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Recently in Pittsburgh Pirates CategoryTreading Water In A Rapidly Filling PoolPosted on September 15, 2011 at 6:49 AM
The Cards won yesterday, which is always a good thing, no matter the situation. However, with the Marlins unable to hold a late lead, the Braves also won. Which means the Cards are still 4.5 back and another day has been marked off the calendar. (If for some reason you are still looking at the divisional race, the Brewers did lose, but they are still up 5.5.) That means that even though the Cards won, they really lost.The Cardinals have 13 games left, the Braves 12. Even if the Braves just break even, the Cards have to go 11-2 just to tie them, and the Braves are a better than .500 team, so odds are they'll play that way down the stretch. There just really isn't enough time left on the calendar for the Cards to make this comeback, at least not without some sort of epic collapse by the Atlanta squad, like seeing them go 2-10 over the next two weeks. The task is even harder because Matt Holliday is out for at least 4-5 days and likely the rest of the season with tendon inflammation in his hand. You have to be impressed with the numbers that Holliday has put up this year, because he's done them around just about every possible thing that could go wrong with him. The man got a moth in his ear, for cryin' out loud. What other kind of omen do you need? So it wasn't that yesterday's win wasn't important--anything that keeps you alive this time of year is a good thing--it's just that it probably didn't have the import that some of us would like for it to have had. Edwin Jackson gets the Hero for pitching another solid game, giving up two but pitching into the seventh. The rotation is full for next year and it's likely Jackson is going to command a pretty good salary this offseason, but I find myself wishing there was a slot for him to be with the Cards in 2012. Then again, we saw what happened last year, when Jake Westbrook pitched well enough down the stretch to get a contract offer from the Cards. It hasn't turned out all that well for St. Louis, though Westbrook has had some success. Liked what Marc Rzepczynski did yesterday as well, bouncing back from his last rough outing to strike out all three batters he faced. I find myself cheering for Rzep for some reason, perhaps just so that the Cards will have something good going forward from the Colby Rasmus trade. Not really sure, but there you have it. Rough day for Skip Schumaker. 0-3 with a strikeout and only saw seven pitches all day. Patience was not on the menu for Skip yesterday, it doesn't appear. Cards are off today and they've already reached Philadelphia. In fact, apparently they've done the rookie hazing thing, though it seems to extend to those with three years or less in the bigs. Honestly, I thought the Cards didn't do that and was kinda glad that they didn't, having more respect for those coming up. That said, it probably does aid in a loose clubhouse. Probably won't get a post up tomorrow, save the UCB's annual Top 7 Prospect list, so let's go ahead and look at Friday's pitching matchups. Jaime Garcia goes for the Redbirds, and here's what he's done against the Phils:
They have to go up against Vance Worley, this year's sensation that may (but probably won't) bump Roy Oswalt out of the postseason rotation. Worley hasn't faced any of the Cardinals yet, a red flag if ever there was one, and has posted an 11-2, 2.92 season so far.
This one will be a tough one for the Cards. They win it, perhaps thinking about a strong run to the finish isn't quite so impossible after all.  Filed Under: Heroes and Goats
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Hanging In TherePosted on September 14, 2011 at 6:52 AM
It was a fairly crazy night in Pittsburgh, a profane one if you will, and yet the Cardinals were able to win the game and keep pace with Atlanta, who also won, in the race for the wild card. Unfortunately, that meant another game off the calendar with no change, which means advantage Braves.Nothing against the man, but you know it's a bit strange when Daniel Descalso gets three hits and is the Hero of the piece. His hit in the ninth started the winning rally as well, though it was Tyler Greene who pinch-ran and scored the winning run. It's a bit strange when Albert Pujols makes three errors in the same game. I will say that I saw the first error and, while it was an error, he seemed to be much closer to second than most first basemen were. With other first basemen, that's probably a hit through the infield, but AP was right there, he just couldn't pick it up. It's a bit strange (but a little more normal this year) when Chris Carpenter gives up a lead. Not to say that his contract extension wasn't deserved--though Pip's take on it is worth reading--but it's something that is going to happen at times as Carp ages. He's still a very good pitcher, but his consistency isn't always going to be there. I think the Goat has to be Matt Holliday, who went 0-4 with two strikeouts, but it's painful to put that on him since he left the game before his last at-bat with an injured hand. From the article, it seems like Holliday might be done for the year, which would likely increase the long-shot odds this team faces to make the postseason. If it is the last we see of Holliday this season, just look at his injury history this year. Appendectomy at the beginning of the year. A strained side later in the year. A quadriceps injury. Heck, even a moth in the ear! To have gone through all that and still put up a .295/.388/.528 season is pretty incredible. I hope that they are overstating things and Holliday will be back before too long, but if not, it's been a good year. Cards have to move on, though, if they want to chase down Atlanta. They've got an afternoon game today, which features Edwin Jackson vs. Charlie Morton. Jackson has done a very good job for the Cardinals, though he's not always been able to come away with the victory. If the Cardinals didn't have Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook locked up for next year, I think Jackson would be a guy that it'd be nice to have back. Jackson faced the Pirates at the end of last month, giving up four runs (though only one was earned) in six innings and getting a victory. His career numbers:
Charlie Morton was the big story earlier in the year, as the fact that he copied Roy Halladay and was achieving success became well-known. He's fallen from those heights, though, and was recently removed from the rotation. Last time out, the Cards battered him for five runs in 4.1 innings. Historically:
Marlins and Braves start half an hour before the Cards/Pirates, with Ricky Nolasco going against Randall Delgado. I'm sure all of us will be keeping track of both games this afternoon. Go Fins and Feathers!  Just When You Thought It Was SafePosted on September 13, 2011 at 6:46 AM
Of course, the day when I make sure to mention how well the bullpen is doing, they decide to remember how things were at the beginning of the year.There's an argument to be made that Tony La Russa didn't manage that eighth inning very well, and since I didn't get to watch it I'm not sure if those arguments were made on Twitter at the time or not, but the way the pitchers had been going lately, it didn't make as much difference who was out there. Normally they'd have gotten through the inning. It just didn't turn out that way last night. It's tough really to know who to give the Goat to, as there are a few possibilities in both the lineup and the bullpen. I guess I need to go with Marc Rzepczynski, even though I've been one that has been a big fan of his. He gave up the tying hit to old friend Ryan Ludwick then was unable to finish off any of the other hitters he faced to get out of the inning. Fernando Salas gave up the deciding blow, but Rzep has to take the brunt of the blame. Of course, if the Cardinals could have capitalized more offensively, they might have had more than a one-run lead going into that eighth inning. I still have yet to understand why Jon Jay was stealing a base with first and third and Albert Pujols up in the first. You've started off the game with back-to-back hits and a warm AP is up--why do you risk taking off there? Even if Pujols hits into a double play you get a run. (I listened to this part of the game on the radio. Now, reading the game story I see that it was a hit-and-run, which makes a bit more sense. I still don't know if I mess with it, being that you have a pitcher on the ropes and you hate to hand him an out, but I understand it more now.) Then you have a bases loaded situation with one out in the third, after scoring one run on a Rafael Furcal single that tied the game, but Matt Holliday bounced into a double play. David Freese also hit into one in the fourth, and Lance Berkman was caught stealing in the sixth after the Pujols home run had put the Cards on top. Lots of players left on the base paths there. I've not kept up with that scoring efficiency stat I created earlier in the year--it still needs some tinkering--but last night, while not epically bad, still was a 3.00, which isn't great at all. If Kyle Lohse had gotten the win, I think it'd been another case where wins just don't tell the story. Loshe gave up three runs in six innings, which technically is a quality start, but he used 100 pitches to do it. He wasn't efficient at all, allowing eight hits. I guess it was what you'd expect out of a 4th or 5th starter, but it wasn't necessarily what you wanted to see when the team has momentum going. You'd like to see a crisp start, not a slog. And exactly who else was on the bench in the ninth? Like I said, I didn't get to see it, but if Corey Patterson is your last hope, there's not much hope. I mean, I'd probably even take Tyler Greene (and Greene's usage since he came up is another topic I'd like to touch on) over Patterson in that situation. Why not Tony Cruz, who showed some ability to get a big hit earlier in the year? Heck, just leave Shane Robinson in. Just because Patterson had a home run in his only at-bat against Joel Hanrahan doesn't mean that it's a smart idea to put him back in that situation. Especially since that at-bat was all the way back in 2008! On the upside, there was Pujols with his 35th home run, his 92 RBI, and a 1-2 day that put him at .298. With two weeks to go, it's looking like he'll hit his milestones with a decent push, something that seemed completely out of hand even a month or so ago. Also good to see Furcal and Jay get a couple of hits and Skip Schumaker got three. Thankfully, the Marlins helped out and beat the Braves last night, but even that is tinged with sadness because the Cards could have easily woken up today being only out 3.5 games and really rolling. Instead, that's strike one to the team. You figure they can't really afford to lose more than three games the rest of the season. They've got two more. Before I get into looking at tonight's game, there are a few things I wanted to say about this past weekend's observances that I forgot to do yesterday. Let's put that after the jump.
Continue ReadingThe Flame Keeps FlickeringPosted on September 12, 2011 at 6:47 AM
Late rallies. Big wins. A Cardinal fan knows not these things. At least, not so much until this weekend.While there's still quite an uphill battle with not a lot of time left, the Cardinals kept themselves relevant to the postseason picture by sweeping the Braves this weekend at Busch. St. Louis wakes up today with the standings showing them 4.5 games out of the wild card. (They also gained a little ground on Milwaukee, but they still sit six out there.) Let's take it game by game: Friday (4-3 in 10 win) Hero: Nick Punto's game-winning sacrifice fly was a nice thing, but it doesn't get to that point without Albert Pujols. Pujols's two-run single in the ninth off of Craig Kimbrel tied it up and allowed the Cards a chance to win it in extras. Pujols almost won it outright, but Ryan Theriot was tossed out at home. Without actually seeing that play, I can't comment on whether that was a TOOTBLAN. If you don't know what that acronym means in relation to Theriot, do a Google search. Goat: Guess it has to go to Jon Jay, because he was the only starter that didn't get a hit. Jay's been on a run as of late, but everyone has games like that. Got to be frustrating to do it on a night when most everyone else is clicking, though. Notes: This was a game that really impressed me. So often this year, the Cardinals have gone into a series with momentum but also with purpose and just come out flat. To win this game was big enough, but to rally in the ninth with two outs off of one of the better closers in baseball this year? That's huge. That's the kinda thing that makes you believe. As for performances, Lance Berkman had a three hit night and is starting to swing the bat better. Edwin Jackson continued to work out of trouble and, though he only went six, just allowed to runs. The bullpen, on the whole, did an excellent job of keeping the game right where it was at. Saturday (4-3 win) Hero: Lance Berkman. A two hit day with a walk, a run and an RBI is a pretty solid job all the way around. Goat: Again, Jon Jay was the only starter that didn't get a hit or a walk. Tough couple of games for Jay, though he rebounded Sunday with two hits. Notes: Jaime Garcia got pulled after just 74 pitches, but he went six and was good enough, though he was staked to a 4-0 lead and just about gave it all back. The bullpen, again, was solid, allowing no runs in three innings as a combination of Marc Rzepczynski, Fernando Salas and Jason Motte slammed the door. Hero: Yadier Molina. Three hits and three RBI make for a pretty solid day for anybody. While he was thrown out at third looking for a triple, his bases-loaded double in the third pretty much put the game away. Goat: Rafael Furcal. A 0-4 in the leadoff slot, though Furcal has been hitting better lately. Notes: After getting a five run lead, Jake Westbrook came back out in the fourth and put a lot of Braves on bases, looking like he was going to give a good portion of it back. Instead, he was able to get out of the jam, keep the game scoreless, and keep the momentum with the Cards. He only went 5.1 innings as Tony La Russa really relied on the bullpen this weekend, but it was enough. Motte had himself a nice weekend. A win on Friday and saves on Saturday and Sunday, and he got Sunday's by striking out the side. This weekend showed that, if this team had been around all year, the Cardinals would have been in much better shape. Take only the bullpen for an example. The pen pitched 10.2 innings, allowed two runs, struck out ten and walked only one. Such a difference from the beginning of the year, when every time the bullpen door opened, it was an adventure. Motte seems to be settling in as closer (though he's probably not available tonight in Pittsburgh after going three straight days) and the rest of the pieces are also falling into place. And if all that news wasn't good enough for this weekend, it appears that the Cardinals and Chris Carpenter have agreed on a contract extension. According to Joe Strauss, it's a $21 million/2 year deal, which means that next season's $15 million option goes away and the Cards save about $4 million. That'll be big when it comes to squeezing Pujols into the picture. I think this is a pretty good move by the front office and one that most people have been expecting and advocating for quite some time. Carpenter obviously is not what he used to be, but only because he can't reach those heights as consistently as he has in the past. He still can be a dominant pitcher on any given night and even the nights when he's not on his game, he usually competes and can keep the team close. He's been healthy for the second straight year, so there's not a huge concern there, at least not more than any other pitcher at his age. After his rough start, he's got a 3.75 ERA and nine wins, which on the face of it looks pretty good. I look forward to Pip's more in-depth analysis to see whether the detailed numbers make this look as good as the traditional ones do. There's still a lot of business to do for John Mozeliak, but this is a good start. If you are scoreboard watching, Atlanta hosts Florida today (Chris Volstad for the Fish, Brandon Beachy for the Braves) while Milwaukee is off. The Cards go into Pittsburgh, hoping to better than the last time they visited, when they lost two of three. Kyle Lohse goes for the Cards. He won the last time he faced the Pirates, but he gave up four runs (two earned) in just five innings. That's not exactly what we'd like to see tonight. His career numbers:
Brad Lincoln is going for the Pirates. He pitched six scoreless innings against St. Louis last time he faced them, his only start against the Birds this year. Career numbers:
Cards are really just on the fringes of the race, but a win tonight and a Braves loss and those fringes become much, much more substantial.
Filed Under: Atlanta Braves
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Taking Joy Where You CanPosted on August 29, 2011 at 9:53 AM
Been a while since we chatted about the team. Let's catch up.Wednesday (9-4 loss vs Los Angeles) Hero: Skip Schumaker. Four hits, a run and an RBI. On a day when there wasn't much of interest, Skip had a fine one. Goat: Jaime Garcia. It appeared that his mental focus slipped yet again. Six earned runs in the third and twice he didn't back up home plate on throws in. While that contract is still a good one, I heard that he's 1-4 with a 5.00 ERA since he signed that deal. You wonder if the Cards are wishing they'd waited a bit on that one. Notes: The bullpen, save for Kyle McClellan, pitched very well in this one. Not that it mattered since the Cards didn't do most of their scoring until the game was out of hand, but it's still nice to see some scoreless frames. Matt Holliday had two hits and Gerald Laird hit his first Cardinal home run. Thursday (8-4 win vs Pittsburgh) Hero: Matt Holliday. He only had the one hit, but it was a big three-run home run that sealed the game and made the ninth very anti-climactic. With the way this bullpen can go, anytime you can get that, it's a big deal. Goat: Yadier Molina. Tough night for the catcher, going 0-4 with a strikeout. Notes: Albert Pujols walked three times, once right in front of Holliday's blast. Hopefully that patience will translate into a torrid September. Marc Rzepczynski was finally used in a close game, though Tony La Russa did pull him after he gave up a leadoff hit in the eighth. I'd have probably let him continue, but Jason Motte did a fine job. This was also Social Media Night, about which I'll have more to say later on. Friday (5-4 win vs. Pittsburgh) Hero: Lance Berkman. His two-run home run turned an eighth-inning deficit into an eighth-inning lead, one that McClellan was able to preserve. Goat: Jake Westbrook. While he wound up going six, that first inning, where he gave up three runs, almost proved to be his undoing. Yadier Molina saved him there, but he gave up another run later on. I guess four runs in six is about the standard we'll be getting from Westbrook, but that doesn't mean we have to like it. Notes: Three-run home run by Molina, as he continues probably his best all-around offensive season. Pujols went 0-3, dropping his average under .290. You know the Pujols watch will continue all the way through the next month, with little else to focus on. Saturday (7-0 loss vs. Pittsburgh) Hero: Yadier Molina. The only batter with two hits and none of the pitchers were that exciting either. Goat: Chris Carpenter. Not that the loss meant anything, what with the race being over a while back, but it's still disappointing to see Carpenter come out and give up six runs in five innings. Notes: Interesting to see Fernando Salas pitch the eighth, especially since he had pitched Thursday and it shouldn't have been that he just needed some work. I didn't see the post-game wraps so I'm not sure exactly what the reasoning was there and it might have bit the Cardinals had they needed Salas to lock down Sunday's game. Hero: Ryan Theriot. We don't get to say that very often, so let's do it while we can. Theriot had two hits and drove in two runs. Goat: Gerald Laird. I was going to go with Kyle Lohse, but Lohse did get the win and, save one bad inning, did OK. Laird was the only hitter to not get a hit in the game, so we'll go that direction. Notes: Lohse did turn it around, but his pitch count meant he had to leave after five innings. Still, he got his 100th win, which was nice. This time of year, you have to find the joy in every situation, because a lot of times, it's not that obvious. Interesting to see that Berkman had some choice words about the mid-afternoon starting times for the national games on Saturdays. It used to be that those games started at one, I believe, which may have helped with some of the shadows, especially this time of year. We'll see if the Cards can break their Saturday FOX shutout streak this weekend against the Reds, as that game will also be nationally televised. Somewhat surprising news in that John Mozeliak thinks that Eduardo Sanchez will return to the club this year after rosters expand. When I was at Busch Thursday, I noticed (OK, Christine Coleman pointed him out to me) that Sanchez was out there shagging flies during batting practice, but I didn't think it was anything more than an injured player hanging out with the squad. Maybe he will get back, but I'd still bet that we don't see much of him, if anything. This week's biggest news will likely be the callups when rosters expand Thursday. One has already been finalized, as Brandon Dickson will pitch that night against the Brewers. Garcia gets skipped in the rotation, giving him more rest and perhaps letting him think about his lack of fundamentals in the last outing. Nice to see that Adam Wainwright is going to travel with the team this visit to Milwaukee. He's going to continue his throwing program and, probably even more importantly to him, be involved in the team's fantasy football draft tonight. I'm not a football guy, but that has to be a fun activity for those players, even as it is a sign that their season is winding down. After the jump, I'll talk a little bit about Social Media Night and my trip to St. Louis this week.
Continue ReadingFiled Under: Heroes and Goats
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Wrenching Sweep PlansPosted on August 18, 2011 at 6:57 AM
Like a superhero facing a notorious foe, the Cardinals wrenched the Pirates' plans of pushing the Redbirds farther into irrelevancy. And they used The Wrench to do it.Allen Craig, who hadn't had a hit in the big leagues since before he went on the disabled list, had a career day at the plate, getting four hits, including two home runs, and driving in four runs to lead the Cardinals to a 7-2 win. It was the first time the Cardinals had won on Wednesday since June 29th. Granted, that's nothing like the Rockies' 17 straight losses on a Sunday, but it was still notable. Tony La Russa, not happy unless he's got something to tinker with, is proposing Craig play a little center field at the right times. We'll see if that happens, but it's getting to the point of the season where you have to play Craig pretty regularly somewhere, even if it's giving regulars time off at third or right, to make sure there's a good feeling for what the team has there. The Cardinals are 7 games out because Milwaukee isn't going to lose (19-2 in their last 21, with those two losses coming to the Cards) and it is going to take a miraculous push to be in the playoffs. You have to keep an eye on 2012, at least somewhat, and the team needs to know if Craig is going to be a part of that or, alternatively, showcase him somewhat so that he can be a valuable chip in the offseason. Craig wasn't the only one making a claim to the Hero status last night, though. It was a second strong outing from Kyle Lohse, something we've not been able to say recently. Lohse struggled in the first, but was able to get out of it with no damage and then started to roll. Save for the two-run home run to Jose Tabata, it was a very good night for him and it was also good to see him get into the seventh inning. If Lohse could get back to that form that he showed earlier in the season, when a lot of people were eating crow, that would help make the last few weeks much more enjoyable. It was a nice night all the way around. Yadier Molina had three hits and even got a stolen base late in the game. Rafael Furcal had two hits after returning to the leadoff slot. Ryan Theriot had a couple of hits. Lance Berkman got his first pinch-hit as a Cardinal. If the offense would click more like that, things would be a whole lot better in Cardinal Nation. Not everyone had a good night, though. Our Goat tag would have to go to David Freese, who went 0-4 including a 5-3 double play. Freese has been doing quite well, but everyone has an off night here and there. Apparently it was also a good night for micromanaging. The Cards are up 7-2 in the bottom of the ninth. Marc Rzepczynski is on the mound and gets two outs before allowing a Ryan Ludwick single. Now, remember, Rzepczynski (as I keep harping on if you have read posts this month) was touted as a guy that was more than a LOOGY, who could even be a starter at some time. You have a five-run lead. Does TLR shake it off and let Rzep finish the game? Of course not. He has to go to the bullpen and bring in Kyle McClellan, which makes little sense at all. Why use another arm when you don't have to? Why was McClellan even warming up? I think Rzep could have handled that completely. If TLR isn't going to use the one long-term piece the team got in the Colby Rasmus trade correctly, it's going to drop the value of that trade even more. Secondly, in the pregame show this week Mike Shannon told TLR that the NL games were taking longer, on average, than the AL games and TLR was incredulous. I thought at the time, and last night reinforces it--Tony, there's a strong possibility you are the reason for that, with these kind of pitching changes! Albert Pujols didn't have a dominant series in Pittsburgh, one that we were hoping for as he pushes toward that .300 milestone. Albert, of course, doesn't think it's a big deal, but for the fans that have increasingly less to watch for, that's going to be a major focus the next five-six weeks. According to Jon of Redbird Dugout, AP needs to hit .342 the rest of the way. That would seem to be doable for the big guy--he's done that over a season before--but he's going to need to do more than 1-4 and 1-5. Really would like to see him get hot and get that .300 mark. Cards get a day off before facing the Cubs tomorrow afternoon. Brewers play this afternoon and the Dodgers send Clayton Kershaw to the mound, so perhaps the Cards can finally gain a 1/2 game on the Brew Crew. Cards gotta have some help if they are going to chase them down!
Nailing the CoffinPosted on August 17, 2011 at 6:45 AM
It's strange seeing the season end in mid-August.Even last year, with a team that faded down the stretch, there was that sweep in Cincinnati August 9-11 that put the Cardinals briefly back into first place. That was the high water mark and they hit some rough baseball immediately after, but they still were in contention. (Of course, by the end of the month they were seven games behind the Reds and the reeds of hope were awfully thin.) After games of August 16, here's where the Cards have stood the past few years: 2006 +1.5 2007 -2.5 2008 -6.5 2009 +5 2010 -1 2011 -7 Even though they were almost as far out in 2008, the Cubs were leading the division then and you still figured they were going to fall apart. Other than that, the Cards have been in the race at this time of year for the past decade. (I didn't check 2003, but all the other years the Cards made the playoffs.) However, the Cards can start booking October vacations and we'll get just that much more time to talk about the Albert Pujols contract because it would take a extremely surprising run to see this team in postseason baseball. We've talked before about how this team kills momentum, and coming out of a winning series at home against Colorado, they've done that by dropping two in Pittsburgh. We talked about how they needed to go 5-1 on this road trip, something that can't happen now. We've talked about the team not being able to afford to drop a Chris Carpenter start, yet they did just that last night. Would the game have turned out different if things had gone better in the third inning? Carpenter walks the pitcher with one out, and as Mike Shannon (and most everyone else) says, walking the pitcher always comes around to bite you. Jose Tabata singled on a ball that I thought Rafael Furcal was going to be able to get to and turn two, but it seemed like he was shifted very close to second and was barely able to corral it before it got into the outfield. Carpenter then induces a tailor-made double play ball, made more so by the fact Xavier Paul can't get out of the batter's box without falling, but Skip Schumaker boots it and just gets the one out. Then Carpenter throws a lollipop curve to Andrew McCutchen and McCutchen doesn't miss those. What if Schumaker turns the double play? What if Carpenter gets the pitcher? Would the game have turned out the same from that point forward? We don't know, but it's frustrating to think about. Nothing is more frustrating than the way the game ended, though. Matt Holliday gets a sacrifice fly in the ninth and the Cards have a one run lead. All Fernando Salas has to do is get their 5-6-7 hitters. Instead, our Goat of the game serves up a long ball to Neil Walker on his first pitch, tying the game and setting up Arthur Rhodes' failure later. Rhodes comes in with two on in the 10th after Salas had walked one and intentionally walked another. Now, Rhodes has allowed 4 home runs and a .323 average in 62 ABs against right-handers. So, naturally, he comes in to face Ryan Doumit (a switch-hitter who has a much higher OPS in his more limited time as a right-handed batter) and Walker (another switch-hitter that actually does hit worse from the right side). Not really sure why Tony La Russa went to him in that situation, save the fact that neither of them had gotten a hit of Rhodes in the past (both 0-9, but that's a pretty small sample). And, of course, the batter that Rhodes should face, left-handed hitter Garrett Jones, takes him deep to end the game after one batter in the 11th. Is it just asking too much for the LOOGYs to at least get lefties out? As you can tell by this post, not a lot of positives last night. We'll give David Freese the Hero tag for his three hits. Jon Jay got a couple of hits from the leadoff position, so we may see him there again. Albert got his 30th home run, hitting that part of his personal triple crown, and now needs just 24 more RBI. However, he only went 1-4, which means that average is getting that much harder to get up to .300. Also, Carpenter should get some attention. Save for that rough third, at least part of which wasn't his fault, he locked the Pirates down and gave the team a chance to come back. Seven innings, three runs, 10 strikeouts should get you a better fate, but it was not to be. The news wasn't any better off the field yesterday, as Shelby Miller was suspended indefinitely. If sources are to be believed, it was due to a fight with alcohol involved, something that apparently has happened before. Hopefully that'll help Shelby get focused and straighten him out a bit. The Cards just hope not to be swept as they go tonight in the series finale. That might be easier said than done, though, looking at the pitching matchup. Kyle Lohse takes the mound for the Cards and, right now, you aren't really sure what you'll get out of him, though he did pitch well last time out. Here's what he's done against Pittsburgh:
Paul Maholm goes for the Pirates. Cards got to him last time around but he's been tough on them in the past.
The game will likely just be finishing up when UCB Radio Hour starts tonight. Tara from Aaron Miles' Fastball joins me and we'll talk with Terry Rodgers, who works for the Cardinals' public relations department. Should be a fun show, if we can keep the talk of burying the 2011 season to a minimum. Come join us at 9:30 this evening!  Egg LayingPosted on August 16, 2011 at 7:30 AM
According to the Wikipedia entry, the northern cardinal lays eggs between two and four times a year. Which is funny, because I'm pretty sure that the St. Louis version lays eggs roughly once a week.They go on the road, but to a park that they play extremely well at. They are facing a team that used to be in the hunt, but now is double-digits behind the leaders and obviously fading. Everyone seems to be heating up, hopefully clicking along. So what happens? Another mediocre effort and a loss putting them six games behind. (BTW, does anyone have any doubt this is Milwaukee's year? Set aside yesterday's come from behind improbable win. Tonight they get four hits, but three of them are solo homers and they turn a triple play. I think even if the Cards didn't lose another game this year, they'd still wind up losing the division. It's just that kind of season for the Brewers.) A very tough night for Jake Westbrook. He just couldn't get anything going and was victimized muchly by Ryan Doumit. (Which is a sentence you really shouldn't ever have to read or write.) Sometimes I wonder if this season would be much different if Adam Wainwright would have been healthy. Part of me thinks yes, but part of me realizes that Waino was with the team last year and a lot of the same issues were involved then as well. Whatever is affecting this team, it's pervading at a deep level, one that even a player like Wainwright can't disperse. Anyway, Westbrook takes 110 pitches and can't get out of the sixth, allowing five runs on nine hits, including two homers. If this team is going to get on any sort of run (and all indications are that they aren't, but let's pretend), the starting pitching has to be putting up quality starts at a minimum and really more than that on a regular basis. That's just not happening. This offense could occasionally bail out a pitcher from a bad start, but it's not exactly consistent enough to do it regularly. Look at who shut them down tonight. Daniel McCutchen? Jose Veras? While Westbrook gets the Goat, there were a lot of disappointing performances. Yadier Molina went 0-3 and again only saw five pitches in the game. Yadi had a great chance with two on and two out in the sixth, but Jason Grilli got him on a popup and the Cards last best chance was retired. Before that, there were two on and none out in the fourth, but David Freese hit into a double play and Molina flew out. Missed opportunities are so prevalent with this team! Also, the way Albert Pujols usually hits in Pittsburgh, a 1-4 night isn't that thrilling, especially when he's got to do more than that for his push for .300. On the positive side, Ryan Theriot had a great night. Not only did he have three hits, which was a third of the team total, but he scored the first run for the Cards. Besides Theriot, Matt Holliday was the only other batter with more than one hit. It feels more and more like the Cardinals will be playing out the string come September, if they aren't starting that already. I don't think this team is the most frustrating version to come along recently--last year's team probably wins in that regard--but it is right up there. There are a lot of excuses and you do have to appreciate how they've battled through injuries, but overall this isn't a team that's likely to do much of anything. Obviously, I could be wrong and there could be some magical turnaround, but I wouldn't put my money down that way. Chris Carpenter is on the hill tonight. There's no doubt that the Cards have to win a Carp start. They have to do more than that, obviously, but they can't give away games when their ace is on the mound. Here's what he's done against the Pirates:
Jeff Karstens is up for the Buccos. Here's his career against the Redbirds:
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