"Official" 2011 St. Louis Cardinals Thread

[BigRedChief]

This is so unreal. We were dead. No hope. A season over. Somehow, someway we find some team chemistry and squeak into the playoffs on the last day of the season.

Only to find us facing one of the best pitching staffs assembled in years with home field advantage. We somehow, someway find a way to beat the best pitcher in baseball on the road in an elimination game.

We have to go on the road and beat the team with the best home record in baseball. A team who mortgaged their future to make this run .We somehow, someway find a way to beat them on the road and make our 18th World series trip.

We take game 1, we give away game 2 and home field advantage. Albert goes off for probably the best performance in World Series history and we take game 3 easily. Games 4 & 5 our bats fall asleep, Phone gate happens and its not looking too good.

Game 6, one of the best baseball games of all time and it takes place in a season ending go home game. Cardinals are down 2 runs in their final chance on the season, twice. They are down to their final strike of the season, twice. They give up a 2 run homer in extra innings. In the bottom of the inning their final 3 batters are a combined 3-26 in the Playoffs and a pitcher because the bench is empty. Somehow, someway they get some runners on and the comeback player of the year drives in the tying run. Mr. Freese hits the walk off home run. We will see you tommorrow night.

Game 7, With our bulldog on the mound pitching on 3 days rest he is able to give us 6 good innings and get us to within 9 outs of our 11 World series title. Texas meltsdown, probably left over from last nights game and its over.

The underdog, come back team who had no business even being in the playoffs wins a World championship. They make movies about events like this in life. Events that you remember even if your not a fan of the sport or team for the rest of your life.

When it is your team.......Priceless


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[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

Chris Carpenter's only had one start on short rest in his entire career and it was a few weeks ago. Not sure where people have gotten the idea that he's struggled in that situation. He hasn't pitched enough on short rest to say anything definitive about it.

Both carp and Duncan said it was a mechanical thing not a short rest thing.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Both carp and Duncan said it was a mechanical thing not a short rest thing.

[veist]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

If the Rangers get to celebrate at Busch, so be it, they've earned it. I think the Cardinals have actually played better baseball than Texas this series, but if you can't come through when it matters, you don't deserve to win.

The thing that's bugged me about this series is this, its been like that ****ing Dolphins-Donkeys game. Cards play great for most of the game and Rangers win playing great for 20% of it or whatever. Just really frustrating to watch that happen.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

The Rangers are a very likeable team and the Cardinals won another NL Pennant (which is the goal I set for them every year; get that and you get no grief from me).

WTF? A WS every yeàr or it's a bust year?

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Does anyone on the face of the earth think if we get to game 7 that carp isn't going to bring it home? Short rest be damned. I'll take the guy with the most heart and guts in a winner take all battle.

[jd1020]

Without the rain delay I would have said no.

If the Cardinals win tonight then it would be unbelievable to not see Carp for the 7th.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

WTF? A WS every yeàr or it's a bust year?

So where is an appropriate goal? .500? To hell with that; the Cardinals get to play teams like the Pirates and the Astros that aren't even making active efforts to win. They should play .500 ball in their sleep if they've done even an okay job of putting the team together.

If you have a top 1/3 payroll and a generational talent on your roster, a NL Pennant is not an unreasonable target.

Falling short of that can be a disappointment without being a disaster.

Aim for mediocrity and that's what you'll get. Shoot for something greater and you just might surprise yourself.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Does anyone on the face of the earth think if we get to game 7 that carp isn't going to bring it home? Short rest be damned. I'll take the guy with the most heart and guts in a winner take all battle.

We'll see - but if Holland takes the mound with his A stuff, the Rangers win that game.

In my mind, the game's not really in Carpenter's hands.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

We'll see - but if Holland takes the mound with his A stuff, the Rangers win that game.

In my mind, the game's not really in Carpenter's hands.

Derek Holland ain't that ****in' good. He pitched the game of his life with a strike zone the size of Nolan Ryan's head. That's great. He's not Curt Schilling, John Smoltz, or Jack Morris.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Derek Holland ain't that ****in' good. He pitched the game of his life with a strike zone the size of Nolan Ryan's head. That's great. He's not Curt Schilling, John Smoltz, or Jack Morris.

Derek Holland has one of the best fastballs of any lefthander in baseball. Its fast (2nd hardest of all lefty starters behind Price, IIRC) and it moves quite a bit. He also has a plus plus breaking ball and the ability to add and subtract from his heat. There's a reason the kid was considered an elite prospect for 2 seasons.

He threw 4 complete game shutouts last season on his own. Have the Royals managed that many in 2 years? Hell, did the Cardinals have that many all season? I know they didn't in 2010.

Derek Holland, when he's locked in, is as capable of shutting down a lineup as anyone in baseball. After the All-Star break this year, he was borderline dominant pitching in an environment that is absolutely brutal to pitch in (Arlington during the dry summer heat is a launching pad).

The kid isn't Anthony Reyes - Derek Holland is absolutely capable of showing up and shutting down this lineup again. That's not to say he will, but he absolutely could.

He's a damn good pitcher.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Derek Holland has one of the best fastballs of any lefthander in baseball. Its fast (2nd hardest of all lefty starters behind Price, IIRC) and it moves quite a bit. He also has a plus plus breaking ball and the ability to add and subtract from his heat. There's a reason the kid was considered an elite prospect for 2 seasons.

He threw 4 complete game shutouts last season on his own. Have the Royals managed that many in 2 years? Hell, did the Cardinals have that many all season? I know they didn't in 2010.

Derek Holland, when he's locked in, is as capable of shutting down a lineup as anyone in baseball. After the All-Star break this year, he was borderline dominant pitching in an environment that is absolutely brutal to pitch in (Arlington during the dry summer heat is a launching pad).

The kid isn't Anthony Reyes - Derek Holland is absolutely capable of showing up and shutting down this lineup again. That's not to say he will, but he absolutely could.

He's a damn good pitcher.

Holland has the 4th best fastball on his team. It's a very good fastball, but you are wildly overrating it. A guy with a plus-plus breaking ball wouldn't have said pitch rate below Jaime Garcia's. That's a hyperbolic analysis.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Holland has the 4th best fastball on his team. It's a very good fastball, but you are wildly overrating it. A guy with a plus-plus breaking ball wouldn't have said pitch rate below Jaime Garcia's. That's a hyperbolic analysis.

96 mph heat from a LHer is nothing to dick around with.

His 'rate' has nothing to do with the effectiveness of the pitch when he's locked in. He's erratic as all hell and wildly inconsistent. That's why his overall pitch values are down.

But when he has his stuff, it's some of the best in the league. And he's not a guy that loses it mid-game. When he brings his A game, he has it the whole game. He's a start to start inconsistent (easily dealt with in a short series).

I've watched him pitch a bunch this year (I spend a week every month in Oklahoma and that's the FSM channel down there). That kid has incredible stuff when he's right.

It all comes down to which Holland shows up. If the good Holland shows up, he's excellent. At that point, I don't think Carpenter can pitch with him, not on short rest.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

96 mph heat from a LHer is nothing to dick around with.

His 'rate' has nothing to do with the effectiveness of the pitch when he's locked in. He's erratic as all hell and wildly inconsistent. That's why his overall pitch values are down.

But when he has his stuff, it's some of the best in the league. And he's not a guy that loses it mid-game. When he brings his A game, he has it the whole game. He's a start to start inconsistent (easily dealt with in a short series).

I've watched him pitch a bunch this year (I spend a week every month in Oklahoma and that's the FSM channel down there). That kid has incredible stuff when he's right.

It all comes down to which Holland shows up. If the good Holland shows up, he's excellent. At that point, I don't think Carpenter can pitch with him, not on short rest.

A Carpenter with a slightly tired arm isn't necessarily a bad thing in that weather. It allows him to rely on his two seamer more, which isn't going anywhere if he has a little fatigue and it's in the 50s. It doesn't matter anyway, because Washington is going with Harrison should it go to Game 7.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

A Carpenter with a slightly tired arm isn't necessarily a bad thing in that weather. It allows him to rely on his two seamer more, which isn't going anywhere if he has a little fatigue and it's in the 50s. It doesn't matter anyway, because Washington is going with Harrison should it go to Game 7.

So he says, I'll believe it when I see it.

A Carpenter with a tired arm won't be able to reach back for the snap on that curveball and he'll start to 'glide' his slider a little bit as well.

He'll need more than a 2-seamer to get through that lineup; Texas has arguably the best fastball hitting lineup in baseball (if they don't, we do).

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

So he says, I'll believe it when I see it.

A Carpenter with a tired arm won't be able to reach back for the snap on that curveball and he'll start to 'glide' his slider a little bit as well.

He'll need more than a 2-seamer to get through that lineup; Texas has arguably the best fastball hitting lineup in baseball (if they don't, we do).

Dude you thought this team would lose 90 games your baseball expertise is in question.