for the luvva jim lindeman

by lboros on Apr 3, 2007 8:34 AM EDT in News Comment 82 comments

i have news this morning about imminent changes to the site; minor cosmetic alterations and some cool new functionality. click on over for more details.

from this morning's p-d, under the headline La Russa bothered by attention paid to opening lineup:

Redbirds skipper Tony La Russa voiced displeasure after Monday's optional workout at Busch Stadium about what he considered excessive attention paid to [Chris] Duncan's absence against Mets lefthander Tom Glavine. . . . "That wasn't, in my opinion, one of those controversial moves that deserves that much attention."

i can sympathize, up to a point. if carpenter executes the squeeze and eckstein doesn't get tossed out at the plate, opening night has a much different feel; the offense makes a decent showing, puts some runs on the board, maybe gets a little credit for mounting a serious comeback against a 300-game winner, and there's probably a whole lot less talk about the outfield woes. i mean, yeah, they have problems --- but the 3 starting outfielders did manage a 3-for-11 performance sunday night, neither stoking nor stifling the offense. unless you think duncan would have gone 2 for 3 with a couple xbhs against glavine, he wasn't likely to have altered the outcome. the storyline was boring and obvious: execution. the mets did, the cardinals didn't.

but (and here's where my sympathy ends) all the "where's duncan?" talk wasn't really about duncan anyway; it was about the glaring void in the st louis outfield that has gone unfilled since reggie sanders and larry walker departed 18 months ago. of all the players the cardinals have trotted out in place of those two --- juan encarnacion, larry bigbie, hector luna, scott spiezio, john rodriguez, wilson, taguchi, schumaker, timo perez --- only one has come close to matching their offensive presence: chris duncan. as i noted elsewhere, st louis leftfielders not named duncan hit .258 / .326 / .375 last season, with 7 hr and 36 rbi in 516 plate appearances; centerfielders not named edmonds went .252 / .321 / .345 in 302 plate appearances, with 4 homers and 29 rbi. that's what this is about. it's about the acceptance of outfielders who hit worse than shortstops.

just one decent bat --- even juan en'cion --- would make a huge difference. with him in right, wilson and duncan platooning in left, and edmonds in center mosta the time (god willing), the shortstop types are relegated to late-inning defense and the pinch-hitting assignment. wouldn't be the league's best outfield, but it'd be far from the worst. but encarnacion is now at least as big a question mark as edmonds; we don't know exactly when he'll be back (at least a month), nor whether he'll be able to provide his accustomed mediocrity when he does return. this guy is in the walk year of his contract; maybe he'll be for sale at the deadline. wouldn't come cheap, though . . . .

hey, i never gave you the results of the community projection of stl's final record; 40 people put in entries, 60 percent of which fell in the 86-to-90-win range. another 35 percent of the respondents had the cardinals at 91 wins or more, leaving just 5 percent --- two people --- at below 86 wins. one of those people marked st louis down 81 wins; the other put 'em at 78, the lone doomsayer brave enough to predict a .500 record.

that dangerous individual has been placed under 24-hour surveillance by mr dewitt's private security force.

the finally average was 90 wins, 72 losses, and a 3-game margin over the rest of the division. the runs scored/against averages were 769 and 704, which translate to an 87-75 pythagorean record; so much for that 3-game margin, eh? as we did with the individual player projections, let's now compile a projection of the projections to see how ours stacks up. "RLYW" refers to the oft-cited Diamond Mind Blowout conducted last month by Replacement Level Yankee Weblog; the projection labeled "Diamond Mind" refers to DM's own projections, which posted yesterday:

	W	L	GB/A	RS	RA
VEB	90	72	+3	769	704
RLYW-zips	90	72	+5	753	665
Diamond Mind	85	77	+2	769	728
RLYW-chone	84	78	--	778	741
RLYW-pecota	80	82	-5	726	736
PECOTA depth chart	81	81	-4	731	735

the overall average of the above is 85 wins . . . . . ok, so the hometown fans are a little optimistic. who'da ever thunk that?

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Comments

I've been wondering about Dye.

