Cards Not Done Yet
Written by Mike on September 10, 2008 – 2:54 pm -The Cardinals were able to come away with a win last night in the first game of a three game series against the division leading Chicago Cubs. Two key swings stood out in the win. One, a rocket three run homer off the bat of Albert Pujols to tie the game in the sixth. The other, a weak, check swing dribbler past the pitcher from Cesar Izturis to score the winning run from third. Baseball is funny that way.
This was one of those games that I was waiting for what I thought was inevitable, a Cardinal mistake, and loss. Instead, the Birds got solid contributions from all facets, and picked up an important win.
It started with Kyle Lohse. After struggling early on, he was able to settled in, coming within two outs of another quality start. Aside from Ron Villone, who walked the only batter he faced, the bullpen pitched very well. And the offense, held quiet for most of the game by Chicago starter Ryan Dempster, played a hard nine, ending the game in walk-off fashion, complete with an on-field celebration after Brendan Ryan’s fantastic slide.
The final score was 4-3. Matthew Leach has the full recap, and here’s the complete box score.
The Cards have now matched their win total from a year ago, and have pulled to 3.5 games behind the Brewers in the Wild Card race. It sure is fun to watch a team still in the hunt this late in the year. Braden Looper will hope to keep the winning streak alive tonight in game two. He’ll face lefty Ted Lilly. I’m hoping last night’s win has added some fuel to the Cardinals’ hopes in the playoff race. Boo the Cubs!
Finally, a couple of links. Over at Bird Land, Derrick Goold has a follow up post concerning the latest UCB project, where all the bloggers rated the team’s top prospects. Also from the Post Dispatch, Joe Strauss has the latest news about Pujols’ elbow, and whether or not he’s planning on surgery this offseason.
Bird Bits
Written by Mike on August 17, 2008 – 10:13 am -First off, I’d be remiss to not point out a debate going on over at Viva El Birdos this morning. houstoncardinal, one of the regular posters at VEB has sparked some heated conversation on the subject of Cardinal prospect Colby Rasmus. He claims that it would benefit the team to call up the youngster and play him in the outfield everyday in place of Skip Schumaker. I think it’s an asinine idea, but rather than hash out why again, I’ll let you read my comments, as well as many others, here. There’s nothing like a baseball debate, and if nothing else, the author did get me in the mood for some baseball today.
Next, check out the odds of who’s going to win the National League Wild Card in an article in the Post Dispatch from Joe Strauss. I still like our chances.
And finally, for those like me that were wondering if we’d see the “B team” out there today for Tony La Russa, here’s the Cardinals’ starting lineup:
- Skip Schumaker CF
- Ryan Ludwick RF
- Albert Pujols 1B
- Rick Ankiel LF
- Troy Glaus 3B
- Adam Kennedy 2B
- Yadier Molina C
- Kyle Lohse P
- Cesar Izuris SS
It’s nice to see the regulars in there while the Cards go for the sweep. With only 36 games left in the season and so many off days coming up, I think it’s time to play the best nine every day.
Get the Brooms Ready
Written by Mike on July 20, 2008 – 9:48 am -
A dramatic come from behind win yesterday has put the Cardinals in position to sweep the Padres in today’s fourth and final game of the series.
Todd Wellemeyer got off to a rocky start, allowing five runs in the first two frames, but settled in and lasted 6.1 innings, earning him the win. He’s now 8-4, with a 4.22 ERA. Both Randy Flores and Russ Springer failed to record an out, but Ron Villone came in to put out the fire in the sixth. Ryan Franklin earned his fourteenth save, pitching the final two innings.
The Cards were trailing 5-0 into the fifth, where they plated four. They added the tying and go-ahead runs in the sixth. Albert Pujols stole the show with his four RBI. Rick Ankiel and Skip Schumaker each drove in a run as well. 6-5 was the final. Here’s the complete box score.
Rookie left-hander Jaime Garcia will get his first Major League start today, hoping to help the Cardinals earn the sweep. He’s made only one other appearance so far, pitching two innings in relief on July 11 in Pittsburgh, three days after his 22nd birthday. He allowed one hit, one walk, and struck out two. Larry at Viva El Birdos has a nice piece on Garcia and the Cardinals lack of success with left-handers up today. Find it here. I’m rooting for the kid. If he can impress down the stretch, or at least until Adam Wainwright’s return, he may find himself auditioning for a larger role with the club next spring.
We’re about an hour and a half from game time. Here’s the Cards’ lineup, per Derrick Goold:
- Skip Schumaker LF
- Aaron Miles SS
- Ryan Ludwick RF
- Rick Ankiel CF
- Troy Glaus 3B
- Chris Duncan 1B
- Jason LaRue C
- Jaime Garcia P
- Adam Kennedy 2B
So, looks like Pujols, Yadier Molina, and Cesar Izturis all get the day off. No big deal. Should still be a winner!
Cards in a Funk
Written by Mike on May 14, 2008 – 7:43 am -And it continues. After last night’s loss to Pittsburgh, the Cardinals are now 22-18, and have won only one game in their last seven. Chicago and Houston both lost last night too, so no ground was given up in the standings.
Remember during much of the first month, the Cardinals were playing tough, young, and with something to prove. During this losing stretch, I don’t see any sign of that earlier club. I thought the Tony La Russa ejection the other night was just what this club needed to get their intensity back. I thought the Pirates were the perfect team to whip up on, and the Cards could remember how much fun it is to win.
Because of rain, this one started late, and in extra innings, ended late because of a rough showing from Cardinal lefty Ron Villone. With the game tied at four in the tenth, Villone gave up 4 runs on 4 hits and a pair of walks.
On the positive side, starter Kyle Lohse pitched much better than he had in his previous two outings. He was excellent through six, but faltered in the seventh, finishing with 4 runs allowed on 5 hits, while striking out 4. Russ Springer and Ryan Franklin each pitched a scoreless frame, although Franklin’s ninth was quite eventful.
Troy Glaus hit his second home run, a three run shot in the sixth. Albert Pujols tied the game with a bomb in the eighth. And shortstop Cesar Izturis made another outstanding play on defense. Here’s the full box score.
Now, for some links. It looks like Tyler Johnson will finally succumb to shoulder surgery. He’ll likely miss the rest of the season. Matthew Leach has the full story.
Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of Stan Musial’s 3000th hit. He apparently would have liked to do it front of the home fans, but came in as a pinch hitter in a close game in Chicago, and doubled in a run. Robert Falkoff has more.
Check out the latest from Derrick Goold. He crunches the numbers on Cardinal base running over at Bird Land.
We all have come to expect great stuff from VEB, and Larry’s post on Monday was no exception.
Tonight’s game features Todd Wellemeyer and Paul Maholm. The Cardinals need to get back to their winning ways. The schedule doesn’t get any easier from here.
Happy Mother’s Day
Written by Mike on May 11, 2008 – 9:07 am -
To all the moms in Cardinal Nation, Happy Mother’s Day! My mom loves the Cards just as much as I do. I gave her one of my extra tickets to Opening Day this year, and as usual, she was the first one downtown, dressed in Cardinal red with a beer in her hand. Cheers to you, Mom!
The pink bats will be out today. Chris Duncan, Rick Ankiel, Cesar Izturis, Adam Kennedy, Jason Larue, Aaron Miles, and Skip Schumaker are all expected to use them in this afternoon’s game against Milwaukee. Braden Looper and Jeff Suppan are scheduled to pitch.
After the win yesterday, the Cardinals are 23-15, with a one game lead on second place Chicago. A win today would keep the them above .500 in road games. Looking ahead, after two more in Milwaukee, the Cards head back home to play three against Pittsburgh before hosting Tampa Bay in their first interleague series. While the Pirates are five games behind the Cardinals, the Rays are a surprising four games over .500, and in second place in the AL East.
UCB Game Blog - Third Inning
Written by Mike on May 3, 2008 – 4:08 pm -Today’s game against the Chicago Cubs is being collectively covered by ten different Cardinal blogs in a unique project from the UCB group. Find the pre-game notes over at C70 at the Bat. Stan Musial’s Stance has the first inning, and The Cardinal Virtue has the second.
After a couple of quick innings, the Cubs came to bat in the top of the third with the only hit on the scoreboard in a scoreless game. Cardinal starter Kyle Lohse was very efficient in the first two, and the third was no exception. Facing the bottom of the order, Lohse got Mike Fontenot to ground out to first, Reed Johnson to line out to center, and Ted Lilly to ground out to third, retiring the side on just 11 pitches. His pitch count through three was just 34, while facing the minimum with the help of the double play in the second.
In the bottom half, after Yadier Molina and Lohse both grounded out to the left side, shortstop Cesar Izturis picked up the first Cardinal hit with a single to center. Last night’s hero, Skip Schumaker, grounded out to Derrick Lee for the second time, stranding the Cards’ first baserunner.
Interestingly, while the Redbirds lead the league in walks, averaging nearly five per game, only three of their first ten batters in today’s contest saw a two ball count.
So, not a lot of action to this point, but with the Cubs in town, there’s bound to be some fireworks. Coverage continues at Cardinals GM.
Go Cards!
Cards @ Giants - 4/13
Written by Mike on April 13, 2008 – 7:41 pm -Update (8:15 pm): Game over. Cards lose. Who’s to blame? I guess no one, but maybe everyone. You can’t win ‘em all, but I thought this one would be a tougher fought battle than it turned out to be. In the beginning, I thought it was brilliant for Tony La Russa to have Aaron Miles sacrifice the runner over to third in the first inning. Normally, with no one out, you’d like to play for the big inning, but with Tim Lincecum on the hill for the Giants, scoring early might be the difference in the game. Well, I was wrong. The Cards missed out on an early scoring opportunity, and Joel Pineiro’s first start of the year left a lot to be desired. He allowed 6 runs on 10 hits in only 3 2/3 innings.
It was no surprise that the offense struggled against Lincecum, but you can’t help but wonder if the outcome would have been different if Albert Pujols and the rest of the regulars would have been in there. Ultimately, the Cards had scoring opportunities, but couldn’t capitalize. That seems to be the theme here in the early part of the season. Today’s final, Giants win 7-4. Here’s the full recap and box score.
Now at 9-4, but still in first place by a half game in the Central, the Cards will take tomorrow off before hosting the Brew Crew for three games at Busch. The upcoming series might be the first true test for Redbirds. Luckily, the club won’t have to face Milwaukee’s best hurlers, Ben Sheets and Yovani Gallardo. With the front of the rotation starting for the Cardinals, I expect them to win two of three. It’s times like this when I wish I was back in St. Louis.
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The Cards will try to end the road trip on a high note today, hoping to head back to St. Louis with a 10-3 record. Joel Pineiro takes the ball for the Redbirds. The Giants counter with young flamethrower Tim Lincecum.Yesterday, I speculated that Albert Pujols would get the day off. I had no idea that Troy Glaus and Cesar Izturis would also be out of the lineup. Actually, I’m not too surprised. In years past, Tony La Russa has been known to give several players rest on the same day, especially in the final game of a series.Here’s today’s lineups:
St. Louis Cardinals
- Skip Schumaker LF
- Aaron Miles SS
- Rick Ankiel CF
- Ryan Ludwick RF
- Chris Duncan 1B
- Rico Washington 3B
- Yadier Molina C
- Joel Pineiro P
- Adam Kennedy 2B
San Francisco Giants
- Fred Lewis LF
- Eugenio Valez 2B
- Randy Winn CF
- Bengie Molina C
- Jose Castillo 3B
- John Bowker RF
- Rich Aurilia 1B
- Brian Bocock SS
- Tim Lincecum P
I’ll have more after the game, and if you missed it, check out this morning’s post. Let’s go Cardinals!
Cards Can’t Spoil Astros’ Opener
Written by Mike on April 8, 2008 – 1:47 am -The winning streak may have come to an end, but the streak of brilliant outings by the Cardinals’ starting staff remains intact. What started out as a pitchers’ duel between St. Louis starter Todd Wellemeyer and Houston’s Wandy Rodriguez, ended with some offensive fireworks.
So, of course it’s no surprise that he won the election by a landslide. True to his word, with one stroke of the pen 20 days after taking office, he signed the Cullen-Harrison Act, making 3.2% beer once again legal in the U.S. This meant that Lager Beer which was predominantly
3.2% alcohol by weight would precede heavier beer styles and hard liquor by almost 8 full months. So, at 12:01 a.m. on April 7, 1933, beer was back. 25,000 people celebrated here at our St. Louis Brewery that night and the rest of the country listened to a special live broadcast from August “Gussie” Busch, Jr. that was carried on radio stations coast to coast. Happy days were here again! So today on the 75th Anniversary of the Repeal of Prohibition, raise a glass to the wisdom and fortitude of great men like Gussie Busch and Franklin Delano Roosevelt with a Budweiser, the Great American Lager.
Cards Kill Mets
Written by Mike on March 23, 2008 – 9:02 pm -
The Cardinals got off to a hot start against the Mets today in Port St. Lucie, scoring three runs in the first. The Cards kept up the hot hitting throughout the game, scoring in five different innings, including a six run ninth.
- El Duque was not good at all.
- Aaron Miles isn’t a third baseman.
- Cesaer Izturis was very sharp with the leather today. Very sharp.
- Ankiel’s homerun was all torso, after he double clutched.
- Barton loves the first pitch.
- Bobby Knight was dressed in red, hanging out in the Mets’ dugout.
- Kyle McClellan is ready for the major leagues.
- Todd Wellemeyer looked good.
- Colby Rasmus will be in St. Louis sooner than you think.
14-4 was the final. For a full recap of today’s game, along with the box score, click here.
UCB Roundtable Discussion
Written by Mike on March 22, 2008 – 11:21 pm -The United Cardinal Bloggers Group is winding down the roundtable discussions, with one more debate to be posted on Monday. Yesterday I posted three questions to the group for open discussion. In addition to me, we had four other Cardinal bloggers participate:
- 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:
