Bleacher Report - Articles by Steve Hartline

Chicago Cubs: Talk of the Curse….Begins Now

Steve Hartline — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 07:07:59 -0400

The truth is out there—if you want to believe (cue cheesy X-Files music).

For all you fans of the Lovable Losers, you can mark July 5, 2008 on your calendar as the Day the Curse Returned. For on this day, the Cubbies were hosted by St. Louis in the middle game of a three game series.

Through eight innings, the Cubs dominated. Lilly, Cotts, and Marmol scattered seven hits and allowed two runs to silence the Cardinals while Aramis Ramirez provided the go ahead RBI in the eighth in what appeared to be all but a done deal for the Cub win.

Wood started the ninth, and even though he struggled, the planets aligned and the baseball gods frowned—once again the curse raised its ugly head.

This incarnation was not in the cute bearded form of a Billy goat. Nor did it appear as infamous Cubbie fan Steve Barman. In fact, this time the curse had nothing to do with restaurant owners, foul balls, or anything that even happened on the field.

No, this time the curse was brought upon the Cubs by the voice of a major corporation.

For on this day, with one out in the bottom of the ninth, one of the Fox announcers made the declaration that Aramis Ramirez had been named as the Fox Player of the Game.

Did I just hear that right? A player of the game announced before said game had concluded? Then, a big fancy Fox graphic graced my 46 LCD high definition screen that spelled out Fox Player of the Game Aramis Ramirez.

Two of my senses couldn’t have failed at the same time, so the award had to be true. Kind of silly that Fox would do that now, but no big deal.

One would think.

Then right after the announcement, Rick Ankiel slapped a two out single to right field to plate the tie and winning runs. The Cubs just lost a nationally televised game in which they should have won.

Yes, a closer can blow a lead. Look at the struggles Izzy has made this season. It can happen. But in this instance, Fox propagated the curse.

That, or the network is playing favoritism with the Cubs in order to sell the drama of the 100-year drought.

I personally want to believe there is no such things as curses, but if stuff like this keeps happening, what choice do I have?

St. Louis Cardinals: Does Tony LaRussa Like the Underdog Label?

Steve Hartline — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:28:55 -0400

As Spring Training begins to wind down in MLB, these last few weeks in Jupiter, FL have given the Cardinal faithful a reason to have hope in the upcoming season.

Many pundits (self included) have deduced this will be a down year for Cardinals, and the NL Central will probably shake out with the Redbirds looking up to see three teams ahead of them in the standings.

As the team arrived in the Sunshine State, some significant shortcomings confronted the organization.

Do these still hold true?

Pitching woes, the departure of key veterans and bench players, and protection in the lineup for Prince Albert were all three equally weighty concerns. As the teams began to play one another, those concerns became dilemmas.

Pitching was as bad as expected, and the extent of Albert’s injuries was revealed. But a funny thing has happened since March 13th.

The Cardinals have been impressive in the box scores and seem to have answered some of those questions. In doing so, they have ripped off a 12-1-1 record.

But let’s not focus on the 12 wins. Rather, lets consider what they are doing right in that time span.

The rotation will be anchored by Adam Wainwright, who just inked a phat contract and has thus far delivered on that pay raise. His final warm-up shows just why he is the staff ace: 6-4-2, with a couple of walks and four Ks.

Today, probable No. 2 or No. 3 man Kyle Lohse was economical in his last start going 5-3-0 with a walk scattered between four Ks.

Looper, who was a lifelong reliever converted starter, has been both good and bad this spring. If he can eat innings this season once again, that will suffice. However, he can tap into what made him special in day games last year (10 starts, 7-1 with a 0.96 WHIP) throughout the season, he will have truly arrived.

The bullpen has plenty of arms to round out the bottom of the rotation until Mulder and Carpenter return.

Centerfielder Ankiel has, for the time being at least, last year’s "HGH-as-doctor-prescribed" story behind him and had a great spring. He seems primed to bat behind Pujols and should see plenty of run producing opportunities. Scouts are also impressed with his improved plate discipline.

Chris Duncan seems to be struggling at the plate, and with his defensive shortcomings, that cannot help.

If he falters, look for more at bats from Barton, whom LaRussa is strongly considering his No. 2 hitter behind right fielder Skip Shumaker. He has also been impressive.

