RIP: Buck O'Neil

I'd like to take this moment to remember the life of Buck O'Neil who died today at the age of 94. May he rest in peace.

Attention Cardinal Nation

I'm Caleb O. Brown and I am a Cardinal fan.

Daniel graciously invited me to join this blog.

Normally, I blog at calebbrown.net.

I'll be blogging with the guys as the season (hopefully) continues its steady progress.

Daniel promises to liveblog much of Game 3 of the NLDS.

NLDS: Cards vs. Padres

The playoff roster has been announced for the NLDS:

Pitchers
Chris Carpenter, Jeff Suppan, Jeff Weaver, Jason Marquis, Josh Kinney, Brad Thompson, Josh Hancock, Braden Looper, Adam Wainwright, Tyler Johnson, Randy Flores

Position
Yadier Molina, Gary Bennett, Albert Pujols, Ronnie Belliard, Aaron Miles, David Eckstein, Scott Rolen, Scott Spiezio, Chris Duncan, Jim Edmonds, Juan Enccarnacion, Preston Wilson, So Taguchi, John Rodriguez

Not on roster
Anthony Reyes, Jose Vizcaino, Chris Narveson, Jorge Sosa, Skip Schumaker

I would have kept Reyes over Marquis given the success rate between the two but given the playoffs with what happened with Rick Ankiel, I understand why Tony is not going to go with a rookie in the pressure situations.

This is a must-win series for the Cardinals.

Tuesday
Chris Carpenter (15-8, 3.09) vs. Jake Peavy (11-14, 4.09) in game 1 of the NLDS at Petco Park.

The game is being televised on ESPN and if you're in the St. Louis market, the game is also on CW-11. Chris Berman is doing play by play and color commentary is being provided by Orel Hershiser. Duke Castiglione is reporting from the sidelines.

Lineups
David Eckstein SS
Chris Duncan LF
Albert Pujols 1B
Jim Edmonds CF
Scott Rolen 3B
Juan Encarnacion RF
Ronnie Belliard 2B
Yadier Molina C
Chris Carpenter SP

I'm loving this lineup.

Pujols hit his 11th post-season home run. Edmonds made his long-awaited return to the cleanup position.

St. Louis 5, San Diego 1
Winning pitcher - Chris Carpenter (1-0)
HR: Albert Pujols (1)

Thursday
Jeff Weaver vs. David Wells. Same ESPN commentators from Tuesday afternoon's game. Boomer's a lefty so expect a lineup of mainly right-handed batters from Tony La Russa.

Lineups
David Eckstein SS
Preston Wilson LF
Albert Pujols 1B
Scott Rolen 3B
Juan Encarnacion RF
Jim Edmonds CF
Ronnie Belliard 2B
Yadier Molina C
Jeff Weaver SP

Well, how about that? Bruce Bochy is sure not having any luck playing my Cardinals. Weaver gives up two hits and the bullpen completely shuts them out! Jim Edmonds had his first start in a long time off of a lefty pitcher which was none other than David Wells. The Cardinals are 2-0 in the NLDS this postseason.

I have to say that I was very impressed with Jeff Weaver's performance. The only reason he started and not Jeff Suppan was due to the home/road splits.

St. Louis 2, San Diego 0
Winning pitcher - Jeff Weaver (1-0)
SV - Adam Wainwright (1)

Saturday
Jeff Suppan vs. Chris Young. The Cardinals are not taking anything for granted. It's game three. I'm in Reds country right now. You can be assured that I will be the LOUDEST Cardinal fan EAST of the Mississippi River. The Tigers are up 2-1 against the Yankees.

St. Louis 1, San Diego 3
Losing pitcher - Jeff Suppan (0-1)
HR: So Taguchi (1)

LIVEBLOG OF GAME 3 HERE

Sunday
Yep, we have a game 4 in the series as Bruce Bochy picks up his first postseason win against the Cardinals. Carpenter has the mound against former Cardinal teammate Woody Williams.

Lineup
David Eckstein SS
Preston Wilson LF
Albert Pujols 1B
Jim Edmonds CF
Juan Encarnacion RF
Ronnie Belliard 2B
Scott Spiezio 3B
Yadier Molina C
Chris Carpenter P

Cards vs. Brewers

Thursday
Jason Marquis (14-15, 5.80) starts against Doug Davis (10-11, 5.02).

Milwaukee 9, St. Louis 4
Losing pitcher - Jason Marquis (14-16)
HR: Scott Rolen (22), Preston Wilson (16)

Friday
Jeff Weaver (4-4, 5.21) starts against Chris Capuano (11-11, 3.87)

Milwaukee 5, St. Louis 10
Winning pitcher - Jeff Weaver (8-14)
HR: Albert Pujols (48), Preston Wilson (17)

Saturday
Televised nationally on FOX, Jeff Suppan (12-7, 4.18) starts against Ben Sheets (6-7, 4.05). Not so nationally thanks to local affiliates having contracts to air college football conference games. Spiezio had a game-winning triple!

Milwaukee 2, St. Louis 3
Winning pitcher - Tyler Johnson (2-4)
SV - Adam Wainwright (3)

Sunday
Unless the Cards clinch before Sunday, Carp (15-8, 3.09) starts against Carlos Villanueva (1-2, 3.97). As it turned out Reyes started instead.

Milwaukee 5, St. Louis 3
Losing pitcher - Anthony Reyes (5-8)
HR: Chris Duncan (22), Albert Pujols (49), Scott Spiezio (13)

Milestone watch:
Albert Pujols needs 7 6 5 home runs to tie Ken Boyer for 2nd on the Cardinals all-time home runs list with 255.
Jim Edmonds needs 1 home run to pass Ray Lankford for 4th all-time as a Cardinal.
Jason Isringhausen needs 1 saves for 250 career saves.
Albert Pujols has his sixth consecutive season with 100 runs, 100 RBI, 30 home runs, and at least a .300 batting average. He is the only player to do so in the first five seasons of a MLB career. Withe the season at an end, Pujols batted .331.

Cards vs. Padres

Wow, that was a depressing series against the Stros.

Walt Jocketty will be in the front office through 2008.

Monday
Jeff Suppan (12-7, 4.07) started against Mike Thompson, who replaced Boomer Wells as he got scratched.

Jim Edmonds played his first game in almost a month as he pinch hit with a 3 run home run. The home run moved him past Ray Lankford for 4th all time on the Cardinals all-time records for home runs.

San Diego 6, St. Louis 5
Losing pitcher - Brad Thompson (1-2)
HR: Chris Duncan (21), J. Edmonds (19)

Tuesday
Carp got the start against former Cardinal Woody Williams. The Cards faltered after getting a 5-2 lead thanks to Belliard's two home runs.

San Diego 7, St. Louis 5
Losing pitcher - Chris Carpenter (15-8)
HR: Ronnie Belliard (12, 13)

Wednesday
The Cards avoided the sweep. Reyes started. Albert hit a GW HR to set a career high in homers with 47 this season.

San Diego 2, St. Louis 4
Winning pitcher - Tyler Johnson (1-4)
SV - Adam Wainwright (2)

Is Jeff Luhnow going to be GM eventually?

The short season Class A is moving to Batavia, NY.

Jimmy Hollywood?

Milestone watch:
Albert Pujols needs 7 home runs to tie Ken Boyer for 2nd on the Cardinals all-time home runs list with 255.
Jim Edmonds needs 1 home run to pass Ray Lankford for 4th all-time as a Cardinal.
Jason Isringhausen needs 1 saves for 250 career saves.
Albert Pujols has his sixth consecutive season with 100 runs, 100 RBI, 30 home runs, and at least a .300 batting average. He is the only player to do so in the first five seasons of a MLB career. With less than a month to go in the season, Pujols is batting .329.

Cards vs. Astros

If you saw the P-D today, you know that Aaron Miles has been great at short stop and that Scott Spiezio wants to stay with the Cards. I agree that we need to keep Speezer.

Due to the Rosh HaShanah holiday, this blog will not be updated again this weekend, except for maybe a recap of today's game early tomorrow morning.

Thursday
Chris Carpenter (15-6, 2.79) takes on lefty pitcher Andy Pettitte (13-13, 4.37). Carp is looking for another strong outing to lock up those votes for his second consecutive Cy Young Award. This is Carp's fourth start against the Astros this season. In three starts this season, he's 1-1. In his career, he is 5-2 in ten starts with a 2.52 ERA. This season, Pettite is 2-0 in four starts against the Cards with a 4.43 ERA. In his career, Pettite is 3-1 in 8 starts with a 2.92 ERA.

