Most media analysts believed the Cardinals would stink this season. For a month, anyway, they did not stink.
Did all that naysaying leave these players with a chip on their shoulders?
The question made outfielder Skip Schumaker smile. He made seven trips back and forth to the minors before finally sticking this season – and even now, top outfield prospect Colby Rasmus looms large on his horizon.
So, no, the noisy pessimists didn’t motivate him this spring.
“A lot of the outfielders had long terms in the minor leagues,” Schumaker said. “That’s our chip. We don’t need to get a chip from what reporters were saying.”
That is a prevailing theme with this team. A lot of guys traveled a long, difficult road to get this opportunity. Those journeys made them eager to exploit whatever opportunity arises.
Their travels leave them hungry today, as they continue to battle for their place in the majors.
Consider the case of Rick Ankiel. After finally giving up on his derailed pitching career, he went back to Class A Quad Cities to start over. He moved up to Springfield later in 2005, missed 2006 with a knee injury and spent the bulk of last season in Memphis.
Now, at 28 years old, he is finally settling back in the majors.
Consider the case of Chris Duncan. He started his journey in Johnson City back in 1999. He spent most of the next three years in Peoria, with one side trip to Potomac. He split the 2003 season between Palm Beach and Tennessee.
Then came a year in Tennessee and 1½ seasons in Memphis. He ground away for 3,052 minor league at-bats before he finally stuck with the Cards. Along the way, he learned how to play the outfield to advance his career.
Consider the case of Ryan Ludwick. He started with the A’s organization and got traded to the Rangers organization. Texas traded him to the Indians. Just when he appeared to be breaking out, a leg injury derailed his career.
After that, he spent more time in the minors (Akron, Buffalo, Toledo and Memphis) than the majors -– until the Cardinals promoted him last season. He turns 30 this season, so he does NOT want to return to the Pacific Coast League.
Consider the case of Brian Barton. The Indians dumped him from their 40-man roster after his three-year tour from Lake City to Kinston, Akron and Buffalo. He successfully rebounded from knee surgery to make the Cards roster in spring training.
Now Schumaker, Ankiel, Duncan, Ludwick and Barton are fighting for at-bats as Tony La Russa shuffles his lineup from day to day.
“We all get along,” Ankiel said. “It’s easy to play with guys you like.”
But what about the competition?
“I don’t look at it that way,” Ankiel said. “I see it as my friends are doing well and I want to do well, too.”
This spirit seems to cover the entire team. Adam Kennedy and Aaron Miles are sharing the second-base job. Brendan Ryan will push Cesar Izturis for at-bats at shortstop.
The competition for pitching jobs has already forced the Cards to demote two pitchers doing well here, Kelvin Jimenez and Brad Thompson (who subsequently went on the disabled list). The organization has a second pitching staff in the wings -– veterans recovering from injuries and prospects on the fast track.
Not many players on the current team are set. Albert Pujols and Troy Glaus are set on the infield corners. Yadier Molina is set behind the plate, Adam Wainwright is the staff ace and Jason Isringhausen will remain the closer this season as long as he is healthy.
Other than that, guys are playing for their jobs. It’s no coincidence, then, that the Cards have been competitive in almost every game they have played this season.
They won’t care about what they may read in the newspaper or on the Internet. They are just trying to keep their name on the lineup card.
Is this team skilled enough to last the duration of the pennant race? We can’t say that on May 1. But motivation will NOT be an issue with this group.
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Saturday, May 3, 2008
Cards Notes: Presidential praise
PRESIDENTIAL PRAISE
National television audiences (Fox and ESPN) will see the final two games of the series here with the Chicago Cubs, and one important national observer spoke briefly with La Russa Friday morning. La Russa met President George W. Bush at Lambert Airport after the latter had made a speech at World Wide Technology in Maryland Heights. Bush, former president of the Texas Rangers, "congratulated us on our (18-11) start," La Russa said.
