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Inconceivable!

Before we deal with last night's disaster, let's be positive and talk about Friday's game.

Friday night was one of those great games to watch, the ones that make you think this team is going someplace.  Kyle Lohse threw a great game, the offense in general was rolling, and Rick Ankiel in particular was hot, with three hits and a home run.  Jaime Garcia (and, for all of those that come over from Future Redbirds, how could you not tell me I'd been spelling his name wrong all this time!) even got in and had an effective debut.  Looking for a goat in that game is tough, but Skip Schumaker would get it for going 0-5.

All that good feeling evaporated late Saturday night, making me feel like Fezzini.

Losing after being up 10-4 in the seventh?  Inconceivable!  Giving up four runs in the ninth?  Inconceivable!  Blowing a lead provided by Troy Glaus?  Inconceivable!

Yet, just as in Fezzini's case, it all happened.  Perhaps the word doesn't mean what I think it means.

Where do you go for a goat on this one?  I mean, Ryan Franklin got it all started with a two-run homer.  Kyle McClellan allowed the tying run to score (though, granted, he did his job and got the double play ball, it just didn't happen) and put the winning run on base.  Chris Perez allowed Jason Michaels' game winning home run (one I was afraid of when I saw him come up, due to his earlier grand slam against Adam Wainwright)

But, as bad as all of that was, I think you have to go to someone who has gotten the label way too often in 2008.  Jason Isringhausen started the ninth with a four run lead and even struck out the first batter he faced.  To allow three runs in that situation is inexcusable.

Inconceivable.

It's games like that which have me really concerned about this year's incarnation of the Cardinals.  I don't know that this team has the ability to consistently win, to put together a long winning streak needed to get back into the race.  Right now they are sitting at 5 1/2 games back.  Obviously well within the realm of possibility to catch the Cubs, but not nearly as likely as when they were staying 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 back.  The Cubs hopefully will cool off in the second half, especially at home, but can the Cardinals take advantage?  I don't know.

Perhaps it is good that this is happening now, before Mozeliak gets pressured into doing something rash at the deadline.  I'm sure that Jayson Stark will be coming out with one of his crazy number columns soon, saying something like no team out more than 5 games after the 90 game mark has won their division in 20 years or something like that.

And it could be that is just negative thinking.  A Cards win today and a Cubs loss and they are sitting just 4 1/2 out at the All-Star Break, even if the break is a little later this year.  Maybe it's reading too much into an admittedly atypical game, both from the offense side and the pitching side.  I guess we'll have to just wait and see.

In other news, the Cards have put Garcia into the rotation, penciling him in for next Sunday.  Hopefully that will give the team a little boost to start off the second half.

Today the Cardinals try to bounce back, win the series, and finish the first half on a high note.  If they'd gone into the break on last night's game, having to think about it for four days or so, it might have been more of a problem.  Redemption is usually just a day away in baseball.

The matchup is Joel Pineiro against Ian Snell.  Wow, the Cards have seen Snell a lot this season, haven't they?  This will be the fourth time he's gone against the Redbirds, with an 0-1 personal record but a 2-1 team record to show for it.  The Cardinals have been able to get to him early at times, but not been able to put him away.  He has a 9.64 ERA against St. Louis this year and here's what the hitters have done against him in his career.  As always, Pujols is looking forward to it.

Pineiro has faced the Pirates twice, the first time giving up a run in seven and getting the win, the second allowing four in five in a Cardinal loss.  At least the first one was in PNC Park, site of today's matchup.  For the most part, the Pirates haven't done much damage against him, but I'd keep an eye out on Jason Bay.  He's on a roll, especially after yesterday, and he's got good numbers against Pineiro.  If he's auditioning, he's definitely making an impression.

BTW, CardsClubhouse folks.  There is supposed to be some downtime at the site today.  If it happens at the game, feel free to use this as a game thread/discussion platform.

End of the Line

That's the last time we'll see Mark Mulder in a Cardinals uniform.  It's probably the last time we'll see him on a baseball field at all.

I don't say that with any malice or glee.  I really was hoping that Mulder's new arm slot would be the key to getting him, not to his Oakland level, but at least to a serviceable starter.  Instead, he faces three batters, walking two and leaving the mound again in pain.

If that was the end of the line for Mulder, it's too bad St. Louis never got to see the really good version.  (If Billy Beane knew about Mulder's health issues--and I wouldn't put it past him--I'm not sure how he sleeps at night.)  The only really positive memory I have of Mulder is that epic 10-inning shutout against Roger Clemens.  Other than that, there's not much.