St. Louis 5, Houston 6
Losing pitcher - Chris Carpenter (15-7)

Friday
Jason Marquis (14-15, 5.82) surprisingly takes a start on Friday night (Rosh HaShanah) against Jason Hirsch (3-4, 5.59). The question is: which Jason Marquis will show up against Houston? He's 2-2 this season in four starts against Houston. Two of those games were where he went 7 innings deep, giving up 1-2 runs. In 13 starts (5 relief appearances makes that 18 games), Marquis is 7-4 with a 4.88 ERA against the Astros in his career. Hirsh has not faced the Cardinals this season at all. Marquis ended up getting scratched and Chris Narveson picked up the start instead.

St. Louis 5, Houston 6
Losing pitcher - Braden Looper (9-3)
HR: Ronnie Belliard (11), Chris Duncan (19), David Eckstein (2)

Saturday
Anthony Reyes (5-7, 4.92) starts against Roy Oswalt (14-8, 3.05). Reyes is 0-0 in two starts against Houston this season. In four games (3 of those being starts), Oswalt is 2-1 against the Cardinals with a 1.93 ERA. Oswalt's sole loss against the Cards came in a relief appearance in the 10th inning on July 8, 2006, in which Brad Lidge blew the save and Pujols went yard for the Cardinals to win. In 17 starts (18 games) against us in his career, he is 7-5 with a 3.30 ERA. Marquis made the start instead.

St. Louis 4, Houston 7
Losing pitcher - Tyler Johnson (0-4)
HR: Chris Duncan (19)

Sunday
Jeff Weaver (4-4, 5.27) starts against Matt Albers (0-2, 6.00). Weaver is coming off an impressive start against the Brewers. Weaver will make his 2nd start of the season against the Astros. In his career, he is 2-3 in six starts against them with a 4.42 ERA. Albers makes his first start this season against the Cardinals.

St. Louis 3, Houston 7
Losing pitcher - Josh Hancock (3-3)

Milestone watch:
Albert Pujols needs 8 home runs to tie Ken Boyer for 2nd on the Cardinals all-time home runs list with 255.
Jim Edmonds needs 1 home run to pass Ray Lankford for 4th all-time as a Cardinal.
Jason Isringhausen needs 1 saves for 250 career saves.
Albert Pujols has his sixth consecutive season with 100 runs, 100 RBI, 30 home runs, and at least a .300 batting average. He is the only player to do so in the first five seasons of a MLB career. With less than a month to go in the season, Pujols is batting .329.

Cards vs. Brewers

Some nice quotes from Morris and Carp about Izzy were in the paper today.

San Francisco righthander Matt Morris, a longtime teammate, and Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter expressed disappointment with the news that Isringhausen will be out the rest of the season, if not beyond.

"All that he put into the game with this city and you kind of leave on a sour note ... it's too bad," Morris said.

Carpenter said, "At some point, enough's enough. He did everything he could. It was just not working out."

Speaking of class, here's a recap of the dinner with the Carpenters, Isringhausen and Morris's.

In a baseball rarity, the two starting pitchers for Saturday's game here -- the Cardinals' Chris Carpenter and San Francisco's Matt Morris -- went to dinner, along with their wives, Saturday night, joining injured relief ace Jason Isringhausen and his wife at a Clayton restaurant.

Inasmuch as Carpenter and the Cardinals beat the Giants 6-1 Saturday, Carpenter had most of the bragging rights. "He felt sorry for me," Morris said Sunday.

But Morris did connect for a double off Carpenter. "That was about the only thing I could mention," joked Morris, but it was an accomplishment that prompted passerby La Russa to chide Carpenter for allowing the hit and Morris, in turn, to chide the Cardinals' manager.

"It was 4-0 at the time," Morris said. "Otherwise, (La Russa) would have been slamming the phone and punching stuff."

Monday
Rookie pitcher Anthony Reyes (5-7, 5.03) takes the mound for the Cardinals against All-Star Chris Capuano (11-11, 3.66). Reyes makes his second start against the Brewers. In his career, he is 1-0 against them with 6 Ks and 3 ER through 5 IP. Capuano, who was 10-4 before the break, has struggled since the midseason classic. He's gone 1-7 with a 4.44 ERA since. In two starts against the Cards this year, he's 0-1. In his career, he's 4-2 in seven starts with a 5.05 ERA.

Lineup
So Taguchi CF
Preston Wilson LF
Albert Pujols 1B
Juan Encarnacion RF
Scott Rolen 3B
Ronnie Belliard 2B
Gary Bennett C
Aaron Miles SS
Anthony Reyes P

Reyes didn't do bad at all. Nine strikeouts and two earned runs. Pujols put up some MVP numbers with his three run home run in the 7th to keep the Cards in the game.

St. Louis 3, Milwaukee 4
Losing pitcher - Braden Looper (9-2)
HR: Albert Pujols (46)

Tuesday
Jason Marquis (14-15, 5.82) takes the mound against Ben Sheets (5-6, 4.08). Marquis is 1-0 in two starts this season against the Brewers. In his career, he's 4-5 in ten starts against the Brewers with a 3.74 ERA. Sheets is 4-12 in 19 starts against the Cardinals in his career so it's pretty safe to say that we own him. Against us, he has a 4.15 ERA while throwing three complete games (one SHO). This season, he's 0-1 against us but he only lastest one inning in his only start against us this season. Scratch Marquis, Jeff Weaver (3-4, 5.48) is now starting instead. In four games against the Brewers, he is 1-3 with a 4.55 ERA.

Lineup
Aaron Miles SS
Chris Duncan RF
Albert Pujols 1B
Scott Spiezio LF
Scott Rolen 3B
Ronnie Belliard 2B
So Taguchi CF
Yadier Molina C
Jeff Weaver P

Good thing that Marquis was bumped because this game was a great one. In a sad note, Bill Hall had to leave the game in the 6th inning with an undiclosed injury. In the 7th inning, the Cardinals batted around and scored 6 runs alone.

The in-game box score from the game.
Miles 4-6 with a run and 3 RBI
Duncan 2-5 with R and RBI
Pujols 2-5 with 2 RBI
Speezer 0-5 with a run
Rolen 1-4 with a run
Belliard 3-4 with 3 runs and RBI
So 1-4 with 2 runs and RBI
Molina 2-3 with 2 runs, 2 RBI, and an SB
Weaver 1-3 with RBI

St. Louis 12, Milwaukee 2
Winning pitcher - Jeff Weaver (7-14)
HR: Ronnie Belliard (10)

Wednesday
Jeff Suppan (12-7, 4.23) takes on Carlos Villanueva (1-1, 4.05). Suppan is 1-0 in three starts against the Brewers this season. Soup is 12-2 in 18 career starts against the Brewers with a 3.53 ERA. At Miller Park alone, he is 5-0 with a 2.05 ERA and has limited opponents to a .211 average. Villanueva is making his first start against the Cardinals.

Lineup
Aaron Miles SS
Chris Duncan LF
Albert Pujols 1B
Juan Encarnacion CF
Scott Spezio 3B
Preston Wilson RF
Ronnie Belliard 2B
Yadier Molina C
Jeff Suppan P

Soup had a great start. That said, offense didn't show up at all.

St. Louis 0, Milwaukee 1
Losing pitcher - Tyler Johnson (0-3)

Milestone watch:
Albert Pujols needs 8 home runs to tie Ken Boyer for 2nd on the Cardinals all-time home runs list with 255.
Jim Edmonds needs 1 home run to pass Ray Lankford for 4th all-time as a Cardinal.
Jason Isringhausen needs 1 saves for 250 career saves.
Albert Pujols has his sixth consecutive season with 100 runs, 100 RBI, 30 home runs, and at least a .300 batting average. He is the only player to do so in the first five seasons of a MLB career. With less than a month to go in the season, Pujols is batting .328.

USA Today on Albert Pujols

Mike Lopresti wrote this fine article.

We have here Albert Pujols' biography, and there must be a mistake. He's still only 26 years old? Hasn't he been driving in runs for the St. Louis Cardinals since dial telephones?

Ryan Howard was National League rookie of the year last season. He's 26. Dan Uggla will probably be rookie of the year this season. He's 26.

Pujols has been a phenom since ... forever, it seems. It is hard to remember the St. Louis Cardinals or the All-Star Game without him. And he's two months younger than Howard and two months older than Uggla.[...]

The thought occurs that if he stays healthy, and he stays hungry and he stays on task, one day Pujols might leave tire tracks all over the baseball annals.

What we have here is a young man in a hurry ... through the record books. It is not just his talent or his consistency that seems without restraint. It is where he might be headed with them.

Pujols has 246 career home runs.

Hank Aaron, the all-time leader, did not have 246 home runs at 26. (219 in 7 seasons)

Pujols has scored 735 runs.

Ricky Henderson, the all-time scorer, did not have 735 runs at 26. (632 in 7 seasons)

Pujols has 1,134 hits.

Pete Rose, the all-time hit collector, did not have 1,134 hits at 26. (799 in 5 seasons)

Pujols has 741 RBI, and should be near 750 by the end of the month.

Aaron, the all-time RBI man, did not have 750 at 26. (743 in 7 seasons)

Know the last time Pujols did not drive in 100 runs? When he played most of the season in Peoria. The pitchers of the major leagues have never stopped him. Have not come close. He has been more reliable than ticket price increases.

You wonder where the 401 players are who were drafted ahead of him in 1999.

So sometime next decade, they may have to save a lot of Albert Pujols' baseballs for Cooperstown. Meantime, he's busy trying to win another pennant and National League MVP.

Philadelphia's Howard is the main MVP challenger. His home run total is nearing the borders of Ruthville and Marisland. His RBI number can hardly be seen with the naked eye by the rest of the field.

But then, the Cardinals will win their division comfortably and everyone knows that without Pujols, they'd turn into the Milwaukee Brewers.

So a vote for Pujols would be no reason to blush, no matter how many rockets Howard hits.

He remains a pitcher's worst nightmare at the critical moment. Four times this season, Pujols has delivered walk-off winning hits. That makes 10 times the past four years.

Eighteen times this season, he has driven in the eventual winning run with a home run. The last guy to do better was Willie Mays, 44 years ago.

Pujols was out of the lineup for more than two weeks, and there are thoughts he has never felt completely healthy since. But he is second in the league in home runs, third in RBI, fifth in average. What would he be doing at 100%?

I italicized the numbers of what they had and how many seasons they played in which they were 26 or younger.

Also, closer Jason Isringhausen is done for the season.

Cards vs. Giants

The latest on Jason Isringhausen. One surgical option would mean that Izzy could no longer pitch and would have to retire.

Cardinals Care has exceeded $10 million.

Braden Looper knows what his role is.

The status of Jim Edmonds is still day to day.

If St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Jim Edmonds had a tape recorder, it would be in replay mode every day.

Edmonds repeated his familiar story Tuesday. He feels marginally better, but postconcussion syndrome symptoms remain, and there's no guarantee he will play again this season.

"I'm just going through my normal routine," Edmonds said before the Cardinals defeated the Houston Astros 6-5 on Albert Pujols' two-out, two-run double in the ninth. "I'll work on some stuff out there on the field and take some swings."

Edmonds also worked out Monday and felt fine. His main symptoms, headaches and dizziness, are growing less problematic every day.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said Edmonds has been cleared to play by doctors, but the team is waiting for Edmonds to tell them the symptoms have completely disappeared.

"I don't know if Jim knows (when he will play)," La Russa said. "I haven't seen the green light, and I don't expect it today or tomorrow. He's got the major input. They're his workouts. He's got to do full activity and not have symptoms."

Friday
Jeff Suppan (11-7, 4.25) takes the start for the Cards against Jason Schmidt (11-8, 3.45). Suppan, the #2 starter on the team, has not started against the Giants all season long. Soup is 5-2 with a 2.07 ERA in 11 starts since the All-Star Break. In his last four starts, Soup has given up only one earned run. IN Schmidt's last ten starts, he's gone 5-2 with a 4.26 ERA. He has not started against the Cards all season long. Schmidt was hurting and Brad Hennessey (5-4, 3.72) got the start instead.

Lineup:
Aaron Miles SS
Chris Duncan RF
Albert Pujols 1B
Scott Spiezio LF
Scott Rolen 3B
Juan Encarnacion CF
Ronnie Belliard 2B
Yadier Molina C
Jeff Suppan P

St. Louis 14, San Francisco 4
Winning pitcher - Jeff Suppan (12-7)
HR: Chris Duncan (17, 18), Scott Rolen (20, 21)

Saturday
2006 Cy Young winner Chris Carpenter (14-6, 2.84) takes the mound against his former teammate, and one of my favorite Cardinals of all-time, Matt Morris (10-13, 4.71). Morris is taking his second start against his old team, the first at new Busch Stadium. The last time he faced the Cards, Morris picked up a loss and Pujols went yard. Take a look at the box score though. Since his complete game against the Reds on August 25, Morris just hasn't been the same, giving up in 14 runs in 18 1/3 innings pitched. Carp, on the other hand, will prove that he deserves a second Cy Young Award this season. Carp is 1-0 with a 3.57 ERA in three career starts against the Giants. The loser of the game will be buying dinner.

Matt Morris said it's only fitting that his first return to St. Louis would pit him against one of his closest friends as a Cardinal. A Cardinals draft pick and a 20-game winner and now a San Francisco Giant, Morris will start today's game against Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter. The two became fast friends when Carpenter joined the club because they shared traits, "silly things in common," Morris said.

"Both stunk at playing the guitar; both wives were vegetarians," Morris explained. "He's a Northeastern guy, played hockey. I played a little hockey. I was more pond hockey. He's like an All-American."

At stake is Carpenter's 100th career win, a stepping stone in the pursuit of a second Cy Young Award. Advertisement

And something between the friends.

"Loser," Morris said, "is going to buy dinner."

In other news, Eckstein has been cleared and is available to pinch hit.

Lineup:
Aaron Miles SS
Chris Duncan RF
Albert Pujols 1B
Scott Spiezio LF
Scott Rolen 3B
Juan Encarnacion CF
Ronnie Belliard 2B
Yadier Molina C
Chris Carpenter P

Aaron Miles seems like he is fighting for the SS position as of late with two triples today. The Cardinals took an early lead in the first inning against former Cardinal Matt Morris. Chris Carpenter went 7 IP, striking out 9, walking 2, and giving up 5 hits and one run. The run came as a result of Juan missing the ball in the outfield, otherwise it would have been a shut out. Carp picks up his 100th career win and former Card Matt Morris will be buying him dinner today. Albert Pujols had a big game going 4-4 with a double, 3 runs and an RBI. I just looked at the all-time franchise stats, Pujols is now in the top 10 for franchise RBI. I'll have post on that later. Rolen is breaking out of a slump, going 2-4 with two RBIs.

St. Louis 6, San Francisco 1
Winning pitcher - Chris Carpenter (15-6)

Sunday
Jeff Weaver takes the mound against Jonathan Sanchez. Weaver is 0-3 with a 6.48 ERA at Busch Stadium. His last start could have been a win, if it had not been for a few hits on Tuesday evening. He started against the Giants in June when he was still with the Angels.

Due to rain, the game was postponed and will likely not be made up.

Milestone watch:
Albert Pujols needs 9 home runs to tie Ken Boyer for 2nd on the Cardinals all-time home runs list with 255.
Jim Edmonds needs 1 home run to pass Ray Lankford for 4th all-time as a Cardinal.
Jason Isringhausen needs 1 saves for 250 career saves.
Albert Pujols has his sixth consecutive season with 100 runs, 100 RBI, 30 home runs, and at least a .300 batting average. He is the only player to do so in the first five seasons of a MLB career. With less than a month to go in the season, Pujols is batting .323.

Carp to miss start if Cards clinch

I don't blame Tony for this one. We'll need him in the playoffs. In other news, he's the first pitcher since 1987 to have at least two seasons of three complete game shut outs at home.

Chris Carpenter's shutout Monday night was his third of the season, and all have been at Busch Stadium. It is his second consecutive season with three home shutouts. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Carpenter is the first pitcher with three home shutouts in successive seasons since Roger Clemens did it with the Red Sox in 1987 (four) and 1988 (three).

Also, in Bruce Sutter news:

The Cardinals will officially retire Bruce Sutter's No. 42 jersey with pregame ceremonies Sunday. Sutter, the Cardinals' 1982 World Series closer, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in July. Sutter, Whitey Herzog and Bob Forsch are expected to be in attendance.

Colby Rasmus led all Cardinal minor league players with 85 RBIs. The PD takes a look at all the teams, breakout players, disappointments, best player, and best pitchers.

Carp has some impressive home starts this season. In 15 home starts, he's 7-3 with 4 complete games, 3 of those shutouts. In 110 innings pitched at home, he's given up 80 hits, walked 18, and struck out 76. He's given up 18 ER (7 home runs) and has a very nice ERA of 1.47 with a 0.89 whip. The batting average against him is .201. In his next start, he should pick up career win #100.