Joel Pineiro

Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, and Joel Pineiro are all among the top 13 in the NL in ERA right now, so with those guys getting the majority of the starts the rest of the way, St. Louis should be in fantastic shape headed into October. 

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followed an ill-advised dive by Ryan Ludwick which transformed a Casey Blake single into a triple. Joel Pineiro pitched around it as best as he could, but Blake would score to put the Dodgers on top. It was the only blemish against Pineiro and although he deserved a win, his team at least got him off the hook. Ryan Ludwick also got two chances to redeem himself. He singled in the ninth with two outs before coming around to score to tie it, while also driving in a run in the bottome of the 11th to retie it. He also got another chance to throw a guy out at home when he nailed Manny in the 12th after his upline throw in the 11th allowed the Dodgers to get their second run. Baseball is fantastic that way. Players always have a chance to redeem themselves after a mistake, and usually that oppurtunity will come around in the same game.

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Is anyone else irritated with Joel Pineiro for being angry that he was left off of the Puerto Rico roster for the World Baseball Classic? The guy is going to make $7.5 million for the Cardinals this year and he's worried about pitching in an exhibition tournament which derailed the careers of Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia in 2006, among others. Sure, the fact that the Cards' third base coach Jose Oquendo is managing the PR team might have hurt his feelings, but he was still offered a chance to pitch in long relief. That role is just as important if not more important in the WBC because of mandatory pitch counts that force starters out after I believe 60 pitches. That means that he could come on in a tie game in the fifth inning and be counted on for two or three innings. Even if that isn't the role he's used to since he's primarily been a starter in his MLB career, the three man rotation that Oquendo chose is comprised of much better talent than Pineiro. Javier Vazquez (now of the Braves, formerly of the White Sox) has been a decent three or four starter for years, Ian Snell of the Pirates would have a much better record if he played for any decent club, and Jonathan Sanchez could be looked at as the Giants' ace of the future if they didn't already have Tim Lincecum on their roster. If the Cards could deal Pineiro for any of those three guys, I'd be ecstatic. So the fact that he was passed over for them makes total sense. Did you hear about Brian Barton being angry that he didn't get to start at first base and bat third for the Cards last year? No, because Albert Pujols is significantly better. Pineiro needs to shut his mouth and focus on not blowing countless leads in 2009 like he did in 2008.

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