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first time

the cards are in first place by themselves for the first time since the final day of 2006. it’s only april 10 so it doesn’t mean much, but after going first-place-less for all of last season i thought this occasion worth noting. also worth noting is how easily the cardinals could be 9-0; their losses came by 1 and 2 runs, respectively, and both times the decisive run scored late in the game. of course, given how tight most of these games are (6 of the first 9 decided by 2 runs or less), with a little bad luck the team could very easily be 4-5 . . . . . again, it’s early. but not too early to enjoy seeing our crew at the top of the stack.

they still ain’t putting many runs on the board --- they’re currently 10th in the league in scoring, which is weird because they’re 1st in on-base percentage and 5th in slugging. dave smyth’s Base Runs formula says the cards ought to have scored 45 runs by now --- ie, 5 runs a game, a decent enough total. they’ve only scored 39 runs, or 6 under their projection --- 2/3 of a run per game. there are some easy explanations for the shortfall; they’ve hit only 6 homers so far this year, 12th in the nl (all but 3 cardinals are homerless), and they haven’t hit particularly well with men in scoring position (10th in the league in batting with RISP, 12th in slugging). again, it’s early and these are ridiculously small samples; way too soon to draw any firm conclusions. it’s possible --- possible --- that the cards’ run scoring will naturally rise to match the level of their component stats (ie, top 5 in the league). it’s also possible their component stats will drop to where their run total is (ie, below average). and the likelihood is that both will stabilize somewhere in between.

tony had a difficult tactical decision to make last night in the top of the 7th --- it didn’t generate any discussion on the game thread, so i thought i’d parse it out here. cards leading 5-3, 2 men on, 2 out, kyle mclellan at the dish, and a dwindling corps of relievers (all overworked) down in the pen with 9 outs still to go. do you pinch-hit or not? mclellan had just entered the game the previous half-inning and had thrown only 2 pitches; he was meant to pitch the 7th as well, but the cards put on so many baserunners in their half of the inning that mclellan’s spot unexpectedly came up. given how overworked the bullpen has been, tony must have been tempted to let mclellan bat, just to keep him in the game; kyle then would have stayed on to pitch the 7th against the bottom half of the houston order, and flores probably would have handled the 8th against bourn-pence-berkman. best-case scenario, franklin gets a much-needed night off. but la russa tried an opposite route to the same destination --- he sent up washington to hit for mclellan and tried to widen the lead to 3 or 4 runs right there; with a large enough margin, he could keep franklin (maybe izzy too) in his warmup jacket. it was a much riskier play, and it didn’t work; rico ended the inning, mclellan was gone, and tony ended up having to send franklin’s tired arm against the heart of the houston order for 4 outs. franklin breezed through the assignment, bless him, but the cards flirted with disaster there.

the bullpen’s workload issues are temporary --- thompson will be joining the pen soon (perhaps as soon as this weekend), wellemeyer shortly thereafter, and motte / perez are down at memphis if they’re needed. but in the short term, the overwork is a concern. izzy and franklin are tied for the league lead in appearances with 6 each (11 other guys are tied with them); i doubt either is available tonight. if they have to keep up this workload much longer, one of them is gonna get hurt. some people think franklin’s already hurt, on account of his heavy workload from last year.

my fearless predictions are up at the Daily Fix’s baseball contest. i didn’t distinguish myself last year in this contest, but i beat 3 or 4 of the other "experts" and thus avoided utter humiliation. i have the same modest goal for 2008 --- try not to embarrass myself too badly. i’ve got arizona and boston meeting in the world series . . . . . . i was the only guy to pick daric barton as my al rookie of the year.

and here’s an article that says ozzie smith had the worst season ever by a #2 hitter.

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The Wizard

Clearly, Mr. Treder took my childhood into account (since I wasn't even born in 1979). I never knew him as anything but a Cardinal and never wanted to be anything than a SS wearing no. 1. Ozzie Smith was the greatest baseball player in the history of the sport when he played for the Cardinals. I remember this from my childhood.

by bgh on Apr 10, 2008 8:52 AM EDT   0 recs

Is that the pujols' slide?

and to his credit - Treder does go at length to show how Ozzie improved through his career.

you can't sneak the sun past the rooster

by enoscountry on Apr 10, 2008 9:56 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Yes, yes it is

Because I, like Bernie, hope that the slide proves emblematic of the 2008 St. Louis Cardinals.

Hombres verdaderos slide hard.

by bgh on Apr 10, 2008 2:26 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

I was born alive in 1979

but not nearly old enough to remember Ozzie in San Diego. Like you, my memories of him are all with the Cardinals. He was my favorite player, and probably still will be forever.

by saladdays on Apr 10, 2008 10:19 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Meh

Title should be I was alive in 1979. Of course I was born alive...

by saladdays on Apr 10, 2008 10:20 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

"born alive"...

sounds like the name of rock album or something...
as I was born in 1984, I pretty much only remember Ozzie the Wizard who was always a decent hitter. It really is impressive to look at his stats and see how much he improved himself over the years (thank you baseball-reference.com)

by mattybobo on Apr 10, 2008 10:43 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

I love

"born alive." I know it was inadvertent but it made me laugh.

by Youneverknow on Apr 10, 2008 12:04 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Treder is correct...

...in that "The Wizard" was a poor hitter at the beginning of his career... The "book" on Ozzie was "you can knock the bat out of his hands."

Following that season (IIRC) The Oz started weight-training in an effort to get stronger, and continued doing so after being traded to St. Louis. Ozzie made himself into a dangerous hitter. I'm with you, bgh... even though I'm older than The Wizard, I still wanna be Ozzie Smith when I grow up!

And in defense of Ted Sizemore's 1975 listed in Treder's article, that was the season after Lou Brock set the record for stolen bases in '74. A large part of Sizemore's job was taking pitches to allow Brock to steal; lessening the opportunities for Sizemore to get hits and improve his personal batting stats.

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

by The Ol Goaler on Apr 10, 2008 10:46 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Mackie Shilstone

Ozzie hired this guy & I can recall thinking "what does a ballplayer need w/ a trainer?" A lot we knew back then, I guess. I watched video of the '82 series recently & was surprised at how different the pre-trainer ballplayers looked. Pete Vuckovich makes Jon Leiber look buff, practically.

by random on Apr 10, 2008 7:13 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

When Ozzie came to the Cards

Whitey Herzog made it a mission to get Oz to hit the ball on the ground. Whitey made a deal with him that he would pay Ozzie a dollar for every ball he hit on the ground and Ozzie would pay Whitey a dollar for every ball he hit in the air. The idea was to get him to hit the top half of the ball and drive it hard on the artificial surface at Busch. Eventually that also resulted in line drives as he began to sting the ball more often.

That deal became public knowledge and by 1982 Ozzie grew way tired of hearing about it, but it certainly seemed to me that Herzog deserved a fair amount of credit for transforming Ozzie's approach at the plate. He really did develop into a valuable hitter.

by Youneverknow on Apr 10, 2008 11:01 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

lboros

I was a little surprised about your NL wildcard pick on the Daily Fix baseball contest (Reds), but loved the disclaimer you threw in about the Red's young talent: "Not even Dusty Baker can ruin this much potential." It sounds like something Ken Tremendous would say over at firejoemorgan.com. Love it!

by Ray Lankford on Apr 10, 2008 8:55 AM EDT   0 recs

Jeff Passan

continues to diss the Cards. (See the Daily Fix Contest.)

Which team will suffer the biggest decline, measured in decrease in total regular-season victories?

Passan: Cardinals.
By June, Pujols will be begging for surgery to get away from this mess.

by cardsgirl95 on Apr 10, 2008 9:14 AM EDT   0 recs

Passan

is clearly a hater

"Textbooks are Soviet propaganda" - Rev. Jerry Falwell

by elirock83 on Apr 10, 2008 11:41 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

sippin

on tha haterade

by CorkyRasmit on Apr 10, 2008 1:22 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

pitching batting 8th.

Really bit in that one. Though it has been successfull most of the year.

Re: Bullpen

Thompson moving back to the pen will really help this team out. Not that he is that bad of a starter. But Peneiro is better. And Thompson is better than Jiminez.

Re: Scoring runs

The Offesnse will pick up I believe. We did fine in the last two games. 12 hits last night if I remember right. Glaus and Duncan are hitting the ball hard. Glaus has found some gaps are starting getting RBIs. (Wasnt in the first week.) Skippy seems to be back on track. 3 hits last night and a walk right? I think the offense is picking it up a bit. Which is good. Because the pitching can't be this good all year.

by Evilfrog on Apr 10, 2008 9:38 AM EDT   0 recs

Yep, the Giants will probably

represent a much-appreciated place of refuge for many a tired contending team this year ... the pause that refreshes.

by MdRedbirdFreak on Apr 10, 2008 10:35 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Speaking of Motte/Perez...

anyone know off-hand how they're doing? How's Perez's K:BB?

by silent_bob on Apr 10, 2008 9:51 AM EDT   0 recs

first inning :D

perez has thrown 3 innings with 3k, 1bb, 2 hits, 1er (hr)
motte has thrown 4.2 innings with 7k, 1bb, 2 hits, 0er

by Birds on the Matt on Apr 10, 2008 9:58 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

One thing about overworking the pen

is that the next series is in San Francisco, in a park that suppresses offense, playing an incredibly crummy offensive team (that will now go out and put 12 runs on the board tonight to show how little I know). If there is a time to overwork the pen without an off day, it's probably before going to San Fran, particularly with WW up tonight.

Smith in 1979 -- indeed, pre-1982 in general -- really was an offensive disaster, to the point that I wasn't thrilled when they traded Templeton to get him. Hoo boy, was I ever wrong, and it didn't take long to figure that out.

by StanTheManFan on Apr 10, 2008 10:00 AM EDT   0 recs

(that will now go out and put 12 runs on the board tonight to show how little I know)

It would surprise us (Giants' fans) too! We haven't scored more than four runs in a game yet and only did that once. That being said, I do hope we're all wrong and the Giants break out tonight!

by paboperfecto on Apr 10, 2008 4:16 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

-1

I hope the Cards will put the past AT&T woes behind them and knock the cover off the ball all series long.

Good to see fans of other teams check out the foe's team blog as well. +1 on that.

C'mon you Redbirds, lets prove em' wrong, again!

by yer dog first on Apr 10, 2008 4:20 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

You guys have a great shot with Correia tonight and Zito tomorrow. I'm sure you'll have several of us from McCovey Chronicles on the in game thread tonight.

I had a real good friend in college who was a Cardinal's fan so I do root for you when you're not playing the Giants, great start to the season!

by paboperfecto on Apr 10, 2008 4:35 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Very gracious of you

though I have to admit the Giants are one of my most hated teams. You can thank Jeffrey Leonard for that...

"Well, folks, this game began as a tiny worm and is blossoming into a large cobra." - Mike "The Moon Man" Shannon

by Tudor's Electric Fan on Apr 10, 2008 4:37 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Hah....my friend and I were in several classes together in September 2002. He wouldn't talk to me for quite a while that semester.

by paboperfecto on Apr 10, 2008 4:41 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Was it Kenny Lofton

who was always whining about being pitched inside that series?

Needless to say, I can't let the '02 NLCS go either. That was the Cards' "team of destiny" (LaRussa's words, not mine). Yeah...that one hurt.

"Well, folks, this game began as a tiny worm and is blossoming into a large cobra." - Mike "The Moon Man" Shannon

by Tudor's Electric Fan on Apr 10, 2008 4:43 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

That sounds like Lofton, he was punk and a whiner, but I don't remember. I try to forget 2002 as much as possible.

by paboperfecto on Apr 10, 2008 4:45 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Question

I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this question but what did you guys think of the Zito deal at the time it was made? Did you figure that you overpaid but that salary inflation would make it look more reasonable over time? Just wondering. It sure looks like an ugly deal now and getting uglier all the time.

