Getting Run Over

Say, did anyone get the license plate of that truck?

It was a pretty disappointing weekend all in all.  There were glimmers of good things, but on the whole it was a dark cloud on the horizon, putting the breaks on what had been a glorious run through August and September.

Let’s look at the series so that we can put it behind us and move on to Florida.

Friday (1-0 loss)
Hero: Joel Pineiro.  Sure, he wound up taking the loss, but you have to give him credit for a one-run, seven-inning outing.  He really didn’t do anything wrong, just couldn’t get the support to fashion a win.
Goat: Albert Pujols.  No hits.  Two strikeouts.  Two errors.  Not exactly his normal MVP-type night.
Notes: What’s extremely frustrating about this one was the fact that Matt Holliday was safe at home but was called out by the umpire.  That call goes the right way, the game is tied and perhaps things take on a different complexion.

Saturday (6-5 loss)
Hero: Colby Rasmus.  It’s a tough call, but he had a pretty good all around game with two hits, a run and an RBI.
Goat: Ryan Franklin.  Not so tough of a call.  If you are given a week off, you probably better convert your first opportunity rather than blow the save before you even get an out.
Notes: Not the kind of game you wanted to see out of Kyle Lohse.  You hoped that he’d be able to contribute to the postseason, but he’s going to have to look a lot better than that to fulfill that wish.  Of course, it sounds like he didn’t have the best of things going on behind him, either.  Still, the team rallied and had the lead in the ninth, which is something.

Sunday (9-2 loss)
Hero: Skip Schumaker.  Apparently the only guy that could really figure out Javier Vazquez, as he had three of the team’s seven hits.
Goat: Chris Carpenter.  Was that really Chris Carpenter on the mound?  Allowing six runs after two were out in the inning?  That’s not the Carp we know and it may have done considerable damage to his Cy Young chances.
Notes: This was the only non-winnable game out of the three, so that’s a little encouraging.  Even Carpenter on his best day would have had trouble the way the offense struggled against Vazquez.

Even the off-field news was pretty pallid this weekend, as John Smoltz is missing tonight’s start after getting a cortizone shot for tendinitis in his shoulder.  Now, the Cardinals have a fine tradition of getting great results after shots late in the season or playoffs (see Larry Walker and Scott Rolen) but it’s still not what you want to see, especially with a three-game losing streak.

Because taking his place tonight is Todd Wellemeyer.  I’m pretty sure no one really wanted to see Wellemeyer get another start this year, but especially not during a slide like this weekend.  Apparently Tony LaRussa is starting Wellemeyer because he did well against the Marlins last year, even though he struggled against them this year and has some iffy career numbers against them.  (Note to Tony: Wellemeyer did well against a lot of people last year.  That was last year.)

St. Louis goes up against Ricky Nolasco.  It’s been a rough year for a guy the Marlins thought would be an ace for them.  He hasn’t faced the Cardinals this year, but his career numbers indicate that maybe the offense will come alive tonight.  (Holliday is 6 for 8 with 2 HR off of him, for example.)

Might be a wild, high-scoring game.  Enjoy it while you can, folks.  Three weeks from now the season will be over and we’ll be looking at post-season baseball!

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.