top of page
Writer's picturecardinalsgifs

A message from Daniel Shoptaw, @C70.



As Han Solo once said, “Here’s where the fun begins.”


And by fun I mean a whole new approach to blogging about the Cardinals. There have been sites that have brought together a lot of great writers but I don’t believe any of them have brought together this sort of concentrated goodness before.


I mean, you have Joe Schwarz, who is one of the best at breaking down pitchers, what they are throwing and how they are throwing it, that you can find out there. You have Zach Gifford, who can saber anything from spin rates to launch angles. You have Alex Crisafulli, who slides right into the same statistical fields as these two and does more than holds his own. I know Alex Cristifulli from his work at Viva El Birdos and my general impression from reading him is that he is going to fit in excellently with this high level of talent.


Then you have, for my money, the best minor leagues guy out there in Kyle Reis. Most of you know that for much of last season Kyle would join me over on the Meet Me at Musial podcast and I always came away from those conversations knowing so much more about the talent coming up through the system.


Finally, there’s CardsCards.

While it’s tough to say nice things about him, I’ll do it anyway. Everyone knows that he brings a biting and sardonic view to everything Cardinals and that’s what brings him his attention, as it should. Nobody brings the funny quite like CC and it’s always a joy to read. However, what I don’t think enough people give him credit for is a deep and abiding knowledge of the organization. I’m hopeful he’ll drop in some serious pieces here and there along with the comedy.


While those are all great writers and they will be outstanding, they get even better because they get their work illustrated and prettied-up by the amazing cardinaslgifs. Gifs is found everywhere when people need illustrations, whether static or moving, of the Cardinal variety. He recently helped me illustrate my Exit Interview series and I imagine those images led to a small increase in readership. Say maybe 100% or so.


Those are the guys I know best, but that doesn’t mean that the quality stops there. Gifs has also recruited Nicholas Childress to help with the visuals and from what I can tell he isn’t going to let anyone down. Seriously, how do you get all this talent in one place?

No, I’m really asking.


There’s nothing missing here. There’s the facts, the future, and the funny. The sabers, Springfield, and the sardonic. All expertly illustrated. I’d be stunned if this isn’t the most talked about site in Cardinal Nation most every day. There’s going to be a lot of deep dives and a lot of information and analysis you just can’t get anywhere else.


It may be Birds on the Black but everything’s coming up Cardinal Red. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!


Comments


bottom of page