Saturday, July 19, 2008

just a note

Last night Izzy was incredible. Like his old self, in fact, and it was so good see. I would have loved to have seen him the night before in an actual "save" situation, but we'll take what we can get for now. I'm predicting a return to his regular postition--successfully--by the end of August. Maybe we can even get him those last 8 saves he needs.
Glaus, while going two for four, did strike out with the bases loaded and two out. Fortunately, it was not our last scoring opportunity, and the Cards were able to pull one out last night. Ludwick's 3-run homer may have been overshadowed by Yadi's 2-run single, but both were essential for the win. In fact, it seems like when the Redbirds do win, it's usually a team effort, not just one guy doing all the work. How important is that?
Pujols has not hit a HR since July 4. (That's 10 homer-less games.) Remember that one? Number 300. I often wonder if baseball wouldn't be better off if we didn't keep track of every inane statistic and milestone like we do. When they were talking about Jake Peavy the other night, Dan mentioned that the last few Cy Young winners have had rather unimpressive follow-up seasons. The 'Birds and other teams have suffered from World Series hangovers and performed sub-par the next year. Then there's Izzy and his difficulties pitching with the 300th save hanging over his head. And now Albert can't seem to find his power after reaching the 300-mark. I'm not suggesting any drastic changes, but you have to admit it may make a difference.