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The Second Half Begins

Before we get to tonight's game, let's take a look at a few of the stories floating around about the Cards.

First off, there's the rumor that the Cardinals might part with Colby Rasmus.  Here's the relevant part of that link (took me a minute to actually find it):

Overheard at the pre-All-Star Game bash out on Randall's Island. The contending Cardinals might even consider parting with top outfield prospect Colby Rasmus, a major surprise. If so, it may put them in line to land Pittsburgh's Xavier Nady, or even Jason Bay.

OK, one, I don't believe the Cards would move Rasmus, that this is more of someone's either wishful or uninformed thinking.  Second, if they did move Rasmus, they darn well better do it for someone better than Nady and probably for someone better than Bay as well.

Speaking of rumors, apparently there was one on XM that had Rasmus, Bryan Anderson and Mitchell Boggs going to Colorado for Matt Holliday and Brian Fuentes.  I'm not fond of this one either.  With Holliday not completely proving he's not a Coors Field creation and the fact that Rasmus should be able to do what he does soon and for much cheaper, it just doesn't make sense to trade two top prospects for that package.

I really don't think Mozeliak will trade off Rasmus.  It just doesn't make any sense from the Cardinal perspective.

In fact, that was emphaised in an interview with Bill DeWitt on the Post-Dispatch site.  To quote:

P-D: Back to the club. Much speculation has sprouted about how far the organization will go to acquire help for this year's team if it remains in contention. What does that say about the availability of premium prospects such as Colby Rasmus?

BDJ: They're must-haves for any organization. I don't think you can trade potential premium prospects unless you get premium players back. I think what a lot of clubs have done historically is trade premium prospects for less-than-premium return. I don't agree with a short-term fix. A lot of quick fixes don't work. Time goes on, you're down the road, and your former prospect is out there putting up All-Star numbers for someone else.

P-D: Is there a chance that Rasmus could play his first major-league game in another uniform?

BDJ: I don't anticipate that. No.

The rest of the interview is pretty good as well.  I think DeWitt has taken a lot of unnecessary criticism over the years, so it is good to see him out in the press taking on some of the questions.

Closer to the field, it looks like the injured pitchers are getting better.  Adam Wainwright is looking to return in the next three weeks or so, it appears, and Chris Carpenter really liked how his simulated game went.  I would expect a solid return from Wainwright, maybe in time for the Cubs series August 8-10, but I still don't think we'll see Carpenter on the mound until the end of August and even then, I'm not sure how effective he will be.  But it's good to know things are getting better.

The Cards are the wild-card leader at the moment and they try to stay that way when they take on the Padres in Busch tonight.  It's a matchup of current aces, as Kyle Lohse and Jake Peavy take to the hill.  Not many of the Padres have seen a lot of Lohse, though outfielder Jody Gerut seems to have his number. The Cardinals have actually been able to put up some good numbers on Peavy, which really surprised me knowing the kind of pitcher he is.  Both Albert Pujols and Troy Glaus have two home runs against him.

Even so, I'd expect this to be a low-scoring game.  It's a good thing the Padres offense has been so weak--the Cards may not have to score much to win.

Series preview is up at the Clubhouse and the YNOT is active as well.  Ready to get it started!

Time For a Breather

So, like I said yesterday, a Cardinal win and a Cub loss and they go into the break 4 1/2 games out.

The Hero is pretty obvious.  Aaron Miles hits a three-run bomb and a two-run triple, even if he did have a boneheaded fielding play in the game as well, which cost the Cards early.  I thought the Cards would tee off on Snell, since they kept fouling off his pitches, but he survived longer and did better than I expected.  The rest of the Pirates staff, well, not as much.  Good to see Glaus go yard again and Molina to keep hitting.  I'm really impressed with Yadi's .300+ average.  He's become a force at the plate as well as behind it.

The Goat would go to Joel Pineiro.  There's really nothing about that pitching line that looks good.  10 hits, six runs, three walks in less than six innings?  Yuck.  The staff is going to have to have someone step up (or have Wainwright come back strong and early) or things may start to get out of hand.

