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Recently in Arizona Diamondbacks CategoryHappily Ever AfterPosted on October 30, 2011 at 1:37 AM
Once upon a time, there was a baseball team.This baseball team wasn't the richest team, though it wasn't poor by any means. It wasn't the strongest team and it wasn't by any means the fastest team. It wasn't even considered the best team within its region, much less in all the land. This team had many players that made up its merry band. It had the Warrior, who could battle teams with amazing firepower and also could undermine them with guts and guile, depending on the situation. It had the Young Gun, a man who started building his legend early and then continued to develop it. There was the Legend, one known far and wide as the most intimidating, the most amazing, the most everything of players. Aiding the Legend was the Hired Hand, imported indirectly from the mountain tribes to help the Legend in his times of trial. To go along with these two was the Rival, a man that had started out as a fierce member of an opposing tribe, only to become a trusted member of this team. There were others, of course. The Local, the Phenom, the Lefty, the Poet, the Gunslinger, the Finisher. All sorts of names and characters made up this unique team. Every year, the Lords of Baseball held a contest in the fall of the year, when the leaves were changing and the north winds began to blow. This contest was to see just which team would be able to hold the title of Best Team and feast on the adoration of those that followed these brave and intrepid men. Teams came from far and wide, down long and winding roads, to get to the tournament, well knowing that only eight of them would be allowed inside the gates once they arrived at their destination. Filed Under: Arizona Diamondbacks
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Postseason Starts With A CurvePosted on September 30, 2011 at 6:04 PM
Tony La Russa pulled out another of his sleight of hand tricks today, stating that Chris Carpenter would be the Game 2 starter in Philadelphia, sending Carpenter out just three days after throwing a complete game shutout.There's no doubt Tony has his reasons. We talked this morning about Jaime Garcia and how he does much better at home, ruling him out of the first couple of games. It seemed fairly obvious, then, that Edwin Jackson would be the much better choice to go in the second game, until this announcement. As you've probably heard, Carpenter has never--never, mind you--gone on three days' rest in his career. Josh from Pitchers Hit Eighth and I were chatting on Google Talk this afternoon and he brought up a point that I hadn't considered, namely that Jackson is more of a fly ball pitcher. I recall him going to extremes with that in one of his last starts, as balls continued to fly deeper and deeper, but stay in the ballpark. With Philadelphia's bandbox, those balls would be much more likely to soar over the wall. However, I wanted to see if that was actually true. Pulling up his Baseball Reference page, I note that he has been a bit more likely to give up the longball since moving to the National League and that his strikeout rate has decreased. His GB/FB is 0.64 and his HR/FB% is at 6%, higher than it has been in his last couple of teams. How much of these numbers are skewed due to the beating he took in Milwaukee, I don't know, but that does have to be considered. Nevertheless, it does look like he'd be an ill fit for Philadelphia. He did not pitch in Citizens Bank Park this season and in his one career game there, he gave up five runs in five innings. I also think this is a good way for TLR to keep the pressure off of Kyle Lohse. We know that he likes to do that (look at the disastrous attempt back in 2000 with using Darryl Kile as a decoy for Rick Ankiel) and he loves to get the focus on him so that the players can do their jobs without concern. People are talking about Carpenter and whether this decision is the right one. They aren't talking about Lohse having to go up against Roy Halladay. With Lohse and Carpenter, the latter of which treats 100 pitch games are like warmups, going in enemy territory it does seem like the best way for the Cards to steal a game there and have a chance to win it at home. I'm a little worried that TLR is getting too cute with things and that these kind of moves have a tendency on backfiring, but I understand the logic and it's worth a shot. Also, per the discussion earlier today, TLR has said that Jake Westbrook will be on the postseason roster, so you can probably go ahead and cross off Eduardo Sanchez, which is too bad because I really think he could make a difference. Quick plug before I wrap this: you can hear my thoughts on the upcoming series and some on the season that's past on this Popblerd podcast. Garrett and I have known each other for a couple of years, as internet people know each other at least, and it was good to sit down and talk to him about the squad. I hope to have him on my podcast sometime this winter so we can have a chat about the San Francisco squad. Before the 2006 postseason, I remember looking at the path the Cardinals were going to take and thinking that they really had a legitimate shot. I felt like they could get past San Diego, in part because they always did. I looked at the Mets and thought that the Cards had the pitching edge in that series because Pedro Martinez was unavailable. I looked at Detroit and again thought the Cards had the edge