I'm watching the Civi Rights game on my new HD TV as I type this.  It's very exciting to have HD in time for the season. Unfortunately, I don't have Direct TV so not sure how many games I'll be seeing...grrr...

Cards are looking ready for Opening Day tomorrow.  Great to see Albert hit a towering homer, and Molina has 2 hits so far.  Many contributors to the current 5-1 lead in the 5th.  Wainwright looks sharp, and it was funny to see him help his cause with a single that scored two. 

I plan to live blog during tomorrow's Opening Day game.  See ya then!

Well, the big news of the week in Cardinal Nation was Tony La Russa's DUI arrest.  I was certainly surprised by that news.  I won't condemn the guy, although it's certainly not role-model behavior.  I would blame his vegetarianism.  He probably didn't eat much for dinner, so a couple glasses of wine put him over the limit. 

I note a sharp contrast in media commentators' opinions on this incident here in LA vs in St. Louis. In Friday's Los Angeles Times, T.J. Simers wrote:  "According to the Associated Press, when La Russa walked onto the field before the Cardinals' game 'many fans stood and applauded.'  Unless they were expressing their appreciation to La Russa for not killing someone while driving drunk behind the wheel, the fans certified themselves idiots, while also giving everyone another reminder how some sports fans consider their sports heroes god-like - no matter what they do."  Come on, TJ, "idiots" is a little harsh...and "certified idiots"...geez...

Meanwhile, in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Bill McClellan argued the arrest would probably gain West Coast Tony some respect from local Bud-swilling fans: "So the news was shocking. It's a shame, I said to myself, which is what a sinner should always say when another sinner stumbles. And I thought, except for the fact that La Russa probably doesn't have 160,000 miles on his car, it could have been me." 

I'm somewhere in the middle.  I don't think Tony deserved a standing ovation for being a drunk driver, but I do think he deserves our forgiveness and "there but for the grace of God go I" understanding.  I think he made a good apology in his statement and took responsibility for his actions. The arrest doesn't change my favorable opinion of the man. I happened to meet someone at a pub crawl yesterday who volunteers for Tony's Arf Foundation and attested to what a good guy Tony is and how involved he is in the organization during the off-season.  Mindful of this week's news, I made sure to walk home from the crawl. 

Read more about it - The Smoking Gun has copies of the police reports.

TLR made good on a bet with his daugthers.  He bet them if the Cards won the World Series he'd get a tattoo.  He got a tribal design wrapping around his shoulder and bicep.  Just think - if he'd gotten a large tattoo of Ozzie Smith, kinda like the one Scott Spiezio has of his wife, that might have ended their feud. 

Today's Post-Dispatch included a Jim Edmonds interview that was less-than-encouraging.  Aren't Monday mornings hard enough without having to read about Jim saying that he probably won't be ready for opening day?  Well, my initial gloom has turned to acceptance.  It's better for Jim and for the Cards if he takes a little more time rather than risk another injury by rushing things.  This news definitely leaves some open questions about the starting lineup for the outfield, especially since we've yet to see Juan Encarnacion back in action (any day now, they say). 

On the positive note, Braden Looper pitched 4 scoreless innings today, and Rick Ankiel broked out of a mini-slump with a homer and a double.  Tony has always had faith in him - who knows, with these pesky outfielder injuries he may be testing that faith in Ankiel sooner than he planned.

Oh, and I had dinner at Ozzie's.  Review coming soon.

I've posted all of my best Spring Training photos in an album here on the blog.  Check 'em out.   

It was good to watch the game on Channel 5 today and see Jay Randolph again.  When Mike Shannon stopped by for a while, that was a true 80s flashback.  All that was missing was "Celebration" playing in the background. 

Carpenter looked his usual worldbeating self today.  Too bad Tyler Johnson and Josh Hancock let the Braves scalp 'em.  Yes, it's only pre-season, but the bullpen is becoming worrisome now that we know Josh Kinney will be out for the season. 

If anyone wants to see a full report on Jupiter's Burt Reynolds and Friends Museum, I've put up a story and lots more pictures on my pop culture site, Ape Culture.

Spiezio, just chillin'

Oquendo chats with So

Pujols' mighty swing

Wainwright in motion

Taguchi at BP

Duncan - BP

Izzy signs for fans

Tony and Bill Parcells

Tony and Bill Parcells

Tony tries to hire Bill Parcells

Mike Shannon and John Rooney

Bob Gibson

Bill Parcells

TLR approaching the field

Rolen

Colby Rasmus

Dave and Chris Duncan

Aaron Miles arriving

Yadi

Mike Shannon - half his head

Pitchers take BP

The Wall Street Journal did a story this week on comparing Spring Training ballparks, and Roger Dean Stadium was rated very favorably.  They were particularly impressed with the Dean Dog, a jumbo hot dog.  I'm annoyed because at two different games I tried to order a Dean Dog only to be told they were out of them.  I guess I'll never know that hog dog euphoria. 

In Jupiter, we stayed at the Comfort Inn and Suites.  It was okay, nothing special, really.  It's biggest selling point is its convenient location to the ballpark.  Being in walking distance to a Starbuck's was another plus, especially because the free breakfast was less-than-thrilling.  Our experience there didn't start well since we had reserved a non-smoking room via Orbitz only to be told at check-in that only smoking rooms were available.  The rooms were fine, and high speed internet was great.  The pool was tiny and reminded me of a Motel 6 pool.  For $166/night, one hopes for a little more, but I guess that's just high season pricing. 

Here are some places we ate besides Roger Dean Stadium:

• The Blue Water Island Grill - This restaurant is pretty new and was formerly called Reef Grill.  It had a festive, margaritaville type atmosphere and a big crowd.  The walls were decorated with murals of caribbean islands.  There's a variety of fresh seafood on the menu, and I ordered seafood-stuffed mahi mahi which was pretty good.  I liked my key lime martini better than the key lime pie (not tart enough).
  

• The Crab House - This place was decent, if a little too huge and impersonal-feeling for my taste.  I think I would have enjoyed it more if we'd sat on the patio overlooking the inlet instead of indoors.  Their main attraction is a seafood buffet, but we just ordered from the menu.  Food was fine but not really memorable.
  
  
• Marc's Chophouse - This was our best meal of trip.  Its modest strip mall exterior hides a classy yet unpretentious eatery.  My dad enjoyed his ginormous veal chop, and I liked my filet mignon.  Service was smooth and friendly, and the chocolate cake was decadent.


• Casablanca Cafe - On the way to Ft Lauderdale airport, we stopped at this place for lunch. It had a nice, relaxing atmosphere with ocean views and breezes, and I really liked my lobster salad sandwich. They also had the best key lime pie of the trip.

I'll also mention a couple of popular Jupiter restaurants that we missed - Nick's Tomato Pie and Little Moir's Food Shack.  Both places had big lines out front on the 2 occasions we tried them, and we were too hungry to wait.  Next time!

If you have Jupiter hotel and restaurant recommendations, please leave a comment.

Duncan's fielding causes
stress. He makes two great catches,
drops easy one. Oy.

My third and final Spring Training game was Monday, Cards v. Astros at Jupiter.  We got to the park 2 hours early again and watched some batting practice on the practice fields.  Bill Parcells was there, chatting with Tony.  Maybe we should hire him. 

Saw some of the pitchers taking BP, and also Taguchi, Rasmus, and Duncan.  Many Cards stopped to sign autographs, including Izzy who signed for all who gathered. 

Our seats were in the field boxes just beyond 3rd base, so we had a great view of the action.  Unfortunately, there wasn't much action on the Cardinals' side as they lost 5-0.  On the positive side, Wainwright had a great start. He went 4 innings and gave up 2 walks but no hits.  Unfortunately, things crumbled when the relievers came in, with Smith giving up 2 runs, and Kinney looking a mess and giving up 3 runs.  I wasn't surprised to hear today that he's got an injury.  I hope it's not serious, and he can get back to his old form before too long.  Something was definitely amiss with him in the 2 appearances I saw. 

There aren't many offensive highlights to report.  Preston Wilson struck out twice, which caused much cheering from the drunk Astros fans in our section.  Spiezio had 2 hits. 

Duncan started off the game with 2 sliding/diving catches in left field that gave me hope for him, but then reality came crashing back in as he misshandled and dropped a much more playable fly ball a couple innings later. 

My dad wasn't feeling well so we cut our trip a bit short and skipped Tuesday's game in Ft. Lauderdale.  I wish we had stuck around for today's home run derby at Dodgertown! 

My attempts to make Sunday a day of rest from Cardinal fandom failed.  My dad and I visited the Burt Reynolds and Friends Museum, located at the junction of US 1 and Indiantown Rd here in Jupiter, FL.  The museum is unlike any I've ever visited. It basically houses everything anyone notable ever gave Burt, from his people's choice awards to a canoe used in Deliverance (the one film where I find him to be a hottie), to autographed photos from everyone from Frank Sinatra to Luke Perry to tons of honorary deputy and sheriff badges. 

There's a corner of the museum devoted to sports memorabilia.  Did you know Burt dated Chris Evert?  She gave him a trophy from one of her tournaments, and she had it engraved: "I won it for you."  In the sports nook, there were several pieces of Cardinal memorabilia. 

There were three Stan Musial autographs - this poster was inscribed "Always enjoyed your restaurant".

Mark McGwire donated an autographed photo, cap and bat.  The photo read "from one athlete to another."  You may recall Burt played college football for Florida State. 

The museum has some art - oil paintings of Burt. Yes, Mr. Reynolds sure could fill out a wetsuit. 

A full report on the museum will be forthcoming on my pop culture site Ape Culture.

Congrats to the Cards on a 12-3 victory over the Marlins today!

My 2nd Spring Training game of 2007 was a great one, with the Cards jumping all over the Marlins in an 8-1 victory. 

We got to the ballpark about 2 hours early, so I walked down to the practice fields and watched the pitchers take batting practice.  It was cool to get a very close up view. 

Back in the stadium, I stood for a while over by the players' entrance and got some pics of the players entering the field.  Most of them wouldn't look up, but I got a few decent shots. 

TLR came out with his buddy, Bill Parcells.  Parcells climbed the steps and walked right by me on the way to his seat.  He's taller than I expected. 

We had seats in Section 206 today, in the 2nd level up behind home plate.  They provided a great view, and we were right below the pressbox where Mike Shannon and John Rooney were calling the game for the folks at home.

Kip Wells pitched well, giving up no runs in his 3 innings.  Marlins' starter Anibal Sanchez was really wild and gave up 4 walks in an inning and a half, yet the Cardinals couldn't manage to convert those walks into a run. 

Colby Rasmus

The offense did get on track later in the game, with J Rod and Skip Schumaker both getting 2 hits.  Rick Ankiel had an RBI single, and Colby Rasmus smacked a double. Given that the lineup only featured two regular starters - Rolen and Molina - the offensive output was quite encouraging. 

Jolbert Cabrera did not have a great day at shortstop, with 2 errors.  Brendan Ryan had a strange at-bat in which he swung at two pitches that looked like they were going to hit him, but he did have 2 other hits.  I like watching Mike Sillman pitch. He really threw some heat with his odd submarine delivery, in an effective closing performance. 

I'm taking the day off of baseball tomorrow but will be attending Monday's and Tuesday's games.

Kip Wells starts strong; Skip
Schumaker and newbies make
their mark on offense.

Okay, Cardinal Girl readers, get creative and leave a comment - what do you think this bunch was talking about today during pre-game warm-ups? 

3 Ways to Show Cardinal Spirit at Spring Training Games:

1. Shave the STL logo into your head like this cool kid.

2.  See how many commemorative pins you can fit on your cap.

3. Complete your red ensemble with a sunburn like Cardinal Girl (with Cardinal Girl's Dad)

Josh seems to want to hide under his cap.

Florida sun beats
down on Looper's fine first start.
Kinney's wild, blows lead.

Yadi and Looper talk strategy

It was exciting to arrive at Roger Dean Stadium today and join the sea of red-clad fans, watching the Cards take on the Mets.  The stakes were decidely lower than the last time these two teams got together. 

We had seats in Section 102, behind the Cards bullpen, which afforded a great view of the players as they entered and exited the field.  Check out all my photos in the new Spring Training 2007 photo album in the sidebar.  The Cardinals seemed to be in a great mood today and nearly all of them signed autographs - Pujols, Speizio, Carpenter, and Molina signed for quite a while. 

Yes, Albert signed for all those kids

Looper had his first start today, and he worked pretty efficiently.  Unfortunately, subsequent pitchers let him down, and the Cards blew a 5-1 lead to lose 6-5.  Narveson gave up 2 runs, then Kinney quickly loaded the bases and gave up 3 runs in the top of the 9th.  Kinney just could not find the plate today, and he also made an errant throw in a pickoff attempt. 

Molina talks to Kinney after he's loaded the bases

There were some definite offensive highlights, with Pujols getting a hit and 2 RBIs and Molina getting an RBI double.  J Rod covered a lot of ground to make an awesome catch in deep right-center, but Duncan made us groan when he lost a ball in the sun that appeared catchable, although he wasn't credited with an error. 

I'm looking forward to my 2nd game tomorrow and seeing how Kip Wells will do in his first start, as the Cards take on the Marlins. 

CardinalGirl and CardinalGirl'sDad

Speizio signs

That's a lot of pins.

Lou Brock

Pujols signs

Pujols at the bat.

Tyler Johnson signs for a kid with STL shaved into his head.

Kinney wants to hide after blowing a 3 run lead in the 9th.

Yadi doubles in a run.

Carp

Red Schoendinst

TLR sends a kid on an errand.

Wonder what these guys were joking about

Pujols gettin' loose before the game

Looper and Yadi talk strategy