SB Nation - Brian Barden

Cardinals Send Mark DeRosa to 15-Day DL

Matt Buggenhagen — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:42:42 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - ASSOCIATED PRESS

Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) - The St. Louis Cardinals are placing newly acquired utilityman Mark DeRosa on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 1, because of a strained left wrist.

The Cardinals also announced before Tuesday night's game at Milwaukee that infielder Brian Barden and outfielder Nick Stavinoha are being recalled from Triple-A Memphis. St. Louis is sending infielder Tyler Greene to Memphis.

DeRosa, acquired last month from the Cleveland Indians, was injured during a June 30 game. He got off to a stuttering start with the Cardinals, going 0 for 9 in three games after batting .270 with 13 homers and 50 RBIs with Cleveland.

Barden batted .238 with four home runs and 10 RBIs in 51 games for the Cardinals this season, earning top NL rookie honors in April. Stavinoha batted .234 with one homer and 13 RBIs in 27 games with St. Louis this season.

Ouch! Already, not a good sign for the Cardinals.

Beavers in the Pros Update, Part 1: MLB and AAA

Jake Bertalotto — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:00:19 -0000

More photos » by Manuel Balce Ceneta - AP

5 months ago: Boston Red Sox's Jacoby Ellsbury hits a single during the second inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Tuesday, June 23, 2009, in Washington. Red Sox won 11-3. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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Today we are talking a general look at how former OSU baseball players are doing in the minor leagues. We'll start by taking a look at players who are either in Triple-A or the Major Leagues, then move on to Double-A and Single-A.

Andy Baldwin is 5-4 in 14 starts this season with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers. This is now his second year in Triple-A, and he has yet to get the call to the major leagues like many of his teammates. His ERA is currently at 4.81, and he's struck out 49 batters in 82 innings. Two weeks ago, Baldwin got to start in PGE Park against the Beavers in front of family and friends... he allowed three runs, seven hits and one walk over seven innings for the win.

Brian Barden is back in the minor leagues after a short but somewhat fruitful stint with the St. Louis Cardinals. In the month of April with the Cards, Barden hit .385 in 21 games, with 19 of them coming at third base. For his efforts, he received National League Rookie of the Month honors. But when May rolled around, things changed for Brian. His batting average fell to .235 during the month, and when the Cardinals needed help in the bullpen to get ready for interlague play, Brian was the one sent down. Known for his defense, Brian seemed to be providing much more than the coaching staff was looking for with his stellar offense in April. Barden is currently hitting .205 with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds in 39 at-bats. Kenji Johjima

Jamie Burke is in the major leagues with the Seattle Mariners... for now. After a stint as back-up catcher to Kenji Johjima last season, Burke was again called up when Kenji broke his big toe earlier this month. However, Burke struggled offensively in eight starts while Johjima was gone, and currently carries a .122 batting average. Rob Johnson was also called up from Tacoma after Burke began to struggle, and has been playing the majority of innings in front of Burke. Johjima is expected to return to the Mariners today, which means Jaime is likely headed back to Tacoma.

Jacoby Ellsbury continues to shine in Boston, although Terry Francona is still trying to find a role for the Madras, Ore. native. Ellsbury had been hitting in the leadoff spot before he recently dropped to No. 7 because he wasn't getting on base enough. But since the switch, Ellsbury's on base percentage is up near .500, and his average is above .300. In Tuesday's series opener against the Nationals, Ellsbury went 4-for-4 with a walk. Right now, it seems like the Red Sox are trying to not change Jacoby, and let him be what he is. If the number seven spot works best, they should be happy to leave him there.

Cole Gillespie is well into his Triple-A career after making the jump from the Single-A Brevard County Manatees to the Nashville Sounds at the beginning of the season. After just 12 games with the Manatees, Cole was hitting .349. He is since hitting .223 in 56 games with Nashville, putting his combined batting average at .248.

Eddie Kunz is still engaged in a lengthy audition to be the eighth inning set-up guy for the Mets, but he still has some kinks to work out. Kunz has struggled against lefties for some time-- righties are hitting .157 against him, while lefties are hitting .265. Scouts are worried that his "violent" delivery will damper his control, which means that he could be used only situationally in the big leagues against right handed hitters. He currently has a 4-2 record with the Buffalo Bisons, and has a 2.48 ERA.

Aaron Matthews has methodically moved his way through the Blue Jays' minor league system, and is now playing with the Triple-A Las Vegas 51's of the Pacific Coast League. The John Day, Ore. native is currently batting .280 with the 51's in his fifth year as a professional baseball player. Matthews is a fan favorite in Las Vegas due to the effort he displays in the outfield and behind the plate.

Mark McLemore is back with the Triple-A Round Rock Express after reconstructive elbow surgery kept him off of the mound for two years. He's 1-3 since his return on June 1 with a 4.21 ERA.

--Jake (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)

Gee, but it's nice to see you again

DanUpBaby — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:15:08 -0000

More photos » by Tom Gannam - AP

And I missed it.

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To be honest, I think I ended up with a pretty good week to be severed from the Cardinals—which isn't to say I didn't spend far too much time over the last several days scrolling down a 2.4 inch screen for news and score updates. Since I've been incognito, beginning on the sixth, they've gone 3-6. The hitters have been awful at every possible facet of hitting, save for their shiny SB%, and they've been partnered with a pitching staff that remains stuck on uninspiring.

But I'm not quite back in the saddle—I'm catching up in big, iconic chunks, like a movie shut-in. So let's take those, in no particular order—

THE DRAFT

I'm not sure what Shelby Miller would have to do for me to be disappointed with this draft before he takes the mound [fictional-conceit ed.: not sign], but in the early going this draft seems like the one the Cardinals have earned after several years of putting pennies into the polished-role-player jar. The Cardinals have taken enough responsible Nick Stavinohas and Lance Lynns and Shane Robinsons to put themselves in a position to bet the farm on a high schooler they'll have to pay above slot, or use their second rounder—in a draft without a supplemental pick to their name—on Robert Stock, a guy whose value, on either side of the battery, is tied up to an un-Cardinals-like degree in his future projectability.

As the red baron noted after draft day,

They've built up some real depth at several positions, and the impact of a single miss at this point isn't going to make or break the system.

That's good to see on its own; it's even better to see that the Cardinals have acted upon it.

P.S.: Can you even remember the last time the Cardinals had a guy whose future-ace credentials weren't shrouded in mid-rotation hedging? Anthony Reyes came out of nowhere and was dogged by arm injuries that had creeped up on him in school; Dan Haren, who turned out to be a future ace, didn't have the knockout pitch that the people who bestow future-acedom on pitching prospects like to see. Most of the early-draft pitching prospects of recent years—Mortensen, Ottavino, Lambert—were either born to be third starters or struggled with command from day one. The last future ace, in the swaggering, strikeout-throwing tradition, was...

BLAKE HAWKSWORTH

Seriously? They finally bring up my pet prospect of five years and his major league debut occurs while I am in a car in the middle of Ohio? I don't even know what to think about that.

After I got back I watched a little of his debut on MLB.TV; he seems particularly ill-suited for the bullpen, but he had good command aside from the Worst Curveball Ever to Clint Barmes and his changeup was as swing-and-missable as advertised. Above all I'm just glad that a name as good as Blake Hawksworth is forever immortalized in the baseball encyclopedia, ready to be pressed into service as a rich but dangerously irresponsible old-money heir in a detective novel at a moment's notice.

HITTING

The Cardinals haven't been doing it, and at this point I think it's probably too much to ask for them to bounce back very far in the direction of the lofty expectations we had after a fine offseason and an excellent April. But at the same time there's a very faint optimism to be derived from a look at the position players. It's all locked up in the buts that follow all the worst-case scenarios the Cardinals are currently plumbing: Chris Duncan might not be right after all, but certainly at least one of the Cardinals' fearsome foursome of outfielders will manage a final OPS over .800; Skip Schumaker's had an awful month but he's better than his year-to-date, and if he isn't his UZR-busting defense—now up from its early-season -30 runs per 150 games to -25!—will spend less time haunting Cardinals pitching.

Colby Rasmus has become the Cardinals' second best hitter far too soon, to say the least. But the team's current hitting is still not representative of the team's true talent so much as its worst possible self.

KHALIL GREENE SUPPLANTS I DON'T KNOW AT THIRD

I expected a lot more out of Greene than the younger brother's half of a third base platoon, but at this point in the season this would count as a ringing success. This is a tough move to analyze; first you have to assume that Khalil's psychological issues, serious enough to land him on the DL, have a significant bearing on the way he'll perform as a third baseman and a hitter when he comes back. Second you have to assume that, given the surprisingly quick way Greene was turned over to a rehab assignment, and the scant information available about his DL stint and the underlying problem, we don't know enough about his psychological issues to use them to evaluate his chances as a major league baseball player. To think about Greene you have to accept that his anxiety is an important issue, and the ignore it.

With that in mind, this seems like an efficient, if uninspiring, use of the Cardinals' resources. Right now they have three shortstops with uncertain hitting prospects, and two of them are by all accounts outstanding defensive shortstops. Right now they have zero third basemen, and the guy who's standing there in the meantime is a left-handed hitter. Greene is by no means definitely a better hitter than Brian Barden, and his time at third base is limited to this rehab assignment and some time there in college. But to paraphrase an early episode of Family Guy, Brian Barden is Brian Barden, a substandard hitter with a good glove, but Khalil Greene could be anything—he could even be Brian Barden!

The off chance that the Khalil Greene who shows up at third is the one who hit the cover off the ball in college, or even the one who left the cover on the ball but hit pretty well, thank you, in San Diego, is worth more to this team than a known quantity. This isn't a lineup in need of a patch like Barden, who won't make mistakes and might even get on base every so often. It's a lineup desperate enough that a guy who hasn't been a difference-making hitter since 2004 makes sense as a last-chance replacement for Troy Glaus.

Thanks to Larry and the front page staff, who more than made up for my absence. More catching up in time for the game thread, at which point I will be very happily stepping back into present tense.

Albert and the 7 Dwarfs

chuckb — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:22:36 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

This guy's the only one the Cards' offense has been able to depend on this season. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

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Here are some random facts about the Cards’ offense:

Since Rick Ankiel was hurt last season, around July 27, he’s hitting .203 w/ an OBP of .290. His SLG over that time is a paltry .357 making his OPS just .647. This is over his last 207 PAs – not an inconsequential total. It’s about a third of a season’s worth of PAs.
Cardinal third basemen are hitting .236/.314/.352 so far this season.
Cardinal outfielders are hitting just .249/.312/.426 so far this season.
Cardinal cleanup hitters are hitting just .211/.293/.376. They’ve hit 9 HR in 243 PAs.
The 6th place hitters in the Cards’ lineup are hitting .205/.282/.327 so far this season. 9th place hitters are hitting .208/.280/.270. In essence, we have pitchers batting twice in every rotation in our lineup.
No one on the team has swung at the first pitch more than Joe Thurston. That’s surprising to me. He’s hitting .241/.241/.379 when swinging at the first pitch.
With 2 outs and runners in scoring position, the Cards are hitting .226/.324/.319. That’s right, w/ 2 outs and runners in scoring position, our OBP is higher than our slugging %.
In the first inning, the Cards are hitting .221/.307/.380 which crushes the team’s performance in the 2nd inning -- .183/.233/.267. The team’s OPS in the 2nd inning is .500 and its OPS+ relative to the rest of the league (avg. = 100) is 37. In the first 3 innings, the team’s OPS+ relative to the rest of the league is 77 – 23% below league average.
When facing a starting pitcher the first time through the order, the team is hitting .200/.268/.316 for an sOPS+ of 64.
Chris Duncan’s OPS is now lower than Joe Thurston’s.
Brian Barden is hitting .235/.290/.388. Why hasn’t he been sent to Memphis to be replaced by Allen Craig, Jon Jay, or Joe Mather. I know that none of them are exactly crushing the ball at Memphis but they all have more potential at the plate than Barden does. In fact, their potential is greater than Stavinoha’s as well.
Since April 29, Yadi is hitting .196/.287/.255. He has just 2 XBH (both homers) over those 31 games.
Only 3 NL teams have a lower BB rate than the Cards’ 9.2%.
Only 4 NL teams have a lower OBP than the Cards’ .327.
Surprisingly, the Cards’ are in the middle of the pack (7th in the NL) in homers.
The Cards’ line drive % (18.5%) is 2nd to last in the NL.
Only 2 NL teams have swung at a higher % of pitches outside the strike zone than the Cards have.
Only the Giants (in the NL) have swung at a higher % of pitches than the Cards. We swing at damned near everything.
In terms of wRAA, Albert has produced 26.0. Tyler Greene’s at 1.6 and Rasmus has 1.1. Ludwick’s at 0.6 and Thurston’s at 0.5 wRAA. Every other Cardinal hitter’s wRAA is negative, meaning that these 5 hitters are the only ones who’ve produced at an above average rate. And you can see that Albert’s production dwarfs the entire rest of the team’s.

The lineup really ought to be called Albert and the 7 Dwarfs, except for the fact that Rasmus seems to really be turning into a hitter. I think Ludwick will come around as well so maybe soon it can be Albert, Colby, and Ryan and the 4 Dwarfs. Day game ahead. Game thread goes up around 1:00.

Theoretically we could just move Who to third, but I Don't Know

DanUpBaby — Fri, 29 May 2009 11:00:40 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

You and me both, man. You and me both.

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Once the trade talk begins it's tough to put it back into the tube—players who were just plain old average last week, faces in the Baseball Tonight crowd, become targets the next. To Adrian Beltre, the Best Case Scenario, and Mark DeRosa, Mr. Too Sensible to Happen, I briefly add two more boring choices: Kevin Kouzmanoff and Joe Crede. I've never been more excited about dinged-up third basemen with OBP issues.

Kouzmanoff is one of those guys who might have peaked in the minor leagues—as a 24 year-old in the Cleveland system he split time between AA and AAA (the pitching friendlier International League) and hit a combined .379/.437/.656, setting Travis Hafner fans' hearts aflutter. After that 2006 season the Indians turned him into Josh Barfield, who proceeded to fall off the face of the earth after his broad-based rookie year, and the Padres prepared for a big rookie season—he was 25 and considered major league ready—that never came.

In 2007 and 2008 he was basically an average hitter, which is not an attractive proposition when playing in Petco Park, and in 2009 he's joined Adrian Beltre in struggling mightily. But he's just about average defensively—the Fielding Bible and UZR peg him within five runs on opposite sides—and haven't the Cardinals earned, at this point, a he's-leaving-Petco-behind move that succeeds? (Kouzmanoff's home/away split is .690/.783, for what it's worth; there's that Petco effect again, poised to disappoint.)

Provided that his awful start to 2009 is a slump, and not the early signs of a long-term battle with anxiety, Kouzmanoff is a perfect gap-plugger; he's average all the way around, and while he lacks Adrian Beltre's upside prospect watchers will not soon forget that he hit .333 and .379 over the course of two minor league seasons.

His vices and virtues aside, we do know that the Kouz is on the trading block; the Padres are at the part of their fire sale where they offer $2.99 gasoline for three years, having moved from entertaining offers about Peavy to salary-dumping Jody Gerut in about a month, and Kouzmanoff, vaguely average, hitting his prime right now, is best utilized as a complimentary piece on a much better team. As an added bonus, the Cardinals would be prying him right out of the hands of the Bear-Cubs, who[se local sportswriters] are looking to make him the Harry Steinfeldt portion of their Sad Lexicon.

Joe Crede is more directly the poor man's Adrian Beltre; he's nearly as virtuosic with the glove, and similarly frustrating with the bat. But where Beltre frustrates in his inability to smash another 48 home runs, and has reeled off a few above-average seasons since, Joe Crede's halcyon days involved an OBP of .323 and 150 games played. Since then he's missed lots of pitches and wide swaths of season, caused by a fundamental lack of plate discipline and serious back problems repaired surgically, respectively.

But right now Crede's a member of the Twins, who are still just a few games off the division pace and are probably too busy riding Joe Mauer's visit to Ted Williamsburg to sell off starters for whom they have no immediate replacement. That said, should they struggle he'll be a prime target—he's on a one year contract, and his gimpy back means that he's most valuable to a team that isn't counting on him for 2010.

Unless the Cardinals can lure one of these prospective candidates to San Francisco in time for the sleep-addling 9:15 start, though, the options are a little more pedestrian: Joe Thurston and Brian Barden, who, for all their troubles, are still fighting for league average OPSes. Thurston, in particular, confuses me—the wrap on him throughout his career, the one that cut off his tenure as the top prospect in the Dodgers organization, was that he had no secondary skills to go with his high batting average.

Now, two months into the season, he's hitting .246/.353/.404, which is more Jack Cust than Juan Pierre. In May he's gone Full Branyan, .217/.338/.400. He—or Oquendo—thinks too much of his speed on the basepaths, and he shouldn't be playing third base every day, or even every other day. But he's earned his spot on the 25-man roster. May's been less charitable for Barden, who's down to .130/.200/.239 and who has actually played more this month than last, in spite of that stretch where he was the bench's invisible answer to Brad Thompson.

Meanwhile, that off day meant that we had plenty of time to prepare for Ludwick Day, the feast day on our holy calendar that marks the beginning of a period in which Albert Pujols is not intentionally walked twice a day. And with what did the P-D mark this occasion? Palm fronds? Candles? How about a momentary speculation about the end of Khalil Greene speculation?

The club remained in what one club official called a "fact-gathering" mode Thursday regarding the issues confronting shortstop Khalil Greene and possible responses to those issues. Mozeliak and manager Tony La Russa likely will discuss how to proceed tonight. Greene is struggling with an anxiety-related condition that increasingly weighs on his on-field performance. After projecting consecutive starts for the club's most significant off-season acquisition, La Russa reconsidered Wednesday against the Milwaukee Brewers and instead met with his player at length after leaving him out of the lineup.

I can't wait for some kind of resolution, however preliminary it may be, because at this point Khalil Greene's presence on the roster is impossible to analyze. Either the anxiety problems don't weigh on his performance, and have been extrapolated too readily from unclear wording in newspaper articles, or he's just not ready to play; even if it's something in between his presence on the roster doesn't make much sense until we know what the Cardinals know.

If nothing else, I hope that tomorrow, or in the next few days, we move from this state of total uncertainty. Pragmatically it's important because the Cardinals have hamstrung their bench already, with a sore outfielder and a long reliever. But really I just want to know that Khalil and the Cardinals have a plan to deal with a problem that's most frightening in its vagueness.

NL-Only League Trade Part 3: How Did I Do?

raygu — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:30:12 -0000

More photos » by Tom Gannam - AP

6 months ago: St. Louis Cardinals' Rick Ankiel slides into second with a double as Kansas City Royals shortstop Willie Bloomquist waits for the late throw in the sixth inning of a baseball game Sunday, May 24, 2009, in St. Louis.(AP Photo/Tom Gannam)

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To follow up my two previous trade posts, on Friday I finalized a deal that was discussed for approximately two weeks.

The previous trade offer l I discussed here was about trading Juan PIerre and Ryan Franklin for Jay Bruce and Joel Piniero. Well, Bruce was dealt elsewhere, and I decided to keep Pierre for the SBs.

Here is the deal that I agreed to: I traded Emilio Bonifacio and Ryan Franklin for Brian Barden, Joel Pineiro and Rick Ankiel.

I am not high on Bonifacio, as he is more of a Juan Pierre type player with a much lower AVG. With Tonly LaRussa as manager of the Cardinals, and Jason Motte and Chris Perez breathing down his neck, Franklin could be pulled from the closer spot with a few blown saves.

In return, I get another power hitter in Ankiel, and another starter in Pineiro. Barden was thrown in so that both rosters would be whole when the trade was accepted. With Ankiel coming off the DL on Sunday, I will drop Barden. As for saves, I have Huston Street, LaTroy Hawkins and Joel Hanrahan. Not great, but they fill the role. Plus, Motte is a free agent in this league, so I can always grab him should Jose Valverde return in June.

Which side of the deal do you like more?

Poll

Which side of the deal do you like more?

Raygu's. Ankiel is the best player in the deal, and Piniero has pitched well this season.

14 votes

The other side. Franklin is the only solid closer you have, and the Marlins are preparing for another fire sale.

22 votes

36 votes | Poll has closed

The Marshall-Wainwright Rematch: Cubs vs. Cardinals, Thursday 5/21, 7:15 CT

Al — Thu, 21 May 2009 22:15:10 -0000

More photos » by Tom Gannam - AP

No more scenes like this tonight, please.

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Peavy? What Peavy? There's a game tonight! (But if you really want more Peavy, here's Barry Rozner's take. It seems likely that Peavy will make his scheduled start against the Cubs tomorrow night.

Now, back to the current series. The Cardinals have played 40 games and the Cubs 38 -- both fewer than one-quarter of their season. Yet, tonight's will be the ninth game between the two teams -- almost a quarter of the schedule.

That makes for rematches; these two pitchers hooked up on April 16 at Wrigley Field. Marshall pitched fairly well and left the game when it was tied -- the bullpen blew it. Both pitchers have faced tonight's opponent on another occasion this year, so they ought to be well familiar with the lineups.

I liked the word Lou Piniella used to describe what some Cardinals fans did as Lou walked back to the team hotel on Tuesday night:

Piniella said he was "razzled" by some Cardinals fans who recognized him, but fortunately there was no confrontation like the one he had with a loudmouth fan at Wrigley Field last weekend.

"Razzled". Lou's getting kind of Casey Stengel-ish with the English language.

Notes: Rick Ankiel won't be activated from the DL today.

Today's Starting Pitchers


Sean Marshall Cubs	vs.	Adam Wainwright Cardinals

2-2	W-L	3-2
4.02	ERA	3.83
20	SO	40
10	BB	23
4	HR	6
vs. StL	--	vs. Cubs

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Sean Marshall	2-2	8	5	0	0	0	0	31.1	32	14	14	4	10	20	4.02	1.34

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Adam Wainwright	3-2	12	8	0	0	0	0	49.1	46	24	21	6	23	40	3.83	1.40

I had nearly forgotten that Adam Wainwright used to be a reliever, but his record vs. the Cubs -- 17 appearances, only 8 starts -- reminds us that he spent a full year in the Cardinals' bullpen. His record vs. the Cubs is 2-3 with a 5.47 ERA, which has actually come down with the two decent starts he's had against them this year. Tonight might be a good time to rest Derrek Lee, who has hit only .211 (4-for-19) vs. Wainwright, who has walked 23 batters in 49 innings. It would be a really, really good idea to just wait him out -- unlike what the Cubs have done the last two nights.

Sean Marshall holds his own against virtually the entire Cardinal lineup, even Albert Pujols, who is 4-for-18 (all singles) against him. Only Brian Barden, who is 4-for-4, has hit him well. The Cardinals generally struggle vs. lefties and the Cubs have pitched well against St. Louis in this series. Keep up the good work, Sean; if he pitches well, Lou will have a tough decision to make regarding who to keep in the rotation (Marshall or Randy Wells) when Carlos Zambrano returns tomorrow.

There is national coverage again tonight, this time on the MLB Network, for those of you not in the St. Louis or Chicago areas, where it is on the local cable outlets. Usually, MLBN picks up one of the two teams' local coverage -- we'll see if they use Len & Bob. For today's other games see the MLB.com Mediacenter.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Overflow comment threads will post today at 8:15 pm, 9:15 pm and 10 pm CDT.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Phillies vs. Cardinals: May 4-5

Matt Swartz — Mon, 04 May 2009 03:01:50 -0000

The Phillies (12-10) take on the Cardinals (17-8) for two games in St. Louis before heading back east to face the Mets in New York. The Cardinals have been fantastic thus far this year, only just behind the Dodgers (18-8) for the best record in the NL. This has been a mixture of solid hitting and good pitching. They have not been overly dominant and they certainly aren't going to win 100 games this year, but they have been solid nonetheless. Monday pits the two Phillies' recent successful midseason starting pitching acquisitions against each other, Joe Blanton and Kyle Lohse. Lohse got away after the 2007 season, and has been successful with the Cardinals since then, finally earning himself the large deal he was seeking after a solid 2008. On Tuesday night, Brett Myers takes on Adam Wainwright. Myers has struggled with the long ball thus far this year, but has shown signs of dominance at times. Wainwright has been good so far in 2009, and will be another formidable opponent for the Phillies this year.

The Phillies "walk" into St. Louis looking to start a winning streak! (via pompomflipflop)

MATCHUPS:

Monday 8:15: Joe Blanton vs. Kyle Lohse
Tuesday 8:15: Brett Myers vs. Adam Wainwright

The player by player splits, as always, are after the jump.

CARDINALS

LINEUP

The Cardinals have the best hitter in baseball in the three hole of their lineup. Pujols is off to another phenomenal start this season. There is no one else especially good in the Cardinals lineup, but they are all solid hitters otherwise. Ankiel provides power from the left side in the two hole, and Ludwick provides power from the right side in the four hole. Neither are major power hitters, but both will hit quite a few balls out of the park this season. Chris Duncan is also a pretty good left handed hitter in the five hole. He struggles against lefties though.

(1) 2B Skip Schumaker (L): .266/.317/.329

proj: .290/.345/.395
bb: 7.5%
k: 12.5%
gb: 58%
iff: 5%
ifh: 4%
babip: projected high (.315-.320) but I see no reason why this would be true. more likely to be around .305 or so with low infield fly rate
s/c/z: average eye and distinctly above average contact, sees a lot of strikes
r/l: .813 vs .487 ops; 1.2 vs 1.8 k/bb
h/a: .740 vs .758 ops
p/o: spreads ball all around
other:

(2) CF Rick Ankiel (L): .253/.326/.405

proj: .260/.325/.485
bb: 8%
k: 23%
gb: 39%
iff: 15%
ifh: 8%
babip: around .280, definitely below average as he swings at a lot of balls out of the zone and hits a lot of infield flies; does well on line drives
s/c/z: swings at a lot of pitches without a very good eye, makes below average contact, and therefore pitched around a lot
r/l: .824 vs .753 ops; 2.3 vs 5.2 k/bb
h/a: .853 vs .746
p/o: pulls nearly everything; rarely hits other way
other: relatively better against groundball pitchers and finesse pitchers

(3) 1B Albert Pujols (R): .356/.468/.724

proj: .330/.430/.610
bb: 15%
k: 11%
gb: 41%
iff: 14%
ifh: 6%
babip: hits the ball very hard but he does pop up a lot. even still he hits about .320 on balls in play
s/c/z: very good eye, very good contact, sees a lot more strikes than other superstars
r/l: 1.040 vs 1.086 ops; 0.8 vs 0.5 k/bb; pretty similar power vs. both
h/a: 1.059 vs 1.044 ops; 0.6 vs 0.8 k/bb
p/o: definite pull hitter
other: obscenely good against starters the 3rd time around vs the SP (1.194 career)

(4) RF Ryan Ludwick (R): .280/.310/.549

proj: .270/.350/.510
bb: 9%
k: 27%
gb: 30%
iff: 12%
ifh: 6%
babip: projected around .320; seems to have historically very high babip on groundballs but not particularly fast; maybe he hits hard groundballs-- it does seem to be a statistically significant (or close to it) different from average
s/c/z: good eye but swings a lot; slightly below average contact; sees a lot of contact
r/l: .899 vs .794 ops; 2.9 vs 2.6 k/bb
h/a: .902 vs .822; 2.5 vs 3.1 k/bb
p/o: definite pull hitter
other: none

(5) LF Chris Duncan (L): .312/.413/.558

proj: .260/.350/.455
bb: 12%
k: 27%
gb: 41%
iff: 12%
ifh: 4%
babip: projected above average, seems about average in all ways despite slightly above average historical babip
s/c/z: good eye and pretty selective, slightly below average contact
r/l: .909 vs .627 ops; 1.7 vs 4.7 k/bb
h/a: .789 vs .919; 2.1 vs 1.9 k/bb
p/o: pull hitter
other: much better against finesse pitchers and struggles a lot against power pitchers

(6) C Yadier Molina (R): .329/.393/.481

proj: .270/.330/.370
bb: 7.5%
k: 9%
gb: 46%
iff: 11%
ifh: 4%
babip: projected around .285; makes sense considering he doesn't have much power but has a good eye and a high groundball rate
s/c/z: good eye but swings a lot; very good contact rate; sees a lot of strikes
r/l: .657 vs .749 ops; 1.5 vs 0.8 k/bb
h/a: .687 vs .682 ops; 0.8 vs 1.8 k/bb
p/o: slight pull hitter
other: none

(7) SS Khalil Greene (R): .215/.329/.338

proj: .250/.305/.430
bb: 6%
k: 21%
gb: 35%
iff: 10%
ifh: 5%
babip: below average because he doesn't hit ball far so weak on flyballs
s/c/z: average all around
r/l: .723 vs .749 ops; 3.6 vs 1.7 k/bb
h/a: .659 vs .799 ops; 2.6 vs 3.3 k/bb (low babip at home and much less power in career-- he played in san diego through 2008 so that's why)
p/o: definite pull hitter
other: none

(8) 3B Joe Thurston (L): .279/.362/.443

proj: .270/.325/.390
bb: 6%
k: 14%
gb: 40% (though about 50% in minors)
iff: 36% (extremely high, nearly 20% in minors even)
ifh: 0%
babip: projected above average, but given popup rate, that seems optimistic.
s/c/z: bad eye and hacks a lot, slightly below average contact
r/l: .620 vs 1.089 (120 vs 19 PA); in minors last 4 years combined .813 vs .728 ops
h/a: typical in minors
p/o: pull hitter
other: none

BENCH

The Cardinals only carry four guys on the bench. Colby Rasmus, the Cardinals top prospect, is a solid hitting LHB and a threat off the bench. The other three guys are poor hitters. The Cardinals starting 8 will pretty much have to do the damage. The three non-Rasmus hitters are all RHB.

C Jason LaRue (R): .455/.538/.455

proj: .210/.290/.330
bb: 9%
k: 25%
gb: 42%
iff: 12%
ifh: 8%
babip:
s/c/z: good eye but swings a lot, bad contact
r/l: .721 vs .715 ops; 3.2 vs 3.1 k/bb
h/a: .696 vs .742; 3.2 k/bb both ways
p/o: pull hitter
other: none

IF Tyler Greene (R): .111/.111/.111

proj: unprojected
bb: 6% in AA/AAA last year
k: 27% in AA/AAA last year
gb: 50% in AA/AAA last year
iff: 13% in AA/AAA last year
ifh: ?
babip: not enough info
s/c/z: not enough info
r/l: similar ops; 6.2 vs 3.4 k/bb in AA/AAA
h/a: not enough info
p/o: not enough info
other: none

IF Brian Barden (R): .349/.396/.581

proj: .255/.310/.375
bb: 7%
k: 21%
gb: 46%
iff: 8%
ifh: 0%
babip: projected about average
s/c/z: about average all around
r/l: .754 vs .668 ops in 60 PA vs 32 PA
h/a: not enough info
p/o: spreads ball around
other: none

OF Colby Rasmus (L): .270/.365/.365

proj: .245/.310/.405
bb: 10%
k: 21%
gb: 35%
iff: 9%
ifh: 19% (in 16 GB)
babip: about average
s/c/z: seems like he has a very good eye so far this year
r/l: .685 vs .787 in minors last year through three levels
h/a: not enough info
p/o: not enough info
other: top prospect just promoted this year

ROTATION

The Phillies will face Kyle Lohse and Adam Wainwright this weekend. Lohse is a former Phillie who got away. He has good control and keeps the ball on the ground for the most part. He is better against righties, but does not have an extreme split, just a good one. Wainwright has had a strong year, as expected. He's good at inducing groundballs, and he's especially tough on righties. He doesn't miss that many bats but has reasonably good control.

MONDAY'S STARTER: Kyle Lohse (R): 1.97 ERA, 2.25 BB/9, 5.34 K/9, 0.28 HR/9, 3.16 FIP, 47% GB

proj avg: 4.40 ERA, 2.5 BB/9, 5.7 K/9, 0.9 HR/9
gb: 42%
pitches: 60% fb, 23% sl, 11% ch, 7% cb
r/l: .752 vs .810 ops; 2.6 vs 1.7 k/bb
h/a: .751 vs .808 ops; 2.4 vs 1.8 k/bb

Lohse vs. Phillies:

Stairs: 6/26, 5 BB, 4 K
Ibanez: 6/24, 3 HR, 4 BB, 3 K, 1 SF
Rollins: 2/15, 2 BB, 2 K
Utley: 2/12, 1 2B, 1 BB, 3 K
Feliz: 3/9, 2 2B, 1 BB,0 K
Victorino: 1/10, 1 2B, 0 BB, 1 K
Howard: 2/7, 2 BB, 3 K
Dobbs: 1/4, 0 BB, 1 K
Bruntlett: 0/2, 0 BB, 2 K
Coste: 0/2, 0 BB, 1 K

TUESDAY STARTER: Adam Wainwright (R): 2.76 ERA, 5.52 BB/9, 7.67 K/9, 0.31 HR/9, 3.78 FIP, 45% GB

proj avg: 3.75 ERA, 2.7 BB/9, 6.3 K/9, 0.8 HR/9
gb: 47%
pitches: 54% fb, 22% sl, 18% cb, 7% ch
r/l: .661 vs .747 ops; 2.1 vs 2.4 k/bb
h/a: .687 vs .708 ops; 2.6 vs 1.9 k/bb

Wainwright vs. Phillies:

Rollins: 3/12, 1 2B, 0 BB, 4 K
Utley: 2/10, 1 3B, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP
Howard: 2/7, 4 BB (1 IBB), 2 K
Victorino: 1/7, 0 BB, 1 K
Dobbs: 0/6, 0 BB, 0 K
Werth: 0/3, 0 BB, 2 K
Coste: 1/2, 0 BB, 0 K
Bruntlett: 1/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Feliz: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Stairs: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K

NOT FACING US: Mitchell Boggs (R): 3.29 ERA, 2.63 BB/9, 9.88 K/9, 0.66 HR/9, 3.27 FIP, 41% GB

proj avg: 5.00 ERA, 4.1 BB/9, 5.7 K/9, 1.1 HR/9
gb: 50%
pitches: 68% fb, 22% cb, 7% sl, 4% ch
r/l: .725 vs .977 ops; 1.2 vs 0.9 k/bb
h/a: .824 vs .882 ops; 0.9 vs 1.1 k/bb

Boggs vs. Phillies:

Howard: 2/3, 1 2B, 0 BB, 1 K
Rollins: 1/2, 1 BB, 0 K
Utley: 0/2, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HBP
Werth: 0/2, 1 BB, 0 K
Coste: 1/2, 0 BB, 0 K
Dobbs: 0/2, 0 BB, 0 K

NOT FACING US: Todd Wellemeyer (R): 5.28 ERA, 2.48 BB/9, 4.97 K/9, 0.31 HR/9, 3.47 FIP, 38% GB

proj avg: 4.20 ERA, 3.8 BB/9, 6.6 K/9, 1.1 HR/9
gb: 41%
pitches: 64% fb, 24% sl, 12% ch, 0.1% cb
r/l: .733 vs .799 ops; 1.9 vs 1.3 k/bb
h/a: .780 vs .736 ops; 1.5 vs 1.8 k/bb

Wellemeyer vs. Phillies:

Rollins: 0/8, 2 BB, 1 K
Utley: 4/8, 1 2B, 2 HR, 0 BB, 1 K
Werth: 0/5, 2 BB, 2 K
Howard: 2/5, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 K
Stairs: 1/5, 1 2B, 0 BB, 0 K
Feliz: 1/4, 0 BB, 0 K
Dobbs: 1/2, 1 2B, 1 BB, 0 K
Victorino: 1/3, 0 BB, 0 K
Coste: 0/2, 0 BB, 1 K
Cairo: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K

NOT FACING US: Joel Pineiro (R): 3.24 ERA, 1.89 BB/9, 2.70 K/9, 0.54 HR/9, 3.99 FIP, 56% GB

proj avg: 4.80 ERA, 2.7 BB/9, 5.2 K/9, 1.2 HR/9
gb: 47%
pitches: 58% fb, 20% sl, 12% ch, 9% cb, 0.4% ct
r/l: .788 vs .745 ops; 2.4 vs 1.8 k/bb
h/a: .7227 vs .805 ops; 1.9 vs 2.2 k/bb

Pineiro vs. Phillies:

Stairs: 5/10, 1 BB,0 K
Rollins: 2/9, 0 BB, 1 K
Cairo: 1/6, 0 BB, 1 K
Feliz: 1/5, 1 BB, 1 K
Utley: 3/6, 0 BB, 1 K
Ibanez: 1/5, 0 BB, 2 K
Howard: 0/2, 1 BB, 0 K
Victorino: 0/3, 0 BB, 0 K
Werrth: 1/3, 0 BB, 1 K
Bruntlett: 0/2, 0 BB, 0 K

BULLPEN

Our old friend Ryan Franklin has emerged as the closer. He has yet to surrender a run this year, too. He will, though. He has a career of mediocrity, and he will eventually struggle again. He doesn't strike people out very well, and so he is pretty long ball prone. The Cards have two lefties in their pen, Dennys Reyes and Trever Miller. Both are pretty good slider-throwing lefties, with decent platoon splits but not extreme ones. Both are capable of getting righties out too. Reyes is good at getting groundballs. The set up man is Kyle McClennan. He is a pretty good pitcher without much of a platoon split. He gets a decent amount of strikeouts and groundballs.

CL Ryan Franklin (R): 0.00 ERA, 1.74 BB/9, 7.84 K/9, 0.00 HR/9, 2.03 FIP, 46% GB

proj avg: 4.20 ERA, 2.8 BB/9, 5.7 K/9, 1.1 HR/9
gb: 39%
pitches: 52% fb, 23% sl, 11% sf, 10% cb, 3% ct, 1% ch
r/l: .754 vs .772 ops; 2.9 vs 1.3 k/bb
h/a: .738 vs .785 ops; 1.8 vs 1.9 k/bb

Franklin vs. Phillies:

Ibanez: 5/13, 2 HR, 1 BB, 0 K
Stairs: 1/9, 3 BB (1 IBB), 0 K, 1 HBP
Rollins: 1/8, 0 BB, 2 K
Utley: 2/5, 1 2B, 0 BB, 1 K
Victorino: 1/5, 0 BB, 1 K
Dobbs: 2/4, 0 BB, 0 K
Howard: 1/2, 2 BB (2 IBB), 0 K
Werth: 0/3, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HBP
Feliz: 1/3, 0 BB, 1 K
Coste: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 Sac
Bruntlett: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Cairo: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K

Kyle McClellan (R): 3.09 ERA, 5.40 BB/9, 8.49 K/9, 0.77 HR/9, 4.22 FIP, 47% GB

proj avg: 3.70 ERA, 3.0 BB/9, 7.1 K/9, 0.8 HR/9
gb: 48%
pitches: 49% fb, 29% cb, 16% ct, 3% ch, 3% sl
r/l: .754 vs .660 ops; 2.3 vs 1.9 k/bb
h/a: .611 vs .800 ops; 2.4 vs 1.9 k/bb

McClennan vs. Phillies:

Rollins: 0/4, 0 BB, 1 K
Coste: 0/2, 0 BB, 2 K
Utley: 0/2, 0 BB, 1 K
Victorino: 0/2, 0 BB, 0 K
Werth: 2/2, 0 BB, 0 K
Bruntlett: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Dobbs: 0/1, 1 BB, 0 K
Howard: 1/1, 1 HR, 0 BB, 0 K

Dennys Reyes (L): 2.57 ERA, 2.57 BB/9, 5.14 K/9, 1.29 HR/9, 4.77 FIP, 56% GB

proj avg: 3.70 ERA, 3.6 BB/9, 7.4 K/9, 0.7 HR/9
gb: 57%
pitches: 47% fb, 44% sl, 8% ch, 1% cb
r/l: .810 vs .663 ops; 1.4 vs 2.1 k/bb
h/a: .721 vs .790 ops; 1.6 vs 1.7 k/bb

Reyes vs. Phillies:

Ibanez: 4/9, 1 HR, 0 BB, 2 K
Feliz: 0/2, 2 BB, 0 K
Cairo: 1/3, 0 BB, 2 K
Stairs: 0/3, 0 BB, 1 K
Rollins: 1/2, 1 HR, 0 BB, 0 K

Chris Perez (R): 2.57 ERA, 7.71 BB/9, 14.14 K/9, 1.29 HR/9, 4.48 FIP, 46% GB

proj avg: 3.90 ERA, 5.1 BB/9, 9.5 K/9, 1.0 HR/9
gb: 40%
pitches: 69% fb, 28% sl, 3% cb
r/l: .658 vs .800 ops; 2.6 vs 1.3 k/bb
h/a: .698 vs .722 ops; 2.8 vs 1.5 k/bb

Perez vs. Phillies:

Coste: 0/2, O BB, 1 K
Feliz: 1/2, 1 HR, 0 BB, 0 K
Werth: 0/1, 1 BB, 1 K
Dobbs: 0/1, 0 BB, 1 K
Howard: 1 BB
Rollins: 1/1, 1 3B, 0 BB, 0 K
Victorino: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K

Jason Motte (R): 4.09 ERA, 3.27 BB/9, 7.36 K/9, 0.00 HR/9, 2.92 FIP, 50% GB

proj avg: 3.80 ERA, 3.4 BB/9, 8.3 HR/9, 0.9 HR/9
gb: 48%
pitches: 89% fb, 9% sl, 2% sf
r/l: .541 vs .580 ops; 5.0 vs 2.5 k/bb
h/a: not enough info

Motte vs. Phillies: no experience against any Phillies

Trever Miller (L): 5.40 ERA, 2.70 BB/9, 10.80 K/9, 2.70 HR/9, 5.60 FIP, 32% GB

proj avg: 4.10 ERA, 3.9 BB/9, 8.4 K/9, 0.9 HR/9
gb: 39%
pitches: 60% fb, 28% sl, 12% ch, 1% cb
r/l: .835 vs .703 ops; 1.3 vs 2.6 k/bb
h/a: .812 vs .730 ops; 1.9 vs 1.8 k/bb

Miller vs. Phillies:

Howard: 2/7, 1 BB (IBB), 2 K, (also, 1 HR and 1 K in 2008 World Series)
Utley: 2/7, 1 2B, 1 BB, 2 K (walk in 2008 WS)
Victorino: 2/6, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP (0/1 in 2008 WS)
Ibanez: 3/6, 1 2B, 1 3B, 0 BB, 1 K
Cairo: 1/2, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 Sac
Stairs: 0/3, 0 BB, 3 K
Rollins: 0/2, 0 BB, 0 K
Coste: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Brunlett: (0/1 in 2008 WS)

Blaine Boyer (R): 4.91 ERA, 0.00 BB/9, 7.36 K/9, 0.00 HR/9, 1.56 FIP, 58% GB

proj avg: 4.70 ERA, 4.0 BB/9, 7.5 K/9, 0.8 HR/9
gb: 48%
pitches: 72% fb, 20% cb, 7% ch, 2% sl
r/l: .704 vs .816 ops; 3.0 vs 1.6 k/bb
h/a: .705 vs .798 ops; 2.3 k/bb both ways

Boyer vs. Phillies:

Feliz: 0/4, 2 BB, 0 K, 1 SF
Werth: 5/7, 1 2B, 1 HR, 0 BB, 2 K
Coste: 2/5, 1 BB, 0 K
Rollins: 2/4, 2 BB, 0 K
Bruntlett: 1/4, 1 BB, 1 K
Dobbs: 3/3, 1 HR, 0 BB, 0 K
Howard: 2/2, 2 2B, 1 BB (IBB), 0 K
Victorino: 2/3, 0 BB, 0 K
Utley: 0/1, 1 BB, 0 K
Stairs: 1/1, 1 HR, 0 BB, 0 K

P.J. Walters (R): 9.58 ERA, 5.23 BB/9, 8.71 K/9, 2.61 HR/9, 6.76 FIP, 46% GB

proj avg: 4.90 ERA, 4.0 BB/9, 6.8 K/9, 1.2 HR/9
gb: 43%
pitches: 62% fb, 20% sl, 17% ch, 1% cb
r/l: 1.6 vs 3.6 k/bb in AA/AAA in 2008
h/a: not enough info

Walters vs. Phillies: no experience against any Phillies

PHILLIES

LINE UP

The heart of the Phillies lineup leans further to the left than Ralph Nader. The rest of the lineup is pretty well balanced, but with Utley hitting 3rd, Howard hitting 4th, and Ibanez hitting 6th, managers have an advantage to use lefties against the Phillies in key situations. Both of the switch hitters atop the lineup hit lefties a little better than righties, and the bottom of the lineup has two righties. The Phillies' catcher Carlos Ruiz is on the disabled list now with a strained rib cage, so Chris Coste and Lou Marson have been splitting time with Coste starting more often. Lou Marson is a pretty highly touted catching prospect who had an extraordinary year in AA last year, though has yet to hit for much power. Carlos Ruiz had a setback but seems to be likely to return soon. This season, the Phillies have seen Rollins struggle at the top of the lineup, though he has shown a few signs of life recently. Utley and Ibanez have both been on fire and have carried the team. The offense has been spectacular thus far, mostly because of those two, and as Howard continues to hit the ball hard, the team is probably going to see a breakout from him soon too. Though Howard has only homered four times in the first twenty games, he has hit an extraordinary number of deep fly balls to the track, and no less than in seasons passed. I expect a homerun tear out of Howard soon, though reading through that, I kind of feel like I just predicted the sun to rise.

1) SS Jimmy Rollins (S): .200/.247/.278

projection average (proj): .285/.350/.460
projected BB/PA (bb): 8%
projected K/AB (k): 11%
career gb% (gb): 42%
career infield flies/flyball (iff): 10%
career infield hits/groundball (ifh): 5%
batting average on balls in play tendencies (babip): about average overall, though a little bit high popup rate so slightly below average
swing/contact/zone facts (s/c/z): good eye, pretty selective, but very high contact rate so low walk rate
righty/lefty (r/l): 1.7 vs 1.3 k/bb, mostly because of higher k-rate as lhb. otherwise similar on contact
home/away (h/a): 1.5 vs 1.7 k/bb; .805 vs .739 ops
pull/opposite (p/o): definite pull hitter
anything else (other): stole 47 bases in 50 attempts last year.

2) CF Shane Victorino (S): .287/.340/.489

proj: .285/.345/.430
bb: 7.5%
k: 13%
gb: 46%
iff: 15%
ifh: 8%
babip: slightly above average due to high babip on groundballs-- partly because infield plays in for him and he spreads the ball around well; not that high due to high infield fly rate
s/c/z: pretety bad eye but high contact rate
r/l: much more power righthanded (1.6% to 3.8% HR rate), but much better k/bb as lefty: 1.65 vs 1.88; higher babip lefty also (.316 vs .286)
h/a: far fewer walks on road but nearly exactly the same strikeout rate, same power, same babip
p/o: pull hitter both ways
other: stole 36 of 47 bases last year

3) 2B Chase Utley (L): .342/.474/.671

proj: .295/.380/.525
bb: 9.5%
k: 18%
gb: 37%
iff: 10%
ifh: 6%
babip: distinctly above average historically and for projections too; seemingly strong power leads to high line drive babip rate and reasonably high groundball babip especially for pull hitting lefty; high on flyballs despite high infield fly rate since he hits deep flyballs
s/c/z: pretty good eye, somewhat selective, somewhat high contact rate
r/l: not significant-- only 1.7 vs 2.0 k/bb; .919 vs .865 ops
h/a: similar k/bb home & away; better hr at home-- probably park factors; higher babip at home too
p/o: pull hitter
other: much better against power pitchers relative to other hitters

4) 1B Ryan Howard (L): .281/.360/.494

proj: .275/.375/580
bb: 14%
k: 33%
gb: 40%
iff: 2%
ifh: 4%
babip: low on groundballs over time as he pulls the vast majority of them; very very high on flyballs because he almost never pops out in the infield at all and many of his flyballs are very deep. also since so few of his flyballs stay in the park (only 2/3 or so), a higher percentage of his balls in play are line drives-- which he does well on like many power hitters-- his low contact rate means he sometimes make poor contact though. probably above average overall
s/c/z: swings a lot especially for someone who doesn't see many strikes. however, he is pretty good at distinguishing pulls from strikes despite the consensus on him. he makes terrible contact overall though
r/l: 1.064 vs .786 ops: say it with me "that means he's good against righties, not bad against lefties!" in fact, he's the best hitter against righties in baseball right now probably. his k/bb vs lhp is 3.7 vs 1.6 vs rhp. he has a lot of power against lefties however, but a lower babip. i don't have split data on pull% vs lhp/rhp but observationally i'm pretty sure that's the difference in his babip: .338 vs .309.
h/a: much higher babip on road. very similar hr numbers. 2.0 vs 3.2 k/bb.
p/o: pull hitter, especially on groundballs-- hits more homeruns the opposite way though
other: struggles mightily against power pitchers and groundball pitchers, dominate flyball pitchers (since he almost never pops out, and has 10.3% hr rate) and smashes finesse pitchers (11.8% hr rate); he also does much better on babip with runners on base as defenders can't shift against him-- especially with runners in scoring position

5) RF Jayson Werth (R): .250/.368/.425

proj: .270/.360/.460
bb: 12.5%
k: 29%
gb: 38%
iff: 8%
ifh: 8%
babip: high on groundballs due to high infield hit rate, high on line drives due to power, and hits pretty deep flyballs too; has been historically probably higher than it should be since he's faced more lhp than normal rhb do; overall still seems to be very above average
s/c/z: very selective and pretty good eye; somewhat low contact rate
r/l: .762 vs .919 ops; 2.4 vs 2.0 k/bb; hr rate of 6.7% vs 2.9%
h/a: not much of a split at all
p/o: spreads ball around well for power hitter, but still a pull hitter
other: stole 20 bases in 21 attempts last year

6) LF Raul Ibanez (L): .360/.424/.733

proj: .285/.350/.480
bb: 9%
k: 17%
gb: 42%
iff: 11%
ifh: 5%
babip: above average, probably because he spreads the ball around pretty well for a power hitter; much better babip with men on-- probably hooks ball in hole well or maybe he was shifted against more so beforehand
s/c/z: definitely a good eye though it's getting worse, slightly above average contact
r/l: .850 vs .733; 1.5 vs 2.8 k/bb
h/a: better k/bb (1.6 vs 1.9) but worse power probably park factors, and probably likely to be better at home
p/o: slight pull hitter but not much for a power hitter
other: none

7) 3B Pedro Feliz (R): .338/.400/.473

proj: .250/.300/.420
bb: 6%
k: 15.5%
gb: 44%
iff: 15%
ifh: 5%
babip: very low-- pops up a lot, hits groundballs predictably to left side and is slow so they can play shaded over and deep; not all that much power so not terrific on line drives either, makes a lot of weak contact as he isn't good at making contact so he chops a lot of balls
s/c/z: high swing rate and not terribly good at distinguishing balls from strikes. swung significantly less in 2008, but it was as much of a decrease in balls as strikes, makes average contact
r/l: 3.3 vs 2.3 k/bb; .708 vs .755 ops, more babip and a little more power agaisnt lefties
h/a: much higher k rate on road, similar bb rate; more power on road, higher babip at home. likely not much difference (.725 vs .716 overall ops)
p/o: definite pull hitter
other: defensive numbers dipped last year, had offseason surgery for back, perhaps these are related

8) Carlos Ruiz (R): .231/.375/.308

proj: .255/.335/.390
bb: 10%
k: 14%
gb: 50% (but rose in 2008 to 54% from 46%)
iff: 9.5%
ifh: 4%
babip: was extraordinarily low in 2008, but that seems to be rather flukey. his high groundball rate and solid contact rate and pitch selection indicate he should be a good babip guy, but he does very poorly on groundball as he chops the ball a lot
s/c/z: very good eye and excellent contact skill, extremely patient
r/l: bizarre reverse split despite 0.5 k/bb vs lhp and 1.2 vs rhp; impossibly low .204 babip against lhp, probably flukey and probably much better vs lhp in reality
h/a: similar k/bb, worse babip but higher power at home (park factors)
p/o: slight pull hitter
other: better against power pitchers, currently on DL with strained rib cage, probably longer than 15 days as originally thought

BENCH

Like their lineup, the Phillies' bench is much better from the left side. Dobbs and Stairs are two solid lefthanded pinch hitters with power. Stairs is by far more patient and is much more successful against lefties than Dobbs. From the right side, the Phillies have superutility man Eric Bruntlett. Bruntlett struggles mightily against RHP, but actually has very solid numbers against LHP. Bruntlett can be used as a counterswitch when managers bring in lefties to face Dobbs or Stairs. The Phillies other RHB on the bench is Miguel Cairo. He is not a very good hitter, but is flexible and can play many positions. Cairo has failed to hit anything yet, and is bound to be on the way out.

IF/OF Eric Bruntlett (R): .158/.250/.316

proj: .240/.325/.335
bb: 10%
k: 18%
gb: 41%
iff: 14%
ifh: 5%
babip: high popup rate leads to low babip, but not that low; also doesn't do all that well on line drives due to lack of power
s/c/z: somewhat above average eye and doesn't swing much; makes very good contact, sees a lot of strikes
r/l: .592 vs .764 ops; 2.5 vs 1.2 k/bb; 5.7% vs 8.8% xbh/ab-- he's actually average if not above average against lhp; he just is terrible against rhb. he should be used as a counterswitch to loogy use against lefty pinch hitters
h/a: more power at home and more walks at home; similar strikeout rate and babip
p/o: opposite field hitter
other: none

IF Greg Dobbs (L): .150/.227/.150

proj: .285/.335/.445
bb: 7%
k: 17%
gb: 36%
iff: 13.5%
ifh: 3%
babip: has been high but probably should not be projected as high-- success derives from impossibly high line drive babip which doesn't typically happen for non-extreme power hitters. given his popup rate, he probably isn't a .320 babip guy and there isn't a .285 hitter
s/c/z: poor eye but very high swing rate; average contact rate
r/l: .761 vs .579 ops despite impossible .481 babip against lhp. in reality, he strikes out in 48% of at-bats against lhp. he should never see them. absolutely no power against lefties also.
h/a: virtually no split at all
p/o: pull hitter
other: much better against finesse pitchers

OF Matt Stairs (L): .308/.438/.769

proj: .255/.340/.440
bb: 11%
k: 22%
gb: 42%
iff: 11.5%
ifh: 5%
babip: average all around
s/c/z: very good eye and slightly below average contact
r/l: .862 vs .748; much more power against rhp; 1.4 vs 2.1 k/bb
h/a: not much of a split at all
p/o: slight pull hitter but not much for a power hitter
other: use stairs in case of emergency

IF/OF Miguel Cairo (R): .000/.000/.000

proj: .255/.315/.335
bb: 7%
k: 15%
gb: 45%
iff: 11%
ifh: 7%
babip: not much power so slightly below average
s/c/z: okay eye, maybe a little above average; makes good contact
r/l: 1.6 vs 2.0 k/bb; .647 vs .735 ops
h/a: virtually no split at all, somewhat better walk rate at home
p/o: slight pull hitter
other: none

C Chris Coste (R): .182/.280/.273

proj: .265/.315/.405
bb: 5.5%
k: 17.5%
gb: 40%
iff: 10%
ifh: 6%
babip: slightly below average, seemingly due to poor eye and swinging and hitting bad pitches
s/c/z: high swing rate, pretty poor eye, average contact
r/l: .747 vs .855; same k/bb rate, much better babip against lhp, similar power but slightly more vs lhp
h/a: .886 vs .679; 5.4% vs 1.5% hr rate
p/o: pull hitter
other: struggles with power pitchers somewhat

ROTATION

The Phillies rotation has struggled a lot early, though they seem to be mostly struggling with bad luck rather than bad performances. Their walk and strikeout rates across the board are indicative that we should expect similar performances to last season, and their groundball rates haven't been out of the norm either. However, all of them seem to struggling on homeruns per flyball. This is known to be a luck based statistic, with little variance in skill level, so it is somewhat hard to believe that they would necessarily continue to perform this badly. However, it does seem coincidental that all of them would struggle with it at once. The Phillies go with Chan Ho Park Friday, in what is a very important fourth start for him. He has been poor in one start and mediocre in the other two, and the Phillies do have J.A. Happ ready to replace him if they want. His strong Spring Training performance was so good that it shattered any argument of "small sample size" and instead calls into question a biased sample, where he may have faced some weaker hitters. Even still, he seems to have a K/BB of about 2/1 thus far and that has to be a good sign. Hopefully he can fix up his luck on homeruns per flyball and batting average on balls in play. On Saturday, the Phillies will turn to Jamie Moyer. Moyer certaily is going to show his age at some point, and he really can't be expected to pitch until he's 50, but his poor performance this year also seems luck driven as his core statistics of strikeouts, walks, and groundballs seem in line with recent tendencies. The Phillies will wrap up with Joe Blanton on Sunday. Blanton seems to be missing a lot of bats, striking out an above normal 8.8 per nine, but when he doesn't miss those bats, the bats seem to hit the ball awful hard. Blanton hopes the Mets will make weaker contact.

MONDAY STARTER: Joe Blanton (R): 8.41 ERA, 3.1 BB/9, 8.8 K/9, 2.7 HR/9, 6.08 FIP, 33% GB

proj avg: 4.25 ERA, 2.5 BB/9, 5.8 K/9, 0.9 HR/9
gb: 45%
pitches: 56% fb, 16% ch, 15% sl, 12% cb
r/l: 2.3 vs 1.8 k/bb; .750 vs .719 ops
h/a: 2.2 vs 2.0 k/bb; .698 vs .776 ops; much worse babip away (.313 vs .282), more power surrendered on road
other: extraordinarily good against leadoff hitters, especially the first hitter of games

Blanton vs. Cardinals:

Ludwick: 1/3, 1 HR, 0 BB, 1 K
Molina: 1/3, 0 BB, 1 K
Pujols: 0/2, 1 BB, 1 K
Schumaker: 1/3, 0 BB, 0 K
K. Greene: 1/2, 0 BB, 0 K

TUESDAY STARTER: Brett Myers (R): 4.83 ERA, 4.3 BB/9, 7.4 K/9, 2.3 HR/9, 6.24 FIP, 48% GB

proj avg: 4.15 ERA, 3.1 BB/9, 8.0 K/9, 1.3 HR/9
gb: 47%
pitches: 48% fb, 23% cb, 18% sl, 9% ch, 1% ct, 0.2% sf
r/l: .788 vs .747 ops despite 3.1 vs 1.95 k/bb; main issue is much higher HR rate vs rhb, slightly higher babip vs them as well; does not seem to be selection bias
h/a: .738 vs .800 ops; 2.7 vs 2.15 k/bb; slightly higher HR rate at home, but that is probably park factors as he surrenders far more doubles on road
other: HR rate is bizarre-- very few pitchers have the HR/Flyball rate he does. My personal suspicion is that statistics that don't exhibit much persistence despite what common sense suggests only do not exhibit persistence specifically because players make adjustments. If you throw fastball after fastball on the outside corner on every 1-2 count, the hitters will respond by hitting singles to the opposite field over and over again and your BABIP will go up. However, pitchers learn to mix up their pitches and BABIP ends up lacking persistence due to the constant game theoretical reaction that pitchers and hitters take. For Myers, his bizarre refusal to use his curveball early in the game leaves him especially vulernable to RHB who know it isn't coming. A little game theoretical mixed strategy would probably allow him to finally live up to his peripherals which suggest a low HR rate and borderline ace stuff.

Myers vs. Cardinals:

Pujols: 9/26, 1 2B, 2 HR, 2 BB, 3 K
Molina: 3/14, 0 BB, 3 K
Schumaker: 5/10, 1 2B, 2 HR, 0 BB, 1 K
Duncan: 2/6, 1 2B, 1 HR, 0 BB, 1 K
LaRue: 2/6, 1 HR, 0 BB, 2 K
Ludwick: 3/6, 2 2B, 0 BB, 0 K
Ankiel: 2/4, 1 2B, 1 3B, 0 BB, 1 K
Boggs: 0/2, 0 BB, 2 K
K. Greene: 0/2, 0 BB, 0 K

NOT STARTING THIS SERIES: Chan Ho Park (R): 8.57 ERA, 4.7 BB/9, 4.7 K/9, 2.1 HR/9, 7.09 FIP, 45% GB

proj avg: 4.50 ERA, 3.5 BB/9, 7.3 K/9, 1.2 HR/9
gb: 45%
pitches: 51% FB, 29% SL, 12% cb, 5% ch, 4% ct
r/l: .666 vs .820 ops; 2.6 vs 1.3 k/bb; .280 vs .301 babip; 2.6% vs 3.6% HR rate-- much better against righties
h/a: 2.0 vs 1.7 k/bb; .708 vs .780 ops

Park vs. Cardinals:

Pujols: 3/7, 1 HR, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP
Molina: 0/5, 0 BB, 1 K
LaRue: 1/3, 0 BB, 1 K
Ankiel: 0/2, 0 BB, 1 K
k. Greene: 0/2, 0 BB, 1 K
Ludwick: 0/2, 0 BB, 0 K

NOT STARTING THIS SERIES: Cole Hamels (L): 7.27 ERA, 2.1 BB/9, 7.8 K/9, 2.6 HR/9, 5.89 FIP, 33% GB

proj avg: 3.45 ERA, 2.3 BB/9, 8.4 K/9, 1.1 HR/9
gb: 40%
pitches: 55% fb, 32% ch, 14% cb
r/l: .680 vs .748, but same 3.6 k/bb both ways; slightly more power vs lhb-- this is probably selection bias as managers withhold all but the best lefties against him (explaining 20% of hitters faced are lefties only)
h/a: 3.85 vs 3.4 k/bb; .676 vs .709 ops-- less of a difference due to higher HR rate at home
other: much higher k-rate at night: 25% vs 20%, which is statistically significant. ERA difference (4.71 vs 3.01 exaggerated by babip difference), as HR rate and XBH rate very similar. most likely he strikes out more at night.

Hamels vs. Cardinals:

Pujols: 3/13, 1 2B, 1 HR, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 SF
K. Greene: 1/9, 1 BB, 1 K
Molina: 1/9, 1 2B, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 SF
Ludwick: 4/8, 2 HR, 0 BB, 1 K
Ankiel: 2/5, 1 2B, 1 HR, 0 BB, 1 K
Duncan: 0/4, 1 BB, 3 K
Schumaker: 1/4, 0 BB, 1 K

NOT STARTING THIS SERIES: Jamie Moyer (L): 5.65 ERA, 3.1 BB/9, 5.3 K/9, 2.2 HR/9, 6.43 FIP, 36% GB

proj avg: 4.80 ERA, 2.8 BB/9, 5.5 K/9, 1.2 HR/9
gb: 39%
pitches: 41% fb, 30% ct, 24% ch, 6% cb
r/l: virtually no split but that seems to be selection as he sees 24% lefties only compared with 32% league average for lhp
h/a: 2.3 vs 1.9 k/bb; not much difference on contact; slightly better babip at home but not more so than the average starter gets

Moyer vs. Cardinals:

K. Greene: 2/14, 1 BB, 1 K
Ludwick: 1/12, 1 BB, 6 k
Pujols: 2/10, 1 Bb, 2 K
Ankiel: 0/5, 1 BB, 1 K
Duncan: 2/4, 1 2B, 2 BB, 2 K
Molina: 3/6, 0 BB, 0 K
Schumaker: 1/2, 1 BB, 0 K

BULLPEN

Lidge has been nowhere near as effective as the Phillies closer in the early going this year, but has gotten through a few tough saves anyway. However, that still leaves him as one of the best closers in baseball if he is healthy. His health itself has been in question as he has been resting an injured knee for a few days. He has not gone on the disabled list and may not, and we will probably no more after a Friday bullpen session. In his stead, Ryan Madson has closed out one game successfully in one try. Ryan Madson has stepped up to be an elite setup man recently, as his velocity improved mightily over the course of 2008 and has started strong in 2009. He has had a few bad moments and a few moments of dominance thus far. The Phillies will have to make do against LHB with J.C. Romero suspended through May. Scott Eyre, Jack Taschner, and J.A. Happ are the Phillies' lefties in the pen. Happ does not have especially difficult stuff against lefties, though, and will probably be the long man. Eyre and Taschner both should not face RHB, especially Taschner who exemplified that inability well against the Nationals on Thursday. Chad Durbin is somewhat streaky, but I've remained bearish on him for a while. He still is a reasonable middle reliever to use at times. Condrey is the other middle reliever, but he should not face lefties at all if possible. The Phillies' bullpen has been extraordinary since the beginning of 2008, and has kept them in games in 2009 thus far. It is due for some regression, but I suppose the rotation is due for some improvement as well.

CL Brad Lidge (R): 6.52 ERA, 6.5 BB/9, 11.2 K/9, 2.8 HR/9, 7.22 FIP, 43% GB

proj avg: 3.50 ERA, 4.1 BB?9, 11.0 K/9, 0.8 HR/9
gb: 41% (though this went up to 46% with increased slider use in 2008)
pitches: 56% sl, 43% fb, 0.4% ch in 2008 (historically 54% fb, 42% sl)
r/l: 3.6 vs 2.8 k/bb; .601 vs .686 ops (tough to tell if that tendency became more or less extreme in 2008 due to limited sample size)
h/a: 3.6 vs 2.9 k/bb; .666 vs .614 ops though due to higher babip away
other: HR/Flyball plummeted in 2008-- probably unsustainably low and his ERA should rise; still rumors of him tipping pitches explain the HR/Flyball spike in 2006 & 2007

Lidge vs. Cardinals:

Pujols: 4/17, 1 2B, 4 BB (2 IBB), 3 K, 1 SF
Molina: 1/8, 1 2B, 1 BB, 0 K
k. Greene: 0/6, 0 BB, 5 K
LaRue: 0/6, 0 BB, 5 K
Ludwick: 0/5, 1 BB, 4 K
Ankiel: 2/4, 1 3B, 0 BB, 2 K
Duncan: 2/3, 1 HR, 0 BB, 0 K
Schumaker: 0/1, 1 BB, 0 K
Thurston: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K

Ryan Madson (R): 3.27 ERA, 4.9 BB/9, 13.1 K/9, 0.0 HR/9, 1.91 FIP, 46% GB

proj avg: 3.80 ERA, 2.9 BB/9, 7.2 K/9, 0.8 HR/9
gb: 48%
pitches: 58% fb, 24% ch, 15% ct, 4% cb
r/l: 3.65 vs 1.8 k/bb; .714 vs .786 ops
h/a: no major split at all

Madson vs. Cardinals:

Pujols: 0/10, 2 BB, 0 K
K. Greene: 2/7, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SF
LaRue: 1/4, 1 HR, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP
Ludwick: 2/5, 1 2B, 1 HR, 0 BB, 1 K
Duncan: 2/3, 1 BB, 0 K
Molina: 1/4, 0 BB, 0 K
Schumaker: 0/1, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 Sac
Ankiel: 1/1, 0 BB, 0 K

Scott Eyre (L): 10.80 ERA, 10.8 BB/9, 10.8 K/9, 5.4 HR/9, 13.08 FIP, 33% GB

proj avg: 4.20 ERA, 4.1 BB/9, 8.8 K/9, 0.9 HR/9
gb: 41%
pitches: 59% fb, 35% sl, 6% ch, 0.2% cb
r/l: 1.5 vs 1.9 k/bb; .815 vs .720 ops
h/a: not much of a split

Eyre vs. Cardinals:

k. Greene: 2/3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K
Molina: 1/3, 1 BB, 0 K
Pujols: 0/3, 0 BB, 1 K
Duncan: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K

Jack Taschner (L): 4.76 ERA, 6.4 BB/9, 4.8 K/9, 1.6 HR/9, 6.54 FIP, 37% GB

proj avg: 4.50 ERA, 4.1 BB/9, 8.0 K/9, 1.0 HR/9
gb: 35%
pitches: 57% fb, 30% sl, 13% ch
r/l: 1.45 vs 2.2 k/bb; .754 vs .747-- large selection bias where he faces only very good lefties and not very good righties
h/a: .698 vs .797 ops; 2.1 vs 1.5 k/bb

Taschner vs. Cardinals:

Duncan: 2/6, 0 BB, 1 K
K. Greene: 0/3, 0 BB, 2 K
Schumaker: 1/3, 0 BB, 0 K
Ludwick: 1/2, 1 HR, 0 BB, 0 K
Ankiel: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Pujols: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K

Chad Durbin (R): 4.50 ERA, 5.8 BB/9, 7.1 K/9, 1.9 HR/9, 6.54 FIP, 26% GB

proj avg: 4.10 ERA, 3.5 BB/9, 6.5 K/9, 1.0 HR/9
gb: 41%
pitches: 47% fb, 38% sl, 8% ch, 7% cb, 1% ct
r/l: virtually no split
h/a: somewhat of a reverse split but probably just noise

Durbin vs. Cardinals:

Pujols: 3/5, 1 HR, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 SF
Ludwick: 2 BB
Ankiel: 1 IBB
K. Greene: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K
LaRue; 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Molina: 1/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Schumaker: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K

Clay Condrey (R): 1.26 ERA, 1.9 BB/9, 6.9 K/9, 0.6 HR/9, 3.18 FIP, 46% GB

proj avg: 4.50 ERA, 2.8 BB/9, 4.9 K/9, 0.8 HR/9
gb: 50%
pitches: 59% fb, 17% ct, 15% sl, 9% ch
r/l: 2.1 vs 1.3 k/bb; .761 vs .842 ops
h/a: .703 vs .898 ops; 2.2 vs 1.3 k/bb

Condrey vs. Cardinals:

LaRue: 1/4, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP
Schumaker: 2/3, 0 BB, 0 K
Barden: 0/2, 0 BB, 0 K
Ludwick: 0/2, 0 BB, 1 K
Ankiel: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Molina: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Pujols: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K

J.A. Happ (L): 3.52 ERA, 4.1 BB/9, 7.0 K/9, 3.84 FIP, 30% GB

proj avg: 4.40 ERA, 3.8 BB/9, 7.7 K/9, 1.2 HR/9
gb: 29% in majors thus far; 42% in AAA in 2008
pitches: 64% fb, 18% ch, 14% sl, 2% ct, 2% cb
r/l: 1.7 vs 3.0 k/bb in majors thus far; 2.7 vs 3.5 k/bb in AAA in 2008
h/a: not enough info

Happ vs. Cardinals:

Schumaker: 1/3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 0 K
Ankiel: 0/3, 0 BB, 2 K
LaRue: 2/3, 1 2B, 0 BB, 0 K
Ludwick: 0/3, 0 BB, 2 K
Pujols: 1/2, 1 BB, 0 k

SUSPENDED: J.C. Romero (L)

proj avg: 4.00 ERA, 5.5 BB?9, 7.5 K/9, 0.7 HR/9
gb: 55%
pitches: 58% fb, 25% sl, 17% ch, 0.1% cb
r/l: 1.2 vs 2.2 k/bb; .814 vs. 591 ops
h/a: 1.6 vs 1.3 k/bb; .697 vs .768 ops

Romero vs. Cardinals:

Ankiel: 0/4, 0 BB, 0 K
Ludwick: 1/3, 1 HR, 0 BB, 1 K
Duncan: 0/1, 1 BB, 1 K
K. Greene: 1/1, 1 BB, 0 K
Pujols: 1/1, 1 HR, 0 BB, 0 K
Schumaker: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K

Shairon Martis (3-0) On 6-17 Washington Nationals After Complete Game 6-1 Win Over St. Louis Cardinals.

Ed Chigliak — Sat, 02 May 2009 20:09:16 -0000

More photos » by Alex Brandon - AP

7 months ago: Washington Nationals pitcher Shairon Martis reacts as the last out is made in a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals in Washington Saturday, May 2, 2009. Nationals won 6-1.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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HEADLINES...

Shairon Martis Goes The Distance, CG Win For Washington!!!

I picked a great day to be stuck at work, but luckily I was able to tune into the XM feed all afternoon, so though I didn't see it, I heard the entirety of DC righty Shairon Martis' complete game win over the St. Louis Cardinals, which improved the 22-year-old right-hander to (3-0) on the season for a Washington Nationals team that has won only six of their first twenty-three.

Martis held the Cardinals hitless through 5.2, before Yadier, (one of the "Catching Molina Brothers"), broke up Martis' chance at his second high-profile no-hitter with a single to center. Martis came back for the sixth and put St. Louis' SS Brian Barden, SP Joel Pineiro and 2B Skip Schumaker down in order, but in the seventh, Martis surrendered a solo shot to leadoff hitter Colby Rasmus (His 1st Congrats!), which made it 4-1 and normally...on a "normal" team, might have meant the end of the day for the young starter...

...So Martis stayed on after the Rasmus' dinger and even gave up a single before striking out the Cardinals' catcher to end the St. Louis' seventh. Cards' third baseman Joe Thurston singled to start the eighth, but still no call to the Duck Pond from DC Manager Manny Acta. (ed. note - "Yeah, we, uh, call our bullpen the Duck Pond now...what of it?") Martis got a ground ball out of Brian Barden, and a line drive off pinch hitter Khalil Greene's bat ended up in Ryan Zimmerman's glove, Zimmerman throws to second and nails Thurston, double play to end the Cards' eighth...(In the home half of the inning, the Nationals add two insurance runs when Adam Dunn walks, and Austin Kearns triples to score Dunn's pinch runner Elijah Dukes. Anderson Hernandez singles to bring Kearns in...6-1 Nationals...Oh, you know he's coming back out...)

Shairon Martis comes back out for the ninth. Skip Schumaker K's swinging!! ONE!! Colby Rasmus...singles! Ras-MUS!! Manny Acta's sticking with Martis!!! Ryan Ludwick pops it up, DC's backup backstop Wil Nieves gets under it and catches the second out!! TWO!!! Chris Duncan flies to right...Austin Kearns...makes the grab!!! THE NATIONALS WIN!! Complete Game For Shairon "CG" Martis!! Martis' line:

SHAKE N BAKE!! SHAKE N BAKE!! Adam Dunn Wakes From Slumber Goes YARD!!

Adam Dunn had hit in just 1 of his last 10 at bats heading into this afternoon's game with the St. Louis Cardinals. Called out on strikes in his first AB, Dunn disagreed with The Worst Umpire In Baseball, Angel Hernandez's call, but accepted the K, and then Dunn hit a ground ball to second in his second AB in the fourth to leave the Big Walky 1 for his last 12.

When he came up for the third time in the fifth, however, Angel Hernandez pushed the Dunn-K too far. A low fastball's called strike two, putting Dunn down in an 0-2 hole early, and the big lefty just shakes his head and takes a change from Cards' righty Joel Piniero, which not even Angel Hernandez could mistake for a strike, before ABSOLUTELY LAUNCHING a hanging slider to right and into the second deck, 3-run blast, 4-1 DC lead.

THE KIDS CALL IT "THE STREAK"!!! Ryan Zimmerman Extends Hitting Streak To 21 Games!!!

It didn't take Ryan Zimmerman long to extend his current hitting streak to 21 games. The Nationals' streaky third baseman doubled in the first inning, and hit an RBI single in the fifth, ending the day 2 for 4 with a .306 AVG, 9 doubles, 5 HR's and 16 RBI's.

BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT HEADLINE OF ALL...

NATIONALS WIN. 6-1 Final.

Missed the Game? Check out the Federal Baseball.com GameThread!!!

(ed. note - "To satisfy the Completists, Since There Is No Complete Game Report, After The Jump, You Can Find DOGHOUSE'S LIVE REPORT from Nationals Park, which is well worth the jump, trust me...")

SHAIRON "CG" MARTIS!!! One more with the Cardinals tomorrow...

Let's Go Nats GO!!!

Nationals now 6-17.

Doghouse Summarizes The High Points...

ANDY-HANDS!! - The terrific diving stop, followed by the throw-from-the-seat-of-the-pants for an out in the first told me that the defense came to play today—they were going to back up Smarty, and they DID.
SMARTY DOES IT ALL!! He pounded the zone, pitched to contact, and the defense came through for him. He got 6Ks and walked none in his CG. He even went first-to-third on Guz’ single after his botched sac bunt turned into a FC. He later scored the go-ahead run on NJ’s sac fly.
BIG WALKIE!! That 3-run jack came when it could do some good, providing the winning cushion. There was a row of knuckleheads out where I was sitting who were yelling a Dunn the whole game… after his dinger, he caught a fly ball and one of ‘em yelled, “Even a blind squirrel finds a nut!” I replied, “Yeah, but does it hit a three-run dinger?!” He mumbled something and was quiet for an inning or so.
DOOOOOOKS!! He was really inside LaRussa’s head, or something—all those pickoff throws after he came in to PR for Dunn… I think that got the reliever rattled to set the stage for …
BLUEGRASS!! Didja see that triple? Didja? Didja?
TAWH!! Okay, no hilight reel plays today, but he gets honorable mention from last night.
ZIM!! Mr. 21…‘nuff said. Okay, and the spectacular line-out DP that ended the 8th.
CARDS FANS!!! Possibly the classiest in baseball. A guy in a Cardinals jersey was sitting with the jackasses who were yelling at Dunn, and I thought "Great, the one jerk STL fan in the park, and he’s in my section…" But after the game, he came up and shook my hand, saying “Good game!” (I was the only one in the section wearing a Nats Jersey/cap). Class act, in spite of the lowlife friends (one of them had a Phillies cap!)

Nationals now 6-17.

Poll

Time To Declare Your Allegiance...Who Is Your Favorite Nationals' Starter?

John "Cool Hand" Lannan

14 votes

Scott "Nickname Pending" Olsen

6 votes

Daniel "The Project" Cabrera

2 votes

Jordan Zimmerman(n)

81 votes

Shairon "CG" Martis

45 votes

148 votes | Poll has closed

The Forgettable Fire: Cubs 4, Cardinals 7

Al — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 22:32:38 -0000

More photos » by Paul Beaty - AP

The high point of today's game; Kosuke Fukudome gets high-fives from Alfonso Soriano after his three-run homer that put the Cubs briefly ahead 4-3. Fukudome's play is one of the pleasant surprises so far in 2009.

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Milton Bradley got jobbed today on a couple of pitches, including the pitch on which he was called out on strikes with the bases loaded, and that, justifiably, set him off. Knowing he wasn't going to stay in the game, he had a few choice words (wouldn't you like to have heard them?) with plate umpire Larry Vanover (who is one of those annoying umpires who makes delayed calls), and got tossed.

That fired up the crowd, but Alfonso Soriano flied to left to end the threat in what was at the time a 4-4 tie, and the Cubs seemed to lose interest the rest of the day; they managed only one baserunner the rest of the game and the Cardinals smacked around three relief pitchers in the 7th and 8th innings, on their way to a 7-4 defeat of the Cubs in the first meeting of the year between the division rivals.

One thing is certain: if Cub starting pitchers don't start going deeper into games, the bullpen is going to be worn out by the end of April. Today, Lou yanked Sean Marshall after he allowed a leadoff single in the sixth. Marshall had thrown 93 pitches and probably could have finished the inning. Chris Duncan, who had singled, was promptly caught stealing after Aaron Heilman came in, but Heilman then allowed Khalil Greene to hit a long homer to tie the game (after Kosuke Fukudome had given the Cubs a 4-3 lead in the last of the fifth), and then the parade of bad relief pitching began.

In the nine games so far, the number of pitchers used in each game is: 5, 5, 4, 7, 5, 4, 4, 5 and 6. This simply cannot be allowed to continue; three relievers (Neal Cotts, Aaron Heilman and Angel Guzman) have already appeared in six games. Guzman, for his part, gave up the Cardinals' third homer of the game, to Brian Barden, and my friend Dave's comment was, "He doesn't have good command of his second and third pitches; he ought to just throw four-seam fastballs and live and die with them." Which is exactly right, I think; when Guzman is on with the fastball he throws 95-96 and ought to be able to throw an inning's worth of strikeouts nearly every time he comes out there.

But the bigger issue is: when are Cub starters going to start going seven innings? That was one of the best things about Ryan Dempster last year, consistently going deep into games. Part of it is, of course, Lou trusting his starters and not burning out his bullpen. It may be only nine games, but if the current pace keeps up, that's a real risk.

Two nice things that came out of this loss: another good offensive day from Fukudome, who had a double in addition to the homer. Yes, I am well aware he did this a year ago in April, too, but as long as he keeps up what he has been doing, the Cubs have a fine platoon CF. Fukudome also made a nice grab on a sinking Rick Ankiel line drive in the second inning. Also, Alfonso Soriano is having quality at-bats every day; he walked twice again today and has six for the season -- a good number for nine games. If he keeps laying off pitches he used to flail away at, teams will have to start throwing him hittable pitches or risk putting him on base.

Nevertheless, there are three more games in this series and the Cubs should have favorable pitching matchups in all of them.

Ballpark note: the no-smoking rules aren't being enforced in the bleachers. There aren't enough security people (and there ought to be more anyway) and not enough signs letting people know that there's no smoking anywhere in the ballpark. Just something the team ought to be aware of, as a courtesy to everyone.