Motte gets Apple Jacked
by DanUpBaby on Apr 7, 2009 8:15 AM EDT
Email
PrintMaybe Isringhausen, the late model version, is like Beetlejuice—you say his name enough times, even when comparing Motte favorably to him, and you get him, ready to teach yuppies everywhere a lesson and give up doubles all over the field.
In Motte's defense, he was beaten in the way we expect him to win—he went out there and fired strikes, mostly fastballs, got a number of swinging strikes, and only fell apart when he was obviously beaten. This is how a Motte blown save will look, and at least it's consistent with how a Motte save looks; one of the most infuriating things about Isringhausen's blow-ups were that they seemed predestined.
Izzy would walk out, throw a pitch or two, and it was immediately apparent that the Izzy we got that night was not the fastball-curve guy who shut teams down but the one who threw cutter after cutter out of the strikezone, nibbling and nibbling until he'd eaten the whole lead. (Eventually, of course, the good Isringhausen disappeared someplace and left us with the bad one, the little devil on both shoulders.)
This game gives us an early Motte narrative: first pitches. A cursory examination of the Gameday shows exactly one close first pitch taken, by Nate McLouth; it wouldn't make Ted Williams happy, but it's a solid strategy when Motte's gameplan is to throw a first-pitch fastball really hard somewhere in the strike zone. The good news, if there is any, is that two of those first-pitch fastballs were swung at and missed, no matter how intently they were sitting on them.
Motte will be an interesting test of Dave Duncan's mettle—as a converted catcher who gives up more hits than one would expect, given his high strikeout totals, he seems in obvious need of some coaching, but he's about as far from Dunc's wheelhouse as a pitcher could possibly be.
Lost in the Motte-down is—most everything else. The encouraging signs force themselves out in the open; Pujols got three hits, Duncan stroked a double, Wainwright seemed bizarrely intent to work on his breaking ball (did anybody else notice how often he pitched backward in the early going?) but made up for the wildness with some strikeouts.
The bullpen management, though, is more likely than most things to go unnoticed in the face of the bullpen performance. Kinney coming in in the middle of the sixth inning, runners on, seemed like an odd choice, both tactically—he's a wipeout slider specialist who still hasn't done a lot of pitching in the last two years—and for what can be inferred from it—is Kyle McClellan, heretofore the last man on the roster, a set-up man, or was La Russa aware that Kinney's early innings role was more highly leveraged?
It's too early to get much deeper than this—all the Facebook statuses bemoaning the lack of free agent help in the pen at this late hour ought to take a look at the Yankees' box score, which reiterates that this is early in the season for rookies and multi-millionaires alike. We hope that La Russa and Duncan watch a few more games before they break the glass and pull Franklin out; we should watch a few more before we break our keyboards worrying about it.
Lohse v. Snell tonight—could be another frustrater for the Cardinals if Ian Snell has remembered how to throw the ball in the strike zone. (If he watched Motte, he should have taken notes.) But at least Brendan Ryan won't be leading off, he said, fingers crossed.
420 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Snell worries me.
About 4 years ago I saw Snell pitch a no-hitter in AAA. Needless to say, he was absolutely dominant. If that pitcher shows up, we have to watch out. However, Snell has massive control issues and if that pitcher shows up, a little patience will get him out of the game early.
I thought Kinney came in
because he’s the groundball pitcher tony wanted in that situation. Nothing to do with who’s higher or lower on the ranking of our relievers.
Motte
I think Motte will be fine once he settles down. I’m glad Tony left him in the game, despite my yelling at the TV for him to do otherwise. Blowing a save can be a good lesson for a young closer.
I sure hope
..you’re right. I’m trying really hard to stay positive, and look at this blown save, like I would have on any other opening day, but it’s not any other opening day, It’s the opening day after the season where our closer, quite possibly cost us a playoff birth. I’m just praying that Motte figures it out, and we don’t have go through this again.
Jason Motte does not have the middle name "Isringhausen"
It’s much more productive to pray that TLR doesn’t call a press conference today and announce that Franklin is the closer.
Frankly
it ain’t productive either way.
by arch support on Apr 7, 2009 10:02 AM EDT up reply actions
yeah
Motte was WAY too amped up
4B - beer baseball bands blog
cmon and let the games begin
confusion will be my epitaph
I think I have more sigs than gdm now, hah!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 12:25 PM EDT up reply actions
If yesterday is a metaphor for the rest of his season, he will learn fast, well and often. . . It was brutal
An optimist is a man who upon discovering that a rose smells better than a cabbage concludes it will make better soup.
HL Mencken
vignette from the 9th
motte and molina had a long discussion at the mound right before the last pitch to ryan doumit - count of 1 ball 2 strikes. then molina went back behind the plate and motte threw a slider, which doumit bounced to second base for the second out. i wonder what that discussion was about? my guess at the time was that motte didn’t want to throw the pitch molina was calling for, and molina went out there to set him straight -- ie, we’re throwing the slider. but subsequently, motte never threw a breaking pitch after getting to two strikes -- he threw a fastball after reaching 2 strikes on laroche (which he hit for a single) and another fastball to wilson on 0-2 (double).
one other item that came to mind: derrick goold noted in a recent blog that we should watch the average velocity on motte’s strikes, as opposed to the overall velocity. yesterday it seemed like when he threw really hard, the ball sailed on him and didn’t get close to the strike zone. he had to dial it back enough to throw strikes. if anybody has time to kill, i’d be curious what the gameday data show -- ie, was his fastball velocity on strikes a couple mph lower than his overall average fastball velocity?
touched on my concerns too
I’m always in Yadi’s camp, but in this case the red flags went up during that first mound-meet. The disadvantage of not naming the closer is that your catcher, who has spent much of his time with the WBC, doesn’t have time to get a read on the guy who does close. I saw Motte actually roll his glove hand — get on with it! — to speed through the signs. Then Molina takes a stroll up.
Motte’s psychology is scarily good for a closer, IMO, and also scary. Manage his adrenaline bursts and he will keep those pitches down. What I saw from Yadi and Motte were two catchers escalating their discussion about what-not, probably the signs, ramping up the adrenaline, and breaking Motte’s rhythm. It’s a little early to tell, but it seems like Motte’s rhythm of throw, circle mound, do a crazy shake, throw again is what gets him in the groove. He was never in that groove yesterday.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there. They can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear." - THT
Good insight
I have no idea if you’re correct regarding Motte’s rhythm—I haven’t yet seen him pitch—but it’s something to think about.
by santiagofish on Apr 7, 2009 10:27 AM EDT up reply actions
+1
4B - beer baseball bands blog
cmon and let the games begin
confusion will be my epitaph
I think I have more sigs than gdm now, hah!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 12:27 PM EDT up reply actions
Motte "rolling" his glove
I saw that as well, but I just saw it as Motte needing the sign again, rather than a show of impatience. Interesting if it was impatience though.
agree with this sentiment
In that situation, the glove motion usually means, give em to me again, or give me a new one i don’t like that one.
"Baseball is like Church, many attend, few understand" - Wes Westrum
That's what I thought too
He was shaking them off with his head, looked like he’d gone through them all, then at the same time, the gesture with the glove. My first read, which could well be mistaken, was “Hang on, does he want Yadi to skip to the sign he wants?”
Unsubstantiated guess is that Yadi wanted to calm him down and slow him down, and Motte wanted to get into his groove, which from what little I’ve seen, is very quick and has a certain crazy beat to it. Misunderstanding ensues.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there. They can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear." - THT
MY sense, for what it's worth
is that Motte lost confidence in his “new” slider and “change” when it came to the big game. I think he just wanted to pump it in there because that’s what he’s comfortable with. The Molina colloquy seems consistent with that.
I think he’ll ultimately be fine and that this is just a hiccup.
So says, Titus Pullo (formerly The Dude)
I was OK with the 0-2 fastball to Wilson
The placement is what got him. He needed it above the letters, not right at the bottom edge. I was hoping he’d climb the ladder on Wilson. He just didn’t execute.
The artist formerly known as...
Mr Redbird @ Viva El Birdos
PowerOfDixieland @ Track Em Tigers, other SEC blogs
by jd is legend on Apr 7, 2009 11:13 AM EDT up reply actions
Other way around I think
Look at this article from this morning from Fungoes, it details exactly what went wrong and really with Wilson up was a BAD thing to throw him.
http://stl-sabr.bajink.com/fungoes/?p=1740
"People call me El Hombre," Pujols said. "But only Stan is the Man."
I'm saying out of the strike zone
Not in the upper part of the strike zone
The artist formerly known as...
Mr Redbird @ Viva El Birdos
PowerOfDixieland @ Track Em Tigers, other SEC blogs
by jd is legend on Apr 7, 2009 11:20 AM EDT up reply actions
Isn't that the type of pitch Molina missed with Wainwright?
I was only listening on the radio but wasn’t that what caused the passed ball? And while hotzones are mostly for in the strike zone pitches I would still assume something slightly higher he would have still hit. Unless you mean throw something so high he could only chop at it or get under it yet it was close enough that he would be goated into swinging.
"People call me El Hombre," Pujols said. "But only Stan is the Man."
Not sure Molina was ready for the Wainwright pitch though
Yes, I’m talking about a pitch so high he could only chop at it or get under it, but close enough that he would at least think about swinginig
The artist formerly known as...
Mr Redbird @ Viva El Birdos
PowerOfDixieland @ Track Em Tigers, other SEC blogs
by jd is legend on Apr 7, 2009 11:30 AM EDT up reply actions
I really wanted to see him throw a change up there. You figure Wilson is looking for the heat and might get out in front of it or just miss altogether.
*Rasmus is to CF as Longoria is to 3B*
Change it up
To me it looked like that high fastball is the pitch wilson was just sitting on
Doesn't directly answer your question, but
this Pitch Plot shows about what you are asking.
My quick calc of pulling numbers from the plot show that the strikes were around 1 mph slower. Pretty small sample size.
Goold on Motte's velocity
In Birdland’s new “10@10” post (which is hopefully will work out to be a daily occurence):
Motte spent all of spring training showing that he had command of an effective slider, and two of the outs he got last night were on the slider or setup by the slider. He just didn’t throw it often. According to MLB.com’s pitch-tracking system, of Motte’s 29 pitches, 23 were 95 mph or more. Twenty-one were 96 mph or better. LaRoche saw three pitches. They were 97, 98 and 97. It was clear the Pirates were timing Motte. Others will, too.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
Doumit was way out in front of a (first-pitch?) slider
Hit a dribbler foul down the first-base line. Then he saw three straight fastballs, and then grounded out to second on a slider.
I mean, you could actually see the batters starting their swings super early to cheat on the fastball. This is something Motte is going to have to deal with, and he’s going to have to show that he can use that slider legitimately, and not just as a show pitch.
When he threw the slider, it seemed to work
As you said, the Pirates were cheating horribly to catch up to the fastball. I should look at Pitch F/X to see about the break…
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
by bgh on Apr 7, 2009 1:33 PM EDT up reply actions
Sleep on it?
Mornin’ Cards fans,
I caught the tail-end (i.e., the worst part) of last night’s game out here at a neighborhood bar in Pirates’ country. Like most of you, I was incredibly frustrated and had some feelings of deja vu, to be sure.
So I get home and just couldn’t wait to see the VivaElReactions. Man, wow.
I’m not going to really come down on either side of things….I think fans have every right to be upset and frustrated and I also recognize that it’s the first effin’ game of the season.
What I will ask is, has everyone heard that “great” advice about maintaining a good marriage? You know, the one about “never go to bed angry?”
Well as a married guy, I’m here to tell you that such advice is about the dumbest, most unrealistic thing ever. Sometimes you’re just wicked-pissed and the whole “don’t go to bed angry” bit just makes things worse because you stay up ruminating on stuff and/or simply digging into one another.
So, now that we’ve all (presumably) slept on it, hopefully we can feel a bit better today. We can all recognize each others’ perspectives and while we might not agree with them, we can certainly appreciate where the other person might have been coming from. And hopefully that stuff we ourselves were so worked up about last night has been put into perspective a bit and we realize it isn’t as big of a deal as we were making it.
Sure, the lost is incredibly frustrating and we all wonder why the eff we can’t beat the freakin’ Pirates (note: they have left-handed pitching), but having slept on it, is everyone gonna be okay? Can we try to move forward? I think this team has a lot of intriguing pieces and if nothing else, it’s gonna be fun to watch some of our young guys grow up at the major league level for a change.
Just my 2 cents….
Go Cards!
by goodymobb on Apr 7, 2009 8:47 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Agreed. Perspective can be
hard to maintain, but it’s really necessary. One thing that helped me is that right after seeing our Birds’ implosion yesterday, I caught the last innings of the O’s dropping a nice beating on the Yankees and CC Sabathia. A game in which Cesar Izturis went deep! So things are all happy-sunny here in Charm City. But as a reflection of baseball reality, what does a game in which the Orioles pound the Yankees with the help of the power-hitting Iz2 really tell us? Does anyone think that outcome will mean jack in 4 months when the O’s are 22 games out?
by MdRedbirdFreak on Apr 7, 2009 9:18 AM EDT up reply actions
oh
I am still going to watch just about every game this season, and I’m still excited about the team, it’s just that that opener ressurrected ghosts of ’08 (pirates, bullpen, etc)
4B - beer baseball bands blog
cmon and let the games begin
confusion will be my epitaph
I think I have more sigs than gdm now, hah!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 12:35 PM EDT up reply actions
Snell
CANDICE BERGEN: Hi, I’m Murphy Brown, you must be my new secretary.
KRAMER: Oh, good morning, Miss Brown.
CANDICE BERGEN: And you are…?
KRAMER: Oh, I’m uh, Steven Snell.
CANDICE BERGEN: Snell. Well, hello, Mr. Snell.
KRAMER: Steven.
CANDICE BERGEN: Steven. Are you familiar with this computer system?
KRAMER: Oh – I’m familiar with it.
CANDICE BERGEN: Steven Snell? I know people…and I have a very good feeling about you.
(Episode ends with Kramer typing rapidly on his keyboard as he takes a bite out of a donut.)
Lou Brock loves Lamp.
I totally forgot that Murphy Brown was on long enough for those two shows to overlap.
They say that it's never too late, but you don't get any younger...
It was actually LaRussa's fault
Bear with me for a second here. You have bases loaded, 2 outs and the score is 4-3. The second the ball came off of Wilson’s bat I yelled to myself "WHY THE HELL ARE THE OUTFIELDERS PLAYING SO SHALLOW!! They were playing mid field. That ball definitely could have been caught if they were playing deep. If it would have been the bottom of the ninth, I could have seen the point of playing shallow in an effort to stop the winning run from scoring from second on a single. But that wasn’t the case. There was absolutely no reason to let a ball get to the wall in that situation. It was LaRussa’s call to have the outfielders play shallow and it was the wrong call. So I actually don’t blame Motte at all. If the outfielders would have been deep, Wilson’s ball would have been caught, Motte would have a save and everybody would have gone home happy with a 4-3 win. Just my two cents.
Oh Well, we lost the “first game” last year and ended up being one of the best teams of the first couple months. Going to the game tonight. GO CARDS!!!
Sorry, can't fault TLR at all for that
You have a slap hitter at the plate, you play your outfielders shallow so that only one run scores on a base hit.
It burned him yesterday, but more often than not, that is absolutely the right call.
Proper allignment, in my opinion
Wilson is a singles hitter who does not have a lot of pop in his bat. However, when you groove a letters-high 95+ mph fastball in there, even Wilson can lift it to the wall. Motte missed his spot and we lost. I’d have preferred something in on the hands, but Motte left it out and over.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
"even Wilson can lift it to the wall"
Off-topic: Speaking of which, who noticed that Iz2 homered for the Orioles yesterday?
Between Lopez and Iz2, yesterday was a monster day for 2008 Cardinal middle infielders.
Jack Wilson is not a slap hitter
he’s a dead pull hitter. Always has been. And he’s always pulled the ball for power against the Cardinals, at least in the last 2 years.
by Hardcore Legend on Apr 7, 2009 12:35 PM EDT up reply actions
I checked his spray chart
Interesting thing is that though he is a dead pull hitter, he hit absolutely nothing to left field at Busch in 2008. At PNC he drove all of one ball deep to right all year long. Odd. I wonder if La Genius knew.
"There are children who frequent this blog. Angry, insane children." - RB, Opening Day 2009
What site to you use for spray charts?
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
Sorry, forgot to include link to mlb.com
"There are children who frequent this blog. Angry, insane children." - RB, Opening Day 2009
they were "shallow"
b/c Jack Wilson was at the plate and they needed to be able to throw the runner at 2nd out at the plate. Rasmus should’ve been in the game — he’s easily our best defensive OF. If he’s in LF, that ball’s an out. Honestly, though, he should’ve been in CF in place of Ankiel (our worst defensive OF) in which case the ball still likely wouldn’t have been caught. They weren’t too shallow, however.
Chuck,
So, you’re saying that Colby Rasmus should be playing CF because he is our best defensive OFer? What a novel idea…
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
by bgh on Apr 7, 2009 1:25 PM EDT up reply actions
Ankiel is worse than Chris Duncan defensively?
They say that it's never too late, but you don't get any younger...
Not on our roster he isn't.
And not in yesterday’s game.
They say that it's never too late, but you don't get any younger...
Duncan isn't THAT bad in LF
Not good, but not a true abomination like some people make him out to be. Sure, he always looks like he’s about to fall over, but that’s pretty much how he moves in all facets of the game; that’s just how he moves. I care more about results than how pretty they look, and Duncan gets (I think) an unfair spotlight on his defense. He makes an occasional gaffe out there, but so do our other OFs — it just isn’t seen as evidence of their bumblingness when they do it.
His arm is pathetic and he doesn’t exactly glide to the ball, but in the end I think he’s got surprising range for someone of his size and athleticism. He can pass as an OF in my book, even if he’s really best at 1B.
I was annoyed by the OF defense at the end of the game
Clearly Tony wanted to get Skip in the game because he “deserved” it, so Skip ended up pinch-hitting and ultimately facing a left-handed pitcher. And then when Duncan got on base, they pinch-ran with Thurston instead of Rasmus…I dunno. It was pretty clear to me that Tony felt bad about not starting Skip against Maholm, and so he made a point to get him in there even though it didn’t really make sense given that Grabow was warming up in the bullpen.
Indeed
Doesn’t mean I think it was a good plan. After all, Schu didn’t start because he’s generally pathetic against lefties — something like a .208 career SLG. So why force him into a late-game situation where he’s going to face a lefty? Makes no sense unless you’re just trying to get him into the game.
Starting lineup
Reading it, it felt as if TLR purposely started who he started in certain lineup spots precisely so he could substitute so freely in the later innings. As if the plan all along was for 1/3 of the lineup not to make it through the 7th inning.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
by bgh on Apr 7, 2009 3:01 PM EDT up reply actions
Gregerson
If it makes everyone feel better, Luke Gregerson made his mlb debut and pitched a scoreless ninth for the Pads last night. (1H, 1BB, 2SO)
It will be interesting to see
If they claim Perdomo off waivers. I would think he could help them right away.
Happy Birthday!
You know having your mom as a commenter on your blogs sure has to force you to relook at what you type :)
"People call me El Hombre," Pujols said. "But only Stan is the Man."
In Espanol!
¡Los Cumpleaños felices, Dan!
C'mon you Redbirds, lets prove em' wrong, again!
by yer dog first on Apr 7, 2009 10:09 AM EDT up reply actions
Happy birthday
Dan – I hope it’s a good one.
Happy Birthday Dan!!
Now’s a good time to ask to be taken to “run the bases day.” That’s what I’d do, anyway.
"There are children who frequent this blog. Angry, insane children." - RB, Opening Day 2009
I had
never seen Motte pitch until I watched a recap, despite the BS that guy can really throw HARD
Unfortunately he throws straight as well
and hard and straight can be hit a long way in the major leagues.
He needs to use the slider more.
and locate the ball well
I saw a few of them that he pitched right down the middle, that’s just not gonna fly… well, it might fly outta the park
4B - beer baseball bands blog
cmon and let the games begin
confusion will be my epitaph
I think I have more sigs than gdm now, hah!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 12:40 PM EDT up reply actions
The Sky is Falling
Good grief. It’s one game. I still have man-love for Motte. I didn’t usually get frustrated with Izzy and Franklin until May-June. Give the kid some time. He’s fun to watch and these sort of blowups are probably going to happen once in a while. And if he can’t get it done, TLR won’t hesitate to make a change.
Some people seem to be worried Tony will resort to his past closer-stubbornness
I’m not too sure though. I really think he sees Motte as “the guy right now” rather than “our guy” in the closer position. That said he’s smart enough to know that one game is a lousy reason to go all chicken little.
Yes, and what can Tony do? Put Franklin out there in the 9th?
That will blow up in his face too. Thank you, John Mozeliak, for making Tony trust the kids; it’s the only way forward.
by MdRedbirdFreak on Apr 7, 2009 10:11 AM EDT up reply actions
To paraphrase a great Missourian, reports of our death are an exaggeration.
One game cannot and will not make me change my optimistic outlook of our youth movement. I could barely believe the stuff I was hearing on the radio this morning from people who are supposed to know about these things. Ah well. When/if Applesauce gets into his rhythm and starts fooling major leaguers with his 88 mph “changeup” people will start to feel differently.
agreed
Driving home last night listening to 101.1 was unbearable. i listened for about 15 minutes hoping someone would bring a quality perspective to the show and it never happened. it was awful analysis.
"Sorry about him, he's dealing with being an inker. " - Chasing Amy
He can call up Perez
who is presumably in Memphis to work on his secondary pitches. If Motte fails, I woudln’t be surprised to see the two of them switch places.
They say that it's never too late, but you don't get any younger...
That's exactly one of the points I tried to make to my overreacting friends today.
It’s not like Perez is gone forever and it’s Motte or nothing. That said, I will again state that it’s silly to expect Motte to fail because of last night (I totally know you aren’t saying that, I just have to say this to myself a couple more times as my own way of telling the wailing teeth-gnashing mob that they’re being stupid)
exactly
4B - beer baseball bands blog
cmon and let the games begin
confusion will be my epitaph
I think I have more sigs than gdm now, hah!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 12:40 PM EDT up reply actions
Personally...
I think Perez is the better closer. Motte, to me at least, represents that kind of guy that comes in to face 1 or 2 hitters earlier in the game. Motte should still see very high leverage situations, but I just think that Perez should be the 9th inning guy. I know you numbers guys generally disagree with me, but there is no substitute for experience in the closer role. Perez has been a closer his WHOLE CAREER, including at Miami.
Baseball's only fun if you're playing it, watching it, or thinking about it.
Just something to think about.....
the other New York team, who spent those millions on the back end the bullpen seemed to do a pretty good job yesterday, so just cuz the Yankees sucked doesn’t mean not spending money was a good thing. Again just something to think about.
unless you miss the playoffs by one game
then it takes on a whole new dimension
4B - beer baseball bands blog
cmon and let the games begin
confusion will be my epitaph
I think I have more sigs than gdm now, hah!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 12:41 PM EDT up reply actions
What about the other 59 losses?
Couldn’t those have been the difference?
by Hardcore Legend on Apr 7, 2009 12:42 PM EDT up reply actions
ok
1/59th
4B - beer baseball bands blog
cmon and let the games begin
confusion will be my epitaph
I think I have more sigs than gdm now, hah!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 1:10 PM EDT up reply actions
Every regular season game
will count equally in the standings though, as long as there are no ties.
and no one game playoffs to resolve divisional ties
They say that it's never too late, but you don't get any younger...
that is true
but when he breaks down they have JJ putz to pick up the slack(he also got a hold yesterday).
Just something else to think about
Just because the Mets had success in one game, doesn’t mean spending money would have been a good thing.
Fuentes
picked up a save.
"Stats are for losers," Muschamp said after last week's victory. "I like winning games."
Good for him
the fact is, he was never going to sign here. The Cardinals offered him more than the Angels, but he was dead set on pitching in California
Is that right?
I wasn’t aware we offered him more…link, maybe?
The artist formerly known as...
Mr Redbird @ Viva El Birdos
PowerOfDixieland @ Track Em Tigers, other SEC blogs
by jd is legend on Apr 7, 2009 11:18 AM EDT up reply actions
Nah, we didn't
The Angels offered him a vesting third year option based on games finished. We didn’t do that. Assuming he stays healthy, he’ll get 3/$30m, I believe.
Over the two guaranteed years, yes
Clarification on Fuentes contract:
2009: $8.5M
2010: $9M
2011: $9M vesting option*
*2011 option guaranteed with 55 GF in 2010
Ah. Yeah, that extra year is a pretty big deal-sweetener.
However, that doesn’t prove he wasn’t intent on the West Coast either.
Oh I think he was
I just hear the “we offered more” thing a lot. In fact, I used to say it until someone set me straight on that.
55 GF isn’t a small amount, plus the Angels could demote him to setup man if his performance slips in order to avoid paying out on that (Arredondo is more than capable as a closer already, not to mention Scot Shields). So it’s not really a sure-thing option to have an option based on GF in the second year of the contract.
But yeah, I definitely think he wanted to go to the west coast. I wonder if Mo wouldn’t have matched that option. I think it’s a pretty good idea for the Angels, personally.
c'mon you guys
don’t ruin a perfectly good snit with logic.
by lboros on Apr 7, 2009 10:11 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
The pick means
the most to me. I’ll take the pick over Fuentes. Hopefully Motte (or Perez – or whoever) can get it done over the course of the season.
And if they don't.....
We have a pick, and no playoffs to show for it.
"Stats are for losers," Muschamp said after last week's victory. "I like winning games."
Who's to say we'd make the playoffs if we had Fuentes?
He doesn’t guarantee us anything.
Patiently awaiting the day Colby Rasmus does this: .275/.381/.551/.932, 29HR, in St. Louis...
by RunninRedbird on Apr 7, 2009 12:18 PM EDT up reply actions
cmon man
fuentes wasn’t going to sign here unless we gave him a truckload of cash
4B - beer baseball bands blog
cmon and let the games begin
confusion will be my epitaph
I think I have more sigs than gdm now, hah!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 12:42 PM EDT up reply actions
And that's the real reason why it's a bad idea.
Fuentes precludes a midseason trade, or any number of other things.
They say that it's never too late, but you don't get any younger...
The Fuentes contract
will have to be judged over the course of all 3 seasons he plays there to determine the value added. And you have to consider that the Cards would have had to pay more than the Angels did.
false
answer is: 0. folks have been bitching about fuentes all winter.
How depressing is it being you? Is it closer to being a lifelong cubs fan or being born without lips? - Janitor
by themanthemyth on Apr 7, 2009 11:05 AM EDT up reply actions
too bad he didn't want to pitch here
4B - beer baseball bands blog
cmon and let the games begin
confusion will be my epitaph
I think I have more sigs than gdm now, hah!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 12:41 PM EDT up reply actions
Dissapointing
It was a harsh way to end what I thought was a pretty good baseball game. But like others have said, it’s all about perspective. Motte didn’t get wild, he didn’t give in and he was beat. We have seen that his stuff can be great and that’s why I’m not worried about him. I think we all knew going into the game, given the lineup, that there wasn’t going to be a ton of offense. Wainwright was a bit shaky but when he left the game, it was 2-0. My real fear is with Miller and Kinney and specifically the way La Russa will use them. Both have good stuff but Kinney is still a bit unproven and Miller was unreal last year.
But whatever. We win tonight and we can start again. It was great to see Ludwick have a nice game and the mang was the man. Big surprise.
PS
Great post DanUp. Post like these are truly what separates this site from the other, umm, gathering places for Cardinal Nation.
proceed with caution
I do not know whether this is a sign that Motte can’t handle the closer role or just a bad day with a good learning lesson but I do know one thing, it is another example of how pure power pitching can have a relative short life in getting hitters out at the major league level if you can’t develop other pitches to vary speed from pitch to pitch.
Example: Rob Dibble, he threw harder than Motte. He was "frighting fast" with more movement on his FB than Motte but had little else. Like Motte has done, he developed a mediocre slider at the major league level that put strain on his arm and in a short time was down on his speed and hittable. He didn’t last long. Over the years, there have been many like Motte and Dibble. Ryan Duren for another ex.
Personally, I don’t like fastball, hard slider pitchers. (although Gibson made it work) It’s too hard on the arm. It is not enough variation of speed and the sliders fail to break to often causing too many big bangs resulting in short lived pitchers.
Fastball, curveball pitchers I like. Sandy Koufax ate hitters up because he had that big Wainwright curve. He was the only pitcher I have ever seen that if he got 0 and 2, or 1 and 2, never waisted a pitch, he either poured that 99 MPH fastball by you or gave you that big sweeping curve that he could throw for a strike anytime. If you look at Motte’s fastball and Wainwright’s curve, you are pretty much looking at what Koufax was.
I don’t know why baseball got away from teaching the curve and fell in love with the slider. Major league pitching was at it’s peak from the early fifties to the late seventies with many great pitchers. (all curveball, fastball pitchers). They pitched more innings and less arm trouble. Then came the slider fad. I think it was because of the Bob Gibson success but not everybody is Bob Gibson.
I honestly don’t believe that Motte will last long if doesn’t develop a curve or split finger pitch. I would take out of the closer role and develop his talent at a slower pace in some lesser role. I fear a good pitcher ruined early.
Mike Shannon was saying..
he was throwing a decent change last night. Probably just his lack of break slider, but if he is working on a change I think it could be a great complement to his heat!
Sometimes I wonder,
"Why is that frisbee getting bigger?"
...and then it hits me!!
LaRoche
Quote from the P-D:
Adam LaRoche singled on a 94 mph fastball, and Eric Hinske followed with a well-placed shot down the left-field line on a 96 mph fastball. Motte faced five consecutive lefthanded batters. Only two of the pitches he threw to them were under 90 mph. Three reached base, including one when hit by a pitch.
“He throws hard, but he’s going to get hit hard if he doesn’t find something else to go with it,” LaRoche said. “As a hitter, you just need to get your foot down and start everything a little early.”
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
his changeup looked great imo
he needs to locate that fastball really well though, because it doesn’t have a lot of movement
4B - beer baseball bands blog
cmon and let the games begin
confusion will be my epitaph
I think I have more sigs than gdm now, hah!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 12:57 PM EDT up reply actions
Then again
A guy with a great fastball and good slider can dominate over the long haul. Billy Wagner and Randy Johnson leap to mind.
Interesting post here. None of those guys are Motte, mind you (i.e. Lowe and his outstanding sinker), but worth a read.
C'mon,
How much pressure was on that kid?
He had to have heard all the fuss last year about Izzy and here he is to close out the win in the home opener.
He had to be nervous/pumped as hell.
He had trouble with his control and he is better than that performance.
Tony broke him in right now let’s hope he really does have that closer mentality and he doesn’t dwell to long on the BS.
*Rasmus is to CF as Longoria is to 3B*
+1
Once he gets that first save he should be fine. anything less than 31 blown saves and he’s an improvement, so the ceiling isn’t high. He got the first one out of the way, so now the pressure is off of him to have a circa 2008 Brad Lidge campaign
now he knows
the worst of it, the big blown save, and he doesn’t really have to fear that anymore, at least to a lesser extent
4B - beer baseball bands blog
cmon and let the games begin
confusion will be my epitaph
I think I have more sigs than gdm now, hah!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 12:59 PM EDT up reply actions
yup
they mentioned that he threw a ton of pitches in the bullpen in a short period of time, he was so amped up
4B - beer baseball bands blog
cmon and let the games begin
confusion will be my epitaph
I think I have more sigs than gdm now, hah!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 12:58 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree with the analysis
my 2009 ulcer might have started, but I’m not discouraged. I blame the whole game on Maholm’s intimidation tactics at the plate. He must have threatened the lives of the cardinals pitchers families, because they wanted nothing to do with him, and that set up the continuation of N. Morgan domination.
Looks like Dawson in that picture to me.
Whatever that actor’s name is. Was in Varsity Blues too. I don’t want your life!
haha i just watched jay and silent bob strike back
he did a good job of making fun of himself in that movie
Oh yeah...
I can respect that. Best part of that film has to be Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season.
I knew it too
But only because the accent was so horrible in Varsity Blues, it’s something that’s stuck with me.
The artist formerly known as...
Mr Redbird @ Viva El Birdos
PowerOfDixieland @ Track Em Tigers, other SEC blogs
Playing baseball for Pittsburgh might have been your life...
I DON’T WANT YOUR LIFE!!!
/bad accent
hecanthithecanthithecanthithecanthit
Looks kinda emo
Saw it in the gameday pic yesterday, see it in this pic.
Playing for a New York team is too conformist.
The artist formerly known as...
Mr Redbird @ Viva El Birdos
PowerOfDixieland @ Track Em Tigers, other SEC blogs
The Cardinals haven't beat the pirates since July of '08
My revised description of a successful season in ’09:
Have a winning record against the Pirates.
by cloistermaximus on Apr 7, 2009 10:35 AM EDT reply actions
Nyjer Morgan is the new Jason Michaels
I’m going to have nightmares about broken bat singles!
(Though he did make one pretty awful play in LF to help us out a bit.)
heh
4B - beer baseball bands blog
cmon and let the games begin
confusion will be my epitaph
I think I have more sigs than gdm now, hah!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 12:59 PM EDT up reply actions
Maholm pitched a great game and hit to boot. Very Wainwright of him.
These Pie Rats have some decent young pitchers.
*Rasmus is to CF as Longoria is to 3B*
we made it easy on him
too many short counts and freeswinging from the less experienced batters (ryan, barden). pujols, ludwick, duncan, etc. can do whatever they want but i would prefer to see our contact hitters working counts.
How depressing is it being you? Is it closer to being a lifelong cubs fan or being born without lips? - Janitor
by themanthemyth on Apr 7, 2009 11:02 AM EDT up reply actions
Is what Barden does "swinging"?
He looked horrendous at the plate. So bad that I felt he should not be on a MLB roster.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
good point
both he and ryan looked lost.
How depressing is it being you? Is it closer to being a lifelong cubs fan or being born without lips? - Janitor
by themanthemyth on Apr 7, 2009 11:39 AM EDT up reply actions
Freese
The St. Louisan seemed to swing at everything. He needs to adopt a more patient approach. Ryan, I thought, looked okay, though he, too, swung early and often. Barden looked overmatched. Freese needs to show more patience. I wonder if this was the scouting report, though? I remember when the Cards would go up there hacking early and often against The Big Giant Unit during our rivalry with the purple-and-turquoise Diamondbacks of yore. Seemed like a similar approach yesterday.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
Boog
Ryan saw two pitches in his first two ABs. Not a good approach for a leadoff hitter at all, even though one of them was a single. Maholm was efficient last night, partially because we weren’t all that patient against him. I believe he had something like 70 pitches through 6 innings.
Watching Barden last night caused my friend to develop an irrational hatred for him
We were at the game and every time he came up, my buddy was just like, “This guy sucks. He’s just terrible.” He knew nothing about him, but he just decided that he hated his guts. He hated his throwing motion, he looked terrible at the plate…whatever it was, my buddy hates his guts now.
On the flip side, he was so happy to see Barden leave the game that he fell in love with David Freese.
Anyway, I’m not a huge fan of Barton, either. Barton is just so damn “okay.” He’s got OK on-base skills, OK power for a MIF, he’s OK sized, his arm is OK, his glove is OK, he has OK speed. Everything is okay. He’s just so boring.
Barton, or Barden?
Home cookin' at Bake McBlog
Same thing happened with my friend
Except we were at a bar, watching on HD indoors. (Ankiel’s beard looks glorious in HD, btw, and Motte looks that much more ferocious.) After Barden’s first AB, he demanded to know where in the hell this guy came from and why he was playing, let alone starting. He then went on a rant about TLR. Things escalated with every AB with rejoicing at Freese’s being subbed in.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
by bgh on Apr 7, 2009 3:06 PM EDT up reply actions
Someone that went to the game
said that the fans stood up and started getting all jacked up for the end of the game too early; possibly adding to the pressure on Motte. was this an accurate report? And the booing was probably a bad idea (this early)
Isn't that normal on Opening Day?
The fans are always more jacked up, throughout the game, on Opening Day.
I would suspect that many of the players were also more jacked up than normal as well for the occasion.
And it's normal for a rookie closer to get the jitters
we’ll see how he does over the next couple of weeks.
They say that it's never too late, but you don't get any younger...
Thats exactly what I said
while in the car last night I could feel his jitters over the radio. As soon as Wilson hit that double my only comment was “thats what you get with a rookie closer on opening day”. He could have been rock solid but I don’t blame him for not having full control or velocity.
"People call me El Hombre," Pujols said. "But only Stan is the Man."
Nah
That’s not true. The fans got really excited for the last out, but other than the increased applause due to it being the 9th inning, there wasn’t a whole lot of extra noise. The game was a relatively low-action one and it was pretty damn cold by the 9th inning. I was surprised how little excitement there was, actually.
i haven't pitched since little league...
so all i have for reference is throwing 60mph fastballs in 80 degree weather….those of you that have more experience than me answer me this: would the bitter cold of yesterday have affected waino’s control late and motte’s fastball velocity? i know when i am outside in the cold, my hands are usually numb, and i gotta think that would be the case for a pitcher as well
not saying its the excuse, because the pirates were dealing with the same cold…but since both of our guys throw “harder” than the pirates pitchers, could it have affected motte and A.D.A.M more?
I hated pitching in cold weather
i played in college by chicago and hated the beginning of the season. I only threw about 72 mph or so, but threw a lot of curve balls and my curveball grip was very unorthodox and required a lot of pressure and grip on the ball, so I tended to have problems on colder days when i couldn’t feel my fingers.
but, as you said, the Pirates pitchers had to deal with it too.
I couldn't throw a curve on cold days
the ball felt slick and strange. Slider I could throw.
"There are children who frequent this blog. Angry, insane children." - RB, Opening Day 2009
Doubtful
If there’s anyone on the field who’s staying warm, it’s the pitcher — the constant motion and adrenaline have always been enough to give me good grip on the ball unless it’s REALLY cold. I pitch in the St. Louis cold spring often (I’m a pitcher for a college here in town), and once I’m warmed up I’m generally good to go.
Now that said, a pitcher can get cold over the course of a long break between innings, if it’s really cold. I’ve had it happen that my team scored a lot of runs and I got cold in the dugout while I waited. But this can be avoided by a combination of a) a nice heavy coat to wear between innings, b) an at-bat that keeps the blood flowing, c) hand-warmers! or d) heated dugouts like they have at Busch. I doubt that would be much of a problem for a major leaguer.
The only other thing I’ve ever had trouble with is getting loose again after a long wait. If you do get cold between innings, those warm-up tosses before the next inning can be really key to loosening yourself up again.
Now standing in the field, that’s a different story. It can get really miserable out there, and you can really start to lose the feeling in your fingers which can make it hard to throw. Not to mention that your glove hand can get pretty cold, which makes it painful to catch the ball and harder to squeeze it (though I never wore a batting glove under my mitt). Fielders often keep hand-warmers in their back pocket. So they can stick their throwing hand in there between pitches.
I did find myself wondering if some of the sloppiness in the game yesterday could be attributed to fielders who were stiff in the cold.
You’d have to think a bit, yesterday was quite brutal – especially for spring standards. Being in FL for that long has to be the biggest tease for our guys yet.
One Century down, next on its way. Cardinals '09 : Preserving the Cubs tradition.
by AdjustedExpectations on Apr 7, 2009 1:56 PM EDT up reply actions
DanUp:
I assume the photo caption of “pirate choppers and applesauce” is not the AP, but is you, correct?
I dig the obscure Brady Bunch reference.
Per Rotoworld
Colby Rasmus will make his MLB debut tonight. I assume that means he’s starting, but it only says that he will play.
And there was much rejoicing.
The artist formerly known as...
Mr Redbird @ Viva El Birdos
PowerOfDixieland @ Track Em Tigers, other SEC blogs
STLToday quote
Both Rasmus’ mother and father, Tony, his coach for most of his baseball life, had driven from Alabama, to witness their son’s major-league baptism but they rearranged their plans to stay tonight for the second game, after manager Tony La Russa told Rasmus he would start against Pittsburgh righthander Ian Snell.
"People call me El Hombre," Pujols said. "But only Stan is the Man."
Ludwick sitting?
This OF alignment with three lefties is odd. I’m interested, more than anything in this early season to see how TLR manages at bats for the outfielders.
Luddy v Snell
1 for 11 (SMALL SAMPLE) with a single and six strikeouts for a robust .091. the single was in his last at bat so maybe Ludwick is getting a feel for Snell.
Probably gonna be Duncan sitting so his neck can rest.
1 for 11 isn't THAT small when it's a single batter facing a single pitcher
I feel like I’ve heard of TLR sitting a guy against someone because he’s 0 for 2 lifetime or something like that.
Also, Duncan is 1 for 11 against Snell as well.
The artist formerly known as...
Mr Redbird @ Viva El Birdos
PowerOfDixieland @ Track Em Tigers, other SEC blogs
by jd is legend on Apr 7, 2009 11:59 AM EDT up reply actions
It looks like Lud or Ank
Both have bad stats vs Snell
"People call me El Hombre," Pujols said. "But only Stan is the Man."
OK, so apparently none of our outfielders have good stats against Snell
Schu at 2B, Freese at 3B. Outfield of Barden, Thurston, Ryan.
sweet
going to the game tonight. missing another game thread, but that’s probably a good thing if it looks anything like the one i missed last night… a lot of people went waaaay off the deep end.
I'm not sure I even want to go in there
4B - beer baseball bands blog
cmon and let the games begin
confusion will be my epitaph
I think I have more sigs than gdm now, hah!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 1:04 PM EDT up reply actions
imagine wrigley outfield bleachers
"People call me El Hombre," Pujols said. "But only Stan is the Man."
Why Cry Over Spilled Sauce?
Time to look forward as The Colby Rasmus Era begins today. Too bad the parents had to change their plans and stay an extra day, I’m sure they’re eager to return to the great state of Alabama. Who wouldn’t be? This part did give me pause.
As a coach, Tony Rasmus’ expectations are high for Colby, as well as Cory Rasmus, a highly drafted pitcher in the Atlanta system, and younger brothers Cyle and Case. When he didn’t think Colby Rasmus was being treated fairly by folks on the Internet last year, Tony Rasmus wasn’t reluctant to leap to his son’s defense.
“I wouldn’t say nothing’s ever good enough for him,” said Colby Rasmus, smiling. “He sets the bar pretty high.”
Colby, Cory, Cyle and Case?!?!?!? Spell check says Cyle is misspelled and I say Case is not even a name, it’s the amount of beer consumed at my place last night.
"Do what you want to the women and children but leave me alone"- George Carlin
by That's a Winner on Apr 7, 2009 11:49 AM EDT reply actions
Hey now
Not all of Alabama is bad. I mean, I grew up there, and look at me! (nobody respond to that)
However, I will say this. Colby grew up in Phenix City, which is completely nasty.
The artist formerly known as...
Mr Redbird @ Viva El Birdos
PowerOfDixieland @ Track Em Tigers, other SEC blogs
by jd is legend on Apr 7, 2009 12:02 PM EDT up reply actions
Took me a while to find it
Damn youtube yielding to copyright laws. English version of Alabama Man. And JD, they do have a disclaimer at the end.
"Do what you want to the women and children but leave me alone"- George Carlin
by That's a Winner on Apr 7, 2009 12:42 PM EDT up reply actions
I like the disclaimer
By the way, that was a kind of tongue-in-cheek defense of my home state. I know there are some problems with some of the people there, but there are some nice places, too. (Actually, that sounds like alot of states)
The artist formerly known as...
Mr Redbird @ Viva El Birdos
PowerOfDixieland @ Track Em Tigers, other SEC blogs
hopefully the Rasmus era
starts a little differently than the Motte era ;)
4B - beer baseball bands blog
cmon and let the games begin
confusion will be my epitaph
I think I have more sigs than gdm now, hah!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 1:04 PM EDT up reply actions
2 Blown Saves in the First Game
It’s important to remember that the bullpen blew two saves, technically speaking, yesterday. While Motte’s is justifiably the one that sticks out, I honestly thought that we were going to lose the game when the Buck-Oh’s came back to tie it at two after Wainwright put the tying runs on base with walks in the sixth. For me, this middle-inning blown save was somewhat more troublesome than Motte’s in that fateful ninth inning.
What we saw in the sixth was Wainwright cap off a difficult to watch start where he gutted it out into the sixth inning. However, his lack of control, which plagued him the entire game, finally caught up to him. TLR lifted him in favor of Josh Kinney and his nasty slider. After retiring one Pirate, Kinney walked Maholm, the pitcher, which is inexcusable. Then, LOOGY extraordinaire Trever Miller entered and promptly gave up a game-tying single to a lefthanded batsman.
It was not a good start for the bullpen, period. But, Opening Day a season does not make. It’s easy to get carried away because there is no backdrop. This isn’t mid-July where about eighty games are under our belts and about eight games remain to be played. Opening Day is made for overreacting, and we would do well recognize it for it was—1/162 of a season—and get ready to watch our beloved Cards tonight. Because tonight, the Rasmus Era begins and there could be a second page in the Era of Motte…
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
+1
4B - beer baseball bands blog
cmon and let the games begin
confusion will be my epitaph
I think I have more sigs than gdm now, hah!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 1:05 PM EDT up reply actions
Wainwright and Kinney
walked the bases loaded. It’s unfortunate that Miller gets credited w/ a blown save but I’m not going to beat him up for giving up a dinker over the shortstop’s head when the other 2 pitchers walked the bases loaded.
yea..that was a pretty good pitch
just a great job of going with the pitch…those runs are on kinney…he cannot walk that guy in that spot
Reminded me of another dinker...
The year was twenty-aught-one, the state was Arizona, the series was the Divisional, the clubs were the Diamondbacks and the Cardinals, the pitcher was Steve Kline, the batter…well, you know the rest…
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
by bgh on Apr 7, 2009 1:30 PM EDT up reply actions
Yes Wagonmaker
Agreed with all the folks that pointed to the entire game instead of just at Motte/9th. Wainer walking someone in the 6th after being ahead 0-2 was really bad. And all the players left on base was also not good. Neither was Oquendo not sending the runner on a single (I forgot who was at second), the second single. So there is concern with a lot of things last night.
But there were lot’s of very encouraging things. For everything that someone did wrong, they also did good things. Wainer toughed it out on a rough night. K-bot had rbi despite not coming through at other times. Oquendo was aggressive in sending Thurston home.
So I totally agree with all the folks that say, “it’s only one game”.
born Dodger blue, now dyed Cardinals red
Miller was bailed out by Maholm's bad baserunning, too
Throw from the OF bounced off of Molina’s mask, Maholm ran halfway down the line, Miller was able to get him in a rundown.
We’ll take it, but it certainly helped us get out of a tight spot.
Things we now know about 2009
C.C. Sabathia will be shut down by the Yankees after pitching ~50 innings of 5.00+ ERA ball.
Derek Lowe will win the NL Cy Young award.
The Baltimore Orioles will win the AL East with a record of 101-61.
Felipe Lopez will hit 40 homeruns and start at the All-Star game.
Ken Griffey Jr. will win the AL MVP award.
Fuentes and K-Rod will each finish the year wil sub-2.00 ERA and ~45 saves, while Cardinals closers and setup pitchers will combine for as many saves blown.
The Texas Rangers will win their division and the Indians will finish last in theirs.
My fantasy league will finish drafting just in time for the All-Star break.
by mattybobo on Apr 7, 2009 11:58 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Ned Yost broke CC's arm
4B - beer baseball bands blog
cmon and let the games begin
confusion will be my epitaph
I think I have more sigs than gdm now, hah!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 1:06 PM EDT up reply actions
Now that would
be true revenge, and make the Brewcrew feel at least a little better about losing out on their 2 draft choices.
by MdRedbirdFreak on Apr 7, 2009 1:14 PM EDT up reply actions
yeah but
that would make sabatthia sort of an innocent bystander, or victim of friendly fire or something like that
4B - beer baseball bands blog
cmon and let the games begin
confusion will be my epitaph
I think I have more sigs than gdm now, hah!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 1:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Indeed. My previous
comment should not be interpreted to mean I hope CC is injured, because I don’t. OTOH, if he is … well, at least he has a $160 million guaranteed contract.
by MdRedbirdFreak on Apr 7, 2009 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions
heh
4B - beer baseball bands blog
cmon and let the games begin
confusion will be my epitaph
I think I have more sigs than gdm now, hah!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 2:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Pitch count question
With Motte at 29 pitches last night (plus his extensive warm-up workout), what are the chances he will sit tonight purely based on his pitch count and we get A.N. Other pitcher (Kinney/Franklin/Reyes) in the 9th? What with 34 games in 35 days and all that.
I wouldn't have any problem throwing Motte again tonight
29 pitches is high for a one-inning specialist, but I think it’d be the best thing for Motte and I don’t think that it is unreasonable to ask him to take the ball the day after throwing 29 pitches.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
Especially since tonight he's only gonna throw 9
All of them swinging strikes. Or he would if I were in charge of the movie.
But if you were in charge of the movie
the save never would have been blown, would it?
The artist formerly known as...
Mr Redbird @ Viva El Birdos
PowerOfDixieland @ Track Em Tigers, other SEC blogs
by jd is legend on Apr 7, 2009 12:33 PM EDT up reply actions
You'd think that
But it’s more dramatic this way. Now we’re going from a low to a high. The pathos! The twists and turns! I smell Oscar baby.
If I were in charge
I’d have the game go into extra innings, and we’re on the road. Motte comes in for the bottom of the 10th, and keeps the Pirates at bay. In the top of the 11th, the Cardinals score a run on a Colby Rasmus solo shot in his MLB debut, pinch hitting for Schumaker. Then, in the bottom of the 11th, Motte goes out to CF while Ankiel comes in to pitch to a lefty. He gets him out, then Motte returns to the mound to close the game. He thus gets the win and the save.
The artist formerly known as...
Mr Redbird @ Viva El Birdos
PowerOfDixieland @ Track Em Tigers, other SEC blogs
by jd is legend on Apr 7, 2009 12:39 PM EDT up reply actions
nice
Motte: “I just don’t think I can pitch another inning. My arm is jello. I don’t want to lose this game!”
Ankiel: “Don’t worry kid, we won’t lose. I’ll handle this.”
Priceless!
"Sorry about him, he's dealing with being an inker. " - Chasing Amy
Yes for redemption
It’s definitely a more interesting story. But I don’t mind the story with no drama either, as in 9 pitches.
born Dodger blue, now dyed Cardinals red
Motte's last spring outing was awesome, at least in the box score
1 IP, 1 K — 5 pitches, 0 balls
That’s being efficient.
"Fun" tidbit
I was sitting two rows behind the Pirates dugout. After the big blow in the 9th, Eric Hinske came sauntering back to the dugout and went down the steps among a flurry of high fives. I quote the eloquent Mr. Hinske:
“F*** yeah! F*** yeah! Suck on that, motherf***er! What now, b****?”
Moral of the story: don’t let your kids sit that close to the dugout. (John Grabow had a dirty mouth, too.)
"what now?"
the exact words on the lips of every Blue Jay fan after Mr. Hinske tried to follow up his rookie of the year season.
by DanUpBaby on Apr 7, 2009 12:20 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I was sitting with a Red Sox fan
And he was mildly outraged with the gall of Hinske to be happy, given his 2007 line of .204/.317/.398 (.714 OPS) for the Sawks. HOW DARE HE?!
I know "what now"!
The Pirates will proceed to the basement of the division for yet another season. And if Hinske is really such a bada** why doesn’t he say all of that to Motte’s face as he rounds the bases?
Patiently awaiting the day Colby Rasmus does this: .275/.381/.551/.932, 29HR, in St. Louis...
by RunninRedbird on Apr 7, 2009 12:25 PM EDT up reply actions
Reading your comment
About what Hinske was saying totally reminds me of a one Shooter McGavin.
What a douche.
And I say England's greatest prime minister was Lord Palmerston.
motte's happy place
seems like it would be a pretty frightening place to most human beings.
"Sorry about him, he's dealing with being an inker. " - Chasing Amy
by FutureMan on Apr 7, 2009 2:44 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
"You eat pieces of shit for breakfast!?"
Patiently awaiting the day Colby Rasmus does this: .275/.381/.551/.932, 29HR, in St. Louis...
by RunninRedbird on Apr 7, 2009 4:07 PM EDT up reply actions
'Disappointing' Opening Day
Yesterday I attended my very first Opening Day at Busch Stadium, my very first game at Busch III and was disappointed as a Cardinals Fan, for the very first time.
After watching Bruce Sutter, Ozzie Smith, Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, and Stan Musial make a lab 15 feet in front of me, waving and proudly wearing the cardinal red, and after Red himself threw out the first pitch to this generation’s “greatest cardinal”, El Hombre, I was provided with a spectacular, high energy, wonderful reminder of why I love baseball, nay, cardinal baseball so much. And then, it was torn away by classless fans booing a young man we all have high hopes for. I mean, I have been a cardinal fan for over 15 years, and though I’m not a season ticket holder, I relish each and every chance I have to watch the birds on the bat, at bat and on the mound.
Yes, we all remember last year, and how 31 blown saves feels. Yes, we all want them to perform as well as possible, and yes we want to win. But, as a father, and as a baseball fan, I was extremely disappointed that the drunkards and loud mouths sitting around me (all 10,000+) were booing Jason Motte as he came off the mound.
“Best Fans in Baseball”, many have called us, but I don’t think we held up to that onus. I hope the fans at the game today behave like we should.
My two cents…
Go Cardinals.
Stupid Sexy Flanders!!!
I was very disappointed
to read this morning that Motte was booed. Very.
by Youneverknow on Apr 7, 2009 12:39 PM EDT up reply actions
I hear you, Timmy
It’s disappointing that so many people’s maturity and perspective don’t seem to grow as they get older. I’d expect that reaction from a bunch of non-baseball fans or younger people that just don’t know any better and who are imitating someone next to them or who think that’s what they’re “supposed to do.”
I was just so happy that it was Opening Day, results be damned—-it’s a long season, and I love the entire ride, bumps and all. Of course I prefer a win, but jeez, I’d prefer a big bag of money to fall in my lap, too.
There’s no guarantees in baseball other than that one team will win and the other will lose.
As long as our guys are putting in the effort and not being complete boneheads there’s absolutely no call to get on their case. Totally classless.
Another example of why the whole “best fans” thing has become a running joke around the rest of the country.
they just look like spoiled brats when they act like that
4B - beer baseball bands blog
cmon and let the games begin
confusion will be my epitaph
I think I have more sigs than gdm now, hah!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 1:08 PM EDT up reply actions
i think if i was there
i wouldv’e shouted “shut up you a**holes!” or something along those lines.
"Sorry about him, he's dealing with being an inker. " - Chasing Amy
Accompanied by a fist shake, I would hope
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
by bgh on Apr 7, 2009 3:10 PM EDT up reply actions
This is the greatest night of my life!
The artist formerly known as...
Mr Redbird @ Viva El Birdos
PowerOfDixieland @ Track Em Tigers, other SEC blogs
I did yell that
and very nearly got in a fight with some of these boo’ers. I used to be proud of being a Cardinals fan…proud of the way that we conducted ourselves with dignity and class. I was very embarrassed and angered by the booing. Ignorant and classless.
Except that if you cuss around me in a ballpark
especially if there’re kids around, you’ll find someone in your face very quickly.
I can swear up a blue streak, and often do, but not in a family environment. It blows me away the utter inconsiderateness, and really, selfishness, of so many people out there.
Folks, Busch Stadium is not your living room. Stay in your living room if you don’t know how to act in public.
Home cookin' at Bake McBlog
There were no kids around
when I said what I said. I have two children myself and I am very aware of their presence. Had there been kids around I would not have said what I did. OTOH, I was very embarrassed to be a Cardinals fan and have them boo like they did. I probably overreacted but it makes my blood boil to see the classless ignorant fools many “fans” have become.
My General View on the Booing
Was that it was the first game of the year. In that game comes all the hopes and aspirations that have been built up over the off season so it carries a heavy emotional value. People can’t control themselves cause of the emotions that come with the first game of the year.
It is like when you give a robot the ability to feel emotions. It is not his fault when he gets angry for the first time and goes on a killing spree. It is just a cost of doing business and in time it will be better, hopefully.
Stat Whore
by FlimtotheFlam on Apr 7, 2009 3:41 PM EDT up reply actions
In the robot's defense
humans are terribly inefficient and the world would be better off without them in 99.999% of his predictive model calculations. So it wouldn’t take much to set him off in the first place.
Somewhat off-topic, but sort of on-topic given the talk about control and pitch placement
I thought the VEB community would find this fascinating. This is a graph of the pitch locations from Derek Lowe’s opening night start (eight shutout innings). The pink squares show pitches to right-handed batters, the blue diamonds show pitches to left-handed batters. The view is from the rear, so the negative side on the x-axis is “outside” to a LHB. Anyway:
Translation: to both righties and lefties, Lowe basically pounded the living bejesus out of the outside corner. Outstanding control, there, eh? And it brings results — he really dominated the potent Phillies offense. Though it certainly helps to have the kind of movement on your sinker that Lowe does.
(NOTE: This post was not made because I think we should have signed Lowe to anything resembling a 4/60M contract.)
He was fun to watch Sunday night
That sinker truly was nasty
Patiently awaiting the day Colby Rasmus does this: .275/.381/.551/.932, 29HR, in St. Louis...
by RunninRedbird on Apr 7, 2009 12:35 PM EDT up reply actions
K-Zone
His location on K-Zone, whenever ESPN would show it, was sick. He painted the bottom plain of that the zone nearly every pitch. It was astounding how sharp he looked.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
too bad Motte didn't paint the corner more
4B - beer baseball bands blog
cmon and let the games begin
confusion will be my epitaph
I think I have more sigs than gdm now, hah!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 1:08 PM EDT up reply actions
As noted above...
…he should be OK if he just changes speeds more.
If he allows hitters to always get a “head start” on his heater it may not matter where he locates it if they’re always right that what they’re looking for they’re going to get.
Perez
Motte is going to be fine but I think Perez needs to be on this team to provide another option when Motte is struggling or when he is not available. I understand that Perez is struggling but I still believe that he is better than any of the current options for the 9th inning.
I'm just glad I didn't have to see Ryan Franklin yesterday
if he had done what Miller or Motte did, in giving up runs, I may have broken my TV.
by Hardcore Legend on Apr 7, 2009 12:41 PM EDT reply actions
There's no might about it
I will break something if Franklin is given a save opportunity in the 9th and blows it.
Given how you say that
with such a serious/scary face (avatar), I believe you!
heh
4B - beer baseball bands blog
cmon and let the games begin
confusion will be my epitaph
I think I have more sigs than gdm now, hah!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 1:09 PM EDT up reply actions
What if he gest 3 Ks in the inning and gets installed as the fulltime closer for two months?
They say that it's never too late, but you don't get any younger...
can we break the karma and just declare today colby rasmus day?
i think this is really exciting. this has been years in the making.
on the second day of the season, let’s talk about something happy. I’ve had a long cold winter with no baseball and I say, hooray baseball!
by tom s. on Apr 7, 2009 1:01 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs
hooooray baseball!!
4B - beer baseball bands blog
cmon and let the games begin
confusion will be my epitaph
I think I have more sigs than gdm now, hah!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 1:09 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Colby Rasmus eats a Reese's the wrong way; but it feels so right.
Colby Rasmus proved Fermat’s last theorem, in his head, during a AA at-bat.
Colby Rasmus currently has a suit pending against the Bush administration for using the copyrighted names of his bat and glove—“Shock” and “Awe”
by mattybobo on Apr 7, 2009 1:11 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
He is
The most interesting man, in the world
The artist formerly known as...
Mr Redbird @ Viva El Birdos
PowerOfDixieland @ Track Em Tigers, other SEC blogs
In an attempt to calm the masses, let's do a flashback
The Date: March 31, 2008. Opening Day.
The Setting: Wrigley Field, Chicago’s north side.
The Inning: 9. The one after the 8th.
The Pitcher: New Cubs closer, Kerry Wood.
The Score: 0-0 (Sheets vs. Zambrano showdown).
Wood’s line on the day: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 ER, 1 K
Anyone remember the media ****storm that followed Wood blowing up in his first outing? I sure do. People were dropping Wood left and right in fantasy leagues. After all, this did not bode well for the Cubs’ “closer experiment,” did it? Clearly Wood was a terrible pitcher, not ready for the role! And all this despite the fact that the Cubs tied the game in the bottom of the 9th.
Lou did the right thing. He downplayed it and threw Wood out there again a few days later. He got his first save against the Brewers on April 3, and went on to be one of the best relief pitchers in baseball last year, a very dependable closer (34/40 in saves, 11.4 K/9), and a big investment for the Indians.
It’s just one night. Motte will learn and move on. We’ve seen that he can get hitters out, even big leaguers — Tony needs to just throw him out there again. Nothing could be more damaging right now than giving weight to this outing by demoting Motte from the closer-for-now role as a result; imagine the message that would send to Motte — zero tolerance for allowing runs? Zero tolerance for having a bad outing? Can you hold any closer — any pitcher — to that standard?
The world isn’t collapsing on itself. This doesn’t mean much either for Motte or for the Cards in general. It’s just one game.
(That said, the Cubs came back in the bottom of the 9th in that game against Eric Gagne, and that “closer experiment” didn’t go so well for Gagne…nah, let’s not go there.)
listen...i'm a big a motte supporter as any
but comparing motte to wood is not fair to motte…kerry wood has the stuff of a legit shut down closer…motte has an outrageous fastball
hopefully you are and motte will have a woodian turn around to his season…but wood had a lot more assets to pull from than motte
I'm not comparing their abilities
I’m just saying that an opening day meltdown doesn’t mean much. Consider what we know of Motte’s abilities, give today the weight you would any other outing, and then think about it. If you thought Motte has the ability to be an effective (if not dominant) closer like I did, then this one outing shouldn’t do much to damage that.
I only cite the Wood thing because his case was also an “experiment” of sorts, and he also had a terrible first outing that made people wonder.
and i was just saying that wood has more room for error
due to his advanced arsenal…it is somewhat disconcerting that the pirates were able to tee up motte’s fastball…he almost has to have perfect control…that is the point i was trying to make
still think he’ll make for a good closer, but he has to be able to spot the fastball better and use his slider effectively
wood's superior arsenal was far outweighed by his very, very long history of injury and
disappointment. while i think that the chicago press definitely lacked some perspective on a single outing, that game was not the first time kerry wood had let the cubs down.
whatever else has happened with closers in the past in st. louis, motte’s game was his first real turn as closer. he deserves a little longer leash than that. perez blew most of his saves early on last season, then settled in and if i remember right only blew one save in august and september. there’s definitely a learning curve.
Wood may have better stuff
But Motte has demonstrated much better control over the course of his limited career.
vivaelbeñsheets
A conversation I was having at the game yesterday with my friend re: Pirates pitchers
We were coming up with a list of young Pirates pitchers who had mid-/top-of-the-rotation potential as of the last five years. Most of these guys have ended up disappointing in some way or another. We came up with:
- Paul Maholm
- John Van Benschoten
- Zach Duke
- Ian Snell
- Tom Gorzelanny
- Sean Burnett
- Bryan Bullington
- Brad Lincoln
I may have even missed one or two. So the question is: whose fault is this, if anyone’s? That’s a lot of highly-regarded talent that missed, or at least hasn’t panned out yet. Weird.
i have no factual evidence to back this up
but knowing that you play for an organization that would trade aramis ramirez for jose hernandez and a couple unimpressive minor leaguers has got to destroy your confidence
shudders involuntarily
"There are children who frequent this blog. Angry, insane children." - RB, Opening Day 2009
I don't think Tony helps things
by playing the whole “I still haven’t designated a closer” card.
Maybe he thinks that by NOT naming Motte the closer he will take pressure off of him because, you know, he’s not “closing,” he’s just “pitching the 9th when we have the lead.”
But maybe now instead of just thinking about one “battle”—-the 9th inning—-he has to think about not just the 9th but also about the battle to be the closer. It’s no longer about just this game, but it’s about all the future games as well.
I wish Tony would understand that every time he creates a narrative that strays from the conventional, he’s creating additional psychodramas that distract from the matter at hand.
I don’t think Motte is so fragile that he can’t handle being named the closer, or he can’t handle being in a battle to be the closer, but why not just reduce the potential distractions and give him one less thing to even have to have in the back of his mind?
Home cookin' at Bake McBlog
Tony's got a pretty good
history of giving players a chance to get right back on the horse after they screw up. I’d expect that Motte will soon get another chance to close a game (or at least to come into a high-leverage late inning situation).
by MdRedbirdFreak on Apr 7, 2009 2:09 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree
Tony gives second chances. You have to make a mental mistake to get in his dog house.
I found a note of irony
that before the season started there was a lot of clamoring that Motte is going to blow one, and Tony was the one that needed reminded it’ll happen – yet it was quite a few fans that needs that same medicine.
It happens.
It was a cold shitty day that was getting worse as it was going, he got his two outs, didn’t give up a long ball. Still doesn’t have 100% confidence in his secondary stuff (imo – why he didn’t use it when men were on base). Yet, should he? He’s a work in progress; we all knew it going in.
Of course he was being timed, he threw almost 30 pitches. We could have put more runs on the board. Can’t even give Miller that hard of time, what’s the hold average when it’s bases loaded? I’d assume fairly low.
El Hombre looked great, Luddy seems to be seeing the ball well still (and cold weather, with his body – not bad) and even throw in the same scenario for Baby Dunc.
Let’s just pummel Snell and in the next game do something else we did last year, win series.
One Century down, next on its way. Cardinals '09 : Preserving the Cubs tradition.
by AdjustedExpectations on Apr 7, 2009 1:53 PM EDT reply actions
adding to Motte's butterflies
would be that long end of the 8th where we had a lot of guys on base… it lenghthened the time he had to warm up and think about the whole thing, which never helps
4B - beer baseball bands blog
cmon and let the games begin
confusion will be my epitaph
I think I have more sigs than gdm now, hah!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 2:01 PM EDT reply actions
It has to be resolved
I think, and hope Motte can be the guy, but if not the Perez will get a shot, and then Franklin. Bottom line though is this has to be resolved. If the bullpen looks the way it did last year, and no move is made, it will send a clear signal to fans, and apu.
my consolation for tonight
Pujols is batting .366 with 35 homers and 106 RBIs against the Pirates, while hitting safely in his last six games against them. He is batting .424 (14-for-33) with four home runs and eight RBIs against Pittsburgh’s scheduled starter Ian Snell.
we could have started pineiro against snell, just for the rage-retribution factor.
given that snell was one of the starters on the PR team.
Didn't I see that he was hitting .555 against Maholm?
Albert likes his games against the pirates.
defy, cards, defy. hey logic --- you suck.
I know it's like kicking a dead horse at this point, but...
Here is Buster Olney’s impression of Motte’s debut:
The Cardinals’ bullpen took them down in 2008, so there was a sense of deja vu all over again Monday, as the relievers blew multiple leads. Now, what you hear all the time about Tony La Russa is that he will not waver quickly in the face of a bad day. Jason Motte had a terrible first day as closer, but assuming La Russa holds to form, he’ll keep running Motte out there, time after time, having made the decision that he was good enough to do this job. And in the end, this will be a good decision.
Here’s a good sign for the Cardinals, as mentioned in Joe Strauss’s story: Motte didn’t shrink from the moment:
Motte afterward faced the media standing at his locker, which last season belonged to now-departed closer Jason Isringhausen. “I’m not going to make excuses about the weather,” Motte said. “It’s not the fans or anything. Things weren’t there. I was a couple strikes away, and things didn’t go too good today.”
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
it's always good to see other perspectives
and this one isn’t too bad. Much better than the MLB Network guys last night. Harold Reynolds and Al Leiter went on & on about how Motte only threw fastballs to the Pirates. Not one other pitch was thrown, according to them. So much for being accurate.
it's like they take the stereotype
and treat it as fact… anyone who actually watched the game knows that he was throwing other pitches, duh
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 3:54 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh come on Chitown
You bloggy types can’t watch the games from your computer desk in your mom’s basement. You probably never even played the game, let alone played it the right way!
Ok, so I’m being kinda mean to the MLB network guys… they’re not great but they make up for it somewhat because of their lack of all the most annoying ESPN personalities.
what is a "game"?
I though that baseball was simulation in which you imputed a bunch of numbers.
vivaelbeñsheets
Well, that's half true
It was originally created with the clear goal of providing years and years of raw data to aid in computer simulations, only they weren’t exactly sure what computers would actually be like or how they’d work. It’s very chicken-and-egg, like the time I went back in time and played a bunch of cool songs for David Bowie, which he ripped off. That jerk. I mean, I was using a David Bowie songbook that I had brought back with me, but still, I couldn’t believe the nerve.
I don't know if there's much difference
Harold Reynolds is a former ESPN guy and is no better now than he was then. Leiter was completely inaccurate as he described the end of the game yesterday, too. It’s like he looked at the box score and formed his own, more convenient conclusions.
Oh, I'm not even gonna say their analysis is better or as good
But they haven’t gotten to the point of flat out annoying me like so many current ESPN people have. Luckily I don’t have cable so I’m not tempted to watch much of either unless I’m at someone’s house.
I hate Harold Reynolds
He says the stupidest, most un-true things as long as they fit his story. I was watching WBC show on MLB TV, and they were talking about the game that Roy Oswalt struggled in. Hug Me Reynolds, said that he thought Oswalt should have been taken out of the game before he allowed the extra runs that sealed the game.
To prove this, he showed clips of Roy “giving up” 2 cheap, rollers just past the bag at second and then a bloop single and a sac fly. As if he was blaming those things on the fact that Roy wasn’t pitching well.
vivaelbeñsheets
Exactly
which is what I think they did last night. Motte is known for having a high-speed straight fastball and not much else. So, even though he did mix his pitches yesterday (although not quite well enough, apparently), it was a lot more convenient for Harold and Al to talk about how, “Anyone can hit 98 if that’s the only thing that’s coming!” over and over again even though that’s not exactly what happened.
It's very problematic
They all describe their impressions, without any stats or data to back it up. For instance, my impression was that Motte mixed his pitches better before he allowed multiple runners on, then went with just the fastball, which Wilson eventually times and clubbed to the fence. It would be nice if they provided insightful analysis rather than mere opinion.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
by bgh on Apr 7, 2009 4:40 PM EDT up reply actions
steve phillips begs to differ
he’s clearly the worst “annalist” evar
BEN MOTHERHUSHYOURMOUTH SHEETS
I'm going to go try to find a puppy and kick it. - Brad Thompson
I'm actually thinking about moving into my mom's basement
it would probably be better than trying to pay the rent every month
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 4:09 PM EDT up reply actions
What about Vasgersian?
Lest we not forget his comments about STL last year.
Think he’ll be objective about the Cards?
I would rather take ESPN’s talking heads then this guy as the lead.
I like Vasgersian
He mentions PECOTA as something to be admired rather than mocked, and he does seem objective. When they were doing the 30 clubs and 30 days of the Cards, he had a lot of positive things to say.
vivaelbeñsheets
and as bad as the booing was a poll on goold's blog is running 2:1 in favor of sending motte
back out there.
no shit
Goold’s blog generally attracts some smart people, who don’t make there decisions based on one outing.
vivaelbeñsheets
The most important thing I took away from the game
Is that there were at least two or three people near me in the crowd who were shouting, “Let’s go Sauce!” while Motte was on the mound.
I love it when nicknames catch on.
it's APPLESauce
the apple part is V E R Y important
BEN MOTHERHUSHYOURMOUTH SHEETS
I'm going to go try to find a puppy and kick it. - Brad Thompson
thome just hits dramatic 3 run bomb against the royals
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 4:30 PM EDT reply actions
he might throw 100 mph more than anyone else
but it doesn’t seem to help much
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 4:34 PM EDT up reply actions
Motte cares too much.
Sometimes I think Farnsworth doesn’t care one bit. He is just up there chucking the ball.
Baseball's only fun if you're playing it, watching it, or thinking about it.
there are stories
from old friends of mine in 2002 or ‘03 or something, that detail Farns’s nightly escapades in wrigleyville during the season
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 4:53 PM EDT up reply actions
that can't be, he's a good family man!
BEN MOTHERHUSHYOURMOUTH SHEETS
I'm going to go try to find a puppy and kick it. - Brad Thompson
100 mph
flat no movement over the zone…but he will take hsi bruises..
I can't believe i gave up a homerun to that punch and judy hitter-major league 2
I was thinking that when I saw the box score
If Jeff Suppan is your opening day starter, you’ve got some rotation issues.
by BTown Birds fan on Apr 7, 2009 5:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Tim Lincecum lasted three innings and 78 pitches.
by notmorganfreeman on Apr 7, 2009 5:41 PM EDT up reply actions
Add the Giants
to the list of teams that are lost causes this season.
The list already consists of: Yankees (CC stunk), Phillies (Hamels is hurt, lost Opening Day), Indians (Lee got lit up), and your St. Louis Cardinals.
Patiently awaiting the day Colby Rasmus does this: .275/.381/.551/.932, 29HR, in St. Louis...
by RunninRedbird on Apr 7, 2009 6:03 PM EDT up reply actions
motte
i did not see the game but read the recap… 2 things in the article stuck out…they didnt warm anyone up while he was getting dinged.
this could be a earn your stipes we are with you statement, or whatever
the othwe is that he is a rook, so he will have growing pains.. just how long will the cards be patient, i hope they ride him win or lose for a bit..if they yank him right away it could be psyche damaging.
I can't believe i gave up a homerun to that punch and judy hitter-major league 2
I just took it as
let him get out of the inning for the experience more than anything. plus they don’t want to start taxing the bullpen already in the first game
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 5:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Tonight's Lineup
1. Schumaker, 2B
2. Rasmus, RF
3. Pujols, 1B
4. Duncan, LF
5. Greene, SS
6. Ankiel, CF
7. Molina, C
8. Thurston, 3B
9. Lohse, P
the good-ole R/L again. Hopefully we won’t miss Luddy’s bat
Stupid Sexy Flanders!!!
Now THAT is a decent looking lineup
Although I would switch Lohse and Thurston. And Thurston and Freese.
vivaelbeñsheets
Freese's defense
That alone should earn him a start over Thurston at 3B.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
by bgh on Apr 7, 2009 5:49 PM EDT up reply actions
All we are saying....
Is give Freese a chance…..(sung to the John Lennon tune)
And I say England's greatest prime minister was Lord Palmerston.
by tangledbrett on Apr 7, 2009 5:52 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I agree
but I can’t hate Thurston getting some PT…not sure my reasoning, but I have high hopes for him
I think Tony
wants to reward his baserunning last night and keep Freese’s achilles out of the weather as much as possible.
Ugh
How many teams would sit an All-Star rightfielder on the second day of the season on a night after hitting a homerun? Has this ever happened before?
not many
but what a Pinch Hitter!
Stupid Sexy Flanders!!!
by timmycardinals on Apr 7, 2009 5:36 PM EDT up reply actions
I really don't understand the way TLR's mind works
I’m not at all surprised that he has forced Freese to recognize his place by starting Barden and Thurston in front of him. (Does Thurston have a “track record?”) The OF choices baffle me. As you note, we sit our second-best offensive player who has a slight reverse split (he hits righties better than lefties). Yesterday, he started Duncan vs. a lefty when Duncan has been horrid against them (and Dunc hit a double) when Rasmus has been much better against lefties. He brought Skippy in as a defensive substitution instead of Rasmus, who is a far superior defender.
What are the odds that TLR brings Freese in the PH, moves Thurston to second, and moves Skip to the OF in the seventh inning?
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
by bgh on Apr 7, 2009 5:46 PM EDT up reply actions
can anybody splain to me why ankiel's in center and luddy's nowhere?
thurston at 3b?
skip at 2b?
