Buffa's Buffet: 5 things on my mind

It's Friday, folks. We made it. Now give this a read.

Every week, I say to myself, “just make it to Friday.” That’s all you have to do. Make it to Friday. For all the 9-5 types, this should be an anthem. Let’s get into a rather quick version of the buffet.

The Cardinals made it to Friday, and acquired zero players outside of Willson Contreras. The truth is they don’t need a random starter. Innings and such is a need for any rotation, but grabbing a journeyman Mike Leake-esque #3 arm only delays the ascension of Matthew Liberatore or another pitcher below him.

St. Louis needs AN ACE. They need Jack Flaherty to become the pitcher 2019 teased him to be. They can’t count on Adam Wainwright or Miles Mikolas being an ace, at least not anymore. Dakota Hudson will walk a ton and only go 4-6 innings, but he is someone you plug in and hope gets better enough to move in a trade. Jordan Montgomery is a nice pitcher, but not an ace.

If you can’t get an ace, spend the money on offense. Look at your outfield. How trustworthy does the outfield look? Dylan Carlson, Tyler O’Neill, and Lars Nootbaar, eh? Are you sure about that, Mr. Mozeliak? I am definitely not, but my finger isn’t on the bank ATM.

We shall see. Story of the Cards. They upgraded their catcher position, but what else? The Milwaukee Brewers saw their raise and matched the Birds with their acquisition of Contreras’s brother. They aren’t going away. The Cubs fan base may harass the team GM into acquiring Dansby Swanson. The Central isn’t going to be a cakewalk, especially in a new schedule where St. Louis can’t play Pittsburgh 18 times per season.

Meanwhile, the Blues are on the verge of a winning streak. They won in a shootout last night, grabbing their second “barely” win in a row. A 5-1 dismissal victory would be nice, but expecting nice things from this 2022-23 team is futile. This team is going to score just around average, give up way more than average, and will be doomed unless their special teams performance improves.

Watch the games, or just read the damn signs. This team *could* make the playoffs, but I am not 100% sure yet. I’m also not sure Vladimir Tarasenko finishes the season in a St. Louis uniform, unless the team down the street signs him to be their rightfielder.

What movie should you watch tonight? Michael Mann’s “Collateral.” I could go the easy route and tell you to enjoy “Heat” on its 27th anniversary, but I’ve put enough words out into the ether on Mann’s first LA crime opus. The latter stars Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx as strangers who walk into each other’s lives on one fateful night in the town in Los Angeles.

Cruise is a hitman in town to check six names off a list, and Foxx is the cab driver who has to drive him around town for his “meetings.” If you ever wanted to see Cruise break bad and have some fun doing so, this is the ticket. He revels in the archaic hitman with silver fox-type hair and a gray suit, ripping bullets and blood across Sunset Boulevard. Foxx’s Max is the human conscience who has to choose to fight or flight.

Nearly twenty years later, it still plays strong.

I want to say something else about Dan McLaughlin, something I briefly talked about on Twitter this morning. Yes, he’s 100% guilty of doing something incredibly stupid. No one knows that better than him. He deemed a danger to a community after his third DWI offense, and paid dearly for it.

After 25 years as the play-by-play for the Cardinals, he will not see a 26th season. He most assuredly lost his license for good, and carries enough shame to last at least a few years. He has to deal with ALL OF THAT. No one is asking for a ton of sympathy for the guy, but he’s sleeping in the bed that he made. I don’t get all the extra hate.

Screw your hypothetical. Stop comparing McLaughlin to Leonard Little, who killed someone while driving drunk. If we’re going to play that game, stand outside Busch Stadium with a Breathalyzer test ready. See how many people are drunk. See how many climb into a car. No excuses for McLaughlin, but millions of people make this mistake. I bet a lot do it multiple times too.

From first hand experience in my family, I can tell you alcoholism is a disease. You can explain to me your side or take, but I won’t give a shit. This is MY opinion space, and I have seen it wreck a few lives. Good people, too. It doesn’t just get a hold of you, and leave after a couple of battles. If it gets you, it has you for life. Every party or bar has to be avoided, and it’s a struggle.

Having said that, everything Danny Mac is experiencing right now is the same experience someone else would experience if they got their third DWI. The extra lumping on isn’t necessary, but go ahead.

Last but not least, do me a favor and please slow down on the road. It doesn’t matter where. I have never seen such impatience on the road, from people running red lights only to stop at the next one. There’s a real anger on the road right now, and it’s spreading everywhere. People are mad as hell, and taking it to the road.

You can tell me drunks are harmful on the road, but I would wager a thousand other people don’t need a drop of alcohol to complete the TERRIBLE DRIVER test.

Have a good weekend. Christmas is nine days away.