Teryn's Take: Cardinals have a Giant obstacle to get past this weekend
ST. LOUIS -- As an athlete, one of your most valuable skills is your short-term memory.
Forget your last loss.
So sure, I need to go practice my game on the greens after having several three-putts during my round on the golf course this week. But as I return to the links the next time, I need to clear my mind of the bad and focus on the fact that I was driving the ball pretty solidly and making decent contact in the fairway, and that I won my scramble.
Maybe the Cardinals are doing the same, addressing the bad but focusing on the good as they enter their next series against one of the hottest teams in baseball -- the San Francisco Giants.
Yeah, the Redbirds may have dropped the series with the Yankees and stranded 13 runners with 13 hits in Wednesday's game, but they had the tying run at the plate in the ninth. St. Louis also has won 10 of its last 14 games and is five games over .500. I know we're supposed to be practicing our short-term memory, but who can forget Lance Lynn's first career complete game and shutout Tuesday night?
So maybe having a selective memory is more like it, but either way, I thought it would be good practice for us to focus on the good before we encounter the really good (the Giants) Thursday night at Busch.
Here are some mental snapshots for an edition of #STLCards Quick Hits:
-- Lynn's gem Tuesday night. Wow.
-- The much-deserving Adam Wainwright earned his first career NL Player of the Week honor.
-- In very classy fashion, the Redbirds celebrated the 50th anniversary of their 1964 world championship team on Memorial Day. The nostalgic ceremony is worth a watch if you missed it, or even a re-watch if you didn't.
Have a topic that is important to you? Share it with me on our FOX Sports Midwest Girls social media pages (Facebook: FOX Sports Midwest Girls; Twitter and Instagram: @FSMidwestGirls).
-- Props to the Cardinals for giving Derek Jeter a worthwhile gift on his farewell tour in a donation to the star shortstop's youth charity. How do you give a gift to someone who has everything? Give something that can make an impact on others. Good job, Cards! (The Stan Musial cuff links were also a nice touch.)
-- Jaime Garcia could be giving the Cardinals a boost going forward as the lefty toes the rubber for the third time Thursday after coming back from shoulder surgery. Hopefully, his last performance gave us a glimpse of what is to come.
-- Both Allen Craig and Matt Holliday helped snuff the team's home run woes Tuesday. Their two bombs contributed to the team's ninth multi-homer game of the season, their second in the past week. Although STL is still last in the league in homers, things could be looking up in that stat column.
-- Kolten Wong is tearing it up since being bumped back up from Triple-A Memphis. The guy is amazing to watch on defense, and his four-hit game Wednesday night was the latest evidence that his bat has awakened, too.
-- Next week is the I-70 series against the Royals. Starting Monday, the Cardinals will host their Kansas City neighbors for two games and then head west across the highway on Wednesday to close out the four-game series at Kauffman Stadium. As you can imagine, here at FOX Sports Midwest we are close to our comrades in KC, so this is an exciting series for us!
#TeamSTL QUICK HITS
-- Punch my ticket! I'm headed to the Southeastern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament in 2018! The SEC announced this week that its athletic directors had unanimously selected Scottrade as its destination for the tourney four years from now. I love the Missouri Valley's Arch Madness tourney and the Mizzou-Illinois Braggin' Rights game, and I am excited that the Tigers will have a home-court advantage that I can see firsthand here in St. Louis.
Meanwhile, the football Tigers landed a juco defensive end in Eddie Heard. It's always interesting to see how the team gets pieced together in the offseason. Welcome to the family, Heard!
-- The St. Louis Blues are also making moves as the weather heats up. After revealing last week that free-agent goalie Ryan Miller would not be back, the club announced the hire of goaltending coach Jim Corsi, formerly of the Buffalo Sabres. Corsi gives a fresh start to the new goalie duo of re-signed Brian Elliott and top prospect Jake Allen. St. Louis also added depth in Swedish forward Joakim Lindstrom, signing him to a one-year deal.
VIDEO PICKS
It was a blast to watch Lynn pitch his first career complete game in the big leagues, and even more fun to see him take a pie (or towel full of whipped cream) to the face from fellow pitcher Jason Motte while talking to FOX Sports Midwest's Jim Hayes.
On this Throwback Thursday I want to point out this week's FOX Sports Midwest "Cardinals Live" pregame segment with former Cardinal-turned-Yankee Brendan Ryan. (His Robert DeNiro impression is pretty good.)
My shout-out this week goes to the Indiana Pacers for taking Game 5 against the Heat in nail-biting fashion Wednesday night. As much fun as it is as a basketball fan to watch LeBron James do his thing, I have to root for our Indiana neighbors. They are down 3-2 in the best-of-seven series and return to Miami for Game 6. Go Pacers!
Teryn, a journalism graduate of the University of Missouri, is a FOX Sports Midwest Girl. You can follow the FOX Sports Midwest Girls on Facebook (FOX Sports Midwest Girls) and Twitter and Instagram (@FSMidwestGirls).
