The Online Source for St. Louis Sports
ISSUE #66
April 9, 1996
Copyright © 1996 St. Louis Sports Online
Reproduction Prohibited Without Permission of Publisher [StLSports@aol.com]
St. Louis Sports Online is an online sports weekly that aims to provide
St. Louisans (and transplanted St. Louisans) with an additional source of
news, information, and humor about St. Louis-area sports events and St.
Louis-area sports teams.
ISSUE #66 contains features and updates about the Cardinals and Blues, and
short updates on the Rams and Ambush. The usual assortment of quotes, headlines,
media news, interactivity, and statistics are also found within StLSO #66.
Contributors to #66 include KMOX radio's Randy Karraker, StLSO senior writer
Jim Hunstein, Z-100's Brian Stull, Scott Simon, Riverfront Times hockey
columnist Randy Hu, and Mike Rainey.
StLSO also welcomes back KFNS radio personality Jay Randolph Jr. to our
pages. Junior writes about the upcoming Masters...a golf tournament that,
along with Opening Day at Busch Stadium, signals the start of spring in
St. Louis.
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St. Louis Sports Online APRIL.96.3 CONTENTS
1.0 StLSO News and Notes by RANDY KARRAKER
2.0 StLSO Sports Shorts
2.1 Cardinals News
2.2 Blues Banter by BRIAN STULL
2.3 Rams Report
2.4 Ambush Update
2.5 StLSO Quote of the Week
2.6 StLSO Headline of the Week
3.0 StLSO Features
3.1 Keenan Could Have Had More For Less by MIKE RAINEY
3.2 Trading Post by RANDY HU
3.3 Quest For The Green Jacket by JAY RANDOLPH Jr.
3.4 Just How Good Are These Cards?
4.0 StLSO Recaps
4.1 Blues Summaries by BRIAN STULL
4.2 Cardinals Series-by-Series Recaps
4.2.1 Game On!: Cards Open Season at Shea; Lose Two of Three by JIM HUNSTEIN
4.2.2 Cards Take Two of Three From Braves at Atlanta
5.0 StLSO Numbers
5.1 Blues Statistics (through GAME #80)
5.2 Cardinals Statistics (through GAME #7)
6.0 StLSO Media Views
6.1 Simon Says by SCOTT SIMON
6.2 KFNS Purchased by EZ by MARK BAUSCH
6.3 Joe Buck Named as FOX Network's #1 Baseball Guy
7.0 StLSO Interactivity
8.0 StLSO Editorial: Post-Dispatch Coverage of Joe Buck's FOX Assignment
St. Louis Sports Online APRIL.96.3
1.0 StLSO News and Notes by RANDY
KARRAKER
It was interesting to hear people whining after the first three games of
the 162 game baseball season about the Cardinals middle relief. So many
people don't understand the concept of the position. First of all, those
pitchers ARE middle relievers because they aren't good enough to be closers
or starters. Secondly, there are going to be games in which one guy has
a bad day, and it makes the whole staff look bad. Interestingly, in the
series at Atlanta, the Cards bullpen was superb, not allowing a run. Tony
Fossas, Rick Honeycutt, Jeff Parrett and TJ Mathews all had good big league
seasons last year, and Cory Bailey was solid in the minors and had a good
spring. There's no reason to believe that over an entire season, if healthy,
this middle relief will be as good as any in the National League, Atlanta
included.
Don't get the idea that the Rams are prepared to stop dealing now that they
have the sixth pick in the draft. Their goal is to trade ahead of Baltimore,
to the first, second or third choice, to make sure they get Lawrence Phillips.
The target team will be Arizona, a team with dramatic salary cap problems...but
also one that wants Phillips. I'll be interesting to watch the Rams procession.
One would hope that they wouldn't trade away the sixth AND thirteenth choices
to move up to number three. If the Cardinals, or the Jets for that matter,
demand both choices...the Rams should look at the board and decide that
six players there are terrific. Keyshawn Johnson, Kevin Hardy, Simeon Rice,
Phillips, Jonathon Ogden and Tim Biakabituka all are fine players, and could
potentially help the Rams equally. If the Rams DO get stuck at number six
and thirteen, it wouldn't be all bad. What would be bad is getting just
one player for Sean Gilbert and their first rounder.
My season long confidence in the Blues has been shattered by injury and
their inability to gel. My hope was that down the stretch, the offense would
finally come to some semblance of life and they'd be able to score four
goals a game in the playoffs. Coupled with their great defense and Grant
Fuhr, I thought the Blues would rally and make some noise in the post-season.
Unfortunately, they never did gel...and then everyone (Hull, Corson, Gretzky,
Twist, Fuhr, Hudson, Pearson) got hurt. Teams just don't come together for
the first game of the playoffs. This team never has, and probably never
will, develop any chemistry. Add to that this old group's need to get in
condition coming off injuries, and I look for the Blues to be a first round
knockout victim, perhaps with a Peter McNeeley type showing, in the playoffs.
2.0 StLSO Sports Shorts
2.1 Cardinals News
*According to the Team Marketing Report, the Cardinals 1996 average ticket
price ($9.91) is 22nd highest out of 28 major league teams.
Interestingly, the six most expensive average tickets (for example: $15.43
in Boston (#1) and $13.14 in Baltimore (#6) ), and four of the five least
expensive tickets ($9.74 in Kansas City and $8.44 in California) are found
within American League ballparks.
*Monday's night's game vs. the Expos was the first game at Busch Stadium
to be played on natural grass since October 2, 1969.
*Donovan Osborne threw six shutout innings for St. Petersburg as the St.
Pete club shut out Tampa 8-0. Osborne allowed only two hits. Osborne will
soon be pitching at AAA Louisville, where he and Mark Petkovsek are expected
to make a couple of appearances before returning to St. Louis.
