When you looked up at the flags flying high in Busch Stadium II, and now out at the leftfield wall at Busch Stadium III, the names and numbers on display exemplify the many eras of greatness that this ball club has had throughout its storied history. Thirteen individuals are honored by the franchise at this point in time for their greatness on the field, in the owner's box, in the broadcast booth, in the dugout, and outside the stadium. This is more than any other ball club but for the New York Yankees. These thirteen individuals comprise a list of Cardinal legends who made indelible marks on the game, the franchise, and a fanbase.

05.16.08 vs. Tampa Bay, The Next Great Cardinal Legend Takes the Field.

Save for [Ken Boyer] and Gussie Busch, every single individual is enshrined in Cooperstown at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. This sets a high bar for recognition with a retired number, but one that many have cleared and yet are not honored with a number retirement. Longevity is also a very important criteria for inclusion on the wall. In games played as a Cardinal, Stan Musial is first with 3,026, Lou Brock second with 2,289, Ozzie Smith third all-time with 1,990, Enos Slaughter fourth at 1,820 games played, Red Schoendienst fifth in games played (never mind managed) with 1,795, Ken Boyer is seventh at 1,667, Rogers Hornsby ninth with 1,580, and the rest of the commemorated greats are pitchers or non-players.

I believe that the strongest argument for excluded players can be made for Joe Medwick, Jim Bottomley, and (the weakest, but most nostalgic for me, personally) Willie McGee. Frankly, looking at the all-time leader board for St. Louis Cardinals, even these Cardinal greats may not be in the company of those featured on the wall, save for one Hombre, who I added while perusing the Cardinals all-time leaders.

JOE MEDWICK

Medwick, a Hall-of-Famer, ranks seventeenth all-time in games played as a Redbird. His career Cardinal BA is fourth at .335, while he is twelfth in career hits at 1,590. His 152 HR as a Cardinal are eleventh in Cardinal history and his 923 career RBI as a Cardinal are eighth (just ahead of Ray Lankford). Medwick won the 1937 MVP, was a seven-time All-Star while with the Cardinals, and hit .335/ .370/ .545 as a Redbird.

Van Mungo has a wonderful quote that is featured on Medwick's Hall-of-Fame page:

"I'd rather pitch to any other hitter in the league. He's bad news all the time. No game is ever won against the Cardinals until Medwick is out in the ninth."

JIM BOTTOMLEY

Inducted into the Hall-of-Fame in 1974, Bottomley was one of the players that came up through the Cardinals' revolutionary farm system, leading their renaissance from cellar-dwellers to contenders, and went on to win the franchise's first World Series in 1926. He holds the career record for most RBI in a single game with twelve. Bottomley is fourteenth in games played as a Cardinal with 1,392, which is more than Medwick. His .325 BA is eighth in Cardinal history and his hit total for St. Louis of 1,727 is ninth all-time. Bottomley slugged 181 homers for St. Louis, which ranks him eighth in franchise history, his 1,105 RBI for the club rank him third in franchise history. In addition, he is regarded as a superb fielder. He won the 1928 NL MVP as a Cardinal.

WILLIE McGEE

Willie McGee, who, like Ozzie, exemplifies the Whiteyball Era, but who, unlike Ozzie, won an MVP, is a favorite for those of us raised on the 1980's Cardinals. As much as I wanted to find otherwise, his career numbers don't stack up all that favorably when compared to franchise leaders. While the longevity is there--Willie eighth all-time in games played as a Cardinal with 1,661--he only ranks 29th all-time in Cardinal BA at .294. He is eleventh in total hits with 1,683. His career slashes are .295/ .333/ .396. His MVP year of 1985 was an incredible year, where Willie hit .353/ .384/ .503. Had he not been traded to the A's in 1990 and then signed by the Giants, and his numbers with the Giants were achieved with the Cardinals, he would be Wall-of-Famer, for sure. As it turned out, he returned to St. Louis in the dusk of his career and went out as he should have, with the birds-on-bat across his chest.

ALBERT PUJOLS

After every game he plays in a Cardinal uniform, we should count our blessings. In the game-by-game grind, we often lose sight of the context that proves what a talent Pujols is and how fortunate we are that he is a Cardinal. His .333 career BA is fifth all-time in Cardinal history, and he will likely surpass Medwick for fourth after a high-average 2008. He is already in the top 20 all-time for games played for St. Louis and ought to be in the top 15 by season's close. His career slugging percentage of .620 and career OBP of .424 are second only to McGwire in Cardinal History. His 306 Cardinal homers are second only to "The Man." Pujols's 935 RBI rank sixth in the franchise's storied history. His 1,474 hits are fifteenth in the all-time record books, but he has those hits in a mere 1,196 games. Only Joe Medwick was as prolific a hitter in terms of piling up stats in relatively few games (Medwick had 1,590 hits in 1,216 games while wearing the birds-on-bat, when seasons were shorter.) While the names above and below Pujols in this Fanpost are arguments, his is not. Number 5 will undoubtedly find its proper place on the wall between Numbers 6 and 2. By that time, Pujols may be first all-time for the franchise in every counting statistic. He is a once-in-a-generation hitter.

BRANCH RICKEY

I believe that Branch Rickey, a man who wore many hats for the Cardinal franchise should be memorialized on the leftfield wall of Busch Stadium III. In the Post-Dispatch's Editorial Page on October 31, 1955, Red Smith summed up Branch Rickey:  "player, manager, executive, lawyer, preacher, horse-trader, spellbinder, innovator, husband and father and grandfather, farmer, logician, obscurantist, reformer, financier, sociologist, crusader, sharper, father confessor, checker shark, friend and fighter." In my mind, "innovator" is the single best word summing up Rickey. He changed the way franchises were run and in doing so allowed the Cardinals to compete with big market clubs and win World Series. Ricket developed a system that delivered many of the names that are now celebrated legends in Cardinal lore.

