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Doing What They CanPosted on September 19, 2011 at 6:35 AM
The math doesn't favor the Cardinals. I think we all know that. However, you have to admit that this team is playing like they don't know that. Two out of three this weekend against Philadelphia is pretty solid, even if that stumble put them much closer to the edge of the cliff.Filed Under: Atlanta Braves | Heroes and Goats | Philadelphia Phillies | St. Louis Cardinals Friday (4-2 win in 11) Hero: Albert Pujols. A 4-4 night pushed Pujols's average up over the .300 mark, which is incredible given where he's been this season. At the end of May he was at .267, the end of June .279. Since coming back from his broken wrist, though, he's hit .325 with an OPS of .988. If the Cardinals do get into the postseason, it might be enough to get him back on the MVP ballot. If not, this might be the first year he's not in the top 10, though he still deserves to be. He needs to keep that average up and get five more RBI, something that's completely doable this week. Goat: Corey Patterson. Patterson's not there for his offense, obviously, since he's hit .157 since coming over to the Cardinals (and four of his eight hits came in his first six games with the club). So if Tony La Russa's going to put him on the field, he's got to catch the ball. Dropping one that tied up a must-win game in the ninth isn't acceptable. Notes: Congrats to Adron Chambers, who made his first big-league hit a memorable one by driving in the tie-breaking run in the 11th. Also, we found out that extra innings is the only way Tyler Greene is apparently going to get an at-bat, though he stroked a double and really should be considered over Patterson in pinch-hit opportunities going forward. Whether he will or not is a completely different story. Jaime Garcia pitched an incredible game, going into a small ballpark and dominating by allowing only one run. The bullpen did well all the way around, with Jason Motte only getting the blown save due to Patterson's gaffe. Saturday (9-2 loss) Hero: Lance Berkman. Three hits and an RBI as the Cardinals almost took a late lead. Goat: Tough to say. You look at what Marc Rzepczynski and Octavio Dotel did in the bottom of the eighth, taking a one-run deficit and expanding it out of reach. That said, it was the bottom of the lineup coming up in the ninth and the momentum definitely had shifted when the Phillies got out of the two-on, two-out jam after the Cards had scored two runs to get right back in it. I'll give it to Dotel, because even though Rzepczynski was charged with more runs and didn't pitch all that well, Dotel only had to get one out and instead gave up two hits that led to five runs. Notes: Jake Westbrook had his shortest outing of the year, as TLR was obviously not taking any chances on a laboring starter. He threw 71 pitches to get 13 outs and walked Shane Victorino with one out and the bases loaded for his final act. Yadier Molina had two hits, the only Cardinal besides Berkman to have a multi-hit night. Hero: Chris Carpenter. This is why he got the contract extension. In big games, it seems like he's always able to step up and he definitely did that last night. Facing an imposing team in a bandbox ballpark, Carp threw eight scoreless to give the team the win and rest a bullpen that had gotten a lot of work in the series. That's the Carpenter we know and the Carpenter that will be a legend in St. Louis for a long time to come. Goat: David Freese. Freese went 0-4 with three strikeouts and is in a bit of a slump. He's only hitting .211 in September and has struck out 13 times with only one walk during that span. Take out his 3 for 5 against the Reds in the first game of the month and he's only hitting .152. Whether he's tired from playing this many games (he's played more big league games this year than he had the last two years combined) or just slumping, you have to figure we'll see some more of Daniel Desclaso over there this week. Notes: Great night by Allen Craig, making up for his one-pitch groundout to end Saturday's threat by smashing two home runs. What La Russa was doing having him bunt before his first one is beyond me. I mean, a leadoff double in the sixth inning, not to mention when you are are already up 2-0, and you want to give up an out to get it to third? With your second place hitter in the lineup coming up? You've got to let him swing the bat. I wasn't on Twitter during that part of the game but I'm sure there were numerous people making that point, especially after the ball left the yard. St. Louis finds itself 3.5 back in the wild card with 10 to play. (Interestingly, they aren't the only ones trying to put some heat on the Braves, as the Giants have now crept to four back.) The Cards get the Phillies tonight, then host the Mets, while the Braves start a three-game set with the Marlins. It's not at all likely, but it is possible, and that's about all you can hope for right now. A look at tonight's starters here in a bit. Before I get to a giveaway (free stuff alert!), let's talk a few minutes about Tyler Greene. As I noted above, he finally got his first at-bat since being called up at the beginning of the month on Friday, after pinch-running a few times. Even though the Cards need to see what they have with him, there is a strong argument that, while they are still pushing for the wild card, Rafael Furcal needs to stay at short. I get that. I'm not 100% sure I agree, but I get that and completely understand what is going on there. However, last night the Cards started Ryan Theriot over at second base for the first time in a long while. So why did he get that start instead of Greene? Greene's played second. If you are trying to give Skip Schumaker a rest, why not give yourself a chance to evaluate a player that is possibly better than Theriot and more likely to be around next year? Theriot did double and score and didn't botch any plays, so it worked out, but it seems that if you were going to deviate from the regular lineup, this would have been a great chance to see what a guy could have done. OK, for your enjoyment (hopefully) Episode 5 of Conversations With C70 is up. I get a chance to talk with Nick from Pitchers Hit Eighth and talk we do. It's a good half-hour longer than the longest previous episode, but I think it's pretty good stuff and worth your time to take a listen. At the end of the show, I make mention of a nice opportunity for those of you that read this blog and listen to the podcast. I was sent a copy of Baseball's Greatest Games: 1985 NLCS Game 5 on DVD. Obviously, this is the "Go Crazy" game, when Ozzie Smith lines his first left-handed home run over the wall to give the Cards a win and a lead in the series. I've had a chance to watch a little bit of this and it's a lot of fun. There's not much in the way of special features or anything (though it'd be fun to see them have an interview with the people involved as a featurette) but there is one significant difference that sets this disc apart from the one that was included in the Greatest Games of Busch Stadium set that came out a few years back. You have the option to watch the game either with the TV call, which is Vin Scully doing what Vin Scully does, or you can watch the game with the KMOX radio call of Jack Buck and Mike Shannon. As great as Scully is, watching the ninth and not hearing "Go crazy, folks, go crazy!" is a little strange. Having that option is a great thing. As I say on the podcast, I've got five of these to give away. The first five that send me an email with their name and address can have one sent to them. Use "Blog Giveaway" in the subject line, if you don't mind. My address can be found on the about page of this blog. Look forward to giving these away! Today's game in Florida pits Mike Minor for the Braves against Ricky Nolasco for the Marlins. Nolasco gave up four runs in seven against the Braves last time out, while Minor gave up one in 5.2 against the Marlins in his last start. Cards, of course, have to win their game to be relevant and that's going to be the tallest of tall orders. Cardinals send out Kyle Lohse with this assignment.
The problem is, the Cardinals have to go against Roy Halladay, one of the leading contenders for the Cy Young Award and one of the best pitchers on the planet the last few years. Here's what they've done against him:
It's going to be a tough one tonight, but if the Cards are able to win it (and, even more so if they are able to gain a game) that bandwagon might be a bit more crowded tomorrow. Let's make it happen!
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 HeroesMatt Holliday (5) Matt Carpenter (4) Rafael Furcal (4) Carlos Beltran (3) Jon Jay (3) Kyle Lohse (3) Lance Lynn (3) Yadier Molina (3) David Freese (2) Jaime Garcia (2) Adam Wainwright (2) Lance Berkman (1) Allen Craig (1) Shane Robinson (1) Fernando Salas (1) Jake Westbrook (1) 2011 Top Hero: Lance Berkman (24) 2010 Top Heroes: Matt Holliday and Albert Pujols (24) 2009 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (28) 2008 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (25) GoatsMatt Holliday (4) Carlos Beltran (3) David Freese (3) Jaime Garcia (3) Marc Rzepczynski (3) Adam Wainwright (3) Rafael Furcal (2) Tyler Greene (2) Jason Motte (2) J.C. Romero (2) Fernando Salas (2) Mitchell Boggs (1) Matt Carpenter (1) Tony Cruz (1) Daniel Descalso (1) Jon Jay (1) Erik Komatsu (1) Kyle Lohse (1) Victor Marte (1) Eduardo Sanchez (1) Jake Westbrook (1) 2011 Top Goat: Ryan Theriot (12) 2010 Top Goat: Brendan Ryan (14) 2009 Top Goats: Rick Ankiel and Todd Wellemeyer (13) 2008 Top Goat: Troy Glaus (13) 2012 Happy FlightsHappy Flights: 7 Happy Flight Opportunities: 12 Happy Flight %: 58% Through 5/20 Cardinal Nation Approval Ratings (March 2012)Adam Wainwright 91.9% (down 2.8%) Chris Carpenter 90.1% (up 3.2%) Lance Berkman 88.6% Tony La Russa 88.2% (up 17.4%) Yadier Molina 87.4% (up 3.7%) Matt Holliday 87.3% (down 3.8%) David Freese 85.5% John Mozeliak 85.4% (up 13.3%) Mike Shannon 85.3% (up 0.4%) Jose Oquendo 84.7% Derrick Goold 82.8% (down 5.0%) Mark McGwire 82.6% (up 20.1%) John Rooney 81.5% (down 2.8%) Mike Matheny 81.1% Bill DeWitt 79.8% (up 8.8%) United Cardinal Bloggers 78.9% Skip Schumaker 73.3% (up 9.2%) Jim Hayes 71.9% (down 4.2%) Jon Jay 71.1% B.J. Rains 69.5% (down 0.9%) Kyle Lohse 68.9% (up 13.8%) Dan McLaughlin 68.0% Joe Strauss 67.7% (up 10.2%) Ricky Horton 67.5% (down 1.6%) Al Hrabosky 66.4% (up 3.2%) Albert Pujols 54.9% (down 45.5%) Colby Rasmus 46.5% (down 35.3%) 2011 Dave Duncan 87.9% (up 0.9%) Matthew Leach 85.5% Pop Warner 76.7% Ryan Franklin 72.8% (up 3.1%) John Vuch 68.9% Jeff Luhnow 66.4% Dan Lozano 58.7% 2009 Rick Ankiel 83.9% Chris Duncan 69.1% Looking for St. Louis Cardinals Tickets? TicketCity is your source for New York Yankees Tickets and World Series Tickets. Looking for Cardinals tickets? Stop by OnlineSeats. We’ve got Blues seats and even Rams games. Go to the coasts as well and catch a Celtics game or get Dodgers tickets. Referrals |
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