.....................4thebirds...

DeWitt guests on UCB Radio today

2009-10-26T12:33:00.002-05:00

Bill DeWitt III will join the United Cardinals Bloggers hosts on UCB Radio this afternoon at 5:30 p.m. CT.

Here is a link to today's broadcast, found on BlogTalkRadio.

Glory Days imminent for Cards?

2009-10-26T05:47:00.002-05:00

A return to Cardinals Glory Days is imminent.

At least, a couple of folks who filled some important roles during those times.

Suspense, over, and not.

Mark McGwire and Tony La Russa may be announcing they both will be working for the St. Louis Cardinals organization this morning.

McGwire may be taking over as hitting coach for Hal McRae; La Russa may return as manager (for his 15th Cardinal season).

Cardinals Hot Stove round the corner

2009-10-14T06:21:00.002-05:00

Speculation regarding the make-up of the St. Louis Cardinals 2010 team roster have already begun.

Now comes the early start to a hot-stove season that promises to have plenty of Cards baseball discussion. Last off-season, the main topic was pitching. This season, it could be a group of free agents large enough to change well over half of the lineup.

Of course, manager Tony La Russa has to go through his own "process" in determining whether he will return, which would almost certainly dictate whether pitching coach Dave Duncan will return.

For now, however, it might be better for Cardinal Nation to enjoy the balance of the playoffs. The Redbirds are no longer in the running, but we are still bigtime baseball fans.

TLR considering 15th

2009-10-12T06:17:00.004-05:00

Tony La Russa will be analyzing whether he will stay on as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals for the 2010 season.

This is nothing new for the Cards' skipper. With the "sweeping" end to this season, however, we would hope Mr. La Russa would put some time on things before getting too far into his decision-making process.

Next season will be La Russa's 15th, should he decide to stay at the helm for St. Louis.

photo by Barbara Moore

Cards conclude great season

2009-10-11T08:53:00.004-05:00

The Cards' loss was practically confounding to fans who had been thick in Cardinal Nation all season. Nonetheless, that is baseball, and the Dodgers earned themselves the right to move on the ML playoffs.

Congratulations to the Redbirds on a great season.

All of Cardinal Nation remains strong with the St. Louis Cardinals organization and looks forward to next season.

Woulduh coulduh shoulduh

2009-10-09T05:50:00.006-05:00

If Matt Holliday had only not hit that home run earlier in the game, he probably would not have had to endure the disappointment of erring on a fly ball that woulduh-coulduh-shoulduh ended the game as a victory for the Cardinals in Game #2 of the NLDS versus the Los Angeles Dodgers.

On one hand, the error becomes quite glaring, but on the other hand, you can examine many other points of the game and conclude the outcome could have been different. And one thing is for sure: there's a ton of stuff Holliday has done right for the Cardinals so that this writer doesn't dwell too much on the foul-up, as will undoubtedly happen throughout the larger part of the sports media.

Okay, so let Holliday's goof be the moment when Cardinals fans let loose with a word or two rarely heard in front of the kids. Let's just hope the misplayed fly ball doesn't become one of those defining moments that cause Cardinal Nation to go the way of "excuses of evermore," ala the Cubs' Goat.

But alas, the Holliday misplay occurred, and the Dodgers are now up 2-0 in the NLDS.

The Cards have to take on the "short memory" tool of the reliever in preparation of Game #3, to to held at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Saturday afternoon when Joel Pineiro takes the hill for the Cards.

Must win, already?

2009-10-08T05:52:00.005-05:00

A 5-3 Cards' loss last night may not have been as big a difference as the Twins' 5-run loss to the Yanks, or the Rox 4-run loss to the Phils. But the "L" cost just as much for the Redbirds ... and ...

in a short (best 3-of-5) series, it creates a must win situation.

Why? Because no ML team can afford to go get down 2-0 and put them self in a situation where they have to win three in a row to keep their playoff hopes alive.

A win Thursday night, however, would put the Cards in a pretty good spot in their portion of the NLDS.

Adam Wainwright, with a regular season record of 19-8, is arguably the best hurler in the NL. The Dodgers will counter with Clayton Kershaw, much better than his 8-8 regular season tally might suggest.

The Cardinals' bat are doing okay -- just, okay, so far. The big letdown was the paltry performance of Chris Carpenter. It happens. It just sucks a bit more when it happens in post-season.

A plus from last night's loss may have been a natural occurrence of usual game strategy, which is that the Cards' bullpen, while working several arms, didn't expend that crew, and didn't call for closer Ryan Franklin to toss a single pitch. For the Dodgers, well, as expected, they used some of their best, and used them up. (If I was Joe Torre, I'd have done the same thing under the "Win today philosophy.)

Cards hitting is about to notch it up. Manager Tony La Russa is hoping the Dodgers' Furcal will cool down a bit at the same time.

I like the Cards' chances tonight. But what counts for way more is whether the Cards like the Cards' chances.

photo by chet novak

Cards/Dodgers NLDS opening probables

2009-10-07T05:59:00.003-05:00

Chris Carpenter (RHP, 17-4 in regular season) is slated to take the hill for the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday night in Game #1 of the NLDS versus the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The scheduled pitcher for the Dodgers is (LHP, 11-7 in regular season) Randy Wolf.

Like most short series, this best 3-of-5 stint places enormous importance on the first couple of games. For the Cardinals, with probables Carpenter (Game #1) and Adam Wainwright (Game #2), the Cards are in as good a position to take command as any team in baseball.

From now on the playoffs, however, runs may be a premium regardless of who the Cards face. This makes the equation for advancement not an easy task, but an easy formula for the Cards: they must bring their bats. It's one of those "boils down to" things.

NLDS Game #1 on West Coast Wednesday

2009-10-05T06:51:00.001-05:00

Couldn't be more ready for Game #1 of the NLDS between the Cards and the Dodgers.

First game, Wednesday night, 8:37 p.m. CT.

Blog-by congrats to Cards

2009-09-29T06:20:00.003-05:00

Wedged a moment in edgewise from educational hiatus in order to congratulate the St. Louis Cardinals on their NL Central Division title.

As of this entry, the Cubs' Tragic Number is down to one in the Wild Card race.

No playoff matches have been set. My pick for potentially most dangerous playoff foe (for any team, actually) is the San Francisco Giants, based on their awesome rotation. With playoff series all basically short, those hurlers could do a team in doublequick.

I do, however, have every confidence that the Cardinals rotation is just as talented.

Lots to consider for playoffs in coming days. Have fun.

UCB Live Blog Event -- Sunday July 12 Noon -- Cards/Cubs

2009-07-11T10:06:00.005-05:00

The United Cardinal Bloggers will host a live blog event for the UCB July Project.

The live blog will go "live" at 12:00 p.m. CT, Sunday, July 12, 2009.

You do not have to register or download anything to contribute to this all-day "chat" of sorts.

The live blog is not exclusive. The live blog is all-access.

The live blog will continue from noon until the close of the night game of the Cards/Cubs double header. However, if blog traffic slows between games, we will put it on standby until just prior to the second game.

The blog window has been embedded here on 4thebirds..., for your convenience, but is also available at:

United Cardinal Bloggers (site link on nav-bar)
C70 at the Bat
Lil' Redbirdie Told Me (blog link on nav-bar)
4thebirds... (MLBlogs)
Cardinal Nation Ticker (blog link on nav-bar)

Other UCB members may be participating.

If you would like to embed the live blog window on a post on your blog, you can find the embed code here. By embedding the live blog window on your site, you can participate and permit your regular readers/viewers to remain on your site. (Works on most blogs, but see notes re: Wordpress and few others.)

Have questions or need help? Drop a comment on this post.

UCB Live Blog Event -- Reminder

2009-06-24T07:15:00.003-05:00

The United Cardinal Bloggers will host a live blog on July 12, 2009 at 12:00 p.m. CT.

The live blog will run concurrently with the Cubs/Cards double header.

