St.louis

I think that enough time's passed since the Blues got the boot to look back at the positives of the regular season. Sure, there were stretches of meh that were more than unexplainable, but the Blues really had some moments that showed that they're on the right path, hiccups and all. This is more of an all-call for you guys - what was your favorite Blues moment of the shortened season? There are quite a few to choose from: the 6-0 opening shutout of the Red Wings was fun, albeit a little bit of a source of inflated optimism. The sensational start of rookie Vladimir Tarasenko before he was felled by a concussion was something that got people whispering good things about the Russian. Look at Chris Stewart, playing like it's a contract year! Sure, the playoffs weren't the best time for him, but his 18 goals during the regular season was a pleasant reminder of the player that the Blues acquired a few seasons ago. Of course, you have to look at the acquisitions of Jordan Leopold and Jay Bouwmeester, and the excellent defensive play that followed. The CPR line was a fantastic story, especially in the playoffs, as was the NHL-readiness test that Jake Allen passed with flying colors. Personally, my favorite story was the redemption of Brian Elliott. His Feburary had folks on Twitter making "regression past the mean" jokes, but the way that he battled back and blew everyone out of the water in April was a sight to be seen. I don't think that I've ever seen someone's GAA drop that much in the course of a month. So, what say you, loyal readers? What was your favorite moment of this season?

Congratulations to Tyler Lyons who made a successful big league debut last night against San Diego. He only allowed 4 hits (1 HR) and 1 walk in 7 innings pitched that only required 81 pitches. He struck out 4 batters and enjoyed a strong 12-4 groundout-flyout ratio. Here's a link to video. The system went 3-and-1 on a Wednesday night that featured a lot of offense. Kolten Wong was the highlight of a Memphis team that dominated Salt Lake, though a few veterans muscled up in the game. Scott McGregor made his triple-A debut, taking Tyler Lyons' turn in the Memphis rotation. Palm Beach couldn't muster enough offense while Peoria walloped Kane County. Memphis 17, Salt Lake 6 Kolten Wong went 4-for-5 with 2 doubles, a triple, and walk. He's had extra base hits (2 HRs, 4 doubles, and 2 triples) in 6 of his last 7 games and has walked in 4 of his last 5. Brock Peterson was 3-for-6 with 2 HRs (7, 8). Jamie Romak was 2-for-5 with a double and HR (7). J.R. Towles also homered (5). Ryan Jackson was 2-for-4 with a walk. Vance Albitz, playing shortstop, contributed 2 hits. Chad Huffman also had 2 hits. Scott McGregor's first start in triple-A was a successful one: 2 runs on 4 hits, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts in 6 innings. Jorge Rondon pitched 2 scoreless innings that included 1 walk and 1 strikeout. Marc Rzepczynski can't seem to find any traction. He allowed another 4 runs (2 earned) on 2 hits, 1 walk, and 1 strikeout in the 9th inning. Frisco 4, Springfield 10 Mike O'Neill struck out for only the 9th time this season. But he also went 2-for-5 with a double. Ruben Gotay was 2-for-3 with a double, HR (2), and walk. Starlin Rodriguez was 2-for-4 with 2 doubles. Adam Melker and Luis Mateo each contributed 2 hits. James Ramsey walked twice. Anthony Ferrara couldn't get through the 6th inning. He allowed 4 runs on 7 hits, 1 walk, and 3 strikeouts in 5.2 innings. Two of the runners charged to Anthony Ferrara were inherited by Ramon Delgado who then retired the next batter to end the 6th inning. Justin Wright struck out 2 and allowed 2 hits in 2 innings. Deryk Hooker pitched a scoreless 9th inning that included 1 hit and 1 strikeout. Palm Beach 2, Brevard County 4 Jonathan Rodriguez reached base 3 times via 1 single and 2 walks. Juan Castillo doubled and walked. Danny Stienstra singled twice. Colin Walsh, Stephen Piscotty, and Cesar Valera all singled and walked. Walsh stole his 5th base. Scott Gorgen gave up 4 runs on 6 hits (2 HRs), 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts in 5 innings. Danny Miranda allowed a hit and walk in 2 scoreless innings. Heath Wyatt pitched a perfect 9th. Kane County 2, Peoria 9 Jacob Wilson was 2-for-5 with a double. Ildemaro Vargas was 3-for-5 with a stolen base (2). Jordan Walton and Michael Swinson also doubled. Casey Rasmus singled and walked. Alex Mejia and Breyvic Valera singled. Nick Martini and Patrick Wisdom walked. Despite allowing 10 hits over 7 innings, Kurt Heyer was only reached for 2 runs on 1 walk and 1 strikeout. Samuel Tuivailala struck out 2 and walked 1 in 1 inning. Christopher Thomas struck out 2 in 1 inning.

Nov. 25, 2012; Glendale, AZ, USA: St. Louis Rams guard Harvey Dahl (62) and tackle Barry Richardson (79) against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports From now until the start of the season, fans and analysts alike will be debating which players are primed for a breakout season in 2013. However, for every player that steps up into stardom, there is an equal or greater number of players that will inevitably regress. In the field of psychology, there is a phenomenon called “regression to the mean,” which essentially means that “extreme” performance will typically be followed by performances closer to the average. For example, in 2010, Chris Johnson ran for 2,006 yards on the ground, one of the single greatest performances in the history of the NFL. The next year, he ran for an impressive 1,364 yards; a drop from the extreme end back towards the average for an upper-tier running back. Naturally, there will be a handful of players on the Rams that take a step back from a stellar season in 2012. This could be from a number of things: attempting to follow an “extreme” performance, getting fewer opportunities due to new acquisitions, or even as a result of more talent around them on the roster. So, who might those players be for the St. Louis Rams this season? Jo-Lonn Dunbar Jo-Lonn Dunbar made a case for himself as a Pro Bowl player in 2012, showing competency in every area pertinent to a weakside 4-3 outside linebacker. Dunbar was excellent in the pass rush, tallying five sacks (5th among 4-3 OLB), five hits on the quarterback (5th), and nine hurries (7th). In coverage, Dunbar managed three pass deflections (6th) and 2 interceptions (5th), while allowing only 10.0 yards per reception (18th). Last, but most importantly, Dunbar was a monster on the ground, racking up 120 combined tackles (5th), all while making 62 defensive stops, the third most in the NFL, after only OLB Lavonte David (70) and ILB Derrick Johnson (72). However, Dunbar could see his role as both a pass rusher and a coverage man decrease in 2013, following the drafting of Alec Ogletree. As of now, the St. Louis Rams have Ogletree slotted as the strongside linebacker on the roster; but, conventional wisdom would suggest he will play more of a weakside role, including remaining on the field in the nickel package. The regression of Dunbar might simply be the result of less opportunity on the field. Lance Kendricks The third year tight end has progressed in each of the last two season, including pulling in 41 receptions for 500 yards and four touchdowns last season. Kendricks finally rid himself of the “dropsies” of 2011, ending the 2012 season with an impressive 71.9% catch rate, up from 52.8% the previous year. He also provided his worth as a utility player, stepping in as the Rams’ No. 1 fullback on the depth chart after the departure of Brit Miller; in fact, he is still listed as the top fullback. However, a tight ends’ worth is typically measured by their production on the field in the passing game. With the acquisition of Jared Cook as the pass catching tight end, as well as the drafting of Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey, it is significantly less likely that Kendricks will see 60 targets in 2013. The St. Louis Rams figure to be running out of the spread more often in the coming year, meaning more frequent use of four and five receiver sets. More pass catchers on the field will inevitably lead to Bradford spreading the targets around, especially considering the Bradford-Kendricks’ combination never fully caught on in the past. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Kendricks see fewer targets and more snaps in the backfield this season, which will appear to the untrained eye as regression from the young tight end. Harvey Dahl Harvey Dahl has been one of the few constants on the St. Louis Rams’ offensive line over the last

Sam Bradford's roots run deep in Oklahoma. He's had a rough few days, worrying about family and friends in the Sooner State after lethal tornadoes ripped through areas around Oklahoma City. Here's to all the people affected by the nasty storms recovering very soon. Have you seen the St. Louis Rams' short 5 part videos series about rookie camp? No? Go here, here, here, here aaaaand here. A fond farewell to another great Chicago Bears linebacker. Brian Urlacher is calling it a career after 13 NFL seasons. He'd toyed with signing on with another team after the Bears release the virtual lock for the Hall of Fame. Word has it 2013 second round draft pick Jon Bostic has the inside track to replace Urlacher. Here's a rundown of the Rams' running back situation for 2013 by Bleacher Report. No new details, but there's a couple of videos you might like to take a look at if you have the time? Vinnie Iyer of Sporting News has his off season grades up, and guess who got an "A -"? Tavon Austin has lots of pressure on his tiny shoulders, doesn't he? Impact rookies? How about a short slide show... How about a picture of Tavon Austin? I mean, why not, eh? via dy.snimg.com Sorry for the shortage of links for your day, but it's that time of year...

The club announced yesterday that Jaime Garcia will have surgery on Friday. Dr. Paletta will repair the labrum in his shoulder, as well as debride the rotator cuff in his left shoulder. The club did not release any details about what was seen in Jaime's most recent consult with Dr. Paletta. The club did not say whether the tear in the labrum was worse, better, or about the same as it was last season. Neither did it specify whether any change was seen in his rotator cuff. Labrum tears are pretty serious injuries. The recovery from such tears is mixed, although the outcomes are improving. A 2004 Will "Injury Expert (tm)" Carroll article in Slate painted a very dire picture of labrum tears indeed, although that article certainly does not reflect anything that has happened in the last 9 years and exaggerated the poor outcomes at the time (notably omitting Roger Clemens' labrum repair in 1985 and Curt Schilling's 1995 repair). Baseball Prospectus has a more updated, nuanced view of labrum repairs, dating from the Michael Pineda fiasco. I'd recommend you just view the article rather than read my summary of it. Briefly, some come back and do really well (Chris Carpenter, Schilling, Clemens, Anibal Sanchez), some come back and flop (Mark Mulder, Matt Clement), and some never return at all. The likelihood of someone returning from a labrum tear, generically described, and succeeding as a pitcher is probably less than 50%. But there's no such thing as a generic labrum tear. The chance of return depends in part on the degree of the tear. Last year, the club described the degree of labrum tearing as "moderate," which is the middle case ("complete tear" and "minor tear" represent the ends of the spectrum). The club, as I said before, has not clarified whether it remains moderate, has improved, or worsened. Jaime describes his pain now as worse than before, which is something of a flag. The other complicating factor is the involvement of his rotator cuff; pitchers with labrum tears but no damage to their rotator cuffs will typically recover better than those with torn rotator cuffs as well. Garcia will be having a repair to his cuff as well. So, while the labrum tear isn't quite the kiss of death that Carroll made it out to be, it's clearly pretty serious. Taking all that into consideration, I'd think that we should give some leniency to the fact that Garcia gave rest and recovery the opportunity to work. Success following surgery is far from a sure thing; surgery can clearly be a career-ender. Looking at Garcia's and the club's long-term interests, even blowing 9 months on the rest option doesn't seem unreasonable. The big risks were a) that rest would be a failure and surgery a success, resulting in the loss of playing time to rest and rehab or b) that his tear would worsen in an attempt to come back from rest-and-rehab and become inoperable. We certainly didn't know then and don't know now that surgery will be successful. We don't know whether the rest-and-rehab followed by a return helped or hurt his shoulder. I think people looking from the outside who insist that surgery was clearly the only option are speaking way too soon. People inside the club, people with access to the doctors' advice and evaluations may have a more valid perspective, but random-dude-on-the-internets rants about how Jaime clearly should have gotten surgery are worth nothing. Like a lot of things in life, we can only go on the best information and hope it all works out. Right now, I hope Jaime rebounds quickly and starts healthy in 2014. **** In other news, Fernando Salas has been suffering from shoulder inflammation. He goes on the 15-day DL to allow Tyler Lyons a spot on the active roster. Lyons, of course, went 7 innings last night, allowing four hits and one run (on a solo homer in the sixth). He walked one, struck out four, and got 12 groundouts, which is pretty much the kind of solid, innings-eating good stuff we were hoping for. The bad news

May 21, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Yankees president Randy Levine (left) , Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber (middle) and Manchester City FC chief executive officer Ferran Soriano pose for a photo after announcing the formation of the New York City Football Club as the 20th team in Major League Soccer. The team will begin play in the 2015 season. Mandatory Credit: MLS via USA TODAY Sports The Cardinals pitching mound was ripped out for the first time in Busch Stadium III’s lifetime.  The surgery happened this week to create a soccer field for two of the best football clubs in the world.   Many of the most elite  and recognizable athletes on the planet will be playing at Busch stadium Thursday night, which has never happened before. There are a few things that make tomorrow’s football match between powerhouses Chelsea FC and Manchester City a big deal.  Sorry haters, there is more than one great game that millions of people worship. Football comes from England, and to mess with the Brits we call it soccer.  Their game, whatever you want to call it, can end in a tie, but it is on national television in the mornings on this side of the pond.  Sure they fake injuries, scream at referees and slap each other in “fights”, but these athletes are no doubt world class. Manchester City is the crosstown foe of the Yankee-like Manchester United, and recently City has been a legitimate contender.  Chelsea has been incredibly successful so far this century, especially last year, when they won both the UEFA and FA Cups. Tomorrows exhibition would be like the Cardinals playing the Dodgers in London, except the seats are going to be filled.  Tickets to Thursday’s game at Busch sold out in 20 minutes!  Holy Schnikes! The reason for that extremity dates back to the 80′s when Fenton, MO was a thriving town.  There was still the Chrysler plant and the United States Mens Soccer team headquarters north of highway 44.  It was right on the way to  Six Flags.  When I was older, I got to play there, which was an amazing experience.   St. Louis was “The Soccer Capital of America”, and I was proud of that.  There is still the renowned St. Louis Soccer Club there now. Arena soccer’s almighty St. Louis Steamers, then Storm never really took off like McDonnell Douglass’ jets sporting TWA’s  Cardinals colors.  But with tens of thousands of St. Louis area youths kicking and heading balls, it is shocking that the MLS and The Gateway to the West  (home of countless soccer stars) never struck a deal in the past two decades.  A new era might be starting in 2013. What is more important than local history are recent MLS events. No one in St. Louis gives a bag of unsalted peanuts about MLS, maybe I am stereotyping, but I am pretty sure that MLS jersey sales at The Galleria are low.  That is because there is no STL Flood (copyright pending) jerseys, or dare I say it, Soccer Cardinals shirts. The last city to host teams from the English Premier League at a baseball stadium was New York, and yesterday the Big Apple made a gigantic deal to get things cracking between Man City and the Yanks.  A new stadium with lots of jobs and future revenue. The MLS is in no way the EPL.  But with the success of some MLS teams like Seattle  LA, Houston, Chicago and Columbus, something appears to be brewing.  The MLS has evolved into a decent league for footballers (soccer players).  There have been legends like David Beckham and Thierre Henry who have joined the MLS, as well as domestic talents like Landon Donovan.  To make a  comparison, the MLS is almost as good as the Mexican league, which is why many players go back and forth between the two neighboring nations premiere football leagues. At this time what is sad is that the best American footballers are going to Europe because the competition and paychecks are bigger.  Nevertheless, it is safe to say that the MLS will continue to grow.  Including a cit

On Wednesday, the Peoria Chiefs and Caterpillar Inc. released the new logo for the recently-re-named Dozer Park. Not surprisingly, the image incorporates baseball and a Cat bulldozer. Specifically, the logo features the familiar bright yellow track-type tractor pushing the name Dozer Park and a baseball across home plate. Last month, Caterpillar acquired naming rights for Chiefs Stadium for $2 million over 10 years as part of a much broader set of Chiefs refinancing actions. Details can be found here. Logoed signs will be installed at the downtown stadium in the coming weeks with a grand re-opening event expected this summer. Follow me on Twitter. Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook. Tweet This Post

Sam Bradford has the pedigree of a No. 1 draft pick but the numbers of a below-average starter. So where will the St. Louis Rams QB's career go from here? Gregg Rosenthal examines.

It's been reported that the St. Louis Rams' potentially starting left guard Rokevious Watkins will be suspended for the week 1 contest against the Arizona Cardinals. Rams G Rokevious Watkins suspended for first game of 2013 season. Efforting to find out violation. Likely personal conduct policy. — Howard Balzer (@HBalzer721) May 22, 2013 NFL confirms suspension, but it's for violation of policy for substances of abuse. That's usually not just one game. — Howard Balzer (@HBalzer721) May 22, 2013 Failing tests as part of NFL program usually results in four-game suspension. Could be violation of law. — Howard Balzer (@HBalzer721) May 22, 2013 Watkins was drafted in the 5th round by the Rams last year, and he became a starter week one. However he suffered an ankle injury during the first game and has been working to improve during the off-season. Watkins is only suspended for one game, so this suspension shouldn't hurt his chances of being the starter at left guard. The players that Watkins are competing against for the left guard position are Shelley Smith, Chris Williams and the Rams' recent 4th round pick Barrett Jones.

30 mins ago it came to light that Rok Watkins will be suspended for 1 game next year for violating the PED policy. It is unclear what the substance was that Rok was using, or why he was only suspended for 1 game while other players such as the Cardinals Daryl Washington was suspended for four. The Last players to be suspended by the NFL on the Rams was last year when TE Brody Eldridge and WR Austin Pettis were forced to sit out for similar abuses. Though Austin Pettis was just using Adderall. So with Rok out of the picture the first game the picture at LG becomes even more cloudy. My personal favorite to play the first game would be Barret Jones. This is why we brought him in. To be a Swiss army knife and play where needed. Though the more probable situation is Shelley Smith playing the first game as he has some starting experience. Either way, this will make our OL even more interesting as the season continues. Thanks for reading folks. Poll Our LG for game one will be? Shelley Smith Chris Williams Barret Jones 2 votes | Results