View from the cheap seats

End of season report: Outfielders

Outfielders:

Left fielder Chris Duncan was the Cardinals' most reliable offensive force besides Albert Pujols in the first half of the season. And he looked like he was going to have a monster year before a sports hernia that went unrevealed for several weeks caused fans to wonder why things took such a turn for the worse.

Duncan still struggles in the outfield, surprising with the way he makes some tough plays, then frustratingly having easy pop ups bounce off his glove. He needs to keep working on judging and putting away fly balls because the Cardinals have to reverse the startling drop off in the quality of their defensive play. It wasn't just Duncan by any means. But he is certainly the team's weakest defensive player. Grade B-. His first half would have earned an A, and it's not his fault he was hurt. But this is about performance, and he hurt his production by playing poorly with the injuries.

Jim Edmonds was the biggest disappointment besides the pitching in 2007. I was really hopeful that after foot and shoulder surgery that Edmonds would get the quickness back in his bat and return to hit .280 or better with 30 or so homers. Instead, he had struggled to hit .250 with 12 homers.

He continued to struggle with injuries throughout the season including back and leg problems. At 37, I wonder if he has crashed into too many walls and made too many diving catches for his aging body to recover. The Cardinals shockingly signed Edmonds to a two-year deal before the 2007 season when they could have simply picked up his one-year option. Now they have to hope that he can find something in the tank for one more year. Grade: C-.

It's hard to say who the starter will be in right field in 2008 because Juan Encarnacion, who is under contract for next season may be forced to retire due to an eye injury. That means the job is probably pitcher turned power hitter Rick Ankiels to win.

Encarnacion hit .283 with nine home runs after half a season worth of games. But he continued to frustrate fans with his careless outfield play and lackadaisical baserunning. He struck out more than twice as often as he walked and stole only two bases in four tries. But it was most maddening how poorly he seemed to hit with runners in scoring position. Grade: C.

Ankiel burst on to the scene after leading the Pacific Coast League in homers during his stay there, he opened eyes with massive power, an incredible outfield arm and his obvious ability to spark the offense. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, Ankiel was drug into scandal involving human growth hormone. And as soon as the world hit, he fell into a massive slump. Only two of his 11 homeruns have happened in the three weeks since the story broke. He has, however, picked himself up and begun to hit for better average, if not power.

While some thought the reason for his slump was pressure and distraction from the HGH situation, and certainly some of it was, the majority of the problem seems to be that pitchers changed their philosophy of attacking Ankiel as they became more familiar with his abilities. Ankiel needs to adapt, just as major league hitters and pitchers are always changing, if he is to continue to succeed. He will certainly have the chance next year. Grade B+.

Dan Haren

Here's something to think about:

Dan Haren (15-9 3.07 192K) wrapped up his season by making his 33rd start Saturday against the Angels. He lost the game 2-0, another hard luck setback that will probably keep him from having a shot at the AL Cy Young Award. But the interesting thing is that he never gave up more than four runs in any of the games he started.

Cardinals de facto ace Adam Wainwright gave up five or more earned runs five times this season and at least five runs eight times. Braden Looper gave up five or more runs eight times. Kip Wells gave up five runs in 14 of his 26 starts. Anthony Reyes gave up five runs five times in 22 starts. But he did it four times in a row at one point. Brad Thompson gave up five or more three times. Joel Pineiro did it twice in 11 Cardinals starts. Todd Wellemeyer did it twice. Mark Mulder gave up five runs or more in two of his three abbreviated starts and Chris Carpenter gave up five in his only start of the season on opening day.

Thats five or more runs from Cardinals starters 42 times this season.

 

End of Season Report: Infielders

1B: Albert Pujols had a superstar season with a .327 batting average, 32 homers and 101 RBI going into the last game. He walked 98 times, nearly twice as many times as he struck out, 56. But leg and foot problems have really sapped his speed and Pujols stole only two bases in eight tries and often couldn't risk trying to turn singles into doubles -- or keep doubles from being turned into singles. Pujols' slugging percentage fell from .671 in 2006 to .570 in 2007, he set a career record for grounding into double plays with 25 and his total bases count was by far the worst of his career at 314. He had 359 last season, 360 in 2005, 389 in 2004 and 394 in 2003.

The most noticible difference between this season and the past for Pujols is that he didn't hit with runners in scoring position like he did in previous seasons. It was disappointing because our level of expectation has been pushed so unreasonably high. But Pujols is still a top offensive force in baseball. It's unfair to rate him against his past as opposed to against his peers. Assuming he has been an A+ force until now, to tick him down just a hair means Grade: A.

