May 22, 2002

TEAM NEWS: 25-21, 2nd place NL Central (3 games back)

Rotation:

Staff ace Matt Morris struggled in his last outing against the Reds, but has been the lone starter who has dominated for the most part this year.... He broke with 2 down in the sixth inning, allowing 4 straight hits and seemed a bit tired and more than a bit frustrated with himself. Perhaps now that the rest of the rotation is healthy, some of the pressure that he's felt all season will be relieved and this outing won't repeat. He allowed 7 runs, all earned, on 9 hits in 5.2 innings.

Darryl Kile has looked better of late, though he seems to be struggling with his control a bit, having walked 9 batters in his last 2 starts over 13 innings. Considering he's averaged just over 3 walks per 9 innings over his career, expect him to improve, as he's trying to be just a bit too perfect right now. Still, in those 2 outings, he allowed a combined 3 runs and 8 hits, picking up a win against Cincinnati.

Woody Williams stock is back on the rise as he's been nothing short of spectacular since his return from a strained oblique muscle. In his return, he's allowed only 11 baserunners in 12 innings over 2 starts, allowing only an unearned run. People may not realize that since he joined the Cardinals in August last year, he's gone 8-1 with a 2.02 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP in 14 starts over 89 innings.

Garrett Stephenson has also returned to the rotation after a month on the DL with a back sprain. In 2 starts since, he has looked pretty solid, but has been limited to only 9 innings. One wonders whether it's the back injury that has kept his outings so short, or the fact that he's still only had a year to recover from Tommy John surgery. This reporter's bet is on the latter, and that means that Stephenson shouldn't be expected to go more than 6 until well after the All-Star break.

Struggling 22 year old lefty Bud Smith has been sent down to AAA Memphis, and 28 year old rookie Jason Simontacchi has filled in admirably in his rotation spot. Smith's demotion was initially said to be for a start or two, but as long as Simontacchi keeps this up, expect Smith to stay down.... Remember, he's only 22, and the Cards had a pretty bad experience with another lefty phenom a few years ago.

Speaking of that phenom, Rick Ankiel has been up with the big club throwing bullpen sessions for about a week and a half now, and is expected to begin a rehab assignment within the next week or so. He still appears to be at least a month away, but we'll keep you posted.

Bullpen:

Don't look now, but even without key setup man Steve Kline, this bullpen has been magical the past couple of weeks. Mike Crudale, Luther Hackman, Mike Matthews, Gene Stechschulte, Mike Timlin, and Dave Veres have combined with closer Jason Isringhausen to allow only 4 runs (3 earned... all against Veres) in 25 1/3 innings on their current 10 game homestand which concludes tomorrow against Houston. Not surprisingly, the team has gone 8-1 through the first 9 games.

However, the greatest triumph for the bullpen was the game which seems to have turned the season around for the Cards thus far. On May 12, at first place Cincinnati, starter Travis Smith left after the first inning, trailing 8-0. The bullpen came in and fired 8 shutout innings and the offense clicked, coming back with a big 10-8 road win. They haven't looked back since.

Closer Jason Isringhausen has looked unhittable, and is currently second in the league among relievers in strikeouts, trailing only Arizona's Byung-Hyun Kim.

Infield:

1b Tino Martinez is starting to even out, having gone 9 for his last 20 to raise his average to a season-high .234. He's hit safely in all but 1 game since May 10, when the Cards travelled to Cincinnati, and has jumped up to second on the team in RBI with 25.

2b Fernando Vina continues to get on base anyway he can from the leadoff spot, and seems to be on track for a 200 hit, 100 run season with the Cards this year through 46 games. He's also running a bit more than he has been the past few years, having swiped 7 bases already this year.

SS Edgar Renteria has been benched since Monday, and is listed as day to day right now with a strained rib. Rumor had it on local TV tonight that he'd be in the lineup, but Larussa held him out for a second consecutive day. It should be better for him to take 2 days off now than risk aggravating his injury and head to the DL, and he's been hitting the ball much better in the first half this year than he did last season. He's slashed his K/AB total from 1 every 6 AB's to 1 every 10 AB's, and has shown that he deserves a better spot in the order so far, though he hasn't found a home at any one particular spot.

3b/Util Placido Polanco seems to have lost one of the only 2 things that made him valuable in fantasy leagues, his batting average. He still has little to no power, doesn't run enough to warrant a full-time spot on a fantasy roster, and now his consistent .300 hitting stroke seems to have left him. He's no longer even looking essential to the Cardinals, as Eli Marrero continues to prove valuable in the utility role, and slugger J.D. Drew has been moved into Polanco's usual #2 hole in the order. Keep an eye on him though... Polanco is too good a pure hitter to be playing this poorly, and expect it to even out over the course of the season.

Outfield:

Drew was in one of the worst slumps of his career. He's been striking out a lot lately (took the infamous golden collar May 5 vs. ATL, going 0 for 4 with 4 K's), and recently sufferred a 1 for 17 slump. Manager Tony Larussa gave him 2 consecutive "nights off" (quotes because he actually ended up pinch-hitting in both games) Tuesday and Wednesday. Perhaps Wednesday night's game against the Astros will put an end to this slump, as he stayed in the game after striking out in the 7th and won the game on a 3-2 count with a solo homer to lead off the 9th off of Houston's Ricky Stone.

Jim Edmonds has fallen back to earth a bit, seeing his average drop from the .350's to .331 in the past week and a half, mainly due to an 0-5 performance in Cincinnati. However, he remains the team's most consistent power and overall hitter, and has been moved up to the cleanup spot.

LF Albert Pujols has been swinging a hot bat lately, hitting safely in 12 of his last 13 games and has raised his average to .286. However, right now, Drew's lack of production in the second slot has been affecting his RBI opportunities, and right now he's sitting at only 25 for the year. As the rest of the lineup begins to click, so should Pujols.

Local News:

The team's proposed stadium bill never even got to the floor of the state senate and was immediately rejected, leaving disgruntled owner Bill DeWitt looking for a site outside of downtown St. Louis. Areas where team officials have cited as possibilities are St. Louis county, St. Charles County, Jefferson County, and East St. Louis (IL). More and more fans are becoming disgruntled not only with the Cardinals and the fact that they think they need a new stadium to compete, but also with the state government, which refuses to even look at a proposal. We'll keep you posted to see if this becomes a big issue, though, for now, it seems the team would be staying in the St. Louis area even if they were to find a different site for the new stadium.

Injuries:

Starters Garrett Stephenson (back spasms) and Woody Williams (strained oblique muscle) both seem to be fine as they have returned from the DL.

SS Edgar Renteria (strained rib) is day to day, and hasn't played since Monday. The rumor that he was supposed to start tonight suggests that he's not far off.

RP Steve Kline (strained left tricep) is set to make 2 rehab appearances Friday and Sunday for Class A Peoria and could be back as soon as Monday. He has been on the shelf since April 29.

SP Rick Ankiel (tendonitis) threw bullpen sessions with the club and is expected to begin extended spring training in the next week or two.

QUICK VIEW:

Add/Acquire:

J.D. Drew - People may be scared off by his recent slump, but he is too good a hitter to stay down like this. Try and deal for him now and it will pay off in the long run.

Tino Martinez - Everyone knew it was just a matter of time before he started hitting the ball, and if you think he's gonna slow back down now that he's raised his average to .235, you're sick. Look for him to finish the year with a .280 average, 25 + homers, and 100 RBI as usual..... Considering how slowly he's started, there's still a lot more out there for you to pick up, and his value remains low while his numbers look this bad.

Woody Williams - People just don't know what they have in this guy. His numbers as a Cardinal are posted earlier in this report, but I'll do it again. 8-1, 2.02 ERA, 0.99 WHIP. Since he's come to St. Louis, he's been amazing, and there's nothing to indicate that he's gonna come down off this cloud.

Jason Simontacchi - The league hasn't seen him yet, and with an amazing changeup with no change of arm speed, a solid sinker, and a fastball that tops off at 95, he's not the type of pitcher that every hitter is used to. His stuff isn't amazing, and he's not overly talented, but, for now, it appears that he's solidifying his role as the #5 starter. Smith has pitched well in Memphis (3 runs over 13 innings), but until Simontacchi blows it, the job appears to be his.

(For leagues with holds only) The entire bullpen - Grab as many Cards relievers as you can, and do it now. This team's playing like they're capable of right now, and they'll win a lot of games. The bullpen currently boasts 5 out of 7 pitchers with sub 3 ERA's (only Veres {3.33} and Stechschulte {3.05} are over 3). All will keep solid WHIP, ERA, and pick up a few holds, especially Kline when he gets back in the next week or two.

Drop/Shop:

Placido Polanco - Most leagues tend to have him as a free agent, and yours should too. He only contributes in one category, and he's not even contributing there this year.

Garrett Stephenson - Chances are that he's not going to go deep enough into games to help much right now, and people are still guilty of overhyping him sometimes.... More of a shop suggestion than a drop suggestion.

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Cardinals & Royals Lead Correspondent