Rockin' the Red

The Big Home Run Derby Post

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:12:00 +0000

A first-hand account of what it was like to be in that mosh you saw on TV last night.

Prince Fielder smacks a total of 23 dingers to win the Home Run Derby crown, and Albert goes home early after making it interesting in the first round. Brandon Inge hits zero, putting an exclamation mark on a dud of a Derby pick. Nelson Cruz has emerged as a masher 'n basher who we probably could have traded for when he was still in Triple-A last year.

Lots of storylines for a relatively quiet spectacle. And that's not saying anything about the zoo-like atmosphere around and inside Busch, where you walk in half-expecting to see a train of elephants walking around and a man breathing fire. Not to mention David Cook setting the stadium on fire. Such is the glorification of the home run, such an evolution of baseball over the past two decades. But I still love it.

I was fortunate enough to get a Derby ticket with my brother when they released some extras the day before, way up in section 428, right field, home run territory if you're on steroids. Apparently no one's on steroids.

The first thing you notice when going downtown is the sheer magnitude of this event for the city of St. Louis. Luckily, being a towner means you know some different routes to get out of the mainstream of traffic, but you're still riding bumper to bumper and hoping to God that parking is reasonably close for less than $20 bucks. (I recommend either the Kiener Plaza Garage or Macy's Garage on 7th and Market, by the way.) It's clear to see how MLB makes bank on making this a big deal, so it's no wonder why they want to "Make This One Count" despite its exhibition nature.

All the, forgive me for the frankness, tools were out in full force at Mike Shannon's in front of the stadium as well, and I think I saw more Lacoste shirts in just the Busch Stadium area than I've ever seen in my entire life. At a baseball game, mind you. The best way to approach such an encounter is to keep your eyes straight ahead, preferably focused on a distant object such as a street sign or a fence post. Usually they're not concerned with you anyways, so the important part is just staying out of the way.

I will say, that was the biggest turn-off for attending any of the All-Star festivities, the posh atmosphere of the crowd, especially at the stadium. The atmosphere is a lot different than what we're accustomed to at a normal Cardinals game. I can understand why Albert Pujols feels overwhelmed by this week. It just doesn't feel quite like baseball anymore. I felt overwhelmed just seeing so many people around, much less people who aren't the typical Cardinals fan base. I'm not sure that it's necessarily a bad thing for an event like this, but it's different. Definitely different. I prefer the atmosphere of a Cards game. Not this.

Ballpark Village looks a lot different than the artist sketches presented before the stadium was built. Did they forget to build it to scale? WHAT IS THIS, A CENTER FOR ANTS?!

Inside the stadium I felt a little more at home, but me and my brother had to make that wedge you see on kick-off returns to make it through in one piece. If you wanted to try to catch a ball, forget about it. Even showing up early - 3 hours early - leaves you a couple rows back. Autographs? Forget about that too. Unless you're seven.

I made sure to saw hi to my buddy Aaron, the field usher along the right field foul territory. Hi was more like a wave and a "how's the weather". I would have had to crowd surf to get remotely close to the edge of the field. It probably would've worked too. A couple baseball celebrities were graciously accommodating the autograph seeking crowd, including Ozzie. You could tell he was ready to go, though. He had that look desperation in his face that is only possible at ALL-STAR WEEK, PRESENTED BY CHEVY, WATCH TUESDAY AT 7PM, ONLY ON FOX.

The seats were nose-bleeders for sure, but we had a great view of the field and the crowd. We were just left enough to glimpse the Jumbotron but directly on line for some dingers to go right under us. It was actually much more peaceful being on the top deck. We could eat our $5 hot dogs in peace and solace. That was, until David Cook arrived.

David Cook. Winner of the 2008 American Idol. Singer. Musician. ROCKER. Pyrotechnics. Exaggerated movements on stage. If intensity had mass, it's molecules would band together to form David Roland Cook. And would hopefully spontaneously combust.

The speaker system at Busch is really quite atrocious, but they did have the usual pounding techno music in the background, however, once the Derby began. Once Brandon Inge did the flake out that we all knew was coming, the crowd kind of fell into a lull. But there it was, that pounding discotechno music filling the air, breathing life into our tiring souls. I actually think my heart was synchronized with the instrumental version of Beat It by the end of the night.

Watching the home runs in person was so much better than watching it on TV. Sure, we weren't the closest to the field and could have gotten pointless interviews with players if we were watching it on ESPN. But it was awesome. We only had to hear Chris Berman's voice one time the entire night (the play-by-play was done by John Rooney, the epitome of class), and the only reason I knew Joe Morgan was present was because he was sitting in the relative area of Erin Andrews.

Home runs are instant gratification for baseball fans, and this Derby was full of cheap thrills. I loved it. Prince Fielder, contrary to the scoreboard, did not hit a ball to the Mississippi. I know this. I literally saw it caught by a fan. But they were some moonshots he was hitting.

The best part of the night was still Albert though. The entire crowd was behind him, a collective anticipation that is only made possible by the hype-machines that are the MLB and ESPN. Some fan tried to start the most ill-fated Pujols chant I have ever seen; it was like a combination of two different chants in one put together by a drunken 38-year-old. Nobody knew how to follow it, and he was getting ticked off at everyone for "not supporting the S-T-L". It was probably one of the funniest things I have ever seen that was actually quite sad at the same time.

Everyone was standing.

Everyone wanted to see Albert steal the show.

Everyone was a little uneased by the "Call Your Shot" promotion, and Albert's lack of getting a guy a new car.

Albert had the entire crowd at his beckoning. He probably could have commanded a takeover of the St. Louis metropolitan area if he wanted, name it PUJOLS-LAND or something epic like that. When he hit that final home run to force the three-way tiebreaker, the crowd went absolutely nuts. When he won the tiebreaker, the crowd went absolutely insane. Then we got quiet.

It was like everyone kind of knew that what we just saw was probably the main event for the night. Albert was gassed, looked gassed, and now how to swing again immediately after swinging an extra 5 times. When he didn't hit 15 bombs in the second round, we were ok with it, or at least I was. He deserves an opportunity to be a normal baseball player, a normal guy. Doesn't he?

The rest of the night went by relatively fast. Nelson Cruz caught my attention, and I was secretly hoping for him to beat out Ryan Howard and Prince Fielder. Home runs look so much more real in person, especially one that goes 503 feet. I'm worried I've become conditioned to the homer now, and anything less will disappoint. That's what kind of atmosphere it is there.

Overall, the Home Run Derby was all it advertised itself to be: some interesting storylines, unpredictable outcomes, and a home run-loving fest. I'm grateful for the opportunity to go, and I'm ultimately glad Albert came out of it in one piece.

Colby Needs to Work on That Mustache

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:00:00 +0000

It's an off-day. It's mustache time.

Well, we could only keep one of the games under 3 runs yesterday, so a series split will have to suffice. The Cards go into the All-Star Break in first place, 2.5 games ahead of Milwaukee and 3.5 ahead of Chicago and Houston. Yes, Houston. The Astros have managed to float at .500 along with the 3rd best team batting averaged in the NL while remaining relatively quiet. It'll be a relief when they falter a bit.

I had a request to comment on Colby Rasmus' non-stache he's growing. I could probably count the number of hairs on his face. It looks a little bit like Rosie O'Donnell on testosterone pills. He looks like Danny Almonte with an American birth certificate. He looks like it was drawn on by a Sharpie Super Flex Twin Tip Permanent Marker and the fat side was all dried up. Nope, it's Colby.

I thought we'd take the off day to see how we can improve upon it and make it a:

MAN-STACHE

"I'm not Burt Reynolds, but I really admire the man's work and wish to take his look and do my own thing with it. I'm kinda shooting for a Burt Reynolds ambiance, but I want you to respect the fact that I'm not him."

"Two bottles of Captain for the Captain, por favor."

"The Freakzilla is gonna mess you up, because Big Poppa Pump is your hook up for all you hoochies out there. Holla, if you hear me."

"I'm not too smart, and I want you to know it."

I'm reading way too much into these mustaches.

Key to the Game - Cards/Cubs 90+91

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 15:49:00 +0000

Get your televisions ready; they're in for a long day. An overview of your day in Baseball Heaven and the key to the twin bill against Chicago.

We could all see that one coming yesterday, I just didn't expect it to be over quite so quickly. Ted Lilly was definitely on his game, and it's tough to hit him when he's like that anyways, not to mention our own repulsion to lefthanded pitching.

If you want an action-packed day of sitting on your couch, today's your day to be alive. You have Cardinals baseball on KSDK at noon, featuring the return of Kyle Lohse against Carlos Zambrano.

Then, you have the MLB All-Star Futures Game, the showcase of top minor league talent and our very own Brett Wallace, Daryl Jones, and Francisco Samuel, starting at 1:00 on ESPN2. A couple other names to watch from the rest of the rosters: Dayan Viciedo, Jemile Weeks, and Josh Vitters.

Finally, you have the second game of the double-header on ESPN at 7:00, featuring Adam Wainwright and Randy Wells, the Cubs' rookie starter. Don't worry, he's righthanded.

I would do three keys for this day, but, since it's a double-header, I only have one real point to make:

Key to the Day:

1.) Keep Their Scoring Under Three. IF we can keep the game close enough on our terms, the Cards might have the gusto to get some wins in late innings. With Kyle and Adam going, I like our chances of keeping the game in-hand. Zambrano is prone to the occasional implosion; let's hope he has one today.

All-Star FanFest Fun Day

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 15:35:00 +0000

I'm off to the All-Star FanFest today with the fam. Should be a really fun event, and I'm excited for everyone who gets to go courtesy of the Wilson Sporting Goods Giveaway. I'll be sure to post some pics and have more commentary tonight.

The Cardinals won a game they were supposed to win yesterday. Today is a little iffy, especially considering Ted Lilly is a lefthander and has been on fire at Wrigley.

My three keys to the game:

1.) Work the Count. Ted Lilly has been dynamite at the beginning of the game this year. As his pitch count rises, however, opponents' OBP goes up incrementally. The more pitches we see, the better chance we have of tiring his arm. And getting into that flawed Cub bullpen.

2.) Aggressive baserunning. The Cardinals are going to need every baserunner they can get today and take advantage of getting them into scoring position. Historically, Koyie Hill hasn't been tremendous at catching baserunners, so the opportunity is there to swipe some bags. Don't confuse aggressive baserunning with stupid baserunning. There's a fine line between the two.

3.) Get Scoring Early. The Cards don't have a lot of wiggle room in terms of winning a low-scoring game with Brad Thompson pitching, so the best strategy is to get on the scoreboard early. I don't really think that's a strategy, though. I mean, why wouldn't you try to get on the board early? Does trying to actually make it more likely to happen? I hate when FOX puts something like this on the screen.

So that's two keys, and one redundant statement that we already assumed would be in Coach's playbook. Insightful.

Enjoy the game today, assuming there's no rain.

Brendan Ryan Impresses

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:29:00 +0000

It's nice not having a dilemma at shortstop anymore.

Short post today, busy day ahead.

It's becoming apparent that there are certain players that should and shouldn't be playing everyday, even if they weren't slotted to do so at the beginning of the season.

Colby Rasmus should be playing everyday.

Joe Thurston shouldn't be playing everyday.

It has become strikingly apparent that Brendan Ryan should be playing every single game. In yesterday's game, Brendan not only had arguably the biggest hit of the day, but he also had some of the finest defensive plays we've seen all year.

It's fun to watch a ballplayer mature right in front of our eyes, going from a quirky, reckless young'un to a quirky, semi-reckless professional. His resurgence has put the shortstop debate on hold for now, at least while he's providing good defense and a capable bat.

The Cards play the Cubs today, in an all-important series on this NL Central road trip. With Carp going today, I like our chances.

A Note to My Readers...

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:19:00 +0000

So you may have noticed I'm doing the Twitter thing now, which, I figure if I have a cool enough logo - "Something like Rockin' the Red Tweets... Yeah! That will catch their attention!" - it might make my contribution to the Twitter world appear slightly more important than it really is. You can follow me, reply to me, comment about me, or pretty much do anything that would be entirely creepy upon occurring in real life, from the left side of this page. I'm going to try to update it as I can when I can. Which is just ambiguous enough to keep you looking.

Also, this is a friendly reminder that you can use the RSS links available on the right side to see when Rockin' the Red is updated. Subscribing to RSS takes the mystery out of, "When's he going to write something?!" and instead changes it to, "Look, he just wrote something. Let me... read... it."

Finally, please tell your friends about this blog if you enjoy coming here. If you don't enjoy coming here, tell them that you enjoy coming here and send me an e-mail why you don't enjoy coming here. As a college kid, it's taxing to write everyday (which, as you may have noticed, I've haven't been quite as bad about), and I really do appreciate your support everyday.

This past week has been a big one, as a mention on MLB Trade Rumors brought a lot of passing traffic to and from here. The more people that know about Rockin' the Red and visit here, the more my work seems meaningful, in a way. I love writing, I love writing the Cardinals, but, most of all, I love having you all read it. Tell at least one friend/family member/co-worker you know about Rockin' the Red, and you'll get an imaginary high five from the html of this page. Which is even better than one in person.

Thanks again.

Kujo

It's the Halladay Season

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:43:00 +0000

Roy Halladay to the Cardinals sounds good. Really good. But are we getting our hopes up too early?

First off, I still have a few tickets available for FanFest. E-mail me as soon as possible if you'd like to go. Once they're gone, they're gone.

Is it time to show Todd Wellemeyer the door? All I can say is Kyle Lohse will be a welcome addition to the starting rotation, a rotation that has turned into a continuum of the really, really good and the really, really bad. Imagine a line with Swiss Cake Rolls on the far left and an autographed picture of Sanjaya, complete with XOXO's, of the far right. Now fit the rotation in the middle. You figure out where everyone goes.

Much ado has been made about the Roy Halladay rumor, the one where we acquire one of the greatest pitchers in modern baseball, one of th- stop. Do I need to go any further? When has current management ever made a trade for a player of Roy's quality? Scott Rolen? That trade came out of a nasty situation in Philly and an inept worldview of stats and potential on the Phillies behalf.

Not only is Roy happy in Toronto, not only does he have another year left on his contract, not only is he one of the best pitchers in baseball, hotly pursued by other big-market clubs, not only is this J.P. Ricciardi we're talking about, the protege of Billy Beane and fairly knowledgeable GM of the Blue Jays, not only is this Roy freakin' Halladay, who could probably kill a bear with his bare hands, but this is the Cardinals we're talking about. We simply don't do deals like this. Ever.

I'm all for thinking outside the box, dreaming big, looking to the sky for salvation, and constructing epic trade rumors like this, but, I gotta say, if this trade goes down, it'll go down in my book as the one I didn't see coming in a million years. I really do keep a book like that. I use one of those glitter pens to write in it.

For now, I will advise you to use some caution when getting caught up in Holliday/Halladay-mania. Not only have we given up one of our most promising young pitchers - Chris Perez - but the forecast looks like we'll have to give up a second one in that deal as well. Parting with Brett Wallace, Darryl Jones, Bryan Anderson, and any number of our blue-chippers will be a sturdy price to pay in addition to the other things factoring into such a deal.

The Cards might be better suited to stop playing Chris Duncan and Rick Ankiel so freakin' much and making sure Colby Rasmus plays EVERY FREAKIN' DAY. Simple solutions, simple answers. It's the small things in life that make me smile.

Free Stuff: Wilson FanFest Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:04:00 +0000

Ever wanted to go to the MLB All-Star FanFest for free? Now's your chance.

It's not very often that I come up with fan giveaways of a magnitude such as this, so you best be thanking your lucky stars that you stopped by Rockin' the Red today and that the good people at Wilson Sporting Goods love you.

Wilson Sporting Goods, the Official Ball Glove of Major League Baseball, the Official Catchers’ Protective Gear of Major League Baseball, the Official Umpire Gear of Major League Baseball, the Official Training Equipment of Major League, and now your Official Favorite People, has generously given Rockin' the Red 15 tickets to attend the upcoming All-Star FanFest, normally worth $30 a piece.

If you would like to get your hands on this awesome promotion, send me an e-mail at kujo@rockinthered.com titled "Wilson FanFest Giveaway". It'll be first-come, first-serve, and I'll give you directions for how to obtain your ticket(s) if you are selected. Once they've run dry, I'll post it up here.

Your ticket is good for any MLB All-Star FanFest date or time, but you must be available to pick it up on Saturday, July 11, from Noon to 3pm CST downtown. I'll give the exact location and directions via e-mail if you are selected.

In case you haven't seen all the cool stuff available at the All-Star FanFest, check it all out here.

Who uses Wilson gloves? How about: Hanley Ramirez, Jonathan Papelbon, Vladimir Guerrero, Evan Longoria, David Wright, and Justin Morneau, just to name a few.

There it is kiddos. Take advantage of this awesome opportunity, and be sure to support the folks at Wilson Sporting Goods, your lovely sponsors. Thanks for reading Rockin' the Red, and thanks for hating the Cubs.

Jarrett Hoffpauir: Man in the Mirror

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:30:00 +0000

Discussing Jarrett Hoffpauir's promotion, his similarities to Dustin Pedroia, and minor league translations.

The phrase Jarrett Hoffpauir has been bandied about in different circles for quite some time now; some use the name in an upwards inflection, suggesting hope, anticipation, curiosity.

"What do you mean we don't have thin middle infield positional depth? We have Jarrett HOFFpauir!"

Some put a pause between the former and the latter, as if saying the name in full will conjure the Ghost of Darren Bragg.

"Who's the second baseman in Memphis who's hitting pretty well?"
"Jarrett... Hoffpauir."

The guy in section 417 with a sideways visor, triple-stacked beer cup, and mustard stain on his Tom Pagnozzi shirt slightly slurs the name.

"Jarrett HoffPOWER! Yeah!"

I don't do much at all when I say his name, almost as if I've become immune to the hype that Jarrett can occasionally generate, especially now with his career-high 10 minor league home runs and .187 isolated power. The truth is, Jarrett is a singles-hitting second baseman with flashes of power and limited range at second. The truth also is, this was a great time to promote and play the 26-year-old, given Mark DeRosa's injury and the Fallout of Khalil Greene.

Jarrett Hoffpauir isn't going to wow you with his glove, his speed, or his bat. Rather, Jarrett has a bit of that innate sense of scrappiness that we've come to expect from our former Memphis Redbirds and brings a little bit of everything to the table. That seems to infatuate the Cardinals fandom, in a spell of a rare form of David Eckstein-itus. And that seems to be the thing that will help Jarrett establish an eventual roster spot on a major league team.

Some other blogs on the internet have made the Dustin Pedroia comparison, and, aside from putting an MVP winner next to, so far, a career minor leaguer, I don't hate the analogy.

They both have the same look, a short 5'9" frame batting from the right side with a chip on their shoulder. Dustin's final season in Triple-A before his callup actually draws quite a few similarities to Jarrett:

	AB	AVG	OBP	SLG	BB%	K%	HR	ISO	wOBA
Dustin 2006	423	.305	.384	.426	10.2	6.4	5	.121	.364
Jarrett 2009	214	.276	.349	.463	9.7	7.5	10	.187	.356

In case you don't know what wOBA is, here's a detailed explanation, but basically it is a weighted version of on-base percentage which takes into account the different run values of different hits.

What this quick comparison tells us is, although everyone can agree that Dustin has the better skill-set of the two and was on a much faster track to the big leagues, Jarrett is in a decent place to become a fringe or better major leaguer. His EqA, equivalent average, is just around the "average ballplayer" designation - .267 - and is higher than Brett Wallace's.

Using the ever-great Minor League Splits database, you can translate a minor leaguer's numbers for the park they play in and for the relative luck they've had, and Jarrett's season should really look like .370/.433/.569 in 211 at-bats. Obviously, that's a dangerous tool to use for making blanket statements about whether a player is worthy of callup or not, but it shows just how well Jarrett's been playing this year.

In reality, Jarrett has been a slightly below-average major leaguer if you translate his numbers for the Major Leagues, playing in Busch Stadium: .246/.308/.392 with 8 home runs.

What does all this mean? Jarrett is no Dustin Pedroia nor a superstar second baseman, but no one expects him to be. Jarrett's scrappiness and minor league numbers warrant him getting a shot, and it's nice to see him up here when there's a shortage of second basemen.

Jack Buck's Poem and Band of Brothers

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:39:00 +0000

Happy Birthday, America! It's time to celebrate our freedom with hamburgers, baseball, and apple pie.

Jack Buck's memorable speech after September 11th is a perfect way of remembering what makes this country so great, how far we've come, and how much further we need to go.

Since this nation was founded under God, more than 200 years ago,
We've been the bastion of Freedom...
The light which keeps the free world Aglow.

We do not covet the possessions of
Others, we are blessed with the
Bounty we share.

We have rushed to help other
Nations...anything...anytime...
Anywhere.

War is just not our nature...we
Won't start, but we will end the fight.

If we are involved we shall be
Resolved to protect what we know is Right.

We've been challenged by a
Cowardly foe who strikes and then
Hides from our view.

With one voice we say there's no
Choice today, there is only one
Thing to do.

Everyone is saying the same thing
And praying that we end these
Senseless moments we are living.

As our fathers did before, we shall
Win this unwanted war.

As our children will enjoy the
Future, we'll be giving.

Transcript courtesy of Baseball-Almanac.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to all those that are serving or have served in the armed forces for our beautiful country. Words can't describe how grateful we are for their sacrifice, every day, every night, every month that they're away. From the American Revolution to the Civil War to WWI and WWII, to the Korean War to Vietnam to the Middle East, our troops have put their country and their ideals before themselves. I love this country, despite its imperfections, and I am forever thankful for the people that protect it.

I'm posting this trailer for Band of Brothers, as it demonstrates just how much of a sacrifice it is to protect our freedom. If you haven't had the chance to watch the HBO miniseries, please, please do so. You won't regret it, and it will make the sacrifice of our soldiers, especially those that gave everything to fight fascism and hate in WWII, clearer than it's ever been. It also shows the importance of coming together as a "Band of Brothers", in anything we do, to accomplish a common goal - the phrase itself taken from Shakespeare's Henry V speech:

And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he today that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now abed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

Thanks, troops.

Giving Wagner Mateo a Nickname

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:12:00 +0000

On the newly-signed Wagner Mateo and a need for a nickname.

A lot of traffic has been driven here on the aftermath of the July 2nd international free agent signing period, including our own signing of 16-year-old Wagner Mateo of the Dominican Republic. I thought I'd revisit the subject with some more comments.

Personally, I love this signing, as it is a testament to our growing outreach into international markets. I'm a big proponent of looking beyond the MLB Draft for farm system material, and Latin America is a place teeming with talent - we have to look no further than our very own first baseman to know that. Mateo looks like he has the tools to at least show potential to be a big league player. It'll be a long, long time before we see him get close to a call-up, but he already has the frame and swing of an athlete much older than 16. It's too early to throw out predictions for Mateo, but I wouldn't be surprised if he developed into Colby Rasmus-like potential, minus the defense.

For now, it's time to make up some nicknames for the kid. Wagner Mateo is a name that has an old school ambiance to it, so any recent pop culture references should be ruled out. I hate those nicknames anyways.

There are different kinds of nicknames out there. You have nicknames like Stan "The Man" Musial, that use the name to rhyme, and then you have nicknames like Albert Pujols "The Machine" and "Hollywood" Jim Edmonds that use a player's characteristics or roots in them. And then you have "Big Papi" David Ortiz, that just doesn't make much sense at all.

"Honus" Wagner Mateo - It's a nice play on the everlasting great, but, eh, it's too obvious. Honus Wagner actually had his own nickname, The Flying Dutchman. Let's keep looking for something closer to that.

"Bingo" Mateo - No clear reason for this one; I just like the name for a baseball player. It sounds a little too much like a dog's name though.

Wagner "El Niño" Mateo - El Niño is Spanish for... The Niño. The name combines a characteristic of Mateo - Niño is Spanish for kid or child - and also plays off Albert's other nickname "El Hombre". Since both are native Dominicanos, it makes sense.

I like Wagner "El Niño" Mateo. Short, sweet, to the point. Plays off Albert's nickname and off Mateo's young age. Viva El Niño!

Colby Doesn't Like to Walk, But He Does Scope for Chicks

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:56:00 +0000

Colby Rasmus has forgotten how to walk. That's OK, I still appreciate him. Taking a look at Colby's June success and other tidbits.

In an earlier post, I made the promise that if Colby Rasmus could make it the entire month without taking a walk, while still having a June OPS over 1.000, I would devote an entire post gushing over him. Well, the numbers have come in, and, although he made it the entire month without walking, his OPS came just a little bit short, ending at .869. After last night, he deserves this post anyway.

Colby is probably going to be one of the streakiest hitters on the team, throughout his MLB career. He's not a cyborg like Pujols, who's slump is a string of 1-4's and two walks. His streaks consist of some brilliant plays and some uninspired slumps, but the end result this month was quite what we would expect in a star outfielder.

Not to say he's one yet, because he's not, by far. But if he can put together another month like June, he not only will be the ROY, he'll also start showing up on the backs of a lot more fans at Busch.

Which reminds me. What is with this Colby and his streaming locks of Georgian glory? Three out of three ladies that somewhat follow the Cardinals find him attractive, or at least like to talk about him like he's the only player on the team. The same for Yadi, to a lessened extent. Yadier Molina? Is anyone else encountering this fickle display of baseball favoritism? I think they just like to say their names. Un-believable.

Colby's June was indeed impressive. His line drive rate sat at a very healthy, Ryan Ludwick in 2008-esque 28%, bringing his season LD% up to around 20%. His isolated power dropped a bit from May (.203 vs. .235), but his overall SLG increased (.536 vs. .447). He's added 2.1 Wins Above Replacement this year and is worth $9.5 million so far this season, according to FanGraphs. His defense has been good if not great, and his overall OPS is sitting at .768 for the season. He's been darn good.

Not many people know that Colby Rasmus is the result of the botched attempt to keep Edgar Renteria in a Cardinal uni. The 28th draft pick in the 2005 draft first belonged to the Red Sox, but we received it as a compensation pick for Edgar's departure. With Renteria back in town, let's reflect on how well that non-deal has worked out for us. We get Colby, the World Series in 2006, and avoid getting stuck with a big contract that the Sox looked to get rid of one year later. Thanks for Colby, Boston!

Finally, let's end with some hilarity that is sure to get some ladies friending Colby on Facebook. From an interview with GO magazine by Evan Fisk:

Do you have a girlfriend?
I’m single.

There’s a 24-year-old girl on our staff. She wants to know if you like older women because she thinks you’re really hot.
I definitely do. (Smiles) Definitely do.

Then the follow up question is that she wants to know if you’d go on a date with her if she buys you a beer. When you’re 21, of course.
Definitely will. No doubt about it.

So how much of your time in the dugout is spent looking at the hot girls in the stands?
We look every now and then.

Have you ever asked a girl out at a game?
Um, not really. I’ve asked for numbers a couple of times after the games, but not really. I don’t do that a whole lot. But, I don’t know, it’s all good fun. If you see a good-looking girl in the stands, everybody will be taking a peek. It’s pretty funny watching everybody.

I heard he likes tankinis. At least, that's what Brendan Ryan told me.

Is This Real Life?

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:14:00 +0000

Tony La Russa's post-game interview.

I have to imagine that Tony La Russa is feeling a little bit like David on his way home from the dentist.

Post-game interview:

Reporter: "Tony, how do you feel about losing 6 of your last 7 games?"
Tony: "I didn't feel anything."

Reporter: "Mr. La Russa, you must have something to say about your team's lack of offense in recent games."
Tony: "I feel funny."

Reporter: "It is kind of funny how Rick Ankiel keeps getting starts over Colby Rasmus, even though Colby's OPS is over 50 points higher."
Tony: "Ughhhh."

Reporter: "Tony, what do you have to say about Chris Carpenter's 11-hit, 6-run performance against Randy Johnson?"
Tony: "Is this real life?"

Reporter: "How many positions is Mark DeRosa able to play, realistically?"
Tony: "OK, now...OK, now I... I have two fingers. I have four fingers."

Reporter: "Tony, now you're holding up 7 fingers. OK, now stop...stop giving me the finger."

Reporter: "What can you see about this club that is causing the slump?"
Tony: "I can't see anything."

Reporter: "Did Dave Duncan just step on your toe right now?"
Tony: "UghhhAHHHHHHH."

Tony: "Maybe you should get some sleep. It was a long night."
Reporter: "I don't feel tired. Uh uh."

Reporter: "I'm sorry, Tony, but you have us in stitches right now. I don't know what's gotten into you."
Tony: "Do I have stitches? Do I have stitches?"

Reporter: "No, that's just a phrase we use. No, stop touching my microphone!"
Tony: "Why can't I touch it?"

Reporter: "Because it's mine. Do you feel OK?"
Tony: "I...I feel funny."

Tony: "Why is this happening to me?"
Reporter: "I don't know, maybe you should look at your players."

Tony: "Is this going to be forever?"
Al Hrabosky: "I think we need an impact trade."

Why I Don't Like the Giants

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:41:00 +0000

On a scale of 1-10, my spite for the Giants sits at around 8.67. I think I get bonus points for bringing Shawon Dunston into this post. Forgot he played for us, didn't you?

I'm going to take a moment to state a personal vendetta here.

I do not like the Giants.

I don't like their uniforms. I don't like their GM. I don't like Randy Winn. I don't like that freakin' huge glove and Coca Cola in left field. I don't like how they personally tailored their stadium for Barry Bonds. I don't like how they most likely knew Bonds was juicing and looked the other way. I don't like Dusty "Dugout Dice" Baker. I don't like that their fans eat garlic fries and tropical drinks. Tropical drinks.

I don't like that this man played for them.

And especially not this man.

Or him.

And, God save us all, my favorite.

I'm not putting a picture of him in a Giants uni. I won't do it, can't do it, shouldn't do it. They aren't winning that war.

I don't like that I have to stay up extra late when we play in San Francisco. I don't like Yorvit freakin' Torrealba and his tan. I don't like the 2002 World Series. I don't like the Splash-O-Meter. I don't like Brian Wilson's tattoos. I don't like that they have Tim Lincecum. And Matt Cain. And Jonathan Sanchez. And Jeremy Affeldt. I don't like the boats. And I do love boats.

But, most of all, I don't like the way we play them. The bats go numb, the pitches go flat, and a team that should be beat suddenly becomes unbeatable. Did I expect us to win a Lincecum-Thompson matchup last night? I was just watching for the commercials. The Giants are no longer that team with a bunch of old guys and a crazy GM that trades for more old guys. They have one of the best rotations in the NL, and a crazy GM who keeps toying their fans with ridiculous trade rumors.

I don't like the Giants, and now it's because I can honestly say that they're good. Not great, but a whole lot better than I ever imagined. It's a good thing we have an ace of our own going tonight, as they have another lefty to throw at us. Oh yeah, and his name is Randy Johnson.

Jess Todd, F-Sam could be PTBNL

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:58:00 +0000

If you didn't like the Mark DeRosa trade with Chris Perez's inclusion, you're going to hate to hear this. Jess Todd and Francisco Samuel are supposedly two of the names the Indians can choose from as the PTBNL. The Indians are getting more value than a Billy Mays infomercial.

Color me a bit disappointed in hearing this news. Fox Sports is reporting that promising relievers Jess Todd and Francisco Samuel are two of the names the Indians can choose from to complete the DeRosa deal. I'm afraid to quote their material since it's AP-content, but here's the link. Look in the sidebar to see the scoop from Jon Paul Morosi.

This is shaping up to be one of the most win-now-sided trades in recent memory, and the Indians are already looking to have made bank on their DeRosa rental. I love the fact that we traded for DeRosa, as I've been pulling for him since April, but the reality is, this trade does not help the future of our ballclub at all. You have to give up value to get value, I guess, and the value we're giving up stings quite a bit.

The current ballclub is still trying to find some shape in this mess of injuries and underperforming players, even with DeRosa. Khalil Greene has fallen off the horse again, and Todd Wellemeyer can't find the strikezone. A bit of a mess we're in now, it seems.

Cards Get DeRosa, Perez Gone

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 04:46:00 +0000

The Cardinals have traded frustrating righthander Chris Perez to the Indians for the man of a thousand positions, Mark DeRosa.

Well, Rockin' the Red has finally gotten its wish, although it doesn't quite feel like Christmas morning. If it were Christmas morning in Cardinal Nation, Mark DeRosa would come bearing a pumpkin pie while we told P.J. Walters to scram. No, instead we tell one of our most promising, albeit flawed, relievers to leave the dinner table.

The trade will definitely provide a boost to the infield numbers, and I'd champion trading for DeRosa over Matt Holliday any day of the week. I'm just unsure about trading away a guy that would provide cost-controlled, high-strikeout numbers and potentially fill the closer position for a rental. A good, valuable rental. But still a rental.

The trade implies several things. For one, it means the Cards aren't confident that Perez would have been able to provide substantially better numbers than a replacement player. Essentially, the trade weighs the value of Perez over his replacement verses the value of DeRosa over Thurston/Barden/Greene this year. Ideally, the balance would include future potential in it's weighing, but it seems a little questionable in this case. It's obviously a win-now move.

The trade also implies that the closer situation is steadier than thought. It means that the Cardinals are comfortable with Ryan Franklin this year, and comfortable with securing a reliable closer in the future. If they thought Chris Perez truly had dynamite closer stuff, the move probably would not have been made for DeRosa.

I could also imply that the move factors in Tony La Russa into the equation. Win-now is definitely in his best interest, and the move might also attest to a commitment to winning that has been questioned before. Trade for DeRosa, show that the team is serious about contending, and keep Tony in the mix for a few more years. It probably has crossed the minds of some front office personnel.

DeRosa's numbers will look pretty good in the Cardinals' lineup. Albert Pujols gets another man on base in front of him, Tony gets a guy who can play solid infield and outfield defense, and the lineup looks a little more complete than before.

Perhaps DeRosa can give a Will Clark-esque boost to the lineup. After Todd Wellemeyer's last start, I wouldn't rule out a starting pitching trade next.

Matt Holliday Could Be in the Cards, Mateo Already Is

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:19:00 +0000

The transaction news is flying left and right in this corner of Cardinal Nation. First, we hear that Troy Glaus could be traded. Next, the (confirmed) signing of Wagner Mateo. Thirdly, the juicy rumor involving the Cardinals and Matt Holliday.

The Cardinals have agreed in principle to sign their 16-year-old Dominican prize to a $3.1 million bonus, the largest bonus ever given out by the Cardinals organization, exceeding the $3 million given out to J.D. Drew.

It's this kind of international news that gets me giddy, as I believe using an international approach to roster transactions can help capitalize on market inefficiencies in the game of baseball. I was championing Alexei Ramirez and Dayan Viciedo, who both went to the White Sox, and it's nice to see us get our own international bonus baby.

I wish there were more news on the Troy Glaus Could Be Traded rumor, but I feel like it's being a little outshone by the next one.

Matt. Holliday.

The arguably biggest name of the 2009 trade market. One of the top corner outfielders in baseball. No relation to Roy Halladay. In all his bald-headed glory. Could be coming to the Cardinals.

Granted, about 20 other teams and their respective blogs think they have a chance on him too, a simple Google blog search will tell you that, but still. I mean, if Bill DeWitt is on board with it, who's left to nix such a deal? Common Sense was laid off last week.

"Tony, don't hurt me like that."

The Cardinals are apparently willing to ante up for Matt's $13.5 million salary, along with dealing Ryan Ludwick, one of Jason Motte, Chris Perez, or Kyle McClellan, and a prospect, who probably won't be a schlub either. Didn't we already go through this with He Who Shall Not Be Named? That's all I'm going to say about He Who Shall Not Be Named.

Matt Holliday would make a great addition to the ballclub, but at what price do we upgrade our team? Holliday presents only a .083 OPS boost from Ryan Ludwick, and Luddy has had more pop overall than Matt. Is that worth sacrificing cheap, cost-controlled talent? If money is not an option, either, than we should have no problem signing recent first round draftee Shelby Miller to a contract.

I'm all for the Cards making upgrades in a seemingly good year for a post-season run, but I think there are better places to address our weaknesses.

Cardinals to Sign Wagner Mateo

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:45:00 +0000

The Cardinals are poised to make their biggest international signing in team history.

Who is Wagner Mateo? A 16-year-old boy about to become a rich, rich man, that's who he is. The Cardinals appear ready at the end of this month to make their biggest splash in the international market, since, well, ever. Baseball America, tell us what the man has won:

A $3 million bonus would be the second-biggest bonus ever given to an amateur international player from Latin America, and the largest bonus ever for a Latin American hitter. Oakland righthander Michael Ynoa set the all-time bonus record last year with a $4.25 million bonus on July 2, while Rafael Rodriguez set the record for a position player last year by signing for $2.55 million with the Giants. Mateo is represented by Edgar Mercedes, who also trained Ynoa last year at his Born To Play Baseball Academy.

Wagner Mateo is an outfielder with a good frame and possessing a plethora of tools. Future Redbirds has a solid video on him, and he doesn't look like he has too many holes in his lefthanded swing.

In case you don't know, the international signing period is the time clubs can make formal offers to international players not eligible for the MLB Draft. July 2nd marks the beginning of that period, but clubs have been scouting and talking to players for quite some time now. 16-year-olds like Wagner have agents that try to sell their clients to the big clubs hoping to stock the farm system outside of the draft.

If Wagner indeed signs, you won't see him for quite some time, as he'll trudge his way along the Cardinals' farm system. But he'll be there, by golly, he'll be there. And we'll be watching.

Ghost Ride Dennys' Volvo

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 06:51:00 +0000

How do you give possession to a first name that looks like the singular form of a dining establishment without indicating possession of said restaurant? Dennys's? If you clicked away now I wouldn't blame you.

Tomorrow (or rather, Today) is a travel day for me, and by travel I mean moving around outside the house for longer than 2 minutes. So, for your enjoyment, and perhaps a documentary of the general IQ of the fine population of the Greater Oakland Area, here is every reason the A's should stay in Oakland: to keep seeing the whitest version of the Dirty Bird/Funky Chicken ever performed on the roof of a moving Volvo. Am I fully prepared to ghost ride my Pontiac for the Cardinals to acquire Mark DeRosa? YES. Am I prepared to do the Dirty Bird while doing so? If called upon.

Joel Pineiro Who?

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:16:00 +0000

Breaking down Joel Pineiro's great start to the season is harder than watching Chris Berman wear a Hawaiian shirt in HD.

Good morning Cardinal Nation. I wish I was more motivated to say "Good Morning" at any time before 10 o'clock, but that's about as likely as a family of small birds finding nest in Ryan Franklin's beard.

The artist formerly known as Joel Piniero struck again last night, this time to the tune of 9 innings, 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 22 ground outs, and no cramps. His ESPN game score reached 83, which, unfortunately, wasn't good enough for the top ten game scores in the National League.

Nay, he already has a spot on that list, sitting comfortably at 5th place, behind Chris Carpenter two spots up and ahead of Kyle Lohse one spot below. 5th freakin' place! Since when did Pineiro become capable of pitching the 5th best game in the NL, much less barely elude making the top ten again with his 83 last night? I mean, we already knew he was capable of this kick save and a beauty, but actually playing baseball? Who knew?

What exactly has changed this season, besides a weakening in the infield defense around him, has been what I call THE NEGATION OF THE DINGERS. Joel's home run prone antics in previous years have almost completely reversed, now at a meager 0.19 HR/9 and trending downward.

To put it in perspective, Pineiro's career HR/9 is 1.03, and last year's was 1.33. Joel's ground ball rate is a staggering 2.71 GB/FB and home run per fly ball rate is an equally impressive 2.9%. So, not only is Joel not giving up fly balls, but, even when he does, only 2.9% are being hit well enough to leave the yard. That last sentence probably takes Dave Duncan's breath away.

Crampnasty Pineiro's strikeout rate is terrible, only striking out 3.88 batters per nine innings. But he still is saying "Suck It" to the institution of conventional wisdom and is putting up a 3.33 K/BB.

So, to get this straight, he isn't giving up fly balls, when he does they prefer landing on the grass instead of people's heads, he isn't striking people out more than Cal Eldred probably could, and he isn't walking them either. This season is proving to be more of an anomaly than Bud Smith.

But wait, there's more. You'd think a pitcher having this amount of success with numbers popping off every career norm he's had is probably just having a good year. Not so. His GALIFB, Generally Accepted Luck Indicator for Bloggers, otherwise known as BABIP, Batting Average on Balls Hit in Play, is exactly at .300, right where we'd constitute a pretty average-luck season. If it were extremely low, we'd know that number would regress back up to the mean, and vice versa. There's nowhere to regress for Joel. He's unregressable.

His LOB% is similarly unindicating that his success is extremely lucky. Right now he's stranding 64.1% of runners on base, lower than his career average of 70.3%. If he were stranding runners at, say, 90%, you'd know that wasn't going to last. 64% is pretty sustainable, and we again have nothing to indicate a regression other than previous years' performances.

I can't understand you, Joel. Extreme ground ball tendencies, near-perfect strike zone comprehension, no indications that there's a lucky horseshoe in your back pocket. There must be only one other explanation. He's juicing.

How else could we explain that fact that his fastball is actually losing velocity, or the spasmatic cramps on the mound from poor hydration or lack of physical fitness, or that growth of facial hair taking over his face?

I wonder how many New Yorkers said, "Who the **** is Joel Pineiro" last night? I love it.

Troy Glaus Could Be Traded

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:36:00 +0000

If Glaus can't get his arm up to strength for playing third, the Cardinals may be better suited to trade him and his $11.25 million salary.

Chalk this one up as coming from left field; Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal says that Troy Glaus may be a trade candidate this July, if he can't field third base fully by the deadline:

Glaus, who has yet to play this season while recovering from surgery on his right shoulder, is progressing better with his hitting than his throwing, according to a source with knowledge of his recovery process. . . If Glaus cannot play third base, he will be of virtually no use to the Cardinals.

It makes perfect sense that the Bill DeWitt-owned Cardinals would be willing to shed some payroll on a contending team, but where would that leave our team offensively? Frankly, the same place it was before, if Troy really is unable to play third base without botching every ground ball. The noise surrounding Troy has quietly died down, to the point where his potential to even play a game this season is questionable.

How do you turn a trade of Glaus into your favor? If Glaus is truly able to come back, and he truly can't play third base because of his arm, absorb the majority of his salary and get something useful in return. We're not even sure Glaus will be able to play any position at this point, making his entire salary moot. If he actually can, use some of it to get some value in return.

Rosenthal cites the Rangers, Mets, Giants, Braves, Tigers, and Mariners as teams who could use Glaus' bat as either a first baseman or DH. Perhaps Texas would be willing to part with one of their young arms in the farm system for a mid-season boost?

Don't Call Me Greene Just Yet

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:35:00 +0000

Khalil Greene is back on track after a much needed, much deserved break.

It can't be explained how much of a boost this must be for Khalil Greene, hitting a home run in three straight games. Khalil has had a rough first stint with the Cardinals, to be sure, and what was needed most, above anything, was for him to see his hard work starting to pay off.

Things like this help put some mental perspective to what I experience in my own life. Like Khalil, I found myself hitting a slump at the end of the school year, not in terms of grades but in terms of enjoying what I was doing and putting in all of my effort. What I really needed was to get away, to come home, watch the Cardinals, and refresh my soul and mind for another productive year. I wasn't going to be able to break out of the slump at school; I needed to come home and see my family and friends that have rooted me so strongly to this place.

I feel like Khalil Greene needed a similar break to put his mind back in the right place. We all know about the concern over his well-being and the many articles that were written beating the horse to death. Perhaps being away from the spotlight and the pressure to perform gave Khalil a mental refreshment that was so badly needed. In Memphis, Greene did bat .400/.438/.533 in 15 at-bats, an indication that a change in scenery, a change in what he felt was his role on the team, was really what was necessary more than anything.

Now, in four games since coming back to St. Louis, Greene has three home runs and a double, and he looks more at ease than ever at the plate. If ever you could tell what someone was thinking through their smile, yesterday was the day. The fact that the Cardinals offense is firing on all cylinders the past couple of series has probably helped alleviate some of the pressure to perform, along with the fact that it wasn't in front of a home crowd in KC, just half of one. Khalil Greene smiled, and the whole team smiled with him. So did we.

He won't post a batting average over .250, but Greene still has a .709 OPS for the season and still has potential to add some value to the ballclub. If he can boost his OPS to around .750, it will make up for some of his defensive pitfalls and make him a pretty useful infielder. This is probably his last chance to have a firm hold of a spot on the roster; let's hope he can make the most of it.

Colby for ROY and Reviewing the Farm

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 18:39:00 +0000

Colby's hot start has catapulted him into ROY consideration, and I take a look at the guys to watch on the farm this season.

First of all, at what point does Colby Rasmus start getting Rookie of the Year consideration? FanGraphs has Colby up there, and I don't think there is any question whether Colby's current .285/.330/.480 line is the most ROY-worthy of the options available. His 0.89 WPA is second-best on the team to Albert's 3.05, and no other rookies come close to his 2.4 WAR, which is Wins Above Replacement and is explained here. Oh, and he still hasn't walked this month.

I haven't written much about the farm system this year. After all, with great sites like Future Redbirds, Bird Land, and Viva El Birdos, there aren't many stones left unturned in regards to the farm system. If you have questions, they usually have answers, which is not an insignificant feat for bloggers also dealing with the real world. I don't think I've said this in a while, so great work to all the contributors at those respective sites.

Reviewing a farm system is like reviewing whether it was worth it to pay 80 million pounds for the rights to Christiano Ronaldo. There's no right answer, except for the fact that Real Madrid is getting better and Manchester United is getting worse. I can sense this analogy both failing badly and going over your head, so I'm going to drop it right now.

Good job, Kujo.

Guys to Watch in 2009

Jarred Bogany, OF: Bogany may not have the draft status of a Colby Rasmus, but he's putting up some pretty decent numbers in his second year in the system. His line of .277/.318/.386 is being propelled by a tyrannic June. I'd like to see his power numbers start to increase, especially given his age (22) for his level (A-ball).

Scott Gorgen, SP: Gorgen is only a year older than me. That makes me feel old. Nevertheless, Gorgen has put up some dynamite numbers in A+ Palm Beach - 8.67 K/9, 2.95 ERA, and 4.05 FIP. Keep an eye on him.

Daniel Descalso, 2B: You can't argue with Dan's AA Springfield numbers. Last year was small sample size, but this year is more of the same. .328/.402/.532 with 6 home runs and (gasp) a .204 isolated power, including 23 doubles. His BB% and K% are near even, both hovering around 10-12%. At his level and in this system, he could move fast at his position.

Guys to Keep Watching in 2009

Daryl Jones, OF: It's old news that Daryl was an underachieving, toolsy outfielder who couldn't get it quite together. In his second year at Double-A Springfield, he's still producing, with a line of .306/.392/.405 and 7 stolen bases. How much he continues to develop will determine if he can become an impact player in the MLB.

Brett Wallace, 3B: Brett is trying to come one of the fastest moving prospects since Chris Perez, but he's still trying to adjust to Memphis. It makes sense that they would want him to move as fast as possible, given how developed his bat is and our glaring need at third base, but I worry he's being pushed too fast. We'll see if his bat can start to come around.

Tyler Henley, OF: Tyler is old for his level, which could ultimately put a cap on his development, but he's putting up some solid numbers in Springfield - .330/.388/.495 and a pretty good 8.9% K rate.

Clayton Mortensen, SP: Clayton has had a rocky stint in Memphis, but he has a decent array of pitches and can still get ground balls. He has a 4.28 FIP, which isn't great, but it isn't exactly bad either. If he can continue getting ground balls, he'll have a place in the majors.

David Kopp, SP: Kopp is another pitcher that is worthy of making a fuss over. He doesn't have frontline stuff like Shelby Miller, but he's one of my favorites. Kopp's mechanics have been compared to Greg Maddux, and, if he can stay healthy, he'll have a chance to make an impact in the upper levels.

Guys to Put Both Hands Over Your Eyes and Peep Through the Cracks in 2009

Peter Kozma, SS: Kozma hasn't exactly been lighting it up at Springfield, but his June has been markedly better than May. He's still only 21, and he still plays some really solid defense. This year and next will determine if Peter really is a bust or not. Don't look for Kozma to play a role on the big club anytime soon though.

Mark Diapoules, SP: Mark has hit a roadblock after a pretty solid 2008 campaign in A and A+ ball. Mark has always been a personal favorite because of his ability to get both strikeouts and ground balls. This year, however, Mark's walk rate has gone way up and strikeout rate way down, and you can tell by his 6.48 ERA and 5.84 FIP.

Bryan Anderson, C: Bryan Anderson, once the cornerstone of many proposed deadline deals, is becoming more of an afterthought after a pedestrian start to his 2009 season - .245/.295/.400 in 155 AB. I'm still confident that Bryan will turn into a solid big leaguer, but he needs to get his bat rolling again at some point. Chances are, his future will be with another organization once it does.

Jon Jay, OF: Jay has consistently put up solid numbers, but this year he's fallen off the wagon a bit, putting up a mere .617 OPS. With the number of capable outfielders in this organization, the future does seem all that bright for Jay in St. Louis, unless he can get his OBP up and keep utilizing his speed.

Cards in KC again. Go get 'em.

Pineiro Does the Cramp Dance

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:02:00 +0000

Joel Pineiro had the cramps last night, so I'm devoting an entire post to it.

That was probably the scariest leg cramp I have ever seen last night from Pineiro. The worst ones I have ever experienced have been in the dead of night, when you're lying in your bed helplessly writhing in pain as you wait for the clamp on your leg to loosen. The pain of a leg cramp can leave you literally feeling like you will never be able to use your leg again. Luckily, I've never had a debilitating cramp in the middle of an athletic event, but, last night, Joel wasn't so blessed.

Whenever I think of leg cramps, two things come to mind. First, the Spongebob Cramp Dance, which was one of the funniest things on cartoon television. Watch this, and tell me you can't imagine Tony La Russa and Yadier Molina joining Joel in the cramp dance as he waddles from side to side on the ground.

The second thing that comes to my head is that part of the movie Osmosis Jones when Bill Murray's character gets a leg cramp because someone knocked down a control tower or something. I looked for a clip and couldn't find one, so I guess you'll just have to take my word for it. For cheesy cartoon-live action kids movies, that part was actually kind of funny.

Leg cramps aren't all fun and games though, so I thought I'd add some real advice for how to avoid cramping when participating in athletic events. Sure, the focus of the video is running, but it's applicable to all situations.

Cards in KC tonight. Keep giving Tyler Greene starts, and stop putting Jason Motte in tight situations until he shows he can handle the squeeze. OK, enough of the cramp jokes. For now.

Rasmus Likes to Run

noreply@blogger.com (Kujo) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:42:00 +0000

Colby Rasmus is on fire in the month of June, but the question remains: will Colby draw a walk this month?

Let's put the odds that Colby takes a walk in the month of June at 4:1, to throw a random, arbitrary number out there. If he can make it the whole month without walking and still have a June OPS over 1.000, I'll devote an entire post to how freakin' cool Colby Rasmus is. Raz, the ball's in your court.

We all know that Colby is "the slow starter"; ever since his rise to blue-chip prospect status, we've started each season looking for the Raz to set the world on fire, only to see him slowly crawl along the first month or so with pedestrian stats. Last year in Memphis, it seemed like he was never able to truly get in his comfort zone, and, for a streaky hitter like Colby, not finding your comfort zone means lots of 0-4 nights.

Nothing's changed this year, as Colby started his first season in the majors a tad below expectations, if our expectations were what he's truly capable of producing: .254/.357/.305 in April and .212/.250/.447 in May. This month, halfway through, Colby has finally turned on the gas and hasn't looked back, batting .396/.396/.708 in 48 at-bats, including a 31% line drive ratio. In comparison, Albert Pujols, who has been on his own recent tear of hitting, is batting .273/.379/.745 in 55 June at-bats.

To put up those kind of numbers without taking a walk is near insane. Then again, why would you walk when the ball is magnetically attracted to your bat?

I don't think it's been communicated enough how big of a boost Colby's hot streak has been to the offense. Fangraphs has Colby's true value worth $9.7 million so far this year, compared to the several hundred thousand he's making as a rookie. If Colby can learn to start taking more walks while still making the solid contact he's been capable of this month, that dollar amount will rise even more. That's called running your way to a big payday.