The Morning Tailgate
The Birds almost let one slip last night.
Correction: Izzy almost let one slip.
But all is well on Thursday morning. The Birds are an insane 11-4, and hold a 1.5 game lead over the second place Cubbies. They close out their series against Milwaukee with a business-man special today at Busch.
Wainwright rolled through 7 2/3 innings last night - striking out 6 and giving up only 5 hits - in a 5-4 victory for the Cards. [STLCardinals.com]
During Izzy’s fiasco in the 9th last night, the Mad Hungarian mentioned that Busch Stadium radar gun “might be a little off.” However, Cardinals Diaspora is impressed with Anthony Reyes’ velocity. Are you? [Cardinals Diaspora]
Jeff Weaver has found a new home in…um, Nashville. Nashville is actually home to the Nashville Sounds (probably the oddest name for a baseball team, but whatever), and a minor league affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. Should Weaver get called up, we smell a standing ovation at Busch when the Brewers visit St. Louis again at the end of July. [Deadspin]
La Russa’s infamous “bat the pitcher 8th” has been statistically proven to optimize the lineup. Fungoes observes the positive affects on the lineup if the pitcher *never* bats. And no, we’re not talking about adding a designated hitter to the National League. [Fungoes.net]
There’s actually a science behind snagging a souvenir baseball at the stadium - and it doesn’t include ripping it from the hands of a 5 year old boy. [The Art of Manliness]
Saint Louis University head men’s basketball coach Rick Majerus signed another local kid to the national letter of intent on Wednesday: 6-foot guard Ruben Cotto from Alton, Ill. [SLUBillikens.com]
Forbes has estimated that the New York Yankees are worth $1.3 billion. [Yahoo! Sports]
Ex-Ram, Kyle Turley, sounds offs about former NFL players receiving disability benefits. Yea, he made sure to throw an f-bomb in there. [SportsByBrooks]