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.
Saturday, May 24, 2003
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.
Wednesday, May 21, 2003
Another question, when did Adam Everett suddenly become impossible to get out? He has five hits in the first two games and I don't think that any of the balls have been hit hard. Looks like he has replaced Craig Biggio as that pesky Astro. Seriously though, ducksnorts aside he looks like he is ready to take over the shortstop position offensively, and he is way better than Julio Lugo was defensively so the waiving of Lugo for his woman troubles ends up being a positive for the 'Stros
Un-frickin believable. Bases loaded and Bagwell is up, and he is due, so due. Wait, bouncer to Vina, STEPS ON SECOND, THROWS TO FIRST, DOUBLE PLAY, BALLGAME!!! Big win, after I calm down I'll talk about it.
Un-frickin believable. Bases loaded and Bagwell is up, and he is due, so due. Wait, bouncer to Vina, STEPS ON SECOND, THROWS TO FIRST, DOUBLE PLAY, BALLGAME!!! Big win, after I calm down I'll talk about it.
CAN I ASK A QUESTION?
Why is Tony so in love with Jeff Fassero? What is his ERA right now? Why not just let Crudale stay in and finish the inning? Better yet, if there is ever a time to scrap the idea of the traditional "closer" role, it would have been this inning. Eighth inning, Bagwell, Kent, Berkman due up, three-run ballgame. That's sounds like the time you need your best reliever in there, which is theoretically Cal Eldred right now. I have no problem with Crudale being in there, but I simply don't feel that we have the dominant lefty that merits turning Berkman around. Okay, he struck him out, and here comes Eldred, so the move pays off, but I stand by my opinion of it. Berkman roped the ball right at the right fielder the last time they faced each other and he almost coaxed a walk this time (though ball 3 should have been strike 3) which would have brought Hidalgo to the plate as the tying run.
Why is Tony so in love with Jeff Fassero? What is his ERA right now? Why not just let Crudale stay in and finish the inning? Better yet, if there is ever a time to scrap the idea of the traditional "closer" role, it would have been this inning. Eighth inning, Bagwell, Kent, Berkman due up, three-run ballgame. That's sounds like the time you need your best reliever in there, which is theoretically Cal Eldred right now. I have no problem with Crudale being in there, but I simply don't feel that we have the dominant lefty that merits turning Berkman around. Okay, he struck him out, and here comes Eldred, so the move pays off, but I stand by my opinion of it. Berkman roped the ball right at the right fielder the last time they faced each other and he almost coaxed a walk this time (though ball 3 should have been strike 3) which would have brought Hidalgo to the plate as the tying run.
Tuesday, May 20, 2003
GOIN' TO THE JUICEBOX
As the Cards head into Houston for a three-game set with the Astros, a couple randoms in my head...
I look at the Birdhouse, the large site wherein my work is featured, (the site that perhaps is the only reason people read my blather), on a daily basis. Also daily, I read my the blogs of my fellow Birdhouse contributors, Josh Schulz and the Brothers Gunn. Both of their blogs have some great things to comment on righ now. First of all, Josh highlighted a piece running on ESPN.com about the Cardinals hitting approach. The piece was written by Phil Rogers, and let's just say I'm not a fan of his work. It talks about the Cards being aggressive and not worrying about walks. It's disappointing to read, because although we are leading the league in most offensive categories with the approach we have at the plate, I wonder how much better things could be if Mitchell Page didn't condmen strikeouts so much. Sure, the Cards are hitting the ball well. But they've also been inconsistent at the plate. Several games the offense has floundered, and that has been made up for on the whole by some offensive outbursts in other games. Specifically, I wonder if the team has failed so much in clutch situations because they've gone after pitches made by pitchers being careful (due to other runners on base) instead of taking a pitch. However, I feel that part of the problem is simply that we have too many impatient hitters on the team. Vina, Robinson, Cairo, Marrero, Matheny and to an extent Martinez have never been patient hitters. With the return of Drew to more and more duty, and if TLR ever gets smart and decides to play Orlando Palmeiro more, the number of walks should go up.
