Miscellaneous Items...

After last night's extra inning loss to the Pirates, I'm too depressed to dwell on the negative (e.g., lack of timely hitting, continued bullpen issues, etc.). So, instead, I'll just hit you with a barrage of miscellaneous Redbird items:

1) Rick Hummel has news on the continued rise of minor league pitching prospect Jaime Garcia. From Mr. Hummel's article at stltoday.com:

While the Cardinals await Mulder's progress, another lefthander is making his mark in the farm system. Jaime Garcia, promoted from Class AA Springfield to Class AAA Memphis after posting a 2.06 ERA in Double-A, pitched seven shutout innings for Memphis at Tucson on Tuesday in his second Triple-A start. Garcia allowed just six hits and fanned six in a 6-0 Memphis win. In his first two starts at Memphis, he has an 0.69 ERA.

2) It was nice to see Troy Glaus go yard last night, especially in a key situation in the game. Any chance he'll start to heat up? If so, he could be a real difference maker for this team. While I acknowledge the club has bullpen issues, some of the problems could be negated if the Redbirds could just start scoring more runs.

3) It appears Jimmy Edmonds is set to sign with the Cubs. How weird is that? I've sat in the right field bleachers at Wrigley and listened to Cubs fans taunt Edmonds unmercifully (though creatively) as he patrolled his ground in center. And now they will try to embrace him as one of their own. I'm not sure how much Jimmy has left to offer on the field, but I know he has a lot to offer the saloon keepers on Rush Street. Have fun Jimmy. We wish you the best.

4) Cards GM John Mozeliak is having a chat over at stltoday.com this afternoon. You can go here if you'd like to post a question for Mo.

5) Colby Rasmus continues to struggle. He's managed 0 hits in his last 9 ABs, and his average has sunk to .194.

6) How about Jess Todd, you ask? Well, since his promotion to AA Springfield, Todd has started two games in the Cardinals' minor league "piggyback" system, pitched 9.1 innings and has posted a tidy 0.00 ERA. Todd has struck out eight batters, walked four and opponents are hitting .129 against him.

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Today's Musical Pick: "Thirty Three" by Smashing Pumpkins.

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Here are some highlights from John Mozeliak's online chat today with fans at stltoday.com. First, on closer prospect Chris Perez:

roger from lake tahoe: moe, thanks so much for taking our questions. it seems easier to me to promote perez than to ask others in established roles to change. our pitchers are doing the job and i was taught that " if it ain't broke, don't fix it." my thinking is that perez is already used to pitching the ninth. all he would change is the caliber of hitters he would face, his mind would stay where it is. that seems easier than messing with the machine. i understand the money implications, but winning is more important. please share your thoughts. again, thanks

John Mozeliak: I agree and I would expect Perez to get his opportunity soon. He has exciting stuff and he making great progress at Memphis. I'm not sure if we would have him close right away put when he does get his chance it will be more than a mop up role.

On Barry Bonds:

Aaron: Mo, outfield has been playing great and it is great to see with all the youth out there. But the big question is WHY NOT BARRY BONDS? You might think I answered my own question with my first line but I didn't. We need Pujols protection! I would walk Pujols every time someone was on base to face either Ludwick, Glaus or Ankiel and I think all 3 are very good players. It has already been proven if they do that you can hold the Cardinals to 4.5 runs a game not bad but not great....Can you please tell me why we are not looking seriously at bring Bonds to St. Louis?

John Mozeliak: A lot has been written about us pursuing Bonds, but I assure you they are all rumors. We have tried to stick to our plan and give this outfields a chance to play everyday, and I don't think that will change.

Our boy C70 tried to sneak one in for the bloggers:

Cardinal70: How much perusing of the Cardinal blogs do you do on a regular basis? I know that you have mentioned in the past that you read Viva El Birdos. Do you check out any of the other ones around the Cardinal blogosphere? And, as a followup, the Dodgers recently had a Bloggers Night where Dodger bloggers watched the game from a box and talked to front office folks and other related team officials. Would this be something the Cardinals would consider?

John Mozeliak: I don't read them as much as I would if I had more time, but I pay attention to what is being said. Abbamondi and Girsch both keep tabs on it and cut and paste things from time to time. I learned years ago you never know where a good idea may come from.

On abandoning the Cards' traditional approach to paying "slot $" for draft picks (by the way, MLBTR has the Top 10 MLB Draft Picks as projected by Jonathan Mayo from MLB.com):

philskill: Hi, Phil here from Granite City IL. In this years draft, will we take the best available player, even if the contract demands or high, or will we pass once again on a guy like Rick Porcello, who appeared to be the best arm in the draft last year, but slid down to detroit. If we are marketing a youth movement to the fans, then I believe that we need to take the best available player in the draft, even if contract demands are a bit high. If a guy like alvarez somehow slides because of contract demands, do we pull the trigger?

