We Are All Witnesses

I don't think of Albert Pujols as a home run hitter.  I mean, obviously he can hit home runs, that's never been in doubt.  However, in my mind he's a 35-40 home run guy, which is very good power, don't get me wrong, but being that he is such an all around hitter with average, RBI, etc., the home runs don't stand out the way they do on, say, Ryan Howard.  I mean, Ted Williams had 521 homers, but power isn't the first thing that comes to mind with him.

Albert may be changing that perception somewhat this year, and not by losing anything, but by hitting so many home runs that you have to sit up and take notice.  Two more last night, off of a Hall of Famer-to-be, even, pushed him to 30 before the calendar changed to July.  Thirty by the end of June!  We've already gotten to one-third of the marks Cardinal fans watch on him.  

Everyone knows by now that he's the only one to start a season with so many consecutive years of .300, 30 HR and 100 RBI.  Some years, he's needed a little kick to get there (as in 2007, when he finished with "just" 103 RBI), but he's always gotten there.  Now, he might get there by the All-Star Break.

That's assuming, of course, that anyone else could get on for him to drive in.  After his three-RBI night, he stands at 77.  Again, though, the Cardinals only scored when Albert was in the middle of it.  There were signs of hope, though, as the Cardinals almost looked like they were going to rally from a five-run deficit for the first time this year.  The double play by Tyler Greene in the sixth really broke the back of the rally, though.  

Even a sac fly in that situation would have been nice, and it would have put the team one step closer to rolling over the lineup again to have Pujols up in the ninth.

Greene's double play gets Chris Carpenter off the hook for the Goat tag, but you know things are going wrong when Carp gives up six runs.  As the Post-Dispatch story said, it's not like he was necessarily hit around the yard, but the flares weren't spread out enough and it led to runs.  You'd like to think it was just an off-night; we'll see what happens when Carpenter takes the mound again against the Reds this weekend.

In what was hopefully a positive development, it was good to see Ryan Ludwick hitting the ball well.  Two extra-base hits, including a triple that was just a foot away from leaving the ballpark.  If he can start getting rolling, maybe that'll help the offense put together some sustained rallies.

Hopefully Ludwick won't be forced to step up to replace Mark DeRosa, but apparently that's a possibility, as DeRosa is feeling pain in his wrist.  DeRosa, who has run his hitless streak with the Cardinals to nine at-bats, tweaked it on a swing and will have it examined today.  You have to hope that it's nothing serious, but wrist injuries are a difficult thing.  

If he goes down for any length of time, you know John Mozeliak's going to be feeling snake bit.  Not pressure, because it's one of those things, but his last two trades are DeRosa and Khalil Greene, and we know how Greene has turned out so far this year.

Rick Ankiel had himself a rough night, didn't he?  He seemed to misplay a drive over his head that allowed a run to score, then threw to an uncovered base, allowing another run in.  Add to that an 0-2 and, well, not one you want to put in the scrapbook.

It doesn't get much easier for the Cardinals tonight.  Matt Cain goes for the Giants against Adam Wainwright in a game that can be seen on ESPN.  While Cain's numbers against the Cardinals aren't that impressive, a lot of that comes from the beating St. Louis put on him last year.  Cain faced the Cardinals earlier this year and allowed two runs (one earned) in six and a third.  On the plus side, DeRosa doesn't hit him so it's a good night for him to be sitting.

Wainwright, who hit his first major league home run in San Francisco, didn't have as much success in his first outing against the Giants this year.  He allowed four runs in seven innings as the Cards took the loss.  Historically, the Giants have been tough on him as well, but no home runs allowed at least.

So it should be a good game. If nothing else, you have to tune in to see just what Albert is going to do tonight.