Of course, there will be more revisiting of the most rehashed trade in Cardinal history.  I'm still firmly convinced that if Dan Haren had been a lefty, the trade never would have been made.  It was all about getting an lefthander into the rotation.  And, at the time, the trade was reviled because of the inclusion of catcher Daric Barton.  That's not the problem.  Barton had to move to first (which means he couldn't play in St. Louis anyway) and isn't just lighting it up yet, three and a half seasons after the deal.  It's the fact that Haren developed into so much more than the Cardinals (and the fans) ever thought he would that has made the deal so lopsided.

The hero from last night's game probably has to be Brad Thompson.  I really liked Troy Glaus's AB that tied the game, but Thompson coming in with two on and one out in the first and getting out of it, then pitching effectively from there really stands out.  I've got trouble giving out the Goat, though.  I can't give it to Mulder--just can't tag a guy like that after possibly his career ended.  Kyle McClellan gave up the go-ahead home run to Howard, but he pitched well the inning before that and it was Ryan Howard.  I guess I'd probably give it to Chris Perez, because the Feliz home run made it just that much less likely the Cards were going to rally off of Brad Lidge.

One last comment on the game.  Does anyone else think it was cheap that they gave Skip Schumaker just a double on that ball that "stuck" under the wall?  Victorino looked like he was going to get it, then realized he could just keep it there and get an advantage.  I think there should have had to be an attempt at the ball before he could throw up his hands.  That was pretty lame in my book, though must be part of the ground rules at Citizens Bank.

The team is already moving on the Mulder front, likely disabling him and bringing up Jamie Garcia, which will please Erik at Future Redbirds immensely. Garcia will work out of the pen at least until the break.  If nothing else changes, I'd expect him to move into Mulder's slot after the All-Star Game.

Changes, though, are what Tony LaRussa wants to see.  This will be the first real test of the Mozeliak/LaRussa dynamic.  Up until now, it's pretty much been "hey, this is great, more than we thought, but let's wait and see."  Now, Mo's still there but LaRussa's competitive nature has taken hold and he wants to see something.  This is where Jocketty would go out and make some move that, in recent years, was little more than combing the waiver wire.  Will Mozeliak do that?  Will he start looking for a bigger trade?  Will he take Tony's dogs hostage until he quiets down?

Couple of vets going this afternoon.  Braden Looper looks to keep the bullpen off the field when he takes the mound, but the Phillies may have other ideas.  Pat Burrell has two homers off of him and probably will be excited to take his cuts today.  On the other side, Jamie Moyer is one of those you'd expect the Cardinals to struggle with, a soft-tossing lefty.  Really, though, for a guy that's been around as long as he has, the Cards (save Glaus and Kennedy, guys that saw him in the AL) haven't gotten a lot of ABs against him.  Glaus does have five home runs off of Moyer, so maybe he'll break out the big bat today.

The UCB is working on their next project.  If you weren't e-mailed and want to join it, let me know.  It should be a good discussion.

You Can't Win If You Don't Score - Cardinal70 Version

Well hello everyone.  Perhaps some of you have perused my blog at one time or another; if not, I'm Mike, and I'll be minding the store while Dan takes some much deserved vacation time over the next week.

Continuing a running thought from over at the Stance, the Cardinals again managed one measly run and got swept out of Busch by the Royals, 4-1.  KC scored as many runs in this game as they allowed St Louis in the series, and that's just not going to get the job done.  Heroes and Goats for this game are pretty simple.  For driving in the lone Cardinal Run, Rick Ankiel gets the nod as Hero; and the Anemic Offense is the Goat.  I suppose I could saddle Brad Thompson or Chris Perez with the goat label, but since Brad came up on short notice and worked 5 solid innings, and since the Cardinals would still have lost 2-1 if Perez hadn't served up that gopher ball to Mark Teahen, it just didn't seem fair.

We all knew the offense would struggle without AP in the #3 slot.  There's no way you can adequately fill the shoes of a future HOF.  But to hit .154 against KC with RISP?  To not get anyone to second today?  Albert would have raised those figures a little bit, but it still points to some major problems surfacing offensively.  The same Post-Dispatch article I linked to above points out the Cardinals aren't taking walks like they were at the beginning of the season. Viva El Birdos took it a step further, showing the Cardinals are a lot less disciplined at the plate since the calendar flipped over into May, a trend that has become worse recently (see lboros post from Thursday; that site is down as I write this at 11:18 PDT, so I don't have a link to it).  You would think that plate discipline and patience would be things they really need to focus on now that the NL's second leading hitter is out of the lineup, as opposed to trying to do too much, which appears to be what they're doing.

