LaRussa talks leadoff

Tony LaRussa says he’s looking for OBP in his lead off hitter. He also says that he’s going to rotate between candidate this spring, and the three players that are mentioned are Izturis, Shumaker, and Miles. If one of those 3 lead off, we’re in trouble. I think that the best leadoff hitter will be whoever’s playing CF, whether it is Ankiel or Rasmus. I think if LaRussa can get over his fascination for righties and veterans that the choice would be obvious, but then again, he’s one of the best managers in the game, so I guess we’ll see…

The Purple Iguana

Rasmus to stay up if top 5 OFer

The Cardinals view Colby Rasmus as a critical part of there future success. Not that that comes as a surprise to anybody. Rasmus talks about wanting to be “that guy”, and how he has always loved the attention. LaRussa says that if he’s one of the top 5 outfielders, he will be on the roster, which I think is a surprise- I was figuring that the only way they keep him up is if he’s going to start….but I guess we’ll see….

The Purple Iguana

SLU game updates

Rasmus with a lead off single, Barton with a 2 run shot....

St. Louis University with one in the first and one in the second, both earned runs against Boggs....

Freese with a hit and a SB.

Rasmus with an error

No runs in the bottom of the second for the Redbirds....

Walters with a 1-2-3 inning....

Rasmus and Barton with back to back hits in the bottom of the third, Mather with a BB, Phelps with an RBI BB.....

Barden with an RBI walk....Cards up 4-2...

Walters another 1-2-3 inning, 2 K's in the 2 IPs.....

Cards score 2 in bottom of 4th, with one out....looks like Barden got another walk, Anderson with a hit/RBI, and I'm not sure how else we scored- the box score isn't helping much.....

Marti with a pinch hit grand slam....9-2 cards....and I'm out for a while...game summary later possibly....I realize it's spring training, but I'm glad it's baseball season...


The Purple Iguana

Today's lienup vs SLU

The lineup for today’s game against SLU, according to Derrick Goold:

1. Colby Rasmus, CF
2. Brian Barton, DH
3. Joe Mather, RF
4. Josh Phelps, 1B
5. Cody Hearther, LF
6. David Freese, 3B
7. Brian Barden, SS
8. Matt Pagnozzi, C
9. Jarrett Hoffpauir, 2B

Starting pitcher: Mitchell Boggs

I’d like to see how the top four hitters in the lineup do, as well as Barden and Hoffpauir up the middle….

The Purple Iguana

Clement throws, Rasmus homers

Matt Clement is about to start throwing from a mound, and Colby Rasmus/Josh Phelps homered in a coach pitch game (not that that means anything).

The Purple Iguana

Comparison of Lineup

I'm going to assume that Rasmus starts for the sake of argument here. Now for the comparison:

Rasmus vs. Eckstein

Rasmus has a lot more speed and power, and will basically be a better lead off hitter. Eckstein had an OPS of .738 last year, with 10 SBs. Rasmus has yet to go under .830 in his pro career, and was at .932 in AAA last year. Big difference there. Rasmus' lowest SB total was 13, so there is another spot where he'll help this lineup out. It's been awhile since we had any type of base stealing threat in the lead off spot.

Ankiel vs. Duncan
This will be virtually the same person: decent amount of HRs, a lot of Ks, and a lot of ups and downs. I'm a little bit scared, however, about Ankiel's nature- obviously everybody knows about how he blew up in those playoff games I believe in 2001. He also went into a tailspin after the steroid allegations came out last year. If he can get his head on straight, he'll put up very good stats, but that might be a stretch.

Pujols vs. Pujols
Last year Albert had a down year, but I'm not sold that his elbow is back to normal. I remember reading an article awhile ago about how he couldn't extend his arm, and that if he had the same type of pain as last year, that he wouldn't play. That would be major trouble.

Glaus vs. Edmonds
Edmond's OPS dropped to .728 last year, and it'd been dropping since '04. Glaus on the other hand has been pretty consistent since '01, and if he can stay healthy, you can count on at least 30 HRs, something Edmonds hasn't done since '04.

Duncan vs. Rolen
Duncan was injured most of last year, like Rolen. If Duncan stays healthy and LaRussa plays him everyday, look for him to bop at least 35 HRs, and an OPS over .900, something Rolen hasn't done since '04 (sounds like Edmonds, doesn't it).

Molina vs. Encarnacion
Molina has been improving offensively, but he won't be able to put up the stats Encarnacion did. Look for more improvement by Molina, but he's still nothing special.

Kennedy vs. Molina
Last year was by far Kennedy's worst year, and I honestly think that Brendan Ryan would be a better option here. However, I expect him to get back to where he was before last year. Molina was solid last year, and was most likely better than Kennedy will be this year.

Izturis vs. Miles
Both suck(ed), and I know Ryan would be a better pick for this spot.


Overall, the top of the lineup is a lot better this year, especially in the power department. The bottom of the order drops off a bit, but if Rasmus can meet expectations and starts, this will be a decent lineup, and a lot better than you'd expect with Rolen and Edmonds being traded in the off season. I'll be getting a defensive comparison later......

The Purple Iguana

Projected Lineup

Here is what I project the Cardinals 2008 lineup to be, with and without Colby Rasmus:

This year with Rasmus

Rasmus CF

Ankiel RF

Pujols 1B

Glaus 3B

Duncan LF

Molina C

Kennedy 2B

Pitcher/ Izturis SS

Izturis

Without Rasmus

Ankiel CF

Duncan LF

Pujols 1B

Glaus 3B

Ludwick RF

Molina C

Kennedy 2B

Pitcher/Izturis SS

Izturis

Needless to say, the lineup looks a lot more formidable with Rasmus in the lineup than without. I'll have a comparison of this years lineup(s) compared to last years up soon.....

The Purple Iguana