I’d rather see:
skip LF/razza CF/pujols 1b/ludwick RF/greene ss/freese 3b/molina c/ thurston 2b/lohse
and if tony’s going to use the “freese’s achilles is still tender” excuse to start non-third basemen at 3b, then we should have craig up to pick up the slack and ditch either barden or ryan.
Dude it's the second game of the season
Tony is just fooling around with lineups to give everyone playing time. Nothing wrong with giving Skip time at second to see if he has a future there, and nothing wrong with benching the sure thing Ludwick, to get a good look at how well Duncan is playing.
vivaelbeñsheets
I doubt we'll see two identical lineups until at least early May.
This year’s Cardinals will be another contender for most different lineups used in a season, as well.
by notmorganfreeman on Apr 7, 2009 5:39 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
He may be around here somewhere
Judging by some of the stuff I heard yesterday:
“Sea! Dis iz why wee needz a pruvn clzr!”
Patiently awaiting the day Colby Rasmus does this: .275/.381/.551/.932, 29HR, in St. Louis...
by RunninRedbird on Apr 7, 2009 6:10 PM EDT up reply actions
ya, sit duncan if anyone
but oh well, it wouldnt be a game if we didnt question the lineup and then having a certain someone deride our opinions when they differ from TLR’s
you do realize he's a future hall of fame manager, right?
because that could have easily escaped the notice of anyone on the board.
You're right, he should not be questioned
This lineup is great, just like when FLopez and Kennedy started in the outfield last year, right?
He had many different types of gloves
And was poor at using them all…
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
by bgh on Apr 7, 2009 5:49 PM EDT up reply actions
He was okay at third base.
1.8 FRAA in 85 innings for the Cards.
I’d rather have him than Thurston, certainly.
by notmorganfreeman on Apr 7, 2009 5:53 PM EDT up reply actions
Does any fielding metric for Thurston at 3B even exist?
Lopez played 85 innings at 3B for the Cards? That’s more than 9 full games.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
by bgh on Apr 7, 2009 5:57 PM EDT up reply actions
Thurston has According to BR, Thurston has never played 3B in his minor league career.
Lopez was 0.1 FRAA at 2B for the Cards as well last season, while OPSing .964. It was a ridiculous turnaround in form.
by notmorganfreeman on Apr 7, 2009 6:01 PM EDT up reply actions
usually a "ridiculous turnaround in form" in a short period of time
is called a “fluke.”
see: pineiro, joel (ca. 2007).
He did hit two dingers yesterday
We’ll have to wait a little while longer to see whether it is a “fluke”, or not.
Patiently awaiting the day Colby Rasmus does this: .275/.381/.551/.932, 29HR, in St. Louis...
by RunninRedbird on Apr 7, 2009 6:08 PM EDT up reply actions
really? he has almost 3600 PA's over 8 seasons.
he has a lifetime wOBA of .320 and OPS of .727.
how much longer should I wait?
You're misunderstanding what I'm saying
Whether or not the “ridiculous turnaround in form” is a “fluke” or not is my point. We’ll have to wait to see if he can keep up the form he displayed in STL last year and carry it over into this season. I know he won’t keep up a .964 OPS, but he may have made a turnaround in his career. Like I said, we’ll have to wait a little longer to make that determination.
Patiently awaiting the day Colby Rasmus does this: .275/.381/.551/.932, 29HR, in St. Louis...
by RunninRedbird on Apr 8, 2009 10:10 AM EDT up reply actions
UZR
His UZR as a Card was -0.8, which makes his UZR/150 (projecting a full season’s worth of defense) -130.6.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
by bgh on Apr 7, 2009 6:06 PM EDT up reply actions
That's almost entirely because of Tony playing him in the OF.
At 2B: 7.4 UZR/150
At 3B: 25.3 UZR/150
At LF/RF: -164.0 UZR/150
Yes, I’m aware of the small sample sizes involved. Just, for $1.2m, I genuinely think having Lopez on the roster would be better than paying league minimums to Thurston et al.
by notmorganfreeman on Apr 7, 2009 6:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Sorry, my mistake, I was looking at the wrong contract data.
If only we had a couple of extra million dollars lying around.
by notmorganfreeman on Apr 7, 2009 6:16 PM EDT up reply actions
He'd have been a useful sub at 3B
Since it is now clear that TLR has serious misgivings about giving Freese the majority of ABs.
Do you think that he is really a 7.4 second baseman defensively, given his career numbers?
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
by bgh on Apr 7, 2009 6:20 PM EDT up reply actions
Lopez for his career has been a terrible defender
By Total Zone, plus/minus, UZR and PMR. Using a couple games worth of UZR data doesn’t prove anything, it’s like saying that Cameron Maybin is a .500 hitter because he did that in 32 at bats last year.
vivaelbeñsheets
total zone says he's not a great 2b.
-14 (!), 8, -4, -5 over his last four full seasons in the minors at 2b. he lacks enough innings at 2b in the majors to make it worthwhile looking at his defense.
so, if you believe in the defensive spectrum, he should be a less than average 2b converted to an equally difficult position, which should lose him 4 runs for the unfamiliarity (or so saith tom tango). so, i’d guess he’d be a -6, -7 third baseman?
I'm sorry
I’m still trying to get over Thurston’s lack of a “track record.” But, yes, your numbers appear to be correct. So, we have a LFer playing 2B and a 2Bman playing 3B and a CFer playing a corner OF slot and a 3B on the bench. That about right?
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
by bgh on Apr 7, 2009 6:08 PM EDT up reply actions
Don't forget the pitcher playing CF
The artist formerly known as...
Mr Redbird @ Viva El Birdos
PowerOfDixieland @ Track Em Tigers, other SEC blogs
FRAA is a terrible defensive metric
It doesn’t use play-by-play data, it just makes a ridiculous amount of assumptions on batted balls and parks.
vivaelbeñsheets
I'm not a fan of FRAA either
no matter how much adjusting is made, it’s still based on range factor
"There are children who frequent this blog. Angry, insane children." - RB, Opening Day 2009
cmon TLR
start Freese over thurston, sheesh
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 6:03 PM EDT up reply actions
Can't complain about that lineup at all
I’m disappointed Freese isn’t in, but based on the Snell’s stats it makes reasonable sense.
Freese definitely should have started yesterday though.
Anyways, what am I complaining about, we’ve got Rasmus in the 2 spot, the pitcher batting ninth, Duncan instead of Ludwick………
Wait just a flipping minute, I’m really trying to like Duncan, but is there any way to pry him out of the Lineup. Ludwick should start EVERY SINGLE DAY he is able.
Ok, now I find out Thurston has played no 3B in his minor league career
Is it possible for TLR to put out a lineup I won’t complain about, seriously, just play Ludwick, Rasmus, and Freese all on the same day and I’ll be behind it.
As we are getting ready to see Colby Rasmus' debut
I’ve been thinking about how close (or at least how many rumors were swirling around) we were to this trade in 2006:
STL trades
C. Rasmus OF
C. Duncan OF
A. Reyes SP
FLA trades
D. Willis SP
I was hoping Jock would pull the trigger on that one, but man am I glad he didn’t. Not sure we would have won the Series in 06 without A-Rey pitching the WS opening game…
The artist formerly known as...
Mr Redbird @ Viva El Birdos
PowerOfDixieland @ Track Em Tigers, other SEC blogs
I still wish
we would have packaged Duncan and Reyes together after 06. Just not for Willis (which I thought at the time) and certainly not with Colby.
hecanthithecanthithecanthithecanthit
I still would've done it for any of those Giants pitchers.
I still think we could’ve had Cain if Walt tried hard.
On with the (good) youth movement!
Whoa whoa whoa
They’re actually playing a game tonight?!? I thought the season ended yesterday!
hecanthithecanthithecanthithecanthit
Shhh...
/Some people think it did, so don’t let on that there are actually 161 more games yet. /
Now that the cat is out of the bag I’m a tad upset. I thought i was getting 80 more games all alone in the stands.
One Century down, next on its way. Cardinals '09 : Preserving the Cubs tradition.
by AdjustedExpectations on Apr 7, 2009 7:18 PM EDT up reply actions
I think it's another Spring Training game
judging by the lineup.
by Hardcore Legend on Apr 7, 2009 7:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Other than Thurston
What would you change?
The artist formerly known as...
Mr Redbird @ Viva El Birdos
PowerOfDixieland @ Track Em Tigers, other SEC blogs
Really not ok with Luddy coming off the bench? He’s had a lot of work on that body of his, and it’s quite cold. Not exactly the best combination. Adding Ras gets to get his feet wet.
Not saying I don’t agree with ya, but I can live him coming off the bench – which will probably happen.
One Century down, next on its way. Cardinals '09 : Preserving the Cubs tradition.
by AdjustedExpectations on Apr 7, 2009 7:45 PM EDT up reply actions
Isn't $50K chump change to these people?
The artist formerly known as...
Mr Redbird @ Viva El Birdos
PowerOfDixieland @ Track Em Tigers, other SEC blogs
so, i can almost guarantee seeing reyes and franklin tonight.
thompson is likely if lohse doesn’t go far. i doubt we see mcclellan or motte. kinney is a maybe.
that’s a pretty sparse bullpen on the second night of the season.
considering almost 30 pitches in the weather we had yest, I can’t complain for having Motte sit back a day. Last thing we need to do after yesterday is burn him out before May.
That being said, hopefully we have a nonsave situation after 8 innings of run producing goodness, then Ryan can pitch for all I care
One Century down, next on its way. Cardinals '09 : Preserving the Cubs tradition.
by AdjustedExpectations on Apr 7, 2009 7:35 PM EDT up reply actions
Yadi can hit the rubber on the mound and get a kuckleball like ball in return. So we’re going to effectively allow him to pitch to himself and use an extra MI (of course) in an OF role in a softball game formation
One Century down, next on its way. Cardinals '09 : Preserving the Cubs tradition.
by AdjustedExpectations on Apr 7, 2009 7:41 PM EDT up reply actions
Tony said he’ll use him in the 9th or sooner. Here’s hoping our offense allows nothing resembling a save situation for the ninth inning.
I like this from the article:
La Russa said, "Those weren’t boos. Lou (Brock) must have been leaving. Cardinals fans don’t boo. I’ve heard that.
"They saw Lou walking throught the park. I would prefer to think that."
According to papa Dunc
Motte shook off Yadi on several pitches, one of the few times that he went with Yadi he induced the groundout to second. He just needs to trust Yadi.
And about the Luddy day off…seriously why even bother complaining: We have the possibility of 4 20/25 HR outfielders, I dont really think that we lose any way we play it(unless TLR plays Lil Dunc in CF)
The only one who liked the Cardinals so much he became a St. Louis Cardinals football fan.
brewers got spanked
they have a bad bullpen
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 7, 2009 7:59 PM EDT reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Viva El Birdos
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
- Please hold: Indians’ Joe Smith jumps the gun on relief appearance
- Local radio host honors Cubs’ Tony Campana with parody song
- Roy Halladay bobblehead with glove on wrong hand selling on MLB.com
- Will Smith shows why making your big-league debut at Yankee Stadium is less than ideal
- Steinbrenners selling the Yankees? Family denies New York Daily News report
