What's with the Cardinals?

[Bay Area Billiken]

OT

Why can't they hit?

Cards just went 2-4 at home against the likes of the Padres and Pirates.

Yes, Tony and others, I know that it is early. But it is also true that this isn't Spring Training, and these games all count.

Your Left Coast SLU alumnus will be there today and throughout the weekend, as the Cardinals assume the role of the Washington Generals amidst all the hooplah at AT&T Park. It has gotten pretty thick out here.

Not to be negative, and I will be rooting for the Redbirds, of course, but the Cardinals seem to rarely hit well at AT&T Park, even in the best of years.

And even with 2 lefties (Sanchez and Zito) starting for SF, today and Sunday, here's hoping Colby Rasmus is in the lineup, because Colby has the power to go deep over the short RF porch (309 feet) at AT&T Park. Albert Pujols needs to pull the ball here. I've seen many an Albert majestic drive get caught in deep RCF here (421 feet to deep right center). Cardinal games here were times when I liked having a Chris Duncan in the lineup, as that short RF porch played well for Duncan.

Go Cards!

[Clock_Tower]

OT

Why can't they hit?

Cards just went 2-4 at home against the likes of the Padres and Pirates.

Yes, Tony and others, I know that it is early. But it is also true that this isn't Spring Training, and these games all count.

Your Left Coast SLU alumnus will be there today and throughout the weekend, as the Cardinals assume the role of the Washington Generals amidst all the hooplah at AT&T Park. It has gotten pretty thick out here.

Not to be negative, and I will be rooting for the Redbirds, of course, but the Cardinals seem to rarely hit well at AT&T Park, even in the best of years.

And even with 2 lefties (Sanchez and Zito) starting for SF, today and Sunday, here's hoping Colby Rasmus is in the lineup, because Colby has the power to go deep over the short RF porch (309 feet) at AT&T Park. Albert Pujols needs to pull the ball here. I've seen many an Albert majestic drive get caught in deep RCF here (421 feet to deep right center). Cardinal games here were times when I liked having a Chris Duncan in the lineup, as that short RF porch played well for Duncan.

Go Cards!

It's only the second week of Spring!! What are you telling me Pujols won't hit!! Friese won't hit!! Holliday won't hit!! Schumaker won't hit!! Next question!!

Sorry, but that's my best Tony LaRussa impersonation - and what he said to reporters the other day.

[slufanskip]

Pujols not hitting and no Matt hasn't helped, but beyond that why is Theriot leading off agaist righties instead of Schu? Berkman should be batting 2nd, wanting Colby's speed there is a joke as he won't run there anyway. Colby's speed would play better in the 5th spot in front of Freese and Yadi where he could run some. Berkman is a switch hitter who in the 2nd hole would allow TLR to use Theriot leading off against lefties and Schu against righties.

Theriot career obp against lefties .378 righties .337.

Schu career obp agaist lefties .273 righties .365

Why we are married to one at the top seems silly, except that TLR knows all and death to anyone who questions his genius.

Craig can't play everyday due to his glove, but yet we got rid of B. Ryan and have Theriot starting at short? Seems like conflicting strategy to me, except that Theriot is "gritty" ... how nice.

TLR asked if we thought Freese wouldn't hit, well he does have more ab's hitting poorly as a major leaguer than he does ab's where he has hit well ...

It appears the Cards were not prepared for Pujols to ask for as much as he has. They are now in a no-win situation. Overpay Albert or lose him to free agency. What could they have gotten going into the 10 season for him? Neither side is going to come out looking good after this is over, the Cards should have had an idera what it was going to take over a year ago. No one wants to see Albert gone, but ... they should have known and done what had to be done.

[Bay Area Billiken]

Cards are missing Lincecum in this series.

Today's SF starter, Sanchez, has a lot of talent, but can be wild. Cards hitters need to be patient with him, and patience at the plate has not been a virtue for the Cards hitters, including Pujols. Who knows how Westbrook will fare on the mound today for STL?

Matt Cain starts tomorrow. He's a hard thrower. Cards have been able to beat him in the past. Jaime Garcia goes for STL, and Jaime shut out SF in STL last August.

The embattled Barry Zito pitches Sunday for SF, he of the 84 MPH fastball. Kyle Lohse, from Hamilton City, CA, far up north between Chico and Red Bluff, goes for STL. Cards need to be able to defeat Barry Zito, whose contract the Giants are basically stuck.

[billiken_roy]

a "hitting" coach that never hit for anything beyond tainted homeruns and an offense built around albert. as albert goes so goes the cardinals.

[Bizziken]

At least the pitching has been relatively solid...

I think the hitting will come...I tend to agree with TLR's analysis in this case: It IS only the first week of the season...

[BACKHANDtheRICAN]

OT

Why can't they hit?

Simple. The Cardinals suck. If for no other reason, make sure you get out to the ballpark this summer to see Pujols in that red/white uniform for the last time.

[BACKHANDtheRICAN]

a "hitting" coach that never hit for anything beyond tainted homeruns and an offense built around albert. as albert goes so goes the cardinals.

