Sports Weekend

The Cardinals are looking pretty good this spring. It's still early and the games don't count yet, but the core of the team looks solid. Bullpen and bench, that's the weakness I see right now. That and outfield depth. They have a guy named Skip Schumacher who's trying to make it up to the next level. I think he'd be a better addition than John Rodriguez, but unfortunately we are in an era that values power. "Chicks dig the long-ball." John is OK, at best, on defense and is prone to poor baserunning, streaky hitting, and lots of strikeouts. Skip is a lesser know commodity, but is definitely a first class defensive player. Otherwise he is a solid baserunner and a consistent hitter. He'll not have a high batting average, but seems disciplined enough to avoid being streaky. But what I most like about him is that, just like Willie McGee, he's a slap hitter. Those are the guys that are "pesky" and seem to poke the ball into just where they ain't right when you least expect it. Let's hope we hear Skip's name more often in the future. (I'll be in Florida later this week to get a first hand account of the teams progress. So far, my info is based on watching several games on MLB.TV. More leagues and organizations should look into this type of presentation of their product. Like, maybe, F1.)

As for the Raptors, they went to Burbank, Washington to play a pre-season game against the Yakima Mavericks last night. I don't have any details about the game, but the final score was not good for the Raptors... 27 -7 is how it reads on the RMFL website. Rats!

And now, a couple of pictures. (These are both several years old.)