Mike On The Cards

A Frustrating Loss for the Cardinals

Written by Mike on August 26, 2008 – 11:10 pm -

The clock is ticking, and the Cardinals need wins.  We would have liked to see a two game sweep to begin the home stand against Pittsburgh.  But the Cards split.  We would have liked to see a three game sweep against Atlanta.  But the they could only take two.  And in what seems like the most important series of the second half, we would have liked to see the Redbirds get redemption with a pair of wins against Milwaukee.  Game one is in the books.  Brewers 12, Cardinals 0.

From looking at the final score, you would think that starter Todd Wellemeyer had a bad game, and it got out of hand in a hurry.  That wasn’t the case at all, as Wellemeyer  was down by only three runs after six.  He left the game after two batters in the seventh, on 112 pitches, finishing with a line of 6 innings, 5 runs (4 earned), and 5 strikeouts.

The Cardinals used four relievers to finish the game, the worst being Brad Thompson, who allowed four runs in his one-plus.  Jaime Garcia allowed three more runs before finishing the top of the ninth.Nothing doing for the St. Louis offense.  They managed seven hits, five of which were off of Ben Sheets, but couldn’t get anyone around, stranding eight runners on base.  Here’s tonight’s full recap and box score.

So it’s another loss, moving the Cardinals record to 3-3 on this home stand and 73-60 overall.  They now trail the Brewers by 4.5 games in the Wild Card race.  Is it a more significant loss than any other?  Depends on who you ask.

“I think, to us, these are our biggest games all year,” said Cardinal reliever Ryan Franklin.

Manager Tony La Russa knows these games are important, but also acknowledges that they won’t determine whether or not the Cards make the playoffs.

“The biggest thing is that this two-game series will not determine October chances for either club,” La Russa said.

So while we die hard Cardinal fans feel like the playoff bus is leaving the station, and we don’t have tickets, we have to remember a couple of things.  First, these same two clubs play again tomorrow, and win for the Redbirds ensures no more lost ground. And secondly, there are still 28 more games after that one.  A lot can happen.

Look for Adam Wainwright to lead the Cards to a win tomorrow night, and we’ll all feel better afterwards.

Posted in Franklin, Garcia, La Russa, Thompson, Wainwright, Wellemeyer |