After watching the general malaise that seemingly enveloped Cardinals baseball in 2010, I am finding the 2011 bunch to be especially refreshing. Pick the adjectives to describe this bunch....clutch, gritty, gutty, unpredictable, hard-nosed, overachieving....they seem to all fit; as do befuddling, perplexing, overcoming, et al.
The result has been some amazingly entertaining baseball, with the Cardinals currently riding a nicely timed upward tick thanks to some escape-artist pitching, timely hitting, and almost unprecedented depth from the roster. Saturday in Kansas City, Jake Westbrook wriggled free of a based loaded-no outs jam with a huge 1-2-3 double play, followed by a pop-up, and last night in San Diego Kyle Lohse minimized damage mid-way through an excellent start by allowing just one run to the Pads after being faced with a first and third, no out situation.
What has been especially entertaining for this team has been the contributions from unexpected sources throughout the season....Last night in San Diego, it was Skip Schumaker, fresh off the disabled list, and Daniel Descalso, he of two whole months in the big leagues as a part-time player, catapulting the Cards to a ninth inning lead off of an All-Star closer, the Pads' Heath Bell. After Descalso came through with a key two out rbi single, Cards shortstop Ryan Theriot added a huge insurance run with a hit to right center, scoring Descalso.
It seems like manager Tony LaRussa is certainly riding a hot streak in terms of his decision making (Tyler Greene's playing time notwithstanding) as Cardinals regular right fielder Lance Berkman, playing left field last night for the first time in 200 years, made an athletic running catch at the warning track to secure the game's final out. LaRussa has employed defenders in positions they didn't even drill in during spring training, yet the overall result has been positive. I mean, Allen Craig at second base??? Who'd a thunk it?
I'm enjoying this team right now, but can't help but think about the pieces that could be added later this summer to give this team a better shot in October....I'm thinking a Jim Thome off the bench and as a DH in the World Series would be a really nice fit.
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I have started doing my own yard work for the first time since 2003....since leaving my beautifully landscaped home in Central Florida I have lived in a variety of apartments and condos until last year, and with my crazy work-travel schedule last year, we just decided to pay the $20 a week to have someone else do it.
So to make this do-it-yourself yard work happen, I had to buy new yard appliances...a new mower and weed-eater. I had plenty of choices....new or used; Wal-Mart, Lowe's, or Home Depot; gas or electric, cordless or corded....I hadn't even considered a cordless electric mower before, but I decided to buy one.
To get the price comparable with a decent gas mower, I had to give up something....so I gave up the self-propelled feature. Given that I basically live on the side of a mountain in Eastern Missouri, and given that the mower itself weighs over 100 lbs, and given that my lawn is incredibly thick which forces me to bag the trimmings most of the time, the lack of a self-propelled mower is a big deal...I'm in pretty good shape for 48, but when I am sweating my tail off mowing and it's 68 degrees outside in late April, I'm thinking I might miss the self propelled model come July.....just sayin'.
Anyway, I have to HIGHLY RECOMMEND the Black and Decker electric mower and weed-eater. I love them! Quiet, stupidly easy to start, no gas cans to mess with (or $4 a gallon gas to feed it), no spark plugs, no cords to trip over with the weed-eater, and no winterizing the engine in November. I haven't considered myself a particularly GREEN initiative person, but I do feel good about using these implements and doing my part. No noxious gas fumes to breathe while mowing, either.
Peace.
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