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Game 58 Open Thread: June 7, 2005


soooops clement
4-5, 4.41 6-0, 3.17

seems like all the card bloggers were watching the ballgame last night. bellyitcher and the birdwatch blogged it live; get up baby gave morris' performance close scrutiny and parsed it nicely this morning; and cardnilly was in the ballpark and provides some spot reportage. his first line -- Respect the Beard! -- sums it up.

also a lot of chatter here last night on the game thread -- edgar, matty, marillion, black flag, japanese vocab, live look-ins at brewers-yankees -- even a hex on jeremy bonderman, applied live and transcoastally. and they say blogs are just self-indulgent noodlings . . . .

lost in all that excitement was something that thrilled me and probably no other cardinal fan on the planet: david eckstein put the first pitch in play twice in one game. happened in the fifth, when he popped out to right, and the eighth, when he lashed a two-run triple into the left field corner -- his second triple of the season, both on the 0-0 pitch. eck'n also got an 0-0 hit (a bunt single) last week in colorado, giving him three first-pitch hacks in six games -- as opposed to just eight of same through the first 51 games. for the season eck is now 6 for 11 on the first pitch with an ops of 1.371; fully a third of his rbi this year have come in those 11 at-bats . . . . .

st louis has 7 picks in the first three rounds of today's amateur draft -- and needs to make them count. baseball america rated the stl organization dead last in minor-league talent, so in that respect the bushel of picks couldn't have come at a better time. but the timing is suboptimal in another respect: we have no idea how the new ballpark will play. just one more variable in a process that is already a crap shoot; i guess most good players can play most anywhere. john sickels ran a mock draft this weekend at SB Nation sister site Minor League Ball; here's who the cardinals got, and what sickels said:


  • 1---28----Tyler Greene, SS, Georgia Tech
  • 1---30----Cesar Ramos, LHP, Long Beach State
  • 1S---43---J. Brent Cox, RHP, University of Texas
  • 1S---46---John Mayberry, 1B-OF, Stanford
  • 2----70----Justin Maxwell, OF, University of Maryland
  • 2---78----Matt Garza, RHP, Fresno State University
  • 3---110----Daillo Fon, OF, Walnut Creek, California HS
  • 4---140----Brett Gardner, OF, College of Charleston
  • 5----170----Carlos Hereaud, SS, Missouri City Texas HS
COMMENTS: The Cardinals have received a lot of flak from traditionalists about their college-oriented drafts, but if they do anything like this they should be quite happy. Although college in tone, this is not a "play it safe" draft. I think Ramos at 30 was overdrafted by about 15 slots, but I'm a big believer in J.Brent Cox. Mayberry has suffered due to his power outage this spring, but he certainly has more pure tools than many college players. Greene has a fine glove but an erratic bat. Maxwell is a first-round talent who can't stay healthy. If he does as a pro, he is another potential steal. Garza has been mentioned in the first round, so getting him at 78 overall is a coup. Fon has a booming bat and adds high school youth to the system. Gardner has plus speed and leadoff potential.

will report the real picks when they're in, and try to cobble together some kinda player profiles for you . . .

Update [2005-6-7 15:39:55 by lboros]: wow. nice job, mock drafters. the cards did indeed draft GT shortstop tyler greene in the 1st round, along with a high school outfielder named colby rasmus.

Update [2005-6-7 15:49:14 by lboros]:
supplemental 1st rd picks:
#43 = mark mccormick, rhp, baylor univ
#46 = tyler herron, rhp, wellington fla hs
2d round picks:
#70 = josh wilson, rhp, whitehouse tx hs
#78 = nicholas webber, rhp, cent'l missouri st u
3d round pick:
#110 = daryl jones, of, spring tx hs

well . . . so much for drafting college players and position players. more asap