St.louis

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...

I wanted to drop in and share my perspective and knowledge on the two receivers the Rams have selected from WVU. Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey. Two extremely talented players, two very unique characters and two players who I am positive have a ton of star potential each in their own right. I will do this through providing thoughts on their character and abilities as well as sharing video of their entire careers here at WVU and pointing out specific examples you might find interesting. First off, so you know who this is coming from I am Doug Cross. On the internet (and sometimes in real life) people call me Dougitydog or Dougity Dog. I currently work with WVU Football in a quasi-official capacity and have long been a devoted follower of WVU Football. As such I have attended every home game of each of their careers and almost all of their road games as well. Furthermore I make videos of them making good plays (which I will share with you in a moment). Given my background obviously you should expect bias, but I am someone who is big on facts and reason and that is what I feel my judgments are based upon. I will start this analysis or breakdown or whatever it should be called with Stedman Bailey, the lesser hyped of the two names. Who he is: When you think of Stedman the one word that comes to mind is consistent. He approaches everyday with the same mentality, just like he approaches every practice and game with the same mentality. His humble dedication to working and developing at his craft is something which seems ingrained into the fiber of his being. If you follow him on twitter (click here to start following him) you will soon notice how he has built this mentality into a defining aspect of his character, and honestly this personal attitude/outlook might be his biggest strength. His constant progression as a player has been steady over his career at WVU and I expect it to continue in the NFL. How he plays: He plays with effort, passion, dedication and an attention to detail. I doubt there are many skill players in college or the NFL who carry the same mindset that Stedman Bailey does. He will lay out to make the play. He will block downfield. He will run his routes and make his cuts like his life depends on it and when he breaks a tackle or makes a diving catch and gets into the endzone you will see in his celebrations just how much passion he has for the game. Abilities: Stedman Bailey is a prototypical do-it-all receiver. Its hard to decide if he is better at making the routine plays or the spectacular ones . Though if I had to choose I would say he is the best at making the routine plays. His out routes and comeback routes are things of beauty. He can beat you deep and not because he is the fastest player, but because he will either find a way to get the separation through his route running or he will make a play on the ball and find a way to make the catch despite not having any significant separation. Stedman's abilities at the moment of the catch are his biggest strength. He will find a way to go up and get the ball at it highest point, or make an adjustment the defender is unable to make. His hands are some of the best out there (I would guesstimate top-20 in the NFL right now). Also he is deceptively shifty on his first move with the ball and has great balance that lends him to breaking or avoiding a significant number of tackles. He may not be a "YAC monster" like Tavon, but he is something slightly lesser like a "YAC machine". Forced to make comparisons I would say aspects of his game best draw from Jerry Rice and Hines Ward and while he may not end up having nearly the outstanding career of either of these players, I could certainly see him having a multiple pro-bowl career that puts him among the elite receivers in the game. Video Break-Downwatch this video or just read about the takeaways First highlights from his redshirt freshman and sophomore seasons TAKEAWAYS Abilities: 1:33 - Route Runnin

The St. Louis Rams started OTAs on Tuesday. It was the first round of spring practices mixing both the rookies and the veterans from all sides of the ball along with the coaches. OTAs are not conducted in full pads, and they represent just one small step toward assembling the final team that will take the field in September, but it is something kinda, sorta close to football. We'll take it. There wasn't much news out of this week's opening session. It was closed to the media. One item that did bubble up on talk radio was that Jake Long was sitting out. The team warned in the spring after signing Long that he would most likely be out to start spring practices, as he recovered from surgery on his left triceps. Fisher told the Post-Dispatch in March that Long could return to work during the middle part of OTAs. Another pair of veteran linemen could miss OTAs this year: Harvey Dahl and Scott Wells. With Long out, it raises the question of where Rodger Saffold worked. Did he go ahead and begin the transition to right tackle? Or did he stay on the left side? Either way, with no contact through OTAs, the detail is a minor one. Here's the complete schedule of OTAs going forward: May 21May 23-24June 3-4June 6-7June 11June 13-14 The Rams eliminated the mandatory minicamp portion this year. As the official site explains, Fisher felt the additional time away was better for the veterans who are entering their second year in the same system. Hooray for continuity!

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Eduardo Sanchez has been claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs. (more…)

You should know by now that the hallowed field at Busch Stadium will be used to host a soccer match this week. If this is up your alley, here are the details of the event. Again, I've never gotten into...