I suspect he'd be worth the money.

by Don Zero on Apr 3, 2007 8:56 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

He'd be worth the money....

but is it worth the prospects we'd have to give up to get him? Especially for an impending free agent.

Miller sucks.

by Ankiels Missing Curveball on Apr 3, 2007 9:12 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I disagree

Dye had a peak season with the White Sox last season. I doubt he'll put up the same numbers again this year, especially since he's getitng older.

by VORP is too nerdy on Apr 3, 2007 9:19 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah. I've learned a lot about

him since he started playing in Chicago, and I like him. But I have a feeling he's hit his peak.

Which isn't necessarily a problem, but he'll want to get paid like he's hitting his peak.

by sdrone on Apr 3, 2007 9:54 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree with VORP

I'd hate to bring in Dye on the decline. I have a feeling it'd be similar to renegotiating Encarnacion's contract only for a lot less money.

I'm a Jenius!

by gibbons on Apr 3, 2007 10:22 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Does anyone have a link

Or a list of free agent outfielders (free agent lists in general would be fine)?

I'm a Jenius!

by gibbons on Apr 3, 2007 9:07 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Post 2007 free agents Outfielders

(* = option)

Bobby Abreu * NYY
Moises Alou * NYM
Milton Bradley OAK
Eric Byrnes ARZ
Mike Cameron SD
Brady Clark LAD
Jeff DaVanon ARZ
Adam Dunn * CIN
Jermaine Dye CWS
Luis Gonzalez LAD
Shawn Green* NYM
Eric Hinske BOS
Torii Hunter MIN
Geoff Jenkins * MIL
Andruw Jones ATL
Bobby Kielty OAK
Rob Mackowiak * CWS
Jason Michaels CLE
Orlando Palmeiro HOU
Corey Patterson BAL
Aaron Rowand PHI
Reggie Sanders KC
Ichiro Suzuki SEA
Brad Wilkerson TEX

by Stan and Slaughter on Apr 3, 2007 9:20 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

C-Patt!!!!!!!

Imagine.. Adam Dunn on the Cardinals...

Wow.

He'd be expensive. To be honest, I think you could get the best deal for Milton Bradley.

by VORP is too nerdy on Apr 3, 2007 9:23 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Looking over that list

I don't see much I like. Maybe brining Reggie back for next to nothing would be a good move. He was a positive in the clubhouse too. Maybe Brady Clark, though since the Dodgers just got him I doubt he is going anywhere.

by JMedwick on Apr 3, 2007 9:26 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for the post stan!

There are some big names out there but I doubt the cards would have much of a chance with any of them. Chris Duncan, is the Cards version of Adam Dunn. However, one name that really intrigues me is Ichiro Suzuki. If the Cardinals are unable to sign Eckstein after this season, I'd like them to make a strong push to sign Ichiro to fill our on going vacancy in right field and also (if eck leaves) the lead-off spot. Eric Byrnes also seems like he'd fit in here quite well if he'd play a corner outfield spot. Milton Bradley is too much of a head-case for me and Luis Gonzalez is more of what we already have, aging stars. I'd wager that Gonzo retires after this season, especially after the lack of interest he received last off season.

I'm a Jenius!

by gibbons on Apr 3, 2007 10:18 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Chris Duncan is NOT adam Dunn

they are two years apart, Dunn has been in the bigs since he was 21.

Chris Duncan will never walk 100 times in a season. Nor will he strike out nearly 200 times a season. Dunn had a career minor league ISO of .221. Duncan's was .150. I'd love to believe Dunc is going to be close to Dunn in terms of gross production, but the reality is Duncan probably was playing a bit over his head and could regress to the mean in a nasty way this season. I certainly hope not, and I like what I hear about Duncan's improved swing, hard work ethic and overall good attitude and all, but I'm not expecting the world from the guy for 1 great half of a season.

and while i think Ichiro is an interesting player and all, he'll be far overpriced. I'd bet a team like San Fran would chase him, they have a propensity to overvalue stars who are starting to go past their prime.

Future Redbirds

by erik on Apr 3, 2007 12:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He's already 32 or 33

and won't be worth the money and years that he'll receive on the market. Pass.

by chuckb on Apr 3, 2007 12:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ah come on...

