The FSL had their All Star game today, East versus West. Daryl Jones and Donovan Solano both went 1 for 2. Tony Cruz started at catcher, and went 2 for 3 with a double with 2 steals allowed. The boxscore can be found here. I’m not sure what made Cruz an All Star exactly, he’s hitting just .259/.287/.376 for the season.
Dayn Perry floats the idea of the Cardinals trading Colby Rasmus and Bryan Anderson for C.C. Sabathia. This seems an awfully lot like what the Mariners just did by acquiring Erik Bedard. The Mariners were a team that thought they were missing a piece or two, so they sold the farm for what they hoped would be their ace. While Bedard hasn’t been quite what they expected, the real issue is the Mariners were under the illusion that they were a lot better than they actually were and Bedard would put them over the top. The M’s won 88 games last year, but their Pythagorean record (79-83) indicated they considerably overachieved. Adding Bedard is probably adding 4-6 wins, so maybe they thought he’d make them a 90 + win team. What has happened is the Mariners have been a lot worse than most expected and they are in a much worse position long-term. I think C.C. Sabathia truly is an amazing pitcher, but truth be told, this Cardinal team is an overachieving bunch themselves. Right now they are only 3.5 games behind the Cubs, but according to their Adjusted Equivalent Runs Pythagorean Record (say that times three fast, in a comic book guy voice) they are a .500 team. What that means is they’ve faced an easy schedule and have overachieved some themselves. And with the injuries mounting up, I think they could be due for a slide that Sabathia couldn’t altogether prevent by himself. Also, the chances of resigning C.C. to any sort of reasonable contract this winter is next to impossible. The bottom line is getting rid of two cost controlled players with all star ceilings in hopes they can catch the Cubs (who truly are a very good team) doesn’t strike me as the wisest of moves.
Don’t forget to tune into ESPN at 1 to catch Aaron Luna of Rice, the Cards 9th rounder. I know, that’s the same time the Cardinals are on, program your DVR or flip back and forth. Boggs is pitching tomorrow, so that makes for one prospect-y Sunday.
The farm goes 3 for 4 tonight.
Trying out a something a little different in the DFR, let me know what format you like better. No bullet points!
Colby Rasmus 3 for 4, 2 2B, 4 RBI.
Brian Barden 2 for 4, 2B, HR, 2 BB.
Joe Mather 1 for 4, HR, 2 BB.
Nick Stavinoha 2 for 5, HR.
Jarrett Hoffpauir 3 for 5.
Bryan Anderson 2 for 5.
Brad Thompson 5 IP, 8 hits, 4 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HR.
Colby Rasmus now has a 1.085 OPS for the month of June. I was sad to see Mather get send down to AAA, I’d prefer him at 1B over Duncan at the moment. And consider me to be officially on the “Free Brian Barden!” bandwagon.
Springfield 4, NW Arkansas 0 (7 innings, 1st game of the doubleheader)
Shane Robinson 3 for 4, 2B.
Jon Jay 1 for 3, HR.
Mark Hamilton 0 for 3, 3 K.
Casey Rowlett 1 for 3, 2B, SB.
Mark Mulder 5 IP, 0 runs, 5 hits, 3 K.
Jon Mikrut 2 IP, 0 runs, 0 hits, 3 K.
Mulder was on the verge of quitting baseball, so it’s good to see him have a positive outing. I wonder where his velocity was. Jay’s HR was his 9th of the season, maybe there’s more power in his bat that scouts expected. Shane Robinson threw out a runner at home. Teams try and run on Robinson because he doesn’t look like much of an athlete in the field, but the man has a hose.
Springfield 5, NW Arkansas 3 (7 innings)
Matt Clement 5 IP, 5 hits, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K.
Luke Gregerson 0.2 IP, 2 K.
Fernando Salas, 1 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 K.
Jon Jay 2 for 3, CS.
Mark Shorey 1 for 3, 1 HR, 2 K.
Shane Robinson 1 for 3, 2B.
Jose Martinez 1 for 2, 1 BB.
Strike up the banjo! It’s dueling rehabbing starters! Jon Jay is hitting out of his mind right now. I didn’t notice until now how bad Martinez has been this year, his OPS is under .600.
Ateo Folli 4 for 5.
Pete Kozma 2 for 5.
Tommy Pham 2 for 4, SB.
D’Marcus Ingram 2 for 3, SB, HBP.
Brian Broderick 5 IP, 9 hits, 5 ER, 1 BB, 0 K,
Pham stole home, I’d be interested in hearing the story behind that. He also had an outfield assist, throwing a runner out at 2B. Ditto for Ingram. After a terrible May, Kozma is hitting .310/.400/.414 for the month of June. I’d like to start seeing some extra base hits, but I’ll take it.
