Game 45 Open Thread: May 25, 2007, 7:10 CDT

Valatan's certainly correct. There is a sample selection issue - Despite this bias average numbers often times go the opposite way. As pitchers lose their energy and hitters get used to the pitcher the pitcher's effectiveness worsens (Looper/Glavine are other pitchers who go against this pattern).

My only possible conclusion is that Reyes is just a young inconsistent pitcher.  When he has his stuff he is good.  When he doesn't he tries to reach for anything possible out of desperation - that's why he might vary pitches more with RISP.  It's just showing he doesn't have it.

come on kid! you were doing so well, don't give up a bunch of freakin runs now.

Apparantly Reyes missed with the pitch.

i posted the link twice earlier but it didnt work...its sad

walk

It was 80mph.

and also, Anthony gets hit when hit pitches up in the zone with junk. if he would just throw low heat, mix in the change low, he'd be a lot better off. in my humble opinion, that's all he needs to do.

Try listening to the commercial without watching and you might know what I mean.

his foot landed on Albert almost a foot in front of the bag and he's safe????

unfreakinbelieveable.

why do the Cards keep getting the WORST upm's every freakin series?

pitcher's spot coming up . . .

I didn't think his velocity was down much (if at all -- i recall seeing him clock a few around 94) but after seeing the mph averages from the previous thread, I wonder if he just can't throw his 4-seam fastball in the 93-94 range consistently.  If he's sitting in the 90-91 range that's going to impact his changeup.  Maybe it's that simple.  

but then the question is where did the velocity go?

Of his 13 fastballs w/ runners on base, only 3 were 90 mph or higher -- 2 to Lopez in the 2nd and the 1st he threw w/ a runner on -- to Church in the 1st.  The rest ranged from 83 to 89.  Were they all 2 seamers or his velocity down when pitching out of the stretch?  Not sure.

All of the hits he gave up w/ runners on were on pitches in the middle of the plate, and only the final double by Logan was at the bottom of the strike zone.  He gave up 5 hits w/ runners on -- 3 on fastballs, including Schneider's 2 run homer and Logan's 2 run double, and 2 on off-speed pitches.  Was it a problem of his location being off or was his location off b/c he threw the less reliable 2 seamer rather than the more reliable 4 seamer.  Incidentally, both fastballs to Schneider and Logan were clocked at 89 mph right in the middle of the plate.  No wonder they were crunched.

I'm not sure there are a lot of answers here but there are some things we can say conclusively -- a lot of off-speed pitches w/ runners on, balls hit on pitches in the middle of the zone (tells me he's probably not tipping pitches).  Oh yeah, and I never saw him shake off Molina once.  Maybe someone can correct me but I don't think it happened.

Also, Duncan visited the mound twice and the batter hit the first pitch afterward both times.  In the 2nd, Guzman swung at a 1st pitch fastball (83 mph, his slowest of the night) and hit a sac fly and, in the 6th, Young swung at a 1st pitch curve and singled.  Both pitches were absolutely in the middle of the plate, the one to Guzman about belt high and the one to Young at mid-thigh, just where he wants it.

Anthony really needs to keep the ball down. the Cards can't afford for him to keep losing games.

He's contributed as much to this years team as my great grandmother has... NOTHING!

so you see? the day wasn't a total loss.

I dont know about anyone else, but seeing a player take the mound for my beloved Cardinals, trying to clone Mark Prior and the USC look is a little disconcerting. Especially since Prior is the ONLY MLB player I ever heard say "I HATE the Cardinals" in a postgame on ESPN after the Cubs took 4 outta 5 in Chicago in 03.(or any MLB player on any team ever say anything quite like that, for that matter!)  

How about being a Carp clone, or a Gibson clone?
Bob Forsch, John Tudor? ...?

Am I just thinking Prior said that, or does anyone else recall the "I hate the Cardinals" (with venom +) on ESPN? (the year "Bartman" became a household word)

Great opener for this thread above! A+++ blogging...thx!

I have been critical of the kid. Too many walks and not enough innings. However he has gone 4 starts where giving up 3. I think 3 runs in a start isn't bad. But if he only goes 5 innings and gives up 3 thats not great either. Taken most times half of that comes in the first for this guy.

Moving him to the pen would be scary. If he gives up runs early in every start y move him so he can come in and give up 2-3.

I'mnot for sending him down either. If the offense can hit and he makes a few adjustments he keeps them in most games. Walks can be his issue. Take MI, he went 6 strong. Gave up 3 runs on 3 hits. again pretty good IMO he struck out 8, but he walked 4. Now I don;t know off hand if those were a factor but i'd say a few probably were. Walks can kill you.

The biggest things I'd like to see hi change has ben my arguement all along. Walks and innings. They probably balance each other too. If He's not going into high counts he probably will last longer. Let him take his lumps and look fo rimprovements, even though in his last 3 starts he seems to be sliding

I also expected to hear something somewhere about it after the fact and the only thing I know of personally was Mark Grace (I think) calling Prior a "Cards-hata" in jest before a game at Wrigley in 04 where we, thankfully kicked his behind that day. The Cards took the comment pretty lightly far as I can see. Maybe something was said I missed?

La Russa's trying hard to get Reyes thru a game with a win before he loses complete confidence. the question is how long? Never seen La Russa so patient with what he calls "signs" of progress after each Reyes game. Maybe La Russa KNOWS there no help coming outside of Carpenter and Moulders return....someday!

He always has one inning where he just seems to lose concentration completely and another inning of the same later in the game where he forces himself to be taken out. Maybe put Gary Bennett out there with Reyes once...except Yadiers bat needs to be in the line-up since Bennet is catching Wells for a while?