Chris Duncan has not had a very good year, so far. Can we afford to stick him out there for the times that we do? His defensive ability has almost been a negative number. His hitting has not been very effective. What can we do?

Can we trade him for a mid level prospect to the American League? I would like to cut ties with him soon.

It is still my hope we can get a left field impact bat. Is there any available that we can snag? At least one that is not Bonds?

We thought we had the pitching matchups to win this series. Lohse and Wainwright had the back end. We won the first two with Wellemeyer and Looper. All looked good. We got a split. On the road that isnt too bad but we have a few points of concern that keep slapping us in the face.

Runners In Scoring Position- We are leaving tons and tons. Yes, Albert is hitting very well but he appears to be swinging at more pitches out of the zone and he is popping to the infield more than in the past. Hope that improves.

Ludwick- He is on fire. I believe he is being used properly. I am not, at this time, in favor of him everyday being in the lineup. Maybe just while he is hot.

Mulder situation- Sad. I am not in favor of him coming anywhere near putting him in the rotation. I mean for a very long time. Let’s face it, we got the short end of the deal that brought him over here.

Brewers next- They are playing like junk, the BrewCrew I mean, and it is a bit of a concern that we can get good enough pitching to get someone to close it out for us.

We shall see.

I believe those words were from a song by The Birds. But this is Aaron Miles I am talking about. I laugh when I read that people are indignant that he is playing. He is playing SS. We have two shortstops in Izturis and Ryan. If it was up to the fans, these players would NEVER get a day off. AND the subs would never get to play.

One thing LaRussa is outstanding at, is getting players into the game and keeping players fresh when September-October rolls around. Some teams players are dog tired because of overwork. Not our players, they are mentally prepared at seasons close.

Miles has been a very good off-the-bench player while he has been here. His contract is affordable. I like him playing.

Save the complaining for when we are losing and look to be out of it!

Pre-game/Post-game (and extra innings if necessary): C70 At The Bat
First inning: Stan Musial’s Stance
Second inning: The Cardinal Virtue
Third inning: Mike on the Cards
Fourth inning: CardinalsGM
Fifth inning: CardinalNationGlobe
Sixth inning: Rockin’ the Red
Seventh inning: Fungoes
Eighth inning: The Redbird Blog
Ninth inning: Redbird Rambings

why are all our guys reaching for that outside pitch? Buck and McCarver keep saying it is hit off the end of the bat. One more thing is that they mention Albert is frustrated with all the walks. Hey Albert, your team is in first place with that happening. Keep taking the walks…. don’t help the pitcher out.

this is the fourth inning…..

Wow, that was a really quick three innings.

Soriano will lead it off. Here in Central Illinois this morning talk radio was asking the question that is it time for the Cubs to rid themselves of him whether through someone taking over his contract or trade or otherwise. The call in response was mixed of course. Let’s see if Lohse can equal his first three innings on the second time around. The low slider appears to be difficult for him to hit and Kyle has the ability to throw it. MAN, the third pitch was a good borderline strile. Got him anyway. Let’s call the fly balls guys. That is Ankiel’s ball.

Theriot is a good looking player ut no pop in his bat but can hit with Lee following him.  Lohse is having trouble throwing strikes early in the count. Theriot is patient but then hits a grounder up the middle.

Lee. Dangerous man to pitch to. Do the Cubs hit and run with a masher at the plate? One thing about Lohse, he goes right after them. I want to see the replay on the attempted pickoff…very close. Gotta feel nervous here for the Cards. Lots of nibbling but no chasing. 2-2 count, Look out! Problem no running. not many test Molina. Dang. Base hit to right as DLee went down and got it.

Kukudome. Mr ALL World so far. A slasher to left for the most part. Don’t see many full swings from this guy. Ouch! He took a full swing and doubles.  1-0 cubs.

DeRosa next to bat. Lohse needs to suck it up her and get a K. full count can mean trouble. Let’s see what Kyle does. LOADED. Bases Loaded. BIG GULP.

Too many pitches in the dirt. Trying to be too fine. Geovany Soto…. 2 pitches in the dirt so far to Soto. We are setting ourselves up for them to have a big inning. STUMBLE. DOUBLE. 3-0. Would Ankiel have caught it?

My son is blaming this on me.

Duncan makes the trip to the mound. Lohse has lost command.

FONTENOT homers. That was a meat pitch. Right down the middle to him.

How does a pitcher just lose it? Is it mental? 6-0 Cubs.

Reed Johnson loops a hit. Nothing going our way. Is it time to get the PEN up, tony?

Reyes maybe as a long man? Is that the intention for him?

SAC bunt and Soriano comes up again.

Shallow right pop up and that half is over. THANK GOODNESS.

After three and a half, 6-0 Cubs.

=======================================
Our half. Time for some runs. Get some guys on base. As they said in the movie Waterboy, ” You can do it”.

Brendan needs to really be patient here. Make Lilly throw some pitches. Worked to 3-0 count came back to full count. Atta boy, Brendan! Fouled off a couple of balls and working hard. Nice hit up the middle for a leadoff batter. Come on Albert!

