passing go

by lboros on Mar 27, 2006 8:52 AM EST in St. Louis Cardinals News

today on bernie's show [la russa] apparently hinted that juancion may bat second. tlr's like the rest of us during the off-season, bored and liable to say just about anything to pass the time; but i don't think he's just muttering idly on this one. don't forget, this is a manager who used to routinely fill the #2 slot with guys like craig paquette (.274 career obp) and shawon dunston (.296); so encarnacion's comparatively robust .316 obp may well prove irresistible to tony.

and so it has, apparently. read and weep at the official site:

Encarnacion has hit second on consecutive days, and there's a good chance that's where he'll be on Opening Day in Philadelphia. . . . .
"I like damage in the second spot if possible," La Russa said. "And he has a lot of things. He's got good legs, he's got extra-base pop, and he's got enough experience to understand the value of 3-4-5 behind him."

that gibes with derrick goold's chat post yesterday to the effect that encarnacion will be getting "a test drive" in the #2 hole, as that's where TLR would prefer him.

i am reminded of wise words from danup's mom last summer: just go with it. i mean really, why get outraged? why bother? it's an ill-advised lineup decision, and it'll cost the team runs -- so who cares? JGWI, baby.

and who on the roster is better suited, anyway? well, there's edmonds -- matt leach's latest blog post gently makes the case for batting edmonds 2d, an idea i support; but leach acknowledges that it'll never happen that way. and if tony's not going to hit edmonds 2d, the remaining candidates on the roster are all equally bad. it might as well be juan'cion as somebody else.

a guy with a career .316 obp is our best option to hit 2d; that, in a nutshell, is why so many cardinal fans were so dissatisfied with this winter's roster rebuild.

whatever. just go with it.

bullpen shakeout: jeff nelson's gone, and brian falkenborg allowed three runs in his one-inning stint yesterday; in this duel of scoreless appearances, that could cost him an opening-day roster spot. if it does, that would leave hancock, wainwright, and benes fighting for the last two slots. i think hancock and wainwright deserve them, but la russa's such a softie he may not be able to resist giving al benes one last chance to make good. should that happen, it'll probably be at wainwright's expense; he'll get sent down to memphis to get some work in as a reliever.

so there's a chance that both wainwright and reyes will open the season at triple a to patch the holes in their game, while the pitching coach's son opens it as the starting left fielder -- a position he never played before this spring.

sigh. it's still a probable playoff team. with some depth to trade from.

just go with it.

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Comments

it's not

even opening day yet, so I'm not gonna dwell on it. it's tony's team; let him do what he wants.

by cardsrul on Mar 27, 2006 9:24 AM EST reply actions

Nelson

At least the guy got released early enough that a couple other clubs could talk to him before they break camp. So in that regard, he'll probably latch on somewhere as there are a few teams that need pitching help yet.

A rumor floating around is a possible John Thomson for Craig Wilson deal. The Braves have too many starting pitchers and need a 1b/OF type while the Bucs could use another starter to go with some of their young arms. It would also give Pittsburgh someone with trade value they could flip at the deadline for some young talent. I wish the Cards would get involved in the trade talks for Wilson but it looks like we would have to give up Marquis or Suppan staright across to get him.

by acr on Mar 27, 2006 9:24 AM EST reply actions

If this lineup move

will help fuel the owner's desire for an upgrade at 2b or lf, I'd say we should all go with it.

by cmat on Mar 27, 2006 9:26 AM EST reply actions

I'll embrace my superstitions

and just go with it too. After all, we now know that the road to a ring involves a desperate late-season scramble to win the wild card. It does NOT, apparently, involve having an offensive juggernaut that wraps up a playoff spot by Labor Day.

by MdRedbirdFreak on Mar 27, 2006 9:36 AM EST reply actions

I kinda feel a little sentimental toward

Alan benes too. I wouldn't mind seeing him in a Cards uni one last time at all. I think it's because I kinda lovd that 1996 team, even though I would shortly HATE Brian Jordan and Ron Gant, that team kinda felt like Whiteball's last stand, even though the white rat left so long before then.

Regardless, it'd be nice to have a guy who was teammates with Ozzie and Willie back on the roster, even if it's just for a week or two in April before reality catches up, and his perennial strongish spring magic wears off.

by Valatan on Mar 27, 2006 9:50 AM EST reply actions

How Do We Know

i mean really, why get outraged? why bother? it's an ill-advised lineup decision, and it'll cost the team runs -- so who cares?

