Season 9 is over.....Finally.

The end of the season is finally here.  It was a year of hope and high expectations, but turned into a big nightmare.  

It started good, going 10-3 over the first thirteen games.  Then the injuries started to show there ugly head.  For the second season in a row, the teams number one starter went down to a significant injury.  Not having enough arms in the starting rotation was the down fall of the team this year.  

Jaque Lee had another good year at the plate, but was a down year compared to past seasons.

The off season will be one of trying to get back to the postseason after missing it the last three seasons. Some areas of focus will be getting another starter and improve the defense up the middle.

Season 9

Here we are. The beginning of another season in St. Louis is upon us. The grass has been nicely trimmed, the concessions are fully stocked and the restrooms have all been thoroughly cleaned.

This season of Cardinal baseball will be unlike any before. The team is at a cross roads now, that can only come from players getting old and the youth not progressing as expected. GM Bulls7210 has had a difficult off season this year. Some of those things on the to-do-list include: having to let go of some veteran players, trying to formulate some trades for the holes in the line-up and pitching staff and trying to balance the budget.

After having 42 players retire during the off season, first thing to do was signing enough players to fill out the minor league rosters. Bulls did that in surprising fashion. He was able to find 50+ players to come into the organization and fill some of the voids.

Next was trying to decide on which players were going to come back and which ones were going to be shown the door. Those that were allowed to test the FA market include: Del Moreno, Sean Herndon and Midre Dominguez to name a few.

Some of the new players coming to spring training are going to have a familiar ring to them. Bruce Wells makes his third appearance in a Cardinal uniform after signing a 2 year contract. Mark Nance is also a former red bird that was signed in the off season.

There is a lot up in the air during spring training, as all positions are up for grabs. This will definitely be a rebuilding year. How the team fairs this season will determine if management makes a GM change next year.

Season of Woes.

At the 25 game mark, the season has started very slowly. There have not been a lot of good things to write about. This year started out on the road, which saw the team win 4 out of 7 games. Things seemed to be heading in the right direction as the team got ready to open the home stand. The team promptly dropped 7 of the first 8 games, including a three game sweep by the Vancouver Tuques. The team was able to salvage the final game of the home stand beating Cincinnati 4-3.

The team was anxious to get back on the road; at least until they found out they would have to go to the defending World Series winners. Losing two out of three wasn’t the way management wanted to finish that mini 3 game road trip.

Coming back home for a short 4 game set with Philadelphia saw another series of loses due to the bullpen throwing kerosene all over the field. The bully was supposed to be the one area of the pitching staff that would hold consistent. The team went 2-2 against the Fish.

After another sweep at the hands of Louisville, the team’s record stands at 9-17; and are 7 games out of first place in the NL West.

Next up for the team is another long road trip over the next 25 games. After a much deserved off day; the team leaves for Syracuse for three games. Then the city of St. Louis welcomes Scranton for 3 games and New Orleans for 4 games at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals pack the suit cases again for a 13 game trip; as they tour the nation’s capitol, on to Nashville, hitting Toledo and then looking to finish strong in City of Brotherly Love.

Jacque Lee Interview

I’m here with perennial all star catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, Jacque Lee. He was kind enough to take some time from his busy schedule and answer a few questions about his career and about his life off the field.

Q. What has been your greatest achievement in your career?

A. Well I would have to say that winning the World Series in season two would have to be right at the top, with the all star appearances a close second. It really is a team effort, I know I wouldn’t be there (at the allstar game) if it wasn’t for them.

Q. You have been very consistent every year, and it seems you are passed over for MVP. How special was it this past year to finally win the MVP?

A. I don’t think it really has hit me yet. I know maybe when I retire and I can reflect back on my career, it will finally hit me and all make sense. I was really focused this off season, knowing that it is the final year in my contract and I felt strongly to come back this season and show the team I’m completely healthy after the injury kept me out of the final 11 games last season.

Q. Speaking of the injury last year, do you feel responsible for the team collapsing down the stretch when you had a 4 game lead at the time?

A. I don’t know what would have happened if I didn’t get hurt when I did. I feel a little responsible, but there were a lot of guys that stepped right in when I got hurt. Like I said before, this is a team game and I have a lot of faith in my teammates to step up if anyone of us gets hurt.

Q. With the season just under way, what is your out look on the season and can the team get back to the playoffs?

A. I think we will be very competitive in the NL West. This division has to be the toughest in the NL. Anyone of the four teams can win it. It will definitely come down to the last games of the season again. If we can avoid any huge injuries and play the way I know we can. We should be right in the middle of things come playoff time.

