Good stuff as usual DG. Some food for thought…

Given the info above about next weekend’s starters, if Lohse starts any game between the first day he can come off the DL and the following Sunday, Smoltz probably will not start against the Braves–they would have to shift the rotation pretty heavily to make it work and at least one starter would have to have a week or more between starts (though I can see them doing that.) Darn.

Also, there is a reasonable chance that the Cards could clinch the division–or at least eliminate the Cubs–in the Cubs-Cards series the weekend of the 18th. If, say, the Cards go 10-5 and the Cubs 7-9 before that series, the Cubs’ elimination number, and probably the Cards’ magic number, will be four entering the series, meaning the Cards could clinch if they take two of three. Which would be pretty nice, especially since I think they clinched the division against us last year.

Incidentally, the earliest the Cards can clinch (i.e. they win and the Cubs lose every game up to that point and nobody passes the Cubs) is the 12th, which happens to be my birthday–although that’s pretty unlikely.

They should bring Glaus up on the 31st and send Thurston down. That way, Glaus is eligible for the playoffs. The Cardinals do not need Thurston.

Why was Tony not asked about the the number of pitchers he will have–

isn’t the 31st of august roster makeup a key to how many pitchers he will have on the post-season roster?

Steve, I’m pretty sure Glaus would be eligible. I think it’s guys on the 40 man roster by sept. 1, not the 25 man active roster. But, yeah, anything to get Thurston away for even a game would be appreciated.

I don’t understand the fascination with Glaus. Freese has absolutely killed the ball since his return from the ankle injury and plays a great 3B. Glaus hasn’t hit in Memphis, never hits for average in the majors (apparently not in the minors either); and his throwing!!! His throws from third look like he is lobbing the ball to a 9 year old at 1B and is trying not to hurt the kid. Freese has far more potential as the 3B next year than does Glaus who will probably be allowed to leave as a free agent.

Question, what’s the rule about pitcher vs. position player make-up on Aug. 31 and where do the Cards stand with that this year? This is in regards to the post-season make-up. Remember back in 2002 the Cards vs. Cubs double header on Aug.31 (due to Kile death) forced the Cards to have too many pitchers the entire post-season. I can’t find that rule anywhere.
p.s. Glaus IS eligible for post-season because he’s on the 40 man roster.

The “fascination” with Glaus is due to the fact he is a proven big league hitter who drove in 99 runs for the Cards last-year. Freese isn’t proven! The Cards could always use some more offense and Glaus MAY be able to do that, especially as a DH in the series if he regains his stroke!

Because of his power potential off the bench and the overall post-season experience he has to offer, I’m a proponent of Glaus playing the Matt Stairs role for St. Louis in the post-season. Let’s just hope he’s able to get his major league swing back. This is still “Spring Training” for him and I think it’s going to be difficult to find enough at bats for him against major league pitching to perhaps fully develop the timing he needs to be effective. Not sure. DeRosa obviously still needs to play and get his at-bats and then there’s the matter of Thurston and K. Greene.

from tipping pitchers:

I asked:

Why was Tony not asked about the the number of pitchers he will have–
isn’t the 31st of august roster makeup a key to how many pitchers he will have on the post-season roster?

— kjoe 12:06 am August 31st, 2009

tazlaz answered

That’s because with the new injury/substitution rules (from ‘06 or ‘07) you do not have to adhere to the 8/31 ratio. You no longer have to substitute a pitcher for pitcher or position player for position player.

so did B Ruby on Bernie’s forum:

Post subject: Re: does it matter how many pitchers are on the roster today?
Posted: 31 Aug 2009 09:24 am
I understood there was a rule change to eliminate the restriction that teams would have the number of pitchers v. position players for their post-season rosters set at the close of August 31. Now, anyone from the 40-man roster is eligible to be placed on the 25-man post-season roster, regardless of pitcher-position player ratios. No more scrambling on August 31 to get from 13 position players + 12 pitchers to a 14/11 ratio.

The rule changes also permit an injured player to be replaced in the middle of a playoff series. (Before, if a player suffered a mid-series injury, his team would be short a player the rest of the series, and not replaced until the next series.) Except when that occurs, the injured player may not return for the rest of that series, plus the next series. And if a pitcher is hurt in mid-series, he has to be replaced by another pitcher; if a position player is hurt and removed from the roster in mid-series, he has to be replaced by another position player.

now–let’s clear up the health care myths.

Is there a way we can send Thurston to double A and/or leave him off the roster completely. Seems the only reason we’ve kept him up this long is b/c of the posterity of having another left handed batter in the dugout and I don’t recall Thurston having done much since the major moves except missing first in extra innings against the Dodgers. I would really hate to get to extras in game 6 or 7 of an LCS or WS and have him be responsible for a similar gaffe. We should leave him off the playoff roster, lest we be stricken with The Curse of the Thurst. Give me an ailing Glaus over a healthy Thurston any day.

Also, what’s the chance Wellemeyer is left off the playoff roster a la the Marquis situation in 2006?