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4thebirds... is not a blog to go saber on you, and would prefer to analyze actions than numbers, but in order to map out a few of the more notable prospects amongst the Cardinals' minor league affiliates, we'll have to refer to pure data, and a little bit of selective eavesdropping.

Starting with Low-A ball, the River Bandits currently possess the Cardinals' number one draft pick, Brett Wallace. He has a couple hundred less ABs then most of the regulars, but his hitting is preceding his reputation. If you forgive the low quantity of plate appearances, Wallace leads the team in batting average at .341. He has accumulated 11 extra-basehits so far this season, four of those being home runs. His RBI tally is 51. He also has a respectable on-base percentage at .434 and decent .560 slugging percentage.

Stepping up a notch to High-A, Curt Smith of the Johnson City Cardinals is currently leading that squad with a .349 batting average.

Notable batsmen from the Class AA Springfield Cardinals include Brayn Anderson's .388 and Shane Robinson's .352. Unlike some of his teammates, Allen Craig did not get promoted, and remains on the AA-Cards with a .301 batting average and team-leading 19 home runs. Of the promoted, Jon Jay held a .306 batting average with the AA-Cards with 11 round-trippers. Tyler Greene had a lower .257 average, but displayed some extra-basehit power with 15 doubles and 16 homers.

Now on the Class AAA Memphis Redbirds, Jay has only 11 at-bats so far, but has five hits, one of them a home run to go with his .455 batting average. Anderson possesses a .313 batting average.

There are some other big hitters on the Memphis squad you might not be familiar with, unlike teh recent call-ups, Nick Stavinoha and Joe Mather, who are getting their respective shots at the Bigs right now.

Lesser known outside of Tennessee, perhaps, but carrying proven weight are hitters like David Freese and Josh Phelps. Both are hitting smidgen below .300, but their power is substantial, even on the Triple-A level.

Freese has accumulated 20 doubles, three triples, and 19 home runs, while Phelps has 24 doubles, one triple, and a team-leading 25 home runs. You might at least see Phelps on the parent squad when September rolls around, and possibly Freese as well.

There are also some pretty good arms besides those we've seen get stints with the St. Louis club.

Currently on the Springfield squad, Fernando Salas has tallied 19 saves while starter Jess Todd carries a 3.12 ERA. The records don't mean as much when sizing up minor league pitchers, but a couple stats that mean something for Todd are that he has only walked 21 while striking out 70, giving him a strikeout to walk ratio of almost 4-to-1.

Class AAA standouts are John Wasdin, P.J. Walters, and Jason Motte. Wasdin and Walters are workhorses, with about 90 innings pitched already. Wasdin is another hurler with a good strikeout to walk ratio, with 17 free passes to 84 strikeouts. Walters is bit higher on the walks with 40, but has 86 strikeouts. Maybe more impressive is Motte's 21 walks given to 88 strikeouts, accomplished in a little over 50 innings or work.

Who gets a September callup? There are clearly many to choose from, and in the case of the parent club Cardinals, a few of them may be in St. Louis for more then the splinters, considering how deep into the Triple-A squad they've been already.

Johnson City Cardinals (R): Lost 10-6 at home versus the Princeton Devil Rays yesterday.

JC R-Cards bats of note:

• Travis Mitchell went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and three RBIs.
• Osvaldo Morales had a 1-for-4 game with a home run.
• Alex Castellanos went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.
• Brett Lilley had a 3-for-5 day.
• Jack Cawley went 2-for-4 and scored a run.

Quad-Cities River Bandits (Low-A): Won 3-2 at Modern Woodmen Park, edging the West Michigan Whitecaps on a walk-off beanball as the game-winning at-bat.

With the game tied at 2-apiece in the bottom of the ninth, D'Marcus Ingram was beaned by a pitch, forcing in Thomas Pham with the game winning run.

Jonathan Stambaugh, now 2-2, was credited with the win.

Lance Lynn was the starting pitcher, getting a no decision in his first time to the hill for the Bandits. Lynn threw five complete innings, giving up one run on five hits. He walked one, struck out three, and now carries a nifty 1.80 ERA.

