All posts by Brian Walton

Brian Walton runs The Cardinal Nation, covering the St. Louis Cardinals and minor league system.

“Down on the Farm” at FOXSportsMidwest.com

I would like to call attention to my weekly column at FOXSportsMidwest.com, called “Down on the Farm,” which appears each Thursday. The focus should be clear by the title in that I call attention to noteworthy news and performances across the St. Louis Cardinals minor league system.

This week’s main subject is Springfield outfielder Alex Castellanos (pictured), The Cardinal Nation Player of the Month for April. Also receiving ink are Castellanos’ teammate and the Cardinals organization’s monthly top player, shortstop Ryan Jackson as well as both groups’ selection as the April Pitcher of the Month, Quad Cities’ Jordan Swagerty.

Other players called out for being hot include Memphis pitcher Adam Ottavino, Springfield outfielder Tommy Pham, Palm Beach third baseman/outfielder Alan Ahmady and Quad Cities hurler Anthony Ferrara.

To access selected previous columns, click on “Writers” at the top right of the FOXSportsMidwest.com Cardinals page, and then my name on the drop down.

In case you missed our original articles on Castellanos and Swagerty from earlier this week, click on their highlighted names.

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Deep Time Baseball Venues in St. Louis

Note: This is another of our reader article submissions as part of The Cardinal Nation Blog’s Cardinals Social Media Night ticket giveaway contest. For details on how you too can participate, click here. Today, Wednesday, May 4 is the deadline for entries.

(Slide your cursor over the photos to view their captions.)

By blingboy

Part 1, Robison Field, Federal League Park

The collective memory of the Cardinal Nation only goes back so far.  If all you know is what you hear and read in the normal course of being a fan, recorded baseball history started at Sportsman’s Park in the 20’s.  Everything before that has mostly faded into the mist.  But consider that, at the time, St. Louis fans supported two Major League teams, and had for some time.  So where did they come from? Let’s have a look at the ooze which gave life to the primordial fans.

Pre-St.Louis

The first ‘Base-Ball’

I won’t argue if you say Baseball is made in America, but the concept of hitting a ball with a bat and running around four bases isn’t,  and  neither is calling such a game “Base- Ball”.

This illustration appeared in a children’s book published in England in 1744 and in colonial America in 1762.   The text for the olde English impaired reads:

“Base-Ball.  The Ball once struck off, Away flies the Boy to the next destin’d Post, And then Home with -Joy.” https://www.history.org/history/teaching/enewsletter/volume2/june04/pocketbook.cfm

The game depicted is some version of the ancient English game of Rounders which is described as “a striking and fielding team game, which involves hitting a small hard leather cased ball with a round wooden or metal bat and then running around 4 bases in order to score”.

So far as I know, this is the first time ‘base ball’ appeared in print.  Prove me wrong if you can.

Fair-minded readers will concede that cave-men were around for a very long time and one thing they all had in common is they started off as cave-boys.  Two things cave-boys would have had access to in abundance were rocks and sticks, so I’m certain that somewhere during the countless centuries one of them selected a sturdy stave, tossed a rock in the air and smacked the first line drive in the history of the world.  I imagine myself, in a striking leopard skin number, reclined on a boulder observing the event, adult beverage in hand.

The First Baseball Field

There are accounts of the game being played in the early 1800s but the rules varied from place to place as did the field of play.

If you happened to walk past the corner of 11th and Washington St. in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1845 you would have seen the first baseball field laid out according to the rules and diagram set down by Alexander Cartwright and the Knickerbocker Baseball Club.  It was called Elysian Field and was not enclosed by a fence.

Here is Mr. Cartwright’s diagram of how a baseball diamond was to be laid out.

Soon, the first baseball field enclosed by fence was built in Brooklyn, New York.  Union Grounds opened in 1862 in the block bounded by Harrison Avenue, Rutledge Street, Lynch Street, and Marcy Avenue.

Union Grounds, site of the first ever National League game, featured seating for 1,500 plus a lot of standing room.

The early parks that we know, like the Polo Grounds, started going up and Union Grounds saw its last Major League game in 1878.  It was torn down in 1883.

Here is a drawing of the Union Grounds which featured a flagpole atop a small pagoda in center field.

Crawford Boxes were added later.

Deep Time Venues in St. Louis

For our purposes, history began when Sam Breadon became majority owner and moved the Cards to Sportsman’s Park in 1920.  Everything before that is Deep Time, and that’s what we’re interested in.  The logical place to start is where they moved from, so let’s go to Cardinal Park.

That’s what it was called when Sam moved the team to Sportsman’s Park in 1920, but the venue was named New Sportsman’s Park when it opened in 1893.  New as opposed to the original Sportsman’s Park at Grand and Dodier St., which of course outlived the “New” one.  The original, which we all know and love, was called American League Park for a while when the A.L. Browns played there and the N.L. team played at the new venue.

History of  New Sportsman’s Park/League Park/Robison Field/Cardinal Field

In the 1880s, the St. Louis Browns of the American Association played home games at Sportsman’s Park at Grand and Dodier.  After the merger with the National League in 1892, the team that would become the Cardinals played there for a year until their new venue was ready, opening in 1893 as New Sportsman’s Park.  A fire in 1898 precipitated new ownership, the Robisons, who brought Cy Young with them from Cleveland.

They rebuilt the stadium, re-named it League Park and adopted a new nickname, the Perfectos.  The nickname didn’t stick, mainly because the new owners changed the team colors to red and white instigating a new nickname.  The venue became known as Robison Field.  The stadium was damaged by fire again in 1901.

The Robisons’ niece, Helene Britton, inherited the team in 1911 and officially changed the name of New Sportsman’s Park to Robison Field.  During that decade, competition from the American League Browns and Federal League Terriers led to financial problems, and Robison Field fell into disrepair.

In 1917, Ms. Britton, the first woman to own a major league baseball team, sold to a group including Sam Breadon who eventually renamed the venue League Park and then Cardinal Field before abandoning the dilapidated park and moving back to the original Sportsman’s Park in 1920 as a tenant of the Browns.

These photos show what the grandstand looked like after it was rebuilt sans skyboxes.

I would think this shows part of the stadium, the clubhouse at Prairie and Lexington St.?

The 1899 Perfectos, Cy Young labeled ‘1’ (at far left).

Anyone who says photos of Robison Field aren’t hard to come by is a liar, but here is a link to some more of them in the Missouri History Museum’s Helene Britton’s Cardinals Collection.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mohistory/sets/72157623788778618/with/4497616348/

Opening day at New Sportsman’s Park

From old Sportsman’s Park at Grand and Dodier, we walk a couple blocks north on Grand and left on Natural Bridge Rd. heading west.  Fairgrounds Park is across the street, along the north side of Natural Bridge.  Two blocks and you cross Prairie Ave and are standing outside the stadium at the left field corner where the fence is over 400 feet from home plate.

There is an entrance here at the left field corner serving the wooden bleachers which extend from deep down the third base line in front of us and around to the left down Prairie Ave behind left field.  Behind center the wall is 500 feet from the plate, and above the wall is the scoreboard.  Behind that is the clubhouse, at the corner of Prairie and Lexington. This clubhouse might be the site of the 1899 Perfectos photo.  Turning West along Lexington St. are more wooden bleachers behind right field, on down to Vandeventer Ave. where the right field pole is only 290 feet from the plate.

Heading north up Vandeventer, the first base side of the park,  the newfangled electric street-car rumbles by headed for the turn-around at Natural Bridge right outside the main entrance.  The team’s offices adjoin the grandstand, a wooden structure supported by steel beams and served by four winding staircases, with additional pavilion seating behind the first and third base lines.  Atop the grandstand are three boxes, one being the press box, and the other two for high rollers.

Lucky for us it is Thursday, April 27, 1893, and it is opening day.  As the crowd of 12,230 makes its way to their seats, we can tilt one back in the beer garden located beneath the grandstand, and take in the opening day festivities which include Adolphus Busch’s son Gus (Gussie’s dad) making a delivery in a coach and four, and a copy of The Sporting News buried beneath home plate.  The home team goes on to defeat the Louisville Colonels 4-2 and even better, goes on to take the 1893 season series against Chicago, 9 games to 3.

So far, I haven’t come up with a photo of New Sportsman’s Park/Robison Field in its original configuration.  The 1898 fire, during a game against Chicago, destroyed the grandstand and left field bleachers and resulted in 100 injuries and one death.  The rebuilt version, pictured burning down in 1901, didn’t have the skyboxes because the high rollers had barely escaped the earlier fire.  The rebuilt version had a capacity of 15,200, and further improvements in 1908 brought it up to 20,000+.

Within a few years after the Cards moved back to the original Sportsman’s Park in 1920, New Sportsman’s Park/League Park/Robison Field/Cardinals Field was torn down and Beaumont High School was built on the site, opening in 1926.

Federal League Park/Handlan Field

In 1914, you could exit Robison Field, home of the Cardinals and walk a couple blocks east along Natural Bridge Rd to Grand.  Turning right you pass the American League Brown’s Sportsman’s Park and after another 1 ¾ miles, with the campus of St. Louis University on your right, you come to Grand and Laclede Ave.

Today, on nicely manicured greenery stands Marchetti Towers, high rise dorms for the University, but if it was April 16, 1914 you would have seen an opening day crowd of 18,000 filing into a ballpark so new the paint wasn’t dry.  It wasn’t wet either because they hadn’t had time to paint it.  Construction of the 15,000 seat stadium got under way two months before opening day.  Plans for the mostly wooden grandstand had been rejected due to the numerous fires over the years at Robison Field. So to assure the safety of the fans, the plans were changed to refer to it as “temporary grandstand” and up it went in the nick of time, the corpses interred in Wesleyan Cemetery, previous occupant of the site, having been removed ahead of time. Reportedly.

The single deck wood and steel grandstand with concrete footings and pillars sits at the corner of Grand and Laclede overlooking home plate with the first base line running south along Grand to Clark St. where a pavilion stood behind the right field fence 325 feet from the plate, and where pavilion seating was 50 cents.  Grandstand seats were 75 cents.  Along Clark east of the pavilion stood bleachers, where you could sit for 25 cents, and which stretched around the corner of Clark and Theresa St. where the center field fence was 375’, and a high wooden fence blocked the sight-line from the adjoining residential neighborhood.  At Theresa and Laclede, the short right field fence was 300’, and two homers were hit over it on opening day. A “lively ball” was suspected according the Post-Dispatch account of the game. (P-D, 4-17-1914, ‘Livelier ball’).

The Federal League didn’t last. The Terriers cut prices for the 1915 season but to no avail and the team and the league folded.  Here is a post-mortem from the Globe Democrat (9-13-1915).

“Salaries are out of all reason. Traveling is too luxurious and expensive. Clubs carry too many players, assistant managers, coaches, trainers, etc… The clever energetic man who works hard six days a week…becomes disgusted and disgruntled when he sees some great lazy, hulking fellow whose sole asset is his ability to hit a baseball harder and oftener or to throw a baseball faster and more accurately…getting $1000 to $3000 a month for playing a few hours a day.”

In 1968, MLB retroactively granted major league status to the Federal League so the stats from the league’s games are included in player’s major league stats.  So the way I see it, St. Louis fans supported three major league teams during the 1914 and 1915 seasons.

