Sunday’s UCB lineup

by Cole Claybourn on August 22, 2014

For our August UCB Project, we’ve been tasked with fielding a baseball-like roster of our fellow bloggers. The idea is to take baseball qualities and translate them to blogging. My roster is based on my fellow blogger’s writing as well as their personalities on Twitter. If you’re not picked, don’t worry, that doesn’t mean you’re Pete [...]

Andy Benes feeling at home in St. Louis

by Cole Claybourn on August 19, 2014

Once Andy Benes signed with the St. Louis Cardinals prior to the 1996 season, it was never his intention to leave. The Evansville, Ind., native signed a five-year, $30 million extension with the Cardinals following the 1997 season, only to have it denied by Major League Baseball’s Player Relations Committee because it came after the deadline [...]

Full transcript: Joe Buck’s comments on Oscar Taveras

by Cole Claybourn on August 6, 2014

Fox Sports announcer Joe Buck caused quite a stir this weekend with some comments he made about Cardinals outfield prospect Oscar Taveras in the wake of a trade that send outfielder Allen Craig and pitcher Joe Kelly to the Boston Red Sox for pitcher John Lackey. In the interest of providing context and accuracy, I [...]

Trying to make sense of the Joe Buck-Oscar Taveras comments

by Cole Claybourn on August 4, 2014

Oscar Taveras is a spoiled, entitled baseball player getting preferential treatment by the organization’s front office, and the players aren’t happy. Or so we’ve been told to believe. Fox Sports broadcaster Joe Buck, who has a ton of obvious connections to the St. Louis Cardinals, made a few peculiar remarks during Saturday’s Red Sox-Yankees broadcast. [...]