Chat Room Session of April 12, 2008 with Guests Chad Renning & Eric Berger

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Following is the edited chat room session of Saturday, April 12, 2008. The guest’s was Mr. Chad Renning and Mr. Eric Berger. Both gentlemen work in the Media Relations Department for the Memphis Redbirds, the triple A farm club of the St Louis Cardinals. The chat on Saturday was the first of a series of regularly scheduled chat sessions with members of the Memphis Redbirds organization during the 2008 season. The chats will be held on Saturday’s at 10AM at FanHome.com

The Memphis Redbirds (4-4) opened the season with a pair of four game splits at Oklahoma and New Orleans. Three of the team’s four losses came in 10-inning games and Memphis outscored its opponents 40-29 on the road trip. Infielder Jarrett Hoffpauir is leading the offense with a .360 batting average and infielder Brian Barden has been hot as well hitting .324 with a home run and five RBI. Everyone wants to know about outfielder Colby Rasmus, who is hitting .229 with a homer and two RBI while leading off. The Redbirds pitching was extremely impressive on the road trip. They compiled a 3.38 team ERA. Mitchell Boggs didn’t give up any runs in his Triple-A debut that lasted 6.0 innings while earning the win. In 52 total innings, the Redbirds staff has struck out 52 batters, while walking just 20.

The Redbirds open their home schedule on Friday (April 11) and play a four-game series against the Omaha Royals with the Redbirds Red Carpet Home Opener presented by Sam’s Town. Fans were treated like celebrities with a red carpet complete with paparazzi on opening night. The Fireworks schedule starts Saturday April 12 and Baptist Kid’s Opening Day is Sunday the 13th. Memphis closes out the home stand with four games against the Albuquerque Isotopes. All games start at 7:05, with the exception of Saturday 12th (6:05), Sunday 13th (1:35) and Wednesday the 14th (1:05) and people can get tickets at the Memphis Redbirds website or by calling (901) 721-6000.

On the field, it marks the home debut of Rasmus and the Omaha Royals (KC Royals Affiliate) bring in players such as 2006 first overall pick, pitcher Luke Hochevar (was scheduled to pitched the last game of the series, but might miss him because they moved Davies up to start today), former Brave Kyle Davies, who was part of the Octavio Dotel deal and 2003 American League Rookie of the Year Angel Berroa. The Albuquerque Isotopes (Marlins Affiliate) bring in current PCL homerun leader Dallas McPherson.

Now on to the chat session with Chad Renning and Eric Berger of the Memphis Redbirds:


Mike Hobson Not sure how many will show up this AM. But, let's get started. You had you home opener last night - A 6-2 loss to Omaha. Other than that, how did everything go?

Chad Renning It was fun to get the season started that’s for sure, the result Wasn’t what we wanted. We had a good crowd and I think they enjoyed the red carpet atmosphere.

Mike Hobson Was that the first time Memphis had the "red carpet" rolled out for fans? Sounds like it would create a very fun atmosphere. Do you plan on doing it again for "big" games in the future?

Chad Renning It was the first time....it was a bit tough working in a tux last night....we'll have to see if we do it for any other big games.

Ewttexas The start of your season has been somewhat disappointing. I expected one of the starters to stand out. So far, I guess Boggs has been the leader but Wasdin opened to mixed reviews and Parisi, Hawksworth and Rogers have been highly mediocre. Your thoughts?

Eric Berger I think Wasdin is a veteran with plenty of major league Experience. So while his stuff may have declined, I think you can count on him to at the very least be an innings eater.

Chad Renning I haven’t seen Boggs live yet, but everything I’ve heard is that he's a stud.... Wasdin had moments last night when he looked really good and I think Parisi will be there.....it's still pretty early and I think a lot of these guys are getting used to Triple-A

Mike Hobson Wasdin is 1-1 on the season with a 3.09 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. Pretty good numbers so far.

Eric Berger Hawksworth is a guy who at one time was a top prospect but now having had a few surgeries I'd say he’s not pitching at the same level, so I'm not sure what to expect from him.

