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thursday miscellany

Birdos_avatar_tiny by lboros on in News

lotta little items on my docket today, so let's get right to 'em:

  • derrick goold put up a long post last night about my favorite under-radar farmhand, mike parisi, who started the day game yesterday and didn't pitch bad. goold hits on the two things i've been hearing about this guy that i like, but that don't always show up in the numbers: a) he's got a big-league curveball and a fastball with sink; but more important b) he makes adjustments. parisi keeps a detailed book on the league and on himself, keeps track of what works and what doesn't; he learns from his mistakes and improves his performance over time. look how his 2007 season at triple A breaks down:
ip era whip bb/k
1st 10 starts 54 6.17 1.685 21 / 25
2d 10 starts 60.1 4.92 1.541 29 / 49
last 8 starts 50.2 3.55 1.411 15 / 37

looks like he figured some stuff out. he's made a favorable impression on dave duncan so far; it'd be a nice surprise if he's able to make a modest contribution to the big-league club in the next year or two. and a modest contribution, just to be clear, is all i've ever hoped for from parisi; i've never deluded myself that he could be a star nor even a league-average player. but i do think he's got 5th-starter potential --- and a presentable 5th starter who makes the league minimum is a very useful player. even if he merely makes himself into a josh hancock, cal edred, brad thompson type --- an inning-eating reliever who can start in a pinch --- it'd be a small triumph for the farm system. keep bendin' that curve, kid.

  • also making a good impression yesterday: jaime garcia, who tossed 3 shutout innings in the night game. that performance came mostly against a representative big-league lineup (to the extent florida has one of those anymore) rather than farm scrubs; among others, he retired hanley ramirez, mike jacobs, josh willingham, and jorge cantu (although the latter made good contact). in two appearances this spring, garcia has thrown 5 shutout innings and recorded 11 groundouts vs 1 flyout. there had been talk of starting him at double A this year, nursing him along slowly in the wake of last year's elbow problems, but judging from the (ridiculously) early returns maybe that's too conservative. maybe he'll be deemed ready for the memphis rotation.
  • will carroll posted the cards' Team Health Report over at Baseball Prospectus on tuesday. the vast majority of the cards' key players are rated either yellow (elevated injury risk) or red (high risk). the reds are glaus, isringhausen, mulder, and clement; everybody else is a yellow except izturis and ryan franklin, who are both green (normal risk). a few highlights:
wainwright: "The shift from closer to starter went pretty well for Wainwright, but last year's workload remains a massive innings jump last year. If he puts up another 200 innings, put him in the "he'll do this every year" category. The best sign is that he did not fade; in fact, he was better as the season went on."
troy glaus: "The grass should help him, as should having Tony La Russa watching his back. I'd expect Glaus to miss some time, but he's the kind of player who, like Pujols, should benefit from the maintenance work this staff can handle.
albert pujols: "He's never been healthy. Never. At least not during his major league career. That's just sick . . . . "
and here's will's answer to my question about the cards' corps of sore-winged starting pitchers:
Are any of the Cards' three arm-damaged starters (Carpenter, Mulder, and Clement) likely to come close to their former effectiveness within the next two years?

The short answer? No. Longer answer: Hahahahaha; no. Non-snarky answer: There's always a chance, but you can't count on any of them to do anything. Carpenter is the best bet, coming back from Tommy John surgery and knowing that he knows how to rehab. He should be back late in the season for a cameo and we'll see what's left then. He's got a better chance in '09, but by then he's overpaid. Mulder and Clement are low-dollar upside plays that leverage Dave Duncan's skills. It's a bit of "no harm, no foul," in that the money spent isn't stopping other spending or blocking anyone from taking a rotation slot.

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Barton's arm
One of the posts observing a spring training game mentioned it, and now I see it in Birdland.   Barton's arm is gonna limit him to left field.

Damn.  

by sdrone on Mar 6, 2008 9:12 AM EST   0 recs

I don't get it
Is his arm worse than Pierre's? Damon's? Range is much more important than arm for a CF.

by mikedallas23 on Mar 6, 2008 9:41 AM EST to parent up   0 recs

Today
And now, today, he's pencilled for RF...where it matters most?

I don't know why I try to make reason out of spring training.  It just gives me a headache.

by RedbirdRay on Mar 6, 2008 10:13 AM EST to parent up   0 recs

Who knows
At least he is getting AB's, that's all that matters!