Filed under: Daily Farm Reports
erik
azruavatar
fewgoodcards
roarke49
theredbaaron
I think Barden may have run into a rough patch the previous few years because of a confidence issue. Having watched The Show about 20 times now, Barden was always the best player on every team he ever played on…or so he thought. As he quickly discovered on the Sidewinders, guys like Quentin, Young, Drew, Upton, etc all began to leave him in the dust. Not because he didn’t have the talent but more than likely because he didn’t have a position to play on the team.
The blip he had last year with the Cardinals I think helped start to build his confidence and the fact that the Cardinals have put him at a high talent position on the field and stuck with him there I believe has rebuilt some of his ‘ego’.
Or, he could just be a guy a bit too old for AAA with nothing left to prove there.
According to some at Cards Talk who were at the SPF game…Mulder was in the low 90’s and hit 94mph.
I dont know if they are BS’ing, if the stadium gun had visit from Jose Canseco’s doctor or if Mulder is all of a sudden Roy Hobbgs again?
Not sure…but very encouraging!
Well the Mulder thing would be amazing if he actually hit 94, but i doubt it. When he was healthy he sat around 89-91.
I’ve been arguing with a friend of mine about Rasmus. We both think he should be brought up in September, but where would he bat in the order? I think he should go back to leadoff, but he thinks second…. what u guys think?
I’d argue for him batting leadoff and there is only one reason I’d do so: So that LaRussa plays him.
LaRussa loves his leadoff hitter. It is the only reason Schumaker is still on the team, I believe. I can’t think of any game this season that Skippy started and batted anywhere but in the leadoff spot.
If TLR fell in love with Rasmus batting in the leadoff spot, he’d play 90% of the time. Tony believes leadoff is actually a position on the field that needs filled and not just a spot on the roster to put a high OBP guy.
About the Mulder thing. I don’t believe he was throwing 94 mph but it might be possible. Justin Verlander lost 5 mph on his fastball when he altered his mechanics during the off-season. The Tigers showed him what he did wrong, they put him back to his more ‘natural’ mechanics and the 5 mph returned. Now, Mulder’s repaired robotic shoulder Justin Verlander does not he make but even if he was hitting 90 mph consistently, color me impressed.
I’d also imagine that he is on an accelerated rehab assignment. He will probably be bumped up to Memphis for his next start and if that goes well, he’ll come to St. Louis to start.
“In his final start of his rehab assignment earlier this year, Mulder pitched mostly in the 86- to 87-mph range. He topped out at 89 mph, getting two fastballs there. His first pitch Saturday was 89 mph. He threw a 92 mph fastball to the second batter he faced, and he sat consistently at 90 to 91 mph with his sinker throughout his five innings.”
Per Goold
As long as Schumaker is still in the lineup, I’d definitely leave him in the leadoff position. I really liked Mather in the second spot and would like to see Rasmus there too, unless he’s prone to GIDP’s. I’m strongly against trading him, unless it were for an equivalent prospect(s) at a position we need, such as a middle infielder. I’m uncertain of Ludwick’s status for 2009, but if we’re unable to re-sign him, then the glut in the outfield becomes much less of a problem. That, along with the ongoing uncertainty with Duncan and Ankiel, imo, leaves a few questions for next year.
Great news on Mulder!
I,too, will have to pronounce some skepticism over the notion that Mulder was. touching 94. That would be where his velocity was in Oakland, when he could just dominate for long stretches of time on his fastball alone. He’s never been that pitcher since he’s been in St. Louis; I can’t believe this latest adjustment to his arm action magically rolled him back to 2002 form. However, if he was able to even get back up to around 90 at the top end, that would be absolutely astounding.
I really wish we would see Brian Barden get some time in the major league infield this year, but I sincerely doubt we will.
Seriously, Jon Jay just does nothing but hit when he’s healthy, doesn’t he? If that power is legitimate, he’s got to be a premiere prospect this time next year. Wow.
Rob, thanks for the info.
With Mulder, usually in his rehab starts we say after average velocity that it is important to see what his velocity is in his next start.
This time, however, it is important to see if he can replicate that same velocity 5 days later. If he can, maybe the shoulder really is structurally sound. If he can’t, then this is just another instance of him coming out looking sharp in his first time out only to get progressively worse.
Rasmus actually had 2 doubles tonight
Count me in on the free Barden bandwagon.
I have been of the opinion that it was the change to mulders mechanics after his hip problem that killed his velocity and then wrecked his shoulder. When duncan was trying to “fix” his arm slot is when he really imploded for good.
I wish I had video to look at but if mulder is comfortable throwing from a lower angle and that gives him the confidence to drive with his lower half again then he could very well regain that lost velocity.
Hell if Wagner can learn to throw left handed after wrecking his right arm, perhaps mulder can pull off a miracle also.
