The ninth of FOX Sports Midwest’s live chats of the 2010 season will be held throughout Friday afternoon’s Cardinals-Cubs series opener. Join in the discussion with me and the FSM personalities.
You can participate via the frame to be added below or through FOX Sports Midwest’s website.
Jeff Suppan faces Randy Wells as the Cards try to break their one-game losing streak and get the Wrigley Field series started on the right foot.
Friday’s first pitch is scheduled for 1:20 P.M. Central. Pre-game starts at 12:30.
Note: And if that isn’t enough… As is the case every Friday, my weekly “Cards Talk” segment will be streamed live at kxno.com and broadcast on AM 1460 KXnO FOX Sports Radio in Des Moines at 5:25 p.m. CDT.
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The term, “one-game losing streak”, conveys much more than sarcastic humor: To the true competitor, it means, “a single loss is one loss too many”; conveying the resolve to pick-up where the last winning streak left-off. Questions of the two glaring soft spots in yesterday’s starting lineup got lost in the mystery of why there was no offense at all! Hell, the “glaring soft spots” became the entire lineup! The why’s and wherefore’s of yesterday, however, are now lost in the dawning of a new day and a strengthening southerly flow blowing out of Wrigley field… If you think Jeff Suppan is weak (0-5, 6.05), compare his last performance with Randy Wells’ overall record (4-7, 4.33) and then be happy that you don’t have to pitch for either side today!
SHOULD CARDS TRADE FOR ROY OSWALT
IF THEY HAVE TO GIVE UP SHELBY MILLER?
22% Absolutely!
41% No way!
37% I’m not sure; depends on others involved, whether Oswalt would rework his deal, etc. Total Votes: 1752
Cast your vote and see how many more Total Votes have accumulated…
http://www.stltoday.com/poll_4633ae44-95e5-11df-a6f5-00127992bc8b.html
A Post-Dispatch reader by the name of “Redfeather” said:
Jon Jay has the looks of a Cardinal. Jay and Rasmus are the future at this point. Never pull the trigger until your target is in plain view and you have a kill shot. Ludwick has his share of injuries that seem to keep him on the DL for a month every year. He is not getting any younger. The Pujols contract screens the shot because the Cards are going to need good young players that play on the cheap side of MLB contracts. By all reports, the shot is not clear to us yet. We wait patiently.
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/article_e6bcb945-7945-5e92-a9da-7d0c1eebfa6e.html?mode=comments
I voted No Way.
Lineup from FOX Sports Midwest:
Lopez 3B, Jay RF, Pujols 1B, Holliday LF, Rasmus CF, Skip 2B, LaRue C, Suppan P, Greene SS
Pre-game starts at 12:30 CT.
Craig down, Walters up.
The Suppan-LaRue battery makes good sense, while representing a splendid “every 5th day” rest for Yadier. In fact, unlike yesterday’s lineup, featuring two glaring soft spots, I’m having difficulty finding anything in today’s lineup that does NOT make good sense. We’ve got two premier table-setters for the Murderers Row of Albert-Matt-Colby. If Skip becomes inconsistent, we’ve got a hitter (Tyler) to bring-up the rear. I hope everyone’s batting average gets a big boost today!
LaRue has been catching Suppan almost since the beginning.
crdswmn: Whether there is some reluctance on the part of Yadier to catch Jeff or there is an understanding of a method in which he would thereby get regular days of rest, I think it works out nicely. In many ways, a pitching staff is a Catcher’s “stable” and he is their rider/mentor/trainer. Due to the paramount role that he plays in their lives, a close bond and special relationship is developed (there was a period of years when the famous lefty, Steve Carlton, refused to be caught by anyone other than Tim McCarver).
addendum: There is as much reason that a former Catcher (Dave Duncan) is a Pitching Coach as there is that many Managers are former Catchers. Pitchers love to sit the the dugout and pick the brains of fine Catchers (a Catcher calls the game and is, in effect, the Field General – the Manager’s righthand man).
As of Noon, there were 3561 Total Votes
and the voting had shifted slightly…
23% Absolutely!
38% No way!
39% I’m not sure; depends…
(I am among the “I’m not sure, depends…”)
I believe you are right 57. Yadi has established bonds, if you will, to Carp, Garcia and Waino. That’s why I knew Tony would not play LaRue yesterday.
With each year, the value of Yadier increases, in ways which are incalculable and imperceptible to the world-at-large).
We certainly gave Wells an easy inning, to begin with…
What Jeff just gave-up with the 3rd pitch of the game is what Albert should have accomplished with his first and only swing… damn it!
Just take your sweet time, Flip…
Flip had incentive to turn that one…
The longer that Jeff keeps our guys out there early in the game, the worse it will be for them later in the game (it’s stifling and blistering out there!)…
Finally! After 10 consecutive balls, he throws a sky-popper and, after 21 pitches, we’re out of the hot and punishing Sun…
Sho’ ’nuff: Wells throws him a ball, low and in, and Colby can’t resist…
Thank you Skip! Good hustle! It’s about time that one of OUR guys reached on an infield hit…
Looks like I’m the lone bird in the nest: You guys are either sitting in the hot Wrigley sun or glued to your TV sets…
When the wind is blowing out strongly, as it is today, all a batter needs is to get under the ball… That’s why it is important for Jeff, more than ever, to induce the grounders…
Throwing more balls than strikes, Jeff has gotten behind EVERY batter so far (with the sole exception of Lee)…
The very least that Jeff could do, under the circumstances, is to hit that single (and lift his average to .231)
Jon Jay is one smart batter… So, now… with guys and first and second, the table is set for the biggest of our 3 boppers…
Oh, well… maybe next time…
The offense has got to man up. Time’s a wastin.
Suppan has pitched poorly and our bats have been “limp wristed” again but we are still right in this game.
Damn defense.
I’ve been in front of my TV since the 3rd inning, thinking that no one else was here… Lo and behold! At the very moment that Soriano gets a two-run homer, after a fielding flub-up, I discover that crdswmn and CariocaCardinal are here!
We can make up a 4 run deficit in the next 4 innings, if only our offense ignites like it did for eight days in a row… Suppan pitched a lousy game and we now hope for Kyle, Mitchell and Fernando to get us the rest of the way, without further damage…
Is Jon Jay really something special, or what?
Like the last at bat, Jon sets the table…
It’s about time that Chicago has a fielding miscue… Albert’s out was therefore “productive”, inadvertently getting Jon to second…
Can Randy Wells throw a ball, or what?
…clear out into centerfield. Now, can Matt bring Jon home from third?
Did Matt’s mind shut-down?
The offense has gone to sleep again.
So… Jon sets the table and each of our 3 big boppers, one-by-one, excuse themselves!
How can a club win 8 in a row and then immediately transform themselves into a bunch of impotent fairies?
The term, “limp wristed”, is an understatement.
6-IP 10-H 5-ER 3-BB 0-SO = Sorry pitching!
To date, Jeff Suppan “did what was expected” (barely) on 5 occasions,
had a decent outing on 1 occasion
and then reverted to his Milwaukee ways on this occasion.
All in all, we must give him a “D” or a “D-”
and we would be fools to give him another start…
In this game so far, we’ve gotten 4 more hits than yesterday and just as many runs (0)!
At least Winn put Wells pitch count over the top…
If we’re going to do any damage, it will have to be before they put Marmol in to close (then it WILL be lights-out)
At 109 pitches, Wells is worn-out and walking us…
“Oh, for…!” What a way to strand two, Flip!
I can’t believe this is happening again.
It’s perfectly barfable! Surely, our guys are feeling a measure of shame!
Walters (fresh from AAA) just pitched the 1st decent inning of the game for us!
We’ve got this one, final opportunity – because next inning, facing Marmol, it will be lights-out…
Once again, Jon Jay sets the stage (this time, with a walk)…
And, “Oh, for…!”, Albert again excuses himself…
And, grounding into a DP, Matt again excuses himself…
This team has sucked today. They had better get their act together tomorrow. Reds are playing Astros tonight, so there is a good chance they will win and our lead will drop to 1/2 game.
Everytime our small-ballers set the table, our boppers get up and walk away…
We should have started Walters.
How is it possible to win 8 straight games and then get shut-out 2 straight games?
We blame yesterday’s embarrassment on our offense.
We blame today’s disgrace on both the starting pitcher and our offense…
You’re right, crdswmn. Walters has done 2 innings of superb work (striking out 2 more than Suppan)
Attaboy, Colby! Go after that sucker ball again: What in Hell happened to your discipline, boy?
We’ve gone 20 CONSECUTIVE INNINGS without a run!
57, the defense has blame as well. 3 missed DP’s Everyone was bad today.
Watching the post game celebration: The Flub fans are delirious with joy, that their 10 under .500 losers just shut-out the 12 over .500 division leaders… I want to puke!
You’re certainly right about that, crdswmn; our guys looked like bush league clowns out there…
I hate being so critical, but this team makes it so easy. What is going on inside their heads? Maybe getting Luddy back will help. We can’t afford anymore losses like this.
I have a knack for making the last post on every thread. Should I be insulted?
I think CFS57 is busy icing down his fingertips.
Never seen a women that didn’t like having the last word!
Carioca, you’ve just thrown our crdswmn into a crisis as to whose affectionate dart is wittier; the one given here by you or the one given by blingboy when it was first discovered that crdswmn means “Cardinals Woman”!
There needs to be more women on this blog.
Perhaps when word becomes more widespread that there is a Blog which appeals to intelligent, thoughtful and true fans of the Cardinals, additional women will come aboard…
Having spent a peaceful day at work recovering my faculties after yesterday’s fiasco, I find that all I know to be true and just has again been dashed, gutted and kicked to the curb. The great sucking sound eminating from the visitors clubhouse at Wrigley can be heard 300 miles to the south.
Let us agree that it is time to sweep through the clubhouse and confiscate all the dolls and tea cups, and CC will have to find Westy a new job, as these guys would seem to have little use for the article mentioned.
(Notice that my post comes right after the part about intelligent and thoughtful fans)
I’ve seen little league teams play better baseball. This team is giving me an ulcer.
Sorry about the rude shock, blingboy. I’m happy for you that you weren’t here to share in the horror and disgrace as it played-out, inning-by-agonizing inning…
Right 57. I fear I would have found the nearest precipice and hurled myself from it. Being shut out by the Cubs is enough. Looking like clowns is too much.
Number One – We need a competent, consistent SS and/or 2B
Number Two – We need to get rid of Suppan once and for all
Number Three – We need some sort of magic which will light a perpetual fire under the butts of our offense…
Yesterday I proposed going after Kelly Johnson and Steven Drew. For those wanting a starter, i suggested working Haren into the deal. To me. that makes some sense, as opposed to the Oswalt talk. Might as well make it a blockbuster. We shall see.
I would point out that when you score zero, it doesn’t matter if you have Cy Young on the mound.
Astros are ahead of the Reds 1-0 in 4th. Is it too much to hope for the Reds to suck as much as we did today?
As you had mentioned repeatedly in the past, pitching has never been our problem. While there is not an awful lot we can do abouthaving to constantly kick-start an awesom offense, there IS something that we can do about the Middle Infield. I agree that it would be a lot tidier and satisfying for everyone, if we could swat two flies with a single smack…
I knew it was. Reds have tied the game.
Oswalt Won’t Let Money Hold Up Trade. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100723&content_id=12549412¬ebook_id=12550270&vkey=notebook_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou . He must REALLY want to leave.
Concerning the Oswalt trade controversy
“If Bill DeWitt can make it work, because it comes down to Bill DeWitt basically saying, “$120 million? Well, you kids have been awfully good this year,” that’s great. It’d be a delight to see Roy Oswalt in a Cardinals uniform, and he’d be an asset, though certainly an expensive one, for the year and a half he’d be around. But even if the Cardinals can use Shelby Miller to get Houston to hold onto some of the salary they’ve been trying to dump, they’ll be spending that money again on a fourth starter in 2013″
- Viva El Birdos
http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/
Oswalt wants to come to Saint Louis because of Joe Crede.
There’s always an ulterior motive…
Unless Houston can pull-off some mysterious magic in their dysfunctional malaise, this night will end with the Reds nipping at our butt, only a half game back. With Votto’s 24th homer, the Astros are losing to them, 4-2 (right now, it’s the bottom of the 6th and Houston is at bat…)
Old School Pence homered and Old School Keppinger immediately followed by a double. With one out, bottom of the 6th, Reds and Astros are tied. What do I mean by “Old School”, blingboy?
Houston tied it 4-4.
After shutting us out 1-0 last night, the Phillies shut-out the Rockies 6-0 tonight…
There just isn’t any rhyme or reason to baseball.
It’s something which crystalizes only by standing-back and looking at it from the perspective of a season: At any given point, within the season, the forest cannot be seen because of all the trees…
In what other sport is a person said to be a success when he loses 7 times out of 10?
Reds and Houston still tied. With a man on and 1 out, Berkman grounded into a DP.
Reds now winning 5-4.
Now 6-4 Grrrr.
Since Houston has the final at bat, there is always hope for the walk-off (and for us to remain a game-and-a-half ahead)
Look’s like I’m talking to myself again. Okay.
I’m not talking to myself.
On the trade rumor front, the Cardinals are the favorite in the Oswalt sweepstakes. The Yankees are trying to get Dan Haren. Ted Lilly is likely to be traded this weekend to an unknown team.
It won’t be beddy-bye for me until after the Reds-Astros game…
The Cardinals think that the ownership and management of Houston lack sufficient judgment and sense for a deal to be made. I am told that we are the “favorite” only by virtue of the fact that Roy wants to be a Cardinal.
Houston has bases loaded, 1 out.
It appears that the Reds are bringing on a more effective relief pitcher…
It’s Rhodes.
The Astros stranded three… Now, after giving the Reds one more opportunity, they will have the final at bat (and hope springs eternal)
Reds won. The baseball gods are not smiling upon us tonight.
Well, shucks… May the Sun shine more brightly tomorrow… Good Night!
They say everybody deserves a second chance, and with diligent persistance, that chance usually comes around. But third chances are different. They don’t just come around. You have to go out and get it. That’s what Roy Oswalt is up to.
It starts back in ‘96. A lot happened that year and one of those things was the White sox picking 3rd baseman Joe Crede from Jefferson City, Missouri in the fifth round. The other thing was the Astros using their 23rd round pick to get a high school pitcher named Oswalt.
As happens sometimes, the 23rd rounder worked out better quicker, and Oswalt had already been a serious rookie of the year and Cy Young candidate, and a 20 game winner, when his Houston Astros rolled into Busch Memorial, Home of the Cardinals, for the 2004 NLCS.
The cards had won 105 during the season and took the first two at home, while Roy bided his time, waiting for his chance. He got it in game 4, after Houston had won game three behind Clemens. First chances don’t always work out like we dreamed and this was one of those. It lasted a third of an inning. That’s when Albert Pujols stepped to the plate with Larry Walker at first and one out. Albert already had two homers in the first three games so Roy was being careful but it didn’t help. Albert knocked it into the seats and Roy was on his way to a line of 6 IP, 8 H, 5 ER. The Stros came back and won but not for Roy, he got no decision. It ended up going seven games, then Roy went home to watch the World Series on television.
2005 brought another 20 win season and that longed for second chance at World Series glory. And, oh, what glory it would be. The Stros rolled into Comiskey for the Series and promptly lost two, behind Clemens and Pettitte. So back to Houston where 42,000 turned out to see if Roy could stop the bleeding and turn things around. For four innings he lived the dream. Two hits, no runs. He had a four run lead and a date with destiny.
While all that had been going on, the fifth rounder from Missouri, JoeCrede had made it to the big leagues. He hadn’t won his silver slugger yet and it would be a few more years before his all star appearance, but he was the starting third baseman for the American League champs. When he stepped to the plate to lead off the fifth inning against Oswalt he probably didn’t know about Roy’s date with destiny, but there he was. Oswalt had walked him in the second but not this time. Joe put it into the seats and Roy’s dream went straight down hill from there. And it was de ja vu all over again, 6 IP, 8 H, 5 ER. The Sox took it in 4 and Roy went home. No World Series Glory. Not in ‘05, nor any time soon as the Houston club entered a period of decline. If a third chance was to be, he’d have to go out and get it.
Nice reminder, bb. Thank you for sharing.
blingboy…
The story is as well written as it is well told. Where, but on The Cardinal Nation Blog, can I get such a quality read? Thank you!
The story needs to be copied and pasted onto an email which would actually be read by Roy. The price of the “third chance” is actually a reasonable, relative modicum of contractual sacrifice. If he continues to overplay his hand, the dream will never be actualized….