A Tough Split (Plus, Win Free Stuff!)

OK, most of you know about the free stuff, but let me get this out of the way first before we talk about the last two games against the Brewers.  Wilson, the makers of the official ball glove and catcher’s mask of MLB, has given me the rights to 20 tickets to FanFest, this week’s celebration of baseball in St. Louis.  These tickets are completely free and can be used at any time or day after pickup.  The only catch is that you have to pick them up in person Saturday between noon and three.  If you are interested, e-mail me (it’s at the top of the blog) by 6 pm tonight and I’ll get the names to Wilson and the pickup info to you.

Speaking of FanFest, it’s a testament to how the walls between casual bloggers and professional media are blurring somewhat, but your humble correspondant has been put on the media credentials list for Friday, when I will be up in St. Louis visiting FanFest.  If I’m able to be coherent enough to actually do an interview, I’ll be sure to get it up somewhere, though it may be after I return.  Then again, the odds of all that are pretty slim if the past is any indication.

Tuesday’s game was a wonderful thing.  Even after Adam Wainwright had thrown 120 pitches against the Giants, he was able to come back and shut down the Brewers, though again, it was with 120 pitches.  You have to hope that the extra workload won’t cause him many problems down the stretch.  When he’s on, though, he’s a bulldog, and it’s great to see him and Chris Carpenter running back to back like that, at least if you are a fan of great pitching.

It’s also good to see Wainwright being so tough on a divisional rival.  He’s only allowed two runs in three games to the Brewers so far this year, so if they start thinking he had their number, that could play into the Cardinals’ hands down the stretch.

If it wasn’t for Wainwright, Colby Rasmus would have gotten the Hero nod.  (Ironically, last time Wainwright pitched, Rasmus edged him out for the honor.)  Three hits, including a home run and a double, really helped set the tone and solidify him as possibly the biggest, most consistent bat outside of Albert Pujols on this team.  I hope he’s rested up, because Rasmus won’t see too many off days the rest of the year.

A good night for Ryan Ludwick as well.  Getting that three-run homer early helped keep Yovani Gallardo from really settling in.  I still think Ludwick is going to have a strong second half.

Our Goat is pretty easy too.  When you go 0-5 with the golden sombrero of four strikeouts, plus leave five men on base, well, you are the goat.  C’mon down, Rick Ankiel!  Possibly the most mindblowing thing I’ve seen recently happened in last night’s game, where the Brewers walked Ankiel intentionally.  Talk about giving up an out!  You can hear us go on about it close to the end of last night’s UCB Radio Hour.

Last night’s game was pretty disappointing.  To get up 4-1 against the team closest to you in the standings and then immediately cough it up is a terrible thing.  It never should have gotten to needing a bases-loaded hit against Trevor Hoffman.  I think the world of Yadier Molina and he’s the guy I’d want up there in the situation (if it wasn’t Pujols), but that’s not what you want to see after such a lead.  Even with the grounder in the ninth, Molina’s two for five night still gets him Hero status.

You really hate to realize that you lost because you couldn’t throw Prince Fielder out.  If he hits one deep, that’s one thing, but this is not a guy that you’d expect to be beating out an infield single.

There’s got to be a strong chance that Todd Wellemeyer is just about at the end of his rope.  Tony LaRussa’s comments after the game showed a large amount of frustration with the pitcher.  With Kyle Lohse ready to return, Wellemeyer and Brad Thompson both are probably not wanting to be called into the manager’s office.

On the positive side, the offense was able to put up four runs and take a lead with absolutely nothing from Rasmus and Pujols.  So maybe they are showing signs of life.

The big talk off the field is, of course, the possibility that the Cardinals could be in on Roy Halladay. This is going to be one of those classic “win now, be weak later” vs. “contend for a long time” debates that will continue to swirl for the rest of the month, I’d expect.

On the face of it, even though I love pitching and I love Halladay, I didn’t think I’d be in favor of this deal.  The Cardinals are going to need young players to come up through the ranks and develop this team in order to support Albert’s next contract.

The more I read about it, though, the more I start wondering if maybe this isn’t a deal the Cardinals can make.  Obviously, if it’s a Brett Wallace and Colby Rasmus type deal, then no can do.  But Wallace, while I’d love to see him in St. Louis, is going to be a first baseman some day according to all reports.  For someone of Halladay’s stature, I wouldn’t make him untouchable.

Throw in another few prospects, such as Bryan Anderson, Pete Kozma, Clayton Mortenson, even Daryl Jones (though the latter should be a last resort kinda thing) and, while you’ve damaged the farm system, it’s not completely depleted.  Not to mention the two draft picks you’ll get when Halladay signs elsewhere, assuming he doesn’t take a below-market deal to stay in St. Louis.

Plus, what better way to prove to Albert that you are committed to winning than to put together a team that could go deep into October, at least for the next two years?  Then, in 2011, you’ve got some young guys to put into the mix and some funds to sign a FA or two to at least keep the team from being a Pirates-level disaster.

Think about best case scenario if you make the deal.  Troy Glaus is close to going on a rehab assignment.  Say he does well and can contribute.  You could have a lineup of:

Schumaker 2B
Rasmus CF
Pujols 1B
Ludwick RF
Glaus 3B
DeRosa LF
Molina C
Pitcher
Ryan SS

And a rotation of Halladay/Carpenter/Wainwright/Lohse/Pineiro.  Tell me that wouldn’t do some damage, especially in the NL Central and short series in October?  Plus, assuming you could resign DeRosa, only Glaus and Pineiro would change for next season, creating the chances for a strong 2010.

I’m not saying that the Cardinals absolutely should do the deal, but it’s a more realistic and less damaging scenario than I originally expected.

With that, I’m basically signing off for the next 10 days.  While I have internet on my phone, I’m not sure I can hunt and peck out an entry and probably won’t have the time to anyway.  I’ll share pictures from FanFest when I return.

However, you won’t be entirely without content.  Later today I’ll put up the post for the United Cardinal Bloggers next project, a live blog on Sunday that will start at noon and hopefully go from there until the end of the second game of the Cards/Cubs doubleheader.  You can see this live blog on any of the UCB members that are participating as well as the official UCB website.  You can interact with the members as well, asking questions and just talking baseball.  It’ll be a chance to look back at the first half as well as get ready for the stretch run.  It should be fun (and I hate that I’ll miss it!)