I don't get the whole is arm makes him a LF, in that I thought Barton was fast and could cover enough ground to play CF.  Maybe he is not as good in center as we thought?  I have not seen a live game to have any idea what type of ground Barton covers.  Juan Piere can't throw and he plays CF.  Juan P can definitely go get it though.

Barton is not going to beat out Duncan in LF, we need more pop than Barton can produce in LF.

by ICbirdfan on Mar 6, 2008 10:33 AM EST to parent up   0 recs

John Hadley and Mike Clairborne
on KTRS sports tonight were discussing the outfielders the Cards would go with in 08 and Barton wasn't even mentioned. Of course they are not the decision makers but they are in Jupiter looking on.
Also the general consensus among sportswriters in ST is that Barton is not major league ready as an outfielder. Hadley and Clairborne agree that Mather is ready or close to ready.

by ridgesee on Mar 6, 2008 8:28 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

I was one who said he had a bad arm
but I paid extra attention to him warming up today, watching him throw long toss, and I don't think that is true.  His arm is at least "ok"- it's not Ankiel or even Schumaker* but imho people aren't going to be taking extra bases on barton once he settles down a bit, if he ever gets the chance to settle down.  His problem so far has been that he's simply missed the cutoff man on almost every throw.

I think he's just pressing right now, hurrying and trying to do too much, then getting off balance and not putting enough on it.  IMHO his range makes up for a lot, and his bat and speed is very promising.  He'll catch a lot of hard-to-catch balls in CF.

* schu had a great in-game throw from LF today that would have gotten yadi killed in the regular season, but got the "out" at home...

by SleepyCA on Mar 6, 2008 9:36 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

need to add
the throw from schu was high, and the runner slid and missed home plate. The catcher (think it was still yadi) just had to reach down and tag him as he tried to get back to the plate.  The throw never would have got him if the runner had touched the plate the first time he tried.  Not because the throw was bad (though it was a bit high), but skip just didn't get the ball in time to throw someone out from second base.

Anyway, in the regular season, that runner would have had his shoulder down and yadi would have been seeing little yellow birdies, and the ball would have been bouncing around the backstop.

by SleepyCA on Mar 6, 2008 10:02 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

If 1 yr./4m. is too much for Lohse,
I wonder what "offers" Weaver is staring at. Time to come in from the cold, Jeff. They should offer him the same deal as Clement and hope that one of them earns some extra money.

by vinniefromjersey on Mar 6, 2008 9:14 AM EST   0 recs

Minor league with big incentives?
If the offers those guys are getting are under $4 million...

I wonder if they would sign a minor league contract heavily laden with incentives?

Like one of those Cardinal specials where they could make up to 6 or 8 if they get a full season of starts or something?

by RedbirdRay on Mar 6, 2008 9:20 AM EST   0 recs

I'd take Lohse on any 1 year deal
less than 10M.  He's a league average pitcher and you'd have a short term commitment.  I don't understand why teams aren't jumping at that.

Also as Hardcore noted in yesterday's thread, Tyler Johnson to start the season on the DL and it's being blamed on his conditioning.  Ron Villone seems like a lock to make the team at this point.  It'll just be a question of who gets released when Johnson is ready again (unless he has options. . .which I can't recall off the top of my head).

by azruavatar on Mar 6, 2008 9:21 AM EST   0 recs

No brainer
If the going rate for Lohse is 1/4, then sign him. It does nothing to jeopardize our 2009 FA spending binge when some bigger numbers come off the books, and it's crazy to think that Clement can give us 150 IP in 2008.

by Hungry Jack on Mar 6, 2008 2:57 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Wainwright's health risks
All this talk about Wainwright's jump in innings from '06 to '07 seems to ignore the fact he started 29 games and pitched 182 innings at Memphis in 2005, leading the PCL in both categories.

His 75 innings in 2006 (not counting playoffs) was a huge drop, but he appeared in 61 games. It's not the same type of stress as starting 29, but it's still stress.

And he survived both workloads well enough to throw 202 innings in 2007 as a starter, which is only 20 more than he threw in Memphis in '05.

