Cards vs. Braves

July 19, 2007
St. Louis 1, Atlanta 10
Losing pitcher - Mike Maroth (5-5)

July 20, 2007
St. Louis 4, Atlanta 2
Winning pitcher - Adam Wainwright (9-7)
SV - Jason Isringhausen (19)
HR: Albert Pujols (21)

July 21, 2007
St. Louis 6, Atlanta 14
Losing pitcher - Braden Looper (7-8)
HR: Chris Duncan (19)

July 22, 2007
St. Louis 7, Atlanta 2
Winning pitcher - Jason Isringhausen (4-0)
HR: Albert Pujols (22), Scott Rolen (5), Skip Schumaker (2)

Milestone watch:
Jim Edmonds needs 13 11 hits for 1,000 hits as a Cardinal.
Scott Spiezio needs 16 hits for 1,000 career hits.
Albert Pujols needs 8 5 RBI to tie Joe Medwick for 8th all-time in Cardinal history with 814 RBI
Scott Rolen needs 7 4 RBI for 1,000 career RBI.
Jason Isringhausen needs 8 7 saves for 200 Cardinal saves.

Cards vs. Marlins

July 16, 2007
St. Louis 5, Florida 3
Winning pitcher - Braden Looper (7-7)
SV - Jason Isringhausen (18)
HR: Chris Duncan (18), Adam Kennedy (2)

July 17, 2007
St. Louis 0, Florida 4
Losing pitcher - Brad Thompson (6-4)

July 18, 2007
St. Louis 6, Florida 0
Winning pitcher - Kip Wells (4-12)

Seriously, who replaced Kip Wells last night? That was unbelievable! He pitched 8 innings of two-hit play for a change and picked up his 4th win of the season.

In some sad news, Scott Rolen is getting his shoulder looked at and he should be able to play by the end of the weekend series against the Braves but in all honesty, we have no idea.

The Cardinals are still working to sign first round draft pick Peter Kozma.

The Cardinals hope to sign first-round draft pick Pete Kozma within the next week, general manager Walt Jocketty said.

The urgency to sign Kozma, a prep shortstop from Oklahoma, is increasing because of new rules that set a deadline of Aug. 15 for teams to sign their draft picks.

If the Cardinals don't sign Kozma, they would receive their pick back and select 18th next summer.

Jocketty said he does not think Kozma will be unsigned by the deadline. The player taken two picks ahead of Kozma received a $1.4 million signing bonus and the Cardinals' next pick, 36th overall, received a $650,000 bonus.

The same goes for Mike Stutes.

Milestone watch:
Jim Edmonds needs 13 hits for 1,000 hits as a Cardinal.
Scott Spiezio needs 16 hits for 1,000 career hits.
Albert Pujols needs 8 RBI to tie Joe Medwick for 8th all-time in Cardinal history with 814 RBI
Scott Rolen needs 7 RBI for 1,000 career RBI.
Jason Isringhausen needs 9 8 saves for 200 Cardinal saves.

Cards vs. Phillies

The second half of the 2007 Major League Baseball season is underway! The Cards start the second half with a record of 40-45.

July 13, 2007
St. Louis 3, Philadelphia 13
Losing pitcher - Kip Wells (3-12)
HR: Albert Pujols (17)

July 14, 2007
St. Louis 4, Philadelphia 10
Losing pitcher - Mike Maroth (5-4)
HR: Albert Pujols (18)

July 15, 2007
St. Louis 10, Philadelphia 2
Winning pitcher - Adam Wainwright (8-7)
HR: Albert Pujols 2 (20), Chris Duncan (17), Juan Encarnacion (7), Adam Kennedy (1), Ryan Ludwick (7)

Albert Pujols, fresh off the home run derby and All-Star game, has started the second half red-hot by hitting four home runs in 3 games after going 77 at bats in 22 games without hitting a home run. That was his longest drought since September 9-28, 2005 where he did not go yard for 68 at bats in 18 games.

Scott Spiezio was placed on the DL.

Milestone watch:
Jim Edmonds needs 13 hits for 1,000 hits as a Cardinal.
Scott Spiezio needs 16 hits for 1,000 career hits.
Albert Pujols needs 4 0 RBI to tie Lou Brock for 9th all-time in Cardinal history with 814 RBI.
Albert Pujols needs 8 RBI to tie Joe Medwick for 8th all-time in Cardinal history with 814 RBI
Scott Rolen needs 8 7 RBI for 1,000 career RBI.
Jason Isringhausen needs 9 saves for 200 Cardinal saves.

All-Star rant

Well, the American League has continued in their humiliation of the National League with a 5-4 win in San Francisco's AT&T Park last night. Despite a botched play by Brian Roberts, which led to Dmitri Young being safe at first, and then a 3-1 pitch to Alfonso Soriano for a home run to give the NL a one-run deficit, the NL just couldn't hang on. J.J. Putz gave up two straight walks before Francisco Rodriguez came in and gave up another one leading to bases loaded for the Phillies outfielder Aaron Rowand. Rowand hit a deep fly ball but, unfortunately for us, it found a glove.

Josh Beckett was the winning pitcher. Chris Young (Padres) the losing pitcher. Francisco Rodriguez picked up the save.

The Ted Williams All-Star Game Award, presented by Chevrolet, was awarded to Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki for his three hits, 2 RBIs, and the first ever inside the park home run in All-Star game history. He became the second Mariner to win the MVP award, becoming the first to do so since Ken Griffey, Jr. won it in 1992.

Now, here comes a rant, that is need.

Someone commented on my facebook wall saying TLR can't manage. So I wrote this on his wall:

Garner messed up last year by not putting Rolen in for defense. Pujols was saved in the event that the game went longer than planned and would be up to pinch-hit for the pitcher's spot. Now what we, as baseball fans need to do, is start voting the best players as opposed to our favorite players. I didn't vote for Eckstein, Rolen, or Edmonds this year like I usually do because they aren't the best players of their position. After losing the game last year, I decided I would only vote for the best players at every position instead of my favorite. I hope other fans start picking up on that because that will only make the game better.

Furthermore, had Rowand hit it elsewhere, that would have tied the game and maybe won it for the NL. -- end facebook comment on wall

Granted, my initial votes did have Rolen and Edmonds. But since I was in Israel fpr much of June, I didn't use all 25 of my votes. I may have had 15 votes left. Oh, well. But knowing what I know know, some of those votes would definitely have been different.

Sure, Yadier Molina is a great defensive catcher and that helps when picking off runners. But when the game, and home field advantage, is on the line, would you rather have Yadi or Russell Martin? I think I would rather have Russell Martin of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

If I think D-Lee or Prince Fielder are having a better year than Albert Pujols is at first, then, yes, I would vote for them.

Nats blog interviews broadcaster Bob Carpenter

A Washington Nationals blog, 3 Girls with Heart, interviewed former Cardinals broadcaster Bob Carpenter.

Q. Did you always want to be a sports broadcaster?

A. In high school I realized I wasn’t good enough to play baseball and decided that calling games would be a great fit. I love the game. In 1984 I got my first job in the industry with the Cardinals, in my hometown; it was on a cable network. By 1995 I was back with the Cardinals and stayed for 12 years. Eventually more and more games were being moved to cable channels and I wanted something more full time. I heard about an opening in Washington, and sent in my resume. I interviewed on a cold, dreary day in February 06 first in Baltimore at the MASN offices and then at RFK. I spent the night in Baltimore and flew home in the next day. Two weeks later I received the call that I had gotten the job.

Q. So how do you like Washington?

A. I love the city, just not the traffic! I am appreciative that the people and friends here made me feel welcome.

It's a good read.

Midseason Awards Picks

Back in March, I made my predictions for the annual baseball awards. At this point in the season, folks always come out with new predictions...myself included.

National League
My picks were a bust the first month into the season. Pujols is human. Carp hasn't pitched since the first day of the season and Tony La Russa is not deserving of Manager of the Year at all. As for Troy Tulowitzki of the Colorado Rockies, he's not the best rookie out there.

As of now, these would be who I would give awards to at the end of the season.

Rookie of the Year: Hunter Pence, Houston Astros (.342, 11 HR, 42 RBI)
Most Valuable Player: Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies (.325, 15, 68)
Cy Young: Jake Peavy, San Diego Padres (9-3, 2.19, 125)

American League
Of all my preason picks, Alex Gordon had the slowest start ever! He did have a great month in June, average-wise, but he will have to step it up a notch for the rest of the season. Morneau is the same as last year and will remain with a strong chance. Currently, Morneau is 3rd in all of the major leagues for RBIs, home runs, and doesn't strike out all that much. As for Santana, he'll likely get it at the end of the season but not as of this point in time.

Rookie of the Year: Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox (.318, 3 HR, 25 RBI)
Most Valuable Player: Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins (.295, 24, 74)
Cy Young: Dan Haren, Oakland Athletics (10-3, 2.30, 101)

If the season were to end today, here's who would have made the playoffs.

