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Up And Down Weekend

Posted on July 5, 2010 at 9:35 PM
OK, let's hit the game highlights, such as they were.  I've had to take some motion sickness medicine, because this team seems to stop and start like the kids in their first day of driver's ed.  More writeups about the games can be found in my weekly Baseball Digest column.

Hero: Skip Schumaker.  2-5 and a couple of steals back in his leadoff slot.
Goat: Albert Pujols.  Lots of people were iffy in this game, but the big guy had his chance with bases loaded and two outs in the sixth, but couldn't get the hit that might have tied up the ball game or changed the trajectory of it.
Notes: Problem with Jeff Suppan is he takes a long time to work when he's got runners on and he didn't have a perfect inning in this one.  The whole "too much video" theme gets hit again, as the Cards struggle with a guy that was pitching AA his last time out.

Hero: Blake Hawksworth.  Seven strikeouts and only three runs in six innings.  For a guy coming out of the pen, basically, that's solid work.
Goat: Brendan Ryan.  Really doesn't need to ever be in the leadoff slot.  0-4 again there.
Notes: Pujols home runs are always nice, but it seems like save the two-HR game against Arizona, they've not necessarily come at the times we'd most like to see them.

Hero: Jaime Garcia.  Talk about bouncing back.  A team that's already seen him and whispers that the league was catching up to him, so he throws seven innings of three-hit ball.  The team really needed to see that.
Goat: Albert Pujols.  0-3, though he did get an RBI.  Thankfully that two-on, nobody out situation in the first, where he wrapped into a double play, didn't come back to haunt the team like it so often would have.
Notes: Great night for Felipe Lopez as well, with three hits in the leadoff slot.

Hero: Jason LaRue.  He didn't start the game, but went three for three with a home run.  Much better than most of the rest of the crew.
Goat: Chris Carpenter.  I don't know if the arm was bothering him or what, but from the first batter of the game, when Rickie Weeks took him deep, he wasn't in sync and never got that way.  We don't see games like that out of Carp unless he's hurt, usually, so hopefully it's just the welt on the arm that was throwing him off.
Notes: Another long ball by Pujols and a two-hit night from Lopez in the leadoff role.

Hero: Adam Wainwright.  Not only did he throw the complete game, he put it out of reach with a bases-clearing double.  What more can you ask for?
Goat: Matt Holliday.  0-3, two strikeouts, including one with two on and one out in the third, when the game was still close.
Notes: There's some devotion by Yadier Molina, who was with his wife as she delivered their daughter that morning and still in uniform for the game that afternoon.

I'd be remiss if I didn't comment on the roster moves that have happened since last we spoke.  It was good to see they finally realized there were enough pitchers on the roster and swapped Fernando Salas for Tyler Greene.  Greene may not be a world-beater, but as miserable as Brendan Ryan has been lately, Greene deserves a fair shot at regular playing time.

Also, the Cards finally placed Ryan Ludwick on the DL and recalled Jon Jay, who is already making an impact.  There's no reason why he shouldn't play almost every day while Ludwick is out, which may not be terribly long since they were able to backdate the DL stint.  Both Jay and Greene, if they play well enough, could be more significant trade material in the coming weeks.

Finally, the All-Star rosters have been announced and, even with the disappointments that many fans have felt about this team this year, they still placed five guys there, with a chance for Garcia to fill in for an injury (like Yovani Gallardo).  Obviously, even with a "down season", Albert Pujols deserves to go and Adam Wainwright has stepped up big this year, so he's a lock.  Matt Holliday has come around and is a fine selection as well.

I'm not sure when Molina got such devotion from the general fan base, because if it wasn't for them he'd not have gone out to Anaheim.  I love to see him play out there, but his bat has been so weak that his top notch defense still can't cover it.  Carpenter is a good selection as well, though as erratic (for him) as he's been, I almost expected Garcia to go in his place.

Still, it's good to have a lot of guys to watch next Tuesday.  Hopefully they can finally break this losing streak to the AL.

Tomorrow (or today, depending when you read this), the club skips Suppan in the rotation to send out Blake Hawksworth against the Rockies.  I think that's probably a smart move, because if Soup's not getting the grounders, he could get beaten around pretty good in Coors.  At least Hawksworth has somewhat of a strikeout pitch, so maybe he can limit any damage.

The Cardinals will face Jeff Francis, a lefty who has battled back through arm trouble.  Throw out all the numbers that he's accumulated this year--he's a lefty, which means he's got a strong chance to shut the team down.  We'll see if that happens!

Pujols The Great

Posted on June 30, 2010 at 8:23 AM
Sometimes, it's all sound and fury signifying nothing.

Before the game last night, there was a lot of discussion (or whining, depending on your point of view--since I was part of it, I'm going with discussion) about the unorthodox lineup that Tony La Russa put out there.  No Colby Rasmus, which was pretty surprising with Ryan Ludwick hurting and David Freese on the DL.  No Skip Schumaker, which mean Aaron Miles had to start.  On paper, it looked like one of the worst lineups the Cardinals had run out there in years.

