A great story in the making?

Well, the offense seems to be slowly waking-up over the last ten games or so. Ludwick still isn't going great, though he did have a grand slam yesterday. Ankiel has seemed to find his power stroke, which is nice, but it drives me crazy to watch him continue to chase high fastballs and breaking balls out of the zone time and again. The real surprise the last two against the Royals though has been Khalil Greene. He has been back for three games, and has started at third the last two games and homered in both. I know the kid has had a tough time, and at this point, you just hope he can get out there and play free. Anything he gives us is bonus, and we certainly need to get something at third base. The last two days are a good start, but they don't a season make, so we'll just have to wait and see. On the other side, the starting pitching has continued to be quite good. Pineiro was a little unlucky to lose on Thursday. Thompson continued to surprise with his strong starts yesterday, and Carp was again masterful today. The team seems to be getting out of it's slump, we're back in first place in the Central even, so hopefully more good things are ahead.



-Trey

Key Victories

Well, I wasn't real optomistic heading into this Detroit series after Cliff Lee dominated us on Sunday. Facing Detroit's three best in Verlander, Jackson and Porcello was a daunting task to say the least, but the lads came through in a big way. Chasing Verlander yesterday was especially impressive as he has been completely dominate the last six weeks or so. I have to give Wellenmeyer props for today's game. Jackson was pretty good, but he was a little better. Todd has definitely been the weak link in the rotation so far this year, but he has somehow managed to get several key wins along the way, so I hope he keeps hanging in there and hopefully continues to send the ERA south as well. Hopefully we will get the sweep tomorrow. I'm looking forward to watching the game on MLB network with the great Bob Costas announcing. If you don't have MLB network, I highly recommend it. Their late night coverage with the likes of Harold Reynolds, Mich Williams, Barry Larkin, Al Leiter and former Cardinal Joe Magrane blow's ESPN's baseball tonight away and the Thursday games with Costas doing play-by-play are golden. An another note, there are some exciting things happening in the UCB right now. Daniel, of C70 at the bat, interviewed the Wizard, Ozzie Smith yesterday for the UCB radio hour. You can check it out by clicking the link here. Next week, Mike of Stan Musial's Stance will be interviewing Bruce Sutter I believe on Tuesday as well for the UCB radio hour, so keep your eye out for that. Pretty slick stuff. Nice to see the HOF's giving some time to us bloggers, that's for sure!



-Trey

Post-game thoughts

I watched the entire Cards-Brewers game tonight, and I had a few observations:

1. I've seen all of Wainwright's last three starts on TV, and he's been quite impressive. As John mentioned earlier, the lowering of his arm-slot seems to have made all the difference in the world. Tonight, he had a little trouble locating the fastball the first three innings, which caused him to fall behind a few hitters. When he got ahead as he did later in the game, the Brewers had no chance, because the slider and ESPECIALLY the curve were lights-out. In his previous two starts, it actually seemed he didn't quite have the great curve if you can believe it, but he certainly did today. As awesome as it is to have Carp back, this is the guy we can count on every start for the rest of the year.

2. The offense finally woke-up. Albert had two RBIs, but really it was the supporting cast finally stepping-up. Shu and Thurston each had a couple of hits to set the table. Stavinoha, Rasmus, Duncan, and even Wainwright all homered. Stavinoha's was the first of his MLB career. That's nice for him because.......

3. Ludwick should be back Friday. This was probably the best thing I heard all night, and in such a solid overall game by the Cards at that. The ESPN crew seemed to think that Ludwick is close to 100% already, but will return officially against the Giants on Friday. Ankiel hasn't played the last two days despite being off the DL, but is thought to be nearing 100% as well.


All in all, probably the most pleasant experience I've had watching a game this year. A great performance by the team, and lots of other good news to boot.



-Trey

The strong starts continue

Just a quick note here before I head to bed. First, great job by John and everyone else that participated in the UCB's progressive game blog on Saturday. That was really a lot of fun to read. In hindsight, I'm glad I didn't contribute because I would have only brought the level of quality down! I'm just not witty enough to hang with those guys. Second, how 'bout that starting pitching? In seven games, the pitching staff as a whole has allowed a mere six runs. Sadly, we have lost the last two because the offense is just about as cold as the pitching is hot. Carp's start today was simply dominating. I was surprised to see him go eight in only his second start back, but when he is cruising like that, I guess there are no worries. I had said a while ago we needed the starters to pick things up for the offense, and they have responded big-time. The game is on ESPN tomorrow night, so I'm looking forward to seeing Wainwright keep the ball rolling and hopefully a little better hitting behind him. Ankiel is back, so that should help, and hopefully Luds isn't too far behind. Anyway, it's sleep time, so hopefully I'll dream of that shot Albert hit last Wednesday that knocked-out the "i" in the Big Mac Land sign.



