Have you ever had a party where you invited a bunch of friends and no one showed up? That situation describes the St. Louis Cardinals and the National League Central Division race.
Only a month ago, many thought that the NL Central race would go down to the very last day. After July 22nd, St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee and Houston were all within 2 games of each other and Pittsburgh, the last place team in the division was only 7.5 games out.
Since then, the only team to show up to the party has been the St. Louis Cardinals. Since July 22nd, the NL Central teams have the following records:
Cardinals 19-8
Chi. Cubs 13-15 (6.5 games lost)
Milwaukee 11-15 (7.5 games lost)
Houston 11-16 (8 games lost)
Cincinnati 7-20 (12 games lost)
Pittsburgh 8-18 (10.5 games lost)
The Caridnals, who own a record of 70-54, are now 7.5 games ahead of the second place Chicago Cubs ((61-60). Although the Cardinals of course have had a great run, nobody else in the division has even come close to keeping up with the Cardinals. The Cardinals don't seem to be winning it so much as the rest of the division is losing it. With one good month, the Cardinals have put themselves in a very good spot to win the division with ease.
It's a shame noone came to our party.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
LaRussa Works His Magic
Sometimes Tony LaRussa can be a little too aggressive when it comes to moving runners, but last night, his decision to send Albert Pujols on a 3-0 count against Broxton and the Dodgers ended up to be pure brilliance. Russell Martin threw his attempt to catch Pujols stealing in the dirt, which allowed Pujols to move to third, and all it took was a Matt Holliday sac fly to bring in Pujols. In two batters, the Cardinals didn't even get a hit (Pujols walked), but still went up on the Dodgers in the ninth 3-2.
Ryan Franklin came in and saved the game for the Cardinals, his 31st and although Wainwright pitched 7 great innings, Kyle McClellan gets the win to improve his record to 4-2.
The Cardinals keep their 6 game lead over the Cubs who defeated San Diego, and the Cardinals improve their record to 69-53.
Ryan Franklin came in and saved the game for the Cardinals, his 31st and although Wainwright pitched 7 great innings, Kyle McClellan gets the win to improve his record to 4-2.
The Cardinals keep their 6 game lead over the Cubs who defeated San Diego, and the Cardinals improve their record to 69-53.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Carpenter, Pujols, Ankiel Shine as Cards Win Series Opener vs. Dodgers
Chris Carpenter (13-3) gave up only 2 runs on 5 hits over 8 innings and recorded 8 stikeouts to lead the Cardinals to a 3-2 win over the Dodgers Monday at Dodger Stadium. Carpenter outpitched Dodgers minor leaguer Charlie Haeger, who was only pitching his second career start and his first with the Dodgers. Haeger, a knuckleballer, was baffling Cardinals batters. and gave up only 5 hits and no walks in 7 quality innings. The problem for Haeger was that he was pitching against Chris Carpenter.
Carpenter had a shaky start, and quickly loaded the bases in the bottom of the first with one out. Casey Blake then hit a sacrifice fly to Ryan Ludwick to score Rafael Furcal, which made it Dodgers 1, Cardinals 0. Ludwick, though, instead of trying to get Furcal out at home, threw to third, and threw out Andre Ethier, who had tagged up and was attempting to get to third base. Mark DeRosa caught Ludwick's strike and tagged out Ethier before he reached third base. Suddenly, what looked like a big inning in the making for the Dodgers was over.
Albert Pujols tied the game in the fourth with his 39th home run of the season, which leads the majors.
The Dodgers took back the lead on Carpenter however in the fifth when James Loney singled in Matt Kemp, who had doubled to open the fifth. At that point the Dodgers led 2-1.
Everything came unglued for Haeger in the seventh when with one out Haeger hit Ryan Ludwick with an errant knuckleball and then gave up a towering home run to Rick Ankiel, his ninth of the season. The Cardinals led 3-2 and would never relinguish their lead.
Carpenter continued to pitch well and looked his best in the 8th inning. Coming in to relieve Carpenter in the ninth, Trever Miller pitched only needed one pitch to get out Andre Ethier, who grounded out to Albert Pujols. Ryan Franklin then came in and forced Manny Ramirez to pop out and then Casey Blake flew out to Colby Rasmus to end the game. Blake's shot by all accounts could have left the park, but the wind was clearly blowing in and the game of course was at night. If it was a day game, the game probably would have been tied, but the ball stayed in the park and the Cardinals won 3-2.
The Cardinals, who have won 9 of 10 and 15 of 19, now boast a 68-52 record, and are now six full games in front of the second place Chicago Cubs, who blew a 1-0 lead in the ninth to lose to the San Diego Padres 4-1 in San Diego.
Carpenter had a shaky start, and quickly loaded the bases in the bottom of the first with one out. Casey Blake then hit a sacrifice fly to Ryan Ludwick to score Rafael Furcal, which made it Dodgers 1, Cardinals 0. Ludwick, though, instead of trying to get Furcal out at home, threw to third, and threw out Andre Ethier, who had tagged up and was attempting to get to third base. Mark DeRosa caught Ludwick's strike and tagged out Ethier before he reached third base. Suddenly, what looked like a big inning in the making for the Dodgers was over.
Albert Pujols tied the game in the fourth with his 39th home run of the season, which leads the majors.
The Dodgers took back the lead on Carpenter however in the fifth when James Loney singled in Matt Kemp, who had doubled to open the fifth. At that point the Dodgers led 2-1.
Everything came unglued for Haeger in the seventh when with one out Haeger hit Ryan Ludwick with an errant knuckleball and then gave up a towering home run to Rick Ankiel, his ninth of the season. The Cardinals led 3-2 and would never relinguish their lead.
Carpenter continued to pitch well and looked his best in the 8th inning. Coming in to relieve Carpenter in the ninth, Trever Miller pitched only needed one pitch to get out Andre Ethier, who grounded out to Albert Pujols. Ryan Franklin then came in and forced Manny Ramirez to pop out and then Casey Blake flew out to Colby Rasmus to end the game. Blake's shot by all accounts could have left the park, but the wind was clearly blowing in and the game of course was at night. If it was a day game, the game probably would have been tied, but the ball stayed in the park and the Cardinals won 3-2.
The Cardinals, who have won 9 of 10 and 15 of 19, now boast a 68-52 record, and are now six full games in front of the second place Chicago Cubs, who blew a 1-0 lead in the ninth to lose to the San Diego Padres 4-1 in San Diego.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Getting Hot at Just the Right Time
Let's take an honest look at the Cardinals season so far.
The Cardinals started off hot as they usually do. The Cardinals were 17-7 to start the season and were 4 games up on the second place Cincinnati Reds after the games on May 1st.
From May 2nd until July 26th, the Cardinals were a mediocre 36-41, and finished the day 53-48, a half game back of the NL Central leading Chicago Cubs.
But from July 27th until today, August 16th, the Cardinals have been on a tear, winning all six of their series and going 14-4 during that span, including sweeps of the Pirates and Padres and winning 3 out of 4 at home against the Dodgers.
The Cardinals are now 67-52, 5 full games over the Chicago Cubs (whose game against the Pirates was rained out today). The only upside for the Cubs is that they hold a record of 60-55 and are only 3 games out in the loss collumn, which just so happens to be the same number of games that they have left against the Cardinals. The Cubs are definitely not out of this race, and the Cardinals need to continue this pace to assure itself of a NL Central crown.
Since the Cardinals have been on this tear, the other teams in the race, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Houston Astros, are now distant memories. After July 26th, only 3 games separated the top four teams in the NL Central race. After today, the Cubs are 5 games behind the Cardinals, the Brewers are 8 games back and the Astros 9.5 games back.
Not only have the Cardinals put distance between themselves and their NL Central foes, the Cardinals are on the brink of catching the National league's best teams. The Cardinals are now only 3.5 games behind the league leading LA Dodgers (70-48) and depending on what the Phillies do tonight, the Cardinals could be tied in games behind with the Phillies, but the Phillies would still have a better winning percentage.
The Cardinals have an opportunity to catch up with the Dodgers even more this week as they travel to Los Angeles for a three game series at Dodger Stadium. The Cardinals then travel to San Diego for a four game series against the Padres.
The Cardinals have put themselves in a good position to make the playoffs, and if they keep up their winning ways, maybe even home field advantage. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Go Cardinals!
The Cardinals started off hot as they usually do. The Cardinals were 17-7 to start the season and were 4 games up on the second place Cincinnati Reds after the games on May 1st.
From May 2nd until July 26th, the Cardinals were a mediocre 36-41, and finished the day 53-48, a half game back of the NL Central leading Chicago Cubs.
But from July 27th until today, August 16th, the Cardinals have been on a tear, winning all six of their series and going 14-4 during that span, including sweeps of the Pirates and Padres and winning 3 out of 4 at home against the Dodgers.
The Cardinals are now 67-52, 5 full games over the Chicago Cubs (whose game against the Pirates was rained out today). The only upside for the Cubs is that they hold a record of 60-55 and are only 3 games out in the loss collumn, which just so happens to be the same number of games that they have left against the Cardinals. The Cubs are definitely not out of this race, and the Cardinals need to continue this pace to assure itself of a NL Central crown.
Since the Cardinals have been on this tear, the other teams in the race, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Houston Astros, are now distant memories. After July 26th, only 3 games separated the top four teams in the NL Central race. After today, the Cubs are 5 games behind the Cardinals, the Brewers are 8 games back and the Astros 9.5 games back.
Not only have the Cardinals put distance between themselves and their NL Central foes, the Cardinals are on the brink of catching the National league's best teams. The Cardinals are now only 3.5 games behind the league leading LA Dodgers (70-48) and depending on what the Phillies do tonight, the Cardinals could be tied in games behind with the Phillies, but the Phillies would still have a better winning percentage.
The Cardinals have an opportunity to catch up with the Dodgers even more this week as they travel to Los Angeles for a three game series at Dodger Stadium. The Cardinals then travel to San Diego for a four game series against the Padres.
The Cardinals have put themselves in a good position to make the playoffs, and if they keep up their winning ways, maybe even home field advantage. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Go Cardinals!
Rasmus' Walk Off Homer Delivers Cardinals Sweep of Padres
Being from Columbus, Georgia, a lot of folks down here wondered how Colby would do in this, his rookie season with the Cardinals (he's from neighboring Phenix City, Alabama - yes, no "o" in Phenix by the way). Colby hasn't done half bad, has he?
More than having a .259 batting average with 12 home runs and 40 RBI's so far this season, Rasmus has delivered in big games and in big moments, and tonight was no different. The rookie outfielder came in with the game tied and one out in the ninth innning after Yadier Molina singled home Ryan Ludwick to tie the game at 5-5. Colby Rasmus then took Padres closer Heath Bell deep on a 0-1 curveball. Game over. Cards win. Cards sweep the Padres.
Rasmus is showing why the Skip Schumaker move to 2nd base was such a good idea. Even before the acquisition of Matt Holliday, the Cardinals had a good amount of outfield talent with Ryan Ludwick, Rick Ankiel, Skip Schumaker and former Cardinal Chris Duncan. The team needed room for Rasmus, so Schumaker went to 2nd base. Rasmus hasn't played every day, but he has shown why the move was a good one with home runs like he had tonight.
Cardinals fans should look forward to more of the same. Go Colby.
More than having a .259 batting average with 12 home runs and 40 RBI's so far this season, Rasmus has delivered in big games and in big moments, and tonight was no different. The rookie outfielder came in with the game tied and one out in the ninth innning after Yadier Molina singled home Ryan Ludwick to tie the game at 5-5. Colby Rasmus then took Padres closer Heath Bell deep on a 0-1 curveball. Game over. Cards win. Cards sweep the Padres.
Rasmus is showing why the Skip Schumaker move to 2nd base was such a good idea. Even before the acquisition of Matt Holliday, the Cardinals had a good amount of outfield talent with Ryan Ludwick, Rick Ankiel, Skip Schumaker and former Cardinal Chris Duncan. The team needed room for Rasmus, so Schumaker went to 2nd base. Rasmus hasn't played every day, but he has shown why the move was a good one with home runs like he had tonight.
Cardinals fans should look forward to more of the same. Go Colby.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Pineiro's Quality Start and Strong Offensive Output Leads Cardinals to 7-4 Win Over Padres
Joel Pineiro (11-9) went 6 and 2/3 innings and gave up 3 runs, while Matt Holliday hit his 16th home run of the year to lead the Cardinals (66-52) past the San Diego Padres (49-69) to remain 4.5 games over the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central.
Pineiro started off a little shaky, giving up a run in the first inning, but the Cardinals were able to score 3 in the bottom half of the first to give Pineiro a 3-1 lead. Colby Rasmus singled with one out, Albert Pujols doubled and Matt Holliday homered to give the Cards a quick 3-1 lead.
