Cardinals Continue Dominance In Weekend Series Vs Brewers and Phillies

So I do things that are stupid sometimes. The list is substantial.

Occasionally it trickles down to my strat team.

Two years ago in the playoffs, a work tsunami distracted me and I prepped for the wrong pitcher and lost.

In my second or third year, I demoted an AL card and it cost me severely.

This year in the draft I was lambasted by the collective genius for taking Randy Vasquez in the fourth round (he has arguably been our MVP this year, but what do I know).

And, then, on Thursday I faced the trade deadline on the heels of a full day of production with Clients and a live zoomcast from our studios. I had three goals: 1) second base. 2) another outfield bat. 3) if I could get a playoff shutdown reliever somehow.

The Cubs had bats – Marte and Sanchez. Marte was too expensive so I focused on Sanchez – not realizing he went to Houston in 2025 making him an AL card.  If I wasn’t crazy busy, I would have researched better. No time. I went back and forth on the deal – actually rejecting it until changing my mind on the drive home. So I made the deal, thinking he was minors-able. He isn’t.

Then Sam makes Altuve available. Another bat with some power. Lousy range at second. I hate having Cronenworth’s 3 there, what would I want with a four? And another AL Card. Shit, what am I doing? I have nothing left to give up, so I expose Joey Weimer knowing Sam is going to try and trade him to a team that will shove him up my ass in the playoffs.  So I make another dumb deal.

I am beside myself for taking on two AL cards with poor defense all the while severely limiting my roster flexibility. Anger.

Then I played two series, and the two AL guys combined for 5 home runs. Both are hitting over .450. neither has made an error. I even had the gonatalia to put Sanchez and his 4 e 10 in center for a few innings just to see (he gave up a double).

No matter what I try, I cannot stop this team.

Since Rob took the first two games of our series earlier this year to make me 11-11, the cardinals are 33-9. Alec Burleson is hitting over .350. So is tyler Freeman. We are getting every conceivable roll. Brady Singer has been passable. The aforementioned Randy Vasquez has eaten dead innings left and right and has kept my bullpen from overuse. Drew Pomeranz? Really? Skenes hasn’t rolled his card, but he hasn’t had to. In 50 years of playing this game, I’ve never had a run like this. Ever. OK, maybe the 1980 New Jersey Piners with Barry Evans and Ty Waller had a run like this. But this has been as surprising as it has been special.

On Friday night, after a brutal week, I chose to have a series with my son. 50 years of playing this game and I get the pleasure of playing it on a Friday night with my son. I don’t know whether I should be proud of my life or embarrassed by the sheer dorkiness of it.

Brewers at Cardinals

GAME 1

Cardinals 7

Brewers 2

WP: Imanaga

LP: Somebody beat the Miz

The Goings on: The Crew plated two in the second with an Alexander double to take a 2-0 lead. The Cardinals responded with homers from former brewer Paredes and from Alec Burleson to take A 3-2 lead. In the fifth, Knack got knocked for four runs. There were two costly errors which added to the melt down. The Cards had three double plays in the last four innings to seal the win.

GAME 2

Brewers 8

Cardinals 7

WP: Taillon

LP: Canning

S: Finnegan

The goings on. Griffin Cannings was the pick I regret most. I thought I could overcome his wildness. I cannot. The stinkage is otherworldly putrid.  Milw scored three off him in the third and another three in the fifth (Connor Norby’s three run jack). The Cardinals tried to come back Altuve homered in the fifthand Paredes in the 7^th. In the 9^th, down 8-5, Yelich’s single plated two. With two out and two on William Contreras faced Finnegan with the tying run just 90 feel away. K city. Series was even.

GAME 3

Cardinals 12

Brewers 3

WP:Singer

LP Gray

The goings on: This one was ugly. Cards took an early 5-1 lead and cruised. Brady Singer continues to get support and give me just enough to win. He allowed six baserunners through six, but gave up just one run. The offense: wow. Three different guys had three hits, three other guys had two hits.  We totaled 20 for the game. Altuve continued his personal assault on my only offspring with two more homers. Winn had three RBI. It was a bloodbath.

GAME 4

Cardinals 9

Brewers 5

WP: Kittridge

LP: Beeter

The goings on: The Brewers have Paul Skenes number. For the second time this year, the crew crushed the young flamethrower. This time for ten hits and five runs. The brewers held a 5-4 lead into the eighth when it all burned down. Three walks by beater and a pair of two runs doubles doomed the brewers. Altuve had two more hits.

It cannot be stated enough how much fun I have rolling against my son. Win or lose, it’s wonderful and I am truly a lucky man.

The next day, Sam texted. Am I free Saturday night? Sure. Why not? I spent most of my adolescence spending my weekend nights playing strat instead of being with girls, why not one more weekend.

I went to the office of Sam and was treated to one of the most entertaining series I have played in many a moon. The games were fun to manage and things got, well, interesting.

GAME 1 Phillies 7

Cardinals 2

WP: Gore

LP: Gausman

The goings on: This was an ass-kicking. I go in, sit down, and get slammed. Typical sand-bagging Sammy. He tells me his team stinks and then crush me. Story and Vientos homered. So did  Corbin “Go fuck yourself” Carrol. Twasn’t a contest. Gore didn’t pitch great, we helped him grounding into four double plays. I stranded 13 runners. Not good.

GAME 2

Cardinals 2

Phillies 1 (11)

WP: Pomeranz

LP: Ferrer

The goings on: So this one was kinda strange. I won, but had no business doing so. I won, because on two occasions Sam tried a steal of home with two out.He also tried it once with one out.  I do not know why he did this, maybe because Harper was out with an injury, I don’t know.  But he did. If it worked, he’s an insane genius. It didn’t work, so you just get the insane part. I give him credit and appreciation for trying to make something happen. In this case, it backfired. In the top of the first Corbin “go fuck yourself” Carrol doubled. With one out Moreno walked and story hit into a fielder’s choice – setting up a first and third with two outs and former Cardinal Joey Weimer at the plate. Sam announces a delayed double steal. In the top of the first inning. I chose to get Carroll (fuck him) at home. Sam rolled high. Inning over. Then, in the fifth, game still scoreless, Carroll (eat shit) tripled with two outs. Sam called a straight steal of home with DeJong at the plate. He rolls high. Inning over. Then, in the 10^th, game still scoreless, Stott singles and goes to third on a Vientos single. First and third, one out. Sam announces a delayed double steal of home with Harris at the dish. You guessed it, I went home, Sam rolled high. End of inning. Now, I admire his persistence. I do. Sam might be the only manager in the universe who can keep two teams in the game at the same time.  I say this knowing he kicked my ass in the playoffs last year taking a series he had no business winning. So genius gives and it takes away. So there was that.  In the tenth, Corbin “Go Fuck Yourself” Carroll singled, stole second and scored on a deJong single to give same the lead going into the bottom of the 11^th. In the bottom of the 11^th Friedl walks. He is held. Tyler Freeman hits a 2bX to Stott – he of the 1 e4. Smelled like another double play. But Sam rolls a 1. And Stott was responsible. A two star miracle single. Freeman sacs friedl home and the game is tied. With one out Yellich and Winn single. William Contreras singles and the game ends.

GAME 3

Cardinals 10

Phillies 9

WP: Esteves

LP: Hoffman

The goings on: Did I mention Canning was awful? He gave up seven runs in four innings of work. Fortunately, we teed off on Liberators and it was 9-7 cardinals after five. It should be mentioned that Corbin (dickless moron) Carroll homered and tripled. Fuck him. Burleson had four hits, Tyler Freeman and Altuve had three and the game went back and forth like that for a while. This part was fun: in the top of the fifth, sam had bases loaded and nobody out and I could feel a big inning coming in the lining of my stomach. I took out Canning and put in Randy (MVP) Vasquez who gave up a 2bX to Harris – at Altuve who is a four. And I rolled a 20. So the best defensive card in the league gives me a single in the previous game, and my second baseman who has less range than a wet slug gets the double play. That my friends is luck. As Crash Davis said, when you are in the streak, you have to respect the streak.  In the eighth, guess fucking who tripled and scored to tie the game for Sam. But, in the bottom of the ninth, Tyler Freeman singles and we get three straight walks to end the game. Again, luck. Nice to have a bunch of it during this run.

GAME 4

Cardinals 6

Phillies 3

WP: Singer

LP: Sasaki

S: Kittridge

The goings on: Carroll went 0-5 and struck out four times. That was a win in and of itself. The Cardinals led 3-0 early behind a Jesus Sanches homer. Sam stormed back with three runs in the fourth behind a Vientos double. But the Cards scored in the 4^th and 5^th to take a 6-3 lead which held up nicely. At one point, Sam collected 13 consecutive outs by striking out. I didn’t think that was possible. He had 15 on the night.

So the Cardinals had a week. We are 44-20 and have the Rockies on Tuesday night.