Cardinals-Astros: Mistake Dooms St. Louis in Houston

It's like I never left.

Even as out of the loop as I've been, last night's Cardinals vs. Astros game was a pretty familiar tune. Good pitching, not enough offense, and a tough Cardinal loss. 

Of course, if the Cards had been playing in a real ballpark, it might have been a rout. Albert Pujols hit a couple of balls that might have been homers in some yards, and Ryan Ludwick hit one that would have cleared all fences, save Minute Maid's center.

The hero of the night award goes to Yadier Molina for driving in both runs for the Redbirds.

While we are talking positives, Kyle Lohse had a good game (save the walk to Lance Berkman, and the homer to Carlos Lee), and it was great to see Rick Ankiel get two hits. We'll have to wait and see if it was a temporary blip or the start of a resurgence, but it was good no matter which way it turns out.

I'm going to give the goat award to Nick Stavinoha, mainly for not getting on base in front of Pujols. I don't know that it would have made any difference, but having runners on with AP up definitely doesn't hurt the offense any.

According to MLBTradeRumors.com, the four teams "kicking the tires" on Roy Halladay are the Phillies, the Brewers, the Dodgers, and the Giants. I don't see the Dodgers or Giants going all-out to get Halladay, since their pitching isn't at all an issue. The Phillies are probably pretty serious, though apparently they also have their eye on Cliff Lee.

While there is no guarantee that Toronto would move Halladay, do we really want a repeat of last year, and have the Brewers land him? Not only that, but to also have him for all of 2010 as well? I don't know how serious their pursuit of him would be, but it has to be something that John Mozeliak thinks about.

The opportunity to have three dominant starters on a staff, coupled with a resurgent Joel Pineiro and a solid Kyle Lohse, is one of those very rare opportunities to turn your team into a top team for not just a couple of months, but for another year as well. These kind of opportunities don't come along every day.

Troy Glaus got some outfield time last night. Apparently the throwing motion from the outfield is more conducive to what his arm can handle right now. Reading through the story makes me wonder if it is going to be worth it. 

Glaus seems to be confident enough in his offense, which would be good, but how many guys are going to score from second or take extra bases on him? Still, if nothing else, he won't have to do much to improve the offense of the team.

Apparently Joe Strauss indicated on the radio that the Cardinals are interested in Adam Dunn. Dunn would be under contract for next year as well and, while the strikeouts might get a little frustrating, a .265 hitter with 24 home runs would look very nice behind Pujols. 

I don't know what it'd take to get him, and I'd still rather have Halladay, but I believe Dunn would definitely fit in the Cardinal plan.

Todd Wellemeyer goes to the mound tonight, in what may be a job-saving outing. When the most ringing endorsement is that you are the best option right now, that doesn't necessarily bode well for you. 

Wellemeyer has had some success against Houston in the past,though Berkman and Lee have had their way with him. There's a good chance there are going to be more than three runs allowed tonight.

Wandy Rodriguez goes for the 'Stros. Rodriguez has been tough on the Cardinals in the past, and has really come into his own this year. The Cardinals did beat him in his only outing against St. Louis this year, as he allowed three runs in six innings, but that was back in April, when the Cards were beating everyone, and scoring at a much higher rate. 

Pujols has struggled against him, but Mark DeRosa's done OK, and Chris Duncan is hitting .333 against Rodriguez...so you'll probably see an outfield of Duncan, Colby Rasmus, and Ryan Ludwick tonight.