Blogs By FansC70 At The Bat
Sponsor


Cardinals_WideSkyscraper.jpg

Baseball Schedule is your best source for the latest St Louis Cardinals Schedule information as well as keeping up with division rivals including Cubs Schedule, Reds Schedule, Brewers Schedule and Astros Schedule.

Bet on the Cardinals with Sports Interaction's MLB betting lines


Slots Galore Casino Tournaments

Get your tickets from Bubba! Cheap St. Louis Cardinals Tickets and more, including tickets for the next MLB All-Star Game. Bubba's got Boston Red Sox Tickets and New York Yankees Tickets

Authentic, large selection of Cardinals memorabilia, guaranteed and certified.

Subscribe
RSS Feed

Archives

Players

Categories


Alliance tickets has an extensive inventory of St. Louis Cardinals Tickets , Colorado Rockies Tickets, San Francisco Giants Tickets and Seattle MarinersTickets.

With all of the St Louis tickets out there, Cardinals tickets and Rams tickets make for great presents. GoTickets.com can fill all of your sports tickets needs, just check out our testimonials!

Starting Again

Posted on July 15, 2011 at 11:29 AM
Filed Under: Cincinnati Reds | St. Louis Cardinals
Everybody good?  Rested up over that break?  Good, because if indications are right, this second half could be a doozy, so you'll need to buckle down and be ready to go.

The Cardinals start play today 1/2 game ahead of Milwaukee, a game ahead of Pittsburgh, and four games up on the Reds.  There's a preview of the second half up at the Post-Dispatch, but in my mind it boils down to whether the Cardinals will stay healthy.  The Cardinals have played without major pieces all year and now many of those pieces are back on the roster.  Adam Wainwright's out all year, of course, but Allen Craig and Eduardo Sanchez should be back in the next week or so and, after that, the DL looks a lot emptier.

The Cards also fashioned this lead with a slumping Albert Pujols, a situation that no longer seems to be applicable.  Even with his quick return from injury, he's still looking sharp and on the roll that he was on before he was hurt.  In his five games since his return, he's hit .300/.375/.500 and has looked good swinging the bat.  A potent Pujols, coupled with Matt Holliday, Lance Berkman and David Freese, will make this a lineup to be reckoned with pretty much from top to bottom.

Doesn't mean the Cards are going to win without a battle from the other teams and there are no guarantees at all in baseball, but on the whole I'd put my money on the Redbirds if I were a betting man.

Didn't get to talk much about Jaime Garcia's extension.  On the face of it, it looks like a very good thing for the club.  If Garcia ever figures out his road woes, he could (based on his work the last couple of years) be one of the top pitchers in baseball.  To keep him out of arbitration and buying out (potentially with the options) a year or so of free agency, especially as pitching prices increase, is a great move.

Looking at the future rotation is something that'll inspire Cardinal fans.  In 2013, you could have Wainwright, Garcia and Shelby Miller, with Carlos Martinez either in the rotation or coming up.  Won't that be an exciting time to be a Cardinal fan?

Cards kick off a big series with the Reds tonight.  You hate to draw any conclusions about sweeps with these two teams, but a Cardinal sweep would put Cincy seven games back.  Jake Westbrook goes against Johnny Cueto tonight.  The numbers are below.

Westbrook vs. Cincy:

PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS IBB HBP GDP
Jonny Gomes 19 17 4 0 0 1 3 2 3 .235 .316 .412 .728 0 0 0
Brandon Phillips 12 12 6 2 1 0 2 0 0 .500 .500 .833 1.333 0 0 0
Ramon Hernandez 11 11 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 .273 .273 .364 .636 0 0 0
Joey Votto 9 5 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 .200 .556 .200 .756 1 0 0
Fred Lewis 8 6 2 0 0 1 1 2 1 .333 .500 .833 1.333 0 0 0
Scott Rolen 8 8 2 0 0 1 1 0 2 .250 .250 .625 .875 0 0 0
Jay Bruce 7 7 2 1 0 1 2 0 1 .286 .286 .857 1.143 0 0 0
Miguel Cairo 6 6 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .333 .333 .333 .667 0 0 0
Ryan Hanigan 6 6 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .333 .333 .333 .667 0 0 1
Edgar Renteria 6 6 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 .500 .500 1.000 0 0 0
Drew Stubbs 5 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 .200 .000 .200 0 0 0
Chris Heisey 3 3 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 .333 .333 1.333 1.667 0 0 0
Bronson Arroyo 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0
Total 102 92 28 4 1 5 12 9 10 .304 .366 .533 .899 1 0 1
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 7/15/2011.
Not necessarily the most inspiring of numbers. Westbrook has had his struggles recently, so you can only hope he comes out fresh and focused this evening and is able to get the grounders he needs. 

Cueto vs. Cardinals
 
PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS IBB HBP GDP
Ryan Theriot 39 35 12 2 0 1 2 2 3 .343 .395 .486 .880 0 1 2
Lance Berkman 30 20 5 2 0 2 6 10 6 .250 .500 .650 1.150 0 0 0
Skip Schumaker 26 25 6 1 0 0 0 1 1 .240 .269 .280 .549 0 0 0
Albert Pujols 23 20 4 1 0 0 1 3 3 .200 .304 .250 .554 1 0 0
Colby Rasmus 23 20 7 3 0 1 3 3 4 .350 .435 .650 1.085 0 0 0
Yadier Molina 22 19 7 1 0 1 2 0 2 .368 .381 .579 .960 0 1 1
Matt Holliday 20 16 6 2 0 0 5 3 1 .375 .450 .500 .950 0 0 1
Jon Jay 13 11 6 1 0 2 5 1 2 .545 .583 1.182 1.765 0 0 0
David Freese 11 11 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 .182 .182 .182 .364 0 0 1
Daniel Descalso 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0
Chris Carpenter 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0
Jaime Garcia 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0
Kyle McClellan 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0
P.J. Walters 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0
Kyle Lohse 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 1.000 1.000 2.000 0 0 0
Total 219 187 56 13 0 7 26 23 24 .299 .379 .481 .860 1 2 5
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 7/15/2011.

Cueto has had his own problems with the Redbird hitters. (On the field--wait, I guess that still doesn't narrow it down, does it? Let's say in the normal course of play.) Cards got to him last time, but it was a 1-0 game. I had no idea Cueto's ERA was under 2. Hopefully that's different after tonight's battle.

Also, quick link for those of you interested in the minors.  Stadium Journey, a web site that reviews various parks around the country, recently added a review of Dwyer Stadium, home of the Batavia Muckdogs, the short-season Cardinal minor league team.  Check it out here to read about the park, as it gets high reviews.

Finally, yesterday was the fourth anniversary of this blog.  The description of the blog I wrote then still is fairly accurate, though most of those other blogs have gone away and my focus is on this one.  So if you ever are wondering if Kip Wells did anything worthy in his time in St. Louis, perhaps inspiring me to write would be on your list.  Thanks for reading for the last four years and I hope you'll stick around for many more!

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta


Leave a comment




2 Comments

2 Comments | Leave a comment

user-pic
Tara | July 15, 2011 1:56 PM | Reply

Boy, does that 2013 starting rotation look exciting! But for now ... this series with the Reds has the potential to set the tone for the second half. Obviously, there's still a massive amount of baseball left. But with a revitalized (translated: HEALTHY!) team, a little momentum gained at the expense of the Reds would certainly not be a bad thing.

user-pic
Chris | July 15, 2011 2:05 PM | Reply

Happy anniversary!

Leave a comment




Cardinals_MediumRectangle.jpg

UCB_11_trans_dark_sm.png

Search



BallHyped Best Sports Blogs Book
This blog was featured in the Best Sports Blogs of 2010 Book!
• Pick up the limited print edition
• Free Best Sports Blogs ebook 


United Cardinal Bloggers

FRIENDS OF THE UCB


Download the iPhone or Android UCB app by clicking on the nice orange picture.
Open in Mobile App 

And check out the UCB Network over at LockerDome!
lockerdome-share_63x63.png
  



Other Cardinal Blogs

Recommended Cardinal Forum

Other Cardinal Sites

General Baseball Blogs/Sites



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%


    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