He's 26, turning 27 late this summer. I'm not really sure what the perceived risk is, beyond the risk to any pitcher at any level.

by bokonon on Mar 6, 2008 9:39 AM EST   0 recs

On Mulder
Before the last game that KTRS aired, Shannon and Rooney were commenting that Mulder had a throwing session that they saw and said was an amazing difference, that he was finally throwing the way he was before his decline in Oakland and had returned to his previous ace form.  I know we've heard this kind of junk before, but for some reason hearing Shannon talk about it had me convinced it might be legit.  Maybe this last round of surgery did the trick?

by cloistermaximus on Mar 6, 2008 10:09 AM EST   0 recs

Shannon
Well, I really really really really hope Shannon is right........  It would be a huge plus to this team to have Mulder healthy and throwing like he did in Oakland.  
I would love to have Wainwright and a healthy Mulder as our #1 and #2 then add Carp midseason we would have a dangerous rotation.  I dont think Mulder pitching that good is likely but I can always dream........

by Calhoun on Mar 6, 2008 11:33 AM EST to parent up   0 recs

Curse of Billy Beane
Personally, I'm starting to believe that Mulder will never pitch effectively again.  My belief is not based upon the severity of his injuries or any other sophisticated analysis.  I just can't help noticing that none of the old Oakland A's triumverate--Mulder, Hudson or Zito--has pitched that well since leaving Oakland.  

Maybe Billy Beane practices voodoo?

So says, The Dude

by Titus Pullo on Mar 6, 2008 1:25 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

If you had to bet
You'd go short on Mulder for one simple reason: the track record of pitchers coming off surgery for a torn cuff is dismal. A full tear means you are done. A partial tear (which I happen to have, and am facing surgery) means that you might pitch from a major league mound again, but the results are anybody's guess.

That said, I am hoping for a miracle from Mulder. It sounds like he feels very good after that second procedure.

by Hungry Jack on Mar 6, 2008 2:54 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Didn't Carpenter have two
shoulder surgeries?  I think the techniques are always getting better.  Still prefer a rehabbing elbow over a rehabbing shoulder, though.
Those Pilgrims ain't lookin' so proud now...

by giveml on Mar 6, 2008 10:38 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Hudson?
Hudson might have broke that "curse" last year:   224 IP, 3.33 ERA, 16-10, 1.22 WHIP...  
"It takes pitching, hitting and defense. Any two can win. All three make you unbeatable". Joe Garagiola

by MRCARD on Mar 6, 2008 2:55 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Yeah, and Hudson hasn't been exactly bad
before 2007 either-he just hasn't been as good as they expected.  But Billy Beane has some sort of crystal ball on players he gets rid of-he seems to get out when the getting is good.  Having said that, Atlanta fleeced him on the Hudson deal-none of the players the A's received have worked out.
She isn't crazy, she's just not impressed.

by jillsinmo on Mar 6, 2008 5:06 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Isn't Oakland's park
about the most pitcher friendly in baseball?  I always say trade for pitchers who pitch in hitters parks and hitters who hit in pitchers parks.  

Daryl Kile and John Tudor come to mind....

Those Pilgrims ain't lookin' so proud now...

by giveml on Mar 6, 2008 10:36 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

depends
It depends on where the cards are in contention for the postseason.  When mulder comes back from pitching in rehab/minor league starts he should go straight to the rotation.  But if the cards are out of contention by the time carp gets back, have him pitch in the bullpen and save his arm, like we did when morris came back from tommy john back in 2000.
Cardwash - Cardinal, Washington fan (Washington???? Yeah, I know)

by cardwash on Mar 7, 2008 1:52 AM EST to parent up   0 recs

staying in the race
Mulder may hold the key to the entire season.  If he can pitch well enough to at least hold the fort until Carpenter comes back the Cards can at least stay in the race.  If Mulder pitches poorly you have to think the Cards will be out of the race by June.

The Brewers are so much better than the Cardinals right now that it just seems so difficult for the Cardinals to compete in the NL Central without  Carpenter and Mulder being at the top of their game right from the start of the season.

DYNASTY League Baseball - the leader in realism in Baseball simulation games from the designer of Pursue the Pennant.

by DYNASTYLeagueBaseballMike on Mar 9, 2008 10:33 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Why has Hofpaiur
not had a start yet. Usually comes in as a late inning replacement with one at bat. I'd like to see a little more of him.

by ridgesee on Mar 6, 2008 10:12 AM EST   0 recs

Because
We need to get Miles as many ABs as possible.  ;)

by Ray Lankford on Mar 6, 2008 10:44 AM EST to parent up   0 recs

AB for Miles are good...
... so that there will be no doubts that he sucks, and no one will complain when he'll be DFA.

