Long time no texting.  Got married which is interesting in itself considering where I am.  Havn't been able to follow much, but what I have seen is very painful.  However, it looks like Albert has righted his ship, and Yadier, Izzy and Dunc are solid.  All we need is for everyone else to get going.....  Sheesh, really Capt. Obvious?.  I remember railing on Yadier to get the stick going. I would be quite content if he hit .105 the rest of the way and we won it all.  Remember it is a game, The greatest game.  Enjoy the beauty of it. Imagine if Baseball were the first professional sport in the world to go Green!!!!  Now, that's sayin' something.  As always, all the best to everyone.  

LB,

Just a quick note to say thanks for maintaining this blog.  I enjoy reading this more than I enjoy watching the games right now.  And, this blog really made the 06 playoff run more fun.  

I can't tell you how often I send links to your analysis (and Erik's and Valatan's) to my pals.  

Back from Detroit where I watched our beloved Birds fall to the Tiggers yet again.  Some thoughts:  Didn't sit next to the bleachers like last year.  That was an excellant play on my part because the people around us were nice and even spoke to us, unlike the drunken idiots last year.  Plenty of other Cards fans, definitely the minority, but a visible presence.  Comerica earned brownie points in my book with some changes in their policies.  They didn't allow any food or drink to be brought into the stadium last season.  This year you could bring in food and sealed bottles of water.  As a result, there were street vendors selling peanuts and water just like you see in front of Busch.  I guess winning makes people less caustic, because the over-all atmosphere was improved.  Even the vendors were polite, whereas in the past they were as surly as the fans.  About the game:  That was a MONSTER homer that Baby Dunc' hit!  First one to dead center in about a year and a half.  Also, Babyface Brad looked good through four innings in spite of giving up one run on two hits in the first.  He threw first pitch strikes to most batters in those innings and stayed ahead of the hitters.  He gave up no hits in innings 2 - 4, which went 1-2-3 except for a walk to Granderson leading off the third (after he hit a triple to start the game).  He started falling behind the hitters in the fifth and that's where the game got away from us.  Sorry for the long post, but one concluding thought (and it is on topic), I am not ready to give up on this team yet.  I think they can make a respectable finish, but it depends on how they do in this soft part of the schedule that finishes off the month.  If they fail here, I give, its over.  I won't stop watching, I'll just stop caring (about results).      

I've been reading your site for months now and have really enjoyed it, but I'm a new poster.  I know  what I'm about to say may seem like I'm looking at the team through rose colored glasses.  But I have more fun watching the game while focusing on as many positives as I can.  Yes, they've been bad.  Of course a team loses when their pitching and their offense can get on the same page.  And I think TLR made some stupid mangerial decisions during the trip that contributed to some losses.  

I admit they have many faults.  But I also am hopeful in some of what I saw on that roadtrip.  First, the offense has picked up significantly.  In a number of games against the most difficult opponents, the cards have scored in multiple innings and with a reasonably high number of hits and runs.  And they've been able to do this against left-handed pitchers.  Second, they haven't given up when they've fallen behind, but have fought through the 9th inning.  I enjoy seeing them do that, especially in the face of all they've going through, and frankly, in the face of hardly anyone believing in them.  Third, Yadi has improved enormously as a hitter, Eckstein is coming around to his more consistent self, Pujols seems to be moving in the right direction, Edmonds has hit very well in certain games (showing at least his capability with singles), Juan E. has hit better than I expected (though he looks bad at the plate), and Kennedy seems to be growing more comfortable in the number one spot.  As to Rolen.  he was hitting well in the spring (up to JH's death)--he was approaching a 300 batting average.  So I'm not ready to give up on him yet.  I think he needs time off.  Tony may be afraid to bench him for a while because of their past (and present?) tensions.  But he obviously needs some rest.  Everyone was ready to give up on Rolen in the post-season as well.  But after he was benched and rested, he became essential to winning the world series.  And finally, the pitching was bad this week.  By I have a feeling that it's about time their arms are getting tired and sore.  Hopefully, they will strengthen again rather than continue to weaken

Sorry for the long post!  I just think there are important things that should offer reasons to hope.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070516&content_id=244570&vkey=news _milb&fext=.jsp

Seems to be a very good, informative site.  Hope that you all enjoy reading it.  

There are a lot of young high school pitchers (especially lefties) in this draft, and fewer college bats than normal.

I hope the Cardinals go after a bat first, and then some of those HS pitchers.  Grant Desme, Mike Moustakas, Devin Mesoraco and Nick Noonan intrigue me as possible position players.  

I remember liking him immensely immediately because he ran the bases hard (in addition to spectacular play at 3B).  

I admit to expecting less power last year than he gave us: 22 HR, 48 doubles, SLG not much below career average.  His shoulder can't be worse than last year, right?  I don't think the injury is the sole cause of what's going on with his meager production this year.  Perhaps the injury in connection with getting older?  Perhaps something else, like off the field but in the clubhouse issues (read: TLR)?  

I still like Rolen as a big part of the club.  I think he has the physical capacity to be a solid 5 hole-type hitter.  It just doesn't look like it right now.

given up on this season, but the team--nah. This will be a proverbial lost year, but they'll be back. It's not often that EVERYTHING that can go wrong does, including the death of a teammmate, two "aces" out, and the first career slump of El Hombre. 08 may not bring back the juggernauts of 04 or 05, but it will be better than this season of hell. Horrible seasons happen, and I'm just thankful for the 06 WS Title. Imagine how excrutiating this would be without that still in the rearview mirror.

Let these young pitchers work out the bugs they need to, let some of the Memphis and Springfield guys get another year of experience, let Pujols and Rolen have their worst year, and let the organization figure out how to get back in the mix. After this year, they'll have nowhere to go but back up the ladder. Just having a healthy Carp and Mulder should help tremendously; in fact, I hope we don't see them at all this season. Other than beginning their regiment of return, I say leave them rest and heal--even if by some miracle we're still in striking range in august. Bringing them back too soon would be a crime and may risk them for 08 needlessly. Turn on Rolen? No way. He'll be better too--can't really get much worse. Albert will most likely be Albert again as well, and that alone is worth a lotta wins we're missing this year.

So what if we're in last place by the end. We're Cardinals fans--we can take it. A crap year like this reminds us how great the great years were--and will be again. Last year was worth every single botched game this year can bring. Let's stick with our boys, gut out the horrors with them, and keep the faith. The team and we fans will all be stronger for it next year.  

I am still in the grace period after last year's series.

So are we throwing out the possibility then that Rolen hates LaRussa so much that he is giving away at bats on purpose, hoping that TLR gets fired due to poor overall team performance?

Sure, that's counterproductive as all hell, but it wouldn't be the first time that someone exhibited self-destructive behavior in order to hurt someone else...

I wonder if the Cardinals should pursue more of a "bullpen" strategy in attacking opponents. Most teams in the central division, it seems, have less deep and generally weaker bullpens.    In those games where we've driven up the other sides pitch count, we've done pretty well in the end.  

Of course, that's easiest to do with lots of hits, which we've only had in recent games.  But better fights at bat, with high foul and ball counts, has worked as well.  For a team that lacks power right now, a combination of hitting singles and battling at the plate could be a winning combination to get late victories from dueling bullpens.  It might not be pretty; but it could work.  

The other upside to using a bullpen strategy is that we could lean on their arms earlier in the game.  I don't think our new pitchers have the long-term endurance to throw past the sixth, unless they are extremely efficient.  This could be a better way to condition new pitchers.  And whether we win the division or not, better conditioning of their arms seems like a wise stategy.  

that rolen is injured.  I thought this was supposed to be his most healthy season in a few years.  A year removed from surgery and a 100% healthy rolen in ST made me (and i think most cardinal nation) believe that he would hit 30-35 homeruns.  There has to be something in his approach or stance i think...and it may be b/c i like him so much, but i refuse to believe that rolen is the kind of player to take a personal grudge onto the field and affect his performance and the teams.  It would seem he is being awfully cavalier with a lot of people's job for some 3rd grade kind of grudge.

also...if the geniuses from baseball tonight can figure out what is wrong with pujols' stance...surely our hitting coach and el hombre himself can figure it out....right??

