Happy "it's not 100 degrees" day, ladies and gentlemen. As a calm and cool overcast temperature of 75 degrees pours over Princeton Heights, I bring to you the latest stream of random thoughts that have been sitting in my head for just about 48 hours.
These are topics that don't require stand-alone articles, just a quick glance at the moral behind the story. Without further delay, let's dive right in while the water refuses to freeze.
4 HANDS BREWERY IS THE BEST IN ST. LOUIS
Look, there are some good breweries in St. Louis, but none of them can match the versatility and taste of 4 Hands Brewing Company. You can go square circle and just taste the American Pale Ale or run for the hills with the Pilsner if you'd like, but think about rolling down the hill with Passion Fruit Prussia, a delicious sour brew. Incarnation is never a bad idea, and that extends to Divided Sky and Send Help. Located right off 7th street downtown before you hit I-55/I-44, 4 Hands is a place where you don't need anything else, but the beer. Make that your next pregame stop. Play manager and go with this lineup: Prussia to get your liver on base, Pilsner to extend the runner, American Pale Ale to knock a ball to the gap, and Cast Iron Oatmeal Brown to clean the bases. I'm good moods all around.
THE RETURN OF MATT ADAMS
I like the move. Look, if you can get a guy with 18 home runs and a .510 slugging percentage in just 94 games for mere salary, you pull the trigger and don't look back. Adams is slick defensively, loves St. Louis, and will enrich the winning atmosphere currently brewing in the Cardinals' clubhouse next to Matt Carpenter's salsa. Speaking of which, can we bottle that stuff soon? Everybody but the FANS and WRITERS have tasted it. Anyway, Adams gives the Cardinals extra ammo and depth if an injury occurs.
UBER ADVICE, VOLUME 76
A few words of advice for the rideshare crowd. It is not cool to tell us where to go if the directions on the navigation app say the exact same thing. Let us do our job, unless you are Bruce Wayne and your home is a fortress under Lake St. Louis. It's already hard enough hearing you complain about Sarah's need to talk trash on your friends while asking me where I went to high school, so bottle up the Siri wannabe tactics and let me drive. Thanks much.
BELIEVE IN THE BLUES HYPE
As I wrote for St. Louis Game Time this morning, there's a different feel around Enterprise Center these days. For the first time in possibly 15 years, the Blues enter the season as a legitimate Western Conference threat to take a run at Lord Stanley's Cup. When you add Ryan O'Reilly Pat Maroon, David Perron, and Tyler Bozak to a group already armed with scoring and energy, it's not a wishful thought anymore. The Blues may not be clear-cut favorites to play in the finals next spring, but it's not a joke. After missing the playoffs for the first time in years, Doug Armstrong took the gloves off and changed things.
KOLTEN WONG'S DEFENSE REACHES UNREAL MODE
Attention Major League Baseball Decision Makers: you can go ahead and send the Gold Glove award to Wong for second base. He made a play last night that any other second baseman could only dream about. Wong had no business making that play to his right, across the bag, into the shortstop zone, to take a runner away from Los Angeles. One of 2018's sweetest surprises is the emergence of high-caliber defense from Wong, a player who has been fighting for the position since landing in 2013. He's got confidence, swagger, and ability merging at an intersection that has saved 18 runs for the Cardinals this year. He's also hitting a little to add icing to the cake. Take note, MLB offices.
THE AFFAIR FINISHES STRONGEST SEASON YET
The Showtime drama series can be a polarizing topic among television fans, because of the behavior of its characters, the storytelling methods, and how the basic premise of the show revolves around constant adultery. It's not something you gather the family for or may want to watch with your lovely spouse. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but showrunner Sarah Treem isn't about pleasing people; she wants to tell a compelling story about the hypnotic power of love on people's lives. When you think about the elementary temptation of love, a double-edged sword comes to mind. Can you really stay in love with one person? How hard is it? Does it endure?
Don't just limit it to the erotic nature of love. Think about Ruth Wilson's tragically doomed character's dead son. Will that loss define the rest of her days, or can she get over it? The stories are told through the point of view of its four main characters: Dominic West's flawed novelist Noah Solloway; Joshua Jackson's conflicted Cole Lockhart; Maura Tierney's resilient Helen; Wilson's tender-hearted Alison. Their stories are slanted and don't always fit, making the truth a slippery slope-but that's why the show works. It keeps you off-balance. The acting is tremendous, especially from Jackson and Tierney. It finished up its fourth season and has one more left next year. Go watch it.
CONSTRUCTION RANT
Let me finish this up by barking about construction. Currently, Interstate 44 is clogged in both directions heading out of the city and into the county, with multiple exits closed and lanes shut down. Interstate 55 heading over to Illinois is closed every other weekend, and the city streets are rife with uneven roads, torn up roads, and equipment everywhere. Last weekend, Interstate 64 eastbound was shut down after Jefferson Avenue. Look, I know the end of summer is nearing, so the light is closing for Modot and company to finish projects. If it's okay, can we not do it all at once on the busiest nights of the week? Also, can we not shut down extra miles of a highway that isn't being worked on? Thanks.
I believe this will be a beautiful city when they are done building it.
That's all I got. Please tip your writer by sharing this article if you like it. Thanks for playing.