Yeah, it’s official according to Goold. Mulder sitting in the 90s. Never thought I would see the day again. I sort of still don’t.
Interesting that all along, we constantly heard how he had to get his arm up higher, had to get his arm up so he could tilt the ball down. Now, he starts throwing from a lower arm slot and suddenly seems to have both velocity and movement on his pitches again. Wonder why nobody thought of this before? He can apparently still generate good sink on the ball without getting on top of it. What do you know, a pitcher actually helped by being flexible and willing to change something, rather than being locked in to a one size, dogmatic approach. Wonders will never cease.
I don’t think it’s a matter of “nobody thought of this before,” RB; rather, it’s a matter of “dance with them what brung ya.” A particular motion and approach got Mulder into all-star territory (before he was a Cardinal…), so Mulder, Dunc, and anyone else, knew it would work if it could be regained. I don’t think it was unreasonable to devote the first part of rehab to trying to regain it. Should they have admitted defeat on that earlier? Probably. But you can’t blame them for trying. Pitchers’ mechanics are riskier to tinker with than hitters’ swings, etc., and being conservative about that tinkering is not a bad philosophy — at least until it turns into sticking one’s head in the sand.
As regards Da Raz, I’d like to see a late-season call-up in which he doesn’t play all that much. It takes him long enough to get used to a new level (a recurrent theme in his rise through the minors) that on the one hand, we may as well get him started on it. On the other hand, he should start absorbing the atmosphere, wisdom (and if applicable, tension) of teammates on the big team, etc., without being expected to go out and produce daily in a pennant race.
I can think of one reason they didn’t try this before: this new motion has all-but-eliminated his sinker.
We can’t have that, now Dave, can we?
A September callup a la Jacoby Ellsbury last year would suit me just fine.
any with better info think we’ll see mulder back as starter or reliever? i’d say good chance he replaces flores or villone when he comes up, and it is looking like back to st louis is how things will go
Defensively, is Barden a major league SS? That’s a position where your glove matters more than your bat. If he can play a legit SS and hit around what he’s hitting at AAA, he’s extremely valuable.
If Aaron Miles can play SS for TLR…then ya, Barden can do it.
He should get a look in Sept, if not earlier.
Could be a nice utility guy, a cheaper alternative then playing Miles over 1M a year.
Pham is on pace to hit 30+ dingers, steal 20 bases. Manly stuff.
He seems on his way.
kozma’s extra base pop sure has dried up since april, but at least he is getting back to hitting.
Barden has been working primarily at short this year for Memphis. His error count is on the high side of normal, but not ridiculously so, and most other defensive metrics say he’s getting to a decent number of balls, which is more important. A very limited first-hand look that I got at him seems to confirm this.
Thing is, though: replacing Miles with Barden neither improves the team much nor saves much money. Aaron Miles isn’t the reason why the Cardinals are not running away with the NL Central. Barden’s value may be greatest as trade bait to help bring in something that really will make a difference, for example a good solid LOOGY to replace Flores.
pham has all the tools except the ability to hit for average. i’m not all that sold on his ability to hit his way to the big leagues, but maybe he can develop into a chris young type player.
DriverZn
Billy wagner started throwing left handed when he was like 8 or something. its not like he had pitching mechanics and all that before he decided to throw left handed. he was a kid.
Dayn Perry you so crazy. IF I’m trading Rasmus AND Anderson for a pitcher I better be getting Lincecum, Felix, Kazmir, or Hamels back. This is nothing against Sabathia as he is a great pitcher (11th in xFIP this year with at least 50 IP and 10th in xFIP last year with at least 100 IP) and has been unlucky this year, but he is going to want a crap load of money. And I don’t see St. Louis wanting to pay that (and for good reason) and the draft picks we would be getting back don’t come close to Rasmus and Anderson. Rasmus is still a top 10 prospect in all of baseball and Anderson is top 40.
“Thing is, though: replacing Miles with Barden neither improves the team much nor saves much money”
But out of the Cardinals ridiculous four MI, Miles is the worst defensively and I’m positive that Barden can be better offensively. DFAing Kennedy and shipping Miles to China while trying to come up with some combo of Barden-Ryan-Izturis suits the team better and would allow them to bring Mather back.
Someone go delete that Dayn Perry proposal before Mozeliak gets a hold of it. I don’t want such a ridiculous notion even entering Mo’s mind.
That’s the kind of deal Jocketty would have made. I don’t think MozBag is that dumb.
[...] Daily Farm Report 6/14/08 The FSL had their All Star game today, East versus West. Daryl Jones and Donovan Solano both went 1 for 2. Tony Cruz [...] [...]
Actual Amaury Marti numbers after 71 AB como un Diablo Rojo: .451/.556/.662.