GO CARDS!!!

by SuperSeve on Mar 6, 2008 10:48 AM EST to parent up   0 recs

Joe Strauss Live
Had this as one of it's questions.

El Duderino, if you're not into the whole brevity thing: What's the best Cards blog out there?

Joe Strauss: Derrick Goold recommends El Vivo Birdos. Matthew League recommends "Obviously, you're not a golfer" at MLB.com. I personally don't read blogs. Goold is being falsely modest. He'd be enraged if I didn't pimp for BirdCage, er, BirdLand. Sorry, fans, there are no plans for a Joe Strauss Blog!!! We will reconsider for more Benjamins, however.

El Vivi Birdos!?! Tried to find the site, no luck. I don't think he's making to many fans here.

Saw this in the P-D story yesterday on Tyler Johnson.

"The strain, technically a slight tear, is not believed significant enough to jeopardize his season. The club will forward the MRI results to Los Angeles Angels orthopedic Lewis Yocum for a second opinion, according to general manager John Mozeliak"

Now the GM doesn't even trust his own medical staff. I'm starting to like Mo more and more. He just needs to close the deal by signing Lohse. For gods sake 4 mil is only 500k more than we are paying Izturis.

"Do what you want to the women and children but leave me alone"-George Carlin

by That's a Winner on Mar 6, 2008 10:35 AM EST   0 recs

second opinions happen all the time
you're reading too much into that.

by azruavatar on Mar 6, 2008 10:43 AM EST to parent up   0 recs

That's true
but I can't remember anytime our GM made a point of making it public. I didn't hear about a second opinion on Mulder last spring. I just wonder if he is trying to reasure the public it's not just our doctors taking a look.
"Do what you want to the women and children but leave me alone"-George Carlin

by That's a Winner on Mar 6, 2008 11:08 AM EST to parent up   0 recs

Don't forget...
We have a different GM than last spring. Probably just a slightly different way of doing things...

by Forsch31 on Mar 6, 2008 1:37 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

The second opinion is probably a way
to take some heat off of Paletta.  The more times you can cite another respected physician agreeing with the team physician, the less people will resort to the ridiculous Paletta bashing.
Those Pilgrims ain't lookin' so proud now...

by giveml on Mar 6, 2008 10:32 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Second opinion is back
From Leach's article last night (link below):


When the initial diagnosis was reached on Tuesday, Johnson expressed great relief that he would not require surgery. Paletta emphatically reinforced that notion.

"We sent his MRIs out to Dr. [Lewis] Yocum, who reviewed them," he said. "Yocum called me this morning, and his quote was, 'What's the big deal? He's got a throwing shoulder with a little bit of a strain in the rotator cuff. His labrum looks absolutely perfect.' And Yocum said, 'I wouldn't operate on him unless you want to be the one to end his career.' "

http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080305&content_id=2408095&vkey=spt20 08news&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl

youneverknow

by meat on Mar 6, 2008 11:21 AM EST to parent up   0 recs

bothersome
to me that Strauss said he doesn't read blogs and said "blogs? read at your own risk."  Is he so much better than, for example, Peter Gammons, who lists several blogs as "daily reads, that he can know everything about Cardinals baseball without anyone else?  Or was he being sarcastic?   Hard to think so if he listed El Vivo Birdos [sic] and cited Matthew League's [sic] You're not a golfer.  
"There's a good possibility we may not be as bad as people think we're going to be."-- La Russa

by birdsonthebat on Mar 6, 2008 11:26 AM EST to parent up   0 recs

eh.
Don't think too much of it.  Strauss just happens to be a jerk.  
"Hello, Cleveland!"

by the red baron on Mar 6, 2008 1:19 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Thank you.
I needed a new signature.
El Vivo Birdos is my favorite sports weblog.

by effin fisk on Mar 6, 2008 8:43 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

I have nothing against Carroll...
...but to me his assessment of the 3 rehabbing pitchers is too much based on rumors to be of any value. I say this not because I think that everything will be ok, but simply because shoulder issues are so complicate that even with examinations at hand, it can be very difficult to say anything (and vice-versa).

I really liked a lot the article on Parisi; maybe if he guy is smart and learn to use his pitches effectively, he can be more than a 5th starter type.

GO CARDS!!!

by SuperSeve on Mar 6, 2008 10:47 AM EST   0 recs

As for gameday...
Bookmark this link:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/#20080306

Hopefully Liam sees this, as it may save him some time.

by El Hombre on Mar 6, 2008 10:59 AM EST   0 recs

Anybody notice this Duncan quote:
"He goes out there to beat you," Duncan said. "He don't[sic] go out there to pitch and have fun. He goes out there to beat you." It was in Goold's blog about Parisi. Anybody else see it as a knock against Reyes's quotes after being hit around?

by vinniefromjersey on Mar 6, 2008 11:45 AM EST   0 recs

Nah, I think
it's a boost to Parisi; Dunc's quote is a variation of Leo Durocher's old mantra, "He don't just come to play... He comes to stuff the (expletive) bat up your (expletive/anatomical reference)!"

Dunc's said some good things about Reyes this spring, too...

"In this game, don't nobody know nuthin' about nuthin'." -- attributed to Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra

by The Ol Goaler on Mar 6, 2008 12:56 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

that was my first thought
otherwise, it's an odd choice of words

by DCGreg on Mar 6, 2008 1:33 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Carroll
While I don't disagree with his stance on the BOB's MASH unit aka pitching staff, I'd still take just about anything Carroll says with a grain of salt.  I watched him talking about "injurious flaws" in the mechanics of several damaged pitchers, and I disagreed with nearly everything he said.  Here is said video, and here are some of my favorites:
  • Rich Harden is a short-armer b/c he has an abrupt finish with his arm.  That isn't even close to the definition of a short-armer.  This is short-arming.  It has NOTHING to do with the follow through...That's a separate issue altogether.
  • Liriano hurt his arm on one pitch...Never mind that pitching injuries are generally a cumulative process...And he hurt it b/c of "too much whip."  Uh, hello...That is part of how velocity is generated, and its not really something the pitcher controls with his arm anyway.
  • Colon hurt himself b/c his elbow was too low.  I mean, a hair below shoulder level is SSSOOOO low!  Also, in my experience working with pitchers a long time ago as a complete amateur, it seems that if in the unlikely event you throw w/ a low elbow, it damages your elbow, not shoulder.  
In this video, in five minutes he shows a misunderstanding of how a person throws a baseball, an utter lack of proper terminology, and apparent inability to see something that is plain as day.  As for his analysis of the Cards, he seems to forget the fact that Wainwright's closing is a much more recent role than him starting, which he did, oh I dunno...HIS WHOLE CAREER!

I'm not some expert on injuries, not by any stretch of the imagination.  But when he starts talking/writing, my B.S. detector fires up so quickly that I don't even know what to do.

"Your Holiness, I'm Joseph Medwick. I, too, used to be a Cardinal."-Joe Medwick, to Pope Pius XII.

by redbirdnation8206 on Mar 6, 2008 12:05 PM EST   0 recs

Will Carroll is one of the
preeminent writers on the health of baseball players in the game.  He has respect from around baseball for the work that he does.  Ignore him if you wish, but he's not out there just making it up.

by houstoncardinal on Mar 6, 2008 3:17 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

I understand that
However, this man claims to be an expert on predicting and discussing baseball injuries, and yet in a five minute video clip says about 6 different things that are wrong.  I realize the kind of respect he has within the baseball community, and that I'm just some nobody who used to work with a few 10 year olds.  I'm sure he could care less what rbn8206 thinks of him, and he's probably not sitting at his computer crying over what I've said about him.  All that I'm saying is that I think his knowledge isn't where people think it is, at least in regard to predicting injuries and what not.  Being listened to within the community isn't the same thing as being right.
"Your Holiness, I'm Joseph Medwick. I, too, used to be a Cardinal."-Joe Medwick, to Pope Pius XII.

by redbirdnation8206 on Mar 6, 2008 6:37 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

I Agree
"While I don't disagree with his stance on the BOB's MASH unit aka pitching staff, I'd still take just about anything Carroll says with a grain of salt.  I watched him talking about "injurious flaws" in the mechanics of several damaged pitchers, and I disagreed with nearly everything he said.  Here is said video, and here are some of my favorites...I'm not some expert on injuries, not by any stretch of the imagination.  But when he starts talking/writing, my B.S. detector fires up so quickly that I don't even know what to do."

