All posts by Brian Walton

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

Join The Cardinal Nation community top prospect list voting

Annual fan-driven process to select the top prospects in the St. Louis Cardinals minor league system is now underway and open to all!

Shelby Miller (Names Around Town Photography)In each of the last five years, the members of TheCardinalNation.com forum community have named their top 50 prospects in the St. Louis Cardinals system. 2011 is no exception.

Voting is allowed for one spot at a time, starting with number one. Each person is allowed one vote for each place on the list. Discussion and debate is encouraged and votes can be changed by convincing arguments.

The 2011 process is just getting underway, with the balloting for the top prospect now open. Please join in the voting as it continues on The Cardinal Nation message board over the upcoming weeks. A new player will be selected roughly every 48 hours until the entire top 50 is complete.

Other sites have adopted this concept in recent years, but The Cardinal Nation remains the definitive place for Cardinals minor league news with a most knowledgeable community of readers and posters. If you want to learn more about Cardinals prospects, make sure you follow the discussion that coincides with each vote.

In addition to being part of the permanent site record, the community results receive one third weighting in The Cardinal Nation’s annual top prospect list to be unveiled starting in December.

That consolidated list is featured in the annual FOX Sports Fantasy Guide/Scout.com Prospect Guide magazine sold on newsstands nationwide each spring and provided free to all annual subscribers to TheCardinalNation.com.

If you are interested in Cardinals farmhands, join in the top prospect voting today!

Link to The Cardinal Nation message board 2011 top prospect voting thread
Link to 2010 Cardinals top prospect selections

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MLB.tv via ROKU: Six months of headaches

A promising new way to watch MLB games over the internet has proven to be extremely disappointing.

Roku Player andMLB.tvI am not heavily into consumer advocacy or that kind of thing. However, I do care about how baseball broadcasts are delivered. This is the second consecutive night I cannot see the game I want to see in the manner for which I paid, continuing six mostly unhappy months.

Being a traveling type, the convenience of MLB.tv is hard to not like. Over the winter, I read a review on BizofBaseball.com about a new piece of technology first delivered late in the 2009 season that is intended to complement MLB.tv.

ROKU is a small electronic device that connects your television to the internet. Offering a number of channels including Netflix and Pandora, ROKU had established a growing customer base. What interested me was the announcement of a partnership with Major League Baseball to deliver MLB.tv via ROKU.

After reading the ROKU marketing materials, which promised HD-quality broadcasts and the ability to watch spring training games, I ordered a box in February to accompany my annual MLB.tv subscription.

In my case, it would allow me to watch games without having to connect my laptop to the television with bulky cables and see them with a better quality picture.

Immediately, the problems began. Though MLB materials said MLB.tv Premium was required, ROKU later said it was not. Money wasted.

Perhaps due to issues with the data stream, ROKU was not ready to deliver its 2010 MLB support during spring training. The regular season opened with the respective websites still bragging about the ability for their customers to see EVERY one of the 2,430 scheduled games this season (minus blackouts).

MLB-Roku-false-advertising Still, no service. ROKU representatives stalled, buying time by offering participation in a beta program to unhappy customers like me. I later learned that during March, those who had previously complained about not being able to watch spring games were offered a beta program, but there was no follow through.

Roku GA 042410 emailThe promised beta program did not open until April 20, over two weeks after the MLB regular season was underway. ROKU waited all of three days, April 23, before declaring general availability despite the application being unreliable. The graphic is from a ROKU email dated April 24.

Early service was loaded with problems, many times so bad games could not be watched. Over the intervening weeks, ROKU provided several code updates, but were closed-lipped as to the precise nature of the problems.

They had the nerve to send me a customer satisfaction survey on one of the many days their service was not working. I stopped short of profanity, but just barely.

In the meantime, scores of dissatisfied ROKU MLB.tv users flooded the company forum with messages reporting their nightly frustrations trying to view games. Many users unable to secure refunds gave up and resold their ROKUs on ebay for whatever they could recover.

MLB.tv would not issue credit to dissatisfied ROKU users. A complaint call to MLB actually led them to point out their advertising says all 2,430 games can be seen live OR on demand, not necessarily AND. Not being able to watch games while they are actually being played was not grounds for them to grant a refund.

After several rough months, by summer, performance seemed to stabilize somewhat. It didn’t last long. This month, the old problems returned nightly – freezing, rebuffering, delays.

Almost any evening when the ROKU failed, I was still able to see the game of choice via my laptop, but in that case, why did I blow $100 on a ROKU?

At this point, the MLB application is what it is – undependable. The ROKU forum thread for user problems with MLB.tv has grown to 127 pages, 1900 posts!

I haven’t seen any ROKU employees bother to post anything in weeks. After all, what can they say? Whether it is MLB’s problem or ROKU’s doesn’t matter to the end user. The ROKU-MLB.tv offering is a failure.

Since BizofBaseball.com’s review was part of my decision-making process, I emailed the head of the site and directed him to the ROKU forum to learn the reality for himself. Apparently, he wasn’t interested in helping to get out the bad news.

As I noted before, ROKU has value to many with its other applications, but for MLB.tv, my warning is to stay away, far away. There are other far more dependable alternatives available for watching MLB games.

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Cardinals reach new level of scoring futility

Brendan Ryan (AP/David J. Phillip)At the worst possible time, the St. Louis Cardinals are in the midst of their lowest run-scoring ten-game stretch of the 2010 season.

As many fans know too well, the St. Louis Cardinals have been enduring a period of scoring futility that has put their playoff hopes in serious jeopardy.

Over their last ten games, the club has won just three, hardly the kind of push that would be expected to take them over the top. During that time, the Cardinals have been outscored 49-27. St. Louis plated 30 percent of the total, eight of the 27, in a single game, Monday’s series-opening win in Milwaukee.

The paltry sum of 27 runs represents the Cardinals’ lowest-scoring ten-game stretch during any point this season – at least to date.

With the assistance of researcher Tom Orf, we find that this is the 30th time in Tony La Russa’s 15 years as Cardinals manager that the team has scored 27 or fewer runs over a ten-game period. It is the first time this season after five different occurrences during 2009.

What is unique about 2010 is that this is the latest point in the season for such a low-scoring stretch during La Russa’s entire Cardinals tenure.

None of the 29 earlier offensive shortfalls occurred in any part during the month of September as does the current streak.

In the following table, a ten-game period that overlapped two months is accounted as a half in each.

Cardinals ten-game periods of 27 or fewer runs by month, 1996-current

Month #
September 0.5
August 8.5
July 6.5
June 3
May 7
April 4.5
Total 30

While this is the worst run-scoring period this season, it pales in comparison to the ten games from April 27 through May 8, 2007 during which the Cardinals plated just 19 runs. That is their worst showing under La Russa.

Cardinals ten-game periods of 27 or fewer runs by runs scored, 1996-current

Runs Times
19 1
20 0
21 1
22 4
23 1
24 3
25 6
26 4
27 10
Total 30

Looking at the yearly distribution, we see that the Cardinals only had one such streak during the four-year period of 2003-06 and just five over the nine years of 1998-2006.

Cardinals ten-game periods of 27 or fewer runs by year, 1996-current

Year #
2010 1
2009 5
2008 0
2007 7
2006 0
2005 0
2004 1
2003 0
2002 2
2001 0
2000 1
1999 0
1998 1
1997 11
1996 1
Total 30

Here are the details of all 30.

Cardinals ten-game periods of 27 or fewer runs, 1996-current

Start End Game 1 # Game 10 # W – L Runs scored Runs against
8/28/2010 9/7/2010 127 – 136 3 – 7 27 49
5/12/2009 5/22/2009 33 – 42 5 – 5 27 32
6/24/2009 7/3/2009 73 – 82 4 – 6 27 49
5/16/2009 5/25/2009 36 – 45 5 – 5 26 23
6/23/2009 7/2/2009 72 – 81 4 – 6 23 45
6/22/2009 7/1/2009 71 – 80 3 – 7 22 49
5/2/2007 5/13/2007 26 – 35 5 – 5 26 36
4/28/2007 5/9/2007 23 – 32 4 – 6 25 53
4/24/2007 5/5/2007 19 – 28 3 – 7 25 68
4/25/2007 5/6/2007 20 – 29 4 – 6 25 59
4/30/2007 5/11/2007 24 – 33 4 – 6 24 52
4/26/2007 5/7/2007 21 – 30 3 – 7 22 60
4/27/2007 5/8/2007 22 – 31 3 – 7 19 56
4/22/2004 5/2/2004 16 – 25 5 – 5 27 32
7/31/2002 8/10/2002 104 – 113 2 – 8 25 54
7/30/2002 8/9/2002 103 – 112 2 – 8 25 50
5/31/2000 6/10/2000 52 – 61 3 – 7 27 45
6/23/1998 7/3/1998 75 – 84 2 – 8 27 58
7/27/1997 8/5/1997 103 – 112 3 – 7 27 43
6/30/1997 7/12/1997 80 – 89 5 – 5 27 35
8/3/1997 8/13/1997 110 – 119 2 – 8 27 45
4/16/1997 4/27/1997 13 – 22 4 – 6 26 30
7/26/1997 8/4/1997 102 – 111 4 – 6 26 39
8/2/1997 8/12/1997 109 – 118 3 – 7 25 41
7/28/1997 8/6/1997 104 – 113 2 – 8 24 43
7/30/1997 8/8/1997 106 – 115 2 – 8 24 41
7/29/1997 8/7/1997 105 – 114 1 – 9 22 45
7/31/1997 8/9/1997 107 – 116 2 – 8 22 37
8/1/1997 8/10/1997 108 – 117 2 – 8 21 43
8/18/1996 8/28/1996 124 – 133 3 – 7 27 46

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Cardinals minor league history being made

Rarely if ever do I  use this blog platform for the sole purpose of pointing to an article on the main The Cardinal Nation site, but today is a bit different.

Memphis Redbirds celebration, 09/06/10 (Jon Seals/The Cardinal Nation)Memphis reaching the playoffs on the final day of the 2010 minor league season put an exclamation point on a historically-good regular season for the St. Louis Cardinals organization, with the post-season still ahead for four clubs and one championship already won.

Having maintained a detailed database of the results across the Cardinals minor league system going back to at least 1966 allows me to put this season into a perspective that few others can – because the data does not readily exist in one place.

Please go and check out the full article, but here is the Cliff’s Notes version in three, quick points.

One has to go back 45 years, to 1966, to find a season in which the aggregate won-loss percentage of the Cardinals minor league system was better than its 2010 mark of .569.

