two down

by lboros on Apr 6, 2006 8:55 AM EDT in St. Louis Cardinals News

i've got a guest column up today at Baseball Analysts -- something a little different. here's the link if you want to check it out.

didn't see last night's game, but after sifting through the entrails i have a few quick thoughts re mulder's performance. two numbers to consider: seven swinging strikes (which is a lot compared to last year) and zero walks. both indicators suggest that mulder pitched effectively in the strike zone -- which, if true, is encouraging. the whole conversation about "power pitchers v groundball pitchers" is really a proxy conversation about controlling the strike zone; you want guys who don't have to nibble, don't have to make a perfect pitch every time. last year mulder was a nibbler; he couldn't afford to throw a strike that got more than 3 inches of the plate, lest it get hammered. but during spring training he reportedly was throwing the ball much better. last night he apparently threw it well enough that he didn't have to be so fine. ie, had a bigger margin for error -- and that, in the end, is what you want in the postseason. power pitchers tend to give you that, but you'll take it in whatever form..

encarnacion left 9 men on base, making the last out of the 2d, 4th, 6th, and 8th innings -- which meant pujols led off the four ensuing frames. having said that, i'm not so concerned about juan'cion being up there in rbi situations; those suit his game -- you need a base knock and some power, rather than just a baserunner. so albert leading off innings is less a problem than albert hitting with nobody on and two out -- that's the problem with en'cion in the #2 hole.

oh, in case you missed it, matt morris won his debut with the giants -- one earned run in six and a third.

back in a little while with a game thread.

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he still likes...

working that outside lower corner, which may or may not be the voices of TLR and Duncan in his head

Cardinals Diaspora

by Ryan Van Bibber on Apr 6, 2006 9:17 AM EDT reply actions

If it's not Dunc,

it definitely sounds like Leo Mazzone.

by MdRedbirdFreak on Apr 6, 2006 9:54 AM EDT up reply actions

Interesting note about Albert...

...leading off. Didn't one of the lineup simulators recommend that your best OBP guy lead off?

by sdrone on Apr 6, 2006 9:48 AM EDT reply actions

I noticed that...

Mulder's curve looked pretty good. I still flinch when he pitches, though - perhaps I just expect him to get bombed. He pitched very well, though; on the swing and miss pitches he was really fooling people. Unfortunately, only one of them came on strike 3.

The Cardinal Curmudgeon

by lawman3842 on Apr 6, 2006 9:56 AM EDT reply actions

He had some amazing curve balls

that the bottom just fell out on...he made Howard look silly a couple of times.

by azruavatar on Apr 6, 2006 11:44 AM EDT up reply actions

Jamming Encarnacion

Strange game, full of inconsistent performances. Most of the offense was like a lightening strike. Nothing would be going on, and the--Wammo, homerun. Mulder gave up what seemed like a lot of hits (at the rate of one an inning). On the other hand, he had periods where it seemed like he was getting an out with every pitch (During a stretch between the 5th and 7th innings, he retired six in a row, and seemed to be cruising.)

The bottom of the lineup has been paying dividends in the first two games. Miles and Schumaker, amazingly, have been causing people problems (which makes me think we're getting lucky).

And then we come to Encarnacion. Apparently, he has a serious weakness for inside stuff. At least two of his inning-ending outs were off broken bats. The last out, the one in the 8th with the bases loaded, came on 2-0 pitch. The smart play, with two walks already in the inning, is to take a strike. But, actually, I don't mind him being agressive in that situation. He just needs to get his bat speed up. Otherwise, he's going to keep seeing the inside stuff and keep breaking his bat swinging at 'em. I hope he watches the tapes.

So says, The Dude

by Titus Pullo on Apr 6, 2006 9:57 AM EDT reply actions

Not inside

I didn't see the other shatter, but the 2-0 one was a outside slider that he hit off the end of the bad that splintered it.

My prediction way back when on the hit charts seems to be accurate. Takes outside stuff till he has to swing at it then pokes it the other way (ala the Utley diving play); sitting on the middle-in mistake the whole AB till he must swing at outside junk is not a good approach. Needs to learn to hit an outside pitch so that way he actually gets some cookies over the middle.

A diamond is just a lump of coal that performed well under pressure

by joker24 on Apr 6, 2006 3:15 PM EDT up reply actions

Love the work, Lboros

Great essay at the Analysts. Having grown up in the numbers era (which I love) it's still absolutely amazing to read something about baseball, that beautiful game. You got it. Bravo.

Visit Cork, Ireland!

by gbrusca on Apr 6, 2006 10:43 AM EDT reply actions

Here, Here!

A great read - reminded me of playing in little league. And made me really miss it. What a wonderful sport. Thanks for the article.

by sdelek on Apr 6, 2006 10:53 AM EDT up reply actions

Yessir...

That's the baseball I know and love. Though we're approximately the same age, I just...missed the boat, I guess, on the new stats age. If it couldn't fit on the back of a 1970's baseball card, it went over my head. I have enjoyed catching up little by little, though I have to admit much of it still mystifies me. I'm also an idiot when it comes to anything involving math, so that doesn't help either. But what I've always liked most about how you run this site (as is shown in that article) is that you have a talent for mixing the love of old-timey emotional anecdotal reporting (the heart game) in with all the brainiac stuff (the head game). It's a great mix and makes all fans feel welcome. Some sites are so one way or the other that I don't find them interesting. Nice work as always, LB.

by rockin redbird on Apr 6, 2006 11:11 AM EDT up reply actions

all of you guys

are makin' my day ---- truly, i appreciate those words. thanks

by lboros on Apr 6, 2006 11:29 AM EDT up reply actions

Hey

It's why I read. Just keep it up.

Visit Cork, Ireland!

by gbrusca on Apr 6, 2006 12:59 PM EDT up reply actions

good job

i loved your piece on no-stats. sometimes, you guys lose me with all of the PECOTA and ZIPS and sabermetrics or something of that sort. while i do like to pour over the conventional batting average, HR, and RBI's, it is still good to remember what it was like before the Technology Age and Moneyball. Sometimes you just have to look at the guys fundamental's and scout him out yourself. now THAT is how our game is supposed to be played.

Albert Pujols is god with a lowercase "g". Let's go Redbirds, World Series '06 here we come!

by stlsportsfan on Apr 6, 2006 2:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Excellent piece at BA...

I have always kept score during baseball games, but I also had the advantage of going to Busch with my father (a catcher who had been offered a Class-D contract with the Giants) and a buddy of his, who had been a low-minors professional pitcher. These two gentlemen introduced me (and throughouly indoctrinated me) into the art of baseball as anticipation... "Watch this, Gibby's setting him up for the slider." Sure enough, here came the slider; thank you, Mr. Batter, you may sit down now! For whatever reason (his catching experience or maybe telepathy), my Dad always knew just which pitch Lou Brock was going to steal on. He'd murmur "There he goes!" just as the pitcher was starting to make his move... and, sonuvagun, there was Lou, slidin' into second. If one watches enough baseball (and I count my 10+ years broadcasting college baseball with my thousands of Cards' games as a spectator,) one will start to have these "feelings" that can't quite be quantified... but that work just the same! Great piece, lboros!

by The Ol Goaler on Apr 6, 2006 1:26 PM EDT up reply actions

Mulder

I think I heard that Mulder only threw 83 pitches last night. That is great. Good to see him efficiently working through the lineup this early in the season.

Nice to see Schumaker and Miles producing. I agree we can't rely on them for the season, but a good team has lots of producers. I am cautiously optimistic about 2d base. I still would like to see an upgrade in left field.

Interesting articled in the P-D about ticket prices up and payroll down. Not sure where they got the payroll number though which seems a little lower than what Jocketty had projected. I assume there might be some deferred money in the number that Jocketty cites. Also I am not sure how the Astros number is so high ($93 mil). So if they sign Clemens they would be way over $100 million? Well hopefully there is a power bat available later this season, though I think we will make it the playoffs without one.

OC Cards Fan

by OCCardsFan on Apr 6, 2006 10:45 AM EDT reply actions

You really had to watch Encarnacion

to see how truly bad he was. He was simply awful at the plate, a walking disaster area. Sell your Encarnacion stock now!

by Red in Chicago on Apr 6, 2006 11:00 AM EDT reply actions

Mulder was pretty solid

Mulder was throwing a lot of good curves for strike 2. Then forcing them to go after the slider then hit into a ground ball.

I was very excited to see that he had no Walks.

P.S
Haren got jacked last night.

by DimitroffVodka on Apr 6, 2006 11:35 AM EDT reply actions

watched entire game

schumaker baby, im tellin ya!

mulder had good movement on his pitches. he looked good. he was cruising. with a little better luck he coulda had a complete game shutout.

albert pujols is saved yet again. his reckless aggression on the basepaths in the 9th, when he tried to score on rolens ground ball with the infield in, didnt cost him yet again. thank you yadi. but to pujols credit he didnt hide from an obviously angry TLR. pujols was standing next to tony when yadi picked albert up with that clutch hit.

if pujols wasnt so lucky, his total disregard for the base coaches signs might become an issue, i love it tho.

albert is like those kids who scored on singles in little league cause they just didnt stop running and made teams make the throws and throw it around.

by 2ndprize on Apr 6, 2006 11:41 AM EDT reply actions

I'm going argue the counterpoint

I think Pujols was sent on contact, he had a good secondary lead and if the Rollins doesn't make a very good play charging and put the ball in the correct spot - Pujols was going to be safe.
If they didn't send him he MAY have been stranded at third top 9 in a tie game without taking a chance at scoring the run.

by jroman on Apr 6, 2006 12:39 PM EDT up reply actions

TLR

Did you not see TLR's reaction in the dugout. He was pissed APu went. As much as I love him, he does not listen to Oquendo when around third base.

by Just Rope Ball on Apr 6, 2006 1:06 PM EDT up reply actions

espn

actually said that he was sent on contact, i think its a mood point...Its early but they left alot of guys on base..Encar 9 himself i think...but tis the second game..Id still rather have him than wilson...Wilson k's too much. I think we all agree mulder should have gotten the W

by punchinjudy on Apr 6, 2006 1:09 PM EDT up reply actions

Not to belabor the point..

...but ESPN announcers. good lord.

I'd like to personally slap around Jon Miller/Joe Morgan. Idiots.

by sdrone on Apr 6, 2006 2:27 PM EDT up reply actions

ESPN

i like those two, but see your point..in one hand Hersier last night sounded solid, and then started to blame izzys problems on Molina...He made good points about excessive signaling, but he was talking tlike molina was new..its his third year as a pro...Anyone hear what Myeres said about Pujols...it was amazing

by punchinjudy on Apr 6, 2006 7:00 PM EDT up reply actions

baseball without numbers

nice recap of the random baseball game. you really captured what i love about the game--and reminded me we never really get to read about the game itself any more. i've been thinking about this because of the march madness, too, where all these teams came from seemingly nowhere. that's only because the major sports outlets only tell us about the stars and traditional powerhouses. i miss reading about what actually happens in a game, baseball or whatever, in the kind of literary, semi-stream of consciousness way you described the game. i've never liked all the quantifying, which might be because i'm a woman, but i think it's more because so much of sports, and especially baseball, leads us to think of something else or reflects some way of being, as it frees us from the real world. baseball is so good for getting us into the present moment, which is a great gift. i also like the sharing and community the game inspires, which was what was so great about redbird nation and this blog. so, thank you, for taking us out to the ballgame with you.

p.s. to 2nd prize. i was watching highlights so don't remember what game or who did this (sorry that this isn't more helpful), but someone hesitated rounding third last night trying to find his third-base coach, and it cost him at the plate. so he who hesitates is lost.

by thatsawinner on Apr 6, 2006 11:58 AM EDT reply actions

TAW, that's a perspective

that I should work harder to keep in mind this year. In 2004, for the first time in 2 decades, I got into the habit of taking a scorecard with me to every game I attended, and scoring the whole thing. I have really grown to like it, since it helps me keep my head in the game, and puts the whole game in perspective as a narrative, in a journalistic sense. But I think it can also distract me from just enjoying the nuances of the players and their movements, and breaks up my "stream of consciousness" after every out.

So this year I'll leave the scorecard at home now and then, or impose on my companions to score for a few innings, or maybe just have more beer.

Nice comment!

by MdRedbirdFreak on Apr 6, 2006 12:35 PM EDT up reply actions

The man stalling around third...

was Pujols. He didn't pick up a sign because he was looking back the whole time and Jose didn't even bother putting up one because Pujols runs through just as many stop signs as he stops for(just a guess).
Looking at the replay I thought it was smart to stop the ball was already flying into the infield and I thought he would be out.

by jroman on Apr 6, 2006 12:44 PM EDT up reply actions

Another baserunning "oops"

occurred in the Boston-Texas game. The Rangers had a runner on second (Mench, I think, but don't quote me on that) and were trailing. Batter gets a solid single to left. The runner slowed down for two strides right before third base, when he realized the Rangers' third-base coach was sending him home! There was a certain logic to the coach's move, of course... Manny being Manny in left field. To the wonder (or consternation) of all, Ramirez gets off an accurate (if weak) throw to the cutoff man, who guns out the Ranger runner at the plate. OOPS!!!

by The Ol Goaler on Apr 6, 2006 1:15 PM EDT up reply actions

LOB

Nine LOB by one player??? Do they have records on this stuff?

The way Miles and Schumaker are playing, how long would TLR have to watch this to swap his #2?

Fan for Life. Go Cards.

by Birds on the Bat on Apr 6, 2006 12:20 PM EDT reply actions

Nice piece on baseball without the numbers

I enjoyed your guest piece.

Thought I'd add my two cents.

In late 1998 my family and I moved to Sydney (hence the moniker) from the St. Louis area.

Once there, I found that baseball is reasonably popular as a club sport (one reason is that the games are a lot shorter than kid's cricket). I signed up my son for a year of T-ball.

The next year I signed up to manage his team (comment from another parent--that I had "the right accent"). I also noticed the club had senior (adult) teams, so roughly 25 years after my last stab at playing baseball (a sophomore class in college), I was making my comeback.

The team I was assigned to (there were about 7 different levels, based on ability) had a number of new players, who were learning the game.

First game, I'm batting third, with runners on first and second. I hit a line drive over the pitcher that the second baseman catches, Unfortunately, the base runners hadn't learned the tag up rule, so my first AB was a triple play.

There was another Yank on the team and we spent most of the season explaining the rules, and how to play, and why you did certain things at certain times (e.g., running on a 3-2 count with two outs). It was fun to help teach the game (although a number of my teammates were fairly slow on catching up; on the other hand, I've probably watched about 5,000 games in my lifetime, where they haven't see any--it would be like trying to teach cricket here).

I played two more years, and one year we won our league and I was voted MVP by my teammates.

So your piece brought back fond memories of rekindling my love of playing baseball.

Thanks,

Dave

by Sydney dave on Apr 6, 2006 12:41 PM EDT reply actions

Completely off topic but I need help!

My company (large Fortune 500 company) has figured out a way to block streaming audio over the internet. Hence, I am without baseball from MLB gameday audio at work which makes my day extremely painful. Does anyone have a suggestion for a way around this? There is no Cardinal radio network affiliated with listening distance where I am at in Wisconsin.

Freezing in Wisconsin.

by WiscCard on Apr 6, 2006 1:37 PM EDT reply actions