Exasperating=Cardinals

Definition: to irritate or provoke to a high degree; annoy extremely

See: St. Louis Cardinals, 2010

It's like it's become a baseball version of Phineas and Ferb.  "Hey, Ferb, I know how we are going to play frustrating baseball today!"  (Side note: That's actually on right, and I'm going to watch it with my daughter once I'm finished rambling.)  There are nights that the offense doesn't show up.  Then the offense shows up, but the pitching goes to pot.  If they both work, that probably means the bullpen doesn't function.

It's never a blowout and it's never easy.  I'd guess that fully 65% or more of the Cardinal games this year have had the chance of being tied in the ninth by one team or another.  You can't point a finger just at one thing.  It's possibly the most frustrating season the Cards have had in a long time, causing many fans to just hit their top level of exasperation.

Last night was no exception.  First off, incredible kudos to Albert Pujols on reaching such an amazing milestone.  400 home runs earlier (in age) than anyone but Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez?  That's some strong company.  When there's been talk of AP breaking the all-time home run record, I've been a bit skeptical.  Sure, he puts up a lot of homers, but he's not a guy that tends to go out and have seasons of 50 or more. He's such a great all-around hitter that I figured he'd put up a high total, but not really challenge.  I don't think of him as a home-run hitter, just a great hitter that hits some home runs.

When you get to 400 this early in a career, though, you have to start thinking about it.  Albert still has a lot of prime years left and, barring injury, he could break the club home run record (assuming he resigns with St. Louis) in 2012 if not before, reaching the 500 milestone in 2013.  It wouldn't take a Bonds-like suspicious surge to put him within reach of the mark.  It might even be appropriate, since Hank Aaron was a solid home run hitter who didn't put up huge seasons but consistent ones, just like AP.

Besides that, there were a few positives.  Randy Winn had an exceptional game and really should have been discussed as the major contributor toward a win.  I honestly thought he had rapped into a double play in the ninth with the bases loaded, but he was able to hit the ball out of the shortstop's reach to plate the two runs that should have assured the win.  Four hits, including one in the twelfth which, coupled with a stolen base, put him at second with no outs, but he didn't sadly didn't move off of that spot.

Brendan Ryan did fairly well also after being inserted in the fourth.  Only one hit, but some spectacular defense.  That play in the 12th saved the game for a while, but really was incredible.  If that wasn't the top play on Web Gems last night, there's no justice in this world.

On the pitching side, Fernando Salas had another excellent game.  He ran into a bit of trouble with a couple of walks in his second inning, but was able to get out of that jam.  I think Salas has proven his worth and probably won't see Memphis again, whether this year or next.

Other than that, though, there were a lot of disappointments.  While he didn't get a lot of help from his defense, Chris Carpenter usually pitches better than that.  You can't really think that he had a lack of focus or a let down because Washington was a last place team--we've seen him be too much of a competitor for that.  Maybe he wasn't comfortable for one reason or another or maybe it was just a flat game, but it came at possibly the worst time.

Felipe Lopez....well, if the one game he made two errors at third was enough to make the team trade for Pedro Feliz, this game was probably enough to keep him off of shortstop for a long while.  I can semi-understand Tony La Russa's reasoning of not wanting to put Brendan Ryan into a tailspin again, but I think that might be underestimating Ryan a bit.  Knowing that Carpenter has requested Ryan in the past to play behind him, that could have been part of Carp's discomfort.

However, it's pretty much all moot if Ryan Franklin can hold a lead.  I know it was his second inning of work, but looking at the lineup the Nationals sent up in the ninth, he should have been able to close the door.  Besides, he hadn't pitched since Saturday, so he shouldn't have been that tired after one inning.  (Interestingly, Franklin hadn't--and still hasn't--pitched in a save situation since locking down his 21st on August 13.  Which means there hasn't been any situations since then, which seems to me to be a long streak, if it means anything.)

In a game that hard-fought, you just can't afford to give that lead back up, but Franklin did.  Adding just another layer to the exasperating season.  And that doesn't even take into account the fact that they slipped another half-game behind the Reds, but I'm not talking about the pennant race anymore, am I?

By the way, I heard TLR's reasoning for not sending up Bryan Anderson in the 12th, instead using Adam Wainwright, but I'm not completely convinced.  I understand that he thought Doug Slaten would dominate Anderson since he's tough on lefties, but I think you still have to take your shot there.  Your pitching staff is getting depleted, your star is out there on one leg, you take your chance.  If you have to, put Anderson behind the plate, Yadier Molina at first and take Pujols out, because of the injury and they weren't going to ever pitch to him in any situation save bases loaded in that game anyway.  If Matt Holliday hadn't been hit on the hand, this wouldn't have been an issue, but it was way too reminiscent of the April 20-inning game vs. the Mets. 

We'll see if tonight's game is any less frustrating.  Jaime Garcia hasn't faced Washington this year, which is good for him, most likely.  He's coming off the shutout, so he can't do better than he did last time out, but if he can do somewhere in the neighborhood, hopefully the offense that was around last night will back him up.  Scott Olsen goes for the Nats.  A lefty with a 5+ ERA.....yeah, this is going to end well.

If you'd like to see if this season was preordained or just remarkably frustrating, Out of the Park Baseball, a computer simulation game that has been around a while, is going to be half price this weekend.  OOTP is an incredible game and well-worth the $20 that you'd spend on it.  Download it and see what would have happened if David Freese had been healthy all year, if Brad Penny hadn't strained his side, if Ryan Ludwick never got traded.  You'll have a blast, I promise.

More than watching the real team can be at times, at least!