Duncan is sorta like DunnLite = Less Power, Less Strikeouts, Less Money, Less Calories...

by BigJawnMize on Apr 3, 2007 2:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ichiro?

Okay, it would be pretty cool to see him wearing the birds on the bat...

I'm going to my happy place now.

by RosevilleRedbird on Apr 3, 2007 9:47 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

hmm

the only guys i see the cardinals running at are eric brynes, mike cameron and ichiro, just to get fans happy and the get beat in the bidding war.

by samael88 on Apr 3, 2007 10:07 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

In the end it's up to the player

I think the Cardinals have handled the last two off seasons well. They made their push but didn't break the bank for something they didn't feel was worth it. I think I heard they even offered more to Jason Schmidt than the Dodgers did, he just wanted to stay on the west coast. As far as the AJ Burnett deal, we won the world series and AJ won 10. In comparison, Jason Marquis won 14, granted, he lost 8 more games than AJ but AJ left the game so early he wasn't getting decisions. I trust the Cards make the best run they want/can every off season.

I'm a Jenius!

by gibbons on Apr 3, 2007 10:28 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Burnett had a 3.98 ERA and a little less than

1 K/ip in the AL east. He'd have been our second best pitcher last year. I don't see what your point is.

by Valatan on Apr 3, 2007 4:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That we won the series without him?

n/t

by sdrone on Apr 3, 2007 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Would you say that that was a team constructed to

win the series? I really wouldn't. We benefited from the modern playoff format, and everything, everything falling into place at the right moment.

by Valatan on Apr 3, 2007 4:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

We'd have won the series with him as well

by chuckb on Apr 3, 2007 4:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Garcia

Nice article in Hardball Times ranking the best left-handed pitchers currently in the league and those about to arrive. Jaime Garcia isn't ranked in the highest tier, but after the past few years, any article ranking a future Card in any tier makes me happy.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/the-best-left-handed-pitchers-of-2007/

by tdawg on Apr 3, 2007 10:09 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

looks good...

Lets face it, the guy projects as a #3-#4 innings eating lefthander. Considering what the going rate last summer was for that type of skill--I will gladly take him for 6 years.

by BigJawnMize on Apr 3, 2007 12:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

his k's dropped

because the word is he was falling too in love with his curve. he's going to start the season in AA this year, if his K's come back and he keeps that 60% GB rate, then he'll be an outstanding prospect. If not, you're right, 6 years of league average or slightly above would be great.

Future Redbirds

by erik on Apr 3, 2007 12:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You might be right...

Hitters tend to pop curves up, so what you say about him falling in love with his curve could hold true. It is interesting to hear his curve is his bread and butter breaking pitch, usually guys with high GB rates throw sliders...

by BigJawnMize on Apr 3, 2007 2:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Just for kicks and grins

How nice would it be if we could go out and get Ichiro and Renteria?

How bout this lineup...
RF Ichiro
LF Duncan
1B Pujols
3B Rolen
CF Edmonds
SS Renteria
C Molina
2B Kennedy
Pitcher

Bench
Speez
Marrero
Skippy
Ryan
Ankiel

Starters
Carp
Reyes
Wagonmaker
Narveson
Mulder

With that lineup we could move Ichiro to center at times to give Edmonds a rest without having to put in lower tier talent(Taguchi).

Play hard, play to win, but make it fun!

by Edmonds is baseball on Apr 3, 2007 10:56 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Hey, maybe the odd infatuation

with Gooch has nothing to do with his play; it's all about using him to get Ichiro to come to River City!

God I hope that's true.

by MdRedbirdFreak on Apr 3, 2007 11:35 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

We need that lineup generator

Didn't Ichiro do really well hitting lower in the lineup during the WBC?

by sdrone on Apr 3, 2007 11:44 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

here it is:

http://www.baseballmusings.com/cgi-bin/LineupAnalysis.py

by plh903 on Apr 3, 2007 6:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

tony

should get used to the second guessing now if he plans to start so and wilson regularly.

by jojo5492 on Apr 3, 2007 12:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

TLR

I'm getting a little tired of Tony's rabbit ears. You would think with his level of accomplishment, he'd be above fretting over fan/media criticism. He sounds juvenile.

by 10worldchamps on Apr 3, 2007 12:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He's probalby more defending

the players than defending his decision.

by sdrone on Apr 3, 2007 12:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

hard to defend their stats though

They may be the best people in the world, but that doesn't mean they should be on the field.

Wilson
.730 OPS, 17 HR, 121 strikeouts

Duncan
.952 OPS, 22 HR, 69 strikeouts

Taguchi
.686 OPS, 2 HR

Rodriguez
.806 OPS, 2, HR

Even considering lefty/righty splits I still have a hard time justifying it. But Tony is Tony.

by redbird2006in on Apr 3, 2007 12:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

As opposed to

the constant bitching and moaning of the fans and press? I think even the most hardened of managers/coaches would eventually tire of it. Juvenile? No... he's speaking his mind, just like everyone else is.

by cardsrul on Apr 3, 2007 12:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

man up

He seems to have a short fuse, too short for someone of his stature. The power lies with him and he should act like it and quit getting his dander up every time he's questioned.

I read an anecdote about Earl Weaver once where a young reporter asked ``Earl, why did you take Palmer out in the seventh inning when the leadoff man reached?''

Weaver smiled and said: ``Because I'm the manager of the Baltimore f**king Orioles, that's why.''

Bingo. That's all that matters.

by 10worldchamps on Apr 3, 2007 12:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

LOL

OMG, that's awesome.

Wait a sec...this just in...

Second guessing a MLB manager is part of the fun of being a baseball fan. Somebody please pass along this freakin' news flash to Tony...

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.

by Mr Clean on Apr 3, 2007 2:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ichiro's Agent

Is Ichiro represented by Boras? If he is, it'll mean money and years, even at his age, for the next team to sign him.

I would love to bring Ichiro to the Cards, although I think its unlikely to happen.

by IC Cards Fan on Apr 3, 2007 12:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Given the Cardinals' history

with big-name free agent bidding, I think our chances are about zero, Boras or no Boras.

by MdRedbirdFreak on Apr 3, 2007 12:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ichiro!!!

Would be fun to have, but he could make a lot more endorsment cash playing in a Japenese heavy market like San Fran, LA, NY, or simply staying in Seattle. While St louis does have a growing Asian community, I don't think it begins to compare with those four.
He'd simply make more money elswewhere.

But I'd kind of (okay... really) like to have him as a #2 hitter.

Cheers

by Alxfritz on Apr 3, 2007 12:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree

that most of the "Where was Duncan?" was really about "Why in the hell are we starting an OF of Taguchi and Wilson?". And I'm usually in LaRussa's camp but, if he doesn't like questions about our starting OF, he's going to have to tell Walt to get us a new one. It remains to be seen if what we have right now is workable, but if the fans have to put up w/ it, Tony's going to have to answer questions about it.

I think that we may also want to see if Stavinoha might be an answer later in the year as well, even on a part-time basis. I know they'll be watching his progress at Memphis carefully.

by chuckb on Apr 3, 2007 12:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Leaving Duncan out

is typical TLR, simply looking at the splits against lefties (2006):

Dunc: .170/.220/.319
Gooch: .280/.337/.389
P-Dub: .292/.362/.496

Even though I would make Dunc my every day left fielder and start treating him like Edmonds a few years ago (play him right through the crappy splits), this is understandable TLR logic.

But, again, what makes it questionable is a) the struggles of Gooch and Wilson, combined with the fact that we had a guy sitting on the bench whose splits were these:

Speez: .318/.372/.365

by whitey ball on Apr 3, 2007 2:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hmm...

Those numbers don't match what I have for Cardinals 2006 Splits versus left handed pitching. They also didn't include the fairly important number of ABs for each player against lefties. Here's what I found:



         AVG  OBP  SLG  ABs

Dunc:   .158/.220/.316   38

Gooch:  .280/.337/.389  157

P-Dub:  .250/.325/.667   36

For the record, I don't really have much of a problem with Tony sitting Duncan against Glavine. And after looking at these splits from last year, I still think it was probably the best move.

I imagine the thing that galls most of us is that So and Preston were...among our 3 best starting OF options against a lefty starter.

