Tag Archives: Daniel Descalso

What A Week, Cardinals Fans!

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Last Friday, the St. Louis Cardinals lost to the Chicago Cubs 7-2. It was their third straight loss and fifth in their previous seven games, and they remained stuck 1 1/2 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central standings.

Thats a winner-LGThe losing streak extended to four Saturday afternoon when the Cubs took the first game of their day-night doubleheader. But then came game two, and especially the 9-run eighth inning for a 13-2 win.

Nothing but W’s since, with the streak now 6 after last night’s tense and defensive-filled 3-2 victory over the Brewers.

That deficit in the standings has turned into a 4-game lead.

The Cards are a season-high 14 games over .500 at 77-63.

Michael Wacha is back.

Over the past seven games Peter Bourjos is hitting .462, Jon Jay .455, Matt Holliday .379 and Daniel Descalso and Randal Grichuk .375 each.

Trevor Rosenthal is tied for the major league lead with 42 saves (even if an incredibly high number of them are very nerve-wracking, like last night’s).

The Cardinals have a magic number of 19 to clinch the NL Central title for a second straight year.

Happy Friday, Cardinals fans, and what a week!

How Much Do The Cardinals Miss Yadier Molina?

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When Yadier Molina tore a ligament in his right thumb sliding into third base on July 9, the St. Louis Cardinals were 50-42 following their victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates that night. The Cardinals were in second place in the NL Central, two games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. They’d scored 340 runs on the season, while allowing 318.

yadiLast night, the Cardinals lost to the Miami Marlins 6-5. Since Yadi went on the DL, the team has gone 12-13 and is now 62-55. At the moment, they’re in third place in the Central — three games behind the Brewers and a half-game behind the second-place Pirates. They’ve jockeyed back and forth with the Pirates for second place since July 29.

That run differential looks a little different now too, as they’ve scored 436 runs this season while allowing 444. Although losses of 12-1, 12-2 and 10-3 in that span will definitely change the look of things …

Now, granted, 2014 Yadi wasn’t quite hitting like 2012/2013 MVP finalist Yadi either. On July 9, his stats were .287/.341/.409 with seven home runs and 30 RBI. Decreased offensive production this season, however, certainly hasn’t been limited to Yadi alone.

Who’s stepped up the most in the past 30 days? Interestingly enough, according to the stats on the Cards website, the guy leading the team in hitting in that span is someone who’s only been on the team since July 26: A.J. Pierzynski. In his 11 games as a Cardinal, AJP is hitting .308/.357/.410 with a double, a homer and five RBI. He drove in the first run last night, just before Jon Jay homered to momentarily tie the game at 3-3. Continue reading →

A Photo In Honor Of Today’s Cardinals Win

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After the sad photos to describe Friday and Saturday’s games, here’s one to summarize today’s 8-3 Cardinals win.

happypanda

Eight runs! Seventeen hits — although the first 13 of them were singles! Seven for 16 with runners in scoring position! Four hits for Kolten Wong! Two hits — including the first extra-base hit — and an RBI from Daniel Decalso! A home run by Peter Bourjos! Lance Lynn — not spectacular but good enough especially when he needed to be! Pat Neshek with six Orioles up and six Orioles down in order! Trevor Rosenthal with a 1-2-3 inning! (Thankfully, since it wasn’t a save situation.) No homers by the Orioles! Mike Matheny challenged a call and it was overturned! And a highly entertaining ejection of Buck Showalter! Continue reading →

The 2014 Cardinals In A Nutshell

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Presenting the top of the fourth inning, Cardinals vs. Giants, July 1:

Top4th

Yes, the Cardinals loaded the bases with two hits and a hit-by-pitch off Tim Lincecum. No outs. Great opportunity! Then one out. Two outs. Three outs. No runs. Three left on base.

There it is, your 2014 Cardinals in a nutshell.

Even Timmy sounded a little surprised:

“I was hoping I could make them hit a double-play ball,” Lincecum added, “But they struck out, so it worked out.”

Yep, the 2014 Cardinals. Helping out opposing pitchers everywhere, as they lost again last night 5-0.

Speaking of opposing pitchers, the Cardinals finished their “Games Against The Guys Who Threw No-Hitters This Season” tour last night against Lincecum.

And the total offense against Josh Beckett last Thursday, Clayton Kershaw on Sunday and Timmy last night?

Continue reading →

Cardinals Haiku Wednesday: On Spring Games and Kolten Wong

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There’s no prize for having the best record in spring training, no Grapefruit League or Cactus League championships. But, even with games that really aren’t important once March 31 arrives, it’s painful to look at the standings and see the St. Louis Cardinals at the bottom with only two wins to go with seven losses (and, though not listed, two ties).

MathenyEven with the small number of innings to skew things, looking at the pitching stats thus far is not terribly pleasant either. The hitting stats are a little better … until you really start looking at some of those toward the bottom.

Patience, right? It’s only March 12. Things will improve, because these are the Cardinals. They are talented. They have depth. They are the reigning National League champions. They’re good enough, they’re smart enough and, doggone it, people like them!

We like them!

Even when we get frustrated by them … which we sometimes do these days. Right?

But things can — and will — change. A week ago, we were all worried about Kolten Wong. Now look at him. Not that he’s at the top of those stats, and that’s OK. He’s improving. He’s relaxing. He’s doing back flips and being featured everywhere, with this story in the New York Times especially good. As is this one by Derrick Goold. Plus you can see his homer from yesterday in this story by Jenifer Langosch (which is not to say her story isn’t good, because it is as well).

With all of that, plenty of poetic fodder …

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Winter Warm Up Kicks Off With Descalso

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Daniel Descalso exited the 2013 season without knowing what his position for the upcoming season would be.  That didn’t stop him from preparing in the same manner as he has every winter.  He didn’t mind the short offseason, which was a result of reaching Game 6 of the World Series.

imageedit_1_5272206909“I’ll take a short offseason every year.   Making the playoffs is the ultimate goal.  You take a few weeks off and get back into it.”

When asked about his spot on the club this upcoming season, Descalso didn’t hesitate before saying he was ready to simply compete.

“You bring in great players like Ellis and Peralta, and we will just see where I fit.  I did the same kind of prep that I usually do.  Put in work at all three infield spots and see what comes in February.”

Every athlete has a regime that has them hit the field and get their work in.  Descalso has a group of 20 players including some minor league guys that get together In San Francisco to train.

“I have worked for the last 4 or 5 years with a group of 20 guys and we get ourselves ready with strength and stamina.  We have trainers there.”

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Catching Up With The Cardinals: December Edition

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If you’re like me, the quietness of the Cardinals’ offseason combined with the business of the holiday season lends itself to feeling out of the loop.

No worries! Let’s catch up on the latest news together, shall we?

saint_louis_cardinals_logoThe biggest story this week is one that ended without actually ending. The Cardinals appeared to be all set to finalize the purchase of the Memphis Redbirds, as announced in mid-November. With John Mozeliak in attendance at last night’s City Council meeting, the plan was to finish up the details and obtain the council’s approval.

That plan hit a snag when the council members began arguing they hadn’t had sufficient time to review the changes to the plan or the Xs and Os of how it would/could all work.

With a Dec. 31 deadline to complete the purchase, the timeline grows tighter and tighter with each delay, this time until the council reconvenes on Monday. Continue reading →

On-Paper Advantage Falls Through In Game 3 Loss

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Ah, the best laid plans. Lion

On paper, things were lining up perfectly for the Cardinals headed into last night’s NLCS Game 3. They’d beaten the Dodgers’ two star pitchers, and had Adam Wainwright on the mound. They were up 2-0 over a Los Angeles team that had struggled offensively even more than the Cardinals had, and they had a golden opportunity to put the first nail in the coffin.

Unfortunately, it’s games where the odds are with them that the Cardinals tend to struggle. And struggle they did. Continue reading →

That’s A Perfect Home Stand Winner!

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Now that’s the way for the St. Louis Cardinals to finish the regular season: a 4-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs for a perfect 6-0 home stand, a final record of 97-65 for the best record in the National League, tied with the Boston Red Sox for top record in MLB.

9-30-collageBring on the Pirates or Reds!

Yes, the prize for having that best NL record (in addition to home field advantage throughout the playoffs) will now be a very familiar foe, pending the results of the wild card game at PNC Park on Tuesday night. But we have plenty of time to wonder about that — game one isn’t until Thursday at Busch Stadium.

For now, let’s appreciate what happened today.

And appreciating Jake Westbrook was what the first inning was about, while recognizing Yadier Molina with a standing ovation was what happened right before the first pitch of the game — Tony Cruz actually caught today.

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One Is Definitely The Number For The Cardinals Lately

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One is an important number for the St. Louis Cardinals these days, and it has nothing to do with Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith.

It’s the magic number for the Cardinals to clinch the National League Central title outright.

9-25-13

Photo: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

It’s the number of runs allowed by Shelby Miller in six innings during yesterday’s 4-1 sweep of the Washington Nationals.

It’s the total number of hits allowed in the three innings after that, from four relievers.

And one, or less, is the total years of experience from the five Cardinals who pitched yesterday — rookies all. (Of course, “one” and “rookie” also means Michael Wacha’s grand total of hits on Tuesday night.)

One is not a lonely number at all — sorry, Three Dog Night. It’s a great number.

And great can be a word to describe this September for the Cardinals too, as their record is now 18-8.

Continue reading →