not-so-fond farewell

Mike Parisi is getting on my nerves again. If I were his wife, I'd divorce him. If I were his manager, I'd send him down to AAA (or maybe even AA). 

Kyle Lohse did not pitch his best game yesterday, but we fought back and had the lead four different times before McClellan finally surrendered the winning run on an RBI base hit after a no-out double. 

Today was supposed to be different. Wellemeyer was back, ALBERT was back (in the DH role), and we had a score to settle. 

Well, Todd pitched a gem, Albert had four hits and a walk, and our defense was sharp. Unfortunately, Parisi loaded the bases and walked in the winning run in the bottom of the tenth, and that was all she wrote. 

We lost the game, lost the series, and now head off to Kansas City to face a team that is dominating interleague play (and swept us at home not too terribly long ago).

mmm, meaty

David Brown has a way of putting my thoughts into his articles. Time to break out the aluminum foil hat. Anyway, here's what he wrote about the series in Boston (which the Cardinals dominated):

"It figures that a Kennedy would make good in Massachusetts...."

"...add the '2008 Cardinals' to the list of things that could survive nuclear war."

"Mike Parisi did pretty well in relief, then the Cardinals lost about 12 guys so he had to start a couple of games, and ever since then he's become 'the guy Redbirds fans don't want to see come in because the game's about to end badly.' He's now 0-3 with an 8.06 ERA, and the Cards are 3-8 when he appears."

"Aaron Miles went 5-for-6. All singles. No runs, no RBI. Reached second base once. Weird!"

two more pitchers I'm thoroughly fed up with

Ryan Franklin.

Mike Parisi.

Mike got sent down today. How much longer will Franklin be allowed to close? However long it is will be too long. What a heartbreaking loss. The Cards were down 7-0, came back to take the lead in the top of the tenth, and then gave it all back with one pitch. One stupid pitch from a guy that does not belong out there in a save situation.

And the damn Cubs won again.

holy diving grab, Bat-man!

What a game last night. (On so many levels.) 

The good: Did you see that catch Skip made in left-center? Awesome. (I rarely use that word, and when I do it's never lightly.) 

The dips on Sportscenter referred to him as "Jim Edmonds' replacement in center field," and while he is definitely an everyday outfielder (at least in my heart), we know who the true centerfielder on this team is don't we, folks? And apparently he's healthy enough to drive one over the wall, even if it's just bonus runs to get us up into the double-digits for the first time this season. 

Skip had a pretty good game too, don't get me wrong. (smile) He went four out of five with a walk, and played some mighty-fine defense. Actually, pretty much everyone contributed last night. Duncan had an RBI double, Glaus had a couple of hits and three RBI, Ludwick drove in three, and Molina had a 2RBI single. Villone, Parisi, and Franklin each pitched a shut-out inning, and Looper went five and became the first Cardinals starter with 6 wins. 

The bad: The Padres. I know, I know--cheap shot. But I didn't say it first, and I'm certainly not the only one thinking it. They are now 17-31, the team with the worst record in baseball. It makes me feel for them a little. Especially now that two of their starters are incapacitated. (segue into....) 

The ugly: Okay, there was the thing that happened in the third. Albert hit a line drive up the middle that made pretty brutal contact with the pitcher Chris Young's face (so hard it knocked him on his butt). He did get up under his own power and make it off the field, but he's got a broken nose and a cut on his forehead and was kept overnight at the hospital for observation. 

Then later in the same half-inning, as Albert was coming around to score on Glaus' base hit, the catcher, Josh Bard, planted his foot for a play at the plate and got his ankle sprained as Albert slid in. He had to be helped off the field. Both men are now on the 15-day DL. 

You know Albert feels terrible, as we all do. You never want to see anyone get hurt, and the situation reminded me of the Juan Encarnacion incident. It sounds like Young and Bard are going to recover without any permanent damage, though, and I wish them all the best. 

Anyway, because of the injuries, the Padres had to get into their bullpen early, and the Cards took advantage. 

We are now tied with the Cubs in the Win column and one game back overall. (Not that I'm keeping track.)