even when he was batting in the 6th spot and hitting HR’s he wasn’t really hitting all that well, and still isn’t. Only 15 for 73 in May.

Vin Scully said the words “x outs from a perfect game” some 87 times when he called Sandy koufax’s PG in 1965. Announcers are pretty much ignored by the GOB, I think.

Bloggers (and blog commentors), otoh, should know better. The GOB read every word we say.

I thought it was my fault ’cause I starting recording the game around the fifth inning. (Just in case, you know?)

he is back to “HR every AB” mode, someone needs to remind him to start taking walks again.

Yes, and he never swung the bat. The first pitch appeared borderline on mlb.tv.

KMac’s 10th was fine. Error by Barden on an easy groundball then a groundball deflected by Kmac with a great play by Ryan to get one at first. If the ball gets through it’s probably a double play. Intentional walk to Fielder, groundball to Albert with a force at second, late relay cutoff by Albert, then single to Hall. He pitched very effectively with only the last pitch making it out of the infield. Probably gave the Brewers five outs that inning.

The way the Cards are hitting, TLR had to assume it was going to take at least 10 more innings to score. He was going to need every reliever out there for multiple innings.

Tony’s running them out there once, twice a week. I’m surprised their arms haven’t fallen off.

might have hung a little, but was low and outside. Good job of going with the pitch. Maybe the cards’ hitters will notice that when watching the game tape?

I pretty much blamed the Barden error myself

I really hope Yadi cheats on his wife so he can start hitting again.

After facing one of the best young pitchers in all of baseball with two of our three starting OFers injured, I doubt Pujols rushed out of the locker room thinking, “That’s it. I’ve had it. Today’s game was the final straw. Come 2011, I am out of St. Louis.” For one thing, his avoidance of the media is pretty well-documented. For another, a lot can change in three years. Just compare 2004 to 2007, or 2005 to 2008.

but aren’t we 1.0 game out of the division?

Piniero, Rasmus, Lohse, and the bullpen have all outperformed expectations up to this point, while Barden and Thurston outperformed the wildest expectations the first month.

How is .304 OBP and a .327 slug out preforming his expectations? Im ready to get past this slow start…

people should really be complaining about all the injuries than anything else

3 of the top 4 hitters are out. I’m not sure who else you have in the group of 5. 3/4 sounds more dramatic.

Because he’s so flaky in the other areas of his life.

/sarcasm

but then, I’ve never managed an asshole.

The Cardinals do seem perpetually caught off guard when guys aren’t ready after they rush them back from the DL. It’s not like Ankiel was lighting the world on fire before he left so they rushed him back because. . . right. The Cardinals are just disgraceful with their roster management this season. Too many middle infielders, too many relievers and now activating players that are still hurt.

TLR doesn’t like doing the obvious thing. The Schumaker Experiment is working; TLR has a starting second baseman—only to be shifted to the OF in the late innings as part of a triple or quadruple switch.

than about anybody, even Pujols at times lately.

Almost.

Can’t remember the other one though. Man this is a frustrating month. With a week of amazing pitching in the middle…

up the middle that Gallardo gloved wasn’t hit hard at all. It was hit off the end of the bat and would have been fielded by a middle infielder. It certainly was not going to be a hit unless Gallardo deflected it away from a fielder.

that f*cking fascist

 of my beach community!

your jerkoff friends and I don’t like you…jerkoff!

(For those of you unaware, I’m simply quoting a movie, not taking an unsolicited shot at Alxfritz.)

 least valuable

If one more person says that playing “matchup stats” is stupid, incorrect, or something that makes no sense to do if you “understand” stats, my head is going to explode. (Ok, so it won’t actually explode – this disclaimer was necessary because of the inevitable “one more person” that was going to respond to this message.)

A small sample size is only an indication that you cannot prove causation (or a strong correlation, or maybe even any correlation at all) between two events. BUT having a SSS does not disprove the existence of an underlying correlation!!!!!!! In fact, if someone is 10 for 17 against a pitcher and someone else is 2 for 17, you should start paying attention because that’s pretty good evidence of an underlying correlation.

The other thing is that TLR has more evidence at his disposal than the mere numbers to justify matchups. Let’s say there are two possible second baseman (Thursty, Schu) slated to face “x” pitcher. Thursty is 2-4 against said pitcher and Skip is 2 for 11. Now, let’s say Tony plays the “matchup” and plays Thursty but everyone agrees that Skippy is the better hitter overall and that the “stats,” but for the matchup stats, say you should play Skip over Thursty (let’s leave defense or rest/health out of the equation for a sec, though these may play a role in real life).

Underlying TLR’s choice could be the knowledge that Skip told him he doesn’t see the ball very well against said pitcher (perhaps the two hits Skip got were mis-hit balls that were lucky to fall). TLR then asks Thursty and Go-Go tells him that he really see the ball well against said pitcher (and perhaps his two outs were smoked but were right at people).

In any event, all I’m saying is that WE only have access to the stats (which are limited in many respects), but TLR is not restricted to this. (Notwithstanding that he may have even more advanced stats at his fingertips that inform his decision-making that he does not discuss to the media – he may “play” that he is only an old-school guy).

It’s not like the Cardinals are paying AK to play for…

I just always resent paying a player to play well for some other organization. It stings for some reason, even if, rationally, there’s no way that line would appear beneath that player’s name if he were in a red helmet on FS Midwest.

I’d imagine TLR’s public condemnation of AK probably added some to the fire lit beneath him to perform and that playing under the mind-gaming TLR likely would have suffocated him. The same is probably true for another cast-out Cardinal, Scott Rolen, who is now playing for laid-back, hands-off Cito Gaston in Canada. Still, it’s amazing how the players TLR has run out of town are performing this year, don’t you think?

Rolen: .303/.371/.447/.818 (only 3 HR)

That’s not MV3 Rolen, but MV3 Rolen is extinct. I still think the Glaus trade made by Mo was a great trade in the wake of TLR publicly saying Scott Rolen would not be his starting third baseman. All of that said, Rolen is having a pretty solid early season, producing at a level I’d kill for from our third basem(e)n.

Kennedy: 67 PA/.441/.507/.644/1.152

Is AK going to OPS 1.152? No. Is AK going to hit even .300? Probably not. But, right now, he is OPSing 1.152 and in the midst of a historic offensive funk (where our new starting second baseman is the only bright spot). It just stings all the more. Surely, this 1.152 OPSing MIFer could play LF over Thurston! Or so I tell myself before coming back to the reality of AK in STL under TLR, which is DOA.

No one disliked the AK signing more than me. No one groaned more loudly when he would dig into the batter’s box than I would. Nonetheless, AK was a valuable player last year, just as he was this year. His $4MM was not sunk cost until TLR sunk it. Does Skip’s .770 OPS erase AK’s defensive prowess? It just might, if Skip’s defense improves. And really, Skip’s salary of $430,000 is the primary reason I’m still okay with dumping Kennedy. We’re paying $4.4MM (or, is it $5MM?), basically, for our second baseman. It might as well be Skippy over a dog-house-tethered AK (even with his nifty glovesmanship).

just kind of musing at the tragic irony that one of the few players on our payroll who is producing offensively…doesn’t even play for us

he’s opsing > 1.1 right now

you know, it really is

oh and I rec’d your post too because setting a goal like that is always fun.

Is it just to sell more merchandise? I really hope not. I hope they had each player sign his cap and then auction them off to donate to a veterans’ group. However, I doubt MLB would do that.