Quick Hits
- I hope that what is taking place with the Cardinals lately is somehow a "good thing," because they jacked around in September 2006, too. But, unlike September 2006, I fear this is going to carry over into October. On paper, I think this is the best team in the National League. But, the results over the last 16 games have been really horrific. The Cardinals are 6-10 in those contests, and they've scored a total of 
59 runs, which is an average of less than 3.75 runs per game. That's rough, and it's even rougher when you consider that the run total of 59 contains two games---one against the Marlins and one against the Astros---in which they scored 11 in each. Those two tallies distort the real run production as of late...which is closer to an average of 2.5 runs per game.
- Yeah...I know that with the exception of homefield advantage, the Cardinals have little incentive to beat the Reds in front of 35,000 empty seats, but Joel Pineiro's September should give pause for those---which used to include me---that believe the Cardinals have the most dangerous top three starters in the postseason. Pineiro's September has looked nothing like his May, June, and July. Pineiro had 16 starts combined in those three months. And, he walked a grand total of 9 in that stretch. His ERA's for those months were, respectively, 3.92, 2.65, and 1.22. In the month of September, Pineiro has walked 8 (one less than he did for those three months of May, June, and July), and he has a 4.93 ERA. Both Pineiro's and Ryan Franklin's late season "coming back to earth" performances have to be a concern entering next week's NLDS.
- I wish I could feel like this poster from STLToday.com's Cards Talk Forum:
"The level of dedication in the playoffs will be much greater. This team has shown they can play at an elite level under pressure. Our hot streak in August started when we were 1 game behind the Cubs in the NL Central standings. Right now players are more relaxed and are probably working on some things so that when the playoffs 
arrive they can be completely ready for the games that really count.
I'm confident we'll go far in the playoffs."
- insideSTL.com is hosting a poker tournament Sunday October 18th at Harrah's. The buy-in is $130. We have 100 spots available, and a large portion of the field is already filled. This is the start of a five event league, but you don't have to play in all five events if you cannot or do not want to. However, if you do play in all five events, you are automatically entered into our final tournament in which first and second place receive buy-ins to the World Series of Poker Circuit Event's Main Event next April at Harrah's...along with close to $4,000 in cash.
Here's a breakdown of the payouts for October 18th at noon at Harrah's with a field of 100 players:
1st Place- $1400
2nd Place- $850
3rd Place- $600
4th Place- $500
5th Place- $400
6th Place- $350
7th Place- $300
8th Place- $250
9th Place- $200
10th Place- $150
If you're interested in playing, let your poker degenerate friends know and email me at tmckernan@insidestl.com. We filled up our event in June easily, and we anticipate filling this one up as well.
- It looks like this weekend is going to be relatively slow around these parts, and so with the fall weather, Anna-Marie and I were thinking about doing a road trip to a nearby city. I posted this on Facebook and Twitter...and I'll post it here as well: what would your suggestions be? I've received recommendations for Chicago, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Memphis, Nashville, and Louisville. We were just in Chicago for U2 a couple of weeks ago, but we're open to any of them. Knowledge and suggestions are welcome.
Log-in to post your comments, or you can email me at tmckernan@insidestl.com.
I'm not worried at all about what's happening now. This team has shown that it's a completely different group of guys when it's under pressure.