ALBERT. Patient. Full count. Do we run here? I say do it. Groundout. 5 straight fastballs to Albert before the curve.

See the Pinella interview on FOX. That is a Jeckell and Hyde personality type guy. Never know what you will get from him. I then the gof ball  Zambrano wanting face time behind him.

Ludwick could do some damage here. Lilly is interested in Ryan at second. Not sure why? Way to go, Luddy!!!!  A double and the come back is in order.

Glaus is batting and I know he leads the team in RBI’s but he needs to exhibit some more power. He leads the league in long foul balls. HAHA. Troy keeps fighting off pitches and could really pick us up. K’ed. That is depressing.

Ankiel bats…. Can we get some up to pitch n case #8 bats this inning?  Over the shoulder catch.

This has been fun and if we lose it is all my fault, I guess. HAHA.

Please come back and read my blog from time to time.

I turn it over to Cardinal Nation Globe to get us some runs!

Do we hang with him longer? Afterall, he has been really good for us in the long run.

Do we dump him or DL him? Who takes his place?

Should we call up a pitcher like Motte and see what he can do? Since we appear to be in a “youth movement”

—last night was a fun win—-

Aaron Miles was my star of the game for leading off the 11th with a base hit. Miles always seems to have quality at bats. He is not the “star” type player but a pretty darn good guy to have around. Have you ever heard of him complaining?

Brendan Ryan is a squirmy type guy, for sure. Even on the bunt last night he was all over the batters box. Bottomline, he got the job done.

Skip Schumaker let ‘er rip. He has to be enjoying his time.

———————————————————————

Side bar- Here in Central Illinois talk radio sports is posing two Cubs questions.

1. If someone took Alfonso Soriano off our hands would you let him go? ?He is a detriment to the team and a distraction. (cubs are 7-7 with him in the lineup)

2. Should Kerry Wood be taken out of the closer role and it be given to Marmol?

I love living in Central Illinois and hearing Cub fans whine and threaten to jump off the bridge. That is why I love to visit www.cubssuckclub.com so much during a series like this.

Enjoy the games and visit the United Cardinal Bloggers for all of their writings.

The impact bat. What does it mean to be an impact bat? One that makes an immediate presence on the team. One that forces team to either pitch to it or Pujols?

Who is there? Let’s chat about the most prolific hitter available. Barry Bonds. WOW, now I got your attention.

I can hear you.

I don’t want that cheater on our team. He will be a distraction. He is bad for the clubhouse.

Did I get that right?

Bonds was on base 48% of the time last year. Think upon that my fine feathered fans. One guy is not going to ruin our clubhouse. In fact, he probably wants to keep his job and will do the Johnny Cash impersonation and “Walk the Line” of straight and narrow. Now the part about cheater I can not do anything but concede that point. But should that deter us from the objective? Put the best team out there and put us in position to win. Won’t Bonds do that for us?

Food for thought. I am not convinced but wanted to get your opinions on this.

I got to thinking about Mulder coming back. Is that going to disrupt us? Everyone is saying that he will get a starting spot and somebody will move to relief and then someone else goes to AAA or released.

I like the “chemistry” that we have now. Mulder will alter that. That, my friends, makes me uneasy.

Am I paranoid or anyon else “sense” this?

Let me know.

Yes, I am a High School English teacher. But, who woulda thunk that the Cards would have such a spectacular month of April? (Dizzy Dean thoughts are ok here) It has been a joy to watch and listen tothem.  My personal record in attendance is 0-1 (losing to SF on a Sunday).

The crow birds that love to knock all things Cards are speechless and are searching and waiting (you know which forum that is) for the stumble.

Me? I am a fan and enjoy the games. Win or lose I stay a fan. My grandpa raised me to be a Cardinals fan years ago and now I have 3 adult children that are all Cards fans. WOO stinkin’ HOO.

Let’s have some fun.

Adam Wainwright sent a message to the Astros and Roy Oswalt that pitching inside continually will result in some more retaliation. This was PLAY of the GAME. doing this got inside the head of Oswalt for an inning and Lo and Behold he wavered and we scored.

Ausmus over reacted. We responded. Nice job, Adam. Good  game, Cardinals!

BACKE tomorrow. How will he respond to the earlier confrontation with Pujols? Trouble brewing?

Agonizing. To watch the Cardinals blow a lead in the ninth inning with the closer, Izzy on the mound. Maybe downright frustrating. It was if 80% of the fans “called” the Carlos Lee homer after the Astros tied it.

What do we do with Isringhausen? Just play through it? Is he our best bet? Do we quickly develop a new 9th inning guy like Perez or McClellan? There is one forum out there that has a multitude of posters that want to “release” him quickly. They are saying, and rightfully so, that the hip may be bothering him more than we know. I just hope the Cardinals practice of withholding medical information is a thing of the past.

I tend to believe we should just bide a bit more time. Afterall, he has been pretty good and no one is excellent every time out. I would explore a trade with someone in a month or so to package Izzy (does he have a no trade clause?) and some others to help get that impact bat that Mozeliak has been talking about for so long.

Every closer fails once in awhile.