Remember Me??
My status is waning in the blogosphere. My updates are just about never and I simply haven't had much motivation lately, plus I was gone for Fourth of July weekend and this week I am in the process of the big move back to Illinois. I haven't even been reading Baseball Prospectus lately. Let me throw this out there though before I talk about the bullpen. Congrats to our all-stars, they were all quite deserving, thank god we only have to play the giants one more time this season, and please God, fix Matty Mo for us.
Bullpen
The bullpen has faded into the background in terms of what's harming the team. Sure there are still shaky moments, becasue Tony continues to bring Fassero and Yan into pressure-packed situations. But Izzy is erasing the ninth, Eldred looks to be maintaining, and Lance Painter is doing a decent job. Now if we could get Kline right and get one more new arm in here, the pen would be looking pretty good. Put it this way, the pen isn't why we've been losing games lately. Yes, they did blow a one-run lead over the course of four innings in Chicago on Saturday, but those were a couple of the cheapest ways to score runs that you'll ever see. The problem continues to be in the rotation that is short on good outings, and an offense that brings a whole new level of meaning to the term all-or-nothing. At least we finally broke those wretched streaks this weekend. We lost a game when scoring more than four runs, and we won a game scoring less than eight runs. If this team could ever find any sort of consistency, they would run away with the division.
Wednesday, July 02, 2003
ROTATION
What started out the season as a question mark briefly became a team strength and has now plunged into it's biggest weakness. Matt Morris and Woody Williams were two of the best five starters in the NL during the seasons first quarter. As a result of their great pitching and the bullpen's terrible performance, LaRussa rode them into the ground, much to the dismay of people who knew anything about baseball. Why a smart person such as Tony had such trouble comprehending this is beyond me. The big one for Morris was when he was left into to finish a shutout against the Pirates coming off of several high pitch outings in a row. Basically he has pitched poorly ever since then. Now, even Woody is feeling the effects. He has been hit hard two outings in a row at Busch Stadium. Brett Tomko was supposed to be a reliable third starter and he almost got sent to the bullpen after going from April 25 until mid-June without a win. Tomko pitched quite well at the beginning of the season but then went into a horrible funk where he was a total headcase. He seem to have righted himself somewhat, but the Cards need more from him if they are going to make the playoffs. Hopefully, tomorrow is Jason Simontacchi's last start. He has stunk it up for most of the season, with only a couple of good starts. The Cards called up Dan Haren way before they expected they would, and he pitched well against the Giants, so don't be surprised if Simontacchi, who is basically taking over for Morris this time in the rotation, gets sent to the pen, or even back to Memphis now that Russ Springer is almost ready to be activated. If Simo struggles Thursday and the Cards end up sending Haren back down, TLR is a liar, because his company line is that the five best pitchers will start. Anyone with half a brain can make a choice between Simo and Dan Haren. Meanwhile, Garret Stephenson has been very average. He has some good starts, some bad tarts, and some mediocre ones. It would be a real lift to this team if Stephenson could be counted on in the least, but he seems to be a totally different pitcher from start to start.
So where does leave the Cards? Well for starters, it leaves them unable to put together a long winning streak. They failed once again to get to a high-water mark above .500 on the season with their loss Monday night, and they lost again last night, dropping back down to four games over even. Basically, if the Cards aren't having one of their nights where they pound the ball all over the ballpark, they're going to lose. Starters routinely are giving up four or more runs. What can be done? Well, there's not enough cash for Chuck Finley and there are few pitchers worth trading for. Scott Schoeneweis is a name that's been making the rounds and he'd certainly be an improvement over Simontacchi. Chris Carpenter, originally penned for long relief, may end up being a starter now when he comes back, but if that's the case, he'll need at least a couple weeks, probably more, to be ready to that at the major league level. Until the Cards can get consistent starting pitching, don't expect them to be making any big moves in the standings. Stephenson starts tonight againt Frisco rookie Jerome Williams. Garrett actually pitched pretty well, the last time out but his defense killed him allowing three unearned runs.
What started out the season as a question mark briefly became a team strength and has now plunged into it's biggest weakness. Matt Morris and Woody Williams were two of the best five starters in the NL during the seasons first quarter. As a result of their great pitching and the bullpen's terrible performance, LaRussa rode them into the ground, much to the dismay of people who knew anything about baseball. Why a smart person such as Tony had such trouble comprehending this is beyond me. The big one for Morris was when he was left into to finish a shutout against the Pirates coming off of several high pitch outings in a row. Basically he has pitched poorly ever since then. Now, even Woody is feeling the effects. He has been hit hard two outings in a row at Busch Stadium. Brett Tomko was supposed to be a reliable third starter and he almost got sent to the bullpen after going from April 25 until mid-June without a win. Tomko pitched quite well at the beginning of the season but then went into a horrible funk where he was a total headcase. He seem to have righted himself somewhat, but the Cards need more from him if they are going to make the playoffs. Hopefully, tomorrow is Jason Simontacchi's last start. He has stunk it up for most of the season, with only a couple of good starts. The Cards called up Dan Haren way before they expected they would, and he pitched well against the Giants, so don't be surprised if Simontacchi, who is basically taking over for Morris this time in the rotation, gets sent to the pen, or even back to Memphis now that Russ Springer is almost ready to be activated. If Simo struggles Thursday and the Cards end up sending Haren back down, TLR is a liar, because his company line is that the five best pitchers will start. Anyone with half a brain can make a choice between Simo and Dan Haren. Meanwhile, Garret Stephenson has been very average. He has some good starts, some bad tarts, and some mediocre ones. It would be a real lift to this team if Stephenson could be counted on in the least, but he seems to be a totally different pitcher from start to start.
So where does leave the Cards? Well for starters, it leaves them unable to put together a long winning streak. They failed once again to get to a high-water mark above .500 on the season with their loss Monday night, and they lost again last night, dropping back down to four games over even. Basically, if the Cards aren't having one of their nights where they pound the ball all over the ballpark, they're going to lose. Starters routinely are giving up four or more runs. What can be done? Well, there's not enough cash for Chuck Finley and there are few pitchers worth trading for. Scott Schoeneweis is a name that's been making the rounds and he'd certainly be an improvement over Simontacchi. Chris Carpenter, originally penned for long relief, may end up being a starter now when he comes back, but if that's the case, he'll need at least a couple weeks, probably more, to be ready to that at the major league level. Until the Cards can get consistent starting pitching, don't expect them to be making any big moves in the standings. Stephenson starts tonight againt Frisco rookie Jerome Williams. Garrett actually pitched pretty well, the last time out but his defense killed him allowing three unearned runs.
Tuesday, July 01, 2003
MANAGING/FRONT OFFICE
I don't want to get into too much talk about this, but I think that it's clear that TLR has/is made/making two big mistakes right now. He has pushed Matt Morris way too hard, including back-to-back complete games earlier this season, and it has shown up in Morris' pithing before we even made it to the All-Star Break. He had an ERA near 2 at one point, now it is close to 4. Woody Williams has been overused as well but hasn't shown as much damaged effect as Matty Mo. The other mistake is an improper use of the bench. Letting a guy like Wilson Delgado be on the team is just a joke. Bring Bill Selby up, who cares if he isn't any good at second, at least he is a viable option as a pinch-hitter. Even if Bo Hart loses his starting spot one he cools off and Cairo and Vina return, hopefully at the least the pet rock named Wilson Delgado will be expunged then. Having Kerry Robinson and So taguchi on the club at any point in the season is a mistake too. Does anyone look at the minor-league numbers? Hello, for the last fricking time, Jon Nunnally???
Walt gambled and lost with the pen. The Tino signing and the huge money doled out to Woody and Rolen have choked the team off financially, though the two of them have performed very well. It will be interesting to see what Walt pulls off this year at the deadline. It could be his finest hour or his biggest failure. He has said publicly that the Cards want to acquire another starter and possibly another reliever.
I don't want to get into too much talk about this, but I think that it's clear that TLR has/is made/making two big mistakes right now. He has pushed Matt Morris way too hard, including back-to-back complete games earlier this season, and it has shown up in Morris' pithing before we even made it to the All-Star Break. He had an ERA near 2 at one point, now it is close to 4. Woody Williams has been overused as well but hasn't shown as much damaged effect as Matty Mo. The other mistake is an improper use of the bench. Letting a guy like Wilson Delgado be on the team is just a joke. Bring Bill Selby up, who cares if he isn't any good at second, at least he is a viable option as a pinch-hitter. Even if Bo Hart loses his starting spot one he cools off and Cairo and Vina return, hopefully at the least the pet rock named Wilson Delgado will be expunged then. Having Kerry Robinson and So taguchi on the club at any point in the season is a mistake too. Does anyone look at the minor-league numbers? Hello, for the last fricking time, Jon Nunnally???
Walt gambled and lost with the pen. The Tino signing and the huge money doled out to Woody and Rolen have choked the team off financially, though the two of them have performed very well. It will be interesting to see what Walt pulls off this year at the deadline. It could be his finest hour or his biggest failure. He has said publicly that the Cards want to acquire another starter and possibly another reliever.
IT"S THE DAILY REDBIRD MID-SEASON REPORT!!
Okay, the Cards are halfway home, with a 43-38 loss after last night's 5-1 loss to Jason Schmidt. They are in first place by a game, despite being on pace for only an 86-76 record. Would 85 or 86 wins take this division?? Probably not, because better teams tend to do better now in the late season, since they are playing teams that may have dumped several of their better players. But it should be a great race for a couple reasons.
1. It doesn't look like the second place finisher will get the wild-card, meaning it's winner-take-all in the division.
2. Every team in the race has a major flaw. The Cubs have a weak hitting team, the cardinals have poor pitching, and the Astros have weak starting pitching past Miller and Oswalt. If you want to include the Reds in this, well they don't really do anything well escept hit homers and make comebacks. Each team has their strength too. The Cubs starters, the Cards hitters, and the Astros pen. All in all, it should make for a fun August and September.
If I had to pick a winner right now I'd have to pick the Cards. You can't ignore what they've done in the second half the last three years. Also, their team strength is the one that is least likely to wear down. The Cubs starters will assuredly tire under their heavy workloads, and the Astros pen is pitching an incredible number of innings. Meanwhile, the Cards will continue to get more and more healthy as the season progresses. Izzy's return has alreay made a difference. Walt's just going to have to make another trade to get some more pitching help in here.
Okay, the Cards are halfway home, with a 43-38 loss after last night's 5-1 loss to Jason Schmidt. They are in first place by a game, despite being on pace for only an 86-76 record. Would 85 or 86 wins take this division?? Probably not, because better teams tend to do better now in the late season, since they are playing teams that may have dumped several of their better players. But it should be a great race for a couple reasons.
1. It doesn't look like the second place finisher will get the wild-card, meaning it's winner-take-all in the division.
2. Every team in the race has a major flaw. The Cubs have a weak hitting team, the cardinals have poor pitching, and the Astros have weak starting pitching past Miller and Oswalt. If you want to include the Reds in this, well they don't really do anything well escept hit homers and make comebacks. Each team has their strength too. The Cubs starters, the Cards hitters, and the Astros pen. All in all, it should make for a fun August and September.
If I had to pick a winner right now I'd have to pick the Cards. You can't ignore what they've done in the second half the last three years. Also, their team strength is the one that is least likely to wear down. The Cubs starters will assuredly tire under their heavy workloads, and the Astros pen is pitching an incredible number of innings. Meanwhile, the Cards will continue to get more and more healthy as the season progresses. Izzy's return has alreay made a difference. Walt's just going to have to make another trade to get some more pitching help in here.
Sunday, June 29, 2003
THE MAD DOG IS BACK!!!! (AND THE CARDS ARE SOMEHOW IN FIRST PLACE!)
That's right baby, I am back from my most recent stint on the DL (I am the JD Drew of the Blogosphere) and the Cards are where they belong, in sole posession of first place as the season hits the halfway point.
What has happened since I left you? A whole hell of a lot. The Cards dropped two of three at home against KC, then lost a 14-inning marathon that was as confounding of a loss as the club has had all season to the stupid Reds. But then the Bats got freak nasty, winning a pair against Cincy and then taking two of three in KC. While the St. Louis pitching continues to be quite awful, the offense is simply out of this galaxy. In winning 4 of the last 5, the Birdos have crossed home 49 times. They currently reside one game ahead of the Cubs and a game and a half over the Astros, both of whom are bumbling somewhat. 43-37 is the record, and tomorrow the Cards will try to make it to seven games over .500 for the first time this season against the Frisco G-Men, who are in town for a four-game set.
This season has been just about as weird as any year I can remember. The team has been ravaged by injuries. They had another casualty last night when Kiko Calero tore his patellar tendon and was lost for the season. J.D. Drew and Joe Girardi both left today's game with injuries, though they don't appear to be serious. Meanwhile, Vina, Cairo, Marrero, will all be back later this summer, and Chris Carpenter and Russ Springer are currently rehabbing, while Jimmy Journell made his major-league debut today. Izzy is finally back and as nasty as ever, and the Cards are still sniffing for another starter and reliever. The pitching has been crap but the offense has been incredible. Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, Edgar Renteria, and Scott Rolen form the most potent slugging quartet on the planet. Drew has been awesome when he's been able to play, and even Tino has picked it up lately. But let's not forget about the Magic Man, BO HART! He's only batting about .450 thru his first dozen big league games. How are we going to send this kid back down?? Yo Fernando, Miguel, are you guys taking notes? This is all I'm going to say tonight, but tomorrow, get ready for the mid-season "State of the Cardinals" extravaganza, as I will run down the performance of every player to don the red and white in 2003, with a look at the minors as well. It's going to be HUGE.
By the way, did you catch Mike Shannon today saying that there may be a surprise starter tomorrow? What's that all about? How about a clone of Bob Gibson from 1968?
That's right baby, I am back from my most recent stint on the DL (I am the JD Drew of the Blogosphere) and the Cards are where they belong, in sole posession of first place as the season hits the halfway point.
What has happened since I left you? A whole hell of a lot. The Cards dropped two of three at home against KC, then lost a 14-inning marathon that was as confounding of a loss as the club has had all season to the stupid Reds. But then the Bats got freak nasty, winning a pair against Cincy and then taking two of three in KC. While the St. Louis pitching continues to be quite awful, the offense is simply out of this galaxy. In winning 4 of the last 5, the Birdos have crossed home 49 times. They currently reside one game ahead of the Cubs and a game and a half over the Astros, both of whom are bumbling somewhat. 43-37 is the record, and tomorrow the Cards will try to make it to seven games over .500 for the first time this season against the Frisco G-Men, who are in town for a four-game set.
This season has been just about as weird as any year I can remember. The team has been ravaged by injuries. They had another casualty last night when Kiko Calero tore his patellar tendon and was lost for the season. J.D. Drew and Joe Girardi both left today's game with injuries, though they don't appear to be serious. Meanwhile, Vina, Cairo, Marrero, will all be back later this summer, and Chris Carpenter and Russ Springer are currently rehabbing, while Jimmy Journell made his major-league debut today. Izzy is finally back and as nasty as ever, and the Cards are still sniffing for another starter and reliever. The pitching has been crap but the offense has been incredible. Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, Edgar Renteria, and Scott Rolen form the most potent slugging quartet on the planet. Drew has been awesome when he's been able to play, and even Tino has picked it up lately. But let's not forget about the Magic Man, BO HART! He's only batting about .450 thru his first dozen big league games. How are we going to send this kid back down?? Yo Fernando, Miguel, are you guys taking notes? This is all I'm going to say tonight, but tomorrow, get ready for the mid-season "State of the Cardinals" extravaganza, as I will run down the performance of every player to don the red and white in 2003, with a look at the minors as well. It's going to be HUGE.
By the way, did you catch Mike Shannon today saying that there may be a surprise starter tomorrow? What's that all about? How about a clone of Bob Gibson from 1968?
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
Thursday, June 19, 2003
A GAME OUT
I meant post-game commentary. Here 'tis....
Bo knows baseball. I didn't realize Bo Hart would even be present for this game. Not only was he there, he was awesome! In his first major league game, Hart doubled (1st major-league AB), tripled, and walked. J.D. Drew also doubled and tripled, Pujols went long again, and the Cards won 8-4.
A good day to get a win, because Edmonds, Rolen, Martinez, and Matheny all took the day off. Way to go scrubs! The first three of that quartet are all nursing injuries but I would expect them all to be in the lineup tomorrow night against KC, whose pitching staff is taking a serious beating from the Twins right now.
Brett Tomko pitched six and gave up two ernies to get his first win in nearly two months. Good for him, and hopefully it builds some confidence. Anybody's guess as to whether Calero gets another start, but if not, the pen could still surely use him.
Esteban Yan is trying everything he can to show LaRussa that he's only usable for one inning at a time (and that's when he's on) The Brewers got the tying run to the on-deck circle in the ninth off Yanni.
Fortunately, Kline came in and got Geoff Jenkins, and then Izzy came in AND NOTCHED HIS FIRST SAVE OF THE YEAR!! WAY TO GO IZZY!!! Lance Painter came in and got Jenkins to hit into a DP in the seventh with one pitch, Lance's only of the day.
The Cubbies lost, so the Cards have moved within a game of first as they head to Busch. Hey, it was a 5-5 road trip and if you would have ofered me that when we set out, I would've taken it in a heartbeat.
I meant post-game commentary. Here 'tis....
Bo knows baseball. I didn't realize Bo Hart would even be present for this game. Not only was he there, he was awesome! In his first major league game, Hart doubled (1st major-league AB), tripled, and walked. J.D. Drew also doubled and tripled, Pujols went long again, and the Cards won 8-4.
A good day to get a win, because Edmonds, Rolen, Martinez, and Matheny all took the day off. Way to go scrubs! The first three of that quartet are all nursing injuries but I would expect them all to be in the lineup tomorrow night against KC, whose pitching staff is taking a serious beating from the Twins right now.
Brett Tomko pitched six and gave up two ernies to get his first win in nearly two months. Good for him, and hopefully it builds some confidence. Anybody's guess as to whether Calero gets another start, but if not, the pen could still surely use him.
Esteban Yan is trying everything he can to show LaRussa that he's only usable for one inning at a time (and that's when he's on) The Brewers got the tying run to the on-deck circle in the ninth off Yanni.
Fortunately, Kline came in and got Geoff Jenkins, and then Izzy came in AND NOTCHED HIS FIRST SAVE OF THE YEAR!! WAY TO GO IZZY!!! Lance Painter came in and got Jenkins to hit into a DP in the seventh with one pitch, Lance's only of the day.
The Cubbies lost, so the Cards have moved within a game of first as they head to Busch. Hey, it was a 5-5 road trip and if you would have ofered me that when we set out, I would've taken it in a heartbeat.
Cairo to the DL
Miguel Cairo became a victim of the beanball fest going on between the Brewers and Cards last night. He was hit with a pitch and broke a bone in his hand and will be sidelined for 3-5 weeks. With Fernando Vina out at least that long and probably longer, the Cards are running thin on options. Today, Wilson Delgado will surely get the start there and Bo Hart is going to be called up from AAA Memphis. Hart is having a decent year, hitting .298 with 7 homers and 31 knocked in, but doesn't show much plate discipline and strikes out a lot. He is a decent fielder. I would want to say that the Cards are going to pursue some kind of temporary option at second but again, I guess the money just really isn't there to do that. A good question will be whether Delgado or Hart will start, and also, who will bat leadoff? My vote would be for Renteria, so that way Drew can continue to get a few more RBI opportunities. On days he is playing vote is for Orlando Palmeiro. Losing Cairo honestly doesn't hurt that much. He does get hot with the bat every now and then (witness the last two games) but he's not a good hitter or fielder over the course of much time. Of course, the replacements aren't going to be much either. But the Cards could certainly use some more depth. Bill Selby is still killing the ball at AAA but third is his natural position. He has played two games at second and will perhaps get more work there now. Meanwhile Jon Nunnally continues to be twice the offensive force that K-Rob is and continues to languish. Sigh.....
I'll have some game commentary today., in case you're into that sort of thing. First pitch in one hour.....
Miguel Cairo became a victim of the beanball fest going on between the Brewers and Cards last night. He was hit with a pitch and broke a bone in his hand and will be sidelined for 3-5 weeks. With Fernando Vina out at least that long and probably longer, the Cards are running thin on options. Today, Wilson Delgado will surely get the start there and Bo Hart is going to be called up from AAA Memphis. Hart is having a decent year, hitting .298 with 7 homers and 31 knocked in, but doesn't show much plate discipline and strikes out a lot. He is a decent fielder. I would want to say that the Cards are going to pursue some kind of temporary option at second but again, I guess the money just really isn't there to do that. A good question will be whether Delgado or Hart will start, and also, who will bat leadoff? My vote would be for Renteria, so that way Drew can continue to get a few more RBI opportunities. On days he is playing vote is for Orlando Palmeiro. Losing Cairo honestly doesn't hurt that much. He does get hot with the bat every now and then (witness the last two games) but he's not a good hitter or fielder over the course of much time. Of course, the replacements aren't going to be much either. But the Cards could certainly use some more depth. Bill Selby is still killing the ball at AAA but third is his natural position. He has played two games at second and will perhaps get more work there now. Meanwhile Jon Nunnally continues to be twice the offensive force that K-Rob is and continues to languish. Sigh.....
I'll have some game commentary today., in case you're into that sort of thing. First pitch in one hour.....
Wednesday, June 18, 2003
Hermy Goes Bye-Bye
Well, even in my pessimistic mood that I am currently fighting through the events of tonight had to make me a smile. First, the front office must have read their Daily Redbird today because they designated Dustin Hermanson for assignment before activating Lance Painter from the DL. The organization's hope is that Hermanson will clear waivers and go to Memphis to work on starting again. Secondly, the not-watching the game worked again, as the Cards whooped the Brew-Dogs for the second night in a row. Rolen got back in the lineup and Edmonds took the night off after his Bump Bailey impersonation in the ninth last night. Glendon Rusch is a shoo-in for Baseball Prospectus' Hacking MASS pitcher of the year. He gave up eight in one-plus tonight. He is now at 1-11 with an ERA near 9. (Hacking MASS is a measure of how bad a player can be and still play regularly). Third, Jason Simontacchi pitched well. That's three good starts in a row by Cardinal pitchers, and even though it's the Brewers, this staff needed them. Billy Wagner showed his human side and blew a save putting the Cards a half game back of the Astros while staying two behind the Cubs. Simo needed this start to keep his place in the rotation most likely. Now it's up to Brett Tomko to keep it going. A bad start by him and the team would have to seriously consider putting him in the pen or skipping a start to get his out of his butt. We shall see.....
Lance Painter and Izzy both got into action tonight. It was a great game for Painter to make his return to the big club in with the wide margin. He pitched to two lefties and got them both out. Izzy is still feeling his way back but he did throw another scoreless frame. He allowed two walks and no hits and the Cards won 9-1. One of the nice things about tonight's game is that we got lots of contributions from the secondary guys. Ed Perez, Cairo, and Palmeiro all had good games. And Albert is still just the Big Nasty. He was 4 for 5 with a walk, and is hitting .385 in addition to regularly drawing comparisons to Ted Williams on Baseball Tonight.
Tomko goes tomorrow against Ruben Quevedo. A great chance for the good guys to take three of four while giving their aces an extra day of rest.
Well, even in my pessimistic mood that I am currently fighting through the events of tonight had to make me a smile. First, the front office must have read their Daily Redbird today because they designated Dustin Hermanson for assignment before activating Lance Painter from the DL. The organization's hope is that Hermanson will clear waivers and go to Memphis to work on starting again. Secondly, the not-watching the game worked again, as the Cards whooped the Brew-Dogs for the second night in a row. Rolen got back in the lineup and Edmonds took the night off after his Bump Bailey impersonation in the ninth last night. Glendon Rusch is a shoo-in for Baseball Prospectus' Hacking MASS pitcher of the year. He gave up eight in one-plus tonight. He is now at 1-11 with an ERA near 9. (Hacking MASS is a measure of how bad a player can be and still play regularly). Third, Jason Simontacchi pitched well. That's three good starts in a row by Cardinal pitchers, and even though it's the Brewers, this staff needed them. Billy Wagner showed his human side and blew a save putting the Cards a half game back of the Astros while staying two behind the Cubs. Simo needed this start to keep his place in the rotation most likely. Now it's up to Brett Tomko to keep it going. A bad start by him and the team would have to seriously consider putting him in the pen or skipping a start to get his out of his butt. We shall see.....
Lance Painter and Izzy both got into action tonight. It was a great game for Painter to make his return to the big club in with the wide margin. He pitched to two lefties and got them both out. Izzy is still feeling his way back but he did throw another scoreless frame. He allowed two walks and no hits and the Cards won 9-1. One of the nice things about tonight's game is that we got lots of contributions from the secondary guys. Ed Perez, Cairo, and Palmeiro all had good games. And Albert is still just the Big Nasty. He was 4 for 5 with a walk, and is hitting .385 in addition to regularly drawing comparisons to Ted Williams on Baseball Tonight.
Tomko goes tomorrow against Ruben Quevedo. A great chance for the good guys to take three of four while giving their aces an extra day of rest.
??????????????
I read in the Post-Dispatch today that it could be Kiko Calero who gets optioned to Memphis when Lance Painter returns from the DL tonight. This would be akin to those in charge not wanting to win. Maybe Calero doesn't belong in the bullpen. But he certainly proved that as of this moment he is one of our five best starting options. That's what Tony always says right? We're going to go wih the best five we've got? Well, kicking Calero off the big club in favor of keeping Hermanson or Yan on the team is patently ridiculous. I don't care if we have to eat a contract or not. Hermanson certainly is going to be nothing more than limited help for this team. Yan has been pretty bad and giving him up only involves admitting that he was a failed low-risk acquisition. If Calero goes down, my only hope is that he comes back up if/when the starting pitching continues to be miserable. Yes, I am going thru a pessimistic phase, sue me.
I read in the Post-Dispatch today that it could be Kiko Calero who gets optioned to Memphis when Lance Painter returns from the DL tonight. This would be akin to those in charge not wanting to win. Maybe Calero doesn't belong in the bullpen. But he certainly proved that as of this moment he is one of our five best starting options. That's what Tony always says right? We're going to go wih the best five we've got? Well, kicking Calero off the big club in favor of keeping Hermanson or Yan on the team is patently ridiculous. I don't care if we have to eat a contract or not. Hermanson certainly is going to be nothing more than limited help for this team. Yan has been pretty bad and giving him up only involves admitting that he was a failed low-risk acquisition. If Calero goes down, my only hope is that he comes back up if/when the starting pitching continues to be miserable. Yes, I am going thru a pessimistic phase, sue me.
Tuesday, June 17, 2003
Sickness
I got sick Sunday night and was starting to feel better until last night, when the Bullpen reached perhaps the very nadir of the valley of suckiness. Cal Eldred is starting to become Eldred for the wrong people again. Between the Thursday night thriller and last night's game, Eldred's sequence of batters has gone: Walk, homer, out, single, triple, out, homer, single, single, walk (on four pitchers to a batter who was trying to sacrifice bunt). That's six hits and 2 walks, including a triple and two homers in 2/3 of an inning. I guess it's safe to say Cal ain't the closer anymore. Fassero gave up a homer to Geoff Jenkins, the first one Jenkins has hit all year against a lefty. Kline came in and wasn't very good, though to be fair Miguel Cairo gave the Brewers three extra outs. Cairo had one of the worst all-around games I've ever seen. He left runners on all game long with medium-range can of corn fly balls and he made two bad plays in the infield in the seventh. TLR finally woke up and got him out of the leadoff slot tonight and he responded with a three-run homer.
I was angry enough last night that I took up another vow to stop watching games. It worked kind of, as I watched little of tonights 12-3 victory. Pujols had another great game and Garrett Stephenson turned in his second consecutive good start. Edmonds went crashing into the wall with two outs in the ninth of a nine-run game. I'm sure that'll get the Tony haters worked up, but how bout Jimmy maybe just don't lay out for that one hmm? Rolen sat out his second straight game with a neck injury. Yes, we're banged up, and yes our pitching is still more than shaky than a speed addict at 7 am. We're still only two games out though. I just keep telling myself that.
Matty Mo and Woody are getting their next starts pushed back to Friday and Saturday, against the Royals at home. The extra day of rest is needed. The public outcry over the abuse of those two has been goig on for awhile, but now their performances have slipped. It also gets them in line to both face the Cuns the next time we lock up with them. Simo gets a chance to keep the two-game streak of good starting pitching goign tomorrow against Glendon Rusch. He didn't look too bad against the Yankees but was left in too long (of course) because Tony still hates the pen. Lance Painter is coming back, who will be exiled? An open question, as Yan and Hermanson have been better of late, and Tony still seems to have more faith in Fassero than either of them. If Simo bombs tomorrow I am favor of moving Calero into the rotation and putting Painter in the pen. The Cards still need to be looking outside the organization but I don't know if that's happening. The arrogance this offseason was at an all-time high. The team ran itself to the limit financially thinking it wouldn't need to make any upgrades. Guess again: When part of that equation is putting a bunch of retread arms in the pen and then making trades for guys like Esteban Yan because that's all you can afford, it can blow up in your face. And it still can this year, even in the weak NL Central.
I got sick Sunday night and was starting to feel better until last night, when the Bullpen reached perhaps the very nadir of the valley of suckiness. Cal Eldred is starting to become Eldred for the wrong people again. Between the Thursday night thriller and last night's game, Eldred's sequence of batters has gone: Walk, homer, out, single, triple, out, homer, single, single, walk (on four pitchers to a batter who was trying to sacrifice bunt). That's six hits and 2 walks, including a triple and two homers in 2/3 of an inning. I guess it's safe to say Cal ain't the closer anymore. Fassero gave up a homer to Geoff Jenkins, the first one Jenkins has hit all year against a lefty. Kline came in and wasn't very good, though to be fair Miguel Cairo gave the Brewers three extra outs. Cairo had one of the worst all-around games I've ever seen. He left runners on all game long with medium-range can of corn fly balls and he made two bad plays in the infield in the seventh. TLR finally woke up and got him out of the leadoff slot tonight and he responded with a three-run homer.
I was angry enough last night that I took up another vow to stop watching games. It worked kind of, as I watched little of tonights 12-3 victory. Pujols had another great game and Garrett Stephenson turned in his second consecutive good start. Edmonds went crashing into the wall with two outs in the ninth of a nine-run game. I'm sure that'll get the Tony haters worked up, but how bout Jimmy maybe just don't lay out for that one hmm? Rolen sat out his second straight game with a neck injury. Yes, we're banged up, and yes our pitching is still more than shaky than a speed addict at 7 am. We're still only two games out though. I just keep telling myself that.
Matty Mo and Woody are getting their next starts pushed back to Friday and Saturday, against the Royals at home. The extra day of rest is needed. The public outcry over the abuse of those two has been goig on for awhile, but now their performances have slipped. It also gets them in line to both face the Cuns the next time we lock up with them. Simo gets a chance to keep the two-game streak of good starting pitching goign tomorrow against Glendon Rusch. He didn't look too bad against the Yankees but was left in too long (of course) because Tony still hates the pen. Lance Painter is coming back, who will be exiled? An open question, as Yan and Hermanson have been better of late, and Tony still seems to have more faith in Fassero than either of them. If Simo bombs tomorrow I am favor of moving Calero into the rotation and putting Painter in the pen. The Cards still need to be looking outside the organization but I don't know if that's happening. The arrogance this offseason was at an all-time high. The team ran itself to the limit financially thinking it wouldn't need to make any upgrades. Guess again: When part of that equation is putting a bunch of retread arms in the pen and then making trades for guys like Esteban Yan because that's all you can afford, it can blow up in your face. And it still can this year, even in the weak NL Central.
Monday, June 16, 2003
Bitching' Bout Pitching
I once again had another nice, long post erased by Blogger. Of course, right now there is little discussion needed as to the status of our team. The Cardinals need more pitching. With the health of Matt Morris coming into question and the continued mediocrity of everyone else on the staff not named Woody Williams (who has been victimized by his manager and the umpires in his last two starts, respectively) the Cards have no chance of competing with the team as it stands right now.
The good news is that the Astros and Cubs didn't fare well this weekend either. The Astros got swept by the Red Sox and the Cubs lost 2 of 3 to the Jays. So despite the pitching catastrophe, the team remains right in the thick of it, and yes, believe it or not, has won 8 of its last 13 despite giving up an enormous amount of runs over that stretch. Lance Painter is on the way back, Chris Carpenter soon will be too. Kiko Calero makes his first start tonight. Will Cal Eldred be soon to follow? Will the Cards make a trade? How about for Steve Trachsel, who is having a good year and could be had cheaply from the Mets in their soon-to-come salary purge? Who will be the pitchers currently on the roster that get the axe?? The fate of Redbird Nation lies in the hands of Walt, Tony, and Dunc as they try to patch together a winning set of arms.
No good news to report this weekend. The Birdos got swept by the Yankees in a series that I saw coming. The hitting was actually really bad this weekend, but that happens sometimes when you face Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and Mike Mussina back-to-back-to-back. I'm looking forward to some games against the Brewers. Stay tuned..........
I once again had another nice, long post erased by Blogger. Of course, right now there is little discussion needed as to the status of our team. The Cardinals need more pitching. With the health of Matt Morris coming into question and the continued mediocrity of everyone else on the staff not named Woody Williams (who has been victimized by his manager and the umpires in his last two starts, respectively) the Cards have no chance of competing with the team as it stands right now.
The good news is that the Astros and Cubs didn't fare well this weekend either. The Astros got swept by the Red Sox and the Cubs lost 2 of 3 to the Jays. So despite the pitching catastrophe, the team remains right in the thick of it, and yes, believe it or not, has won 8 of its last 13 despite giving up an enormous amount of runs over that stretch. Lance Painter is on the way back, Chris Carpenter soon will be too. Kiko Calero makes his first start tonight. Will Cal Eldred be soon to follow? Will the Cards make a trade? How about for Steve Trachsel, who is having a good year and could be had cheaply from the Mets in their soon-to-come salary purge? Who will be the pitchers currently on the roster that get the axe?? The fate of Redbird Nation lies in the hands of Walt, Tony, and Dunc as they try to patch together a winning set of arms.
No good news to report this weekend. The Birdos got swept by the Yankees in a series that I saw coming. The hitting was actually really bad this weekend, but that happens sometimes when you face Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and Mike Mussina back-to-back-to-back. I'm looking forward to some games against the Brewers. Stay tuned..........
Thursday, June 12, 2003
WHAT HAPPENED??????
Hey, I was gone rearranging my sock drawer. How did the game end up??? Just Kidding!! :)
Actually, I couldn't type because I've been alternately cursing the existence of man on this Earth, screaming like a child at the top of my lungs, and then finally just going comatose on my couch, only to be revived by one of the coolest home runs I've ever seen, and then collapse on to the floor as the final out landed in a stumbling Kerry Robinson's glove.
Even though all I've done is stare at a TV all night, I don't have the energy to dissect the madness of the last two hours right now. All I will say is that if you ever needed to do a persuasive speech on why baseball is the greatest game ever invented, a tape of the 4 hours and 35 minutes that transpired at Fenway Park tonight should be Exhibit A. Each team's fans believed that they had the game won on at least three occasions. Finally, at the end, no one longer knew what the hell to think. You want drama? Well, MLB knows Drama. What a remarkable game.
Hey, I was gone rearranging my sock drawer. How did the game end up??? Just Kidding!! :)
Actually, I couldn't type because I've been alternately cursing the existence of man on this Earth, screaming like a child at the top of my lungs, and then finally just going comatose on my couch, only to be revived by one of the coolest home runs I've ever seen, and then collapse on to the floor as the final out landed in a stumbling Kerry Robinson's glove.
Even though all I've done is stare at a TV all night, I don't have the energy to dissect the madness of the last two hours right now. All I will say is that if you ever needed to do a persuasive speech on why baseball is the greatest game ever invented, a tape of the 4 hours and 35 minutes that transpired at Fenway Park tonight should be Exhibit A. Each team's fans believed that they had the game won on at least three occasions. Finally, at the end, no one longer knew what the hell to think. You want drama? Well, MLB knows Drama. What a remarkable game.
Hey, there's an insurance run!!! Overall, Edmonds has not hit lefties well this year, but he has hit some big flies off of them. That one was huge.
By the way, is the official scorer in love with Tim Wakefield? He got an unearned run because the pitch that scored Renteria was called a passed ball. What? A knuckler in the dirt is a passed ball?
HERE COMES IZZY!!! And here comes some 94 mph heat. How's this for fun? You miss the first 60 plus games of the season and the first batter you face when you make it back to the big club is Manny Ramirez. Izzy gave up a single on a high fastball but Millar grounds into a DP on the first pitch! Nixon gets a little blooper on 2-2. His fastball definitely has pretty good juice on it. Another dinker hit, this time by Mueller for a double. What? They called it foul! Whoa. My understanding of baseball rules, and somebody correct me if I'm wrong on this, but if the ball is touched by Rolen in fair territory then it is a fair ball. Is the ump saying he didn't touch it? The Sox aren't arguing. As of right now, I believe we just got a huge break right there. Mueller grounds out and Izzy has himself a scoreless inning. Wow.
By the way, is the official scorer in love with Tim Wakefield? He got an unearned run because the pitch that scored Renteria was called a passed ball. What? A knuckler in the dirt is a passed ball?
HERE COMES IZZY!!! And here comes some 94 mph heat. How's this for fun? You miss the first 60 plus games of the season and the first batter you face when you make it back to the big club is Manny Ramirez. Izzy gave up a single on a high fastball but Millar grounds into a DP on the first pitch! Nixon gets a little blooper on 2-2. His fastball definitely has pretty good juice on it. Another dinker hit, this time by Mueller for a double. What? They called it foul! Whoa. My understanding of baseball rules, and somebody correct me if I'm wrong on this, but if the ball is touched by Rolen in fair territory then it is a fair ball. Is the ump saying he didn't touch it? The Sox aren't arguing. As of right now, I believe we just got a huge break right there. Mueller grounds out and Izzy has himself a scoreless inning. Wow.
Well, it worked but I simply cannot believe that TLR brought Garrett out to pitch the seventh. He had already thrown 112 pitches and they had two lefties coming up. The last two years that's automatic Kline time. But Garrett got through it with maybe his best inning of work yet. Nice job Garrett, seven scoreless!!!!
Will it be Izzy in the eighth and El Dread in the ninth?? Let's get some more tallies just to be safe.
Will it be Izzy in the eighth and El Dread in the ninth?? Let's get some more tallies just to be safe.
We just blew a chance to score, mostly because we had the bad fortune of getting runners on base in front of Matheny and Robinson. Mike is starting to hit like Mike again after a brief upswing for a couple weeks. This is the second time in three nights that he's popped "pooped" up with a runner on third and one out. And if you're looking for K-Rob to come through with a clutch two-out hit, well Mister, yer barkin' up the wrong tree.
Tonight's game has been interesting. Stephenson has now held the Red Sox scoreless for 5 innings, despite walking six batters and being in three pretty major jams. Tonight, the walks haven't been all his fault as Joe Brinkman has a strike zone that is both small and inconsistent. The one pitch that he expanded his zone for was in the fourth and it would have walked home a run. Brinkman gave him that one, probably because he knew in his heart that the Sox didn't deserve to have a run walked in after all of the close pitches he had already called balls. Give credit to Garrett: To hold this lineup to no runs thru five with a small strike zone being called is impressive. Not to mention that he's overcome two errors, one by Perez in fifth that put the leadoff hitter at second. (Struck out Nomar dude)
The Cards are up 2-0 and might have a couple more runs (or have had at least a few more chances) but the Red Sox have been playing great defense tonight and throughout the series, which doesn't really fall in line with their actual fielding prowess. Renteria just stole seond and took third on a wild throw. Edgar refuses to stop hitting well. The play of the team, coming off last nights loss, has been encouraging so far. But then again, it is only the sixth inning.
The Cards are up 2-0 and might have a couple more runs (or have had at least a few more chances) but the Red Sox have been playing great defense tonight and throughout the series, which doesn't really fall in line with their actual fielding prowess. Renteria just stole seond and took third on a wild throw. Edgar refuses to stop hitting well. The play of the team, coming off last nights loss, has been encouraging so far. But then again, it is only the sixth inning.
As we approach tonight's first pitch, here's my response to the rants of the most knowledgeable Cards fans in the world.
Josh Schulz, "The Stat Man" at Go Cardinals talked about Calero's performance, astutely wondering whether the four IP were because it was an emergency or because they want to stretch Calero towards starting. I say both. I think he's a better fit on this team as a starter, simply because unlike 60 % of our starters he has pitches where he can consistently get swings and misses or puny ground balls. He allows a lot of baserunners, something that you especially don't want in a reliever. We'll see what happens but I certainly wouldn't mind some new blood in the rotation, as opposed to just blood, as in a bloody mess.
Also, Josh commented about Tony Gwynn's observation that Tomko throws too many fastballs. It's quite true. I noticed in the little of the first two innings I saw that Tomko simply cannot throw his curve for a strike and that it really doesn't "curve" that much either. The Post-Dispatch agreed with me on this, calling Tomko's deuce "worthless." That's a good thing to call Tomko right now. Nice work Dunc, you've really brought him around.
Yes, Orlando Palmeiro should bat lead off. EVERY GAME. Is it that hard to understand???
The Brothers Gunn at Redbird Nation have fine-tuned their site into what I like to call "Cool-Ass"....
Mark and Brian both had plenty of enightenment following last night's thrashing. My thoughts...
Wilson Delgado: I'm not a Rule 5 Pick, but I play one on the Cardinals
Nomar needs to get knocked flat on his ass, maybe that will teach to quit annoying the crap out of fifty million baseball fans.
Yes, Coco Crisp is an Indian. However, look at this way, if he were still in the Cards organization he'd still probably be at AA, with a .500 OBA, and Tony would be saying that "we don't want to rush him, he's got a lot to learn" Oh, there's 0 for 1 for Miguel. How can you possibly swing and miss at a pitch that slow?
Keep this in mind when you read Will Carroll. He is the best at what he does, but he is also a Cubs fan. Rarely does he ever have a positive thing to say or prediction to make regarding the Birdos. He has no idea what will happen to Izzy anymore than the rest of us. Of course, if our starters keep pitching this way he won't have to worry about getting overused.
How 'bout the Birdhouse, what are Ray and his gang talking about? Oh the usual, some of the Cards players need to start playing baseball like real men, Tony needs to stop giving his relievers an excuse to fail, Ray's wondering if Hermanson forgot that the Red Sox traded him last night. My biggest problem is still wondering why K-Rob and Wilson Delgado are on the team. Delgado showed his stuff last night and K-Rob made us all remember why we hate him so much tonight when he swung at a ball after a five pitch walk was given to Matheny. Robinson has no concept of doing what's best for the team. He's out there for himself, to hack away at everything so that HE might get noticed if HE gets a hit. If there is a guy I would want to face in a competition it would be Robinson because he plays baseball like he doesn't care whether does good or not.
Josh Schulz, "The Stat Man" at Go Cardinals talked about Calero's performance, astutely wondering whether the four IP were because it was an emergency or because they want to stretch Calero towards starting. I say both. I think he's a better fit on this team as a starter, simply because unlike 60 % of our starters he has pitches where he can consistently get swings and misses or puny ground balls. He allows a lot of baserunners, something that you especially don't want in a reliever. We'll see what happens but I certainly wouldn't mind some new blood in the rotation, as opposed to just blood, as in a bloody mess.
Also, Josh commented about Tony Gwynn's observation that Tomko throws too many fastballs. It's quite true. I noticed in the little of the first two innings I saw that Tomko simply cannot throw his curve for a strike and that it really doesn't "curve" that much either. The Post-Dispatch agreed with me on this, calling Tomko's deuce "worthless." That's a good thing to call Tomko right now. Nice work Dunc, you've really brought him around.
Yes, Orlando Palmeiro should bat lead off. EVERY GAME. Is it that hard to understand???
The Brothers Gunn at Redbird Nation have fine-tuned their site into what I like to call "Cool-Ass"....
Mark and Brian both had plenty of enightenment following last night's thrashing. My thoughts...
Wilson Delgado: I'm not a Rule 5 Pick, but I play one on the Cardinals
Nomar needs to get knocked flat on his ass, maybe that will teach to quit annoying the crap out of fifty million baseball fans.
Yes, Coco Crisp is an Indian. However, look at this way, if he were still in the Cards organization he'd still probably be at AA, with a .500 OBA, and Tony would be saying that "we don't want to rush him, he's got a lot to learn" Oh, there's 0 for 1 for Miguel. How can you possibly swing and miss at a pitch that slow?
Keep this in mind when you read Will Carroll. He is the best at what he does, but he is also a Cubs fan. Rarely does he ever have a positive thing to say or prediction to make regarding the Birdos. He has no idea what will happen to Izzy anymore than the rest of us. Of course, if our starters keep pitching this way he won't have to worry about getting overused.
How 'bout the Birdhouse, what are Ray and his gang talking about? Oh the usual, some of the Cards players need to start playing baseball like real men, Tony needs to stop giving his relievers an excuse to fail, Ray's wondering if Hermanson forgot that the Red Sox traded him last night. My biggest problem is still wondering why K-Rob and Wilson Delgado are on the team. Delgado showed his stuff last night and K-Rob made us all remember why we hate him so much tonight when he swung at a ball after a five pitch walk was given to Matheny. Robinson has no concept of doing what's best for the team. He's out there for himself, to hack away at everything so that HE might get noticed if HE gets a hit. If there is a guy I would want to face in a competition it would be Robinson because he plays baseball like he doesn't care whether does good or not.
SO MUCH TO SAY, SO MUCH TO SAY........
There's a lot of great discussion going on about the Cards right now and I want to try to comment about as much of it as possible.
Let's start with the obvious...... OUR STARTERS ARE GIVING UP RUNS AT A SLOWPITCH SOFTBALL TYPE OF PACE!!!
Last night was one of the most wretched pitching performances I have ever seen. And before I go on, yes I know that it was the Red Sox we were playing. The Red Sox who have seven regualrs batting over .300 and slugging over .500. That does not, however, give anyone the excuse of just giving up. Brett "Hitman" Tomko can cry all he wants to the media guys about how he is a mental wreck because of how poorly he's been pitching, but last night in the middle of the second inning he might as well have just dropped his pants, grabbed his ankles, and said "Let me have it." The result was nine ernies in two-plus innings, and a long night of groaning by Cards fans everywhere. And speaking of Tomko's thoughts he shared with the media, BRETT, GROW A SACK AND BE A MAN!! Everybody has failed in their life. Your constant worrying about it is turning you into a really shitty pitcher that looks like a big puss to boot!! (Puss N' Boots! HA!) Why is it that the Cards lead the league in mound headcases?? First there's Ankiel, who is probably too damaged at this point to ever be worth anything. Then we've got Captain Insano Steve Kline earlier this season talking about how he never wants to see a baseball again. Now we've got Tomko getting emotional after getting his ass handed to him AGAIN. Act like you care Brett and don't just say you care because you have to say it. Maybe then you'll have better results.
Hermanson once again pitched like POOP. He just really doesn't have much stuff anymore and kind of has to try to get by with grit, which doesn't work all that well against disciplined hitters like those on the Red Sox and Blue Jays. Calero pitched four pretty good innings and TLR made the comment that he might be optioned down to Memphis in order to get a fresh arm in the bullpen. The Post-Dispatch speculated that this could be a move to have Calero start a few games down there and then get a crack at the rotation. I don't know if Tony said anything to that effect or not. What I do know is that the newspaper had many more things that are worthy of being commented on.
In both the gamer (that's sportswriter slang for the game account) and Bernie Miklasz's column, the need for better starting pitching was the hot topic. However it was a topic that was discussed in a slightly hazy and contradictory way. First off, it is said that finding more starting pitching is now the number one priority in the organization. It then goes on to say that the Cards have no money with which to acquire a pitcher. It also says that Tony has been lobbying Walt for more starting pitching. Then it quotes Tony as basically saying "These are the five best guys we have right now." And then it later quotes him as saying, "If we have to make a change then we have to do what we have to do." Is anyone else's head spinning yet??
What is known is that aside from two starters that have been really good (and overworked, which means don't count on them being this good all year) the rest of the staff has been the opponents personal launching pad for the last month and a half. Tomko and Stephenson showed promise in April, and Simo has mixed in a good start or two, but as of today, Tomko has not won a game since April 25, opponents are batting over .300 against him, and Simo and Stephenson have given up 28 dingers in 132 IP. Incredibly, the team is 34-29 and has won 7 of its last 9 despite this. As Bernie says, something must be done if the Cards are serious about going anywhere, which TLR swears they are.
Well, if they were truly serious about going anwhere in my opinion, Chuck Finley would've been signed on May 1. But Finley is not an option, Sidney Ponson (whom the O's have smartly approached the Cards about trading for since he dominated them last Saturday) apparently isn't an option because of his salary. Okay, so then who is??? Kiko Calero wouldn't be a bad bet, and the Post-Dispatch wondered about the possibility of Dan Haren coming up and starting, something TLR would not rule out. That right there should be a huge sign of how dire the situation is right now. I wouldn't mind seeing Jason Ryan getting a start or two, he's started in the big leagues before. And of course there is Chris Carpenter, whom the Cards have been saying they want to work in relief when he returns, but who may be forced into the rotation by necessity. But one thing is dead on in Bernie's article: SOMETHING"S GOT TO GIVE.
Another thing, now with Izzy back and the bullpen doing better, it's time to lighten up the load on Morris and Woody. It has been disclosed that Matty Mo has been pitching with a knot in his shoulder, a knot that apparently caused a large drop in his velocity in his last outing when he was roughed by the O's. Matty Mo's curve is so good that he can get past team like the Pirates sometimes without a good fastball. But it's not going to work against good hitting teams. The team is giving him an extra day of rest and he is scheduled to start Saturday in Yankee Stadium. Caution must be exercised. Woody I am not nearly as worried about because he didn't throw a ton of pitches in the first part of his career and he is old enough now and far enough removed from any arm problems that he can probably be ridden pretty hard this year. But you gotta be careful with a guy like Matt who has already buckled to a big workload once in his career and is a TJ surgery survivor.
The question: Should I even watch the game tonight, hoping that by some miracle Stephenson might pitch a good game against this incredible lineup? Man we got screwed on the inter-league schedule, a makeup for last year I presume. Just remember, we get six games against the fast-fading Royals, whose pitching staff is in total shambles, while the Cubs and Astros have to play two teams that can be dangerous in the White Sox and Rangers. Of course, whether they WILL be dangerous remains to be seen. The Cubbies will hopefully feel the effect of Scammin' Sammy's absence more the next week than they did last night. Will there be an Izzy sighting tonight? God loves us if we win this one......
There's a lot of great discussion going on about the Cards right now and I want to try to comment about as much of it as possible.
Let's start with the obvious...... OUR STARTERS ARE GIVING UP RUNS AT A SLOWPITCH SOFTBALL TYPE OF PACE!!!
Last night was one of the most wretched pitching performances I have ever seen. And before I go on, yes I know that it was the Red Sox we were playing. The Red Sox who have seven regualrs batting over .300 and slugging over .500. That does not, however, give anyone the excuse of just giving up. Brett "Hitman" Tomko can cry all he wants to the media guys about how he is a mental wreck because of how poorly he's been pitching, but last night in the middle of the second inning he might as well have just dropped his pants, grabbed his ankles, and said "Let me have it." The result was nine ernies in two-plus innings, and a long night of groaning by Cards fans everywhere. And speaking of Tomko's thoughts he shared with the media, BRETT, GROW A SACK AND BE A MAN!! Everybody has failed in their life. Your constant worrying about it is turning you into a really shitty pitcher that looks like a big puss to boot!! (Puss N' Boots! HA!) Why is it that the Cards lead the league in mound headcases?? First there's Ankiel, who is probably too damaged at this point to ever be worth anything. Then we've got Captain Insano Steve Kline earlier this season talking about how he never wants to see a baseball again. Now we've got Tomko getting emotional after getting his ass handed to him AGAIN. Act like you care Brett and don't just say you care because you have to say it. Maybe then you'll have better results.
Hermanson once again pitched like POOP. He just really doesn't have much stuff anymore and kind of has to try to get by with grit, which doesn't work all that well against disciplined hitters like those on the Red Sox and Blue Jays. Calero pitched four pretty good innings and TLR made the comment that he might be optioned down to Memphis in order to get a fresh arm in the bullpen. The Post-Dispatch speculated that this could be a move to have Calero start a few games down there and then get a crack at the rotation. I don't know if Tony said anything to that effect or not. What I do know is that the newspaper had many more things that are worthy of being commented on.
In both the gamer (that's sportswriter slang for the game account) and Bernie Miklasz's column, the need for better starting pitching was the hot topic. However it was a topic that was discussed in a slightly hazy and contradictory way. First off, it is said that finding more starting pitching is now the number one priority in the organization. It then goes on to say that the Cards have no money with which to acquire a pitcher. It also says that Tony has been lobbying Walt for more starting pitching. Then it quotes Tony as basically saying "These are the five best guys we have right now." And then it later quotes him as saying, "If we have to make a change then we have to do what we have to do." Is anyone else's head spinning yet??
What is known is that aside from two starters that have been really good (and overworked, which means don't count on them being this good all year) the rest of the staff has been the opponents personal launching pad for the last month and a half. Tomko and Stephenson showed promise in April, and Simo has mixed in a good start or two, but as of today, Tomko has not won a game since April 25, opponents are batting over .300 against him, and Simo and Stephenson have given up 28 dingers in 132 IP. Incredibly, the team is 34-29 and has won 7 of its last 9 despite this. As Bernie says, something must be done if the Cards are serious about going anywhere, which TLR swears they are.
Well, if they were truly serious about going anwhere in my opinion, Chuck Finley would've been signed on May 1. But Finley is not an option, Sidney Ponson (whom the O's have smartly approached the Cards about trading for since he dominated them last Saturday) apparently isn't an option because of his salary. Okay, so then who is??? Kiko Calero wouldn't be a bad bet, and the Post-Dispatch wondered about the possibility of Dan Haren coming up and starting, something TLR would not rule out. That right there should be a huge sign of how dire the situation is right now. I wouldn't mind seeing Jason Ryan getting a start or two, he's started in the big leagues before. And of course there is Chris Carpenter, whom the Cards have been saying they want to work in relief when he returns, but who may be forced into the rotation by necessity. But one thing is dead on in Bernie's article: SOMETHING"S GOT TO GIVE.
Another thing, now with Izzy back and the bullpen doing better, it's time to lighten up the load on Morris and Woody. It has been disclosed that Matty Mo has been pitching with a knot in his shoulder, a knot that apparently caused a large drop in his velocity in his last outing when he was roughed by the O's. Matty Mo's curve is so good that he can get past team like the Pirates sometimes without a good fastball. But it's not going to work against good hitting teams. The team is giving him an extra day of rest and he is scheduled to start Saturday in Yankee Stadium. Caution must be exercised. Woody I am not nearly as worried about because he didn't throw a ton of pitches in the first part of his career and he is old enough now and far enough removed from any arm problems that he can probably be ridden pretty hard this year. But you gotta be careful with a guy like Matt who has already buckled to a big workload once in his career and is a TJ surgery survivor.
The question: Should I even watch the game tonight, hoping that by some miracle Stephenson might pitch a good game against this incredible lineup? Man we got screwed on the inter-league schedule, a makeup for last year I presume. Just remember, we get six games against the fast-fading Royals, whose pitching staff is in total shambles, while the Cubs and Astros have to play two teams that can be dangerous in the White Sox and Rangers. Of course, whether they WILL be dangerous remains to be seen. The Cubbies will hopefully feel the effect of Scammin' Sammy's absence more the next week than they did last night. Will there be an Izzy sighting tonight? God loves us if we win this one......
Wednesday, June 11, 2003
LET'S TALK MINORS SHALL WE?
First a note to the Birdhouse--That massage I gave J.D. Drew seemed to be working wonders when he cracked that three-run dong last night :)
All right, now on to the up and comers,
AAA Memphis--Jon Nunnally has returned to Earth a bit but he still has a .962 OPS. He'd look a lot better on the Cardinal Bench than K-Rob. (Have I mentioned that before?) The two position players at Memphis who could actually have some sort of major-league career are playing quite well. Dee Haynes leads the team with 12 homers and 41 RBI, and has raised his average to .251. He still doesn't take near enough walks, but his slugging percentage is approaching .500. John Gall meanwhile was 3-4 with 3 ribbies last night and is now batting .282. Both could make viable pinch-hitting options somewhere down the road. Scott Seabol and Bill Selby, both veteran infielders who have played in the majors before, have been crushing the ball since the Cards acquired them. Seabol is 19 for his first 48 with 4 homers and 14 RBI already. Selby is 9-23 with a dinger since the Cards acquired him. I dare say that either of these two is a better option than Wilson Delgado.
On the mound, yes, we let Nerio Rodriguez go to Japan. But, Jason Ryan and Steve Stemle have both thrown well. Ryan is 4-3 with a 2.93 ERA. And Dan Haren has adjusted to AAA just fine after getting his first start out of the way. Since getting knocked around in his Memphis debut, Haren has allowed just eight runs in 25 innings. This means the Cards have options should they continue to get disappointing pitching perfromances from their starters, or if there is an injury. Jimmy Journell has settled nicely into the bullpen. He had a string of something like 10 straight scoreless outings. And Mike Crudale has pitched well since his demotion back to Memphis, working several scoreless outings. All in all, the pitching isn't the problem at Memphis and there's no need for a continued tolerance of lousy performances by guys names Yanni and Russ Jr.
AA Tennessee--Not a lot of great hitting going on here either. 2B Caonabo Cosme continues to hit well. He has 22 doubles and a .490 slugging percentage. The team's best hitter has been minor-league vet Bucky Jacobsen. who's got a .283/.368/.566 line with 15 dongs. Yadi Molina has hit better lately, raising his average to .278. He'll be ready for a move to AAA next season barring a collapse in the second half of 2003.
Rhett Parrott has been a disappointment this year, but judging from his 77/23 BB/K ratio, I'd say he's getting a bit unlucky. Opponents are hitting about .240 against him with a K an inning, yet he has a 4.44 ERA. As long as his peripherals continue to be good, he's still a prospect to watch. Nick Stocks has hit the wall after such a promising start. How frustrating.....his ERA has ballooned to 4.52. Closer Mike Lyons has been nasty in that role. He has 18 saves and a 1.57 ERA in 28 2/3 IP, with 40 K's. The Cards may take a look at the minor-league journeyman later this year. By the way, Rick Ankiel managed to almost go six innings in his last start. He's still giving up a bunch or runs though.
A Palm Beach--Shaun Boyd, one of the better prospects in the organization, was finally moved from second base, where he has committed about one error every three games since the start of last season. Boyd is now in center and don't be surprised if his offensive numbers continue to rise. He is one of the few young players the Cards have who can both hit and draw walks. He has also stolen 16 of 21 bases and could be the leadoff hitter of the future. He was the only player on the team hitting until Gabe Johnson came back from his injury. Johnson has hit six homers since his return but still strikes out all the team and hits for a low average. But he does have some real offensive potential. He's drawn 17 walks in 129 AB's.
Starters Chance Caple, Tyler Johnson, and Chris Narveson have respective ERA's of 3.51, 3.38, and 3.08. Narveson has pitched the best easily of the three. He is the only one to allow less than a hit an inning and has a 58/16 K/BB ratio. He could be the one guy who possibly gets a promotion if he keeps it up. He's been going six innings consistently in his starts and his performance has to be the best news of the year, as he looks to be fully recovered from his Tommy John surgery. Meanwhile Blake Williams is still trying to come back from surgery and is struggling, while Justin Pope has struggled more than expected as well. Williams is an ugly 0-7 and while he hasn't pitched that poorly, his ERA is 4.96. Pope is at 4.21 and has thrown only 36 1/3 innings this year.
