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Yesterday was an off day as the Cardinals traveled out west to take on the now Andrelton Simmons-less Angels. Normally I wouldn't celebrate an off day but this one was good for everybody. First and foremost the team, who had played 17 straight days, and along the way got jobbed by MLB by having to play a night game in Arizona on April 28th only to have to be in St. Louis by the very next day to start a series with a very good Nationals team. They could use a break, even if it's spent traveling. Second, the fans needed a day to decompress after a frustrating series with Pittsburgh. Or at least I did. I assume a lot of you wanted to watch the Blues anyway.
And here's one fun fact I stumbled across that I might not have seen had I been glued to a Cardinals game: The 2016 St. Louis Cardinals have three times as many wins at Turner Field this year as the Braves do. It's true. Sure, it's only May 10th and the Braves are possibly on the verge of being historically bad but that doesn't seem like it should be possible. What a world.
Here's what you may have missed yesterday if you were too busy reading about the Strasburg signing instead of reading VEB:
Cardinals versus good teams
I wrote about the team's early returns against high-quality teams and they are not good. On the bright side, that fact alone won't eliminate them from the postseason.
Matt Holliday
Joe Schwarz looked at Matt Holliday's increased ground ball rate and whether that means it's time to move him down in the order. Joe provided some very interesting (troubling?) stats on Holliday's numbers this year so you'd be wise to check it out. Also, not for nothing, and as Joe properly notes, whether it's time to move Holliday down in the order and whether Mike Matheny would actually do that are two separate things entirely.
Mother's Day
Lill Scooter compiled a collection of tweets and videos that various Cardinals posted in tribute to their mothers. I personally would like to thank my mom for telling me in so many words (and as soon as it was acceptable to do so), "Alex, you suck at baseball, but that's completely okay and you should keep playing it if you want to." Thanks, mom.
Have a great Tuesday, everyone.