Q. What is life like for Jacque Lee off the field?

A. I usually stay very active during the off season, trying to stay in shape. I think that has been the biggest difference in not getting hurt. During the season, I try to spend as much time as I can with my family and try to be like a normal family. You know, eating around the dinner table, having game nights, that sort of thing. When my career is finally over, I will absolutely love being there for my kids and being able to take vacations during the summer like normal families.

Q. Since you brought up the “retirement” thing, do you feel you should be in the Hall of Fame?

A. I don’t focus on that right now. If the nomination committee feels I should be a member, I will be truly honored. If not, I don’t feel as if my career wasn’t a success. I know that I went out there every single day and gave it my all. If I can do that, then I’ll just let the numbers speak for themselves.

Hardball Dynasty's

Ralph Lowe

Cardinals’ management has announced that Ralph Lowe will be throwing out the first pitch this year in St. Louis. This announcement comes as a shock considering that Lowe hasn’t officially retired from baseball. The Cardinals’ GM, bulls7210, had this to say. “Ralph has always been a fan favorite here. Since we are recognizing the 2002 World Series champions on opening day, it is only natural that Ralph throws the first pitch.” There have been rumors at the owners annual winter meetings that Lowe may make a return to St. Louis. When asked about the rumors, bulls7210 just said, “No comment”.

Our next report will feature an in depth interview with perennial all star catcher, Jacque Lee.

Cardinals Earn Franchises First Awards

Jacque Lee won his 1st NL MVP award. At age 32, there might not be another chance to do so. In what could have been a very close race, Lee somehow earned 13 of 32 votes. This was just the icing on a very productive year. Lee also earned his 6th trip to the All Star Game and was awarded his 4th Silver Slugger trophy.

Season 7 ML - NL MVP Award

Player	Franchise	Owner	Votes
Jacque Lee	Cardinals	bulls7210	13
Andrew Richard	Bombers	nr6229	6
Jeff Jennings	Cinners	gtnotes	5
Mariano Alvarez	Saltine Warriors	namshub	4
Robert Tomberlin	Derbies	gerald007	4

The Cardinals weren't done there. Andy Belitz was awarded the NL Co-ROY. This rounds out a super start to this youngster career. He also earned a trip to this years All Star Game.

Season 7 ML - NL Rookie of the Year Award

Player	Franchise	Owner	Votes
Andy Belitz	Cardinals	bulls7210	8
Julio Marrero	Rams	daveymac	8
Ivan Guillen	Rams	daveymac	7
Clinton Lindsey	Gone Wild	joemalaka	6
Louie Neruda	Tuques	ericbergson	3

Final Players 2007 Pitching Stats

ML Regular Season Pitching Stats (Totals)
Player	G	GS			CG	SHO			W		L	SV	SVO	IP		H		R		ER	HR	BB	SO	OAV			OBP		SLG		WHIP	ERA
Andy Belitz	89	0			0	0			3		6	36	39	74.2		73		34		31	7	25	46	.257			.320		.366		1.31	3.74
Matty Bennett	31	21			0	0			7		8	1	1	140.0		141		75		68	13	65	127	.260			.342		.365		1.47	4.37
Homer Coles	38	32			0	0			10		11	1	1	220.1		200		97		82	26	78	158	.239			.310		.381		1.26	3.35
Bronson Cooke	74	0			0	0			5		2	1	4	45.2		49		27		26	6	16	26	.274			.333		.441		1.42	5.12
Midre Dominguez	63	0			0	0			3		2	3	5	54.0		51		36		33	6	27	35	.252			.339		.391		1.44	5.50
Abdul Foster	56	2			0	0			7		5	1	3	56.1		60		42		39	14	27	41	.273			.359		.482		1.54	6.23
Arlie Graham #	9	0			0	0			0		0	0	0	7.1		18		15		13	3	3	2	.439			.477		.707		2.86	15.95
Max Herrera	39	36			1	0			14		10	1	1	245.1		240		107		88	38	59	159	.252			.300		.412		1.22	3.23
Derrick McElroy	59	0			0	0			5		2	2	4	49.0		40		24		24	5	16	36	.219			.289		.355		1.14	4.41
Tony Melo #	39	0			0	0			3		3	3	6	35.2		47		24		24	11	12	25	.318			.373		.622		1.65	6.06
Del Moreno	59	17			0	0			8		11	1	4	138.1		162		96		90	30	58	103	.293			.366		.508		1.59	5.86
Stuart Rivers	46	0			0	0			4		3	2	4	37.0		40		16		15	6	6	27	.270			.301		.419		1.24	3.65
Dallas Spencer	1	0			0	0			1		0	0	0	1.2		0		0		0	0	2	0	.000			.286		.000		1.20	0.00
Bruce Wells #	23	19			0	0			6		4	0	1	102.1		118		72		67	18	40	86	.289			.357		.490		1.54	5.89
Yannick Woodson	39	35			0	0			13		6	0	0	242.0		220		120		103	25	81	219	.239			.309		.379		1.24	3.83
Team Totals	162	162			1	0			89		73	52	73	1449.2		1459		785		703	208	515	1090	.259			.327		.419		1.36	4.36

Player 2007 Final Stats

ML Regular Season Batting Stats (Totals)
Player	G			AB	R		H	2B		3B		HR			RBI		BB	SO		SB	CS		AVG		OBP		SLG		OPS	STRK	L STRK
Jacque Lee	146			486	127		176	26		2		48			124		126	83		3	4		.362		.504		.720		1.224	2	15
J.J. Hughes	12			44	7		14	1		0		0			7		5	13		9	1		.318		.388		.341		.729	0	4
Alan Wakefield	139			514	70		161	34		2		14			103		47	108		11	6		.313		.381		.469		.850	0	12
Geraldo DeLeon #	17			27	5		8	2		0		1			3		2	6		1	0		.296		.345		.481		.826	0	2
Francis Nelson	113			460	74		134	26		3		14			56		30	91		27	20		.291		.341		.452		.794	1	11
Sean Herndon	80			268	51		75	17		3		16			44		34	47		5	4		.280		.380		.545		.925	7	9
Albert Acosta	149			557	77		155	32		4		10			79		42	95		16	8		.278		.329		.404		.733	3	10
Roland Silva	129			335	46		93	17		1		14			59		52	57		0	1		.278		.373		.460		.833	0	8
Hideo Takada	142			468	64		129	30		3		8			68		67	62		18	12		.276		.369		.404		.773	1	10
Ralph Strange	137			462	75		127	21		4		11			59		49	70		32	13		.275		.348		.409		.757	3	8
Donald Perez	102			235	50		63	15		2		12			46		27	47		6	3		.268		.350		.502		.852	0	7
Dallas Parrish	143			498	66		130	7		0		0			51		52	63		53	7		.261		.332		.275		.607	1	8
Stu Peterson #	45			44	7		11	2		0		3			12		2	13		0	0		.250		.283		.500		.783	1	2
Max Herrera	38			80	10		20	2		1		0			5		2	23		1	1		.250		.277		.300		.577	0	3
Midre Dominguez	60			4	0		1	0		0		0			0		0	0		0	0		.250		.250		.250		.500	1	1
Howie Lincoln	78			183	21		45	4		0		0			10		20	37		19	2		.246		.327		.268		.595	0	6
Shawn Knott	50			145	19		32	1		1		6			17		17	34		20	3		.221		.307		.366		.672	0	5
Dallas Spencer	87			244	22		50	10		1		4			24		19	68		0	2		.205		.265		.303		.568	1	6
Rodrigo Rincon	71			255	22		52	2		1		4			26		17	66		9	4		.204		.255		.267		.522	0	5
Juan Santos #	2			5	1		1	0		0		0			0		1	0		0	0		.200		.429		.200		.629	1	1
Yannick Woodson	40			93	7		18	1		0		0			10		2	31		0	0		.194		.211		.204		.415	1	3
Matty Bennett	29			45	2		8	0		0		0			3		2	7		0	0		.178		.229		.178		.407	0	2
Del Moreno	57			39	5		6	0		0		0			2		2	12		0	0		.154		.214		.154		.368	1	3
Jaret Gagne	3			13	4		2	0		0		0			0		0	0		2	0		.154		.154		.154		.308	0	2
Derrick McElroy	55			7	2		1	0		0		0			0		0	2		0	0		.143		.143		.143		.286	0	1
Homer Coles	37			69	3		9	0		1		0			2		2	18		0	0		.130		.155		.159		.314	1	3
Bruce Wells #	21			33	0		4	0		0		0			2		3	11		0	0		.121		.216		.121		.337	0	1
Abdul Foster	55			10	0		1	0		0		0			0		1	4		0	0		.100		.182		.100		.282	0	1
Bronson Cooke	69			1	0		0	0		0		0			0		0	0		0	0		.000		.000		.000		.000	0	0
Arlie Graham #	9			1	0		0	0		0		0			0		0	0		0	0		.000		.000		.000		.000	0	0
Andy Belitz	87			2	0		0	0		0		0			0		0	2		0	0		.000		.000		.000		.000	0	0
Tony Melo #	39			2	1		0	0		0		0			0		1	2		0	0		.000		.333		.000		.333	0	0
Stuart Rivers	46			1	0		0	0		0		0			0		0	1		0	0		.000		.000		.000		.000	0	0
Team Totals	162			5630	838		1526	250		29		165			812		624	1073		232	91		.271		.350		.414		.764	7	15