THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: The Blues were still sitting in 15th place in the Western Conference as recently as early February. How remarkable was this team’s ascent to the No. 6 seed in the playoffs and what were the keys to getting it done?

JEREMY RUTHERFORD
To go from No. 15 in the Western Conference to No. 6 in exactly two months (Feb. 12-April 12) is absolutely astonishing. Here’s how they did it:

• Still on the outside looking in heading into their game March 20 against Calgary, the Blues won 3-2 over the Flames with a strong third period, igniting a 9-1-1 finish in their final 11 games.

• In those 11 games, the Blues’ offense was led by its veterans: Brad Boyes (4 goals, 8 assists), David Backes (seven goals, three assists), Keith Tkachuk (four goals, six assists) and Andy McDonald (4 goals, 5 assists).

• The penalty-kill unit allowed just three goals on 43 power plays against in the last 11 games. The Blues’ PK erased 14 of 14 power plays against opponents at home and killed off 26 of 29 on the road.

• The Blues went 5-1-1 in their final seven road games to finish the regular season with a record of 18-18-5 on the road this season.

• Chris Mason started in goal the final 33 games of the regular season. His numbers in that stretch, dating back to Feb. 3: 21-7-5 overall with a 2.20 goals-against average and a .919 save-percentage.

DAN O’NEILL
It was especially remarkable with the number of young players in the lineup. Contrast the team’s finish this year with last year — night and day. The keys to the Blues’ second-half success was the emergence of Chris Mason in net, and the contributions of the “Kid Line.” Other than Mason, perhaps no one was more responsible for energizing the club than T.J. Oshie, who just seemed to change the landscape once he got healthy and got comfortable.

JEFF GORDON
In this forum and elsewhere, I predicted the Blues would not make the playoffs. How could they? There were too many teams to pass. Most of those Western Conference teams were playing pretty good hockey. The competitive balance on this side of the league was strong. For this team to climb from 15th to sixth and finish 10 games over .500 is one of the greater St. Louis sports stories ever. Even if it doesn’t carry through, this will stand as one of the greater team runs we will ever see.

ANDY STRICKLAND (Hockeybuzz.com, KFNS)
The obvious answer as to how the Blues got it done is that they got the saves that weren’t there in the first three months of the season, but it’s more than that. For example:

• The fact the Blues have had a power play that has ranked in the top ten in the league for pretty much the entire year has allowed this team to be an effective offensive club.

• The team has size … Bringing in players like Brad Winchester, B.J. Crombeen, and Alex Steen, combined with the impact David Backes has had since moving to center, has made this club a physical team that wears down the opposition.

• The Blues PK unit has been incredible over the last several weeks and that can be chalked up to Chris Mason’s ability to stop the puck.

• The Blues are about as good as it gets when it comes to D-zone execution. I have said this numerous times, but how often do you see the Blues give up odd-man rushes or breakaways against?

• Carlo Colaiacovo has given this club a defenseman who can push the offense, something this club didn’t have before he got here.

• The team has tremendous skill up front and can throw out four lines that have the ability to play in the offensive end.

• The players genuinely play for one another and that chemistry took awhile to develop.

THE WATERCOOLER

Question: With two weeks remaining in the regular season, who are your NFC and AFC picks for the Super Bowl?

JIM THOMAS
NFC: Carolina — If the Panthers win Sunday’s showdown with the New York Giants and earn home-field advantage in the playoffs, they will be tough to beat.
AFC: Indianapolis — The Colts will have to do it as a wild-card, but they keep quietly winning games and gaining momentum.

BILL COATS
NFC: Carolina — The Giants are fading in the NFC and the Panthers seem to be hitting their stride at just the right time.
AFC: Indianapolis — The Titans could be in big trouble in the AFC if DT Albert Haynesworth’s knee injury is serious. And the Colts, like the Panthers, are just hitting their stride.

JEFF GORDON
NFC: Carolina — I would have gone with the New York Football Giants, but the Plaxico Incident apparently derailed that bid to repeat. They looked bad Sunday night. So I’ll go with Carolina, trusting that a strong ground game and a solid “D” still counts for something.
AFC: Pittsburgh — The Steelers have won five in a row despite taking some injury hits in the ground game. Ben Roethlisberger keeps finding ways — although Sunday’s game-winning “touchdown pass” looked pretty bogus on the replays. Haunting Kerry Collins flashbacks prevent me from remembering the Titans when picking favorites this year.

KATHLEEN NELSON
NFC: N.Y. Giants — Despite a two-game losing streak, the Giants should beat Carolina on Sunday. The Panthers (3-3) aren’t the greatest road team. As long as they don’t face the Cowboys in the playoffs, the Giants should have an easier path to the Super Bowl than their AFC counterpart.
AFC: Pittsburgh — The Steelers have the momentum. Tennessee will have its hands full with the Steelers on Sunday. Indy’s on a roll, too, and could cause problems for playoff opponents.