The trend is a bit disturbing to me because I simply don't feel there's any substitute for on base percentage. However, I don't feel that it will become a big problem for a couple reasons. First, though I also think that it's stupid to worry about strikeouts (unless you're striking out like the Brewers were a couple years ago) the fact that the Cards don't strike out does at least help offset the fact that they don't walk that much. Secondly, this is a fastball league, and the A's philosophy would not work as well in the NL, I am convinced of that. However, if the Cards could take more walks, their offense could really explode. The ones that need to focus on drawing more walks are the ones who are not the best hitters in the lineup, a point that Josh made in his post.
Meanwhile, at the Redbird Nation, the discussion is about Joe Girardi going on a rehab assignment. This news was met with the standard amount of dismay. Although, until Marrero is back, Widger is probably no better than Girardi. Ray is still stroking his Pat Borders Bobblehead. The good news on the injury front is that the news on Izzy is optimistic. Hell, if renowned injury pessimist LaRussa thinks that Izzy can be back for the start of inter-league play (June 3) maybe he really will be. And Lance Painter may be making a return in a couple weeks too. These two guys coming back would squeeze out a reliever and hopefully also send K-Rob-the-instant-out-just-add-one-pitch back to the minors.
As the Cards head into Houston for a three-game set with the Astros, a couple randoms in my head...
I look at the Birdhouse, the large site wherein my work is featured, (the site that perhaps is the only reason people read my blather), on a daily basis. Also daily, I read my the blogs of my fellow Birdhouse contributors, Josh Schulz and the Brothers Gunn. Both of their blogs have some great things to comment on righ now. First of all, Josh highlighted a piece running on ESPN.com about the Cardinals hitting approach. The piece was written by Phil Rogers, and let's just say I'm not a fan of his work. It talks about the Cards being aggressive and not worrying about walks. It's disappointing to read, because although we are leading the league in most offensive categories with the approach we have at the plate, I wonder how much better things could be if Mitchell Page didn't condmen strikeouts so much. Sure, the Cards are hitting the ball well. But they've also been inconsistent at the plate. Several games the offense has floundered, and that has been made up for on the whole by some offensive outbursts in other games. Specifically, I wonder if the team has failed so much in clutch situations because they've gone after pitches made by pitchers being careful (due to other runners on base) instead of taking a pitch. However, I feel that part of the problem is simply that we have too many impatient hitters on the team. Vina, Robinson, Cairo, Marrero, Matheny and to an extent Martinez have never been patient hitters. With the return of Drew to more and more duty, and if TLR ever gets smart and decides to play Orlando Palmeiro more, the number of walks should go up.
The trend is a bit disturbing to me because I simply don't feel there's any substitute for on base percentage. However, I don't feel that it will become a big problem for a couple reasons. First, though I also think that it's stupid to worry about strikeouts (unless you're striking out like the Brewers were a couple years ago) the fact that the Cards don't strike out does at least help offset the fact that they don't walk that much. Secondly, this is a fastball league, and the A's philosophy would not work as well in the NL, I am convinced of that. However, if the Cards could take more walks, their offense could really explode. The ones that need to focus on drawing more walks are the ones who are not the best hitters in the lineup, a point that Josh made in his post.
Meanwhile, at the Redbird Nation, the discussion is about Joe Girardi going on a rehab assignment. This news was met with the standard amount of dismay. Although, until Marrero is back, Widger is probably no better than Girardi. Ray is still stroking his Pat Borders Bobblehead. The good news on the injury front is that the news on Izzy is optimistic. Hell, if renowned injury pessimist LaRussa thinks that Izzy can be back for the start of inter-league play (June 3) maybe he really will be. And Lance Painter may be making a return in a couple weeks too. These two guys coming back would squeeze out a reliever and hopefully also send K-Rob-the-instant-out-just-add-one-pitch back to the minors.
Monday, May 19, 2003
SERIES IN REVIEW
Well, the heroes in red took three of four from the Scrubs, moving them back to within 2 games of first place. It's always good to beat the Cubbies, especially if you live in my neck of the woods, where the population is almost split right down the middle Cards and Cubs fans. One of the best things about being in New Orleans for this internship is that I haven't had to listen to any of my moron Cub fan friends rattle on about how this is the year. Those fools have been saying that since we were little kids, and all I've ever seen is a grounder going thru Leon Durham's legs, Greg Maddux going to the Braves, and Sammy Sosa being all that cub fans care about when they go to the game. (Other than drinking).
