Stlog

Happy Birthday to Tru!

2008-05-08 17:37:27

In the world of biological impossibility, Harry S. Truman would be 124 years old today. He was also the first -- and remains the only -- president from the great state of Missouri. In celebration, some government offices, like the DMV, have shut down for the day.

Attababy, Harry, give 'em hell in Heaven!

It's true that Truman belongs more to the western half of the state -- he spent most of his life in and around Independence -- and if St. Louis were claiming a hometown president by proximity, we might do better to go with Abraham Lincoln; Springfield, Illinois is only 90 miles from here as the crow flies. But that Mississippi River makes all the difference. (Truman, incidentally, was the second president born west of the big river, and given that Herbert Hoover was the first, he's the first worth mentioning.)

Besides, Harry Truman was pretty damn cool.

]]> For a complete catalogue of his coolness, read David McCullough's Truman, probably the definitive work on the man. (Imagine how much headway we could make if all Missourians had the day off.) Despite its 900 pages, it's a terrific read, but since it weighs in at about five pounds, those of you with weaker arms can check out the highlights here, at the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum.

Among them:

Truman's withering putdown of a U.S. Army officer who volunteered to procure him some female companionship during the Potsdam Conference in 1945: "Listen, son, I married my sweetheart. She doesn't run around on me and I don't run around on her and I want that understood. Don't ever mention that kind of stuff to me again."

Truman's claim that, had he persisted with his piano lessons, he would have ended up as a piano player in a whorehouse.

His threat to give a black eye to the Washington Post music critic who wrote an unfavorable review of a concert given by his daughter Margaret.

The guiding principle: "The buck stops here."

-Aimee Levitt

Cards Blog: Mozeliak vs. Mulder

2008-05-08 15:02:32

I was listening to Kevin Wheeler on KMOX last night on the drive home and caught his conversation with first-year Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak. After some chitchat about the team's early-season run of great play -- and great plays, like Pujols' Monday-night mad dash and Ankiel's phenomenal-cannon heroics on Tuesday -- Wheeler asked Mozeliak to comment on the latest news about Mark Mulder, the oft-injured lefty whose recovery from recent shoulder surgery took a detour yesterday after he was examined by team doctor George Paletta.

I wasn't recording or taking notes -- I was driving -- so I didn't get it down verbatim, but the gist of Mozeliak's response was this: The decision to sideline Mulder for at least a week owing to what was described as a mild strain of the rotator cuff was the right thing to do for the team and, Mozeliak stressed several times, for Mulder. ]]>

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I was struck by those remarks because I'd read a story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch earlier in the week about Mulder's last rehab start on Monday, in which he pitched six crappy innings for the Triple A Memphis Redbirds. That story was labeled a "special to the Post-Dispatch" and was written by Jim Masilak, the daily Memphis Commerical Appeal's beat reporter for the Cards top farm team.

Masilak (yes, that's Masilak, not to be confused with Mozeliak) noted that while the Redbirds had held the opposing Colorado Springs Sky Sox to an aggregate eight runs over the previous three games, Mulder was socked for seven runs in six innings. In his previous start last Wednesday, Mulder had done even worse, giving up nine runs and failing to last four innings.

Mozeliak was in Memphis to watch Monday night's game in person. Masilak characterized the Cards GM as "decidedly unimpressed" with Mulder, who's attempting to come back after undergoing surgery last September to repair his left labrum and rotator cuff.

Masilak quotes Mozeliak as saying about the outing, "...I feel that at times [Mulder's pitching] lacked effort -- or intensity may be the right word," Mozeliak said. "There's still some work to be done." The story ends with this from Masilak:

"Underwhelmed by what he saw Monday, Mozeliak will be looking for something else [in Mulder's next outing].
"'I hope he turns it up a notch,' he said."

Why would this disturb me? Well, Cardinals' management does not have a good track record in recent years when it comes to dealing with injured and rehabbing players. Scott Rolen pops to mind; the souring of the All-Star's relationship with manager Tony La Russa was brought on in large part by the manner in which the ballclub dealt with the diagnosis and treatment of the third baseman's ailing shoulder. I've cringed at the thought of being in Rolen's place, or that of closer Jason Isringhausen -- who preserved his good rapport with La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan despite playing through tremendous pain before undergoing hip surgery -- as the team and its medical brain trust gambled with my long-term health.

Of course, there has always been, and probably always will be, a built-in tension that goes along with an athlete playing through pain. How much pain is "normal"? What risks does a player take if he discloses to his bosses that he's in pain? How long till he's branded a complainer, or worse?

(Remember J.D. Drew?)

If you want to refresh your memory regarding Mulder's downward trajectory and the way Cards management dealt with it, this 2006 post from Larry Borowsky at his blog Viva El Birdos, provides a handy one-stop shop.

Mozeliak is in his first season as GM, filling the position that for the past decade had been occupied by Walt Jocketty, who's now with Cincinnati. For a time, Jocketty, who was fired after last season, was hailed as a genius for his trading prowess. But praise turned to skepticism, skepticism to doubt and doubt to disdain as Jocketty's bartered ballplayers -- Mark McGwire, Rolen, Jim Edmonds calcified, and the prospects he traded away -- pitcher Danny Haren perhaps foremost among them -- achieved stardom wearing other teams' colors.

