The Cardinals managed to right the shift mid-way through their brief homestand. After allowing The Phillies to score 16 runs against them in just two games, they shut the Pirates down, limiting them to just four runs. The bullpen was responsible for 6.2 innings of work over those two contests, but didn’t allow any runs. They picked up a win in Mitchell Boggs’ start, which was earned by Kyle McClellan and also recorded two saves, both by default closer Ryan Franklin. The bullpen was a liability earlier in the season, but now that it’s managed to take shape around Franklin, it’s becoming a real asset for the club in the late innings.

The Cardinals lineup is still producing on a consistent basis as well. Even in the two-game sweep that they suffered to the defending champs, they managed to produce nine runs. It just wasn’t enough to overcome Philadelphia’s potent offense. If the team can start to get better starts out of Adam Wainwright and eventually get Chris Carpenter back to replace Boggs, who has been good, but just can’t go deep enough into games, they should have no problem remaining atop the NL Central.

Continue reading "Cards notes before their road trip"

1. Well, the Cardinals' recent road trip didn't go according to plan by any stretch of the imagination. They had to salvage a win at the end of each series after dropping the first two. Coming home to play the Brewers didn’t improve things. The only lead the Cards had against Milwaukee in the entire series got washed out by a monster of a storm on Friday. Colby Rasmus, who hit the two-run homer in the bottom of the second of Friday’s rainout, managed to get it back by hitting another two-run bomb in the bottom of the seventh of Monday’s makeup. However, it wasn’t enough as the Cards were held to just six runs over the three-game series, none of which came during Adam Wainwright’s two-hit, one run performance on Saturday. The Cards managed to get back on track a bit on Tuesday, thanks to a three-hit complete game shutout by stopper Joel Pineiro (Did I really just say that?). Rasmus’ bat stayed live with yet another two-run bomb off of lefty Ted Lilly in the fifth. The Cards also managed to manufacture a run in the first with a leadoff walk to Brendan Ryan, a sacrifice by Rasmus, and a stolen base by Ryan off of Lilly whose ignorance of the situation led to there not even being a throw down to third. This set up Yadier Molina for a two-out RBI single to put St. Louis on top after one inning. Molina also helped the Cards get back some of their defensive prowess in the top half of the opening frame, picking off Alfonso Soriano off of first, the 29th time Molina has done so in his career.

Continue reading "The Cards' Cavalry is on its way"

The Cardinals made two important moves on Friday. The first was to activate Ryan Ludwick from the disabled list. After suffering a strained hamstring in Pittsburgh a couple of weeks ago, he was ready to go after about six or seven days. Putting him on the DL was the only move that the Cards could make though, since they were already going with a short bench and they can't afford to not have Ludwick long term, as Pujols already doesn't have enough protection in the lineup.

Rather than sending someone down, the Cards decided to finally put Khalil Greene on the DL with what they're calling social anxiety disorder. Greene contributed a pair of at-bats to drive in game-winning RBI on the last homestand as a pinch-hitter and while that was encouraging, it was still clear that he isn't himself. He hasn't really been himself since he arrived in St. Louis or even his last season with the Padres. He could be a huge weapon if he can get things together, so hopefully this little break will help him put the pieces back. The Cards haven't gotten much offensive production from left side of their infield this season and if the they're going to compete for the long haul, this will have to change. 

Continue reading "Options for the Cards at third base and Stanley Cup Finals preview"