Wednesday, April 1, 2009

March UCB Project, Day Three: NL Central Predictions


We hit the midpoint of the week and the high point of the project today with the National League Central, home of our beloved Cardinals. This one could actually be tough on some of us, possibly having to rank the Cardinals not only not first, but behind the Cubs. See how many of these were (and weren’t!) able to do that.

United Cardinal Bloggers

Chris Perez Throws For Triple-A Memphis

A few more notes to wrap up a hot, sunny Wednesday at Roger Dean Stadium:

Springfield News-Leader

Springfield, St. Louis Cardinals Lose To Mets

It was a rough day for the Cardinals against the Mets. St. Louis lost to the New York Mets, 5-2, and Springfield's relievers had rough outings in a 9-1 loss.

Springfield News-Leader

Final Cardinals Spot Might Go Down To Wire

There's a good chance the Cardinals will not finalize their Opening Day roster before they leave on Friday for two exhibitions against their Triple-A Memphis affiliate.

Cardinals Official Site

Chris Carpenter Scratched; Still Set For April 9

Cardinals right-hander Chris Carpenter has been scratched from his scheduled Friday exhibition start due to a mild left calf injury. However, he fully expects to make his regular-season debut as planned on Thursday, April 9, at home against the Pirates.

Cardinals Official Site

Troy Glaus Out Until At Least June

Troy Glaus will take his quest to recuperate from offseason right shoulder surgery west. After joining his teammates for two exhibition games in Memphis, as well as Opening Day in St. Louis, Glaus will travel to Phoenix to begin the next phase of his rehabilitation. It now appears that the third baseman is likely out until at least the beginning of June.

Cardinals Official Site

Memphis Redbirds Blanked By Buffalo

As their Spring Training campaign winds down, the Redbirds never could find a rhythm in a 6-0 loss to Buffalo (Mets) in their second-to-last game before heading back to Memphis.

Memphis Redbirds Official Site

Cardinals Minor Matters: 4-1-09

The Cardinal Nation

Mets Beat Cardinals 5-2: Rick Ankiel & Chris Duncan Both Solo HR, Albert Pujols & Skip Schumaker Both Double, Kyle Lohse Struggles

Individual Highlights:
Rick Ankiel 1-for-3 with one home run, one RBI, and one run.
Albert Pujols 2-for-3 with one double, one walk, one strikeout, and assisted in three double plays.
Chris Duncan 1-for-2 with one home run, one RBI, one run, two walks, and one strikeout.
Skip Schumaker 1-for-2 with one double and assisted in two double plays.
Dennys Reyes One inning, one hit, no runs, and one strikeout. (g/f:2-0)
David Kopp One inning, no hits or runs, and one strikeout. (g/f:1-1)

Rough Outing:
Brian Barden 0-for-2 with one strikeout.
Joe Thurston 0-for-2.
Ryan Ludwick 0-for-3 with one ground into double play.
Yadier Molina 0-for-2 with one strikeout and allowed one stolen base.
Steven Hill 0-for-1 with one ground into double play.
Joe Mather 0-for-2 with one strikeout.
Kyle Lohse Started, Loss (3-2), six innings, seven hits, three earned runs, two home runs, one missed catch error, four strikeouts, and assisted in one double play. 0-for-2 at the plate. (g/f:8-6)
Kyle McClellan One inning, one hit, two earned runs, one home run, and one walk. (g/f:3-0)

Boxscore
Cardinals Official Site Post Game
Cardinal Beat Post Game

Jason Motte Likely Closer For Cardinals

Tony LaRussa has not made it official yet, but Jason Motte is currently the favorite to take over ninth-inning duties for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2009.

MVN Around The Majors

Rocket Holding Out On Memphis Redbirds Camp

The Memphis Redbirds mascot Rockey the Rockin' Redbird continues his holdout of Redbirds Camp just two days before the Redbirds will host the St. Louis Cardinals for a pair of exhibition games on Friday and Saturday.

Memphis Redbirds Official Site

Chris Carpenter Scratched From Friday Start Due To Mild Calf Injury

Cardinals right-hander Chris Carpenter has been scratched from his scheduled Friday exhibition start due to a mild left calf injury. However, he fully expects to make his regular-season debut as planned on Thursday, April 9, at home against the Pirates.
Obviously, You're Not A Golfer

St. Louis Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter felt a grab in his left calf during workouts Monday and will miss his final scheduled start of spring training, which was set to be Friday in Memphis against the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate.
Cardinal Beat

Cardinals Medical Report 4-1-09

TROY GLAUS - Cardinals third baseman Troy Glaus was recently examined by Cardinals head physician Dr. George Paletta and Dr. Lew Yocum of Los Angeles, who performed Glaus' shoulder surgery this past off-season.

Cardinals Official Site

Minor League Transactions 4-1-09

Former Cardinals:
White Sox signed Kelvin Jimenez and released Stuart Pomeranz.
Astros released Josh Pressley.
Angels signed Terry Evans and optioned him to Triple-A.
Mets signed Robinson Cancel and released Ron Villone.
Phillies released Justin Pope, Blaine Neal, and Scott Thomas.
Blue Jays released Mike Maroth.
Nationals added Dmitri Young to 40-man roster.

St. Louis Cardinals
Signed: LHP Charlie Manning
Released: RHP Hyang-Nam Choi, RHP Wayne Daman, RHP Miguel Flores, RHP Russ Haltiwanger, RHP Jameson Maj, RHP Jose Mateo, RHP Jon Mikrut, RHP Zach Pitts, LHP Joe Rogers, LHP Matt Spade, C Christian Rosa, 2B Isaias Garcia, 3B Brian Cartie, 3B Nick Vera
Traded: RHP Luke Gregerson to Padres as player to be named in trade for SS Khalil Greene
Optioned to Triple-A: RHP Blake Hawksworth, SS Tyler Greene
Outrighted to Triple-A and removed from 40-man roster: LHP Royce Ring

Baseball America

Batavia Muckdogs Choose "Homer" As New Mascot Name

Over 100 names were submitted by local residents for the Batavia Muckdogs' "Name the Mascot Contest." Out of the many entries, the name "Homer" was voted as the winner. Katie Houseknecht of East Bethany, NY was the first to submit the name and was also the very first name submission in the contest.
Batavia Muckdogs Official Site

Homer is the moniker selected for the Batavia Muckdogs following a contest among local residents.
The Batavian

Let's Fill The Roster With Marginal Players!

Nothing like a nonsensical trade rumor to awaken a dormant blogger…

Five O'Clock Blogger

Future Redbirds Top 20: Great Expectations (6-10)

Magwitch approved content.

Future Redbirds

Round Two: St. Louis, Meet Your New 3B

THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: With news of an uncertain timetable for Troy Glaus’ return, it’s now looking like David Freese will man the hot corner for the Cardinals to begin the season. Coming over from the Padres via trade and spending just one year in the Cardinals’ minor league system, many here don’t know much about Freese. What would you tell people to expect to see from Freese at 3B and at the plate as the season gets under way?

STL Today

2009 Draft Preview #5

tried really, really hard to come up with some sort of April Fool's joke to use this morning. I thought about staging some sort of mock resignation, complete with cursing and yelling about the other mods here, or something to do with Conficker taking over my computer, or maybe a fake player profile, something along the lines of Sidd Finch. In the end, I just couldn't come up with anything that I really liked. So, no April Fool entertainment for you guys. Sorry.

Viva El Birdos

Theses MLB Stars Must Get Well Soon (& Stay Well)

Chris Carpenter, SP, St. Louis Cardinals
Carpenter hasn't won a regular season game since Sept. 16, 2006. He has made only four starts and pitched 21 1/3 innings in the past two seasons because of various shoulder and elbow woes.

Before the injuries, Carpenter ranked among the best pitchers in the National League. From 2004-06, Carpenter went 51-18, won the N.L. Cy Young Award in 2005 and finished third in the Cy Young voting in 2006.

Carpenter might never return to award-winning form, but the Cardinals can live with that. If he can step into the middle of the rotation, they will be a better club than the group that won 86 games last season.

Carpenter gave the Cardinals good reason to be optimistic. He opened the spring with 19 scoreless innings and was the first St. Louis pitcher to go six innings.

"He's throwing well enough that they aren't putting the ball in play early, and he has a finishing pitch," pitching coach Dave Duncan said. "When he gets to a 0-1, 1-2 count, he's trying to put the guy away."

Sporting News

Joe Strauss Live 4-1-09

The Cardinals beat writer goes one-on-one with readers at noon Wednesday in a live chat from Jupiter, Fla.

STL Today

Troy Glaus To Rehab In Phoenix

St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Troy Glaus will leave the team after Opening Day to continue his rehabilitation from January surgery in Phoenix. The rehab will be directly supervised by Keith Kocher, who helped Glaus recover from 2004 rotator cuff and labrum surgery. Kocher is tied professionally to Los Angeles Angels team orthopedic Dr. Lewis Yocum, who performed the Jan. 21 procedure that addressed Glaus’ stretched and frayed subscapularis muscle.
Cardinal Beat

Troy Glaus: Out Until At Least June

Jason Isringhausen Will Stay With Rays, Go To Disabled List

Jason Isringhausen will be added to the Rays’ 40-man roster and “most likely” open the year on the disabled list, Andrew Friedman said today.
TBO Blogs

Jason Isringhausen will remain with the Rays.
Rays Official Site

Tour Of The Minor League Standout Players

Dustin Mattison takes a quick tour of players who are standing out in the St. Louis Cardinals minor league camp

The Birdhouse

St.Louis @ Memphis: Friday Night's Starters

Two very different pitchers are scheduled to start when St. Louis invades Memphis on Friday night on FOX Sports Midwest – veteran Chris Carpenter and prospect P.J. Walters.

The Birdhouse

2009 Organization Talent Rankings

8. Cardinals

Baseball America

Cardinals' Opening Series Matchups & More

Something to tide over a ravenous fan base until JSL!!! makes its final appearance of spring training around noon Central Time.

Cardinal Beat

Rays Resassign Adam Kennedy, Chris Richard, & Michel Hernandez

The Rays haven’t handed down any official roster moves just yet, but unofficially, six veteran non-roster invitees have been told they won’t be on the Rays’ Opening Day roster.
TBO Blogs

The following non-roster players did not make the Rays' 25-man roster and will be reassigned to Triple-A Durham -- first baseman Chris Richard; outfielders Jon Weber and Ray Sadler; catcher Michel Hernandez; and infielders Adam Kennedy and Ray Olmedo.
Rays Official Site

Around The Minors: Top Prospects 2009

MLB Video

Springfield's Steven Hill To Spend Time At Catcher, First Base, & Outfield

Springfield Cardinals slugger Steven Hill will play catcher, first base and outfield, Hill said today at Roger Dean Stadium.

Springfield News-Leader

Springfield Cardinals Set For Last Home Spring Training Game

A few quick things before I head out to the fields at Roger Dean Stadium on a sunny, 78-degree morning:

Springfield News-Leader

Cardinals Heading Down The Stretch

The Cardinals beat the Orioles yesterday 7-3 as they started their stretch of "lasts" in Florida. Yesterday was the last road trip and likely the last time the regular lineup won't at least start a game, with Albert Pujols and Khalil Greene staying home.

C70 At The Bat

Pledge Drive Thank You

The album title, “An Attitude of Gratitude,” expresses my feelings today as readers responded with $325 in donations on the last day of the Baseball Musings Pledge Drive. That brought the final tally to $3615. Thanks to everyone from the bottom of my heart for your support. Your dollars pay for hosting, statistics and the software that keeps this site running.

Baseball Musings

Ryan Rayburn Report False

According to the Cardinals, the report in the Detroit Free-Press this morning is false. They are not in talks with the Tigers for Ryan Raburn.

Busch Basement

Brian Barden Gets Shot At Third For Cardinals Against Johan Santana

Infielder Brian Barden, who has hit .400 and fielded well in mostly backup roles this spring for the St. Louis Cardinals, will get a start at third base and bat leadoff today in an exhibition game _ against New York Mets lefthanded ace Johan Santana. Barden is one of several players jousting for the final roster spot on the Cardinals’ 25-man Opening Day roster.

Cardinal Beat

Cardinals Spring Training Notebook 4-1-09

A trade in the works with Detroit, Adam Wainwright named the Opening Day starter, team wins 18th game, to set a new Grapefruit League wins record since playing in Jupiter Florida.

The Birdhouse

TotalZone On Center Field Prospects

Thanks to the efforts of Sean Smith and Jeff Sackmann, we now have TotalZone stats for the minor leagues, which can be found at players' pages at Minor League Splits. You can read up on how useful and reliable these stats are here.

Beyond The Boxscore

Tigers Working On Deal To Send Ryan Raburn To St. Louis

The Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals have recently discussed a trade that would send infielder/outfielder Ryan Raburn to St. Louis, according to one person in the industry with knowledge of the talks.
Detroit Free Press

According to one source in the industry with knowledge of the talks the St. Louis Cardinals and Detroit Tigers have discussed a trade.
The Birdhouse

Reliever Francisco Samuel Impressive With Springfield Cardinals

When Francisco Samuel walked to the mound for the Springfield Cardinals on Monday, opposing pitchers flocked behind the backstop to watch the slight 22-year-old light up the radar gun.

Springfield News-Leader

Springfield Cardinals Report 4-1-09

Today's game

Springfield plays host to the Double-A Mets at 1 p.m. in its last scheduled home game of the spring. St. Louis plays host to the New York Mets in its second-to-last home game of spring training.

Springfield News-Leader

Memphis Redbirds Exhibition Sales Going Slow

For those Memphis-area St. Louis Cardinals fans who were glad to see their team continue its affiliation with the Memphis Redbirds, now's your chance to show your appreciation.

Memphis Commercial Appeal

Veteran Sidney Ponson Appears Set For Royals Rotation

It doesn’t matter, it seems, that veteran right-hander Sidney Ponson gave up seven runs in five innings Tuesday in a 7-2 loss to the Oakland A’s.

Kansas City Star

Rays Want To Keep Reliever Jason Isringhausen On The Roster

Jason Isringhausen met Tuesday morning with Rays manager Joe Maddon, pitching coach Jim Hickey and vice president of baseball Andrew Friedman to discuss Isringhausen’s immediate future. That’s why Maddon and Hickey arrived at City of Palms Park less than an hour before the start of the Rays game with the Red Sox.

Bradenton Herald

Skip Schumaker Changes Name To Cinco Cinco

An infielder’s glove isn’t the only new thing that Cardinal second baseman Skip Schumaker will be trying on for the 2009 season. On Wednesday morning, Schumaker announced that he’s going to play the upcoming season under the name “Cinco Cinco.”

Fungoes

Spring Training: Has Central Taken Step Back?

St. Louis, an 86-game winner despite tons of adversity, did little more than add .213-hitting Khalil Greene at shortstop. The Cardinals are counting on Chris Carpenter to be healthy after his elbow limited him to 15 innings last year. If so, he and Adam Wainwright would be a nice 1-2 for the rotation. If not ...

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette