let’s start with ankiel’s 17-pitch at-bat. it was nearly as long as the brewers’ entire 9th-inning rally (19 pitches); that’s what type of an at-bat it was. the pitch-per-AB data at Baseball-Reference’s playfinder index stretch back 20 years, to 1988. in that entire span, no cardinal hitter ever took a 17-pitch at-bat. the longest lasted 15 pitches: mike deflice against bartolo colon on june 14, 1997 (he walked) and pedro guerrero against don robinson on april 25, 1989 (also walked). another 4 st louis at-bats of the last 20 years lasted 14 pitches (one of them happened last year, rolen vs jake peavy on august 8; he popped out); 7 at-bats lasted 13 pitches.

so we’re talking about an historic event here; rick’s legend grows. here’s the whole list of 13-pitches-or-more at-bats:

i love some of the matchups here. on the one hand you’ve got heavyweight collisions like rolen v peavy and jordan v big unit --- two mean, stubborn guys who’ll be damned if they’re gonna give in. edmonds v wade miller would also fall into this category --- miller was still effective in june 2004 (he got hurt later that year and has never been the same). so would guerrero vs don robinson (the latter was a 230 lb intimidator). you can easily imagine how two badass guys like this would end up in a marathon confrontation. ditto for any pair of evenly matched mediocrities like pagnozzi v bottenfield or clayton v delucia; both parties are always out there grinding away, just trying to survive. but the most intriguing at-bats to me are the mismatches. how does dave stevens (career era 6.02) hang in there for 13 pitches against mcgwire (in the midst of his 70-homer season)? and 10 of the pitches were strikes! he must’ve thrown mcgwire every pitch in his meager arsenal, to every part of the plate, yet somehow he emeged with his head still attached to his body. the mike defelice matchup itself is pretty interesting, a battle of rookies. defelice in 1997 put a .238 / .297 / .331 line; colon (who was only making his 6th big-league start at the time of this at-bat) went 4-7 that year with a 5.65 era. the following year colon was an all-star, and the year after that a top-5 vote-getter in the cy young polling; defelice never got any better than what he was in 1997.

p.s. --- does it mean anything that 4 of these 14 at-bats were taken by catchers? (superior ability to think along w/ the pitch calls and anticipate the pitch?) ok, probably not. but how does cody mckay hang for 13 pitches against any hurler? kinda weird that has at-bat took place 4 years to the day before ankiel's.

alright, enough about that. a few other thoughts this morning:

• i disagreed w/ the decision to send wainwright back out there in the 8th, and particularly the decision to let him face ryan braun as the potential tying run. adam’s location was way off that inning; he went to 3 balls on the leadoff man before retiring him, then gave up a hit and a walk; when braun stepped in wainwright was at 113 pitches for the game and 19 for the inning. fortunately, it isn’t necessary to throw braun a strike (he has 0 walks this season); he chased a fastball in off the plate and got himself out. tony must not have liked his options; mcclellan was unavailable, and apparently the overused franklin needed the night off too (at least, i never saw him warming up). that left reyes and thompson as the only options. against the top of the order, tony trusted adam more; adam justified the faith.
• pujols’ catch in the 9th; whew.
• and speaking of that: was anyone warming up behind izzy? the cutter was not cutting, and his regular fastball wasn’t popping (he only threw three of those all inning). but that’s what makes izzy such an unusual closer --- he can fall back on his 3d-best pitch (curveball), which he did against weeks, to get out of trouble. there’ve been a few troubling signs out of him this spring, but at least he’s throwing strikes --- he wasn’t doing that when the hip was bothering him.
• the cardinals’ #8 hitters --- ie, pitchers and pinch-hitters --- rank 12th in the league with a .535 ops, ahead of 3 teams (sf, chicago, and atl) who use position players there. the giants’ #8 hitters have struck out more than the cardinals’ have.
• the cardinals have only reached base via error 3 times this year, tied for last (with the rockies) in the nl. whatever they’ve scored so far, they’ve scored on merit.

