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Recently in Atlanta Braves 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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Tied For FirstPosted on September 28, 2011 at 6:34 AM
It's a phrase that Tony La Russa likes to use a lot. He may not want to say that Player A is the best, but he'll say he's "tied for first." Personally, if there's anyone out there that wants to start a Cardinal blog, "Tied For First" is a great title for it, in my opinion. Now, at least when it comes to the wild card, we can finally say that the Cards are tied for first.It sure didn't look like it was going to be that way. Jake Westbrook did his best Goat imitation, giving up five runs in less than three innings. With the score 5-0, it looked like the Cardinals, as has been their nature at times this year, had again fallen flat and missed an opportunity, as Atlanta was in the process of being stomped by the Phillies as well. However, the offense that had been dormant since the blown save against the Mets showed back up, and just in time. Immediately after allowing the Astros their runs, the Cards came back and tied the game in one inning, thanks to Skip Schumaker's bases-clearing double. I was wondering if they were able to be patient and start beating on Henry Sosa, and they finally did. When the parade of relievers started, you knew that the Cards had the advantage, and they eventually capitalized on it. We'll give Nick Punto the Hero tag for his four hit night, including a home run. (Ironically, in his first at bat I told my daughter it was unlikely he'd hit a home run since he had zero on the year. I'm doing just great with my "expert" analysis down the stretch.) He wasn't the only one that had a big night, though. Allen Craig came in for Matt Holliday and showed that there wasn't any drop off. Lance Berkman had three hits as he continued to torment his old team. Ryan Theriot had another big blow, a two-run triple that gave the Cardinals their first lead of the night. Then there's the bullpen, who did an outstanding job all the way around last night. Mitchell Boggs stopped the bleeding that Westbrook caused. Marc Rzepczynski struggled some, loading the bases with nobody out, but got a big double play and allowed only the one run. Eduardo Sanchez, who hadn't pitched in the big leagues since June, came in and was dealing, striking out two of the four batters he faced. If he's back, that's going to be a big boost during potential postseason play. Fernando Salas and Octavio Dotel were solid, and Edwin Jackson even got a chance to pitch an inning, allowing a couple of hits but not letting them score. Possibly the only disappointment, save from Westbrook's implosion (and hey, aren't we glad we have him for another year?), was the fact that Albert Pujols went 1-6 with no RBI. His average is sitting right on .300, meaning he needs probably a couple of hits to keep that mark tonight. It looks like he'll come up short on the RBI side without a big blow tonight as well. He's four for 22 since getting to 98 RBI, which either means he's pressing or he hit the worst-timed slump possible. Of course, if he cracks a two-run homer in the first, we'd all be happy. (I tried this yesterday with no luck, so we'll try it again.) AP may also get another shot at the marks, as any wild-card play-in game would count toward the regular season statistics. When the bloggers, Twitterers, and other social media types gathered in St. Louis on August 25, we thought we were just going to get a chance to enjoy a baseball game and then start a relatively boring September. Instead, 30 games later the Cardinals have enjoyed a September for the ages, a September that will be talked about in Cardinal Nation for years to come, invoked anytime a team is on the fringes of a race. "It could happen," we'll say. "Remember 2011." That said, the example will hold much more punch if the Cards can finish the job. Erasing a 10.5 game deficit is nice, but if you lose out on the final day, it's probably more devastating than if you'd lost it somewhere in the middle of the month. There's no doubt, though, that if you had to pick one pitcher on this staff to pitch in a lose-and-go-home type game, it'd be Chris Carpenter. Carpenter has the big game experience and has the deserved reputation of being able to come up big when things are on the line. With Adam Wainwright on the shelf, there's no other option that's more appealing. Carpenter has been able to shut down the Astros in his career, though there are a few of these guys he's not faced yet. Here's what the numbers look like:
That said, they've got their own weapon going tonight in Brett Myers.
