Honesty Abounds in the St. Louis Cardinals Front Office

One of the first things that my group had to say when they left a meeting with Cardinals Genral Manager John Mozeliak and Ownership group representative Bill DeWitt III was, “ wow, they both came off as thoughtful and honest.”

As part of the United Cardinals Bloggers we were allowed to attend a sitdown with these two and ask questions. John Mozeliak touched on topics like Carlos Martinez, Shelby Miller, Ty Wigginton, Daniel Descalso, draft issues and the future of the minor league system which included that there are no shortstops in the organization that are popping out at them.

Each answer was thoughtful and did not include throwing double talk in them. One of the more revealing questions that yielded an answer which I found interesting was if the DH was coming soon and/or inevitable. Mozeliak said he didn’t see it coming right away. The sentiment was still to keep it in each league. DeWitt chimed in that IF it was coming it would have been discussed in Ownership Meetings and there was ZERO discussion about it among them.

The All-Inclusive Room was a great place to see the game and have conversation with other Bloggers even if the Cardinals did not have a good game. I will be writing this week about this event which will include the Retail and Gift Shop information, what delicious food is being prepared in the inclusive rooms, the plans for Ballpark Village and more on Mozeliak’s comments.

If interested, check in here this week.

 

Thanks to the Cardinals for the invitation and to Lindsay Weber and Ron Watermon for ironing out the details!

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Results on Friday: The Cardinals and Their Affiliates

The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Pirates 9-1 on Friday by scoring early and frustrating the Pittsburgh pitcher. Matt Carpenter led off with a homer followed by Carlos Beltran hitting his 1^st of 2 in the game. Matt Holliday singled and then Allen Craig was plunked in the shoulder. This caused the ejection of Sanchez and Manager Clint Hurdle. A great starting performance from Lance Lynn and a double play in grounder from Randy Choate sealed the deal. Jake Westbrook hopes to get the win against the Pirates and pick up his 100th win today at 3:15 p.m. CT.

The Memphis Redbirds dropped a game to the Nashville Sound 2-1 on Friday evening on a call that is not seen much anymore. With two outs and Sean Halton on third base, Cole Garner skied a fly ball center field for the third and final out. After the catch was made, home plate umpire Kellen Levy indicated that Redbirds reliever Jorge Rondon did not come to a stop during his delivery on the final pitch, constituting a balk and allowing Halton to score the winning run.

Oscar Taveras got 2 hits including a double and Kolten Wong singled twice in the loss. The Redbirds were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Nick addition started on the mound and allowed 3 hits and 1 run in 5 innings of work. Barret Browning and Keith Butler each worked a scoreless inning. Jorge Rondon took the loss.

The Springfield Cardinals were rained out on Friday evening.

The Palm Beach Cardinals lost to the Jupiter Hammerheads 5-3 last night. Stephen Piscotty hit a home run and added two more hits to see his batting average increase to .392 for the season. Anthony Garcia and Johnathan Rodriguez each added 2 hits in the loss. Starter Travis Miller saw his record drop to 0-3 on the year as he went 3.1 innings and allowed 6 hits and 4 earned runs. The bullpen was spotless as Jonathan Cornelius, Brandon Creath and Jose Almarante were unscored on.

Peoria Chiefs blanked Dayton 3-0 as Hector Hernandez got the win (1-1), Cory Baker got the hold (2) and Zachary Petrick picked up the save (3). C.J. McElroy got 2 hits and Charlie Tilson doubled in the game. Jordan Walton tripled and Jacob Wilson banged a home run in the win.

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Over the weekend, the St. Louis Cardinals will take on the Pittsburgh Pirates. This is the second series of the season between these two National League Central foes. In the first series, after the Cardinals won the first game, a rain-out was followed by a Pirates win. These two teams will not see each other again until the end of July at PNC Park. This series is extra special for us, because it is the United Cardinals Bloggers get together on Saturday night, followed by Blogger Day at the ballpark on Sunday. This is an event we all look forward to! We hope to see you at the ball park! Now, onto the games!

The Pirates are coming into St. Louis red-hot. Pittsburgh scored three runs in the 8^thinning to beat the Phillies 6-4 on Thursday. The win was their third straight; after falling 3-2 in the series opener. Before that, Pittsburgh took three of four from the NL East leading Atlanta Braves. The Pirates have won six of their last eight games overall. Pittsburgh trails the Cardinals by just ½ game in the National League Central standings. Cincinnati is also 13-9.

The Cardinals are coming off a sweep of the Washington Nationals. St. Louis got great starting pitching, and timely hitting to continue the dominance over Washington. The Cardinals went 6-3 on the road trip, which including stops in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Washington. This series against the Pirates will be just their third of the season at Busch Stadium. St. Louis currently leads the National League Central by the slim ½ game.

 

Recent Games:

April 15^th – Cardinals 10-6

April 16^th – Rain-out

April 17^th – Pirates 5-0

 

Upcoming Games:

July 29th – August 1st @ Pittsburgh

August 13th – August 15th @ STL

August 30th – September 1st @ Pittsburgh

September 6th – September 8th @ STL

 

This Weekend Games:

 

Friday April 27^th, 20137:15pm CST

Jonathan Sanchez (0-2, 11.12) vs. Lance Lynn (3-0, 3.68)

Sanchez, the left hander has not been very good thus far in 2013. He was the unfortunate pitcher on the mound in the rain-out last time, leading the game 4-2. Sanchez lasted just three innings in his most recent start on April 24^th against the Braves. In his career, he holds a 39-57 record.

Carlos Beltran has belted two homeruns in his career off Sanchez, while Yadier Molina has another. Matt Holliday is 5-20 in his career, while Ty Wiggington has had some success against the lefty; going 4-11.

Lance Lynn looks to stay unbeaten. The hard throwing right hander is 3-0 on the season and has won 22 of 30 decisions in his career. In his last start, Lynn allowed just 1 hit through 7 innings, topping the Phillies. Lynn beat the Pirates back on April 15^th, throwing 5 innings, allowing 7 hits and 4 runs. The right hander saw his offense score 10 runs in the game.

Pedro Alvarez, Alex Pressley and Neil Walker have all gone deep against Lynn in the past. The player with the most success against Lynn had been Garrett Jones; who is 4-14 lifetime against him.

Saturday April 28^th, 20133:15pm CST

A.J. Burnett (1-2, 2.79) vs. Jake Westbrook (1-1, 1.25)

A.J. Burnett, a 14 year veteran in MLB has won nearly 140 games in his career. Burnett is a fireballer, but has the ability to lose control at times, and yield big games. He pitched real well the last time he faced the Cardinals. In that game, Burnett went 7 innings, allowing just a single hit and striking out 8 batters. Burnett is among the league leaders in strikeouts, with 42 on the season. In his last start against the Phillies, he threw 101 pitches over 5 innings.

Burnett has seen Carlos Beltran and Ty Wiggington the most of any Cardinal. Beltran is 10-33 against him with 2 homeruns, while Wiggington is 10-43. In smaller numbers, Matt Carpenter is batting .400 against him with a double. Matt Holliday is 4-13 with a bomb against the veteran as well.

Jake Westbrook will look to climb above .500, but will need to shake his struggles against Pittsburgh. Dating back to last year, he has had a tough time with the Pirates. Westbrook was on the mound when the game was canceled last time, allowing a bunch of early runs. In his last start, Westbrook threw 6 innings against the Phillies, but did not pick up a decision.  The start before that, he has super, going the distance in shutting out the Reds. Westbrook, who is 35 years old, is one win shy of 100 for his career.

Pedro Alvarez is red hot against Westbrook. He is batting .579 in 19 at bat’s, with 2 homeruns. Other Pirates that have hit Westbrook hard include Andrew McCutchen (9-22) and Jose Tabata (9-21). The current Pirates roster has a combined .314 batting average against Westbrook in his career.

Sunday April 29^th, 2013, 1:15pm CST

Jeff Locke (2-1, 3.74) vs. Shelby Miller (3-1, 2.16)

Jeff Locke is a lefthanded pitcher who has 3 career wins. The 25 year old has made 4 starts this season, throwing 21.2 innings, allowing 20 hits, walking 11 and striking out 12 batters. His two wins were against the Reds and Phillies, with his lone loss coming on April 7^th at the Dodgers.

No current Cardinals batter has seen Locke in his career.

While the Pirates are sending a young gun,  the Cardinals are sending one of their own. Shelby Miller, the 22 year old from Houston has gotten off to a great start. Miller is 3-1 on the season with his lone loss coming at Pittsburgh. The Pirates touched him for 6 hits and 2 runs through 6 innings. In that game, the Cardinals offense was shut-out. Miller has struck out 26 batters in 25 innings thus far.

Neil Walker went 2-3 against Miller in Pittsburgh. No other player was able to reach base twice against Miller via base hits.

 

Team Stats:

Runs Scored: Cardinals 102, Pirates 83

Runs Allowed: Cardinals 75, Pirates 76

Homeruns: Cardinals 16, Pirates 15

Batting Average: Cardinals .245, Pirates .230

Earned Run Average: Pirates 3.13, Cardinals 3.14

Opponents Batting Average: Pirates .215, Cardinals .251

Errors: Cardinals 10, Pirates 11

 

Team Leaders:

Pirates:

Batting Average: Starling Marte (.333)

Homeruns: Pedro Alvarez (4)

Runs Batted in: Andrew McCutchen (12)

Runs Scored: Andrew McCutchen (15)

Wins: Several tied with 2

Earned Run Average: Wandy Rodriguez (1.66)

Strikeouts: A.J. Burnett (42)

Saves: Jason Grilli (9)

Cardinals:

Batting Average: Yadier Molina (.308)

Homeruns: Carlos Beltran (4)

Runs Batted in: Allen Craig (15)

Runs Scored: Matt Carpenter (18)

Wins: Adam Wainwright (4)

Earned Run Average: Jake Westbrook (1.25)

Strikeouts: Adam Wainwright (37)

Saves: Edward Mujica (4)

 

Lifetime Record:

Cardinals 1059-1108

Pirates 1108-1059

 

Record in St. Louis:

Cardinals 551-527

Pirates 527-551

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Wacha Improves to 3-0 for Memphis

Michael Wacha shines again for the Memphis Redbirds as he pitched 7 innings and allowed 3 hits and 1 run with 6 strikeouts to improve his record to 3-0 with a 4-1 win over the Iowa Cubs. Eric Fornatoro got his second hold and Victor Marte notched his 4^th save for the season. Greg Garcia, Jermaine Curtis and Ryan Jackson each had a double while Jermaine Curtis drove in 2 RBI’s. BOX SCORE

Michael Wacha has made 4 starts

ERA 1.96

23 IP  14H

5ER/12K/9BB

WHIP 1.00

 

 

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     James Ramsey- Named Player of the Week in Florida League

James Ramsey, a 1^st round pick in the 2012 Draft, was named Player of the Week in the Florida State League. Ramsey had a hot 10 game streak in which he went 15-36 and contributed 4 doubles, 2 triples, one home run, took 6 walks and stole a base to see his average balloon to .417. He has reached base in every game this season (first 11).

Ramsey helped lead the Seminoles to a 4th place finish in the 2012 College World Series and was named ACC Player of the Year.

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On a VERY WET Day……  Press Release from Cardinals.

 

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (April 18, 2013) – In celebration of the 43^rd anniversary of Earth Day, the St. Louis Cardinals will host their 4^th annual Green Week (#4aGreenerGame), April 22 through April 29, with activities designed to promote recycling, both inside and outside of Busch Stadium. Following is a listing of the week’s events:

 

MERS/Goodwill E-Cycling Drive on Monday, April 22, 2013

The Cardinals will host an electronics recycling and general donations drive in collaboration with MERS/Goodwill. Fans may drop off unused or unwanted electronic equipment at trailers in Lot C Parking Lot, located at the corner of 8^th Street and Cerre Street, immediately south of I-64/40. All items will be accepted free of charge, and donors do not need to sort their items prior to dropping them off. Computers and computer accessories, phones (home and cell), clocks, VCRs, DVD players, stereos, AV equipment including cable and satellite boxes, and any other electronic devices and general donations will be accepted in any condition. Goodwill will also accept any of your clothing, furniture, home décor, and housewares. All donations are tax deductible, and Goodwill will provide receipts for items donated. In return, fans donating will receive a voucher good for half off Cardinals tickets. The event will run from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit cardinals.com/greenweek or mersgoodwill.org. The revenue generated from the sale of your donations is used to further MERS/Goodwill’s mission of providing opportunities for persons with barriers to employment to work and live more independently in the community. The primary focus and success of MERS/Goodwill’s employment and rehabilitation programs is in their ability to prepare people for the world of work. Recycling partner, e-Cycle, will also be on hand to collect used cell phones. All proceeds from those donations will go to Goodwill.

 

Friday, April 26 through Monday, April 29

The Cardinals, in partnership with Shoeman Water Projects, will collect shoes at Busch Stadium gates before the games on Friday April 26 and Saturday April 27. Fans are asked to clean out their closets of any unwanted shoes, tie or band them together, and drop them in the designated shoe collection bags. Shoeman Water Projects creates clean drinking water for those in need by selling shoes to exporters for resale and then using the money generated from those sales to purchase well-drilling rigs and water purification systems in developing countries.

The Cardinals and e-Cycle will be collecting your used cell phones at the games Friday through Sunday (April 26, 27, 28). An e-Stewards Certified recycler, e-Cycle is committed to making a positive impact on the environment. e-Cycle has recycled more than 12 million mobile devices for enterprise clients, kept more than 250,000 tons of toxic e-waste out of landfills, and greatly reduced unnecessary carbon emissions and energy waste through reuse of used mobile devices. e-Cycle provides the industry’s highest standards and practices for eradicating and protecting your private data. Their high-security work environment and processes have been meticulously designed to maintain the utmost protection of your confidential information. All proceeds from donations will go to Cardinals Care.

The Cardinals are teaming up with Waste Management and Blue Skies Recycling to additionally minimize waste from the game on Sunday, April 28. There will be composting and recycling centers set up at multiple points throughout Busch Stadium along with volunteers to assist and educate guests. In 2012, the Cardinals diverted over 2,000 tons of waste from landfills, which makes up over 33% of the total waste for the whole year in Busch Stadium.

On Monday, April 29, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will recognize the Cardinals and the team’s concessionaire, Delaware North Companies, in an on-field ceremony prior to the game. The EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge asks organizations to find alternatives to throwing away food, which will reduce the amount going to landfills. When food decomposes in landfills, it becomes a source of greenhouse gas emissions. The Cardinals are exceeding their food recovery goals, which results in decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and slowing climate change. Together, the Cardinals and Delaware North Companies have diverted over 27 tons of unused food from concessions stands in Busch Stadium to Operation Food Search since 2010. EPA Regional Administrator Karl Brooks will present a certificate in recognition of the Cardinals’ efforts to divert, donate and compost waste around Busch Stadium. Learn more about EPA food recovery at www.epa.gov/smm/foodrecovery/.

With the help of Ameren Missouri Pure Power, the Cardinals will offset energy consumption by purchasing renewable energy credits (recs) for the duration of Green Week.  By purchasing recs, the Cardinals will offset 100% of the energy used at Busch Stadium for the games during Green Week.

During Green Week, and all season long, the St. Louis Cardinals Ice Mountain Green Teamvolunteers walk down the aisles of the seating bowl in-between innings and collect recyclables from fans while promoting recycling at Busch Stadium. In exchange for their services, they are able to watch the game in standing room only sections of Busch Stadium, as collections are only done in-between innings and during pitching changes so as not to disturb fans trying to watch the game. To volunteer, e-mail4agreenergame@cardinals.com, or for more information, visit cardinals.com/green.

This week and throughout the season, fans are also encouraged to donate new or gently used baseball and softball equipment at special bins located throughout Busch Stadium, as part of “Rawlings Replay.” “Rawlings Replay,” which was established in 2011, supports Redbird Rookies, the flagship program of Cardinals Care, which provides disadvantaged youth with the opportunity to play baseball for free, as well as a variety of other support services. Fans are also encouraged to donate at St. Louis area Johnny Mac’s locations and receive a special discount in-store on new Rawlings products.  Members of the Cardinals Kids Club (cardinals.com/kidsclub) receive an additional voucher, good for two tickets to a 2012 game, if donations are made at Johnny Mac’s.

In 2012, the Cardinals partnered with Sachs Electric, Microgrid Energy and the Electrical Connection to bring solar energy to Busch Stadium. The team installed over 110 solar panels, which generated over 22,000 kWh of electricity (enough power to meet the needs of two average American homes) and eliminated an estimated 15 tons of carbon from being emitted into the atmosphere. Throughout the season, fans are encouraged to learn more about solar energy, by visiting an educational kiosk in Ford Plaza.

Since the launch of 4 A Greener Game (#4aGreenerGame) in 2008, the Cardinals have diverted nearly 2,000 tons of solid waste from local landfills, and Busch Stadium continues to become more energy efficient through participation in Ameren Missouri’s Business Energy Efficiency Program.

o    The team has reduced its energy use by 20% and its water use by 10% since the new stadium opened in 2006.

o    33% of the team’s waste was diverted from landfills in 2012.

o    On average, four tons of trash are recycled at Busch Stadium each game.

o    550 recycling bins are located throughout Busch Stadium.

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This is what Cardinal fans have been dreaming about, salivating about and have fantasies about for many years. Shelby Miller pitched 7 strong innings and allowed one hit and that was to the first batter of the game. In the game he fanned eight and walk none. He retired the last 17 batters he faced.

The losing pitcher was Kyle Lohse. Lohse was allowed to walk on his contract by the Cardinals so that Miller could have an opportunity. Lohse pitched well but allowed a run when Ryan Braun dropped a ball after he dove for it. It appeared there was no reason Braun needed to leave his feet except to make it appear a highlight reel catch. Molina added a homer later in the game to account for all the scoring.

Trevor Rosenthal hurled a scoreless eighth inning and Mitchell Boggs got out of the 9th by fanning Braun with 2 on and then whiffing Rickie Weeks to end the threat and the game.

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This game was a transition game. From the old to the new. Sweet.

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In minor league action the Memphis Redbirds defeated Oklahoma City 10-6 with Oscar Taveras banging out 4 hits, Ryan Jackson getting 4 hits and Brock Peterson a 3-run homer.

Springfield Cardinals got a home run from Xavier Scruggs, his 3rd of the season, and a two run triple from Tommy Phan to see them win 6-3. Kevin Siegrist got the win.

The Peoria Chiefs won in 10 innings vs. their old affiliate Quad Cities by a 4-1 score. Jordan Walton, Breyvic Valera and Alex Mejia each got two hits. Casey Rasmus got a hit and a walk while Joseph Scanio got the win.

For more Minor League Results go to SaintLouisSports.

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Jake Westbrook goes the distance, allowing just five hits over nine scoreless innings in the Cardinals’ 10-0 win over the Reds.

Westbrook put his arm on cruise control and threw  111 pitches and pitched his 15th career complete game and his first shutout in 7 years. Manager Mike Matheny allowed him to go the distance even though he threw 116 pitches in his first start.

Here is what Jake had to say about his game, “I felt really good in the seventh inning of the last game, throwing 116 pitches, and I felt even better today in the ninth. It always means a lot when you finish what you started.”

He befuddled the Reds hitters all day and first baseman for the Reds, Joey Votto added, “He was obviously throwing strikes, and throwing strikes with his sinker. There were some misses on our part and some good sinking pitches on his part. It was a perfect storm of a complete-game shutout. You need a little bit of luck, you need some skill and that’s exactly what happened today. I thought he threw fantastic, competed well, and I wasn’t particularly surprised by that because he definitely has that capability.”

The Cardinals take on the Brewers this weekend with Shelby Miller facing Kyle Lohse.

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Minor League Match-Ups for Cardinal Affiliate on Tuesday, April 9^th

Nick Addition takes the mound for the Memphis Redbirds as they face the New Orleans Zephyrs for the second game of the series. Game time is 7:02 CT at Auto Zone Park in Memphis. The Redbirds were on fire last night by scoring 18 runs 7 records in the bottom of the 8^th inning. It is expected to be 75 degrees and partly cloudy for the first pitch of the game. Memphis Redbird Website

Springfield Cardinals righty Richard Castillo takes the ball for game two of the series with San Antonio Missions. Castillo will be making his second start of the season with a loss on opening day. The Cardinals will be hoping to even the series after taking a 5-2 loss last night. The forecast for the first inning is 84 degrees and partly sunny conditions will prevail. Springfield Cardinal Website

Palm Beach will send Tyler Melling (1-0) to the mound on Tuesday to face Port St. Lucie Mets. This is the start of a new series with the Mets and their starter is still undecided. Game time forecast will be 77 degrees and mostly sunny. Palm Beach Website

Peoria Chiefs, a 4-1 winner on Monday over the Beloit Snappers, will have left-hander Hector Hernandez go to the mound to start the game. It is Taco Bell Tuesday at Chiefs Stadium in Peoria with game time conditions expected to be 68 degrees and cloudy with chance of rain by the end of the contest. Peoria Chiefs Website

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Match-Ups for Cardinals Affiliate Teams for Monday, April 8th

Memphis Redbirds will host the New Orleans Zephyrs at Auto Zone Park with game time slated for 7:05 pm. Elih Villaneuva , a Florida State graduate, will be the starter for the Zephyrs and Oklahoma State product, Tyler Lyons, will be the Redbirds starter.

The Springfield Cardinals travel to San Antonio to take on the Missions at 7:05 CT. Right-hander Seth Blair, from Rock Falls, Illinois, will be the starter for the Cardinals and will face righty Wilfredo Boscan.

Roger Melling takes the mound with a 1-0 record for the Palm Beach Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium to face the Port St. Lucie Mets at 6:05 ET. The opposing pitcher has not been announced yet.

Peoria Chiefs Stadium will find Joseph Cuda on the mound for Peoria Chiefs to face Austin House of the Beloit Snappers at 6:30PM CT.

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