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.
Losing in High Definition
Written by Mike on September 5, 2008 – 11:09 pm -
As most of you regular readers know, I live in Miami, Florida, and since moving here from St. Louis, I’ve been reduced to watching Cardinal baseball via the Extra Innings package from Comcast, my local shitbox cable provider. At any rate, the games I get to watch in high definition are very few and far between. Other than the rare Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN, my only hope is when the Cards face the Marlins. I didn’t have to worry about the broadcast last month when the Birds were down here in Florida because I was at all the games, but now that I finally have another chance to watch my favorite team in HD, they pull an ‘08 Cards, and blow the save to lose the game.
It was the first of a three game series against the Fish, and to my surprise, turned out to be a pitchers duel for most of the contest. Braden Looper and Ricky Nolasco matched each other pitch for pitch deep into the game. Looper was fantastic, going 7.1 innings without allowing a run on only 4 hits. He struck out 6. Chris Perez blew the save, and Ryan Franklin continued down the road of suck, and the Cardinals lost the game 4-1. Here’s the full recap, along with the complete box score.
I guess I can’t blame the bullpen entirely, as the offense only put up one run, but it’s a shame nonetheless, as the Cardinals added to their Major League leading 30 blown saves. Yummy!
And for all of you other scoreboard watchers out there, Milwaukee beat San Diego in extra innings, and the Phillies beat the Mets. The only good news of the night was that the Cubbies got their asses handed to them 10-2 by Cincinnati. The Cards remain 6 games back in the Wild Card race.
Tomorrow’s game features Todd Wellemeyer and Scott Olsen. The Cardinals need to win. I’m already on suicide watch.
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.
Cards Earn a Split
Written by Mike on August 28, 2008 – 7:37 pm -After losing big in the first game of the short series against Milwaukee on Tuesday, the Cardinals “played a hard nine” to take game two last night.
It was Adam Wainwrights second start since coming off the disabled list. He wasn’t dominant, but he definitely got the job done. He lasted 6 innings on 89 pitches, allowing 3 runs (2 earned), and got a pair of strikeouts. Kyle McClellan and Ryan Franklin each pitched a scoreless inning to bridge the gap to the ninth for Chris Perez.
After taking the lead with a four run eighth, the Cardinals looked once again to Perez to close it out. He was outstanding. Perez picked up his sixth save with three swinging strikeouts against the heart of the Milwaukee order. Derrick Goold has an excellent article on the rookie over at Bird Land.
The offense was quiet until the sixth, when Ryan Ludwick hit a solo homer off of Manny Parra. Ludwick still leads the team in home runs with 32. The Cards stranded the bases loaded in the seventh, and some words were exchanged between Albert Pujols and Carlos Villanueva. The rally came in the very next inning, with RBI going to Ludwick, Troy Glaus, Aaron Miles, and Felipe Lopez. More on the extracurriculars from Bernie Miklasz.
The final score was 5-3. Here’s the complete box score. The win bumped the Cardinals back up to 3.5 games behind the Brewers in the Wild Card race. The Phillies loom just a half-game behind the Cards, although they’ve just started a four game series against the Cubs in Chicago.
Following the day off today, the Cards will open a three game set in Houston tomorrow night. Kyle Lohse gets the ball for the Redbirds, while lefty Randy Wolf will start for the Astros. Milwaukee plays Pittsburgh, so anything less than a sweep of Houston would have to be considered unsuccessful. Go Cards!
Offensive Outburst Earns Cards a Split
Written by Mike on August 21, 2008 – 11:17 pm -Just a quick post today, as the team has the day off. I’m working on a rather lengthy post for the weekend when the team hosts the Braves.
Last night the Cardinals were able to trounce the Pirates 11-2. They tallied 13 hits, and scored in five of their eight innings at the plate. Jason LaRue got the scoring started in the second inning with a sacrifice fly, and added a two-run homer in the seventh. Rick Ankiel also went deep with a two run shot in the third, his 24th.
Todd Wellemeyer earned his eleventh win of the season, pitching 5 innings, giving up a pair of runs on 5 hits. He also struck out five. Russ Springer, Jaime Garcia, Ryan Franklin, and Chris Perez threw a shutout for the remaining four frames. Here’s the complete box score.
The Cardinals could have used some of those runs on Tuesday, when the offense was silent until the ninth inning. The series split didn’t allow the team to gain any ground on Milwaukee in the Wild Card race.
A three game series against Atlanta starts tomorrow night, with Adam Wainwright scheduled to take the mound for the first time since his finger injury. Charlie Morton will pitch for the Braves. With the regular season winding down in hurry, hopefully the Cards feel a sense of urgency, and can string together a nice winning streak. Who better to start the streak than Wainwright?
