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Syd Thrift · 05-04-2007, 07:49 PM

Overview

It has now been 4 seasons since the Cardinals (then the Brown Stockings) originally drew themselves up from the primordial muck that separated day from night and first division from second division. Yet, they have never come that close to pennant-winning absolution. Last year was, technically, the closest they came (previously the St. Louis team's closest was 1899, when they went 83-71 and yet were 12 games in back of the Cubs and also behind the Cincinnati Reds and Louisville Colonels as well). Does this satisfy us? Not in the least. It is our mission to make the Cardinals of St. Louis the most beloved franchise out of all, because then and only then may we properly spread The Word.

The biggest problem we saw was one of offense. Simply put, our boys were just too nice to score runs on our opponents. While we appreciate generosity as a virtue, it should also be mentioned that a man of the cloth knows that he is not granting any real mercies by letting an opponent out of a situation where he deserved to have runs scored upon his person. The pitching realizes that well enough. It is time the hitting understood this as well.

Pitching

Code:

Player				Age	W	L	Pct	G	GS	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA
Johnny Gruelle			23	23	11	0.676	36	34	309.2	282	73	8	70	155	2.12
Stephen Vickers			26	14	19	0.424	35	33	290.2	325	100	10	96	75	3.10
Kent Sanders			26	14	14	0.500	28	28	249.2	245	79	5	41	114	2.85
Trevor Munzie			20	13	10	0.565	23	23	196.2	207	65	5	67	92	2.97
Corey Wilson			28	3	7	0.300	11	10	79.0	100	39	1	35	37	4.44
Mike Hebert			30	2	4	0.333	12	6	62.1	80	32	0	19	23	4.62
Dan Hanson			22	3	2	0.600	5	5	41.1	44	12	0	28	21	2.61
Conway Shelvin			30	1	0	1.000	5	0	16.2	17	10	1	7	5	5.40
Gianfranco Amocacci		26	0	0	0.000	4	1	4.1	4	1	0	1	2	2.08

What a splendid year did Johnny Gruelle have! He was named the finest "rooky" in the entire National League, which is only fair. He was also one of the best pitchers in the league, experience or no experience, as finishing 2nd in wins, 3rd in ERA, and 5th in strikeouts will show. We expect he'll be holding down the staff for the next decade or more. Stephen "Parochial" Vickers was a bit of a disappointment but not nearly as much as Mike "Saint" Herbert was. Herbert, a career 191 game winner, was expected to be a staff ace but was flat-out ineffective. His status with the team as of 1902 is unclear. Vickers just lost a lot of games, just as he'd done in 1899 before the Cardinals rescued him from Cleveland. The poor play of the two supposed aces led St. Louis to give guys like Kent Sanders and Trevor Munzie a try. Neither had started more than 10 games in a season prior to '01 (Munzie made his debut last year) but both played like grizzled veterans when given the chance.

Catcher and First Base

Code:

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG
C	 Scott Syrett		29	108	391	30	102	17	3	1	44	0	24	51	.261
C	*Horst Verhaar		24	34	124	13	29	3	1	0	11	0	6	22	.234
1B	 Bob Perry		30	111	428	52	103	19	8	4	61	1	27	48	.241
1B	*Ju-wei Si-ma		44	26	67	3	14	1	1	0	13	0	7	12	.209
1B	 Dale Basinger		30	8	33	2	8	2	0	0	1	0	0	1	.242

The catcher position last year was... the catcher position. There's just not a lot to talk about here, which sometimes is a good thing. Not standing out shows that there is not too much pride emanating from the position, which is of course one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Scott Syrett may have been guilty of Sloth last year, though. Horst Verhaar played right about the way we expect a 24-year old backup catcher with an iffy future should hit. His arm was absolutely terrible, though; we're not sure whether this was because he actually didn't throw well or if he felt guilty stopping would-be thieves.

Meanwhile, what happened to Bob Perry? In his third year as a starter, the bottom completely dropped out of his game. He'd seemed like a sure bet to hit .300 but couldn't even surpass .250 and we fear we may have to look elsewhere. Dale Basinger likely won't be that guy, and there isn't much happening down on the farm, so we must look elsewhere.

