A look at how starting pitchers acquired in deadline deals prior to Jake Westbrook fared for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Newly-acquired St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jake Westbrook will take the mound for the first time wearing the Birds on the Bat on Monday night against the Houston Astros at Busch Stadium.
Time will tell if the 32-year-old steps into the Brad Penny void and helps lead the Cardinals into the post-season and beyond, but that is certainly why the free agent-to-be was acquired in the controversial trade that cost the club outfielder Ryan Ludwick.
Looking back at successful deadline moves for starting pitching made by the organization in the past, the name Woody Williams first comes to mind. Acquired from San Diego for an end-of-career Ray Lankford nine years ago, the then-34-year-old Williams went 7-1 with a 2.28 ERA the rest of the way in 2001.
Like others that would follow, such as Joel Pineiro, picked up from the Red Sox in 2007, Williams would remain a Cardinal beyond that season. Others, such as 2006 World Series star Jeff Weaver, quickly left for more money (though less success) elsewhere. Yet others, such as Chuck Finley in 2002, called St. Louis their last stop before retiring from the game.
Researcher Tom Orf pulled the list of 15 starting pitchers added by the Cardinals over the last half-century prior to Westbrook and their results with St. Louis for the remainder of that season.
Cardinals starting pitchers acquired in mid-season trades, initial season with team, 1960-2010
| Traded | Pitcher | Year | Age | W | L | ERA | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO |
| 6/22/2007 | Mike Maroth | 2007 | 29 | 0 | 5 | 10.7 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 71 | 56 | 45 | 11 | 17 | 23 |
| 7/31/2007 | Joel Piniero | 2007 | 28 | 6 | 4 | 3.96 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 63.2 | 69 | 29 | 28 | 11 | 12 | 40 |
| 7/5/2006 | Jeff Weaver | 2006 | 29 | 5 | 4 | 5.18 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 83.1 | 99 | 49 | 48 | 16 | 26 | 45 |
| 8/22/2003 | Sterling Hitchcock | 2003 | 32 | 5 | 1 | 3.79 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 34 | 17 | 16 | 8 | 14 | 32 |
| 7/19/2002 | Chuck Finley | 2002 | 39 | 7 | 4 | 3.8 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 85.1 | 69 | 41 | 36 | 7 | 30 | 83 |
| 8/29/2002 | Jamey Wright | 2002 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 4.8 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 15 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 8 |
| 8/2/2001 | Woody Williams | 2001 | 34 | 7 | 1 | 2.28 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 75 | 54 | 22 | 19 | 7 | 19 | 52 |
| 7/31/1998 | Darren Oliver | 1998 | 27 | 4 | 4 | 4.26 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 64 | 31 | 27 | 7 | 23 | 29 |
| 6/13/1997 | Fernando Valenzuela | 1997 | 36 | 0 | 4 | 5.56 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22.2 | 22 | 19 | 14 | 2 | 14 | 10 |
| 6/16/1995 | Mike Morgan | 1995 | 35 | 5 | 6 | 3.88 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 106 | 114 | 48 | 46 | 10 | 25 | 46 |
| 6/15/1983 | Neil Allen | 1983 | 25 | 10 | 6 | 3.7 | 25 | 18 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 121 | 122 | 55 | 50 | 6 | 48 | 74 |
| 6/15/1977 | Tom Underwood | 1977 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 4.95 | 19 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 104 | 61 | 55 | 7 | 57 | 66 |
| 5/28/1975 | Ron Reed | 1975 | 32 | 9 | 8 | 3.23 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 175 | 181 | 79 | 63 | 4 | 37 | 99 |
| 8/15/1974 | Claude Osteen | 1974 | 34 | 0 | 2 | 4.37 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 22.2 | 26 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 11 | 6 |
| 6/15/1963 | Lew Burdette | 1963 | 36 | 3 | 8 | 3.77 | 21 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 98 | 106 | 50 | 41 | 6 | 16 | 45 |
Going one step further, we also offer the first-game results of each of the earlier 15. As a group, they went 7-7 with one no-decision as the Cardinals won seven and lost eight of those debut contests.
