Can The Cardinals Compete?

Predictably, most of the planet is ready to slam the door on the Cardinals season. Yes the Adam Wainwright injury is a serious blow, but it was only a few short years ago the Redbirds won the World Series with the following collection of starting pitchers:

• Chris Carpenter, 15-8, 3.09
• Jason Marquis, 14-16, 6.02 (How the hell did he win 14 games?)
• Jeff Suppan, 12-7, 4.12
• Mark Mulder, 6-7, 7.14 (Nice effort, Mark.)
• Anthony Reyes, 5-8, 5.06
• Jeff Weaver, 5-4, 5.18
• Sidney Ponson, 4-4, 5.24 (Are you kidding me?)

Will it be difficult for the Cards to compete this year? You bet. The NL Central is an improved division. However, the best player in baseball still wears Cardinal red, as do a Hall of Fame manager and a Hall of Fame pitching coach. The revamped staff still includes Carpenter, Jaime Garcia, and Jake Westbrook, so don't write this team off just yet.

March Madness In February

With just a few games to go, will our beloved Illini make the NCAA tournament? Let's take a quick look at their resume.

As of this post, Illinois is 17-9, 7-6 in the Big Ten. Current RPI (http://www.realtimerpi.com/) is 38, and current strength of schedule is 20. Quality wins include North Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Minnesota. Bad losses include UIC (beyond terrible), Indiana, and Northwestern.

Illinois' final games are at Michigan State, at Ohio State, vs. Iowa, at Purdue, and vs. Indiana. I'll say they go 2-3, ending the season at 19-12, 9-9. One Big Ten tournament victory would get the Illini to the magic 20-win mark, which should be good enough for a trip to the "Big Dance."

If I'm wrong and Illinois misses the tournament again this year, they can chalk it up to the UIC loss. UIC is 6-21 with an RPI of 285.

There is simply no excuse for losing that game.

Labor Schmabor

Just in case the NFL contract fight isn't entertaining enough for you, guess what's right around the corner...

On June 30th, the NBA's collective bargaining agreement expires.

Thank God for baseball!

Sad News

Very sorry to hear this news...

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/news/story?id=6135463

More Pujols Rumors

The last few days have given us some of the worst sports reporting in recent memory. Here are a few Albert Pujols rumors that I haven't heard or read, but they're not much worse than what the so-called experts are cranking out:

• Pujols to run for President, names Bo Hart running mate
• Pujols to play Gollum in "The Hobbit"
• Pujols to counsel Miguel Cabrera on the dangers of alcohol
• Pujols announces concert dates with Justin Bieber
• Pujols signs to play QB for Washington Redskins; Mike Shanahan questions his conditioning
• Pujols wants to replace Steve Carell on "The Office"
• Pujols calls spelling of last name "confusing"
• Pujols joins Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly on "Bold Fresh Tour"
• Pujols texts racy photos to Brett Favre
• Pujols doubts Warren Report findings
• Pujols dies hair, admits "blondes have more fun"
• Pujols receives crank call, doesn't have Prince Albert in a can

Pujols On The Move?

And just like that, the baseball universe is ready to say that Albert Pujols is leaving St. Louis.

In case you missed it, the Pujols "deadline" has come and gone. In spite of what some news organizations are reporting, contract talks between the Cardinals and Pujols haven't ended. The talks have simply been postponed until after the season, per Albert's request.

Don't take my word for it. Here's what Pujols' agent had to say earlier today:

"The expiration of today's deadline does not eliminate the possibility of Albert returning to the Cardinals in 2012, but simply delays negotiations until the conclusion of the Cardinals' season."

Will he re-sign with the Cards? Who the hell knows? However, I think it's just as likely as any other scenario, including a move to the Bronx.

Don't burn those #5 jerseys just yet Cardinal fans.

Junior Returns

According to ESPN, the Seattle Mariners have hired Ken Griffey Jr. as a special consultant. Maybe he'll teach the M's youngsters how to nap during ballgames.

In all seriousness, it's good to see Junior returning to Seattle as something other than a washed up player, which is exactly what he was in 2009 and 2010.

More Money

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Cubs have signed Carlos Marmol to a three-year, $21-million contract extension.

Marmol is certainly a major talent, but the last thing I would overpay for is a relief pitcher. Shelling out $7 million per year for a guy who throws 70-80 innings doesn't seem like the best use of funds.

MLB Network's "Top 10" Series

First, let me say how much I enjoy MLB Network. By and large they do a great job with programming and day-to-day baseball coverage. I'm even intrigued by the network's positional "Top 10 Right Now" series.

Today I watched the RF edition. Take a guess who topped that list.

Ichiro!

For those of you scoring at home, that's the same player who "slugged" .394 last year.

I like Ichiro as much as the next guy, but calling him the league's best RF "Right Now" is borderline criminal. If it's truly a "Right Now" list, then how the hell did he finish ahead of players like Shin-Soo Choo, Nelson Cruz, Jayson Werth, and Jose Bautista? Jose Bautista hit 54 bombs last year!

I hope the rest of the "Top 10" series doesn't follow this disturbing path. If it does, get ready for Todd Helton to lead the 1B line-up.

Yankees Still Searching For Arms

According to MLBTradeRumors.com, the New York Yankees are considering signing RHP Kevin Milwood to a one-year deal. The former Brave, Phillie, Indian, Ranger, and Oriole was 4-16 with a whopping 5.10 ERA in 2010.

The Yankees have already fired up the "Way-Back Machine" by signing Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon this off season.

I guess Steve Trachsel wasn't available.

Remembering Chuck Tanner

Former Pirates, Braves, White Sox, and A's Manager Chuck Tanner passed away today.

Tanner was probably most famous for leading the "We Are Family" Pittsburgh Pirates of 1979. I was a very young baseball fan back then, but I have fond memories of that squad. I also have a vague memory of a Chuck Tanner meltdown during the 1980s. Perhaps one of you can help me with it.

As I recall, Tanner put on a radical shift in the bottom of the 9th with Astros 1B Glen Davis at the plate. Davis singled through the open right side and drove in the winning run. After the game, a reporter asked Tanner why he ordered the shift. Tanner replied, "That guy hasn't hit a ball to the right side all year."

The reporter reminded the frustrated Braves skipper that Davis had singled to right the evening before. Tanner's reply?

"Shut up!"

I really hope that story actually happened how I remember it. It was a long time ago and my memory gets worse every year, but it still cracks me up. In any case, rest in peace, Chuck.

All That Jazz

You can scratch my "Utah to the NBA finals" prediction:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=6109031

This is a huge loss for the team and the league. I'm very sorry to see Jerry go, but not as sorry as Jazz fans will be.

Super Sunday

As much as I love the Super Bowl, it always makes me a little sad because another NFL season is coming to an end.

The 2010-2011 campaign was memorable to say the least. It's only fitting that two of the league's greatest franchises are meeting on Super Sunday. So who's coming out on top?

Like most big games, this contest should come down to turnovers. As balanced as the Steelers are, Big Ben makes me a little nervous. Will he scramble and execute a game-winning throw, or hold the ball too long and turn it over at crunch time?

In a battle of two evenly matched teams, I'll take the more efficient offense. For me, that's Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. I like Green Bay in a dog fight, 23-19.

The Brett Favre shadow will finally disappear. It's about time.