In 1915, future MLB Hall of Fame pitcher Eddie Plank threw one of his eight 20 win seasons as a Terrier, and won his 300th game, and fellow HOF pitcher Mordecai Brown (career ERA 2.06, lowest of all time by a pitcher with 200+ games) went 12-6 for the Terriers in 1914.  The other MLB HOFer to play for the team was Doc Crandall who went 34-24 in two seasons.

In addition, the St. Louis Giants of the Negro National League played some of their games at the venue in 1920-1921.  The Giants, renamed the Stars, played some games at the site until their own stadium was complete.  Among several notable players was center fielder Oscar Charleston, elected to the MLB HOF in 1976, and ranked 4th best baseball player of all time in The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. James “Cool Papa” Bell joined the Stars in 1922 so would have played there too.

So whatever your position may be on the legitimacy of the Federal League as a Major League, fans saw some of the best players of all time at Handlan Park.

Part 2

Coming eventually.  We’ll have a look at where St. Louis fans saw the Negro league teams, along with some of the more obscure venues long since obscured by the mist of time.

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Some seeking relief from AT&T U-Verse on missing Cardinals telecasts

I continue to hear from unhappy baseball fans in the St. Louis area that have been unable to see selected St. Louis Cardinals games in 2011. As they are already painfully aware, AT&T U-Verse headlines a small group of providers not picking up 20 of the 152 Cardinals games carried on FOX Sports Midwest this season.

The sixth and seventh of the 20 contests in dispute occurred the last two days as both Sunday’s finale from Atlanta and Monday’s Marlins series opener at Busch Stadium were not carried on those systems.

As the standoff moves into its second month and more games are missed, a resolution satisfactory to customers seems more remote.

The heat will surely increase in ten days as two of the three important Cardinals-Reds contests in Cincinnati on Friday, May 13 and Sunday, May 15 are next on the list of excluded contests. (For the complete list of affected games, click here.)

As is seemingly always the case with all these types of problems, the root issue is money.

In 2011, FOX Sports Midwest picked up the 20 Cardinals games previously carried by KSDK Channel 5. Due to production costs and rights fees associated with the increased number of televised contests, FOX Midwest raised their price charged to cable and satellite providers accordingly.

Most systems agreed, representing 95 percent of customers in FOX Sports Midwest’s footprint. The others, including AT&T U-Verse, balked, leaving those Cardinals fans in their wake. (Click here for both lists – those providers carrying all 152 and those picking up 132 games only.)

I have learned that some frustrated Cardinals fans were successful in seeking relief from AT&T last month. Though it does not return the missing telecasts, it does raise awareness and perhaps increases the pressure level, while at least salving the wound for those unable to view games due to the dispute.

Options reportedly offered customers threatening to cancel service include reduction in phone, internet and or/cable bills for six to 12 months, account credits, faster internet service, no-charge high-definition premium channels and free movie channel packages.

These offers seem to differ by the services the customer already has and with whom the customer speaks. A number of those who have been successful suggest calling AT&T U-Verse Tier two customer retention directly at 1-877-377-0414 as satisfaction with the first level of support personnel was not always achieved.

Obviously, your mileage may vary, but if you are an unhappy AT&T U-Verse customer and want to take action, you have an option short of switching providers.

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The $64,000 (or perhaps $300 million) question

Note: This is the first of the reader article submissions as part of The Cardinal Nation Blog’s Cardinals Social Media Night ticket giveaway contest. For details on how you too can participate, click here.

The following article was submitted by Marilyn Green. You can follow her on Twitter @Marilyncolor and via Facebook as well.

By Marilyn Green

It is said that Social Security is the third rail of politics.  If there is a third rail of St. Louis Cardinals baseball, it is definitely Albert Pujols.  Not since Stan Musial has any player epitomized Cardinal baseball more than Pujols.  He is the most talked-about player in Cardinal Nation and arguably in Baseball Nation.  His very existence among Cardinal fans engenders strong emotional responses, whether good, bad or indifferent.

The 2011 season is a season like no other in Albert Pujols’ career.  For the first time in 11 seasons, Pujols is on the brink of free agency, that status so coveted among the elite, and even the non-elite, of baseball players.  The question on the lips of every Cardinals fan, and every baseball fan (if they were honest with themselves) is ‘where will Albert Pujols play after the 2011 season?’  The anticipation is palpable.

As I write this (April 30, 2011) we are 26 games into the 2011 season.  The Cardinals are 16-11, in first place in the NL Central Standings, two games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds.  The Cardinals as a team have the highest team batting average in MLB at .295, the highest on-base perecentage at .362, and the third-highest slugging percentage at .451.  Matt Holliday has the highest BA in MLB at .407 and his teammate Lance Berkman has the third-highest at .393.

What is odd about this picture is the notable absence of Pujols among the league leader standings.  As a matter of fact, Pujols is now the proud owner of the lowest stat line in the first 26 games of a season in his career.  Below, for your viewing and pondering pleasure, is a table of statistics for Albert Pujols for the first 26 games of each of his 11 seasons.  The statistics are courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

Pujols thru 26 G BA OBP SLG OPS
2001 0.336 0.429 0.703 1.132
2002 0.295 0.419 0.558 0.977
2003 0.390 0.467 0.675 1.143
2004 0.276 0.440 0.552 0.992
2005 0.339 0.405 0.587 0.992
2006 0.333 0.500 0.881 1.381
2007 0.280 0.363 0.500 0.862
2008 0.376 0.535 0.635 1.170
2009 0.337 0.449 0.745 1.154
2010 0.327 0.412 0.615 1.027
2011 0.255 0.316 0.471 0.786

So, what is your point, you ask?  Well, the obvious answer is a rhetorical question (at least by me; I have better sense than to try to answer it).  Is Pujols’ contract status and pending free agency having an effect on his 2011 performance?

If you ask Pujols, you would get a resounding (and probably annoyed) “No.”  The numbers are what they are.  When asked, Pujols has responded that he has not suddenly forgotten to hit.  Okay.  The question fans may be asking is whether some other verb, past or present participle thereof, may apply.

Have fun, and keep the tomato throwing to a minimum.  The seeds are murder to get out of your hair.

[poll id=”87″]

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Four different Cards relievers with saves in last four wins

When Trever Miller relieved Jason Motte with two outs in the 11th inning Friday night at Atlanta and collected a save, albeit a shaky one, the 37-year-old became the fourth different pitcher to record a save in the St. Louis Cardinals’ last four victories.

Miller followed Fernando Salas, who closed out Thursday’s win in Houston and Eduardo Sanchez, who earned his first MLB save on Wednesday night. In the game immediately prior to Mitchell Boggs’ blown save against the Astros on Tuesday, Boggs closed out the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday night.

Sunday marked both Boggs’ third consecutive save and the first game of the unusual four-man, four-save streak.

As is usually the case, researcher Tom Orf was able to satisfy my curiosity about the uniqueness of the feat.

The Cardinals had a similar stretch in 2005, also in April on almost the same exact dates. That one was led off by incumbent closer Jason Isringhausen and followed by Randy Flores, Julian Tavarez and Al Reyes. Just as in 2011, one loss occurred in the interim.

Since at least 1972, the Cardinals have had no other periods of four saves by four different pitchers in five or fewer games.

St. Louis Cardinals, four different relievers with saves in four consecutive wins over four or five games

2005 Opp W/L Score WP LP Save
Sunday, Apr 24 HOU W 8-5 Morris Backe Isringhausen
Tuesday, Apr 26 MIL W 5-3 Suppan Davis Flores
Wednesday, Apr 27 MIL W 6-3 Carpenter Santos Tavarez
Thursday, Apr 28 MIL L 3-4 Capuano Marquis Turnbow
Friday, Apr 29 @ATL W 6-5 Mulder Hudson Reyes

Will Motte, Ryan Franklin or Miguel Batista be given a chance to extend the streak to five on Saturday or Sunday?

Addendum

When expanding the scope to four or more consecutive Cardinals wins/saves by different pitchers over any number of games, four more examples back to 1960 were found. (Obviously, losses were interspersed.) They follow.

Win# Game# Date Opp W/L Score Save
2 2 4/10/1990 MON W 4-2 Terry
3 4 4/13/1990 @PHI W 11-0 Tewksbury
4 7 4/16/1990 @PIT W 6-4 Horton
5 9 4/18/1990 @PIT W 3-0 Dayley
3 3 4/13/1968 @CHC W 8-5 Willis
4 5 4/15/1968 @ATL W 4-3 Hughes
5 6 4/16/2008 @ATL W 6-2 Hoerner
6 9 4/19/1968 CHC W 9-2 Gilson
52 88 7/17/1967 NYM W 6-4 Briles
53 90 7/19/2007 @CIN W 3-2 Lamabe
54 91 7/20/1967 @CIN W 7-3 Hoerner
55 94 7/23/1967 ATL W 3-2 Willis
53 101 7/30/1964 @CHC W 5-2 Craig
54 104 8/2/1964 CIN W 5-4 Taylor
55 106 8/5/1964 CHC W 4-2 Humphreys
56 107 8/6/1964 CHC W 5-3 Schultz

There have not been saves by five different pitchers in five consecutive Cardinals wins any time since at least 1960. With Salas “repeating” on Saturday, saving the Cardinals win over Atlanta, it will not happen this time, either.

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Cardinals approach team record for runs in an inning

When the St. Louis Cardinals scored nine runs in the sixth inning Thursday night at Houston, it was the club’s single largest one-inning offensive explosion in almost four years. It was their biggest inning on the road in over six seasons.

It was also one of the 13 top-scoring innings since Tony La Russa became St. Louis’ manager to start the 1996 season. The details of the first 12 are provided below, courtesy of researcher Tom Orf.

The largest frame during the La Russa era was 11 runs, accomplished five times during those 15 years and once previously on July 18, 1964. That is the all-time club record for runs scored in a single inning.

Three of the four times in team history when 10 runs crossed the plate in one inning were also on La Russa’s watch. The other was in 1982.

One of the games, on April 23, 1999 in Dodger Stadium, is the famous contest in which Fernando Tatis hit two grand slams in the third inning – both against Chan Ho Park.

As a footnote, the most runs scored in an inning by a Cardinals opponent was set by the San Diego Padres when they crossed the plate a baker’s dozen times in their home park during the first inning on August 24, 1993.