That said, one cannot help but wonder why it's OK for Tony to PH Duncan against the Mets lefty Feliciano in a critical NLCS playoff game last year (result: a memorable HR), but it's not OK to give him a start against Glavine, whom Duncan has 0 career ABs against. That's the question that I would ask.

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.

by Mr Clean on Apr 3, 2007 3:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Forget Ichiro

Seattle has asian ownership that would never give up their flagship star. He helps them fill the asian market from the Seattle area AND overseas, he means WAY to much money for them to let loose

Unless you use local guides, you cannot get the advantages of the land. <Master Sun> The Art of War

by MaskedMan on Apr 3, 2007 12:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Ichiro could leave Seattle...

It may not be up to the Mariners ownership, who will do everything they can to keep him. But Ichiro wants to win, and he's been (justifiably) unhappy with the Mariners team performances the last few years. It wouldn't surprise me if he spurned big Mariners $$ to go to a contender if the Mariners don't vastly improve this year. That said, I doubt he'd go to the Cardinals. Maybe the Red Sox, especially if Coco Crisp struggles again this year?

by Yellow Dog on Apr 3, 2007 1:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sanders

I read the other day that the Royals were looking to trade Sanders to a team in which he'll play since Gordon became the everyday 3B, which moved Teahen to the OF. I wasn't a fan of resigning Sanders b/c of his age but he might be a consideration since his contract is up at the end of the year. He has flaws certainly, but he's better than Wilson or So.

by chuckb on Apr 3, 2007 1:11 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I was thinking about the same thing this morning

it'd be interesting to see who he could platoon with in the OF. With Preston in RF until Juan comes back? With Duncan in LF against LHP?

I'm too lazy on this depressing Tuesday morning in which I know I won't get to watch the Cards tonight for the first time in over a year to muddle through splits.

Walk your dog, not Pujols.

by Hardcore Legend on Apr 3, 2007 1:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sanders

I don't see him as much of an improvement. Reggie's OPS last year was .729, almost identical to Wilson's. And, as you suggest, he's pushing 40.

by DCGreg on Apr 3, 2007 2:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Here's a screengrab I accidently got while

playing around with my HD capture of Sunday's opening Day game on ESPN. Thought you might enjoy.

Walk your dog, not Pujols.

by Hardcore Legend on Apr 3, 2007 2:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

That's awesome

Just need to airbrush out the bottom half of that ad...

by Phyrkrakr on Apr 3, 2007 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

so, anyone else think

that tony's short fuse could have something to do with his criminal status. i know i dislike being criticized in one aspect of my life when i screwed up royally in another. i'm not looking to either pick on tony for his dui or excuse him for his snippy comments, merely looking for a possible explanation.

in dissecting this one game, i'd examine more closely his choice to not have duncan ph against one of the rightys that willie brought in rather than not starting him against a pitcher who he might flail hoplessly against.

by sdesserman on Apr 3, 2007 3:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

when have you ever screwed up?

by tdawg on Apr 3, 2007 5:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I was wondering...

what was up with that SUV idling out front...

I suspect this roster will look considerably different by August. That'll be my excuse anyway when the Cards (hopefully) prove me wrong.

Acquire any Established Major League Starter!

by guayzimi on Apr 3, 2007 3:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree

I'm not terribly concerned about the deadweight we have right now. If So and Wilson are still on the roster in September, they'd better be playing very well. This gives us some time to figure out what we've got at AAA and what we need at the big league level so that Walt can go get it. Besides, teams aren't looking to trade yet as no one's out of it just yet. Hell, even the Royals are undefeated!

by chuckb on Apr 3, 2007 4:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

unbalanced schedule

totally unrelated comment here...

for a while i've heard the term "unbalanced schedule." i knew that we play some teams more/less than others, yada, yada. never really investigated it or thought too much about it. that is...until recently. i'm in dallas now and i got all excited earlier because this is the year that the american league west (rangers, i live 10 minutes from the ballpark) is going to play my boys. i caught all 3 games here in dallas (actually, arlington) a few years ago. but i was borderline suicidal when i checked the schedule and realized that the cards are skipping the series with the rangers this year. i'm assuming this is due to that whole "we play the royals every year no matter what" crap. ugh....serious depression.

anyway, that was my first clue. then i made a bet with a colleague and a mets fan in our new york office regarding the season series. and yeah....how sweet it was to talk mess with him during the nlcs last year. a highlight. checked the schedule. 7 with the mets. got me curious again so i sorted the schedule and picked out some random teams....

mets - 7; braves -7; phillies - 9; nats - 6; cubs - 16; brewers - 15; bucs - 18; reds - 15; dodgers - 6; dbacks - 7; pads - 7; giants - 5; angels - 3; a's - 3; none against mariners or rangers.

now i'm just curious. there doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to the schedule. or at least, i'm not smart enough to figure one out...and that's entirely possible. is it a random, computer-generate deal? what am i missing?

can anyone proffer a good explanation and educate me????

by busch league on Apr 3, 2007 3:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I can't explain

but it does sort of make you long for the good ol' days of two divisions per league and no interleague play. With two six-team divisions, you played your division rivals 18 times and teams in the division 12 times. No one got the kind of built-in scheduling advantages teams get today.

Of course, the Cardinals never made the playoffs during that era ...

by DCGreg on Apr 3, 2007 4:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

i know what you mean....

i hear talk every year about scheduling disadvantages, but i guess i've never really paid much attention to it.

but just looking at the small sample that i did, i see we get 7 with the mets and braves and 9 with the phils, but we only get 6 with the nats. and they are all in the same division. talk about a disadvantage. who wouldn't want to load up on games agains the nats this year???

and we miss out on the hapless m's and the rangers. of course, we do get the royals every year. that's a plus.

even in our division, things are screwed up. 16, 15, 18.....

ehhh....i guess it's not really THAT much of an issue. to be the best, you have to beat the best.

it's just one of those things that makes me go hmmmmm.......

by busch league on Apr 3, 2007 4:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I can't explain it

but maybe Bud can. The one thing I've noticed is this: last year we played the Astros 16 times -- 10 in Houston and 6 in St. Louis. This year there's a disparity again and again it's in their favor, with more games in Houston than in St. Louis. I raised this point several times in different forums a year ago, emailed Gordo and Matt Leach about it, and could never generate any interest in the answer or even anyone who wanted to find out the answer. This strikes me as unfair -- there should be an even number of home/road games vs. the teams in your division. This can't be difficult to fathom so I'd like to get some sort of explanation!

by chuckb on Apr 3, 2007 4:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I gather

it's simply impossible to balance the schedule given the number of teams and the reality of interleague play and the wild card. One just has to hope, for the sake of fairness, it evens out in the end for each team.

I believe but am not sure that the Cards have benefited in the past more than they've been harmed -- certainly, starting with six games against the Royals is a big edge over, say, starting with six against the Yankees, as the Mets must always do.

by DCGreg on Apr 3, 2007 4:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

6 teams in Central

The NL central is the only team with 6 teams, the AL West the only league with 4 teams. We have to play the same number of in-division games as those teams in the NL East. That means we play an unbalanced schedule within our league.

Second, as a result of interleague games, the schedules get totally unbalanced given the smaller AL West. Whatever interleague division we are scheduled with has one or two less teams to match up with.

by enoscountry on Apr 3, 2007 5:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

I still don't get why they moved the Brewers from the AL to the NL during the realignment. They could have kept the Royals in the AL West, put the Brewers in the AL central, and had six divisions with five teams each. It's so much more simple and obvious than what they did that it baffles me. Or they could have put the Rockies in the AL west, and put the Brewers or the Astros in the NL west. I guess they wanted all of the divisions to be in one time zone. But our current divisional setup doesn't really make much sense, especially with a wildcard.

by Valatan on Apr 3, 2007 8:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Unbalanced leagues

The explanation I always heard about the 16/14 split on NL/AL teams was that with two 15 team leagues, you would have to have interleague play all season instead of the two periods that it is restricted to now.