I guess in some ways I am fascinated by how bad the Giants are. How can Sabean keep his job? The team has had no real plan for years now. In some ways, as I saw the decline of Edmonds and Rolen over the last year & a half, I have been worried that the Cardinals would become the Giants.

by indakind on Apr 10, 2008 4:43 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

At the time the fan base was upset because there weren't any moves being made. We feel it was a (bad) move to show the fans that the team was committed to improving during that offseason. We've been pretty incredulous that Sabean has been around as long as he has been. We're still cautiously hopeful that Zito can learn to pitch with his lost 5 MPH off his fastball and return to an above average pitcher. He'll still be overpaid but if he's healthy and average it should be an okay deal by the end of his contract (There's all the nice fluff...basically it is an ugly contract and getting uglier with every Zito outing this year).

The Giants are awful and they did have a plan, it was to overpay average veterans to fill in around Barry and hope he could carry the team. That plan got less effective for obvious reasons in the last few years. The main effect of that is that now we have a whole bunch of young players that don't have a lot of ML service time and nobody is really sure what they can do, except that none of the prospects are great (non-pitching prospects that is). Our hope is that one or two will shine and give us something to build a team around in the next few years.

by paboperfecto on Apr 10, 2008 4:56 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

What happened to Zitos Velocity?

Is this another case of Beane burning threw young talented arms and then trading or walking away from damaged goods?

He wore out Mulder...

Hardin seems to have complained as well about being told to pitch when he thought he shouldn't...

Maybe AZ should be careful with Haren huh?

"Why does he keep saying that?"

by Red Blazer on Apr 10, 2008 5:09 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Beane and injuries

I don't get this aspect of the A's at all. If you're going to be a competitive downmarket team, it would seem to be a sterling investment to get first-rate medical and training staff and facilities, and get the very most out of the talent you have. Especially since their strategy for signing veteran free agents lately is to go after ones (i.e. Big Hurt, Mike Piazza) that are "undervalued" because they have very recent injury history.

Instead, I'd bet that Oakland has far and away the most lost injury time in the majors over the past five years. Not sure if this is tracked anywhere or not.

Smart money says that six years of this treatment will leave most players with a shell of their former potential.

"Attaway to stomp 'em. Stomp the piss out of 'em. Stomp 'em when they're down. Kick 'em and stomp 'em. Attaway to go boys. Pound that old Budweiser into you and go get them tomorrow." -- Joe Schultz

by taiko on Apr 10, 2008 5:24 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Yeah.

He seems to think pitching prospects are disposable.

I would like to see us make an offer for Hardin but they better break out the microscope before the pull the trigger.

"Why does he keep saying that?"

by Red Blazer on Apr 10, 2008 5:32 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

I'd make sure he can lift his arm over his head.

My physical for Harden:

1. Take him shopping for t-shirts, and make him put 50 of 'em on, and take 'em all off again in 15 minutes.

2. Fall down on the floor, and get up again without using his MedAlert bracelet. 15 times in 15 minutes.

3. Throw a football over that mountain over there.

If he passes all three, I give him 3 yr/ $36 mil. But not until then.

"Attaway to stomp 'em. Stomp the piss out of 'em. Stomp 'em when they're down. Kick 'em and stomp 'em. Attaway to go boys. Pound that old Budweiser into you and go get them tomorrow." -- Joe Schultz

by taiko on Apr 10, 2008 5:58 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

50 shirts

Does he have to put all 50 of them on before he can start taking them off?
Stay-puft-marshmellowman

"Ninety percent I'll spend on good times, women, and Irish whiskey.
The other ten percent I'll probably waste."
- Phillies pitcher Tug McGraw, on his plans for his $75,000 salary

by saveferris on Apr 10, 2008 6:01 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Final test

4. Make him wave his hands in the air like he just don't care.

by BTown Birds fan on Apr 10, 2008 6:12 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Better yet

Make him take those shirts off and spin them round his head like a helicopter

With no evidence to the contrary, Colby Rasmus is clutch

by joker24 on Apr 10, 2008 8:07 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Demise of a proud franchise

I can't say I felt bad for the Giants over the last couple of years. So long as Barroid was on the team I was happy to see them lose. The Giants are one of the most storied and proud franchises and I now root for you guys to get back on track (after the next week and a half or course). A first good step would be to fire Sabean and hire someone who can draft a position player. For all the good young pitching the Giants have developed, they have done nothing on the position player side. I guess it might help to hang on to the occasional draft pick.

by indakind on Apr 10, 2008 5:09 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

+1

Good luck May through September, fellas.

