Good evening from Busch Stadium, where the Cardinals disposed of the Pirates 11-2.

Four more scoreless innings from the remodeled STL bullpen.

And with that in mind, here’s a quick take for now.

(In fact, get used to some shorter blogs from me from now on. I will try to avoid wasting too much of your time. … it’s just getting too thick in the blogosphere. Honest, I don’t know how we expect readers to have the time to get through all of this stuff. Yes, I like to write, and I am curious about certain trends and stats and what it all means, and so I will try to share what I find, and express an opinion, and hopefully make it concise. I’ll try to get you in and out of here quickly, OK?)  

Those who (rightfully) discounted the Cardinals’ postseason chances because of the team’s incendiary bullpen may want to update the conventional wisdom. For now, anyway. 

Here’s why:

It’s early, but the bullpen is undergoing something of a sea change since Aug. 6. That’s the day rookie Chris Perez was installed as the closer pro tem, replacing Jason Isringhausen and the Closer Committee From Hell.

Here are the bullpen stats, before and after the transition of power (pitching) …

From April 1 through Aug 5:

1419 AB … .268 BA … .353 OBP … .429 SLG … 6.6 K/9  … 30 saves in 57 chances (52.6 %) … 4.20 ERA

And now, from Aug. 6 through Aug. 20:

141 AB …  .262 BA …  .329 OBP … .340 SLG … 8.5 K/9   … 4 saves in 4 chances (100 %)  …     2.50 ERA

The biggest changes: there is a big drop in slugging percentage, an improved strikeout rate, and of course, the impressive save rate and lower ERA.  

Can the rookies Perez, Kyle McClellan and Jaime Garcia band with their older brothers and keep this up? As I indicated, it’s early to make any sweeping conclusions. But if you are a Cardinals fan who wants to see progress, some signs of hope, and a reason to believe that the bullpen will be better than it was — well, the new look is giving you a reason to reemerge from the bomb shelter and watch the ninth inning without being attached to a heart monitor.

Good night.

-B