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Cards have tentative deal with Brad Penny
Well the Cardinals have made a move to bolster their pitching staff as they have reached a tentative deal with Brad Penny. He just has to pass a physical to seal the deal. Now, I think Penny is a fine pitcher but, with his signing, I doubt if the Cardinals have the money to also sign both Piniero and Holliday. That being said, Penny has had some arm problems in the past. He pitched well in an abbreviated stint with the Giants but, Piniero has improved every year and I really don’t consider Penny that much a better pitcher than Pineiro.
Whitey Herzon thinks Big Mac will become a fine hitting coach but, thinks he should really open up about the steroid allegations. Right now, its been reported that McGwire, will have a perss conference before the Christmas holidays.
Matt Holliday, Mark DeRosa and Joel Pineiro all declined arbitration as expected. The Redbirds have has some preliminary talks with Boras but, if those talks prove unfruitful, you can expect the Cards to really push for DeRosa.
As for my opinion, I think the Cardinals should still make an effort to retain Rick Ankiel. I think he would be verp productive and selective at the plate. The Cards have have a potential left fielder in Rich Ankiel and if he hits the way he’s capable, Cardinal Nation will forget about Holliday.
For more…listen to my podcast at: Redbirds of a Feather Podcast
Pardon this blog…more than Cardinal baseball!
Before I start my commentary on Cardinal Nation and Cardinal baseball, let me address something that’s been on my mind most recently. Will the media get off the Tiger Wood roller coaster already!! Sheeesh! As if the media needed any more reasons for its audience to doubt its credibility.
Now, I kind of understand that is human nature to be curious of those who have obtained celebrity status for one reason or another. Heck, even I initially wondered how he was injured to such an extent going out of his driveway at suck an apprently short distance. But, it was fleeting curiosity. Whatever caused his injury; whatever caused the wreck; whatever reason caused his lovely wife to break both windows….who cares!! Enough is enough; give the man his privacy. Heck any celebrity deserves that. Tiger is just the latest example of the media’s apparent need to go “National Enquirer” on celebs.
Ok, let say for the sake of argument, his he did have an affair and his wife was so pissed about it, he was struck by her. And in his attempt to “walk” away from the domestic dispute, he got rattled while driving away and as a result, had the accident. Ok…he isn’t the first man to have an adulterous affair; better men and more “moral” men and women have had affairs. If he’s smart, he’ll learn from it and his wife will forgive. Again, their private business. Now you’re reading how “mysterious” his wife is in the media. Why…because we know nothing much about her except she was a nanny and a model before becoming Mrs. Tiger Woods. Unless you’re a family member, that’s all anyone needs to know. So, let the man heal and resolve his issues, if there are any to resolve, in peace.
Now, on to Cardinal baseball. Looks like the Redbirds are going to set a timetable as to how long to wait for Holiday. And frankly, I don’t blame them. I’m guessing from what I’ve read, it will be during or shortly after the winter meetings.
I’m still ticked about both Cardinal pitchers being overlooked in the Cy Young awards. Lincecum is a fantastic pitcher but, this was a year he didn’t deserve a Cy Young.For more on this check out my Nov 29 podcast.
The Cards signed Jason LaRue, backup catcher to a one year deal. He deserves it. Despite his balky knees, he’s proven to be a reliable player, offensively and defensively when Yadier Molina is out.
It looks like at least from a fan standpoint, Big Mac will be on the Hall of Fame ballot. Based on a poll on the St. Louis Post Dispatch website, the numbers are overwhelming for his name to appear on the ballot. Now, one of the writer’s claims Big Mac can thank A-Rod for this?? I think the writer’s are finally realizing the ignorance of holding a player as an example while another player is still actively playing. Hmmmm…wonder if they will put CROW on the menu when they go to their favorite restaurant.
For more of my opinions and Cardinal news, check out my website at:Redbirds of a Feather.
Later….
Cardinals marching to the post season…with authority!
I’ve been a St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan for 40+ years. I cannot recall a time that the Redbirds have played such overall flawless baseball! They are playing incredibly well! Right now they are the epitome of playing team baseball. When the offense stumbles a bit, pitching and defense picks theim up. If their pitching is having an off day, more times than not, the offense picks them up and wins the game. Incredible!
And now, as deep as we are, teams can no longer “comfortably” pitch around Albert Pujols. They not have Holliday to contend with and a resurging Ludwick. While DeRosa and Lugo have brought added offensive punch, Smoltz had been a pleasant surprise as we now appear to have legitimately four aces in our rotation of Carpenter, Wainwright, Pineiro and Smoltz. And when Lohse regains his from as he comes back from injury, our staff is reminiscent of the Baltimore Orioles team of Palmer, McNally and company.
Other players starting to get their timing back are, Ankiel, Glaus and Greene.All returning from injuries. All are contributing nicely and Tony LaRussa, John Mozeliak and Dave Duncan should be applauded for a job well done in the dugout and in the front office.
At any rate, I’m looking forward to wearing my 2009 World Champions cap. For more on the Cardinals, check out my podcast at www.redbirdsofafeather.com or www.libsyn.com or iTunes.
Cards still in first…Holliday’s HOT…Pujols NOT
The Cardinals are still in 1st and finished a 5-2 homestand that included winning series against the LA Dodgers and Houston Astros. Over the next few weeks, the Redbirds have enough “off” days to allow Tony LaRussa and Dave Duncan to go with a 4 man rotation.
Matt Holliday, the newest Cardinal, continues his hot hitting. Up until Sunday’s game, he had gone 20-33 and had a 9 game hitting streak. The longest for a Cardinal player since 1996. Pujols on the other hand is in a slump and has been since after the All Star break. He’s hitting .226 and hasn’t hit a home run in 15 games. The good news….he should break out of the slump soon and he also insists its not the elbow causing problems.
Troy Glaus hopes to resume rehab efforts as he tries to overcome some lower back problems and return to the Cardinal dugout. Khalil Greene was activated and is back in the dugout. He did very well in his stint with Memphis and hopes to continue his good hitting at the major league level.
Brendan Ryan is expected back in the lineup after suffering a badly bruised ankle. He hurt the ankle hitting a foul ball of the ankle.
As I predicted, the Cards have seen improved played since the LA series as they continue to florish and hopefully, they can put some distance between themselves and the other teams in the NL Central.
For more info, check out my podcast at www.redbirdsofafeather.com.
Cards drop out of first….add Holliday and Lugo
The good news is that the Cards obtained Matt Holliday from Oakland to add some dept and add some “punch” to the lineup. They also obtained Julio Lugo from Boston. Lugo is expected to back up Brendan Ryan as shortstop and add some infield depth. Both players, along with DeRosa have made an immediate impact in the Cardinals’ lineup but, despite that, the Cards finished a recent homestand at 2-5.
The pitching staff appears to be in a slump but, you can look for that to turn around as Carpenter faces the LA Dodgers on Monday. Its a four game series and I expect the Cards to take the series.
Rick Ankiel is also starting to play like he’s capable. He’s starting to hit and play with more confidence. The Cards continue to get poor performance from Wellemeyer as a starter. And I say that because, I think Wellemeyer would do better temporarily in the bullpen. He could handle long or middle relief and give him a chance to regroup. He’s a good pitcher; I just think he’s in a serious slump right now and its hurting the team.
The Cards are .5 game behind the cubs but, I fully expect that to be a very temporary situation. For more info, check out my podcast at www.redbirdsofafeather.com .
Second half starts with Cards in first!
Well, now that the light headed feeling of All Star festivities is over, the Redbirds can get back to the task at hand; that is getting to the playoffs. They’re currently in 1st place in the NL Central. The Cubs and Brewers and nipping at the Cardinals’ heels as the Redbirds are 2 games up on the Cubs and 3 up on the Brewers. Here’s what needs to happen in order for the Cards to win the division and eventual penant and World Series:
- Albert as to continue to do what he does
- Ludwick needs to continue as he has in recent weeks; make the opposition pay dearly for walking Albert by continuing to drive in runs and get on base
- Starting pitching as to keep getting quality starts and going deep into games
- The bullpen must continue to be reliable and keep the opposition at bay when called upon
- Either Duncan or Ankiel needs to get better; if DeRosa starts to hit, it could make up for the offensive woes of Duncan and Ankiel
- Continue to win series
Also, if Glaus and/or Greene can get back that would make things even easier for the Redbirds. I don’t think a trade or transaction to get Halliday is going to happen. The Cards would have to give up more than they want to right now.If the Glaus and Greene situation hadn’t happened, it would be more likely but, I don’t see it happening.
For more details on this, check out my podcast at: Redbirds of a Feather podcast.
Cardinals send 3 to All Star Game…Pujols NL Player of the Month
Well, thanks in large part to Cardinal Nation and their own player performance, the Redbirds will be represented at Catcher, 1st Base and Relief pitching. Yadier Molina, Albert Pujols and Ryan Franklin will be in the All Star Game. Albert and Yadier were voted in and Ryan was chosen by Charlie Manuel. Albert was the leading vote getter and Yadier edged out Brian McCann of Atlanta.
Albert Pujols was named NL Player of the Month for June. His 14hr and 35 rbis were the main reason as, he almost single handedly kept the Cards in contention. And now, they are back in 1st place. Albert also set a new record for grand slams by a Cardinal with 10. And the most recent grand slam was homerun 350 for his young career. Only two players have reached 350 faster…A-Rod and Ken Griffey Jr.
Cards are still a little inconsistent offensively and are still having a problem scoring at times. Kyle Lohse is set to return this week and Troy Glaus is making progress in his rehab.
Wellemeyer appears to have fixed a flaw in his delivery and the results were apparent in his last start where he got the win and went 7.1 innings. For more info, check out my Cardinal podcast at www.redbirdsofafeather.com
Welcome newest Cardinal….Mark DeRosa
Well, Redbird Nation got their wish as the Cardinals signed a bat to help protect Pujols in the lineup and for their push to the post season. DeRosa was obtained in a trade to Cleveland that send Chris Perez and a player to be named later. DeRosa was hitting .270 with the Indians and had 13homers and 50 rbis as well. He’s know as a very versatile player who can play 3B, SS, 2B,LF and RF. He’s also a great person in the clubhouse.
In Sunday’s debut for DeRosa, he started in LF and batted cleanup. He was hitless but made a fantastic play in left field and robbed a Twins player of an extra base hit.
In other news, Khalil Greene had a relapse for his anxiety disorder. He missed two games as a result but, played in the Sunday game. Hopefully Khalil will understand that having bad games is going to happen in this league.
I fully expect Wellemeyer to be sent to the bullpen upon Lohse’s return. He’s had only 1 quality start this year and seems to get worse every game.
For more details, check out my podcast at: .Redbirds of a Feather
Redbirds back in first…Pujols dominating!
Sorry for the late blog…a host of internet connection problems have put me behind. As the title suggests, the Cardinals are back in first place. As of this blog entry, they are 2 games ahead of the cubs. Their offense is coming alive and their pitching is picking up the pace. Pujols continues to be….well, Pujols. He recently had a game where he had 2 homers; one being a grand slam and a total of 6 rbis!!!
Lately, if our pitching is average, our bats are booming; as a 12-5 thumping of Kansas City recently proved. Or if our bats are average, our pitching dominates as evidence in our 3-0 game last nite. The biggest contributors lately…Pujols, Ankiel, Khalil Greene, Schumaker and Ryan. Ludwick is starting to regain his rhythm and Molina is starting to heat up offensively. Duncan seems to come thru at just the right time and Colby is looking like a Rookie of the Year candidate.
Some not so great news…Wellemeyer continues to struggle as does Dennys Reyes. Frankly, in my opinion, Wellemeyer should be relegated to the bullpen for the time being and let Thompson replace him in the rotation. A move I think we’ll see when Lohse returns from the DL.
In the meantime, the Cards continue to win and hopefully, they’ll put more games between the brewers and the cubs.
For more details, check out my free Cardinals podcast at Redbirds of a Feather.
Cardinals fighting for first place..Interleague play continues
Well, the Cardinals just lost a series to Cleveland as interleague play continues with the Redbirds hosting Detroit this week. They lost the rubber game with their ace Chris Carpenter on the mound. Carp gave up two home runs…a rarity for him; that proved the difference in the game. But, the Cards were shutout as their offense continues to run hot and cold instead of being a model of consistency they enjoyed in April.
Also, I’m not quite ready to annoit Colby Rasmus the starting center fielder. He proved Sunday on national tv, he’s still learning to play the position at the major league level. He misplayed two fly balls, one leading to a triple and the other a double that could; at best be caught and at worst a single by a more capable and experienced center fielder. So, while I love his ability, I would leave Ankiel in center as soon as he’s 100% healed from his collision with the wall.
Another thing that bugged the hell out of me…if you’re reading this Redbird players, will you please stop swinging at the first pitch EVERY time!!? Especially when you’re behind in the ball game. Hell, make the pitcher work! Let him make a mistake and at least give your pitcher time to catch his breath before going back to the mound. Sheesh….
Let’s hope the Redbirds can start a nice long winning streak while they’re at home and take back first place. I’m really sick of seeing the Brewers in first place!
For more details….please download and listen to my free podcast, Redbirds of a Feather. You can get it from iTunes or my website:Redbirds of a Feather Podcast.
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