2B: Adam Kennedy has to be considered a free agent bust. I thought this sounded like a good deal on paper. It made sense that Kennedy should have instantly meshed with former team mate David Eckstein and given the Cardinals tough defense up the middle. Kennedy has apparently lost a step or three. And his offense was downright brutal. (.219/3/18). Kennedy also missed a large chunk of the season to injury. If what happens on the field matters more than what your contract says, Aaron Miles should stay ahead of him on the depth chart in 2008. Grade: D.

End of Season Report: Catchers

With the season all but over, I figure there is no time but the present to start sifting through the rubble to take stock of what the Cardinals have and what they need to improve in 2008.

I'll go down it position by position, starting behind the plate.

Yadier Molina had his best season to-date. He hit .275 with six homers and 40 RBI after missing about a month with a broken wrist and the last few days of the campaign so he could get an early start on minor knee surgery. Molina's reputation has started to spread and opposing baserunners rarely challenge him anymore. Molina's sniperlike arm keeps runners close on the bases. He ought to win the Gold Glove this season. I would like to see Molina hit a little more consistently with power in the future and to avoid prolonged slumps. He'll always be a liability on the bases because of his lack of speed. Grade: A

Gary Bennett is a really solid backup who can take care of himself at the plate when he is in the game. He's not nearly as good at throwing out runners as Molina. But who is? Bennett is also known as a good clubhouse guy and someone who keeps the other players loose as he holds court on the bench or in the bullpen. I wouldn't mind one bit seeing him back in 2008. Grade: A-

Kelly Stinnett did a great job for a guy who was marooned in the minors and on the verge of retirement when the Cardinals called after Molina's wrist injury. He was solid behind the plate and got a well deserved return trip to the majors when rosters expanded in September as a thank you. He got a few more at bats in the big leagues and will almost certainly retire after the season. Grade: B+

Brian Esposito had one at bat after Molina's injury and wasn't a factor. Grade: Incomplete

More Milton Bradley games

Apparently umpire Mike Winters and his peers feel he bears some responsibility for the fracas that resulted in the end of Padres outfielder Milton Bradley's season.

Major League Baseball suspened Winters for the rest of the season and the umpires' representatives shockingly made no effort to appeal the suspension.

"I've spoken with Mike Winters, and he sincerely regrets what happened on the field that day," umpires union spokesman Lamell McMorris said. "Sometimes, regrettable situations just come out of nowhere and spiral out of control, and everyone involved later wishes that the entire thing can be undone and everyone can go back to the beginning and start over. Unfortunately, this is not one of those situations. But we wish the Padres well on the remainder of their season, and we look forward to having Mike back on the field next year."

Pineiro in Cardinals' court

A couple of people have asked me about the contract status of Joel Pineiro, who some have opined could be the best starter available on an incredibly thin free agent market.

Upon further review, it turns out Pineiro has a team option on his deal, although I wasn't able to quickly turn up what the terms are. But the former Boston and Seattle pitcher made $4 million on a one-year deal for 2007 and had a three-year contract before that which paid $2.5 million in 2004, $4.2 million in 2005 and $6.3 million in 2006.

Given his performance since arriving in St. Louis, Pineiro would almost certainly be picked up by the Cardinals, unless the option the Red Sox gave him is absolutely outrageous.

Motley Brew Crew

Can you tell the Brewers haven't played games that count for a while?

What were they thinking when they started a bean ball war in the middle game of a three-game set with the Cardinals.

Clinging by a thread to their playoff hopes, the Milwaukee was playing a Cardinals team with little to be inspired about. Their own post season hopes were long ago dashed and, with a roster load of injuries, the Redbirds couldn't be blamed for looking ahead on the calendar to their first playoff season in four years when they weren't in the pressure cooker.

Buying Bonds

I agree with Barry Bonds. And boy do I hate to say that.

But fashion designer Mark Ecko is an idiot.

Ecko is the guy that bought the baseball Bonds hit for his record breaking 756th career home run for $752,467, then put it up to a public vote to determine what to do with the ball. The choices ranged from sending it as is to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, destroying it or branding the horsehide sphere with the mark of an asterisk to taint it like Bonds supposedly tainted baseball history by using performance enhancing drugs to break baseball's most famous record.

The curse of the Fish

You gotta love those Florida Marlins.

They may be arguably the worst team in the National League this season. But they have sure done a number on the Wee Bears.

Chicago has lost eight in a row to Florida, including being swept in the four games the clubs have played this season. The last time the Cubs beat the Marlins was April 25, 2006. The win Tuesday was the third by Marlins starter Dontrelle Willis in his last 22 starts.

The Cards lost? Sweet.

Sorry to seem disloyal. But I was heard to utter a woo hoo when the Brewers broke open their Tuesday game against the Cardinals.

I hate to ever see the Redbirds lose. But I can't stand to watch them do the Cubs bidding. And, after watching Chicago fritter lose to the Marlins, it became even more apparent that the Wee Bears could still blow this thing.