friday wrapup

by lboros on Apr 28, 2006 8:50 AM EDT in St. Louis Cardinals News

well, now i understand why mike o'connor hasn't climbed the nats' organizational ladder despite his good minor-league stats; guy's fastball tops out at 85. but he can change speeds, he knows how to pitch, and he's fearless. how'd you like the way he came after pujols with two on, two out in the 2d? kid's 11 batters into his big-league career and has already been bruised for a homer and and a triple, already trails 3-0, and because he walked the opposing pitcher on 4 pitches he has to face albert. o'connor went right at him -- four of those nothing fastballs in a row. missed with the first high and outside; put the 2d one right on the outside corner at the knees, a perfect pitch; kept the 3d one away but threw it at the nipples (maddux likes to do this) and got albert to chase it, foul it off; then got him to reach on another one low and outside and poke it harmlessly to 2d. away, away, away, away; up, down, up, down. easy.

might've been easier yet if he'd just pitched around albert and faced encarnacion with the bases loaded. sloppy juan was in uniform last night, hacking at ev'ything. in the 1st inning, batting with a man on 1st and two out, he got way out in front of a 1-0 curveball and swung through it; overeager. then he chased a fastball out of the zone and fouled it off, which put him behind 1-2 and left him no choice but to swing at the ensuing curve, which he tapped to 3d base for what should've been an inning-ending out.

next at-bat, leading off the 3d: ahead 1-0 again, he chased a slider at the ankles and missed, then chased the exact same pitch a second time with the same result. on 2-2 o'connor came back with the slider and encarnacion laid off it, his lone display of plate discipline last night; that earned him a hittable 3-2 fastball, which he lifted into short left for what should've been a hit (soriano dashed in and caught it).

encarnacion is now 6 for his last 34, even with the big game against pittsburgh on tuesday; he has drawn only 1 walk all year, in the 2d game of the season. his ops is .531 -- a shade better than the st louis pitchers, who as a group are at .515 this season. they have drawn 7 walks . . . .

need more from ya, j'cion.

re the fire at the stadium -- anybody remember the fire at atlanta-fulton county back in 1993? i'm pretty sure it happened before this game, fred mcgriff's 1st in an atlanta uniform. . . . yep it's true; see the last paragraph of this story.

triple a note: my favorite minor-league pitcher, brad voyles, injured himself while warming up in the bottom of the 1st inning last night in iowa; initial report calls the boo-boo a "sprained muscle below the shoulder." never heard of that one. memphis won the opener of the five-game series (a triple-a version of the cubs-cards rivalry), 3-2; timo perez homered, and brian falkenborg saved another. his line in 11 innings: 4 hits, 1 walk, 15 strikeouts.

at the post-dispatch today, derrick goold wrote a piece about former 1st-rounders colby rasmus and shaun boyd. baseball analysts' bryan smith has a scouting report of rasmus and quad cities teammate mark mccormick. on rasmus: "Rasmus impressed me a great deal, showing a patient approach at the plate . . . . If Rasmus can better stay back on slow stuff, the patient, powerful teenager has a fantastic ceiling." on mccormick: "His fastball was fantastic -- easily above 95 -- but an odd hitch in his delivery seemed to promote a lack of control. . . . his fastball was as good as I've seen in the minors in awhile."

that's enough minor-league input for one day; i'll withhold my q+a with springfield pitcher michael parisi for some other time.

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Comments

I remember that game

I was sure it would be cancelled due to the fire, and was very surprised when they decided to play. Didn't remember anything about McGriff though...

Here comes "that man" again...

by iron duke75 on Apr 28, 2006 9:18 AM EDT reply actions

"The FA4"...

post by Derrick Goold is really intriguing today. I would encourage my fellow Cardinals fans to check it out. It's a comparison between Burnitz, Jones, Wilson and JuanE...

http://www.stltoday.com/blogs/sports-bird-land/2006/04/juan-the-free-agent-4/

While I understand that this exercise is NL Central-centric, I think that Matt Lawton should have been included. He has a $400K contract and I'm convinced that it is the best value of the second tier (or, as I like to call it, the Not-Brian-Giles Group) or free agent OF. I know I'm a little too hung up on Lawton...

by bgh on Apr 28, 2006 9:19 AM EDT reply actions

Absolutely

I would give up Reyes and Wainright for the D-Train. As much as i like both of them, I'm not sure if Reyes is ever going to get the shot he deserves, so if we're not going to use him, what's the point of keeping him around? Plus, he's one more injury away from catching a bad case of Mark Prior disease, if you ask me. I couldn't be happier with Wainright so far, but if you take into account what I just said about Reyes, then it basically becomes AW straight up for Willis, and I think anyone in baseball would do that in a heartbeat.

by WhackCuzzi on Apr 28, 2006 9:52 AM EDT reply actions

I agree

how many years left on D-Trains contract?

by Schnake on Apr 28, 2006 10:15 AM EDT up reply actions

Of course I would

I would trade my first born son for Dontrelle. As long as he played for the Cards.

by jroman on Apr 28, 2006 12:00 PM EDT up reply actions

Any deal that doesn't involve....