St. Louis Cardinals, nine-or-more run innings, 1996-present

6/16/2007 Top of the 5th, Cardinals Batting, Ahead 5-3, Athletics’ Ruddy Lugo facing 4-5-6
Other pitchers: Kiko Calero
RBI: Miles, Stinnett, Ryan, Taguchi (2), Encarnacion, Duncan (4)
10 runs, 6 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB. Cardinals 15, Athletics 3.
5/8/2005 Bottom of the 1st, Cardinals Batting, Tied 0-0, Padres’ Tim Redding facing 1-2-3
Other pitchers: Randy Williams
RBI: Pujols (2), Edmonds (2), Rolen (4), Marquis (2)
11 runs, 7 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB. Padres 0, Cardinals 11.
4/18/2005 Top of the 9th, Cardinals Batting, Ahead 2-1, Pirates Brian Meadows facing 7-8-9
Other pitchers: Ryan Vogelsong
RBI: Walker, Eckstein, Pujols, Edmonds, Taguchi (2), Cedeno (3)
9 runs, 7 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Cardinals 11, Pirates 1.
8/19/2003 Bottom of the 8th, Cardinals Batting, Behind 3-5, Pirates’ Joe Beimel facing 2-3-4
Other pitchers: Julian Tavarez, Pat Mahomes
RBI: Rolen (5), Taguchi (2), Hart, Renteria (2)
10 runs, 7 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Pirates 5, Cardinals 13.
9/23/2002 Bottom of the 7th, Cardinals Batting, Ahead 3-1, Diamondbacks’ Mike Koplove facing 2-3-4
Other pitchers: Greg Swindell, Matt Mantei
RBI: Cairo, Renteria, Matheny, Vina, Marrero (3), Taguchi, Pujols, Perez
10 runs, 10 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Diamondbacks 1, Cardinals 13.
9/26/2002 Bottom of the 3rd, Cardinals Batting, Tied 0-0, Cubs’ Alan Benes facing 9-1-2
Other pitchers: Jesus Sanchez, Will Cunnane
RBI: Marrero, Pujols (4), Martinez (2), Andy Benes, Vina, Edmonds (2)
11 runs, 9 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB. Cubs 0, Cardinals 11.
8/29/2001 Bottom of the 2nd, Cardinals Batting, Behind 0-4, Padres’ Bobby Jones facing 4-5-6
Other pitchers: Chuck McElroy
RBI: Renteria, Marrero (2), Vina, Polanco, Drew (2), Edmonds (2)
9 runs, 7 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB. Padres 4, Cardinals 9.
4/23/1999 Top of the 3rd, Cardinals Batting, Behind 0-2, Dodgers’ Chan Ho Park facing 1-2-3
Other pitchers: Carlos Perez
RBI: Tatis (8), Marrero, Bragg, Renteria
11 runs, 6 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB. Cardinals 11, Dodgers 2.
9/17/1999 Bottom of the 4th, Cardinals Batting, Behind 0-4, Astros’ Jose Lima facing 4-5-6
Other pitchers: Brian Williams
RBI: Drew, Kennedy, McGee, McGwire (4), Howard, Tatis
9 runs, 9 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.  Astros 4, Cardinals 9.
8/7/1998 Bottom of the 1st, Cardinals Batting, Behind 0-3, Cubs’ Steve Trachsel facing 1-2-3
Other pitchers: Dave Stevens
RBI: McGwire (2), Tatis, Bottenfield (2), Ordaz, Kelly (2), Lankford (3)
11 runs, 6 hits, 2 errors, 1 LOB. Cubs 3, Cardinals 11.
5/7/1997 Bottom of the 7th, Cardinals Batting, Tied 5-5, Phillies’ Reggie Harris facing 2-3-4
Other pitchers: Jerry Spradlin, Eric Plantenberg
RBI: Gant, Mabry, Gaetti (3), Lankford (4)
9 runs, 8 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Phillies 5, Cardinals 14.
5/9/1996 Bottom of the 8th, Cardinals Batting, Behind 5-8, Giants’ Rich DeLucia facing 6-7-8
Other pitchers: Mark Dewey, Doug Creek, Jeff Juden
RBI: McGee, Alicea (2), Sweeney (2), Mabry, Pagnozzi, McGee (4)
11 runs, 8 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Giants 8, Cardinals 16.

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Pujols, Cardinals grounding into double plays at record pace

Could the influence of St. Louis Cardinals pitching guru Dave Duncan be getting out of control to the point the club’s offense has adopted his ground ball out strategy as well?

One might suggest the team’s hitters are taking it to the extreme, following the old baseball axiom, “Two outs are better than one.”

Team factoids

Cardinals’ hitters grounded into five double plays on Wednesday night at Houston, a new season high.

In the process, St. Louis’ Major League Baseball-leading season GIDP total grew to 34.

To help put that into current context, it is double the National League average of 17, excluding St. Louis.

No NL team is even close, with perennial NL Central doormat Pittsburgh having the next-most GIDPs at 23.

12 of the Cardinals’ 34 occurred at arguably the most damaging time – with one or more runners in scoring position.

The team rate is one GIDP per each 24.7 at-bats.

Despite the five road GIDPs Wednesday, the Cardinals have been much more likely to do so at home with one per every 20.2 total at-bats at Busch Stadium versus one per every 30.5 at-bats while on the road this season.

Left-handed pitchers are best at inducing ground ball double plays against Cardinals hitters with a success rate of one per 19.5 total at-bats. Righty opponents have been collecting GIDPs at a rate of one per each 27.2 at-bats.

Player factoids

Albert Pujols leads the National League and is tied for tops in MLB in ground into double plays this season with nine. No other NL player has more than six.

Among players with enough at-bats to qualify, Yadier Molina is second on the Cardinals and tied for sixth in the league with four GIDPs. Colby Rasmus and Skip Schumaker have three each.

In terms of GIDP rate among all Cardinals, Pujols (one per 10.2 at-bats) does not lead the team. Albeit in just 19 and 20 at-bats each, respectively, Nick Punto (9.5) and Gerald Laird (10), are grounding into double plays at a higher rate than Albert. Jon Jay at one GIDP in every 14 at-bats (two GIDP in 28 at-bats) would be fourth.

A player not known for his wheels, Lance Berkman, has been the most difficult Cardinal to double up with just one GIDP in his first 78 official at-bats with the club. Matt Holliday is next-toughest with one in his first 63 at-bats this season.

Player career factoids

The always slow-footed catcher Molina had a career rate of one GIDP per 23.5 at-bats heading into this season. His 2011 rate is one per 18.3 ABs.

Over his first decade prior to 2011, Pujols had ground into double plays at a rate of one per every 28.2 at-bats. His 10.2 rate this season is 176 percent higher.

Pujols is on pace to ground into 61 double plays this season. That is over double the Cardinals team record of 29, set by Ted Simmons in 1973.

The all-time NL single-season high of 32 was set by Miguel Tejada in 2008 while the MLB record of 36 was attained by Jim Rice in 1984.

Team career factoids

Last season, the Cardinals finished with the fifth-most GIDP’s in the NL with 124.

Their 2010 rate of one per 44.7 at-bats is in stark comparison to their 24.7 rate this season – 81 percent higher.

The Cardinals are on pace to ground into 230 double plays this season. It would obliterate the MLB record of 174, set by the 1990 Boston Red Sox. The 1958 Cardinals, with 166 GIDPs in just 154 games, had the most in NL history.

Footnote

Setting the league ground into double play record does not indicate team success or failure.

The 1990 Red Sox still won 88 games and finished in first place, but were swept by Tony La Russa’s Oakland A’s in the ALCS. On the other hand, the 1958 Cardinals went home at the end of the regular season, having won just 72 games and ending in fifth place.

Of course, reality after 162 games may vary substantially from rate stats through 24 games, but where will the 2011 Cardinals finish?

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Breaking down Kyle Lohse’s 2011 success

By Ian Walton

(Note from Brian Walton: Though this is the first guest article here at The Cardinal Nation Blog since the Cardinals Social Media Night tickets contest began, family ties render its author ineligible for the prize.)

Despite the loss of Adam Wainwright for the 2011 season, the St. Louis Cardinals found themselves in a tie for first place in the National League Central, led by the third best team starting pitching earned run average in the NL following Kyle Lohse’s two hit shutout of the Washington Nationals on Thursday.

Alongside impressive starts to the year by Jamie Garcia and Kyle McClellan, Lohse has thus far rebounded from a pair of injury plagued seasons to maintain the rotation as a strength for St. Louis.  He now holds a 3-1 record with a sparkling 2.01 ERA in 2011 heading into Wednesday night’s start in Houston.

Despite asserting that Lohse was singularly responsible for the Cardinals’ failure to reach the playoffs in 2010 (link), I am encouraged by what I am seeing from him this year. Most notable has been his exceptionally strong control in 2011, allowing a mere four walks in 31 1/3 innings.  That is good for a 1.15 BB/9 rate, a significant improvement over his already strong career 2.74 BB/9.  Furthermore, he has increased his groundball percentage to 45.9% this season from a 41.9% career mark.

Lohse has a fairly diverse arsenal as he utilizes a four-seam fastball, a sinker, a changeup, a slider, and the occasional curveball.  The changeup has been his most effective pitch thrown every year since 2007 and, in fact, throughout the vast majority of his career according to Fangraphs.  As such, it is encouraging to see him with a career high changeup usage of 20.5% in 2011, up from 13.0 % in 2010 and 15.8% in 2009.

As his primary swing and miss pitch, Lohse’s changeup has a 16.9% whiff rate in 2011.  Thrown at an average of 79.2 MPH, it provides a strong contrast to his 88.9 MPH fastballs, which are thrown almost exclusively to contact.  In pitch counts with two strikes and fewer than three balls, Lohse’s changeup was thrown a whopping 36.7% of the time in 2011.

Table 1: Kyle Lohse strike percentage by pitch type

Lohse 2011
 thrown vs RHB % strike vs RHB thrown vs LHB % strike vs LHB
Four Seam 69 63.8 63 65.1
Sinker 46 73.9 71 56.3
Changeup 27 59.3 56 66.1
Slider 45 82.2 12 58.3
Curveball 3 33.3 10 70

The right-handed pitching Lohse’s changeup usage against left-handed batters is 26.4%.  His changeup is particularly useful against lefties as his sinker and slider are clearly considerably less effective against those batters as shown in the table above.  I must admit to being a little confused as to why he has been favoring the sinker over the four-seam against left-handers to date, however.

As can be seen in the above graph, shown from the perspective of the catcher, Lohse’s changeups (in purple) have been kept down and away from left handed batters, hugging the edges of the strike zone unless he tries to get them to chase low.  This can be particularly deceptive when paired with his four-seam fastball (in red), which is often thrown high and inside.

Although his changeup usage against right handed batters drops to 14.0% primarily in favor of his slider, I remain encouraged by his command of his changeup as he still manages to pitch the ball low and away despite moving to the other side of the plate.

In conclusion, even beyond his 2.01 ERA this year, I like what Lohse is doing on the mound.  He has good deception and location on his changeup, and he is rightfully throwing it more than ever.  His walks are down and his groundball percentage is up.  As long as he can stay healthy and maintain his current approach, he should provide a much needed boost to the Cardinals’ playoff chances this season.

Texas Leaguers provided the graphs used in this article while both Texas Leaguers and Fangraphs provided the stats contained herein.

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Boggs’ 3-for-3 in saves a good start, but not unusual

Lacking the excitement surrounding his recently-demoted predecessor Ryan Franklin, new St. Louis Cardinals closer Mitchell Boggs quietly converted each of his first three save opportunities during the club’s most recent homestand.

The three saves, collected against Washington in last Wednesday’s game two and versus Cincinnati on Friday and Sunday, were the first three opportunities of Boggs’ major league career, which spans back to June 2008 and 91 previous appearances.

To help us determine how notable Boggs’ introduction to closing has been, researcher Tom Orf pulled the list of Cardinals relievers who converted their first three save chances since 1950.

Boggs became number 46 on the list but the first since Al Reyes six years ago. He has logged the ninth 3-for-3 introduction to the job over Tony La Russa’s 16 years managing the club.

Notable in their absences are Franklin and Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley. Eck blew two of his first four chances for La Russa in 1996. Franklin’s 2007 start with St. Louis was far rockier. He blew his first three save opportunities and five of six in his first season with the club.

