keep your eye on the ball

I've been biting my tongue recently, hoping things would work themselves out--maybe Tony would take a leap with Perez and put him in for saves--but obviously that hasn't happened yet, so I'll tell you what I'm thinking. 

As good a pitcher as I know Franklin is, I just don't feel like he's got the mental toughness to take on the closer role. I don't have anything against him, and I like his stuff, but he was so much better as a set-up man. I just don't get the sense that he's going to lock down this new role anytime soon. Maybe it's time to test Perez for real.

Joe Mather had a pretty good first major league start, wouldn't you say? That diving catch in right. The RBI that turned out to be the game-winner. I like his name, too. It's such a 'baseball' name. It puts to mind some of the great players of past eras. 

Joe, for one, is a strong name, a man's name. Joe DiMaggio. Joe Jackson. Mather sounds very early 20th century recently-emigrated-American. Anyway, I like it, and I think I'm going to like him. The only problem is that our already crowded outfield just got a little more crowded. My suggestion: we keep a long bench and a short 'pen, and encourage our starting rotation to plug through a few more innings. 

Chris Duncan said something that tickled me during the post-game interview with Jim Hayes after the Houston game in which he hit a 2RBI single. Cat asked him what pitch he got and what he was looking for, and Chris replied (and I'm paraphrasing) that it was a fastball, and he was "looking for the baseball." What a cutie.

jimmy's up

Edmonds went 3 for 4 in the Cubs' game today. 

He hit a solo home run in the sixth and a 2RBI double in the seventh to help the North-siders come back from a 8-run deficit to WIN THE GAME. 

That's right, they won. 

They were down 9-1 going in to the bottom of the sixth, and they pulled one out. Scored 3 in the sixth and 6 in the seventh to beat the Rockies 10-9. 

Anyway, Jimmy's average is now up to .186 (at least it's better than the .167 he had going into the game). Can somebody please beat the Cubs already? Sheesh.

whoa . . . back up

Yesterday, Tony got more than a little red in the face defending his decision to keep Chris Duncan in the lineup, disputing media members' claims that the only reason Duncan hasn't been sent down thus far is Tony's relationship with Dave Duncan. He insisted that Chris has earned his spot in the lineup and that all decisions about who plays and who sits are based solely on performance. 

That being said, guess who got sent down to Memphis today? 

On the plus side, we'll finally get to see Joe Mather ("Mighty," as I've heard him called) in a big league game. 

It does make me wonder, though, why now? Tony is not the type to cave to the media. Nor is he the type to let such rumblings influence his management. But what other explanation could there be? Has he finally gone soft where the sports writers are concerned? 

And what's more, Bernie Miklasz of the Post-Dispatch was one of the first to even suggest that Duncan should be sent down. He clarified his point on the FSN pre-game show by explaining that maybe Chris needs some time to play every day and get things straightened out. But regardless of Bernie's intentions, we all know that Bernie and Tony do not have a stellar relationship. In fact, after the incident last season, one might wonder if there isn't still a little bad blood there. 

So how does Tony listen to the rumors, read the coverage, and defend Chris' position on national television, and then turn around and ship him to AAA? Even if this move has been in the works for some time, the timing sure stinks.

it's slight

Either Adam Wainwright is 8½ feet tall, or Jim Hayes is 3½ feet tall. No offense, Cat.

what's up?

I know it's only been a couple of days, but it feels like I haven't written anything in a while. Must be that I keep staring at a blank page searching for words to express myself, and I keep coming up short. Is that writer's block? Does it apply to blogging? 

Barton hit his first ML home run in the dreadful loss to Houston the other day. 

Looper looked terrible--4 runs in the first inning--and Berkman, along with the rest of the Astros line-up, looked très haute. So good, in fact, that I realized it would be a travesty of justice if he didn't make it to the All-Star Game. 

What a mess that whole situation is. I'd say it's a complete joke, but since home-field goes to the winner's league, it's really more serious than that. Stay with me. I'll think of the word.

Boy, when our pitching is on, it's on, and when it's not, it just pulls everything else down with it. The last two games were a perfect example. There is no particular difference between Chacón and Rodríguez, but when Looper came out Tuesday and gave up four runs in the first inning, the Cards were unable to get those runs back. Then Wainwright shut down the same lineup on Wednesday, and our boys came through with the big hits. 

Tonight it'll be Lohse (4-2)--with some good games and some bad ones--against Oswalt (4-4)--who's had some very good luck pitching to the Cardinals. But I won't speculate or try to predict anything, as that usually only gets me in trouble. (I think it's best if I stick to picking apart games after they're over.) 

One more thing... I'm not touching the Chris Duncan issue. Okay, I'll say this, I have the utmost respect for Tony LaRussa and Dave Duncan, and I have a bit of a bias towards Chris (he's my hero), and I would never, never, never in a million years believe Tony would put a player in the lineup for any reason other than merit. 

Chris earned his spot. 

Period. 

Think what you want, I know what's up.