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Playing Pepper 2010: Los Angeles Dodgers

Posted on March 6, 2010 at 6:10 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.

Los Angeles Dodgers
2009 Finish: 95-67, first in NL West, lost in NLCS

The last memories Cardinal fans have of the Dodgers aren't good.  After so often dominating the team in blue when it comes to postseason glory, St. Louis went down with little more than a whimper in the NLDS, meaning LA won its first post-season series since 1988.

Will they be able to take the next step this year?  I talked with Matt from Feeling Dodger Blue to get his take on the season to come.
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The Quiet of No Baseball

Posted on October 10, 2009 at 11:53 PM
This is the way the season ends.  Not with a bang but a whimper.

How fitting was it that Rick Ankiel was the last out--and a strikeout at that.  Rick's promise, just like that exhilarating promise of August, never quite came to fruition.  All the signs of trouble were there, and excuses can be made, but in the end, like Ankiel's at-bat, it turned into a lot of nothing.

On the face of it, this offense is a beast.  That seemed to be the consensus of the national pundits, who installed St. Louis as one of the favorites for the World Series.  In reality, though, it's an engine that sputters, that starts and stops when facing good (and sometimes not so good) pitching.  I don't think many in Cardinal Nation were surprised when the Redbirds only scored six runs in three games.  For once, six is not a serious number, but a telling one.

And yet, it almost was enough.  If Chris Carpenter was Chris Carpenter, if Matt Holliday catches the ball or Ryan Franklin shuts the door, the Cards could have been up 2-0 before tonight, even with just five runs.

When the story of 2009 is told, it'll be the pitching that is remembered.  Sure, Albert Pujols kept his perfect career going and may win another MVP, but it was tough to watch him go the last calendar month without a home run.  Holliday provided a spark, Colby Rasmus established himself as a legitimate major leaguer (even if he slumped in the second half), and Ryan Ludwick showed he wasn't really a fluke.  There were offensive highlights, to be sure, but that wasn't what got the Cardinals to October.

It was seeing pitchers throwing incredible games--and then seeing the next starter top them.  It was about not one but two Cy Young candidates going back to back.  It was about having a 15 game winner with a mid-3.00 ERA be an afterthought.

I think that is what makes this sweep so tough to swallow.  If you lose because the offense doesn't show, it was expected.  To lose, at least in part, because Carpenter and Joel Pineiro didn't get it done and because Franklin continued his post-extension collapse, that just wasn't what people foresaw.

So the Cardinals pack up for the winter.  So many questions for this off-season, players to be kept or replacements to be found, perhaps new leadership to be put in place.  There will be plenty at this blog, as the United Cardinal Bloggers roundtables will be coming, a review of the past season to be written, questions raised and solutions proposed.

For now, though, there is just the quiet of no baseball, of a season cut prematurely short.  A sound that never is easy to hear and one that can last for weeks to come.

This Wasn't In The Script

Posted on October 9, 2009 at 9:01 AM
OK, wait a minute.  Back up.  Let's look at this again, because something isn't going quite as planned.

You are telling me that the Cardinals lost BOTH games that Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright started?  The one big advantage this team had and it's been squandered?  At least you could put some of the blame on Carp for his outing, because he definitely didn't have it.  Waino, though?  How tough of a loss is that for the warrior?

A lot of people are focused on Matt Holliday's error this morning.  Which is understandable--if he catches that ball, the game is over, the Cards have split, you feel good about going home with Joel Pineiro vs. Vicente Padilla and you can count on a rested Carp for a Game 5, if necessary.

Like Don Denkinger's blown call, though, it was one of those things that you can and should get past.  After that play, the Dodgers walked, singled (tying the game), moved up on a wild pitch, walked again, and then blooped another hit.  Any one of those could have ended the game in favor of the Cardinals, but they didn't get it done.

The biggest problem in the Cardinal dugout, though, is the inability to get runs in.  That tone was set early.  When you have bases loaded and no outs in the first inning of the first game and only get one because a bloop falls between the second baseman and the outfield, it might be a sign that it's going to be a long (or, rather, short) series.

I don't know what else to say about this team.  Either they'll get some hits and score some runs or they won't have to worry about packing again this season.  I wouldn't go to the level of calling them Cubs, but maybe that level of insult will wake them up and get them playing.

Is this team dead?  Obviously, they have the talent to win three straight.  As Albert Pujols said, they could win 11 straight.  They aren't going to do that.  Without some sort of resurgent offense, it's going to be tough enough to win three, especially since they can wait and throw Randy Wolf (who, granted, St. Louis was able to get to somewhat on Wednesday) and make the Cardinals beat a lefty.

Since the Divisional Series format was put into play, the Cards have played in it eight previous times, posting a record of 20-5 and only losing one other NLDS, the 2001 tilt with Steve Kline allowing that little flare to Tony Womack, keeping the Diamondbacks on the path to their eventual World Series title.  So the Cardinals have that going for them, which is good.

However, with two members of that 2006 squad on the other side in this series, it may be a sign that fortune has switched sides.  We'll find out Saturday.

Postseason Playing Pepper: Los Angeles Dodgers (Part II)

Posted on October 7, 2009 at 11:23 PM
If you were reading this blog before this season started, you may remember a series I did called "Playing Pepper", where I asked five questions of a blogger covering each major league team.  With the season coming to a close, I thought I'd tap into the talents of the newly formed Baseball Bloggers Alliance and ask five new questions of the bloggers covering the postseason teams.

Yesterday, I posted the answers I got to my Dodger questions from Matt at Feeling Dodger Blue.  I also asked Chris from Dodgerfan.net the same ones and got his responses today.  So as the Cards battle the Dodgers, here's another angle on the opponents.

C70: What is the Dodgers' strength going into October?

DF: The strength of the Dodgers is definitely their offense. Andre Ethier has had a truly breakout year, and Matt Kemp is right behind him.Interestingly, Ethier struggled all year against left-handers, but fortunately for the Dodgers, St. Louis' rotation is full of righties.

The other key element of the Dodgers is their pitching. Kershaw and Wolf give the team two strong starters heading into the playoffs. They're not elite, but they can both get through six innings. This is key because the Dodgers bullpen is one of the best in the majors with Kuo, Sherrill and Broxton anchoring the last third of the game. If the Dodgers have a lead going into the 7th, chances are they will hold it. .

C70: What worries you about the team?

DF: The rest of the starting pitching. Vicente Padilla has been tapped by Joe Torre to start Game 3 over Chad Billingsley who has struggled as of late when the game enters the sixth inning. Padilla has pitched very well for LA, including notching 10 strikeouts on Sunday against Colorado, but he's still Vicente Padilla. Kuroda is still hurt, which is a real loss for this team in the NLDS.

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A Wrap And A Look Forward

Posted on October 7, 2009 at 6:48 AM
It's been a busy week for me, with having to drive a hour and a half to an audit every morning.  (Usual commute to the office--8 minutes.)  So I've not had the chance to finish up the regular season and look at tonight's start of the NLDS.  Let me see if I can't do that extremely quickly.

Saturday: 5-4 Loss

Hero: Brendan Ryan.  Three for three, scored twice, drove in run.  Did have a baserunning glitch, but all in all, did as much as possible to bring home a win for the Cards.
Goat: Rick Ankiel.  No hits in four at-bats, struck out three times, left five men on.
Notes: Albert Pujols almost got the goat, also going 0-4 and left four men on.  Plus his normal aggressive defense failed the Cards in the decisive inning, as he was too far off the bag and wasn't able to get there before Kyle Lohse, causing neither of them to catch Julio Lugo's throw.  A catch ends the inning with the Cards on top.  Instead, Milwaukee took the lead they wouldn't relinquish.


Hero: David Freese.  Not only did he go two for three and drive in three runs after coming into the game, but he took on the challenge of making his professional catching debut when the Cards, who have three catchers on the roster, ran out of backstops.
Goat: Todd Wellemeyer.  The home run to Prince Fielder that put the Brewers ahead in the ninth was bad enough, but to allow two more runs in the 10th?  There's only so many comebacks a team has in them.
Notes: If nothing else, it was good to see this team battle back.  They kept getting down, but they never gave up.  Even in the ninth against Trevor Hoffman, they had good at bats, drawing walks and getting the tying run across.

The Cards slumped badly down the stretch, going 2-7 in their last nine, with the only wins being the clincher game pitched by Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter's offensive explosion game in Cincinnati.  While I don't think that stretch runs are necessarily indicative of post-season performance (unless you've had to win your way in), it's not the most comfortable feeling in the world to limp in like that.  Then again, that's about what the '06 team did, so who knows.

The slate is fresh today, though, for the opener of the NLDS.  If nothing else, the fact that the Dodgers didn't exactly tear it up the last couple of weeks should help Cardinal fans feel a little better.

There are a lot of keys for the Cardinals in this series, but here's what I think the biggest is: finding the ability to hit lefties.  The Dodgers will throw out two in the first two games, against St. Louis's biggest weapons in Carpenter and Wainwright.  If you've read my interview with Feeling Dodger Blue, you know that the bullpen is actually one of LA's biggest strengths.  The Cards can't afford to get into a battle of the bullpens.  That's a good way to wind up losing one of the Big Two's starts, games that the Cards are going to have to win to have a chance for the trophy.

So the Cardinals have to find a way to score some runs earlier in the ballgame behind the two aces.  If they can get a 3-0, 4-0 lead for them, odds are they'll take the games and be in great shape for the series.  If it gets to 0-0, 1-1 in the seventh, when Tony LaRussa's having to pinch-hit and get creative, there's a good chance the Dodger bullpen shuts them down and they come back to St. Louis behind the eight ball.

It's a late game tonight, Carpenter vs. Randy Wolf.  Good luck to the Redbirds!

Postseason Playing Pepper: Los Angeles Dodgers

Posted on October 6, 2009 at 10:43 PM
If you were reading this blog before this season started, you may remember a series I did called "Playing Pepper", where I asked five questions of a blogger covering each major league team.  With the season coming to a close, I thought I'd tap into the talents of the newly formed Baseball Bloggers Alliance and ask five new questions of the bloggers covering the postseason teams.

With the Cardinals taking on the Dodgers in this first round of the playoffs, I caught up with Matt from fellow Blogs By Fans blog Feeling Dodger Blue to get his take on the Redbirds' opponent.

C70: What is the Dodgers' strength going into October?

FDB: It's hard for me to even admit they have a strength right now, but I guess I would have to say their bullpen. Broxton has been mostly untouchable as the closer and Sherrill has been great since the trade.  With Troncoso and Belisario, this team has a way of shortening up a game if they have a lead.

C70: What worries you about the team?

FDB: This team has way too many concerns to be considered a serious contender this year. For one, the starting pitching is about as makeshift as it gets. Sure, the starter's ERA this year has been good, but it has been very piecemeal. Finding two or three shut down guys to match up with other teams' shut down guys is going to be hard. For me, though, the biggest concern is getting hits with runners in scoring position. When that happens, this team is rolling, and when it doesn't they look as mediocre as they've looked the last eight games.


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Pujols Pulls It Out

Posted on August 20, 2009 at 8:14 AM
It's always good to have the best player in baseball on your team.

I've said before that the great ones get it done somehow, whatever it takes.  Albert Pujols proved that again tonight.  He only had one official at-bat, but proved that walking him is not always the brightest idea either.  His ninth inning steal made it possible for Matt Holliday to drive him in and win the game.

It's too bad that it came down to more Pujols heroics, though.  Adam Wainwright was pitching a gem last night.  No hits until the sixth inning is always a nice way for an ace to come out.  Then came the seventh, which is completely my fault.

I wasn't able to watch the early part of the game due to co-hosting last night's UCB Radio Hour and chatting with some of the bloggers after it.  So I get back to the game right about the seventh.  The first home run, I really thought was going to be caught.  The way the ball came off the bat, I thought it'd be a long fly out, but it just kept carrying.  The second home run was pretty much crushed off a hanging pitch.  At this point, I figure it's best for everyone if I roll over and go to sleep.  I do, the Dodgers don't score again, and the Cards win.  Apparently it was my night to be the Cardinal Nation jinx.

Save for that one inning, though, it was again a wonderful outing for Wainwright.  We discussed the NL Cy Young race on the show last night, and while Tim Lincecum probably does have it all wrapped up, especially when you look at the advanced metrics, you do have to tip your cap to what Wainwright and Chris Carpenter are doing.  They may not win the award, but they are definitely in the top 5.

I was leading toward Ryan Ludwick as the Goat for his strikeout with the bases loaded, but it's tough to argue with Julio Lugo's line of no hits in five at-bats, including stranding Brendan Ryan at third in the eighth in a tie game.  It'd have been nice to get that run and get Wainwright in line for his 15th win, but it was not to be.

Of course, the other big news of yesterday was the finalization of the John Smoltz deal.  There are indications that Smoltz still has something left in the tank, despite what his run in the American League might seem to say.  I found it pretty interesting that there is a fairly short leash on his starter role, as Tony LaRussa says they'll reevaluate after two starts.  With John Mozeliak indicating that part of the reason for him to start is to get more innings to get ready, it's hard to fault the move too much.

Honestly, for $100,000, you can't fault the move at all.  The best case scenario would be he reverts to more like John Smoltz of old and overtakes Kyle Lohse for the fourth starter role, putting him in the playoff rotation.  I don't really think that's going to happen, though it'd be great if it did.

More realistically, you think he could be passable in his starts, then move into the late inning role that most of us figure the Cards really wanted him for.  Imagine being able to go from Carpenter/Wainwright to Smoltz to Ryan Franklin in October.  The best way to win games in the postseason is to keep the other team away from the soft part of your bullpen.  If you could make that kind of transition, there is no soft part.  The lefties are strong, Blake Hawksworth has proven he can get guys out, so you might not have to see Jason Motte come into the game in a key situation after the regular season wraps.

I understand Mike from Stan Musial's Stance is planning to be at Sunday's game, which should be Smoltz's first start, so I'm sure he'll have some interesting points after watching him.  Be sure to check over there Sunday evening or Monday morning!

Smoltz was on XM Radio yesterday and had a few interesting things to say.

"I went home for 13 days, worked on a high school field, went to Georgia Tech and threw, got all the people who have ever worked with me looking at it and we've hopefully unlocked a simple secret but one that slipped away from me, [which] was the heel of my shoe was about two inches off the rubber pointed the wrong way and causing me to not get away from my arm side, to the left side of the plate which is where I've always been good, and it just really trickled down into a lot of bad habits.  So I wouldn't be doing this today if I didn't think I could make the necessary adjustments to really help a ball club. I could just as easily sit at home and watch baseball and get ready for fantasy football but I'm not ready for that yet."
I told someone yesterday, if there was any sort of mechanical problem, not only do you expect Dave Duncan to be able to find it (though it looks like Smoltz may have already done so) but Smoltz is veteran enough to apply whatever patch is needed.  He's not some young guy that needs to be told 10 times what to do.  If an adjustment to the mechanics will help, Smoltz knows how to do it.

"And for me personally this was the best fit.  It gave me the opportunity to get my feet wet again.  I need reps.  I need to get out there and feel good about my pitches and they need to see it.  They need to know and assess what role is going to be the best for them.  They've created a body of work that I've had nothing to do with and certainly want to be able to contribute in any way I can.  I really believe that I know still what it takes.  I know the difference between pressure and making big pitches.  Now I've just got to get myself in that position.  Their clubhouse, their guys that were there really all led to me making a decision that was the best for me and my family."--on why he chose the Cardinals
I know Wainwright and Mark DeRosa were really on him to come to St. Louis, with DeRosa saying the atmosphere was like those great Atlanta teams of the past.

"Whatever they feel is the best role.  I've done both but at this point I've trained this long comeback to start and to create this structure.  So I'd have to find out where I'm at physically and where I'm at, more importantly, pitch-wise.  You know, every game that I came out this year, with the exception of Washington, the first couple of innings were great.  And I know that a lot of teams were looking at that as saying that maybe I fatigued or got tired or whatever the reasons would be and I tend to think, mechanically, you flirt with fire long enough you're going to get burned and that's what happened to me.  Mechanically I wasn't as good as I needed to be so the longer you're out there and the more big league hitters you face the better chance you are to run into some innings.  So getting ready and pitching a big inning is not a big deal for me.  The big deal's going to be how many times can I do it and how many times can I get up and down?  So that's where getting my innings in right now will be important.  I'm not an idiot.  I realize I've got to get some results.  So the first couple starts or the first couple games I'm not going to put the pressure I put on myself and just go out there and make pitches."
It's easy to take a 20+ year veteran at his word when he says "whatever they want".  Mozeliak emphasized that Smoltz made no demands during the negotiations, which helps ease any uncomfortableness the coaching staff might have had about moving him to the pen later on.

This has been an amazing couple of months, really unprecidented in my following of the Cards.  When was the last time they filled this many needs, and did so in such a prominent way?  I know the early '00s, Walt tended to make a deadline move or two, like 2000 when he brought in Will Clark and Carlos Hernandez (and I know there was another move, but I'm blanking), but to get the top players on the market?  To get the two hitters everyone wanted in DeRosa and Holliday?  To get a couple of cast-offs in Lugo and Smoltz that still had some cache?  To fill basically every hole in a pretty leaky ship so that you don't even have to worry about Joe Thurston still being on the team?  Amazing.

Cards get to try to continue this run tonight in San Diego.  Joel Pineiro will take his groundball stuff to Petco, one of the best pitching parks in the league.  In other words, even if he gets something up, it's likely to stay in the park.  Pineiro has had some difficulties with these guys in the past, but he was able to limit them to three runs in just shy of seven innings last weekend. 

Padres counter with Tim Stauffer.  The Cards beat him around pretty good last weekend, and since he's only faced the Cardinals twice in his career, those career numbers are kinda skewed.  On paper, this one leans toward the Cardinals, but the only baseball that gets played on paper is rotisserie (and even that's on computer these days).

Can't Win Them All

Posted on August 19, 2009 at 7:04 AM
Well, it's not like the Cards were going to run off a 40+ game winning streak.  (Though that obviously would have been nice.)  Going up against a team that has the best record in the division with their ace on the mound using a fifth starter is not the sort of game you have a lot of confidence in anyway.

That said, St. Louis made that more of a game than they would have a few months back.  Used to be 3-0 was an invitation to turn off the TV and do something more productive with your time.  Last night, the only reason I didn't expect much of a rally was that five runs against Chad Billingsley would have been a tall order.  The Cards did make a game of it, cutting the lead to 5-3 before the Dodgers tacked on a couple more later on.

The first couple of batters made it look like Mitchell Boggs really had something going.  His ball was moving and he was getting grounders.  Even after the first, he didn't look too bad.  When things started snowballing, though, they got out of control in a hurry.

The boxscore seems to say that Jason Motte was OK, giving up no runs.  However, he let the two runners Boggs had left on score, which proved to be huge later in the game.  If it stays at 3-0, who knows how the game turns out from there.  Maybe he can learn something from John Smoltz (more on that in a bit) when he gets here.

Really wasn't much offense--five hits--so to score three runs out of that wasn't a shabby feat.  We haven't been able to say much positive about him, so let's give the Hero tag to Khalil Greene for driving in the third run with a solid single.

So, assuming there is no team crazy enough to actually take on Smoltz's contract, he'll be a Cardinal by this evening.  I can't say I'm all that thrilled with the fact that he's going to be a starter for the team, but I'm guessing that the thought process is that he can't be that much worse than what the team has been running out there in the fifth slot and he'll slide into that right-handed relief role for October.  For $100,000, it's definitely worth the gamble.

It'll also be interesting to see if Smoltz can get anything from working with Dave Duncan.  This isn't your ordinary Duncan project, of course.  Smoltz not only has had plenty of success in the bigs, but he worked with his own legendary pitching coach for quite a while.  That said, if there's a flaw or something that Duncan has spotted that can tweak Smoltz back closer to the John Smoltz we all know, that just adds to the possibilities for St. Louis.  Don't know that there is anything like that, but even just moving to the NL should help Smoltz's numbers.

Not sure what the move will be to get Smoltz on the active roster, but I wouldn't be completely surprised if Motte doesn't get a few weeks down in Memphis to try to straighten things out.  Unless they feel he would do better up here learning from Smoltz.

It's not too early to scoreboard watch, in my opinion, and it was good that the Cardinals lead didn't lose its seriousness last night, since the Cubs lost again as well.  The team that the Cards just swept has already won the series against the Cubs.  I'm not sure if that says as much as it looks like it says, but I think it's a strong indicator that it's St. Louis's year.  No guarantees, of course, not until that magic number is 0.  (Currently: 35, or in other terms, Matt Morris.)

While you are watching the early part of the game tonight, tune into the United Cardinal Bloggers Radio Hour.  I'll be co-hosting along with Mike from Stan Musial's Stance and we'll have Erik Manning on to talk about Shelby Miller and the state of the minor leagues.  9:30 Central time, so give us a listen!

Late Night Happiness

Posted on August 18, 2009 at 6:57 AM
How nice is it to wake up in the morning and not only see that the Cards kept the lead they had when I fell asleep, but also to find out they extended their lead at the same time?

Another outstanding game for Chris Carpenter.  I think there should be a macro where you could just click a button and the Carpenter superlatives come out, because he is that consistent and that good.  It really makes you think about how much the Cards have missed the last two years with him on the shelf.  If he's around, especially in '07, St. Louis has probably played in October.

However, with the general lack of offense due to a new face and one with a knuckleball to boot, I think you have to give the Hero tag to Rick Ankiel for the surprising but welcome two-run shot that gave the Cards the lead.  Many in Cardinal Nation, in contrast to the beginning of the year, see Rick as somewhat of the weak link now that the team has been upgraded.  It was good to see him come through and get the big hit when the team needed it.

Albert Pujols now sits just one home run away from 40 on the season.  While he's hit that mark in four of his eight seasons before 2009, he hasn't made that mark since 2006.  There seems a pretty solid chance he'll break his career high of 49 from that year.  Earlier in the year, there was talk of 60, which is out the window, but 50 would still be a wonderful campaign.

Last night's Goat goes to Mark DeRosa, who was 0-4.  Is he really just hitting .228 since arriving back in the National League?  Some of his hits have been of the long ball variety and have come at good times, so that's overshadowed the fact that he's struggled somewhat.  Then again, he was hitting .215 for the Cards through July, a much more palatable .267 in August.  However, he hit 7 HR in that earlier span, just one since the calendar has turned to this month.  Seems like we can have average or power but not both.  I think, with the way this team is constructed, hits are much more important.

The Cards now sit six games ahead of the Cubs, who blew a 1-0 lead in the ninth last night to the Padres.  The only bigger lead in baseball is that of the Yankees, who lead Boston by 7.  Obviously there are no guarantees with six weeks left, but you have to like the Redbirds' position.  Well, unless you root for the baby bears, that is.

The off-the-field news was good for the Cardinals yesterday as well, as they came to terms with their first round draft pick Shelby Miller.  Miller, who automatically moves to being in the mix for the Cards' best prospect, signed for much less than rumor had suggested, coming in under $3 million.  Sounds like a win-win for everyone.

Speaking of draft picks, I think it was good for baseball that Stephen Strasburg signed with the Nationals last night.  Those fevered talks of $50 million were crazy, though the record level of $15 million isn't anything to sneeze at.  Getting a guy that talented to a team that bad is what the draft is supposed to be about.  So while he didn't get there the ideal way--many teams wouldn't have been able to even consider signing him--the end result is what you want to see.  This has nothing to do with the fact that I traded for him in my long-term keeper league earlier in the year in anticipation of his signing.

Could be a tough road for the Redbirds tonight.  Chad Billingsley returns to the mound after dealing with a hamstring injury.  The Cards have done all right against Billingsley in the past.  If Tony LaRussa's looking at the career numbers, there's a strong chance Khalil Greene will get a start somewhere in the lineup tonight.  Greene is hitting .583 with a home run in 12 ABs against the Dodger starter.  The Cardinals touched him up for six runs in less than six innings in the series in St. Louis back in July.

St. Louis counters with Mitchell Boggs.  I don't know about you, but I'm kinda disappointed LaRussa broke up Carpenter and Adam Wainwright.  It's been nice seeing them go on back to back days, though it's understandable that, with last week's off day, they'd want to keep Carp on his regular rest.  Boggs is an unknown to many of the Dodgers, though Manny Ramirez and Mark Loretta, the only two that have faced him, seem to have solved the puzzle.

It's another late night for the Birds.  Let's see if it's as rewarding.

Putting the Padres Out to Pasture

Posted on August 17, 2009 at 8:17 AM
A real nice weekend in St. Louis, full of interesting twists and turns.  For the most part, the Cardinals took care of business and were able to show that this is a very different team than what we saw earlier in the year.  The team earlier in the year probably loses two out of three of these games instead of a Cardinal sweep.  Let's break down the games.

Friday (9-2 win)
Hero: Adam Wainwright.  Seven scoreless innings and a home run to boot?  Look, if you want to win the game by yourself, just say so!
Goat: Jason Motte.  Ruined the shutout and continued to cast questions upon the bullpen.
Notes: Colby Rasmus started hitting this weekend.  Three for five in this game and, of course, more to come from him....Matt Holliday continues to pound the ball as a Cardinal.  Maybe the NL is that much easier!

Saturday (7-4 win)
Hero: Yadier Molina.  A lot of offensive possibilities in this game, but Yadi's pickoff--with the bases loaded!--may have kept the game in the win column.
Goat: Dennys Reyes.  He did his best to turn this game into a very close one.
Notes: Holliday and Rasmus again, spraying the ball all over the yard....Joel Pineiro was a little shaky at the beginning, but was able to settle down and, with this offense, three runs isn't what it used to be.

Sunday (7-5 win)
Hero: Colby Rasmus.  You do the walk-off thing, it's hard not to get the Hero tag.
Goat: Kyle Lohse.  Five runs isn't what you want to see out of him.  Just about the time you think he's getting back on that roll, he has another stinker of a game.
Notes: Much credit to Blake Hawksworth for keeping the team in the game and not letting things get away.....Rarity: Albert Pujols came up with the bases loaded and didn't get the job done, grounding out on a hard-hit ball with two outs.

Couple yesterday's win with the rainout in Chicago and the Cubs beat up on the Pirates twice this weekend...and lost a half-game in the standings.  That's got to be frustrating for the North Siders.  Not that Cardinal fans are feeling too empathetic toward the guys in blue!

Today's big news will come off the field, as it's the deadline for teams to sign their draft picks.  The Cardinals are still talking to Shelby Miller, but all indications seem to be that they will come to an agreement sometime today, if they don't have the basic framework already established.  We talked about it some on the Sunday edition of the UCB Radio Hour yesterday and the consensus seemed to be that Miller would sign.  Both sides have a decided incentive to get the deal done.

I'm sure that'll be a talking point on tonight's broadcast, because the Cardinals don't get started until late as they begin a West Coast road trip.  It's a pretty big one, at least the first part of it.  Even though the Dodgers have been struggling of late, they still lead the NL West by 5 games and have a 3.5 edge on the Cardinals in the overall standings for the best record as well.  Going out to their park will help get a real good sense of how this team is coming together.

Chris Carpenter takes the mound to kick off this potential October preview. If he can keep Manny Ramirez in the park, he's had pretty good numbers against the Dodger hitters in his career.  He shut down LA when they were in Busch at the end of July, allowing one run in seven innings.  Carp's been a little shakier on the road (2.69 ERA to 1.74 at home) but still definitely nothing to be concerned about.

The Dodgers roll out Charlie Haegar, a knuckleballer that only Julio Lugo has seen before.  That's not necessarily a combination that would normally scream "run explosion" for this team.  It may be a good thing that Carpenter is going, because it could be a quiet night for the bats, especially when you factor in the trip across country.

The Cubs go with us out west as they visit San Diego.  Cards game is on ESPN tonight as well as FSMW, if you want to stay up late and see how it turns out.  Since my evening is booked until around 9:45 or so, it'll be nice to see some of the game instead of getting home after it's completed.  Hopefully we'll have another Cardinal win to talk about tomorrow! 

Also on the Network:

√ Things to Read: 3/11 [Tremendous Upside Potential]
√ Wounded Birds [C70 At The Bat]
√ Things to Read: 3/10 [Tremendous Upside Potential]

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Heroes


2009 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (28)
2008 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (25)

Goats


2009 Top Goats: Rick Ankiel and Todd Wellemeyer (13)
2008 Top Goat: Troy Glaus (13)

    Cardinal Nation Approval Ratings (March 2009)
    Albert Pujols 97.9%
    Yadier Molina 93.4%
    Mike Shannon 91.6%
    Dave Duncan 84.2%
    Rick Ankiel 83.9%
    John Rooney 80.9%
    Bill DeWitt 80.2%
    Tony LaRussa 79.1%
    Kyle Lohse 77.3%
    Chris Duncan 69.1%
    Colby Rasmus 66.0%
    Al Hrbrosky 53.9%


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