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MIDDAY NEWS AND THOUGHTS

BERGLUND THE BEST OF ROOKIES: At least that’s what Scott Cullen of TSN believes. Cullen ranks the top 50 rookies in the league and has the Blues’ Patrik Berglund as No. 1. Here’s what Cullen has to say about Berglund, who has nine goals, 10 assists and is plus-10 in 23 games played: “Skilled Swede has the size and skill to be a prototypical No.1 centre. (Centre, by the way, is Canadian for center.) There are four Blues players on the list. The next might surprise you, as B.J. Crombeen comes in at No. 19. Cullen says the Stars must be kicking themselves for letting Crombeen go on waivers. Check out the entire list. (And let me know what you think about No. 50 on that list.)

CADDIE SMACK: Tiger Wood’s caddie Steve Williams appears to not only be carrying the bag, but carrying a grudge, too, against the world’s third-ranked golfer Phil Mickelson. According to the Guardian newspaper of Britain, during an event over the weekend in New Zealand, Williams said, “I wouldn’t call Mickelson a great player, ‘cause I hate the [expletive].” In another paper the next day, Williams said, “I don’t particularly like (Mickelson). He pays me no respect at all and hence I don’t pay him any respect. It’s no secret we don’t get along either.”

Mickelson didn’t take the bait and said simply that he’s glad to have a “class act” like Jim MacKay on his bag. As for Tiger, he was at home rehabbing and enjoying life. It’s good to be Tiger.

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THINGS TO PONDER

AFL SHUTS IT DOWN IN 2009: The Arena Football League is expected to officially announce today that the league is shutting down for the 2009 season but hopes to return in 2010 with a new business model. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the 16-team league voted to shut down because too many big-name owners or teams in big cities say they would not return. The big-names include NFL owners include Jerry Jones (owner of the Dallas Cowboys) and Arthur Blank (Atlanta Falcons.)

First, I didn’t realize the AFL was still in existence. Second, I was shocked to learn that the AFL has been around for 22 years. Third, I wonder if the Rams would give any thought to joining that league if it reopens in 2010.

DOPEY QUOTE OF THE DAY: According to the Associated Press, shortstop Adam Everett and the Detroit Tigers finalized a one-year contract today worth about $1 million. “We’ve talked about improving our defense, and we think Adam obviously does that,” Tigers president Dave Dombrowski told the A.P. Alright, I have no problem with that. Everett’s always been known to have a solid glove. But check out the rest of Dombrowski’s statement … “He also can help us offensively — he can get the big hit.”

It’s here where I must point out that Everett batted just .213 with two home runs and 20 RBIs in 48 games for the Minnesota Twins last season. And Everett, who will be 32 in February, has a recent three-year average of just .233 at the plate, with 31 RBIs and 3 homers. Exactly how is it that Everett is going to help the Tigers offensively? Sometimes I think baseball front office types just think that fans are stupid. You can check out Everett’s career stats for yourself and tell me if you think I’m wrong.

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STAT OF THE DAY

762 — Career home runs hit by 44-year-old Barry Bonds, who told the L.A. media this weekend, “I’m not retiring. I’m not retiring.” Perhaps league owners have already made that decision for Bonds, since no one came calling for his services this past season. Now if he could only produce the kind of offense of someone like, say, Adam Everett, perhaps he could find a place in the game.

THE WATERCOOLER
(Post-Dispatch columnists and beat writers share their thoughts on a question of the day.)

Question: With general manager Jim Hendry saying Monday that the Cubs will raise payroll again next season, what chances do the Cardinals have to stay competitive in the NL Central given their projected budget?

JOE STRAUSS
Acquiring a legitimate closer and depth for the rotation should give the Cardinals an expectation of 90 wins. That should compete next season within a division including a financially taxed Houston Astros, a Sheets-less and Sabathia-less Milwaukee Brewers and a still rebuilding Cincinnati Reds team. The Cardinals still appear dependent on the Cubs taking a step back. Budget is secondary to personnel decisions. Kyle Lohse last year proved a much better acquisition than, say, Carlos Silva.

RICK HUMMEL
The Cardinals still will be competitive — if they add starting pitching help themselves. Jake Peavy doesn’t help that Cubs’ offense any and, as you saw, any team with decent right-handed pitching (Los Angeles Dodgers, most recently) can carve up the Cubs’ right-handed hitters.

DERRICK GOOLD
The Cubs having a budget that could be $40 million more than the Cardinals gives them more ability to take risks and a larger margin of error, especially with their pitching. They can gamble on injury risks like Rich Harden and Jake Peavy at such high dollars because the gap in payroll gives them that option. The Cardinals don’t have that luxury and have to hinge their ability to contend on Chris Carpenter being healthy, filling in holes with cost-effective options (i.e., Trever Miller) and having more depth in place. The difference in payrolls comes down to this: Kosuke Fukudome. The Cubs have the ability to paper-over their big-money import’s poor performance with another big-money outfielder. The Cardinals have to get big bangs for their bucks to contend. The Cubs can have a few busts from their bucks and still win the division.

