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Big Win in Philly

The Cardinals showed last night that the road doesn't intimidate them this year.  They've struggled away from Busch the last couple of years, but this year they can beat people anywhere.  In fact, they have the best road record in the National League, one of only two NL teams (Philadelphia is the other) with a winning record on the road.

You can't say enough about the job Joel Pineiro did last night.  He had a tough draw, going up against Cole Hamels in a launching pad, but he kept the powerful Phils off the board.  The Cards really needed a win after the weekend and all the trading activity in the division and he provided.

Tough to give anyone a Goat tag when they go up against someone like Hamels, but Troy Glaus gets it not only for his 0-4 but his double play he hit into in the ninth against Lidge.  An insurance run there would have made me feel a lot better about Ryan Franklin facing Utley, Howard and Burrell in the ninth, though it turns out it wasn't necessary.

The Cubs called the Brewers' raise in the pitching department, getting Rich Harden to add to their stable.  We all know the caveats on Harden, but if he is healthy, that gives the Cubs the 1-2 punch they've been lacking.  I've always thought that Zambrano was basically the only pitcher on that staff and they were getting by with the rest of them.  Adding Harden makes me a lot more concerned about their postseason life--they may have enough to go deeper in October, if they get there.

So what do the Cardinals do now?  Both of the top competitors have added aces.  I know Mozeliak is going to say things like "no need to do anything," "nothing on the burners", "the calvery will be like a trade," but is that really true?  I know that Wainwright will be back sometime in August, which does give a boost, but that's just getting the team back to health.  If Carpenter does make it back this year, he's not going to be able to provide significant innings, so as nice as it'll be to see him on the mound, will he really be the difference maker if he's going two times a week out of the pen?

I'd like to see the Cards make a run at Erik Bedard, if they can get him at a reasonable price.  These last couple of trades may make that unlikely, since both the Brewers and the Cubs gave up some good talent and, more notably, a good number of bodies, but the flip side of that is that two of the teams most likely to be in any Bedard derby are now out.  I'm not sure any AL team will be that excited to get him after his Seattle showing, which may mean the Cards just need to compete with Philadelphia, the Mets, or teams like that to get him if Seattle puts him on the market (and they'd probably be crazy not to.)

If a package that didn't really damage the farm system (i.e., no Colby Rasmus, Jamie Garcia, Jess Todd) was put together, I'd be in favor of it.  A couple of days ago Larry at VEB mentioned moving Mitchell Boggs or Clayton Mortenson would not be a bad thing if they could get value.  If Anthony Reyes or Chris Duncan had value, I'd suggest some sort of modification on the Santana deal I proposed last winter, but that's wishful thinking.  If the price is dropped because of the reduction of teams, I'd think the Cardinals might be able to be in contention for someone like Bedard.  If it hasn't, though, then they should go ahead and pass.  Anything that happens this year is gravy, since this team is really designed for 2009 and beyond.

Of course, tonight's game might go a long way toward showing whether any kind of deal is really necessary.  Mark Mulder takes the mound against rookie J.A. Happ.  If Mulder can be somewhat effective, it might lead to hope that he can be a part of a second half surge.  I don't expect he'll get past the fifth, just because he's not thrown that much lately, but if he could give five innings and just a couple of runs, there'd be a lot more optimism in Cardinal Nation.  Whether that'll happen or not is a different story.

And, before I forget, it's XM Radio ad time!  XM will be all over the All-Star stuff.  Shows will be hosted from New York, the Futures Game (featuring four Cardinals, don't forget!) will be on XM 175 on Sunday, then the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game itself will be on XM 176 on their respective days.  If you want to stay up on what's going on with the All-Stars, tune in to your XM!

Speaking of the All-Stars, I see where AP is saying he'll do the Home Run Derby if asked.  Last time it didn't affect his swing (I think he hit more homers after the break!) so I'm all for that.  I love seeing Cardinals do anything during the All-Star festivities.  Seeing all the different jerseys (well, that's only in the game now, so they can make more money on All-Star sales) on the same field is really neat.

Just keep an eye on Philadelphia tonight.  A big part of the rest of the season could be riding on it.

Valiant But Outmatched

That would seem to sum up September for the Cardinals. It's not that they've been blown out that much--they've been outscored 113-89 for the month, an average of 1.26 runs per game--but that they've just not been able to get that big hit or hold the other team with two outs. The team ERA for the month is 5.30, which ranks 12th in the NL. (Talk about being pounded--Florida is at 6.38). A little better pitching, and there still is a pennant race for St. Louis to talk about.

But it's not, so the Cardinals are looking at the fact that they have lost 11 of 12 and basically eliminated any chance of a .500 season.  Then you get Superman, Albert Pujols, not playing because of injury and doubtful for today.   That doesn't happen unless things are really bad.  Hopefully another day of rest and he can get back out there to get the runs and RBI he needs for a seventh consecutive 100 season.

Mark Mulder goes and gets an MRI, which probably means that he won't be throwing again this year.  There just isn't much reason to jeopardize him when it's not necessary.  Even if the results are negative, shutting him down may be the best thing to do.

Then, the big rumor out there today is that TLR is interested in Seattle.   I'm not buying it, especially if they are thinking a package deal with him and Walt.  The Cardinals won't let Jocketty out of his contract for '08 without extracting quite a price (probably someone like Adam Jones) and the Mariners won't want to pay that.  But TLR has often commented how much he enjoys managing in the National League, and he has to realize that the Cardinals are going to contend at least for division titles for a number of years to come, most likely.  Seattle has to deal with powerhouses in LA and Oakland, plus the Yanks and Red Sox on a regular basis.

Seattle would be closer to his home and would be another low-pressure city, but I don't think LaRussa packs up for the Pacific Northwest.  If he didn't have Ankiel and Pujols here, maybe he'd think about it.  But having those guys for next year, guys he has a real personal connection with, I think is enough to have him back.

Milwaukee won, Cubs lost.  Not a bad day, since it gets the Brewers back in first.

Also on the Network: √ Yanks Beat A Lefty? [Depressed Fan] √ Yanks Start Second Half With "W" [Green Pinstripes] √ All-Star Breather: The Giants Catchers [El Lefty Malo] √ Rock Is Dead; Shea Stadium July 18, 2008 [Loge 13] √ Citi Field Revealed (FYI: No Loge Here) [Loge 13] √ My Rifle, My Pony and Me [Beantown West] √ Quick Chicago roundup [Tremendous Upside Potential] √ Giants Reveal New Stadium Ticket Plans [Loge 13]