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Young Arms Define 2010
The upcoming season in Major League Baseball will be headlined by dazzling, young pitchers.
After an unprecedented 2009, Zack Greinke turned heads while pitching for the consistently cellar-dwelling Royals, and breezed his way to a Cy Young award.
Fire-balling righty Tim Lincecum managed to grab a second straight Cy Young in a somewhat strange voting in ’09. He walked away from the three-man battle with Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright splitting votes between them, which allowed Lincecum to sneak in and snag it away from the Cards’ hurlers.
All eyes will be on that pair, who claimed the two top ranks of fantasy pitchers, according to Yahoo Fantasy Baseball, but will share the spotlight with a plethora of other extremely talented starters the MLB possesses: Felix Hernandez, Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw, Jon Lester, Matt Cain, Josh Johnson, Ubaldo Jiminez and J.A. Happ, just to name a few. All age 27 or younger.
All of these are considered the aces of their staff, with exception of Cain and Happ, who play second fiddle to Lincecum and Roy Halladay. Not a bad tandem to pitch behind.
Each considered a power-pitcher, other than Happ and possibly Cain, will use their mid-90s fastballs to turn hitters circles and pile up strikeouts. Cain and Happ will rely on location and off-speed pitches to be effective.
Coincidentally enough, all of the teams other than Greinke’s are looked upon to be competitive in the 2010 campaign.
A widely known fact, pitching dominates hitting early in the year, will undoubtedly give these young men, if I may say that, some early success.
So, make sure to set your DV-Rs and TiVos to record every episode of ESPN’s Baseball Tonight, and I’d be willing to take it to Vegas that you’ll see one of those faces on its’ “That’s Nasty” segment any given night.
Unlikely Contributions Help Cardinals to Title
Of course everyone expects big numbers from Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, and Ryan Ludwick but did anyone expect the performance of say, Brendan Ryan? Colby Rasmus? Julio Lugo? Okay, you’re right, this one might be a stretch. Chris Carpenter?
Carpenter, a former Cy Young winner in 2005 got back to such form this year, after being ridden with injuries for the last two. Cardinals fans and management alike hoped Carp would have a strong season, but did they expect this type of campaign from the veteran? Although everyone in baseball is aware of what Carpenter can do, who really thought he would be healthy all year and be able to rebound the way he did? I mean, he got injured early in the season after taking too intense of a swing. Well, he proved his critics wrong. Big time. His 17-4 record speaks for itself, as does the 2.24 ERA which just-so-happens to lead the National League, and is second in the Show. All of this without mentioning the six RBI game he just had, mashing a grand salami, and a two-run double.
Troubled infielder, Julio Lugo, joined the Cardinals after being designated for assignment by the Red Sox from Bean town. All he did was hit .274, score 22 runs, drive in 12, and swipe five bags. Doesn’t seem like much, right? Wrong. Lugo came over from the AL and sparked the Cardinals the very first night he was a member of the Rebirds, beating the Phillies 8-1. Lugo gives manager, Tony LaRussa, great versatility. LaRussa can use Lugo at second if a southpaw is on the mound, giving Skip Schumaker a day off if need be. Second or short, Lugo can play them both, which again gives his manager the choice to give everyday shortstop, Brendan Ryan, a day off.
Highly touted, five tool player, compared to Jim Edmonds (some say he’ll be better), Colby Rasmus, the 23 year-old rookie. Only 16 jacks, 72 runs scored, and 52 RBIs for the baby-faced center-fielder? He’s so young he tried to grow a mustache with the rest of the team, but took about a month longer than anyone else on the club. On a Cubs broadcast, Len Kasper made a comment about this, it would’ve been funny had it not come from him. His stingy defense in center shouldn’t go overlooked, either. Rasmus only made six errors this season, five in center, and one in right. His speed allows him to roam the outfield like a shark in the ocean. You don’t see many diving catches from him simply because he usually gets to everything and gets under the ball, making routine catches which are diving plays for others. Credit a few wins to Rasmus’ bat, he has more than one game-winning hit this year. Not bad, rookie. Not bad.
Speaking of the stache, can anyone say handlebars? Well, Brendan Ryan can. He plans to grow his upper lip toupe into a Rollie Fingers handlebar stache. How cool is that? Credit the success to the stache. Ryan came into Spring Training this year fighting for a bench spot on the roster and bloomed into the starter when Khalil Greene came in and laid an egg. B-Ry has played in 123 games this year, playing short and second. His range placed him on top of many highlight reels, and is in the running for a Gold Glove. His .296 average has him only a 3-3 or 3-4 day away from a .300 season. Ryan’s hit all over the lineup, first, second, seventh eighth, ninth and has produced all season long. In 385 at-bats, the stache man has only whiffed 55 times and had 114 hits. Could you really ask for anything more from a guy who came into camp competing for a reserve slot? And whoever thought a stache like that would get the ladies? One piece of advice for you, though, B-Ry, don’t shave the stache!
Smoltz’s Success Due to Helpful “Tip”
Sure-fire Hall-of-Famer, John Smoltz, received a helpful “tip” from his teammates and coaching staff once he reached St. Louis in the middle of August, after struggling and being released by the Red Sox.
Pitching Coach, Dave Duncan, makes all of his starting pitchers watch each other while they throw their bullpen sessions, hoping the more eyes watching the pitcher, the better chance of finding something only one pair of eyes could catch. His everyone-watch mentality was key in helping Smoltz figure out what was holding him back from his old form.
The group of starters picked up on something very minor that Smoltz was doing which allowed hitters to gain an advantage: seeing what grip Smoltz had on the ball which allowed them to know what pitch was coming.
After beginning his windup, Smoltz would raise his glove over his head, rock back, and as he rocked back with the ball in his hand, he would move the glove slightly back which exposed the grip on the ball.
Although the tip was very faint, hitters pick up on the smallest details of a pitchers delivery and make them pay the consequences.
Duncan worked on Smoltz’s windup to doctor the dilemma. Results were immediate as Smoltz took the mound against the Padres, bulldozing an already anemic offense. The remainder of his outings have been strong for the most part, exemplifying the presence of Dave Duncan.
It’s evident why Duncan is such a highly touted commodity and noted as one of the best pitching coaches, if not the best, in all of baseball. His success is a testament of the meticulous mentality he possesses.
Late-Inning Longball Pops Corks In Colorado
An unsung hero of the St. Louis Cardinals, Jason LaRue, became a very sung hero on Saturday night with a home run that proved to be the game-winner.
Everyday catcher, Yadier Molina, had to leave the game after taking a ball off of his knee in the 4th-inning. Molina was diagnosed with a bruised knee and is listed as day-to-day. Although, with the Cardinals clinching last night, don’t expect to see him back too soon.
LaRue replaced Molina mid-inning and handled the job extremely well. LaRue isn’t used to seeing much playing time, as Molina gets the bulk of the playing time, but has been very good for the Cardinals off the bench this season. He does the little things that go unrecognized such as, warming up the pitchers before the games, bullpen sessions, and gives maximum effort everyday.
The Cardinals plated three runs in the 1st-inning, and jumped on flame-thrower, Ubaldo Jimenez, quickly. Jimenez would settle in after the 1st-inning, where he would cruise until the 7th. The Rox managed to tie the game on a Brad Hawpe two-run bomb to left off of Adam Wainwright. Jimenez struck out seven in his outing, but couldn’t strike out the first batter he would face in the 7th: Jason LaRue.
Jimenez had been coming at the Cardinals with an abundance of first-pitch fastballs throughout the course of the game, but to LaRue, he broke the mold. A fastball around 95 mph would’ve been the smartest idea to LaRue, a guy who hadn’t swung the bat all night, and who has somewhat of a slow bat anyway.
A slider in the middle of the plate and down was sent packing to left, and found a new home over the wall. Undoubtedly, the offspeed pitch sped up the bat of LaRue, allowing him to take the 85 mph slider out of the yard.
The clutch blast from LaRue gave the Cardinals a 4-3 lead which they would not relinquish.
Workhorse, Adam Wainwright, threw 130 pitches over 8-innings of work. Of the 130 pitches, 89 were strikes, which only had Wainwright issue one walk, which came in the 8th, while fanning 11.
Wainwright struck out the side in the 8th, leaving two runners on base.
Ryan Ludwick came on to pinch-hit in the top of the 9th after Brendan Ryan doubled to left with two down. Ludwick was hitting for Wainwright, who had 2-3 night with two doubles. Ludwick, however, would top both of those hits that Wainwright had, and powered a two-run shot to left. The blast gave Ludwick 92 RBIs and 22 homers on the season, and more importantly made the score 6-3.
Closer, Ryan Franklin, came on in the 9th-inning to shut the door. Franklin gave up a hit and walked a man before recording the last out of the game. Save number 38 was notched for Franklin and a division title for the Cardinals.
Wainwright improved to 19-8, with the Cardinals now sitting at 90-65 on the season.
Manager, Tony LaRussa, wanted to clinch the NL Central on the field rather than have the Cubs lose a game to give the title to the Cards. He went so far to say the Cardinals wouldn’t celebrate until they won a game. The champagne was flowing in the clubhouse, where grown men celebrated with grins and smiles of young kids, which is the beauty of baseball.
LaRue’s game-winning homer is easily the biggest hit of his career, and will stick with him for a long time to come.