-Trey

UCB Progressive Game Blog--7th

Welcome to the 7th inning of this year's version of the UCB Progressive Game Blog! Thanks to Whiteyball for handling the 6th. Let's get started.

The hands-on LaRussa gets back to work and makes a defensive shift moving Skippy out to RF and brings in Ryan to cover 4. I tell you, I'm a big fan of Ryan. Not only has he developed quite a glove, but his overall play is just fun to watch. Plus, I like the ironed-lid. One thing that drives me nuts about him--he watches the ball too much. Don't get me wrong, after you make contact you're gonna watch--but I've seen several occasions where he could have beat out a play if he wasn't watching it all the way and instead put his head down and ran. E.g., watch the 2nd take of the 2nd great play Freel makes. If Ryan puts his head down instead of babysitting it, he beats the throw.

Enough nit-picking. Skippy has hit 3 HR's in 30 AB. I think it's time we start talking about what to do with Kahlil Greene. Although Skippy is a defensive liability, so is K. Greene. Ryan has proved to be outstanding in the field--and his stick is about the same. I'm tired of Greene's sour attitude too. Maybe I'm not being fair. It's tough to be the new guy--still, when you combine poor offense, poor defense, and a bad attitude...

Wow, Debbie Downer. Sorry.

After a sinker misses low, Callaspo harmlessly grounds out to Pujols. Lohse has added to the consecutive high-quality outings by the Card's rotation. One of the biggest reasons: note the BB count during the current 4 game stretch (5 if counting tonight) vs. when we got swept by the Brew-Crew. Simply stunning. Lohse hasn't given up a free pass all night.

After Olivo runs the count full after a steady diet of pitches low and away, Olivo can't get the bat off the shoulder. I think he was expecting another curveball to drop out of the zone--but the fastball paints the corner.

Lohse gets an easy 1-2-3 inning on a mere 9 pitches as Aviles grounds out back to the pitcher.

It's time to stretch, and I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you all to boycott Winnie the Pooh. That's right folks. As I'm putting my daughter to sleep in her Pujols' pjs and singing our traditional night-night song, "Take me Out to the Ballgame," I switched on her mobile which plays "Winnie the Pooh". To my horror I realized what I had been exposing my daughter to. One of the lines of the song describes Winnie as: "a tubby little cubby!" People, I implore you, don't let this evil slip into your home. Now, back to the game.

With the way he has been pitching and that easy last inning, it's no surprise to see Lohse batting here. And he rewards his manager's confidence with a single.

The other Greene lays down a sac bunt and moves Lohse over a base. This seems to be enough for Hillman to pull the plug on Hochevar--you gotta feel for the guy--no matter who you're rooting for. Looks like Hillman will pull a double-switch and put Mahay and Bloomquist in.

Skippy gets his second hit of the night as the Secret Weapon holds Lohse at 3rd. Callaspo makes a filthy play to rob Rasmus of a hit, but Lohse scores anyway--a nice insurance run to make it a 4-0 lead.

There were rumors that Mahay hates the Cardinal Virtue--now it is confirmed. He obviously is attempting to undermine the blog by intentionally walking Pujols during my assigned inning. Jerkface.

Duncan makes Mahay and Hillman look good by flying out to LF.

The Cards add a run and we had some fun. Now on to the Sabermetrically inclined Fungoes with the 8th! I'm always glad to go BEFORE Pip.

Thanks for tuning in,
-CJ

If you would have told me...

...that the Redbirds were going to get 5 hits I woulda said Eeyore style, "Another Cardinals loss." I certainly wouldn't expect a 3-0 win for the Cardinals. Piñeiro was brilliant. The headline will read 3 hitter complete game shut-out. But almost as impressive--NO WALKS! What a difference that makes compared to the million-man march the Cardinals were getting started!

Rasmus is heating up. 3 HR's in 5 games. For the first time EVER, I am really getting excited about this guy. Now if he can just do something about that OBP .333 and BA .250.

-CJ

I Think...

