DG….let us know how local (well, fairly local….Sikeston, MO) guy Blake DeWitt does at 3B for the Dodgers. He won’t be on the ML team this year, but he’s getting a great look and taking advantage of it so far. I assume he’ll still play despite 3 lefties scheduled to go for the Cards.

Thanks

Thanks for the updates DG. Question—I realize Izturis has been awful…but how does he LOOK out there? Clueless? Hitting into bad luck? Weak outs? How about defensively?

Thanks for all the work.

Mather is in the lineup again; sweet. He could bring a lot to the Cards, especially if he can field well enough at third base to take a turn now and then.

I saw Mather at the Cardinals Caravan stop in Bloomington, IL, and he has turned into one well-built athlete. I hope he succeeds.

DG…..Keep an eye out for Bob Zimmermann, the former DeSmet High star, as word is he will be with the big league club today for the Cardinals

Brad,

He is here. Izturis does not look lost. He has had some strong defensive plays, and some days of strong defensive play. A few times he’s been back on his heels and that’s when he’s made the errors. I haven’t seen the kind of mistakes that make his defense a doubt. To borrow a phrase that has been floating around the clubhouse for a few days, Izturis offense … “it is what it is.” It’s closer to his career numbers than his 2004 numbers.

dg
-30-

DG… I love your articles but what’s with all the grammatical errors lately? You’re a professional writer. Again… I love what I see from you most of the time. Let’s just try and be more thorough.

DG’s editor: you’re fired.

I agree with Chris. I “aint” no English major, but I couldn’t get pass the first 4 words without scratching my head. I find such grammar error prevalent in today’s journalism. What’s the deal? If I submitted such sloppy memos, report, or white-papers like that in my math-based job, I’d be fired.

First “Sentence” Quote:

“The begin what will be the Cardinals final visit to Dodgertown…”

WTF!?? That doesn’t even make sense. I refuse to read past the word “Dodgertown”. May be a great post but I will never know.

A minor nitpick I could live with: Isn’t Cardinals possessive here and require an apostrophe?

Sheesh–it’s a blog not an actual article in the newspaper. I’m guessing DG typed by the seat of his pants. The information is great. That’s all I look for. I understood what was said.

Again, do people get the difference between a blog and an article?

Sometimes, it makes people feel better to correct others. losers. go DG, thanks for all the great inside information!!!

Maybe if the newspaper reporters weren’t underpaid and understaffed we wouldn’t have this problem. If you are that big of a freak then go elsewhere for your news. Anyway, onto baseball…

Although Eckstein wasn’t a powerhouse, we could always depend on him hitting around .300. The Cardinals were stupid for not re-signing him. They could have signed him for relatively cheap and he would have hit over .100. The Cardinals’ line-up looks ridiculous and once again, our pitching staff looks horrible.

Leading up to every season, the Cardinals’ always say that have ample pitching and every season it is horrible. Stop pinching pennies and get some pitchers that will put butts in the seats.

Take enough swings and you’re going to strike out a few times. This was a rush job, by the seat of my pants and partially written on my phone. No excuses. Though I have broken the X key on my computer this spring. So we you see the following words now know to put in the letter yourself:

ecuse
ehume
-ray
obnoious
ylophone
-men
e-pat
and … ana

No worries, Brian. I’m pretty sure English,etc., is my mother. With the eception of the apparently math memo-appropriate “WT@#$@???”, it sure sounds like one of her emails,

dg
-30-

high road taken by DG.

well played, my friend.

On the grammar issue, I agree it is a blog, but written by a professional journalist, who should be able to “write professionally.” Enough about that.

It has been talked to death, but anyone who thinks this pitching staff can win enough games to be halfway competitive is nuts. The Cardinals ownership must think the fans are stupid. Why would we pay hard earned money AGAIN and AGAIN for sub-tier pitching amazes me. After Wainwright, there is currently not one legitimate MLB starter in the lineup. Some decent relievers they could very well be, but not starters. Yeah, if and when Carpenter and Mulder, and maybe Clement, return from injury and prove they are what they once were, then we are talking about a possible decent lineup.

The Cardinals are spoiled by loyal fans who blindly attend and support their beloved team, but yet the Cardinals are greedy and do not put the same loyal effort back into building a team that is representative of what we deserve.

As hard as it is not to attend, that is exactly what needs to be done.

I must weigh in on the grammar discussion after reading several posts that criticize and defend DG. There is not an excuse for poor grammar no matter whether the writing is either a blog or an article. I recruit for a major corporation and am horrified at how poor grammar has become an accepted part of our culture; both spoken and written. Sloppiness indicates a lot about a person’s long term value to the company and there is usually a carry-over to the job at hand. A few minutes to proof read is often well worth the while. Just like in sports, the way you practice is the way you play!

That said, give Brendan Ryan the job and put Izturis on the bench.

Ok, enough with the grammar lessons! I was at the game today, where Izturis made yet another error (he and Kennedy). I am not sure what DG is seeing, but I see an individual in bad position who looks like he would rather be at the beach. Brendan Ryan, on the other hand, was fabulous today; making several good plays on difficult hops. He also continues to hit. I sat right behind the dugout and a group of us made sure Tony knows that we believe Ryan should be playing daily! LOL! I doubt he listened, but hey Cards Fans, what can you do?

Derrick is writing a blog. The idea is to get interesting information out to us in a timely way. If Derrick made factual errors, I would be concerned and disappointed. I haven’t read anyone challenging him on the quality of the information he provides. On the contrary, it is first-rate.

I feel just as strongly as anybody else here about grammar, but not in a blog, guys. I don’t want Derrick delaying his posts while he proofreads his pieces or submits them to a copy editor. Just get it online! Now!

Besides, Fred: you misused the semicolon, proofread is one word, and in your last sentence, the word “like” should be “as.” I wouldn’t dream of pointing that out to you if you hadn’t set yourself up as an arbiter of grammar. Not to mention the guy who couldn’t get “pass” DG’s first sentence. I’m sure you know you mean “past” but it’s pretty amusing to read that in a post ripping Derrick’s writing. I feel like a butt-head even writing this. It’s all just dumb.

Nevermind grammar….where can I get some cool novelty t-shirts about injured pitchers or newspaper writers? I can’t believe no one else is clammoring for this yet today.

Groan. One person’s grammar is another’s calculus. Me? I have been known to enjoy both, and screw ‘em up with equal flair. Crank out enough copy and you’re (not your!) going to have bad days. Perhaps this much attention should not be spent on a lineup blog entry.

There (not their! or they’re!) it is. Mea typa culpa.

As for Izturis. Yeah. Another one today. Not a good one either. Starting to know how he feels. (Short sentences sending any of my professors into shock? Ma, you still with me?) The above comment was made before today’s flub, but it still holds true. Izturis and Brendan Ryan were the defensive standouts early in spring. Games have added to Ryan’s performance, and they have detracted from Izturis’. Not sure what to make of that, but Izturis’ ability deserves the benefit of the doubt.

The talent is there (not their! or they’re!), so perhaps there are (not they’re! or their!) other reasons for these lapses in play.

dg
-30-

Mr Goold, you should “take lemons and make lemonade” on this grammar flack you’ve been catching by marketing a line of t-shirts featuring blantant misspellings. If it has the Cards logo on it or any reference to the stadium or even an arch, count me in for at least three mediums.