St. Louis Cardinals with saves in all of first three-plus opportunities, 1950-present

Pitcher Start End Saves
Mitchell Boggs 4/20/2011 4/24/2011+ 3
Al Reyes 4/29/2005 5/9/2005 3
Julian Tavarez 4/22/2004 8/8/2004 3
Jason Isringhausen 4/9/2002 4/24/2002 3
Dave Veres 4/8/2000 4/28/2000 5
Ricky Bottalico 4/16/1999 5/20/1999 3
Scott Radinsky 4/27/1999 5/10/1999 3
Rich Croushore 6/18/1998 7/26/1998 7
Jeff Brantley 4/9/1998 5/3/1998 6
Tom Henke 4/30/1995 7/22/1995 22
Rene Arocha 5/17/1994 6/11/1994 4
Lee Smith 5/11/1990 6/1/1990 5
Pat Perry 4/28/1986 4/30/1987 3
Bill Campbell 5/10/1985 8/25/1985 4
Ken Dayley 5/9/1985 5/22/1985 3
Doug Bair 9/29/1981 6/18/1982 3
Bruce Sutter 4/12/1981 4/26/1981 4
Darold Knowles 4/18/1979 5/8/1979 3
Roy Thomas 6/30/1978 8/6/1978 3
John Urrea 4/10/1977 4/17/1977 3
Bill Greif 6/12/1976 9/19/1976 6
John Curtis 6/25/1974 8/17/1976 3
Orlando Pena 6/26/1973 8/5/1973 4
Moe Drabowsky 4/20/1971 7/9/1971 5
Sal Campisi 5/10/1970 8/1/1970 4
Wayne Granger 6/5/1968 6/28/1968 3
Larry Jaster 5/8/1967 9/12/1967 3
Jack Lamabe 7/19/1967 9/7/1967 3
Ron Willis 10/1/1966 5/12/1967 3
Joe Hoerner 5/19/1966 7/28/1966 11
Hal Woodeshick 6/18/1965 7/24/1965 9
Ray Sadecki 4/18/1962 7/1/1965 4
Mike Cuellar 6/23/1964 8/14/1964 4
Roger Craig 4/22/1964 7/30/1964 5
Ed Bauta 8/10/1960 8/29/1961 6
Bob Miller 4/20/1961 6/18/1961 3
Jim Brosnan 6/29/1958 9/6/1958 3
Lloyd Merritt 6/7/1957 9/25/1957 7
Larry Jackson 7/7/1955 5/8/1957 12
Jackie Collum 5/7/1956 9/15/1956 7
Jim Konstanty 6/9/1956 7/28/1956 5
Barney Schultz 5/11/1955 5/18/1955 3
Stu Miller 5/8/1953 6/8/1954 5
Eddie Yuhas 6/17/1952 7/12/1952 3
Al Brazle 5/14/1950 4/15/1952 8
Howie Pollet 5/21/1950 6/3/1951 3

It will take some months of flawless pitching before Boggs can threaten the best start for a new Cardinals closer in recent years. In 1995, the season prior to La Russa’s arrival, veteran Tom Henke converted his first 22 save opportunities.

Henke was in a much difference career place than Boggs, having already logged 275 saves with Texas and Toronto. It would become the final season of Henke’s 14 years in the major leagues. At age 37, he went out on top, with his 1.83 ERA the lowest of his career and his 36 saves in 38 opportunities representing his second-best season.

At this point, Boggs can only dream of such success. His initial test drive will continue on rougher roads in Houston and Atlanta this week.

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Win Cardinals Social Media Night tickets

The St. Louis Cardinals have announced their first 2011 Social Media Night, to be held Tuesday evening, May 17 as the Cardinals entertain the Philadelphia Phillies at Busch Stadium. Special $20 event tickets are already on sale, which include a Lower Left Field Box seat for the game, a special pre-game social hour and event t-shirt.

The Cardinal Nation Blog will be giving away two of these special tickets for free. Here is how you can win.

Submit an article about any Cardinals-related topic, past or present, major or minor league-focused. The best articles will be published here on the blog and the winner will be awarded the tickets. That is all there is to it!

All submissions need to be emailed to me at brian at thecardinalnationblog.com no later than Wednesday, May 4. The winner will be announced on Saturday, May 7.

The sooner your article is submitted, the better chance it will have to be seen. I will be the final decision-maker on the winner, but reader input will also be taken into consideration.

Don’t forget to include your Facebook address and Twitter id so they can be publicized as well. What a great way to make new Cardinals friends and acquire new followers!

Even if you don’t live in the St. Louis area or cannot attend the May 17 game, you can still submit your article and have a chance to win. A free three-month subscription to TheCardinalNation.com will be offered as an alternative to the first-place winner – if the entrant requests this at the time of article submission. In that case, we will have two winners, as the tickets will be awarded to another entrant able to attend the game.

Here are the details for the Cardinals 2011 Social Media Night:

  • Tickets are now on sale
  • Date of Event: Tuesday, May 17 vs. Phillies
  • $20 price includes the following:

– Field Box ticket to the game
– “Tweet Me In St. Louis” T-Shirt
– Access to a Pre-Game Social Hour

  • Pre-Game Social Hour

– 6 PM – 7 PM in the Group Sales Corner (located across from the Champions Club entrance)
– Chance to “Tweet Up” with your Twitter followers and Facebook friends
– Drinks will be available for purchase

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La Russa works weather and rules to advantage

St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa may have executed a clever maneuver with the weather his accomplice Friday evening. He both saved his starting pitcher and put his opponent in the position of wasting his – without the latter having thrown an official pitch.

Though severe storms were clearly heading toward St. Louis’ Busch Stadium, La Russa did not exercise his right as the home team manager to delay the start of the first game of his club’s series-opening contest against the defending National League Central Division champions from Cincinnati.

Under official MLB Rule 3.10 (a), “The manager of the home team shall be the sole judge as to whether a game shall be started because of unsuitable weather conditions or the unfit condition of the playing field…”

Instead of letting his regularly scheduled starting pitcher Kyle McClellan prepare for the start, La Russa substituted reliever Miguel Batista. By not delaying the game, La Russa did not make an easy decision for his counterpart Dusty Baker. The Reds skipper had access to the same weather reports, of course, but elected to remain with Edinson Volquez.

Only when the lineup cards are exchanged, which is dictated by Rule 4.01 to occur five minutes prior to the scheduled starting time, do the weather-related game decisions move to the umpires.

Typically starting pitchers begin their warmup around 30 minutes prior to game time. They run, stretch and long-toss before taking the bullpen mound to throw for 15-20 minutes. Home pitchers might finish five minutes before game time while the road pitcher may throw until just before the game begins.

Once 7:15 arrived, the umpires started the game on time. Batista threw only six official pitches and just three minutes elapsed before the rains began and the game was stopped. Volquez was ready and waiting to pitch the home first, but never had the opportunity to do so prior to the delay.

In a game delay situation, the hurlers need to remain warm and in routine by continuing to throw roughly as if they were pitching each inning. Eventually, as the delay continues, the pitcher uses up his allocation of pitches and is no longer able to safely return.

After Friday’s two hour, 10 minute wait, neither Batista nor Volquez would continue.

The difference was that La Russa could prepare McClellan to take the mound after the delay while Baker had to move to his long man, left-hander Matt Maloney, to “re-start” the game. Officially, both McClellan and Maloney appeared in relief of the announced starters.

Further, the Cardinals were coming off a complete game by Kyle Lohse on Thursday so their rested pen could afford the loss of Batista for the evening.

At this point, it is unclear how many days will pass before Volquez could start again, but perhaps it could be as soon as Sunday night’s nationally-televised game three. Nor is Friday’s outcome decided, but in this instant at least, La Russa appeared to outmaneuver his long-time rival.

Footnote: The game was completed with no further delays as the Cardinals went on to claim the 4-2 victory. While each club ended up using five pitchers, McClellan went six innings and picked up the win while Volquez pitched none. Maloney earned the loss, yielding eight hits and three earned runs in just two innings.

The following comes from the AP post-game article.

“I’m going to give the Cardinals two thumbs up for what they did,” the Reds’ Brandon Phillips said. “They changed their pitcher on us at the last minute, that was a very smart thing to do.”The next thing you know they brought in their starter who was going to start the game, and he was fresh.”

Reds manager Dusty Baker thought the forecast was favorable to play much longer. He said Volquez perhaps could start Sunday night in the series finale.

“The information we received was probably not the same information they received,” Baker said. “We probably shouldn’t have started in the first place. We thought there was going to be a window of opportunity.”

Apparently, Baker and his support personnel need to learn how to better use the television, internet and mobile technology for timely information gathering. Especially in this day and age, the lack of a current weather report should never have been the issue.

As explained both above and below in the comments, the umpires had no control over the events that led to Volquez warming up but not pitching.

It will be interesting to see if Baker brings Volquez back on Sunday night. Even if so, we may never know whether it would be to save face or because the more experienced Volquez (2-0, 6.75 ERA) is a superior alternative to the scheduled starter Sam LeCure (0-1, 4.15).

Stay tuned…

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Lohse joins select Cardinals few with April gem

St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Kyle Lohse pitched a masterpiece at Busch Stadium on Thursday afternoon, tossing a two-hit shutout at the Washington Nationals. Both hits were singles. The 32-year-old walked two and struck out six. He threw 72 strikes among his 111 pitches.  St. Louis ended the day on top by a 5-0 score.

Lohse is now 3-1 on the season with a 2.01 ERA.

Lohse’s performance was his best-ever outing in his 11-year career. It also ranks among the 17 top April pitching performances in the history of the Cardinals franchise, going back to 1919. Further, it is one of only 14 such shutouts.

The last Cardinal to toss an April two-hitter or better did it exactly 22 years prior, as Jose DeLeon stymied Montreal on a pair of hits on April 21, 1989.

In the list below, the Cardinals April leaders with two two-hitters or better each are Bob Forsch, Ernie Brogio and Max Lanier. One of Lanier’s April two-hitters was not a shutout.

Only Broglio, who became most famous for being dealt to the Cubs in the Lou Brock trade the next June, had two gems in the same season, 1963. Lohse will likely have just one more start this month in an attempt to match Broglio.

Forsch owns the Cardinals’ only April no-hitter, thrown against the Philadelphia Phillies on April 16, 1978.

Hall of Famer Bob Gibson must have typically heated up with the weather as he managed just one of these April performances. It was very early in his 17-year career, on April 26, 1962, and he allowed two runs that day. Interestingly, another Hall of Famer, Dizzy Dean, is not to be found here, nor are current aces Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright.

St. Louis Cardinals, two-hits or less, complete game, April, 1919-current

Pitcher Date Opp Result IP H R ER BB SO
Kyle Lohse 4/21/2011 WAS W 5-0 9 2 0 0 2 6
Jose DeLeon 4/21/1989 MON W 1-0 9 2 0 0 1 6
Bob Forsch 4/16/1978 PHI W 5-0 9 0 0 0 2 3
Bob Forsch 4/9/1975 MON W 4-0 9 2 0 0 0 6
Mike Torrez 4/15/1970 MON W 10-0 9 1 0 0 6 3
Al Jackson 4/25/1967 HOU W 4-0 9 1 0 0 3 3
Ernie Broglio 4/23/1963 HOU W 15-0 9 2 0 0 3 2
Ernie Broglio 4/9/1963 NYM W 7-0 9 2 0 0 2 8
Bob Gibson 4/26/1962 HOU W 3-2 9 2 2 2 2 5
Harvey Haddix 4/25/1956 CHC W 6-0 9 2 0 0 5 3
Tom Poholsky 4/25/1951 PIT W 4-0 9 2 0 0 2 0
Max Lanier 4/18/1944 PIT W 2-0 9 2 0 0 2 3
Max Lanier 4/26/1941 CHC W 6-2 9 2 2 2 4 7
Lon Warneke 4/29/1939 CHC W 2-0 9 1 0 0 0 3
Bill Hallahan 4/18/1930 CHC W 11-1 9 2 1 0 9 11
Flint Rhem 4/23/1927 CHC W 7-0 9 2 0 0 3 4
Jesse Haines 4/13/1927 CHC W 5-0 9 2 0 0 1 4

Thanks to researcher Tom Orf for providing the above table.

