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Cubs @ Cardinals: Lester vs. Martinez (Game 138)

Submitted by CTSteve on

Five in a row, and now Lester goes for the sweep.

CHC (80-57): LHP Jon Lester (9-10, 3.59)
STL (87-51): RHP Carlos Martinez (13-7, 3.04)
First pitch: 12:45pmCT

Lester beat the D’Backs on Friday (5 IP, 2 ER). He’s 1-2 with a 1.96 ERA in his three starts against the Cards this year, who are batting. 236 against him. For his career, St. Louis is 42-145 (.290) against him. Heyward is 8-18 with a HR. Peralta is 9-34 with 3 HR.

Martinez lost to the Pirates (5 IP, 4 ER) his last time out. His numbers are not as good at Busch (6-4, 3.39). He’s 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA in three games against the Cubs this year. The Cubs are 14-52 (.269) against him. Denorfia is 3-5.

The last time the Cubs swept a three-game series in St. Louis was Sept. 2010. Before that it was 1988.

Go Cubs!

 

Tags
Cubs 2015 Game Thread

Comments

Submitted by blockhead25 on Tue, 09/08/2015 - 09:45 pm

OK, with a 9 game lead I'm putting superstition aside and talking playoffs. Any team can win a 1 game playoff, especially when it is ace against ace. Most teams can win 3 out of 5, even with just one ace against two. Still a fair amount of luck involved. However, the prospect of facing Kershaw/Greinke in a 7 game series seems like a lost cause. If the Dodgers don't choke like they did last year in the 1st round, I'd have to think they are the heavy favorite to win the World Series even with a mediocre offense. Thoughts?

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Submitted by crunch on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:05 am

the cubs bats being a positive are my main positive...and that lester/hammel are good 2nd-tier guys as companions to the ace, arrieta. 3 worthy SP's and some bats...if i felt better about the pen's performance lately i'd be a lot more stoked. that said, almost any team good enough to make the playoffs can legitimately steal a series...i mean, look at what the cubs are doing to STL in these past 2 games vs a couple of their best pitchers.

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Submitted by blockhead25 on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:34 am

Absolutely! I think any team can beat any other team in a 5 or 7 game series. Honestly, I'd say the Reds could beat the Cardinals in a 7 game series about 20% of the time, so in the playoofs, I don't think I'd ever say one team had more than a 60% chance of winning. But, with that said, I still think LA are heavy favorites in any 4 game series against any team they play.

Submitted by blockhead25 on Tue, 09/08/2015 - 09:53 pm

Playoffs part 2. If tied with the pirates in the last game of the regular season, am I the only one on the planet who would pitch Arrieta in the final game to clinch home field for the WC game? I like the idea of playing the single game at home, with the crowd boosting the young guys on the team, not to mention being able to bat last. In October, the wind less likely to blow out and would worry less about Lester making a mistake pitch that he is too prone to do. Lester has the experience, and then if we win, Arrieta would be available for games 1 and 5 of the division series on regular rest. WC game is a bit of a crap shoot...would give up a bit of odds to win that game, for a notably better chance to win the short division series. Talk sense into me.

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Submitted by Old and Blue on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:15 am

It's a one game series. Win, or go home. With the way Arrieta is pitching, the odds are in the Cubs' favor. Arrieta won't be available for games 1 and 5 of the division series if the Cubs don't win the one game playoff. Besides, what's the Cubs' road record? Too lazy to look it up but they seem fine on the road.

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Submitted by blockhead25 on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:28 pm

As I said, I'm sure I'm the only person on the planet that would consider using Arrieta to clinch Homefield advantage...and so that means I'm at least conceptually wrong. With that said, I'm still not entirely convinced that our mathematical odds of making the world series wouldn't improve with WC game at home, and Arrieta pitching game #1 and game #5 of the division series.

Submitted by jacos on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:01 am

Guess who is 23rd in runs scored? One more than the Mariners? Hope that historical pitching holds ups Cards.

Submitted by crunch on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:59 am

the +/- voting system is working out great. someone blanket downvoted everything i wrote in the previous thread(s) regardless of subject. so...salty...

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Submitted by crunch on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:08 am

pretend internet points is one thing, but blanket downvoting everything in an old thread within hours of having a +/- set up is salty as fuck. it's like some angsty bullied teen has been waiting on this. getting emotional about things i write is soooo 3 months ago. like...gosh. also, TCR can't kill me. i am already dead inside. *puts on some Linkin Park* these guys understand me...sometimes i think they write their songs just for me.

Submitted by billybucks on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:11 pm

Ahhh...Lester unable to do what Haren and Hamel did -- shut down the Cards after getting an early lead. C'mon Jon -- hold 'em the rest of the way.

Submitted by Old and Blue on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:03 pm

Did you guys see Baez pull his hands in to get one of his hits? That was slick. Can't remember what inning. Small sample size but I'm liking what I see so far from him.

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Submitted by blockhead25 on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:43 pm

Now you are getting a bit ridiculous. How on earth is it being stubborn. They used everybody last night. It is not being stubborn to stick with a plan that has gotten you where you are, versus switching things up just for the sake of switching things up. In case you didn't notice, both Richard and Rodney failed too.

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Submitted by blockhead25 on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:48 pm

Who would you have pitched to start the 8th? Rodney is the only name I could think of who I would even consider trusting (given Grimm's lousy couple outings recently) in the 8th, and he hasn't fully established himself yet after a brutal stint in the AL. Basically the whole relief staff, save Rondon, shat the bed in the last two games.

Submitted by blockhead25 on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:20 pm

I'm fine with Maddon sticking to the normal Strop 8th inning plan. What I'm not fine with is the fact that the Cubs had to use Strop and Rondon last night to protect what was an 8 run lead. Good thing about a 9 game cushion is I'm not screaming at the TV (well, phone actually) right now.

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Submitted by blockhead25 on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:38 pm

In September, you stick with the 8th inning guy that has done it all year. Was bringing Richards in to face a guy that was hitting .333 off of him a better move? All top relievers pitched last night. I blame this implosion entirely on wasting all our pitchers last night with the short turn around.

Submitted by blockhead25 on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:21 pm

Poor Lester. What a lost opportunity for the Cubs, and wow is our Bullpen being exposed in the last 4 innings of work.

Submitted by billybucks on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:30 pm

Hard to imagine winning 2 of 3 in St. Louis...and being pissed off about it. We left a lot of guys on base.

Submitted by The E-Man on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:37 pm

The sweep was there, except this is baseball. But yeah, 11 hits and only 3 runs...not entirely bullpen's fault. Just mostly. Again, I think Strop should just have had the day off...

Submitted by billybucks on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:42 pm

That's now 9 ER in 5.1 innings for Strop vs. Cards, with 6 BB. Very good against everybody else, and not many BB. Just can't pitch him in a close game vs. Cards. They clearly have him figured out.

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Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Thu, 09/10/2015 - 09:17 am

"not many BB" 4.3 BB9 very high--not Marmol-high, but very high. Motte is 2.0, Rondon 2.0, Hunter 2.2. Grimm, who I would say has trouble controlling his fastball, is 3.6. Strop is way up there. And walks imply hitter's counts along the way, although Strop's H9 is quite good at 5.4.

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Submitted by billybucks on Thu, 09/10/2015 - 09:23 pm

Actually, excluding the STL games (which was my point), he has a 2.02 ERA, a 3.7 BB/9 and a 4.4 H/9. So, very good against everyone else, and although the BB rate is still a bit high, his WHIP is excellent at 0.90.

Submitted by Old and Blue on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:50 pm

I was actually surprised to see Rondon not getting the call in the 8th. That would have been very Maddonesque. Is that a word? The curly line underneath says it is not. Bullpen needs to be better once the playoffs start. Can't expect guys to go nine every game and the bullpen now is hit or miss, and lately lots of hits.

Submitted by blockhead25 on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:55 pm

Cubs sure do strike out a lot. Kind of amusing to imagine that I'd be so happy with an offense that K's 10+ times per game day in and day out. My only concern about this is it makes the offense so dependent on the HR, and as the weather cools down and the wind starts blowing in again...Cubs are going to need to refocus on contact and situational hitting.

Submitted by Tito on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:58 pm

Sweeps are great, and I hate any time the Cubs lose to the Cardinals and the best fans in baseball, but I just can't get too worked up over this. Of course, I'll change my mind if it somehow costs the Cubs the playoffs.

Submitted by blockhead25 on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:00 pm

Lester had a 2-hitter going and only 105 Pitches through 7, and pitched 6 straight no-hit innings. Should he have been left in for 8, and max out around 115?

Submitted by The E-Man on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:01 pm

I would have used Rondon in the 8th. That was the ballgame. Even after the 1st batter reached. Did you see Piscotty last night poke a solid single off Strop after a leadoff walk? Also, why not try the call-ups for a batter each? Ramirez, Edwards, Rosscup? The Cards do that shit all the time. Yeah - stubborn. In my opinion, in this game.

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Submitted by Old and Blue on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:14 pm

Exactly, as I said a few comments above. And, especially after the first runner reached. I strongly prefer Maddon over Renteria, but one thing I liked, a lot, about Renteria was he had a zero tolerance policy about late inning walks by relievers. Strop should have been pulled after that walk, just as a statement thing. You don't walk lead off men when you have a two run lead in the 8th. If you do, you get pulled. I don't like nitpicking, but that was a game that would have been nice to have. If Rondon comes in and blows it, oh well.

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Submitted by blockhead25 on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:25 pm

E-man, Rondon to start the 8th?! Then who pitches the 9th? 6-out save for someone who doesn't ever do that, after he pitched the night before? Old & Blue, I agree the walk was the problem, though it was with one out, not leadoff...and I can certainly understand pulling him then, but I still don't see it being logical to go to Rondon for a 5-out save about 18 hours after he pitched the night before.

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Submitted by The E-Man on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:34 pm

It all depends on how many pitches. If Rondon slams the door in the 8th - in a reasonable amount, he starts the 9th. IF he gets in trouble, you have different match-ups. Strop's walk was the killer - you just cannot do that in a close game against this team, late innings. I have not looked up Strop's back-to-back outing success, but Billybucks had his success (failure) against the Cards which you may have read. They have him scouted to a T, and I would have let him sit today's game. If they lose - he can pitch with a fresh arm in Philly. That was not good managing imo, in this particular situation. He will not do this again, hopefully.

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Submitted by blockhead25 on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:43 pm

I would love to hear from others on using Rondon in the 8th, with the strong possibility of not having your closer available in the 9th and instead using match-ups. I'll say it again, you guys are really not thinking this through rationally. My post at the beginning of this thread about wasting Arrieta before the WC game was meant to be provocative...But using your closer later in a season in a position he has not been used in the last 2 months, 18 after hours he pitched a full inning that night before is just as crazy and ill conceived an idea as mine.

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Submitted by Old and Blue on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:35 pm

Sometimes the eighth inning IS the ninth inning when it comes to things like momentum and circumstances. This was one of those cases. If Rondon get through the eighth but they need someone else for the ninth, the score is still 3-1 but the bases are empty for the new guy. There's no doubt that the new guy could blow the lead, but at least there's still a lead to blow. I don't fault Maddon for not using Rondon there. It would have been a bit unconventional - but I'm also pretty sure he's done it before.

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Submitted by blockhead25 on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:46 pm

Sure, bringing in a closer with the expectation that he gets 4-5 outs is not terribly uncommon. But there was absolutely no possibility whatsoever that Rondon was going to pitch 5 outs after pitching in a day game after a night game, not this late in the season. I can't remember a circumstance where someone would bring their full-time closer in with a lead in the 8th, with no chance he'd pitch the 9th. (Closer by platoon is obviously a different story) If Rondon is the only reliever on the team that can be trusted, Maddon has bigger problems than this one marginally meaningful game.

