Let The Offense Come Forth

Here we go now!

The Cardinal offense, which had been dormant for weeks now, finally broke through the barriers in Milwaukee last night, totaling 8 runs in getting the Brewer monkey off of their back.  To put it in perspective, that's more than the Cards had scored in the last three games combined.  Since the last time they'd put six on the scoreboard, the Cards had 34 runs.  The problem was, that was over 13 games, a tidy 2.6 runs a game.  So having the bats break out with four homers last night was a huge relief.

It's nice to have the problem of trying to figure out just who should be the Hero.  Normally, I'd go with Adam Wainwright, because I'm a huge pitching guy and he continued the amazing run of starts last night.  The starters are just plowing through people right now.  When you can go eight games and your combined ERA from that group is under one, you are doing something right.

Still, the offense was the story last night, so the Hero should come from that group.  There were a lot of unlikely heroes to choose from.  Joe Thurston went two for three with three runs scored.  Colby Rasmus went two for five with a home run and a double.  Chris Duncan had two hits, including the home run that pushed the Cards over the six-run barrier.  Skip Schumaker, who actually has been hitting, continued with a three hit night.

However, for getting his first home run, in a spot where it gave the Cardinals an early lead, the Hero tag goes to Nick Stavinoha.  He may not be up much longer (more on that in a bit) but he's started to show he can be an asset at this level.

Not a lot to choose from for the Goat.  In fact, it's pretty obvious it has to be Yadier Molina.  0-4 with three left on, not including a double play in his last AB.  Yadi just doesn't seem comfortable in the four hole in the lineup.  We'll see if he gets more time there this week, though today's game should be the last without Ryan Ludwick, who should slide into that role on his return.

News on the injury front.  First off, John Mozeliak has come out and said what I and a lot of observers have been saying for a while, that the chance of Troy Glaus returning this season is not good.  Apparently they aren't hearing any more than we outside the organization are, which really doesn't bode well.  It's a good sign that Mozeliak is at least willing to write him off sooner than some of the rehab cases in the past.  Sure, it'd be nice to have him back, but you can't wait.  This offense needs a boost from third base, whether it's a trade or it's the promotion of Brett Wallace in a month or so.

The second bit of news is that Kyle Lohse has been scratched from his next start.  The pitch that Ron Mahay hit him with in Saturday's game is still causing him some problems.  Short-term, it doesn't cause too many problems for the Cards.  With an off-day tomorrow, everyone can just move up in the rotation and stay on their regular rest.  Joel Pineiro will take Friday's game and then Chris Carpenter and Wainwright will finish up the San Francisco series. 

(Using Carp and Waino both in the Giants series might be like using a sledgehammer on an ant, since San Fran sits dead last in the NL in runs as it is.  Of course, they've scored 17 more runs than the Cards have in May, so it could be another pitching series.)

Long-term, if Lohse can't take his turn in the rotation against Cincinnati, the team would likely place him on the DL (retroactive to the 24th) and promote someone, likely Mitchell Boggs.  Though I'd like to see them finally give Blake Hawksworth a shot, since he's having a fairly decent year in Memphis.  I don't expect a lot out of him, but it'd be great to see him at least get one game in the bigs.

The first update of All-Star voting was released and Albert Pujols and Molina are leading the pack, with AP the leading vote getter at the moment.  A lot of Cardinals and Brewers in the top five at each position, but I believe that has something to do with the number of home games they had, figuring that most of the fans vote a straight home team ticket.  About the only explanation for Skip being third among second basemen.

A Facebook friend of mine highlighted these links last night and I really enjoyed seeing Ozzie Smith talk a little about his career and then get out there and give some fielding instruction.  Segments like this are why I really miss not having the MLB Network.  Having the in-depth coverage of the game would be so great to watch.

Cards have an afternoon game against the Brewers this afternoon as they try and keep the bats active.  Todd Wellemeyer had an outstanding performance last time out.  Before anyone starts thinking that he's turned a corner or is back to being Todd Wellemeyer, check out his game log.  He's thrown three good games this season, two of them back to back. In other words, it's a little premature to think he's got it figured out.

Going up against the Brewers today isn't necessarily going to help.  He's limited the damage on a whole to the team in his career, but Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun can give him nightmares.  Fielder has hit .364 against him while Braun is hitting .700--yes, .700!--against him with a home run.  (Seven for 10, if you are wondering.)  If he can manage those threats, he could be on his way.  The Brew Crew got him for five runs in four and two thirds earlier in the year, when Wellemeyer walked 7.  If nothing else, his control should be better today.  The biggest key with Wellemeyer--the first couple of innings.  If he can get into the third with a run or less given up, he's in line for a good day.

The Cardinals get to face Manny Parra this afternoon.  During his career, he's given up a lot of hits to St. Louis.  The team is hitting a whopping .329 against him.  However, save for Pujols going deep, he's kept the Cards in the park.  As long as they can get their hits, though, they might be able to put up some runs against him.  They weren't able to last time, as he only allowed two runs in six innings.

Remember tonight is UCB Radio Hour with author Rob Rains!  Mike from Stan Musial's Stance and I will talk to him to kick off the show, then we'll talk Cardinal baseball afterwards.  Give us a call between 9:30 and 10:30 Central at 646-929-1758!