One other thing:  Bernie Miklasz suggests the Cardinals should utilize the speed they have on the roster while they struggle to score runs, as a way to generate some offense.  It's a good suggestion.  Brendan Ryan and Brian Barton are two guys worth plugging into the lineup to see what they can create; it's not as if second base has been a font of offensive prowess this season, and the OF has really cooled off recently (witness Ankiel's 2 RBI on the homestand as an example).

Because I'm obligated to disagree with at least one thing in every article/post Bernie writes, sitting Chris Duncan really isn't an option, as he's the first baseman.  The two guys he suggests bringing up to help the offense wouldn't displace Chris at first.

We limp into Boston next.  They have the best home record in the majors (28-7), and will send Wakefield, Dice-K, and Lester to the hill to face our boys.  Might be a loooong weekend; keep your fingers crossed.

Catching Up (Again)

Our office just went to doing 40 hours in four days, so as to have Friday off, which meant I've been away from the computer for most of the weekend.  Let's recap, then discuss:

Thursday (vs. Cincy)
Hero: Troy Glaus.  1-4, but drove in both runs with a homer.
Goat: Randy Flores.  Both he and Mark Worrell were credited with two runs in the box score, but Flores let them all score.  A bases-loaded walk and then a bases-clearing triple?  Ouch.

Friday
Hero: Skip Schumaker.  As much as anyone can be in a 20-2 game.  Three hits, including a home run.
Goat: Pick a pitcher.  I guess I'd have to go with Todd Wellemeyer, since his eight runs in three and 1/3 innings really put the game out of reach.  Ron Villone's six in an inning and two thirds was pretty ghastly as well, and Worrell, Russ Springer and Ryan Franklin didn't cover themselves with glory either.  When the best pitcher of the night is Aaron Miles, that's a bad night.

Saturday
Hero: Kyle Lohse.  To come out the afternoon after that shelling and to shut down the same offense is pretty impressive. Runner up to Ryan Ludwick for his acting job.
Goat: Rick Ankiel.  0-4 with two left on.

Sunday
Hero: Can we say Tom Gordon?  No, the rules say just Cardinal players.  So it comes down to Schumaker and Glaus again, both with two hits and a home run.  We'll go with Skip this time, since he left one fewer man on base and his home run came in a tighter game.  (Granted, Glaus's was just a couple of batters later, but you have to drawn the line somewhere.)
Goat: Randy Flores.  You come in with two on and two out. Then you walk two guys, forcing in a run?  Springer wasn't much better, walking in another one, but at least he got an out.

Wonderful thing about baseball.  The Cards scored less in the series than the Phillies did in the first game, yet they won two of three.  It really proved that momentum is tomorrow's starting pitcher.  The Cards still couldn't gain any game on the Cubs, but it could have been much worse.  Sitting 3.5 out at this time of year is pretty much beyond anyone's wildest expectations.

And best wishes to Yadier Molina.  That was a nasty collision in the ninth inning.  All reports seem to indicate that it wasn't as severe as it appeared on the field (I thought it was great to hear "Yadi! Yadi! Yadi!" as he was being taken off) and it should "just" be a concussion.  Hopefully he'll rejoin the team quickly--with Pujols and Wainwright already being down,  you'd hate to see Molina be out as well.

Lot of activity this weekend, with Joe Mather and Mark Worrell going back to Memphis in exchange for Jason Isringhausen and Anthony Reyes.  Izzy's definitely saying all the right things, so hopefully he's got his mindset right and he'll be able to restore order to the ninth inning soon.  Reyes already got a win in his first game back and apparently will be used out of the pen as a long relief guy, though he could start for Wellemeyer Thursday if there are medical questions.  In other words, we may not see him again for a week.

Speaking of medical questions, Chris Carpenter is getting a second opinion after being shut down last week.  I don't think a lot of people are surprised.  Carpenter was being talked about as being back in the next couple of weeks, but that seemed like a stretch for the surgery he had.  Besides, it's the Cardinals and pitching.  Everyone has at least one setback that extends the return timetable.  It'd be nice to hear that it's not needing more surgery or that it isn't anything serious, but that may be too much to ask.

