Good evening from Busch Stadium…

Notes on Saturday’s Scorecard:

- What a great game, eh? Cards come back for a 5-4 win. Cubs fall to 19-26 on the road this season. I was getting text messages from friends (who are Cardinals fans) from all across the nation… they were freaking out in the bottom of the ninth. Cubs closer Kerry Wood had been so ridiculously good for the last month, I thought the home team was cooked. But what great at-bats (for walks) by Ryan Ludwick and Yadier Molina to open the ninth. And the rally was on. Wood hadn’t blown a multiple-run lead since May 1.

- Brian Barton doesn’t look good at the plate. He jammed his hand/wrist on the last road trip while trying to make a diving catch, and the rookie outfielder has been hurting. It’s difficult for him to handle the bat with sufficient strength and flexibility. The Cardinals probably will place Barton on the disabled list when they activate shortstop Cesar Izturis from the DL. (Possibly Sunday). This would be beneficial for Barton, who is batting only .203 with a .273 OBP since May 8. Barton’s playing time has decreased, and the Rule V draftee needs to play, needs the at-bats.  It’s the only way Barton will draw out his potential. When the injury heals, Barton can go on a one-month rehab assignment and get plenty of ABs.  

- The imminent return of Izturis is timely, because Brendan Ryan is 3 for 31 since June 25. Ryan has been overexposed a bit at the plate, but has played well at shortstop.

- Kyle Loshe didn’t get the win Saturday, but he did a super job in limiting the Cubs to six hits and two runs in his 7 IP. The Cubs lineup was loaded with guys who have posted strong career numbers against Lohse, but he never really wavered. With Lohse, pitch variety is an important aspect of his performance. Lohse came out aggressively, firing his fastball on 35 of his first 39 pitches (through 3 IP). The second time around against the CHI lineup, Lohse began using more sliders and curves, and by the fifth inning he had backed off the fastball to go with sliders and a lot of changeups. Then in the sixth and seventh, it was back to the fastball. Lohse kept altering his pitching patterns. It kept the Cubs off balance. He struck out five. Lohse has a 2.51 ERA in his last 10 starts, and the Cardinals are 9-1 in those 10 starts.

- Manager La Russa made a gutsy call, to let Adam Kennedy swing away in the ninth against Wood. After Wood opened the ninth by walking Ludwick and Molina, Kennedy came up. No outs, a pair on, down by two runs. A successful bunt puts both runners in scoring (and tying) position. La Russa passed on the bunt, even though Kennedy had previously killed a first-and-third opportunity in the sixth by grounding into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. The Cubs seemed confused; they didn’t know what Kennedy was going to do, or whether they should align their defense for a bunt. But AK took the suspense out of it by skimming a 95 mph Wood fastball down the first base line, just inside the bag, for a run-scoring double. Why not a bunt? “I didn’t think it was a winning play,” TLR said.

OK, here’s one way to look at it: if Kennedy bunts, and the runners move up, there’s one out with runners on second and third. Chris Duncan is next as the pinch hitter; he still would have been walked intentionally. So now the bases are loaded with one out. And you are down by two runs. And Skip Schumaker and Aaron Miles will have to tie or win the game for you. By not giving up an out (and getting a hit from Kennedy), La Russa could turn the top of his lineup over, and get the No. 2 hitter, Rick Ankiel, a chance at it. That’s how it played out. And Ankiel produced the winning two-run single. Still, La Russa knows he would have been second-guessed like mad had Kennedy hit into another DP.

– Though it didn’t matter in the end, some are second-guessing the manager for not pinch-running Molina in the ninth. A faster runner may have been able to score the tying run on Kennedy’s double; Molina couldn’t. TLR is dealing with a short bench that has only four extra position players. He doesn’t have as much flexibility. By that time, Barton had already been used. He planned to go with Duncan and Miles as PHs. Sure, a pitcher could have been used as a runner for Molina. But that doesn’t solve everything. That move still puts No. 2 catcher Jason LaRue in the game. If Molina leaves the game, then you’re down to your last spare position player, LaRue. Suppose you go into extra innings and need a pinch hitter, or an emergency catcher? Then what? Tough call.  Fair second-guess, too. But it all worked out.  

- After the game, Cubs manager Lou Piniella said Jim Edmonds should have scored on the fly ball to right fielder Ludwick. But Edmonds, tagging up from third, was cut down on a perfect throw by Ludwick. The play wasn’t close. Edmonds wasn’t exactly blazing down the line, which probably explains Piniella’s irritation. 

I guess this means Jimmy has both managers peeved at him this weekend.

Thanks for reading …

-B