Wainwright Placed on DL
Written by Mike on June 9, 2008 – 8:42 pm -
The Cardinals made it official today. After meeting with team doctors to diagnose the finger injury that took him out the game in his last start, Adam Wainwright is added to the long list of disabled Cardinal pitchers.
Although fellow starter Joel Pineiro will be reactivated, Wainwright joins pitchers Chris Carpenter, Mark Mulder, Matt Clement, Jason Isringhausen, Brad Thompson, Tyler Johnson, Josh Kinney, and Kelvin Jimenez on the shelf. Todd Wellemeyer will miss his next scheduled start, but won’t need extended time off.
Luckily, the Cardinals have so many arms in which to try to fill the rotation. The scheduled starter for tomorrow’s series opener in Cincinnati is Mitchell Boggs. So far, there’s no word on who will pitch in Wainwright’s spot on Thursday. Mike Parisi made two starts and several appearances in relief before being sent back down to Memphis. Of course Anthony Reyes is an option, as well as Cardinal reliever Kyle McClellan, and farmhands Jaime Garcia and Jess Todd.
Derrick Goold has more on Wainwright, and be sure to check out Bernie Miklasz’ take on the situation.
Series Preview - Cards @ Rockies
Written by Mike on May 5, 2008 – 3:18 pm -The Cardinals just finished a successful nine game home stand with last night’s win, taking 2 of 3 from the Cubs, and going 6-3 overall. Now the Cards hit the road to a couple of beer towns, playing four games in Denver and then four in Milwaukee. So far this season, the Cards got the better of both teams. They hope to keep it that way during the road trip. It’s nice to have both the King of Beers and the better baseball team.
Joel Pineiro is scheduled to make the start tonight. Yesterday, upon hearing the news of the promotion of Mike Parisi, I speculated what his role would be. I asked Jeff Gordon, of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, what the plan might be. Here’s the transcript:
Concerning the Anthony Reyes demotion. As I understand it, Mike Parisi was promoted to provide insurance if Joel Pineiro can’t go, and Reyes was struggling and still has an option. Is that accurate? Is there more to the story? Is Parisi just a place holder? A trade in the works perhaps? Thanks!
Mike: Hey Gordo!
Mike from Miami
Jeff Gordon: Parisi is insurance, since he was ready to start Sunday. Longer term, I see the Cards putting a natural reliever in that slot while Reyes concentrates on starting. Might the Cards trade Reyes? Sure, if another team made an interesting offer. The pitchers are stacking up at Memphis and somebody will have to go at some point.
Gordo’s full discussion from earlier this afternoon can be found here.
Ubaldo Jimenez will start for Colorado. He’s already faced the Cardinals once this season, taking the loss on April 3rd at Busch, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits in 5 innings.
It’s Braden Looper and Mark Redman tomorrow night, Adam Wainwright and Jeff Francis on Wednesday, and Kyle Lohse against Jorge De La Rosa on Thursday. On paper, the match ups seem to favor the Cardinals. I look for the Redbirds to win the series.
Roster Moves
Written by Mike on May 4, 2008 – 1:26 pm -(Update 7:35): Although some news has finally hit the wire, there’s still plenty of uncertainty surrounding the call-up of Mike Parisi. According to an article by Nate Latsch of MLB.com, Parisi will assume Anthony Reyes’ role. A different story, by R.B. Fallstrom, suggests that perhaps Joel Pineiro will miss tomorrow’s start in Denver. I guess we’ll know more as the night progresses.
Tonight’s game against the Cubs is on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. First pitch is about a half-hour away, so any updates on the Parisi/Reyes situation will be in my post-game wrap.
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(Update 6:00): Rumor has it that Mike Parisi will start tomorrow in Colorado. No word yet on how the shake-up affects the rest of the rotation, but I’ll keep you informed. Also, it seems as if Jess Todd has also been promoted to AA.
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(Update 4:40): It’s official. Mike Parisi has been promoted to St. Louis. To make room on the roster, Anthony Reyes has been optioned to Memphis. There has to be more to this. I think Parisi may get a start in the upcoming Colorado series. Check back for more updates.
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Up and down the Cardinals’ organization today, there are pitchers on the move. It looks as if Tyler Herron is being promoted to AA Springfield, both Jaime Garcia and P.J. Walters are being moved up to AAA Memphis, and Mike Parisi is heading to the Show.
