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Is Hope Still Alive?

Posted on September 8, 2011 at 6:48 AM
Filed Under: Atlanta Braves | Heroes and Goats | Milwaukee Brewers | St. Louis Cardinals
While the Cardinals are well out of the divisional race, even with last night's win over Milwaukee cutting that lead to 8.5 games, suddenly there's a lot more talk about going after the wild card.  First, let's look at the game, then let's talk about whether fans really should be getting their hopes up.

Last night's game was a vintage Chris Carpenter start.  Complete game shutout, less than 100 pitches, continually keeping the Brewers off balance.  After two straight rough outings, it was good to see the strong Carpenter show up at a time where the team really needed it.  It's worth remembering that last September, Carpenter stumbled down the stretch before throwing a complete game in his last outing.  Hopefully that won't be the case this year, that he's gotten adjusted a little earlier, because if the Cards are going to run down Atlanta, he's got to be a large part of it.  Interesting note that his last shutout was exactly two years ago against the Brewers.  That's just kinda freaky.

Lots of other strong performances last night as well.  Albert Pujols got two hits, plus hit a drive almost to the wall.  Batting average: .295.  Jon Jay had three hits, continuing to ease concerns about the slump he had right after the Colby Rasmus trade.  Lance Berkman had two hits, starting to come out of that nasty slump he'd been in as well.

In fact, I guess you have to give the Goat to Skip Schumaker because he was the only one without a hit or an RBI.  Yadier Molina went 0-2 also, but his sacrifice fly brought in the only run Carpenter was going to need.

We also cannot leave last night's game without discussing the dustup in the ninth.  Nyjer Morgan struck out, took exception to something, threw his chewing tobacco at Carpenter, drawing Pujols's attention, and then was thrown out.

There are characters in baseball, there is no doubt about it, and on the whole, characters make the game fun.  The dull rote ballplayer, while common, doesn't necessarily endear himself to fans.  That said, Morgan goes way over the line, and I think I'd say that even if he were a Cardinal.

Obviously, this isn't the first time that Morgan has had a run-in with a Cardinal player, taking out Bryan Anderson at the plate when Anderson wasn't looking last year.  Plus, all series he's been going way over the top, including a show of raising his hands and acting out after a single (not even a run-scoring single, I don't believe) on Tuesday night.

So if Carpenter cursed at him after striking him out, honestly, I can understand that.  It goes under the "if you dish it out, take it" general rule.  Morgan can't get worked up about something that didn't show him up (as the crowd probably had no idea that Carpenter said anything, if he did) unlike his normal actions.

Of course, Morgan can't stop there.  (Can Morgan stop at all?  Does he have any control button whatsoever?)  He has to get on Twitter and take it a step further, while calling Pujols "Alberta".  If I were Morgan, I think I'd just have been thankful that Pujols isn't the type to incite violence, because AP would have taken him down in a heartbeat if so.

I'm honestly not sure Morgan didn't lose a card or two from his deck somewhere along the line, which is probably the persona he wants to portray.  His game, while nice, isn't enough to be memorable (or to keep him a job, necessarily) so he relies on this wacky personality stuff to keep him employed and in the headlines.

What might be more disturbing is Albert's quote about, this incident excepted, he "likes the guy" and wouldn't mind having him on his team.  Now, from all indications Pujols may have been one of those veterans that was unsettled by Brendan Ryan in the clubhouse.  Ryan, however, is a paragon of calmness compared to Morgan.  As our friend Rob says, really?  You'd rather Morgan over Ryan?  I'll chalk this up to either 1) being diplomatic or 2) a misunderstanding about Pujols's role in Ryan's departure.  Otherwise, it's pretty much impossible to reconcile.

OK, so the wild card.  Should we keep holding our breath there?  Is it a realistic possibility?

Compared to the division, of course, it really is.  The Brewers are up 8.5 and the Cards don't play them again.  Atlanta, the wild card leader, is up 6.5 and the Cards are about to have a three game series against them starting Friday.  The Cardinals have started to put a few things together (at least, it seems like it today, but the downward slope of the roller coaster could be coming) and are 7-3 in their last 10.  The Braves are scuffling a bit, going 3-7 in that span.

The problem is, all these wild card hopes really rely on the Cards sweeping this weekend.  That'd cut the lead to 3.5 and the Cards would have games with Pittsburgh, the Cubs, the Mets, and Houston left, plus a big four game series with Philadelphia mixed in there.  Atlanta will face Florida twice, the Mets, Washington and then three with Philly to end the season.  The Cards might have the edge there, especially if it's only a game or so going into the last week of the season.

I still have a lot of problems believing that this team can put together enough of a run to really make up that kind of ground, though.  Even if Atlanta loses both games of today's doubleheader while the Cards are idle (which isn't a great bet), St. Louis at best will be 2.5 back after the weekend.  That'd be great, but that's got a lot of ifs in it and require a lot of great play.  If Atlanta sweeps today, the best the Cards can do is 4.5 after a sweep, and that's a pretty good gap when there's only roughly 15 games left.

The Cards face a Braves rookie in the opener (and we know what rookie pitchers can do to the Birds), Derek Lowe in the middle game (who is having a terrible year) and Tim Hudson in the finale (who is always tough).  I wouldn't put money on a sweep.

Still, there's hope, which is more than we could have said a few days ago.  It's not out of the actual realm of possibility that they could catch the Braves, so that's what we'll be rooting for. 

Couple of quick links.  First off, one of our new readers writes a Dodgers blog and posed me a few questions about the Cardinals, the Dodgers, and MLB in general.  You can read that interview over at Dodger Blue Forever.

Secondly, I think I mentioned the guys over at Sign Pujols earlier this season.  They were selling yard signs that had that slogan, with the money going to the Pujols Family Foundation.  Apparently the Foundation was thrilled with the idea, but Dan Lazano has asked them to stop selling the signs.  They don't plan to do that, though, so keep an eye over there and if you feel the urge, buy a sign.

We'll talk more about the opener of the Braves series tomorrow!

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1 Comments

1 Comment | Leave a comment

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Format | September 8, 2011 11:30 AM | Reply

that Niger Morgan has issues. you couldn't pay me to have him on my team. too loud, and too many issues. he's a head case. he's lucky Pujols is a nice guy and didn't break him in half.
that Chris Carpenter is one heck of a pitcher, I don't think we've ever beaten him, nor will we ever.

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Heroes
Matt Holliday (5)
Matt Carpenter (4)
Rafael Furcal (4)
Carlos Beltran (3)
Jaime Garcia (3)
Jon Jay (3)
Kyle Lohse (3)
Lance Lynn (3)
Yadier Molina (3)
David Freese (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)

Goats
Matt Holliday (4)
Carlos Beltran (3)
David Freese (3)
Jaime Garcia (3)
Jason Motte (3)
Marc Rzepczynski (3)
Adam Wainwright (3)
Rafael Furcal (2)
Tyler Greene (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 Flights
Happy 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%


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