Do we really know this? I mean, honestly? Man, what did Juan Encarnacion do to you or your family? ;)

Like most things, I say we see how it turns out and then pass judgement. I understand people hate his OBP and I know it hasn't been great. But has he ever hit ahead of a guy like Pujols? Haven't we seen situations like this where a guy's numbers go up due to this type of situation?

I just wonder why we keep have to drag down Juan at every single opportunity.

to give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.

by beanocook on Mar 27, 2006 10:11 AM EST reply actions

Give ol'Rusa some credit

I can think of one thing that would make Juan be a bit more careful at the plate--having to pass Albert on the on-deck circle after an ugly strikeout.

by bt on Mar 27, 2006 10:35 AM EST reply actions

Or my new slogan

It is what it is.

Encarnacion and Pujols have the same BA this spring (as of Saturday I think) - .364.

The thing that makes me shudder is wondering how many games will go to the ninth with the Cards down one run, two outs, and end with Pujols standing on deck. Picture game 5 last year with Encarnacion at bat with Eckstein on first - do you think there's any way he walks like Edmonds did?

by STLEdge on Mar 27, 2006 10:35 AM EST reply actions

Good god,

the man's a relatively undisciplined hitter, but he's not an idiot. Baby, these negative waves are ruining my day. I can't wait for the season to begin!

by MdRedbirdFreak on Mar 27, 2006 11:17 AM EST up reply actions

Dang it

I don't want Edmonds batting 2nd.

Does Encarnacion bat leftie?

by sdrone on Mar 27, 2006 11:18 AM EST reply actions

no

he hits righty.

Cardinals Diaspora

by Ryan Van Bibber on Mar 27, 2006 12:47 PM EST up reply actions

Duncan

Duncan's played corner OF before. He's just been really bad at it.

I probably should've mentioned this sooner, but I took the role of 'positive blogger' this offseason. How they treat Duncan -- a decent hit, no glove corner -- is something of a test for the Cardinals. They've treated John Gall, basically a RH version of the same ballplayer, like he had the bubonic plague.

by Rob H on Mar 27, 2006 12:53 PM EST reply actions

Gall not close to Duncan.

Please dont put gall and duncan in the same breath. First of all duncan is a convert that can bash. Did you see any of the hrs he hit this spring? Well let me remind you of the hr he hit off of the unit(who was unhittable that day until duncan came up). It was a bomb!! Give him a chance, tlr and walt arent idiots do you really think that duncan would be on the team if he didnt belong! Look at cody mckay another coaches son. He is a lifetime aaa c. We spend money to bring in a backup 2 years in a row.If this was a family act dont you think we could save the money and use mckay!

by sreese on Mar 27, 2006 1:15 PM EST up reply actions

Ease Up...

Let's temper this over-exuberance for Duncan a bit. This Spring, Gall's got one less RBI than Dunc in 3/4 the ABs, who's cooled off quite a bit of late.

Gall's had a solid minor league career and worked hard to fill the club's needs by learning to play the outfield. He's earned a serious look, if only to give him some exposure to MLB pitching and hopefully get noticed by some other organization.

That being said, I don't expect either of the two to make the roster.

---

For some reason, MLB.com doesn't look to be publishing links to Spring gamecasts, but here's today's game. Miles just tripled in two runs. Cards up 3-0.

by liam on Mar 27, 2006 1:56 PM EST up reply actions

Gameday

Liam, how'd you find that URL in the absence of the MLB.com link?

DCGreg

by DCGreg on Mar 27, 2006 3:17 PM EST up reply actions

They're Predictable

The GET string query (the crap after the question mark in the URL) is predictable given the date of the game and the two teams playing. I'll post them in the morning threads for the rest of Spring if people around here would be interested.

by liam on Mar 27, 2006 3:41 PM EST up reply actions

that would be

much appreciated, liam

by lboros on Mar 27, 2006 3:51 PM EST up reply actions

Rest of 'em

If you try the link too soon before the game starts you'll get a "data can't be found" error. They usually have the lineups on there about twenty minutes before first pitch.