Mike Hobson Did either one of you guys make it down to Jupiter for Spring Training?

Eric Berger Unfortunately no.

Chad Renning No...Our head PR guy (Kyle Parkinson), (Steve) Selby, Dave Chase and Reggie Williams went down to Jupiter.

Mike Hobson So last night was your first chance to see the team in action?

Chad Renning Yes and I think there’s a lot of potential.

Mike Hobson I would think so also. You have the #1 prospect in the organization - Colby Rasmus - plus a handful of others who should be able to contribute - Mather, Hoffpauir, Freese, Marti & Stavinoha. You should put up some good offensive numbers.

Eric Berger Last night we caught a lot of bad breaks with all those double play balls when it seemed like we could get a rally going.

tulcard Please excuse my ignorance regarding the roster, but is Freese at 3B? Do you feel he and Hoffpauir will be ready for the major leagues when Glaus' and Kennedy's contracts expire?

Chad Renning Freese is at 3b…. Hoffpauir could be ready...he's started out hot

tulcard Do you feel Freese or Craig is the better prospect?

Chad Renning I've seen very little of both guys so I don't think I could make that call yet....

Mike Hobson I saw Freese in spring training for the first time in March. From what I saw, he may be better with the glove, but I think Craig wins the job with his bat

Chad Renning Freese was actually in the NWL when I was in Salem and got to see him for four games early in the year and he was raking....so I think that potential is there.

Mike Hobson And IIRC, he was blocked in the Padres organization at 3B. True?

Chad Renning Yes...the padres are pretty high on heady... he's listed as their No. 1 prospect in Baseball America

tulcard How has C. Perez begun the season? How has his control been?

Chad Renning He's struggled a bit...he's got a save and one blown..... he's not walking too many people and his ERA is up....again last night was the first time I've seen most of these guys live and he didn’t pitch, so I’m just going off numbers

tulcard Well, it's early in the season so I am sure Perez will settle in and perform well.

Chad Renning Yes, I don’t think too many people are worried about Perez.... he’ll be there

Mike Hobson Last year Stavinoha started off well and then tailed off after an illness. This year he's got his weight back up and leads the team in RBI's (7). Do you see him in the mix for the future?

Chad Renning Yes, I think the outfield is loaded.... Mather, Rasmus, Marti, Stavinoha...I think they all could win a job...this year will be a good one to see who separates from the pack

tulcard Also, I've read the Hoffpauir's glove is questionable? Is this the case or can he handle the job at 2B in the future?

Chad Renning I think Hoffpauir can handle the 2B duties...he had an error last night, but the infield was drawn in and it was a ball to his right.... tough play that he got a glove on and couldn’t handle

Mike Hobson Tully - From the games I've seen with Hoffpauir, he's shown good range and catch's everything hit his way. He got a knock on him early about the glove and hasn't been able to shake it. That said. The one to watch in the future is Jose Martinez (now at Springfield)

Chad Renning I did see that Martinez had a pretty good spring

Mike Hobson Yes, Martinez did. I look for him and Tyler Greene to be the MI combination for St Louis in the future - replacing Izturis/Kennedy

Coop Mike Parisi is such a great guy, I am hoping for him. He chases down fans to greet them and be friends.

Chad Renning Yes, every interaction I've had with Parisi thus far has been really pleasant and he's been a really great guy to work with so far

rchrisr I'm in a roto league and not doing so well to start the season. Is there anyone in the Cardinals organization I should be looking at who may be flying under the radar, but able to contribute with the big club later in the season?

Eric Berger Joe Mather. Right now he's on the disabled list but he had a great spring and I know the organization is high on him

tulcard What's wrong with Mather?

Eric Berger He's got some back problems but they expect him back next week I believe

Eric Berger A sleeper might by Cazana-Marti, he's a Cuban defector who got a longer look for the big club with La Russa then anyone expected, so he might be someone to look out for

tulcard How is Martinez hitting wise?

Chad Renning Martinez is struggling with the stick, I think he's hitting .180ish...but like we’ve said with everything its early

Eric Berger Right now as far as pitching is concerned, they'll have so much depth at the big league level once these guys (Mulder, Pineiro, Clement, and maybe Carpenter) come off the disabled list I'm not sure how much of a shot the young guys will get in the rotation this year.

Mike Hobson Memphis replaced their pitching coach (Dyar Miller) this year with Blaise Ilsley. Could you approach him for next week and find out what between-starts he has his starting pitchers doing?

Chad Renning I'll do my best.... I saw them yesterday, doing conditioning drills in the outfield and the Commercial Appeal had a pretty good story about Ilsley in yesterday's paper

Mike Hobson I saw that article on Ilsley. One of our posters is big into following pitchers and he's curious as to what they do in between starts and how they prepare for their next start.

Chad Renning The first two days after a start they are pretty much off, with light conditioning...they throw on the side the 3rd day and depending on the pitcher some will throw long toss

Coop I'm really liking that the Cards are coming around with young guys and building the organization. Looks like a good team in Memphis this year.

Eric Berger Yes it should be, I think the outfield should serve as the cornerstone to our team. I think what we'll determine our success is our starting pitching.

Chad Renning Yes...it's exciting to have prospects in the farm....

Mike Hobson Since you’re new to the organization, there's a couple of kids to keep an eye on at Memphis for the future. Pitchers Jaime Garcia & Clayton Mortensen, C Bryan Anderson, 2B Jose Martinez & SS Tyler Greene.

Mike Hobson Eric - is this your first year also?

Eric Berger Yep, I'm from Saint Louis though and have grown up a Cardinals fan.

Chad Renning Yes, we had to research all those guys coming into the year because we weren’t exactly sure who would be here, that was a great part of this job...so we know a bit about them..

Eric Berger Yes, Garcia is a guy I know the organization is high on and could be at Memphis this season, Baseball America predicted Mortensen would be the quickest climber in the organization, so he certainly could be here this season

Chad Renning Anderson came for the Cardinals caravan and seemed like a great guy, real positive

Eric Berger Anderson's hitting is certainly pretty developed given his age and I think he could be triple-a ready, It's more an issue of playing time and he'll get more of that at Springfield.

Eric Berger Mark Johnson is a major league veteran and someone who could be ready to play in Saint Louis should something happen to Molina or LaRue

tulcard Since Anderson has a good bat and is "blocked" by Molina at the catcher's position ...do you think he will be asked to learn another position?

Chad Renning Yes, I know there’s been rumors of trying to switch positions, but everything I've heard is he is really solid catching and has all the defensive skills and a love for the position.... I know Matheny has been working with him

Eric Berger Yes, I'm not quite sure what the organization plans to do with Him. Mike Matheny worked with him in spring training on defensive fundamentals and just handling a pitching staff and he was very positive regarding his potential. So I'm not sure a position change is anything they are planning on

Chad Renning Good call Eric....

tulcard Well, hopefully he'll continue working with Matheny and some day get a shot.

Chad Renning Most of the young guys are just that.... young and need more time to develop

Eric Berger But, like you said the Cardinals just signed Molina to an extension so he's not going anywhere anytime soon and given that the Cardinals have made no secret of it that they will be looking for a bat latter in the season, Anderson could serve as good trade material

Mike Hobson In two years, you never know what can happen. Injuries, trades, etc. So it's always good to have someone like Anderson coming up through the system. If nothing else, he's trade bait.

tulcard I just hate to see us trade away good prospects.

rchrisr Can someone tell me what the appeal with Pineiro is? Was very average in the AL. The Cards seem to have a few good, young arms, and one of them is moving out of the starting rotation when Pineiro comes back.

Chad Renning I think because Pineiro is a proven major leaguer with experience

Eric Berger Pineiro pitched well for the Cardinals down the stretch last season and they gave him a fairly sizable contract, (6 mil a year I believe) so I think the team believes in what he can do, he also has bullpen experience so once these guys get healthy or if he falters he could be effective out of the bullpen as well

Mike Hobson On Pineiro, the Cards worked with him on his mechanics (something Dave Duncan is very good at) and also corrected him tipping off his pitch's.

Eric Berger Yes, Pineiro certainly fits the mold of a guy Duncan likes to work with, a veteran who has good stuff but may just need some slight adjustment in his mechanics or his pitching approach to have more success

tulcard Pineiro prefers starting and seems to be a hellava competitor. I see him continuing in the rotation. It wouldn't surprise me if he won 15+ games.

Mike Hobson I also like Pineiro. He fills the role of an innings-eater much like Suppan. 13-15 wins are within the realm of possibility.

Coop Brian Barden surprised me at SS after they picked him up. He even got a good shot at St. Louis utility position. Do you think his fielding is going to be good for Memphis, now? We do have SS's coming up.

Eric Berger Barden is a guy who has gotten two brief shots in the big leagues, one with the Cardinals, so people have certainly believed in him. I think he should be a mainstay at short for Memphis this year.

Chad Renning Yes.... He made one great play in the hole last night and I know he's one of those guys who has spent time Bigs....he also had a great year in Tucson, put up big numbers, but Arizona has Drew, Hudson and Reynolds

Eric Berger There are other guys in the organization but there are no other middle infielders that really jumps out at you who you can say they'll be at Saint Louis soon, so to me Hoffpauir and Barden are the two who could see some action at the big league level this year

Chad Renning Barden is swinging it well right now too

Mike Hobson And also remember that Brendan Ryan should be back shortly in the major league mix. I saw where he played in the game at extended camp that Mulder pitched in the other day.

Chad Renning Great point

Eric Berger Yea Ryan should be a good backup for both Kennedy and Izturis and could challenge for more playing time should one of them struggle

Eric Berger Another middle infielder to look out for, though he’s a ways off is Pete Kozma

Chad Renning How did Mulder look?

Mike Hobson The two reports that I heard - both said "Outstanding". I think I read yesterday, that he'll start his 30-day rehab on Tuesday with Palm Beach. I'm sure Memphis would like to see him for 2-3 starts in Memphis

Coop They are really raving about how good Mulder looked. I had thought that he might be done.

Chad Renning That’s good news.... It would be fun to see him here

Eric Berger I think you can expect Mulder to be solid if not spectacular, the team clearly thinks he has something left or they wouldn’t have given him an extension with the knowledge he was going to miss the majority of last season

Eric Berger and he has always said he’s eager to prove what he can do, saying that even his 2005 season where he was a solid number two, was not a good indication of what he brings to the table

tulcard Does Ryan really have a goofy or abrasive personality or is he just immature and not sure of himself around major leaguers?

Chad Renning I've heard Ryan is pretty goofy

Mike Hobson If you ever spend time around Ryan, you'll find that he is super hyper. Never sits still for more than 30 seconds.

Eric Berger Yea and I think that’s and his whole approach to the game is some of the reason La Russa questions whether he’s ready as a full time starter. He apparently has mental lapses in the field.

tulcard I've seen some weird gyrations by ballplayers, but licking your shoulder like a cat tops the list. Must have sandpaper for a tongue!

Coop Mitchell Boggs is going at 6PM. Seems like he might be something special.

Chad Renning Yes, could be a good match up with Boggs and Lumsden...who’s high on the Royals prospect list

Eric Berger Yea Boggs has been very consistent in his time as a pro and has risen fairly quickly, so I'm excited to see what he can do at this level

Chad Renning Should be fun to watch tonight

Eric Berger He was a big part of the solid rotation Springfield had last year

Mike Hobson Unless anyone has more questions for Chad & Eric - We're coming up on the top of the hour. I want to thank Chad & Eric for joining us this morning in our first chat session of the 2008 season. I look forward to seeing them often over the summer. Thanks Guys!

ArRedbird Maybe something to answer for next week: What's the radar reading on Worrell, Motte, Castellanos, and Perez?

Eric Berger To be continued.....

Chad Renning Will do...thanks for having us.... see you next week


Stay tuned. The Cards board will be chatting with members of the Memphis Redbirds every Saturday at 10 AM throughout the 2008 season. Stop by and join in the fun!

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