St.louis

The Cardinals have lost Jamie Garcia for the season. They're in the process of losing Jake Westbrook for way longer than the '2 starts' that we were told. And Shelby Miller can't be trusted to work out of his own jams. None of this was going on 2 weeks ago. So what the...? Wait, what's that? Sports Illustrated sent someone to cover the Cardinals historically good starters starts? Well that explains it. Our friends over at SI Classic Cover sent this week's SI cover over and it it's very nice. And by nice I mean the ONLY reason the Cardinals rotation is falling apart. I kid. I think.

Michael Crabtree has torn his achilles in OTA's today. ESPN is announcing the injury right now. I wonder how this will impact their chances at a return trip to the Superbowl, as he was their obvious #1 WR heading into the 2013 season. Boldin is a great possession guy, and of course Davis is a great receiving threat at TE, but Crabtree was the main man at WR for Kaepernick. One of their rookies or second year guys are going to have to step up and start in 2013. It is a tall order to expect any of them to produce at the level Crabtree did last season. I hate to see any player get injured, but it is a definite boost to the Rams chances at making up ground on the Niners sooner rather than later. Michael Crabtree has torn his achilles in OTA's today. ESPN is announcing the injury right now. I wonder how this will impact their chances at a return trip to the Superbowl, as he was their obvious #1 WR heading into the 2013 season. Boldin is a great possession guy, and of course Davis is a great receiving threat at TE, but Crabtree was the main man at WR for Kaepernick. One of their rookies or second year guys are going to have to step up and start in 2013. It is a tall order to expect any of them to produce at the level Crabtree did last season. I hate to see any player get injured, but it is a definite boost to the Rams chances at making up ground on the Niners sooner rather than later.

Power rankings. They fuel the soul on the football-less days. We've seen them trickle out recently. SB Nation's community managers put together their rankings on the eve of the draft with the Rams coming in at 18. ESPN offered theirs just following the draft; St. Louis settled in at 15. Yesterday, CBS Sports' Pete Prisco (never short with his words...) put his post-draft power rankings out, and it replicated the ESPN ranking slotting the Rams in at 15th. Les Snead is building a heck of a roster. They have a talented front seven that they could ride to a playoff berth, even in a tough division. The blurb isn't all that telling, but the ranking is. The conventional wisdom is coalescing around this team - better than they have been, potential to be good, but everything yet to prove. Heck, you can apply that to Sam Bradford as much as you can the team. Still, it's a different position to sit in at this point compared to a year ago when the Rams were thought of as one of the worst teams in the league going into the 2012 season. And with even more unknowns (key new additions and departures, rookies supporting one of the youngest rosters in the entire league), it's hard for anyone to really get a firm grasp on what this team will be, as opposed to say the Raiders or Falcons. Of all people, it took Lavar Arrington to provide me some clarity on power rankings right now. Listening to the Lavar & Dukes show on my way home yesterday, Lavar suggested something I completely agree with as they were discussing Prisco's power rankings: The top five or six teams are relatively clear. The bottom five or six are as well. Everyone else is interchangeable. Put it like this. Prisco has the Lions, Vikings, Saints and Steelers all behind the Rams. I could understand why someone might rank any of those teams ahead of the Rams. Similarly, I could make a fair argument that the Rams should be ranked above the Cowboys, Redskins, Colts or Bears. The Rams spent a painful amount of time sitting at the bottom level of power rankings in recent years. That's just not the case anymore.

June 6th (6/6) -Should Be Stan Musial Day Every Year in St. Louis Editor’s Note: The following article is written by Daniel Shoptaw, founder and our leader at the United Cardinal Bloggers. Daniel has an awesome blog at C70 at the Bat. Be sure to check it out. This idea is fantastic and I believe [...]

Memphis @ Salt Lake, 7:35pm - TBD (Formerly Tyler Lyon's spot) Springfield vs. Frisco, 7:09pm - Anthony Ferrara Palm Beach @ Brevard County, 5:35pm - Scott Gorgen Peoria vs. Kane County, 6:30pm - Kurt Heyer

Ever since it became known that the Cardinals intended to promote lefty pitcher Tyler Lyons to St. Louis to start in place of the injured Jaime Garcia,  Cardinal Nation has been abuzz with speculation and consternation over the choice.  Many believed uber prospect Michael Wacha deserved the promotion and have questioned the decision, including members of the media.  Though GM John Mozeliak offered an explanation for the choice, there is still much dissatisfaction.   Well, you can count me among the few who believe the choice was the right one. (more…)

First off, I missed that yesterday was Peoria's off day in the probable pitchers list yesterday. Tuesday only saw Memphis and Palm Beach in action. Kurt Heyer will be the starter for today's game at Peoria. Next, it's worth noting that both Memphis and Palm Beach lost yesterday. Memphis in particular took quite the beating. Memphis 3, Salt Lake 10 Adron Chambers was 2-for-3 with a walk. Jermaine Curtis was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks. Chad Huffman was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk. Jamie Romak doubled twice in 4 at bats. Michael Wacha allowed 2 runs on 6 hits and 1 walk in 5 innings. He needed 88 pitches to pitch into the 6th while striking out 2. That's when things got ugly. Sam Freeman and Eric Fornataro would come in for relief and the 7th inning became an 8 run blood bath with 3 earned runs for Freeman and 5 for Fornataro. Palm Beach 1, Brevard County 2 Stephen Piscotty was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk. Palm Beach only mustered 5 base runners in the game. Kyle Hald pitched 7 innings of 1 run baseball allowing 5 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 4. Lee Stoppelman walked 1 and struck out 1 in 1 inning of work. A Ronnie Gil error led to the game winning unearned run for Brevard County.A daily recap of the minor league players in the Cardinals' farm system.

The St. Louis Rams made a big splash at the wide receiver position during the NFL Draft. Les Snead & Co. moved up eight spots to get the explosive Tavon Austin. His PIC (Partner in Crime) at West Virginia, Stedman Bailey, was subsequently chosen with the team's second third-round pick. Austin brings the speed/elusiveness/video game play-making ability that the Rams have been lacking for years. Bailey gives the Sam Bradford a reliable, sure-handed receiver with speed. At first glance, these wide outs were brought in to replace the departed Danny Amendola (have y'all seen this commercial??? I thought it was freakin' hilarious!) and Brandon Gibson. But in essence, Tavon is so much more of an explosive weapon than Amendola ever was and Bailey has been quoted as saying he models his game after Steve Smith. Lets hope we get the Carolina Panthers' Steve Smith and not the one we are more familiar with. One element that these newly acquired offensive toys do not bring to the field is size. Enter: Brian Quick and his 6'3-6'4 220 lbs frame. It is these physical traits that have Quick poised for a breakout year. The Reasoning In Brian Fontaine's piece over at PFF, he mentions that Quick still has the same talent level that made him the Rams second-round pick just a year ago. Brian is still big (he didn't shrink in the last year ). He is still a physical receiver (remember that TD against the 49ers?). Then, in the same article, Fontaine quotes NFL Film's Greg Cosell: Quick is a very fluid and smooth athlete with excellent lateral quickness and deceptive vertical speed due to stride length. It’s not a stretch at all, when you analyze Quick’s physical and athletic attributes, to understand why the Rams selected him early. With his size and overall skill set, he has a chance to be the best wide receiver in this draft class. If Quick progresses as planned, he'll be our big receiver, like Vincent Jackson. Quick did not put up much in terms of numbers on the boards (let me know if y'all know where that music reference is from). In the 15 games he played in, Quick registered 11 catches, 156 yards and two touchdowns. In fact, in Jackson's rookie year, he only had three catches for 59 yards. Jackson, like Quick, was from a small school. His "breakout year" did not occur until his fourth year (59 receptions, 1,098 yards, seven TDs). Also, fun tidbit, Rams' GM Les Snead compared Quick when drafting him. The remaining WR cast also comes into play. Chris Givens had a solid rookie year and is expected to make huge strides this season. Tight End Jared Cook is also expected to play an integral part of the passing game. Austin and Bailey figure to be speed threats along with Givens. WR Austin Pettis and TE Lance Kendricks should also have a niche in the offensive scheme. Jackson's career path should be what we'd compare Quick to. In his second year, Jackson had a 27-453-6 stat-line. In his third year, his stats were 41/623/3. These are similar numbers that have been thrown around a lot recently (check Brent Lancaster's twitter timeline). His biggest impact should be seen in the redzone where he can use his strengths. I'll leave you guys with this video of all of Quick's targets in 2012. Cheers: Poll Which is more likely for Quick: 500+ receiving yards 5+ touchdowns 7+ touchdowns None, he's a bust 0 votes | Results

September 16, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson (22) celebrates during the second half against the Washington Redskins at the Edward Jones Dome. The Rams defeated the Redskins 31-28. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports The St. Louis Rams are one of the more intriguing teams of the offseason, plugging their holes on the defense, letting some “big name” players walk to other teams, and essentially reinventing their offense in a span of two months. As of now, most expect the St. Louis Rams to “compete” in the NFC West, but there are few that genuinely believe that the Rams will be a legitimate contender for a playoff spot. So, if making-over the roster is not enough, how else might the Rams be able to help themselves, both this season and into the future? There are some ideas that have been floated around recently, and over the past year, that might make sense. 1) Move Trumaine Johnson to safety This rumor started spreading the minute that Johnson was drafted by the team in 2012. The “new wave” of safeties in the NFL are all bigger, taller, stronger, and faster… Johnson fits that mold. With the cap casualty release of Quintin Mikell, the current depth chart featuring Darian Stewart and 2013 draftee, T.J. McDonald, might leave some grasping for more in the deep secondary. Johnson showed last season that he could match up well on the outside, especially against larger, “star level” wide receivers. Case and point, Johnson best two performances (according to Pro Football Focus) were against Tampa Bay (Vincent Jackson) and San Francisco (Michael Crabtree). Those same attributes could be transitioned into playing over the top, with the added luxury of not having to have a foot race with the receivers off the line. The drafting of Brandon McGee gives the Rams a viable candidate for the 3rd cornerback slot, in a player possessing the skill set to man-up on the outside in the nickel package when Cortland Finnegan moves into the slot. McGee was praised by scouts for his quickness on underneath routes and straight line speed, and, while height might be an issue, would benefit from having a monster like Johnson helping over the top. With T.J. McDonald and Trumaine Johnson at safety, the Rams would have a solid secondary core in place into the foreseeable future. The most basic rule in football is find a way to get your best players on the field. This is one way to ensure that… 2) Release/Trade Harvey Dahl Currently, Dahl counts $4 million against the St. Louis Rams cap, one the is fitting pretty snug at this point in the offseason. The Rams’ starting guard will be coming back from an injury that left him on the IR for the final two games of the season. Dahl’s play in 2012 was average, at best, grading out as the 26th ranked guard in the league; allowing 12 hurries and 3 hits on the quarterback. Dahl also graded out negatively in run blocker in 2012; in fact, he has never graded positive on the ground since coming to St. Louis from Atlanta. Contrary to popular belief, the one position on the Rams’ roster where there are plenty of bodies is guard: Rok Watkins, Chris Williams, Shelley Smith, and the newly drafted, Barrett Jones; along with a couple of fringe players. Many might suggest waiting to make this move in 2014, or even after that season, when Dahl’s contract expires. The Rams’ might think otherwise! $4 million in cap room is nothing to raise your nose at, and it wouldn’t hurt to allow some of the younger players to dive in and get some experience. Barrett Jones, Chris Williams, and Rok Watkins all possess the potential to be a starter in the NFL. We’ll never know until they are in the game… 3) Start Stedman Bailey over Brian Quick Most have Brian Quick and Chris Givens penciled in as the starters on the depth chart, with the assumption that Tavon Austin will be on the field just

Last time out, Adam Wainwright struggled against the Mets. For most of the year, Daniel Descalso has struggled against everybody. Last night, well, last night was good for everybody.There's no doubt that Dirty Dan is the Hero of last night's...