However, when you've got Albert Pujols in the lineup, odds are things are going to be all right.

(As an aside, I really enjoyed seeing Cal Eldred in with La Russa on the pre-game show talking about how he constructed the lineup.  After hearing TLR talk about how tough Willis was against lefties, justifying Rasmus and Schumaker sitting, I went and looked it up.  Sure enough, Willis, for all his problems, actually is curtailing lefties to a .188 average and was hardly walking them at all.  Sometimes the skipper knows things, huh?)

Pujols hit two two-run home runs, plus an RBI double, showing that even when we think he's struggling, he's not.  As we close in on the midpoint of the season, doubling his numbers would give him 36 HR and 114 RBI on the season.  That's a good season, even if those are low for him (and his batting average is below the norms as well at .312).

I don't think we necessarily quit pointing out where AP isn't meeting his standards--that first inning strikeout was an ugly at-bat--but we have to recognize that struggling for supermen is cruising for mere mortals.

Adam Wainwright finally had a game where he didn't allow a run in the first and he kept that going until he left in the seventh.  He had seven strikeouts, which was good but did run up his pitch count some.  Still, a fairly dominant outing and one more in line with what we have come to expect from him.  Good work by the bullpen as well, though in admittedly less than a pressure situation.

On the down side, Yadier Molina wasn't able to build on his two hit night from Monday, going 0-5.  But my Goat goes to Brendan Ryan.  With a player that struggles with his control like Dontrelle Willis does, the leadoff man has to be patient.  In his first at-bat to lead off the game, he takes one strike, then swings and grounds out on a pitch that appeared to be out of the strike zone.  In his second AB, after Willis has walked both Wainwright and Miles, he swings at the second pitch again and grounds out.  With the way Willis has thrown this year, the odds of him throwing three strikes in seven pitches is on the small side.  It didn't matter much due to Pujols's night and Felipe Lopez getting four hits from the 2 hole, but on a different night it could have been the difference.

As noted, Lopez played third because David Freese was placed on the DL.  Even though I read the theory on the net that the recall of Fernando Salas was an insurance move for the next couple of days and Tyler Greene would come up this weekend, it appears that Lopez is going to be playing the corner for a while.  I know TLR likes to have plenty of relievers and that to some degree it is necessary due to Jeff Suppan being in the rotation plus having bullpen games started by Blake Hawksworth on the horizon, but having a regular bench of Miles, Jason LaRue (whom will likely never be used), Randy Winn and Nick Stavinoha is just asking for troubles in close games or extra inning affairs.  And even that bench will be depleted until Ryan Ludwick is able to get back into the lineup.

I've never been a fan of the 12 hitters/13 pitchers makeup of the roster.  I think that there are a few too many options in the pen at times.  Salas pitched well yesterday and hasn't shown that he's going to have major problems in the big leagues, but do we really need another right handed arm down there?  Seems like a bit of overkill at the cost of offensive production that could win a ball game.  Then again, it's not TLR's first rodeo.

Some of the concern is also due to the fact that, at least before yesterday, the idea was that Chris Carpenter was going to have his start pushed back due to that liner he took off his arm in the first inning yesterday.  However, it has improved and it looks less likely that will happen, though it is still a possibility.  

Cards get an afternoon game today, as Jeff Suppan goes up against Barry Enright.  I've never heard of Enright, which is mainly because he'll be making his major league debut in this game, coming up from Arizona's AA team.  Obviously, that is a concern because the team has no knowledge of him, but at least he's a right-hander, so they are more likely to be able to hit plus Rasmus will be in the lineup.

I'm interested to see how Suppan does today.  Arizona's no powerhouse, obviously, but they are seventh in the NL in runs, though 13th in batting average.  Still, they should be more familiar with Suppan than the AL teams that he's faced since being signed by the Cardinals.  That familiarity could be a concern, especially when you factor in the Cardinals are going for a sweep, and you know how that's gone for them lately.

Before the game, though, you can listen to me around 11:30 Central on Baseball Digest Live, talking about baseball in general in my role as founder of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance.  Tonight, Bill Ivie will be doing the United Cardinal Bloggers Radio Hour, talking about today's game as well as a new project he's going coming up, so be sure to listen in to that as well!

Christmas In June

Posted on June 29, 2010 at 8:15 AM
To: St. Louis Cardinals
From: Arizona Diamondbacks
Note: You can use it more than we can.  Enjoy this gift-wrapped win!

There's really no words to describe what happened in the ninth last night.  Throwing the ball away on a runner going to third?  Throwing the ball past the catcher and letting the tying and winning runs score?  They say you can always see something you've never seen before when you watch a ballgame, and that would definitely qualify.

It was nice that the Cards (with assistance) were able to pull out the win last night, because it would have been a very frustrating loss.  I don't know exactly how much credence to put into this "Tony La Russa outfoxed 'em" storyline that's going around, but if Dan Haren buys into it, 1) he should know, being a former Cardinal and 2) even if that wasn't the intent, it worked.

Still, nobody's talking about TLR if the Diamondbacks field their position.  Who do they think they are, Detroit Tiger pitchers?  Give some credit to Yadier Molina and Brendan Ryan as well.  When the game's on the line and you need baserunners, seeing those guys come up doesn't inspire you with confidence, but they got the job done.

It looked like the Cards were going to run away with that one, though, when the first three batters reach and two of them score.  However, that was the epitome of "get to a star pitcher early" because after Albert Pujols's double, Haren shut them down.  Matt Holliday had a terrible at-bat and the momentum had shifted.

Even though the Cardinals won, it's going to be a while before the fans forget Randy Winn's adventures in the outfield.  Looked like he was going to be able to pull back Adam LaRoche's game-tying homer, but without him Mark Reynolds only gets a single, maybe a double depending on how it is played.  (Dan Haren's home run needed no assistance.  Thankfully that was the only hit of the night for him!)

As for Chris Carpenter, it didn't appear to me, the little that I saw of the game, that he had as much control as you'd like to see.  He was missing inside early and walked two guys in the second with two outs.  Granted, he got laced by a line drive in the first, which might have had a little to do with it, but another game with four walks and three home runs is further proof that 2009 is over.  He's still good and still a top pitcher, but you realize that these kind of games are going to happen more and more often.

So an ugly game all the way around, but these things have a way of being a lot prettier when you are the team that came back to win.

Before we get into yesterday's Twitter discussion, a few other things happened.  Probably the biggest of which is that David Freese is heading for the disabled list, with the recall of Tyler Greene. (Update: BJ Rains says that TLR says they are bringing up a pitcher.  That's what I get taking too long to write this post.  Modifications follow.)

I was trying to figure out when Freese had hurt himself in the last couple of days.  I know I don't see as much of the games as I should, but I didn't remember it being a topic of conversation.  Then I see in the article that it relates to the June 5 incident against the Brewers.

Which leads into the age-old discussion of "How much do you play with pain?"  Obviously, you have to play in some discomfort.  The bumps and bruises of the season mean that no one is at 100% after the first couple of days of April.  We've seen the example of JD Drew, who sat out so often that the fans and the manager turned on him, deriding him as soft.

But we've seen the other side as well.  Part of what soured the relationship between TLR and Scott Rolen was Rolen's inability to admit that he was hurting, even when his numbers declined and it was pretty obvious there were some health issues.  Freese seems to have fallen into this category, with the added twist of being a rookie and therefore not wanting to create issues.

However, his production has tailed off noticeably, and as we noted yesterday, if Freese can't give you average, he's not giving you much else at the plate.  His defense is still solid, but you have to get some production out of third base.

It'll be interesting to see what Greene does, if he gets a chance to play.  We may see a lot of Felipe Lopez at third, but with the slumping of Ryan again (thought nice to see him get two hits last night) Greene really needs to get some regular playing time at one of the positions.  It's not like Lopez has been tearing it up lately either.

(Update: If they actually do bring up a pitcher, that further weakens the offense, because you are going to run Lopez and Ryan out there every day and the top backup is Aaron Miles.  Your bench is Miles, Jason LaRue, and Nick Stavinoha, since Winn will be out there until Ryan Ludwick returns this weekend from his calf injury.  I'm sure they like Fernando Salas, who can return early with an big-club injury, but is that really a smart idea?)

In other news, Pujols has decided not to participate in the home run derby.  That's probably for the best and you'll hear a lot about him slowing down last year.  I seem to remember one year, though, he came out strong after being in the derby, because I remember commenting that maybe he'd be the opposite of Bobby Abreu.  I'll search the archives sometime and see if I can pull up that post.

Anyway, it's always fun to have someone to cheer for in the derby, but I can't blame him for getting a little rest and having a more laid-back experience after being the face of the game last year.  Let someone else have all the fun!

All right, the rumor mill.  Yesterday on Twitter it came out that the Cardinals were interested in Cliff Lee.  When I looked at the pitching trade options a few weeks ago, Lee was at the top of my list.  However, it doesn't appear that the Cardinals could get him without parting with top prospect Shelby Miller.

The first reaction, of course, is to say "no deal".  Miller is expected to be a future ace and is under team control for six years.  Lee is a rental, a dominant pitcher to be sure, but a guy that isn't going to be around long-term because of the financial ramifications of the upcoming Pujols contract.  Besides, trading our top pick two years in a row is not exactly the way to build up a minor league system.

Thinking about it a bit more, I'm not going to say I'm for it, but I can see some reasons that the deal wouldn't be as bad as expected.  First, if and when Lee walks, the team would get two picks in next year's draft, coupled with the pick that is rightfully theirs (assuming they didn't sign a free agent that required them to give it up).  From all reports, next year is a deep draft pool, so perhaps they could use those picks to select pitchers that are closer to the majors than Miller is.

Secondly, TINSTAAPP.  The famous acronym from Bill James--There Is No Such Thing As A Pitching Prospect--is famous because, most of the time, it's true.  Pitchers burn out, blow out arms, never develop to what they are expected to be.  One of the more impressive things about Stephen Strasburg is that he's as good as the hype around him.  So just because Miller may be an ace, he may not be as well.  Would you trade a future #3 guy for Lee?  Maybe.  If you didn't have to worry about a budget with Pujols, definitely.

Third, as we discussed yesterday, there's not much way to improve this offense.  You are pretty much stuck with what you have.  So, if you can't improve the runs scored, improve the runs prevented.  There's no doubt that a Carpenter/Wainwright/Lee/Garcia/Penny rotation would give you a strong chance to win every time out.

It seems the Cardinals are looking at Lee, but as the above story about Pujols and the derby highlights, they believe last night's starter, Mr. Haren, is a more attainable target.  Which is true--Haren has an ERA over 4 this year, Lee has been dominant in the tougher league.  If you can get Haren and keep Miller, that might be a bigger win for the club.  Haren is under contract for a couple more years, which the Cardinals have been trying to avoid in their dealings, but it's for just a shade under $13 million per the next couple of years, and unless you have home grown talent (which they don't, unless they want to use PJ Walters and Adam Ottavino), it's going to be tough to find a pitcher for less than that.

Haren admitted that he's wanted to return to St. Louis, so even if he had a no-trade clause (which he doesn't), that wouldn't be an issue.  Fans would love to have him back and to finally erase the thoughts of the Mark Mulder deal, or at least soften them somewhat.  If I were going to bet, I'd think that the Haren move might just happen in the next month.

News on Kyle Lohse and Brad Penny was positive yesterday, as both did a little throwing.  Penny had a bullpen session.  With Penny still a couple of weeks away, it'll be unlikely that he'll return until after the All-Star Break.  I'm surprised that La Russa doesn't believe he'd need at least one rehab assignment, but it seems like Carpenter was out for six weeks or so and didn't make one last year, so I guess that's par for the course.

Lohse is farther away, of course, and you have to figure it'll be at least August before he returns.  If they make a move for Haren or another pitcher, would Lohse then become a bullpen guy?  I don't know if he could be that kind of pitcher or not.

Finally, to wrap this up, I wanted to highlight Fox Sports Midwest's "This One's For You" game coming up on Friday, when they honor our military with a game on American Forces Network.  They'll be talking to Missouri National Guard troops that are stationed over in Afghanistan as they watch the game.  It's a great thing that they do to honor those that serve.  We talked to Geoff Goldman about it when he was on the UCB Radio Hour before the season and I'm glad that they are able to do it again this year.

Wainwright (who hopefully did wear himself out in the craziness of the ninth) goes against Dontrelle Willis.  While it's always possible that Dontrelle will find himself and have a solid game, the biggest thing for the Cardinals tonight is to have patience.  Willis has walked 21 guys in 17.1 innings this season and can get to 100 pitches by the fifth.  The Arizona bullpen is a weakness as well, so the sooner you get into that, the better.  On the whole, the Cardinals should be able to win this one tonight.  But like last night proved, in baseball, you never know.

Mea Culpas

Posted on June 28, 2010 at 11:48 AM
While taking my regular weekend sabbatical from blogging, I got to thinking about some of the posts that I've written this week and I realized I've strayed a little bit from what the general tone of this blog usually is.

Back in my very first entry, before I swapped Wordpress for Blogs By Fans or started up the United Cardinal Bloggers, I wrote the following:

"I root for the Cardinals and typically give them and management the benefit of the doubt.  I'll criticize when necessary, but I'm not big on general bashing."

While I don't think my posts have been bashing per se, I don't think I've been giving management enough of the benefit of the doubt.  Look, the number of moves that have gone toward veterans and away from younger players is not necessarily a philosophy that most of us on the internet would espouse.  When you see things like that, one straw on top of another, it becomes difficult to keep any optimism about the moves.

Fact is, though, management has more information and insight on these things than we do, especially people like me sitting a state away and watching a few innings and reading some articles on a daily basis.  There's a reason they think that Blake Hawksworth should start, that signing Jeff Suppan is a good idea.  And, honestly, most often they are right, or at least are right for a while.

Criticism is fine and good, but kudos are due when it pans out and, so far, most everything has at least not blown up in their faces.

Let's get to the last four games before talking about the team in general.  Apparently I should have never said anything about not having pitching woes with Adam Wainwright on the hill.  I had no idea I was such a powerful jinx.

Waino seems to be having a little trouble settling into games.  For the year, his first 15 pitches have been hit at a .305 clip.  His only run against Oakland was allowed in the first inning.  Seattle got him for two in the first.  In fact, you'd have to go back to his complete game shutout against the Brewers to find a game where he didn't allow at least one run--and usually more than one--in the first frame.

He gave up three in Toronto and then allowed two more in his shortest outing since Sept. 13, 2008 against Pittsburgh.  Not what you want to see out of Wainwright and not what you expect to see out of him.  We'll see if he's able to dodge that first inning bullet against Arizona on Tuesday.

Tough to find a Hero in a game where the team is shutout on five hits, so we'll give it to Fernando Salas.  He threw two scoreless innings at a time when the pen needed a little extra boost and, though he did allow four baserunners in that time, he worked out of trouble.

How is it not possible, though, that this juggernaut that we as fans thought we had going into the season has yet to sweep a three game series?  They got the four gamer against the Braves back in April (part of their season-long five game winning streak) and took a short two-gamer against the Nationals, but that's it.  When you go for the sweep with Wainwright on the mound and don't get it, you start to wonder just how snake bit you are.


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Desert Mirage

Posted on June 14, 2010 at 12:36 PM
The Cardinals won the first game in Arizona, but that was just the oasis in the losing streak.  A quick recap:

Friday (5-2 win)
Hero: Brendan Ryan.  He's still not found himself at the plate entirely, slipping back around .200, and a home run was about the most unlikely thing that could have happened in that at-bat, but it was good to see him get the big hit.  Plus, that means a post-game interview on FSMW and he and Jim Hayes always make for good TV.
Goat: Dennys Reyes.  Again, if the lefty can't get lefties out, there's a problem.
Notes: Read a note that Jaime Garcia and Yadier Molina agree that people aren't chasing Garcia's pitches as much anymore.  He's going to have to make some adjustments now, because walking five batters leads to shorter outings and will wind up come back to haunt you eventually...The top of the lineup went 0-12 in this game.  It just seems impossible to get this offense going on a regular basis.

Saturday (7-2 loss)
Hero: Colby Rasmus.  Two for four with a home run.  I also want to give major kudos to Blake Hawksworth for his work after his rough start on Monday.  Three innings, only one run and three strikeouts is a pretty effective outing.
Goat: Adam Ottavino.  Rookie pitchers are like a box of chocolate, you never know what you are going to get.  This time, the outing wasn't nearly as sharp as the one against the Brewers.  Then again, in that time period, his pitching coach has basically said he's not good enough for a good team.  Can't imagine that'd mess with his mind or confidence, do you?
Notes: Nice to see Fernando Salas doing well.  He's probably the one booted to Memphis for Jeff Suppan's triumphant return, but he's still getting valuable experience.  And can someone explain to this pitching staff how to get Dan Haren out?  Man's hitting .425 on the season, but that's in large part due to his six for seven against the Redbirds.

Sunday (7-5 loss)
Hero: Albert Pujols.  Honestly, Pujols has looked completely lost at the plate recently.  Eight strikeouts in his last 11 games?  An average below .300?  It's gotten so bad that Arizona pitched to him with first base open and two outs.  That never happens.  So it was good to see him come through in big situations late in that game to spur the comeback.
Goat: Dennys Reyes.  Yes, Kyle McClellan allowed the game winning home run, which was a no-no after having two outs in the inning.  But you get into the ninth or extras on the road, you run the risk that one mistake kills you.  However, if Reyes does his job, that ninth inning scorefest for the Cards may have given them the lead, bringing Ryan Franklin into the game instead of McClellan.  Reyes again can't get lefties out, which is become less of a slump and more of a problem.
Notes: It was nice to see the Cards rally, even if it was against one of the worst bullpens in the league.  Jumpstarts have to come from somewhere, so that coupled with interleague coming up might help somewhat.

The Cardinals look up at the Reds 1.5 games ahead of them.  I know it's just a function of the last few games, of the way the team has seemed to struggle, but is anyone else getting worried a bit?  Not flat out, "we're doomed" worry, but some general unease?  1.5 games isn't a lot, I know, but imagine where this team would be if they hadn't built a five game lead in the division by mid-April.  If they were playing good baseball, I'd be less concerned, but they haven't been able to do a sustained and consistent attack since the middle of last month, and even that was only about five or six days.

There has to be some joy in Cardinal Nation soon, right?  Maybe this week will hold the key, though the return of Jeff Suppan may tamp down on some of that exuberance.  The more I think about it, though, and hearing that the braintrust does believe that there are some adjustments he can make, I wouldn't be completely surprised if Suppan didn't go out and put together one or two decent starts.  I think the league would catch up with him again, and I just the idea that the Cards went out and signed him is completely wrong, but for the fact that they may only need him to pitch a couple of times before Brad Penny returns, it might not be a disaster.  Might.

The Cardinals have traditionally (wow, using traditionally to talk about interleague play.  There's something so wrong with that.) been a strong interleague team, with their winning percentage second only to Florida in the NL.  Pujols has the highest interleague batting average.  In theory, the conditions are right for a surge.

If it's going to happen, it may start tonight against the Mariners.  Adam Wainwright takes the mound for the Cardinals against Luke French.  While on the face of it, you like the fact that French has a 6+ ERA, you then realize that 1) he's a lefty, 2) the Cardinals have never seen him before and 3) those are the kind of guys that drive the Cardinals to distraction.  With Wainwright on the hill, it could be a pitcher's duel.  Perhaps they'll be able to solve this riddle and put up some runs.  We'll have to just wait and see.

