Cards and Braves Tangle
September 11, 2009 by Daniel Shoptaw · Leave a Comment
Not much happened on the off day, which is pretty much what you want to hear this time of year. Â There’s a nice article up at the Post-Dispatch about Brendan Ryan and how he’s developed as a shortstop, but that’s about it.On that topic, I will say I’ve been impressed with what Ryan has brought to the team this year. Â I initially wrote him off as another Bo Hart/Joe McEwing type, a scrappy guy that will be a fan favorite but will be exposed in regular playing time.
That hasn’t happened. Â Ryan has shown that he’s got an impressive glove as well as a solid enough bat to not be a liability. Â You aren’t going to settle him down–a day when Brendan Ryan is calm may be a day where you have to check his pulse–but he’s been an asset to the team and may have solved the shortstop position for a few years going forward.
St. Louis gets back to Busch tonight as they host the Braves.  Joel Pineiro takes the mound tonight to keep the run of remarkable pitching going.  The Braves have hit him in the past, but as we’ve seen time and time again this season, past performance is not indicative of future results.  Pineiro faced Atlanta back in April, where he gave up just two runs in an almost-seven inning win.
On the other side, the Cardinal hitters have to try to hit Jair Jurrjens. Â While none of the Cardinals have hit a home run against him, they’ve been able to put up a decent average in past encounters. Â Ironically, he was on the opposite side of that Pineiro game this year and had a similar line, allowing two in an even six innings.
Should be an interesting game as the Cards try to chop into that magic number some more and attempt to hang on to the best record in the National League.
The stat of the day over at the Baseball-Reference blog has to do with the leading winner in the National League. Â It’s pretty nice to see Adam Wainwright’s name on that list of pitchers and hopefully it is an indication of things to come!
Enjoy your weekend, but remember what today is. Â Never forget!
Daniel Shoptaw is the founder of “C70 At The Bat,†where he regularly writes about his beloved St. Louis Cardinals. You can find more of his work here.
