Happy New Year

At least this Blues/Cards fan hopes it will be happy. Neither team is doing much to boost my hopes however. Well, their is "hope" I guess...but little else.

Still, I'm not going to turn up my nose at hope when it is offered. Hope for the Cards comes via their farm system cracking the Top 10 list at Baseball America. Thank God they seem to have straightened out that mess. There is no way the St. Louis Cardinals should have the 30th ranked farm system.

For the Blues hope takes the form of prospects showing off at the World Juniors up in Canada. Granted, you don't get to play the likes of Kazakhstan every day, thus 12-0 scorelines are somewhat rare. But from all reports Aaron Palushaj, Ian Cole and Cade Fairchild are playing pretty well for team USA.

So, there may be no immediate help for the Cards rotation or on the Blues blueline, but there is always 2010.

A Night At The Theater

I swear to God, listening to the Blues these days is a little like going to a Broadway play for a Wednesday matinee.

Attention Ladies and Gentlemen, this afternoon the part of the St. Louis Blues will be played by the Peoria Rivermen.

Tonight we have Weaver, Junland, Winchester, Strachan, Bishop and Stasny playing "starring" roles against the Washington Caipitals.

Maybe Semin and Ovechkin will forget there is a game tonight.

Crap...no such luck.

UPDATE:

Well, that wasn't quite the gang enema I was expecting. It is amazing what being so shitty other teams won't "get up" to play you can do to even things out a bit. Oh, the Blues lost, of course, but 4-2 is acceptable really. Hell, we even outshot the Caps. (Will wonders ever cease?)

Still, I expect the Blues to get absolutely hammered by the Wild on Saturday. Yes, the Wild are playing terrible hockey right now, but they got that Gaborik guy back and I have a feeling they will be letting go of some pent up aggression at the Blues expense.

If Murray doesn't have Cam in the lineup on Saturday he should be fired outright.

I'm Officially Old Now

NOTE: I wrote this for elsewhere, but I thought its theme would translate here pretty easily. Enjoy, if you dare.

When I was a younger man and I would feel the pull of certain adult fashion symbols, I would push them out of my mind with the phrase, "I don't want to be some hipster doofus. I'll do that sort of thing when I'm old...you know, like 40."

Well, I turned 40 this year, and the first of these fashion impulses has successfully avoided all the warnings of my younger days and has landed squarely upon my head. Yes, I bought my first fedora.

Meet the Jaxon Iconoclast (Wool):



As far as hat purchases go, this one was not a matter of high finance. It set me back a grand total of $45 including shipping.

I must say....I like it....a lot. It is damn cold around here, and I'm not blessed with a full head of hair, so a hat is a necessity. Up until now I've only ever worn ballcaps or ski caps. I just didn't want to become "the old guy who wears nothing but ballcaps."

Still, this could be the start of something weird. I've already caught myself looking online at panamas, because, hey!, the Iconoclast is my fall/winter hat. I'll need something else to protect my poor bald head from the big bad sun too. That only makes sense, right?

Down this path lies madness...and quite possibly my taking up pipe smoking as well.

Hmmmm....pipe smoking....sounds good.

ADDING for GASL readers only:

OK...I've had the hat for about a week now and I must say, I'm in love. I don't know why I didn't do this years ago. For starters, it is a hell of a lot warmer than my Cards or Blues cap (and just as stylish.) Secondly, I get compliments left and right. Just the other day a rather stylishly dressed (male) student walked by and offered, "Whoa man, nice lid."

Nice lid, indeed.

Speaking of Sloppy Seconds

Sloppy second basemen to be precise. I finally decided to check back in and take a peek around. Between the Illini football collapse and the Cardinal middle infield saga, my will to follow sports lately has taken a hit. I more than share IM's concerns about Greene at SS for silly money.

Cin-cin passed on the following comment about Adam Kennedy. I am agreeing with way to many negatives these days. Normally I am such an upbeat guy:

Winning a pennant with Adam Kennedy in the lineup is like winning a 200 meter dash wearing ankle weights. It can be done, but you had better hope 14 other guys fall down.

That Angels World Series win seems sooooo long ago.

"Sloppy Seconds"

Just wanted to horrify the average hockey fan, who evidently can't abide such a term.

Oddly they abide this just fine:



(Actually, don't click that if you are squemish about blood.)

Hmm... I've Got A Bad Feeling About This

"He's too anemic to be paid $6.5 million."

In a deal that could have only happened after a night of tequila shots, the Cards have traded for Khalil Greene:

The Cardinals addressed their question at shortstop by acquiring one of the league’s largest enigmas.

Hours after formally agreeing to a one-year deal with free agent reliever Trever Miller, the Cardinals traded for San Diego Padres shortstop Khalil Greene on Wednesday night.

The Cardinals have yet to publicly confirm the deal for Greene, who has to take a physical exam.

Greene will cost the Cardinals organization two pitchers, neither of whom was on the major-league roster at the end of last season. The identity of the pitchers is not yet known.

Greene experienced a production meltdown last season, one year after crashing 27 home runs for the Padres. Greene batted .213 with just 10 home runs while striking out 100 times in 105 games in 2008.

Well, that's just spiffy. But wait there is more to indicate Greene is a head case.

A career .248 hitter, [ed. Oh, goody.] Greene appeared to lose confidence as a hitter last season, managing only 27 extra-base hits and 35 RBI after producing 74 extra-base hits and 97 RBI in 2007.

Greene is due $6.5 million next season. It is unknown whether the Padres assumed any of his remaining salary in the deal.

They better have. If the Cards decided to dump $6.5 million into Greene they are stupid and nuts.

Maybe the Cards are banking on Greene rebounding for this his final year before free agency. If they are, expect Cards management to be before Congress looking for bailout money this time next year.