Redbird Ramblings

I have heard the preaching of reverend redbird and i have been saved! i saw cardinals diaspora and play a hard 9 switch to wordpress, so Redbird Ramblings is also making a change for the better. i have moved to www.redbirdramblings.wordpress.com , come and see my new blog, its great, at least for me! sorry for the inconvienence! please update your links accordingly, and thank you!

play a hard 9 has moved to wordpress, now it is reborn as reverend redbird (great new look!). also, a new cards blog has launched, it is called "Bird Droppings". this new blog has just been launched and might take a couple of days to get things in order, so please be patient.

i play fantasy baseball on yahoo sports. im in the cardinals diaspora league.
here are the list of the players i drafted:

postion players and bench
B.McCan-catcher (atl)
S.Hillenbrand-1B (tor)
M.Giles-2B (atl)
K.Youkilis-3B (bos)
J.Hardy-SS (mil)
J.Edmonds-OF (STL)
K.Griffey Jr.-OF (cin)
G.Jenkins-OF (mil)
N.Swisher-Utilityman (oak)
M.ordonez-BN (det)
N.Johnson-BN (wash)

Pitchers
M.Mulder-SP (STL)
D.Haren-SP (oak)
E.Gagne-RP (lad)
A.Burnett-P (tor)
J.Garland-P (chi.w)
K.Wood-SP,RP (chi.c)
K.Calero-RP (oak)
D.Wheeler-RP (hou)

Pretty good roster i would say, i did not even draft these guys. i set up a pre-draft ranking and they automatically got drafted to my team. i totally forgot about the draft time. i still ended up with a good roster though. i have a pretty good OF with Jed, KG Jr. and Jenkins. my pitching staff is pretty solid also. it was a very good draft overall. what do you think? i would like to get some feedback from you, the reader.

Cardinals Diaspora has moved. same great site, but with a new great look!
check it out, here is the new and improved Diaspora!

all photos are from stltoday.com/sports/cards

I saw a new article up on the cardinals main site. its Leach's Mailbag, he collects questions from fans and answers the most popular inquiries. he has a couple of good questions and answers on there. he predicts the division race to pan out like this:

2006 Regular season predictions
Matthew Leach
"My predicted order of finish is almost identical to last year -- Cardinals, Astros, Brewers, Cubs, Pirates, Reds."

Cards4life
lets see, my prediction for the division race is this: cards, brew crew, stros, cubbies, bucs and last but not least, the red legs.

Matthew Leach
ok, now on to how many games the cardinals will win this year.
Leach's prediction: "I expect them to win in the neighborhood of 93-95 games and make the postseason. "

Cards4life
my prediction is a little more optimistic, here goes: i predict the cardinals will win 95-105 games. bold prediction is'nt it?

also, he answers a question about so taguchi being a starting outfielder:

"I like Taguchi, and I understand why fans enjoy watching him play and why coaches and his managers appreciate him so much. He's fundamentally sound, he hustles, he runs the bases well and he plays good defense. I get it.
But I'm not at all sold on him as a regular. Take a look at these numbers. A total of 35 NL outfielders received at least 400 plate appearances last year, including Taguchi, who had 424. Among those players, Taguchi ranked 33rd -- or third to last -- in on-base percentage and 29th -- seventh to last -- in slugging.
As a fourth outfielder and a defensive specialist, Taguchi is a valuable part of the team. As a starting corner outfielder, I think he doesn't offer enough offense. "

i totally agree with you there Mr. Leach, The So-man is best served on this cardinals club as being a fourth outfielder. he is great defensively, and can play all three outfield position. also, he is the best back up for Jed in center, after jimmy, he is the best defensive centerfielder on the club. i also agree with mr. leach that so just does not provide enough offense to be a starter, he does not have nearly enough power and does not get on base enough. i think larry bigbie will land the left field job.

Note: Mr. Leach, keep up the great work, looking forward to reading your next article. i really think you do a great job covering the cardinals.

today, i got to thinking about the bench and who would be the five players (0r six depending on if the cards decide to carry 12 pitchers or not) are going to be.
here are my five:

Gary Bennett (backup catcher)
So Taguchi (outfielder)
John Rodriguez (outfielder)
Deivi Cruz ( 3B, 2B)
Scott Spezio (3B, 2B, 1B, LF, RF)
????Rick Ankeil????? (LF, RF)

i really want Rick to make the team, but if Juan Mateo makes it as the 12th pitcher, the bench can only have 5 spots. i think Deivi Cruz should be cut since Spezio is a switch hitter, he can play all the positions that Cruz can plus the the corner outfield spots. So, that leaves room for one more spot, here is my adjusted bench:

Gary Bennett
So Taguchi
J-ROD/Johnny Load
Spezio
RICK ANKIEL

i think Ank can be a lefthanded power threat of the bench. i also think that he can make it as a starter in a year or two (you might thinking "what the heck is he smoking or drinking or both?"). well, i think Ank is a tremendous athlete, besides, he lead the cardinals minor leagues with 21 homeruns last year. i think he has tremendous potential, he just needs the opportunity. thats all my thoughts on Ankiel.

the St. Louis Cardinals have signed a switch hitting infielder according to matthew leach of stlcardinals.com:

"Spiezio coming to town: Switch-hitting infielder Scott Spiezio, formerly of the A's, Angels and Mariners, has agreed to a Minor League contract with the Cardinals and will report to camp. Spiezio has played more than 200 games each at first, second and third base in his big league career. He's a lifetime .253 hitter with a .324 on-base percentage and .414 slugging percentage. In 2005, he received 47 at-bats with the Mariners, hitting .064 with a home run".

here are scott spiezio's career stats.

1. tony la russa arrivings

2. Rick Ankiel taking hacks

3. yadier and albert taking a stroll

4. john gall hauling his stuff

Predicted batter: Yadier Molina

2005 stats(avg./hrs./rbi/sb)
.252/8/49/2

2006 stats predictions
.263/11/55/3

I present to you "Our starting catcher, Yadier Molina". we know what we are going to get from him defensively, one of the best catchers in the league and the best running game sniper in the majors. on the other hand, we dont know what we are going to ge offensively. he is only 23, so there is a lot of room for improvement. i expect his average to climb a little bit. he should draw more walks, and hit a couple of more homers. i think last year's stats would have been obviously better if had not gotten hit with a pitch on his hand in Arizona. also, i think he can hit a few more dingers, and collect a couple of more rbis. obviously, as we all know, Molina is no Lou Brock (and that's an understatement). he is slow, really slow, the slowest person i have ever seen in my life. thats why i think he is going to steal one more base. no one thinks he is going to attempt to steal because he is so slow. I thought John Mabry was slow, then i saw Molina run, man that was tough to see. i guess catchers are not supposed to be fast, but man is he slow. thats enough about his speed. he is the best defensive catcher in the NL, and whatever he contributes on the offensive side is a plus. at least thats how i feel. he should develop into pretty good hitter by the time he hits his prime (29-30 years old). if he ever gets to a line of .285/18/75/5 later on in his career, i would be thrilled. that would be out of this world, but for now i will take what ever i can get from Mr. Molina or as one of my fellow bloggers (i cant remember which one, sorry!) likes to call him "Gasolina".