In 1916, the St. Louis Cardinals were having problems selling tickets due to the club’s lack of talent and poor play. That year, they finished in last place and filed for bankruptcy. Rumors ran rampant that the Cardinals may be sold to another city, which caused civic leaders to band together. The first Knot Hole Gang was created, where local businesses would receive one ticket for an underprivileged youth for every $50 worth of stock in the ballclub that they purchased. This brilliant finance strategy kept the club in St. Louis, but the new owners needed someone to run it. They didn’t need to look outside the city. They targeted Branch Rickey, business manager of the St. Louis Browns.

When Branch Rickey became president of the St. Louis Cardinals, the team was $150,000 in debt. The new owner of the New York Giants took Rickey out to dinner with the aim of buying the up-and-coming shortstop for the Cardinals, Rogers Hornsby. Knowing of the club’s debt, he offered $150,000. Rickey knew that Hornsby was the type of talent the Cardinals had to keep if they wanted to be a legitimate World Series contender, so he declined the offer, and its subsequent increases.

This particular anecdote is indicative of the problem that small market clubs faced in those days. They often struggled to keep their heads above water financially, causing them to sell off their promising, talented players to the big market clubs out east. While this practice kept them afloat in the short term financially, it sacrificed any long term goal of consistently fielding competitive lineups. Rickey’s solution to this problem: a farm system. As described wonderfully in J. Roy Stockton’s The Gashouse Gang and a Couple of Other Guys, "a chain of minor league teams of various classifications—a kindergarten, grade school, preparatory school, and university of baseball—which eventually would graduate shining Phi Beta Kappa students of the game—Hornsbys, Frisches, Sislers, Cobbs, Speakers, and Mathewsons."

Rickey would leave the Cardinals to fight in World War I and would not have the resources to implement his minor league system until the early 1920s, after the team had been bought by the wealthy Sam Breadon. The system was mocked and derided by fans and sportswriters alike (kind of like Moneyball). The Cardinals began buying shares of minor league teams, which they populated by having tryouts across the Midwest. This cheap method of filling their minor leagues quickly bore fruit with players such as Ray Blades, "Heinie" Mueller, and Jim Bottomley taking the field for St. Louis. This crew won the Cardinals' first World Series in 1926 over the vaunted New York Yankees, pennants in 1928 and 1930, and World Series championships in 1934 (the Gashouse Gang) and 1942. As stated by Pat Doyle in "Branch Rickey’s Farm," a wonderful piece featured at the online Baseball Almanac,  "Even after Rickey left St. Louis following the 1942 season, his farm system continued to produce Cardinal pennants in 1943, 1944, and 1946." The 1942 and 1946 clubs also won the World Series, by the way. By 1940, the St. Louis Cardinals owned 32 farm teams outright, had working relationships with 8 others, and consequently controlled over 800 players. (Imagine trying to keep track of Cardinal prospects back then.) Without Branch Rickey, we wouldn’t have 10 World Series championships, Dizzy Dean, FutureRedbirds.net, "Bull Durham," or EqAVG.

In the early 1920s, Rickey didn’t just radically makeover the entire organizing principle of Major League Baseball. He also put his stamp on the way the St. Louis Cardinals looked when they took the field. Branch Rickey thought up the now-classic birds-on-bat uniform logo that has been a staple of the St. Louis Cardinals ever since (excluding 1956 and 1927, but that’s another story). As the tale goes, Rickey attended a wedding and was taken by red paper cutouts of Cardinals that were used for decorations over the white table clothes. He approached an artist, Edward H. Schmidt, and asked that he design a logo featuring two cardinals perched on opposite sides of a baseball bat. The rest, as they say, is history.

Rickey left St. Louis for Brooklyn in 1942. It was there that he tore down the color barrier in Major League Baseball by signing Jackie Robinson. I would not argue that the color barrier would still be in place today but for Branch Rickey. But, baseball was desegregated before America's schools because Rickey signed Jackie Robinson (and a few other Negro League players). Another barrier that Rickey did away with was that for Latinos when he drafted Roberto Clemente. Branch Rickey was a pioneer in the integration of baseball.

The Cardinals have not hesitated to expand their recognition of greatness beyond that which exists between the lines. Fittingly and deservedly, both August Busch and Jack Buck are honored on our leftfield wall. Gussie got number 85, his age the year he was recognized, and Jack got a microphone, appropriate symbols of the way they enhanced the Cardinals organization. For Branch Rickey, I might suggest the simple emblem that he originated and we all wear emblazoned across our shirts when we enter the gates of Busch Stadium III: the original birds-on-bat design. Branch Rickey was an innovator and trailblazer who fundamentally altered the game of baseball in St. Louis as well as the whole of the Major Leagues and it is past time that he was recognized by the Cardinals organization by honoring him on the leftfield wall.

CONCLUSION

Please feel free to add any other names that I've excluded. I think that this is a very interesting debate and would love some feedback, as well as enhancement, of the discussion. Thanks for reading.

Sources:

• www.baseball-almanac.com
• www.baseball-reference.com
• St. Louis Cardinals Official Site, Historical Player Stats
• National Baseball Hall of Fame, Dressed to the Nines Uniform Database

 

There are also a few wonderful books that I gleened information from, that I would highly recommend to one and all for their anecdotes and histories. They give you an even greater appreciation for baseball and Cardinal history.

• The Gashouse Gang: How Dizzy Dean, Leo Curocher, Branch Rickey, Pepper Martin, and their Colorful, Come-from-Behind Ball Club Won the World Series--and America's Heart--During the Great Depression, by John Heidenry
• The Gashouse Gang and a Couple of Other Guys, by J. Roy Stockton
• Diz: The Story of Dizzy Dean and Baseball During the Great Depression, by Robert Gregory

 

Since the Redbirds managed a mere one run today versus the great Santana, which, fittingly, came from a solo homer, I thought that it would be a good time to revisit just how many of the Cardinal homers were solo blasts and to see whether or not we had started whacking more mutli-run long balls over the outfield walls of ballparks across this great nation.