The rehab calvary might actually be close to arriving, though.  Mark Mulder had a very impressive outing in Springfield Saturday, getting up into the 90s on the gun and throwing five shutout innings.  Granted, he's been good before in the minors, but he never was throwing that hard.  Matt Clement was a little less impressive, but he had a decent outing.  We'll see if the innings continue to take a toll on him, however.  Personally, I'm a little more excited about Mulder now.  I don't know if it'll hold up, but as excited as people that should know are about this new arm slot and seeing the first results, it's very encouraging.

Day off today for the Redbirds (Yadi needs it, for sure) before the Royals series starts Tuesday.  I'll take a look at the pitching matchup, etc. then.

Delay In Transmission

Sorry I've not been around.  Work and holiday weekends have conspired to keep me out of cyberspace for the most part.  I've got some interesting (to me) blog ideas, if I can ever just get around to writing.  Sadly, it looks like this week will be another where there won't be much regular correspondence from this corner.

Let's briefly hit the Heroes/Goats of the Los Angeles series.  All in all, a very good series.  Two wins and a strong chance for the sweep.  A 4-2 road trip out to the Coast is about all you can ask for and it got them back into first place before the Cubs win today.

(And, personally, I'm glad it's not just me that thinks it's crazy the Cards don't have a game on Memorial Day.  All the summer holidays--this one, the Fourth, Labor Day--should be games for every team.)

Friday
Hero: Adam Wainwright.  7 innings, five hits, one earned run.  The team needed every bit of that and he stepped up to make those rough outings history.  Honorable mention: Ryan Ludwick, for providing basically all the offense.
Goat: Adam Kennedy.  0-5 in the leadoff slot doesn't help, though there were many that could have been chosen here.
General notes: I didn't get to see very much of this one.  How about Chris Perez, though?  I know that LaRussa won't have him closing soon, but he sure looks ready for it.  And don't you hate rain delays in the bottom of the ninth?  I wanted to see the end of the game, but I wasn't going to wait up for it by that time.

Saturday
Hero: Kyle Lohse.  An even better line than Wainwright, with no runs in six innings.  Again, exactly what the team needed.  Got to love those pitcher's parks.   Honorable mention: Adam Kennedy, for drawing the two-out walk that led to all the scoring.
Goat: Kinda tough to find one.  Molina went 0-3, but threw out Pierre trying to steal.  I guess we'll give it to Troy Glaus, because he stranded the most runners (2) with an 0-for night, but you hate to pick on the guy that leaves with abdominal problems.
General notes:  They might still be playing if Penny hadn't been wild with two outs.  It was a pretty fun game to watch, if you are into the pitching thing.

Sunday
Hero:  2-5 with a RBI will give the tag to Albert Pujols, but kudos to Brian Barton going 1-3 with 2 runs.
Goat: Skip Schumaker, for his 0-4 in the leadoff slot and the stranding of three runners.
General notes:  I had my daughter's first birthday party during this time (I didn't do the scheduling) so I saw only the 10th.  Can't blame Parisi too much, but it'd been nice if he'd gotten that out and sent it to the 11th.

Houston comes to town tomorrow.  The scheduled starters are Braden Looper vs. Shawn Chacon.  Chacon has already faced the Cardinals twice this year, posting a 2.76 ERA against them, though he got no decision in either outing.  In fact, it took Chacon 10 starts before he finally did get a decision, a win against the Cubs.

Looper has a win and a no-decision against the Astros, but proves the futility of win-loss records.  In the win, he gave up three in 5.2 innings.  In the no-decision, he threw seven scoreless innings.  Note that in the no-decision, he was matched up against Chacon.

Containing Berkman, as always, will be the key to the series.

I'll try to post some later in the week, even if it's just a short thought on the previous night's game.  But be looking for my special blog posts, including what your Cardinal T-Shirt says about you.

Rays-ing Spirits

Let me get this out of the way: I'm no fan of interleague play.  I think of it as a cheap promotional gimmick that causes more controversy and issues than it's worth.  Listening and watching the games this weekend, it was hard to think of them as games that count.  It was more like the team was back in spring training, playing some exhibitions.

Still it's always good to win a series, no matter who you are playing against.  It wasn't easy, but the fact the Cards were able to take two of three from the then-first place Tampa Bay Rays should give them some confidence as they head on the yearly West Coast road trip.

There's not much point to recap--everyone's pretty familiar with the games by now, I'd figure--but we've got some hardware to hand out.

Friday, the only Rays win of the series, you'd have to go with Chris Duncan as the Hero, since he was pretty much the only bit of offense out there, capped off by his fourth homer.  Troy Glaus did have a couple of hits and Chris Perez was outstanding in his first outing.

