The Bullpen Had A Rough Night, But …

Yes, things got a little ugly from the bullpen last night — unexpectedly rough performances from Mitch Harris and Seth Maness in particular as the Detroit Tigers ended up beating up on the Cardinals by a final score of 10-4. I will admit I turned the game off in the top of the ninth inning (although that was also because I had to be up very early this morning more than anything).

MediaWiki_Emoticons_StareA quick check of social media last night and this morning shows that — as expected — there was great furor from many Cardinals fans over the eight runs allowed once starter Carlos Martinez pitched five innings and allowed two runs.

However …

Last night was one game, and the Cardinals still have the best record in the majors. They’ve played 35 games now, with that being only the 11th time they’ve lost.

I’ll put my sparkly pom-poms away now and take a look at some numbers instead.

Even with last night, the Cardinals still have the best team ERA in baseball.

Overall ERA

They have the best starter ERA in baseball.

StarterERA

And, while yesterday at this time they had the best reliever ERA in baseball at 1.90 or something similar, they didn’t fallĀ thatĀ far based on one bad night.

Reliever ERA

Plus, since every day is a new day in baseball, the bullpen disaster can be all forgotten starting at 1:15 p.m. when the Cards and Tigers are back at it again. Sure, a starter match-up of David Price vs. Tyler Lyons might make you cringe a little bit — but that’s why they play the games.

 

Catching Up With The Cardinals: December Edition

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