You may or may not recall that, back in May, the Cardinals were hitting a disproportionate amount of solo home runs when compared to the league average. Back then, the league average was 57.43% (in '07 it was 56.72%, in '06 the league share was 57.35%, and in '05 it was 56.64%). In May, the Cards had the second-highest Solo HR % in Major League Baseball at 72.09%, which trailed only the Giants.

Here are the numbers through yesterday.

MLB Solo HR %:  56.98% (down 0.45% from May)

St. Louis Solo HR %: 63.39% (Down nearly 8.7% from May)

Since May, the Cards have belted 69 dingers, with 40 of them being of the solo variety, or, 57.97%, which is still higher than the League hit over that same period. Taking all home runs hit in the Majors through yesterday, 56.67% were solo. Because the Cardinals have started hitting home runs more in line with what would expect, they fell from 2nd in this ranking to 4th, behind the Dodgers (67.12%), Orioles (66.35%), and Giants (63.93%). Hopefully, more multi-run homers are on the horizon and we lower our Solo HR % even more as the home stretch heats up.

Once every summer (and I usually wait until summer), I indulge myself in arguably the greatest sports film ever made, the great "Bull Durham." I find that spacing out my viewings of the classic allows me not to have the lines memorized and to laugh at the jokes I forget. This year, line after line made me think of the 2008 St. Louis Cardinals as we approach the All-Star Break. So, I thought I would offer a mid-season review based on quotes from the film.

 "This is a simple game: You throw the ball, you hit the ball, you catch the ball. You got it!"

-- Skip

To the entire roster, who, as of this writing, was second in the NL in hitting and OBP, to Rick Ankiel for the two greatest outfield throws I've ever seen, the starters (when healthy) -- Wainwright (3.14), Lohse (3.61), Wellemeyer (3.94), Looper, 4.15--and to the team as a whole for its defensive prowess in the first half. Our RZR 20 points over the league average, good for second in the NL behind San Diego.

"Don't try to strike everybody out. Strikeouts are boring. Besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls - it's more democratic."

-- Crash Davis

To Dave Duncan and the starting rotation. While the pitching has fallen off with the injuries to both Wainwright and The Colonel, Lohse has been a revelation and Looper has been solid, if unspectacular. The Duncan "Pitch-to-Contact" dictum is being executed to great effect and the Cards are in the playoff hunt because of the improvement in its pitching from last season.

Kyle Lohse

Career GB%: 41.4% / 2008 GB%: 47.2%

Career ERA: 4.72 / 2008 ERA: 3.76

Adam Wainwright GB%: 34.7%

The Colonel GB%: 40.1%

Looper GB%:  48.8%

El Pineiro GB%: 45.5%

The Cardinals' strikeout total of 516 ties us for 26th in all of MLB thanks to Duncan's anti-fascist, pro-democracy policies.

"You're gonna have to learn your clichés. You're gonna have to study them, you're gonna have to know them. They're your friends. Write this down: 'We gotta play it one day at a time.'"

-- Crash Davis

To TLR for re-selling his "Play a Hard Nine" cliché to his club, the team, and the media. We all know that the key to the Redbird renaissance is shedding aging, injury-riddled and fading veterans is the primary source of our resurrgence. This is complimented by replacing the outgoing veterans with moldable, younger players. These less-injured players have adopted a patient hitting style that has translated into an effective offense. In addition, they have the quickness and speed on defense to get to more batted balls (especially with a pitch-to-contact, democratic philosophy).

"There's never been a ballplayer slept with me who didn't have the best year of his career. Making love is like hitting a baseball: you just gotta relax and concentrate. Besides, I'd never sleep with a player hitting under .250... not unless he had a lot of RBIs and was a great glove man up the middle."

-- Annie Savoy

Now, I have no idea who Cesar Izturis is sleeping with and don't really care, but this quote goes to TLR for apparently subscribing to the theory that you shouldn't pencil a player into lineup hitting under .250 unless he is a great glove man up the middle. There is no other redeeming characteristic of Cesar Izturis that would allow him to regularly start for a Major League club.

After a start to the season with an OBP over .400, which validated his roster slot, Izturis has regressed to the mean. As of this writing, he is batting .236/.309/.307, which is so intolerably bad, I can't even bring myself to type anything about his defense redeeming him. It's that bad. I don't think Annie Savoy would sleep with him. Maybe some Walt Whitman would help his batting...

Crash: Did you hit me with your right hand or did you hit me with your left? Huh? Did you hit me with your right hand or did you hit me with your LEFT?

Nuke: My left.

Crash: Good! That's good; when you get in a fight with a drunk you don't hit him with your pitching hand. God, I can't keep giving you these free lessons so quit screwin' around and help me up.

This goes to TLR for his bullpen management. This may be difficult to fathom, so I will try and lay it out. Ron Villone is a LOOGY and nothing more. He has a BAA of .184 vs. lefties and allows an OPS of .586 against them, which is what a LOOGY should do. However, he has appeared in 35 games and has a 5.32 ERA. I realize he has appeared in a few blowouts, but TLR simply should not allow Ron Villone to pitch to righties late in close contests.

Then there is Randy Flores who has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. He has an ERA of 5.12 overall while allowing a BAA/OPS of .278/.864 vs. lefties. Against righties, his BAA/OPS is actually lower, but still nothing to write home about, at .268/.741. He should not be on the team.

The Cards need to acquire another man who can hit a drunk with his right hand in a bar fight.

"I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf..."

To Troy Glaus, whose plantar faciitis has yet to rear its head, and whose defense has benefited from the move to a natural playing surface. (I'm lazily just going to use RZR).

Glaus has a RZR of .743 with an OOZ total of 32.

"...and the designated hitter."

-- Crash Davis

This is to the entire NL, including the Cards. The AL went 142-109 vs. the NL in 2008's interleague play and look poised to win their eleventh out of twelve and sixth straight All-Star Exhibition Game That Counts, for homefield advantage in the World Series, which means four games of a DH. The Cards' interleague record of 7-8 includes a 2-4 record in the I-70 series vs. the lowly Royals.

