This year’s version of the St. Louis Cardinals has an unusually low quantity of both winning and losing streaks.
Most St. Louis Cardinals fans would agree that the 2010 club has yet to reach its potential. Missing 2/5 of their rotation as well as featuring an inconsistent offense seems to have come together to limit the team from breaking off a long stretch of playing good old winning baseball.
The data, provided upon request by researcher Tom Orf, supports the feeling. So far, this year’s team has only three stretches of three or more consecutive victories and just one winning streak of more than three games, five. They are listed below as “2010 YTD,” or year to date.
Though we are currently only 45 percent of the way through the season, fractional streaks are impossible. Therefore, the current pace would put the Cardinals at six winning streaks at the end of the campaign, denoted below as “2010 Proj,” projected.
If 2010 would conclude in that manner, it would be the season with the fewest number of winning streaks of three or more games in the Tony La Russa era, which began in 1996.
The common thread among the three prior years with the least winning streaks, 1997 with seven and 1999 and 2003 with eight, is that the Cardinals failed to make the playoffs each season.
Winning streaks of three or more games, St. Louis Cardinals, 1996-present
| Winning | 11G | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | Tot |
| 2010 Proj | 2 | 4 | 6 | |||||||
| 2010 YTD | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||
| 2009 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 12 | ||||||
| 2008 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 10 | |||||
| 2007 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 10 | ||||||
| 2006 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 13 | |||||
| 2005 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 12 | |||||
| 2004 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 16 | ||
| 2003 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | |||||
| 2002 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 14 | ||||
| 2001 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | ||
| 2000 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 15 | ||||
| 1999 | 2 | 6 | 8 | |||||||
| 1998 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 10 | |||||
| 1997 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | ||||||
| 1996 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 11 |
The 2001 team had a La Russa-best 11-game winning streak as well as the second-longest run at ten games.
Looking at the corresponding losing streak data leads to similar, but not identical conclusions. Current pace would lead to six losing streaks of three or more games, a relatively low number.
In fact, the 100-win campaigns of 2004 and 2005 are the only La Russa-era years in which the Cardinals had fewer than six losing streaks.
Losing streaks of three or more games, St. Louis Cardinals, 1996-present
| Losing | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | Tot |
| 2010 Proj | 2 | 4 | 6 | |||||||
| 2010 YTD | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||
| 2009 | 1 | 8 | 9 | |||||||
| 2008 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 8 | |||||
| 2007 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 9 | |||||
| 2006 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 9 | |||||
| 2005 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||
| 2004 | 1 | 4 | 5 | |||||||
| 2003 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 12 | ||||||
| 2002 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |||||
| 2001 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | ||||||
| 2000 | 1 | 6 | 7 | |||||||
| 1999 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 12 | |||||
| 1998 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 13 | ||||||
| 1997 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 11 | ||||
| 1996 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 10 |
The 2007 team had La Russa’s worst losing skid, at nine consecutive games.
Putting the data together, we can see there was only one season in the last decade, 2003, in which the Cardinals had more losing streaks than winning streaks. That team stayed home in October.
Not surprisingly, in every one of La Russa’s eight playoff seasons, the team had more winning runs than losing stretches. Still, having more winning streaks than losing streaks wasn’t enough in 2007 and 2008, when the differential between the two was less than three streaks.
Further, every one of those eight playoff clubs had at least ten winning streaks of three games or more. The 2010 Cardinals are on a pace to finish with six.
Without a change in trajectory, you can draw your own conclusions how this year’s story may end.
Winning and losing streaks compared to playoff teams, Cardinals, 1996-present
| # WS | #LS | Playoffs | |
| 2010 Proj | 6 | 6 | ? |
| 2010 YTD | 3 | 3 | |
| 2009 | 12 | 9 | Yes |
| 2008 | 10 | 8 | |
| 2007 | 10 | 9 | |
| 2006 | 13 | 9 | Yes |
| 2005 | 12 | 3 | Yes |
| 2004 | 16 | 5 | Yes |
| 2003 | 8 | 12 | |
| 2002 | 14 | 6 | Yes |
| 2001 | 10 | 8 | Yes |
| 2000 | 15 | 7 | Yes |
| 1999 | 8 | 12 | |
| 1998 | 10 | 13 | |
| 1997 | 7 | 11 | |
| 1996 | 11 | 10 | Yes |
Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.
I was hoping that Tom Orf would come up with these stats, as I have been wondering if any team is able to reach post season without a single sweep. According to Tom’s findings, our present projection of 6 WS is insufficient for the 10 or more needed order to have any hope of making the playoffs! Without a change in trajectory, one needs not to be a rocket scientist to draw the conclusion that this season’s story will be one of frustration and grief. Our smug and presumptuous self-assurance with regard to each series, that “2 out of 3 ain’t bad”, will certainly prove to be nothing more than a self-deceiving pipedream. The team’s present businesslike approach must be replaced with emotion (heart!) and camaraderie NOW!
TLR is one of the longest serving managers. He has his ways. Its a long season, 162 games. Should TLR promote rah-rah amateur hour to please certain fans? He will not.
TLR has been manager through plenty of winning streaks. How to start win streaks? Get back Penny. A strong rotation helps promote win streaks. We may win today, but a bullpen game is not the easiest way. Injuries to Penny and Lohse have been real problems and real problems are not fixed by rah rah, flicking wet towels at one another, and going out drinking together after the game.
Last night, Greinke threw well late into the game. He’s a terrific talent.
The other way to improve is boost the offense. Schumaker had 3 hits and may be climbing out of his slump. The Cards could use more hitting from left swingers.
LaRue is not playing much and hitting less, OPS 435. Little Miles pinch-hit for LaRue last night, which says a lot. To add another lefty bat, the Cards could drop LaRue and bring up Bryan Anderson.
57, it is a minor point, but Tom provided me the base data. From there, I put it together and made the projections and conclusions. In other words, he throws the fat pitch and I try to hit it out of the park!
Jumbo your reserve catcher logic won’t matter much because that player is always the last to come off TLR’s bench. It could only have a chance of helping on the rare days Molina takes off. Also, there are still questions about Anderson’s catching. I noted in the Memphis Redbirds Report the other day at The Cardinal Nation that Anderson’s catcher’s ERA over the most recent period is over ten. Not all his fault, but….
One reason Molina plays so much is LaRue. Last summer, TLR made favorable noises on behalf of Chris Duncan, a nice thing to do. Ultimately, however, the front office moved Chris out, despite Uncle Tony’s love. The same thing could happen this summer. Molina needs more rest and can get it on days the other team is throwing a Greinke. Molina’s OPS is down around 640, sagging after a good start to the year. Anderson should start twice per week against RHPs. This will shoulder some of Molina’s load and give us more offense on days Molina is taking well deserved rest.
The ability to avoid long losing streaks seems at least as important.
Last year’s example showed that you can pretty good all year, but if you go flat at the end you have no chance, no matter how ‘good’ you are. But it provides the fans with a good time all year long, watching enthusiastic winning baseball, until the crushing let down at the end.
The tandem starters approach has reached the majors: Hawksworth and Ottavino.
blingboy, although there is much to be said for the avoidance of losing streaks, the fact remains inescapable that we are not reaching the playoffs without 10 or more three-game winning streaks.
jumbeau, you would reduce the absolute necessity for a team to play with emotion (heart!) and camaraderie to the promotion of a mere “rah-rah amateur hour “? The fact remains, that the dry and lifeless, businesslike play is getting the Cardinals nowhere. Your uninspiring, noncompetitive approach is not only held with disdain by “certain fans”, but by all who are genuinely concerned with winning. Furthermore, your attention to the backup catcher (and the last man on the bench) as a significant ingredient to our problems is tantamount to worrying about the appearance of one’s lawn while the house is burning down.
