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Big Win in Philly

Posted on July 9, 2008 at 7:47 AM
The Cardinals showed last night that the road doesn't intimidate them this year.  They've struggled away from Busch the last couple of years, but this year they can beat people anywhere.  In fact, they have the best road record in the National League, one of only two NL teams (Philadelphia is the other) with a winning record on the road.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Holiday Happenings

Posted on July 7, 2008 at 8:10 AM
I really did mean to get to the computer this holiday weekend, but it didn't happen.  Let's take a look at the games in our own special way and then hit some of the other happenings.

Thursday
Hero: Yadier Molina.  Two hits, including a double.  There wasn't much to choose from in this game.
Goat: Mitchell Boggs.  Give up 10 runs, you probably are going to get the goat.

Friday
Hero: Albert Pujols.  #300 and the only run the Cardinals scored.
Goat: Troy Glaus.  Popping out with two on and one out and striking out (even if umpire-aided) to start the ninth.

Saturday:
Hero: Rick Ankiel.  Home run and game winning hit.
Goat: Troy Glaus.  0-4 with 3 K.

Sunday:
Hero: Adam Kennedy.  Two hits are pretty nice for a guy that didn't even start.
Goat: Russ Springer.  Could have chosen any of the pitchers, but two runs in an inning pretty much put the game out of reach.

Some big shifts in the roster on Sunday.  Brian Barton goes on the DL with a hand injury.  How realistic this injury is remains debatable, since it allows the Cards to put the Rule V player on the DL and not lose him.  We'll see if he's back before September.  Joe Mather comes up to take his slot.  Cesar Izturis is back, as Boggs takes that beating and works on it in Memphis.

And, of course, the big news is that Mark Mulder is going to start.  Which is not all that bad of an idea, but the execution leaves a little something to be desired.  I mean, to start him against that offense in that park?  I know that there is a day off today and the All-Star Break is coming (congrats to AP and Ludwick for their nods) but it seems like the bullpen is going to get a lot of work this week.  Even in a best-case scenario, he can't go past five innings, can he?

And what to do with Wellemeyer?  It is starting to look like he's coming back to earth.

Gotta run, unfortunately.  Try to do better tomorrow.

Not Quite "Lonborg and Champagne", but We'll Take It

Posted on June 25, 2008 at 10:11 AM

This blog's title is a reference to the famous Boston Globe headline before Game 7 of the 1967 World Series.  Jim Lonborg had already beaten the Cardinals twice in that series, throwing 2 complete games, allowing a total of 4 hits and a run.  Of course, allowing his opponent, Bob Gibson, to see that headline before the game was probably the worst thing the Red Sox could have done; Gibby dominated, and the Cardinals tasted the bubbly.

I was reminded of that when Mickey Lolich trotted out to throw out the first pitch, especially considering the Cardinals had one only once at Comerica since 2000 (but what a once - Game 1 of the '06 World Series).

The result?  The boys won their third game of the road trip, 8-4 over them Tigers.  The game had chills (Cabrera's home run that wasn't), thrills (Schumaker's pinch hit 2-RBI single in the sixth) and head scratchers (how did Barton get caught off third in the first?).  But what matters is the Redbirds FINALLY picked up a game on the Cubs.  It's been 3 weeks (since June 7, specifically) since they gained ground on Chicago.  Let's hope they don't have to wait another 3 weeks to pick up another game.

Heroes and Goats:  it's tough today.  Since LaRussa pegged Brendan Ryan "the star of the game" I won't disagree with him.  Brendan had a nice multi-hit game, and his two-RBI double in the seventh iced the game.  Goat:  We'll go with Brian Barton (tough call) and Rick Ankiel (not so tough) for getting caught off/picked off, respectively, on the basepaths.

Other news/notes:  Albert Pujols' rehab is going well, and he may return as DH in this series.  Otherwise we'll see him in the KC series this weekend.  LaRussa thinks any infielder can play first, an interesting opinion I don't agree with (there's a lot of footwork required around the bag that most people don't think about), although you can't argue with the results (Kennedy played well last night).  Mark Mulder's next rehab step is uncertain. 

One final thing:  Get out and VOTE for our all-stars.  25 votes per email address and as many as you can fill out at the ballpark.  Ryan Ludwick, Albert, and Yadier should be all-stars this season; don't leave it up to Clint Hurdle to have them added to the roster.

Not Part of the Script

Posted on June 19, 2008 at 8:48 AM
Hang on just a minute.  Something's not right.  The Cards lost last night?  They lost the series?  They aren't supposed to do that!  They were supposed to win the next two and keep the pattern going.  Instead, they lost a series for the first time since the Pittsburgh series May 13-15.  They've only lost four series all year, which is pretty impressive for this team as well.  I don't believe what I just saw.

I've never been a huge Braden Looper fan, but after his last couple of outings, you can't do much more than stand up and applaud.  I was afraid that he'd come out a little weaker, a little down after his complete game last time around, but instead he threw up more zeros before allowing a run in the seventh.

Unfortunately, the bullpen did it again.  This time, it was the fairly reliable Kyle McClellan serving up home runs to a non-home run hitting team.  The Cards continued to struggle mustering offense and so, at the end of two games with a last place team, they've scored a total of three runs and have two losses to show for it.

More agonizing, the Cubs have lost the last two nights as well.  The Cards could easily be sitting 1.5 out and knocking on the door.  With Zambrano possibly out, the Cubs could almost have the same problem the Cards did, losing their best player (well, Soriano may not be the best, but he's close) and their top pitcher at the same time.  We will see if the Cards can go crazy while the Big Crazy is out, if he is.

So the Cards have to try to avoid their first sweep of the year this afternoon.  Apparently, though, the pitching injury bug is contagious, with Anthony Reyes being scratched and placed on the DL while Brad Thompson will be activated and get the start.   Thompson in general doesn't necessarily inspire confidence in the fanbase, which makes this quote a little on the scary side:

"Easy call," manager Tony La Russa said. "Never ever risk a pitcher. ... We don't have a lot of innings (available from the bullpen), so we're going to have to get something from Brad."
It is mind-boggling that Reyes was within 24 hours of making his first start and then has to be put on the DL.  It seems a little strange in my mind, when you see what Reyes was saying:

"This is nothing serious," Reyes said. "The velocity has been the same. The command is the same. I wasn't sore after the games.
Apparently the thought was that he might get hurt and they didn't have the bullpen available to back him up.  I guess it's just a coincidence that it is Reyes that this happens to, but boy, is he cursed in St. Louis or what?

Thompson has seen the Royals before and the results have been less than inspiring.  Granted, no one has more than 9 plate appearances against him and nobody's gone yard, but a cumulative .280 average could be a problem today.  Zack Greinke goes for the Royals and the Cards have had success against him in limited appearances.  Greinke's not been the same pitcher he was the last couple of years, though, so it could be a tougher road to hoe.

One thing that didn't get a lot of mention yesterday and something that I honestly hadn't realized was upon us yet until FSN's montage last night, was that yesterday was the sixth anniversary of the death of Jack Buck.  That year of 2002, with his passing and then the shocking death of Darryl Kile just four days later, seems so much more recent than over half a decade past.  That is why I've sprinkled a few of Jack's better known calls in this entry.

That'll do it for me.  Mike takes the reins tomorrow and lifts the blog to new heights for a week.  We'll see you tomorrow night!  (Well, the 30th, but that doesn't have the ring, does it?)

Sand, Surf and Slugging

Posted on May 20, 2008 at 9:13 AM
Hey, isn't Petco supposed to be a pitcher's park?

I have to admit, I was a little concerned about last night's game.  All the pieces seemed to be in place for a Cardinal win, but those are the kind of games that tend to come up and bite this team.  From the get-go last night, though, it was apparent that neither the travel or the team was going to hold the Cardinals back.

Honestly, I wanted to give the Hero award to Cesar Izturis.  There was plenty of shock when I saw Gameday record his first home run of the year.  I personally savaged this deal in the spring, when Izturis was flubbing a ball a day and recording more errors than hits.  Even now, he can be a whipping boy for some fans.  But he's posting a .263 average right now, which is well more than most of us expected on the year.  He was hitting .186 on April 27.  Since then, he's gone 18-54 (.333) and now with a surprising home run.  You figure he'll slow down soon, but he's already proven that John Mozeliak might have a little idea what he's doing.

Still, when a guy slugs two home runs, both moon shots and one of which may not have landed yet, you gotta go with him.  Albert Pujols continues to show that he isn't to be challenged, though Ryan Ludwick is making it difficult for teams to bypass him.  Any surprise, then, that Pujols has three home runs in three games?

A little tough to find a Goat in yesterday's battle.  Wellemeyer pitched another stellar game and the bullpen kept everything in line.  Most everyone contributed something to the game.  (Gotta love--well, he might not--Yadi's bases-loaded HBP.  Takin' one for the team!)  So, for his 0-4 (even though he did draw a walk), the Goat goes to Adam Kennedy.

Not only is the press starting to rip on the Padres, the GM is getting into the act as well.  Which may mean a fired up squad comes out to play tonight.  The Cardinals will do well to not take them for granted, especially with the future Hall of Famer on the mound.

Greg Maddux has faced the Cardinals, as a team, numerous times.  Compared to the recent starters the Redbirds have faced, they are old friends with Maddux, but even then there are a number of players that haven't faced him or have faced him less than 10 times.  Pujols has been able to hit him well and surprisingly both Jason LaRue and Izturis have good averages against him as well.  It's always good to see Maddux play--he's been one of my favorites for years--but hopefully the Cards can get to him early.

Going for St. Louis is Joel Pineiro.  Pineiro has a solid body of work against the current Friars, but nothing dramatic.  Josh Bard will probably get the start as he's hit Pineiro well in the past.   Pineiro hasn't be quite on top of his game the last couple of outings, but hopefully the big park will help him keep the score down.

Some general notes:  I was half-watching highlights last night when I saw a Cubs outfielder make a great play with his back to the infield on Tal's Hill there in Houston.  I thought, "Hey, that's kinda like a play that Edmonds made for the Cardinals."  It didn't register with me until they showed him jogging off that it actually was Edmonds.  Having him in Cub blue is just so terribly wrong.

Did you see this part of the PD article about Stan the Man?  Personally, I think it's pretty neat:

Asked if Pujols, an avowed fan of Musial's career, could break his records, Musial said, "He has a chance to. He loves baseball, he's a good first baseman. ... You know the first time I saw Albert Pujols? He gave me a big hug and kissed me on the forehead."
Congrats to Jon Lester on his no-hitter.  Very impressive, especially considering where he was just a couple of years ago.   The only downside: more Boston talk.  I mean, c'mon, let's spread the no-hitters around, can we?

Note that Mark Mulder is having his rehab delayed.  At least it looks like it was something instead of just the Cardinals playing around with technicalities. Don over at The Redbird Blog talked about the injury situation with the Cardinals and how it is such an unnecessary mess.  It appears that Rick Ankiel might be ready to go tomorrow, but if not, it seems like the Cardinals are doing one of their trademark moves, playing short for a long length of time when it'd be better for the player to go on the DL.  He's missed three games so far, so it's not a big deal.  If he's not back in the lineup by Friday, though, it might have been better to bring up Joe Mather.

If you are enjoy the blog and want to add it to your personal site, use this widget and, boom, C70 headlines will be there.  And if anyone out there has an extra Stan Musial statue from this Sunday and would like to part with it, e-mail me and let me know if we can work something out!

Cards Win! Cards Win!

Posted on May 5, 2008 at 9:56 AM
Let's take a quick look at the Heroes and Goats of the successful series against those Cubbies before moving on to the Rockies series that starts tonight.

