The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Dear Editor,
I know that we have a law about dogs running loose, but what about cats.
At least 2 or 3 nights a week, I am woke up by a cat howling outside my bedroom window. I have to get up at 4:30 in the morning to get ready for work and the cats arrive about 1:30 - 2:00 a.m. The only way to get them to stop is to go outside and shoo them away. Then I cannot go back to sleep. Sometimes the cat is a tomcat looking for a friend, and sometimes it is 2 cats fighting. But whatever the case, I am awake in the middle of the night trying to get someone else's cat to be quiet while the owners of these cats are sleeping all night. It would sure be nice to get a good night's sleep without having to chase away someone else's cat in the middle of the night.
Sandy Bohnenkamp
Elizabeth Street,
Stronghurst
Dear Editor,
What is wrong with the Cardinals?
Most people would agree that the Cardinals have the best hitting line up in baseball. However, in my opinion, it seems like they are over managed and there are too many line up changes.
They have not had a true lead off man in a long time and LaRussa continues to experiment with different players. Renteria is the second leading hitter in the league and he draws a good share of walks. When he gets on base, he steals almost as many bases as the rest of the St. Louis team. The ideal number 2 hitter is J.D. Drew, who has the best speed, is a good hit and run man and avoids the double play. Pujols is the best hitter in the league and is a very effective number 3 hitter. Edmonds is a respectable RBI man in the clean up spot, although he strikes out too much. Rolen is a very good number 5 hitter and is second on the team in RBI's. Martinez is finally starting to hit fairly well, although, he is much more effective in the field, just as Matheny is a number 7. The 2nd baseman should bat 8th (Vina, Cairo or Hart) and the pitcher, 9th. With a reasonably set line-up like this, you would think it would provide better consistency. Also, this lineup features right-handed batters in the odd numbered slots and left-handed batters in the even numbered slots to keep opposing teams off balance.
Of course, the biggest problem with the Cardinals is pitching. Williams has been a consistent ace of the staff. If Morris can overcome a shoulder problem, he should be more effective the 2nd half of the season. Calero, who has been a starter in the minors, should be the number 3 starter. After these, it is anyone's guess, although Stephenson has probably been the next most effective starter. Tomko, Simontacchi and Hermanson are suitable for long relief set up at best.
Isringhausen, Kline, Painter and Eldred should be adequate for short relief. They definitely need to pick up another starter and another stopper in the bullpen.
The problem is other teams do not wish to trade with pennant contenders. This may necessitate calling up someone like Jimmy Journal from Memphis.
Believe it or not, the Cubbies seem to be for real this year. (This is proof that miracles never cease!)
Dusty Baker has done a very effective job as manager and, as you know, they have outstanding young pitching.
Kent has helped the Astros a lot and with effective pitching, they should continue being a contender. Cincinnati has been the Cardinals nemesis but they seem to lack necessary good pitching. From this perspective, it appears the Cardinals fielding (6 gold glove players), plus outstanding team hitting, will be enough to win their division
Weyman George
Macomb