On the Road Again

Team News: 17-13, T-1st place NL Central

That home cooking sure was nice for the Redbirds, as they swept both the New York Mets and Montreal Expos in three game sets at Busch. The Cardinals outscored the Mets 32-12 in the first three game series, as Matt Morris, Woody Williams, and Brett Tomko all looked solid. The only hiccup from the bullpen during the brief homestand came in the final game of the Mets series, when Steve Kline allowed three in the eighth inning to blow Tomko's win. Jim Edmonds would eventually hit a solo shot off of Scott Strickland in the bottom of the tenth for the 6-5 victory.

The Cardinals would follow the sweep of the Mets with a three-game sweep of the suddenly ice cold Expos, whom they held to four runs. They started Friday night's massacre by scoring five times off of Montreal starter Tomo Ohka in the first inning, sending him to an early shower and setting the tone for the rest of the series. Montreal's pitching wasn't blown away for the rest of the series, as the Cards scored just twelve runs from that point on, but the bats were silent.

The Birds seven game winning streak ended on Monday, when they took their first trip to The Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. They'll play three more in Cincy before heading to the Windy City for a head to head matchup with the Cubs, who they share the division lead with, in Wrigley Field.

Projected Starters

Tuesday: Brett Tomko
Wednesday: Jason Simontacchi
Thursday: Garrett Stephenson
Friday: Matt Morris
Saturday: Woody Williams
Sunday: Brett Tomko

Who is this guy?

Former Kansas City Royals farmhand Kiko Calero notched his first save of the season in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Expos, and many are hailing him as the Cardinal closer until Jason Isringhausen returns. Don't buy into it. Tony Larussa will stick with the hot hand until Izzy is back, and that should vary from night to night. Steve Kline hasn't exactly stepped up and made the job his like everyone expected, but Calero doesn't have the typical closer's mentality, and was a starter throughout his minor league career. He walks far too many hitters, but is garnering plenty of strikeouts early on.

On a brighter note, someone who really could step in as the Cardinals short-term closer option has returned. Mike Crudale recovered from the broken toe he had sustained in Memphis and was almost immediately called up to the big league club. Crudale, who closed for most of his minor league career, was 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA in his rookie season with the Redbirds last season. He walked one in a scoreless ninth in his first outing of the year on Friday, in the Cardinals 8-1 victory over Montreal.

Expect Calero, Crudale, and Kline to all see the odd save chance for the next month until Jason Isringhausen is ready to go.

Batting Titles Anyone?

As of Monday, the Cardinal trio of Jim Edmonds, Albert Pujols, and Edgar Renteria held down the top three batting averages in the National League. Edmonds (.402) has a history of hot starts in his corner, and has been slugging the ball since day one. His 7 homers through April put him on pace for over 40 this season, which is exactly what his pace was last season until he got hurt.

Pujols (.381) is doing this despite an arm injury that was supposed to keep him out of the lineup for a few weeks. While he's had a chance to play first base more often, Pujols has remained in the lineup and is red hot, with 11 hits (3 homers) in his last seven games.

Renteria (.361) continues to build on a breakout 2002 season that most people would argue made him the consensus #1 shortstop in the National League. As a shortstop who bounces around with his place in the lineup (typically, Renteria bats either second, sixth, or seventh... occasionally, he will bat in the three or five hole), Renteria currently leads the team and is tied for fourth in the National League with 26 RBI. His four homers show that he's got his power stroke working so far this season, though he still isn't running as frequently as some fans would like.

Woody Cools Off?

Woody Williams remained unbeaten, despite allowing four early runs to the Cincinnati Reds on Monday. Williams recovered after allowing three runs in the first and one in the second, and was near perfect over his final six innings of work. When all was said and done, Williams threw eight innings, allowing just six hits and a walk. All four runs were earned. The game was lost 5-4 when Dustin Hermanson's fifth pitch of the night ended up clearing the wall. Aaron Boone was the culprit. Williams has now allowed eight runs through 41 innings to start the season.

Morris Tells Bullpen To Take a Hike

Matt Morris threw his second complete game of the season, putting down the Montreal Expos 6-2 on Sunday. Morris, who has seen a couple of leads disintegrate in the late innings, won his third straight and moved to 3-2 on the season. The righthander, who leads the National Leauge with 51.2 innings pitched so far this season, threw 124 pitches, and has now thrown 115 or more in three of his last five starts. He hasn't allowed more than three runs since his opening day start against Milwaukee, and has thrown six straight quality starts.

Player of the Week: Albert Pujols

He won the NL Player of the Week honors, so there's no question that he wins the Cardinal honors. Pujols is now riding a seven game hitting streak and was 11-24 (.458) with three homers, two doubles, and 8 RBI over the homestand. He wasn't even expected to be ready to play everyday.

The Walking Wounded

J.D. Drew - Drew continues to sit about as often as he plays. The right fielder is still recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery in the offseason.

Jason Isringhausen - Isringhausen reported no pain in a throwing session over the weekend, but his return date probably won't be until after Memorial Day. The club is playing it safe with Izzy, which should only help his long-term value after he returns. Unless a sudden dip in the standings happens, don't expect him back any sooner.

Albert Pujols - Pujols is playing every day and appears to be fine after a recent injury between his elbow and hand. He has played at first base and returned to his usual position of left field. As he won the NL Player of the Week honors, the injury does not appear to be bothering him.

Mike Crudale - Crudale has recovered from a broken toe and has returned to the club.

Quick Pick

Add/Acquire

Mike Crudale - Could turn into a nice cheap source of saves.
Garrett Stephenson - The righty is throwing the ball as well as he did when he won 17 games a few years back.
J.D. Drew - Just one more month, and he should be at 100%.... well.... close to it.

Drop/Deal

Kiko Calero - Don't believe the hype.
Mike Matheny - Law of (batting) averages will catch up soon.
Jim Edmonds * - There's something about late May that usually sends Edmonds into a downward spiral for a month and a half.

* Do not drop, but consider dealing.

Hold

Edgar Renteria
Albert Pujols
Scott Rolen
Matt Morris
Woody Williams
Steve Kline
Brett Tomko

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