I just a few notes on the Blues before previewing the baseball season a bit. First, their effort last night in Chicago was pathetic. If the game had gone exactly the same way, but was played in mid-December, I'd let it slide. But with six games left (now five) and the club is right in the playoff hunt in April for the first time since before the lockout, that's all that this team had? A 3-0 loss? I'm aware that Jeff Woywitka scored with two seconds left, but that's a shutout everywhere but on the stat sheet. The goal didn't change the way the team should look at that game and it certainly didn't change the standings. It should have been 6-0 or 7-0 with the way that the Blues played. That's what they deserved.

Chicago was coming off a 4-1 loss in Montreal the night before. They had to fly all the way home to the Windy City whereas the Blues were coming off two days of rest and wouldn't have enough time on the flight to listen to all of Blood Sex Sugar Magik (fairly long album, but still just a single album). The Blues should have ran the Blackhawks into the ground in the first period. Chicago is playing for seeding and home ice in the first round, but the Blues are playing just to get in. They should be a much more desperate team. They also should have the confidence with a 4-0-1 record (and the 1 came off of a horrible disallowed goal call) against Chicago for the season to come out hard. When a team knows they own another team, playing against them is just easier. In college, my club never lost to Mizzou in ultimate frisbee while I was in school. We had some close games from time to time. But we always came through, partially because we expected to win those games. Unlike the Blues however, we got after it against Mizzou. We'd lay out on defense to force turnovers and chase down discs that were 50-50. Chicago won nearly every 50-50 puck last night, so it's not a big surprise that they won in dominating fashion. 

Continue reading "Blues Rant After a Laid Egg in Chicago"

The Blues win over Detroit on Thursday would've been inspiring no matter how it happened. But the fact that David Backes scored four goals (or five depending on who you believe, since Backes wouldn't claim it) was amazing. Every time the Red Wings got close, Backes would respond. If St. Louis meets up with Detroit in the first round, this game could be enough to give them a real confidence boost after being dominated by the Wings during most of this season. Getting a point in Dallas on Saturday will help the Blues' chances as well, but they're back to needing some help. They are right with the Ducks and Predators when it comes to points, but they are still behind in the wins column, which serves as the first tie-breaker. Hopefully the Red Wings will remain in contention for the Presidents Trophy long enough that they won't be resting players when they host Nashville on Thursday.

Continue reading "MLB Season Preview and Blues Notes"

The Cardinals are off to a great start at 6-3. They had run off five consecutive wins and had a great chance on Tuesday night to make it six in a row, but they squandered a three-run lead, a two-run lead, and a great chance to retake the lead in the top of the ninth. The Cards had the bases loaded with just one out with two runs in, but Tony La Russa opted to pinch hit with Brendan Ryan instead of Ryan Ludwick. Ryan went on to fan at three pitches, only one of which was in the strike zone. Ankiel batted next and looked just as bad striking out. Ludwick never batted and St. Louis went on to lose 7-6 in 10 innings. La Russa's micro-managing has driven me crazy for years, but it's starting to be too much. If it was the sixth inning, I could see saving Ludwick for a critical situation later in the game. But this was the ninth. If Ludwick bats and even just manages a sac fly, the Cards would've taken the lead and been just three outs away from victory. If you have a huge weapon on the bench, you use it at the critical time, right? Well, La Russa doesn't seem to think that's the way to play it. He's always trying to save guys for situations that don't happen because he doesn't get there. He did the same thing in the 2007 All-Star game with the bases juiced and Albert Pujols on the bench. He chose to go with a first timer instead, who went on to make the final out of the game.

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The answer is “Yes.” The question was one posed by my friend Tyler after the Blues had clinched a playoff spot. If the Blues were swept out of the first round, would the fact that playoff hockey had returned to St. Louis be worth the Blues missing out on the top picks in this year’s draft like John Tavares and Victory Hedman? I told him to ask me again after the series was over, as I didn’t think we would get swept.

Now that the series is over and the Blues did get swept, I know that the answer is yes, it was definitely worth it. It didn’t feel like the Blues get swept. They were in every game of the series. They were just a goal down going to the third period in both road contests and tied at two going to the third in both home games. The atmosphere at the Scottrade Center was the most electric it has been since before the lockout.

Continue reading "Reflections on the Blues' season and a peak at the Cards"