All posts by Brian Walton

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

Cardinals draft yield – the Luhnow years


A question was posed on the Batavia roster thread about the success rate of signing St. Louis Cardinals draft picks. I don’t have the highest percent signed by year in the history of the draft, but I do have the results from recent seasons – the years Jeff Luhnow has led the organization’s drafts.

I included both quantities signed as well as noting the top pick that remained unsigned. The lowest-yield year was 2006, but even then, the Cards signed their top ten picks and 20 of their first 22.

The failed Kyle Russell (pictured) negotiations in 2007 kept the fourth-rounder from Texas in school. Though there was disappointment at the time, at least the player himself seems to have been overrated. Still, with the benefit of clear hindsight, having been able to use that selection on another quality player would have been preferred.

The 2008 record of top 30 picks signed is admirable, but there is a necessary asterisk applied. 13th rounder Mitchell Harris‘ Navy commitment keeps him off the mound for a considerable period. He is technically signed, but obviously unable to contribute.

The Cardinals have a good start in 2009, with as many as 38 already committed at the time this post was made. While picks number one, three, four, seven and ten are among the unsigned, there remains plenty of runway to get their deals done. If so, a take of 43 would be very consistent with recent years.

Of course, signing is but one measure. Though a necessary step, it is a very early one. More important is the quantity and quality of major leaguers that evolve from these drafts, a final verdict for which the jury will remain out for some time.

Draft Signed Picks % Signed Top Signed 1st Unsigned Name
2009 TBD 52
2008 43 51 84.3% 1st 30* 30th round* RHP Brett Bruening
2007 45 52 86.5% 1st four 4th round OF Kyle Russell
2006 38 53 71.7% 1st 12 10th round RHP Blair Erickson
2005 43 51 84.3% 1st 15 12th round RHP Daniel McCutchen

Productive Cardinals Balks


When scoring on a balk against Justin Verlander (pictured) and the Detroit Tigers Tuesday night, the St. Louis Cardinals extended their current streak to crossing the plate as a result of each of the last three balks they have received. (The previous four advanced the runner to second base only.)


Pitcher-Justin Verlander 2009-06-16 DET

Batter-Joe Thurston-Balk (Chris Duncan scores; Yadier Molina to 2B)


Pitcher-Joel Hanrahan 2009-04-30 WSN

Batter-Brian Barden-Balk (Jason LaRue scores/unearned run; Khalil Greene to 2B)


Pitcher-Brandon Webb 2008-09-22 ARI @ STL

Batter-Ryan Ludwick-Balk (Skip Schumaker scores; Albert Pujols to 2B)

Tentative Batavia opening roster


Note: This preliminary roster has been superseded by Batavia’s actual opening roster, located here. Changes are noted on the final roster.

Following is the current working roster for the defending New York-Penn League Batavia Muckdogs. Manager Mark DeJohn’s charges open their 2009 regular season on Friday the 19th at home against Auburn.

14 13 of the 31 named are members of the 2009 St. Louis Cardinals draft class. The group includes several new signees such as fifth-rounder Ryan Jackson, eighth-round pick Jason Stidham and ninth-round selection Nick McCully.

Seven players are returning Muckdogs, including pitchers LaCurtis Mayes and Dan Richardson, catcher Luis De La Cruz, infielders Jairo Martinez and Xavier Scruggs with outfielders Edwin Gomez and Beau Riportella.

Be advised the roster will change as more draft picks come to terms and are assigned to the club. I will update the roster matrix once all three short-season clubs’ rosters are set (including Johnson City and the Gulf Coast League Cardinals).

# PITCHERS (15) B/T HT, WT BIRTHDATE AGE BORN PREV PLAYED Acquired
20 Blazek, Michael R/R 6-0, 180 3/16/1989 20 Las Vegas, NV Johnson City Draft ’07 – 35th round
45 Calhoun, Daniel L/L 6-2, 205 9/5/1986 22 Evansville, IN Murray St. Draft ’09 – 29th round
55 Edwards, Justin L/L 6-2, 188 12/3/1987 20 Guyton, GA Kennesaw St. Draft ’09 – 28th round
39 Folino, Jonathan L/R 6-4, 190 1/15/1987 22 Quincy, Mass University of Connecticut Draft ’09 – 27th round
23 Fornataro, Eric R/R 6-1, 195 1/2/1988 21 Richmond, VA Johnson City Draft ’08 – 6th round
40 Hooker, Deryk R/R 6-4, 185 6/21/1989 20 San Diego, CA Johnson City Draft ’07 – 7th round
32 Lavigne, Tyler R/R 6-0, 190 7/3/1988 20 Las Vegas, NV San Diego St. Draft ’09 – 50th round
7 Maertz, Santo R/R 6-1, 220 5/9/1986 23 Staten Island, NY Johnson City Draft ’08 – 44th round
21 Mayes, LaCurtis R/R 5-11,185 8/2/1988 20 Riverside, CA Batavia Muckdogs Draft ’06 – 23rd round
McCully, Nick R/R 5-10, 195 9/5/1988 20 Coastal Carolina Draft ’09 – 9th round
14 Richardson, Dan R/R 6-2, 195 3/21/1985 24 Christiana, DE Batavia Muckdogs Draft ’08 – 38th round
31 Schneider, Scott R/R 6-0, 175 6/7/1988 21 St. Mary’s Draft ’09 – 20th round
26 Siegrist, Kevin L/L 6-5, 190 7/20/1989 19 Wellington, FL GCL Cardinals Draft ’08 – 41st round
33 Squatrito, Josh R/R 6-1, 205 3/12/1987 22 Willow Street, PA Towson University Draft ’09 – 25th round
# CATCHERS (3) B/T HT, WT BIRTHDATE AGE BORN PREV PLAYED Acquired
9 Ahmady, Alan R/R 5-11, 195 12/14/1987 21 Fresno, CA Fresno St. Draft ’09 – 11th round
30 Castro, Ivan R/R 6-0, 185 11/17/1987 20 Santo Domingo, DR Johnson City Non-Drafted FA in 2005
11 Cawley, Jack R/R 6-3, 232 3/2/1986 22 Bronx, NY Johnson City Draft ’08 – 34th round
5 De La Cruz, Luis R/R 5-10, 164 5/6/1989 20 Santo Domingo, DR Batavia Muckdogs Undrafted F/A in 2006
# INFIELDERS (7) B/T HT, WT BIRTHDATE AGE BORN PREV PLAYED Acquired
4 Carpenter, Matt L/R 6-3, 200 11/26/1985 23 Sugar Land, TX TCU Draft ’09 – 13th round
6 Goodwin, Devin R/R 5-11, 185 10/2/1986 21 Russellville, AL Delta State Draft ’09 – 33rd round
Jackson, Ryan R/R 6-2, 175 5/10/1988 21 Miami Springs, FL University of Miami Draft ’09 – 5th round
44 Martinez, Jairo R/R 6-1, 180 5/27/1987 22 Santo Domingo, DR Batavia Muckdogs Non-Drafted F/A in 2005
15 Scruggs, Xavier R/R 6-1, 210 9/23/1987 21 Poway, CA Batavia Muckdogs Draft ’08 – 19th round
Stidham, Jason L/R 5-11, 170 2/26/1988 21 Florida State Draft ’09 – 8th round
Vasques, Niko R/R 6-0, 170 2/26/1989 20 Oxnard, CA Quad Cities Draft ’08 – 3rd round
# OUTFIELDERS (6) B/T HT, WT BIRTHDATE AGE BORN PREV PLAYED Acquired
Gomez, Edwin R/R 5-11, 170 3/10/1988 21 Santo Domingo, DR Batavia Muckdogs Non-Drafted F/A in 2005
Heisler, Adam L/R 5-11, 180 6/7/1988 21 Draft ’09 – 45th round
28 Ingram, D’Marcus R/R 5-9, 170 3/30/1988 21 Little Rock, AR GCL Cardinals Draft ‘096 – 25th round
3 Riportella, Beau R/R 6-2, 200 8/20/1988 21 Exeter, CA Batavia Muckdogs Draft ’07 – 10th round
24 Rodriquez, Ryde S/R 6-3, 232 2/2/1988 20 Havanda, Cuba GCL Cardinals Non-Drafted F/A in 2007
25 Shepard, Devin R/R 6-3, 225 9/9/1987 21 Oxnard, CA GCL Cardinals Draft ’08 – 11th round

Cardinals sign 32 of 50 2009 draft picks


On Monday, the St. Louis Cardinals announced that they have agreed to terms with 32 of their 50 selections from last week’s MLB Draft.

The earliest draft pick to agree to a contract was OF Virgil Hill from Los Angeles Mission College, the Cardinals sixth-round choice. The former MLB Youth Academy Participant is the son of former light-heavyweight boxing champion Virgil Hill.

Among the others coming to terms was first baseman Alan Ahmady of Fresno State (pictured), who was suspended last month for a violation of athletic department policy. It was the junior’s second suspension this season and third in two years.

Below is the complete list of players from the 2009 MLB Draft who agreed to terms with the Cardinals on Monday.

Rd. Player Pos. B-T Ht. Wt. School Hometown
6 Virgil Hill OF R-R 6-0 185 Los Angeles Mission College Valencia, CA
11 Alan Ahmady 1B R-R 5-11 195 Fresno State University Fresno, CA
12 Pat Daugherty LHP L-L 6-5 215 Pearl River CC Bailey, MS
13 Matt Carpenter 3B L-R 6-3 208 Texas Christian University Sugar Land, TX
14 Ross Smith OF R-R 6-2 200 Middle Georgia College Eastman, GA
15 David Washington 1B L-L 6-5 200 University City HS University City, CA
17 Jonathan Rodriguez 1B R-R 6-2 215 Manatee JC San Juan, PR
18 Anthony Garcia C R-R 6-0 180 San Juan Educational School Carolina, PR
19 Travis Tartamella C R-R 6-0 205 California State University at LA Alta Loma, CA
20 Scott Schneider RHP R-R 6-0 175 St. Mary’s College Fallbrook, CA
23 Matthew Adams C L-R 6-3 245 Slippery Rock University Philipsburg, PA
24 Keith Butler RHP R-R 6-0 175 Wabash Valley College Morgantown, KY
25 Josh Squatrito RHP R-R 6-1 205 Towson University Willow Street, PA
26 Christian Beatty OF S-R 5-10 190 North Carolina A&T Winston-Salem, NC
27 Johnathan Fulino RHP L-R 6-4 190 University of Connecticut Quincy, MA
28 Justin Edwards LHP L-L 6-2 188 Kennesaw State University Guyton, GA
29 Daniel Calhoun LHP L-L 6-2 205 Murray State University Evansville, IN
31 Tyler Bighames SS R-R 6-2 190 Estero HS Estero, FL
32. Travis Lawler RHP R-R 6-3 180 Midland College College Station, TX
33. Devin Goodwin SS R-R 5-11 185 Delta State University Russellville, AL
34. David Kington RHP R-R 6-2 200 University of So. Illinois-Carbondale Coquitlam, B.C.
35. Andrew Moss RHP R-R 6-1 210 Lincoln University Piedmont, MO
36. Justin Smith RHP R-R 6-0 190 Utah Valley University Pleasant Grove, UT
37. Richard Racobaldo 3B R-R 6-2 215 Mt. Olive College Marlton, NJ
38. John Durham LHP L-L 6-1 170 Warner Southern College Port St. Lucie, FL
40. Jesse Simpson RHP R-R 6-0 185 College of Charleston Baton Rouge, LA
41. Cale Johnson RHP R-R 6-2 200 McKendree University Greenville, IL
42. Aaron Terry RHP R-R 5-11 185 Southern Arkansas University Rison, AR
43. Manuel De La Cruz LHP L-L 6-2 225 Imperial Valley College El Centro, CA
44. Kyle Heim LHP L-L 6-4 220 University of Iowa St. Joe, MO
47. Michael Thompson RHP L-R 6-0 200 Bellarmine College Newburgh, IN
48. Jason Novak RHP R-R 6-2 205 UCLA Agoura Hills, CA

Cardinals Monday transactions: Niko, Luis DLC down


SS Niko Vasquez transferred from Quad Cities to Batavia

C Luis De La Cruz transferred from Palm Beach to Batavia.

C Paul Vazquez activated from Palm Beach seven-day disabled list.

Like all Cardinals transactions, these have been reflected on the Cardinals organization roster matrix. Remember to check there regularly as I do not always make a separate post here for every roster move.

Look for short-season rosters to be posted very soon.

DSL Cardinals Report: June 15, 2009


By Josh Jones, Cardinals Best News Links

The Dominican Summer League Cardinals began the week ending their losing streak with a three-game winning streak.  But they unfortunately finished the week losing their last three games.  The Cardinals went 3-3 for this period, bringing their season record to 5-8 and five games out of first.  The team is 3-3 at home and 2-5 on the road.

After a scheduled day off, the Cardinals hosted the Mariners.  The M’s scored early, but the Redbirds took the lead in the bottom of the first.  The Cardinals pitching held the M’s scoreless for the next four frames and tacked on four of their own.  The Mariners tried their best with a comeback run but came up short losing to the Cardinals 9-7.

The Cardinals visited the Athletics in the next game and it was another close one.  Both teams traded off runs in the first seven innings.  The Cardinals’ first baseman clubbed the teams first home run of the season and that was the game as the bullpen held off the Mariners’ bats. The Cardinals won 10-9.

The Cardinals played host to the Phillies and extended their winning streak to three games.  The Redbirds took an early lead in the first and plated another seven runs in the following innings.  The Phillies didn’t surrender easily and scored four runs in the ninth, on Redbird errors.  The Cardinals came in and shut’em down for the save as they won 9-7.

The Cardinals took a trip to play the Mariners in the following game.  The Mariners were looking for revenge after an loss to the Redbirds earlier in the week.  The M’s pitching held the Cardinals to only two hits and scored three runs in two separate innings for a 7-1 victory.

Next up, was a home game vs. the Athletics.  This turned into a pitcher’s duel until the bullpens took over.  One run was scored between both teams in the first seven frames.  The Cardinals tied it up in the eighth and the A’s took the lead and the game in the ninth.  The A’s doubled-up the Cardinals 4-2.

To round out the week the Cardinals visited the Phillies for a second meeting during this period.  Like the previous game, Cardinals’ errors played a major role in this game.  The Redbirds pretty much had the game in the bag as they had a 5-0 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh.  The Phils plated one in the seventh and then six more crossed in the eighth.  The Phillies came from behind to beat the Cardinals 7-5 and none of those runs scored by the Phils were earned.

Who’s Hot

Jesus Montero has touched a base in each of his last 12 games he has been to the plate.  The soon to turn 19-year right-handed hitter went 8-for-17 (.533) with one double, one triple, five RBIs, two runs, one walk, one hit by pitch, one stolen base, and struck out three times.  He’s currently tied with Grabiel Hernandez for the team lead in hitting with a .333 batting average and leads in SLG and OPS.  He was on the back end of three double plays, while at first base, and threw out one of six attempting base stealers behind the plate.

Luis Pimentel currently has a two-game hitting streak to carry over into the next period.  The 20-year old right-handed hitter went 5-for-20 (.250) with one double, one home run, four RBIs, two runs, one walk, one stolen base, and struck out four times.  His home run was the first of the teams for the 2009 season and was the game winner on June 9.

Oscar Taveras had two multi-hit games and drove in a run in four of the past six games.  The soon-to-turn 19-year old went 6-for-22 (.273) with two doubles, one triple, five RBIs, nine runs, four walks, one sac fly, two stolen bases, and struck out three times.  Taveras is tied for the team lead in hits and RBIs, and leads the team with nine runs scored (all this period).

Alejandro Pinard managed to turn things around after getting beat on in the first week.  The 20-year old right-hander made his second relief appearance, of the season, on June 9 and gave up two hits, one earned run, one walk, uncorked a wild pitch, and struck out three over four innings.  He did pick up his first winning decision of the season, but also collected the blown save.  The third-year DSL pitcher got another shot at the rotation with a start on June 13.  He pitched five scoreless innings allowing six hits, hitting one batter, throwing one wild pitch, and striking out three.

Angel Tapia was solid out of the bullpen and as a starter this past week.  The 19-year old right-hander came out of the bullpen on June 8 and tossed three innings of long relief giving up two hits, one earned run, two walks, hit one batter, and struck out two.  The Cardinals gave him another shot at the rotation in his next appearance and he gave up four hits, one earned run, one wild pitch, and struck out four over five innings.  Tapia picked up his first winning decision of the season in his relief outing and kept the ball on the ground in both games with a combined 12-to-4 ground out-to-fly out ratio.

Pedro Pena gave up only one earned run in both his games pitched during the period.  The 18-year old left-hander made a start on June 8 and pitched three innings allowing four hits, one unearned run, and struck out three.  Then on June 12 he was moved to the bullpen and gave up no hits, one earned, two walks, hit one batter, and struck out a season-high six over three and a third innings for the losing decision.  Pena has only given up one earned run and struck out 11 over 8.1 innings this season.

Who’s Not

Michael Avila couldn’t get a hit if it depended on his life this past week.  The 19-year old right-handed hitter went 0-for-16 with two runs, three walks, two stolen bases, and struck out seven times.  He has not connected for a hit in his last five games that he has been to the plate.  The third-year DSL participant played four games at short stop, where he committed one throwing error and assisted in one double play, and his other two as the team’s designated hitter.

Jose Pena extended his hitting streak to three games to begin the week, but hasn’t connected in the last two games.  The 17-year old right-handed hitter went 2-for-14 (.143) with one RBI, two runs, two walks, and eight strikeouts.  He leads the team in strikeouts, with 16, and had one outfield assist and one fielding error while playing left field, during the week.

Yorbel Alcala seems to be having trouble adjusting to the Dominican Summer League.  The 19-year old switch-hitter went 1-for-13 (.077) with one double, two runs, two walks, and struck out three times.  Behind the plate, he threw out two of four base runners, had four passed balls, and assisted in one double play.

Keury Herrera is showing the same signs of struggling he showed last year.  The 18-year old left-hander was pulled after pitching one and two-thirds innings in his second start of the season on June 9.  He gave up five hits, six earned runs, one home run, two walks, threw a wild pitch, and struck out two.  The second-year DSL pitcher came out of the bullpen in his next appearance and he pitched two innings allowing three hits, one unearned run, one walk, and striking out four for the hold.

Adriano Uribe makes it two rough appearances, out of three, this season. The 20-year old left-hander made a start on June 11 and was hand cuffed with four hits, three earned runs, four walks, one wild pitch, and struck out three over two innings.  He’s earned three runs in each of his last two games which only lasted two innings apiece.

The Happenings

Christian Concepcion, Jeudis Polanco, and Braulio Hiraldo have yet to show up this season.

Victor Ferreira has not played since June 2.  Both Juan Mercedes and Wader Perez haven’t appeared since June 8 and Grabiel Hernandez has missed the last three consecutive games.

Rosalin Rudecindo and Delvi Rodriguez both made the 2009 DSL debuts on June 11.

The St. Louis Cardinals have hired RBI Consulting, a Dominican Republic based firm, to help teach their players some of the basics and more in education, health training, and leadership skills.

Giants could become big players in the Wagner Mateo sweepstakes, according to Mercury News.

As everyone should know by now the St. Louis Cardinals are scheduled to watch one of Miguel Angel Sano’s many workouts during the next couple weeks in preparation for the July 2nd signing period, courtesy of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Reports by ESPN Deportes says that the Pittsburgh Pirates signing bonus offers haven’t even reached $3 million, for Sano, and that the Baltimore Orioles are not even major players in the undrafted free agent.

Dominican Summer League Stats

The Cardinals are batting .217 overall and are pretty much at the bottom of the league as a whole.  The team is tied for third in triples, third in stolen base, tied for fifth in strikeouts, and are at the bottom half of the league in all other stats.

The Cardinals team ERA is 4.22 and their WHIP is a 1.61 on the season.  They rank in the top ten in hits, runs, and home runs allowed, and strikeouts in the league.

Juan B Cabrera and Roberto Reyes are tied, with others, for ninth in triples.

Grabiel Hernandez is tied for tenth in stolen bases.

Eduard Estalis is tied for eighth in saves and tied for eighth in game finishes.

Next Up (Overall Record, vs. Cardinals)

June 15: Mariners (10-3, 3-1)

June 16: @ Athletics (6-7, 3-1)

June 17: Phillies (5-8, 2-3)

June 18: @ Mariners (10-3, 3-1)

June 19: Athletics (6-7, 3-1)

June 20: @ Phillies (5-8, 2-3)

June 21: Mariners (10-3, 3-1)

Pujols approaching Cards consecutive home run mark


When Albert Pujols hit home runs in consecutive plate appearances on Saturday, it was his 27th such performance in his eight-plus seasons.

That is just one short of the St. Louis Cardinals record since 1954, held by Mark McGwire at 28.

Cardinals home runs in consecutive plate appearances (1956-2009)

Player Date Tm Opp Score HR RBI Inn RBI Inn RBI Inn RBI
Albert Pujols 5/13/2009 STL @CLE W 3-1 2 2 4 1 6 1
Albert Pujols 4/11/2009 STL HOU W 11-2 2 7 5 4 7 3
Albert Pujols 8/16/2008 STL @CIN W 9-3 2 2 3 1 4 1
Troy Glaus 8/9/2008 STL @CHC W 12-3 2 5 4 2 5 3
Ryan Ludwick 8/1/2008 STL PHI W 6-3 2 2 5 1 8 1
Troy Glaus 7/17/2008 STL SDP W 4-3 2 2 2 1 4 1
Albert Pujols 4/9/2008 STL @HOU W 6-4 2 3 7 1 9 1
Yadier Molina 8/16/2007 STL @MIL W 8-1 2 3 2 1 4 2
Albert Pujols 7/15/2007 STL @PHI W 10-2 2 3 5 2 7 1
Ryan Ludwick 7/1/2007 STL @CIN W 11-7 2 4 3 1 4 3
Albert Pujols 6/10/2007 STL LAA W 9-6 2 5 3 2 5 3
Albert Pujols 6/3/2007 STL @HOU W 8-6 2 3 8 1 10 2
Ron Belliard 9/26/2006 STL SDP L 5-7 2 3 2 1 4 2
Chris Duncan 9/15/2006 STL SFG W 14-4 2 4 1 1 2 2
Albert Pujols 9/3/2006 STL PIT W 6-3 3 5 1 1 3 2 5 2
Albert Pujols 8/22/2006 STL @NYM L 7-3 2 7 4 3 5 4
Juan Encarnacion 6/17/2006 STL COL W 6-5 2 3 1 2 4 1
Albert Pujols 4/16/2006 STL CIN W 8-7 3 5 5 2 7 1 9 2
Larry Walker 10/1/2005 STL CIN W 9-6 2 2 1 1 4 1
Reggie Sanders 9/28/2005 STL HOU L 6-7 2 3 4 1 5 2
Albert Pujols 9/8/2005 STL NYM W 5-1 2 2 6 1 7 1
Larry Walker 6/29/2005 STL CIN W 11-3 2 4 2 2 3 2
Jim Edmonds 6/24/2005 STL PIT W 8-1 2 4 6 2 8 2
Reggie Sanders 5/10/2005 STL LAD L 8-9 2 4 4 1 5 3
Jim Edmonds 8/27/2004 STL @PIT W 8-5 2 5 1 2 3 2
Scott Rolen 8/15/2004 STL @ATL W 10-4 2 4 2 2 4 2
Scott Rolen 7/28/2004 STL @CIN W 11-10 2 3 6 1 7 1
Albert Pujols 7/20/2004 STL @CHC W 11-8 3 5 7 1 9 2
Scott Rolen 6/8/2004 STL @CHC L 3-7 2 2 2 1 4 1
Scott Rolen 4/17/2004 STL COL W 8-4 2 4 4 2 5 1
Reggie Sanders 4/9/2004 STL @ARI W 13-6 2 3 2 2 3 1
Albert Pujols 4/8/2004 STL MIL L 5-11 2 4 5 3 8 1
Albert Pujols 9/10/2003 STL COL W 10-2 2 3 4 2 7 1
Albert Pujols 8/31/2003 STL @CIN W 5-1 2 5 6 2 8 3
Albert Pujols 6/29/2003 STL @KCR W 13-6 2 3 4 1 6 1
Tino Martinez 6/24/2003 STL CIN L 4-7 2 3 8 1 9 2
Jim Edmonds 6/8/2003 STL BAL W 11-10 2 3 1 2 3 1
Jim Edmonds 4/4/2003 STL HOU L 5-6 2 4 3 1 5 2
Edgar Renteria 7/30/2002 STL @FLA W 5-1 2 2 5 1 7 1
J.D. Drew 10/3/2001 STL @MIL L 7-9 2 2 7 1 9 1
Mark McGwire 9/26/2001 STL @HOU W 5-1 2 3 5 2 8 1
Albert Pujols 5/28/2001 STL MIL W 6-2 2 3 6 1 8 2
Albert Pujols 4/22/2001 STL @HOU L 3-4 2 3 4 2 7 1
Ray Lankford 4/4/2001 STL @COL L 9-13 2 3 6 1 7 2
Craig Paquette 9/20/2000 STL HOU W 11-6 2 3 4 2 7 1
Fernando Tatis 9/16/2000 STL CHC W 7-6 2 5 2 1 3 4
Ray Lankford 9/5/2000 STL MON W 7-6 2 3 3 2 6 1
Jim Edmonds 8/2/2000 STL @MON W 10-7 2 5 3 3 5 2
Ray Lankford 7/6/2000 STL CIN L 6-12 2 2 6 1 9 1
Shawon Dunston 6/22/2000 STL SFG W 11-10 2 6 7 1 8 3
J.D. Drew 6/6/2000 STL KCR W 5-4 2 3 4 1 5 2
Mark McGwire 5/18/2000 STL @PHI W 7-2 3 7 1 3 2 2
Mark McGwire 5/14/2000 STL LAD W 12-10 2 3 1 2 2 1
Ray Lankford 5/2/2000 STL PIT L 7-10 2 2 7 1 9 1
J.D. Drew 4/6/2000 STL CHC W 13-3 2 5 3 1 4 4
Mark McGwire 9/19/1999 STL HOU L 3-4 2 3 4 2 6 1
Fernando Tatis 7/19/1999 STL MIN W 8-4 2 4 3 2 4 2
Ray Lankford 5/30/1999 STL @CHC L 4-7 2 2 6 1 8 1
Fernando Tatis 4/23/1999 STL @LAD W 12-5 2 8 3 4 3 4
J.D. Drew 9/25/1998 STL MON W 7-5 2 4 4 2 5 2
Ron Gant 9/20/1998 STL @MIL W 11-6 2 4 3 2 5 2
J.D. Drew 9/15/1998 STL PIT L 6-8 2 2 3 1 5 1
Mark McGwire 9/2/1998 STL @FLA W 14-4 2 4 7 2 8 2
Mark McGwire 9/1/1998 STL @FLA W 7-1 2 2 7 1 9 1
Mark McGwire 8/19/1998 STL @CHC W 8-6 2 2 8 1 10 1
Mark McGwire 5/23/1998 STL SFG W 11-10 2 4 4 1 5 3
Gary Gaetti 5/20/1998 STL @PHI W 8-5 2 4 5 2 7 2
Mark McGwire 5/19/1998 STL @PHI W 10-8 3 6 3 2 5 2
Mark McGwire 4/14/1998 STL ARI W 15-5 3 5 3 2 5 1
Ray Lankford 7/15/1997 STL @CIN W 7-4 2 3 1 2 3 1
Ray Lankford 6/6/1997 STL @LAD W 3-1 2 2 1 1 4 1
Tom Pagnozzi 8/11/1996 STL SFG W 5-3 2 2 4 1 7 1
Ray Lankford 7/15/1996 STL @CIN W 8-3 2 5 1 1 3 2
Gary Gaetti 7/12/1996 STL @CHC W 13-3 2 3 3 1 5 2
Gary Gaetti 6/14/1996 STL NYM W 13-4 2 5 7 1 8 4
Tom Pagnozzi 5/17/1996 STL @COL L 11-12 2 4 5 2 7 2
Brian Jordan 9/16/1995 STL LAD W 5-4 2 3 3 1 5 2
Brian Jordan 7/25/1995 STL NYM W 8-7 2 4 1 1 3 2
Ray Lankford 6/27/1994 STL @NYM W 9-8 2 2 3 1 5 1
Mark Whiten 9/7/1993 STL @CIN W 15-2 4 12 6 3 7 3 9 2
Brian Jordan 7/19/1993 STL @ATL W 4-1 2 2 7 1 9 1
Gregg Jefferies 4/9/1993 STL CIN W 8-2 2 4 1 2 2 2
Felix Jose 9/1/1991 STL @SFG W 14-1 2 5 6 2 9 1
Pedro Guerrero 4/15/1991 STL @MON W 5-4 2 2 6 1 9 1
Pedro Guerrero 4/26/1990 STL @LAD W 7-1 2 5 7 3 9 1
Tom Brunansky 8/18/1989 STL @CIN L 2-6 2 2 7 1 9 1
Tony Pena 4/21/1988 STL @PIT W 9-3 2 2 5 1 6 1
Curt Ford 6/27/1987 STL @MON W 15-5 2 3 3 2 5 1
Jim Lindeman 4/11/1987 STL @PIT W 6-3 2 2 2 1 4 1
Willie McGee 7/21/1986 STL SFG W 8-3 2 3 1 1 4 2
David Green 7/27/1984 STL @PIT W 3-2 2 2 2 1 4 1
Lonnie Smith 9/25/1983 STL PHI L 5-6 2 2 3 1 5 1
George Hendrick 4/23/1983 STL SDP W 9-5 2 3 4 2 6 1
George Hendrick 4/13/1983 STL @PIT W 9-1 2 4 7 1 9 2
George Hendrick 4/12/1982 STL PIT W 5-4 2 2 4 1 6 1
George Hendrick 8/12/1981 STL @PHI W 11-3 2 3 7 2 9 1
Ken Reitz 9/3/1980 STL CIN W 4-3 2 3 5 1 7 2
Ted Simmons 8/18/1980 STL @CIN W 10-1 2 3 4 1 6 1
Keith Hernandez 6/3/1980 STL @NYM W 8-1 2 5 2 3 5 2
George Hendrick 5/26/1980 STL NYM W 8-5 2 3 4 1 6 2
George Hendrick 4/25/1980 STL @PHI W 3-1 2 2 4 1 6 1
Dane Iorg 4/18/1980 STL @PIT L 10-12 2 2 2 1 4 1
Reggie Smith 5/22/1976 STL @PHI W 7-6 3 5 5 3 7 1 9 1
Bake McBride 8/20/1975 STL CIN W 4-1 2 3 5 2 8 1
Reggie Smith 5/4/1975 STL CHC L 6-8 2 5 4 1 5 1
Reggie Smith 9/3/1974 STL MON W 5-1 2 2 1 1 3 1
Reggie Smith 7/30/1974 STL @PHI W 4-3 2 4 6 1 8 2
Ted Simmons 5/15/1974 STL NYM W 10-1 2 4 6 2 7 2
Reggie Smith 4/15/1974 STL @PHI L 2-3 2 2 7 1 9 1
Dick Allen 7/11/1970 STL PIT L 7-8 2 3 3 2 6 1
Joe Hague 7/2/1970 STL @MON L 10-13 2 5 7 2 9 3
Dick Allen 5/23/1970 STL @PHI W 3-1 2 3 3 2 5 1
Steve Huntz 9/26/1969 STL @MON W 12-1 2 3 6 2 8 1
Lou Brock 9/26/1967 STL @CHC L 7-8 2 3 7 1 9 2
Lou Brock 9/4/1967 STL PIT L 8-10 2 4 2 3 4 1
Orlando Cepeda 5/6/1967 STL @CHC W 5-3 2 2 2 1 3 1
Lou Brock 4/15/1967 STL LAD W 13-4 2 5 7 1 8 3
Tim McCarver 9/14/1966 STL CIN W 6-2 2 3 1 2 3 1
Julian Javier 8/20/1966 STL @LAD W 3-2 2 2 5 1 7 1
Orlando Cepeda 7/15/1966 STL @CIN W 9-2 2 3 4 1 5 2
Bill White 6/10/1965 STL CIN L 7-8 2 3 5 1 6 2
Bill White 5/5/1965 STL SFG L 5-10 2 4 2 1 3 3
Ken Boyer 7/25/1964 STL @PHI W 10-9 2 5 5 4 7 1
Ken Boyer 8/19/1963 STL SFG W 8-7 2 4 7 2 9 2
Charlie James 7/6/1963 STL @SFG L 3-5 2 2 5 1 7 1
Stan Musial 7/8/1962 STL @NYM W 15-1 3 4 4 2 7 1
Ken Boyer 4/18/1962 STL @NYM W 15-5 2 3 5 2 7 1
Bill White 7/30/1961 STL @MLN W 5-3 2 4 7 1 8 3
Bill White 7/5/1961 STL @LAD W 9-1 3 4 3 1 4 2
Daryl Spencer 4/20/1961 STL @LAD W 11-2 2 3 4 1 6 1
Ken Boyer 4/18/1961 STL @LAD L 4-5 2 2 3 1 5 1
Curt Flood 6/15/1960 STL @CIN W 6-1 2 4 2 3 4 1
Bill White 5/30/1960 STL @LAD W 15-3 2 6 1 1 2 3
Ken Boyer 5/25/1960 STL MLN W 5-3 2 2 4 1 6 1
Stan Musial 6/26/1959 STL @CIN L 6-7 2 3 7 1 8 2
Joe Cunningham 9/14/1958 STL @PHI W 6-3 2 4 7 3 9 1
Stan Musial 7/17/1958 STL MLN L 7-8 2 5 1 2 3 3
Wally Moon 9/15/1957 STL PIT W 11-3 2 4 4 2 6 1
Ken Boyer 6/27/1956 STL @NYG W 6-1 2 3 2 1 3 2
Stan Musial 6/21/1956 STL @BRO L 8-9 2 4 3 2 6 2
Wally Moon 6/9/1956 STL PIT W 8-3 2 4 1 3 3 1
Ken Boyer 5/13/1956 STL @CHC W 14-7 2 5 4 2 5 3
Bill Sarni 4/19/1956 STL @CIN L 9-10 2 4 6 1 7 3
Stan Musial 5/2/1954-1 STL NYG W 10-6 2 5 3 1 5 2
Stan Musial 5/2/1954-2 STL NYG L 7-9 2 3 5 2 7 1

Including the period back to 1942, “El Hombre” still has a long way to go to surpass “The Man”. Stan Musial leads the way with 39.

Cardinals multi-home run games (1954-2009)

McGwire 28 Wagner 1
Pujols 27 Virdon 1
Musial 17 Thompson 1
Lankford 17 Tenace 1
Edmonds 17 Templeton 1
Boyer 17 Taguchi 1
Hendrick 10 Spiezio,S. 1
Rolen 8 Spencer 1
White 6 Smith,L. 1
Tatis 6 Smith,H. 1
Simmons 6 Sawatski 1
Drew 6 Sarni 1
Clark,J. 6 Polanco 1
Smith,R. 5 Pena,T. 1
Ludwick 5 Pena,G. 1
Jordan 5 Paquette 1
Brock 5 Molina 1
Walker 4 McGee 1
Sanders 4 McCarver 1
Gaetti 4 McBride 1
Allen 4 Marrero 1
Zeile 3 Maris 1
Repulski 3 Lindeman 1
Renteria 3 Kennedy 1
Pagnozzi 3 Jose 1
Moon 3 Iorg 1
Martinez,T. 3 Huntz 1
Jefferies 3 Hernandez,K. 1
Hague 3 Green,D. 1
Glaus 3 Gilkey 1
Gant 3 Ford 1
Flood 3 Ennis 1
Cepeda 3 Durham 1
Ankiel 3 Dunston 1
Whiten 2 DeShields 1
Torre 2 Clark,W. 1
Reitz 2 Bragg 1
Porter 2 Bradford 1
Javier 2 Belliard 1
James,C. 2
Guerrero 2
Encarnacion 2
Duncan 2
Cunningham 2
Brunansky 2
Musial 22 (1942-1953)

Addendum: In addition to Pujols’ 18 pairs of home runs on consecutive plate appearances, he had three other pairs on consecutive official at-bats.


8-14-2004 HR-BB-HR
5-09-2005 HR-BB-HR
4-03-2006 HR-SF-HR


So of his 27 multi-home run games, 21 have been in back-to-back at-bats.

As always, special thanks to Tom Orf for the research.

VSL Cardinals Report: June 14, 2009


By Josh Jones, Cardinals Best News Links

The Venezuelan Summer League Cardinals had one of their slowest weeks of the season as they took only two of six games during this period.  The Cardinals extended their winning streak at the beginning of the week to three games and end it on a three-game downward turn.  They are 12-11 on the season and dropped to fourth place in the division, five games out.  The team is still playing better ball on the road than at home, with a 7-3 mark as the visiting team and 5-8 record when hosting.

The Cardinals opened this period up hosting the Mets and got another great performance from their staff ace.  He pitched a strong six innings (one run) and then was followed by another four scoreless by the bullpen.  The mets may have taken the early lead but the Cardinals tacked on two in the third and rounded out the game with another three in the eighth for a 5-1 victory.

The Phillies came to town and ended the Cardinals three-game winning streak.  The bats were alive in this game as both teams combined for 24 hits, with the Phils collecting 13 of those.  The Cardinals starter struggled through the first four innings and the teams fielders committed four errors during the rest of the game allowing more runs to score.  The Phillies scored in seven of the nine frames and outlasted the Cardinals 8-5.

Everything came together for the Cardinals, in the next game, as they visited the Tigers.  The Cardinals used only two pitchers who held the Tigers scoreless and only gave up six hits.  The bats were a swinging and the Tigers had miscues in the field to let the Redbirds plate five in the fifth.  The Cardinals went on to claim their third shut out of the season with a 7-0 win.

The Pirates visited and started the Cardinals three-game losing streak that ended the week.  The Redbirds scored early scoring two in the first but the Buccs came back in the following innings and then went on to tack on another five in the late frames.  The Cardinals’ three errors came into play in the early part of the game and the Pirates went on to win 7-3.

Next up the Cardinals played host as the Mariners came to town.  The Mariners pitching staff managed to hold the Redbirds to only five hits during the game. The Cardinals had a chance and were within striking distance as the M’s had a 2-0 lead heading into the seventh.  But the Cards never came through and their bullpen chalked another five runs in the final three frames as they fell to the Mariners 7-0.

The Cardinals ended this period with a visit from the Rays.  The Cardinals again got another quality start from their ace and even scored early to take the lead.  The Rays however tied it up and took the lead as the Redbirds’ bat went silent and errors started to add up (five total for the game).  The Rays took the game 5-2.

Who’s Hot

Roberto Perez will carry a three-game hitting and 12-game on base streak on into the next week.  The 20-year old right-handed hitter went 6-for-18 (.333) with three RBIs, one run, six walks, and struck out four times.  He was on the back end of four double plays and was 1-for-2 in the stolen base department.  The third-year first baseman leads the team in most hitting stats for the 2009 season.

Anthony Fonseca has has hit way back up to the second hole in the batting order.  The 20-year old right-handed hitter went 7-for-23 (.304) with one RBI, two runs, one stolen base, one hit by pitch, struck out three times, and was picked off once.  He is currently sporting a 12-game hitting streak and made the move from right to centerfield in the last two games.

Javier Avendano didn’t drop the ball during the week and keeps racking up the solid starts for the team.  The 18-year old right-hander opened the week up for the Cardinals pitching five innings and allowing six hits, one earned run, one walk, and struck out six for his second winning decision of the season.  In his next start, he gave up six hits, two earned runs, one walk, and struck out a season-high seven over five innings.  The second-year VSL pitcher has lasted five or more innings and has struck out six or more in four of five starts on the season.

Deimer Bier bounced back after having to shaky starts.  The 18-year old right-hander tossed six innings of scoreless ball on June 9 and only allowed four hits, two walks, and struck out a season-high eight for his second winning decision of the season.  The second-year VSL pitcher has lasted four or more innings in three of his four starts.

Fernando Cedeno showed signs of life this past week in his two relief appearances.  The 19-year old right-hander followed Bier’s quality start with his very own three innings of no-run ball.  Cedeno only gave up two hits and struck out two for his first save of his career.  His next outing great but it was much improved.  The third-year VSL reliever pitched three innings giving up three hits, two runs (one earned), and struck out two for his second losing decision of the season.

Jackson Solarte had two scoreless outings during the week.  The newly turned 19-year old right-hander pitched four innings and gave up three hits, no runs, one walk, and struck out three for his first career save on June 7.  Then on June 10 he tossed another inning and a half just allowing one hit.  The second-year VSL reliever has not given up an earned run in four of seven relief appearances.

Who’s Not

Jem Argenal has hit quite a snag as of late.  The 17-year old left-handed hitter went 3-for-18 (.167) with one home run, one RBI, one run, and struck out seven times.  He’s only connected for seven hits in his last ten games (33 at-bats).

Hector Garcia is still struggling at the plate and hasn’t connected for a hit in the last two games.  The 19-year old right-handed hitter went 5-for-23 (.217) with one double, one home run, three RBIs, three walks, and struck out three times.  The third-year VSL third baseman picked up three of his five hits on June 9.

Gerwins Velasco received his chance for to impress behind the plate in the catching rotation.  The 18-year old right-handed hitter went 1-for-13 (.077) with one double, one RBI, one walk, and walked four times.  He’s picked up one hit in five of his last ten games and batting .195 on the season.  The rookie VSL backstop threw out two runners, watched three steal a base, and lofted away two balls for errors in the four games he participated in during this period.

Sergio Nieves couldn’t turn it around in his latest start on June 8.  The 17-year old right-hander made a short start, going four innings and allowing seven hits, four earned runs, one home run, two walks, threw a wild pitch, and struck out two for a losing decision.  Nieves has had one solid start in four games this season.

Francisco Guzman had trouble with location in his worst appearance of the season.  The 21-year old right-hander made his only relief outing on June 10 and pitched one inning coughing up one hit, three earned runs, two walks, hit one batter, threw two wild pitches, and struck out one.  This ended his nine-game streak without allowing and earned run.

The Happenings

Angelo Echeverria made his return to the bullpen for the team, after missing three plus weeks, and Johnny Polanco made his 2009 debut.  Both coming on June 12.

Carlos Oraa has been missing in action since June 5 when he was pulled after making the start and pitching to two batters.

Fabian Marquez hasn’t pitched since June 2.

Wilson Perez, who was released in the spring, was signed by the New York Yankees and assigned to their Dominican Summer League #2 team.

Jonathan Gonzalez has been promoted from extended spring training to the A-Advanced Palm Beach Cardinals.

The St. Louis Cardinals are said to be one of a handful of teams scouting Venezuelan prospects Gioskar Amaya and Ernesto Leon, according to ESPN Deportes.

Venezuelan Summer League Stats

The Cardinals hitting took a slight drop sliding from .265 to .259 on the season, and now third overall in the league.  The rank third in walks, strikeouts, and on base percentage.

The Cardinals’ ERA improved from 4.43 to 4.19, which is good for fifth in the seven team league.  The team is second in shut outs, first in saves, second in holds, and are third best in home runs allowed.  They however rank second in hits allowed, third in runs, third in earned runs, second in walks, and third worst in WHIP (1.51).

Roberto Perez is tied for seventh with a .333 AVG, tied for third with four home runs, tied for tenth with 14 RBIs, tied for seventh with 39 total bases, tied for third with 13 walks, fourth with a .439 OBP, second with a .591 SLG, and second with a 1.030 OPS.

Anthony Fonseca is tenth with a .323 AVG.

Jose Cortez and Hector Garcia are tied with others for fifth with six doubles.

Osmir Medina is tied for seventh with five stolen bases.

Alexander Castellano and Hildemaro Vargas are tied with others for fourth with two triples.

Javier Avendano is seventh with a 1.44 ERA, tied for third with two wins, sixth with 25 innings pitched, and fourth with 28 strikeouts.

Deimer Bier is tied for third with two wins.

Moises Colorado is tied for third with two wins and tied for ninth with 21 strikeouts.

Francisco Guzman is first with six saves and first with ten game finishes.

Fernando Cedeno is tied for first with two holds.

Next Up (Overall, vs. Cardinals)

June 14: @ Mets (11-12, 0-3)

June 15: @ Phillies (8-15, 2-2)

June 16: Tigers (7-17, 0-4)

June 17: @ Pirates (17-6, 4-0)

June 18: Off Day

June 19: @ Mariners (13-10, 3-1)

June 20: @ Rays (13-10, 2-2)

David Kopp: Coming back soon

There was recent speculation that Springfield Cardinals right-handed starting pitcher David Kopp might be out for the season. That is not the case. The 23-year-old has experienced another bout with an inflamed bursa, but should be ready to go soon.

Currently on the seven-day disabled list of the Double-A Texas League club, Kopp has been prescribed new exercises and oral medication. He may or may not return immediately as a starter. Kopp may instead pitch in relief, depending on how he feels upon his activation.

Kopp has had three or four MRIs in past years that reportedly showed the same thing. As a result, there is a chance he may still require surgery in the fall.

In other news: There were two transactions on Saturday as right-handed pitcher Brian Broderick was promoted from Palm Beach to Springfield and lefty George Brown has been assigned to Palm Beach from Extended Spring Training (Batavia). The current roster matrix reflects these changes.

Cards high-walk games occurring at record pace

On Friday, St. Louis Cardinals pitchers walked seven or more opposing batters in a game for the eighth time in 2009. Eight equals the club’s high for any entire season from 2003-2008.

All five Friday hurlers issued at least one free pass, including five by the bullpen in just 1 2/3 innings: starter Joel Pineiro (two) and relievers Jason Motte (one), Dennys Reyes (one – pictured), Kyle McClellan (two) and Blake Hawksworth (one).

The highest number of such walkfests by June 12th in any season during the last 40 years was ten in 1970, followed by eight in 1976 and here in 2009. In other words, this current staff is on pace to be the worst Cardinals team at big walk games in at least the last 33 years!

Number of games in which Cardinals pitchers walked seven or more

By 6/12 Full Yr
2009 8
2008 2 6
2007 2 8
2006 2 4
2005 1 4
2004 4 8
2003 4 6
2002 3 12
2001 7 13
2000 7 14
1999 7 21
1998 5 11
1997 1 5
1996 5 6
1995 3 7
1994 4 10
1993 1 2
1992 1 4
1991 1 5
1990 5 9
1989 1 6
1988 6 12
1987 2 11
1986 5 9
1985 3 9
1984 1 8
1983 7 15
1982 4 11
1981 3 6
1980 5 11
1979 4 13
1978 4 16
1977 1 9
1976 8 17
1975 5 19
1974 7 18
1973 5 14
1972 5 16
1971 6 16
1970 10 25

Thanks to Tom Orf for the research and supporting data.

Cardinals Friday transactions


LHR Samuel Freeman transferred from Palm Beach to Springfield.

LHR Kristhiam Linares placed on Palm Beach disabled list.

RHR Jorge Rondon transferred from extended spring training to Palm Beach.

RHR Yonathan Gonzalez transferred from extended spring training to Palm Beach.

RHR Pete Parise transferred from Springfield to Memphis.

Memphis activated C Brandon Yarbrough from the seven-day disabled list.

St. Louis optioned IF Brian Barden to Memphis.

St. Louis recalled RHP P.J. Walters (pictured) from Memphis.

Like all Cardinals transactions, these have been reflected on the Cardinals organization roster matrix.

Cards add 20 more to close out draft


On Thursday, the St. Louis Cardinals completed the Major League Baseball 2009 First-Year Player Draft with 20 selections on the third and final day. The Cardinals selected 14 pitchers, four infielders, an outfielder and a catcher on day three. (Pictured is shortstop Devin Goodwin from Delta State, taken in the 33rd round.)

For the entire draft, the Cardinals selection breakdown was as follows:

29 pitchers (21-RHP, 8-LHP)

11 infielders

six catchers

four outfielders

The Cardinals second-round pick, Robert Stock out of USC, will begin his pro career as a catcher and that is reflected in these numbers.  St. Louis selected 43 college players and seven high school prospects.

2009 FIRST-YEAR PLAYER DRAFT – CARDINALS’ DAY 3 RECAP

Rd. Player Pos. B-T Ht. Wt. School Hometown
31 Tyler Bighames SS R-R 6-2 190 Estero HS Estero, FL
32. Travis Lawler RHP R-R 6-3 180 Midland College College Station, TX
33. Devin Goodwin SS R-R 5-11 185 Delta State University Russellville, AL
34. David Kington RHP R-R 6-2 200 University of So. Illinois-Carbondale Coquitlam, B.C.
35. Andrew Moss RHP R-R 6-1 210 Lincoln University Piedmont, MO
36. Justin Smith RHP R-R 6-0 190 Utah Valley University Pleasant Grove, UT
37. Richard Racobaldo 3B R-R 6-2 215 Mt. Olive College Marlton, NJ
38. John Durham LHP L-L 6-1 170 Warner Southern College Port St. Lucie, FL
39. Taylor Terrasas SS R-R 6-0 185 Santa Fe HS Santa Fe, TX
40. Jesse Simpson RHP R-R 6-0 185 College of Charleston Baton Rouge, LA
41. Cale Johnson RHP R-R 6-2 200 McKendree University Greenville, IL
42. Aaron Terry RHP R-R 5-11 185 Southern Arkansas University Rison, AR
43. Manuel De La Cruz LHP L-L 6-2 225 Imperial Valley College El Centro, CA
44. Kyle Heim LHP L-L 6-4 220 University of Iowa St. Joe, MO
45. Adam Heisler OF L-R 5-11 180 University of South Alabama Mobile, AL
46. James Klocke C L-R 6-0 195 Southeast Missouri State University St. Louis, MO
47. Michael Thompson RHP L-R 6-0 200 Bellarmine College Newburgh, IN
48. Jason Novak RHP R-R 6-2 205 UCLA Agoura Hills, CA
49. Andrew Hillis RHP R-R 6-6 218 Brentwood HS Brentwood, TN
50. Tyler Lavigne RHP R-R 6-0 190 San Diego State University Las Vegas, NV

Cardinals select 27 on draft day two


The second of three days of the Major League Baseball 2009 First-Year Player Draft was completed on Wednesday afternoon. The St. Louis Cardinals selected 27 players in the second day that ended at the conclusion of the 30th round. On Thursday, the draft will conclude with rounds 31-50.

Among the Cards’ selections Wednesday were 13 pitchers, seven infielders, four outfielders, and three catchers. Fifth-round selection, shortstop Ryan Jackson from the University of Miami is pictured.

St. Louis began and ended their day with selections of pitchers from Ole Miss, with Joseph Bittle taken in the fourth round and Chris Corrigan in the 30th.  Current Cardinals prospect Lance Lynn, now pitching at Double-A Springfield, is an Ole Miss alum and former teammate of the pair.

2009 FIRST-YEAR PLAYER DRAFT – CARDINALS’ DAY 2 RECAP

Rd. Player Pos. B-T Ht. Wt. School Hometown
4 Joseph Bittle RHP R-R 6-2 190 University of Mississippi Texarkana, TX
5 Ryan Jackson SS R-R 6-2 175 University of Miami Miami Springs, FL
6 Virgil Hill OF R-R 6-0 185 Los Angeles Mission College Valencia, CA
7 Kyle Conley OF R-R 6-4 215 University of Washington Richland, WA
8 Jason Stidham SS L-R 5-11 170 Florida State University Palm Bay, FL
9 Nick McCully RHP R-R 5-10 195 Coastal Carolina University Lakeland, FL
10 Hector Hernandez LHP S-L 6-1 198 Puerto Rico Baseball Academy Carolina, PR
11 Alan Ahmady 1B R-R 5-11 195 Fresno State University Fresno, CA
12 Pat Daugherty LHP L-L 6-5 215 Pearl River CC Bailey, MS
13 Matt Carpenter 3B L-R 6-3 208 Texas Christian University Sugar Land, TX
14 Ross Smith OF R-R 6-2 200 Middle Georgia College Eastman, GA
15 David Washington 1B L-L 6-5 200 University City HS University City, CA
16 Daniel Bibona LHP L-L 6-0 170 University of California- Irvine Lake Forest, CA
17 Jonathan Rodriguez 1B R-R 6-2 215 Manatee JC San Juan, PR
18 Anthony Garcia C R-R 6-0 180 San Juan Educational School Carolina, PR
19 Travis Tartamella C R-R 6-0 205 California State University at LA Alta Loma, CA
20 Scott Schneider RHP R-R 6-0 175 St. Mary’s College Fallbrook, CA
21 Trevor Rosenthal RHP R-R 6-2 190 Cowley County CC Lee Summit, MO
22 Joseph Bergman 2B L-R 5-10 190 College of Charleston Jacksonville, FL
23 Matthew Adams C L-R 6-3 245 Slippery Rock University Philipsburg, PA
24 Keith Butler RHP R-R 6-0 175 Wabash Valley College Morgantown, KY
25 Josh Squatrito RHP R-R 6-1 205 Towson University Willow Street, PA
26 Christian Beatty OF S-R 5-10 190 North Carolina A&T Winston-Salem, NC
27 Johnathan Fulino RHP L-R 6-4 190 University of Connecticut Quincy, MA
28 Justin Edwards LHP L-L 6-2 188 Kennesaw State University Guyton, GA
29 Daniel Calhoun LHP L-L 6-2 205 Murray State University Evansville, IN
30 Christopher Corrigan RHP R-R 6-2 170 University of Mississippi Houston, TX

Cardinals select three in day one of draft


The St. Louis Cardinals selected high school RHP Shelby Miller out of Brownwood High School in Brownwood, TX with their top pick in Tuesday night’s MLB First-Year Player Draft.


Miller is considered by many to have the best fastball in the draft and it was rated tops among prep pitchers by Baseball America.  He was rated the 7th-best right-handed pitcher in the draft by Baseball America. The 18-year-old is a solid athlete, also starring on the football field as a tight end and punter for Brownwood High School.  Shelby has a commitment to attend Texas A&M as its top baseball recruit.


“Shelby was the best player available to us when we picked and we were glad he was available,” said Cardinal Vice President, Scouting and Player Development Jeff Luhnow.  “He is a strong kid with a solid make-up and a plus-plus fastball that is difficult to hit.  We are going to do our best to sign him and get him in the Cardinals system soon.”


Miller was 10-2 with a 1.90 ERA this past season for Brownwood.  He struck out 153 batters in 77.0 innings pitched and allowed 36 walks and 38 hits.


It is the third time in the last six years that the Cardinals went with a high school prospect with their first pick. Their last top pick out of a high school program was Peter Kozma in 2007.  Miller, 6’3, 195”, is the first high school pitcher selected in the first round by the Cardinals since they selected Brian Barber with the third of three first-round selections in 1991 (compensation from Mets for Type B free agent Vince Coleman).

The Cardinals chose catcher Robert Stock out of the University of Southern California with their second round pick (67th overall).  Stock was a two-way player with the Trojans as he also was a member of the pitching staff.  Stock batted .226 with six home runs and 30 RBI this past season.  He walked 23 times and struck out 24 in 137 at-bats.  Stock batted .263 with 14 home runs and 74 RBI in his three-year Trojan career.

On the mound, Stock was 5-4 with a 2.90 ERA (77.2 IP / 25 ER) in 20 outings (nine starts).  He walked 39 and struck out 86 in 77.2 IP. In his last start, Stock threw seven scoreless innings at Cal, allowing four hits and striking out seven.  He made national headlines after he bypassed his senior year in high school to join the Trojans as a 17-year-old freshman in 2007.  Stock was named 2005 Baseball America Youth Player of the Year.

Joseph Kelly of the University of California-Riverside was chosen in the third round by the Cardinals (98th overall).  He was named Big West Conference Pitcher of the Year as a freshman in 2007.  Kelly gained a save in the Big West Championship-clinching win over #10 UC Irvine on 5/27/07.  This season, he was 1-1 with a 5.65 ERA in 23 games out of the bullpen.  Kelly’s father, Joseph Sr., played football at Vanderbilt University and for the San Diego Chargers.

2009 FIRST-YEAR PLAYER DRAFT – CARDINALS’ DAY 1 RECAP

Rd., Player Pos. B-T Ht. Wt. School Hometown
1 Shelby Miller RHP R-R 6-3 195 Brownwood H.S. Brownwood, TX
2 Robert Stock C L-R 6-1 190 University of Southern California Westlake Village, CA
3 Joseph Kelly RHP R-R 6-1 170 UC Riverside Corona, CA

The Dominican Summer League Cardinals Report: June 8, 2009


By Josh Jones, Cardinals Best News Links

The Dominican Summer League Cardinals picked up where they left off in the 2008 season.  The team did open their season with a win but will be carrying a three-game losing streak into the next period.  The Cardinals are 2-5, four games out of first place, and sharing third place in the Santo Domingo North Division with the Phillies.  They are 1-2 at home and 1-3 on the road.

The Cardinals opened their season on the road visiting the Phillies.  The Phils were the first to plate runners and were up 6-2 heading into the eighth inning.  Errors by the Phillies would change the game around and put the Cardinals in the lead as they tacked on five runs in the eighth.  The Cardinals won 7-6.

The next game the Cardinals hosted the Mariners.  This time around the Cardinals errors came back to bite them.  The M’s scored six runs in the first four frames and plated four more in the later innings.  The Cardinals did score three in the third but it was not enough as the Mariners won 10-4.

The Cardinals then went on the road to play the newly formed Athletics squad.  Instead of having two separate teams like last season the Athletics consolidated both teams into one.  The Redbirds struck first taking a 2-1 lead and holding that until the ninth inning.  In the ninth the Cardinals closer couldn’t shut the door and let the A’s jump ahead and win the game.  The A’s pulled off the game with a 3-2 win.

The Phillies came to town for a second meeting between them and the Cardinals during this past week.  The game went scoreless for the first two frames and then the runs started piling up.  The Phillies and Cardinals exchanged runs over the next two innings, with the Phils leading 6-4.  Then the Redbirds held them scoreless in the fifth and ran up the score in the bottom of the inning, plating five runs.  The Cardinals won their second game of the new season 9-6, with the game being called after the fifth inning.

The Cardinals visited the Mariners for their second meeting this period.  The Mariners came out swinging scoring five runs in the first two innings.  However the Redbirds didn’t rollover as they scored five of their own, to tie it up, heading into the bottom of the sixth.  The Mariners scored one in the bottom of the sixth and both teams bullpens shut their opponents down for the rest of the game.  The Mariners squeaked by with a 6-5 victory.

The Athletics visited the Cardinals and this game ended up being a pitcher’s duel.  The Cardinals gave up only two hits and the Mariners only allowed four.  But walks in the bottom of the ninth opened the door for the A’s to score the only run of the game and take the win.

The Phillies hosted the Cardinals and were looking for a little redemption after blowing the first two games between the two.  The Cardinals struck first in the second and held the lead until the sixth, when the Phils scored seven runs over the next three innings.  The Phillies bullpen then held the Cards to only one run in the final two innings and won 7-3. On a more positive note, the Cardinals did turn a total of four double plays during this game.

Who’s Hot

Grabiel Hernandez has been the only consistent hitter on the team up to this point in the season.  The 17-year old switch hitter has gone 8-for-24 (.333) with one double, four RBIs, nine total bases, three walks, four runs, three stolen bases, and struck out three times.  He’s had two multiple hit games including a three-hit game in his professional debut.  The newly signed shortstop has helped turn four double plays and committed three fielding errors.

Victor Encanacion had himself one multiple hit game to start the season.  The 19-year old right-handed hitter is 4-for-15 (.267) with two doubles, six RBIs, four total bases, four runs, four walks, struck out three times, and grounded into two double plays.  He’s played three of his games in right field (one fielding error), one in left, one as a designated hitter, and one in both right and center.

Luis Pimentel opened his 2009 campaign with a five-game hitting streak.  The 20-year old right-handed hitter went 6-for-23 (.261) with two doubles, eight total bases, four walks, five runs, one stolen base, and four strikeouts.  The second-year DSL participant has been slated as designated hitter in three games, played three games at first base, and one at third.  He’s committed one fielding error (at third) and been on the back end of four double plays.

Roberto Reyes is the only player on the Cardinals who has legged out both a double and a triple this season.  The 19-year old left-handed hitter went 4-for-18 (.222) with two doubles, one triple, two RBIs, eight total bases, four walks, one stolen base, and nine strikeouts.  He been moved around the field playing in right field, left field, centerfield, first base, and designated hitter.

Charllan Jimenez has been the bright spot for this team’s pitching staff.  The 19-year old right-hander made his first appearance of the season on June 2, pitching four scoreless innings, giving up three hits, hit one batter, and struck out a team best seven.  The team gave him the start in his his next game, on June 6, and he impressed again.  Jimenez allowed four hits, no runs, three walks, and struck out four over four innings.


Who’s Not

Jose Pena began the 2009 season hitless in his first four games.  The 17-year old right-handed hitter went 1-for-15 (.067) with one double, one RBI, two total bases, two runs, two walks, and eight strikeouts.  Pena played his first four games in left field and last in right field, without committing an error.


Santo Sandoval had gone hitless in his last three games.  The 20-year old right-handed hitter has gone 1-for-12 (.083) with one RBI, one total base, one run, one stolen base, and seven strikeouts.  Sandoval played his first game in right field and last four in left field (one fielding error).

Alejandro Pinard was the first pitcher on the team to cough up a home run.  The 20-year old right-hander open his season coming out of the bullpen on May 30.  He pitched 2.1 innings allowing four hits, four runs (two earned), one home run, one walk, hit one batter, threw one wild pitch, and struck out one.  The third-year DSL pitcher received a rare start in his next appearance and was hit hard.  Pinard gave up six hits, five runs (four earned), walked two, but did strike out five.

Jefferson Segundo is currently the Cardinals worst pitcher by way of ERA (11.57).  The 20-year old right-hander had a pretty decent opening to his season as he pitched two innings allowing one hit, one earned run, three walks, threw two wild pitches, and struck out three.  But when it came to his second appearance he was knocked out after only a third of an inning.  Segundo was credited with two walks that ended up scoring due to the Cardinals’ ineffective closer.

Jose Pasen, who I was penciling in as the team’s ace, has fallen real short in the beginning of the 2009 season.  The 19-year old was tapped as the Cardinals’ starter in the second game of the season.  He was knocked out after only 2 and a third innings, giving up five hits, six runs (two earned), two walks, and four strikeouts.  Pasen came out of the bullpen in his next game and pitched three hitless innings allowing one earned run, four walks, threw one wild pitch, and struck out three.  The former outfielder has earned losing decisions in both contests and has picked off one runner in each of those games.


Comings and Goings

There has been plenty of off season signings and I encourage everyone to familiarize themselves with the roster either at the MiLB site or here at The Cardinal Nation when Brian Walton updates the roster matrix.

Former Minnesota Twins DSL hitting coach Claudio Almonte took over for Nelson Norman, who left the organization.

Former assistant to Derek Lilliquist in Jupiter, Bill Villaneuva took over the pitching coach duties.

Rene Rojas was the only member of the 2008 DSL Cardinals staff that is returning, as hitting coach.

A couple old but new names, to the team, are catchers Jesus Montero and Yorbel Alcala.  Both were backstops for the Venezuelan Summer League Cardinals in 2008.

Alexander Castellano, Hayrich Martina, and Tharick Martines were all reassigned to the VSL Cardinals after spending the 2008 season in the Dominican Republic.

Bernardo Villar, Carlos Mejia, Juan Jacquez, Randy Santos, Walter Santos, Eddy Rivera, Braulin Beltre, Yedilson Pena, and 2008 July 2nd signing Dennis Montero were cut during the off season.

Marcos Martinez played in one game this season, on June 1, and struck out in three of his four at-bats.  He was released a couple days later.

Last season Audris Perez and Angel Cruz received promotions to the GCL Cardinals, during the season.  Amaury Castillo and Angel De Jesus are currently in extended spring training trying to follow.

A couple newspaper/internet articles came out on three Dominican Republic born players, in the Cardinals farm system that I would like to pass along for your viewing pleasure. Amaury Castillo, Audris Perez, and Michael Avila.  Great reads and they have pictures!

Next Up (Season Record, vs. Cardinals)

June 7: Mariners (6-1, 0-2)

June 8: Off Day

June 9: @ Athletics (4-3, 0-2)

June 10: Phillies (2-5, 2-1)

June 11: @ Mariners (6-1, 0-2)

June 12: Athletics (4-3, 0-2)

June 13: @ Phillies (2-5, 2-1)

June 14: Mariners (6-1, 0-2)


The Cardinals organization roster matrix: DSL update


Following is the most current St. Louis Cardinals system roster matrix, including the 2009 Dominican Summer League Cardinals roster.

I apologize for the delay in posting, but I needed to get an accurate DSL roster and determine the status of several “missing” players.

Hopefully, you have been here to the site previously and know what the Cardinals organization roster matrix is all about. If not, here is quick summary:

At the time of this posting, the St. Louis Cardinals have 280 players under contract. The matrix places each one at his current assigned level in the system as well as by position. It is kept updated throughout the season.

The 33-man DSL opening roster follows, including with one player on the restricted list, Andres Beras. Pitcher Edouard Estalis will only be on the DSL roster if he cannot resolve an outstanding visa issue. Otherwise, he will begin in the Gulf Coast League. In addition, the eight tandem starters are called out in their pairs.

New to the Cardinals organization are pitchers Stalyn Lopez, Luis Mata, Rosalyn Rudecindo, Jefferson Segundo, Michael Santana and Willy Paulino. Biographical player information for each can be found on their Scout.com profile pages.

Just as six were added, so have six departed. They include Marcos Martinez, Santo Franco, Lenny Rosario, Eddy Rivera, Braulio Hiraldo and Bernardo Villar. Martinez was released and Hiraldo has been placed on the restricted list after not reporting.

The other four had background check irregularities on identity and/or age that caused the Cardinals to ask MLB to void their contracts. That means the highly-touted right-handed pitcher Franco did not receive his reported $570,000 bonus after he was announced as the Cards’ top July 2nd mound signing last year. The four are ineligible to sign with any organization over the next year.

The next update of the roster matrix should be coming within the next ten days to two weeks as the players in Extended Spring Training will couple with this month’s draftees to define the 2009 Batavia, Johnson City and Gulf Coast League rosters.

For details behind the codes used in the matrix as well as 2009 transactions to date, check out the earlier versions of the Cardinals organization roster matrix as follows:

Link to previous matrices: Jan–March 2009, April–May 2009, May-June 2009

Transactions

June 8 update: RHS Mark Diapoules to PB DL. C Luis De La Cruz from EST to PB, RHR Blaine Boyer claimed by Arizona. New total 279.

June 9 update (date approximate): LHP Nick Additon act from PB DL. RHR Elvis Hernandez onto PB DL.

June 10 update: C Juan Castillo completed suspension, RHP Shaun Garceau from PB DL to susp list.

June 11 update: OF Jon Edwards act from QC DL. OF Jairo Martinez from QC to EST (Batavia). RHP Jason Buursma from QC to PB. RHP Matt Frevert from EST to QC.

June 12 update: RHP P.J. Walters from Mem to StL. IF Brian Barden from StL to Mem. C Brandon Yarbrough off Mem DL. RHR Pete Parise from Spr to Mem. LHP Samuel Freeman from PB to Spr. LHR Kristhiam Linares to PB DL. RHRs Yonathan Gonzalez and Jorge Rondon from EST to PB.

June 13 update: LHP George Brown from EST (Batavia) to PB. RHP Brian Broderick from PB to Spr.

June 14 update: OF Joe Mather to Mem DL. 1B Curt Smith from Spr to PB. IF Jose Garcia from PB to QC.

June 15 update: SS Niko Vasquez from QC to Bat. C Luis De La Cruz from PB to Bat. C Paul Vazquez act from PB DL.

June 16 update: RHP Bryan Martinez signed for DSL. New total 280.

June 18 update: IF Khalil Greene act from StL DL. RHR Josh Kinney from Mem to StL. RHP P.J. Walters and OF Nick Stavinoha from StL to Mem. RHR Fernando Salas to Mem DL (eff 6/4).

June 20 update: C Brandon Yarbrough to Mem DL.

June 23 update: VSL LHP Dail Villanueva suspended 50 games.

The St. Louis Cardinals Roster Matrix (effective 06/23/09)

St. Louis (25+3) 40-man (38)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Carpenter Franklin LaRue Pujols Schumaker K Greene (i) Glaus (i) Ankiel
Lohse (i) Thompson Molina Thurston Ryan Duncan
Pineiro McClellan
Ludwick
Wainwright Motte (4) T Greene (16) Rasmus (1)
Wellemeyer C Perez
Ja Garcia (9iL) Miller (L)
Reyes (L)
Hawksworth
Kinney (20)
Memphis (24+6)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Mortensen (11) Parise Anderson (3) Brito (i) Hoffpauir Solano Craig (18) Jay (12)
Parisi (i) Salas (31i) Pagnozzi Rowlett Barden Freese (5i) Mather (i)
Walters (17) Scherer Yarbrough (i) Wallace (2) Shorey
Ottavino (15) Todd (7)
 Robinson (27)
Boggs (10) Maekawa (L) Stavinoha (35)
MacLane (L) Ostlund (L)
Manning (L)
Ring (L)
Others (1)
Cazana
(Mexico)
Springfield (24+8)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Kopp (28) M Gonzalez Hill (34) A Brown (i) Descalso Kozma (8) Folli Jones (6)
Hearne Degerman T Cruz (36) Hamilton (i) Jo Martinez (37ti) Rapoport
Fiske (iL) Freeman (L) Derba Ant. DeJesus
Lynn (14) Samuel (21) Arburr Henley
Kulik (L) McCormick (i)
Broderick Dew (i)
Norrick (L)
Furnish (L)
Sanchez
Mura (i)
Maiques (susp)
Dickson
Palm Beach (25+4)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
G Brown (L) Diapoules (i) P Vazquez Rivera Marmol Bolivar Curtis Chambers
R Castillo (19) Eager Murphy C Smith (40) Luna (39) Sedbrook Pham
Additon (26L) King Peterson
Gorgen (22) Reifer (24) Swauger
Fick Linares (iL)
Y Gonzalez
Garceau (29susp)
Mulligan
E Hernandez (i)
Buursma
Rondon
Quad Cities (25+3)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Daley, Jr. Carpenter Cutler Morales A Castellanos Parejo
Bravo (iL) Delgado Espinoza Lilley Edwards (23)
Bradford (i) Pichardo Toribio P Cruz
Nieto Rosales Jo Garcia Bogany
Cardenas (L) M Tapia Mitchell
Thomas Frevert
Zawacki McGregor
Veres
J Wilson (restr)
Ext. Spring (60)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
A Cruz A Castillo A Perez D Medina Landin Alvarez Teran Babrick
Ang. De Jesus Calero Castro Rigoli L Mateo Y Castillo R DeLaCruz (38) Gomez
Arredondo Cawley Scruggs Mambell Hage
Blazek Maertz L DeLa Cruz Mosquera Ingram
Diaz Mayes Moscatel Obregon Lara
Fornataro Munoz J Polanco R Ruiz Rivero
Javier Orozco Valera R Rodriguez
Leach Ortiz N Vasquez (13) R Rosario
North Riportella
Notti Russell Shepherd
R Gonzalez Swinson
Rada J Castellanos (L) Ja Martinez
Richardson Siegrist (L)
Rios
Santos
Hooker (32)
A Ferrara (L)
EST (visa delay 2)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Estalis J Castillo
Batavia (TBD)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Johnson City (TBD)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
GCL (TBD)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
DSL (34+1)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
A Tapia T4 Concepcion V Ferreira Pimentel Avila Cabrera Beras (susp)
Santana T2 L Mata L Perez J Lopez G Hernandez Encarnacion
Jimenez T3 Rudecindo Montero W Perez J Pena
Pasen T2 Urena Alcala Reyes
Pinard T1 D Rodriguez (L) Hiraldo (restr) Sandoval
Herrera (L) T1 Mercedes (L) Taveras
S Lopez T4 P Pena (L)
Uribe (L) T3 Paulino
Segundo
B Martinez
VSL (33+2)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Avendano Cedeno Rivas R Perez M Marquez O Medina H Garcia Argenal
Bier F Marquez Viloria Vargas Yegues Cortez
Corpas Guzman Velazco Vivas (susp) H Martina Fonseca
Nieves Polanco Inojoza
Oraa Ulacio A Castellano
Colorado (L) Ramos Martines
Solarte
Weffer (L)
R Alvarado (L)
De Aguas (L)
Echeverria (L)
Villanueva (susp L)

Codes:

(#): My Cardinals prospect ranking from over the winter at Scout.com

(i): injured – on the disabled list

(t): temporary inactive list

(susp): suspended list

(L) left-handed pitcher

Bold: on the Cardinals’ 40-man roster

(#+#) number of active players on the roster plus number of inactive (i+t+susp) players

VSL Cardinals Report: June 7, 2009


By Josh Jones, Cardinals Best News Links

The Venezuelan Summer League Cardinals started the week off by extending their losing streak from two to four games, but rebounded and split this period’s six-game series. The team is now 10-7 on the season and tied for second in the league, only two games out of first. The Cardinals are still playing better ball on the road then at home with a 6-3 away record and 4-4 at home.

The number one team in the league came to visit the Cardinals on their first game of this period. The Redbirds scored in the first and watched as the bullpen coughed up the lead in the later innings. The club committed five errors in the game and it didn’t help that the Bucs went on to pound out 16 hits on the pitching staff. The Pirates doubled up the Cardinals 8-4.

The Cardinals opened the month of June up making a trip to face the Phillies. The game was defined by the incredible pitching by both staffs. Both teams combined for 14 hits and and the game went into extra innings where an error caused the Cardinals the win. The Phillies beat the Redbirds 2-1 in ten innings.

The Tigers came to town to take on the Cardinals in their next game. This time the Cards whipped out the rocking sticks and clubbed four home runs in the game, including two by their first baseman. The Cardinals starter was solid until he got into the middle of the game and the bullpen followed giving up a few more runs. The Cardinals took the game 9-7.

The next game the Redbirds took on a familiar opponent already faced during the week, in the Pirates. This game ended worse then the first time around with the Pirates plating 12 runs, including a six-run rally in the sixth inning. The Buccs manged to knock the Cards starter out after three innings by tacking on five runs. The Pirates spanked the Cardinals 12-5.

After a day of rest the Cardinals took on the Mariners at their place. The M’s were probably thrilled to take on the Redbirds since they already thumped them twice already this season. However the Cardinals turned things around shutting out the Mariner 4-0. The Cardinals starter only lasted two batters, but the bullpen tightened up their belts and gave up only three hits in the game.

The final game of this weekly report ends on a positive note with the Cardinals extending their winning streak to two games and evening off their record for the week. The visited the Rays and squeaked by with a 4-3 win. The Redbirds had a three-run lead heading into the eighth and gave up two runs that inning, but recovered to take the “W”.

Who’s Hot

Osmir Medina after slumping in the beginning of the season has now started connecting the bat on the ball. The 18-year old shortstop went 8-for-25 (.320) with three RBIs, four runs, three walks, three stolen bases, and struck out nine times. The improvement in his hitting could be credited to the right-handed hitter moving up in the batting order to the second and third spot in the order. He also committed two errors during the week for a team leading total of six and assisted in four double plays. Medina will be carrying a four-game hitting and eight-game on base streak into the next period.

Roberto Perez continued to pound the ball this past week. The 20-year old first baseman went 6-for-23 (.261), slugging his third and fourth home run of the season, drove in three runs, scored five, walked twice, and struck out twice. The right-handed hitter is now leading the Cardinals in home runs (four), RBIs (11), total bases (32), walks (seven), SLG (.667), and OPS (1.095). In the field, perez was on the back end of six double plays and couldn’t handle a throw for a pickoff error.

Moises Colorado put together one of his best performances of the season. The 19-year old left-hander picked up the game for Carlos Oraa, who left early, and went on the pitch 4.2 scoreless innings only giving up three hits. Colorado picked up his second win of the season and leads the team in inning pitched (15.1) and strikeouts (18). I feel him making a move back to the rotation.

