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Good afternoon Cards fans. Here are a few game day notes for you to digest as your long work day comes to an end. For you 2nd and 3rd shift maestros, stretch out with these pregame thoughts.
- Adam Wainwright is being rude to hitters this month. It’s a welcome sight to see the ace of the pitching staff dealing on a cool night at Wrigley in September. After the dead arm phase, Wainwright has went 4-0 in his last 4 starts and carried an ERA right around 1.15. He has pitched 9, 8, 9, and 7 innings in those starts. It is what aces do. When the need heightens, they arrive and dominate. Waino did the same thing last season. He went 4-1 in September with a 2.85 ERA and a K-BB split of 35/8. Wainwright is stronger than ever and it’s his look on the mound that breeds the most confidence. He is pitching to the plate faster, has a solid composure and doesn’t look unsure. Waino will never look rattled. He is a bulldog, and that’s whether he has a dead arm, no arm or a strong one. He is an ace competitor. The results are simply returning. His stat line for the season is impressive. 20-9 record, 2.38 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 179 K, 50 BB, 227 innings pitched and 5 complete games. Ridiculous and especially when many in St. Louis thought he was losing it a couple of weeks ago. I did and wrote two articles on it. I like being wrong to a degree. I stated that the Cards need to stick with him and keep sending him out there. It has worked.
- Matt Adams wins the prize for looking absolutely clueless in his first two at bats and regaining his rep with two very good finishing at bats. Travis Wood had him fooled on two early strikeouts, and then Adams adjusted and cranked an RBI single in the later innings. That is a small sliver of hope right there.
- Kyle Hendricks, the starter for the Cubs today and talented rookie, is having a great season and has shut down the Cards in his last two outings. That was a weaker hitting bunch of Redbirds so I hope tonight is different. He is also opposing a hot young pitcher by the name of Shelby Miller, who has been fantastic during his last five starts. A matchup of young starters tonight. With Jake Arrieta pitching tomorrow, the Cards may want to secure a series win tonight.
- The Cards are 15-6 in September and also have 22 shutouts on the season, which is tops around the National League. Throughout a roller coaster season, the arms have provided a consistent boost.
- Matt Holliday is having another solid year but there are times where I want to strangle the guy for swinging at the first pitch. Why? Plenty of times(3 on Sunday to be exact), he was out or fooled. I am a big fan of letting one sail in and seeing where the pitcher is at and thinking. Unless it’s Felix Hernandez on the mound, be patient. Then again…what do I know? I’m just a scrappy little city writer.
- Matt Carpenter is slowing down at the plate but ladies and gentlemen, the skies eventually darken on every player’s season. Carpenter, overall, is having a good season. He set the bar very high after his 2013 campaign. He is hitting only .221 for the month of September but he is still getting on base at a season long pace of .372. He has 107 strikeouts but 92 walks. He has 156 hits and 96 runs scored. Across the board, a very nice season for the third baseman. He is still our best candidate to lead off.
- Kolten Wong should start every day. Why? As Bernie Miklasz pointed out, he hits lefties well. He has hit .296 against LHP all year. Unlike the right field debate of Randal Grichuk and Oscar Taveras, the Wong debate is closed. Tell Pete Kozma, Â Daniel Descalso and Mark Ellis to grab a mop. Wong has it covered.
- The Grichuk-Taveras debate is a good one. Both are hitting well in September. Randal is the better glove in the field. Oscar is a better pinch hitter. Each have their skills. I still hold to the theory that both should get ample playing time in right field. Sure, Jon Jay is hitting well and Peter Bourjos has a rare skillset, but Grichuk has a plus arm and Oscar hits every baseball sent towards the plate hard. He smoked a ball to center field and was robbed last night in Wrigley. His batted ball in play luck is unfortunate. His time will come in 2015 but tonight, against a RHP, Oscar should be playing. They are young rookies, but each deserves exposure.
What are your thoughts on the above? Sound off here in the comments section, drop me an email at [email protected] or find me on Twitter, @buffa82. I am always present to defend what I write.
Thanks for reading and goodnight,
Dan Buffa
2 comments
Dream: good piece. You know what I am going to say, Taveras is a one tool player, Grichuk has shown himself to be a multi-tool player. Taveras is not a good outfielder, Grichuk may be a great outfielder. Taveras has a mediocre arm, Grichuk has a very good arm AND sets up for the throw. Taveras is a slow, unpredictable base runner, Grichuk is a very fast, good, smart base runner. Taveras has hit a little, Grichuk has hit a lot with power. I candidly don’t believe there is anything to compare the two that Grichuk doesn’t come out on top. I would not have Taveras on my post season roster.
I respect your opinion but their September performances are pretty similar. Overall, throughout their entire careers, Taveras has hit RHP better than Grichuk. Oscar isn’t a better outfielder than Grichuk but I still think he deserves a platoon. If I had to put money on it, Oscar is going to be more productive in 2015 with more playing time. In the month of September, Oscar has hit better than a little. He hasn’t hit the home runs like Randal, but he has hit a lot of baseballs hard and hit .360. That can be forgotten. While not as defensively skilled as RG, Oscar isn’t horrible in the OF. He can play the position and has as good of an arm as Jay, Bourjos or Holliday. I am afraid both can be overexposed if played for too long. Which makes them the perfect platoon. That’s just my opinion.
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