St. Louis Cardinals @ Pittsburgh Pirates GameThread, Apr 23, 2008 7:05 PM EDT

Game 22 Open Thread: April 23, 2008

by lboros on Apr 23, 2008 6:00 PM EDT Comment 30 comments

St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates, Apr 23, 2008 7:05 PM EDT


Wellemeyer	Snell
2-0, 3.24	2-1, 4.07

dear brendan ryan: just field the position. yes the cards need some production out of the ss slot, but the key to winning the manager's trust (and, ergo, more playing time) is to make the plays.

meanwhile the cards' old shortstop, edgar renteria, is hatin' on orlando cabrera . . . . .

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Good to see the site's back up

Stinker of a game though, and Wellemeyer was off. Early on he was about 50/50 balls to strikes. He got 2 GO to 11 FO, with 5 K’s and 1 BB. Let’s hope this isn’t him coming back to earth, and let’s hope this isn’t the team coming back to earth. Anytime you have a 4-0 lead in the first inning, you should win.

Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country
Track 'em Tigers - An SB Nation Blog for Auburn Tigers fans

by Mr Redbird on Apr 24, 2008 12:32 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

big-time apologies everyone

the whole network was down for ~7 hours ——that has never happened before.

by lboros on Apr 24, 2008 12:36 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

no worries boss

turns out, we didn’t miss much.

I'm going to go try to find a puppy and kick it. - Brad Thompson AND THAT'S A WINNER!

by gdm426 on Apr 24, 2008 12:40 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

hard to

complain when a free site dies for a while, and on a loss at that

we really need to stop losing games we should win, my health depends on it

i take your signatures and use them as away messages

by ihavebadknees on Apr 24, 2008 1:02 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Reyes pitched like crap

but Miles really hosed him. Kennedy charged hard to 2nd to cover for the DP, only to have mini-me run in front of him, causing Kennedy to stop.

They score no runs if the only MIF playing at his natural position takes the throw at second.

The offense keeps clogging the bases and we can’t seem to knock them in. We need a legit cleanup threat and badly. We saw to very good candidates for the job tonight in both Nady and Bay. Nady and Pujols are friends, they talked for about 10 minutes on the field before the start of the game.

Get ‘em on the phone, Mo. Make it happen.

Still looking for 1985 Regular Season games on DVD/VHS

by Hardcore Legend on Apr 24, 2008 12:36 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

wait,

do you really think the X Man or Bay can hit clean up for the Cardinals?

really?

seriously?

you’ve ragged on Bay so much, that i’m surprised you’d be for the Cards trying to trade for him.

and Nady, well he just doesn’t strike me as a big time power threat that can consistently drive in runs.

I'm going to go try to find a puppy and kick it. - Brad Thompson AND THAT'S A WINNER!

by gdm426 on Apr 24, 2008 12:43 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Bay was one of the options I pointed out in the Fanpost I made

He has his flaws and he also runs the risk of continuing a downward spiral. Nady is a good defensive player with power from the right side. I wouldn’t give up ALOT for them, that’s for certain, but something has to be done to fix the ills of this Cardinals offense. We’ve played 5 games vs the Brewers this year, scored 26 runs but we left 49! runners on base.

Still looking for 1985 Regular Season games on DVD/VHS

by Hardcore Legend on Apr 24, 2008 12:46 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Of course, it really doesn't matter if we go out and get anything

the point of this season was ‘transitional’ flaws and all. They won’t be able to compete with the currently constructed roster vs the Cubs or the Brewers once they wake up. Should they try to fix it? I don’t know. This year really wasn’t supposed to mean very much W-L wise. Might as well ride this out and see if we can finish better than 3rd.

Still looking for 1985 Regular Season games on DVD/VHS

by Hardcore Legend on Apr 24, 2008 12:49 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

can't say i disagree with anything you said

but i also think they should try & fix the flaws. it’d be a damn shame to waste this great start.

and yes, this team is off to a great start.

the flubs & Brew Crew can be beaten. they are far from perfect. the Cards are only a tweak here & a tweak there from wining this division & making the playoffs.

of course if a couple of the wrong guys get hurt,,, well, we weren’t supposed to win this year anyway. right?

I'm going to go try to find a puppy and kick it. - Brad Thompson AND THAT'S A WINNER!

by gdm426 on Apr 24, 2008 1:55 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

But just because

Bay and Nady looked good last night doesn,t mean that overall they would improve our outfield. Come June Both of them will probably be struggling to hit .250. In fact IMHO, I say let’s ride this funk out for another month. Every time you come in to play a team that everybody else has been beating the snot out of, look for what happened last night to happen. I have been looking at this Pittsburg series for a week with dread. Law of average .. and when you go out and score four runs early in a game and then your bats fall silent through the middle of the game…UM! another bad omen, you could just about see what was going to happen. When the Cubs leave town in early May, we will know more about how good or bad we are and what we need to compete.

by ridgesee on Apr 24, 2008 10:15 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hate to say it

but I think our excitement for the team’s great start is coming to a screeching hault. I didn’t get to see the game, but loosing to the worst team in baseball is not good when you score 4 runs in the 1st inning.

If we have hopes to compete Mo is going to have to make some trades, and hopefully find someone that can hit behind Pujols. We need somebody who can get these men on base home.

What is happening to our boy Hobbs, I really hope he can get out of his slump soon.

by KYCards on Apr 24, 2008 12:38 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The bullpen hasn't been very good

or at the very kindest, they’ve been overworked. The bullpen now has 5 of our 9 losses.

Our MIF is still a mess, more so now with Miles playing out of position at SS. We still don’t have a legit power threat for the #4 in the lineup and on most nights, we continue to play a 1B out of position in LF. Chris has played pretty decent defense in left but you can clearly see that his body can’t handle much more of this. What he doesn’t give up in errors, he pays for with having to violently throw his body around to make the plays.

