Friday, December 11, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Gibson scoffs at rest 'issue'
By RICK HUMMEL
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Tuesday, Nov. 03 2009
PHILADELPHIA — One of the biggest issues raised during the World Series this
year has been the philosophy of employing starting pitchers on three days'
rest, which, in today's game, basically has gone the way of the dinosaur.
While the New York Yankees have had the baseball world abuzz by using CC
Sabathia and A.J. Burnett on three days' rest — with the potential of asking
Andy Pettitte to do the same and Sabathia to do it again — the Philadelphia
Phillies and manager Charlie Manuel have taken the more cautious approach.
Manuel wouldn't let Cliff Lee, who started Monday night's Game 5 for the
Phillies, talk him into pitching Sunday on three days' rest. The Phillies lost
to fall into a 3-1 hole.
The greatest starting pitcher in World Series history, Cardinals Hall of Famer
Bob Gibson, wondered from his home in Omaha, Neb., what all the fuss was
about.
"What's the big deal?" Gibson said Monday night. "I don't get it. I don't think
it's going to kill somebody.
"A pitcher can't pitch with three days' rest? Some of those guys make $8
million a week."
Gibson made nine starts in three World Series, winning seven of them and
pitching exactly 81 innings — 10 innings in one game, eight in another and
twirling complete games in the other seven.
Burnett didn't fare as well for the Yankees on Monday night. He was pulled in
the third inning after the first four batters reached base and was charged with
six earned runs in his start.
In the Cardinals' 1967 World Series victory over the Boston Red Sox, Gibson won
three games, starting Games 4 and 7 on three days' rest after opening the
Series.
In 1968, Gibson again pitched Games, 1, 4 and 7 with the latter two on three
days' rest as the Cardinals lost to the Detroit Tigers.
Earlier, in 1964, Gibson stretched his arm to the limit as the Cardinals
strained to win the National League pennant. On the last Friday of the season,
he worked eight innings in a 1-0 loss to Al Jackson and the New York Mets. He
then pitched four innings of relief on the last Sunday, gaining the win as the
Cardinals finally nailed down the flag, and three days later started Game 2 of
the World Series and worked eight innings in a win against the New York
Yankees.
On three days' rest, Gibson pitched a 10-inning win in Game 5 and then, on two
days' rest, pitched a complete-game victory in Game 7.
Even Gibson admitted, though, that five games in 17 days was a bit much.
"I didn't feel really dynamite after that," he said.
But, under normal circumstances, he doesn't see any problem with starters
working with three days' rest in postseason play.
"I don't imagine you'd want to do that all year," Gibson said. "But for
playoffs and World Series ... if you can't do it then, when the hell can you do
it? I don't quite get it.
"I just think they make a little too much about it. I don't know who it is — if
it's the media or what."
While Manuel discussed the rest matter with Lee, Gibson said he never had any
such conversations with managers Johnny Keane and Red Schoendienst.
"Nobody ever sat down with me and said, 'Would it be OK if I pitch with three
days' rest?' I told them, 'I'm going to pitch every fourth day.'
"I would have been disappointed if I hadn't."
CARDINALS STOLE FOUR AT ONCE
Johnny Damon's two steals at once for the Yankees on Sunday night was nothing
compared to what the Cardinals' Vince Coleman and Willie McGee pulled off in
the first inning Aug. 1, 1985, at Wrigley Field.
With Coleman at second and McGee at first, the two lit out on a double steal
with Scott Sanderson pitching. Coleman beat catcher Jody Davis' throw to third
but overslid the bag after touching it. Since third baseman Ron Cey had the
ball in his hand, Coleman decided going back to third had no virtue and set
sail for home.
A rundown ensued, with McGee trailing the play. Sanderson and Davis ultimately
got themselves out of position and Cey, nicknamed the Penguin, ended up
futilely chasing Coleman to a now unoccupied home plate. McGee wound up at
third.
"I knew I couldn't get back to the bag," Coleman said then. "I was still in
no-man's land. So my reaction was to go to the next base."
After conferring by phone with Seymour Siwoff of the Elias Sports Bureau,
official scorer Randy Minkoff awarded each runner two steals.
SIGN STEALERS?
Larry Bowa, a Los Angeles Dodgers coach who used to play for and manage the
Phillies, wondered on ESPN radio Monday if the Phillies were stealing signs at
Citizens Bank Park, prompting an unusual number of conferences involving
Yankees catcher Jorge Posada and Sabathia on Sunday.
"There are rumors going around," said Bowa on radio, "that when you play the
Phillies, there's a camera somewhere or bullpen people are giving signs, and
catchers are constantly changing signs."
Bowa concluded, "Any edge you can get, you take advantage of it."
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Tuesday, Nov. 03 2009
PHILADELPHIA — One of the biggest issues raised during the World Series this
year has been the philosophy of employing starting pitchers on three days'
rest, which, in today's game, basically has gone the way of the dinosaur.
While the New York Yankees have had the baseball world abuzz by using CC
Sabathia and A.J. Burnett on three days' rest — with the potential of asking
Andy Pettitte to do the same and Sabathia to do it again — the Philadelphia
Phillies and manager Charlie Manuel have taken the more cautious approach.
Manuel wouldn't let Cliff Lee, who started Monday night's Game 5 for the
Phillies, talk him into pitching Sunday on three days' rest. The Phillies lost
to fall into a 3-1 hole.
The greatest starting pitcher in World Series history, Cardinals Hall of Famer
Bob Gibson, wondered from his home in Omaha, Neb., what all the fuss was
about.
"What's the big deal?" Gibson said Monday night. "I don't get it. I don't think
it's going to kill somebody.
"A pitcher can't pitch with three days' rest? Some of those guys make $8
million a week."
Gibson made nine starts in three World Series, winning seven of them and
pitching exactly 81 innings — 10 innings in one game, eight in another and
twirling complete games in the other seven.
Burnett didn't fare as well for the Yankees on Monday night. He was pulled in
the third inning after the first four batters reached base and was charged with
six earned runs in his start.
In the Cardinals' 1967 World Series victory over the Boston Red Sox, Gibson won
three games, starting Games 4 and 7 on three days' rest after opening the
Series.
In 1968, Gibson again pitched Games, 1, 4 and 7 with the latter two on three
days' rest as the Cardinals lost to the Detroit Tigers.
Earlier, in 1964, Gibson stretched his arm to the limit as the Cardinals
strained to win the National League pennant. On the last Friday of the season,
he worked eight innings in a 1-0 loss to Al Jackson and the New York Mets. He
then pitched four innings of relief on the last Sunday, gaining the win as the
Cardinals finally nailed down the flag, and three days later started Game 2 of
the World Series and worked eight innings in a win against the New York
Yankees.
On three days' rest, Gibson pitched a 10-inning win in Game 5 and then, on two
days' rest, pitched a complete-game victory in Game 7.
Even Gibson admitted, though, that five games in 17 days was a bit much.
"I didn't feel really dynamite after that," he said.
But, under normal circumstances, he doesn't see any problem with starters
working with three days' rest in postseason play.
"I don't imagine you'd want to do that all year," Gibson said. "But for
playoffs and World Series ... if you can't do it then, when the hell can you do
it? I don't quite get it.
"I just think they make a little too much about it. I don't know who it is — if
it's the media or what."
While Manuel discussed the rest matter with Lee, Gibson said he never had any
such conversations with managers Johnny Keane and Red Schoendienst.
"Nobody ever sat down with me and said, 'Would it be OK if I pitch with three
days' rest?' I told them, 'I'm going to pitch every fourth day.'
"I would have been disappointed if I hadn't."
CARDINALS STOLE FOUR AT ONCE
Johnny Damon's two steals at once for the Yankees on Sunday night was nothing
compared to what the Cardinals' Vince Coleman and Willie McGee pulled off in
the first inning Aug. 1, 1985, at Wrigley Field.
