cashing in
by lboros on May 22, 2008 8:09 AM EDT
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Printthe cards won last night 11-3 to even their may record at 10-10. their slump with runners in scoring position seems to have run its course:
| wo RISP | w RISP | R/G | W-L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| may 7-16 | .299 | .163 | 3.5 | 2-8 |
| may 17-21 | .316 | .377 | 7.0 | 4-1 |
they went went 8 for 16 with RISP last night, and 6 of those hits came with 2 outs, including a big go-ahead single by troy glaus. the significance of that hit got overlooked because pujols put a crease in the san diego catcher’s ankle on the back end of the play, but it was a game-changer --- and the type of hit the cardinals haven’t been getting lately. remember, the cards entered that inning trailing 2-0; they loaded the bags with one out (and drove chris young from the game when pujols lined one off the guy’s nose), and ludwick got one man home with a groundout, leaving runners at 2d and 3d for glaus with two outs. a week ago, glaus pops up and strands those runners; instead he singled ‘em both in. the freaky spate of injuries in that inning diverted ev’yone’s attention from the new RISP storyline: the cardinals cashed in an opportunity instead of wasting it.
same thing happened in the 4th inning --- the cards, leading by a run, loaded em up with one out for pujols, who at that point was still probably feeling squeamish about hitting the ball and running the bases; he avoided making contact w/ the ball and retreated to the safety of the bench. that brought up ludwick; again, one week ago he would have stranded the runners and let the padres stay close, and the game thread would have flared with frustration at the blown opportunity. instead he singled two guys in, and glaus followed with another two-out rbi hit; the cards led 6-2, and the game was pretty much over.
unless mozeliak can find a thumper to add to the lineup (and / or troy glaus starts hitting homers), i think we’re going to see this pattern recur throughout the season. since they don’t hit homers, the cardinals are going to have to rely on RISP execution for their runs. when they execute, as they did last night, they’re gonna be fun to watch; when they don’t, they’re gonna be maddening.
ludwick and glaus have been terrific so far in 2-out rbi situations. glaus’s line in 2-out RISP situations is .333 / .512 / .533 (41 plate appearances); ludwick’s is .318 / .394 / .545 (28 plate appearances). when teams pitch around albert, more often than not these two guys have been extending the rally and / or capping it off.
a few items:
- pujols, quoted in the san diego paper about the line shot off chris young’s face: "He was bleeding all over the place. I would rather have hit into a double play. . . . . After that I couldn't concentrate. I was flashing back. I'm still thinking about that. Then the thing with Josh ... tough night. How many times is that going to happen in one inning? It did bother me."
- joe mather homered again last night for memphis. since advancing to triple A last june, mather has hit 22 homers in 360 at-bats, or 1 every 16.4 at-bats. for the sake of comparison, rick ankiel homered once every 12.2 at-bats at triple A; chris duncan, once every 21.9 at-bats.
- a name to file away for future reference: fernando salas. the cards signed him last spring out of mexico; throws a huge curveball. he preserved springfield’s win last night with a perfect ninth --- struck out the side and now has 45 strikeouts in 27 innings. that’s 15 strikeouts per 9 innings, for those of you scoring at home --- at double A, in a hitter’s league. i’ve been marveling at the hit-to-strikeout ratios posted by motte and perez this spring down at memphis; both have racked up roughly twice as many strikeouts as hits allowed. well, this kid has three times as many strikeouts (45) as hits allowed (15). he is not a flame-thrower; the curveball is his out pitch. but it’s left double A hitters defenseless so far. the caveat is that he does not get groundballs; he’s strictly a flyball pitcher, so if he hangs one of those curves the ball can get small in a hurry.
- Future Redbirds is organizing a mock draft (first round only) and looking for team-specific bloggers from a number of clubs to round out the field.
- the jig may be up for the 1986 strat-o-sim cardinals; they trail the yankees 3 games to 1 and have lost both mcgee and oquendo for the duration.
enjoy the off day.
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i said this last night, and will repeat here
had pujols drive that hit young been as scorched as the one he lined at edwin jackson on saturday it may have killed him
young is very lucky, mainly because pujols didnt get all of that pitch
Pujols is the greatest Cardinal in my lifetime.
Agreed.....
That is a really bad place to hit a guy with a baseball, right between the eyes. Just goes to show how dangerous this game can be. Glad Young will likely be okay, and hopefully Bard isn’t in too bad of shape either.
+1
Scary to watch, especially knowing Albert’s power.
I think it was in very bad taste for the STL Cardinals page to have this as the lead headline today: “Cardinals Take Down Padres With 16-Hit Attack.” The story begins: “The Cardinals pounded out 16 hits….” Geez, that makes us sound like we enjoyed taking out two players in one inning. How ‘bout some more tact??
"Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good too." ~8-year-old Greg
by ChiTown CardFan on May 22, 2008 10:21 AM EDT up reply actions
Injuries
Nobody wants to see somebody get hurt on the baseball diamond. But really, if somebody’s got to lose a starting pitcher and catcher in a single game, why can’t it be the Cubs? The Pads organization has had a tough couple of weeks.
My parents were at the game last night.
They said that after Pujols reached first, he and Adrian Gonzalez went over together to check out Young, and then the two of them huddled up. My father said it was obvious that the two of them were praying. Confirmed by Pujol’s quote yesterday: "There was blood all over the place and I began to pray about it and make sure it was all right." So that’s not just lip service. The dude actually said a prayer with and for an opponent.
I heard Gonzalez
on SD radio this morning. He said that they were praying. Very cool. He said that he knew they shared a faith in Christ and thought it would be a good idea to pray for Young.
+1
when I saw it happen, I started praying too. That is a terrifying thing to go through, personal experience.
I was glad to see that they could take off their armour and show their true selves. Too often these guys are thought of as a selfish, above others, type of people. Not saying all are, but I do hear it a lot.
AP and AD, thanks for doing that, it showed a lot about yall. goodonya!
C'mon you Redbirds, lets prove em' wrong, again!
by yer dog first on May 23, 2008 12:06 AM EDT up reply actions
I don't get that vibe from the headline or opening sentence
I don’t see where you’re getting that “we enjoyed taking out two players in one inning” from those. Explain?
Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country
Track 'em Tigers - An SB Nation Blog for Auburn Tigers fans
Doesn't directly say it, but it is still poor word choice.
Using words and phrases like “pound” and “attack” and, most of all, “take down” - when what Pujols did (unintentionally) was to literally “take down” two members of the opposing team - poor word choice under the circumstances. Why not say “Bats come alive in series finale with Padres” or something that emphasizes the victory without all the thugish verbs?? When your team has hurt two players, you don’t put fighting words into the headlines because it gives the wrong impression.
"Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good too." ~8-year-old Greg
by ChiTown CardFan on May 22, 2008 1:33 PM EDT up reply actions
To insinuate that Larry's word choice is really not fair.
You and I both know that Larry was in no way trying to make light of what happend to the Pads last night. Therefore, why get bothered by it? If Larry used the word “beat”, as in: The Cards beat the Padres last night.:”, then does THAT leave the impression that we physically BEAT them?
All this P/C junk gets a little old to me.
Baseball's only fun if you're playing it, watching it, or thinking about it.
Ummm
I agree about PC being WAY over-valued, but ChiTown was referring to the Cardinals homepage (cardinals.mlb) not lboros’s post. And I’m forced to agree it was in poor taste.
-- Aidan Sonoda
In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas.
by Aidan Sonoda on May 22, 2008 2:43 PM EDT up reply actions
Ehhh
I think it’s a stretch
Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country
Track 'em Tigers - An SB Nation Blog for Auburn Tigers fans
PC vs. decency
I was commenting on the official Cardinals site, not Larry’s post, with which I have absolutely no issues. (Also, see below in the thread, of a more extreme example of the PD doing the same thing.)
I’m not advocating political correctness. I’m just saying that it does not show basic human decency to rub in to your defeated oponent that you not only beat them, but injured them.
"Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good too." ~8-year-old Greg
by ChiTown CardFan on May 22, 2008 4:12 PM EDT up reply actions
It's obvious we don't agree here
I’m not taking any issue with it. The example below is way over the line.
I don’t read into the original example that we’re rubbing in anything about the injuries.
Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country
Track 'em Tigers - An SB Nation Blog for Auburn Tigers fans
One person's political correctness is another's decency
if someone thinks something is tasteful or distasteful, we should just say that. Complaining about political correctness is external.
They say that it's never too late, but you don't get any younger...
Get ready folks
if you thought the Young incident was ugly, just wait till you have to look at someone stabbed in the face by the jagged end of a splintered flying baseball bat. It has got to happen the way bats are exploding now.
What has happened to Good old Ash. Is it on the dangered species list? Is it more profitable for other purposes. What ever, find some other wood that doesn’t come apart like the Maple being used now. What about good ole Hickory, those thing were used in the old day and they only cracked but were abandoned because of the quest for lighter and lighter bats with thinner and thinner handles.
Seems baseball is not adressing this problem at all but when some player on the field or child or little old lady in the stands is killed by one of these flying missiles you’ll see hitters lugging hickory bats back up to the plate.
saw a headline the other day
regarding MLB looking at the maple bats, but didn’t have time to read the story. Padres almost got nailed last night with a broken bat.
by OKCARDSFAN_411 on May 22, 2008 10:47 AM EDT up reply actions
Recently
Selig said he was “very concerned” with the maple bats and was considering looking at other options. How reassuring that may be to everyone, well, you make your own assessment….