Young Arms Make it Three in a Row
Written by Mike on August 15, 2008 – 7:53 pm -The Cardinals began a three game series with the Reds tonight in Cincinnati, the third city of their ten game road trip. After taking three of four from the Marlins, the Cards looked to keep things rolling at Great American Ballpark.
Brad Thompson got the start in place of the injured Chris Carpenter. Despite giving up a leadoff home run to his first batter, Thompson pitched fairly well. He lasted five innings to notch the win, allowing 3 runs, on 3 hits, while striking out 4. One of the runs was unearned. Jaime Garcia, Kyle McClellan, Ron Villone, and Chris Perez combined for four scoreless innings, with Perez earning his fourth save.
The Cards scored five runs spread across four innings, including a two run homer off the bat of Rick Ankiel in the first. Albert Pujols and Felipe Lopez were each on base three times, and Jason LaRue got in on the action with a pair of RBI.
St. Louis out hit Cincinnati 10-5, and won the game 5-3. Here’s the full recap and box score. The Cards are 5-3 so far on this road trip, which includes winning the last three straight ball games. They improve to 13 games over .500, at 69-56, with 37 games left in the season. They gained no ground on the Cubs, when Florida’s closer Kevin Gregg blew a two run lead in the ninth, giving Chicago another win. The Cards still trail Milwaukee by three games in the Wild Card race, with a chance to pick up a half-game if the Brewers lose in L.A. tonight.
It looks like Carpenter will miss at least one more start, as he was placed on the 15-day DL today, retroactive to his last appearance. Brian Barton takes his place on the roster. Joe Strauss has the full story.
Maybe a healthy Adam Wainwright can be the shot in the arm this team needs to have an extended run. He’ll make what could be his final rehab start tomorrow night for AA Springfield. With Carpenter out again, and Perez making the most of his late inning chances, I’m hoping to see Adam in the rotation.
Joel Pineiro will get the ball in game two of the series in Cincinnati tomorrow night. The Reds will counter with Aaron Harang. Let’s make it four in a row!
Mike at the Cards vs. Marlins
Written by Mike on August 13, 2008 – 12:13 pm -
I was in attendance for both of the first two games of this four game series, and although the Cards were able to win the first one, the second left a lot to be desired.
On Monday night, I had field level seats, right behind the tarp in the first row down the third base line. Third base coach Jose Oquendo was literally ten feet away. The view from there was awesome, especially on ground balls to the left side of the infield. I had a shot at several foul grounders, and a bat that got away from Albert Pujols on one of his three strikeouts. If I was a little taller, I’d have a handful of souvenirs. Interesting side note: A friend of a friend was sitting in the section next to us, and is good pals with Rick Ankiel, and they chatted for a couple of minutes before the game. I found out that he was even at Rick’s wedding. Okay, maybe that’s not that interesting after all. Anyway, there were quite a few Cards fans at the game, including a couple that sat next to us. They were from St. Louis, but now live in Naples. It was fun to talk baseball with them, because most people here in Florida don’t even like the sport, which should have been evident from the abundance of empty seats in the park. Travelers tip: If you get the opportunity to sit at field level, order your second beer as soon as the server drops off your first one. Keep that pattern going, because they take forever. They should know better when the Cards are in town. As far as the rest of the action, I was really surprised to see Tony La Russa call on the youngsters Kyle McClellan and Chris Perez to finish the game. Good call, and good results. Keep it up Tony!
Last night, I had infield box seats, in the thirteenth row, behind home plate. I bought them from the stadium ticket office, about thirty minutes before game time. Pathetic huh? I actually could have sat much closer, but I wanted an isle seat, so I had to settle for thirteen rows back. The seats were good, but I didn’t really like looking through the screen. Lesson learned. It was awesome seeing the offense come out swinging in the first. The look on Oquendo’s face when Pujols ran through his stop sign was hilarious. I don’t know what happened to the offense for the rest of the game. I wandered around during the rain delay, but they wouldn’t let me in the club level. Bastards!
Tonight’s tickets are free, but I have no idea where we’re sitting. I don’t care though. Just being at a Cardinal game is good enough for me. I’ll post my pictures from all the games after the series, so check back.
Here’s the links to the box scores: 08/11 W 4-2, 08/12 L 4-1.
The Cards are in desperate need of a winning streak. The Cubs and Brewers just won’t stop winning, and the Redbirds have fallen of the pace, and are now four games out of the Wild Card race. There’s no reason why the streak can’t start tonight with Braden Looper on the mound. Just in case, though, I’m going to wear the same stuff to the game that I wore on Monday! Go Cards!
Falling Off the Pace
Written by Mike on August 8, 2008 – 7:50 pm -
Dammit Jimmy! Stupid Cubs! This is no way to start a road trip. Even though it took 11 innings, the Cardinals came up on the short end today at Wrigley, and now sit seven games back in the NL Central standings.