Heading To The Desert

Posted on June 11, 2010 at 9:58 AM
The Cards had an off day yesterday, but it obviously wasn't uneventful.  Lots of talk about the signing of Jeff Suppan, and not a lot of it positive.  Bernie Miklasz discussed it this morning, doing his best to make sense of it.  I still don't see the upside of Suppan over a guy like PJ Walters.  Suppan is going to occasionally be able to fool people, probably, but can it last throughout a whole game?  More than one game?  I trust in Dave Duncan's ability to help pitchers make the adjustments they need, but again, if the young trio we have are not fit for a championship-level rotation, neither is Suppan.

I mean, heck, if they are just looking for an arm, rotate through Memphis.  Use PJ Walters, then Evan Maclane, then back to Walters, then take a look at Lance Lynn.  Nobody says it has to be a consistent member of the rotation.

Enough of that.  There are minor arguments for signing him, but I think the cons outweigh the pros.  Plus the indication of the mindset of the front office, especially after signing Aaron Miles and Randy Winn, is troublesome.

Cards head to Arizona today.  In theory, it's a place where the bats should get working, though they will have to face Dan Haren later in the weekend.  Tonight, though, they go up against Rodrigo Lopez.  Lopez pitched well against the Cardinals in the earlier series this year, allowing only two runs over seven innings.  Historically, it's been hit or miss against Lopez:

PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GDP
Randy Winn 15 14 2 1 0 0 0 1 7 .143 .200 .214 .414 0 0 0 0 0
Albert Pujols 10 8 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 .000 .100 .000 .100 0 1 0 0 1
Felipe Lopez 8 7 4 0 0 2 2 1 1 .571 .625 1.429 2.054 0 0 0 0 0
Matt Holliday 7 7 3 2 0 1 2 0 1 .429 .429 1.143 1.571 0 0 0 0 0
Ryan Ludwick 7 6 3 0 0 1 1 1 1 .500 .571 1.000 1.571 0 0 0 0 0
Yadier Molina 7 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .143 .143 .143 .286 0 0 0 0 2
Skip Schumaker 7 7 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 .286 .286 .429 .714 0 0 0 0 0
Colby Rasmus 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0
Aaron Miles 3 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .333 .333 .667 1.000 0 0 0 0 0
Brendan Ryan 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .500 .667 .500 1.167 0 0 0 0 0
Jason LaRue 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0
Total 73 67 17 5 0 4 6 5 14 .254 .301 .507 .809 0 1 0 0 3
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/11/2010.

Albert Pujols hasn't gotten a hit off of him yet. Tonight would be a good time to get that taken care.  Lopez, Holliday and Ludwick all have good numbers against him, even if it's a small sample size.

Jaime Garcia goes for the Redbirds.  Garcia hasn't faced the Diamondbacks yet in his career, with Adam LaRoche's two at-bats the only experience any of their hitters have against him.  Sounds like it'll be another low-scoring game!

The Cardinals' Favorite Cheese

Posted on April 22, 2010 at 7:53 AM
I'm not sure if he listed it amongst his many cheeses during his picnic with Libby two weeks ago, but Hurley really should have packed what is quickly becoming the cheese in Cardinal Nation.

Colby Jack.

Colby Rasmus was the no-doubter Hero last night.  Two home runs, an early one to give the Cards a comfortable lead and a late one to break a tie in the ninth inning, plus a triple (and a run scored on a wild pitch) in the middle to boot.  These were the kind of games we thought we'd see out of Rasmus this year and it's going to be even more difficult for National League pitchers to navigate the Cardinal lineup if he is growing into this type of player.

Chris Carpenter didn't look quite vintage Carp, but he was pretty close.  I was a little surprised to learn that he'd never put up back-to-back double-digit strikeout games before.  Then again, while Carp can get the K, he uses his defense a lot as well.

Carpenter apparently was battling in more than just the traditional baseball sense.  He really took exception to being hit by a pitch from Edwin Jackson, especially, as he noted, that he's not exactly a Silver Slugger up there at the plate.  I don't think he was thinking that he had been hit intentionally, I think it was the frustration of a master craftsman with a talented but unthinking worker in the same field.  Carp knows that he'd never hit someone in that instance because he's pitching them so differently.  Jackson should have been, but wasn't thinking the way a top notch pitcher would have been.

Mike commented on the post here before the series started that Arizona's bullpen was worse than St. Louis's.  We saw that some in Game 1, but it definitely came to fruition last night.  I was thinking that was likely the reason we saw Dan Haren and Jackson go so long, so the Diamondbacks wouldn't have to get into that bullpen.  Giving up five runs in the ninth of a tie game, well, Cardinal fans can empathize with that and are just glad that, for once, our team was on the giving end of one of those debacles.

Not that the Cardinal pen was much better in this series, including last night.  I've always thought that Trever Miller was one of the more consistent guys down in the bullpen.  He's not necessarily going to face a lot of batters, but the ones he does face he usually retires.  Not last night.  Miller was hit hard and then threw a wild pitch to let the tying run in.  You know it's a rough night when they remove you for Jason Motte.

Motte looked solid, though he ran up a lot of full counts.  He just blew his fastball past Justin Upton and did throw some offspeed stuff for strikes.  If he can continue this growth pattern, there might be fewer Tums purchases in the St. Louis area this season.

Off day today, so we'll look at Jaime Garcia vs. Tim Lincecum tomorrow!

Disaster Start

Posted on April 21, 2010 at 10:59 AM
So far the Cardinals have played two games in Arizona.  The differences could not be more stark.

Monday night, it was vintage 2010 Cardinals.  Brad Penny allowed a couple of runs in the first, then cruised, piling up out after out, extending the streak of starters going seven and allowing two runs or less to seven games.  Matt Holliday continued his breakout of Sunday night, putting up three hits, including the game-tying two-run homer.  It was even one of those nights when it was hard to find a Goat, as the bullpen came in and kept Arizona scoreless while almost everyone had at least one hit.  If you have to give it to someone, I guess you give it to Yadier Molina, since he went 0-3 with runners in scoring position.  As I've noted though, not all Goats are created equal.

If you had said before Tuesday night that the Cardinals were going to score seven runs off of Dan Haren, I think just about everyone would have signed up for that win.  With the way this pitching staff is going, you are going to give them seven runs?  Yes, please.

Rob Neyer put out on Twitter this week a new term, disaster start.  A disaster start, if I remember correctly, is a start where the pitcher goes five innings or less and gives up more runs than innings pitched.  Kyle Lohse apparently decided to see what one of those looked like up close and personal.

The worst part of the game was the frustration factor.  The Cardinals got up two before an out was recorded, but gave it back in the bottom of the inning.  Went up two in the top of the third, gave back three in the bottom.  Scored three in the top of the fourth, allowed three in the bottom of it.  The team never stopped Arizona when they needed to.

Of course, it's always something with Lohse.  I don't say that in a derogatory way, just saying that if there's something strange, it'll be with him.  Not only did he have Bryan Anderson catching (more on that in a bit), but apparently he had major head congestion last night.  Having dealt with all the pollen and everything around here, I completely know what he's talking about (you can probably hear me hacking all the way through last night's BBA Baseball Talk), but if you were to guess which pitcher would have that happen to him, you know you'd guess Lohse.

Mitchell Boggs and Kyle McClellan stoked the bullpen worries again after they'd started to ease due to the great performances in the 20-inning affair and Monday's game.  Boggs delivered a meat pitch to Mark Reynolds who tagged a two-out homer to give Arizona the lead they'd never give up.  Plus, when you allow the opposing pitcher to get four hits, you know things aren't going your way.  The Cardinals never seemed to be able to get the third out when they needed it.

The Hero of last night's game should be Ryan Ludwick, with a three for four night including two home runs.  Even he comes with a drawback, however, as the Cards had a chance to get rid of Haren once and for all, with runners on the corners and Albert Pujols up, but Ludwick got picked off of first.  Pujols was intentionally walked and Holliday was out to end the inning. That play may have changed the complexion of the game, though it's likely that, even if the Cards had taken a lead, the bullpen would have given it right back.

Two things that I really wanted to talk about yesterday before circumstances kept me from blogging was the talk about the reliance on home runs and the captivity of Bryan Anderson.  Both are still somewhat relevant, so I'll get into those after the jump.
  Continue Reading

Looking For Some Bats

Posted on April 19, 2010 at 11:10 AM
Whatever you may think of this weekend series against the Mets, one thing is certain: it was definitely memorable.

While Saturday's game will be the most talked-about of the three contests, being the type of guy I am I have to go in order.  Besides, Friday's game had a lot of the same components as Saturday, just with a better (and shorter) ending.

Friday's Hero was, of course, Felipe Lopez for smashing the grand slam that, eventually, the Cardinals needed every bit of.  It was an unexpected jolt of offense against a Mets team that was shutting down the Cards in every aspect.

Probably the more important story line that came out of that game, though, was the re-emergence, if you will, of Chris Carpenter.  After giving up five home runs in his first two outings, and looking very bad against the Brewers last Sunday, there wasn't really concern in Cardinal Nation, more like general unease.  Is there something wrong with Carp?  Is the magic gone?

Carpenter stopped a lot of that talk before it got started, allowing just one unearned run and four hits over seven innings.  While the Mets offense has its problems as well, as we saw Saturday, it was still a legitimate effort and one that eased the minds of a lot of St. Louis fans.  It's good to know that we can still trust that, every five days, the Cardinals are going to get a great pitching performance and have a strong chance to win.

(That's a misleading statement, though.  With a rotation ERA that stands at 2.09 now, EVERY day the Cardinals are getting a great pitching performance and have a strong chance to win.  Which is an awesome feeling.)

On the down side Friday, Ryan Franklin again stirred up the embers of the negative talk directed his way.  Franklin had been efficient in his last outing, so when Fox Sports Midwest analyst Al Hrbrosky started talking about how they'd found a flaw in his delivery and they'd fixed it, I could believe that.  Until three of the first four batters reached base, that is.  Franklin eventually gave up two-thirds of the three-run lead he was staked to, but finally locked the door.  While the bullpen performed spectacularly on Saturday, the doubts are still there on some of these guys.

Then you have Saturday.

You feel like any game that goes 20 innings, you should give out two Heroes and two Goats, since you basically played two games and then some.  I should probably dedicate a whole entry to that game, to the ins and outs, to the questionable decisions made by Tony La Russa, to the highs and lows and just general craziness.  Then Nick goes out and does it better than I could anyway, so you get spared some of that.  Still, after the jump, we'll get into a little discussion about one of the games that will definitely be remembered from this year for a long time to come.
  Continue Reading

Been A Long Time

Posted on July 20, 2009 at 9:59 AM
For all of those patiently waiting for a new entry, wait no longer.  I have returned!  For all of those that didn't actually realize I was gone, ignore that intro.  Lots has happened since the last entry, so I'll try to hit the highlights.  This could be a long one, so settle in.

First off, I want to talk a little about FanFest.  I'm sad to report that, save for going in the media entrance and getting the media packet, I didn't do much with my media credentials.  If I had been there for two days or hadn't already planned to be there with my family, I think I probably would have done things differently, but as it was I spent the time going around with my wife and kids seeing all there was to see.

Hopefully many of you in the reading audience got to go to the extravaganza.  If not, you missed out on a really neat and interesting experience.  I enjoyed looking at the recreations of all the Cardinal Hall of Famers plaques and seeing the huge timeline of Cardinal history.  Being able to see a World Series trophy, MVP plaques, and other awards was incredible as well.

There were so many things to see and do.  My son enjoyed the little kids area upstairs, getting to hit off a tee and drive little cars.  He wouldn't wait in line for many things, but he and I did the third-to-home dash, which was a blast.  (Save the fact I forgot my shorts were a little loose, so I was hitching them up halfway through the dash!)

All in all, FanFest was a great experience.  Though, amazingly, not the highlight of that day....
  Continue Reading

Also on the Network:

√ Doing It The Hard Way [C70 At The Bat]
√ Bobby Jenks Saves Sox's Win Over Seattle [Tremendous Upside Potential]
√ Deadline moves [Feeling Dodger Blue]
√ Manny's impact [Feeling Dodger Blue]
√ Frustration Revisted [C70 At The Bat]
√ Not So Fast, T-Mac [Tremendous Upside Potential]
√ Payroll breakdown [Feeling Dodger Blue]

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Heroes
Matt Holliday (13)
Albert Pujols (11)
Adam Wainwright (11)
Jaime Garcia (9)
Ryan Ludwick (9)
Chris Carpenter (6)
Colby Rasmus (6)
Skip Schumaker (6)
Yadier Molina (6)
Brendan Ryan (4)
David Freese (3)
Brad Penny (3)
Blake Hawksworth (2)
Jon Jay (2)
Jason LaRue (2)
Felipe Lopez (2)
Nick Stavinoha (2)
Allen Craig (1)
Kyle McClellan (1)
Jason Motte (1)
Fernando Salas (1)

2009 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (28)
2008 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (25)

Goats
Yadier Molina (10)
Matt Holliday (8)
Brendan Ryan (8)
Albert Pujols (7)
Dennys Reyes (7)
Skip Schumaker (7)
Colby Rasmus (6)
Ryan Franklin (5)
Chris Carpenter (4)
David Freese (4)
Blake Hawksworth (4)
Kyle Lohse (4)
Ryan Ludwick (4)
Felipe Lopez (3)
Adam Wainwright (3)
Mitchell Boggs (2)
Trever Miller (2)
Jason Motte (2)
Allen Craig (1)
Jaime Garcia (1)
Tyler Greene (1)
Joe Mather (1)
Kyle McClellan (1)
Adam Ottavino (1)
Brad Penny (1)
Nick Stavinoha (1)
Jeff Suppan (1)
PJ Walters (1)
Randy Winn (1)

2009 Top Goats: Rick Ankiel and Todd Wellemeyer (13)
2008 Top Goat: Troy Glaus (13)

    Cardinal Nation Approval Ratings (March 2010)
    Albert Pujols 98.7% (up 0.8%)
    Adam Wainwright 95.6%
    Chris Carpenter 93.6%
    Yadier Molina 92.0% (down 1.4%)
    Dave Duncan 87.0% (up 2.8%)
    John Mozeliak 86.1%
    Matt Holliday 84.5%
    Bill DeWitt 83.0% (up 2.8%)
    Skip Schumaker 81.1%
    Tony La Russa 80.6% (up 1.5%)
    Mike Shannon 80.3% (down 11.3%)
    Colby Rasmus 76.8% (up 10.8%)
    John Rooney 76.2% (down 4.7%)
    Mark McGwire 73.2%
    Ryan Franklin 69.7%
    Kyle Lohse 66.8% (down 10.5%)
    Al Hrbrosky 46.2% (down 7.7%)

    2009
    Rick Ankiel 83.9%
    Chris Duncan 69.1%


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