National League Division Champions:
East: New York Mets
Central: Milwaukee Brewers
West: San Diego Padres
Wild Card: Los Angeles Dodgers

American League Division Champions:
East: Boston Red Sox
Central: Detroit Tigers
West: Los Angeles Angels
Wild Card: Cleveland Indians

National Midseason Awards

I'll have mine up later today but here's what Yahoo and Jayston Stark of ESPN had to say.

Jayson Stark
NL MVP: Matt Holliday, Colorado Rockies
AL MVP: Magglio Ordonez, Detroit Tigers
NL CY: Brad Penny, Los Angeles Dodgers
AL CY: Dan Haren, Oakland Athletics
NL ROY: Hunter Pence, Houston Astros
AL ROY: Hideki Okajima, Red Sox

Yahoo's mid-season and revised end of season picks (mainly Jeff Passan, Tim Brown and Mark Pesavento)
NL MVP (mid): Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers
NL MVP (end): Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
AL MVP (mid): Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
AL MVP (end): Vladimir Guerrero, Los Angeles Angels
NL CY (mid): Chris Young and Jake Peavy, San Diego Padres
NL CY (end): Chris Young, San Diego Padres
AL CY (mid): Dan Haren, Oakland Athletics
AL CY (end): Johan Santana, Minnesota Twins
NL ROY (mid): Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
NL ROY (end): Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
AL ROY (mid): Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox
AL ROY (end): Daisuke Matsuzaka, Boston Red Sox
NL MOY (mid): Bud Black, San Diego Padres
NL MOY (end): Bud Black, San Diego Padres
AL MOY (mid): Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles Angels
AL MOY (end): Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles Angels

Cards vs. Giants

July 6, 2007
San Francisco 4, St. Louis 3
Losing pitcher - Mike Maroth (5-3)

July 7, 2007
San Francisco 7, St. Louis 6
Losing pitcher - Braden Looper (6-7)
HR: Skip Schumaker (1)

July 8, 2007
San Francisco 0, St. Louis 7
Winning pitcher - Todd Wellemeyer (3-2)

Milestone watch:
Jim Edmonds needs 13 hits for 1,000 hits as a Cardinal.
Scott Spiezio needs 18 17 hits for 1,000 career hits.
Albert Pujols needs 5 4 RBI to tie Lou Brock for 9th all-time in Cardinal history with 814 RBI.
Scott Rolen needs 9 8 RBI for 1,000 career RBI.
Jason Isringhausen needs 9 saves for 200 Cardinal saves.

As we head in to the all-star break, the Cardinals have a 39-45 record which could possibly be 40-45 or 39-46 by day's end.

Kip Wells may have been the biggest bust since Walt Jocketty signed Junior Spivey to the Cardinals organization. Anthony Reyes lost his form in the off-season. I don't know what's going on with him. The MV3 are definitely not the same and as we found out, Albert Pujols is not Super-Man.

Rick Ankiel is getting back to his old form, well, save for the fact that it's as a hitter and not the top prospect pitcher he once was. In fact, here is the complete Ankiel timeline. I await the day that I see him in the majors once again.

Cardinals star outfielder Jim Edmonds' future is uncertain. Jim Edmonds is one of the best center-fielders of this generation. With as many gold gloves as he has, he should be elected on the first, second, or third ballot to the Hall of Fame.

So it's been a while...

It's been about three weeks and I am finally getting back into the flow of things, mainly catching up on sports news since I was pretty much out of the loop for at least two of the three weeks as I was overseas before coming back home and then leaving for a family vacation. I won't lie. I completely forgot to post the Darryl Kyle and Jack Buck tributes until after I got back home and realized what day it was.

Rather than post for each series, I'm just going to do one giant post for all the series that I've missed out on the past few weeks. It makes my life much easier.

June 12, 2007
St. Louis 1, Kansas City 8
Losing pitcher - Brad Thompson (4-2)
HR: Ryan Ludwick (2)

June 13, 2007
St. Louis 7, Kansas City 3
Winning pitcher - Adam Wainwright (5-5)

June 14, 2007
St. Louis 8, Kansas City 17
Losing pitcher - Kip Wells (2-11)
HR: Chris Duncan (11), Albert Pujols (16)

June 15, 2007
St. Louis 3, Oakland 14
Losing pitcher - Braden Looper (6-6)

June 16, 2007
St. Louis 15, Oakland 6
Winning pitcher - Russ Springer (2-0)
HR: Chris Duncan (12)

June 17, 2007
St. Louis 10, Oakland 6
Winning pitcher - Russ Springer (3-0)
HR: Ryan Ludwick (3), Scott Spiezio (3)

June 18, 2007
Kansas City 5, St. Louis 3
Losing pitcher - Adam Wainwright (5-6)
HR: Scott Rolen (4)

June 19, 2007
Kansas City 1, St. Louis 5
Winning pitcher - Brad Thompson (5-2)
HR: Chris Duncan (13)

June 20, 2007
Kansas City 6, St. Louis 7
Winning pitcher - Kip Wells (3-11)
HR: Ryan Ludwick (4)

June 22, 2007
Philadelphia 6, St. Louis 0
Losing pitcher - Anthony Reyes (0-9)

June 23, 2007
Philadelphia 3, St. Louis 8
Winning pitcher - Adam Wainwright (6-6)
HR: Chris Duncan (14), Juan Encarnacion (5)

June 24, 2007
Philadelphia 5, St. Louis 1
Losing pitcher - Brad Thompson (5-3)

June 25, 2007
St. Louis 1, N.Y. Mets 2
Losing pitcher - Russ Springer (3-1)

June 26, 2007
St. Louis 5, N.Y. Mets 3
Winning pitcher - Brad Thompson (6-3)
SV - Randy Flores (1)
HR: Brendan Ryan (1)

June 27, 2007
St. Louis 0, N.Y. Mets 2
Losing pitcher - Anthony Reyes (0-10)

June 29, 2007
St. Louis 4, Cincinnati 2
Winning pitcher - Troy Percival (1-0)
SV - Jason Isringhausen (15)

June 30, 2007
St. Louis 1, Cincinnati 5
Losing pitcher - Adam Wainwright (6-7)

July 1, 2007
St. Louis 11, Cincinnati 7
Winning pitcher - Troy Percival (2-0)
HR: Chris Duncan (15), Ryan Ludwick 2 (5, 6)

July 2, 2007
St. Louis 11, Arizona 3
Winning pitcher - Russ Springer (4-1)

July 3, 2007
Arizona 7, St. Louis 1
Losing pitcher - Todd Wellemeyer (2-2)

July 4, 2007
Arizona 4, St. Louis 5
Winning pitcher - Ryan Franklin (3-0)
SV - Jason Isringhausen (16)
HR: Chris Duncan (16), Brendan Ryan (2)

July 5, 2007
Arizona 2, St. Louis 3
Winning pitcher - Adam Wainwright (7-7)
SV - Jason Isringhausen (17)
HR: Juan Encarnacion (6)

Milestone watch:
Adam Kennedy needs 3 0 hits for 1,000 career hits.
Scott Rolen needs 1 hits for 1,500 career hits.
Jim Edmonds needs 15 13 hits for 1,000 hits as a Cardinal.
Albert Pujols needs 2 RBI for 800 career RBI and 7 0 games for 1,000 career games played.
Scott Spiezio needs 30 18 hits for 1,000 career hits.
Albert Pujols needs 8 5 RBI to tie Lou Brock for 9th all-time in Cardinal history with 814 RBI.
Scott Rolen needs 10 9 RBI for 1,000 career RBI.
Jason Isringhausen needs 10 9 saves for 200 Cardinal saves.

Barring someone pulling out of the annual midseason classic, this year is the first year since 1998 that the defending world champions only sent one representative to the All Star Game (1998, Edgar Renteria, Florida Marlins; 2007, Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals). The last time that the Cardinals had only one player was 2002 with Matt Morris. Kelly Stinnett has opted against reporting to Triple A Memphis and Tomo Ohka has been given his unconditional release from the club. Stinnett was only signed since Yadier Molina was on the DL. Kip Wells pitched the longest relief outing for the Cardinals on Tuesday, July 3rd, since Sterling Hitchcock did so on August 26, 2003. Given his poor record this season, the Cardinals opted to move Wells to the bullpen. Jason Isringhausen has been lights out, getting 16 saves in 18 chances. The Cardinals traded a player to be named later for Mike Maroth from the Detroit Tigers.

This season, the Cardinals have used nine different starting pitchers (Carpenter, Keisler, Looper, Maroth, Reyes, Thompson, Wainwright, Wellemeyer, and Wells), and 22 pitchers overall including utilityman Scott Spiezio. The Cardinals finished the month of June with a 13-13 record and currently are sporting a 38-43 record and are 8.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers.