The Good, The Bad, and The...Um...Good

Yesterday was a pretty good day for me sport's wise.

The Blues handled the Dallas Stars. Boyes scored again, continuing his late season hot streak. Stempniak scored again, and Weight netted two.

The Billikens showed some backbone and beat UMass in an OT thriller. (Even though they continue to miss free throws late. How many bullets can you dodge?) GW awaits today. (And, man, do I wish the A10 had more TV exposure. If this season is the best they can do TV wise what makes the A10 better than the Missouri Valley?)

The bad news is the loss of Cardinals reliever Josh Kinney for the season to arm surgery.

But, back to the good, I notice that a new name is starting to come up as a potential left-handed starter for the Cards, Randy Keisler:

You may remember him as the hotshot New York Yankees prospect. Keisler struck out the side in his inning Thursday and kept chugging through two more innings. La Russa remarked after the game that he liked how he was going after guys, liked Keisler’s array of pitches and that he “actually pitched better than (starter Kip Wells).”

Keisler is in camp as a starter and will continue to pitch as a contender in the rotation competition, most likely with a spot awaiting him at Triple-A Memphis.

The Cardinals see him as a starter and Keisler has little interest in relieving because he sees that as competing with one of his dearest friends, Randy Flores. Where that puts Keisler in this equation is unclear, because the “priority five” rotation is cruising through its second turn and the Cardinals have had little reason so far to alter their plans.

“My goal is to go out there, open eyes and win a job,” Keisler said Thursday. “I know I have to be lights out, every time. That’s hard to do, but that’s what it takes.”

Keisler joked that he has been the new guy in the clubhouse the last four years, bouncing from big-league team to big-league team, from opportunity to opportunity that mirrors the one he has with the Cardinals. Duncan has spoken positively about Keisler’s sessions all camp. He’s got control. He’s got stuff. And Thursday he showed he has game.