2.2 Blues Banter by BRIAN STULL
*After losing four of their key players the Blues have gone from thinking
of catching Chicago for third place to struggling to hang onto fourth and
the final home ice advantage slot in the playoffs. The wins have been hard
to come by and the Stanley Cup seems to be a very dim light at the end of
the tunnel.
But dim as that light may be, it is still there. The team responded well
in a playoff-like game against Winnipeg, despite losing the lead at the
end. Scoring continues to be the most evident problem--forty shots on goal
from Brian Noonan, Stephane Matteau, and Glenn Anderson is not the same
as forty shots from Brett Hull, Wayne Gretzky, and Shayne Corson. While
Mike Keenan might very well be correct in stating that it will be the Noonans
and Matteaus that make the difference in the playoffs, it's important to
note that they must indeed be the difference, not the total. The injury
situation illustrated just how important the offense from Hull, Gretzky,
and Corson is needed for this team. These three along with Courtnall and
MacInnis have to provide the punch with a supplementary role from the others.
Defensively, with the exception of a couple of breakdowns, the Blues should
be solid as long as they continue good forechecking and Grant Fuhr remains
healthy. Also, if the experience of a playoff veteran filled team is supposed
to make a difference, now will be a true test for that statement.
*Some of the injured Blues are returning in time for what C&GM Mike
Keenan hopes will be a successful run in the playoffs. Brett Hull, Shayne
Corson, and Grant Fuhr returned in time for the Winnipeg game on April 8.
With the playoffs approaching, it seems likely that Wayne Gretzky (sore
back) will return for the Avalanche and/or the Blackhawk games.
*Blues March 1996 Schedule and Results
# DATE HOME AWAY result comment
63 Sun Mar 3 EDMONTON W 4-3 #99: KO'd
64 Tue 5 FLORIDA W 2-0 Fuhr shutout
65 Thu 7 CALGARY L 4-2 #99: 2 assists
66 Sat 9 HARTFORD W 6-3 20,803 at Kiel
67 Tue 12 CALGARY L 4-2 StL 0-2-2 vs Cal
68 Fri 15 SAN JOSE W 4-2 Hull hat trick
69 Sun 17 ANAHEIM W 5-1 Selanne hat trick
70 Mon 18 LOS ANGELES W 3-1 #99: 1G & 1A
71 Wed 20 DALLAS L 2-0 Twist loses fight
72 Fri 22 ANAHEIM L 6-1 poor effort; Courtnall 1G
73 Sun 24 DETROIT T 2-2 Blues come back twice
74 Tue 26 PITTSBURGH L 8-4 Lemieux: 5 goals
75 Thu 28 NEW JERSEY T 4-4 Courtnall: 2 goals
76 Sun 31 DETROIT L 8-1 Fuhr hurts knee
March totals: 6-6-2
*Blues April 1996 Schedule and Results
# DATE HOME AWAY result comment
77 Wed Apr 3 COLORADO W 6-3 Leach: 2 goals
78 Thu 4 TORONTO L 3-1 Leafs up 2 quickly
79 Sat 6 TORONTO L 5-1 Blues scored first
80 Mon 8 WINNIPEG T 2-2 Hull: 2G
81 Thu 11 COLORADO 7:30
82 Sun 14 CHICAGO 2:00
2.3 Rams Report
The Rams recent swap of Sean Gilbert for Washington's first round draft
choice in the upcoming draft (the sixth pick overall) looks like a steal,
particularly when rumor has it that the best offer (from a team other than
the 'skins) for Gilbert (other than the Redskins' first pick) was a high
second-round draft choice.
It's looking more and more like the Rams are shying away from Randall Cunningham
as their choice in the free-agent quarterback derby. Steve Walsh, a Jimmy
Johnson first-round draft selection out of Miami (and since rejected by
the Cowboys, the Saints, and now the Bears) appears to be at the top of
Rich Brooks' list.
2.4 Ambush Update
In their best-of-five NPSL Division Finals series with Kansas City, the
Ambush are currently deadlocked 1-1. But since the first two games were
in KC, 'bush coach Darryl Doran was pleased with the split and is looking
to take a 2-1 advantage at the Kiel Center Wednesday night.
Game 4 will be played Sunday at Kiel.
2.5 StLSO Quote of the Week
"My life is determined by the scoreboard," said a clearly unhappy
Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa after the Cards home-opening loss to the
Expos.
2.6 StLSO Headline of the Week
From the 4.9.96 P-D: "Beating Around Busch: Fans Like Stadium's New
Look"
3.0 StLSO Features
3.1 Keenan Could Have Had More For
Less by MIKE RAINEY
The Blues have had their problems this season in many areas, most notably
scoring even-strength goals. Behind the top threesome of Geoff Courtnall,
Wayne Gretzky, and Brett Hull...there has been little scoring production.
Shayne Corson has scored many of his goals on the power play, and Glenn
Anderson has been invisible since coming over from Edmonton.
At the trading deadline on March 20, C&GM Mike Keenan could have upgraded
the other scoring lines with better players, at a cheaper price, than what
he gave up to get Yuri Khmylev from Buffalo. Keenan sent second and third
round draft picks to the Sabres for Khmylev, who has only 8 goals and 28
points this season. The second round pick Keenan traded was acquired from
Ottawa in the Steve Duchesne deal last summer. Given the fact that the Senators
will have the worst record in the NHL this season, that pick would be like
a late first round pick at 27th overall. So who were the better players
who were acquired by other teams for less? Ray Sheppard (36 goals) went
to Florida for a second round pick, Kevin Miller (25 goals), who Keenan
cast off last year to San Jose, went to Pittsburgh for a fifth round pick.
In addition Vancouver, a potential first round playoff opponent of the Blues,
bolstered their offense by acquiring Jessie Belanger (20 goals) from Florida
for a third round pick, and talented Markus Naslund (52 points) from Pittsburgh
for fourth-line tough guy Alex Stojanov.
Khmylev has not been a factor at all playing on the Blues second line with
Corson (when healthy) and Anderson.
Surprisingly, on his KMOX call-in show, Keenan admitted he made a mistake
in giving up as much as he did for Khmylev. When a caller asked why he gave
up so much, his response was brutally honest: "Sometimes when your
an hour away from the deadline and you're looking to improve the hockey
club, you're at the other general manager's mercy."
I guess all these other teams who pulled off better trades to help their
clubs were not at the mercy of the other G.M.'s. Wrong Mike, try again.
Barring a major turnaround in the first round of the playoffs, Keenan failed
to improve the Blues enough to contend for the Stanley Cup. Especially with
juggernaut Detroit waiting for them if they advance that far. Don't bank
on that. This is Keenan's team now, and it's time for him to show results
or get out of town. Toronto may be calling.
3.2 Trading Post by RANDY HU
Now that the National Hockey League's trading deadline has finally passed,
Blues C&GM Mike Keenan can finally give his phone a rest and reluctantly
think like a fisherman-lament about the ones that got away. Since July 1995,
Keenan has made 20 deals involving 28 players and draft picks, by far more
than any other team in the NHL. In contrast, the favorites to win the Stanley
Cup this year, the Detroit Red Wings, have made only three trades since
last summer-fewest in the league.
The NHL is becoming a transient league as more teams develop a win now mentality.
Skyrocketing salaries, brand new rinks, expansion, and parity around the
league have contributed to this maddening thought process. There were an
unprecedented 120 trades made this year (17% of them by Keenan) and with
free agency loosening up, more players are switching jerseys than ever before.
GMs tinker with rosters, trying to find quick fix solutions for short term
needs. The muckers, grinders, and fading scorers of the league are passed
around like a cheap bottle of wine. Even head coaches haven't been able
to withstand the ax, as nearly a third of the them have been fired this
year, including Montreal's Jacques Demers four games into the season.
It's nearly impossible to develop any sort of team cohesion or chemistry
when players in the locker room don't know who's coming or going. Players
will say trades are part of the business and out of their control, but the
rumors bother them. Teams that play well together during the regular season
tend to play well in the playoffs. That's why the underachieving Blues,
who have been inconsistent all year, offer little hope in the playoffs.
Cinderella teams surprise occasionally, but are the exception.
Currently, there are 50 former Blues players (8% of the players in the league
) on various NHL rosters, not including the players who developed from traded
draft picks. From these players, one could assemble a pretty good lineup
that could compete with any team in the NHL. Forwards: Brendan Shanahan,
Craig Janney, Petr Nedved, Doug Gilmour, Cliff Ronning, Rod Brind'Amour,
Adam Oates, Dale Hawerchuk, Nelson Emerson, Dan Quinn, Esa Tikkanen, Igor
Korolev, Kevin Miller, Dave Lowry, Craig Johnson, Sergio Momesso, Ian Laperriere,
Todd Ewen, defensemen: Scott Stevens, Phil Housley, Steve Duchesne, Jeff
Brown, Jeff Norton, Bret Hedican, Doug Lidster, Stephane Quintal, Bill Houlder,
Rick Zombo, goalies: Curtis Joseph and Guy Hebert.
Of course, not all of these players were exiled by Iron Mike--some were
made by his predecessor, Ron Caron. But, in the less than two years that
Keenan has been in control, only Brett Hull, Al MacInnis, Basil McRae, and
Murray Baron have survived the trading block. The Blues roster lately has
resembled a hospital ward, with key injuries to Wayne Gretzky (back), Brett
Hull (hamstring), Shayne Corson (jaw), Tony Twist (ankle), and Grant Fuhr
(knee), that could all be proved of the nagging nature. They all need to
get healthy if the Blues are to have any chance in the playoffs, so that
we are spared the perennial excuse and rallying cry, "wait til next
year." The future is grim as the Blues are the oldest team in the league
and have the second highest payroll according to The Hockey News.
Worst case scenario for fans would be the team getting blown out in the
first round of the playoffs, Gretzky leaving, and the Kiel Partners selling
the team.
Best case scenario is Keenan leaving town.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Randy Hu is the hockey columnist for The Riverfront Times.
3.3 Quest For The Green Jacket by JAY RANDOLPH Jr.
Once again the greatest players in the world are set to stroll down Magnolia
Lane amongst the dogwoods and the pines at Augusta National.
It will be tough to top last years dramatic Masters in which Ben Crenshaw
captured his second green jacket and dedicated the victory to his longtime
teacher and friend, the late Harvey Penick.
What a year it has been thus far on the PGA Tour. Phil Mickelson's early
dominance, three consecutive first time winners and Fred Couples brilliant
performance at The Players Championship. This year's Masters is a tough
race to handicap.
Here are my top five candidates adorn the green jacket on Masters Sunday.
*Davis Love III - Still looking to drop that "never won a major"
label that is way overblown. The Georgia native had a dramatic two week
span last year when he won the Freeport McMoran Classic just to qualify
for the right to play at Augusta and then went on the finish second behind
gentle Ben. Love has the game to win wire to wire at Augusta, and each year
he plays in the event, his knowledge of the course grows. Look for a Sunday
filled with LOVE.
*Fred Couples - "Boom Boom" is back. His final round 64 at the
TPC at Sawgrass reminded everybody that he is still the best active player
born in the United States. One of the most unfortunate things that has occurred
in the game of golf over the past couple of years, has been the absence
of a healthy Fred Couples. A Love - Couples showdown similar to the one
the two had in 1992 at the Nissan Open, the same year Freddie won at Augusta,
would be something special.
*Nick Price - Ten years ago, Zimbabwe native Nick Price shot a course record
63 at Augusta the day before Jack Nicklaus's dramatic charge. Price is looking
to regain the form that had him labeled as the worlds best at the end of
1994. His game has been steady thus far in 1996. Through The Players Championship,
Price had earned just over $100,000 in four starts. In the 16 rounds that
he has played this year, 11 have been under par. Price is one of the few
players that have a legitimate chance at winning all four majors in their
career.