Nice catch Hayes, don't ever fu**in do it again - Lou Brown
by Futility Infielder on May 22, 2008 11:05 AM EDT up reply actions
Selig saying he's considering, blah, blah, blah...
can be translated as “I’ll be putting together a committee to study the feasibility of putting together a committee to study the feasibility of looking into possibly checking into the situation with these maple bats; if time permits.”
If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
Quick and decisive, by Selig standards
Remember how tough and fearless he has been on the steroids issue?
Emerald ash borer
is what happened to ash. I understand that ash is in short supply—at least shorter than back in the day – because this pest isn’t under control. http://www.emeraldashborer.info/
"Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good too." ~8-year-old Greg
by ChiTown CardFan on May 22, 2008 10:48 AM EDT up reply actions
Thank you
ChiTown CardFan. very informative: maybe MLB should kick in a few million to help fight that ornery little beetle.
I have a feeling that that problem
is much bigger than can be solved by a few million. My guess is that the solution isn’t just that we need to come up w/ some sort of pesticide. I just suspect that this problem will take much more money to solve.
giant robot spiders.
with mlb team logos on their heads. And laser beams?
And I awoke in California, far far from Spancilhill...
phenominal idea
We should probably make them solar or fuel cell powered too while we’re at it.
Working on the Iowa Ag & Natural Resources Subcommittee
The emerald ash borer is from Asia and likley found its way to America 18 or so years ago in pallets or some other lumber shipment from Asia. Its larvae bore holes in trees and eliminate their ability to transfer water and nutrients through the bark, killing them. It has been steadily migrating south and west from Michigan, through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and has just made its way to eastern Iowa. Federal and state quarantines are in effect in OH and IN. I don’t know about IL, but one is not yet in effect in Iowa. When found by Iowa DNR, however, they do destroy the trees.
Not the biggest factor
although probably could be soon. Ash still in supply for MLBers and their salary/comps.
Instead you can blame Barry Bonds for the popularity of Maple bats.
This Yahoo Sports article has more on it – including the fact that there is no scientific evidence that Maple performs better.
Just saw the replay
on sportscenter, they pointed out that if the 6’ 10” Young wasn’t pitching it may have been a line drive to center. I didn’t think Albert could put any more fear into opposing players, but he always proves me wrong. Taking out the Padres battery in one inning has to give the rest of league pause. No pitcher in their right mind can stand on the mound and look at Albert in the box and not have the bejesus scared out of them. Now the catchers can’t even reassure the pitchers anymore. If they go out to the mound you know they will tell the guy “For the love of god don’t let this monster get on because I don’t want any chance of having to block him at the plate.”
"Do what you want to the women and children but leave me alone"- George Carlin
by That's a Winner on May 22, 2008 10:59 AM EDT up reply actions
Anybody else cringe
when Duncan was heading into home? Glad the Padres catcher was not in the way or else that would have been a mess too. Duncan made a nice slide to avoid the tag.
by OKCARDSFAN_411 on May 22, 2008 11:16 AM EDT up reply actions
Chris slides
very aggressively, much like his brother, so yeah, I winced for a second.
If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
Ray King sighting
First Take on ESPN 2 is interviewing him and they talk about the line drive. If anyone wants to watch it should be replayed around 11:15 EST.
"Do what you want to the women and children but leave me alone"- George Carlin
by That's a Winner on May 22, 2008 11:39 AM EDT up reply actions
That should have been
1:15 pm EDT
"Do what you want to the women and children but leave me alone"- George Carlin
by That's a Winner on May 22, 2008 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions
What a game last night.
I only made it through 5. But still it was pretty entertaining. I really feel for you and Bard. You have to feel for a team when they are down like the Pardes, and they lose thier 2 best pitchers and starting catcher in two days.
We had a great April. I said at the beginning of May that the Cardinals just need to hold around .500 for the month. Nice to seem them bouce back from loosing the home series against the pirates by winning the next two series. (the padres may be buttom feeders but we did beat the team with the best record, at the time, in the AL.)
oopsie..
I forgot. I missed Ankiels home run. Did he look good at the plate? (I assume he did snice it was a homerun.) If so the time off helped him. We have another off day today. (by the way, i hate off days. Now I’ll have to do house work or something.) So he’ll get more rest. With that in mind. Plus Mather still pounding the ball in AAA. Do you think the Cardinals not moving him to the DL and calling up Mather was the right move?
Yeah, it's fair to say Ank looked good.
A GameDay moment that would have been funny if not for all the unpleasantness earlier in the game: when Ank came to the plate, the San Diego announcers were talking about all the stuff he’s done on defense this year. So they’re still going as the pitch is delivered, and the monologue goes something like
“Now we’ll see how he’s doing at the plate, he’s coming up wi—CRACK Oh my.”
followed by open mike for a few seconds.
by StanTheManFan on May 22, 2008 9:38 AM EDT up reply actions
Missed the HR
With the headlines at Stltoday and the team site this morning that Ankiel was expected back this weekend, I missed that Ankiel hit a HR last night. Very nice to see. As an aside, MLB.tv has stepped backwards this year by not having condensed games or the ability to click on an inning and watch just that half-inning.
