Cards vs. Astros

Due to graduation and the Kentucky Derby festivities, I got behind. I'll get back up to date tomorrow at the latest.

May 4, 2007
Houston 2, St. Louis 3
Winning pitcher - Adam Wainwright (2-2)
SV - Jason Isringhausen (7)

It was so nice to see a win again, especially on Graduation Day.

May 5, 2007
Houston 13, St. Louis 0
Losing pitcher - Kip Wells (1-6)

Uh, Kip Wells? I want to give this guy a chance in the rotation but I think we can do better than Kip Wells.

May 6, 2007
Houston 1, St. Louis 3
Winning pitcher - Braden Looper (4-2)
SV - Jason Isringhausen (8)

Another nice win...now why did I have them on the fantasy team bench?

Milestone watch:
Adam Kennedy needs 23 20 hits for 1,000 career hits.
Scott Rolen needs 1 stolen base for 100 career stolen bases.
Scott Rolen needs 27 hits for 1,500 career hits.
Jim Edmonds needs 43 hits for 1,000 hits as a Cardinal.
Jason Isringhausen needs 1 save for 256 saves to tie Todd Worrell for 24th on the all-time list.
Jason Isringhausen needs 18 17 saves for 274 saves to tie Todd Jones for 23rd on the all-time list.
The St. Louis Cardinals are 6 4 wins shy of 9,000 franchise wins during the regular season.

Cards vs. Brewers

The rest of the season will be tough and very reminiscent to that of the events that followed June 22, 2002, when we lost Darryl Kile. An emotional Jeff Suppan gets the start for the Milwaukee Brewers while the St. Louis Cardinals will start either Braden Looper or Kip Wells.

April 30, 2007
St. Louis 1, Milwaukee 7
Losing pitcher - Kip Wells (1-5)

Monday's game was more about just playing the game than a win or a lose, given the weekend's tragedy for the second time in five years. The Cardinals finished the month of April with a 10-14 record.

May 1, 2007
St. Louis 2, Milwaukee 12
Losing pitcher - Braden Looper (3-2)
HR: Chris Duncan (5)

Looper was effective until about thr 4th or 5th inning when the wheels fell apart completely. I can't explain the performance other than there is usually one or two innings that just go bad while the rest of the game from a defensive standpoint is fine. Our offense just isn't performing and as such, Skip Schumaker led off the game unlike David Eckstein. This was the first start since joining the Cardinals that Eckstein batted in a slot other than leadoff.

May 2, 2007
St. Louis 0, Milwaukee 4
Losing pitcher - Anthony Reyes (0-5)

Four runs on four hits. I can't explain this five game losing streak. I honestly cannot. While I want to give the team a free pass given the tragedy over the weekend, I can't. It's hard to follow these games with a Royals-esque losing record. It's not like the Cardinals to be playing this poorly.

Milestone watch:
Adam Kennedy needs 24 23 hits for 1,000 career hits.
Scott Rolen needs 1 stolen base for 100 career stolen bases.
Scott Rolen needs 27 hits for 1,500 career hits.
Jim Edmonds needs 43 hits for 1,000 hits as a Cardinal.
Jason Isringhausen needs 1 save for 256 saves to tie Todd Worrell for 24th on the all-time list.
The St. Louis Cardinals are 6 wins shy of 9,000 franchise wins during the regular season.

Tuesday notes:

St. Louis Cardinals @ Milwaukee Brewers
Miller Park (indoor/retractable roof) 8:05 p.m. ET
Braden Looper, RHP (3-1) versus Ben Sheets, RHP (1-2)
Notable Injuries: none

Game Story: If the Kip Wells experiment has been a bust so far, the Looper one has been a smashing success. Looper has kept the ball down and has a .200 BAA. The last time he held batters to that kind of average was & uh-oh. Yeah, he never has come close to those numbers, which makes me leery of his success. Milwaukee will be a good test as the Brewers hitters have been successful against Looper, especially Rickie Weeks (4-for-7). Start your Brewers. Sheets is healthy, but all Cardinals hitters except Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds have hit him hard. Start all the other guys, especially Chris Duncan (5-for-9, 1 HR).

Wednesday notes:

St. Louis Cardinals @ Milwaukee Brewers
Miller Park (indoor/retractable roof) 1:05 p.m. ET
Anthony Reyes, RHP (0-4) versus Chris Capuano, LHP (4-0)

Notable Injuries: Rickie Weeks, 2B (finger, day-to-day)

Game Story: Reyes has ace-starter upside in the long term, but let's stress the word long. He has fallen short of a quality-start effort in each of his four starts, though just short each time. The Brewers' Geoff Jenkins (4-for-9, 3 HRs) positively owns him, and is a must-start. So are Bill Hall and J.J. Hardy, as Reyes has struggled against right-handers (.283/.886 rates). Capuano, meanwhile, should capitalize on a home start; he's 10-4 with a 3.63 ERA in his last 19 turns at Miller Park. Plus, he'll be facing the struggling Cardinals, who might still be distracted and should be without Chris Duncan against a left-hander. Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen should be about it for fantasy.

Dennis Dove called up

Dennis Dove was called up to fill the slot of the late Josh Hancock and is expected to be in uniform tonight for the St. Louis Cardinals-Milwaukee Brewers game.

"To lose a guy like that, it hurts," Dove told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. "Josh was a good guy, nice to everybody."

Of his promotion to the majors, Dove told the newspaper: "I hate that it happened this way. It's a dream come true, pretty much. To say it wasn't, I'd be lying. It's awesome. ... But it's also a very sad day for all of us."

Dove is a 6-foot-4, 205-pound righthander. In 2006, he made 54 appearances combined in Class A and AA, going 3-6 overall with a 4.11 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 65 innings.

RIP: Josh Hancock

Last season, when the St. Louis Cardinals were in Cincinnati to play the Cincinnati Reds, I decided to head over to the game since it was finals week and I didn't have a final that Tuesday. I was lucky enough to get Josh Hancock's autograph. I heard the news, oh, two hours ago or so, and I am in a state of shock and disbelief following the tragic death of St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Josh Hancock.

Tonight's game has been postponed as a result of today's tragedy to the St. Louis family. May Josh Hancock rest in peace.

ETA:

Deadspin has a must-read tribute.

Cards vs. Cubs

Round 2 of the series begins Friday night. For viewers that don't live in the St. Louis TV market: Friday is on WGN. Saturday is on FOX except in markets where FOX thinks you want the Yankees-Red Sox game. Sunday night is on ESPN.

April 27, 2007
Chi. Cubs 5, St. Louis 3
Losing pitcher - Anthony Reyes (0-4)
HR: Yadier Molina (1)

Albert Pujols is starting to pick it up as well as Jim Edmonds in terms of offense. But Yadier Molina's bat has been very hot in the month of April at times.

April 28, 2007
Chi. Cubs 8, St. Louis 1
Losing pitcher - Adam Wainwright (1-2)
HR: Albert Pujols (6)

I don't think that Adam Wainwright has quite figured out the Chicago Cubs yet. In 11 games and two starts against the Chicago Cubs, he hasn't pitched as well as one would have liked. Maybe TLR can avoid him in the rotatuon against the Cubs in the future? Coming into the game, he has a 7.24 ERA against them. Once again, we had a bad inning, defensively, with the Cubs scoring 7 runs.

Albert Pujols hit his 6th home run of the season to lead off the 7th inning. It's a shame that it had to be a lead-off home run as opposed to runners on. It was his 256th career home run which places him in second place outright on the Cardinals all-time list. Molina doesn't have the luck today like he did yesterday. Pujols is hitting much better in the past week. Jim Edmonds had a great game, offensively speaking, going 2-4. The Cardinals, it's hard to say at the moment, need to start heating it up. I thought we were going to break out of our horrible non-Sunday slump with the two games against the Reds this week.

At some point, you have to realize that Preston Wilson is almost always an automatic out and he needs to be DFA'd as soon as possible.

I don't know how I feel about our chances with Rich Hill pitching tomorrow. All I know is that I am going to bench Adam Wainwright during his next start and hopefully, he plays better than he did in his last two starts.

Milestone watch:
Albert Pujols needs 1 home run to take sole posession of 2nd place all-time with 256 on the Cardinals home runs list.
Adam Kennedy needs 26 24 hits for 1,000 career hits.
Scott Rolen needs 1 stolen base for 100 career stolen bases.
Jason Isringhausen needs 1 save for 256 saves to tie Todd Worrell for 24th on the all-time list.
The St. Louis Cardinals are 6 wins shy of 9,000 franchise wins during the regular season.

ESPN Fantasy game notes for Friday:

Chicago Cubs @ St. Louis Cardinals
Busch Stadium (outdoor) 8:10 p.m. ET (partly cloudy, low of 55 degrees)
Jason Marquis, RHP (2-1) versus Anthony Reyes, RHP (0-3)

Notable Injuries: None

Game Story: It's Marquis' first trip back to St. Louis since he left there as a free agent in the offseason, and don't forget, he had a 6.91 ERA in 17 starts at the Cardinals' new ballpark. He's off to a hot start but the command isn't quite there, so Chris Duncan and Jim Edmonds are well worth keeping active. As for Reyes, how much longer can we afford to wait for him to make good on his breakout potential? The Cubs have beaten him all three times they've seen him, and Michael Barrett (2-for-5, 1 HR) and Matt Murton (2-for-4, 1 HR) have handled him nicely. Steer clear of Reyes in this one.

On Friday, Kelvin Jiminez was called up and Randy Keisler was optioned down to Memphis. After Thursday's game, this is not a surprise.

Saturday notes:

Chicago Cubs @ St. Louis Cardinals
Busch Stadium (outdoor) 3:55 p.m. ET (partly cloudy, with a high of 73 degrees)
Carlos Zambrano, RHP (1-2) versus Adam Wainwright, RHP (1-1)

Notable Injuries: none

Game Story: The Cardinals' lineup is top heavy, leaning on Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen to carry their offense. Duncan is one of their heavier parts, who hits right-handers quite well, so if he is forced to miss the game, Zambrano should not have much trouble with the lineup. Wainwright has allowed 13 walks in 25 innings, and the Cubs beat him up (12 hits, seven earned runs) in his last start; you have to bench him until he shows better.

Sunday notes:

Chicago Cubs @ St. Louis Cardinals
Busch Stadium (outdoor) 8:05 p.m. ET (mostly clear, low of 53 degrees)
Rich Hill, LHP (3-1) versus Kip Wells, RHP (1-4)

Notable Injuries: none

Game Story: Hill has held Albert Pujols to 0-for-5 so far, and face it, he's a stud. Feel free to sit your Cardinals. As for Wells, so far the experiment isn't working (the experiment to turn Kip Wells into a decent pitcher, that is). Perhaps later in the season he'll show more talent, but right now he's throwing batting practice. Start all of your Cubs, especially Jacque Jones (8-for-19, 2 HRs).

Rick Majerus to SLU done deal?

It's looking like Rick Majerus is headed back into coaching at St. Louis University.

Cards vs. Reds

Thankfully, I can watch the games in this series since two of three are televised on FSN Ohio.

Albert Pujols record set last April is now the National League record as I fully expect that Alex Rodriguez will break it sometime this week.

Next Monday's game has been moved an hour earlier as ESPN will be televising it on Monday Night Baseball.

April 24, 2007
Cincinnati 10, St. Louis 3
Losing pitcher - Kip Wells (1-4)

April 25, 2007
St. Louis 5, Cincinnati 2
Winning pitcher - Randy Flores (1-0)
SV - Jason Isringhausen (5)

Braden Looper has been very effective and he should have gotten the win had it not been for the lack of run support. All but one run came in the eighth inning. Who in the right mind was thinking that Braden Looper was going to be the staff ace with Carpenter on the mound?

Other key things to point out: Chris Duncan is the real deal going 2-3 with a run (.333), Jim Edmonds went 1-3 with an RBI but made some great catches, and Scott Rolen's average is where it should be by now but it could be a bit higher. Pujols always said that Yadier Molina could hit. Albert Pujols batting average is getting back up to par.

April 26, 2007
St. Louis 7, Cincinnati 5
Winning pitcher - Randy Flores (1-0)
SV - Jason Isringhausen (6)

Skip Shumaker had a great day going 3-5 with 2 RBI. As I expected, David Eckstein had a day off, probably due to low career numbers against Kyle Lohse. Cardinals with more than one hit: Miles, Skip, Pujols, Spiezio, Kennedy. Rolen has two walks. Duncan and So had pinch hits leading to runs. Except for our pitchers, not a single player right now is hitting below .200! Izzy managed to get a save despite a rain delay. Bring on the Cubs!

Milestone watch:
Albert Pujols needs 1 home run to take sole posession of 2nd place all-time with 256 on the Cardinals home runs list.
Adam Kennedy needs 29 28 26 hits for 1,000 career hits.
Scott Rolen needs 1 stolen base for 100 career stolen bases.
Jason Isringhausen needs 3 2 1 save for 256 saves to tie Todd Worrell for 24th on the all-time list.

ESPN's fantasy watch for Tuesday's game:

Busch Stadium (outdoor) 8:10 p.m. ET (60 percent chance of thunderstorms, low of 60 degrees)
Aaron Harang, RHP (2-0) versus Kip Wells, RHP (1-3)

Notable Injuries: none

Game Story: When I say big Cardinals' bats, you of course automatically think Albert Pujols and David Eckstein, and you should start both against Harang. However, think seriously about sitting everyone else, especially Scott Rolen (3-for-31), Yadier Molina (3-for-25) and Jim Edmonds (6-for-28). Anyone else waiting for Ken Griffey Jr. to contribute positively to their team? Yeah, me, too. Perhaps this is the day he does it (9-for-23, 5 HRs against Wells). Also, Scott Hatteberg (5-for-6) likely starts over Jeff Conine (2-for-18). And yes, I was kidding about David Eckstein, but not about starting him.

Here is what ESPN says about the Wednesday night game:

Busch Stadium (outdoor) 8:10 p.m. ET (80 percent chance of rain, low of 55 degrees)
Bronson Arroyo, RHP (0-2) versus Braden Looper, RHP (3-1)

Notable Injuries: Ken Griffey Jr., OF (illness, day-to-day)

Game Story: There's a running theme today, and it's bad weather, with this game the one I'd call most likely to be washed out based on the forecast. If it gets in, though, this should be a nice matchup for Chris Duncan, 3-for-6 with a home run against Arroyo. Beyond your regular Cardinals and Reds, though, don't go crazy. Looper and Arroyo are both pitching well, and the main thing to exploit here is Looper's historical tendency to struggle against lefty sluggers. Adam Dunn, Josh Hamilton and Ken Griffey Jr. could each be in for big games, assuming Griffey is healthy enough to play.

Thursday's notes:

Busch Stadium (outdoor) 1:10 p.m. ET (70 percent chance of thunderstorms, high of 66 degrees)
Kyle Lohse, RHP (1-0) versus Randy Keisler, LHP (0-0)

Notable Injuries: none

Game Story: The trick to Lohse's season has been that although he's been hittable, he hasn't been issuing walks. Whether he continues this remains to be seen, but trust me, as the weather heats up, Lohse's fly balls will leave the park. So yes, when Lohse kills your ERA, you might commiserate with Al Gore. Start your Cards, and in particular Adam Kennedy (9-for-22) and Scott Spiezio (5-for-16, 1 HR) and sit David Eckstein (1-for-10). The Reds have been bottom-of-the-league awful against lefties, which makes Keisler a nice stealth spot starter. The only Reds worth considering are Jeff Conine and Alex Gonzalez.

Cards vs. Cubs

April 20, 2007
St. Louis 2, Chi. Cubs 1
Winning pitcher - Braden Looper (3-1)
SV - Jason Isringhausen (4)
HR: Preston Wilson (1)

Looper has been, surprisingly, effective.

April 21, 2007
St. Louis 0, Chi. Cubs 6
Losing pitcher - Anthony Reyes (0-3)

Why did we opt against resigning Jason Marquis?

April 22, 2007
St. Louis 12, Chi. Cubs 9
Winning pitcher - Jason Isringhausen (1-0)
HR: Chris Duncan (4), Jim Edmonds (1), Albert Pujols (5), Scott Rolen (2)

For fans outside of the Cardinals viewing area, you can watch the game on WGN. The game was an interesting one, and the third one that was aired on a station that is on cable systems nationwide. Jim Edmonds tied it up at 2-2 with a home run in the second inning.

The fourth inning saw Adam Kennedy double to deep right field and driving in Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen.

In the fifth inning, home runs were flying all over the place. Chris Duncan went deep, driving in Aaron Miles. Scott Rolen went yard with a solo shot.

The runs were not over yet. At 7 all, Scott Rolen triples to deep right field, and both Chris Duncan and Albert Pujols scored. Rolen would finish the day with a career high 6 hits, bringing his average up to .268, and a double shy of the cycle.

The leads were going back and forth. In the ninth inning, with Isringhausen down to the final out, a fly ball was hit towards shallow right field but because of the Chicago wind, it never quite made it to a glove and we went into extra innings with a 9-9 tie game. The box score makes it seem worse than it actually was for Isringhausen.

