The Daily Redbird

2003-07-08T11:25:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-07-02T12:06:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-07-01T12:21:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-07-01T09:57:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-06-29T21:03:00.000-05:00

TOMORROW'S STARTER----DAN HAREN!!!!!

2003-06-29T20:20:00.000-05:00

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?

2003-06-24T13:18:00.000-05:00

OUT OF COMMISSION

Sorry, no Daily Redbird this week as I am on the road with limited internet access. Time to get some revenge on those royal pain-in-the-ass Red Legs!!!

2003-06-19T16:01:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-06-19T12:10:00.000-05:00

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.....

2003-06-18T22:42:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-06-18T15:59:00.000-05:00

??????????????

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.

2003-06-17T22:49:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-06-16T08:36:00.000-05:00

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..........

2003-06-12T23:22:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-06-12T20:38:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-06-12T20:09:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-06-12T19:51:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-06-12T19:44:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-06-12T18:03:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-06-12T15:32:00.000-05:00

SOME GOOD NEWS ALREADY!!

Astros lose to Yanks, 6-5. Go Orioles!

2003-06-12T14:54:00.000-05:00

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......

2003-06-11T16:39:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-06-11T12:03:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-06-10T21:04:00.000-05:00

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 :)

2003-06-06T13:11:00.000-05:00

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!

2003-06-04T16:27:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-06-04T15:54:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-06-04T12:27:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-06-03T20:52:00.000-05:00

CORK

Baseball is about to not be so berry berry good to Scammin' Sammy

In unrelated news, Matty Mo is just killing me right now. Matt, THEY ARE ONLY SWINGING AT YOUR FASTBALLS AND THEY ARE CRUSHING THEM. THROW CURVEBALLS.

2003-06-03T17:46:00.000-05:00

Nephew of Tom Pagnozzi per another internet user..........

2003-06-03T16:40:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-06-03T14:40:00.000-05:00

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?

2003-06-03T14:10:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-06-03T13:41:00.000-05:00

....................

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.

2003-06-03T13:18:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-06-03T12:16:00.000-05:00

CARDS FIRST PICK

With their first round pick the Cardinals have selected Derrick Barton, a high-school catcher from Marina, California.

More info to come......

2003-06-02T19:17:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-06-02T12:50:00.000-05:00

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...)

2003-05-30T21:21:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-30T18:04:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-29T12:40:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-28T16:04:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-27T14:40:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-27T11:43:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-27T11:04:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-26T23:15:00.000-05:00

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!

2003-05-26T16:29:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-24T22:12:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-24T00:05:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-23T00:29:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-22T13:52:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-21T22:13:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-21T21:49:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-20T15:55:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-19T22:48:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-19T14:18:00.000-05:00

TOP 9TH

Grudzy grounds out. Gonzalez strikes out, Matt's eighth of the day. One out to get. And PATTERSON FLIES OUT!!! Matty Mo is the man!! A 4-hit shutout and the Cards take three of four from the Cubs!!!! Nice! Okay I got some work to do but I'll be back in awhile. GO CARDS!!!!

2003-05-19T14:15:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-19T13:59:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-19T13:54:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-19T13:45:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-19T13:40:00.000-05:00

BOTTOM 6TH

Zambrano continues to roll. Edmonds needs a day off or something. He's terrible right now. Tino is just plain terrible period. He doesn't ever hit the ball hard. He has two fricking homeruns. What an enormous waste of money and a starting spot. Cards 1, Cubs 0.

2003-05-19T13:34:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-19T13:29:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-19T13:20:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-19T13:11:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-19T12:57:00.000-05:00

TOP 4TH

This time, Matty gets Patterson swinging, after a Gonzalez strike out. Alou flies out to deep center. 4 innings, 46 pitches and looking good. Cards 1, Cubs 0. Time for a potty break.

2003-05-19T12:55:00.000-05:00

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

2003-05-19T12:43:00.000-05:00

TOP 3RD

Zambrano's inability to get a sac bunt down leads to Grudzielanek hitting into a double play. Morris is coming off a low-pitch outing and has thrown only 32 pitches through three innings. A very good sign at this juncture of the game. Cards 0, Cubs 0

2003-05-19T12:37:00.000-05:00

BOTTOM 2ND

Wow, Tino, three whole pitches before you strike out. Looks like we could have a pitcher's duel on our hands. Cards 0, Cubs 0

2003-05-19T12:35:00.000-05:00

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.

2003-05-18T23:22:00.000-05:00

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!

2003-05-16T21:56:00.000-05:00

How do you spell relief? E-L-D-R-E-D

And to think I was ready to release this guy after two appearances. Guess that's why I'm typing on my PC with no shirt on right now.

Great win, fun game to watch. How about that mammoth blast by Drew. WOW. Woody toughs another one out. The Cubs long game yesterday may have helped us, because I think had that not occurred there's a good chance they pinch-hit for Clement in the top of the 6th. Nice to see Fernando have a great game and the defense was wonderful. Goddamn this team can be so good! Let's hope this is the start of a fun weekend.

2003-05-15T15:43:00.000-05:00

MORE DEVELOPMENTS

--DAN HAREN HAS BEEN PROMOTED TO AAA Memphis.

This comes off the Roto-World wire, with the comment that Haren might not be far from contributing in St. Louis, as in this season. While I highly doubt that, who knows? I am glad to see him get the promotion to AAA though because he deserved it. And if the bullpen situation continues to be a problem, who knows, maybe he will be called up here to start or relieve or something.

Also, this coming hot off the "Mike was dead wrong" wire, nobody claimed Ruben Mateo. That's right, the D-Ray's, Tigers, Pirates, Brewers all took a pass on Mateo. So now he's in AAA still with the Reds. And Jose Guillen still wants a trade. I'm looking forward to our next chance at "Red Revenge" which won't be until June 24, back at Busch.

The Cubs and Brewers are currently engaged in a 13-inning struggle. I hope it goes 25 innings and wrecks the Cubs pen for the upcoming series. That'd be sweet. Oh yeah, and the Cubs need to lose too.

2003-05-15T14:50:00.000-05:00

TOP 9th

--Well, it's now a 5-run lead so there's not too much pressure, and it's not a save situation anymore unless Fassero stays in the game. He does, and gives up a single to Reggie Taylor to lead things off. I personally don't think Fassero should be allowed to pitch more than an inning, just my two cents. It has seemed to lead to bad things. There's a hit for Casey. Please God, this is not happening....

--Guillen singles. Bases loaded, nobody out. Please Tony, for the love of Christ take him out of the game.

--Eldred comes in.

--He gets Boone to fly out to shallow right and Dunn hits a sac fly. One out to go, 6-2 Cards. Griffey comes up. Base hit, 6-3 Cards.

--Bob Boone, much to my shock, does not pinch hit with Kearns. Instead Castro goes up to the plate. Eldred falls behind 3-1, runs the count full, and.....GOT EM SWINGING!!! Cards Win!

--Nothing like a little excitement. God, I hate our bullpen. Both runs are charged to Fassero, Eldred picks up the save, the first of his career. Cards are back at .500, at 19-19. Garrett Stephenson gets a well-deserved win to move to 3-2. I'll have more after I catch my breath.

2003-05-15T14:29:00.000-05:00

BOTTOM 8th

--Eduardo Perez leads off with a double and makes it to third on a grounder to short by Albert. I, for one, would like to see Eddie get some more AB's as he has been smoking the ball lately.

--Edmonds. First Pitch. Gone. Thanks a lot Jim, why didn't you tell me you were gonna dong one so I could put you in my fantasy lineup today? Well, hopefully that gets Edmonds going, and hopefully this gets the Cards going with a somewhat important, at least for May, 4-game set starting tomorrow with the Cubs. Three in the 7th and two in the eighth is something to build on. In any normal season, I'd be relaxed and celebrating a much-needed victory. But alas, this is 2003, the year of Murphy's Relief Pitching Law in St. Louis......Cards 6, Reds 1.

2003-05-15T14:21:00.000-05:00

TOP 8th

--Well considering that Stephenson had two consecutive outings where he went 8 innings and threw well over a hundred pitches, I was shocked to see him pulled. Yes, the bullpen has been good two nights in a row, but if anything doesn't that mean it's time for them to combust? Well, the extra run makes me feel a little bit better. Here come the pinch hitters for Cincy....

--Larkin is the first one. It's Fassero in the game and he got Castro to start the inning. He gets ahead of Larkin, and then walks him. Arrrrrggggghhhhh.

--Felipe Lopez steps in, and after watching from the on-deck circle as Fassero missed badly with his last few pitches, Lopez proceeds to ground into a double play on the first pitch. Inning over, heartache temporarily diverted. Cards 4, Reds 1. I wanna see Mike Crudale in the 9th.

2003-05-15T14:13:00.000-05:00

BOTTOM 7th

Rolen gets on for the third time today, this time on a Hit By Pitch. Come on Edgar.... By the way those Edgar batting splits.

0-0-- 9-27 3 2B, 1 HR, 8 RBI
0-1-- 6-17 2 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI
0-2-- 0-3 2 K
1-0-- 6-12 2 2B, 6 RBI
1-1--12-24 1 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI
1-2-- 4-14 1 2B, 4 RBI
2-0-- 1-3, 1B
2-1-- 4-12, 3 2B, 1 RBI
2-2-- 5-16, 1 2B, 1 RBI
3-0-- 0-0, 6 BB
3-1-- 2-5, 2 1B, 6 BB
3-2-- 4-13, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3 BB

I wasn't really right, of course Edgar is hitting great on all counts so far this season. I think these stats do bear out one thing that I was trying to suggest though and that is that Edgar is a very good two strike hitter and a great one strike hitter, and so that's why I get frustrated when I see him grounding out on 2-0, because I know he's still very dangerous if he takes a strike or two. Not much to complain about with the Colombian Captain.

--And there he goes!! Edgar comes through on a 3-2 pitch with an RBI double!!! Advances to third on the throw!!! That probably means bye-bye Mr. Riedling, hello lefty.
--I am so smart :)

--Tino gets that elusive 10th ribbie with a single to score Edgar!! 3-1 Cards! Off a lefty no less! Widger sacrifices him over and TLR PINCH HITS???? Whoa, was not expecting that one at all. We'll talk about that more in a minute.

--Cairo grounds out as pinch-hitter, Tino goes to third on wild pitch, and ....Vina drives him home with a 2-OUT RBI SINGLE! RBI singles by Tino and Vina off of a lefty in the same inning. Impressive. Vina gets picked off which means K-Rob has to lead off an inning unfortunately. But the damage has been done, at least until our bullpen gets on the field. Cards 4, Reds 1.

2003-05-15T13:54:00.000-05:00

TOP 7th

Leadoff walk to Boone, then two flyouts, and then Widger guns down Boone trying to steal. Maybe we can scratch out a run and Garrett can go complete game. Only 88 pitches thru 7.

2003-05-15T13:48:00.000-05:00

SIXTH INNING

Didn't miss much while I was gone I see. Wow, Garrett, only two hits.

2003-05-15T13:29:00.000-05:00

BOTTOM 5th

A quick and easy 5th for Riedling. Tino's back down to .270 and Widger popped out to the catcher. I bet Ray is stroking his Pat Borders bobblehead doll right about now. Hey wait, Garrett works a walk!! At least that gets Vina out of the way this inning. He grounds out. I'm bored. I think I'll go get something to eat even though I'm not really that hungry. Cards 1, Reds 1.

2003-05-15T13:24:00.000-05:00

TOP 5th

Stephenson only needs six pitches to get through the 5th. A good day so far for Garrett and he's only thrown 63 pitches. We need a bunch of runs though because Cincy has Griffey and Kearns waiting on the bench if this is still close in the late innings. Cards 1, Reds 1.

2003-05-15T13:22:00.000-05:00

BOTTOM 4th

--Albert starts it off with a double. He's one guy you can count on never slumping for long. Now would be a good time for Edmonds to break out of his funk. Nah, Ground out on the first pitch. I think Edmonds just gets bored after the first thirty games or so. He does move the runner to third though so another RBI situation *cringe*
--Hey, whaddya know, a single!!!! Rolen's back up to near .300 and he drives in RBI number 29. Come on, we can pound this guy!!!
--Or Edgar can hit into a double play on 2-0. Hard to say anything negative about Edgar's season so far, but his plate discipline could use some work. He too often reaches for pitches when he's ahead in the count. He almost seems to hit better when he's even or behind in the count. I'll research that. Cards 1, Reds 1

2003-05-15T13:08:00.000-05:00

TOP 4th

--Stephenson gives up a one-out single to Jose Guillen. Guillen is one of the worst players in the history of the league to receive regular playing time in several different years, according to Lee Sinins of the Baseball Encyclopedia. However, this year Guillen has been absolutely red-hot and was quoted yesterday as saying he wants to be traded now that Griffey is back because he believes he should be starter. What a joke. One good month and he's Babe Ruth. This guy sucks.
--After retiring Boone, Stephenson does not throw any of four pitches to Dunn remotely close to the plate. Probably not a bad idea with Kelly Stinnett on deck. Stinnett grounds out, inning over. Reds 1, Cards 0.

2003-05-15T13:03:00.000-05:00

TOP 3rd

--Easy 1,2,3 for Stephenson. Reds 1, Cards 0

BOTTOM 3rd

--Easy 1,2,3 for Riedling, although Robinson actually takes a pitch, four of them in fact. The problem is that two of them were strikes and he strikes out looking. What is that, 18 straight innings without a run? This is all my fault, I cursed the team by putting wallpaper of Edmonds, Renteria, and Pujols on my desktop when they were 1-2-3 in the batting race. Reds 1, Cards 0

2003-05-15T12:49:00.000-05:00

BOTTOM 2nd

--Cards get the leadoff hitter on for the second straight inning as Rolen walks. Now let's see if the Renteria-Tino lineup flip helps things.
--It does for now. Edgar singles. Now Tino realizes that 2 men are on and warms up his double play swing.
--Wow, just now noticed that Chris Widger is catching today, his first start in a Cardinal uniform.
--Tino manages to avoid the double play and hits one deep but not quite deep enough. Rolen goes to third and Widger has an RBI chance. He swings and misses at a 2-0 pitch right down the middle. Works it to a full count and then grounds into a double play. This season has been an absolute nightmare. Can anyone, ANYONE get a hit with a runner in scoring position? Of course a fly ball would've sufficed there. Reds 1, Cards 0.

2003-05-15T12:34:00.000-05:00

TOP 2nd

--Aaron Boone is retired for the third time this season by Cardinal pitching. Okay, that's an exaggeration. Is anyone else feeling a sarcastic, negative vibe coming from me?
--Interestingly, Stephenson currently has a 4.53 ERA, exactly the same as his career ERA.
--Not anymore. Dunn hits a home run. The Cardinals are losing. Funny thing is, as I was writing that last line, I thoguht to myself, I bet he hits a homer. I'm starting to be able to smell bad Cardinal pitching like Sharks smell fear. The opposition home runs just keep on coming. Stephenson has now given up eight taters in 44 innings. For those of you wondering, that is not good.
--Two K's to end the inning, Reds 1, Cards 0.

2003-05-15T12:26:00.000-05:00

BOTTOM 1st

--A hit for Vina to lead off the game!!! Mr. Goatee is now batting a robust .226
--And now K-Rob does what he does best!! Making an out on the very first pitch he sees!! Robinson has made an art form out of grounding out on the first pitch. At least he hits on the ground, I guess. Sigh.
--A balk gets Robinson into scoring position but Albert grounds out and so does Edmonds. Cards 0, Reds 0. Riedling throws only 11 pitches.

2003-05-15T12:18:00.000-05:00

Okay here goes....

TOP 1st
--Stepehenson hits the first batter, signaling that the fix is on. Let's start calling them the "Blackbirds"
--No Griffey, Larkin, or Kearns in the lineup today. Kearn's legs probably hurt from trotting around the bases so many times. More likely Boone figures he can rest him since even if the Reds lose they will have a 6-1 SERIES EDGE :(
--Just noticed that Stephenson hit Lopez on an 0-2 pitch. Nice, Garrett.
--The rest of the inning is uneventful, Reds 0, Cards coming up

2003-05-15T12:09:00.000-05:00

AFTER HE'S COOLED DOWN A BIT.....

Okay, in a possibly futile attempt to reverse Redbird fortunes I am going to follow the game closely today online, makng comments on players and strategies as I go. Hey, I'm bored, why the heck not?

In other news, the only team hitting less than the Cards right now is my fantasy team. Eric Hinske, yeah that was a great pick. I dropped him today for on-base machine Bill Mueller. It'll probably come back to haunt me but "The Mighty Wingmen" (named for the fabulous Coors Light commercial that we've all seen) are fading fast and need a boost from somewhere. Also it might help if Jim Edmonds started hitting again seeing as how he's on my team too.

John Riedling gets the ball for the Reds today. The Cards should be able to hit him, though I suppose that means little. He got bombed by the Brewers his last time out. First pitch is coming up. Yo Garrett, let's see if you can keep that little round, white thing in the yard today, aaight?

2003-05-15T10:33:00.000-05:00

CARDS-REDS RELOADED

Cincy hands the Birds their asses, part 6.

Agent Smith/Bob Boone as Austin Kearns hits another homerun: That, Mr. LaRussa, is the sound of inevitability.

Yeah, I've got a little Matrix fever. I went to see the premiere last night, and let me tell you, there's nothing like Carrie Anne Moss in tight black leather to make me worry a little less about the fact that MY TEAM SUCKS!!!!!!

Is this some kind of strange punishment from God? Losing six in a row to the Reds, who a couple weeks ago weren't worth the toilet paper I wipe my butt with? Too bad this isn't the Matrix, and it's all some program that isn't real. Oh yes, this is real folks, and it's real ugly. That's seven out of eight ending with a big L. And the thing is now, the Cards aren't hitting. At all. Who cares about the bullpen (that has now pitched 10 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings by the way) when you can't score a frickin' run? Tino, go take a seat on the bench you dog.

The pitching still isn't there, even Matty Mo got into the homerun fever last night. I think "1999" by Prince is the pitching staff's theme song this year, as in "Our offense puts up zeroes inning over whooops out of time.....So now we're yielding homers like it's 1999"

Yes, it brings us back to 1999, the first time since 1955 and just the second time in history that the average number homers went over one a game, when the men in red take the mound. The Birds have allowed a tateriffic 53 dingers in 37 games, including notable performances by Russ Springer and Jason Simontacchi, who have allowed a quite incredibly horrifying 15 homers in 46.1 innings. This is one of the many reasons that the Cards suck right now. It's hard for your great defense to help you when the ball is sailing over the wall. What is the Reds slugging percentage against Cardinal pitching right now? I don't even want to know. Oh well, I guess we get another shot at em today. Maybe there'll be a pulse because there sure as hell wasn't one last night.

2003-05-14T14:13:00.000-05:00

At Least It Wasn't A One-Run Loss.....

Not much to really say about last night's game. These guys look like a bunch of whipped pups. With the injuries and the bad luck that have befallen them in the first month and a half, this organization has so many questions right now and I just don't know what the answer is. One thing I forgot to mention about Eli is that he could be a very important piece of trade bait. That is wiped out for now. The one good thing about last night was that the bullpen went 7 1/3 scoreless, including 3 scoreless innings by closer candidate Mike Crudale. I wonder who pitches the ninth tonight if the Birds are winning, considering that Calero pitched 2 1/3 last night? Probably Fassero, since he's the latest guy to actually manage three outs in the ninth. Just the thought of Fassero pitching to Aaron Boone in a close game gives me chills (the bad kind). Is it me, or does somebody need to put one in Boone's ear? How about Jose Guillen? Ah hell, we'd have to put one in the whole team's ear.

A great start tonight would be for Morris to try to get through the first inning without giving up a run. The Reds have scored in the first in four of the five games between the clubs so far, and have scored at least three in the first in three of those four. The offense deserves blame too for this latest collapse, but it's gotta be not fun to be down 3-0 every game after the opponent's first at-bat. Can anyone drive in a run? Can anyone get a two-out hit with runners on base? The answer is no. Ti-no.

Lack of clutch hitting aside, Simontacchi was beyond awful last night. I've never seen a pitcher have so many bad things happen with two strikes. This outing was a near carbon copy of his shelling in Atlanta last year. He walked a guy on a couple borderline pitches, gave up a cheap hit, and then proceeeded to get the crap beat out of him. Maybe the whole two strike thing was what TLR meant when he said that Simo was pitching "backwards." It's almost like Simontacchi was trying to give up two-strike hits. He hung some of the fattest breaking pitches I have ever seen on two strikes. It was ugly and though Simo has had a couple of good outings, I really don't see why we can't find someone better to fill the 5 hole. Chuck Finley anyone? At the very least, let's hope Chris Carpenter is still making good progress. If not, maybe it's time to move Eldred or Calero into the rotation. I can dream...

Vina is still doing way too good of a job of making outs at leadoff. Edmonds is in one of his patented slumps a couple weeks after I proclaimed him a stud, and Tino is still being Tino, except he's mixing in a few more singles with no one on base. This offense is WAY overrated. It's so inconsistent. The numbers look good, but that's beacuse of big games in Houston and Colorado and floggings of the Brewers and Mets. Overall, it's been a struggle to score runs in a lot of games and it seems to linger on from one game to the next. A lot of it is the fact that we just can't get the runs home when they're out there. It's a very frustrating time to root for the Cards.

But alas, if this season has taught us anything, it is that your fortunes can change on a dime. Let's hope that is the case when Matt Morris, who has been the starting pitcher in the last two Cardinal victories, takes the hill tonight against Danny Graves. The Cards currently sit in fourth place in the NL Central at 18-18. (YECCH!!)

WHAT A NIGHT IN THE MINORS

Last night was probably the best night of the year for Cardinal affiliates. In Memphis, Dee Haynes and John Gall led the offensive onslaught. Haynes hit his 8th homer and was 2 for 3 with a walk and HBP. He leads the team and is creeping into the league leaders category in dingers. And John Gall is enjoying AAA pitching much better this time around. He was 3-4 with his second homer since his recall, 2 RBI and a walk last night. Dan Haren keeps boring us by being unhittable. Last night was just another ordinary night for the young righty, as he allowed four hits and fanned 11 in seven scoreless innings to go to 6-0 with a 0.82 ERA.

Season totals: 55 IP, 36 H, 49 K, 6 BB

Haren has not only distanced himself as easily the organizations no. 1 prospect, but he is now moving on to Top 50 major league prospect lists. Danny, Memphis is calling your name bro.

At Palm Beach, Tyler Johnson, who had been a victim of his teammate's inability to score runs, gained his first win with 7 1/3 strong innings. He allowed six hits, one run, and K'd 8 while walking 2. His ERA is 3.20.

In Peoria, Blake Hawksworth is back and throwing smoke. He was nearly untouchable with seven shutout innings last night, allowing just two hits and walking two while fanning eight.

Season Totals: 36 IP, 4 ER, 18 H, 8 BB, 41 K

One of the best things about Haren and Hawksworth's dominance is their wonderful K/BB ratios and the very few number of hits allowed. These type of numbers spell dominance and Blake could be taking his act to South Florida later this season.

So if you take nothing else out of last night, take solace in the fact that somewhere in the organization there are pitchers who can put away a guy who has two strikes. And they may be coming to St. Louis sooner than you think.

2003-05-13T17:15:00.000-05:00

GRIFFEY ACTIVATED

In a surprise move, the Reds have activated Ken Griffey, Jr. for tonight's game. This is a dumb move in my opinion for a couple of reasons. First of all, Griffey is apparently not ready to start, as he has not had extensive "gearing-up" time or a rehab assignment for activation and he is not starting tonight per ESPN News. All this does is start the clock on the amount of time the Reds have to figure out what to do with Ruben Mateo. Mateo will likely be claimed by the Tigers or D-Rays or some team with a terrible record at the top of the waiver wire because he is a great talent that has been buried in Cincy. There is no way in hell he will pass through waivers so the Reds are surely looking to trade him. But if all Griffey is going to do is pinch-hit, why now? Jose Guillen is red-hot and was King Kong Godzilla against the Cards last week, part of the reason why Mateo is getting dumped. Just doesn't make much sense to me unless the Reds already have a trade basically worked out. Anyway, as I said, Griffey is not in the lineup tonight and who knows if he will be later in the series. I'm sure at most he'll start one game given that Thursday is a day game. Opening pitch is in exactly two hours..........

2003-05-13T15:26:00.000-05:00

Marrero

Will Carroll says from what he has heard, he says eight to twelve weeks on Eli. I still remain unconvinced that this is going to be as big of a loss as what some are making it out to be. Eli has consistently had low OBA's his entire career and while he is very versatile, so are the other hundred guys we have in the organization that are brought there for one purpose; because they can play lots of positions. The "versatility" suspect that will probably be coming to St. Louis. I'm betting on Craig Paquette, which is probably a step down from Marrero defensively and certainly on the basepaths. But Paquette has some pop and has loved hitting at Busch Stadium over the years. As long as he is only playing once a week and is delivering some clutch hits, his specialty in 2001, I can tolerate him being on the roster. We'll see if the future return to St. Louis snaps him out of his long funk. The early returns have not been invigorating. Paquette is 2 for his first 12 at Memphis with one walk and three strikeouts. Maybe he won't be coming back to St. Louis. Meanwhile Kerry Robinson is batting .364 at Memphis and is the leading candidate for a recall should the Cards decide to go with 11 pitchers. In true K-Rob form, he has yet to draw a walk in 33 AB's, where he's probably seen about 37 total pitches.

I have yet to hear anything about Drew's back stiffness on Sunday so I assume he's fine and that'll he'll be in there tonight against Wilson, who he hit hard last Thursday. Don't expect Izzy back for at least two more weeks and probably closer to three or four. I'd say the Cards, who are now being very careful with him, are looking at at the end of May as a best-case scenario and assessing what they can do if he is not availiable to come back.

