Cards seek help on the mound
By Joe Strauss
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
03/12/2008
Four days after Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak downplayed the club's search for additional starting pitching, the club reacted Tuesday to persistent questions about Joel Pineiro's right shoulder by inquiring about free agent Kyle Lohse.
My take: This guy is St. Louis Cardinal Prime Time Work In Progress™ material -- check out these '07 stats -- 192 innings pitched going 9-12 with a 4.62 ERA. With Scott Boras as his agent I can hardly wait to see what kind of $$$ he wants.
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It's now or later for Rasmus
By Derrick Goold
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
03/12/2008
JUPITER, FLA. — Manager Tony La Russa said Colby Rasmus' batting average is only a small — and misleading — part of the numbers the outfielder has produced. Just like his numbers are only part of the decision whether he'll make the team.
Rasmus, the club's top prospect, is hitting .231, lagging behind the other outfielders vying for big-league jobs. But the real indicators of his spring are his .538 slugging percentage (fifth on the team) and .412 on-base percentage (third best among leadoff candidates).
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Ryan Franklin displays his pitching resume
By Derrick Goold
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
03/12/2008
JUPITER, Fla.--Before he lets his throwing partner, Russ Springer, free to go about other business, Ryan Franklin has a ritual Springer could do without.
Franklin floats him a few knuckleballs.
"He throws me two or three every time," Springer said. "He's superstitious."
Good thing Franklin doesn't have the habit with all his pitches.
They'd be there awhile.
The Cardinals righthander reliever, who emerged as a shutdown setup man last season, came to the club primarily as a starter, one who had more than a half dozen pitches. Franklin has picked up a new pitch every few years or so, and he's working on another. Earlier this spring, Franklin talked about how he developed or used his unusually expansive array of pitches.
He has used all nine he has in a game. Even that knuckleball.
"It's mediocre at best," Springer said. "OK, he's got a good knuckleball, but why does he need it? He's already got seven pitches."
Or, something like that. But who's counting?
My take: That’s all well and good for 9 pitches but I’d settle for somebody that had 2 great pitches, about 200 innings in him and flirts in a low 3.0-ish ERA.
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Padres CF : Jim Edmonds said his strained right calf felt "much better" on Saturday. He hurt it Thursday breaking out of the batter's box. "Yesterday I wasn't even able to walk straight ahead. So this is good news." Edmonds met Saturday with a team doctor, who confirmed that the 37-year-old player is expected to be out for 2-3 weeks. "We're just going to hope for the best," Edmonds said.
My take: This is an all time low for our former CF... You got hurt running out of the Batter’s Box? Dude, time to hang the cleats up if you get hurt running across a chalk line.
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Welcome Back
A special Dyer Cardinal Nation shout out to my favorite beloved Cub-monkey fan Lori Peeples who's back in town from the Big Apple. In a questionable year of Cardinal baseball she will certainly provide entertainment value for those of us here at Switch:Liberate Your Brand.
