Buffa's Buffet: 5 things on my mind

A gold award for a golden Cardinal.

The St. Louis Cardinals have a shiny love affair with their first basemen. On Thursday night, Paul Goldschmidt became the fifth Cardinal to win the MVP award; he followed Orlando Cepeda, Stan Musial, Keith Hernandez, and Albert Pujols.

The Machine won it back in 2009, a year where he also won the batting title. If there was a Nirvana moment for Pujols, it was that year. For Goldschmidt, 2022 is easily his finest year as a Cardinal, and arguably his career--which began ironically right after Pujols took off for California.

Goldschmidt has collected many awards since his cold end to the season, but the Most Valuable Player trophy stands apart. While he couldn’t find his stroke in the last couple months of the season, he did do some incredible things this year. For example, his cumulative WAR (via Fangraphs) as a Cardinal before 2022 was 10.7. He put up a 7.1 fWAR this year. When you add SEVEN wins to the team win record, even theoretically, it’s game-changing production.

Yes, the Major Leagues exist as a game of endurance and Goldschmidt’s lack of hitting in September and October did cost the team, but the Cardinals don’t exactly glide into the postseason without his work.

When Tyler O’Neill was hurt, Paul DeJong was sent to Memphis, and a good portion of the team was flailing, it was Goldschmidt hitting everything under the sun. The MVP has nothing to do with playoff performance, except in the minds of most fans.

Good for Goldschmidt, but if there’s a chip building on his shoulder, I am fine with that. Stories are better when the protagonist is either mad or has a score to settle.

In other news, I can’t wait for Sunday night. At the same time, I hate Sunday night. The former revolves around the one-two punch of a couple great TV shows (Yellowstone, Tulsa King) and hanging out with the family. Running against that is the fact that Sunday’s house is planted right next to “go fuck yourself” Monday. That’s life. The sweet and the bitter.

Before that fateful evening arrives-which has some of its bite removed by the fact that it’s a holiday-shortened week-I will be cruising with OLD MAN BUFFA around St. Louis. We usually start at my parent’s house in Richmond Heights, and end wherever our conversations take us.

The thing about deep talks that carry as many laughs as sincere drama is that they can pass time faster than most interactions. For instance, we will be discussing a movie and then cycle forward to a childhood memory, and suddenly our car moved from Clayton to downtown Grand. If there was a trail on a GPS map that could track our weekly adventures, there’s a strong chance all of St. Louis (and the county) would be covered.

It’s a special thing. Hang with your parents as often as you can, if you have them.

Some day, maybe sooner than my wife expects, I’ll be paying for landscaping. I like looking at pretty houses with a big yard, but flip that scenario around and I think of the work necessary to be nauseating. Mowing the lawn? Not therapeutic. Yeah, it was as fucking therapeutic as that cavity I had filled decades ago. Blowing leaves? It’s as stimulating as a kick to the balls. A podcast or song doesn’t help either, unless they’re hosting a podcast while doing lawn work.

I got a better job. Pays more money. In another year or two, I am paying for it. Owning a house is a proud achievement, and not-so-quietly it’s an emotional gauntlet.

What else?

~My chihuahua mix keeps shitting in my office. I can take a hint, but how do you punish a dog in 2022? My dad reports me calling Jasper an asshole for crying out loud.

~Mads Mikkelsen and Keanu Reeves need to do a road movie together. Indie. $10-15 million budget, deft script, and a rural location. Two brothers who led separate lives-one on a farm and another in the big city-and suddenly have to come together again. That’s all you need. Two good actors and a small concept.

~What did I learn today? A double cheeseburger at noon isn’t a good idea if you want to get anything done. I feel like a bad decision is following me around.

One last thing. A very important thing. When handling a cake stand with a CAKE ON IT, do not tilt the stand AT ALL. I did.

Have a good weekend, folks.