....

Albert
Edmonds
Rolen
Eckstein
Taguchi
Molina
Carpenter
Mulder
Marquis

.....I'm all for.

by Hardcore Legend on Apr 28, 2006 12:05 PM EDT up reply actions

u REALLY puttting Gooch on that list

the 36 year old OF who doesn't hit for power?

do you have a secret love child with the gooch or something

by azruavatar on Apr 28, 2006 1:58 PM EDT up reply actions

John Mabry...

...that's all I need to say. When you don't have speedy pinch hitters, you get double played out of NLCS games.

Speed never takes a day off.

by Hardcore Legend on Apr 28, 2006 4:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Yep.

First, I'm of the opinion that, whenever a cy young quality pitcher or a MVP type player becomes availible, if they are at all affordable, you have to make the deal.

that trade turns StL from a good regular season team with vulnerabilities in the playoffs into an absolute monster. Carp/Dontrelle would be a one-two not seen since Johnson/Schilling, and, aside from Luis Gonzalez, the 2001 diamondbacks didn't have any hitters of the quality of Pujols/Edmonds/Rolen.

Plus we would control Dontrelle's fate for at least two years past 2006 (I don't know if he has signed a long-term contract yet). Unless you think that Reyes will eventually be better than Willis (which I doubt), I can't see any reason not to do this trade, if it is for real.

by Valatan on Apr 28, 2006 1:28 PM EDT up reply actions

With the way Cardinals staff treats them

I'd go for it in a heartbeat, but I honestly think we have something in Reyes and wish he'd get a chance to show it in the big game with a good pitching coach.

by SirVLCIV on Apr 28, 2006 10:59 AM EDT reply actions

Good work by Thompson

Last night. I didn't see the game, but sounds like he pitched nicely. I was wondering why he got the call instead of Wainwright, but I looked back and Brad hadn't pitched since Sunday and Wainwright pitched Monday. I suppose Tony is trying to keep everyone involved.
Even with some mild concern about Issy, I am real happy with the bullpen. And with regard to Issy, I'd rather him make his mistakes now.
Could be worse, we could have Francisco Cordero. He and Issy have been killing my fantasy team. Although they have gotten 4 wins for me between them.
I still don't like the fact that a pitcher comes in, gives up the tying runs and then gets the win when his team picks him up.

OC Cards Fan

by OCCardsFan on Apr 28, 2006 11:26 AM EDT reply actions

If

we get Willis for more than just the remainder of the year, it'd be a trigger-puller. We could also agree to NOT throw in JuanE...

by sdesserman on Apr 28, 2006 11:41 AM EDT reply actions

Rolen

Am I the only one who thinks we're not getting the real story on this, or have I missed a discussion? According to Goold today, "Rolen saw a doctor Thursday and Weinberg said Rolen's fever has diminished but not really broken yet." He went on to suggest that, in addition to not being available this weekend, Rolen won't accompany the team because of the need to regain strength? Very odd.

by tdhcheri on Apr 28, 2006 11:47 AM EDT reply actions

Bronchitis...

...Most cases of acute bronchitis will go away on their own after a few days or a week. It's a good idea to get plenty of rest, drink lots of noncaffeinated fluids (for example, water and fruit juices) and increase the humidity in your environment.

Because acute bronchitis is usually caused by viruses, antibiotics (medicines that kill bacteria) usually do not help. Even if you cough up mucus that is colored or thick, antibiotics probably won't help you get better any faster.

If you smoke, you should cut down on the number of cigarettes you smoke, or stop smoking altogether. This will help your bronchial tree heal faster.

For some people with acute bronchitis, doctors prescribe medicines that are usually used to treat asthma. These medicines can help open the bronchial tubes and clear out mucus. They are usually given with an inhaler. An inhaler sprays the medicine right into the bronchial tree. Your doctor will decide if this treatment is right for you.

It also went on to say that the cough can last from 1 week to several months.
-----

I would imagine his strength would be down, because Scott wouldn't have been able to do anything in the way of getting his heart rate up. Fast paced breathing would have aggrevated the cough and exerting extra energy would have put a tax on his already weakened immune system.

Had to be careful, could have turned into pneumonia.

by Hardcore Legend on Apr 28, 2006 12:04 PM EDT up reply actions

Bronchitis

O.K., maybe my doubts are misplaced. But isn't it true that people usually show a tendency to develop bronchitis? I have a friend who develops a case 3 or 4 times a year. I've never had it. Does Rolen smoke (or has he in the past)? In any case, I hope he mends fast.

by tdhcheri on Apr 28, 2006 12:30 PM EDT up reply actions

Antsy

I want an afternoon game. It's a worthless Friday and I need something to distract me.

by effin fisk on Apr 28, 2006 12:05 PM EDT reply actions

DW for AW and AR

I really like Dontrelle - very humble man. He really shone during the All Star hype last year.

That aside, can I assume an $110m budget for '07? If the speculation is that we can't resign Mulder while keeping Edmonds, can you imagine what our team would look like with DW added as well? Our outfield will be Bigbie, Taguchi, and Encarnacion, and we'll have to win all our games on the back of Pujols.

by socalcardsfan on Apr 28, 2006 12:14 PM EDT reply actions

If willis is signed

then I think it would be very advisable to let mulder walk, and resign edmonds.

by Valatan on Apr 28, 2006 1:30 PM EDT up reply actions

does

anyone really think theyd go after d-train? I like him but he is streaky. He can tear it up or get bombed. But I agree he could be a great asset on any team. At this point I'd rather see them go for a OF. With the big bats being silent in the last 2 post seasons when it counted(cept Pujols) a bat would be more helpful. Just my opinion

by punchinjudy on Apr 28, 2006 12:18 PM EDT reply actions

Marlins trade

I think if we are going to trade for anyone on the Marlins its going to be Cabrera not Dontrelle. And to be honest I would much rather have Miggy. A 3-4 of Albert Pujols and Migeul Cabrera for the next 6-7 years would be devestating.

by BigMac545 on Apr 28, 2006 12:31 PM EDT reply actions

Like this even better.

We need some lumber. Man he can hit for average and for power. I Don't know about his attitude though.

That's one of the good things about the D-train. Big time producer. 24 years old. Great attitude. He can swing the bat a little, too.

by Schnake on Apr 28, 2006 1:08 PM EDT up reply actions

Cabrera is still

Under the Marlins control. he isn't even elgible for arbitration yet. Dontrelle is cheap for what he is, but Miggy is ridiculously cheap. the only reason they would trade him would be because they're mad at him...not because of finances.

by Toddius396 on Apr 28, 2006 1:31 PM EDT up reply actions

Question, though:

Where do you play Cabrera? He's said he doesn't want to go back to the outfield now that he's learned to play third, and he's not an upgrade over Scotty Ro.

Yeah, he'd be a killer addition to the middle of the lineup (Pujols-Cabrera-Rolen-Edmonds-Encarnacion) but it could turn out to be a Soriano-type situation if he decides he doesn't want to go to left.

Reyes gives me a Mark Prior feel: solid when he's healthy, but once he gets hurt it'll be over. Wainwright's a classic case of a scout's dream who hasn't broken in anywhere. Would they be part of our rotation for years after next year? Of course, but this lineup needs more help now than the rotation does in the future (assuming payroll increases as the ballpark is finished and ancillary revenue picks up, allowing us to find some quality starters.)

Obsessions of a Cardinal Fan

by Quietude on Apr 28, 2006 1:38 PM EDT up reply actions

He's gotta play left field

and I prefer him to hit 2nd.

by sdrone on Apr 28, 2006 1:41 PM EDT up reply actions

Miggy and Albert

There was an article on ESPN.com last year about how Miggy and Pujols are best friends and there was a quote (and I'm paraphrasing here) akin to "We can't wait until we get to be able to be on the same team and play together."

Miggy, when he becomes available is, much like Buhrele, the Cards to lose, in my opinion.

Cheers, Alex Fritz

by Alxfritz on Apr 28, 2006 5:06 PM EDT up reply actions

Lboros

I can't access the scouting report about McCormick and Rasmus...will you see if it's just me or a broken link?

Thanks.

by Toddius396 on Apr 28, 2006 3:19 PM EDT reply actions

the link's ok

but i think Baseball Analysts (the link target) is down. i can't get the site to load

by lboros on Apr 28, 2006 4:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Given the research and splits we have seen

between Mulder when he has an off day versus an on day this is a very compelling article. Perhaps it can explain why mulder would be a good pitcher for us??? Or maybe it just speaks as to why he is a good pitcher in general. He can get bombed or be dominant...think of him as Mr. Inconsistent.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/same-old-same-old/

by azruavatar on Apr 28, 2006 4:08 PM EDT reply actions

Interesting Stuff on Rasmus

Check out Goold's Birdland Blog.
http://www.stltoday.com/blogs/sports-bird-land/2006/04/riffs-rasmus-raking/
Good reports on Rasmus. Also, I heard Sickels on XM talking about Cards prospects and he mentioned Rasmus and Stavinhoa and gave them good marks. It would be nice to see Rasmus maybe make the jump to AA this year. Might give some insight into whether he could be a successor to Edmonds in 08 (presuming we pick up the option).
Sickels thought the Cards have made some significant improvement in the farm system.
Also, anybody taking odds on whether we see Adam Kennedy as the Birds, 2b next year? Unless Luna continues his strong showing, I wouldn't be surprised. He is probably going to be cheap and is serviceable (the two characteristics the Cards look for in a 2b).

OC Cards Fan

by OCCardsFan on Apr 28, 2006 4:34 PM EDT reply actions

o'connor and 85mph

i thought i read somewhere that he was pitching on three days rest. i dont know what he normally throws, but that could be a factor in his low velocity.

by dmb60614 on Apr 28, 2006 7:31 PM EDT reply actions