"Well, folks, this game began as a tiny worm and is blossoming into a large cobra." - Mike "The Moon Man" Shannon

by Tudor's Electric Fan on Apr 10, 2008 5:20 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Yes, one of the downsides to signing all of the crafty veterans we did to support Bonds was the loss of so many draft picks.

by paboperfecto on Apr 10, 2008 6:08 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Bullpen workload - Apr/May

The shedule is pretty nasty for the Cards with one day off (Apr 14) between now and May 22nd. Combined with The Opening Day rainout, the boys are playing 50 games in 51 days, with 37 in a row starting on Tax Day.

We should see some creative use of the DL to give some rest to the bullpen as well as Memphis back/forth traveling for the young guys.

by ubeddie on Apr 10, 2008 10:08 AM EDT   0 recs

Oops

I guess I should be using those reading glasses. Totally missed that blank first day on the team website calendar.

by ubeddie on Apr 10, 2008 11:07 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Duncan

Hopefully tonight he can show San Fran why they want him...

by tnek5 on Apr 10, 2008 10:27 AM EDT   0 recs

Why? Do they need a left handed 1st Baseman?

Just wanted to continue the daily thread on this question.

by OKCARDSFAN_411 on Apr 10, 2008 10:41 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Angel Villanova for Duncan + Greene?

With no evidence to the contrary, Colby Rasmus is clutch

by joker24 on Apr 10, 2008 11:14 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Wait, that sounds like a legit proposal.

I thought this was the daily gag thread.

"Attaway to stomp 'em. Stomp the piss out of 'em. Stomp 'em when they're down. Kick 'em and stomp 'em. Attaway to go boys. Pound that old Budweiser into you and go get them tomorrow." -- Joe Schultz

by taiko on Apr 10, 2008 1:25 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

There is a new fanpost

It only fails to cite the WWL's quote that the "Giants are looking for a lefthanded slugging first basemen"

This is great

by OCCardsFan on Apr 10, 2008 2:12 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Ummm Villanova is like Miguel Cabrera lite (except not light) apparently

With no evidence to the contrary, Colby Rasmus is clutch

by joker24 on Apr 10, 2008 8:08 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Brilliant!!!!

Can we get Will the Thill back too......

by gonzostl on Apr 10, 2008 3:50 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Could our underperformance in Runs

be do to the high variance in the hitters in the lineup?

When you have Skip, Izz2, Miles and/or Kennedy all not hitting it cancels out Ank, Pujols and Molina.

Which points out how much a sink hole in the lineup really hurts.

by Harknights on Apr 10, 2008 11:01 AM EDT   0 recs

Ozzie Guillen says that we aren't scoring many runs

because we are clogging the basepaths.

Still looking for 1985 Regular Season games on DVD/VHS

by Hardcore Legend on Apr 10, 2008 11:02 AM EDT   0 recs

"That's the school I come from."

"Who's been the champions the last seven, eight years?" he asked "Have you ever heard the Yankees talk about on-base percentage and walks? Walks help. But you ain't going to walk across the plate. You're going to hit across the plate. That's the school I come from.

"It's called hitting, and it ain't called walking. Do you ever see the top 10 walking? You see top 10 batting average. A lot of those top 10 do walk. But the name of the game is to hit."

"Attaway to stomp 'em. Stomp the piss out of 'em. Stomp 'em when they're down. Kick 'em and stomp 'em. Attaway to go boys. Pound that old Budweiser into you and go get them tomorrow." -- Joe Schultz

by taiko on Apr 10, 2008 11:47 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

That quote is a little dated...

I think it's from 2003. But I love seeing it in print. And either way, he's a major league asshat.

"Attaway to stomp 'em. Stomp the piss out of 'em. Stomp 'em when they're down. Kick 'em and stomp 'em. Attaway to go boys. Pound that old Budweiser into you and go get them tomorrow." -- Joe Schultz

by taiko on Apr 10, 2008 1:24 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

it's especially awesome

since the yankees were #1, #3, #4, #7 and #1 in the AL in walks from '98-'02. They might not have talked about it, but they were doing plenty of it.

And I awoke in California, far far from Spancilhill...

by SleepyCA on Apr 10, 2008 1:45 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

News flash:

Ozzie Guillen's an idiot, on so many levels. If we were hitting more homers, those basepaths wouldn't be clogged.

by houstoncardinal on Apr 10, 2008 12:34 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Somehow, we are already outperforming

our pythag record. Strange.

If the Reds can get a victory this afternoon, the Cardinals can stand a full game ahead of the Brewers if only for a few fleeting hours.

Still looking for 1985 Regular Season games on DVD/VHS

by Hardcore Legend on Apr 10, 2008 11:08 AM EDT   0 recs

The pythag for a 7-2 start

requires that a team score twice as many runs as it allows. So, for a W-L tally as lopsided as this, I'm not surprised, considering that we haven't been having continual blowout.

"You say the world has lost it's love. I say embrace what it's made of" - Dar Williams

by Valatan on Apr 10, 2008 2:22 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Looper Homerless Streak

The Houston announcers said that Looper has a string of something like 60 innings without giving up a HR. That's pretty solid.

by OCCardsFan on Apr 10, 2008 11:11 AM EDT   0 recs

Against Houston

I think the streak is only against Houston - still very impressive

by brafi on Apr 10, 2008 11:17 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Thanks

I was too lazy to look it up, but yes that is still a nice performance against those guys.

by OCCardsFan on Apr 10, 2008 12:16 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

even more impressive than that

he's thrown 72.1 innings against them, and he's NEVER given up a home run to Houston.

And I awoke in California, far far from Spancilhill...

by SleepyCA on Apr 10, 2008 12:26 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Holy crap

I don't know whether to upwardly adjust my impression of Looper, or downwardly adjust my opinion of the Astros offense...

Either way, that's a heckuva feat.

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.

by Mr Clean on Apr 10, 2008 3:44 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Psh, that's no big deal...

i've never given up a HR in Houston either :D

...just a bit outside....

by Ankiels Missing Curveball on Apr 10, 2008 3:52 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Speaking of Baker

He's actually keeping Cueto and Volquez on reasonable pitch counts. Next he'll be praising Adam Dunn's patient approach because he gets himself on base.

Reds could end up being pretty nasty here. That's a decent lineup already and they have uber prospect Bruce basically ready though he's struggled thus far in AAA. Harangatang (who is always criminally underrated), Cueto and Volquez are 100% Grade A filth, Arroyo, Fogg with Bailey for backup/bullpen help? That's a pretty good and extremely talented rotation. Cordero is overpaid but he's still good. Interesting the Comedy Central is getting pretty good.

Oh and for the love of god why don't we just call up Motte/Perez and send down Jimenez. It really doesn't hurt anyone to do that and it gets at least a desperately needed inning or two of a fresh arm for the Big Club.

With no evidence to the contrary, Colby Rasmus is clutch

by joker24 on Apr 10, 2008 11:20 AM EDT   0 recs

I agree on Motte ...

He is lights out right now and throwing in the high 90's ... hits 98 from time to time ... he would have to help us more than Jimenez ... but from Tony's perspective, it's experience vs. rookie ... plus, with Pineiro imminent appearance, the question is moot ... Jimenez or Motte would have to be sent down ... unless you send down Reyes, which I would not go along with ... isn't it GREAT to have so much relatively good pitching available right now? ... Motte's time will come ...

Culture of Winning: 10 World Championships, 17 Pennants, 6 Division Championships ...

by Cardinals4Ever on Apr 10, 2008 12:14 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Kelvin Jíminez of the 43 MLB innings = veteran?

I'm thinking it's way more likely that they're avoiding starting the option insanity on Motte/Perez

"You say the world has lost it's love. I say embrace what it's made of" - Dar Williams

by Valatan on Apr 10, 2008 2:24 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

I think Motte is already using an option year by being on the 40-man

they had to option him at spring training's end, I believe.

by azruavatar on Apr 10, 2008 2:26 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs