Good evening from Busch Stadium …

1. WELCOME TO TONY LA RUSSA’S LINEUP EMPORIUM: Sometimes I think the skipper likes to mess with people, I really do. I think at times — as much as he wants to win — that TLR gets a kick out of knowing that his lineups will drive the fan base nutso. When La Russa unveiled his lineup for Thursday night’s game vs. the Cubs, it was met with raised eyebrows and snorts. I posted it online in two different settings, and the reaction was one of bewilderment. What’s TLR trying to do? He has a chance for a SWEEP of the CUBS. Is he trying to FORFEIT? I’m not knocking any fan for being puzzled; more than anything, I think it’s funny. But he seems to know what he’s doing. 

This was La Russa’s 37th different lineup of the season, in 41 games. And this was La Russa’s finest bit of head-scratching yet. He had Yadi Molina, Nick Stavinoha, Brian Barden and Joe Thurston batting in the 4 through 7 spots … and the four of ‘em had combined for 8 RBIs this month. He had Thurston, an infielder, playing left field. He hit the pitcher 8th and batted shortstop Tyler Greene 9th. Brendan Ryan was the leadoff man (career leadoff BA: .227). No Skip Schumaker, no Chris Duncan. Well, it all worked out. Greene and Ryan covered a lot of ground in the middle infield to support the first-rate pitching of Adam Wainwright. Barden homered and singled. Thurston tripled (though was stranded at third).  Greene doubled and scored a run. This Pujols fellow hit a long homer and I, I, I, just don’t know how to describe it. With  Wainwright pitching like a bully, a few runs was all La Russa needed from this group. And they delivered. The manager knows best. He’s been winning games with these kind of lineups since he came here in 1996. He’s 24-17 with this team, and with all of the injuries and lineup straining, I don’t know how he does it. Except for maybe this …  

2. STARTING PITCHING CAN CURE JUST ABOUT ANYTHING: The Cardinals’ starters were remarkably good in the three-game sweep of the Cubs. Joel Pineiro, Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright combined for 22.2 IP, holding the Cubs to one run and 11 hits. Derrek Lee went 4 for 11 in the series. But look at how the other Cubs were shut down: Fukudome (1-9), Soriano (1-12, 6 Ks), Theriot (1-11), Bradley (1-10),  Soto (2-9), Fontenot (1-10). It’s another reminder that good pitching can cover a lot of weaknesses. The Cardinals haven’t had Rick Ankiel or Ryan Ludwick available, together, since May 4. And during that time the team has batted .220 and averaged 3.4 runs per game. But they’re 7-9 since May 4. No, that’s not great, but the Cardinals have scratched out enough wins to hang in thereto stay in the thick of the NL Central race. Before the Cubs came to town, the Cardinals had just gotten swept by Milwaukee and the town (but not the team, and certainly not me) were panicking. The freefall would have turned even more severe if the starting pitchers caved in during the Cubs series. Instead, the starters came through with masterful outings. And the home team won all three games despite batting .205 and scoring 8 runs in the three memorable nights against the Cubs.

3. NEXT UP, THE VISITING KANSAS CITY ROYALS:

 The Royals (21-20) are improved. They have a fine GM in Dayton Moore. They have a fighting chance in the so-so AL Central.

Let’s have a quick rundown…

- Where the Royals are strong: Run prevention. They’re giving up around 4.24 runs per game, the lowest in the American League. It isn’t all just Zack Greinke, either. The KC bullpen is No. 5 in the majors in ERA, and rates well in other key categories, such as fewest baserunners per nine innings (ranked 10th), strikeouts per batters faced (4th), and K/BB ratio (6th). The bullpen isn’t quite as fearsome with closer Joakim Soria sidelined a couple of more weeks with a rotator-cuff strain, but there’s plenty of power pitching in the house with the likes of Juan Cruz and Kyle Farnsworth. Consecutive late-inning disasters against the Indians on Wednesday and Thursday inflated the bullpen’s numbers a bit, but they’ve done good work overall.

- Where the Royals are mediocre: scoring runs; 11th in the American League and 21st in the majors at at 4.56 per game. They’re 11th in homers per game, 10th in slugging, 9th in OBP. Second baseman Alberto Callaspo (.332 / .392 / .505) is an emerging hitting star. (Through Wednesday he’d created more runs than Boston 2B Dustin Pedroia this season.) But the lineup, even in missing Alex Gordon, shouldn’t be underestimated. Guys like Coco Crisp, Mark Teahen, Billy Butler and David DeJesus are effective hitters against RHP, and the Cardinals will start three RH against the Royals this weekend. Mike Jacobs has driven in 24 runs. Jose Guillen has the occasional flurry. But it’s not a formidable bunch. In terms of OPS, through Wednesday the Royals had only three positions that are ranked among the top five offensively in the AL: second base (3rd), catcher (5th), and center field (5th.)

- Where the Royals have problems: defense. Through Wednesday they were 21st in the majors in defensive efficiency. 2B Callaspo and SS Mike Aviles each have a below-average profile in UZR.  Royals catchers have allowed 29 stolen bases in 35 attempts. In right field, Guillen’s UZR is minus 6.9, and runners have taken an extra base on him 15 times in 17 opportunities. Crisp is generally fine in CF, but runners have taken the extra base 25 times in 42 opportunities. The Royals are 9th among 12 AL teams in fielding percentage. The Royals receive little offensively from the shortstop position, and it isn’t a strength defensively, so you’d have to think that Moore will upgrade there.

4. KEEPING AN EYE ON THE DRAFT: In a mock draft that appeared on the Baseball Prospectus web site, three local pitchers seem to be in terrific shape for the first round on June 9. Westminster Christian Academy’s Jacob Turner is projected to go 6th to the Giants; Mizzou pitcher Kyle Gibson is projected to go 4th to the Pirates, and former Mizzou pitcher Aaron Crow is projected to go 11th to the Rockies.

5. BERNIE BYTES: Brendan Ryan (2B) and Tyler Greene (SS) looked sharp as a combo in Thursday’s win over the Cubs. At some point, when he gets some offense back, La Russa will likely take a hard look at putting his best glove guys the in the middle of that infield. It’s one thing to sacrifice some defense for offense in LF, as many managers do — but the Cardinals have a groundball pitching staff, and it’s imperative to maximize that skill by deploying better range in the middle of that defense… if the Rams are serious about signing cornerback Roderick Hood, the team’s fans should hope that he’ll play better here than he did the last two seasons in Arizona. According to STATS, Hood was burned for 16 TD passes over the last two seasons. Quarterbacks completed 60 percent of their passes when targeting him last season… hat tip to Matthew “Pip” Philip for pointing out that Cardinals’ centerfielder Colby Rasmus is leading major-league rookies in runs created.

Finally, a bonus note on the Royals-Cardinals rivalry: since meeting in the 1985 World Series, the franchises have taken wildly divergent paths. Starting with the 1986 season, the Cardinals have the 5th-best winning percentage (.525) in the majors in regular-season play, and the Royals are at the very bottom in winning percentage (.457) among teams that were in existence in ‘96. Only the Yankees, Braves, Red Sox and A’s have won more games than the Cardinals. If you want to throw in the expansion teams, only the Tampa Bay Rays (who entered in 1998) have a lower winning percentage than the Royals.

Thanks for reading … comments section is now open.

-Bernie