La Russa, who received two packs of presidential playing cards as a gift, also got a brief tour of Air Force One before the president departed. La Russa had been asked to greet the president at the airport but, returning from a fundraiser in New York on Thursday night, La Russa was delayed in arrival. So he said a hasty goodbye instead of hello to Bush.
"It's an honor. I'm very appreciative," La Russa said.
Happy that the president noticed, La Russa does enjoy the fact that his team is playing better than most expected.
"Not many guys picked us to have an offense to play winning baseball," he said. "Just like they didn't think we'd pitch. I just think people looked at our team and didn't think we'd have much of a chance.
"Anybody that marked us a fifth-place club, which I saw ... how can you dispute that? We didn't have players with track records. I don't think anybody took it personally."
MULDER REMAINS ENCOURAGED
Lefthander Mark Mulder, who gave up nine runs and three homers in 3 2/3 innings in a rehabilitation start for Class AAA Memphis on Wednesday, said those numbers aren't alarming him and that he felt good about his progress as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery of last year.
After four starts in the minors on a rehabilitation program that can last 30 days for pitchers, Mulder remains encouraged that he will be activated later this month.
"This is my spring training," he said Friday night. "If I had this outing in the middle of the spring, I wouldn't be freaking out about it. So I'm not. I came out of it feeling real good. I threw my side (Friday) and I felt fine. I'm happy with it.
"I'm not happy with (Wednesday's) results. I'd love for them to be good, but it's not what I'm looking for. I'm not trying to look too deep into this."
Mulder was disappointed that he didn't pitch ahead in the count any more than he did on Wednesday. "I was 1-0, 2-0, 3-1. I wasn't walking people. I was just throwing bad pitches," he said.
Mulder may have one more start after the one on Monday. As for being taken off the disabled list after that, Mulder said, "I don't foresee that it would be a problem, but we've got to wait and see how things go and see how I feel. That's obviously my goal. I don't want to go on longer than that."
In theory, Mulder could go back to the spring training site at Jupiter, Fla., if he isn't deemed ready.
SHOT FOR THOMPSON
Righthander Brad Thompson, who went on the disabled list instead of to Memphis when he was optioned there, had a cortisone shot for his sore right elbow on Thursday.
PINIELLA BLOWUP
Cubs manager Lou Piniella, explaining his explosion at a question about why he didn't make a change in his defense in the ninth inning of what became a tough loss to Milwaukee on Thursday, said, "I probably should have responded a little different, but I was a little hot under the collar. And if you can't be hot under the collar as a major-league manager losing a two-run lead against a division rival that you're competing with for a championship, well, then you shouldn't be managing."
National television audiences (Fox and ESPN) will see the final two games of the series here with the Chicago Cubs, and one important national observer spoke briefly with La Russa Friday morning. La Russa met President George W. Bush at Lambert Airport after the latter had made a speech at World Wide Technology in Maryland Heights. Bush, former president of the Texas Rangers, "congratulated us on our (18-11) start," La Russa said.
La Russa, who received two packs of presidential playing cards as a gift, also got a brief tour of Air Force One before the president departed. La Russa had been asked to greet the president at the airport but, returning from a fundraiser in New York on Thursday night, La Russa was delayed in arrival. So he said a hasty goodbye instead of hello to Bush.
"It's an honor. I'm very appreciative," La Russa said.
Happy that the president noticed, La Russa does enjoy the fact that his team is playing better than most expected.
"Not many guys picked us to have an offense to play winning baseball," he said. "Just like they didn't think we'd pitch. I just think people looked at our team and didn't think we'd have much of a chance.
"Anybody that marked us a fifth-place club, which I saw ... how can you dispute that? We didn't have players with track records. I don't think anybody took it personally."
MULDER REMAINS ENCOURAGED
Lefthander Mark Mulder, who gave up nine runs and three homers in 3 2/3 innings in a rehabilitation start for Class AAA Memphis on Wednesday, said those numbers aren't alarming him and that he felt good about his progress as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery of last year.