I've also noticed the disparity in games within the divisions and in the home/away splits. I haven't looked at this year's schedule, but last year the 10/6 (away/home) split w/ Houston was balanced by a similar split in the Card's favor against (if I remember) Pittsburgh. So, it appears (from a single data point, admittedly) that the overall schedule against division rivals balances. That's still no excuse, IMO, for such a disparity as 10/6.

by ArkansasTravs on Apr 4, 2007 11:07 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

From Dayn Perry at FSN

He wrote an article about the 10 biggest omissions from the opening day rosters and a familiar face was #3 on the list....

3. Cardinals -- OF John Rodriguez

Juan Encarnacion is on the DL, and Jim Edmonds is in a state of disrepair. In other words, the Cards need outfield depth. Rodriguez can provide decent defense at the corners and handle right-handers. He doesn't have the name value of Preston Wilson, but he's a better player at this stage of their careers. The Cards erred in assigning Rodriguez to the minors.

"Forget about the curveball Ricky...Give him the heater!!"

by BleacherBum on Apr 3, 2007 3:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Duncan.

Duncan will never learn to hit lefthanded pitching unless he gets chances to do so in game situations. If TLR and crew aren't going to give Duncan that opportunity then it's time to package him up and send him elsewhere.

Bench Juan Encarnacion!

by STLCardinalsFan on Apr 3, 2007 3:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Really?

After one half season in the bigs, in which some say that he played over his head, management has run out of time to platoon a young player justifiably? This is the last chance that LaRussa has to let a league-minimum player to play every day?

by Don Zero on Apr 3, 2007 4:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Young?

Jrod is 29 years old. He is probably at or near the peak of what he can do, the time to play him is now.

by mikedallas23 on Apr 3, 2007 4:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Although I did not use a proper noun,

I was referring to Chris Duncan. Yet, admittedly, he turns 26 next month, and so is only a few years younger than Rodriguez.

by Don Zero on Apr 3, 2007 4:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Logic.

Why platoon him now when he's going to have to learn to hit lefties eventually? Plus, the more playing time he gets means he'll learn to play the outfield.

Bench Juan Encarnacion!

by STLCardinalsFan on Apr 3, 2007 5:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Obviously,

Because trying to win on Opening Night against one of the most successful lefthanders in the game was more important than giving Duncan the chance to learn to hit lefties right now. You're right that Duncan needs to learn to hit lefthanders, and that's why LaRussa had him batting against them all spring.

by Don Zero on Apr 3, 2007 6:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wow.

Because trying to win on Opening Night against one of the most successful lefthanders in the game was more important than giving Duncan the chance to learn to hit lefties right now.

Obviously. Thanks for thinking I didn't realize that.

Bench Juan Encarnacion!

by STLCardinalsFan on Apr 3, 2007 9:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

And you consider

your comments less obvious? Wow.

Thanks for controlling your tone.

by Don Zero on Apr 3, 2007 10:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Actually...

Actually, my comments were quite groundbreaking. No one in the history of the universe has made such a striking realization as I did earlier. Thanks for pointing out the obvious, again, and I trust you'll continue to do so for the next half year.

Control this, sunshine.

Bench Juan Encarnacion!

by STLCardinalsFan on Apr 3, 2007 11:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Doh!

-1 for me for poor reading comprehension.

by mikedallas23 on Apr 3, 2007 4:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

well this probably isn't good

carp will miss next start with elbow soreness

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/21C82B34C715E9B1862572B20076393E ?OpenDocument

by jojo5492 on Apr 3, 2007 5:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

oh, boy.

where's my tums

Carp will miss his next start, felt tightness in his elbow....http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/21C82B34C715E9B1862572B20076393E ?OpenDocument

Future Redbirds

by erik on Apr 3, 2007 6:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

jojo

you beat me too it

Future Redbirds

by erik on Apr 3, 2007 6:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

@q#!$

four letters words

by Jonathan23 on Apr 3, 2007 6:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Carpenter Injured

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/21C82B34C715E9B1862572B20076393E ?OpenDocument

Carpenter has elbow problem, will miss next start
By Joe Strauss
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
04/03/2007

Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter experienced tightness in his right elbow after Sunday night's season-opening start against the Mets and will miss his next scheduled start.

by jms8897 on Apr 3, 2007 6:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs