ChiefsPlanet - View Single Post - Cardinals ***Offical 2012 STL Cardinals World Champions Thread ***

**BigRedChief** · 04-16-2012, 06:48 PM

From bernies column

Please put this in the category of "Why I Love Baseball."

* The Cardinals lose Albert Pujols, have limping 1B Lance Berkman in the lineup for only five of the first 10 games and have played without 3B David Freese for the last two games. Allen Craig and Skip Schumaker are on the DL, Matt Holliday is hitting .200 (he'll be fine) and their second basemen are batting .189 collectively. Pitching ace Chris Carpenter is on the disabled list, and ace-designate Adam Wainwright has an 11.42 ERA after two starts. This is a team with a rookie manager, Mike Matheny, and a pitching coach (Derek Lilliquist) who is in his first big-league season as the full-time PC. Seven of their first 10 games have been played on the road, and the Cardinals have faced a collection of aces including JoshJohnson, Zack Greinke and Johnny Cueto.

* If you didn't know any better, and looked at those factors and tried to guess what the Cardinals' record would be after 10 games, I'm thinking you'd come up with 2-8, maybe 3-7 — or if you are really a homer, 4-6. But no ... as we know, the Cardinals are off to a 7-3 start.

* The Cardinals are off to a 7-3 start in part because rookie Matt Carpenter is batting 166 points higher (.409) than Pujols (.243), and has six more RBIs (10-4) than Pujols.

* The Cardinals are off to a 7-3 start, in part, because young Lance Lynn moved from the bullpen to the rotation to take Carp's spot and has turned in two terrific, winning starts. They're winning because CF Jon Jay is batting .344 with a couple of homers, and catching everything that he can possibly get to. They're winning because Mitchell Boggs, Jason Motte, Marc Rzepczynski and bullpen mates are, for the most part, getting the big outs. They're winning because young backup outfielders Shane Robinson and Eric Komatsu have gone a combined 8 for 22 when asked to contribute.

* The Cardinals are winning because Matheny doesn't act or look like a rookie manager — and even if he did, it would be OK for a while, because the players love playing for Matheny and have his back. They're winning because the capable Lilliquist has made a seamless transition, which isn't easy to do when you're asked to succeed Dave Duncan. They're winning because Mark McGwire works so well with young hitters.

* The Cardinals are winning because Kyle Lohse, Jake Westbrook and Lynn are more than making up for Carp's absence and Wainwright's early struggles. The rotation has a 3.22 ERA so far.

* The Cardinals are winning because Freese (3 homers, 11 RBIs, .406) is a lot more than just 15 minutes of fame.

* The Cardinals are winning because catcher Yadier Molina is one of the best players in baseball. The industry knows about his gold-plated defense; it's the basis for his strong rep. But Molina has developed into a legitimately good hitter, and his offense is no fluke. Molina has 3 homers, 4 doubles, 10 RBIs and is batting .358. This is a continuation of what he started last season.

* One of the comical things I continue to hear — and it came up on the Fox Network broadcast Saturday, during the Pujols Slobberfest — is that the Cardinals reacted to losing Pujols by overpaying Molina. The Cardinals supposedly needed to save face with the fans and did so by lavishing riches on Molina. Right. This, of course, is insulting to Molina because it implies that he didn't deserve the new five-year, $75 million deal that kicks in next season. This implies that he got the money because the Cardinals had to do something to score points with the fans — as if Molina is Jason Bay and the Cardinals were the Mets. It's laughable. The Cardinals paid Molina the big money because — as Tony La Russa and John Mozeliak have said — he's their one irreplaceable player. He is a lot more than just a catcher, and the people who still don't get it need to talk to the pitchers, to Molina's teammates.
* Baseball, of course, tests a team over 162 games. The schedule finds a team's weaknesses and exposes them over the long haul. No, Matt Carpenter won't continue to outhit Pujols. Lynn will have to show that he can still dominate hitters after they've seen him a few times, and make the adjustments. That's the thing about baseball; you have to prove yourself over six months — not two weeks. The Cardinals, as everyone knows, have age in key places and are vulnerable to injury. So the biggest challenges await them.

* That said, this 7-3 start shouldn't surprise anyone, really. The underlying lesson is that this is a resilient organization that usually finds solutions for short-term, and long-term, problems. The 2011 Cardinals overcame injuries and adversity to win the 11th World Series title in franchise history. And the 2012 Cardinals are already showing that they can fight through the early troubles. This mental toughness is ingrained in the veterans that have been around here for a while. It doesn't go away just because La Russa retired.
* It's an organization that has a plan, and knows how to establish a core nucleus of veterans that are supplemented by an improved and increasingly productive farm system. This is an organization that's been winning consistently since Bill DeWitt took over as owner/chairman in 1996. It's an organization that has the fourth-highest win total in the majors since '96, and more postseason wins than any franchise except the NY Yankees. It's an organization that made the playoffs twice (1996, 2000) before Pujols arrived as a rookie in 2001, and it's an organization that seemingly has the pieces to make it to postseason again, in the first year without Pujols.

* It's The Cardinal Way. And it's built to last, to survive, to endure.
Long season.
Nice start.
Thanks for reading ...
-Bernie

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colum...#ixzz1sFmOuuxu

04-16-2012, 06:48 PM	#359
BigRedChief Has a particular set of skills Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: On the water Casino cash: $2879627 VARSITY	From bernies column Please put this in the category of "Why I Love Baseball." * The Cardinals lose Albert Pujols, have limping 1B Lance Berkman in the lineup for only five of the first 10 games and have played without 3B David Freese for the last two games. Allen Craig and Skip Schumaker are on the DL, Matt Holliday is hitting .200 (he'll be fine) and their second basemen are batting .189 collectively. Pitching ace Chris Carpenter is on the disabled list, and ace-designate Adam Wainwright has an 11.42 ERA after two starts. This is a team with a rookie manager, Mike Matheny, and a pitching coach (Derek Lilliquist) who is in his first big-league season as the full-time PC. Seven of their first 10 games have been played on the road, and the Cardinals have faced a collection of aces including JoshJohnson, Zack Greinke and Johnny Cueto. * If you didn't know any better, and looked at those factors and tried to guess what the Cardinals' record would be after 10 games, I'm thinking you'd come up with 2-8, maybe 3-7 — or if you are really a homer, 4-6. But no ... as we know, the Cardinals are off to a 7-3 start. * The Cardinals are off to a 7-3 start in part because rookie Matt Carpenter is batting 166 points higher (.409) than Pujols (.243), and has six more RBIs (10-4) than Pujols. * The Cardinals are off to a 7-3 start, in part, because young Lance Lynn moved from the bullpen to the rotation to take Carp's spot and has turned in two terrific, winning starts. They're winning because CF Jon Jay is batting .344 with a couple of homers, and catching everything that he can possibly get to. They're winning because Mitchell Boggs, Jason Motte, Marc Rzepczynski and bullpen mates are, for the most part, getting the big outs. They're winning because young backup outfielders Shane Robinson and Eric Komatsu have gone a combined 8 for 22 when asked to contribute. * The Cardinals are winning because Matheny doesn't act or look like a rookie manager — and even if he did, it would be OK for a while, because the players love playing for Matheny and have his back. They're winning because the capable Lilliquist has made a seamless transition, which isn't easy to do when you're asked to succeed Dave Duncan. They're winning because Mark McGwire works so well with young hitters. * The Cardinals are winning because Kyle Lohse, Jake Westbrook and Lynn are more than making up for Carp's absence and Wainwright's early struggles. The rotation has a 3.22 ERA so far. * The Cardinals are winning because Freese (3 homers, 11 RBIs, .406) is a lot more than just 15 minutes of fame. * The Cardinals are winning because catcher Yadier Molina is one of the best players in baseball. The industry knows about his gold-plated defense; it's the basis for his strong rep. But Molina has developed into a legitimately good hitter, and his offense is no fluke. Molina has 3 homers, 4 doubles, 10 RBIs and is batting .358. This is a continuation of what he started last season. * One of the comical things I continue to hear — and it came up on the Fox Network broadcast Saturday, during the Pujols Slobberfest — is that the Cardinals reacted to losing Pujols by overpaying Molina. The Cardinals supposedly needed to save face with the fans and did so by lavishing riches on Molina. Right. This, of course, is insulting to Molina because it implies that he didn't deserve the new five-year, $75 million deal that kicks in next season. This implies that he got the money because the Cardinals had to do something to score points with the fans — as if Molina is Jason Bay and the Cardinals were the Mets. It's laughable. The Cardinals paid Molina the big money because — as Tony La Russa and John Mozeliak have said — he's their one irreplaceable player. He is a lot more than just a catcher, and the people who still don't get it need to talk to the pitchers, to Molina's teammates. * Baseball, of course, tests a team over 162 games. The schedule finds a team's weaknesses and exposes them over the long haul. No, Matt Carpenter won't continue to outhit Pujols. Lynn will have to show that he can still dominate hitters after they've seen him a few times, and make the adjustments. That's the thing about baseball; you have to prove yourself over six months — not two weeks. The Cardinals, as everyone knows, have age in key places and are vulnerable to injury. So the biggest challenges await them. * That said, this 7-3 start shouldn't surprise anyone, really. The underlying lesson is that this is a resilient organization that usually finds solutions for short-term, and long-term, problems. The 2011 Cardinals overcame injuries and adversity to win the 11th World Series title in franchise history. And the 2012 Cardinals are already showing that they can fight through the early troubles. This mental toughness is ingrained in the veterans that have been around here for a while. It doesn't go away just because La Russa retired. * It's an organization that has a plan, and knows how to establish a core nucleus of veterans that are supplemented by an improved and increasingly productive farm system. This is an organization that's been winning consistently since Bill DeWitt took over as owner/chairman in 1996. It's an organization that has the fourth-highest win total in the majors since '96, and more postseason wins than any franchise except the NY Yankees. It's an organization that made the playoffs twice (1996, 2000) before Pujols arrived as a rookie in 2001, and it's an organization that seemingly has the pieces to make it to postseason again, in the first year without Pujols. * It's The Cardinal Way. And it's built to last, to survive, to endure. Long season. Nice start. Thanks for reading ... -Bernie Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colum...#ixzz1sFmOuuxu __________________ Time is worth more than money.
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