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UCB Prediction Week, Part I: American League

Posted on March 26, 2012 at 11:30 AM
Every year about this time, the United Cardinal Bloggers take aim at their predictions for the upcoming season.  It's a great way to look at the divisions, get a feel for what is going on, and write down picks that you will be trying to scrub from any internet search engine by probably July.

I'm far from an expert, so take all of these picks with a grain of salt.  There are few gut picks that don't have a lot of basis in reality, so feel free to take that into consideration when reading them.

Since the American League doesn't really matter as much, we at the UCB just lump it all into one day.  So keep reading to see how I pick the divisions to shake out.
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A Busy Spring Weekend

Posted on March 19, 2012 at 7:18 AM
As Opening Day continues to close in on us (just 17 more days!) the games become more important and more and more relevant news comes out of Jupiter.  Such was the case this weekend, as there were a number of things that may impact the club.

First and foremost may be the oblique injury to Skip Schumaker.  Schumaker, who of course wasn't expected to be a starter but was pretty valuable insurance to the club in various places, hurt that muscle on Friday and nothing about the outlook has improved with the passage of time.  According to Mike Matheny, it's worse than the oblique injury that Schmaker had last year in the playoffs, an injury that left him off the NLCS roster and very limited in the World Series.

So what exactly does that mean?  It seems unlikely that Schumaker won't start the season on the disabled list, so a roster spot has opened up.  Who will take it is a pretty solid question.

There could be the case for taking Alex Cora north.  Cora would give another infield presence and he's a veteran guy, but he's not ever shown that he can do much in the way of hitting.  This spring, for example, he's hitting .231 in 13 at-bats.  With Daniel Descalso available to play about any infield position, I'm not sure having an extra insurance policy in Cora is really what the Cardinals need.

I'm guessing that the biggest beneficiary in this might be Erik Komatsu.  Komatsu is hitting .250 this spring, but has four steals and five RBI.  He's been playing regularly and it sounds like Matheny likes what he sees there.  As Komatsu has to be on the roster all year long or offered back to Washington due to his Rule 5 status, I'm thinking this gives the club longer to have him on the roster and see what he can do in the bigs.

So you have Yadier Molina and his backup, Lance Berkman, David Freese, Tyler Greene, Rafael Furcal and Daniel Descalso for the infield positions, leaving you six more slots for the outfielders.  Jon Jay, Carlos Beltran, Matt Holliday are going.  Hmm, even with Komatsu and maybe Adron Chambers, there's another spot here until Allen Craig is healthy.

With the versatility he's shown this spring, it might very well be that Matt Carpenter gets to head to St. Louis again this season.  Carpenter's hitting .292 this spring with four walks and five runs scored, plus he can play outfield, third base and I believe he took some balls at second base as well.  Having someone like that on the bench is pretty valuable, so if the Cards don't want a true shortstop backup like Cora, Carpenter might be the way to go.

Of course, I'm not sold on Chambers starting the year in the bigs either, figuring the club may want him playing every day.  However, I don't think they'd take another outfield type over him, so he's probably going at least until Craig returns.  Then again, the idea that they'd take Matt Adams north to help him absorb the atmosphere and get his feet wet in the bigs is still on the table.  With Allen Craig making noises about being ready before May, having Adams on the big league squad for a while wouldn't necessarily hinder his growth.  I still think there's only about a 5% chance of that happening, but it'd be intriguing, wouldn't it?  Of course, there's always the possibility that Craig would be ready by Opening Day, rendering that whole discussion (like so many of mine) moot.

On a more positive injury note, Chris Carpenter threw a bullpen session this weekend and pronounced himself pretty "all right" and ready to move on to the next step.  There was an indication he might throw another one on Sunday, but if he did I'm not seeing any reporting of it.  He might go today instead, but I'm thinking that, if he's as good as it sounds, he'll be starting by the end of the week.

If that's the case, and being that the Cards really don't need a fifth starter until almost the end of April due to the off days, it's very possible the Cards go north with eight relievers, put Carp on the DL, and have him come off before the end of the month.  It's also possible that, if he's close, he goes north with the team but misses the first time through the rotation, giving him a little extra time to throw bullpens, etc. to get ready.

Whatever the case, it sounds like Opening Day is out.  Could be that he'll wind up throwing in that Springfield game then, though, which would be a real treat for the fans there.

Cardinals beat the Marlins, had trouble with the Tigers, then beat the Marlins again.  In the latter of those Marlins' games, Adam Wainwright went four innings, allowed only an earned run, and was very happy with the outing.  Bill mentioned last night on Gateway To Baseball Heaven that there was some indications that his velocity dropped in his last inning of work, leading to speculation that he was having some fatigue.  That doesn't seem to have been the case, but it's definitely worth keeping an eye on the next time out as he should go at least five in that start.  However, it sounds like he had his curveball working and when Wainwright has that going, the hitters aren't going to have much fun.