With five teams in the playoffs this year, the Cardinals have the most clubs active following the regular season since at least 1966.

Not since at least 1966 have the Cardinals seen more than two of their affiliates win their respective leagues. In 2010, the Cards already have one championship on the books and four more opportunities still to be played out.

Those who bash the Cardinals system will point out that the relative dearth of high-impact prospects, but in a way, doesn’t that make these winning baseball teams all the more extraordinary?

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Team Tony vs. Team Colby – What about Team Cardinals?

Fans are taking sides in support of the St. Louis Cardinals manager or his centerfielder, but what about the team?

Tony La Russa and Colby Rasmus (AP/David Kohl)Sunday, September 5 was a sad day for the St. Louis Cardinals as long-standing internal matters became external, tarnishing the image of one of baseball’s proudest franchises.

We read about claims and counterclaims by player Colby Rasmus and his manager Tony La Russa. With fans already upset over the unraveling of the once-promising 2010 season, this latest news that Rasmus has allegedly made multiple requests to be traded has caused increasing polarization.

Team Tony vs. Team Colby.

One group would like to see the outfielder dealt away while the other doesn’t want the manager to return. They have their reasons and arguments, sharpened over time, and likely feel so strongly about them that their opinions aren’t going to change.

Superstar Albert Pujols weighed in, stating that if Rasmus doesn’t want to play for the Cardinals, then he hopes the second-year player can be accommodated. Further, the first baseman wished out loud that the matter had never reached the media.

Putting aside whether or not one thinks those comments are appropriate, the basic message is hard to argue with.

It should apply to the manager, too.

These individuals, Rasmus and La Russa, have become a major distraction, drawing focus to themselves and away from the greater good of the team. All over baseball, the Cardinals are being discussed – in non-complimentary tones.

Something has to change, and change in a substantive manner, not just window-dressing. They either need to pull together or be pulled together. On the other hand, if differences are truly irreconcilable, then the franchise needs to part ways with one or all – before it is pulled apart.

The team is the constant, not the individuals. Players come and go and so do managers, even future Hall of Famers.

The Cardinals have survived before and they will again.

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Slowly cleaning up the mess in Memphis

Progress is being made in improving the financials of the Memphis Redbirds while attempting to attract new events to AutoZone Park.

In case folks missed it, in August the Memphis Commercial Appeal ran an update on the ongoing sticky financial situation still tarring the feathers of the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds.

While the defending Pacific Coast League champions continue to be competitive on the field, the balance sheet of the St. Louis Cardinals’ top affiliate has been an ongoing problem.

Attendance is basically flat this year compared to last, up an average of 75 fans on a base of over 6,600 per game. Yet, unlike in recent seasons, current expenses are being paid and some of the $2.5 million left unpaid from the past is being settled as well.

One factor this year is the downward renegotiation of payments to bond holders who funded the construction of AutoZone Park. In addition, the former management of the club was cleared out last summer in favor of a facilities management firm owned by Comcast.

The team remains for sale and while tires have been kicked, there are no offers on the table, John Pontius, treasurer of the Memphis Redbirds Baseball Foundation, told the paper.

Another news item notes one direction the new management and the City of Memphis may be taking to increase use of the ballpark and therefore, revenues.

A proposal is being worked on now for an event of longer duration than the annual Civil Rights Game, which was held in Memphis in 2007-08, but subsequently relocated by MLB, first to Cincinnati the last two years and then to Atlanta for the 2011 and 2012 games.

AutoZone Park is one of five stated contenders to secure the post-season baseball tournament of the Southeastern Conference, or SEC. The annual event has been held in Birmingham, Alabama each May since 1998, but is approaching renewal for 2012 and the four years beyond. The Redbirds tried to win the event last time it came up for bid in 2006, as well, reports the Birmingham News.

While the Memphis facility is top-notch and has the highest seating capacity of the contenders, its biggest drawback may be its relatively western location with respect to the SEC member schools. A decision is expected by year-end.

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Walton on KXnO FOX Sports Radio Friday

kxno-logo-150-200Catch me talking St. Louis Cardinals baseball with Matt Perrault and Ken Miller on KXnO FOX Sports Radio 1460 in Des Moines Friday, September 3 at 5:50 p.m. CDT. Our weekly show is titled “Cardinal Talk.”

Go to kxno.com for the live stream.

Cardinals fans in central Iowa should be sure to catch Cardinals radio broadcasts on KXnO all 2010 season long.

For Scout.com subscribers who miss it, I will post the audio at TheCardinalNation.com following the segment.

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Cardinals low run-scoring streak continues

The St. Louis Cardinals have scored two or fewer runs in four consecutive games – again.

Tony La Russa (AP photo)Tony La Russa managed his first game with the St. Louis Cardinals on April 1, 1996. In the almost 15 years that followed, his clubs had only 11 prior stretches as bleak as the active one in terms of scoring.

Currently, the Cardinals have scored two or fewer runs in four consecutive games. That hadn’t happened in over two years, since July 2008.

Seven of La Russa’s teams’ 12 four-or-more game offensive futility streaks occurred during his first three seasons with the organization, 1996-98.

Another two-run or less outing on Friday by the 2010 Cardinals would tie La Russa’s teams’ longest streak at five games, set in 1996 and tied twice the next year.

On the other end of the spectrum, during the heyday of the MV3 and after, the Cardinals went almost five years (August 2002 until May 2007) without four consecutive low-scoring games as this week.

Going back to 1920, the longest consecutive game stretch was 11 games in May 1978. In an interesting bit of symmetry, the current streak is the 91st occurrence in the last 91 years for the Cardinals.

Thanks to researcher Tom Orf, here are the dozen during the La Russa years.

Cardinals streaks of four or more games, scoring two or fewer runs per game: 1996 – current

Strk Start End G W L AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SO BB SB CS BA Opp
8/29/2010 9/1/2010* 4 0 4 125 4 21 4 0 2 4 25 8 0 0 0.168 WSN,HOU
7/6/2008 7/10/2008 4 1 3 127 6 26 5 0 3 6 29 13 2 0 0.205 CHC,PHI
4/28/2007 5/2/2007 4 0 4 132 4 29 2 0 2 4 16 6 1 0 0.220 CHC,MIL
8/3/2002 8/7/2002 4 0 4 125 4 21 2 1 0 2 15 8 0 1 0.168 ATL,MON
5/29/2001 6/1/2001 4 0 4 115 4 20 3 0 2 4 22 5 2 0 0.174 MIL,CIN
5/5/1998 5/8/1998 4 0 4 122 5 17 2 0 3 5 28 11 1 0 0.139 PIT,NYM
7/31/1997 8/4/1997 5 1 4 165 7 34 8 3 0 7 44 9 1 1 0.206 PHI,NYM
4/16/1997 4/20/1997 5 2 3 162 7 32 8 2 1 5 41 15 3 1 0.198 FLA,SDP
4/4/1997 4/8/1997 4 1 3 143 8 30 7 1 2 8 34 12 5 1 0.210 HOU,MON
9/10/1996 9/13/1996 4 2 2 120 6 26 2 1 1 6 23 11 3 1 0.217 SFG,LAD
7/23/1996 7/26/1996 4 0 4 120 6 13 4 0 1 4 41 10 4 0 0.108 ATL,MON
4/18/1996 4/22/1996 5 2 3 154 6 29 4 0 1 6 44 12 1 3 0.188 PIT,PHI,MON

* current

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Cardinals live chat on FOX Sports Midwest Wednesday

FSM-site-logo-2001The 13th of FOX Sports Midwest’s live chats of the 2010 season will be held throughout Wednesday afternoon’s Cardinals-Astros series finale. Join in the discussion with me and the FSM personalities.

You can participate via the frame to be added below or through FOX Sports Midwest’s website.

Jeff Suppan (1-6, 5.72) returns from the disabled list to face Nelson Figueroa (3-2, 2.77) as the Cards try to end the disastrous road series with a win.

Wednesday’s first pitch is scheduled at 1:05 P.M. Central with pre-game starting at 12:30.

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Two more Cardinals minor leaguers suspended

The St. Louis Cardinals have now had 19 drug-related suspensions of minor leaguers since 2005.

Drug-testUntil Monday, 2010 had been the best year since 2007 for the St. Louis Cardinals in terms of player suspensions under the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.  The organization, one of the most frequently cited since the program went into full gear in 2005 with 17 suspensions in five years, had none of the first 77 minor leaguers caught this year.

That changed with Monday’s announcement of 50-game suspensions for Cardinals pitchers Jean Carlos De La Cruz and Delvi Rodriguez, both from the Dominican Summer League. They tested positive for a metabolite of Boldenone, a performance-enhancing substance. The two will begin to serve their suspensions at the start of the 2011 season.

De La Cruz, an 18-year-old from Santiago, Dominican Republic, was signed as a non-drafted free agent last October 28. In his rookie pro season, the converted third baseman appeared in just seven games, one since July 31. De La Cruz had a 4.70 ERA in 7 2/3 innings. His strikeout to walk ratio was a poor 11:19.

Rodriguez hails from the same hometown as De La Cruz. The left-hander turns 20 years of age in two weeks, on September 14. He originally signed as a non-drafted free agent on November 25, 2008. In 2009, Rodriguez posted a 1-0 record with a 4.50 ERA in nine games in relief for the DSL Cardinals.  In the just-completed 2010 season, he went 3-1 with a 3.74 in 13 games, including four starts. Rodriguez fanned 41 but issued 24 free passes in 33 2/3 innings.

On the way to six suspensions last year, at this point in 2009, three Cardinals suspensions had been announced. The Cardinals also had six suspensions in 2008, the last time Boldenone was detected in any of their farmhands, with three that year.

Cardinals minor league drug suspensions, 2005-current

Date Player Name Substance Length
4/4/2005 Sal Frisella PEDs 15 games
5/13/2005 Jeremy Cummings PEDs 15 games
4/18/2006 Yonathan Sivira PEDs 50 games
8/2/2006 Marcos Chavez PEDs 50 games
8/2/2006 Jonathan Gonzalez PEDs 50 games
2/20/2008 Scott Vander Weg PEDs 50 games
7/29/2008 Braulin Beltre Boldenone 50 games
7/29/2008 Andres Beras Boldenone 50 games
7/29/2008 Yedilson Pena Boldenone 50 games
8/25/2008 Juan Castillo Stanozolol 50 games
12/1/2008 Wilfred Vivas Methandienone 50 games
4/9/2009 Deryk Hooker Drug of Abuse 50 games
5/15/2009 Kenny Maiques Drug of Abuse 50 games
6/23/2009 Dail Villanueva Nandrolone 50 games
10/6/2009 Alan Ahmady Amphetamines 50 games
12/4/2009 Jefferson Segundo Stanozolol 50 games
12/21/2009 Tyler Bighames Drug of Abuse 50 games
8/31/2010 Jean Carlos De La Cruz Boldenone 50 games
8/31/2010 Delvi Rodriguez Boldenone 50 games

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Pujols ties MLB career lead in 30-30 power seasons

St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols now has as many 30 doubles-30 home run seasons as anyone in MLB history.