The bullpen is in good shape if it can turn a game over to setup man Russ Springer and closer Isringhausen. Springer shined last year with career numbers in appearances, WHIP and innings pitched. Izzy should once again make 65 appearances and earn 36 saves.

So even though the 2008 season still looks a little bleak for the Cardinals, at least for now, there is hope.

That was more than we expected prior to the March 13th.

“That was just Spring Training. You can’t take anything seriously based upon Spring Training,” you may say.

True enough, but keep in mind, the last time the Cardinals were projected to have a significant drop in the standings, all they did was win the World Series.

What Will Kyle Lohse Give to the St. Louis Cardinals?

Steve Hartline — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 11:58:36 -0400

According to the AP, on Thursday, March 13th, the St Louis Cardinals signed journeyman right-hander, 29-year-old Kyle Lohse to a one-year, $4.25 million deal, pending passing of a team physical examination.

The total takehome paycheck could be more with added incentives for reaching milestones stipulated in the contract.

In terms of the team though, what do the Cardinals get for their money? What they get is a guy who Dave Duncan can tinker with, which is a good thing for the team.

Beyond the obvious that the Cardinals are desperate for someone who can take the mound every fifth day, how does this signing look from the eyes of pitching guru Dave Duncan?

If you know your baseball history, Duncan is perhaps the second best pitching coach to instruct at this level to Leo Mazzone. For some of us, he is the best, considering the reclamation miracles he has worked.

Dennis Eckersley and Dave Stewart in the Bay area of Oakland in the 1980s, up through and including Chris Carpenter and Jeff Weaver today all have been revived by Duncan's prowess. So when Duncan gets wind of the Lohse signing, what does he do to tinker, poke and prod this young man into performing up to his full potential?

For starters, you can bet Duncan knows Lohse has a sound repertoire of pitches. He commands a mid 90s fastball, a change, a curve, and a slider added to a history of mixing his pitches well.

He can pitch long into games when healthy, twice getting over 30 starts and 175 innings pitched in his five-year career. Lohse can also work out of the bullpen.

On paper, he seems like a nice addition to a starting rotation, especially one desperate like the Cardinals. But the reality was no one came calling for Lohse, who had been on the free market for some time.

Why the hesitation? Perhaps there is a tweak needed to Lohse’s delivery. Or maybe his mechanics are off. Could it be he is rushing his delivery when he should be more deliberate?

Whatever the reason, there seems to have been some underlying factor in why he remained unsigned as long as he did. Rest assured, Dave Duncan will know what to do.

He will study film and make observations. He will sit down, talk to the man as he has with so many others in his storied career.

There is no guarantee, which is why he was only given a one-year contract. But Duncan is ready to talk. The question then becomes, is Lohse ready to listen?

Sports News Is Hard to Find in Hard Copy

Steve Hartline — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 04:47:41 -0500

As much as I appreciate the speed of which news and information is published today, I find there I times I pine for the old days, when much of what you learned about the start of each season was assembled and published in printed form.

No need to get bleary-eyed sitting in front of a 1280 x 1040 resolution desktop, discovering that once again your DHCP needs to be renewed. There were annuals published once a year, digests came out monthly and the news stand would carry weekly newsprints.

Not to mention the daily sports pages of your favorite paper.

Prior to the beginning of every professional baseball and football season and NCAA men’s hoops, I would go to the local bookstore or local drugs store (remember those?) and get a copy of Street & Smith. If I had spare money, I would usually get The Sporting News as well.

After 30 minutes of browsing before I bought, it was all I could do to get home and crash on the sofa to look up my favorite teams first. Then the milestone pages of current and former players and then the schedules.

Offseason, Baseball Digest would arrive in the mail and these publications were loaded with statistical analysis and articles on all things baseball would be assembled. There were quite a few good stories of seasons gone by and tidbits about the teams my father would have followed, or even my grandfather. Also very good letters to the editors often times would detail the life history of a specific player, or recap an obscure factoid.

My copies would lay around on the coffee table at first, where they were referenced often and mangled in the process during the start of the season. Eventually, they would find their way into a side table, along with back issues of other publications taken by the family: the likes of Country Living, National Geographic, and Time Life.

Once in awhile an argument or discussion would come up and the hopeful answer was sought within one of these. I would ransack the side table and out they came.