I agree.

The piece you are referring to is riddled with errors.

by thepainguy on Mar 6, 2008 3:49 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Carroll
I'm not real big on Carroll either, to be honest.  My real problem with his analysis in this case, though, was really his comment toward Carpenter, about him being overpaid by 2009.  What the hell does that mean?  How can you determine if a player is overpaid before they actually play a single game?  

Let me get this straight.  You think he has a good chance to be healthy and pitch effectively in 2009, yet you think he'll be overpaid, regardless of his performance?  Are pitcher's salaries going to fall off of a cliff between now and then?  I don't understand.  Even under the structure of the extension the Cards gave Carpenter, if he pitches like Chris Carpenter, he is by no means overpaid.

Help me out here; I'm a little confused.  

"Hello, Cleveland!"

by the red baron on Mar 6, 2008 3:53 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

C'mon RB
people predict players salaries based on aging curves and predictive statistics all the time.  Tango has a thread with over 500 comments on his blog about predicting salaries.  It's not hard to imagine a situation where Carroll thought Carpenter was being overpaid prior to the season.

Carpenter pitching effectively doesn't equate to dominance. And we're paying Carpenter to be dominant.

by azruavatar on Mar 6, 2008 4:18 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Well, fair enough.
I suppose I can understand the logic a little bit.  I guess I just find it ridiculous and wrongheaded.  So there.  
"Hello, Cleveland!"

by the red baron on Mar 6, 2008 6:45 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

To say nothing of the fact
that Joe Sheehan said he thought he was overpaid from the beginning (and I believe Carroll did as well).  It's not too much of a stretch to say that Carp's going to be receiving much more than he's worth as soon as that extension kicks in.  Add to that the fact that he'll barely have pitched in 2 years, and it's a reasonable statement to make.  In fact, I'd be pretty happy if he earned 75% of his salary.

by houstoncardinal on Mar 7, 2008 8:08 AM EST to parent up   0 recs

Not that I don't agree
Not that I don't agree with them, but as a long-time BP subscriber...what major top-echelon free agent and/or extension signing have they ever called a decent contract?  I sometimes see they will call something decent in retrospect (like Pujols), but otherwise they pretty much bash every new one.

by RedbirdRay on Mar 7, 2008 8:37 AM EST to parent up   0 recs

FSMW
The Yankees, Phillies, Mets, Indians and Dodgers have had virtually every ST game so far televised.

We have yet to have a single one.

FSMW really sucks.

by RedbirdRay on Mar 6, 2008 1:23 PM EST   0 recs

Agree
I have watched Cubs and Sox games, it's nice that FSN will re-air games at night since these games are played at 2 and 3 in the afternoon.

For the Cardinals "fan support" you think that a few more games would be on TV.

I checked the spring training scedule and the Cards only have about 3 on television.

by ICbirdfan on Mar 6, 2008 1:47 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Next Monday at Noon
You get your wish.  Check your cable/dish guide.  Then, not again until the 22nd.
youneverknow

by meat on Mar 6, 2008 5:07 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Parisi
I've been unimpressed with Parisi up til this point in his career, but I'm starting to warm up to him a little.  I also couldn't agree more with you, Lb, that it would be a triumph for the system to produce a viable 5th starter type.  Producing stars is what you always hope for, yes, but producing those complementary players to fill out a roster at an affordable price is just as important.  
"Hello, Cleveland!"

by the red baron on Mar 6, 2008 1:34 PM EST   0 recs

admittedly,
i haven't thought much of parisi either. 6.03 FIP in AA, 5.17 last year. But I have seen him pitch on TV (memphis redbirds is replaying all their games for free at their site) and I think he does have big league stuff, his curve ball is very good. i think he could be at least a decent reliever. i too like that he's so eager to learn and adjust. another good article from d goold.
Amaury's birthday is uncertain because Marti does not age. Every birthday, it's just another year added to his existence, which sucks for opposing pitchers.

by erik on Mar 6, 2008 1:59 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Skippy
picks up his 2nd hit and scores from 1st on a double by Mather.

2-0 Cards.

