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The Second Half Begins

Before we get to tonight's game, let's take a look at a few of the stories floating around about the Cards.

First off, there's the rumor that the Cardinals might part with Colby Rasmus.  Here's the relevant part of that link (took me a minute to actually find it):

Overheard at the pre-All-Star Game bash out on Randall's Island. The contending Cardinals might even consider parting with top outfield prospect Colby Rasmus, a major surprise. If so, it may put them in line to land Pittsburgh's Xavier Nady, or even Jason Bay.

OK, one, I don't believe the Cards would move Rasmus, that this is more of someone's either wishful or uninformed thinking.  Second, if they did move Rasmus, they darn well better do it for someone better than Nady and probably for someone better than Bay as well.

Speaking of rumors, apparently there was one on XM that had Rasmus, Bryan Anderson and Mitchell Boggs going to Colorado for Matt Holliday and Brian Fuentes.  I'm not fond of this one either.  With Holliday not completely proving he's not a Coors Field creation and the fact that Rasmus should be able to do what he does soon and for much cheaper, it just doesn't make sense to trade two top prospects for that package.

I really don't think Mozeliak will trade off Rasmus.  It just doesn't make any sense from the Cardinal perspective.

In fact, that was emphaised in an interview with Bill DeWitt on the Post-Dispatch site.  To quote:

P-D: Back to the club. Much speculation has sprouted about how far the organization will go to acquire help for this year's team if it remains in contention. What does that say about the availability of premium prospects such as Colby Rasmus?

BDJ: They're must-haves for any organization. I don't think you can trade potential premium prospects unless you get premium players back. I think what a lot of clubs have done historically is trade premium prospects for less-than-premium return. I don't agree with a short-term fix. A lot of quick fixes don't work. Time goes on, you're down the road, and your former prospect is out there putting up All-Star numbers for someone else.

P-D: Is there a chance that Rasmus could play his first major-league game in another uniform?

BDJ: I don't anticipate that. No.

The rest of the interview is pretty good as well.  I think DeWitt has taken a lot of unnecessary criticism over the years, so it is good to see him out in the press taking on some of the questions.

Closer to the field, it looks like the injured pitchers are getting better.  Adam Wainwright is looking to return in the next three weeks or so, it appears, and Chris Carpenter really liked how his simulated game went.  I would expect a solid return from Wainwright, maybe in time for the Cubs series August 8-10, but I still don't think we'll see Carpenter on the mound until the end of August and even then, I'm not sure how effective he will be.  But it's good to know things are getting better.

The Cards are the wild-card leader at the moment and they try to stay that way when they take on the Padres in Busch tonight.  It's a matchup of current aces, as Kyle Lohse and Jake Peavy take to the hill.  Not many of the Padres have seen a lot of Lohse, though outfielder Jody Gerut seems to have his number. The Cardinals have actually been able to put up some good numbers on Peavy, which really surprised me knowing the kind of pitcher he is.  Both Albert Pujols and Troy Glaus have two home runs against him.

Even so, I'd expect this to be a low-scoring game.  It's a good thing the Padres offense has been so weak--the Cards may not have to score much to win.

Series preview is up at the Clubhouse and the YNOT is active as well.  Ready to get it started!

Big Win in Philly

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.

It's All About Pitching

Let's see, what's on the PD site this morning?

Well, the biggest news probably is the status of Adam Wainwright.  According to Derrick Goold, he can start throwing anytime now, but it's going to be after the All-Star Break before they even start talking about a return date.  I'd expect he'll probably get one rehab start, so if he's back by my birthday (August 2, mark your calendars) I'd be a little surprised.  Still, it doesn't sound like he's having any setbacks, which is good news.

Chris Carpenter is working his way back as well, but it doesn't look like he'll be in the majors before August either.  In fact, it may be with expanded rosters before we see him in St. Louis.  I've said all along that if he was back before mid-August that it'd be pretty surprising, even when the team was talking about him being back at the All-Star Break.  Tommy John just doesn't heal that quickly.

And, even in times of pitching need, Matt Clement cleared waivers and is going to work as a reliever in Memphis.  Talk about a move that backfired.  Granted, it was a low-risk move, but Clement seemed pretty well in spring training and I really thought that part of the improved pitching this year would be because of him.  Now, he may be an August or September callup as well and in the bullpen (which needs the help).  I guess it's still possible the Cards would pick up his option for next year, just to see if they can get something out of him, but this is not what Mozeliak thought he was getting.

General tangent: I'm going to do my All-Star rant in a little bit, but in other baseball news, I wanted to say how nice it was to see Milwaukee get CC Sabathia.  Not in the competition aspect--it makes Milwaukee the favorite in the NL Central in my book now--but in the fact that here's a small market team being able to make a play for the biggest name on the trade market.  Sabathia didn't wind up in New York or Boston or Chicago.  That's a good thing for baseball, in my book.

The matchup tonight is not exactly one that screams "win" for the Cardinals.  Joel Pineiro will go into Philadelphia and take on Cole Hamels.  The good news is that the Phillies don't have much of a book on Pineiro, at least not from personal experience.  The bad news is that some of the Phillies that have seen him have done pretty well.  As for Hamels, well, both of those statements pretty much apply to him as well.  Albert Pujols has done a good job against him and hopefully will continue that now that he's gotten #300 out of the way.  As long as they realize that some things you hear about Hamels may be exaggerated, the Cards could be OK.

Housekeeping:  You'll notice a few new links over on the blog roll.  St. Louis Sports Magazine has been nice enough to link over here a couple of times and I appreciate that.  Player to be Named Later is back from hiatus.  And a couple of the more, well, colorful Cardinal blogs, Cardinal Diaspora and Bert Flex, are on the list as well.  Bert Flex was nice enough to include me in their Cardinal Blogger Appreciation Month, which I appreciate.

Another Series Opener, Another Loss

Cards lost to the Royals 2-1 last night.  No big deal.  They'll just win the next two.  They've only done that eight times this year.  Why not nine?

With Davies being so unfamiliar to the Cards (and with no Pujols or Molina) it's not terribly surprising the offense struggled.  Great pitching performance, though, by Hero Joel Pineiro.  Too bad the Goat Ron Villone lost it for him.  Granted, the Cards should have put up more runs, but giving up a HR in a situation like that is unacceptable.

VEB runs down the problems with the left side of the bullpen today.  There's no doubt that something that was such a strength for the Cards just a couple of years ago is now there most glaring weakness.  I mean, does anyone want to see Villone or Randy Flores in a game anytime soon, especially a close one?  I don't think so.  Not sure what the team will do about it, but with an offense that's likely to sputter, the Cards can't afford to give away games with a weak bullpen.

Good to see Jason Isringhausen back, though.  The sooner he is healthy and ready to go mentally and can take the closer slot away from Ryan Franklin, the better in my book. 

Todd Wellemeyer is going to miss his next start, meaning Anthony Reyes will take the mound.  First, does anyone not think Wellemeyer is going to wind up on the DL?  A missed start, a terrible outing, and then another missed start.  Second, I'm excited to see what Reyes can do.  I'd like to see him make the decisions coming up tough.  Third, it is very interesting that Mulder is pitching on the same day at AAA Memphis.  If Reyes flops, Wellemeyer is still hurt and Mulder dominates, I'd expect Mulder to be pitching in Detroit when that rotation spot next comes up.

Chris Carpenter's pain problem isn't really a problem, which is great news.  They may take it a little easier on him for a while, but it's one of the few times where this situation comes out positive instead of more surgery being required.  I personally feel much better about it when Dr. Andrews says it's fine.  Not that we don't trust the Cardinal staff, it's that we don't trust the Cardinal staff.

Mulder on Thursday and Clement on Friday.  Memphis is the place to be at the end of this week!  Plus Carpenter, rematches of the last two Cardinal World Series and another skirmish with the Royals.  I'm sure Mike will have plenty to talk about when he fills in.  (Though you are stuck with me for another day!)

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.

Reading the T-Shirts

I have a lot of Cardinal red in my closet.  In fact, it's pretty rare not to see me in some sort of St. Louis regalia.  And, in the last few years, I've started accumulating a number of the T-shirt jerseys.  You know what I'm talking about, the shirts with the Cardinal logo on the front and the player name and number on the back.

A few days ago, while trying to decide which one to wear, I started thinking about what the player on the back says about the person wearing it.  I'm not much good at this, but I'll give it a try.  (Oh, and the starred ones?  Those are the ones I have hanging in my closet right now!  I wouldn't necessarily lay claim that the descriptions fit me, though.)

Albert Pujols #5*: Having Pujols on your back could say a number of things.  It could say that you appreciate greatness.  It could say you know that he is this generation's Stan Musial.  Or it could say you are a front-runner who only knows Pujols on the current roster.  If you see this guy talking on the phone at the ballpark during the sixth with runners on and the game in the balance, count it as front-runner.

Rick Ankiel #24*: You are big on redemption.  You love the Hollywood movies.  You know, the one where the hero is knocked down but eventually makes a dramatic return and earns the standing ovation.  You teared up when he hit his home run in his first game back.  It's OK, you can admit it.

Rick Ankiel #66: You still pine for what could have been.  You remember the devastating curveball and the blazing fastball.  You get a little sick when you think of the 2000 playoffs.  Make that a lot sick.  And, also, you need to update your wardrobe just a bit.

Jim Edmonds #15: You are a little flashy.  You appreciate diving catches and dramatics on the field.  You tend to rush into the bank at 4:59 just ahead of the closing doors, even though you probably could have been there five minutes earlier if you wanted to.

Jim Edmonds #15 (Cubs): You are either obsessed with Jimmy Radio or just mentally deranged.  Either way, please seek professional help.

J.D. Drew #7*: You always thought J.D. was the whipping boy in St. Louis, that he was more productive than most gave him credit for and not quite as injury-prone as everyone made him out to be.  You also have sprained your shoulder patting yourself on the back and must miss a couple of days of work.

Chris Carpenter #29*:  You love seeing gambles pay off.  You'll put down $5 to win $500.  You remember 2005 and figure if a guy can be mentioned with Bob Gibson, he's good enough for your back.

Scott Rolen #27*:  There are a couple of options here.  You either love defense, remembering the leather Rolen flashed fondly, or you are one of those who formerly took LaRussa to task about most everything (though less loudly since 2006) and you wear 27 as a silent protest.

Yadier Molina #4: Defense is your passion.  You love seeing runners thrown out or picked off.  You love testing your reflexes by having people toss you items, just to see if you can catch them. (Usually, you can't.)  Or, perhaps, you just like to say Yadier Molina (which, I believe, is why my three-year-old son is so fond of him.)

Adam Wainwright #50*: You believe that pitching wins pennants.  You remember the curveball to Beltran more fondly than your wedding day.  You think the trade with Atlanta was just as good as the trade with Oakland was bad.

Jason Isringhausen #44: You live life on the edge.  You drink milk two days past the expiration date.  You renew your car tags on the second of the next month.  Adventure, excitement, these are your companions.  Unfortunately, they often leave you at the ER waiting for the on-call doctor.

Brendan Ryan #13: You love the scrappy guy.  This is the latest in a long line of shirts for you, starting with Joe McEwing and then Bo Hart, which you still break out occasionally.  Whether they have talent or not, it doesn't matter.  You also don't feel like it's a good day until you've gotten your clothes dirty in some form of exertion, even if it's just diving off the couch for a loose chip.

Colby Rasmus #?: You are always looking ahead.  As Yoda said, "All his life has he looked away... to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was."  The present is nice and all, but you continue to plan and hope for a better day.

Jamie Garcia #?: You are actually Erik Manning.

Mark Mulder #30: You believe in miracles and you think the best bandwagons are the ones with plenty of room.

Of course, these are in all the traditional team colors.  You hate to see people of the female persuasion decked out like this.

Any more suggestions?  Post them in the comments!

More UCB: Answering the YNOT

Quick background on the whole YNOT thing can be found here, under History, but the basic concept is this.  Generally, every series during the year is preceded by a YNOT game, in which 10 questions are asked (plus a tiebreaker) about the upcoming games.  Then they are graded after the series to see who won.  It's also been expanded to cover different periods of time, which is where we come in today.  The season-long YNOT is up at CardsClubhouse (get over there and fill it out if you haven't!) and the United Cardinal Bloggers are going to put up their answers, with explanations.  As typical, I'll post links here when they get them up.

So jump with me and let's see what we can see...........

  Continue Reading

Snapping the Streak

Nice to see the Cardinals won the second game of the doubleheader, beating the Marlins 5-4.  Let's look at the box score.

The only real hitting star was Amaury Marti, who went 2-4 with a run scored and one driven in.  Marti is an interesting character, but odds are he'll be playing in AAA this year, at least for a while.  He might get a call up if there is an early, short-term injury.

Rasmus went 0-2, but you have to like the fact that he drew two walks and stole a base.  If he's going to bring plate discipline to the majors, he'll be even that much more successful.  I have to say, everything that I've "seen" from him this spring has gotten me excited for his St. Louis debut, even if that's going to be May.

Skip Schumaker got a hit in four trips as he keeps making a push not only for the team but for the leadoff spot in the lineup.   He really wants the job, but I don't know.  He can hit for a decent average, but it's about as empty of an average as you can get.  I've got nothing against Skip, but I can't see him being one of the starters in the outfield, especially after Rasmus comes up.

On the pitching side, looks like Wainwright got victimized by a Brendan Ryan error, as he gave up three runs in the three innings he pitched, but none were earned.  Hanley Ramirez took him yard, but there's not a lot of shame in that.  No decision for the Wagonmaker, as Jamie Garcia pitched very well--three innings, one hit--and got the win.

Oh, and apparently Tyler Johnson will start the year on the DL. Yeah, we didn't see that one coming at all.

Clement throws to hitters Friday, Mulder is coming along well (apparently) and Carpenter is four months away from the majors at least.  That would get him to St. Louis before the All-Star break, something I'm still not counting on.

The Marlins and Cardinals match up again today.  They have to be sick of each other after spring training.  They share the same complex and seem to play each other 15 times in the month.

Carpenter As Closer?

You can tell it's spring.  Even LaRussa is loose.  Witness this exchange in Derrick Goold's dispatch from this afternoon:

With Carpenter at his locker and La Russa addressing a handful of media types, the manager explained that trainers had told him that Carpenter wouldn’t be ready for 100-110 pitches until the middle of the season. But 30 … now, 30 pitches he would be “ready to throw on opening day,” La Russa said. So, he decided that Jason Isringhausen will shift to setup and Carpenter will be the featured closer, throwing no more than 30 pitches and pulling a Joba — working his way into the starting rotation from the very back of the bullpen.

“I was going to anoint (Carpenter) the closer and Izzy would be his setup man,” La Russa said. ”The reason I was going to do that is that he had two tickets to Led Zeppelin that he game to Marty and Mrs. Mason instead of Tony and Mrs. La Russa. And I was on my way out of the office to do that before Dunc hurt me.”

Just imagine how much debate and discussion would have run through Cardinal Nation if TLR had let that stay out there overnight.  There's just enough logic to it to make it believable, isn't there?  Especially coming from Tony?  You better believe Izzy would be giving up his tickets from now on if that had happened!

All the pitchers are in camp.  A lot of the hitters are already there as well.  Sounds like it's going to be a pretty young gathering down in Jupiter, which should make for some great competition and a lot to talk about the coming weeks.

And you have to enjoy seeing these pictures.  It makes it all real, doesn't it?

Odds and Ends

Not much going on as we wait for next Thursday, so let's see what's out there.

Chris Carpenter feels good.  Which is always nice to hear.  In fact, I think I've heard it before.  With Carpenter, Mulder, Ankiel......  I love that he's doing well and it'd be great to have him back before the All-Star Break, but I know this team, their track record with injuries and their track record with press discussions.  If he's back before August, it'll be a major victory.

The Post-Dispatch discusses the outfield.  We've talked about that here some as well.  I'd love to see Rasmus make the club Opening Day, but with all the other bodies out there, I can't imagine he'll be able to without a lights-out spring.

One of the major shots at ownership's purse string management has been their reluctance to go "all-out" during the draft.  One of those that got away last year, Kyle Russell, is back in the news.  We'll see how he does at Texas this year.

cards4life has started his breakdown of the lineup by batting order.  The leadoff position, well, leads off.  And, in that vein, Kujo is still examining the players as well.

You know, when you think about it, the Cardinals do have a lot of former steroid users.

People are starting to get their season tickets.  The excitement level is building!

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]