However every spring, one weekend mom order us to empty the tables. So the decision would come on whether they be thrown out or boxed and sent to the attic, where they would remain for years. My stuff ended up transported to dry heat of the attic. So the cycle of events continued until after high school when I moved out.

I would continue buying Street & Smith’s, but this time they would end up in a box in my closet after the season was over. This process was established and perfected over several years.

Then a few years ago mom reminded me of my old collection and dad wanted to know if I wanted them, or else into the recycle bin they were destined. I am happy to report that old have been reunited with more recent and now they are prominently displayed in a bookshelf in the house.

But this last NFL season, Street & Smith’s NFL yearbook was nowhere to be found. Instead, valuable rack space was occupied by the more popular and better selling fantasy guides, draft kits and how to’s. When I finally did talk to someone who knew something about their magazine selections, they said Street & Smith’s was not going to be carried for lack of interest. What the #@$?

This year, I have not been able to locate the MLB yearbook either. But I have at least found I can buy a copy on the web. I even got to pick my regional cover and specify cost and speed of delivery. A sigh of relief! There is also a feeling of loss, as I no longer can loiter at the magazine rack and flip back and forth before I make my way to the register.

Yankees Factoid: 50 Minutes of My Life I Will Never Get Back

Steve Hartline — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:58:43 -0500

For starters, let me apologize for the time it is going to take you to read this.

I say this because it took me about 20 minutes to compile research and then another 30 minutes to type up something that would look presentable while not making me look like the fool that I am. All told, I have now lost 50 minutes of my life that I will never get back, and I am a little ticked off at what started this whole diatribe.

Bear with me, please. I have to decide on how I will approach this and establish the process of what eventually gets to be my point…

Here is the windup: Have you ever heard someone state something as fact that you would normally just disregard as total stupidity, but then you dwell on it because, quite frankly, it’s so compelling in and of itself that you start to think that it has to be true?

Usually this is a comment that comes out of nowhere: a statement that just takes you by surprise. Typically, this stated fact will have an element of history to it, and it inevitably is in a subject in which you never claimed to be an expert. In your mind, you perform some minor level of evaluation and arrive at the conclusion a real conversation piece is at your disposal. You cannot wait until the opportunity happens to pass along this little nugget.

Although some time later, you doubt the validity of it. Just a little at first. You think, “That can’t be true!” Then, much later, when you are lying awake in bed as you try to work through the facts, if you are like me, you throw off the covers with a loud expletive-laden declaration that wakes your wife. You offer her a feeble apology as you decide now is the time to get serious and do some research. No longer do you believe that the scholar who mentioned this knew what he was talking about. In fact, the guy is now an airbag. It is time to end this obsession.

Now comes the pitch: For perhaps the third time in my life, someone said something along these lines when the conversation was about baseball and the New York Yankees. The comment was (or something along these lines): ”You know, the Yankees are cursed. Yes, they have a curse! Did you know that the Yankees have never won a World Series title when a Republican was president?”

The swing: Here are the results of the research. I hope like hell that anyone who has fallen for this feels vindicated in some measure. I know that now I can go back to bed, and fall asleep with a smug yet content smile on my face.

Title Year/President/Party

2000/Bill Clinton/Democrat

1999/Bill Clinton/Democrat

1998/Bill Clinton/Democrat

1996/Bill Clinton/Democrat

1978/Jimmy Carter/Democrat

1977/Jimmy Carter/Democrat

1962/JFK/Democrat

1961/JFK/Democrat

1958/Dwight D Eisenhower/Republican

1956/Dwight D Eisenhower/Republican

1953/Dwight D Eisenhower/Republican

1952/Harry S Truman/Democrat

1951/Harry S Truman/Democrat

1950/Harry S Truman/Democrat

1949/Harry S Truman/Democrat

1947/Harry S Truman/Democrat

1943/FDR/Democrat

1941/FDR/Democrat

1939/FDR/Democrat

1938/FDR/Democrat

1937/FDR/Democrat

1936/FDR/Democrat

1932/Herbert Hoover/Republican

1928/Herbert Hoover/Republican

1927/Calvin Coolidge/Republican

1923/Calvin Coolidge/Republican

Worries Abound Around the St Louis Cardinals

Steve Hartline — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 13:14:20 -0500

The release of utility player Scott Spezio on February 27^th for charges stemming from an alcohol related hit and run back in December is, by itself, not an indication of a team with problems. However, placed into a broader context, it paints a picture of an organization that seems to be in turmoil. Several otherwise isolated events have come to past in the last year or so that, when taken together, indicate perhaps a larger concern.

Spezio, who will always have a place in the hearts of Cardinal’s fans, will be remembered for the shocking red soul patch and his many memorable plays in their push to a World Championship in 2006. He underwent substance abuse rehabilitation as recently as the fall of 2007. A relapse by itself, while saddening, is understandable. People who have substance abuse problems often times relapse before they get to a place that is clean, dry, and sober. We do genuinely wish him well.

But apart from Spezio, when you look at his troubles along with recent other members of the organization, you cannot but conclude that the franchise has seen better times. The list of such events since the Cardinals captured their recent Championship read like headlines found in the gossip rags one finds in checkout lines at any typical grocer:

Disgruntled All Star traded away to American League
Same All Star and coach air out differences, again
Future Hall of Famer blasts local media for linking him and the S word.
Former pitching phenom, now hot outfield prospect, suspected of HGH
Team GM ousted, rumored as loser of front office power struggle
Bullpen pitcher killed in auto accident, alcohol involved
Coach charged with DWI in off-season

Quite a list over so short a period of time. So I ask you, what is going on with my beloved Cardinals? Is this in fact a trend to worry about or is my imagination getting the better of me? Are other clubs so similarly beset with trial and tribulation? I don’t know. It is my hope though this is nothing more than an aberration, but my gut tells me otherwise.

MLB Steroid Era: Fans Partially to Blame

Steve Hartline — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:56:10 -0500

I am so tired of all the talk of HGH and steroid use in MLB over the last three years, and I can't help but blame the media for most of the hubbub. I'd really like some closure so we can all get excited about spring training.

Don't get me wrong, I do want baseball to clean itself up. But I could care less about just how widespread the use of performance enhancing drugs is. I could care less about who was juicing, who was creaming, or even whose buttocks received injections.

I don’t even care anymore who knew and who didn’t. It was an exciting period of baseball, the Steroid Era. Now let it be over.

Remember the bash brothers? It was cool to trot the bases after a jack and bash your battery mate at home plate. What about the Home Run Derbies? Those were tremendously entertaining. Remember McGwire in Fenway, or Abreu putting on a clinic? Heck, Glavine and Maddux even made a commercial that summed up the state of baseball: [We dug] the long ball.

It was fun back in 1998, remember? We were entertained, and if people suspected doping, no one cared.

And until recently, still no one cared. The owners didn't mind, obviously. They concerned themselves with getting the fans in the seats. Remember, we had just endured a long strike and the fans stayed away.

The NFL was increasing in popularity annually while the MLB was looking, well, old. Owners needed some kind of spark, and the more numerous the home runs, the more the turnstiles turned.

Players quickly saw what was happening, and contracts reflected that change. Such offensive fundamentals as clutch hitting, steals, doubles down the gap all became secondary. It was those "touch 'em all" hits that gave the fans a rush and made the daily highlight reels.

It was big money and if you could find a way to cash in, you'd sign up.

The money became too ludicrous. Who can blame the players if it meant going from a measly $3 to $7 million annually. Or if you were a true superstar, $8 to $15 million.

I can remember not too long ago when Ozzie Smith signed a $2 million contract with St. Louis and I couldn’t even fathom that. So I don’t blame the players for getting while the getting's good.

Can you then blame the Players' Union? Nope, not really. If the players were happy, then the Union was happy. If the owners were happy, then life was good.

It was good to be in MLB, even if this was all to come crashing down sometime, someday, at some price.

So who do we blame? All we have to do is look in the mirror for an answer.

We said what we wanted with our wallets. We bought tickets and jerseys. We discussed last night’s highlight reel at the water cooler.

I think we ought to put some blame on ourselves, and assume some of the guilt.

And after the denial phase is over, let’s decide what to do to make amends. We can start by letting Selig and the owners know that yes, we enjoyed the ride, but we too were wrong. Tell them a strict black and white doping policy needs to be put in place and enforced.

We will forgive the players for doping, if they forgive us.