Williams and Neil Allen, added in the terrible Keith Hernandez trade in 1983, held their opponents scoreless in their respective Cardinals debuts. In 1975, Ron Reed yielded just two unearned runs while Sterling Hitchcock, added in 2003, tossed a scoreless inning in his debut (in relief). Only Lew Burdette in 1963 threw a complete game.
Cardinals starting pitchers acquired in mid-season trades, first game with team, 1960-2010
| Traded | Pitcher | Debut | Opp | Rslt | Inngs | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | |
| 6/22/2007 | Mike Maroth | Jun 25 | @ | NYM | L,1-2 | GS-8 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | |
| 7/31/2007 | Joel Piniero | Aug 4 | @ | WSN | L,1-12 | GS-5 | L(1-2) | 5 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 7/5/2006 | Jeff Weaver | Jul 17 | ATL | L,3-15 | GS-4 | L(3-11) | 4 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| 8/22/2003 | Sterling Hitchcock | Aug 23 | PHI | W,5-3 | 6-6 | W(2-3) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 7/19/2002 | Chuck Finley | Jul 21 | @ | PIT | W,8-4 | GS-6 | W(5-11) | 6 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| 8/29/2002 | Jamey Wright | Aug 30 | @ | CHC | W,6-3 | GS-6 | W(6-13) | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 8/2/2001 | Woody Williams | Aug 4 | FLA | W,3-0 | GS-7 | W(9-8) | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| 7/31/1998 | Darren Oliver | Aug 3 | @ | MIL | L,5-6 | GS-6 | L(6-8) | 5 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 6/13/1997 | Fernando Valenzuela | Jun 17 | @ | MIL | L,3-4 | GS-6 | L(2-9) | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 6/16/1995 | Mike Morgan | Jun 18 | SFG | L,1-6 | GS-5 | L(2-2) | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 6/15/1983 | Neil Allen | Jun 21 | @ | NYM | W,6-0 | GS-8 | W(3-7) | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 6/15/1977 | Tom Underwood | Jun 22 | @ | LAD | L,1-12 | GS-4 | L(3-3) | 3 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| 5/28/1975 | Ron Reed | Jun 3 | ATL | W,4-2 | GS-7 | W(5-5) | 7 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| 8/15/1974 | Claude Osteen | Aug 19 | @ | ATL | L,6-11 | GS-4 | L(9-10) | 3 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 6/15/1963 | Lew Burdette | Jun 18 | NYM | W,6-2 | CG | W(7-5) | 9 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
Footnote. I read in a USA Today article outlining the Arizona Diamondbacks’ fire sale about the last pitcher prior to Edwin Jackson this year to have been traded during the same season in which he had thrown a no-hitter.
It was Cliff “Lefty” Chambers, dealt by the Pirates to the Cardinals in 1951. Interestingly, catcher Joe Garagiola was among those heading in the other direction in the seven-player trade. Including his no-hitter against the Boston Braves, Chambers was 3-6 with a 5.58 ERA before the move, but 11-6 with a 3.83 ERA over the remainder of that season after joining St. Louis.
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Despite my strong disagreement with the trade, the man who takes the mound in a Cardinal uniform and earnestly seeks to contribute to our success has only my very best wishes. In fact, I hope that Jake’s performance tonight will blow away the records of all the luminaries listed in this article! Indeed, I hope that he will have such success during the next couple of months, that he will re-sign and be with us for years to come. After all, wasn’t Jeff Suppan a bona fide mediocre when he first came to us back in 2004? As it turned-out, his best years were spent with us (45-30, 3.96 ERA)! What is more, Jake comes to us as a former All Star…
Regardless of the historical context, I wonder if Jake realizes the pressure he is under. Not just of the pennant race but of trying to erase the memory of losing Ludwick (for so a seemingly low price). There were others in the offense to bail Jay out from hsi pressure. A pitcher doesn’t have that luxury.
CC, I would imagine that is well understood. Westbrook has already made public comments acknowledging that trading Ludwick was not completely accepted and seemingly saying all the right things. The actions are yet to come…
There is also considerable pressure on Mo if this backfires since the club was in decent shape before the deal.
Someone on another website pointed out that Chris Carpenter had a similar record to Westbrook prior to coming to the Cardinals. I won’t quote the statistics, having taken heed from Brian as to the reliability of stats received from other internet sites.
If the stats are accurate, then it appears Chris became the ace that he is after becoming a Redbird. Food for thought.
I could not agree more, that “the club was in decent shape before the deal”! In fact, to the degree that any thinking person can clearly see that “We don’t have nearly enough knowledge of their books to make definitive statements” (concerning the Cardinals operating budget), you affirmed my belief that “…the Cards did not HAVE to do anything”.
I am just as unhappy with the trade as everyone. I am a pragmatiist, and I realize that what was done is done and therefore we must play with the cards we were dealt. By saying that I don’t mean to minimize the outrage. I share it.
crdswmn, keep in mind that Carp was 28 when signed by StL while Westbrook turns 33 before the end of this season. To suggest that Westbrook has multiple years of Cy Young-caliber runs left in him seems overly optimistic.
I was not suggesting that Westbrook had the potential to become a Chris Carpenter at all
Ovely optimistic is an understatement. 
I was only suggesting that his record is not necessarily indicative of what his performance may be with the Cardinals.
In my mind either Colby or Jay would have had to go or ride the pine, and Luddy be inserted into the 5 hole on an everyday basis to help this team go a long way in the playoff hunt. I just don’t see this move helping this team in any way for this year. The pitching staff was doing a good enough job and is like either one or two in the national league so that was not the problem.
Now if Mo made this move because he was looking ahead to next year and the money that can be saved by not having Luddy on the roster, then I say you made a good move. There is no doubt Jay and Colby will be cheaper players and there will have to be a roster full of cheap players if Albert is to be signed long term. I get that. But this team needed offense imo and that area of need was not addressed.
I’m sure Luddy was never a TLR fave just like I know Colby is not but TLR plays to win and plays the players he believes will get the job done. This move has the potential to allow Colby more playing time so it could be a good move temporarily for him but I still don’t like it for the team.
We don’t know yet if Mo might also add a bat via a waiver trade but what we see now has many scratching their heads.
The chance that the added bat is better than Ludwick < 5%
Of course, but the chance that Westbrook is better than both Suppan and Hawks is > 95%.
There is no doubt a tradeoff was made for more pitching at the expense of offense. The only question is the degree.
Hey, thats why they pay Mo and TLR the big money. There is no doubt they are smarter than all of us about the ins and outs of what goes on on their team.
I’ve stated numerous times that if you want TLR as your manager you should give him the players he so desires because he manages better with those guys. TLR wanted pitching, give the guy a pitcher. Mo did just that.
Monday’s lineup from FOX Sports Midwest:
Lopez 5, Jay 9, Pujols 3, Holliday 7, Rasmus 8, Molina 2, Schumaker 4, Westbrook 1, Ryan 6
We will find out in a couple of months whether the move paid off or not. I have my doubts, but as RC said, they are smarter than me.
“Of course, but the chance that Westbrook is better than both Suppan and Hawks is > 95%” Should I assume you are not serious or should I bother to point out that Suppan’s ERA since coming to STL is better than Westbrook’s.
CC, I have to assume you are joking. Comparing Westbrook’s 2010 AL ERA to Suppan’s StL ERA this year? C’mon, now… If the Cards believed that, they wouldn’t have made the trade…
On a related issue, BJ Rains tweeted that Dunc says that Supp will get another start in FL, lining up the big boys for Cincy.
I’m guessing Carp and Garcia the next two days, and then Waino, Suppan and Westbrook in FL. Or switch Garcia and Waino. I would love to see a Waino/Johnson matchup in FL.
Immediate cash flow relief having nothing to do with baseball. BP is obviously covered, as is KL. The equation =’s little or no cost…………… ……… Westbrooke is better than you think……..and there is a recovery speculation involved………….this was the cheapest possible impact move, that might seem reasonable and still not effect game outcomes……….to suggest that this is a derivative style trade, is an understatement of massive porportion……….DW might pitch well and still loose games.
AP is noticeably more relaxed, having passed the 31st……… Colby’s hand’s show reason, but are morphing as we speak. Must maintain or improve that position.
Barcelona………..The G&P-ful OZ
“Hey, thats why they pay Mo and TLR the big money. There is no doubt they are smarter than all of us about the ins and outs of what goes on on their team”
I’ve said it before, Warrior; you are a master politician! I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that you trust more in the consensus of the players and fans than you do in the self-serving interests of Ownership and Management. When both players and fans condemn bad judgment and mismanagement, I KNOW that the Warrior does not dismiss the controversy and say in his heart, “Hey, thats why they pay Mo and TLR the big money”.
In comparing Westbrook to Supp and Hawk, it is important to recognize that Westbrook was acquired to fix an anticipated problem not a current problem. We would have to compare Westbrook to what Supp and Hawk would be doing when and if they stopped doing what they have been doing. As it is, I can’t see where having Westbrook in the rotation will result in more wins than having Supp or Hawk if they continued to perform as they have.
Then we must consider whether not having Luddy in the offense will result in more, or fewer, wins than having him.
In Mo-land that works out to a net gain in wins. I hope he is right.
What the hell did you just say Westy? In plain english declarative sentences. Linear progression. (I’m out of practice)
“Darkness at the break of noon
shadows even the siver spoon
The hand-made blade, the child’s balloon
eclipses both the Sun and Moon
to understand, you know too soon
there’s no sense in trying…”
- dylan
I am blacked out from watching the game on MLB. I am in a hotel that does not have FSM. Damn
bb, I ain’t buying your view that Westbrook will not lead to more wins that Hawks or Supp. Heck, he might top the sum of them!
Here is some data to chew on.
While there is nothing mediocre about Studwick, I fail to see anything brilliant about Jake Westbrook. Six years removed from his All Star season (the ONLY year that his ERA was below 4.00), he comes to us now at 4.65, guaranteed to give-up an average of one hit for every inning pitched. One can say that Jake’s mediocre ERA is the result of the American League’s DH and suppose that his ERA will therefore be dramatically lowered in the National League, but such belief is really nothing more than theory based on conjecture… Dave Duncan likes the propensity of this particular contact pitcher to induce the groundball. If his ERA does actually lower, it will be largely because of fielders like Brendan and Skip.
If you see Jake sitting beside Yadier in the dugout at the bottom of each inning, you can safely assume that he is pitcher who knows which side of the bread is buttered. He will pick Yadier’s brain and virtually deliver his soul into Yadier’s keeping, always attentive to what the All Star catcher says and seldom ever shaking-off a call…
A 9 pitch inning! A Very, VERY good first impression!
I wonder about how thorough the Houston scouts are and about how much the Houston hitters have been informed about Jake…
I wonder if our offense has finally formalized a game plan concerning Myers!
How about that? We’ve entered Error City and scored a run without the benefit of a single hit!
Myers could pitch a no-hitter and lose!
Albert is the absolute KING of GIDP!
Wow! We actually had a runner on first base, without benefit of an error!
Jake kept all the balls low and induced a DP… Dave Duncan must be smiling…
Jake doesn’t like Cardinal farm products who are on other teams (so he hits ‘em)
57, in case you’re flying blind tonight, with Jay on second Albert grounded to short is an especially meek and limp wristed manner, failing to at least hit behind the runner so as to advance him to third, and was thrown out at first. Jay stupidly tried to advance to third on the throw and the return throw across the diamond to third got him by 10 feet. Pitiful incompetence all the way around.
After two innings, the chief impression that I’m getting about Jake is that he has great command and keeps literally ALL his pitches low (most of them low and away)…
Thank you, blingboy! Indeed I am flying blind again tonight and will deepy appreciate all the snapshots that you have time to give me!
Jake’s first NL at bat: “Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Night”
If Jake had consistently pitched like this for Cleveland (American League DH or not), his ERA would have been below 2.00! He is doing something quite different and obviously trying to please us (and he is succeeding)…
I see your point Brian. Good stats.
I see crdswmn is flying blind. Westbrook looks good. Lively arm. He looked as bad at the plate just now as anybody ever has. American league pitcheritis.
The bottom of the first was something of a travesty. The Astros tried as hard a humanly possible to give us a big crooked number inning. The key at bat was Albert. The rest is history.
ALL of his pitches are low (and most of them are away – from either lefthanders or righthanders)!
When Nutlaw sees the chart for Jake on this particular game, he will be absolutey amazed. During the past 3 innings, every single pitch was low!
Westbrook works fast. Really fast. Keeps batters off balance, keeps defenders looking alive. DD and one of the aces (didn’t see which) are huddling over Daves notebook as Westbrook works.
Brendan’s was the first out to reach the outfield!
I see that the official scorer eliminated one of the Houston errors and awarded a hit to Lopez
Jay needs to compensate for the sloppy base running…
I must confess that neither Blake nor Jeff, in their finest moments, have ever matched what I’ve seen at the hand of Jake during the first 3 innings of this game…
Here’s hoping that the double he just gave-up was an anomalous fluke…
blingboy, tell me that the “infield hit” was not the result of Flip takin’ his sweet time again (please!)
Two routine flys and a routine K.
Wallace is built like a 1B-man (or catcher) heavy in the thighs and rump. You can tell by looking at him he’s not a third baseman.
Lucky double over the bag to opposite field. Pence, scratch infield hit, played well by Flip, but couldn’t get him.
“scratch infield hit, played well by Flip, but couldn’t get him” – good to know!
Westbrook didn’t pay much attention to Pence and Yadi made a bad throw off the bag, probably rushed it due to the good jump.
Jake continues to keep every single one of his pitches low!
Shot through the box hit Westbrook, trainer out, he’s OK. Got him at first, no chance to prevent the run.
The “shot” was the result of another very low pitch…
Oops! He just pitched his first “non-low” ball (out and away from Wallace)
Westbrook getting a little wild. Another through the box hits Westbrook, goes for infield hit, RBI. He’s gonna be black and blue.
What a damned shame! Wallace really battled him (9 pitches)!
Despite the 4 hits and 2 runs, I am very impressed with Jake…
Bad luck inning. Nice job containing the damage. Westbrook missed the zone by quite a bit a couple times and threw one in the dirt. Other than that, keeping it down. Sometimes down but over the middle of the plate.
Frozen rope.
How ’bout that? Albert actually hit a homer that matters!
Myers keeps walking Matt… I hope Colby makes him pay!
Matt deserves credit for running-up the count (9 pitches)
Attaboy, Colby!
So far, all 3 of our Boppers have contributed (for a change!)
Yadier just gave us an example of discipline and patience…
I just realized that we have NO OUTS…
…it will be a rotten shame if we don’t capitalize on this opportunity
Well… I suppose if Skip must GIDP, it helps for the man on third to run home…
Skip an example of impatience and no discipline. The ol’ clutch GDP trick again.
Hey, if there are no more runs tonight, Skip’s little gem will be a “Game Winning DP”! Imagine that!
Talk about a demoralizing rally killer (with a bittersweet twist)… Damn! That was miserably screwy!
Its a warm humid night. Steambath. Wonder if Westbrook will wilt.
With the exception of only 3, every single pitch has been low (over 90% were low and away)…
Unless he looked weary, I would be hesitant to pull him… What he is doing is really phenomenal…
Only three Houston balls have made it to the outfield. Otherwise, if Jake ain’t inducing groundouts, he’s strikin’ ‘em out…
He looks good, 57, just mentioning it. Jogs off the mound to the dugout after each 3rd out.
His stats indicate that he is not an overpowering strikeout pitcher by any means. He is, however, an accomplished groundball inducer. He is simply on his way to a quality start…
Myers is used to pitching in the air conditioning. Maybe he’ll wilt.
We need to destroy Myers and give him permanent psychological damage…
A lead-off walk is a splendid way to begin setting the table…
Jon needs to get unflustered!
What a shame! So Albert remains mired in the “Sub .300 Club”
If Jake does wilt (which is very likely), he will have nevertheless given us much more than we expected.
Jake knows all about Hernandez, with 7 pitches going to his “low and in” weakness!
One high swinging strike to Pence. Other than that, still keeping it down. Might be looking a bit tired. 3-2, Yadi and Albert to mound for a talk.
With the exception of 7 pitches, every single one of them has been low! I know that Nutlaw will be absolutely amazed when he sees the chart!
That “high swinging strike to Pence” was picked-up nicely on my Gamecast…
First walk. Maybe he was told, “don’t give in and groove one to Lee, with this stiff up next”. Lopez boots the stiff’s routine grounder to put Lee in scoring position.
All Jake can do is induce the grounder, having no control over the manner that Lopez handles it…
Wow! An incredible quality start by a certified low-ball pitcher! What is unusual for Jake, is the 7 strikeouts he’s racked-up!
Wallace made Westbrook look like Gibson.
I guess this would be the time to concede the point to Brian. Westbrook will be meaningful improvement.
This is our final chance to ruin Myers’ bid for a quality start… C’mon Matt and Colby: Don’t disappoint us!
I’ll take a slice o’ that humble pie myself, blingboy!
Westbrook has already done his job. The offense has, so far, failed to put them away. Will be a shame if its wasted. Come on you guys, some insurance.
Myers masterfully set our boy up (4 out and away and then the sucker ball low and in).
While Jake Westbrook exceeded expectations, our offense continues to look mighty wimpy against Myers… We are ahead by a single run, thanks to a doubleplay…
C’mon Yadier, with only a one run lead, you know the drill: Order Jason to chuck ‘em high n’ hard!
Well. 6IP, 2 ER. Not as good as Suppan’s last outing, but not too shabby.
You’re probably already aware that the Reds had predictably shut-out the Pirates tonight….
What do we want Nate Robertson for?
Motte the Merciless definitely did his part: Skip and Winn did not…
Solidly hit liner over the pitcher’s head, by Ryan.
Leave it to the small-baller of our small-ballers to get on base!
This should be an easy, overpowering win: A contender flattening another doormat…
By gum and by golly, our small-ballers are doin’ it again!
Jon cannot go, “Oh, for…”! No, no, no!
C’est la vie…
We can at least look forward next inning to some damage by at least one of our three Boppers.
So far, Albert tied it, a DP won it and a couple of small-ballers added to the win…
How ’bout another DP, Jason?
I s’pose not…
3 of those “balls” were actually strikes! We were really fleeced by the umpire…
As delighted as I am with Mike, this is NO time to put him on the mound!
What a genius Tony is!
Oh yeah, Warrior; Tony is smarter than we are and knows each member of his team better than anyone else…
How many rank-in-file fans also knew that this was NO time to put Mike on the mound?
No, Mike did not blow our lead: TONY DID!
What a genius! Incredible!
What a brave and resilient young man Mike MacDougal is! Such depth of character is obviously beyond Tony’s ability to understand…
Thank you, Albert. A single is perfectly acceptable. Now, it’s up to Matt…
Matt can’t do it, but Colby certainly can!
Are we pinch-hitting for the 1 for 3 Colby?
What a genius Tony is! Incredible!
All right, Tony. Let’s make damned sure that we send the crowd home, depressed and demoralized….
Are we supposed to blame this on a couple of rookies (Mike and Stavi)? I should think NOT!
Miller is a real piece of weak and leaky work…
Everybody saw the same two boneheaded moves that I did: What intelligent and reasonable person would NOT call Tony’s judgment into question?
Stavinoha pinch hit for McDougal. Rasmus came out two innings earlier when Motte came in.
Despite the fact that Miller had proven to be a real piece of weak and leaky work tonight… Tony left him in and conceded the game, wanting to save his bullpen for tomorrow’s game; right?
If we lose this game, I will nevertheless be proud of our guys…
Now we know why TLR stuck with Miller against Pence — Hawksworth was no relief.
This will be the 6th consecutive win of an undaunted and spirited young club which has been stripped of it’s key veterans…
I would not be surprised to see the Cards let go of MacDougal or Hawksworth after tonight. Salas or Kinney could get the call.
Whether Tony predicted Blake’s performance , neither was Miller any relief (his ERA has balloned past 4.00 tonight)…
57. referring to a previous discussion – I believe we only have 3 sweeps.
Carioca, referring to a previous discussion – I believe that any future sweep is in jeopardy…
Molina won’t go down without a fight…
How in Hell did Yadier (of all runners) make it to second on that ground out?
Yadier being stranded at third pretty well symbolizes this game…
I can not (will not) bring myself to even think that a couple of rookies blew it… Everybody else saw what I saw…
Methinks it is time for me to shut this computer down, put on some soft music, turn off all my lights and think about beautiful things.
Good Night guys.
Mike “the rookie” is actually 33 and has been around the block than a few times. The Cards are experimenting to see if he could handle a crucial situation. Now we know why the Nationals gave him the heave-ho.
I watched the game at my cousin’s house, but she doesn’t have internet. Westbrook was good, the rest of the team was bad.
I’m probably talking to myself, but on top of losing tonight, Freese reinjured his ankle. Mo needs to pick up a 3B on waivers. Lopez isn’t going to cut it.
Mike the rookie started 3 games for KC back in 2001. He has made 314 subsequent appearances in the majors, all in relief. He saved 20 games for the Nationals in 2009, got released, and had a tryout with the Marlins, but could not stick. He has good velocity, but did not get the job done, earning credit for the loss.
Wonder when the last time the Cardinals’ top 25 included four players released by other clubs during that same season?
Suppan, MacDougal, Winn and Miles.
MacDougal seems an audition. He had a good chance tonight to show what he could do, with the game on the line.
Freese seems jinxed. Reuben Gotay or Mike Lowell?
Agree on Freese being jinxed.
Lowell is an interesting name. .213 average and $12.5 M salary means he clears waivers, but how much $ would Boston pick up? They are still trying to make the playoffs so may not want to pay for Lowell to play elsewhere.
I am not convinced Gotay is any better than the guys they have.
Adam Kennedy?
On second thought, Kennedy is probably not a good choice.
The Red Sox paid the full salary of Julio Lugo for a month of Kid Duncan. The strangeness was mightily perplexing for our friend Westie. He is still trying to figure out Lugo, DeWitt, Dubya, and the Deep Oil deal banked through the Caymens.
This year, the Sox have been trying to shop Lowell all season. His cost is probably low, but it might be fun to see Matt Carpentr, a rookie almost as old as MacDougal.
Brad Penney is making around $7.5MM this year.
Kyle Lohse around $11MM.
Since they are out of action, we traded for Jake Westbrook, $11MM.
Suppan may have been released, but is costing the Brewers $11MM or thereabouts.
For the quartet, about $40MM.
In postgame, Tony was ‘impressed’ with MacDougal’s performance.
Jay 1 for 12 with 2 k’s since the trade.
Ironic, that the first time Luddy’s absence shows its his glove not his bat. It all came apart after Wynn looked like a clown trying to go back on Keppinger’s double in the eighth. Ryan almost certainly would have had it.
Then Lopez missed a hot smash that was literally right at him.
Welcome to St. Louis Jake.
I think I saw a request in there from CFS for Westbrook’s pitch locations. Yeah, I’m good with him keeping the ball down, but I still don’t understand why the team had to deal Ludwick for an innings eater.
His changeups were missing the strike zone against LHP, but he got a lot of strikes with them anyway: http://www.brooksbaseball.net/pfxVB/cache/location.php-pitchSel=150414&game=gid_2010_08_02_houmlb_slnmlb_1&batterX=0&innings=yyyyyyyyy&sp_type=2&s_type=2.gif
He showed very nice control against RHB, typically keeping the ball low and away:
http://www.brooksbaseball.net/pfxVB/cache/location.php-pitchSel=150414&game=gid_2010_08_02_houmlb_slnmlb_1&batterX=0&innings=yyyyyyyyy&sp_type=3&s_type=2.gif
In post game, Tony was ‘impressed’ with MacDougal’s performance.
BB, MacD pitched exactly like Tony/Dave wanted him to. He had better control… He got hurt trying to display this . It happens. Tony is defending him because there is a rift developing concerning his needs and desires in confrontation with front office goals. He wants MacD, front office likely wants to keep the kids. He put Motte and Hawksworth over the coals too……along with Miller.
“but I still don’t understand why the team had to deal Ludwick for an innings eater”
Thank you, Nutlaw, for confirming the observations. I think that Jake’s debut was brilliant and that he made a positive first impression. I also believe that there is a definite disparity between a proven star (Studwick) and a proven mediocre (Westbrook). I understand that there are reasons that Tony and Mo had sent Ludwick on, but I fail to see why they were unable to get much more for one of the league’s hitting stars. With regard to the idea that “the team had to deal”, I believe that Brian was correct in his observation that the team did not HAVE to deal at all! The old saying applies here, “If something works, don’t fix it”. The only problem that I could see which urgently needed fixing continues to be the fielding/batting inconsistency at 3rd Base…
From the Comments section of Joe Strauss’ article; “Ludwick frustrated before trade”
Pincer said on: August 3, 2010, 1:11 pm
If you look at the entire season, this team’s strength has been pitching. The areas we need to improve are scoring runs consistently, hustling, and defense. So why did we trade a great defensive player who hustles and produces consistently on offense for a rental #4 starter? It doesn’t make any sense.
Miszourahn said on: August 3, 2010, 12:41 pm
The Cardinals lost last night because of the errors on defense and the coaches placing players on defense that are no longer good at it. Now, you have to give Carlos Lee credit for just putting the ball in play right at Schumaker’s lack of intelligent hustle to get back into position on defense. The next reason were the errors of judgment on the part of the manager. Mills really outmanaged LaRussa last nite. I bet Wallace is watching this and counting his blessings he was traded to other teams.
troubled_cardsfan said on: August 3, 2010, 9:58 am
Larussa runs another good player out of town. This has become their way of cutting payroll to have Larussa pick out the guy with a large salary and run him off (Rolen, Edmonds, Ludwick). I am sick of hearing how they couldn’t win without another starter in the face of another horrible defensive and hitting performance last night. What more can you say, Tony? How about you quit?
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/article_3bf17419-b396-5bb2-a999-39e7b61894ed.html?mode=comments
Three way trades are fascinating. Two first place teams………..and a builder.
Cardinals want pitching……….Cleveland wants a salary bail…………Padres want a hitter.
Cleveland doesn’t want to take on any salary………but do they have to have this SD prospect? Cardinals don’t have “anything”? Unlikely.
SD knows the Cardinals have been waiving Ludwick in the Market for 2yrs. They know BD wants that to go away. They give BD what he really wants……..2 million dollars liquid. Cleveland gets the bail, SD gets the hitter, St Louis gets a manageable number and the required “competitive move”.
Now, with a starters log jam, BD has the freedom to groom the team again. He isn’t going to take on any salary. Tony wants MacD……..he knows he is vulnerable. Tony’s decision making yesterday was ripe with “complications”. He knows BD is capable of dramatic gestures (Kennedy) to get what he wants….Tony is struggling to control his roster right now……Jay has relaxed…………Colby could remain in a sleeper mode…………………… Do you know what the politically active BD wants? Is he getting it? ……………. Tony struggling weakens the TL/AP coalition…………… Tony, having to take these weak position makes him vulnerable….. if he becomes the scapegoat, and isn’t rehired during the AP negotiations……….what happens? Does AP even have an “I’m angry” play against a market that he know is planning to collude against him? BD is kicking butts and taking names…………just trying to get Tony what he needs. He is the player here. 60 to 80 million is the prize. Baseball isn’t even a remote concern.
acquired by St. Louis in trade with Cleveland and San Diego 7/31/10 (Westbrook agreed to reduction of assignment bonus and Indians paid Cardinals an undisclosed amount of cash as part of the deal)
I was mistaken assuming that it was SD who supplied the cash. It appears to be the Indians covering what remainder of the reduced bonus……..speculation.
There is nothing about the trade that makes much sense Westy. Tony didn’t like Luddy, and vice versa, of that I am sure. BDW and MO probably wanted to have a better idea of next year’s payroll without having to give Luddy a big contract.
We are in a title race, neck and neck, and we have Miles leading off. And playing 3rd. And our 5 spot is a AAA guy who has so far not done enough to stick in the bigs. That says all that needs to be said. (Except for ‘thank god it was Westbrook, if Supp or Hawk had started it would have been 10-4′)
Are you suggesting that Ludwick was a salary dump BB………………..well I never……………
He,he……………… looks like Tony is trying to re pressurize Jay after BD/Mo made him the man. Ignoring match ups to play Craig is sending an interesting message upstairs.
Cards are a heavy favorite in Vegas?????????? Seems like Norris has had some success against the hero’s…………… 2 to 1 favorites. O/U is 8 or 7.5……….. ………………..
Someone thinks Cards have long ball tonight……off setting Houston speed. I find all this very curious. I’m going to bed. Its late here.