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Taking ShotsPosted on August 5, 2011 at 11:58 AM If nothing else, no one could say that the Florida trip has been boring.Filed Under: Florida Marlins | Heroes and Goats | St. Louis Cardinals There was plenty of excitement on the field last night, especially when Albert Pujols was batting. Three hits, including a home run (which means that right now HR just edge out double plays--maybe AP can push that lead out some!) usually makes for a good night for the Redbirds and it proved to be that way again last night. Matt Holliday had the higher scoring blast, a three-run shot in the first, but that was frittered away immediately by Kyle Lohse. Lohse gets the Goat for being unable to go more than three innings, throwing 75 pitches in that span. Lohse was actually lucky to give up just three runs, as Rafael Furcal made a nice diving play and there was some good outfield work as well. I only was able to listen to the first part of the game on the radio, but it sounded like Lohse a) was nibbling and b) was being hit hard. Not a good combination. Did you know that the starting pitchers had an ERA of 9.38 this last time through the rotation? And that's earned runs--Jaime Garcia gave up four unearned and Edwin Jackson allowed two of that nature. Granted, that's a little skewed by Jackson taking one for the team, but not that much. You have to go back to Jackson's debut game against the Cubs to find a good starting pitching performance. This is starting to get very concerning. If I had the time I'd see what the starting pitching splits were like pre and post-All Star Game, but since I can't seem to find that right at hand it will have to wait for another day. Hopefully the pitching staff will turn it around and it'll be a moot point. Other good points from last night's game: Skip Schumaker had three hits and Lance Berkman two. Also, there were a lot of good outings from the bullpen, but that's another issue I'd like to take up. The Cardinals left Edwin Jackson out there for a long, long while on Wednesday because they needed to rest up the bullpen. That's fine, I understand that. There comes a time when you have to do that. Apparently, it worked, because I believe it was the radio guys said that everyone was available last night. Great! Now, the next step. Someone tell Tony La Russa that, just because everyone is available, doesn't mean they all have to get into the game. I understand pulling Lohse, and putting Kyle McClellan into that spot makes very good sense. You run him three innings, which has to be done, and we're good. McClellan leaves with a four run lead. So someone tell me why it took five pitchers to get three innings in? Lance Lynn had a dominant inning. Why not leave him out there for another? Lynn obviously could handle it. That's assuming you are going to use him at all. Bob made the great point on Twitter last night (and again, if you aren't on Twitter during games, you are missing out) that Lynn should have been saved for either when this game got closer or the next night. Using a valuable piece like that in a game that shouldn't be a problem finishing is questionable. What I'm also taking issue with is the use of Marc Rzepczynski. We were told this is a guy who could be converted to a starter, who was more than a LOOGY, who can get righties out as well. His last two outings? He's walked a lefty and been replaced, then last night gave up a hit to a lefty and was replaced. It makes no sense to have pulled Jason Motte in that situation. Motte had come in and gotten a pop out and a strikeout. You are still up by four runs, even though the bases are loaded. It's true that lefties have hit him harder this year, but if you are looking that far down the line, why not just bring in Rzepczynski to replace Octavio Dotel in the first place? Just seemed like a lot of unnecessary moving parts for a game that was pretty well in hand. Especially when you factor in that TLR's already saying that Jake Westbrook "may be out there awhile" tonight. Seriously? We've revamped this bullpen and it's already worn out after one game? That should tell you something right there. Lohse created issues, sure, but I feel like Tony exacerbated them. Of course, the most serious thing to come out of last night's game was the fact that David Freese was plunked in the head. It looks like it is just a mild concussion and he may be back before the end of the series, most definitely by Milwaukee if he has his way (and the doctors agree, of course). Apparently the 7-day concussion DL won't be used here, so the Cards will be playing shorthanded again, but I'm not sure how often they do have a full roster. Seems like they are always playing shorthanded for one reason or another. The off-the-field news was just about as interesting yesterday, though. Seems like Yadier Molina and Gerald Laird got into an "animated argument" at their hotel Wednesday night. According to the press reports, it was just a verbal discussion and Pujols broke it up. Of course, Molina--who as we know was suspended five games and didn't appeal--was probably not going to play tonight due to a bruised hand according to John Rooney. I don't quite remember him bruising the hand in Wednesday's game, though I might be misremembering. Cards gained a half-game last night since the Brewers didn't play. Of course, Milwaukee is in Houston this weekend, so St. Louis can't count on any losses from the Brew Crew and they need to win all the can against the Fish. Westbrook takes the bump tonight, as noted, and here's his career against these Marlin hitters:
Anibal Sanchez goes for the opposition. His numbers:
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 HeroesMatt 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) GoatsMatt 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 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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