Agreed, the Casey fly ball was bad.

But let's face the music, Hummel.  The Cards are this bad as a TEAM.  Mentioning Edmonds is one thing, but devoting 2/3 of your article to his misplays and LaRussa is foolish.

The team can't hit.  Had we scored 5 runs in  the first 7 innings instead of 2, this wouldn't have been a big deal.  

Every player is underperforming this season, in large part due to age and injury.  

I have criticized Edmonds play for the past 3 years... we should have never even considered the off-season signing.  (Not that my idea of Roberts and Schmidt was better than an Edmonds/#4 starter at this point.)  But don't just rag on one man, there are 25 players and several coaches that to direct your anger at, not just Edmonds.

Larry, good stuff, as usual.

It's not the money. The Cards payroll is $90 MM plus, in the same neighborhood as last year. There were no good buys last offseason (and history shows there are rarely many really good buys; many teams end up with a bad case of buyer's remorse.

It really comes down to the core, the five guys with the big money. Can't fault Izzy; he's done the job. Albert shows signs of life. Carpenter is hurt. But Edmonds and Rolen are the holes in the #4 and #5 slots that Hummel writes about (or maybe it was Bernie?).

In retrospect, the Edmonds contract (the 2000 version, not the 2007 version), was a big risk and even bigger reward. Edmonds was the best CF of 2000 to 2006, even with his falloff. Is there any magic left in his bat? Every day suggests no.

The falloff of Rolen is more perplexing. You have more hope that his bat is only on hiatus as opposed to being permanently squelched.

Bernie wrote last August about giving the young pitchers a chance, which is exactly what the Cards are doing right now. And those young pitchers are taking their lumps, which is often the case also (and yes, I'm sure Walt regrets trading Haren).

I still think some of the farm issues--perhaps a lot--is because of the success. The Cards have drafted no higher than #19 since 2000--and more often than not it's late in the first round. When the Verlanders are gone long before the Cards have been drafting, you have to be luckier at finding the guys who are skipped over (like Haren, who went 2nd (he was 72nd overall).

But if the Cards are to do anything in 2007, they need to get a move on over the next month.

Dave

I agree with some other posts that Edmonds is the obvious leader on this team and probably has more influence than TLR on many players (especially young ones).  

Also, because Edmonds missed spring training, it's not really fair to compare his performance with others at this time--let's give him another month and then make a fair comparison.  

With that being said, I still see signs that Edmonds is heating up.  Commentators have spoken frequently about his swings looking stronger and his ability to pull the ball where he wants--both left and right.  

I have faith that he will continue to improve.  But even if he doesn't, his leadership may still make him an invaluable asset right now.  

I also don't think Rolen is performing poorly because of TLR.  His tiff with TLR demonstrated his pride in his performance.  He's not going to self-destruct to make some sulking point.  I think he's trying the best he can and I'm sure his lack of performance is very hard on him.  I just wish he would sit down and rest for a game or two (or a week or two).  

ankiel throws out the lead runner at second tonight on a single to centerfield.  Gotta love that arm.

Project Prospect has updated their Top 50 Prospects list and have moved Rasmus up to number 11.

Also, Jamie Garcia has cracked the list at number 45.

When's the last time the Cards had two guys on any list?

Phil Cuzzi just blew two calls in the same inning in the White Sox game.  And, he's the 3rd base umpire.  That's hard to do.

At least he screws some other team once in a while.  

Supposedly the Angels are willing to give up Brandon Wood for Garrett Atkins.....

Who was Garrett Atkins before last year?

Well this year he's gold ol .234/.315/.354

That's not a LOT better than Rolen and I'm sure scotty's better on the defensive end.

Atkins is only under contract for this year at 400k.

I'm sure if we could get involved we'd have to pay a chunk of rolen's contract.  Fine by me if we acquire a prospect like Wood.

I enjoyed Rolen when he was playing baseball (I don't know what he's doing now).  But I'd be willing to part with him and still pay 50% or so of his contract.