River Bandits bats of note:

• Thomas Pham went 2-for-4 with a run scored.
• Peter Kozma went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs.
• Francisco Rivera went 1-for-1 with a double.

Batavia Muckdogs (A-short season): Won 8-5 in an eighth inning comeback at home over the State College Spikes behind good hitting at the bottom of the lineup.

Frederick Parejo (2-for-4), Charles Cutler (2-for-3), and Xavier Scruggs (2-for-4) contributed a combined six hits (four of them doubles), five runs scored, and five RBIs to lead the Class A Muckdogs offense.

Hector Cardenas was credited with the win, upping his perfect record to 3-0.

Palm Beach Cardinals (High-A): Lost 5-4 yesterday at Space Coast Park in Viera, Florida to the Brevard County Manatees.

In the loss, starting pitcher Mark Diapoules went four innings, getting no decision. Diapoules gave up one run on four hits, walked three and struck out five.

Casey Mulligan suffered the loss, now 1-1.

PB Cards of note:

• Daniel Descalso went 3-for-3 with a double and one run scored.
• Brian Cartie went 1-for-4 with a double and one run scored.
• Brandon Buckman went 2-for-3 with a run scored.

Springfield Cardinals (AA): Won 7-0 yesterday, shutting out the Arkansas Travelers at Dickey-Stephens Park in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Pitcher Justin Fiske got credit for the victory, his first against no losses and carrying a 3.00 ERA.

Fiske had a tremendous outing, giving away only one hit in seven innings. He walked only won, but struck out nine Travelers during his time on the hill.

Luke Gregerson breezed through two innings of relief in the non-save situation, giving up three hits, but striking out three, giving AA-Cards' pitchers 12 strikeouts for the game.

AA-Cards bats of note:

• James Rapoport went 1-for-5 with a triple.
• Andrew Brown hit a double and scored a run.
• Isa Garcia went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and scoring a run.
• Brandon Yarbrough had a double, an RBI, and scored a run.

Memphis Redbirds (AAA): Won 6-4 yesterday over the Fresno Grizzlies at Chukchanse Park in Fresnon, California.

In the victory, Josh Phelps went deep yet again, a two-run shot, his 25th this season. He wasn't alone in the longball category, either, fellow Redbirds Brian Barton (1) adding a solo shot, and David Freese (19) hammering a two-run homer.

The Phelps' dinger in the fifth inning with Jon Jay on base proved to be the game-winner.

John Wasdin notched the victory, now 8-6 with a 4.04 ERA. Wasdin went five full innings, allowing three runs (all earned) on six hits. Wasdin walked three and struck out five in the effort. He also gave up one home run, but continues to be a force for the Class AAA club.

Pitching one inning and earning his third hold was Matthew Scherer. He struck out two, giving up one hit.

Spliting an inning were relievers Ron Flores and Mark Worrel. For Flores, this was his 10th hold; Worrel earning his 12th hold. Flores only pitched a third of an inning, recording the out as a strikeout. Worrell pitched 2/3, giving up two hits and one run.

Chris Perez came on to close, gaining credit for his 11th save, striking out two.

Redbirds bats of note:

• Josh Phelps went 1-for-5 with his 25th home run, gathering two RBIs.
• Brian Barton had a 2-for-5 game with his first home run of the season.
• David Freese went 2-for-5 with his 19th home run, collecting two RBIs.
• Tyler Greene went 1-for-4 in the leadoff spot with a double.
• Jon Jay had a 2-for-3 game with two runs scored.
• John Wasdin was 1-for-3 with a double.

4thebirds... will be designing and testing a new feature we're ran across today.

If it works without too many bugs, you will be able to post LIVE during tonight's Cards' game versus the Atlanta Braves.

If the design needs more adjustment, we will cut it off and post a notice letting you know of its status.

Thanx for trying out all of our big ideas.

• trade for an "impact" bat
• trade for a reliever, lefty, is at all possible
• trade for another starter

But of course, there isn't a ball club around that couldn't use another light's out closer, or an impact bat, or another great starter. No duh.

Actually, just about anybody with true talent is a good fit for the Cards, so the best deal may be simply to make a great acquisition, if, there's one out there.