(Haren, traded by the Cardinals to the Oakland A's after the 2004 campaign in exchange for (wait for it...) Mark Mulder, pitched his way to the top of the A's rotation, then was dealt to the Arizona Diamondbacks this past winter. So far this year he's 4-1 with a 3.12 ERA in seven starts.)

Mozeliak, though a protégé of Jocketty, has been cementing a reputation as a champion of younger players and a savvy manager of the scouting, draft and farm systems. (It's widely believed that starting pitcher Anthony Reyes, at many times openly disdained by La Russa and Duncan, made the opening-day roster over the objections of those two and at the insistence of Mozeliak.)

As far as the Cardinals and their fans are concerned, that's all to the good. But if you ask me, it doesn't change the fact that Mark Mulder has been dealt a bad hand. (Some sounded the death knell a long time ago) -- and that the last thing he needs is having his boss carping about his "intensity."

-Tom Finkel

Cards Blog: A Nasty Bullpen Pattern Emerges

2008-05-08 09:35:53

So far this year, we've seen the Cardinals win games in a lot of different ways. We've seen great starting performances carry the day, despite little offense. We've seen mediocre starting performances get bailed out by solid offensive contributions. We've even seen games in which the bullpen, coming into the game much earlier than you would hope, has held the opponent's offense down, while the Cards' bats creep slowly back into it.

On the other hand, we've really only seen one type of loss. It's a pretty recognizable -- and frustrating -- pattern.

Often when the Cardinals lose, it goes occurs like this:

]]> We get a solid starting pitching performance, coupled with an offense that puts a ton of runners on base, but struggles to bring them in. We see the opposing team hanging around, staying close, and we all begin to get a little nervous, begin to squirm in our seats a bit, as we realize it's looking like one of those nights. The other team just hangs around and hangs around, staying close; the Cards can never quite score that big blow to just put the game away. The left-on-base numbers begin to pile up; six, eight, ten runners left on. Then, finally, the opponents' offense finally breaks through in the late innings, handing the Cardinals the loss, and leaving us all to bemoan all of the wasted opportunities.

What did we see last night? Ten men left on base. A seven inning shutout performance by the ace of the staff, Adam Wainwright. And a loss.

There was plenty of blame to go around last night, with a pretty fair portion of it falling on the broad shoulders of Albert Pujols. Not only did Pujols strand six runners on his own, he failed to catch a foul popup in the eighth inning that would have stopped the bleeding and preserved the lead. You know what, though? As tough a night as it was for Albert, he's carried the team through enough stretches that it's awfully tough to lay too much at his feet. He's certainly entitled to a down game every now and again.

No, for me, the bullpen is what we need to be looking at here. Very, very closely.

Jason Isringhausen blew his fourth save of the year in fifteen tries. For a team with no more margin for error than this particular team has, a 70 percent save rate just isn't going to get it done. Izzy had pitched very well his last couple of outings, going strictly with his fast ball and curve, ditching his signature cutter altogether. Last night, though, we saw the return of the cutter, and a return of the problems we've seen all too often this season from Izzy. Even aside from that pitch, though, Isringhausen didn't look to have much in the tank last night. His velocity was just fine, but the ball was dead straight. In fact, Izzy didn't generate a single swing-and-miss the entire time he was in there. You want proof his stuff was flat? There it is. Not one swing-and-miss.

The problem began even earlier than Izzy's entrance into the game, though. Kyle McClellan, who's been largely brilliant this year, entered the game and recorded only one out while giving up a single and a triple. Randy Flores induced a pop out off the bat of Todd Helton, but then couldn't put away Garrett Atkins after Pujols missed his popup, and ended up walking him. Izzy then entered the game, and the rest, as they say, is history.

But why was K-Mac given such a quick hook? The single he allowed was a bloop shot; not good contact at all. The triple, off the bat of Matt Holliday, was hit well, yes, but if Skip Schumaker had been positioned in a normal spot, it's probably an out. Instead, Schumaker was all the way over, nearly in center, and the result was a runner on third, one run in, one out situation that snowballed in a hurry. I can't blame LaRussa for positioning Schumaker where he had him, because I don't know if there was a reason for playing him there, and if there was, how good a reason it may have been.

I can, however, fault LaRussa for giving McClellan the quick hook, when he wasn't getting absolutely knocked around. Your main setup man, Ryan Franklin, is unavailable, (and regressing like crazy) your other primary setup guy, Russ Springer, seems to be mysteriously unable to pitch properly since coming back from an injury he claims ''wasn't a big deal,'' and your closer is looking more and more as if he needs extra time off between appearances. Why not let the kid try to get out of the jam? McClellan has, arguably, the best stuff of any pitcher in the bullpen right now. He's probably the most capable reliever you have of striking out a key batter and minimizing the damage. Instead, in comes Flores, (who did an adequate job) and then, when he can't quite finish off the job, we get to see Isringhausen.

I don't know if Izzy is hurt again, or if age is catching up with him, or if his mechanics are just making it impossible to throw a proper cutter at the moment. For the moment, though, it doesn't appear as if he's going to be able to take the ball every other day and be effective. Some sort of backup plan is needed.

One of the biggest problems in this relief corps right now is Russ Springer. He's been awful since coming back from the nerve injury. If he's still hurt, then he needs to go back on the disabled list until he's truly physically right. If he's healthy, well, that's a much more worrisome prospect, because if there's no real reason for him to have lost his stuff so dramatically, then I'm not sure what to do with him. Either way, I think the best plan of action right now would be to DL Springer immediately, and let him see if he can't get himself right. Tony obviously doesn't trust him at the moment, and I can't say I blame him. Springer is supposed to be the second setup man on this team. He's not, and he's hurting the team by being in the pen even while not able to perform.

