Cubs Even the Series
Written by Mike on September 10, 2008 – 10:50 pm -
Ted Lilly is good, and that sucks. Really, he’s good. Seriously, that sucks. Lilly kept the Cardinal hitters off balance all night, lasting eight innings, giving up just one run on five hits. He was brilliant. To me, he looks hittable. I guess to Major League hitters, he’s not.
So you’d think that Lilly’s dominance was the difference in the game. You’d be wrong. Blame it on the Cardinals’ defense. The Cards committed two errors, both by Felipe Lopez at third, but they had several other defensive miscues, and it clearly cost them the game. Only one of the Chicago’s four runs was earned, and the Cardinals lost the game 4-3. Here’s the full recap and box score.
I took note of a few other things in tonight’s loss:
- Jason Motte still kicks ass.
- Josh Kinney was awesome. Welcome back.
- Ryan Ludwick now has 33 home runs.
- Cubs pitchers and balks go hand in hand.
- Josh Phelps shouldn’t play in left field.
Chances are, since you’re reading this, you follow the Cardinals as closely as I do. I’m sure you were scoreboard watching, and noticed that although the Phillies lost to the Marlins, both the Brewers and the Astros won tonight, which is bad news for the Redbirds. The Cardinals have now fallen to fourth place in the NL Central, trailing the Cubs by nine games, and 4.5 games back in the Wild Card race.
Yesterday was great. Tonight was horrible. That’s the way it goes, I guess. One thing is for sure, though, the National League Central can no longer be considered a weak division.
So, tomorrow is another day. It’s the rubber game of this heated rivalry. Todd Wellemeyer gets the ball for the Cardinals. Rich Harden will take the mound for the Small Bears. A Cardinal win is imperative for their playoff hopes. Go Cards!
UCB Project: Top Prospects
Written by Mike on September 8, 2008 – 8:24 pm -The United Cardinal Bloggers are back, and this time, we’re looking at the system’s top prospects. Each of the participating blogs are weighing in on what they believe to be the seven highest ranking youngsters. Here’s my take:
1. Colby Rasmus
I’d be surprised to see Rasmus anywhere but the top spot on these lists. Despite having a rough season for AAA Memphis, he was still ranked among the top prospects in baseball at midseason by Baseball America. He’s considered a five-tool player at a premium position, and we Cardinal fans haven’t anticipated a rookie’s arrival like this in a while.
Rasmus has been known to struggle for a short period following each promotion, and that certainly was the case this season. Unfortunately, his injury kept us from seeing him bust the slump. Depending on what the Cardinals do with their glut of outfielders this winter, Rasmus’ arrival may have to wait even longer. Either way, he’ll be a great major leaguer.
2. Chris Perez
We’ve all seen enough of Perez to be excited about the back end of the bullpen once again. His high nineties fastball and plus slider can make a deadly combination, and it’s nice to see Tony La Russa finally trusting the kid to get the job done.
I’ve got to be honest here. I haven’t seen this kid at all, and aside from a couple of swings I found on Youtube, I don’t know anything about his play. So, I have to stick to the stats on this one. Wallace is a big time hitter, we know that from his peripherals from college. He burst onto the Cardinal map with his very first professional game for Quad Cities. His jump to AA Springfield clearly shows that he’s on the fast track, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a September call-up next season. If we compiled another one of these lists next year, Wallace’s name would be at the top.
Good hitting catchers don’t grow on trees, so the Cardinals are lucky to have one. Anderson was raking for Springfield before cooling off late in the year for Memphis, but he can still hit. I think his defense is improved, and will only get better with time (and some more tutoring from Mike Matheny). I’d think Anderson would be ranked higher for other teams, but the Cardinals already have one of the best catchers in the league, and it’s not like he’s nearing retirement. I look for Anderson to be playing another full season in AAA before he can break camp with the Cards. On the other hand, he’s probably one of the club’s best trading chips.
5. Jason Motte
After seeing his major league debut, I was sold. Motte throws very hard, and is quite capable of handling big league hitters. He still has a lot of work to do with his secondary pitches, but remember, he’s only been pitching for a couple of years. With time, Motte will be deadly. I’m already envisioning a late inning trio of Kyle McClellan, Motte, and Perez. Exciting!
6. Jaime Garcia
I was considering leaving Garcia off this list because of his injury. We won’t see him pitch again for a year, and chances are, he could get passed by other arms by then. But, because he’s so young, it’s easy to still envision him competing for a spot in the rotation down the line. Aside from a couple of bad outings, I’ve really liked what I’ve seen from Garcia, and he gets bonus points for being a southpaw.
7. Daryl Jones
Jones has figured it out, and put together a great ‘08 campaign. He was hitting .326 in 87 games for Palm Beach before his promotion to Springfield, where he hit .290. He’s still only twenty-one years old, and now has the confidence with something to build on. I’m sure we’ll be talking a lot about Jones next year, when he’ll probably be ranked in the top three.
Since we’re stopping at seven, my honorable mentions would include Jess Todd, Jon Jay, and David Freese. With some hesitation, I’ll include Mitchell Boggs too, solely on his minor league resume.
Find the links to all the UCB prospect lists over at C70 at the Bat. You’re sure to see most of the same names, but likely in a completely different order. Check back for updates on this project in the near future.
A Misfire
Written by Mike on September 3, 2008 – 6:53 pm -Last night, the St. Louis Cardinals finally figured out that earning a win takes all aspects of the game. They finally were firing on all cylinders. They had outstanding starting pitching from Adam Wainwright, the offense surged with three home runs to give the Redbirds another early lead, and the bullpen allowed only one run in 3.2 innings to preserve the win. The Cards won big, 8-2.
Today’s game got off to a similar start. The offense got it started, courtesy of Troy Glaus’ 300th career home run, giving the Cards the lead in the third. Kyle Lohse threw a superb six innings of shutout baseball, where he allowed five hits and struck out seven.
The difference proved to be the bullpen once again. Kyle McClellan put Arizona back in the game, allowing two runs in his .2 innings of work. Later, one of the newest Cardinals, Jason Motte, came in with the game on the line and struck out Mark Reynolds to end the seventh. Motte also pitched a scoreless eighth before giving way to rookie closer Chris Perez in the ninth. Perez couldn’t close the door, picking up his third blown save of the year. A misfire. Arizona won 4-3. Here’s the full recap and box score.
The Cardinals really could have used a win today. They picked up a game on the Wild Card leading Milwaukee Brewers with last night’s win, but remain 5.5 games out after today’s loss despite the Mets’ triumph over the Brew Crew earlier.
For those that haven’t seen the complete list of September call-ups, here you go:
- Randy Flores P
- Kelvin Jimenez P
- Josh Kinney P
- Jason Motte P
- Mark Johnson C
- Brian Barden IF
- Josh Phelps IF
- Brendan Ryan IF
Of course we already know what to expect from Ryan, Flores, and Jimenez. Phelps is again getting accustomed to the bigs, and Motte had a remarkable Major League debut tonight. I’m hoping Kinney is as impressive as he was the last time we saw him, during the run to the ‘06 World Series Championship.
The Cards have the day off tomorrow before hosting the Florida Marlins for three games. To stay in the hunt, they’ll need a big boost after their 1-5 road trip.