And if not, don't do anything. Ride with what you've got, meaning, the Cardinals should ride with what they have, and what they hope to have as far as the return and re-sharpening of Adam Wainwright and (now on the scene) Chris Carpenter. The same goes for Randy Flores and Chris Duncan.

Keep in mind one more item not hit upon as the Cards come down the stretch: Once the rosters can be expanded in September, realize that the Cards will have one of the better benches in the bigs. Suddenly, all these hitters and pitchers that have travelled back forth from Memphis are not only going to be available, but will have that invaluable experience of having been there.

On-deck: The Cards go for a sweep tonight at Turner Field against the injury-riddled Atlanta Braves. Gamie time is 6:00 p.m. CT.

Probables: STL-Joel Pineiro RHP (3-4, 4.79) vs. ATL-Mike Hampton LHP (0-0, 13.50)

Birds' Perch: With the Cubs knocking off the Brewers yet again, the Brew-crew got a taste of their own sweeping medicine, but more importantly for the Cards, the Brewers are now only one percentage point ahead of them in the NL Central, .556 over .555.

The Cubs remain four full games ahead of both the Cards and the Brewers as we head into the last third of the season.

Whatcha done for me lately? Joe Mather has played in six games since being called up from Triple-A Memphis, and this is what he has contributed to the parent club.

• 21 ABs
• 4 runs
• 7 hits
• 2 doubles
• 2 home runs
• 4 RBIs
• .333 on-base percentage
• .714 slugging percentage
• .333 batting average

• Joe Mather went 2-for-5, scoring two runs on a double and a home run.
• Also doubling were Skip Schumaker, Albert Pujols, and Kennedy.
• Joe Mather, Yadier Molina, and Adam Kennedy went 2-for-5.
• Ryan Ludwick went 2-for-4.
• Brad Thompson earned the victory, improving his record to 4-2.

Thanks to all of you who participated in the selection of your Wish-List 5 regarding who you wanted as the Cardinals' starting rotation.


Here's the starting rotation:

1. Chris Carpenter
2. Adam Wainwright
3. Kyle Loshe
4. Todd Wellemeyer
5. Braden Looper

• Mark Mulder came in sixth.
• Aaron Miles beat out Mike Parisi and Mitchell Boggs
  
  
  

Todd Wellemeyer struggled and battled for six innings, during which time the Cardinals fought in a one run game for five. And for the sixth and seventh innings, they fought in a tied game, Ryan Franklin relieving from the latter, and extending on through the eighth.

Brendan Ryan got the Cards on the board first with an RBI single in the second inning, bringing home Yadier Molina.

The Braves' starter, a last minute insertion, Jorge Campillo, didn't give the Cards much. He would baffle the Cards most of the time with more off-speed than fast balls. He also got to work with a lead, although a slim one, when the Braves put together a two-run third inning, taking the lead at 2-1.

Campillo, would work longer than Wellemeyer by an inning, going seven complete. Both Wellemeyer and Campillo walked one and struck out five. Wellemeyer threw 98 pitches while Campillo tossed 100.

Before Campillo was through, however, he would give a home to Albert Pujols, who has hit a home run in three out of his last four games.

The 2-all game found Franklin pitching when the Cards took the lead in the eighth, Pujols working is way around the base in phases, getting on with a double into the right field corner, then stealing third base, and able to scrambled to his feet when an errant throw zipped into left field, dashing home with the lead run at 3-2.

A five-run ninth all but sealed the fate of Bobby Cox's Braves, an inning that got away from reliever Mike Gonzalez before he knew it.

Cesar Izturis singled home Ryan for the fourth Cardinals' run. Nick Stavinoha hit a sacrifice, Aaron Miles tagging up at third and scoring. When Troy Gluas walked with the bases loaded, forcing home Izturis, Cox replaced Gonzalez with reliever Blaine Boyer.

Molina would hit a two-RBI single off of Boyer, Pujols and Ryan Ludwick scoring, bring the Cards into a commanding lead at 8-3.



Instead of using Jason Isringhausen in his return to the closer's role, Cards' manager Tony La Russa brought in Kyle McClellan due to the big lead.

Franklin would obtain the victory, improved to 4-4. Rafael Soriano would take his first loss, now 0-1.