A second aside, that was a heckuva catch by Skippy in the 5th inning. This ballgame may have had a much different flavor if that one got by him.
The Glaus statistic is almost shocking
I’ve only seen Cards games when they play the Cubs, and even then I was in and out. I look at Glaus’ batting average and I read the comments on his popups and I assume he’s just not coming through.
But if he’s coming through – just with a hopefully temporary lack of power – that’s pretty darn handy, especially coupled with Lud being on fire.
he had a two week period
at the start of May were he was like 0-21. I believe that included the Cubs week. So he did go through a hitting slump.
I disagree about the Cardinals not hitting homers
We are currently 10th out of 16 in the NL in homers. We have 43 homers, the average for all NL teams is 44.3. We have played a couple of more games than most teams, but we also play in a home park that is somewhat pitcher-friendly. So I would say that we are pretty much average power-wise. The problem is that so many of them have been of the solo variety, I expect that to balance out some. Of course, some other things will likely balance out too, like Ludwick’s, Miles’s, and Lohse’s BABIP.
Link to Video
Here’s http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3407462&n8pe6c=1&categoryId=2521705the link to espn’s video last night.
Cox, Tudor, and Forsch
I think we still have a chance.
By the way – it looks like Danny Cox could still play backup catcher for us:
i also disagree with the idea that we don't hit HRs
Coming in to the season it was a big topic that this team could be our best HR hitting team in awhile. We have more sluggers then most teams. Unfortunately Glaus and Duncan haven’t grooved their HR swings yet.
A sort of related comment, boy i hate to see Mather on fire in Memphis and we don’t have a spot for him on the big club. His emergence as a legit power outfielder makes Duncan even more expendable. Mather should be in the majors, lets make room for him.
Can he be the utility IF?
Dump Kennedy.
by Hardcore Legend on May 22, 2008 11:16 AM EDT up reply actions
not exactly
but i made the arguement awhile back…..why the hell are we carrying 4 middle infielders???
One of them should be gone so we can carry Mather at the very least as a good righty bat off the bench. Don’t you love seeing one of our MI’s come in to pinch hit?
By utility IF
I meant play 3B and 1B if need be. He can also play the OF, obviously.
The point is, with Miles, Ryan and Izturis, we have enough MIF’ers as it is. Adding Mather allows for he and Duncan to cover the OF/1B backup duties and Mather/Ryan to cover the 3B backup duties.
They’ve just got to cut Kennedy loose.
by Hardcore Legend on May 22, 2008 6:24 PM EDT up reply actions
Better watch it!
That well thought out post could potentially be interpreted as asking for Miles to get plate appearances.
I like kennedy but
right now miles is out playing him.
.254/.310/.297 compared to .323/.368/.354 even though Miles’ stats aren’t great I would rather have him in the lineup then AK right now. AK over his career has been better but he just hasn’t been the same over a long period since he got to StL, sure he has had hot streaks, this april he hit almost exactly what Miles is hitting for the season. But he is still a career .274/.328/.387 hitter compared to Miles who is a career .285/.326/.357 hitter. Basically Miles is a cheaper version of Kennedy who has actually played SS when needed.
Defensively Kennedy is better but we don’t need 4 MIFs on this team and he is the worst right now. Heck even Ryan isn’t that much better (ML career .289/.344/.384 MiL career .297/.345/.385) but Ryan is even cheaper then Miles. This is the last year of Kennedy’s contract and Izturis is only on a one year deal. I would really like to play Ryan more to get him the experience since he will probably be playing SS or 2B quite a bit more next year.
Ohhhh no
We get to have Kennedy for next year too.
With no evidence to the contrary, Colby Rasmus is clutch
I was just thinking about it
I wonder what it would take to get Grudz back from Kansas City?
by Hardcore Legend on May 22, 2008 10:36 PM EDT up reply actions
+1
That was a deal that didn’t happen that really hurt. He was only looking for a couple of hundred thousand over the arbitrary pay range they had assigned for a second baseman if I remember correctly. Man, that’s really hurt us a lot.
I can handle Ryan as the starting 2B
and Miles as the backup if it means Mather is called up and Kennedy is unemployed.
by Hardcore Legend on May 22, 2008 10:34 PM EDT up reply actions
would you rather
see Mather up with the big club as a bench player, or down in Memphis getting regular AB’s and getting more seasoned?
I’ll take the latter, at least until rosters expand.
