Reading Time 5 Minutes:

Nothing displays the extreme psycho nature of the 2010 Cardinals more than the disparity in home/road record and performance. 

I don't know how the same group of players can be the 2nd-best home team in the National League while at the same time being one of the worst road teams. But that's who the Cardinals are, and as we've said before, we might as well give up in our efforts to understand what makes this team click ... or not click. It's one of the more baffling teams in baseball.

And I do think the weakness on the road confirms my unfortunate opinion that this Cardinals team simply lacks the competitive resilience we've seen from most of of the STL teams managed by Tony La Russa. There must be a reason why this team is so soft on the road, and injuries aren't an excuse. Because the same roster is 34-16 at home this season and only Atlanta has done better in the NL at home.

Let's go to the numbers:

* We saw a familiar scene Tuesday night at Citi Field in New York: the Cardinals flopping and failing on the road. And it's disturbing. The Cardinals are 17-27 on the road since going 4-2 on the road (Cincinnati, Milwaukee) in the season's first week. Overall they're 21-29 on the road; 17 MLB teams and 8 NL teams have a better road record.

* It's much worse than that since May 15. The Cardinals are 10-20 on the road since then, a winning percentage of .333. In the NL only Washington, Arizona and Pittsburgh have been worse on the road during the stretch starting May 15.

* In the 30 games since May 15 the Cardinals are batting .255 on the road with a .305 OBP and a .400 slugging percentage. They've averaged a mere 3.7 runs per game.  They have scored 3 runs or fewer in 16 of the 30 games.

* And the starting-pitching numbers are ugly; in the last 30 road games Cardinals starters are 9-15 with a 4.70 ERA. And they've been charged with 4 earned runs or more in 13 of the 30 starts.

* The .420 road winning percentage to date would rank 13th among the 15 teams managed by TLR in St. Louis.

* The Cardinals are averaging 3.98 runs per game on the road this season, 12th in the NL. Only Arizona, Colorado, Houston and Pittsburgh are scoring fewer runs on the road. It's strange because the Cardinals actually rank 3rd in the league in road slugging, and are middle of the pack (8th) in OBP. Timely hitting must be the issue.

* In his first nine seasons (2001-2009) Albert Pujols routinely ripped up road ballparks with a .333 batting average, .422 onbase percentage and a .629 slugging percentage. Pujols' road numbers are down this season:  .265 BA, .368 OBP and a .540 SLG. Other hitters dragging on the road include Ryan Ludwick (.248 BA), Brendan Ryan (.172), David Freese (.230) and Felipe Lopez (.249).

* Matt Holliday is batting .196 (9 for 46) on the road with runners in scoring position.

* Colby Rasmus has been the team's best hitter on the road this season with a line of .324 / .404 / .632. And he has 9 road homers. But he's in such a funk, and Jon Jay is playing so well, TLR is reluctant to use Rasmus. A peculiar situation.

* But let's end on a hopeful note: the 2006 Cardinals were a poor road team, struggling to a .420 winning percentage. And we know what happened.  The 2006 Cardinals showed that as long as you can get healthy and pull everything together at the right time, you can go a long way and win it all. You can make your troubles disappear. The 2010 Cardinals can do that, too.

Moving on ...

* Pujols is batting .259 overall since June 24. He has a .333 OBP and .565 SLG during that time.

* Reds Report: GM Walt Jocketty is telling reporters that all is quiet on the trade front. But Jocketty is poised to deal. Cincinnati Enquirer beatwriter Jon Fay correctly points out all of the trade chips that Jocketty can use if the right deal comes along.... In his 3rd start back from the DL, Edinson Volquez wasn't good at Milwaukee Tuesday night, allowing 6 hits, 4 walks and 4 runs in 3.2 innings. That was the second consecutive bad start for Volquez. But the Reds pummeled Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo en route to a 12-4 win... the Reds made a smart gamble in declining to put 3B Scott Rolen (hamstring) on the DL; he returned sooner than expected and went 4 for 4 with 3 RBIs in Tuesday's win.

* Rickie Weeks is a beast. Can you imagine having a leadoff hitter that has posted 22 homers and 67 RBIs? That's what Weeks has done for Milwaukee this season. He's bombed 7 homers in his last 10 games. Overall this season Weeks, the Brewers' 2B, is batting .276 with a .377 OBP and a .494 SLG.

Thanks for reading ...

-Bernie