Birdland blog

According to Derrick Goold.  Well, let's see what happens.  I, for one, approve.  Like I said in a different thread, Carp can be just as much a psychological boost as he is a physical one.

What is everybody else's opinion?  Good move?  Bad move?  If Waino can come back, and they do make him a closer, a rotation of Carp, Lohse, Wellemeyer, Looper, and Piniero for the rest of the year isn't bad at all. 

Put Franklin and Springer back in their customary roles, Waino to shut the door, and we've got a helluva shot to make a run at the post season, boys.

If there was a Mt Rushmore for St Louis Cardinals, who would be the four?

It can be a player, manager, or coach, from any era.  Just stae why you pick the four you did.

1.  Bob Gibson.  Arguably the most intimidating pitcher ever, the pitcher's mound was lowered because of him.  He was so dominatiing baseball had to literally change the game so he wouldn't be such a force.

2.  Stan Musial.  Any questions?

3.  Red Schoendienst.   It's tought to play at a high level.  It's tough to manage at a high level.  He did both, for a very long time.

4.  Albert Pujols.  Arguably the greatest start to a career in MLB history, imagine what his numbers would be if not hampered by hamstring or shoulder, or calf injuries.  

I read in the PD this AM that Mo will be heading to Memphis to watch Mulder's next rehab start on Monday (tomorow).  He's about halfway through his 30 day rehab stint, and according to the article, they have to, at the end of 30 days:

activate Mulder from the disabled list when his rehab assignment expires, shut him down or reassign him to extended spring.

First of all, when they say shut down, is that back on the DL for 15/30 days, or shut him down for the year, and how long can a guy go back to extended spring training?  Either way, let's say they activate him.  The current starters have done nothing to warrant getting booted from the rotation, so why not put Mulder in the bullpen, and let him get his "sea legs" under him?  Granted, that would mean sending down someone who doesn't deserve it, either Villone, Flores, or one of the starters, but it gives the Cardinals the chance to see if Mulder can still pitch without having to re-adjust the rotation.

I know that there's ego and big money involved, and that has to be part of the equation when taking something like this into consideration, but what would it hurt for Mulder to be a long reliever out of the bullpen for a couple of weeks if the Cardinals think he's ready?

Is this completely insane?

Pinero's back, Mulder's close, and Clement and Carp are on the horizon.  FIll-ins have been pitching better than advertised or expected.

My question is this:  What if one of the returnees falters, like Pinero did Sunday?  I'm not trying to say throw Pinero out of the rotation after one start, not at all.  But what if they struggle, repeatedly?  Kind of like CC Sabathia or Barry Zito.  Proven pitchers that aren't getting it done right now.  Seemingly healthy, just getting killed every time they take the mound. 

They've paid substantial money to Clement, Mulder, and Pinero, so how much more leeway do you give those guys, based on their track records, than you would a young guy that might struggle out of the gate, like we kind of expected from Wellemeyer and Thompson?

How many starts do you give them before you go back to the guys that started out so strong like Wellemeyer and/or Thompson?  Three starts?  Five?

I know a lot of things play into that--individual health, pitch velocity, location, mechanics, etc--just wondering what the patience level should be, as it's kind of unprecedented to have 80% of your pitching rotation due back from injury over the course of the season, all at varying points in the schedule, and with the team now expected to be in the thick of contention.  If you're too patient, you might pitch yourself out of contention.  Not patient enough and you don't let a guy work all the rust off.

Seems like a tricky spot for LaDunc to be in.

In his posts, I've seen lboros make mention of Strat-O-Matic baseball a few times, and it made me remember my days of playing Statis-Pro baseball, made by Avalon Hill.  I never played Strat-O-Matic, but I spent HOURS playing Ststis Pro.  They even gave you directions on how to calculate ratings for players so you could make your own cards or teams.  We recreated our little league team (we finished 3rd in the AL West), I got a baseball encyclopedia for my birthday one year and we recreated the entire 1967 AL and did the pennant race (Twins won in a walk), and we made cards of players that had remarkable years, like Ruth's 60 home runs (HR range was a mind boggling 27-41), and Gibson's 1968 season..PB 2-9. hit range 11-14., K range 17-34, about as automatic a win as there was.  In the days before the Internet, this kept us occupied for entire Minnesota winters.

Thanks for the fond memories, lboros, but are there any other Statis-Pro fans out there, or were we a Strat-O-Matic nation, and me and my friends were the oddballs?

And did anyone that play both be willing to give their vote on the better game?

I don't write that title to enflame passions and create anger among VEB nation, but at this point, I think it's a true statement.

After watching Ankiel make yet another great catch, I think it's apparent the Jim Edmonds of 2006 and 2007 would have been hard pressed to make those plays.  Maybe one of them, but not all.

I think Glaus v. Rolen is a push at this point, but Rolen is injured.  Would he have broken his finger had he been at Cardinals spring training and not Toronto's?  Probably not, and I concede that point, but other than that one ugly throw in the home opener, his defense has been downright respectable, and his bat is coming around.

Now, I fully concede the Edmonds and Rolen versions from 2001-2004 were hands down above and beyond anything Glaus has done or Ankiel probably will do, but I think Ankiels play in particular has saved some extra base hits that either prevented biginnings from starting or squashed them as they were on the verge of getting ugly.

Every time I try to log in, it says I have submitted an incorrect password, but I know it is the correct one.  I click on the link to reset my password, reset it in the hyperlink provided in the email, and then I'm okay.  But I have to reset my password every time I try to log in to VEB.  It's getting frustrating, and once I log in by re-setting my password, I don't have a "remember me" box I can check so I'll stay logged in.

Anyone else having this problem?

I know he's not everyone's cup of tea, but he has a pleasant voice, solid play by play, and thought he did a very good interview with Jeff Luhnow this evening.

He's a bit of a homer, but I don't think there's anything wrong with being a homer if that means getting excited when your guys make great, exciting plays, like McClellan and barton last night and Ankiel tonight.  It only bugs me when homerism turns apologist, then it gets annoying.

Jim Hayes interviewed Mozeliak this evening, and for those that didn't see it Mo basically thought that if everything goes according to plan, Pinero and Mulder should be ready sometime towards the end of the month, Clement "a little bit later than that", and Carp sometime in July.