Cardinal pitching

[gus_dog]

A lot will be made about the injury to Pujols (and that is a big deal), but I believe the real key to the Cardinals staying closer to the pack this year is their pitching, or rather, the lack thereof.

 

Their bullpen is not nearly as good this year as it has been the past few, and clearly, Isringhausen's skills have declined.

 

They'll still finish ahead of the Cubbies, IMO, but I don't think they'll be running away and hiding this year.

 

Actually, now that the Reds are showing some mettle, I don't see them running away with it either.

[windows]

The offense has some needs. It's really only a slightly better than average offense, even with Pujols.

 

I agree that pitching is an issue. At the beginning of the season, Wainwright and Thompson were outstanding. Looper had a good stretch. That made the bullpen look better than it was.

 

But I think the biggest weakness is in the starting staff. Marquis should be a lot better than he is. Suppan is very average. Mulder is an enigma. And I'd be very surprised if Ponson is very effective through a full season.

 

The Reds have pitching needs, but they have more they can trade to acquire pitching as well. They have young players that other teams would actually want and that can be traded to get the pitching they need.

 

Maybe it's just me having a strong dislike for the Cardinals, but I think they're in a bit of trouble right now.

[DanzaSlap]

Maybe it's just me having a strong dislike for the Cardinals, but I think they're in a bit of trouble right now.

 

I have a strong love for the Cardinals, and I totally agree. Looking at it realisitcally, this team is clearly worse than last years team, and far worse than the '04 team, neither of which were good enough to win the World Series. I'm not giving up on them just yet, but there are major needs, and, in my opinion, too many holes to be filled.

 

We need another power bat, we need another reliable starter (which could be Ponson or Mulder, I'm honestly not sure which of those two is better right now... and that's kinda sad, actually), and we could probably use another arm in the bullpen. Can Jocketty do it? I have faith.

 

My biggest hope is that the Cards have to chase someone down for a playoff spot, win the spot, then enter the playoffs with some momentum. The last couple years, coasting in hasn't helped. Hopefully, having to work until the final weeks will keep them sharp. That's the only silver lining I can see right now in a very, very dark cloud.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I'm not ready to proclaim that Izzy is done (I tried that with Clemens a few years ago), but he doesn't look to be an effective reliever at all. Sure, he's got 18 saves, but that WHIP is too close to 2.

[windows]

Most closers are successful by having particularly "nasty" pitches. Izzy has a decent fastball and a filthy curve. That's why he's a closer and a finesse guy like Brad Thompson is a middle reliever.

 

For Izzy to be successful, he's got to have good stuff and come right after hitters. And when he does, he generally gets outs. Sure, he gives up a few hits, but that's okay when you come right after hitters.

 

Izzy has two major problems. One is that he's not as resilient as other closers. You can't pitch him three days in a row and expect him to be successful. His other problem is a confidence issue. More often than not, he doesn't go right after hitters. This is particularly true if he gives up a hit. He looks like a different pitcher with runners on base. Izzy has good stuff but he's not a control pitcher. He's not going to regularly hit the corners like finesse pitchers. And when he's not going right after hitters, he gets into jams and starts walking batters. He's managed to get out of a lot of those situations, but his luck ran out against Griffey.

 

And I really think if he doesn't get his confidence issue worked out and if he doesn't get more rest, he's going to continue to struggle. But if he's used a little more sparingly and he regains the confidence to go right after hitters, he will be effective.

 

When Izzy is hitting 94 mph regularly with his fastball and has good command of his curveball, he's still one of the best closers in baseball.

[DanzaSlap]

Izzy's problems, as far as I can tell (with my very limited baseball knowledge), seem to be totally in his head. He's falling behind batters too often, then he seems to press, and starts throwing ball after ball. This is a real problem. He's got time to get this worked out, but the problem with confidence is that it becomes a perpetual cycle -- until he starts getting outs, he won't have confidence, but he won't have confidence until he gets outs. Damn Catch-22s. If Izzy can't get his stuff together, the Cards are screwed. He's a pivotal piece of the puzzle. Without him, we're screwed.

[astrosfan34]

I still think that the Cardinals will win the division this year. I don't think the Reds will hold, and unless the Astros find a bat their only chance will be wild card, and they'd be lucky to get that.

[gus_dog]

I just think Isringhausen is on the down side of his career. A pretty good career, but past his prime nonetheless. Don't get me wrong, he's still got some decent years left in him, but he's no longer the closer hes was a few years ago. He'll probably move to middle relief. They should be looking for a front-line closer real soon.

 

The middle relievers for Saint Louis aren't real good. Not real bad - kind of average, IMO, and that, plus declining Isringhausen is going to cost them games that they normally have won in 2004-05.

 

JMO.

[Catman61]

The middle relievers for Saint Louis aren't real good. Not real bad - kind of average, IMO.

 

St Louis pen

lowest WHIP in NL

lowest BAA in NL

lowest OPSA in NL

3rd best ERA in NL

 

not bad for "aren't real good. Not real bad - kind of average"

 

 

btw the WHIP, BAA and OPS are all lower than last year's pen and the ERA is just .05 higher.

[gus_dog]

The middle relievers for Saint Louis aren't real good. Not real bad - kind of average, IMO.

 

St Louis pen

lowest WHIP in NL

lowest BAA in NL

lowest OPSA in NL

3rd best ERA in NL

 

not bad for "aren't real good. Not real bad - kind of average"

 

 

btw the WHIP, BAA and OPS are all lower than last year's pen and the ERA is just .05 higher.

 

Wow :shock:

 

My comments were made based on watching them throw (about eight or nine games) this season. They have not been real impressive in the games I watched.

 

I am very surprised to see those statistics in direct opposition to those observations.

 

Not bad, indeed.

[EastonBlues22]

It's the inherited runners that have been the real problem...

[Brian34Cook]

It's the inherited runners that have been the real problem...

 

Yea that's the scary part.. I dont know what it is but guessing 80% of them score, one of the worst if not worst in the majors..

[gus_dog]

It's the inherited runners that have been the real problem...

 

Yea that's the scary part.. I dont know what it is but guessing 80% of them score, one of the worst if not worst in the majors..

 

OK, that explains it, thanks.

[Jimy is a misspell]

The 'stros have won 8 of 9, something like that (Braves & Cubs, I know). They're a club that's finally trying to recover from that horible spell in May. Berkman looks healthy, Oswalt's trying to get there, Pettitte's strung a few good outtings together, Lidge is only half mental right now, and Clemens comes back next week. Hopefully they'll add a bat before the deadline.

 

I don't think they'll win the division, but they can contend for the WC. That's really good enough. Outside of the Mets, I don't see any dominant teams in the NL right now.

[Brian34Cook]

The 'stros have won 8 of 9, something like that (Braves & Cubs, I know). They're a club that's finally trying to recover from that horible spell in May. Berkman looks healthy, Oswalt's trying to get there, Pettitte's strung a few good outtings together, Lidge is only half mental right now, and Clemens comes back next week. Hopefully they'll add a bat before the deadline.

 

I don't think they'll win the division, but they can contend for the WC. That's really good enough. Outside of the Mets, I don't see any dominant teams in the NL right now.

 

Right now.. whew..

[mjohnson71]

The 'stros have won 8 of 9, something like that (Braves & Cubs, I know). They're a club that's finally trying to recover from that horible spell in May. Berkman looks healthy, Oswalt's trying to get there, Pettitte's strung a few good outtings together, Lidge is only half mental right now, and Clemens comes back next week. Hopefully they'll add a bat before the deadline.

 

I don't think they'll win the division, but they can contend for the WC. That's really good enough. Outside of the Mets, I don't see any dominant teams in the NL right now.

 

I'm just hoping for a year without the Braves in post season action. I love seeing the stands 1/2 full at Turner Field for the first, even second round of the playoffs.