at what price belliard?

this smacks of trading for trading's sake. luna for belliard seems like a great way to take on salary, but that's it. while it is true that belliard will probably be taking more time away from aaron miles than was hector, it still doesn't really solve any problems. not that they would have taken it, but couldn't we have given them miles and some low level prospect or something? my dislike of gollum is occasionally proved unnecessary, but only occasionally. he's got a few clutch hits for us, but not nearly enough to make me like having the shortest middle infield in the majors. hector luna, on the other hand, may not have always come through in the clutch, but he did hit. it seems like we left him on base in the ninth quite a few times this year when he represented the tying run...

whatever, in a year or two, it may prove that walt saw the possibilty of magic, or some such nonsense, but for the time being, belliard seems like a good money sink and nothing more. here's hoping there's another (meaningful) trade in the works.

why is it that we've struggled so mightily with one of the worst teams in baseball? why do left handed rookies look good when they play us? why do both scott rolen errors in a year come against the fucking cubs?

i think dusty's poisoning our water coolers.

whatever... the remainder of this series will go the cardinals way. even this game wasn't without merits (like JEnc's homer), it's just that every time we could have made some headway, the cubs played world class baseball for a few seconds, then dropped back down to their usual caliber.

looking forward to a day game massacre... it seems we're much better at day games than night... that doesn't bode well for the playoffs, but it makes for a great finish to this series, anyway.

oh yeah, and amaury marti (my future favorite cardinal) went three for four with a homer in springfield... can we get this guy up to memphis soon, please?

one day late

i should have posted yesterday, still on a high from the sweep and the four game streak. after last night, i don't have anything so cheerful to say as i might have before. if we can turn it around and take the series, i'll be less worried, but this team seems to get discouraged easily.

the highlight of yesterday was reading the following line on the official site:

"Rolen can pitch," La Russa said. "He's got cutters, forkballs, sinkers. But I hope it never gets to that."

i hope it never gets to that, either, but a little part of me kind of hopes it does, just once.

oh, snap

a rather inauspicious beginning for weaver, i would say.

perhaps the whole thing wasn't his fault. after all, randy flores did come back from injury just in time to suck against a tough opponent. josh hancock wasn't the pitcher i've been touting all year, and josh kinney gave up a couple more home runs to go with his first major league pitch.

it's the anemic offense that upsets me most. facing the offensively hottest team in the nl right now, i could have accepted losing that game 15-9, but not 15-3. what is our problem with left handed pitching? are we destined to make it to the divisional series, only to have (hypothetically let's say) the padres trot out a few aa lefty starters and have us cool petco park with our patented new high powered fan system?

let's hope the guys (including jeff weaver) put it behind them and move on. i can't take another losing stretch right now.

i did, did you?

yes, i stayed up to listen to the whole game. i knew what the final outcome would be. how, you ask? i may not have faith in god or my fellow man, but i have a powerful faith in the cardinals.

three day withdrawal

three days with no baseball in the middle of the summer is great for our players, but for me, it's like trying to hold my breath for the same length of time. ok, maybe a better analogy would be not eating for three days, which i might actually be able to survive; thinner, desperate, but still going. the all star game was fine (except for phil garner putting cabrera in at third as a defensive replacement instead of rolen... makes as much (defensive) sense as tlr putting yadi in center, and it cost the nl home field advantage), but hardly memorable, and didn't quite fulfill my need (the all star game is like methadone, to use yet a third simile to describe the same thing).

some post-break thoughts

aubrey huff to the astros... i know a lot of cards fans and bloggers were hoping to snag this guy, but it doesn't seem that big a loss to me. true, they traded him for some bags of sunflower seeds, but still, i don't think it pushes them over the top or anything.

rotation woes... i'm not exactly an optimist, but when it comes to the cardinals, i guess i generally expect things to go pretty well. the last two years have spoiled us in terms of win totals. the rotation should regain some footing in the second half. reyes is strong, weaver is an improvement on ponson, and eventually, mulder might be able to throw a ball better than they did in my third grade coach pitch league twenty years ago. carp has taken some bad breaks, but is still dominant, and i think we're hitting marquis' good stretch he seems to have every year at a good time.

trade deadline... we need to trade for a real left fielder. i'm perfectly content with luna, gollum, and luna at second, but the left field travelling roadshow has got to stop.

wow, this might be my longest post. go second half cards!

m(iles) precious....