Infield

Code:

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG
2B	 Dave Bulwer		30	116	422	69	124	19	10	2	42	57	82	7	.294
2B	Kevin Durocher		23	26	93	14	29	7	4	1	9	2	14	12	.312
2B	 Roger DeMowbray	31	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	.000
2B	 Cal Roddis		28	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
3B	 Paul Woolcock		30	140	570	83	189	33	17	3	69	28	28	72	.332
SS	#Loren Larson		28	140	556	78	162	18	12	5	60	0	35	49	.291

Is it just us, or was Dave "Dominicani" Bulwer just a little bit off of his game last year? It's so hard to tell because he plays at such a high level. He did fail to reach .300, but only just so, and the walks and the long hits more than make up for that. The Cards barely needed a 5th infielder last year because the entire right side played every single game. Paul Woolcock seems to have finally settled in with a team after playing for 3 teams in 3 years from 1898-1900. He's an absolutely brutal fielder who will likely move across the diamond to first base before too long but for right now he hits well enough to make people sort of overlook his... .840 fielding average. That was as painful for us to type as we're sure it was for you to read. Like Woolcock, Loren Larson also led all of his peers in the NL in errors; it amazes us that the Cardinals as a whole only 4th from the bottom in miscues.

Outfield

Code:

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG
LF	 Chris Dean		25	58	237	29	50	8	5	0	16	26	14	32	.211
LF	 Cooley Wellwood	30	55	186	28	48	9	5	1	25	7	18	12	.258
CF	*Ray Cable		31	95	398	63	119	33	10	2	41	14	13	47	.299
CF	 Fred Jacobsen		25	43	169	23	34	2	3	1	8	11	19	29	.201
CF	Dace MacSporran		23	24	109	16	35	2	2	0	10	7	4	8	.321
CF	#Eric Sullivan		28	19	75	11	16	3	2	0	7	1	4	6	.213
RF	*Toby Mudd		25	110	419	54	126	20	2	4	54	6	39	39	.301
RF	*Sean McGilvray		33	29	88	10	20	1	0	0	5	1	8	14	.227
RF	*Galimberto Eccelino	30	20	56	7	14	4	0	1	11	0	5	7	.250

Outfield was a complete mess for St. Louis last year. They started the season with Chris Dean, Ray Cable, and Toby Mudd out there, but that trio ended up playing less than a third of the season together. Dean missed a few weeks with leg injuries but truth be told we aren't sure he's recovered from the concussion he received last year. He hit a full 77 points below his career average last year. Cable just got hurt badly and the Cards' choice of replacement, Philadelphia Phillie wonder-fielder Fred Jacobsen didn't hit at all (although he did add another Gold Glove to his resume). Mudd was pretty much the only guy to play anywhere near a full season out there, although even he missed a month with a bad hip.