The Dual of Mediocrity
Hawksworth (1-4, 5.63 ERA) versus Davies (4-5, 6.15 ERA)
Unless one of those pitchers is suddenly blessed with extraordinary command, control and velocity, there is no reason not to expect a slugfest in Kansas City this afternoon. The one and only fly in the ointment is the inconsistency of the Cardinal offense: If they are “on”, the Royals will sustain long-ball brutality and if they are “off”, the Cardinals will be singled to death by the small ball. It seems certain, however (barring an unusually fine outing by one or the other), that the starting pitchers of both teams are susceptible to punishment.
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/article_5dcb436a-813a-11df-83db-0017a4a78c22.html
Brian, it seems every time that Tom “throws the fat pitch”, you manage “to hit it out of the park”! When you are not generating interesting debate (like the controversy of the pitcher batting 8th) or providing thought-provoking food for thought, you are unearthing significant findings (such as this latest study of streaking).
I like the “link bomb” that Westy silently dropped… It not only provided today’s batting order, but also the astonishing news that Matt is returning to Clean-Up! Not only that, counter to any idea that Albert is overly concerned with health problems, the article reveals his insistence upon playing his position (as opposed to batting DH).
2b Schumaker, 2B
rf Stavinoha, RF
1b Pujols, 1B
lf Holliday, LF
cf Rasmus, CF
3b Freese, 3B
c Molina, C
dh Miles, DH
ss Ryan, SS
Does anyone have a viable reason for Miles batting DH? Is it that Ludwick and Winn are injured?
Miles had the best AB, wearing-down the mediocre Davies, of all our hitters! What in hell is goin’ on here?
Perhaps we’ll do better the second time through…
It seems not is Skip has anything to do with it…
Is it that their batters have suddenly become just as inept and impotent as ours, or is it that Blake has suddenly become brilliant?
32 pitches in 3 innings! Blake is goin’ for the CG!
Colby is vicious! Wow! That’s comin’ alive, boys!
The last time up, Aviles got a hit off Blake: This time, it was, “Good Morning, Good Afternoon and Good Night”!
Miles and Brendan wanted to outdo the Royals in a li’l game o’ small ball, but Skip would have no part of it. No, he went deep… Now, the Royals have got a 5 to 0 problem…
Indeed, Davies is lookin’ every bit the mediocre he was advertised to be!
Colby and Skip need to give Albert some pointers…
Only 57 pitches in 5 innings! Who’d a-thunk it?
Perhaps Colby should give a clinic to both Albert and Matt! Damn! The kid is having a great day! It was predictable, that if our offense would be “on”, the Royals would sustain long-ball brutality.
After that 2-run homer, Skip’s error is certainly forgiveable!
Blake deserves a standing ovation and another shot at starting!
I would like to see Nutlaw’s graphic analysis on Blake: It will likely show a great deal more ground balls than fly balls.
Trevor definitely did NOT do justice to Blake’s quality start! What a shame!
I sure hope Jason is “on” and I sure hope that Yadier is not feeling stinky…
Inducing an immediate doubleplay, Jason sure made one-pitch quick work of it!
All right! Finally! Albert smacked a single!
Leave it to Franky… His “saves” are much too bloody for me, thank you.
Hey, we got David, Yadier and Miles doin’ some git-down fundamental small ball. Let’s see if Brendam follows suit…
All right, Mr Winn! We’ve got 2 outs and 2 RISP! Whatcha gonna do?
Did I say, “Mr Winn?” Surely, I meant, “Mr Schumaker”!
Thanks to Mr Schumaker, the bases were juiced for Mr Winn… but, alas…
The heros of this day were Colby and Blake. Hopefully, it is the start of a 5-game winning streak…
As you can see, I really enjoyed myself. Hope you fellas did too!
Missed the game and reading through the official play by play, its a little dry. Thanks for adding a little color 57.
Thank you for the much appreciated encouragement, blingboy! As the lone cowboy, I couldn’t help but feel a little foolish…
I’m just glad that Blake actually pitched a quality start (were it not for Miller, the 2 runs wouldn’t have been charged to him).
I’m also glad that Colby’s 15th homer was a 3-run blast.
57
I was here for every post that you made so you were not alone. I appreciated your commentary.
I am honored, Warrior! YOU are to be honored, however, for raising such a courageous son.
In addition to Hawk and Colby, Miles did a nice job.
Colby is the equal of Albert in homers and is out slugging him, that’s over almost a half a season. Might want to jot that down Colby.
What we are looking at is Albert doesn’t make the most money and isn’t the big bat. He’s very good, but so are a lot of guys out there. The gravitational pull just isn’t there anymore, and so far, the new world order in the clubhouse has not been established.
I quite agree, blingboy… As I’ve pointed-out before, there is not a Pujols on each side of the bat on the uniform shirt; but a Cardinal. Since we are not the St. Louis Alberts, but the St. Louis Cardinals, there ought not be room for petty ego bashing and salary one-up-manship, but cohesive and complementary teamwork among those who enjoy playing together. I really like your characterization of a “new world order” being established in the clubhouse.
I didn’t watch today’s game, CFS, but I can dig around in Hawkworths’ numbers a bit. I don’t have access to GB/FB data yet.
Hawksworth has been kinda funny this year, using primarily four seamers and changeups early on, with a few sinkers and curves mixed in. In early/mid May, he started favoring his curve as his off-speed pitch over the changeup and started mixing in a few sliders. Of late, he has started shifting to the change again. Today, he threw 39 four seamers, 22 changes, and only three curves and two sinkers, so he wasn’t particularly trying to induce ground balls with his pitch selection.
With that said, he definitely did keep the ball down against right handers:
http://www.brooksbaseball.net/pfxVB/cache/location.php-pitchSel=458003&game=gid_2010_06_26_slnmlb_kcamlb_1&batterX=0&innings=yyyyyyyyy&sp_type=3&s_type=2.gif
He threw higher in the strike zone against lefties, rather predictably using fastballs to go inside and changeups to go outside:
http://www.brooksbaseball.net/pfxVB/cache/location.php-pitchSel=458003&game=gid_2010_06_26_slnmlb_kcamlb_1&batterX=0&innings=yyyyyyyyy&sp_type=2&s_type=2.gif
Oh, and I didn’t mention it earlier, but Suppan more or less abandoned his curveball in yesterday’s outing, throwing only four (three of which for balls) in 86 pitches. He mixed in a few more cutters instead.
The Cards are in a tough spot. Tony is. The money spent on Matt and which will presumably be spent on Albert, pretty much commits the team to a certain course of action offensively. There isn’t money for something else. The whole idea of blowing the wad to get Matt assumes that Albert will continue being the offensive super-weapon he always has been. Spend what it takes to hold down the times he gets walked, or make them pay. It’s worth spending $120M to put a bopper behind the Albert we’ve had. It’s absolutely not worth it to put such a guy behind the Albert we have now, and have had for almost a year. He has games like today and yesterday quite a bit now. He responds to clutch RBI situations by grounding into DPs or popping up. Can’t be counted on with a man on 3rd and less than 2 out to get him in.
Matt has proven to be something else than what we thought. When he’s hot he’s a game changer. But he’s not always hot, and when he’s not he’s just a guy.
So here we are committed to an offensive plan which appears to have been overtaken by a new reality. Even with moving Matt around a bit, Tony is 100% committed to that plan. He will stick with Albert worship until he’s the last one in the room. He pushed for the $120M investment in Matt assuming Albert would continue to be the Albert of the last ten years for another seven. So I’d expect him to press on, spinning his own reality to replace the reality he is compelled to reject.
We are tied for first so there is no groundswell of discontent from the huddled masses. The delusion can live on and we have David Freese to blame. If he’d not come out smoking we would be 5 or 6 out at least, mired in the pack of mediocres in a mediocre division. But he’s hitting more like the 7 spot guy he was projected as now. .261 / .320 / .283 since end of May. And even with him being red hot for 1/3 or a season he’s slugging .400 on the year. Maybe 4-5 RBIs for June. Not 5-6 spot numbers.
So what to do? Well, I don’t know. I’m not a manager or a GM. Recognizing reality will be the first step though, as it always is.
Hrm. While I can’t tell where one of Hawksworth’s two singles went, he got six ground outs, one line out, two pop outs, and four fly outs. One single was an infield hit and the error was also a ground ball. Pretty good.
The line out and three of the four fly outs came against left handers, unsurprisingly after looking at his pitch locations.
Thanks for the effort Nut. The difference between the two charts is striking. As was the low pitch count. I missed the game too, sounds like it was a performnce I’d have liked to see.
I’m assuming this Pinto guy takes the place of Hill in Memphis, in case Reyes or Miller goes down. I remember Hill had big control problems in spring training, off the backstop and such.
Good formulation BB. A realistic assessment.
Nutlaw: Not knowing anythng about Blake’s pitch selection until your analysis, I can now see the reason that he had become so ineffective during the past two months (increased reliance upon the curve) and the reason that he had suddenly become so effective yesterday (throwing only 3 curves)! Too bad that such a simple change wasn’t the remedy for Suppan. Judging by the amount of pop-ups and fly-balls, you’re certainly right about the evidence that “he wasn’t particularly trying to induce ground balls”; but there is much to be said about Blake heeding Duncan’s insistence to keep the ball down. I can’t thank you enough for your work; it has vastly helped me to become more acquainted with the habits and preferences of each of our pitchers.
Fun Fact update:
505 • Home runs allowed by 99 year old Jamie Moyer in his career, tying him with former Phillies great Robin Roberts for the most all time.
Thank you, blingboy, for helping me to see the “new world order” in the clubhouse from the front offce point-of-view (the reality of salaries and what they promote or inhibit). With the forum that regularly contributes to this Blog (Westy most certainly included), my view is getting clearer and the ability to know what I am talking about is getting enhanced. Like I said a long time ago, I didn’t start to get smart until I began hangin’ around with you guys…
Despite the rather infamous mark (505 home runs allowed), Robin Roberts represents company of greatness. Everytime that I see a man stretching his career well into his middle age (especially with a single team), I invariably place him in the same company as Stan the Man.
Well, we now another way that Tony starts Schumaker and Lopez in the same game. Ludwick’s condition is evidently more debilitating than I had presumed…
rf Schumaker
2b Lopez
1b Pujols
dh Holliday
3b Freese
cf Rasmus
lf Winn
c Molina
ss Ryan
Seeing Skip finally break-out of the slump, at mid-season, I am beginning to look with horror at the geatly diminished offensive output of Brendan (.204) and our All-Star Catcher (.237)!
If Duncan is as anxious as I anticipate, to get at the lefty, Renyel Pinto, the power pitcher won’t be with the Memphis Redbirds very long. Since it appears that the amount of walks allowed is the only significant concern, I’m pretty excited about the acquisition!
Seems like this lineup is important 57. The idea of Schu playing outfield other than a mid or late game emergency has always been dismissed I think. Also putting him in right rather than left, and Winn in right. Also, as discussed above, Freese hasn’t produced like a middle of the order guy in a month, about the time teams got a read on him. But what choice is there really?
Notice that Miles gets rewarded for results by sitting, while others who did nothing but avoid clogging the basepath, by not getting on base, are out there.
Like I said, I’m not a manager. Lets see how it works out. Hopefully, as well as yesterday. Go Cards.
I’ve been thinking the same about Brendan 57. But be careful what you say about Yadi. I wouldn’t want the black choppers to come for you in the night. I’d miss you.
Pinto’s obstacle is that Tony/Dave go with two lefties in the pen. Period.
Leave it to you, blingboy, to force me to consider evident implications; not only the Pol Pot-like reversal of those who contributed, by those who didn’t, but also Skip in RIGHTfield and Randy in LEFTfield. Is Tony busy being a genius or is he deliberately stirring trouble and undermining morale?
Whaddaya mean about the black choppers comin’ after just ME? Were it not for the likes of YOU and WESTY, I wouldn’t dare to allow my thoughts to venture outside of the box!
“Pinto’s obstacle is that Tony/Dave go with two lefties in the pen. Period”
- Right you are – again, blingboy. However, we’ve already seen a few hard and fast practices go by the wayside this season.
By hook or by crook, Skip leads-off with getting on base at the very outset of the game…
Now, with no outs, we’ve got runners on the corners, thanks to Flip!
The obligatory walk of Albert loads ‘em up for our Clean-Up!
Sacrifice flies are accepted and Matt retains his hero status…
Chen must have been sweating bullets and crapping in his pants; the poor guy!
The fourth and fifth pitches were just barely high of Colby’s wheelhouse
Now THAT was a dosciplined At Bat! Give Colby a hand!
I meant, “disciplined”. Colby ran the pitch count up past 30, wearing-down poor ol’ Chen…
Well… better Randy to go down swinging with 2 outs and bases loaded, than Albert, Matt or Colby!
57, Westy is an old hand at giving them the slip.
Well, we were given 2 walks and a HBP, plus a hit, so I would consider 1 run a pathetic failure.
I was attempting to add levity to an inning of multi-opportunities blown. We turned utter greatness into a mere tempest in a teapot! What a damned shame!
I wonder if a sun field in left is why Schu is in right??? Can’t remember how Kauffman is laid out. The shadows will tell a little later on.
I wish that I would have thought about that. Such things as Sun angel certainly WOULD influence a manager’s positioning of players…
I am happy about Jaime’s 12-pitch inning, but very concerned about the two fly outs (the last one in very deep centerfield).
As Yadier goes down to a .236, you must admit that it was a decent at-bat and that the only fault with the opposite field bash was that the rightfielder was there to catch it…
Speaking of disciplined at-bats for a Mendoza-line hitter, there’s Brendan…
Talk about a pitcher having a bad day, here we are with one out, two men on base; a grand total of one hit and four walks!
Once again, runners on the corners and Albert at bat…
Oh, well… At least it was a blast deep into the outfield (as opposed to a ground-out)…
If we win this game, while continuing to blow opportunities, it will be strictly because Kansas City gift-wrapped the damned thing and presented it on a golden platter…
With pitchers on both sides, today is turning into a virtual walk-a-thon!
Oooh, that hurt! Unlike us, the Royals are not blowing any opportunity…
I can see the reason that I was so concerned about Jaime’s seemingly flawless one-two-three first inning… I suppose that he is long past due for a bad outing. Let’s see if the rookie has the spunk to right this ship early on…
Holliday’s is the fourth fly-out of the game so far! C’mon guys, ya gotta hit ‘em where they ain’t!
I believe that Freese is a good candidate for the Optometrist
Colby got one that he wanted, but it got stopped on it’s way to the outfield… damn it!
Jaime is throwing more balls than strikes and his strikes are getting hit! I believe it is nigh time to lift him…
With DeJesus’ single deep into left (and the consequent RBI) and nobody out, there is a case-in-point…
It’s only the third inning: I hope that Mitchell has got all his stuff working today and I hope that our offense has the wherewithal to surmount the 3-run deficit.
The inducement of a doubleplay tells me that there is a good likelihood that our Mitchell is “on” at a time that we need his flame-throwing mix the most.
Did I speak too soon?
Once again, now down to .235, Yadier smacks an opposite field bomb… right into the mitt of the rightfielder!
…and Brendan follows-up with another deep bomb… right into the mitt of the centerfielder! We’ve blasted six such “bombs” so far today!
Adam Ottavino pitched Aviles low and got him to ground-out, but when hed served ‘em up high for Betemit, the predictable result was the single…
It wasn’t until he pitched the lefty, Podsednik low and inside (locking him up), that he finally induced a ground-out…
Once again, when he served ‘em letter-high, the consequence was disasterous! Insanity is defined as “doing the same thing over-and-over again, expecting a different result”. Adam needs to be sent down to Memphis again; this time on the charge of insanity!
To Hell with “Only two lefties in the bullpen at a time”! I say we should swap Ottavino for Pinto… NOW!
One can only wish that Albert could do that when guys are on base!
Matt came to the plate, but there was nothing there to clean-up… So… we’ve got a 5 run deficit which I think that our inconsistent offense will have a difficult time overcoming in four innings…
While I continue to wonder why MItchell was lifted in favor of Ottavino, I am heartened somewhat by the fact that he pitched Butler low and outside…
But when he pitched above the knees and directly over the plate for Guillen, a single was the result (and Brendan’s error was moved to second)…
Nobody out and the bases are juiced! Damn it, Tony! LIFT the guy!
Ottavino pitched it high again and another hit was the result. Were it not for our heads up fielding (nailing the runner at home), the Royals would have tagged us for another run…
Tony got away with murder this inning…
I am hoping that David is experiencing nothing more than a brief “mid-season swoon” (he is now below .300)…
Once again, Colby golfed it DEEP! Once again, the ball wound-up in the rightfielders mitt…
I count seven fly-outs, three of which would have gone for extra bases…
‘Twas 4 1/3 innings, 90 pitches, 9 hits, 4 runs – Utter insanity!
After 8 innings, we’ve sustained 9 fly-outs (for of them deep) – Utter misfortune!
And before he can make an out, what does Reyes do? Why, he tags Ottovino for ANOTHER run! Yep, he’s back to his old tricks…
Then, Reyes loads ‘em up! Talk about adding insult to injury… Here, we have a case of insanity added to insanity!
Albert can’t hit his 16th, without Colby following-suit!
Tony, in dugout closeups on the KC feed has him muttering F word expletives in abundance…….
but hey…………Albert went deep……………… You have to start watching Garcia now because the mantle of invincibility is gone…………………….. Carp and Waino will become vulnerable to injuries if they try to pull to much of the weight…………… No type of player move will be concidered becasue they’ve got Penny and Lohse……..”just around the corner” as BoB Ucker would say…………Colby ties Albert for HR’s………………….BD opens a bottle of Dom P to celebrate..
For Nick Stavinoha, ’twas “Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Night”!
Well, the lowly Royals kicked our ass, taking 2 out of 3. We go home now with our tails tucked between our legs. How utterly pathetic!
I wouldn’t blame Tony for dropping F bombs left and right, WC. That was embarassing.
One of the precious few bright spots of this sad day is the fact that the Indians beat the Reds 5 to 3, keeping them only a half-game ahead of us.
“Colby ties Albert for HR’s”? You mean, Colby keeps pace with Albert for HR’s… Not only that, bearing in mind that Colby doesn’t have the advantage of a permanent 2 slot or 4 slot, he not only has 3 more RBI than Matt, but is also outslugging Albert, .578 to .542.
Garcia held out longer than Freese, but the headwind is just too strong.
In Tonyland, Albert hit a homer and its not his fault nobody was on and it was a blowout. The people Tony gets mad at at the postgame might point out it wouldn’t have been a blowout if the top of the second had progressed differently.
I’m still having difficulty with the yanking of Mitchell after the 3rd inning: What for? I’m having even more difficulty with leaving Ottavino in after he plainly showed NO CHANGE in his pitching habits from the last time that he was with us (mostly up and away to righties): He kept hanging them between above-the-knee and letter-high! Mehinks Tony brought all his “F Bombs” on himself and is largely responsible for the ugly debacle.
The Royals have been at or near the lead in batting avg in their league, but have had lots of trouble scoring runs, blowing scoring ops left and right. But they are just a cowtown team in the junior circuit, the Cards rolled into town and showed them how its done downtown. Having recently scored 1 run on eleven hits opens a lot of doors on the futility circuit.
Do we have another pitcher, besides Reyes, who have ERAs below 4.00, because the runs they give-up are the runners they inherited from the preceding pitcher? Just how many “relief” pitchers do we have who are consistently credited with “holds” and “wins” that they did not actually earn? Their records are deceiving indeed!
Had one snagged by the filter just now.
Sorry, bb. Nothing in the spam filter.
OK Brian. Perhaps my computer has a filter to keep me safe.
Colby learned from the master today, and learned well. When it’s 7-1 and nobody on they pitch you a little different. So you might try to take advantage of that fact, and thereby cover a multitude of sins. So Colby, being a student of the game, figures what works for Albert at 7-1 should work for him at 10-2. And so it does, and the observant viewer will have noticed that Colby’s was bigger. Now that, 57, is a little peek at that new world order stuff I was talking about.
This thread began with the subject of the 2010 version of the Cardinals’ lack of streaks. Today underscored the most obvious finding, that we spend more energy trying to avoid losing streaks than we do with putting together winning streaks! The result? We’re nipping at the butts of the Reds in the weakest of of the three National League divisions!
With special notice of the fact that Colby’s homer “was bigger”, your keen observation has been duly noted. Indeed, we ARE setting course into the uncharted waters of “that new world order”.
Homer??
57: “we spend more energy trying to avoid losing streaks than we do with putting together winning streaks”
Good point 57.
Oh! Sorry, blingboy, I didn’t mean to say, “homer”; I meant to say, “bat”…
No black choppers for BB and 57.
While we present our lackluster, businesslike offense against the troubled Diamondbacks (who kicked our butts at their place), the Reds will be entertaining the red-hot Phillies. Then, while we spend the 4th of July weekend with the sizzling offensive leader of our division, who are notorious for kicking our butts in our own yard, the Reds will be hosting the hapless Cubs… With such a dreary week ahead, will the emerging “new world order” in the clubhouse begin to bear fruit on the field or will we yet be witnessing the inconsistency caused by the struggle within?
I doubt there is any order at all right now.
When the dust settles on Monday, the 5th of July, I predict that we will have gone 3-4 and that the Reds will have gone 4-3. The result:
46-37 Reds
44-38 Cardinals (1 1/2 games behind)
Thenceforth into the All-Star break, dependent upon the undeniable struggle (and cause for our inconsistency) within our clubhouse, the Reds wlll either widen the gap or we will rise to about a game ahead. Any way that you slice it, without a sweep, we will spend the break with little hope of reaching the playoffs…
Que sera sera; c’est la vie… Over the 5 decades since I first fell in love with the team, come Hell or high water, through thick and through thin, I’ve found that true Cardinal fans always remain fiercely loyal…
We agree on a lot 57, but not on whether anything will be decided in the next couple weeks.
There is not one team in the Central Division that is too good to lose 10 in a row.
Oh, neither have I indicated that anything would be decided in the next couple of weeks nor would I ever rule-out the possibility of either the Cardinals or the Reds to lose 10 in a row! I am simply predicting what will happen during the next seven days and indicating a trend towards the All-Star break based upon that prediction coming true. Anything can happen, especially during the second-half of the season. The fact remains, however, that if neither the Reds nor the Cardinals can put-together 10 three-game sweeps or more, there shall be no postseason play for either team.
Goold in the Cards beat column talking about Yadi’s funk at the plate says he is: “searching for that one at-bat, that one well-struck hit that can snap him from what’s become an extended slide.” He goes on to say Yadi is 1 for 31, the 1 being his homer in Toronto. . . . What??? . . Wouldn’t that homer be that well struck hit he was waiting for?? . . If that didn’t snap Yadi out of it, then why is the next well struck hit going to do it?? OK I get it. Yadi is just having a patch of bad luck. Not his fault. Nothing to it but that. etc. etc. Jeesh, Derrick, if they hand you copy that bad at least edit a little.
You nailed the “logic” on the head: That homer WAS the very “well-struck hit that can snap him frm what’s become an extended slide”. He’s been enjoying great success ever since: It’s just our perception that’s messed-up.
Although I am mystified by the fact that Yadier is not hitting his normal .270-.300, I did notice the fact that he did not hit ground balls to the left-side of the infield as he normally does, but smacked two into the opposite field today – deeply! But, alas, like eight other well hit balls to the outfield by our batters, there was an outfielder waiting for it.
Fun Fact update: Moyer gave up #506. A record which may never be broken, seriously.
Happenned on the same day Garcia suffered his first ML blowout. Been a long time since that day in 1986 when Jamie was 3-2 as a rookie with the Cubs and Mrs Garcia was doing her part to contribute to the success of the Cards 2010 season.