PREPCASTS SPORTS FLASH

    Recently, Carlos Beltran ecame the 8th player in MLB history to have 300 HR AND 300 SB. A couple of the names are shocking, take a stab at naming this group.  A couple answers are relatively easy but then you have to consider it very carefully.  One of the names played part of his career with the Cardinals not that long ago. List later on...

   The best team in baseball right now is the Dodgers. They have the most wins, the biggest differential between runs scored and runs permitted and a dominace at home (24-12). With Matt Kemp gone for awhile now, their lineup doesn't cause you to run for cover. It's the pitching (imagine that!!). The starting staff has 3 hurlers under 2.59 era with the highest sitting at 3.6ish level. Clayton Kershaw is the ace who garners most of the spotlights but his supporting cast of Chad Billingsley, Chris Capuano, Aaron Harang and Nathan Eovaldi has been steady.  The little known bullpen gets the job done.  Kenley Jansen leads with 10 saves. Don't know if they'll keep the best record (I still like Texas' team) but I think that they'll be contenders.

    Grass always LOOKS greener....OK...Cardinals fans have been moaning about our closer,  Jason Motte. I get frustrated at times also but how about Milwaukee? Their closer, John  Axford. His league leading 46 saves last year(tied with Kimbrel) including 43 consecutive appearances to end the season led the Brewers to very high expectations. This year he is 1-3, 5.33 ERA with 11 saves in 27 appearances. He'd probably be "moved out" as closer except the set-up man--Fran Rod has a 4.30 ERA with an 0-4 mark. Maybe our grass isn't so bad...

   National League Rookie Watch-- clearly Bryce Harper (Washington) leads the NL Class. He leads this rookie crop in average (.302),HR (7), OBP (.381) and slugging avg(.541). Others in the NL deserving recognition as hitters are Kirk Nieuwenhuis (NYM) (.297, 6 HR, 24 RBI) and Norichika Aoki (Mil) (.290). Aoki is a bit of a different situation though--he's 30 years old born in Japan, started slowly but has hit .308 over the last 10 games.  The only hurler catching my eye at this point is Wade Miley (Arizona). He's 7-3, 2.39 ERA.

                   CARDINAL OF THE PAST...Kenny Boyer

   Played for the Cardinals from 1955-65. During this time span, Boyer never played less than 142 games a year for the Cards. Initially signed as a pitcher, Boyer developed into a strong 3B for the Cards. His best year was 1964 when he was the NL MVP as he was one of the leaders of the Cards World Championship team. His grand slam in game 4 of 64 series led the Redbirds to a 4-3 win over the NYY. He was an 11 time All-Star, 5 times he won the Gold Glove Award, led the Cardinals in average and home runs in both 1960 and 61. Often referred to as "Captain", Boyer was the clear leader of the Cardinals in the early and mid-60's.  He was 1 of 3 from his family to play in the Major Leagues, 3 other brothers played in the minor leagues. He was native of Alba, Missouri. When he retired, he had the 3rd highest slugging average for 3B in the Majors and is 2nd for All-time Cardinal HR by a right-handed hitter(behind Pujols). Not in the Hall of Fame, Boyer's fans point to his similarity with Ron Santo who was just elected to the HOF.

   Most unbelievable stat leader-- Chris Perez (Clev) leads the MLB in saves with 21. First of all, who would have thought that the Indians would have that many save opportunities? He has only one blown save opportunity. Obviously, the Cards didn't think that he'd be that good.

   No one has the impact on TV ratings like Tiger Woods. Like him or not, his shots into the rough followed by unbelievable recovery shots make his daily tour around the course riveting for the viewer. Due to the higher level of Tiger expectations in the early rounds, the ratings skyrocketed. His presence on the course is noticably different. It was abundantly clear that Jim Furyk was having a tough time swallowing in the last 4 holes. He'd check, recheck, triple check then take his practice swings AFTER he mis-hit the ball. His shot on the 16th (that snap hook) should have made golfers of all levels feel like "yea, I've hit that one". It's one thing to be a great golfer (no doubt Furyk is one of those) but it's another to come down the home stretch, face the pressure and still play relaxed and confidently. Tiger has done it so many times that it is 2nd nature to him.

   WATCH OUT--INJURY HAVEN AHEAD! Now the 2nd MLB player (Aubrey Huff has been injured following a no-hitter. Huff sprained his knee following Matt Cain's perfect game last week. Earlier this year Ramon Ramirez injured himself in a post-game no-hit celebration. What's becoming more rare-- a walk-off home run or a no hitter? Come on fellows, a little common sense goes a long way. In my view, Injuries outside of participating in a MLB game should not require MLB teams to pay the player on the DL.

   Look for Walt Jocketty to grab a starter for the Reds next week. Cincy has a strong bullpen but few starters (except Cueto) are expected to go deep in a game. Dempster come to mind?

   Don't let the door hit you on the way out...bye-bye Mannie. Fans, teams tolerate your obnoxious behavior as long as you can blast the baseball. Those days are over for you. We don't want you around any more....See ya....

   300-300 club....how many did you know?

                                      HR      SB

  Barry Bonds               762---    514

  Willie Mays                660---    338

  Alex Rodriguez          639---    311

  Andre Dawson            438---   314

  Bobby Bonds              312---    461

  Carlos Beltran             321---   300

  Reggie Sanders          305---   304

  Steve Finley                304---   320            

    Did you see this coming? Jim Johnson (Balt) with 19 saves and ERA of 1.26? Last year Johnson had 9 saves with 5 blown saves however he did register 18 holds. I'm predicting that Mr. Johnson will "level off" shortly and eventually become a "holder" not a "closer".

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