In Saturday's game, the fourth inning was the undoing of Jaime Garcia, who had one of those off Garcia days that we have seen from time to time.  Garcia got out of the fourth when a liner was rocketed to Descalso, who stepped on second to double off the runner.  That was after loading the bases in the second and not allowing a runner.  When the leadoff batter reached in the fifth, that was all for Garcia.

These are the kind of outings that were frustratingly regular for Jaime last year and ones that he's going to have to not have if he's going to be more consistent and take the next step in his career.  Hopefully it was just a spring glitch and I look forward to seeing what he'll do next time out.

After looking at the link above, I realize it's time for, if I were doing Freddie's podcast, would be the "what the heck" segment.  Can I tell you how much I dislike the St. Patrick's Day green jerseys?  Why does baseball decide to go all out for that holiday?  I mean, I'd give you that when a couple of teams had green hats, it was kinda a neat quirk.  Then everyone had green hats and, honestly, not every team looks good in that.  Then they went to the full-blown green jerseys, which looks disastrous with the red and yellow birds on the bat logo sitting on it.  Yet every team now has officially issued St. Patrick's Day jerseys so that MLB can make a few bucks selling them to people that apparently have more money than sense.  What's next, a gold home plate and green bases?  Wearing a whole flag uniform instead of just the caps on Memorial Day and the Fourth of July?  It's ridiculous and it really needs to go.

Cards take on the Braves today with Lance Lynn getting his second start in case he's needed in that role.  The game is on Fox Sports Midwest and, if you have the MLB GameDay Audio option (or live down Atlanta way), on their radio network.

Thanks to everyone that participated in the All-Time Cardinal Team Tournament Round 1.  All the top seeds advance and tomorrow we'll do the Round of 32.  I70 Baseball and Pitchers Hit Eighth should have their regionals up today, so be sure to check back to vote there.  Today's Playing Pepper is the Phillies, so be sure to come back and read it!

Playing Pepper 2012: Detroit Tigers

Posted on March 2, 2012 at 11:30 AM
In 2009, I decided to get a feel for other teams around baseball by asking bloggers for those teams some questions about their squad.  Not only has this series been very popular, but it spawned the Baseball Bloggers Alliance.  With camps opening up again and spring training getting into gear, it's time once again to play a little pepper.

Detroit Tigers
95-67, first in the AL Central, lost to Texas in the ALCS

The Tigers were kind enough to spot the Indians some ground at the beginning of the season, but by the time the postseason came around, Detroit was standing on top of the AL Central heap.  Using a legendary season by Justin Verlander and the offensive heroics of Miguel Cabrera, Detroit rolled through New York as well in the playoffs before coming up short against the Rangers.

Not content to stay still, Detroit made a move this offseason.  You might have heard about it.  It happened late in the day, but it was still a move that likely cemented their position as the class of the division.

To talk about that move and other things Tigers-related, we've got a couple of great Detroit bloggers with us today.  Jennifer Cosey writes for Old English D and is a member of the BBA.  Not only can you read her at the site but you can also follow her on Twitter at VivaTigres.  

Until recently, Erin Saelzler was writing at Tigers Amateur Analysis, but now has moved on to contributing at Walkoff Woodard while working up a new site called Tigerology.  Erin is also a BBA member and can be found on Twitter at SabreRoseTiger.

After the jump, we'll talk about the new third baseman and if any rookies can make this squad in 2012.
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Postseason Starts With A Curve

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 6:04 PM
Tony La Russa pulled out another of his sleight of hand tricks today, stating that Chris Carpenter would be the Game 2 starter in Philadelphia, sending Carpenter out just three days after throwing a complete game shutout.

There's no doubt Tony has his reasons.  We talked this morning about Jaime Garcia and how he does much better at home, ruling him out of the first couple of games.  It seemed fairly obvious, then, that Edwin Jackson would be the much better choice to go in the second game, until this announcement.  As you've probably heard, Carpenter has never--never, mind you--gone on three days' rest in his career.

Josh from Pitchers Hit Eighth and I were chatting on Google Talk this afternoon and he brought up a point that I hadn't considered, namely that Jackson is more of a fly ball pitcher.  I recall him going to extremes with that in one of his last starts, as balls continued to fly deeper and deeper, but stay in the ballpark.  With Philadelphia's bandbox, those balls would be much more likely to soar over the wall.

However, I wanted to see if that was actually true.  Pulling up his Baseball Reference page, I note that he has been a bit more likely to give up the longball since moving to the National League and that his strikeout rate has decreased.  His GB/FB is 0.64 and his HR/FB% is at 6%, higher than it has been in his last couple of teams.  How much of these numbers are skewed due to the beating he took in Milwaukee, I don't know, but that does have to be considered.  Nevertheless, it does look like he'd be an ill fit for Philadelphia.  He did not pitch in Citizens Bank Park this season and in his one career game there, he gave up five runs in five innings.

I also think this is a good way for TLR to keep the pressure off of Kyle Lohse.  We know that he likes to do that (look at the disastrous attempt back in 2000 with using Darryl Kile as a decoy for Rick Ankiel) and he loves to get the focus on him so that the players can do their jobs without concern.  People are talking about Carpenter and whether this decision is the right one.  They aren't talking about Lohse having to go up against Roy Halladay.

With Lohse and Carpenter, the latter of which treats 100 pitch games are like warmups, going in enemy territory it does seem like the best way for the Cards to steal a game there and have a chance to win it at home.  I'm a little worried that TLR is getting too cute with things and that these kind of moves have a tendency on backfiring, but I understand the logic and it's worth a shot.

Also, per the discussion earlier today, TLR has said that Jake Westbrook will be on the postseason roster, so you can probably go ahead and cross off Eduardo Sanchez, which is too bad because I really think he could make a difference.

Quick plug before I wrap this: you can hear my thoughts on the upcoming series and some on the season that's past on this Popblerd podcast.  Garrett and I have known each other for a couple of years, as internet people know each other at least, and it was good to sit down and talk to him about the squad.  I hope to have him on my podcast sometime this winter so we can have a chat about the San Francisco squad.

Before the 2006 postseason, I remember looking at the path the Cardinals were going to take and thinking that they really had a legitimate shot.  I felt like they could get past San Diego, in part because they always did.  I looked at the Mets and thought that the Cards had the pitching edge in that series because Pedro Martinez was unavailable.  I looked at Detroit and again thought the Cards had the edge because of their pitching and how they were playing, having everyone healthy and ready to go.

I look at this 2011 postseason and, while they don't necessarily have all the edges that the 2006 squad had, I really do like their chances.  Getting past Philadelphia will be tough, but it's a team that the Cards have beaten in the regular season so I don't think there will be as much of an intimidation factor as there might be with some other teams.  Couple that with a fairly experienced squad and I think they can beat Philadelphia in five.

I'm not sure who wins in the Arizona/Milwaukee series, but I think the Cardinals can hang with either of them.  The Cards went 4-3 against Arizona and 9-9 against Milwaukee.  Arizona has a big top two of Daniel Hudson and Ian Kennedy, but the Cards can counter those and have been able to get to those guys as well.  As for Milwaukee, a matchup against them in the NLCS would be epic.  You know it'd go seven games and all the stops would get pulled out.  The Cards have proven they can beat their aces (though Yovani Gallardo can give them fits) and the Brewers have done damage against the Cards.  Again, I'm not saying that the Cards would definitely win against either of those teams, but I think there's a legitimate case to be made that they could.

Finally, you get to the World Series, and I don't think any team that makes it that far out of the AL doesn't have their own weaknesses.  The Tigers can't throw Justin Verlander every night.  The Yankees drop off after CC Sabathia.  I'm not sold on the Rangers pitching (and, being that the Rays are now beating the Rangers 6-0 in a game that their ace started, there seems to be a reason) and the Rays....well, now, the Rays might make for an interesting time.  They have good pitching and a solid offense to go along with it.  Just on the face of it, I think Tampa Bay will be the toughest team the AL can send to the Series.

I know it's optimistic, I know it's red-colored glasses, but if the Cards can get past Philadelphia (which, admittedly, is a tough but possible chore), I really like their chances.  However, as the players say, we've got to take it one game at a time.  And that game is tomorrow afternoon.  Go Cards!

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Cards Lose A Close One

Posted on March 11, 2011 at 12:00 PM
Maybe it's a sign that spring training is hitting its serious stage, but yesterday's game could have easily been mistaken for a regular season affair.  Sure, the pitchers didn't last as long and there were still substitutions, but there aren't too many 2-1 affairs in Florida (and, looking at the scores, seems like that's impossible in Arizona!).

Kyle McClellan did nothing to challenge the assumption that he is the fifth starter, going four innings and allowing only three hits and a run.  What was even more encouraging is that he did that on a day when a couple of his pitches weren't working.  He made do with what he had and was still able to get major league hitters out, which is a strong data point in his favor.

My main hangup with McClellan moving into the rotation is that I don't know what he's going to be able to do the second and third times around the lineup.  My next hangup is if he's going to be able to go 6-7 innings on a regular basis.  Coming in after that, though, would be how he does with just one pitch. There are days like that, and McClellan proved that, as long as he has the sinker, he'll do pretty well.  Hopefully there won't be too many days like that.

There was a discussion at the Post-Dispatch about what McClellan has to do to be successful.  I tend to agree that, if we see him get 20-25 starts and around 175 innings, he's obviously had a good season.  I'd just like to see him keep the team in the game and be able to bounce back after rough outings.  Again, I'm not completely sold to the idea, but I'm definitely warming to it.

Just when we thought the injury bug had eased up a bit, Francisco Samuel left yesterday's game with a shoulder strain.  I don't know where Samuel ranked on the depth chart and they won't know how severe it is until he is examined today, but that's a tough break for him.  With McClellan moving to the rotation, there was a spot that Samuel might have been able to take with a strong spring, but if he's out of any length of time, he can write that off.

Also, Allen Craig scratched with a tight hamstring, though that sounds like it was more a precaution, especially with the wet field yesterday.  Reportedly he'll be ready to go for the game against the Tigers today.  Like to think that's the case, because the last thing the Cardinals need are more injury issues, and he is in the lineup for today's game.

Matt Carpenter is having a big spring and is definitely making an impression on the coaching staff.  We've talked about Carpenter before, but what I found the most interesting in this article is that Tony La Russa is trying to get him to lighten up a little bit. When the most infamous stern guy in baseball is trying to get you to crack a smile, you are intense!

Lance Lynn starts today against Detroit.  He'll need a pretty solid outing to stay in the #5 race, if there is still a race.  Looking forward to listening to that one, as KMOX has the broadcast today.

We are getting to where there's a little less news, a little less excitement on a daily basis.  But while the camp may be calming down, there are still some questions to answer, which will make for an interesting last three weeks.

I don't think I mentioned part one of this, but the second part of my interview over at Popblerd is up.  There's a link to the first part as well, so you can see how I did and how much of a fool I made of myself.

While I'm linking, go on over and check out MLB Hall of Fame March Madness over at 85% Sports.  Who will be the last HOFer standing?  I'm interested to see how this pans out.

Let's quickly hit the approval ratings for today.

Yadier Molina has always been one of the more popular Cardinals.  If nothing else, he should be able to live off of that Game 7 NLCS home run for a long, long time.  His approval rating has reflected that, as he's been in the 92-93 range the past few years.

Last year's offensive struggles, especially in the first half, must have gotten into his approval though.  This year, Molina only manages a 83.7% mark.  One commenter docked him for "being lazy on the basepaths," which is fairly interesting given Molina's steal numbers the last couple of years.  I'm fairly sure that is more about going up the line on a grounder, but it was still interesting.  I note that I gave Yadi an 86, which is surprising because I'm a big fan.  Don't know why I didn't go a little higher.

Jeff Luhnow has kinda been the face of the new guard in the Cardinal organization.  He has been in charge of scouting and development, pushing the organization from a sabermetric point of view.  All that to say that, for a front office type, he's been able to do enough to get the general fanbase to have an impression of him.

For whatever reason, that impression was fairly neutral, as Luhnow racked up a 66.4% mark. However, save the person that noted I had spelled his name wrong on the form (thanks, Nick!), no one had a strong enough opinion to leave a comment.  I marked him at 92, because I think the minor league system has begun a major turnaround under his watch and he should get at least some of the credit for it.

That brings us to today's media member, Matthew Leach.  Matthew writes for the official MLB site as well as keeping his own blog.  I'll say up front that I think the world of him.  He's been spectacularly great with the UCB, being the most common guest on the UCB Radio Hour and always seeming to enjoy his time there.  He's even done a UCB project or two.  Couple that with his interactions on Twitter and email and he rated 100 with me.

For the most part, my opinion of Leach was reflected in his mark, as he garnered a 85.5% tally.  Someone felt he had to "dumb down his commentary for the MLB.com audience" while another said that he and Derrick Goold are "some of the most knowledgeable and fair reporters out there."

Note: A couple of modifications to prior marks as I caught a mistake.  Kyle Lohse drops from 56.1% to 55.1%, Dan Lozano drops from 59.8% to 58.7%, Ricky Horton from 72.2% to 69.1%, and Al Hrabrosky from 65.8% to 63.2%.

Playing Peppers for the Mets and Athletics are scheduled for today, but it'll likely be this evening before they go up.  Give you something to look forward to for the weekend!

Playing Pepper 2011: Detroit Tigers

Posted on March 4, 2011 at 2:16 PM
Two years ago, I started a series I called Playing Pepper, where I asked questions of bloggers of each major league team about the season to come.  Not only was that informative and entertaining, it led to the spawning of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance.  With spring training coming up, it's time to get back into shape by again playing a little pepper.

Detroit Tigers (81-81, 13 GB and third in the AL Central)

After coming within a game of the postseason in 2009, 2010 was a disappointing season for Detroit.  The biggest problem seemed to be the inability to win away from Comerica Park, as the team was +23 at home and, obviously, -23 away from it.  Was this a mirage, a snakebit season that could be reversed easily this season?

Our panel for this panel comes mainly from the distaff side of the species.  First up is Shelly, who writes over at Seamheads as well as having a presence at Switch Hitting Pitchers last season.

Following her is John Parent, the only man in the mix here.  John, the Detroit BBA Chapter president, writes at Motor City Bengals and can be found on Twitter and also over at Facebook.

Rounding out the group is Erin from Tigers Amateur Analysis and Jennifer from Old English D.  No Twitter or Facebook for any of the ladies (Shelly included) and Erin and Jennifer are relatively new members to the BBA.

These questions were sent out before Miguel Cabrera got stopped, otherwise there might been a little different tenor to them.  So dive into the only Tigers preview that won't include the words DUI, at least from the questioner. 

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Playing Pepper 2010: Detroit Tigers

Posted on February 27, 2010 at 5:58 PM
Last year before the season began, I posed five questions to a blogger for each team, so as to get to know the rest of baseball.  I focus so heavily on the Cardinals that sometimes the rest of MLB can pass me by.  That went very well, so much so that it spawned not only a postseason edition but was part of the impetus for the formation of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance.

So this year, I've brought Playing Pepper back, with a little bit of a twist.  Instead of five questions, I posed 10 questions, and this year every team got the same set.  Plus, tapping into those BBA connections, I sent them to every blogger representing that team in the BBA.

We'll try to do two a day in a general alphabetical order, but things may change depending on responses.

Detroit Tigers
2009 Finish: 86-77, second in the AL Central

The first game I ever went to was in old Tiger Stadium, back in the 1984 championship year for the Tigers.  I was visiting my aunt and uncle and only remember snippets, but it was a starting point on this long journey into baseball fandom.

A couple of people who have much stronger and better memories (though maybe not of last year) are John from Motor City Bengals and Shelly who writes over at Seamheads.  Both of them took the time to answer the now-familiar Playing Pepper Ten.
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Finishing Up With Detroit

Posted on June 19, 2009 at 8:48 AM
You take the good, you take the bad, you take 'em both and there you have a series win, a series win.

What's up with Adam Wainwright getting so much run support lately?  The Cards bust out 13 for him in Florida, then follow that up with 11 against the Tigers.  There's a lot of possible Heroes in that game.  Albert Pujols hit #23, taking over the major league lead in home runs.  Chris Duncan had three hits, including a home run.  However, like Jeff Gordon wrote, the game may have turned on Yadier Molina's first-inning at-bat.  Molina battled and battled, then dropped the two-run single into left and the Cards were bursting Justin Verlander's invincible bubble.  It was interesting, though, that later in the game Molina got a taste of his own medicine, getting picked off first by the catcher.

On the flip side, it's tough to come up with a Goat, but I guess you go with Colby Rasmus.  One hit in five at bats is OK, but he struck out twice and left four on, so in a game where everything was clicking, that's enough to slap the tag on you.

So the Cardinal offense has shown that it can turn up on occasion and that it's a pretty fearsome thing when it is completely clicking.  The problem is, it doesn't click on those cylinders very often.  I don't know how many times this week I've looked up, seen Rick Ankiel at the plate with runners on, and assumed a strikeout, an assumption that was usually fulfilled in the next few moments.

Wednesday's game, though, showed that even with reasonable offense, the Cards can win.  Colby Rasmus and Yadier Molina both had three hits, Molina with a home run that started the scoring, Rasmus with two hits (including a triple) that drove in a run.  It was nice to see a solid outing by Todd Wellemeyer as well, though as we noted on the UCB Radio Hour, Wellemeyer can do that, but you don't know anymore that he can do it consistently. 

On the down side, Kyle McClellan did give up a run in his over an inning of work, but it didn't tie the game, so I'll go with Joe Thurston, who went 0-4 and left two on base.  There weren't a lot of negative performances to choose from, however.

Thursday, the Cards had a chance for a sweep and to maybe quiet the local talk about not taking Rick Porcello a couple of years ago.  However, neither of those happened as the Cards lost a game that, statistically, was over in the first and Porcello was able to work out of jams to put up a solid line.

It's tough to know who to put the Goat tag on.  Thurston's error in the first led aided in the four-run inning, a gap that the Cards have only come back from once this year.  Given the way the team tried to battle back, though, I think you have to give the Goat tag to Jason Motte for serving up back-to-back home runs in the eighth, turning a one-run game into a three-run bulge.  I'm guessing Fernando Rodney wouldn't have been in the game in the ninth with one run, but seeing the Cards load the bases really made you wish it was still 4-3.

On the plus side, Duncan had an RBI, Molina had two hits, but let's go with Tyler Greene, who had a double among his two hits and drove in a run.  The offense wasn't spectacular last night, but it was respectable.  You also have to credit Joel Pineiro for pitching a very good game after the first inning, a first that wasn't completely his fault.

The Cardinals made some moves yesterday.  One was pretty expected, bringing Khalil Greene back.  However, the flip side of that was not Blake Hawksworth going down, which was rumored earlier in the week, but PJ Walters.  Nice to see Hawksworth getting a chance to hang around.  The other side of this was sending down Nick Stavinoha and bringing back up Josh Kinney, because we can't bear to be without 13 pitchers nowadays.

Kinney seems to have made strides in Memphis, so I look forward to seeing him back here in the bigs.  Greene is going to cause a lot of debate until he proves he's mentally healthy and is back to hitting.  It seems like a very quick turnaround for someone with his mental condition, though it may be that something flipped a switch for him or there was some medication he could take that would help ease his anxiety.  I expect he'll be starting tonight vs. Kansas City so we'll start seeing whether this is the case.

The Cards head across state this weekend for a rematch with the Royals.  Again, the Cardinals miss Zach Greinke, though that's not quite the relief that it was last time around.  The series opens with Kyle Davies, who did a solid job against the Cardinals in the last series, allowing only two runs in six innings.  However, that was during that extremely good stretch of pitching and so the Cardinals won that game 5-0.  None of the Cardinals have seen him all that often, though there are some good numbers in there.

The Cardinals counter with Brad Thompson.  I've been pretty vocal that I'm not a huge Thompson fan anymore, but he's definitely done the job since being pressed into service.  His 2.93 June ERA, though, is really weighed down by the zero earned in six innings in his last start.  Whether that is the trend now that he's getting used to the rotation or a fluke still remains to be seen.  He's really going to have to watch Mark Teahen, but the rest of the Royals haven't been that tough on him.

Should be an interesting series.  There have been some TV changes to the schedule which affect this series.  Saturday's game was planned for FSMW, but has been picked up as a Fox Game of the Week.  Other changes include the July 23 makeup game against the Nationals will be on FSMW, the August 1 game against Houston has been taken off the Fox Game of the Week schedule, given to FSMW, and has a time change to 6:15.  Finally, the Saturday, October 3 game (the next to last game of the year) has moved from FSMW to KSDK.

Enjoy the weekend!

Cutting Them Down To Size

Posted on March 17, 2009 at 8:43 AM
Along with a loss to go into an off day, yesterday was particularly painful for some players, as they were reassigned to the minor league camp, ending their shot (for the most part) of starting the season in St. Louis.

None of the cuts were all that surprising, though it was slightly disappointing to see Brian Barton go down.  Barton could be an interesting bat off the bench for the Cardinals, especially since he's right handed, but getting more regular at bats in Memphis may be better for his development.  With as many outfielders on the roster, either actually playing outfield or masquerading as infielders, he might have been sitting around a lot in St. Louis.

The case of Allen Craig is a little peculiar.  Not really that he was sent down, even though that close to .500 average for the spring probably made that decision a little tougher, but the fact that he didn't play third at all during the spring.  I guess that the team was already committed to Joe Mather if he could at all hack it and Craig probably won't play third at Memphis either (with David Freese or Brett Wallace or both there), but still, with him hitting that well and third being his natural position, you'd have thought they'd have looked a little longer.

Charlie Manning had to know this was coming once Dennys Reyes signed.  I like having him in Memphis, though, if either Reyes or Trever Miller gets hurt.  I'd expect Royce Ring will wind up being cut soon, but they'll keep him and Ian Ostlund around while they need arms in the spring.

Jess Todd, like Craig, probably made a positive impression on the staff, though his last outing wasn't that great.  They'll remember these days when it's time to promote someone to fill a slot due to injury or trade.  There's no doubt he's learned some things this spring as well.

On to the game.  Cards got out to the early lead but just couldn't hold off the Tigers.  Todd Wellmeyer didn't look as sharp as he did last time out, allowing four runs in five innings.  That's going to happen from time to time, so we'll have to see how he bounces back from this one next week.

Jason Motte was about the only person to distinguish himself on the mound, striking out the side.  It's probably telling that he wasn't part of the cuts that were made yesterday.

Offensively, Albert Pujols cracked his first home run of the spring.  Just what pitchers want to see, him starting to pick up the power just in time for Opening Day.  Khalil Greene had another big day, going 3-3.  He's hitting .447 on the spring, folks.  He hits 60% of that in the regular season, with some pop, and this lineup is going to be so dangerous.

Skip Schumaker is still playing second base and still hitting (two hits yesterday), plus he hasn't made an error since the possibility of him not playing there blew up, so it's becoming clearer that, at least to start the season, Skip will be playing second.

Tony La Russa is apparently looking at Chris Duncan, Rick Ankiel and Ryan Ludwick to bat behind Pujols and help make sure someone pitches to El Hombre. Hitting in front of Albert is usually the most cushy spot, because you know that pitchers aren't going to walk you.  They'd rather make sure you have a chance to get out rather than face AP with runners on.

Behind the man, though, seems to be a different story.  If you look at the numbers, I think Ludwick has proven he can hit back there for the most part.  Duncan and Ankiel right now tend to need the protection of Pujols to make sure they can do their most damage.

Hopefully the entire lineup will be solid enough that, if the cleanup man doesn't come through, the next guy will.  If the entire lineup is clicking, pitchers won't want to be putting extra men on base anywhere, even if it is Pujols.

We've got more UCB transcripts up!  4thebirds talks about the offseason, The Redbird Blog asked for some bold predictions and La Beisbolista discussed the next retired number.  Should be seeing one up at 5 O'Clock Blogger later today.

John Rooney has a pretty decent reputation in Cardinal Nation, racking up an 82.2% approval rating.  I gave him an 80, because while he does get a little overly excited sometimes, he's got a voice that just says baseball to me.  I can't explain it more than he sounds like a baseball announcer and that's a good thing.

Today, we check in on the other side of the media divide and ask about our color analyist on the TV side, Al Hrbrosky.  Al seems to rile people up a lot.  Do you factor his Cardinal career into your rating?  Do you like it when Al gets going with Dan?  Leave your rating in the comments!

 

Duncan It Again

Posted on March 11, 2009 at 8:44 AM
It's really starting to look like Chris Duncan is healthy.

He had another strong game against the Tigers yesterday, going 2 for 2 with his second home run of the spring, raising his average up to .385.  I don't think anyone expects Duncan to be challenging for a batting title this season, but if he can continue to show that he's healthy, he could be a valuable guy for this team.

A lot of people don't care much for Duncan (he's on the schedule for the approval ratings later in the week, so we can see just how much), but there's not much denying that, when he's healthy and on, he's a pretty solid offensive threat.  Whether he'll last all year in St. Louis is another matter.  He'd be pretty attractive on the trade market if he keeps it up through May or so.

Rick Ankiel also had a strong day, going three for four and raising his spring average up to .400.  I know that it's spring and all the caveats apply, but if you've got Ankiel running like that and Duncan healthy, this offense really could click.  In fact, I think they've been projected for about five runs a game, which is pretty nice.

Skip Schumaker also got a couple of hits but, more importantly, didn't make any errors.  It won't matter how much he hits if he's routinely muffing balls.

On the pitching side, Kyle Lohse gave up a long ball but only one other hit in his 4.1 innings of work. I think he's going to be a pretty strong third starter behind Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter.  It's really going to be nice this year to expect a solid game out of your starter almost every night.

Jason Motte locked down his first save of the spring.  As Derrick Goold Twitters, that's the second ninth he's gotten in a row and nothing happens by accident, though obviously it's not his role just yet.  In the last roster projection he had, Matthew Leach had Motte going to Memphis.  That might not be accurate anymore.  Someone's going to be the odd man out, though, because I don't think they'll be taking 13 pitchers north.

Colby Rasmus is dealing with a little hamstring soreness, just as he started to look like he was bouncing back.  Hopefully it won't keep him out too long.  He doesn't need any more obstacles in his way--there are enough as it is.

A little off the field news.  It's not a surprise, but the Padres are going to grab a minor league pitcher to finish up the Khalil Greene trade.  Don't know which one yet, but should soon.  I wouldn't expect to see anyone big leaving.  Possibly Italian WBC starter Adam Ottovino?  That'd probably be the biggest possibility.

Before I get into the last piece of Cardinal news, I want to say congrats to the Netherlands.  I said yesterday I didn't think the Dominican would let them win again, but sure enough, the DR is going home.  Can you believe that team didn't score until the 11th, though?  That offense should have been raking from the get-go.

El Hombre gets the front cover of Sports Illustrated this week with the message that he's clean and you can believe in him.  Which means one of two things.  Either he's exactly as he says and never has done any steroids, which I believe, or the man's got a ton of nerve and guts to run a big bluff like this. 

This puts even more attention on him and puts his word on the line.  It's different when people write about you and say that he must be clean.  To come out yourself and say, "Look, I'm not using and I'm not going to" invites scrunity and makes you look even worse if something comes out.  Look at the flak Alex Rodriguez got for lying to Katie Couric in an interview.  A-Rod wasn't anywhere as emphatic as Pujols comes across and yet it was a front-page story.

Things like this just reaffirm that we are watching a special player in St. Louis and we should appreciate it while we can.

Which is why today, he's the topic of the approval ratings.  We know he's a special talent, but how do you feel about Mr. Pujols?  He can be a little gruff with fans sometimes--does that bring him down?  What about his baserunning?

Yesterday's subject, Kyle Lohse, posted a 77.3% rating.  Pretty good for a guy that's only spent one year in Cardinal Red.

Don't forget the UCB Radio Hour is on tonight!   Hope to have you call in!


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Heroes
Matt Carpenter (4)
Matt Holliday (4)
Carlos Beltran (3)
Rafael Furcal (3)
Jon Jay (3)
Kyle Lohse (3)
Lance Lynn (3)
David Freese (2)
Jaime Garcia (2)
Yadier Molina (2)
Adam Wainwright (2)
Allen Craig (1)
Shane Robinson (1)
Fernando Salas (1)
Jake Westbrook (1)

2011 Top Hero: Lance Berkman (24)
2010 Top Heroes: Matt Holliday and Albert Pujols (24)
2009 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (28)
2008 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (25)

Goats
Matt Holliday (4)
Carlos Beltran (3)
Jaime Garcia (3)
Adam Wainwright (3)
David Freese (2)
Rafael Furcal (2)
Tyler Greene (2)
Jason Motte (2)
J.C. Romero (2)
Marc Rzepczynski (2)
Mitchell Boggs (1)
Matt Carpenter (1)
Tony Cruz (1)
Daniel Descalso (1)
Jon Jay (1)
Erik Komatsu (1)
Kyle Lohse (1)
Victor Marte (1)
Fernando Salas (1)
Jake Westbrook (1)

2011 Top Goat: Ryan Theriot (12)
2010 Top Goat: Brendan Ryan (14)
2009 Top Goats: Rick Ankiel and Todd Wellemeyer (13)
2008 Top Goat: Troy Glaus (13)

2012 Happy Flights
Happy Flights: 7
Happy Flight Opportunities: 10
Happy Flight %: 70%

Through 5/15

    Cardinal Nation Approval Ratings (March 2012)
    Adam Wainwright 91.9% (down 2.8%)
    Chris Carpenter 90.1% (up 3.2%)
    Lance Berkman 88.6%
    Tony La Russa 88.2% (up 17.4%)
    Yadier Molina 87.4% (up 3.7%)
    Matt Holliday 87.3% (down 3.8%)
    David Freese 85.5%
    John Mozeliak 85.4% (up 13.3%)
    Mike Shannon 85.3% (up 0.4%)
    Jose Oquendo 84.7%
    Derrick Goold 82.8% (down 5.0%)
    Mark McGwire 82.6% (up 20.1%)
    John Rooney 81.5% (down 2.8%)
    Mike Matheny 81.1%
    Bill DeWitt 79.8% (up 8.8%)
    United Cardinal Bloggers 78.9%
    Skip Schumaker 73.3% (up 9.2%)
    Jim Hayes 71.9% (down 4.2%)
    Jon Jay 71.1%
    B.J. Rains 69.5% (down 0.9%)
    Kyle Lohse 68.9% (up 13.8%)
    Dan McLaughlin 68.0%
    Joe Strauss 67.7% (up 10.2%)
    Ricky Horton 67.5% (down 1.6%)
    Al Hrabosky 66.4% (up 3.2%)
    Albert Pujols 54.9% (down 45.5%)
    Colby Rasmus 46.5% (down 35.3%)

    2011
    Dave Duncan 87.9% (up 0.9%)
    Matthew Leach 85.5%
    Pop Warner 76.7%
    Ryan Franklin 72.8% (up 3.1%)
    John Vuch 68.9%
    Jeff Luhnow 66.4%
    Dan Lozano 58.7%

    2009
    Rick Ankiel 83.9%
    Chris Duncan 69.1%


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