Tuesday 3/28 12:05 Cards at Baltimore
Wednesday 3/29 12:05 Marlins at Cards
Thursday 3/30 12:10 Cards @ Flushing Pond Scum
Friday 3/31 12:10 Cards @ FPS
Saturday 4/1 11:05 Mets @ Cards

If you look at those URLs, the convention should be obvious enough if you want to amaze your friends. The only twist is that they use Retrosheet-style three-letter codes to identify teams instead of ESPN's or MLB's usual codes, e.g. the Cards are SLN in Retrosheet/Gameday instead of STL as on MLB/ESPN.

by liam on Mar 27, 2006 8:46 PM EST up reply actions

Son of a Gun...

Accidentally put the wrong link in for Saturday's game.

Saturday, first of April at 11:05 -- Mets v. Cardinals.

by liam on Mar 27, 2006 8:49 PM EST up reply actions

I wish the Birds

would carry at least one "bat" on the bench... I'm sick of having multi-position infielders who can't hit, inf/of who can't hit, and, needless to say, back-up C who can't hit....

by salvomania on Mar 27, 2006 1:11 PM EST reply actions

Marquis

Hey, at least we've got a #4 starter who can hit. He appears to have gone yard today.

DCGreg

by DCGreg on Mar 27, 2006 2:21 PM EST up reply actions

La Russa likes "damage"...

and damage he will receive. Just not the good kind.

by Nate811 on Mar 27, 2006 1:22 PM EST reply actions

"the pitching coach's son"

A nasty and uncalled for attack on Tony LaRussa's character. Of course, if somebody wants to rip on TLR for the possibility of calling Duncan up, they have to do it via nasty personal attacks, because if they look at what's actually happened this spring, they might notice that Duncan has outperformed every other candidate for an outfield job, and in point of fact has outperformed every other candidate for a spot on the bench except for Daubach, who only plays first base. But that wouldn't do, so slanderous insults are the order of the day.

by Vidor on Mar 27, 2006 1:28 PM EST reply actions

i've noticed duncan's spring

and written about it extensively.

i've also noticed that the kid has gotten special treatment. that's not an attack on anybody; just stating a fact.

by lboros on Mar 27, 2006 1:38 PM EST up reply actions

a suggestion of nepotism

Is most certainly a personal attack on Tony LaRussa's character.

If you have noticed Duncan's spring, which has been excellent, then you must have some other reason for suggesting that he is benefiting from nepotism. Especially since he wasn't even going to make the team, might only make the team now because Larry Bigbie is hurt, and still hasn't definitely made the team. What basis do you have for saying that Duncan, who has outhit everyone auditioning for a roster spot except for Daubach, and has hit much better than any of the candidates we have for the starting left field job, is only making the team (if he does, which remains to be seen) because of his father?

by Vidor on Mar 27, 2006 1:42 PM EST reply actions

How's his fielding?

That's kinda half the question, I think.

by sdrone on Mar 27, 2006 2:13 PM EST up reply actions

Let's wait and see......

Duncan is probably not the answer to our prayers, but he's apparently a decent hitter with power, and could be given a chance to play a decent LF while Bigbie is out (and I'm not that thrilled about Bigbie, either).

by madridbend on Mar 27, 2006 2:25 PM EST up reply actions

Probably as good as John Gall's

Gall has certainly never been known as swift with the glove. And let's remember that we are not talking about Chris Duncan being installed as the everyday left fielder; we are talking about Duncan being the 25th man on the roster.

by Vidor on Mar 27, 2006 2:25 PM EST up reply actions

I'm one of those who wants

to see Duncan on the team, but only if he's going to play a lot in LF. If he really will be the 25th man, I want him in AAA playing every day.

by MdRedbirdFreak on Mar 27, 2006 3:02 PM EST up reply actions

Sure

Yeah, Tony would never do something like give an undeserving player an extra look due to family connections. <cough>CodyMcCay<cough>

by Robb on Mar 27, 2006 2:19 PM EST up reply actions

whatever vidor

read it as you wish. every manager has his favorites. it would only be human for tony to be slightly less than objective about a person he has known since infancy, and with whose father he has worked for 20+ years.

i doubt tony would be offended. and in any case i'm sure he could care less what i think.

by lboros on Mar 27, 2006 2:24 PM EST up reply actions

So I take it you agree

That your "the pitching coach's son" aside is your own opinion, and not supported by actual spring training performance.

by Vidor on Mar 27, 2006 2:26 PM EST up reply actions

whatever you say

vidor. that's for dropping back in . . . .

by lboros on Mar 27, 2006 2:49 PM EST up reply actions

Dude, calm down...