aaron miles (who i'm still going to call gollum; look at the eyes and teeth and try to deny it) gets a free pass for the rest of the month. so does josh hancock, though i was never that bothered by him. true, he's had his issues, but fewer problems than the bulk of the rotation, and there have been a few times this season that he's pitched like an absolute champ.
izzy blew another save, but i'll let him slide on this one as well. the error shouldn't have been; even our gold glove caliber first baseman can have troubles, and we have to protect that oblique. if craig biggio wants a sac fly, it's pretty hard to keep him from getting one, short of walking him.

all star break time is great for the team, but hard for me. hell, during baseball season, days the cardinals have off are hard for me. i guess i'll watch the baseball circus of the stars tomorrow, though i hate that it determines home field advantage (can't we just give it to the struggling nl for a few years? please?).

we needed that series. we really needed that series. hell yeah, gollum.

finally!

a deserved win! we almost lost control there, but dingers from el hombre, rolen, and jedmonds are welcomed back after a relatively low power stretch (ok, so scotty has three in his last four games, but still...). and if the rumors are to be believed, moves are about to be made.

in celebration, we went to the batting cages at tower tee, where i learned that i can't really hit a fast-pitched baseball anymore, and by fast i mean 60mph. however, my softball hitting skills have improved significantly. i also learned that my hands aren't as tough as they once were, as i lost quite a bit of skin. thank god for superglue!

tourniquet of errors

thank god for errors... if you can't hope for good play, at least hope for the other guy's mistakes. last night was ugly, but i was hanging on shannon and rooney's every word. i've never been so happy to hear about a bad throw, even if it allowed the game winning run to cross the plate, as i was about this one.

the bullpen still needs some help.

the starters still need some help.

this win is like the first food a man starving for eight days gets to eat. even after he has consumed it, he is still technically starving, though he damned sure feels better.

where did albert leave his bat? ok, that really isn't fair, as he did just come back from an injury, and if the production he's had since the injury had come from say, yadier, we'd be thrilled. however, i worry that perhaps he is trying to push too soon and playing at less than 100%. i'd rather have a 100% el hombre in september/october than a 85% el hombre for the remainder of the year. true, since he's the best player in the game, at 85%, he's still amazing, but it's more like jeff francoeur amazing. we won't be hanging our championship hats on a jeff francoeur type player. on the other hand, if we can kick the pitching in the ass to get things back to normal, we can ride the (100%) pujols gravy train to at least a pennant.

but damnit, i'll not be satisfied by a pennant. this season was supposed to be our world series winner. if they don't spend, we don't win. i don't advocate throwing money at a problem, but with walt jocketty, that wouldn't be the case anyway.

shel·lac also shel·lack (sh-lk) KEY NOUN:
1. A purified lac in the form of thin yellow or orange flakes, often bleached white and widely used in varnishes, paints, inks, sealants, and formerly in phonograph records.
2. A thin varnish made by dissolving this substance in denatured alcohol, used to finish wood.
3. An old phonograph record containing this substance, typically played at 78 rpm. TRANSITIVE VERB:
1. shel·lacked , also shel·lacked shel·lack·ing , shel·lack·ing shel·lacs , shel·lacks To coat or finish with shellac.
2. Slang
a. To strike repeatedly and severely; batter.
b. To defeat decisively.

i think both of the slang definitions apply to last night, don't you?

we already knew ponson was having issues, but without at least a tolerably decent mulder (and for that matter, brad thompson), we are in serious trouble...

the boy at busch

call me kool-aid man

but oh yeah! good god we needed to win a series, even if it was against the brewers. we needed to learn that we didn't have to hang every win squarely on el hombre's broad shoulders. we needed yadier to figure out what to do with that stick he's been flailing about with. we needed scott rolen to continue playing like he's the on-base master he's been this year (i won't worry about power yet). we needed a first baseman who's head doesn't look disporportionately tiny and young when compared to his massive physique. ok, we don't always get what we need.

i'll post the 2 pictures of jack's first game soon. they're at home, and i just haven't had the time to do so yet.

what's all this about great minds?

i think that it's really funny that three cards bloggers other than me titled a post since saturday "the sky is falling."

izzy, izzy, izzy, damnitall.

the sky is falling

ok, so i'm most concerned about albert and his work ethic right now. he's going to be itching to come back, and could end up making this injury a lifetime problem if he comes back too soon. for the love of god, dierdre, keep him at the house!

but seriously, let's think about this rationally.