For the Goat, you might choose a number of players, but with an 0-4 ending his 42-game on-base streak and an error to boot, it's one of those rare nights off for Albert Pujols.  I almost went with Skip Schumaker after his fourth-inning at bat resulted in a double play after two were on with none out, which was a big blow to the Cardinals' chances.

Saturday was a wild one, from what I can tell.  I was at the zoo with the family and missed most of it, but obviously when you have a two home-run day (including a walkoff) like Ryan Ludwick had, well, that's Hero material.  The Goat is a little up in the air.  Duncan had an 0-5 and left five men on base on a day where everyone was getting hits.  Another shaky outing by Adam Wainwright almost gives him the tag.  Thirteen baserunners in less than six innings is a recipe for disaster, though it's possible conditions affected him as well.  If not, the Cardinals have problems, because if Wainwright starts struggling, this team is in a lot of trouble.  But Randy Flores allowing three runs in a third of an inning really takes the cake.  The whole bullpen seemed to struggle on Saturday.

The last game was a pretty interesting one as well.  I got to watch most of it and didn't think the Cards were ever going to mount the rally they needed.  It would have been fitting if Pujols would have driven in a number of runs with the bases loaded in the sixth, being the closest thing to Stan Musial the team has, but that wasn't to be and I thought that'd be their last chance.  This team plays the hard nine, though, and it was good to see.

Obviously, Skip Schumaker could have gotten the Hero tag for his walk-off hit and Aaron Miles could have gotten it for his game-tying double.  But I want to go a different direction and give it to the newest Cardinal, Chris Perez.  In only his second game, he was given the ball after the team had tied it up in the eighth.  Not only was he able to keep the game tied, he didn't even make it that agonizing, throwing five strikes and turning it over to the offense.

Our final Goat would be Troy Glaus, who went 0-4 and had a big strikeout in the fifth, ending another potential rally.  That said, Glaus has been coming on of late and it's very good to see.

So the Cardinals head out to San Diego trailing the Cubs by two games.  And, as a gift, they miss Jake Peavy, who is out with an elbow issue.  Instead, they'll face Will Ledezma.  Ledezma has only started one game this year, usually working out of the pen, so it's not that likely he'll be around much past the fifth if the Cardinals are able to get the men on that they usually do.  However, the Cardinals seem to struggle against pitchers like this, especially when they've not seen them much before.  They'll possibly have to continue their patient at-bats, because that ballpark in Petco isn't usually that conducive to hitting.

The Cardinals throw Todd Wellemeyer at the Pads.  If you thought the Cardinals didn't know much about Ledezma, that's a wealth of first-hand knowledge compared to the Padres and Wellemeyer.  I don't think we'll be able to make many judgment calls there.

The Padres have definitely not had the season that people expected, as they have the worst record in baseball, but they still can be a dangerous team.  Hopefully the Cardinals will be able to extend their misery for a few more games.  And there's still time for the Padre YNOT!

And So It Begins

Bernie has put it quite succinctly:

Izzy on DL with a hand injury. Perez is here and available tonight.

And so the Chris Perez era begins.  It'll be interesting to compare and contrast how he is handled vs. how Kyle McClellan was treated when he made the team.  McClellan was quickly put into tough situations and, for the most part, handled them well.  I don't expect they have Perez up just to be a mopup guy.  He won't be the closer, but it'll be interesting to see if he comes into a one-run game in the seventh or eighth right off the bat.

With McClellan, Mike Parisi and now Perez, it's almost looking like the kiddie corp of the 2006 postseason.  Hopefully they'll be just as effective!

Off the Wagon

If Wednesday's win was a step toward recovery, St. Louis fell off the wagon on Thursday and landed with a thud that might be felt for days to come.  The same problems reared up on Thursday afternoon--a lack of the big hit, the inability to continue to pile on, and the shakiness of the bullpen.

This game was very similar to the one Ian Snell started against the Cardinals earlier.  They got out to the big lead, couldn't add to it, and lost it late.  It's possible the game turned in the first inning.  If Adam Kennedy's bases-loaded, two-out hit gets down, there's a couple more runs right there and the game could have gone quite differently.

From what it sounds like, this could be the last time for a while that Jason Isringhausen gets the goat.  Some sort of decision apparently will be made today, and it has to be.  Odds are there will be a DL move, especially since you'll note in that story people are now saying he's still getting treatment for his hip, something that hadn't been mentioned before now.  But Izzy did make that a little harder on them with his blunt honesty:

"I don't know what we're going to do," Isringhausen said. "I wish I could say I was hurt, my arm was falling off, or I couldn't land. I can't do that. People (hitters) standing at home plate tell you what the end result should be. I'm not getting any swings and misses, so that says something about my stuff. I feel healthy. But maybe my 'healthy' just isn't good enough."

