Cardinals vs. Brewers, May 12

The Cardinals turned in a complete clunker to conclude their road trip. Somehow, they managed to the the tying run to the on-deck circle in the ninth. But they were never really in this one past the early innings.

In the eighth inning of game three of this eight-game road trip I thought the Cardinals might prove to the world that they are for real. But since then, this trip has been a disaster and they will be lucky to come home with a piece of first place.

It's a shame that Adam Wainwright has pitched so well to this point with nothing to show for it. Everybody is entitled to a bad night -- even though this beating could just as easily be blamed on shabby defense than it could on the Redbirds' young ace -- but it seems so much worse because he is three wins short of what he earned on the stat sheet.

Because I started this and feel obligated to name a View From the Cheap Seats Cardinal of the Game every day, I'll go with Rick Ankiel, who homered to give the Cardinals their first run. Nevermind that he struck out with the tying run on deck...

Cardinals lowlight of the game goes to Adam Kennedy who went 0-3 at the plate and committed an error on a popup that allowed the game to get out of hand.

Comments

[Antoine]

As much as I hate to say it, this all goes back to Isringhausen. He's getting shelled, and the whole team now looks shell-shocked.

Offensively, guys are starting to take really poor at-bats again.

Defensively, it appears the Cards are sleepwalking.

And the pitchers look like they just can't execute.

This team has a fragile psyche. I realize they're worried about Izzy, but it's time to man up.

[Fred McTaggart]

I don't think you can lay this on Izzy...or anyone else. They've been winning as a team, and they were due for a letdown of this kind. Whether they can turn it around is a measure of how good they are.

[View From the Cheap Seats]

Izzy isn't doing much at the plate, either...

[Antoine]

I agree that this isn't all Izzy's fault, and I'm sorry if that's how it sounded. The Cards could have rebounded after his blowout Friday, but instead they pretty much have folded the tents.

They other 24 players are worried about Izzy, and they can't seem to get it together. This team is fragile and doesn't appear to handle adversity well. On the other hand, they're coming home. So we'll see if they can put things back together.

[Fred McTaggart]

I know what you mean. There are four bulwarks on this team, and when one of them goes down, then it's hard to hold up the roof.

The bullpen is bound to falter for awhile because it's built on stability and well defined roles. And the starting pitchers aren't as secure when they don't have a strong bullpen to rely on.

The offense could solve the problem by scoring an average of eight or nine runs a game, as they used to in the glory days.

[Jeff]

Does the coaching staff have a TAKE sign? Two walks in a row, then after Ryan pops up, Izturis swings at the first pitch!! Then Ankiel swings at ball four, with the hottest guy on the team (Ludwick) on deck. ???

I know it was a long shot to come back, but something's gotta give.