Category Archives: St. Louis Cardinals

Men, not machines

I still have a lot of catching up remaining after having been on the road for the last two weeks, but I wanted to make a short post with an important reminder.

After managing in the majors for 33 years, St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa has probably said it all at one time or another. One of his seemingly time-worn lines is that players are “men, not machines.”

La Russa cites this to remind probing media members that there is more behind the results on the field than what we see on the television screen or in the box scores. The manager sometimes talks about the importance of and challenge in trying to understand what is going on in a young man’s “coconut.”

I received another good reminder of this during my trip as I learned that an organizational player with a young child is in the midst of a painful divorce. Of course, he still has a job to do. It is easy to say this should not be affecting his play, but how could it not?

His name will not be disclosed as I imagine the last thing he would want is his personal privacy to be violated nor the appearance for excuses to be made for his performance on the field.

Besides, it could be anyone. Other players may have a sick parent or money issues or family problems far away in another country or who knows what else weighing on them?

It is expected of fans to be critical of poor play and mistakes made, yet those who understand baseball players are truly not machines will always stop short of criticizing them as men.

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What’s in a name?

It may seem trivial to the reader, but getting players’ information right is very important to me. I spend hours behind the scenes ensuring The Cardinal Nation player database and team rosters are accurate – down to dates of birth, high schools and yes, even the most basic data – their names.

For example, Quad Cities’ reliever Aidan Lucas’ first name was misspelled by many sources as Aiden when he was drafted last year. Fortunately TCN Johnson City reporter Shawn Kerrick spotted that immediately and I corrected it on our site. This spring, when I first met Lucas in spring training and we shook hands, I opened by saying, “Aidan with two ‘A’s’, right?” We shared a laugh.

In other cases, it is not so clear. For whatever reason, until my current trip to Springfield, I had never talked with catcher Charles Cutler. That changed on Monday. As you might expect, I had to ask him if he prefers to be called “Charles” or “Charlie.” We have been using the former, while many others use the latter.

He chuckled and said, “Charles is my business name. All my friends call me Charlie. We’re now friends, right?” Of course, I had to agree. In the process, I added a to-do for when I get home – to change his first name in the data base.

A second target in Springfield was Texas League all-star pitcher Mike Blazek. Most other sources use his formal name, Michael. I searched him out to learn his preference. Blazek explained that most people in baseball call him ‘Blazer’ and others ‘Michael.’ While he has no problem whatsoever with ‘Mike,’ he says it isn’t used much. Change number two.

Then there is reliever Samuel Freeman, shown on the Springfield mound Monday night. The lefty from the University of Kansas has been pitching effectively coming off Tommy John surgery though his velocity is not completely back. Freeman is a most engaging and polite man. In fact, so much so that I forgot to ask him how he wants his name specified. For now, it may remain “Samuel,” but I suspect another change is coming.

Also on my to-do list to resolve is Palm Beach’s Dan/Daniel Calhoun. The 2011 draft is bringing a whole new group, as well… Is it Michael Knox, Bradley Watson, Daniel Miranda… ?

Focusing on getting all last names in the proper places, I hope to have a new roster matrix ready on Thursday incorporating the short-season teams. In the meantime, the individual team rosters on The Cardinal Nation site are very close to accurate.

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The Cardinal Nation post-draft minor league activity

Between traveling, the draft, recent signings and the impending start to short-season play, there isn’t enough quality blogging time for me. With that, here is a short post recapping recent activity on the main site.

Tentative Batavia Muckdogs Opening Roster (subscriber content) – The first 27 players expected to become part of the Cardinals’ initial Batavia roster are disclosed.

Springfield Cards: 5 Texas League All-Stars – Five players from the St. Louis Cardinals system are 2011 Texas League All-Stars.

Cardinals Sign 27 Players from June Draft – The St. Louis Cardinals have signed 27 players from the 2011 June First-Year Player Draft.

Subscriber hot news items in the last 72 hours have been posted about Jesus Montero, Kyle Conley, Packy Elkins, Geoff Klein, Robert Stock, Juan Castillo, Virgil Hill, Oscar Taveras and Allen Craig.

Coming soon

In conjunction with the 2011 draftees, I have been getting player bio information into The Cardinal Nation main player database.

Johnson City, Batavia and Gulf Coast League rosters will be updated as their seasons begin. Batavia’s opener is on Friday, Johnson City has an exhibition game on Sunday and the GCL begins next Tuesday.

Shortly after, I will refresh the Roster Matrix here to reflect all of the above.

Finally, in the next week, I will see four clubs in action: Quad Cities, St. Louis, Springfield and Memphis, and will report accordingly.

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“Whiny Birds” shirts take sides in Cards-Reds rivalry

Leave it to entrepreneurs to profit from the St. Louis Cardinals – Cincinnati Reds rivalry. A company called “Look at Me Shirts” has issued a new t-shirt poking fun at the Cardinals for their supposed complaints issued during last weekend’s series in The Queen City during which the Reds swept the visitors.

The shirt’s design features two wingless bird characters from the popular video game Angry Birds sitting on the Cardinals trademark gold bat with the words “Whiny Birds” in script.

It is not clear whether the proprietors of Look at Me Shirts are baseball fans or are just interested in turning a quick buck. Looking at their offerings, they seem to seize on current news topics. Subjects of other featured tees include Randy “Macho Man” Savage, a former Cardinals minor league and star rassler who passed away only yesterday, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Osama bin Laden.

In a quick search of their site, I could not locate any Johnny Cueto or Brandon Phillips-themed tees. Since Look at Me is Cincinnati-based, that is not surprising.

The bottom line for this offering may not be that hot, however. Look at Me has already dropped its price from $20 to $14, an indication that the “Whiny Birds” shirt may not be their fastest-moving, most popular offering.

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Cardinals offense not helping overcome blown saves

As previously documented here at The Cardinal Nation Blog, the St. Louis Cardinals have compiled a Major League-leading total of nine blown saves through the first quarter of the 2011 season. While they are concentrated on Ryan Franklin’s four, five other Cardinals relievers have contributed one each.

Six of these have been arguably the most damaging kind – a blown save in the ninth inning – leaving little or no time to respond. Franklin has four with Mitchell Boggs and Eduardo Sanchez each with one.

On the road, a ninth-inning blown save either means a walkoff win for the opponent or an extra-inning game. At home, the ninth-inning blown save still guarantees the offense a minimum of three at-bats to respond.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals in 2011, five of their six ninth-inning blown saves to date have occurred away from Busch Stadium. In three cases, the contest ended immediately and in the other two, the game became tied, only for St. Louis to fall in extras. Such was the occurrence in Cincinnati on Friday night when Sanchez absorbed the blown save in the ninth and Jason Motte took the loss in the tenth.

In other words, in three of the six ninth-inning blown save games, the Cardinals offense had an opportunity to step up and take back the lead, but did not. (They won one other extra-inning game, in Atlanta, for a 1-3 record in contests that went beyond nine innings this season.)

I will return to that point shortly.

St. Louis Cardinals blown saves, ninth inning, 2011 through May 15

Pitcher Date Tm Opp Rslt App,Dec IP H R ER BB SO HR IBB HBP BK WP
Eduardo Sanchez 5/13/2011 STL @CIN L 5-6 (10) 9-9 ,BS 1 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Mitchell Boggs 4/26/2011 STL @HOU L 5-6 9-9f ,BL 0 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Ryan Franklin 4/17/2011 STL @LAD L 1-2 9-9f ,BL 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Ryan Franklin 4/9/2011 STL @SFG L 2-3 9-9f ,BL 0 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ryan Franklin 4/8/2011 STL @SFG L 4-5 (12) 9-9 ,BS 1 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
Ryan Franklin 3/31/2011 STL SDP L 3-5 (11) 9-9 ,BS 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0

Ninth-inning blown save factoids – the TLR years

Six ninth-inning blown saves so far puts the Cardinals on pace for 24 this season. That is almost double the worst previous year in the Tony La Russa years in St. Louis, 13 in 2008.

The most losses taken in one season in these games has been seven. That occurred in both 2006 and 2008.

Through La Russa’s first 15 seasons, the team had a total of 100 such blown saves, or an average of about seven per year. Obviously, just one more the entire rest of the way would meet that average.

In no prior year, had the Cardinals suffered more than four ninth-inning blown saves prior to May 16. That was also in 2008, a non-playoff season. (All were by Jason Isringhausen in his final campaign with St. Louis. More on that following.)

The most losses the Cardinals previously took in these games prior to May 16 was three in 2003 – half the 2011 count.

Prior to 2011, La Russa’s Cardinals averaged fewer than two ninth-inning blown saves prior to May 16 – a total of 25 in 15 years.

St. Louis Cardinals blown saves, ninth inning, annual win-loss totals since 1996

Year 2011 1996-2010 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996
Season W-L 0-6 38-62 0-1 2-5 6-7 2-0 2-7 1-3 4-2 4-5 2-4 1-4 2-3 4-5 5-6 0-6 3-4
Percent wins 0% 38%
Year 2011 1996-2010 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996
thru May 15 0-6 13-12 0-0 1-1 2-2 1-0 1-0 0-0 1-0 1-3 1-1 0-2 0-0 2-0 2-1 0-1 1-1
Percent wins 0% 52%

As already noted, in three of these six blown save situations in 2011, the Cardinals had a chance to answer, but did not. As such, their winning percentage in this subset of games is zero.

Though there is a dependency on the home-road distribution, note in the table above that in the past 15 years prior to 2011, the Cardinals came back to win 38 percent of all games in which ninth-inning save opportunities had been blown (38 of 100). Again, this includes all opponent walkoffs.

Further, in past years, the Cardinals had even greater success coming back from this hole early in the season, with a better-than-.500 pre-May 16 record at 13-12 from 1996-2010.

Granted, this year’s offense is just 0-for-3 in these situations so far, but nothing can pick up a struggling relief corps more than some clutch hits. Clearly the 2011 Cardinals are capable.

After all, much has been written about these Cardinals hitters leading the National League in runs scored. (However, do note that lead is perilous. They are just six runs ahead of the Reds with one more game played.)

With such a prolific offense, it seems like it is time for a few of those runs to be scored in the most crucial late-game situations to give their teammates a much-needed lift.

Bonus data – naming names

Following are the names of the 24 Cardinals relievers with ninth-inning blown saves during the La Russa years along with their share of the 106 games. The number of seasons in which the relievers blew a save are included in parens.

Note that these are just totals and do not indicate percentage of all save opportunities blown (and converted). Still, Franklin’s 15 in less than four years is not a markedly different rate from Isringhausen’s 32 over seven seasons. Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley added seven in two years.

Jeff Brantley (1998) and Ricky Botallico (1999) each had six in one season, but Izzy holds the TLR-years record of eight ninth-inning blown saves in 2006. He also had six in 2004. It seems most unlikely that Franklin will be given the opportunity to match that.

St. Louis Cardinals relievers, ninth-inning blown saves, 1996-current

# 9th inn BS Reliever (years)
32 Jason Isringhausen (7)
15 Ryan Franklin (4)
7 Dennis Eckersley (2)
6 Jeff Brantley (1) Ricky Botallico (1)
5 Dave Veres (2) Mike Timlin (3)
3 Braden Looper (2) Cal Eldred (1) Juan Acevedo (2) Rick Croushore (2) T.J. Mathews (1)
2 Chris Perez (1) Kyle McClellan (2) Tony Fossas (1)
1 Brad Thompson Eduardo Sanchez Jason Motte Jeff Fassero John Frascatore
Kiko Calero Mitchell Boggs Steve Kline Russ Springer

Thanks to researcher Tom Orf for pulling the raw data used to create this report.

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Four different Cards relievers with saves in last four wins

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Addendum

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

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

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

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Cardinals approach team record for runs in an inning

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Cardinals need 2001 results in 2011

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

National League Central, wins, season, 1998-current

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

Thanks to researcher Tom Orf for providing the above tables.

[poll id=”85″]

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Cardinals with no compensation picks in 2011 draft

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Tracking the St. Louis Cardinals hit parade

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Help the Cardinals help the needy in Japan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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David Freese increases his total of three-RBI games

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Ex-Cardinals 2011 season-opening census

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

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

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

Ex-Cardinals currently in the majors, by organization

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

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Cardinals hitters versus Giants starting pitchers

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

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

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

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

Data courtesy of Bill James’ Matchups.

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

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

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Cardinals win-loss streaks signal season result

Though it is still very early in the 2011 season, the St. Louis Cardinals’ 1-3 record out of the gate is concerning many. The formula seems similar to the 2010 non-playoff season in that the pitching has been generally good, but is not being given much of a margin for error by a sputtering offense. Baserunning and defense still have room to improve.

One area in which it is too soon to draw any conclusions is winning and losing streaks, but this post will set the stage for whatever occurs ahead.

A comment made on The Cardinal Nation message board encouraged me to complete some analysis I presented in interim form last summer. I looked at Cardinals winning and losing streaks over the Tony La Russa years in St. Louis as defined by three or more consecutive games with the same outcome.

The data indicates that during seasons in which there were more losing skids than winning streaks, St. Louis missed the post-season each time. 2010 continued that pattern.

St. Louis Cardinals, number of winning and losing streaks, 1996-2010

# Winning streaks # Losing streaks Playoffs
2010 8 10
2009 12 9 Yes
2008 10 8
2007 10 9
2006 13 9 Yes
2005 12 3 Yes
2004 16 5 Yes
2003 8 12
2002 14 6 Yes
2001 10 8 Yes
2000 15 7 Yes
1999 8 12
1998 10 13
1997 7 11
1996 11 10 Yes

In only one of La Russa’s 15 years did his club have fewer winning streaks than 2010’s eight. Last year’s team did manufacture their best stretch of baseball since 2004 when they took eight games in a row starting just before the All-Star break.

Yet, the 2010 Cardinals almost always followed the good with the bad. Excluding the season-ending win streak, a losing stretch immediately followed a win streak in five of the seven possible chances last season.  In other words, even when the club established some momentum, they could not sustain it.

St. Louis Cardinals, winning streaks by number of games, 1996-2010

Winning streaks 11G 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 Total
2010 1 2 1 4 8
2009 5 2 5 12
2008 1 2 2 5 10
2007 2 2 6 10
2006 1 1 4 7 13
2005 1 3 3 5 12
2004 1 1 1 2 4 1 6 16
2003 1 1 2 4 8
2002 1 1 5 4 3 14
2001 1 1 1 1 2 1 3 10
2000 1 2 1 3 8 15
1999 2 6 8
1998 1 2 3 4 10
1997 2 1 4 7
1996 1 2 4 4 11

In terms of losing stretches, the 2010 Cardinals had a double-digit quantity of them for only the second time since 1999. Their longest losing streak last year was five games, which occurred twice, both in the second half of August as the season slipped away.

St. Louis Cardinals, losing streaks by number of games, 1996-2010

Losing streaks 11G 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 Total
2010 2 1 7 10
2009 1 8 9
2008 1 1 1 5 8
2007 1 3 1 4 9
2006 2 1 1 5 9
2005 3 3
2004 1 4 5
2003 1 4 7 12
2002 1 1 2 2 6
2001 1 3 4 8
2000 1 6 7
1999 1 1 1 9 12
1998 1 4 8 13
1997 1 1 2 5 2 11
1996 1 1 8 10

As noted above, the 2011 Cardinals have yet to post a streak of three consecutive outcomes of any type at this point. Couple the team’s bumpy start with the reality that they have just one stopper this season, Chris Carpenter, instead of two with Adam Wainwright out, and the early concern may be justified. This underlines the importance of the offense getting itself untracked, removing some pressure from the pitching staff.

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Nationals could pull Cardinals from Jupiter orbit

With the St. Louis Cardinals packing up their equipment following their final Grapefruit League game of 2011 on Tuesday, mixed signals are being received regarding their long-term future in Jupiter, Florida.

Last week, some excitement was generated when it was announced that the Cardinals and Florida Marlins tentatively agreed to a ten-year lease extension with Palm Beach County for continued use of the Roger Dean Stadium complex for spring training and their Florida State League clubs.

First reported by the Palm Beach Post, extension of the agreement through 2027 was crucial in resolving a stalemate over holding of funds for needed maintenance to the facility and clarification on future sourcing of those moneys.

That is not the primary rub over the long haul, however. Both teams demanded and were granted contract wording that allows them to leave Jupiter early in one of two cases. They can bolt if the New York Mets, who train in Port St. Lucie, or the Washington Nationals, who are located in Viera, move from the east coast of Florida.

While the Mets are talking like they are staying put, Nationals principal owner Mark Lerner is making noise like a man soon to be on the move. He confirmed to the Washington Post that the Nationals are actively exploring options to build a new facility on the Gulf Coast of Florida. If that is not successful, Lerner also identified Arizona as a viable option.

Lerner did commit that the Nationals will remain in Viera “at least the next couple years for sure.” Their lease at off-the-beaten-path Space Coast Stadium runs through 2017, but they have an out clause in 2013. Brevard County officials seem resigned to the possibility of losing the Nats, realizing they cannot solve the root issue.

Lerner made it clear that the Nats’ primary “problem” is logistical. The distance between spring training sites has created an untenable travel schedule for them and all the east coast Florida clubs. This situation is not likely to improve, as no teams appear to be interested in moving into the area. It will certainly get worse for the Mets, Cardinals and Marlins if the Nationals relocate.

The new Cardinals-Marlins-Palm Beach County deal is not yet final. The proposal will be reviewed by the Tourist Development Council on April 14 before it appears on the agenda of the County Commission on May 3.

