still a lot to learn
by lboros on Jun 2, 2008 9:06 AM EDT
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Printa little while ago in a game thread, brian gunn pointed out that pujols has stopped taking so many walks. after drawing 41 free passes (12 intentional) in the team’s first 42 games (through may 14), albert accepted just 6 walks (2 intentional) in the 16 games since. is he expanding his strike zone, or is he seeing better pitches to hit? apparently it’s the latter:
| AB | BB | HR | AVG | OBP | SLG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| thru may 14 | 138 | 41 | 8 | .355 | .505 | .601 |
| since may 14 | 63 | 6 | 6 | .381 | .435 | .730 |
the dropoff in walks coincides with the time that ryan ludwick started mashing out of the cleanup hole --- he hit 8 homers during the first 3 weeks of may --- so perhaps teams decided they’d just as soon attack pujols as the red-hot ludwick. it’ll be interesting to see whether teams change their approach now that ludwick has started coming back down to earth.
albert’s more aggressive approach at the plate is mirrored in the teamwide stats. in their last 3 series (9 games), the cards have drawn only 20 walks --- just over 2 a game. during the previous 9-game segment, they drew 38 walks; the two 9-game segments before that, 43 apiece. you could interpret that any number of ways --- could just be random; could be that the cards ran into a spate of pitchers with good control, or umpires with wide strike zones; could be that opposing pitchers started attacking the cardinals more aggressively. whatever the case, the dropoff in walks did not coincide (as it did in albert’s case) with an increase in overall output; the cardinals during those 9 games hit just .229 / .281 / .355 and scored an even 4 runs a contest, yet they still managed to win 6 of the 9.
with the may stats in the books, let’s put the first two months of the season side by side:
| AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | | | AVG | OBP | SLG | |||
| april | 977 | 135 | 273 | 64 | 10 | 20 | 144 | | | .279 | .374 | .415 | ||
| may | 973 | 124 | 263 | 38 | 4 | 29 | 104 | | | .270 | .342 | .407 |
check out the steep decline in doubles and triples; in total-base terms, it completely offset the cards’ may increase in homers. while st louis was cooling off last month, the rest of the league was heating up --- a 16-point increase in ops between april (.735) and may (.751) --- so the cards’ nl ranks in the various categories sagged notably:
| R | HR | AVG | OBP | SLG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| april | 4th | 11th | 3d | 2d | 7th |
| may | 9th | 8th | 6th | 5th | 12th |
aside from pujols (9 homers, 1.160 ops) and ludwick (9 homers, 1.124 ops), they just didn’t do much with the stick; no other player had an ops above .777 for the month, and three of the outfielders were in the .600s. only a slightly-above-normal batting average saved the cardinals from complete offensive oblivion in may; they piled up just enough singles and got just enough good pitching --- and good defense, as we saw yesterday --- to hang in there.
can they keep it up? the schedule gets awfully tough the next couple of months. in june the cards have two 9-game road trips and will face a tough slate that features the phillies, astros, red sox, and tigers, plus the resurgent reds on the road. in july they play 14 games against the mets, phillies, and braves, plus home series against the cubs and the brewers. there’s still a lot to learn about this team.
oh, speaking of the reds: am i the only one who thinks they have an outside chance to climb back into it? after a terrible start they’ve won 11 of 17 to get to within 2 games of .500; they’ve replaced corey patterson w/ jay bruce, a move that’s worth at least 2 or 3 wins going forward, and bronson arroyo is starting to settle down, which solidifies their rotation greatly. on the other hand, they still have a terrible outfield defense (w/ griffey and dunn) and their june schedule is nearly as difficult as the cardinals’. i think they’re at least as dangerous at this point as the brewers, who rate as one of the big disappointments of the year so far.
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The doubles falloff is pretty dramatic
Of course, what is worth more in thw way of runs? 9 homers or twenty-some doubles?
Still hoping your preseason Wild Card pick will blossom, LB? I don’t blame you, but the Reds do seem to be surging. How, if at all, does this affect a trade of Dunn and/or Griffey at the deadline?
As a complete aside, Friday night I went to Sec Taylor for the Redbirds vs. I-Cubs, and they did birthday wishes on the scoreboard. It was Rico Washington’s 30th birthday.
Rick and Troy
Seems like they were responsible for a lot of the early doubles and neither are finding the gaps now. Nice to see Glaus hitting though. Hope Ank gets his groove back soon, we need his glove in center.
Pretty much.
Glaus does seem to be comming around. Rick’s bat needs to get going. Has he hit 1,000 PA’s in the Pros yet? Ankiel is someone who can play through slumps because when he isn’t hitting he is still helping the team. (amazing plays in the outfield; big walk to store a run.) He also had a 7 pitch BA that started off 0-2 and with him popping out. Hopefully he puts it together soon.
Storing a run always helps...
you never know when you will need one later… :) i keed, like i am one to talk….
"Back in the day when I played, a pitcher had 3 pitches: a fastball, a curveball, a slider, a changeup and a good sinker pitch." - Mike Shannon
As long as he doesn't get caught
When he pulls the run out in a 0-0 game. Umps might frown on it.
Ump: “Um, where did that run come from?”
Ankiel “June 1st game agianst Pittsburgh. Why do ask?”
who's not disappointing?
yeah, thats right, jim edmonds. now hes getting it done and hopefully we can see him at busch one last time. if he doesnt fall off…
A good week a season does not make
I love Jimmy Edmonds as much as anybody and it pains me to see him in Cubbie blue, but the expectations for his production are so low that it would be nearly impossible for him to disappoint. His hot week of a .428 BA has raised his average with the Cubs to .258. His hot week of a 1.395 OPS has raised his OPS with the Cubs to .787. I didn’t even both factoring in his lowly numbers with San Diego.
He's batting .178
I still love him, but he’s had 2 good games.
the problem w/ the reds
is that they’re in the hole and, with a difficult schedule ahead, there’s already plenty of talk about them going all fire-sale on you. If they get a good offer for Dunn, a free agent at the end of the year, they’re liable to dump him, thus ending any hopes they had of getting back in it.
If they’re going to make a move, they better do it quickly in order to convince Walt to hold on to Dunn and anyone else they would consider moving.
What is the Reds' problem exactly?
I was talking to a buddy of mine who is a Reds fan yesterday about this. I mean, their Bullpen is pretty solid now with Coco at the end and middle relief that seems decent. Their starting pitching has a bad ass 1-2 punch of Harangatang and Volquez, and their hitting seems stacked with power PLUS the addition of Jay Bruce. Why are they sooo far back? Looking at them it seems they are at least as good as the Cubs, yet they are about 9 games back.
I can look at all the teams under the Cubs in the central and see serious holes--Cardinal starting pitching and power production, Brewers bullpen and defense, Pirates erratic starting pitching and power. Where are the Red's holes exactly? It doesn't seem that moving Griffey or Dunn could shore up any shortcomings, because the team doesn't seem to have any. Unless it's their manager.by cloistermaximus on Jun 2, 2008 10:14 AM EDT up reply actions
i can't figure it out either
i see a lineup that ought to be piling up the runs, yet they’re currently 10th in the league in that regard; the front of their rotation and back of their bullpen are solid. they do suck with the glove, but every team has holes.
well
bruce has only been around for what, 5 days? before that corey patterson sucked a lot of runs out of the offense. edwin encarnacion has cooled after a good start. and despite the good top two starters, #3 and #4 arroyo and cueto have been mediocre at best, and the fifth starter has been a complete disaster. the middle relief – there’s a lot of 4-5 era’s amongst those guys…
i think the reds are a solid team, but their poor pitching depth and roster mismanagement have hurt them.
go cards, o's, and phillies.
...boiler up.
that
and Dusty Baker is their manager.
C'mon you Redbirds, lets prove em' wrong, again!
by yer dog first on Jun 2, 2008 11:50 AM EDT up reply actions
I think this has a lot to do with it
coupled with the fact that Griffey went 100 at-bats with little to no power, the Reds couldn’t hit their way out of a paper bag.
And, for as good as their pitching has been lately, Adam Dunn has single handedly saved them 4 wins over the last 3 weeks with late game HRs.
by Hardcore Legend on Jun 2, 2008 1:46 PM EDT up reply actions
If I were Walt
I would trade Griffey right after he hits #600. His value for the Reds won’t get any higher and they need to get something for him while they can.
that kind of was what i was implying
with the ‘roster mismanagement’ remark. ;)
go cards, o's, and phillies.
...boiler up.
but couldn't you say a lot of the same things
about the cards? ie, all the middle infielders have sucked runs out of the offense, ankiel has cooled down after a hot start, the pitching depth is suspect . . . . many have even questioned the roster management of this team, ie the key roles assigned to miles / izturis / franklin, etc etc.
mind you, i’m not trying to poormouth the cardinals. i just think they are not all that dissimilar from the reds. the back end of our rotation has been less of a disaster than theirs, and our defense is much better. but are we really 6 games better than they are to date? the difference between the teams seems slimmer than that to me.
LaRussa > Baker?
Though I don’t think he is 18 games a year better. But when comparing the two clubs we do have a better Manager IMO. So that has to be worth something.
With the way the Cubs are playing right now I’m trying not to compare the Cardinals to anyone this year expect the ‘07 Cardinals. This really helps my moral. Try it the next time they lose 14-4. The difference between this year and last? We came back and won the following game instead of allowing that to send us into a 3 game losing streak.
I think he is better
I would even say that TLR is probably 10 games better at least.
Winning pct. last five years (including this season as one year): TLR: .567, DB: .496 Difference: 12 games
Over the last ten, the difference in 6 games on average. But often that is what separates a .500+ team from a playoff team.
Here’s how their seasons break down:
Number of Seasons
Win Pct LaRussa Baker
.000-.400 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
.400-.499 8 (29%) 6 (40%)
.500-.599 14 (50%) 8 (53%)
.600-.700 6 (21%) 1 (7%)
First place finishes TLR: 11 (39%) DB: 3 (20%)
I know the TLR isn’t perfect, but what he has done in St. Louis has been nothing short of remarkable. I know that he isn’t due all the credit (also: owners, GMs, and-obviously-players), but you have to give him a lot of it.
"Give a man a fire, and he’ll be warm for a night. Set him on fire and he’ll be warm for the rest of his life."
Baker isn't in Tony's League...isn't even close.
The thing that sets Tony apart from the likes of Dusty Baker is that Tony is the master of mind games with players. Tony knows the right buttons to push to get his team motivated and to play the “hard nine” so to speak. He usually gets the best out of his players. Although he’s not perfect at this (it’s not working with Kennedy) he is 9 times out of 10. Baker seems more relaxed and doesn’t maybe push his players or sets up these player competions like Tony does.
Ned Yost in Milwaukee sees this himself and is starting to read Tony’s playbook….such as his “competiton” he is staging between Hall and Branyan and batting the pitcher 8th. Difference is though Yost is not as smart as Tony….but he’s learning.
i'll argue
that the performance of our 3-5 starters has been on a completely different plane than theirs. lohse, piniero, wellemeyer… pick any two of those guys and compare them to cueto and arroyo. then compare looper or thompson to the fogg/belisle monster. we come out way ahead in all of those comparisons.
go cards, o's, and phillies.
