***OFFICIAL*** 2013 STL Cardinals Thread

[BigRedChief]

From Bernie's column:

People have asked me why we’re not more emotional,” Matheny said in his office after Sunday’s game. “They say that we look subdued, always intense. That our actions are methodical, robotic at times. That’s what got us here. This isn’t the time to change it.”

It’s hard to argue with the manager’s assessment. The Cardinals finished with 97 victories, most by a Cards team since 2005, and tied with Boston for No. 1 in the majors this year.


Their 54-27 showing at Busch Stadium matches the 1985 team for the best single-season home winning percentage (.667) by the Cardinals since 1944.

A postseason theme has emerged, and it echoes the mantra that surfaced before the start of 2013: remember the fall of 2012. Remember falling to San Francisco in the NLCS.


The Cardinals’ veterans still haven’t forgotten. They still aren’t over it. It’s why Matheny resists GM John Mozeliak’s urgings to smile and put on a happier face.


Here's the most impressive aspect of the Cardinals' division championship: they prevailed over two other outstanding teams, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.



The 97-win Cardinals were better this year (regular season) than they were in 2011, when they won 90 games, and 2012, when they won 88.
Here are a few numbers that help put the Cardinals' Central title and No. 1 NL seed in perspective:



* Since MLB switched to a three-division format in each league in 1994, this was only the sixth time that a division had three 90-plus win teams. St. Louis won 97, Pittsburgh 94, and Cincinnati 90.
* Since the format change, this was only the second time that an NL division had three 90-win teams. In 2002 the NL West had Arizona (98 wins), San Francisco (95) and Los Angeles (92).
* The 2013 Cardinals faced more esteemed and difficult competition at the top of the division than any of the division-winning teams managed by Tony La Russa.

The Pirates were hardly pushovers; the Cardinals had to work like mad and kick in with a strong finish to put the division away, and didn't clinch until Game No. 160.



The Cardinals went 9-10 against Pittsburgh this season and were 11-8 vs. Cincinnati.


The Cardinals won only three of 10 games at PNC Park in Pittsburgh and split the 10 games at Cincinnati. The Cardinals were 6-3 against both teams at Busch Stadium.


The Cardinals (1st), Pirates (3rd) and Reds (5th) ranked among the top five in wins in the NL. The three teams were among the top 11 in wins in MLB. All three teams finished in the top five in the majors for best overall ERA, and each were in the top five MLB for best starting-pitching ERA.


The original purpose to this piece was to point out that the Cardinals managed to finish with the league's best record while competing in a division that had three 90-win teams for only the second time in the last 19 years of National League baseball.



The Cardinals really earned this.
Thanks for reading ...
— Bernie

[Jewish Rabbi]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Taveras only comes up if he plays every day. He's not an adequate defensive CFer and Holliday/Beltran aren't bench players. There's no room at the inn for Taveras.

Jackson, OTOH, is on fire and Kozma's managed a .200 OBP and sub .500 OPS over the last 4 weeks along with key errors.

It's time for this insanity to end. Bo Kozma's run is over; he's not a major leaguer. Time to bring up Jackson and install him at SS. If you decide you want to keep Kozma's energy and versatility on the bench, DFA Ty Wigginton.

Taveras is hurt again anyway, according to a tweet I saw last night.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

The Cardinals finally wizened up and released Maikel Cleto. The Royals picked him up. For some bizarre reason the Cardinals still have Marte.

From STL today
In 13 appearances over three seasons, Cleto had a 10.34 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 152/3 innings.

Why would even the Royals want him?

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

From STL today
In 13 appearances over three seasons, Cleto had a 10.34 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 152/3 innings.

Why would even the Royals want him?

Who knows unless they just want an arm down in Omaha. But I will say this the one thing that Dayton Moore does right is bullpen guys.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by frazod

It was a bad series, but they've been waiting over a year and a half for payback from the World Series. Seems like that happens frequently - Team A wins in the playoffs and in their next meeting, Team B stomps Team A's ass.

But it doesn't change the fact that Team A won when it mattered, and Team B knows it.

We are in a funk. That happens over a 162 game schedule. Seems like getting swept gets us out of funks the last few years.

But, I'm concerned about a couple of things from last night.
#1: Over using Rosenthal. I know Matheny has limited options but if he keeps this up he is going to ruin Rosenthal for the year.

#2: Matheny made a big mistake pulling Waino last night. Waino is your ace. He wasn't pitching that bad. He had another batter in him. Waino was pissed. I don't blame him. You have to give your ace a chance to get out of a jam. It's not like he gave up 4-5 runs.

Waino is a leader of the team. He was pissed and spoke out publicly.

Adam Wainwright lost the lead in the seventh, and then he lost his temper.


The St. Louis Cardinals ace strenuously objected to being pulled before Ian Kinsler's go-ahead hit that helped the Texas Rangers complete a soggy three-game interleague sweep with a 2-1 victory Sunday night.
Hearing manager Mike Matheny's assessment that he'd been "laboring" and that it had been "two pretty stressful innings in a row" got Wainwright even hotter.


"He's wrong," Wainwright said after missing a chance to become the National League's first 11-game winner. "You don't want to call your manager out and I would never do that. Laboring is not what I was doing."
After noting Matheny was in charge and criticizing himself for allowing the tying hit, Wainwright (10-5) had more to say on the issue of fatigue. He gave up an earned run in 6 2-3 innings, ending a string of six straight outings of seven innings or longer during which he'd gone 5-1.


"If you think I'm laboring because I went into deep counts, I went into deep counts all day," Wainwright said. "Made good pitches. That's his opinion."


Wainwright said there was no use trying to persuade Matheny to leave him in the game, because the umpires had already been informed of a double switch. He struck out six and walked one.


"No amount of lobbying ... I wasn't going to stay in that game," Wainwright said. "But I mean, no, I didn't want to come out of that game. I felt I was as strong or stronger at the end than I was in the beginning."
He wouldn't say whether he confronted Matheny in the dugout.
"Even if I did, I would never tell y'all that," Wainwright told reporters. "That's something that stays in here."


The rest here:
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseb...7c1c9f109.html

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by PackerinMo

Oh and I knew I wouldn't be alone on Kozma, that SOB can just GTFO.

He cost Waino a L and Rosenthal a hold.

Why not give Jackson a chance? Am I missing something here?

[VAChief]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

T
If you decide you want to keep Kozma's energy and versatility on the bench, DFA Ty Wigginton.

That was not a wise pick up. Time to move on and take your medicine on what you owe him. I'd rather have Waino pinch hit over him right now.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

I actually felt taking Wainwright out when he did was the right move. He didn't have his best control last night, and Yadi refused to call his change, save for one big spot. I don't think that going to Rosenthal in that situation was necessarily the correct maneuver, but it shouldn't have been an issue.

Rosenthal is used to coming in and working a clean frame. Maness is the guy who has been charged with getting out of jams, and he's done a better job of that than he has pitching from an inning's beginning.

Besides, Rosenthal is overworked. Siegrist has looked tremendous so far. He needs more opportunities, and some of those can come in spelling Rosenthal. Blazek also looked fantastic in his short duty Saturday night.

Matheny is coming dangerously close to Joe Torre territory with his pen.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Taveras only comes up if he plays every day. He's not an adequate defensive CFer and Holliday/Beltran aren't bench players. There's no room at the inn for Taveras.

Jackson, OTOH, is on fire and Kozma's managed a .200 OBP and sub .500 OPS over the last 4 weeks along with key errors.

It's time for this insanity to end. Bo Kozma's run is over; he's not a major leaguer. Time to bring up Jackson and install him at SS. If you decide you want to keep Kozma's energy and versatility on the bench, DFA Ty Wigginton.

Jon Jay is the second worst defensive CF in baseball and the worst CF overall this season. Inadequate defensively would be an improvement.

I think Jay looks better than what he is because he is a smooth strider that plays shallow.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

Who knows unless they just want an arm down in Omaha. But I will say this the one thing that Dayton Moore does right is bullpen guys.

He clearly got excellent value out of Joakim Soria.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

I actually felt taking Wainwright out when he did was the right move. He didn't have his best control last night, and Yadi refused to call his change, save for one big spot. I don't think that going to Rosenthal in that situation was necessarily the correct maneuver, but it shouldn't have been an issue.

Rosenthal is used to coming in and working a clean frame. Maness is the guy who has been charged with getting out of jams, and he's done a better job of that than he has pitching from an inning's beginning.

Besides, Rosenthal is overworked. Siegrist has looked tremendous so far. He needs more opportunities, and some of those can come in spelling Rosenthal. Blazek also looked fantastic in his short duty Saturday night.

Matheny is coming dangerously close to Joe Torre territory with his pen.

I would have liked to have seen Siegrist there, personally, but I digress.

However, the move worked out pretty well, in that he got a weak infield fly ball that was dropped.

Kozma makes a junior high catch, we aren't talking about it.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Jon Jay is the second worst defensive CF in baseball and the worst CF overall this season. Inadequate defensively would be an improvement.

I think Jay looks better than what he is because he is a smooth strider that plays shallow.

If Tavares comes up and hits like he is supposed to, Inadequate defense would be ok.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by O.city

I would have liked to have seen Siegrist there, personally, but I digress.

However, the move worked out pretty well, in that he got a weak infield fly ball that was dropped.

Kozma makes a junior high catch, we aren't talking about it.

That's why I said it shouldn't have been an issue

Originally Posted by O.city

If Tavares comes up and hits like he is supposed to, Inadequate defense would be ok.

Oscar Taveras could come up and hit like Lorenzo Cain and still be a marked improvement over Jay

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by VAChief

That was not a wise pick up. Time to move on and take your medicine on what you owe him. I'd rather have Waino pinch hit over him right now.

Evidently he had been helping the coaches with coaching hitting. Matheny says.....

“He’s invested,” Matheny said. “He and John Mabry have put a tag-team approach on the young guys. John will give Ty an assignment for the day — who he needs to kick in the butt or pat on the back. And John works the other direction. He’s been really good for a guy who has been an everyday player. I know it was a tough transition when you’re not used to that once-every-never at-bat.”

[O.city]

This is probably a stretch, but I'm wondering if they are thinking that Craig ends up sticking in a corner OF spot next year or the year after, with Holliday likely moving on if they can.

With their thoughts that they've expressed about keeping Adams, I'm wondering if they want him at 1st, with Craig moving around.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Evidently he had been helping the coaches with coaching hitting. Matheny says.....

“He’s invested,” Matheny said. “He and John Mabry have put a tag-team approach on the young guys. John will give Ty an assignment for the day — who he needs to kick in the butt or pat on the back. And John works the other direction. He’s been really good for a guy who has been an everyday player. I know it was a tough transition when you’re not used to that once-every-never at-bat.”

So he's the best paid assistant coach in MLB history and the only one that occupies a roster spot to boot. Awesome.