Matt Sebek of Joe Sports Fan, and editor/contributor on this site, joins the show to talk about the St. Louis Cardinals (and Rams). I’ve been very hard on the Cardinals lately, so it was interesting to see if Sebek would agree with me or defend them. Turns out, a little of both.

We talk about the up-and-down season the Cardinals are having and wonder if some of the recent “downs” can be attributable to “baseball karma” after another DUI within the organization and, yes, Tony LaRussa and Albert Pujols getting involved in Beckapalooza, or whatever Fox News called their latest rally.

We stay on the drinking conversation for a bit and talk about the lack of outrage after a third major drinking and driving incident in the last few years. Sure, it was an announcer this time, but he is paid by the team. Was Sebek surprised that an example wasn’t made of Dan McLaughlin or, more pointedly, that more people in town weren’t clamoring for an example to be made? Does the fact that the team plays in Busch Stadium (obviously beer plays a bigger role in their community than other major cities) create a more accepting environment for situations like that? We really try not to get all sportstalk radio-y on you.

Speaking of sportstalk radio, JSF partnered with one of the local stations recently and has been calling out the official Cardinals media outlets — namely FSN Midwest — for ripping off their ideas. We discuss which is better: an outlet seeing your idea and re-doing it themselves or an outlet taking your work without asking and sending you back a cursory link?

We go in depth on Cardinals Social Media Night, in which they didn’t invite anyone actually involved in independent social media. Sure, the GM will talk as well as the beat writers for the Post Dispatch and MLB.com, but why not…say…Joe Sports Fan? Or other local bloggers or new media gurus? Or hey, a guy like Will Leitch who is a big Cardinals fan? Did the Cardinals have good intentions and are just catching flack for calling it something it’s not.

Yes, we talk about the buzz surrounding the Rams. Wait…what? The Rams have buzz? It turns out, at least Sam Bradford does. But that still might not get any games on in the local market. Blackouts abound, St. Louis! And that may not be a bad thing.

(Images stolen from Joe Sports Fan to echo our earlier point)