LouiSports

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2010-09-27T16:16:00.001-05:00

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Its not over yet, well pretty much

2010-09-27T15:51:00.000-05:00

The St. Louis Cardinals need to win out and the Reds need to lose out, not going to happen, with there last two series coming against the Pirates and Rookies, who they historically havnt done well against in the past it is highly impossible for a postseason opportunity in 2010.

The good new for the Cardinals though is that they do have two candidates that are likely to receive awards, for example, Albert Pujols and his third straight MVP, and Adam Wainwright and the Cy Young that he has more than deserved this year.

Best of luck in the offseason boys.

2010-09-24T17:34:00.003-05:00

20!!!

by Louieb99 on Sep 24, 2010 3:00 PM PDT

Adam Wainwright as of now is only the third pitcher in the MLB to reach the yearly milestone of twenty wins in one year, and just the second to do so in the national league, only to Roy Halladay. The Cardinals pulled off there second straight win today against Tom Gorzelanny and the rival Cubs. Now that missing the playoffs is inevitable and out of reach the Cardinals are just aiming for another winning season alongside Tony La Russa. Only two more games like this and the redbirds will pull out there third straight winning season under manager Tony La Russa and Albert Pujols, mvp in the last two seasons.

Now tell me what you guys think, but Adam Wainwright and the Cy Young award were almost unseperable in August, but after three tries to get win number eighteen his era has rose and those losses only count in the wrong column. However it still looks as if the NL Cy Young is coming his way after last years bs call on giving it to Lincecum.

In Wainwright's career he has yet to have a season with an ERA over 3.50 as a starter, and there is not many people that have done the same. A nice improvement that is evident in his play, in the last three years we have seen his double play balls and groundout to popouts begin to steadily rise, thats a good sign for the St. Louis organization. Pushing 200 k's on the year, Wainwright is now tied for strikeouts with another Cy Young candidate, Roy Halladay. Coming down to now Ubaldo, Wainwright, and Halladay, out of the three Wainwright has the lowest ERA, tied for most strikeouts, lowest whip, and tied for most wins with his 20th today. Tell me if you think he shouldnt receive this honorable award.

The Cardinals play a few more games this year and all I ask for is effort, we all know they are out, but that is still no reason to quit, give it your all out there boys and make the season somewhat worthwhile.

Go Cards!!! Congrats Adam!!!

Poll

NL Cy Young?

100%

Adam Wainwright

1 votes

Ubaldo Jimenez

0 votes

Roy Halladay

0 votes

1 votes

0 comments |

New Guy On Campus

by Louieb99 on Sep 24, 2010 1:28 PM PDT

Hello Everyone, I was going to make this post just a little about me, but I don't want to take chances by posting something that is fully irrelevant to Cardinals. So that being said, My name is Brendan Broviak and I am somewhat new to this blogging and a new member of sbnation as well as vivaelbirdos. I was born in Minnesota and that is where I live currently, however I bleed red for the cards, blue for the Blues, and gold for my Rammies. I am a freshman in high school, I play on the varsity hockey and baseball team for my school. I play 3rd in the field and am the closer, as for hockey I am the goalie. A little fun fact is that I was two games from the little league world series in 09, it was a very exiting experience. Well enough about myself, my point is that I love the Cardinals and right now I am in that stage in ones career when they need a little experience so I have my own blog and will try to write on the one every night/ every other night, and if everyone could look at my older posts and the other STL blogs and tell me how im doing and give me some tips it would make this a lot easier. Thanks.

Now to the Cardinals, for me it is a bit difficult trying to write pre game or post game being that I dont have the chance to watch or hear them play at all, so I have to go off others, thus most of my posts are strongly opinionated.

The St. Louis Cardinals are my heart and soul for baseball and as the season coming to a close I would just like to say that we had the lead and then late August came along and we... well just died. It was fun, but lots of rebuilding needed.

Thanks go cards!!!

Poll

How am I doing???

20%

You suck you should just quit

1 votes

Good for a newbie

0 votes

60%

Doing ok I have a couple suggestions though

3 votes

Great keep it up

0 votes

20%

Needs work

1 votes

Your the best ive ever seen (estimating 0 from this)

0 votes

5 votes

2 comments |

2010 number 5 disappointment

by Louieb99 on Sep 23, 2010 8:48 PM PDT

The St. Louis Cardinals have gone their entire season without a decent number five pitcher. With names including Adam Ottavino, P.J Walters, and Blake Hawksworth to names like Jeff Suppan and the infamous Kyle Lohse (not in a good way). What do these pitches have in common? Well their ERA's range from 4.90 to 8.36 which is the five worst ERA's for pitchers with any games played in the 2010 St. Louis roster. If that isnt enough to persuade you to understand that the Redbirds either need another guy on the rubber or the old 4 man rotation will have to come into effect, these five Cardinals have a combined record of 11-25, now if you think this five spot isnt bringing down the house on top of St. Louis I would love to hear it.

I would like to focus on Kyle Lohse for a second before I make a wrap. Well this year starting Cards pitcher Kyle Lohse has only had two starts where he pitched at least seven innings, and in fact in both of the occasions it was only seven when he was yanked, the funny part is, that both of the games ended in losses for the team and a loss and no decision for Kyle. With a 10.43 ERA in the seven days is time for the Cards to bid farewell? Tell me what you think they should do with this 4-8 pitcher.

For next season if the Redbirds were smart they would find a filler for this empty hole. Tell me what you think the front office should about this problem.

Go Cards!!! Get the season over with!!! Thanks Cardinals Fans!!!

Poll

What to do with Kyle Loshe(signed till 2012) hey isnt the world going to end? O well.

67%

Keep and start

27 votes

Keep and sit

2 votes

12%

Trade

5 votes

15%

Other

6 votes

40 votes

6 comments |

Jon Jay + John Jay

by Louieb99 on Sep 22, 2010 9:32 PM PDT

While I was sitting in civic class today in High School I happen to hear John Jay as I was dosing off, not the Cardinals rookie phoneme , but a very important person in the Constitutional Convention believe it or not. Now that got me thinking what all this skilled Cardinals outfielder Jon Jay without the H has done for us.

One of the few good moves made by manager Tony La Russa was to bring up Jon Jay and keep playing him in the lineup. He is batting just over the .300 mark and has been a definite upgrade to the St. Louis defense making play after play. Even though Jon isnt the best power hitter it gives La Russa a solid number two hitter that he can bat before Pujols, which he likes or so say his 100 plus rbi's.

This Cardinals Jon Jay may be a great player in the future as well, but dont get him mixed up with John Jay of the late 1700's.

Keep it up Jon. We are counting on you.

Poll

.300 plus BA next year for STL?

26%

Yes

16 votes

49%

No

30 votes

24%

Maybe

15 votes

61 votes

28 comments |

Does September Make Sense?

2010-09-20T18:29:00.000-05:00

Game Over

To be swept by the Cub, then come back and take 3 of 4 from the NL west leading Padres, then shutout by Chris Volstad and the Marlins, now this is say something alright, its saying that the inconsistent and unpredictable Cardinals staff is not capable to do anything more than just above .500 like right now.

Smart moves? Ever since the start of last season, the Cards have been moving people around, trading, and picking up bodies. What could the Red Birds be like if they still had Jim Edmonds, Rick Ankiel, Ryan Ludwick, Scott Rolen, and David Eckstein. Were moves helpful? Not exactly. Although I will give credit to Colby Rasmus, Jon Jay, and Matt Holliday, but thats there entire offense.

The offseason will open many possibilities and hopefully the playoffs are an options next year, but on the bad side Rasmus will likely be traded, Pujols' contract is almost up as well as many other key players.

Time to say game over?

Go Cards!!! Have fun while finishing up the season.

Swept Enough Said

2010-09-16T16:51:00.000-05:00

Swept with Jaime, Chris, and Adam on the mound. Nothing more to say

Is the Start the End?

2010-09-13T16:11:00.001-05:00

Cubs Suck

The Cubbies carry the curse well could it be contagious?

August 13th was the last time the Cards and Cubs faced off and it ended in a series loss for the Cardinals, this curse was delivered to Cards who lost seven straight series before finally beating the Reds last week.

They started the skid now facing the Cubs again should reverse the luck right? Well we will see tonight with St. Louis coming back home to face Jeff Samardzija, well he throws pretty fast but not very effectively as he has an era that eclipses the 18.00 mark.

Every win is a plus and one step closer to the Reds, but St. Louis is in the deep rough now, but maybe the Reds can start losing to give us a chance. Watch as it happens.

Some bad news for the Cardinals is all star Albert Pujols complained of elbow soreness, but despite his injury Pujols is still batting .333 with 4 homers in the last five games."There is no DL in September," the reigning two-time MVP said. "You have to keep pushing and try to put us in a good spot." He is a trooper, and with his numbers coming into this series it looks like a good, but late turning point for the Redbirds.

Jaime the Cards star studded rookie will be on the mound today, with a 1.65 era at home this year I think it will be a pretty easy task for the youngster.

Another goodie for the Cardinals, the teams facial hair artist, Ryan Franklin adds a knuckleball to his repertoire, a little scary right, well Yaddy I wish you luck back there have fun trying to catch it.

Anyways I know all of you St. Louis fans were busy watching Sam Bradford in his debut for the Rams, but Pujols dropped two bombs yesterday putting him in the NL lead for homers and rbis. Well why dont you give yourself some insurance tonight and put some runs and a win on the board for the Cards.

Go Cards!!!! Need a gem tonight Jaime.

21 to go, 6 behind, 12 of last 19 against Cubs and Pirates

2010-09-12T20:52:00.000-05:00

Entering the late stages of a one-year contract that includes no club or mutual options, La Russa understands that what he says and what he does invite heavy scrutiny.

With the Cardinals season coming to a close at the end of September the Cards are hanging by just about the thinest string ever made. St. Louis is the obvious under dogs but, if they can get on a good streak here and soon maybe the Reds can drop a couple and the Cardinals will right back in it.

Maybe im thinking with the Cardinal attitude of never doubting the team, but I think maybe, just maybe the Cards can get lucky and just slip into the playoffs. It will be a tough task but, its baseball anything can happen.

Following a split series with the wildcard leading Braves, the Cards will take to the streets to visit Chicago and hopefully get a sweep, its what everyone wants to see, and you know it, and how bout those Diamondbacks im pretty sure that Barry Enright, Daniel Hudson, Joe Saunders, and Rodrigo Lopez need to do some Red stomping this week.

Come on Colby Rasmus and Tony Larrussa would you two just get along, there is only 21 games left, then you both can go home and sleep tight.

Go Cards!! Get the Win.

Its over, thats about the last thing anyone could say at this point

2010-09-09T18:41:00.000-05:00

By now the Reds are Rolling as well the Phillies and its time to say adieu to the season at hand and begin the stage of the grief before moving on. Im only kidding no grieving at this time because its FOOTBALL season the Rams will make us happier than the Cardinals.

Disappointing and Irritating, well thank god its football season

2010-09-08T18:33:00.000-05:00

The Big Story

Go Jaime, no ones watching, but get us a win.

Jaime Garcia will start tonight, and the Cards need a win against the Brewers. That is all I am going to say about the Cardinals as the Cardinals fan base, and I will be taking the the next two days off to go watch the Rams who will be playing the Cardinals huh ironic, but the Rams, now I will believe in them to have more than one win this year.

Good Luck Cards! Sam Bradford I will see you tomorrow.

Not in, not out, not looking good

2010-09-07T23:14:00.002-05:00

Larussa says that it will be either Rasmus or himself gone by the start of next season. Trade talk? or just a little friendly locker room smack talk?

Its no surprise to any Cardinals fan that the Redbirds cant come up with some decent wins down the stretch, after all its happened before. After a 4-2 loss to the Brewers in a game where four people got tossed including a fan, hey that must be a record, some one should get a trophy.

A trophy well thats something that the Cardinals organization wont be seeing much of this year come October.

One thing you all may not know about is how the team is forming a bond together as a real ball club, yeah well not with Tony Larussa and Colby Rasmus in the same dugout at gametime. The Cardinals outfielder and the St. Louis manager both just bicker and bicker while they see there squad fall under the radar again.

The streaks of sorrow for the fans still continue to linger in the field at Busch Stadium, its got to be cursed or something, he its cursed alright, with a baseball team that cant win and for that matter cant get along with the person with cubbie hole on there left.

The Brewers suck, they all suck, but now the Cards suck because they cant beat a team with talent that could fit in a thimble.

All is lost, or all is not, its not up you, me, or the next guy in line with the sign that in 2012 the world is going to end. Maybe, maybe not, while if there is going to no "maybe next year" this time then go out and grow a pair.

You know your team sucks when even the opposing team is surprised to win

2010-09-02T13:41:00.001-05:00

Cardinals’ Nick Stavinoha, left, and Matt Holliday, right, watch from the dugout during the ninth inning against the Astros Wednesday in Houston.

"Their backs are against the wall, not ours, and it didn't look like they wanted to come out and beat us," Blum said. "It's really surprising. For whatever reason, we got to them at their weakest point."

A 5-2 loss to the Houston Astros. The Cardinals have not shown up to play baseball when need to play to there full potential. The difference maker in all of there losses has been consistency, if the team gets hits, the pitchers cant get outs, and if the pitchers are getting ground balls, the offense is not getting started, even Chris Carpenter of the Cards said it himself.

With the Cardinals not getting the job done in August when it was well predicted that they would be in the lead of the Central Division by now, they seem to be carrying this "slump" into September with yet another loss to the Astros.

Well the Cardinals are now done with the sub .500 teams, well for three more days. Its the chance of a lifetime now as St. Louis will go back home to host the Reds to gain some of that ground back, but really ask yourself, is it really even remotely possible to get back into the race? With the Cardinals are playing and the way the Reds are mauling everyone in there path? Uh, not really.

To make matters worse the Reds just called up pitcher Aroldis Chapman form AAA, No big deal? Are you kidding me this young fireballer hit 104 on a pro gun. Hey guys try and try again, you wont even make contact.

A day off today gives Jason Motte and Dennys Reyes 24 hours to rest and get ready for the most important series of the season.

The just over par 2010 Cardinals squad has disappointed many, but as you look past this season into the future the Cardinals rookies will grow and the opportunity of gaining some solid talent in the offseason.

All in all it was a well fought season, just couldnt stick with it down the stretch.

So everyone GO RAMS!!! Im looking forward to a superbowl season this year. Ya in my dreams. Ravens are going down tonight.

On verge of making history, good thing right? No.

2010-09-01T00:49:00.004-05:00

The Reason I make that picture giant is because the Cardinals history that could be made on Wednesday could be giant. The Cardinals have not been fully shutout in a three or more game series since well, since I was born, which was quite a while ago.

After being shutout twice, Wednesday's pitching matchup is as follows:

Pitching Matchup

St. Louis		Houston
	Jeff Suppan 1-6, 5.72 ERA Last appearance: 7/31 vs PIT 5.1 IP, 0 ER Dec = Win		Nelson Figueroa 3-2, 2.77 ERA Last appearance: 8/27 at NYM 7.0 IP, 1 ER Dec = Loss

Its all up to Nelson Figueroa. According to Jon Jay "Its a new month." Well that is true, but does it matter?

As a great First Baseman once said "This game is really crazy. Nobody can understand it, and there a lot of things that happen that you can't control." Well Albert here is something you should "understand" that your team NEEDS a win. Now go get it.

Cards Win 3-2. Well thats my St. Louis heritage talking, its what I would like to say that, but I love history I am going to truthfully say another 3-0 Houston Victory.

Go Cards!! New Month, New players, New game. New Results??? Not likely.

If you believe you can achieve..... well maybe not.

2010-08-31T23:57:00.000-05:00

Another 3-0 loss. Do I hear offense? No I dont another two base hits in this one, uh well kind of two hits, I give credit to Brendan Ryan being fast and beating out the infield single. Thank you for not letting us get no hit guys.

I didnt think our offense was that bad, well they are that bad. Take a look at this.

J.A. Happ: The ex. Philly hasnt thrown past the seventh inning since Aug. 5th. Well not to long ago right, actually this was in 2009 when he started for the Phillies.

I mean two hits in a game, fans are not going to keep showing up if you do this and loss your last 7 of 8 to the Pirates, Nationals, and Astros. Last time a team over .500 lost five straight series to teams under .500 it just happened to be before the Red Sox ended there world series drought.

Wandy Rodriguez: July 18th, that is the date Wandy Rodriguez last had a shutout of less than two hits.

Now what are the chances that these two under the radar, and totally predictable Houston pitchers will pitch back to back two hit shutout against the St. Louis Cardinals. Before this week I would have said impossible, now its the 100 percent truth.

Being positive:
"It's a good thing tomorrow starts a new month," Jon Jay said. "It's September, so hopefully we can get on a roll. We just hope that this was just one bad month. Hopefully we can all stay positive and keep looking at the big picture. Tomorrow is a fresh start."

Being Negative:
"Right now it just seems like it's everything," Carpenter said. "Right now, we pitch well and we're not hitting. We don't pitch well, we score a bunch of runs. It just seems that it is a little bit of everything, and it seems like we just can't do anything right."

Are you guys going with Jon Jay's point of view which means tomorrow with new month? Or the Chris Carpenter point of view and take another loss from the Astros?

Uh. Jon Jay makes a good point, but no Chris is negative, honest, and dead to rights. Its reality folks the team cant do anything right.

If I were you I would take a break from St. Louis and go watch some America's got talent, because the Cards sure are not doing it for me right now. Are you feeling it?

Cardinal blunders

2010-08-31T20:09:00.001-05:00

Not happy.

After three pitches from Carpenter it put Houston up by two with a runner on, oh and by the way nice play Skippy, not.
Two hits for the Redbird, you guys should metal bats that might help.

Preview for New Start

2010-08-30T23:35:00.001-05:00

Carpenter Vs Rodriguez

Carpenter: 14-4 Era under 3, 7-4 2.84 Era against the Astros.
Cardinals: Lost 6 of last 7. Holliday is .308 lifetime against Wandy.

Rodriguez: 10-12 Era just under 4, 1-2 6.06 Era against the Redbirds.
Astros: Won 7 of last 9. Wallace 6 for 10 against Cards. Lee 7 for 40 against Carpenter.

Game goes to Cardinals 5-3.

Tell me what you think. Whos it going be?

I was proven wrong, Cards loss in 2 hitter

2010-08-30T23:12:00.001-05:00

Astros right fielder Hunter Pence, left, slides safely into home plate to score as Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina leaps to catch the ball.

After guaranteeing a sweep yesterday, I am already wrong about that. A 3-0 loss consisted of a dead Cardinals offense, two hits and a walk. Thats pretty embarrassing, dropped three straight again. Right now im going to stop talking about all of this sub .500 team crap, because its the MAJOR leagues everyone is good no matter which way u slice it. Well thats why they call it a GAME, its not decided before in betting or anything, the game is decided by baseball players playing for team and a game they love, its not a matter a teams destiny its who shows up and plays, whoever has the bigger number on the scoreboard by the end of the ninth deserved to win, no matter what.

The Redbirds have dropped six of there last seven. Is it just a fluke? I think they need to just forget about this and only look at the game on step in front of them, because if they get caught looking to far in the future these tough losses are exactly what is going to happen.

With only run runner that reached second base in there 3-0 loss in Houston monday, the Cardinals can only go up from here. Some might say that Chris Carpenter is the true St. Louis ace, well he will be pitching tomorrow against 10-12 Wandy Rodriguez of Houston. Tonight the Wildcard gap didnt widen with the loss.

I give the Cardinals forgiveness, but now I expect nothing but hard effort in the games in the future, starting with tomorrow.

Thanks! GO CARDS!!! New Start is eminent.

Week in Review

2010-08-30T17:55:00.002-05:00

St. Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols watches his 400th home run in the fourth inning of a baseball game with the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in Washington Thursday, Aug. 26, 2010.

I thought that dropping a series to the worst team in baseball last weekend was just a fluke, but look at this, St. Louis is really giving my mind trouble trying to figure out who this team really is. Its almost time to throw in the towel I mean you have got to kidding me, they have the best player in the league in Albert Pujols, who hit his milestone 400th homer Thursday being only the third youngest to do so only to fall behind Ken Griffey Jr. and A Rod, and sorry to you Albert for not having this all about you day today, but man your team needs help. Its all there, do something with it guys. You lost five of your last six games to the two worst teams in the league. Tony Larussa, Mr. Manager of the year please talk some sense into your players, your heading for the home stretch in the season is this really how you want it to end for you, no its most definitely not, now go win some ball games Cardinals. The Astro's are third in the central so not that hard to beat, I say they way the Cards have been playing we will drop two of three, please prove me wrong, this is not good.

Well now that I got my daily dose of ranting about the Cardinals done, I am going to take a chill pill and talk real baseball.

Game 1: After the disappointing series loss to the Pirates, the Cardinals needed to rebound with a win against a team that they have not lost to this year yet.

At 30 years and 222 days, Albert Pujols helped with giving them this effect to get the Cards back on track. In his milestone night Albert hit his 400th dinger, but his valiant efforts could not carry the cards to a win as Dave Duncan's bullpen can not do the job in a 11-10 thirteen inning battle royal against the Nations them in Washington. "Its a special milestone," Pujols said, "but I dont play for numbers." He was honored on Friday for his accomplishments. All that this man has done is unbelievable, Jordan Zimmermann the Nationals pitcher who gave up the homerun actually wasnt very angry and actually tipped his hat to the legend. I dont need to tell you that he is a great player, and if you dont know then take a look at this chart.

Pujols Joins Legendary List

With 1,200-plus RBIs and a career batting average of .332, Albert Pujols is one of five players in MLB history to have 400 homers, 1,200 RBIs and a .330 average. Clearly, he'll need to maintain that average throughout his career to stay on this list -- but he's there now.

.330 BA, 400 HR, 1,200 RBI - MLB History

	BA	HR	RBI
Albert Pujols	.332	400	1,205
Stan Musial	.331	475	1,951
Ted Williams	.344	521	1,839
Lou Gehrig	.340	493	1,995
Babe Ruth	.342	714	2,213

So next time when your watching a Cardinals game anywhere and Pujols gets out or makes one mistake and you get mad why dont you take a look back at this and then tell me if he sucks or cant make a play or get a hit. He is an amazing baseball player and im willing to bet that you will be in the Hall Of Fame in my lifetime.

The banged up bullpen of the Cardinals showed there true colors once again the roller-coster ride of a game as Ryan Franklin blows the save in the one run lead in the ninth and Blake Hawksworth trips up with two out and a man on third in the thirteenth. The infield shifted in and a sharp grounder up the middle is bobbled and the winning run scored giving St. Louis another loss to a team under .500 this year.

A cool little side note this unlikely defeat was that after Franklin gave up that two run game tying home run to Roger Bernadina of the Nats, the score was synced with the time reading: 10-10 at 10:10. Pretty sweet right? Well not really at this time it should have been 10-8 Cardinals win. Is it time to finally let the facial hair go? Bad luck Ryan.

"We've got to win ballgames, that's what it comes down to," starting pitcher Chris Carpenter said. "It doesnt matter how we do it, whether it's 15-14 or 1-0, we've got to win ballgames, and unfortunately I didnt pitch well enough tonight to give my team a chance." I honestly dont know how many times that I have said that St. Louis needs to win ballgames, but here I am again saying that the St. Louis Cardinal Need to start winning some games. Carpenter is 420 percent right. Wins is what the Cardinals need. Wins, wins, wins, and they didnt get one Thurday night.

Game 2:

The Nationals' Alberto Gonzalez slides safely into first for a single as Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols waits for the ball. (Nick Wass)

Hope and Life for a team in loss. In there first win in four games it looks to be a new start for the Cardinals.

A 4-2 victory, possible rookie of the year Jaime Garcia pitched his way into a dozen wins on friday, throwing 5 1/3 shutout innings and the Nationals just couldnt hit off of him. "You've got to hand it to Jaime," St. Louis manager Tony Larussa said. "Boy, once again, he comes out there when we need him and pitches an outstanding game." He is so consistent, Friday he pitched out of many jams in several innings and still managed to not give up a single run, he has gone 20 and 1/3 innings of shutout ball. That shows his dedication to the game and his skill. Jaime Garcia will one of the Cardinals biggest assets in the many years to come.

Albert broke the three way tie, and now he is 47th in the home run standings. Hitting his 401st big fly off Scott Olsen Friday was St. Louis's first run in the pursuit to victory in Washington. Hitting his 35th homer of the year, looking for the triple crown, could it be possible? Pujols is batting .320 which is third in the NL average standings only .6 behind leader, Rockies Carlos Gonzalez. Albert is the leader in homers and rbi's this season, it is in his grasp, can he hold on?

Also Friday night Matt Holliday of the Cards hit his 23rd of the year in the eight to solidify the 4-2 win.

Obviously the Cardinals were the favorites in this one so it is no surprise for them to pull out with a W, but the Nats sure had there fair share of opportunities to win this one, but they were shutdown in those spots by Garcia and his reliever Mitchell Boggs, but those were not there best chances. In the bottom of the ninth and Franklin in to close, he hasnt done much in last few appearances and same thing here, Ryan Franklin gave up a leadoff triple, a walk, and then let a run in on a wild pitch. Duncan is it time to call it quits for the 22 save closer, time to put someone out there who can do the job. Franklin had almost two blown saves in a row. This is not the time for the St. Louis bullpen to shut down.

A good win comes with responsibility, now Saturday Loshe will have to continue the run for the playoffs, does he finish the job?

Game 3:

St. Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols, left, watches as Washington Nationals catcher Ivan Rodriguez catches the ball as Pujols is intentionally walked during the fifth inning of their baseball game at Nationals Park in Washington, Saturday, Aug. 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Blown out, 14-5, by the Nationals.

Jon Jay the rookie batting over .350 gave the Cards a three run lead in the first with a 2-run blast. Then after that it was all Washington till the end.

I wonder if the Cards have ever thought of trading Lohse to get another pitcher that just might help sew this lineup together. Now why would I say that? Kyle Lohse allowed eight earned runs, all with two outs. "I would get two outs and just couldnt put them away for the third out. I just made a lot of bad pitches when it got to two outs." said Lohse. His day at the plate was nothing like his day on the mound. Kyle hit an rbi double fifth directly before being hooked from the game after 11 hits.

League leader in rbi's Albert Pujols had on more rbi Saturday adding one more on the triple crown gap.

This St. Louis loss guarantees at least a split in the series against Washington which would mean they have dropped the last 4 series to under .500, the Cards playoff chances are getting very slim, and if they keep this up St. Louis will not revive the 2006 run for the title. A win in game four could put them a game closer to the wildcard spot, if not then it could be over.

Game 4:

Nationals’ Michael Morse (28) is greeted by third base coach Pat Listach (4) after hitting a two-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Sunday, Aug. 29, 2010, in Washington.

Adam Wainwright going for his 18th win for the third time and once again his bid fails, he could have been the leagues first eighteen game winner for the third try, but no dice once again. The now 17-9 Wainwright only lasted five innings giving up all four of they Cardinals runs including a two run double to the opposing pitcher John Lannan. After the 4-2 loss, the Cardinals drop to 5 games behind the NL central leading Reds.

Dropping to 5-10 against teams under .500 this is what Cardinals Starter Adam Wainwright had to say about the game. "I'm not saying [Washington is] a bad team because they're a dangerous team, but teams with sub-.500 records, we played terrible against all year," Wainwright said. "We just did it again today and in this series, too. When we hit, we don't pitch. When we pitch, we don't hit. Sometimes, we do both and the other team just beats us." He is right and you know what, the Cards remaining schedule is almost all against these sub .500 teams. St. Louis has to make some changes, they are going to have to adapt to these teams and play to the same intensity that they play with when they go up against teams with records over a .500 record.

Pedro Feliz almost started a comeback in the ninth with a solo shot, but Drew Storen closed it out for the save. Holliday also had a double and scored, he now has an eleven game hitting streak.

This is the first night that Pujols didnt get an rbi for his team in the last three nights.

Now the Cards will get some help back as Colby Rasmus will start in the lineup Monday against the Astros in Houston. Also, Dennys Reyes the reliever previously on the 15 day disabled list will be activated in the Houston series this week.

Upcoming:

Cards vs. Astros in a three game series to see if the Cardinals can take a sweep and go at least .500 on there road trip.

Trying to avoid there third straight loss St. Louis will send 1-2 Jake Westbrook to the rubber against Astros 4-2 J.A. Happ on Monday. Coming into the road trip the Cardinals were only 3 1/2 games back to the Reds now after going 2-5 to the Reds and Nationals the Reds cental division lead has grown to five games over the St. Louis.

St. Louis is 5-7 this year when facing the Astros. "Our goal is to win the series," manager Tony La Russa told the Cardinals' official website. "Win the first game of the series, you're in charge." A series win to the Stro's could put the Cardinals only 2 games behind the Reds and maybe even give them the Wildcard lead.

Previously Jake Westbrook and the rest of the Cards lineup is not doing to well against Houston. With a revived Rasmus back in the lineup the Cards will, I say the Cardinals will sweep the Astros. Wildcard will be ours.

Thanks. GO CARDS!!! Go get that wildcard spot.

Slipping Away

2010-08-26T20:21:00.002-05:00

St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa wipes his eyes as he sits on the bench as his team was losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the seventh inning of the baseball game in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Daniel McCutchen, have you ever heard of him? He was the one the gave up the start to the Brewers when being blown out 20-0, also last time he threw against the Cardinals, the Pirates lost 11-1. That wasn't the case on Wednesday as this unknown 2-5 pitcher threw six shutout innings against the cold batted St. Louis team, he picked up his teams 5-2 victory.
This is not a good sign for a team on the bubble.

By the numbers:

4: The St. Louis Cardinals have lost there last 4 series to teams under the .500 radar. If the Cardinals can not win against teams like the Cubs, Pirates, and Brewers how are they going to be able to even stand a chance against the teams like the Reds, Phillies, and Braves.

22: 22 of the Cardinals last 32 games will be played against teams under .500 In a normal situation any team would want this schedule, St. Louis has just about the greatest advantage of any team in the hunt, but for the is at an advantage or a weakness?

1: One game can change the fate or destiny of the Cards outcome of this season. Being only one game back and a Phillies loss all the Cardinals need against against the Nats tonight is a win and a Giants loss and the Wildcard is theres for the taking.

1: One more big fly for Allstar first baseman Albert Pujols to be just the third youngest player in history to reach the milestone of 400 homeruns. Can he do it tonight?

Pitching tonight on the mound will be the 14-4 Cardinals veteran Chris Carpenter who will be facing off against Jordan Zimmerman who is making he first appearance for the first time since Tommy Johns surgery last August. It shouldnt be a problem for the Larussa's hopefully deadly offense.

After Philly loss will the Cards finally manage to take control of the wildcard or will they fail to do so for the fourth straight day. Is anyone else disturbed by the fact that St. Louis losses two out of three to the worst team in baseball.

Well tonight is the night for them to change my mind that they havnt totally slipped away from playoff contention. Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals, starts now.

Go Cards!!! Dont disappoint me.

Opportunity came knocking, but Lopez was not home

2010-08-25T14:37:00.002-05:00

St. Louis Cardinals' Matt Holliday, center, is greeted by teammates in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run in the first inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

You would never had thought that a Cy Young pitcher would take his eighth loss from a team that has double the amount of losses than wins. This happened tuesday for now 17-8 Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright in St. Louis's 4-3 loss to Pittsburg. He failed to become the leagues first to 18 wins for second time in a row, this giving the Bucs only there third win in sixteen games. "I felt good from the the first pitch on," Wainwright said. "I had good stuff; I just didn't put a few guy away when I needed to."

The Cards had another early start to the ball game as Matt Holliday parks a pair sending St. Louis up 2-0 in the early stretch. The early lead have become something of a tradition as the Cardinals have scored first in there last five games winning all but one, and for the second game in a row the Cards have had a multi run blast in the first, today with Holliday, yesterday with Pujols. If the Cardinals can keep this up and there hitting and pitching comes together they wont lose too many ball games.

Wainwright looked good through five with six strikeouts, but the Pirates dug deep and found the last of the energy there team could muster up, and in the sixth inning the lead-off man reached and it hurts when this runner is leading his team in stolen bases because he swiped second off Molina like it was his job. With two outs in the same inning Wainwright left one of those no-no balls up in the zone and Pittsburg's
Jose Tabata who prompted sent it right into the corner for a standup rbi triple. After a single that plated Tabata, Pitt was right back in it. A two run single in the seventh sent Wainwright to the pine.

St. Louis's ace Adam Wainwright pitched seven full giving up four earned runs, and believe or not that is as many runs as he has given up in 30 innings in his previous starts. He is an incredible pitcher and regardless of if he wins this years Cy Young or not he is most definitely the best pitcher in NL at this level no matter which way you slice it. Its hard to win a ball game when your offense can only score two runs a game. Come on RASMUS get off the DL this team needs you.

St. Louis's hitting has been up if you ask me, but it is too spread out there hitting is productive, if they want it to be productive Tony Larussa will have to set the right lineup card and get his hitters to hit gap to gap and get in scoring position. Everyone in the majors can get hits, that is why they are where they are, but it is the situation where you need to get those hits, small and smart baseball.

However, on the Pittsburg side the bullpen no doubt shutdown the Cards entire lineup yesterday. Joel Hanrahan and Evan Meek pitched lights out on the bump. Meek converting only his second save of the season in eight opportunities.

The bad news in this game was having Philly and Cincy both getting losses the Cardinals could have taken a game up on the Central and the wildcard, but in the ninth inning with the bases juiced Jose Lopez was going to become the hero giving St. Louis the Lead in the Wildcard, but....... Pop out. On tuesday the door was open, but Evan Meek shut the opportunity down for the cards.

Now they will have to come back today to face Daniel McCutchen of the Pirates. If we flash back to July 31st of this year, St. Louis faced this same guy and guess what? They ate him up winning 11-1. If they can do half of what they did to him then, then St. Louis will come out on top.

With Albert Pujols just one HR away from the 400 mark, can today be the night for the Cards to take control of the Wildcard and get Albert to be the third youngest player to reach 400 bombs. Tune in to see.

Pirates Beat Wainwright, Cardinals

Thanks. Go Cards!!! MOTTE and RASMUS back next week. Hurry up Fellas

Lohse gets the win, Cards one closer to wildcard

2010-08-23T22:35:00.003-05:00

St. Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols, right, rounds the bases in front of Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Ronny Cedeno after hitting a three-run homer, the 399th of his career, in the first inning of the baseball game in Pittsburgh, Monday, Aug. 23, 2010.

Cardinals win, St. Louis back on track with a three game winning streak. After destroying Pittsburg 10-2 at home pitcher Kyle Lohse picks up his first win since May 17th, this being only his second start since being on the disabled list for almost three months. I actually though he pitched a pretty good game even though it was against the Pirates, but he needed a win on his belt to get started. Despite the two run bomb in the sixth by Garret Jones, Lohse pitched five solid shutout innings before being hooked in the 6th.

The Cardinals rallied in the first to set the tone of the game, something St. Louis does well. Pujols with another big game going 3 for 5 with a big three run blast in the first off Sean Gallagher's first pitch in relief for injured 1-11 Pittsburg starter Ross Ohlendorf. After a 7-0 lead the Larussa's bench started to kick in, two or the last 3 Cardinals runs were scored by bench players.

The Good:

Rookies: John Jay, when St. Louis first started him in the lineup I thought we were done, but he has shown me more than enough to accept him for someone on the team. He isn't a big power hitter but that .363 batting average over 66 games definitely sets him on the top of this lineup. Colby Rasmus, rookie of the year is in sight for this superstar, but does his ability have a limit? Colby needs to avoid injury. Jaime Garcia, 11-6 Era under three, he is everything you want in a rookie pitcher. If not for Wainwright and Carpenter he might be considered the star of the central.

Schedule: With not many games left to lose in the race for October, the cards have pretty fair schedule to end it out, with nine out of the twelve series they play being under the .500 radar it seems to me like the Cardinals should be able to catch the red hot Reds for the division title.

Big 3: The unbeatable power punch of Carpenter, Wainwright, and Garcia is 57-27 when starting for St. Louis and only 18-27 without these heros on the rubber. The cards would be the best team in the playoffs because you only need three decent starters to make it a long way, but Dave Duncan's big three rotation isn't good its so great its unbelievable.

Additions: Two great players were added this year, veterans Jake Westbrook and Houston's Pedro Feliz. Westbrook 3-0 Era under three. Feliz batting over .400 under the roof of Busch Stadium. Done.

P.S. no need to talk about Pujols, 33 homers, leading the league in rbi's, they speak for themselves.

The Bad:

Shortstop: St. Louis has no starting day in day out ss. Brendan Ryan batting under .240 now Larussa has Lopez playing short since the addition of Feliz and he only has 3 hits in the last seven games. Larussa will need to short this out if they want there lineup to be aces.

5 spot: Injury, this should not be a problem for a rookie, not a good sign. Colby Rasmus St. Louis's number five hitter is on the DL with a strained calf and will likely miss a handful of games before returning to this young gun lineup. The cards have no natural number five hitter without him they are lost with him, unstoppable.

Other 5 spot: Hawksworth, Suppan, Penny, Lohse all with a losing record and Era over five when starting in the five spot. Cause for concern Mr. Duncan?

Bullpen: Hopefully the Cardinals all-star rotation will be enough to put Franklin on the spot without breaking into the banged up bullpen. With all the injuries out in that spot past the left field fence, St. Louis no longer can rely on just Miller, Boggs, Macdougel, and Franklin. Can they heal in time or will they have the entire offseason to rebut?

Lets see if Albert Pujols can keep the thunder in his bat the rest of the series having ten homers in the Cards last nineteen and eight homers in twenty two games against the Pirates. "Alberts good everywhere," manager Tony Larussa said. "If he's not good in a series or two, he will be. It isn't anything about this ballpark or this pitching."

Tomorrow St. Louis will face off against Pirates ace Paul Maholm while sending there Cy Young candidate Adam Wainwright to the hill, Wainwright is 4-0 against can he stay undefeated? After Philadelphia's 3-2 loss to Houston tomorrow is the night for Cardinals to take control of the wildcard. Just a sidenote, but the Cardinals are 6-1 while facing the Pirates this year.

Thanks for Reading. Go Cards!!!!

Jaime shutsout Gaints to end homestand

2010-08-22T19:03:00.005-05:00

August 21, 2010 -- Cardinals' Pedro Feliz (right) reaches third with a run-scoring triple as San Francisco third baseman Pablo Sandoval (left) waits for the throw in the fifth nning during a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Mo. Chris Lee clee@post-dispatch.com

Cardinals rookie sensation Jaime Garcia pitches a complete game shutout sunday caping off a disappointing 3-5 home-stand. After only pitching 37 and a third innings last year in the minors St. Louis did not want to overuse his arm this year, but after only throwing 89 pitches in his first complete game 9-0 victory over the Giants he said "I didn't even peek at the pitch count, all I wanted to do was focus on the next pitch and hope to get things done". Of the three hits surrendered by Garcia Sunday they were promptly erased by Jose Guillen's two double play balls. Personally I think Jaime Garcia is great pitcher and working well in this stacked Cardinals rotation. It will be nice to see him pitch like this again in his upcoming starts with the crew.

Rookie teammate Allen Craig was 2 for 18 before hitting his second career blast today off losing pitcher Barry Zito, who only pitched four innings before being pulled by manager Bruce Bochey, however his 5 earned runs were enough for first baseman Albert Pujols, who had an rbi of his own off Zito in the third, and the hometown Cards to pull off a much needed 9-0 victory.

St. Louis isnt fully out of the race for October but, they will need to make up 3.5 games on the Reds, who won 5-2 over Joe Torre's Dodger squad today. A much anticipated three game early September series between these two clubs will likely decide the NL central victor. For me the wildcard seems like a better road for the second place Cardinals. Being only two games behind the city of brotherly love, Larussa's team looks to pick up a game on Philly tomorrow as the Phillies take on Houston at home. Hopefully the power of this St. Louis team can give them the ability to go with seven other teams to compete in the month of October.

St. Louis's Pedro Felize a great pickup from Houston went 2 for 5 in todays game improving to 6 for 13 since signing with Larussa. Feliz has done nothing but help this struggling Cardinals lineup both on offense and defense, in the first he snagged a line shot by Buster Posey of the Giants and assisted the two other plays that inning to help Garcia to perfect first inning.

Going into Pittsburg this week Tony Larussa will make a few changes to the lineup card for superstition and faith. First the veteran manager will bring up Garcia to pitch on four days rest ahead the shaky Kyle Lohse who has lost in his last three appearances. Garcia will pitch on monday against the Pirates. I think that this move will pay off because if you look at Jaime's season stats he is the best rookie pitcher in the league and Lohse is having an off season, granted Lohse is 4-0 with a 2.27 ERA against Pittsburg,
Garcia has the consistency that the organization is looking for. Secondly, Larussa in the past has batted his pitcher eight to get an extra position player behind Pujols in the lineup, but he has hit him ninth in the past two games which they ended up winning. So look to see the Cards have the there man on the mound bat a position back for the upcoming series.

St. Louis is 50-27 when Garcia, Carpenter, or Wainwright start, 17-27 with others. You will see two of these three fantastic pitchers in the Monday to Wednesday series against the Pirates in Pittsburg. We will see if the Cardinals can pick up some lost room from either the Reds or the wildcard leading Phillies.
Thanks for reading. Go Cards!!!!

Jaime Garcia, Cards Blank Giants

Cards swept By Brewers

2010-08-19T23:37:00.000-05:00

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) (Jeff Roberson - AP)

The Milwaukee Brewers swept the two game mini-series at Busch Stadium in Missouri, winning 3-2 in back to back appearances. The regular season battle between these two National League central teams is now tied 6-6 with only a single three game deciding series left in mid September. The Brew crew gives St. Louis there fourth straight loss. Cy young candidate, Adam Wainwright pitches 7 full 7k's and 3 earned, but he picks up his only home loss of the season, going to 11 and 1 on the year. Milwaukee's Randy Wolf out duels Cards ace Wainwright, he is now in double figures in wins on the year. Going into the ninth, closer John Axford worked with a 3-0 lead, but with the heart of the cardinals order to face. Pujols and Holliday with back to back doubles giving Larussa's crew hope. Next play on ground ball to first Fielder botches it and Holliday scores. The big moment 3-2 Brewers, bases jacked with Brendan Ryan at the dish. All time saves leader Trevor Hoffman get the much needed swinging strikeout for the win. After the sweep this send the Cards back 3 games after the Reds sweep the Marlins at home, with not many games left in the season St. Louis will have to bring up the bats to back up Dave Duncan's veteran pitching staff. The Cardinals will try to get rejuvenated on a day off before having the San Francisco Giants come to town. The series will be started off by newly added starter Jake Westbrook, I think this addition by Tony Larussa will help out the squad by added another premier starter to order. Westbrook's experience and the power of the cardinals lineup should be able to come out with a series win against the 2nd place Giants this weekend. I think the cards should take 2 of 3 from San Fran. ending there homestand, but we shall see starting Friday when they face-off against 4-4 Bumgarner and the slumping the giants. With three games to gain of Cincinnati, St. Louis needs all the wins they can get.
Thanks for Reading my first ever blog blog post. Please comment hope you like it. GO CARDS!!!!

Brewers Hand Cards Fourth Straight Loss