...boiler up.
our bottom 3 are looper, pineiro, and lohse
our top 2 are wellemeyer and wainwright — those are our counterparts to their top 2 combination of harang and volquez. our bottom 3 are looper, pineiro, and lohse. arroyo – looper is about a wash; pineiro has been a tad better than cueto. the only real advantage for stl’s rotation is that lohse has been much, much better than fogg.
here’s another way to break this down. their bullpen’s era is nearly identical to ours (4.00 cin, 3.98 stl). our rotation’s collective ERA is 3.96; cincinnati’s is 4.72. the difference there is about 18 earned runs. lohse has allowed 31 ER; fogg / belisle have allowed 55, or 24 runs more, in about the same ## of IP. there’s your difference.
but the overall difference in run differential between the two teams
is a lot more than that. (+23 for us vs. -18 for them, 41 better for the cards overall.) with the offenses averaging close to equal outputs (albeit in different fashion) and part of the difference coming via the fifth starters, taking a peek it looks like it’s the reds’ poor defense that has helped make up the rest of the difference – they’ve given up 27 unearned runs in 56 games to the cards’ 13 in 58.
go cards, o's, and phillies.
...boiler up.
I would argue...
that the REAL difference between our defenses extends beyond the mere unearned runs differential. Our defense (both IF and OF) is currently so good that we are getting to a TON of balls and making outs that a lot of routine defenses would give up as hits with no errors.
One really easy example: Ankiel’s ridiculous catch Sunday – Very few CFers would have made that play, and if any of them hadn’t caught that ball, 1) it would definitely not have been ruled an error, 2) the runner on 1st might have scored, and 3) the whole inning would have unfolded very differently. Essentially, our exceptional defense is making our mostly marginal pitchers into “good” or even “very good” pitchers.
There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.
The Reds' composite opponents' winning percentage vs. ours
Them: .508
Us: .489
Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country
Track 'em Tigers - An SB Nation Blog for Auburn Tigers fans
But
The Reds don’t get to play the Reds and we don’t have to play the Cardinals. That’s gonna have an effect on the winning pct.
Formerly Big Red (victim of the SBNation upgrade)
That's true
Good points from you and birdo rojo below
But, we’ve only played the Reds in three games so far this season, and are 2-1 against them. The difference wouldn’t be huge. However, the fact that we don’t have to play the team with the 2nd-best record in the NL and the fact that the Reds don’t get to play the team with the 7th-worst record in the NL does make a good difference.
Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country
Track 'em Tigers - An SB Nation Blog for Auburn Tigers fans
That's because we've won more games
Since we’re winning more games our opponents’ winning should be lower. The 6 additional wins we have over Cinci accounts for over half of the winning percentage difference.
Don’t think we can use the whole “weaker schedule” argument against the Cards on this one.
make ups
reds to make up for the pre-bruce outfield productivity and we need to make up for izzy’s failures. we could be at least 10-11 better if iz had held up better. i’d agree that now they have a good chance to catch us unless our line-up starts generating a bit more productivity.
If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, perhaps you haven't grasped the situation!
Harrang
Is a battleship of a pitcher. He’s had allot of success coming right at people. People are now standing to fight, and doing some damage. He is throwing pretty much the same stuff, so his year is unlikely to change much. The kids will tire. Even though they are gaining experience, the competition will start looking at a few pitches, creating more pressure and fewer strikeouts. Arroyo is a streaky pitcher, success usually depends on the quality of his stash. No one is going to take Griffey save the Mariners. If they continue to lag they might not take on the contract. Or, they may take him on to sell popcorn. Griffey has a no trade clause which will hamper any efforts to shop him. ........... I’m not a Dunn fan, but the guy is showing very well right now. If they got rid of KG, Dunn would probably become a productive player on a regular basis. Jay Bruce will cool, but if you have seen him hit, he has a swing for everything, a true prodigy arising. They could become a factor if someone will just take the Griff to pasture.
Westcoastbirdwatcher
by westcoastbirdwatcher on Jun 2, 2008 12:16 PM EDT up reply actions
Jay Bruce will cool off but I don't know how much....................
We all thought Ryan Braun and Albert Pujols would cool off their first year up as well.
We get lucky with the Reds next week
we most likely face Homer Bailey (called up for Fogg), Cueto, and Arroyo according to check of the schedule. No Volquez and no Harrang.
Yay, no Volquez or Harang.....
You do realize that the other pitchers we will face are perfectly capable of throwing a good game at anytime, don’t you? Respect your opponents. Never assume anything.
She isn't crazy, she's just not impressed.
or Harang
do the Cards ever beat that guy? If they have, I can’t remember when.
* sarcasm might be involved in this comment
Yay
that’s why the Nationals are shaking at the thought of facing Mike Parisi.
by Hardcore Legend on Jun 2, 2008 1:58 PM EDT up reply actions
With the way the Reds are playing at home now
I’m not really looking forward to that series next week. Let’s hope their bats have cooled off by then. The Reds right now are unpredictable….not sure if they are “out of it” or not. Like lboros said they should be a lot better than they are now. The thing is though…the NL Central is the toughest division in the NL right now and if the Reds were in the East or West they would be right there in the thick of things. They still need to get over the .500 hump but their June schedule is very tough so it will be a big hill for them to climb to get into even “Wild Card” contention as the season goes on.
For a hitting boost
maybe we should pinch hit Looper. Through 21 AB he’s hitting .429 with 4 walks and 2 doubles against only 4 strikeouts.
or,
the Wagonmaker. a bat with pop off the bench.
if only Tony would stop having him give up his bat with a stinkin bunt.
C'mon you Redbirds, lets prove em' wrong, again!
by yer dog first on Jun 2, 2008 10:48 AM EDT up reply actions
Looper's Batting
If he keeps up a line like that, he’d be the first pitcher to win the Silver Slugger having spent his first nine years of ML playing time as a reliever.
Even so, he’d still be the Silver Slugger with the second most career saves, to John Smoltz—who recorded all 154 of his saves after winning the SS in 1997.
Still pretty amazing. Go back two years—or even to last offseason when the Looper to rotation talk was dismissed (by myself at least) as a ploy—and told people that Braden Looper would be putting up a Silver Slugger worthy line through 12 starts in 2008 and see what kind of reaction you’d get. Aside from the surprise and wonder that would be understandable from your time travel.
micah owings will win it
even if looper put up better stats.
Rick Ankiel could throw out Chuck Norris. Easy.
Are silver sluggers voted on?
For some reason I thought that it was just arbitrarily assigned to the player at that position with the highest BA. Now that I think about it, that doesn’t make much more sense than having it voted on…
Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country
Track 'em Tigers - An SB Nation Blog for Auburn Tigers fans
voted on...
by coaches and managers, and they don’t get to vote for anyone on their team.
by launchshuttle on Jun 2, 2008 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions
man i wish the cards could get owings
I would even be tempted to package Garcia to get him. I can’t believe I actually said that
* sarcasm might be involved in this comment
Defense
is keeping them afloat. It was the #1culprit in 2007 and the #1 need in the offseason. So far it is vastly improved, leading to improved pitching stats. The defense should remain stable if they remain healthy.
The main thing still to be learned is what lboros listed as the biggest question of the offseason: will Carp be back? The short-term (2-3 year) future depends on the answer. Sadly, most of the other pitching questions are being answered negatively.
by vinniefromjersey on Jun 2, 2008 11:05 AM EDT reply actions
Hey - Perez and McLellan
Just trying to cheer you up.
Wellemeyer
I wouldn’t call that a negative answer!
"Give a man a fire, and he’ll be warm for a night. Set him on fire and he’ll be warm for the rest of his life."
really?
The only negative things I got are these two?
- Q: Will Izzy be the lights out closer he was in 2007?
A: Negative.
- Q: Will Parisi’s first Major league start be succesfull?
A: Double negative. And not in a way that makes a positive.
I’ve seen much more bright spots in pitching this year than dark spots.
I was referring
to offseason questions about Mulder, Clement, Kinney, Thompson, Johnson, Reyes. Don’t see many positives there. True, Wellemeyer is way beyond expectations, and Perez and McClellan have been pluses, but I did say “most.”
by vinniefromjersey on Jun 2, 2008 12:34 PM EDT up reply actions
I just don't get the fascination with Josh Kinney
Vinnie, I want to first point out that this “response” is in no way directed to you alone. There are a lot of people that have made the same sentiments and it’s more directed to the “idea” of these pitchers as opposed to you.
He’s (Kinney) always listed in these lists of pitchers we were apparantly counting on when the guy was a career minor leaguer who had a successful month and a half. And, frankly, I had no faith in Mulder and had major questions about Clement. Why was there such high hopes for three guys who hadn’t pitch in a year?
Formerly Big Red (victim of the SBNation upgrade)
Fascination with Kinney
He’s a great story… Kid from small town Pennsylvania—so small that he had to take a bus ride to the neighboring HS that had a baseball team. Went to college in Quincy, IL because he heard the deer hunting there was good. Cardinals scout signs him from the River Rascals. Grinds his way through the minors on the strength of his three-slider repertoire and storms on the scene to lead the team to a WS.
The elbow giving out again was tragic, and it’d make the story even better if he can beat the odds and come back effective.
Can’t speak for others, but that’s why I’m fascinated with him. Didn’t expect him to help out this season, and don’t have high hopes that he’ll be able to throw those sliders like he did before surgery any time soon.
Go back and watch him in the 2006 postseason (if you own the DVDs)
His stuff was filthy. Almost unhittable.
Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country
Track 'em Tigers - An SB Nation Blog for Auburn Tigers fans
I did watch him and I do own the dvds
But Eric Gagne was once pretty good too and he can’t pitch worth a shit now. Besides, 2006 was a season and a half ago.
Formerly Big Red (victim of the SBNation upgrade)
But we haven't seen Kinney in a season and a half
We’ve seen the downward spiral of Eric Gagne. Also, Kinney is 29, and Gagne is 32. There’s also the part about Gagne’s supposed PED use, which may make a difference.
I just would love to see the Josh Kinney from 2006 postseason.
Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country
Track 'em Tigers - An SB Nation Blog for Auburn Tigers fans
Kinney
I don’t expect him to return, just because there are too many good relievers on the team and in the pipeline… Where does he fit?
Also a lot of relivers have 1 good year and then vanish, and Kinney only had a good what month?
He is a good story and all but I don’t expect him back.
Clement
I just read over at bird land that clement will begin his rehab assignment at Palm Beach tomorrow.
does anyone actually look forward
to him making it back? Has his velocity came back at all yet? I am really tired of watching pitchers coming back from shoulder surgery throw 85 in a major league game.
* sarcasm might be involved in this comment
Lohse has panned out pretty well also...
by duncans_army on Jun 2, 2008 12:41 PM EDT up reply actions
new lohse
lohse will walk or be traded and i see clement as having a chance to be lohse-like if he can get the last bit of velocity back. i think that is why pushed him out on his rehab now, could help make a decision about lohse. just don’t think we an afford two boras contracts and rick seems likely to be more valuable in the long term.
If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, perhaps you haven't grasped the situation!
Couple other statistical notes...
Seeing the #s of two and three baggers go down and the number of ding dongs go up, I figured that the Cards would have picked up a lot more K’s during the last month as well…seeing the stats, however, proved a different tale.
March/April
167 Ks
May
175 Ks
Yes, it is more…but not significantly. Less than 1 every 3rd contest.
Aside from that, another interesting note:
April OPS+ = 105
May OPS+ = 94
Cards went from 5% above average to 6% below average – just another way to quantify what was said in the original post.
One last item:
Can the Cardinals do something different with their pinch hitting philosophy? Now, I know that usually your best players start and all that, but here is the line being put up by pinch hitters on the season (in 102 plate appearances):
16-88 (.182), 5 2b, 2 hr, 9 r, 9 rbi, 9 bb, 20 Ks. Yes, 20. .253 OBP, .307 SLG, .559 OPS, 45 OPS+
YIKES!
Alright, that’s all from me
On this gloomy day in KC.
stlfan
Didn't we have the most pinch-hits last season?
Or am I making that up
Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country
Track 'em Tigers - An SB Nation Blog for Auburn Tigers fans
off topic: a lineup I would like to see for tonights matchup
Skip RF
Shoulder Licker 2B
Mang 1B or anywhere he wants
Luddy LF
Glaus 3B
Yadi C
Ank CF
Wagonmaker P
Iz2 SS
If either Luddy or Skippy are having a bad go at it, Mather comes in; the Cardinaut is also there just in case.
Mather, Kennedy, Cardinaut, Super Mario, and Lash LaRue will be available off the bench, I dont see us needing em with this lineup.
What do yall think?
C'mon you Redbirds, lets prove em' wrong, again!
oh yeah
I forgot to mention, Iz2 CANNOT, AT ANY TIME, BAT LEFT HANDED… even in batting practice
C'mon you Redbirds, lets prove em' wrong, again!
by yer dog first on Jun 2, 2008 2:07 PM EDT up reply actions
That lineup would not do well vs the LHP
I’d prefer
Ryan 2B
Mather RF
Pujols 1B
Ludwick CF
Glaus 3B
Molina C
Barton LF
Wagonmaker P
Izturis SS
That lineup scores runs and plays good defense.
by Hardcore Legend on Jun 2, 2008 2:11 PM EDT up reply actions
I like that line-up
but feel Miles will find his way into the mix somehow. Hope the Cards can find all those doubles they didn’t hit in May.
by OKCARDSFAN_411 on Jun 2, 2008 3:02 PM EDT up reply actions
I know Ank is slumping...
...but he can hit left-handed pitching. I like him to break out of it soon. Then again, I like seeing Barton get at bats…
D.GOOCH
-- GOOCH
Isn't that the same lineup from Friday?
Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country
Track 'em Tigers - An SB Nation Blog for Auburn Tigers fans
Nice OF. Real nice.
Here’s the one we’re going with:
Miles 2b
Mather rf
Pujols 1b
Glaus 3b
Ludwick cf
Molina c
Barton lf
Wainwright p
Izturis ss
Per the Commish, via the official scorer.
yep, figured Miles would get a start
still a pretty good line-up.
You almost had it HL.
by OKCARDSFAN_411 on Jun 2, 2008 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions
I'd wager that Izturis is due for a day off
thus, Ryan gets today off and will start tomorrow instead.
by Hardcore Legend on Jun 2, 2008 6:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Keeps getting web gems
so it stands a good chance. But alot will depend on his offensive numbers (Molina knows that now).
by OKCARDSFAN_411 on Jun 2, 2008 3:10 PM EDT up reply actions
ankiel has a shot
he’s a good story and he’s been on sportscenter as much as or more than any other cardinal.
Rick Ankiel could throw out Chuck Norris. Easy.
He's also got one big advantage.
He won’t have to compete with the old guard. Edmonds and Andruw Jones are no longer gold-glove caliber.
Baseball's only fun if you're playing it, watching it, or thinking about it.
Do they award by position (RF,LF, CF)?
or the best 3 outfielders. I don’t have time to look it up as yet.
by OKCARDSFAN_411 on Jun 2, 2008 3:20 PM EDT up reply actions
Cubs have yet to have a 3 game losing streak this year
2 game losing streaks 8 times. Hard to gain on a team that does that.
I know right.
We are 7-3 in our last 10. And they are 8-2. Still. It doesn’t matter. We can’t do anything about the amount of games they win. Only thing we can do is strive to win series after series. And if we come up short that’s the way it goes.
If we win a majority of series (and avoid sweeps) from here on out
We’ll be in the postseason, regardless of what Chicago does. That’s all you can really ask for.
Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country
Track 'em Tigers - An SB Nation Blog for Auburn Tigers fans
That's all we ever want
Once in the post season…. we can always look to the perfect storm of 2006 for inspiration.
by OKCARDSFAN_411 on Jun 2, 2008 4:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Also....
I posted a few weeks back that TLR + 10 games above .500 (anytime during the season) + Cards = post season.
Hope they continue the streak.
by OKCARDSFAN_411 on Jun 2, 2008 4:34 PM EDT up reply actions
It also seems like since TLR's been here
We’ve done better in the playoffs without home field advantage. I’m thinking specifically of the 2000 and 2002 NLCS suckfests that happened though we had the home field advantage.
Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country
Track 'em Tigers - An SB Nation Blog for Auburn Tigers fans
Since TLR's been here
Record in postseason series with HFA 6-3 Record in postseason series without HFA 3-3 Record in all postseason games with HFA 23-16 Record in all postseason games without HFA 16-16
The home records are inflated by our dominance in the NLDS. We’ve only lost one NLDS series, which was on the road. If you take the NLDS out of it (which isn’t really fair, but fun to look at), our home record in series is 1-3 while our away record in series is 1-1. The overall games records are 8-15 for home field and 11-12 for no home field.
Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country
Track 'em Tigers - An SB Nation Blog for Auburn Tigers fans
Amen to that
That is a lesson I think everybody around here needs to learn. Stop worrying about what the Cubs are doing and start appreciating what the Cardinals are doing. I’ve been a victim of the “Watch the Cubs and hope they lose” game too often at the start of the season. Now I don’t even pay attention to what they are doing. It helps me enjoy redbird wins more when I’m not saying “Yah, they won 2-3, but the Cubs just won 7 in a row! It’s hopeless”.
It’s a long season. Stay in striking distance, and you can either do the Astro thing (win the wildcard, then knock the champs out in the NLCS), or the Philly thing (Stay close, and watch the Mets fall apart).
Either way, if the Cards keep playing this well, it will be at least interesting come October.
by cloistermaximus on Jun 2, 2008 5:02 PM EDT up reply actions
They've also played an unreal amount of home games this season
but so have we….should be interesting next couple of months
didn't the 85 Cardsgo the whole year
without a 3 game losing streak?
* sarcasm might be involved in this comment
Great quote from the stlcardinals.com preview for tonight's game
Over the past year, [Adam Wainwright] is second only to Brandon Webb in ERA among pitchers who have thrown at least 150 innings.
Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country
Track 'em Tigers - An SB Nation Blog for Auburn Tigers fans
Didn't realize this is AW first game
against the Pirates this year.
by OKCARDSFAN_411 on Jun 2, 2008 4:49 PM EDT up reply actions
I'm not sure they will get it in
Looks like a big storm a few hours to the west. If it’s going to rain I hope it does before the game. Would hate for us to burn up Wainright for an unofficial game.
by Merry CRasmus on Jun 2, 2008 5:37 PM EDT up reply actions
It's strange
the weather is actually moving south and west of downtown and western counties. They should get it in without a problem tonight
Cubs blow
by Where is that Juan guy on Jun 2, 2008 5:46 PM EDT up reply actions
Iron Maiden
Yesterday, Dan & Al mentioned something about TLR’s wife going to a Maiden concert. I wonder if Tony also listens to them. If so, then Up the Irons.
born Dodger blue, now dyed Cardinals red
Lineup's for tonight
CARDINALS:
Miles 2b
Mather rf
Pujols 1b
Glaus 3b
Ludwick cf
Molina c
Barton lf
Wainwright p
Izturis ss
PIRATES:
McLouth cf
Wilson ss
Sanchez 2b
Bay lf
Nady rf
LaRoche 1b
Bautista 3b
Chavez c
Gorzelanny p
Cubs blow
by Where is that Juan guy on Jun 2, 2008 5:40 PM EDT reply actions
what is the deal
with the 4 game series that end on Mondays this year? Isn’t this the 3rd one already?
* sarcasm might be involved in this comment
Did you see
that Welle was selected as NL pitcher of the month for May?
By who?
Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country
Track 'em Tigers - An SB Nation Blog for Auburn Tigers fans
The honors continue
First a colonel, and the license plate and business cards that go with that, and now NL pitcher of the month!
Better get that added to the business cards too.
by Merry CRasmus on Jun 2, 2008 6:45 PM EDT up reply actions
Any news on Pineiro
Is he still scheduled to pitch his next turn? If so, it’ll be the second time I’ll see him in DC.
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