Bird Watching: Put Me in, Coach…

Over the coarse of the season, one expects such a playing-time log-jam as the Cardinals have in the outfield to work itself out – it has not. In fact, it’s only gotten worse. The five Cardinals outfielders’ stats currently look like so:

At first glance, the decision seems simple: Play Ankiel, Ludwick, and Schumaker. But, hold on there…are these really the best three options in the outfield? Rumor has it that Johnny Mo just may trade one of these promising young outfielders for an impact bat later in the season. So who gets the boot? If you’re going to trade one away, you better make darn sure it’s the right one. But determining who is the right one can be complicated.

Many Cardinals fans want to see Chris Duncan shipped out. While I understand their perspective, I urge caution. Duncan has it in him to be an incredibly intimidating power hitter with an above average on-base percentage. He may have struggled earlier in the season, but something has since changed. I think he’s simply standing more erect at the plate to take advantage of his height-induced power – but what do I know? The point is, he’s getting better, which means the club has to find out just how “better” he can be before committing him to the trading block. Only problem is, Duncan can’t get better without consistent playing time – something that is hard to come by on this crowded roster.

Other Cardinals fans are ready to give Skip Schumaker a one-way ticket out of St. Louis if it means an “impact bat.” Okay…Skip’s qualities aside (see “Making a Case for Schumaker…”), who do you hit lead-off? The answer tends to be Brian Barton…but the young right-handed hitter is struggling mightily. Word is, Barton is not the most fundamentally sound player to begin with…a moment spent watching any of his limited at-bats will tell you that much. He has a reputation for being “that guy” – the one who looks horrid in practice but gets it done in a game…the type the coaches can’t quite figure out. Here’s the problem with being “that guy” – he tends to be pretty difficult to predict. To me, poor fundamentals and inconsistent practice/game performance equals holes in his swing and an easily exposed hitter. How can we commit long-term to a guy like that? Yet that is exactly how many fans see it…Brian Barton as part of the future of this franchise. So…again…how do you figure that out? Well, playing time, of course…of which we are in short supply.

As if the log-jam in the Bigs wasn’t enough, young players like Joe Mather and Nick Stavinoha are pushing hard from Triple A. Mather is hitting .313 with 8 home runs (last I heard, 5 of the last 6 games included a Mather HR – 2 of which were game winners – one of those being a walk-off shot) while Stavinoha is pasting the ball at a tune of .378 and 6 home runs. Mather is considered the better athlete, but Stavinoha may be too much to ignore. So…when do you bring THOSE guys up for a shot? And that doesn’t even take into account the highly anticipated Rasmus (currently struggling with a .182 avg and 6 home runs) who is expected to crack the roster late this year.

This truly is a conundrum. People call this a “good problem to have,” but it is still a problem. Don’t get me wrong – having this many promising outfield options is a good thing, but figuring out which one is the future of the franchise…whew…let’s just say I wouldn’t wanna’ be Johnny Mo right about now. No one wants to see another Danny Haren deal.

All in all, the gluttony of talented outfielders is refreshing. I remember last season when Ludwick was brought up to inject some life into the offense. No one really expected him to stick, but stick he has – and with authority. This year, it’s a matter of playing time – no single outfielder can get enough, and all of them desperately need it. The result is an eerie excitement when players like Ankiel are briefly side-lined with minor discomfort. In his absence, La Russa is able to give Duncan and Barton the as-of-yet unavailable playing time needed to both get them on track and evaluate them.

The short of it is this: Someone is going to get traded. But even that comes with it’s difficulties.

Barton is a Rule 5 guy, meaning he has to stay with the club all season or be offered back to the Indians for $25,000. Trading him is no less complicated.

Duncan is the much-publicized son of pitching coach Dave Duncan. While the Duncans are professionals (and one son, Shelly, already plays for another pinstriped club), trading away the coach’s son is no easy thing.

Even the players we may look to keep pose their own problems. Ankiel is represented by the reprehensible Scott Boras, and who the hell knows how to determine the long-term contract value of an injury prone, 30 year old guy with a screw in his hip like Ludwick?

In fact, the only guy that seems to be simple to predict and easy to deal with – Schumaker – seems to be the one most threatened by the rise of Rasmus.

No, this log-jam has most certainly NOT worked itself out…but it is a good problem to have. Just think – with our improved minor league system and player development, this is exactly the kind of problem we can look forward to year after year for many years to come.

BIRD SEEDS

Cesar Izturis Finally Found a Bat His Size  Lil’ Izzy has turned some heads this month. Coming into Spring Training, the defensively-minded shortstop’s offense was in question. Coming into the Regular Season, his defense wasn’t much better. But both have been excellent as of late. The scrappy little switch-hitter has hit to the tune of a .327 AVG, .386 OBP, and a .404 SLG percentage during the month of May. And to top it all off, the little guy shot a HR to left field last night against the Padres in PETCO. I didn’t know the guy had it in ‘im…

Mark Mulder Now Thinks the Cards’ Medical Staff is Just F***ing with Him  It happened again. Mark Mulder has been shut down for 10-14 days after experiencing some kind of problem getting his arm where he wants it to go. GAH! At this point, I’m seriously doubting that we’ll every see Mulder pitch this year. This latest bout with shoulder discomfort now makes it nearly unthinkable that he will make a return by mid-July (as he previously expected), but it’s got me wondering if he’ll ever pitch in a Cardinals uniform again. It also makes me wonder…just what kind of online degrees do our club doctors have, anyway? At some point, the law of averages states they have to get SOMETHING right…eventually…don’t they?

Ryan Ludwick Prooves the Existence of Spontaneous Combustion Luddy is flat-out killing the ball. In fact, he’s so hot, other Cardinals players have been reporting burns to the face and hands immediately after celebratory encounters with the right fielder. Tony La Russa has even taken to hiding a small canister of fire-retardent foam in the dugout before each game – just in case. When asked if Ludwick’s hitting streak will earn him more playing time, La Russa gave a practical response. “Of course. I’m gonna’ run him out there every chance I get. Can’t have a guy like that sitting in the dugout too long. These benches are made of wood – not to mention the safety of the players and staff.”

Chris Perez – the Future is Now  Chris Perez, the Cardinals’ future closer from Triple A, has finally made his debut with the Big League club. Now that he’s up, and considering the occasional ineffectiveness of the bullpen (I’m being kind…very kind), how in the hell do you send a guy like him back down? I don’t care if Izzy comes back spitting 95 mph fastballs out his arse…this kid’s here to say.

Bird Watching: All Hands on Deck

Last night was exactly what the Cardinals needed. With Adam Wainwright on the mound for the Cards and Dave Bush on the mound for the Brew Crew, a win was assured. It was a win the Cardinals desperately needed – but it was a win that would not be realized. Instead of handily trouncing the rival club’s worst pitcher (Bush was 0 – 4 coming into last night), our scrappy young bird-ballers dropped a hair-puller in 8 – 3 fashion. They’ve now lost 5 of their last 6 and have fallen a game behind the Cubs for first place in the NL Central.

We knew this was coming, though…didn’t we? Before the game, Bernie Miklasz of StlToday.com posted the following in response to a fan discussion regarding Molina in the 2-spot:

“Dave Bush is a terrible pitcher, and if they can’t beat him with this or any other lineup, then it’s futile… so enough already with the overreaction.”

Thanks for the jinx, Bernie. Cardinals hitters mustered just 4 hits and 1 earned run against Bush while Brewers hitters effectively punished Wainwright for mistakes up in the zone and over the heart of the plate. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not picking on the Cardinals or Bernie. I love both of them emphatically. But I think it is appropriate to point out our over-confidence entering this game (including myself), and that is one reason why I believe we desperately needed a game such as this one even more, perhaps, than a win. Let me explain…

The past week has been a tough one for the Cards. After starting strong, the club lost the final two games in Colorado while playing – well – just plain sloppy. Enter Milwaukee and a new beginning, right? Wrong. The Cardinals’ sloppy play and bad-luck breaks continued, and the visiting club dropped 3 of 4 while the stalking Chicago Cubs caught fire, torching the eye-opening Arizona Diamondbacks. Everything that could happen did happen – or at least it seemed that way.

After blowing saves in both Colorado and Milwaukee, Jason Isringhausen stepped down as the club’s closer. The rest of our bullpen has seemingly gone over to the dark side. Yadier Molina was quickly (and ridiculously) tossed from a game for “arguing” balls and strikes. His manager quickly followed. Our staff ace was chased with 8 runs (some earned, some not). The Brewers’ Ryan Braun homered twice…per game…in two separate games…on two consecutive days. And the usually sure-handed Adam Kennedy dropped what should have been a routine fly ball in shallow right field with 2 outs (two more runs scored).

You knew a game like this was coming…and we desperately needed it. In last night’s game, all hell broke loose. The Cardinals lost their cool, and so did I as I screamed at the TV, “Drill someone! Just drill him!” We came into this game over-confident, hoping our staff ace could over-match their staff whipping boy and halt the skid with minimal effort from the rest of us. And that’s exactly how it appeared it would go in the first when Ank lifted a solo shot over the wall for a one run lead. But then it all fell apart…and we were brought back to earth just a bit with a very sobering end to a god-awful road trip. Screw the road. I hate the road.

So why did we need a game like last night, again? Because it humbled us with a slap to the face that served as a reminder – no one is going to step aside and give us this division. We are NOT the best team out there. Every game we win is going to have to be earned the hard way. Considering the scrappy nature of this team, I think remembering that is important. But there was another reason why we needed last night’s game. It allowed us to purge – a thick, puss-like purge – before heading back to St. Louis for a little bit of home-cookin’. Couldn’t you just feel the build-up from the road trip? All the “what ifs” and “if onlys” hanging in the air from previous road games? What if Albert had caught that foul ball? What if Duncan had not misplayed that ball in left? And on, and on, and on… We needed a bottom-out game like this…one that ripped all excuses from us – our best pitcher vs. their worst pitcher should be a slam dunk. But it wasn’t. It was a wake-up call.

I can hear Cardinals Nation waking up this morning and panicking, the cry of “All hands on deck!” ringing through the St. Louis air. But let’s not lose perspective. This game was coming. It was indicative of the entire road trip. In fact, ask yourself…which would you rather have…a win last night that simply served to put off the inevitable bottom-out that you knew was coming…or the loss we got that should serve as a reboot the day before we get to come home against one of the perennial bottom-dwellers in our division? I’ll take the reboot…especially just before a long road trip. In fact, I think this game is exactly what we needed.

But that still doesn’t mean I forgive Bernie…next time, let’s just leave the sleeping bear alone, okay?

BIRD SEEDS

Say it ain’t so, Jimmy!  Jim Edmonds, Cardinals great for much of the last decade, may be signing with the Chicago Cubs this week. Jim was unceremoniously dumped by the San Diego Padres after requesting the Cardinals trade him to that very club during the off season. He was off to a horrid start (.178 and 1 HR) and appears to have lost a step or two in center field…but I still hurt for him. I love Jim Edmonds. He was a true Cardinal and a joy to watch. That said, if he sides with the enemy this season, I would rank such a betrayel right up there with Anakin Skywalker’s turn to the dark side. Hopefully, he can still be saved.

Unassisted Triple Play – Wow!  Asdrubal Cabrera of the Cleveland Indians (say that five times fast…I dare ya’) turned a rare unassisted triple play in last night’s game against the Blue Jays. That’s just amazing. We will always go out of our way to recognize truly great baseball on this blog – Cardinals-related or not. Check out the story on mlb.com: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080512&content_id=2686835&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Izzy is a True Professional  Jason Isringhausen is exactly what you want out of a professional baseball player…especially in St. Louis. After heroically (and secretly) attempting to battle through a horrendously painful hip injury a few years ago, Izzy has humbly recognized his own ineffectiveness and asked to be removed from the closer’s role just 8 saves shy of 300. That’s ballsy right there, fans. Izzy has given more than you know to this organization over the years – and he’s done so amidst an unusually unforgiving crowd in St. Louis. The guy is a true class act, and I sincerely hope he makes it back to his old form – so treat him with some respect, mmm-k? In fact, if I see a fan booing Izzy, I think I might just slap him full-on across the face.

Chris Duncan is Coming Around  Speaking of giving a player a break, how ’bout throwing one Chris Duncan’s way? I’ve been right there with you in my living room yelling at his outfield guffaws, but the guy is working hard and getting better. In fact, his last few games at the plate have been immeasurably better with a few RBIs and a homerun. We really need him to turn it around, and it looks like he’s headed in the right direction.

Someone Put Cesar Izturis in a Straight Jacket!  Twice now…twice he has swung on the first pitch in a critical situation. The first was against Jeff Suppan immediately after he walked 3 baserunners to load the bases. Cesar swings at the first pitch and dribbles it back to the pitcher. The second was last night after Bush had walked the two previous hitters in the midst of a ninth inning rally with one out. Cesar quickly jumped on the first pitch to become the second out and severely handicap the rally. GAH! Here’s hoping someone pulls him aside and teaches him a bit about situational at-bats.

Ryan vs. Izturis: Round 1

Alright…look…I respect Izturis – anyone whose favorite player of all time is Ozzie Smith HAS to respect a gold-glove shortstop – but enough is enough.

Cesar Izturis has produced a whopping .143 batting average in 5 games and 14 ABs. Okay, okay – so we didn’t pick him up for his offense. That’s fine…no problem…let’s take a look at his defense. In 5 games, Izturis has already committed 2 fielding errors. COME ON!

Brendan Ryan, on the other hand, is hitting to the tune of a .444 average, .667 SLG%, and the man even has an RBI (no, it’s not “a” RBI – that sounds stupid – RBI is a term all its own, now – so deal!). He’s done all this in 5 games and 10 ABs while committing ZERO fielding errors. In fact, I believe Matthew Leach used the phrase “looking solid” when describing Ryan’s defense thus far.

While participating on the ever-popular blog of our generous Cardinals beat writer (Matt Leach), I asked him the question: “What are the chances that Ryan will be the starting shortstop on Opening Day?” His answer: “Virtually nil.” He went on to explain that the job was Izturis’ to lose and that would only happen if he imploded and Ryan excelled.

I have to say, I completely agree…and that’s the way it should be (I’m a big veteran supporter)…but that’s exactly what’s happening!!! Ryan is getting the job done – amidst the pressure of competing for a job, I might add – and Izturis is showing his age.

I gotta’ say, the move was made with good intentions, but the Cesar Izturis experiment is a bust – give the job to Ryan and let’s move on…

(I’m gonna’ feel like a boob if Ryan commits 3 fielding errors and strikes out 3 times tonight…)