C'mon you Redbirds, lets prove em' wrong, again!
by yer dog first on May 23, 2008 12:24 AM EDT up reply actions
I heard Mather is lobbying
for the Cardinals to hire his Dad as a coach /sarcasm
Those Pilgrims ain't lookin' so proud now...
that joke will be a lot funnier
once Mather has hit for a .930+ OPS at the MLB level for an extended period of time.
And I awoke in California, far far from Spancilhill...
just cause Mather isn't proven
doesn’t mean that Duncan isn’t the odd man out for many reasons.
yes.
from sep 2005 to aug 01, 2007, duncan had a .942 OPS over 632 consecutive PA’s, before getting hurt.
See my post below about his performance this year.
And I awoke in California, far far from Spancilhill...
Idea
They could be just holding out until July, when more teams will have more defined needs and Duncan will have hopefully started to hit again…
"because at the end of the day they still are the Chicago Cubs"
by rockin the red on May 22, 2008 11:25 AM EDT reply actions
FWIW, Duncan HAS started to hit.
Duncan has, indeed, been hitting well lately. in his last 40 PA’s, he’s hit:
.314/.400/.543 (.943 OPS) —pretty much exactly what he did in 2006 (.952 OPS) and the first half of 2007 (.936 OPS through 31 July 07).
He also had a .968 OPS in his first 50 PA’s of the season, something which I believe was overlooked due to his awful spring training and his late April slump. So he’s now had roughly 3 stretches of season, 40-50 PA’s long each, and in 2 of these he played at an elite level, and in one he slumped.
Even with the late april slump, his season numbers are now very good- a 110 OPS+ isn’t something to sneeze at, even out of a platooned corner OF.
And I awoke in California, far far from Spancilhill...
Keep raising that trade value
good for him. No more groundballs through the legs, please.
by Hardcore Legend on May 22, 2008 8:28 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree with you Sleepy
but I still think it comes down to whether you want Duncan’s .295/.414/.463/.877 vs. RHPs or Schumaker’s .325/.388/.460/.848. Ank the Crank and my buddy Luddy must play everyday! The only way either Schu or Dunc should play against LHPs is if we throw in the towel and call it a rebuilding year.
It would be nice if we had the luxury of getting Dunc ABs vs. LHPs to boost his trade value, but I don’t see the benefit of trying to boost the trade value of an asset I am convinced will not be traded.
Even though Barton has come down to earth with (unnecessarily) limited playing time, he is still .244/.380/.341/.721 against LHPs vs. .234/.308/.255/.563 for Schu and an embarassing .111/.158/.167/.325 for Dunc. Pretty convinced Barton’s numbers will elevate a bit if he can get in the lineup consistently against LHPs. He might have the best batting eye on the team.
Those Pilgrims ain't lookin' so proud now...
playuing against LHP's
You are absolutely correct. Duncan needs hundreds of PA’s against tough lefties, like morneau had witht he twins when they sucked, and we can’t afford to give that to him.
the cardinals should call our old friend troy cate (DFA’d by the A’s today) and (any other random lefty journeyman with good splits), offer them $150k for a year of their time, and have them throw duncan 40 or so pitches a day for the rest of the year. Heck, maybe 40 in the morning and 40 at night, high school football style.
Duncan should also be ordered to stand in the batters box whenever a LOOGY warms up in the pen and he’s not in the game. Especially at Wrigley. Give the fans some extra unexpected souvenirs.
And I awoke in California, far far from Spancilhill...
DWL
Just B-r’d the “when the twins sucked” comments- didnt’ realize they managed to stay in first place 2 years and then finish 3rd, then first again while giving morneau 300+ PA’s of .600 OPS performance against lefties before he started hitting them with any degree of ability.
And I awoke in California, far far from Spancilhill...
Then the Wrigley fans in the right field seats
will bring balls to the game to throw on the field when Duncan hits them a souvenir
Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country
Track 'em Tigers - An SB Nation Blog for Auburn Tigers fans
Good post...
Hadn’t entirely expected that. Maybe other teams have noticed as well? I still would like to see him hit some more homers, as that might increase his value to others teams, especially in the AL with the DH. He’s improved, though.
"because at the end of the day they still are the Chicago Cubs"
by rockin the red on May 23, 2008 12:51 AM EDT up reply actions
Chris Carpenter has mild setback
Hardcore Legend jumps off bridge.
by Hardcore Legend on May 22, 2008 11:50 AM EDT reply actions
Oh yeah
it’s just some minor elbow discomfort…just like April 2007. He’ll be fine.
by Hardcore Legend on May 22, 2008 1:29 PM EDT up reply actions
on the bright side
they’ve shut down Mark Mulder for a while! This delays his return at least a couple more weeks!
This is one where I don't have that sentiment
Everyone outside of BJ Ryan has setbacks from Tommy John.
With no evidence to the contrary, Colby Rasmus is clutch
I still think it was a bad idea
when Walt gave Carp that big extention when he did . He had a whole year before he really had to sat down to hammer out a new contract with him. But at the time the Walt/Dewitt thought they might be close to signing Jason Schmidt at the winter meetings and they probably felt they should let their ace know that we was going to be the highest paid pitcher on the team to not cause any bad feelings.
I bet Dewitt wishes they would have waited now.
yikes
not a very smart headline from the boys at the local paper this morning.
by stlcardinalsfang on May 22, 2008 1:06 PM EDT reply actions
Oh man
You’d think somebody in authority would think better of it and would have put a stop to that type of nonsense.
by Merry CRasmus on May 22, 2008 1:11 PM EDT up reply actions
i didn't even bother with the article
saw the headline and knew the article was going to be a waste of my time.
by stlcardinalsfang on May 22, 2008 1:30 PM EDT up reply actions
NOT
one of Joe Strauss’ better efforts…
I’m just glad that Young wasn’t more seriously hurt (although a broken nose is no fun)... that shot could have caught him in one of his eyes just as easily.
"In this game, don't nobody know nuthin' about nuthin'." -- attributed to Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra
by The Ol Goaler on May 22, 2008 1:19 PM EDT up reply actions
ya thats bad,
last nigth ESPN.com had it as their main story with the title something liek this Pujols takes out pitcher, catcher
I can't believe i gave up a homerun to that punch and judy hitter-major league 2
Strauss
nor any non-editor writer gets to decide what the headline is. All they do is write the article and send it in
He must be a tough son of a gun
b/c he just sat up w/ the blood pouring out of his face and looked as if to say, “Damn. What are the odds of that happening?” His nose looked like someone took some pliers to it and he seemed more concerned w/ the mess on his uniform. That’s one tough man.
How is it not smart?
The most compelling story of last night was the fact that Pujols was involved in two plays that injured Padres. That’s what the headine of the story should be about. It’s unusual, it’s freaky, and it’s unfortunate for the Padres. But still, it’s interesting and unprecedented. One guy takes out two opponents in one trip around the bases? That’s a memorable thing and the game story, and headline needs to reflect that.
If you are sensitive to the word “punish” I guess you could have some sort of argument, but I’m not sure what it would be and why that word would offend you. Since when does that word merit outrage? I’m guessing it was used, mostly, because it starts with “P” like Pujols and Padres.
by Hal Lanier's Pants on May 22, 2008 1:39 PM EDT up reply actions
but
the tone of the headline makes it sound like it was intentional, which it was not.
by stlcardinalsfang on May 22, 2008 1:40 PM EDT up reply actions
i still think there is a better way
to say what your getting at and not cause the distate the rest of us feel with it…there has to be a middle ground
I can't believe i gave up a homerun to that punch and judy hitter-major league 2
punish
Punish means “to inflict injury.” Isn’t that what happened? Pujols injured two guys. The word is accurate.
It is also defined as “to impose a penalty.” If you are reading the headline as “Pujols Imposes a Penalty on Padres” I’m still not sure how that “causes distaste.”
Furthermore, I wonder why anyone cares about this. Who is getting offended and why?If I am reading correctly, the tone of the headline makes it sound like it was intentional, so therefore that casts Pujols in a bad light, which upsets people. Is that it?
by Hal Lanier's Pants on May 22, 2008 2:39 PM EDT up reply actions
I don't think we're...
arguing that the headline doesn’t do it’s job, as far as catching your attention, etc… There seem to be a few of us that feel it is in poor taste/adding insult to injury…literally.
Well
I guess count me in the camp that was not offended.
by Hal Lanier's Pants on May 22, 2008 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions
Count me among
those who think the Cards’ HR rate will increase; it seems to me the Birds have played in more “cold” weather so far this season than is normal for mid-May.
The Birds got bombs from several players in pitcher-friendly Petco… given Glaus’ track record, he should start seeing some of his liners go over the wall at some point (hopefully soon!)
"In this game, don't nobody know nuthin' about nuthin'." -- attributed to Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra
I think it will increase
I think that Glaus could still get 25-30 homeruns if he finds his groove. if not, an abnormal amount of doubles will do just fine. Ankiel’s home run looked great, and Skip did his best Rick/Jim Edmonds imitation in center, very cool to see that one. Young got really lucky last night (could have been much worse). man, this team is entertaining when they are “on”
Ankiel is Jesus!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on May 22, 2008 1:38 PM EDT up reply actions
I watched it on the gameday
video section
Ankiel is Jesus!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on May 22, 2008 2:32 PM EDT up reply actions
they've also played
a lot more home games than road games. I, too, have hopes that the HR rate will pick up once it warms up and the schedule balances out. The fact that we’ve played so many home games may be skewing the numbers some.
I feel like
We’ve been saying that about Glaus for weeks now. “Just wait, his doubles will turn into homers”...at what point does a power drought turn into a pattern?
I agree with CFIC above, too…if he keeps hitting a whole lot of doubles, that will work nearly as well.
Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country
Track 'em Tigers - An SB Nation Blog for Auburn Tigers fans
Why do I feel like we traded an injured Scott Rolen for a healthy Scott Rolen?
It’s kind of freaky, really. Glaus has turned into Rolen since he came over to the team. His defense has been truly superb. He is a big ole boy with a strong arm. He plays hard. The batting stats are really kind of spooky. In the past, he has had more power than Rolen, but not hit a lot of doubles. Since Glaus got here, his well-hit balls seem to have a bit less lift, but they are finding the gaps in a hurry. His strikeouts are down a bit, he is hitting for a decent average and is on pace for 50 doubles or so.
Baseball's only fun if you're playing it, watching it, or thinking about it.
Nope
I really don’t see that comparison at all. Glaus has been good. Really good. Through May 22 last year, Rolen’s offensive prowess yielded this craptastic line: .220 / .305 / .326 with 16 RBIs. This pretty accurately reflects his frequent infield pop-ups and shallow right field flies.
Glaus, on the other hand, has played great defense as you point out, and has a much better line at .280 / .391 / .421 with 29 RBIs. Not spectacular, for sure, but much better than ‘07 Rolen. I’m happy with what Glaus is contributing, partly because I do think his slugging will increase. Maybe its just me, but I could literally see him trying to will HRs during the first few series at Busch to make a good impression on his new team. I think that as he settles in (as he’s done the last couple weeks) we’ll see more power and RBIs.
by Ray Lankford on May 22, 2008 4:09 PM EDT up reply actions
I think you missed...
the “healthy Scott Rolen” part. I don’t think anybody is going to mistake last year’s version of Scott Rolen as healthy. If you look at Rolen’s line from early 2006 (when he appeared to be healthy, but wasn’t getting any lift on the ball) it probably looks a lot like Glaus’s line right now. I find the comparison to be very accurate.
I think you missed my point there.
Rolen was hurt last year. I just meant that Glaus’s batting line pretty closely resembles that of Rolen for most of his Cardinals tenure.
Baseball's only fun if you're playing it, watching it, or thinking about it.
Ahhhh
Many apologies—I gotcha now. As an aside, I was shocked after looking up the numbers and seeing how bad Rolen was then compared to how good Glaus is now. Its nice to actually get some production from our third baseman.
by Ray Lankford on May 22, 2008 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions
i feel a lot better about him now though
before i was saying it because I was hoping it would happen. Now that he’s been tearing it up (after a dismal start, he’s now up to a 115 OPS+ (.812 OPS)), and I’m seeing it happen with my own eyes, I’m actually believing it SHOULD be happening.
Looking at his RC/27, he’s performing just about according to post-steroid testing norms right now, even without hitting lots of home runs.
And I awoke in California, far far from Spancilhill...
the little I have seen of Glaus on TV
I really like his approach at the plate. He seems balanced and fairly compact with his swing (reminds me a bit of Jeff Conine). I suppose more home runs will come, but the singles and gappers I have seen so far seem to really jump off his bat.
I loved Scotty Ro in many ways, but I am pleased with Troy.
how is matsuzaka doing it with 5.3 BB/9
he walked another 6 today, in 5 2/3.
...must be the 5.5ish H/9
by longhornscardinals on May 22, 2008 4:11 PM EDT reply actions
Yeah
I’ll bet you a dollar he can’t maintain a .224 BABIP + 85.2% LOB + 5.5% HR/FB. He’s got the trifecta of lucky stuff going for him right now.
With no evidence to the contrary, Colby Rasmus is clutch
Wow.
That is impressive. An 85% LOB? See, that’s the sort of thing peripheral were invented for.
All your failures are just training grounds.
by the red baron on May 22, 2008 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions
Isn't this what they call "run support"?
Boston scores 6.1 runs (including today’s game) per game he’s started.
by OKCARDSFAN_411 on May 22, 2008 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions
run support
doesnt explain his great ERA, though the fact he rarely goes deep does help.
by longhornscardinals on May 22, 2008 6:00 PM EDT up reply actions
Hey Everybody.
Just thought I would drop in and apologise for my bad luck game thread last night. Sorry.
All your failures are just training grounds.
this is a good point
I think maybe him no longer being on steroids has made him a better hitter. I never knew how smart of a hitter he was until he came to the cardinals but I absolutely love his approach at the plate
Losing is a disease
Oh sorry
I am talking about glaus. I was trying to reply to an earlier post by sleepyCa
Losing is a disease
ugly= Eastern conf finals
25-23 with 7:37 left in the third…might reach 40s by half
I can't believe i gave up a homerun to that punch and judy hitter-major league 2
think we could take a picture of him
from really far away, and convince TLR that he’s a “bona fide leadoff man” and therefore worthy of a roster spot?