It may not matter over the long term. The Washington Post story also noted almost in passing that the Cardinals have reportedly already been quietly looking into options in the Orlando area. Better scheduling would be possible for their entire baseball operations there.

The current travel distances aren’t just an issue for the major leaguers. Because of the long bus rides, Cardinals minor leaguers are forced to play themselves every third day all spring long when the Mets and Marlins minor leaguers face off – a suboptimal arrangement to say the least.

Despite Cardinals ownership reaffirming their satisfaction with their Florida home since 1998, a Washington shift could also pull St. Louis out of their Jupiter orbit. If the Nationals relocate, St. Louis may have no choice but to get serious about a corresponding move to an area with more conveniently-located competitors.

Time will tell if the proposed ten-year Jupiter extension ends up being anything more than window dressing.

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Cardinals losing spring record not good for regular season

While spring marks are inherently made to be forgotten, the St. Louis Cardinals have been very consistent over the Tony La Russa years. Since the manager’s arrival in 1996, the club has posted just two sub-.500 springs – in 2003 and 1998.

The Cardinals went on to miss the post-season both years.

Following Saturday’s bottom-of-the-ninth loss to the Marlins, St. Louis’ 2011 spring record dropped to 13-14, only tenth-best of the 15 Grapefruit League teams. Three Florida games remain, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday – the latter with an asterisk.

By Tuesday, the major leaguers will have headed north for an evening exhibition with their Double-A club in Springfield, MO. The “major league” club also has a Tuesday afternoon game scheduled in Jupiter that seems destined to be staffed by minor leaguers.

Yet, the outcome of that game may be the difference-maker in the 2011 Cardinals having a winning spring record.

The spring and regular season won-loss tallies over the La Russa years follow. Over that time, the Cardinals have played slightly better in Florida than during the regular season, .556 to .543.

St. Louis Cardinals spring and regular season records, 1996 through March 26, 2011

Spring Season
Year FL wins FL losses Ties Pct. FL rank NLC rank NLC rank Pct Reg wins Reg losses PS Result
2011* 13 14 1 0.481 10 3 TBD
2010 15 14 0 0.517 7 3 2 0.531 86 76
2009 19 12 0 0.613 3 2 1 0.562 91 71 LDS L
2008 17 10 2 0.630 4 1 4 0.531 86 76
2007 16 10 4 0.615 3 2 3 0.481 78 84
2006 15 14 1 0.517 T8 3 1 0.516 83 78 WS W
2005 15 11 2 0.577 T3 1 1 0.617 100 62 LCS L
2004 17 12 1 0.586 T4 2 1 0.648 105 57 WS L
2003 12 15 2 0.444 14 4 3 0.525 85 77
2002 17 10 3 0.630 3 2 1 0.599 97 65 LCS L
2001 17 15 0 0.531 6 2 T1 0.574 93 69 LDS L
2000 17 11 0 0.607 3 1 1 0.586 95 67 LCS L
1999 16 13 1 0.552 T4 1 4 0.466 75 86
1998 12 16 1 0.429 12 3 3 0.512 83 79
1997 21 11 0 0.656 2 1 4 0.451 73 89
1996 15 15 0 0.500 T8 2 1 0.543 88 74 LCS L
Total 254 203 0.556 0.543 1318 1110

* three games remaining

3/29 Update: On Tuesday, St. Louis absorbed their seventh loss to Florida in eight spring tries and concluded spring training with a 14-16-1 record.

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Cardinals Minor League Spring Training Notebook: 03/25

Following are the highlights from the 10th day of St. Louis Cardinals minor league games in spring 2011, on Friday, March 25. The players on the Cardinals’ five rosters walked over to the Florida Marlins side of the Jupiter complex.

After the 3-2 day, the Cardinals system is a combined 21-15-6 this spring, including a 15-9-2 mark against external competition.

Today’s photo is of Player of the Day, Springfield outfielder Aaron Luna, who knocked two home runs and drove in four.

Palm Beach starting pitcher Shelby Miller receives a very honorable mention, with considerable detail on his outing, courtesy of Kary Booher of the Springfield News-Leader.

Miller struck out “six of the 13 batters he faced,” Booher reported from the game. Miller gave up a walk and a double leading off the fourth inning before settling down to finish with four innings total.

“Miller threw 54 pitches but relied heavily on his fastball, which sat between 91 and 92 mph,” Booher reported. “While Miller’s fastball was on, his off-speed pitchers were here and there. He threw eight curveballs, but only (one) for a strike, as the pitch tended not to bend as sharply as usual. Miller also mixed in only five change-ups.”

Saturday will be a camp day. Memphis will take on Springfield while Palm Beach and Quad Cities will face off at the Jupiter complex. For the full state of minor league spring training schedules, The Cardinal Nation subscribers can click here.

As he has been doing the last few seasons, Cardinals farm director John Vuch is sharing game highlights with this site and several others with interest in Cardinals prospects. As always, the raw data is his, with the comments mine.

New Orleans 5, Memphis (3-3-3) 4

Memphis pitching

Adam Ottavino started but allowed three earned runs in three innings. The right-hander gave up six hits and walked three. He fanned three also.

Tyler Norrick three 1 2/3 spotless innings. The lefty struck out one.

Chuckie Fick also had a nice two-inning outing. He allowed just one walk and struck out four.

Rich Rundles allowed two baserunners in his inning, but neither scored. The veteran lefty fanned one.

Jason Buursma took the tough loss as New Orleans scored two unearned runs with two out in the bottom of the ninth. He allowed two hits and a walk.

Memphis hitting

Pete Kozma had three singles in four at-bats and scored once.

Daryl Jones had a hit in three at-bats, stole a base and scored twice.

Jermaine Curtis was on base twice in three plate appearances with a double, a walk. He also swiped a base and scored a run.

Tony Cruz had an RBI single in two appearances.