Second, consider DL-ing Isringhausen as well. Maybe you can't do both he and Springer at the same time, but consider it. Izzy is struggling mightily right now, and this team can't afford to take many more losses like the one last night. It's simply not a good enough team to give away games. If Izzy's hurt, try to get him healthy. If he just can't find his cutter, give him a chance to find it. If he still can't find it, just tell him to stop throwing the fucking thing. If he just can't take the ball as often as you need him to anymore, then it's time to begin the transition process to a new closer.

Meanwhile, in Memphis...
Down in Memphis, the Cardinals have three short relievers, by the names of Jason Motte, Chris Perez, and Mark Worrell. All three have been dynamite so far this season; all three are late game, short relief pitchers. However, they toil in the hinterlands, while we see the major league ‘pen support pitchers who aren't trusted to get the job done right now, pitchers who don't look like the same guy from day to day, and a lifetime starter, in Parisi, who isn't at all conditioned to try and throw on the every other day schedule of the relief pitcher. All three of those Triple A pitchers would serve to immediately shore up the back end of the bullpen, while the Cards try to sort out what's going to happen going forward. All three have their warts, yes, from Perez's iffy control, to Motte's raw secondary stuff, to Worrell's vulnerability to lefties. But all three would serve to significantly shore up what is fast becoming a major weakness of the 2008 Cardinals.

What I think needs to happen is this:
Springer to the DL, one of the three AAA pitchers brought up to replace him. Worrell is probably the closest to Springer's actual statistical profile, but I think one of the other two would be a better choice.

Izzy stays in the bullpen, but receives extra time in between starts, as he attempts to rediscover his lost stuff. At the very least, we get an idea of whether or not extra rest will help him. The new guy, Perez or Motte, shares the closing duties, with Franklin staying in his customary eighth inning role. You get a nice apprenticeship going for one of the kids, you can get Isringhausen the extra time he needs to hopefully figure out what's going on, and Springer can try to do the same.

It's never going to happen, I know that as well as you do, but the back end of this bullpen needs some sort of relief, and soon. The Cardinals simply can't afford these kinds of defeats. Unfortunately, until something is figured out to bolster the back end of the ‘pen, I think that pattern that we're already getting tired of seeing may become a pretty constant companion to this team this summer.

-- Aaron Schafer

Last Night: Preparing for a Zombie Invasion

2008-05-08 09:05:19

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Oh shit. St. Louis' Zombie Squad pledges it can help one prepare for a zombie invasion and be in a better position than Jim from 28 Days Later

The dead, as far as I'm aware of, have not risen from their graves and begun to feast upon the living, but if they ever did, the Zombie Squad would make sure you were prepared for the undead cataclysm. That, you see, is their mission:

]]> “...to make sure you are prepared for any crisis situation that might come along in your daily life which may include your home being invaded by the undead menace.”

The Zombie Squad, as former RFT staff writer Ben Westhoff observed in February 2007, is "A St. Louis-based survivalist group that uses the walking dead as a metaphor for the breakdown of society, the Zombie Squad's primary mission is to teach disaster-preparation tactics to the public."

They do this by hosting blood drives, collecting canned foods, earning money for charities, and hosting disaster awareness fairs; essentially, it's a philanthropic group with style. The style should be noted; zombies, popular in horror movies, are often a metaphor for political or social groups/issues. To the people at ZS, zombies are the ultimate natural disaster (or unnatural disaster depending upon your point of view) to be ready for a zombie invasion is to be prepared for most anything the world throws across your plate.

Last night, these ever-ready philanthropists gathered together to host a movie night within the walls of the Atomic Cowboy. The main features were 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later, a classy duo of zombie flicks. The cover charge was an affordable two dollars and the proceeds went toward funding for the Disaster Awareness Fair 2008.

Despite the heart-pumping nature of the films, the atmosphere was laid back, as people curled up on couches and chairs for the duration of the films, and the whole event seemed placed in someone's living room instead of a bar. There is a great sense of community I feel when I see a group of people all shrieking and laughing in unison; I find it strangely cathartic. It's odd to be bereft with sappy emotion when watching zombies tear the flesh from the living, but I'll take it when I can get it.

Shortly, within the next month or so I believe, ZS will be throwing another movie night. Again, it will be held at the Atomic Cowboy and the films will be I Am Legend and Omega Man. (Richard Matheson eat your heart out.)And, I hope to see you all there. Soon after, they'll have Zombie Con: a five-day camping trip for Zombie Squad members only. There will be Radio Communications, First Aid and Fire building seminars to name a few of the events. Which, if you ask me, beats the hell out of sitting in an office waiting for the zombie invasion; I imagine it's difficult to beat back the undead with a stapler and a fax machine. You'd probably just be pissing them off.

Whether it's another natural disaster or a truly cataclysmic event it is refreshing to know there are those that are willing to educate and train others in basic survival techniques, as well as helping those that may not be quite able to prepare themselves for the next catastrophe that lands at their feet. My hat is off to those in the Zombie Squad, thanks for looking out.

-- Joseph Olk

Photographer's My Chemical Romance Nightmare Has Happy Ending

2008-05-07 17:37:23

It has been a wild few days for freelance photographer Nichole Torpea. The 22-year-old UMSL grad was shooting the My Chemical Romance concert at the Pageant for Riverfront Times this past Saturday night when, she says, she was assaulted by a member of the band's security team.

noel vasquez

RFT freelancer Nichole Torpea didn't shoot this pic of lead singer Gerard Way in action at a My Chemical Romance concert.

But she'll be shooting an MCR concert again this Friday at New York City's Madison Square Garden -- as a special guest of the band.

While taking pictures from the balcony of the Pageant during last Saturday's sold-out show, Torpea says, she was approached by a man she believes is a member of MCR's security team. The man, whom she later described to St. Louis police as six-foot-three, 210 to 230 pounds and dressed all in black, grabbed her arm, led her through a door to a stairwell and forced her to the ground. Torpea says the man paid little attention to the photo pass attached to her shirt.

"I was collapsing under his pressure," she says. "I had no idea what was going on. He had no ID and wouldn't tell me who he was. He kept saying, 'You know what you did. Give me the fucking camera.'"

]]> Michael Mitchell, venue manager of the Pageant, says he and his employees were shocked when they arrived on the scene. "My first concern was their safety," says Mitchell. "They were headed for the stairs. I jumped behind them and pushed them toward the landing. Both my heels were dangling over the top stair."

The confrontation ended seconds later, after the man ripped the camera from Torpea's body and fled down the stairs. He returned several minutes later and gave back her camera, having deleted all the images on the memory card. His parting words: "You'll never work for MCR or [the band's label] Warner Bros. again!"

Mitchell says he's still taken aback. "Three members of our staff, including me, witnessed it," he says. "Combined, we have over 50 years experience in security and nightclub management. None of us had ever seen anything approaching the degree of unprofessionalism portrayed by their guy's actions."

Torpea, who was treated by the nightclub's medic for an abrasion to her arm, says she blacked out momentarily after the incident, owing to hyperventilation. Two hours after the show, at the suggestion of Riverfront Times web editor Nick Lucchesi, Torpea called police. By the time an officer responded to the scene, the band had packed up its tour bus and left town.

The police report labels the alleged offense "assault third degree" and the suspect "unknown." Torpea says she still doesn't know the man's name.

Luke Burland, head of press for Warner Bros. Records, says the New Jersey-based band was unaware of any incident until being contacted yesterday by RFT. She declines to speculate on the identity of the alleged assailant. "The band is definitely looking into it and will take appropriate action," the publicist says. "They feel horrible about this. It's not who they are. They want to make amends."

The group's raucous, punk-inspired music and angst-filled lyrics have translated to album sales in the millions since MCR hit it big in 2004. Despite the hardcore image, the band maintains a squeaky-clean image and a reputation as being exceptionally fan-friendly.

"Five geeky outcast dudes," is how lead singer Gerard Way described MCR in a 2006 interview in Alternative Press magazine. In YouTube videos, the band expounds not on the clichés of sex, drugs and rock & roll, but on its respect for women and what its members see as their mission to save the lives of their teen- and college-age fan base.

Burland notes that it's common for bands to allow press photographers to shoot only during the first three songs of a concert. Still, she hastens to add, that's no excuse for the way Torpea appears to have been treated. "The band would never condone that behavior," the publicist says.

Torpea says she now realizes she was in violation of the agreement she signed in order to obtain her press credential. "I misunderstood it," she says. "I thought the rule applied only to photos near the stage. I didn't realize it extended throughout the club and on the balcony."

Torpea says some of her friends had been pressing her to seek legal recourse before she got a call late Tuesday night from MCR's manager. "He said the group had no idea what happened and they are sorry about anything that may have occurred," Torpea reports. "They want to make it right and have invited me to come see them in New York."

The photographer had some initial misgivings about the band's offer to fly her and her boyfriend to Manhattan but ultimately decided to let bygones be bygones. "Essentially I was looking for an apology," she says. "Last weekend was pretty crappy. So if they're going to make it up to me with a good weekend, I can't complain."

And what if during the concert she comes across her alleged attacker? "I'll probably just say: 'Hey dude, thanks for the free trip to New York.'"

-Chad Garrison

Cards Blog: Death to Dinger

2008-05-07 09:39:55

Remember yesterday, when I said we may have seen the best play of our lifetimes? Well, it turns out I was wrong, and it only took one night for me to be proven so. Last night we saw not just one of the greatest throws I've ever witnessed, but two of them, both made by the same man.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Rick Ankiel. The Natural.

But more on that later. I come to you today with a much more pressing issue, one that I believe will prove to be the defining moment of our time. And how we deal with it will, in large part, determine how future generations view us and our legacy.

I speak, of course, of Dinger.

Oh, what ill-formed notion first spawned such an abomination? What impulse gave rise to this hideous affront to nature and man? The name itself calls forth images of crying children, dead batteries, war orphans and losing lottery tickets.

Dinger.

Who, you ask, is Dinger? Only the most foul, loathsome creation of the mascot world. Only the harbinger of black days for us all, a purple Star Wormwood hanging in the sky above Coors Field.

]]> Dinger, you see, is the Colorado Rockies' mascot.

If you watched last night's game, you were unable to miss the antics of this creature, as he capered and pranced, shimmied, shook and shamed his city, all directly behind home plate, all while the Cardinal pitchers attempted to ply their trade.

