I was talking about this on my radio show the other day, and wanted to see what you thought….

Background: I wasn’t thrilled when the Cardinals signed Washington Nationals castoff Felipe Lopez, who brought a lousy rep to St. Louis when signed by the home team on Aug. 6. Lopez had been released by the Nats, and his effort was questioned by the team’s GM. It’s true that Lopez once hit 23 bombs in a season, for the Reds in 2005. But he signed a pretty fat deal and his performance began to deteriorate. Lopez looked done. Or he looked like a guy who just didn’t care.

When GM John Mozeliak signed Lopez, it was the only move made by the Cardinals to counter NL Central acquisitions such as CC Sabathia (Brewers), Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin (Cubs) and Randy Wolf (Astros).  And the move wasn’t exactly a thunderclap. No shock waves. It was akin to (as El Diablo, Joe Strauss, would say) a dumpster dive.

At the time, I said that maybe Lopez would benefit from playing for a hard-edged manager like Tony La Russa, who doesn’t put up with malingerers. And that maybe Lopez would wise up and realize that he had to take advantage of this opportunity. I think I mentioned that Cardinald coach Jose Oquendo could be positive influence. I think a few of you mentioned that Albert Pujols would be a potential kick-starter for Lopez.

For whatever the reason, Lopez has played surprisingly well as a Cardinal.

It’s a small sample size and all that, but it’s difficult to sneer at what he’s done so far:

* 29 hits in 69 ABs, .377 BA

* .434 OBP

* .551 SLG

Lopez has displayed some pop, which isn’t common among the current middle-infield population on the roster. Lopez has two homers, two doubles and two triples. He’s stolen three bases in four attempts. He’s been spotted at four positions by La Russa: Second Base (12 appearances), Left Field (6), Shortstop (4) and Third Base (3).

What do we know of his defense?

Well, I checked the game-by-game Zone Ratings at STATS and here’s what I found:

- At SS, eight balls have been hit into his zone, and Lopez recorded eight outs. In other words, he hasn’t missed one he should have gotten to.

- At 2B, not as good: 26 balls hit into his zone, and he’s gotten 18 outs.   That’s a Zone Rating of .692. Feel free to disregard Lopez’s small sample size. But Aaron Miles has an .811 ZR at second, and Adam Kennedy’s ZR is .860.

- At 3B, Lopez has gotten outs only three of the five balls hit into his zone. Does not bode well.

- In LF, Lopez has wandered around a bit … according to the Zone Ratings, he’s made outs on only two of the five fly balls hit into his zone. Again: small sample size.

La Russa basically has plugged Lopez into the role once occupied by Scott Spiezio.

Not that it’s a perfect comparison; the Speezer was used at five positions by La Russa. (1B, 3B, LF, RF, a little 2B). But I think you get my point. La Russa loves having guys that he can deploy all over the field, guys who come off  the bench and can get their share of extra-base hits, guys who can switch hit to be of service in TLR’s late-inning strategic maneuvers. Lopez, like Spiezio, plays multiple positions — and is a switch hitter, too. Lopez doesn’t have Speezer’s power, but he’s faster. As a Cardinal, Lopez is 8 for 22 vs. LHP  (.364), and 18 for 47 vs. RHP (.383.).

OK, so where do we go from here?

Questions:

@ Have you seen enough positives from Lopez to want him back in a Cardinal uniform in 2009?

@ If so, do you think he’s capable of being a desired starter at SS or 2B?  

@ Given his past history of apparent indifference, do you dare give Lopez a two-year deal?

@ One year and a team option for a second?

@ Or is this goodbye? See ya?

My quick opinion: I think Lopez has a shot to be a consistent and useful player again, because of the various factors: winning team, Manager TLR, teammates who push. Would I make the leap for anything beyond a 1-and-option type deal worth around $1 million or $1.5 million per season? Probably not.

Express yourselves.  

Interested in your thoughts.

***

While you mull that one over, here’s an update (not exactly a preview) of the Florida Marlins, who on Friday night open a  3-game weekend series at Busch. When the Cardinals went to FLA for a four-game set starting Aug. 11, the Marlins were 62-56 and only 2.5 games out of first in the NL East. They’ve slumped, losing 13 of the last 22, and find themselves 8 out in the division, and 9 out in the wild card, with a record of 71-69.

The strikeout meter continues to click at a fast rate… like a toll booth on FLA’s I-95 …

During this 9-13 stretch, Florida hitters have struck out an impressive (no, really) 174 times in 22 games, an average of nearly 8 Ks per game. They have fanned 1,193 times this season, most in the NL. And at the current season rate of 8.52 Ks per game, the Marlins are on a pace to finish with 1,380 strikeouts. And that would put them high up on the list of NL teams that struck out the most in a season.

The Top Five:

1.  2001  Brewers,  1,399

2.  2004 Reds,  1,335

3.  2007 Marlins,  1,332

4.  2003 Reds,  1,326

5.   2004, Brewers, 1,312

Three of TLR’s teams made the top (or is it the bottom?) 25 for most Ks in a season: 

1,253 whiffs in 2000;

1,202 Ks in 1999;

1,191 in 1997

I’ll probably be adding a few more notes during the late-morning hours on Friday…

thanks for reading…

-B