Ramon Vazquez was on base three times in four plate appearances with a single and a pair of walks.

Springfield (4-2-3) 13, Jacksonville 9

Springfield pitching

Deryk Hooker, who received positive reviews from pitching coordinator Dyar Miller early in camp, had a rough outing. He allowed four earned runs on five hits and walk in 2 2/3 frames. Hooker fanned four.

Nick Additon yielded just one earned run on three hits in 3 1/3 frames. He struck out three.

Ryan Kulik tossed a scoreless inning, working around an error.

Ramon Delgado gave up a couple of hits and fanned one in his scoreless frame.

Jose Rada took it on the chin, allowing five hits and four earned runs in his lone, long inning.

Springfield hitting

Aaron Luna had a big day with two home runs in four at-bats. He scored three times and drove in four.

Steven Hill was on base four times in five appearances and scored every time. The catcher walked, singled, doubled, homered and drove in two.

Matt Adams had two singles in five at-bats. The big first baseman scored once and drove in one.

Ryan Jackson had two singles and homered in four at-bats. He also walked, scored twice and plated a pair of runs.

Tyler Henley, coming off an injury-plagued 2010, was on base three times in five PAs. He singled, doubled, walked and collected two RBI.

Chris Swauger doubled, walked and scored.

Ronald Ramirez, a winter free agent middle infield signee, doubled and scored twice.

Jupiter 6, Palm Beach (7-3) 5

Palm Beach pitching

Shelby Miller allowed just two baserunners and one earned run in four innings. He fanned six.

Joe Kelly was touched for a pair of earned runs in 2 2/3 innings on three hits and a walk. He struck out one.

Justin Wright allowed four baserunners in 1 1/3 frames, but none scored.

Chase Reid took the loss as he yielded three runs in the final inning, giving Jupiter the victory. He allowed three hits and fanned one.

Palm Beach hitting

ShortstopYunier Castillo had a pair of singles in four at-bats and scored once.

Zack Cox singled and homered in three at-bats and collected a pair of RBI.

Edgar Lara singled twice in four at-bats and drove in one.

Rainel Rosario had two singles in three at-bats.

Curt Smith singled and doubled in three plate appearances.

Alan Ahmady and Nick Longmire made their one at-bats valuable as they had RBI singles. Ahmady also came around to score.

Quad Cities #1 (4-6) 1, Greensboro 4

Quad Cities #1 pitching

Seth Blair yielded two runs, one earned in 2 1/3 innings. He gave up three hits, three walks and fanned three.

Jordan Swagerty was stretched out to a four-inning outing. The 2010 draft pick was charged with one earned run on three hits. He did walk three as well, and fanned one.

Justin Edwards fanned one in his scoreless inning.

Ricky Martinez had four baserunners on during his one inning and one crossed the plate.

Quad Cites #1 hitting

Ted Obregon had a pair of singles in four at-bats.

Matt Valaika had a two-run double and came around to score.

Joey Bergman and Romulo Ruiz both doubled and scored

Kyle Conley, another outfielder coming off an injury-ruined season, walked twice and scored both times.

Chris Edmondson singled, walked and scored a run.

Adam Melker singled, walked and collected an RBI.

Quad Cities #2 (3-1) 6, Marlins 5th club 3

Quad Cities #2 pitching

Wilson Matos tossed three scoreless frames on just two hits. He fanned three.

Cale Johnson allowed just one baserunner in two innings on a walk. He had one strikeout. Lefty Dean Kiekhefer had a rough day. He yielded three runs, two earned in 1 1/3 innings. The Fish had five hits and drew a walk. Kiekhefer had one strikeout.

Drew Benes surrendered just one hit in 1 2/3 innings. He fanned one.

Aidan Lucas gave up just one walk in his lone frame.

Quad Cities #2 hitting

Colin Walsh had two singles and a double in four at-bats. He scored once.

Roberto DeLaCruz did even better with a pair of singles and a triple in four ABs. He scored one run and drove in another.

Note: The Cardinal Nation subscribers can read all about two Cuban tryout pitchers who have joined minor league camp.

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ZiPS says Cardinals have easiest 2011 MLB schedule

As I was watching the St. Louis Cardinals get plastered by the New York Mets on Thursday afternoon, the mail arrived. Among the usual catalogs and bills was the April 4 edition of ESPN The Magazine.

Its cover, depicting a bionic-looking Aroldis Chapman*, caught my eye. Among the items in the MLB preview section was a featurette on page 62.

Dan Szymborski of Baseball Think Factory used his ZiPS projection system to predict the aggregate 2011 winning percentage of each of the 30 MLB teams’ opponents. Of course, the unbalanced schedule makes the outcomes less apparent.

One observation is that poorer teams have tougher schedules since they don’t have to play themselves. Another is that all American League teams have tougher strength of schedules than National League teams.

To top it off, the Cardinals have the easiest schedule in all of MLB at .484, according to the projections. The Toronto Blue Jays at .522 have the toughest row to hoe in 2011.

Wanting to look into this further, I discovered Szymborski wrote about this subject in more depth at ESPN.com. In a subscriber article, he presents a case that if the two birds changed nests, the Blue Jays would win the 2011 NL Central.

Sadly, in his equal but opposite reaction, Szymborski put the Philadelphia Phillies into the AL East instead of the Cardinals, but still made his point. The Phils would not take the division, says the projection.

Instead of celebrating the weak schedule, Cardinals fans should be very concerned – at least if 2010 is repeated. Last season, St. Louis stumbled to a confounding 46-50 mark against teams with a losing record, including season series wins by NL Central foes Milwaukee, Chicago and Houston.

* I have since learned the Chapman cover photo was taken by St. Louis-based photographer Scott Rovak, a real pro and an amazingly hard worker. Congratulations, Scott!

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Forbes ranks St. Louis Cardinals #11 in team value

The St. Louis Cardinals are the 11th-most valuable Major League Baseball team, according to Forbes Magazine’s annual assessment. After two years of basically flat value, the Cardinals are estimated to be worth $518 million, up 6.1 percent from 2010.

St. Louis Cardinals value (source: Forbes)

Year 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
$ million $271 $308 $314 $370 $429 $460 $484 $486 $488 $518
YTY increase 13.7% 1.9% 17.8% 15.9% 7.2% 5.2% 0.4% 0.4% 6.1%

Interestingly, the new Busch Stadium is only valued at $136 million despite its $357 million cost, with its $20 million per year debt service noted. (Note reader comments below that this is an equity statement, not a valuation.) Forbes estimates that the Cardinals took in $207 million in revenue, with operating income of $19.8 million, up from $13 million the prior year. Gate receipts were assumed to be $95 million.

Player expenses were pegged at $110 million by Forbes, basically flat year to year. Team season-opening player payrolls have yet to be determined, but the Cardinals are expected to be in that same 10-12 ranking range for the 2011 season.

Interestingly, despite being ranked in the top half, the Cardinals are worth slightly less than the average team. Overall, Forbes estimates the average MLB franchise is worth $523 million. That is an all-time high and up seven percent from last year.

The New York Yankees remain the most valuable team at $1.7 billion. At the other end of the totem pole at number 30 is the Pittsburgh Pirates at $304 million.

While some disagree with these valuations, with MLB’s books closed to the public, the yearly Forbes process provides the most exhaustive analysis generally available.

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“The Predictalator” places Cardinals second

A mathematician named Paul Bessire, formerly behind WhatIfSports.com and now the proprietor of PredictionMachine.com, has run the entire 2011 MLB season 50,000 times using his proprietary forecasting software, called “The Predictalator.”

On his site, Bessire offers the projected divisional standings along with the highest and lowest win totals for each team in the 50,000 seasons “played.” He includes each team’s likelihood of reaching the playoffs as a division or wild card winner and expected results once there. Finally, Futures Odds are included, which is the likelihood of any team coming in over or under the current Win Total lines from Bodog.com.

Here is a brief summary, with the NL Central teams listed. For the entire 30-team reports and further explanation, go to PredictionMachine.com.

National League Central Division

Team Avg. Wins Avg. Losses High Wins Low Wins
Cincinnati Reds 84.6 77.4 99 70
St. Louis Cardinals 83.8 78.2 100 71
Milwaukee Brewers 83.7 78.3 98 71
Chicago Cubs 82.9 79.1 97 69
Pittsburgh Pirates 69.8 92.2 83 53
Houston Astros 68.5 93.5 81 53

The Reds are on top, with the difference between the Cardinals and Brewers razor-thin. Note that the best-case scenario in the entire division would be 100 wins for St. Louis. Seems hard to imagine with Adam Wainwright out of the equation. Sadly, according to this analysis, the best Houston could possibly hope for is a .500 season.

Playoff Probabilities (based on 2011 MLB season played 50,000 times)

Team Division Win Wild Card Win LCS Win World Series Win
Cincinnati Reds 32.00% 6.10% 6.30% 2.60%
St. Louis Cardinals 26.80% 7.00% 5.60% 2.20%
Milwaukee Brewers 22.30% 5.40% 2.90% 1.10%
Chicago Cubs 18.60% 4.30% 1.80% 0.50%
Pittsburgh Pirates 0.10% 0.10% 0.00% 0.00%
Houston Astros 0.10% 0.10% 0.00% 0.00%

Interesting that the Cardinals have the best wild card chance of success while the gap between them and Milwaukee increases.

Total Wins Picks (based on every 2011 MLB game played 50,000 times)

Team Total Wins Line Projected Wins Pick Pick%
Houston Astros 71.5 68.5 Under 58.00%
Pittsburgh Pirates 67.5 69.8 Over 56.00%
Cincinnati Reds 83 84.6 Over 53.50%
Chicago Cubs 82 82.9 Over 51.80%
Milwaukee Brewers 84.5 83.7 Under 51.80%
St. Louis Cardinals 84.5 83.8 Under 51.40%

This shows the betting line is more optimistic about the Cardinals’ win total than is The Predictalator, though the two are closer than any other NL Central pair. Taking the Astros and the under seems the best NL Central bet according to this analysis. Maybe Houston fans can find some solace in the 2011 season this way.

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Cardinals Minor League Spring Training Notebook: 03/16

Following are the highlights from the first minor league games of 2011. A pair of intersquad games were held on Wednesday in preparation for Friday’s initial contests against external competition. Another pair of intersquad matchups will occur on Thursday.

As he has been doing the last few seasons, Cardinals farm director John Vuch will be sharing game highlights with this site and several others with interest in Cardinals prospects. As always, the raw data is his, but the comments mine.

Lineups for the day were previously posted here.

Working Group #2 9, Working Group #1 5

I spoke with P.J. Walters after his start, about which he was not particularly pleased. His fastball was up and he lacked control of his secondary pitches, which made for a rough outing. He allowed six runs, five earned on eight hits and a walk in four innings. Walters fanned four.

His 6-foot-8 younger brother Eric threw for the Cardinals on Wednesday, two days after having done so for Washington, but P.J. said Eric must go through the draft and is ineligible to sign at this time.

Other Group #1 Pitchers

Kevin Thomas, down from major league camp, yielded just one hit in two innings and fanned three.

Tyler Norrick completed an inning on eight pitches, including a strikeout

Ryan Kulik allowed three baserunners on a pair of hits and a walk with two runners scoring, one earned over his inning of work.

Cory Rauschenberger, back for a second stint as a minor leaguer after having retired once, surrendered three hits and one run in his mound inning.

Andrew Brown was batting third and playing third base (at least until Matt Carpenter appears, if he does), with Zack Cox batting cleanup in Group #2. Brown was on base all three times with a single, double, and a walk. He drove in one and scored once.

Other Group #1 Hitters

Donovan Solano flashed rare extra-base talent, with a double and triple in three plate appearances. He also had and RBI and a run scored.

Charles Cutler plated three on a home run.

Steven Hill was on base twice, with a single and walk.

Xavier Scruggs doubled and scored.

Aaron Luna, Ryan Jackson and Jose Martinez each had just one at-bat, but made the best of it, with singles.

Shelby Miller allowed three baserunners on a pair of hits and a walk, but none crossed the plate in two innings. He fanned a pair. Not surprisingly, #30 drew a large crowd of onlookers.

Other Group #2 Pitchers

The next three pitchers that followed Miller all allowed Group #1 to increase their scoring.

Scott McGregor allowed three baserunners in his inning and one came home.

Richard Castillo and Mark Diapoules went a pair of innings each and each allowed two runs. They totaled five strikeouts, three by Castillo.

Matt Frevert and Dean Kiekhefer each tossed shutout innings. The lefty Kiekhefer allowed two baserunners, but also fanned two.

Edgar Lara had three hits in four at-bats and scored twice to pace the Group #2 offense.

Other Group #2 Hitters

Greg Garcia singled and doubled in two plate appearances.

Frederick Parejo had a pair of extra base hits as he doubled and homered.

Zack Cox shot a solo home run to right field. Though the wind was not especially strong, if anything, he had that wind behind him. I didn’t see it, so I don’t know how hard it was stroked.

Roberto Espinoza and Ivan Castro each singled and walked

Working Group #3 2, Working Group #4 0 (10 innings)

The length of the game was decided by the pitchers that needed to see work as both runs were scored in the first inning.

Group #3 Pitchers

When I asked Vuch who made a good impression, the first name he mentioned was Seth Blair. It was the second-rounder’s first semi-official mound appearance as he did not pitch after signing last summer. He had two perfect innings with a pair of strikeouts.

Blair’s former Arizona State teammate Jordan Swagerty (pictured) followed with a pair of shutout frames of his own. He also fanned two, but also yielded two hits. After relieving in college, Swagerty is listed among the starters this spring.

Others who shared in the combined shutout: Andrew Moss (two innings) along with one-inning hurlers George Brown, Jesse Simpson, Kevin Siegrist (two strikeouts) and Scott Bittle.

The Cardinal Nation subscribers should look for an interview with Bittle, coming back from shoulder surgery, in the upcoming days. He has yet to pitch in an official game despite having been drafted in 2009.

Group #3 Hitters

Jonathan Rodriguez was the game’s hitting star as his bases-loaded single scored the game’s only runs. He did it with a two-strike count.

Yunier Castillo had a pair of hits.

Knuckleballer Houston Summers is listed among the Group #4 starters early in camp, but for rehab purposes as much as anything. There is no clear mandate that he will be changing roles in 2011. He allowed two runs, one earned, in two innings.

Other Group #4 Pitchers

Justin Edwards struck out three of the six straight batters faced and retired.

Justin Smith allowed four baserunners over two innings, but kept them off home plate. He fanned a pair.

Chase Reid, Nick McCully (two strikeouts), Charllan Jimenez and Ricky Martinez finished up with a scoreless inning each.

Group #4 Hitters

Colin Walsh’s double was the only extra base hit. No one in Group #4 had two or more hits.

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Nationals moving interest putting pressure on Cardinals

Though I won’t be making the trip north from Jupiter to Viera’s Space Coast Stadium on Friday when the St. Louis Cardinals take on the Washington Nationals, the park and its lease have been on my mind.

As I have mentioned a number of times, baseball on the Atlantic coast of Florida is approaching extinction. After departures of the Dodgers, Orioles and Yankees, only St. Louis, Florida, the Mets and Washington remain.

Expanding the aperture to include Orlando pulls Atlanta and Houston into the mix, but it also means a drive of almost three hours from the Cardinals home in Jupiter.

That is an additional hour over the trip to Viera, already considered too far for minor leaguers to travel. Lost camp time is at least as important to opposing clubs as the additional transportation, meals and lodging expense.

This past weekend, I read an article about the situation in Viera entitled “Baseball’s uncertain future on Space Coast.” From it, I picked up several interesting tidbits.

Last year, the Nationals officially informed Brevard County officials of their interest in relocating prior to the conclusion of their 2017 lease expiration. Possible destinations include Orlando, the Gulf Coast or perhaps Arizona.

The Nats were reportedly wooed by Mesa, Arizona officials as a fall-back had the Cubs not agreed to stay. Shortly after, the funding for the Cubs’ new park was approved by voters. Chicago was using Naples, Fla. as leverage.

Fort Myers apparently has been pushing for Washington to move to Florida’s West Coast.

Though the Astros are committed to Kissimmee through 2016, they and the Nats have also been in discussions with Osceola County. A new complex that could house both teams is under construction near DisneyWorld.

With little to no hope of these towns luring new teams to the vacated East Coast locations, the Cardinals are running out of opponents to face. No matter how good their next lease offer might be, the distance factor could cloud their future in Jupiter beyond 2017.

The Cardinals and Marlins are angling to use a potential Washington move as leverage with their Palm Beach County landlord. The forecast for East Coast Florida baseball remains uncertain.

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64 former Cardinals in big league spring camps

One of Josh Jones’ projects each spring is to comb the spring training rosters of all of the other 29 MLB organizations and locate all of the former Cardinals in major league camps. His 2011 census follows.

This year, there are 30 ex-Cards players currently on MLB 40-man rosters. That includes several players that actually never appeared with St. Louis, including Rule 5 pitcher Brian Broderick. The former Springfield hurler must stick with Washington or be placed on waivers and could potentially return to the Cardinals organization.

In addition, 34 other former Cardinals players are in spring training camps, trying to make their new clubs as non-roster invitees. Both lists follow.