Skippy has a stolen base too (his 3rd of the spring)

Unofficial President of the Skip Schumaker Fan Club

by stltrav09 on Mar 6, 2008 1:57 PM EST   0 recs

Glad to see him having a good day
Both of our runs scored at this point were scored because of his speed. He stole a base in the first to put himself in scoring position and scored from home in this one.

Nice to see.

by liam on Mar 6, 2008 2:04 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

did they give him a SB on that?
it was on a ball in the dirt that took a short hop; the catcher blocked it but it bounced away.  Skip didn't start to run until the ball got away from the catcher, but it only bounced a couple of feet and the throw was awesome.  Skip barely got in there, but it was a real heads up play on his part to take the base.

Anyway I would have called it a wild pitch, but it was awesome hustle on skip's part.  He was really on his game today.

by SleepyCA on Mar 6, 2008 9:37 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Skip keeps getting on base
If he this keeps up, I think he'll land in the lead off role, thereby making him somehow indispensable to the team. (?)(!)  

Meanwhile, Kennedy is heading straight into DFA land.  

So says, The Dude

by Titus Pullo on Mar 6, 2008 2:02 PM EST   0 recs

Anything new on Kennedy from TLR
since his comments at the winter warmup?

by sdrone on Mar 6, 2008 2:07 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

If we're gonna do that
Then we need to start getting the Hoff some ABs in spring training, unless he doesn't wear his cap right or something.

by mikedallas23 on Mar 6, 2008 2:14 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Hoff doesn't factor in . . .
unless at least two of the group consisting of Kennedy, Izturis, and Miles get cut, right?

With TLR at the helm, I wouldn't bet against Miles.  Also, I think Izturis will make the team, his limp bat notwithstanding.

So says, The Dude

by Titus Pullo on Mar 6, 2008 2:33 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Noodle arm cost a run?
Anyone listening to the game?  It appears that Barton's arm could have cost us a run, a soft fly to RF scored two runners from 1st and 2nd, unless he threw to 3rd instead of home only 1 run should have scored on that.

by StLHugo on Mar 6, 2008 2:16 PM EST   0 recs

And now he's been pulled from the game
The noodle-arm definitely has been implicated.
So says, The Dude

by Titus Pullo on Mar 6, 2008 2:27 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Yeah
That is what it makes me think too.  Just doesn't seem routine for a "soft fly ball to RF" to be able to score someone from 1B, heck even if it was shallow RF Kennedy or Pujols should be able to get to it and get it to Molina before the guy on first gets all the way around.

by StLHugo on Mar 6, 2008 2:30 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Set up to fail?
Just seems wierd...his arm woes have been noted, then placed in a position to fail by throwing him in RF...then penalizing him for it when his arm strength shows?

Of course, I have no idea what actually happened on the field.  

The circumstances just seem a little wierd.

by RedbirdRay on Mar 6, 2008 2:39 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Test
Maybe TLR wanted to test his arm by having him in RF, not entirely sure.  Since Goold is in Cards Talk I am tempted to ask him there about the play.

by StLHugo on Mar 6, 2008 2:40 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Ankiel in
I wonder if there was some fundamental mistake of the type that irks TLR?   Ankiel is now in for Barton.   Probably reading too much into gameday as Barton did hit fo himself after he came off the field.

by RedbirdRay on Mar 6, 2008 2:27 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

it was a short fly ball
One run was going to score no matter what.  There were men on 1st and 2nd and Barton came charging in from RF and tried to make a sliding catch.  he almost had it, but the ball popped out of his glove (i think his glove hit his knee, because the ball bounced pretty far in a weird direction).  FWIW it was the kind of attempt at a play that I was mad at colby for not trying to make the other day.

Anyway, because he dove and missed, two runs scored instead of one, but he put a ton of effort into it and almost got wellemeyer out of the inning unscathed.   I felt bad for wellemeyer because TLR pulled him and he didn't get a chance for a win, which he deserved.

by SleepyCA on Mar 6, 2008 9:47 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Schumaker can do no wrong right now
Schumaker has scored 3 runs today, 1HR, 1SB, 2 singles, man, he is having a good game.

Add to that back to back from Mather.

by StLHugo on Mar 6, 2008 2:35 PM EST   0 recs

Back to back to back
Schumaker, Mather, Pujols

WoW

by StLHugo on Mar 6, 2008 2:36 PM EST