Does Zack Greinke Win the John Lackey Award?

There was a whole lot of things not to like about last night's NLCS contest between the Cardinals and Brewers if you were a Brewers' fan. Much, of course, has been made of the four errors committed by the Brewers that led to three unearned runs. Much also has been made of Tony LaRussa's brilliant gamesmanship as manager during the game (eyeroll). And of course, there was the fantastic performance of the Cardinal bullpen that recorded the last and conversely, the Brewers lack of getting to those relief pitchers. In the middle of it all was Zack Greinke.

Greinke simply wasn't effective yesterday and really hasn't been for much of the last month. This writer will never know if the game plan was for Greinke to pitch to contact. But pitch to contact he did. Greinke struck out no one and in fact only induced only two swing and misses all night in 89 pitches. Errors or no errors, if Greinke had missed a few bats, the results might have been different.

But what earns Greinke his John Lackey Award is his reaction to the Jerry Hairston play that resulted in two runs. In fairness to Greinke, it's unknown if he was mad at himself, Hairston or life in general. But as you can see in the linked video, Greinke slammed the ball down after the two runs scored from the error. It was a bush league move and perfectly in line for the award he's being given here.

There were so many things that were wrong on that play. Yes, Hairston blew it. Yes, he then interfered with Yadier Molina (who is looking more and more like his brothers now) that allowed Molina an interference call. But what if Hairston didn't interfere with Molina? What the heck was Greinke doing in front of the plate? His taking that throw from the outfield is reminiscent of the Manny Ramirez famous cut off play. Excuse the Fan, Zack, but you were supposed to be behind the plate not in front of it.

Some could say that he knew it was interference and knew it didn't matter. If so, then why did he try to swipe tag Molina? It was after missing on the swipe tag attempt that Greinke fired the ball into the dirt in frustration.

Zack Greinke famously said negative things about Chris Carpenter before the series started. But perhaps, instead of cranking on the Cardinals' ace, he should take some lessons.

The Brewers' "In Your Face" Style

Watching the highlights over at MLB.com of yesterday's bushwhacking of the St. Louis Cardinals by the Milwaukee Brewers, two thoughts came to mind. The first is that Bob Uecker is a national treasure. The second thought is that this observer has never seen a team celebrate in such an "In your face" style. Look at the highlight (that's okay, this Fan will wait). Okay, did you see the celebration after Prince Fielder's homer and after Yuniesky Betancourt's? After seeing these football types of celebrations, this writer had to write this all down in a stream of consciousness type of way to get a handle on how this "feels" to a baseball purist of sorts.

There is no doubt how Milwaukee Brewers fans feel about the...umm...emotional expression shown by their beloved team. They eat it up like candy. To be sure, St. Louis Cardinal fans, a fan base that you would think is more traditional considering the age of the franchise, must hate the celebrations and must gnash their teeth at the way the Brewers express themselves. Tony LaRussa, about as conservative a baseball manager as you can get, must be seething. Don't be surprised if at some point, Tony directs one of his pitchers to get retribution of some sort with a well-placed rib shot (not that this writer is advocating such action as it's a dangerous ploy).

Since Jason Wojciechowski coined the Tasker Integrity Position (or TIP for short) in a recent post, this Tasker--for whom the moniker was named--has a moral obligation to give an opinion on such things. Surprisingly, the TIP status of the Brewers' celebratory emulations is not negative. This writer likes the celebrations in the NFL and chafes that the NFL tries to regulate against it. The NFL, like many of the conservative ilk in MLB think that there should be some professional protocol in how the players conduct themselves. No team--in their minds--should ever try to show up the other team. No doubt there is some small measure of concern for fights that might occur because of such in your face actions, but the larger reason seems to be an old-fashioned sense of chivalry.

And there is a fine line between hot-dogging, self-indulgent actions and expressions of joy that come from doing something spectacular in an dramatic fashion when it really matters. While this writers is somewhat offended by Nyger Morgan's language, there is joy in his actions that is hard not to cheer. It seems the Brewers' situation also has to be considered. This may be Prince Fielder's last season in Milwaukee. The team went all in to compete this season knowing that reality. For him to share a love-fest with his home crowd doesn't seem out of line under those circumstances.

And this isn't the first time that this debate has been encountered. When Joba Chamberlain first came up, his antics on the mound were criticized and seemed in stark contrast to the way Mariano Rivera goes about his work with professional aplomb. Jose Valverde's antics have caused the same kind of debates. Personally, this writer thinks that Valverde's antics are fun to watch. And that's the bottom line. Sports is a form of entertainment. And yet we try to think of it as a modern day expression of the chivalrous days of jousting. The  truth is that jousting was a product of its times just as such non-chivalrous displays of celebration are a product of our times. This writer lived through the 1960s and a part of that movement was young people deciding that the staid ways of their parents weren't for them. We live in the overflow of that era and into the era of rap and other forms of more "in your face" type of entertainment.

So how should the Cardinals react? Well, if you want the antics to stop, you have to beat the Brewers. If you beat them, you win. If you don't, then what can you say? If a Cardinal reliever strikes out a Brewers' batter in a big spot, then he should run to the dugout with his arms extended in celebration. That's only fair, right? Complaining about those antics without winning the series will not do the Cardinals any good. The games are played to be won and if you lose, you lose. How the winning team reacts is not your problem. Losing is.

After carefully examining inwardly on this issue, this writer has no issues with what he has seen from the way the Brewers are celebrating their successes. There is a joy in their expression and a satisfaction in performing in ways they've dreamed about their whole lives. What's wrong with that? Does it show up the Cardinals? Only if the Cardinals let themselves be shown up. How do the Cardinals avoid being shown up? Win.

And the Monumental Blunder of the Year Goes to...

Perhaps a post that starts with such a negative heading is unsporting for a Friday. And perhaps this isn't the right time to bash a team that is already taking a lot of heat for a move it made this week during this year's version of the trade deadline. And just as likely, it's might be far too premature to be giving away season awards when there are more than 55 games to play this season. But the monumental blunder of the year has to go to the St. Louis Cardinals for making Ryan Theriot their every day shortstop for 2011. This writer panned the deal when it was first announced and at the risk of sounding puffed up, this Fan told you so.

Earlier in the year, Ryan Theriot was at least getting on base and batting lead off. By the end of May, Theriot was batting .316 with an on base percentage of .369. Cardinal fans used to the defensive skills of Brendan Ryan could at least say to themselves, "Well, at least the guy can hit." But he can't. His BABIP during those early times was .349. It was in the words of Bugs Bunny, a "miragee." And perhaps the name of Brendan Ryan should come up in this conversation since Tony LaRussa is coming under heavy fire for the Rasmus situation. Brendan Ryan was another of those players who came under LaRussa's shaggy eyebrows of scorn.

The Cardinals made a huge mistake essentially swapping Ryan for Ryan Theriot. Or, to state it as it should be stated, it was a monumental blunder. Brendan Ryan runs the bases well and he's an elite fielding shortstop. Any Cardinal fan can tell you that last year's Cardinal shortstop would have a lapse or two. But last year's shortstop also had 430 assists for a pitching staff that was built to put the ball in play. Last year's Cardinal shortstop is having a good year in Seattle. His season has been the reverse of Theriot. Brendan Ryan started slowly but has come on offensively and though he's still in below league average with his batting, he's still a star fielder.

Fangraphs gives Ryan Theriot a -10.4 rating in the field this season (UZR). Only Yuniesky Betancourt of the Brewers is rated worse. That site's overall leader board for WAR lists Betancourt as the worst shortstop in baseball and Theriot as the next to worse. Meanwhile, their former shortstop is rated as the eleventh best shortstop and the fifth best in fielding.

It seems cruel to pick on Ryan Theriot to this degree. It's not his fault really. He's just a guy trying his hardest to play the sport he loves and have as long a career he can have. The fault here really is the plan that put this in place to begin with. How can you ask a pitching staff to pitch to contact (low walks are stressed in St. Louis), and then put in place a plan that includes Ryan Theriot at short and Skip Schumaker at second? If the Cardinals had done their homework, they should have known that Theriot has no arm to back his range.

But it's not just Theriot's fielding that is a problem (though that is definitely the worst part of it), he's not great as a batter either. He's had two decent seasons in his seven year career. He has an 82 career OPS+. His 8.1 career walk percentage is deceiving as it has come down in recent years. Last year, it was 6.4 percent after posting a 7.5 percent the year before. This year is his all time worse at 5.5 percent. That's a three year downward trend. His power is non-existent, but you don't expect that from a shortstop usually.

To complete an unholy triad of statistics, Fangraphs rates Theriot in negative numbers in batting, fielding and base running. And so, it seems that this writer's reservations about this move were warranted. Theriot has been a killer.

Again, don't blame Ryan Theriot. He's doing the best he can with his ability. It's not Ryan Theriot's fault. This was poor decision making by the Cardinals as an organization and it perhaps all starts with the chutzpah of their manager. And though there may be other worthy contenders, the installation of Theriot as the Cardinals' full time shortstop for 2011 is sure to rank as the biggest organizational blunder of 2011.

Please, Cardinals, Trade Colby Rasmus

Colby Rasmus has had a rough go of it since the first of June. After the first two months of the season, he was batting in the high .270s with an OBP in the .370s as well. Rasmus had a bad June with an OPS of .684 and July has been horrible so far. For his nine games in July, Rasmus has a .384 OPS with no walks and only five hits. Somehow word leaked over the All Star Break that the Cardinals were actively shopping him--a fact confirmed by Buster Olney in his post today over at ESPN.com. Olney wondered why the word had leaked. This writer can tell you why. The Cardinals can't stand him.

Oh, they may say something different. But Tony LaRussa has a long history of having a long memory with players he doesn't get along with. There was Scott Rolen and others that fell in that category. Ever since Rasmus and LaRussa had that public tiff and then Pujols chimed in and said perhaps that Rasmus should just play for a different team, it's sure to have been festering. And now, with Rasmus in a slump, there isn't any support for him. There isn't any positive reinforcement believing he'll work himself out of it. Instead there is a leak that the Cardinals want to trade him. For his sake and perhaps the team's sake, let's hope they do.

There are two obvious problems with Rasmus and his statistics since the beginning of June. One is that he stopped getting on base. He was walking regularly in the early part of the season. He had 33 walks by the end of May but only has seven since. The other obvious problem is that his pop ups to the infield are more than double his career average. Just about every other major statistic is nearly identical to his career norms. He swings at nearly the same amount of pitches in and out of the strike zone. His ground ball and fly ball ratios are right in line with his career. His line drive percentage is just slightly off his norm and his strikeout rate is down from his career numbers.

Other than the infield pop ups, could he just be having some bad luck? It certainly appears possible. His BABIP for June was .221. For July, his BABIP to this point is .160! This author imagines that it would get pretty frustrating when nothing is dropping for you.

It also doesn't help that Colby Rasmus is playing out of position like just about every other Cardinal not named Albert Pujols. Schumaker isn't a second baseman. Lance Berkman isn't a right fielder. Ryan Theriot isn't a shortstop. And Colby Rasmus isn't a center fielder. His fielding numbers bear that out. So we have a guy who is slumping and is playing a position he's not very good at. That sounds like a perfectly acceptable reason to want to trade him.

Except that he is still only 24 years old and he was the Cardinals' first round draft choice in 2005. Plus, he only makes $443,000. Add the fact that he was worth a solid $17 million as a player last year and a was a solid offensive player. Even with his struggles this season, he has still been worth $7 million with his play thus far and for all the Cardinals know, his last month and a half of struggle could simply be a case of bad luck with every reason to think he can turn things around and at least produce to his career norms.

There has been a dark cloud over Colby Rasmus in St. Louis for quite some time now. And from everything this Fan has seen, the fan base there has sided with Tony LaRussa and Rasmus is vilified. He's the black sheep of the family. With all those dynamics, the Cardinals should just go ahead and trade him.

This writer believes very highly in Colby Rasmus. Put him in a positive environment where he is supported and he will blossom into the star that his talent projects him to be. Again, he is only 24 years old. He had a fine growing season last year and is going through a slump now. But that doesn't mean that Rasmus is a no-talent loser. For whatever reason and for whoever is at fault, he's not in a positive environment and a change would be best. This writer hopes it happens soon.

Some Amazing Lance Berkman 2011 Facts

Before the season started, Lance Berkman was this writer's pick for Comeback Player of the Year. Wasn't that genius? The year he is having for the St. Louis Cardinals has truly been one of the coolest stories of 2011. We can't be concerned about whether Berkman can keep up his heroics. We can't worry about whether he will get hurt. All we can do is enjoy the ride as long as it lasts. After his game winning single sailed over the center fielder's head last night to beat the Phillies, the thought struck this Fan that Berkman got that hit batting right-handed. And that's just part of the interesting story of Lance Berkman's 2011 season.

Here are some facts concerning Berkman's amazing season:

• Lance Berkman has a career OPS as a right-handed batter of .783. He's made his career on batting left-handed, where is OPS is over one for his career. Last year, his OPS as a right-handed batter was .517. Yeah, .517. He hit just one homer that way. The year before (2009), his OPS against lefties was .710. This year? As a right-handed batter, his OPS (before last night's game) is 1.098!
• Before last night's game, Berkman had played as many games for the Cardinals this year as he played for the Yankees last year. In those same 37 games, he has 21 more runs scored, 15 more hits, two more doubles, ten more homers, 25 more ribbies and two more walks. The Yankees have to be scratching their heads.
• Lance Berkman has walked more than once in a game this season seven times. He is on pace to walk more than 90 times this season.
• Lance Berkman has not been on base in only six of his 38 games this season.
• Berkman now has ten go-ahead hits this season. What that means is that ten times this season, his hit has put the Cardinals ahead when they were either behind or tied.
• Of Berkman's 35 RBIs, 27 of them have plated either Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday or himself.
• Lance Berkman has walked more than he's struck out this season.
• Berkman has an OPS at home of 1.126. His OPS on the road is 1.142.
• Lance Berkman has a .526 on base percentage at home this season.
• Berkman has only popped out to the infield once all season.
• Berkman's fWAR of 2.1 is already tied with his entire 2010 season.
• Lance Berkman is making $8 million this season and has already provided the Cardinals with $9.6 million in value.

One could say that Lance Berkman is having fun again. One could also say that Cardinal fans have a new hero to love.  His season is just a fabulous story and this Fan is enjoying every single moment in watching it develop.

Time to Worry Over Chris Carpenter?

Chris Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals has made thirteen starts since the last day of August last year. During that span, his record is 2-6 with 40 earned runs in 82.2 innings of work. That works out to a 4.35 ERA over that span. So far this year, he is 0-2 with an ERA of 4.19. Worse yet, Carpenter had been downright stingy with home runs allowed in 2009 and 2010 but has given up six already this season in 43 innings of work. Should we be worried about this 36 year old pitcher?

Maybe. Or maybe it's time in his career when he can still help the Cardinals and not be the dominant pitcher he was in 2009 or for the first three quarters of the 2010 season. Perhaps it is time to lower expectations a bit. Carpenter did make 35 starts last year with a total of 235 innings pitched. That's a lot for someone who was 35 years old and just two years removed from major injury problems that cost him two years of service in 2007 and 2008. Perhaps his tank got emptied a bit last year towards the end. He certainly seemed to wear down similar to what Tim Hudson, a similar aged pitcher with similar skills, did in Atlanta.