I meant to watch the Futures Game yesterday but it slipped my mind.  There's a thread on the game at the Clubhouse and a wrapup in the DFR at the new and improved Future Redbirds.

It's a breather in Cardinal Nation today, as Ryan Ludwick and Albert Pujols will be sitting on the field tonight watching the big bombs going off.  The rest of the team is home resting up and probably already thinking about Jake Peavy.

Inconceivable!

Before we deal with last night's disaster, let's be positive and talk about Friday's game.

Friday night was one of those great games to watch, the ones that make you think this team is going someplace.  Kyle Lohse threw a great game, the offense in general was rolling, and Rick Ankiel in particular was hot, with three hits and a home run.  Jaime Garcia (and, for all of those that come over from Future Redbirds, how could you not tell me I'd been spelling his name wrong all this time!) even got in and had an effective debut.  Looking for a goat in that game is tough, but Skip Schumaker would get it for going 0-5.

All that good feeling evaporated late Saturday night, making me feel like Fezzini.

Losing after being up 10-4 in the seventh?  Inconceivable!  Giving up four runs in the ninth?  Inconceivable!  Blowing a lead provided by Troy Glaus?  Inconceivable!

Yet, just as in Fezzini's case, it all happened.  Perhaps the word doesn't mean what I think it means.

Where do you go for a goat on this one?  I mean, Ryan Franklin got it all started with a two-run homer.  Kyle McClellan allowed the tying run to score (though, granted, he did his job and got the double play ball, it just didn't happen) and put the winning run on base.  Chris Perez allowed Jason Michaels' game winning home run (one I was afraid of when I saw him come up, due to his earlier grand slam against Adam Wainwright)

But, as bad as all of that was, I think you have to go to someone who has gotten the label way too often in 2008.  Jason Isringhausen started the ninth with a four run lead and even struck out the first batter he faced.  To allow three runs in that situation is inexcusable.

Inconceivable.

It's games like that which have me really concerned about this year's incarnation of the Cardinals.  I don't know that this team has the ability to consistently win, to put together a long winning streak needed to get back into the race.  Right now they are sitting at 5 1/2 games back.  Obviously well within the realm of possibility to catch the Cubs, but not nearly as likely as when they were staying 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 back.  The Cubs hopefully will cool off in the second half, especially at home, but can the Cardinals take advantage?  I don't know.

Perhaps it is good that this is happening now, before Mozeliak gets pressured into doing something rash at the deadline.  I'm sure that Jayson Stark will be coming out with one of his crazy number columns soon, saying something like no team out more than 5 games after the 90 game mark has won their division in 20 years or something like that.

And it could be that is just negative thinking.  A Cards win today and a Cubs loss and they are sitting just 4 1/2 out at the All-Star Break, even if the break is a little later this year.  Maybe it's reading too much into an admittedly atypical game, both from the offense side and the pitching side.  I guess we'll have to just wait and see.

In other news, the Cards have put Garcia into the rotation, penciling him in for next Sunday.  Hopefully that will give the team a little boost to start off the second half.

Today the Cardinals try to bounce back, win the series, and finish the first half on a high note.  If they'd gone into the break on last night's game, having to think about it for four days or so, it might have been more of a problem.  Redemption is usually just a day away in baseball.

The matchup is Joel Pineiro against Ian Snell.  Wow, the Cards have seen Snell a lot this season, haven't they?  This will be the fourth time he's gone against the Redbirds, with an 0-1 personal record but a 2-1 team record to show for it.  The Cardinals have been able to get to him early at times, but not been able to put him away.  He has a 9.64 ERA against St. Louis this year and here's what the hitters have done against him in his career.  As always, Pujols is looking forward to it.

Pineiro has faced the Pirates twice, the first time giving up a run in seven and getting the win, the second allowing four in five in a Cardinal loss.  At least the first one was in PNC Park, site of today's matchup.  For the most part, the Pirates haven't done much damage against him, but I'd keep an eye out on Jason Bay.  He's on a roll, especially after yesterday, and he's got good numbers against Pineiro.  If he's auditioning, he's definitely making an impression.

BTW, CardsClubhouse folks.  There is supposed to be some downtime at the site today.  If it happens at the game, feel free to use this as a game thread/discussion platform.

