Brad Thomas

Two of the Cardinal’s top prospects have been chosen to represent Team USA at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Outfielder Colby Rasmus and infielder Brian Barden where named to the 23 man roster today.

   Rasmus is by far the Cardinals’ best prospect and will most likely be the starting center fielder for Team USA. He is at this point the Cardinals’ future in center field as Rick Ankiel can be very useful in right given his powerful arm. Last fall Rasmus played in the IBAF World Cup and had a hit in every game and hit an impressive .382, out hitting All-Star Evan Longoria.

   Barden is being considered somewhat of a surprising selection given that he’s a relative unknown. Having watched the guy, he’s a defensive stud, and in university won the equivalent of the Gold Glove. If his bat continues to develop, don’t be surprised to see him as the Cardinals’ second baseman within the next two years.

 Tomorrow I will have my thoughts on the All Star game as well as a review of the first half and what is to come in the second half!

BT

Brad Thomas

At 42-30 the Cardinals are currently one of the best teams in baseball. Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan called them ‘the little team that could’ and I tend to second that sentiment. With a cut and paste lineup and patchwork rotation, the success of this year’s Cardinals team under Tony La Russa has been nothing short of extraordinary.  The Cardinals aren’t the prettiest team, they aren’t the fastest, the strongest or the most talented, but what they do bring is hustle, and a lot of it. So far this season the Cards have done nothing but win despite countless injuries to key players (Carpenter, Pujols, Wainwright, and recently Wellemeyer and Molina).

I’ll be the first person to admit the Cardinals have been somewhat lucky.  Don’t get me wrong Tony La Russa is good, but is he THAT good? To be honest, no one, not even I, could have predicted that Skip Schumaker, Ryan Ludwick, Brian Barton and Rick Ankiel would have a coming out party. Not to mention that Braden Looper and Todd Wellemeyer would be pitching as consistently and dominantly as they have been. The bullpen has been suspect at times, and had it not been for it, or more specifically Randy Flores, the Cardinals would be leading the NL Central and probably have the best record in baseball. Although La Russa can’t be faulted for that, Tyler Johnson would have been used in the situations Flores was being used in had he not been injured along with 8 other Cardinals pitchers. St. Louis is playing loose without any pressure on them as they were predicted to finish in the basement of their division.

Can the success continue?  With Pujols out for a small, but important portion of time, some others have got to step up and step up big until he can return (that’s YOU Chris Duncan, you were given a second chance, make something of it!).  If the Cardinals can continue this streak of effort, decent pitching and defense (and get a bit more help from the bullpen) they will most likely be the NL wildcard.  Personally I think the Cards need to take a run at a serviceable bat in order to bring some power that’s been lacking, and another starter wouldn’t hurt either.

Good news! Chris Carpenter will begin rehab soon since he was given the green light earlier this week. This could mean we could see him in August and if the Cards are still in contention at that time, that would be just what the doctor ordered.

Thanks For Reading!

BT

Brad Thomas

As the Cardinals continue to play above .500 baseball, their divisional rivals, the Chicago Cubs are on fire. They have won 9 straight and the best team in baseball at the moment. With the Astros and Brewers both fading quickly, it seems as though it could come down to the best rivalry in the National League. The Cardinals continue to get incredible (also surprising) performances from Todd Wellemeyer and Braden Looper who are now 6-1 and 7-4 respectively. Cardinals pitchers continue to look great early on in games and then make a mistake late before the bullpen is called upon. The latest example of this was a few nights ago when Adam Wainwright fell to 5-3 because he gave up a grand slam to Jason Michaels after surrendering only one hit through is first 5 innings of work.

The Cardinals need to up their consistency to keep within striking distance of the Cubs. They need to avoid giving up the big inning, hit the ball on a regular basis and continue their commitment to team defense. A few guys in my mind need to step up in order for this to happen. Adam Wainwright is a strong finisher and will find the form he had last year late. To end the regular season, he was the toughest pitcher to face in the NL outside of Brandon Webb. Troy Glaus needs to pick up the power as he only has 3 home runs. He’s not even the guy being relied upon to protect Albert Pujols so he needs to get it together. I understand that Rolen needed to go, but Glaus has been nothing short of disappointing to me. Joel Piniero needs to find himself once he returns from injury. He has been okay, but the Cardinals need to be able to count on getting reliable starting pitching on a game to game basis if they want to compete for the divisional title.

In Other News:

The Cardinals demoted struggling Chris Duncan to Memphis (AAA). To be honest, he’s lost it and I think he’s done in St. Louis. He’s developed lots of holes in his swing and the NL pitchers eat him up. Also, Mark Mulder is not progressing as wanted, and may not be back in time for the All Star break. Matt Clement is set to begin rehab, and Chris Carpenter is still not immanently returning. Albert Pujols was pulled tonight against Washington due to tightness in his thighs, but he should be okay.

Thanks for reading!

BT