St. Louis is right now living the dream. Let's just hope they don't wake up until they are popping champagne corks this evening.  Filed Under: Atlanta Braves
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A Crushing BlowPosted on September 27, 2011 at 6:31 AM
The Atlanta Braves keep trying to give the wild card away. The St. Louis Cardinals just won't take it.Knowing that Philadelphia had already disposed of the Braves, the Cards rallied late in the game, but were unable to win it in regulation. That's always a problem on the road, where one bad pitch, one bloop hit, and you are done. Which is pretty much how it happened. Even though Octavio Dotel lost the game, I don't want to give him the Goat tag. He pitched a solid ninth and gave the Cardinals another chance, plus that leadoff double in the tenth wasn't his fault, Brian Bogusevic just fended off the pitch and happened to drop it where nobody was able to get to it. Now, if he's able to field a bunt, perhaps Dotel is able to get him at third, but once there's a runner on second and nobody out, it's very tough to keep him from scoring. I think you have to look at an offensive player for the Goat in this one. Time after time the Cardinals had their chances to get some runs and take control of the game, and time after time they failed to do so. I'll give the tag to Ryan Theriot for his double play in the fourth, plus his detrimental play in the ninth, not only being unable to advance Yadier Molina from second but, since Molina was running on contact and Theriot hit the ball right to the pitcher, he eliminated a great threat with Molina being thrown out at third. Then, somehow, Theriot was unable to steal second even though he had a decent jump and Mark Melancon threw a curveball. Still not sure how that happened. David Freese's double play with nobody out in the fifth was a tough thing to take as well, as the Cards got bases loaded in that inning and just scored one. A base hit in that situation might have made for a completely different story. There still were Heroes in the game, though, most notably Lance Berkman, who came through with a two-run double to tie the game in the eighth and keep some hope alive. With any luck, the Cards would have used that to go on and win, but they were just not able to do it. To add injury to insult, it looks like Rafael Furcal won't play again in the regular season after straining a hamstring. Furcal has probably been a bit overrated in his time here in St. Louis, but that's partly because of what he was replacing. I'm guessing Nick Punto will get the start at short the next two games. Albert Pujols had a number of chances last night to add to his 98 RBI, but he wasn't able to do so even though he went 2-5 to up his average to a bit over .301. I'm afraid this is going to be like 2007, when he came up just short of getting to 100 runs. I bet he winds up with just 99 this year. Now, I'd love for him to hit a two-run homer in the first tonight and prove me wrong, but that's just my gut feeling. The Cards have to put together a two-game winning streak and probably hope for a tiebreaker game now. The Phillies aren't starting Cole Hamels tomorrow after all, instead having a bullpen game where Hamels may appear in the middle of the game somewhere. That gives the Braves a big edge and you have to assume they'll win that one if you are the Redbirds. However, tonight Derek Lowe goes for the Braves and his season has been pretty dreadful. An ERA near 5 for the season and it's over 8 for the month of September. While he could come out and give a great performance, the odds are in Philadelphia's favor tonight, which means the Cards have no choice but to win this one if they want a chance at October. Jake Westbrook is on the mound for St. Louis and he's beaten the Astros twice this season. Here are the numbers:
Henry Sosa has never faced the Cardinals, which always brings up warning flags. He's been fairly mediocre in his nine starts, with an ERA approaching five (and over it for his September work). He walks almost as many as he strikes out and his September WHIP is 1.76, so if the Cardinals are patient, they can likely put a lot of runners on. Then again, they did that last night and see what it got them. The math is simple: win or go home. Two more games, two more wins and the Cards have a chance for more than 162 games. It's time to see if they can work that problem successfully.  Filed Under: Atlanta Braves
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Happy FlightPosted on September 26, 2011 at 6:29 AM
I probably should give up on the whole making proclamations thing. Every time I go to write the Cardinals off, they (and the Braves) give us a new reason to believe.Let's talk about Saturday's wild game first. Watching that ninth inning, it reminded me of something I said at Social Media Night last month, when the players were answering who had the most underrated pitch. Daniel Descalso answered with Carlos Marmol's slider, because "you never know exactly where it's going." I responded under my breath that neither does he, and that was borne out. Winning a game because the closer walked three guys with two out, forcing in a run, then letting the winning run score on a wild pitch? That starts to look a bit like destiny, doesn't it? The Hero of that game, as much as Matt Holliday's single was big and Ryan Theriot had a great eye to tie up the game, had to be Kyle Lohse. Lohse allowed a first-inning run, but that was it, going seven innings and striking out eight. In his four September starts, Lohse is 2-0 with a 1.37 ERA, meaning the fact that he will start the tiebreaker game if one is necessary doesn't scare Cardinal fans at all. You have to give the bullpen some credit too. Just two days after the biggest meltdown in years, Octavio Dotel, Marc Rzepczynski, and Jason Motte combined for two hitless innings with three strikeouts. It's a good thing the pitching was so solid, because the offense sure wasn't going to keep them in the ballgame. A grand total of five hits, so Rafael Furcal gets the Goat for going 0-4 in the leadoff role. It's a good thing Albert Pujols pushed his batting average so far over .300, because after Saturday and Sunday, he needed all that he could get. Sunday's game again was an offensive struggle, as Randy Wells kept the Cardinals mainly in check. When your only run before the seventh comes on a sacrifice fly by the pitcher, it's not a hot day for the bats. However, if Rafael Furcal got to be the Goat on Saturday, there's no doubt he was a Hero on Sunday. His eighth-inning blast ignited the crowd, tightened up a Braves team that had already lost, and after Motte slammed the door hard on the Cubbies, put St. Louis one game behind the Braves with three games left to play. When John Mozeliak made the deal for Furcal, I don't think anyone expected six home runs out of him in the short time he was in St. Louis. (No one expected 10 errors, either, but that's a discussion we've already had.) If the Cardinals do go on to the postseason, that jolt will be one that is remembered for a long time to come. Of course, you don't get to that moment without Yadier Molina hitting his own home run in the seventh or Edwin Jackson continuing to dodge trouble through seven innings. Jackson continued to get fly ball after fly ball that continued to get deeper and deeper, but they stayed in the park and were usually caught, so he only gave up two runs over seven. The same bullpen guys from Saturday were used Sunday with the same results and the Cardinals were staying alive. Sadly, in what could have been his last home game in the Cardinal whites, Albert Pujols probably gets the Goat. His 0-4 dropped his average to right at .300 and he hit into another double play, though granted it was a ball that looked like a hit and Furcal got doubled off of second. Still, that wasn't want the fans were hoping for, but it didn't matter. They gave him standing ovations every time he came to the plate, encouraging him to stay in St. Louis. I'll write a post soon about why I think he will keep wearing the birds on the bat, if only so I can refer to it and not continue to outline it all winter long. So the Cards had a "happy flight", as their terminology has evolved this year, down to Houston after the game. The team was wearing Hawaiian shirts and staying pretty loose. Still, while many fans are excited about the Cards playing the worst team in baseball while the Braves are playing the best, there are reasons to be guarded. First off, though the Cardinals are doing better this month against teams that are sub-.500, they've struggled with them in the past. Couple that with Houston playing better ball recently and it's a trap series waiting to happen. The pitching matchups are as definitively in St. Louis's favor, either. The Cardinals face Wandy Rodriguez tonight, who has been a Cardinal killer in the past. If the good Jaime Garcia shows up, the Cards probably can hang in there, but it's a battle. Then, Tuesday night it's Jake Westbrook, who has been very frustrating down the stretch, against Henry Sosa, who is an unknown that could bedevil the Cards. If you get to Wednesday needing a win, though, you've got Chris Carpenter vs. Brett Myers, which does seem to tip in the Cardinals' direction. Secondly, while Philadelphia is not going to lay down for the Braves and they are obviously going to try to win this series, it's not going to hurt their feelings if they lose. They aren't going to send Cliff Lee out there for a complete game and they may try a couple of relievers in later innings as they try to decide on their postseason roster. Plus, if they lose the series and the Braves get in, Philadelphia starts off with either Milwaukee or Arizona. If they win the series and the Cardinals make it to the postseason, the