...that the arm slot is fixed. In other news we lost.
-Cj

DL starting to take it's toll

Though there was some good news yesterday with Carp throwing a pain-free bullpen session that perhaps puts him on track to return as soon as two weeks from now, there was more bad news. Ludwick is now on the DL with a hamstring injury. He joins fellow power hitters Ankiel and Glaus out of the line-up, leaving little in the way of protection for Albert. There are a couple of silver linings. First, Rasmus is sure to get plenty of time the next couple of weeks, which can only help his development. Second, neither Ludwick or Ankiel is expected to be out long, though there is no definitive date for either's return at this point. As I mentioned before, the upcoming schedule isn't very difficult. The bad news is the offense is certain to take a dip, and we've only had two quality starts in the last nine games (including four rough outings in a row). The bullpen has actually been quite good recently, but we need the rotation to step it back up to help carry what is likely to be a much less explosive offense. We are still in first, so no need to panic, but we the the starters to keep us there over the next few weeks.



-Trey

First Month Analysis

With today's rain postponment, the Cards are essentially through the first month of the season. They've played 13 games at home (10-3) and 12 on the road (7-5). They have a 3 1/2 game lead on the Reds and Cubs in the Central. Obviously, you have to be pretty happy with the start to the season, especially with Carp only making two starts Can the rotation hold-up without him? That's probably the big question because the offense has been great, and the bullpen looks much improved. Here's how I grade the team to this point:

Offense: A

Obviously, everything has revolved around Pujols so far, as he looks extremely locked-in. The Cardinals lead in the NL in runs scored and are near the top in about any offensive category you can think of. Ludwick has shown that last year was not a fluke and the rest of the outfield has been productive as well (though Ankiel continues to be the definition of streaky). Barden and Thurston have combined nicely at third, and though Glaus is missed, it's not as badly as I feared. Probably the only negative on offense has been Khalil Greene, who has not been able to carry over his hot spring to the regular season and is now struggling with an arm injury of some kind.

Defense: D

Definitely the major area of concern right now. Only the Reds and Nationals have worse fielding percentages and only the Nationals have allowed more unearned runs. So far, it doesn't seem like the defense is costing us in the most important area: the W-L column, but the team needs to tighten things up or that will come in time. One major positive here: Shumaker has been way better than I expected at 2B and is not a major cause of this issue. In fact, he has only one error while playing second so far, which is excellent.

Starting Pitching: A-

Pineiro, Wainwright, and Lohse are a combined 10-1 so far, and have been great. I'd like to see Waino and Lohse get a little deeper into the game consistently, but that's a small complaint really. Pineiro lost yesterday, but three of the four runs he gave-up were unearned. He's suddenly become a very effective ground-ball pitcher. If the defense tightens-up behind him, he'll be that much better. Boggs looked great his last start and whatever he give us in lieu of Carp is a bonus. The only weak link seems to be Wellenmeyer. He's 2-2, but his 5.28 ERA and 1.76 WHIP show he is not pitching well. We need him to turn it around while Carp is out for sure.

Bullpen: B+

We have 5 blown saves so far, which is not good, but unlike last year, we haven't lost all of those games. I can think of two (Motte's blown save to start the season and one by McClellen) were the bullpen blew it the offense couldn't get it back. Franklin has been absolutely outstanding. Perez has been quite good since being called back-up. Why they sent him down in the first place, I don't know. Motte, after giving up four earned that first game, has yielded only one in 10 innings since. McClellen has been similar, one bad outing, but nails otherwise. Miller's ERA isn't good right now, but I think him and Reyes have been a big upgrade from the left side compared to last year. This area is obviously one we will watch closely all year long after what happened last season, but so far most of the signs are positive.


If you look at the schedule for the next month, it's not too scary. Two series against the Pirates, Reds and Brewers. One with the Cubs. Games against Giants, Rockies and Royals as well. Toughest two games are the next two against the Phillies. It's a good opportunity to pile-up some more wins as we hopefully look forward to Carp's return at the beginning of June.




-Trey

Greene with Envy?

Is it just me or is there a disconnect between Greene and the rest of the team? Watch last night's highlights--as Molina hits a HR, does the trot, and unless I missed it, not even a simply 5 from Greene. Sure, the Cards were down, but not even some skin? I wouldn't have noticed this if it weren't for Khalil's permanent scowl. Was he like that in San Diego? Did he make one of those faces that your mother warned you about--and it actually came true? Maybe it's nothing.

-CJ

12-8

I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition that was put on--Pujols continues to amaze. Ankiel got on track (please please please shave it). What concerns me is Lohse's injury. Without him, we're looking at using the bullpen even more. We're looking at Brad Thompson getting the call-up. Yikes.
-Cj

Pineiro=stud?

Well, we will see if it holds-up, but Pineiro has had two out of three really excellent starts so far this season. He has got that two-seam fastball working really well and is getting a ton of ground ball outs so far this year. The bullpen looked really tired over the weekend after a series of short starts by the rotation, but two days off and this strong outing by Pineiro have to really help. The offense has continued to be strong, but I'm going to once again raise an objection with TRL over not starting Luds today. Seriously, the guy has proven himself, he's a stud. I know it's tough to devy-up at-bats with four good outfielders, but Luds should be getting the Lion's share. Other than that, I can't find anything to complain about. A rarity for sure.



-Trey

Speaking of...

...winnable loses. How about losable wins? The Mets gift-wrapped the Dub for the Redbirds. Let's see that again in slow-mo instant recap:

-Top 1: Murphy asleep at first base as Yadi guns another down.
-Top 4: Murphy's bumbling attempt to score at home-plate.
-Bottom 5: Two BB with DotP.
-Bottm 6: Good ole fashioned "catcher's interference" will get you everytime.
-Top 8: "It was too late to slide." Are you new to this game, Carlos?
-Bottom 8: Did Daniel have a few too many of the Irish Stout bearing his name? Seriously, that's scored a triple?!

-CJ

Stats

The Cards are leading the NL in EVERY positive offensive stat except SB's and OBP (2nd). Why are they then only 8-5? Answer: the dreaded "Winnable Loss" rears its ugly head again. Two of em to the Cubs, 1 to the D-backs and 1 to the Bucs. Tonight's you just saw coming. After tying the game, 1st and 2nd and no outs--no runs. Yikes--you deserve to lose those ones. The night before, Zambrano getting the ND...you can't really complain--especially against our no. 5 (technically 6). But if they bean El Hombre, you gotta make 'em pay. Wastin' a two HR performance from Luds is atrocious.
-CJ

On a roll & the Carp debate

First of fall, before I get all negative on everyone, the team is off a fantastic start. The offense has been pretty good despite TRL continuing to shuffle the line-up on almost a daily basis (seriously, I like all four of the outfielders, but Ludwick should be playing everyday. His numbers are great against righties as well as lefties. Let Rasmus rotate with Duncan and Ankiel only). The bullpen has had a couple of bumps in the road, but overall looks improved. Motte seems to have settled down. Perez is back is the bigs where he belongs and Thompson is down in the minors where he also belongs. McClellen and Franklin have been rocks. Reyes is light years better from the left side than anyone we had last year, and Miller is an upgrade as well. I truly believe Kinney will be a go-to guy eventually, though I guess he may be sent down temporarily so Walters can start tomorrow. Lohse, despite a lot of offseaon worries, has been even better than last year. Wainwright is a little shakey so far, but he is 2-0 and will only get better. Wellenmeyer rebounded from a tough first start, and I like the aggressiveness I see from Pineiro, even though his second start wasn't great. About the only real downside I see right now has been a few too many errors, but so far they haven't hurt too much. Even then, the stats are a bit off because the Cards play a packed schedule at the start and their the errors aren't terrible because they've had to field more chances than anyone in baseball so far. Ok, now for the bad. As we all feared, Carp didn't even last two starts and is now likely to miss two months with an oblique strain. So, two big questions: 1. how will Walters, Boggs or any other young guy hold-up over that time? 2. Even when Carp comes back, can we really count on him? Unfortunately, I'm not too optimistic on either of these counts. Our most promising young starter was Garcia, and he is out for the year, so I don't think we will get much in that spot in the rotation from here on out. The good news is that if Wellenmeyer has turned things around, the other four guys are solid, the bullpen looks better, and the offense is probably among the best in the NL. Carp, it seems, is just one of those guys that has all the talent, but just can't stay healthy. I guess the small silver lining is that it is not his arm this time, but it seems it will always be something. He was injured most of his time in Toronto, had a couple of good years with the Cards, and now is back to being always on the DL. The Cards are about 10 mil in payroll less compared to last year right now, so could they make a move to replace Carp? Doubtful. They have a big financial commitment to Carp, and they, like everyone else not in New York in baseball, are waiting to see how much the down economy will affect them. Hopefully one of the young guys will step-up, because the other pieces are there.



-Trey

Thoughts After the Sweep

If it wasn't for a silly 9th opening night against the Bucs we'd be a lone loss team. Spilled milk aside, I like what I see. Like last year, the main weakness seems to be the bullpen. I'm hoping El Hombre can continue his hot start. I'm impressed top to bottom with our lineup AND bench. I feel like anybody can step in there and contribute--it'd be one thing if a player or manager were saying that--but a fan like me...heh. That's a good thing for sure. I still like some of Motte's stuff...time will tell. I also like TLR giving him some middle relief work.