Some series thoughts....
Could this be a turning point for the bullpen? Granted they didn't actually pitch that much in the series, but it appears that everyone has a role now. Eldred is now the interim closer. Fassero will also be used late in ballgames and Kline, Hermanson and Crudale will be setting them up, with Calero now back in the longer relief role. I wouldn't consider any of these changes to be hard and fast and I still don't really like Fassero with the ball late in games, but at least he's not afraid. I think Kline is coming around too, at least he's not pouting. Hermy is showing that if nothing else, he has the mettle to pitch in pressure situations, and Crudale still hasn't allowed a run since his recall. Then there's Eldred, whose season so far has been thoroughly quirky for any number of reasons. But he's doing what we need him to do and I actually have a good vibe for a change going into the next series.
Vina had a nice little thing going, even DRAWING A WALK yesterday before going 0-4 today and royally pissing me off when he grounded out on a crap pitch to open an inning. The thing that gets me is, how does a guy that is so willing to get plunked in order to get on base, not have the ability to take a walk? Vina is always among the league leaders in HBP, but yet he can't walk. Why? Obviously he realizes the importance of doing whatever it takes to get on base. But he just can't seem to translate it into seeing more pitches. The Cards really need him to be big with the bat if they are going to win the division. Also, a side note, the stathead community's presence continues to be felt more and more. There are more news pieces and what not that give attention to Vina's inability to walk than ever before. Proof that the magical On Base Percentage is further into the baseball public's stream of consciousness.
The Cubs are going to need to make a move to get more offense because they don't have enough to win the division right now. Obviously, getting Sammy back will help. But when he's batting behind Mark Grudzielanek, who will surely start cooling off soon, and Alex Gonzalez, a lower batting average/more power version of Vina, he 's not going to get the RBI chances very often. Still no word on when he's going to be able to come back. He's eligible to come off the DL next Sunday, and the Cubs need him back right away.
The Cards still have some question marks on offense. Maybe heading to his personal playground in Houston will snap Edmonds out of his funk. Luckily, Rolen has picked up the slack for him over the last two weeks. And Tino continues just to be a burden to the team's ability to score runs. I don't really know what else to say. 2 homers and 10 RBI pretty much speak for themselves. I'd be much happier with Eduardo Perez in there every other day right now.
The Cards will go into the series against Houston a half game behind the 'Stros. They'll play three this week and four next week back at Busch, with the series opener coming on Memorial Day. Something to note, Roy Oswalt will not be available for either of these series as he is on the DL and not eligible to come off until the day after the second series ends. Pete Munro will start in is place on Wednesday night at Minute Maid against Woody Williams. Tomorrow night it will be Garrett Stephenson against a gimpy Wade Miller, whom the Cards have not faced yet this year. Miller has struggled through the first quarter of 2003. But Stephenson's pitching style in Minute Maid Park makes me slightly queasy. If the Birds win tomorrow, I will be very excited, let me put it that way. The Wednesday matchup favors the Cards, as does Thursday, which will be Brett Tomko against I believe Jeriome Robertson.
One other note, obscured in Dan Haren's tough first outing at Memphis was the fact that Jimmy Journell pitched two scoreless innings out of the pen, as he continues to (re) adjust to the role. Journell is someone we could conceivably see in the Cards pen at a later point this year.
Injury-wise, the reports I have heard have been conflicting about Chris Carpenter. The Post-Dispatch has said that Carpenter will return in June, while the Birdhouse says that Carpenter will be out through August. I am thinking that that might just be an old injury status report that hasn't been updated, as Carpenter was at one time thought to need to be out much longer. If Carpenter does return in June, he'll be a candidate to replace Jason Simontacchi in the rotation. Lance Painter will hopefully try to make a return some time after the all-star break. And I don't think anyone really cares when Russ Springer returns, if he ever does. Sorry to be heartless, but it's the plain ol' truth.
Well, the heroes in red took three of four from the Scrubs, moving them back to within 2 games of first place. It's always good to beat the Cubbies, especially if you live in my neck of the woods, where the population is almost split right down the middle Cards and Cubs fans. One of the best things about being in New Orleans for this internship is that I haven't had to listen to any of my moron Cub fan friends rattle on about how this is the year. Those fools have been saying that since we were little kids, and all I've ever seen is a grounder going thru Leon Durham's legs, Greg Maddux going to the Braves, and Sammy Sosa being all that cub fans care about when they go to the game. (Other than drinking).
