Cards Close Out April With a Win
Written by Mike on April 30, 2008 – 6:06 pm -Today’s rubber game against Cincinnati was the final game of the month, and the Cardinals earned a franchise record 18 wins to start the season with their victory today. In two other seasons, St. Louis won 17 games in April.
Cardinal starter Braden Looper saw his last outing end in a no decision after a blown save by closer Jason Isringhausen. Today, he was less sharp, but still handed it over to the bullpen with the lead. Isringhausen closed this one out for Looper, earning his ninth save of the seaon.
Rick Ankiel continued to swing the bat well, with multi-hit games in all three contests against the Reds. The Cards won it 5-2. Matthew Leach has more.
During today’s telecast, they mentioned the status of rehabbing pitchers Mark Mulder and Matt Clement. Mulder made the start for Memphis today, lasting only 3.2 innings, and allowing 9 runs on 9 hits. Rick Hummel has the full story. With an outing like that, I doubt he’ll be in St. Louis anytime soon. They say Clement won’t even begin his 30-day rehab until June. The way the current staff is pitching, however, there’s no hurry to get the others back.
Finally, it’s official. Former Cardinal ace Matt Morris has retired. After being released from Pittsburgh on Sunday, he has no intention of making a comeback with another team. The Post Dispatch has the story.
It’s an off day for the Redbirds tomorrow. Friday, the division rival Chicago Cubs come to town. More on that tomorrow.
Another Wacky Win for the Cards
Written by Mike on April 29, 2008 – 9:04 pm -The Cardinals hoped to even the series tonight against the Reds, and with rookie Johnny Cueto on the mound for Cincinnati, it appeared to be a tough assignment. A few quirky plays later, the Redbirds found themselves up by seven, and ended up winning the game 7-2.
After a bit of a rough start, Cardinal starter Joel Pineiro settled in, allowing just one hit through seven innings. Despite his four walks, the Reds stayed off the scoreboard with some bad base running in the first. Later, Pineiro again used his foot to help record an out. If you missed his other “foot gem” from last week, click here.
The offense finally had some hits with runners in scoring position. With the exception of Albert Pujols, every Cardinal starting position player had a hit (although with a walk in the eighth, his streak of reaching base in every game this season remains intact). Rick Ankiel looks to be busting out of his slump, and Troy Glaus is starting to heat up as well. He rounded the bases on a double after an Adam Dunn misplay in left. Here’s the full box score.
Today marked the one year anniversary of the death of Cardinal pitcher Josh Hancock. Unfortunately, the tragedy seldom gets mentioned when talking about the team’s 2007 struggles. There were a lot of lows for the Cardinals last season, but none greater than his untimely death. Josh and I are about the same age, and I think it’s easy to forget how quickly a young life can end as a result of one bad decision. Here’s a tribute to Josh. We miss you.
Cards Fall to Reds 4-3
Written by Mike on April 28, 2008 – 9:17 pm -First and foremost, welcome to the new site. This is the first post for the new dig, and although the layout has changed, you’ll still find a very opinionated writer in control of the keyboard, after all, I’m Mike, and this is Mike on the Cards. You should notice that I’m part of the MLB Hub network. For those unaware, The Hub is a new blog network dedicated to providing all the news and happenings from around the league. Without the help of Matt and the crew at MLB Hub, this new site wouldn’t exist. I hope you enjoy the new site, and continue to visit, and as always, comments are welcome.
Now, back to the action. The Cardinals opened a three game series against Cincinnati tonight in St. Louis. There were a few interesting side stories coming into this one, including Walt Jocketty’s return to St. Louis. Todd Wellemeyer and the Cardinals hoped to contain Ken Griffey Jr. and his quest for 600 career home runs. Troy Glaus was outfitted with his new specs, and Ryan Ludwick was leading off for the first time in his career.
It was clear from the start that Wellemeyer didn’t have his best stuff. His fastball was missing location and his breaking pitch wasn’t sharp. After giving up a few runs in the early innings, he managed to settle in and get through six, allowing four runs on seven hits. One run, however, scored on a ball lifted to shallow left that Chris Duncan and company lost in the lights.
For the offense, it was the same story, different day, as they once again struggled to come up with the clutch hit, leaving 10 runners stranded as a team. On the plus side, outfielder Rick Ankiel might be about to break out of his recent slump. After his two walks in yesterday’s game, he went 2 for 5 tonight, with a double and his fifth home run of the season. Matthew Leach has the full recap.
I hate to second guess the manager, and I’ll rarely do it after the fact, but the decision to put Ludwick in the leadoff spot definitely looks bad after his 0 for 5, 4 strikeout night. At least we know we’ll see Skip Schumaker back in the lineup tomorrow.
It will be Joel Pineiro taking the mound for the Cardinals tomorrow. He’s coming off his best start of the year, a seven inning gem against the Pirates last Thursday. He’ll be opposed by Johnny Cueto. No more LOB!
Brandon Backe is a Bitch
Written by Mike on April 27, 2008 – 11:33 pm -
Everyone knew before this game started, there were bound to be some extracurriculars. A handful of incidents, including yesterday’s bench clearing episode in the third, clearly spilled over into today’s rubber match between the Cards and ‘Stros.
Interestingly, Houston’s Brandon Backe seems to always find himself in the middle of these disputes, and today was no different. After pitching a scoreless four, Backe got shelled in the fifth, which included Troy Glaus’ first home run as a Cardinal. A couple of batters later, when Yadier Molina was granted time in the middle of the pitcher’s delivery, Backe took offense. He immediately starting mouthing Molina, and the next pitch was nearly a head shot. The benches and bullpens cleared for the second time in two days, and bitch-boy Backe again looked like an idiot. [Photo credit: Christopher Gooley]
What the hell is wrong with this guy? He acts like he’s the next Bob Gibson, but pitches like he’s the next Sidney Ponson. He reminds me of the kid in high school that somehow managed to join your clique to gain popularity only to find that his cockiness led to everyone hating him.
Sometimes when I drink I tend to get tough, and during today’s game, I was about seven beers deep when Backe inserted his tampon. Luckily I’m 1200 miles from Busch, otherwise I might have run out onto the field and pissed on him. I hate that guy.
Otherwise, it was a good game. Troy Glaus finally homered. Albert Pujols went deep again. Kyle Lohse managed another quality start. Kyle McClellan was brilliant in relief. And the Cardinals won it 5-1. Here’s the full recap and box score.
The Cardinals play Houston nine more times this season, so it’s obvious that there’s more to come. I can’t wait to see the Cards face Backe again. Meanwhile, the next six games are also against division rivals Cincinnati and Chicago. Tomorrow it’s Todd Wellemeyer versus Bronson Aroyo. Should be a good one.
Wainwright Throws Complete Game
Written by Mike on April 26, 2008 – 10:32 pm -
The Cardinals lost last night’s game to the Astros in the ninth inning, but returned the favor today with a strong performance from starter Adam Wainwright, and some much needed clutch hitting.
Coming in, St. Louis was hitting .257 with runners in scoring position in 296 plate appearances. That lack of production partially attributed to last night’s loss. Today, Albert Pujols hit a two run double in the third, followed by an RBI sacrifice fly by Troy Glaus, and Skip Schumaker had the game winning RBI single in the ninth.Wainwright outlasted his counterpart, Roy Oswalt, getting the first complete game of the season for the Cards. He gave up three runs, all via the solo home run, on five hits, while striking out six. His 126 pitches was also a season high. 4-3 was the final. Here’s the full box score.
The win improves the Redbirds to 15-10, but still in second place in the division. Tomorrow the team will try to win the series with Kyle Lohse on the mound. With Brandon Backe starting for Houston, I expect Pujols and the Cardinals to put up a lot of runs.
It’s Not All Isringhausen’s Fault
Written by Mike on April 26, 2008 – 9:43 pm -Typically, after a ball game, I’ll spend some time online perusing all of the Cardinal forums and message boards. Last night, because of the rain delay, the game ended late, so I went straight to bed. This morning, before work, I checked in on all my usual web stops, and one thing was common across the board. Everyone was Izzy bashing.
I understand the frustration from fans. The Cardinals were up 2-0 heading to the ninth after a brilliant performance from their starter Braden Looper. Jason Isringhausen blew his second save of the year, and has now allowed 8 runs on 13 hits in 11 innings. It’s his job to finish close games, and last night he didn’t do his job.
“I feel bad for Looper. He pitched such a great game,” said Isringhausen. ”It’s my job to preserve a win, and I just didn’t do it. When you let down 25 guys, it’s not a fun job.”
Did Izzy blow the save? Of course. Did he take the loss? Yeah. Is the loss entirely his fault? No way. The Cardinals missed several opportunities to pile on runs throughout the game, continuing the trend of leaving runners on and failing to get timely hits. They stranded 20 runners total, 11 as a team. Third baseman Troy Glaus struck out twice with the bases loaded. Without Geoff Blum’s error, the Cardinals would have only scored one run despite having six hits and eight walks. I don’t expect every runner in scoring position to be driven in, but it’s clear that the Birds’ bats couldn’t get the job done last night, and deserve a large portion of the blame for the loss. If you’re going to bash Izzy, you’d better bash the Cardinal offense too.
Matthew Leach has more on the game here.
Pineiro Impressive in WIn
Written by Mike on April 25, 2008 – 2:23 am -
Cardinal starter Joel Pineiro continues to improve with each outing. He was activated from the 15-day disabled list to make his first start on April 13th against the Giants, but gave up 6 runs in 3.2 innings. In his second start, also against San Francisco, he lasted 6.1, and allowed just 3 runs. Tonight was his third appearance, and easily his best so far. Pineiro held the Pirates to just 1 run on 4 hits, while striking out 6 in 7 innings, and improved his record to 1-2, and his ERA to 5.29. He also made a dazzling kick save, and throw to first for what will certainly make Web Gems on ESPN.
Pittsburgh starter Tom Gorzelanny had trouble throwing strikes, walking seven batters in five innings, but didn’t allow a hit until the fifth. The Cardinals were able to string some hits together and won it 6-2. Here’s tonight’s recap and box score.
Coming into tonight’s game, the Cardinals were on a slide, dropping four of their last five. The win salvaged both a series split and a .500 road trip. They’ll head back home for a nine game home stand, with three game series’ against Houston, Cincinnati, and Chicago. The Cardinals jumped back into second place in the Central, a game and a half behind the Cubs, with a 14-9 record.
Now for a few interesting stats:
- The Cardinals’ 115 walks leads the Major Leagues.
- Albert Pujols is tied for the most walks with 22.
- Troy Glaus is tied for the most doubles with 11.
- Todd Wellemeyer is tied for the second most strikeouts with 31.
- Jason Isringhausen is tied for the second most saves with 8.
Speaking of Pujols’ walks, check out Jason Stark’s article, where all 30 managers were polled to determine the most feared hitters in baseball. Find it here.
Tomorrow night is Braden Looper’s turn on the mound. He hopes to get back on track after an awful outing against the Giants last Sunday. Hopefully he can set the tone for the upcoming series, and the Redbirds can pick up a few more wins to close out the first month.
Tough Loss for the Cardinals
Written by Mike on April 24, 2008 – 2:02 am -It didn’t take long for the Cardinals to encounter their second string of back-to-back losses. Monday’s win against Milwaukee separates the two short losing streaks. The loss is tougher to take, not only because of the turn of events that transpired in tonight’s game, but also because it came against a Pittsburgh team was predicted to finish at the bottom of the division.
The game couldn’t have started off better for the Cards. They put up four runs in the top of the first, while sending nine men to the plate. Things were looking good when starter Todd Wellemeyer cruised through the first three innings without allowing a hit. After a couple of runs in the fourth, the Pirates tied the game on a two run home run by Jason Bay in the fifth. The ball was just out of Chris Duncan’s reach, and barely cleared the left field wall. Although it hung up longer than expected, I wonder if a more experienced outfielder would have caught it. Anthony Reyes pitched the eighth, giving up the winning runs. 7-4 was the final. View the full box score here.
Tomorrow the Cardinals hope to even the series, with Joel Pineiro going against Tom Gorzellany.
My aggravation allows me to leave you with only one link, but it’s a good one. With the ‘09 All Star Game creeping closer, and the city of St. Louis, and all it’s fans on the brink of being embarrassed by the hole in the ground in the footprint of old Busch, J Carnage has the ultimate solution.
Play Like A Cardinal - Part 3
Written by Mike on April 23, 2008 – 2:03 am -Here’s the next commercial from the “Play Like A Cardinal” ad campaign. If you missed the first two, check out them out here, and here. This spot features starter Adam Wainwright, and closer Jason Isringhausen. Enjoy!
That’s More Like It
Written by Mike on April 22, 2008 – 3:34 am -Cardinals Win! And it comes against a division rival Milwaukee Brewers team that many picked to win the Central. With the Cubs win over the Mets, they maintain a half game lead over the Redbirds.The win tonight put an abrupt end to the Cardinals’ first losing streak, albeit only a two game streak. The game was unspectacular, but did offer some nice positives:
- Adam Wainwright has now pitched at least 7 innings in every start this year.
- Troy Glaus had 2 RBI, and improved his average to .250.
- Albert Pujols walked 3 times, and leads the Majors with 6 intentional passes.
- Brian Barton’s double jump started the go-ahead ninth inning.
- Jason Isringhausen picked up his league leading seventh save.
The two clubs are back at it tomorrow, with Kyle Lohse facing Manny Parra. Because it’s only a two game set, the Cards can now only win or tie the series before heading to Pittsburgh.
Finally, a few links. I’m a regular visitor over at Viva El Birdos, and often time participate in the discussions. Today, a community member by the name of Mr. Redbird posted the question “Why are you a Cardinals fan?” The responses are fantastic. Find them here.
Next, some team business. Russ Springer was activated from the DL today, and to make room on the roster, rookie Rico Washington was optioned back to AAA Memphis. Matthew Leach has the story.
Finally, I don’t know what it is about Cubs fans, but this cartoon just might be the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. No wonder this guy hates them.