Low A Peoria-- Incredibly, the Chiefs are 29-35 after starting 10-1. One of the big reasons is that their hitters have cooled off. Travis Hanson is all the way down to .270/.322/.431. He has 43 RBI. Reid Gorecki, the outfielder who had a strong short-season debut last year, has started hitting much better in the last few weekes. He has 11 doubles and 4 triples to go with 6 homers and 10 steals. Another future leadoff candidate, Matt Lemanczyk, is getting on base at a .354 clip and leads the organization in steals easily with 29 on 34 attempts. John Santor has cooled off the last week or so but he is still among the best hitters in the league, with a .322/.402/.476 line.
On the hill, starters Blake Hawksworth, Don Graves, and Miguel Martinez have been the brightest starts for the Chiefs. Hawksworth has been handled with care, and has a 1.69 ERA in 42 2/3 IP. He has struck out 46 and walked 8 while giving up only 28 hits to be one of the league's most dominating pitchers. Batters are hitting under .200 against Hawksworth. We'll see if the Cards challenge him with a promotion to Palm Beach later this year. Graves has a 2.08 ERA in 12 starts, where he averages about six innnings per start. Graves has only allowed 12 walks this season. Martinez has an ERA of 2.66 and a WHIP of nearly 1, as he has allowed just 61 hits and 18 BB's in 74 1/3 IP. Tyler Adamczyk continues to struggle, as his ERA approaches 5. The best bullpen pitcher has been Ben Julianel, who has a 1.65 ERA and 34 K's in 27 1/3 IP.
First a note to the Birdhouse--That massage I gave J.D. Drew seemed to be working wonders when he cracked that three-run dong last night :)
All right, now on to the up and comers,
AAA Memphis--Jon Nunnally has returned to Earth a bit but he still has a .962 OPS. He'd look a lot better on the Cardinal Bench than K-Rob. (Have I mentioned that before?) The two position players at Memphis who could actually have some sort of major-league career are playing quite well. Dee Haynes leads the team with 12 homers and 41 RBI, and has raised his average to .251. He still doesn't take near enough walks, but his slugging percentage is approaching .500. John Gall meanwhile was 3-4 with 3 ribbies last night and is now batting .282. Both could make viable pinch-hitting options somewhere down the road. Scott Seabol and Bill Selby, both veteran infielders who have played in the majors before, have been crushing the ball since the Cards acquired them. Seabol is 19 for his first 48 with 4 homers and 14 RBI already. Selby is 9-23 with a dinger since the Cards acquired him. I dare say that either of these two is a better option than Wilson Delgado.
On the mound, yes, we let Nerio Rodriguez go to Japan. But, Jason Ryan and Steve Stemle have both thrown well. Ryan is 4-3 with a 2.93 ERA. And Dan Haren has adjusted to AAA just fine after getting his first start out of the way. Since getting knocked around in his Memphis debut, Haren has allowed just eight runs in 25 innings. This means the Cards have options should they continue to get disappointing pitching perfromances from their starters, or if there is an injury. Jimmy Journell has settled nicely into the bullpen. He had a string of something like 10 straight scoreless outings. And Mike Crudale has pitched well since his demotion back to Memphis, working several scoreless outings. All in all, the pitching isn't the problem at Memphis and there's no need for a continued tolerance of lousy performances by guys names Yanni and Russ Jr.
AA Tennessee--Not a lot of great hitting going on here either. 2B Caonabo Cosme continues to hit well. He has 22 doubles and a .490 slugging percentage. The team's best hitter has been minor-league vet Bucky Jacobsen. who's got a .283/.368/.566 line with 15 dongs. Yadi Molina has hit better lately, raising his average to .278. He'll be ready for a move to AAA next season barring a collapse in the second half of 2003.
Rhett Parrott has been a disappointment this year, but judging from his 77/23 BB/K ratio, I'd say he's getting a bit unlucky. Opponents are hitting about .240 against him with a K an inning, yet he has a 4.44 ERA. As long as his peripherals continue to be good, he's still a prospect to watch. Nick Stocks has hit the wall after such a promising start. How frustrating.....his ERA has ballooned to 4.52. Closer Mike Lyons has been nasty in that role. He has 18 saves and a 1.57 ERA in 28 2/3 IP, with 40 K's. The Cards may take a look at the minor-league journeyman later this year. By the way, Rick Ankiel managed to almost go six innings in his last start. He's still giving up a bunch or runs though.
A Palm Beach--Shaun Boyd, one of the better prospects in the organization, was finally moved from second base, where he has committed about one error every three games since the start of last season. Boyd is now in center and don't be surprised if his offensive numbers continue to rise. He is one of the few young players the Cards have who can both hit and draw walks. He has also stolen 16 of 21 bases and could be the leadoff hitter of the future. He was the only player on the team hitting until Gabe Johnson came back from his injury. Johnson has hit six homers since his return but still strikes out all the team and hits for a low average. But he does have some real offensive potential. He's drawn 17 walks in 129 AB's.
Starters Chance Caple, Tyler Johnson, and Chris Narveson have respective ERA's of 3.51, 3.38, and 3.08. Narveson has pitched the best easily of the three. He is the only one to allow less than a hit an inning and has a 58/16 K/BB ratio. He could be the one guy who possibly gets a promotion if he keeps it up. He's been going six innings consistently in his starts and his performance has to be the best news of the year, as he looks to be fully recovered from his Tommy John surgery. Meanwhile Blake Williams is still trying to come back from surgery and is struggling, while Justin Pope has struggled more than expected as well. Williams is an ugly 0-7 and while he hasn't pitched that poorly, his ERA is 4.96. Pope is at 4.21 and has thrown only 36 1/3 innings this year.
Low A Peoria-- Incredibly, the Chiefs are 29-35 after starting 10-1. One of the big reasons is that their hitters have cooled off. Travis Hanson is all the way down to .270/.322/.431. He has 43 RBI. Reid Gorecki, the outfielder who had a strong short-season debut last year, has started hitting much better in the last few weekes. He has 11 doubles and 4 triples to go with 6 homers and 10 steals. Another future leadoff candidate, Matt Lemanczyk, is getting on base at a .354 clip and leads the organization in steals easily with 29 on 34 attempts. John Santor has cooled off the last week or so but he is still among the best hitters in the league, with a .322/.402/.476 line.
On the hill, starters Blake Hawksworth, Don Graves, and Miguel Martinez have been the brightest starts for the Chiefs. Hawksworth has been handled with care, and has a 1.69 ERA in 42 2/3 IP. He has struck out 46 and walked 8 while giving up only 28 hits to be one of the league's most dominating pitchers. Batters are hitting under .200 against Hawksworth. We'll see if the Cards challenge him with a promotion to Palm Beach later this year. Graves has a 2.08 ERA in 12 starts, where he averages about six innnings per start. Graves has only allowed 12 walks this season. Martinez has an ERA of 2.66 and a WHIP of nearly 1, as he has allowed just 61 hits and 18 BB's in 74 1/3 IP. Tyler Adamczyk continues to struggle, as his ERA approaches 5. The best bullpen pitcher has been Ben Julianel, who has a 1.65 ERA and 34 K's in 27 1/3 IP.
Notes on the Cards Second Day of Drafting
21st pick was Robert Burch, a 6'5 righty with good velocity who was one of the top releivers for the Nebraska Cornhuskers in 2003. 4-1 with a 2.89 ERA
22nd pick was Derek Drewitt, from Watson Chapel HS in North Carolina. He's a lanky righty who MLB.com says has the best splitter they've ever seen on a high school pitcher.
25th pick was Tavaris Gary a lefty slugging outfielder from tiny Cumberland University. The 6'1 185 lb. Gary hit 15 homers and drove in 58 while batting over .390 in the Trans-South Conference
26th pick was 1B Levi Webber from Oregon St. He's a huge kid with good power potential but not much numbers to show for it. 6'5, 235 and ambidextrous, though he bats only righty.
28th pick, Tanner Wootan, was drafted by Red Sox in 2001.
29th pick was Brantley Jordan, who is the lefty specialist for the defending NCAA champ Texas Longhorns, who are back in Omaha again this year. 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA in 29 appearances this year.
30th pick was Matt Lane, a 6'8 225 righty from Iowa Western CC. He was all-state in everything in HS, both as a pitcher and a football QB, playing at a small high school in Minnesota. He was 5-2 in eight starts with a 3.53 ERA. 29 K's and 24 BB's in 32 2/3 IP. Sounds like a poor man's Chad Hutchinson to me.
31st pick Mike Tamulionis has the distinction of being drafted in the 31st round in back to back years. (Last year it was the Rangers) He was a reliever in his career at St. John's. He had a 2.11 ERA and .150 opponents batting average this season. Throws righty
Cards got a nice hitter with the 33rd round pick in Casey Grimm, an outfielder from Matty Mo's alma mater, Seton Hall. Grimm had a .370/.470/.662 line for the Pirates this season. Hitting 10 homers and drawing 24 walks in 154 AB's
Lifelong Cards fan and native St. Louisan Sal Fraselli was picked in the 37th round. He's a righthanded outfielder who had a .425 OBA and a slugging % well over .500 his senior year at Southern Illinois University.
Bloomington South HS (IN) Ace T.J. Brewer pitched a one-hitter Monday night to lead his squad to the IHSAA Sectional Championship. Brewer is a 6'2 180 lb. righty
Round 40 pick Peter Soteropoulous played first base and pitcher for UConn. He hit .380 with 43 RBI and had a 7.88 ERA, but the Cards drafted him as a pitcher. Why? He's lefthanded.
The Cards final pick before they stopped drafting was Kameron Mickolio, a 6'8 righty (lots of big righties taken by the Cards) who had a 3.05 ERA for the College of Eastern Utah in a pitcher-dominated conference.
21st pick was Robert Burch, a 6'5 righty with good velocity who was one of the top releivers for the Nebraska Cornhuskers in 2003. 4-1 with a 2.89 ERA
22nd pick was Derek Drewitt, from Watson Chapel HS in North Carolina. He's a lanky righty who MLB.com says has the best splitter they've ever seen on a high school pitcher.
25th pick was Tavaris Gary a lefty slugging outfielder from tiny Cumberland University. The 6'1 185 lb. Gary hit 15 homers and drove in 58 while batting over .390 in the Trans-South Conference
26th pick was 1B Levi Webber from Oregon St. He's a huge kid with good power potential but not much numbers to show for it. 6'5, 235 and ambidextrous, though he bats only righty.
28th pick, Tanner Wootan, was drafted by Red Sox in 2001.
29th pick was Brantley Jordan, who is the lefty specialist for the defending NCAA champ Texas Longhorns, who are back in Omaha again this year. 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA in 29 appearances this year.
30th pick was Matt Lane, a 6'8 225 righty from Iowa Western CC. He was all-state in everything in HS, both as a pitcher and a football QB, playing at a small high school in Minnesota. He was 5-2 in eight starts with a 3.53 ERA. 29 K's and 24 BB's in 32 2/3 IP. Sounds like a poor man's Chad Hutchinson to me.
31st pick Mike Tamulionis has the distinction of being drafted in the 31st round in back to back years. (Last year it was the Rangers) He was a reliever in his career at St. John's. He had a 2.11 ERA and .150 opponents batting average this season. Throws righty
Cards got a nice hitter with the 33rd round pick in Casey Grimm, an outfielder from Matty Mo's alma mater, Seton Hall. Grimm had a .370/.470/.662 line for the Pirates this season. Hitting 10 homers and drawing 24 walks in 154 AB's
Lifelong Cards fan and native St. Louisan Sal Fraselli was picked in the 37th round. He's a righthanded outfielder who had a .425 OBA and a slugging % well over .500 his senior year at Southern Illinois University.
Bloomington South HS (IN) Ace T.J. Brewer pitched a one-hitter Monday night to lead his squad to the IHSAA Sectional Championship. Brewer is a 6'2 180 lb. righty
Round 40 pick Peter Soteropoulous played first base and pitcher for UConn. He hit .380 with 43 RBI and had a 7.88 ERA, but the Cards drafted him as a pitcher. Why? He's lefthanded.
The Cards final pick before they stopped drafting was Kameron Mickolio, a 6'8 righty (lots of big righties taken by the Cards) who had a 3.05 ERA for the College of Eastern Utah in a pitcher-dominated conference.
Tuesday, June 10, 2003
I'M BACK AND SO IS IZZY!!!!!!!!
I'm also pissed because I had a nice long post ready to go before it was eaten by the imperfect machine known as Blogger. To summarize briefly because I don't feel like writing it all again, The Cards have been hitting the crap out of the ball, notably Tino "Don't Call Me Tina" Martinez and Albert Pujols, who has been the MVP of the National League so far. Albert is batting at a nice .390 clip and has hit a two-run homer in tonight's game.
On the other side of the ball, our starting pitching has been icky. Stephenson and Tomko have faded big time after promising starts to the season. Garrett is a homer machine, we need to start calling him Russ (Springer) Jr. Even Matty Mo had a bad outing on Sunday. Esteban Yan has been a complete bust, and his mess was saved only by Cal Eldred's awesome 1 2/3 inning save on Sunday. The Cards won 5 of 6 against the AL bird teams and they needed to because the Astros were 6-0 and the Cubs 4-2 during that time. Now the test begins as The Cards venture to Fenway and the House that Ruth Built. They'll be facing a suddenly-healed Pedro Martinez tomorrow and Roger Clemens will be going for win no. 300 AGAIN, this time against the Cards at home. The odds aren't exactly stacked in the Redbirds favor.
This game against the Red Sox has been up and down, back and forth. The Cards got four runs with two out in the fifth (Three-run bomb by DREEEWWWWW), but the Sox got three in the seventh with 2 out. Woody was a check swing away from getting the Cards thru 7 with a 7-2 lead, but Nomar tripled home Todd Walker and Manny Ramirez homered after that. Tony got burned big time for not trusting his bullpen again, as Woody simply ran out of gas around the 115 pitch mark. Of course, why should he trust the bullpen? It only took Kiko Calero two pitches to let the Sox tie the game, as he hung a slider that Jason Varitek crushed to tie it a seven in the eighth. I guess Izzy can't pitch every inning now that he's back, huh?
Luckily for our heroes, they are killing the ball right now. Edmonds doubled off of Sox closer Brandon Lyon in the ninth (If Edmonds played half his games in Boston, he'd hit 80 doubles.) Rolen followed it up with a double to score Jimmy and then Scotty scored with a perfect slide following an Ed Perez single. Tony decided against throwing Izzy into the fire in the ninth and El-Dread (Now it's opposing batters who dread him) was nasty in getting another save. THAT'S A WINNER!!!!
To sum up, our lineup is on fire and our pitching still stinks. BUT, Eldred has been great and with Izzy, who we'll likely see tomorrow, gives us a great 1-2 punch at the front of the pen. Kliner has rounded into form nicely. After Varitek tied the game, TLR brought Kline in immediately. After Todd Walker hit a two-out double, Tony showed confidence in Kline to get the lefty by walking BOTH Nomar and Manny. Kline got the hot-swinging David Ortiz to end the inning. Fassero was okay, though he was charged with a run (he walked Trot Nixon right before Varitek's homer). Right now we've got the two lefties, Eldred and Izzy, and then we have Hermy, Kiko, and Yawn at the back. For one thing, maybe if Tony would've kept giving Calero and Hermy work instead of sending Yanni at their every night, maybe they wouldn't have both had a recent disastrous outing. Whatever the case, I still think the bullpen is in the process of turning around. I'd like to see Painter come back and get a role (at the expense of Yan, though that won't happen becuz that would mean admitting that Walt goofed) even if it does mean three lefties in the pen. It could work, or we could use one of them as trade bait. Which one I would have no idea. Juan Acevedo just became available. I wonder if we'll take a shot at him?
On the good news front, Pedro is only scheduled to throw about 40-45 pitches tomorrow, with John Burkett to follow. We'll see what happens. Cards now only one game out of first!!!! Tomorrow I'll try to get back into the swing of things with a look at the minor-league teams.
P.S. Joe Girardi was also activated and Chris Widger was put on the DL. Four Words: REPLACING POOP WITH POOP. Batboy Taguchi was optioned out to make room for Izzy. And I am going to eat some pizza :)
I'm also pissed because I had a nice long post ready to go before it was eaten by the imperfect machine known as Blogger. To summarize briefly because I don't feel like writing it all again, The Cards have been hitting the crap out of the ball, notably Tino "Don't Call Me Tina" Martinez and Albert Pujols, who has been the MVP of the National League so far. Albert is batting at a nice .390 clip and has hit a two-run homer in tonight's game.
On the other side of the ball, our starting pitching has been icky. Stephenson and Tomko have faded big time after promising starts to the season. Garrett is a homer machine, we need to start calling him Russ (Springer) Jr. Even Matty Mo had a bad outing on Sunday. Esteban Yan has been a complete bust, and his mess was saved only by Cal Eldred's awesome 1 2/3 inning save on Sunday. The Cards won 5 of 6 against the AL bird teams and they needed to because the Astros were 6-0 and the Cubs 4-2 during that time. Now the test begins as The Cards venture to Fenway and the House that Ruth Built. They'll be facing a suddenly-healed Pedro Martinez tomorrow and Roger Clemens will be going for win no. 300 AGAIN, this time against the Cards at home. The odds aren't exactly stacked in the Redbirds favor.
This game against the Red Sox has been up and down, back and forth. The Cards got four runs with two out in the fifth (Three-run bomb by DREEEWWWWW), but the Sox got three in the seventh with 2 out. Woody was a check swing away from getting the Cards thru 7 with a 7-2 lead, but Nomar tripled home Todd Walker and Manny Ramirez homered after that. Tony got burned big time for not trusting his bullpen again, as Woody simply ran out of gas around the 115 pitch mark. Of course, why should he trust the bullpen? It only took Kiko Calero two pitches to let the Sox tie the game, as he hung a slider that Jason Varitek crushed to tie it a seven in the eighth. I guess Izzy can't pitch every inning now that he's back, huh?
Luckily for our heroes, they are killing the ball right now. Edmonds doubled off of Sox closer Brandon Lyon in the ninth (If Edmonds played half his games in Boston, he'd hit 80 doubles.) Rolen followed it up with a double to score Jimmy and then Scotty scored with a perfect slide following an Ed Perez single. Tony decided against throwing Izzy into the fire in the ninth and El-Dread (Now it's opposing batters who dread him) was nasty in getting another save. THAT'S A WINNER!!!!
To sum up, our lineup is on fire and our pitching still stinks. BUT, Eldred has been great and with Izzy, who we'll likely see tomorrow, gives us a great 1-2 punch at the front of the pen. Kliner has rounded into form nicely. After Varitek tied the game, TLR brought Kline in immediately. After Todd Walker hit a two-out double, Tony showed confidence in Kline to get the lefty by walking BOTH Nomar and Manny. Kline got the hot-swinging David Ortiz to end the inning. Fassero was okay, though he was charged with a run (he walked Trot Nixon right before Varitek's homer). Right now we've got the two lefties, Eldred and Izzy, and then we have Hermy, Kiko, and Yawn at the back. For one thing, maybe if Tony would've kept giving Calero and Hermy work instead of sending Yanni at their every night, maybe they wouldn't have both had a recent disastrous outing. Whatever the case, I still think the bullpen is in the process of turning around. I'd like to see Painter come back and get a role (at the expense of Yan, though that won't happen becuz that would mean admitting that Walt goofed) even if it does mean three lefties in the pen. It could work, or we could use one of them as trade bait. Which one I would have no idea. Juan Acevedo just became available. I wonder if we'll take a shot at him?
On the good news front, Pedro is only scheduled to throw about 40-45 pitches tomorrow, with John Burkett to follow. We'll see what happens. Cards now only one game out of first!!!! Tomorrow I'll try to get back into the swing of things with a look at the minor-league teams.
P.S. Joe Girardi was also activated and Chris Widger was put on the DL. Four Words: REPLACING POOP WITH POOP. Batboy Taguchi was optioned out to make room for Izzy. And I am going to eat some pizza :)
Friday, June 06, 2003
SWEEEP!!!
Sorry, I took a trip home for an extended weekend so the updates will not be plentiful. I have been watching the games though, and watching the reborn offense do its thing. Ever since I started calling Tino TINA he's been killing the ball. Albert is en route to an MVP, if he's not beaten out by Renteria. This series against Toronto (granted the Jays pitching sucks) shows exactly how powerful this team can be. Let's hope they keep it up this time and don't fall back into the complacency trap.
What a job by Woody last night. He is just the man. I don't know what happened when he came to the Cards, but the argument could be made that when healthy he has been the best righthander in the National League this side of Curt Schiling since his trade in August of 2001. Didn't quite get that fastball in on Hudson enough. And kudos to Tony for taking him out after eight innings. The Wood-man has thrown so many high-pitch outings and that was certainly the right thing to do, even if it meant we had to watch Hermanson pitch. He was just plain bad, and I know it's been a while since he worked, almost two weeks, but there's no excuse for being that bad. I'm sure he'll chalk it up to not getting enough work, since he was complaining about it publicly. I have no idea why they didn't let Calero come in and finish up. Where the hell has he gone. Instead Esteban Yan came in and finished up with three straight groundouts, and Hermy gets charged for five runs without the benefit of an out. Ouch. He just moved his name to the front of the chopping block for when Izzy comes back.
Speaking of Izzy, as I'm sure you all know his first rehab outing at AA Tennessee was a success. One perfect inning with a K. I would expect that he'll throw at least twice more at Tennessee, setting him up to maybe come back for the end of the Red Sox series or the start of the Yankees series.
The Orioles limp into town tonight after getting swept by Houston. No time for mercy, now. This is a perfect opportunity to win some more ball games, let's keep it going boys!
Sorry, I took a trip home for an extended weekend so the updates will not be plentiful. I have been watching the games though, and watching the reborn offense do its thing. Ever since I started calling Tino TINA he's been killing the ball. Albert is en route to an MVP, if he's not beaten out by Renteria. This series against Toronto (granted the Jays pitching sucks) shows exactly how powerful this team can be. Let's hope they keep it up this time and don't fall back into the complacency trap.
What a job by Woody last night. He is just the man. I don't know what happened when he came to the Cards, but the argument could be made that when healthy he has been the best righthander in the National League this side of Curt Schiling since his trade in August of 2001. Didn't quite get that fastball in on Hudson enough. And kudos to Tony for taking him out after eight innings. The Wood-man has thrown so many high-pitch outings and that was certainly the right thing to do, even if it meant we had to watch Hermanson pitch. He was just plain bad, and I know it's been a while since he worked, almost two weeks, but there's no excuse for being that bad. I'm sure he'll chalk it up to not getting enough work, since he was complaining about it publicly. I have no idea why they didn't let Calero come in and finish up. Where the hell has he gone. Instead Esteban Yan came in and finished up with three straight groundouts, and Hermy gets charged for five runs without the benefit of an out. Ouch. He just moved his name to the front of the chopping block for when Izzy comes back.
Speaking of Izzy, as I'm sure you all know his first rehab outing at AA Tennessee was a success. One perfect inning with a K. I would expect that he'll throw at least twice more at Tennessee, setting him up to maybe come back for the end of the Red Sox series or the start of the Yankees series.
The Orioles limp into town tonight after getting swept by Houston. No time for mercy, now. This is a perfect opportunity to win some more ball games, let's keep it going boys!
Wednesday, June 04, 2003
Minor Transaction
The Cards traded C Clint Chauncey, an A-ball nobody whom they needed to get rid of to make space for the 29 catchers they drafted yesterday, to the Cleveland Indians for IF Bill Selby, who is best known for hitting a walk-off grand slam against Mo Rivera last year. Other than that, Selby has about eight lifetime hits. He is about as good of an option as Wilson Delgado so we'll see if he takes his spot on the 25-man roster.
The Cards traded C Clint Chauncey, an A-ball nobody whom they needed to get rid of to make space for the 29 catchers they drafted yesterday, to the Cleveland Indians for IF Bill Selby, who is best known for hitting a walk-off grand slam against Mo Rivera last year. Other than that, Selby has about eight lifetime hits. He is about as good of an option as Wilson Delgado so we'll see if he takes his spot on the 25-man roster.
AND ON WE GO......
16. Omar Pena 5'10" 165 Northeastern SS Brother of Tiger 1B Carlos Pena, who also played at Northeastern 6 homers, 26 RBI, .304/.390/.534 this season with 15 doubles and 21 walks in 161 AB's. Like the patience, glove needs some work
17. Kevin House 5'11" 180 Memphis OF Former JUCO All-American found the going a bit tougher in D-I. Finished with 5 homers and 34 RBI, .304/.349/.475 Didn't walk much but plays a good centerfield. Had a .668 slugging percentage with 69 RBI his sophomore season in JUCO. Drafted by Astros in 2001
18. Jose Virgil 6'0" 210 Oklahoma St. OF Third-Generation Major-Leaguer?? Son of Ozzie Jr., the former MLB catcher. Jose is an advanced hitter. Already 22, hit 11 homers with 54 RBI and .381/.453/.632 as a senior. Plays left, switch-hitter, all Big 12 first team. Hey, maybe we did draft some hitters after all. Wonder what level he'll start at.....
19. Jason Motte 6'0" 200 Iona C Threw out forty percent of would-be basestealers. 2nd team all-MAAC. 5 HR, 27 RBI, .279/.335/.461
20. Jordan Pals 6'8" 205 Eastern Illinois RHP I don't think he pitched at all this year, I don't know if he was hurt or what. I saw him play basketball once and he wasn't any good at that so hopefully he was concentrating on his pitching. Went to High School in Effingham and probably grew up a Cards fan so I'm sure he was excited.
16. Omar Pena 5'10" 165 Northeastern SS Brother of Tiger 1B Carlos Pena, who also played at Northeastern 6 homers, 26 RBI, .304/.390/.534 this season with 15 doubles and 21 walks in 161 AB's. Like the patience, glove needs some work
17. Kevin House 5'11" 180 Memphis OF Former JUCO All-American found the going a bit tougher in D-I. Finished with 5 homers and 34 RBI, .304/.349/.475 Didn't walk much but plays a good centerfield. Had a .668 slugging percentage with 69 RBI his sophomore season in JUCO. Drafted by Astros in 2001
18. Jose Virgil 6'0" 210 Oklahoma St. OF Third-Generation Major-Leaguer?? Son of Ozzie Jr., the former MLB catcher. Jose is an advanced hitter. Already 22, hit 11 homers with 54 RBI and .381/.453/.632 as a senior. Plays left, switch-hitter, all Big 12 first team. Hey, maybe we did draft some hitters after all. Wonder what level he'll start at.....
19. Jason Motte 6'0" 200 Iona C Threw out forty percent of would-be basestealers. 2nd team all-MAAC. 5 HR, 27 RBI, .279/.335/.461
20. Jordan Pals 6'8" 205 Eastern Illinois RHP I don't think he pitched at all this year, I don't know if he was hurt or what. I saw him play basketball once and he wasn't any good at that so hopefully he was concentrating on his pitching. Went to High School in Effingham and probably grew up a Cards fan so I'm sure he was excited.
CARDS WIN/DRAFT TRACKING
The Blue Jays bullpen was all the Cardinal bats needed to get going. Good games by Edgar, Rolen, Albert, and Tino, and an Edmonds two-run homer. Matty Mo was good enough to win against a Blue Jays lineup that hits fastballs like no team I've seen in awhile. Maybe Simo and Stephenson's un-fast fastballs will keep them off stride. Hoping....
To continue with the draft, here's some more stuff I found on the wonderful widw world of web.
9. Justin Garza 6'0" 185 Seminole State CC in Oklahoma. RHP All I could see was that he played infield and was a decent hitter, but apparently he pitches too.
10. Thomas "Buddy" Blair 6'1" 200 Oklahoma LHP Didn't have a very good ERA but who cares he's a lefty
11. Nathan Kopszywa 6'6" 230 Crichton College, a small Christian college in Memphis. RHP He was the Closer of the Year for his region. Had 73 K's and five saves. Might be a diamond in the rough find. Baseball America guys knew he was. Apparently a gamer
12. Calvin Beamon 6'1" 190 Comm. College of Southern Nevada. OF Was a frosh on National champion or whatever infinitesimal athletic body CCSN plays in.
13. Kainoa Obrey 6'3" 225 BYU 3B Big Hawaiian Dude not much of a fielder but can hit: 11 dingers and 65 rbi, .362/.432/.648
14. Ian Kennedy 5'11" 185 La Quinta HS California?? RHP Couldn't really find anything out about this guy, but MLB.com had really good things to say about his mechanics and polish. Sounds like he could be a sleeper.
15. Anthony Reyes 6'1" 205 USC RHP Was a third-team preseason all-america but has been limited by elbow problems the past two seasons. 2-4 with a 4.38 ERA in 10 starts. Good K/BB ratio of 41/11. ERA's 2000-2002 4.02 in 15 starts, 3.72 in 16 starts, 3.44 in 12 starts. Arm has some mileage on it but he has a ton of potential if he can get healthy. Will be 22 in October and it will be interesting to see what level the organization starts him at. Chances are he'll pitch little if at all this in the minors this season.
The Blue Jays bullpen was all the Cardinal bats needed to get going. Good games by Edgar, Rolen, Albert, and Tino, and an Edmonds two-run homer. Matty Mo was good enough to win against a Blue Jays lineup that hits fastballs like no team I've seen in awhile. Maybe Simo and Stephenson's un-fast fastballs will keep them off stride. Hoping....
To continue with the draft, here's some more stuff I found on the wonderful widw world of web.
9. Justin Garza 6'0" 185 Seminole State CC in Oklahoma. RHP All I could see was that he played infield and was a decent hitter, but apparently he pitches too.
10. Thomas "Buddy" Blair 6'1" 200 Oklahoma LHP Didn't have a very good ERA but who cares he's a lefty
11. Nathan Kopszywa 6'6" 230 Crichton College, a small Christian college in Memphis. RHP He was the Closer of the Year for his region. Had 73 K's and five saves. Might be a diamond in the rough find. Baseball America guys knew he was. Apparently a gamer
12. Calvin Beamon 6'1" 190 Comm. College of Southern Nevada. OF Was a frosh on National champion or whatever infinitesimal athletic body CCSN plays in.
13. Kainoa Obrey 6'3" 225 BYU 3B Big Hawaiian Dude not much of a fielder but can hit: 11 dingers and 65 rbi, .362/.432/.648
14. Ian Kennedy 5'11" 185 La Quinta HS California?? RHP Couldn't really find anything out about this guy, but MLB.com had really good things to say about his mechanics and polish. Sounds like he could be a sleeper.
15. Anthony Reyes 6'1" 205 USC RHP Was a third-team preseason all-america but has been limited by elbow problems the past two seasons. 2-4 with a 4.38 ERA in 10 starts. Good K/BB ratio of 41/11. ERA's 2000-2002 4.02 in 15 starts, 3.72 in 16 starts, 3.44 in 12 starts. Arm has some mileage on it but he has a ton of potential if he can get healthy. Will be 22 in October and it will be interesting to see what level the organization starts him at. Chances are he'll pitch little if at all this in the minors this season.
Tuesday, June 03, 2003
Picks Four thru Eight
With what little I know about them....
4. Mark Michael 6'4 205 University of Delaware RHP Had an ERA near 7. Hmm... Struck out about a batter an inning
5. Brandon Yarbrough 6'2 175 Richmond Senior HS, which I believe is in Rockingham, NC. Lefthanded Catcher and that's all I could find out
6. Matt Weagle 6'3 200 Franklin Pierce College RHP Division II All-American and first D-II player taken. 9-2 1.99 ERA 103 K 19 BB 2 homers in 99 innings. throws from a 3/4 slot and profiles well as a reliever because of his ability to get out righties
7. Brendan Ryan 6'2 195 Lewis-Clark St. College in Idaho Played 2B and SS for NAIA champs but was sidelined second half of the season, apparently with an injury. Utility guy.
8. Matthew Pagnozzi 6'3 200 Central Arizona College Catcher Obviously I assume but cannot confirm that he is the son of former Cards catcher Tom Pagnozzi. Drafted by Cubs out of high school. Cent. AZ won JUCO National title in 2002. 4 homers, 41 RBI. .348/.476/.488 in 2003.
With what little I know about them....
4. Mark Michael 6'4 205 University of Delaware RHP Had an ERA near 7. Hmm... Struck out about a batter an inning
5. Brandon Yarbrough 6'2 175 Richmond Senior HS, which I believe is in Rockingham, NC. Lefthanded Catcher and that's all I could find out
6. Matt Weagle 6'3 200 Franklin Pierce College RHP Division II All-American and first D-II player taken. 9-2 1.99 ERA 103 K 19 BB 2 homers in 99 innings. throws from a 3/4 slot and profiles well as a reliever because of his ability to get out righties
7. Brendan Ryan 6'2 195 Lewis-Clark St. College in Idaho Played 2B and SS for NAIA champs but was sidelined second half of the season, apparently with an injury. Utility guy.
8. Matthew Pagnozzi 6'3 200 Central Arizona College Catcher Obviously I assume but cannot confirm that he is the son of former Cards catcher Tom Pagnozzi. Drafted by Cubs out of high school. Cent. AZ won JUCO National title in 2002. 4 homers, 41 RBI. .348/.476/.488 in 2003.
Pick Number Three
The Cards selected their first college player, Dennis Dove, a 6'4" 205 lb. speedballer from Georgia Southern University. Dove apparently wings it in the upper nineties but doesn't have much of a feel for pitching. He was another guy projected as a possible suplemental first-round or early second round pick because of his great arm. He was 7-2 with a 4.52 ERA in 93 2/3 innings. He showed his good stuff by striking out 118 batters, but he got in trouble with 48 walks, more than one every two innings. Dove will be twenty-two at the end of August. MLB.com said he is long and lean with a tight curve and decnt change too. The guys from Baseball America said he is working on a slider but can't control it. He projects as a closer in the Cards future plans.
In other news, the offensive statistics for our minor-league clubs so far in 2003 must be wrong since we have now taken two pitchers with the first three picks. WTF?
The Cards selected their first college player, Dennis Dove, a 6'4" 205 lb. speedballer from Georgia Southern University. Dove apparently wings it in the upper nineties but doesn't have much of a feel for pitching. He was another guy projected as a possible suplemental first-round or early second round pick because of his great arm. He was 7-2 with a 4.52 ERA in 93 2/3 innings. He showed his good stuff by striking out 118 batters, but he got in trouble with 48 walks, more than one every two innings. Dove will be twenty-two at the end of August. MLB.com said he is long and lean with a tight curve and decnt change too. The guys from Baseball America said he is working on a slider but can't control it. He projects as a closer in the Cards future plans.
In other news, the offensive statistics for our minor-league clubs so far in 2003 must be wrong since we have now taken two pitchers with the first three picks. WTF?
Cards Second Pick
The Cards selected Stuart Pomeranz, a 6'7" 220 lb. right-handed pitcher out of Houston High School in Germantown, Tennessee. Pomeranz statistics are beyond ridiculous, as you might imagine with a guy that size pitching to high school kids.
94 IP, 28 Hits, 13-1 with a 0.54 ERA and 2 saves. He struck out 165 and walked 15, allowing no homers and opponents hit .089 against him. Also, six batters were called out after wetting their pants when stepping into the box. Just kidding. Read more about Stuart and his team, who lost in the Tennessee AAA State Quarterfinals, at www.mustangsbaseball.com
Pomeranz was projected as a first-round supplemental pick by Baseball America, who thought the Braves would take him at #36.
Now the Cards task is to make sure his right arm doesn't fall off before he reaches the big leagues.
The Cards selected Stuart Pomeranz, a 6'7" 220 lb. right-handed pitcher out of Houston High School in Germantown, Tennessee. Pomeranz statistics are beyond ridiculous, as you might imagine with a guy that size pitching to high school kids.
94 IP, 28 Hits, 13-1 with a 0.54 ERA and 2 saves. He struck out 165 and walked 15, allowing no homers and opponents hit .089 against him. Also, six batters were called out after wetting their pants when stepping into the box. Just kidding. Read more about Stuart and his team, who lost in the Tennessee AAA State Quarterfinals, at www.mustangsbaseball.com
Pomeranz was projected as a first-round supplemental pick by Baseball America, who thought the Braves would take him at #36.
Now the Cards task is to make sure his right arm doesn't fall off before he reaches the big leagues.
....................
Slightly interesting for the Cards to take a catcher first, considering Yadi Molina is only 20 himself. Barton does not turn 18 until late this summer. He was the first catcher taken in the draft. All signs point to Barton having a lot of power. His scouting report on MLB.com says he has plus power potential and a home run swing. 11 dingers in 87 AB's would suppport that theory. I am a big fan of the 22 walks, though I bet a lot of those were intentional. He doesn't have advanced catching skills, but he has a powerful arm with a good throwing motion. He signed to play at Cal St.-Fullerton but he was expected to go anywhere from the late-first to third rounds, as catchers are often hard to slot, so he may have not been expecting the kind of money he's going to be able to now get. It's highly possible that the Cards had a pre-draft agreement with Barton.
Slightly interesting for the Cards to take a catcher first, considering Yadi Molina is only 20 himself. Barton does not turn 18 until late this summer. He was the first catcher taken in the draft. All signs point to Barton having a lot of power. His scouting report on MLB.com says he has plus power potential and a home run swing. 11 dingers in 87 AB's would suppport that theory. I am a big fan of the 22 walks, though I bet a lot of those were intentional. He doesn't have advanced catching skills, but he has a powerful arm with a good throwing motion. He signed to play at Cal St.-Fullerton but he was expected to go anywhere from the late-first to third rounds, as catchers are often hard to slot, so he may have not been expecting the kind of money he's going to be able to now get. It's highly possible that the Cards had a pre-draft agreement with Barton.
MORE INFO!!!
Okay, his name is Daric Barton, and he attends Marina High School in Huntington Beach, CA. He is 5"11 185 lbs., bats left and throws right. He played mostly third base this year but projects as a catcher. His high school team is currently in the Southern Califronia Division I state semi-finals and are playing TONIGHT at 7 PM Pacific time. Talk about a full day for Mr. Barton!
Here are his unofficial stats courtesy of the Orange County Register:
AB R H RBI 2B HR Sac BB K
87 28 31 29 7 11 2 22 11
AVG. =.356 OBA. =.477 .SLG. = .816
This is twenty-nine games. He hit a walk-off homer in the quarterfinal game to give his team a 4-3 victory.
Okay, his name is Daric Barton, and he attends Marina High School in Huntington Beach, CA. He is 5"11 185 lbs., bats left and throws right. He played mostly third base this year but projects as a catcher. His high school team is currently in the Southern Califronia Division I state semi-finals and are playing TONIGHT at 7 PM Pacific time. Talk about a full day for Mr. Barton!
Here are his unofficial stats courtesy of the Orange County Register:
AB R H RBI 2B HR Sac BB K
87 28 31 29 7 11 2 22 11
AVG. =.356 OBA. =.477 .SLG. = .816
This is twenty-nine games. He hit a walk-off homer in the quarterfinal game to give his team a 4-3 victory.
Monday, June 02, 2003
RED BIRD DIARIES
It's Draft Day tomorrow, and I plan on keeping you stocked with regular updates and amateur (that's me as the amateur baseball mind, writing about the amateur draftees) commentary. So what's going on until we start drafting (I HOPE) hitters tomorrow around lunchtime?
--As Joe "Special Out Maker" Girardi continues his rehab, Pat Borders has made it back to the big leagues with the M's. Ironically, he replaces former Cardinal/Highly Overvalued Tony LaRussa pet John Mabry on the roster. Dry your eyes Ray.
Mr. Medhead Will Carroll's latest Izzy commentary:
In a season where we've seen the elite closers go down for the year, I think we have to be extremely skeptical with Izzy until he proves his health on the mound, and wouldn't want to count on him in anything resembling a meaningful situation until he showed me about 20 good innings at any level.
Well, Will, we'd all love to not HAVE to count on Izzy, but nobody wants to have to count on the town whore either. Sometimes you have to rely on those who have done it the best and the most in the past, especially when there's so few other options. I'd say it won't be long before Izzy starts getting the high-leverage innings, because the Birds ain't waiting to give them to the Russ "His pitches have lots of" SPRING-er when he comes off the DL.
Speaking of relievers and the like, what's going to happen when Izzy, Painter, and Springer (and Carpenter) come back? Hopefully no one will do something as stupid as putting Springer back on the roster. Where has Kiko Calero gone? One appearance in the last seven games before the reliever that probably has the best stuff in the pen? At least Kline and Fassero appear to be coming aropund temporarily, but now Eldred has started to struggle, Crudale has had a couple of shaky outings, and Calero and Hermy are whereabouts unknown. At least we have Esteban Yan to be our "Record in one-run games improver guy"
Another note, I just joined a Baseball Sim league on whatifsports.com. This stuff is cool as hell if you're a big baseball and stat dork like me. Go to the site if you want to know more as there's no reason for me to get a cramp typing it all. I will say this, in the public open leagues you have $80 million to draft 25 players in their one-season form for any season since 1885 (example--my 2nd Baseman is the 1929 Rogers Hornsby). You get 15 hitters and 10 pitchers and you can pre-set a bunch of strategy. 3 games are simulated each day and its a 162-game season. There are also themed leagues where you can get people together under certain rules, like you can only draft players from the forties, or all the pitchers you draft had to have an ERA above 5.00 in that year. I was thinking we could get an all-Cardinals league together, where only Cardinal players can be taken. Check out the site, it's very cool.
It's Draft Day tomorrow, and I plan on keeping you stocked with regular updates and amateur (that's me as the amateur baseball mind, writing about the amateur draftees) commentary. So what's going on until we start drafting (I HOPE) hitters tomorrow around lunchtime?
--As Joe "Special Out Maker" Girardi continues his rehab, Pat Borders has made it back to the big leagues with the M's. Ironically, he replaces former Cardinal/Highly Overvalued Tony LaRussa pet John Mabry on the roster. Dry your eyes Ray.
Mr. Medhead Will Carroll's latest Izzy commentary:
In a season where we've seen the elite closers go down for the year, I think we have to be extremely skeptical with Izzy until he proves his health on the mound, and wouldn't want to count on him in anything resembling a meaningful situation until he showed me about 20 good innings at any level.
Well, Will, we'd all love to not HAVE to count on Izzy, but nobody wants to have to count on the town whore either. Sometimes you have to rely on those who have done it the best and the most in the past, especially when there's so few other options. I'd say it won't be long before Izzy starts getting the high-leverage innings, because the Birds ain't waiting to give them to the Russ "His pitches have lots of" SPRING-er when he comes off the DL.
Speaking of relievers and the like, what's going to happen when Izzy, Painter, and Springer (and Carpenter) come back? Hopefully no one will do something as stupid as putting Springer back on the roster. Where has Kiko Calero gone? One appearance in the last seven games before the reliever that probably has the best stuff in the pen? At least Kline and Fassero appear to be coming aropund temporarily, but now Eldred has started to struggle, Crudale has had a couple of shaky outings, and Calero and Hermy are whereabouts unknown. At least we have Esteban Yan to be our "Record in one-run games improver guy"
Another note, I just joined a Baseball Sim league on whatifsports.com. This stuff is cool as hell if you're a big baseball and stat dork like me. Go to the site if you want to know more as there's no reason for me to get a cramp typing it all. I will say this, in the public open leagues you have $80 million to draft 25 players in their one-season form for any season since 1885 (example--my 2nd Baseman is the 1929 Rogers Hornsby). You get 15 hitters and 10 pitchers and you can pre-set a bunch of strategy. 3 games are simulated each day and its a 162-game season. There are also themed leagues where you can get people together under certain rules, like you can only draft players from the forties, or all the pitchers you draft had to have an ERA above 5.00 in that year. I was thinking we could get an all-Cardinals league together, where only Cardinal players can be taken. Check out the site, it's very cool.
Speeding Towards Mediocrity
The Cards season-long love-affair with the .500 mark continued Sunday as they manged to salvage the last of three from the might Pittsburgh Pirates.
Among the days highlights: Scott Rolen commemorating his bobblehead day with a double, a run scored, and a key key seventh-inning walk that led to Edgar Renteria's two-out, two-strike, two-run single to give the Cards the win. Rolen the iced the game for the Birdos by making a fantastic leaping catch of Reggie Sanders shot down the line for the game's final out, giving Jeff Fassero the save. Also, the Kliner pitched very well, pitching 1 2/3 scoreless innings and picking up the win. And J.D. Drew continued his foray back into the warming hearts of those in the Birdhouse with another home run.
Among the days lowlights: Light-hitting and heavily annoying former Cardinal farmhand Jack Wilson hitting a three-run homer off of Brett Tomko, who served up his usual helpings of nastiness mixed in with Nancy-ness in going six innings and allowing just those three runs to gain a no-decision. Esteban Yan gave up a tater-iffic shot to Amish right fielder Craig Wilson with one out in the ninth. Clearly, the reason for Yan's acquisition was to give the Cards a better record in one-run games. Against the Astros he made a one-run deficit three, thereby insuring the Cards would not lose by one. Yesterday he served up the tater to cut the Cards lead to one and help give them just their third one-run victory of the year. All sarcasm aside, Yan did blow away Randall Simon to get the last out in the eighth after Kline had allowed a two-out single to Aramis Ramirez.
Now what? Interleague play. The smoking, piping, burning, red-hot Blue Jays offense comes to Busch, along with their not-so-good pitching staff. The Cards will face Kelvim Escobar on Tuesday night. Escobar is a one time starter-turned closer-now back to starting. He hasn't pitched five innings in a game yet this year, which is a good thing for the Cards because the Blue Jays pen is very bad. The Birds need to rip into the Bluebirds pen early and often. One factor that will help to chill Toronto's offensive attack is that their DH Josh Phelps has no place to play, and therefor will likely be limited to pinch-hitting duties. Matty Mo will have a challenge in front of him, that is for sure. Maybe the Cards can do something novel this week, like start a winning streak.
By the way kudos to Redbird Nation for their site redesign. You guys are going to have to give me some tips on how to make my boring-ass site much cooler. That picture of Jim Edmonds and Craig Paquette holding hands gives me the wilies. And yes, Mr. Jimmy Jack is back in the lineup, and if nothing else, he is showing good plate discipline, walking twice Saturday and twice yesterday. The whole team showed great discipline in fact. It was three straight two-out walks that led to Renteria's game-deciding hit. That is encouraging even if little else currently is. Even Chris Widger showed that he has some skill in taking pitches. He walked twice! Why they didn't just throw the ball right down the middle every pitch is beyond me. When they did that, he missed it. Hmmm... The whole catcher thing is kiling me. In the Post-Dispatch it said that they're thinking of employing three catchers when Girardi is activated. I swear, I think sometimes Tony just wants to be blasted by every baseball person born after 1960. At least if they keep Widger on the team when Girardi comes back they'll have to get rid of Wilson Delgado or Taguchi. I'd say Delgado based on the fact that Taguchi appears to have at least some patience and took a couple good swings yesterday, even if he does belong in Munchkin Land. (We represent, the Over-Priced Gang, The Over-Priced Gang...)
The Cards season-long love-affair with the .500 mark continued Sunday as they manged to salvage the last of three from the might Pittsburgh Pirates.
Among the days highlights: Scott Rolen commemorating his bobblehead day with a double, a run scored, and a key key seventh-inning walk that led to Edgar Renteria's two-out, two-strike, two-run single to give the Cards the win. Rolen the iced the game for the Birdos by making a fantastic leaping catch of Reggie Sanders shot down the line for the game's final out, giving Jeff Fassero the save. Also, the Kliner pitched very well, pitching 1 2/3 scoreless innings and picking up the win. And J.D. Drew continued his foray back into the warming hearts of those in the Birdhouse with another home run.
Among the days lowlights: Light-hitting and heavily annoying former Cardinal farmhand Jack Wilson hitting a three-run homer off of Brett Tomko, who served up his usual helpings of nastiness mixed in with Nancy-ness in going six innings and allowing just those three runs to gain a no-decision. Esteban Yan gave up a tater-iffic shot to Amish right fielder Craig Wilson with one out in the ninth. Clearly, the reason for Yan's acquisition was to give the Cards a better record in one-run games. Against the Astros he made a one-run deficit three, thereby insuring the Cards would not lose by one. Yesterday he served up the tater to cut the Cards lead to one and help give them just their third one-run victory of the year. All sarcasm aside, Yan did blow away Randall Simon to get the last out in the eighth after Kline had allowed a two-out single to Aramis Ramirez.
Now what? Interleague play. The smoking, piping, burning, red-hot Blue Jays offense comes to Busch, along with their not-so-good pitching staff. The Cards will face Kelvim Escobar on Tuesday night. Escobar is a one time starter-turned closer-now back to starting. He hasn't pitched five innings in a game yet this year, which is a good thing for the Cards because the Blue Jays pen is very bad. The Birds need to rip into the Bluebirds pen early and often. One factor that will help to chill Toronto's offensive attack is that their DH Josh Phelps has no place to play, and therefor will likely be limited to pinch-hitting duties. Matty Mo will have a challenge in front of him, that is for sure. Maybe the Cards can do something novel this week, like start a winning streak.
By the way kudos to Redbird Nation for their site redesign. You guys are going to have to give me some tips on how to make my boring-ass site much cooler. That picture of Jim Edmonds and Craig Paquette holding hands gives me the wilies. And yes, Mr. Jimmy Jack is back in the lineup, and if nothing else, he is showing good plate discipline, walking twice Saturday and twice yesterday. The whole team showed great discipline in fact. It was three straight two-out walks that led to Renteria's game-deciding hit. That is encouraging even if little else currently is. Even Chris Widger showed that he has some skill in taking pitches. He walked twice! Why they didn't just throw the ball right down the middle every pitch is beyond me. When they did that, he missed it. Hmmm... The whole catcher thing is kiling me. In the Post-Dispatch it said that they're thinking of employing three catchers when Girardi is activated. I swear, I think sometimes Tony just wants to be blasted by every baseball person born after 1960. At least if they keep Widger on the team when Girardi comes back they'll have to get rid of Wilson Delgado or Taguchi. I'd say Delgado based on the fact that Taguchi appears to have at least some patience and took a couple good swings yesterday, even if he does belong in Munchkin Land. (We represent, the Over-Priced Gang, The Over-Priced Gang...)
Friday, May 30, 2003
This hurts to watch
I decided I'm not going to wait to the end of the game becuase this just too depressing. I'm starting to take a lean back towards my pessimistic thoughts on how this season is going to turn out. Why? This team just doesn't appear to have what it takes to be successful. The talent is there, as evidenced by the statisitcs which say this club should be doing better in the W-L column than what it is. But the combination of injuries, lack of focus and smarts (Cairo just got picked off first), crappy depth and a crappy bullpen, with the first major failings by the front office interwoven into all of this, and Tony LaRussa's insistence of managing the way he always has (except with the starting rotation, which he is overworking) looks like it might be too much to turn this team around. The bullpen is still poor. The offense is too inconsistent, the team plays very poor situational baseball, and there is not the minor-league talent or the financial resources available to make upgrades this season. Our bench is a joke, and three of our starting pitchers are iffy propositions on most nights. It's not a formula for sustained success and even if the Cards did happen to win the NL Central, they would get crushed by any number of good teams in the playoffs. The Cards could fail to improve significantly and still be in the race in this weak-ass division, there's no question in my mind. Hell, the Pirates may still get back in the race. The Bottom Line is, nothing that this organization has done since last October has been inspiring, not in the front office, not on the field , not in the managerial department. And I'm starting to wonder if it's not going to curse us in the years to come, because it will be seen as an aberration and no one will think that maybe we've had more than our share of good fortune from 2000-2002.
One thing is for certain. This team needs a better bench, a better bullpen, and at least one more good starter to be a really good team. Are we going to get those things this offseason? Will we have any money? And if we do try to upgrade, is there any guarantee that Tony won't try to ruin it by having So Taguchi or Kerry Robinson on the team, along with whatever ancient backup catcher that has the type of "style" that Tony likes? Has anyone else noticed that my approval rating of TLR has plummeted? Maybe a season like this is what the organization needs to slap it back into reality a little bit.
I decided I'm not going to wait to the end of the game becuase this just too depressing. I'm starting to take a lean back towards my pessimistic thoughts on how this season is going to turn out. Why? This team just doesn't appear to have what it takes to be successful. The talent is there, as evidenced by the statisitcs which say this club should be doing better in the W-L column than what it is. But the combination of injuries, lack of focus and smarts (Cairo just got picked off first), crappy depth and a crappy bullpen, with the first major failings by the front office interwoven into all of this, and Tony LaRussa's insistence of managing the way he always has (except with the starting rotation, which he is overworking) looks like it might be too much to turn this team around. The bullpen is still poor. The offense is too inconsistent, the team plays very poor situational baseball, and there is not the minor-league talent or the financial resources available to make upgrades this season. Our bench is a joke, and three of our starting pitchers are iffy propositions on most nights. It's not a formula for sustained success and even if the Cards did happen to win the NL Central, they would get crushed by any number of good teams in the playoffs. The Cards could fail to improve significantly and still be in the race in this weak-ass division, there's no question in my mind. Hell, the Pirates may still get back in the race. The Bottom Line is, nothing that this organization has done since last October has been inspiring, not in the front office, not on the field , not in the managerial department. And I'm starting to wonder if it's not going to curse us in the years to come, because it will be seen as an aberration and no one will think that maybe we've had more than our share of good fortune from 2000-2002.
One thing is for certain. This team needs a better bench, a better bullpen, and at least one more good starter to be a really good team. Are we going to get those things this offseason? Will we have any money? And if we do try to upgrade, is there any guarantee that Tony won't try to ruin it by having So Taguchi or Kerry Robinson on the team, along with whatever ancient backup catcher that has the type of "style" that Tony likes? Has anyone else noticed that my approval rating of TLR has plummeted? Maybe a season like this is what the organization needs to slap it back into reality a little bit.
Thursday, May 29, 2003
EDMONDS HURTS HIMSELF
But it doesn't sound all that serious. Of course the Cards injury staff makes every injury sound as if it will be life-threatening. Edmonds will probably take a few days off and be back at it when interleague play starts on Tuesday.
I'm getting ready to go out of town, but I just wanted to say thank you to Jason Simontacchi for shutting my mouth in a big way last night. That was the best I've ever seen Simo pitch and it will hopefully boost his confidence. Last night was the first time that Simo didn't seem to be waiting for something bad to happen.
Meanwhile, Tina Martinez is still playing everyday. That's right Tino's new name is Tina because he/she plays ball like a girl.
Dan Haren had his second good start in a row yesterday afternoon for AAA Memphis. He was perfect thru five, setting down the first fifteen Omaha Royals he faced. He ended up getting a no decision after going 7 innings, allowing 2 earned runs on three hits, striking out six, and walking none.
But it doesn't sound all that serious. Of course the Cards injury staff makes every injury sound as if it will be life-threatening. Edmonds will probably take a few days off and be back at it when interleague play starts on Tuesday.
I'm getting ready to go out of town, but I just wanted to say thank you to Jason Simontacchi for shutting my mouth in a big way last night. That was the best I've ever seen Simo pitch and it will hopefully boost his confidence. Last night was the first time that Simo didn't seem to be waiting for something bad to happen.
Meanwhile, Tina Martinez is still playing everyday. That's right Tino's new name is Tina because he/she plays ball like a girl.
Dan Haren had his second good start in a row yesterday afternoon for AAA Memphis. He was perfect thru five, setting down the first fifteen Omaha Royals he faced. He ended up getting a no decision after going 7 innings, allowing 2 earned runs on three hits, striking out six, and walking none.
Wednesday, May 28, 2003
Cards can't get over the hump
A win last night could've moved the Cards two full games ahead of the Astros and within a half game of the Cubs. It wasn't meant to be as Brett Tomko gave up the go-ahead run in his final inning of work (the 7th) after already having thrown 110+ pitches. LaRussa continues to ride his starters like never before, and last night it could've been the difference in the ballgame. Of course the relievers didn't help much either. Kiko Calero gave up a solo shot to Jeff Kent, and Esteban Yan, who I had no idea was actually going to make it St. Louis by game time last night, much less pitch, was greeted to two runs, off an RBI double by Craig Biggio and an RBI single by Jeff Bagwell. Tell me, if you're Tony LaRussa, exactly what is going through your mind when you call on a guy who hasn't pitched in a week and just finished a whirlwind plane trip to St. Louis and ask him to preserve a one-run deficit in the ninth inning against the Houston Astros. Yan berely had time to put on his jock, much less get acquainted with any of the catchers, coaches, signs, etc. The results were predictable. He hit Adam Everett with the first pitch and gave up two more hits and the Cards ended up losing 7-4. Maybe Tony was just conceding the game since Billy Wagner was coming in and our pinch-hitting options were Mike Matheny and Tino Martinez. Hey, at least Esteban kept the Cards from losing another one-run decision.
It was incredibly pathetic to see Wilson Delgado pinch-hitting in the eighth against Octavio Dotel. At least he was able to pull a Rudy Stein and take one for the team, but our bench is now officially a joke. So Taguchi? WTF?
Trader Walt, if you're in the trading mood, take heed: After Palmeiro and Perez, our bench sucks. That's Widger, Taguchi, and Delgado. That doesn't include Cairo, who hardly a worthy regular, and Martinez, whom you know what I think about. This team might have needed another Bat more than it needed Esteban Yan. It certainly didn't need So Taguchi, and it certainly hasn't needed Wilson Delgado at any point this season. Rise up Cardinal Fans, and protest these monstrosities. Oh and by he way, we all get treated to watching Jason Simontacchi pitch to Bagwell, Kent, and Berkman tonight, as well as a piping hot Biggio and royal pain in the ass Adam Everett. Should be great fun. The only solace is that the Astros are calling up Jonathan Johnson, he of the lifetime ERA near 7, to make his first start in two years. We could be looking at a football score.
A win last night could've moved the Cards two full games ahead of the Astros and within a half game of the Cubs. It wasn't meant to be as Brett Tomko gave up the go-ahead run in his final inning of work (the 7th) after already having thrown 110+ pitches. LaRussa continues to ride his starters like never before, and last night it could've been the difference in the ballgame. Of course the relievers didn't help much either. Kiko Calero gave up a solo shot to Jeff Kent, and Esteban Yan, who I had no idea was actually going to make it St. Louis by game time last night, much less pitch, was greeted to two runs, off an RBI double by Craig Biggio and an RBI single by Jeff Bagwell. Tell me, if you're Tony LaRussa, exactly what is going through your mind when you call on a guy who hasn't pitched in a week and just finished a whirlwind plane trip to St. Louis and ask him to preserve a one-run deficit in the ninth inning against the Houston Astros. Yan berely had time to put on his jock, much less get acquainted with any of the catchers, coaches, signs, etc. The results were predictable. He hit Adam Everett with the first pitch and gave up two more hits and the Cards ended up losing 7-4. Maybe Tony was just conceding the game since Billy Wagner was coming in and our pinch-hitting options were Mike Matheny and Tino Martinez. Hey, at least Esteban kept the Cards from losing another one-run decision.
It was incredibly pathetic to see Wilson Delgado pinch-hitting in the eighth against Octavio Dotel. At least he was able to pull a Rudy Stein and take one for the team, but our bench is now officially a joke. So Taguchi? WTF?
Trader Walt, if you're in the trading mood, take heed: After Palmeiro and Perez, our bench sucks. That's Widger, Taguchi, and Delgado. That doesn't include Cairo, who hardly a worthy regular, and Martinez, whom you know what I think about. This team might have needed another Bat more than it needed Esteban Yan. It certainly didn't need So Taguchi, and it certainly hasn't needed Wilson Delgado at any point this season. Rise up Cardinal Fans, and protest these monstrosities. Oh and by he way, we all get treated to watching Jason Simontacchi pitch to Bagwell, Kent, and Berkman tonight, as well as a piping hot Biggio and royal pain in the ass Adam Everett. Should be great fun. The only solace is that the Astros are calling up Jonathan Johnson, he of the lifetime ERA near 7, to make his first start in two years. We could be looking at a football score.
Tuesday, May 27, 2003
Cards Acquire Esteban Yan
The Cardinals traded High-A Centerfielder Rick Asadoorian to the Texas Rangers today for righty reliever Esteban Yan and cash.
This is a perfectly ok move to make because it is a very low-risk gamble. Asadoorian is regarded as an outstanding defensive outfielder, but he is one of the worst hitters in the organization, and his chances of being a big-league ballplayer are near zero. And the Rangers are paying most of Yan's salary, which is on a one-year contract. Yan was designated for assignment by the Rangers about a week ago in the midst of what has been a nightmarish 2003 for him so far. His ERA is currently a whopping 6.94 ERA. That said, his ERA has been below league average the past two seasons, where he was the on again off again closer for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Given Dave Duncan's track record with relievers who have had prior success in the majors, this is a worthwhile gamble. Yan certainly can't be a worse option than Gabe Molina or Russ Springer.
Here are Yan's career numbers going into 2003.
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA *lgERA *ERA+
+--------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+------+----+----+---+----+----+-----+-----+----+
1996 21 BAL AL 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 9.3 13 6 3 3 7 5.79 4.90 85
1997 22 BAL AL 0 1 3 2 0 0 0 9.7 20 17 3 7 4 15.83 4.39 28
1998 23 TBD AL 5 4 64 0 0 0 1 88.7 78 38 11 41 77 3.86 4.89 127
1999 24 TBD AL 3 4 50 1 0 0 0 61.0 77 40 8 32 46 5.90 4.87 82
2000 25 TBD AL 7 8 43 20 0 0 0 137.7 158 95 26 42 111 6.21 4.92 79
2001 26 TBD AL 4 6 54 0 0 0 22 62.3 64 27 7 11 64 3.90 4.48 115
2002 27 TBD AL 7 8 55 0 0 0 19 69.0 70 33 10 29 53 4.30 4.47 104
+--------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+------+----+----+---+----+----+-----+-----+----+
7 Yr WL% .456 26 31 273 23 0 0 42 437.7 480 256 68 165 362 5.26 4.76 90
Here's his line from 2003
W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV SVO IP H R ER HR HBP BB SO
0 1 6.94 15 0 0 0 0 0 23.1 31 19 18 5 2 7 25
As you can see, Yan is a power pitcher, who has usually had pretty good K/BB ratios, including over a K an inning this season. This speaks well for his chances of improving with the Cardinals defense behind him, as long as he can avoid the longball, wich should be somewhat easier to do out of the AL and the Ballpark in Arlington. A guy with those peripherals should not have an ERA of nearly seven.
The Post-Dispatch says a reliever will be sent down to make room for Yan and that will almost assuredly be Gabe Molina. Now the Cards might want to think about making a trade for another utility player. I guess this means the Cards won't be trying to get Ugueth Urbina any more, which is what Peter Gammons had been reporting, probably incorrectly. If they were, I guess they got tired of the Rangers saying no to their overtures for Urbina and gave them Yan instead. The seemingly impending return of Izzy made the acquisition of Urbina or someone like him not as critical.
The Cardinals traded High-A Centerfielder Rick Asadoorian to the Texas Rangers today for righty reliever Esteban Yan and cash.
This is a perfectly ok move to make because it is a very low-risk gamble. Asadoorian is regarded as an outstanding defensive outfielder, but he is one of the worst hitters in the organization, and his chances of being a big-league ballplayer are near zero. And the Rangers are paying most of Yan's salary, which is on a one-year contract. Yan was designated for assignment by the Rangers about a week ago in the midst of what has been a nightmarish 2003 for him so far. His ERA is currently a whopping 6.94 ERA. That said, his ERA has been below league average the past two seasons, where he was the on again off again closer for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Given Dave Duncan's track record with relievers who have had prior success in the majors, this is a worthwhile gamble. Yan certainly can't be a worse option than Gabe Molina or Russ Springer.
Here are Yan's career numbers going into 2003.
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA *lgERA *ERA+
+--------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+------+----+----+---+----+----+-----+-----+----+
1996 21 BAL AL 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 9.3 13 6 3 3 7 5.79 4.90 85
1997 22 BAL AL 0 1 3 2 0 0 0 9.7 20 17 3 7 4 15.83 4.39 28
1998 23 TBD AL 5 4 64 0 0 0 1 88.7 78 38 11 41 77 3.86 4.89 127
1999 24 TBD AL 3 4 50 1 0 0 0 61.0 77 40 8 32 46 5.90 4.87 82
2000 25 TBD AL 7 8 43 20 0 0 0 137.7 158 95 26 42 111 6.21 4.92 79
2001 26 TBD AL 4 6 54 0 0 0 22 62.3 64 27 7 11 64 3.90 4.48 115
2002 27 TBD AL 7 8 55 0 0 0 19 69.0 70 33 10 29 53 4.30 4.47 104
+--------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+------+----+----+---+----+----+-----+-----+----+
7 Yr WL% .456 26 31 273 23 0 0 42 437.7 480 256 68 165 362 5.26 4.76 90
Here's his line from 2003
W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV SVO IP H R ER HR HBP BB SO
0 1 6.94 15 0 0 0 0 0 23.1 31 19 18 5 2 7 25
As you can see, Yan is a power pitcher, who has usually had pretty good K/BB ratios, including over a K an inning this season. This speaks well for his chances of improving with the Cardinals defense behind him, as long as he can avoid the longball, wich should be somewhat easier to do out of the AL and the Ballpark in Arlington. A guy with those peripherals should not have an ERA of nearly seven.
The Post-Dispatch says a reliever will be sent down to make room for Yan and that will almost assuredly be Gabe Molina. Now the Cards might want to think about making a trade for another utility player. I guess this means the Cards won't be trying to get Ugueth Urbina any more, which is what Peter Gammons had been reporting, probably incorrectly. If they were, I guess they got tired of the Rangers saying no to their overtures for Urbina and gave them Yan instead. The seemingly impending return of Izzy made the acquisition of Urbina or someone like him not as critical.
MORE!!!
I just checked out Redbird Nation and saw a very cool little feature the Big Gunns did on Walt Jockettys trades as Cardinals GM. I had a few thoughts about it.....
1. Woody and Ray the K were able to pass thru waivers because whomever would've claimed them would've been on the hook for the $3 million they were both owed that year, plus the approximately $7 million for the next year. It was a swap of "bad" contracts. Well, at least one of them was bad :) I'd say getting rid of Lankford's money in exchange for Woody's makes that a pure A.
2. The player to be named later in the Chuck Finley deal was Covelli "Coco" Crisp, who played some for Cleveland's big club last year and currently has an OBA of about .400 with a ton of stolen bases in AAA Buffalo. He will probably be the Indians leadoff hitter starting in 2004. So that takes a little bit of luster off of the deal, especialy since the Cards didn't re-sign Finley. But Chuck sure helped us last year. The other player in the deal, Luis Garcia, who was supposedly the big prospect, and was acquired from Boston in the Hermanson trade, is hitting under .200 at Buffalo. Put that in your pipe and smoke it Gammons.
3. In the Hackman-Tomko deal, the Cards also sent San Diego Mike Wodnicki, who is currently the closer for the Padres High-A team after starting for the Peoria club last year. Wodnicki is doing very well right now, but alas, he is a High-A reliever, which means that a lot of things have to happen and several years must go by before this trade could be even considered remotely even, and even then it's a long shot.
Truly, the only trade I really think Walt regrets making is the Young-Brantley deal. Gilkey had one good year with the Mets and was done, so that was no big deal. Losing Cliff Politte turned out to not be good, but he hadn't shown anything at the time and Stephenson, though much-maligned, was instrumental in 2000 and still could be again.
One other deal that didn't work out so well for the Cards: Joe McEwing for Jesse Orosco. Little Mac has never been as much of a ballplayer as a fan favorite, so trading him might have been a blessing in disguise, as he fits the profile of a player TLR would keep on the team for no other reason than his scrappiness and ability to play multiple positions. The disappointing thing about the trade was that St. Louis happened to be the one stop in Jesse Orosco's long, long career that he didn't help the team he played for. I'm sure Card fans thought Orosco was done after the Cards broke ties with him, but he is in the middle of his third successful season since, which will probably be his last.
The Gunn's are right about another thing. Injuries have hurt the Cards trade flexibility. When the time comes to make a deal, a minor-league arm is almost certainly going to be what is dealt. It won't be Haren, and it won't be Hawksworth, but it could be pretty much anyone else. Brace yourself.
I just checked out Redbird Nation and saw a very cool little feature the Big Gunns did on Walt Jockettys trades as Cardinals GM. I had a few thoughts about it.....
1. Woody and Ray the K were able to pass thru waivers because whomever would've claimed them would've been on the hook for the $3 million they were both owed that year, plus the approximately $7 million for the next year. It was a swap of "bad" contracts. Well, at least one of them was bad :) I'd say getting rid of Lankford's money in exchange for Woody's makes that a pure A.
2. The player to be named later in the Chuck Finley deal was Covelli "Coco" Crisp, who played some for Cleveland's big club last year and currently has an OBA of about .400 with a ton of stolen bases in AAA Buffalo. He will probably be the Indians leadoff hitter starting in 2004. So that takes a little bit of luster off of the deal, especialy since the Cards didn't re-sign Finley. But Chuck sure helped us last year. The other player in the deal, Luis Garcia, who was supposedly the big prospect, and was acquired from Boston in the Hermanson trade, is hitting under .200 at Buffalo. Put that in your pipe and smoke it Gammons.
3. In the Hackman-Tomko deal, the Cards also sent San Diego Mike Wodnicki, who is currently the closer for the Padres High-A team after starting for the Peoria club last year. Wodnicki is doing very well right now, but alas, he is a High-A reliever, which means that a lot of things have to happen and several years must go by before this trade could be even considered remotely even, and even then it's a long shot.
Truly, the only trade I really think Walt regrets making is the Young-Brantley deal. Gilkey had one good year with the Mets and was done, so that was no big deal. Losing Cliff Politte turned out to not be good, but he hadn't shown anything at the time and Stephenson, though much-maligned, was instrumental in 2000 and still could be again.
One other deal that didn't work out so well for the Cards: Joe McEwing for Jesse Orosco. Little Mac has never been as much of a ballplayer as a fan favorite, so trading him might have been a blessing in disguise, as he fits the profile of a player TLR would keep on the team for no other reason than his scrappiness and ability to play multiple positions. The disappointing thing about the trade was that St. Louis happened to be the one stop in Jesse Orosco's long, long career that he didn't help the team he played for. I'm sure Card fans thought Orosco was done after the Cards broke ties with him, but he is in the middle of his third successful season since, which will probably be his last.
The Gunn's are right about another thing. Injuries have hurt the Cards trade flexibility. When the time comes to make a deal, a minor-league arm is almost certainly going to be what is dealt. It won't be Haren, and it won't be Hawksworth, but it could be pretty much anyone else. Brace yourself.
TAGUCHI GETS CALL
So Taguchi, who has no homers, 10 RBI, and a .254 batting average at AAA Memphis will be called up to take Fernando Vina's place on the roster. Taguchi is one of the worst hitters on a terrible offensive team in Memphis, but appaently is making too much money to be ignored for another callup. I was at least excited to hear that Jon Nunnally's name was mentioned among possible candidates for a callup, so maybe he'll get a chance after Taguchi goes 0 for his first 12. Elsewhere, Rotoworld.com has speculated that the Cards may make a trade for a stopgap at the position, possibly Mark Loretta or Eric Young. I'd certainly have no problem with this and it would make sense, if only as a bench strenthening move. As of tonight, the Cards will have three complete offensive zeroes on their bench in the form of Chris Widger, Wilson Delgado, and Taguchi. Grabbing Loretta or Young would not be tough and it would send Cairo back to the bench, making it better.
In the minors, Chris Narveson gave up only one run over seven innings a couple nights ago, but lost because Palm Beach can't score runs. Narveson and Tyler Johnson continue to give solid performances for Palm Beach while receiving no run support.
Jimmy Journell continues to pitch well in relief. He has two more scoreless innings in a weekend outing, and looks like a better bet right now than Gabe Molina, who had a poor ERA in Memphis and has looked shaky since his recall.
Travis Hanson has slumped at Peoria. He's in a 1 for 23 skid that has dropped his average below .300. However John Santor continues to destroy Midwest League pitching. He's batting .357 and drawing a ton of walks.
The Cards will have Brett Tomko going against the Astros Jeriome Robertson tonight in a rematch of last Thursday's 5-2 victory by the Astros in Houston. This series sets up well for the Cards. Houston has pitchers going the next three nights who typically don't go deep into games, and their middle guys got heavy use yesterday. Also, Geoff Blum is recovering from meningitis and Richard Hidalgo will be out the whole series. No Roy Oswalt or Wade Miller either. The Cards have great chance to take three out of four and could sweep the series, especially if they get into the Astros pen early tonight.
So Taguchi, who has no homers, 10 RBI, and a .254 batting average at AAA Memphis will be called up to take Fernando Vina's place on the roster. Taguchi is one of the worst hitters on a terrible offensive team in Memphis, but appaently is making too much money to be ignored for another callup. I was at least excited to hear that Jon Nunnally's name was mentioned among possible candidates for a callup, so maybe he'll get a chance after Taguchi goes 0 for his first 12. Elsewhere, Rotoworld.com has speculated that the Cards may make a trade for a stopgap at the position, possibly Mark Loretta or Eric Young. I'd certainly have no problem with this and it would make sense, if only as a bench strenthening move. As of tonight, the Cards will have three complete offensive zeroes on their bench in the form of Chris Widger, Wilson Delgado, and Taguchi. Grabbing Loretta or Young would not be tough and it would send Cairo back to the bench, making it better.
In the minors, Chris Narveson gave up only one run over seven innings a couple nights ago, but lost because Palm Beach can't score runs. Narveson and Tyler Johnson continue to give solid performances for Palm Beach while receiving no run support.
Jimmy Journell continues to pitch well in relief. He has two more scoreless innings in a weekend outing, and looks like a better bet right now than Gabe Molina, who had a poor ERA in Memphis and has looked shaky since his recall.
Travis Hanson has slumped at Peoria. He's in a 1 for 23 skid that has dropped his average below .300. However John Santor continues to destroy Midwest League pitching. He's batting .357 and drawing a ton of walks.
The Cards will have Brett Tomko going against the Astros Jeriome Robertson tonight in a rematch of last Thursday's 5-2 victory by the Astros in Houston. This series sets up well for the Cards. Houston has pitchers going the next three nights who typically don't go deep into games, and their middle guys got heavy use yesterday. Also, Geoff Blum is recovering from meningitis and Richard Hidalgo will be out the whole series. No Roy Oswalt or Wade Miller either. The Cards have great chance to take three out of four and could sweep the series, especially if they get into the Astros pen early tonight.
Monday, May 26, 2003
Another thing, I totally take anything back I said about Chris Widger being an "adequate backup". He is 0 for 11 at the plate and has shown nothing defensively when he's in the ballgame. He is particularly unadept at catching thows home and transferring the ball from glove to hand. I now side with the Birdhouse on this topic. FREE PAT BORDERS!! Speaking of the birdhouse, Ray what happened? My Astros-Cards preview from Houston is still up on the website? Is my material slipping? :)
Well, Fernando is going to be out a lot longer than expected. I guess it's just Murphy's Law with Cards and injuries this year. Marrero was a loss we could handle, and Vina's is too, but it hurts. In addition to his sterling D, Fred has picked it up at the plate big time in May, slugging over .500 (and of course getting on base more often).
The lineup I would like to see in Vina's absence.
LF Palmeiro
RF Drew
1B Pujols
CF Edmonds
3B Rolen
SS Renteria
2B Cairo
C Matheny
OR................
RF Drew
1B Perez
LF Pujols
CF Edmonds
3B Rolen
SS Renteria
2B Cairo
C Matheny
Notice who is not in this lineup (Hint: He's from Tampa)
Maybe the Mets will do a Alomar for Terrible Tampa Tino swap. HA!
Well, Fernando is going to be out a lot longer than expected. I guess it's just Murphy's Law with Cards and injuries this year. Marrero was a loss we could handle, and Vina's is too, but it hurts. In addition to his sterling D, Fred has picked it up at the plate big time in May, slugging over .500 (and of course getting on base more often).
The lineup I would like to see in Vina's absence.
LF Palmeiro
RF Drew
1B Pujols
CF Edmonds
3B Rolen
SS Renteria
2B Cairo
C Matheny
OR................
RF Drew
1B Perez
LF Pujols
CF Edmonds
3B Rolen
SS Renteria
2B Cairo
C Matheny
Notice who is not in this lineup (Hint: He's from Tampa)
Maybe the Mets will do a Alomar for Terrible Tampa Tino swap. HA!
Right now, the Cards are beating the Astros 3-0, so I'm happy, BUT there are some things I need to vent about.
--Vina hurt himself yesterday and is probably headed to the DL. The Post-Dispatch is saying that either Kerry Robinson or So Taguchi is the likely callup as a replacement. Hey, here's a novel idea.... Why don't we call up someone that can actually HELP the team. Like Jon Nunnally, who has a .303/.471/.572 line at Memphis right now with 43 walks, or Dee Haynes, who is leading the team in homers and RBI's and is slugging .503? I mean, is a late-inning defensive replacement or pinch-runner better than someone who can actually hit?
--Tino Martinez simply has to be put on the bench. His three-run homer on Friday night is the only good thing he has done in a month. Yeah, his defense has been good, but he made an error yesterday that cost us the game, and he's already made an error, in addition to stranding four runners today. Did you see that last pop-up on the first pitch. He's a joke out there. Matheny is now 2 for 2 and if he had been hitting in the 7 spot instead of Tino we'd be ahead 5-0 right now. When is Tony going to swallow his pride and put him on the bench?
--Just got done reading Josh Schulz's Cards blog and he is right on about the talent on the team. We've got a handful of great players and a greater number of guys who are killing us when they play. Going into yesterday's game, the Cards had the two starters with the lowest ERA in the league, and two of the top 4 batters in OPS. Yet, we're 25-23. Hopefully when Izzy and Carpenter get back, Simo and some one else can be eliminated. I would say I hope that the bench and starting lineup would be filled out differently but I know better.
--Nice shot by DREEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWW, Cards 6-0.
--Vina hurt himself yesterday and is probably headed to the DL. The Post-Dispatch is saying that either Kerry Robinson or So Taguchi is the likely callup as a replacement. Hey, here's a novel idea.... Why don't we call up someone that can actually HELP the team. Like Jon Nunnally, who has a .303/.471/.572 line at Memphis right now with 43 walks, or Dee Haynes, who is leading the team in homers and RBI's and is slugging .503? I mean, is a late-inning defensive replacement or pinch-runner better than someone who can actually hit?
--Tino Martinez simply has to be put on the bench. His three-run homer on Friday night is the only good thing he has done in a month. Yeah, his defense has been good, but he made an error yesterday that cost us the game, and he's already made an error, in addition to stranding four runners today. Did you see that last pop-up on the first pitch. He's a joke out there. Matheny is now 2 for 2 and if he had been hitting in the 7 spot instead of Tino we'd be ahead 5-0 right now. When is Tony going to swallow his pride and put him on the bench?
--Just got done reading Josh Schulz's Cards blog and he is right on about the talent on the team. We've got a handful of great players and a greater number of guys who are killing us when they play. Going into yesterday's game, the Cards had the two starters with the lowest ERA in the league, and two of the top 4 batters in OPS. Yet, we're 25-23. Hopefully when Izzy and Carpenter get back, Simo and some one else can be eliminated. I would say I hope that the bench and starting lineup would be filled out differently but I know better.