Of course, a 25-man roster move must be made to make room for Parisi, but at this point (4:00 pm Eastern), we can only speculate. Several things can be happening. Most likely, an extra arm is needed in Memphis due to the rainout yesterday and the “game and a half” they’re playing today. Parisi was originally scheduled to get the start, but is no longer listed on the roster.
A quick look at the Cardinals’ roster, and you’ll notice Parisi isn’t yet listed. It is peculiar, however, that the probable pitchers section on the Cards’ official site leaves Wednesday’s starter “to be announced”. Maybe nothing here, but I’ll update this post when new information is available.
I expect either a DL stint for someone, or an Anthony Reyes demotion. I guess we’ll see.
Tough Loss for the Cardinals
Written by Mike on April 24, 2008 – 2:02 am -It didn’t take long for the Cardinals to encounter their second string of back-to-back losses. Monday’s win against Milwaukee separates the two short losing streaks. The loss is tougher to take, not only because of the turn of events that transpired in tonight’s game, but also because it came against a Pittsburgh team was predicted to finish at the bottom of the division.
The game couldn’t have started off better for the Cards. They put up four runs in the top of the first, while sending nine men to the plate. Things were looking good when starter Todd Wellemeyer cruised through the first three innings without allowing a hit. After a couple of runs in the fourth, the Pirates tied the game on a two run home run by Jason Bay in the fifth. The ball was just out of Chris Duncan’s reach, and barely cleared the left field wall. Although it hung up longer than expected, I wonder if a more experienced outfielder would have caught it. Anthony Reyes pitched the eighth, giving up the winning runs. 7-4 was the final. View the full box score here.
Tomorrow the Cardinals hope to even the series, with Joel Pineiro going against Tom Gorzellany.
My aggravation allows me to leave you with only one link, but it’s a good one. With the ‘09 All Star Game creeping closer, and the city of St. Louis, and all it’s fans on the brink of being embarrassed by the hole in the ground in the footprint of old Busch, J Carnage has the ultimate solution.
Yuck!
Written by Mike on April 21, 2008 – 2:38 am -A loss is one thing, and a blowout is another, but getting romped by arguably the worst team in the National League is just plain ugly. The game today was an unpleasant reminder of 2007. I remember so many times last season turning on the game to find the Cardinals down big in the early innings.
At first, the outcome was somewhat of a surprise to me. Last year, the lopsided losses usually came from the arms of Kip Wells, Mike Maroth, or Anthony Reyes. Maybe my memory was clouded by the 3-0 start to ‘08 by Braden Looper, but I expected another quality start from him today, complete with a Cardinal win. Instead, he was chased from the game before retiring a batter in the fourth. Including his runner that scored in that inning, Looper allowed 7 runs on 10 hits, facing only 19 batters on 71 pitches. His ERA rose from a 2.70 to 5.49.
Now that the clouds have cleared, I can recall a more accurate account of Looper’s ‘07 season. At the surface, the numbers look pretty average. Find them here. He was 12-12 with a 4.94 ERA in 31 games for the year. Looking more closely, his final ‘07 stats most resemble his 6 no decision starts, where he had a 4.29 ERA in 35.2 innings. In the 12 wins, Looper pitched 78.2 innings, compiling a very impressive 1.49 ERA. In his 12 losses, he pitched 60.2 innings, posting an ERA of 9.79. So, on a game to game basis, seldom was Looper average. He was either quite good, or he was horrible. Today, he was horrible.
The 8-2 defeat gives the Cardinals their first series loss of the season, as well as their first back-to-back losses. It closes the book with the Giants for the year, who won four of the seven games against the Redbirds. The loss also drops the Cardinals out of first place, behind the Cubs by a half-game.For more on today’s game, check out Robert Falkoff’s recap, as well as the full box score.
Now for the good news. A loss is a loss, no matter if it’s by a run or ten runs, and the next one surely will be easier to swallow. The Cards are still 12-7, which is a much better start than most of us predicted.
Next, they’ll hit the road for a short, two city road trip, beginning in Milwaukee tomorrow night. St. Louis took two of three from the Brewers last week at Busch, coming within four outs of a sweep on Thursday. Adam Wainwright gets the start for the Cardinals. He’ll be opposed by Carlos Villanueva. Hopefully, it will be the start of a new winning streak.
Cardinals Increase Their Lead
Written by Mike on April 16, 2008 – 8:42 pm -They say pitching wins ball games, and that certainly was the case last night in the Cardinals’ 6-1 win over the Brewers. Braden Looper might not have had his best stuff, nor was he able to go deep into the game, but he did execute the game plan well, pitching around Milwaukee slugger Prince Fielder, and allowing only three hits in five-plus innings.With the 2007 Rookie of the Year Ryan Braun out of the lineup, it was an easy decision for Tony La Russa to avoid giving Fielder anything to hit. Not allowing the opposition’s best to beat you is a tactic that’s widely practiced throughout the big leagues. Cards fans have seen it time and time again with Albert Pujols getting walked.
Looper ran out of gas in the sixth. After walking the first two batters, he got the hook with his pitch count at 91. The bullpen provided another stellar outing, with Klye McClellan, Ryan Franklin, and Anthony Reyes finishing the final four innings without allowing a hit. The recent performances by the relievers will make for a tough roster decision when Russ Springer comes off the DL.
Offensively, the Cards scored on timely hitting, something the team has been lacking over the last year or so. Skip Schumaker, Rick Ankiel, and Adam Kennedy each had a multi-hit game. Schumaker and Chris Duncan both had 2-out RBI. View the full box score here.
Holding the potent Brewers’ offense to only three hits, combined with the clutch hitting from unlikely Cardinal batters is impressive. More impressive, however, is the 10-4 start for the Redbirds, with a chance to increase their lead tonight. Adam Wainwright and Carlos Villanueva are the starting pitchers.
Personally, I thought last night’s game was fun to watch. Seeing the team honor Jackie Robinson was awesome. Check out the pictures from the Post Dispatch. I thought La Russa made all the right decisions, including pulling Looper with a chance to win, but not to lose. I liked seeing McClellan in another pressure situation, and seeing Reyes turn up the heat in the ninth was also very exciting. I think the only time I was nervous was when Pujols hurt his wrist tagging Bill Hall on the back end of that double play. I also like the Cards’ chances tonight, with Wainwright on the mound. He was less than stellar his last outing and I’m sure he’s eager to get back out there. After taking two of three from the Rockies and the first game of this series, the Cardinals are ahead in the battle between beer towns. A win tonight would certainly have the Brewers fans crying in their High Life.
Reyes Gets the Win
Written by Mike on April 9, 2008 – 2:52 am -
Who would have thought? The once mighty St. Louis Cardinals, clearly on the decline (according to the “experts”), start the 2008 season 6-2. Maybe the ease of the April schedule should get some credit for the hot start. Obviously the outstanding pitching performances from the starting five weren’t going to last forever. Most of us would have been happy to be a .500 club right now. Either way, a win is a win.
Cardinals Win First Series
Written by Mike on April 4, 2008 – 12:43 am -The Redbirds ended the first series of the new season today with a win against the defending National League Champion Colorado Rockies. Not counting the rain out on Monday, St. Louis outscored Colorado 12-5 in the series. The win gives the Cards a 2-1 record heading into the second series, a three game set at home against Washington.
- Rick Ankiel and Albert Pujols continue their hot hitting.
- Adam Kennedy keeps improving.
- All three rookies have made positive contributions.
- The Kyle Lohse signing still looks good.
- The Wellemeyer-Thompson-Reyes decision looks better.
- There have been a few web gems.
- The Cardinals are tied for first place in the division.
I know they’ve only played three games (plus three innings), but I still say this team could surprise some people. Many “experts” picked the Cardinals to be near the bottom of the league. We’ll see.
Good and Bad News for the Cards
Written by Mike on March 27, 2008 – 2:36 am -The Cardinals beat the Orioles today 8-2, extending their winning streak to six games, and remain unbeaten in their last nine. Adam Wainwright got the win, giving up one earned run on four hits, while striking out four in six innings. He joins Anthony Reyes as the only other Cardinal pitcher to go six innings this spring. View the complete box score, along with a recap, here.
Reyes Makes His Case
Written by Mike on March 26, 2008 – 2:30 am -
The Cardinals continued their winning ways today, riding a brilliant performance from pitcher Anthony Reyes to 3-0 victory over the Washington Nationals. St. Louis is unbeaten in their last eight games. Here’s today’s box score.