Letters from Springfield is a biweekly report from the Cardinals’ AA affiliate in Springfield. The writer, Matt Lemmon (itsalemmon1019), is the editor of GO Magazine and the web editor for 417 Magazine in Springfield. If you have suggestions for AA post topics or interview subjects, leave them in the comments.

My second installment on the AA Springfield Cardinals is, for all intents and purposes, my first actual post --- it’ll probably be another three years before the hoopla surrounding a Springfield game is as pitched as it was a couple of weeks ago when the St. Louis Cardinals came visiting. Barring, of course, an Albert Pujols rehab assignment, which none of us wants to see.

So it seems fitting to begin with an interview with Ron "Pop" Warner, Springfield’s manager, who led the team to a Texas League North Division championship last season and marvelously developed some top organizational talent like Colby Rasmus, Chris Perez, and others. Though the market for managing prospects in the minors is nowhere near as high-stakes as that for players, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone in the know who doesn’t regard Warner as a rising star in the minor-league managing ranks. As you’ll see, he’s a Cardinal through and through. Warner, only 38, has managed at both Johnson City (2002) and Palm Beach (2005-06), alternating with stints as hitting coach at (then AA) New Haven and Peoria.

Warner’s playing career began when he signed with the Cardinals as a shortstop in 1991. He slowly worked his way up through the system, but hi playing career stalled at AAA (Louisville 1997, Memphis 1998-99). In 2000, rather than spend another year as a utility player at AAA—albeit a productive one: Warner hit .290 in 1999—he opted to spend a year a bullpen catcher in St. Louis and start his coaching career.

Pop let me into his office before a recent home game and we chatted for 15 minutes or so. My impressions: Very businesslike, but pleasant. He’s got a young face, wears dark sunglasses and has one hell of a nicely done soul patch on his lower lip (Speezer would be jealous, I kid you not). Pop is tall, at least 6-3 (that’s what he’s listed at on his Baseball-Reference page); he wears number 57 and coaches third base. For all his youth and un-LaRussa-like congeniality with reporters, I think there’s a good chance you could see Warner as the next manager of the St. Louis Cardinals --- he appears to have been groomed for it, though all bets would certainly be off if Mo’s tenure is a short one (but so far, so good, eh?). Warner is what you call a "company man," and if the legacy of the Schoediensts and Kissels still means anything in DeWitt-ville, that could give Pop a leg up; though I’m admittedly unfamiliar with the career track of AAA manager Chris Maloney.

I’ve written enough. I’ll let Pop talk now.

So how long have you been managing, and how did that begin?
When I came to spring training in 2000, halfway through they asked if I wanted to start my coaching gig. Actually, they’d asked me after my ’99 season, and I expressed to them that I wanted to play another year, because my goal was to make the big leagues. They said "Alright, you’ll be a utility guy again at Memphis, and we’ll talk to you at the end of the season." I went to spring training [in 2000] and a couple of the big league coaches got hurt; Dave McKay had surgery, he had one of his ribs taken out, and Jose Oquendo had arm surgery, so we needed someone to throw batting practice, and they only had one bullpen catcher. So they asked me to spend the whole year in 2000 in the big leagues. Since I’d never been there, I thought it would really be a help to them and to [my career], for me to start coaching. So I retired, halfway through spring training, and spent the whole year in 2000 with St. Louis, and it was a great experience. We made it to the NLCS, and got beat by the Mets. The year after that I started my coaching career. I started as hitting coach at New Haven; from there I went to the NY-Penn League, where I was a hitting coach… then one year I managed at Johnson City. In 2005 they asked me to manage again in the Florida State League, so obviously I accepted. I managed a team in Florida State League and won a championship there [in 2005]. And then in 2006 I was back there again, we made the playoffs and got beat in first round. And then last year was my first year in AA.

So I have to ask: You were with the Cardinals in 2000, so you got to see Rick Ankiel’s well-documented battles. I know you didn’t manage him last year, but you were in the system…
I played with him.

