After looking like crap at cincinnati coming home to face the best left hander in the nl and olswAd who has killed us over the years....wasnt looking good. But, I wonder if the pundits think is the best left hander in the nl now?

I was just talking about this year so far.... And btw, who has been better?

Then you're making a purely statistical argument. I'll put it this way: If you had one game to win, who do you want toeing the rubber for you:

Cliff Lee or Jaime Garcia?

Right now? Tommorrow? Garcia :p

I said after his first month last season that he has the perfect LHSP arsenal. If his body doesn't betray him, he has the kind of stuff to pitch for 15+ years at a high level. I've avoided mentioning Glavine because it's not fair to the kid, but Glavine lost a mph or two every season past 30 and remained effective because of the movement he generated and the pitches he brought to the table. Garcia has that same kind of arsenal; one that can overcome the rigors of age and innings. Everything he throws cuts some way or the other and it all cuts late. He can run that power sinker hard to his glove side, he has that changeup that tails late armside. His curveball can get under RH bats and his cutter can jam the hell out of lefties. He can give so many different looks and work every single quadrant of the zone.

The only other young lefty who's stuff I like as much as his is Zach Britton, but I actually think Garcia's stuff will last longer (doesn't rely on power).

Going back to the start of last season through this far this season, Garcia is better so it's not like it's a 10 game sample or something.

Cards called up Kozma today :facepalm:

That makes a world of ****ing sense. Call up the guy who has proven he can't hit AA or AAA pitching up to the bigs.

And can't field worth a shit, either.

looks like the crowning is under way....Garcia is your baseball gholston. :p

From Bernies column:

After Tuesday night's impressive outing against Philadelphia, Cardinals' lefty Jaime Garcia moved up in the rankings. Since the start of last season, Garcia has the best ERA (2.41) among all MLB lefthanded starters. And among all starting pitchers, only Josh Johnson (2.14) and Roy Halladay (2.39) have a lower ERA since the beginning of 2010. Garcia and Johnson are tied for the lowest ERA (1.64) this season. Garcia doesn't crank out the innings of a Halladay, and since the start of last season he ranks around 30th in baserunners allowed per nine innings. That's pretty good, but it doesn't put him at the most elite level. No one is saying Garcia is a fully complete pitcher. He's in his second MLB season and continues to mature and get better. But he's doing some special things. When we talk about the best pitchers in the game, Garcia is moving into the discussion... but Tony La Russa is right: Garcia has barely gotten started. He has a long way to go. To stand among the greats, you have to prove it over a long period of time.

* Garcia is also positioning himself to make a run at the lowest ERA in a season by a Cardinals' lefty starter. Long, long way to go. Garcia has a 1.64 ERA. Max Lanier had a 1.90 ERA in 1943, and John Tudor crafted a 1.93 ERA in 1985.

We finally don't make Norris look like a hall of famer.

What drop off of defense with Berkman in right?

I watched Kozma down here in Springfield many times, kid looked awful. Wasn't expecting them to call him up this early.


Money talks though.

He's making us look like idiots. At this rate, he'll get an RBI every time he gets to bat... Not too shabby, I'd say.