Lohse is apparently pronounced "lōsh"

The Nationals broadcasters pissed me off throughout the entire game today. Losh this and Losh that. I was really getting aggravated. I thought it was pronounced Lowse. Then I looked it up and learned that Bob Carpenter (now with the Nats broadcasting team) and Don Sutton (a lunatic!) had it right. Anyways, even though I was displeased with the pronunciation, I was pleased with the context. "Lohse has retired 5 in a row," "Lohse pitched his way out of trouble," and "Lohse earns the victory." Great stuff all around!

I was also pleased with the broadcasters' mentions of Rick Ankiel's name, but that is becoming expected. Right?

Not to repeat myself, but are we really as bad as predicted? Bernie sees what I have seen (and he wrote the article before Sunday's game). The big picture: we are 5 - 1 and our only loss was a 2-1 game (granted, there is no excuse for losing to Kip Wells). We're 2-0 against lefties. Schumaker doesn't have a hit and Glaus is batting .190 and we're 5 - 1. I know it's early, I know we've only played two teams, but isn't all of this worth noting? One of the teams we beat is the reigning National League Champion and the other was 3-1 coming in, with wins over Atlanta and Philly. Our starters have a sub-1.00 ERA! Alright, I am going to stop gushing right now, but suffice it to say that I love what I am seeing.

Some positive Cardinals health notes

According to the Post Dispatch, Pujols' hand is fine, Piniero and Mulder are getting geared up, and Duncan is alright, but not yet cleared. The Post's notes also note that Shumaker is pressing. As much as I enjoyed seeing Barton contribute tonight, I hope Skip gets his wits about him. I think he has a great upside and that he can be a good Cardinal in the years to come if he will just stop suffering from prolonged lulls in performance.

Oh, and for those of you for whom this went unnoticed, Josh Kinney is also on the road back to good health and he is projected to return to the team sometime in May.

By the way, did you know I am glad Kevin Slaten is off the air? I am. The aritcle my update links has all the details.

Aren't we supposed to suck?

Did I miss the memo? We're supposed to be worse than this, right? I mean, I know it is early, and on any given day any given pitcher can look like Cy Young long enough to contribute to a victory, but aren't we Adam Wainwright and a bunch of shit? Here's what we know:

* The Cardinals are 3 - 1.
* Our (current) ace, Adam Wainwright, hasn't made a start yet (right?).
* Our one loss was not the fault of our latest rotation addition, Kyle Lohse.

I am still trying to temper my excitement, I see some of the same things that the experts do, but isn't it worth giving some thought to? Ugh. Probably not, right. :(

Anyways, we didn't suck tonight. Our 7th inning relievers did, but thankfully Felipe Lopez sucked more (both in the 7th and in the 9th). Exciting game. So glad I got to watch it because the Nats games are on my cable! Two more days of this gloriousness.

The newness and The Natural?

Tonight, rather than follow the Cards game online, I watched the Orioles and Nationals at a friend's house (a Nats fan with whom I shall argue this coming weekend when our teams face-off). I will therefore comment on what little I know and what I heard. I saw the box score, the highlights and the mlb.com summary, and I heard a friend call Rick Ankiel his old nickname, "The Natural."

First off, it sucks that Duncan got hurt. That said, what excites me most about this team is that someone else is going to be playing. I have seen Duncan. I like Duncan. I am fine with him being in the lineup, but I also like some of these other folks, some of them a lot. Take, for instance, Rico Washington. 11 years in the minors? More than 4,000 minor league at bats before his first major league hit? Then he cashes in with an RBI double! This is something I can get behind. Like I said, I like Duncan, but I like newness, and the excitement that comes with it, also. Looking at it from the proper perspective, this is an exciting time to be a Cards fan for just this reason - who will we meet next and what will the bring to the table?

All that having been said, I want to talk about a once proven, then broken, then completely irrelevant, then rising, then risen, then twice-broken, then ... Rick Ankiel. I am not going to make a big deal out of a good night. We all saw, all of us that looked for it, what Ankiel did last night. I am impressed, you should be, but it was still only one night. Let me leave it at this: enjouy this pure joy, this is good stuff.

We'll pretend this never happened

The Cardinals didn't play any baseball yesterday. I know you think they did. You may have watched, listened to or otherwise followed a baseball game that featured decent pitching by the Cardinals Ace, some discipline at the plate when the opposing starter struggled, big hits from Ankiel and Yadi, good defense in the Cardinals outfield, and/or a homerun from Pujols, but none of it actually happened. Can someone please explain this rule to me? An hour of baseball, stricken from the records. Go ahead, look for the box score, you won't find it. When they start play tonight, they start at 0-0, not 5-1. It's just stupid (unless you're a Rockies fan).