Albert Pujols' 400th home run, 08/26/10 (Getty Images/Greg Fiume)Home runs aren’t the only indicator of power and production. Doubles are another important measure.

On the same Thursday evening he earlier blasted his 400th career home run, St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols reached another milestone that measures both home run and doubles proficiency.

When the first baseman stroked his 30th double of the 2010 in the eighth inning off Washington Nationals pitcher Tyler Clippard, he reached the 30-30 mark, doubles and home runs, for the tenth time in ten seasons.

That ties the 30-year-old Pujols for the most such seasons of anyone to have ever played the game.

In the process, Albert joined Manny Ramirez and Carlos Delgado, who each last reached the milestone in 2008. While both are 38 years old, they are still active; however Delgado is in the minor leagues while Manny has just 15 doubles and eight home runs currently.

Albert is the only one of the top three to have accomplished it in ten consecutive years and in every season possible.

Note that Barry Bonds accomplished this version of the 30-30 only seven times and the great Babe Ruth just six, same as Cardinals icon Stan Musial.

All things considered, Pujols is well-positioned to take the career lead in this category in 2011.

30 double-30 home run seasons, MLB, career

Rk Yrs From To
T1 Albert Pujols 10 2001 2010
T1 Carlos Delgado 10 1997 2008
T1 Manny Ramirez 10 1996 2008
T4 Jimmie Foxx 9 1930 1940
T4 Lou Gehrig 9 1927 1937
6 Jeff Bagwell 8 1994 2002
T7 Alex Rodriguez 7 1996 2008
T7 Rafael Palmeiro 7 1993 2002
T7 Albert Belle 7 1993 1999
T7 Barry Bonds 7 1990 2002
T11 Mark Teixeira 6 2004 2009
T11 Miguel Cabrera 6 2004 2010
T11 Todd Helton 6 1999 2004
T11 Vladimir Guerrero 6 1998 2006
T11 Frank Thomas 6 1991 2003
T11 Frank Robinson 6 1959 1966
T11 Hank Aaron 6 1958 1969
T11 Stan Musial 6 1948 1955
T11 Ted Williams 6 1939 1949
T11 Babe Ruth 6 1920 1931

Thanks to researcher Tom Orf for the above table.

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Cardinals home-road splits telling

The St. Louis Cardinals are a dramatically different team at Busch Stadium vs. on the road.

Busch Stadium IIIBy Ian Walton

Following a poor 1-2 showing in Pittsburgh and a split with the Nationals halfway through their four game series, much has been made of the Cardinals’ inability to capitalize upon weaker opponents while the Cincinnati Reds slowly increase their divisional lead.  With the remainder of the Washington set and a three game series in Houston due up next, I wonder how much of their struggles have been due to a simple case of homesickness?

While only the Florida Marlins have a better record away from their home park than in it this season at the time of this writing, most playoff contending teams don’t have such pronounced trouble as the Cardinals on the road.  While enjoying a 41-23 (.641) record at Busch Stadium this season, the Cardinals are only 28-34 (.452) in their travels.  In fact, the following table shows that the Cardinals performed nearly equal at home and away as recently as the past couple of years.

St. Louis Cardinals Records Year by Year

Year Home Wins Home Losses Home Win Pct Away Wins Away Losses Away Win Pct Home Win Pct – Away Win Pct
2010 41 23 0.641 28 34 0.452 0.189
2009 46 35 0.568 45 36 0.556 0.012
2008 46 35 0.568 40 41 0.494 0.074
2007 43 38 0.531 35 46 0.432 0.099
2006 49 31 0.613 34 47 0.420 0.193

In 2010, the Cardinals have performed significantly worse on the road in most statistical categories.  While batting, their home .778 OPS drops to .723 on the road.  In particular, they seem to become much wilder at the plate.  At home, their BB/K ratio is a solid 0.69, but away it drops to 0.40!  Are they in a hurry to get back to their planes or hotels?  Are the opposing crowds rattling them?  What would cause them to completely lose sense of their plate discipline on the road?

The following table shows a number of home road/away OPS splits for various Cardinal players of note.  For better or worse, two of the players who were most skewed toward strong performances at Busch, Ryan Ludwick and David Freese, are no longer with the team.  Unfortunately, two of the three members of the Cardinals’ middle infield platoon, Brendan Ryan and Felipe Lopez, have also struggled mightily on the road.  The third, Skip Schumaker, is actually performing .100 points better away from St. Louis.  Colby Rasmus’ recent injury woes are untimely to fall during this recent trip, as his .991 away OPS by far leads the team (Pujols is second with .955).

Selected Cardinals Batters Home/Road OPS

Player Home OPS Away OPS Home OPS – Away OPS
Ryan Ludwick 0.926 0.734 0.192
David Freese 0.957 0.580 0.377
Felipe Lopez 0.751 0.605 0.146
Brendan Ryan 0.686 0.472 0.214
Skip Schumaker 0.621 0.721 -0.100
Colby Rasmus 0.736 0.991 -0.255
Team 0.778 0.723 0.055

Perhaps more striking than the differences between home and road performance at the plate are those on the mound.  As the following table shows, the Cardinals’ team ERA jumps from 2.92 at home to 3.96 on the road.  Notably, two of the team’s top three starting pitchers, their setup man, and their closer have performed dramatically better at home than on the road this season.

Selected Cardinals Pitchers Home/Road ERAs

Player Home ERA Away ERA Home ERA – Away ERA
Adam Wainwright 1.42 2.94 -1.52
Jaime Garcia 1.55 3.15 -1.60
Kyle McClellan 0.30 4.25 -3.95
Ryan Franklin 2.30 5.04 -2.74

In summation, many of the Cardinals are struggling to perform on the road this season, though for reasons that I don’t particularly understand.  The offense swings away like they have somewhere better to be and many of the team’s key pitchers simply lose their magic.  What I do know is that the Cardinals need to regain some focus on the road if they hope to reach the playoffs or beyond this season.

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Pujols reaches 400 home runs in fifth fewest at-bats

St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols became the 47th member of MLB’s 400 home run club, doing it in fewer at-bats than all but four of them.

Albert Pujols' 400th home run, 08/26/10 (Getty Images/Greg Fiume)Yesterday, I featured the 47 members of Major League Baseball’s 400 home run club, a group that St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols joined on Thursday night. That list was ranked by the players’ ages when they achieved the milestone. Pujols was third youngest.

This time, we re-order the list by the number of at-bats each had at the point in their career when they hit their 400th.

Pujols’ current hitting coach Mark McGwire, with a career shortened by injury, reached 400 with the fewest number of at-bats. Pujols is fifth.

MLB 400 home run club, ordered by at-bats when reached

Career rank HR First Last 400th Born 400 age 400 AB
9 Mark McGwire 583 1986 2001 5/8/1998 10/1/1963 34-219 4726
3 Babe Ruth 714 1914 1935 9/2/1927 2/6/1895 32-208 4853
11 Harmon Killebrew 573 1954 1975 4/27/1969 6/29/1936 32-63 5300
10 Jim Thome 581 1991 2010* 6/14/2004 8/27/1970 33-74 5416
47 Albert Pujols 401 2001 2010* 8/26/2010 1/16/1980 30-222 5615
14 Manny Ramirez 554 1993 2010* 5/15/2005 5/30/1972 32-350 5695
17 Jimmie Foxx 534 1925 1945 6/7/1938 10/22/1907 30-229 5711
19 Willie McCovey 521 1959 1980 7/15/1973 1/10/1938 35-186 5751
4 Willie Mays 660 1951 1973 8/27/1963 5/6/1931 32-113 5761
15 Mike Schmidt 548 1972 1989 5/15/1984 9/27/1949 34-230 5790
7 Alex Rodriguez 604 1994 2010* 6/8/2005 7/27/1975 29-316 5806
16 Mickey Mantle 536 1951 1968 9/10/1962 10/20/1931 30-325 5844
5 Ken Griffey 630 1989 2010 4/10/2000 11/21/1969 30-150 5860
38 Juan Gonzalez 434 1989 2005 6/5/2002 10/20/1969 30-228 5913
35 Dave Kingman 442 1971 1986 8/10/1985 12/21/1948 36-232 5934
20 Ted Williams 521 1939 1960 7/17/1956 8/30/1918 37-321 5936
30 Carlos Delgado 473 1993 2009 8/22/2006 6/25/1972 34-58 5946
22 Eddie Mathews 512 1952 1968 4/16/1963 10/13/1931 32-185 6025
32 Jose Canseco 462 1985 2001 4/14/1999 7/2/1964 34-286 6072
6 Sammy Sosa 609 1989 2007 5/16/2001 11/12/1968 32-185 6206
41 Mike Piazza 427 1992 2007 4/26/2006 9/4/1968 37-234 6260
18 Frank Thomas 521 1990 2008 7/25/2003 5/27/1968 35-59 6403
44 Jason Giambi 412 1995 2010* 5/23/2009 1/8/1971 38-135 6462
1 Barry Bonds 762 1986 2007 8/23/1998 7/24/1964 34-30 6499
8 Frank Robinson 586 1956 1976 9/9/1967 8/31/1935 32-9 6521
27 Lou Gehrig 493 1923 1939 7/10/1936 6/19/1903 33-21 6541
28 Willie Stargell 475 1962 1982 6/29/1977 3/6/1940 37-115 6599
13 Reggie Jackson 563 1967 1987 8/11/1980 5/18/1946 34-85 6694
45 Duke Snider 407 1947 1964 6/14/1963 9/19/1926 36-268 6783
40 Vladimir Guerrero 429 1996 2010* 8/10/2009 2/9/1975 34-182 6821
21 Ernie Banks 512 1953 1971 9/2/1965 1/31/1931 34-214 6830
34 Jeff Bagwell 449 1991 2005 7/20/2003 5/27/1968 35-54 6887
26 Fred McGriff 493 1986 2004 6/2/2000 10/31/1963 36-244 6979
46 Andruw Jones 405 1996 2010* 7/11/2010 4/23/1977 32-79 7081
24 Gary Sheffield 509 1988 2009 7/27/2004 11/18/1968 35-251 7086
2 Hank Aaron 755 1954 1976 4/20/1966 2/5/1934 32-54 7108
37 Chipper Jones 436 1993 2010* 6/5/2008 4/24/1972 36-42 7110
23 Mel Ott 511 1926 1947 6/1/1941 3/2/1909 32-81 7215
12 Rafael Palmeiro 569 1986 2005 9/23/2000 9/24/1964 35-364 7824
43 Darrell Evans 414 1969 1989 9/20/1988 5/26/1947 41-117 8609
42 Billy Williams 426 1959 1976 6/12/1975 6/15/1938 36-362 8641
25 Eddie Murray 504 1977 1997 5/3/1992 2/24/1956 36-68 8663
36 Andre Dawson 438 1976 1996 4/15/1993 7/10/1954 38-279 8922
29 Stan Musial 475 1941 1963 5/7/1959 11/21/1920 38-167 9233
31 Dave Winfield 465 1973 1995 8/14/1991 10/3/1951 39-50 9298
33 Carl Yastrzemski 452 1961 1983 7/24/1979 8/22/1939 39-336 10252
39 Cal Ripken 431 1981 2001 9/2/1999 8/24/1960 39-9 10707
* active

Thanks to researcher Tom Orf for the above table.