John Mozeliak: Our strategy will be to take the best player available, and if that means we have to go above the slot then we are prepared to do it. I would also add that we want to sign the best players we can, but we do have a value system the players meet for us to invest in them. Our scouts play a huge role in this.

On Chris Carpenter:

Bob in Denver: Mo, I haven't read anything about Carp lately. With the dissapointment in Mulder's rehab, how is Carp coming along?

John Mozeliak: I try to speak or write on Carp because everything is going so well, so I do not want to jinx it. He is currently throwing all his pitches and more importantly he feels good. Mulder should begin his next rehab in the next few weeks, and we are hopeful his latest setback is behind him.

More on the Closer Situation...

Rumors are swirling that the Cards have called-up Chris Perez from AAA Memphis. Part of me hopes this is true, but the more likely scenario is that Perez would've been called-up had Isringhausen been placed on the DL. Joe Strauss' column at the P-D yesterday details this dust up between Izzy and a clubhouse TV set:

Isringhausen sought a meeting with La Russa immediately after Friday's loss and, according to club sources, delivered two open-handed swats at the television in La Russa's office.

The blows cut Isringhausen's right palm badly enough that the club considered disabling him and notified its Triple-A Memphis affiliate to ready Chris Perez for a possible promotion. The club reconsidered after Isringhausen arrived at the park Saturday; La Russa insisted he was available to pitch.

As noted in yesterday's post, I believe Perez to be a top option for the Cards' closer role, but only if Ryan Franklin and/or Kyle McClellan falter in that spot. Ideally, you'd like to see both Perez and Jason Motte in set-up roles later this year or in 2009, and then decide which player is best suited for the ninth inning based on their major league performance.

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The Cards go for a split if the 4-game set vs. Milwaukee tonight, and try to salvage a .500 roadtrip before heading back to Busch to face the Pirates and Tampa Bay Rays. Adam Wainwright (3-1, 2.25 ERA) faces RHP Dave Bush (0-4, 6.98 ERA) in the series finale. Joe Strauss reports that Albert Pujols will get the night off.

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Former Dodgers GM Paul DePodesta has his own blog, focusing on the San Diego Padres. DePodesta now works as a special assistant in the San Diego organization.

Do you think Bob Costas hates him, too?

The Closer Situation...

Jason Isringhausen's troubles, and possibly overall decline, have been documented with good statistical analysis from Bernie Miklasz here, and Derrick Goold here. So I won't spend any time trying to prove Izzy's struggles with statistical evidence. Anyone who has been watching games over the last few weeks can easily see that Izzy is having a very rough time.

The question now is, does the closer situation become more urgent for the Cardinals than the need to find an impact bat to hit behind Pujols? And I believe the answer is "no." Not by a long shot.

First, we have to hope that Izzy's current troubles are more mental than physical, and therefore we'll see a resurgent Izzy again this year. Even if that turns out not to be the case, however, the Cards have options:

• We already saw Ryan Franklin get the first crack at the job yesterday in a 5-3 win vs. Milwaukee. Ryan started the year a bit shaky, but has been solid over the last few weeks. Last season, Ryan Franklin ranked second amongst NL relievers in BB/9 innings, which is a key stat for a guy tasked with closing out victories. This year, Franklin leads the NL in holds (12), boasts a 1.89 ERA and 1.16 WHIP.
  

• I view Kyle McClellan as the second-best option at this point. McClellan also has 12 holds this season, and impressively has struck out 16 batters (and walked only five) in 19 innings pitched. LaRussa has pitched McClellan in some tough situations against some of the best hitters in the NL, and McClellan has looked confident.
  

• The Cards have two nice cloer options at AAA Memphis: Chris Perez and Jason Motte. Perez has been granted the title (prematurely, in my opinion) of "closer-in waiting" for the Cardinals. And his numbers this season at Memphis are very good: 2.16 ERA with 21 Ks and 8 BBs in 16.2 innings pitched. I've been able to watch a few of the Memphis games this season and, as good as Perez has been, I've been more impressed by Motte. in 18.1 innings pitched this season, Motte has posted a 1.47 ERA, 27 Ks and just 5 BBs. Motte throws very hard and really appears to have that elusive "bulldog" mentality on the mound. By all accounts, it sounds as though Perez will get the first shot at the closer job once Izzy's done, but don't sleep on Motte.