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Submitted by Old and Blue on Thu, 09/10/2015 - 09:08 am

I wasn't thinking Rondon for 5 outs - only for 3, then in the ninth bring in someone else. But Maddon's explanation after the game was perfectly sensible, too. Strop is his eighth inning guy, and he's just got to do a better job. At least not walk that first batter. That was the killer. If they just hit him hard, well, that's baseball. If other teams start hitting him hard, that's trouble, as you say.

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Submitted by blockhead25 on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:32 pm

"Also, why not try the call-ups for a batter each? Ramirez, Edwards, Rosscup?" - because they are call ups, and this is the Cardinals, in St. Louis, with a 2 run lead in the 8th. I see very little rationale justification not to bring Strop in to start the 8th when that has been the plan that has worked all year in Hold/Save situations. I see absolutely no justification to use Rondon in the 8th when he pitched last night, I don't think you guys are thinking that one through. I do see justification for lifting Strop after the 1-out walk instead of facing one more batter, but again, the two other pitchers who were used as they should be, blew it as well.

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Submitted by billybucks on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:58 pm

Yep -- Strop was the call to start the 8th. The walk was the red flag, but Joe used what he had in the 'pen and it didn't work out. Strop got a huge K yesterday, and Rodney slammed the door. I love being frustrated with 2 of 3 in STL in September. This game and the earlier Strop Game (which I still have not fully recovered from attending) reminds me of MJ's Bulls against the Piston Bad Boys -- they get close, but the youngsters aren't quite there yet. But, the day is coming... My off-season shopping list: Price, Fowler and a late-inning lefty. The fact that Richard was probably the best LH option in the 8th speaks volumes. Really liking Javy, and hopefully Schwarb worked his rust off today. But, my oh my, this team's potential.....

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Submitted by johann on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:01 pm

I'm a big defender of Strop and dislike some of tbe overreactions on these boards to losses or poor performance but it's pretty obvious watching Strop against the Cardinals he has no confidence. JD in the game yesterday mentioned that he was just throwing the ball up and it was completely true. All his mannerisms look different from when he faces other teams and it looks like he has zero confidence. Throwing him into another similar situation today is just bound to make it worse which is not good for the playoffs where chances we will have to go through the Cardinals in the 1st round. With this game not mattering as much (outside of the pleasure of sweeping the Cardinals) I'd rather see Strop face them in no pressure situations to see if he can get his confidence back and try out a bunch of the other guys to see if any look good against this team because so far not many have. I don't think Rondon in the 8th was the right answer though. He throws a lot of pitches and chances are he wouldn't haven been available in the 9th then. Seeing Ramirez would have been nice though as he was pretty elite and would be nice to know now if he can get back to that for the playoffs vs when it might really count. At this point with yet another poor performance vs the Cards I can't see Strop being any sort of option vs them in the playoffs as good as he'll probably be against any other team.

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Submitted by SheffieldCornelia on Thu, 09/10/2015 - 09:16 am

I also would have used Rondon in the 8th up to a certain number of pitches (not outs, in case he got a few outs with minimal pitches and could go back out for the ninth) and then match ups after pulling him. I think it's critical in games like this to use your best pitchers in the most value-added situations.

Submitted by blockhead25 on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:01 pm

Meanwhile...let's hope Arrieta goes at least 8 tomorrow and give the bullpen a rest. I expect we can all agree on that.

Submitted by crunch on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:58 pm

barf. i disappear into the lab after the first half of the 1st with a 2 run head start...i return to a bullpen collapsing boxscore.