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Pujols third youngest to reach 400 home runs

St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols has become the 47th member of MLB’s 400 home run club, doing it faster than all but two of them.

Albert Pujols' 400th home run, 08/26/10 (Getty Images/Greg Fiume)In contrast to the highly-visible watch for Alex Rodriguez’ 600th career home run, with cut-ins on national sports networks to every plate appearance, Albert Pujols’ quest for number 400 received substantially less attention.

While A-Rod went homerless for a dozen games between numbers 599 and 600 before reaching his milestone on August 4, Pujols removed his suspense more quickly. After hitting 399 on August 23 in Cardinals game 122, he went just three games before striking his 400th. The opposite field shot occurred on the second pitch of Thursday’s fourth inning against Jordan Zimmermann of the Washington Nationals.

In the process, Pujols became the 47th member of Major League Baseball’s 400 home run club. He is the eighth among currently active players.

There are many parallels between the two future Hall of Famers, Pujols and Rodriguez, born 4 1/2 years apart.

One point which now brings them together is being among the three youngest players in history to reach 400 home runs, along with recently-retired Ken Griffey Jr. A-Rod is the only one to have accomplished the feat while still in his 20’s. At 30 years, 222 days, Pujols joined the list at number three. (Note that it took A-Rod slightly more than five years to move from 400 to 600.)

Thanks to researcher Tom Orf, we offer the list of all 400 home run players below, listed from youngest to oldest when achieving the feat. The far right column shows year-day age of each player on their 400th home run date.

MLB 400 home run club, ordered by age when reached

Career rank HRs First Last 400th Born 400 age
7 Alex Rodriguez 604 1994 2010* 6/8/2005 7/27/1975 29-316
5 Ken Griffey 630 1989 2010 4/10/2000 11/21/1969 30-150
47 Albert Pujols 400 2001 2010* 8/26/2010 1/16/1980 30-222
38 Juan Gonzalez 434 1989 2005 6/5/2002 10/20/1969 30-228
17 Jimmie Foxx 534 1925 1945 6/7/1938 10/22/1907 30-229
16 Mickey Mantle 536 1951 1968 9/10/1962 10/20/1931 30-325
2 Hank Aaron 755 1954 1976 4/20/1966 2/5/1934 32-54
4 Willie Mays 660 1951 1973 8/27/1963 5/6/1931 32-113
6 Sammy Sosa 609 1989 2007 5/16/2001 11/12/1968 32-185
22 Eddie Mathews 512 1952 1968 4/16/1963 10/13/1931 32-185
3 Babe Ruth 714 1914 1935 9/2/1927 2/6/1895 32-208
14 Manny Ramirez 554 1993 2010* 5/15/2005 5/30/1972 32-350
11 Harmon Killebrew 573 1954 1975 4/27/1969 6/29/1936 32-63
46 Andruw Jones 405 1996 2010* 7/11/2010 4/23/1977 32-79
23 Mel Ott 511 1926 1947 6/1/1941 3/2/1909 32-81
8 Frank Robinson 586 1956 1976 9/9/1967 8/31/1935 32-9
27 Lou Gehrig 493 1923 1939 7/10/1936 6/19/1903 33-21
10 Jim Thome 581 1991 2010* 6/14/2004 8/27/1970 33-74
1 Barry Bonds 762 1986 2007 8/23/1998 7/24/1964 34-30
40 Vladimir Guerrero 429 1996 2010* 8/10/2009 2/9/1975 34-182
21 Ernie Banks 512 1953 1971 9/2/1965 1/31/1931 34-214
9 Mark McGwire 583 1986 2001 5/8/1998 10/1/1963 34-219
15 Mike Schmidt 548 1972 1989 5/15/1984 9/27/1949 34-230
32 Jose Canseco 462 1985 2001 4/14/1999 7/2/1964 34-286
30 Carlos Delgado 473 1993 2009 8/22/2006 6/25/1972 34-58
13 Reggie Jackson 563 1967 1987 8/11/1980 5/18/1946 34-85
19 Willie McCovey 521 1959 1980 7/15/1973 1/10/1938 35-186
24 Gary Sheffield 509 1988 2009 7/27/2004 11/18/1968 35-251
12 Rafael Palmeiro 569 1986 2005 9/23/2000 9/24/1964 35-364
34 Jeff Bagwell 449 1991 2005 7/20/2003 5/27/1968 35-54
18 Frank Thomas 521 1990 2008 7/25/2003 5/27/1968 35-59
35 Dave Kingman 442 1971 1986 8/10/1985 12/21/1948 36-232
26 Fred McGriff 493 1986 2004 6/2/2000 10/31/1963 36-244
45 Duke Snider 407 1947 1964 6/14/1963 9/19/1926 36-268
42 Billy Williams 426 1959 1976 6/12/1975 6/15/1938 36-362
37 Chipper Jones 436 1993 2010* 6/5/2008 4/24/1972 36-42
25 Eddie Murray 504 1977 1997 5/3/1992 2/24/1956 36-68
28 Willie Stargell 475 1962 1982 6/29/1977 3/6/1940 37-115
41 Mike Piazza 427 1992 2007 4/26/2006 9/4/1968 37-234
20 Ted Williams 521 1939 1960 7/17/1956 8/30/1918 37-321
44 Jason Giambi 412 1995 2010* 5/23/2009 1/8/1971 38-135
29 Stan Musial 475 1941 1963 5/7/1959 11/21/1920 38-167
36 Andre Dawson 438 1976 1996 4/15/1993 7/10/1954 38-279
33 Carl Yastrzemski 452 1961 1983 7/24/1979 8/22/1939 39-336
31 Dave Winfield 465 1973 1995 8/14/1991 10/3/1951 39-50
39 Cal Ripken 431 1981 2001 9/2/1999 8/24/1960 39-9
43 Darrell Evans 414 1969 1989 9/20/1988 5/26/1947 41-117
* active

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Pujols fans need to watch Votto… and Infante?

Could an unexpected challenger ruin the chase for the Triple Crown?

Joey Votto and Albert Pujols (AP/Jeff Roberson)On Wednesday afternoon, I tuned in to catch the Atlanta Braves take a 10-1 lead over the Colorado Rockies only for the home club to come back to seize an improbable Coors Field-powered 12-10 win.

I left that broadcast with two thoughts, neither of them good.

First was a recollection of the July 6 game, also at Coors, in which the St. Louis Cardinals yielded nine runs to the Rockies in the bottom of the ninth. St. Louis lost 12-9 on a walkoff three-run home run by Seth Smith against Ryan Franklin.

The second was a point highlighted by the Atlanta announcers – the batting championship candidacy of two of their players. One is infielder Martin Prado, currently batting .317. Along with Triple Crown candidates Joey Votto and Albert Pujols (pictured), Prado is among the top five in the National League race along with Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies (.320) and former Cardinal Placido Polanco of the Phillies (.318).

The second Braves name mentioned, the one that hit me out of the blue, is 2010 National League All-Star Omar Infante. Atlanta’s second baseman and leadoff hitter is batting .347 after going 1-for-5 on Wednesday.

That is 24 points ahead of Votto and 25 more than Pujols at the start of the day, but here’s the rub. As of yet, Infante does not have enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title.

While the baseball world is watching a potential Triple Crown race between the pair of NL Central first sackers, could this unexpected contender come from nowhere to gum up the works?

It is hardly assured.

Through Wednesday, Infante has just 347 plate appearances this season. To qualify for the batting championship, a hitter must accrue an average of 3.1 PAs per game times 162 games or 502 plate appearances in total.

If a hitter falls short of 502, he can be given enough hitless at-bats to get his total to the minimum. Of course, his average drops accordingly. In this case, there is also the necessity for Infante to continue to hit well enough to remain in contention.

Yet, it is certainly possible. For example, in 1996, San Diego’s Tony Gwynn took the NL batting title despite having 498 plate appearances.

Here is one case, loaded with assumptions. Any of them may not come to pass, invalidating the conclusion. Still, it offers an example of what could happen here in 2010.

In the second half, Infante is averaging just over 3.9 plate appearances per game. The Braves have 35 games remaining after Wednesday. If Omar plays every day, he would accrue another 137 plate appearances for a total of 484.

To calculate his qualifying batting average, he would be assessed a 0-for-18 addition to his then-current average to reach 502.

There is one other consideration – the difference between plate appearances and at-bats. Today, Infante has 347 PAs and 326 at-bats. Keeping that ratio constant for the remainder of the season would leave him with 455 at-bats.

Another big assumption is that Infante could maintain his .347 average through those 455 at-bats (and 484 plate appearances). If so, he would have 158 hits at season’s end.

Adding the 0-for-18 for the batting championship qualification would mean he would have 158 hits in 473 at-bats (455 plus 18). That would drop his qualifying average 13 points to .334.

That would still be more than good enough to top both Votto and Pujols – given their averages today, of course.

The bottom line is a suggestion to keep an eye on Infante as well as the two Triple Crown contenders over the final five weeks. I know I will be.

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Pujols joins a more elite list than 400 homers

Albert Pujols hit his 33rd home run of the season Monday night. How does that stack up in the history books?