Some series thoughts....
Could this be a turning point for the bullpen? Granted they didn't actually pitch that much in the series, but it appears that everyone has a role now. Eldred is now the interim closer. Fassero will also be used late in ballgames and Kline, Hermanson and Crudale will be setting them up, with Calero now back in the longer relief role. I wouldn't consider any of these changes to be hard and fast and I still don't really like Fassero with the ball late in games, but at least he's not afraid. I think Kline is coming around too, at least he's not pouting. Hermy is showing that if nothing else, he has the mettle to pitch in pressure situations, and Crudale still hasn't allowed a run since his recall. Then there's Eldred, whose season so far has been thoroughly quirky for any number of reasons. But he's doing what we need him to do and I actually have a good vibe for a change going into the next series.
Vina had a nice little thing going, even DRAWING A WALK yesterday before going 0-4 today and royally pissing me off when he grounded out on a crap pitch to open an inning. The thing that gets me is, how does a guy that is so willing to get plunked in order to get on base, not have the ability to take a walk? Vina is always among the league leaders in HBP, but yet he can't walk. Why? Obviously he realizes the importance of doing whatever it takes to get on base. But he just can't seem to translate it into seeing more pitches. The Cards really need him to be big with the bat if they are going to win the division. Also, a side note, the stathead community's presence continues to be felt more and more. There are more news pieces and what not that give attention to Vina's inability to walk than ever before. Proof that the magical On Base Percentage is further into the baseball public's stream of consciousness.
The Cubs are going to need to make a move to get more offense because they don't have enough to win the division right now. Obviously, getting Sammy back will help. But when he's batting behind Mark Grudzielanek, who will surely start cooling off soon, and Alex Gonzalez, a lower batting average/more power version of Vina, he 's not going to get the RBI chances very often. Still no word on when he's going to be able to come back. He's eligible to come off the DL next Sunday, and the Cubs need him back right away.
The Cards still have some question marks on offense. Maybe heading to his personal playground in Houston will snap Edmonds out of his funk. Luckily, Rolen has picked up the slack for him over the last two weeks. And Tino continues just to be a burden to the team's ability to score runs. I don't really know what else to say. 2 homers and 10 RBI pretty much speak for themselves. I'd be much happier with Eduardo Perez in there every other day right now.
The Cards will go into the series against Houston a half game behind the 'Stros. They'll play three this week and four next week back at Busch, with the series opener coming on Memorial Day. Something to note, Roy Oswalt will not be available for either of these series as he is on the DL and not eligible to come off until the day after the second series ends. Pete Munro will start in is place on Wednesday night at Minute Maid against Woody Williams. Tomorrow night it will be Garrett Stephenson against a gimpy Wade Miller, whom the Cards have not faced yet this year. Miller has struggled through the first quarter of 2003. But Stephenson's pitching style in Minute Maid Park makes me slightly queasy. If the Birds win tomorrow, I will be very excited, let me put it that way. The Wednesday matchup favors the Cards, as does Thursday, which will be Brett Tomko against I believe Jeriome Robertson.
One other note, obscured in Dan Haren's tough first outing at Memphis was the fact that Jimmy Journell pitched two scoreless innings out of the pen, as he continues to (re) adjust to the role. Journell is someone we could conceivably see in the Cards pen at a later point this year.
Injury-wise, the reports I have heard have been conflicting about Chris Carpenter. The Post-Dispatch has said that Carpenter will return in June, while the Birdhouse says that Carpenter will be out through August. I am thinking that that might just be an old injury status report that hasn't been updated, as Carpenter was at one time thought to need to be out much longer. If Carpenter does return in June, he'll be a candidate to replace Jason Simontacchi in the rotation. Lance Painter will hopefully try to make a return some time after the all-star break. And I don't think anyone really cares when Russ Springer returns, if he ever does. Sorry to be heartless, but it's the plain ol' truth.
BOTTOM 8TH
Farnsworth relieves for the Cubs and is met by some YARD work from Mr. Pujols. Albert is good. Edmonds even gets a hit. Rolen gets called out on a close pitch on the outside corner and Renteria hits into a DP. Nice to have the insurance run. Cards 2, Cubs 0. Here comes Matty Mo to the hill to pitch the ninth.
Farnsworth relieves for the Cubs and is met by some YARD work from Mr. Pujols. Albert is good. Edmonds even gets a hit. Rolen gets called out on a close pitch on the outside corner and Renteria hits into a DP. Nice to have the insurance run. Cards 2, Cubs 0. Here comes Matty Mo to the hill to pitch the ninth.
TOP 8TH
Harris makes an out on the first pitch. Wouldn't these guys at least try to make it a lengthy at-bat? Bako flies out. Pinch Hitter for Zambrano. Glad he's out. It's the ever-dangerous Tom Goodwin :) He flies out and Morris is three outs away from a complete game shutout with the top of the order due up. And I have to go to the bathroom again. There's no discussion. He's staying in. Now let's get some more tallies. Cards 1, Cubs 0.
Harris makes an out on the first pitch. Wouldn't these guys at least try to make it a lengthy at-bat? Bako flies out. Pinch Hitter for Zambrano. Glad he's out. It's the ever-dangerous Tom Goodwin :) He flies out and Morris is three outs away from a complete game shutout with the top of the order due up. And I have to go to the bathroom again. There's no discussion. He's staying in. Now let's get some more tallies. Cards 1, Cubs 0.
BOTTOM 7TH
Well this time they were able to make the play on the sacrifice. Matheny walked (On base all three times) and Morris bunted him over. This time, Fernando managed to wait until the third pitch before he hacked. He grounded out and moved Matheny to third. Zambrano got away with a 2-0 fastball to Drew, as he couldn't catch up to it and flied out weakly to 7th. That's been a good adjective for the Cards offense today. Weak. Give credit to Zambrano. Too bad he's not really going to turn 22 in a couple of weeks. That'd really be something. Still, though, he's probably going to be no older than 24 and he's got some good stuff. This is the first time he's really shut down the Cards. Cards 1, Cubs 0.
Well this time they were able to make the play on the sacrifice. Matheny walked (On base all three times) and Morris bunted him over. This time, Fernando managed to wait until the third pitch before he hacked. He grounded out and moved Matheny to third. Zambrano got away with a 2-0 fastball to Drew, as he couldn't catch up to it and flied out weakly to 7th. That's been a good adjective for the Cards offense today. Weak. Give credit to Zambrano. Too bad he's not really going to turn 22 in a couple of weeks. That'd really be something. Still, though, he's probably going to be no older than 24 and he's got some good stuff. This is the first time he's really shut down the Cards. Cards 1, Cubs 0.
TOP 7TH
Luckily for the anemic Cards bats, the Cubs aren't doing anything either. Mo gets two outs on two pitches and then Choi gives him a battle before falling victim to the Bender yet again. 7 scoreless innings on 90 pitches and the bottom of the order due up in the 8th. This could set up an interesting decision for TLR in the ninth. This game is absolutely flying by. Cards 1, Cubs 0.
Luckily for the anemic Cards bats, the Cubs aren't doing anything either. Mo gets two outs on two pitches and then Choi gives him a battle before falling victim to the Bender yet again. 7 scoreless innings on 90 pitches and the bottom of the order due up in the 8th. This could set up an interesting decision for TLR in the ninth. This game is absolutely flying by. Cards 1, Cubs 0.
TOP 6TH
Another double, this time by Grudzielanek with one out. Gonzalez moves him to third with a groundout. Then, Matt does something not too bright and gives Patterson, a first-pitch swinger, way too good of a pitch to hit with his first offering. Patterson skies it and Drew makes a catch in front of the wall. The last couple innings have pushed the pitch count up a little bit, but he's still only at 79 thru 6 innings. Cards 1, Cubs 0.
Another double, this time by Grudzielanek with one out. Gonzalez moves him to third with a groundout. Then, Matt does something not too bright and gives Patterson, a first-pitch swinger, way too good of a pitch to hit with his first offering. Patterson skies it and Drew makes a catch in front of the wall. The last couple innings have pushed the pitch count up a little bit, but he's still only at 79 thru 6 innings. Cards 1, Cubs 0.
BOTTOM 5TH
Man, I have had it with Vina. He goes after the first pitch, a pitch that wasn't that good, and grounds out. Zambrano then strikes out Drew and Pujols. There was just an article in the Post-Dispatch where Vina's saying he needs to take more pitches, but one can easily see what he thinks about it. He's going to go up there and hack. He thinks that a single is somehow greater than a walk. I'll discuss this more later. Cards 1, Cubs 0.
Man, I have had it with Vina. He goes after the first pitch, a pitch that wasn't that good, and grounds out. Zambrano then strikes out Drew and Pujols. There was just an article in the Post-Dispatch where Vina's saying he needs to take more pitches, but one can easily see what he thinks about it. He's going to go up there and hack. He thinks that a single is somehow greater than a walk. I'll discuss this more later. Cards 1, Cubs 0.
TOP 5TH
He doesn't. He allows a 2-out double to Lenny Harris on one of the few mistake pitches he's made all day and then he is careful with Bako, getting him to ground out to end the inning. Also included in the inning is another K of Hee Seop Choi, who Cards pitchers have handled in this series. Cards 1, Cubs 0.
He doesn't. He allows a 2-out double to Lenny Harris on one of the few mistake pitches he's made all day and then he is careful with Bako, getting him to ground out to end the inning. Also included in the inning is another K of Hee Seop Choi, who Cards pitchers have handled in this series. Cards 1, Cubs 0.
BOTTOM 4TH
Okay, I'm an idiot. Drew walked in the third, so the run is clearly unearned. Edmonds average is now under .300. Following singles by Rolen and Renteria, Tino moves them over to second and third with a groundout. Intentional walk to Matheny. Goes to 2-0 on Morris and then gets a borderline strike. Damn, that would've made it 3-0. Instead, Morris ends up working a full count before striking out on a pitch that would've been another borderline ball or strike. Bases left loaded. Cards 1, Cubs 0. Let's hope Matt doesn't worry about it when he gets back on the hill.
Okay, I'm an idiot. Drew walked in the third, so the run is clearly unearned. Edmonds average is now under .300. Following singles by Rolen and Renteria, Tino moves them over to second and third with a groundout. Intentional walk to Matheny. Goes to 2-0 on Morris and then gets a borderline strike. Damn, that would've made it 3-0. Instead, Morris ends up working a full count before striking out on a pitch that would've been another borderline ball or strike. Bases left loaded. Cards 1, Cubs 0. Let's hope Matt doesn't worry about it when he gets back on the hill.
BOTTOM 3RD
Well the Cubs may have a great pitching staff, but they sure as hell can't field. Zambrano becomes the third Cub pitcher to make a bad throw on a ball hit to him. The out-man Vina assures that it won't be a big inning by quickly grounding into a double play, but the Cards are on the board first, scoring an unearned run.
Except that Drew just got a hit, so does that make it an earned run? The hit came with two outs, meaning normally it wouldn't be earned. But one of those outs came as a result of the DP, and therefore, there would have been two outs no matter what and Drew woul've come up. I think a case could be made for it being an earned run if the scorer assumes that if Zambrano makes a good throw, that Vina grounds out to make two outs, and Matheny would've scored on a 2 out single by Drew. MLB Gameday still has it as an uneaned run. Maybe it's a judgement call. Cards 1, Cubs 0
Well the Cubs may have a great pitching staff, but they sure as hell can't field. Zambrano becomes the third Cub pitcher to make a bad throw on a ball hit to him. The out-man Vina assures that it won't be a big inning by quickly grounding into a double play, but the Cards are on the board first, scoring an unearned run.
Except that Drew just got a hit, so does that make it an earned run? The hit came with two outs, meaning normally it wouldn't be earned. But one of those outs came as a result of the DP, and therefore, there would have been two outs no matter what and Drew woul've come up. I think a case could be made for it being an earned run if the scorer assumes that if Zambrano makes a good throw, that Vina grounds out to make two outs, and Matheny would've scored on a 2 out single by Drew. MLB Gameday still has it as an uneaned run. Maybe it's a judgement call. Cards 1, Cubs 0
HEY IT WORKED THURSDAY.....
So here we go with another inning-by-inning account of a Cards day game, followed by a wrapup of the Cards-Cubs series.
I'm late starting because I went to get some lunch but thru an inning and a half there's not much going on. Matty Mo looks to be in good form. Patterson continues his hot hitting. Has he busted on to the stage of near-stardom? Well that's what we thought about J.D. Drew in 2001. He doubled in the first also. He's been looking pretty good with the stick since coming off the DL. Let's hope it continues.
So here we go with another inning-by-inning account of a Cards day game, followed by a wrapup of the Cards-Cubs series.
I'm late starting because I went to get some lunch but thru an inning and a half there's not much going on. Matty Mo looks to be in good form. Patterson continues his hot hitting. Has he busted on to the stage of near-stardom? Well that's what we thought about J.D. Drew in 2001. He doubled in the first also. He's been looking pretty good with the stick since coming off the DL. Let's hope it continues.
Sunday, May 18, 2003
CAL-ORIMETER 3 SAVES AND COUNTING........
A great victory today to help erase some of the sting from Saturday's loss. Looks like we have a new closer for the time being. We'll talk about some of the particulars tomorrow but I did want to address a few quick topics in Cardinal Land tonight while they're fresh in my head.
--A good job by the bullpen throughout the series so far, save one lucky swing by Mark Bellhorn. Today was one of the first games of the year where the bullpen was actually partly responsible for winning the game. What a job by Hermanson to wiggle out of the eighth and Fassero held his own in there today too, including getting the big out of Alou to start the ninth, before Eldred came in and shut the door.
--The accusations of gamesmanship by the Cubs are stupid, and especially stupid for the announcers to start talking about it. But what else would you expect from perhaps the worst broadcaster in the free world, Chip Caray. I liked Mark Prior a lot when he made those statements about being a professional following his confrontation with Bonds, but this weekend, when accusing TLR of "gamesmanship,' he sounds more like somebody who's getting a little too big for his britches. By the way, Chip and Stoney, that was a nice 1-2-3 inning that Simo had after Dusty tried to allegedly retaliate and throw Simo's timing off today.
--Speaking of Simo, starting pitching continues to be pretty good 1-4, with Simo walking a very fine line every time he goes out there. He had a very interesting day today. Retiring 18 of the first 20 batters he faced, including 14 in a row at one point, and then failing to get any of the four batters he faced in the seventh out. I still think there are better alternatives than him in the 5 hole, but I can live with six innings and three runs.
--There are trade rumors swirling again. A report in the Chicago Tribune has the Cards very interested in Jon Garland of the White Sox and willing to offer J.D. Drew. This is ludicrous and not just because Drew hit a 515-foot homer Friday night. He hasn't realized his potential yet and may never, given a lot of the "issues" he has (the Birdhouse would probably have a different word for it) but he certainly has way too much promise and current value to be traded for a guy who has basically regressed since he got to the majors. Garland may turn out to be a pretty good pitcher, but he doesn't have the ceiling of many young pitchers out there. He will never be the ace of the staff, his walk and K rates make that clear. He's getting hit harder now at 23 than he was at 21 and that's a problem. I don't believe the trade at all. The other rumor is from Redbird Nation, though I don't think the Brothers Gunn got this from the most reliable source (an usher?) and it is that Vina is going to NY for Benitez and Alomar. I could see it happening if money worked out. Although we would miss Vina's defense, Alomar just seems like he would be ready to thrive in St. Louis. We'll see if there's anything to it. Benitez would almost certainly benefit from getting out of NY. Also, Nation was speculating that there would have to be another Cardinal going to NY and that it could be Tino. That I very much doubt unless there wa ssome way to balance out salaries. The Mets would have Tino for another full year and this would kind of kabosh the whole Piazza-moves-to-first thing, although it doesn't sound like Mikey's going to be doing much of any kind of ball-playing for awhile. I'm intrigued. as always when I hear trade rumors, but I'm not feeling anything just yet.
--One piece of bad news is that Dan Haren got rocked in his first start at AAA tonight. He gave up six runs on eight hits in 2 2/3 innings to an Oklahoma RedHawks lineup that features several very good AAA hitters, guys that have played in the majors. It is the Texas Rangers AAA team and Haren gave up homers to Kevin Mench, who would be with the big club in just about every other organization in MLB (he was with, and played well with the Rangers in 2002), and Jason Hart, who got some major-league time last year in Texas and hit 25 dingers in AAA. The lineup also feature former top prospect and AAA masher Ryan Ludwick and IF Mike Lamb, who has spent a lot of time with the Rangers. It was good for Haren to go up against some guys who can hit at the major-league level, and though he struggled, I'm sure he'll bounce back. So now everybody can calm down about the kid a little bit (especially me). He doesn't turn 23 for four more months!
A great victory today to help erase some of the sting from Saturday's loss. Looks like we have a new closer for the time being. We'll talk about some of the particulars tomorrow but I did want to address a few quick topics in Cardinal Land tonight while they're fresh in my head.
--A good job by the bullpen throughout the series so far, save one lucky swing by Mark Bellhorn. Today was one of the first games of the year where the bullpen was actually partly responsible for winning the game. What a job by Hermanson to wiggle out of the eighth and Fassero held his own in there today too, including getting the big out of Alou to start the ninth, before Eldred came in and shut the door.
--The accusations of gamesmanship by the Cubs are stupid, and especially stupid for the announcers to start talking about it. But what else would you expect from perhaps the worst broadcaster in the free world, Chip Caray. I liked Mark Prior a lot when he made those statements about being a professional following his confrontation with Bonds, but this weekend, when accusing TLR of "gamesmanship,' he sounds more like somebody who's getting a little too big for his britches. By the way, Chip and Stoney, that was a nice 1-2-3 inning that Simo had after Dusty tried to allegedly retaliate and throw Simo's timing off today.
--Speaking of Simo, starting pitching continues to be pretty good 1-4, with Simo walking a very fine line every time he goes out there. He had a very interesting day today. Retiring 18 of the first 20 batters he faced, including 14 in a row at one point, and then failing to get any of the four batters he faced in the seventh out. I still think there are better alternatives than him in the 5 hole, but I can live with six innings and three runs.
--There are trade rumors swirling again. A report in the Chicago Tribune has the Cards very interested in Jon Garland of the White Sox and willing to offer J.D. Drew. This is ludicrous and not just because Drew hit a 515-foot homer Friday night. He hasn't realized his potential yet and may never, given a lot of the "issues" he has (the Birdhouse would probably have a different word for it) but he certainly has way too much promise and current value to be traded for a guy who has basically regressed since he got to the majors. Garland may turn out to be a pretty good pitcher, but he doesn't have the ceiling of many young pitchers out there. He will never be the ace of the staff, his walk and K rates make that clear. He's getting hit harder now at 23 than he was at 21 and that's a problem. I don't believe the trade at all. The other rumor is from Redbird Nation, though I don't think the Brothers Gunn got this from the most reliable source (an usher?) and it is that Vina is going to NY for Benitez and Alomar. I could see it happening if money worked out. Although we would miss Vina's defense, Alomar just seems like he would be ready to thrive in St. Louis. We'll see if there's anything to it. Benitez would almost certainly benefit from getting out of NY. Also, Nation was speculating that there would have to be another Cardinal going to NY and that it could be Tino. That I very much doubt unless there wa ssome way to balance out salaries. The Mets would have Tino for another full year and this would kind of kabosh the whole Piazza-moves-to-first thing, although it doesn't sound like Mikey's going to be doing much of any kind of ball-playing for awhile. I'm intrigued. as always when I hear trade rumors, but I'm not feeling anything just yet.
--One piece of bad news is that Dan Haren got rocked in his first start at AAA tonight. He gave up six runs on eight hits in 2 2/3 innings to an Oklahoma RedHawks lineup that features several very good AAA hitters, guys that have played in the majors. It is the Texas Rangers AAA team and Haren gave up homers to Kevin Mench, who would be with the big club in just about every other organization in MLB (he was with, and played well with the Rangers in 2002), and Jason Hart, who got some major-league time last year in Texas and hit 25 dingers in AAA. The lineup also feature former top prospect and AAA masher Ryan Ludwick and IF Mike Lamb, who has spent a lot of time with the Rangers. It was good for Haren to go up against some guys who can hit at the major-league level, and though he struggled, I'm sure he'll bounce back. So now everybody can calm down about the kid a little bit (especially me). He doesn't turn 23 for four more months!
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