*Vijay Singh - This pick might be going out on a limb. But the "sabona"
wearing Fiji native has the game to win on any golf course. In seven starts
this year, Singh has earned over $370,000 and has made all seven cuts. He
has carded 21 subpar rounds in 28 total rounds. This will be his third start
at Augusta, and like Love, with each year comes more experience. Last year
Singh was ranked 165th in putting on the PGA Tour. This year, the long hitting
Singh ranks 19th in the putting category.
*"Tiger" Woods - If Vijay was going out on a limb, this should
be regarded as going out on a twig. I guess I don't really consider Tiger
Woods to be a factor at Augusta, at least not this year. But amateurs have
flirted with the jacket in the past. Ken Venturi, Billy Joe Patton, Frank
Stranahan and the last amateur to finish in the top ten, Charlie Coe back
in 1962, had the chance to win the Masters. Sam Randolph was the last amateur
to finish in the top 20, when he finished 18th in 1985. If any amateur appears
to have a chance to shine at Augusta it might be Woods. He made the cut
in his debut last year at Augusta, but so did everybody. If Tiger can handle
the treacherous greens and stay out of the woods, who knows, it could be
a tiger tale in 1996.
*Finally, the player that I didn't mention, but believe will win is Greg
Norman. I have decided to pick the "Shark," every year until he
wins at Augusta. He might have a chance if he would worry more about his
game than the comments of Johnny Miller. Wouldn't the man from down under
look great in green!!!
EDITOR'S NOTE: Jay Randolph Jr. co-hosts the KFNS morning-drive show Monday-Friday
from 6-8 am. In addition, Randolph hosts the "Fairways and Greens"
golf show on KFNS, which, after recently celebrating its fourth anniversary,
has returned to its traditional 11 am - 2 pm Thursday time slot.
3.4 Just How Good Are These Cards?
In StLSO #65, it was reported that the Cardinals 1996 payroll ($39 million)
is third-highest in the National League. Solely on that basis, we predicted
that the Cards would finish second in the NL Central (behind the $41 million
Reds), qualify for a wild-card, but lose to the $48 million Braves.
Seems as reasonable a way to predict the standings as any...
Seriously, though, what does a $39 million payroll buy these days?
Who knows for sure...but maybe the nation's Fantasy Leaguers and Rotisserie
players could provide the StLSO staff with some help.
The March 27-April 2 issue of USA Today Baseball Weekly contained an interesting
article along those lines. In that issue, four men (John Hunt, the weekly's
fantasy league columnist, Paul White (its editor), John Benson (another
editor), and sabermetrician Bill James) named their top 15 1996 fantasy-roto
performers in eight different categories: starting pitcher, closer, catcher,
first basemen, second basemen, shortstop, third basemen, and outfielders.
That's eight times 15...meaning that each individual provided a list of
what they believe will be 120 of the top-performing major league ballplayers
in 1996. Putting it another way, 480 players were listed by four well-informed
baseball media-types as most likely to put up good numbers in the upcoming
season.
How do the NL Central teams stack up?
Players wearing the uniform of the Cincinnati Reds are mentioned a total
of 22 times, with Pete Schourek, Barry Larkin, and Bret Boone appearing
on all four lists.
Houston Astros are mentioned 13 times; Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio appear
on all four lists.
The Pirates are listed eleven times, with Carlos Garcia and Jay Bell appearing
on all four lists.
The Cubs? Cubs players are sprinkled throughout the lists a total of nine
times, with Mark Grace and Sammie Sosa appearing on all four lists.
The Cardinals?
Like the Cubs, Cardinals appear on the Top 15 lists a total of nine times.
The only Cardinal who appears on more than one list is Royce Clayton, who
is named on all four lists as being one of baseball's top 15 shortstops.
No Cardinal appears on the list of Top 15 starting pitchers, catchers, first
basemen, or second basemen.
Paul White does list Gary Gaetti as the fourth-best third baseman (as far
as his projected 1996 stats are concerned); Gaetti doesn't appear on the
other lists.
Similarly, Hunt believes Dennis Eckersley will post the MLB's 15th-best
stats in '96, as far as closers are concerned. The Eck's name is absent
from the other three lists.
Significantly, Cardinals' outfielders Brian Jordan, Ron Gant, and Ray Lankford
each appear only once...on three different lists. Presumably, if the list
of outfielders had contained a larger number of players, those three players
would have appeared more frequently.
So what were the 1996 Opening Day payrolls for the five NL Central teams,
and how do those salaries match up with the roto predictions?
*Cincinnati: $41 million (22 appearances on the Top 15 lists)
*St. Louis: $39 million (9 appearances)
*Chicago: $31 million (9 appearances)
*Houston: $27 million (13 appearances)
*Pittsburgh: $21 million (11 appearances)
Or, expressed differently, three of the four men (White, Benson, and James)
list two Cardinals among their choice of the top 120 1996 major league performers;
Hunt lists three.
Ouch. Cards fans hope that quality starting pitching and first-rate outfield
play will mask the team's apparent weaknesses at most of the other positions...and
that these predictions are just fantasy.
4.0 StLSO Recaps
4.1 Blues Summaries by BRIAN STULL
4.1.1 at Colorado (GAME #77: 4.3.96)
The Blues braved the altitude and traveled into Denver to take on the Colorado
Avalanche and after a quiet first period, both teams found their offense
in the second period as the Blues took a 3-2 lead.
St.Louis pulled away in the third period when Claude Lemieux came in to
raise the stick of Craig McTavish and missed, catching McTavish in the face
with his stick. Referee Paul Stewart assigned the major plus a minor giving
the Blues a 7:00 power play. With 2:30 left in the man advantage, Stewart
also sent off MacInnis and Yell to make it a 4-on-3 advantage for St.Louis.
Chris Pronger fired in from the left point and Peter Zezel was in front
to deflect the puck over Patrick Roy and the score was 4-2 at 8:49. Nineteen
seconds later, Zezel sent a backhanded pass from the lower left circle and
Steve Leach was in front to put it away and make it 5-2.
