Tag Archives: Mike Matheny

4 Homers In 3 Games? Good, But This Isn’t A Homer-Hitting Team

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Matt Adams had quite the weekend, didn’t he? With his bat, of course — three home runs in three games after coming off the disabled list — plus the “Field of Dreams”-like factor with his dad being in town for Father’s Day to witness all three homers in person.

AdamsMatt Holliday hit a homer yesterday too, his second in a week and fifth overall.

Hurray for the Matts! (These two, anyway — sorry Matt Carpenter!) Four homers for the weekend! Forget all that power outage talk! The Cards are back in the slugging business! At least that’s what Mike Matheny says in this article from Alex Halsted at Cardinals.com:

“It’s not a surprise — it’s not like guys never hit any homers in their life,” Matheny said. “I think everybody just thought we were either brainwashing them not to hit home runs or else they all lost it collectively — and both of them are ridiculous. These guys are going to hit home runs.”

Well, Mike, yes, four home runs is definitely good. Progress, even. Plus it’s excellent to know that you and John Mabry aren’t brainwashing the team — because that seems creepy.

But this team still is what it is, Mike — which is not really a home-run hitting team. Jhonny Peralta still leads the team with 10. Yes, it’s just June 16, but 22 NL players, including such guys as Neil Walker and Marcell Ozuna, have 11 or more.

And even with the four homers in the past three games, the Cardinals are still last in home runs in the National League with 40. They trail the team just ahead of them, the Mets, by eight and the No. 13 team, the Padres, by 10. (The Cards also trail the No. 1 team, the Rockies, by 46.)

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All Streaks Must Come To An End, Unfortunately

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No streak lasts forever (except, perhaps, the 100-plus year streak of the Cubs not winning the World Series). And the St. Louis Cardinals 6-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays brought numerous streaks to an end.

WachaTo begin with, the Cardinals three-game winning streak ended.

That also means, unfortunately, so did the consecutive shutout streak by the Cards pitchers after three straight games. The streak of not allowing a run did reach 30 innings before coming to an end, however — and that streak is a tremendous accomplishment.

The end of the pitcher’s scoreless streak also meant the subsequent finish to the Rays’ own such streak on offense, which had reached 31 innings (with 12 of those against the Cardinals).

Then there’s Michael Wacha’s streak this year of not allowing more than three earned runs in a game this season. He gave up four runs to the Rays in the fourth inning and he obviously was not at his best. Wacha walked four — two in the fourth inning — and didn’t strike out a batter, which not surprisingly was a career first (and thus another streak that came to an end).

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Hey Cardinals, Are You There? Do You Even Care?

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Quick, what’s the first word that comes to mind when thinking of the 2014 Cardinals? Underachieving? Frustrating? What-the-hell-is-up-with-these-guys?

faceAll are accurate, but I’m going with frustrating. That’s the exact word used by my Giants fan pal at work when he saw me yesterday: “It must be frustrating to be a Cardinals fan these days,” he said as a form of greeting after his team took three of four.

Yep, it is frustrating.

And, yep, pity from a Giants fan.

Ugh.

Beyond that, though, it’s now been 19 innings since the Cardinals last scored a run, during the seventh inning of Oscar Day on Saturday. Of course, even the excitement of Oscar’s arrival and debut game home run seem long gone by now, with the malaise of back-to-back shutouts by the Giants and the Royals and an offense of seven total hits, 12 strikeouts and 11 left on base combined from those games.

Ho hum.

Hey, Cardinals, are you there? Do you guys even care?

I’ve been wondering that, both in watching these past two games and in reading a post from Scott Wuerz on his Cheap Seats Blog at the Belleville News-Democrat website, which begins like this:

I’m probably wrong. In fact, I hope I am wrong. But it just seems, from the outside looking in, that the St. Louis Cardinals have a bunch of guys on the roster who don’t really get all that excited about playing baseball.

I hadn’t really paid attention until the Arrival of Oscar Taveras, who smiled throughout his debut and seemed to be aware of the fact that he’s the life of the party. They go about their business and I’m not saying that they don’t work hard. But for too many of the Cardinals players it seems like it’s only business, no passion.

Accurate? Seems like it to me, just as a fan watching on TV. Wuerz probably has more insight, given he covers the team so is privy to more than what we see on television or from the stands at Busch. Continue reading →

Since A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words …

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Since we know the old saying “a picture is worth 1,000 words,” here’s a photograph to sum up last night’s Yankees 7-4 win over the Cardinals.

Photo: STLToday.com

Photo: STLToday.com

Shelby Miller allowed all 7 runs on 9 hits with 2 walks and a strikeout.

And he was sad.

For the Cardinals on offense, they had 13 hits — one more than the Yankees. They also left 13 on base and were 3 for 15 with runners in scoring position. Kolten Wong did go 4 for 5, however, and drove in a run in the 8th.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Cards had a chance as Allen Craig singled and Yadier Molina was walked by Yankees closer David Robertson. But then Jon Jay, pinch-hitter Matt Adams and Daniel Descalso each struck out. Yet, according to Mike Matheny in this article from Jenifer Langosch, that was all just fine.

“That’s really the story I want to leave this room with — these guys kept fighting,” Matheny said. “We had an opportunity there. I really admire the fact that these guys kept playing the game, kept taking good at-bats.”

Yay! Good at-bats — with three K’s in a row! Juice boxes for everyone!

The San Francisco Giants are in town tonight to start a four-game series at 7:15 p.m. If it seems like it’s been a while since the Cards played them, it has — their last games were almost exactly a year ago, with a doubleheader on June 1, 2013, that the Cardinals swept and a loss the next day in which Yadi had a memorable outburst.

A coworker is a Giants fan and he gave me this scouting report on the series: “It will be a split. The Giants are terrible on the road, but they have the best record in the majors.”

Yuck.

But, yes, the Giants are 34-19 and obviously in first place in the NL West. As for their road record, it’s 15-10 … so not exactly terrible. At least the Cards home record is now 15-9. Tonight’s pitching match-up is Ryan Vogelsong vs. Jaime Garcia.

Cardinals, It’s Been A While Since …

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The St. Louis Cardinals 5-2 victory last night over the Atlanta Braves was their third win in a row, and those five runs came on 13 hits. Offense. Yay!

Their record improves to 22-20. Woo hoo!

Thats a winner-LGIn this season that’s thus far been much mediocrity, it’s been a while since several things that occurred during the game happened previously.

Last time the Cards were two games over .500: April 27, when they were 14-12

Last time winning three in a row: April 13-15 (part of a four-game win streak, April 12-15)

Last time with 13 hits: May 7 in Atlanta, 7-1 win over Braves

Last time Kolten Wong started for the Cardinals: April 25

Last time Wong had two hits in a game: April 24

Last time Allen Craig had three hits in a game: April 30 (he had four)

Last time Peter Bourjos was ejected: never

Last time Mike Matheny was ejected: Sept. 7, 2013

Last time Lance Lynn won a game: April 19, when the Cardinals beat the Nationals 4-3

Last time Trevor Rosenthal faced just three batters in earning a save: April 25 in a 1-0 victory over Pittsburgh, his seventh save. Last night was number 12.

Positive progress all around, except for the ejections — and that’s all on on Sean Barber being ridiculous, so we’ll just let that go. Here’s to more positivity, though (and to umps just being umps).

The Braves and Cards are back at it again this afternoon at 1:15 p.m. Central Time, with the pitching a rematch from May 5: Aaron Harang vs. Shelby Miller. The same outcome, a Cardinals victory, would be great — and if it involves more hitting from Peter Bourjos, all the better. (Looking back at that post, glad things are a little more back to normal now … Thankfully Matheny has made progress on his managing as well.)

Trevor Rosenthal: 10 Saves The Hard Way

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Wins are wins, thus wins are always good, but Sunday night’s 6-5 Cardinals win over the Pirates was frustrating.

Sure, there were good points from the offense — taking a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning, Yadier Molina looking more like himself again at the plate with two hits and an RBI, the Cards scoring two more runs when really needed in the eighth (one courtesy of a Peter Bourjos RBI single in his first at-bat) — and, given the struggles with that part of the game this season, those were great to see.

TrevorRBut the pitching was a different story — just good enough, obviously, even Shelby Miller against the Pirates, and maybe I’m supposed to be content with that, get my sparkly pompoms ready for the homestand and move on. But I’m concerned about Trevor Rosenthal.

Yes, he’s 10 for 10 in save opportunities. Impossible to have a better success rate than that.

But earning those saves has rarely been easy, especially lately. The last time he faced just three batters in earning a save was on April 25 in a 1-0 victory against this same Pittsburgh team, the day Shelby Miller vanquished his demons and finally beat the Pirates — four appearances ago.

In two of Rosenthal’s three saves since then, obviously including last night, he’s allowed a run — meaning thankfully there was a two-run cushion in which he could work. A week ago today in Atlanta, as the Cardinals had a 4-3 lead, there was no cushion when he allowed a lead-off single and walk before getting Justin Upton on strikes for the final out.

Last night it certainly seemed like his allow-guys-to-get-on-base-but-still-get-the-job-done-despite-all-the-panic-that-ensues strategy was finally going to blow. Continue reading →

Look! In The Field! At The Plate! It’s Peter Bourjos!

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It’s been a curious season for Peter Bourjos, hasn’t it?

Bourjos8He entered spring training and began the year as the Cardinals starting centerfielder, which was all part of the plan when he was acquired from the Angels. But he struggled at the plate to begin the season, lost his starting job to Jon Jay and Randal Grichuk, and then subsequently was somehow supposed to break out of his offensive slump by pinch-hitting every few days.

When I read yesterday morning in Daniel’s post at C70 At The Bat that Bourjos was four for 10 against Aaron Harang — and with three of those hits being a double, triple and homer — I was hopeful he would actually start again for the first time since April 26. Just seemed to make sense, despite the lack of playing time Mike Matheny had been giving him. Plus Matheny had remembered Sunday night that Pete has a glove, inserting him as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning.

Yesterday afternoon, I read this from Joe Sheehan and found myself nodding my head throughout the entire piece — especially the section on Bourjos. While it didn’t make me feel any better about the way Matheny has been managing the 2014 Cardinals so far, it certainly helped me realize just how crazy his use of Bourjos (and Kolten Wong) has been … just in case I needed further clarification.

Then came the game in Atlanta. Continue reading →

Cardinals Haiku Wednesday: World Series Rematch

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Ah, Red Sox against Cardinals: the rematch.

Ugh.

2013 WSI’m not yet over the World Series — what about you? (Actually, I’m not yet over the 2004 World Series — what about you?)

Yet today’s schedule brings the Red Sox to Jupiter, which means that it’s not going to exactly be a lineup for Boston like we saw last October. (Hopefully that means less horrid facial hair.) Although looking at the Cardinals lineup, with Yadier Molina behind the plate for the first time this spring, seems to say “ooooh, this is serious.”

Or that Yadi’s tired of just hitting.

But, given that FOX Sports Midwest is bringing today’s game, you know Dan and Al will be on the THIS IS SERIOUS! bandwagon. Because they love nothing more than hyping things, don’t they? And, based on last weekend’s broadcasts, they also love telling us about everything we watched last October and have already moved on from, although they didn’t have the chance to tell us all about it in their hyped-up giddy way at the time so they have to remind us over and over now … and in April when real games start.

Anyway, poetry time.

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Day 3 At The Winter Warm-Up

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photo (9)The final day saw a much more calming presence at the 2014 Winter Warmup.  The frenzy was dialed down but the passion was there.  Players like Peter Bourjos, Sam Freeman, Michael Wacha and Mike Matheny spent time with the media while fans flocked to them for signatures, small moments and a picture or two.

Part of my job here is separating the fan side of my personality from the professional side and being contingent on getting enough quotes from them for a good story and catching a glimpse into the way their minds work.  The balance isn’t always easy and one time I was totally swept up in fan zone mania with….Seth Maness.  After his session I asked him about his ability to quickly induce double play balls making the other bullpen guys jealous.  He may have been on the verge of telling me a huge secret when suddenly I wouldn’t shut up.   My rookie status stays quiet for only so long.

Here are some images, bits of info, quotes and other things from Day 3 of the Winter Warmup.

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Sam Freeman expects to come into camp ready to compete for a spot in the bullpen.  “Executing pitches one pitch at a time and letting everything fall into place.   Control everything I have control over and keep it as simple as possible.  The competition is something Freeman hasn’t thought about.  “Go out there and perform to the best of my abilities.”  Freeman does have things he wants to improve on.  “Putting batters away.  There were times where I had two strikes and let the batter back into the count.”  When asked if he lets the situation of moving between Memphis and St. Louis creep into his pitching, Freeman simply said no.  “I just let it fly man.  Every time.”

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Wacha is a confident kid and he gives that aura off every time he speaks, even though he appears very humble.  Has he sat back and surveyed the world wind experience? “Yes. It was a heck of a run and gets me itching for it to get going again.”  In his mind, the goal is to go out and be perfect, not giving up any hits or runs.  Does he feel the pressure to top last year? “I wouldn’t say that.  I can’t pay much attention to that.  I have my own expectations for myself.  The main goal is try not to do too much. Same mentality going into this year.”

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My Cardinals 2014 Wish List

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As most everyone else does between Christmas and New Year’s Day, I’ve been thinking much about what I want to see in 2014. As the snow falls and the temps waver from low to high single digits, it’s only natural to think about spring … and baseball … and what I want to see from the Cardinals as the weather warms (both the temperature and my spirits!).

2014Taking a look back at last year’s New Year Wish List makes me wonder how much will change between now and October, but it’s fun to look ahead and wish, nonetheless.

So, as I watch the end of the college football season and look ahead to 365 days of new opportunities, here are 14 things I’m hoping to see from the 2014 Cardinals.

14. Visits to Busch, complete with a tour of Ballpark Village

We’ve been hearing about BPV for so long. This winter, watching the progress as it becomes a reality, has me yearning for the first opportunity to see it in person. (Like I need another excuse to visit the happiest place on earth!) The legacy that is St. Louis Cardinals baseball deserves a showplace worthy of its history, and here’s hoping the city does it up just right!

13. Chris Carpenter’s developing role

I know “front office guys” don’t usually show up in game recaps or headlines. But, I hope to hear what Carp is up to throughout the year. I mean, don’t you? Continue reading →