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Inconceivable!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Inconceivable.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

End of the Line

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Little Early On the Fireworks

Stop me if you've heard this before.  The Cards jump out to an early lead, posting a crooked number in the first.  However, they don't score again and the other team comes back to take the lead.

Last night's game matched that script again, but it was the later innings that deviated from the norm and made for an exciting win for the Cardinals.

I know Troy Glaus had two home runs, including the walkoff winner.  You have to like how he's heated up in the last month or so.  I checked the stats back in May and he and Rolen were almost in a statistical dead heat.  Not so much any more.

But the Hero isn't always about the best player in the game.  Chris Duncan pinch-hits the two-run, game-tying home run off of a lefty.  For everything that Duncan's been through, this Hero's for you.

If I didn't have a firm rule about keeping the Goat tag on a player, Tony LaRussa would probably get the tag for last night's game.  What was he thinking bringing Mark Mulder into that situation?  I know Mulder had thrown a good inning last time out.  But it was just one inning.  Let's not just dump him straight into a high-leverage situation, OK?  Especially when the guys coming up had good career numbers against him.

Kyle McClellan was looking sharp.  He'd faced five batters and retired four of them.  Granted, his splits show that righties have done pretty well against him this year, but he owns lefties.  Church (L), Delgado (L) and Easley (R) are coming up.  Is it really worth playing the percentages and bringing in a untested lefty in that situation?

Mulder actually didn't look quite as bad as you'd think.  It seemed to be watching that he had little control of his pitches.  The movement was great, but he didn't know exactly where he was going with it.  The first pitch to Church was a nasty one and Mulder got burned on that AB with a bloop single.  The hit by Delgado, though, was as solid as they come.  A sac fly and then, representative of his control problem, a HBP and he was done.  It's not a huge setback, but it's not exactly what you want to see out of the bullpen either.

Albert Pujols almost got the Goat tag, not only for his 0-5, but his anxiousness in the ninth.  Everyone hitting in that inning seemed to want to end the ballgame with one swing.  I'm sure AP thought the first pitch would be his best chance of doing that, but I'd have rather seen him draw the walk and have something going than popping out like that.

Tonight the Cards could get the series win.  A couple of young pitchers head to the mound as Mitchell Boggs, who of course hasn't ever faced the Mets, goes up against former top prospect Mike Pelfrey.  The only Cardinal Pelfrey has faced is Jason LaRue (twice).  He's got a 4.47 ERA but has been pitching pretty well of late.  Could be a low-scoring affair, or it could be a wild one.  As the philosopher said, "Youneverknow."

One Slips Away In The Slop

Cardinals endure a 2 hour, 25 min rain delay and eventually lose 8-7 in the ninth to Detroit.  It's tough to lose a close one, but I would think especially tough to lose after having to keep your focus during 145 minutes of downtime, and after having 3 leads (2-0, 6-5, and 7-6) in the game.

As an aside, it's been nice to read Rick Hummel's game summaries again.  I'd forgotten how well-written they were.

Heroes and Goats:  Hero tonight goes to Rick Ankiel.  Two HR, 3 RBI, an outfield assist - yeah, he's the hero.  Goat?  On a rainy night?  Although my instinct is to go with Mother Nature, I'll have to settle for Kyle McClellan; he had a tough outing, allowing the Tigers to tie in the eighth and win in the ninth.  I also found it interesting that 3 of the 4 hitters he faced in the eighth swung at the first pitch.  Scouting report?  Tipping his pitches?  I wonder.

Bernie's article on the bullpen is worth reading.  We all knew the lefties down there were struggling, but I didn't realize Flores was toasted as badly as he seems to be.  Yikes.

To end on a high note - AP should be activated today.