Francisco Guzman started the week off a little slow but closed out two games for the Cardinals to finish it off in style. The 21-year old right-hander made three appearances this past week with the first coming on the first of June. In extra innings, Guzman’s defensive backing committed an error and the very next batter tripled to drive in the run and hand him his first loss of the season. He went on to pick up two saves in the following two games he pitched. Guzman gave up two hits, no runs, and one walk over his next four innings. On the season, the former catcher has not allowed an earned run and struck out ten over 10.1 innings and has earned six saves in nine games pitched.

Hector Corpas finally made his season debut this past week. The 19-year old right-hander pitched three innings and gave up two hits, no runs, one walk, hit a batter, threw one wild pitch, and struck out two to start off his 2009 season. Corpas followed Colorado, in his second game, and out pitching him with four hitless and scoreless innings for the save on June 4. The Panamanian native is one of three pitchers on the staff that hasn’t allowed an earned run in five plus innings.

Who’s Not

Alexander Castellano slipped a little in the hitting department this past week. The 20-year old switch hitter went 4-for-20 (.200) with one triple, one home run, three RBIs, two runs, two walks, eight strikeouts, and grounded into one double play. During the month a June, he’s only 2-for-16 with both hits singles and coming in separate games. The Colombian native also committed one fielding error in left.

Hector Garcia is htting the ball at the defending team’s fielders. The 19-year old right-handed hitter went 3-for-17 (.176) with one double, one RBI, two runs, three walks, and struck out once. In his last nine games he’s only connected for four hits in 29 at-bats. The starting third baseman also got some time in at first base at the beginning of the week.

Sergio Nieves followed his best start with his season’s worst start. On June 2, the 17-year old right-handed pitched 4.1 innings giving up five hits, three earned runs, three walks, and struck out three. He’s second on the team in walks allowed.

Deimer Bier, like Nieves, had his worst start of the season this past week. The 18-year old right-hander was dinged up on June 3. He allowed six hits, five earned runs, oen walk, hit one batter, and struck out two over three innings. The second-year VSL Cardinal pitcher picked up his first loss in his shortest outing of the season.

Fernando Cedeno is still having trouble pitching in the league. The 19-year old right-hander made three relief appearances coughing up a total of eight hits, seven earned runs, one home run, three walks, and struck out four. He allowed four earned runs over one inning on June 3. Cedeno has only had one relief outing, up to this point in the season, where he didn’t give up a run.

Missing In Action

Angelo Echeverria still has not shown up since May 20.

Moving On

The St. Louis Cardinals assigned catcher Yorbel Alcala to the Dominican Summer League Cardinals for the 2009 season. The 19-year old switch hitter spent all of last season with the VSL squad as their starting catcher and joins Jesus Montero as the second Venezuelan player to join DSL this summer.

Venezuelan Summer League Stats (as of Friday)

The Cardinals team batting average improved from .265 to .269 on the season and second in the league. The team ranks third in runs scored, total bases, walks, strikeouts, and on base percentage.

The Cardinals pitching staff took a hit watching their ERA balloon from 4.27 to 4.43, which is third worst in the league. They do had the second most shut outs, first in saves, and third in strikeouts. On the other end they have given up the third most hits, runs, and home runs and second most in earned runs and walks.

Jem Argenal is ranked third with a .357 batting average.

Roberto Perez is tied for tenth with ten runs scored, tied for second with four home runs, tied for fifth with 11 RBIs, fourth with 32 total bases, seventh with a .429 OBP, second with a .667 SLG, and leads the league with a 1.095 OPS.

Jose Cortez and Hector Garcia are tied, with others, for seventh with five doubles.

Alexander Castellano and Hildemaro Vargas are tied, with others, for third with two triples.

Osmir Medina is tied for seventh with four stolen bases.

Javier Avendano is fourth with a 0.60 ERA and eighth with 15 strikeouts.

Moises Colorado is tied for second with two wins and second with 18 strikeouts.

Francisco Guzman leads the league with six saves and nine game finishes.

Fernando Cedeno is tied for first with two holds.

Next Up (Overall Record, vs. Cardinals)

June 7: Mets (9-8, 2-0)
June 8: Phillies (5-12, 2-1)
June 9: @ Tigers (5-13, 3-0)
June 10: Pirates (12-5, 0-3)
June 11: Off Day
June 12: Mariners (10-7, 1-2)
June 13: Rays (9-8, 2-1)

Cardinals starters keeping the ball in the park


Few would argue with the fact that the St. Louis Cardinals starters have been carrying the team in recent weeks (granted with some major offensive leadership from Albert Pujols). Coming into Friday’s game, the Cards’ starters are first in the National League in earned run average at 3.62.

One key reason for this is that they are not only keeping the ball down, but they are also keeping it in the ballpark. That is evidenced by their NL-leading fewest home runs allowed – 21 in 323.1 innings. (The Dodgers also have 21, but have pitched just 315 innings.)

Through Thursday, one third of the season was complete – 54 games. Over the full 162-game season, the current rate works out to 63 long balls allowed. That would be the lowest for the Cardinals rotation in at least the last five seasons and is a whopping 43% improvement over the next best staff, in 2008.

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitchers home runs allowed (season)

Year Number NL rank
2009 (proj.) 63 T1
2008 110 9
2007 115 6
2006 137 14
2005 112 8

Of course, for the starters as a group to be doing well, so must they be as individuals. Following are the Cardinals starters’ 2009 home run rate per nine innings compared to their career marks.

All except Adam Wainwright are having better than average (for them) success keeping the ball in play so far this season. Interestingly, Wainwright still has the best career rate of the group. All five starters are currently under one home run allowed per nine innings this season – a major element of their collective success.

2009 HR allowed
 2009 HR/9 IP Career HR allowed
 Career HR/9 IP
Chris Carpenter 1 0.24 175 1.00
Joel Pineiro 2 0.28 153 1.05
Todd Wellemeyer 4 0.58 59 1.09
Adam Wainwright 7 0.88 39 0.73
Kyle Lohse 6 0.96 181 1.15

Pujols the on-base machine: part two


As you already know if you read my post from late last night, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols has reached base by hit, walk or hit-by-pitch at least twice in each of his last 14 games.

Putting the mark into context across MLB is the purpose of this part two. Albert’s current mark represents the second longest such streak by a Cardinal in 50 years and trails only Keith Hernandez’ 15-game streak (from September 12-26, 1980).

Pujols is going for game number 15 at home against Cincinnati on Thursday evening.

Speaking of Cincinnati, Pete Rose, but then with Philadelphia (September 3-22, 1979) owns the longest such streak (20 games) during this 50-year span. Like Albert, Cardinals hitting coach Hal McRae had a similar 14-game streak. His was with the Royals in May-June 1976.

If you consider the last five years, then Pujols only trails Johnny Damon (16 in 2008) and Ichiro (15 in 2007). Barry Bonds at 19 in 2004 has the longest such streak during the most recent decade.

Consecutive Games On Base Two or More Times (MLB 1959-2009)

Player Start End G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SO BB SB CS BA OBP SLG Teams
Pete Rose 9/3/1979 9/22/1979 20 78 15 39 3 1 1 6 4 16 2 2 0.500 0.589 0.603 PHI
Barry Bonds 6/20/2004 7/15/2004 19 47 21 18 3 0 5 9 7 36 0 0 0.383 0.651 0.766 SFG
Jason Giambi 9/20/2000 4/8/2001 18 52 14 20 3 0 5 12 9 26 0 0 0.385 0.600 0.731 OAK
Steve Finley 6/20/1996 7/11/1996 18 78 21 33 8 2 7 18 7 7 2 1 0.423 0.471 0.846 SDP
Barry Bonds 5/13/2004 6/8/2004 17 44 16 18 2 0 6 12 4 30 1 0 0.409 0.658 0.864 SFG
Tony Phillips 6/28/1993 7/17/1993 17 60 14 22 4 0 0 6 10 23 0 1 0.367 0.548 0.433 DET
Duane Kuiper 7/15/1976 8/2/1976 17 69 15 29 3 0 0 4 4 9 0 4 0.420 0.487 0.464 CLE
Johnny Damon 7/27/2008 8/12/2008 16 68 12 26 1 1 2 11 10 8 4 0 0.382 0.447 0.515 NYY
Jason Giambi 6/14/2003 6/30/2003 16 47 16 22 2 0 7 21 8 23 0 0 0.468 0.639 0.957 NYY
Barry Bonds 9/7/2002 9/24/2002 16 49 16 21 4 0 4 18 6 25 1 0 0.429 0.627 0.755 SFG
Mark Grace 7/31/1998 8/20/1998 16 56 12 19 5 0 2 9 6 19 0 0 0.339 0.500 0.536 CHC
Deion Sanders 4/9/1994 4/26/1994 16 65 13 27 4 0 2 11 6 10 8 5 0.415 0.494 0.569 ATL
George Brett 7/8/1990 7/26/1990 16 66 17 31 13 1 4 14 7 9 1 0 0.470 0.533 0.879 KCR
Wade Boggs 5/13/1988 5/30/1988 16 51 18 24 2 1 1 4 4 23 0 0 0.471 0.632 0.608 BOS
Alan Trammell 5/27/1987 6/14/1987 16 65 18 29 4 0 5 13 8 9 1 0 0.446 0.513 0.738 DET
Eddie Mathews 9/29/1962 4/22/1963 16 58 7 23 2 0 3 11 11 12 0 1 0.397 0.500 0.586 MLN
Ichiro Suzuki 6/3/2007 6/19/2007 15 65 9 29 3 1 1 11 7 8 5 0 0.446 0.507 0.569 SEA
Shawn Green 8/3/2003 8/19/2003 15 58 11 23 6 0 1 9 6 12 3 0 0.397 0.500 0.552 LAD
Jeff Bagwell 5/18/1997 6/3/1997 15 50 16 21 7 0 6 17 9 20 4 1 0.420 0.583 0.920 HOU
Brady Anderson 9/26/1996 4/15/1997 15 53 12 28 3 0 5 10 10 13 2 1 0.528 0.643 0.868 BAL
Jay Bell 9/9/1996 9/24/1996 15 54 13 26 4 0 5 18 7 9 1 0 0.481 0.545 0.833 PIT
Brian Downing 7/28/1985 8/13/1985 15 57 11 27 3 1 5 14 3 5 1 0 0.474 0.538 0.825 CAL
Eddie Murray 8/24/1984 9/9/1984 15 51 15 25 6 0 4 16 4 15 3 1 0.490 0.609 0.843 BAL
Rickey Henderson 10/5/1980 4/21/1981 15 63 17 22 4 2 1 7 9 11 8 2 0.349 0.446 0.524 OAK
Keith Hernandez 9/12/1980 9/26/1980 15 53 13 21 5 1 1 9 7 17 0 1 0.396 0.543 0.585 STL
Pete Rose 9/23/1975 4/21/1976 15 61 17 29 6 1 0 14 5 9 1 0 0.475 0.562 0.607 CIN
Ron Fairly 5/17/1962 6/1/1962 15 50 20 27 2 3 4 16 4 8 0 0 0.540 0.600 0.940 LAD
Albert Pujols 5/20/2009 6/3/2009 14 40 8 17 5 0 3 8 6 19 1 1 0.425 0.600 0.775 STL
Nick Johnson 4/16/2003 4/30/2003 14 47 15 16 3 0 3 9 11 21 1 0 0.340 0.544 0.596 NYY
Brian Giles 9/1/2000 9/16/2000 14 49 16 16 1 0 2 12 7 18 0 0 0.327 0.500 0.469 PIT
Paul O’Neill 4/13/1996 4/30/1996 14 53 15 25 6 0 3 8 5 13 0 1 0.472 0.576 0.755 NYY
Ellis Burks 10/3/1993 4/20/1994 14 50 19 23 3 2 6 14 8 9 2 1 0.460 0.542 0.960 CHW-COL
Chris Hoiles 7/6/1993 7/22/1993 14 43 17 18 2 0 5 15 5 13 0 0 0.419 0.569 0.814 BAL
Ryne Sandberg 7/21/1991 8/6/1991 14 52 13 23 2 0 4 12 10 13 3 1 0.442 0.554 0.712 CHC
Wade Boggs 6/16/1987 6/30/1987 14 52 19 30 3 1 3 13 1 16 0 0 0.577 0.676 0.846 BOS
Greg Walker 8/30/1984 9/12/1984 14 50 14 25 1 0 5 14 3 10 1 3 0.500 0.583 0.820 CHW
Hal McRae 5/28/1976 6/9/1976 14 53 11 27 4 0 1 5 4 6 7 1 0.509 0.567 0.642 KCR
John Mayberry 9/1/1975 9/12/1975 14 53 12 24 5 0 4 12 4 15 2 0 0.453 0.574 0.774 KCR
Boog Powell 5/21/1970 6/4/1970 14 42 8 17 3 0 4 8 4 13 0 0 0.405 0.534 0.762 BAL
Al Kaline 9/10/1967 9/26/1967 14 47 12 20 6 0 3 5 4 16 0 0 0.426 0.571 0.745 DET

As always, thanks to statman Tom Orf, whose research makes these articles possible.

Note: Posted today at Scout.com: Todd promoted to StL as Boyer DFAed. Peterson, Freeman (and Sanchez) named Florida State League All-Stars.

Pujols the on-base machine

As Albert Pujols stroked a two-out single to left field in the first inning Wednesday evening and fisted an up-and-in offering to left for a ground-rule double in the sixth, the all-world first baseman extended his current streak of games in which he reached base at least twice to 14 and counting.

Pujols’ streak is now the third-longest in St. Louis Cardinals history since 1954. He trails only Stan Musial, who had 16 such consecutive games in 1958 and Keith Hernandez with 15 in 1980.

Note: The following table does not include Wednesday’s results.

Streak – on base two or more times in game (1954-2009)

Start End G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SO BB BA OBP SLG
Stan Musial 4/17/1958 5/7/1958 16 63 14 35 10 0 4 14 4 11 0.556 0.613 0.905
Keith Hernandez 9/12/1980 9/26/1980 15 53 13 21 5 1 1 9 7 17 0.396 0.543 0.585
Albert Pujols 5/20/2009 6/2/2009 13 36 8 15 4 0 3 8 6 19 0.417 0.607 0.778
Jim Edmonds 4/27/2000 5/10/2000 13 41 14 20 3 0 4 9 11 14 0.488 0.607 0.854
Ray Lankford 4/19/1994 5/4/1994 12 43 16 16 3 1 5 9 15 13 0.372 0.534 0.837
Lou Brock 9/1/1967 9/12/1967 12 49 17 19 1 2 4 11 6 9 0.388 0.483 0.735

Pujols has had some “help” getting on base as opposing pitchers are putting him on first base more and more often as opposed to pitching to him. In fact, early on in his on-base streak, Pujols had a streak within a streak, having gone four consecutive games with at least two walks.

As the table below depicts, current FOX Sports Midwest commentator Jack Clark holds the post-1954 Cardinals record with seven, followed by the late Darrell Porter with five.

Streak – walked at least twice in game (1954-2009)

Start End G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SO BB
Jack Clark 7/8/1987 7/16/1987 7 18 5 6 0 0 2 7 8 17
Darrell Porter 4/15/1981 4/22/1981 5 12 2 2 1 0 1 2 4 10
Albert Pujols 5/22/2009 5/25/2009 4 8 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 9
Jim Edmonds 8/1/2004 8/5/2004 4 10 4 4 1 0 2 5 5 9
Mark McGwire 10/2/1999 4/7/2000 4 5 6 2 0 0 2 2 2 10
Mark McGwire 8/29/1999 9/1/1999 4 12 3 2 0 0 1 1 3 8
Ray Lankford 9/15/1997 9/18/1997 4 12 5 2 0 0 2 5 5 10
Ozzie Smith 6/3/1990 6/6/1990 4 10 3 2 0 0 0 3 2 9
Jack Clark 8/2/1987 8/10/1987 4 11 3 1 0 0 1 3 6 8
Jack Clark 7/23/1987 7/26/1987 4 7 2 0 0 0 0 0 4 10

Also note that Pujols joined Mark McGwire in 1999/2000 and Clark in 1987 with more walks than at-bats (9/8, 10/5, 10/7). Now, those are some impressive feats!

Drilling down even further, we come to a subset of walks, those which are ruled to be intentional. This something Pujols is seeing more and more often. In fact, he leads the Cardinals in games with two or more intentional walks since 1954.

Most times – two or more intentional walks in a game (1954-2009)

Pujols – 14

McGwire – 10

Musial – 10

Brock – 7

Simmons – 7

Hendrick – 5

Hernandez – 5

Cepeda – 5

Boyer – 4

Only one such game occurred over Pujols’ initial three seasons, 2001-2004, but since then, he has collected a baker’s dozen, of which eight have occurred in the last two seasons.

Most times – two or more intentional walks in a game (2004-2009)

Pujols – 13

Molina – 1

Kennedy – 1

Most times – two or more intentional walks in a game (2008-2009)

Pujols – 8 (all)

Going one final step, if one considers two or more walk games in which one or more was intentional, Pujols leads the club since 1954.

Streak – two walks with at least one intentional in a game (1954-2009)

Start End Games BB
Albert Pujols 5/22/2009 5/25/2009 4 9
Albert Pujols 6/7/2008 6/8/2008 2 4
Albert Pujols 9/11/2006 9/12/2006 2 4
Albert Pujols 8/8/2005 8/9/2005 2 6
Albert Pujols 4/9/2004 4/10/2004 2 4
Scott Rolen 8/11/2002 8/12/2002 2 4
Jim Edmonds 7/21/2002 7/22/2002 2 5
Mark McGwire 7/3/1998 7/4/1998 2 5
Mark McGwire 6/6/1998 6/7/1998 2 5
John Mabry 5/23/1998 5/24/1998 2 5
Jack Clark 7/9/1987 7/10/1987 2 4
Darrell Porter 4/20/1981 4/22/1981 2 4
Dane Iorg 8/13/1980 8/14/1980 2 4
Joe Torre 5/3/1973 5/4/1973 2 4
Bernie Carbo 8/26/1972 8/27/1972 2 5
Lou Brock 8/27/1971 8/28/1971 2 4
Joe Torre 7/24/1971 7/24/1971 2 5
Carl Sawatski 8/7/1961 8/8/1961 2 4
Stan Musial 7/29/1957 7/30/1957 2 4
Stan Musial 5/25/1956 5/27/1956 2 4

As always, thanks to statman Tom Orf, whose research makes these articles possible.

Footnote: I will be traveling much of the next two-plus weeks. While I will be catching the Quad Cities and Memphis clubs in person followed by the major league club in New York, I will also take some much-needed time off in between. As a result, I apologize in advance for what I expect will be less frequent posts in the upcoming days.

Assuming my mobile broadband is operational at my destination, even if there is no new content post, at a minimum I hope to post an open thread each day to enable you to carry out discussions.

Cards’ sixth starters are delivering


As spring training 2009 ended, the Cardinals last pitching cut had been a camp surprise to some, P.J. Walters. As such, the rookie had stepped to the front of the line – the line of starters vying to crack the five-man rotation.

Of the youngsters getting starts last season, left-hander Jaime Garcia is out for most or all of 2009, rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Right-hander Mitchell Boggs came into camp as the number six starter favorite, but was slowed by shoulder discomfort.

Oh yes, and then there is Brad Thompson. The veteran is now in his fifth major league season and was the club’s Rookie of the Year in 2005, yet the 27-year-old has yet to seize a role. In fact, the right-hander has not spent an entire season from start to finish in St. Louis and that record remains intact here in 2009.

In 2005, Thompson made his MLB debut on May 5 and picked up his first save. He was the first member of the Cards’ 2002 draft class to reach the bigs. That season, he made 40 appearances, all in relief. During the World Championship season, Brad pitched from the bullpen in 42 games and made his first major league start, on May 24. He also finished a career-high 16 games.

The instability of the 2007 rotation meant Thompson would be called upon to make a career-high 17 starts along with 27 more pen appearances. As his ERA climbed each season, Brad spent more of 2008 in Memphis. His career-low 26 St. Louis outings included six starts.

Prior to Tuesday, Thompson had not appeared in a game since May 17. This is due to several factors, including little need for a long man with the starters in the midst of a very productive period as well as the odd decision to carry an extra reliever even though the offense has been scuffling.

Yet when Joel Pineiro’s back kept him from making his start against Cincinnati at Busch Stadium on June 2, it was Thompson who received the call to replace him. It was to be Brad’s first start of 2009 and 25th of his major league career.

Thompson pitched decently, going five innings and allowing two runs. He received a no-decision, narrowly avoiding being on the hook for a potential loss when Albert Pujols doubled in a fifth-inning run to tie the contest at two each. The offense would break through for three runs in the seventh to distance themselves from the visitors and the club improved its record to 18-7 when Brad starts.

In taking the hill to begin the game, Thompson became the eighth starter used by the club this season, on the heels of them deploying 11 in 2008. It was the sixth start made by one of the “sixth” starters this season. Of the other sixth starters, Boggs has four and Walters has one.

In terms of timing, though Walters may have had the unofficial designation as camp ended, Thompson was the one that made the club when the Cardinals came north. Yet, on April 17, when the team needed a starter in Chicago, Walters was called up to make his MLB debut on the national stage.

His starting tryout lasted just one game as he allowed three runs in four innings. Though he fanned seven, Walters was frequently in trouble. He moved to the pen until being dispatched to Memphis on May 4, replaced on the active major league roster by Thompson, recalled from the Redbirds.

Thompson had gone down on April 15 when Boggs was brought up to St. Louis for the first time this season. Mitchell pitched in relief behind Walters on the 17th and was given four consecutive starts from April 25th through May 14. He was returned to Memphis on May 15.

Of the three sixth starters, Boggs has the best outing and the only decision to date. He collected a win in his first start against Chicago at home on April 25. That day, Boggs allowed a single unearned run in 5 2/3 innings as the Cards went on to defeat the Cubs, 8-2.

Following is the log of the six sixth starter outings this season. Though the three are a collective 1-0 in the role, the club is a solid 5-1 in the games during which they started. In the role, the group has a collective 3.64 ERA compared to 3.69 for all of the Cardinals starters this season.

It is significant when your fill-in starters can deliver an ERA comparable to the top five. Now, I am not saying they can go as deeply into games or have as solid of a strikeout to walk ratio. But when called upon, these three have all performed admirably this season.

After Tuesday’s game, manager Tony La Russa said he is “optimistic” about Pineiro’s return on Sunday. That means the Cardinals’ number six starters may have to wait for awhile for start number seven. Whenever it occurs, they should be ready.

Sixth starter Starts Opponent Score Dec IP H R ER HR BB K K:BB ERA
Walters
4/4 – 4/17 Apr 17 @ CHC L 7-8 – 4 6 3 3 0 2 7
Boggs Apr 25 CHC W 8-2 W 5.2 6 1 0 0 1 3
4/18 – 5/6 Apr 30 @ WAS W 9-4 – 6 6 4 4 1 2 9
May 14 @ PIT W 5-1 – 4.1 9 1 1 0 2 1
May 6 PIT W 4-2 – 4.1 5 2 2 0 5 4
Thompson
5/7-6/2 Jun 2 CIN W 5-2 – 5 5 2 2 0 1 0
Total sixths 2009 29.1 37 13 12 1 13 24 1.85 3.64
All StL starters 2009 312.1 315 141 128 19 97 213 2.20 3.69

Cardinals Minor Matters: June 2


Manny an All-Star?

This article from the San Francisco Chronicle joins many voices speaking in outrage that Dodger Manny Ramirez could be voted into the All-Star Game while suspended. What makes this one stand out is a reminder that in 1989, Tony La Russa pulled Jose Canseco out of the Game despite the player having been voted in. The reason was less onerous – Canseco hadn’t played during the season due to injury.

Here is my take on the current problem. As usual, MLB has dropped the ball through their inaction. They can’t change the printed ballots; fine. But it would be very, very simple to make Manny’s name disappear from the online ballot. Idiots wouldn’t vote for him if his name wasn’t so easy to select.

Is that so hard to figure out?


Walking Albert

The increased level of opposing pitchers walking Albert Pujols has captured the attention of the New York Times.


Bonds strike out in Memphis

Bloomberg seemed to recap the current situation in Memphis clearly from a financial perspective and puts it into the overall municipal bonds context:

“This year, 16 municipal issuers have failed to make payments on $426 million in bonds. In 2008, 140 issuers defaulted on a record $7.6 billion. Among the latest to default: the Memphis Redbirds Foundation, which in 1998 sold $72 million in sports facility revenue bonds to help pay for a minor-league baseball franchise and a 14,000-seat stadium in downtown Memphis. Since 1999, issuers have defaulted on $24.13 billion in municipal bonds out of a total of $3.4 trillion issued, according to Thomson Reuters.”

In terms of the business side, the financial problems are making it difficult to attract a buyer for the team. The stadium is wonderful, but carries too heavy of a debt. More details in the Memphis Commercial Appeal.


Cardinals’ Hispanic players

The Springfield News-Leader ran an article about the challenges Hispanic ballplayers face in competing in the United States and how they work together to survive and in some cases, to excel. Unfortunately, almost before the article appeared, two of the players, Kristhiam Linares and Elvis Hernandez, were sent back to Palm Beach. Still, a nice read.


Hometown look at Lohse

With the Cardinals on the West Coast last weekend, several organizational members with area ties were featured in local papers. Pitcher Kyle Lohse, who says he is improved from his forearm injury enough to start on Wednesday, was featured in his hometown paper in Chico, CA. A more in-depth article than we often encounter in these parts.


TLR defends his name

This “in your face(book)” and tweeting world in which we live certainly brings out the kooks. Some nut created a Twitter identity calling himself Tony La Russa and posted a series of very uncomplimentary messages.

La Russa’s lawyer couldn’t get Twitter to do anything until a lawsuit was filed. Then, the objectionable content magically disappeared.

Details in the San Francisco Chronicle.


1989 A’s reunion

This article’s primary focus is on lost soul Jose Canseco. Though there is a TLR quote, as well as mentions of Mark McGwire and Carney Lansford in the context of the 1989 World Champion A’s upcoming 20th reunion.

I can’t help but include a Canseco passage:

“Last weekend, Canseco even participated in mixed martial arts “fight” with a 7-foot-2 Korean gentleman named Hong Man Choi… Maybe you saw it. In less than 80 seconds, Canseco was curled up in a fetal position on the mat, being pounded into submission.”


TLR #1 manager

So says Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. That La Russa is up from number four last year despite his clubs missing the playoffs each of the last two seasons is interesting.


Duncan to Cooperstown?

ESPN’s Rick Sutcliffe put together a nice little argument in favor of sending pitching coach Dave Duncan to the Baseball Hall of Fame along with Tony La Russa. It would clearly be ground-breaking.

Is Waino’s hook an illusion?


Watching Sunday’s St. Louis Cardinals road trip-ending loss to the San Francisco Giants seemed a flashback to early in the season – at least when considering the performance of Cards starter Adam Wainwright.

Through his first seven 2009 starts, the 27-year-old was scuffling along with just two quality starts (six or more innings, three or fewer earned runs) and a career-worst 4.35 ERA. His frustration was beginning to mount as it clearly showed in interviews.

Just prior to mid-month, Wainwright discovered a flaw in his delivery and results improved from there. He allowed just one earned run in each of his next three starts, over 23 2/3 innings. That lowered his season ERA to 3.18.

Unfortunately, the old Wainwright seemed to reappear on Sunday. It wasn’t a washout as he kept the walks down (two), a problem earlier, and 64 of his 101 pitches over seven innings were strikes.

However, too many of those strikes were hittable as the Giants collected ten hits. The killing blow was a seventh-inning home run by reserve corner infielder Rich Aurilia. It was the 37-year-old veteran’s first of the season. Not the guy one would have expected to beat you.

“It’s a brain cramp when you look back on it. You don’t know if you’re throwing it for effect or trying to get him out with that pitch. If I’m trying to get him out, that’s not the pitch I want to throw,” Wainwright told the press after the game.

Considering his outing overall, Wainwright made this evaluation.

“Today wasn’t a day where I made a lot of good pitches. I made a lot of mediocre pitches.”

I don’t want to be too hard on Adam as he clearly battled and almost won, but one thing I noticed was that his trademark curve did not seem to be working for him on Sunday. That caused a study recently published by four university educators to come to mind.

While this will seem wonky to some, I was fascinated by an award-winning treatise on the optical illusion of the break of the curveball. The team that won “The Best Visual Illusion of the Year” contest in May was led by a psychology professor from American University named Arthur Shapiro, who calls himself a “vision scientist”.

Check out this site and specifically, the visual demonstration of how the eye’s peripheral vision perceives the curve compared to when looking directly at it. One can even adjust the speed and two other parameters, but the result is the same. From the periphery, the rotating baseball definitely looks to be breaking, but when focusing directly on it, the ball really isn’t.

Does this mean conventional wisdom about what we grew up calling the “yakker”, “Uncle Charlie”, “the bender” or simply “the hook” has to be thrown out the window?

If so, please don’t tell Carlos Beltran!

Maybe Sunday’s defeat can be simply chalked up to those pesky San Francisco hitters keeping their eyes focused on the old baseball with tunnel-like vision.

Venezuelan Summer League Cardinals Report: 05/31/09


By Josh Jones, Cardinals Best News Links

The Venezuelan Summer League Cardinals finished off this period on a low note of a two-game losing streak after extending their winning streak to five games earlier in the week. The Cardinals took four of their six contests and settled in at second place in the division with two games separating them from the first place team. Just before their first loss of the week they were tied for first in the league. The Cardinals are now 4-1 on the road and 3-3 when defending their own turf.

The Cardinals opened up this period visiting the Mets. The Mets came out swinging in the first and scored the first two runs of the game. Behind a solid bullpen and some late inning errors by their opponents, the Cardinals came back in the final three innings tacking on five runs. The Cardinals took the game 5-2.

The Tigers came to town in the next game vs. the Redbirds. The Cardinals put ten runs on in the second and third inning as the team’s pitching staff held the Tigers to only five hits through out the game. The Cardinals slapped on another six runs in the fifth and following innings and had their biggest victory of the season with a 16-4 win over the Tigers.

The next game the Cardinals and Tigers switched roles in terms of home and visiting team. The Redbirds struck early and the team’s ace pitched another quality outing, holding the Tigers scoreless through five innings. As soon as the Cardinals starter was pulled, the Tigers came to life scoring five runs in the sixth and seventh. The Cardinals did calm down and hold on to win 7-5.

The Cardinals welcomed the Phillies on Wednesday and this game was a low scoring game, unlike the previous games, with all the runs except for one being an earned run. The Cardinals put the first two runs of the game on in the third and fifth, but the Phils tied it up in th sixth. The Redbirds bullpen then held the Phillies to just one hit over the next three plus innings and went on to win 3-2.

