Some quick thoughts after the Cardinals’ 5-2 win over the Giants on Thursday night at Busch Stadium:

1. Colby Rasmus vs. Lefties: It’s a small step, perhaps, but in his last three starts against LHP, the rookie center fielder is 3 for 7. A very small sample size, yes. But could it indicate that Rasmus is making progress against the lefties? Could be, considering that Rasmus was able to handle the LH effectively in his ascent through the minors. Some adjustment period in the majors is required, and Rasmus was only 5 for 44 against lefties through June 21 but apparently is becoming more comfortable. None of the STL other outfielders are tearing up lefties, so Rasmus is due for more chances against them.

One oddity of The Raz’s rookie season: he’s now gone 108 consecutive plate appearances without drawing a walk. He has only three walks since May 1. And that would be my only complaint; he needs to get that OBP back up; Rasmus had a .367 onbase % on May 5 and now it’s down to .313.

Rasmus continues to field his position as well as just about any CF in the majors. In the Dewan-James Fielding Bible stats, Rasmus is a plus 4, which has him just outside of a top-five ranking in the bigs. His Revised Zone Rating (Hardball Times) ranks Rasmus 2nd among NL centerfielders, and his Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) places Rasmus No. 3 on the list of big-league centerfielders (minimum 100 innings).

2. Ryan Ludwick: He’s starting to perk up, and boy, do the Cardinals need that. After batting .167 in 132 at-bats between April 26 and June 27, Ludwick is 7 for 18 over his last five games (.389) and that includes two doubles and a triple. Perhaps Ludwick is gearing up for a bust-it-loose power show for the important road trip that will take the Cardinals to Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Chicago. This would be an important development.

3. Todd Wellemeyer: no secret to his outstanding performance against the Giants on Thursday night: he was aggressive, he threw strikes (65 of 99 pitches), and he threw a lot of first-pitch strikes to take control of the count, and he reestablished his fastball as a weapon. Pitching coach Dave Duncan and underrated assistant pitching coach Marty Mason corrected a delivery flaw before this start, and Wellemeyer had better balance in his release. Now Wellemeyer has to build on this; his next two starts will be against the Brewers and the Cubs.

4. Brendan Ryan’s offense at SS: in last Saturday’s “Bits” column I cited Ryan’s defensive metrics to point out how well he’s been playing the position this season. Here’s another dimension to Ryan’s turn at shortstop, and it hasn’t gotten much attention: Ryan has taken 116 at-bats as a shortstop this season, and he’s had 39 hits for a batting average of .336, and an onbase percentage of .380. No, Ryan doesn’t hit for power. But the Cardinals have to be pleased with the defense and offense they’re receiving from the position when Ryan lines up at shortstop. 

5. Another save for Ryan Franklin: That’s 19 saves in 20 attempts. His ERA has dropped to 0.87, the lowest among NL relievers who have worked at least 30 innings. Batters are hitting .170 against Franklin, and he has one of the lowest BR/9 ratings in the majors. My friend Pip at the Fungoes blog dismissed my suggestion that Franklin warrants a spot on the NL All-Star team; Pip states that Franklin isn’t one of the best 10 relievers in the NL. That’s an interesting evaluation, considering that Franklin’s WXRL (going into Thursday’s game) was the fifth-best in the majors.   Franklin also has the 10th best VORP among major-league relievers, and is No. 1 among NL relievers in PCR (pitching runs created.) As I acknowledged in the previous blog, Frankin’s ERA is artificially low when you take into account his Fielding Independent ERA (FIP) of 3.17, but it’s difficult to imagine how the bearded ZZ Stopper could be pitching any better than he has so far for the 2009 Cardinals.

Bernie Bytes: I hope the Cardinals are cautious with Mark DeRosa. I hope they don’t rush him back too soon. Wrist injuries, even the minor ones, can be tricky business for hitters, and this club is going to need DeRosa for the long haul. It would be most unfortunate to put him back in there too early and have DeRosa suffer a setback.  I downloaded the new Wilco album but haven’t had much of a chance to listen yet; for those who have absorbed it, please tell me what you think… Cardinals beatwiter Joe Strauss is on Twitter and is firing away; check him out at www.twitter.com/JoeStrauss … all in all, salvaging a split in the four-game series after spotting a good (and rolling) S.F. team the first two games was a very nice rescue for the Cardinals, and a helpful sendoff for the trip through the Big Ten phase of the schedule, the Cardinals’ trip to Ohio, Wisconsin and Illinois … despite the hitting woes, the Cardinals have been able to jockey with the Brewers for first place in the NL Central for a primary reason: since May 29, Milwaukee starting pitchers are 9-13 with a 5.91 ERA and the team is 15-17 during this stretch; Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel speculates that Brewers GM Doug Melvin will be stepping up his search for a starting pitcher.

As always, thanks for reading …

-Bernie