UCB Members should make request for html code if they desire to embed this live blog on their blog/site.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T08:56:00.001-05:00

Happy Father's Day!

Short hiatus and hope to return before the ASG.

Tigers cramp Pineiro's style

2009-06-19T06:39:00.006-05:00

Joel Pineiro pitched until he could pitch no more, writhing on the ground in front of the pitcher's mound, cramping uncontrollably.

But for his courageous efforts, the Cardinals as a team haven't supported him enough offensively to get the team through to a victory -- at least, not in Pineiro's last six starts.

Could've been the intolerable heat, getting whacked with a line drive in the calf, but whatever it was, Pineiro was hurting for some time the hill before succumbing to the ill effects. His teammates had to carry him off the field.

The Cards would go on to lose the game, 6-3.

The series with the Detroit Tigers, however, went to the Cards, 2-1, and the St. Louis squad is off to Kansas City for more inter-league rivalry against the Royals at Kaufmann Stadium.

Khalil back

Khalil Green is back with the major league team, getting into the Thursday night game, but striking out. It was obvious, though, that he had his bat speed back in order. Before Greene left the team to deal social anxiety disorder and do some work with the Triple-A club in Memphis, his swing had deteriorated quite a bit, looking very low energy and indecisive.

Thursday night showed a much better at-back for Greene, although he was fooled for strike three on a curve. (It's not the rest of the team doesn't suffer a similar fate, and quite often. It's called being human and it happens to everyone.) If you can detect anything from the few swings Greene executed, it can only be positive at this point.

Cardinal Nation seems very much behind Khalil.

Friday night in KC

Brad Thompson RHP is slated to start the first of the three-game set with the Kansas City Royals at Kauffmann Stadium at 7:10 CT. The game is on FS-Midwest TV and KTRS 550 radio. Thompson is 1-2 with a 3.60 ERA.

Thompson will start against the Royals' Kyle Davies, 3-6, 5.14, a RHP.

photo by Barbara Moore

Win while you learn for Cards' Rasmus and Wellemeyer

2009-06-18T09:04:00.004-05:00

Yadier Molina and Colby Rasmus supplied six of the St. Louis Cardinals' eight hits Wednesday night, helping edge the Detriot Tigers 4-3.

The three-game home stand -- and series -- with the Tigers is already won for the Cards, now 2-0, and who hope to sweep Thursday night at Busch Stadium.

Wellemeyer nearing acceptable level of effectiveness

The run production was just enough to help starter Todd Wellemeyer even his record at 6-6. Wellemeyer still did not look comfortable on the hill, but show signs of progress. He seems frustrated that cannot seem to maintain some level of effectiveness. Most noticeable was how well he pitched when following through, something he hasn't always accomplished, short-arming to some degree at times.

Too much mechanics on the brain may be the dilemma, and that happens to just about every pitcher at some time or other, and especially when struggling. Manager Tony La Russa pulled Wellemeyer in the sixth inning, not even to 100 pitches (91), having gotten in enough work and able to depart with a lead. Wellemeyer looked capable of going much further, but the skipper picked his spot, and things worked out for the squad in the end.

Molina reaps profits of controlled swing

Molina cranked a solo home run to left-center, about three rows up in the bleachers. He had been hitting many line drives, and normally waits out a pitch long enough to lace it into right field. A by-product of this productive style of hitting, however, is that once a hitter is in tune, he often times really "sees" the ball well, and without the self-induced pressure of trying to hit a long ball, hits one anyhow. In this case, a well-time stroke by Molina that pulled the ball about as far to the left side as you will see the Cards' catcher pull.

Rasmus (and Ryan)(and Thurston) as examples of potential, and how to learn

Rasmus continued to lash out at opponent's pitching, doing well at choosing fast balls and with a healthy dose of bat speed, able to pull pitches to right field and even smooth them out into center at times. Wednesday night, he cranked a ball high off the right field wall, inches from a round-tripper.

Once the bat is out of the rookie's hands, however, the baseball IQ seems to drop rapidly. The walled hit turned out to be Rasmus's first big league triple, but he may have created an opportunity for an inside-the-parker if he had run hard out of the box. Instead, he ran just off a full speed pace to first base, then turning on the speed once he saw the ball was indeed, not going over the wall.

Rasmus would end up getting tagged out at home plate not long after, on a ground ball in which he glided toward home, once more turning on the speed too late, his slide creating a close play at the dish, but one which would go against him and the Cards.

The center field defense of Rasmus certainly looks like a rookie, which is understandable, but the way in which he moves -- or doesn't -- indicates an indecisiveness which can appear as if he is lazy, but which suggests he simply doesn't possess the instinctual baseball knowledge that makes a player react and "go for it."

For an example of a player having a clue, or think he does, review many plays by Joe Thurston. Does he make mistakes. Yes, and enough to get a coach cringing, but Thurston's mistakes are often the right kind, meaning he had an idea of what to do in given baseball situation, and did it, full speed. The end result -- good or bad -- has taught Thurston a lot about that particular situation. Conversely, a Rasmus play of indecisiveness teaches him nothing.

Brendan Ryan is another great example of "learn while you burn." When you view a Brendan Ryan play, at least, after it's over with, you can say, "By golly, he gave it a 100%, even if it was the wrong play." But Ryan would then know the difference, well, maybe after a couple of the same mistake, but still.

So Rasmus, to pick on the rookie, would probably do himself a big favor and make everyone else feel much better about this execution of baseball plays if he let go of what appears to be fear of mistakes, or worry over choices, and simply went all out on his best instinct, even if that was way off the mark.

The bat is keeping Rasmus in the bigs; his other baseball skills ... maybe not so much. But another part of Rasmus that can make things so tough for him is that he does appear to have a lot of big league potential, and he has proven quite a bit of that potential as well. So the "pick-apart his every fart" attitude being put forth here is probably due to just how good a player Rasmus could develop into, for if he had not shown the potential, there wouldn't much of discussion going on here.

photo by Barbara Moore

Duncan follows Pujols in longball in win over Tigers

2009-06-17T07:49:00.003-05:00

Chris Duncan has hit better on the road than at home, but Tuesday night at Busch Stadium, he launched a bomb into the left center field bleachers in an at-bat that followed a blast by Albert Pujols that narrowly missed thumping into Bic Mac Land.

The St. Louis Cardinals ran away with an 11-2 victory of American League rivals, the Detroit Tigers, helping starter Adam Wainwright continue to work toward maintaining a solid track of performance.

The offensive support for many of the excellent starting pitching performances showed up for the Cards, but the win may have been tempered a bit by what appeared to be a foot injury of some type to Brendan Ryan, the result of a quirky finish to a swing at the plate.

Swings of Change

The most important part, in my estimation, of the swings-of-change, so to speak, was that both Duncan and Rick Ankiel actually appeared to be "thinking middle," and taking the ball to the opposite field when appropriate. Both dead pull hitters if you track their respective hits on a spray chart, would be well served by "staying back" a bit more on their swings, allowing themselves to drive the ball into the opposite field when the pitch count and location dictate such a batted ball.

This is not hindsight, however. I've been harping on this for some time now, and whether the hitting of Tuesday night's game by Ankiel and Duncan was by design or accidental, it ought to open their eyes to a capability at the plate they don't seem to realize they possess.

Next maybe some work on the curve ball. (It appeared Ankiel's difficulty with this pitch is actually the curve part and not so much the change of speed, the latter the more likely culprit in fooling hitters.)(Duncan has had his difficulty with off-speed in general, when it is away, and then, only when he is obviously dead-pulling. His staying back may find him a bit tardy on a few fast balls, but only if severely jammed. Due to the areas in which Duncan hit Tuesday night, he has now created another zone in which he can crush a pitch.)

To further analyze Duncan, his usual swings almost make it appear he is a hitter who doesn't believe he can hit more kinds of pitches better, when actually, he is a far better hitter than he make realize.

To further analyze Ankiel, he appears to be making too many guesses at the plate. This observation, however, is totally a 20-20 hindsight thing. This doesn't mean something cannot be learned from it. It still appears Ankiel is "yanking" the bat too much with arm muscle, a tense condition which jerks the head and therefore, line of sight. He definitely has enough strength to get more relaxed, smoother, and with bat speed. A "Lauist" approach might serve him better, but this is such a matter of personal feel and comfortability, it could just as easily foul him up worse. In any event, I would stick with smoother, staying back and going for bat speed. Hitting some plastic golf balls with a broomstick handle is nice Old School way of working toward bat speed and while demanding keeping the had still; you can accomplish neither by muscling.

Please, add your thoughts. It's fun pretending to be Hal McRae.

photo by chetthejet

2006 rematch on tap at Busch

2009-06-16T06:23:00.004-05:00

Weather permitting, the St. Louis Cardinals will play a three-game rematch of sorts versus the Detroit Tigers in St. Louis, starting Tuesday night.

Probables

DET -- Justin Verlander RHP 7-2, 3.02
STL -- Adam Wainwright RHP 6-4, 3.49

The last time the Tigers were in St. Louis was during the 2006 World Series, when they lost to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium for the series winner.

Cliff Lee too much for Carp

2009-06-15T07:45:00.002-05:00

Chris Carpenter is one of the best pitchers on the St. Louis Cardinals, but he was outmatched Sunday in a nationally televised game on ESPN.

Cliff Lee, a former Cy Young Award winner, of the Cleveland Indians, threw no-hit baseball for nearly eight innings, then went on to shut out the Cardinals in a complete game.

The Indians supported Lee well with three runs, not usually enough to win a major league baseball game, but plenty when the opponents are held scoreless.

Mark DeRosa, the Indians all-around defender and hot bat in the clutch, didn't wait to take Cards' starter Carpenter deep in the first inning with a two-run shot with two outs. The base runner was a freebie, a walk by Carpenter. The Tribe would add a run later.

Lee had the luxury of pitching with a lead, which he admitted helps, in a post-game interview. But Lee says he approaches every inning with the intention of holding the competition scoreless, regardless of the current game score.

Much of Cardinal Nation states that as Carpenter goes, so goes the Cards, which is nice to say when the team is on a winning streak. But the danger in such fanfare is when Carpenter gets out pitched, and especially in a decisive manner. It's not a big deal. It is, after all, a game, and one in which wins and losses get handed out, so to speak, rather evenly on average.

Having lost the inter-league series to the Indians, 2-1, the Cardinals now head for home and a three-game set with the Detroit Tigers. After that, it's back on the road again. The Tigers' series starts Tuesday at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

Wrong lineup

2009-06-13T07:37:00.003-05:00

A post regarding police lineup photos intended for the blog, Innosense4u, was mistakenly posted here on 4thebirds...

While it's obvious cops cannot handle lineups properly, the type of lineups we fret over on this baseball blog are those concerning the St. Louis Cardinals.

To be sure, bad lineups in either area can cause big problems.

Cards crushed by Indians

2009-06-13T05:44:00.003-05:00

Despite Albert Pujols' 20th home run and another solid outing for Joel Pineiro, the Cardinals fell short against the Cleveland Indians Friday.

The run production wasn't there. The relief pitching wasn't either. It's a simple analysis, but an accurate one.

As a team, the Cards failed to back up Pineiro, who kept them in the game, waiting for run support that was minimal at best.

The Cards will try again Saturday with Brad Thompson on the hill.

Cards fish victory out of Marlins

2009-06-11T09:57:00.004-05:00

Colby Rasmus continued to provide great at-bats, joined by Rick Ankiel in a 13-4 pouncing upon the Florida Marlins Wednesday night.

Adam Wainwright had the right stuff on the hill, going deep into the game to hold the Marlins from a big seventh inning.

These quick observations are obvious to anyone who witnessed the game, but related stats and discussion are withheld in this piece as my time was spent on the FSMidwest live blog during the ball game.

