I hope you’re having a good day.

Billy Devaney isn’t.

Read On …

1. Creating a Stink: ESPN football analyst Mark “Stink” Schlereth is usually spot on with his NFL analysis, and he’s a good dude, but he got it wrong Thursday on ESPN’s ”Mike & Mike” radio show, heard locally on WXOS, 101.1-FM. Schlereth wasn’t off base when he said the Rams were the worst team in the NFL and weren’t getting it done on either side of the ball. But then he added ”they’re not competing.” And he said that the Rams organization was in “shambles.”

Schlereth’s assessment on the Rams being a bad team is correct. But I believe the players are competing for head coach Steve Spagnuolo. I’ve been tough on the team in my reactions to the first two games, but a lack of effort hasn’t been on my list. Obviously, the Rams aren’t very good. They lack talent. They lack playmakers. They’re rebuilding. The new coaching staff could be more creative. But there’s been nothing wrong with their commitment. They’re trying. That’s my view.

Schlereth’s comments infuriated Devaney, the Rams first-year GM. “I’ll be honest, I’ve got to take a deep breath, because that really pisses me off,” Devaney told 101 ESPN hosts Bryan Burwell and Pat Parris. “When he says something like we’re not competing, how the hell does he know? I guarantee you he hasn’t watched one of our games. You can say we had a stinker in Seattle and we made a ton of mistakes. And that’s fine. But to say we’re not competing is totally asinine.”

Later, Devaney added: “It frosts me. It just ticks me off a little bit. We’re fighting our guts out there. If you want to say we’re no good right now, I don’t have a problem with that. But don’t question our heart. Don’t question our competitiveness. Devaney said he’s been in situation where he can’t tell if a team has won or lost when he’s walked into the locker room or watched the squad getting onto a plane to fly home. Devaney doesn’t see that with the 2009 Rams. He insists the Rams hate losing. Devaney said that after the Rams lost in Washington 9-7, the Rams players were completely demoralized in the locker room. ”It was staggering,” Devaney said.  

“Don’t say we’re in a shambles,” Devaney said. “We’ve gone to great lengths to improve the attitude and bring in the right kind of players in here. To our players’ credit, they do have heart.”

“We’re 0-2,” Devaney added. “We’ve got to eat everything right now…all we can do is win some games and change people’s minds about us.”

Devaney said he planned to call Schlereth.

UPDATE: Schlereth appeared on 101 ESPN at 2:20 p.m. Thursday to clarify his remarks. He said he misspoke. His intention was to make the point that the Rams weren’t competitive (in other words, 12 consecutive losses). He said he did not mean to imply that they weren’t playing hard. “Stink” said he watches every play of every NFL game on tape and he does believe that the Rams are playing hard … but did not back off from his opinion that they are not very good. (No one disputes him on that.) Schlereth also said he called Devaney to apologize and that they had a lengthy and good discussion. Schlereth had a couple of other things to say, including some criticism of the decision to play Rams rookie OT Jason Smith at RT instead of LT.  

2.  Cardinals Fail to Clinch: In the grand scheme of things, the Cardinals’ Wednesday loss in Houston was no big deal. They’re obviously going to win the division. But they had a chance to do it the right way: a spontaneous celebration, after winning a game, and truly immersing themselves in the moment. Now they’ll be doing a pre-arranged celebration after Friday night’s game in Colorado, win or lose. It will be like making a doctor’s appointment, or walking into City Hall to fill out a form. Won’t be the same. I’m really surprised the offense was so flat and failed to rise to take the opportunity.

And the loss was a minus for a more tangible reason: I’d like to see the Cardinals have homefield advantage in the NL playoffs. Do they need homefield advantage to make it to the World Series? Of course not. The Cardinals had it in 2005 and lost to Houston in the NLCS. And they didn’t have it in 2006 and beat San Diego in the NLDS and the NY Mets in the NLCS. But it’s still a plus to have it. Cuts down on travel and more wear and tear.

And there’s this: Chris Carpenter has a 2.12 ERA at (the new) Busch compared to a 3.47 ERA on the road.

Adam Wainwright has a career 2.70 ERA at Busch as a starter compared to a 3.71 ERA on the road.

Joel Pineiro’s home ERA this season is 2.75 and away from Busch it’s 3.70.

But with the Cardinals offense sputtering too frequently these days, the Cardinals ended Wednesday night with the No. 3 overall record in the NL. They trail the Dodgers by 2.5 games and are a percentage point behind the Phillies.

