St. Louis Cardinals: That Wasn't in the Script

So the Cards take their two aces, throw them at a team with worse offensive production than they themselves have...and come out with a series loss?

Friday night, the pitching finally stumbled a little bit.  Joel Pineiro gave up four in four innings, and with an offense that is struggling as much as the Cardinal offense is, even with the return of Ryan Ludwick, that's just not something you can do.

You have to give Albert Pujols the nod for the Hero with two hits, though the bullpen as a whole did a solid job as well.

As I expected, the return of Ludwick coincided with Khalil Greene being placed on the DL with anxiety issues.  You hope that this means that Greene can get the help he needs and get back to being healthy in mind and body.  But you also have to wonder if we've seen the end of Khalil in a Cardinals uniform. 

Do you think that a month off would help him?  I don't.  I don't know what kind of medications or other treatments are out there and how quickly they work, but I really would be surprised to see him play again for the Redbirds.

Saturday was, again, the Albert Pujols show.  Two home runs, though distressingly they were still solo shots.  The offense in general did show signs of stirring, pounding out 15 hits and, yes, six runs.

Skip Schumaker had a solid night as well, with three hits and two RBI. Chris Carpenter had a pretty good outing for normal people, though two runs in six innings is a rocky outing for a guy that hadn't given up an earned run all year.

The two outfielders, Ludwick and Rick Ankiel, are definitely still rusty. Ankiel especially, with three strikeouts and two left on base.  Ludwick at least was able to scratch out a single, though he did strand five.

Then again, these guys weren't exactly lighting it up before they got hurt either, so it's probably not a big surprise they didn't roll off the DL with a three hit game.

Sunday, you had to feel going into it that the Cards had the advantage and, when you stake the Adam Wainwright that's been pitching lately to a 3-1 lead, you'd think it's all over but the shouting. However, that was not the case.

You could easily have a weekend sweep and give the Hero award to Pujols again for a three hit day, but to spice it up a little let's award it to Brendan Ryan, who also had three hits and scored two of the Cardinals' three runs. 

On the flip side, you have to give it to Wainwright, especially for that tie-breaking home run to Rich Aurilia.  Dennys Reyes made a bid as well, allowing two hits and a run without getting anyone out.

So what's the best news to come out of this weekend?  In my book, it's the fact that Kyle Lohse will likely make his start tomorrow night.  Because that means that Brad Thompson won't be.  It's possible that the fact that Thompson, who has sat for about two and a half weeks now, would be perfectly fine to start the game.

Odds are, though, that layoff wouldn't do anything to improve his already shaky pitching.  There's a reason he's not pitched in so long—the Cardinals have been in close games.  Which shows where Thompson ranks in the pecking order and the faith the coaching staff has in him, if you ask me.

Also in the Post-Dispatch today, the Cardinals are in on one of the top prospects from Latin America. The expenses in developing a Latin pipeline aren't necessarily seen by the public, but have to be taken into account when you start hearing about people griping about cheap ownership.

Even this news, though, doesn't satisfy some people in the "win now" mindset, as they complain this money could be better spent bringing in current talent.  You have to take the long view if you plan to be competitive for more than a season or two, though.

More links: Rick Sutcliffe makes the case for Dave Duncan being selected for Cooperstown and today, instead of Wednesday, Joe Strauss holds his weekly chat.

Tonight, the Cardinals take on the Reds.  The pot was stirred a little bit recently as Jay Bruce said they were going on the road and coming back in first place.  A little youthful exuberance there, perhaps, but the Reds are a solid team. 

They sit 3.5 back of Milwaukee, so it's possible they'd get into first after the four game set with the Cards, but I don't expect that'll happen.  Still, the Reds have a good offense and a solid pitching staff, so they could give St. Louis fits this week unless the Redbird offense gets going.

Edinson Volquez comes off the disabled list tonight to take the hill for Cincinnati.  The Cardinals, historically, have had troubles with the Reds ace.  Pujols is hitting .333 with two homers against him and Schumaker has a .375 mark, but the team as a whole is just hitting .209 against Volquez.

That's a huge number, though, compared to what Cincy is hitting against Todd Wellemeyer, the Cardinal starter. The Reds are hitting just .150 against the Colonel, with Bruce and Paul Janish the only people that have gone yard against him.  Hopefully Wellemeyer channels this tonight.  If so, it'll likely be a low-scoring affair.

My wife is an Ohio girl and her dad is a huge Reds fan, so we always enjoy when the two teams get together.  Should be a fun week!