Pujols' home run (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)As many St. Louis Cardinals fans know, first baseman Albert Pujols launched a three-run home run in the first inning of Monday night’s game in Pittsburgh, aiming the Cardinals toward an important win. It happened on the first pitch Pujols saw from Bucs reliever Sean Gallagher.

Most recognized the long ball as the 399th of Pujols’ career and are focused on when the milestone number 400 will occur. At 399, Pujols tied Al Kaline and Andres Galarraga for 47th place on the all-time list.

Less noticed was that Monday’s blast was also Pujols’ National League-leading 33rd of the season. With the help of researcher Tom Orf, we learn Pujols has joined a more elite list than the 400 home run club – one that indicates long-term staying power. On Monday, Pujols become just the 15th player in MLB history to have at least nine seasons of 33 or more home runs.

Looking at the list below, we see that five of the 15 are still active, but Pujols is the only one who has hit 33 since 2008. That season was the last time Alex Rodriguez, Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez and Carlos Delgado crossed the threshold. With his ninth such season, Pujols tied his current hitting coach, Mark McGwire. Barry Bonds is the career leader with 14 33-homer seasons.

33 or more home run seasons, MLB career

Rk Player Yrs 1st Last
1 Barry Bonds 14 1990 2004
T2 Hank Aaron 13 1957 1973
T2 Babe Ruth 13 1920 1933
T4 Alex Rodriguez 12 1996 2008
T4 Mike Schmidt 12 1974 1987
T6 Jim Thome 11 1996 2008
T6 Manny Ramirez 11 1996 2008
T6 Sammy Sosa 11 1993 2004
T6 Willie Mays 11 1954 1966
T6 Jimmie Foxx 11 1929 1940
11 Rafael Palmeiro 10 1993 2003
T12 Carlos Delgado 9 1998 2008
T12 Mark McGwire 9 1987 1999
T12 Harmon Killebrew 9 1959 1970
T12 Albert Pujols 9 2001 2010

Pujols’ pace, while fast compared to his peers this season, is not particularly quick when compared to his past. Albert reached his 33rd home run faster in five of the nine years he hit that many. (He fell short with 32 in 2007.) Monday was the Cardinals’ 122nd game and Albert’s 121st played.

Cardinals game of the season in which Pujols hit his 33rd home run

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
138 152 119 114 117 99 n/a 144 92 122

Could there be another hot streak remaining for Pujols this season? Here is a list of some of his most proficient home run-hitting stretches, including the one he is currently working.

Albert Pujols’ best home run streaks

2001 22-Apr to 1-May 10 HR in 20 games (games 18 to 37)
2003 30-Apr to 21-May 10 HR in 20 games (games 25 to 44)
2004 13-Aug to 2-Sep 11 HR in 20 games (games 114 to 133)
2006 3-Apr to 29-Apr 14 HR in 24 games (games 1 to 24)
2009 11-Jun to 30-Jun 12 HR in 19 games (games 61 to 79)
2010 31-Jul to 23-Aug 10 HR in 19 games (games 104 to 122)

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A Historical Look at Garcia’s Gem

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia tossed a three-hit shutout on Sunday. How often has it happened in the last 90 years?

Jaime Garcia (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)By all accounts, Sunday was a big day for St. Louis Cardinals left-hander Jaime Garcia. The rookie tossed his first complete-game shutout as a major leaguer while giving his slumping teammates a much-needed lift.

Prior to Sunday, Garcia had never pitched more than seven innings in the majors, but held the playoff-contending visitors from San Francisco to just three hits and no walks over a full nine innings.

Due to a pair of double plays, Garcia faced just 28 batters, one over the minimum and did it on an economical 89 pitches, of which 65 were strikes. His pitch count was the lowest in a complete game by a Cardinals pitcher since Bob Tewksbury’s 86-pitch outing on May 30, 1992.

Garcia became the first left-handed rookie to pitch a shutout for the Cardinals since Bud Smith’s no-hitter in 2001. Smith’s game is also the most recent no-hitter thrown by any Cardinal. With his 12th career win on Sunday, Garcia has already surpassed Smith’s total of just seven big-league victories.

Researcher Tom Orf determined that Garcia’s Sunday gem is the 240th Cardinals complete-game shutout of three hits or less since 1920. It is the club’s third this season, as Adam Wainwright owns the other two. Interestingly, despite all his past success, Chris Carpenter has logged only four such games in his distinguished Cardinals career.

From a historical perspective, not surprisingly Bob Gibson leads the way with 18 of these games. I was a bit surprised though that he logged just two of them in his 1968 signature season. Gibson’s best season in this category was four games in 1965.

Tied for third with Bob Forsch at ten career shutouts with three or fewer hits is another familiar name, Ernie Broglio. When people cite the Lou Brock trade as having been incredibly one-sided, they often overlook the fact that Broglio had been a very good pitcher up to that point. As such, the deal was unpopular when announced. Historians continue to wonder if Ernie was damaged goods by the time of the trade, however, as he was unable to continue his past success after joining the Cubs.

Cardinals complete game shutouts, three or fewer hits, 1920-current, career totals

Bob Gibson 18
Mort Cooper 12
Bob Forsch 10
Ernie Broglio 10
Jesse Haines 8

Perhaps in an indication of the increased focus on pitch counts and relief specialization, only 21 of these games have been logged in the almost 15 seasons since Tony La Russa took over as manager prior to the 1996 season.

In all fairness, even before La Russa arrived, it had been a long dry spell for the team and their starting pitchers specifically. The team had just one shutout of three of fewer hits during the entire seven-year span of 1991-1997. Here is the full list for the last two decades.

Cardinals complete game shutouts, three or fewer hits, 1991-current

Player Date Opp Rslt IP H R ER BB SO
Jaime Garcia 8/22/2010 SFG W 9-0 9 3 0 0 0 6
Adam Wainwright 8/6/2010 FLA W 7-0 9 2 0 0 3 7
Adam Wainwright 6/4/2010 MIL W 8-0 9 2 0 0 1 8
Chris Carpenter 9/7/2009 MIL W 3-0 9 1 0 0 2 10
Joel Pineiro 6/23/2009 NYM W 3-0 9 2 0 0 1 1
Joel Pineiro 5/19/2009 CHC W 3-0 9 3 0 0 0 5
Kyle Lohse 4/12/2009 HOU W 3-0 9 3 0 0 0 4
Braden Looper 6/11/2008 CIN W 10-0 9 3 0 0 0 4
Chris Carpenter 7/14/2006 LAD W 5-0 9 2 0 0 0 7
Jason Marquis 8/27/2005 WSN W 6-0 9 2 0 0 0 3
Chris Carpenter 7/17/2005 HOU W 3-0 9 3 0 0 0 9
Chris Carpenter 6/14/2005 TOR W 7-0 9 1 0 0 1 10
Matt Morris 9/3/2004 LAD W 3-0 9 2 0 0 0 11
Matt Morris 9/7/2003 CIN W 9-0 9 3 0 0 1 8
Chuck Finley 2002-08-27 (2) CIN W 5-0 9 2 0 0 1 7
Woody Williams 9/5/2001 SDP W 2-0 9 2 0 0 0 6
Bud Smith 9/3/2001 SDP W 4-0 9 0 0 0 4 7
Pat Hentgen 9/14/2000 CHC W 4-0 9 3 0 0 0 9
Jose Jimenez 7/5/1999 ARI W 1-0 9 2 0 0 1 9
Jose Jimenez 6/25/1999 ARI W 1-0 9 0 0 0 2 8
Donovan Osborne 9/5/1998 CIN W 7-0 9 3 0 0 2 4
Vicente Palacios 7/19/1994 HOU W 10-0 9 1 0 0 1 8

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Bissinger Blasts Birds

Buzz Bissinger, author and friend of Tony La Russa, makes a series of comments critical of the St. Louis Cardinals organization.

Buzz Bissinger (Getty Images)I follow author Buzz Bissinger on Twitter for the same reason people slow down on the highway when there is an accident – morbid curiosity. For reasons only clear to him, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer regularly goes off on series of profane 140-character tirades against seemingly anyone and everyone – from his wife to LeBron James to Alyssa Milano.

Among his Saturday morning’s barbs were ones targeted at the heart of the St. Louis Cardinals. Given the team’s recent poor play, Bissinger was hardly alone in his criticism. What makes this different is the source and the specificity.

In the past, the closest to home that Bissinger, a friend, collaborator and business partner with Tony La Russa had come to the manager was a series of shots directed at Lou Piniella prior to the Cubs skipper’s retirement announcement and some relatively mild criticism of the hiring of Mark McGwire as Cardinals hitting coach over the winter.

That changed on Saturday. Bissinger started off pretty tame, almost normal.

“I think Tony La Russa is great etc. etc. (save the jokes) but except for 3 games against Reds, they have played with no intensity all year.”

It didn’t take long for him to go off on one of his patented rants, however. Here are some of Bissinger’s subsequent Cardinals-focused tweets, unedited (NSFW). A few of the latter ones are in response to comments from others.

“Something in the Card organization is terribly wrong. Getting rid of Jockety stupidest move ever. Kept idiotfuck Luhnow instead.”

“Hiring McGwire terrible move even though batting coaches don’t do shit. Tony never should have done it. Been there too long? Silence……..”

“The Cardinals could win the WS (except Franklin sucks). Have the pitching. So why are they playing like they don’t give a shit…”

“Two weeks ago, everybody including me thought Cards had finally hit stride after sweeping Reds. Now nothing but excuses.”

“Obvious answer to Cardinal woes: Alyssa Milano takes over as manager. Pujols strikes out with bases loaded. Alyssa: ‘Yay! You tried Hard!’”

“Of course top heavy. But DeWitt is cheap. And if team collapses, Albert will leave. He should.”

“For all the stats in the world, if players don’t care, come into park distracted, defeatest (sic), then streaks are not accidental.”

In response to the Post-Dispatch’s Joe Strauss drawing more attention to his tweets, Bissinger replied.

“You watch them play every day. I don’t. You explain what the fuck is happening….”

Is Bissinger speaking for himself, or also sharing the thinking of the manager, who is not under contract for 2011, when he typed the following?

“Let me be clear: I love Tony La Russa. Brilliant gutsy manager. Most interesting man I have met in sports. But mesh is no longer right.”

If you dare, you can join the over 16,000 people who follow Bissinger on Twitter here.

Update: In response to learning of Bissinger’s comments from the Post-Dispatch, La Russa predictably distanced himself from the comments, not the man. He “…described Bissinger as a friend with whom he had last spoken several weeks ago. However, La Russa said,

‘He isn’t connected enough to me that he’s stating my opinions. I think that’s the important point there.'”

Update #2: I found a June article in The New Republic in which Bissinger discusses why he tweets. Here are a couple of nuggets:

“I am an angry man, which is one of the reasons I have resumed therapy and take four different pharmaceuticals. I wake up angry, stay angry during the day except to my dog and children, and go to bed angry at night. Most of my anger amounted to a running dialogue of abuse and self-abuse while working alone at home. But with Twitter, I now had an outlet. I used profanity, because that’s the way I talk, the perfect sentence being one in which the f-bomb appears as adverb, verb, adjective, and noun, as in, ‘You kind sir, go fxxxly fxxx yourself, you fxxx of a fxxxhead.'”

“Some say I am two-faced because of my original anti-blog stance, or that I am a washed-up windbag, or that I am seriously demeaning myself…”  (what follows is a general purpose 140 character profanity-laden tweet)

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MLB’s quick discipline breeds inequity

An arbitrary agreement between MLB and the Players Union led to unfair discipline decisions – a systematic problem that should be fixed.

Jason LaRue (AP/Tom Gannam)Like many St. Louis Cardinals watchers, I have been concerned about the growing inequity of the punishment handed down by MLB to the Cincinnati Reds’ Johnny Cueto. The pitcher was the aggressor in the August 10 melee between the two clubs as he landed multiple cleated kicks to the head and ribs of Cardinals reserve catcher Jason LaRue.

LaRue was left with a concussion, bruised ribs and a trip to the 60-day disabled list that ended his regular season. It also seems unlikely he could return during the post-season – if the Cardinals can even get past the Reds to reach that far. While no one knows where this will go for LaRue personally, post-concussion syndrome has ended more than one career, including that of former Cardinals catcher Mike Matheny.

On the other side of the ledger, Cueto’s seven-game suspension means he has to be skipped for one start – during a time of the year in which many tired starters would welcome a rest, anyway.

With Yadier Molina having started 21 games in a row and manager Tony La Russa likely uncomfortable starting rookie Bryan Anderson, especially when his team is 3 ½ games behind the Reds, it puts an even greater potential long-term impact on Cueto’s actions.

Regarding the incident itself and its aftermath, others have already weighed in, including:

These and other reports, while extensive, have not focused on one point which I feel is most relevant and illustrative of the need for a change at the MLB-union levels.

In a Monday article with background on how the discipline was handed down, Joe Strauss of the Post-Dispatch included the revelation that in their haste to announce the punishment, MLB officials had no idea how severely LaRue had been injured.

The excuse: An agreement between the commissioner’s office and the Players Association that punishment for on-field incidents should be handed down within 48 hours.

“Sometimes we may miss something like (LaRue’s case) because of that,” MLB Senior Vice President for On-Field Operations Frank Robinson told Strauss. “If we had not acted, it would probably have been more severe. But as is, we really can’t take a starting pitcher beyond five, six or seven days because this individual may hurt himself being laid off for a longer amount of time. We didn’t know the extent of LaRue’s injuries until later on.”

So, the former Reds Hall-of-Famer Robinson was concerned about the risk of the current Reds star Cueto getting injured during an extended layoff? You mean, Cueto would be locked in a cell somewhere, not allowed to throw on the side during his suspension?

What about LaRue, who may have suffered a career-ending injury?

This lame explanation, spawned by an agreement that was used as justification to pass down a sentence while lacking important evidence, clearly points to a systematic problem at the top levels that needs to be re-negotiated.

Wouldn’t it be better to allow the investigators the time they need to fully understand the entire situation instead of being pushed into making short-sighted decisions that can neither be reversed or altered – especially when relevant new information surfaces?

Currently, MLB is so focused on having a “speedy trial” that they trample all over the even more important “fairness” aspect.

The bottom line here is that LaRue will be sidelined over 50 games or perhaps much longer while Cueto misses just one start.

How can anyone call this equitable?

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Cardinals days off don’t seem to help

The 2010 Cardinals seem to play worse after having a day off than they did just prior.

AP photo/Winslow TownsonMuch concern has been expressed by St. Louis Cardinals fans about the meat grinder of a schedule that awaits the club over the final weeks of the regular season. If the Florida Marlins August 8 rainout reschedule lands on September 20 as expected, the Cardinals will play 44 games in their final 45 days.

Thursday the 19th is the Cardinals second off day this week and fourth open date in the last two weeks – five if the rainout is counted.

Conventional wisdom says a team welcomes the time away and the rested club plays better afterward. The opposite view is that rhythms and routines are interrupted and days off can be disruptive.

Wondering which is the case for the 2010 Cardinals, I undertook a very unscientific study. I simply looked at the team’s record in the series or partial series just prior to each of their first 15 days off and compared it to their results in the series immediately after.

2010 Cardinals, series record after days off compared to before

Days off Better after Same after Worse after
15 3 4 8

In just one-fifth of the time did the Cardinals win more games immediately after a day off compared to how they were playing just prior. In four cases, they played at same rate before and after. That leaves over half, eight of the 15 times, in which the Cardinals actually played worse just after taking a day off than they had been prior.

In terms of individual games, the Cards are six games over .500 just ahead of a day off and six games under after a rest.

Here are the specifics.

Before day off After day off
Day off Wins Losses Wins Losses Better/Worse
6-Apr 1 0 1 1 Worse
13-Apr 1 0 1 1 Worse
22-Apr 2 1 1 2 Worse
10-May 2 1 0 3 Worse
24-May 2 1 1 2 Worse
3-Jun 2 1 2 1 Same
10-Jun 0 3 1 2 Better
17-Jun 2 1 2 1 Same
21-Jun 2 1 2 1 Same
5-Jul 2 2 0 3 Worse
12-14-Jul 2 1 4 0 Better
26-Jul 1 2 1 2 Same
5-Aug 1 2 1 1 Better
12-Aug 3 0 1 2 Worse
16-Aug 1 2 0 2 Worse
24 18 18 24

I don’t know if this is simply coincidence, but if it really mattered, the long stretch of consecutive days ahead just might turn out to be a good thing.

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Cardinals live chat on FOX Sports Midwest Wednesday

FSM-site-logo-2001The 12th of FOX Sports Midwest’s live chats of the 2010 season will be held throughout Wednesday afternoon’s Cardinals-Brewers series finale. Join in the discussion with me and the FSM personalities.

You can participate via the frame to be added below or through FOX Sports Midwest’s website.

Adam Wainwright (17-6, 1.89) faces Randy Wolf (9-9, 4.86) as the Cards try to split the home series and work toward regaining the NL Central lead.

Wednesday’s first pitch is scheduled at 1:15 P.M. Central with pre-game starting at 12:30.

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With the Muckdogs on the block, what might the Cardinals do?

There are many uncertainties as the Batavia Muckdogs are for sale and their Player Development Contract with the St. Louis Cardinals is also up.

Batavia MuckdogsIf anyone out there has $5-$6 million burning a hole in your pocket and have a desire to own a minor league team, I have news for you. The Batavia Muckdogs of the New York-Penn League are officially for sale.

The Genesee County Baseball Club (GCBC), the not-for-profit organization that owns the Muckdogs, issued a press release on Friday soliciting bidders for the team, long floundering under a sea of red ink.

Rochester Community Baseball (RCB), owner of the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings, has been operating the Muckdogs under contract with the GCBC for the last three seasons. As attendance remained at the bottom of the league, causing RCB to lose money in Batavia every year, they have made it clear they would not be back for 2011.

As reported here previously, RCB has accrued a 15 percent share of the Muckdogs, five percent for each year of operation. In a $6 million sale, they would receive $900,000, more than enough to offset the estimated $500,000 in losses that have mounted since they took over business management of the Muckdogs prior to the 2008 season. As a point of reference, another league team, the Oneonta Tigers, was sold and moved to Connecticut prior to the 2010 season, fetching $6 million on the open market.

The GCBC release did not provide a timeframe for a sale decision but stated a wish to locate investors willing to keep the team in Batavia. No mention was made of how prospective new operators might make money when the last two have failed.

Whether the team stays or goes, it is unclear how long necessary approvals from the league and Minor League Baseball would require following the naming of a winning bidder. Based on other sales, it seems quite possible that the uncertain status could extend deep into the off-season.

This situation also has potentially significant affect on the on-field operations of the team.

Likely before the ownership plans are settled, the St. Louis Cardinals will be faced with a decision as to their future affiliation with the franchise. Unlike the rookie Gulf Coast League and the Appalachian Leagues where all or most teams respectively, are owned by their major league parent organizations, 12 of the 14 NY-Penn League clubs are independently owned.

The Cardinals two-year Player Development Contract with Batavia expires at the end of this season. When I recently asked a organization official about their intentions going forward, he made no comment other than to note that until the season is up, they can do nothing about formally considering alternatives.

PDCs of 11 of the 12 independently-owned NY-Penn clubs also complete next month, so if the Cardinals want to explore moving their affiliation to one of the existing franchises, the option will be available for them to pursue during a brief window of time this fall.

In the past, the Cardinals organization has stated their desire to remain in the NY-Penn League. Further, they seem pleased with their decision to expand their US-based rookie short-season league presence to three teams via their 2007 re-entry into the Gulf Coast League.

Despite the NY-Penn League’s distance from the other organization’s affiliates, the only other circuit at the same level of play, the Northwest League, offers perhaps even greater logistical challenges.

As such, the Cardinals New York-Penn League plans, like the prospective sale of the Muckdogs, will bear watching this fall.

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How rare is Steven Hill’s debut homer?

In his first major league contest, St. Louis Cardinals catcher Steven Hill hit a home run, the 11th time it has occurred in team history.

Steven Hill (AP/Jeff Roberson)Just a few days ago, Steven Hill was preparing to take on the San Antonio Missions this weekend in Springfield, Missouri. Instead, the 25-year-old catcher found himself 200 miles to the northeast as he was called upon to leap over Triple-A and join the St. Louis Cardinals.

On Sunday, Hill made his first appearance in a major league game. After striking out in the sixth inning, the right-handed hitter launched his first career home run just inside the right field foul pole at Busch Stadium when leading off the ninth inning.

In doing so, Hill became the 11th Cardinals player to homer in his MLB debut and the 35th player to go deep in his first game played as a member of the Cardinals since 1920.