With Coleman at second and McGee at first, the two lit out on a double steal
with Scott Sanderson pitching. Coleman beat catcher Jody Davis' throw to third
but overslid the bag after touching it. Since third baseman Ron Cey had the
ball in his hand, Coleman decided going back to third had no virtue and set
sail for home.
A rundown ensued, with McGee trailing the play. Sanderson and Davis ultimately
got themselves out of position and Cey, nicknamed the Penguin, ended up
futilely chasing Coleman to a now unoccupied home plate. McGee wound up at
third.
"I knew I couldn't get back to the bag," Coleman said then. "I was still in
no-man's land. So my reaction was to go to the next base."
After conferring by phone with Seymour Siwoff of the Elias Sports Bureau,
official scorer Randy Minkoff awarded each runner two steals.
SIGN STEALERS?
Larry Bowa, a Los Angeles Dodgers coach who used to play for and manage the
Phillies, wondered on ESPN radio Monday if the Phillies were stealing signs at
Citizens Bank Park, prompting an unusual number of conferences involving
Yankees catcher Jorge Posada and Sabathia on Sunday.
"There are rumors going around," said Bowa on radio, "that when you play the
Phillies, there's a camera somewhere or bullpen people are giving signs, and
catchers are constantly changing signs."
Bowa concluded, "Any edge you can get, you take advantage of it."
Thursday, October 15, 2009
The Cardinals and new generations
By PH8 on STLToday.com
There was an excellent letter to the editor at STLToday.com yesterday that I felt obliged to share with you, not only because I think it’s a fitting tribute to this past season’s Cardinal team – despite the unsavory finish – but also because it sums up a lot of the sentimentality I feel toward the Cardinals as well.
I struggled to find one snippet I could quote here that would sum up the whole thing, so instead I’m going to pull out tinier bits and then you’ll just have to go read the whole thing yourself via the link above.
As a kid I remember my mom and dad putting everything on hold to watch playoff games.
…
This town did not just “happen” to be a great baseball town, it’s made of generations and generations of families putting life on hold to watch the Cardinals.
Yep, and actually, as I think I’ve mentioned here before – I still have the 1982 World Series program on my bookshelf. A gift from my father that I will always cherish (even if he didn’t take me to the game). You can bet I gave him my extra ticket in 2004 though, and I have the program from that one too. And save the rhetoric about the “best fans in baseball” because I’m not barking up that tree here. “Best fans” or not, it’s hard to argue that St. Louis is a great baseball town.
What we can be proud of (and Mr. Dewitt can be thankful for) is the legacy of love for the Cardinals that we have once again fostered. Because of my behavior over the last week my children will put their lives on hold for October baseball when they have families of their own. And although we do not get to watch ‘Albert Pujols do everything’ this post season, I can be proud that this great American past time has once again made a deeper notch into the hearts and minds of the next generation.
As someone preparing to welcome a new member into Cardinal Nation in the coming months, this really hits home. It’s how I grew to love the Cardinals, it’s how my folks grew to love the Cardinals – hell, it’s how my wife grew to love the Cardinals, if by default.
Every Cardinal fan on the planet was hoping for, almost expected, a trip to the World Series this year. That didn’t happen. Yeah, I’m (we’re) bummed. But gosh were they fun to watch in August. And in April. And every other dang month of the season. I’ll live and die with every Pujols at-bat and ninth inning pitch again next season, with a new fan in my lap. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to it.
When do pitchers and catchers report?
There was an excellent letter to the editor at STLToday.com yesterday that I felt obliged to share with you, not only because I think it’s a fitting tribute to this past season’s Cardinal team – despite the unsavory finish – but also because it sums up a lot of the sentimentality I feel toward the Cardinals as well.
I struggled to find one snippet I could quote here that would sum up the whole thing, so instead I’m going to pull out tinier bits and then you’ll just have to go read the whole thing yourself via the link above.
As a kid I remember my mom and dad putting everything on hold to watch playoff games.
…
This town did not just “happen” to be a great baseball town, it’s made of generations and generations of families putting life on hold to watch the Cardinals.
Yep, and actually, as I think I’ve mentioned here before – I still have the 1982 World Series program on my bookshelf. A gift from my father that I will always cherish (even if he didn’t take me to the game). You can bet I gave him my extra ticket in 2004 though, and I have the program from that one too. And save the rhetoric about the “best fans in baseball” because I’m not barking up that tree here. “Best fans” or not, it’s hard to argue that St. Louis is a great baseball town.
What we can be proud of (and Mr. Dewitt can be thankful for) is the legacy of love for the Cardinals that we have once again fostered. Because of my behavior over the last week my children will put their lives on hold for October baseball when they have families of their own. And although we do not get to watch ‘Albert Pujols do everything’ this post season, I can be proud that this great American past time has once again made a deeper notch into the hearts and minds of the next generation.
As someone preparing to welcome a new member into Cardinal Nation in the coming months, this really hits home. It’s how I grew to love the Cardinals, it’s how my folks grew to love the Cardinals – hell, it’s how my wife grew to love the Cardinals, if by default.
Every Cardinal fan on the planet was hoping for, almost expected, a trip to the World Series this year. That didn’t happen. Yeah, I’m (we’re) bummed. But gosh were they fun to watch in August. And in April. And every other dang month of the season. I’ll live and die with every Pujols at-bat and ninth inning pitch again next season, with a new fan in my lap. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to it.
When do pitchers and catchers report?
Monday, October 12, 2009
Chopping Wood For The Hot Stove
By Cardinal70
It's a cold, rainy morning here in Arkansas, which finely matches the mood of Cardinal Nation after the quick exit from the postseason. There's this kind of limbo that goes on when your team is out of the playoffs early. There are still games going (though the LDS have been pretty anticlimatic this year, save the fact closers can't seem to get the job done) but your team isn't a part of them. You can't go full bore into discussions and rumors of next year just yet, though.
What you can do is a little retrospection. At least, that's what Tony LaRussa did yesterday. I saw very little of this series, unfortunately, but I have to agree with LaRussa, I expected a better game on Saturday that what happened. Like I say, I didn't see a single pitch of that one, but just looking at the score and comments, it didn't seem like they had much fight in them. To score just one run in a game Vicente Padilla is pitching just doesn't seem right, though par for the course for this year's version of the Cardinals.
The link above notes that Troy Glaus, Rick Ankiel and Joel Pineiro are not likely to return next year. None of these are huge surprises. The focus on Mark DeRosa has knocked Glaus out of the picture, though many of us would be just fine with DeRosa walking and David Freese taking over the job. Either way, though, Glaus really isn't in the plans, especially after the injury problems this year.
Pineiro has really pitched too well for the Cardinals to keep him. They have Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright and Kyle Lohse already locked up and management has continually said they want to plug in at least one home-grown arm into the rotation in 2010. With John Smoltz around, most likely back if he decides he wants to pitch again, there's not much room left to keep Pineiro. Besides, we saw what happened the last time he signed after a contract drive.
Ankiel....oh, Rick. Amazingly, the separation between Ankiel and a fan base that has followed him, nurtured him, rooted for him through the good and the bad and the good is not likely to be as painful as was expected six months ago. A .233 average and a propensity for the strikeout will do that. As Pip notes, Rick leaves St. Louis with exactly the same number of strikeouts as a hitter as he had as a pitcher. I've always been a fan of Rick, but he doesn't make enough contact to make him worth a bench slot and the outfield is probably going to be full in St. Louis for some time to come.
Today actually will be a busy day around the front office, as a lot of the recap meetings and initial thoughts for next year will be happening. Don't expect a whole lot of public news out of that, though, unless LaRussa or Dave Duncan decide not to return. Bernie Mikalsz addresses that along with some other questions and he comes to the conclusion that I had, that TLR isn't leaving after that performance. He couldn't go out on that note and be able to rest in retirement, I don't think. It wasn't the loss, it was the lack of competitiveness.
Someone who probably won't be back next year, though, is hitting coach Hal McRae. Besides the fact that the offense just never clicked, even with Matt Holliday and DeRosa in the lineup, there's this quote from John Mozeliak:
"It did seem the way we were approaching things at the plate, obviously it wasn't successful," Mozeliak said. "When things aren't going right, you've got to change. Did we make the right adjustments or not? As we sit here today, we had not."
I'd suggest McRae start updating his resume, because that is not a vote of confidence.
The stove may not be heated yet, but the preparations are being made. It could be another active offseason for St. Louis, so you better get ready.
It's a cold, rainy morning here in Arkansas, which finely matches the mood of Cardinal Nation after the quick exit from the postseason. There's this kind of limbo that goes on when your team is out of the playoffs early. There are still games going (though the LDS have been pretty anticlimatic this year, save the fact closers can't seem to get the job done) but your team isn't a part of them. You can't go full bore into discussions and rumors of next year just yet, though.
What you can do is a little retrospection. At least, that's what Tony LaRussa did yesterday. I saw very little of this series, unfortunately, but I have to agree with LaRussa, I expected a better game on Saturday that what happened. Like I say, I didn't see a single pitch of that one, but just looking at the score and comments, it didn't seem like they had much fight in them. To score just one run in a game Vicente Padilla is pitching just doesn't seem right, though par for the course for this year's version of the Cardinals.
The link above notes that Troy Glaus, Rick Ankiel and Joel Pineiro are not likely to return next year. None of these are huge surprises. The focus on Mark DeRosa has knocked Glaus out of the picture, though many of us would be just fine with DeRosa walking and David Freese taking over the job. Either way, though, Glaus really isn't in the plans, especially after the injury problems this year.
Pineiro has really pitched too well for the Cardinals to keep him. They have Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright and Kyle Lohse already locked up and management has continually said they want to plug in at least one home-grown arm into the rotation in 2010. With John Smoltz around, most likely back if he decides he wants to pitch again, there's not much room left to keep Pineiro. Besides, we saw what happened the last time he signed after a contract drive.
Ankiel....oh, Rick. Amazingly, the separation between Ankiel and a fan base that has followed him, nurtured him, rooted for him through the good and the bad and the good is not likely to be as painful as was expected six months ago. A .233 average and a propensity for the strikeout will do that. As Pip notes, Rick leaves St. Louis with exactly the same number of strikeouts as a hitter as he had as a pitcher. I've always been a fan of Rick, but he doesn't make enough contact to make him worth a bench slot and the outfield is probably going to be full in St. Louis for some time to come.
Today actually will be a busy day around the front office, as a lot of the recap meetings and initial thoughts for next year will be happening. Don't expect a whole lot of public news out of that, though, unless LaRussa or Dave Duncan decide not to return. Bernie Mikalsz addresses that along with some other questions and he comes to the conclusion that I had, that TLR isn't leaving after that performance. He couldn't go out on that note and be able to rest in retirement, I don't think. It wasn't the loss, it was the lack of competitiveness.
Someone who probably won't be back next year, though, is hitting coach Hal McRae. Besides the fact that the offense just never clicked, even with Matt Holliday and DeRosa in the lineup, there's this quote from John Mozeliak:
"It did seem the way we were approaching things at the plate, obviously it wasn't successful," Mozeliak said. "When things aren't going right, you've got to change. Did we make the right adjustments or not? As we sit here today, we had not."
I'd suggest McRae start updating his resume, because that is not a vote of confidence.
The stove may not be heated yet, but the preparations are being made. It could be another active offseason for St. Louis, so you better get ready.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Cardinals' sideshow is quite an event
By Bryan Burwell
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
08/28/2009
As you begin to trace the zephyr stream that has led the Cardinals onto this high perch among the National League's best and hottest teams, the trail eventually will lead you to some rather unlikely places.
The most obvious trail surely leads us to the spectacular personnel moves that still have the entire NL buzzing. For other clues to the Redbirds' late-summer success, you must, of course, search in the vicinity of the top of the starting rotation, where the Big Three of Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright and Joel Piñeiro have proved to be nearly unbeatable since the start of July.
But here's exactly where we veer from the obvious.
It was early Tuesday afternoon at Busch Stadium, when it was still full of the echoes of a near-empty ballpark. Batting practice was just cranking up, and the hitters were all just working up a good sweat when you saw all of the Cardinals starting pitchers come marching out of the bullpen slowly walking across the right-field grass. They were spread out, shoulder to shoulder, strutting together in a scene reminiscent of one of those classic, slow-motion scenes you see in old NBA championship highlight films.
It was 'Carp' and Wainwright, Piñeiro, John Smoltz and the injured Kyle Lohse and Todd Wellemeyer, and they had just completed one of the most significant, yet rarely noticed rituals for the starting staff — the daily bullpen side session.
Every team in baseball has a daily side session for its starting pitchers. But few teams do it quite like the Cardinals. Along with pitching coach Dave Duncan and bullpen coach Marty Mason, every starting pitcher comes out to observe his fellow starter's important between-starts shakeout session.
"When I first got here a few years ago and did my first side session, I went into the bullpen to start working, and 'Carp' and 'Waino' and all the other guys were out there too," Piñeiro said. "I was like, 'Oh man, why are they out here?' I was thinking, 'Shoot, why can't I just get out there, do my thing and be done as quick as possible?'"
It didn't take Piñeiro long to appreciate what was going on. It was the ultimate team thing. The Cardinal pitchers are big on sharing information and dispensing knowledge. This is one of the most interactive pitching staffs in baseball, with everyone practicing the simple philosophy of paying it forward.
As well-trained as Duncan and Mason's seasoned eyes are, it's so much better when an athlete also can hear vital information coming from the astute observations of another craftsman. "At first I thought it was weird," Piñeiro said, laughing.. "But now I love it. Those side sessions are great because the other guys are just picking up on stuff. They detect the slightest thing that you are doing."
So the side session that many pitchers probably use as a mundane workout to just stretch out the arm between starts, takes on a greater meaning with this Redbirds staff. It is a heightened film study session without any need for a laborious film breakdown, because the other pitchers are the ones breaking down even the most subtle tendencies of their teammates.
It all began a number of years ago at the suggestion of Duncan, when he asked veterans Matt Morris, the late Darryl Kile, Woody Williams and Carpenter if they would mind participating in the bullpen sessions on a daily basis. "We became a group inside a group," Carpenter recalled. "You had 'Dunc' and Marty down there, but you also had a bunch of extra eyes down there trying to learn, but also trying to help, and it just caught on. You get to watch and learn different things from different guys.
"Never mind that it can help you. You can help the other guys, too. And with the quality of pitching we have here, you can watch, you can ask questions, and everyone can learn."
Smoltz, the 42-year-old graybeard who has done it all and seen it all, couldn't believe how unselfish and generous — and also how darned observant — his new teammates could be. In his first side session a week ago in San Diego, Smoltz got an eye-opening experience on the value of the Cardinals all-for-one, one-for-all collective. He thought he had already worked out all the mechanical issues that led to his early-season struggles. But what Smoltz quickly learned with the help of the collective eyes was how badly he was tipping his pitches, too.
With each pitch Smoltz threw, Carpenter, Wainwright and the other starters were basically identifying each pitch before he threw it. "When 'Carp' and the other guys were down there and they knew every pitch I'm throwing, I didn't have to look at any film of what I was doing wrong," Smoltz said. "I knew if they figured it out that easily out there, then I had to be doing the same thing in a game."
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
08/28/2009
As you begin to trace the zephyr stream that has led the Cardinals onto this high perch among the National League's best and hottest teams, the trail eventually will lead you to some rather unlikely places.
The most obvious trail surely leads us to the spectacular personnel moves that still have the entire NL buzzing. For other clues to the Redbirds' late-summer success, you must, of course, search in the vicinity of the top of the starting rotation, where the Big Three of Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright and Joel Piñeiro have proved to be nearly unbeatable since the start of July.
But here's exactly where we veer from the obvious.
It was early Tuesday afternoon at Busch Stadium, when it was still full of the echoes of a near-empty ballpark. Batting practice was just cranking up, and the hitters were all just working up a good sweat when you saw all of the Cardinals starting pitchers come marching out of the bullpen slowly walking across the right-field grass. They were spread out, shoulder to shoulder, strutting together in a scene reminiscent of one of those classic, slow-motion scenes you see in old NBA championship highlight films.
It was 'Carp' and Wainwright, Piñeiro, John Smoltz and the injured Kyle Lohse and Todd Wellemeyer, and they had just completed one of the most significant, yet rarely noticed rituals for the starting staff — the daily bullpen side session.
Every team in baseball has a daily side session for its starting pitchers. But few teams do it quite like the Cardinals. Along with pitching coach Dave Duncan and bullpen coach Marty Mason, every starting pitcher comes out to observe his fellow starter's important between-starts shakeout session.
"When I first got here a few years ago and did my first side session, I went into the bullpen to start working, and 'Carp' and 'Waino' and all the other guys were out there too," Piñeiro said. "I was like, 'Oh man, why are they out here?' I was thinking, 'Shoot, why can't I just get out there, do my thing and be done as quick as possible?'"
It didn't take Piñeiro long to appreciate what was going on. It was the ultimate team thing. The Cardinal pitchers are big on sharing information and dispensing knowledge. This is one of the most interactive pitching staffs in baseball, with everyone practicing the simple philosophy of paying it forward.
As well-trained as Duncan and Mason's seasoned eyes are, it's so much better when an athlete also can hear vital information coming from the astute observations of another craftsman. "At first I thought it was weird," Piñeiro said, laughing.. "But now I love it. Those side sessions are great because the other guys are just picking up on stuff. They detect the slightest thing that you are doing."
So the side session that many pitchers probably use as a mundane workout to just stretch out the arm between starts, takes on a greater meaning with this Redbirds staff. It is a heightened film study session without any need for a laborious film breakdown, because the other pitchers are the ones breaking down even the most subtle tendencies of their teammates.
It all began a number of years ago at the suggestion of Duncan, when he asked veterans Matt Morris, the late Darryl Kile, Woody Williams and Carpenter if they would mind participating in the bullpen sessions on a daily basis. "We became a group inside a group," Carpenter recalled. "You had 'Dunc' and Marty down there, but you also had a bunch of extra eyes down there trying to learn, but also trying to help, and it just caught on. You get to watch and learn different things from different guys.
"Never mind that it can help you. You can help the other guys, too. And with the quality of pitching we have here, you can watch, you can ask questions, and everyone can learn."
Smoltz, the 42-year-old graybeard who has done it all and seen it all, couldn't believe how unselfish and generous — and also how darned observant — his new teammates could be. In his first side session a week ago in San Diego, Smoltz got an eye-opening experience on the value of the Cardinals all-for-one, one-for-all collective. He thought he had already worked out all the mechanical issues that led to his early-season struggles. But what Smoltz quickly learned with the help of the collective eyes was how badly he was tipping his pitches, too.
With each pitch Smoltz threw, Carpenter, Wainwright and the other starters were basically identifying each pitch before he threw it. "When 'Carp' and the other guys were down there and they knew every pitch I'm throwing, I didn't have to look at any film of what I was doing wrong," Smoltz said. "I knew if they figured it out that easily out there, then I had to be doing the same thing in a game."
Friday, August 21, 2009
Pujols’ 5,000 At-Bats into History
Five thousand at-bats into his career, baseball great Babe Ruth had already shattered home run records and set the gobsmacking standard with his 60 homers in 1927. He had also been a two-time 20-game winner as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.
Five thousand at-bats into his career, the Splendid Splinter Ted Williams had his .406-average season and two Triple Crowns. Five thousand at-bats into their careers, Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg had three seasons with at least 150 RBIs and Iron Horse Lou Gehrig had started his famous streak and had three seasons with at least 170 RBIs.
Otherwise, 5,000 at-bats into his career … Albert Pujols is right there with them.
The St. Louis Cardinals first baseman and reigning National League MVP had the 5,000th at-bat of his career in the first inning of Thursday’s victory. He grounded into a double play. But what he has done in the previous 4,999 at-bats of his career puts him in elite company. He walks with giants like Williams, Gehrig and Greenberg — all of whom share something that Pujols does not: They played their careers in the American League. What could arguably be the best 5,000 at-bats to start a career in the National League is where today’s 10@10 begins …
1. Pujols’ 744 extra-base hits in his first 5,000 at-bats rank fourth all time, and are the most ever by an NL player in his first 5,000 ABs. Last night, on MLB Network they ran down the top five extra-base totals in baseball history through the first 5,000 ABs in any career:
* Babe Ruth … 863 XB hits
* Hank Greenberg … 762 XB hits
* Lou Gehrig … 761 XB hits
* Albert Pujols … 744 XB hits
* Ted Williams … 743 XB hits
2. Attempted to run the numbers on each of the above hitters and what they had when they reached their 5,000th at-bat. Easier said than done in one morning. So, here’s what I did: I got their totals as close to 5,000 AB as possible. Greenberg, for example, had a career total of 5,193 at-bats. The others had natural breaks relatively close to 5,000 ABs. For context, then, here are where the above five hitters were across the back of their baseball cards as close to 5,000 ABs as possible with the numbers I had handy this morning (and remember slash lines go BA/OBP/SLG):
Ruth … 4,958 AB … .349/.480/.709 … 416 HR … 1,269 RBI
Greenberg … 5,193 AB … .313/.412/.605 … 331 HR … 1,276 RBI
Gehrig … 5,135 AB … .342/.442/.636 … 299 HR … 1,285 RBI
Pujols … 5,003 AB … .333/.426/.628 … 358 HR … 1,082 RBI
Williams … 5,096 AB … .347/.484/.634 … 324 HR … 1,264 RBI
Five thousand at-bats into his career, the Splendid Splinter Ted Williams had his .406-average season and two Triple Crowns. Five thousand at-bats into their careers, Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg had three seasons with at least 150 RBIs and Iron Horse Lou Gehrig had started his famous streak and had three seasons with at least 170 RBIs.
Otherwise, 5,000 at-bats into his career … Albert Pujols is right there with them.
The St. Louis Cardinals first baseman and reigning National League MVP had the 5,000th at-bat of his career in the first inning of Thursday’s victory. He grounded into a double play. But what he has done in the previous 4,999 at-bats of his career puts him in elite company. He walks with giants like Williams, Gehrig and Greenberg — all of whom share something that Pujols does not: They played their careers in the American League. What could arguably be the best 5,000 at-bats to start a career in the National League is where today’s 10@10 begins …
1. Pujols’ 744 extra-base hits in his first 5,000 at-bats rank fourth all time, and are the most ever by an NL player in his first 5,000 ABs. Last night, on MLB Network they ran down the top five extra-base totals in baseball history through the first 5,000 ABs in any career:
* Babe Ruth … 863 XB hits
* Hank Greenberg … 762 XB hits
* Lou Gehrig … 761 XB hits
* Albert Pujols … 744 XB hits
* Ted Williams … 743 XB hits
2. Attempted to run the numbers on each of the above hitters and what they had when they reached their 5,000th at-bat. Easier said than done in one morning. So, here’s what I did: I got their totals as close to 5,000 AB as possible. Greenberg, for example, had a career total of 5,193 at-bats. The others had natural breaks relatively close to 5,000 ABs. For context, then, here are where the above five hitters were across the back of their baseball cards as close to 5,000 ABs as possible with the numbers I had handy this morning (and remember slash lines go BA/OBP/SLG):
Ruth … 4,958 AB … .349/.480/.709 … 416 HR … 1,269 RBI
Greenberg … 5,193 AB … .313/.412/.605 … 331 HR … 1,276 RBI
Gehrig … 5,135 AB … .342/.442/.636 … 299 HR … 1,285 RBI
Pujols … 5,003 AB … .333/.426/.628 … 358 HR … 1,082 RBI
Williams … 5,096 AB … .347/.484/.634 … 324 HR … 1,264 RBI
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