Tag Archives: Mitchell Boggs

Catching Up With the Cardinals, Current and Former Edition

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With spring training games under way (Michael Wacha today — yay!) plus the opportunity to get a look at the newest Cardinals, it also means we have the chance to see those who’ve moved on to other teams.

Yep, it still feels weird.

Freese-angels

Photo: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

I had the chance to see the highlight of David Freese’s first Angels spring at-bat on MLB Network on Friday. Since he was in red, that wasn’t too jarring — but seeing the 6 on his back is definitely different. The result of a ground-out? Well, yeah, we’ve seen that before. Not that spring results matter, especially at-bats in the first game.

Here’s an article on Freeser from the Los Angeles Times and his perspective on leaving his hometown team. And, though the pic above is not from the Times article, he looks a little awkward … although we should probably be thankful the photo is not as awkward as all the Angels photos this year have been.

Skip+Schumaker+Cincinnati+Reds+Photo+Day+h7Koaytz7xJlSpeaking of awkward former Cardinals photos, thanks to Kelly for passing this one of Skip Schumaker along. Well, “thanks” meaning “ugh, yeah, we’ll share the pain of this with you.”

Because, yeah, it is nice to see Skip in red again … sure, but not that red.

And apparently Reds writers feel the same way, saying that Skip spent eight years with the “much-despised Cardinals.” Although isn’t Hal McCoy the one who wrote the article with the infamous and idiotic Brandon Phillips quotes back in 2010? And Phillips and “that” whole thing is referenced in here, as well as in this article from the Reds MLB.com site, as Skip calls him the “best second baseman in the big leagues.”

Ouch.

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Sixth Cardinals Win A Fitting Tribute To No. Six

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What better way for the St. Louis Cardinals to honor Stan Musial than with six hits and their sixth win on the night to honor No. 6? Perhaps there was one thing better: the pitching of Shelby Miller. The future of the Cardinals definitely triumphed over past Cardinal Kyle Lohse as the Redbirds beat the Milwaukee Brewers 2-0.

5168e5ba790b4.preview-620Beyond the game, the pregame tribute to honor Stan and the No. 6 in the outfield grass were pretty amazing as well.

Here’s a look at the good, better and best of the game.

Good

Let’s start at the end. On a night when pitching ended up the story, it was good to see Mitchell Boggs get his second save of the season. It was neither pretty nor easy as he gave up both a walk and a single with one out and had to face Ryan Braun as the potential go-ahead run. But Boggs struck him out for the second out, then Rickie Weeks for the final out. Whew …

Also good to see: Trevor Rosenthal with three quick outs in the eighth.

It was good as well to see Kyle Lohse do well in his return to Busch Stadium. The fans gave him a very nice, mostly standing ovation. And his final numbers in the loss — two runs, six hits, two strikeouts, no walks — would have pleased us all during his Cardinal days. Continue reading →

Cardinal Love Letter: The Pitching Staff

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Dear guys,

Now that the Super Bowl is over, next up — finally — is baseball. It’s just over a week now until you’ll all be in Jupiter, Fla., with Yadi and Tony Cruz and the minor league catchers and the St. Louis Cardinals will finally start moving toward the 2013 season.

Ah … Last October seems like forever ago, so it’s good that our countdown is in the single digits.

As if that alone isn’t enough to get me excited, the season preview articles I’ve read in the past couple days just up my admiration for you collectively all the more. There was this in USA Today last week, “Healthy staff generates optimism in St. Louis,” and a Yahoo Sports preview too. And Jenifer Langosch wrote the “Cardinals boast remarkable depth in rotation,” which of course doesn’t mention all of you in the bullpen who also are a strength of the team.

Pitching, and pitchers, have fascinated me for years, going back to my own very brief and ill-fated softball pitching career. Because you don’t realize, or at least I didn’t, the power the pitcher has over controlling the game. The pace, the momentum, the outcome — it’s all right there, resting on you and when you decide to throw that ball and set the next play in motion.

(And when you walk batter after batter after batter, and your coach ignores your frantic glances to the dugout as you internally plead for him to take you out of the game, so you keep walking batter after batter … well, it stays with you for a very long time. Obviously. Plus, way back in 2000, my own experience made me want to hug Rick Ankiel. And, more recently, made me feel sorry for Ryan Franklin. But enough of that …)

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Clutch Carp Does It Again: Cards Win In Ten

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Mr. Baker, meet Mr. Carpenter, a.k.a. Mr. Clutch 2012.

For the second time in as many games, Matt Carpenter, who made the roster as a bench player, gave the Cardinals a win, this time in walk-off fashion against the Reds. Oh yeah, in his first at bat of the game … in the 10th inning. Cards win it 2-1 in their first extra inning game of the year.

At this rate, a "Mini-Carp" autograph is going to be worth a fortune by October!

I suppose this is where I invoke the “small sample size” rule in order to curb my enthusiasm about young Matt Carpenter’s swell start. But, I really am impressed with the way this kid is playing right now. I mean, when Lance Berkman was out for a few games, there were plenty of worried glances around Cardinal Nation. But “Mini-Carp” showed no fear. And after starting the night back on the bench, he made good on his bases-loaded, one-out opportunity to end Tuesday’s standoff, grabbing his 10th RBI in the process. That ties him for second, behind David Freese.

Most importantly, though, Cardinals win. With all these division games in the first month, every win is exceptionally important!

Here’s a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly from Tuesday night’s battle.

The Good

Kyle Lohse. The guy is doin’ work. He finished the day with seven innings pitched, and no runs on four hits. That means through 20 1/3 innings, he’s given up two runs. How much of a relief will it be if he keeps this up?! Especially with Chris Carpenter out and Adam Wainwright still finding his way back to form, Lohse seems to be the go-to guy. *Knock on wood*

Carlos Beltran. When he’s on, he’s really, really on. And I’d say early on, he’s locked and loaded. He blasted his fourth home run of the year to put the Cardinals ahead early. That 1-0 lead would hold up until a few unfortunate bobbles allowed the Reds to score in the eighth inning.

Matt Carpenter is an obvious pick. But also, Tyler Greene. No, he didn’t have the chance to play defense or swing the bat. He just did what he does best — RUN! He replaced David Freese in the 10th inning and raced home to score the winning run on Matty Carp’s sac fly.

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