Brad Penny is now one of a select group of St. Louis Cardinals pitchers with a grand slam. Bob Gibson, who watched Penny’s shot Friday night, has two.
It only seemed fitting.
St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson was in the house at Busch Stadium Friday night to commemorate the fan giveaway of a replica statue of his likeness.
When Brad Penny shot a bases loaded home run over the outfield wall in the third inning, it was the ninth grand slam by a Cardinals pitcher since at least 1952. Only one man has two and he happened to be in the FOX Sports Midwest booth at the time – Gibson. Upon questioning, he was quite aware of his feat.
Gibson’s first grand slam was in 1965 with the other in 1973. The latter was the last of his 24 career long balls. Gibson retired in 1975.
Oddly, the most recent two St. Louis pitcher grand slams came against former Cardinals starters. Joel Pineiro was Penny’s victim Friday night while Kip Wells served up Chris Carpenter’s shot last October 1. Prior to Carpenter’s home run, it had been over 11 years since it had been done.
St. Louis Cardinals grand slams, pitcher, 1952-current
| Date | Batter | Opp | Pitcher | Score | Inn | Out | RBI |
| 5/21/2010 | Brad Penny | ANA | Joel Piniero | tied 4-4 | b 3 | 2 | 4 |
| 10/1/2009 | Chris Carpenter | @CIN | Kip Wells | ahead 1-0 | t 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 9/2/1998 | Kent Mercker | @FLA | Jesus Sanchez | ahead 3-0 | t 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 9/7/1996 | Donovan Osborne | SDP | Andy Ashby | tied 1-1 | b 5 | 1 | 4 |
| 8/10/1986 | Bob Forsch | PIT | Mike Bielecki | ahead 1-0 | b 5 | 0 | 4 |
| 5/15/1984 | Joaquin Andujar | ATL | Jeff Dedmon | ahead 5-1 | b 8 | 2 | 4 |
| 8/21/1973 | Rick Wise | @ATL | Roric Harrison | ahead 3-0 | t 3 | 2 | 4 |
| 7/26/1973 (1) | Bob Gibson | NYM | John Strohmayer | ahead 6-1 | b 5 | 0 | 4 |
| 9/29/1965 | Bob Gibson | @SFG | Gaylord Perry | ahead 4-0 | t 8 | 1 | 4 |
Since 1952, Cardinals pitchers have hit 106 home runs.
| Type | Number |
| Grand slam | 9 |
| Three-run | 14 |
| Two-run | 20 |
| Bases-empty | 63 |
| total | 106 |
| Pitcher HR leaders | Home runs | Grand slams |
| Bob Gibson | 24 | 2 |
| Bob Forsch | 12 | 1 |
| Adam Wainwright | 5 | 0 |
| Rick Wise | 4 | 1 |
| Joe Magrane | 4 | 0 |
Thanks to statistician Tom Orf for pulling the detailed data summarized above.
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1. Lopez, 2B
2. Ludwick, RF
3. Pujols, 1B
4. Holliday, LF
5. Freese, 3B
6. Rasmus, CF
7. LaRue, C
8. Ryan, SS
9. Lohse, P
Tony had some pretty weak rational for this……… there are other reasons of course. Lohse gets LaRue in a game where he needs 7 innings. Interesting. I looks like the gauntlet has been thrown down for Lohse. LaRusa knows what he’s doing there though. KL will respond to necessity I think.
Colby against Kasmir……… hope he’s into it. Colby is playing against Tori Hunter who runs to every ball…….make lightning transitions……..puts on a show a throwing every time he handles the ball…..so people won’t challenge them…………………Colby glides in…. looks around to see if anyone might be running……..as if to say…….”You talking to me”…………… Now Everyone is talking to him……… unless he starts taking lessons when they’re offered, he’s going to be looking for a corner outfield spot in the Big Leagues……….better bring your bat Colby. It happened Wednesday….It happened yesterday………. Preemptive speed and positioning…..make a show of your arm to the cut off every time………….NEVER LOOK TO SEE whether someone is challenging you………if you did, its already too late. You don’t want to go to an Arbitration hearing and find out your a 2 tool player………. and they will explain that to you in no uncertain terms. And it will cost you. Take a lead and steal a damn base. You might have to do a few push ups at first…..that’s the game……………….. You were the investment……… that ends before to much longer. If every team thinks to challenge you…….add that up when payday arrives.
Before anyone asks……… a two tooled player is ” 2 arms — 2 legs…………… always handy.
“The only hesitation is we’re 4-1 with that configuration,” La Russa said of his short-lived use of Pujols in the cleanup spot. “But that is not our best lineup. We brought (Holliday) here to (protect Pujols). We need him. Everybody has their role, and his role is to be our cleanup hitter.”
The weakness of this position by Tony, is going to cause me to seriously “editorialize” if we have a bad day today.
It reeks of someone whining about being pushed away from the dish by the Holiday doubles. If there’s plenty of food for everyone…..I have no problem…..If Pujols has a good day, but the team doesn’t score many runs…….I going to let down a bit on this subject.
Can’t dispute any of that Westy, but remember Colby has to function within his personality type. CF at the MLB level takes a deal of agression, initiative and take charge persona. So all considerations of talent aside, it my not be Coby’s natural position in the bigs. That’s not to say he couldn’t do it. As to the arm, showing it off on routine throws to cut-off etc requires that the arm be consitantly impressive. If it isn’t, maybe not a good idea. I kinda get the impression he’s one of those moody, sulky types. Once he gets a money conract it might be JD Drew all over again. Hope I’m all wrong. Hope he rips ‘em a new one today.
Kazmir is a bigger Kyle Lohse than KL himself.
Ludwick sees whats going on. Colby better get that bat back to square one or I’m going to stop mentioning it. Then no one will.
When I see this KL show……it makes you wanna scream.
You might as well stop Westy. It’s been almost a year now since Albert’s been Albert, and nobody wants to talk about that either. As if a hit for avg slick fielding 1B is worth $30M/yr.
PJ won’t have to wait around.
He’ll be in shortly…………. If I told you by reading his body language that this is a childhood regression syndrome……..would you believe me…………. the money is preventing the normal course of events.
I really doubt they want to throw P J in front of this beast………but they really don’t have a choice. Actually the mop up quality of his appearance is less pressure against using all your pitches and just working out.
Considering a number of variables………………….. Tony./ Wainwright.??? That has to get your attention. Especially the over swinging when you lost a guy yesterday to a big swing.
I’ll believe whatever you say Westy. Really.
Lohse’s body language says he’s thinking about the beach he’ll be sitting on after the 2012 season, and whether or not he wants the rest of the $40M more than he wants to be sitting on it now.
Glad Walters bounced back from his family tragedy so quickly. Good for him.
The ineffectiveness of the offense is as big an issue as the ineffectivness of Lohse. So far.
At least Albert has his spot back……………
And he’s hitting third again too……….
TLR expected post game comment; “You have to tip your cap to the other pitcher.”
He won’t want to talk about batting Walters in the middle of the only rally we had all day.
wimpy STL press prob wont even ask
The main diference between Lohse and Kip Wells is we owe Lohse about another $30 Million. Way too much to bury him in the bullpen.
blingboy, I understand the fact that the money paid to Lohse is “way too much to bury him in the bullpen”, but the proposition renders the logic that we pay in order to lose! Wouldn’t it be far better to bullpen the mediocre and eat the salary, so that we can consistently win? I am so happy to see P.J. Walters and I have no doubt that he will eventually develop into a quality starter.
With regard to the eight hundred pound gorilla in the room, I must confess that I was greatly dismayed when WCBW first began addressing the problem at the All-Star break last season. Now is certainly a great time for Matt to show encouraging signs of coming to form: He has the stuff to carry the team while Albert contends with his difficulties (whatever they are).
WC, I concur with every word of your dissertation on Colby’s problems. All I can tell you is he is a really good player that may never show that while here. I have had some raging arguments with him last year about some of the things he does and every time its ,” I do what they tell me to do”. Which is why I sit back and don’t worry about it this year. I feel pretty sure he plays the game like he is told to because he never played it like he does now for me. He used to be bigger than life, now he is ok just being a sad looking, non emotional player. It sickens me but its not my team, its TLR’s.
I was disappointed in Walters velocity. pitch fx had him mostly 85-87.
Actually CC I was impressed with Walters stuff – I had the Angels FSW telecast, his Fastball mostly read at 87-88. Change up and curveball looked good. The kid really looks like he needs to pitch backwards – when he got ahead with the curveball it looked like he could use the fastball effectively.
Interested to see how he will do with start later this week.
57, at $17M a year, we’ve paid a lot for a cleanup who’s hitting .150 with RISP. Why? Because he makes $17M a year to hit cleanup. So it wouldn’t matter if somebody else was hitting .350 with RISP. Same with Lohse. He makes $8-9M to start. Next year he makes $11M to start. The year after that he makes $11M to start. We are going to see a lot of Mr. Lohse.
Good to hear from RC and jim. Walters looked good by comparison, thats about all I took from it. Hope he does well in his start, we’ll need it.
I am surprised to hear that the Cards org tells Colby “don’t make strong, aggressive, accurate throws”. “Don’t play a high energy CF at all times” “don’t hit lefties like you always did”. Damn, no wonder he’s not happy.
Lohse’s forearm excuse is a little stale. Maybe they can play it into a career ender and pocket some insurance money. Eventually. At least its the three best that are still ticking. Who’s next from Memphis? I don’t supose Oswalt and his contract is a possibility?
On the positive side, Brendan looked good. So did Holliday, but he’s been good when it doesn’t matter all along. Might have helped if the best player in baseball had pitched in, you know, being in that critical 3 spot and all.
Good stuff Bling
No excuses, Square peg, Round hole.
Nice thread everyone, many good points. RC, Colby can be a super star. Performance at that level is never what we think it is. Those are the difficult lessons. Colby loves the game, partially in the way he shares it with you. You are both going to have to suffer a separation somehow. It’s how he will begin to cultivate his own motivations and appetites. Its part of growing up. 162 games of adult baseball with all the hype is “numbing” . He may be struggling just to control or perpetuate a needed dialog with you……………………….KL is working on little league level emotional issues also , and is dealing with it on the same big stage. That’s a bitch to be caught up living a repetitive emotional cycle that you never have been able to deal with……in front of 44 thousand. He can’t help it. He digs that emotional hole pitch by pitch. ……………………. I just edited this by a few hundred words, because it is just a game, and I’m not sure it would serves any purpose. By definition, if your not prepared to act upon your knowledge or understanding for the better, it not wisdom at all.
bb, until I saw the data, I would not have guessed that Lohse has a higher percentage of starts of four innings or less than Wellemeyer did.
“Lohse and the Short Start” now posted at The Cardinal Nation.
I doubt Walters can be effective at 87-88 MPH because it wont allow for enough contrast with his change up.
Nice article on TCN Brian. Think of what it would be like to owe Welly or Kip $30M.
I thought Walter’s was having trouble hitting the glove. He has to be able to hit the glove or he’ll get smoked at this level.
Wow, There is trouble in Mudville!!
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/17D167DB091458778625772C000DB0C9?OpenDocument
Not to worry RC, didn’t Albert respond by having a monster day at the plate Saturday. Proving that he’s still the man for the 3 hole?
A very ticklish subject RC. Tony apparently had a straight steal on. Albert is starting to get pissed about Tony taking the bat out of his hands with hit and runs and the like, when he is trying find at bats to evaluate some of the changes he is making. Vocalizing it shows the level of frustration he is enduring. Lets face it. Returning to number 3 the next day shows the dynamic of their relationship…………………..
The real question here is, does the “reality” of the Cardinals offensive struggle impact starting pitching? Hell yes. All of them. Does the Organizations penchant for creating mythologies for
commercial purposes have a down side? Seems apparent. Does the stress of being confronted with a pitching duel every time out create added emotional/physical “mileage” on these guy? No question……………………….Penny was struggling before the Granny related injury…… a back problem comes to light to shelter his re emergent ego as it seeks to rejoin the “Rotation”………. has Lohse stopped playing golf…….has he stopped weight training? He looked hurt, but the Organizations habit of creating these “excuses” to protect their investments leaves you wondering……………. Is Tony’s coaching style beginning to show a downside? In my mind this is it………………….. If someone hangs a breaking ball……so far inside that even Albert could reach it…….Alla Brad Penny, and he hits it out…………does that merit another two weeks of denial about the core issues here? Regardless of what Lohse’s MRI reads, would you not put him away for 15 days for no better reason to protect your investment? Today’s game will be interesting. Lets see if playing the ACE wins the hand. Or……… will a challenged Carpenter reflect the team stresses?
Well said Westy.
Luddy was told to steal and so he went. He’s only periferally involved, but still involved. At least at a psycological level. It illustrates what RC has been saying going back to last season. Imagine the rookie Colby in Luddy’s position Friday. Not good.
Hard to be a rookie when you can’t play instinctively as you always have, you’re first concern being to avoid the frustrated 800 pound gorilla thrashing about.
The Cardinal color men are pointing out how the Angels are slowing Carpenter down……..duh! They are freezing AP in his stance at the plate too. Albert is at least calling time outs in response, which he usually doesn’t do. Angels are a professional baseball team. Soccia’s walking of AP even when he is struggling has more than one “effect”………
Freese is in this thing………………….. Great steal by….AP…….??? boy oh boy is this exciting baseball!!!
Interesting at bat by Stava………..never once did he consider playing for a win that didn’t evolve the big mac sign…………….. beat way out front…..check swing…way out front…….. over commits to the ball in the dirt….way out front…………
Agree on that Stavi AB, WC. Poor execution throughout. I hope all that “Dr. Thunder” silliness isn’t a factor.
The Dr. Thunder thing must be local Brian, I hadn’t heard of it.
AP is so focused on restraining some of his bad tendencies, he seems almost unable to make any meaningful bat adjustments………………………..bottom line……instead of adjusting to the problems in his lower body and legs, he is holding back his natural swing and read tendencies………miss hit after miss hit. ……………. it simple………he is too far forward constantly…..his stokes off field are just hands and arms from his premature wait shift……………… solution??? clearly restraining his upper body is not working……….he needs to to make adjustments.
I will qualify that…………. when I first studied AP, his weight was on his back leg. He did a nifty little ankle/ toes rotation as a timing mechanism to gauge his weight shift. We teams started attacking him on the hands last year his first adjustment was to open the stance 3 or 4 inches. As his elbow became a factor, he started transferring his weight before the pitch and slapping middle and right.
Healthy or not……. he has remained forward and open. He is to quick with the hips from there as it opens his front should to soon. He is try to restrain that tendency…. instead of going back to his former position…………. bad memory about what worked?….. other factors??????? Likely.
First comeback win in a while — that ought to help the clubhouse atmosphere a little.
Tied for the 2nd most wins in all of baseball.
Good win……………. can’t believe Tony doesn’t safety squeeze considering where they were playing their 3rd baseman…….
Two of three against the Angels ain’t half bad! Nice to see them pull out a close one.
Two comments on the posts above:
Rasmus has a .916 OPS on the season. He isn’t struggling at the plate, and there isn’t anyone else pushing him for his CF spot, so he’ll probably have time to work out his defense.
Pujols was probably less mad that a runner on first was told to steal and more mad that it was Ludwick who was told to steal. I’m a fan of Ludwick, but he is not strong on the basepaths. They have been over aggressive with him all season and have been creating a lot of unnecessary outs as a result.
Albert needs to let the manager manage.
Good win today fellas. Fun game to watch.
The comeback was great. I don’t like that the top 5 went 2 for 20 AB’s with no RBIs. Luckily they had 5 BBs so kept some innings going. Too bad our clutch RBI guy right now is a minimum wager. That means he’s not good enough to hit 3 or 4.
I applaud Albert with that stollen base. And Lopez.
Which will happen first? Freese passes Albert in RBIs, or Colby passes Albert in HRs. IMO both will happen, I consider it inevitable, can’t decide which will happen first. Perhaps in another couple of months reality will set in.
Alberts killing my fantasy team, he needs to pick it up…
Wouldn’t mind seeing MacLane fill in for Lohse. Another lefty. Add him to the 40 man.
http://interact.stltoday.com/blogzone/commishs-hot-stove/commishs-hot-stove/cardinal-beat-updates/2010/05/a-battery-of-tests-awaits-lohse/
Looks a little like someone is planning something. Testing this comprehensive usual involves Insurance carriers who will no doubt be present. Usually polices are injury specific involving the elbow or shoulder. I would guess someone would like to show it involves the elbow, maybe someone will suggest it doesn’t. Baseball matters that concern us, won’t even be factored. Insurance is an owners financial speculation. Proceeds go back into their personal snuff boxes.
The insurance guy doesnt care at this point. if it looks like he’ll be out over 90 or 120 days they’ll take an interest (prob where the insurance) this is just noise to them at this point.
should read (”probably where the insurance kicks in” ).
Compartment Syndrome is my guess…………..Surgery? Down time? Career threatening? I would have called Yokum. Sounds like 60 days to me.
Having had a bilateral fasciotomy for compartment syndrome (lower leg) I’d say that if surgery is required it will be more than 60 days. The needle for gauging pressure in the muscle area is about a foot long. Most painful thing I’ve ever had done.
One option would be a bullpen move if the pain only becomes strong after a few innings of work. Surgery could then be done in the off season.
http://rheumatology.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/40/3/344
It sounds like Lohse has a real problem owing to his injury last year. Before being hit by a pitch, Lohse pitched well for the Cards. Since then he has struggled.
It sounds like another delayed diagnosis (like Glaus), where specialists are only now deeply hunting to diagnose the problem 1 year after the injury was suffered. Sigh. It did not heal itself.
Lohse is a tough guy. Until being hit by a pitch, he had never gone on the DL, IIRC. He plays through normal aches and pains. So this is a real injury that has turned him ineffective.
The good news is the poorly diagnosed injury will give an opportunity to P J Walters, the new Bob Tewksbury. A healthy Walters should be better than an injured, diminished Lohse.
Nice link Westy, thanks.
Good info on recovery time CC, will you share what the surgical correction consisted of and how successful ultimatly?
One reason the Cards extended Lohse was he is a tough guy who had never gone on the DL. He pitched well in 2008 when healthy. It sounds plausible that he is truly injured. If he had been hit on his left forearm, it would not have mattered. Unfortunately Kyle was hit in his multi-million dollar forearm. It seems an odd injury, like Carpenter’s nerve vulnverability, but it seems real. If so, it may be another injury not quickly diagnosed, like Glaus last year. Sigh.
The only positive news is that bad luck for Lohse could become good luck for P J Walters. After a couple of seasons at AAA, Walters is prepared.
Bling, they cut on both sides of each calf to open up the fascia to let the muscles expand. My understanding is they now do each leg with one cut only. In the forearm they might be able to get away with a smaller cut.
I know I was supposed to take a month of from work but went back after 3 days. But I was on crutches for about a month but not much pain after that. But I cant imagine doing strenuous exercise after a month. If the cut is smaller I suppose it would be possible to have a faster recovery time. The good thing is there is no cut of the muscle. The bigger problem short term might be nerve damage as some amount is inevitable though much of the nerves endings seem to have reattached themselves over time.
In the first few years I seemed to have less pain (though I probably exercised less as well.) After 4-5 years i felt much of the pain had returned. Never did any real followup after that as my sports days were over for the most part and my pain only came when I stressed the muscles — i.e I simply stopped stressing the muscles. A side affect that occurred with me was about 10 years later I developed blood clotting in my legs uncommon in a man of my age. Doctors are mixed whether fasciotomy contributed to that.
The Cards are getting a rash of pitching injuries: Penny, Lohse, and at AA Gorgen. These connect, because Gorgen could have been promoted to backfill Walters and reinforce Memphis, but is out of action.
The Cards are aware of the growing shortage of pitchers problem at AA/AAA and were able to add a 29 year old reliever Brown from the Nationals. They may remain on the lookout to add more outside help. Or they may give LHP Rich Hill a re-signing bonus to forego minor league free agency on June 1.
It would be interesting to see the Cards give a major league opportunity to LHP Maclane to backfill Lohse. Maclane may not have big stuff, but is well trained at AAA. Somebody is going to need to take the ball. The choices look to be Maclane, Ottavino, Lynn, and Dickson.
Jumbo, until they actually do it, anything could happen. However on channel 5 on Sunday, Mo said Ottavino would likely be the next starter added if needed. For him to say that, my interpretation is that he is pretty sure.
Mo seems a pretty well placed source to know what Mo is likely to do!
Ottavino missed a few starts, presumably because of a tender arm, but seems back on track. The woes of Penny and Lohse provide opportunities for Walters and Ottavino to showcase their abilities.
Thanks CC, sounds like an ordeal. Best wishes. Sounds like Lohse could have a rough time.
Ottavino didn’t help himself going 5 innings and 90 pitches. That wouldn’t fly for anything but a start or two. I understand he runs up his pitch count pretty regularly, like Boggs did. If Lohse is down long term, something else would be in order.
Hill’s opt out date is June 1st. Food for thought.
Glad you mentioned Hill, bb. He is the primary subject of my Globe-Democrat column this week.
Sounds like Shelby Miller is experiencing some adversity on the mound, probably for the first time. The fact that he was lifted so quick suggests maybe he doesn’t handle it too well. I guess that’s what low-A is for.
Shelby may become a star, but it may take a while. He is not finding the Midwest League a cakewalk.
On the other hand, Miller is looking great in relation to 2nd rounder Robert Stock.
Colby had to put it in play there. Weak.
Hopefully Miller is focussing on working up his secondary pitches. And not throwing his fastball right down broadway.
The ump has a wide outside corner to righties.
Agreed. The Cards wanted the matchup of Rasmus facing Garland with the bases jammed.
“Danny Lozano has left Beverly Hills Sports Council. . .” From ESPN.
I feel for Wainwright. He is focused and doing his job. Garland is crisp, but as he usually is, he is around the plate………….Colby tries to turn a ball that has to go to the left side. He isn’t in position to take advantage. Garland isn’t getting the call away…….but that pitch is very hittable. Howard would be taking those out opposite field.
Very interesting news, bb. Wonder where Lozano will land and if Albert follows?
This is so predictable……. all Cardinal hitter do is say ” I can hit that”. They are like a bunch of rubes.
Garland is pitching by the book………pitching 101……. he is doing it well. Cheat on the test someone. Please.
I hope the back story comes out on the Lozano move — would be interesting stuff. You almost have to bet that Albert’s contract was at the heart of this. Possibly a huge disagreement on strategy.
I dare say there is some news there BB. And a story…………..
Lets hope its not a Boras story Westy.
Absolutely not not BB. This is about ” who ” the BHSC really is. Albert’s current struggles combined with a realistic assessment of market forces……. the strength of the group of men that appear to be colluding might may have sobered some. 5% of 200+ million, plus other services offered with fees for commercial representation is allot of money………………who knows, maybe someone found a horse head in they’re bed?
I doubt he is leaving with Pujols in tow. That would surprise me. I know Lozano is a savvy character. His playing of the Lopez situation shows he knows the game.
If they try to match up with Colby in the 9th…….no way I bat him……….. The Cardinals are just a bunch of individuals………..I take Eckstein in a second……he is about “team play”.
Good effort by Wainwright. Holiday is bending his knees a bit more, sit back a little. He’s more athletic that way…….next the elbow. Albert had a little bit of lateral slide with his hips today, istead of just torquing them open. He needs more of that.
Anyone get the impression that the Cardinal rookies all wanted to test that distant fence? I hit Stava against Bell. He can hit that Fastball. Bell would have been scared to hang a breaking pitch against him. How come I smell a sweep coming?
MH is killing us in the 4 spot.
I don’t see it having anything to do with BHSC initiative Westy. Stuff involving Albert happens when Albert pulls the strings. He proved Friday he’ll turn on anybody who dares take any initiative without his approval. He may have given Lozano the chance to go with him. Huntington Beach isn’t too bad a commute from Beverly Hills.
Coincidence that Lozano news happens when Albert is in California.
If Lozano/Albert end up shortly in Huntington Beach, I trade Albert at the deadline – regardless of where we are in the standings.
Now, you guys stop it immediately! Otherwise, Jumbo will have to lecture you that BHSC are evil and Scotty is warm, cuddly, misunderstood and is really a softie when the Cardinals are involved…
As I think more about this it seems unlikely that Lozano ends up with Scotty. This may be about his ego as much as it is about Albert’s. He unlikely wants to play second fiddle and my guess is he may want to use this opportunity to try to make a name for himself and one up Scotty. Probably a bad move for him, for Albert, and for the Cards but huge ego’s often result in bad decision making.
I heard the reason for the split was that Lozano told off his peers after Jeff Borris was thrown out trying to steal second base while he was batting…
Bling wrote, “Colby had to put it in play there. Weak.”
Choke up and punch something somewhere. That was a terrible K. Adam was absolutely incredible last night and got nothing but a loss. This team needs a shake up. Mo needs to pick a few of them out of the pile and trade them somewhere to try to get something going. They appear to be in a free fall at this stage.
good one Brian, You ought to tweet that!
Lozano picks Boras off in the Lopez deal. Doubt they’re friends. You never know though. Maybe a big collusion grievance being prepared and Boras Corp would be on the front lines there. If you guys think Albert is skulking around with conspiring agents, well then……………look over there, yeah, on the beach………………
We don’t need to trade them RC……………..just whip them a little……………
There was the appearance that Albert very much restricted his swing aspirations last night. Got a good result. He seems more concerned about average than power…….that’s good advice from someone.
Team thought they had Johnnie G. down last night…….but choked…….they spent the next 2 rounds of at bats being greedy everyone looking to be the headline………except Skip and Lopez who seems to be playing a roll now.
RC, Colby has both armpits clenched now, hands right on his body………..threatening to murder the inside pitch……………… this is the big leagues………….these pitchers all have good location. They’re saying, “so you want the ball in aye”, “hows this”……………. this just sets him up for the pitches away, which he can’t reach! It doesn’t seem like its MM suggesting these things…………………………………………………………………… Chase Utley………..moderation in all things. Colby is far from a made man at this point. I would take advantage of this opportunity. If BD/Mo have to shake thing up at some point……..Ludwick can play center field it appears, and that’s where they’ll put him if they decide to pay him. This may seem like a berry patch, but it really isn’t. This isn’t just a cold spell. He is hitting what he is prepared to hit at this point, MISTAKES…………. But if they don’t just peter off to the right side as week grounders, or sky high bloops to left center…………..I’m sure they will reach the parking lot.
WC wrote, “RC, Colby has both armpits clenched now, hands right on his body………..threatening to murder the inside pitch……………… this is the big leagues………….these pitchers all have good location. They’re saying, “so you want the ball in aye”, “hows this”……………. this just sets him up for the pitches away, which he can’t reach! It doesn’t seem like its MM suggesting these things…………………………………………………………………… Chase Utley………..moderation in all things. Colby is far from a made man at this point. I would take advantage of this opportunity. If BD/Mo have to shake thing up at some point……..Ludwick can play center field it appears, and that’s where they’ll put him if they decide to pay him. This may seem like a berry patch, but it really isn’t. This isn’t just a cold spell. He is hitting what he is prepared to hit at this point, MISTAKES…………. But if they don’t just peter off to the right side as week grounders, or sky high bloops to left center…………..I’m sure they will reach the parking lot.”
Don’t stress out over him WC. Unfortunately he might not be that good. He definately develops some crazy habits every year. It boggles the mind. He just may not be a fit for this system, who knows?
Nay!!!!!!!!! He is the natural………………………. he lacks a center. He doesn’t track his own adjustments……………………especially as they relate to tactics. The AP mess is happening right in front of him………. a most opportune lesson indeed. You can not cover you natural instincts with postural artifice. Neither can you rely solely on sensory feedback to dictate posture. A good catcher looks the batter over every time for keys to a hitters intention. They study film, situational tendencies etc; does it look like they have a problem solving him right now? A month ago no one even wanted to pitch to him.
In my experience, it is just as difficult if not more difficult, to deal with peak performance than failure emotionally. I’m seeing Colby talking to himself at the plate lately. Who is he talking too/with…….filling in for etc;
Yadi is kissing his golden catchers glove, given to him by his father I guess, more frequently (if that’s possible) with a whole new facial expression of late. It seems almost blissful, meditative………………………… even though he is not producing much at the moment, I believe that is mainly do to good scouting, neutralizing some of his limited swing options. He is ready to play, but he doesn’t have the athleticism to improvise much. …………….You would think with Colby’s natural hand/eye, he would be changing up a bit just to influence the competition’s tactics. I’m not seeing that. All I see is him trying to recognize that pitch located in the ideal spot way out front, so he can do the trot. Is this an emotional impediment in the high end? AP found his………..and it is spanking his ass………… AP came out last night hitting singles………because his agent told him “the news” about going below 300………………. Maybe Lozano sees the writing on the wall. No one is going to give anything for Albert without guarantees. He might be prepping AP for a 3/4 yr extension with any trade talks the Cardinals might get into? Hoping for a better market in the future for the record breaking years maybe?
How about this Brian, Scottie wanted Lopez back so bad he went after Lozano to get him. Albert is just collateral baggage.
Just to clarify, my comment about Colby’s K in the first doesn’t mean he sucked any more than the $120M guy with his can-o-corn to right, so Colby was a better value for the money. Also didn’t suck any more than super rookie Freese who also Ked with runners all over the bases.
It must be the system…
Just reading a new DT tweet. ……… looks like surgery Friday for KL. Should rejoin the Rotation in 6 weeks. It turned out to be compartment syndrome created by the baseball impact. Rehab in 20 days.
Bling, Colby’s K was bigger than Davids. Colby rolls one some where a run scores. There were two outs when David K’d. Colby’s was the back breaker. It’s one to one if Colby’s don’t choke it at that point. So that K sucked more than any other last night IMO.
Square peg, Round hole Brian
I’ll give you an example. It would be like asking me to play for Jerry Modene. Jerry don’t like me and I don’t like him. Hard to make it fit.
WC, thats great news. The bad news would have been if they had found there was nothing wrong in the elbow. Here’s hoping we get to see the KL of two years ago when he rehabs the elbow.
I agree completely RC. Apparently just the activity of throwing full throttle just shuts the whole area down. No way to control the ball when muscles start cramping from oxygen depletion.
Its not the elbow………… they get paid for that. They would have shut him down.
WC, The Natural???? Please, Thats something a mother would say
He’s young and his mother had him naturally, thats all thats natural about him. He had great potential once, but he’s getting worse and worse.
SS Felipe Lopez
RF Jon Jay
1B Albert Pujols
LF Matt Holliday
3B David Freese
CF Colby Rasmus
C Yadier Molina
2B Skip Schumaker
P Jaime Garcia
I’m not looking for a gift sports car here………….I’m happy just to ride in yours…………
This is a an interesting situation I must admit. It all looks so easy. All Albert needs is a 7 stone sweat lodge “re birthing”. Drums, chanting and the works. And then, a few hours with WC in the cage……………………….. That wouldn’t hurt young Colby either…………we’ll wait outside with a couple of cold spots and the chiefs daughters.
WC,
All jokes aside, it comes down to this. I believe people have too high of expectations for Colby, present company included. He is capable of being a great player I believe, but he may not be capable of doing it today, this year or even next. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had some great years down the road but I do not expect much more than he is doing now until he understands how to maintain his approach.
I think you will see stretches where Colby is a pretty good player but he will continue this hot and cold mess unless I move in with him I guess
I’ll be in St. Louis on monday per Colby’s request and we have a local high schools indoor cages ready. WC come on and between you and me maybe we can get him straightened out
Who’s kidding? ………………. by the time that 7th stone comes in after a couple of hours, and that water hits the rock, and you are thinking of a way that you could lay down some how in that pitch darkness, just to duck the blast. The Braves are chanting and drumming and you are feeling like a cross dresser cruising Time Square………………. you meet the demon…………. and when that flap opens and you come out into the cold sunlight, blinking sweat out of your eyes, you begin a change………… as you jump in the cold creek where you are unmade, you reenter the world as something different…………..baseball is easy.
Interesting that its Luddy sitting and not Colby to get Jay a start. Jay being a center fielder. Luddy is not hurt or anything. Colby hasn’t wanted for playing time so far.
You may be being a bit harsh RC. Colby’s not exactly a standout on the clutch hitting suckage meter. In fact he’s been head and shoulders above the guys getting paid to do that. He’s slumping right along with everybody else. What it mainly boils down to is Albert has been hitting dinks when his role is to hit blasts and drive in runs, and MH has been an absolute rally killer who has kept his avg up chunking out hits when it doesn’t matter.
San Diego is niether the park nor the team you want when you need to break out of a hitting slump, so maybe they’ll do it!!
Re comments 84 and 85…..
If Albert were to shift agency to Boras, from a Cardinals point of view, his representation is not important.
I do not recall suggesting Boras is warm and cuddly. What I try to suggest is that it would be profoundly naive to assume Boras is more mercenary than any other agent. Other agents are tough and should not be assumed to be more cuddly than Scotty B. JS is a straight shooter, so will not peddle stories about Boras being a meaner agent than all the rest. This only feeds the Boras myth of his own creation and makes little sense. Lots of agents are tough rascals and if they are not, they will not last long.
The Cards know Boras. He played in their minor leagues. They interact with him professionally. They sometimes do deals with Boras, when the Cards are willing to pay the market price. I see no reason to disrespect either Boras or the earned economic rights of players.
Holliday fails with RISP, again. Freese comes through with the two out hit, again. I really wish Tony would go on the DL for a while, maybe Jose would recognize reality. At least he wouldn’t lose face by doing what needs doing.
Re Colby… It takes several years of training in the majors to learn and improve. He is early in learning process, just like thousands who have preceded him. His good but uneven play is normal and only to be expected.
Garcia’s is feeling the pressure of the drought.
They get another chance to try it again from the top. MH will get another chance to regain his manhood.
Absolutely incredible………..
I was hoping for an RBI walk.
He was too Jumbo. He has gone mental.
Holliday was actually hoping for walk, praying for a walk. Surely Tony could see that, and Mo. He’s getting all that money and the best he can do with the bases loaded is hope for a walk.
If he keeps it up, he’ll be getting bood at Busch. A feat.
Some time soon Albert will have a chat with Tony. Boom goes the dynamite.
He probably has a trunk full of gold at home BB…………just to play with when he’s feeling down.
At this point……….I wonder if Tony has been ordered not to move Holiday? At least sit him down.
I wonder if Mo could get a quantity discount from the nutdoctors who tried to treat Khalil?
Whoever wins, Tony will get a Holliday question post-game. Probably right off the bat. He isn’t going to like that. Really there is nothing he can say anymore.
Garcia has that hot latin blood. He’s not going to be happy if he gets a no decision.
Better find him a girl BB……….
Chicago, here we come.
Mott looks like he learned something from watching them mow us down with fastballs. Good for him.
As badly as that inning was played………..and it was bad…………. Shu, with the Molina gaff right in front of him………..doesn’t go to second………after that terrible hitting decision. Beyond belief.