UCB Live Blog
Duncan longball
Ankiel's scary moment
2B steal coverage
Rasmus learns
LF/SS Fly ball comm
Pineiro cramps up
Kids Day kid makes STL-PD front page

UCB Live Blog Event -- Reminder

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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.





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Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day!

Short hiatus and hope to return before the ASG.

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Tigers cramp Pineiro's style

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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

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Win while you learn for Cards' Rasmus and Wellemeyer

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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

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Duncan follows Pujols in longball in win over Tigers

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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


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2006 rematch on tap at Busch

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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.

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Cliff Lee too much for Carp

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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.

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Wrong lineup

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.

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Cards crushed by Indians

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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.

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Cards fish victory out of Marlins

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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.

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