"I believe in...the hanging curveball."

-- Crash Davis

To Rick Ankiel and his well-documented pounding of offspeed pitches, including the curveball.

"A player on a streak has to respect the streak. You know why? Because they don't happen very often."

-- Crash Davis

To Ryan Ludwick and his red hot start to the season. Through June 6, he had 13 homers in 180 ABs, a BA of .303, OBP of .376 and slugged .628. After having an ice cold June in which he hit .228/.298/.406, he is heating up the St. Louis summer. His numbers in the very young month of July: .375/.444/.625. Hopefully another extended hot streak is afoot.

"Know what the difference between hitting .250 and .300 is? It's 25 hits. 25 hits in 500 at bats is 50 points, okay? There's 6 months in a season, that's about 25 weeks. That means if you get just one extra flare a week - just one - a gorp... you get a groundball, you get a groundball with eyes... you get a dying quail, just one more dying quail a week... and you're in Yankee Stadium."

-- Crash Davis

To Adam Kennedy, who hit .314 in April, .161 in May, .311 in June, and is currently sitting at .538 in July. This, after batting .218 in 2007. Kennedy's BABIP for the season? Up to .322, 9 points above his career number and 93 points above last season's number. It is also 18 points below Aaron Miles' BABIP. Who do you think will have a higher BA come September?

"You're not getting that weak ass shit by me, meat."

-- Crash Davis

To Albert Pujols and his .320 BA, .471 OBP, .624 SLG, 1.095 OPS and 18 homers in 76 games. It seems that nearly every toss is "weak ass shit" to El Hombre.

Clubhouse reporter: So how does it feel to get your first professional win?

Nuke: It feels out there. I mean, it's a major rush. I mean, it feels radical in kind of a tubular sort of way, but most of all, it feels out there.

To the rooks who have made their big league debuts this season: McClellan, Perez, Parisi, Boggs, Worrell, Barton, Rico, Mather, and Stavinoha.

Nine rookies making a big league contribution this year. That's out there, radical in kind of a tubular sort of way, but most of all, it's out there.

Umpire: Did you just call me a cocksucker?
Crash Davis: I said it was a cocksucking call.
Umpire: Did you just call me a cocksucker?
Crash: No, I said it was a cocksucking call.
Umpire: Call me a cocksucker again and you're out of here.
Crash: Do you want me to call you a cocksucker?
Umpire: Call me a coksucker and you're gone.
Crash: You're a cocksucker!
Umpire: You're Outta Here!
Crash: DAMMIT!
Robert Wuhl: Crash must of called the guy a 'cocksucker.'

To Yadier Molina for the best ejection of the year, hands down. I don't know if he said the magic word, but he was sticking up for his Ace on one of Wainwright's rougher outings and I'm sure I'm not the only one who appreciate Molina sticking up for his teammate.

"You know, you never handle your luggage in the show, somebody else carries your bags."

-- Crash Davis

To Mark Mulder, who started experiencing back spasms after moving his luggage, causing him to miss a rehab start, but not preventing the Cardinals from activating him off of the DL, to the 'pen, and then to the rotation for his first start against the menacing Phillies.

Barry Weinburg, Cardinals' trainer, on the minor injury:

Trainer Barry Weinberg, who had heard the luggage story also, said, jokingly, "That was a $10 preventable injury. Ten dollars for a bellman. I would have loaned him the $10."

Clearly, this is why you never handle your luggage in the show.

Bernie, Bernie, Bernie. The Chinese need energy to continue economic growth. Busch Stadium needs energy to light the stadium, keep the Budweiser cold, and light the Stan Musial statue. The City of St. Louis needs energy to run traffic lights, street lamps, provide electricity. The St. Louis Cardinals Baseball Club, though, does not need energy.

Sitting at the Par Lounge, Bernie could have written an intelligent, researched post about how the Cardinals squandered good pitching performances, how they aren't getting guys on-base, how they are not being patient at the plate, how Pujols being out amplifies the black hole in offensive production that is our middle infield, or some other poignant subject. Of course, Bernie didn't do that. Instead he embarked on the worst kind of sports writing, a column on the stuff of myth and lore--in this case, it's "energy."

Bernie states that the Cardinals need to "energize" their attack, by playing Barton and Ryan more as well as by calling up Memphis Redbirds (apparently because AAA players have more "energy"). Admittedly, since greenies were banned, teams seem a little lethargic. The chocolate-covered espresso beans from Starbucks don't seem to be doing the trick. The problem is that we are swinging more, taking fewer pitches, and walking less. Surely, taking a pitch is the least energetic endeavor in baseball, followed by its derivative--the walk. As LB chronicled in a post that was everything Bernie's is not, this is the problem of our beloved Redbirds since Pujols went down.

I don't think that Cesar Izturis's inability to hit is due to a lack of energy, nor do I think that Kennedy's incredibly slow bat speed is because his energy cells are running low. And, anyone will tell you that Aaron Miles always puts forth 117% in his grit-filled efforts. But energetic scrappiness doesn't mean that Miles should play over Ryan, either. Brendan Ryan should be getting more ABs because Izturis and Kennedy just aren't that good.

The Real Izturis has stood up. It has nothing to do with energy and everything to do with skill, or a lack thereof. An inflated OBP in the early going has fallen to normal and expected levels. And an inflated OPS, especially after his lone HR, has similarly sank like a stone cast into the sea. His BA is also bad. He is not good enough to be penciled into a big league lineup for a team striving to play in October. For the year, Izturis is batting .241/.315/.313, for a horrid .628 OPS that ranks him 20th out of 21 big leaguers with at least 200 PAs as a shortstop. Point blank, Cesar Izturis should not be allowed to dig into a Major League batter's box.