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Who will start for St. Louis on Sunday?

Though it was obscured for many by the continued Ryan Franklin controversy, St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jake Westbrook had his fourth consecutive subpar outing of the season on Wednesday afternoon.

The right-hander’s day was done after just three innings. Westbrook was roughed up by the Washington Nationals to the tune of seven runs on seven hits and two walks. Of his 67 pitches, 39 were strikes. His season ERA ballooned to 9.82.

Because of Tuesday night’s rainout, Westbrook had been held over to Wednesday. That means his next scheduled turn would be Sunday night against division rival Cincinnati on just three days of rest.

Manager Tony La Russa has not yet confirmed Westbrook will be his Sunday starter in front of the ESPN national audience, but he likely has few alternatives.

St. Louis’ bullpen was taxed by the Wednesday double-header and would seem to need some well-pitched starts by Kyle Lohse, Kyle McClellan and Chris Carpenter between now and Sunday to enable a bullpen game that evening to become a viable consideration.

There isn’t a clear and easy option in Triple-A, either. Memphis’ scheduled Sunday pitcher is Brandon Dickson, who has been pitching very well. Because the right-hander is not on the 40-man roster and it is full, a move, while not impossible, would have associated risks. P.J. Walters is the only member of the Redbirds rotation on the 40-man, but his scheduled day to pitch is Saturday and he has not had good results in the early going.

That brings us back to Westbrook. I asked Tom Orf to research Westbrook’s career to identify his past experience when starting with just three days rest.

There are only two such examples, both from the infancy of the 33-year-old’s 11 seasons as a major leaguer.

Most recall Westbrook as a Cleveland Indian, but he actually began in the Montreal system before being dealt to the New York Yankees in return for Hideki Irabu in 1999.

On June 22, 2000, Westbrook took the ball for the Yanks against the Red Sox. It was only the third appearance of his career and would turn out to be his last MLB outing that season.

He took the defeat in a 4-2 Boston win. Westbrook went only 2 2/3 innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits and two walks. He fanned just one.

Then with Cleveland, on July 3, 2001, Westbrook pitched on three days rest when he was given a start, once again facing Boston.

This time, he earned the victory in a 9-1 Indians win. Westbrook yielded just one earned run on five hits and two walks. He had four strikeouts. The only Boston run scored on a Trot Nixon home run in Westbrook’s sixth and final inning.

No one yet knows who Cardinals fans will see take the Busch Stadium mound on Sunday night and how he and the club will fare.

[poll id=”86″]

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Cardinals need 2001 results in 2011

The St. Louis Cardinals have traditionally been fast starters in the National League Central Division. Not so in 2011, as the team has played just .500 ball in the early going.

The competitive balance across the 2011 NL Central has been illustrated through 16 games. The division leader, Cincinnati, had nine wins with four other clubs, including St. Louis, just one game behind.

Then, there is Pittsburgh, still looking for a winning NL Central season, let alone a post-season berth.

Carrying a .500 record though 16 games does not necessarily indicate future doom.

Since the current six-team configuration of the NL Central was established in 1998, three of the eventual 13 divisional winners had logged eight or fewer wins through 16 games with two other 8-8 or worse NLC clubs going on to earn the wild card.

The 2001 Cardinals are one of those five improving NLC teams. Despite having gone 7-9 to start the season, they went on to win 93 games and entered the playoffs. It was also current hitting coach Mark McGwire’s swan song as an active player.

In aggregate over this 13-plus-year period, St. Louis has the most first-16-game wins, most regular season wins (at 1,165) and most playoff appearances with seven.

Cardinals fans have to hope they can equal or better 2001 here in 2011.

National League Central, wins, first 16 games, 1998-current

NL Central STL PIT MIL HOU CIN CHC total
1998 10 7 11 8 8 9 53
1999 10 8 7 9 6 7 47
2000 11 6 6 6 8 6 43
2001 7 6 7 9 9 11 49
2002 9 11 4 7 8 6 45
2003 9 8 6 9 5 10 47
2004 9 7 8 9 10 10 53
2005 11 5 6 8 8 8 46
2006 10 5 8 11 10 9 53
2007 7 6 9 9 8 6 45
2008 11 7 10 6 7 10 51
2009 11 9 7 6 9 8 50
2010 10 7 8 6 7 6 44
2011 8 8 8 5 9 8 46
total 133 100 105 108 112 114
Division winner
Wildcard

National League Central, wins, season, 1998-current

NL Central STL PIT MIL HOU CIN CHC total
1998 83 69 74 102 77 90 495
1999 75 78 74 97 96 67 487
2000 95 69 73 72 85 65 459
2001 93 62 68 93 66 88 470
2002 97 72 56 84 78 67 454
2003 85 75 68 87 69 88 472
2004 105 72 67 92 76 89 501
2005 100 67 81 89 73 79 489
2006 83 67 75 82 80 66 453
2007 78 68 83 73 72 85 459
2008 86 67 90 86 74 97 500
2009 91 62 80 74 78 83 468
2010 86 57 77 76 91 75 462
2011 8 8 8 5 9 8 46
total 1165 893 974 1112 1024 1047

Thanks to researcher Tom Orf for providing the above tables.

[poll id=”85″]

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Eduardo Sanchez cannot top John Goody Urrea

Reliever Eduardo Sanchez has captured the fancy of St. Louis Cardinals fans since his promotion from Triple-A Memphis last Wednesday. It is for good reason, as the Venezuelan native fanned eight of his first 11 batters faced over his first two outings as a major leaguer.

With the corresponding high-visibility failings of closer Ryan Franklin, the 22-year-old has the support of some to be given a shot at the ninth inning for St. Louis despite his inexperience. Sanchez is our fourth-ranked prospect in the Cardinals system.

In our poll here at The Cardinal Nation Blog, Sanchez has garnered 21% percent of the fan vote for closer, in third place after leader Mitchell Boggs (29%). The second highest number of votes have been cast for a committee approach (27%), of which Sanchez would presumably be a part.

Only 11 pitchers collected a save in any of their first three games pitching in relief for St. Louis since at least 1950. Sanchez still could join them and make it a round dozen, if given a chance on Tuesday night as the Cardinals entertain Washington.

Across MLB, the save-in-the-first-three-relief-games club is much larger, numbering 177 hurlers in the last 50 years alone.

No matter what happens going forward – even if Sanchez is given an opportunity for a save on Tuesday night and converts – he cannot match the start of John Urrea’s Cardinals career in 1977.

Since at least 1950, only one Cardinal earned a save in each of his first three relief appearances, none other than Californian John Goody Urrea.

Like Sanchez, Urrea was just 22 years of age at the time of his MLB debut. The organization’s first-round draft pick in 1974, 14th overall, leapt over Triple-A to join the 1977 Cardinals out of spring training. Though a starter in the minors, Urrea was called upon to break in by pitching out of the bullpen.

The right-hander collected saves in his first three games – on April 10, 14 and 17. Over the next three months, the rookie made 25 more appearances in relief, collecting another save and three wins, but also his first three blown saves and a trio of losses as well.

In late July, manager Vern Rapp moved Urrea into the rotation, where he made a dozen starts before another relief outing on the season’s final day. The Cardinals went 8-4 in his starts.

Urrea was one of seven Cardinals with saves in 1977. His four saves tied for third on the club with Al Hrabosky, the team leader with ten. It was The Mad Hungarian’s final season with St. Louis as the battle with management over his Fu Manchu reached the boiling point.

Over the 1978-80 seasons, Urrea split his time between being a starter in Triple-A and a swing man with St. Louis, moving more and more toward relief.

In the 1980-81 off-season, along with Terry Kennedy and others, Urrea was part of a ten-player trade with San Diego which netted the Cardinals Gene Tenace and future Hall of Fame reliever Rollie Fingers. The latter was quickly spun off to Milwaukee by the new sheriff in town, Whitey Herzog.

After spending 1981 in the Padres’ bullpen, Urrea was released at the end of 1982 spring training. That ended his time in organized ball as he finished with nine career saves, a record of 17-18 and an ERA of 3.74 in 139 games, 101 with St. Louis.

Researcher Tom Orf pulled for me the 11 Cardinals pitchers since 1950 to collect at least one save in their first three relief appearances. The most recent and the only Cardinal since Urrea to accomplish it was Brad Thompson in his 2005 debut. It was the only save of Thompson’s six-year major league career.

Ex-Reds star Wayne Granger, originally a Cardinals farmhand, would go on to collect the most lifetime saves of the group with 108. The other ten would total just 55 over their respective careers.

St. Louis Cardinals relievers, save in any of first three career games, 1950-current

Gm Date Player IP Inning Opponent Career Saves
1 5/8/2005 Brad Thompson 3 7-9,S SD 1
3 4/17/1977 John Urrea 2.2 7-9,S Pit 9
2 4/14/1977 John Urrea 2.1 7-9,S NYM
1 4/10/1977 John Urrea 0.1 9-9,S Pit
1 6/5/1968 Wayne Granger 1 9-9,S Hou 108
2 4/19/1968 Hal Gilson 3.1 6-9,S ChC 2
2 9/13/1966 Dick Hughes 1 9-9,S Cin 8
2 6/20/1965 Don Dennis 0.2 9-9,S Mil 8
3 4/20/1958 Phil Clark 3 7-9,S ChC 1
1 8/3/1957 Billy Muffett 4 6-9,S Phi 15
3 4/20/1955 Herb Moford 1.1 8-9,S Cin 3
1 8/3/1951 Dick Bokelman 1.2 8-9,S NYG 3
2 5/6/1951 Joe Presko 2 8-9,S Bro 5

We will see on Tuesday night if Sanchez joins this “elite” group, or over time can perhaps surpass them all, including John Urrea.

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Blown Saves, Inc.: Franklin, Thornton and Marshall

As any St. Louis Cardinals fan that watched Sunday afternoon’s road trip-ending 2-1 walkoff loss in Los Angeles already knows, Cardinals closer Ryan Franklin blew his fourth save of the young season.

In the process, the 38-year-old became only the third reliever since the save stat was introduced to blow four save opportunities by his team’s 16th game of the season. The other two were the White Sox’ Matt Thornton, who did it earlier this month, and Montreal’s Mike Marshall in 1973.

It took Franklin six appearances to blow four, while Thornton did it even faster, in five appearances over his team’s first 12 games. Like Franklin, Marshall blew his fourth save in his team’s game #16, but it was already his ninth appearance that year.