Friday's game should have been a lot less stressful than it was.  I don't think anyone would argue that the latest Jason Isringhausen meltdown would give him Goat status again.  Allowing two runs in the ninth to a divisional rival, risking a game that was won, is not good at all.  And it raised worries that he's hurt again, which would be pretty bad for the Cardinals, though LaRussa would probably move Kyle McClellan into that role.  Honorable mentions: Troy Glaus (0-5, 2 K, 4 LOB) and Cesar Izturis (1-5, 1 K, 5 LOB).

When you win a game with a home run in the eleventh inning, you pretty much assure yourself of Hero status.  So, Skip Schumaker, congrats on being Friday's Hero!  Honorables: Yadier Molina (2-4, 2 RBI), Adam Wainwright (6.1 IP, 1 ER, 5 K).

Saturday's game was well-dissected by the United Cardinal Bloggers.  Kyle Lohse's rough inning plus the fact that Russ Springer couldn't stop the runners from scoring made for a tougher decision, but the starter gave up more and has to take a lot of the blame for that game.  Ugly results there.  On the Hero side, I'll go with Yadier Molina, with a 2-3, HR outing.

I got to watch a lot of last night's game, my first extended look at the Cardinals since Tuesday.  I will say I was a little surprised that LaRussa pulled Wellemeyer when he did, but with him reaching close to 100 pitches, I guess it wasn't much of a stretch at all.  McClellan looked good in his first inning, but the next thing I know the bases are loaded.  For the Cards to get out of that jam with only one run allowed was pretty impressive.  And it was great to see Izzy come back and be effective.

Our Hero, though, has to be Adam Kennedy.  Not only does go 2-2 with 2 walks and drive in the insurance run, but he's the headline of the Post-Dispatch, and who am I to argue with Joe Strauss?  Goat, I believe, would be Rick Ankiel, who went 0-3, left three on and at least twice popped up in the infield.  Rick's a streaky guy, but I hope he's not heading on the downside of his streaks now that the Cards are going on the road, a place where he's not hit much in his career.

So the Cards win the series against the Cubs, which gives you a nice warm glow even when first place isn't on the line, but is even better when it gives the Cardinals a 1.5 game lead in the NL Central.

Amidst all this, though, you have the news that Anthony Reyes has been sent down to Memphis.  Looks like Duncan and LaRussa have won this round.  Obviously, he was just being used as a mopup type pitcher, which gave him irregular work.  And this lack of work is blamed on him not being sharp.  Vicious cycle there.

I think Reyes can be a decent pitcher and I'd like to see him do it in St. Louis, but I think it's become obvious that if he's ever going to reach any potential, he's going to have to do it in a different organization.  As long as John Mozeliak isn't going to give him away--and rumor has it he hasn't been looking to so far--I think most in Cardinal Nation will accept a deal.

The Cardinals don't get a chance to savor the series win, though, because they head out on an eight-game road trip to Colorado and Milwaukee for the rare back-to-back four-game series.  I'm not sure the last time the Cards had that kind of road trip, but hopefully they'll play better than their 6-5 current road record.

Joel Pineiro is scheduled to go for the Cardinals, though his back has been bothering him and recently called-up Mike Parisi could go.  Assuming Pineiro is fine, though, the Rockies might be glad to see him.  He missed the season-opening series against this team, but in extremely limited action (only one person has more than 3 ABs against him), the Rockies hitters have been able to put the wood on the ball.  All of these appearances seem to have been in interleague play when Pineiro was with the Mariners and then the Red Sox and they have not seen him since his resurgence in the National League.

Ubaldo Jimenez goes for the Rockies.  He faced the Cardinals back in April, his only appearance against the team.  The Cardinals won that game 3-0 and Jimenez allowed three runs (and five walks, foreshadowing the coming trend) in five innings.  If he's that erratic tonight, the Cardinals might pull out another one.

UCB Game Blog: Post-Game

Posted on May 3, 2008 at 10:34 PM
The pre-game post with all the links is below.  Thanks to all the bloggers that participated--it was a lot of fun to read through the different innings!

I didn't actually watch the game, being busy with various other duties (I could totally relate, to some degree, to the first inning being split between the game and family at Stan Musial's Stance!) but it sounds like a couple of blowups that, against lesser teams, the Cardinals might have been to escape from relatively unscathed snowballed against a potent Cubs offense.

I really was struck with what Bryan said in his sixth inning at Rockin' the Red about Lohse's low K rate.  I can definitely see that catching up with him as the competition level continues to rise.

Nice to see Yadi and Pujols go deep.  Glad that I swapped with Tom and didn't actually have to do the fourth inning as well!

All in all, I'd like to have seen a better game for us to blog, but it was fun nonetheless.  And now, time to start planning the next UCB event..........

UCB Game Blog: Pre-Game

Posted on May 3, 2008 at 12:00 AM
The United Cardinal Bloggers proudly present history in the making.  The first ever progressive game blog (that we know of).  Consider me a less attractive Jeanne Zelasko or a fairly strong representation of Pat Parris from FSN as we get started with today's game.  For navigation purposes, here are the blogs participating.  (Direct links will be added when the posts go up.)

First inning: Stan Musial's Stance (posted)
Second inning: The Cardinal Virtue (posted)
Third inning: Mike on the Cards (posted)
Fourth inning: CardinalsGM (posted)
Fifth inning: CardinalNationGlobe (posted)
Sixth inning: Rockin' the Red (posted)
Seventh inning: Fungoes (up, but Friday's game)
Eighth inning: The Redbird Blog (posted)
Ninth inning: Redbird Ramblings (posted)

Extra-innings and a post-game wrap will be here on this blog after the game has concluded.

And now, to today's game.

The Cardinals and Cubs have a fairly unique rivalry.  It's not one born out of knocking each other out of the playoffs or meeting up in October, like the Yankees and Red Sox or even the Giants and Dodgers from their New York days.  There's not a lot of flat-out hatred of the other side, though some people of course do feel that way.  The Cardinal fans do rejoice in the inevitable collapse of the Cubs, whether it be Durham's glove, Bartman's "catch" or Gonzalez's boot, but it doesn't come across as as much of a life and death struggle as some other matchups due, especially the well-covered rivalry in the Northeast.

I've admitted that, while I have friends that are Cub fans, I'm not much on the team.  There won't be any disappointment in this quarter if and when the 100th anniversary of their last World Series win (and hopefully 105, 110, 125....) rolls around.

However, it's likely that the Cubs are going to be in the NL Central race all year long.  Which would make 2008 an even sweeter year if the Cardinals are able to keep this up.

The Cardinals come into the game riding a three-game winning streak, taking the series from Cincinnati after dropping the first game and weathering another Izzy meltdown to win in extra innings.  The Cubs are coming off a wild series in Milwaukee, losing the first, torching the Brewers in the second, then losing the third when Kerry Wood gave up three runs in the ninth before losing to a Skip Schumaker home run on Friday.

Your pitchers today are Ted Lilly and Kyle Lohse.  Lilly was chased after by the Cardinals in the 2006 offseason and numerous fans thought that the team should have signed him.  He had a decent year with the Cubs in 2007, but is having a rough year this year, posting a 6.46 ERA in April.  He's had his problems with the Cardinals as well.  Albert Pujols has hit him well, which isn't surprising, but seeing that Adam Kennedy is the only other one with a home run off of Lilly is.

Lohse has dealt with some of these Cub batters before, with little success.  Mark DeRosa wears him out, posting a .545 average against him.  Small sample size on all of the Cubs, though, as DeRosa is the only one with more than 7 ABs against him.  Lohse won't have to worry about one of the Cubs that has a home run off of him, since it's unlikely Carlos Zambrano will do much pinch-hitting. 

It's the Cardinals and the Cubs, and it's Stan Musial's Stance bringing you the action.  A win today assures the Cards a series win and that they'll be in first place come Monday.  Enjoy the game and the bloggers bringing it to you!

Quick Look at Tonight's Matchup

Posted on May 2, 2008 at 2:00 AM
I know I said I wouldn't be around today, and I'm not going to be, but I wanted to take a quick look at the pitchers in tonight's Cards/Cubs game and how they've fared against the opponent.

Adam Wainwright goes for the Cardinals.  He's faced the Cubs a few times.  Aramis Ramirez has done well against him, including the only home run he's allowed, and Ryan Theroit is hitting close to .500.  Wainwright's been able to keep Derrek Lee in check, though he's walked him three times.

Rich Hill is the Cubs starter.  Most of the Cardinals haven't faced him all that often, but both Pujols and Glaus have touched him for a home run.  On the whole, though, the team hasn't done much in the batting average department against Hill.

Could be a low scoring game if both pitchers come to play.

Also, John Mozeliak is chatting on the official site today.  Someone ask him which blogs he reads!

That's it for me.  Remember, the UCB project is tomorrow!

Positively Thinking About 2008

Posted on February 6, 2008 at 7:00 AM
Spring is the time for optimism, for somewhat escaping the realism of the game and thinking about what could be. So, in that vein, let's look at five reasons why it is conceivable that the 2008 season will be better than the rough 2007 season.

1) Starting Pitching

I took a look at the starters recently and the numbers they put up last year were ghastly. Just by the law of averages, you'd think that they'd improve in the coming season.
Kip Wells, though I defended him on this blog most of the summer, is gone to Colorado. Mike Maroth is gone as well, though he's unsigned as of now. So there is some improvement right there.
The Cardinals are encouraged by the rehab of Mark Mulder. Even if he's a league-average pitcher for the season, that's better than what he did last year and what he'd be replacing in the rotation.
Adam Wainwright has grown into an ace. While he could slip back in his second full season as a starter, it's as likely that he'll take a step forward. He did have a very rough start to the season last year.
Joel Pinerio had a good season in the NL. If that was an accurate representation of what he can do and not because the league wasn't familiar with him, that's a step forward.
And then there is Matt Clement. We've seen what he can do in the NL, especially the NL Central. The health factor is big, of course, but the talent is there.
So, there are a lot of ifs. But even if only half of them break the Cardinals way, they should improve pitching-wise over last year. And that could be enough to get the Cardinals over .500.

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Heroes
  • Troy Glaus (12)
  • Albert Pujols (11)
  • Rick Ankiel (10)
  • Ryan Ludwick (8)
  • Skip Schumaker (5)
  • Adam Wainwright (5)
  • Chris Duncan (4)
  • Braden Looper (4)
  • Joel Pineiro (4)
  • Adam Kennedy (3)
  • Kyle Lohse (3)
  • Yadier Molina (3)
  • Brad Thompson (3)
  • Aaron Miles (2)
  • Todd Wellemeyer (2)
  • Brian Barton (1)
  • Cesar Izturis (1)
  • Jason LaRue (1)
  • Joe Mather (1)
  • Kyle McClellan (1)
  • Chris Perez (1)
  • Anthony Reyes (1)
  • Brendan Ryan (1)
  • Mark Worrell (1)

Goats
    • Troy Glaus (9)
    • Jason Isringhausen (9)
    • Braden Looper (6)
    • Rick Ankiel (5)
    • Ryan Franklin (4)
    • Adam Kennedy (4)
    • Kyle McClellan (4)
    • Albert Pujols (4)
    • Skip Schumaker (4)
    • Randy Flores (3)
    • Cesar Izturis (3)
    • Ryan Ludwick (3)
    • Kyle Lohse (3)
    • Brendan Ryan (3)
    • Chris Duncan (2)
    • Aaron Miles (2)
    • Joel Pineiro (2)
    • Anthony Reyes (2)
    • Russ Springer (2)
    • Ron Villone (2)
    • Adam Wainwright (2)
    • Todd Wellemeyer (2)
    • Brian Barton (1)
    • Mitchell Boggs (1)
    • Kelvim Jimenez (1)
    • Jason LaRue (1)
    • Mark Mulder (1)
    • Chris Perez (1)
    • Brad Thompson (1)

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