Could it really be worse (the Cardinals hitting). Since the end of April, have the Cardinals really been a worse hitting team than the San Francisco Tiants? See the comment to my entry on Albert Pujols (told you, previously, that I can offend EVERYONE if you give me enough time--it is a talent).
Witout Pujols, I am morally certain the Giants (a team I do not follow much, except to know that they have OUTSTANDING starting pitching). have not been a worse hitting team than the Cardinals since the end of April. I know that the same way I nknow that there are no WORSE "news" oraganizations in this, or any other, UNIVERSE than our mainstream media. That is because it is just impossible to be worse. I think that can be said to fhe Cards' hitting since the end of April, exclulding Pujols. The scary thing is that the Cards' hitting MAY be "worse" than the Giants, even with Pujols. Now I admit that may be a hard case to make, given how good Pujols has been, as to the overall hitting of both teams.
BUT. Let us compare Cards' hittig against Giant pichers, and Giant hitting against Cardinal pitchers. They happen to have played tonight. When the game was still, at least to a small degree, in doubt (for the first 6 innings), the Cardinals got ONE (count 'em, ONE) hit. They did not do so very much better when the game was no longer in any doubt. You might discount the Giants' hitting tonight, since it was against the Cardinals 5th starteer. That is not the point, is it? Can you win ANY games getting one hit? Not many. I think it was a no-hitter either through 5, or into the 5th. Evenb the addition of Mark DeRosa (previously a solid hitter) has not helped (admittedly, sample is small at this point). Is this catching?
Nope. I think it is conclusive (including previous games between the two clubs). The Cardinal hitting against Giant pitching is ABYSMAL (mayber true of most of the league). And the Cardinal pitchers are NOT generally able to do as well against Giant hitting (maybe not so generally true of some other teeams against the Giants). On a direct match-up, I believe the Cardinal hitting IS worse than the Giant hitting. Now it may be close. The next three games may tell the tale, in terms of just how much better Giant hitting is against Cardinal pitching than Cardinal hitting is against Giant pitching. If the Cardinals are not to come out much worse, Pujols may have to have MONSTER games at least 2 of the next 3 games.
I repeat. The Cardinals are sill in the race mainly with smoke and mirrors--mainly because Milwaukee has been losing too (not to mention the other teams in the division). The Cardinals have been less than a .500 team since a hot start (when the hitting was good), and are not going anywhere this year without something changing. I agree that Pujols cannot carry the team alone. It is incredible that he has done so to this point (as he did not do last year, when he had help and a much slower start, partially because of injury).
The Cardinals seem to be snakebit. K. Greene came from the Padres, but just went on the diabled list for the 2nd time because of "social anxiety disorder". He is hitting .200. What is funny is that he is not hitting much wrose, since the end of April, than everyone else in the lineup. He even has 5 home runs--basically as many as any player on the team besides Pujols and Ludwick. Ankiel and Duncan are supposed to be "home run hitters", but have no more home runs than a guy with "social anxiety disorder" who has missed a farily large number of games.
Ludwick had a big year last year (almost as productive as Pujols). He went on the disable list this year, and has not been the same player since (although he was fading before that). Ankiel almost had a Greene type disorder as a pitcher, when he could not throw strikes (I mean REALLY could not throw the ball anywhere close), and had to give up being a picher. Then, in a great story, he came back as an OUTFIELDER, and carried the team for a period after he was called up last year (while Pujols was NOT carrying the team). However, Ankiel faded last year, and has not really shown he can hit big league pitching on a consistent basis (despite a decent spring). Worse, his power numbers are not very good. Duncan, the son of the pitching coach, has shwon little power this year, despite really good power numbers in his first year. And his average has gradually sunk, after a pretty good start.
Then there are all of those rookies LaRussa and the Cardinals have tired. There is an article ont he website today about the RECORD number of rookies the Cardinals have used. Problem: NONE of them has really shown much. Rasmus--the most touted--has shown some flashes, but is hardly tearing things up (with power numbers also no better than Greene, and a very so-so batting average). LaRussa announced another pitcher being brotht up today, with his usual statement that he liked to give rookie pitchers "with talent" a chance to get their "feet wet". Problem: So far, pitchers that have "gotten their feet wet" have FAILED--escept, to a degreein in the bullpen with Motte and perhaps another--depending on who are "rookies"). Did I tell you LaRussa slings a lot of bull, as he did last year when he kept dentying the failure of the bullpen (better this year).
Oh, you ask what happened to that pichter LaRussa was going to let "get his feet wet"? Well, he got into the game tin the 7th innning tonight--when I told you the game was still theoretically within reach (for a team that could hit). The Giants promtly scored FIVE RUNS.
It truly is amazing that the Cardinals are still close to the leader in their division. Despite the bull he slings, LaRussa has to be doing something right. There is, of course, Pujols. But the Cardinals cannot keep doing it with mirrors. They have no adequate 4th OR 5th staarter, unless Lohse can come back better than he left on the disable list. Their third starter is erratic (very good or pretty bad). Carpenter and Wainright are first quality starters, but have shown themselves somewhat vulnerable lately (especially with a weak hitting team). there is the nagging worry about whether Carpenter will make it through the season (which he has not done since 2005, and he already was on the DL once). The bullpen alone seems relatively solid, so long as it holds up.
If LaRussa can get this Cardinal team into the playoffs, he deserves his reputation as a "genius". If Pujols can carry this team to the playoofs, he deserves a HIGHER award than MVP, or maybe they should just retire that award and to him, and start a new one for which everyone else competes.
P.S. Don't worry. This completes my analysis of the present--precarious--state of the St. Louis Cardinals. I do have one more entry on managers, and how they give fans grey haris, but I may or may not get around to it. It would be much shorter than this, anyway. But I wanted to get this off of my chest, because it relieves the frustration of seeing your chosen baseball team going down in flames. You will remember I did the same thing with the Dalllas Cowboys, in football, questioning whether they were a playoff team (IN FORESIGHT) I was, as usal, right. I would prefer to be WRONG on these things, as on my convinction that our country is pretty much doomed to collapse under this central planning, Big Government, Big Business monster Obama and the Democtrats are creating. At least baseball is only a game. I am not so sure about football, but I am told some people consider it only a game.
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