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Brian Walton's news and commentary on the St. Louis Cardinals (TM) and their minor league system

Molina’s pickoffs: The recap

Much has already been written about St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina’s overall excellence, and rightfully so. He has won Gold Gloves in the most recent back-to-back seasons, has been the National League All-Star starter behind the plate the last two years and of course, the 28-year-old has a World Series ring.

Yadier Molina (AP/Jeff Roberson)Last season, Molina led all major league catchers with 138 games played and batted .293. He was the toughest to strike out of all major league players the last two full seasons at one per 15.3 plate appearances.

Molina stops the opposition’s running game better than anyone. Since 2005, his catcher’s throwing percentage is 41.6 percent, best in MLB and still improving – up from 41.2 percent at the end of 2009.

The focus of this article, with the table below compiled by Tom Orf, illustrates one of the flashiest and most effective parts of Molina’s game – his MLB-leading 37 regular-season pickoffs since his 2004 debut. His first two of the 2010 season occurred during the recently-completed Philadelphia series.

To illustrate how dominant Molina is in this category, coming into this season, the next closest catcher had 13 pickoffs since 2005 (compared to Molina’s 34 at the time).

(Note this list includes 38 total pickoffs, including one in the 2006 NLDS. 37 regular season pickoffs are documented. As of now, we cannot explain why the Cardinals quote 36 pickoffs and where the discrepancy of one occurred.)

Pickoffs, Yadier Molina, career

Date Opp Inn Runner at From Out Score Final
7/22/2010 Phi 5 Polanco 1B C-1B 2 0-0 L 0-2
7/19/2010 Phi 3 Werth 1B C-1B 3 2-3 W 8-4
10/1/2009 @ Cin 3 Stubbs 1B C-1B 2 5-0 W 13-0
8/15/2009 SD 7 Venable 1B C-1B 3 5-4 W 7-4
7/17/2009 Arz 6 Reynolds 1B C-1B 1 1-0 W 6-1
7/11/2009 @ Chi 7 Theriot 1B C-1B 1 1-5 L 2-5
6/3/2009 Cin 1 Dickerson 1B C-1B 2 0-0 L 3-9
5/19/2009 Chi 1 Soriano 1B C-1B 1 0-0 W 3-0
4/27/2009 @ Atl 6 Escobar 1B C-1B 3 2-1 W 3-2
4/21/2009 NYM 1 Murphy 1B C-1B 1 0-0 W 6-4
8/30/2008 Hou 3 Newhan 1B C-1B 1 3-6 L 5-8
8/2/2008 Phi 8 Bruntlett 1B C-1B 3 1-2 L 1-2
7/23/2008 Mil 3 Weeks 1B C-1B 2 0-0 L 0-3
5/27/2008 Hou 1 Towles 1B C-1B 3 0-4 L 2-8
5/17/2008 TB 1 Longoria 1B C-1B 3 0-1 W 9-8
4/7/2008 @ Hou 8 Berkman 1B C-1B 3 0-3 L 3-5
4/6/2008 Was 1 Milledge 1B C-1B 3 0-0 W 3-0
9/4/2007 Pit 2 Pearce 1B C-1B 3 2-0 W 6-2
4/15/2007 Mil 5 Fielder 1B C-1B 3 4-2 W 10-2
9/20/2006 @ Mil 8 Hart 1B C-1B 3 0-0 L 0-1
7/29/2006 @ Chi 1 Barrett 2B C-SS 3 1-0 L 2-4
7/9/2006 @ Hou 9 Munson 1B C-1B 3 5-5 W 7-5
6/25/2006 @ Det 7 Thames 1B C-1B 3 1-1 L 1-4
5/27/2006 @ SD 9 Giles 1B C-1B 3 4-3 W 4-3
5/12/2006 Arz 1 Easley 2B C-1B-SS 2 0-0 W 5-3
5/8/2006 Col 3 Ardoin 1B C-1B 3 0-3 L 2-6
5/2/2006 @ Cin 5 Freel 1B C-1B 3 2-0 L 2-3
9/16/2005 @ Chi 7 Burnitz 1B C-1B 3 3-5 L 3-5
8/26/2005 @ Was 6 Wilkerson 1B C-1B 3 0-4 L 1-4
6/28/2005 Cin 7 Aurilia 1B C-1B 3 2-1 W 2-1
6/18/2005 @ TB 3 Cantu 1B C-1B 3 0-2 W 5-2
5/18/2005 @ Phi 2 Burrell 1B C-1B 3 0-0 W 8-4
5/5/2005 SD 8 Burroughs 1B C-1B 3 3-5 L 3-8
5/5/2005 SD 3 Jackson 1B C-1B 2 1-0 L 3-8
5/3/2005 @ Cin 2 Dunn 1B C-1B 1 0-0 W 4-2
4/12/2005 Cin 4 F.Lopez 1B C-1B 3 3-1 W 5-1
6/30/2004 @ Pit 7 Mackowiak 1B C-1B 3 4-4 L 5-6
NLDS
10/7/2006 SD 1 Piazza 1B C-1B 3 0-0 L 1-3

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213 Responses to “Molina’s pickoffs: The recap”

  1. blingboy says:

    5/12/2006. Easley was ruled caught steeling.

  2. Brian Walton says:

    Thanks, bb. When I found the discrepancy and asked Tom, that is the one he also suspected.

    Edit: I checked Rotosheet for 5/12/06 and it says “picked off and caught stealing.” Can you have both?

  3. crdswmn says:

    Isn’t it amazing? He does it so well that to us, it is no big deal anymore. He still gets attention by the national media though. When he picked off Werth from 1B during the Phillies series, ESPN played the clip over and over.

  4. crdswmn says:

    “Edit: I checked Rotosheet for 5/12/06 and it says “picked off and caught stealing.” Can you have both?”

    Maybe in another dimension? :)

  5. Brian Walton says:

    Apparently the official scorer that day was having decisiveness issues… or is that indecisiveness? ;-)

  6. CardFanSince57 says:

    I realize that this article is an excellent recap of Yadier’s pickoff prowess (rather than his ability to throw-out would-be base stealers at 2nd base), but his mounting overall superiority as a Catcher in the historical context is seen quite accurately in Jim Weigand’s article, “Catcher Arm Ratings”. Of his rather unique analysis, the researcher (and statistitian) says, “A catcher’s arm, once tested and proven, discourages potential base stealers, thus reducing the number of both stolen bases and caught stealing. I realize that utilizing caught stealing as a negative statistic can be considered controversial. But if we consider that a runner who attempts to steal is himself delivering a judgment on the catcher, I hope we can overlook our initial distrust of this method and make a judgment on the results it yields”.

    The article is available for download (PDF) at the following link:
    http://www.retrosheet.org/Research/WeigandJ/Rating%20The%20Catchers.pdf

  7. CardFanSince57 says:

    BTW…

    Let us hope that Wandy does a number on the Reds this afternoon, so that Chris’ victory this evening will mean the recapturing of what is rightfully ours…

  8. Brian Walton says:

    Thank you for sharing that article, CFS57. It raises a point I have always wondered about – steals never attempted. I wonder if anyone has ever looked at this:

    average rates of stolen base attempts across MLB
    compared to a specific catcher’s rate of steal attempts against
    take the actual caught stealing count and add to the theoretical steals not ever attempted
    to come up with a better measure of the catcher’s impact to the game.

    Hypothetical example:
    An average MLB catcher sees 1 steal attempt per every two games.
    In 140 games, Molina throws out 20 of 40 attempted stealers.
    That means there were 30 prospective base stealers that didn’t even test Molina. (140/2)-40=30
    So effectively, Molina stopped 50 steal attempts (20 tried and failed plus 30 who never tried) while just 20 were successful.

  9. crdswmn says:

    This brings up an incident that occurred prior to the ASG when a fan of another team persisted in arguing with me that another catcher should be in the game instead of Yadi. The fan pointed out the obvious difference in BA between the two and then compared the number of caught stealing v. attempts ratio between the two. The other catcher had only a slightly smaller ratio than Yadi. What I noticed, but failed to point out to this fan, was that the other catcher had almost twice as more ATTEMPTS and 20 less plate appearance than Yadi.

    Brian, who was the catcher who had the 13 pickoffs?

  10. Brian Walton says:

    The catcher with 13 pickoffs is Miguel Olivo, with the reputation by some as an offensive catcher.

  11. crdswmn says:

    Interesting because it was Olivo that this fan thought should be in the ASG. He did have impressive offensive numbers.

  12. Brian Walton says:

    A few weeks ago, I wrote two articles that looked at offensive stats in the five standard fantasy categories from the last ASG to this (as opposed to the first half only). One article was focused on NL position players.

    It is a subscription-only article at Mastersball.com, but here is a summary of my NL choices.

    Miguel Montero over Molina
    Dan Uggla over Martin Prado
    Ryan Zimmerman over Chase Utley
    Juan Uribe over Jose Reyes
    Mark Reynolds over Omar Infante
    Carlos Gonzalez over Chris Young
    Jayson Werth over Jason Heyward

  13. blingboy says:

    Even though Brian has been bumped from first place in his Tout Wars league (thanks Roy), we should still be curteous and pay attention. :)

  14. crdswmn says:

    As it turned out, Molina did not hinder the NL’s ability to win the ASG (as the other fan suggested) but quite the opposite. He caught 4 scoreless innings and had 1 of the NL’s 7 hits. Isn’t hindsight grand?

    BB- I always pay attention to Brian. :)

  15. crdswmn says:

    I find the Roy Oswalt trade rumors fascinating even though I don’t think the Cardinals should acquire him unless he comes at a much cheaper price. The latest rumor is now the Phillies are the front runner because the Dodger and the Cardinals won’t meet the Astros’ high demands. The Phils are trying deperately to unload Jason Werth.

  16. Brian Walton says:

    Regarding post #13, it seems a day where there are references to fantasy-related topics I have covered recently. A couple of days ago, I posted an article at Mastersball in which I did a quick and dirty look at what Roy Oswalt’s record might have been this season had he been pitching for one of the contenders for his services instead of the Astros. Instead of 6-11 at the time, he may have had between five and seven more wins.

    Phillies: 11-3
    Twins: 12-5
    Dodgers: 12-6
    Cards 13-5

    That doesn’t mean the Cardinals would have won seven more games, however. It was just a look at what better offensive support might have meant for Oswalt. As one might guess, in my league, it meant the difference between first place and second.

  17. blingboy says:

    I’m kind of surprised there hasn’t been any trade activity yet around MLB. Our attention is focussed on those teams connected to the Cards situation, but there are a lot of teams out there.

    It would be bad form to take attention from the HOF festivities so I don’t think anything will happen today. Maybe tomorrow with the light schedule.

    Interesting to see if Flip is in the lineup today.

  18. Brian Walton says:

    It would also be bad form to schedule a full slate of games right on top of the induction, too, but they did that, didn’t they? Sad.

  19. CardFanSince57 says:

    As of this moment (2:55 cst): With Wandy having pitched 7 innings, giving up only 1 hit and striking-out 7, the Astros are leading the Reds 2-0… However, the stinkingest things have happened in the Astros middle relief, between their starters and their closer…

  20. crdswmn says:

    The Reds lost 4-0. Tonight is a must win.

  21. crdswmn says:

    Back to the Molina topic, I was watching a clip recently of post ASG interviews. Josh Johnson told the media that his strategy in going into the ASG was to follow Molina’s lead. It certainly worked for him.

  22. blingboy says:

    3B Felipe Lopez

    RF Ryan Ludwick

    1B Albert Pujols

    LF Matt Holliday

    CF Jon Jay

    2B Skip Schumaker

    C Yadier Molina

    P Chris Carpenter

    SS Brendan Ryan

  23. crdswmn says:

    Luddy 2nd? Strange.

  24. blingboy says:

    Interesting. Flip’s back. I like Luddy second where he did well before. We could have plenty of runners ahead of the bumbling boppers. Jay might get chances to salvage some two out RBIs if Albert and Matt can at least avoid the DP. Let’s see how the original middle infield of Brendan and Skip does.

  25. blingboy says:

    No Colby again. Jay is outplaying him for now.

  26. crdswmn says:

    Angels the victor in the Dan Haren sweepstakes. They traded Joe Saunders.

  27. blingboy says:

    At least he’s in the other league.

    Is Lohse pitching for Memphis tomorrow? Thought I heard that.

  28. Brian Walton says:

    Yes, Lohse is pitching on Monday for Memphis. Great matchup on paper with rehabbing Texas hurler Rich Harden pitching for OKC.

  29. crdswmn says:

    Don’t know about Lohse. I hope it is true.

  30. crdswmn says:

    Dodgers Monasterios was hit in the head in game with Mets. Dodger won. A-Rod hit in game against Royals, out of the game so no 600 HR today.

  31. Brian Walton says:

    Was Monasterios injured in the dugout? He didn’t pitch today…

  32. crdswmn says:

    Don’t know. Was just reported on Twitter.

  33. Brian Walton says:

    Well, someone else tweeted a short while ago that McGwire was put on the 40-man roster and Pujols is moving to 2B. Honest. So, read with caution…

  34. crdswmn says:

    Just checked. Hit by foul ball in dugout.

  35. crdswmn says:

    Thanks for the tip. This one is true though. ;)

  36. CardFanSince57 says:

    Lost in the midst of ten trillion other things going on today is the fact that Ankiel went 3 for 4 and hit a homer in the Royals loss to the Yankees…

  37. Brian Walton says:

    Hopefully Monasterios is not hurt badly. He’s on my most important fantasy team. ;-)

  38. crdswmn says:

    Article says he is ok. You can relax. :)

  39. CardFanSince57 says:

    I hope that Lohse is as successful on the mound at Memphis as Studwick was at the plate. So, may it be that his stay there will be just as brief…

  40. blingboy says:

    Happy to hear about Ankiel.

  41. CardFanSince57 says:

    His was a very, very sad story as a Cardinal and I wish him every success on this, his third comeback… What a resilient, pragmatic guy!

  42. Brian Walton says:

    Word is that if Lohse goes according to plan, it will be 2-3 rehab starts.

  43. CardFanSince57 says:

    While I am delighted that Jon Miller is yet enjoying the afterglow of the ceremonies at Cooperstown, I will really miss his great voice and intelligent insights tonight.

  44. CardFanSince57 says:

    2-3 starts represents at least two weeks… Will we ever grow impatient (especially if his first start is successful)!

  45. blingboy says:

    “San Francisco Giants outfielder Eugenio Velez has a concussion, but is expected to travel home with the team after being struck in the head by a foul ball in the dugout Saturday night.

    Velez was hit on the left side of the head on a line drive by teammate Pat Burrell in the fourth inning of San Francisco’s 10-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. He spent the night in the hospital . . ‘.

    http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/baseball/mlb/07/25/velez.injury.ap/index.html?eref=sircrc#ixzz0ujvETdiH

  46. crdswmn says:

    Velez too? Wow.

  47. blingboy says:

    I’m wondering how Lohse’s arm holds up under game conditions. I assume he will have to work up his pitch count.

  48. CardFanSince57 says:

    I am surmising that Lohse’s recovery will be a “Rome wasn’t built in a day” sort of thing, that a noticeable improvement will not be noticed until late August (a couple of starts after he returns to the Cardinals)…

  49. CardFanSince57 says:

    “…a noticeable improvement will not be noticed…”
    - I’m a card-carrying member of the Department of Redundancy Department!

  50. Nutlaw says:

    Between Callaspo and Haren, I like what the Angels have been doing lately. They haven’t paid too heavily, either.

  51. CardFanSince57 says:

    Can Studwick run, or what?

  52. CardFanSince57 says:

    That was utterly pathetic!

  53. CardFanSince57 says:

    Shouldn’t something like that have been attempted when there is only one out? I don’t get it…

  54. CardFanSince57 says:

    Did Matt have a green light and foolishly took off or was he ordered to do that from the dugout?

  55. blingboy says:

    I don’t think it was a play 57, just a baserunning screw up by holliday.

  56. CardFanSince57 says:

    That was a colossal screw-up! I find it difficult to believe that he would attempt something like that with two outs… Damn it: Jon was at bat and Matt ruined the inning!

  57. CardFanSince57 says:

    Brendan really made Yadier look good on that one… Wow! Strictly heads up…

  58. CardFanSince57 says:

    That was “inside-the-park” homer kind of stuff! Jon is simply amazing! Too bad that he wasn’t allowed to finish the at bat last inning…

  59. blingboy says:

    Jared did a great job getting the RBI.

  60. CardFanSince57 says:

    Skip is definitely on the rebound: The RBI is timely!

  61. CardFanSince57 says:

    “Jared”?

  62. blingboy says:

    Congrats to Dorrel on his big day.

  63. CardFanSince57 says:

    Brendan is having a great night, with the glove and at the plate…

  64. CardFanSince57 says:

    Taking off with two outs, Brendan is also having a great night on the base paths!

  65. CardFanSince57 says:

    “Jared”, “Dorrel”: You’ve got me completely baffled, blingboy!

  66. CardFanSince57 says:

    Are those Middle Names for our guys?

  67. CardFanSince57 says:

    I’m sure the slider was expected, but it nevertheless fooled our guy…

  68. blingboy says:

    Jared Michael, Dorrel Norman

  69. CardFanSince57 says:

    Aha! Aren’t you clever! Schumaker and ol’ Whitey!

  70. CardFanSince57 says:

    Flip did not flip it fast enough and made Byrd look speedier than he actually is…

  71. blingboy says:

    Dorrel Norman Elvert Herzog

    Congrats to Whitey

    Jared Michael Schumaker

    Nice going Skip

    Thanks for playing 57

  72. CardFanSince57 says:

    I enjoyed it: You really had me going…

  73. crdswmn says:

    Name that guy’s middle name. I love that game.

  74. CardFanSince57 says:

    32 pitches ain’t bad after 2 innings (especially compared to Dempster’s 42)…

  75. crdswmn says:

    I meant named that guy’s other name. Duh.

  76. blingboy says:

    Dang, I was hoping Jose would spank one.

  77. CardFanSince57 says:

    Albert is now down to .300: The lowest he’s been at this point in the season since 2002 (according to the ESPN announcers)

  78. CardFanSince57 says:

    That ball would have been a homer on Friday, when the wind was strongly blowing-out…

  79. CardFanSince57 says:

    Lightning DOES strike in the same spot twice, but this time, Byrd was there! Damn it!

  80. CardFanSince57 says:

    Dempster’s giving-up a lot of fly-balls: It’s just a matter of a few innings when they’ll catch-up with him…

  81. CardFanSince57 says:

    Chris has given-up a harmless lead-off single for the 3rd consecutive inning. The trouble is, this one didn’t turn into a DP or pick off…

  82. CardFanSince57 says:

    “Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Night”: Right on, Chris!

  83. CardFanSince57 says:

    I sure hate seeing that! Damn it, Yadier!

  84. blingboy says:

    “Mozeliak admitted he is increasingly pessimistic about Brad Penny’s ability to contribute this season . . .” Strauss article

  85. crdswmn says:

    Yadi hadn’t been doing that lately. Please don’t regress.

  86. CardFanSince57 says:

    Yeah, I read that earlier… As far as this season goes, we can definitely count Penny out!

  87. CardFanSince57 says:

    Pitchingwise, if we can get a slightly better version of Lohse than we had before, I believe that we can wing it…

    There goes Chris with more of that lead-off hit business… Let’s hope that it will once again be harmless and result in a 10 pitch inning…

  88. CardFanSince57 says:

    We’ve finally got Chris’ ERA down below 3.00 (I sure hope that we keep it that way)…

  89. blingboy says:

    So far, this is one of those games CC was talking about where we’d be most likely getting smoked with Supp or Hawk out there.

  90. CardFanSince57 says:

    I believe you (and Carioca) are absolutely correct… It’s like a virtual case-in-point!

  91. CardFanSince57 says:

    With Chris pitching, that DP was absolutely predictable!

  92. crdswmn says:

    A shutout would have been nice.

  93. CardFanSince57 says:

    As long as we win, under the circumstances, I would be happy with a Complete Game 9-hitter…

  94. crdswmn says:

    The offense needs to pick it up.

  95. CardFanSince57 says:

    Dempster just enjoyed a quick 7 pitch inning…

  96. CardFanSince57 says:

    Chris just endured a slow 8 pitch at bat… resulting in more of that lead-off nonsense…

  97. CardFanSince57 says:

    That hurt! Oh, damn; that hurt!

  98. blingboy says:

    We have the meat up next inning.

    Maybe we are getting some emotion going, I hpoe so.

  99. CardFanSince57 says:

    Here! Here!

  100. CardFanSince57 says:

    Chris DESPERATELY needed that K…

  101. blingboy says:

    That big hook is awesome.

  102. CardFanSince57 says:

    Now, we need heart and passion!

  103. blingboy says:

    Jay looked like Edmonds going back for that one.

  104. CardFanSince57 says:

    Jon made a breathtakingly sensational catch! He compensated for that earlier shallow center misplacement…

  105. CardFanSince57 says:

    With plays like that, it won’t be long before Jon will be known as “Jonny Baseball”…

  106. blingboy says:

    Luckily our big bopper and team leader is stepping up to turn the tide, followed up by the $120M man.

  107. CardFanSince57 says:

    Albert needs to get above .300…

  108. CardFanSince57 says:

    THAT is the ideal way to rise to .302!

  109. CardFanSince57 says:

    Matt will get one more opportunity to extend his streak to 11 (let’s hope that it will be a meaningful hit)

  110. blingboy says:

    Let’s see if Chris responds by putting a stop to the madness.

    Damn, Jared is on fire.

  111. CardFanSince57 says:

    Is Skip 2 for 2? Is he on base for the 3rd consecutive time?

  112. CardFanSince57 says:

    Chris has got heart and Skip has got heart! It was simply a great throw…

  113. blingboy says:

    ptptptptpt

  114. blingboy says:

    Albert was so Albert-like. Lets see Chris step it up and shut them down.

  115. CardFanSince57 says:

    He can give-up one more hit and yet keep that “9 hitter” intact…

  116. crdswmn says:

    Why did I know Chris was going to get a DP?

  117. CardFanSince57 says:

    The ESPN announcers are doing well, but there is just no replacement for Jon and that other Hall of Famer, wonderful Joe Morgan!

    That was another typical (classic) Chris-induced DP! A good way for him to leave the game and worthy inspiration for our offense now to win it for him!

  118. CardFanSince57 says:

    What? Brendan is 2 for 3? He’s got heart and, now at .198, he is ascending ever so closer to that Mendoza Line.

  119. CardFanSince57 says:

    2 for 4 is a great way for Studwick to re-enter!

  120. CardFanSince57 says:

    I really thought that one was gone! Damn it!

  121. crdswmn says:

    I thought that one would go out.

  122. CardFanSince57 says:

    It’s a shame that the “W” won’t go to the King of Scrappers…

  123. CardFanSince57 says:

    I am so happy to see Chris on the mound for the 7th! We will get that “W” for him after all!

  124. CardFanSince57 says:

    Coming up for us, we’ve got a Matt who needs to extend his streak and we’ve got Jon who continues to be hot. After them, we’ve got Skip who certainly wants to maintain his perfect night. Yeah, the situation is looking bright for Chris and for us…

  125. CardFanSince57 says:

    A 7 inning 9-hitter ain’t pretty, but it’s sufficient for his 12th win…

  126. blingboy says:

    We need to lay some thumpage on em, wadda ya say.

  127. blingboy says:

    Not what I had in mind, Matt.

  128. CardFanSince57 says:

    “Oh, for…!” Count Matt out on this victory…

  129. blingboy says:

    Two dribblers his last two times up, when we really needed something.

  130. CardFanSince57 says:

    Well, at least Jon was 1 for 4 (with all his balls landing in just about the same place)

    Skip is having a perfect night!

  131. blingboy says:

    Skip must have got mad about the ‘Jared’ thing.

  132. blingboy says:

    It’s tough when your clean up can’t get it past the mound.

  133. CardFanSince57 says:

    Matt’s performance tonight is shameful!

    Yadier, on the other hand, is showing us some heart…

  134. blingboy says:

    Well, we’re not going to scare them to death.

  135. CardFanSince57 says:

    With the way that he’s been rebounding, I’m not so bothered by his OCD thing. Hell, he can fiddle with his velcro all he wants.

  136. CardFanSince57 says:

    Chris’ “W” is in the hands of Aaron

  137. CardFanSince57 says:

    I sure hope that we make the most of the final opportunity…

  138. blingboy says:

    Chris’ “W” is in the hands of Aaron

    To bad it wasn’t Hank.

  139. CardFanSince57 says:

    In this 3-3 deadlock, we’ve got 2 more hits than the Flubs…

    Give ‘em Hell, Motte the Merciless!

  140. CardFanSince57 says:

    Too bad that it came down to Aaron (Matt should have taken care of things for us)

  141. CardFanSince57 says:

    We can blame Matt for Chris’ no-decision; not Aaron…

  142. blingboy says:

    Let’s see how PHE works out

  143. blingboy says:

    Not what I was looking for Brendan

  144. CardFanSince57 says:

    Flip certainly flopped tonight

  145. crdswmn says:

    We need extras.

  146. CardFanSince57 says:

    I hope that Marmol is not on the mound next inning…

  147. CardFanSince57 says:

    Make ‘em hit grounders, Franky!

  148. blingboy says:

    If we go to the 10th, Matt will have a chance to reclaim his dignity and manhood.

  149. CardFanSince57 says:

    Marmol is my idea of a dominating closer. Damn! He is quite the strikeout artist!

  150. blingboy says:

    The Cubs don’t like those wide strikes either.

  151. CardFanSince57 says:

    Between you, me and the fencepost: He damned well better!

  152. CardFanSince57 says:

    Sorry-Anno is a hot-dog: It’s a damned shame that he’s so good.

  153. CardFanSince57 says:

    Thank you, Franky… There wasn’t an awful lot that Yadier could do with that…

  154. CardFanSince57 says:

    All right, Matt: It’s redemption time (and don’t hide behind a home run that Albert may hit)!

  155. crdswmn says:

    If we lose this game it won’t be for lack of trying to win. This game is a nail biter extraordinaire.

  156. blingboy says:

    Well, so far its been a very entertaining game. I hope it ends well. This is where the money guys earn it.

  157. CardFanSince57 says:

    Well… at least he extended his streak. Now, it’s time for some serious heroics!

  158. blingboy says:

    Jay just won’t quit.

  159. CardFanSince57 says:

    Way to go, Jon! Only one out and a man in scoring position!

  160. CardFanSince57 says:

    I don’t know what else we could ask of Skip tonight

  161. blingboy says:

    A 3 run homer

  162. CardFanSince57 says:

    Pure Perfection! 4 for 4 and a walk! We had better score, damn it!

  163. blingboy says:

    Well crdswmn, here’s where we never hear the end of it, right

  164. CardFanSince57 says:

    Of all the times for Yadier to do what he does most!

  165. crdswmn says:

    No. I was afraid of that. Although Matt did some bad baserunning, he could have scored.

  166. CardFanSince57 says:

    Matt has been a base running clown tonight

  167. Nutlaw says:

    Damn it, Molina. Just strike out in these situations and spare us the double play, huh?

  168. blingboy says:

    I hate to see franky back out there.

  169. blingboy says:

    Yah, if Tony won’t hit for him he should send him up without a bat.

  170. CardFanSince57 says:

    I wish we had a light’s out strikeout artist right now. A weak-arm contact pitcher never makes me feel secure when the game is on the line. You can only pray that he will induce a grounder, rather than allow for a fly-ball or line-drive…

  171. CardFanSince57 says:

    We really, really need Fernando Salas!

  172. blingboy says:

    I wonder if it would be Salas to close it out if we get a lead?

  173. CardFanSince57 says:

    We can thank the umpire for that one… It was a miserable foul-up on the part of Franky: He clearly took Brendan off the bag!

  174. CardFanSince57 says:

    What a miserable payback!

  175. CardFanSince57 says:

    Very good, Franky boy! Why don’t you write a book on the many ways to lose a ball game?

  176. blingboy says:

    What else can happen in this game

  177. CardFanSince57 says:

    Dare I say it?

  178. CardFanSince57 says:

    My stomach is in a knot!

  179. blingboy says:

    Now for the strike out pitch

  180. CardFanSince57 says:

    That was only ONE of the nasty things which could yet happen

  181. blingboy says:

    E-Gad. Okay, now what else can happen.

  182. blingboy says:

    Franky’s arm will fall off.

  183. CardFanSince57 says:

    Whew! Next inning, we will have Fernando…

  184. crdswmn says:

    I am 10 minutes away from a coronary.

  185. Nutlaw says:

    I counted what should have been six outs in the bottom of the tenth there. I can’t believe that the Cardinals are still in this game! Defense! Yikes.

  186. blingboy says:

    It’s Colby time

  187. CardFanSince57 says:

    That was one of the longest and most miserable innings that I can remember ever enduring

  188. CardFanSince57 says:

    Thanks a lot, Colby!

  189. blingboy says:

    He’s going to have a playing time problem with Jay playing like he is.

  190. CardFanSince57 says:

    That was an inexcusable, sorry 4-pitch strikeout.

  191. CardFanSince57 says:

    Flip really, really needed to do that for some much needed redemption!

  192. blingboy says:

    Come on Dwight

  193. Nutlaw says:

    Soto called for a low pitch. He fortunately did not get one.

  194. blingboy says:

    drat. lets hold em now

  195. CardFanSince57 says:

    I hope that Kyle wins this thing; 3 up and 3 down!

  196. CariocaCardinal says:

    Lopez with some CPR!

  197. CardFanSince57 says:

    Le’s go for the DP

  198. CardFanSince57 says:

    Flip giveth and Flip taketh away

  199. CardFanSince57 says:

    Even when Kyle throws a strike, it’s called a ball

  200. CardFanSince57 says:

    ‘Twas a perfect throw, but the tag was slow… damn!

  201. crdswmn says:

    I am now 5 minutes away from a coronary.

  202. CardFanSince57 says:

    With his recent history, how comfortable are you with Reyes right now?

  203. crdswmn says:

    I fell on the floor.

  204. CardFanSince57 says:

    WHEW! The shame is that Chris didn’t get the “W”. The blessing is that we’ve regained the lead.

  205. blingboy says:

    OK, that’s one in a row.

    What a great game.

    Hope you’re still with us crdswmn

  206. crdswmn says:

    This game was like the keystone cops on steroids.

  207. CardFanSince57 says:

    This is only the first of our next extended streak. After a day of rest, we need to sweep the Mets…

  208. CardFanSince57 says:

    The Brewers are hot and they’re hosting the Reds tomorrow night…

  209. crdswmn says:

    The Cardinals aren’t the only ones who need a day of rest. I am too old for this.

  210. CardFanSince57 says:

    “Too old” is precisely why this man is going to bed right now. Good Night, guys. What could have easily been a miserable nightmare turned-out to be an enjoyable game.

  211. blingboy says:

    As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not emotionally capable of recognizing our next opponent as an MLB franchise, so I would expect a sweep.

  212. blingboy says:

    “Rasmus’ playing time may continue to ebb in the team’s series against the New York Mets. The Mets are expected to start lefthanders Jonathon Niese, Hisanori Takahashi and Johan Santana. ” Strauss article todays PD.

    Pine time seems like it eventually helped Brendan, hopefully the same with Colby. A lot of good has been said about Jay, but I don’t overlook his lowly average with runners in scoring position. Long term, Colby and Jay in the outfield would be great.

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