Calling Chris Duncan "the pitching coach's son" is merely an observation based on this fact:

He is the son of the pitching coach.

I would think my nickname for him ("Daddy's Boy") is more of a personal attack than what lboros called him.

Be cool, Vidor, and just go with it.

The 26th Man

by 26thMan on Mar 27, 2006 3:04 PM EST up reply actions

Tone of this thread

Could I make a general plea for a bit more civility and thoughtfulness in the comments? One of the great features of this blog has been that people, for the most part, tend to think and maybe even do a little research before they post.

DCGreg

by DCGreg on Mar 27, 2006 2:35 PM EST reply actions

amen

and have respect for opinions that differ from your own. we all root for the cardinals to win; we have diff'nt opinions about who we believe gives the team the best chance.

the strength of the board is the strength of the opinions. if you differ with an opinion, don't attack the writer; nobody wants to read that junk. state the opposite view and back it up.

by lboros on Mar 27, 2006 2:55 PM EST up reply actions

Preseason Anxiety?

I know we are all worried about the new season, but we are getting a little excessive with the battles over roster spots. We should all know that tony and walt will lead us in the direction of the ws. Yea we havent had the most prolific offseason but tony wins with what he has. Every year we have someone new step in a contribute. We have attacked many of the new players but who was tavarez before he came to the cardinals. These new guys will perform or we will get someone else.Just dont forget we still have our nucleus and the division is ours to lose.

by sreese on Mar 27, 2006 2:55 PM EST reply actions

Duncan

It's silly to think nepotism's not involved; that happens every day in every business.

On the merits, Duncan doesn't fit into this outfield. The Cardinals need more versatility in the outfield, not less. With this roster, carrying a player who cannot play defense is like having one less outfielder. Larussa has already stated he wants to rotate 4 outfielders; that's really hard to do when one of your six outfielders can't field. The Cardinals simply don't have the luxury of carrying a player who can only pinch-hit or has to be taken out of the game in the late innings.

by lerwin1 on Mar 27, 2006 3:09 PM EST reply actions

Agreed

Not only is Duncan's outfield defense questionable - the fact that he's never been a great hitter at any level over the last 5 years in the minors is a red flag. Having one hot month in the Spring is encouraging - I certainly hope it's for real - but it's not a sure sign that he's going to be anything more than Scott Seabol when the dust clears.

by Robb on Mar 27, 2006 3:12 PM EST up reply actions

Let's talk about Marquis

Dude gave up 3 hits over 6 today, while striking out 6, and popped a 2-run jack off Pedro Astacio (not exactly Randy Johnson).

And Yadi picked off a runner at first base, as usual. Glad to see things coming around.

Is it still true that Ponson will be pitching in the minor league exhibition next Tuesday? Anyone read anything about that since he was anointed the fifth starter?

by STLEdge on Mar 27, 2006 3:23 PM EST reply actions

Molina's Pick

He picked a runner off first with one out, the bases loaded, and Soriano at the plate.

After Molina's throw, you had two outs, an open first base, and Royce Clayton (9/53 in Spring) on deck.

That's some inning-changing D, right there.

by liam on Mar 27, 2006 3:57 PM EST up reply actions

Dumb question

New batter with first base open? What happened to Soriano?

by sdrone on Mar 27, 2006 4:07 PM EST up reply actions

No Dumb Questions

Soriano ended up lining out to Rolen to end the inning that AB, but having the open base lets you work the rest of the PA more cautiously with an arguably good hitter like Soriano up. If you end up walking him thanks to Molina's pick, instead of a run scored with 1 out, you've got a genuinely lousy hitter up with an inning-ending force available at all bags.

by liam on Mar 27, 2006 4:34 PM EST up reply actions

Changing the subject

I've been living in New York so I haven't been able to get much info on how Rolen is holding up this spring...anyone know how he's been doing?

by MarcGldstn on Mar 27, 2006 3:28 PM EST reply actions

In the paper today...

9 hits in 29 at bats with 2 doubles.

Lots to right field, but supposedly that's to be expected from someone recovering from injury.

by sdrone on Mar 27, 2006 4:05 PM EST up reply actions

Here's

an article from the official site on Rolen. It's about six days old, but I don't think there's too much new to add since. He's looking okay (not great, not bad) it seems.

http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060321&content_id=1358068& ;vkey=spt2006news&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl

by rockin redbird on Mar 27, 2006 4:18 PM EST up reply actions