A rare scheduled 5 game series with the Redbirds.

First-ass meeting of the year.

Keegan Thompson on the mound tonight.

Strangely, the Cubs are favored tonight (-110).

Also the return of Pujols to Wrigley Field.

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W

Keegan Thompson 6-0, 1.98 ERA. Got to be a lock for the All Star game.

Boog & JD were exuberant that Keegan Thompson pitched.a good game. In 5.1 innings he gave up 3 ER (5.07 era), had 8 base runners (1.50 whip).

I listened to the pre-game yesterday and found Pat Hughes' remarks about Morel interesting:

"Ron, it's nice when you have a player who's got a great attitude that rubs off onto his teammates...but you know what's even better? When that player actually produces on the field."

Pat is the last person who would publicly criticize someone, but it almost felt like a dig toward certain apologists.

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That is 100% a shot at Heyward and the media goofs who blow him for being such a great guy all the time.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Stroman will replace Heyward as the focus of cubbie venom

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Boog on Stroman's performance (4 in, 9 er).

Stroman looked sharp early (3 er 1st inning).

As heard in the U.S. Cellular Men's Room eons ago during a South Side trip by the Cardinal before Pujols went to the Angel...

"What do Cubs and Cardinals fans have in common?.....They both love pooholes."

0-4, 7 LOB and now batting .198. Get him out of the fucking lineup and off the roster now. There is no reason to not give Frazier as many at bats as possible to see if you might actually have something with him. How are the fans not booing the absolute fuck out of him and Ross for putting him out there. Are they really that dumb and drunk?

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Rivas & JHK sitting vs rhp. Righty heavy line up. Ross has to be pulling his hair out. Cubs are just outside the '23 draft lottery. Keep losin'.

Never thought I would see so many empty seats for a Cards series

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Sherman remarked, "Well, Grant, we've had the devil's own day, haven't we?" Grant looked up. "Yes," he replied, followed by a puff. "Yes. Lick 'em tomorrow, though."

No one cares.

Wow Strike 3 to Edman may be one of the worst strike calls I have seen in awhile. I dont blame the Cards manager for getting tossed

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

No kidding. That was 3 baseballs out of the zone. I bet we'll see that argument on jomboy

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

I've been listening to most of this, working on the house so not really watching but the ump has been calling outside most of the day.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

I can't believe Morel is still producing at this clip. I would normally assume this was just a pre adjustment by the league period but his at bats are outstanding. He is consistently working deep counts, drawing walks and getting 2 strike hits.

There are some more guys that might be ready for a shot at this roster. The offensive stats at AA are just ridiculous this year.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

God dammit Ross. You have a great game one and then you put a horseshit lineup complete with Heyward together for Killian in his big league debut. Frazier had another hit last game and gets rewarded with a front row seat to the J Hey show.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Killian will be at Cubbie Bear after the game. My attendance is TBD.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Dude looks good so far.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Yup. We got one guy.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Should pinch-hit for Heyward here.

Man the more I see Morel the more I like him. That was a great at bat right there against a tough pitcher

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

That felt like a clutch playoff at bat. He slowed things down, went through his progressions and executed a great at bat. His discipline is well beyond his years. Foul off the good stuff, don't swing at balls and stay within yourself with 2 strikes. You could not do it better than that.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Sosa misses tagging 3rd and had to go back. Cost the Cards the easy lead in the 9th.

I like what I'm seeing out of Madrigal on his return from the IL.

I think Ross is playing for the rain delay. Let Effross pitch an inning tomorrow.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

At least Molina seems to have gotten hurt.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

A flared doink single to RF. Then, Lars Nootbaar does an Alfonso Soriano "corkscrew" impressive misplaying Heyward's easy flyball into a cheap double.

The best part was AJ basically saying he wasnt a major league hitter because he couldnt catch up to a fastball.

I see a great trade though.....the yankees have sent Miguel Andujar down and he has asked for a trade. Him for Robertson straight up....lets dance.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

An unfortunate ending but you knew as soon as Rucker was out there that they were fucked.

Still a lot of positives to take out of the DH:
Killian pitched well for a debut, he got out of whack with Edman in the 4th and it took him the entire inning to recover, but he came back out and pitched well in the 5th. They will probably send him right back down since they have off days this week and Mills is due to come back off the IL. But we will see him for good on August 3 after the trade deadline.

Morel is still playing totally out of his ass. The team looks so much better with someone who seems to understand what it means to be a leadoff hitter. He has changed his approach at the plate to get away from being the TTO hitter he was at Tennessee in 2021.

Another quality start for Swarmer in Game 1. I still don't have faith in him because I think his motion is driving too much deception, but between him, Hughes, and Effross it sure seems like Craig Breslow has a reasonable plan to develop home grown pitching.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

They need to start to consolidate the back 5 of their 40 man first. Rivas is already roster crunched this week when Bote is due to come back, unless Villar is healthy and can be DFA. I don't see where they would put Andujar right now on the 40-man.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal