Daily Sports: More Cardinal Baseball In The Spotlight
The road doesn’t get a lot easier for the Redbirds tonight, as they face yet another contender on the road with a visit to Cincinnati, as St. Louis again leads up the daily sports TV agenda.
J.P. Flynn
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Posts by J.P. Flynn:
MLB Coverage: Why Washington Has Been A Bust
It was a season that held such promise for the Washington Nationals. After the 2012 run to the NL East title, the Nats were primed to take the next step. They had Stephen Strasburg ready for the whole year, they had playoff experience and 2013 was proclaimed “World Series or bust”, by no less than veteran manager Davey Johnson—a man with a little experience in winning World Series’ from his days running the 1986 New York Mets. Where did it all go so wrong?
MLB Coverage: The National League Playoff Race
The National League playoff race stands in sharp contrast to where the American League is at right now. While the AL has nine teams within five games of postseason play, the NL has only six, and it’s looking like the prime drama is going to be the fight in the NL Central to see which team at least earns automatic passage into the Division Series.
MLB Coverage: Tito’s Tribe Suddenly Getting Pitching
The season-long numbers for the Indians’ staff are not impressive. They rank 9th in the league in ERA, and are actually lower than that in both starters’ ERA and bullpen ERA. But the recent form has been entirely different. Over the last month, the Tribe’s ERA ranks fifth in the American League. And if we narrow the focus to the period since the All-Star break? They move up to #2.
MLB Coverage: Don’t Let The Yankees Off The A-Rod Hook
Showalter noted what everyone outside of baseball has talked about, but no one within the sport —at least to the best of my knowledge—has dared mention. And it’s that the New York Yankees will be a clear beneficiary if Alex Rodriguez is banned from baseball. TheSportsNotebook’s own MLB coverage has been far too silent on the matter as well.
MLB Coverage: The American League Playoff Race
With the trade deadline passed, it’s time for TheSportsNotebook’s MLB coverage to do here what front offices around baseball had to decide, and it’s this—who’s a contender and who’s not. I think we can safely narrow the American League field to nine teams.
Daily Sports: Cards-Pirates Finale On Thursday
The first day of August is here, and we have a basic idea of how the contenders are going to look the rest of the way, with the passage of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. And we’ll kick off the month by concluding the big five-game series in the NL Central, as the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates play in PNC Park tonight (7 PM ET, MLB).
MLB Coverage: Sorting Out The Trade Deadline Moves
The trade deadline has passed in major league baseball, and while there weren’t blockbusters, there were some significant moves. Most of the deals were congregated in the American League, and here’s a rundown and some thoughts on the biggest trades.
Daily Sports: The MLB Trade Deadline Hits Wednesday
Wednesday is a quiet day in daily sports when it comes to finding something on TV, but it’s going to be a big day on impact, as we approach the MLB non-waiver trade deadline at 4 PM ET. And the one game on national television is a big one, as the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals play the fourth game of their five-game set from PNC Park (7 PM ET, ESPN).
Daily Sports: MLB Tripleheader On Tuesday
The Pittsburgh Pirates cut the St. Louis Cardinals’ lead in the NL Central to a half-game last night when the Pirates won the opener of their five-game series. Now the two teams play a doubleheader on Tuesday, with MLB Network coverage of the opener kicking off a tripleheader day of baseball that makes Tuesday a good day for daily sports on TV.
Daily Sports: Angels-Rangers An Unfortunate Monday Highlight
ESPN must have locked tonight’s Monday Night Baseball coverage in at the start of the season, because that’s the only reason you’d choose showing the LA Angels-Texas Rangers tonight at 7 PM ET, rather than go with the opener of the St. Louis-Pittsburgh series. But even though the Angels show no signs of life, they’ll get a little national exposure in the feature game of tonight’s daily sports schedule.
MLB Coverage: The Impact Of Jason Grilli’s Injury In Pittsburgh
We somehow should have known that it wouldn’t come easy for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Sitting at 61-41 after Sunday afternoon’s games, the Pirates are poised to not only get their first winning season since 1992, but get into the playoffs and maybe even steal the NL Central from the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds. Naturally, it’s now that the Pirates get hit with a big injury to closer Jason Grilli.