Wow. What’s that been like for you to watch him do what he’s been doing?
It’s been great. I can’t be happier for the guy. To see him go through what he went through, I was there for it, to see the struggles that he had, it hurt me because he was my friend. You hate to see your friends struggle like that, mentally and emotionally, he was down. It was tough for him and for the people around who cared for him. He put it aside and decided that … he was going to try [the outfield] and he was convicted to trying to do it. I said "Go for it man, that’s great. If you can stay healthy and do your thing there’s no question in my mind you can do this."

Now ,I didn’t think he could do what he’s doing now; but there were some people who did. Our manager that spent to years [in Springfield, now AAA manager] Chris Maloney, told me, "Pop if this guy ever puts it together, he’s going to be something special in the big leagues." And I was, you know, kind "Okay, you know, I think he can probably make it there." But [Maloney] was dead on with Ank. He had him [at AA], and he saw what the guy was capable of, and the rest is history now.

Would fans be surprised, at this level, how well many of the pitchers can hit? Or was Rick sort of a freak with the bat and his arm?
You don’t see that too much. Every once in a while you’ll see guys you’ve got to be real careful with, but what an athlete [Ankiel] is… he’s one of a kind that’s for sure.

You’re a Cardinals lifer. Is that a rarity? There can’t be too many guys at your position who have spent their whole career with one team.
Probably not. I mean, I’m sure there are, I haven’t taken notice of anybody. One of my idols in this game was George Kissell, who was in this organization 60 some-odd years, and he really explained to me when I played the importance of being a team guy, a guy that’s involved in the organization. Plus, it’s all I know. I’ve been a cardinal my whole life and believe the philosophy we teach here, and I’m family with the people around here. It’s important to me personally to be here and try to make it to the big leagues with the team I came up with. It’s a goal of mine.

A lot of people would say you’re a rising star as far as minor league managing prospects go. What do you say to that?
I just try to get better and learn. Every day, every year is a new challenge and I try to coach it like that, regardless what people say. Some people might say you’re horseshit, some might say you’re a rising star. Whatever. I try not to think about it or listen to it, just go about my business and try to learn and prepare these guys to play in the big leagues.

If a AAA or major league call came form another club, is that soemthing you’d have to consider.
It’s absolutely something I’d consider. I have goals to get to the big leagues, and it would have to depend on whether it was something that fit for me and my family [Author’s note: The Springfield Cardinals website says Warner lives in St. Charles with his wife and son]. I think I’m in a pretty good spot, for my family and myself, in this organization. But if it was the big leagues I would definitely consider it. More than consider it.

If you’ve been with the organization since 1991, you’ve been through not just one but sort of two regime changes in St. Louis management. The new GM, John Mozeliak, coming in was kind of a big deal. How has that manifested itself at the AA level? Are there any different lines of communication?
No. Walt and Mo, they were on the same page. When Mo stepped in, it was pretty much the same thing. Walt was great and Mo was great and now Mo is in his position and Mo is great. The lines of communication have been open. It’s comfortable; they were both good communicators, and let me know how things are going. I haven’t seen any negatives.

How often do you talk with St. Louis, and what’s the back and forth? Do you have a daily dialogue?
We communicate every night from the computer. I send reports in, and that’s basically how we communicate. Our minor league operations director John Vuch, I communicate with him every other day and let him know how things are going.

There’s been a boom in baseball interest, particularly minor league baseball, on the Internet and blogs, and all that stuff. Does the increased attention on AA baseball, make your job harder? Are there situations where there’s more scrutiny?
No, I don’t think so. Whatever pressure you put on yourself you put on yourself. You’re right, the info out there is huge, but I’m just trying not to pay attention to it, try to make these guys better and trying to get better myself.

Interview continues after the jump . . . .

Continue reading this post »

by far my favorite part of the weekend was watching brian barton leg out that triple on saturday. a veritable whiteyballer --- dude’s feet don’t even touch the ground when he runs. barton looks relaxed at the plate, seems to recognize pitches and make adjustments. he doubled on a 1-2 slider friday night, singled off a changeup later in that game, then took another 1-2 slider the opposite way for the triple on saturday. i like the skill set, the attitude, and the look; hope the kid sticks.

re rick ankiel --- it’s good to see him knocking the cover off the ball again (by golly, maybe he ain’t a fluke after all), but to me the real revelation so far has been his defense. am i the only one surprised to see him making highlight-reel plays? i don’t recall him making a single one of those last year. nor do i remember him getting such a consistently good jump on the ball --- check out his reaction on milledge’s line drive in the 9th yesterday. if he’s a quarter-beat slower (as a certain 37-year-old cf was last year), that ball’s over his head. my memory’s not so good anymore; maybe he played this kind of D last year and i simply don’t remember anymore. whatever the case, after only 6 games the outfield D already looks palpably better than last year’s. but --- oops --- chris duncan is just about set to return to the lineup . . . . .

kyle lohse curveball update: he threw it 12 times yesterday in 102 pitches, about twice as often as he threw it on opening day. 10 of the 12 came against left-handed hitters; for one game, anyway, the curve replaced the changeup as lohse’s off-speed pitch of choice against lefties. 9 of the 12 curves crossed the plate for strikes; the nats only swung at 3 of them and only put 2 into play (both by the only right-handed hitter to see a lohse curve, lastings milledge --- he popped up and flew out). of particular note, lohse threw the curve 5 times on the first pitch and 4 times with men in scoring position --- he wasn’t just throwing it in safe counts / safe situations.

another mildly interesting thing about lohse’s pitch selection: when the score differential was 1 run or less, lohse threw 26 fastballs in 44 pitches (59 percent). but after the cards went ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the 3d, lohse stripped down the repertoire and starting pumping more fastballs in there, 38 out of 55 pitches (69 percent). just what you’d expect a pitcher to do; boring and common-sensical. i bet dave duncan deserves a little credit for that; can’t prove it, just guessing.

i read somewhere that the cards’ last 5-1 start came in 2000. that got me curious about fast starts more broadly --- how often do the cards start out 5-1? and if we look forward, how often do they start 6-1, 7-1, and so forth? i only looked back at the last 40 years, ie to 1969 --- the beginning of divisional play, and more pertinent the year i began to pay attention to baseball. within that span, the 2008 cards are the 6th st louis team to start the season 5-1. no team has gone 6-0; last team to do that was El Birdos in 1967. here’s the complete list of 5-1 starters --- the "w-l" columns refer to final regular-season record; the "rs" and "ra" columns refer to runs scored and allowed during the 6 opening games:

four of the teams on this list extended the hot start to 6-1, and two (the 2000 and 1986 teams) opened 7-1; no cardinal team has opened the season 8-1 since i don’t know when. you’ll note that the 2008 cards rank last in runs scored on this list and second-to-last in run differential --- i draw no conclusions at all from those facts, just i thought i would call your attn to ‘m.

which cardinal teams of recent vintage have had the best record after 10 games? surprisingly enough, only one team of the last 4 decades has won more than 7 games in the first 10 --- the 1981 cards, who started 8-2. a dozen teams have opened with 7-3 marks, including forgettable outfits such as 1993, 1998, and 1999. i didn’t count all the 6-4 teams; there were quite a many.

it’s too early to draw any conclusions, but like all of you i couldn’t be more pleasantly surprised by this start. one of the beauties of low expectations is how easily they are surpassed. keep surprising us, fellahs.

final item --- here's a question and a poll re the not-quite-finished, not-quite-forgotten simulation tournament. i’ve gotten extremely backed up in my work and don’t have team to write even the most cursory game summaries for the tournament. nearly all of our summary-writing crew is in the same boat ---- overcommitted at work, traveling, what have you. for those of you who are still interested in the outcome, i offer two options. i can return to posting the results, one game per series per day --- but i’ll just post links to the box scores, unaccompanied by any summary. that’s the shortest path to the conclusion of the tournament. however, if you feel the summaries are essential to the experience, then the second option is ---- the results will be posted on a halting, as-time-permits timetable.

i’ll abide by the majority. i’d hoped to get this all wrapped up before opening day, but it just didn’t happen. best-laid plans, &c. sorry.