After four starts in the minors on a rehabilitation program that can last 30 days for pitchers, Mulder remains encouraged that he will be activated later this month.
"This is my spring training," he said Friday night. "If I had this outing in the middle of the spring, I wouldn't be freaking out about it. So I'm not. I came out of it feeling real good. I threw my side (Friday) and I felt fine. I'm happy with it.
"I'm not happy with (Wednesday's) results. I'd love for them to be good, but it's not what I'm looking for. I'm not trying to look too deep into this."
Mulder was disappointed that he didn't pitch ahead in the count any more than he did on Wednesday. "I was 1-0, 2-0, 3-1. I wasn't walking people. I was just throwing bad pitches," he said.
Mulder may have one more start after the one on Monday. As for being taken off the disabled list after that, Mulder said, "I don't foresee that it would be a problem, but we've got to wait and see how things go and see how I feel. That's obviously my goal. I don't want to go on longer than that."
In theory, Mulder could go back to the spring training site at Jupiter, Fla., if he isn't deemed ready.
SHOT FOR THOMPSON
Righthander Brad Thompson, who went on the disabled list instead of to Memphis when he was optioned there, had a cortisone shot for his sore right elbow on Thursday.
PINIELLA BLOWUP
Cubs manager Lou Piniella, explaining his explosion at a question about why he didn't make a change in his defense in the ninth inning of what became a tough loss to Milwaukee on Thursday, said, "I probably should have responded a little different, but I was a little hot under the collar. And if you can't be hot under the collar as a major-league manager losing a two-run lead against a division rival that you're competing with for a championship, well, then you shouldn't be managing."
Cubs-Cards: Notes on Friday’s Scorecard
By Bernie Miklasz
05/03/2008 12:41 am
Evening.
Hell of a start to the series, won by the Cardinals 5-3 in 11 innings.
xx The Cubs slapped the Cardinals around last season, going 11-5 overall and 7-2 at Busch. For the Cardinals to contend, that must change. And fitting that Adam Wainwright got the season’s first start vs. the Cubs, because last season the Cubs punished him. In four 2007 starts against Chicago, Wainwright was 0-3 with an 8.72 ERA. If the Cardinals are to turn things around against the Cubs, guys like Wainwright have to establish the attitude, and the standard. And he did his part Friday night, with 6.1 innings of 4-hit, 1-run ball. He deserved the win and a better fate, but Jason Isringhausen was rocked by a 2-run Alfonso Soriano HR in the 9th.
xx Wainwright, by the way, has a 2.88 ERA since last May 16. The only NL starters with a better ERA since then are Jake Peavy and Brandon Webb.
xx Jason Isringhausen says he’s fine, physically, even though he’s been way off form over his last seven appearances, with three blown saves, a 13.50 ERA and a .367 BA against. I respect this man a great deal; he’s a warrior. But he had major hip surgery. The hip is arthritic. I’d like to accept it, no questions asked, when Izzy and manager Tony La Russa say he’s feeling good. And I know that it is against Izzy’s code to make excuses. He’ll take the hit rather than admit to physical discomfort. But I can’t help but be skeptical. Because I heard all of this before in 2006 … and in Sept. of that season, Isringhausen finally had no choice but to acknowledge the extremely bad hip condition, and take himself out of the bullpen, because he felt he was hurting the team.
xx Izzy is struggling against RH batters. Their line against him so far is .313 / .389 / .594. And during this seven-game slide, RH are .333 / .391 / .762 vs. Isringhausen.