Valerie Kamensky closed the gap, catching an odd bounce of the puck off
the glass to notch an easy power play goal at 13:00. With under two minutes
left, Colorado enforcer Chris Simons caught Mike Hudson with a hard check
from behind and Hudson went headfirst into the boards and Simons went to
the showers with a game misconduct.
Then Glenn Anderson finally connected with Wayne Gretzky for a power play
goal at 19:40 to finish the scoring, 6-3.
4.1.2 Toronto (GAME #78: 4.4.96)
20,639 fans showed up at the Kiel Center to watch the visiting Toronto Maple
Leafs battle the St.Louis Blues. The home squad fell short 3-1. Toronto
jumped on top right away, catching the Blues in a line change. The Leafs
Mathieu Schneider took advantage and broke in and sent the puck between
the pads of Jon Casey for a 1-0 lead at 1:10.
Just over two minutes later, Mike Gartner skated in and blasted a shot from
the left circle which whistled pass a dodging Casey's head and into the
net to make it 2-0.
Rookie Brandon Convery added the third tally for Toronto, walking into the
zone untouched and burying the pass from Gartner past a screened Casey.
Convery's goal came at 7:22 of the second period, and made the score 3-0.
Felix Potvin, who had turned away 39 of the Blues 40 shots, couldn't hang
onto to a blistering slapshot from Al MacInnis which trimmed the lead to
3-1 at 13:20 of the second period. Moments later, Doug Gilmour caught Wayne
Gretzky with a clean, hard check and Gretzky was later forced to leave the
game with a deep bone bruise in the lumbar region.
The Blues meanwhile, couldn't solve Potvin and there was no further scoring
in the game.
4.1.3 at Toronto (GAME #79: 4.6.96)
For the second time in as many games, the St.Louis Blues fell victim to
strong goaltending from Felix Potvin as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated
the visiting Blues 5-1 in the conclusion of back to back games.
Peter Zezel put the Blues on top with a power play goal at 4:46 of the first
period, but Mike Gartner responded with a Toronto goal to make it 1-1 going
into intermission. Mats Sundin scored the only goal of the second period,
knocking in the puck after Doug Gilmour sent it across ice off Wendell Clark
at 2:48.
St.Louis outshot Toronto 16/8 in the second (37 to 28 for the game), but
Felix Potvin turned away every chance he faced. Jon Casey, who started for
St.Louis with Grant Fuhr still on the DL, was relieved early in the third
period after coughing up a rebound to Brandon Convery for a power play goal
at 1:44.
Casey's replacement, Bruce Racine gave up Convery's second goal just over
five minutes later during another Toronto power play. Convery started in
his own zone and went coast to coast, beating Murray Baron and then putting
the puck between the pads of Racine to make it 4-1.
At 15:34, Racine lost track of a rebound and Mike Craig was there to pounce
on the puck and knock it in to seal the victory 5-1.
4.1.4 Winnipeg (GAME #80: 4.8.96)
The St.Louis Blues continued to face stellar goaltending as they hosted
the Winnipeg Jets on Monday evening. The difference in this game was that
the Blues had great goaltending in their net as well. Grant Fuhr returned
from his dislocated knee injury to make the start against Nikolai Khabibulin,
and both put on a display of textbook netminding.
Brett Hull and Shayne Corson also returned from injury to start for the
Blues, and it was Hull who notched the first goal of the game at 13:57 of
the first period from just inside the right circle.
Winnipeg tied the score early in the second as Darrin Shannon banged it
home with an assist from Dave Manson to make it 1-1 at 1:33. After that,
the Blues continued their barrage of shots (26/11 thru the first two periods)
but Khabibulin stood his ground.
Tempers heated up in the third period as Jay Wells and Mike Eastwood tried
for each other along the boards and then Dave Manson picked up a penalty
for roughing Geoff Courtnall and an additional minor for arguing. The power
play that resulted led to the Blues second tally, as Brett Hull wheeled
and outfaked Khabibulin to twist the puck into the net for the power play
goal at 5:17.
After that, St.Louis went into a defensive mode which broke down with only
five seconds left in the game as Dallas Drake was left undetected at the
left post and slipped a rebound past Fuhr to send the game to overtime.
The best scoring chance in the overtime belonged to Eddie Olcyzk, who sent
one off the post. Neither side could get one across the crease and the game
ended 2-2.
4.2 Cardinals Series-by-Series Recaps
4.2.1 Game On!: Cards Open Season at Shea; Lose Two of Three by JIM HUNSTEIN
The Cardinals started their 1996 campaign of baseball the way it oughta
be with a three-game set in New York to take on the Mets. The biggest surprise
of the series was the play of fill-in OF Willie McGee, subbing for the DLed
OF Brian Jordan (thumb). Long-time fan favorite and former World Series
hero and league MVP McGee batted .375 with a homer in the first game and
five RBI in the series. For the Mets, former Redbird OF Bernard Gilkey endeared
himself to his new team by batting .455 with a homer in the opener and six
RBI.
RESULTS: Mets take the series 2-1.
COMING IN: Both teams were 0-0, this being the season opener for both.
COMING OUT: Cards were 1-2, tied for second, 1 game out of first.
HITTING: Very good. The Cards hit .324 and scored 20 runs. Hard to believe
they'd lose two games with that much production. Homers by McGee, Mabry,
Gant.
BASERUNNING: It was cold in Gotham but Clayton and Lankford both got their
first steals.
STARTING PITCHING: Andy Benes pitched OK in the first game feeding the gopher
twice and should have gotten the W. Todd Stottlemyre got his win in the
second but Alan Benes got shelled for seven runs (only 3 earned) in 3 1/3
innings.
RELIEF PITCHING: The pen started out weak, costing Andy B. his win in the
first game. But they settled down thereafter. Eckersley got a save in the
second game but took the loss in the third game after giving up two unearned
runs.
FIELDING: The Es have it. More errors than you can wave a glove at. We have
to assume they just didn't break in their gloves enough. A case of a needed
case of Neatsfoot Oil. The Cards were the recipients of four Met errors
in the eighth inning of the third game.
CATCH-ALL: Clayton played all three games at short as Smith nursed a hamstring.
OVERALL: This being the first few games, let's be generous and say they
can only improve. In the third game, the Cards came back from deficits of
7-1 and 8-3 before succumbing.
4.2.2 Cards Take Two of Three From Braves at Atlanta
RESULTS: Cards take the series 2-1; both victories (Friday and Saturday)
were extra-inning affairs.
COMING IN: Cards were 1-2, Braves 2-1.
COMING OUT: Both teams 3-3...Cards 1.5 games behind the first-place Pirates
HITTING: Cards had only 23 hit (including five off of Greg Maddux in nine
innings and three off of Steve Avery in seven)...but those hits were often
timely (except in the first game of the series in which the Redbirds stranded
12 including numerous runners in scoring position).
BASERUNNING: Miguel Mejia's stolen base in the 12th inning was an important
part of Saturday's 3-2 win.
STARTING PITCHING: Andy Benes and Tom Urbani pitched well in the Friday
and Saturday games. Mike Busby took one for the club on Sunday...giving
up all 13 runs in four innings of work. Before the game, Tony La Russa said
that he more-or-less needed innings from Busby. He got them...at a price.
RELIEF PITCHING: 20 innings of scoreless pitching. What more can be said?
Jeff Parrett (Saturday) and Cory Bailey (Friday) pitched particularly well,
with both picking up their first victories of 1996.
FIELDING: The ball seems to be finding its way into Redbird gloves.
THE WIZARD: Ozzie's first appearance of the season came during the 14th
inning of Friday night's game. His single up the middle was a crucial part
of the game-winning rally.
OVERALL: Taking two of three from pitching-strong Atlanta, particularly
when Maddux is on tap for a start, makes the series outcome look pretty
nice.
5.0 StLSO Numbers
5.1 Blues Statistics (through GAME #80)
5.1.1 Scoring
POS NO. PLAYER GP G A PTS +/- PIM PP SH GW GT S PCTG
C 99 WAYNE GRETZKY 79 23 79 102 12- 34 6 1 3 1 190 12.1
R 16 BRETT HULL 68 43 40 83 4 30 16 5 6 0 316 13.6
D 2 AL MACINNIS 80 17 44 61 5 86 9 1 1 1 303 5.6
L 9 SHAYNE CORSON 75 18 28 46 3 190 13 0 0 2 143 12.6
L 14 GEOFF COURTNALL 67 23 16 39 11- 97 7 1 1 1 221 10.4
R 28 BRIAN NOONAN 79 13 22 35 2 84 3 1 6 0 127 10.2
L 13 YURI KHMYLEV 72 8 21 29 14- 40 5 1 1 1 133 6.0
R 27 STEPHEN LEACH 71 11 15 26 8- 108 1 0 2 0 150 7.3
L 32 STEPHANE MATTEAU 76 11 15 26 7- 85 4 0 2 1 105 10.5
D 44 CHRIS PRONGER 76 7 18 25 16- 110 3 1 1 0 136 5.1
C 25 PETER ZEZEL 55 8 13 21 1- 10 2 0 1 0 82 9.8
D 5 IGOR KRAVCHUK 64 6 15 21 18- 34 3 0 1 0 162 3.7
C 20 ADAM CREIGHTON 59 10 10 20 1- 74 2 0 3 1 95 10.5
C 15 MIKE HUDSON 59 5 12 17 2 55 0 0 0 0 59 8.5
C 23 CRAIG MACTAVISH 66 5 9 14 9- 70 0 0 1 1 57 8.8
R 36 GLENN ANDERSON 30 5 7 12 9- 33 1 0 1 0 65 7.7
D 34 MURRAY BARON 80 2 9 11 2 190 0 0 0 0 82 2.4
R 12 ROB PEARSON 27 6 4 10 4 54 1 0 1 0 51 11.8
D 22 CHARLIE HUDDY 62 5 5 10 11- 65 2 0 1 0 67 7.5
D 35 CHRISTER OLSSON 26 2 8 10 6- 14 2 0 0 0 32 6.3
D 33 KEN SUTTON 38 0 8 8 13- 43 0 0 0 0 41 .0
L 18 TONY TWIST 51 3 2 5 1- 100 0 0 1 0 12 25.0
D 26 JAY WELLS 74 0 2 2 9- 67 0 0 0 0 24 .0
L 17 BASIL MCRAE 16 1 0 1 6- 38 0 0 0 0 4 25.0
R 21 PAUL BROTEN 17 0 1 1 1- 4 0 0 0 0 11 .0
L 7 GREG GILBERT 17 0 1 1 1- 8 0 0 0 0 9 .0
G 31 GRANT FUHR 77 0 1 1 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 .0
L 33 FRED KNIPSCHEER 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 .0
G 30 JON CASEY 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
G 29 BRUCE RACINE 11 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 .0
5.1.2 Goaltending
GPI MINS AVG W L T EN SO GA SA SPCTG G A PIM
GRANT FUHR 77 4241 2.89 30 28 15 3 204 2114 .904 0 1 8
BRUCE RACINE 11 231 3.12 0 2 0 0 12 101 .881 0 0 2
JON CASEY 9 395 3.80 2 3 0 0 25 180 .861 0 0 0
STL TOTALS 80 4878 2.99 32 33 15 1 3 243 2401 .899
(GPI) GAMES PLAYED IN; (MINS) MINUTES PLAYED; (AVG) 60 MINUTE AVERAGE; (EN) EMPTY-NET GOALS AGAINST; (SO) SHUTOUTS; (GA) GOALS AGAINST; (SA) SHOTS AGAINST; (SPCTG) SAVE PERCENTAGE
5.2 Cardinals Statistics
5.2.1 Hitting Statistics
BA SLG OBA G AB R H TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E
BORDERS .400 .533 .400 4 15 1 6 8 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1
SMITH .400 .400 .400 2 5 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
SWEENEY .333 .444 .455 6 9 2 3 4 1 0 0 1 2 2 0 0 0
CLAYTON .286 .464 .333 7 28 2 8 13 3 1 0 6 3 6 2 1 1
ALICEA .267 .367 .333 7 30 5 8 11 3 0 0 1 3 8 0 0 1
LANKFORD .267 .400 .290 7 30 3 8 12 2 1 0 2 1 6 1 0 0
MCGEE .250 .406 .273 6 32 5 8 13 2 0 1 6 1 6 0 0 0
SHEAFFER .235 .294 .316 6 17 2 4 5 1 0 0 2 2 3 1 0 0
GANT .217 .478 .394 7 23 5 5 11 0 0 2 9 7 6 1 0 1
GAETTI .207 .310 .233 6 29 1 6 9 0 0 1 1 1 5 1 0 1
MABRY .192 .308 .241 7 26 4 5 8 0 0 1 3 2 6 0 0 0
BELL .143 .143 .143 2 7 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1
BRADSHAW .125 .125 .300 6 8 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 0
MEJIA .000 .000 .000 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
5.2.2 Pitching Statistics
W- L ERA G GS CG GF SH SV IP H R ER HR BB SO
ECKERSLEY 0- 1 0.00 4 0 0 3 0 2 4.2 7 2 0 0 0 5
MATHEWS 0- 0 0.00 4 0 0 1 0 0 5.0 3 0 0 0 4 6
PARRETT 1- 1 1.93 4 0 0 1 0 0 4.2 1 1 1 0 6 5
FOSSAS 0- 1 2.08 4 0 0 0 0 0 4.1 4 1 1 0 0 3
BAILEY 1- 0 2.84 4 0 0 1 0 0 6.1 5 2 2 0 7 6
STOTTLEMYRE 1- 0 3.00 2 2 0 0 0 0 15.0 9 6 5 2 5 11
ANDY BENES 0- 0 3.21 2 2 0 0 0 0 14.0 8 5 5 3 3 10
URBANI 0- 0 6.00 1 1 0 0 0 0 6.0 8 4 4 2 2 1
HONEYCUTT 0- 0 7.71 3 0 0 1 0 0 2.1 4 2 2 0 1 2
ALAN BENES 0- 0 8.10 1 1 0 0 0 0 3.1 7 7 3 0 2 5
BUSBY 0- 1 18.00 1 1 0 0 0 0 4.0 9 13 8 4 4 4
6.0 StLSO Media Views
6.1 Simon Says by SCOTT SIMON
6.1.1 More WIBV Hires
Jeff Gordon, sportswriter at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, is leaving KSD-AM's
Sunday night sports show after two months to join WIBV as a sports talk
show co-host. Gordon for many years was a frequent guest on KMOX-AM sports
call-in shows.
In addition, KMOX producer Dave McLaughlin has also signed on with 'IBV.
A possible role for McLaughlin? ...doing sportscasts in the afternoon.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Jeff Gordon is the godfather of StLSO.
6.1.2 Bricks and Bats
KISS ME, I'M A FAN: That's what Channel 2's Pete Peterson should wear as
a button after a comment he made on April 7 during the Mike Keenan Show.
While talking about Gretzky and the hoopla over his arrival, Peterson said
the Blues management did a good job on keeping the Gretzky trade rumor quiet.
WHAT??? Hey Pete, YOU WERE ON THE BANDWAGON ALMOST EVERY NIGHT ON CHANNEL
2 with Gretzky-to-the-Blues reports, weeks before it happened.
Pete, give us a break. Think before you talk.
6.1.3 P-D Hires Frohlichstein
Former KMOX-AM local television critic Tripp Frohlichstein (an important
early contributor to StLSO) will pen a Friday-only column on St. Louis TV
in the Post-Dispatch beginning April 12.
Frohlichstein also was a former critic for the Riverfront Times and the
St. Louis Journalism Review.
6.2 KFNS Purchased by EZ
EZ Communications, already the parent company of three St. Louis radio stations,
has purchased two additional St. Louis stations: all-sports KFNS-AM and
KEZK-FM.
Ladies and gentlemen...the game is about to begin. That is, EZ now seems
poised to make a real run at KMOX's long-standing dominance of the St. Louis
radio sports marketplace.
For sure, KMOX has several things going for it.
First of all, AM-1120 is a clear-channel station. As out-of-St. Louis StLSO
subscribers know well, listeners all over the midwest are bathed with KMOX's
clear-channel signal.
Secondly, KMOX is where radio listeners go for Cardinals, Blues, and Mizzou
broadcasts. Those three properties provide "The Voice of St. Louis"
with year-round live programming that involves three of the most valued
properties in St. Louis.
But EZ's KSD/KFNS combo counters with its own set of properties, many of
which seem to have a substantial upside as far as potential appeal is concerned.
The PSL-fueled Rams are the new kid in town, while the Charlie Spoonhour's
Billikens play in front of near-capacity Kiel Center crowds. Both the Rams
and the Bills are heard on KSD.
But perhaps more importantly (as far as building a base of younger listeners
is concerned), America's rock-n-roll sports fans seem to be embracing fast-paced
sports such as indoor soccer, indoor football, and roller hockey. EZ-controlled
stations have, in the past, carried Ambush, Vipers, and Stampede games.
And with two stations familiar to the area's sports fans, EZ boss Karen
Carroll has a lot of flexibility as far as scheduling is concerned.
All-in-all, considering the transaction solely from a programming perspective,
the folks at EZ seem to have sure winner on their hands.
If nothing else, having Kevin Slaten and Bernie Miklasz on the same team
should make for interesting talk radio.
6.3 Joe Buck Named as FOX Network's #1 Baseball Guy
In what was a rather poorly-kept secret, the FOX network announced last
week that Joe Buck will serve as its #1 play-by-play guy. The post is quite
an honor for young Buck, especially in light of the fact that he and color
commentating partner Tim McCarver will team up for the 1996 World Series,
the first for FOX in their initial
effort at telecasting major league baseball.
7.0 StLSO Interactivity
*Screenname JAYTee1058 writes--
Writing predictions SOLELY on salaries (StLSO #65) is asinine. The connection
between overall team payroll and performance has been tenuous, at best.
Look at Whitey's teams of the eighties: in the midrange of all teams, and
competitive teams most years. Remember a couple of years back when LA and
NY Mets had the highest payrolls and last place teams.
Frankly, it's a puff-ball type of story to write, and the kind of thing
that made Bill James so popular.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Is that a compliment?!
In any event, baseball finances have changed since the days of Whiteyball.
As described in StLSO #65, the standings-based-on-payroll method "picked"
the Yankees, Orioles, Indians, and Mariners to be the AL's Final Four...with
the Braves, Reds, Cards, and Giants qualifying for the playoffs in the NL.
I'll take those picks any day...perhaps except the Giants, as LA looks strong
in the West. It was the very point of the article to make the predictions
solely on salaries.
*John Arenberg writes--
Please end the confusion right now. Grant Fuhr broke his own record (from
his Edmonton days) of 75 games played, not consecutive games started. The
previous mark was 70 consecutive starts by Eddie Johnston with Boston.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Thanks for the information.
*Mike Francis writes from Portland, Oregon--
In StLSO #64, you wrote << Several years ago, a US senator whose name
I cannot recall, when asked to define pornography, said "I don't know
how the heck to define it, but I sure know it when I see it.">>
Actually, it was Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart. It was a classic
definition. Applies to sweet baseball swings, too.
Request from a reader: Any chance of getting an interview with one of the
new owners? Out of towners like myself don't know anything about these guys
or their intentions for the club.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Ouch (regarding the mis-attributed Potter Stewart quote).
StLSO thanks Francis, who is a regular subscriber as well as an occasional
contributor.
As for a Q-and-A with one of the new owners? We're working on that one.
*Tim Murnin writes from Zimbabwe--
I am a little upset that there hasn't been more attention paid to Jose Oquendo's
departure from the Cards. Granted, he was not going to be an impact player
this year and hasn't been for the past few years, but #11 has always been,
in my mind, the ideal Cardinal. He's a guy who has never complained about
his role (or lack of one) and has always worked harder than anyone else
just to make the team.
His contributions to St. Louis as a civic leader are laudable and he has
also never forgotten his roots in Puerto Rico, where he returns each winter
to run clinics and bring baseball supplies.
I will miss "Cheo" and I hope that Cardinal fans can truly appreciate
him for all he has given to St. Louis.
8.0 StLSO Editorial: Post-Dispatch Coverage
of Joe Buck's FOX Assignment
Most St. Louisans were informed of Joe Buck's new baseball
job with FOX by reading about it in Dan Caesar's April 3rd Post-Dispatch
article.
The headline over Caesar's article seemed appropriate: "TV-Generation
Buck Says Fox Baseball Job 'A Great Honor'".
But the 24-paragraph article below the headline, at least to this reader,
seemed unusual.
Better yet, this reader found that the article's focus was...well, out of
focus. Exactly how was Caesar's article wrong?
Well, the facts within the article seemed correct. The article was well-researched
and accurate as far as names, places, and dates were concerned.
But imagine for a moment that you, the reader, had just been named to one
of the nation's most prominent positions in your own profession. And just
imagine that your father had been fortunate enough, for a short period of
time, to hold that very same position.
Finally, also imagine that your local newspaper, at the same time that it
informed its readers that you had been named to that cherished position,
also chose to remind everyone within shouting distance of your father's
purported shortcomings/failures while he had the job.
How would you feel?
Not very good, I'll bet.
Specifically, Caesar's article was diluted by the fact that Joe's father,
Jack Buck, was the main subject for 14 of the article's 24 paragraphs.
And most of those 14 paragraphs reminded readers of the experience that
the senior Buck had while serving as CBS' #1 play-by-play guy.
StLSO readers probably remember...Jack Buck was the last-minute replacement
for Brent Musburger...he was never #1 in CBS' eyes...he wasn't perceived
as a TV man...he was replaced before his contract's third and final year...he
had trouble interacting with partner McCarver...his style often relied on
prediction.
Some of those viewpoints/facts have validity to them. Having lived for many
years outside of St. Louis, the StLSO staff is well aware of the fact that
the entire country is not as enamored with Jack Buck's broadcasting style
as, say, the average Cardinal fan.
In particular, the quality of senior Buck's CBS radio Monday Night Football
work with Hank Stram has, in the opinion of some, slipped a bit in recent
years. (NOTE: The Buck/Stram duo will no longer broadcast MNF on CBS radio.)
But that story is about Jack Buck...not Joe. And the senior Buck has far
more admirers than detractors.
Back to Joe for a minute.
Short of a Jim McKay-Bob Costas Olympics hosting role (or broadcasting a
Super Bowl, which is but a once-a-year event), for a sports broadcaster
there is no equal to bringing the World Series into the homes of Americans.
Indeed, as StLSO senior writer Jim Hunstein points out, Costas has often
stated that doing World Series play-by-play has long been a dream of his.
It could therefore be argued that Joe Buck's new assignment means that he
has reached the pinnacle of his baseball-announcing career. Being selected
as a national network's World Series play-by-play broadcaster is THAT significant...and
the article that announces that fact shouldn't be muddied with extraneous
comparisons of any kind.
In other words, the story should have been about Joe Buck, in his moment
of glory. Period.
NOTE: Joe Buck has been the subject of an StLSO Q and A, and has also contributed
two articles to StLSO.
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