Marshall was 30 years old at the time and would recover to win 14 games and save 31 that season. He finished second in the 1973 National League Cy Young Award voting and fifth in the Most Valuable Player balloting. The next season, Marshall became the first reliever ever to win the Cy Young Award.

Like Thornton, Franklin’s career trajectory is in serious question.

Four saves blown in team’s first 16 games, MLB


 Franklin-2011















Gtm Date Tm
Opp Rslt Inngs Dec IP H R ER BB SO HR HBP ERA BF
1 Mar 31 STL SDP L,3-5 9-9 BS(1) 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 9.00 5
5 Apr 5 STL PIT W,3-2 9-GF S(1) 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 4.50 4
7 Apr 8 STL @ SFG L,4-5 9-9 BS(2) 1 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 6.00 6
8 Apr 9 STL @ SFG L,2-3 9-GF BL(0-1) 0 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 9.82 5
13 Apr 14 STL @ LAD W,9-5 9-GF 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 9.64 4
16 Apr 17 STL @ LAD L,2-1 9-GF BL(0-2) 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 11.57 1

Thornton-2011















Gtm Date Tm
Opp Rslt Inngs Dec IP H R ER BB SO HR HBP ERA BF
3 Apr 3 CHW @ CLE L,1-7 8-GF(8) 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.00 4
5 Apr 6 CHW @ KCR W,10-7 9-10 BS(1) 2 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 3.38 9
7 Apr 8 CHW TBR L,7-9 9=9 BL(0-1) 0 4 5 0 0 1 1 0 2.70 8
10 Apr 11 CHW OAK L,1-2 9-9 BS(3) 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.45 3
12 Apr 13 CHW OAK L,4-7 9-10 BL(0-2) 1 3 3 3 2 1 0 0 7.71 8

Marshall-1973















Gtm Date Tm
Opp Rslt Inngs Dec IP H R ER BB SO HR HBP ERA BF
1 Apr 6 MON @ CHC L,2-3 9-GF BS(1) 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0.00 4
2 Apr 7 MON @ CHC L,2-3 8-GF(10) L(0-1) 2 3 1 1 2 2 0 0 2.70 11
5 Apr 12 MON @ PHI W,5-3 7-GF S(1) 3 2 1 1 2 2 0 1 2.84 13
7 Apr 15 MON PIT L,3-8 8-GF 2 6 4 4 1 0 1 0 6.48 13
8 Apr 17 MON PHI L,6-9 7-8 BL(0-2) 1 3 3 3 1 1 0 0 8.38 8
12 Apr 22(1) MON @ NYM W,2-1 8-9 BW(1-2) 1 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 8.18 7
13 Apr 22(2) MON @ NYM L,3-13 8-GF(8) 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.50 3
15 Apr 25 MON @ CIN L,4-7 6-7 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.59 6
16 Apr 27 MON @ HOU L,5-6 8-8 BS(4) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.43 1

Special thanks to researcher Tom Orf for supplying the above table.

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Cardinals with no compensation picks in 2011 draft

Major League Baseball has determined all of the compensation picks and their sequence in preparation for the June  First-Year Player Draft. Despite having had nine free agents, the St. Louis Cardinals have no extra selections in 2011, the second time in the last three years they will miss out. They lost no Type A or B free agents over the winter that were compensation-eligible.

As such, St. Louis will draft 22nd in the first round, then not again until the 79th pick, as their second-rounder is pushed back by all the compensation picks awarded other clubs. St. Louis’ third round selection will be 109th and fourth pick will be at 140.

The following outlines the most recent dozen Cardinals compensation picks since 2005 by year and for whose signing elsewhere they were awarded.

Nine of the 12 additions are right-handed pitchers. Eight are still active in professional ball, though two have been traded away.

One, Colby Rasmus, has reached the majors and in fact is in his third season with St. Louis. The other five Cardinals all remain top prospects, ranking among the top 23 in The Cardinal Nation top 40 prospect rankings.

The Cardinals most recent top three compensation selections are members of the current top ten, Lance Lynn, Tyrell Jenkins and Seth Blair, so it is clear these compensation picks have value. Getting Mark Hamilton for an Abraham Nunez and Lance Lynn for the loss of Troy Percival have been among the club’s better takes in recent years.

St. Louis Cardinals, compensation draft picks, 2005-2011

Draft Round Overall Pick Position TCN Top 40 Player Lost
2011 none
2010 1s 46 Seth Blair RHP #10 Mark DeRosa
1s 50 Tyrell Jenkins RHP #9 Joel Pineiro
2009 none
2008 1s 39 Lance Lynn RHP #3 Troy Percival
2007 1s 36 Clayton Mortensen RHP traded Jeff Suppan
2 71 David Kopp RHP #23 Jeff Suppan
2006 1s 42 Chris Perez RHP traded Matt Morris
2 54 Brad Furnish LHP released Matt Morris
2s 76 Mark Hamilton 1B #20 Abraham Nunez
2005 1 28 Colby Rasmus CF ex-#1 MLB Edgar Renteria
1s 43 Mark McCormick RHP released Edgar Renteria
1s 46 Tyler Herron RHP released Mike Matheny
2 70 Josh Wilson RHP retired Mike Matheny

The complete list of the 2011 draft order for all 30 clubs can be seen at MLB.com.

For full coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2011 draft, check out TheCardinalNation.com.

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Cardinals offensive explosion continues

During Friday night’s St. Louis Cardinals game, another lop-sided victory over the Dodgers in Los Angeles, researcher Tom Orf was pounding out the factoids, or should I say the tweets.

There was a lot to say. After all, the Cardinals offense blasted a season-high 19 hits in the 11-2 win. It marked the fifth straight game in which the Cardinals collected at least 14 hits and the fourth consecutive game in which they had 16 or more. It was the fifth straight game in which the Cardinals had scored at least eight runs.

The win was powered by Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman with two home runs each. It was the 40th multi-home run game of Albert’s career. Yadier Molina was on base five times, four via singles. Ryan Theriot extended his hitting streak to seven games and drove in one.

From the team perspective, St. Louis reached .500 for the first time this season at 7-7 and closed Cincinnati’s lead in the National League Central to 1 1/2 games.

Here is a sample of Orf’s points, preserved in their maximum 140-character splendor.

  • Cardinals most RBI from leadoff spot in 1st 14 games La Russa era: 7-Vina 2002, 6-Theriot 2011/Vina 2001/McGee 1996
  • Cardinals the 1st team since the 2000 Tigers with 15+ hits in 4 consecutive games and only 6th team since 1938 to do it
  • Cardinals most 4-hit games by a catcher 19-Simmons, 8-McCarver/W.Cooper/Molina
  • Now Cardinals one of only 3 teams since 1938 with 4 straight games of 16+ hits (10th since 1919)
  • Pujols 29th player in MLB history to have 40 multi-home run games
  • Pujols 25th time with HR in consecutive plate appearance & 1st time 2 Cardinals with HR in consecutive plate appearances in same game
  • Another one-last time the Cardinals scored 50 runs over 5 games, 1962, games 1-5(53) 2-6(51) 3-7(51) prior to that 1948

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Tracking the St. Louis Cardinals hit parade

The St. Louis Cardinals offense is showing signs of life for the first time this season, with a quartet of 14-hit games.

In the midst of a push to reach .500 for the time this season, the 6-7 St. Loius Cardinals improved to 4-3 during their current 10-game West Coast road trip after knocking off the Los Angeles Dodgers by a 9-5 score on Thursday night.

For the fourth straight night, the Cardinals had at least 14 hits and scored at least eight runs. Researcher Tom Orf pulled the following tables, which indicate how rarely this type of proficient hit attack has occurred in recent years and over the long haul.

This is only the second time since 1933 that the Cardinals have strung together four games with 14+ hits. The other was in 1979. Amazingly, nine of the top such streaks occurred in the 1920s and early 1930s.

St. Louis Cardinals, 14+ hits in consecutive games (1920-present)

G Tm Start End W L AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SO BB SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Opponent
6 STL 8/31/1930 9/7/1930 6 0 234 57 100 20 6 3 54 20 13 3 0 .427 .457 .603 1.060 CHC,PIT,CIN
6 STL 9/9/1922 9/15/1922 4 2 233 62 92 11 5 8 56 21 20 8 8 .395 .447 .588 1.035 CIN,PHI
5 STL 7/11/1923 7/16/1923 4 1 209 54 88 12 3 2 43 12 15 4 1 .421 .462 .536 .998 BSN,PHI
5 STL 6/27/1922 7/1/1922 4 1 207 40 75 16 5 2 39 19 17 1 2 .362 .410 .517 .927 CIN,PIT
4 STL 4/11/2011 4/14/2011+ 3 1 168 40 63 15 1 9 38 27 8 0 0 .375 .411 .637 1.048 ARI,LAD
4 STL 5/30/1979 6/2/1979 4 0 157 36 65 8 3 9 34 16 13 5 1 .414 .453 .675 1.129 NYM,LAD
4 STL 6/19/1933 6/22/1933 2 2 164 30 61 17 2 3 29 12 10 2 0 .372 .408 .555 .963 BRO,PHI
4 STL 8/21/1930 8/24/1930 4 0 144 44 62 14 4 1 41 6 17 2 0 .431 .491 .604 1.095 PHI
4 STL 6/22/1930 6/24/1930 3 1 159 41 67 13 5 6 40 15 11 6 0 .421 .465 .679 1.144 PHI,BSN
4 STL 7/28/1928 7/31/1928 3 1 197 44 75 25 1 4 43 6 25 3 0 .381 .455 .579 1.034 PHI
4 STL 5/8/1923 5/11/1923 3 1 167 41 70 17 1 8 39 13 10 7 3 .419 .455 .677 1.132 PHI

The Cardinals are the 23rd team to do this across all of MLB since 1960. The Minnesota Twins had a five-game stretch last season, but no clubs had even four in 2009.

The record over the last 50 years is seven such games, logged by the Atlanta Braves in late July of 1993. Joe Torre’s Cardinals, on their way to a third-place finish, were among their victims.

MLB, 14+ hits in consecutive games (1960-present)

G Tm Start End W L AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SO BB SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Opponent
7 ATL 7/21/1993 7/27/1993 6 1 284 73 113 17 2 19 68 36 26 4 1 .398 .447 .673 1.120 STL,PIT,COL
5 MIN 7/24/2010 7/28/2010 5 0 209 53 86 18 3 10 52 32 22 3 3 .411 .466 .670 1.136 BAL,KCR
5 ATL 7/25/2003 7/29/2003 3 2 212 49 84 20 1 11 46 21 14 4 1 .396 .444 .656 1.100 MON,HOU
5 OAK 8/22/2002 8/26/2002 5 0 197 46 70 19 3 7 46 20 197 2 1 .355 .416 .589 1.004 CLE,DET,KCR
5 LAD 8/9/1970 8/14/1970 5 0 203 49 84 11 5 4 43 24 20 7 4 .414 .464 .576 1.041 CIN,PIT,CHC
4 STL 4/11/2011 4/14/2011+ 3 1 168 40 63 15 1 9 38 27 8 0 0 .375 .411 .637 1.048 ARI,LAD
4 NYM 7/5/2008 7/8/2008 4 0 165 30 59 7 0 6 25 25 12 7 1 .358 .404 .509 .914 PHI,SFG
4 FLA 9/7/2005 9/10/2005 3 1 163 32 60 10 0 3 30 24 16 10 0 .368 .435 .485 .919 WSN,PHI
4 SEA 8/3/2002 8/7/2002 2 2 162 37 60 13 1 7 36 29 17 5 1 .370 .429 .593 1.022 CLE,TOR
4 DET 8/14/2000 8/18/2000 4 0 169 46 68 17 1 8 45 22 15 2 0 .402 .452 .657 1.108 SEA,OAK
4 SFG 6/22/2000 6/25/2000 3 1 164 37 65 12 3 8 37 24 24 2 1 .396 .471 .652 1.123 STL,HOU
4 ARI 5/30/1999 6/2/1999 3 1 169 41 65 14 4 8 40 30 14 4 0 .385 .435 .657 1.092 NYM,MON
4 COL 9/6/1998 9/9/1998 4 0 156 47 68 11 0 7 42 20 23 2 1 .436 .508 .641 1.149 SDP,FLA
4 NYM 5/24/1998 5/29/1998 4 0 157 37 61 16 1 4 35 24 18 0 1 .389 .449 .580 1.029 MIL,FLA,PHI
4 COL 7/23/1996 7/25/1996 3 1 160 36 67 9 1 9 34 21 21 5 3 .419 .486 .656 1.143 NYM,CHC
4 COL 6/27/1996 6/30/1996 3 1 166 52 69 11 0 12 50 31 22 10 0 .416 .481 .699 1.180 LAD
4 BOS 9/27/1995 9/30/1995 3 1 160 36 62 19 2 6 35 19 13 3 1 .388 .436 .644 1.080 DET,MIL
4 SDP 6/27/1994 6/29/1994 2 2 165 37 62 10 3 8 32 24 21 3 1 .376 .450 .618 1.068 COL
4 NYM 6/12/1990 6/15/1990 4 0 168 50 71 23 1 7 49 19 24 1 1 .423 .495 .696 1.191 CHC,PIT
4 STL 5/30/1979 6/2/1979 4 0 157 36 65 8 3 9 34 16 13 5 1 .414 .453 .675 1.129 NYM,LAD
4 PIT 5/3/1967 5/6/1967 4 0 168 28 58 8 1 0 25 27 18 1 0 .345 .419 .405 .824 LAD,SFG
4 PIT 5/22/1965 5/25/1965 4 0 159 32 57 11 0 3 30 13 18 1 4 .358 .427 .484 .911 MLN,CHC
4 CLE 6/8/1962 6/10/1962 3 1 189 41 67 8 2 11 39 39 17 3 0 .354 .407 .593 .999 BOS

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Eduardo Sanchez’ Wednesday first

As those brave (and now tired) St. Louis Cardinals fans saw first-hand Wednesday night, 22-year-old reliever Eduardo Sanchez made his major league debut for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Just called up from Triple-A Memphis earlier in the day, the hard-throwing native of Venezuela arrived with a flourish, collecting five strikeouts over the final two innings of the Cardinals’ 15-5 victory.

Sanchez is the fourth-ranked prospect in The Cardinal Nation’s consolidated top 40 prospect list. Over his six minor league seasons, he has struck out 9.9 batters per nine innings pitched.

I asked researcher Tom Orf to comb the history logs to determine how many Cardinals relievers announced their arrival in the majors with five or more strikeouts in their first game.

Sanchez is the eighth reliever since 1920 and the first in the last 13 years. He is the sixth to do so while not allowing any runs and the first ever to fan at least five in less than three innings. Mort Cooper punched out five in his three-inning 1938 introduction, the previous shortest 5+ strikeout relief debut.

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitchers with 5+ strikeouts in MLB debut (1920-current)

Pitcher Date W L GF SV IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HBP WP BK
Eduardo Sanchez 4/13/2011 0 0 1 0 2.0 1 0 0 0 5 0 0.00 0 1 0
Manny Aybar 5/31/1998 0 0 0 0 4.1 2 0 0 1 6 0 0.00 0 0 0
John Martin 8/27/1980 1 0 0 0 7.0 5 1 1 1 5 0 1.29 0 0 0
Marshall Bridges 6/17/1959 1 0 1 0 5.1 5 1 1 2 6 0 1.69 0 0 0
Tom Cheney 4/21/1957 0 0 0 0 4.0 2 0 0 2 6 0 0.00 0 0 0
Johnny Beazley 4/14/1942 0 0 1 0 3.2 1 0 0 0 5 0 0.00 1 0 0
Ernie White 5/9/1940 1 0 1 0 7.1 6 0 0 3 6 0 0.00 0 0 0
Mort Cooper 10/2/1938 0 0 1 1 3.0 1 0 0 2 5 0 0.00 0 0 0

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Help the Cardinals help the needy in Japan

If you are like me, you read about and see film of the tragedies occurring around the world and while feeling compassionate, wonder what you could do to help.

The St. Louis Cardinals are making it easy for everyone to get involved as they step up to the plate in support of the victims of the earthquake in Japan and Tsunami in the Pacific. As part of a joint effort with Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association, the team will conduct an on-line ticket auction, collect fan donations at the gate before a game and make a sizable donation.

Cardinals Care, the club’s community service arm, is making a $5,000 donation to Save the Children, an organization focused on helping children impacted by this and other disasters.  The team is also enabling us to get involved and show our support in several ways.

One is by participating in a special on-line auction with another to make a donation at one of Busch Stadium’s six gates as you enter the ballpark for the team’s April 23rd game against the Reds.

Even if you aren’t in St. Louis, you can help. The Japan Earthquake/Tsunami Relief Auction will begin 10 A.M. Monday, April 18 at mlb.com.  You can then bid on an exclusive ticket package for four Cardinals tickets, good for any Monday through Thursday home game, complete with a pre-game field visit and an opportunity to get your photograph taken in the Cardinals dugout.

All proceeds from the stadium collection and on-line auction will go to UNICEF to assist the people of Japan recover and rebuild.

This is a great and worthy set of initiatives, so let’s get behind them! If you can’t participate, click on the links to be taken to SaveTheChildren.org and UNICEF.org to donate directly.

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Kyle McClellan at the bat

With a major league career that consisted entirely of bullpen appearances, 202 over the three years prior to 2011, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Kyle McClellan had received few opportunities to hit. Coming into this season, the total was exactly ten official at-bats, from which he had collected a lone single for a pitcher-like .100 average.

In his initial start as a major leaguer last week, McClellan added another 0-for-2 result to his total. That all changed Monday night in Arizona, however.

McClellan reached base in all three of his at-bats and drove in the first two runs of his career. The right-handed hitter collected an RBI double on a hit-and-run with slow-footed catcher Yadier Molina at first base in the third inning. McClellan added a run-scoring single in the fourth and reached on a fielding error in the sixth.

His next offensive objective may be to score his first major league run.

Oh yeah, after yielding just one run in six innings, McClellan picked up his first victory as a big-league starter. He helped the Cardinals initiate their first winning streak of the season (all of two games and counting) via the 8-2 victory.

Researcher Tom Orf provided the following table of those who preceded McClellan. He is the 16th pitcher to reach base three times in a game in Tony La Russa’s 16 years as Cardinals manager. While Jason Marquis had the most occurrences, three, not surprisingly then-pitcher Rick Ankiel reached base a high of four times in a game back in 2000.

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher reaching base three-plus times, 1996-2011

Pitcher/batter Date Opp Rslt PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB TOB IBB SO HBP SH SF ROE GDP SB CS BOP
Adam Wainwright 6/29/2010 ARI W 8-0 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8
Jaime Garcia 5/31/2010 CIN W 12-4 3 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9
Adam Wainwright 8/22/2008 ATL W 18-3 5 5 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 8
Braden Looper 5/6/2008 COL W 6-5 4 3 1 2 1 0 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 8
Mark Mulder 4/10/2006 MIL W 6-4 4 3 2 2 1 0 1 2 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9
Jason Marquis 6/4/2005 HOU W 11-9 3 3 2 3 0 0 1 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9
Jason Marquis 4/22/2005 HOU W 8-7 3 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9
Jason Marquis 5/31/2004 PIT W 8-3 4 4 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 9
Woody Williams 5/5/2003 CIN L 4-5 3 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 9
Matt Morris 4/16/2003 MIL W 15-2 4 3 3 2 0 0 1 1 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9
Rick Ankiel 7/21/2000 HOU W 12-1 4 3 2 2 0 0 0 1 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 9
Rick Ankiel 4/20/2000 SDP W 14-1 3 3 2 3 0 0 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9
Matt Morris 1998-08-21 (1) NYM W 10-5 4 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8
Alan Benes 5/27/1997 COL W 8-6 3 3 1 3 1 0 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9
Todd Stottlemyre 6/30/1996 PIT W 10-3 3 3 2 3 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9

The total number of such games for the Cardinals since 1960 is 76. Bob Gibson had 16. The counts by pitcher follow.

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher reaching base three-plus times, 1960-2011

Games
16 Bob Gibson
4 Bob Forsch Curt Simmons
3 Jason Marquis Reggie Cleveland
2 Adam Wainwright Alan Foster Ernie Broglio Joe Magrane
John Denny John Tudor Matt Morris Mike Torrez
Nelson Briles Ray Washburn Rick Ankiel Scott Terry
Steve Carlton
1 Kyle McClellan Al Cicotte Al Jackson Alan Benes
Braden Looper Dave LaPoint Don Durham Eric Rasmussen
Jaime Garcia Jim Bibby Joaquin Andujar John Curtis
Lynn McGlothen Mark Mulder Pete Falcone Rick Wise
Roger Craig Silvio Martinez Todd Stottlemyre Woody Williams

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David Freese increases his total of three-RBI games

Third baseman David Freese came alive with the bat on Sunday. His three RBI helped the slumping St. Louis Cardinals break their three-game losing streak with a 6-1 win over San Francisco.

They were the 27-year-old’s first three RBI of the season as he went 3-for-4 including a double. Freese had not  started two of his club’s three previous games, all losses. Sunday marked his fifth three-or-more RBI game in his major league career to-date, which now consists of 95 games.

Researcher Tom Orf pulled the list below, which indicates the number of three or more RBI games logged by St. Louis players in their first 100 career games since 1920.

Freese is tied for 14th among all Cardinals, with a familiar name not surprisingly on top. When considering third basemen only, Freese ranks fourth, but still has five games to go.

Most three-or-more RBI games, first 100 career games, St. Louis Cardinals, 1920-current

Rank Games Cardinal Position
1 11 Albert Pujols 6 as 3B
2 10 Bill Howerton
T3 7 George Watkins
T3 7 Gus Mancuso
T3 7 Ray Jablonski 3B
T3 7 Jim Bottomley
T3 7 Rick Ankiel
T8 6 Rip Repulski
T8 6 Heinie Mueller
T8 6 Johnny Mize
T8 6 Nippy Jones
T8 6 Don Gutteridge 3B
T8 6 Joe Cunningham
T14 5 Fred Whitfield
T14 5 Bill Virdon
T14 5 Enos Slaughter
T14 5 Dick Sisler
T14 5 Wally Roettger
T14 5 Wally Moon
T14 5 Chick Hafey
T14 5 Showboat Fisher
T14 5 Erv Dusak
T14 5 Ripper Collins
T14 5 Ray Blades
T14 5 Steve Bilko
T14 5 David Freese 3B

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Ex-Cardinals 2011 season-opening census

Josh Jones of TheCardinalNation.com and Cardinals Best News Links has prepared the following lists. They provide the current organization and level of 76 former St. Louis Cardinals major and minor league players.

Major Leagues
Rick Ankiel Nationals
Daric Barton Athletics
Blaine Boyer Mets (designated for assignment)
Russell Branyan Diamondbacks
Brian Broderick Nationals
Miguel Cairo Reds
Coco Crisp Athletics
Mark DeRosa Giants
J.D. Drew Red Sox
Luke Gregerson Padres
Dan Haren Angels
Blake Hawksworth Dodgers
Jarrett Hoffpauir Padres (disabled list)
Cesar Izturis Orioles
Adam Kennedy Mariners
Felipe Lopez Rays (recently called up)
Ryan Ludwick Padres
Mike MacDougal Dodgers
Jason Marquis Nationals
Mike McCoy Blue Jays
Aaron Miles Dodgers
Chris Narveson Brewers
Darren Oliver Rangers
Brad Penny Tigers
Chris Perez Indians
Joel Pineiro Angels
Placido Polanco Phillies
Edgar Renteria Reds
Dennys Reyes Red Sox (designated for assignment)
Scott Rolen Reds
Brendan Ryan Mariners
Brett Wallace Astros
Jack Wilson Mariners
Jamey Wright Mariners
Triple-A
Brian Barden Round Rock (Rangers)
Brian Barton Louisville (Reds)
Tagg Bozied Lehigh Valley (Phillies)
Ron Belliard Lehigh Valley (Phillies)
Robinson Cancel Oklahoma City (Astros)
Alberto Castillo Norfolk (Orioles)
Terry Evans Fresno (Giants)
Randy Flores Tucson (Padres)
Edgar Gonzalez Fresno (Giants)
Ruben Gotay New Orleans (Marlins)
Michel Hernandez Norfolk (Orioles)
Randy Keisler Albuquerque (Dodgers)
Josh Kinney Charlotte (White Sox)
Hector Luna Pawtucket (Red Sox)
Joe Mather Gwinnett (Braves)
Clayton Mortensen Colorado Springs (Rockies)
Dan Nelson Gwinnett (Braves)
Rich Hill Pawtucket (Red Sox)
Matt Pagnozzi Colorado Springs (Rockies)
Luis Perdomo Tucson (Padres)
Timo Perez Toledo (Tigers)
Royce Ring Tacoma (Mariners)
Jeff Suppan Omaha (Royals)
Joe Thurston New Orleans (Marlins)
Jess Todd Columbus (Indians)
Brett Tomko Round Rock (Rangers)
Mark Worrell Norfolk (Orioles)
Double-A
David Carpenter Corpus Christi (Astros)
Brian Esposito Corpus Christi (Astros)
Matt Meyer Arkansas (Angels)
Shane Peterson Midland (Athletics)
Stuart Pomeranz Chattanooga (Dodgers)
Anthony Reyes Akron (Indians)
A-Advanced
Gary Daley Stockton (Athletics)
Single-A
Miguel Negron Kannapolis (White Sox)
Adam Veres Greensboro (Marlins)
Extended Spring Training
Vicente Campos Mariners
Jason Insringhausen Mets (to be promoted to NY)
Wagner Mateo Diamondbacks
Nick McCully White Sox
Nate Robertson Mariners (injured)
Lenny Rosario Mets

Update: I added the following table, which breaks down the current major leaguers by the 29 other organizations. Seattle leads the way with four former Cardinals.

Ex-Cardinals currently in the majors, by organization

4 Mariners
3 Dodgers Nationals Reds
2 Angels A’s Padres Red Sox
1 Astros Blue Jays Brewers D’backs
1 Giants Indians Mets Orioles
1 Phillies Rangers Rays Tigers
0 Yankees White Sox Royals Twins
0 Marlins Braves Pirates Cubs
0 Rockies

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Season-opening strikeout outings like Jaime Garcia’s are rare

To ensure it is not lost in the wreckage of Saturday night’s disappointing 3-2 ninth-inning loss to the San Francisco Giants, researcher Tom Orf pulled the tables below. They put St. Louis Cardinals left-hander Jaime Garcia’s second consecutive outing of nine (or more) strikeouts into perspective.

It marks only the third time since 1920 that a Cardinals starter has begun the season with two appearances with nine or more strikeouts each. At least one of the other names is most familiar, that of Hall of Famer Bob Gibson.

St. Louis Cardinals pitchers with nine or more strikeouts per start, first two starts of the season (1920-current)

Streak Start End G W L GS CG SHO IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HBP WP BK Tm
Jaime Garcia 4/3/2011 4/9/2011+ 2 1 0 2 0 0 15 8 1 1 3 18 0 0.60 1 1 0 STL
Bob Gibson 4/15/1966 4/21/1966 2 2 0 2 2 0 18 10 6 3 2 21 0 1.50 1 1 0 STL
Bill Hallahan 4/18/1930 4/22/1930 2 2 0 2 2 0 18 7 4 3 16 20 1 1.50 0 0 0 STL

Garcia’s start has matched only seven others this past decade across Major League Baseball and is the first such stretch in the last five years. Some very prominent names appear below.

Note that only Curt Schilling in 2002 was able to collect the strikeouts without yielding any runs. Garcia’s ERA is second-best. Pedro Martinez in 2005 and Brandon Duckworth (!) in 2002 had three such starts to open the season. Jaime’s next turn should be on Thursday to open the Cardinals series in Los Angeles.

Pitchers with nine or more strikeouts per start, first two+ starts of the season, MLB this decade (2002-2011)

Streak Start End G W L GS CG SHO IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HBP WP BK Tm
Jaime Garcia 4/3/2011 4/9/2011+ 2 1 0 2 0 0 15 8 1 1 3 18 0 0.60 1 1 0 STL
Byung-Hyun Kim 4/30/2006 5/5/2006 2 1 0 2 0 0 13 12 5 5 2 18 0 3.29 0 0 0 COL
Pedro Martinez 4/4/2005 4/16/2005 3 1 0 3 1 0 22 8 6 6 4 30 1 2.45 0 3 0 NYM
Roger Clemens 4/8/2005 4/13/2005 2 1 0 2 0 0 14 7 1 1 1 18 1 0.64 0 0 0 HOU
Josh Beckett 4/6/2004 4/11/2004 2 1 0 2 0 0 14 6 2 1 4 20 0 0.64 2 0 0 FLA
Brandon Duckworth 4/5/2002 4/16/2002 3 1 0 3 0 0 19 13 5 5 6 30 3 2.37 2 2 0 PHI
Kerry Wood 4/3/2002 4/10/2002 2 1 0 2 0 0 12 7 3 3 8 20 0 2.25 0 0 0 CHC
Curt Schilling 4/2/2002 4/7/2002 2 2 0 2 1 1 16 7 0 0 2 26 0 0.00 0 0 0 ARI

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Albert Pujols’ 2011 by the numbers

It is not surprising that the St. Louis Cardinals are just 2-5 to start the season given the low level of contribution from two top offensive stars. Outfielder Matt Holliday remains out as he recovers from an appendectomy, while first baseman Albert Pujols is in an unusual place – the midst of a deep slump.

The man generally recognized as the best player in the game has slumped before – every player has – but Pujols’ struggles are magnified because his team has uncharacteristically stumbled out of the gate as well.

We will look at a few of Pujols’ numbers through the initial seven contests of the 2011 season with a historical context included. If/when Pujols does get his game in order, one can see the type of year that is typical/expected of him.

0 = Intentional bases on balls. Normally, opposing managers fear Pujols, pitching around him in crucial situations. That has yet to occur in 2011. Albert led the NL in intentional walks in each of the last three seasons, totaling 116.

0 = Number of doubles. Pujols has averaged 43 two-base hits per season over his ten-year career.

1 = Home runs. Albert led the National League in long balls each of the last two seasons, totaling 89 during that time.

2 = Walks. Normally a patient hitter, Pujols drew a total of 322 walks in 2008-10, or an average of 107 per year. His current pace will leave him with 46 this season. That would be exactly half of his lowest yearly total since 2004.

E3, E3 = Two errors in the field. The reigning NL Gold Glove winner and two-time selection as the top defender in the league at first base had just four miscues during his entire 2010 season of 157 games.

4 = Runs batted in. Since his 2001 debut, Pujols has averaged 156 games played per season. He is on pace to finish the 2011 season with a career-low 89 RBI. Albert has never finished below 103 and had just one year with less than 116 driven in.

5 = Double plays ground into, tops in MLB. The Cardinals’ number three hitter has averaged just 20 GIDPs per season over his first decade as a major leaguer. His current rate would have him approaching his normal full-season mark by the end of the first month.

5 = Hits in 28 at-bats over seven games. Four of the five were singles, making his line .179/.226/.286 (BA/OBP/SLG).

60 Minutes = Sunday night television show in which Pujols will appear this week to discuss his charitable endeavors.

$300,000,000 = Amount of money Pujols is reportedly seeking for his services for the 2012-2021 seasons.

[poll id=”80″]

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Cardinals hitters versus Giants starting pitchers

Given the St. Louis Cardinals’ struggles on offense early this season, currently last in the National League in run scoring, I thought it would be illustrative to show Cardinals hitters’ past results against the San Francisco Giants’ weekend starters, Jonathan Sanchez, Matt Cain and Barry Zito.

The samples are not large, but perhaps offer some glimpse of hope. Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols have done especially well in the past against the trio of Giants’ pitchers. The Cardinals also miss two-time National League Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum. Like St. Louis, the defending World Champions began a disappointing 2-4, though Friday marks their 2011 home opener.

Addendum: The Cardinals were 3-3 against the Giants last season with both teams going 2-1 at home. In the all-time regular season series, the Cardinals trail the Giants 913-979 (.483). The Cardinals are 14-19 all-time in regular season play at AT&T Park.

Friday Saturday Sunday
Jonathan Sanchez Matt Cain Barry Zito
(vs. Jake Westbrook) (vs. Jaime Garcia) (vs. Kyle Lohse)
Batter vs. pitcher
Lance Berkman 0-4 .000 3-8 .375 4-10 .400
2k 1hr 1bb 2k 1hr 1bb 1k
Allen Craig 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 1-5 .200
1hr 1k
David Freese 0-0 .000 0-1 .000 0-2 .000
1k 1bb 1k
Matt Holliday 4-18 .222 6-35 .171 6-27 .222
(injured) 4bb 4k 2hr 4bb 9k 2hr 2bb 6k
Yadier Molina 1-3 .333 2-6 .333 5-13 .385
2bb 1bb 3bb 1k
Albert Pujols 4-5 .800 8-12 .667 6-15 .400
1bb 1k 2hr 3bb 2hr 5bb 4k
Colby Rasmus 0-0 .000 4-8 .500 1-2 .500
1k 1k
Skip Schumaker 0-6 .000 3-15 .200 5-9 .556
2k 1bb 1k
Ryan Theriot 3-7 .429 3-20 .150 3-14 .214
1hr 1bb 1bb 3k 1bb 1k

Data courtesy of Bill James’ Matchups.

Also, I discovered a new feature at The Baseball Cube called “Player Connections” to compare the intersection of any two players. Won-loss of their teams and head-to-head stats are included by game. This example is Pujols and Bud Norris.

While the invaluable Baseball-Reference.com has a similar feature, they require a subscription to see all the individual game detail, while the Cube’s capability is free.

[poll id=”79″]

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