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Streak Stopped, Talk Just Starting

Posted on July 23, 2010 at 9:42 AM

You know that, when Cole Hamels is pitching against your team, you are going to likely have a long night (or, in this case, afternoon). However, I'm not sure you expect it to be that long.

However, this loss was different than most of the other losses this season--the Cards just got beat. They have a whole lot of situations where they threatened. When you only get one hit, you are pretty lucky to get into the 11th with a chance to win. I believe I saw where it was the first road one-hit, 11 inning game since 1900. That's dicing it up pretty slim, but you get the idea--when it's historic, there's not a lot you can say about it.

Being that there wasn't just a whole lot of offense, you probably give the Hero tag to Adam Wainwright again. Six scoreless and, while he wasn't as sharp as he's been in the past, he still made the pitches he needed to make to get out of jams. It was pretty obvious early that one run would be enough to win this thing, and Wainwright made sure not to give up that run.

I thought it'd be interesting to compare the Wagonmaker's numbers to those of the other pitchers most likely to be mentioned in the Cy Young voting. I've never quite figured out tables on here, but here are the numbers.

Wainwright: 14-5, 1.94 ERA in 148.1 innings, 136 K, 1.00 WHIP

Josh Johnson: 10-3, 1.61 ERA in 134.1 innings, 141 K, 0.97 WHIP

Ubaldo Jimenez: 15-1, 2.38 ERA in 132.1 innings, 118 K, 1.07 WHIP

Roy Halladay: 10-8, 2.40 ERA in 154 innings, 131 K, 1.06 WHIP

Tim Lincecum: 10-4, 3.18 ERA in 130.1 innings, 138 K, 1.27 WHIP

Looking at that, the first thing that stands out is that Lincecum's Cy streak is probably over, because it's going to be very tough for him to pass up all those guys in the second half of the season. The second thing is that, to me, it's a two-man race for the most part. Jimenez does have the gaudy record, but he's slumped lately and that's the only thing he has on Wainwright or Johnson, and Waino's almost right there in wins anyway.

On the downside yesterday, I wanted to go with Aaron Miles, whose defensive maneuvering added pitches to Wainwright's total, but I don't think you can avoid Kyle McClellan. When you give up the game-winner, you are often going to be the Goat. Matthew Leach had some amazing stats up on Twitter yesterday, showing that McClellan has very good numbers in games where he comes in ahead or behind, even one-run affairs, but he's given up as many home runs in tie games as any other type of game in about a third of the at-bats. Don't know what it is, but maybe Tony La Russa should keep him on the bench in those situations for a bit.

The buzz continues to swirl, though, about Roy Oswalt. He still wants to play for St. Louis, St. Louis still wants him. But matching up Houston's demands against St. Louis's resources may be a difficult task. There's a lot of thought that the option is not going to be exercised, that Oswalt wants out of Houston and will drop that if it makes a deal happen.

Since St. Louis reportedly offered two young players from their current major league roster, it's fun to speculate who they were. You figure one of the was either Jon Jay or Allen Craig, that's a given. The Cardinals need to free up some room in the outfield and that's the logical way of doing it. The second is a little more up in the air. You'd think it'd probably be someone like Blake Hawksworth, perhaps McClellan (though I'd be very surprised if so), but what if they offered Brendan Ryan in that trade? It'd probably more likely be Tyler Greene, but if Houston had thoughts that Ryan's offense would come back around, that'd have to be at least an intriguing notion.

To throw another log on the fire, apparently the Diamondbacks are now committed to moving Dan Haren before the deadline, and the Cardinals at least have their hand in on those discussions. Again, I don't know how it works into the payroll and I don't see how the Cards have the prospects to get him, but it'll lead to some interesting talk. Many people seem to prefer Haren to Oswalt, and while I like both, Arizona is going to have to come off their demands for him if they plan to move him.

Cards and Cubs match up this afternoon. Cardinals send out Jeff Suppan, Cubs Randy Wells. As you remember, last time the Cards faced Wells in Wrigley on a Friday afternoon, he didn't get a single out. You have to figure he'll be better this time, but the offense really is going to have to be active today if they are going to start a new winning streak with Suppan on the mound.

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Exciting Times In Cardinal Nation

Posted on July 22, 2010 at 8:20 AM

You know things are going good when a late-inning win to extend a lengthy winning streak is the second most talked about story today.

Let's take the game first, though, before we get into the trade rumor that popped up last night. We've talked about it before, but one of the great things about this winning streak is the fact that they are starting to beat pitchers that have given them trouble in the past. It wasn't part of the streak, but they beat Bud Norris right before it started. They've beaten Kyle Kendrick. Jamie Moyer didn't beat them, though that was at least in part due to his injury forcing his early exit.

Last night, they took out Joe Blanton. Even with his rough numbers for this year, Blanton still was able to curtail the offense for a while before Matt Holliday went deep to break the tie. The Cards tacked on--another thing they've been doing well lately--and padded the lead in the eighth, which was great to see.

Jaime Garcia put a lot of doubts to rest, at least for a while, with a stellar performance. His off-day discussions with Dave Duncan seemed to help him focus on what makes him effective. To see him go into the seventh against an offense that is one of the top ones in the National League with only one run given up is very impressive. While there's talk of other pitching options, it's not because of Garcia. He's already an amazing #3 starter. If a trade were to happen and move him back to #4, can you just imagine how strong this team would be?

The down side to last night's game was Skip Schumaker, who went 0-3 with two strikeouts. It may be a credit to Skip that these games are now noticeable, instead of being considered more of the same. That said, you don't want to have too many of those kind of games this close to the trading deadline.

With the offense and the pitching both clicking, it's not surprising the Cards have run off an eight game winning streak now, with the possibility of more. Besides the settling of nerves that Garcia provided last night, there were more stories on the pitching front.

The more prosaic of them was the fact that Kyle Lohse threw a simulated couple of innings yesterday and will start his rehab assignment in Memphis on Monday. I'm one of those that didn't believe we'd see Lohse again, so this is pretty impressive news. We'll see if the arm can handle regular pitching, but it could be that Lohse can get back to something approximating 2008 now that he's healthy. I don't know that you hold your breath on that, but no matter what, he'd be a pretty solid #4 starter for the Redbirds right now. Or, perhaps, a dominant number five.....

That's because the most earthshaking story came out last night, when Hardball Talk stated that, according to a source, the Cards were the front-runners for Roy Oswalt. If you've ever wanted to hear someone get completely floored when going on the radio, catch last night's UCB Radio Hour about thirty minutes in, when I call up and Josh hits me with that piece of knowledge. It was the last thing I was expecting to hear and it shows.

Matthew Leach then came back and added to the report, saying that the Jayson Stark report from earlier in the day, that Oswalt was going to force whatever team to trade for him to pick up his 2012 option, didn't necessarily apply to the Cardinals. Oswalt could make the money work better by working out a deferral or could ignore the issue all together. If this is true, it makes a deal a bit more feasible.

Joe Strauss chimes in on the report as well, but nothing indicates that anything will happen soon or even that it is inevitable. It seems a real long shot, but let's think about this some.

First off, the upside is pretty obvious. Putting a rotation of Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, Roy Oswalt and Jaime Garcia in the postseason, coupled with a lineup like the one St. Louis has, would probably make them the favorites to win the whole thing. It should be enough to counteract the improving Reds rotation as well as any moves Walt Jocketty could make.

I've been a fan of Oswalt's for a long time and would love to see him in Cardinal red. From all these reports, indications are that he's respected in the clubhouse and should fit into the Cardinal culture pretty well. Being that he won the first Darryl Kile Award in Houston back in 2003, I think it's safe to say he'd be a positive for clubhouse chemistry, something John Mozeliak had been looking for. Oswalt's had no major injury history, he is still having a solid year (even if his record doesn't reflect it) and should be able to provide value both this year and next, plus that option year if necessary.

The downside is trying to figure out exactly how he works into the payroll structure. If the 2012 option isn't required, that helps a lot. Bill DeWitt has said they have money for a deal, but would be leery of trading off top talent for a rental. Oswalt's 2010 salary is $15 million, so for the rest of the year it'd be, what, $7 million or so, maybe a little less? It's $16 million next year, then it's possible the Cards could decline his '12 option, which would be the first year of the new Pujols deal (assuming he re-signs). Monetarily, perhaps it works.

The talent's the thing, not the play. More directly, who would the Cardinals have to give up? You'd expect that one of Jon Jay or Allen Craig would go, because there's not enough room for everyone with the return of Ryan Ludwick. That's not a problem. Lance Lynn might also be in the discussion--again, that's feasible. The kicker is, will the Cardinals have to include Shelby Miller?

I'm of two minds on his inclusion. On the one hand, TNSTAAPP. Erik Manning on Twitter last night posted some interesting stats, which basically came down to only 2.5% of pitching prospects become stars. The odds of Shelby Miller fronting a rotation someday are against him.

Even if he does turn out to be an ace, FFF--flags fly forever. Would it be painful to see Miller pitching for a divisional rival, pitching against the Cards, maybe even leading the Astros to a title? Sure it would. But if you are able to wipe those tears on your 2010 or 2011 Official World Series Champion handkerchief, doesn't that ease that pain a little bit? You do have to give something to get something. As I said last night, if Mark Mulder had turned out to be what we thought we were getting and had put that team over the top in 2005, the loss of Dan Haren would not be nearly as painful as it is today.

On the other hand, payroll has to be a consideration. The Cards are going to need good, young players to give maximum value for minimal dollars in the coming years when they sign up Pujols. Perhaps they think that they have a good line on signing some of this year's prospects. That'd help the payroll in a couple of years, especially if they were able to nab Austin Wilson and Zack Cox. However, to give up a possible front-line starter, even a mid-rotation guy, that can give you quality at a minimum salary, that's a tough sell.

It's going to be a long week and a half, it appears. Oswalt's next start is Saturday against the Reds, so I don't expect any move will get made before then (let him beat the closest competition!). If a deal was made Sunday or Monday, Oswalt could pitch the last game of the Mets series in CitiField. One way or another, he'll be pitching in the Houston series August 2-4. It just remains to be seen in which uniform.

Cards have the first of three straight afternoon games today, sending out Adam Wainwright to see if they can finish off the sweep. Waino's been pretty good against the Phillies in his career, holding them to a .225 team average. Shane Victorino's been tough on him (5-17, HR) but he's kept Ryan Howard in check (2-11).

If they are going to sweep, however, St. Louis is going to have to beat another pitcher that's been extremely tough on them in the past. Cole Hamels has a .194 BAA against the players on the current roster. Albert's had issues (3-17, HR) while Yadier Molina is about as good as it gets (4-13).

Wainwright's been dominant at home this season. Hopefully he can keep it up and we can discuss his Cy Young chances tomorrow!

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Cardinals Continue To Roll

Posted on July 21, 2010 at 8:51 AM

What's been the most encouraging thing during this current Cardinal winning streak is that they keep winning in different ways. The first couple of games, they slugged. They've had good pitching performances. They've had comebacks. They've beaten pitchers that normally give them fits.

Everything save the comebacks came into play last night. OK, they didn't really beat Jaime Moyer, as he left early with an elbow strain, but they won the game that he started, so that's something. Even if Moyer had stayed in, though, I think the way that Chris Carpenter was dealing last night, St. Louis would have won the game anyway.

Carpenter has seemed to figure out his delivery problems and is looking more like his 2009 self. These two games after the All-Star Break are the first time he's put back-to-back solid starts together since he had a three game run from May 28 to June 8. He's been more efficient with his pitches as well, which is another reason to think things are improving.

Obviously Carp was the story last night, but you have to give some attention to what Randy Winn is doing. His second home run in as many nights has to make the decisions a little tougher for when Ryan Ludwick returns. As much grief and outrage there was at Winn's signing (and I was part of it, I admit), he's turned into a pretty solid bench option. I think I'd rather him than Nick Stavinoha on a regular basis. If Ludwick does return this weekend, though, what happens? Does Allen Craig, who gets last night's Goat since he was the only starter not to get a hit, get sent down since he still has options? I'm guessing that's the case, assuming John Mozeliak doesn't make a trade between now and then.

If Mo is going to make a trade, who is it going to be for and who is it going to be with? According to the Post-Dispatch, scouts from Baltimore, Tampa Bay, Arizona, Florida and Anaheim were at the game last night. I'd guess the Cards were interested in Kevin Millwood or Jeremy Guthrie from Baltimore and there's talk that they still are considering Dan Haren, which would explain Arizona, but the others?

Tampa Bay does seem to have some pitching to spare, with their top prospect ready to go, and if they were in the mood to move Wade Davis, I think the Cardinals would jump on it due to his low salary and the length of time they'd have him under control. That said, it's more likely that TB is trying to move Matt Garza. Garza's a fly-ball pitcher already making $3.5 million and in line for arbitration. That might not be exactly the best fit for the Redbirds.

The interest in Florida is likely Dan Uggla. Uggla's having a solid offensive year and would obviously be an upgrade from Skip Schumaker in that regard. However, his defense is as bad as it has always been and, with a ground ball staff, is that the kind of trade-off that you want to make? With Skip's improvement recently, I think I'd be inclined to let him pass, especially at almost $8 million and, I believe, one more year of arbitration eligibility.

Not really sure who the Angels have that the Cards would be interested in. Maybe they think they can get something out of Brandon Wood? I know he started as a shortstop, though I don't think he has the range to play there now. I don't see LAA moving any of their pitchers, so maybe that was something that LAA would be initiating or just doing some research.

Looks like David Freese is going to wind up being out longer due to that toe after all. If it turns out he won't be back until mid to late August, what does that mean for his return? Does he automatically go back in at third, especially if the team is still rolling along? Will he get back to health in time to do some minor league rehab? You'd like to think he'd make the team just that much stronger, but if they cruise along without him, would it affect the chemistry of the team, something that Mozeliak and La Russa have acknowledged is important?

Tonight, the Cards go with Jaime Garcia while the Phillies counter with Joe Blanton. Blanton is another one of those pitchers that has done a number on the Cardinals in the past, but with his 6.21 ERA this season and considering the hot streak the hitters are on, you like St. Louis's chances more than you would have even two weeks ago. Garcia, on the other hand, is struggling. He only got into the fourth last time out and probably will have a close eye on him tonight. If he can get through the first inning or two OK, hopefully the team will have been able to put some runs on the board and he can coast with a lead.

While you are waiting around for the game this evening, play with the Albert Pujols Home Run Tracker. Should make for some interesting results, though sadly it is only regular season home runs. Brad Lidge somewhere breathes a sigh of relief.

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Cardinal Comeback Continues

Posted on July 20, 2010 at 11:26 AM

This winning stuff is fun, isn't it? A lot more exciting to watch, a lot less griping and complaining. I think even if the Cards had lost yesterday, the afterglow of the Dodger series might have tempered a little bit of the angst. Like I said in my last post, it seems like a shift has occurred with the squad.

I'm sure that most of you have played Monopoly at some point in your life. You know when your opponent has Boardwalk and Park Place, perhaps with houses or a hotel on it, you just hold your breath when you are on that side of the board? Then you roll a six and you dart pass both of them, landing on Go and seeing a stretch where most of the properties are yours? That's what winning both a Jeff Suppan start and a Blake Hawksworth start feels like for me. No losses there, and then you are lined up for the big three. (Though I'm starting to have some reservations about Jaime Garcia, but I digress.)

You have to give Hawksworth some credit. The first inning was miserable, but he hung in there, limited the damage, got the double play when he needed it, and kept the team in the ball game. Again, you don't want him and Suppan both in the mix, but if the Cardinals went out and got, say, a Jake Westbrook, I think you could easily make the case for keeping him and waiving Soup.

How good is it to see an Albert Pujols home run, especially at a time when it was really needed? I don't know when the last time AP hit a long ball that came at a decisive point in the game. His last five home runs, before last night:

#21--at Houston, Cards up 6-0 in the 9th (2-run shot)

#20--vs. Milwaukee, Cards down 11-2 in the 5th (solo blast)

#19--vs. Milwaukee, Cards down 3-0 in the 7th (solo)

#18--at Arizona, Cards up 2-0 in the 5th (2-run)

#17--at Arizona, Cards tied 0-0 in the 3rd (2-run)

Both of those Arizona home runs were pretty important, so I guess June 29th would be the answer to that semi-rhetorical question. Hopefully it won't be another three weeks before he gets another big one.

I don't think anyone in Cardinal Nation wasn't smiling when they saw or heard Allen Craig hit his first major league home run last night. Craig's last couple of days are either a nice fluke or he's starting to get adjusted to the big leagues. Since he's always hit in the minors, there's no reason to think that he's completely out of line with these outings. Good to see that average up to .167, since it was sitting at .050 not that long ago.

Of course, with his play, the great results Jon Jay has given, and the fact that Ryan Ludwick is supposed to go make a couple of rehab starts and hopefully be back this weekend, the outfield is a large part of the discussion among Cardinal fans right now. Honestly, I expect one of Jay or Craig to be moved in whatever pitching deal that John Mozeliak makes. I can't say that I'm all that excited about the possibility of getting Westbrook, but being that he seems to fit all the criteria (especially in the "will be a free agent" box), it might be another year of swapping with Cleveland. So the Indians can be St. Louis north with Chris Perez and Jess Todd already there and perhaps an outfielder joining them.

Downside of last night was again Colby Rasmus. He didn't strike out, which is a positive, but still went 0-4. He's starting to look like a Jim Edmonds-type of streaky hitter, so maybe he'll get on the upward swing soon.

Pitching isn't the only thing that the Cardinals are looking for, of course. The middle infield has been an issue and the idea of moving Felipe Lopez into that mix when David Freese comes back might have taken a setback with the news that Freese broke his toe working out. Hopefully that won't set him back any more, but it's still not what you want to hear.

The infielders know that their jobs are really up for grabs, as indicated by the story on Skip Schumaker in the Post-Dispatch. Schumaker has been playing better of late--that play he made to rob Rafael Furcal on Saturday was top-notch--and I don't think he'd catch the brunt of any playing time issues. Would the Cards trade him? I'd be surprised, but stranger things have happened.

Cards and Phillies tangle again tonight. When soft-tossing lefty is found in the dictionary, it says "see Jamie Moyer". If anyone is going to slow down this resurgence of the Cardinals, it just might be him. Albert is just 2 for 10 off of him and the person that has faced him the most, Felipe Lopez, has five hits in 27 at-bats. (Hint: that's not good, though he does have a home run against him.) Randy Winn may get a shot with his 4 for 10, one HR career mark against the ageless one.

Chris Carpenter goes out to prove that last time around was the start of a trend, not part of his up and down season. He's had some success against Philadelphia, holding the current bunch to a .250 average. Ryan Howard and Jason Werth have limited exposure to him, but both have gone yard in their three at-bats.

Should be another good one. Looking forward to seeing just how far this Cardinal train can go!

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Who Are These Guys?

Posted on July 19, 2010 at 10:34 AM

Is it possible that, during the All-Star Break, aliens abducted the St. Louis Cardinals and replaced them with clones? Or that Tony La Russa gives an amazing motivational talk when he has three days to prepare? It could be, perhaps, that this is a great starting team, as they tore up the beginning of the first half as well.

Whatever the reason, it hardly seems like the same squad that frustrated us so much in the first 81 games. After winning the first two games, it'd have been easy to see things slip away. Instead, the Cards pull off the sweep and tie their longest winning streak of the year.

Of course, when you have Adam Wainwright going at home, no matter what half you are in, you are looking good. After Saturday's game, Waino is 10-0 with a 1.31 ERA at Busch Stadium. If I remember the stat from SportsCenter correctly, that ties Hal Neuhauser for the best ERA at home this deep into a season.

What I also found interesting is that Wainwright is now second in the NL in ERA, passing up Ubaldo Jimenez. He's only one win behind Jimenez, who has been the frontrunner for the Cy Young for quite some time. Josh Johnson is a threat as well, with his 1.62 ERA, but if Waino keeps it close in that category, the fact that right now he has four more wins than Johnson should come into play.

There was a line of thought that Waino had peaked too soon, finishing in the top three in the Cy Young the year before his contract rewarded him for it. It's looking like top three just might be where he's going to reside for a while.

With the heat, TLR didn't push Wainwright, so you have to give credit to the bullpen, who had done great work the night before and held the Dodgers scoreless in this one as well. Save the occasional hiccup (of which we will discuss soon), the bullpen has been fairly solid most of the year, the Colorado series excluded. Kyle McClellan has especially stepped up, posting an ERA under 2 and, in a world where there were some bullpen arms (say, perhaps, Chris Perez and Jess Todd), he'd have made his bid to be that fifth starter. Instead, he's made himself too valuable to move out of the 'pen.

On the downside, Colby Rasmus really looked lost in this game. Three strikeouts in a 0-4 day is not what we want to see out of the youngster, though the report afterwards that he's feeling some weakness in his legs may have led to some of that. It also makes me worried that, at least for some folks, he's going to become the next JD Drew--a talented outfielder that doesn't show much emotion and often has some sort of ailment. I never was one of those that was hard on Drew and I don't think people are going that way with Rasmus now, but the similarities are starting to be there.

So the series is won, the heat is strong, and so TLR runs out the scrubs on Sunday, with no Rasmus, Albert Pujols, or Yadier Molina. There is no way this team wins this game in the first half of the season. Yet these clones found a way.

Honestly, after Mitchell Boggs had done his meltdown and allowed three runs in the game, I was fairly sure the game was over. I mean, a four-run lead with the big guns in the Dodger bullpen available? I really was thinking that Matt Holliday's flyout with the bases loaded and two out the inning before was the game-changer. A hit there, they get a lead, things maybe are different. 4-0 with these guys, though? Pack it away.

And yet, it wasn't. Allen Craig had the two innings of his life so far in the bigs, driving in the first two runs and then, down to the final strike of the game, tying it up with a single off of Jonathan Broxton. Everyone did their part, as Pujols even got the count to 3-2 before hitting it sharply to short for the last out of the eighth. Those extra pitches added up for Broxton, and after Craig's tying single, it was just a matter of time before the Cardinals won. Holliday didn't make them wait long with his long RBI walk-off single.

It's the first time in a long while that I have been so wrapped up in a game. I was able to watch almost all of Sunday's contest and, even though the temptation was there to turn it off after Boggs's outing, I'm glad I stayed with it. The eighth and ninth were impeccable dramas, the kind that it seemed teams earlier in the last decade turned out with semi-regularity. It's hard not to feel that a special second half is coming.

And I've given a lot of grief to Brendan Ryan over the months, so I have to salute him when he comes through. He had a hit, drew two walks in situations where, as he did Friday night, he could have been too aggressive and swung, and then got down the sacrifice in the late rally. (Trust me, I think he could hear me yelling to get the bunt down after he popped up his first attempt!) I'd like to see Ryan make the comeback as well, though he's looked like he was in the past and then regressed.

The Reds lost yesterday, so the Cards are in first by half a game as they face the Phillies while the Reds get the Nationals (and, on Wednesday, Stephen Strasburg). If the Redbirds are still in first when they hit Chicago Friday, look out NL Central.

Mark McGwire has been pretty quiet this season. It's a little jarring when they pan the dugout and you see him there, white beard and all, taking notes and watching the action. There hasn't been a lot stirring around him, though there have been questions whether he's been effective with the team. After this weekend, though, he's pretty proud of his charges. Perhaps they have finally adjusted to the new guy. We'll have to wait and see.

The last comment on yesterday's game: I note in the McGwire story the note that Joe Torre, who was having his birthday yesterday as well as Allen Craig, had a worse birthday game when he managed St. Louis, being up 11-0 and losing 15-12. That is one game that is burned into my brain. I still remember watching that one, since we got the Houston sports station back then, and just couldn't believe how the Cardinals were collapsing. It's proof that, in baseball, it ain't over until it's over.

We sit now 13 days from the trade deadline. John Mozeliak, fresh off his well-deserved extension, is going to have to make a move for a pitcher since it looks like, at this rate, we've seen the last of Brad Penny and we can't be entirely sure when Kyle Lohse will return. There's no way a championship-level rotation should have both Suppan and Blake Hawksworth in it. If nothing else, it wears down the bullpen. What Mo is going to do, I don't know, but hopefully he'll come up with something.

Cards and Phillies tonight on FSMW and ESPN. St. Louis does face noted Cardinal killer Kyle Kendrick. Statistics against the current crop of Birds:

	PA	AB	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	HBP	GDP
Felipe Lopez	12	11	2	0	0	1	1	1	.182	.250	.182	.432	0	0
Skip Schumaker	12	12	6	2	1	1	0	1	.500	.500	.917	1.417	0	0
Matt Holliday	11	11	1	0	1	3	0	2	.091	.091	.364	.455	0	0
Yadier Molina	9	8	2	1	0	0	0	1	.250	.333	.375	.708	1	0
Albert Pujols	9	8	2	0	0	1	1	1	.250	.333	.250	.583	0	0
Aaron Miles	7	7	1	0	0	0	0	0	.143	.143	.143	.286	0	1
Brendan Ryan	7	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0	2
Randy Winn	4	3	2	0	0	0	1	1	.667	.750	.667	1.417	0	0
Colby Rasmus	3	3	1	1	0	0	0	0	.333	.333	.667	1.000	0	0
Jon Jay	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	1.000	1.000	1.000	2.000	0	0
Total	75	71	18	4	2	6	3	7	.254	.293	.394	.688	1	3

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 7/19/2010.

Skip's been able to hit him, Holliday hasn't. This team did just beat Bud Norris before the break, though. It could be that what has gone around now is coming around.

Hawksworth goes for the Cardinals. He's been pretty good as a starter, but that Philadelphia lineup, even though it is struggling somewhat, still has a lot of problems in it. His stats against the team, though numbers in relief may not be predictive of his approach to the players as a starter:

	PA	AB	H	HR	RBI	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	GDP
Raul Ibanez	3	3	2	2	3	0	.667	.667	2.667	3.333	0
Carlos Ruiz	2	2	2	1	1	0	1.000	1.000	2.500	3.500	0
Brian Schneider	2	2	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0
Shane Victorino	2	2	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0
Jayson Werth	2	2	0	0	0	2	.000	.000	.000	.000	0
Juan Castro	1	1	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0
Greg Dobbs	1	1	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0
Roy Halladay	1	1	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000	.000	0
Ryan Howard	1	1	1	0	0	0	1.000	1.000	1.000	2.000	0
Placido Polanco	1	1	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0
Jimmy Rollins	1	1	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0
Wilson Valdez	1	1	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	1
Total	18	18	5	3	4	3	.278	.278	.778	1.056	1

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 7/19/2010.

Not a large sample size. We'll see if this new-look team can keep the roll going tonight!

Filed Under: Heroes and Goats | Los Angeles Dodgers | Philadelphia Phillies | St. Louis Cardinals Leave a Comment

Button Pushing

Posted on May 6, 2010 at 10:07 PM

On Twitter during today's game, I had the following exchange with Post-Dispatch scribe Joe Strauss:

Strauss: Cardinals have so far scored 11 runs in 7 games against best two teams they've faced, SF and PHA. #stlcards

C70: #stlcards have only given up 21 runs in their 7 games with SF and PHA as well. Not as good, but wouldn't check for falling sky.

Strauss: Yeah, Cards go 2-5 while allowing 21 runs in 7 games to SF and PHA. Don't suffocate with your head in the sand. #stlcards

Perhaps Twitter isn't the best place to make this point, with its 140 characters and all. I'm sure that Strauss is not the person to make the point with, as I believe "curmudgeon," along with other words that might not be as polite, has been associated with him in the past. And maybe I do have the rose-colored glasses on (though I don't think so). Bear with me a bit and let me try to get my thinking out, then we'll get into the game recap.

OK, so here's what I'm thinking. The Cardinals faced top of the line pitching in both of those series, played both of them on the road, and easily could have come out with at least a 3-4 record if not better. Save for Kyle Kendrick beating them (and continuing whatever magic he's had against them in his career), the Cards went up against Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito, Matt Cain, Cole Hamels and Roy Halladay. How many teams--good teams--would go 0-5 on a run like that?

If it's so terrible that the Cardinals just scored 12 runs (they got another one after this exchange) in that span of time, how much better is it really that the other teams averaged less than a run and a half more? I mean, is 22 runs in 7 games a dominant offense? There was great pitching all around in those series, which means your opportunities are a lot smaller in number.

Is the RISP situation a concern? Sure it is. Does it mean that the Cards just got manhandled in this series or the San Francisco one, as another one of Strauss's Tweets implied? Not at all. In fact, I think the mere fact that they have the opportunity to have bad RISP numbers is a good thing.

Let me see if I can explain this. (A lot of this is sitting in my head, but I'm not sure it's flowing through the fingers.) Take today's game for example. The Cards got 10 runners on (7 hits, three walks) in 7 innings against arguably the best pitcher in the NL. For comparison, here's the rest of Halladay's game log:

at Washington, 8 OB/7 innings

at Houston, 7/9

vs. Florida, 8/8

at Atlanta, 6/9

at San Francisco, 10/7

vs. NY Mets 4/9

So the Cardinals put as many runners on against Halladay (including his season high in walks) as anyone else has this season save San Fran, who actually beat him that night. Eventually, you put enough runners on, you will get a hit that drives in a run. Two runs (again, save the 5 he gave up in SF) was tied for the most he'd given up this year. The man had given up 4 runs total (with the caveat) before today. For an offense that was missing Ryan Ludwick and Yadier Molina, especially, that's not that bad.

The Cards aren't getting blown out (today's loss was their biggest of the year and one of the only times they didn't have a chance to tie in the ninth) and they are competing with just about everyone. If the Cards win the Wainwright start (which they could have), they split with a top notch contender. In May, isn't that all you can ask for?

I'm not saying it wasn't a disappointing series. I'm not saying that I wouldn't like to see a few fewer double plays. I'm not saying I wouldn't like to see Matt Holliday get rolling. What I am saying is that this isn't the end of the world and the suggestion that maybe the Cardinals are pretenders, fattening up on the dregs of the NL Central, is a completely overblown and fairly ludicrous idea.

Besides that fact, when do you draw the line and give a little credit to the pitchers? When Chris Carpenter or Adam Wainwright strikes a guy out with two on and two out, or Jaime Garcia coaxes a double play, we say, "Look at that guy, some great pitching there." But if Holliday or Skip Schumaker or Jon Jay flies out with two on or raps into a double play, we have paroxysms of angst, wondering why they can't get the big hit. Look, when you are facing Lincecum and Cain and Halladay, you are lucky to get any hit. When you've already got guys on, the odds of a pitcher of that caliber making a mistake or leaving a pitch to hit out there are a lot lower than when you are facing....well, Kyle Lohse. There's got to be some recognition that the Cards have faced some very excellent hurlers. They've had problems with mediocre ones at times, I understand that, but in this seven game small sample size, the quality of pitching overshadows a lot.

I really would like to get some feedback on this one. Am I completely in left field? Am I being too much of a homer? I try to be positive without being unrealistic, but maybe I've stepped out too far on that side of the scale.

Anyway, really not much to say about this game. Once Kyle Lohse had allowed a three run shot in the first inning, it was pretty much over. The Cardinals continued to battle, but it never got any better.

Give some credit to Skip Schumaker, who had a walk and two hits, including a leadoff single that made the first become pretty interesting before a Pujols double play. It was nice to see Pujols extend his modest hitting streak with an RBI single later in the game that crept the Cardinals a little closer.

Rough day for Tyler Greene, who made two errors, and Matt Holliday, who ended an inning twice with a ground out and struck out with the bases loaded. (I will say that pitch he struck out on was a pretty nasty one from Halladay.) Holliday has got to figure out a way to get on track, though, or pitchers won't be so concerned with him and the walks to Pujols will be effective deterrents.

A little interesting note before looking at tomorrow night's game with Pittsburgh. The Cardinals have the top rated telecasts in baseball, at least for April. Congrats to our friends at Fox Sports Midwest for that honor!

Chris Carpenter goes up against Zach Duke in PNC Park tomorrow night. Let's see what Carp's done against the Pirates.

	PA	AB	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	SH	GDP
Ryan Doumit	17	16	5	2	2	2	1	3	.313	.353	.813	1.165	0	0
Ronny Cedeno	15	15	3	1	1	1	0	1	.200	.200	.467	.667	0	1
Ramon Vazquez	8	7	4	0	0	1	1	1	.571	.625	.571	1.196	0	0
Ryan Church	6	6	1	0	0	0	0	1	.167	.167	.167	.333	0	0
Garrett Jones	4	4	1	0	1	1	0	0	.250	.250	1.000	1.250	0	0
Andy LaRoche	4	3	0	0	0	0	1	1	.000	.250	.000	.250	0	0
Andrew McCutchen	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0	0
Lastings Milledge	4	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	.250	.250	.250	.500	0	0
Steven Pearce	4	4	1	0	0	1	0	1	.250	.250	.250	.500	0	0
Delwyn Young	4	4	2	1	0	1	0	1	.500	.500	.750	1.250	0	0
Zach Duke	2	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0	0
Paul Maholm	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000	.000	1	0
Ross Ohlendorf	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0	0
Total	76	72	18	4	4	8	3	10	.250	.280	.472	.752	1	1

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/6/2010.

The Pirates have done a little more against him than I was expecting. Ryan Doumit especially has been a killer with those two home runs. It'll be interesting to see how Carp goes after him tomorrow night.

Zach Duke is one of those guys that has done well at times against St. Louis. Overall, though....

	PA	AB	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	SH	SF	IBB	HBP	GDP
Albert Pujols	37	34	16	4	3	4	3	1	.471	.514	.853	1.366	0	0	2	0	3
Yadier Molina	32	26	8	1	0	4	2	1	.308	.387	.346	.733	1	1	1	2	2
Ryan Ludwick	20	18	6	0	1	1	1	1	.333	.368	.500	.868	0	0	0	0	0
Matt Holliday	16	13	6	1	1	4	2	1	.462	.500	.769	1.269	0	1	0	0	0
Felipe Lopez	16	16	3	0	0	1	0	2	.188	.188	.188	.375	0	0	0	0	1
Brendan Ryan	15	14	2	0	0	1	0	2	.143	.133	.143	.276	0	1	0	0	0
Colby Rasmus	10	8	0	0	0	0	1	1	.000	.200	.000	.200	0	0	0	1	0
Skip Schumaker	7	7	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	.000	.000	.000	0	0	0	0	0
Jason LaRue	6	6	2	1	0	0	0	1	.333	.333	.500	.833	0	0	0	0	0
Chris Carpenter	3	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	.333	.333	.333	.667	0	0	0	0	0
David Freese	3	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	.333	.333	.333	.667	0	0	0	0	0
Kyle Lohse	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	.000	.000	.000	1	0	0	0	0
Joe Mather	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0	0	0	0	0
Mitchell Boggs	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0	0	0	0	0
Adam Wainwright	2	2	1	1	0	2	0	0	.500	.500	1.000	1.500	0	0	0	0	1
Total	175	157	46	8	5	17	9	14	.293	.337	.439	.777	2	3	3	3	7

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/6/2010.

It's not Ian Snell, but Pujols won't mind seeing Duke come in. Then again, the way he hits in Pittsburgh, he won't mind seeing anyone on that mound. It might be a good night for Holliday to get back on track as well. A lot of ills for this team have been cured in Pittsburgh in the past. We'll see if that's something that continues this season.

Filed Under: Heroes and Goats | Philadelphia Phillies | Pittsburgh Pirates | St. Louis Cardinals Leave a Comment

Failing The Test?

Posted on May 6, 2010 at 8:02 AM

Going into this series, most everyone saw it as a good test for the Cardinals. The Phillies are two-time NL champs and on top of the NL East. Easily better than the competition that the Cards have been facing, at least for the most part. How would they stack up?

After a nice win in the opener, the bats have gone completely silent and, as such, the Cardinals are staring at their second series loss of the year today if they can't figure out Roy Halladay. Not exactly the results on this test that St. Louis wanted to see.

Kyle Kendrick, as we noted yesterday, has pitched quite well against the Cardinals, being another one of those guys that, no matter how badly everyone else beats up on him, can shut down this reportedly high-powered offense. Last night he kept them completely off the scoreboard, even though the Cardinals kept putting runners on.

I wasn't able to see much of the game for various reasons, but it sounds like the Cardinals did hit the ball well, just right at people. That's what Tony La Russa reminded the squad after the game, that if you keep hitting them hard, they will eventually start to fall.

Brad Penny again pitched a good game, though the results weren't quite as good as we have gotten used to. Besides the fact that he allowed two home runs--the first home runs allowed by a starter in quite some time--he didn't give the Phillies much more. I happened to see the Placido Polanco home run and it wasn't a terrible pitch, on the inside part of the plate, but Polanco was able to turn on it. I think it'd have gone out in most parks, but it surely helped that it was Citizens Bank Ballpark as well.

So you can't give the Goat to Penny, really. Probably should go to Matt Holliday, because these are the types of games that he's getting paid to produce in, so an 0-4 stands out more prominently for him than for others. He is dealing with a bit of a groin problem, but is also publicly frustrated with his performance. It's somewhat comforting to know that he's not just accepting it and hoping things will get better, I think.

Hero? No one really stands out. I do appreciate that Dennys Reyes came in and got two outs without incident after my discussion of him yesterday. Offensively, I guess you go with Yadier Molina, who had the one of the only extra base hits and would have driven in a run had Colby Rasmus not been caught stealing.

The Cardinals, as mentioned, have to deal with Roy Halladay today. Obviously, he's been dominant this year (though mortal if San Francisco can get to him) and he's been one of the best pitchers in baseball for some time now. How has this squad done against him?

	PA	AB	H	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	GDP
Albert Pujols	4	4	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0
Jason LaRue	3	3	1	1	.333	.333	.333	.667	0
Felipe Lopez	3	3	1	0	.333	.333	.333	.667	1
Yadier Molina	3	3	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0
Skip Schumaker	3	3	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0
Total	16	16	2	1	.125	.125	.125	.250	1

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/6/2010.

They haven't seen him much, which also doesn't bode well for today. The entire sample is way too small to draw anything from, but nothing seems to stick out as a reed to grab onto. This one is going to be tough.

On the Cardinals side, Kyle Lohse gets the ball. You have to hope that the adjustments he's made, where he's allowed only one run in his last nine innings, are substantial and have taken, because it'll have to be a low-scoring game for St. Louis to have a chance. Here are Lohse's numbers against the Phillies:

	PA	AB	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	SF	HBP	GDP
Raul Ibanez	33	28	8	0	3	9	4	3	.286	.364	.607	.971	1	0	2
Jimmy Rollins	23	21	3	0	0	0	2	2	.143	.217	.143	.360	0	0	1
Placido Polanco	21	19	7	0	0	3	1	0	.368	.429	.368	.797	0	1	2
Chase Utley	18	14	2	1	0	1	3	3	.143	.333	.214	.548	0	1	0
Shane Victorino	15	14	3	1	0	0	1	2	.214	.267	.286	.552	0	0	0
Ryan Howard	14	11	4	0	1	4	3	5	.364	.500	.636	1.136	0	0	0
Brian Schneider	14	13	4	3	1	3	1	3	.308	.357	.769	1.126	0	0	0
Carlos Ruiz	12	12	2	0	0	0	0	1	.167	.167	.167	.333	0	0	0
Ross Gload	8	5	1	0	0	2	2	1	.200	.375	.200	.575	1	0	0
Jayson Werth	5	4	2	1	1	2	1	0	.500	.600	1.500	2.100	0	0	0
Greg Dobbs	4	4	1	0	0	0	0	1	.250	.250	.250	.500	0	0	0
Joe Blanton	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	.000	.000	.000	0	0	0
Cole Hamels	2	2	1	0	0	0	0	1	.500	.500	.500	1.000	0	0	0
Total	171	149	38	6	6	24	18	24	.255	.339	.416	.755	2	2	5

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/6/2010.

Lot more data points here. Lohse has had middling success, being able to handle Chase Utley but getting beat up by Ryan Howard. Should be interesting to see which Lohse shows up.

Remember, our friends at Fox Sports Midwest will have a live chat going during this afternoon's affair. If you can't watch, it's a great place to be!

Filed Under: Heroes and Goats | Philadelphia Phillies | St. Louis Cardinals Leave a Comment

A Classic Battle

Posted on May 5, 2010 at 7:52 AM

Sometimes, when it's a hyped pitching matchup, it winds up to be a 9-8 game. Not last night.

I think we can agree that this Adam Wainwright guy is good. Facing a tough Phillies lineup in a hitter's ballpark, he allowed only one run on four hits. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to get the win. Waino's pitched into a little tough luck this year, which may mean that he's going to have to get the benefit of the new thinking from the BBWAA in ignoring wins if he's going to take home a Cy this year. The race between him, Tim Lincecum and Roy Halladay is going to be a fun one to watch this season.

Yadier Molina had a good night as well, able to tally three hits and drive in the tying run. David Freese continued to hit as well with a two-hit game.

I didn't get to see much of the game and my choice of the Goat may surprise you. It's not Blake Hawksworth, who served up the game-winning home run. Hawk got a solid inning in the ninth, and when you are on the road with a tie game, things like that happen.

No, it was something that didn't turn out to be a big deal, but it was possibly indicative of a problem coming to light. Dennys Reyes is the Goat, because he had one job, to get Ryan Howard out, and he couldn't do it.

It'd have been bad enough if Howard had gotten some sort of grounder for a base hit, but he didn't even get the opportunity. Reyes missed badly on all four pitches to Howard. This is a guy that can't hit lefties worth a darn. The whole reason Reyes is in the ballgame there is because Howard can't hit lefties worth a darn. And you go walk him on four pitches?

Reyes has one of those nice sparkling ERAs, but as we know ERA for a relief pitcher can be pretty misleading. Reyes has already walked six batters in 6.2 innings, not something that gives you a ton of confidence in a guy that usually comes in just for one or two batters. Last night was the first time he's come in and not recorded an out at all and I can't find that he's allowed many (if any) inherited runners to score, but if he can't throw strikes, this could be a problem very quickly.

Tonight, the Phillies throw Kyle Kendrick, which should be at least somewhat easier for the hitters than Cole Hamels was last night.

	PA	AB	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	HBP	GDP
Felipe Lopez	12	11	2	0	0	1	1	1	.182	.250	.182	.432	0	0
Skip Schumaker	9	9	5	2	1	1	0	0	.556	.556	1.111	1.667	0	0
Matt Holliday	8	8	1	0	1	3	0	1	.125	.125	.500	.625	0	0
Ryan Ludwick	8	8	1	0	1	3	0	0	.125	.125	.500	.625	0	1
Yadier Molina	6	5	1	0	0	0	0	1	.200	.333	.200	.533	1	0
Albert Pujols	6	6	1	0	0	1	0	1	.167	.167	.167	.333	0	0
Brendan Ryan	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0	1
Total	53	51	11	2	3	9	1	4	.216	.245	.431	.677	1	2

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/5/2010.

Cards haven't seen Kendrick much, though obviously Skip Schumaker will be starting tonight. It might be interesting to note that both Matt Holliday and Ryan Ludwick have a home run as their only hit against him.

Brad Penny goes for the Cardinals and we get a chance to see if his game last time out (as good as it was) represented a "coming to earth" or if it was more to do with the elements.

	PA	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	SH	IBB	HBP	GDP
Jimmy Rollins	55	51	11	2	1	0	3	4	9	.216	.273	.294	.567	0	0	0	2
Brian Schneider	29	23	5	0	0	0	2	6	1	.217	.379	.217	.597	0	1	0	1
Placido Polanco	28	25	10	0	0	1	4	2	0	.400	.444	.520	.964	1	0	0	2
Chase Utley	22	19	4	0	0	1	3	1	5	.211	.318	.368	.687	0	0	2	1
Ryan Howard	17	15	4	0	0	1	2	2	7	.267	.353	.467	.820	0	0	0	0
Shane Victorino	11	10	1	0	1	0	0	1	3	.100	.182	.300	.482	0	0	0	1
Carlos Ruiz	8	6	2	0	0	0	0	2	1	.333	.500	.333	.833	0	0	0	0
Juan Castro	6	6	3	2	0	0	0	0	1	.500	.500	.833	1.333	0	0	0	0
Raul Ibanez	6	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0	0	0	1
Greg Dobbs	5	5	2	0	0	1	2	0	1	.400	.400	1.000	1.400	0	0	0	1
Jayson Werth	5	4	2	0	0	1	2	1	0	.500	.600	1.250	1.850	0	0	0	0
Ben Francisco	3	3	1	0	0	1	3	0	0	.333	.333	1.333	1.667	0	0	0	0
Ross Gload	3	3	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	.333	.333	.667	1.000	0	0	0	0
Joe Blanton	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000	.000	1	0	0	0
Jamie Moyer	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	.000	.000	.000	0	0	0	0
J.A. Happ	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0	0	0	0
Total	203	180	46	5	2	6	21	19	32	.256	.333	.406	.739	2	1	2	9

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/5/2010.

Penny's done a good job of containing most of these guys in the past as well. If I were to bet, I'd go with his dominance over Kendrick's small sample size, but this game does strange things at times.

The Cardinals know they need this win to have a shot at splitting the series, because Thursday afternoon holds Roy Halladay and that, my friends, is a pretty daunting proposition.

UCB Radio returns tonight! Not 100% of the hosts, though I believe Bill from Baseball Digest will be part of the team. Give it a listen!

Filed Under: Heroes and Goats | Philadelphia Phillies | St. Louis Cardinals Leave a Comment

First Test Passed

Posted on May 4, 2010 at 7:49 AM

There were a couple of things that Cardinal fans wanted to see when the Redbirds got to Philadelphia. One, if this Cardinal team was legitimately able to claim the title as one of the best in the National League and two, how real was Jaime Garcia.

After last night, a couple of affirmatives for both.

The Cardinals were able to best the two-time NL champs in their own ballpark, starting the four game series off on the right foot. As for Garcia, all he did was throw six innings of one run ball against a fearsome lineup in their cozy ballpark. That's all.

While the overall tag may go to Garcia in this one, there were heroes up and down the lineup. David Freese, the reigning NL Player of the Week, continued his hot hitting with a three-run double that put the game away. Nick Stavinoha pinch-hit a home run that gave Garcia a win. Yadier Molina started two double plays--on bunts. (How often do you see one DP, much less two, off a bunt?) Colby Rasmus had three hits and a sac fly. There was not a weak spot in the lineup, something that other National League teams are starting to figure out at their peril.

The only downside to the lineup last night was Ryan Ludwick, who went 0-5 in the second slot. He was the only starter that didn't have at least one hit and most of them wound up with two or more.

You know a lineup is good when Tony La Russa keeps running out the same one night after night. This team really has the feel of something special. Right now, they are on a pace for 112 wins and, while they probably won't get that, you don't get the feeling that it's completely unreasonable. Without a major change (as in injury), it seems like the NL Central, at least, is getting close to over.

Another tough test tonight as the Phillies send out Cole Hamels to the mound. The past meetings with Mr. Hamels have not gone pleasantly for the Cardinals.

	PA	AB	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	SF
Felipe Lopez	22	20	3	1	0	2	2	7	.150	.227	.200	.427	0
Albert Pujols	14	13	3	1	1	2	0	1	.231	.214	.538	.753	1
Yadier Molina	10	9	1	1	0	2	0	2	.111	.100	.222	.322	1
Ryan Ludwick	8	8	4	0	2	2	0	1	.500	.500	1.250	1.750	0
Skip Schumaker	4	4	1	0	0	1	0	1	.250	.250	.250	.500	0
Joe Mather	3	3	2	0	1	3	0	0	.667	.667	1.667	2.333	0
Kyle Lohse	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000	.000	0
Brendan Ryan	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0
Total	65	61	14	3	4	12	2	13	.230	.246	.475	.722	2

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/4/2010.

As you can see, only Ludwick has had a whole lot of success with him, though Joe Mather did take him deep in a start against him. Could be a low scoring game from the St. Louis side.

Which means it's a darn good thing Adam Wainwright is available for tonight's contest. Here's what he's done against the current Phillies.

	PA	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	SF	IBB	HBP	GDP
Jimmy Rollins	15	15	5	2	0	0	1	0	4	.333	.333	.467	.800	0	0	0	0
Ryan Howard	14	8	2	0	0	0	1	6	3	.250	.571	.250	.821	0	1	0	0
Chase Utley	12	10	2	0	1	0	0	1	2	.200	.333	.400	.733	0	0	1	1
Shane Victorino	10	10	4	1	0	1	3	0	1	.400	.400	.800	1.200	0	0	0	1
Greg Dobbs	6	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0	0	0	0
Carlos Ruiz	6	5	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	.200	.333	.200	.533	0	0	0	0
Jayson Werth	6	5	1	0	0	1	4	0	3	.200	.167	.800	.967	1	0	0	0
Placido Polanco	5	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.200	.200	.200	.400	0	0	0	0
Juan Castro	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0	0	0	0
Raul Ibanez	3	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.333	.333	.333	.667	0	0	0	0
Ross Gload	2	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.500	.500	.500	1.000	0	0	0	0
Jamie Moyer	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0	0	0	0
Brian Schneider	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000	.000	0	0	0	0
Total	86	76	18	3	1	2	9	8	17	.237	.314	.382	.696	1	1	1	2

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/4/2010.

Jimmy Rollins is still on the disabled list, which is good for Waino. Shane Victorino went 3-3 against Wainwright in a game last year with a home run and a double, accounting for most of the damage. If Wainwright can keep him in check, he may match zeros with Hamels for a long while.

If you are interested, you can catch me tonight hosting BBA Baseball Talk. I'll be joined by Christine from Boston Red Thoughts and Peter from Baseball Reflections. It's a half-hour earlier than normal (9:30 Central) and I'm sure we'll talk a little Cardinals on the show as well, so listen in and call in if you want!

Filed Under: Heroes and Goats | Philadelphia Phillies | St. Louis Cardinals Leave a Comment

Dealing With The "Rumor"

Posted on March 16, 2010 at 8:05 AM

I guess not surprisingly, the biggest thing coming out of Cardinals camp yesterday was a Seinfeldian discussion about nothing.

Look, no one took that "trade rumor" involving Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard the least bit seriously. No one thought that it might happen, that the teams really had talked about it, etc. I think most everyone realized that, at best, it was a trial balloon floated within the Philadelphia organization.

However, everyone had to comment about it, and especially Tony La Russa seemed to be a bit worked up about it.

I half expected everyone to just laugh it off and go about their business, but TLR really was disgusted and aggravated about the whole thing. Perhaps he's getting an inkling about how the contract situation with AP could be a distraction during the year. I don't think it will be--Albert's said he's not talking during the season and John Mozeliak said emphatically yesterday that he wouldn't be traded--but when you go through 162 games, things get brought up, rehashed, etc.

Of course, the easiest way for this whole thing to be resolved would be to have Albert instruct his agents to get something done before spring training is over. That's about the only way he's not going to have to at least listen to numerous contract questions throughout this year and possibly next. He's right, though, once the process gets going, it could only take a day or so to get it lined out. I'm not completely ruling out a new deal before the start of the season, though if the Cards haven't tendered an official proposal yet, then it's a lot less likely.

Albert's staying and there's no news on the contract. So what else happened yesterday?

Well, Brad Penny got hit hard and that's not a figure of speech. Besides the fact that he got plunked a couple of times--hopefully this won't affect him, like it did with Kyle Lohse last year--he didn't have his best outing. It was tolerable, of course, and the Cardinals were in line to win the game until a blown save in the bottom of the ninth, but hopefully he can improve on that in his next outing. He should have three more starts in the spring, so this would be the time to see him build toward the season.

A few more players were sent over to the minor league camp, but Shelby Miller has stayed with the big leaguers. The Cards must like what they see out of him right now. Since he pitched Sunday, he'd be roughly in line to go again Friday in relief, so we'll see if he sticks around to get another appearance in a spring training game. Being as Friday is a split-squad day, I'm sure that he will see some time in one of them, then be sent down. This has to be much more than he expected this spring, since he wasn't even invited to big league camp until after it opened.

It is starting to sound like Allen Craig just might shake his John Gall status and get a legitimate shot at the big league bench this year. The fact that he continues to hit at such a high level doesn't hurt him a bit. Could we see a bench of Jason LaRue, Julio Lugo, Allen Craig, Joe Mather and Tyler Greene? It'd be on the young side, but it'd be pretty intriguing and give Tony a lot to work with for his lineup manipulations.

Today's two members of the Cardinal Approval Ratings are Dave Duncan and Ryan Franklin. Last year, Duncan wound up with an 84.2% mark and then went out and had two Cy Young candidates and a pitching staff that, on the whole, was very successful. So this year, he moves on up to 87%. Looks like about four 100s and a low of 50 out of the 67 that cast an opinion.

Franklin wasn't on the list last year. Why should he have been? This time last year he looked like he'd be just another middle reliever. Instead, he stepped in and had a strong year as a closer, at least until the last month. Still, when the 66 votes were tallied, he managed a 69.7% mark as many people still don't trust him in that role (and I include myself in that category). No 100s for the man with the funky beard, so his ranged from a high of 90 to a low of 6.

Cardinals get Washington again today, this time without Stephen Strasburg. Hopefully they'll be able to have the same kind of success they had Sunday. If nothing else, they may get plenty of taking practice.

Filed Under: Approval Ratings | New York Mets | Philadelphia Phillies | St. Louis Cardinals Leave a Comment

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