INSANITY!

I don’t get it. I just…I really don’t get it. How do Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan sit down for dinner, begin discussing the Cardinals’ pitching situation, and conclude that Adam Wainwright can best help the Cardinals by pitching out of the ‘pen? It’s times like this that I desperately wish I could somehow email the Cardinals’ dugout and lay the e-smack down on their coaches. What are they thinking?!?!

In a previous post ( http://cardsnstuff.wordpress.com/2008/08/06/close-but-no-closer/ ), I addressed the Waino in the closer role discussion like this:

You don’t take an ace quality pitcher and limit his innings. What would you think if the Cubs suddenly moved Rich Harden to the closer role? Or the Brewers suddenly yanked Sheets out of the rotation and inserted him into the ninth inning? I’ll tell you what my reaction would be…Whoo Hoo! The fewer innings I have to face those guys, the better…and if they are the closer, a lead by my team means I don’t have to face them at all. The same is true of Wainwright. You want to make Brewers and Cubs fans happy? Move Waino to the closer role.

Now, the discussion has “popped” up again – Waino to the ‘pen.

Let’s think about this…the Cardinals have a 2-game series coming up next week against the Brewers. In that series, they have a realistic chance of throwing Carp and Waino at them back-to-back to possibly put us in a virtual tie for the Wild Card, if not better. Instead, Duncan says it’s “unlikely” that the two co-aces will co-exist in the rotation in the foreseeable future. If Carp is healthy and appears ready to go, Waino is likely scheduled to appear in the ‘pen. If not, Carp is out and Waino is in the rotation.

This is absolutely ridiculous. It’s as close as it comes to baseball insanity.

Let me tell you what’s going to happen. Carp is going to be healthy after his side session this week. TLR and Dunc will insert him into the rotation schedule for the first game against the Brewers. Then, someone else will pitch the second game – Joel? Wellemeyer? Whoever it is, they won’t be as good as Wainwright, and the Brewers lineup, after being frustrated by Carp all night long the day before, will tee off against our starting pitcher in the early innings of the second game. It will be four or five to nothing in the third or fourth inning…and when the Brewers leave town, they’ll load our playoff hopes onto their Milwaukee-bound greyhound and carry them right out of St. Louis. And Wainwright will be sitting in the ‘pen, having never even glimpsed the mound for lack of a save situation, wondering why his manager kept his best bullet in his pocket when the Cardinals were clearly in a life or death situation.

Absurd.

A fan on the Post-Dispatch forum was praising the bullpen for their recent improvement. Apparently, this fan was praising Mo for not getting bullpen help at the deadline. Sure, Mo did the right thing, but not because this ‘pen didn’t need the help – because it did – but simply because the price was too high…by far (K-Mac, Garcia, Bryan Anderson, plus 1 for Fuentes? I think not…). So, if this ‘pen didn’t improve through trade, and they didn’t improve because they didn’t need the help in the first place, why did they improve?

Because of the starting pitchers.

Our rotation has finally been consistently going longer than 5 innings for a comparatively long stretch of time. And, lo’ and behold, our bullpen has improved. Wow. Imagine that…starting pitchers working deep in games actually improves the bullpen. Who would’ve ever “thunk” it? This is not a new concept, people. This is why we need Wainwright AND Carp in the rotation.

I know, I know…you’re reading this thinking, “They aren’t ready to go that deep in games, yet!” First of all, they’re more ready than we think…considering the type of pitchers they are in the first place (low-count, ground ball, efficient starters). Carp and Waino could do more with 70 pitches than most MLB pitchers can do with 100. But, you do have a point…they aren’t fully conditioned to pitch 7 strong innings…yet. Of course, Wainwright would get a start against Atlanta before the Brewers series to build some stamina, but that’s just one game.

So, why am I still implying they could help the ‘pen if their stamina isn’t 100%? Because they battle. Because they refuse to break. When Joel and Lohse are pitching in the seventh in a one run game with runners at first and second with one out, chances are, they’re going to score. But with Adam and Carp…those guys can and will bear down and get out of the inning. Why is that important? Because just having them in the game, in the same situation as the other starters, means you get to save at least one and possibly two relievers out of the ‘pen each time they start a game. With Lohse and Joel, Tony’s going to have to go to Springer or some combination of Villone/Garcia and a righty-to-be-named-later. He’s going to have to stretch McClellan and Perez or both because he needs the big outs. And all that mix and match relief pitching depletes the ‘pen and makes us vulnerable for subsequent games.

I’ll put it this way…with ace quality pitching on the mound, your bullpen is a luxury…a fall-back plan in case things don’t…well…go as planned. Sure, you usually (and will in their case) have to use them, but you don’t have to use them near as much. With the other 3 or 4 starters in our rotation, however…the bullpen IS the plan. You enter the game knowing your ‘pen is going to be in the game by, at best, the seventh inning. And, because the run differential is most likely going to be smaller with a middle or back end of the rotation starter, you’re going to have to use more bullpen pitchers to get the same number of outs if they come in to back up Joel or Lohse than if they came in to back up Waino and/or Carp. Why? Because your margin for error is much smaller with the other guys. You can’t afford to let Villone face a lefty, a righty, and a lefty in the seventh inning of a one run game…you’ve got to bring in Springer or K-Mac. But if those guys are backing up Waino/Carp, then the run differential may look more like 2 or 3 or even 4 runs…and then, all of a sudden, you’ve got some options to play with…and maybe Villone goes a batter or two longer…or he never comes in the game at all because K-Mac is able to handle it.

Look…the bottom line is this…the Cards are a better team with Wainwright AND Carpenter in the rotation…Period. I don’t care what you throw back at me…that’s just simple, common sense truth. And TLR and Dunc have got to get over their “I can’t sleep with this many rookies in the ‘pen” mentality and realize that our playoff hopes (both making it and winning once we get there) are much better when our two co-aces are actually allowed to be aces in the rotation.

Period.

Jim Edmonds says “Thank You” for standing ovation from Cards fans

Jim Edmonds finally said “thank you” to Cardinals fans for giving him a respectful standing ovation upon his return to Busch Stadium back in July. From Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post Dispatch:

When FSN’s Brent Stover and Claiborne (KTRS) approached Edmonds after the game for a quickie on-field interview that has become standard procedure for MLB rights holders, Edmonds blew them off and said:

“I’m (censored) done with St. Louis TV and radio and I’m (censored) done with the Cardinals.”

And then he walked into the Cubs dugout.

Later in the game, Edmonds homered twice off of Cards pitching – the only two runs for the Cubs until the 11th when the small bears finally won it – and made one of his spectacular diving grabs he’s become famous for in center field. After the first homer, Edmonds performed a dramatic and pointed flip of his bat directly towards the Cardinals dugout. After the second, a less dramatic but no less pointed flip of the bat in the same direction. Cubs fans promptly drooled over Jimmy and begged him for a curtain call – to which he more than graciously responded by stepping out of the dugout and waiving his little cap.

Can we finally let Jim Edmonds go? Can the Jimmy Baseball/Ballgame love-fest finally end?

Edmonds has moved on – why can’t we? He doesn’t want to be a Cardinal. He doesn’t want to be remembered as a Cardinal. He doesn’t want to be treated as a Cardinal. But he sure as hell wants you to keep frequenting his restaurant. He sure as hell wants you to keep fawning all over him like the second coming of Stan “The Man” Musial.

Edmonds makes some comments in Chicago, Tony gets upset, and the St. Louis media (and fans) call La Russa vindictive, stubborn, ridiculous, etc. Tony makes some comments in return, Edmonds gets upset, and the St. Louis media (and fans) scream, “Not us, Jimmy! Tony doesn’t speak for us!” The media accuses Tony of stoking the fire that burned hot enough already. But Jimmy…oh, no…he’s just trying to distance himself from the rival of his current team. He’s just trying to endear himself to the doubting Cubs fans and Chicago media. Totally understandable that Jimmy Baseball…stand up guy, he is…

Bullshit.

I love Jim Edmonds as much as the next Cardinals fan – but let’s not act like toddlers here…Jim Edmonds is a Cub, and he’s absolutely acting like one. Let it go, fans…the man only wants to be associated with the Cardinals when it benefits him…such as receiving cheers and a standing ovation in Busch instead of boos and angry chants of “Jimmy Go Home! Jimmy Go Home!” or “Traaaaitor…Traaaaitor…”

Grow up, fans…move on…and the next time you see Jim Edmonds, try not to wet your pants with glee…after all, he’s “(censored) done with” you. In the immortal words of Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon, “Hate ‘im back. Works for me.”

Will the Real St. Louis Cardinals Please Stand Up?

The eFlu sucks. And, despite their early responses, WordPress tech support has been dead in the water and useless ever since. So to hell with ‘em! We’re movin’ on…

“And Lo, though I walk through the Valley of Trade Rumors, I shall fear no MoneyBall GMs with deception in their hearts and injured pitchers on their rosters!”  – The Book of Jocketty, 15: 30

What a week. In the words of a random poster on the St. Louis Post Dispatch forums, “It doesn’t even hurt anymore.” Okay, that’s not entirely accurate…but it’s not far off. During the Lohse/Santana game, I found myself laughing at points where I would normally be creating new, inventive curse words to describe poor play. I just couldn’t help myself. It all feels like a bad dream…or perhaps some lost scene from the recent Jack Black movie Be Kind, Rewind.

Has something happened to our beloved St. Louis Cardinals? Are they secretly trapped in some Cambodian wilderness, livng off nuts and berries, carefully picking their way through guerrilla-infested jungles after a Pujols-charity-mission gone wrong? Such a calamity could certainly explain the imposters currently attempting to fake their way through MLB games on Fox Sports Midwest. Such a group seems determined to actually pass themselves off as ball-players (I’m pretty sure Mitchell Boggs is actually Jack Black with a sock-stuffed uniform…but maybe that’s just my ancient 1989 Sanyo T.V. set on the fritz again..), but alas…we are not fooled. The ruse is over.

Will the real St. Louis Cardinals please stand up?

This week, Chris Carpenter finally makes his return to the rotation. Make no mistake…this is huge. Carpenter is, in addition to Pujols, “the” significant piece of the St. Louis Cardinals’ identity. He embodies Dave Duncan’s philosophy, Tony La Russa’s work ethic, and the “Play Like a Cardinal” tenacity fans beg for from their players. True, the results this Wednesday won’t be “Carp like,” but Carpenter WILL be himself. His presence on this team will elevate the pitching staff, solidify the confidence of the position players, and re-energize a coaching staff that is at its wit’s end trying to figure out what combination of AAA pitchers can adequately fill the Cy Young void left by our Ace’s absence. The bullpen – over-worked, over-stressed, and overwhelmed – will finally be able to enter a game and face a lineup suitably lulled to sleep by the rhythmic work of an efficient, effective starter. Instead of bailing out a starter struggling against a team playing hand-ball with the outfield fence in the fifth or sixth inning, they’ll be able to enter the game with only the expectation of continuing the innings-eating pace set by the pitcher who came before them. I know…Carp won’t look like the Carp we know…but seriously…won’t ANY Carp be an upgrade from the starters we’ve seen in the past?

Adam Wainwright is also spinning good news…despite the idiocy being tossed about by some members of the front office regarding Waino as a closer. The Brewers have Sheets and C.C., the Cubs have Harden and Zambrano, Wellemeyer and Looper have been lucky to make it past the fourth or fifth inning within three runs of the lead, Joel can’t pitch his way out of a wet paper bag, Lohse just got tagged for 7 runs in 5+ innings, Carp hasn’t pitched since Opening Day of 2007 – and the front office is considering throwing Wainwright into the bullpen????!!!! Idiocy abounds in St. Louis. If Waino can’t go as a starter for the rest of this season, the season is over anyway…Adam in the bullpen will solve NOTHING. Remember, it’s not enough to make the post season – we passed the “I’m just happy to be here” mentality years ago – we have to be able to compete. With Wainwright in the pen, we can’t…we just can’t…(Need I remind you what happened when we faced Randy Johnson and Kurt Schilling in the playoffs a few years ago?).

So…let’s review thus far…the Cards are attempting to reclaim their winning identity, and the return of Carp and Waino is going to go a long way in doing that…but at least one more piece is missing. Barring a trade/call-up/new idea (I’m still intrigued by the possibility of Jess Todd as a closer ala Waino’s rookie campaign…), this team needs to resolve the closer role…and quickly. TLR believes both Franklin and Izzy are distracted by each other’s presence – Izzy because he wants the closer role and Frank because he feels like he’s taking Izzy’s spot. TLR’s answer? Frank’s the closer and he’ll just explain it to them.

????…seriously? Has he been watching the games? Okay, I know Izzy’s gotten tagged a couple times in the ninth recently…but I really believe that is a combination of bad luck and distractions. Will Izzy be a dominant closer again? No way. But he HAS to be the guy right now. We have to plug him into the role again (reference his short work of the Wright/Delgado/Beltran lineup just the other day), and then we can restore some order in the bullpen. Franklin can go back to his specialty in the 8th, K-Mac can go back to his 7th inning work, and Ron/Randy (ugh…) can again focus on lefties alone. And the best part…? Russ Springer can be used to spell Izzy in the ninth and come in when there are runners on base in a key situation. I’m telling you…Izzy may not be perfect, but he HAS to be “the guy” right now. We plug him in, and see what he’s got. If he can’t get it done…we get rid of him. Ugh…it hurts to say that…I love Izzy…but this team can no longer afford to babysit a closer that won’t be here next year…and Izzy knows it.

Would it really be that bad to say to Izzy, “Look…we love you man, but we need a dominant closer to contend…you’re just not there anymore. But, we want you to get 300, so we’ll do whatever we can to help you…trade you for nothing, accept the rest of your salary so a team will give you a shot…whatever it takes. How ’bout it? See you on Jason Isringhausen Day in ‘09?” We did Reyes a favor by sending him to Cleveland…can’t we do better for Jason?

That’s all I’ve got for today. Expect some kind of roster move involving Boggs today…we have 4 outfielders (counting Ank) but only 3 are currently playable. Boggs is going down anyway, and this team needs a fourth playable outfielder. Is it time to end Barton’s rehab assignment? Or will Nick “The Stick” get another shot at the Bigs? Too bad Rasmus is injured…this could have been “the day” – with Dunc injured and likely to get traded if the team DOES make a deal (him or Schu), Raz could very well have started his Cardinal era today…

Ah well…GO CARDS!!!

UPDATE!  Nick “The Stick” has been recalled from AAA to fill out the depleted outfield bench. Mitchell Boggs has been optioned to AAA as expected.