Greene and Kinney up, Walters and Stavinoha down

Josh Kinney

After a three week stint on the DL, Khalil Greene has been activated.

Greene was back in St. Louis on Wednesday but was not expected to be activated until this weekend. Manager Tony La Russa wanted to observe Greene go through an extensive workout before making any further decisions, but obviously liked what I saw.

Greene spent four games and logged 15 at bats in Memphis. He hit a healthy .400, had three runs, two doubles, and two RBI.

Greene hit the disabled list in wake of his very serious anxiety disorder that forced him to abuse himself. As if he doesn’t have enough on his plate as it is, Khalil will now man the hot-corner instead of shortstop. Due to Brendan Ryan and Tyler Greene’s success, Khalil agreed to move over to third.

KGreene seemed very relaxed when asked about the move and said he is “very excited to return”.

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Josh Kinney, P.J. Walters, and Nick Stavinoha also received news today regarding where they are going to spend at least the next week or two. Kinney was recalled from Triple-A affiliate Memphis and Walters is set to take his spot in the Minors.

For Kinney, this will be his second stint with the Big League club. He made three appearances with St. Louis earlier this season. Josh recorded 2.2 innings and allowed four runs while walking four. However, he has had some previous success in the Major Leagues.

Kinney had a pretty damn good start to his career before he needed his Tommy John Surgery. Kinney made a huge impact on that 2006 World Series team with an accumulation over 6 innings of three hit ball (no runs). That ’06 season was definitely his best. Josh threw over 25 innings with a 3.24 ERA and 22 strikeouts. Anything close to that would be a huge help in the ‘pen.

As for Walters, he is sent down to Memphis for the second time this season. Out of his grand total of six outings, Walters only came out of one without giving up any runs. That happened to be the only one-inning outing he has made thus far.

Walters will be a huge help to the 31-35 Memphis Redbirds who have definitely been on the raw end of these promotions. P.J. has 4.14 ERA as a Redbird, but has yet to settle in any one level. Maybe this move will be his last and he can find a groove as one of Memphis’ front-end-of-the-rotation guys.

Stavinoha has become one of the most loved guys in the city and in the clubhouse over the past few weeks, but is also packing his bags for Memphis.

Stavinoha proved he could handle MLB pitching when he belted in 10 RBI as one of the team’s bench players. In May, Stav batted .256 and was among the team’s best in most offensive categories.

Nonetheless, he just isn’t a starting outfielder yet in the MLB. And with a group of very solid outfielders, Stav found himself struggling with no room to play here lately. He is batting a mere .190 in June with only 21 at-bats with the return of Ludwick and Ankiel.

Nick’s clutch hits and key RBI will be missed to say the least, but all in all, you can hardly argue that Stavinoha is not at the level the rest of our outfielders are at.

Justin Hulsey
Cardinals Front Office

Cardinals Receive Needed Offensive Help

Ryan Ludwick

The Cardinals may be on a roll of late, but you can’t hide the fact that the offense is in a slump. St. Louis is 7-2 in the previous nine games, but have only scored more than five runs once in the past three weeks.

The scuffling offense gets one of its biggest weapons back on Friday night, and not a day too soon.

All Star slugger, Ryan Ludwick, is scheduled to be activated this Friday when the 28-19 Cardinals take on the 23-23 Giants in San Francisco this weekend.

Ludwick experienced a strained right hamstring on May 12^th when he dove for a fly ball against Pittsburgh.

The Cards, who were the MLB’s best offensive team in the first few weeks of the season, scored an average of three runs per game with Ludwick out of the lineup. In the early stages of this season, St. Louis had a scoring average of above five.

With Luddy coming off the DL, somebody will have to be sent down to Memphis. IF I was John Mozeliak, this would be the hardest decision of this season so far.

The likely candidates to be sent down are Stavinoha and Brad Thompson.

Stavinoha has been hot of late, but it would kill me to send down a hot bat in the middle of the team’s offensive slump. However, with Rasmus, Ankiel, Ludwick, and Duncan… Stavi would see little playing time and almost be wasted.

On the other end of the spectrum, Brad Thompson has been the definition of waste. Many argue that he is in the lineup just in case a starting pitcher implodes in the second inning. Well that is great but Thompson has only pitched TWICE since May 8^th. We just do not need 13 pitches on the roster.

Another option would be to move Khalil Greene to the DL and basically just switch roles with Ludwick. While Khalil CERTAINLY needs to be DLed, I think the Greene-Ludwick exchange would hurt us… as it would only leave us with one bench infielder. The lack of depth in the infield concerns me, so I would wait to put Khalil on the DL until Tyler Greene is available to promote (June 3).

As the GM, I would demote Nick Stavinoha. I hate saying that, but he would get little playing time due to the outfield depth we already have.

—

Not only is Ludwick expected to start on Friday, Cardinal outfielder Rick Ankiel is also part of the plan for tomorrow.

Ankiel was actually activated from the DL on the 24^th, but had taken the Milwaukee series off after he experienced soreness throughout his body after his Sunday start.

There’s no question, it’s especially Ludwick that’s been missed in the batting order.. Ankiel is off to something of a slow start this year, whereas Ludwick already had eight home runs in 30 games and is slugging .538. Ank, one of the streakiest players on the team, has hit .247 with only two home runs in his 85 at bats this year.

It is obvious that the offense is just not the same without these two. If you combine Rick and Luddy’s 2008 stats, you will find one helluva player. When you take out these two, you take out a .283 average, 62 HR, and 184 RBI. Basically, home run wise, just envision at McGwire-less 1998 Cardinal team.

“Ludwick’s a quality producer, so he’s got to make it better,” manager Tony La Russa said.

The main victim of these injuries has unarguably been Albert Pujols. Opponents have been able to pitch around the St. Louis Cardinals star following the injuries to Ludwick and Ankiel that left Pujols with little protection. He drew four intentional walks in last weekend’s series against Kansas City — one of them with two on and no outs — and seven walks overall. Albert has been walked 12 times in the past six games.

With no reason to pitch to Pujols, he is finding it hard to get into a groove. There is little difference between what he is experiencing now and pinch-hitting. Lately he’s only getting a chance to hit twice a game at the most due to the ridiculous amount of walks. When he gets his protection back, expect more real at bats, and look for Pujols to heat it up a little bit.

The Cardinals have still found a way to breathe with two of their top three sluggers out of the lineup thanks to amazing pitching. The opposition has only scored a mere eight runs in the past seven days.

St. Louis will likely take a dose of there own medicine when they visit the Bay City this weekend. They will face greater pitching with Cain, Zito, and Jonathan Sanchez taking the mound.

I suspect more 2-3 games in the next few days. With Lohse missing his Friday start due to a “burning cramp” in his elbow that may DL him, Pineiro, Carpenter, and Waino will take the mound for the Redbirds at AT&T Park where the Cards are 12-15.

Both teams’ offense has been pretty poor of late. Hopefully, the return of Ludwick and Ank will spark something in St. Louis’ lineup.

Justin Hulsey
Cardinals Front Office

Carp and Ankiel Return, Ludwick Still a Week Away

Chris Carpenter

Last night’s post was written out of pure frustration. Tonight’s post is written out of excitement.

If you did not get a chance to watch the game tonight, it was MUCH better than the past week of baseball. While the box score says five hits, they were against a VERY underrated Ted Lilly. We were in control the entire game after a RBI single from Yadier Molina in the 1^st inning.

After that, Pineiro took the game into his own hands and held on tight. Pineiro recorded his first complete game since 2003. All while allowing only three hits and… umm… NO runs. 92 pitches is all Joel needed while he blanked our rival Cubs, bringing his season ERA down to 3.50. Pineiro impressed us all tonight, and may have revived our team.

Our play was A+ tonight, and while that is awesome, there is even more to get excited about. As we get ready for Game 2, two of our main men will get ready to get off that dreaded Disabled List.

Both Chris Carpenter and Rick Ankiel will be activated tomorrow, and it couldn’t come at a better time. Everybody was waiting for tomorrow to pick up our team. Well, after tonight, our team is already picked up… Now, it’s only going to be held higher. Have you ever picked up your paycheck on the same day you get promoted? It feels good doesn’t it?

Not only will Carp be activated tomorrow, he will take the mound for the first time in over a month. The Cubs lineup is very similar to ours over the weekend, so expect a good outing.

A light bullpen session on Sunday (80 pitches) confirmed is readiness. He is coming back a little earlier than most expected. Only a week ago, we were guessing a start a series or two from now. Let’s hope we aren’t rushing him, but several successful BPS should have cleared all doubt.

Carp was injured while batting and suffered from a strained ribcage muscle… nowhere near the arm. It will be interesting the approach the team takes when Chris comes up to bat, but he vows that he “expects to hit like before”. There was talk of LaRussa just having Carp up there to try and draw a walk, but the former Cy Young award-winner says he won’t give the opposition anything.

Rick Ankiel will also be activated 15 days after his terrifying collision with the wall. He was first said to get through the injury without DL, so I would assume he is nothing if not ready. However, LaRussa is taking all precaution and wants Rick’s game to be evaluated before he is put in a game situation.

Ank will be activated tomorrow, but he won’t start. I would say he is unavailable until TLR and crew can make sure he is 100%. Everything should be back to normal by the end of the week.

The other third of the equation, Ryan Ludwick, is still at least eight days from activation, but is reportedly “healing very quickly”.

Studwick took swings off a tee on Friday and is expected to play some rehab games in the minors while still on DL. According to what I am reading, Ludwick is getting better and better every day. That is a HUGE relief considering a familiar injury sidelined Ryan for over a year when he was in the Indian’s organization.

It is no doubt that our team struggles without these guys, and we will take a full 180 when we get all three back. If you look at their 160-game averages, it shows the impact of these fine players.

Carpenter: 3.99 ERA, 15 wins, 170 SO
Ankiel: .260 AVG, 27 HR, 88 RBI
Ludwick: .273 AVG, 29 HR, 96 RBI

I difference? I would think so. Especially considering that these guys are replacing Boggs, Robinson, and Stavinoha. Wow. That puts into perspective doesn’t it.

So who is sent to AAA when Carp and Ankiel are brought back tomorrow? Here are the candidates.

Carpenter:

Blaine Boyer
Boyer is having a hard time lately, giving up four runs in his previous two outings. Boyer has been difficult to read so far. I think I would keep him up and see what happens. He has shown serious promise this year… we can’t deny him that. He did have seven consecutive outings without a single hit! Yes, check it yourself… 5.2 no-hit innings. No runs either. Boyer has been struggling, but I think we keep him in there.

Todd Wellemeyer
This is a hard one. Wellemeyer has definitely been our worst pitcher in the past week or so, but I doubt if MO wants to send him down. For one, we would need to bring up another starter to fill his rotation spot (only four-man rotation right now). Two, Wellemeyer is “worth” $4 million and that is tough to send down. Besides the financial reasons, Wellemeyer did pitch a fantastic 2008. This is a different season, but Todalion had a 3.70 ERA last year and was MLB pitcher of the month for May. There is still something there, believe it or not. An MLB pitcher doesn’t just wake up as a bad pitcher a year after being a really good one.

IF I was John Mozeliak, I would send down…

Brad Thompson
Let’s be honest here. Do we need Thompson? Hell, we don’t even use him. He has made two appearances in the past 11 games. While he has not done terrible in those outings, we don’t really need him. The best thing for Thompson to do is head to Memphis, polish his game, and get ready to open some eyes in his next chance. There will be one.

 

Ankiel:

Joe Thurston
To be fair, Thurston is our worst hitter. He is a likable guys, I suppose, but he is just not an MLB player. In fact, at the plate, he is terrible. Thurston is an average AAA player, and in all honestly, that’s where he should be. However, we have very little infield depth right now with Khalil Greene basically inactive. Unless we would bring up another AAA infielder, Thurston has to stay. Should he be in the starting lineup? Hell no, but we need him in order to back up our regulars.

Shane Robinson
Sugar Shane is one of my favorite players. He is an outfield version of Eckstein, but faster. The dude is a little spark plug and I LOVE his desire to play the game. You can just see it in his eyes, and it shows when he plays. Just like Eckstein, he is a spark plug for this team and provides life and energy that some players don’t bring to the table. He is super fast (4.2  40) and is electric on the base paths. He is by no means an every day outfielder, but he deserves to be up here for special bench situations.

IF I was John Mozeliak, I would send down…

Nick Stavinoha
Stavi was 1-for-6 before Monday’s game. He is having some troubles at the plate. I was the one who totally supported bringing him up, but he has yet to make any sort of impact. With Ankiel coming back, we would likely have to get rid of an OFer in return, and this is the guy. I would not be surprised if Sugar Shane Robinson is the guy instead, but just like Thompson, do we need this guy? He has had limited opportunities, and will go down due to the number of good outfielders we do have.

One Ryan Faces Possible DL, Another Eyes Return

Brendan Ryan

Just when we thought we were going to get it all together, get healthy, and get back on our streak we were on when Carp went down… As soon as we get excited for Carpenter’s potential start next week… As soon as Brendan Ryan says he will be back with the club this weekend… Ludwick dives for a ball that results in a pulled hamstring.

Just our luck, right? Just another day in the life of a Cardinals fan? Doesn’t it seem like we have these crippling injuries every single year? Heck, every single month so far. It is frustrating and heartbreaking.

Now, technically, Ludwick is not on the DL yet, but it will come. It was a pulled hammy, an injury that more times than not puts the player on the disabled list. I type this as the game is going, so I have not even heard what LaRussa or MO have to say about it. However, it did not look good when he was trying to stretch it out. I wouldn’t even go that far actually… He tried to work it out, but immediately grabbed his thigh in pain. SO, I hope I am wrong, but it is very likely that Ludwick gets DLed.

In the case that Ludwick is “sidelined” for a couple weeks, what do we do? Most people would look at it and think, “Well… we lost an OF… we wanna keep at least four OF on the roster… so bring up an OF!” Not necessarily. Let’s not forget that we have a natural outfielder playing second base right now. With Ludwick out, we basically have three options. Any way we do it, I think we have to keep up Robinson. He had another hit tonight, so that is consecutive games with a hit, and there hasn’t been a AAA player hotter than Sugar Shane.

The option beyond the naked eye that I kinda like lies in prospect Daryl Jones. Jones is an OF, he is young, he is actually in double-A ball right now, but I think he is ready. Jones has been dominating so far this season in AA with a .325 average, and I think it is a real possibility that he could jump AAA and be brought up within the next few days.

Stavinoha is another guy that I like, he has done well so far this year, and he had a good chunk of MLB ball last season. Stav only batted .193 in 29 games last year, so that isn’t exactly bringing attention to him. BUT, when young players make their second round at the MLB after a bad first, it is usually much much better. They learn on what they need to improve on to take their game to the next level, and they simply mature with more Minor League play. Hey, the dude has 25 RBIs this season, and that is very hard to ignore.

If MO wants to counter with bringing up another OF, and he doesn’t like Jones skipping AAA, then there is no doubt in my mind it will be Stavinoha. I would say this is the least likely scenario out of these three, but I wouldn’t say it’s a bad one.

Those two are good, young players, but if I was the man calling the shots, I go a different direction. That is David Freese, who has already had a taste of the MLB this season. I think Freese was a little sidetracked at the beginning of the season, when I saw him on the news every night. His story is great and all, but I kinda think he was riding cloud-9 a little too hard. Lafayette’s own Freese had a hot Spring, he made a spot on the team, and I think he may have been wrapped up in all the love.

When he was demoted within the first month of the season, it could have been a wake up call. When he comes back, don’t expect all the hype. Hopefully, fans would treat it as a normal call-up and not give him a freaking standing ovation with his every at bat. Let’s let the dude play baseball. For a young player, it is hard to handle 45,000 fans standing up for you… all while you are trying to get a base hit. With bringing him up, Schumaker will be starting in the outfield, Thurston will move to a full-time second base, and Barden will start at third with Freese sprinkled in as well.

—–

In other news, and there is some good news, Brendan Ryan is on his way back. He should be activated this weekend, which is GREAT. If you remember, Ryan was just hitting his stride when he was injured. He had a string of about three straight games with outstanding plays, and had just smacked a ground-rule-double right before getting injured. He will certainly help out in the infield that is currently WEAK without him. The way Khalil is playing right now, Ryan should definitely start over him. Ryan is a better defender, and so far a better hitter. Why would there be a debate? Well, knowing TLR, Khalil would likely get just as much playing time.

With Ryan coming back, we need to send a brother down. We currently have two shortstops on the roster, and three would be too much if we were to send down somebody that isn’t at SS. So, Khalil or Tyler?

Khalil has been pretty decent all of his career, he is proven, we know what we are going to get with him, it cannot get any worse than what he is at right now, and at some point a 6-year vet outweighs a rookie prospect. Khalil is actually starting to heat it up right now. In the past 10 games, he has brought his average up 16 points. He has six hits in the previous five games, and has had at least one hit in all of those five. He is batting .235 right now, and Tyler is just struggling. It really isn’t a debate, but I figured I would justify my decision a little.

I’m just saying… IF I was John Mozeliak, I would keep Robinson in St. Louis, promote David Freese, and send Tyler Greene back down to Memphis.

(Again, this is all based of if Ludwick gets DLed… which is highly probable.)

Justin Hulsey
StLDieHard24@gmail.com
CardinalsFrontOffice.wordpress.com