Archive for November, 2009

Surprise 2, Phoenix 10

Surprise: 8-10, 2nd-tied

• Daniel Descalso was 1-for-4.
• Daryl Jones was 1-for-3 with a triple.
• Scott Gorgen got tagged for 3 runs in his inning of work but according to Jeff Luhnow:

Gorgen stuff was gd, esp CH.  got hit in foot then gave up a three run double to Marerro (left it up over the plate).  Overall ok.

Forgive the slowness of wrapping up this series, we still need to look at our beloved Triple-A affiliate.  I deleted pitchers and players with less than 100 at bats.

It was definitely a banner year for the Redbirds, who won the PCL Championship.

• Allen Craig is my favorite monster, as is yours, but if there is a red flag with him other than the fact that the Cardinals do not believe he can play third base, it’s his BB/K ratio.
• I must have been in a cave, but I had no idea David Freese had the type of season he had, even if it was an abbreviated one.  He’s a year older than Craig, and the Cards do believe he can play third base, which is why there’s talk of Freese starting at third base next year and we saw Craig not even receiving a September call up. I haven’t seen both players play at much length, but my judgment is Craig is the superior hitter, albeit not by a lot. If Freese can play third and be at least average while putting together a .320 OBP and .435 SLG, that’s more valuable than a left fielder who would give you a little better production at the plate.
• Tyler Greene quietly had himself one fine season. Among other things, look at that stolen base/caught stealing numbers. The man has some speed and knows how to pick his spots. With the Boogstache firmly holding on  the SS job, it’s nice to know Greene is there as a fallback option and backup. He may fill up a boxscore with steals, doubles, strikeouts and errors; it’s never a dull moment with Greene.
• As for disappointments, look no further than Bryan Anderson and Jon Jay. Jay pulled himself up after a nose-dive of a second half, but it’s hard to see him becoming better than a fourth outfielder at this point. The Cardinal brass bragged about Jay and his potential future batting titles, so that’s not quite the future they had pegged for the quirky outfielder. Anderson was once a Top 100 prospect and has since tanked it hard. Before hitting the DL he was allowing about a stolen base per game and his offense bit the dust. He’s currently hitting for a .630 OPS in 27 at-bats in the Arizona Fall League, for what it’s worth.

Surprise 5, Peo Javelinas 12

Surprise: 8-9, 2nd-tied

• Daniel Descalso was 1-for-2 with a double and a walk.
• Daryl Jones, making an appearance in RF, was 0-for-4.
• Tyler Henley was 0-for-2 with a walk.
• Adam Reifer pitched a scoreless inning.