Submitted by The E-Man on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:24 pm

Regardless of Strop (his peripherals are not outstanding for a late innings guy, anyway, but he's for sure had stretches of dominance this year) the lack of bona fide MLB-ready pitchers in our farm-system is unfortunate as I've said all year. Neil Ramirez was a terrific go-to last year and no doubt was thought of as an important pen member for this year. Certainly an upgrade from J Russell. I keep reading he's still not back to what he was health-wise. No doubt they'll address all of this in 2016, but the Playoffs are 3 weeks away now...

Submitted by blockhead25 on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:27 pm

Maddon on Strop: "[Strop] is not making good pitches," Maddon said. "He gets the first guy out on the first pitch and walks the next guy. He gets the ground ball, and that happens to go through. It's the walk to Reynolds that set up the inning for them. "We have to do a better job. Moments like that, looking at the way it matched up, we should be able to finish that game off. I think the guys would agree with that, too." What can Maddon do about the bullpen? "Just keep putting them out there," Maddon said. "It's like a shooter -- you have to keep shooting, man, until they go in the hoop."

Submitted by The E-Man on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:38 pm

For the Blockhead: From 9/5 Wash Post: "Papelbon provided two critical innings for the Nationals on 27 pitches. It was the fifth time this season he has pitched more than one inning." You don't have to look far to see a closer pitch two innings when they have pitched the game before. It is not a regular appearance, but it's based on amount of pitches.

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Submitted by blockhead25 on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:17 pm

To feed you a much, much, better fact. On 8/6 and 8/7, Rondon pitched 1.2 innings after in a day game after pitching a night game. The big difference is, those two games were when the Cubs jumped ahead of SF in the wild card race, and where they were protecting that half game lead. Certainly those games were much more critical than this, by all accounts, but this is at least a good thing for you to point to next time around. Rondon had not pitched for 4 days prior, and obviously did not come in to start the 8th like you suggested he should have today, but still better than the Papelbon example.

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Submitted by The E-Man on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:31 pm

That is a good example. Had Maddon listened to me, we would be talking about the first sweep in St. Louis in a long time. Instead we are discussing the merits of pitching or not pitching Rondon in the 8th. Oh well - it was long odds anyway of them taking the Central Division with them being this far behind and around 25 games remaining. All kidding aside - I wish MLB would take a page from the NBA and stop making teams with better records than Division winners be potentially eliminated b/c they happen to be in the same Division. Its pretty fucked and unfair. Just something that makes tremendous sense and can be greatly improved.

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Submitted by blockhead25 on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:28 pm

Personally, I think it is much more exciting this way. Otherwise, the regular season becomes less meaningful. The only way they could go to a seeding approach would be to rebalance the schedule. Can't seed 1-5 unless all else is even. Cubs should get to play the Marlins as much as the Mets do, etc. This year is a bit weird as 3 top teams are in one division, but otherwise a team with the best record may have a much weaker strength of schedule. NBA and NHL, absolutely love the playoffs, but the regular season seems somewhat meaningless.

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Submitted by hellfrozeover on Thu, 09/10/2015 - 09:57 am

I think this quote is the key part: "If someone gets on base, you want to give a guy a clean inning," Maddon explained. "You have 7-8-9 coming up. It's a perfect spot for Strop. Also to re-establish his confidence. It just didn't play today." Helping Strop re-establish his confidence against the Cards by putting him in to face the bottom of the lineup makes sense as part of prepping for the playoffs. Unfortunately it didn't work out...

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Thu, 09/10/2015 - 09:05 pm

What's puzzling about the way Joe Maddon managed yesterday's game is that last month, Maddon managed the four game series sweep at Wrigley Field against the Giants like it was a playoff series, while SF manager Bruce Bochy seemed to approach it more like an important (but not critical) regular season series, and the Cubs seemed to benefit from Maddon's keep-your-foot-on-the-accelerator approach. 

However, yesterday Maddon took more of a casual approach (like not letting Lester go back out in the bottom of the 8th, giving Strop the ball in a "clean inning" to start the 8th to try and help him get his confidence back, and not using Kris Bryant as a PH in the top of the 9th), the type of approach managers take the last week of the regular season once the playoff slotting has been set. 

Except the Cubs actually had a chance to get within 5.5 GB of division-leading STL (and only five behind in the loss column) and stay within two games of the Pirates with a win, with three games left against STL and seven left against PIT. And if the Cubs still have a chance to win the division, they need to try and do it.

It makes a big difference to have to play the "crap shoot" one-game wild card play-in game, where you burn your best pitcher (Jake Arrieta), and even if you win the game, Arrieta is available to start only one LDS game, versus winning the division, where there would then be no high-risk "crap shoot" WC play-in game, and with Arrieta available to start twice in the LDS. So it was important for Maddon to pull out all the stops (like he did versus SF at Wrigley last month) and win the game yesterday, just like it was a playoff game.

That said, there was certainly no guarantee that the Cubs would have caught the Cardinals (or even the Pirates) with a win yesterday. Maybe Lester would have faltered in the 8th. But the fact is, Lester was cruising through seven innings, and was going to get five days off before his next start on Tuesday at Pittsburgh, so extending him beyond 105 pitches to 115+ (as Maddon has done with Arrieta three times in the last month) would not have been out of line in this particular case. Up until Lester left the game, the Cardinals were absolutely dead-in-the-water offensively, and were playing like they were resigned to getting swept.

And if Maddon wanted to do something to help Strop regain his confiedence, he should have waited to do it in a game that did not have so much importance and against a weaker opponent, like maybe in a game against the Phillies this weekend.   

 

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Submitted by Cubster on Thu, 09/10/2015 - 09:54 pm

I agree that it was odd seeing JM manage the SF series like the season was on the line. This is the 2nd time the Cubs could have hurt the Cardinals and blew the last game of a series (July 8th, Rondon pitches the 8th and Strop the 9th where Carpenter walks with 2 outs and Peralta HR's, aka "the Strop game"). There were moves in the SF series that could have not worked out but the Cubs were on fire (one of those series games, Sunday, Aug 9th was the Rondon bases loaded game). It could go either way on this. Which is why everyone has an opinion when 2nd guessing managers. When it doesn't work, Maddon says, "It just didn't play out". Contrast this to how Matt Williams handled yesterday's game with the Mets. Strasburg was pitching great (3 hits, 13K's, 1 BB) with a 2-1 lead and Williams has SS start the 8th. That didn't work out because SS was taken out in the 8th at the first (well, really 2nd sign of trouble) sign of trouble and his 8th inning reliever Drew Storen imploded the inning giving up a HR to Cespedes. Same result essentially as yesterday's Cub-Cards game (except Washington lost all 3 games of the series, and Williams probably loses his job). Williams in the bottom 7th even let Strasburg hit with two outs and a man on 2nd, so he clearly was letting SS pitch into the 8th at the cost of a potential 2 run lead. Mets 8th inning...Strasburg pitching: K. Johnson HR, K. Nieuwenhuis Strikeout, Granderson single. Pitching change: Storen. Cespedes 2 run HR. Murphy grounds out 4-3. D. Wright grounds out 5-3. Rondon 9th: Belt Singles. Crawford doubles. Adrianza hit by pitch. Coaching visit. Sanchez K. Pagan K. Blanco K.

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Submitted by Old and Blue on Thu, 09/10/2015 - 09:21 pm

The SF series is what inspired me to bring up the Rondon 8th inning thing (keeping Lester in may have been better). Normally, against any other team, you wouldn't do it. But I was surprised Maddon took his foot off the gas pedal, and didn't get Bryant an AB at the end, either. It really was all very surprising to me.

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Submitted by Carlito on Thu, 09/10/2015 - 09:06 pm

Exactly - I agree with every word of this and am puzzled by the approach. I still love Maddon etcetera and I am not even saying it was a mistake. But that was a game to win for many reasons -- not a game to casually build Strop's confidence. The only possible thing I can come up with is absurd: (started to write it and stopped because it's stupid - essentially didn't want the Cubs to peak too early).