because of their pitching and how they were playing, having everyone healthy and ready to go. I look at this 2011 postseason and, while they don't necessarily have all the edges that the 2006 squad had, I really do like their chances. Getting past Philadelphia will be tough, but it's a team that the Cards have beaten in the regular season so I don't think there will be as much of an intimidation factor as there might be with some other teams. Couple that with a fairly experienced squad and I think they can beat Philadelphia in five. I'm not sure who wins in the Arizona/Milwaukee series, but I think the Cardinals can hang with either of them. The Cards went 4-3 against Arizona and 9-9 against Milwaukee. Arizona has a big top two of Daniel Hudson and Ian Kennedy, but the Cards can counter those and have been able to get to those guys as well. As for Milwaukee, a matchup against them in the NLCS would be epic. You know it'd go seven games and all the stops would get pulled out. The Cards have proven they can beat their aces (though Yovani Gallardo can give them fits) and the Brewers have done damage against the Cards. Again, I'm not saying that the Cards would definitely win against either of those teams, but I think there's a legitimate case to be made that they could. Finally, you get to the World Series, and I don't think any team that makes it that far out of the AL doesn't have their own weaknesses. The Tigers can't throw Justin Verlander every night. The Yankees drop off after CC Sabathia. I'm not sold on the Rangers pitching (and, being that the Rays are now beating the Rangers 6-0 in a game that their ace started, there seems to be a reason) and the Rays....well, now, the Rays might make for an interesting time. They have good pitching and a solid offense to go along with it. Just on the face of it, I think Tampa Bay will be the toughest team the AL can send to the Series. I know it's optimistic, I know it's red-colored glasses, but if the Cards can get past Philadelphia (which, admittedly, is a tough but possible chore), I really like their chances. However, as the players say, we've got to take it one game at a time. And that game is tomorrow afternoon. Go Cards!  Filed Under: Arizona Diamondbacks
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Concluding The First HalfPosted on July 11, 2011 at 7:00 AM
After everything this team has been through, both with injuries and ineffectiveness (especially out of the bullpen), for them to be tied with the Brewers for first place in the division is a huge accomplishment. They split with a good Arizona team to finish up the first half, so let's take a look.Thursday (4-1 loss) Hero: David Freese. He went 1-2 with two walks in the second slot in the lineup, a pretty interesting place for him to be. With his OBP he can get on base, but if he gets a prime pitch due to Albert Pujols being behind him, he can cause some damage. Not that he'll play there that often, likely, but it's another option for the lineup construction. Goat: Lance Berkman. One of the very rare complete off nights for Berkman, as he went 0-4 with two strikeouts. One of those came with two on and one out after Matt Holliday had doubled in the only run of the night. A hit there could have made for a much different last few innings. Notes: Have to give some credit to Kyle McClellan. I'm still not sure that he's going to be able to handle the rigors of the full season in the rotation, but I said it'd be great to see him come out and give a quality start and that's what he basically did. Seven innings and three earned runs (four total) gives the team a good chance to win. That they didn't really doesn't sit on his doorstep. PJ Walters was called up to refresh the bullpen, with Brandon Dickson going down. (Also, in a surprise move, Mark Hamilton went down when they activated Gerald Laird.) Walters had a great outing in his 2011 debut, going two scoreless innings. Friday (7-6 loss) Hero: It's really a tossup, but I'll give it to Matt Holliday. Holliday went 2-5, no strikeouts, two RBI, a home run. Berkman goes 2-4, with two runs, one RBI, and a strikeout. You could go either way. Goat: Kyle Lohse. It looked like he might be able to work out of things, but the grand slam to Kelly Johnson meant that he gave up seven runs in six and a third. Hopefully a little rest at the break and he could get back closer to his early season performance. Notes: Another good "don't give up" game, as the Cards plate three in the eighth to get within a run. Obviously moral victories don't count in the standings, but as we saw the next night, sometimes those comebacks get completed. Nice outing for Raul Valdes after giving up earned runs in both of his last two appearances. Saturday (7-6 win) Hero: Albert Pujols. Tony Cruz might have had the game winning hit, but he wouldn't have had a chance without the big guy. Pujols hit his first home run since returning from the DL to tie up the game in the eighth and also went three for four on the night. Good to see him swinging the bat with authority. Goat: Chris Carpenter. Whether it's been the extra pitches he's been throwing lately or just an off night, but Carp really didn't have it. Five runs (four earned) in six is pretty tough to deal with, especially when he walked four in that span as well. Notes: Arizona had the choice of facing Cruz or Daniel Descalso in the final frame. I know Descalso has come up big at times late in games, but I think I'd have rather faced him than Cruz, who continues to show he belongs at the big league level. Great work by the bullpen. Mitchell Boggs allowed the only two batters he faced to reach (and one came around to score against Jason Motte) but other than that the pen did its job very effectively. Sunday (4-2 win) Hero: David Freese. His two-run home run was the difference in the ballgame. Goat: Ryan Theriot. 0-4 in the leadoff slot can really hamper a lineup. Notes: Jaime Garcia wasn't as sharp as we've seen him in Busch Stadium, but it was enough to get the win. Great work out of Lance Lynn as well, who is doing a fantastic job after being converted from a starter in the minors. Shelby Miller and Carlos Martinez were solid at the Futures Game. It's good to see the Cardinals have some top prospects that can hold their own against other top talent. It's a far cry from the days when players like John Gall were the top names in the minors just because they were better than a weak bunch. After the brake, the rotation will get an adjustment: Lohse, Carpenter, Jake Westbrook, Garcia, McClellan will be how it is coming out of the gate. I'm not sure what I think about that Reds series going with Lohse and Westbrook both, as a sweep could really damage the Reds quickly. That said, Garcia and McClellan (especially McClellan) could use the extra time. Colby Rasmus is working with his dad, trying to figure out what's going wrong. I checked his numbers and was surprised to see how rough the first half had been on him. Getting Rasmus going would be a huge thing for the second half. That is, assuming Rasmus is still around. The reason his sessions with his dad are news is because Tony La Russa made them that way, with the casual toss out to the media as he says Mark McGwire and company aren't to blame for Rasmus if he's not listening to them. It doesn't take much to get the Rasmus pot stirring. I still say keep him and I'd favor the young, talented player over the manager most any day, but I do think that it's becoming easier to face the possibility of moving him. There's a possibility that he won't reach his full potential in St. Louis, and there's even a chance he won't be as good as we think anyway. He won't sign a long-term deal with the Cardinals, I feel pretty confident, and while Jon Jay and Adron Chambers would be downgrades, they would be cheaper as well. With Rasmus one of the team's few good trade chips, I think you have to keep an open mind, even if I wouldn't put him on the block. Brian Tallet has kidney disease which might hamper his return. We'll have to see if he can get back to throwing soon. At least he was able to find it early, which is great. Bernie Miklasz has some positive thoughts about the second half. I'm with him--the rest of the season has the potential to be outstanding!  A Fire In The BellyPosted on July 7, 2011 at 10:26 AM
Yes, the Cardinals lost last night. However, the way they lost provides hope for the coming days.That hope doesn't come from the starting pitching, of course. Jake Westbrook had a terrible first inning, giving up five runs before getting an out. He settled down some, allowing one run in the fourth and leaving with a runner on after one was out in the fifth. That runner scored when Trever Miller proved yet again that he has no business pitching to righties (and pitching to lefties can be questionable, though he got both of them out in his appearance) by allowing a bomb to Scott Rolen. Cards were down 8-0 after the fifth and appeared that they'd be done early. The hope comes from the fact that this team stirred and rallied to tie the game on Hero Jon Jay's long ball in the ninth. It seems like it's been a while since this team rallied from very far down (more than a run or so) to win a game, especially late in a game. Early in the year they had a few games like that and, to be fair, they've won a lot of their games with early rallies or taking the lead and not getting behind, but it was just good to know that even a large lead like that wasn't insurmountable. However, Goat Raul Valdes made the comeback moot. While he walked two in the inning, he almost got away with it, having Ramon Hernandez at 0-2 with two outs. Instead of wasting a pitch or at least attempting to get him to swing at a bad one, he laid one down the middle. Hernandez doubled in a run and that was it. With Nick Punto, Tony Cruz, and Daniel Descalso set for the bottom of the 13th, that was really a crushing blow. Cruz did his part, but Jay got called out on an outside pitch for the final out. Kudos also go out to Brandon Dickson. Not only did he come into the game and two and a third innings of scoreless ball, he also got a hit at the beginning of that five-run seventh that pushed the Cards much closer. His reward may be being sent to Memphis as the Cards need a spare reliever (and Bryan Augenstein apparently didn't play in the AAA extra-inning marathon), but he did a great job in showing that he deserves playing time in the bigs. Of course, some of the focus was on the return of Albert Pujols to the lineup. Pujols wasn't able to be extremely dramatic by winning the game with a long ball. (In fact, some would snarkily say that he was obviously back since he hit into a double play in the ninth.) Still, Pujols did get one hit and hit the ball sharply at other times. It looked like he was going to have a double in the 12th before the right fielder chased it down. In other words, I don't think there's a lot to worry about with Albert. The power may not come until after the break, but he still looks good at the plate. Something that Bruce Bochy might want to think about. Eduardo Sanchez starts his rehab assignment at Springfield today with an eye toward being ready for the first series after the break in Cincinnati. It's really getting exciting to see this team finally coming together with all the parts healthy. I think they could get on a strong run in the second half, barring any more injuries. Remember, the voting for the best All-Star moment is still going. Let's get Stan some more recognition! Cards open up a four-game set with the Diamondbacks tonight as Arizona stays away from their ballpark while it gets prepared for the All-Star Game. Joe Saunders goes against Kyle McClellan. The numbers are below. Saunders vs. Cards:
McClellan vs. Diamondbacks:
 Filed Under: Arizona Diamondbacks
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Turning The TablesPosted on April 14, 2011 at 7:33 AM
It's a lot more fun to be on this side of a team scoring in every inning. Tuesday night, Arizona wasn't held scoreless until the seventh. Wednesday, the Cards got into the act, scoring in every inning until the six, with crooked numbers being the theme. Remember when the offense was a big topic of conversation? When it took three games for the Cards to score eight runs, the amount they scored in the second inning last night? Whether it's a resurgence in the offense or just a strong fondness for Chase Field and Arizona's pitching staff, either way it was a fun series for the most part. Tough to decide who the hero should be, as there was no shortage of offensive exploits. Skip Schumaker had a three-run home run. Colby Rasmus had a full night with three hits, three runs and two RBI. Albert Pujols continued to show that there's a reason not to worry about him, as he got two hits, including a double, scored three runs, and had two RBI. Even Gerald Laird, who was hitless on the season going into last night, had three hits! Talk about an offensive onslaught! All that said, I think I'll go with Lance Berkman again, as he delivered a series that likely will get him Player of the Week. Yet another home run, this time a grand slam, and another RBI tacked on for good measure. Berkman turned the game from a nice lead into a laugher, which was probably a good thing given who was on the mound. Jake Westbrook has to get the Goat tag from last night, as he was about the only person to struggle. Staked to a huge lead and you can't get out of the sixth? That's not going to be an acceptable outing. Westbrook lowered his ERA, but only because 1) it was really high to start with and 2) three of the five runs behind him were unearned, as Pujols and Theriot both made errors. Westbrook threw just over 100 pitches and recorded just one out in the sixth. While it's hard to judge a pitcher when he's pitching with the big lead, because they are often going to challenge hitters and allow a little more than they would otherwise, that's really not acceptable. If nothing else, you should throw fewer pitches with a lead like that because you are challenging guys. Put the ball in play and let your fielders make the outs. So far, Westbrook hasn't had a single good outing, being the weak spot on an otherwise solid rotation. I was encouraged when he threw two scoreless innings early on, but he's got to do more to keep a team in a ballgame, because they aren't going to score double digits every time he's out there. Matt Holliday and Ryan Theriot both hit by pitches and apparently the Cardinal starting staff didn't care for that, especially for Holliday's. BJ Rains commented on Twitter last night that a number of the pitchers were yelling at Ian Kennedy after Berkman's grand slam, in the vein of "that's what you get". The way Kennedy was throwing last night, I'm fairly sure he wasn't trying to hit people. It just doesn't sound like he had much of anything. I don't know what the players saw, whether they thought Kennedy was just frustrated or what, but that HBP loaded the bases and that's never something you want to do. One of those "had to be there" things, I guess. You can't talk about last night without mentioning Eduardo Sanchez. Sanchez made his first appearance in the majors, being activated when Brian Tallet was placed on the DL yesterday, and had a great debut, striking out five of the six batters he faced. Great start to what will hopefully be a great career. So how much did the team like Arizona? The team batting average went from .229 to .269 in the span of three games. I know it's early, but you still have to really rake to have a boost like that. Berkman went from questionable to powerful, and even Pujols seemed to get on track. You think we can just hang out there this weekend instead of heading to LA? Bernie Miklasz takes on Yadier Molina and his offensive approach. Yadi really is not looking good, but hopefully a day off yesterday can help get him on track. Or I could dog him on Twitter, like I did Laird yesterday before he went off for three hits. Cards head back to California to take on the Dodgers in another late-night tilt. (It's going to be a little strange next Tuesday when they actually play at 7:15!) If you didn't last night, I urge you to give a listen to the UCB Radio Hour, because we had Alex from Dodgerfan.net on talking about this upcoming series, as well as some social media stuff. Jaime Garcia takes the mound against the Dodgers tonight. Not surprisingly, since Garcia's only been in the league basically one year, they don't have a lot of experience with him.
Not much there to work with. The way the Dodger hitters have been going, though, Garcia's going to have to be in top form to be competitive tonight.
 Filed Under: Arizona Diamondbacks
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Mood KillerPosted on April 13, 2011 at 10:00 AM
If it's not one thing, it's another. As soon as the offense looks like it's starting to straighten out, the pitching decides it's had enough. Coming on the heels of a two-game winning streak and some revived optimism, that was a huge downer.Chris Carpenter had one of the worst outings we've seen from him in a Cardinal uniform. There was nothing he could do that would stop the Arizona attack, apparently. Even an inning where he got the first two batters out exploded on him, with a hit and a home run. All in all, a night to forget for Carp. Sunday against Los Angeles hopefully will go much better.
The more lingering results of last night could be the dent that was physically put into the bullpen. Bryan Augenstein, who an inning before had gotten his first major league hit, went down with a severe groin injury and was helped off the field yesterday. He's already been placed on the disabled list, with Fernando Salas becoming the first player from Memphis up this year. (I think most everyone had him in the pool, right.) Augenstein was looking pretty good in the early going, but I don't think the bullpen drops off much with Salas taking his slot. Brian Tallet also left yesterday hurt, and that might have more of an impact on the squad. Tallet broke his glove hand, meaning that in theory he could still pitch. Comebackers to the mound would be pretty painful, as would generally catching the ball. However, being that he's one of the two left-handers and there's not an obvious lefty from Memphis to bring up, the club is taking a bit more time to evaluate him. They'll have someone, likely Eduardo Sanchez, ready in case they decide to DL Tallet, but if he can go, they'll probably at least try to keep him around to keep the various matchup options open. If it wasn't for the implosion of Chris Carpenter, Yadier Molina might have gotten the Goat tag, as he had a couple of big chances for the Cards. In the fifth, in an 8-5 game, he wasn't able to get a two-out hit with the bases loaded and the next inning, when it was a one run game, he couldn't get it done in the same situation. Getting a hit in either one of those spots could have swung the balance of the game. On the positive side, the Lance Berkman Fan Club is going strong. Berkman gathered three hits, including another home run. Not sure if Berkman has always liked hitting in Arizona, but he sure is liking it this year. Also, in a nice sign, Albert Pujols went 3-5, perhaps showing some life. While none of them were extra base hits, the one hit I saw (didn't make it through all of this game) was hit hard past shortstop. It could be that his BABIP is starting to climb on its way to where it normally is. Good to see David Freese and Colby Rasmus with home runs as well. Last game in the hitting paradise that is Chase Field before heading over to LA and their pitcher's park. Here's what Jake Westbrook has done against the Diamondbacks.
Not a lot of exposure there. Obviously Melvin Mora has faced him often from his time in Baltimore. Figure he'll be in the lineup today. I will say that it's not a comforting thought to put Westbrook, the way has pitched so far, into this environment, no matter how unfamiliar the Arizona hitters are with him. Though if you think Westbrook is a fairly clean slate to his opposition, check out what the Cardinal hitters have done against Ian Kennedy.
 So THAT'S Where They Left The BatsPosted on April 12, 2011 at 10:33 AM
I've always heard that Arizona is a good place to hit. For one team last night, that held true. Thankfully, it was the Cardinal bats that came out of deep storage. McClellan did allow seven hits and four walks, so it wasn't all roses for him, but he did enough to get out of trouble when the situation arose. (Side note: tying into yesterday's post about scoring efficiency, yesterday would have been a Frustrating Game for the Diamondbacks, who had 12 total base runners and only 2 runs to show for it, an SE of 6. On the flip side, the Cards' SE for last night was 1.875, their best showing all year.)