The Mariners visited after the day off and ended the Cardinals’ five-game winning streak with a slugfest. Both teams were tied up at 2-2 heading into the fifth, but all things changed as the bullpens took over the games with a total of 15 runs being put on the board in the five innings. The M’s kicked it off taking the lead with three runs in the top half of the fifth and the Cardinals tried to keep up scoring two. The Cardinals then struggled getting runners across the plate in the late innings as the team’s bullpen imploded coughing up a total of six in the eighth and ninth. The Mariners went on to win 13-6.

The Rays visited and extended the Cardinals’ losing streak. The Rays scored first but the Cardinals came back to take and hold a lead until the sixth. The game ended up heading into extra innings and like the previous game, the bullpen gave away the win handing away three runs in the tenth. The Rays won 7-4.

Who’s Hot

Roberto Perez pulled out the thunder stick during the week and racked up some extra base hits. The 20-year old first baseman went 8-for-16 (.500) with two doubles, two home runs, seven RBIs, five runs, two walks, and struck out twice. The right-handed swinger had a five-game hitting streak during the Cardinals’ winning streak and had two multi-hit games during that time. He was on the back end of three double plays and committed only one error.

Jem Argenal continued to show he can swing the bat this past week. The 17-year old first baseman/designated hitter went 8-for-17 (.470) with three RBIs, three runs scored, one sac fly, and struck out once. The left-handed hitter will be bringing a three-game hitting streak into the next week and leads the team in hitting with a .407 average. He did commit one fielding error in one of the three games he played at first.

Alexander Castellano put together his best hitting performance up to the point of the season on Friday going 4-for-5 with two doubles and two runs. The 20-year old left fielder went 7-for-19 (.368) with two doubles, one triple, one RBI, seven runs, one walk, and struck out five times during the period.

Sergio Nieves came through with a great start in a close game for the Cardinals on Wednesday. The 17-year old right-hander made his second start going 5.2 innings allowing three hits, two unearned runs, two walks, hit one batter, threw one wild pitch, and struck out three batters. He did not pick up a decision in the start but did improve his season ERA to 1.86, which is second best in the rotation.

Javier Avendano takes on the role of ‘ace’ for the Cardinals’ pitching staff with his latest performance of the season. On Tuesday, the 18-year old right-hander made his second start pitching five scoreless innings, giving up six hits and struck out six. He picked up his first winning decision of the season and has not allowed a run over nine innings.

John De Aguas was the steady arm out of the bullpen during the week. The 17-year old left-hander had three relief appearances (four innings) without coughing up a single run. He did let three runners get on base (via one hit, one walk, and one hit by pitch), but they did not create any damage. The 5’9”, 160 pound Colombian has only given up two hits and no runs over five innings during the season.

Who’s Not

Omar Viloria is still hitless through four games this season. The 18-year old right-handed swinger went 0-for-5 with one strikeout and grounded into one double play in the two games he played. The catcher did manage to throw out one of the four attempting base stealers this past period.

Ramon Ulacio started off the week on a bad note but recovered to end his week. On May 26, the 18-year old right-hander was sacked with three hits, four earned runs, one home run, and hit one batter before getting the hook without securing an out. His next relief appearance was much better as he pitched 1.1 innings and allowed one hit, no runs, and struck out one. The 6’1″ 190 pounder also got three ground outs and held on all three runners in that last game.

Jose Weffer made a not so pretty professional debut on Friday. The 16-year old left-hander gave up three hits, three earned runs, one home run, and walked one over a third of an inning for the losing decision.

Fabian Marquez saw his ERA shoot up in his two games pitched this period. The 17-year old right-hander made his first relief appearance on May 25, going two innings and giving up two hits, one earned run (home run), hit one batter, and struck out two for his first winning decision of the season. And on May 29, he allowed two hits, two earned runs, and one walk before being knocked out after two-thirds of an inning.

Gregorio Ramos took a thumping during this past week and it hurt. Combined over two relief appearances, the 19-year old right-hander was drilled for six hits, seven runs (six earned), walked two, and hit one batter in just one and a third innings. He ate five runs in his last relief outing and watched his ERA balloon to 23.62 on the season.

Missing In Action

Angelo Echeverria has not seen game action since May 20. The 17-year old left-hander pitched an extended relief appearance for three innings and gave up only one hit and one walk, while striking out four for the win.

Venezuelan Summer League Stats

The Cardinals are ranked second in the league with a team batting average of .265, falling 32 points behind the league leader. They are tied for first in doubles and are in tied for second in triples. The team is ranked third in on base percentage and slugging, but sits middle of the pack in all other categories.

The Cardinals pitching is taking a hit with their ERA, second worst in the league at 4.27. They are second in the league in earned runs and walks but are tops in strikeouts and are tied for first in shutouts and saves.

Single player leader stats will come later when more games are played.

Next Up (Season Record, vs Cardinals)

May 31: Pirates (9-2, 0-1)

June 1: @ Phillies (4-7, 2-0)

June 2: Tigers (3-9, 2-0)

June 3: @ Pirates (9-2, 0-1)

June 5: @ Mariners (6-5, 0-2)

June 6: @ Rays (5-6, 1-1)

Dominican Summer League

The season opened Saturday, be on the look out for highly touted prospects Grabiel Hernandez and Victor Encarnacion along with returning stars Eduard Estalis, Jose Pasen, and Juan B. Cabrera.

Carpenter’s current streak approaches Gibson in 1968


St. Louis Cardinals right-handed starting pitcher Chris Carpenter has yet to allow a run this season and is so consistently dominating that it was not all that surprising when he carried a perfect game into the seventh inning against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday.

After it was broken up by a lead-off single from Craig Counsell, Carp went on to complete his eighth shutout inning, during which time he struck out ten and did not walk a batter. Unfortunately, he took a no-decision in the Cardinals’ ten-inning 1-0 loss to the Brewers.

Over the last five seasons, only one other major league pitcher failed to earn a win despite throwing at least eight scoreless innings, recording ten-or-more strikeouts and not issuing a walk. That was the Giants’ Tim Lincecum, last month against Arizona. Prior to Carpenter, the last Cardinals pitcher who did not win a game under those conditions was Lee Meadows in 1917, according to Elias and Cardinals Media Relations.

Perhaps even more notable was that it was Carpenter’s fourth consecutive start without allowing an earned run, one short of the club record over at least the last 55 years. On Saturday night against San Francisco, Carp can tie the mark of five set by Bob Gibson during his signature 1968 season, known as the “Year of the Pitcher” across MLB.

Following are all 13 of the three-or-more Cardinals shutout start streaks in the last 55 years. Of course, all starts are not equal.

Among the oddities:

  • John Tudor’s three shutout starts were interrupted by two seasons with the Dodgers.
  • Jose DeLeon obviously pitched well, but had four no-decisions to show for it as he was injured twice.
  • Ray Washburn‘s only relief appearance of the season occurred in the middle of his three starts without an earned run.
  • Bob Forsch was spiked and left the game in the second of his four.

As one might suspect, Gibson’s run of five require no asterisks of any kind as they were all complete-game shutout wins earned during June of 1968. That has to be the one of the most dominant single months put together by any pitcher in the history of the game. Simply amazing.

Cardinals streaks of three or more consecutive shutout starts by a single pitcher (1954-2009)

Bob Gibson 1968
Start # Car TmG Date Opp Rslt Inngs Dec IP H R ER BB SO
12 292 52 Jun 6 @ HOU W,4-0 SHO W(5-5) 9 3 0 0 2 5
13 293 58 Jun 11 @ ATL W,6-0 SHO W(6-5) 9 5 0 0 2 4
14 294 62 Jun 15 CIN W,2-0 SHO W(7-5) 9 4 0 0 0 13
15 295 66 Jun 20 CHC W,1-0 SHO W(8-5) 9 5 0 0 1 6
16 296 72 Jun 26(1) PIT W,3-0 SHO W(9-5) 9 4 0 0 0 7
Chris Carpenter 2009
1 251 4 Apr 9 PIT W,2-1 GS-7 W(1-0) 7 1 1 0 2 7
2 252 9 Apr 14 @ ARI L,6-7 GS-3 3 4 0 0 0 2
3 253 40 May 20 CHC W,2-1 GS-5 W(2-0) 5 3 0 0 2 4
4 254 45 May 25 @ MIL L,0-1 GS-8 8 2 0 0 0 10
Jose DeLeon 1991
25 258 120 Aug 23 LAD W,2-1 GS-6 6 7 0 0 1 3
26 259 125 Aug 28 SDP L,1-2 GS-2 2 0 0 0 1 0
27 260 151 Sep 23(2) MON L,1-5 GS-5 5 2 0 0 2 3
28 261 157 Sep 30 MON W,11-1 GS-1 0.2 1 0 0 0 1

(First game left with stiffness in right shoulder; fourth game hit on the wrist with a line drive and taken out.)

Bob Forsch 1980
4 192 15 Apr 27 @ PHI W,10-1 CG W(1-1) 9 6 1 0 0 5
5 193 19 May 2 HOU W,9-1 GS-2 1 1 0 0 1 0
6 194 24 May 7 SFG W,12-2 GS-7 W(2-1) 7 3 0 0 1 7
7 195 27 May 11 LAD L,2-4 GS-7 L(2-2) 7 9 4 0 2 4

(Was removed from second game after being spiked by Jose Cruz on a play at first base.)

Woody Williams 2003
1 274 2 Apr 2 MIL W,7-0 GS-7 W(1-0) 6.2 2 0 0 1 5
2 275 10 Apr 12 @ HOU W,3-0 GS-6 W(2-0) 6 6 0 0 2 2
3 276 15 Apr 18 ARI W,6-3 GS-7 W(3-0) 7 3 0 0 0 6
John Tudor 1988
21 241 113 Aug 10 @ PHI W,1-0 GS-8 W(6-5) 8 3 0 0 2 3
1990
1 257 4 Apr 13 @ PHI W,11-0 GS-6 W(1-0) 6 3 0 0 2 2
2 258 9 Apr 18 @ PIT W,3-0 GS-7 W(2-0) 7 6 0 0 1 4

(Traded to Dodgers on 8/16/1988 for Pedro Guerrero; signed by Cardinals as a free agent in 1990 – two years between Cardinal starts.)

John Tudor 1985
29 167 127 Sep 1 HOU W,5-0 SHO W(16-8) 9 7 0 0 0 5
30 168 132 Sep 6 ATL W,8-0 SHO W(17-8) 9 7 0 0 1 7
31 169 137 Sep 11 @ NYM W,1-0 SHO W(18-8) 10 3 0 0 2 7
Joaquin Andujar 1982
33 223 136 Sep 6 MON W,1-0 SHO W(11-10) 9 5 0 0 1 4
34 224 140 Sep 11 NYM W,6-3 GS-5 W(12-10) 5 3 0 0 2 6
35 225 144 Sep 15 @ PHI W,8-0 SHO W(13-10) 9 3 0 0 1 4
John Fulgham 1980
5 25 32 May 17 @ SFG L,2-4 GS-4 4 3 0 0 0 5
6 26 37 May 23 SDP L,0-2 GS-8 8 6 0 0 2 4
7 27 42 May 28 NYM L,5-6 GS-7 7 2 0 0 6 2

(First game coming back from a shoulder injury was limited to four innings.)

Sonny Siebert 1974
8 356 40 May 24 @ CHC W,1-0 SHO W(4-3) 9 5 0 0 1 3
9 357 46 May 31 SDP W,5-0 SHO W(5-3) 9 5 0 0 2 5
10 358 50 Jun 5 @ SFG W,4-1 GS-9 W(6-3) 8.2 10 1 0 3 4
Ray Washburn 1966
7 98 41 May 31 HOU W,3-0 GS-6 W(2-3) 5.2 3 0 0 1 4
8 99 46 Jun 4(2) @ ATL L,1-4 7-GF(8) 2 0 0 0 0 2
9 100 55 Jun 13(2) @ NYM W,4-1 GS-7 W(3-3) 6.2 4 0 0 5 4
10 101 61 Jun 19(1) PHI W,1-0 SHO W(4-3) 9 2 0 0 3 5

(Pitched in his only game of the year in relief in between the three starts – 26 starts on the year.)

Curt Simmons 1963
28 437 140 Sep 5 NYM W,9-0 SHO W(13-7) 9 6 0 0 0 7
29 438 145 Sep 9 CHC W,6-0 SHO W(14-7) 9 5 0 0 2 3
30 439 149 Sep 13 MLN W,7-0 SHO W(15-7) 9 5 0 0 3 7
Harvey Haddix 1954
14 57 51 Jun 9 BRO W,3-0 SHO W(9-3) 9 3 0 0 3 4
15 58 55 Jun 13(1) PIT W,5-0 SHO W(10-3) 9 3 0 0 0 10
16 59 59 Jun 18 @ NYG W,5-0 SHO W(11-3) 9 4 0 0 2 7

As always, a tip of the cap to Tom Orf, who pulled the data shown above.

Tandem starting ends early in Quad Cities


The fact that the tandem rotation is being dropped by the Quad Cities River Bandits of the Midwest League two weeks earlier than last season apparently has nothing to do with the club’s recent struggles. According to a team official,

“The Cardinals have traditionally done away with the piggyback system around mid-season, and I think the personnel on this pitching staff lent itself to doing so a bit earlier this year.”

He is correct in timing in that in 2008, the move away from the piggyback starting system in its third season of usage occurred at the break in mid-June. Palm Beach also recently ended their use of the tandem arrangement approximately three weeks sooner than in 2008.

The five Quad Cities starters going forward are Gary Daley, Brett Zawacki (pictured), Kevin Thomas, Hector Cardenas and Arquimedes Nieto. Adam Veres and Scott McGregor head to the pen. Andres Rosales had already been assigned there, but was kept in the starting mix due to a roster that has been in considerable flux.

Other starters unavailable include Josh Wilson, who apparently abruptly retired again, suspended Deryk Hooker and injured starters Jared Bradford and Jonny Bravo, both on the seven-day disabled list.

All the rotation turnover has to be a contributor to the River Bandits’ uneven season to date. Despite a 2009 home record that includes six home series victories against just two losses, the club is scuffling along with a 22-24 record overall.

They are currently carrying a season-long five-game losing streak with a 2-8 mark over their last ten games. The Bandits have struggled on the road all season long, with no series wins, four losses and two splits away from Modern Woodmen Park in 2009.

Some of the Quad Cities hitters have been ice cold, including shortstop Niko Vasquez, having gone just nine for his last 76 (.118), and key RBI man Osvaldo Morales. Since driving in 33 runs in his first 33 games, the big first baseman has just one RBI in his last ten contests and is batting 3-for-25 (.120) over his last eight.

Another factor behind the club’s struggles is their porous defense. The River Bandits have committed 19 errors in their last 11 games, leading to 19 unearned runs. They are tied with Clinton for last in the 14-team Midwest League in fielding percentage (.957).

The Bandits are 13th in errors with 73 and also 13th in total double plays turned (30). They are 13-19 this season when committing at least one error in a game, compared to a 9-5 record in their 14 error-free contests. Vasquez alone has ten miscues in his last 20 games.

After three games at Lansing this weekend, Quad Cities will wrap up their ten-game road stretch with a four-game commuter series against the Burlington Bees that runs Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday of next week.

The new-old five-man rotation starts Sunday with Daley taking the hill in Lansing. The other four will cover the Burlington series in this order: Zawacki, Thomas, Cardenas and Nieto. I plan to be there Friday to check out Nieto’s outing.


As always, for current rosters and the most up-to-date transactions at all levels of the Cardinals minor league system, don’t forget to check out the Roster Matrix.