Signs of things to come?

That was pathetic. The Cardinals got outscored 32-11 over the weekend. The Dodgers beat us 20-6 on Saturday. Seriously. And then on Sunday they decided to lose to the Braves 12-5. Wow, is that pathetic. The Cardinals staff still has some work to do….

Reyes was scratched from his start yesterday due to the flu. He should be fine to pitch his next turn in the rotation.

The offense didn’t look that bad though; Barton went 3 for 5 with 2 RBIs and a run. Glaus went 2 for 2 against the Dodgers, and Ankiel went 3 for 6 for the weekend.

The OF is looking to be even deeper than first expected. Since we all know that LaRussa loves his right handed bats, it seems like Joe Mather will continue to get looks as long as he continues to hit. Mather is hitting .391 with a 1.239 OPS. Why can’t one of these OFers play somewhere in the infield?

The Purple Iguana

Cards rely on HRs

Yet again the Cardinals relied on HRs. This time it started off with back to back shots in the first from Colby Rasmus and Albert Pujols. After that, D’Angelo Jimenez and Ankiel each hit solo shots of their own. Ankiel ended up going 3 for 5 on the day, and Pujols went 2 for 2. It looks like the cards are going to be relying on the long ball a lot more than we thought…..

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Pujols needs reconstructive-Tommy John surgery

Albert Pujols does in fact have an elbow tear, which I referenced to here. The doctors are saying that he has a “high-grade tear” of an elbow ligament, and that he will need reconstructive surgery, but not at this point. They are saying that he may need Tommy John to rebuild the elbow.

At this point in time, I think he should just get it down for a couple of reasons. I think that the Cardinals will be good this year, but I doubt that they are going to have a chance to make the playoffs this season. I would rather see him have surgery this year, and get ready for next year when our younger players have another year of experience, and when our starters are fully healed. This would also aloud Duncan to slide over to first, which would allow 5 other OFers to make the roster. This would also enable Duncan’s trade value to go up by playing first for a year. Obviously you don’t want to throw the season away, but if it’s the difference between Pujols coming back early in ’09 from Tommy John or having enough time to rest, I would take the latter…..

The Purple Iguana

Cards win, Pujols elbow scare

The Cardinals beat the Marlins 5-2 yesterday on the back of back-to-back-to back HRs by Skip, Joe Mather, and Pujols. All three HRs were off of Kevin Gregg. There’s a box score here. Shumaker ended up going 3 for 4 today out of the lead off spot with 1 RBI and 3 runs. Pujols went 2 for 3, and Wellemeyer let up 2 run in 3 2/3 innings. Izzy got the win with a scoreless inning.

I got a scare yesterday when I read on a message board that ESPN bottom line had Pujols needing Tommy John surgery, but I later found out that there were chips or something in his elbow, but that it wasn’t going to require surgery. Even without surgery, this does not bode well for the season. The only positive that may come out of Pujols being hurt is that Duncan will be able to play first and we’ll be able to carry 5 other OFers, and we would be able to see who was the best fit for our OF. But I hope to God that doesn’t happen…..

The Purple Iguana

Barton/Ludwick cure for lefty problems?

The Cardinals suck against lefties, and LaRussa says it’ll take more than Troy Glaus to fix it. However, Ludwick and Barton could be the solution. The continued the horrible display yesterday against Washington, but LaRussa hopes that that changes.

Tyler Johnson is most likely going to start the season on the disabled list. He won’t be throwing for at least a week, and then he gets to join the ranks of Carpenter, Mulder, and Clement. Looks like it’s going to be another year with a lot of pitchers on the DL……

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Barton, young players shine

Brian Barton went 4 for 5 with a run and 2 RBIs, as well as a HR. Ludwick went 3 for 4, also with a HR, and the box score can be found here. Chris Perez pitched a scoreless inning, only allowing 1 hit. Izturis had his second error of spring.

It looks like the young studs are continuing to shine. It may take awhile until they are consistent enough to be in position to win a division title, but they’re still in great shape for years to come.

The Purple Iguana

Cards Crushed

Reyes went back to his old self yesterday and let up 4 runs in 2 innings, and the Cards lost 10-2. Rasmus drove in both runs with a single and a HR.

Link to article: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/124F6AD6AB7DFDD5862574030019B45C?OpenDocument

Link to Box score:
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2008_03_04_slnmlb_balmlb_1

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Looper sharp, Johnson to have MRI

The Cards lost 3-2 to the Nationals yesterday, and the box score can be found here. Things to note:

Kennedy went 0-3 with a K in the lead off spot

Pujols went 0-3

Glaus was 2-3

Ludwick went 1-4 with a run and 2 Ks

Looper threw 3 innings, letting up 1 earned on 3 hits

Looper threw his sinker about 80% of the time, as evident by 7 of his 9 outs coming from groundballs. He threw 24 strikes and 36 balls, so it looks like he could be a solid #2 again this year.

Tyler Johnson had an MRI on his left shoulder yesterday.

The Cardinals supposedly have a sign to hit people, and Ray King also supposedly told Brewers manager Ned Yost that it was used before the Cardinals hit Prince Fielder back in September. However, King and LaRussa talks and LaRussa believes he had nothing to do with it.

The Purple Iguana

Today's lineup vs Nationals

1. Adam Kennedy, 2B
2. Rick Ankiel, CF
3. Albert Pujols, 1B
4. Troy Glaus, 3B
5. Chris Duncan, LF
6. Ryan Ludwick, DH
7. Skip Schumaker, RF
8. Jason LaRue, C
9. Aaron Miles, SS

Starter: Braden Looper

Players to watch: Kennedy leading off, Ankiel in center, Duncan in left, Ludwick DHing and Shumaker in right. Izzy is not traveling with the team, but will be throwing BP to Cards hitters.

Link

Pujols talks; the Cardinals have a savior

….and his name is Sidney Ponson.

In other news, Ted Simmons is the bench coach for the Brewers this year. Hopefully he does well enough to take second….

Albert Pujols is talking about the difference in the teams this year. It looks like he realizes it’s a rebuilding year, but is still expecting to win. He also realizes that his elbow’s effected him last year, but thinks not making the playoffs has helped him recover. He points to the 2004 season where he also had an extra break after the ’03 season. Hopefully he’s right.

He also looks forward to leading some of the other players like Matheny, Renteria, and McGwire did back in his first few years. Another thing he said is that this may be the most powerful offense the organization has ever had. If that’s the case, this team will definitely be worth watching. Yet again, I hope he’s right…..

The Purple Iguana