GasHouse34 Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 [align=center] 2008 Season Preview The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the most storied franchises in the history of Major League Baseball. The rich tradition that is baseball in St. Louis has seen quite a bit of moments over the years. St. Louis has been nothing short of successful, unlike the "The North Siders". "The Cards" have brought home 10 World Series titles, most among National League teams. Their rival, the Chicago Cubs, only have two. They have been the home of greats like "The Wizard of Oz" Ozzie Smith, Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, and Stan "The Man" Musial. St. Louis witnessed one of the most historic moments in baseball history when Mark McGwire surpassed Roger Maris' single season home run record, that being 61 "long balls". But in the past decade, Cardinals baseball has seen some changes and some new faces... The St. Louis Cardinals of recent years have been dominant and have seen many games go their way. Since his arrival in 2001, Albert Pujols has changed the sport of baseball, not only in St. Louis, but in the world. He is considered by many the greatest hitter in the MLB. He has compiled mind-boggling stats in his first seven years. "Phat Albert" and the rest of the Cardinals have been extremely productive in the past and have quite the record built up. Since Albert joined "The Cards", they have won five of the last seven NL Central division titles. They have won two NL pennants in four chances. They faced off with the Boston Red Sox in the 2004 World Series, but were swept in four games. In 2006, the team was able to win it's first World Series title since 1982, when they beat the Detroit Tigers. But now with the dawning of a new General Manager, the Cardinals have seen some changes... Now that General Manager Walt Jocketty has been let go, a new day has started in Cardinals history. John Mozeliak has been oppointed the new GM and it has brought a different look to the St. Louis Cardinals. Fan favorites Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds have found new homes. Scott Rolen was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays straight-up for slugger, Troy Glaus. The trade was meant to bring more pop to lineup. Jim Edmonds, on the other hand, was only traded for a minor league player. With that being said, the Cardinals still have talent on their team in the form of former Cy Young Award winner, Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, and one of the greatest stories in baseball history, Rick Ankiel. The 2008 season looks to be quite the doozy...[/align] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeuceBlades Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 OMG your avatar is priceless :lmao: Good luck with this, I look forward to following Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GasHouse34 Posted August 4, 2008 Author Share Posted August 4, 2008 [align=center] 2008 Opening Day Roster Infielders C #4 Yadier Molina .275 6 HR 40 RBI 4 Years Service C #21 Jason Larue .148 4 HR 13 RBI 9 Years Service 1B #5 Albert Pujols .327 32 HR 103 RBI 7 Years Service 2B #12 Aaron Miles .290 2 HR 32 RBI 5 Years Service 2B #7 Adam Kennedy .219 3 HR 18 RBI 9 Years Service SS #3 Cesar Izturis .276 0 HR 8 RBI 7 Years Service SS #13 Brendan Ryan .289 4 HR 12 RBI 1 Year Service 3B #8 Troy Glaus .262 20 HR 62 RBI 10 Years Service Outfielders LF #16 Chris Duncan .259 21 HR 70 RBI 3 Years Service LF #54 Brian Barton .000 0 HR 0 RBI Rookie CF #24 Rick Ankiel .285 11 HR 39 RBI 5 Years Service RF #47 Ryan Ludwick .267 14 HR 52 RBI 5 Years Service RF #55 Skip Schumaker .333 2 HR 19 RBI 3 Years Service Pitching Rotation SP #29 Chris Carpenter 0-1 7.50 ERA 3 SO 10 Years Service SP #50 Adam Wainwright 14-12 3.70 ERA 146 SO 3 Years Service SP #26 Kyle Lohse 9-12 4.63 ERA 122 SO 7 Years Service SP #41 Braden Looper 12-12 4.94 ERA 87 SO 10 Years Service SP #35 Joel Piñeiro 7-5 4.33 ERA 60 SO 8 Years Service Bullpen RP #37 Todd Wellemeyer 3-3 4.54 ERA 0 SV 5 Years Service RP #46 Kyle McClellan 0-0 0.00 ERA 0 SV Rookie RP #36 Russ Springer 8-1 2.18 ERA 0 SV 15 Years Service RP #27 Ron Villone 0-0 4.25 ERA 0 SV 13 Years Service RP #34 Randy Flores 3-0 4.26 ERA 1 SV 5 Years Service RP #31 Ryan Franklin 4-4 3.04 ERA 1 SV 8 Years Service RP #44 Jason Isringhausen 4-0 2.48 ERA 32 SV 12 Years Service[/align] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GasHouse34 Posted August 5, 2008 Author Share Posted August 5, 2008 [align=CENTER] Series Preview Busch Stadium St. Louis Cardinals (0-0) vs. Colorado Rockies (0-0) It is time for the new season to start for the St. Louis Cardinals. In the first series of the 2008 season, the Cardinals will be taking on the defending National League champions, the Colorado Rockies. Much like the Cardinals of 2004, the Boston Red Sox were able to beat the Colorado Rockies. Now that the new season is upon us, both teams will be looking to improve from last year. The Colorado Rockies are coming into St. Louis looking to get a great start to the year. Coming off one of the best finishes in 2007, the Rockies are looking to carry that momentum into 2008. Led by NL MVP canidate, Matt Holliday, the Rockies pack a big pop in their lineup. In addition to Holliday, the Rockies have young talent such as Troy Tulowitzki, Brad Hawpe, and Garrett Atkins. A more familiar face over at first base, Todd Helton, also brings another great bat to the lineup. Pitching on the other hand, isn't quite as dynamic. Pitchers Jeff Francis and Aaron Cook lead a young rotation. A lack of moves in the off season gives the Colorado Rockies a lack of change, but a continuation of chemistry. The St. Louis Cardinals come into the 2008 season with a chip on their shoulders. The Cardinals missed the playoffs for the first time since 2003. The Cardinals have some fresh faces in their lineup this year with the addition of third baseman Troy Glaus and shortstop Cesar Izturis. "The Cards" are full of young talent ready to blossum. Youngsters like Skip Schumaker and Chris Duncan are looking to have breakout years. Still, the mainstay of the offense, Albert Pujols is ready to have another great year. Also, Rick Ankiel is going to have a magnifying glass on him after his stellar end of last year. The pitching looks strong for the Cardinals with Cy Young Award winner, Chris Carpenter, leading the staff. Adam Wainwright is also looking to make the Cardinals' rotation one of the best in baseball. The bullpen looks to be a good one with some great talent. Headlining the bullpen is closer, Jason Isringhausen. But, Cardinals fans may want to look out for rookie, Kyle McClellan, who should be a huge asset to the staff. These two teams look to have their own strengths and weaknesses, but they should put on a good series for the St. Louis crowd. It is no secret that the Rockies' lineup is powerful, which should be more than a handful for the Cardinals' pitching staff. For the Cardinals, they have the lurking presence of Albert Pujols to bank on. Pujols will be a key element, not only in this series, but for the season. Don't be shocked if you see the Colorado Rockies pitch around him to get to a less superior part of the order. With all these things in mind, it is time for the 2008 season to start.[/align] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yankeeboi14 Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 I love the avatar. i will be following this dynasty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GasHouse34 Posted August 7, 2008 Author Share Posted August 7, 2008 [align=CENTER] St. Louis Cardinals vs. Colorado Rockies Game 1 Busch Stadium It was quite the Opening Day in St. Louis. It was a good pitching match between both teams' ace. Chris Carpenter for the Cardinals really showed his great stuff and it helped the Cardinals go on to a victory to start the season. The Rockies story of the game was the way they struggled on offense. The heart of the lineup couldn't string together hits. It was obvious in this game that good pitching was the deciding factor in the victory for the hometown team. The Cardinals played a small ball game that didn't have too many highlights. They depended on pitching to get the job done, and that it did. The offense of the Cardinals was able to get some hits, but nothing too spectacular. Rick Ankiel was the only one on the team to drive in a run, but that is all they needed with the stellar pitching of "Carp". Fielding was much better for the Cardinals than the hitting. There was just smart plays made in the field. A play that changed the momentum of the game was Chris Iannetta getting gunned at third when trying to leg out a triple. This caused Rockies' manager, Clint Hurdle, to argue with the third base umpire and ultimately get tossed from the game. The Rockies did not play a good game of baseball. Their main problem in this game was their inability to get together hits. They're big sluggers didn't get much going and it hurt them in the long haul. The Rockies' 3-4-5 hitters combined for two hits in 11 AB. The rest of their lineup didn't do much better, as the team only acquired five hits in the total game. Carpenter was just too much for the Rockie batters. Don't let this game fool you, these Rockie hitters can put some mustard behind the ball. If their offense is firing on all cylinders then they are hard to beat. When they are on, it is going to take another outing, like Carpenter had, to tame them. Two days from now, we will be in for another good pitchers duel as Adam Wainwright takes on Aaron Cook. Adam Wainwright is coming off his first year as a full-time starter. Aaron Cook is no stranger to success either, but he fights to make a full season. Last year, Cook had eight wins and seven losses with a 4.12 ERA. It is going to essential for the Colorado Rockies to get those bats moving if they want to win and the Cardinals pitching staff to hold their own if they want to come out the victor. With all that said, we are in for another good game of baseball in game two of a three game set between the Colorado Rockies and the St. Louis Cardinals. Player of the Game SP #29 Chris Carpenter 9 IP 0 ER 5 H 1 SO Rick Horton's Breakdown Chris Carpenter's stuff was that of the caliber we saw back in '06. His fastballs were working and he mixed it well with his off-speed stuff. He made the batters chase pitches and got ahead in the counts. He didn't leave too many balls up in the zone. When he did get into a jam, he got out of it. It was just and all-around fantastic pitching performance by the ace of the staff. Quote of the Game "The skipper is madder than the first time a small child finds out that Ol' Saint Nick isn't real." -Cardinals' radio announcer, Mike Shannon, on Clint Hurdle's ejection[/align] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeuceBlades Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 Now see, i like the little tidbits at the end. its a nice touch, and adds a little bit of realism IMO. Its looking good GH ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeybags Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 You should have run the schedule updater when you started your franchise so it'd update the dates and stuff to 2008, that way you don't have to edit every box score it puts out to an 08. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marino13882 Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 how do you get the boxscore extractor on the page like that? i can never get it to work, i always have to put it in photoshop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GasHouse34 Posted August 8, 2008 Author Share Posted August 8, 2008 You should have run the schedule updater when you started your franchise so it'd update the dates and stuff to 2008, that way you don't have to edit every box score it puts out to an 08. Yeah that would have been smart, but I totally forgot to do it before starting. It isn't that big of a restraint anyways. how do you get the boxscore extractor on the page like that? i can never get it to work, i always have to put it in photoshop All I did was extract the box score, go to the html. Then I used a program for Firefox called screen grab and then I just edited to my liking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GasHouse34 Posted August 9, 2008 Author Share Posted August 9, 2008 OK, well I came to realization that not updating the date is a pretty big problem and now I'm going to start a new one with a new team. So I'm going to take a vote over the next day on who I should be. The following five teams are up for contention: San Fransisco Giants Tampa Bay Rays Florida Marlins Kansas City Royals Arizona Diamondbacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spivey Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 My vote is for the Tampa Bay Rays Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHaynes23 Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 I'm gonna say the Florida Marlins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GasHouse34 Posted August 10, 2008 Author Share Posted August 10, 2008 With the lack of votes, it is probably going to be up to me about those 5 teams and which one will be the team I play with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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