the last two years, the cardinals have breezed through the season, running away with the division, only to be beaten inthe playoffs by the team with something to prove who had come from behind with an amazing september/october hot streak. we've played like we were tired from playing a long winning season in these games. this probably won't be the case this year, now will it? i think we'll maintain a winning percentage even without el hombre (call me a kool-aid drinker if you will), especially if we go ahead and make some kind of net positive trade. i mean, despite his ups and (scary) downs, i'm a jason marquis fan, but right now he's tied for first place in wins in the major leagues, and that can't hurt his trade value. someone is blind enough to trade a decent bat for him, right? (maybe not...)

jack really will be headed to his first cardinals game on wednesday. i'll post baby at the game pictures when i have them.

bastros

last night i was trying to quiet the boy and watch some of last comic standing, so i didn't get the game turned on right away. when i did, i was just in time to hear rolen's solo shot called by john rooney. seconds later, i heard what sounded like a replay of the call, which had me curious, and then it turns out to be jauncarnacion's homer. i was ecstatic. anthony reyes is major league ready (or so three very strong starts would have us believe).
josh hancock, however... well to be honest, we can give as much or more blame to so's throwing error. let's just say that with the exception of scott rolen, our redbirds weren't themselves after the seventh inning last night. maybe they were worried about jim edmonds. god knows i am.

but enough gloom and doom. juancarnacion looked decent last night, which is a plus. yadi hit an rbi double, which has to be good for him (and when you're batting .174, going 1 for 4 can only help, albeit slowly). hector luna continues to play above his actual skill level, even if no one could manage to get him home. hell, even anthony reyes got a hit.

i still think this could be our year, but it's going to take the acquisition of a larry walker-type to re-energize our offence. i just hope we can settle for only replacing one outfield position by the trade deadline.

before jack was born, i would have taken great pride in staying up to hear every minute of these west coast games on the radio, 9:15 starts be damned. these days, i'm just glad it's a day game today so i can hear all the way to the end.

that first one was ugly, and i'm kind of glad i slept through the six run inning. last night was good, so i wish i had made it for the last couple of innings, but it all worked out for the best.

the first inning last night made my argument for me again, though. short rest marquis! make him pitch three simulated innings before taking the mound! tire out the sinkerballer! (especially since we might not have him next year...)

and i must say, i'm really pleased that neither marquis or mulder gave that toltec-headed slugger his record setter, aren't you? keep the flame alive, carp.

watching our guys this weekend was kind of like seeing the grown-ups play the talented seven-year olds. they showed a lot of promise, but couldn't really play the men's game.

three games, three el hombre homers. that in and of itself should show that a) albert is el hombre for a reason, and b) the royals need pitching (and hitting. and fielding [except for emil brown... that was unreal]).

the chi-town brawl was great, but still not as good as crazy joolie's lone punch from spring training.

now, let's go shut down steroid man. if marquis is going to hit anyone on the giants tomorrow, well, at least he's the biggest target.

last night i went to sleep during the rain delay. when i awoke for jack's 1am feeding, i went to check gameday on the computer. it's a good thing jack was already awake, because i would have woken him up.
jeff, every walk is costly. last night, you found out just how costly.

what's with all the errors? with our groundball pitching staff, errors, especially from infielders, are costing us games. is it just coincedence that it all seems to be happening at once, or is this indicative of some clubhouse issue? whatever the case, i hope they get it out of their systems soon.

i have to say, i'm glad we're in first, but not by much. the last two years, when we were so far out in front of the rest of the central division, i, like a lot of cardinal fans, thought it hurt our drive going into the playoffs (i.e. we weren't the team with "something to prove"). frankly, i hope the division race stays closse the whole season, and that's only slightly because i used to be a reds fan.

mulder/trachsel should be interesting, especially if mulder can keep them in the park.

is there any question left as to the greatness we are witness to on a regular basis? 3-2 count, two men on, an albert pujols home run becomes a near statistical inevitability.

carp was hardly at his best, but he was able to hang in there better than any of the rest of our pitchers would have. wainwright is still proving unstoppable from the pen; he has a history as a fine but fragile starter. i think it’s safe to say that he will be starting for us next year… i just hope he can be as lights out for seven innings every fifth day.

let’s go, soup.

disappointment

so last night turned out not to be jack's first ever cardinals game, as he had just come from a doctor's appointment and was too fussy to go to the park. siouxs! and i missed the game as well, but we did listen to it on the radio. i'll still stick with my cries for a short rest, but marquis just looked (sounded?) bad last night. this guy is having a mental meltdown that is ending up worse than a physical issue. his consistency is horrendous, his record with a full count is ridiculous, and he doesn't seem to be taking the whole thing hard enough to make the necessary changes.

jason, we like you, but listen to dave and figure it the hell out.