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Pleasant Surprises

Much like a child who continually tests your patience, then surprises you by doing something sweet and kind (not that either of my kids would ever do that, of course), Todd Wellemeyer came out and gave a jolt to Cardinal Nation.

St. Louis Loves Their Colby Jack

As most of you know, my first name is Daniel.  Daniel, of course, was a prophet in the Old Testament.  For one night, at least, I got a chance to emulate my forbearer.

We Are All Witnesses

I don't think of Albert Pujols as a home run hitter.  I mean, obviously he can hit home runs, that's never been in doubt.  However, in my mind he's a 35-40 home run guy, which is very good power, don't get me wrong, but being that he is such an all around hitter with average, RBI, etc., the home runs don't stand out the way they do on, say, Ryan Howard.  I mean, Ted Williams had 521 homers, but power isn't the first thing that comes to mind with him.

Cardinals Still Searching

After a weekend (and a Monday) where the Cardinals scored eight runs in four games, it's obvious that there are still some issues.  A quick rundown of the games, in the typical style:

Friday vs. Minnesota (3-1 loss)
Hero: Rick Ankiel.  Two hits and drove in the only run.  You know it's probably been a rough day when Rick's almost all the offense you can muster.
Goat: Ryan Ludwick.  Zero for four and left three on.  To be fair, there were a number that contended for this.
Notes: Adam Wainwright pitched better than he has in some outings this year, but he still walked too many people and, unfortunately, the smallest glitch and the Cards are in trouble.  There have been too many games where the Cards are down after one and you don't feel like they can come back.

Saturday vs. Minnesota (5-3 win)
Hero: Albert Pujols.  The only thing keeping the Cards from being in the midst of a six-game losing streak.
Goat: Todd Wellemeyer.  When you get the hook after 2.1 innings when you know your job is on the line, it's not a good day.
Notes: Lost in the Pujols furor was the fact that Skip Schumaker was on both times Pujols went yard as part of his three for four day.  Lost in the Wellemeyer furor was the fact that Colby Rasmus went 0 for 5 and left 6 on.

Sunday vs. Minnesota (6-2 loss)
Hero: Jason LaRue.  Two hits and an RBI.  If he was just a little faster, he could have probably scored a run as well.
Goat: Joel Pineiro.  You hate to give it to a guy who basically made one mistake, but when the Cards have only come back from three down twice this season, being down 3-0 before they get an at-bat makes for a long afternoon.
Notes: Neither ends of the lineup were very good.  Skip as leadoff was 0-4 and Tyler Greene at the 9 hole was 0-3.  So that doesn't really help the lineup turn over when those guys aren't getting on.  Nice to see a solid inning out of Blake Hawksworth.

Monday vs. San Francisco (10-0 loss)
Hero: Albert Pujols, basically by default.  He got one of two hits and the only extra-base hit.
Goat: Chris Duncan, who had two of the eight strikeouts.  But it was Tim Lincecum--the whole team looked bad.
Notes: What can you say besides glad they didn't get no-hit?  I didn't get to see Clayton Mortensen's debut, but it sounds like there were some positives out of it.

Of course, the biggest news from the weekend was the trade for Mark DeRosa.  While it's obvious that it wasn't an immediate impact on the offense (he's 0-7 since slipping on the Birds on the Bat), it was a pretty nice move for John Mozeliak.  The team may regret losing Chris Perez in the future (though, perhaps, not as much as a couple of White Sox batters regret the Indians getting him) but it was a move that needed to be done and right-handed relief pitching is one of the strengths of the organization.  If Jason Motte ever develops a good secondary pitch, chances are he'll take over that closer of the future designation anyway.  I will say I am a bit concerned about the player to be named later, though.

Khalil Greene returned to the disabled list just a little over a week after he was activated from it.  Those that said that he wasn't ready, that the team was rushing him, definitely have more ammunition now.  After that Kansas City series, things looked pretty good, but apparently something triggered a relapse. I would hope that they will be a little more cautious in his return next time.  It's possible, though I expect unlikely, that we won't see him again this season.

So what is it about this offense?  Like I've noted above (and many other times), they've rallied from three runs down twice this season and none since April.  The Cards are 2-19 (.095) when they are behind at the start of the second inning.  Compare that to the other NL Central teams:

Milwaukee 9-12 (.429)
Chicago 7-13 (.350)
Cincinnati 4-20 (.167)
Houston 6-16 (.273)
Pittsburgh 6-16 (.273)

All the teams have roughly 20-25 games like this, where they've trailed going into the second.  Yet all the other teams, even Pittsburgh, are able to at least occasionally make a run and come back in the game.  The Cards have really struggled in this regard.

When the offense is clicking, the team is good.  If they score the serious number or more, they are 18-3.  But the Brewers are 21-3, the Cubs 24-3, the Reds 19-5 in those situations, again showing that they are able to put up the runs on a more consistent basis.

I don't know what the answer is.  I do think that perhaps the aggressive approach isn't quite cutting it.  I know Tim Lincecum is good, but to throw a complete game in 95 pitches?  The Cardinals have seen the fourth-fewest pitches in the National League.  Houston, Atlanta and the Giants are the only teams below them, and only the Giants are being very successful, which is because of their dominating pitching, not their offensive prowness (last night's result notwithstanding).

When you break it down into pitches per plate appearance, it gets even worse, as only the Giants have seen fewer than the 3.63 St. Louis has.  Obviously, that's not necessarily the be-all and end-all since Washington leads the pack, but the second and third teams are the Rockies and Dodgers, two teams that have had quite a bit of success this year.

I understand the theory about being aggressive and you may only get one pitch, but on the whole, the pitches that the Cardinals are facing aren't necessarily that good.  Just because you take one good pitch doesn't mean you won't be getting another one.  Last night, with Lincecum, OK, but people like Francisco Liriano, who has struggled so much this season?  Tim Redding, who held the Cards in check during the Mets series?

Some links and a preview of today's matchup of Cy Youngs after the jump.   
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That Wasn't In The Script

So the Cards take their two aces, throw them at a team with worse offensive production than they themselves have....and come out with a series loss?

Friday night, the pitching finally stumbled a little bit.  Joel Pineiro gave up four in four innings, and with an offense that is struggling as much as the Cardinal offense is, even with the return of Ryan Ludwick, that's just not something you can do.  You have to give Albert Pujols the nod for the Hero with two hits, though the bullpen as a whole did a solid job as well.

As I expected, the return of Ludwick coincided with Khalil Greene being placed on the DL with anxiety issues.  You hope that this means that Greene can get the help he needs and get back to being healthy in mind and body.  But you also have to wonder if we've seent the end of Khalil in a Cardinals uniform.  Do you think that a month off would help him?  I don't.  I don't know what kind of medications or other treatments are out there and how quickly they work, but I really would be surprised to see him play again for the Redbirds.

Saturday was, again, the Albert Pujols show.  Two home runs, though distressingly they were still solo shots.  The offense in general did show signs of stirring, pounding out 15 hits and, yes, six runs. Skip Schumaker had a solid night as well, with three hits and two RBI.  Chris Carpenter had a pretty good outing for normal people, though two runs in six innings is a rocky outing for a guy that hadn't given up an earned run all year.

The two outfielders, Ludwick and Rick Ankiel, are definitely still rusty.  Ankiel especially, with three strikeouts and two left on base.  Ludwick at least was able to scratch out a single, though he did strand five.  Then again, these guys weren't exaclty lighting it up before they got hurt either, so it's probably not a big surprise they didn't roll off the DL with a three hit game.

Sunday, you had to feel going into it that the Cards had the advantage and, when you stake the Adam Wainwright that's been pitching lately to a 3-1 lead, you'd think it's all over but the shouting.  However, that was not the case.

You could easily have a weekend sweep and give the Hero award to Pujols again for a three hit day, but to spice it up a little let's award it to Brendan Ryan, who also had three hits and scored two of the Cardinals' three runs.  On the flip side, you have to give it to Wainwright, especially for that tie-breaking home run to Rich Aurilia.  Dennys Reyes made a bid as well, allowing two hits and a run without getting anyone out.

So what's the best news to come out of this weekend?  In my book, it's the fact that Kyle Lohse will likely make his start tomorrow night.  Because that means that Brad Thompson won't be.  It's possible that the fact that Thompson, who has sat for about two and a half weeks now, would be perfectly fine to start the game.  Odds are, though, that layoff wouldn't do anything to improve his already shaky pitching.  There's a reason he's not pitched in so long--the Cardinals have been in close games.  Which shows where Thompson ranks in the pecking order and the faith the coaching staff has in him, if you ask me.

Also in the Post-Dispatch today, the Cardinals are in on one of the top prospects from Latin America.  The expenses in developing a Latin pipeline aren't necessarily seen by the public, but have to be taken into account when you start hearing about people griping about cheap ownership.  Even this news, though, doesn't satisfy some people in the "win now" mindset, as they complain this money could be better spent bringing in current talent.  You have to take the long view if you plan to be competitive for more than a season or two, though.

More links: Rick Sutcliffe makes the case for Dave Duncan being selected for Cooperstown and today, instead of Wednesday, Joe Strauss holds his weekly chat.

Tonight, the Cardinals take on the Reds.  The pot was stirred a little bit recently as Jay Bruce said they were going on the road and coming back in first place.  A little youthful exhuberance there, perhaps, but the Reds are a solid team.  They sit 3.5 back of Milwaukee, so it's possible they'd get into first after the four game set with the Cards, but I don't expect that'll happen.  Still, the Reds have a good offense and a solid pitching staff, so they could give St. Louis fits this week unless the Redbird offense gets going.

Edinson Volquez comes off the disabled list tonight to take the hill for Cincinnati.  The Cardinals, historically, have had troubles with the Reds ace.  Pujols is hitting .333 with two homers against him and Schumaker has a .375 mark, but the team as a whole is just hitting .209 against Volquez.

That's a huge number, though, compared to what Cincy is hitting against Todd Wellemeyer, the Cardinal starter.  The Reds are hitting just .150 against the Colonel, with Bruce and Paul Janish the only people that have gone yard against him.  Hopefully Wellemeyer channels this tonight.  If so, it'll likely be a low scoring affair.

My wife is an Ohio girl and her dad is a huge Reds fan, so we always enjoy when the two teams get together.  Should be a fun week!

Cardinals Head To San Fran

Just a quick post with a preview of tonight's game.  It's a late one, being from the West Coast, so some of us (my hand is up) won't likely see the end of it, but it shapes up to be a pretty good series for the Cardinals.

Let The Offense Come Forth

Here we go now!

The Cardinal offense, which had been dormant for weeks now, finally broke through the barriers in Milwaukee last night, totaling 8 runs in getting the Brewer monkey off of their back.  To put it in perspective, that's more than the Cards had scored in the last three games combined.  Since the last time they'd put six on the scoreboard, the Cards had 34 runs.  The problem was, that was over 13 games, a tidy 2.6 runs a game.  So having the bats break out with four homers last night was a huge relief.

It's nice to have the problem of trying to figure out just who should be the Hero.  Normally, I'd go with Adam Wainwright, because I'm a huge pitching guy and he continued the amazing run of starts last night.  The starters are just plowing through people right now.  When you can go eight games and your combined ERA from that group is under one, you are doing something right.

Still, the offense was the story last night, so the Hero should come from that group.  There were a lot of unlikely heroes to choose from.  Joe Thurston went two for three with three runs scored.  Colby Rasmus went two for five with a home run and a double.  Chris Duncan had two hits, including the home run that pushed the Cards over the six-run barrier.  Skip Schumaker, who actually has been hitting, continued with a three hit night.

However, for getting his first home run, in a spot where it gave the Cardinals an early lead, the Hero tag goes to Nick Stavinoha.  He may not be up much longer (more on that in a bit) but he's started to show he can be an asset at this level.

Not a lot to choose from for the Goat.  In fact, it's pretty obvious it has to be Yadier Molina.  0-4 with three left on, not including a double play in his last AB.  Yadi just doesn't seem comfortable in the four hole in the lineup.  We'll see if he gets more time there this week, though today's game should be the last without Ryan Ludwick, who should slide into that role on his return.

News on the injury front.  First off, John Mozeliak has come out and said what I and a lot of observers have been saying for a while, that the chance of Troy Glaus returning this season is not good.  Apparently they aren't hearing any more than we outside the organization are, which really doesn't bode well.  It's a good sign that Mozeliak is at least willing to write him off sooner than some of the rehab cases in the past.  Sure, it'd be nice to have him back, but you can't wait.  This offense needs a boost from third base, whether it's a trade or it's the promotion of Brett Wallace in a month or so.

The second bit of news is that Kyle Lohse has been scratched from his next start.  The pitch that Ron Mahay hit him with in Saturday's game is still causing him some problems.  Short-term, it doesn't cause too many problems for the Cards.  With an off-day tomorrow, everyone can just move up in the rotation and stay on their regular rest.  Joel Pineiro will take Friday's game and then Chris Carpenter and Wainwright will finish up the San Francisco series. 

(Using Carp and Waino both in the Giants series might be like using a sledgehammer on an ant, since San Fran sits dead last in the NL in runs as it is.  Of course, they've scored 17 more runs than the Cards have in May, so it could be another pitching series.)

Long-term, if Lohse can't take his turn in the rotation against Cincinnati, the team would likely place him on the DL (retroactive to the 24th) and promote someone, likely Mitchell Boggs.  Though I'd like to see them finally give Blake Hawksworth a shot, since he's having a fairly decent year in Memphis.  I don't expect a lot out of him, but it'd be great to see him at least get one game in the bigs.

The first update of All-Star voting was released and Albert Pujols and Molina are leading the pack, with AP the leading vote getter at the moment.  A lot of Cardinals and Brewers in the top five at each position, but I believe that has something to do with the number of home games they had, figuring that most of the fans vote a straight home team ticket.  About the only explanation for Skip being third among second basemen.

A Facebook friend of mine highlighted these links last night and I really enjoyed seeing Ozzie Smith talk a little about his career and then get out there and give some fielding instruction.  Segments like this are why I really miss not having the MLB Network.  Having the in-depth coverage of the game would be so great to watch.

Cards have an afternoon game against the Brewers this afternoon as they try and keep the bats active.  Todd Wellemeyer had an outstanding performance last time out.  Before anyone starts thinking that he's turned a corner or is back to being Todd Wellemeyer, check out his game log.  He's thrown three good games this season, two of them back to back. In other words, it's a little premature to think he's got it figured out.

Going up against the Brewers today isn't necessarily going to help.  He's limited the damage on a whole to the team in his career, but Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun can give him nightmares.  Fielder has hit .364 against him while Braun is hitting .700--yes, .700!--against him with a home run.  (Seven for 10, if you are wondering.)  If he can manage those threats, he could be on his way.  The Brew Crew got him for five runs in four and two thirds earlier in the year, when Wellemeyer walked 7.  If nothing else, his control should be better today.  The biggest key with Wellemeyer--the first couple of innings.  If he can get into the third with a run or less given up, he's in line for a good day.

The Cardinals get to face Manny Parra this afternoon.  During his career, he's given up a lot of hits to St. Louis.  The team is hitting a whopping .329 against him.  However, save for Pujols going deep, he's kept the Cards in the park.  As long as they can get their hits, though, they might be able to put up some runs against him.  They weren't able to last time, as he only allowed two runs in six innings.

Remember tonight is UCB Radio Hour with author Rob Rains!  Mike from Stan Musial's Stance and I will talk to him to kick off the show, then we'll talk Cardinal baseball afterwards.  Give us a call between 9:30 and 10:30 Central at 646-929-1758!

Playing Pepper 2009: San Francisco Giants

As the players start getting themselves ready for another season, I thought it'd be a good idea to do the same.  I contacted a blogger for each major league team and posted them five questions.  This is the result.  You can find the tentative schedule of teams here and today's main post is right here.

For our final installment of Playing Pepper, we take a look at the National League team out by the bay.  Another year removed from the shadow left by the larger-than-life presence of Barry Bonds, the Giants look to try to compete in an NL West that was weaker last year than expected.

When you are talking Giants, you have to go to one of the most respected bloggers in the fan base.  El Lefty Malo is the most-trafficked baseball-only blog here at Blogs By Fans and Lefty took a little time to talk about the Giant kids and a former Cardinal shortstop.

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Cardinals in Vegas, Day 2

No deals done on the first day of the winter meetings, but a lot of talk going on.  Lots of it, according to Joe Strauss's latest article.

First off, John Mozeliak shot down the Burnett idea, which isn't terribly surprising given since the team doesn't really want to deal out too many long-term contracts right now.  Especially with one that may have some injury issues.  I know the talk is that they don't want to limit their flexibility with Carp, Wainwright and Lohse all signed long-term, but you'd have to think that continuity is fine if everyone is healthy and good.  It worked for the Braves in the '90s, didn't it?

Moving an outfielder is still on the priority list, but it looks like it won't be Ryan Ludwick.  Which makes sense in a lot of ways, mostly because every other outfielder in the system, it seems like, is a left-handed batter.  Problem is, like BrewCards noted in yesterday's comment thread, there are just so many questions around everyone else that it'll be tough to get adequate talent back for them.  I don't believe they'll move Rasmus (unless completely overwhelmed), people have to decide if Schumaker is for real and they can live with the lack of power, Ankiel is a free agent after this season, and Chris Duncan is coming back from injury.

Apparently the braintrust is rethinking the closer position as well.  Either they aren't convinced Perez and Motte can handle it even with a year of seasoning or they want to keep their options open now that the closer market seems to be coming back to them.  Getting a FA closer on a two-year deal (if they could) might open trade possibilities next offseason.

Adam Kennedy looks to be the starter next season at second base.  When you look at his numbers, they really weren't as bad as everyone seems to have in their head.  While an Orlando Hudson would be an improvement, there really isn't any way to get him if Kennedy is still on the roster, and there doesn't seem to be any mechanism for getting him off of it that works for the Cardinals.  He'll be a free agent, so maybe we'll finally get to see what the Cardinals were looking for two years ago.

Strauss talks today at noon from Vegas, so I'm sure he'll elaborate even more on these points then.

Apparently the Cardinals have been looking at Scott Downs from the Blue Jays and have considered sending either Ankiel or Joe Mather to the Braves.  A quick glance at Downs looks interesting, especially his last two seasons.  He's been playing in a tough division as well, so moving to the NL Central might even help.  I'm a little surprised the Cards would move Ankiel, especially for someone like Mike Gonzalez, but they've got to clear a spot somehow.  Looks like he'll be a popular chip, with the Yanks, Rays and Giants all asking about him.  (Isn't he a little young to be a Giant?)

In fact, the rumor of Ankiel for Ian Kennedy is a little intriguing.  Kennedy, who was actually drafted by the Cardinals in 2003 but didn't sign, has been a top prospect for a while in the Yankee organization.  And, while we all know that Yankee prospects have a heck of a hype machine, his minor league numbers backed a lot of that up.  He struggled this year in the majors, but he will turn 24 next week and still has a long way to go before he hits his prime.  He'd be a long term committment, but a cheap one.  If that's an offer out there, I think (even though I'm a huge Ankiel fan and would hate to see him go) that Mo should take it.

A reminder that the special edition of the United Cardinal Bloggers Radio Hour will be coming to you tomorrow night at 10:00 Central time.  Yours truly is scheduled to be a guest in the first hour.

A Giant Fall

You know, if someone had told me that the Cardinals were going to beat up on Matt Cain, I'd have felt pretty good about the rest of the series.  Saturday was not unexpected, because Lincecum can dominate with the best of them, but I didn't expect the shellacking the Cards had on Sunday.  Let's go through the games one at a time so we can establish the Heroes and the Goats, then we'll take a look at tonight's Brewers game.

I didn't get to hear much of the game Friday night, only a little portion as I was traveling between parts of my personal doubleheader (softball and a poker game).  The part I did here, though, was a lot of fun, as it was just after Albert Pujols's three-run home run and in the midst of that 12-batter fourth.  Looking through the box score, it's tough to pick out just one Hero since everyone had their hitting shoes on and both pitchers did very well, but I think I'll give it to Chris Duncan.  A tie-breaking two-run home run plus a double is a pretty good night.  As for the Goat, tough to say, but we'll do a bit of a make-up call and give it to Troy Glaus.  He did get one hit in three trips, but he left three on the bases.  Again, just the worst of a very good night for the Cardinals.

Saturday, again I didn't see much, but what I did was pretty expected.  Tim Lincecum is a tough pitcher to crack.  To some degree you'd want to stay close, hope his pitch count starts climbing and get into that bullpen.  There were some opportunities, though--he walked three and gave up six hits in his seven innings--but was able to negotiate out of them.  The key at-bat may have been in the fourth against Pujols, with two on and none out.  Pujols got up 3-0, but Linecum was able to work it back to 3-2 and then got Pujols's anxiousness working against him by getting him to chase ball 4.  That really took some life out of the team.

I'd still say, though, that the Goat for that game has to be Rick Ankiel, who went 0-3 and left four on base, including striking out after the Pujols at-bat described above. Rick's been in a little slump lately, hitting only .222 in his last seven games.  With him still learning the strike zone, he probably will go through good streaks and bad streaks.

Hero for Saturday would probably have to be Skip Schumaker, who continued to do his leadoff job well, going 2 for 4.  Joel Pineiro pitched much better in this one than he did in his first outing, though was still a little shaky allowing eight hits in just over six innings.

Sunday, well, there's no much good to say about Sunday.  I think it's fairly obvious the Goat should be Braden Looper, who had nothing, allowing 10 hits and 7 runs in three innings.  Anthony Reyes had some trouble in the first inning he came in, allowing runs to score, but settled down after that.  Hero-wise, I think we can give it to Troy Glaus, who went two for three, scored one of the runs and drove in the other.  Some kudos to Ron Villone as well, who pitched three scoreless innings.  I'm sure he wasn't expecting to get that kind of work when he signed on.

The Cardinals are the midst of their first slump of the season, losing three of their last four.  They need to get back on the winning track and tonight they get a chance to do that against the Brewers in a rematch of last Wednesday's game.

Adam Wainwright goes against Carlos Villaneuva tonight up in Milwaukee.  Last time these two got together, Villaneuva didn't make it through the fifth while Wainwright went 7.2 innings and hit a home run to boot.  The Cardinals have to be favored tonight, but it'd be great if some of the bats made it a less-than-stressful evening.  The preview for this series is up at CardsClubhouse, as well as the YNOT.

On the United Cardinal Blogger front, we are just two blogs short of our goal for our new project, so I'm going to detail it here and hope that it will intrigue a couple more blogs to contact me with their willingness to participate.

What we are going to do is a "progressive-dinner" type of game discussion for the Cards/Cub game on May 2nd.  Each blog will take an inning and discuss the game and any tangents that may come out of that inning.  For example, one blog may take a sabermetric approach to TLR's pitching change, one may have their opinions on Duncan playing for Brian Barton if he strikes out with runners on, various things like that.  It should be a way for you to see the whole game, but through nine different prisms, as it were.  The posts will not be live blogs, but will likely be posted on Saturday evening or Sunday.

Signed up so far (with innings requested if they have done so) are Stan Musial's Stance (first), CardinalNationGlobe (fifth), The Redbird Blog (eighth), Redbird Ramblings (ninth), Rockin' the Red and Mike on the Cards, along with myself, of course.  If you want in, e-mail me or drop me a note in the comments.

Also on the Network: √ Playing Pepper 2010: Seattle Mariners [C70 At The Bat] √ Blog-A-Bull Lays Down the Plan For Chris Bosh [Tremendous Upside Potential] √ Things to Read: 3/16 [Tremendous Upside Potential] √ Giant Linescore of the Morning [El Lefty Malo] √ Dealing With The "Rumor" [C70 At The Bat] √ Apply Online to Be the Next Head Coach of DePaul. Seriously. [Tremendous Upside Potential] √ Playing Pepper 2010: Pittsburgh Pirates [C70 At The Bat] √ Perfect Bracket. [Tremendous Upside Potential]