The Cardinals started out STRONG in their last series - winning two games against Seattle. But the brooms went back in the closets on Wednesday night - unused - when once again, the Cardinals offense failed to provide run support to get Jaime Garcia the win. Garcia pitched a great game, going 7 innings, giving up 5 hits and 2 runs in the 2-1 loss to the Mariners. Jaime's ERA is 1.59, yet a record of 6 wins and 3 losses hardly reflects that - the blame lays entirely on the Cardinal bats.
Matt Holliday's head-scratching impotence at swinging a bat with runners on base is achieving a Brendan-Ryanesque quality. However I don't see Mr. Holliday growing a quirky mustache or wearing the high socks to swing himself out of this slump. Matt will do it his own way and fans will just have to wait this one out.
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| Brendan on FSMW postgame show June 16 |
Brendan has recovered from his slumpitis. Remember when he was batting under .200? In the last 4 weeks Brendan has hit .311 with 2 homeruns. Those are some positive trends!
But Brendan, can we talk about the lucky facial hair? We here at CDD think you might be letting it get out of hand.
Life was sweeter for a day or two with the Cards beating the Mariners. The potential for a sweep washed some of the worries under the rug. But the reprieve did not last long enough.
Lucky for the Cardinals, the Cincinnati Reds – our cohosts at the top of the National League Central – have been kicked around a bit by the Dodgers and also dropped 2 out of 3 games to the Royals. Sometimes it is just nice to be reminded that other teams are struggling too.
Tonight Chris Carpenter takes the ball against the Oakland A's - Matt Holliday's former club. Could a desire to impress his old team be the match that lights Hunky's fire?
The Cardinals had Thursday to rest up. Tony had an extra day to fiddle with the lineup. And Brendan had a day to visit a barber – or at least we can hope.
TGIF and GO CARDS!
I bet Matt (like any man) hates to see his name and the word "impotence" in the same sentence. LOL But seriously, I believe his bat is going to come around eventually, hopefully sooner rather than later. A hitter can't just forget how to drive the ball, kind of like riding a bicycle. As for the sweep, we must remember, "can't win 'em all", though I certainly wish the boys would give it a try. It's like they lose that killer instinct when they've got the series won. Maybe this weekend! GO CARDS!!!
ReplyDeleteHey Susan! poor Matt -- I did kinda chuckle when I typed that word. =) I hope you are right and the boys do remember that killer instinct this weekend! Fingers are crossed for Mr. Holliday! Thanks for reading (and commenting!)
ReplyDeleteFor the past six weeks, the Cincinnati Reds have had the easiest schedule in baseball. This is coming to an end.
ReplyDeleteThey already have played the majority of their scheduled games against the NL Central for the year, and have just nine home games in July and 12 in August.
In fact, looking at the schedule for the rest of the year, the Reds have the equivalent of one more road trip than the Cardinals do, while the Cardinals would have the equal of one more home stand than Cincinnati does.
Analytically, the Reds run differential (the difference between their runs surrendered and scored) indicates that they're playing over their heads, while the Cardinals have underperformed. Expect some regression to the mean for both teams (and Holliday), which bodes very well for the Cardinals.
The Reds also are playing the Mariners in Seattle this weekend -- and faced Cliff Lee (who shut them out last night) and Felix Hernandez tonight. So, yeah, a little different schedule than the Cards have. Which, of course, is good!
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