40-Man Roster Non-Roster Invitees
Rick Ankiel Nationals Brian Barden Rangers
Daric Barton Athletics Ron Belliard Yankees
Brian Broderick Nationals Blaine Boyer Mets
Miguel Cairo Reds Tagg Bozied Phillies
David Carpenter Astros Russell Branyan Diamondbacks
Coco Crisp Athletics Brian Esposito Astros
Mark DeRosa Giants Terry Evans Giants
J.D. Drew Red Sox Pedro Feliz Royals
Luke Gregerson Padres Randy Flores Padres
Dan Haren Angels Ruben Gotay Marlins
Blake Hawksworth Dodgers Michel Hernandez Orioles
Jarrett Hoffpauir Padres Rich Hill Red Sox
Cesar Izturis Orioles Jason Isringhausen Mets
Ryan Ludwick Padres Adam Kennedy Mariners
Jason Marquis Nationals Josh Kinney White Sox
Joe Mather Braves Braden Looper Cubs
Mike McCoy Blue Jays Felipe Lopez Rays
Clayton Mortensen Rockies Hector Luna Red Sox
Chris Narveson Brewers Mike MacDougal Dodgers
Darren Oliver Rangers Matt Meyer Angels
Brad Penny Tigers Aaron Miles Dodgers
Chris Perez Indians Matt Pagnozzi Rockies
Joel Pineiro Angels Luis Perdomo Padres
Placido Polanco Phillies Anthony Reyes Indians
Edgar Renteria Reds Dennys Reyes Red Sox
Scott Rolen Reds Royce Ring Mariners
Brendan Ryan Mariners Nate Robertson Mariners
Jess Todd Indians Jeff Suppan Giants
Brett Wallace Astros Joe Thurston Marlins
Jack Wilson Mariners Brett Tomko Rangers
Todd Wellemeyer Cubs
Randy Winn Orioles
Mark Worrell Orioles
Jamey Wright Mariners

If readers don’t know about Josh, you are missing out. For several years, he has covered the St. Louis Cardinals Latin American beat for The Cardinal Nation as well as runs his own site, Cardinals Best News Links. You can find links to all the important Cardinals and Latin American ball-related stories there in one place each day. There is also a permanent link to his site in the blogroll below. Follow Josh on Twitter.

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How many Cardinals minor league cuts may be coming?

As many St. Louis Cardinals fans may already know, the organization has suspended play in the Venezuelan Summer League in 2011. I broke that story at The Cardinal Nation on February 2.

While organization officials say mass releases would not occur as a result of the decision, the system will still face a numbers crunch this spring and summer that may be even more acute than in recent years.

This post will make some rough approximations of the number of players potentially involved in future releases during 2011.

To do this, some assumptions have to be made.

I will make each roster full to its allowable league limit. Above the maximum roster size at each level, I will assign five players to the disabled list or inactive list, shown below as “Inactive.” This count is based on what the Cardinals have done in previous years. Some might wonder if this is overly aggressive, but my intent is to come up with a reasonable estimate of the number of players to be released.

Further, we will assume no free agent additions will occur and 45 players will be signed from the June 2011 draft. The last point is a bit tricky to assess timing-wise as the top players often hold off signing until the mid-August deadline. For that reason, in this roster exercise, I will use only 40 of the projected 45 signed players.

Timing-wise, there are two key inflection points. One is at the start of April when minor league rosters must be set. Those players not on one of four full-season squads will either be released or retained for extended spring training camp.

Within about ten days following the conclusion of the June draft, the Cardinals’ four short-season clubs will begin play. At that point, the music stops and everyone signed to a contract must have a chair.

I am going to break this analysis into what I am calling “Sources” and “Uses.” The former is where the players come from and the latter is where they are going.

Starting with sources, you can see from the Roster Matrix that the Cardinals currently have 289 players under contract, including the major league club. Add to that 40 players signed from the June draft and you have 329 players to be rostered somewhere.

Sources
Under contract 289
June draft 40
Total 329

Here is the “Uses” view. The league maximum roster sizes are listed along with an allocation of five for inactive players.

Uses


Major League Active Inactive Total
St. Louis 25 5
Full-season
Memphis 24 5
Springfield 24 5
Palm Beach 25 5
Quad Cities 25 5
Short-season
Batavia 30 5
Johnson City 35 5
Gulf Coast 35 5
Dominican 35 5
Total 258 45 303

As you can tell from a quick comparison, even with 45 players inactive, the Cardinals would have to release at least 26 players (329 minus 303) between now and this summer.

One might argue the actual number of cuts could prove to be even higher. We shall see over the upcoming months.

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Will La Russa use underdog status as a motivator?

About three weeks ago, I took a look at the betting lines to see what those putting their money down had to say about the St. Louis Cardinals’ World Series chances in 2011.

As training camp opened, the Cardinals had slipped from an opening line of 14/1 to 20/1. Since then, of course, the Nick Punto groin surgery occurred, setting off panic among early bettors.

Ok, some might argue that actually helped matters, but in all seriousness, the club losing ace pitcher Adam Wainwright for the entire season was a tough blow to take. As a result, the Cardinals are now not only at 30/1, they are tied for third among National League Central Division clubs with Chicago.

Think about that.

World Series Odds Opening Early Feb Current
St. Louis Cardinals 14/1 20/1 30/1

Milwaukee leads the way in the division at 15/1, but that does not yet take into account new ace Zack Greinke’s basketball-induced rib injuries announced on Tuesday. Dusty Baker’s Cincinnati club is at 25/1, according to betting site thespread.com. The Phillies sit on top at 2/1, though ongoing concerns over the knee of second baseman Chase Utley could erode that position.

Further, the over-under on St. Louis wins this season sits at just 83. As recent points of comparison, the Cardinals won 86 in their disappointing 2010 season after claiming 91 victories in 2009.

Perhaps going from the favorite to a decided underdog is just what manager Tony La Russa will call upon to motivate a Cardinals team that seemed to lack the requisite drive last year. The 2010 club suffered through a dismal 9-21 stretch from mid-August to mid-September that doomed their playoff hopes.

The surprising and resilient Reds took the NL Central crown with a five game cushion that would have been much greater had the Cardinals not finished with a 9-2 record during what was essentially garbage time.

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