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1-0, 3.86 |
2-13, 5.33 |
i heartily applaud the russell branyan pickup --- he draws walks, he hits for power, and he's not miguel cairo. just ignore the batting average: if this guy hits .210, he has value; if he hits .250, he has a ton of value. despite hitting just .198 this season, he's still outslugging scott rolen by 60 points . . . .
hell of a lot better pickup than the cubs' acquisition today, steve trachsel. this guy has one of the worst k/bb rates i have ever seen for a full season: 45 strikeouts and 69 walks. if the ratio were 145:69, maybe you could live with it. his FIP is 5.55, his whip is 1.564, and the league has a .358 on-base percentage against him. i don't think he could crack the st. louis rotation, that's how bad he is. explain to me why the cubs would want this guy, given their other options . . . . .
with a win tonight, the cards can record their 2d winning month in a row. they lead the national league in era for august, at 3.72; league average is 4.65 for the month, making it the highest-scoring month of the season to date. but the cardinals rank just 13th in runs scored (4.4 / game) for august and 11th in team ops. even so, they had a better month in both categories than the cubs, who with their loss today finish the month at 12-16; the brewers are 8-18 in august, with tonight's game left to play. god, i love a pennant race . . . . . .