• Yadier Molina went 3-for-5 with a run scored and two RBIs.
• Pujols went 2-for-4, scoring three runs and collecting one RBI.
• Ryan went 2-for-5, scoring a run and recording one RBI.
• Cesar Izturis went 1-for-4, scoring one run and getting credit for one RBI.
• Ludwick went 1-for-4, scoring a run.
  

photo by Barbara Moore

All the basics in less than minutes: 4thebirds in 4.

And if you can stick around, more Cardinals tidbits to chew on.

As always, post comments. I'll try to include responses in upcoming mediacasts.

Springfield Cardinals (AA): Lost 10-4 to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals last night.

Starter Jess Todd had one of those nights, allowing eight runs in his five innings of work. He walked three and struck out six, giving up three longballs that acounted for all but one of the Naturals' runs. A grand slam was part of the nightmarish equation.

Notable hitting in the loss for the AA-Cards:

• Allen Craig went 2-for-4 with a home run.
• James Rapoport went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer.
• Daryl Jones went 2-for-4 and scored a run.

Quad-Cities River Bandits (Low-A): Lost 6-2 to the Great Lakes Loons.

When the River Bandits tied the game at 2-all in the eighth inning, they thought they were in a position to make a last inning comeback.

In the Bandits' eighth, Francisco Rivera came up with a two-out, two-RBI basehit, Adron Chambers and Peter Kozman scoring.

But the gutsy rally must've woke up the Loons, because they got crazy in the bottom of the frame, doubling the answer, scoring four of their own to set what would be the final score at 6-2.

Bandits' starter Chuckie Fick fell to 3-3 after 7 1/3 innings of work. He allowed three runs on seven hits, but also struck out three.

Reliever Matt Spade got bum-rushed for three runs on two hits. Spade also gave up two walks and worked only one out.

Brandon Garner came on in relief, but gave up two hits before he could secure the last out of the eighth.

Batavia Muckdogs (A-short season): Won 5-4 over the Williamsport Crosscutters.

Ramon Delgado was the winning pitcher, going five innings. Delgado improved to 2-1. He allowed six hits and one run, striking out four.

Earning his first save, Jameson Maj had to work four full innings to do it. He allowed a couple runs on four hits, also striking out four. He gave up one home run ball.

Jermaine Curtis starred at the plate for the Muckdogs with a three-run homer.

Christian Rosa went 2-for-4, scoring a run.

There is one day remaining for you to make selections of your Wish-List 5.

Of the listed Cardinals' pitchers on the poll on the sidebar to your right, you get to choose five starters to fill out your wish-list of a starting rotation, regardless of any pitcher's availability at this time.

It's free and it's fun.

Results will be posted after the poll closes

• Josh Phelps went 3-for-5 with a pair of three-run homers and an RBI single while scoring three runs.
• David Freese went 3-for-5, including a home run, scoring three runs and collecting three RBIs.
• Brian Barton was 1-for-4 with a triple and scoring two runs.
• Tyler Greene, just called up from Double-AA Springfield when Brian Barden departed for the U.S. Olympic team, went 1-for-5, scoring a run and nabbing one RBI.
• D'Angelo Jimenez went 3-for-5, scoring two runs and hitting one double and one triple.
• Mark Johnson and Cody Haerther both went 2-for-4.

1. Kyle Lohse -- 139.1
2. Braden Looper -- 127.1
3. Todd Wellemeyer -- 116.0
4. Joel Pineiro -- 97.2
5. Adam Wainwright -- 91.2

In an effort to provide you with more varieties of presentation, 4thebirds... has been working potential video design as well as working toward podcasting.

For now, we are experimenting with a few designs, striving for what will work best in this blogging environment.

Please feel free to critique this work-in-progress.

As well, post comments on the content, as this type of presentation begs for your input, which will probably decide much of the future content.

• Hits: Skip Schumaker -- 12
• Doubles: Troy Glaus, Rick Ankiel, Yadier Molina, Aaron Miles -- 2
• Home Runs: Albert Pujols -- 2
• RBIs: Albert Pujols -- 5
• On-base percentage: Skip Schumaker -- .438
• Slugging percentage: Albert Pujols -- .516
• Batting Average: Skip Schumaker -- .414