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Recently in Cincinnati Reds CategoryThe Downward SwingPosted on September 6, 2011 at 6:37 AM
I hope all of you and yours had a wonderful Labor Day weekend. Heaven knows the Cardinals sure didn't.I said on Sunday's Gateway to Baseball Heaven (or perhaps it was the end of the most recent Conversation with C70 after I talked with Bill Ivie--download 'em both and see!) that this season has been like a kid's rollercoaster. The highs aren't that high (a four-game winning streak, the sweep of Milwaukee) and the lows follow immediately, but they aren't an unexpected plunge (losing two of three to the Reds, dropping back to 10.5 games behind). This team again refuses to show any consistency, any sort of oomph to put together a run, and now it's beyond too late to do so. Let's recap the last four games: Friday (11-8 loss vs. Cincinnati) Hero: David Freese. A nice three-for-five with a home run and two RBI. Goat: Marc Rzepczynski. As bad of a game as Chris Carpenter had and as back-breaking as the home run Kyle McClellan gave up, giving up that two-run homer after the Cards had completed their comeback to tie the game is a tough, tough thing. Notes: Carpenter had a terrible inning, but that's all it takes at times. Getting this team down 5-0 is not a recipe for a good night, so I was impressed to see them rally back to tie it up. It was almost like they were about to make that kind of run. The Brewers were losing early and so it allowed you to dream a bit before Milwaukee rallied and the bullpen blew up. Until McClellan's home run, it was one of the first times all season I thought they might be able to get something done in the ninth and at least tie it up. That wasn't to be when the lead bloomed from one to four. Saturday (6-4 win vs. Cincinnati) Hero: Albert Pujols. Two for three with a run and a RBI is a nice day at the ballpark, especially when he's chasing milestones. Goat: Arthur Rhodes. Giving up a two-run homer to a lefty isn't doing your job. Thankfully the lead was four at the time. Notes: Jaime Garcia pitched a game we were more used to seeing out of him at home. He still only went six innings, but he limited the damage, got some strikeouts, and didn't let things unravel on him. Don't know if it was the extra rest that allowed him to adjust his mindset or what, but it was welcome. Jon Jay, Matt Holliday and Skip Schumaker all had two hits as well. Sunday (3-2 loss vs. Cincinnati in 10) Hero: Edwin Jackson. The Cards may have lost, but it'd be tough to pin it on him. Just two runs in seven innings, and eight strikeouts to boot. A very solid game, one that shows why so many teams will take a chance on him. Goat: You can just about pick one. I'm going to go with Fernando Salas, who allowed a hit-walk-hit rally for the winning run after two were out in the tenth. You could also pick on Rafael Furcal, who went 0-5 leading off. While the numbers don't look terrible in the box score, the fact that the team only scored two runs in this game speaks for itself. Notes: I wasn't able to watch a lot of this game, but apparently it was a bit controversial when Tony La Russa pulled Lance Berkman after a hit and pinch-ran with Corey Patterson. (I say that because my dad indicated he disagreed with the move when I saw him that evening.) It seems reasonable enough to me, though. Not that using Corey Patterson ever is the right move, but Berkman hasn't hit much lately, is often pulled for a pinch-hitter, and Patterson's speed could have been the difference in scoring an eighth-inning run that might have been the game winner. It seems like a reasonable move to me, at least. Hero: Almost by default, you have to go with Jake Westbrook. Westbrook did his best to keep the Cards in the game, allowing only three runs (two earned) in six innings. Of course, he did only go six and he gave up nine hits in that span, but he struck out nine, a data point that reinforces a complaint his teammates had (more on that in a bit). Goat: Another game with plenty to choose from. The team only had four hits, with one of those coming when Gerald Laird pinch-hit. Rafael Furcal went 0-3 at leadoff, but at least he drew a walk. Kyle McClellan gave up a home run again in his inning of work. So I'll give it to Ryan Theriot, who went 0-3 batting second, with a strikeout and a double play. Notes: Pujols got a hit, so he's still in the hunt for .300, sitting at .295. It's going to be interesting to see how the Cards play the next few weeks, especially if he gets over that mark. Will they sit him more? Or do they want to make sure that people get to have what could be their last looks at him in a Cardinal uniform? The time of Monday's game became a talking point again, after Pujols and Holliday both reiterated what Berkman had said earlier in the year. While they made sure to give as much credit as possible to Randy Wolf, it seems the shadows with that mid-afternoon start time make it a very difficult thing to pick up the ball. In fairness, some of the Brewer players mentioned that as well, including Ryan Braun. As pointed out in the game story, most of those are from the Fox Game of the Week. Nothing that the home team can do about those. It will be interesting, if this is part of the CBA negotiations, to see if that changes for next year. It's only been a couple of years since they moved them from the earlier 1:05 starts to the 3:05 that they have these days. Could they do as Holliday suggests and make a "Saturday Night Baseball"? Or would Fox move it back to the earlier afternoon slot? Who knows, but it's something to keep an eye on. Yesterday's game, of course, wasn't a nationally televised one. While Pujols mentioned that he asked for the game to be moved and got no response, that's not surprising. Moving game times on short notice isn't what the Cards want to do if they can avoid it. That said, I expect that there won't be any of those kind of games on next season's schedule, or even if there are when they announce it (and that should be in the next week or so) those times may change over the winter. Who knows, maybe it'll be a negotiation point in the Pujols contract discussions! Probably the more relevant news from this weekend is that the club is looking to keep Furcal and he's completely open to that. In a vacuum, this move as well as the idea that they want to bring Berkman back are solid moves. These are guys that likely can help the 2012 Cardinals. However, when you start thinking about it, doesn't that mean that the 2012 version will be very, very similar to the way the 2011 team finished? And didn't the 2011 team struggle down the stretch? It'd be different if the Cards finished out of the playoffs but had played strong in August and September, so you could say, "Wow, with a full season of these guys...." Yes, the team will get back Adam Wainwright, but would that be enough to keep next season from feeling like a repeat of 2011? Is that the best move for a fanbase that is already a little restless? I'd like Berkman to return. I could understand bringing Furcal back. But I think some changes need to be made and if you don't make them there, where else can you make them? Of course, the same story says that the Cards are going to try to give Tyler Greene a lot of playing time the next three weeks and see what they have with him. I've come around to the "stick Greene out there and see" school of thought. I'm not sure if three weeks is enough, but it should give a good representation. Hopefully he'll bring his bat with him this time and give the Cards a cheap option at short next season. Greene is going to be coming up today, along with Tony Cruz and Adron Chambers. That'll likely finish the call-ups, so it'll be interesting to see Chambers and what he can do over the rest of the season. He's going to be on a lot of people's lists when the United Cardinal Bloggers do their Top 7 Prospects next week. The Cards are back where they were before the Milwaukee sweep last week, languishing 10.5 games behind. As the playoffs are out as a goal, I'd like to see the Cards aim to cut that deficit as much as they can. Five games out sits better with me than double digits. They are still five games ahead of the Reds, so I think they can stay in second, but getting closer to Milwaukee would be nice. Tonight doesn't look like the best chance of that, though, as Kyle Lohse goes for the Cards vs. Yovani Gallardo. Interestingly enough, as much as the two teams have gone at each other, Lohse hasn't faced the Brewers since June 10 (four runs in five innings). In fact, Edwin Jackson, whose been a Cardinal for five weeks, has faced the Brewers more times this year than Lohse has! Here are the career numbers:
Gallardo has had varying results against the Redbirds, with an almost-no-hitter and some ugly games as well. Cards battered him for eight in less than five innings last week, which was reflected in the numbers:
Nothing more to do but watch the last three weeks and know that, way too soon, winter is coming. Appreciate the game while you can!  Filed Under: Cincinnati Reds
| Heroes and Goats
| Milwaukee Brewers
| St. Louis Cardinals
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Three Small StepsPosted on September 2, 2011 at 10:41 AM
(Programming note: If you come straight to the front page via bookmark, you may have missed my other two posts from today. Click here for a reminder about tonight's This One's For You and here for news on the Cardinals' campaign for Mike Shannon.)Rafael Furcal led off with a home run. Albert Pujols hit a home run a batter later. Corey Hart hit a home run for Milwaukee. There was a grand slam for the Redbirds, giving them six runs. They tacked on two more in a later inning and scored 8 on the game. Can I just rerun yesterday's post as well, since it seemed like the game was a repeat? Of course, there were some differences, mainly in the fact that our hero Pujols went 4-4 with both that home run and that grand slam. Matt Holliday also joined in the fun, cranking his 200th career home run as the Cards scored all eight runs via the long ball. As long as the home runs are plentiful, I don't think anyone is going to complain too much about that. (And just more proof that Albert reads this blog and loves to prove me wrong, since I stated yesterday he wasn't likely to get to .300 or the 100 RBI standard.) I think you also have to give some kudos to Brandon Dickson. He pitched a very strong first inning and worked of some trouble in the third (after giving up two home runs of his own) before putting runners on in the fourth. Tony La Russa not only did his usual "make sure the kid can't lose the game" bit by taking him out there, but also showed how much he really wanted to win this game. Octavio Dotel did a fine job before running out of gas at the end of his 2.2 inning stint and Fernando Salas (save the home run he allowed to Prince Fielder) and Jason Motte kept things from blowing up and ruining a fine day for Cardinal Nation. So, the Cards swept the first place team and cut three games off the lead. What does it mean? Well, probably, not a whole lot. Even if the Cards win all three games next week against the Brewers, it's still four and a half with not a lot to play. I talked with Bill Ivie last night for the next edition of Conversations With C70 and I hope to get that up sometime today or tomorrow, because he really laid out how hard of a mountain that is to overcome. That said, the Cards did get a win without having to use Chris Carpenter, who can go today against the Reds. That's a point in their favor. If they actually have found a groove--not just one of these false hopes that they've given the fanbase so often this year--they could start piling up some wins and perhaps make Milwaukee a bit nervous. If the Brewers lose a game or two this weekend in Houston while the Cards are beating the Reds (both sides of the proposition are gambles, I realize), then perhaps a little doubt enters the Brewers' minds. Until then, though, I'm going to root for the Cards to make this respectable, to lose by 4-5 games instead of 10-12 if they are going to lose. The good thing about the stretch, where they've won six of seven, is that they've pulled away from the Reds somewhat for second place. I think it would have been even more embarrassing for this team that was projected to win the division to finish third and finish closer to Pittsburgh than Milwaukee. If there's no postseason in your future, at least aim for respectability. The downside of yesterday was Lance Berkman, who not only went 0-4 on a day when only one other starter didn't get a hit, but also struck out four times. There's no comments that I can see in any of the writeups about it, so hopefully it was just a bad day at the plate. However, he's 1 for 18 in his last week of play, which seems to indicate that there is more to it than that. Could be just a slump, something that he'll shake out of before too long. That's part of the game. It's been just over a month since he had a cortisone shot, so I wouldn't think that would have worn off yet. Hopefully he'll get his groove going this weekend against the Reds. Other positive news, though not for this season, concerns Adam Wainwright. Waino is just about to get to the point where he can throw some bullpen sessions, meaning that there should be absolutely no reason he won't be ready to go on Opening Day. I love what he says here about his motivation, though: "Realistically the only way to get in a game is if we were to go deep in the playoffs," Wainwright said. "And I think realistically the chances of that happening -- not that we go deep in the playoffs, but the chances of them placing me in a game if we do -- are very, very, very, very, very, very small. But my work is drastically improved with the thought that I'm working for something." I like that insight into an athlete's mind. He rationally knows that he's not going to pitch in any playoffs, even if the Cards get there, but if he can trick himself into thinking that's the case, he's much more motivated to do the work and get himself better. I'm glad that the Cards have indicated they will pick up his options, because it's going to be great having this guy in a Cardinal uniform for a long time to come. Cards host the Reds this evening. They really can't afford to have an off night, not with wanting to keep a little pressure on Milwaukee, but they do have a tall task. Johnny Cueto is going to go for the Cincinnati squad, and all he has done is lead the league in ERA this season, as well as put up a 1.19 ERA in 22.2 innings against the Cardinals this year. Cueto's been good against everyone, but that is above and beyond. The Cards did tag him for four unearned runs over that span, which is one reason he's 1-1 against the club. Something's got to turn around or it's going to be another quiet night in Busch. Here are the historical numbers:
Also on the plus side, Carpenter is on the mound for the Redbirds. Carpenter has a 3.18 ERA against the Cincinnati squad this year, going 2-1 in his four starts against them. In his career, though, he's 14-4 against the Reds and only allowed a .199 BAA. He's been a Reds killer and, in his own way, as much of a villain in Reds Country as Cueto is to Cardinal fans. Here are the career numbers against this current crop of Redlegs:
 Filed Under: Cincinnati Reds
| Heroes and Goats
| Milwaukee Brewers
| St. Louis Cardinals
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Not Alarmed...YetPosted on July 18, 2011 at 7:10 AM
While that wasn't the best of weekends in the Queen City, not only for the fact that the Cards lost two of three but also because Brandon Phillips played a major role in both losses, I'm not quite ready to push the panic button. As Bill Ivie pointed out on last night's Gateway to Baseball Heaven, most any team can say they were "just pitches away" from being a good team, but for whatever reason, these losses did not work me up the way losses in May did. Perhaps it was because there wasn't a systematic failure. Perhaps because they were close games that could have gone the other way. Whatever the reason, while it wasn't ideal, I can live with this weekend. Let's take a look at the games.Friday (6-5 loss) Hero: Albert Pujols. His two-run home run should have won the game for the Cards. Goat: Fernando Salas. Not as much for Phillips's HR, because while it wasn't a great pitch, it wasn't a meatball, but more for letting Zack Cozart get on ahead of him, meaning the HR won the game instead of tying it. Notes: Cards were a very patient team, drawing six walks. Didn't do a lot of hitting, but made the best of a bases-loaded, nobody out situation in the seventh (plus an error by Phillips). Jake Westbrook had a solid game, but he just couldn't figure out Chris Heisey. Trever Miller again wasn't able to get a lefty out, allowing a double to Joey Votto that gave back the lead the Cards had just taken. Saturday (4-1 win) Hero: Albert Pujols. The three-run shot was about all the Cards got, and it was all they needed. Goat: David Freese. 0-3, though he did draw a walk. Notes: Another great outing by Chris Carpenter. He didn't throw quite as many pitches as he has recently, but still ran it up there. Fanned seven and walked three, but only allowed one run in eight. Carpenter starts are again becoming must-see events. Great work by Salas to bounce back after the outing the night before to have a solid save. Also good to see Jon Jay have a three-hit night subbing in for Colby Rasmus, just stirring the pot that much more. Hero: Lance Berkman. Put up the only run with his solo shot. Goat: Ryan Theriot. Not only did he go 0-3 in the leadoff role, but then completely snapped on a play in the sixth inning. I'm not sure if his foot touched the bag on that play or not--Skip Schumaker has to shoulder some of that by throwing a bit too high and wide to the bag--but there was absolutely no reason to completely flip out like that. He was a bit more apologetic after the game, but if he did bump the umpire and is suspended for a couple of games, that kinda hurts, especially with the news that Nick Punto is going on this disabled list. Notes: Jaime Garcia pitched a very good game, especially when you factor in the fact that he's struggled so much on the road. The Theriot play did come around to hurt him, but the biggest reason for that is Garcia threw two wild pitches in that inning. The first was probably more of a passed ball, a ball that Yadier Molina might have corralled but Tony Cruz allowed to slide too far away. The second, though, was the shortest pitch I've ever seen. It bounced a good couple of feet in front of the plate and then went high over Cruz's head, allowing the tying run to score. Besides that and a triple to Miguel Cairo, he was solid all the way through, which is something you like to see. Punto gutted out a great at-bat in the eighth that culminated in a base hit, something that looked to be significant when Molina hit a flare over the infield. Unfortunately, Phillips went back and made a nice play, robbing the Cards of tying up the game. Still a lot swirling around about Colby Rasmus this weekend. Tony La Russa pinch hit for him with Molina in the eighth, which really made sense due to the fact that a lefty was on the mound and given how much Rasmus is scuffling right now. Colby's father came out and said he's not really working with Rasmus, which is interesting given the comments from La Russa earlier. John Mozeliak continues to reiterate that Rasmus isn't going anywhere, but how much of that is public posturing, how much is trying to keep the market for Rasmus up, and how much is truth depends on which portion of the fan base you ask. Joe Strauss said on Twitter that he believes the chances are "higher than 5%" that Rasmus as dealt at the trading deadline. I still don't see him going anywhere, but the odds are better than before. Cards are off today before playing the Big Apple tomorrow. We'll talk about pitching matchups then!  Starting AgainPosted on July 15, 2011 at 11:29 AM
Everybody good? Rested up over that break? Good, because if indications are right, this second half could be a doozy, so you'll need to buckle down and be ready to go.The Cardinals start play today 1/2 game ahead of Milwaukee, a game ahead of Pittsburgh, and four games up on the Reds. There's a preview of the second half up at the Post-Dispatch, but in my mind it boils down to whether the Cardinals will stay healthy. The Cardinals have played without major pieces all year and now many of those pieces are back on the roster. Adam Wainwright's out all year, of course, but Allen Craig and Eduardo Sanchez should be back in the next week or so and, after that, the DL looks a lot emptier. The Cards also fashioned this lead with a slumping Albert Pujols, a situation that no longer seems to be applicable. Even with his quick return from injury, he's still looking sharp and on the roll that he was on before he was hurt. In his five games since his return, he's hit .300/.375/.500 and has looked good swinging the bat. A potent Pujols, coupled with Matt Holliday, Lance Berkman and David Freese, will make this a lineup to be reckoned with pretty much from top to bottom. Doesn't mean the Cards are going to win without a battle from the other teams and there are no guarantees at all in baseball, but on the whole I'd put my money on the Redbirds if I were a betting man. Didn't get to talk much about Jaime Garcia's extension. On the face of it, it looks like a very good thing for the club. If Garcia ever figures out his road woes, he could (based on his work the last couple of years) be one of the top pitchers in baseball. To keep him out of arbitration and buying out (potentially with the options) a year or so of free agency, especially as pitching prices increase, is a great move. Looking at the future rotation is something that'll inspire Cardinal fans. In 2013, you could have Wainwright, Garcia and Shelby Miller, with Carlos Martinez either in the rotation or coming up. Won't that be an exciting time to be a Cardinal fan? Cards kick off a big series with the Reds tonight. You hate to draw any conclusions about sweeps with these two teams, but a Cardinal sweep would put Cincy seven games back. Jake Westbrook goes against Johnny Cueto tonight. The numbers are below. Westbrook vs. Cincy:
Cueto vs. Cardinals
Also, quick link for those of you interested in the minors. Stadium Journey, a web site that reviews various parks around the country, recently added a review of Dwyer Stadium, home of the Batavia Muckdogs, the short-season Cardinal minor league team. Check it out here to read about the park, as it gets high reviews. Finally, yesterday was the fourth anniversary of this blog. The description of the blog I wrote then still is fairly accurate, though most of those other blogs have gone away and my focus is on this one. So if you ever are wondering if Kip Wells did anything worthy in his time in St. Louis, perhaps inspiring me to write would be on your list. Thanks for reading for the last four years and I hope you'll stick around for many more!  A Fire In The BellyPosted on July 7, 2011 at 10:26 AM
Yes, the Cardinals lost last night. However, the way they lost provides hope for the coming days.That hope doesn't come from the starting pitching, of course. Jake Westbrook had a terrible first inning, giving up five runs before getting an out. He settled down some, allowing one run in the fourth and leaving with a runner on after one was out in the fifth. That runner scored when Trever Miller proved yet again that he has no business pitching to righties (and pitching to lefties can be questionable, though he got both of them out in his appearance) by allowing a bomb to Scott Rolen. Cards were down 8-0 after the fifth and appeared that they'd be done early. The hope comes from the fact that this team stirred and rallied to tie the game on Hero Jon Jay's long ball in the ninth. It seems like it's been a while since this team rallied from very far down (more than a run or so) to win a game, especially late in a game. Early in the year they had a few games like that and, to be fair, they've won a lot of their games with early rallies or taking the lead and not getting behind, but it was just good to know that even a large lead like that wasn't insurmountable. However, Goat Raul Valdes made the comeback moot. While he walked two in the inning, he almost got away with it, having Ramon Hernandez at 0-2 with two outs. Instead of wasting a pitch or at least attempting to get him to swing at a bad one, he laid one down the middle. Hernandez doubled in a run and that was it. With Nick Punto, Tony Cruz, and Daniel Descalso set for the bottom of the 13th, that was really a crushing blow. Cruz did his part, but Jay got called out on an outside pitch for the final out. Kudos also go out to Brandon Dickson. Not only did he come into the game and two and a third innings of scoreless ball, he also got a hit at the beginning of that five-run seventh that pushed the Cards much closer. His reward may be being sent to Memphis as the Cards need a spare reliever (and Bryan Augenstein apparently didn't play in the AAA extra-inning marathon), but he did a great job in showing that he deserves playing time in the bigs. Of course, some of the focus was on the return of Albert Pujols to the lineup. Pujols wasn't able to be extremely dramatic by winning the game with a long ball. (In fact, some would snarkily say that he was obviously back since he hit into a double play in the ninth.) Still, Pujols did get one hit and hit the ball sharply at other times. It looked like he was going to have a double in the 12th before the right fielder chased it down. In other words, I don't think there's a lot to worry about with Albert. The power may not come until after the break, but he still looks good at the plate. Something that Bruce Bochy might want to think about. Eduardo Sanchez starts his rehab assignment at Springfield today with an eye toward being ready for the first series after the break in Cincinnati. It's really getting exciting to see this team finally coming together with all the parts healthy. I think they could get on a strong run in the second half, barring any more injuries. Remember, the voting for the best All-Star moment is still going. Let's get Stan some more recognition! Cards open up a four-game set with the Diamondbacks tonight as Arizona stays away from their ballpark while it gets prepared for the All-Star Game. Joe Saunders goes against Kyle McClellan. The numbers are below. Saunders vs. Cards:
McClellan vs. Diamondbacks:
 Filed Under: Arizona Diamondbacks
| Cincinnati Reds
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| St. Louis Cardinals
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Freedom, Fireworks, and BaseballPosted on July 4, 2011 at 9:56 PM
As the noise of the fireworks reverberates around my neighborhood, it seems only appropriate to spend the last part of the holiday weekend catching up talking about the all-American sport. Little known fact: The Continental Congress used a home run derby to decide vital points. The Declaration would have started out "King George sucks and is a bully" instead "When in the course of human events" if Thomas Jefferson hadn't raked nine longballs to John Hancock's six.I've been meaning to catch up all weekend long, with the excitement of the Baltimore sweep then somewhat tempered by the collapses against the Rays. With Albert Pujols making noise and a number of injured guys looking like they'll make an impact soon, it's time to take stock of this team. Recap time! Thursday (9-6 win at Baltimore) Hero: Lance Berkman. Two home runs and three RBI. Goat: Jaime Garcia. A lot of nights, five runs in just over five innings is going to be a problem for this team. Thankfully, they'd built an 8-0 lead and were able to absorb it, but it still points to a strange issue with Garcia. For his career, Garcia has a 1.74 ERA at home vs. a 4.60 mark on the road. That's not the only indicator that he likes his home cooking, though. His K/BB ratio, his BAA, his home runs allowed, his WHIP all are worse, most of them significantly, when he's not pitching at Busch Stadium, even though the number of innings for home and road are fairly compatible. What does this mean? Besides the fact that Garcia would start any Game 7 pitched under the Arch but none away from it, I don't know. It's obvious that something is different, though. Perhaps he has trouble with distractions when he's out of his routine. Perhaps there's something about the lighting or the appearance of Busch that works wonders for him. I don't know what it is but it's pretty obvious there's something and Garcia is going to have to figure out what it is and how to change it before he becomes an elite pitcher in this league. Notes: Another strong night for Jon Jay, who had three hits, drove in three, and could be pressed for playing time soon. (More on that in a bit.) David Freese had two hits as he continues to show that he's not rusty at all, though he did make an error. Friday (5-3 win at Tampa Bay) Hero: Colby Rasmus. His three-run home run, besides being part of an inning that had just about all of the Rays tossed out of the game, was the key to the game after a troublesome bottom of the eighth for the Cards. Goat: Lance Lynn. Lynn's been doing pretty well out of the bullpen, but allowed three runs in an inning in this one. Notes: Nice to see Fernando Salas come out on back-to-back days and have uneventful ninth innings. Perhaps whatever glitch he had in June has been ironed out and the end of games will be a little cleaner. Jake Westbrook also pitched a very solid game, allowing no runs in seven and striking out twice as many as he walked. If he can be more of an innings-eater (and I mean that he pitches good innings), that'll help a lot going forward. Saturday (5-1 loss at Tampa Bay) Hero: Lance Berkman. Put the only run on the board with yet another long ball. Goat: Kyle McClellan. For a while there, McClellan looked pretty good. He put up five straight scoreless innings and went into the sixth leading 1-0. He never saw the end of it, allowing five runs in two-thirds of a frame before Jason Motte put out the uprising with a strikeout. What exactly does the team do with McClellan? Do they hope this is just a rough patch? Because the numbers aren't looking all that good for McClellan after his strong start. Save for his stellar one run, seven inning outing against the Phillies three starts ago, he's not gotten past the sixth since May 19 and hasn't completed the sixth since 5/24. From his start on the 24th at San Diego until now, he's posted a 5.73 ERA and opponents have an .807 OPS against him. Also, he's only gone 33 innings in those six starts, meaning that the bullpen is always going to be working more than three innings on his days. Could he bounce back? It's possible, I guess, but I'm not holding my breath. We saw Chris Carpenter have bad results this season, but his underlying numbers were good and it wasn't surprising that he started to return to form. (The fact that he's apparently decided never to give the ball to the bullpen if he doesn't have to is also working for him.) Carpenter also had a long history to point to and give some confidence to a doubtful fan base. McClellan doesn't have that, and the odds are he's not going to turn around now and start going seven or so innings into games on a regular basis. Notes: Brandon Dickson made his debut and did a fine job, getting Trever Miller out of yet another sticky situation. The Cardinals had plenty of chances here, piling up 10 hits and three walks, but two double plays really took the wind out of their sails. Sunday (8-3 loss at Tampa Bay) Hero: Lance Berkman. Folks, if you'd have said that Berkman would have 22 home runs this year, I think every Cardinal fan in the world would have taken it. To have him have that many home runs the week before the All-Star break? Most Cardinal fans would have sat you down and lectured you about the evils of drugs, because you were apparently on something. It's been the most effective $8 million the Cards have spent in a long, long time. Even if Berkman does nothing in the second half (which I don't expect will happen), you have to give major kudos to John Mozeliak for realizing how well Berkman would do in the right place and that he had a lot left to give. Goat: Really not sure who to give the Goat to. I'm guessing Kyle Lohse, because he did give up a lot of doubles, but he didn't have the strongest of defenses going behind him, plus Motte allowed one of his inherited runners to score as well. Lohse not getting through the sixth was a problem coming on the heels of McClellan's outing. While that was two games in a row that he left early, the one before was the Baltimore game where he left due to a rain delay. Lohse may be slowing down from his blistering early season pace, but he's still a very effective mid-rotation starter and I think likely to stay that way. Notes: Brian Tallet has struggled and did again in this game. The biggest thing that he has going for him right now is that there are no other dominant lefties in the organization and Trever Miller has been almost as bad. If Raul Valdes really gets on a roll, though, Tallet could be the next veteran to be an ex-Cardinal. Monday (1-0 win vs. Cincinnati) Hero: Chris Carpenter. Another stellar outing. It's obvious that Carp has dug down and said he's not relinquishing the ball. Since the beginning of June, look at his pitch counts. 118, 92, 124, 124, 132 and 119 tonight. He's thrown two complete games victory, one complete game loss, and left after eight tonight. Whatever has gotten into him, it seems to be working, which is a great thing for Cardinal Nation. Goat: David Freese. Tough night for Freese, as he ended at least two innings with a runner on base, once with a double play. In a game where runs were at such a premium, that hurt. Notes: Nice game by Jon Jay, even if he was tossed out trying to steal. That catch he made to rob a home run in the fourth could have been a difference maker, the way it turned out. Two hits by Colby Rasmus, which means he could be getting on the good side of his streaky reputation. Of course, many of these games have been overshadowed by the fact that it appears that Pujols will be returning not at the beginning of August as so many thought when he went down, but possibly tomorrow, the first day he is eligible to do so. While I really won't believe that one until Twitter lights up tomorrow when the lineup is posted, it definitely sounds like he'll be back before the All-Star Break. Obviously, this is good news for the Cardinals. I don't think that they are rushing him back, because the problem with the team lately hasn't been the offense. Sure, having Pujols back is a boon and you'd rather go into games with him than without him, but it's not like the Cards are being shut out every other game and they have to have that bat in the lineup. So I don't think it's a pressure situation here, but that he has healed up quickly. (Though, being the machine that he is, it could be that they just welded over the fracture and oiled him up.) If he thinks he's healthy and, more importantly, the medical community thinks he's healthy, I'm all for getting him back in the game. Not only does that help the team immensely, but it allows him more time to get to that .300/30/100 level that he probably doesn't think about but is nice to see from a fan's point of view. Also seen at Busch today were Eduardo Sanchez throwing and Gerald Laird catching. I wasn't able to hear what the prognosis on those two were, but it's just great to see the team coming together again. With Pujols back, you figure Jay goes to the bench, deepening that and giving Tony La Russa some options later in the game. Tony Cruz hasn't embarrassed himself at all in the bigs and, even though he'll probably go down when Laird is ready, you know that he'll get another call up when they need help. As for Sanchez, adding him to the eighth with some of the other arms out there should make for a more stable pen. Lots of excitement about the second half of the season! Cards are sending Berkman, Matt Holliday, and Yadier Molina to the All-Star Game. A little different (but understandable) not to see Pujols going and it seems like it's been a while since a Cardinal pitcher hasn't been on the All-Star staff. If Carpenter had gotten this run going a little earlier, he might have been considered. Cards are up one on Milwaukee, 1.5 on Pittsburgh (that's no typo, Pittsburgh is within two games of first with less than half a season to go) and three on Cincinnati. Tomorrow (or, more likely, today since it's late on Monday night when I'm writing this and you'll probably be reading it Tuesday morning) Garcia gets a home start (thumbs up!) against Edinson Volquez. Here's Garcia versus the Red hitters:
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