Xx When the Cardinals signed veteran LH reliever Ron Villone, I shrugged. He’s pitched for something like 62 teams. He’s old. He’s one of those well-traveled lefties that just keep hanging around. I viewed him as a camp arm. But GM John Mozeliak found some gold in Villone. He’s been brilliant so far, with an 0.73 ERA in 11 games and a .128 BA against. And lefthanded hitters are 0-for-12 against Villone this season. Villone was one of the real stars of Friday’s game; after Izzy’s disaster he came on and got out of a jam (and then some) with 2.1 scoreless IP to get the win.
xx Troy Glaus … his batting line at Busch Stadium so far: .206 / .288 / .333
xx Troy Glaus … his batting line away from Busch Stadium so far: .310 / .442 / .529
xx Two more terrific plays by SS Cesar Izturis…. he does have value defensively, and sharp infield play is one of the reasons why the Cardinals’ pitching is so good this season.
xx Don’t tell La Russa or Lou Piniella that games played in early May are just games of no special importance. They combined to use 11 relievers Friday. How about Lou pulling Rich Hill in the top of the first? This isn’t a normal series.
xx Signing pitcher Jon Lieber was one of the best moves made by Cubs’ GM Jim Hendry before the season.
xx Aflonso Soriano or Chris Duncan in LF … you make the call on the Gold Glove there.
xx In his last 21 games, Cardinals OF Skip Schumaker is batting .376 with a .442 OBP and a .529 SLG. And he’s been wiping up RH pitchers. In those last 21 games, Schu is .406 / .461 / .609 against RHP.
xx Albert Pujols has struck out once against LHP in 35 plate appearances this season, according to Matthew Leach of MLB.com
xx This rookie Cubs catcher, Geovany Soto … he looks like a special talent. The Cubs and their fans should be very excited to have him.
Enjoy Saturday’s game…
05/03/2008 12:41 am
Evening.
Hell of a start to the series, won by the Cardinals 5-3 in 11 innings.
xx The Cubs slapped the Cardinals around last season, going 11-5 overall and 7-2 at Busch. For the Cardinals to contend, that must change. And fitting that Adam Wainwright got the season’s first start vs. the Cubs, because last season the Cubs punished him. In four 2007 starts against Chicago, Wainwright was 0-3 with an 8.72 ERA. If the Cardinals are to turn things around against the Cubs, guys like Wainwright have to establish the attitude, and the standard. And he did his part Friday night, with 6.1 innings of 4-hit, 1-run ball. He deserved the win and a better fate, but Jason Isringhausen was rocked by a 2-run Alfonso Soriano HR in the 9th.
xx Wainwright, by the way, has a 2.88 ERA since last May 16. The only NL starters with a better ERA since then are Jake Peavy and Brandon Webb.
xx Jason Isringhausen says he’s fine, physically, even though he’s been way off form over his last seven appearances, with three blown saves, a 13.50 ERA and a .367 BA against. I respect this man a great deal; he’s a warrior. But he had major hip surgery. The hip is arthritic. I’d like to accept it, no questions asked, when Izzy and manager Tony La Russa say he’s feeling good. And I know that it is against Izzy’s code to make excuses. He’ll take the hit rather than admit to physical discomfort. But I can’t help but be skeptical. Because I heard all of this before in 2006 … and in Sept. of that season, Isringhausen finally had no choice but to acknowledge the extremely bad hip condition, and take himself out of the bullpen, because he felt he was hurting the team.
xx Izzy is struggling against RH batters. Their line against him so far is .313 / .389 / .594. And during this seven-game slide, RH are .333 / .391 / .762 vs. Isringhausen.
Xx When the Cardinals signed veteran LH reliever Ron Villone, I shrugged. He’s pitched for something like 62 teams. He’s old. He’s one of those well-traveled lefties that just keep hanging around. I viewed him as a camp arm. But GM John Mozeliak found some gold in Villone. He’s been brilliant so far, with an 0.73 ERA in 11 games and a .128 BA against. And lefthanded hitters are 0-for-12 against Villone this season. Villone was one of the real stars of Friday’s game; after Izzy’s disaster he came on and got out of a jam (and then some) with 2.1 scoreless IP to get the win.
xx Troy Glaus … his batting line at Busch Stadium so far: .206 / .288 / .333
xx Troy Glaus … his batting line away from Busch Stadium so far: .310 / .442 / .529
xx Two more terrific plays by SS Cesar Izturis…. he does have value defensively, and sharp infield play is one of the reasons why the Cardinals’ pitching is so good this season.
xx Don’t tell La Russa or Lou Piniella that games played in early May are just games of no special importance. They combined to use 11 relievers Friday. How about Lou pulling Rich Hill in the top of the first? This isn’t a normal series.
xx Signing pitcher Jon Lieber was one of the best moves made by Cubs’ GM Jim Hendry before the season.
xx Aflonso Soriano or Chris Duncan in LF … you make the call on the Gold Glove there.
xx In his last 21 games, Cardinals OF Skip Schumaker is batting .376 with a .442 OBP and a .529 SLG. And he’s been wiping up RH pitchers. In those last 21 games, Schu is .406 / .461 / .609 against RHP.
xx Albert Pujols has struck out once against LHP in 35 plate appearances this season, according to Matthew Leach of MLB.com
xx This rookie Cubs catcher, Geovany Soto … he looks like a special talent. The Cubs and their fans should be very excited to have him.
Enjoy Saturday’s game…
Cardinals win a walkoff special
May 2, 2008 -- Cardinals' Skip Schumaker hits the game-winning two-run home run in the bottom of the eleventh inning.With one ninth-inning pitch the Cardinals revisited an uncomfortable question.
With one 11th-inning swing they turned a potentially calamitous ending into something uplifting.
Left fielder Skip Schumaker ended the first of this weekend's three-act drama Friday when he turned a one-out, first-pitch fastball into a walk-off, two-run home run and a 5-3 revival over the Chicago Cubs in front of a sellout crowd of 45,077 at Busch Stadium.
Schumaker's blast followed Aaron Miles' pinch single to begin the inning, a wild pitch and second baseman Brendan Ryan's sacrifice that left Miles at third base with one out.
Schumaker left no doubt when he drove Chad Fox's first pitch over the right-field fence for his second home run.
"I always follow the flight because I don't ever know if I get enough to leave the ballpark," said Schumaker. "Miles did his job; Ryan did his job; and I had a runner at third with less than two outs.
"All I wanted to do was get the ball in the air."
The game reached Schumaker after closer Jason Isringhausen dropped a 3-1 lead by allowing Cubs left fielder Alfonso Soriano a two-run home run.
With his rescue, Schumaker left the Cardinals (19-11) with their sixth win in eight games and the Cubs (17-12) their sixth loss in the same span.
Schumaker, who replaced starter Brian Barton in the fourth inning, is hitting .346 with a .519 slugging percentage, including six doubles and two home runs, vs. righthanded pitching.
The win overshadowed but did not erase Isringhausen's ninth-inning fade that left him with his third blown save and quite possibly a crisis of confidence.
With the Cubs down to two outs, Isringhausen left a thigh-high cut fastball for Soriano to drive for a two-run homer and a 3-3 tie. Isringhausen, who left only one game in mid-inning last year, threw 26 pitches and allowed two more baserunners before manager Tony La Russa lifted him in favor of Ron Villone. The closer now finds himself questioning his signature pitch and wondering aloud about his standing.
"Nobody in here knows what this is like," he said. "When I screw up, I'm letting 25 guys down who've taken the game to the ninth inning. It's not a good feeling. It's not fun, believe me."
Isringhausen has taken damage in five of his last eight outings, suffering three blown saves and a loss in the span. The Cardinals continue to insist Isringhausen is not physically handicapped while opponents have reached him for 10 earned runs and 11 hits, including two home runs, in his last 6 2/3 innings.
Isringhausen's third blown save in his last eight outings leaves him with one more fumble than he suffered in 34 chances last season. He left with a 7.11 ERA and is now receiving questions similar to those he heard while pitching with a degenerating hip condition in 2006.
"I know if I'm not pitching well that's what it must be," Isringhausen said dryly. "But that's not it. I'm just not making pitches with (the cut fastball)."
Isringhausen has ridden the cutter for 10 years. The pitch has helped him to 290 career saves. Now he wonders if he needs to ditch a once-trusted friend.
La Russa let slip his concern during a postgame news conference, saying, "I asked if he was all right. He said 'OK.' I don't know.
"He had trouble getting the ball down. That's something he usually does pretty well."
Cubs manager Lou Piniella made the game's first move, removing his starting pitcher, Rich Hill, after the lefthander mixed only 10 strikes among 27 pitches while forcing home the game's first run with four walks.
Piniella had erupted Thursday during a postgame news conference and exhibited even less patience with Hill, guilty of walking Rick Ankiel, Albert Pujols and Ryan Ludwick before bouncing a 3-2 pitch to the sixth hitter he faced, catcher Yadier Molina, to force home the game's first run.
Ryan's second-inning single scored starting pitcher Adam Wainwright for a 2-0 lead after the pitcher's leadoff double.
The Cardinals left the bases loaded in the first inning and missed a first-and-third opportunity in the second when Pujols became involved in a rundown that led to Ryan being thrown out at the plate.
"We had our chances. We had a lot of chances early. But they had their opportunities, too," Schumaker said. "It was one of those games that would have been real difficult to lose. But we had a lot of guys make sure that didn't happen."
Wainwright followed his 126-pitch win against the Houston Astros last Saturday with an efficient outing. He allowed multiple baserunners in only one inning, struck out five and walked one.
"We were not going to push him at all," La Russa said. "We had the bullpen fresh and ready to go."
The Cardinals stranded 10 through seven innings but managed their final two-run lead after former Gold Glove first baseman Derrek Lee botched Ankiel's one-out grounder.
Pujols then lofted a towering pop fly to left field that Soriano overran for a scorer's single. With two out, Molina chased Soriano to the warning track, where the left fielder's reach failed to touch what was judged a ground-rule double.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Bring on the Cubs
By Mike on Wellemeyer
With April in the books, and the Cardinals sitting alone at the top of the NL Central standings, a half game up on Chicago, one couldn’t have scripted a better a time for the Baby Bears to come to town. The Brewers are one and a half games out, so the upcoming series really is a battle for first place. The Cubs will be just the second Cardinal opponent with a winning record.
The pitching match-ups leave a sense of optimism, as the Cardinals won’t face Carlos Zambrano. Tomorrow night’s game features Adam Wainwright and Rich Hill. Saturday it’s Kyle Lohse against Ted Lilly, and Todd Wellemeyer faces former Redbird Jason Marquis in the series finale on Sunday. At first glance, you might be haunted of seasons past with the thought of facing two left handers. So far this year, the Cards have been pretty balanced at the plate, whether facing a righty or lefty. Here are the splits (avg/obp/slg):
* vs RHP .282/.372/.417
* vs LHP .272/.378/.409
Tony La Russa knows how to mix and match his lineup to give the offense a chance. This series won’t be any different.
The rivalry between the Cardinals and Cubs is one of the best in baseball (although lately the Astros are trying to squeeze into the fight). It’s always a series that I pay close attention to, and I get a kick out talking smack with Cubs fans. Something about 100 years. This season, many picked Chicago to win the division, and St. Louis to finish near the bottom, which is why Bernie Miklasz, of the St. Louis Post Dispatch feels the pressure is on Chicago. Find his article here.
This weekend, as you’re keeping tabs on the first match-up between the two clubs, also look for a first of its kind breakdown of Saturday’s game with combined coverage from ten different Cardinal blogs, including this one. C70 has all the details. It should be a lot of fun.
Beat the Cubbies!
With April in the books, and the Cardinals sitting alone at the top of the NL Central standings, a half game up on Chicago, one couldn’t have scripted a better a time for the Baby Bears to come to town. The Brewers are one and a half games out, so the upcoming series really is a battle for first place. The Cubs will be just the second Cardinal opponent with a winning record.
The pitching match-ups leave a sense of optimism, as the Cardinals won’t face Carlos Zambrano. Tomorrow night’s game features Adam Wainwright and Rich Hill. Saturday it’s Kyle Lohse against Ted Lilly, and Todd Wellemeyer faces former Redbird Jason Marquis in the series finale on Sunday. At first glance, you might be haunted of seasons past with the thought of facing two left handers. So far this year, the Cards have been pretty balanced at the plate, whether facing a righty or lefty. Here are the splits (avg/obp/slg):
* vs RHP .282/.372/.417
* vs LHP .272/.378/.409
Tony La Russa knows how to mix and match his lineup to give the offense a chance. This series won’t be any different.
The rivalry between the Cardinals and Cubs is one of the best in baseball (although lately the Astros are trying to squeeze into the fight). It’s always a series that I pay close attention to, and I get a kick out talking smack with Cubs fans. Something about 100 years. This season, many picked Chicago to win the division, and St. Louis to finish near the bottom, which is why Bernie Miklasz, of the St. Louis Post Dispatch feels the pressure is on Chicago. Find his article here.
This weekend, as you’re keeping tabs on the first match-up between the two clubs, also look for a first of its kind breakdown of Saturday’s game with combined coverage from ten different Cardinal blogs, including this one. C70 has all the details. It should be a lot of fun.
Beat the Cubbies!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
April Is The Hottest Month
By Chris Russell on Underachievers
In a season where they were pegged to be a sad sack bunch of rag-tag underachievers, the St. Louis Cardinals set a franchise record for wins in April with 18, and currently sit in first place atop the NL Central. The Birds finished the season’s opening month 7 games over .500 and owners of the second best record in baseball. Fans and critics were shocked after St. Louis’ red hot start, but not silenced. Chatter of an easy schedule and overachieving starting pitching has circled the team thus far, and the naysayers are still out there (many of them residing in Chicago and Boston). But even if this team has played a generous amount of “bad teams” and cruised through April on the wings of a head-scratchingly successful pitching staff, that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve any credit. And it certainly doesn’t mean they can’t keep it up. This is baseball. Did anyone expect the RedSox to come back from the seemingly impossible 3-0 ALCS deficit, or the Mariners to rack up 116 regular season wins in 2001, or for the Cardinals to claim the World Series Championship in ‘06 after winning only 83 regular season games? I didn’t think so.
To say the Cardinals don’t deserve to be where they are in the standings right now is ludicrous. Even when they came out on the losing end, they were still in the game until the last pitch. Nine of the 11 games they lost this year have been by 3 runs or less. And they’re winning more than their fair share of the nail-biters (6-4 in 1-run contests), which is a welcome change from last season. Not to mention they are +31 in run differential and have the 2nd best ERA, WHIP and OBP in the National League.
What’s that? …”No respect?” Thank you, Rodney. I agree.
The Birds have earned each and every victory this season (and even one they didn’t get credit for), and it was the result of strong starting pitching, timely hitting, a solid bullpen, quality defense and sound (but occasionally unorthodox) management. And this team has something that was lacking last year: Unity and the desire to win at any cost. Excitement and hard work usually surround a team budding with young talent… and the Cardinals emulate that to a tee. Anyone who saw Kyle McClellan’s first Major League strikeout, Brian Barton’s celebration after his first ML hit or Albert Pujols’ reaction to Troy Glaus’ first Cardinal homerun knows what I’m talking about.
This team is having fun and playing great baseball… something Redbird fans didn’t see much of in 2007. Don’t expect them to win 105 games, but don’t be too shocked if they’re still playing ball in October either. There are no guarantees, and hot starts can cool and be easily forgotten when they turn frosty, be we’ve seen the Birds in this underdog role before. And they seem to relish it. We all know Tony does.
So here we are in the second month of a season that was supposed to be one based upon rebuilding, grooming prospects and waiting for key players to get healthy. The fact that this team has gone above and beyond that so far has Cardinal Nation buzzing. The fact that they seem like a legitimate contender in the Central, well, that’s just exciting.
In a season where they were pegged to be a sad sack bunch of rag-tag underachievers, the St. Louis Cardinals set a franchise record for wins in April with 18, and currently sit in first place atop the NL Central. The Birds finished the season’s opening month 7 games over .500 and owners of the second best record in baseball. Fans and critics were shocked after St. Louis’ red hot start, but not silenced. Chatter of an easy schedule and overachieving starting pitching has circled the team thus far, and the naysayers are still out there (many of them residing in Chicago and Boston). But even if this team has played a generous amount of “bad teams” and cruised through April on the wings of a head-scratchingly successful pitching staff, that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve any credit. And it certainly doesn’t mean they can’t keep it up. This is baseball. Did anyone expect the RedSox to come back from the seemingly impossible 3-0 ALCS deficit, or the Mariners to rack up 116 regular season wins in 2001, or for the Cardinals to claim the World Series Championship in ‘06 after winning only 83 regular season games? I didn’t think so.
To say the Cardinals don’t deserve to be where they are in the standings right now is ludicrous. Even when they came out on the losing end, they were still in the game until the last pitch. Nine of the 11 games they lost this year have been by 3 runs or less. And they’re winning more than their fair share of the nail-biters (6-4 in 1-run contests), which is a welcome change from last season. Not to mention they are +31 in run differential and have the 2nd best ERA, WHIP and OBP in the National League.
What’s that? …”No respect?” Thank you, Rodney. I agree.
The Birds have earned each and every victory this season (and even one they didn’t get credit for), and it was the result of strong starting pitching, timely hitting, a solid bullpen, quality defense and sound (but occasionally unorthodox) management. And this team has something that was lacking last year: Unity and the desire to win at any cost. Excitement and hard work usually surround a team budding with young talent… and the Cardinals emulate that to a tee. Anyone who saw Kyle McClellan’s first Major League strikeout, Brian Barton’s celebration after his first ML hit or Albert Pujols’ reaction to Troy Glaus’ first Cardinal homerun knows what I’m talking about.
This team is having fun and playing great baseball… something Redbird fans didn’t see much of in 2007. Don’t expect them to win 105 games, but don’t be too shocked if they’re still playing ball in October either. There are no guarantees, and hot starts can cool and be easily forgotten when they turn frosty, be we’ve seen the Birds in this underdog role before. And they seem to relish it. We all know Tony does.
So here we are in the second month of a season that was supposed to be one based upon rebuilding, grooming prospects and waiting for key players to get healthy. The fact that this team has gone above and beyond that so far has Cardinal Nation buzzing. The fact that they seem like a legitimate contender in the Central, well, that’s just exciting.
Flashback Humor: Cardinals
By Andrea Reiher on retro
It’s perfect that the Flashback Humor team this week is the Cardinals. We start a big 3-game series with the Baby Bears tomorrow. Right now the Cubs and Cards are tied atop the NL Central standings, Cubs at 17-10 and Cardinals at 18-11. We’ve got Wainwright and Lohse throwing the first two games, which I like a lot. Both have ERAs under 2.80. They face Rich Hill and Ted Lilly, respectively. Hill’s having a good year, but we should be able to light Ted Lilly the eff up. Woo hoo. The Sunday game is Wellemeyer versus Marquis, which is hilarious. Wellemeyer spent 3 years with the Cubs and never had an ERA under 5.92; he is now having a fairly decent year with the Cards. Marquis used to be a Cardinal. It’s such delicious symmetry.
On to the Cardinals late 80s/early 90s Minor Leaguers! To the right we have Dmitri Young. That’s right. SteakGrowsOn Dmitri was in the Cardinals minor league system. This is his card from the St. Petersburg Cardinals and Arkansas Travelers.
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