Still looking for 1985 Regular Season games on DVD/VHS

by Hardcore Legend on Apr 24, 2008 12:44 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It will be hard and next to impossible to do

but I really think Mo needs to somehow trade for a legit SS that can hit over .250 and someone that can hit behind Pujols and can drive in runs. Sad thing is it is probably too early for teams to be trading guys like that off, and by the time they would trade these type of players, we will probably be out of the race. To be honest and it kills me…but it looks like the Cubs are going to run away with this division pretty quick.

by KYCards on Apr 24, 2008 12:53 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

if they continue to play .750 baseball

they’ll win the division, do doubt…

Of course, they are all playing over their heads; every starter on the team has a BABIP-drivin 400+ OBP. Guys like blanco and theriot will fall to earth soon enough.

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

by SleepyCA on Apr 24, 2008 1:13 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The key for the Cubs

will be Derek Lee, if he stays healthy all season they will be in great shape. If he gets hurt for a long period of time they will be in trouble. Lee is very much like their Pujols. As he goes, the team goes.

They have proved they can win withour Soriano, so he isn’t much of a factor.

by KYCards on Apr 24, 2008 1:23 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

And Derek Lee, so far has picked that team up and placed it on his shoulders.

And don’t look now, but Big Z has improved drastically in the one flaw in his game-walks. Way down so far…....He may yet turn into the true ace of that staff. They have weak areas, but no glaring holes. They have little payroll wiggle room, but they have some attractive spare parts in lthe minors, so deals can be made. It’s a long season, so things can and will happen. I assume nothing-for any of the teams. Every team has a chance until someone clinches it.

She isn't crazy, she's just not impressed.

by jillsinmo on Apr 24, 2008 11:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I dunno...

I honestly think we might have a #4 hitter in Ludwick, if he could actually crack the starting lineup more than once every 3 days.

I know he’s a career journeyman, blah blah blah, but he’s leading the team in XBH (I think), with 11 (Albert has 10 and I think Glaus has 10 doubles) and 2nd on the team with 12 rbis,

Even if it’s just a hot streak, ride it until he gets cold. But heck, I don’t think he’s that much older than Skip or Ankiel, and they got to play when they were cold. Give Ludwick a chance!

Start Ludwick

by DiscoJer on Apr 24, 2008 1:12 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

i've lost all faith in this team

boo cubs, hooray beer

by Raconteur on Apr 24, 2008 12:47 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

good lord

22 games in, on a pace to win 96 games, we’ve had a chance to win every game we’ve lost so far, and you give up? Awesome.

The cubs have won 7 in a row; maybe you should go root for them.

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

by SleepyCA on Apr 24, 2008 1:08 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

good point but...

i went to the game on sunday vs. SF and Loop gave us no chance to win…other than that I agree

"Ding-dong the wicked witch is dead!" - Wayne Hagin after the cardinals snapped a losing streak

by The Ghost of Todd Burns on Apr 24, 2008 3:18 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah.

We could easily be 15-6 right now. I’ll still take 12-9.

We played over our heads early on, and now the Cubs are playing over their heads. Their pitching isn’t nearly as good as it seems and everyone is batting above their ability.

I’m not too worried.

by mattisnotfrench on Apr 24, 2008 8:25 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

12 and 9 is still above 500

and we have lost games we should have won

i wont give up any time soon

i take your signatures and use them as away messages

by ihavebadknees on Apr 24, 2008 1:03 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

bah

the way it see it - it’s a game, it’s entertainment- I’m gonna enjoy it while it lasts- I love baseball, and i’m gonna keep my perspective as much as possible. i want our boys to play well, but they aren’t going to always make the plays we want, score the runs they need, etc , but it’s baseball—. i am still entertained…

When cheese gets its picture taken, what does it say?

by RosevilleRedbird on Apr 24, 2008 1:07 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Duncan's Defense

I don’t know anyone else, but I’ve been disappointed on the whole with Duncan’s defense this year. He did make that one good catch tonight (however awkward it may have been), but that other one he missed, he was a good 4 feet off.

"I forgot to get the lucky peanut!" -Mike Shannon

by MolinasMyHero on Apr 24, 2008 1:15 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

To be fair..

the one he missed was a home run. Sure, it would have been good or great if he had caught it, but I don’t think you can expect an OF to take away homeruns. Even Jimmy missed a few, and he was the best I’ve seen at it.

Start Ludwick

by DiscoJer on Apr 24, 2008 1:25 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

with all the doom and gloom

i want to point out one promising fact: As of 4 PM today (22 APR), as a team, the cardinals were leading the NL in both infield and outfield defense, measured by THT’s RZR metric. (scroll all the way down)

I knew we’ve been looking good in the field, but I didn’t realize we’ve been “the best there is”!

FWIW, Chris Duncan currently has a perfect 1.000 RZR rating… kind of a shame he didn’t rob Bay of that home run, but he’s caught everything hit near him so far, according to RZR.

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

by SleepyCA on Apr 24, 2008 1:20 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I was about 10 feet from Bay's HR

there was no way he could catch it. He misjudged it for sure, but it bounced 3 rows deep in the bleachers.

Still looking for 1985 Regular Season games on DVD/VHS

by Hardcore Legend on Apr 24, 2008 1:29 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

glad you said that

on tv, it looked catchable, like it just cleared the fence.

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

by SleepyCA on Apr 24, 2008 1:34 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

agreed

I think it looked especially bad because Duncan towers over that tiny fence in left. He wouldn’t have even had to jump if it was as close as it looked on TV.

"I forgot to get the lucky peanut!" -Mike Shannon

by MolinasMyHero on Apr 24, 2008 1:35 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs