With another game on the line, Jason Isringhuasen walked to the mound on Thursday afternoon to absorb another battering at the hands of an aggressive, opportunistic opponent. By the time Cardinals manager Tony La Russa interceded to stop the fight, the Pirates had smacked Izzy around for four runs, including a 3-run homer by Jason Bay. And the Cardinals’ 5-4 lead (and a series win over the improved Bucs) all but exploded at La Russa’s feet. The Pirates soon would finish off an 11-5 victory, and took two of three from the Cardinals.

Frankly, I was shocked to see TLR turn to Izzy for this assignment… and this isn’t a second-guess; I said it was a mistake even before Izzy threw his first pitch. Wasn’t the plan to keep Izzy away from the flames for a while?

It was the Cardinals’ seventh loss in the last nine games, and three of the defeats went in the books as a blown save by Isringhausen.

There were other factors, of course. 

In the seven losses Cardinals’ hitters — continuing the pattern of failing to finish off an opponent – left 60 runners on base and had only 10 hits in 60-bats with runners in scoring position (.167 average).

But during this distressing period, Izzy’s decline and destruction has formed the most glaring fault line in the Cardinals’ structure. Since April 12, he’s blown six saves. He’s been ripped for 19 hits and 16 earned runs in 12 innings. That’s an ERA of 12.00, and the batting average against him during that period is .352. He’s also walked 8, with only 5 Ks.

 But we should no longer put the responsbility, or the blame, on Isringhausen.

This is all on La Russa now.  

Inexplicably, and going against all logic, La Russa seems to be placing his loyalty in one player, Isringhausen, ahead of the greater good of the team. La Russa leads with his heart. He has won a lot of games, hundreds of them, by sticking with pressure-tested veterans through their hard times, their troubles. (We’ve seen him do this before; Mark McGwire in 2001 comes to mind). And La Russa has reasons for his deep supply of faith in Izzy, who has come through like a champ in so many big games. I can understand why La Russa wants to give Izzy extra chances. You don’t casually cast aside a guy who has locked away so many money games for the Cardinals since signing here as a free agent in 2002.

But we’ve moved beyond that now. We’ve gone past the point of giving a key veteran some mistake space, some benefit of the doubt for old times’ sake. What we’re seeing now is a descent into madness.

And this brings to mind a quote attributed to Ben Franklin (not Ryan Franklin) who is credited for this piece of philosophy: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

No, I don’t think La Russa is literally insane. I have too much respect for him to casually throw around such caustic terms. I am citing Franklin’s quote simply as a way to frame the current dynamic with Tony and Izzy. And by repeatedly turning to Isringhausen, by continuing to walk into the same pit of quicksand even though he knows it’s there, La Russa is letting himself down, his other 24 players down. And he’s also letting Isringhausen down, by constantly exposing a vulnerable, possibly spent, reliever to these assaults — when, on most days, Izzy is incapable of fighting back.

La Russa doesn’t want to give away the Cardinals’ surprisingly good start, does he? Why fritter away such a promising beginning to the season by staying with a losing formula? Blown saves are inevitable; the best ninth-inning closers in the  biz hand games away. It’s their occupational hazard. But Izzy is no longer mentioned in the same paragraph as the elite closers, and this is no example of the isolated blown save.  

This cruel sequence of giveaways has a chilling, demoralizing impact on a younger team that’s trying to establish credibility, confidence, and an identity. It’s a team that’s trying to keep pace with the Cubs, who have spent $500 million in players the last two years. And this is no slump that will just go away; this is the rapid decline of a proud competitor. This is an unmerciful beating. This is a crisis. And no one seems to have any firm, clear answers as to what’s wrong with Isringhausen. It could be as simple as an older pitcher going to the mound with eroding, vanishing skill.

This much we know: the man’s confidence is shot. And instead of backing Izzy off, and keeping him out of stressful situations for a while — as La Russa vowed to do after Izzy’s implosion at Milwaukee on May 9 — the manager instead went right back to the damaged closer in a game-deciding situation in less than a week’s time.

