occurs to me that, of all things “American,” baseball is a harkening to days of yore when things were simpler, even I daresay, better. Do you believe baseball is still the greatest sport out there and why? As many of you have probably noted at this point, I like baseball. Specifically, the St Louis Cardinals are my poison of choice. Now as any good little fan I'd wade through a myriad of sources trying to keep on all the latest news. Then, this spring, I was caught off-guard when every major source, ESPN, CBS Sportsline, even the Cardinal's official website reported that Albert Pujols had signed a long-term deal right before spring training based on a report from The Birdhouse . I was curious and checked out the site and sure enough it was the most comprehensive and, for my money, most entertaining site dedicated to my beloved Redbirds.
Ray Mileur, the intrepid webmaster of The Birdhouse and publisher of the St Louis Cardinals Weekly Newsletter agreed to answer a few questions between ballgames and site updates.
Joe Mammy : Not to editorialize too horribly, but in a society that seems to be about instant gratification and everything happening right now—consequences be damned—it occurs to me that, of all things “American,” baseball is a harkening to days of yore when things were simpler, even I daresay, better. Do you believe baseball is still the greatest sport out there and why?
Ray Mileur: For the baby boom generation baseball will always be the greatest sport ever. Its history weaves itself through the fabric of our own history and its impact on our society has touched us all. It's the sport anybody can play—that you can take minutes to learn but a lifetime to try to master, but you never will.
Everything you need to know about life, you can learn from baseball; Competition, Teamwork, Commitment, Courage, Dedication, Goals, Justice, Fair Play, Winning, Losing, Positive Thinking, physical fitness, getting a second chance, starting over, and on and on... and most of all have fun.
Joe: You run “ The Birdhouse ,” a site devoted to the St Louis Cardinals, so you might be a little biased (and as a fellow Cards fan, I can live with that) but who do you see in the sport that really excites you and what trends do you see that make you happy to be a baseball fan?
RM: To me the most exciting thing in baseball right now is the development of the minor league system in America and the success that these franchises have experienced, which can be seen in all the new stadiums being built across this great country. Hopefully this will lead to better fundamentally prepared ballplayers in the majors in the future. As it is now, we have too much on the job training at the major league level.
Joe: I know it's been a little rough in the early going, but how do you like the Cardinals for the long haul this year?
RM: Actually, as I have written in the past, this team has the potential to win 95 games and maybe even a couple of more. I believe you tend to get what you expect out of players and teams and for too many seasons recently we (The Cardinals) have allowed an environment to be created where we are willing to accept excuses for failure.
The Cardinals have to get away from the annual goal of hoping to win the central and to then see what will happen, to going to win the Central and make it to the World Series. We have to stop evaluating our team based on comparisons with the NL Central and look at how we stack up against the best in baseball which, this season, may be the NL Central for a change.
Joe: Mark McGwire, a personal favorite of mine, recently made his first return to the Cardinals since his retirement. I know the big topic has been Albert Pujols and how he's going to rank for all-time, but what impact has McGwire had beyond the stats and home runs? Many people remember the great home run chase, but how much are McGwire and Sosa responsible for people actually getting interested in baseball again?
RM: There is no doubt that McGwire and Sosa had a major impact on bringing people back to the ballpark. I for one was there the night Big Mac hit #62 and I didn't return to the ballpark for the rest of the season.
The St. Louis Cardinals were never going to win a World Championship with Mark McGwire on the team. I have written in the past, I call it the Superstar factor. If you look at the 25 highest paid position ballplayers today, I think only one of them has a World Series Ring, Derek Jeter. Baseball is a team sport and when a team looks to a McGwire or Bond to carry them, it will never carry them to a World Championship.
Joe: It's hard to have a conversation these days about the sport without mentioning Barry Bonds. On some level you can't help but respect what he's done (steroids or no) but what do you think his impact on the sport will be in the final analysis: an all-time great mentioned in the same sentence as Babe Ruth, a legend whose personality and attitude keep him mentioned in the same sentence as, say Ty Cobb, or somewhere in between?
RM: I want to be a Barry Bonds fan, but things like failure to sign the MLB merchandise license agreement, where he isn't featured on MLB video games and baseball cards and MLB merchandise, tend to tick me off.
First if I ran MLB, he wouldn't be playing if he didn't sign—I don't care if he's Barry Bonds or Babe Ruth. If MLB is good enough for you to play for, to earn your 10's of millions, you should be included in all MLB agreements. I'm sorry but Bonds wouldn't be playing this season if he hadn't signed the agreement.
Joe: Are steroids the biggest problem in baseball right now or is it just another in a line of strawmen that keep people from paying attention to some larger issue(s)?
RM: Personally I could care less about the steroid issue other than the negative impact it could have on student athletes. I don't want high schools/college students taking steroids, period. Other than that, I don't care. Does it affect the outcome of games? Perhaps. But baseball is selling the sluggers and the home runs, to hell with traditional baseball. That's why there is a DH in the American league to increase offense. So to me it's like you can't have your cake and eat it too.
Joe: What's your favorite baseball memory (Cardinals or otherwise)?
RM: Spending afternoons at the ballpark with my daughters Christina & Kelly. I had them to myself for 3-4 hours and I wouldn't trade that for anything.
Joe: Let's talk the Cards: you're GM for a day, what do you do? Who do you try and get? What changes do you make to staff (players and coaches alike)?
RM: Of course you have to consider the financial aspects of the game.
1. This is LaRussa's and Duncan's last season, end of story.
2. You have to sign Renteria & Morris.
3. I invest $5 million dollars to improve our minor league system and complex in Jupiter Florida to include a dormitory for players, year round coaching & training facility.
4. I hire a full time sport psychologist as a management consultant.
5. I bring Danny Cox aboard as a minor league manager.
6. I break the cycle of Free Agent Dependence and focus on internal player/coaching/management development. I want players/coaches/managers & employees and fans to be Cardinals for life.
7. I ban business suits and agents and players entourages from the Clubhouse
Joe: What do you think of the current lineup compared to other Cardinal lineups from years past?
RM: This lineup in my opinion is the best lineup in terms of potential ever, but that does not mean I think it is the best TEAM. If I have to explain that, we just don't have the time and space. We are waiting to see what kind of team they can be.
The best teams the Cardinals ever had were with Billy Southworth in the 40's. He took the Cardinals to three straight pennants from 1942 through 1944. The Cards won the World Series in 1942 and 1944. During this span Southworth's Cardinals won 106 games in 1942, and 105 games in both the 1943 and 1944 seasons.
Joe: DH—disgrace, good idea, or fine if you're in “that other league”?
RM: You want to know where the steroid issue was born? In the DH.
The DH is a disgrace to the game; it was the start of everything that is bad in baseball today. Hopefully someday someone will see the light and banish it forever.
If there was a DH in the National League, I would have no website. There would be no Cardinals Birdhouse, no Cardinals newsletter, what would be the point? Even a moron can manage in the American League, all you have to do is fill out the lineup card. Heck, you could even be considered a genius if you won over there. You got guys getting paid 3-4 million dollars a year and they don't even have a glove. And it has hurt the game.
In the NL any move the Manager makes with the players, pitchers has a trade off, herein lies the great debates and the beauty of the game. In the American League, there is not near the strategy or work that goes into preparing for a game. Do you think American League pitchers take batting practice, learn to bunt, learn to move the runner over, learn to hit? Is there ever any question about who to bring in to bat or pitch? No not really. It's boring baseball.
Look at the facts: the National League clearly outdraws the American League, even when the American League juggles the books to make it look like more are coming to the ballpark with the "Tickets Sold" number be used for attendance figures. Yet everyone would have you believe that fans want more offense, hence the AL DH rule, well it's just not the truth. Fans want baseball the team game, even if they don't know it. The numbers prove it.
Joe: Running a fan site can be thankless work, what has surprised you the most since the Birdhouse has gone on-line?
RM: We may go past a million visitors this year, but the biggest surprise is the visitors and attention focused on spring training. We have seen a significant drop off in visitors now that the season has started. As Cardinal fans we get in big debates, fights, name calling on who we think the 25th man might be. Most teams are just trying to figure out who is going to start for them during the season. A big surprise is the passion of some of the fans and the anger that is sometimes generated as a result of what the Cardinals are doing off and on the field and how that is directed from one fan to another and or to the Cardinals.
Clearly at times we are a nation divided.
As in terms of how the Birdhouse Website at http://www.thestlcardinals.com and the Cardinals Newsletter affects me, sometimes I think I enjoyed the game more when I would ask, “Who's that in left field?” or “Who is number 21?” Now this season, everyone was asking who's in left. But if you continue to constantly study something and dissect it into a million pieces and constantly analyze every minor move, play & detail, it can take the fun out of it.
I will say this; I watch the games with no notebooks or recorders. I watch the games to just enjoy baseball—the reporting will have to come later, I'm sorry I'm watching the game. I'm not working. It's a fan site. By now you should have all figured out I'm not a writer.
Joe: Any parting words of wisdom?
RM: Enjoy the game. Enjoy the team we have now and what we have had in the past, because we have been blessed in Cardinal Nation. Respect our opponents and give them their props when they beat us. Respect our players who give it their best. Respect our Manager and Coaches who have to lay it on the line everyday to be judged by millions of fans at the end of the game and respect your fellow fans and their right not to agree with you. That's the beauty of baseball; that's what gives us something to talk about and keeps the game interesting.
You know we come from all walks of life and we are all different but maybe for a season we can all come together for a common goal of a World Champion. And out of respect for the goal and those involved in pursuing it and the fans who make it possible, we can become part of something beautiful and on the way create memories that will last us a lifetime.
*****
On a side note, Ray is currently in Korea doing a brief stint in service in his country. Joe-Mammy.com would like to thank Ray for his time and, in the bigger picture, everyone involved with the armed services, past and present. We wish Ray a safe trip and a speedy return to his family and his fellow Cardinals fans.
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