The End of Mangkind?: Your 2011 St. Louis Cardinals

Let us celebrate the signing Gerald Laird.

and pour one out for Brendan Ryan. I just hope for my city's sake that Theriot can be as small and as white.

Rotowire's Team Preview:

Strengths

A great 1-2 punch both in the offense (Pujols/Holliday) and pitching staff (Carpenter/Wainwright) makes up for a lot of holes…

Weaknesses …but oh my, are there a lot of holes. The Cardinals are counting on Colby Rasmus and David Freese to improve their games (and stay healthy), for Yadier Molina, Ryan Theriot, Skip Schumaker, and Lance Berkman to hit like they did a couple of years ago, for Jake Westbrook, Jaime Garcia, and Kyle Lohse to be 60 percent of the rotation, and for Ryan Franklin to give them one more successful season. That’s a lot of things that have to go right and could go wrong.

Rising: Colby Rasmus - Rasmus and his manager have had their differences and it's been played out in the media, but there's no doubt that he's a budding star. Although he's just 24 and should take a step up in 2011, there are a few warning signs. Rasmus hit a respectable .276 last year, but his BABIP was a bloated .358. He also struck out 148 times in just 464 at-bats. It wouldn't be a surprise to see his batting average plummet this year, even as his power numbers continue to improve. However, if his contact rate improves, there's reason to believe that Rasmus' numbers will be even better across the board this season.

Declining: Lance Berkman - You see that chart above, note that he’s 35 and has been on the DL three times in the last year-and-a-half. He’s breaking down.

Sleeper: Jason Motte – Motte took a huge step up in 2010, and it's clear he's next in line to close should Franklin falter, perhaps as early as this season. He retired 32 batters in a row at one point last year, and his 54:18 K:BB ratio helped him earn two saves and 12 holds. He missed three weeks with a shoulder injury in August, but after coming back, he didn't give up a run the rest of the season. This will probably be the last year that you’ll be able to get Motte cheap.

Supersleeper: Allen Craig – If he even makes the team out of spring training, Craig will likely be a fourth outfielder at best, but given his versatility and potential with the bat, he could find his way into a lot of playing time this year if he stays on La Russa’s good side.

ugh, I have a bad feeling about this year. I like David Freese, but still, the Freese/Theriot/Schumaker combo at 3B/SS/2B is just depressing. Frustrated with the GM for not doing anything whatsoever to improve this over the offseason, and I'd rather have Ryan than Theriot tbh.

Also troubling is that they have absolutely no depth. If, say, Carpenter goes down, the season is over. Hell, even if Jaime Garcia falls back to earth and turns in a 4.10 ERA/10 win season, the cards fall out of the playoff pitcher.

Hate to say it, but this is looking like another 86 win season, at best.

yeah, lots of questions in the line up this year...

i wonder if the ludwick trade will loom large this year

Yep. A lot of this season seems to be riding on the chance that Lance Berkman won't completely suck ass. The nightmare scenario is that Allen Craig, Jon Jay, Nick Punto and Tyler Greene each get more than 200 PA

nick punto is such a la russa player that it's like he was created in a lab -- really just his utter destiny to be on the cards

really wish nate silver was the cardinals manager

or GM, actually

ENJOY YOUR NEPTUNE'S LAIRD

A full year of Westbrook in the NL Central is good. Theriot can hit better with his eyes closed then Ryan.

Beyond that I see no other upticks. No confidence in Freese playing or Lohse performing. Also not hard to see Rasmus going 100% headcase and needing to be traded.

i think there's a fair chance this season berkman will be about as good as ludwick offensively speaking, considering ludwick's '08 came during his age 29 season and even w/r/t that seems to be an outlier along the lines of morgan ensberg's '05. as a cubs fan the cards worry me because their offensive stars are super-consistent and their 1-2 starters are each easily capable of winning a cy young.

pretty sure the union will prevent pujols from racking up his usual rbis in retribution for not 'setting the bar'

Theriot can hit better with his eyes closed then Ryan.

eh, maybe, but Ryan's defensive value more than made up for it. (Fangraphs has B-Ryan's WAR at 1.0, Theriot's at 0. They're both awful, but if anything Theriot was a downgrade)

yeah, ground ball pitching staff w/ absolute crap defense outside 1b and catcher is gonna be painful.

on ryan v. theriot: b-r has career WAR at 6.2 for ryan in 4 seasons vs. 4.9 for theriot in 6, fwiw.

but maybe theriot should hit w/ his eyes open?

do you have it for just 2010? I don't think Ryan will ever hit close to .290 again like he did in 2009.

Fangraphs has B-Ryan's WAR at 1.0, Theriot's at 0.

That was for 2010, I should have mentioned.

also there's a slight insult to injury w/ theriot because of the slight layer of schadenfreude that cubs fans will get to experience when he's hitting .255/.310 in july

then again the whole cubs being in fourth place should balance that out

Shifting to 2B - was Skip the worst everyday 2B in baseball last year?

Ryan doesn't strike out much, i don't think it's a stretch to suggest that last year was a down season for him and that he hits as well as Theriot this year.

.253 babip last year. ridiculously unlucky.

RIP Jim Edmonds

Jim Edmonds has retired, the Cardinals have announced (on Twitter). The 40-year-old, who agreed to a minor league deal with St. Louis earlier in the month, is still bothered by his right Achilles, so his playing days are over.

I never really followed the beefs between Colby Rasmus/Brendan Ryan and Pujols/LaRussa. What was the cause? Is it just personality-driven? Ryan was way too goofy and Rasmus seems like the kid who might blow up the school and you wouldn't think it was that surprising? Did it have to do with work ethic?

Or...I don't know, I was thinking about it, and if I were on the Cardinals I think I would have a hard time keeping my mouth shut about Pujols/TLR Glenn Beck fantasies.

iirc it wasn't completely personality driven, it was TLR being a dumbass and benching guys who weren't hitting for average, even though they were easily justifying their lineup spot with secondary skills (Rasmus still had the 2nd or 3rd best OPS on the team when he was benched for 'struggling')

i don't understand how TLR used to be perceived as being on the cutting edge of strategy (like i remember reading an article in the early 1990s about how he would go back into the clubhouse between innings and use the computer to look up splits on hitter/pitcher combinations), and now he'll keep a guy like skip schumaker in the lineup, apparently only because skip might hit close to .300...like that's the only thing that matters? i figured TLR would be all over sabermetrics...

"I'm a lawyer, dammit, not a number cruncher!"

Ryan had a tendency to show up late apparently, also one game he didn't get back on the field b/n innings during a Carp start. Not surprisingly Carp went ballistic on him in the dugout. His biggest hitting issue was he would change stances every day when he was struggling and looked 100% lost.

Rasmus is a headcase largely because of his controlling father who likes to troll message boards. He fields like runners will be scared of his arm, daring them to go and then throwing a 5 hop ball to the infield. And then he has to call his dad for batting tips instead of listening to say, mark friggin mcgwire.

Both these guys I really wanted to do well last year and just blame TLR, but they deserved a lot of the shit they got.

Cards dodge (self inflicted) bullet

Nick Punto needs surgery to repair a sports hernia and will miss 8-12 weeks.

Hopefully we can find another replacement level player to, er, replace him! *bites nails*

fuck it Ill do it

not sure you have the larussa mentality

I'm scrappy, put me in coach

Wainwright down. Looks like Tommy John. 12 months. Peace out 2011.

the end of wainkind

shit that's sad, always sucks to see a player that good have to miss a year

i don't understand how TLR used to be perceived as being on the cutting edge of strategy (like i remember reading an article in the early 1990s about how he would go back into the clubhouse between innings and use the computer to look up splits on hitter/pitcher combinations), and now he'll keep a guy like skip schumaker in the lineup, apparently only because skip might hit close to .300...like that's the only thing that matters? i figured TLR would be all over sabermetrics...

― Z S, Sunday, February 20, 2011 10:50 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark

La Russa's cerebral, academic approach to the game doesn't always yield the right answers, but you're always left with the idea that he's asking the right questions.

no definitive diagnosis as yet?

xp

Fuuuuuuuuuck.