Adam Kennedy has proven himself washed up as well. The question of whether or not Kennedy would be able to rebound from his horrendous 2007 season after surgery has been resoundingly answered in the negative. His slapping weakly proved lucky early this season, but has since evened out, exposing him as a subpar player not fit to button a jersey with Cardinals-on-bat (and, probably not even with a Redbird-on-Memphis). AK's .258 BA might not be unbearable if his OBP weren't worse than even Izturis at .308. To make matters worse, he is slugging only .304 (and that's in the wake of his only HR of the season). All of this makes for an OPS of .637, which is bad for 22nd out of 24 secondbasemen with at least 175 PAs. Kennedy is the new Junior Spivey and should be dealt with accordingly.

Even after today's very good performance, Aaron Miles is on the fringe of being a legitimate big leaguer. He certainly is not good enough defensively to have played SS as much as he has this season. Even one inning is too much. His high BA, for him, of .293 has bolstered his marginal .333 OBP, and today's blasts have propped up a nonexistent slugging percentage. Nonetheless his OPS of .681 is not good and intolerable with the black hole at SS.

I'm not at all stating that Brendan Ryan has been setting the park ablaze with his hitting. That said, in his relatively few ABs, he has hit .276/.321/.314, for an OPS of .636, which sucks. But, last season he put up an OPS of .753 and he did have the best Spring Training of our quartet of slappy middle infielders. He has played a solid defense in his limited playing time, as well, showing good range. It would do the Cards well to see what Ryan can do since it cannot conceivably be worse than Izturis and Kennedy. That way, we know how badly we need to target a middle infielder come the deadline.

What the Cardinals need in the wake of Pujols' injury is not energy, but baserunners and power. In the K.C. sweep, we managed a mere .224 OBP. We also slugged four XBH, one of which was a solo Ankiel homer. With no one on the basepaths and no one driving the ball, runs were not scored. Luckily, power was to be had from some unlikely sources between the hallowed foul lines of Fenway. LaRue, Skippy, and Yadi all homered in Game 1, a game in which we had 13 baserunners. (I tried to calculate the odds of these three all homering in the same game, but my head nearly exploded, so I stopped for safety's sake.) In Game 2, Miles whacked one, as did the sluggers Glaus and Ankiel. We had 17 baserunners in the game.

I paid close attention during these games and I didn't see any great energy differential. I didn't a radiant glow from the Cardinal dugout in Fenway. Nor did anyone seem to be playing harder in Boston than in St. Louis vs. the Royals. The played with the energy that professional ballplayers intent on winning play with--both in St. Louis vs. K.C. and in Boston vs. the Sox.

I had the wonderful fortune of attending my first two Cardinal games in Busch III since 2006 this past weekend, on Friday and Saturday. After the bats took the night off Friday night , they awoke Saturday, whacking three baseballs over the wall , three solo blasts. Leaving the Stadium still jubilant over Ludwick's second solo HR, the walkoff shot that just cleared the fence, I thought to myself, "Man, we sure seem to hit a lot of solo shots."

I then thought, "I need to see if this observation is, in fact, true, or if I'm just projecting today's game onto the season."

Well, it is, in fact, true. I've done some admittedly not in-depth numbers crunching because I was curious about just how many MLB homers are of the solo variety and, the flip side of that coin, just how many plate more than just the batter. I only analyzed the data of the 2008, 2007, 2006, and 2005 seasons for home runs. The reason being that the league totals were so similar, I assumed that they would simply continue to be and I have to meet a friend for a beer here in a little bit. Let me begin with the totals for all of the bigs.

MLB Solo HR %

2005: 5,017 total HR / 2,842 solo HR / 56.65 solo HR %

2006: 5,386 total HR / 3,089 solo HR / 57.35 solo HR %

2007: 4,957 total HR / 2,812 solo HR / 56.73 solo HR %

2008: 1,285 total HR / 738 solo HR / 57.43 solo HR %*

*through the games completed on May 21

You see what I mean. It would appear that the league average for Solo HR % is somewhere between 56.5% and 57.5%. For the range between the MLB club with the lowest solo HR % to the club with the highest, here you go:

2005 Range: 43.32% to 66.67%

2006 Range: 50.95% to 62.41%

2007 Range: 50.27% to 65.54%

2008 Range: 39.13% to 73.33%*

*through the games completed on May 21

Not suprisingly, there is fluctuation and the young season allows for some very extreme outliers. The most extreme outlier above what one would expect is that of the Giants, who have hit a whopping 73.33% share of their home runs as solo. Number two behind San Fran? That's right, the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals have hit 43 homers this year, with 31 of those being solo shots, or, 72.09% of home runs struck by the Cardinals are solo.

There is no reason to suspect that this percentage share will not fall by at least 8 to 10% as the 2008 season plays out. This should help drive up those run totals, especially given out knack for getting on base.

Since today is May Day, lets take a trip down memory lane, looking at some of our former fan faves and how they are doing in jerseys without the Birds on Bat. Today's "Ghosts of Redbirds Past" focuses on the 2006 World Champions who are now playing elsewhere.

David Eckstein , 2006 World Series MVP

2008 Salary: $4.5M

.248 BA / .321 OBP / .307 SLG / .628 OPS / 11 SO / 4 XBH

A lot has been written about our current collection of slappy middle infielders, and justifiably so; however, the prototypical Cardinals slappy middle infielder is this man, who TLR once called the "toughest player" he had ever managed. Miles is a mere shadow of Eckstein because Eckstein has made a career of playing SS. Still, for the month of April, Izturis is likely the better value. Despite being on the DL (which is a value unto itself with him), he has managed a .350 OBP in the #9 hole. Their OPS is vitually identical (.628 to .623). Add to this the fact that Izturis is demonstrably better defensively and you get a better value for the month of April.

By the end of this season, gauging Izturis' value may be done as a stopgap between the Eckstein and Brendan Ryan eras (then again, maybe not). April could the most important month in assessing him. Of course, it is only May 1st and, naturally, the jury is still out.

Scott Rolen , Mortal Enemy of TLR, Former MV3 Member

2008 Salary: $11.625M

5 G / 19 AB / .316 BA / .381 SLG / .697 OPS / 1 HR / 4 2B

The key statistic is games played, and that is a total of five, due to his finger injury. That said, he's swinging the bat fairly well. Of course, Rolen doesn't lead the league in doubles, like Troy Glaus. Best value for the month of April is clearly Glaus.

