A Painful Night In Pittsburgh

Losing by six to the worst team in the division is bad enough.  Losing your second-biggest bat is beyond icing on the cake.

Losing Ryan Ludwick to the DL, which hasn't happened yet but is a strong possibility, could be that proverbial straw.  Rick Ankiel is still a few days from returning and he'd have to step up his production anyway to cover Ludwick.  Will Albert Pujols see any pitches to hit for a while?  The offensive burden is going to really come down on Chris Duncan and, honestly, Colby Rasmus.

It was almost predictable, though, that this apparent surplus of outfielders the Cardinals had was going to be tested.  As the PD story notes, there's no obvious move to make.  You'd think Jon Jay would likely get a call, but he's been struggling, as has most everyone else that would make the jump.

Of course, you want to get real creative?  Why not think about Brett Wallace?

He's hitting .283 with five homers down in Springfield.  He hasn't hit any long balls in May, but his average is right in the .270 range.  I think the chances that Troy Glaus returns this year are getting slimmer by the day.  Let's see what we have with Wallace.

I know it's not going to happen, due to 40-man rules and arbitration thinking, but everything written about Wallace is that he could hit in the majors now.  The Cards have already had plenty of defensive problems, so it's not like he'd necessarily be the weakest link there either.  Anyway, just tossing it out there.

Last night's hero has to be Albert Pujols, of course, for being responsible for the only Cardinal run.  The Goat is Todd Wellemeyer, for being responsible for all seven of the Pirates' tallies.

Has it come to the point where we just can't trust Wellemeyer anymore?  Every time he has a strong outing and it looks like he's turned the corner, something like this happens.  To me, there's some concern with the pitcher says that "they hit good pitches" and the manager says "they were right down the middle of the plate."  Someone needs to get their eyes or perceptions checked, and the way Pittsburgh was going at it last night, it's not the manager.

Positive news for the rotation, though, comes from the fact that Chris Carpenter threw off the mound yesterday and everything went very well.  It sounds like the rotation is going to be moved around and he'll pitch May 23, which would be great from the United Cardinal Bloggers' standpoint, since that's the date of our next project, but I'd still like to see him go against the Cubs earlier in the homestand.

The Cards try to get back on the winning track against the Pirates tonight.  Joel Pineiro goes up against Ross Ohlendorf.  Just the mention of that name probably makes Pujols's back twinge.  Let's see if maybe he can keep it over the plate tonight.  The Cardinal trainers are dealing with a lot of bruises this year, aren't they?

UCB Radio Hour is back tonight at 9:30.  Our professional hosts are back, so you don't have to listen to me stammer around.  Feel free to call in and slam my Wallace idea!