Big Win in Philly

The Cardinals showed last night that the road doesn't intimidate them this year.  They've struggled away from Busch the last couple of years, but this year they can beat people anywhere.  In fact, they have the best road record in the National League, one of only two NL teams (Philadelphia is the other) with a winning record on the road.

You can't say enough about the job Joel Pineiro did last night.  He had a tough draw, going up against Cole Hamels in a launching pad, but he kept the powerful Phils off the board.  The Cards really needed a win after the weekend and all the trading activity in the division and he provided.

Tough to give anyone a Goat tag when they go up against someone like Hamels, but Troy Glaus gets it not only for his 0-4 but his double play he hit into in the ninth against Lidge.  An insurance run there would have made me feel a lot better about Ryan Franklin facing Utley, Howard and Burrell in the ninth, though it turns out it wasn't necessary.

The Cubs called the Brewers' raise in the pitching department, getting Rich Harden to add to their stable.  We all know the caveats on Harden, but if he is healthy, that gives the Cubs the 1-2 punch they've been lacking.  I've always thought that Zambrano was basically the only pitcher on that staff and they were getting by with the rest of them.  Adding Harden makes me a lot more concerned about their postseason life--they may have enough to go deeper in October, if they get there.

So what do the Cardinals do now?  Both of the top competitors have added aces.  I know Mozeliak is going to say things like "no need to do anything," "nothing on the burners", "the calvery will be like a trade," but is that really true?  I know that Wainwright will be back sometime in August, which does give a boost, but that's just getting the team back to health.  If Carpenter does make it back this year, he's not going to be able to provide significant innings, so as nice as it'll be to see him on the mound, will he really be the difference maker if he's going two times a week out of the pen?

I'd like to see the Cards make a run at Erik Bedard, if they can get him at a reasonable price.  These last couple of trades may make that unlikely, since both the Brewers and the Cubs gave up some good talent and, more notably, a good number of bodies, but the flip side of that is that two of the teams most likely to be in any Bedard derby are now out.  I'm not sure any AL team will be that excited to get him after his Seattle showing, which may mean the Cards just need to compete with Philadelphia, the Mets, or teams like that to get him if Seattle puts him on the market (and they'd probably be crazy not to.)

If a package that didn't really damage the farm system (i.e., no Colby Rasmus, Jamie Garcia, Jess Todd) was put together, I'd be in favor of it.  A couple of days ago Larry at VEB mentioned moving Mitchell Boggs or Clayton Mortenson would not be a bad thing if they could get value.  If Anthony Reyes or Chris Duncan had value, I'd suggest some sort of modification on the Santana deal I proposed last winter, but that's wishful thinking.  If the price is dropped because of the reduction of teams, I'd think the Cardinals might be able to be in contention for someone like Bedard.  If it hasn't, though, then they should go ahead and pass.  Anything that happens this year is gravy, since this team is really designed for 2009 and beyond.

Of course, tonight's game might go a long way toward showing whether any kind of deal is really necessary.  Mark Mulder takes the mound against rookie J.A. Happ.  If Mulder can be somewhat effective, it might lead to hope that he can be a part of a second half surge.  I don't expect he'll get past the fifth, just because he's not thrown that much lately, but if he could give five innings and just a couple of runs, there'd be a lot more optimism in Cardinal Nation.  Whether that'll happen or not is a different story.

And, before I forget, it's XM Radio ad time!  XM will be all over the All-Star stuff.  Shows will be hosted from New York, the Futures Game (featuring four Cardinals, don't forget!) will be on XM 175 on Sunday, then the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game itself will be on XM 176 on their respective days.  If you want to stay up on what's going on with the All-Stars, tune in to your XM!

Speaking of the All-Stars, I see where AP is saying he'll do the Home Run Derby if asked.  Last time it didn't affect his swing (I think he hit more homers after the break!) so I'm all for that.  I love seeing Cardinals do anything during the All-Star festivities.  Seeing all the different jerseys (well, that's only in the game now, so they can make more money on All-Star sales) on the same field is really neat.

Just keep an eye on Philadelphia tonight.  A big part of the rest of the season could be riding on it.

It's All About Pitching

Let's see, what's on the PD site this morning?

Well, the biggest news probably is the status of Adam Wainwright.  According to Derrick Goold, he can start throwing anytime now, but it's going to be after the All-Star Break before they even start talking about a return date.  I'd expect he'll probably get one rehab start, so if he's back by my birthday (August 2, mark your calendars) I'd be a little surprised.  Still, it doesn't sound like he's having any setbacks, which is good news.

Chris Carpenter is working his way back as well, but it doesn't look like he'll be in the majors before August either.  In fact, it may be with expanded rosters before we see him in St. Louis.  I've said all along that if he was back before mid-August that it'd be pretty surprising, even when the team was talking about him being back at the All-Star Break.  Tommy John just doesn't heal that quickly.

And, even in times of pitching need, Matt Clement cleared waivers and is going to work as a reliever in Memphis.  Talk about a move that backfired.  Granted, it was a low-risk move, but Clement seemed pretty well in spring training and I really thought that part of the improved pitching this year would be because of him.  Now, he may be an August or September callup as well and in the bullpen (which needs the help).  I guess it's still possible the Cards would pick up his option for next year, just to see if they can get something out of him, but this is not what Mozeliak thought he was getting.

General tangent: I'm going to do my All-Star rant in a little bit, but in other baseball news, I wanted to say how nice it was to see Milwaukee get CC Sabathia.  Not in the competition aspect--it makes Milwaukee the favorite in the NL Central in my book now--but in the fact that here's a small market team being able to make a play for the biggest name on the trade market.  Sabathia didn't wind up in New York or Boston or Chicago.  That's a good thing for baseball, in my book.

The matchup tonight is not exactly one that screams "win" for the Cardinals.  Joel Pineiro will go into Philadelphia and take on Cole Hamels.  The good news is that the Phillies don't have much of a book on Pineiro, at least not from personal experience.  The bad news is that some of the Phillies that have seen him have done pretty well.  As for Hamels, well, both of those statements pretty much apply to him as well.  Albert Pujols has done a good job against him and hopefully will continue that now that he's gotten #300 out of the way.  As long as they realize that some things you hear about Hamels may be exaggerated, the Cards could be OK.

Housekeeping:  You'll notice a few new links over on the blog roll.  St. Louis Sports Magazine has been nice enough to link over here a couple of times and I appreciate that.  Player to be Named Later is back from hiatus.  And a couple of the more, well, colorful Cardinal blogs, Cardinal Diaspora and Bert Flex, are on the list as well.  Bert Flex was nice enough to include me in their Cardinal Blogger Appreciation Month, which I appreciate.

Let's Go Out And Beat The Mets

It's always nice to beat the Mets.  Whether it's because you remember the '80s (where's the sports version of VH1's show?  Imagine talking about Mets/Cardinals, Hershiser's scoreless streak, the split season strike stuff.  Maybe when MLB gets their own channel off the ground we'll see things like this), because there's always something good about beating the "big city", or because you are friends with Met fans, taking down the team from New York puts a spring in your step.  (Sorry, Loge13!)

Last night's game (and, as a side note, it was good to finally see the Redbirds on TV again!) reminded me of that old quote about the owner whose idea of a good season was when his team was up 10 games at Memorial Day and slowly pulled away.  The Cards scored early and then, in a reversal of basically their whole season, continued to add on.

I wanted to give the Hero to Chris Duncan for finally showing some pop.  You could also give it to Mark Mulder for a scoreless inning (more on him later).  But seven innings, 0 ER against a potent offense that has given you fits before?  How do you go against Kyle Lohse?  A great performance and hopefully one that sets the tone for the rest of the series.

The Goat is between two 0-4 batters (the only two position players not to get a hit), but since Schumaker did get a walk and score a run, Brendan Ryan takes the title again.

So Mulder finally got into a game and showed that, perhaps, the new arm slot hype has some basis.  Sure, it was about as low-leverage as innings come, but he didn't give up a run, threw strikes, had good velocity.  It'll be interesting to see how he's used in the days and weeks to come and how long his success holds up.  If he continues to get people out, do they start to stretch him out some to take over a starting role later in the season?

Looks like Wainwright is aiming for a mid-July return.  Hard to get too excited, though, with the way injuries work with the Cardinals.

And apparently the Cards are looking at Holliday and Fuentes from the Rockies.  I wouldn't mind them, especially Holliday.  I can't imagine St. Louis will be able to pull it off, though, without damaging the minors, something they need to be careful about doing.

Today's starters: Todd Wellemeyer (vs. Mets here) against Tony Armas Jr. (vs. Cardinals here).

Good First Step

The Cards could have come out flat, wallowing in the one-two punch of their top players being taken from them for a time.  Instead, they decided the best way to work through the adversity was to make someone else pay for it.  A few more games like that and the loss of Wainwright and Pujols might not be quite as devastating.

Not much doubt that the Hero of the piece was Braden Looper.  A complete game shutout anywhere, especially for a converted reliever, would get you kudos, but to do it in the bandbox that is Great American Ballpark is even more impressive.  It's not like the wind was blowing in--the Cards did smash three home runs--but he "made it look easy" as my Reds fan father in law said when he called for his weekly chat.

A number of players could have challenged Looper for the title.  Ryan Ludwick hit another home run.  Jason LaRue--yes, that Jason LaRue--broke out of his power outage with a home run in a two-hit night.  Rick Ankiel went deep.  Even Chris Duncan contributed, getting a hit in four trips and making a sparkling defensive play at first.

As hard as it was to narrow down the Hero, it is equally tough to name a Goat.  It comes down to Aaron Miles and Troy Glaus, both of whom were 0-3.  Miles had two walks, but also a strikeout.  Glaus walked once and didn't K.  Both scored a run.  Miles left two on, while Glaus only left one, so he gets the tag.

The Cards have already won the series, but they go for the sweep tomorrow evening.  It could be a tough task, depending on what Joel Pineiro brings from the disabled list.  Pineiro hasn't thrown since May 20, when he allowed three runs in 5.2 innings to San Diego.  He faced the Reds earlier in the year, throwing seven scoreless innings.  Corey Patterson has had the most success against him in the past, so he'll probably get a start.

The Reds counter with Bronson Arroyo.  Arroyo has struggled some this year, posting a 5.74 ERA.  However, his ERA stood at 7.56 when he faced the Cardinals back in April and he was able to get a victory, allowing only three runs in six innings.  He's done a pretty good job against the Cardinals in the past, but Ludwick and Ankiel both have had success against him.

On paper, at least, the Cards should have the advantage.  It could turn into a high scoring affair, though, if Pineiro has some rust on the arm.

After the jump, a couple of housekeeping items:

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First the Ace, Then the King

The Cards won a game last night.  But they lost so much more.

This rag-tag group has been surprising people, sticking around in a race people said they had no business being in.  2.5 games made them better than preseason favorite Milwaukee and, if the Cubs weren't playing out of their mind at home, they could easily be on top of the NL Central.

That all got a lot more difficult last night when Number Five crashed to the ground, screaming in pain.  Knowing that he had to sit out a couple of days when he just tweaked it, it was immediately obvious this was going to be a DL trip.  How long, we don't know.  Dr. Paletta is seeing Pujols today, which of course brings trepidation to the hearts of many a Cardinal fan.  We know it'll be at least two weeks.  Hopefully it won't extend past that.

Chris Duncan has been recalled from Memphis, touching off a lot of the kind of angst only he can provide.  It's true he's not shown the Memphis trip was a success, hitting .160 in his time down there.  I'm not sure what he's shown to get the recall.  Maybe he's getting good swings down there, I don't know.  I would expect, however, that the fact he is on the 40-man roster played a large part in his selection.  Most of the other options, including Josh Phelps, would have to be added, which means someone would have to be taken off.  That's going to be a tough enough call once Colby Rasmus is ready to come up, something that is getting closer to being an option with his rebound from his slow start.  The only thing that troubles me about Duncan was the statement I read at CCH where Al Hrbrosky said Duncan would have come back up this week anyway.  I'd love to know the reasoning behind that.