BERNIE MIKLASZ
The spending isn’t the only issue, but clearly the Cubs have a tactical advantage over the Cardinals because of their aggressive expansion of payroll. That said, money isn’t everything. The Cubs have wasted plenty of it by signing the likes of Kosuke Fukudome. But the Cubs have gained the upper hand in this rivalry by putting so much emphasis on starting pitching. The rotation carries the North Siders and the edge will be even more pronounced if Jake Peavy lands at Wrigley. The Cardinals haven’t kept up in the arms race.

JEFF GORDON
This is an interesting scenario. The Cubs will have new ownership soon. So the current regime wants to win in 2009. Why worry about the future? The next owner may want his own guys. The Cardinals are taking a longer view. Bill DeWitt is stressing player development and John Mozeliak is managing his assets for the long haul. These two aren’t going anywhere. But that doesn’t mean the Cards can’t compete in ’09. Thanks to the influx of Chris Perez, Kyle McClellan, Colby Rasmus, Jason Motte, etc, Mozeliak will be able to assemble a playoff contender for $100 million or less. And thanks to the wild-card rule, the Cards don’t have to fret the Cubs winning 110 games with the Best Team Money Can Buy.

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MIDDAY NEWS AND THOUGHTS

HAVE BATS, WILL TRADE: Joe Strauss reported in this morning’s paper that the Cardinals are poised to deal from a surplus of left-handed hitters created by Rick Ankiel, Skip Schumaker, Chris Duncan and top prospect Colby Rasmus. Is there any question which one of those guys Cardinal fans would most like to see go? But you have to know if all the fans see it, other teams see it, also. If John Mozeliak can pull off a trade involving a quality pitcher for Chris Duncan, I say the Cardinals just go ahead and make him GM for life. No, if the team deals, I think it has to involve one of the other outfielders if you want quality in return. More on this situation in our winter meetings blog.

CRY ME A RIVER: Former Cubbie Ron Santo, who was bypassed for election to the Hall of Fame yesterday, says the voting process needs to be changed. “It’s a travesty,” Santo told the Chicago Sun-Times. “When I saw nobody got in again, I go, ‘Whoa, this is wrong.’ They can’t keep going the way they’re going. They’ve got to put a [different] committee out there.”

That’s it, Mr. Santo. Let’s get a different committee. Obviously all 64 living members of the Hall of Fame who make up the Veterans Committee do not understand what it takes to make the Hall. Santo says he’s not just speaking up for himself but for other players also. However, one has to wonder if Santo would be saying anything at all if he were already in the exclusive club. Santo was a nine-time All-Star, won five Gold Gloves and finished his career with 342 home runs and a .277 lifetime batting average. Is that enough to get you in the Hall of Fame? The Veterans Committee says no. End of story.

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A FEW THINGS TO PONDER

IT’S ALL GOOD: Yesterday in this forum I lamented the fact that I wasn’t going to get to see T.J. Oshie play alongside the other Baby Blues at the Scotty last night. While I didn’t get to see Oshie, I did see history in the making. Three things you’ll never again see happen in the same night at a Blues game: 1) The Blues score 6 goals; 2) B.J. Crombeen corrals a hat trick; and, 3) Alex Steen is on the ice and actually does something (goal and assist.) I know, I know, why do I have to say something negative the day after the Blues finally climb above .500? Perhaps it’s because I expected Steen to have a Brad Boyes-like transformation once he arrived in St. Louis and, up until last night, he seemed to be a total non-factor since coming over in the Lee Stempniak trade. But let me put a positive spin on it and say: Here’s hoping last night was the beginning of a good run for Steen.

(By the way, Blues fans, Jeremy Rutherford is feeling a bit threatened by the deluge of traffic the new Round Two blog is getting. So in the holiday spirit, I implore you to visit his Morning Skate blog to get him more “hits” than Round Two.)

STICKING IT TO THE LITTLE GUY: The NFL announced today that it is cutting more than 10 percent of its headquarters staff in response to the downturn in the nation’s economy. That’s about 150 jobs lost. I’m thinking if you took the salaries of guys like Pacman Jones and Plaxico Burress and gave it to the league, not only could you save those 150 jobs, but you could probably go on a hiring binge. Perhaps I’m just edgy because of all the jobs being lost at A-B and around the country in general, but the huge salaries paid to some guys who don’t care about all of “us” who actually pay their salaries just peeves me. I thought you were supposed to become more conservative as you got older, and here I am talking like Karl Marx. But I’m just sayin’ …

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STAT OF THE DAY

3.18 – Assuming the Cubs land Jake Peavy, that would be the combined 2008 ERA of the team’s rotation. That’s a lower team ERA than any individual ERA on the Cardinals’ staff not named Carpenter … who threw only 15.1 innings last season. By pursuing Peavy, the Cubs are clearly climbing the ladder to the top of the tree, bypassing all the low-hanging fruit.