BERNIE BITS
— Update: The Blues still stink on ice. In their six games since making the trade that sent Ryan O’Reilly to Toronto, the Blues haven’t won a game but did collect two points via overtime. They’re 0 for 22 on the power play. At five-on-five they’ve had a 41 percent share of shots on goal and have been outscored 18-8. They’ve had 34 percent of the high-danger shots at five-on-five and have been outscored 18-8. Can the Blue Note emblem be replaced by a snoring emoji?
— MLB.com’s Pipeline just updated its prospect rankings for 2023. The Cardinals have five prospects among the Top 100 in the majors: Outfielder Jordan Walker (No. 4), shortstop Masyn Winn (50), pitcher Tink Hence (77), pitcher Gordon Graceffo (79), and outfielder Alec Burleson (91.)
— In order, the Cardinals’ Top 10 prospects are Walker, Winn, Hence, Graceffo, Burleson, pitcher Matthew Liberatore, pitcher Connor Hjerpe, pitcher Michael McGreevy, catcher Ivan Herrera and 17-year-old shortstop Jonathan Mejia. Moving up into the next two places are two 19-year olds: catcher Leonardo Bernal and outfielder Joshua Baez.
— St. Louis City SC earned considerable praise from national soccer media after its wonderful, season-opening 3-2 win at Austin. Paul Kennedy of Soccer America listed City at No. 6 in his first-week MLS Power Rankings.
“St. Louis City’s decision to field a team in last season’s MLS Next Pro paid early dividends,” Kennedy wrote. “Brazilian Joao Klauss, who scored the late game-winner, was one of six St. Louis City2 players who played on Saturday along with starters Kyle Hiebert and Tomas Ostrak and subs Celio Pompeu, Miguel Perez and Josh Yaro.
— More from Kennedy at Soccer World: “Youth Movement: St. Louis City coach Bradley Carnell said one of the easiest decisions of the opener was to play the 17-year-old Perez in midfield. As Carnell said, “It was one of the first names for me when we knew we were going through different moments of battle, struggle, fatigue.” It’s amazing to realize Perez was a student at Pattonville High School not too long ago.
— During their 0-6 skid, the Blues have scored only 22 percent of the five-on-five goals when defenseman Colton Parayko is on patrol. Can GM Doug Armstrong offload him before Friday’s NHL trade deadline? I doubt it. But then again, there’s this from TSN hockey insider Darren Dreger: “Hearing action is starting to pick up around Blues defenceman Colton Parayko. Alberta boy with a ton of term remaining. $6.5 million cap hit through 2029-2030. Stay tuned.”
— This from soccer writer Andy Deossa of YahooSports: “Winning as an expansion team isn’t easy, nevertheless on the road in one of the best and most energetic stadiums in the league. Playing its inaugural match in Austin was not one St. Louis City SC was supposed to take 3 points from. But coach Bradley Carnell and Co. simply do not care about what expectations have been placed on this franchise.”
— Baseball analyst R.J. Anderson (CBS Sports online) chose right-handed reliever Wilking Rodriguez as the Cardinals’ breakout player for 2023. I have a ton of respect for Anderson, so his opinion caught my attention. Here’s what he wrote: “The Cardinals took Rodriguez from the Yankees as part of the Rule 5 Draft. He hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2014, when he was a 24-year-old member of the Royals, but he showed impressive raw stuff during his time in Mexico — as in, an upper-90s fastball, a mid-90s cutter, and a hammer curve. The Cardinals are one of the best organizations in the sport at identifying talent. Rodriguez has a chance to reaffirm that by pitching his way onto the Opening Day roster and later into a high-leverage role.”
— In the last six games, Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas and Brayden Schenn have combined for one goal and three assists in a combined 371 minutes and 31 seconds at all strengths. During this stretch, the Blues have been outscored 12-1 (all strengths) with Kyrou on the ice, 9-2 with Schenn on the ice, and 9-3 with Thomas on the ice. Way to step up, fellas.
— With a win at LSU tonight, Missouri can essentially lock in an NCAA Tournament spot. In their last 10 victories, going back to the Dec. 22 win over Illinois, the Tigers have hit 43.8 percent of their three-point shots. Even with a few clunkers in the mix, Mizzou continues to thrive offensively in SEC games. In conference play, only Alabama has a higher three-point shooting percentage and a better effective field goal percentage than Missouri. And defensively MU leads the SEC in steal percentage, and that helps fuel the offense. Dennis Gates may not win the SEC Coach of the Year award, but based on expectations no coach in the conference has turned in a more impressive job than Gates this season.
— Former Blues winger Vladmir Tarasenko is being criticized by his disappointing play for the New York Rangers. In his first nine games for the NYR, Tarasenko has two goals and two assists but only 15 shots on goal. He’s scored one goal in his last eight games.
“Hey, maybe Vladimir Tarasenko is waiting for the acquisition of Patrick Kane to actually report for duty as a Ranger himself,” wrote the famously acerbic New York Post columnist Larry Brooks. “That’s one theory, anyway. He’s yet to make an impact through his first nine games … he has rarely had the puck below the hash marks and the goal line, which is where his big-bodied skills have historically been most effective … this much is clear. Tarasenko must become the difference-maker the Blueshirts envisioned when they acquired him at the cost of a first-rounder plus Sammy Blais. The last thing GM Chris Drury and the Rangers need is for this original splash to turn into a belly flop.”
— Battlehawks quarterback AJ McCarron is a popular man inside XFL media circles. He’s getting a lot of attention for the reason he signed with St. Louis. Wrote Fortune magazine: “McCarron got paid $4 million for his last full season (in the NFL.) Now, his pay will be around $60,000. And that’s exactly what the dad of three wants, having decided to take a 98% salary cut so his kids can see him on the field again.”
It really is a sweet story. (And no, I’m not being sarcastic.) Plus, it’s really enjoyable to watch him play. McCarron has made so many big plays during the Battlehawks’ 2-0 start.
Thanks for reading …
–Bernie
Bernie invites you to listen to his opinionated and analytical sports-talk show on 590 The Fan, KFNS-AM. It airs Monday through Thursday from 3-6 p.m. and Friday from 4-6 p.m. You can listen by streaming online or by downloading the show podcast at 590thefan.com or the 590 app.
Follow Bernie on Twitter @miklasz
