peichholz posted on May 01, 2009 00:00
The Cardinals were one strike away from sweeping the Atlanta Braves this week. They ended up taking two of three, beat the Nationals Thursday, and at 16-7, boast the best record in baseball. The Birds continue to win, but it has not been because they have played better than their opposition in recent games, it’s because they have played harder. This is a talented team, but they are not supremely talented. This team grinds out wins on nights that it shouldn’t because they want it more. The team had one extra-base hit in Atlanta and still won the series. The Cardinals roster is loaded with examples of hard-nose baseball players that compete until the last out every night. The Birds are developing an identity. The
Gritbirds are fighters and if they go down, they are going down swinging.
Here’s a softball for the La Russa bashers: The team’s attitude is a direct reflection of it's manager. He may be wrong…a lot, but La Russa agonizes over his many lineups and pitching changes with the intention of providing the team its best chance to win. He lives and dies with the result on a nightly basis. During his post-game interviews, Tony looks like he’s gone the full 12 rounds of a title-bout. And that’s when the team wins. Whether you agree with his in-game strategy and constant line-up tinkering or not, you can’t argue that he doesn’t get the most from his players. Tony preaches “playing a hard nine” and the Gritbirds abide.
It doesn’t hurt that the team’s best player leads by example. Pujols could easily rest on his laurels. He could sit back and hit 30 dingers with a .300 average and 100 RBI, but El Hombre don’t play that game. Albert wants to win Championships and is willing to do the extra “little things” it takes to make it happen. “The Invisible Man” is constantly hustling to take the extra-base and he stole his fourth bag of the season on Thursday night. His stolen base last Friday directly resulted in a win against the Cubs. In the bottom of the eighth, with two outs, Pujols swiped second and subsequently scored on Ludwick’s RBI single. Do you think Manny Ramirez would have been in position to score on Ludwick’s hit? I think not. Sometimes his aggressiveness on the bases backfires, but more times than not, it helps the team w
in.
On Tuesday night, battling illness and five days after tweaking his knee, Lohse wiped the vomit from his mouth to gut out and pitch six scoreless innings against the Braves. Lohse was a loser before he got to St. Louis. He is now 18-6 as a Cardinal. He has become a winner with a killer instinct. No one in Minnesota or Cincinnati would have described Lohse as gritty prior to his acquisition by the Cards. Dave Duncan deserves a lot of credit for rejuvenating his career, but the winning culture within the organization has been vital too. Now, Lohse is a Gritbird.
Brendan Ryan reminds me of Hurricane Hudler. The kid might be a little off, but when he plays, he leaves it all on the field. I know a professional baseball player is suppo
sed to hustle, but it doesn’t happen all the time. It does with Ryan. He flies around the field with reckless abandon. He strained his hammy Wednesday night because he was busting it down the line on a foul ball! That’s the kind of guy that epitomizes what the Gritbirds are all about.
Adam Wainwright is 3-0 and has arguably pitched one good game. His pitch counts are high and he’s walking a lot of hitters, but he never gives in. I believe Waino has gotten squeezed by umpires in several starts and will figure out his control issues soon, but C.C. Sabathia is having similar problems in the Bronx and he can’t do what Wainright does. Wainwright is a psycho bulldog on the mound. He hates losing more than a trip to the dentist and is a prime example of a Gritbird.
The team pulled out another gritty victory with a ninth inning rally against the lowly Nats on Thursday night. The Birds had some help from an awful opponent, but in true Grit
bird fashion, the team grinded out the win. This team is full of back-room brawlers. Molina, Thurston, Franklin…the list goes on. An outsider may view recent Cardinal’s performances as ugly, but I consider winning beautiful and the Gritbirds are doing a lot of it. Embrace the ugly, enjoy the wins.
Extra Innings:
-Mitchell Boggs filled in well with six serviceable innings and an impressive nine K’s Thursday night. His breaking ball looked nasty at times and he will give the Cards a chance to win when he gets the ball.
-Good article about Busch III in the New York Times:
-As Sir Charles Barkley would say, the Nats are “turrrible.”
Pete Eichholz plays sports writer on Thursday nights; you can read him here on Fridays.
slippery11pete@yahoo.com