And the results were, yes, predictable.

La Russa finally seemed to be squaring up to the stark truth after Thursday’s gut punch by the Pirates.

“Right now it’s problem No. 1,” La Russa said of Izzy.

So where do the Cardinals go now?

If La Russa isn’t serious (finally) about pulling the wolves off Isringhausen, then it’s up to GM John Mozeliak to intervene.

Mozeliak has the authority to set the 25-man roster.

And Izzy should not be on it right now.

Unless Isringhausen decides to retire, there are only two options:

1. Put Izzy on the disabled list and shut him down. Take it out of La Russa’s hands. This is the likely outcome; Isringhausen will visit the doctor on Friday, and I suspect they’ll find something that necessitates a visit to the DL. The Cardinals and Isringhausen have stubbornly resisted any notion that Izzy is hurting even though those around the club hear constant murmurs about the closer’s arthritic hip. Now it appears that they’ll finally deal with the situation. ‘Bout time.

2. If Izzy doesn’t go on the DL — which would be followed by a rehab stint in the minors, where he can legitimately attempt to gather himself without pressure — then the alternative is to designate him for minor-league assignment. Which would likely lead to his release after waivers expire.

The Cardinals don’t want to do that. Not yet, anyway.

But it’s folly to stay the present course.

That course also includes having to work around a 39-year-old reliever, Russ Springer, who must be handled with care.  Springer threw 15 pitches Tuesday and only 2 on Wednesday (a light load for sure) but wasn’t available Thursday. (The rookie Mike Parisi wasn’t available either; La Russa said Parisi might have to take Kyle Lohse’s next start.)  Obviously, this team needs another young arm or two in the bullpen to rejuvenate this bullpen and provide innings. You just can’t have a bullpen that’s this fragile. Time to freshen it up.

And this team has legit options in the minors.

The Cardinals have three terrific young relievers at Triple A Memphis with live arms and low ERAs. We’re talking about Chris Perez, Jason Motte, and Kelvin Jimenez.

Perez, their future closer, is throwing consistently in the mid-90s, and hitting 98 on the gun. We spoke to Memphis manager Chris Maloney on our Team 1380 radio show Thursday, and he said Perez has made improvement in the area that he most needed to address: commanding the strike zone, and reducing his wildness. Through Wednesday, Perez had 8 saves, a 2.04 ERA, and 22 Ks in 17.2 IP. Maloney believes Perez is ready for the majors. “He has electric stuff,” Maloney said. Motte throws just as hard but has no experience as a closer,  and still needs to work on pounding hitters low in the strike zone. But he’s been fantastic, with a 1.47 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP, and 27 Ks in 18 IP as the set-up man. Jimenez doesn’t throw as hard, and doesn’t have the strikeout punch, but he’s pitched very well (1.45 ERA) and received valuable big-league experience with the Cardinals last season.

Perez makes the most sense. He figures to be the Cardinals’ closer in 2009, and it’s vital to prep him with meaningful major-league experience in 2008. He doesn’t have to be the closer now, but can work his way up to that role.

Besides, if Perez gets the call-up to STL, it means the Cardinals can take a look at Motte as a closer at Triple A. That’s a smart idea, because Motte eventually could emerge as the most attractive candidate to close games.

The Cardinals have done a very nice job of building up their farm system. And they should take advantage of their fine work by tapping into that system to alleviate problems at the big-league level. Isn’t that what the minors are for? And in 2009, this team will need some of their best young minor-league prospects to do an effective job in St. Louis.

Isringhausen was a lost soul after Thursday’s game. He doesn’t know what’s happening, or why. He’s lost his moorings.  And his touch. For now, he’s a thoroughly beaten competitor. This isn’t his fault. His bosses are responsible now.

Please stop this fight, please stop the bleeding.   

The other 24 Cardinals deserve to be given their best chance to win.

-B