Phillies host the only team that's beaten them in a season series this year and a team that just took three of four from them a couple of weeks ago. Who would you rather face? Just for reference, the pitching matchups in that series are Lee vs. Randall Delgado, Roy Oswalt vs. Derek Lowe, and Cole Hamels vs. Tim Hudson. If the Philadelphia offense can get going, the Phillies should be able to take that series and a sweep is even possible. While the Cards would rather be one up with three to play, they are in a solid position and the fact that the tiebreaker game is at Busch also helps them quite a bit. It's been a long time since the last series of the year meant much of anything to the Cards (2006, I'd say, and I don't know when before that) and it'll be fun to see how it comes out. Jaime Garcia, as noted, throws tonight in Houston. Here's what he's done against the 'Stros:
Wandy Rodriguez's numbers against the Cardinals:
The team that averaged over six runs a game against the Mets only scored a total of six runs against the Cubs, but they won both series. Hopefully the former team will show up the next three days. If nothing else, there's still meaningful baseball!  Filed Under: Atlanta Braves
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Sucker PunchPosted on September 23, 2011 at 10:03 AM
Before we get started, if you are looking for the Chicago YNOT, it's below. If you've not played before, go ahead and give it a shot!Of course, just about anything is preferable to talking about yesterday's game. I think I saw on Twitter it's the first time they'd coughed up a four-run lead in the ninth at home since 1998. Even with all the bullpen problems from this year, it just doesn't happen much. All the momentum, all the buzz, all the excitement took a major body blow yesterday afternoon. The Cards were just a couple of outs away from pulling within one game of Atlanta, with a very solid chance of tying them for the wild card today. The pressure was on the Braves, everything was going the Cardinals way. This was going to be a September long remembered. And then the ninth happened. The Goat tag is going to go to Jason Motte, because when it comes down to it he didn't get the job done. However, there's a lot of blame to go around in that ninth, starting with Tony La Russa. La Russa's idea that he wasn't going to let the Mets get back into it, that he was going for the closer in a four-run lead, just doesn't hold water for me. He didn't go get Motte after he'd loaded the bases, even though he'd thrown a lot of pitches and didn't look sharp. Which I guess if you are committed to him, waiting to see if he couldn't get a fly ball or a double play and pretty much get out of it. Still, sending Motte out there was pretty irresponsible. He'd thrown an inning and a third the night before (and gave up a run), he'd thrown 2/3 of an inning on Monday (ineffectively, giving up two runs and getting yanked) and he'd thrown again on Friday, giving up an unearned run. You have to go back over a week to have a clean outing from him. You've got a four run lead and a closer that's looking gassed--use the other arms. That'd been a great time to use Fernando Salas--even though Salas has been used some lately, he'd had a day off and his last two outings were clean. Salas had troubles in this one and got the blown save, but he came into a bases-loaded, one-out situation that was spiraling quickly out of control instead of starting off an inning. For that matter, Mitchell Boggs, the forgotten man in the bullpen, would have been a perfect choice. Have Motte or Salas warm up behind him if you don't trust him, but he's pitched once since Labor Day. Four runs shouldn't be a situation that you can't manage to stem, especially if you keep some of your bullets for later on. Remember, Boggs used to be a closer (OK, that was for like two days, but still) and has some pretty tolerable outings. He gives up a run a little more often than you'd like, but you have a four run lead. It's worth a chance there. Of course, if Rafael Furcal could catch a ball, we might not be having this conversation. I mentioned yesterday that he's playing like he's a double agent for the Braves, being that he started his career there. Save his leadoff double, nothing from yesterday did anything to sway that opinion. The whole reason Furcal is out there, the whole reason John Mozeliak traded for him, was the fact that he could play defense. Now he's made 10 errors as a Cardinal and has a fielding percentage of .957. Now, I know FP is about the most basic and not all that accurate way of measuring defense and his range factor per 9 for St. Louis is one of his highest in his career, but still, 10 errors? Ryan Theriot made 17, but in 91 games at short. Furcal has played 47. Furcal is an upgrade, of course, but lately he's been lacking at the one thing that he's got to be good at. You have to think that two botched plays in back to back days that lead to huge rallies for the other team will not go over well with the front office as they consider a Furcal extension. In fact, Mozeliak on the radio yesterday before the game indicated that, after the Lance Berkman signing (and more on that in a bit) they probably weren't going to do anything else until after the season. You can look at that and say that they don't want to interfere with this last week, but I think, being that they were very gung ho on an extension earlier in the month, that you can also read that as a waning of confidence in Furcal. There were good things in yesterday's game, of course. The Hero would be Allen Craig, I think. I thought his two run home run in the first was going to be the catalyst to a runaway game. It wasn't quite that way, though the Cards did score six and have chances for more, but I don't think any blame can be put on Craig's shoulders. Yadier Molina also had a big game, getting to a new high in RBI after putting two more in the stat sheet. Albert Pujols went deep for his only hit, getting him to 98 RBI. Just two more, and with his average still at .304, there's a good chance he'll hit his milestones. Can I tell you what I'm afraid of? Momentum is huge. You see it in all the sports, but here's the example from baseball. You've seen a team get down 9-2 early on, but they chip away, then they have a big sixth inning. A couple of runs score, they are down 9-7, with the bases loaded and one out. Everything is going their way and it looks like they are unstoppable. Then the batter raps into a double play. Everything drains out of the team and, even though they are just down two now instead of seven, their chance is gone and they wind up losing by that score or perhaps a couple of more. Everything turned on that one at-bat. Is that what happened yesterday? I don't know. I hope not. However, momentum is a crazy thing at times. A win in that one and the energy, the excitement, everything builds for tonight with Chris Carpenter going against the Cubs and the Braves having to deal with Stephen Strasburg. Now, even if those things go the Cards way, they are still one game out with just five more to play. It feels different, it feels harder, it feels like things have slipped through their fingers. I also am just not sure that the Cards can lose another one. If the Cards go 6-0, the Braves can go 4-2 for the tiebreaking game. That's tough for them when they face Philly and a Nationals team that has been difficult for them in the past. If the Cards go 5-1, the Braves can go 3-3, which seems much more doable. The Cards don't want that tiebreaker game anyway, because going into Philadelphia (if they won it) with your rotation a little out of kilter and the bullpen not rested isn't exactly the best recipe for success. A sweep of the Cubs this weekend with the Braves losing two of three and I'd feel a lot more comfortable, but I think the math just got a lot tougher with yesterday's loss. Now, the Cards could go easily 6-0 if they can bounce back. Having Carpenter on the mound tonight will help with the momentum, assuming he can have another one of his big games. The buzz and energy will be back if they can pull it back within one. The Cubs and Astros were long ago eliminated as relevant. There's a great chance they can put together that kind of run, but remember one thing. The Cards have only won 5 in a row once this year. Yesterday would have been the second time, and we see how that worked out. St. Louis made other news yesterday, of course, resigning Berkman to a one-year deal. A $12 million deal, which is probably less than he'd have gotten on the free agent market. I like the deal--I've enjoyed having Berkman on the team, but it doesn't lock the team up like the Jake Westbrook and Kyle Lohse deals have. If Berkman's resurgence this year was a temporary thing, the Cards can get out from under it after next season. If it wasn't, I wouldn't be surprised for another one-year deal. That said, there were some on Twitter that expressed some discontent with this, saying that Allen Craig deserves a full-time slot. I can't argue much with that, as Craig has proven he can hit and is definitely worthy of being a starter in the big leagues. And, of course, if Albert walks this offseason, Craig would be the starter in right as Berkman would move to first, but I don't think any of us want to entertain Pujols somewhere else. Apparently, though, Mozeliak talked to Craig before the deal was announced and told him they expected to get him regular at-bats at first, left and right, with center and second up to the manager. If Tony's back next year, I think you'll see Craig on a regular basis, moving around the diamond like a souped-up Secret Weapon. Cubs are in town tonight. If you have to bounce back from a crushing defeat, it's good to have the ace on the hill. Here's Carpenter against the Cubbies:
Cards get to face Ryan Dempster. The numbers:
Could be a fun one this evening. It's a must-win, so let's see the Cards win it!  Filed Under: Atlanta Braves
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Could It Be?Posted on September 22, 2011 at 6:55 AM
On August 25th, the Cards stood 10.5 out of the wild card race. The team had never put together any kind of run and both the team and the fanbase seemed to be in a general malaise, just waiting for October to get here. Now, here we are less than a month later and that same team that never could put together a run, who didn't know what momentum meant even if they had a dictionary, that team is now just a game and a half behind the Atlanta Braves for a playoff slot. Say what? The whole mindset of this team and the fans has changed. The last couple of nights, especially last night, when the Cards have gotten down the thought hasn't been "well, they are doomed" but more "how are they going to win this one." A team that you used to could count out if they were down in the early innings now is much more likely to actually "play a hard nine." As our hero David Freese said, "Losing is not an option, and we know that." Not only do they know it, but they are actually doing something about it. Freese's three-run home run (plus his two-run triple earlier in the game) give him the Hero tag, of course, but for the second straight night it's an Albert Pujols two-out base hit in the seventh that gets the winning rally started. Two batters later, the Cards are winning and Busch Stadium is going nuts. It was also a two-out rally in the first that Pujols started. It just shows that this lineup, like we thought back in the spring and now are finally seeing, really doesn't have many holes. Even getting two outs quickly doesn't guarantee a pitcher an easy inning. Good night for Yadier Molina as well, as he got two hits to get his average to an even .300. You also have to really appreciate Jaime Garcia. He had a glitch in the third where he gave up four runs, though an error was the largest reason behind that. Garcia did show his customary trouble, though, unable to finish off after something had gone wrong behind him. After the third, though, he got back on track and went into the eighth, resting the bullpen and keeping the Cards in it. The Goat has to be Rafael Furcal. Not only did he go 0-3 in the leadoff slot, but it was his error that allowed the Mets their runs. If he can pick up that grounder, the Mets are scoreless for most of the game. He didn't and for a while there that looked like it could have been the difference between a win and a loss. He's not a double agent for his old Atlanta team, is he? Something I heard on the FSMW broadcast last night really stunned me. Furcal has nine errors since coming to the Cardinals. Nine in seven weeks seems like an awful lot to me. Sure, Furcal has made plays that Ryan Theriot or anyone else that spent time at short wouldn't have made and it's possible that some of those errors are on balls the others wouldn't even get to, but it also seems like a few of those errors have been on routine balls. Which would be more tolerable if he was hitting, of course. He is somewhat--he's at .260 with a shocking six home runs since joining the Cards--but I'm not sure if that's enough for what the Cards are looking for out of him. The move was defense first, and if the defense is slipping, that could be a problem. I'm not saying that you remove him in this last week, far from it, but it may be that the Cards don't want to get that enamored of signing him to an extension. Jason Motte has also struggled a little bit lately, as he gave up a home run to Willie Harris. (By the by, that catch Harris made on Lance Berkman's rope with the bases loaded was huge, especially when it looked like it might have made the difference in the game.) Motte's struggles are a bit worrisome as you never want to cough up a lead in the postseason, but hopefully it's just a temporary glitch. I also don't think Tony La Russa has any compunction about removing Motte at the first sign of struggle, knowing how important these games are. Cardinals' odds are still slim--they are at 18.3% or 34.6%, depending on which site you want to use--but being that they were down around 1% at the beginning of this run, you have to like the increase. They are definitely tracking in the right direction. Atlanta is off today, so you know that Fox Sports Midwest is going to have a few extra viewers for this afternoon tilt against the Mets. (How tough is it for Braves fans to root for the New York squad, huh?) The Cardinals send out Jake Westbrook to see if they can't pull within a single game of the Bravos. Here's Westbrook's numbers against these guys:
Chris Capuano goes for the Mets. The Cards saw a lot of him when he was in Milwaukee and, well, they liked what they saw.....
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