Mike On The Cards

• Daniel from C70 at the Bat
• Haedar from Redbird Ramblings
• Bryan from Rockin’ the Red
• Michael from Stan Musial’s Stance

Here are the questions, and everyone’s thoughts:

1.)  Yesterday, there was some talk about who you’ve been impressed with up to this point in Spring Training.  What about the opposite?  Which players are you surprised to see having a disappointing spring? Do you think they’ll turn it around?

Daniel:  There haven’t been a lot of disappointments.  There’s disappointment in the same old same old with injuries, as noted with Tyler Johnson still not throwing.  Izturis, to me, has been the biggest on-field disappointment, though.  I know he’s not much of a hitter, so the average wasn’t that disappointing, but the fielding?  He’s making an error a game, it seems like, and I know TLR is big on him, but right now, it’s not looking so good.

Haedar:  Gotta agree with Daniel and say Izturis.  He was never known for his offense, but he is supposed to be a high caliber defensive player and at least put up an average of .250, but he’s made tons of errors this spring and is hitting around .150.  Tony is being stubborn and  stating that he is the starting shortstop to avoid the “Spivey 2008″ tag.  If Cesar keeps this up, he will be relegated to the bench in no time.

Bryan:  Cesar Izturis has definitely been the most disappointing player this spring.  And to add to it, Tony La Russa has been equally as disappointing with his rigid position that Izturis is still doing well defensively and should still start.  I’m not sure Cesar has anything left in the tank anymore.  Molina’s slow start is disconcerting, but I think he’ll turn it around at some point.  Blake Hawksworth really disappointed me this spring, as this was a chance to make a good impression on the big league club.  I’m not too optimistic about him.

Michael:  Duncan’s horrible spring at the plate was a surprise to me.  Also to see Molina regress at the plate, after the progress he showed during last season, has been disappointing.  The other disappointment was Clement’s physical readiness not being what we expected/hoped it would be at the start of spring training. I hadn’t been aware of Izturis’ struggles with the glove until I saw your guys’ comments.

Daniel:  I’d like to see Molina hit better in the spring, but I wouldn’t say I was worried enough to call it a disappointment.  If it continues well into April, then that might be a different story.

Me:  Of course Izturis is the big one.  I was okay with the signing when it happened, and was willing to watch a sacrifice in offense for a defensive upgrade at short.  Turns out Izturis sucks with the glove too.  Tyler Johnson disappoints me too.  Last year, despite changing his jersey number and his hairstyle, he still got knocked around a bit.  I read that he had a baby, and was maturing quickly.  To hear that a little more work in the off season might have prevented his injury was very disappointing.

Daniel:  The only thing I’ll add is that I’m not sure that more work would have prevented his injury.  It might have helped, but this seriously sounds like a surgery thing coming pretty soon, in which case more work might have blown it out earlier or at best delayed the problem.

Daniel:  Still a little hard to judge Mozeliak since a few moves were made while he was interim GM and some still haven’t really panned out.  All in all, though, I think he’s doing a pretty good job.  If he’s one of the reasons so many young guys are still in camp or got long looks this spring, he jumps up another notch.  His next big test will be the amateur draft.  If they can get a quality draft in, he’ll move even farther up.

Haedar:  Can’t really grade him accurately at this point but he’s made some good and some bad moves.  The two worst moves of the offseason were signing both Izturis and Miles to guaranteed deals instead of minor league deals with invitations to spring training.  The best move came a day or so ago locking up Wainwright long term.

Bryan:  I would give Mozeliak a B so far.  It was probably a B- before the Lohse signing, but the signing was such a good deal that he has to get a B.  On the other hand, the Miles re-signing was a very questionable move (and still is, considering Miles’ terrible spring so far).  Trading Rolen was good for the team, trading Edmonds was neutral (although it opened up a position in our already crowded outfield), and the Izturis signing was just plain bad.  Overall, however, I’m very satisfied with the direction this team is going.

Michael:  Mozeliak:  average or slightly better than average so far, but it’s still too early to tell.  I’m not a big fan of Lohse after watching him get torched in Cincinnati for the past few years, but with our starters in disarray again Mozeliak didn’t have much choice but to sign another pitcher.  He at least got Lohse on the relative cheap.  Hell, he can’t be any worse than Kip Wells, right?  Managing to move Rolen for more than a used glove and a bucket of baseballs was a victory.  The Miles signing, I agree with all, is a head scratcher unless viewed through the “Tony wanted him” prism.  Signing Wainwright yesterday was a great move.

Daniel:  The middle infield situation definitely is Mozeliak’s biggest drawback.  Especially when he himself admits he’d have signed Adam Everett if he had thought he’d been nontendered.  (Though that wouldn’t have helped with the offense, it’d done wonders defensively.)  Adding Miles to the mix was really unnecessary save to appease La Russa, I’d guess.

Me:  Overall:  B+.  With the exception of Miles and Gonzalez, I think the Cards made all the right moves. The Molina and Wainwright deals are by far the best.  Payroll flexibility is much better than it has been in recent years.  We’ll see what they do come draft time.

3.)  How much better (or worse depending on your answer to question 2) is this team compared to last year’s squad?  How many wins will the Cards have at the end of the season, and where do they finish?

Daniel:  I think this squad might be a little better than last year.  I think the pitching will be better, at least on the whole.  The offense is pretty intriguing.  If Kennedy hits like he has this spring and Molina hits like he did last year, there’s only Izturis as a “OK, nothing is happening here” spot in the lineup.  I’m still holding out hope for a .500 season.

Haedar:  I think the starters are a little better, the offense is better, or at least has more potential to put up better power numbers, but the bullpen will not be as good because people will be moving in and out and therefore some integral parts will not know their main role.  I think most bullpens can be decent as long as the guys in it know what their main role is and in what situation they are called upon to pitch.  With a lot of injured players coming back from the DL, there is going to be a lot of shifting around and some pitchers will not get comfortable in their temporary role.

Bryan:  I think the team is better than last year, but a few injuries could really turn this season into a disaster.  I think 80-85 wins is a very optimistic prediction, but I’ll go ahead and make it.  I’m confident in our outfield and returning pitchers.  Still don’t think that’ll be good enough for anything but third.

Michael:  Even with all the moves the team has tread water overall since last season ended.  The bullpen is still a plus but didn’t improve; the starters overall are still a minus and didn’t improve; the lineup is a wash; the bench is slightly better.  It seems all our eggs for a good team are in the respective rehab baskets of Carpenter, Mulder, and Clement.  I expect they’ll finish within +0, -10 games of .500 with the team they have now.

Haedar:  I think the Cardinals’ record will get worse before it gets better.  That’s to the tune of 75 wins this season.

Me:  I think it depends on how you look at it.  Before Opening Day ‘07, the Cards looked good.  The pitchers all had good springs (even Wells), and no one thought they’d finish under .500.  A ton of injuries changed the outlook dramatically.  I’m optimistic about the offense.  I think the potential to score a lot more runs is there.  The starting pitching may be a wash, and I agree that the bullpen could be worse this year.  I’m also wondering if the clubhouse will miss Edmonds, Rolen, and Eck.

That’s it.  Lots of good points from everyone, and I’m sure they’ll be a lot more in the next installment.  I love talking baseball!

Okay.  So today’s game wasn’t quite as dramatic, but when Wainwright is on the mound against the Mets, you just can’t help but think of that moment. Adam was just as impressive, however, pitching five innings of two hit baseball.  He struck out three and allowed one earned run on a homer to Raul Casanova.  He also singled off of arguably the best pitcher in the league, Johan Santana.  Wainwright relishes the challenge of pitching against tough competition.

“I love that,” Wainwright said.  ”I wish I could pitch against No. 1s every day.  I feel like I’m going to beat ‘em sometimes, and they’re going to pitch great games sometimes.  But I thrive on it.  I love it.”

Matthew Leach has more on Wainwright, here.

The Cardinal’s bats were live today too.  The Birds pushed across 10 runs on 13 hits, including a triple by outfielder Brian Barton.  10-3 was the final.  Here’s the full recap.

The Juan Gonzalez experiment is just about Gone.  He’s been sidelined with an abdominal injury, and underwent an MRI yesterday.  He hasn’t appeared in a game since Monday.  Read the full story here. Meanwhile, his competition continues to impress.  Barton is now batting .350 with 3 triples and 2 home runs.  His 8 RBIs ties Albert Pujols for the team lead.  If he keeps this up there’s no way he doesn’t head north with the club.

Update ( 3:55 ) :  Aside from the fourth inning from Blake Hawsworth, the St. Louis pitching was pretty good. Hawksworth gave up five runs on five hits in just the one inning of work.  McClellan was the most impressive pitcher of the day.  The Cardinals bats chipped away at the lead, but ultimately came up short.  The at-bat that stands out in my mind was the bases loaded, no out, double play grounder off the bat of Juan Gonzalez. The three batters before Juan walked.  Rule 5 pick Brian Barton hasn’t done anything to impress me either, but continues to get a longer look than some because he may have to be shipped back to Cleveland if he doesn’t break camp with the big club.  Here’s a link to the official box score.

Tomorrow, the Cardinals play an away game against the Washington Nationals.  I’d like to know what people thought of today’s format, so as always, comments are welcome.

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Update ( 3:40 ) :  Cardinals’ pitching prospect Chris Perez was in to pitch the ninth.  He got the first two batters on a fly out and ground out, walked the third, and got the third out on a fly ball to center.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Marlins brought in Doug Waechter to close it out.  The Cards went down in order, including a pop out by Colby Rasmus for the first out.  The Marlins won 5-4.  The Birds are now 2-2 in Grapefruit play, and 3-2 overall.

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Update ( 3:25 ) :  Jimenez stayed in the game to pitch the eighth.  He made quick work of the Marlins, getting two fly ball outs and one ground out to David Freese at third.

The Cardinals also went down quickly.  After a Mather strikeout, both Josh Phelps and Freese flew out in foul territory.  The pitcher was Renyel Pinto.

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Update ( 3:14 ) :  Kelvin Jimenez pitched the seventh.  He unconventionally got two outs on two pitches, allowing a first pitch single, but getting the double play on the very next pitch.  The third out was a long fly ball to center field.

Jesus Delgado was the seventh inning pitcher for Florida.  He struck out Molina, but then gave up a triple to Izturis.  Miles brought the run in with a ground ball to the right side.  Another ground out by Barton ended the inning with the Cardinals still trailing 5-4.

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Update ( 3:00 ) :  Randy Flores came into the sixth throwing strikes.  He got Carroll to fly out on the first pitch, and then struck out Rabelo.  After a walk to Treanor, De Aza grounded out to end it.

Taylor Tankersly was the third left-handed pitcher for the Marlins.  He started by walking the bases loaded. Gonzalez grounded into a double play, while Mather scored from third.  Ludwick was called out on strikes, leaving a runner stranded in scoring position.

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Update ( 2:32 ) :  Veteran Russ Springer came in to pitch the fifth.  After Uggla grounded out to third, Cantu doubled off the glove of the diving Barton.  Willingham grounded back to the mound for the second out, and Bozied popped out to Pujols.

The Cards went down in order easily in the bottom of the inning.  Izturis and Miles both grounded out, and Barton struck out to remain hitless in Grapefruit League play this spring.

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Update ( 2:17 ) :  Blake Hawksworth entered the game to start the fourth.  He got Ramirez to fly out to left, but trouble started when Uggla doubled down the left field line for his second double of the afternoon. Cantu chopped a ball softly to third, for an infield hit to put runners at the corners.  Willingham drew the first walk of the game to load the bases with one out.  Back-to-back walks earned Bozied an RBI, and gave the Marlins a 1-0 lead.  After three more RBI hits and couple of strikeouts, the bleeding finally stopped. Marlins went up 5-0 on a very lengthy inning from Hawksworth.

Aaron Thompson, also a lefty, began the bottom of the fourth.  Mather started the Cards’ half with a double, and advanced to third on a single by Pulols.  Both runners scored on an RBI double, over the head of Willingham, off the bat of Troy Glaus.  Gonzalez grounded out to short, followed by a strike out by Ludwick, and a short fly out to left by Molina.  After four, it was a 5-2 Fish lead.

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Update ( 1:41 ) :  The Marlins went down quickly in the third.  Mike Rabelo flew out to right, Matt Treanor struck out looking, and Alejandro De Aza grounded out to first, 3-1.

Olsen retired all three batters he faced in the bottom half.  Izturis hit the ball hard, but right at Uggla at second.  Miles, hitting from the right side, lined out to left, and Barton grounded out to third for the second time today.

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Update ( 1:30 ) :  After an action packed first inning, McClellan settled in, striking out both Josh Willingham and former Cardinal Tagg Bozied, and got Brett Carroll to fly out deep to left.

Three up and three down in the bottom of the second.  Gonzalez, Ludwick, and Molina all grounded out to short.

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Update ( 1:18 ) :  McClellan got plenty of help from his defense in the top of the first.  After Hanley Ramirez singled up the middle, Dan Uggla doubled to right.  Ramirez was out at the plate on a relay throw from Albert Pujols.  Jorge Cantu lined into a double play to end the threat.

In the bottom half, Pujols doubled down the line, and both Mather and Glaus were called out on strikes.

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1. Brian Barton  CF
2. Joe Mather  LF
3. Albert Pujols  1B
4. Troy Glaus  3B
5. Juan Gonzalez  DH
6. Ryan Ludwick  RF
7. Yadier Molina  C
8. Cesar Izturis  SS
9. Aaron Miles  2B

Kyle McClellan gets the start for the Redbirds.  Derrick Goold has more notes from the ballpark here.  

There was a lot of hype going into this game.  It was the Mets’ debut of their new ace Johan Santana.  The Cards got to him early, tagging him for three runs in the first, courtesy of a Juan Gonzalez home run.  Other highlights from today’s action include a double and a homer from Albert Pujols, and a 2 for 3 day from Brendan Ryan.  Derrick Goold has more notes from the game.  Here’s the box score.

So far, Gonzalez has been hitting the ball well.  At first, I was secretly rooting against him, and hated the idea of a 38 year old has-been taking at-bats away from the younger players.  Erik at Future Redbirds shares my sentiment.  All things being equal, you’d have to give the nod to the younger player, maybe a guy like Brian Barton.  I’m afraid that Tony La Russa will see it differently.  We know how much he loves his veterans. Anyway, after thinking it over a bit more, I just want the 25 guys that give the Cardinals the best chance to win.  If Juan Gone is one of them, then I’m all for it.

Brendan Ryan continues to make his case for one of the roster spots.  One of his two hits today was triple. There were a couple of interesting stories on Ryan floating around recently.  Joe Strauss revealed some more of Ryan’s personality, as well as his attention deficit disorder, in his article last Friday.  The other story was news to me.  Apparently, Ryan was kicked off his college baseball team four times.  Jim Masilak had the story way back in July of last year.  I don’t know how I missed that one, but either way, hat tip to Ronnie Dobbs, a frequenter of the forums in the Post Dispatch.

Finally, Matthew Leach of MLB.com shares his latest interview with La Russa.  Find it here.

The Cardinals hope to continue their winning ways tomorrow when they face the Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium.  The Cards will be the visiting team.  Let’s hope the streak continues.

I was at the opener for the second straight year.  It’s a fun time to be a Cardinal fan.  A fresh season brings new hope.  Although the Redbirds aren’t predicted to contend for the division title, I can never discard a team in the spring, especially one managed by Tony La Russa.

It was cold in Jupiter today.  With the temperature only getting into the mid sixties, I had a hard time holding onto my beer.  I got to watch the end of the Cards’ batting practice and all of the Mets’.  Anthony Reyes took the mound for the first pitch at 1:05. Knowing how much is riding on a productive Reyes, I was anxious to see how he’d do today.  He did great. Reyes went 3 innings, allowing two hits, and striking out one.  He escaped trouble in the first when Mets’ third baseman David Wright drilled a ball to deep center, but was robbed of extra bases by Rick Ankiel’s acrobatic catch at the track.  Reyes walks away from today’s game with something good to build on.  He needs to continue to boost his confidence throughout the spring, and today was certainly a step in the right direction.

The defense to start the game for La Russa could closely resemble the one we’ll see on opening day.  Yadier Molina was the only regular who didn’t start.  Backup catcher Jason Larue took his place, hitting ninth.  Old timer Juan Gonzalez was penciled in as the DH, and went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored.

The most exciting part of the day was when Colby Rasmus came into the game.  Rasmus reached base in all four of his plate appearances in yesterday’s game.  He entered today’s game as a pinch runner for Albert Pujols in the fifth.  He doubled in his first at-bat, and walked the next time up.  Rasmus has now reached base in all six of his appearances.  He’ll be with the big club sometime in ‘08, but if this keeps up you’d have to think he’ll be heading for St. Louis when the team breaks camp at the end of March.

A few other notes from today’s game:

• Troy Glaus had a nice barehanded play but the throw wasn’t in time - three people around me simultaneously said, “Rolen would have made that play.”
• Skip Schumaker was 3 for 4 with a stolen base.
• Hugo Castellanos pitched well but I wouldn’t mind seeing the radar gun on him - looks very slow.
• Girls that drink beer are more attractive than ones that don’t.
• Mets fans were pleasant.

Aside from the cold, it was a great day at the ballpark.  Feel free to check out some of my pictures.  For all the stats from today’s game, check out the box score.  Tomorrow the Cardinals will head to Port St. Lucie to play the Mets again.  The starting pitchers will be Adam Wainwright and Johan Santana.  Go Cards!

Although Gonzalez is a two-time American League MVP, he hasn’t played in the bigs in a while.  He appeared in only one game for Cleveland in 2005, and 33 games for Kansas City in ‘04.  He does, however, offer a potential right-handed power bat.  For his career, Gonzalez is a .295 hitter, with 434 home runs.  He’s hit over 40 long balls in five different seasons.  View all his stats here.

It seems the signing came from a recommendation by Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, and Jose Oquendo, who took note of the slugger’s workouts and batting practice at former Cardinal, Eduardo Perez’s Winter Training Program in Puerto Rico.  Joe Strauss has the full story here.