the return of pitching tuesday

23 days until pitchers and catchers report. (Yes, that's counting today. Just work with me, please.)

23 reminds me of A-Rey, and A-Rey reminds me of pitching. The 5-man rotation has a pretty solid foundation going into 2010, but questions linger, primarily concerning the fifth spot.

We've got Carp and Wainwright (I still refuse to call him Waino), two of the best pitchers in the NL who should've shared the Cy Young in '09 but ended up with only each other to hold. Then there's Lohse, who wasn't stellar the year after signing a huge and very well-timed contract with the club, but who has the talent and experience to contribute quite a bit this season. Brad Penny rounds out the main four as the latest addition to the team, and it should be very interesting to see not if, but how Duncan is able to build on his strengths and help him pitch his way into our hearts.

The last spot in the rotation is where the question lies. Jaime Garcia? Kyle McClellan? Mitch Boggs? Or maybe someone else will step up during ST and give us another name to chew on. None of these options is ideal, Garcia because of missing all of '09 and with not much major league experience to begin with, Mac because he is so valuable in the 'pen, and Boggs because, well, he tends to go downhill very quickly when he goes. Brad Thompson is gone, but I wouldn't have been too excited about him in the rotation, anyway. There's still an outside chance of bringing Smoltz back, but I'm not holding my breath. Besides which, it's hard to imagine him lasting all year without any issues.

Truth be told, it might make sense for the Cards to sign a fifth man at this point, but I don't look for that to happen. At least not until Tony and Dave get a better feel for what we have to work with.

The bullpen is evidently going to look very similar to last year. Ryan Franklin will hold down the 9th innings, Dennys Reyes and Trever Miller will primarily come in against lefties, and Kinney and Motte will cover the gaps. Some newer additions could include Walters, Jukich, Samuel*, and Ottavino, but again, it's hard to know which of the hopefuls will have their dreams come true until we actually see them take the ball in ST.

*Youngest pitcher on the roster.... He just turned 23.


Once upon a time I heard talk of Russ Springer rejoining the team. That was probably just a fairy tale.

Know who I'd really like to have? Max Scherzer. He's a Missouri native, so I feel kind of possessive of him. I just know someday he and Mark Buehrle will wear the birds on the bat.

Think the Mariners really have a chance now that they've got Cliff Lee? Think the Phils could've made it as far as they did without him?

over-thinking again

Here's my question: Since the Skip Schumaker experiment isn't working out like we'd hoped, do we continue the seach for a second baseman within the ranks, or do we start looking for a trade?

Follow-up question: Does the need for a 2Bman now take precedence over the need for a "sixth" starter, and if we have trade bait, do we use it to bring in a middle infielder?

Related question: What about Mike Avilés? I wasn't familiar with this guy until seeing his performance in the WBC, but he seems like a good SS, and has spent some time at second. Think we have anything the Royals need?

I'll try to figure all this out as I listen to the game on the radio this afternoon.


Albert has made news again, sort of, as he is the focus of an article in Sports Illustrated written by sports writer extraordinaire Joe Posnanski. (He's the kind of writer who makes me look at my own blog and wonder, sometimes aloud, "why do I bother writing when there are people out there doing it so much better?") It's a wonderful examination of Albert's unique situation, and I highly recommend it to anybody who really loves baseball.

I had this whole shpiel planned in which I would announce that I respectfully disagree with anyone who retains even a shred of doubt about Albert or his integrity, and then defer to other bloggers who have summed up the situation nicely. Then I started typing and, well, things happened. I realized I feel more strongly about this than I thought, and so I decided I owe it some (more) time.

1. I hate to be stubborn, but you will never, ever convince me that I'm wrong about this. There are a lot of things that I will give in to, and a lot of arguments that I can be persuaded to change my mind about, but this is not one of them. Albert is a special kind of player and person in my eyes, and you may call it "blind faith" but it's faith nonetheless, and I don't need test results or empirical evidence of any sort to affirm my beliefs.

2. No amount of testing is going to change anything. I was having a hard time putting this into words, but then I read C70's latest post and found that he had already done so quite well. The fact is, even if Albert were tested every day from now until he retired, people would still doubt him. There is no way to go back in time and prove him innocent for all those seasons that are over, and as C70 said (regarding people's insistence that he have himself independently tested),

Taking a test will only have people saying, "Well, yeah, he passed, because he chose when to take it. All a publicity stunt, if you ask me."

3. Albert should not have to prove his innocence. There is a reason the justice system doesn't work that way and never will. Something about a town called Salem and some poor women being burned alive because they couldn't prove they weren't witches. Something about a Senator named McCarthy and a Red Scare. Something about basic human rights and fear of persecution. It's a terrible shame that he plays in this era with the weight of suspicion hanging over everyone who takes the field, but it is not his fault that others have tainted the reputation of America's past time, and it should not be his cross to bear.

4. You are free to disagree with me, and I'm sure there are those who will. I just hope there are no hard feelings.


Now, back to baseball. The Cardinals just finished taking care of the BoSox down in Jupiter (thank you, KTRS 550), courtesy of a Joe Mather 2-run (walk-off) home run. Picture me smiling.

snoitciderp

What a fabulous idea! (Are you allowed to use the word fabulous on a baseball blog? Ah well....) John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer has written a list of predictions, but it's not exactly what you think. He predicts what the Reds aren't going to do as the off-season progresses. Yes! I thought so too!

So sin más preámbulos, here's what I predict the Cardinals aren't going to do between now and, say, the beginning of Spring Training.

I'll start off with some easy ones.

(1) The Cardinals aren't going to bring Russ Springer back. Maybe this is cheating since they just officially announced it, but after reading his remarks, I think this will turn out to have been a mistake. However, as I may have mentioned before, no one ever asks me.

(2) The Cards won't sign any more middle infielders. Short is set. Second is all but set. The role of the utility man (formerly played by Supermiles) will now be played by someone who's already on the payroll. What with the salaries we have and the surplus of young talent, the only thing yet to be decided is how Tony's going to work 154 different lineups out of what he's got.

(3) The Cards won't bring back Izzy. As much as it saddens me to admit, I don't think Jason has a home in the organization anymore. I won't get up on my soap box right now, though. I'll spare you that.*

*This doesn't mean I'm ready to take his name off the roster, however.

(4) The Cards won't sign any of the big name free agents still on the market. Sheesh. Did I startle you with that one? If so, you haven't been paying attention. (Just to clarify, if the 'Birds do bring in another starter, it'll be someone nearly unheard of.*)

*I'm still hoping for Andy Pettitte, but I'm trying to be realistic here.

Now on to the harder stuff.

(5) The Cards won't sign Ankiel to a long-term contract. Even if he does get a one-year arb deal for more money than he made last year, he is (a) represented by the baby-eater, and (b) far too valuable for the likes of our outfield. Either he'll get traded for some pitching help, or this will be his last season with the club that grew him.

(6) The Cards won't designate a "closer". This will continue to be a sore spot with both management and fans, but lacking a veteran with big league closing experience, Tony will allow the duties to be split between Perez, Motte, and Franklin, much like last year.

(7) The Cards won't trade Schumaker. Ludwick had a spectacular season last year, and Ankiel is our own little living piece of history, but either of them is worth more than Skip overall. Therefore, his head is safe as long as the outfielder market isn't completely dried up.

(8) The Cards won't count out Carpenter until his arm literally falls off on the mound. And can't be sewn back on. Or duct taped. And he can't learn to pitch left-handed. You will never hear Mozeliak (even as prone as he is to choosing the wrong words) say that Carp is done unless he is really, truly, completely done. And by that I mean dead.

It's hard to imagine things going any more slowly, but I also know that there's still plenty of time, and it's not like the Cards haven't done anything. I'm just trying to stay awake.

arbitration deadline

Today is a big day of sorts. Free Agents must be offered arbitration by their current teams today if they are going to offer. This affects us regarding the three ranked FAs we have--Springer, Looper, and Izzy--and to a lesser extent, our unranked FAs--López, Izturis, and Villone--and the two FAs who are pretty much done with baseball (although one of them may not have realized it yet) but filed anyway--Encarnación and Mulder.

Players have until the 7th to accept arbitration (or not), and then in January the legal and financial aspects get worked out.

Whether these players will be offered arbitration, whether they will accept, and whether they will end up signing with the Cardinals anyway will not have too much effect on the team, as far as I can tell. Matthew Leach has a good break-down of the specifics over at MLB.com.

I can tell you that I hope we end up re-signing three of these players. It doesn't really matter to me if it's a result of arbitration offers or not. Hopefully there'll be some news soon.

in closer situ, part 1

Memo to the opposing lineup: You can get to our bullpen. (Don't worry, it's no secret.)

A late inning rally by the 'Birds was dismantled by the 'pen when Ryan Franklin gave up three runs in the top of the tenth last night to put the Brewers back on top. The offense was unable to answer back, and Milwaukee took game one of this four-game set at Busch.

I do not like "Frankie" in the closer role. He's a good pitcher and he definitely rounds out the bullpen, but I don't think he's got the experience to deal with the stress of the job on a long-term basis. Once in a while--under the right circumstances--would be fine with me, but there have been too many disappointing outings from him and I would rather see someone else. Is it too late to get Troy Percival back?

Russ Springer, who pitched a scoreless seventh, has allowed just two earned runs over his last 34 outings (25-2/3 innings, 0.70 ERA). Yahoo! Sports

Yes, Pat, we can hope.

wrap-up

It was fairly frustrating not to see the game last night. FSN Midwest, usually reliable, failed me by being out-of-service for the duration of play. I watched the gameday play-by-play on MLB.com (thank you, MLB.com), and I guess I could have listened on the radio (even though that didn't occur to me until the eighth inning or so), so I knew what was going on, but missed all the actual game action.

Yadi was the Cards' DH. It sounds funny, but (1) it's a good way to get him in the game without risking him behind the plate, and (2) who else ya got? Miles? Barton? Both are good hitters, but not any better than Yadi. In other words, he's as good a choice as anyone.

Duncan has GOT to get this figured out. A ground-out RBI is not the ideal way to score, especially from a guy who hit 22 home runs last year, but his last two RBIs have been exactly that. I can't tell if he's just not seeing the ball, or if his swing is different than what's worked for him in the past, but something's wrong. I love you , Duncan, which makes it even harder to watch you continually strike out and miss good pitches.

Three home runs (LaRue, Schu, and Yadi) and a ground-out/fielding error RBI (Duncan) provided all the offense for the Cards. Kyle Lohse pitched an exceptional six innings, only giving up 2 runs, and left the game with a 4-2 lead. Randy Flores loaded the bases in the seventh and had to be pulled before he retired a single batter. Then Springer came in and rescued him with a double play and a strike-out, and only allowed one run to score. Franklin pitched two innings for the save, and while he did give up a run in the bottom of the ninth, he was able to hold onto a one-run lead for the Cardinals' win.

shellacked: see Cardinals vs Phillies

shel·lack (v.) 

a. To strike repeatedly and severely; batter. 

b. To defeat decisively. 

I'd say that about covers it. 

Although it may have felt otherwise, the Cards actually only lost ONE game last night. 

Of course, Russ Springer was ejected for "intentionally" hitting Ryan Howard (since there's no other possible explanation for a fastball that got away inside than wanting to pummel a player who hit two home runs in the game); Tony and José both got ejected (for arguing in a situation where any reasonable human being could and should be expected to argue); Miles pitched the only scoreless frame of the evening for the Redbirds (which I'll be eternally sorry I missed); and the clubhouse may have lost more than a few morale points over the course of the game. 

Other than that, it was just an ordinary loss. 

One positive thing that happened last night (though it didn't happen in St Louis) was that the Cubs lost, too. 

And at the end of the year, what's the difference between a 3-2 loss and a 20-2 loss? That's right, nothing. 

Go Blue Jays.

can't bring me down

Glaus hit his second HR of the season... a 3-run shot that gave the Cards the lead (albeit a short-lived one). 

Pujols hit number eight, bringing his RBI total to 26, his hitting streak to 12 games, and his on-base streak to 40 games.

People are still talking about Ankiel's two amazing throws from center field on May 7. 

Lohse struck out four and only walked one in his seven innings of work. 

Franklin and Springer each pitched a shut-out inning and made us all feel a lot better about the temporary closer situation. 

No one got ejected from the game. 

No one committed an error. 

No one was injured. 

And what may be the most positive news about last night... (drum roll, please) ... the Cubs lost, too.