3. Run Yadier Run: Molina is an All-Star catcher, the best defensive player at his position in the majors, and an important part of the Cardinals’ success. Anyone who pays attention knows that I praise him frequently.  I didn’t even get upset when Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina hit the (dropped) pop fly and barely trotted to first base (bat in hand) in that game at Wrigley Field. That prompted some critical comments from Cardinals broadcaster Al Hrabosky, who chastised Molina for not hustling, and Hungo’s rebuke drew fire from manager Tony La Russa. I wasn’t upset because — even though it looked bad — Molina had no place to run. The bases were full. He wasn’t going to get past first base, even though the pop fly was fumbled. I think Molina made a mistake by holding onto the bat and flaunting it. But I do know the guy is slow, and he doesn’t have the best wheels, and he gets beat up behind the plate.  Understood. I don’t have a problem with Molina pacing himself while running on routine plays. I’d rather have him preserve his legs for an October run. I’ve defended him up to this point.

That said, Molina’s lack of hustle in Houston last night was disturbing. And it shouldn’t be brushed away. Here you had future Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz, 42, pushing a sac-bunt attempt to advance Molina to second. Molina slowly trotted to second, and didn’t bother to slide or otherwise distract the fielder in an effort to prevent a double play. Meanwhile, Smoltz was busting his tail to try and get down the line to beat the relay throw. The lack of effort was disappointing. It showed a lack of respect to Smoltz, and to the game. Look, if Molina is sore and can’t run, he shouldn’t be playing. He should be given some time to freshen up. If he’s being told by manager La Russa to take it easy to avoid injury — well, if that’s the case, then why subject Molina to risk? If Molina has an injury that he’s protecting, something I am unaware of, then I’ll be happy to pass that along if the Cardinals want to tell me about it. I had a conversation with La Russa on Saturday afternoon. I asked him about how he balances the need to preserve his players for the postseason while also trying to keep them sharp and competitive. And TLR’s answer: if a player is sore or tired and needs a day, he’ll get a day off. But if he’s OK to play, and he’s in the game, then he expects the player to approach the game as if it matters, and that you have to play to win.  I repeat: if the goal here is to try to protect Molina so he’ll be 100 percent for the postseason, then that’s fine. But if Molina can’t or won’t try to bust up a double play by making a reasonable attempt to do so, then he should be resting and out of harm’s way.

4. Dropping the ball on Deacon? (UPDATED): I’m surprised that the Rams won’t be honoring Hall of Fame defensive end David “Deacon” Jones during halftime of Sunday’s home game against Green Bay. Instead, they’ve scheduled the jersey-retirement ceremony for 30 minutes before kickoff. This is a late-arriving crowd. The place will be mostly empty. It makes more sense to do it during halftime, when there is at least a decent chance of having many fans in their seats to give Jones the warm ovation that he deserves. Apparently the halfftime show has been reserved for a group of players from the women’s pro football league. No offense to them, but if you’re going to fly Deacon Jones in and honor him, then make him the centerpiece of the day. This deserves a Deacon-style head slap.

OK, here’s the update: Rams exec VP Kevin Demoff explained that pre-game was the choice for this reason: it gives the Rams more time to have a more elaborate ceremony, rather than rushing through it. Halftime in the NFL lasts only 12 minutes and is rigidly enforced. And by having the Jones tribute before the game, Demoff says the Rams can go “16 or 17 minutes” to honor Jones. They will also turn off the lights inside The Ed, which is not permissible at halftime. And the team will show video highlights and have Jones speak to the crowd.

After hearing Demoff’s reasonining, it makes a lot of sense.

I just hope Rams and Packers fans make an effort to get inside the stadium before the game to be a part of the ceremony. Jones deserves a first-class reception.

5. Bernie Bytes: I was surprised they the team released WR Derek Stanley, because he has speed, and because he’s averaged 25 yards per kick return. He also had one nice punt return in the opening game at Seattle. I don’t think Stanley received much of an opportunity… After undergoing major knee surgery that knocked him out of most of 2008, can New England QB Tom Brady handle the blitz? NFL observers are wondering. In two games, Brady has completed 56 percent of his passes when blitzed, with one INT and no TD passes. His passe rating when blitzed: 64.3. From the start of his NFL career through 2007, Brady had completed 60.6 percent (with 64 TDs and 21 INTs) for a 94.3 passer rating … life is enhanced when “Curb Your Enthusiam” is back with fresh episodes; Larry David is out of his mind… who knew that “Mad Men” creator/writer Matthew Weiner had some Tarantino in him? … Rams fans are gonna love Danny Amendola, who was brought in to replace Stanley. He’ll be running around all over the place.

Thanks for reading…

-B