--Nice shot by DREEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWW, Cards 6-0.
Saturday, May 24, 2003
The First Inning
Tonight, in the first inning, Cardinal hitters saw forty pitches, an average of five pitches per hitter. Out of the forty pitches, twenty-two were not swung at. The results, three runs stemming from a triple, a walk, and three singles. The triple and one of the singles were two strike hits, the other two singles were one-strike hits. It was all the offense the Cards would need on their way to victory. The moral lesson: Controlling the strike zone creates runs. That is all.
Tonight, in the first inning, Cardinal hitters saw forty pitches, an average of five pitches per hitter. Out of the forty pitches, twenty-two were not swung at. The results, three runs stemming from a triple, a walk, and three singles. The triple and one of the singles were two strike hits, the other two singles were one-strike hits. It was all the offense the Cards would need on their way to victory. The moral lesson: Controlling the strike zone creates runs. That is all.
PASS ME THE MAALOX
If there is one inalienable truth about the St. Louis Cardinals baseball season, it is this: It hasn't been boring.
Sorry, I neglected to post this afternoon but unfortunately I have to work at my job some times. It's so weird that games like last nights non-descript loss to the Astros are so few and far between that it's like we bloggers don't know how to react to it. Tonight's game was more of what we were used to. A near five-hour game made that way by an hour and twenty minute rain delay that ended with the Cards scoring eight runs in the last three innings, blowing one save and retiring the heart of the order to finally get the save (Thanks, Mr. Fassero). Tony looked equal parts dunce and genius, running his bench dry after nine innings and electing to pitch to Craig Wilson with the winning run, the only run that mattered, ninety feet away, and Wilson, the Pirates second-best hitter, at the plate with a base open. Of course it worked, and then when Tony sent Brett Tomko to the plate to pinch-hit because he wanted to keep Mike Matheny in the game catching and needed to save Chris Widger on the bench, Tomko of course got a base hit and then scored on J.D. Drew's two out-two strike triple, which was followed by a RBI bunt single by Albert Pujols, who was a cool 5 for 6 on the evening. All of this doesn't even take into account Tino's (yes that Tino) two-out three run homer in the 8th, and Scotty Rolen's two-out two-strike three-run homer in the ninth to catapult the Cards from down two to up one, only to see that lead promptly blown by Cal Eldred, who served up an RBI double to the mighty Jeff Reboulet, setting up Drew's ninth inning heroics, which consisted of a deep fly to center dropped by KENNY LOFTON!!! YESS F**K YOU KENNY!!!
Whew, I'm out of breath. Well, it certainly is fun to win games like this, and theoretically it should give us some momentum. The last time we won an extra-inning game on the road, we won our next six. What I like is that now we are well-positioned to take two out of three, with a possible sweep. The Astros beat the Cubs, which is good, now we need for the two teams to split the next two while we dust the Pirates. Morris vs Suppan tomorrow. Matty should dominate a weak Pirate offense, better than a certain unnamed Cards starter did tonight.
Okay, sorry he is not going to go unnamed. Simo sucks. If the Cards management and ownership are serious about putting the best product on the field that is possible, then Jason Simontacchi does not belong in the rotation, it's as simple as that. Walking the tightrope towards a decent start and being successful one out of every three starts does not qualify you as a starter for a team of this caliber. My solution: I agree with the Brother's Gunn, get Chuck Finley, if for no other reason than he might go to Houston if we don't. If we don't go for Finley, how about Kiko Calero, who continues to sparkle in long relief. Or Nerio Rodriguez, who has been good at AAA Memphis? Calero possesses something that Simo doesn't have, which is called an out pitch. Simo makes it so painfully clear as he continues to give up two strike hits. Tonight he had some bad luck, but it just bears out the idea that if you can't miss any bats, you have a lot more chances to have stuff like that happen. Simo has had good luck in the past. If he has good luck, he's average. If he has bad luck, he's beyond bad.
The bullpen continues to make progress. That's two more scoreless innings for Kiko, a not-so-great inning for the recently recalled Gabe Molina (bye-bye K-Rob), a good inning for Kliner, who won a great battle with Giles, a good job to keep us from losing the game by Eldred after he made some bad pitches, and about as easy of a save by Fassero as you would ever expect. And..despite the craziness of the game and Simo's brief outing, Crudale and Hermanson didn't get used.
I was going to get on here and write about how I think our "approach" at the plate is hurting us from scoring as many runs as we could. I started reading "Moneyball" tonight and started getting mad because so many of the concepts are so anti-Cardinal, or more specifically, anti-Tony and anti-Mitch Page. I nthe early innings tonight, we were looking at first-pitch fastballs and then swing at bad first pitches. The whole idea of being naturally aggressive just leads to too many bad choices in my opinion. I mean, if you're just reacting, that's pretty tough to be successful when you have less than a second to swing. Whereas, if you have a philosophy of going up there looking at some pitches and controlling the strike zone (a la Rolen) you are going to be so much better. Sure enough, once the late innings came around, the guys started looking at more pitches. I don't know if Salomon Torres' fastball just looked really hittable or what, but when the relievers were in there, our approach was much better. It led to eight runs in three innings, and a bunch of big hits deep in counts. The one guy who I still maintain needs to work on it is Edgar, who saw four pitches in his first three at-bats, but later walked. Everyone was guilty though in the early innings. Rolen, Vina (of course) and Drew all did it early in the game. This team continues to hit well with two strikes, which in my mind should be even more reason to go up there looking at pitches, waiting for the right one. Torres was throwing a lot of first-pitch strikes, and it seemed like guys timing was just off when he was on the mound. They'd let one right down the middle go by for strike one, and then swing at a crap pitch and bounce out. And it's frustrating to watch that as a fan, stranding runners on base with bad swings, especially when it's known what the lineup is capable of, like what it did in the 8th, 9th, and 10th. So here's to hoping that the offense continues to thrive. Keep Drew in the lineup, he's not hurt!!! Okay, I'm rambling now, so I'll take a break, but one good piece of news before I go. Dan Haren logged a quality start in his second outing for AAA Memphis. After cruising through five scoreless innings, Haren was touched for three runs in the sixth. He struck out five and walked 0 allowing eight hits. Jimmy Journell picked up the win with another scoreless inning in the ninth as Memphis won 4-3.
If there is one inalienable truth about the St. Louis Cardinals baseball season, it is this: It hasn't been boring.
Sorry, I neglected to post this afternoon but unfortunately I have to work at my job some times. It's so weird that games like last nights non-descript loss to the Astros are so few and far between that it's like we bloggers don't know how to react to it. Tonight's game was more of what we were used to. A near five-hour game made that way by an hour and twenty minute rain delay that ended with the Cards scoring eight runs in the last three innings, blowing one save and retiring the heart of the order to finally get the save (Thanks, Mr. Fassero). Tony looked equal parts dunce and genius, running his bench dry after nine innings and electing to pitch to Craig Wilson with the winning run, the only run that mattered, ninety feet away, and Wilson, the Pirates second-best hitter, at the plate with a base open. Of course it worked, and then when Tony sent Brett Tomko to the plate to pinch-hit because he wanted to keep Mike Matheny in the game catching and needed to save Chris Widger on the bench, Tomko of course got a base hit and then scored on J.D. Drew's two out-two strike triple, which was followed by a RBI bunt single by Albert Pujols, who was a cool 5 for 6 on the evening. All of this doesn't even take into account Tino's (yes that Tino) two-out three run homer in the 8th, and Scotty Rolen's two-out two-strike three-run homer in the ninth to catapult the Cards from down two to up one, only to see that lead promptly blown by Cal Eldred, who served up an RBI double to the mighty Jeff Reboulet, setting up Drew's ninth inning heroics, which consisted of a deep fly to center dropped by KENNY LOFTON!!! YESS F**K YOU KENNY!!!
Whew, I'm out of breath. Well, it certainly is fun to win games like this, and theoretically it should give us some momentum. The last time we won an extra-inning game on the road, we won our next six. What I like is that now we are well-positioned to take two out of three, with a possible sweep. The Astros beat the Cubs, which is good, now we need for the two teams to split the next two while we dust the Pirates. Morris vs Suppan tomorrow. Matty should dominate a weak Pirate offense, better than a certain unnamed Cards starter did tonight.
Okay, sorry he is not going to go unnamed. Simo sucks. If the Cards management and ownership are serious about putting the best product on the field that is possible, then Jason Simontacchi does not belong in the rotation, it's as simple as that. Walking the tightrope towards a decent start and being successful one out of every three starts does not qualify you as a starter for a team of this caliber. My solution: I agree with the Brother's Gunn, get Chuck Finley, if for no other reason than he might go to Houston if we don't. If we don't go for Finley, how about Kiko Calero, who continues to sparkle in long relief. Or Nerio Rodriguez, who has been good at AAA Memphis? Calero possesses something that Simo doesn't have, which is called an out pitch. Simo makes it so painfully clear as he continues to give up two strike hits. Tonight he had some bad luck, but it just bears out the idea that if you can't miss any bats, you have a lot more chances to have stuff like that happen. Simo has had good luck in the past. If he has good luck, he's average. If he has bad luck, he's beyond bad.
The bullpen continues to make progress. That's two more scoreless innings for Kiko, a not-so-great inning for the recently recalled Gabe Molina (bye-bye K-Rob), a good inning for Kliner, who won a great battle with Giles, a good job to keep us from losing the game by Eldred after he made some bad pitches, and about as easy of a save by Fassero as you would ever expect. And..despite the craziness of the game and Simo's brief outing, Crudale and Hermanson didn't get used.
I was going to get on here and write about how I think our "approach" at the plate is hurting us from scoring as many runs as we could. I started reading "Moneyball" tonight and started getting mad because so many of the concepts are so anti-Cardinal, or more specifically, anti-Tony and anti-Mitch Page. I nthe early innings tonight, we were looking at first-pitch fastballs and then swing at bad first pitches. The whole idea of being naturally aggressive just leads to too many bad choices in my opinion. I mean, if you're just reacting, that's pretty tough to be successful when you have less than a second to swing. Whereas, if you have a philosophy of going up there looking at some pitches and controlling the strike zone (a la Rolen) you are going to be so much better. Sure enough, once the late innings came around, the guys started looking at more pitches. I don't know if Salomon Torres' fastball just looked really hittable or what, but when the relievers were in there, our approach was much better. It led to eight runs in three innings, and a bunch of big hits deep in counts. The one guy who I still maintain needs to work on it is Edgar, who saw four pitches in his first three at-bats, but later walked. Everyone was guilty though in the early innings. Rolen, Vina (of course) and Drew all did it early in the game. This team continues to hit well with two strikes, which in my mind should be even more reason to go up there looking at pitches, waiting for the right one. Torres was throwing a lot of first-pitch strikes, and it seemed like guys timing was just off when he was on the mound. They'd let one right down the middle go by for strike one, and then swing at a crap pitch and bounce out. And it's frustrating to watch that as a fan, stranding runners on base with bad swings, especially when it's known what the lineup is capable of, like what it did in the 8th, 9th, and 10th. So here's to hoping that the offense continues to thrive. Keep Drew in the lineup, he's not hurt!!! Okay, I'm rambling now, so I'll take a break, but one good piece of news before I go. Dan Haren logged a quality start in his second outing for AAA Memphis. After cruising through five scoreless innings, Haren was touched for three runs in the sixth. He struck out five and walked 0 allowing eight hits. Jimmy Journell picked up the win with another scoreless inning in the ninth as Memphis won 4-3.
Friday, May 23, 2003
I have to admit, I took a night off from watching baseball to do some other things. It won't happen again I promise. Looking at the boxscore in disppointment but not really surprise. Though the pitching matchup favored us on paper, Tomko was due to give up some runs, the meat of the Astros order was due to do some damage, they had a soft-tossing lefty in there, and Tony decided tonight was a good night to play the B team. On the plus side, the bullpen is pitching much better, it is now official. Taking two of three from the Pirates would make this short road trip a success in my opinion. I'd love to win all three at PNC, of course, though, and will not be pleased if we win less than two.
Tomorrow, a look at how the minor leaguers have been doing lately, as well as a full report on just how well the Cards have done when their triumvirate of weak bats get on base.
Tomorrow, a look at how the minor leaguers have been doing lately, as well as a full report on just how well the Cards have done when their triumvirate of weak bats get on base.
Thursday, May 22, 2003
A HUUUUGE WIN
Okay, I'm calm now. Last night's win was a huge win, maybe the biggest of the season so far, at least when you consider what losing could have meant to the team's psyche. It would've been Houston's fifth win over us by one run if they had somehow charged back in the ninth, and they would've been going for a sweep today and a chance to pull three games ahead of us in the standings. Instead we are in second place by percentage points and only 1.5 games out, in the part of the season where it's all about staying close. Coming into this series, and I know the Birdhouse will want to kill me for saying this, I said I would be very happy taking two out of three. In fact, all I was really worried about was that the Cards didn't get swept. Why? As long as you don't get swept, you lose no more than one game, and the Cards have Houston coming to Busch for four games, and OSWALT AND MILLER WILL NOT BE PITCHING IN ANY OF THEM. If we can somehow win tonight, and Jeriome Robertson has not been good very often this year, then we could bring the 'Stros into our house and the process of us making them our bitches like in 2002 could commence again. That's why I was positively rejoicing after Cal Eldred was able to compose himself and get Bag-Pipes for the game ending DP.
Speaking of Eldred and the pen, they are starting to come around. Both Crudale and Fassero came in and got big strike outs last night. Both threw some nasty pitches and that was the sharpest I've seen Fassero this year, even if it was just one batter, so poo on my statement about not liking him in the game last night I guess. The news on Izzy continues to be positive and if the starting pitching continues to be as good as it has been, the Cards could be taking an big upturn in their season.
I feel woefully inadequate after reading all of the awesome posts from the Redbird Nation about last night's game. Man those guys are good! To comment on some of the points they brought up.....
First, and this goes back to the bullpen and their state right now, Tony is starting to border on the overusage of his starters. There is no reason to bring Woody out for the eighth inning. In my opinion, one of the reasons that the Cards always tear through the second half of the season is because their players are not as fatigued as some others. Woody is an old guy and he throws pretty effortlessly, but two very high pitch counts in a row for his is dangerous. I think it's pretty obvious how important TLR thought last night's game was to win. Hopefully, he is starting to gain some more confidence in his relievers and it will be time to take some strain off of the starters. It has been a total change in philosophy from years past, and while I must say I am fond of not having to sit through "The nightly parade of a thouand relievers" (one of the big reasons the Cards games have been shorter this year) I don't want our men on the mound to wear down in the second half.
Vina has been looking better at the plate no doubt. He got a couple hits Tuesday, and had a couple hits AND A WALK last night. I'm going to do a little research on that bet that Mark made because that intrigues the hell out of me. As for the Vina/Dodgers trade rmor, that really doesn't make much sense to me. They have Alex Cora, who is very good defensively (at least he has been this year) and they've got Joe Thurston at AAA. Vina doesn't seem like a likely pickup for them as a one-year helper.
You've got to like what you see out of Drew. That single to the opposite field off of a lefty made me drool. And he's covering some serious ground in right. He actually didn't look afraid of the wall for once. I swear that guy that caught Pujols home run ball was at the sereis that I went to in St. Louis raising hell. Good to see Cardinal fans irking old people everywhere. I wonder if that old lady realizes that she was being shown on every sports highlight show in America taking her husband's cane and whacking a twenty-something with it while he proudly holds the ball in the air and smiles.
Tino still sucks. It's as if there is some force of nature preventing him from driving in runs. The umpires are now even taking away his RBI, obscuring the fact that the fly ball he hit to right was supremely WEAK. At least he plays good defense.
Speaking of defense, man our defense is great. I don't even want to try to talk about advanced defensive stats, because I've tried reading abotu them in WinShares and they are just too much for me. I mean, does everyone realize that Bill James can start making up numbers in order to create his complicated formulas and everyone will go along with it because A) They are totally lost and B) He is Bill James?
All I know is that our defense is awesome. Renteria and Vina are probably quite comparable to the other keystone combos of the past, but Rolen is just such a good third baseman that I don't see how any other Cards infield could be better historically.
Okay, I'm calm now. Last night's win was a huge win, maybe the biggest of the season so far, at least when you consider what losing could have meant to the team's psyche. It would've been Houston's fifth win over us by one run if they had somehow charged back in the ninth, and they would've been going for a sweep today and a chance to pull three games ahead of us in the standings. Instead we are in second place by percentage points and only 1.5 games out, in the part of the season where it's all about staying close. Coming into this series, and I know the Birdhouse will want to kill me for saying this, I said I would be very happy taking two out of three. In fact, all I was really worried about was that the Cards didn't get swept. Why? As long as you don't get swept, you lose no more than one game, and the Cards have Houston coming to Busch for four games, and OSWALT AND MILLER WILL NOT BE PITCHING IN ANY OF THEM. If we can somehow win tonight, and Jeriome Robertson has not been good very often this year, then we could bring the 'Stros into our house and the process of us making them our bitches like in 2002 could commence again. That's why I was positively rejoicing after Cal Eldred was able to compose himself and get Bag-Pipes for the game ending DP.
Speaking of Eldred and the pen, they are starting to come around. Both Crudale and Fassero came in and got big strike outs last night. Both threw some nasty pitches and that was the sharpest I've seen Fassero this year, even if it was just one batter, so poo on my statement about not liking him in the game last night I guess. The news on Izzy continues to be positive and if the starting pitching continues to be as good as it has been, the Cards could be taking an big upturn in their season.
I feel woefully inadequate after reading all of the awesome posts from the Redbird Nation about last night's game. Man those guys are good! To comment on some of the points they brought up.....
First, and this goes back to the bullpen and their state right now, Tony is starting to border on the overusage of his starters. There is no reason to bring Woody out for the eighth inning. In my opinion, one of the reasons that the Cards always tear through the second half of the season is because their players are not as fatigued as some others. Woody is an old guy and he throws pretty effortlessly, but two very high pitch counts in a row for his is dangerous. I think it's pretty obvious how important TLR thought last night's game was to win. Hopefully, he is starting to gain some more confidence in his relievers and it will be time to take some strain off of the starters. It has been a total change in philosophy from years past, and while I must say I am fond of not having to sit through "The nightly parade of a thouand relievers" (one of the big reasons the Cards games have been shorter this year) I don't want our men on the mound to wear down in the second half.
Vina has been looking better at the plate no doubt. He got a couple hits Tuesday, and had a couple hits AND A WALK last night. I'm going to do a little research on that bet that Mark made because that intrigues the hell out of me. As for the Vina/Dodgers trade rmor, that really doesn't make much sense to me. They have Alex Cora, who is very good defensively (at least he has been this year) and they've got Joe Thurston at AAA. Vina doesn't seem like a likely pickup for them as a one-year helper.
You've got to like what you see out of Drew. That single to the opposite field off of a lefty made me drool. And he's covering some serious ground in right. He actually didn't look afraid of the wall for once. I swear that guy that caught Pujols home run ball was at the sereis that I went to in St. Louis raising hell. Good to see Cardinal fans irking old people everywhere. I wonder if that old lady realizes that she was being shown on every sports highlight show in America taking her husband's cane and whacking a twenty-something with it while he proudly holds the ball in the air and smiles.
Tino still sucks. It's as if there is some force of nature preventing him from driving in runs. The umpires are now even taking away his RBI, obscuring the fact that the fly ball he hit to right was supremely WEAK. At least he plays good defense.
Speaking of defense, man our defense is great. I don't even want to try to talk about advanced defensive stats, because I've tried reading abotu them in WinShares and they are just too much for me. I mean, does everyone realize that Bill James can start making up numbers in order to create his complicated formulas and everyone will go along with it because A) They are totally lost and B) He is Bill James?
All I know is that our defense is awesome. Renteria and Vina are probably quite comparable to the other keystone combos of the past, but Rolen is just such a good third baseman that I don't see how any other Cards infield could be better historically.
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