05-04-2007, 07:49 PM	#110 (permalink)
Syd Thrift Banned Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 3,113	St. Louis Cardinals, 73-67, 3rd NL 10 GB Overview It has now been 4 seasons since the Cardinals (then the Brown Stockings) originally drew themselves up from the primordial muck that separated day from night and first division from second division. Yet, they have never come that close to pennant-winning absolution. Last year was, technically, the closest they came (previously the St. Louis team's closest was 1899, when they went 83-71 and yet were 12 games in back of the Cubs and also behind the Cincinnati Reds and Louisville Colonels as well). Does this satisfy us? Not in the least. It is our mission to make the Cardinals of St. Louis the most beloved franchise out of all, because then and only then may we properly spread The Word. The biggest problem we saw was one of offense. Simply put, our boys were just too nice to score runs on our opponents. While we appreciate generosity as a virtue, it should also be mentioned that a man of the cloth knows that he is not granting any real mercies by letting an opponent out of a situation where he deserved to have runs scored upon his person. The pitching realizes that well enough. It is time the hitting understood this as well. Pitching Code: Player Age W L Pct G GS IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Johnny Gruelle 23 23 11 0.676 36 34 309.2 282 73 8 70 155 2.12 Stephen Vickers 26 14 19 0.424 35 33 290.2 325 100 10 96 75 3.10 Kent Sanders 26 14 14 0.500 28 28 249.2 245 79 5 41 114 2.85 Trevor Munzie 20 13 10 0.565 23 23 196.2 207 65 5 67 92 2.97 Corey Wilson 28 3 7 0.300 11 10 79.0 100 39 1 35 37 4.44 Mike Hebert 30 2 4 0.333 12 6 62.1 80 32 0 19 23 4.62 Dan Hanson 22 3 2 0.600 5 5 41.1 44 12 0 28 21 2.61 Conway Shelvin 30 1 0 1.000 5 0 16.2 17 10 1 7 5 5.40 Gianfranco Amocacci 26 0 0 0.000 4 1 4.1 4 1 0 1 2 2.08 What a splendid year did Johnny Gruelle have! He was named the finest "rooky" in the entire National League, which is only fair. He was also one of the best pitchers in the league, experience or no experience, as finishing 2nd in wins, 3rd in ERA, and 5th in strikeouts will show. We expect he'll be holding down the staff for the next decade or more. Stephen "Parochial" Vickers was a bit of a disappointment but not nearly as much as Mike "Saint" Herbert was. Herbert, a career 191 game winner, was expected to be a staff ace but was flat-out ineffective. His status with the team as of 1902 is unclear. Vickers just lost a lot of games, just as he'd done in 1899 before the Cardinals rescued him from Cleveland. The poor play of the two supposed aces led St. Louis to give guys like Kent Sanders and Trevor Munzie a try. Neither had started more than 10 games in a season prior to '01 (Munzie made his debut last year) but both played like grizzled veterans when given the chance. Catcher and First Base Code: Pos Player Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG C Scott Syrett 29 108 391 30 102 17 3 1 44 0 24 51 .261 C Horst Verhaar 24 34 124 13 29 3 1 0 11 0 6 22 .234 1B Bob Perry 30 111 428 52 103 19 8 4 61 1 27 48 .241 1B Ju-wei Si-ma 44 26 67 3 14 1 1 0 13 0 7 12 .209 1B Dale Basinger 30 8 33 2 8 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 .242 The catcher position last year was... the catcher position. There's just not a lot to talk about here, which sometimes is a good thing. Not standing out shows that there is not too much pride emanating from the position, which is of course one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Scott Syrett may have been guilty of Sloth last year, though. Horst Verhaar played right about the way we expect a 24-year old backup catcher with an iffy future should hit. His arm was absolutely terrible, though; we're not sure whether this was because he actually didn't throw well or if he felt guilty stopping would-be thieves. Meanwhile, what happened to Bob Perry? In his third year as a starter, the bottom completely dropped out of his game. He'd seemed like a sure bet to hit .300 but couldn't even surpass .250 and we fear we may have to look elsewhere. Dale Basinger likely won't be that guy, and there isn't much happening down on the farm, so we must look elsewhere. Infield Code: Pos Player Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG 2B Dave Bulwer 30 116 422 69 124 19 10 2 42 57 82 7 .294 2B Kevin Durocher 23 26 93 14 29 7 4 1 9 2 14 12 .312 2B Roger DeMowbray 31 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .000 2B Cal Roddis 28 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 3B Paul Woolcock 30 140 570 83 189 33 17 3 69 28 28 72 .332 SS #Loren Larson 28 140 556 78 162 18 12 5 60 0 35 49 .291 Is it just us, or was Dave "Dominicani" Bulwer just a little bit off of his game last year? It's so hard to tell because he plays at such a high level. He did fail to reach .300, but only just so, and the walks and the long hits more than make up for that. The Cards barely needed a 5th infielder last year because the entire right side played every single game. Paul Woolcock seems to have finally settled in with a team after playing for 3 teams in 3 years from 1898-1900. He's an absolutely brutal fielder who will likely move across the diamond to first base before too long but for right now he hits well enough to make people sort of overlook his... .840 fielding average. That was as painful for us to type as we're sure it was for you to read. Like Woolcock, Loren Larson also led all of his peers in the NL in errors; it amazes us that the Cardinals as a whole only 4th from the bottom in miscues. Outfield Code: Pos Player Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG LF Chris Dean 25 58 237 29 50 8 5 0 16 26 14 32 .211 LF Cooley Wellwood 30 55 186 28 48 9 5 1 25 7 18 12 .258 CF Ray Cable 31 95 398 63 119 33 10 2 41 14 13 47 .299 CF Fred Jacobsen 25 43 169 23 34 2 3 1 8 11 19 29 .201 CF Dace MacSporran 23 24 109 16 35 2 2 0 10 7 4 8 .321 CF #Eric Sullivan 28 19 75 11 16 3 2 0 7 1 4 6 .213 RF Toby Mudd 25 110 419 54 126 20 2 4 54 6 39 39 .301 RF Sean McGilvray 33 29 88 10 20 1 0 0 5 1 8 14 .227 RF Galimberto Eccelino 30 20 56 7 14 4 0 1 11 0 5 7 .250 Outfield was a complete mess for St. Louis last year. They started the season with Chris Dean, Ray Cable, and Toby Mudd out there, but that trio ended up playing less than a third of the season together. Dean missed a few weeks with leg injuries but truth be told we aren't sure he's recovered from the concussion he received last year. He hit a full 77 points below his career average last year. Cable just got hurt badly and the Cards' choice of replacement, Philadelphia Phillie wonder-fielder Fred Jacobsen didn't hit at all (although he did add another Gold Glove to his resume). Mudd was pretty much the only guy to play anywhere near a full season out there, although even he missed a month with a bad hip.