-CJ

Eyes On thoughts for lasts nights game

Since I'm back in South Texas I "get" to watch Astros' games on TV again. One of the good things about that is when they play the Cards, those games will be on TV for me, so last night, I got my first live look at the team. I was really impressed with Pineiro. He went after the hitters from the get go, and only allowed one hard-hit ball in the air the whole game (an RBI double by Berkman). He got three double plays when he did get into trouble, walked only one, and got a ton of ground ball outs. On the opposite side, the Cards drew eight walks plus a hit batsman which allowed them to score 5 runs on only 6 hits. Ludwick and Shumaker where the offense stars, but a heads-up play by Pujols was the play of the game. With runners on second and third and one out, Molina grounded weakly to the pitcher Hampton, one of the best fielding pitchers in baseball. Hampton looked at Pujols at the third, but didn't force him all the way back to the bag. He then soft tossed it over to first for the out. Pujols, however, had his head on a swivel and darted home when he saw the soft toss, beating a one-hop throw by Berkman. Albert doesn't get enough credit for his baseball IQ, and the fact that he gets the most out of his obviously limited speed on the basepaths. That run turned out to be key as the bullpen was shakey again. Kinney walked the first two batters he faced on 9 total pitches, which charged an undeserved second run to Pineiro. Kinney also allowed a solo home run to Carlos Lee in the 8th inning. He had the usual bite on his slider, but couldn't locate the fastball to set it up consistently. TRL tried Motte again in the 9th, but he allowed two sharp singles around a fly-ball out. Motte did seem to use the breaking-ball more this outing, but the batters didn't respect it enough to keep them from sitting on the fastball. McClellen surprisingly got the call to save the game, and the came through with flying colors by striking out Matsui and retiring Pence on a routine grouder to Shu. Shu, by the way, looked fine in the field. He turned two double plays even. His footwork, obviously, is a work in progress, but he has an uncommonly strong arm for a secondbasemen, which allows him to take that extra split second he needs to get his feet set. Still waiting for the offense to find it's groove, but that may take a while with TRL literally playing a new line-up every day. At least Luds hasn't carried his spring slump over to the regular season. He looked locked-in last night. I should be able to see the weekend games as well, and I'm looking forward to seeing Wainwright today and hopefully a sweep!



-Trey

Welcome back Carp!

Man, if Carpenter can pitch like that AND stay healthy, we'll be in shape. It was nice to get the split with my second least favorite team the 'stros coming into town. Hopefully, we'll whip them because it would be nice to make something out of this first home stand. On another note, no third baseman has started on consecutive days. Is LaRussa just trying to handcuff Freese's developement? Does he not like natural thirdbasemen with power? Maybe he just loves light-hitting ultility guys......he did love Eck, Miles, et al. Still, its frustrating to see clearly superior talent stay on the bench. At least he's playing Rasmus. That's a start. I feel for the players though. Only Albert really knows where he'll play and where he'll hit in the lineup everyday. On the plus side, I'd give the pitching high marks so far aside from Wellenmeyer and Motte and I think Motte at least will be fine in the long run. Not a bad start to the season, but definitely not a steady one either.



-Trey

Welcome to the Majors Colby...

...now don't blow it.
Seriously? We're benching Luds? Take another shot.
4/7/09 Line-up

Oh yeah, Shu...no pressure. :)
-CJ

Opening day thoughts

It was a pretty strange and yet all too familiar game for opening day. Wainwright had and up and down afternoon. He only allowed two runs and struck-out 7, but he also walked-five and therefore couldn't go past the six inning. As John posted from earlier, TRL went with a strange line-up with Greene in the 4 hole, and Barden starting over Freese, but both Ankiel and Duncan in there against the lefty. The offense did OK overall though. Unfortunately, we saw more of the same from last year in the 9th inning with Motte giving up 4 earned runs and blowing the save after the Cards got two in the bottom of the eighth. Overall, I'm really only concerned about the young man's confidence. Sure, it's troubling to see another blown save, but unlike last year, I believe we have guys that can get people out in the late innings the majority of the time and Motte is probably the best in that group. Hopefully, this is just a case of opening day nerves and not a trend. Well, I'm up too late tonight. Don't know why, the National Championship game was quite boring, but tomorrow is the first day of the new job, so I'd better sign-off without saying anything more.



-Trey