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.
BACK FROM THE DL

I am no longer disabled (a nice one by the Birdhouse) and will have a full wrap-up of tonight's game and all things Cardinal tonight after the Cards try to close within one game of the NL Central lead against the Buckos.

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.

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.

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.

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.
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.

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!
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.