Jimmy Edmonds , Former Majestic CF, Former MV3 Member

2008 Salary: $8M

.153 BA / .235 OBP / .222 SLG / .457 OPS / 1 HR / No range in OF

Writing this brings a tear to my eye. It makes me sad to think how far the Might Edmonds has fallen in skill. He was so good for so long for St. Louis that he deserved better; namely, a glorious farewell tour in Cardinal red last season. This could be Mo's best move as GM. I don't want to seem like I'm trashing Jimmy Baseball. I forked out for some StubHub tickets to the San Diego series by the Padres dugout, have made my "Thanks Jimmy" sign, and plan on wearing my Edmonds jersey t-shirt. Also, I have a photo of his 2004 NLCS catch on my wall.

Jeff Suppan, Cardinal Nation Postseason Folk Hero

2008 Salary: $8.25M

34.2 IP / 5.19 ERA / 5 HR allowed / 12 SO / 11 BB

Soup got shelled  last night by the Cubbies (8 ER, 11 total runs, in 3 2/3). Who would you rather have? Soup at twice the cost of Lohse? Soup at $2M more than El Pineiro? While he will always have a place in Cardinal lore, letting him go, at his contract price, was a wise move by Jocketty.

Jeff Weaver, Former Cardinal, Mariner, Current Nashville Sound

2007 Stats: 170 IP / 5.76 ERA / 8 W / 14 L / 34 HR allowed

2008 Stats: Has yet to pitch

Wow, did Dream Weaver screw up by signing with Seattle. I mean, wow. Here's to hoping he comes to Des Moines to pitch vs. the I-Cubs so I can hold up a sign reading, "Thank you for your 2.43 ERA in the '06 playoffs!"

Ronnie Belliard, Web Gem Regular

2008 Salary: $1.6M

.214 BA / .323 OBP / .339 SLG / .662 OPS / 1 HR / 4 2B

Last season (.290/.332/.427), he seemed like the one that got away. Heck, I thought he was. And maybe he was since he is signed to less money on a shorter contract than what we are on the hook with for AK. Better 2007 value vs. AK. Better April 2008 value is AK.

Jason Marquis, Bipolar Betty

2008 Salary: $6.375M

4.45 ERA / 17 SO / 10 BB

He's been solid for Chicago, which is frustrating to me given all of the "Have fun watching Marquis" emails I sent out after his signing. He's been a more than adequate bottom-of-the-rotation starter for them. That said, I'm happy to be rid of him. It was time for him to break up with LaDunc and move to greener ivy, er, I mean, pastures.

This post is partially inspired by suggesting this as a Fanpost last weekend during the series in San Fran when brindled suggested a fanstpost after discussing what names Miles would have on his XFL jersey and then by Red Baron's advocacy for "Santa Glaus" as our new thirdbaseman's nickname.

I have been relucatant to make such a fanpost with nickname suggestions because it is so daunting a task. I firmly believe that player nicknames sprout organically from the soil of comments during games and grab hold as they prove accurate over the 162-game slog. Nonetheless, it is a lot of fun and my suggestions are by no means the end-all, be-all of such an exercise. I greatly look forward to the VEB community's ideas.

So, in honor of Vinca McMahon's aborted XFL and its jerseys featuring nicknames (may "He Hate Me" rest in peace), lets discuss what nicknames would be found on the flip side of the Birds-on-Bat if Bud Selig were displaced as MLB Commish by Vincent Kennedy McMahon.

via blog.wired.com

AARON MILES

He is penciled into the leadoff spot of this daunting fanpost because I feel his is teeball compared to many others on the roster. "Grit" seems to be the ideal nickname to supplant Miles on the back of his jersey. It sums up, in one word, why TLR insists that he be on the roster, as well as labeling the only plus skill set Miles has as a big leaguer. Plus, the man has scars on his back from fighting a gunman for control of his firearm during a hostage situation. Miles is grit and grit is Miles.

 TODD WELLEMEYER

Goold's piece in the P-D on Friday's victory over San Fran, I believe, gives us Wellemeyer's nickname.

Whether it's the short towel he wears around the clubhouse or the business card he carries as a certified Kentucky Colonel, the Cardinals are used to Todd Wellemeyer being out of the ordinary.

You really need to read this from the Kentucky Secretary of State's webiste, too. Did you know that "Colonel" is the highest honor given to a Kentucky citizen? Or that The Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels is "A great non-political brotherhood for the advancement of Kentucky and Kentuckians." You see, Wellemeyer is a member of this Honorable Order, along with another famous Kentucky Colonel.

I believe it only natural that Wellemeyer be "Colonel."

 BRAD THOMPSON

I love "WonderBrad" as a nickname for him. I have piggybacked it a little. Last summer, I was in Europe (and I picked the right summer to miss the vast majority of Cardinal games). Well, when explaining to one of our German friends our nickname for Brad Thompson, my friend, who is fluent in German, said, "Das WunderBrad," or, "The WonderBrad." Now, every time I see Thompson's headshot on GameCast, I chuckle because a German-accented "Das WunderBrad" plays in the Soundtrack of My Life. Can you imagine him dancing in a European discotech to bad techno and introducing himself to German girls as "Das WunderBrad?" I digress...

RICO WASHINGTON

Is it "Suave" or "Uncle Rico?"

 JASON LARUE

Where to begin? Given his forbidden hair, ape drape, t-bird tail, or, just ol' mullet, what is the best option. "Biz N Front?" Since the name would be viewed from the back, it would compliment the easily visible "party in the back" portion of LaRue's hairdo. Or, should we try something all-encompassing, like, say, "Lawrence," harkening to the dry-walling construction worker neighbor from Office Space, a character that LaRue plainly looks up to and maybe even is intentionally emulating.

