Redbird Rants » Cardinals http://redbirdrants.com A St. Louis Cardinals Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:52:30 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Cardinals Minor League Report – Shortstop Prospects http://redbirdrants.com/2012/02/07/cardinals-minor-league-report-shortstop-prospects/ http://redbirdrants.com/2012/02/07/cardinals-minor-league-report-shortstop-prospects/#comments Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:15:36 +0000 Justin McClary http://redbirdrants.com/?p=6631 Ahh, the shortstop. Without a doubt, the most important defensive player on the field. A good shortstop can make an average pitcher look great. For years, St Louis saw this effect in action as they watched Ozzie Smith track down groundballs that most other fielders didn’t have a chance of reaching. Former Mets shortstop Bud Harrelson summed it up best in 1987 when he said “The thing about Ozzie is, if he misses a ball, you assume it’s uncatchable. If any other shortstop misses a ball, your first thought is, ‘Would Ozzie have had it?’”

The position has been constantly in flux since Ozzie’s retirement. We as fans have seen Tripp Cromer, Royce Clayton, Edgar Renteria, David Eckstein, Cesar Izturis, Brendan Ryan, and Ryan Theriot as opening day shortstops in the last 15 years. What is striking about that list is that Brendan Ryan is the only homegrown player, including Ozzie. Obviously shortstop has not been a position of strength for the Cardinals farm system. Can they right the ship and bring up a major league shortstop?

… [visit site to read more]

]]> http://redbirdrants.com/2012/02/07/cardinals-minor-league-report-shortstop-prospects/feed/ 0 Media Minutes: Oswalt, Cora, & new reporter on Cardinals’ beat http://redbirdrants.com/2012/02/07/media-minutes-oswalt-cora-new-reporter-on-cardinals-beat/ http://redbirdrants.com/2012/02/07/media-minutes-oswalt-cora-new-reporter-on-cardinals-beat/#comments Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:55:59 +0000 Christopher Carelli http://redbirdrants.com/?p=6622 This week’s edition of Media Minutes is more or less in the same boat as last week. Roy Oswalt is still just a rumor that seems to lose ground every day. The good news is the Super Bowl is over so baseball is on the mind of fans across the country. Here are some of last week’s media links to help guide you into spring training mode. … [visit site to read more]

]]> http://redbirdrants.com/2012/02/07/media-minutes-oswalt-cora-new-reporter-on-cardinals-beat/feed/ 0 Super Bowl on TV but Cardinals baseball on the brain http://redbirdrants.com/2012/02/06/super-bowl-on-tv-but-cardinals-baseball-on-the-brain/ http://redbirdrants.com/2012/02/06/super-bowl-on-tv-but-cardinals-baseball-on-the-brain/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:11:44 +0000 Christopher Carelli http://redbirdrants.com/?p=6608 The New York Giants beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI last night, battling back in what was truly a great game that went down to the final play. I lost money playing box pools. Other than that I had nothing else invested in the game. I enjoy football, but I would not put myself among the millions who consider Sunday a day to park myself in front of the TV from 1:00 PM to 12:00 AM. I pay attention to football, but me, I’m a baseball fan. I write about baseball and right now about the St. Louis Cardinals. So during the entire game, I stopped to pay attention to the commercials, was sure to check the scores at the end of each quarter, but my concentration was on Cardinals baseball. … [visit site to read more]

]]> http://redbirdrants.com/2012/02/06/super-bowl-on-tv-but-cardinals-baseball-on-the-brain/feed/ 4