Wainwright Looks to Dazzle, Clinch
Saturday night could be the clinching game for the Cardinals to finally take hold of the NL Central division title. Although, it’s been said for the last few nights, the Cardinals have yet another Cy Young candidate on the mound tonight, Adam Wainwright. Last night Chris Carpenter tried to pitch the team to victory, with an excellent 7-inning effort and only one earned run.
Wainwright has been speaking out a lot with the recognition he’s been getting from the media and has credited his success to his teammates, who he called “my mentors”. Carpenter has shared his vast knowledge on pitching with the young right-hander and John Smoltz has joined the mix as well. Two former Cy Young winners teaching you how to pitch in the Bigs…not too shabby.
Runs have been somewhat hard to come by the last two games for the Birds, scoring only two runs last night and being shutout by rookie, Bud Norris, in Houston for the finale. Albert Pujols is still hitting well, but hasn’t rounded the bases since Sept. 11, Ryan Ludwick has scuffled a little bit but his homer last night was his first since Sept. 4. Without two of your three best mashers in the lineup not hitting the longball, runs will be somewhat hard to score.
Going for win 19 on the season, Wainwright will oppose young hurler, Ubaldo Jimenez, of the Rockies at Coors Field tonight. Two very young, talented pitchers that both might have a Cy Young award by the time they’re 30 years-old will make for a very interesting duel tonight. Although, the thin air of Colorado might diminish the effectiveness of Wainwright’s 12-6 bender. At Coors, Wainwright has made one start, where he only gave up four hits, and no earned runs.
Former Rockie, Matt Holliday, has 84 career bombs and 307 RBIs in Colorado, his old stomping ground. His experience in Colorado might help the Redbirds win for the title, but for Wainwright as well.
With another righty on the mound, look for lineup to consist of the same makeup it did last night.
1. Schumaker 2b
2. Ryan SS
3. Pujols 1b
4. Holliday LF
5. Rasmus CF
6. Ludwick RF
7. DeRosa 3b
8. Molina C
9. Wainwright P
Wainwright, Pujols Lead Cardinals to Sweep
Another stellar outing from the 6’7″ right-hander, Adam Wainwright, lead his team to victory yet again. Wainwright’s success in Miller Park continued Wednesday afternoon, tossing 7 scoreless innings, striking out 6, while only walking 1. Of the 7 innings, four of them were 1-2-3 innings.
At Miller Park this season, Wainwright has been nearly unhittable. His 22.1 innings pitched allowed him to obtain 3 wins, strike out 24, and have an astounding ERA of 0.40. The Brew Crew has only managed to hit .207 against Wainwright at home, which is better than the .176 average they have against him this season.
Wainwright earned improved to 18-7 on the season and surpassed the 200 innings pitched mark with his performance Wednesday, only the second time in his career he’s tossed as many innings.
Slugger Albert Pujols continued his red-hot pace in Milwaukee, blasting a pair of homers. His 46th and 47th of the season left the field to center and left, respectively.
Pujols raked in 6 RBIs in three games, pounding three bombs, and managing to go only a mere 7-12 in the series. Those RBIs elevated him to 124 on the season, one shy of Milwaukee’s, Prince Fielder.
It’s highly unlikely Pujols will win the Triple Crown this year with his batting average (.331) 26 points behind Hanley Ramirez (.357). His 47 longballs leads the NL and will be in a race for the RBI crown with Fielder and Philly’s Ryan Howard.
Counting Fat Albert out right now isn’t the smartest thing to do, because proving people wrong by his play is what Pujols lives for. I’d hate to be the one who wrote that Albert Pujols wouldn’t be able to catch Hanlay Ramirez in batting average and have him beat him by a point and win the Triple Crown.
St. Louis moved 27 games over .500 and improved to 84-57. The magic number has shrunk to 12, inching the Cardinals that much closer to clinching a division title.
Friday: Pineiro (STL) vs. Jurjens (ATL)
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DeRosa Staying In St. Louis?
Versatile INF/OF, Mark DeRosa, has had conversations with GM John Mozeliak about a possible extension with the Cardinals.
DeRosa was acquired in the later part of June from the Indians for Chris Perez and Jess Todd, both premier pitching prospects in the Cardinals farm system. Soon after coming over from Cleveland DeRosa found himself on the DL with an injured wrist, which will require surgery in the offseason.
Only hitting .245 and collecting 19 RBIs on his 8 homers in 48 games with the Birds. His versatility is a key with the way Manager Tony LaRussa fancies to fill out his lineup card, which makes him extremely valuable to LaRussa.
DeRosa, making $5.5 million this season, will most likely receive a raise if extended with the Cardinals. Mozeliak wants to see DeRosa stick around, but might lose a key contributor in the process: Ryan Ludwick.
Ludwick, injured part of the season, has played in 119 games for St. Louis and has managed to slug 20 homers and drive in 87 while keeping his average above the .270 marker. Although healthy, Ludwick doesn’t play every day with the plethora of outfielders available to LaRussa.