The last player to have done it prior to Sunday was Julio Lugo on July 24, 2009 and the last Cardinal to hit a home run in his first game as a major leaguer was Hector Luna on April 8, 2004.

Here is something to look forward to. With a home run in his second game as well, Hill could join three others – Keith McDonald (2000), Leon Wagner (1960) and Joe Cunningham (1954). Cunningham leads the way with three long balls over his first two games.

No player in team history has homered in his first three games with the club.

St. Louis Cardinals, home run, first game with team, 1920 to present

Home Run in 1st StL Game Streak Start End G HR MLB debut
Keith McDonald 7/4/2000 7/6/2000 2 2 yes
Leon Wagner 4/12/1960 4/13/1960 2 2
Joe Cunningham 6/30/1954 7/1/1954 2 3 yes
Steven Hill 8/15/2010 1 1 yes
Julio Lugo 7/24/2009 1 1
Mark Worrell 6/5/2008 1 1
Jose Vizcaino 8/23/2006 1 1
Preston Wilson 8/18/2006 1 1
Adam Wainwright 5/24/2006 1 1
Hector Luna 4/8/2004 1 1 yes
Gene Stechschulte 4/17/2001 1 1
Chris Richard 7/17/2000 1 1 yes
Craig Paquette 8/3/1999 1 1
Phil Plantier 7/13/1997 1 1
Danny Sheaffer 4/30/1995 1 1
Hector Villanueva 4/9/1993 1 1
Ray Stephens 9/20/1990 1 1 yes
Skeeter Barnes 5/7/1987 1 1
Fred Manrique 9/5/1986 1 1
Cesar Cedeno 8/30/1985 1 1
Jack Clark 4/9/1985 1 1
Bill Stein 9/6/1972 1 1 yes
Dick Allen 4/8/1970 1 1
Vic Davalillo 6/1/1969 1 1
Joe Hague 9/20/1968 1 1
Orlando Cepeda 5/10/1966 1 1
Glen Hobbie 6/5/1964 1 1
Don Ferrarese 6/22/1962 1 1
Don Taussig 4/17/1961 1 1
Bobby Smith 4/16/1957 1 1 yes
Ken Boyer 4/12/1955 1 1 yes
Wally Moon 4/13/1954 1 1 yes
Wally Westlake 6/16/1951 1 1
Ken O’Dea 4/14/1942 1 1
Eddie Morgan 4/14/1936 1 1 yes

Hill is the sixth major leaguer this season and 48th since 2000 to hit a home run in his first game in the bigs. He joined Toronto’s J.P. Arencibia, Boston’s Daniel Nava, Starlin Castro of the Cubs, Luke Hughes of Minnesota and Atlanta’s Jason Heyward to do it in 2010.

Thanks to researcher Tom Orf for the data in the table above.

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Wainwright among MLB’s elite, but is it good enough?

Based on success of others before him, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright’s pace though 113 games may have him on a track to win the Cy Young Award.

Adam Wainwright (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)Is there any doubt that St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright is a workhorse – and is an extraordinary one at that?

Heading into Friday’s action, the Cardinals had played in 113 games this season. In his 25 starts to date, Wainwright accumulated 17 wins and a 1.99 ERA. Researcher Tom Orf helped me put Wainwright’s pace into a most impressive historical context.

The table below lists all MLB starters over the last half century with 20 or more starts and an ERA under two through their respective teams’ first 113 games.

Since 2000, Wainwright is among only five pitchers to have accomplished this. In addition to Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez and Chris Young, Florida’s Josh Johnson, who the Cardinals faced last Friday in Miami, is the other. *

(* It should be noted that since this data was pulled, Johnson’s ERA “ballooned” to 2.24 as he yielded six runs in 2 2/3 innings at Cincinnati Friday night. As such, if this list was reflected results through 114 games, Johnson’s name would vanish.)

Others who met these criteria in past decades are also listed.

One has to go all the way back to Dwight Gooden in 1985 to find a pitcher with more wins (18) than Waino and a sub-2.00 ERA at this point of the season. Roger Clemens also had 17 wins in 1997.

The common thread? Both Doc and the Rocket took home the Cy Young Award following those seasons.

This week, Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch penned an in-depth article that is definitely worth a read. It looks at Wainwright’s 2010 candidacy from a number of angles. Since the voters have proven to be all over the map in their actual votes, I personally tend to not spend a lot of time trying to guess what they should do, let alone what they might do.

Instead, as a quick-and-dirty measure, I often refer to the ESPN Cy Young Predictor. That tool uses a Rob Neyer/Bill James formula to forecast the top contenders and leaders based on stats of past winners. Wainwright currently has a comfortable lead in the race for the 2010 NL award using this view.

However, before getting too excited, it is appropriate to note that Wainwright also had the highest score in ESPN’s formula last year. We all learned how a few voters who see the world differently than others can dramatically affect a tight competition and toss all the predictions out the window.

Wainwright and his supporters have to hope that he can further distance himself from the pack this time around and make it a one-horse race.

MLB pitchers through 113 games, season, minimum 20 starts and an ERA under 2.00, ordered by ERA within decades, 1960-2010

2000-2010 Cy? Year W L ERA GS CG SHO IP H ER HR BB SO
Roger Clemens No 2005 11 4 1.38 23 0 0 156 106 24 6 44 139
Pedro Martinez Yes 2000 13 4 1.46 20 6 3 154 90 25 12 27 204
Chris Young No 2007 9 3 1.82 20 0 0 118 78 24 4 39 114
Josh Johnson * TBD 2010 10 4 1.97 23 1 0 155 121 34 5 36 156
Adam Wainwright TBD 2010 17 6 1.99 25 5 2 176 129 39 11 42 158
1990-1999 Year W L ERA GS CG SHO IP H ER HR BB SO
Greg Maddux No 1998 14 5 1.61 24 8 4 184 139 33 6 24 145
Greg Maddux Yes 1994 15 6 1.63 24 9 2 193 147 35 4 31 152
Roger Clemens Yes 1997 17 4 1.69 24 7 2 186 135 35 8 49 202
Pedro Martinez Yes 1997 13 5 1.76 21 10 4 164 102 32 11 44 199
Greg Maddux Yes 1995 14 2 1.86 22 8 2 169 120 35 8 19 148
Kevin Brown No 1996 10 9 1.94 22 4 3 158 129 34 5 21 102
Bob Tewksbury No 1992 10 5 1.97 23 4 0 169 158 37 11 14 66
1980-1989 Year W L ERA GS CG SHO IP H ER HR BB SO
Nolan Ryan No 1981 11 5 1.69 21 5 3 149 99 28 2 68 140
Dwight Gooden Yes 1985 18 3 1.82 26 12 5 202 147 41 13 51 192
Dave Dravecky No 1985 10 6 1.94 22 6 2 158 127 34 11 44 86
1970-79 Year W L ERA GS CG SHO IP H ER HR BB SO
Vida Blue Yes 1971 20 4 1.56 28 19 8 230 146 40 9 67 231
Steve Kline No 1972 14 5 1.63 23 9 4 177 136 32 7 29 39
Randy Jones No 1975 14 6 1.84 24 12 6 190 149 39 11 28 61
Tom Seaver Yes 1973 14 6 1.86 25 13 2 203 149 42 16 44 175
Ron Guidry Yes 1978 16 2 1.88 24 10 5 191 141 40 10 50 182
Wilbur Wood No 1971 13 8 1.96 26 11 4 201 174 44 13 37 115
Gaylord Perry Yes 1972 18 12 1.97 30 21 4 260 192 57 12 56 169
Jim Palmer No 1972 15 6 1.98 26 13 1 195 153 43 16 53 131
1960-1969 Year W L ERA GS CG SHO IP H ER HR BB SO
Bob Gibson Yes 1968 15 5 1.08 23 18 8 207 133 25 7 40 163
Luis Tiant No 1968 17 6 1.41 24 16 8 197 111 31 11 51 194
Sandy Koufax Yes 1966 19 6 1.62 29 19 3 232 178 42 16 51 240
Sam McDowell No 1968 12 9 1.62 25 8 2 188 125 34 9 74 216
Dean Chance Yes 1964 10 5 1.64 22 8 6 153 109 28 4 46 109
Sandy Koufax Yes 1963 18 4 1.77 27 16 10 213 136 42 9 45 210
Juan Marichal No 1965 17 9 1.81 27 20 8 223 163 45 15 32 179
Bill Singer No 1969 14 7 1.82 27 11 2 217 151 44 15 49 177
Dave McNally No 1968 15 8 1.83 24 11 4 187 109 38 18 37 140
Don Drysdale No 1968 12 10 1.86 27 11 7 212 174 44 9 49 137
Sandy Koufax No 1964 17 5 1.87 26 13 6 202 141 42 12 51 198
Vern Law No 1965 11 9 1.87 22 9 4 168 134 35 12 28 85
Steve Carlton No 1969 13 6 1.89 21 11 2 167 128 35 6 65 147
Denny McLain Yes 1968 23 3 1.90 29 20 5 237 163 50 19 44 188
Bob Veale No 1968 9 10 1.94 23 9 2 172 136 37 6 67 124
Tommy John No 1968 8 5 1.94 22 4 1 157 115 34 9 44 106
Jim Nash No 1968 9 7 1.95 23 7 4 157 118 34 13 32 113
Jerry Koosman No 1968 14 7 1.96 23 12 6 179 146 39 7 47 128
Tom Seaver No 1968 10 7 1.99 23 9 4 185 154 41 9 31 127

As an interesting sidelight, note that 11 pitchers met these criteria in 1968, The Year of the Pitcher. Seeing a name like Jim Nash alongside greats like Bob Gibson, Tom Seaver and Denny McLain helps explain why the mound was lowered as a result. It should also be noted that prior to 1967, there was only one annual Cy Young Award encompassing both leagues.

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Matt Holliday and Albert Pujols chasing Curt Flood

In the last half-century, no St. Louis Cardinals hitter has had more seasons of four or more four-hit games than Curt Flood.

Since the All-Star Break, St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday has played in 24 games. He is hitting with metronome-like consistency with hits in 22 of them, including his last seven. During that time, the 30-year-old has five home runs and 20 RBI along with a .333/.415/.548 line.

In game two of the Cincinnati series on Tuesday night, Holliday had a double and three singles and plated three. It was his fourth game of four or more hits this season. No Cardinals hitter had as many four-hit contests since Ryan Ludwick and Albert Pujols in 2008.

The following tables outline the 40 different times in the last half-century, since 1960, that a Cardinals player had four or more four-hit games in one season. 24 different hitters are included. The first column lists the occurrences from most recent to oldest.

The middle column is sorted by the most such games in a season. Pujols is tied at the top with seven four-hit games, which he accomplished in 2004. Others who also had seven are Willie McGee in 1985, Curt Flood in 1964 and Dick Groat in 1963.

The far right column indicates the number of seasons each player had at least four, four-hit games. In a bit of a surprise to me at least, Flood, a career .293 hitter, is the leader with five such years, 1961, 1963-65 and 1968.

Not surprisingly, Pujols is among the group right behind Flood at four seasons. In 2010, Albert is lagging. He collected four hits on opening day, but didn’t replicate the feat until June 23. Pujols hasn’t done it again in the almost two months since – but there is still time. 49 games remain in the regular season.

St. Louis Cardinals four-hit games, season, 1960-2010

Chronological Most 4-hit G, season Most 4-hit G seasons
Player Year G Player Year G Player Yrs
Matt Holliday 2010 4 Albert Pujols 2004 7 Curt Flood 5
Ryan Ludwick 2008 4 Willie McGee 1985 7 Albert Pujols 4
Albert Pujols 2008 5 Curt Flood 1964 7 Bill White 4
Albert Pujols 2006 5 Dick Groat 1963 7 Lou Brock 4
Albert Pujols 2004 7 Albert Pujols 2003 6 Garry Templeton 2
Jim Edmonds 2003 4 John Mabry 1996 6 Joe Torre 2
Edgar Renteria 2003 4 Garry Templeton 1979 6 Vince Coleman 2
Albert Pujols 2003 6 Bill White 1960 6 Bake McBride 1
Fernando Vina 2001 4 Albert Pujols 2008 5 Dane Iorg 1
John Mabry 1996 6 Albert Pujols 2006 5 Dick Groat 1
Gregg Jefferies 1993 4 Felix Jose 1991 5 Edgar Renteria 1
Felix Jose 1991 5 George Hendrick 1983 5 Felix Jose 1
Vince Coleman 1988 4 Garry Templeton 1980 5 Fernando Vina 1
Vince Coleman 1985 4 Lou Brock 1970 5 George Hendrick 1
Willie McGee 1985 7 Curt Flood 1965 5 Gregg Jefferies 1
George Hendrick 1983 5 Bill White 1963 5 Jim Edmonds 1
Dane Iorg 1980 4 Curt Flood 1963 5 John Mabry 1
Garry Templeton 1980 5 Matt Holliday 2010 4 Julian Javier 1
Keith Hernandez 1979 4 Ryan Ludwick 2008 4 Keith Hernandez 1
Tony Scott 1979 4 Edgar Renteria 2003 4 Ken Reitz 1
Garry Templeton 1979 6 Jim Edmonds 2003 4 Matt Holliday 1
Ken Reitz 1975 4 Fernando Vina 2001 4 Ryan Ludwick 1
Bake McBride 1974 4 Gregg Jefferies 1993 4 Tony Scott 1
Joe Torre 1971 4 Vince Coleman 1988 4 Willie McGee 1
Joe Torre 1970 4 Vince Coleman 1985 4
Lou Brock 1970 5 Dane Iorg 1980 4
Curt Flood 1968 4 Keith Hernandez 1979 4
Lou Brock 1967 4 Tony Scott 1979 4
Lou Brock 1965 4 Ken Reitz 1975 4
Curt Flood 1965 5 Bake McBride 1974 4
Lou Brock 1964 4 Joe Torre 1971 4
Curt Flood 1964 7 Joe Torre 1970 4
Curt Flood 1963 5 Curt Flood 1968 4
Bill White 1963 5 Lou Brock 1967 4
Dick Groat 1963 7 Lou Brock 1965 4
Bill White 1962 4 Lou Brock 1964 4
Curt Flood 1961 4 Bill White 1962 4
Julian Javier 1961 4 Bill White 1961 4
Bill White 1961 4 Curt Flood 1961 4
Bill White 1960 6 Julian Javier 1961 4

Thanks to researcher Tom Orf for the data in the above tables.

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Carpenter builds historic streak against Cincinnati

Putting St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter’s nine consecutive wins against the Cincinnati Reds into historical context.

Chris Carpenter (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)For St. Louis Cardinals fans, the main accomplishment this week was for the club to sweep the Cincinnati Reds on the road while recapturing first place in the National League Central Division.

The sideshow of words and brawls may have been positive as a motivator for the Cardinals, but it drew attention away from some strong pitching and hitting performances during the three-game set at Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark.

The first example was in game one on Monday night as starting pitcher Chris Carpenter really set the tone for the series with his intensity on the mound and off. He blanked Cincinnati for six innings right out of the chute before tiring in the seventh. Carp did not allow a runner in scoring position until the sixth and finished with two earned runs allowed on five hits over seven innings.

This was Carpenter’s ninth consecutive start against the Reds in which he was the winning pitcher, a streak that is now four years long.

Putting that current run into historical context provides some interesting points. Cardinals pitchers have compiled the two longest individual consecutive-start winning streaks in team history against the Reds.

Carp’s streak is tied for the third-longest against Cincinnati with the renowned Dizzy Dean. Hall of Famer Jesse “Pop” Haines is tops at 16 starts won against Cincy from 1927 until 1933. During that same time, “Wild” Bill Hallahan took 12 in a row against the Reds. Note that besides Carpenter, the other three longest streaks were compiled in the 1920’s and 1930’s.

The longest streaks against the other 14 NL franchises are also included, listed in order of consecutive starts and wins. (Any no-decision start would eliminate a pitcher from this list.)

Most consecutive starts by pitcher with wins vs. one team, St. Louis Cardinals, since 1920

Strk Start End G W L GS CG SHO GF IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
CIN Jesse Haines 9/26/1927 7/25/1933 16 16 0 16 13 0 0 141 125 41 33 36 44 3 2.11
CIN Bill Hallahan 9/24/1929 6/28/1932 12 12 0 12 9 1 0 101 78 28 26 52 58 2 2.31
CIN Chris Carpenter 8/15/2006 8/9/2010* 9 9 0 9 2 1 0 65 39 9 9 8 50 3 1.25
CIN Dizzy Dean 8/1/1935 7/4/1937 9 9 0 9 8 3 0 80 76 23 19 10 62 2 2.14
ATL Bill Sherdel 7/7/1927 6/14/1929 10 10 0 10 7 0 0 84 72 22 20 14 19 1 2.14
LAD Dizzy Dean 5/2/1933 9/21/1934 10 10 0 10 10 4 0 90 59 20 15 17 53 2 1.50
PHI Lon Warneke 6/16/1940 6/28/1942 10 10 0 10 9 2 0 90.1 52 11 11 19 37 5 1.10
NYM Bob Gibson 5/11/1965 8/13/1966 8 8 0 8 6 1 0 69.1 44 23 19 19 68 9 2.47
SFG Larry Jackson 4/26/1960 8/27/1961 8 8 0 8 7 2 0 67 57 17 15 10 36 3 2.01
CHC Ernie Broglio 7/20/1959 7/17/1961 7 7 0 7 6 3 0 58.2 34 10 10 20 52 0 1.53
SD Bob Gibson 7/30/1969 4/16/1971 7 7 0 7 6 2 0 66 45 15 13 13 71 1 1.77
PIT Chris Carpenter 4/19/2006 8/7/2009 6 6 0 6 1 0 0 45 26 8 7 8 41 3 1.40
PIT Bob Gibson 9/2/1963 5/16/1965 6 6 0 6 5 0 0 53 49 13 12 7 51 4 2.04
PIT Murry Dickson 7/31/1956 7/20/1957 6 6 0 6 4 2 0 51 41 9 9 7 20 2 1.59
PIT Dizzy Dean 9/2/1935 8/16/1936 6 6 0 6 6 0 0 51 38 13 11 13 22 1 1.94
HOU Steve Carlton 7/31/1970 8/25/1971 5 5 0 5 3 0 0 38.1 39 12 11 16 29 2 2.58
HOU Steve Carlton 8/18/1967 9/15/1968 5 5 0 5 3 0 0 43 36 15 15 19 44 3 3.14
HOU Bob Gibson 6/28/1963 4/19/1964 5 5 0 5 5 0 0 45 31 10 9 17 50 0 1.80
MIL Woody Williams 6/26/2002 9/23/2003 5 5 0 5 0 0 0 33.1 18 3 3 5 28 2 0.81
WAS Bob Forsch 6/30/1978 5/31/1980 5 5 0 5 1 0 0 39 36 12 10 12 14 2 2.31
COL Matt Morris 4/11/2001 6/1/2005 4 4 0 4 0 0 0 27 26 12 11 8 17 3 3.67
FLA Matt Morris 5/1/1997 9/1/1998 4 4 0 4 0 0 0 29 21 7 7 8 19 1 2.17
ARZ Joel Pineiro 9/25/2008 7/19/2009 3 3 0 3 0 0 0 19 17 9 9 5 13 2 4.26
ARZ Matt Morris 4/17/2002 7/4/2005 3 3 0 3 1 0 0 23 20 7 7 1 13 2 2.74
ARZ Darryl Kile 7/26/2000 4/18/2001 3 3 0 3 0 0 0 21 23 9 6 9 13 3 2.57

Note that Carpenter’s 1.25 ERA vs. the Reds is the third lowest of any of the pitchers on the above list. Carpenter also shares the top winning streak against the Pirates at six with Murry Dickson, Dizzy Dean and Bob Gibson. Not surprisingly, Gibson owns outright or has a part of the team lead for the longest streaks against four different franchises – the Mets, Padres, Astros and Pirates.

Depending on how the rotation is aligned, Carpenter may very well get his next chance to secure win number ten when the Reds invade St. Louis from September 3-5.

Thanks to researcher Tom Orf for the data in the above table.

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Cardinals live chat on FOX Sports Midwest Wednesday

The 11th of FOX Sports Midwest’s live chats of the 2010 season will be held throughout Wednesday afternoon’s Cardinals-Reds series finale. Join in the discussion with me and the FSM personalities.

You can participate via the frame below or through FOX Sports Midwest’s website.

Adam Wainwright (16-6, 2.07) faces Bronson Arroyo (12-6, 3.83) as the Cards try to sweep the road series and extend their narrow NL Central lead.

Wednesday’s first pitch is scheduled early – 11:35 A.M. Central.

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<a href=”https://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=6159b01bf3″ mce_href=”https://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=6159b01bf3″ >Cardinals at Reds – LIVE Gameday Chat</a>