Splitting The Cardinal Weekend

A win and a loss this weekend.  While neither were all that dramatic, they are worth taking a look at.

The best part about Saturday's game against the Braves was that it was on KSDK and those games get put on a station down here, so I got to get my first look at the 2009 Cardinals.  The fact that they pulled out a win was nice as well.

Adam Wainwright worried me early in the game.  He was giving up a lot of hits, though he did a good job of keeping runs off the board.  He settled down later in the game and you'll take five innings, one earned run any day of the week.

The bullpen did good work as well.  It was interesting to see Josh Kinney come in to get the save.  He really looked good doing it.  That slider can be a deadly weapon when its on.  Right now, I think I'm fine with any of the young guns, including Kinney, closing down games.

Even though I'm not a big fan, I've got to admit Ryan Franklin has had a good spring as well.  He gave up just one hit in two innings and lowered his spring ERA to 1.50.  If he can keep that going forward, he wouldn't be as nerve-wracking in the ninth.  I'm not sure that he can, though I figure he'll get some save opportunities early in the year.  I think Tony La Russa is really looking forward to some mixing and matching in that closer role.

Looking at the hitters, Skip Schumaker had another good day at the plate, going two for three and making no errors at second.  In fact, the only error of the game came from Brendan Ryan when he came in for Skip on an easy ball that he just didn't take enough care with.  He was too worried about ending the game to keep his eye on it.  I'd be surprised if La Russa didn't notice.  Not something you want to do when you are fighting for a slot.

There wasn't much else that happened, but watching it definitely got me fired up for another season.  Just three more weeks!

Sunday's game was another good day for the pitching staff, though the offense didn't do a lot.  Khalil Greene had a couple of hits, keeping his strong spring going.  Brendan Ryan made up for that error on Saturday by driving in the only run of the game.

On the mound, though, the Cards shone, for the most part.  Kyle Lohse gave up an early home run, but pitched five innings and didn't allow any more to cross the plate.  He struck out five as well, which helped.  You figure you are going to get some value out of Lohse this year and possibly next year.  The end of the contract, though, is where there is going to be some pain.

Adam Ottovino might have learned something playing for Italy in the World Baseball Classic.  He struck out the side in his appearance, which is something he's got the talent to do more of.  I think that if he can get his stuff under control (which is what he started doing some last year, I believe) he can be a pretty good prospect and someone to keep an eye on.

The only bad outing came from Jess Todd.  One inning plus, two hits and, unfortunately, two walks.  Sounds like it was an off day for Todd, who's been pretty effective this spring and could be one of the first callups from Memphis this year.

More cuts should be coming this week with an eye toward the 25 man roster.  A lot of the questions going into camp have been answered in the affirmative.  The most difficult cuts may be in the bullpen.  If all three young guns are carried, plus the two lefties and then five starters, that leaves two slots available.  Figuring out exactly who takes those positions may be a lot of what is decided this week.

Chris Duncan pulled down a 69.5% rating from 45 voters over the weekend.  I gave Chris a 70, because while I'm not a huge fan of his off-field persona and his defense is pretty iffy sometimes, he can definitely hit when he's healthy and is an asset to the team.  I think he's proven that to some degree this spring.

We'll be doing this for another week, unless there is huge demand for more (or to quit early).  Today, we go back to the broadcast booth and ask your opinion about John Rooney.  He's sitting in Jack's chair, though obviously no one could replace the master.  Is he a worthy successor?  Does he drive you nuts?  Leave your percentage approval in the comments!


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