St. Louis Cardinals 2015 Season

wpr · Apr 12, 2015

Good win yesterday.

It is a little frustrating that Mikey used 6 pitchers even though Wacha went 6.1 innings. AND Rosey had to pitch 1.2 innings. It's as if Matheny has not learned anything about burning his pitchers out by the end of the year.

I realize it is early in the season and has only been 4 games but they are not hitting. A .235 avg (12th in the MLB) and a .324 slg (23rd) will not cut it.

OTOH pitching has been fantastic. team ERA 1.85 (3rd) Avg against .149 (1st) WHIP .74 (1st) Walks 3rd best.

Shiloh · Apr 12, 2015

jrichisamazing said:
Where is cardsillinifan? Don't think I've seen him post for awhile. But yes, I think the Reds are going to be that team I enjoy beating the most this season. It seems to rotate every year between the Pirates, Brewers, and Reds. I know it's early, but looking at the talent in the division it seems as though the Cards and Reds are head and shoulders above everyone else. Billy Hamilton is such a peak on the bases and there will be plenty of times where he walks or singles, but all of a sudden is on 3rd base with 2 steals. It also helps when you have a closer that is pretty much untouchable. I'm going to guess whoever stays more healthy wins the division while the other is a wildcard.

You think the reds are better than the Pirates? Their rotation is so soft after Leake and cueto that they'll have to just out slug everyone to win. Most picked them to finish last.

IlliniFaninHoosierLand · Apr 12, 2015

Today's Cardinals line-up:

karmapoliceman · Apr 12, 2015

Interesting to see MR get the nod at 1st. Glad we can still have an impact bat off the bench in MA.

I'm sure this will be an emotional start for CM. Really pulling for the guy.

Is it just me, or is our line-up kind of not really intimidating? Not just today, but overall.

It's solid, don't get me wrong. But we're going to need much better RISP AVG to compensate for our lack of power. I, for one, would like to see RG get some more starts. Don't really get the point in him getting spot ABs up here...

orangeroses07 · Apr 12, 2015

Matt Freakin' Carpenter

jagaf22 · Apr 12, 2015

Gutsy, win and able to take 2-3 in Cincinnati. Overall you have to be pleased. Time to get home!

IlliniFan85 · Apr 12, 2015

jrichisamazing said:
Where is cardsillinifan? Don't think I've seen him post for awhile. But yes, I think the Reds are going to be that team I enjoy beating the most this season. It seems to rotate every year between the Pirates, Brewers, and Reds. I know it's early, but looking at the talent in the division it seems as though the Cards and Reds are head and shoulders above everyone else. Billy Hamilton is such a peak on the bases and there will be plenty of times where he walks or singles, but all of a sudden is on 3rd base with 2 steals. It also helps when you have a closer that is pretty much untouchable. I'm going to guess whoever stays more healthy wins the division while the other is a wildcard.

On time out.

illini8507 · Apr 12, 2015

IlliniFan85 said:
On time out.

Has been for nearly a month... hopefully it's a one month ban and not permanent or we might have to start a hashtag campaign to get him back lol. This thread has seemed slow for the past month without him.

karmapoliceman · Apr 13, 2015

Happy Opening Day at Busch Stadium! Can't wait for the ovation Heyward will get.

My work actually sprung for some all-inclusive suite/sweet seats.

We should bring home the W today. I think MIL will finish last in the division. They just have no depth at all.

Ryllini · Apr 13, 2015

karmapoliceman said:
Happy Opening Day at Busch Stadium! Can't wait for the ovation Heyward will get.

My work actually sprung for some all-inclusive suite/sweet seats.

We should bring home the W today. I think MIL will finish last in the division. They just have no depth at all.

Have a great time Karma, I will be watching and expecting a nice outburst against Garza. Milwaukee is having a complete reversal of their start last year, but they still have some quality in their lineup. The hitters in both lineups have seen both pitchers a ton, so there are no secrets today. I'm calling it now, Holliday and Wong go yard and Peralta and Matt Adams rake in the middle.

karmapoliceman · Apr 18, 2015

Not digging how the Cubs thread is killing us in posts. Great win today. Bring out the brooms for tomorrow!

IanKEvans2 · Apr 18, 2015

karmapoliceman said:
Not digging how the Cubs thread is killing us in posts. Great win today. Bring out the brooms for tomorrow!

We Cubs fans have been given water after walking through the rebuilding desert. Cardinals have looked the part thus far in the short season.

jrichisamazing · Apr 19, 2015

karmapoliceman said:
Not digging how the Cubs thread is killing us in posts. Great win today. Bring out the brooms for tomorrow!

Don't worry, they have to get all their posts in before October! But yeah, not much to talk about. I think everyone has contributed so far this season, it's good to see. Starting pitching has been great, bullpen has been solid. I guess Wong has committed a few errors on the young season, but I think he'll figure it out.

IlliniFan85 · Apr 19, 2015

We still could use a few more homers, but our offense has been getting it done with runners in scoring position. Also Marp is en fuego!

karmapoliceman · Apr 19, 2015

jrichisamazing said:
Starting pitching has been great, bullpen has been solid.

Yeah. That has been huge. I read an article where we're leaders in terms of SP going at least 6 IP per start. Granted, not having Shelby in the rotation automatically means the bullpen will be better rested.

It is nice seeing Marp locked in. Now, just need Heyward to start clicking a little more, some more consistency from Adams, and I'd LOVE to see Wong put it all together (I may have reached on him in about 4 fantasy drafts this year).

IlliniFaninHoosierLand · Apr 19, 2015

Tonight's Cardinals lineup:

Carpenter 3B
Heyward RF
Holliday LF
Adams 1B
Peralta SS
Jay CF
Molina C
Wong 2B
Wainwright RHP

Also of note is that the Cardinals placed Grichuk on the 15-day DL retroactive to Friday with IF Dean Anna being recalled from Memphis.

IlliniFan85 · Apr 19, 2015

First sweep of the year!

618MattD · Apr 19, 2015

More impressively, that game lasted 2 hours!

217sports · Apr 19, 2015

Love how dominating we are over the Reds

Ryllini · Apr 19, 2015

217sports said:
Love how dominating we are over the Reds

Great series by our guys. Love the way they are playing and obviously we haven't hit full stride yet. I want to give Wong a shout out for driving in the game winning run for our birds and my fantasy team.

illini8507 · Apr 20, 2015

Ryllini said:
Great series by our guys. Love the way they are playing and obviously we haven't hit full stride yet. I want to give Wong a shout out for driving in the game winning run for our birds and my fantasy team.

I needed seven points to win my fantasy matchup and have Rosenthal as my closer, I was really excited after the 8th inning...

homesickalien · Apr 21, 2015

The pitching has been stellar all year and will be the main strength of the team. I believe their ERA is 1.91 right now. Crazy. Love the fact that the starters are going deep into games too as it should help the bullpen long term. Still worried about the offense though. It's shown some flashes and I think there's some potential there, but it could be the thing that burns us.

IlliniFan85 · Apr 21, 2015

Frustrating loss tonight. Cannot strand that many runners.

karmapoliceman · Apr 22, 2015

Not really sure what to say about our "offense". I had my reservations about the Heyward acquisition (I thought we could get a more bona fide masher in exchange for Shelby). And then I read where Heyward changed his batting approach as a leadoff guy with ATL. And then I read where Matheny told JH to approach batting 2nd like another 3 hole batter (that made me have a more optimistic outlook).

I know it's early, but I'm afraid my initial reservations will turn out to be correct. Our "proven" hitters are aging and Adams looks more or less lost out there.

It's just a shame we're losing with the ERA we have going now. While the pitching trend won't continue at the current pace, I fear the lack of offense absolutely can.

On any given day what's you preferred "regular" line-up?

I'd go:

Carp
Molina
Holliday
Peralta
Heyward
Adams
Wong
Jay

I know that's a string of lefties at the end, but Carp and Jay still hit LHP at a good clip.

Thoughts?

homesickalien · Apr 22, 2015

karmapoliceman said:
Not really sure what to say about our "offense". I had my reservations about the Heyward acquisition (I thought we could get a more bona fide masher in exchange for Shelby). And then I read where Heyward changed his batting approach as a leadoff guy with ATL. And then I read where Matheny told JH to approach batting 2nd like another 3 hole batter (that made me have a more optimistic outlook).

I know it's early, but I'm afraid my initial reservations will turn out to be correct. Our "proven" hitters are aging and Adams looks more or less lost out there.

It's just a shame we're losing with the ERA we have going now. While the pitching trend won't continue at the current pace, I fear the lack of offense absolutely can.

On any given day what's you preferred "regular" line-up?

I'd go:

Carp
Molina
Holliday
Peralta
Heyward
Adams
Wong
Jay

I know that's a string of lefties at the end, but Carp and Jay still hit LHP at a good clip.

Thoughts?

Doubt that lineup would work with the amount of lefties there at the end and slow poke Molina in the 2 hole, but it's really more about who's in our lineup not how it's setup. The lineup Matheny is trotting out is about as good as it gets in terms of order.