The World Series Reprise Continues

Before we get to the upcoming series with Detroit, lets pause for a moment and remember Sunday's game.  From all accounts, it was a doozy.  Piniero pitched great; Lester was slightly better.  Paplebon was proven human.  There were clutch hits (Kennedy in the ninth off the Sox closer), timely pitching (see McClellan in the 10th and Izzy in the eleventh), and off your seat drama (Duncan cut down at home).  I only wish I could have seen it.

Congrats to Nick Stavinoha, who got his first ML hit on Sunday in the sixth.

I'll award the Hero for this game to 2 folks:  Joel Piniero, who shook off my dire predictions of doom to throw 7+ innings and allow only 2 runs, and Aaron Miles, for his 5-hit effort.  Anytime your name is linked to Don Mattingly's (the last visiting player to have 5 hits in a game at Fenway) that's good.  Goat?  Mike Parisi.  Sorry, Mike.

Although the sting of losing that 2004 world series will always remain (granted, the sting will eventually fade to almost nothing as time passes), the Cardinals have won both regular season series from Boston since (in 2005 and this past weekend).  We haven't been so lucky with the Tigers, getting swept in Detroit last year.  Looper, Reyes, and Thompson were the victims during that May Series at Comerica.  Looper gets another crack at them today, facing Kenny Rogers.  The best pitching matchup of the series, however, is tomorrow, as Kyle Lohse meets rookie wunderkind Armando (don't call me Andres) Galarraga.  Wellemeyer's balky elbow will face hit or miss Nate Robertson in the finale Thursday.

The Cardinals, a team that has not shown much plate discipline lately, would be well served to be deliberate at the plate and run up the pitch counts early.  That would get the starter out and get us to their bullpen; other than Zumaya (who's just back off the DL), it is one of the worst in the AL.

One other item worth discussing today:  Mark Mulder's name has been bandied about for a possible start in Kansas City this weekend.  He was scratched from his rehab tune-up last night.  Despite two surgeries and countless hours rehabbing his shoulder, Mark's never gotten his arm back to the form he displayed as one of the Oakland A's anchors in the first part of this decade; whether it's a loss of velocity due to diminished strength in the arm following the surgeries, or his elusive arm slot issues, he isn't the same pitcher he was in 2004.  Also, as he progresses higher in the minors he's gotten slapped around pretty good by AA/AAA hitters.  I don't see how he's even an option at this point for a spot start with the big club.  Mark deserves all the credit in the world for his determination to get back on the field and resurrect his career.  I just don't think it's going to happen.

Frankly if Mulder's name appears as a better option for a spot start than Anthony Reyes from here on out (once Reyes returns from the DL), there's something seriously wrong with the thinking in the front office.

(PS - There was no Mitchell Boggs on the 1970s A's teams; the guy I was thinking of is Mitchell Page.)

Not Part of the Script

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

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

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

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

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

"Easy call," manager Tony La Russa said. "Never ever risk a pitcher. ... We don't have a lot of innings (available from the bullpen), so we're going to have to get something from Brad."

It is mind-boggling that Reyes was within 24 hours of making his first start and then has to be put on the DL.  It seems a little strange in my mind, when you see what Reyes was saying:

"This is nothing serious," Reyes said. "The velocity has been the same. The command is the same. I wasn't sore after the games.

Apparently the thought was that he might get hurt and they didn't have the bullpen available to back him up.  I guess it's just a coincidence that it is Reyes that this happens to, but boy, is he cursed in St. Louis or what?

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

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

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

Removing The Ace From the House of Cards

I was off the Net, as it were, yesterday, so I had to do a double take when I saw the thread title at CCH last night.

Wainwright to the DL?  Say it ain't so!

"Surgery is not looking like something that is going to be needed," Wainwright said. He added that the finger felt Monday as it did Saturday: "I can't bend it like I should be able to. It's like a bad jammed finger. The weird thing is there's no swelling. It needs time."

This does not inspire Cardinal fans with confidence.  How many times have we been told that a pitcher or player just "needs rest" and then, three months later, goes under season-ending surgery?  With the Cardinals recent track record with injuries, is there anyone that thinks this is just going to be a 15-day thing?

I recently jammed my finger playing softball, so I get some idea what he's talking about.  Not having swelling to go with it, though, seems concerning.  There's some talk about it being a ruptured tendon, which would mean the season would be over for the Wagonmaker.

So what does this mean for the Cardinal season?  Pitchers are dropping like flies, though it looks like Todd Wellemeyer isn't as bad off as we thought (again, if you believe what you read) and Joel Pineiro could be coming back soon.  Matt Clement's second minor league start wasn't as dazzling as the first, but he's still making progress and will pitch in Springfield again Friday.

Short-term, the Cardinals have to fill holes.  Mitchell Boggs will make his first major league start tonight and there is talk of moving Kyle McClellan into the starter role.  VEB lays out the problems with that and the only real solution out there.  Since Anthony Reyes is sporting a 3.14 ERA in Memphis, skewed by a bad outing two times ago (without that, it's a 2.38 mark) and is striking out a batter an inning, if he doesn't come up during this troubling time, I hope he's traded soon to an organization that will actually use him.

Long-term, catching up with the Cubs without Wainwright might be a tough task, especially if the little bears improve their pitching at the deadline.  I like what Bernie is saying about having the numbers to fill in for injured pitchers, but losing the one guy you could pretty much count on to give you a win is a chore to overcome.  The Cards have to do it, though.  They sit 2.5 back and right now may be the only serious challenger to the Cubs for the NL Central title.  For the good of mankind, they must keep Chicago out of the playoffs!

Cards and Reds square off today with a couple of young pitchers and fresh slates.  Obviously, Boggs hasn't faced the Reds before.  Homer Bailey, just recalled from AAA (the Reds' version of Anthony Reyes, basically) hasn't seen the Redbirds this year, but had a disastrous outing last year against St. Louis, allowing 7 runs in just 3.2 innings last July. Ryan Ludwick hit two home runs off of him, so he'll be ready to go for this evening.

Congrats to Ken Griffey Jr. on hitting #600.  I didn't realize that the Reds played last night until right before ESPN cut in to his AB.  I thought the Cards were going to get a chance to be on the end of both #500 and #600, which would have been neat.  The last game I saw in person was Griffey's #500th in Busch and it couldn't happen to a better player.

A Weekend In Houston

The Cards kept a couple of their trends alive this weekend.  They won a series after dropping the first game, something they've done five times this season.  And they had another game where early scoring was only scoring, though this time the cushion held up.  Let's do the traditional CATB wrap here.

Friday
Hero: Well, it's pretty much either Adam Kennedy or Skip Schumaker, since they are the only ones that got hits in the game.  I've given him the Goat before because he didn't produce in the leadoff slot, so it's only fair to give him the Hero nod when Skip gets two hits in that role.
Goat: Braden Looper.  He wasn't helped by his defense, true, but he really helped dig the big hole.

Saturday
Hero: Ryan Ludwick.  Not only was he 2-4 with what turned out to be a very big three-run home run, but he hit that home run after Pujols was intentionally walked.  He's going to have to continue to do that so Pujols can have pitches to hit.
Goat: Kyle McClellan. I know he was pressed into service with Adam Wainwright's finger injury, so maybe allowing the runner on second to score would be understandable.  But to allow two others and get the game into an area that allowed Houston to think they had a chance was not a good thing at all.

Sunday
Hero: Brendan Ryan.  Coming up with that game-winning hit was big, especially after Wandy Rodriguez had shut the Cards down until that inning. 
Goat: Albert Pujols.  This is more of a series-award than just particularly this game.  When was the last time Albert went hitless in a series?  (Apparently it was 7 years, at least in Houston.)

Cards get an off day today, then get another chance to be part of a Ken Griffey history celebration this week.

And So It Begins

Bernie has put it quite succinctly:

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

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

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

Off the Wagon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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]