I was very amped up for Thursday afternoon’s pitching matchup between former Cy Young winners Chris Carpenter and Johan Santana. Carp out-pitched Santana. He only needed 82 pitches to get through 7 innings and he retired the Mets in order 5 times. Bad luck and one misplaced pitch in the 4th inning cost Carp and the Birds the victory. The Cardinals finished their road trip 4-3 and retained a 1-game lead over the second-place Brewers.


Despite a winning road trip and the top spot in the Central, the recent trek was a reminder of how flawed this Cardinals team is offensively. The Birds can’t manage to hit against any team not sporting a Royals jersey. Nobody in the Cardinals outfield is hitting better than rookie Colby Rasmus’ .265 and he is 0 for his last 16. Ryan Ludwick, Rick Ankiel, and Chris Duncan are hitting .231, .235, and .246 respectively. Considering that one of these players is usually providing “protection” for Albert Pujols, it is a miracle that he is having such a monstrous season. Obviously, the offensive production from the outfield needs to improve.


The Cardinals got a brief glimpse of what life would be like with a productive 3rd baseman over the weekend. Khalil Greene came back from the DL and contributed his most useful stretch as a Cardinal. Unfortunately, since the team left the K, Greene has reverted back to his old form, going 1 for 14 in New York. I still contend that the Cardinals need to find someone to man the hot corner and provide some much needed punch to the struggling lineup.


Even though there is a glaring need to score more runs, several other factors are working against the possibility of the Cards making a deal to fill the hole at third anytime soon. The fact that the Cardinals currently reside in first-place will give ownership an easy out in regards to improving the team. Parity throughout Major League Baseball means that more teams still think they have a chance to compete and will be less likely to trade until the playoff picture becomes less fuzzy. Finally, the Cardinals probably won’t be inclined to barter until other teams start making moves so they can see where the market is at.


In Monday’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Pujols discussed his thoughts about the direction of the organization in an interview with Joe Strauss. In regards to the last couple of years, Pujols said, “Everybody knew last year if we would have another key bat or guy in the bullpen we would have been there…The year before it was the same way.” Pujols was more cryptic in his analysis of where the Cardinals stand this season, “I don't think the owners and general manager are blind. They need to see what we see. I don't think they're blind.”


I don’t think it is too much of a stretch to assume that Albert wants the organization to do what it takes to win now. I’m with Pujols, but so far, this season is shaping up to be more of the same. The team gets off to a good start, fails to make improvements, and fades down the stretch. That may be good enough for some Redbird fans, but I have higher expectations for the Cardinals.


Extra Innings:

- With 9 players on the DL, including Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, and Carlos Delgado, the Cardinals failed to take advantage of a depleted Mets club this week.

-Brendan Ryan and Skip Schumaker make up a solid middle of the infield….and they are hitting!

-The Cards will have their hands full when Minnesota studs Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau invade Busch this weekend.

Pete Eichholz plays sportswriter on Thursday nights; you can read him here on Fridays.

slippery11pete@yahoo.com