Lots of stories are happening this week, but the Cardinals still managed to let another game go with a 3-2 loss to the Astros. The Cards are 4.5 games behind the Brewers now with 27 games to go; September is looking like it's going to be the make-or-break month once again. We absolutely have to win these next two against Houston and hope the Brewers can let one get away in Pittsburgh. Quick Hits coming up.
Phelps -- The Cardinals called up
Josh Phelps on Wednesday
as another pinch-hitter. After starting out *very* slow in Memphis, Josh ended his minor league stint with a .291/.373/.568 line and 31 homers and 96 ribbies. What turned Tony and Co. on to Phelps was his monster July, which featured 14 home runs, a .426 OBP, and a .509 isolated power. In case you can't grasp that last statistic, consider that
Albert Pujols' ISOP this year is .276 and
Ludwick's is .300. Phelps definitely earned a call-up, but you won't see him playing the field very often - his primary position is first base and he's never patrolled a major league outfield. As a pinch-hitter, I'm on board with the move.
Carp -- In what seems like a flip-flop with
Adam Wainwright, staff ace
Chris Carpenter may be returning to the bullpen when he comes back. At this point, I have to agree with that thinking, as a team with Chris in the bullpen is better than a team with no Chris at all. Wainwright had actually shown he was capable of starting from his rehab starts in the minors; Carp, on the other hand, is still uncertain when it comes to how fast his arm will heal. Keeping innings off it for a couple weeks could keep it from locking up once again. They're close enough in the standings to restrain from shutting Chris down again altogether - he'll throw from a mound on Sunday.
Rotations -- It's
confirmed,
Joel Pineiro will start on Monday and Wainwright will start on Tuesday. The Cards could have skipped Joel while still giving Adam 4 days rest. That's what I would have done.
Trades -- Interesting stuff over at
The Hardball Times, which evaluates the
Harden trade as a sample.
Defense -- Using the Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) metric, Chris Dial at BBTF has Albert Pujols (+9) slightly behind Mark Teixeira (+11) for best defense at first base. Interesting observation:
Mark Teixeira (+11) had a good year in his 100 games with the Braves, but has moved to the AL. Albert Pujols (+9) is nipping at his heels, and will certainly deserve the Gold Glove. I watched a bit more of Pujols this year defensively, and I think that DRS may underrate him *slightly* because of his beautiful skill to take a grounder at first and get the runner at second base. Most first basemen will take the runner at first rather than risk the throw, but Albert makes it smoothly, and that has slightly higher run value.
Adam Kennedy is slightly behind Chase Utley at second base, and the Cardinals as a whole are +21, 13 behind the defensive-best Philadelphia Phillies.
Must win today.
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