2003-05-13T10:59:00.000-05:00

BACK HOME AND READY FOR REVENGE

Last week, when the Cards strolled into Cincinnati riding a seven-game winning streak to face the NL's worst collection of starting pitching and worst defense, the thought of a 4-game sweep by the Reds was almost laughable. Well, nobody's laughing now. The Reds swept the Cards, to simultaneously pull themselves back into the race and drop the Cardinals from the top of the division. The Reds have arrived a half game behind by St. Louis by kind of being the anti-Cardinals. They are one of the worst defensive teams while the Cards are one of the best. Their starting pitching has been terrible while the Cards has been pretty darn good. But the Reds bullpen has been much better and their hitters have hit better in crucial situations, pulling out almost as many improbable wins as the Cards have suffered improbable losses.

Currently the Cards are the best defensive team in the NL per the Baseball Prospectus defensive efficiency ratings. The Reds are 12th. The Cards are leading the league in Equivalent Average. The Reds have pulled themselves up to 7th. The Cards starting pitching is ranked 5th in the NL in adjusted runs allowed, but first in support-neutral value added. Meanwhile the Reds are dead last in the majors in both categories. This looks like such a complete mismatch on paper. What the hell has happened???

Well, a lot of things. First of all the Reds starters have had better luck, and they have had better support from the bullpen. The Reds and Cards bullpen stats are close to the same, but that's only because the Reds had Josias Manzanillo, a one-man natural disaster, on the roster for a couple weeks, making games that the Reds were already losing just uglier. The Reds pen has done a much better job of holding leads. They have Scott Williamson, who is the closer but can come in and get outs in the eighth and pitches well with runners on, having been both a starter and a reliever in the past. Also, the Reds have hit fourteen more total homers than the Cards and are batting over 40 points higher than the Cards with 2 outs and runners in scoring position. The Reds have the best mark in the NL at .269, while the Cards are at a measly .222. As part of their late-inning heroics, the Reds have 22 homers in the seventh inning or after, number one in the majors.

Though the Cards overall ERA is much lower than the Reds, the Reds bullpen ERA is over a half-run lower than the the Cards. Take out Manzanillo, who has long since been excised from the roster, and the Reds have one of the top 4 bullpens in the NL. And behind Williamson, their best three relievers have been lefties: Kent Mercker, Felix Heredia, and Gabe White. This was a problem for the Cards in the first series and will probably continue to be. But there's more to it than just one team blowing late-inning leads and one team making late-inning comebacks. The Reds ahve gotten much better starting pitching the last ten or so games. Danny Graves has come around and John Riedling and Jeff Austin, two former relievers have stepped in and done well. Austin, in particular, has some pretty nasty stuff if he can keep his command. He could be a steal from the Royals. Injuries have meant that Jimmy Haynes and Ryan Dempster have not pitched and that has also been important to the Reds turnaround, as both of them have been completely awful when they've been on the mound. They both are back or coming back, so Reds fans beware. Still, with Griffey on the mend sooner thaan expected, my statement earlier this year that the Reds were "done" was obviously a bit premature.

That said, there is NO reason why the Cards shouldn't just pund the Reds in three games straight. They are offensively and defensively superior and have better starters. Paul Wilson is pitching tonight for the Reds and the Cards should tear him up. Let's go bullpen, now it's your turn to shine!!!! And offense, you can pick it up a little bit too. The hitters have been absolutely deplorable at 2-out hitting and hitting crucial situations. Tino has 9 RBI, NINE!!! Edmonds has cooled off, which I'm sure surprises nobody, and Mike Matheny looks like Mike Matheny again. The Cards need Vina to keep up his hot hitting and the same goes for Drew, who left the game Sunday with a stiff back but is hopefully okay and ready to play more regularly, given the absence of Marrero.

In the minors, Rhett Parrott had one of his best outings of the year for AA Tennessee, giving up just one run in eight innings and K'ing 6 to get the win. Reid Gorecki went 5 for 9 in a Peoria doubleheader and after a slow, slow start has his average up to .242.

The Birdhouse (Ray) gave a lighthearted "what the hell are you thinking" statement to me yesterday when I said that Widger would probably do about as good of a job as Pat Borders, Ray's new favorite player, as the backup catcher in STL. Let me be clear that i definitely think that Borders would be better than Widger, especially defensively. And he is hitting .395, but I doubt that a deal would be orchestrated to get him. Stranger things have happened though. I think if we get Borders he should be our co-starter, as Mike Matheny's stretch of being a decent hitter looks to be over. Probably part of it is because Matheny has caught more innings than any other catcher in the league. Tony, sit the dude down once in awhile! It's not like youre going to miss his bat and a catcher's defesne, while important, doesn't make that huge of a difference on the game's outcome.

2003-05-12T13:57:00.000-05:00

Around the Minors

AAA--Well if Jimmy Journell is going to make a case for closing, he'll need to do a better job at AAA first. I just found out that he was hit hard last night in another relief appearance allowing a couple earned runs and walking a couple batters. I'd say the idea of him closing in St. Louis right now just really can't be plausible. Meanwhile, on the hitting side of the ledger, Dee Haynes had a 4-4 evening this weekend and hit his sixth homer. He has major league power and is starting to come around this season, but he still isn't showing enough for a callup. He's still batting under .240. John Gall was demoted to AA a while back, a fact i'm not sure I ever discussed. Anyhow, he tore up AA and was recalled to AAA for last night's game, where he went 2-4 with a homer and 2 RBI. So maybe he's straightened himself out.

Speaking of possible closers, maybe we should let Dan Haren come up and pitch. He actually had the audacity to allow a run in eight innings of work the other night, raising his ERA to 0.94. He struck out 8 and walked one. I was obviously just joking about the closing thing, but this kid is starting to edge into the nothing left to prove neighborhood of the Southern League. Nick Stocks followed up Haren with seven scoreless innings the next night, allowing just two hits. Stocks recovery from past injury and focus problems is the best surprise of the first month-plus of the minor-league season. In hitting news at Tennessee, Yadi Molina is still batting over .300.

Chris Narveson and Tyler Johnson both continue to be good-and-not-great at Palm Beach. Their ERA's are both in mid-3's and they are getting next to no run support from their mates.

John Santor and Travis Hanson continue to be two of the most feared hitters in the Midwest League. They are both batting around .350 and continue to churn out multi-hit games with regularity. Palm Beach could sorely use some of their offensive prowess.

One last note, Rick Ankiel first start was a bust (two innings, five runs, four walks, etc.) and with every outing, the probability of him ever forging a career in a Cardinals uniform becomes more and more remote. If the Cards can get anything of value for him in a trade, which isn't likely, I'd say it's time to thin about pulling the trigger. In the meantime, keep sending him out there every fifth day and make him get his head out of his ass on his own.

2003-05-12T11:59:00.000-05:00

Hello Again

I added two new sites to my links, the "Redbird Nation" and a blog entitled "Go Cardinals". The former is done by Brian Gunn and his brothers and is very good, with lots of new content being added regularly. The latter is done by Josh Schulz and is also very informative and detailed. These guys know their stuff and if you want to be in the know when it comes to the Cards you should read these sites (and my site!!) regularly.

Well, I'm back from another weekend. It seems as if I have been out of town or had visitors just about every weekend, negatively affecting my ability to continually update the site. Sometimes I am just too pissed off to write anything, it's been that kind of season, but if I am going to pretend to be a real info source, I need to post stuff win or lose, no matter how many homers the pitching staff allows. My time left in New Orleans is at two months and dwindling, and the weekend traffic will continue. Once I get back to Illinois the volume of material on the site will likely increase (and I'll finally get back to Busch!)

18-17 despite outscoring their opponents by 1.5 runs per game. That is the story of the 2003 St. Louis Cardinals so far. How is this possible? Even with Clay Davenport's adjustments, it seems the Cardinals could be reasonably expected to be no worse than 20-15 right now. Of course we know how this is possible. Having 15 of your 17 losses be by two runs or less tends to do this to your actual record. Yeah that wasn't a stutter amigo, 15 OF 17 LOSSES HAVE BEEN BY ONE OR TWO RUNS!!!!! And when the Cards do win, they can't do it in close fashion. They finally got a couple one-run wins, but when they do win their average margin of victory is closer to five runs (4.555 to be exact). This makes for an especially alcohol-binging type of fandom because every fricking game that is close ends in an L. I've seen it so many times this year that I can barely watch a close game because I see the inevitable coming at me like a freight train. Is it going to get better? The law of averages say yes. The Cardinals right now are on pace to finish about 83-79 with 47 one-run losses and 23 two-run losses. The likelihood of that actually happening is about as probable as trading Tino for Mark Prior. At some point. one would expect the Cards to gain a little ground in W-L record in close games department, but history says that if your bullpen stinks, you usually have a poor record in one-run games, and if you have a poor record in one-run games, you usually don't make the postseason. The Cards just got swept by the Reds in a four-game set where the Reds scored six more runs than them total. Earlier this year the D-Backs took 2 of 3 from the Cards despite scoring one fewer run. The Astros have beaten the Cards three out of 5 despite scoring three fewer runs in those games. The Braves swept the Cards with a +5 run margin. The point is that the Cards haven't been outplayed by anyone this year at least not for more than a single game. They are clearly a team with the talent to play in October and do well. But something has to be done about the ability to win close games, and most of the fault there simply has to lie with the bullpen (see: record, broken).

The new possible plan is that Jimmy Journell could be given a chance to close. At least that's what the Post-Dispatch is reporting. I had originally heard from my daily prospect e-mails that Journell worked out of the bullpen because his start had been rained out earlier in the week. But, I do tend to usually take Joe Strauss at his word. It would be an odd thing, a very odd thing, for a pitcher who had never pitched in the big leagues to come up and debut as a closer. It's even more odd that Journell has been a starter in the minors and has pitched poorly in that role for Memphis so far this season. But he was a closer at my alma mater, the University of Illinois, and the Cardinals bullpen situation is dire right now. Apparently Jocketty has talked to Tony, Dunc, and others about the possible move. It certainly couldn't make things any worse could it? Journell, who has been struggling in AAA, came in and pitched two scoreless innings of relief over the weekend.

In other transactional news, Marrero is being sent to the DL, which means that the Cards will have to recall a catcher before tomorrow night's game. That will almost certainly be Chris Widger, a career backup who lost the backup job to John Flaherty in the Yankee's Spring Training. Widger is hitting much in Memphis but is a prefectly serviceable backup. He is not a bat defensive catcher and he will take a walk, meaning that he is not the automatic out that so many backup catchers are. The Birdhouse is calling for the Cards to sign Pat Borders as the backup. Borders was an incredible 6 for 6 in a AAA game this weekend for Tacoma of the Seattle Mariner's organization. A nice sentiment that probably won't happen, as the Cards already have a card-carrying member of the backup catchers union in Widger who will probably be just about as good in the role as Borders could be. Also, the Cards signed Brian Lesher and Craig Paquette to AAA contracts. Lesher has always been been one of those guys who kills the ball at AAA and can't carry it over to the majors, a la Ernie Young. He'll play the outfield some in AAA and provides some organizational depth. Paquette's story is one most Cards fans are probably familiar with. He parlayed a moderately successful 2001, where he happened to hit very well with runners on, into a grossly bloated contract with Detroit. Paying a right handed fly-ball hitter with moderate power and no speed or plate patience is about as stupid of a thing that the Tigers could have done, given the park they play in, but they did it and Paquette has been a complete bust. He's never been a favorite of mine but if he could do now in a reserve role what he did in a semi-regular role in 2000 and 2001 for the Birdos, he could be valuable bench player. With Rolen here now, Paquette would never play third and see a few AB's against lefties as a fifth or sixth outfielder. With Marrero's injury, he could be called up after a week or two in AAA, especially considering that the Cards starters are handling a large load right now, making seven relievers unnecessary. I predicted to myself that the Cards would sign Paquette, given that he made it public that he'd like a chance to come back here and play and given Tony's love for his old players who can masquerade at several positions.

2003-05-11T23:20:00.000-05:00

ROAD TRIP FROM HELL

..ends in a washout. Again, as with the Astros rainout, probably not a terrible thing, as this team has a great chance of losing that game and blowing up an already shattered bullpen. The only real downer is the Marrero injury, which is a big downer because of Eli's versatility. And Tino's probably down because he found an environment he could actually drive home runs in and now his stats don't count. I've been in North Carolina since Thursday, hence the lack of updates. I'll be doing a big write-up on all things Cardinal tomorrow. Good to be back loyal reading crew and I haven't forgotten about you. Tomorrow is an open date and a perfect time to tie up all the loose ends from the weekend and this damned infernal road trip.

2003-05-08T12:35:00.000-05:00

From a Winning Streak to a Losing Streak...

Just a thought I had. Isn't Game 4 of a series against a divisional opponent who has beaten you the first three games a rather odd day to put five starters on the bench including your 4, 5, and 6 hitters? Just wondering........

2003-05-07T16:02:00.000-05:00

A Couple of Interesting Things to Talk About Today

Number one, if the Cards have a narrow lead going into the ninth tonight, who pitches?? My vote is for Mike Crudale as he is the only one in the pen who's psyche hasn't been beaten to a pulp by the events of this season so far.

Rick Ankiel is going to return to starting after another plague of wildness has hit him at AA. Both Ray Mileur, proprietor of the Birdhouse, and myself voiced the need for this change and I am glad to see it. Maybe if they would just send him out there every fifth day and treat him like any other player he'd lose some of these nasty head problems he seems to have.

The trade rumors with the Mets will not go away. After Walt killed the notion of a Armando Benitez/Roberto Alomar--J.D. Drew/Fernando Vina swap, the Alomar/Vina portion of the trade isn't going away. Alomar has disappointed since coming to NY and he is no longer the defensive player that Vina is. But if he could somehow return to his .400 OBA form I'd make the trade in a New York minute. Seems very unlikely though as the Mets wouldn't be able to dump any cash on us.

If the Cards lose tonight it will already be their third losing streak of at least three games this year.

Blake Hawksworth pitched five scoreless innings last night in leading Peoria to a win. He struck out six and walked one.

2003-05-06T21:20:00.000-05:00

THE HEARTACHE CONTINUES

Okay, winning seven games in a row is great, and yes it's great that we are getting great pitching from our starters, and that we have a good offense and good defense. Yep, we should probably have the best record in baseball, this side of Yankee Stadium but are instead 17-14 because THE CARDINALS NEED SOMEBODY TO PITCH IN THE NINTH INNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That makes nine one-run losses tonight as Barry Larkin ,who could hit Cardinal pitching with two broken legs and a blindfold, sends one over the fence for another one-run loss in the final at-bat. How many is that? I believe seven of the nine have been in the ninth inning. That's the third time it has happened on a homer, the second time that the Cards were ahead when the ball cleared the wall. I try to keep thinking in the new-wave baseball frame of mind, that relievers are interchangeable and anyone should pitch the ninth inning, but this is getting beyond ridiculous. Tonight it was Kiko Calero, the one pitcher who had not blown a lead yet this year, who was the culprit. I mean how many times can this conceivably happen?? I don't know but it certainly seems like as good as time as any to push the panic button when it comes to the bullpen. The rest of the team is great! To look at it very optimistically (or pessimistically maybe), if the Cardinals had performed the way we would expect in the late innings, they could easily be 23-8 or thereabouts right now and looking to run away and hide in the NL Central. As it is they aren't going to be pulling away from anything anytime soon, except maybe the record for one-run losses before the All-Star break. *depressed*