Cardinals minor matters – April 21


Comments by Blaine Boyer post- trade

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reached the new Cardinals reliever following Monday’s trade. The 27-year-old right-hander is expected to be activated on Tuesday.

On a related point, the Post-Dispatch confirms earlier suspicions that David Freese is the odd man out until the Cardinals can sort out the keepers from the eight relievers currently rostered.


Boggs in line to get start

For Game Two of the second consecutive Cubs series on consecutive weekends, the Cardinals apparently plan to start a rookie on the mound. Dave Duncan is hinting strongly that Mitchell Boggs will swap places with P.J. Walters, with the latter moving into long relief and the former getting the Saturday start.

The same article confirms why Adam Wainwright was slipped to Friday, opening the Cubs series at Busch.


Comcast fixes Cardinals problem in Arkansas

The cable provider has announced plans to telecast 120 Cardinals games starting with the Mets series opener Tuesday night. I had earlier written about the dispute at Scout.com that had led to no games being shown to Comcast’s Arkansas customers during the first two weeks of the 2009 season.

Comcast’s change of heart is good news for many, many very good (and formerly frustrated) fans in an important part of Cardinals country. Specifics, including games to be broadcast, are available via the first link above.


New Memphis closer

In case you hadn’t noticed, recently-converted starter-to-reliever Jess Todd has two saves in his last two outings for Triple-A Memphis. The 23-year-old has allowed just two runs over his first five games and eight innings as a reliever. The right-hander has yielded just five hits, walked two and has fanned nine.


Minor change in QC tandems

When the season began, the Quad Cities tandem rotation included these pairings: Scott McGregor/Andres Rosales and Miguel Tapia/Chuckie Fick. Now Rosales and Tapia have changed partners, with McGregor/Tapia scheduled on Thursday and Rosales/Fick on Friday. The other three pairings did not change. As always, details can be found in the Roster Matrix.


Brad Pitt as Billy Beane in “Moneyball: The Movie”

“Show me the money… ball…” Demetri Martin co-stars in the new film by Steven Soderbergh that begins filming in June.


Baseball saved my marriage

According to a University of Denver study publicized by BusinessWeek, couples who live in cities with a Major League Baseball club divorce at a rate 28% lower than ones living in wannabe MLB locations. The report was not broken out by market.


Pedro still wants $5 million

And he apparently thinks he is eventually going to get it. Since he is reportedly disinterested in an incentive-laden deal, the odds that Martinez will become a Cardinal seem low. Then again, let’s see how Boggs pitches this weekend.


Cooper’s bases covered

Astros manager Cecil Cooper, having been swept by the Cardinals in St. Louis and leading his team to a 3-7 record at the time, was granted a contract extension through 2010 by Houston GM Ed Wade and owner Drayton McLane last weekend.

Showing how tricky the prediction business can be, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal not only helped break the news of the extension during Saturday’s regional broadcast but also had said just four days prior that Cooper could be the first manager fired this season.

In all fairness to Rosenthal, the Astros’ move seemed very odd, but they have been doing that a lot of that kind of thing over the recent years. The 4-9 Houston club is currently last in the NL Central.


Cremated Cubs fans have a new home

In the news of the really weird, an area specifically designed for deceased Cubs fans has been opened in a north-side Chicago cemetery. “Beyond the Vines” will be complete with brick, ivy, a stained-glass scoreboard, authentic Cubs seats and even displaced Wrigley turf.

One has to be cremated to take advantage of one of the 288 “eternal skyboxes” for sale. No word on whether discounts are given to those born prior to 1908.

Seriously.