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A Wrap And A Look Forward

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.

Without Wain, It Pours

The disappointment last night was tangible in Cardinal Nation.  If you weren't at the ballpark, just looking through Twitter would have clued you in on that.

A Grand Day For Cardinal Fans

A nice, crisp day in Cincinnati, when you are spending it at the ballpark, can make a lot of people happy.  Well, maybe not a lot, since the crowd was pretty sparse.  It definitely did wonders for Cardinal Nation, though.

Cardinals Hit, Pitch, Win

Exactly how wonderful of a position for Cardinal fans was yesterday?  The team already has won the first two games of the series and you've got Adam Wainwright on the hill.  So things are looking pretty good.

And then Albert Pujols shows up and makes them even better.

Two big home runs, including one that was a personal milestone for El Hombre, kept his MVP candidacy along.  If Tim Lincecum is out for any period of time, I think we'll get a repeat of 2005 with AP and Chris Carpenter winning the big awards.  Hopefully the postseason will go better than '05 did, though.

While there's been a lot of speculation about the grin shared between Julio Lugo and Pujols after his first clout, I'd like to think either AP called it or it was relief that he finally got on the home run board against Jeff Suppan.  Suppan was the pitcher he'd had the most ABs against without going deep.  That title now goes to Wandy Rodriguez, who has faced Pujols 34 times (28 official ABs) and not let him leave the yard.  The Cards have a three game set in Houston in a couple of weeks--maybe he can mark another off the list as well.  (After Wandy, there's a few retired guys before Brandon Webb at 23 AB/26 PA.)

You can't overlook Wainwright's day, though.  He proved that the hiccup in Pittsburgh was just that, throwing seven more scoreless innings.  If he'd just been a little more judicious in how many pitches he'd thrown, the game had been closer, or the lead wasn't 11.5, he might have gone for his first shutout.  The rate he's going, though, he'll get one and it won't be that long.

Kudos also go to Colby Rasmus.  After Tuesday's game where he pinch-hit, it was thought that he'd sit out yesterday's affair.  Instead, he gets two hits, including a triple, drives in a run and scores two.  Must have heard me say something about JD Drew and decided to prove he wasn't the next iteration of him.

Rough day, however, for Skip Schumaker, who went 0-5 in the leadoff slot.  It happens, of course, but you hate seeing the leadoff guy not getting on base.

Matt Holliday tripped over first base (that so sounds like something I would do) and left the game early yesterday, but all reports seem to indicate he's fine and should be in the starting lineup Friday.  I'm sure somebody will harken back to this if he slumps the next few days, but it really does sound like it's nothing terribly serious.

Mark DeRosa is definitely having surgery after the season is over.  I thought that was already a given, but apparently that was just an option until recently, when it became clear it was the only option.  That should give the Cards an edge in resigning him, as he may not be willing to take his chances on the open market coming off surgery.  Hopefully that also means the Cardinals can get a little bit of a discount on bringing him back to hedge against the possibility that the surgery takes longer to heal from than expected, a common occurance among Cardinal players.

I was listening to a little bit of Mike and Mike this morning when they had Tim Kurkjian on.  They were talking about the Cardinals and how they are "the team to beat", at least in the National League.  One part of me likes hearing that, likes seeing the Cardinals get some recognition and getting an opinion validated by those that aren't as close to the situation (and, in theory, less positively biased).

Another part of me, though, was wary.  How often is "the team to beat" beaten in the playoffs?  Were the Phillies the team to beat last year?  The Cards in '06?  The White Sox in '05 or the Red Sox in '04?  Seems like those dominant teams can get through the first round, but might have trouble later on.  The '04 and '05 Cardinal squads probably were considered the team to beat, though I still think having Carp in the '04 playoffs would have kept the Curse going a while.  Still, they didn't win, so seeing that tag on St. Louis causes a little anxiety.

Joe Strauss is having his weekly chat today, so you might look over there for some updates on Holliday and other facets of the Cardinal team.

The magic number is doubly serious.  It's another one of those off-days, so we'll take a look at the Atlanta series tomorrow.

Enjoy The Holliday

Some of us weren't too thrilled when John Mozeliak pulled the trigger and acquired Matt Holliday from the A's.  While the future cost is still to be determined, it's safe to say the present reality makes that deal look like a steal.

When you are down by one and Trevor Hoffman is pitching, you don't necessarily expect big things.  After all, he shut down the Cardinals last week in the same type of situation.  However, just as Milwaukee may have gotten a little edge from seeing John Smoltz in close proximity, so too did St. Louis get a little extra from so recently seeing Hoffman.

For example, last week Hoffman was able to strike out Albert Pujols, who still hasn't gotten a hit off of him, with the tying run on at first.  Last night, Pujols was disciplined enough to take the walk, which allowed Holliday to win the game instead of just tie it up.

And after a month of the two sluggers not homering in the same game, they've now done it three times in about a week.  What do you do if you are a pitcher?  Besides duck and hide?

So as it stands right now, Holliday in Cardinal red is hitting .381 with 12 HR, 41 RBI and an OPS of 1.143 in 33 games.  How nuts is that?  I tell you one thing, if Holliday does go somewhere else this offseason, it's going to be a National League team.  I don't necessarily subscribe to the widespread theory that the AL is the toughest thing ever and the NL is a little second-rate backwoods league in comparison, but obviously Holliday either didn't agree with the AL or didn't agree with Oakland in particular, and if I were him I don't think I'd risk finding out which it was.

Holliday kept the unique streak of not losing ground in the division race going, as it's up to 32 days or so.  If the race was any closer, you'd think that'd be darn frustrating to Cub fans.  When you are down by 11.5, it probably doesn't matter as much.

Holliday also helped ease the night of our Goat, Yadier Molina.  The double play he hit into back in the sixth looked really costly late, though it did get one run in.  I liked that he was able to execute the hit and run in the eighth, though, after not being able to get the bunt down.

Early in the game, it looked like the Cardinal magic had run out for Smoltz.  Not so much the two-run blast by Prince Fielder, because Fielder does that.  However, with Ryan Braun almost hitting one before that shot, settling for a double, and then the Brewers tacking on another one in the second and having two runners on with no outs, you started to wonder if the wheels were coming off.

So it's a credit to Smoltz that not only did he strand those runners, but he didn't allow any more runs in his five innings of work.  I think he likely would have gone into the sixth, but with two on and his slot in the lineup coming up, Tony LaRussa had to pinch hit for him and see if they couldn't cash in.

Interesting to see Kyle Lohse come in for an inning.  He looked pretty sharp and I would expect that he's still in line for the Saturday game, treating this as his between-starts throwing session.  I'm anxious to see how he does against the Braves, because if he can finally get back to something approximating last year, the Cardinals have five talented starters for the postseason, which is a great problem to have.

Colby Rasmus seems to be injured again.  I wondered that on Twitter yesterday when the lineup came out and he wasn't in it for the second day in a row.  With his myriad of injuries and his lack of expressed enthusiasm, I could easily see Rasmus getting the "JD Drew" reputation around Cardinal Nation.  I hope that won't be the case, though.  He had a very good at-bat last night pinch-hitting, I thought, even though he struck out.  I was wondering if TLR sent him up there as bait to get the lefty into the game, then do a switch.  That didn't happen, though, and Rasmus worked the count full and had good strokes down both lines that went foul before chasing an outside fastball.

Sounds like the Cards are still getting that headstart on their after-season checklist, starting to talk to Mark DeRosa about returning.  Not only would it be good to get him back, of course, but as discussed when the Ryan Franklin/Trever Miller extensions were announced, anything that gets the budget more firm for the next few years will only help in getting an offer to Holliday and an extension offer to Pujols.

Afternoon baseball today, which is good in that there's something to follow at work, bad because there's no game on tonight or tomorrow, so we have to go over 48 hours without the Cards playing.  Never a good thing.  You can follow today's game over at FSMW's live blog, with some of the best comments and questions making it to the broadcast.

Adam Wainwright goes for the Cardinals, looking to shake off that six-run inning against Pittsburgh last time out.  This may be the team to do it to, because he's had the Brew Crew's number during 2009.  He's faced Milwaukee three times this year and has a 2-1 record and a 0.77 ERA to show for it.  Historically, they've not done much against him either.  Really, the only sliver of hope for the Brewers that an away day game would seem to be the worst possible combination for the Wagonmaker.  You take what you can get.

Of course, the Brewers send out the former Redbird Jeff Suppan, who has been known to baffle Cardinal hitters as well.  The Cardinals were finally able to get to him in his last time against them and he has a ERA close to 5.00 against the club this year.  Historically, though, he's been pretty tough on Cardinal hitters and I believe he's the pitcher that Pujols has the most at-bats against without a home run.

To get you through a baseball-less evening, tune in to the UCB Radio Hour.  The guys from Pitchers Hit Eighth are hosting tonight and will likely marvel over Chris Carpenter, look ahead to the postseason, talk about today's game, and anything else that may come to mind.  Callers welcome!  646-929-1758 from 9:30 to 10:30 pm Central.

Over at MLB.com, they are celebrating 9/9/09 by letting you vote for the top offensive season at each position.  Go over and check it out.

Ironically, I'm finishing this up right about 9:09.  Enjoy "baseball day" as the marketing folks at MLB are terming it!

Big Weekend, Big Innings, Big Players

In case you haven't noticed--and judging by the comments, you haven't--I took a long holiday weekend and wasn't able to work my way back to the blogging platform.  I may have watched more of the Cardinals than I have in a while, though, which was great.  So let's recap the last, well, almost week.

Wednesday vs. Milwaukee (10-3 win)
Hero: Skip Schumaker.  A nice 4-4 with a couple of runs and a couple of RBI?  Talk about doing it all!
Goat: It's tough to have a Goat in a game where the team puts up 10 runs, even if Chris Carpenter didn't have his normal spectacular outing.  That said, Mark DeRosa went 0-4, so that's where we'll go.
Notes: So nice to see that offense really click.  It's a tough task to go down this lineup when everyone is dialed in.  Heck, there was even a good game out of Rick Ankiel, so you know things are going the Cards way!  A nice outing by Jason Motte as well, as he struck out five in two innings.  If he can get to being a shutdown option, the post-season bullpen is even stronger.

Thursday vs. Milwaukee (4-3 loss)
Hero: Julio Lugo.  He led off the game with a home run as one of his three hits.  He also mixed in a double in there and looked sharp all the way around.
Goat: Albert Pujols.  Doesn't happen often, but he couldn't come through with the bases loaded in the seventh (which hardly ever happens this year), then had a chance in the ninth to at least tie it up and struck out to end the game.  Don't worry, though, he'll wind up on the plus side before this entry is done.
Notes: Tough game to lose, especially with an early two-run lead handed to John Smoltz.  You knew that he wouldn't be able to keep up what he'd done so far in Cardinal red, though he pretty much did for the first five innings.  He'll be in the rotation for a while now, so we'll get to continue to evaluate his results.

Friday at Pittsburgh (14-7 win)
Hero: Ryan Ludwick.  Five for five, two home runs, two doubles.  Even with Pujols's go-ahead three-run shot, it's hard to go against that line of work.
Goat: Adam Wainwright.  Talk about a terrible innings.  Everything that could go wrong for Wainwright in the fifth seemed to do so.  It was nice that AP bailed him out and got him a win, especially after so many tough-luck losses this year, but that wasn't the Wainwright we know and love.
Notes: Apparently everyone was big on football season starting, since they put up a football score.  (I'll rant about that in a bit.)  We got to see the return of Todd Wellemeyer as well, but it wasn't necessarily all we wanted to see.  A scoreless frame, but two walks.  You could be generous and chalk that up to some rust.  We'll have to see when he gets another opportunity.

Saturday at Pittsburgh (2-1 win in 10)
Hero: Albert Pujols.  Hit the game-winner, get the tag.
Goat: Rick Ankiel.  Most of the offense didn't show up, but Ankiel was the worst, striking out three times in his hitless four ABs.
Notes: Mitchell Boggs had his best game as a pro.  Of course, with Kyle Lohse returning, it might have been his last start (though he probably will get one later in the month as Tony LaRussa starts getting the rotation lined up for post-season).  Nice to see Blake Hawksworth not only coming in to a close game but being able to work out of a bases-loaded situation.  I think he's earned his October ticket as well.

Sunday at Pittsburgh (6-5 loss)
Hero: Rick Ankiel.  Most days, Rick's bomb would have been cause for joyous celebration long into the evening.  Unfortunately, this time it lasted less than half an hour.
Goat: Ryan Franklin.  Blown saves happen.  However, there are some worriesome tendencies in this second half that are a little scary for the postseason.
Notes: One bad inning for Joel Pineiro spoiled his chance to add to the win total.  However, all day he seemed to be getting pitches up more than he does when he's going well and that will eventually bite you.  Motte came into this one also and pitched well again.  In his last five outings, he's allowed no runs, pitched 6.1 innings, struck out 9 and walked two.  These are definitely encouraging signs.

Monday at Milwaukee (3-0 win)
Hero: Chris Carpenter.  He tightened up the Cy Young race again by throwing a one-hit shutout.  He seems to like holidays in Milwaukee!
Goat: Ryan Ludwick.  An 0 for 4 with two strikeouts isn't exactly the way you want to spend  your Labor Day.
Notes: Albert Pujols again comes through, doubling in two when first base was open.  I know Matt Holliday had great numbers against Milwaukee, but you really want to pitch to AP with the game on the line?  You have to know that runs are going to be pretty scarce with Carp on the hill.  Whatever, it works for us!

So the Cards open today with a magic number of Ken Boyer and a solid 11 1/2 game lead on those Cubbies.  However, this puts us just one tick closer to the end of the season.

Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike postseason baseball, obviously.  I want to see the Cardinals playing in October every year.  That said, regular season baseball, in my book, is usually more likeable than postseason baseball.  I realize I could be the only person in the world that thinks that, but hear me out.

I'm a nervous kind of person.  October baseball often finds me flipping channels, not necessarily able to handle the stress of a possible unfortunate outcome.  I will watch the game, then head to another channel for a moment or two before coming back to the game.  (This is how I missed the Bartman play in '03, because I couldn't quite handle watching the Cubs go to the World Series.  Also was away from the TV in '05 with Pujols and Lidge for similar reasons.)  So the stress level of watching the game goes way up for me once the regular season closes.

Besides the fact that what I love about the regular season is its consistency, its daily grind.  You always know that there's a game tomorrow and it takes you throughout the year.  Playoff baseball has big gaps, is covered by announcers and media that have no clue about your team and are not the voices you've heard all year (unless you listen in on the radio, of course), and stops and starts depending on how the teams do.

Of course, if the Cardinals win the whole thing by routing teams, it's the greatest time in the world.

So Franklin blew the save on Sunday and in a fairly efficient manner.  Without the sacrifice that might have gone dreadfully wrong for the Cards if AP had been just a little slower to second base, Franklin wouldn't have retired a batter.  The public reasoning is that he needed some rest, that Saturday's long save got to him.  Hopefully this is true, but he's been walking people at a much higher clip lately, which can cause some fatigue as well.  The Cards need him to be reliable (and able to go whenever) in the post-season to make it very far, so losing some games now with Motte or Boggs or whomever in the ninth will have to be an acceptable tradeoff.

As mentioned above, Lohse looks to return Saturday against the Braves.  Since the five-man rotation is staying in place, John Smoltz will likely miss going against his own team, since Wainwright will go tomorrow, Pineiro the first game of the Braves series, and Carpenter the last.  So while it'd have been a nice story to see Smoltz take on Atlanta, it's probably nice for him not to have to worry about it.

Smoltz faces Manny Parra today in a rematch of that 4-3 loss from last Thursday.  Parra always seems to be one of those that cause the Cardinals trouble, though St. Louis has had some good numbers in the past.  Last year, the Cards would get on him early, but not be able to add on and the Brewers would come back.  You know, kinda like they did last week.  They'll need to keep pushing tonight to make sure the bullpen can be managed correctly.

Smoltz has a lot of data against the Brew Crew as well, but one guy he hasn't faced much is Casey McGhee, who is quickly moving up the "Cardinals Killers" list.  Let's see if the Cards can't keep him in check.

Should be another fun game as the Cards try to add to that winning series streak!

Holliday Time

Someone, I can't remember who now, noted last week on Twitter that Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday had yet to have a game where they both homered.  Everyone, take out your to-do lists and check that one off.

Fox Sports Midwest flashed up the graphic showing Braden Looper's ERA basically the first, second and third times around and it got progressively worse.  The Cards were able to play to that script last night, going fairly quietly the first time around, then exploding the second and third times.

Albert got things going with a homer in the fourth, but what was more impressive about that inning was that it didn't stop there.  So often, especially in the past, a lead-off home run would have been followed by three outs.  Instead, the Cards continued to hit and wound up tying the game.

It was also one of the rare games where St. Louis has been able to rally twice.  It was also proof that walking Albert isn't always the best thing anymore.  I know that Pujols owned David Weathers, who was in at the time and issued the intentional walk to AP, but as Al Hrbrosky said (yes, Al said this!), when you start basing decisions on such small samples, it's a good chance you are going to get burned.  Holliday was 1-5 against Weathers and 0-3 against Todd Coffey before last night.  Now, he's 1-4 against Coffey.

The two big blasts by the sluggers overshadowed another good outing by Colby Rasmus, who got the Cardinals' first hit and then drove in a run in the fourth with another hard-hit ball.  He even drew an intentional walk, only the third of his career.  If Colby wants to win the Rookie of the Year, he's going to have to have a very strong September.  The last few games have been an indication that he's starting to get hot again.

Not the greatest of starts by Joel Pineiro last night, but he was able to keep the Cardinals in the game, which is key with this offense.  You have to figure they'll eventually start scoring runs and three isn't the death grip that it used to be.  Four runs in seven innings will win a lot of games and it's an indication of how good Pineiro has been that we can say this was an off night for him.

The Goat has to go to Ryan Franklin.  He got the save, but he made it way more interesting that he should have, especially given the focus on him due to his contract extension.  Giving up two runs in the ninth is never something that inspires confidence, no matter what the lead is.

Speaking of his extension, the financial terms for both him and Trever Miller were released.  Franklin doesn't really cost the team much more next year than he would with his option and he gets $6.5 million in 2011.  Being that there's no obvious replacement for him in the system and the amount of money good closers make these days, that's probably going to be a deal for the Cards.

Miller probably had a little bit of leverage since his first deal with the Cards was a two-year one that got scrapped after the physical.  They put a lot of those numbers into this deal, but protected themselves with the option that doesn't exercise if he goes on the DL with that shoulder issue.  Again, it's a relatively cheap deal and, most importantly, gives the team hard numbers to put into the 2010 and 2011 budgets so that they know what they can offer the bigger fish.

You also have to figure that they look at the standings, look at the fact that the magic number is Curt Flood and, though they won't say it publically, know that there is going to be some postseason money coming into this organization.  That probably helps them feel like they can offer a little more to these guys, knowing that this season will wind up covering it, or at least a good portion.

Tonight, it's a Chris Carpenter start.  If that doesn't get you excited, apparently you are reading the wrong blog (or are a fan of another team stopping by, in which case, welcome!).  Interestingly, the Brewers have had pretty good numbers against Carp in the past. However, he faced them back in May and threw eight scoreless innings, striking out 10, in a game remembered for the fact that it was on Memorial Day weekend and he flirted with a perfect game, but the Cards couldn't score for him.

On the other side, it'll be Dave Bush.  Bush is having a tough year, with an ERA closing in on 6.  (And that, my friends, would be a serious ERA.)  He hasn't faced the Cardinals this year, but he's been able to keep them pretty much in check in the past.  For example, AP is hitting under .200 against him.  Yadier Molina has three home runs off of him, two in this game.

On paper, it looks like a fairly easy win for the Redbirds, but as we all know, they don't play the games on paper.  Unfortunately, sometimes.

Well before I ever thought about blogging (some of you may refer to that time as the Golden Age), Viva El Birdos stood as the preeminent Cardinal blog on the web, as it still does today under its new management.  Before VEB, though, there was Redbird Nation.  I never read RN, but its legacy continues today.  You can still hear some of the old-timers (as it were) talk about the days of that blog and what it meant to the Cardinal community.  RN shut its doors soon after the Cardinal loss to the Red Sox in the '04 World Series, but you can read this new interview with Brian Gunn, the writer of the blog.  It's definitely worth taking a look.  You know you've done well when people miss you still after five years!

Starting Up September

Not a lot of news out of the off day.  You hope that means that most of the Cardinals rested up, played some golf at Albert Pujols's charity tournament, and prepared for the final lap.

With the Cubs losing last night, pushing the lead out to 10.5 games in the division, the largest in baseball, that final stretch is pretty much a victory lap.  Nothing is certain, of course, and until that magic number ticks down to Kerry Robinson, anything can happen (as 2006 almost showed us), but it's going to be pretty surprising if a team with these three workhorses at the top of the rotation go on any kind of extensive losing streak.

Instead of focusing on the Cubs, though, the Cards probably are keeping their eye on the Dodgers, as their loss last night puts St. Louis within a game of the best record in the NL.  Having that home field advantage all the way through would be very nice.  Then again, with the second best, you've got the home field in the first round and with the Dodgers' post-season history, they might not make it to the NLCS, even with the moves they made last night.

Today is the first day that rosters expanded and teams are able to bring up to 15 new faces into the dugout.  The Cardinals first move will likely be Troy Glaus, but others will wait until Memphis is either eliminated or done with the playoffs.  Even then, there probably won't be too many exciting names coming up and they won't get just a whole lot of playing time.

When people looked at the schedule back in March, they probably looked at September, saw the Cards were playing the Brewers three times in that stretch, and thought there'd be some classic fall baseball being played then.  Instead, the Cards sit 12 games ahead of a Milwaukee that has been a little bit of a disappointment this year, even factoring in the losses of CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets.

Joel Pineiro takes the hill tonight against the Brew Crew, whom the Cardinals last faced just after the Fourth of July.  Pineiro has faced the Brewers once this year, going the distance and allowing only three hits and a run.  He's had very good results against these hitters in the past, keeping them in the park for the most part.

Old friend Braden Looper goes for Milwaukee.  Looper has also just gone once in the Cards/Brew matchups this year and been very effective, gaining the win on six innings of three hit, one (earned) run ball.  Looper's been able to shut the Cardinal hitters down in his career, though most of them haven't got a huge sample size to judge from.  Looking at those numbers, it wouldn't be any surprise to see Khalil Greene get a start tonight.

To scoreboard watch, the Cubs host Houston this evening and the Dodgers welcome Arizona.  Looking forward to this push to October!

Been A Long Time

For all of those patiently waiting for a new entry, wait no longer.  I have returned!  For all of those that didn't actually realize I was gone, ignore that intro.  Lots has happened since the last entry, so I'll try to hit the highlights.  This could be a long one, so settle in.  Continue Reading

A Tough Split (Plus, Win Free Stuff!)

OK, most of you know about the free stuff, but let me get this out of the way first before we talk about the last two games against the Brewers.  Wilson, the makers of the official ball glove and catcher's mask of MLB, has given me the rights to 20 tickets to FanFest, this week's celebration of baseball in St. Louis.  These tickets are completely free and can be used at any time or day after pickup.  The only catch is that you have to pick them up in person Saturday between noon and three.  If you are interested, e-mail me (it's at the top of the blog) by 6 pm tonight and I'll get the names to Wilson and the pickup info to you.

Speaking of FanFest, it's a testament to how the walls between casual bloggers and professional media are blurring somewhat, but your humble correspondant has been put on the media credentials list for Friday, when I will be up in St. Louis visiting FanFest.  If I'm able to be coherent enough to actually do an interview, I'll be sure to get it up somewhere, though it may be after I return.  Then again, the odds of all that are pretty slim if the past is any indication.

Tuesday's game was a wonderful thing.  Even after Adam Wainwright had thrown 120 pitches against the Giants, he was able to come back and shut down the Brewers, though again, it was with 120 pitches.  You have to hope that the extra workload won't cause him many problems down the stretch.  When he's on, though, he's a bulldog, and it's great to see him and Chris Carpenter running back to back like that, at least if you are a fan of great pitching.

It's also good to see Wainwright being so tough on a divisional rival.  He's only allowed two runs in three games to the Brewers so far this year, so if they start thinking he had their number, that could play into the Cardinals' hands down the stretch.

If it wasn't for Wainwright, Colby Rasmus would have gotten the Hero nod.  (Ironically, last time Wainwright pitched, Rasmus edged him out for the honor.)  Three hits, including a home run and a double, really helped set the tone and solidify him as possibly the biggest, most consistent bat outside of Albert Pujols on this team.  I hope he's rested up, because Rasmus won't see too many off days the rest of the year.

A good night for Ryan Ludwick as well.  Getting that three-run homer early helped keep Yovani Gallardo from really settling in.  I still think Ludwick is going to have a strong second half.

Our Goat is pretty easy too.  When you go 0-5 with the golden sombrero of four strikeouts, plus leave five men on base, well, you are the goat.  C'mon down, Rick Ankiel!  Possibly the most mindblowing thing I've seen recently happened in last night's game, where the Brewers walked Ankiel intentionally.  Talk about giving up an out!  You can hear us go on about it close to the end of last night's UCB Radio Hour.

Last night's game was pretty disappointing.  To get up 4-1 against the team closest to you in the standings and then immediately cough it up is a terrible thing.  It never should have gotten to needing a bases-loaded hit against Trevor Hoffman.  I think the world of Yadier Molina and he's the guy I'd want up there in the situation (if it wasn't Pujols), but that's not what you want to see after such a lead.  Even with the grounder in the ninth, Molina's two for five night still gets him Hero status.

You really hate to realize that you lost because you couldn't throw Prince Fielder out.  If he hits one deep, that's one thing, but this is not a guy that you'd expect to be beating out an infield single.

There's got to be a strong chance that Todd Wellemeyer is just about at the end of his rope.  Tony LaRussa's comments after the game showed a large amount of frustration with the pitcher.  With Kyle Lohse ready to return, Wellemeyer and Brad Thompson both are probably not wanting to be called into the manager's office.

On the positive side, the offense was able to put up four runs and take a lead with absolutely nothing from Rasmus and Pujols.  So maybe they are showing signs of life.

The big talk off the field is, of course, the possibility that the Cardinals could be in on Roy Halladay. This is going to be one of those classic "win now, be weak later" vs. "contend for a long time" debates that will continue to swirl for the rest of the month, I'd expect.

On the face of it, even though I love pitching and I love Halladay, I didn't think I'd be in favor of this deal.  The Cardinals are going to need young players to come up through the ranks and develop this team in order to support Albert's next contract.

The more I read about it, though, the more I start wondering if maybe this isn't a deal the Cardinals can make.  Obviously, if it's a Brett Wallace and Colby Rasmus type deal, then no can do.  But Wallace, while I'd love to see him in St. Louis, is going to be a first baseman some day according to all reports.  For someone of Halladay's stature, I wouldn't make him untouchable.

Throw in another few prospects, such as Bryan Anderson, Pete Kozma, Clayton Mortenson, even Daryl Jones (though the latter should be a last resort kinda thing) and, while you've damaged the farm system, it's not completely depleted.  Not to mention the two draft picks you'll get when Halladay signs elsewhere, assuming he doesn't take a below-market deal to stay in St. Louis.

Plus, what better way to prove to Albert that you are committed to winning than to put together a team that could go deep into October, at least for the next two years?  Then, in 2011, you've got some young guys to put into the mix and some funds to sign a FA or two to at least keep the team from being a Pirates-level disaster.

Think about best case scenario if you make the deal.  Troy Glaus is close to going on a rehab assignment.  Say he does well and can contribute.  You could have a lineup of:

Schumaker 2B
Rasmus CF
Pujols 1B
Ludwick RF
Glaus 3B
DeRosa LF
Molina C
Pitcher
Ryan SS

And a rotation of Halladay/Carpenter/Wainwright/Lohse/Pineiro.  Tell me that wouldn't do some damage, especially in the NL Central and short series in October?  Plus, assuming you could resign DeRosa, only Glaus and Pineiro would change for next season, creating the chances for a strong 2010.

I'm not saying that the Cardinals absolutely should do the deal, but it's a more realistic and less damaging scenario than I originally expected.

With that, I'm basically signing off for the next 10 days.  While I have internet on my phone, I'm not sure I can hunt and peck out an entry and probably won't have the time to anyway.  I'll share pictures from FanFest when I return.

However, you won't be entirely without content.  Later today I'll put up the post for the United Cardinal Bloggers next project, a live blog on Sunday that will start at noon and hopefully go from there until the end of the second game of the Cards/Cubs doubleheader.  You can see this live blog on any of the UCB members that are participating as well as the official UCB website.  You can interact with the members as well, asking questions and just talking baseball.  It'll be a chance to look back at the first half as well as get ready for the stretch run.  It should be fun (and I hate that I'll miss it!)

Also on the Network: √ Playing Pepper 2010: Oakland Athletics [C70 At The Bat] √ Book Review: Joe Cronin, A Life In Baseball [C70 At The Bat] √ Happy Birthday, Loge 13 [Loge 13] √ Things to Read: 3/11 [Tremendous Upside Potential] √ The Farm Team to Watch [El Lefty Malo] √ Wounded Birds [C70 At The Bat] √ Julius Peppers Continues Being a Great Quote [Tremendous Upside Potential] √ Things to Read: 3/10 [Tremendous Upside Potential]