Mozeliak remains reluctant to offer Ludwick a deal that is more than a year long. Injuries have plagued Ludwick in the past, but he seems to have overcome the issues with his knees. An All-Star a year ago, Ludwick still is producing and protects Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday in the Cardinals lineup.
Pair Of Aces Square Off At Citi Field
Mets ace John Santana looks to take his eight wins sub 3.5 ERA into New York and come away with a victory against the Cardinals. Santana brings electric stuff to the table and is hands down one of the best pitchers-if not the best-in all of baseball. His fastball moves and jumps out of his hand, but it’s his change-up that does the real damage. His 97 strikeouts rank him eighth in the majors in whiffs. In his only start against the Cardinals, which came last season, he tossed a six hit gem. The nearly 17 million dollar man yielded only one run (earned) and fanned five in a complete game victory.
Opposing him is St. Louis ace, Chris Carpenter. The 6’6″ work horse goes into the new Citi Field with a lifetime 5.09 ERA against the Metropolitans. Following two trying and injury plauged seasons, Carp looks to be back to his old self, the Cy Young type pitcher that you can count on to end a losing skid or wrap up a series. The 2005 Cy Young brings his 5-1 record to New York as well as a sub 1 WHIP which is the best among all starters with at least 50 innings pitched. Through 58-2/3 innings, Carpenter has only put nine men on base via the walk, a great stat to have on your side as a starter, not to mention his 1.53 ERA.
After a trouncing from the potent Met offense, Carpenter looks to stifle the Mets and fly out of New York with a split in the four game series. Following the game tonight in Queens, Cardinals make their way back home to face Minnesota. In the finale of the Twins series, the Redbirds will face my favorite pitcher, Francisco Liriano. I look forward to the matchup.
Birds’ Bats Red Hot In K.C.
The I-70 series against the Kansas City Royals has treated the St. Louis hitters extremely well as their bats have heated up immensely. Albert Pujols who is seemingly always hot has continued his All-Star pace with a homer and four RBI’s in the series. Recently activated Khalil Greene homered in back-to-back days, a solo shot and a three run bomb. Ryan Ludwick has picked up where he left off with a grand slam on Friday and a follow up two hit game on Saturday. Colby Rasmus enjoyed the first four hit game of his career on Friday which sparked the Cardinals offense early and often.
Although, the offense has been blistering K.C. pitching, the Cardinal starters have thrown the ball extremely well. Brad Thompson gave the Cardinals seven solid innings only giving up four runs on Friday and earned the victory, his second of the season. Veteran Chris Carpenter went deep into eighth-inning, before being relieved by Trever Miller with two outs. Carpenter scattered only three hits over seven and two-third innings, yielding only one run and fanning six Kings. Chris earned the victory to improve to 5-1, with a season ERA of 1.53. After two seasons of injuries the Cardinals are glad to have the ace of their staff back, and it’s paying dividends.
Winning last night pushed the Cardinals into the first place slot, where they stand alone. Only a half game separates them and the Brewers, but as the season progresses the more your’re in first place, the better chance you have. Although, it’s only a matter of time before Chicago finds their groove and explodes offensively, so it’s now or never for the Cardinals to separate themselves from the pack.
Youth Lead Cardinals To Victory On Mom’s Day
The highest rated prospect in the Cardinals organization for the last two years, Colby Rasmus, delivered a clutch RBI double which allowed the Cardinals to fly away Sunday with a victory. Rasmus was joined by Shane Robinson, who collected his first major league hit on a pinch-hit ground rule double in the top of the eighth. Unfortunately, the ball left the field of play for a ground rule double, otherwise he would’ve claimed his first major league RBI, and probably a triple with the speed he possesses.
A perfect Ryan Franklin came on in the bottom of the eighth to face the last two batters, which he walked, and struck out. Ryan was looking to close the door and notch his tenth save of the young season, and help the Cardinals avoid a sweep in Cincy. He stuttered in the ninth, giving up two runs, both by means of the long ball. A pinch-hit solo home run for pitcher Micah Owings tied the game at seven a piece. After a long season of blown saves and a shaky bullpen last year, Franklin blew his first save and gave up his first earned run of the season.
The newly acquired Blaine Boyer took the bump in the tenth for two thirds of an inning, and Chris Perez was brought in for the final out. Perez, who was thought to be the closer when the season opened, earned his first save, and has looked solid after a rough start to his 2009 campaign.
St. Louis currently is holding down the fort atop the NL Central (20-12) with a two game lead on Milwaukee. If the bullpen can prove to be solid, the run support will be there, and with the possibility of a healthy Carpenter to go along side Wainwright, Lohse, Wellemeyer, and Pineiro, the Cardinals have some muscle to flex in the always surprising NL Central.
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