On the offensive side, Lance Berkman showed that there's still something to him, bashing two home runs and driving in three runners. As Christine said, the Lance Berkman fan club was showing dividends yesterday! Jon Jay followed up the second of those with a pinch-hit home run of his own, meaning the Cards had three home runs yesterday. They had all of four in the nine games before that. It could be the bats are starting to wake up. It could also be that Arizona's a great place to hit and a great pitching staff to hit against. We also got to see good outings out of Jason Motte and Mitchell Boggs. With the late offensive surge, Ryan Franklin was sat down for the last inning and Boggs came in and struck out the side in the ninth. If that doesn't revitalize any closer controversy discussions, I'm not sure what will. If Boggs keeps running out there with solid outings, it's going to be tough for Franklin to blow many more saves and keep his job. The Goat again was Albert Pujols. While he did get a single in the ninth, he hit into yet another double play and flew out with the bases loaded and two outs when the game was closer. He still just doesn't look quite right. He's slumped before and coming roaring out of it. There's no doubt that at the end of the year we'll look back at this time and wonder what we were thinking. However, until that turnaround starts, there's going to be a lot of talk about him and what he needs to do to become Albert Pujols again. Perhaps that will start tonight. Pitching matchup. Chris Carpenter vs. the D-Backs:
Not a lot of success for those hitters, especially those that have seen him before. Kelly Johnson apparently has him figured out, but that's about it. If Carpenter can continue to throw like he has the first couple of starts, you like the Redbirds' chances.
 Getting Serious Helps Cleanse The PalatePosted on April 11, 2011 at 10:33 AM
If I'd written much this weekend, it would have been a depressing take on the state of the Cardinals today. Thankfully, Sunday came along and raised our spirits somewhat. Let's take a quick look at the San Francisco series. Hero: Ryan Theriot. Not only did he get a couple of hits, he had a great at-bat in the ninth to drive in what looked to be the game winning run. Based on some of the comments I saw on Twitter and around the internet this weekend, Theriot raised his stock significantly in the eyes of Cardinal fans. Goat: Ryan Franklin, as he blew his second save of the year. This one probably was even more painful than Opening Day, since the team had rallied in a fashion they hadn't shown so far this season and had put up their highest run total to this point. More about Franklin later. Continue ReadingIt wasn't the best outing by Jake Westbrook, not making it through the sixth while giving up three earned runs. I really hope he settles in soon, because I'm getting a little concerned that a lot of his success last season was people in the NL not knowing him, and that deficiency has been corrected. Hopefully that was not the case. Couple of interesting things out of this game. One, very interesting to see Allen Craig playing as part of a five-man infield late in the game. Worked out very well as he speared the line drive and started the 7-2-5 out. If nothing else, that saved the game for a little while. Also want to give major kudos to Bryan Augenstein. Here you are, with minimal experience in the bigs, runner on third after a double and a wild pitch. He gets two outs (one of which was the Craig play, which leads to the phrase "grounded into a fielder's choice to left field" in the play by play), but then Tony La Russa orders the bases loaded with two intentional walks. While I understand the rationale on that, I'm always a little leery when that happens. You may get the matchup you want, there's absolutely no room for error, so the pitcher has to come at the hitter a little more than usual. So often when this happens, it seems the player gets a hit or draws a walk, allowing a run to score that might not have necessarily happened if the strategy hadn't been employed. And, in fact, Augenstein started Mark DeRosa with a ball, seeming to confirm my fears. However, he battled back and got DeRosa looking on strike three. My estimation of Augenstein went way up and it looks like maybe spring wasn't a complete mirage. We'll see how long he can keep it going, but right now I don't worry too much when he gets called into a game. Finally, this game still might be going if Albert Pujols doesn't drop the third out of the 12th inning. Given that extra chance, the Giants won the game. Just exactly what is wrong with Pujols? Or is there anything? More on that in a bit as well.  Filed Under: Arizona Diamondbacks
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Playing Pepper 2011: Arizona DiamondbacksPosted on February 28, 2011 at 12:00 PM
Two years ago, I started a series I called Playing Pepper, where I asked questions of bloggers of each major league team about the season to come. Not only was that informative and entertaining, it led to the spawning of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance. With spring training coming up, it's time to get back into shape by again playing a little pepper.Arizona Diamondbacks (65-97, 27 GB and fifth place in the NL West) Arizona has had a rough time of it the last few years. They've had trouble developing a team that can compete with teams such as San Francisco and Colorado and have made their most noise when trading for the future. Scott Allen is the only Arizona member of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, writing for the Fansided blog Venom Strikes. You can follow him on Twitter as well as following his blog's page over on Facebook. After the jump, Scott talks about Ian Kennedy, Justin Upton and what to expect out in the desert this season. Continue ReadingUp And Down WeekendPosted 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.Wednesday (4-2 loss to Arizona) 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. Thursday (4-1 loss to Milwaukee) 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. Friday (5-0 win over Milwaukee) 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. Saturday (12-5 loss to Milwaukee) 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. Sunday (7-1 win over Milwaukee) 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!
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 HeroesLance Berkman (24) Albert Pujols (19) Matt Holliday (15) Chris Carpenter (10) Kyle Lohse (9) Yadier Molina (9) Ryan Theriot (8) David Freese (7) Jaime Garcia (7) Jon Jay (7) Jake Westbrook (6) Allen Craig (5) Kyle McClellan (5) Colby Rasmus (5) Edwin Jackson (4) Skip Schumaker (4) Daniel Descalso (3) Rafael Furcal (2) Gerald Laird (2) Nick Punto (2) Marc Rzepczynski (2) Fernando Salas (2) Mitchell Boggs (1) Daniel Descalso (1) Lance Lynn (1) 2010 Top Heroes: Matt Holliday and Albert Pujols (24) 2009 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (28) 2008 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (25) GoatsRyan Theriot (12) Albert Pujols (11) Jake Westbrook (10) David Freese (8) Ryan Franklin (7) Jaime Garcia (7) Fernando Salas (7) Kyle Lohse (6) Kyle McClellan (6) Colby Rasmus (6) Skip Schumaker (6) Miguel Batista (5) Chris Carpenter (5) Daniel Descalso (5) Matt Holliday (5) Jon Jay (5) Jason Motte (5) Allen Craig (4) Rafael Furcal (4) Tyler Greene (4) Yadier Molina (4) Lance Berkman (3) Mitchell Boggs (3) Gerald Laird (3) Edwin Jackson (2) Trever Miller (2) Corey Patterson (2) Marc Rzepczynski (2) Matt Carpenter (1) Maikel Cleto (1) Tony Cruz (1) Octavio Dotel (1) Mark Hamilton (1) Lance Lynn (1) Nick Punto (1) Arthur Rhodes (1) Eduardo Sanchez (1) Raul Valdes (1) PJ Walters (1) 2010 Top Goat: Brendan Ryan (14) 2009 Top Goats: Rick Ankiel and Todd Wellemeyer (13) 2008 Top Goat: Troy Glaus (13) Cardinal Nation Approval Ratings (March 2011)Adam Wainwright 94.7% (down 0.9%) Matt Holliday 91.1% (up 6.6%) Albert Pujols 90.4% (down 8.3%) Dave Duncan 87.9% (up 0.9%) Derrick Goold 87.8% Chris Carpenter 86.9% (down 6.7%) Matthew Leach 85.5% Mike Shannon 84.9% (down 4.6%) John Rooney 84.3% (up 8.1%) Yadier Molina 83.7% (down 8.3%) Colby Rasmus 81.8% (up 5.0%) Pop Warner 76.7% Jim Hayes 76.1% John Mozeliak 74.1% (down 12.0%) Ryan Franklin 72.8% (up 3.1%) Bill Dewitt 71.0% (down 12.0%) Tony La Russa 70.8% (down 10.2%) BJ Rains 70.4% Ricky Horton 69.1% John Vuch 68.9% Jeff Luhnow 66.4% Skip Schumaker 64.1% (down 17.0%) Al Hrabosky 63.2% (up 19.0%) Mark McGwire 62.5% (down 10.7%) Dan Lozano 58.7% Joe Strauss 57.5% Kyle Lohse 55.1% (down 11.7%) 2009 Rick Ankiel 83.9% Chris Duncan 69.1% Looking for St. Louis Cardinals Tickets? TicketCity is your source for New York Yankees Tickets and World Series Tickets. Looking for Cardinals tickets? Stop by OnlineSeats. We’ve got Blues seats and even Rams games. Go to the coasts as well and catch a Celtics game or get Dodgers tickets. Referrals |