And I awoke in California, far far from Spancilhill...
Off days
Good for the team, bad for me
Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country
Track 'em Tigers - An SB Nation Blog for Auburn Tigers fans
good for him.
I was hoping he had 4 35 HR seasons left in him… shame he seems to be fizzling out.
Brewers and Astros both lost!
And I awoke in California, far far from Spancilhill...
He has struggled for a month
but the last two games against the Dodgers he hit the ball hard and hit two pitches that would have been HRs in probably 20 MLB parks.
I think he is coming out of this funk. Hopefully he stays healthy and goes back to Seattle in the off-season/mid-season trade.
by Hardcore Legend on May 22, 2008 11:20 PM EDT up reply actions
Brewers are in last place
I realize that talent levels dictate that we need to root against them until they’re clearly out of it, but we’ve got some room with them. Houston, on the other hand…glad they lost
Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country
Track 'em Tigers - An SB Nation Blog for Auburn Tigers fans
Mindboggling that they may start considering a firesale
this season, moving guys like Suppan, Sheets and Fielder.
by Hardcore Legend on May 22, 2008 11:27 PM EDT up reply actions
Suppan I could see
Sheets, maybe
Fielder? That truly would boggle my mind.
Upon further review, I looked at Cot’s and saw they haven’t locked him up yet, so it wouldn’t be as mind-boggling as I imagined. But I must say, every day that they go without firing Ned Yost as manager, they’re fighting a losing battle.
Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country
Track 'em Tigers - An SB Nation Blog for Auburn Tigers fans
Word is that he wants PAID
and the Brewers, while they’ve given out semi-big contracts to younger guys over multiple years, won’t be paying him Pujols-style money.
I could see him being traded to try and fill some glaring needs for that young team. Sheets will leave this year in FA. Suppan is getting older and getting rocked. Parra is struggling. They’ll look to get another starting pitching prospect and maybe something in the bullpen.
by Hardcore Legend on May 22, 2008 11:58 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah
It’s a shame (if you’re a Brewers fan). It seems like the past 5-10 years have been building up to last year and this year, and it’s being ruined by the worst manager in baseball.
I can understand Fielder’s gripe, though. Look at the money Braun just got. A guy who hit 50 HRs last year should be asking for that money. Fielder’s OPS+ was higher than Braun’s last season as well. He has more MLB experience and is younger than Braun. Of course, when you dance like a school girl in a dugout after your first HR (and your dad is Cecil Fielder) you don’t get any sympathy from me.
Tangential point: Looking at Cot’s, I came across the contract for Matt Clement. I had forgotten he was even signed to our club for about the past three weeks.
Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country
Track 'em Tigers - An SB Nation Blog for Auburn Tigers fans
Fielder was offered braun money
and his agent (scott boras) laughed. Stark has an article about this today at ESPN.com.
when one prominent agent was asked to assess the chances of Fielder’s doing a Braunesque deal, he replied: “None. Zero. No chance.”
Of course, i really can’t believe the contract Braun signed. It was insanely team-friendly.
The Brewers have Matt LaPorta putting up Pujolsian (matheresque?) numbers in AA, so it makes sense to move Fielder to an AL team for pitching help. I’m kind of amazed they didn’t do it this off-season.
And I awoke in California, far far from Spancilhill...
That's true
When you look at $45 million for someone who’s 24 years old (my age!) you think it’s a ton. But the deal is very team-friendly, as you mention. It’s backloaded a ton, but who knows what players will be asking in 2013. $12 maybe be what Aaron Miles is asking for in 2013.
I’m not very versed in the Brewers’ farm club (should be because my hometown team, the Huntsville Stars, is the org’s very AA team that you mentioned), but seeing his minor league stats, I can see what would make Fielder expendable. Glad you caught yourself on calling him “Pujolsian” since, well, Pujols didn’t exactly play A-ball lol
Aren’t the Giants looking for a power-hitting left-handed 1B? Maybe a Cain for Fielder deal is in order…
Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country
Track 'em Tigers - An SB Nation Blog for Auburn Tigers fans
Two errors
Pujols didn’t exactly play AA-ball
The “he” I’m referring to in the second paragraph is LaPorta
Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country
Track 'em Tigers - An SB Nation Blog for Auburn Tigers fans
speaking of managers...
has the Willie Randolph watch hit a crescendo yet? And didn’t the Mets just lose four straight to their rovial, the Braves?
I would predict that Willie goes before Yost does. New York is much less forgiving than Milwaukee
Reyes and Parisi
Parisi has been up what, 2 weeks? It seems he has already gotten as much PT as Reyes got when he was up for a month.
Why was Parisi able to make the conversion to reliever easier than Reyes was?
by Hardcore Legend on May 22, 2008 11:38 PM EDT reply actions
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