In the 10th inning, Pujols went deep for his fifth home run of the season to take the 12-9 lead with 3 RBI. Wilson and Eckstein scored on the home run. It was the 255th of his career and it ties him with Ken Boyer for second all time on the Cardinals' all-time home runs list.

The MV3 all have batting averages over .200 now. It's not where it should be but it's a start. The last time that the MV3 of Pujols, Edmonds, and Rolen went yard was July 2, 2006, against the Kansas City Royals in a 9-7 game.

The Cardinals go back to Busch with a 8-10 record this season.

Milestone watch:
Albert Pujols needs 1 home run to tie Ken Boyer for 2nd on the Cardinals all-time home runs list with 255.
Adam Kennedy needs 32 31 30 hits for 1,000 career hits.
Scott Rolen needs 1 stolen base for 100 career stolen bases.
Jason Isringhausen needs 4 3 saves for 256 saves to tie Todd Worrell for 24th on the all-time list.

During the series with the Giants, Mark Sweeney and Steve Kline made sure to greet Red Schoendienst.

First baseman-outfielder Mark Sweeney and left-hander Steve Kline, both former Cardinals, made sure to pay their respects to St. Louis legend Red Schoendienst before the series ended. Schoendienst, 84, continues to suit up for batting practice in his role as special assistant to general manager Walt Jocketty. Schoendienst was a 10-time All-Star infielder and managed the Cardinals to a World Series victory in 1967 and the National League pennant in 1968.

"He's baseball," Sweeney said of Schoendienst. "He's got passion and that's what we all have to learn from. It's very infectious. To see him in uniform is pretty awesome, too."

Walt is urging the fans to show some patience.

Cards vs. Giants

Okay, I got behind on things...it's the last week and a half of the semester before finals.
April 18, 2007
St. Louis 5, San Francisco 6
Losing pitcher - Josh Hancock (0-1)
HR: Albert Pujols (4)

First things first, you don't pitch to Barry Bonds ever again. I was watching on MLB Gameday and as soon as I saw it come up on game day, I had a feeling Ryan Franklin made a mistake.

April 19, 2007
St. Louis 2, San Francisco 6
Losing pitcher - Kip Wells (1-3)
HR: Kip Wells (1)

Milestone watch:
Albert Pujols needs 2 1 home run to tie Ken Boyer for 2nd on the Cardinals all-time home runs list with 255.
Adam Kennedy needs 32 31 hits for 1,000 career hits.
Scott Rolen needs 1 stolen base for 100 career stolen bases.
Jason Isringhausen needs 4 saves for 256 saves to tie Todd Worrell for 24th on the all-time list.

Tony La Russa has selected Bruce Bochy to serve as a coach during this summer's All-Star Game.

Manager Bruce Bochy has accepted an invitation from National League manager Tony La Russa to be a coach for the 2007 All-Star Game in San Francisco, sources said.

La Russa gets to manage the All-Star team and select the coaches because his St. Louis Cardinals won the NL pennant en route to winning the World Series last season. The All-Star skipper often asks the manager of the team hosting the game to be a coach.

Bochy would not comment nor even confirm his selection Tuesday because there has been no official announcement on coaches for the July 10 game. He managed the NL All-Stars in 1999 at Fenway Park after his San Diego Padres won the pennant in 1998.

Cards vs. Pirates

April 16, 2007
Pittsburgh 3, St. Louis 2
Losing pitcher - Anthony Reyes (0-2)

Anthony Reyes did not pitch so well on Monday's game against the Pirates.

April 17
Pittsburgh 6, St. Louis 1
Losing pitcher - Adam Wainwright (1-1)

I thought we got rid of Jason Marquis during offseason. Am I wrong here? Pujols picked up his 500th career walk and Jim Edmonds played in his 1,000th game as a Cardinal. Has it really been that long?

Milestone watch:
Albert Pujols needs 2 home runs to tie Ken Boyer for 2nd on the Cardinals all-time home runs list with 255.
Albert Pujols needs 2 1 walks for 500 career walks.
Jim Edmonds needs 2 1 games to reach 1,000 games played as a St. Louis Cardinal.
Adam Kennedy needs 33 32 hits for 1,000 career hits.
Scott Rolen needs 1 stolen base for 100 career stolen bases.
Russ Springer needs 1 strikeouts for 500 National League Strikeouts.
Jason Isringhausen needs 4 saves for 256 saves to tie Todd Worrell for 24th on the all-time list.