Shut Up

There's a lot of negative blogs out there. Sure, we got swept by our division competition, and sure we lost 5 in a row. But news flash: We're Only Three Games Back. After a gutsy 14 inning slug fest, with the Mets doing most of the slugging, the Cards come out on top with El Hombre's 2 HR of July. Now I agree with Trey, the bullpen is frustrating--even downright infuriating, but many blogs and other columns have been trying to write this team off since the beginning of the season. This really was true yesterday. It gets annoying. Right now, the vast majority about Cardinals' reporting is depressing. But it shouldn't be. It should be the opposite. Not only are the Cards contending--WITHOUT THEIR TWO BEST STARTING PITCHERS--but they have a bright future. Things are good right now. We have a GOOD problem. We are not the Marlins who every 5 years mortgage their future for a shot at the title. Sometimes it pays off, but they have virtually no fan base as there is no consistency, AND there are no players staying there long enough to fall in love with. We are not the Pirates who have no money to sign anyone and when they do they over spend on a broken down player. The Pirates, year after year, build up players in their own system or who they have traded for, and then sometime in July they deal them off for more players they can build up and then trade off for more...etc. etc. They truly are the best farm system. We are not the Yankees who have more money than God. They buy buy buy and haven't won in a proportionately LONG time. We aren't the Red Sox whose sole reason to exist is to hate the Yankees. We aren't the Mariners whose owners treat the team as a way to make money, and won't sink enough of their money (and boy, do they have a lot) to make the team remotely competitive. The Mariners scout out the hottest Jerome Walton's and sign them to mega-contracts and then watch them come back to Earth--gravity is 9.8m/s2--translation: they're so high up where they don't belong they come crashing down FAST (see: Beltre, Adrain or Sexson, Richie or [hehe] Weaver, Jeff). We aren't The Angels Angels of Anaheim who's fans couldn't care less cause they're too busy worshiping Pete Carroll. And we certainly aren't the Cubs whose ineptitude as a franchise has been more than well documented.

We are the freakin' St. Louis Cardinals and the five year rule applies--where you can't whine about your team within 5 years of winning the World Series. Sure, you can be upset if they make a bad move...or don't make a good move. But the constant whining is disproportionate to the winning percentage. We contend year after year, make smart moves, AND NOW have a farm system in place where the Cards are set at several positions for years to come. Holliday, Burnett, and Fuentes deals would be like the Mulder deal. At least, the asking price appears that way. The time to spend money is in the offseason--when it's available--and you don't have to give up the future. Remember, we aren't the Marlins.

Some people are boohooing about getting an overaged (for his level) relief pitcher for Reyes--and yes the Cardinals should have dealt Reyes in the previous offseason after 2007 or the offseason before that. But they were a bit busy making a huge transition--mistakes will be made during times like that. But the Cardinals traded Reyes, someone that had 0% chance of staying in this organization next year, and got someone who will be in the organization and may really benefit with the Cardinals pitching development. Something and cash is way better than nothing at all. Packaging him with our future stars for Fuentes or Bay WAS NOT THE ANSWER.

Last night showed once again the holes in the bullpen--the starting pitching wasn't so hot either. But Carp is scheduled to come back on Wed. Welly or Looper will be shoring up that bullpen. Once A&W comes back, the other will move back. All of a sudden, that bullpen doesn't look so bad anymore. Sure, a solid LOOGY would be nice, what TLR team is complete without one? But things are looking up. At the beginning of the year EVERY Cardinal fan said, "We just need to hang on till Carp comes back. And if we are in contention then we have a shot." Well guess what? The Cards have exceeded expectations by hanging in there with the two best teams in the NL and Carp and A&W are coming in...NOW is not the time to get depressed and write off the season. Now is the time to get excited.

So to all those gloomy writers out there: SHUT UP!

This is the best time to be a Cardinals fan.

-CJ

P.S. I'm also tired of hearing about Pujols struggling this year by commentators who only how to read one stat column: HR's.