TOWER GROVE • One of the key contributors to the St. Louis Cardinals' unlikely and uncanny run was a revamped bullpen that included a novice closer, a rookie righthander just figuring out his stuff as a reliever, a veteran who had been through the postseason before, and a young lefty who hadn't. They all combined to become an unexpected strength in October.
And that was in 2006.
As the Cardinals blazed through that postseason and won the World Series, the relievers played a pivotal role. Adam Wainwright delivered the hammer in the ninth. Josh Kinney emerged as a weapon against righthanded hitters with a slew of sliders that he figured at Class AAA Memphis. Braden Looper found a role as the setup man. And Tyler Johnson emerged as a lockdown lefty. Seven different relievers combined for 47 appearances for the Cardinals in October 2006, and four of them had never been in the postseason before.
They were the Play ‘Pen.
This year's relief corps has already proved to be a toy manager Tony La Russa cannot stop tinkering with, and its impact on October could seem familiar. Wainwright is Jason Motte. Looper is Arthur Rhodes or Octavio Dotel. Johnson is Marc Rzepczysnki, and this year's Kinney could be Lance Lynn. It's the Play 'Pen revisited.
And that's where today's 10@10 begins.
1. In 2006, the Cardinals' bullpen pitched 42 2/3 innings, claimed three wins and received four saves from new closer Wainwright, including the save of the postseason at Shea Stadium in Game 7 of the NLCS. That bullpen included three relievers who did not give up a run in October - Randy Flores, Kinney and Wainwright - and a fourth who allowed only one run, Johnson. As a group, they had a 2.53 ERA, though the bulk of the damage was done against Josh Hancock in a mop-up moment. Minus the six runs he allowed, the bullpen had a 1.33 ERA.
2. This October, the bullpen has played a crucial role in both Game 2s, pitching more in those games than the starter did. On Monday in Milwaukee, La Russa used six different relievers to pitch 4 2/3 innings. They allowed one hit, a homer. That echoed their performance in Game 2 of the National League division series. In that game, six different relievers combined to pitch six innings and hold the Philadelphia Phillies to one hit. The relievers struck out six and walked none in that game, pulling the Cardinals back from the brink of an 0-2 pit in the best-of-five first round. La Russa has aggressively made pitching moves this season, 17 ties in the NLDS and 11 times already in the first two games of the NLCS. The Cardinals' relievers have thrown more innings in the first two games of the NLCS (8 2/3 innings) than the two starters combined (8 1/3 innings). Three Cardinals' relievers have pitched at least an inning allowed one or fewer earned run: Dotel (3 2/3 innings), Motte (4 1/3 innings) and Fernando Salas (4 2/3 innings). For their work, the bullpen as a whole has a 3.11 ERA in NLCS and a 3.63 ERA overall this postseason.
"The game has totally changed. It's evolved," La Russa said Tuesday when asked about the importance of the bullpen. "Now, it's gotten more like specialists. ... In the end, it always ends with a reliever or two or three getting the last outs. So, you can't win without both (starters and relievers), and we treat and have treated (them) like stars.(Dennis Eckersley) always thought relievers were guys that were not good enough to start; that attitude has not been true for a long time."
3. A source whispers in my ear that the downtown St. Louis hotel that is near the ballpark and playing host to the Milwaukee Brewers this week has mandated that its staff wears Brewers gear all week. Forget the fact that they are in St. Louis and many are from St. Louis, they are being told to don Brew Crew gear while the team is in their rooms. They will be an island of blue in the Sea of Red. No word whether the concierge is also required to greet the Brewers each day with "Beast Mode."
4. The search for another one-pitch win is on after rookie Lynn's victory in Game 2 of the NLCS. The burly righty came into a mess in the fifth inning Monday and fired one pitch - an 80-mph curveball - and got a double play and a win for his troubles. (He also got a favorable call at first base because replay indicated the hitter, Rickie Weeks, was likely safe on a bang-bang call.) This would seem like an odd event. Too many things have to merge for it to happen. The starter has to go less than five innings or the game has to be decided late. The reliever has to get in a situation where one pitch gets the out that ends the inning, and that's all he throws. It would seem unusual.
Except ...
You don't have to go too far back into Cardinals history to find another one-pitch playoff win. In the 2002 NLDS, Cardinals lefty Jeff Fassero entered Game 2 in the eighth inning as part of a triple switch. He replaced Tino Martinez in the lineup, Albert Pujols moved from third to first base, and Miguel Cairo came into the pitcher's spot to play third. Fassero made one pitch and got a fly out from Arizona's Mark Grace to end the inning. Cairo, the new addition, singled home Edgar Renteria in the next inning to break a 1-1 tie and make Fassero the one-pitch winner. Anyone got another example?
5. The Brewers turn to Yovani "Yo" Gallardo to steal back home-field advantage and cool the Cardinals offense. The one problem for the Milwaukee Beasties is Gallardo, a strikeout righty, may not be the pitcher to slow Pujols or unplug the Cardinals' jump-starter, shortstop Rafael Furcal. Here are the numbers from Gallardo's duels with individual Cardinals:
Albert Pujols - 12-for-27, 5 BB, 3 K -- .444/.515/.926
Lance Berkman - 8-for-27, 7 BB, 12 K ... .296/.441/.333
Matt Holliday - 4-for-18, 2 BB, 7 K ... .222/.300/.667
Rafael Furcal - 5-for-12*, 4 BB, 2 K ... .417/.563/.917
Jon Jay - 3-for-13, 0 BB, 2 K ... .231/.231/.462
Yadier Molina - 5-for-21, 5 BB, 2 K ... .238/.407/.524
Nick Punto - 1-for-9, 1 BB, 4 K ... .111/.200/.111
Ryan Theriot - 5-for-15, 3 BB, 3 K ... .333/.444/.400
Allen Craig - 0-for-2, 0 BB, 0 K ... .000/.000/.000
Daniel Descalso - 1-for-4, 1 BB, 0 K ... .250/.400/.250
David Freese - 0-for-7, 1 BB, 3 K ... .000/.125/.000* Furcal has two homers in these at-bats, as does Holliday in his career against Gallardo. Pujols has four homers off Gallardo.
Well, second base will be an interesting call tonight. La Russa could stick with the defense that shepherded Chris Carpenter to his shutout in Philly, and that would put Punto at second base. Or, the skipper could follow the numbers and start Theriot based on his numbers vs. Gallardo.
6. Jeff Suppan, the 2006 NLCS MVP for the Cardinals, is set to throw out the ceremonial first pitch for tonight's game at Busch Stadium. It is a little ... coincidental. Suppan used that 2006 postseason run as a launch pad into free agency, and on Christmas Eve 2006 he landed what was then the largest contract in Milwaukee Brewers history. He didn't exactly give the Brewers the return hoped, though they did reach the postseason once in his tenure there. Suppan's time with the Brewers ended in 2010, and he returned to the Cardinals after his release. Comparing his time with the Cardinals (2004-2006, 2010) with his time as a Brewer (2007-2010) offers some striking similarities in time spent pitching and remarkably stark differences in success:
• as a Brewer - 110 games, 97 starts ... 29-36, 5.08 ERA, 1.596 WHIP
• as a Cardinal - 110 games, 108 starts ... 47-32, 3.94 ERA, 1.411 WHIP
With Milwaukee, Suppan earned a total of $40 million. In four years with the Cardinals, he made a total of $9 million plus less than half a season of the prorated minimum.
7. The Elias Sports Bureau reports that this is the first postseason series in Major League Baseball history featuring a first-year manager (Ron Roenicke) against a manager with more than 25 years of experience in the dugout (TLR). ... As a player, Roenicke appeared in the 1984 World Series with the San Diego Padres. ... On MLB Network, Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan lauded Jon Jay's ability after the Cardinals' center fielder scored three runs and setup three of Pujols' bigger hits Monday night at Miller. "He's a guy that you got to get out with Pujols, Holliday and Berkman coming up," Hanrahan said. "He's a kind of guy that (if) you throw him in, he'll try to pull it down the line. If you throw him away, he'll just try shooting it (down) the third-base line. He got me for a couple doubles down the third-base line just sticking his bat out there and hitting them. I think he's a good hitter, and he's going to make a big impact in this series."
8. FARM REPORT: The Baseball America issue with all of the minor leagues' top prospects was waiting for me when I returned from Milwaukee, and the Cardinals, as expected, received honors at Class AA or below. ... The Class AAA Memphis club did not place a player in the Pacific Coast League's Top 20. ... RHP Shelby Miller was No. 2 overall in the Texas League, and he could be a top five prospect when the Top 100 is released next year. ... Miller was also considered the top prospect in the Florida State League, where he started the 2011 season. RHP Carlos Martinez, who finished the season at High-A Palm Beach, ranked sixth in the FSL. ... 3B Zack Cox also ranked in the Top 20 in two leagues - No. 11 in the FSL and No. 14 in the Texas League. ... OF Oscar Taveras is No. 6 in the Midwest League, according to BA. ... RHP Tyrell Jenkins is the No. 3 prospect in the Appalachian League.
9. HIT THE LINKS: A telling and uncompromising look at what happened behind closed doors as the Boston Red Sox imploded last month, as reported by Bob Hohler in this morning's Boston Globe. ... ESPN.com's Amy K. Nelson writes that the Brewers are peeved about where the family tickets are for the games at Busch Stadium during this NLCS. That reminds us all of the immortal Emil Verban, who was so furious about where the St. Louis Browns placed his wife during the 1944 World Series (allegedly behind a post) that he hit .412 for the Cardinals in that series. Verban then went to become a Cub. ... Christina Kahrl writes that the Other Cardinals are bothering the Brewers. ... At SI.com, Joe Posnanski writes basically a cautionary tale to Theo Epstein about what it means to join the Chicago Cubs. ... Chicago Tribune columnist Steve Rosenbloom says it's the perfect hire for imperfect reasons. ... Yahoo! Sports writer Jeff Passan compares Pujols to Nyjer Morgan. 'Nuff said.
10. I received an email yesterday about complaints people could not comment on the blog entries here. That shouldn't be the case. The comment fields are open here, and always have been. The lack of comments doesn't reflect a lack of ability to make comments.
It may, I've been told, reflect a lack of anything worth commenting on.
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