You'll notice I didn't mention Russ Springer as an option. I wouldn't be surprised if LaRussa gives him a shot, but I wouldn't do it. Springer has pitched just 7 innings this season, after experiencing some soreness in his arm earlier this year. He has a bloated ERA over 6.00, has struck out five batters but walked seven. He hasn't looked confident on the mound, and his "stuff" has been less-than-dominant. He needs to start having some success in the set-up role before he's given the burden of closing games.

In the end, I think the Cards could take some heat off the bullpen if they could just improve the offense. They either need to upgrade offensively at shortstop, or find an impact bat to protect Pujols (preferably both). By the way, speaking of impact bats, has anyone noticed that when Troy Glaus swings hard, his head jerks up and to the left? Hard to hit a baseball when you're not keeping your head down and eyes on the ball.

The Cards have exceeded expectations thus far, and I don't mean to come off as a pessimist. I just think there is one galring weakness on this team, and it's not the back end of the bullpen. It's the #4 spot in the batting order.

Looking Ahead...

Suffering back-to-back losses (including one game the Cards should have won) is not the best way to enter a four-game series against division rival Milwaukee. The good news is the Brewers are ice cold. Coming into tonight's game, Milwaukee has lost six games in a row and eight of their last ten. They currently sit five games back of the Redbirds in fourth place in the NL Central.

At the beginning of April, I took a look at the Cardinals schedule and predicted the team's record for the month. I turned out to be right on the money. So let's see if I can be as accurate with the remainder of May's schedule. Here's what is left:

May 9-12 @ Milwaukee (4 games)

May 13-15 vs. Pittsburgh (3 Games)

May 16-18 vs. Tampa Bay (3 Games)

May 19-21 @ San Diego (3 Games)

May 23-25 @ Los Angeles (3 Games)

May 27-29 vs. Houston (3 Games)

May 30-31 vs. Pittsburgh (2 Games)

Alright, then, let's break it down. The Cards enter tonight's action with a 22-14 record (eight games above .500). I think the Cards could take 3-of-4 in Milwaukee, but I'll be conservative and assume a series split.

Next, the Cards are at home for three games vs. Pittsburgh and three vs. Tampa Bay. I believe the Cards will take 2-of-3 games from the Bucs and 2-of-3 from the upstart Rays.

Next up is a six-game swing through southern California. The Padres have been awful, but the Dodgers have an imposing pitching staff. Look for a .500 road trip.

The Cardinals finish the month with five games at home vs. Houston and Pittsburgh. Look for the Redbirds to take at least three games.

So the team's record at the end of May? How about 34-23. The Cardinals record on June 1, 2007 was 22-29.


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Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal is reporting that Jim Edmonds has been released by the Padres. Jimmy Ballgame lasted just 26 games in San Diego. From the Rosenthal column:

[Edmonds'] agent, Paul Cohen, said that Edmonds, a 16-year veteran, wants to continue playing.

"Obviously it has been a real bad three weeks for him," Cohen told FOXSports.com. "He wishes he would have played better for the fans and the teams. But in the right situation, he's going to play."

Rosenthal opines:

It is highly unlikely that another team would claim Edmonds and become responsible for the remainder of his $8 million salary, of which the Cardinals are paying $2 million.

I have to agree with Rosenthal on this one. I know many Cards' fans would like to see Jimmy back in a Redbird uniform, perhaps providing some clubhouse presence and pop off the bench. The Cards are already on the hook for 25% of Jimmy's 2008 salary, however. Doubtful Edmonds could provide enough leadership and on-field production to justify the Cardinals taking on the remainder.

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Today's Musical Pick: "Songs About Rain" by Gary Allan.

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If you haven't checked out Derrick Goold's Bird Land post on "Mapping Cardinals Nation," it is DEFINITELY worth a read. I thought it was fascinating, and the maps are pretty damn sweet. Nice work Mr. Goold. Here's one of the maps (created by Nike) just to give you an idea:




Building on Mr. Goold's attempt to map the Cardinal Nation, I believe Cardinals blogs that monitor traffic to their sites are well positioned to provide a snapshot of fandom. The Redbird Blog got started in December of 2007. Here's a listing of the cities that have provided the most frequent visitors to the Redbird Blog since its inception:

St. Louis (19.3%)
Bloomington, IL (12.3 %)
Memphis, TN (5.9%)
Columbia, SC (5.7%)
Chicago, IL (4.2%)
Las Vegas, NV (3.8%)
New York, NY (3.6%)
Valparaiso, IN (3.2%)
Austin, TX (2.1%)
Plano, TX (2.0%)

Here is a breakdown by state/region:

Missouri/Illinois: 38.5%
Tennessee: 6%
Florida: 5.4%
Texas: 4.7%
New York: 3.9%
California: 3.4%
Nevada: 2.7%
Indiana: 2.6%
Georgia: 2.3%
New Jersey: 2.3%

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ESPN has posted its latest MLB Power Rankings. The Cardinals hold steady at #4 for the second consecutive week.

The Ludwick Factor...

Disappointing loss last night to Colorado. The Cards held a 3-0 lead in the eighth inning, only to watch the game slip away in the hands of McClellan and Isringhausen. Izzy, who claims he's healthy, is scuffling at the moment, and that is troubling.

On the bright side, another fine performance from Adam Wainwright, who tossed seven shutout innings and lowered his ERA to 2.25. While he deserved a "W" last night, Wainwright did not factor in the decision.

Another positive is the performance of Ryan Ludwick. Have you taken a look at his stats? Ludwick is producing, and here are the numbers to prove it:

29 Games, 87 ABs, .356 AVG, 5 HR, 19 RBI, .424 OBP, .701 SLG (!), and 1.125 OPS

How good are these numbers? Well, consider the production of Albert Pujols for comparison:

35 Games, 120 ABs, .342 AVG, 6 HR, 24 RBI, .494 OBP, .575 SLG and 1.069 OPS

In other words, Ludwick's production numbers compare very favorably to Pujols, despite the fact that Ludwick has logged 33 fewer at-bats. Of course, Pujols has walked 34 times in comparison to Ludwick's 11 walks. And it also should be noted that even when Pujols doesn't walk, he gets far fewer pitches to hit than Ludwick. So please do not infer that I am arguing that Ludwick is on par with Pujols from an offensive production standpoint. I am simply pointing out that Ludwick's production has been outstanding.

Need further context? Let's look at where Ludwick ranks amongst NL batting leaders (for players with at least 75 ABs):

AVG: 4th
Doubles: T-10th
OBP: 9th
SLG: 4th
OPS: 4th

Not too shabby.

So is Ludwick the "answer" to the question of who will provide adequate protection for Pujols in this lineup? Maybe. I think the obvious concern regarding Ludwick is frequency of strikeouts. This season Ludwick has struck out 25 times in 98 plate appearances, or about once every 4 plate appearances. The detrimental effect of strikeouts is overrated, so long as OBP and OPS are respectable. That being said, the fact that an opposing pitcher knows Ludwick is prone to strikeout will make it very likely that pitchers will continue to walk or pitch around Pujols in RBI situations.

With respect to Ludwick, our favorite visitor from Ireland and fellow Cardinal Blogger John Shelton (The Cardinal Virtue) offers his input, which I think is insightful:

"...until Ludwick is batting 4th on a regular basis he won't be "protection". With his slugging numbers he would make a good fourth. But his OBP makes him the ideal number 2. In other words, people will be more inclined to deal with Pujols if there is already someone on base. So I guess he is protective in a way in the the number 2 slot. As far as I'm concerned, adding a big bat behind Pujols could only make things that much better."

Mozeliak has reiterated that the Cards are not interested in Bonds. I don't think Jason Bay represents an upgrade over Ludwick. And the Astros are still in contention, making it unlikely they would trade Tejada. Mo will need to get creative if he's seeking to add that big bat the Cards need.

UPDATE May 8 @ 3:30 pm MST: In this afternoon's loss to Colorado, Ludwick was 2-4 with 2 solo home runs (his sixth and seventh HRs on the season in less-than-full time action). Certainly looks like Luddy wants to stake a claim on the cleanup hitter role.

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MLBTR, by way of the Rocky Mountain News, is reporting that the Rockies have inquired about the availability of Anthony Reyes. MLBTR speculates that Brian Fuentes may be on the table in trade talks between the clubs. Of course this is just speculation, but I like Fuentes and think he would be a nice addition to the back end of the Cards' bullpen.

Not to rain on anybody's parade, but Reyes just doesn't strike me as a guy who is well-suited to pitch at Coors. Duncan and LaRussa have tried in vain to convince Reyes that he needs to pitch down in the zone, utilizing a two-seam fastball more frequently than Reyes' preferred four-seamer. Reyes' penchant to throw high heat could result in some epic blasts at Coors Field.

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I always like to have a day game after a tough loss. Give the boys a chance to get right back out on the field and avenge themselves. Cards wrap-up the season series against the Rockies with a chance to take 3-of-4 on this trip, and 5-of-7 overall on the season. Here's your game preview.