Buffa's Buffet: The Cardinals have to rise above 90-win threat territory

5 things on my mind, including the local baseball team causing sadness early on.

Passing forty years of age should come with caution tape and a new manual on how NOT to hurt yourself. I’ve become the warehouse equivalent of J.D. Drew in the past couple of months, injuring my tailbone and scaring the side of my head on PVC pipe. The latest body bruise came on my big toe via collision with a metal liftgate.

The liftgate is the lifeblood of the delivery truck, allowing drivers to unload skids and large tubs without snapping their back in half. I tried to snap my foot in half by unfolding the steel plate of the lift gate too quickly and boom. Shit happens, even to truck drivers. Let’s talk about a few things on my mind.

Dear Cardinals, please pick a speed. You’re as uneven as St. Louis weather temperatures, causing me to sweat like a jogging panda on Tuesday and then freeze in the cloudy wind on a Saturday. Sunday saw the Cards escape the wrath of a sweep against Seattle. The problem is they have been escaping sweeps too often already.

2023 is going to be a bumpy ride, folks. Bill DeWitt Jr. gives John Mozeliak and company a certain amount of cash to play with, and this was the result. Upgrading at pitcher apparently was off the table once Willson Contreras joined the party. When will the Cardinals understand that one big move per offseason and 90-win potential doesn’t mean shit anymore in the playoffs.

The goal is to get there, but St. Louis’s participation has been a tease at best since 2014. Is that changing any time soon? Don’t hold your breath, Cardinal Nation. But hey, Jack Flaherty only walked two batters today and Paul DeJong returned with a home run. Baby steps…

If you need a good sports drama that didn’t get the proper recognition it deserved (due to a poor release date), check out Cinderella Man on Amazon Prime. Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, Paul Giamatti, and Craig Bierko all turn in fabulous work. Ron Howard feels at home in this particular filmmaking arena. The way this movie can make you feel, starting with its Thomas Newman score, is the real treat.

It can flip a mood, and inform you of a hardcore survival story set amidst the Great Depression. Few pugilists can say they were as tough as James L. Braddock.

Twitter taking away the verified badges for legacy members was an expected move, but it still stung. Maybe it was the fact that it was a top mark for a young sportswriter/columnist to receive, or the mere coolness of the label. What it did was chop another layer of care I have for Twitter, a place that hides articles and deals out authenticity with a $9 subscription.

It used to be THE PLACE on social media. Cool kids club for a good while… until the hate level rose, and the name-calling/negativity wouldn’t quit. Then, Elon Musk got bored of funding rockets and bought Twitter. He cleared house, but then called on some of those he had fired. That’s how the place is being run. As my friend P.J. told me years ago, it’s shit.

The high follower count kept me in the game, and the fact that the likes of Ryan Reynolds and The Rock retweeted my work is a real daymaker. At the end of it, for the moment, Facebook is more appealing than Twitter.

You do need to be careful about what you say on social media, and also when waiting near a drive-through speaker. A few weeks ago, I was minding my own business firing off some thoughts out loud instead of inside my head. This was right near the speaker for Raising Canes. The response on the other end wasn’t clear or something I can recall, but it amounted to, “please drive on to the second window for the love of good sauce.”

It’s hard to find any privacy when you leave the house. Whether it’s the grocery store or the road near your home, it’s crowded. Everybody is behind you, driving fast near you, or just being a pest. Traffic is extra aggressive. People being more mean to each other isn’t something out of left field, but I would still vote it as distasteful.

It could be the fact that saying all of our crap out loud inside our home isn’t enough; we need to be heard. A place where unfiltered rants can be screamed could be the secret to a calmer society--or just another means to an end.

Here’s the final thing. Fuck you, cancer. Yep, that word found its way into another buffet. By now, readers should just accept the R-rated nature of this place. It’s getting harder to accept cancer’s requests. It’s like the unwanted Facebook request account: asking for everything all at once. Candice Coleman would subscribe to a blog with curse words.

She had a personality that could stand as the epitome of genuineness. Her effect on people was vast, immeasurable and potent. When I was writing for the St. Louis Jewish Light, a story about Becky Jacobs, owner of Serendipity ice cream, was assigned to me. Sometimes, these articles can be pure puff pieces that write themselves.

Candice was the public relations pro who put Becky and me together for an interview. I spent a couple hours with a couple real firecrackers. Each lady had stories and wit pouring out of them. Candice just had a way of looking at the world that everybody, Becky and myself among them, would love to have. It was fearless, funny, and honest.

Cancer took her way too soon today. Back in 2004, it took my good friend, Troy Siade. It truly, eternally, sucks to the bone. One day, we will climb over it. Tonight, we salute Candice! Goodnight.