Adrian Gonzalez closed the gap in the third inning when he hit a lead-off solo shot to make it 3-2.
Skip Schumaker made it 4-2 when he drove in Julio Lugo from 2nd with two outs in the fourth. Schumaker did the same in the 6th to extend the Cardinals lead to 5-2. Each time, Pineiro helped his cause, first with a walk in the 4th to push Lugo to second, and then with a sac bunt in the 6th to do the same.
The Padres once again made a comeback bid when they scored 2 in the 7th, but the Cardinals answered with two of their own in the bottom of the seventh.
Ryan Ludwick doubled off reliever Luke Gregerson, who had just entered the game. Mark DeRosa then singled to drive Ludwick in, and Yadier Molina hit a ground rule double. Then Brendan Ryan grounded out to score DeRosa.
Ryan Franklin picked up his 29th save to seal the Cardinals win and keep the Cardinals 4.5 games over the Chicago Cubs, who beat the Pirates today 3-1.
The Cardinals will look to sweep the series behind Kyle Lohse tomorrow afternoon.
Pineiro started off a little shaky, giving up a run in the first inning, but the Cardinals were able to score 3 in the bottom half of the first to give Pineiro a 3-1 lead. Colby Rasmus singled with one out, Albert Pujols doubled and Matt Holliday homered to give the Cards a quick 3-1 lead.
Adrian Gonzalez closed the gap in the third inning when he hit a lead-off solo shot to make it 3-2.
Skip Schumaker made it 4-2 when he drove in Julio Lugo from 2nd with two outs in the fourth. Schumaker did the same in the 6th to extend the Cardinals lead to 5-2. Each time, Pineiro helped his cause, first with a walk in the 4th to push Lugo to second, and then with a sac bunt in the 6th to do the same.
The Padres once again made a comeback bid when they scored 2 in the 7th, but the Cardinals answered with two of their own in the bottom of the seventh.
Ryan Ludwick doubled off reliever Luke Gregerson, who had just entered the game. Mark DeRosa then singled to drive Ludwick in, and Yadier Molina hit a ground rule double. Then Brendan Ryan grounded out to score DeRosa.
Ryan Franklin picked up his 29th save to seal the Cardinals win and keep the Cardinals 4.5 games over the Chicago Cubs, who beat the Pirates today 3-1.
The Cardinals will look to sweep the series behind Kyle Lohse tomorrow afternoon.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Wainwright First NL Pitcher to Reach 14 Wins, Cards Defeat Padres 9-2
Adam Wainwright, although not the ace of the Cardinals staff, is the first National League pitcher to reach 14 wins in 2009, and ties Josh Beckett of the Boston Red Sox as the only two pitchers to have 14 wins so far this season. The 6 foot 7 inch, 205 pounder from Brunswick, Georgia is becoming one of the most consistent starters in the National League and always gives the Cardinals a good chance of winning. In his fourth full season as a Cardinal, Wainwright is now a very impressive 41-23 in his career. Wainwright also has 1 win, 4 saves and a 0.00 ERA in 9 and 2/3 innings in the postseason, all coming in 2006 when the Cardinals won the World Series. So Wainwright can do it in the clutch as well, although those innings came as a reliever.
Tonight against the Padres, Wainwright (14-7) went 7 scoreless innings and got 3 strikeouts, while giving up 8 hits and no walks. Wainwright also got the only Cardinals home run of the evening, his second of the year, a solo shot off Padres starter Mat Latos (4-2).
The Cardinals scored early and often against Latos, who gave up 7 runs over just 4 innings. Colby Rasmus went 3 for 5 with a run scored, and Matt Holliday went 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI's to lead the Cardinals offense.
The second place Chicago Cubs put a whooping on the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates 17-2, so the Cardinals (65-52) still lead the Cubs (59-55) by 4.5 games.
Tonight against the Padres, Wainwright (14-7) went 7 scoreless innings and got 3 strikeouts, while giving up 8 hits and no walks. Wainwright also got the only Cardinals home run of the evening, his second of the year, a solo shot off Padres starter Mat Latos (4-2).
The Cardinals scored early and often against Latos, who gave up 7 runs over just 4 innings. Colby Rasmus went 3 for 5 with a run scored, and Matt Holliday went 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI's to lead the Cardinals offense.
The second place Chicago Cubs put a whooping on the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates 17-2, so the Cardinals (65-52) still lead the Cubs (59-55) by 4.5 games.
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