While Izzy gets most of the brunt, most of the bullpen can come under the same indictment.  I ran the numbers since the middle of the Colorado series, when Izzy blew the win late.  Here's what the bullpen has done since then (again, apologies for formatting):

Randy Flores: 2.2 innings, two hits, one ER, three walks, two strikeouts, 3.37 ERA, 50% inherited runners scored (1-2)
Ryan Franklin: 3 innings, two hits, 0 ER, two walks, one strikeout, 0.00 ERA, no inherited runners
Jason Isringhausen: 3.1 innings, 8 hits, 6 ER, four walks, one strikeout, 16.22 ERA, 100% inherited runners scored (2-2)
Kyle McClellan: 3.1 innings, four hits, 2 ER, three walks, three strikeouts, 5.41 ERA, 67% inherited runners scored (3-2)
Mike Parisi: 5 innings, seven hits, three ER, two walks, three strikeouts, 5.40 ERA, no inherited runners
Russ Springer: 3.1 innings, one hit, 0 ER, two walks, 1 K, 0.00 ERA, 0% inherited runners scored (2-0)
Ron Villone: 2.2 innings, nine hits, eight ER, two walks, one strikeout, 26.97 ERA, 0% inherited runners scored (1-0)
Total Bullpen: 23.1 innings, 33 hits, 20 ER, 18 BB, 12 K, 7.72 ERA, 50% inherited runners scored (10-5)

Save for Franklin and Springer (and, to a lesser extent, Flores), everyone is struggling out there.  It doesn't seem to be overwork--that's an average of just over 2.1 innings per game over the nine game stretch--but something does need to be done.

I'd expect that the first thing that is going to happen is the promotion of Chris Perez when they do whatever they do with Izzy.  That should give the bullpen another look and a good power arm to help in some situations.  As you can see above, the relievers are only striking out one every two innings during that stretch.  That many balls in play is going to lead to some problems.

Villone obviously needs some time off as well.  He had a 0.90 ERA in April, but in half as many innings in May his ERA is close to 9.  The decision needs to be made soon whether he's going through a rough patch and needs to tinker or he's run out of gas and needs to be released.  There are a few other relievers in Memphis that might be worth taking a look at in St. Louis.

As for the offense, I don't know what you can do about that.  It's not that people aren't hitting--the team racked up 14 hits yesterday and they hit .313 for the Pittsburgh series--but the team can't seem to get them when they are needed.  37 men were stranded in three games in this series.  A couple of hits in the right spot and it's a sweep by the Cardinals, possibly rendering some of this bullpen angst moot.

We still need a Hero out of yesterday's game.  It's a tough call, really.  The pitching's out, either because of ineffectiveness or they didn't have a chance for a big moment play.  Numerous batters had multiple hits yesterday, which makes it a bit hard to narrow down, but I think I'll continue to honor the resurgence of our third baseman and select Troy Glaus for his 3-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB day. His bounceback is one of the reasons the offense is at least getting runners on.  Though we may have to use John's excellent Photoshop more often than we'd like!

It promises to be an interesting day whenever the decision on Izzy comes down.  But until then, there's also a ballgame to focus on for tonight.

The Cardinals and Rays were the last two of the current teams to meet, facing each other for the first time down in Tropicana in 2005.  The Cards swept that series 3-0 and haven't seen the Rays since.  Unfortunately for the Cardinals, this version of the Tampa Bay squad is much better than the previous incarnation.

Braden Looper is going for the Cards tonight.  Not surprisingly, there's not much history between him and the current Rays batters, being that most of them are homegrown ALers.  Looper's pitched fairly well since his shelling by the Giants and hopefully can continue that.  He's pitching a little better in Busch than on the road, so that may help out some as well.

Andy Sonnanstine goes for the Rays.  You have to figure the team is going to lean on Troy Glaus a lot this weekend, since he's the only player that's faced Sonnanstine and likely any of the hurlers that will be going for Tampa Bay.  Sonnanstine hasn't had the best of seasons, but being that he's a fresh face to these guys, it could be a long night.

With the Rays coming to town, Troy Percival gets to return to St. Louis.  We'll see what kind of reaction he gets when he comes into a game.  The Rays have some young hitters that should be fun to watch as well.

Just as long as they don't go beating around the bullpen like everyone else.

Around the Blogs: Cracks Are Showing

The Cards are in a slump at the moment, having lost six of seven.  That has affected the tone in some quarters of the blogosphere (Mike on the Cards says they're in a funk and Redbird Ramblings would prefer not to discuss it), but that's not what everyone's talking about.

A point of discussion about last night's game is the usage of Ron Villone.  Stan Musial's Stance really can't figure out why he was out there instead of McClellan.  I'm not sure what LaRussa's thought process was, but it's better than the silly idea that he hates rookies, a meme I'm quite tired of.

The Red Baron, in his weekly Wednesday fill-in for lboros at VEB, hands out some first quarter grades.  There's not much to disagree with here.  I might bump the starting pitching down to a B and the relief corp up to a C-, but that's a judgment call.  Suffice it to say, though, that the bullpen has been the disappointment of the first portion of the season.  I know he grades down the middle infield, but really, we are getting what we expected out of these guys and maybe a little more.

Speaking of, the back of the Cardinal bullpen has been under scrutiny recently.  Fungoes shows that Jason Isringhausen really hasn't been quite as bad as we thought, just unlucky.  It'll be interesting to see if Izzy gets back into the closer role and if that luck will start to even out.

The Cardinal Virtue has his take on the rumored Jim Edmonds to the Cubs bit.  I wrote about that in today's main post and I agree with what John says here for the most part.  I'd like to think Edmonds would have enough of the love for the 'Lou to turn down a Chicago invite, but if that's the only place that's offering and you still want to play, it's hard to fault the guy.  Get Up, Baby! has the reaction many Cardinal and Cub fans are having over the news.

CardinalsGM ponders trading Chris Duncan.  I've honestly got no problem with trading him off, even though I think he gets a little more of the blame than he should at times.  That last name can be a double edged sword.  But if someone would give us good value for a Duncan/Reyes package, I'd do it.

As always, when you want to know something about the Cardinal minor league system, you head to Future Redbirds.  It was the first place I went this morning when I read that Stuart Pomeranz had been released, though Eric hasn't touched much on that.  (Redbirds Fun does have part of the article over there, though.) But the three up/three down feature is back and you always need to read the Daily Farm Report.

Don at The Redbird Blog goes the miscellaneous route as well, pointing out some stories you might not have seen other places.

A couple of good posts over at Rockin' the Red.  First off, some ideas for shaking up the lineup, as well as what some trade targets are doing.  Kujo would like to see Chris Perez and Joe Mather come north and help out the big squad, especially if that meant Duncan was moved.  However, in Mozeliak's chat today at the PD, he indicated that no moves with Duncan are planned at this time.  Not that he'd say if there were, but it comes across as not something they want to do.

Also, Kujo looks at the cost/benefit of signing Rasmus long-term.  With the price of young talent the way it is, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to do a deal similar to what Tampa Bay did with Longoria, but I'm still of the camp that he should play at least a year before you start thinking about long-term extensions.

The professionals are weighing in as well.  Derrick Goold looks at some of the advanced metrics in relation to Pujols's baserunning (something that had been discussed anecdotally at CCH) while Matthew Leach tossed out some tidbits yesterday, including the information about Mark Mulder's last workout.

To pull it back full circle, check out THEblindhomer Sees for his Pittsburgh preview/recap.

If I didn't get your blog in here, I'm sorry.  If I don't have your link, add it to the comments (and add mine to your rolls!)  I've been tinkering with the blog links recently.  If you scroll all the way down, I've even added some non-baseball links.  If there's something I'm missing, let me know!

Bad Blood Weekend

I figured that both the Cardinals and the Astros hadn't forgotten about the Pujols/Towles-Backe issue but I wasn't expected a couple of bench clearings this weekend.  Playing Houston another 12 times or so could enliven the summer, especially if the team slides out of contention.

That's not the case right now, though, as the Cardinals take the series from Houston.  And, with regular results, would have swept their way into first place.

Friday night, the loss all comes down to Jason Isringhausen, the Goat of the Day.  Giving up three runs in the ninth, with only one coming on a home run, is unacceptable for a closer that's getting paid as much as Izzy is.  Of course, these things happen, but lately they've been happening with much more regularity with Izzy, bringing back memories of his disastrous 2006 campaign.  He doesn't seem to be hurt now, but that 6.55 ERA is going to have the phone in Memphis ringing for Chris Perez pretty soon if he doesn't straighten it out.

The Hero of Friday night had to be Braden Looper, who saw possibly his best ever start go up in smoke in the ninth.  But seven innings of two-hit ball is pretty impressive, even if you don't have the W beside your name afterwards.

After getting quite excited about the Oswalt/Wainwright matchup, my Saturday got eaten up and I wasn't able to see any of the game.  While it wasn't quite as great as the 1-0 Mulder/Clemens matchup of three years ago, it didn't disappoint by much, with the Cardinals pulling it out in the bottom of the ninth.

The big number that jumps out at that game is 126.  That's how many pitches Adam Wainwright threw.  I understand that, especially on the heels of Isringhausen's Friday, LaRussa may not trust the bullpen as much, but that's pushing it, I think.  The last thing this team needs is for the Wagonmaker to blow out his arm.  I'd hope that next game TLR thinks about removing Wainwright around the 90 pitch mark.  It probably also helps that there is a day off in this run through the rotation, which means that he'll get an extra day of rest before taking the mound again.  Still, for his effectiveness and durability, you've got to give him the Hero award, though Pujols with his two RBI would come close.

Saturday's Goat would probably be LaRussa for leaving Wainwright in so long, but I'm trying to limit it to the players.  Most everyone had a similar batting line, with nobody having more than one hit.  Even Troy Glaus, who went 0-3, drove in a run.  So, just because his season has been so bad and he didn't do anything to redeem in, the award goes to Jason LaRue for his 0-1, plus forcing TLR to pinch hit for him in the ninth.

Oh, and there's no doubt that Wainwright was trying to send a message to Ausmus without causing any damage.  After a couple of your players get thrown at, you want to make sure you stand up for them.  There wasn't any chance Ausmus would get hurt, at least it didn't look like it from the replays.  I've got no problem with that at all, as long as you aren't throwing at the head.  At least to some, that was the play of the game.

Sunday, you just knew something was going to happen with Brandon Backe on the mound.  He stymied the Cardinals for a while, but after Ludwick's double to break the scoring seal for the Cards and then Hero Troy Glaus going yard for the first time this year, he seemed to come a little unglued, as we saw in his confrontation with Molina.

And, boy, was Yadi steamed about the whole thing.  He was still talking after Backe was out of the game.  If you see a fastball in your face, I'm sure it does tend to rile you up.  Like I said early, I doubt this is completely over. Mark your calendars for May 27-29!

I gave Glaus the Hero because he finally got the home run, which put the game out of reach, but there were a number of players you could have chosen.  Kyle Lohse pitched a great game.  Kyle McClellan got his first save by going three strong innings.  Pujols hit a home run.

The Goat is a little harder because most everyone did play a solid game.  For one of the rare times he's not had a good game in the leadoff role, though, the Goat goes to Skip Schumaker for his 0-4 day.  You don't often see 0 in the hit column for Skip lately.

The Cards start this series with Cincinnati just a 1/2 game behind the Cubs, making that loss on Friday (after the Cubs had already lost as well) very costly.  Tonight, Brandon Arroyo and Todd Wellemeyer meet up as the other two contenders in the NL Central, the Cubs and Brewers, clash.  A win tonight could move the Cards back into the penthouse.

Some mixed results for the Cardinals against Arroyo.  For instance, Pujols has a .233 average against him, but does have two home runs.  Chris Duncan should be in the lineup tonight, since he's hitting .316 with a long ball against Arroyo.  Izturis and Ludwick both have good numbers in limited action against the pitcher, so expect Izturis to return from his injury tonight.

The Reds haven't done well against Wellemeyer, though only Adam Dunn has more than 10 plate appearances against him.  Scott Hatteburg and Edwin Encarnacion combine for five of the nine hits the Reds have managed against the Cardinal hurler.

Programming note: There's been a change in the lineup of the UCB Game Blogging Project.  CardinalsGM is going to take the fourth instead of this blog.  Instead, I'm going to have the pre-game and post-game post.  Tom's done a lot of the UCB activities in the past and it's great to have him on board for this one as well.

The CardsClubhouse preview will be up later today, and there's still time to get into the Reds YNOT.

Also on the Network: √ Yanks Beat A Lefty? [Depressed Fan] √ Yanks Start Second Half With "W" [Green Pinstripes] √ All-Star Breather: The Giants Catchers [El Lefty Malo] √ Rock Is Dead; Shea Stadium July 18, 2008 [Loge 13] √ Citi Field Revealed (FYI: No Loge Here) [Loge 13] √ My Rifle, My Pony and Me [Beantown West] √ Quick Chicago roundup [Tremendous Upside Potential] √ Giants Reveal New Stadium Ticket Plans [Loge 13]