The Silence of the Biggest Bats in the Biz
DOWNTOWN — The Los Angeles Dodgers have found the best way to neutralize the best bat in the game is to yield to the inevitable — put him on base. The St. Louis Cardinals have decided they know how to take a different tack with the most prolific postseason hitter of his era.
They think they can keep him off base.
“No chance,” said Adam Wainwright when asked about how he and his team have approached Manny Ramirez in this National League Division Series. “No chance am I going to talk about that. He’s too good. I’m definitely not going to give a scouting report on how to get Manny Ramirez out. One thing you have to do is execute your game, and I’m not going to go into what my game plan is against him.”
Other pitchers would certainly like Wainwright to share.
The 2004 World Series MVP and the owner of both the postseason career-homer record and the division series career-homer record is hitless in his career against the Cardinals’ righthander. He went 0-for-3 in Game 2 against Wainwright, and he went 0-for-4 in that game. In the series, so far, Ramirez is 1-for-8 with a double in Game 1. That came off Chris Carpenter, and Ramirez also walked in that game.
While the Cardinals have pitched to Ramirez — and pitched successfully to Ramirez — in all of his at-bats, the Dodgers have walked Albert Pujols intentionally three times. Even when he led off the eighth inning in Game 2, there was a hint that they were considering one of those intentionally unintentional walks — with closer Jonathan Broxton on the mound. Once in the series, back in Game 1, the Dodgers gave Pujols the four-finger discount even when he represented the go-ahead run.
The Cardinals are hitless after Pujols’ three intentional walks.
Matt Holliday did reach base after one IBB to Pujols, but that was on an HBP.
“You know, to me he can do so much damage,” LA manager Joe Torre said after Game 2. “And it’s not like we don’t know who the guy hitting behind him is. Matt Holliday did damage today. He hit the home run. I have past experience from last year what he did to me when he was over at Colorado. So he’s no stranger. As I said many times, Albert is in a class by himself. I think Albert is such a threat that you are willing to put the winning run on base. You’re willing to give them an opportunity to hit a three-run homer instead of a two-run homer.
“I just want to make somebody else beat me, basically,” Torre concluded, bluntly.
(Check out this video of Torre talking similarly about Pujols back during the All-Star festivities. Hear for yourself as Torre calls Pujols by Peter Travers-adjectives usually plastered on movie ads: “Scary!” “Frightening!” “Intimidating!”)
The Cardinals are less overt with what they are doing against Ramirez. The Dodgers’ left fielder didn’t exactly storm into the postseason, and his lethargic — apathetic? — play has been a target of critics in LA. Ramirez hit .218 in the final month of the regular season, and he has one home run in his previous 54 at-bats.
He’s 0-for-8 in his career against Wainwright, who burned him with a curveball for a called strike 3 during their final confrontation on Thursday. Wainwright also tested him early with sinkers that Ramirez chopped at fielders. Carpenter got him on a groundout as well in Game 1, and Blake Hawksworth coaxed a double play groundout from Ramirez. That is something the two elite righthanded hitters in this series also share: When they do put the ball in play, most often it’s been on the ground. Pujols has one hit in the series, and that is the only ball he’s put in play that has left the infield. He has grounded out four times and popped up to second once.
Obvious or not, the teams have their game plans in place to saw off two of the best bats in baseball.
“The game plan is nothing,” Wainwright said, “if you don’t execute.”
-30-
Derrick Goold said he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was really drawn to MU sitting between two major-league cities. Goold joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after working for The Times-Picayune and Rocky Mountain News, covering sports from LSU to NHL and every level of baseball in between. 
There no good comparison between Pujols and Ramirez today. Albert is in his prime and will return to form. Manny is old for a ballplayer and is unlikely to be the impact player he used to be. In my observation, during the season, the Dodgers did better without Manny in the lineup.
I wonder how the same people supporting Holliday for his inept play this post season will react when he jumps at the first big money offer in free agency and leaves St. Louis?
The object of the game is to get all the players out, not just Manny, or Albert. So far the Cards haven’t been doing too well on that score…at least when it counts the most. I’m sure the Cards will fare better, but not win 3 in a row.
Forget about what has happened! This season is not over and all we have to do to keep playin, is win Saterday! Beat the Dodgers on Saterday! As for you Mr. Holliday, I will be giving you a standing O from my living room for every at-bat! I hope my cardinal brothers in STL. do the same! Our job is to support this team. How can we say anything if we’re not doing our job! Go birds hold ur heads high! WE got ur back!
Futureman I think you need to look at the stats before you start blaming Holliday for this post season choke. He leads the team in HRs and RBIs this post season and is 2 for 8 compared to Pujols 1 for 6 batting effort. The inept part of the Cardinals is there pitching and that always shows in the post season. Beside Wainwright the entire pitching staff is showing how good they really are and Carpenter choke performance should have him traded to Chicago by next Thursday.
The difference between the Cards and Dodgers is that the Cards offensive stats over the course of the year is heavily dependent on Pujols. But in the post season, it’s simple….take Pujols out of the game. Make someone else beat you. The Dodgers have a well balanced attack with a lineup not as sexy as the Cards but well suited for post season play and pretty good speed all around.
And when the national press was pumping up the Cards going into this series basically saying, “the post season is all about pitching and they have the best 1-2 punch” I couldn’t believe how quickly they forgot about the 2008 Phillies. Cole Hamels and a great bullpen is all the Phillies had.
The Dodgers had the best team ERA in baseball and the best overall bullpen. I like the Dodgers chances in a close game after 5 or 6 innings.
Bottom line is that the Cards are too top heavy in both pitching and offense. They rely too much on only 3 guys. You need more depth.
I guess the next thing Cards fan will have to look foward to after the next game is spring training. GO-CUBS-GO
If we somehow get to game 4, here’s a suggestion:
Make Franklin the starting pitcher.
If he somehow gets past the first batter,
send Carpenter or Wainwright in to relieve him
in the first inning. No pressure on Franklin,
no chance of using him as a closer. But I guess
TLR wouldn’t take advice from anyone.
Haven’t heard or read a word about but as of this week
TLR now trails only Connie Mack in losses as a manager.
Let’s hope this arrogant boob’s days in St. L will
be over soon.
To “Clueless in St. Louis” — get real. Yes, Carpenter did not have a great night Wednesday night, but I’d still rely on him over just about anyone else in the majors. His record proves that. To Joe Torre: Shame on you for not having the guts to let the players play the game. I am SO sick of intentional walks, especially in the first inning of the first game. Give me a break! To Matt Holliday: Maybe if you weren’t so concerned about chomping on your sunflower seeds while you’re out in left field, you wouldn’t have dropped the ball. I know he had a great deal to do with our getting into the playoffs, but that was awful. And then to see him standing there a moment or two later getting out his sunflower seeds just REALLY made me see red. And you can’t blame LaRussa for players not doing their job.