+1

First and last time I'll ever agree with Broy. Unless McGwire is roiding up the lineup, he serves no purpose.

[Pirahna]

At least the pitching has been relatively solid...

I think the hitting will come...I tend to agree with TLR's analysis in this case: It IS only the first week of the season...

and at least we're not playing like the 0-6 Red Sox...

[For-DaLove]

and at least we're not playing like the 0-6 Red Sox...

Except they actually have talent.

The Cardinals supporting cast is terrible, add that with Pujols being on his way to the worst season of his career, and it's going to be an ugly year.

[Bay Area Billiken]

a "hitting" coach that never hit for anything beyond tainted homeruns and an offense built around albert. as albert goes so goes the cardinals.

I don't dispute that McGwire is a question mark as the hitting coach. But at some point, the players themselves have to fess up. From what we've read from McGwire, the players are too locked into video and not enough watching the opposing pitchers from the dugout during the game. I did notice Pujols watching the opposing pitcher intently from the hole the other day.

But really, from my small sample size watching their appearances out here, the Cardinals rarely hit well in San Francisco, even with good hitting teams. And I really don't think it's been the Giants pitching over the years, maybe more so in recent years. But the Cardinals used to have trouble with the likes of Mike LaCoss and Kurt Rueter.

I'd just wish for once the real St. Louis Cardinals would show up out here, the team of tradition, not the team of Skip Schumaker hitting ground balls to the 2nd Baseman, and Albert and Yadi grounding out to the left side of the infield and jogging to first.

Well we're only a few hours away from that clown that sits behind us yelling "Steroids" at Pujols when Albert appears in the on deck circle. Talk about calling the kettle black!

Even if the Giants are World Champs, it was like pixie dust was spread over that team last October. They aren't that good. Cody Ross is on the DL, Aubrey Huff is butchering plays in RF. Cody and Aubrey are out of Wonderland.

Ordinarily I would take 2 right now, but I fear that even just 1 win will be tough enough to get in this series.

Let the games begin!

[SShoe]

Well we're only a few hours away from that clown that sits behind us yelling "Steroids" at Pujols when Albert appears in the on deck circle. Talk about calling the kettle black!

At this point, the only reason to ever suggest Pujols is/was a steroid user is that he is the best player in a game where a lot of players used it. Other than that, there isn't even circumstantial evidence that Pujols ever did steroids (number hikes, physique change), so a Giants fan yelling "steroids" at Pujols is more like the kettle calling the stainless steel pot black.

[billiken_roy]

+1

First and last time I'll ever agree with Broy. Unless McGwire is roiding up the lineup, he serves no purpose.

Wow rican I thought we were buddies. :-)

[jbizzle09]

6 games in. 5 without Holliday. Holliday comes back this weekend. If it is 30 games in and the offense is sputtering like this, I will be concerned. However, no need to get bent out of shape a week in. Hate to agree with TLR, but he does have a point.

On a separate note, who had game 6 in the 'TLR walks out of a press conference' pool?

[For-DaLove]

6 games in. 5 without Holliday. Holliday comes back this weekend. If it is 30 games in and the offense is sputtering like this, I will be concerned. However, no need to get bent out of shape a week in. Hate to agree with TLR, but he does have a point.

On a separate note, who had game 6 in the 'TLR walks out of a press conference' pool?

People seem to forget the problems we had last year. I dont see this changing anytime soon.

[Pirahna]

Except they actually have talent.

The Cardinals supporting cast is terrible, add that with Pujols being on his way to the worst season of his career, and it's going to be an ugly year.

So many chicken littles... It's the seventh game of the season folks!

[slufanskip]

So many chicken littles... It's the seventh game of the season folks!

It is and it's a long season, but every game counts and struggling offensively isn't new to the Cards. Without Waino we don't have much if any wiggle room, so they'd better start hitting soon. Somebody above said they'd start worrying after 30, with the lack of talent on this team, thats way too late.

[For-DaLove]

It is and it's a long season, but every game counts and struggling offensively isn't new to the Cards. Without Waino we don't have much if any wiggle room, so they'd better start hitting soon. Somebody above said they'd start worrying after 30, with the lack of talent on this team, thats way too late.

+1

[jbizzle09]

It is and it's a long season, but every game counts and struggling offensively isn't new to the Cards. Without Waino we don't have much if any wiggle room, so they'd better start hitting soon. Somebody above said they'd start worrying after 30, with the lack of talent on this team, thats way too late.

That was me. I also pointed out that they haven't had Holliday during this period, as he has been out since game 1 due to his appendix. Yes, the games count now, but I don't think we should just chuck it in and say the offense is going to be terrible and that we need to make changes now. Get Holliday back, have Albert start hitting, and things should be normal. In fact, it should be encouraging that the starting pitching has been solid thus far.

[slufanskip]

That was me. I also pointed out that they haven't had Holliday during this period, as he has been out since game 1 due to his appendix. Yes, the games count now, but I don't think we should just chuck it in and say the offense is going to be terrible and that we need to make changes now. Get Holliday back, have Albert start hitting, and things should be normal. In fact, it should be encouraging that the starting pitching has been solid thus far.

You'll get Holliday back soon, but when will Albert start hitting .... and will that cure the offensive woes? One positive sign is AP's strikeouts are not high during the slump, which says he's not expanding his zone and pressing.

My questions are simple Why would TLR who has spent 2 years defending Skip as a leadoff hitter all of a sudden decide that a guy with a career obp .40 points lower against righties lead off instead of Skip? History shows that Skip has a very good obp against righties for a leadoff guy and Theriot's is actually below average. Skip should be leading off against Rh'ers and Theriot Lh'ers. The numbers justify it and TLR has always been a guy who plays the numbers, so why change now?

Now lets talk about the 2 spot. Which batter has a higher obp and more bat control ... Rasmus or Berkman? Add to it that Colby's speed is negated in the 2 spot and Berkman is a switch hitter and it seems obvious to me and everyone else in the world, besides TLR, that Lance should hit 2nd. Colby's speed would also come into play in the 5 spot in front of Freese/Craig/Molina ...

[dlarry]

I wasnt a big fan of the McGwire hire, not because he was "only" a homerun hitter or because of the PEDs, but because he didnt have any experince and because of the shat storm it was going to cause when he was orginally hired.

That said blaming McGwire for the lack of hitting is nonsense.

The Cards were one of only 2 teams in the NL last year who's offensive stats improved in 2010 from 2009.

Now some of that has to do with having Holliday for a full year and the emergence of Rasmus, but still hitting was down from the year before in all of baseball except for in STL.

This year and last year the Cards have been getting guys on they just cant get them in. That has a lot more to do with the manager than the hitting coach. Im a LaRussa fan but the last two years they have not been able to manufacture runs.

The problem with this lineup is that after you get past the 5th spot in the order there is nothing there.

From the 6th spot to the 1st spot in the order, you have nothing but slapp hitters who have almost no chance of getting an extra base hit. So when the 6th spot in the order comes up you need 4 hits just to score 1 run. With the non-existent extra base potential at the bottom of the order they can't put up any crooked numbers.

With the disgusting bottom of the order, Pujols hitting into double plays at an amazing rate, and Holliday being out this team stands no chance.

Holliday will come back and Pujols will be Pujols in a few days but IMO that still wont be enough.

With 5 dead spots in the order any chance of abig inning is eliminated.

[MB73]

Looks like a long yr, plus or minus 3 games of .500 or so. We could have been competitive, 90-94 wins, but:

1) Wainwright's 220+ Cy Young caliber innings = impossible to replace. That was bad luck.

2) Cardinal mgt failed to get a good shortstop and

3) good closer.

Theriot and Franklin are both in the bottom 5-10% of all MLB SS's & closers. I hope TLR can eat the internal politics for a change and at least go with Greene at SS and Boggs as closer asap, not wait until it is too late.

[slufanskip]

I wasnt a big fan of the McGwire hire, not because he was "only" a homerun hitter or because of the PEDs, but because he didnt have any experince and because of the shat storm it was going to cause when he was orginally hired.

That said blaming McGwire for the lack of hitting is nonsense.

The Cards were one of only 2 teams in the NL last year who's offensive stats improved in 2010 from 2009.

Now some of that has to do with having Holliday for a full year and the emergence of Rasmus, but still hitting was down from the year before in all of baseball except for in STL.

This year and last year the Cards have been getting guys on they just cant get them in. That has a lot more to do with the manager than the hitting coach. Im a LaRussa fan but the last two years they have not been able to manufacture runs.

The problem with this lineup is that after you get past the 5th spot in the order there is nothing there.

From the 6th spot to the 1st spot in the order, you have nothing but slapp hitters who have almost no chance of getting an extra base hit. So when the 6th spot in the order comes up you need 4 hits just to score 1 run. With the non-existent extra base potential at the bottom of the order they can't put up any crooked numbers.

With the disgusting bottom of the order, Pujols hitting into double plays at an amazing rate, and Holliday being out this team stands no chance.

Holliday will come back and Pujols will be Pujols in a few days but IMO that still wont be enough.

With 5 dead spots in the order any chance of abig inning is eliminated.

Actually we haven't been getting on in front of Albert that well so far, but what could have been.

3 starts against lefties Theriot has been on at a .444 clip ... pretty sweet. Skip ... has an obp of zero

7 starts against righties Theriot has been on at a .304 clip .... not good at all. Skip .381 against those righties

[For-DaLove]

Our focus on developing talent from within has bit us in the ass so far. That may be the best way to win long term, if you do it correctly and are willing to sign the players as they mature, but it just hasn't worked at all for us.

We had a good roadmap for success under Walt, but I just don't see any positives with Mozeliak. Hes a nice guy, I just don't know if he's a great GM.

As some people have said before, yes it is on the players to hit. They have to take responsibility at some point. But I can't blame them too much when most of them are overmatched everyday and don't have the talent to be anything more than a bench guy.

[Box and Won]

I miss Walt.