Silver Sluggers
Written by Mike on November 13, 2008 – 11:12 pm -
The National League Silver Sluggers were announced today, and it was no surprise that the two Cardinal All-Stars were selected. The award, which is voted on by the league’s coaches and managers, is given to the best offensive performers at each position.
Albert Pujols put up a line of .357/.462/.653 to win his fourth Silver Slugger, adding to his already crowded trophy case. He’s also the leading candidate for the NL MVP award.
Ryan Ludwick’s line of .299/.375/.591 was good enough to garner his first Silver Slugger, joining Matt Holliday and Ryan Braun as the three most potent outfield bats in the league.
The Cardinal duo combined to hit 74 home runs and drive in 229 runs in 2008. Yet many, including manager Tony La Russa, believe that an “impact bat” is still a pressing need for the ball club.
Check out Derrick Goold’s Bird Land for more on the story, along with the complete list of this year’s winners.
Mo Holes
Written by Mike on November 12, 2008 – 11:51 am -
John Mozeliak’s offseason shopping list is rather lengthy. Remember, the Cardinals finished fourth in the National League Central, and although they stayed competitive late into the season, it’s not as if they were only a player or two away from making the playoffs.
Mo has his work cut out for him this winter. He has to find upgrades at both middle infield positions. He’d like to add the elusive “protection” for Albert Pujols in the lineup. And the Cards obviously need help in the bullpen, especially of the left handed variety, as well as the ninth inning. Depending on the status of former Cy Young winner Chris Carpenter, a starting pitcher might be on the list of needs as well.
Of all the needs, it’s my opinion that pitching is the most important. Although some intriguing names are looming in the free agent pool, they won’t come cheap. There’s no way that the Cards are going to sign any of the top tier free agent pitchers. If the club is going to spend any money on free agents, it would probably be on a left handed reliever.
I doubt they’ll want to commit big dollars and multiple years to the attractive middle infield options. More than likely, the bulk of the holes will have to be filled via trade.
It’s always fun this time of year to sift through the tornado of trade winds, trying to speculate what the club will look like come Opening Day. In the coming weeks, I’ll discuss the various rumors and look at viable options at each of the positions of need. Hopefully by the time we’re ready to fill out line up cards, Mo should have us ready to start printing playoff tickets.
The Offseason
Written by Mike on November 11, 2008 – 1:04 am -The Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series less than two weeks ago, and yet it seems like we haven’t watched baseball in months. This is the time of year that I have to suffer through the other professional sports, getting by on college football, and counting the days until pitchers and catchers report. I share this sentiment:
“People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” - Rogers Hornsby
If you’re anything like me, you spend a ton of time each winter day scouring the internet for the latest baseball news, hoping your team made a splash in the free agent market, or landed a coveted player in trade. You spend a lot of time contemplating who’ll be invited to Spring Training, how the injured players are recovering, and how the roster might shape up.
Well Cardinal fans, I’ll be on top of it all winter, and will do my best to pass on all the information to you. You can count on the whole United Cardinal Bloggers gang too. We started this baseball-less time with the roundtable discussions, and there’s plenty more stuff to come, including the second installment of the Cardinal Blogger Awards, and we’re kicking off a Blog Talk Radio show later this week. It should be a lot of fun.
So what’s been going on with the team? You’ve heard the old news: Albert Pujols and Chris Carpenter had surgery. Jason LaRue will be back. Mark Mulder will not. Yadier Molina finally won his first Gold Glove, while Pujols added plenty to his trophy case. And of course, the Cards aren’t getting Jake Peavy.
What’s new? Well for starters, the potential trade for Colorado Rockies outfielder Matt Holliday was a bust. Joe Strauss, of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, broke the story early Monday morning. Today, we learned that the Oakland A’s are close to a deal for the slugger.
I’ve got to say, while I was definitely excited about Holliday wearing the Birds on the Bat, I’m glad that Mozeliak didn’t pull the trigger on this one, especially if the reports on the player package were accurate. Also, Holliday’s contract status would have thrown a wrench into the club’s flexibility plan, possibly leaving some of the other roster holes unfilled.
The final eligible Cardinal filed for free agency today. Juan Encarnacion was the last, but the filing was merely a formality, as his injury will prevent him from playing next year, and likely, ever again. Matthew Leach has more. Let’s wish Juan well.
Cardinals’ third base coach Jose Oquendo is in the news. He’ll be one of several candidates to interview for the available managers job in Seattle. Chris Haft has the full story. I think Oquendo is due for a bigger gig, so if he wants it, I hope he gets the job. On the other hand, I can’t help but to think about what his absence would mean to the Cards. The Secret Weapon is a great third base coach, and an even better infield instructor. What’s your take?
That’s it for now, but check back tomorrow, when I’ll start analyzing some of the other rumored trade scenarios, as well as update you on the upcoming UCB events.
Make it Five
Written by Mike on September 27, 2008 – 10:40 pm -
Five! Five wins! Ah ah ah! The Cardinals kept the winning streak going with another win over the Reds tonight, and with only one more game in the season, have a chance to end on a positive note.
Pin this win on Todd Wellemeyer. The Colonel was good again, giving up just three runs over 6.1 innings, while striking out three. Wellemeyer finishes the season 13-7, with a 3.71 ERA. Go ahead and write his name into the starting rotation next season, and use pen.
The Cardinals were able to put up eight runs, which included a two run shot from Troy Glaus, and solo homers from Felipe Lopez and Albert Pujols. Here’s tonight’s box score.
Kyle Lohse will take the mound for the Redbirds tomorrow afternoon, hoping to put an exclamation point on the end of the season for St. Louis. He’ll be opposed by lefty Adam Pettyjohn. Let’s end it the right way boys. Sweep!
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.
Losing Continues
Written by Mike on September 1, 2008 – 8:05 pm -
After getting swept by the Astros in Houston, the Cardinals headed into Arizona hoping to get back on track. Instead, they squandered another early lead, and are pushing themselves out of the playoff hunt altogether.
Unlike the final game in Houston, the Cards brought their bats today, putting up five runs in the first two innings courtesy of home runs from Yadier Molina, Joe Mather, Albert Pujols, and Felipe Lopez. They’d manage to put up only one more through the remaining seven innings, which wasn’t enough.
Anytime you score six runs and lose, you can’t fault the offense. Cardinal starter Joel Pineiro gave up four runs in his five innings of work, but the bullpen gave the D-Backs four more. I’ve beat up on the bullpen all year, and frankly, I’m tired of writing about their inability to get the job done. You know the story. Cards are winning. Blown save. Cards lose.
There was one performance from today’s game that stood out. Arizona shortstop Stephen Drew went 5 for 5, and hit for the cycle. Now there’s something you don’t see everyday. Too bad he plays for the wrong team. Here’s today’s box score.
Adam Wainwright will attempt to stop the bleeding tomorrow night. He’ll be opposed by Yusmeiro Petit. The Redbirds need wins. Their elimination number for the Wild Card is now down to 19. They have 24 games to play.
The Cardinals did make some roster moves today, but with more to come tomorrow, I think I’ll wait until then so I can post the complete list of September call-ups.
Finally, the St. Louis candidates for the Ford C. Frick Award have been announced, and Mike Shannon and Dan McLaughlin top the list. Matthew Leach has the full story.
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!
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.
Four Straight Wins
Written by Mike on August 16, 2008 – 7:59 pm -
With a fine performance from Cardinal starter Joel Pineiro, and four home runs from the supporting cast, the Cardinals picked up a decisive win against the Reds in Cincinnati.
Pineiro earned his third win in as many starts with six strong innings. He allowed 3 runs on 7 hits, and struck out 6 without issuing a walk. Jason Isringhausen, Russ Springer, and Ron Villone each pitched a scoreless inning in relief.
Skip Schumaker and Ryan Ludwick each had a home run, while Albert Pujols hit a pair. 9-3 was the final score. Here’s the complete box score.
You can bet I switched over to the Cubs/Marlins game as soon as the Cardinals recorded the final out. Wouldn’t you know, Kevin Gregg was in trouble again in the ninth, clinging to a one run lead. The Fish prevailed this time, so St. Louis picks up a full game in the standings.
I mentioned yesterday that Adam Wainwright was scheduled to pitch tonight for the Springfield Cardinals. As Matthew Leach reports, the outing went well.
The Cards will go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon with Kyle Lohse on the mound. The Reds will hand the ball to All-Star Edinson Volquez. I’m anxious to see if Tony La Russa uses his typical “getaway day lineup”, or sticks with the big guns due to the off day on Monday. I’ll have a pre-game post up early tomorrow after the lineups are announced. Already at 6-3, a Cardinal win would put an exclamation point on a very successful road trip.