The FSMidwest live blogs are quickly proving much more active than any UCB blog, and more so than the various live blogs I've posted on Cardinal Nation Ticker. FOX has the automatic audience built in, making the blogging much more available.

Thursday the Cards will take on the Marlins before the lunch hour and I hope to bring more insight into this game.

2B steal coverage

2009-06-09T13:46:00.005-05:00

In the Monday game at Busch Stadium, there was a steal of second base by the Colorado Rockies in which no one covered second base.

Catcher Yadier Molina fired down to second, as he should, assuming, in this case, as he should, that one of the middle infielders would be covering the bag.

No one covered.

Brendan Ryan was playing shortstop; Skip Schumaker was playing second base.

We may not know who was responsible for covering second, but I've been asked to explain the basics of this play.

So ...

Normally, on an attempted steal of second base the shortstop covers the bag with a left-handed batter and the second baseman covers the bag with a right-handed batter. This does two things for the defense, the first of which may or may not even come into play. The first supposed benefit is that the "opposite side" defender gets a clearer view of the entire catcher play, making sure he gets a good read on the throw.

Secondly, the tendency is for a hitter to hit to the pull side, therefore, keeping the second baseman in pull-side position in case of a hit ball with a left-handed hitter at bat; the opposite for right-handed hitters, whose pull side is through the left side of the infield.

This strategy can be affected by a few factors however, that make the "standard coverage" less than ideal when considering tendency. For instance, a right-handed hitter is at bat whose tendency is to hit to the opposite field, or, the right side. In such a case, it would make sense for the second baseman to hold his position on the right side and allow the shortstop to cover second base.

Another factor is knowing the pitch choice and location. For instance, inside pitches tend to create a pulled hit, more so when the pitch choice is slower in speed for a particular pitcher. So there are a bevy of variable in pitch choice and location.

The shortstop normally makes the call as to who is covering second base on attempted steals, which the only two choices being either himself, or the second baseman. He accomplishes this signal by shielding his face with his glove, just so the second baseman can see him. The standard signal is open mouth/closed mouth. Open mouth can mean: "I'm covering. Closed mouth can mean: "You cover the bag." Or vica versa. Other signals known only to the shortstop and second baseman can be utilized, if desired.

To be sure, someone must be covering, and the shortstop must make that clear. The dugout may be signalling the shortstop as to who they prefer cover second base in an unusual situation, but the shortstop must pass that coverage along via the pre-determined signal with the second baseman.

In order to make open/closed mouth signal more definitive with younger players, I've utilized the shortstop signalling open mouth if he is covering; and, instead of closed mouth, he would stick his tongue out at the second baseman, meaning, "I'm pointing at you so you cover the bag."

As for the Cardinals, Brendan Ryan, one might imagine, would be making sure Skip Schumaker, new to second base this season on the pro level, would have the communication. Regardless of who missed the call, it is a basic mistake that looks bad for a defense at the pro level. The fans may not know whose fault it is when Molina's throw sails into center field, but the players on both sides have a good idea, and usually that's enough embarrassment to get it right the next time.

Cards to fish their way out of 4-game funk

2009-06-09T11:44:00.004-05:00

The Cards will go fishing for a win on the east coast today, starting a three-game set with the Florida Marlins.

A split with the Reds wasn't bad, but things fell apart versus the Rockies, the offense falling flat and the starting pitching doing everything they could to keep the Cards in the game, waiting for a couple extra runs that would never come.

Today Chris Carpenter takes the hill, the Cards hoping to end a five-game losing streak. Out of the next 16 games, 13 are on the road; Florida, Cleveland, Kansas City, New York Mets. A short three-game set against the Tigers is the sandwich. After the 16 games, the rest of June belongs to Busch Stadium.

The obvious is that the squad is pressing for offense, which can have a cumulative effect on the team. When trailing by even a couple runs, the opponent's lead feels insurmountable, but a few big-inning breakthroughs can help boost morale and bring the team out of the slump just as fast.

It's the waiting for a rally that's a killer.

When slumps occur, even the defense seems out of kilter, every mistake amplified, adding to the frustration.

In reality, a few defensive boners wouldn't get much spotlight if the team was leading for a change. Any leathery mishaps get little more than a mention when things are going well.

In a post-game, Jack Clark mentioned the Cards are doing the best with what that have, meaning the AAA-help, but although the words can be taken as a slight, they should not be taken out of context. I speculate that Clark knows full well how much the AAA-kids, so to speak, have contributed, and while the "burn while you learn" experience doesn't help the Cards too much in the win column, the experience is invaluable to nearly a half-dozen Memphis callups, and could well help the Cardinals down the road.

For now, however, the talk that's getting bigger and bigger is whether the ownership will go after an impact bat, which seems the most needed item on the Cards' priority list for staying competitive after the All-Star Break.

If Cardinals' ownership plays it as usual, they will make what I consider a mistake in waiting until the bus has left the station before seriously going after the necessary player. The optimum fill right now is third base, though Glaus is expected to come back eventually.

I like Al Hraboskey's choice of Mark De Rosa, to play the hot corner until Glaus returns, then use his experience at no less than six different positions to assist in La Russa's perpetual tuning of the lineup, not to mention, in-game strategies. There are others to consider, but the money aspect of De Rosa is the closest to fitting the right (by choice or necessity) budget of the Cardinals' organization.

If you wait until after the ASG, however, you are making things terribly difficult in the acquisition department, as any other teams in contention will be shopping just as hard for the best deal-to-player ratio. De Rosa fits that for many teams. I say the Cards should go after him right away, because even with the current slump and the pitching staff having its yearly woes, the Cards are only a few games out and stand to remain in contention with the likes of the Brewers, Cubs and Reds.

photo by Barbara Moore

Ghosting ... till further notice

2009-05-11T12:08:00.004-05:00

Sorry to be missing out on all the great Cardinals action, but I'm ghosting till further notice.

Hope to be back soon.

chetthejet

Shane Robinson -- AAA Memphis Redbirds Stats

2009-05-07T12:50:00.004-05:00

Shane Robinson just got off the DL in his assignment for Triple-A affiliate Memphis Redbirds. Now he gets called up to replace OF Rick Ankiel, who goes on the 15-day DL after his horrific headlong crash into the outfield wall a few days ago.

Shane has played in 15 games for the Redbirds so far this season.

Robinson is 19-for-55 at the plate, giving him a .345 batting average, the highest on the team by 49 points. Tyler Greene (also up with the parent club) was second with .296. That leaves the Redbirds with Allen Craig as the next highest at .282.

Has scored 13 runs, second only to teammate Jon Jay.

Led the Redbirds in doubles with five.

Has a triple along with Joe Mather and Tyler Greene (three-way tie for team lead).

Has not homered in Memphis.

Tallied a scant two RBIs.

Accumulated 26 total bases, third on Redbirds.

Has stolen four bases; third best on team.

Was caught stealing once.

Walked only four times while striking out only six times.

Hits an OBP of .410, second only to Tyler Greene's .412.

Led the Redbirds in Slugging Percentage at .473.

Led the Redbirds in OPS at .883.

Committed no errors on Redbirds to date.

Definitely the highest ranked hitter Memphis had, an affiliate that will miss him in their lineup, but an affiliate that has done its job by helping Robinson develop his hitting to a high standard at that level.

Robinson caught everyone's attention at Jupiter, Florida, during Spring Training with his hitting and speed. And speed, on the bases, is something the Cardinals have lacked over the past few seasons, opting for power at every position possible.

The ability to get on base made Robinson a real Triple-A threat. Now he has a chance to test his abilities at the major league level.

Obviously, Robinson will not replace Rick Ankiel, once the Cardinals' center fielder has completed rehab in Florida.

But bumps and bruises and DL designations occur at times during a long major league season, so finding out how Shane Robinson can contribute to the squad in The Bigs is well worth the look-see in May.

Robinson has been assigned #33.

photo by Barbara Moore