And this was just after GM Walt Jocketty had waxed optimistic about all things Cardinal. The general feeling down at 250 Stadium Plaza is that with newcomers Scott Radinsky and Ricky Bottalico teamed with incumbent Juan Acevado, the Cards have three experienced closers. And if one of the newcomers can nail down the wins, Acevado moves to the rotation where he had some success last year. This means there's always a hammer and two solid set-ups just past the right field wall. Which is where many of last year's closer's pitches ended up.
Some games just have to end in a big hurry.
We never missed a flight. Buck said he'll also miss another fan favorite Ron Gant. I had to come up with 130 different ways to say he struck out. Along with Buck, Jocketty, LaRussa, and Hrabosky, the other usual suspects rounded up include American League umpire Dave Phillips, former GM Bing Devine, former manager Whitey Herzog, and The Sporting Newsie John Rawlings. KMOXer Mike Shannon served as emcee and St. Louis Sports Commission President Frank Viverito gave the keynote address.