Thanks to all that made EM an enjoyable experience over the past two years, but I’ve decided to move on to a different project.

Again, thanks, and God bless

The Cardinals lost seven of their last nine games.  During that time, they couldn’t hit, couldn’t pitch, couldn’t field and couldn’t stay healthy.  Tonight should then be declared a resounding success:

They could hit.  Not so much while Padres starter Clayton Richard was initially on the mound–they left men on in six of his seven full innings without scoring–but they did hit, finally plating two in the seventh to take the one-run lead.

They could pitch.  At least Jaime Garcia could: seven innings, seven strikeouts and only two earned runs; one that scored as result of a balk and another given up by Jason Motte that gave the Padres the eighth inning lead.  And while Motte wasn’t so hot in the eighth, Tyler Greene gave him a second chance with a go-ahead two-run homerun in the bottom half; a chance he cashed in on in the ninth when he finally shut the door in front of the pesky Padres to end the game.

They could field.  No errors tonight: a significant achievement after committing seven last week.  Rafael Furcal‘s aim seems to have gotten better, and Matt Adams made a nice save on a pickoff attempt at first.

They stayed healthy.  A rare night devoid of catastrophic injury.  Also a significant achievement.

For a little over an hour, the Cards were tied with Cincinnati for first place in the Central; but the win not only preserves the division lead, but it also surely provides some much-needed morale to a team who just went through a nightmarish week-long stain on their season.

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That was close.  It turns out that Lance Berkman‘s MRI did not turn up with an ACL tear like the Post-Dispatch reported last night and like many major media outlets took up.  Although, the tests were inconclusive and Berkman will be getting a second opinion this weekend.  But if the ACL is serviceable, there’s chance he still comes back this year.  Either way, the best-case scenario is six to eight weeks.

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The history of the shopping/living/eating/buying center Ballpark Village that was supposed to be built in the empty field across from Busch Stadium has had a tumultuous past, but the Cardinals announced today that, while it won’t be the same as the original design, it will still have the Cardinals Hall of Fame, seats you can actually watch a game from, a park and a giant TV screen.

The Post-Dispatch promises new details soon.

UPDATE: Here they are.

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God job by Mike Matheny for giving Freese a much-needed night off tonight.  He’s hitting .148 with two homers and five RBI in the last fifteen games, including four ugly strikeouts last night and shaky defense the past week or so.

Stick with me through tonight’s column.  It will be tough, but there’s some serious stuff that needs to be touched on.

First, the blown call at third that would have given the Cards a win instead of a one-run loss.  The play was started on Matt Adams‘ (2-4, R in debut) single to center.  Yadier Molina was attempting to go from first to third: suicide for anyone with his lack of speed.  Yet, somehow, he beat the tag by a hair.  But third base umpire Alfonso Marquez got heads when he should have said tails and Molina was called out at third.  After that, Daniel Descalso singled, Kyle Lohse moved the runners over, Rafael Furcal singled one in, and Skip Schumaker flew out to end the inning.  Had the right call been made, as many as three runs would have scored that inning instead of just one, giving the Cards the win.  Instead, the Cards picked up their seventh loss in nine games and are now only one game up on the Reds.

Yadi should have known better.  He’s not fast enough to take that kind of risk and he and everyone who follows this team knows that.  But that’s overshadowed by the fact that he actually did make it and the call was incorrect; another reciprocal of a particularly hideous week of umpiring and one more case study to be thrown out by Bud Selig.  These incidents will continue to be ignored by this archaic regime until that out-of-touch tyrant finally secedes his throne.  Until the Game’s priorities change from satisfying the umpires’ union and pushing bravo sigma about “the Human Element” to actually getting the call right–which is what fans want–nothing will change and teams will keep losing games exactly like the one tonight.

Second, David Freese is hurting.  Badly.  Through his first 24 games, he was hitting .326 with six homers and 24 RBI.  In the 15 game since, he’s hitting .148 with two homers and five RBI.  And I think it’s time to bring his status back down to reality.

I think we Cardinals fans knew Freese’s potential as a perennial .300 hitter well before the insane playoff season he had that put him on the map forever.  I also think we were absolutely blown away when he busted down the door like he did this season.  And now, I think we need to again re-adjust our expectations for him.

Iceman is not the behemoth he was hitting like initially.  He is a good player; a top-tier third baseman.  but he’s not a superstar.  He’s not in the conversation with David Wright, Miguel Cabrera, Evan Longoria, Adrian Beltre, Jose Bautista and Alex Rodriguez as to who is the best third baseman–not even close.

I love the guy and am forever grateful for what he did on that night of October 27, 2011.  I think he’s a good player who brings a lot to this team.  But I don’t expect him to be the monster he was in the first quarter of the season.  In fact, after tonight’s game that included a couple defensive misfires and a hitless, four-strikeout game in which he swung at every pitch right at his eyeballs, Matheny has no choice but to give him a day or two off.  Give Disco some time at third an Freese a rare, well-needed break.

Third, the aftermath of all this.  The above can be grafted as minutia when you step back and observe the wreckage that came as a result of this sweep in LA.  The Cards blew through the first month-and-change against inferior in-division opponents, but when they got true challenges from Atlanta and Los Angeles, they were minced.  Sure, the defense has struggled abnormally since the Braves series and sure the team is a virtual infirmary, but most of the games against real competition haven’t even been close.

This team has lost my considering them as an elite NL team.  They can gain that back in their rematch with the Braves next week, but for now, this looks like a team whose great record was just a mirage shaped by the teams they were facing.

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The Cards are now only a half game up on the Reds, but they have the schedule advantage, getting to play the Padres (29th of 16 NL teams in runs scored) and Phillies (13th) at home this week while their tailgaters get the Braves (3rd) and Rockies (8th).  The itching matchups for the San Diego series:

Jaime Garcia (3-2) v. Clayton Richard (2-5)
Adam Wainwright (2-5) v. Edinson Volquez (2-3)
Lance Lynn (6-1) v. Jeff Suppan (2-2)

Lance Berkman was injured in yesterday’s game, prompting the team to call up first base prospect Matt Adams, whom GM John Mozeliak said, “Would play extensively.”  Berkman had this to say this afternoon:

“If I’ve re-torn my ACL or something like that, I’d certainly get it fixed but you don’t know how psychologically you’re going to come back from something like that.  I’m not talking from the standpoint of being scared of hurting it again.  I’m talking about doing everything it takes to come back and play again at an elite level.  I think that’s a legitimate question I’m going to have to answer if, in fact, it turns out to be something more serious than we hope that it is.

“I’ll be glad to get some more definitive answers tomorrow.  Then you map out your strategies and go from there.”

This sucks.  Not only is he a very important player, but he’s a great guy.  I’d hate to see him go out like this.

Hopefully this is just a few-weeks thing.  EM will keep you updated…

UPDATE: The Post-Dispatch says Berkman did tear his ACL, and an MRI will commence tomorrow to confirm.

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Tyler Greene slid into Dodgers second baseman Mark Ellis in the series opener in a double play-breaker most everyone agreed was a clean play.  Nevertheless, Ellis was removed immediately, which was apparently a good call.  From the Los Angeles Times:

“Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly said Sunday if the surgery had not been performed that Ellis was mere hours away from losing his lower left leg.

“Mattingly said Dr. Neal ElAttrache told him the muscle might have died if surgeons had performed the fasciotomy six or seven hours later.

“Surgeons cut an approximately six-inch incision on the outside of his left calf Saturday to drain blood and fluid that was applying severe pressure to the muscle.  Ellis is scheduled to remain in the hospital to allow continued drainage until the flap is sewed back on Tuesday.”

EM told you first when Matt Adams was immediately pulled from his AAA game when Lance Berkman was injured in Los Angeles.  Now, it’s official: The team has announced that Berkman will hit the 15-day and Adams will take his place.

I’m just as excited as everyone else to see the prospect who has displayed incredible power in the minors (.340, 9 HR, 27 RBI this year; .300, 32 Hr, 101 RBI in 2011).  His addition certainly makes the team look a lot deeper than if they would have otherwise.

My only concern is if this guy’s ready.  He’s only being called up because of two catastrophic injuries to the other viable starting first basemen, so we’ll see if he’s truly ready or if this was simply a move John Mozeliak had no choice in making.

Plus, we also have to remember that this guy probably won’t be an upgrade.  The loss of Berkman is still a damaging blow that Adams likely won’t be able to fully patch.

UPDATE: Not only is Adams on the team, he’s already in the lineup for tonight’s game on ESPN.

UPDATE: The original sentiment was that Adams would share time with matt Carpenter at first base, but Mozeliak says Adams will play extensively.  Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been called up.

Cardinal superprospect Matt Adams was removed from the Memphis Redbirds game shortly after Lance Berkman exited the Cardinals’ game against the Dodgers with an injury.

Adams is hitting .338 with nine homers and twenty seven RBI in thirty six AAA games this year.  He hit a flat .300 with thirty two homers and 101 RBI in 2011.

I won’t lie and say this doesn’t excite me, but I am very wary of rushing guys before they’re ready; and I can’t believe this move is made unless absolutely everyone ahead of Adams is hurt.

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Hours later…

Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers proved to be too much for the Cards, who lost 6-0.  Once again, it was a sloppy loss that featured errors, a ball off a glove and a run-conceding wild pitch.  I don’t fault them for losing to such a good team accompanied by the best pitcher in the National League.  I do fault them for their continued lackluster play and execution of basic plays.

The brakes have to be thrown on.  Cincinnati’s only a game and a half back.  This week will be prime time to gain back ground since, after Sunday, the Reds are playing the Braves for four games and the Rockies for three while St. Louis gets the worst team in the Majors, the Padres, for three and the now-cruddy Philadelphia Phillies.

The Cards have to capitalize on this edge.  Their days of sitting securely atop the division are over, at least for the moment.

They have raised questions of their validity as one of the elite teams in the League in the past week, and now they have to prove that their hot start wasn’t just the effect of an easy opening schedule.  They’ll get that chance in a rematch with the Braves to wrap up the month.  Hopefully the Padres and Phils will provide them with a padded record by then.

Regardless of the opponent though, the defense has to shape up.  Rafael Furcal needs to get his game back together at short.  Shane Robinson and Tyler Greene need to earn their field time.  Everyone needs to do their part as they did before the Braves series. And they need to do it fast, or the Reds will be happy to take their place.

Mike Matheny added after the game, ”I’ve seen a fight in these guys every time we’ve been down.  They’re tenacious to get back in games.  Defensively, until this road trip we were the best team in the league statistically.  I think it’s considerably better than what was going on last year when people were doubting the defense.”

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Sacramento River Cat Manny Ramirez says he’s a new man after a domestic dispute with his wife and PED suspension in 2011.

“I went through all that situation and I looked myself in the eye and I said to myself I needed a change.  My wife is Christian, you know, and I decided to go that path.  That’s why I’m here.  Because when you fall, the men, all the men do is remind of your past but when you come to God, God says you’re like a new child.”

The Cards overcame eight innings of hideous defense and bad pitching when Lance Berkman hit a pinch-hit, game-tying homerun in the ninth.  In the bottom half, Fernando Salas got screwed on the strike zone to walk in the winning run.

Former Cardinal Adam Kennedy did damage (4-4, R, RBI, BB).

That’s pretty much it.

More analytical and less demoralized Cards updates coming tomorrow…

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This broke last night, but the Giants signed former Cardinal Brad Penny to a minor league deal after he tanked in the Japanese league.

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I’d like to apologize for my suggesting Memphis Redbird R.J. Swindle as a lefty replacement for the ‘pen the past few days.  Turns out he was released by the team despite having eleven strikeouts in as many innings and was replaced by lefty Clay Zavada, who infamously beat out Brendan Ryan for the American Mustache Institute’s Goulet Award in 2009.

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The 2009 trade of half-prospect Chris Perez for playoff run acquisition Mark DeRosa is one of the more underrated bad trades of the previous decade.  And apparently, Perez agrees.  His post-game presser, as transcribed by @DidTribeWin:

“I’m tired of getting booed at home so I decided to throw strikes today.”

“[Getting booed] doesn’t bother me, it pisses me off.  It’s even worse when there’s only 5,000 in the stands.  You hear all of it.”

“They can boo me all they want on Opening Day but on games I only have two guys on and they’re already on me.”

“Fans wonder why guys don’t want to come here. That stuff is reserved for the road.”

“We know the weather sucks… When you have 5000 fans, not just do you hear it, you see the guy.”

“When we win, it’s fun. I didn’t hear anything today.”

More context will come later from a major media outlet I’m sure, but there you go.

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A crappy news update whether you’re just now waking up or are just up too late: Kyle McClellan will hit the disabled list after aggravating a lingering injury in yesterday’s loss and Allen Craig will return to DL Land after going Josh Hamilton in the two weeks between now and his last incapacity.

My guesses for replacements would be Brandon Dickson on the pitching side and Adron Chambers for the hitting side, although Maikel Cleto, R.J. Swindle, Pete Kozma, Mark Hamilton and Zack Cox are all possibilities as well.

Keep in mind that on top of this, Carlos Beltran, Yadier Molina an Lance Berkman are all on injury watch as well.  And we’re starting to see the main pre-season concern start to manifest: staying healthy.  The Cards are an unstoppable tank as long as all the parts are there.  And while there are plenty of spare parts to go around, that tank needs to stay in one piece for the Cards to hold off the Reds, who are only two and a half back.

UPDATE: Dickson’s agency confirms he will be the one called up to replace McClellan.  In eight and a third rookie innings last year, he struck out seven and gave up three.

UPDATE: Two-for-two, Chambers will be called up to replace Craig.

UPDATE: Craig will only miss the minimum fifteen days, but the outlook isn’t as good for McClellan.  GM John Mozeliak:

“It’s definitely better than we had feared.  It’s still not great news.  When you take into account a throwing program on the back end, you’re probably talking a minimum 10 weeks.”

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Whitey Herzog said in a speech yesterday that he sometimes managed some of his teams in a way that would worsen their record in order to get better draft picks in his seventeen-year managerial career, most of which was with the Royals and Cardinals.

Herzog went on to mention how critically flawed an idea adding extra wild cards is.

Check out everything he said in the Springfield News-Leader.  Regrettably, they paraphrase most of what he said.

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On top of injury issues, the Cards have to face the team with the best record in the Majors this weekend.  Granted, the Dodgers don’t have Matt Kemp right now, but the Cards don’t have Jon Jay or Craig, and as mentioned above, the bridge is rusting in key points that could go at any minute.

Pitching Matchups:
Lance Lynn v. Ted Lilly
Jake Westbrook v. Clayton Kershaw
Kyle Lohse v. Chad Billingsley

Dodger catcher A.J. Ellis said of the wounded Redbirds, ”They’re as strong a test as we’ve seen this year.  They’re the defending world champions, so it’s going to be a fun weekend.  It’s a good showcase for the Dodgers, to show everybody what we’ve been doing and that we’re for real.”

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Rare good news on the injury front: Beltran says, ”If everything goes well, I plan to be in the lineup.”

UPDATE: He’s in there.  But Berkman is not, since the Cards are facing a lefty tonight.

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It’s been a particularly bad week in umpiring, but it’s nice to see that finally, after years of hearing bravo sigma about how umps’ performances are evaluated, that one of them is actually going down.

Bob Davidson was the embodiment of intolerably obnoxious in his confrontation with Phillies manager Charlie Manuel earlier this week, and MLB has announced that he will be suspended for one game for it.  It’s not much and is not a performance-based suspension, but at least the precedent is there.  Hopefully this evolves into a system where umpires like Davidson, Joe West and Angel Hernandez have to think twice about being morons.

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Mozeliak told ESPN’s Jayson Stark, ”With the fact that [Dave Duncan] was gone, [re-signing Yadi] was a subtle way of still keeping that same presence on our staff.  Yadi is a special guy, a guy we knew we had to find a way to keep.  All I can tell you is, when that deal got announced, there were a lot of happy people in that locker room.”

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‘The Cardinal Way,’ the organization’s unwritten yet respected code of conduct, is now written in 86-page handbook form.  Each player in the organization got one this spring, and it outlines the values that the organization holds.

Man, I’d like too see one of those.

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Thanks for reading, and please leave your reactions.  It’s why I do this!

Albert Pujols went yard for the second day in a row.  As you can see here, his swing is back to normal after being mechanically inconsistant for over a month.

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His old team didn’t fare as well.  Bad defense all over the place prove to be the difference as all three Cardinal errors eventually scored.

Adam Wainwright still isn’t himself.  He only gave up two earned runs (five total) but couldn’t even get out of the sixth inning with 103 pitches after walking four and only striking out one.  That, combined with another bad post-injury outing from Kyle McClellan and hideous fundamental defense, basically sums up a game where home runs from Yadier Molina and Matt Holliday were about the only highlights.

If you want to put a positive spin on it, the Cards are on pace for 94 wins through a quarter of the season which, in my estimations, should win the Central.

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 Yadier Molina was able to start the game today after missing yesterday, but Carlos Beltran was not.  Mike Matheny told the pregame media, “You never know, but I was hoping to write him in today.  It didn’t work out.”

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To add to the pile of injury concerns, McClellan left his third-of-an-inning, two-run outing with an unidentified elbow injury.

He’s an interesting case, McClellan.  Last year, he began the season as a starter when Wainwright’s injury opened up a spot in the rotation.  For a while he might as well have been Wainwright.  The Cardinals won nine of his ten starts.  But after that run, he sustained a hip injury and hit the DL.

He was never the same since.  He lost his rotation spot to Edwin Jackson, and since coming off the DL in June of last year, his ERA is 4.67.  Now, he’s hurt again.

AAA bullpen options include Brandon Dickson, Maikel Cleto, Chuckie Fick and R.J. Swindle if Matheny wants a lefty now that one of his right-handed lefty specialists is hurt.

UPDATE: McClellan said after the game, ”It’s been sore for a couple of weeks, but it got to the breaking point where I knew I couldn’t go on.”

Great.

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Another injury: Allen Craig is day to day with a sore hamstring.  Of course he is.

Craig was hitting .373 with five homers and nineteen RBI in thirteen post-DL games.

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Thanks for reading, leave your thoughts, and don’t dress like your favorite baseball team.

Look out for Albert Pujols!  He’s got his swing back…

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In case you missed last night’s late game, the Cards took the Giants down in their first visit to foggy McCovey Cove in over a year.  Jaime Garcia absolutely devoured the mis-named Giant lineup, striking out nine in seven and a third.

Meanwhile, Madison Bumgarner took his first loss against the Birds despite going the same distance as Jaime.  He gave up all four Cardinal runs on a squeeze play, a David Freese home run and a two-run Skip Schumaker double.

It was a good, well-needed start for Garcia, who came into the game off two really rough ones; and his easy streak should continue in his next outing against the woeful Padres.

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Lance Berkman looked ugly, going oh-for-four without ever getting the ball out of the infield.  Since his return on Sunday, he’s hitting .213 with one RBI in three games.

Rafael Furcal did much better, going three-for-four and jacking his average up to .370: second only to New York’s David Wright in the NL batting race.

Yadier Molina didn’t play a day after his walk-off hit.  Injury concerns still linger after he was hit by a Mitchell Boggs pitch last week.

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At 2:45 today, Matt Cain will throw the first pitch in a game where his old catcher will be managing the other side.

“I remember catching his first game and I’ve seen him develop into a superstar,”Mike Matheny, Cain’s catcher in 2005 and ’06, said last night.  ”He would follow Jason Schmidt and myself around and ask questions.”

Adam Wainwright will pitch opposite Cain.  He’s 1-3 with a 3.38 ERA lifetime against the Giants, and facing such a poor offensive team should help him find the consistancy he lost in his last outing against the mighty Braves.

Derrick Goold noted today that the Giants’ overpaying of Cain will raise the price of the Cardinals’ keeping Wainwright eventually.

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 Carlos Beltran is easing back after a sore knee injury and took time last night to talk to the San Francisco media about his leaving this Giants team.

“I don’t think they made an effort [to re-sign me] at all.  They didn’t call my agent.  At the same time, this is business.  They knew I was available.  I expressed I wanted to come back.

“At the end of the day, they didn’t call and St. Louis was the best fit for me.  I really enjoyed my time here.  But at the end of the day, it was not my decision.”

He said of that sore knee last night, ”Every day it’s getting better, but it’s not better to the point where I feel I can go out there and play the game to the level that I want to be out there.”

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The Cardinals bought AAA first baseman Jamie Romak from the Royals.  He’s got power, but has never made it to the Majors in nine years in the Braves’, Pirates’ and Royals’ systems.

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The results of a Post-Dispatch poll asked readers yesterday, “Who will emerge as the Cardinals’ starter at second base?”

35% Skip Schumaker
29% Tyler Greene
28% Platoon is fine
07% Daniel Descalso

I’m personally fine seeing them platoon at second and play other positions when necessary.  All of them present unique skills and all of them are good players.

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Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz sounded off about Hunter Wendelstedt’s horrible strike zone last night, this two days after Brett Lawrie went off on Bill Miller for his zone.

I’d present my Pitch F/X solution to this problem again, but I’ll wait until there’s a commissioner that will listen.  In the mean time, we can only hope players continue to speak out about the incompetent, archaic system of umpires.

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Thanks for reading, leave your comments, check back for updates, and always wear a cup.