Summer is officially here and the streets of downtown St. Louis are heating up. This is going to be a big week for the St. Louis Cardinals. What a great time for the Cardinals to get a large lead in the Central Division prior to the All-Star break. Hats off to all three of the Cardinals' All-Stars - Lance Berkman, Matt Holliday, and Yadier Molina. A former All-Star, Chris Carpenter, had an all-star last outing. What a gem he threw on Independence Day. Look for the Cardinals to make a move in the bullpen in the near future. And how about our buddy Lance Berkman? He has done it all, 1st base, left field, right field, and Lance has been quite the threat behind the plate as well; right there with the National League leaders in home runs and RBIs.

All things considered, the Cardinals have managed to be a top contender in the Central Division. I know the Cardinal Manager and all the fans are ready for the injured players to return from the DL and hopefully get the team a larger first place lead. I look forward to Eduardo Sanchez re-joining the roster in the near future which will be a huge addition to the Redbirds' pitching staff. Hopefully he can regain his pre-injury form and contribute some more holds, saves and wins. And was I excited to learn that Albert Pujols has been released from the disabled list. He is looking healthier and healthier everyday and we all know how great it will be to have him back in the saddle. Won't it be great when Tony makes out a line-up card with Pujols, Holliday and Berkman at numbers 3, 4 and 5 again, with David Freese or Yadi at number 6? We'll be back to having a Cardinals' line-up that is a challenge from top to bottom for any opposing pitcher to face. And I would like to once again mention Fernando Salas who has 15 plus saves and has been a huge factor in keeping the Cardinals in or near first place this year; I loved that one, two, three 9th inning save on July 4th to preserve our hard-fought 1-0 victory for Chris Carpenter.

I would like to thank all of our Patrons who raised approximately $1,000 for all the folks down in Joplin, Missouri. We appreciate your help and our thoughts and prayers are still with all the people down in Joplin.

I hope you enjoy July baseball; I look forward to the All-Star Break and having U2 in town to entertain St. Louis next week when the Cardinals are in Cincinnati. How about that double-header - listen to the Cardinals play the Reds at 12:10 and then come on downtown to see U2!

See you at the ballpark or at Shannon's after the game.

July 6-10
St. Louis Cardinals Home Stand
Busch Stadium

July 14
Parties on the Plaza
Old Post Office Plaza

July 17
U2 Concert
Busch Stadium

July 23
Christmas in July
Pepper Lounge

July 25-31
St. Louis Cardinals Home Stand
Busch Stadium

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New happy hour starting at 2 p.m.