Braden Looper turned in a fine performance, allowing just two runs in seven innings. Ironically, the two runs came off the bat of Looper’s former teammate, Jim Edmonds, via a pair of solo home runs. What a kick in the nuts. The bullpen turned in three scoreless innings before losing it in the eleventh. The culprit: Ryan Franklin. Again.
This is a loss that we can’t really pin on Franklin. I suppose most of the blame could fall on the offense, for their lack of timely hitting and base running blunders. Scoring only two runs against the Cubs is never going to get a win. That said, I still can’t seem to stop hating on the bullpen, especially the back end. I know that somebody had to take the loss today, but why does it seem like it’s always the same one or two guys?
I’ve changed my stance on Adam Wainwright’s return. I’m now in favor of him pitching in relief after his rehab assignment. What we’ve been doing isn’t working. I’m still hopeful that rookie Chris Perez gets more and more crucial innings, and I think having Wainwright right there with him could be a big plus.
Here’s some links:
- Today’s recap and box score.
- More on Wainwright’s status, from Derrick Goold.
- The Rick Ankiel story on FSN.
- Ryan Ludwick for MVP?
Game two of the series is tomorrow afternoon. Carlos Zambrano against Todd Wellemeyer. Let’s go Cards!
Bats Go Quiet
Written by Mike on August 7, 2008 – 7:18 pm -Four hits? That’s it? Really? Since the Cardinals couldn’t seem to put any good wood on the ball today, they relied on the free passes to put runners on base. Unfortunately, only one of their nine base runners came around to score, and the Redbirds fell to the Dodgers 4-1.
On paper I thought St. Louis had the advantage. Their best starter, Kyle Lohse, was on the mound, and the Cards were coming off a pair of wins, trying to sweep the Dodgers right out of town. Lohse wasn’t bad, allowing four runs in seven innings, while striking out five. Too bad Clayton Kershaw was better.
One positive to take from the game, however, is the fact that struggling closer Jason Isringhausen pitched two scoreless innings in relief, including a three strikeout ninth. Now that both he and rookie Chris Perez are coming off stellar outings, the closer’s role looks to be even more complicated than before.
Here’s today’s box score. The loss puts the Cardinals six games behind the division leading Cubs, and a game behind the Brewers in the Wild Card race.
The upcoming series in Chicago is huge, although chances are Tony La Russa will say it’s no more important than any other series this year. The Baby Bears aren’t going to make it easy, starting Ted Lilly (11-6, 4.35 ERA), Carlos Zambrano (12-4, 2.76 ERA), and Ryan Dempster (12-5, 2.93 ERA). To make matters worse, not only do the Cubs have the best record in the National League, they’re virtually unbeatable at home, sporting a record of 43-16 at Wrigley. Hopefully the Cards are up to the challenge.
Pujols Powers Cards Past Dodgers
Written by Mike on August 6, 2008 – 9:15 pm -
After an extra innings win to combat another blown save in the first game of the series last night, the Cardinals poured on the offense and shut the door on the Dodgers in game two tonight.
The star of the game was Albert Pujols, who reached base in all five of his plate appearances, going 4 for 4 with a walk. His hits included a pair of singles, a double, and a grand slam. Keeping pace was the hot hitting Ryan Ludwick, who had three hits of his own, including going back to back with Albert in the fourth with his team leading 29th home run. The two sluggers combined for six RBI. Ludwick also leads the club in that category with 82, and has homered in five consecutive games, tying a franchise record.
The newest Cardinal, Felipe Lopez, made his debut in left field. He was 1 for 3 before being lifted for Joe Mather.
Joel Pineiro earned the win, his fourth of the season, lasting seven innings despite allowing three runs in the first three innings. Completely opposite of his ‘08 trends, Pineiro got better as the game went on. Brad Thompson was terrible in relief, but recently promoted Chris Perez was able to get the final five outs for the first big league save of his career. Saves have illuded the Cardinal bullpen most of the year, so seeing Perez shut the Dodgers down in the ninth was a pleasant surprise.
The final score was 9-6. Here’s the full recap and box score.
Finally, a bit of housekeeping. I want to apologize for the lack of action here on the site during the last two weeks. At first, I had a dreadful schedule at work, finishing a job for none other than Dontrelle Willis. I planned on only missing two or three days of posting, but then lost my internet connection at home. Anyway, I’m finally reconnected to the electronic world, so I’ll be back to posting daily. Be sure to visit often.
Kyle Lohse is on the hill tomorrow as the Cards go for the sweep. The Dodgers give the ball to the lefty Clayton Kershaw. From there, the schedule doesn’t get any easier, as the Redbirds will travel to Chicago for three before coming down to my neck of the woods for four against the Fish.