Seriously, what the hell kind of crap is that? How does a major-league ballclub allow its mascot to be such an eyesore? Even looking away from the fact that Dinger essentially taunted, mocked and attempted to distract opposing players, what does a triceratops have to do with the Rockies (oh, right)? That tree they have at Stanford makes more sense than this purple foam abortion.

Even the people in Colorado hate him. Don't believe me? You say no city can possibly hate its own mascot? Then feast your eyes on this piece, from RFT's sister paper the Denver Westword, posted during last year's postseason.

The citizens of Denver fear the national exposure of this nightmare. For too long they have lived under the tyranny of this children's television castoff.

The time has come for someone to put his food down.

I, ladies and gentlemen, am that foot.

I am putting out a contract on Dinger the Dinosaur.

That's right, I'm putting a hit out on the Colorado Rockies' mascot. Children of the future, rejoice! Our long national nightmare is over!

People of Denver, don't worry about thanking me. I saw what needed to be done and I did it. I don't like to use the word ''hero,'' even if I am one. I don't need a parade or beautiful, virginal women to throw themselves naked at me feet. The smiles on the faces of your children, free at last from dino-tyranny, are thanks enough for me. Although I totally wouldn't turn down like, one or two virgins, you know? I'm not made of stone.

Rick Ankiel needs a new nickname. I've always been partial to ''Hammerin' Ank,'' but I don't know if that's quite grand enough. We need something to communicate to the world the full glory of this guy. Seriously, the best part of the replays of those throws from last night wasn't the throws themselves, or the tags or even watching the ump punch the runners out. It was the expression on the runners' faces -- a look of complete and utter bewilderment, of, ''What the hell just happened?''

Any nominations?

-- Aaron Schafer

If Only Pujols Was Free on Monday Nights…

2008-05-06 12:28:28

While the hometown heroes the St. Louis Cardinals opened their 162-game season weeks ago, last night a slightly lesser-known local squad took the field for the first time all year. And to Unreal, "local" means that the players sit in adjacent cubicles. That's right, yesterday was opening day for the RFT's slow-pitch softball team.

But while the Redbirds were able to dispatch the defending National League champs last night thanks to some heads-up hustle from their MVP slugger, the RFTers were not so fortunate, falling to U. City rec league titans BS Bar by a score that was tallied at "At least 16-0." The box score reveals the impressive magnitude of the defeat, as BS Bar led in such categories as home runs, hits, fielding percentage, total bases, and, perhaps most frustrating for the alt-weekly lineup fresh off a Cinco de Drinko bender, alcohol consumed. After watching the game, a representative from Chico's Bail Bonds immediately offered to sponsor the RFT squad.

The award for player of the game goes to staff writer/pitcher Chad Garrison, who, flush with confidence after conquering the St. Louis real estate market, struck out three while walking just one in four innings of work. While his ERA is inflated after allowing sixteen runs, including an emblematic home run on the first pitch of the season, the blogosphere is already touting his low WHIP and xFIP numbers as more telling of his abilities. If you're in a deep fantasy league, he could be a good waiver pickup.

Check back every Tuesday this summer to see if the RFT will be able to improve on its opening-day showing. Next week's goal: advancing a runner past first base.

-Unreal

Cards Blog: Pujols Gets Headlines, Parisi Shows Promise

2008-05-06 08:31:03

We may have seen the single greatest play of any of our lifetimes last night. I don't know about all of you, but that's definitely the first time I've ever seen a run score from second base on a ground out to the second baseman. (See video here.) Also, I don't really expect to see it again. Ever.

But enough about that. We'll see plenty of that; every news station in town, and maybe even some of the national people, will be running the replay of that one ad nauseam for quite a while. Lost in all of the late-game running heroics by Albert the Great was the debut of a young right-hander for the Cardinals by the name of Mike Parisi.

Welcome to town, Mike. And while I'm at it, nice job last night. So where, exactly, did Mr. Parisi come from, and what should we fans expect from him?

]]> Parisi was picked by the Cardinals out of Manhattan College (Team name: the Jaspers) in the fifth round of the now-infamous 2004 draft. Want me to go over why it's infamous? The Cards passed on guys named Philip Hughes, Yovani Gallardo, Huston Street, Hunter Pence and Dustin Pedroia, only to take Chris Lambert and Mike Ferris, both of whom have yet to meet expectations.

There's a reason you don't really know who those last guys are. Anyhow, Parisi becomes the first player from that '04 draft to reach the major leagues for the Cardinals, and most likely doesn't have to worry about much company anytime soon. The only other players who really look to have a shot at major-league careers are Mark Worrell, a right-handed reliever with, literally, the strangest sidearm delivery you've ever seen, and Jarret Hoffpauir, a second baseman. Just so you know, the formula to generate Hoffpauir is as follows: Aaron Miles - switch hitting + walks = Jarret Hoffpauir

I'll admit it right now; I never believed Parisi would get anywhere near the majors. He's never posted dominant numbers in the minors, posting ERAs in the upper 4s the last couple of years. The strange thing about him is that his repertoire always seemed to be better than the results he was getting. He's got a nice sinker, and a great curve ball that he changes the break and speed on a lot. He's not quite as creative with his curve as, say, Bronson Arroyo is with his assortment of breaking stuff, but Parisi has a bit of that same improvisational style to his game. He's got a little bit of change-up, too, but it's a definite third pitch.

I still, honestly, can't get a read on the guy. I watched him pitch last night, and I thought, ''Here's a guy that should be getting major leaguers out. He's got really good stuff.'' Then I look at this stats, and I don't see why the guy was ever promoted past Double A.

So what should we logically expect from Parisi going forward? After seeing him live, I think he probably has a higher ceiling than the Cards' recent sinker-ball long reliever, Brad Thompson. Parisi has better velocity, albeit with a little less movement, and a far superior breaking ball. He's probably a better bet to at least stick around than the man he replaced, Anthony Reyes. Maybe that Bronson Arroyo comparison isn't so bad after all. A guy with a solid fastball that he can break out whenever he needs to, but who really gets by on creativity and improvisation. I'm not sure it's a great comparison, but until I see a little more of the kid, I think I like this one at least a little bit. I don't know yet what the future holds for Parisi and his new team, but I like what I've seen so far, from both of them.

Welcome to town, Mike. Good luck. I hope you plan on sticking around for a while, because I'd really like to finally make my mind up about you, one way or the other. Here's to hoping.

- Aaron Schafer

Buzz "3 Nights" Bissinger vs. Will "Deadspin" Leitch: Bissinger Eats Crow

2008-05-05 15:00:15

In a wide-ranging and pretty interesting interview at The Big Lead, Buzz Bissinger, author of Tony La Russa hagiography 3 Nights in August, mans up and apologizes for going off on Deadspin.com founder (and St. Louis homeboy) Will Leitch.

Blogga placata: Buzz "I'm Sorry I Said You're Really Full of Shit" Bissinger

Bissinger's tirade unfolded last week during a segment of Bob Costas' HBO show Costas Now, when a panel (Bissinger, Leitch, Costas and Cleveland Browns wide receiver Braylon Edwards) discussed "Internet Media."

Bissinger had interrupted Leitch as he was responding to Costas' initial question, asserting that the Deadspin-ner is "really full of shit." Here's a link to the fracas (more after the jump):

Click the pic to see the Leitch (pictured)-Bissinger fracas.

]]> On The Big Lead, Bissinger cops to his mistake pretty much, er, right off the bat:

When I came home from New York, my wife simply told me that I had been over the top and undignified. Then I started reading emails sent to me. The majority were predictably vindictive — dickhead, horsefucker, douchebag, windbag, ugly, stupid, etc. But what struck me far more is that many of the emails were smart, not laced with personal invective, and made cogent points about sports blogs and the Internet. It was also abundantly clear that I had disappointed people who had been fans of my work. That hurt terribly. They were also right.

There's more:

I made a terrible mistake in the manner in which I said it. I am a man of passion and my passion truly got the better of me. I should have considerably toned it down, in particular in terms of my treatment of Will Leitch. Without going into details, I have taken steps to remedy that. I have also publicly apologized on several radio shows that have been widely disseminated. Those apologies are sincere, just as my passion was sincere if terribly misplaced. I treated Mister Leitch like the worst kind of blogger.

There's also some interesting takes on Tony La Russa, who allowed Bissinger unprecedented access to produce 3 Nights in August (soon to be a major motion picture, blah blah blah). Again, the entire Bissinger/Big Lead interview can be found here.

Here's what Leitch had to say in a postmortem.

-Tom Finkel

Heroes Foil Would-Be Thief in Loop, Sort Of

2008-05-05 09:25:09

Saturday was Free Comic Book Day, and our freelance videographer Anastasia Folorunso hit the street to speak with flesh-and-blood superhero (impersonators) who had also managed to foil a would-be thief at Star Clipper.

For the kid in all of us, read about the event and watch the video after the jump.

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On Saturday, on the sidewalks of Delmar Boulevard, you might have spotted a superhero or two.

They were there celebrating the one day of the year were they are re-introduced to their fans and new audiences alike. It was Free Comic Book Day and Star Clipper in the Loop was participating by giving out free comics, toys and a chance to go one-on-one with some of you favorite superheroes.

Free comic book day was inspired by a retailer who was trying to re-introduce comics to people who had left them in their childhood or had never been fans of comics in the first place. He wanted a way to show them the values of comics for free and Free Comic Book Day was created. It is celebrated in the United States and Canada and some other countries around the world.

A.J. Trujillo, co-owner of Star Clipper, with her husband Ben Trujillo, was excited to share her world with St. Louis. She believes it is ''always in one's nature'' to love comics and her love of comics makes her job a ''perpetual delight.'' Star Clipper has been at its current location for four years and in the University City area for twenty years. The store hosted comic book fans trying to get some free books and meet the people behind the books the love.

St. Louis native and illustrator Brian Hurtt and writer Cullen Bunn were at Star Clipper promoting free comic book day and their series ''The Damned.''

It’s a graphic novel which can be described as a mix between 1920s film noir and a slasher flick. Hurtt said he has always wanted to work in the comic book industry and, after a false start in retail, he went full speed onto a career in comics. His other work includes the graphic novel ''Queen and Country'' and a comic book prequel to the movie Jumper. His new project ''The Dammed'' is a three part series published by Oni Press. The second part of the series is due to be released in a couple of weeks and the series has already been picked up by DreamWorks and might be coming to a theater near you sometime in the future.

The event was graced by the presence of three superheros from the Justice League. Batman, Superman and Wonderwomen were on hand to talk to guests, take pictures and stop crime where ever it might be.

-- Anastasia Folorunso

Cards Blog: Legit at Last?

2008-05-05 08:58:10

On Friday, I said this was the series that would really start to give us an idea about exactly who and what the Cardinals really are this year.

So, what did we learn?

]]> The Cubs are probably a better team -- or at least a more talented team -- than the Cardinals, especially on the offensive side. They have an awful lot of bats. First-base and center field are the only positions where the Cards really have an advantage, at least with the bat. That being said, the gap in talent between these two teams is not very dramatic.

I wasn't expecting these two teams to be this evenly matched. In fact, I think I have to give the Cardinals the clear advantage in pitching. Cubs Ace Carlos Zambrano is the only one of their starters who is clearly better than most of what the Cards can trot out there. I don't think Ryan Dempster is really this guy, and the rest of their rotation has some significant question marks. And when it comes right down to it, I would take the Big Z over our own Adam Wainwright, but not by a whole lot. Seriously.

Alfonso Soriano is being badly misused. He's miscast as a lead off hitter, and really miscast as a left fielder. I didn't think he was that bad in left; maybe he's just struggling at the moment coming back from the disabled list, but I couldn't help but comparing him, unfavorably, to Chris Duncan on a couple of those plays on Friday night. Admittedly, Duncan probably would have missed at least one of those two plays, and quite possibly would have crashed into the fence on the Molina ground-rule double, breaking both the fence and several bones, but at least he would have looked like he was trying, damn it!

As for the lead off position, I'm perfectly aware that Soriano has hit lead off his whole career. I fail to see how that relates to anything at all. His career on base percentage is only .326. I don't care if he occasionally makes something exciting happen; his power is being wasted. Soriano has never seen a pitch he didn't like, and he rarely gets a chance to run because if he is on base, Derek Lee is usually at the plate, and you don't want to run into an out with a guy like that hitting. Don't get me wrong; I like the fact that one of the Cubs' more dangerous hitters, (although struggling badly right now) isn't being used in a such a way as to maximize his contributions. It helps the opponents out significantly.

Kyle Lohse is not quite as good as he looked to be the first four or five times out this year. Of course, that's not really a huge surprise; we should have all seen this one coming. Still, if he can keep going at the pace he's set so far, he'll still end up being the steal of the off season. His last two outings have been less than sterling, and he still sports a very respectable stat line. We may want to hold off on the extension just this minute, though.

The reports of Jason Isringhausen's demise, at least for the moment, appear to be greatly exaggerated. I'm not ashamed to admit that I was one of the people questioning whether or not he was healthy; whether or not he was just done. As of this morning, though, it appears that his problem is largely with just one of his pitches; the infamous cutter. It's long been Izzy's favorite pitch, and one that he probably goes to way too often, but it's crap right now. He threw only one of them last night; it was up and rather flat. Luckily he kept it far enough off the plate that Lee couldn't reach out and crush it. Izzy was throwing beautifully last night, comfortably sitting at 93-94 mph with his fast ball, and his curve ball was just as good as ever. For now, at least, it looks as though he just needs to put away the pitch that's betraying him. He has plenty to succeed without it.

Todd Wellemeyer is still too inefficient. He required 95 pitches last night to get through five innings. That's just not good enough; too much of a strain on the bullpen to have to consistently go four innings every fifth day. Still, though, he held the Cubs' lineup to only two runs, and that's pretty damned impressive. A mixed bag on the Colonel, to be sure, but it'll do, Todd. It'll do.

Adam Kennedy's early season resurgence this year may just be the best trick since the one that followed, ''Lazarus, come out.''

Most of all, though, what we learned is that this Cardinal team is, in fact, for real. Critics continued to say they hadn't beaten anybody yet; even Milwaukee, they said, was struggling badly and didn't really count. Well, here you are then. The Cubs came in to town sporting one of the most potent offenses in all of baseball, and the Cardinals took the series. Admittedly, 15 runs in three games isn't fantastic, but considering nine of those runs came in one game, I'll take it every day of the year. The Cards' own bats continued to do what they've done so far this year, which is just enough.

In fact, that may be exactly what we have in this team here. They're legitimate, but they're not flashy. We may not see too many teams come into town terrified to play this squad, but I'll bet we continue to see lots of them leave town the same way as the Cubs did, having lost the series and wondering how in the hell that just happened.

The 2008 Cardinals: They won't scare you, but maybe, just maybe, they'll do just enough to beat you.

What You Missed: Cinco de Mayo, Tegan and Sara, My Chemical Romance, Free Comic Book Day

2008-05-05 08:43:17

In St. Louis anyway, summer is here.

Touring bands, street festivals and the Cardinals vs. the Cubs at Busch Stadium. You may have even gotten a little sunburned.

A weekend recap is after the jump...

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On Friday night, L.A.'s Uh-Huh-Her, that female electro-pop duo, performed to a capacity crowd at the Duck Room in the Loop. Kristy Wendt has a review of the show here.

Cinco de Mayo Slide Show!

On Saturday, Cinco de Mayo was celebrated with festivals in Florrissant and on Cherokee Street in St. Louis. Brent Holzapfel has a slide show of the festivities down on Cherokee.

Saturday was also Free Comic Book Day across America, and video freelancer Anastasia Folorunso has this footage in our blog post, "Heroes Foil Would-Be Thief in Loop, Sort Of."

The Bottle Rockets played at the Duck Room Saturday night. Things were raging early, according to Roy Kasten's review:

They tore through “24 Hours a Day,” the hardest, most direct rocker in their catalog, like they’d spent the night warming up on Stooges and AC/DC covers...MORE

My Chemical Romance played to a sold-out crowd at The Pageant on Saturday night, but if you didn't get a ticket and consider yourself a My Chem fan, you can still be the know-it-all on the MCR message boards after you read Anna Genoese's review of the show.

Sunday night, Tegan and Sara, a female duo from Calgary, Canada sold out The Pageant, one of their several sold-out shows across the country in the next few weeks. Feel lucky St. Louis. This was a do-not-miss show. You can read the Tegan and Sara review by RFT Music Editor Annie Zaleski.

Here's what is going on this week and beyond.

- Nick Lucchesi

Kentucky Derby: T Minus 23 Hours

2008-05-02 18:29:36

My picks for the 134th Kentucky Derby:

1. Pyro
2. Colonel John
3. Eight Belles
]]> That's right: I'm drawing a line right through Pyro's abysmal showing on the Polytrack in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, and judging the horse on the fact that up until then he'd had me.

Colonel John's simply too purty not to like, and if I'm going to forgive Pyro for his Poly failing, I may as well go ahead and upgrade the Colonel, who has never raced on dirt.

Eight Belles has shown herself to be the class of the three-year-old distaff class and then some, and kudos to her connections for daring the Derby rather than racing her in the Oaks (though the decision was based on her abysmal post in the Oaks draw). Getting spotted five pounds won't hurt either.

For those of you who actually wager, I'll bet Pyro to win and place and key him up and down in exactas with the other two, and also use him over a few longer-odds horses in case the ever-elusive big score transpires....

Oh, and may they all come home safely.

-Tom Finkel

Kentucky Derby: T Minus 25 Hours

2008-05-02 15:57:03

First off, here is a link to former Riverfront Times staff writer Mike Seely's picks for tomorrow afternoon's 134th running of the Kentucky Derby.

I haven't peeked at Seely's picks yet, because I have struggled to come up with my own. I am, however, certain that Seely did not pick the morning-line favorite, Big Brown.

I know this because Seely assiduously avoids playing favorites.

If you're in search for another reason to look elsewhere for a Derby play, I recommend this blog:

"Fran Jurga's 'HoofBlog': Up-to-the Minute News from Hoofcare & Lameness Journal"

Beyond that most excellent title, Fran Jurga offers a bottom-up perspective on Thoroughbred racing. And I do mean bottom up. Here's a link to Jurga's posts about Big Brown, posts that are informatively written and that feature photos like this one (after the jump):

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Those, my friends, are Big Brown's much-discussed feet. And here is a sample of what Jurga has to say about said clodhoppers:

Racing fans, rejoice! I have finally obtained actual close-up photos of the feet of Kentucky Derby favorite Big Brown. The following photos were taken on or about April 11, 2008, when the horse's feet were re-glued and re-shod by farrier and hoof repair expert Tom Curl of Vero Beach, who has been working on the colt since he shipped to Florida this winter.
I know there has been some confusion and misinformation in the press so to clarify: the colt was originally worked on by Ian McKinlay in New York, and the horse benefited from his new Yasha shoe technology and heel resection technique. Ian has been supplying photos and videos of the technique and system. But the horse subsequently was worked on by Tom Curl, an associate of Ian's. Tom did the work on the second foot.

What you see is a collaborative effort of two experts using a new technology that has been helping a lot of horses over the past few months.

Like (I suspect) Seely, I'm not going to invest in Big Brown, except perhaps as a "saver" -- i.e., to account for the possibility that the horse should finish first or second, ahead of or behind the horse I finally settle on. But my knock on Brown has little to do with his feet, and far more to do with his actual chances of winning -- and the distance between those chances and the odds he's likely to go off at.

-Tom Finkel

Spend Your Stimulus Check on DVDs, Bumper Nuts!

2008-05-02 14:46:50

President George Bush spoke in Maryland Heights today, touting the imminent economic stimulus package intended to bolster a flagging economy and raise hopes of the impoverished or recently laid off.

Let's hear it one more time for President Bush's ~~tax-stimulus~~ package!

Basically, taxpaying citizens who make more than $3,000 in taxable income (that includes Social Security and Veterans Affairs benefits) each year are gonna get a minimum of $300.

After you receive your check from Uncle Sam, you're supposed to go buck wild at the mall or any other commercial establishment. If you pay off your bills with the money or save it -- arguably the "responsible" things to do -- you're not really stimulating the economy.

If you're like most of us, you may already have that money spent. If not, after the jump we suggest some tax-stimulus expenditures for those in doubt.

]]> - The credit-card bill for the shit you already purchased while assuring yourself that your tax-stimulus check would be in the mail next month.

- Halliburton stock.

- Shotgun and portable generator for near-future collapse of U.S. society.

- Matthew Wilder album. Can't get enough Matthew Wilder.

- Financial adviser who can explain how sending out a couple hundred billion dollars in checks when we're already staring up from the bottom of a debt sinkhole is not going to bite us in the ass this time next year.

- This calendar.

- Lou Grant DVDs. Loved that show.

- Bumper nuts for the RFT Street Team car.

Got a suggestion? Post it in the comments section and we'll add it.

-Nick Lucchesi