Derrick Goold was in Memphis on Friday and he didn’t even stop by to say hello. . . I imagine his seats were a little higher up than mine (i.e. the Pressbox vs. behind homeplate) as he reported on a variety of minor leaguers as well as some Wainwright quotes.
I’m about beat after the 5 hour drive back so you’ll have to wait for some pictures and video till later in the week. Two real quick notes: 1) Moving Wainwright to the bullpen is a gross mismanagement of resources and 2) Randy Flores‘ problem is not mechanics — it’s that his slider has turned into a sloppy, slow breaking pitch and his fastball isn’t that fast. The idea that Wainwright is going to impact more games as a reliever strikes me as hope rather than reality. He may be IN more games but this is a quantity versus quality debate at that point. The problem isn’t the people that the Cardinals DON’T have in the bullpen (Wainwright), it’s the ones they do that TLR continues to give the ball to (Izzy, Franklin). Until they solve the latter part of that equation, the former part isn’t going to help (unless he bumps one of those two).
- Jon Jay was 2-for-3 and was caught stealing. The CS was either an excellent pick off move or a balk. The umps thought it was a pickoff move.
- Mitchell Boggs went 6 innings allowing 4 hits and 2 ER. He struck out 4 and walked 2. I’ll have more on him in later this week.
- Mark Worrell struck out 1 and allowed 1 hit in the 8th.
- The Redbirds got swept while I was in Memphis but I had the good fortune to see PJ Walters, Jason Motte and others while down there. Summary: The offense in Memphis looks really flat. The defense looks quite good. The pitching has some real talent and some real crappers.
Springfield 3, Corpus Cristi 7
- Mark Shorey was 2-for-4 with a HR and a walk.
- Brandon Buckman was 2-for-5 with a double.
- Jose Martines was 2-for-4 with a walk.
- Daryl Jones was 1-for-3 with a walk.
- Kyle Mura got hit around over his 5 innings of work. The control pitcher allowed 9 hits in 5 innings for 3 runs (1 earned). He struck out 1 and walked 1.
- Tyler Henley was 2-for-4 with a triple and 2 walks.
- Pete Kozma was 2-for-6 with a double and 3 Ks. The strikeouts are unusual for him.
- Matthew Arburr says hello. He went 3-for-4 with 3 HRs and a walk. For the season, he’s hitting .213/.318/.449 but has been better over his last 10 games hitting .294.
- Mark Diapoules had some shaky command walking 4 in 5.2 innings. He struck out 3 while allowing 3 runs (2 earned).
- Casey Mulligan struck out 3 of the 4 batters he faced.
- Wayne Daman struck out 2 over his inning of work.
- Domnit Bolivar was 3-for-5.
- Brett Wallace and Jon Edwards each collected 2 hits.
- Tommy Pham was 2-for-3 with a HR.
- Oliver Marmol was 2-for-4.
- Ryan Kulik threw 6 innings allowing 7 hits, 5 runs (4 earned), 1 walk and struck out 6.
- Kenny Maiques took the BS with a wild pitch.
Batavia 5, Brooklyn 6 (10 innings)
- Jose Garcia went 4-for-5.
- Xavier Scruggs and Chris Swauger went 2-for-5.
- Joshua Hester allowed 5 runs over 3 innings.
- Hector Cardenas struck out 3 over 4 innings walking 2 and allowing a hit.
- Batavia struck out 13 times during the game compared to Brooklyn’s 7.
- O Nico. . .
- Paul Cruz went 2-for-4 with a walk.
- Curt Smith was 2-for-4.
- Travis Mitchell was 2-for-4 with a triple.
- Brett Zawacki showed signs of life striking out 8 over 4.2 innings. He walked 3 and allowed just 1 earned run on 4 hits.
- Santo Maertz and Carlos Gonzalez were all going for the Ks tonight. They each strukc out 3 in 1+ innings of work.
Entries (RSS)
Jess Todd was promoted to AAA today. Is he projected to move to the bullpen upon arriving in Memphis. Also, is there any chance he makes the bigs via September call-ups this year?
Eric Fornataro had a great outing for the GCL Birds: 5 INN, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K. One of the few times he’s been able to rack up the Ks.
Finally a good outing from Zawacki. 13 of the 14 outs he recorded were either strikeouts or groundouts.
Also, what kind of player do you think Jon Jay will be in the big leagues? Where does he fit in with the current Cards OF’s, Rasmus, and Jones?
Jay’s offensive game reminds me of Placido Polanco. Lots and lots of singles. He’s a little faster than Polanco was, though he doesn’t seem like he has as much power.
Was Jason Motte promoted to the bigs by chance?
The reason I ask is because I was at the game tonight vs the Cubs and late in the game the scoreboard briefly flashed “Now pitching Jason Motte” with MLB stats of ERA: 0.00 IP: 0 SO: 0.
I got excited until I noticed the pitcher on the hill was a lefty…not that I was disappointed to have the opportunity to see Garcia pitch in person!
Seems odd that they’d have his name and numbers (or lack thereof) on hand, let alone up on the scoreboard if he hadn’t made the leap, but then again, what do I know :)
I see Jay being another Skip Schumaker or slightly better. He could hit for a .300+ average, between 10-15 HRs, swipe 10-15 bags a year and get on base at a .370-.380 clip.
Not sure what his future will be in the Cardinals organization. You hope Rasmus and Ankiel will fill 2/3 of the outfield for the next 5-6 years or so and Daryl Jones probably has the best chance of anyone in the system to be the leadoff hitter of the future so if Ludwick or Ankiel isn’t around after 2009, I’d say/hope Jones will be the starting LFer. Mather will provide a much needed right handed power bat off the bench for awhile so it comes down to Schumaker vs. Jay. And then you have to mix in Brian Barton. Right now it looks like Jay’s future could be with another organization, but I obviously can’t say that for sure.
Jon Jay = David DeJesus
FYI – Jess Todd has been promoted to Memphis with no replacement named yet at Springfield. The aggressiveness with his advancement continues.
Also, Colby has began rehabbing at the Cards spring training complex in Florida targeting a return to Memphis on Aug. 25th. Hopefully all goes well there and he doesn’t rush back.
Could Rasmus being aiming more for a September callup than playing at Memphis again?
Jon Edwards is showing he belongs at QC, with two more hits last night. It’s worth noting that his promotion has enabled Chris Swauger to get some playing time with Batavia, and he’s been tearing it up. Both Edwards and Swauger have to have a better chance of progressing than the powerless duo of Adron Chambers and D’Marcus Ingram. I’m still baffled as to why the Edwards promotion took so long.
One 550 yesterday morning Vooch (I think I spelled that right) said Colby might return to Memphis by the end of August, I think it depends on how he feels.
“Moving Wainwright to the bullpen is a gross mismanagement of resources” you say? A closer is the main need of the Cardinals these days. Wainwright has proven that he can close so it would be a gross mismanagement of resources not to use him in that role.
Justin Fiske is replacing Todd at Sprigfield
http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080811/SPORTS02/808110344/-1/BLOGS01
re: deejay
i dont see how using WW to pitch one inning 3 times a week is better than having him throw 6-7 inn once a week. if we use the right people in the right spots (i.e. not frankie or izzy) then our bullpen will take care of itself.
oh nico, he must be getting bored in J-City. he probably just fell asleep during his 4 K at-bats since no one can challenge him enough down there.
I agree with AZ on the WW issue. Even more so after watching Carpenter clutching his shoulder last night. Hopefully it is nothing serious, but even missing a few starts is a big deal at this point in the season. I know TLR likes for rookies to “earn” a spot, but they can’t earn anything if they aren’t given the opportunity. I would like to see Perez or McClellan in that spot. It worked out pretty well in ’06 when we had a rookie take the role.
Ken-Fiske was promoted a few weeks ago, he is not the one replacing Todd. Last I heard it was Brad Furnish replacing Todd.
BTW – Here is Reyes’ line from fridays game:
Reyes (W, 3-1) 6.1 7 1 1 1 4 0 3.86
I’d love to see a writeup comparing Jon Jay to Andre Ethier. I think there’s some substance to that comp.
SC: You have to take into account that Reyes was facing the Blue Jays. Their “offense” is pretty pathetic.
I really like the David DeJesus comp for Jay. Can Ethier play CF? I think that might be a problem with that comp.