If this is a short-term thing, the Cards should be able to weather the storm.  They are well ahead of the third place team in the division and have a three game lead in the wild-card standings over Florida.  Even without Pujols, they could probably tread water for the next couple of weeks if the pitching can stay strong.  They have two more with Cincy, a three game set with the Phillies, then series with KC, Boston, and Detroit.  Philly and Boston would be the toughest of the matchups.  At least Philadelphia would be at home.

If he's out until, say, the All-Star Break, things get a lot more uncertain.  The beginning of July sees the Cards host the Mets and Cubs, two series that they really need to be able to compete in.  There's only so long Ludwick and Ankiel can hold the offense together, especially since they'll be pitched to a lot differently now with the big thumper out of the lineup.

Losing Pujols and Wainwright on back to back days is a tough thing to deal with.  How the Cardinals respond will be interesting to watch.  Imagine taking Santana and Wright off the Mets or Ramirez and Beckett off the Red Sox.  Of course, those teams have a deeper supporting cast, but they'd still feel the impact.  What will happen when the supporting cast is a little less proven?

The only positives are that Joel Pineiro will be back, taking the hill on Thursday, and Todd Wellemeyer will be able to make his start against the Phillies.  Pitching will be even more important while Pujols is on the DL.

Speaking of, Braden Looper and Johnny Cueto tangle tonight.  Looper had a good start against the Reds in April, throwing six innings and allowing two runs.   He's got good career numbers against the Red hitters as well.  Cueto was bombed in the first series between these two teams, not making it out of the second.  He's struggled since then, the hype that surrounded him in the spring fairly dissipated by now.

Cards need to shake off having a different first baseman and continue this improbable run.  Of course, that's easier said than done.

Oh, and before I forget, let's give Ryan Ludwick the Hero title for his 4-5 outing, including a home run and four RBI.  I'd give Mitchell Boggs runner-up status, because that was a pretty solid first start, especially in that bandbox.  Goat would be Cesar Izturis, just because he was the only one with a hitless night.  It was a good game all around, save the injury to Pujols, which meant it was a terrible night.

Removing The Ace From the House of Cards

I was off the Net, as it were, yesterday, so I had to do a double take when I saw the thread title at CCH last night.

Wainwright to the DL?  Say it ain't so!

"Surgery is not looking like something that is going to be needed," Wainwright said. He added that the finger felt Monday as it did Saturday: "I can't bend it like I should be able to. It's like a bad jammed finger. The weird thing is there's no swelling. It needs time."

This does not inspire Cardinal fans with confidence.  How many times have we been told that a pitcher or player just "needs rest" and then, three months later, goes under season-ending surgery?  With the Cardinals recent track record with injuries, is there anyone that thinks this is just going to be a 15-day thing?

I recently jammed my finger playing softball, so I get some idea what he's talking about.  Not having swelling to go with it, though, seems concerning.  There's some talk about it being a ruptured tendon, which would mean the season would be over for the Wagonmaker.

So what does this mean for the Cardinal season?  Pitchers are dropping like flies, though it looks like Todd Wellemeyer isn't as bad off as we thought (again, if you believe what you read) and Joel Pineiro could be coming back soon.  Matt Clement's second minor league start wasn't as dazzling as the first, but he's still making progress and will pitch in Springfield again Friday.

Short-term, the Cardinals have to fill holes.  Mitchell Boggs will make his first major league start tonight and there is talk of moving Kyle McClellan into the starter role.  VEB lays out the problems with that and the only real solution out there.  Since Anthony Reyes is sporting a 3.14 ERA in Memphis, skewed by a bad outing two times ago (without that, it's a 2.38 mark) and is striking out a batter an inning, if he doesn't come up during this troubling time, I hope he's traded soon to an organization that will actually use him.

Long-term, catching up with the Cubs without Wainwright might be a tough task, especially if the little bears improve their pitching at the deadline.  I like what Bernie is saying about having the numbers to fill in for injured pitchers, but losing the one guy you could pretty much count on to give you a win is a chore to overcome.  The Cards have to do it, though.  They sit 2.5 back and right now may be the only serious challenger to the Cubs for the NL Central title.  For the good of mankind, they must keep Chicago out of the playoffs!

Cards and Reds square off today with a couple of young pitchers and fresh slates.  Obviously, Boggs hasn't faced the Reds before.  Homer Bailey, just recalled from AAA (the Reds' version of Anthony Reyes, basically) hasn't seen the Redbirds this year, but had a disastrous outing last year against St. Louis, allowing 7 runs in just 3.2 innings last July. Ryan Ludwick hit two home runs off of him, so he'll be ready to go for this evening.

Congrats to Ken Griffey Jr. on hitting #600.  I didn't realize that the Reds played last night until right before ESPN cut in to his AB.  I thought the Cards were going to get a chance to be on the end of both #500 and #600, which would have been neat.  The last game I saw in person was Griffey's #500th in Busch and it couldn't happen to a better player.

Playing It On The Field

My father used to tell me, "That's why they play the game."  You don't play it on paper (unless it's fantasy baseball, but that's a totally different topic), you have to actually go out there and try to win a game that everything says should be yours.

The Cardinals would have liked to have it stay in the realm of the theoretical last night, though until the seventh everything was panning out just like you'd expect.  I didn't get to see much of the game, having a meeting to go to last night, but when I turned off the radio the Cards had just scored their third run and were looking for more.  I figured it was their night, since Pujols smashed a 3-0 pitch right to the third baseman and everyone was safe.

I turn the game back on after my meeting and Pittsburgh is up 5-4.  It wasn't until later when I read about the pinch-hit grand slam, which turned the game completely around.

I think Adam Wainwright said it the best:

"You just can't give up a grand slam right there. It's the worst I've ever felt after a game."

Again, the Cards showed that they have trouble finishing off a struggling pitcher early and adding on to early leads.  There is no way that Gorzelanny should have gone six innings with the way he started off the game.  This offense tends to sputter sometimes, catching early then dying off.

Heroically, Albert Pujols was at it again, with a 2-4, 2 RBI night.  Pujols said that not having the postseason to worry about would probably help him be rested and ready for the season.  I think we've seen that theory has some merit.  Joe Mather also had a very nice game as the rookie gets adjusted to major league life.

That wasn't the best way to send the team off on a long road trip, but you deal with what you have.  Tonight the Cardinals will be playing in our nation's capital, with Kyle Lohse taking on Odalis Perez.  Lohse has been OK against the current National hitters, giving up a home run only to Dmitri Young.  Lohse also has faced the Nationals this year and threw seven scoreless innings against them in April.

And, though he doesn't have the greatest numbers against Lohse at least, the Cards will probably dodge a bit of a bullet this series as Ryan Zimmerman continues to sit out nursing an injury and could be placed on the DL soon.

Perez has always been Pujols's favorite whipping boy. The rest of the Cardinals aren't anything special against him, but AP has 5 HR and 14 hits in 21 ABs.  That's dominance and it'll probably get him four wide ones in any situation with runners on tonight.  Perez gave up five runs in four innings against the Redbirds in the earlier meeting between the two teams.

The Washington YNOT is up and the series preview will be up later this morning.

Oh, there's been a Matt Clement sighting!  Apparently today will start his 30-day rehab stint in the minors.  Hopefully it has a better ending that Mark Mulder's did.  It's not obvious who he'd replace in the rotation, really, but a fresh arm around the All-Star Break could be a nice addition to the team.

And congratulations to Todd Wellemeyer for being NL Pitcher of the Month, an award that puts him in good company.  (Hat tip: VEB)

Also on the Network: √ Yanks Beat A Lefty? [Depressed Fan] √ Yanks Start Second Half With "W" [Green Pinstripes] √ All-Star Breather: The Giants Catchers [El Lefty Malo] √ Rock Is Dead; Shea Stadium July 18, 2008 [Loge 13] √ Citi Field Revealed (FYI: No Loge Here) [Loge 13] √ My Rifle, My Pony and Me [Beantown West] √ Quick Chicago roundup [Tremendous Upside Potential] √ Giants Reveal New Stadium Ticket Plans [Loge 13]