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Submitted by Old and Blue on Fri, 09/11/2015 - 09:20 am

Yeah, not a huge deal and who knows what would have happened under different circumstances. You can easily argue that the Cubs hitters had plenty of opportunities to put that game away. The bottom line is the Cards need to go on a losing streak in order for the Cubs to catch them, and the Cubs need to pretty much sweep the upcoming series at home against them if there is even a tiny chance to catch them.

Submitted by Cubster on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 09:41 pm

Washington and SF both lose. I think the wild card elimination number is around 15. SF is 1/2 game better than the Gnats. I watched the end of the AZ-SF game and the Giants lineup is almost unrecognizable these days. The Mets just put a dagger to whatever heart the Nationals had by sweeping their 3 game series and coming from behind in all three games. Regarding the Wild card discussion, the AL is more typical this year; in that the 2nd wild card team is only around 5-10 games over .500 and the Rangers currently are two games ahead of the Twins. It gets ugly if a .500 team gets to the playoffs so at least the last team in should be closer to 10 games over.

Recent comments

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  • Childersb3 (view)

    25 in Attendance!!!

    Phil, is that a backfield record?

    Also, 6 BBs for Cruz in 2 IP. What's the most walks you've seen in one EXT ST outing that you can recall?

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    He has a pulse. Apparently that’s the only requirement at this point.

  • crunch (view)

    cubs sign dan straily...for some reason.  minor league deal.

    welcome back.

    zac rosscup is down in mexico trying to make it happen...maybe they could throw him a contract, too.  junior lake is his teammate.  shore up a bunch of holes with some washups.

  • fullykräusened (view)

    The great thing about going to live sports events is you don't know if you're going to see something historic. Today I went to the Cub game, after putting the liner back in my coat and fishing my Cubs knit hat out of the closet. I needed all that- my seats are in the upper deck, left, so the east wind was in my face. Both teams failed to capitalize on good situations, but both starters did a good job to accomplish this. So, we go to the bottom of the sixth inning. The Cubs tie it up, and then Pete Crow-Armstrong comes up. We all know he would still be in AAA if not for injuries, and future Hall-of-Famer Justin Verlander absolutely carved up the young fellow up in his first two plate appearances. So this time he hits a fly ball. The wind was blowing in and had suppressed several strong fly balls- including a rocket off Altuve's bat that Canario hauled in (does anybody else remind me of Jorge Soler?) , but the ball kept carrying and carrying. 107mph, legit angle and carry. The crowd went nuts, the dugout went nuts. Maybe, just maybe, I saw the first homer from a long-term Cub.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Which was my original premise. They won the trades but lost their souls. They no longer employ the Cardinal way which had been so successful for so long.

  • crunch (view)

    STL traded away a lot of minor league talent that went on to do nothing in the arenado + goldschmidt trades.  neither guy blocked any of their minor league talent in the pipeline, too.  that's ideal places to add talent.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Natural cycle of baseball. Pitching makes adjustments in approach to counter a hot young rookie. Now it’s time for Busch and his coaches to counter those adjustments. Busch is very good and will figure it out, I think sooner than later.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    In 2020, the pandemic year and the year before they acquired Arenado, the Cardinals finished second and were a playoff team. Of the 12 batters with 100 plate appearances, 8 of them were home grown. Every member of the starting rotation (if you include Wainwright) and all but one of the significant relievers were home grown. While there have been a relative handful of very good trades interspersed which have been mentioned, player development had been their predominant pattern for decades - ever since I became an aware fan in the ‘70’s

    The Arenado deal was not a deal made out of dire need or desperation. It was a splashy, headline making deal for a perennial playoff team intended to be the one piece that brought the Cardinals from a very good team to a World Series contender. They have continued to wheel and deal and have been in a slide ever since. I stand by my supposition that that deal marked a notable turning point within the organization. They broke what had been a very successful formula for a very long time.
     

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