RYAN FRANKLIN

 I nominate "Franklinstein," and tip my cap to the Red Baron, who clearly puts a great deal of thought into this. What's more, with his PED use, it's even more fitting.

BRENDAN RYAN

My suggest is "Nuke." He plays the infield the way that Ebby Calvin LaLoosh pitched: hard and all over the place. Can't you picture Ryan breathing through his eyelids, wearing a garter belt underneath his uniform, abstaining from sex to keep a streak alive, and generally carrying on conversations with Miles in the vein of LaLoosh and Crash conversations?

RICK ANKIEL

"The Natural," "Hobbs," "'Ammerin' Ank," all have been used. Watching him play, I always think of Roy Hobbs.

CESAR IZTURIS

Mendoza the Second, or, "Mendoza II" is my suggestion. As his walk rate tumbles back to career norms and reveals his true offensive capabilities, we are left to wonder whether or not his batting average will fall on the over- or under-side of the mythical "Mendoza Line."

CHRIS DUNCAN

"Lil' Dunc," "Dunc the Yunger," "Lumberjack," and more have been thrown out. I like "Lumberjack," especially given his phenomenal player beard in 2006 coupled with his giant dip of chew. (The preceeding link actually shows some tobacco spit intermingled with his beard.) "Chaw" also comes to mind: "a wad of something chewable, such as tobacco." For some reason, his photograph on Gamecast this season makes me think of him as a "Chaw"...

SKIP SCHUMAKER

Since his real name is "Jared," it seems that "Skip" wins. I kind of like "Skippy" myself, given his small-dog like appearance. "Cobbler" maybe?

RYAN LUDWICK

"Lud" or "Luds" seems to be a favorite of VEB.

ADAM KENNEDY

AK 87? (He played in 87 games last year.) AFK? Dead Kennedy? "Adam Kennedy of Anaheim?" Of course, his bat doesn't look quite so dead thus far this season.

KYLE MCCLELLAN

"Nails?" "McNails?" "Golden Arches?"

ANTHONY REYES

"Love/Hate" would seem to be the common ground for the VEB community. "He Hates Me?"

KYLE LOHSE

"Hired Gun." Kyle "The Coup" Lohse. "Best Value."

BRADEN LOOPER

Braden "The Convert" Looper. "Converted" Braden Looper. "The Braden Looper Experiment."

MATT CLEMENT

"Scrap Heap '08". "Junker." "Fix'r Up."

MARK MULDER

"Seventh-Best, or, Sixth-Best?" "Has-Been." "Not Haren."

RANDY FLORES

LOOGY I.

RON VILLONE

LOOGY II.

RUSS SPRINGER

"One More Year." "Proven Vet." "Still Got It." "Cal Eldred."

KELVIM JIMENEZ

"Has Options."

BRIAN BARTON

"Dreads," "Rule 5-er," Brian "Brains" Barton, "Intelligentsia."

ADAM WAINWRIGHT

His nickname is "Wagonmaker."

ALBERT PUJOLS

He has quite a few. "El Hombre" would look cool across his jersey back.

TROY GLAUS

"Santa Glaus" has been kicked around. So were a few others. I defer.

JASON ISRINGHAUSEN

Obviously, "Izzy" is Izzy's nickname.

YADIER MOLINA

"Yadi."

CHRIS CARPENTER

"Carp" or "Ace."

TONY LA RUSSA

"Esquire," which is what attorneys put after their name. "Mad Scientist." "Genius."

DAVE DUNCAN

"The Resurrector." "Crotchetty."

I mean this to be a critique of TLR's strategic decision to keep Wainwright in the game, measured by reason and supported with statistical analysis and observation. Please feel free to critique and comment. I don't mean to overly piggyback LB--this Fanpost was half done when he posted for the day. Since he summed up far better than I could've the relief situation, I quoted that post below. (LB, I hope you don't mind.)

"Why does La Russa still have Wagonmaker in the game? 105...106...107...Is he honoring Dusy Baker's return to Chicago by unnecessarily extending the pitch count of our best, young pitcher? 108...109...110..."

So was my inner-monologue last night during Wainwright's 115-pitch outing.

I raised an eyebrow when Wainwright came out for 8th, likely because I am still over-sensitive to him as a reliever-turned-starter, which is silly since he had always been a starter before 2006 and got better as a starter as the 2007 season progressed (unlike other relievers-turned-starters--Looper & Wellemeyer--who showed physical hiccups during their shift). Nevermind the fact that his 2007 total IP of 202 was twenty more than the previous high of his professional career of 182 IP.

Last season, however, he threw sixteen games of over 100 pitches, breaking the 110-pitch mark on six of those occasions and throwing over 120 pitches once (one of two complete games tossed by a Cardinal starter, which he loss vs. the Dodgers when he surrendered 2 runs in the 9th to lose). What's more, Wainwright threw over 100 pitches in three of his first four starts of the 2007 season, his inaugural as a penned in member of the St. Louis starting rotation. Here is the percentage breakdown by pitch total of his 32 '07 starts: 70-79: 1 start (3.13%); 80-89: 7 starts (21.88%); 90-99: 9 starts (28.13%); 100-109: 9 starts (28.13%); 110-119: 5 starts (15.63%); 120+: 1 start (3.13%). Throwing over 110 pitches was not abnormal last season. And, after all, he did throw 107 pitches against Washington in his first official start this season so he is on pace to throw over 100 pitches in three of his first four starts this April, as in last.

If Wagonmaker went this deep into pitch counts on a fairly regular basis last season, then why was I nervous?

In the seventh inning, Wainwright's fastball was sitting about 88-90 and hitting 91 on Gamecast. (Since I wasn't recording what the T.V. gun was reading, I'm using Gamecast since all pitch radar readings are relative.) This, compared to the middle innings, during which, according to GameCast, Wainwright was fluctuating between 90 and 92 while popping 93 mph. On his fastballs, his velocity was down.

Not surprisingly, Wagonmaker's control waned as his pitch count grew. For the game, he threw 115 pitches with 71 of those for strikes which leaves us with 44 balls to account for over 7 2/3 innings, or, 38.25% of his pitches. Through five innings, Wainwright's percentage of pitches thrown that were out of the strikezone was 31.25% while in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, it was 47.05%. Not surprisingly, he threw 20 pitches for balls in the first five innings to 24 pitches for balls in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Not surprising, his labors drove up his overall pitch count as well. Wainwright threw 64 pitches in innings one through five and 51 pitches in his final 2 2/3 innings thrown. Wainwright began to tire and his control began to slip in his final two full innings, which foretold a coming jam in the eighth, which came to fruition.

The numbers demonstrate what anyone's eyes could tell them: Wainwright was tiring.

Wainwright is a tough competitor and ground his way to two outs, to his credit, out of the heart of Milwaukee's order, but that doesn't make it a good call to keep him in. Neither does escaping the inning unscathed. Leaving Wainwright in too long paved the way for an incredibly dangerous situation that threatened to undue a very convincing win for the Cardinals. Randy Flores, who has been worthy of praise so far this early season, pitch to Prince Fielder, he of the 50 HR and and 119 RBI last season, as the tying run at the plate was a gamble of Russian Roulette proportions.

I defer to LB's analysis:

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.

In the end, TLR's gamble paid off in spades. The Cards wiggled their way out of trouble and went on to win the game, even with Izzy's flair for the dramatics. Nonetheless, this strategic gamble could have ended up very differently and squandered an otherwise dominate performance by the Redbirds.

To piggyback on Red Baron's post from this morning, which I found to be insightful and thought-provoking, I thought I'd do a quick analysis of the post-Pujols batting order production. The normal early season caveat of *small sample size* applies. We aren't even to game #10, but it is still indicative of there being little consequence to teams who decided to pitch around Pujols in this very, very young 2008 season.

The overall production for the No. 4 Hole is not very good:

27 AB / .222 BA / .333 OBP / .296 SLG / .630 OPS / 2 2B / 0 HR / 3 RBI

While placing us in the middle of the pack relative to other clubs, it is reminiscent of 2007, when we had the worst cleanup production (last in Slugging Percentage, last in Batting Average, fifth-to-last in HR, 20th in RBI) in all of Major League Baseball:

627 AB / .246 BA / .320 OBP / .386 SLG / .706 OPS / 24 2B / 20 HR / 103 RBI

However, the No. 5 Hole has been abusing the baseball in early going of this season:

31 AB / .323. BA / .364 OBP / .613 SLG / .977 OPS / 4 2B / 1 HR / 6 RBI

This is hopefully an indicator of the rest of this season as it is markedly better than the anemic production the No. 5 Hole gave us in 2007, when Cardinal No. 5 hitters ranked last in MLB in Batting Average, seventh to last in OBP, last in MLB in Slugging Percentage, last in HR (with 10), and fifth to last in RBI.

621 AB / .246 BA / .317 OBP / .357 SLG / .675 OPS / 35 2B / 10 HR / 81 RBI

Finding a viable power threat in the cleanup hole is imperative for the Cards leveraging Albert Pujols' offensive skills to a maximum this season. Whether it be Ankiel or Duncan or a player-to-be-named later.

From Bernie's column today in the P-D:

La Russa is willing to give the baseball to anyone — well, except maybe Anthony Reyes. Look for Jeff Tabaka to be signed any day now.

"Who the @#&% is Tabaka?"

Undoubtedly, many of you recall Jeff Tabaka. For those of you do not, allow me to take you back from the tragic September of 2001, during which the Astros and Cardinals fought an amazing battle over the N.L. Central crown. In the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, Commissioner Selig cancelled MLB games, a sensitive act that extended the baseball season into October and the incredibly dramatic playoffs into November. Backtracking to the conclusion of the regular season, where the Cardinals and Astros went into the final series of the year, hosted by the Cardinals, neck-and-neck in the N.L. Central race. Given the uniquely dramatic backdrop, my dad and I secured tickets (even if it was somewhat less dramatic since the "loser" would easily win the Wild Card).

The Cardinals came into the series one game up in the Central Divison. Game 1 on Oct. 5 pitted Woody Williams vs. Wade Miller in a tremendous pitchers duel. This was when Woody Williams the uber-competitive bulldog was at his zenith and that cool St. Louis evening was no exception. Not only did Woody throw seven innings without surrendering a run, he went 1-for-2 at the plate and scored the lone run of the game up until his departure from it, leaving with the Redbirds up 1-0. Needless to say, the electricity in Busch Stadium was playoffs in caliber.

After seven innings, TLR removed Woody, who did everything one could possibly ask of a starting pitchers. Who does TLR summon from the bullpen? Jeff Tabaka. He brings in Jeff Tabaka for the eighth inning. There was a palpable confusion in the crowd. Suddenly, from somewhere over my left should I heard a deep, thundering voice exclaim in a slightly slurred fashion, "Tabaka!? Who the @#&% is Tabaka?!" This perfectly summed up the thoughts of every red-clad St. Louis fan in the stadium. Tabaka promptly gave up a homerun to Lance Berkman, which incensed the near-capacity crowd.

Tabaka was promptly yanked once Berkman rounded the bases. Luther Hackman retired the 'Stros in the eight, and we entered the ninth inning, tied 1-1. Gene Stechschulte came in to surrender the losing run in the ninth, but Cardinal Nation had decided on its scapegoats: TLR & Tabaka. TLR for bringing in Tabaka with a one-run lead in the eighth inning of the third-to-last game of a season at a point where the Cards had a one-game lead and were facing the second place team. And Tabaka for not possessing pitching skill.

As we left Busch Stadium II, a little old lady asked her husband, "Who the @#&% is Tabaka?"

Epilogue

The Cards won on Saturday and lost on Sunday, giving way to tie for the N.L. Central crown (depending on who you ask) with the Cards actually receiving the Wild Card bid and a trip to Arizona for one of the great Divisional Playoff Series of the era.

Jeff Tabaka never pitched in the big leagues again.