Hopefully, many of you got to see the Cards game yesterday. If you didn't, I'm sure you know what happened. Padilla shuts us down, Cards score three in 8th, and big hits by Allen Craig and Matt Holliday seal the game in the 9th. Absolutely great game to watch in a situation that looked grim from the beginning. Here are my first impressions from the series:
Allen Craig was the star of the game yesterday. The two biggest hits of the game came from our promising but recently struggling outfielder/corner infielder. My gut still tells me he holds the most value to us as a trading chip, so it's good to see him start to showcase his bat.
The Cardinals have more lineup depth than advertised. Jon Jay, Randy Winn, Allen Craig, Tyler Greene... the list goes on and on. The good news is most of that has been home grown. Upgrading the shortstop position would only increase that, but I'm inclined to give Greene more chances to make an impact in that role.
Jeff Suppan is still capable of doing yeoman's work. If you look at pitch selection, Jeff has been relying on his fastball about 11% more than with Milwaukee this year. He's been worth -0.2 Runs Above Replacement as a starter with St. Louis... just about at replacement level stuff.
Adam Wainwright is the NL's leading starter. Not just because of numbers but because of the way he approaches the game. You never feel like Waino will pitch you a dud. He's one of the most reliable pitchers in the game.
Remember to vote on Saturday's poll, and send a tweet to @jawathehutt to let us know who you think the Cards deadline target should be. I'll post your ideas later this week.
Original Story:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Rockin...
Allen Craig was the star of the game yesterday. The two biggest hits of the game came from our promising but recently struggling outfielder/corner infielder. My gut still tells me he holds the most value to us as a trading chip, so it's good to see him start to showcase his bat.
The Cardinals have more lineup depth than advertised. Jon Jay, Randy Winn, Allen Craig, Tyler Greene... the list goes on and on. The good news is most of that has been home grown. Upgrading the shortstop position would only increase that, but I'm inclined to give Greene more chances to make an impact in that role.
Jeff Suppan is still capable of doing yeoman's work. If you look at pitch selection, Jeff has been relying on his fastball about 11% more than with Milwaukee this year. He's been worth -0.2 Runs Above Replacement as a starter with St. Louis... just about at replacement level stuff.
Adam Wainwright is the NL's leading starter. Not just because of numbers but because of the way he approaches the game. You never feel like Waino will pitch you a dud. He's one of the most reliable pitchers in the game.
Remember to vote on Saturday's poll, and send a tweet to @jawathehutt to let us know who you think the Cards deadline target should be. I'll post your ideas later this week.
Original Story:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Rockin...