On the Rockies forum we're discussing whether we'd write off the season if Jimenez went down like this. The answer appears to be yes, and I'm sure at least two dozen other teams are thinking the same. Sympathies.

tbh I was already really pessimistic about this season anyway. They did nothing to improve the team over the winter. If anything, they made it worse. Their strategy for this year seemed to be "hope that everyone has a breakout season and that no one gets hurt".

May as well start looking this as a rebuilding year, get some rookies quality playing time instead of letting grizzled vets hit .253/.304/.331 all year

the Phillies have a semi-used Joe Blanton theyd be willing to part with for the right price..

millwood getting mentioned most.

that's been the strat two consecutive seasons, ZS. seriously the hope this year was berkman and theriot would bring better clubhouse chemistry. that was the actual plan they went with.

what a sadly prophetic thread title

say fuck it & bring up shelby miller imo

2nd year in a row being a top heavy thin team has bitten them in the ass. people say thats why they can't sign pujols, but I think its more that's why you can't trade chris perez for 3 months of mark derosa.

Jonny Gomes walked into the Cincinnati Reds spring training clubhouse early Wednesday morning singing at the top of his warbly voice. The melody was not recognizable, but the words were plaintive: “Wainwright’s gone, Wainwright’s gone, Wainwright’s gone,” he sang joyously.

Is that real? Man, fuck the reds. Hate them more than the cubs tbh

http://i.imgur.com/nYNpv.jpg

lil mang

@BJRains B.J. Rains
Chris Carpenter just walked off the field injured with the trainer. He is done for the day. Not good news for the Cardinals.

there is no god

rotowire sez:

"Carpenter said he felt a twitch in his hamstring after throwing a pitch but did not think it was more than a minor strain. However, given his injury history, the amount of time left in spring training, and the fact the Cardinals already lost Adam Wainwright (elbow) for the season, Carpenter and the trainers did not want to take any chances. Carpenter will likely be shut down for a few days, but it remains to be seen if the injury will keep him from pitching Opening Day."

*crosses fingers*

Damn, who put a curse on the Cards this spring?

dgoold Derrick Goold
Carpenter done after walking Coghlan on four pitches. Trainer runs out, and Carpenter is out of game after 32 pitches. #stlcards
3 hours ago

dgoold Derrick Goold
Trainer out to see Boggs on mound. La Russa instructing the bullpen to get somebody up and warming. Boggs leaving with trainer. #stlcards
2 hours ago

This is just getting weird.

should never have hired this guy as trainer
http://i.imgur.com/JDyQO.jpg

Gomes is already practicing his scales!

the story so far:

kyle lohse is our "ace"
garcia sophomore slump
rasmus breaks out
berkman a total bust
3rd-4th place in central
taking anything from spring training = lol?

feel like if you put up a 2.70 ERA your rookie year, a 'sophomore slump' is inevitable. dude's peripherals suggest a mid-rotation pitcher even with ground ball wizardry

Berkman in RF today! lol?

rasmus breaks out and is traded for some reason

what?!

oh...shit. that's just a prediction.

jesus. guys i have his jersey, let's not fuck around

lol

i know it's just lol spring training, but losche is looking pretty good! his curveball actually has some bite today, and he hasn't given up any walks. if he's anything close to competent it would be a great boon to the pitching staff

Lohse and McClellan > Garcia and carpenter

someone get matt holliday a cup to piss into...

espn announcer who once played with him claimed that he had "muscles coming out of his chin"

also,

god DAMMIT

well carpenter looks good

man, this pujols guy...kinda sucks

Pujols RIP

xp

8 outs in one day is quite a seasonal pace, admittedly

Let's go Padres!

lol Theriot still being paid by Cubs?

GTFO this shit is serious

jay fucked up worse than theriot, double bouncing a throw into the infield

it IS april 1 but...

Matt Holliday out 4-6 weeks after appendectomy

sadtrombone

i mean CMON MAN

I guess we should be thankful he lasted longer then Waino.

Noooooooooooooooooo

Well, if he dies, at least he'll have a .750 avg on the year. Let's look at the bright side.

kinda reminds me of the tragedy of '94 when matt williams was on pace for 62 HR. holliday was on pace for 500 hits. damn.

the hope this year was berkman and theriot would bring better clubhouse chemistry. that was the actual plan they went with.

― bnw, Wednesday, February 23, 2011 11:39 AM (1 month ago) Bookmark

smdh

yep. this is ugly.

cards are slugging .296 as a team

"For everybody listening out there, do you think I am being unreasonable?" La Russa said. "It's the first week of the season. I mean I don't understand this. You are going to tell me that Yadier doesn't drive in big runs? You going to tell me Albert can't hit? You going to tell me the second baseman and shortstop haven't hit?

"David Freese, you don't think he's going to hit? You think Matt is going to hit? You think Colby is going to hit? You think Berkman is going to hit? The answer is no to all those things? I mean did you accomplish your goal? Three or four times you ask so I get excited and get upset. I mean that's not fair. It really isn't."

La Russa then walked out of the room, putting an abrupt end to his postgame press conference.

Whoa, is that real?

btw,

You going to tell me the second baseman and shortstop haven't hit?

Yes, I am going to tell you that. Did TLR stop following sabermetrics like 15 years ago?

heard Joe Sheehan on the radio yesterday. The host asked him if Theriot in leadoff was a bad idea and he basically responded that Theriot in major league baseball was a bad idea.

It's like he's trying to get in a Coors Light ad but doesn't know they only use football coaches

What's been especially frustrating is listening to fucking Al Hrabosky react to yet another botched theriot/skip doubleplay by saying shit like "well, replacing Brendan Ryan with theriot is trading some defense for some offensive punch", oblivious that theriot really isn't an improvement on B Ryan offensively.

this is source of TLR quote:

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2011/4/7/2096017/whos-more-touchy-tony-la-russa-or-joe-girardi

anyone else watching this game? watching this team is sooo frustrating. they still haven't managed to score more than 3 so far this year. the last cardinals team to score 3 or less for this many games at the beginning of a season was in 1919.

"past a diving Pujols" = take a shot

promising situation with runner(s) in scoring position with less than 2 outs ending with a weak grounder double play to the right side of the infield = take a shot

every game that ends with rasmus or freese with 0 RBIs for the season, chug a 40

not that rasmus has had many good opportunities

hold on just a second while i wait for this last out

still waitin'

the riot

jesus

YES

that's "Tony's type of player"

:o they need this

glad i didn't jump the gun on my "FUCK YOU 2011 CARDINALS" post

Theriot is "a gamer". he "knows how to play the game"

HES WHITE OKAY

http://www.cubby-blue.com/.a/6a00d83451fe4669e201156f70edc5970c-800wi

http://mlblogsvineline.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/theriot20fishing20cartoon20small.jpg?w=448&h=333

http://www.thecubsbrickyard.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/ryan-theriot-ripped.jpg

man, that caricature artist at six flags kicks ASS

but Scott Rolen is white, and TLR knew he didnt know how to play the game

http://www.joesportsfanstl.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/theriot-thumb.jpg

http://www.bleachernation.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/garfield-minus-garfield-plus-theriot.jpg

http://www.thecubreporter.com/files/images/Ryan-Theriot-Cardinals.gif

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j74/KurtEvans/quiettheriot.jpg

http://www.cubby-blue.com/.a/6a00d83451fe4669e20115708783ee970b-800wi

if franklin blows this, i hope you have an equal number of images of his eyes being pecked out by evil birds omar!

:-(

http://redstatebluestate.mlblogs.com/albert%20pujols%20ryan%20franklin.jpg

"past a diving Pujols" = I'm drunk.

same

if mike fontenot comes through here it's heavily ironic

This game will ultimately be decided by the Ex-Cub Factor

every game that ends with rasmus or freese with 0 RBIs for the season, chug a 40

i am on this

"passed a leaping Pujols" = I need my stomach pumped...

load em up?

5-man infield

uh
wow

never saw bases-loaded stop by the LF before

TLR FTW

this might yet equal last April's Mets-Cards 'thon

man, our Pujols-Craig-Schumaker 3-4-5 combo must be fearsome

ahem

FUCK YOU 2011 CARDINALS

catchable fly

yep. seemed like they were both afraid to call for it

every game that ends with rasmus or freese with 0 RBIs for the season, chug a 40

also: done

for some dumb reason i'm watching the game again tonight (i love to feel like shit?)

jaime's really looking good, AGAIN. i kinda love this dude.

also, ryan buttlin threw TWO knuckleballs last night?

1-1.
7th inning.
a must win game.

Batista is warming up.

fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-

i don't get it. wtf

i get that mcclellan moving to the starting rotation left a hole in the "high-leverage reliever" position, but wtf at this pattern.

he is 40 and he sucks.

Rasmus with the power. Giants announcers saying they haven't seen a moonshot like that at night in a very long time.

my fucking god

yesterday it looked to me like colby gave a shitty effort on the rowand hit but this one i just...

ugh

last night i went amateur psychologist and thought rasmus was afraid to call off the LF for some reason, but two nights in a row

uugggh

To Colby's defense it is HELLA windy tonight (this whole week in fact has been 20-30mph winds at night).

Or maybe he was inspired by seeing Mays tonight...

(I will add: that same wind that took what would be a routine fly ball and turned it into a towering HR for him... it giveth and taketh)

lets not overlook that ryan franklin sucks shit

i wonder if the cardinals front office is regretting that chris perez for mark derosa deal yet

i will also add, i know it's like 7-8 games into the season, but uuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh. that's it. that's a terrible, demoralizing start to the season.

maybe not so shitty?

man, i never doubted this team for a SECOND

*whistles*

Eduardo Sanchez: 11 batters / 8 ks

memo to tony lolrussa: do not pitch to Matt Kemp in a close and late situation when he is followed by Uribe, Loney and Barajas.

memo #2: get rid of ryan franklin

memo #3: years ago

also, get rid of miguel batista, even though he's a nice guy

i can't believe i'm saying this, but is MIGUEL FUCKING BATISTA actually in the "equation" for a potential replacement for Franklin? you've gotta be joking

FRANKLIN

ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Cardinals have bumped Ryan Franklin out of the closer's role after four blown saves early in the season.

it's kind of funny to think that even with the horrible, horrible start to the season, if Franklin could have pulled off 3 of his 4 chances, they'd be 11 and 5 right now.

CG shutout Kyle Lohse O_o

WHY THE FUCK IS BATISTA STARTING

walked the leadoff man

jesus fuck man

wait, god realized that this would be a disaster and made it rain a bunch

thanks god

man, brandon phillips is really good at being the guy you love to hate

i mean, what a fucking asshole, in a sorta good way.

if you're gonna make yourself the villain you might as well back it up by hitting a homer

Batista move going down in LaGenius history.

"How do you take me out? I still had a no-no," Batista remarked, tongue firmly in cheek.

http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/assets_c/2011/04/tony%20la%20russa%20face-thumb-250x246.jpg
http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/11/2011/04/larussa_02.jpg

you know why tony looks like that? miguel fucking batista

i am going to go ahead and blame batista for anything bad that happens until he leaves the team

soooooo anyone seen dennis eckersley lately?

jesus fuck @ those pics!!! how in the hell is he allowed near the players like that?!

New rule for bullpen: if you blow a save, you have to lick larussa's eye for (1 minute x number of hits and walks given up in the inning)

*throws up*

seriously..........

two things...

1. HOLY SHIT LANCE BERKMAN. this shit is crazy.
2. does anyone else ever get the feeling that Dan McLaughlin and Al Hrabosky HATE each other? like, seething rage?

lol maybe that's why dan is doing college baseball for espnu on weekends now

earlier he was like "al, out of all the years we've worked together, that was the WORST segue I have ever heard you make...I mean, that made absolutely no sense"

al played it off like they were old college roomies picking fun at each other but it was clear that he was pissed

lol that sounds like 'anchorman' dialogue

cardinals baserunning and defense is seriously AAA-level

can't believe it took TLR this along to turn them into AL-lite. It's ugly but it has been working. they lead the league in hitting with AP at .240 O_O

cardinals baserunning and defense is seriously AAA-level

4 errors in 4 innings

that is actually "videogame baseball when you're figuring out the controls for the first time"-level

lol

lance berkman is having some kind of epic year

yes. yes he is.

FInally the Cards have a legitimate Triple Crown contender.

anyone want to go to the game with me today?? I got an extra ticket and zero friends apparently u_u

damn, i totally would if i was near stl!

I stubhub'd them. Let me know if you're ever in town and want to go, good chance I can get us tix for free :D

loool, boggs just threw a wild pitch and yadi was pissed (at himself) and threw down his helmet as he ran after the ball, then, RIGHT into the microphone, screamed FUCK!!!!!

mics occasionally catch a "fuck", but this was the loudest "fuck" i've ever heard on a mlb broadcast

more boring observations about cardinal games:

1) what did brandon phillips say last year about the cardinals? that they were wimps or crybabies or something? hate to say it, but in terms of arguing about strikes they are probably #1 in baseball. seems like every single called strikeout gets some sort of pathetic argument from cardinal hitters, from pujols/holliday all the way down.

2) i wish i never would have noticed that dan and al's relationship is so similar to an couple that have been unhappily married for 12 years but won't get a divorce because they think they'll go to hell or ruin the family's name or whatever. i used to be friends with a couple that would bicker all the time, and i'd go over to their house and they would just argue and use me as a pawn - e.g., "hey zach, can please get me a glass of water, because we both know that LAZY ASS MARK won't do it!!". anyway, listening to dan and al kind of transports me back to those days and i don't like it. i can imagine them just screaming at each other after the broadcast...or maybe giving each other the silent treatment.

Who deserves the MVP more? Berkman or Holliday?

Batista

lol

B-b-but his ERA is 0.60 (and his WHIP is roughly 2.5 times that)!

So what's the deal with Larussa's eye? Is that why GE missed last night's game? Is he going to reappear as a cyborg?

I have no idea why typoPhobe inserted General Electric in there vut whatever

TypoPHONE, godDAMMIT

Saw a bit of postgame press conference the other day...a case of pinkeye that hangs around for that long, dang. GROSS.

Ah, he's got the herp - shingles style

Kyle LoRussa

http://yfrog.com/gz5siepj

ha I heard about that.

funny how all the Hall the omg they overpaid Holliday cries have vanished.

never woulda thought westbrook and carpenter would be the least reliable starters :? ryan franklin still sucks. feel sorta bad but he needs to go to triple A b/c he is just a wasted roster spot at this point.

funny how all the Hall the "omg they overpaid Holliday" cries have vanished.

not surprised at westbrook sucking, and i eventually carp will bounce back some. it's funny though, for the last couple years he's been the nominal ace, but really wainwright's been leading the charge, and this year it's the same deal. unfortunately mcclellan's going to fall to the earth imminently. losche has been the surprise of the year so far, and so far his success actually looks like the real deal.

those matt holliday vs jason bay debates are kind of embarrassing now, aren't they

Barry Larkin just referred to Nick Punto as "a complete ballplayer."

smdh

well punto is complete in the sense that he has two arms, two legs and a head

"When Skip Schumaker returns, Greene could be the odd man out. Tyler has plenty of offensive potential, but his defense still needs work – lots and lots of work. Dare we saw the Cards miss Schumaker's defense at second base?" :(((

Barry Larkin was a complete ballplayer, is an incomplete analyst

casiotony for the painfully larussa is back

Pujols' DPs outnumber his XBHs.

thanking u cards #bravesfan

marty brennaman rips cardinals

brennaman otm in general, wish the cards would stop shitting their pants with every other called 3rd strike. calling duncan "infantile" is pretty stupid, though, fuckem

thats every baseball player ever imo. lets focus on garcia being arguably the best lefty in the game O_O

hmmm

for this year at least i think i'd still take lee, hamels, kershaw, sabbathia, lester, price, anderson, cahill -- he's squarely in the top 10 tho

I am a little cardinals-centric sometimes.

here is bernie miklasz's take:

After Tuesday night's impressive outing against Philadelphia, Cardinals' lefty Jaime Garcia moved up in the rankings. Since the start of last season, Garcia has the best ERA (2.41) among all MLB lefthanded starters. And among all starting pitchers, only Josh Johnson (2.14) and Roy Halladay (2.39) have a lower ERA since the beginning of 2010. Garcia and Johnson are tied for the lowest ERA (1.64) this season. Garcia doesn't crank out the innings of a Halladay, and since the start of last season he ranks around 30th in baserunners allowed per nine innings. That's pretty good, but it doesn't put him at the most elite level.

ERA's pretty oldschool at this point. (park differences, unearned runs being partly the pitcher's responsibility, etc)

His ERA+ is 237 and his WHIP is .99. Still pretty good..

yikes

CARDINALS RIGHT FIELDER LANCE BERKMAN LEFT THE GAME IN THE BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH INNING WITH A RIGHT WRIST INJURY.
CARDINALS LEFT FIELDER MATT HOLLIDAY LEFT THE GAME IN THE TOP OF THE THIRD INNING WITH LEFT QUAD TIGHTNESS.

a real upset there that berkman avoided the quad tightness

@ the rainy game today

Rasums 0-for-1 today with five walks

jaime garcia's game score yesterday was -6

yeah, doesnt have that Cy nailed down yet

http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/mlb/players_l/20110503x/7027.jpg?x=65&y=85&xc=1&yc=1&wc=164&hc=215&q=100&sig=H7NcXFN4MTE68gj14dMAfg--http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/mlb/players_l/20110503x/7027.jpg?x=65&y=85&xc=1&yc=1&wc=164&hc=215&q=100&sig=H7NcXFN4MTE68gj14dMAfg--http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/mlb/players_l/20110503x/7027.jpg?x=65&y=85&xc=1&yc=1&wc=164&hc=215&q=100&sig=H7NcXFN4MTE68gj14dMAfg--http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/mlb/players_l/20110503x/7027.jpg?x=65&y=85&xc=1&yc=1&wc=164&hc=215&q=100&sig=H7NcXFN4MTE68gj14dMAfg--http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/mlb/players_l/20110503x/7027.jpg?x=65&y=85&xc=1&yc=1&wc=164&hc=215&q=100&sig=H7NcXFN4MTE68gj14dMAfg--http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/mlb/players_l/20110503x/7027.jpg?x=65&y=85&xc=1&yc=1&wc=164&hc=215&q=100&sig=H7NcXFN4MTE68gj14dMAfg--http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/mlb/players_l/20110503x/7027.jpg?x=65&y=85&xc=1&yc=1&wc=164&hc=215&q=100&sig=H7NcXFN4MTE68gj14dMAfg--http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/mlb/players_l/20110503x/7027.jpg?x=65&y=85&xc=1&yc=1&wc=164&hc=215&q=100&sig=H7NcXFN4MTE68gj14dMAfg--http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/mlb/players_l/20110503x/7027.jpg?x=65&y=85&xc=1&yc=1&wc=164&hc=215&q=100&sig=H7NcXFN4MTE68gj14dMAfg--http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/mlb/players_l/20110503x/7027.jpg?x=65&y=85&xc=1&yc=1&wc=164&hc=215&q=100&sig=H7NcXFN4MTE68gj14dMAfg--

jesus

feel like the spillover from garcia getting nuked is still following us. a weekend with the cubs has gotta help.

http://i.imgur.com/cPkhL.gif

a+

looooooooooool

yeah, I was kind of baffled when Tony sent the rookie out for the sixth, let alone when he kept him in there to get rocked, i guess to ensure that his first experience was a negative one

Timothy Hutton would make a great Bochy.

Liked Samardzjas "no fuckin way" when Albert took him deep :D

deja puj

best record in beisbal :?

uuuuugh, batista, uuuuuugh

just got home from the awesome cards/nats game tonight, and wanted to relay a few thoughts i had during the game!

1) WHY IS A GUY 1 CAREER HIT HITTING 5TH?

2) WHY IS RYAN FRANKLIN STILL A MAJOR LEAGUE PITCHER, AND WHY DOES HE PITCH MORE THAN ONE INNING?

3) WHY AM I LOOKING THROUGH THE NET AT HOME PLATE??

http://i55.tinypic.com/2r4hr2r.jpg

fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

i am also going tomorrow night, with way better tickets

i hope i tone it down from tonight, because i was drunk and yelled a lot of dumb stuff about tony larussa that no one around me thought was funny

tony blaming the fans for not having the guts to pitch franklin was pretty hilarious.

I have no idea why he is on our team. same with skip fucking schumaker. put theriot at 2nd. buy a no hit/all glove ss.

really though, while its easy to bash the usual and blameworthy scapegoats, the starting pitching has gone way south. thank god holiday is back.

i'm going to the game tonight. i'm a little nervous, not just because tony larussa is still the manager and batista and franklin don't appear to have been fired yet, but because the forecast is T-STORMS 70% for the rest of the night.

i have pretty sweet tickets tonight, too, so i'm gonna be bummed if it's a rain delay/rain out. and extremely drunk

three step plan to cardinals greatness:

1. holliday returns (check!) and freese returns (should be just a few more weeks, right?) and is as effective as he was when he left
2. trade for a reliever that doesn't make me want to rip my intestines out.
3. either punto returns and replaces skip (better defense at 2B, same meh hitting) or theriot moves over to second and someone's brought in to SS that knows how to catch AND throw (not sure who would come in)

you got Greene at SS tonight, skippy at 2nd. see if you can figure out how greene hit like 25 hrs at AAA but can't hit jack here :/

ugh

three step plan to cardinals greatness:

1. holliday returns (check!) and freese returns (should be just a few more weeks, right?) and is as effective as he was when he left
2. trade for a reliever that doesn't make me want to rip my intestines out.
3. either punto returns and replaces skip (better defense at 2B, same meh hitting) or theriot moves over to second and someone's brought in to SS that knows how to catch AND throw (not sure who would come in)

infiltrate deepest circles of hell and prevent satan from fucking up this season

i didn't lay out the steps involved in killing satan, but it's a three step plan

I'll trade you Mike Adams and Heath Bell for Colby Rasmus.

hmmm... how about this counteroffer:

miguel batista (great clubhouse presence) and ryan franklin (great in bed) for mike adams?

haha

albert down. guessing broken wrist from replays.

sheeeit

but good for wildcard scrum

man, tallet is kicking ASS out there today! great job!

infiltrate deepest circles of hell and prevent satan from fucking up this season

I would say the Pujols injury is evidence of this plan being a failure.. Sorry dog.

sprained wrist, "injured" shoulder

make that "fractured arm"

cardinals initially misdiagnosing an injury? SHOCKING at least they didn't try to avoid the DL for two weeks while he pinch runs which is the usual tactic. fuck!

What sucks for Pujols is that an "off" year plus injury during his contract year means he may miss out on the big Yankees-money payout he always deserved.

yep, down year + injury not going to increase value by any means. have to think it increases his chances to stay with redbirds.

hard to feel bad for a guy who may now get only $250 million instead of $300 million.

obviously I'm predisposed to dislike the Cardinals as a Brewer fan, but TLR trying to hit KC batters late in a ONE RUN GAME because Pujols got hurt is dumb beyond any reason. really glad Escobar took them deep but sad that KC didn't pull out the win.

Are you talking about Tallet? I doubt that tallet meant to hit that guy. He just really, really sucks.

at least a one-day misdiagnosis isn't as clownish as the Mets' "Wright has a stress fracture in his back; ten days of rest should do it."

that's basically what the cards did with Holliday. "rub some dirt on it"

I doubt that any of this will cost Pujols a dime.

Any predictions for how many games back we'll be when pujols returns from the DL? Or does anyone think that they'll stay on top or tied? I'm going with 3 games back.

2 games (rough 8 WAR for pujols divided by a quarter of a season) + 1 game just because of the god hating us thing

i don't know if i've ever seen anything like this game before

9 runs in the 8th inning!

gtfo phillies fan. leave us to our misery.

I haven't seen anything but the boxscore. But I can say one thing - this bullpen is FLAWLESS

Shit, we really need a sweet trade to bolster the bullpen. As tempting as a marquee name like Reyes would be, erasing the memory of Batista and Franklin would probably be a far better use of $$

fans at the stadium aren't miserable. they were applauding the inning! warm feelings all <3round.

(also, if i posted to the phillies thread i'd be talking to myself -- we don't really have enough ILBers to populate two threads for each game. i like talking to ilxors during games!)

sorry I was pretty pissed watching that. what's weird is the game in which mcclellan outduels halladay, may decide that he goes back to the bullpen. I'm not even sure who he replces because it is so hard to pick the worst out of that group.

Batista, with franklin at a close second.

Send Batista out to the ranch

Tony only keeps him around because Batista is old and wise and he enjoys his company on the front porch after a long day of baling hay, drinking whiskey, and complaining about their shingles

what's all this about "god hating us"? you guys won the World Series 5 years ago right? and have a bunch of players overperforming at the moment?

bernie pretty much destroys it in his column:

Tuesday night, the game was still there to be salvaged when La Russa brought in Batista in the 8th. The Phillies were up by a run; the bases were loaded. Given Batista's soaring walk rate, he was hardly an ideal match for the situation. And sure enough, Batista faced three Phillies, walking two and allowing a hit. Game over. Fact: Boggs has the lowest walk rate among Cardinals relievers this season. So doesn't it make sense -- a lot of sense -- to use him over Batista in that situation? Boggs, who has a 3.16 FIP, isn't better than Batista? Boggs isn't more trustworthy than Batista? Wow.

hey frog - find me team that loses a pitcher like Wainwright and a hitter like Pujols and doesn't complain.

Its one thing to complain, but it seems like Cardinals fans everywhere seem to believe that they really suffer from a lot of tough luck. it sucks to lose Wainwright and Pujols but their starting pitching is still great and their offense has been on of the best in the league despite Pujols underperforming. I just don't understand how you guys can say that when there's a legit "God hates us" team in the NL Central in Chicago?

The Cards should fire LaRussa and bring in Whitey Herzog. </marlins>

if there really is a "god hates us" team they're in the AL east and it's not the Yankees or Red Sox.

... or possibly the Cubs.

http://i753.photobucket.com/albums/xx177/tupac-chopra/wiygn.jpg

no it's definitely the Cubs

No one is really god hates us afaik. It's more we are very cardinals focused so their problems get magnified and fretted over. Its like how a small town obsesses overs it's high school football team.

Unless you are talking about this thread where we only post to bitch which is more an ilx thing.

yeah, i was totally joking about 'god hates us'. god loves all of his children, forever and ever amen etc *farts*

Its like how a small town obsesses overs it's high school football team.

otm

i guess i could post a rational analysis of the injuries and say it's all within 2 standard deviations of the mean or whatever, but tbh it's more fun to pretend i'm at a sports bar with a crazy old man

WHOA

Batista released, Lynn recalled

The Cardinals made a first move in addressing their troublesome bullpen on Wednesday, releasing veteran right-hander Miguel Batista. The club recalled right-hander Lance Lynn to take Batista’s spot on the roster. The team’s head of media relations announced the move on Twitter.

Batista, 40, made 26 appearances for the Cardinals after making the team as a non-roster invitee to Spring Training. He allowed 27 hits in 29 1/3 innings, striking out 16 against 19 walks. He has struggled mightily in recent weeks, allowing 14 runs and 11 walks in 13 1/3 innings over his past 12 appearances since mid-May.

Batista's stats

29.1 IP

4.91 K/9

5.83 BB/9

.260 BABIP

4.60 ERA

5.11 FIP

5.70 xFIP

23.2 LD%

36.8 GB%

40% FB%

good line:
geez49 How can they release batista while he is still pitching to the phillies ? #cards #themoreyouknow

sorry if I took what you guys were saying too literally

the Cards fans I've met IRL and especially online tend to be really whiney when it comes to really stupid topics like "untucking jerseys after a win" and are full of frustrating double-standards

St. Louis is a great baseball market I'm just predisposed to dislike their fans :(

lol what are the norms when it comes to the post-game tucking decision?

brewers did it in 08 i think as a tribute to Mike Camerons father, Cards fans called it disrespectful, St. Louis sportswriters continually said they deserved to be thrown at for it

also they called out Ryan Braun for admiring an HR ball once, apparently forgetting Albert Pujols plays on their team

it did result in the greatest Pujols quote of all time - "You don't want kids to see negative things". You said it, Al

we get it, you are a brewers fan.

the silly vilification stuff exists for your team too, I assure you.

Haha hahahaha hahahahahahaha:

In an earlier story, it was reported that Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, in a best case scenario, could return from a broken wrist much earlier than projected. As it turns out, these revised projections were based on x-rays of his right arm, which did not suffer an injury in his collision with Wilson Betemit.

lolz

Pujols may return as early as Tuesday?!??!!?!111?1

]ST. LOUIS -- Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols was in high spirits on Monday as he continues to recover from a fractured left wrist faster than originally expected, with a possibility he could return to the lineup as early as Tuesday.

Pujols took ground balls at first base prior to the Cardinals series-opener with the Reds. The three-time National League MVP also took cuts against a pitching machine and said he's been swinging a bat for almost a week at full strength.

Pujols, who fractured his wrist on a collision at first base on June 19 against the Royals, has been on the 15-day disabled list since June 20 and was initially expected to be out for at least four weeks. While Pujols was coy about his imminent return, saying he still had four weeks to go, he didn't rule out the possibility of suiting up on Tuesday, the first day he is eligible to come off the DL.

Mang gonna play tonight ^_^ I hope the all-star snub makes him go berserker.

as much as i'm looking forward to seeing him back in the lineup, part of me wishes he'd just take it easy until after the all-star break!

That does kind of say "man I am out to get PAID this fall" to me.

have you guys been watching this, holy shit!

i saw the score on espn and was all WTF?! had given up after westbrook took his customary dump on the mound at the start.

albert

albert

― J0rdan S., Friday, July 15, 2011 9:35 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

if this Pujols guy keeps hitting home runs he might make a name for himself!

punto uncorked legitimately the worst throw i think i've seen in my entire life

just immediate abject horror right as the ball left his hand

not hyperb0le, by J0rdan S

Think AP still makes .300 30 100?

freese just missed a catchable foul ball and almost fell over the railing. i'm convinced it was because of the hawt camerawoman standing 5 feet away

yeah I pretty much expected him to break 3 or 4 bones on that play.

I like how everyone was like "the lineup is back! we gonna cruise now" and then they just play like shit.

so how do StL fans feel about Rasmus? if I were a cards fan Id be losing my fucking mind about this whole scenario..

Hasn't Rasmus been unhappy for like the past 2 seasons?

i get the sense that a lot of cards fans would be okay w/ trading him

Perfect opportunity for a challenge trade.

he's been really bad this year in all phases

tho i think he has homered in 2 straight games

drama gets really tiring

he was really great at the beginning of the year. I really like Rasmus so I wouldn't mind if he stuck around. but his dad sounds like a total controlling dick, and he and TLR seem to have an "issue", so I can understand him wanting to move.

fangraphs has him as the sixth worst fielder in the NL

(sandwiched b/w theiort & berkman, lol)

He should definitely not be playing CF.

"CF who should not really be playing CF but no one will bother to move them off the position" is a whole subset of borderline star players

rasmus, adam jones, matt kemp

on a tangential note, i get irrationally angered by the dodgers playing kemp in CF & gwynn jr in LF at the same time.

Yeah that is insane.

Agreed. However the Dodgers have been kicking Kemp in the balls repeatedly over the last couple seasons before this one so anything they do to make him happy is fine by me.

Rasmus isn't a defensive superstar like some made him out to be last year, but he's certainly not one of t worst fielders in the league, either. Fangraphs low ranking of him in the field says more about the lack of a consistently good measure of defensive value tha it does about Rasmus imo

I am colby's dad btw

i like descalso as SS, Freese at 3B. not as a solution for next season, but for now it works.

he's arguably better than Theriot as a hitter:

Theriot: .269/.315/.327 BB%: 5.3%
Descalso: .263/.341/.366 BB%: 10%

And fielding-wise, it's no contest. even by flawed defensive metrics, apparently Descalso is a -0.8 vs Theriot's -10.4. whatever the fuck that means. but anyone watching the team day in and day out could instantly tell that Descalso is a much, much better fielder.

ban trevor miller btw

9innings puts theriot at 2nd. 'nuff said.

http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lp0wftIU901qzdy7no1_500.jpg

:-(

colby 0-5 in toronto

Man, colby was my favorite. :/

If Jackson ends up performing well for the rest of the year, and the relief help is decent, I guess it could be ok. But it sucks to get a series of Ifs in return for Rasmus.

from mlbtraderumors

Here’s reaction to the trades from around MLB. Be warned, Cardinals fans, you might not like what follows...

• The price the Cardinals paid to acquire Jackson and bullpen help was "just too high," according to ESPN.com's Keith Law, who suggests St. Louis' internal emphasis is on manager Tony La Russa, not the players. Law loves what Toronto did and doesn't understand Chicago's move.
• Jim Bowden of ESPN says the Cardinals had better win this year "or they will really regret this one." He calls St. Louis' move the "worst trade of the year" and gives the Blue Jays an 'A.'
• Joel Sherman of the New York Post confirms that the Cardinals turned down the Rays' offer of Jeff Niemann and J.P. Howell for Rasmus (Twitter link). Sherman suggests the Cardinals would have been better off accepting Tampa Bay's offer.
• The Giants showed how to go for it today and the Cardinals showed how not to go for it, Yahoo's Jeff Passan writes.
• A longtime scout tells ESPN.com’s Buster Olney that Rasmus has a chance to be a star. “I don't understand that deal at all," the scout said (Twitter link).
• Matthew Leach of MLB.com likes what the Cardinals got for 2011, but finds it hard to like the deal for St. Louis because of what it means for 2012-14 (Twitter link).
• Now that Rasmus and Carlos Beltran are off of the market, the list of teams with possible interest in B.J. Upton is taking shape, as Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times explains. The Braves, Indians, Nationals, Phillies, Pirates and Reds are possible destinations for Upton.
• As Matt Eddy of Baseball America explains, Walters should qualify for a fourth option year in 2012 and Rzepczynski "might be the prototype" pupil for Cards pitching coach Dave Duncan.
• Joe Pawlikowski of FanGraphs explains that it's easiest to see the trade from the Blue Jays' perspective, since they gave up three relievers and a prospect for a player who can help them contend for 2012-14.
• At CloserNews, Dan Mennella wonders if Kyle McClellan could be in line for some saves, now that he's back in the bullpen.
• Tim Dierkes wrote earlier today that “it's hard to see this as anything but a win for the Blue Jays.”
• I agree with Tim and many of the others above- it’s a win for the Blue Jays. Let’s not forget how much has to be in place for this kind of deal to happen: a creative GM who reads the market well, payroll flexibility (for Teahen’s contract), willingness from ownership to take on salary, enough appealing prospects to be able to part with Stewart and enough bullpen depth to send three quality relievers packing on the same day. This trade doesn’t seem simple and in some ways it may actually be more complicated that it appears.

I am sure this is all kinds of saber-heresey but i/r/t giving up young talent, losing Perez/Haren hurt more then Rasmus.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post confirms that the Cardinals turned down the Rays' offer of Jeff Niemann and J.P. Howell for Rasmus (Twitter link). Sherman suggests the Cardinals would have been better off accepting Tampa Bay's offer.

this isn't true, fwiw

i've always liked Niemann. i think he has a way higher ceiling than Stewart, that's for sure.

lolrussa - dumbass

Corey Patterson will make the start in right field Friday and bat leadoff against Cubs' right-hander Matt Garza. Yes, the same Patterson who has a career .292 on-base percentage.

But he's fast so he has to bat leadoff

Patterson should be the equivalent of a 3rd string backup catcher - for emergencies only, or maybe to pinchrun. Blows my mind that la russa apparently thinks he has skills

to be fair, la russa didn't directly acquire him

he shouldn't even be on the team, and when you do the kind of deal they did, you're pretty much telling the manager "play this guy"

how long has Patterson been around? I remember when he was putting up good numbers for the Cubs but he's seen unquestionably awful since then. yet still seems to get chances every year. in a leadoff spot no less.

he will be seeing a lot of bench when berkman and craig are available.

"C Patterson has 4th worst OBP among OF with 4000 PA. In the entire history of baseball" lol/cry

did u really want rafael furcal?

lolse

this is gonna be a long game

yeah dont know why they are still obsessed with furcal. but it sounds like its just $$$ and not real prospects so eh... one more double switch for TLR to make every game.

Furcals bat will heat up. He's basically been rehabbing the majors because he kept getting hurt. His defense is still good and his cannon arm is intact. Plus theriot fuckin blows.

Despite a trade market thin on shortstops, the Cardinals may have accomplished their goal of upgrading at the position, as they acquired veteran Rafael Furcal from the Dodgers today for Double-A outfielder Alex Castellanos and about $2.5MM. The 33-year-old had to waive his 10-and-5 rights for the deal to become official.

Furcal is hitting .197/.272/.248 in 152 plate appearances, but perhaps a change of scenery will rejuvenate his bat. He was hampered by a broken thumb and oblique strain this season, each injury knocking him out for about a month. Because of Furcal's 10-and-5 rights and the amount of money the Dodgers are sending, the teams needed his approval and the same from the commissioner's office regarding the money the Dodgers will be sending to the Cardinals. Furcal, the first free agent signing by Dodgers GM Ned Colletti in 2005, had about $4MM remaining on his current contract. Furcal effectively replaces Ryan Theriot at shortstop for the Cardinals; Theriot started at second base last night for the first time this season.

Castellanos, 24, is hitting .319/.379/.562 in 391 plate appearances this year, playing right and center field.

Fallout for the Dodgers: they can give prospect Dee Gordon an extended look at shortstop in the Majors, plus they save a little cash. Reportedly, infielder Jamey Carroll will be staying put.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/07/cardinals-acquire-rafael-furcal.html

Heard this: Yadier Molina just went nuclear on an umpire

indeed he did

he'll prob get suspended for a few games -- multiple bumps

told y'all no one should win the central. This game is agonizing and hilarious

Dont ask dotel

lol. i said "google nyjer" several times tonight

wow that game was awful
honestly I dont have anything against most of the Cards but TLR is such a piece of shit for intentionally hitting Braun, not just for purposely trying to injure another team's star player, but also for trying to sabotage his own team's chances of winning by putting men on in late innings during a tie game, at least the Yadi thing was fun to watch

and the winning run was on a real cheapo hit too, deserved a much better ending than that

TLR cares about proving his loyalty to his players over all else - even if it means losing.

that is why he backs them in complaining about trivial bullshit, its why he sends ryan franklin back out to blow games for 2 months, its why it took him this long to broach the subject with ryan theriot about playing 2nd base, and its why he returns HBPs. Like I dont think he signals those, its just a known amongst the pitchers that they should always do it, especially if you hit Albert.

and the winning run was on a real cheapo hit too, deserved a much better ending than that

― frogbs, Wednesday, August 3, 2011 12:47 AM (22 minutes ago) Bookmark

who could've predicted that a bloop hit would fall in between yuni & braun?

yuni's swing on 2-0 in the last inning was criminal

Got nothing on Corey Patterson's swing above his head in the 10th(?)

"Real scary. They almost got him yesterday. There's nothing intentional about it," La Russa said. "That's what all these idiots up there -- not idiots, fans are yelling and yell. Do you know how many bones you have in the hands and the face? That's where those pitches are. And Braun, we were trying to pitch him in, too, it's just a little stinger. I don't want to even hear about Braun getting a little pop in the back when we almost lose (Pujols) in several ways."

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/08/03/what-in-the-hell-was-tony-la-russa-thinking-last-night

lets just say I am totally behind what Brandon Phillips said about these guys

yeah, i mentioned it upthread a little bit, but as much as it pains me to say it, they're not very likable, apart from Berkman. Too many arguments with umpires after called 3rd strikes, and arguing with umps in general. Sure, the calls were bad last night (and the night before), but the cards are noticeably more whiny than most teams imo. and yes, la russa is fucking insane.

TLR cares about proving his loyalty to his players over all else - even if it means losing.

there is some kind of nobility to this but it goes out the window when you endlessly complain about other managers doing the same thing.
btw I am with you on that Z S, if they didn't have Lance "Fat Elvis" Berkman, they'd be completely unlikeable, but it's so hard to not root for him

yeah that la russa presser last night was total bs

i mean i understand that he can't come out & say that they threw at braun but to act as if the brewers were throwing at pujols is insane

well, he kinda did admit it, you don't even really have to read between the lines

I like Fielder's comment, "that fighting stuff is for the birds"

Berkman's even pointing it out:

There seems to be a running theme here," said Berkman, a newcomer to the feuds. “Because it’s Cardinals-Brewers, Cardinals-Reds, Cardinals-Astros, Cardinals-Cubs. The Cardinals seem to be the common threat in all of these things. I think that kind of emotion and energy is helpful

he did kinda admit it, but he also screamed at a reporter who essentially called BS to la russa's face when he denied it

to be fair, he was probably sloshed at the time

Edwin Jackson gives up 7 runs, allowed to bat for self with two runners on base in the sixth.

he was 2 for 2 at that point!!!

