It has been a while since I have posted. Was traveling for a wedding and have been writing for a couple of other sites. Here is an update on what’s going on with BotB82 and some thoughts on the current state of the Cardinals.

Writing Projects

I write for two other sites besides this one. I write for (subscription-based) baseballhq.com and i70baseball.com (covers Cardinals and Royals). I would highly encourage you to check both sites out. There is a ton of great content on both, of which I am a small part.

The two areas I write for HQ are in Playing Time Today and Minor Leagues. This is my first year to do that and I am having an absolute blast.

At i70 I write weekly column on the Cardinals, for an in-depth look at happenings within the club on a weekly basis.

Baseball’s Starry Night

I have talked about this on the UCB Radio Hour, but never on this blog (that I remember). Paul Kocak wrote a book called Baseball’s Starry Night. It is a wonderful telling of September 28th, 2011, the last night of the 2011 regular season. He reached out to fans from St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, San Fransisco, among others. It beautifully captures not only the baseball drama of that night, but what it was like to be a fan through all of it, and what watching baseball in the “twitter age” is all about.

It’s a wonderful keepsake for your baseball library. You can find it on Amazon here. Paul has really done a good job of staying active in Cardinals community so if you enjoy the book, make sure and give it a good review on Amazon.

Snoball

This is an exciting new company that is creating new and fun ways to give to charitable organizations. There is a new giving campaign that has been backed by Matt Holliday and Jaime Garcia that I will be announcing on this blog very shortly. I’m excited to be taking a part in the efforts to raise funds for a worthy cause and hopefully many others will join. Stay tuned for that in the coming days.

Cardinals

The team is off to an incredible start at 11-5. Even more incredible consider all the off-season turnover and injuries they have had to deal with. As mentioned many times on this blog, the first 27 games are so key because 26 of them are against the NL Central.

The cards really have an opportunity to push their division lead over the next 11 games before they go out and face the other divisions.

Word of caution….

Don’t raise expectations for this club because they have come out of the gate strong. Enjoy the success but brace for the tough stretch which will certainly come.

Lohse is always his best in April.

Lynn may or may not continue his early success.

McClellan got off to a great start but wore down as the season went on.

There are a lot of veterans that have health issues.

While I’m thrilled with what has been happening, don’t allow 16 games to set a new standard of expectations. This team and manager needs time to get a feel for the day-to-day grind of the season. Don’t start pinning World Series or else expectations, or you are going to set yourself up for disappointment.

Enjoy the ride and take successes as a pleasant surprise instead of expecting Matheny to be TLR in his first season. Then if he exceeds your expectations, all the better.

My goal for the season remains 88-90 wins and a playoff berth. Anything above that is gravy.

The organization does look strong though, I must admit. And having said all I just said, I also believe the club needs to go get a sweep of the Cubs in Wrigley. 14-6 would be absolutely amazing. The Cubs are bad and just lost Marlon Byrd. Their OF is terrible, and no one is hitting.

The time is right to keep the streak of winning series going and beating up on the NL Central.

Thanks for reading…