peichholz posted on July 31, 2009 00:00
The Proof is in the Pitching
St. Louis has always been baseball crazy, but now the city is really buzzing. The recent acquisitions of Matt Holliday, Mark DeRosa, and Julio Lugo have re-energized the team and its fan base. Pitcher Adam Wainwright has compared the re-tooled lineup to the ’99 Rams’ quick-strike offense. The new 
Birds are raking, and the deeper lineup poses a legitimate threat to knock out the opposition at any time. Watching this club reminds me of the MV3 days of ’04. You get the feeling that the team will find a way to win every time they take the field.
While all the attention has been focused on the new bats, the Cardinals starters have continued to produce outstanding results. Chris Carpenter, Wainwright, and Joel Pineiro have been lights out. All three pitchers boast sub-3.00 ERA’s at 2.19, 2.80, and 2.84, respectively. In addition, Carpenter (0.96) and Pineiro (1.07) are ranked in the top 5 among National League pitchers in WHIP, and Wainwright leads the league with 12 wins. Those numbers compare favorably to any team's top-3 starters.
The Dodgers came to town this week for a possible playoff preview. Both teams began the series at the top of their rotations, and the Bird’s starters were up to the task. During the four game tilt with the NL-leading Dodgers, the Cardinals starters combined to give up 3 runs in 29 innings. Kyle Lohse, a 15-game winner last year, is gradually returning to form after returning from the DL. Once he gets his command back in check, this rotation will have four outstanding starters. Combine that with the potentially lethal offense and the Birds are dangerous.
The fifth spot in the rotation is the one question mark. The team has finally decided to give somebody other than Todd “Can’t Pitch” Wellemeyer a chance to claim the role. Mitchell Boggs is first in line and will take the bump tonight against the Astros. Boggs has been solid in his opportunities this season. He has a 3.22 ERA and the team is 8-0 in games he pitches. Despite these impressive numbers, Boggs needs to limit his pitch-
count so that he can go deeper into games. Blake Hawksworth displayed a lot of poise and some pretty good stuff on Wednesday night. Hawksworth showed that he deserves the next shot at the fifth spot in the rotation if Boggs falters.
Extra Innings:
- Bill Dewitt said the team has every intention of signing Holliday AND DeRosa at the end of the season. In a radio interview on The Morning After, DeWitt sounded almost giddy as talked about the prospects of Pujols and Holliday hitting back-to-back for years to come.
- Wednesday night’s 4 hour and 53 minute, 15 inning victory was the best regular season baseball game I’ve seen in recent memory.
- I wonder if Joe Thurston notices that Khalil Greene is tearing it up at Memphis and hasn’t missed a base yet.
- Brendan Ryan’s ankle didn’t look too good after he fouled a pitch off it Thursday night. It’s nice to have 
Julio Lugo to fill in while Ryan heals.
- Pujols and Holliday were walked back-to-back to load the bases in the bottom of the 8th Wednesday night. The gamble worked for the Dodgers, but it demonstrates the respect the two hitters demand.
- First-place Cubs are hot; could make for an interesting finish.
- Todd Wellemeyer is bad.
Pete Eichholz plays sportswriter on Thursday nights; you can read him here on Fridays.
slippery11pete@yahoo.com