Fair enough!

oh yadi

yadi yadi yadi

smh

...the bullpen is really that tired huh?

what the hell? Jackson's in for the 7th!?

lol and promptly gives up a third homer to Casey McGehee. he of the .600 OPS

tlr is a GENIUS

mlb network getting ready to discuss whether the cards are the most hated team in baseball

I hope they interview Brandon Phillips!!

card fan negativity allowed

fans of other teams -> GTFO out of the thread

What about fans of no teams, like Shasta.

i lived in missouri for 4.5 years, the cardinals are my #2

shasta only allowed on Pujols birthday

Did TLR complain about LaTroy Hawkins pitching too fast?

or something

xp yep, so Hawkins quick-pitched the next 4 pitches as well

so I am pretty sure this very hot salesperson currently harassing me at work is chris dunc@n's wife. weird.

kinda lol

http://i.imgur.com/zKk8K.png

"Call it the Cardinal Rule. This is the sign in the visitors' clubhouse at Miller Park. It was posted after the Cardinals, several years ago, celebrated clinching a playoff berth by sliding down Bernie's slide."

CATCHER FIGHT

http://i.imgur.com/SmUNL.jpg

http://www.thebrewersbar.com/2011-articles/august/a-short-history-of-tony-la-russas-complaints.html

a short history of brewer world series championships:

uhhh what point are you trying to make there

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lptozxzN8l1qb0ctno1_500.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/XXNX8.jpg

Buster_ESPN Buster Olney
Rafael Furcal sprained his thumb when bracing a fall, after tripping over a rope near the batting cage here in Wrigley...

A moth crawled into Hollidays ear during the 8th and he had to leave the game. Apparently when they removed it after it was still alive. Nasty.

yeah when I heard that I had to cringe - that had happened to a someone I know and he said it was a horrible experience. basically the flapping of the wings inside your ear drives you absolutely bonkers and in order to kill it they had to inject his ear with salt. and the Cards blew the save too. what a terrible day for him.

I'm not ruling out the possibility that the "moth" was a drone remotely piloted from milwaukee

Arrrrgh, 84-86 win seasons are the WORST

uh, can we talk about next year?

starting with pujols and carpenter?

http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2011/8/23/2379006/st-louis-cardinals-future
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/08/chris-carpenters-2012-option.html

they basically underachieved for the 2nd year in a row. and every time a hole opened up (bullpen, then starters, then offense, then bullpen) they succumbed to it. I give em credit for sticking in things with no waino or closer at the start, but then you take away the plus because after the rasmus trade, they had reinforcements, had a soft schedule, and they flat out stunk.

the off-season is going to be crazy. no clue what this team will look like next season. still need a closer. still need a middle infield. need more out of garcia. need waino all year.

I agree 84-86 wins are frustrating as hell b/c you cant be like "just blow it up!"

hadn't seen tonight's horror show when I posted that. blow it up

I liked when the cards fans were booing Larussa for taking out Carpenter on Monday, then booing his subsequent pitching changes after blowing it

Arrrrgh, 84-86 win seasons are the WORST

― Z S, Tuesday, August 23, 2011 8:19 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark

83-win seasons, however...

*cough*

I liked when the cards fans were booing Larussa for taking out Carpenter on Monday, then booing his subsequent pitching changes after blowing it

I always hated Larussa as a person, but usually respected his strategies, as he usually tended to make the right moves regardless of how unconventional they were or how much the press would murder him for it. That said, he seems absolutely senile this year.

yep

it's probably heresy, but i kind of hope pujols signs with another team, assuming that they take that 200+ million dollars and do something intelligent with it

speaking of intelligence:

Matt Holliday went 1 for 3 in his return to the lineup after leaving Monday's game after an insect flew deep into his ear.
"He died overflowed of wisdom being inside my head," Holliday joked.

xpost to self

and i say that knowing full well that pujols probably has a 3-5 more epic seasons left in him and that it would be agonizing to watch him piling up those numbers for another team.

people overemphasize tony decisions. score more then 1 fucking run and taking carpenter out doesn't matter. have your closer not pitch like shit and taking carpenter out doesn't matter. if Carpenter blew it in the 9th guess what we would be hearing?

there really isn't that much I blame TLR for this season. Maybe 5 blown saves and a few games lost to Theriot's defense. otherwise injuries and players not performing.

that said, with what he has gone through with his health and what duncan is going through with his wife, wouldn't be surprised if they call it a career.

Maybe 5 blown saves and a few games lost to Theriot's defense.

plus using batista over and over in high leverage situations, and trading away rasmus.

i dunno, i agree that people tend to overemphasize the power of the manager to win or lose games, but an extra 6-8 victories and we'd still be in the thick of a division race.

a WAR of 6-8 games is like a Pujols level of value for a team.

then you gotta subtract when tony decisions won games. and then you gotta do the same for other teams who's managers may also just possibly make mistakes.

rasmus was pinch hit for last night by mark teahen, just saying.

point definitely taken. and teahen for rasmus, ouch!

larussa taking out carp didnt blow the game on monday. dude beaned the lead off batter. but still I enjoy watching cards fans turn on their manager. esp since they are the 'greatest fans in the world' (tm)

sorry cards fans =\

dodgers havent won a series in st louis since 2003, and havent swept since some time in the 90s..

also pretty sure the dodgers have exceeded the giants in run differential as of today.. and are 10 games back from 1st.

Huston Street is available for trade, if you're interested (the Rockies' likely closer in 2012 is rookie Rex Brothers).

Garcia being terrible for like 6 consecutive starts is a big problem. Really hard to plan next season without relying on him as a top 3 starter.

Big Bernie agreed with a lot of my TLR take btw ^_^ http://bit.ly/rhfaLh

"The Mean Season has officially arrived. That's when everyone, even the relentless optimists, comes to grip with the reality that the Cardinals are done. More pragmatic observers accepted this a couple of weeks ago, but the daydream believers wouldn't give in and continued to hold onto hope. But now that finality is setting it, we're seeing it get ugly, with fans booing manager Tony La Russa and thousands of empty seats at Busch Stadium. Even some of the town's more obedient talk-show hosts are turning on La Russa. La Russa also took a lashing through angry tweets on Twitter. None of this is surprising; he's the easy and obvious target. And of course fans will be impatient given the pattern of late-season collapses. After his nearly 16 seasons on the job there is considerable La Russa Fatigue; it doesn't take long for the wolfpack to begin snarling at the manager. It's human nature.

* Far more interesting to me is whether the fans and the yappers will release La Russa's neck from their jaws long enough to hold the players accountable as well. This experience has always fascinated me during the La Russa years; it actually goes back to the Joe Torre days as manager. Cardinals players largely get a free ride in our town. The instinct is to mother, nurture and swaddle the players. This does not happen in any markets that house contending teams, but it's common here. When a a season goes bad, it's always the manager that gets smacked by the ensuing storm of hostility. Oh, a few isolated players have been picked on through the years -- closers, mostly -- but nearly 100 percent of the howling is directed at the manager and the front office."

MLB.com beat writer for the Cards was on the BP podcast, made it clear that 1) a large minority of the fans don't like LaRussa, 2) Pujols playing elsewhere next year is not unthinkable.

willie mcgee and vince coleman visit the broadcast booth

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=18493785

damn i wish i had a willie mcgee bobblehead

"a large minority"?

a lot (he didnt give a pct)

even though it would take a miracle (generic sports movie voice "...they need a miracle...") for the cards to catch up, i'm still watching this series with interest. i keep telling myself that if they drop even one game to the brewers, i'm just DONE with this team this year. and even if they did sweep the brewers, the odds would be very long, but i'd have that glimmer of hope.

JAKE WESTBROOK BEST HITTER

http://i.imgur.com/01DK1l.jpg

the real crime would be if they pulled all the way back and frogbs was still banned.

they wait until winning the division is nearly impossible, and then they start to perform. sigh

man, my 2011 st. louis cardinals calendar at work is so depressing this year. just flipped the page to September and I'm greeted by a large glossy photo of Ryan Franklin. Here's the rest:

Jan: David Freese (great during the 42 games he plays every year)
Feb: Kyle Losche (overpaid)
Mar: Skip Schumaker (should not be a baseball player)
Apr: Adam Wainwright (arm has fallen off)
May: Ryan Ludwick (I believe he was traded away even before they printed this calendar?)
June: Chris Carpenter (descent into mediocrity)
July: Matt Holliday (I have heard of this guy)
Aug: Brendan Ryan (sigh)
Sept: Ryan Franklin (for pete's sake c'mon)
Oct: Albert Pujols (I have heard of this guy too, admittedly)
Nov: Yadier Molina (refuse to snark on Yadi)
Dec: Colby Rasmus (RIP)

damn

aha wow wasn't ludwick traded midseason last year?

do they print these 6 months in advance or something

saw a stat on mlb network listing the times that a cardinal other than pujols has hit 35 homers (as berkman has this year) and when "LUDWICK - 37" came up i was like O_________________________________________________________O

i remember him being good, but damn

I would buy a Yadier Molina calendar tbh.

6.5 behind Atlanta.

This year's Mets calendar was a joke. Jeff Francoeur and John Maine got their own months.

Would losing Albert Pujols really be a terrible thing?

msimonespn
@Buster_ESPN Right-handed hitters have one hit vs Motte's fastball since the All-Star Break...and he throwing it for strikes at 73 pct rate

cardinals relieved pitcher jason motte

Jayson Stark:

Whitey Herzog once said the two things a guy needs to succeed in the managing biz were a sense of humor and a good bullpen. Well, here's the proof: If all games had ended after the eighth inning this year instead of the ninth, the Cardinals would be leading the Brewers by 4½ games instead of trailing by 5½.

...intersting...

oh man, batista is warming up for the mets. if he came in and got crushed by the cardinals..oh god that would be so, so cathartic

is anyone else watching this anymore? that freese HR was the most exciting moment of the season, pretty much. it's nice to actually care who wins again

really don't want TLR and his goddamn 9 pitchers/game back in the postseason

do you want the braves and the fucking tomahawk chop?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3Z-11PxYKU

*EXTENDED*

http://i53.tinypic.com/ivby0w.gif
YESSSSSSSSSSSSS
http://i53.tinypic.com/ivby0w.gif
YESSSSSSSSSSSSS
http://i53.tinypic.com/ivby0w.gif
YESSSSSSSSSSSSS

:D

I don't particularly want the Braves, no. I'll probably go Brewers or AZ in the playoffs.

^^knows what's up

Brew Crew have some cool fans and have never won it all, they to me are by far the cool team to win it all.

All ties between Milwaukee and Selig--official and unofficial--were severed when his daughter stepped down, right? The thought of Selig lurking in the shadows is the only thing that gives me pause about rooting for the Brewers.

that's what they SAY...

berkman signed 2012, reportedly for $12 million

so is it supposed to stop raining?

http://i.imgur.com/SmGjD.jpg

the shittiest bullpen in the world strikes again

Jeeeeeeezus

motte a good look

Top 9th: NY Mets
- S. Robinson in left field
- S. Schumaker in right field
- J. Motte relieved O. Dotel
- W. Harris walked
- N. Evans safe at first on shortstop R. Furcal's fielding error, W. Harris to second
- J. Thole flied out to center
- J. Pridie hit for J. Satin
- J. Pridie walked, W. Harris to third, N. Evans to second
- J. Turner hit for M. Acosta
- J. Turner walked, W. Harris scored, N. Evans to third, J. Pridie to second
- M. Rzepczynski relieved J. Motte
- J. Reyes singled to shallow right center, N. Evans scored, J. Pridie to third, J. Turner to second
- F. Salas relieved M. Rzepczynski
- R. Tejada doubled to left, J. Pridie and J. Turner scored, J. Reyes to third
- A. Pagan intentionally walked
- D. Wright struck out swinging
- W. Harris singled to shallow right, J. Reyes and R. Tejada scored, A. Pagan to third, W. Harris to second on right fielder S. Schumaker's fielding error
- N. Evans flied out to right center

6 runs, 3 hits, 2 errors

the year of no closer

bahaha. so the last stl closer who wasn't cringe-worthy was wainwright, right?

also noting that furcal is a fucking error machine.. what happened to that dude? maybe hes worried his back will explode if he fields balls properly.

Cards' wild-card hopes hurt after collapse in 9th

- A. Pagan intentionally walked
- D. Wright struck out swinging

u r desperate, but not serious

if only wright had started the inning

Earlier in the game, the Cardinals were much looser. Corey Patterson put out a small fire in the dugout after players had given Shane Robinson a hot foot. Although some in the press box saw flames, La Russa hadn't been aware of the prank.

"There was no danger. We weren't going to let the guy's pants catch on fire," Patterson said. "I knew what was going on, but you've got to have two or three guys watching in case it gets out of hand."

Cards knocked their playoff odds down to 11% from 26% with that one loss.

Steven Goldman on TLR:

It was a strangely passive performance. The same thing struck me in Thursday’s game. When a pitcher like Motte, with good control, starts walking the ballpark, the manager’s radar should be set off by the uncharacteristic behavior. Leo Durocher used to say, “I wasn’t nailed to the bench,” meaning that when the game was in jeopardy he was free to act. LaRussa was nailed to the bench.

Cubbies tryin to nail the lid shut here

wow

yeesh, fuck u Marmol

up to sweeping Houston? pretty sweet deal

but Astros are on a 12-14 "run" in their last 26 games.

i think the one-game playoff is pretty likely here (that's what happens, right??)

yep. for the WC, it only happened with the Mets and Reds in '99?

Nope 98 and 07 too.

Full list here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_tie-breakers

oh, that bloody Holliday slide...

ROCKTOBER

big K of Pujols by Wandy to kill runner at 3rd

cards rallying, maing

the season is kinda coming down to this

this is like watching the first day of the ncaa tourney i swear

OMG PUJOLS IS SUCH A TROLL

byootiful double steal, and Fatelvis comes throo

this is like watching the first day of the ncaa tourney i swear

Do I hafta say it?

Wesley Wright weighs 95 pounds soaking wet.

Fat Elvis sending Atlanta to Heartbreak Hotel

mmm, it's early yet

that is a defensible Earl Weaver-style bunt

for some reason mlb network switched off this game

so how will it work if the Cards make it? has to be Brewers/Dbacks and Philles/Cards right?

yes

Jay with the Rey Ordonez-style timely popup

Nick Punto, complete baseball player.

nick punto

besides Carlos Lee and Bourgeious I don't recognize a single hitter in this Astros lineup

Ol' Dirtnap

Can't wait until Adron Chambers is up w/ runners in scoring position and two outs while Berkman sits.

he almost had a roof disaster there...

It figured we'd have one endless game tonight.

haha, fuck you and yr doubles trot, Yadier.

It makes a fel-la proud to be an Asssstro!

I missed it what happened?

TLR defensive replacements i.e. why get another AB to Freese and Furcal in a tie game when you could have Nick Punto and Daniel Descalso.

buuuut to put it all on TLR is a stretch. Cards haven't solved Wandy in like 3 years.

(apparently furcal was hurt)

wait, what??

out for next two. punto time ;(

furcal?? hurt????

G Laird PH

furcal hurt, holiday hurt, albert hurt(?)

cards alive ^_^

9 outs for our pen to get D:

turtle molina has gone 1st to home TWICE in one night.
800 yr old arthur rhodes is in, hide under your blankets

damn, so if the cards hold on they'll be two ties for the wild card race tomorrow...thank god we don't have the second wild card yet!!!

sanchez mows down 3 outs in 6th.
TLR leaves him in to bat in 7th.
takes him out after 1 easy out in 7th.......

sadly holliday is out so he can't pull berkman.

kind of cute
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngmmJ8hyiH8

awful
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJtdYwDqLYU

shit, now I have to root for fucking TLR to beat the Philths.

from cheering phils to instant loathing

team deserves massive props. looked completely beat after brewers smacked them down.

TLR will get no credit