But there are other signs that he's just not in sync yet and has a chance to still be the kind of pitcher the Cardinals expect from their ace. His velocity is a tick below where it was in 2009, but it's slightly above his 2010 averages. Pitch/FX also shows with his heat maps that he is throwing with the same sort of patterns this year as in 2010 and 2009. The only real difference in his charts is a slight dip in horizontal movement in his fastball. His release points look consistent as always.

Part of Carpenter's strategy was to get easy outs by inducing right-handed batters to pull the ball and left-handed batters to hit the ball weakly the other way. In 2009 and 2010, his OPS against in both those situations were very low. Perhaps with less movement on his fastball or perhaps because batters have adjusted, his OPS against in those two situations is dramatically higher. Carpenter may have to make slight adjustments to counter what hitters are doing in those situations.

Carpenter has given up a much higher line drive percentage than in his past. When a stat like that is way off his career norms, you expect it to come around to what he usually does. You would also expect his rate of homers to fly balls come down to his career average over the course of the season. His current homer to fly ball percentage is extreme at 16.2 percent. That's way over his career average of 10.6 percent. In fact, the only year he came close to that high a percentage was 15.5 percent way back in 2004.

One other thing of note: Carpenter throws more change ups than he did in 2009. In 2009, only 1.6 percent of his pitches were change ups. That figure increased to 3.7 percent last year and is at 4.2 percent this year. The pitch seems to be his least effective pitch and it looks like he is getting hurt with the change up this year. It might be a good idea for him to throw less of those going forward.

The bottom line from this Fan's amateur sleuthing through his numbers seems to be that Carpenter hasn't lost his stuff. His velocity is where it was last year. He may need to figure out why there is less movement on his fastball, which may be just a slight mechanical adjustment. His K/9 and BB/9 rates are just fine and consistent with his career. Carpenter just needs to get back to his career norm for homer to fly ball ratio and line drive percentage and he'll be fine. The prediction here is that once the weather improves and he gets into a regular rhythm, he will still have a good season for the Cardinals as long as he stays healthy. No real worries here.

Digging Into Lance Berkman's Hot Start

It's been since 2008 since Lance Berkman was a force in the National League. Up until 2009, Berkman was one of the premier players in the senior circuit until injuries and age slowed him down for progressively worse 2009 and 2010 campaigns. Then the Cardinals signed him and announced that he would be their starting right fielder and people either gasped or laughed. But now, Berkman is one of the early fascinating stories of 2011 and though thirteen games is way too small a sample size, let's dig a little into his numbers and see if this falls under the fluke category.

A few things jump off Berkman's stat page over at Fangraphs.com for his 2011 start. The first is that Berkman is being much more aggressive in the strike zone. The last two years, it seems Berkman was tentative in that area. In 2009, he swung at 68.1 percent of pitches in the strike zone. The following year, that figure dropped to 66.4 percent. This year, that figure is way up to 79.1 percent which is much more reminiscent of the 74 percent rate he had during his good years. Perhaps this shows a confidence and well-being factor that wasn't there the last couple of years.

The second thing noticed was that his BABIP is sitting at only .278. Since that figure should be around the league average of .299 or .300, Berkman isn't getting lucky on balls in play. Despite the lack of balls falling in for him, Berkman is batting a healthy .327. This seems to indicate a sustainability for his average, if not his current home run rate.

On the negative side, Lance Berkman's line drive percentage is way up at 23.8 percent, much higher than his career norm of 19.7 percent. Berkman has not had that kind of line drive percentage since 2005. Perhaps the swing percentage in the strike zone and his line drive percentage add up to Berkman getting a lot of good pitches to hit early in the season. This might also reflect in his walk percentage, which is way down from his career norms. Berkman's walk percentage has always been consistent, so look for that to improve as the season goes along. Or perhaps, Berkman made a decision to be more aggressive this season and it's paying off. If you account for the extra line drives, Berkman's ground ball and fly ball figures fall in line with his career averages.

The power numbers shouldn't surprise anyone. Berkman now has 333 homers in his career and has hit over 40 homers in a season twice and over 30 three other times. All of Berkman's homers have been hit as a left-handed batter. The switch hitter has been vulnerable from the right side against lefties for quite a while now and he's only had eight at bats in that situation thus far this year with only one hit. Berkman will need to prove he can still be effective when the Cardinals face more lefties in the future. The likelihood of that happening will increase and Berkman has only hit one-sixth of his career homers against left-handed pitching.

Lance Berkman also has a really good situation thus far with how deep the Cardinals' line up has been. Theriot has been getting on base, Colby Rasmus is hitting near .400 and after pitchers get through Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday. Berkman has been making pitchers pay for any relief they have been feeling once they get through those two guys.

One last thing on the negative side of his numbers. Berkman is killing fastballs, which he is seeing about sixty percent of the time. But he has negative values against curves and change ups. That isn't the norm for him as he's always had some success against those pitches in the past. But for some reason, he is vulnerable against those this year. But even that negative can be a positive if you figure he will bounce back on those pitches to get back to his career norms.

The bottom line here is that this Fan doesn't think Berkman's early start is a fluke. He's in a good line up and in a good situation. Unlike the last few Houston years, he is playing for a contending team that has more professional players to inspire him. The big thing, of course, will be his health. Every time he trots out to right field, we will be holding our breath that he doesn't hurt himself out there. He needs to have a full and uninterrupted season to continue to be successful. But if he can manage to do that, Berkman is going to have a really nice season.

Oh! And one last thing. According to baseball-reference.com, Berkman is holding his own in right field. Negative numbers, but not a disaster. So far, so good it seems.

An Ode to John Tudor

This post was sparked by an article over at baseball-reference.com. The post listed a bunch of pitchers who pitched over 1500 innings and finished with an ERA+ of 100 or better but never made the All Star team. At the top of the list was John Tudor. Sometimes things spark a memory when you've loved the game as long as this Fan has. John Tudor is a pleasant memory. If you opened the dictionary for the meaning of "crafty left-hander," you would find a picture of John Tudor.

As mentioned many times here in the past, this Fan grew up in New Jersey, but when young and dumb, went to college in Manchester, New Hampshire, met a girl and never again left New England. Married by 1977, this couple settled in Rochester, New Hampshire and lived there for many years before moving just over the border to Lebanon, Maine. In those early days, there was no cable. An antenna on the television allowed us to get just a few stations and Channel 38 was one of them and they broadcast the Red Sox games. Since John Tudor made his debut in 1979, the timing was just about right.

Tudor was never a great prospect. He pitched for Georgia Southern University, hardly a big-time sports name. Upon his senior year, he was drafted by the New York Mets, but not until the 21st round. Tudor didn't sign with them and six months later was drafted by the Red Sox in the January Secondary draft in the third round in January of 1976.

Tudor was never any great shakes in the minors but the talent in the Red Sox in the late 1970s had dwindled and Tudor got a call up in 1979 and he made six starts. They didn't go well. He gave up way too many hits and his ERA was over six. He was much better in 1980 when he pitched in sixteen games and made eleven starts. he went 8-5 with an ERA of 3.02. But 1981 did not follow as a good season. He again pitched sixteen times and that year, he simply had trouble keeping the ball in the park. Fenway, with that Monster in left field is not a good place for left-handed pitching, especially the non-fireball kind.

But 1981 was Tudor's last bad year. He would never again post a season less than 100 in ERA+ and many times he was well over it. But those early 80s weren't good Red Sox teams. And though Tudor pitched well in 1982 and 1983, in 65 starts, he only finished with a 26-22 record. The Red Sox had started to build pitching talent in the minors by that time and Tudor became expendable. After the 1983 season, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Mike Easler, a good hitter who did well in Boston.

Tudor pitched one season in Pittsburgh. They weren't a good team. How bad were they? Well, Dale Berra was the starting shortstop. Does that tell you? But despite a finish well down in the standings, Tudor made 32 starts and finished with a 3.27 ERA. But again, he had to settle for a 12-11 middling record. After that season, the Pirates traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals along with Brian Harper for George Kendrick and a career minor league player named Steve Barnard. It should go down as one of the best trades the Cardinals ever made and one of the worst the Pirates ever made.

John Tudor was stupendous for the Cardinals in 1985. Harper saw only limited playing time that season for the Cardinals and it was his only season for that team. Harper really was a late bloomer and it wasn't until he hit his thirties that he became a starting player for the Twins and he had some nice seasons there. But Tudor was the bomb right away. How good was he in 1985?

Well, he went 21-8 and finished that season with a 1.93 ERA in 36 starts. He pitched 14 complete games and led the league with a whopping ten shutouts. He also led the league in WHIP with an amazing 0.938. He only gave up 0.5 homers per nine innings and walked only 1.6 batters per nine innings. How did he not get a call to the All Star game?

Tudor was very good the first half of that season. But his record stood at 10-7 and his ERA at the break was 2.27. The ERA says he was overlooked. But the record wasn't spectacular enough. It was the second half that Tudor dominated. In the second half, Tudor went 11-1 with an ERA of 1.52. It was probably one of the greatest second halves of pitching ever. But it really started the month before the All Star break.

At the end of May in 1985, Tudor was 1-7 with an ERA in the mid-threes. But from the end of May until the end of the season, Tudor went 19-1! Wow! By the end of the season, batters had a feeble .538 OPS against him. Left-handed batters were even worse with an OPS against of .507. Amazing.

After a season like that, he would be the Cy Young Award winner right? Wrong. 1985 was the year of Dwight Gooden and his 24-4 record. Gooden was clearly the best pitcher in the National League and was easily the right choice. Think back though to the beginning of this article. Can you imagine if Tudor had signed with the Mets in that 1975 draft? He and Gooden would have the 1-2 best pitching seasons of 1985 and it could have been for the same team!

Tudor's 1985 season mirrored that of his team. The St. Louis Cardinals went a pedestrian 8-11 in April and by the end of May were only 24-21 and in fourth place, four games back of the leaders. But the Cardinals took off after that. Tudor led a great pitching staff and teamed with Joaquin Andujar (21-12) and Danny Cox (18-9, 2.88) to anchor a very good rotation rounded out with serviceable work from Kurt Kepshire and an aging Bob Forsch. They also had a great bullpen grounded with terrific seasons from Jeff Lahti and Ken Dayley.

The 1985 Cardinals won 101 games and then dispatched the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Championship Series, four games to two. They then went on to one of the most thrilling World Series ever played against the Kansas City Royals in a series those who live in Missouri will never forget. Ultimately, the Royals prevailed, four games to three. Tudor pitched three games in that series. He was great in the first two. He only gave up a run in the first game, a win. And then he pitched a shutout to win Game Four. But pitching on short rest in Game Seven, Tudor didn't have anything left and the Royals jumped all over him and the relievers that followed to win the Series.

John Tudor had been everything for that Cardinals team. He pitched 275 innings in the regular season and another thirty and two-thirds innings in the post season. Looking back, it was probably too much. He was still good the following season in 30 starts, but not as good. He had no shutouts and only three complete games and went 13-7 with a still good 2.92 ERA. But it wasn't enough and the Cardinals missed the playoffs.

The following season, 1987, injuries plagued Tudor and he only made 16 starts. But they were well placed starts. Most of them were in the second half and Tudor went 8-1 down the stretch to finish at 10-2 with a 3.84 ERA (high, no doubt, due to his first four starts, which were terrible). The timing of his run in the second half was fortuitous for the Cardinals for in this year, they started very strongly, but struggled down the stretch. Tudor kept them on top with his well-timed wins.

The 1987 Cardinals faced the San Francisco Giants in the NL Championship Series and won a hard-fought 4-3 series win. Tudor made two starts and was brilliant with a 1.76 ERA. His shutout in Game Six allowed Danny Cox to win Game Seven to give the Cards a come-from-behind victory in that series.

Tudor didn't get the ball until Game Three of the World Series against the Twins that season. But he got the win in a brilliant performance and only gave up a run. But unfortunately, much like two years earlier, Tudor didn't have anything in Game Six, pitching again with short rest. He got bombed in that game, though much of his runs were inherited runs in the fifth inning given up by his relief.

The Cardinals fell hard after that season and were never a factor in 1988. They fell well below .500, though no fault of Jon Tudor. Tudor made his first 21 starts that season and had a stellar 2.29 ERA with four complete games and a shutout. But since the Cardinals were out of the race fairly early, they pulled the plug and traded Tudor to the Dodgers for Pedro Guerrero. The Dodgers were fighting for the NL West title and needed Tudor.

Tudor pitched well down the stretch for the Dodgers. His 4-3 record for them wasn't awe-inspiring, but his 2.41 ERA certainly was. The Dodgers won the division and then beat the Mets in the NL Championship Series. Tudor made one ineffective start in that series with no decision. The Dodgers then went on to play the Oakland A's in the World Series. That of course, was the Series of the famous Kirk Gibson homer off of Dennis Eckersley in Game One. The Dodgers won the first two games of that World Series and John Tudor was scheduled to start Game Three. He pitched an inning and a third of scoreless ball, but his elbow was toast and he was done for the year. The A's won that game, 2-1. It was their only win of that World Series. So at least, John Tudor finally got a ring.

The elbow cost the then 35 year old John Tudor almost the entire 1989 season. He only pitched 14+ albeit effective innings. After that season, he became a free agent and signed with the St. Louis Cardinals, his old team. It was a beautiful swan song for the team and the pitcher.

The 1990 Cardinals were a really bad team. They went through three managers in one season including the great Whitey Herzog, Red Schoendienst and Joe Torre. But nothing could save that team that season. But you can't blame John Tudor. At the age of 36, Tudor made 25 appearances including 22 starts and went 12-4 with an ERA of 2.40. It was a testament to Tudor's pitching savvy that despite nothing left in his arm (he only struck out 3.9 batters per nine innings that season), he was able to bamboozle opposing batters that whole season. He pitched his last shutout and complete game that season too.

It was a lovely parting gift for Tudor and he retired the following season. John Tudor finished with a winning percentage of .619 in twelve seasons and finished with a career 3.32 ERA, good for a very impressive career ERA+ of 125. He was always a class act and perhaps paved the way for other crafty left-handers like Tom Glavine and Buehrle. Tudor has remained out of the limelight since his retirement and has been long gone. But he'll never be forgotten...at least by this writer.

Emotional Reactions to First Week in the Age of Social Media

Whether teams realize it or not, team blogs and Facebook groups and Twitter fans need to become a part of every team's marketing plan. The most dynamic and popular of the team sites should be given team credentials. This is a great opportunity for teams to build fan interest that is of itself a dollars and cents issue. But the same social media that has exploded around us also makes things difficult for teams when they don't start well. It used to be that every city had two or three newspaper outlets and a few television stations to worry about. Those outlets couldn't produce opinion until the following day after a game or at best, a short spot on the eleven o'clock news. Now there are thousands of bloggers and tweeters that can drive things into a frenzy in a matter of moments. Every play is scrutinized, every manager decision second-guessed and every writer is looking for angle and another member of the audience. And then it all gets scrutinized on the MLB Network twenty-four hours a day.

That can make it crushing when teams like the Red Sox, the Cardinals, the Bay Rays and other teams that were expected to do well stumble out of the gate. Tony LaRussa blew up at his post game news conference on Wednesday night. There is already a major squawk about New York Yankees' reliever, Rafael Soriano, not being available to answer questions after he blew the Yankees win on Tuesday. Madden already feels the need to protect Manny Ramirez.

While scanning Twitter on Wednesday night, even Jon Heyman, supposedly a respected journalist for Sports Illustrated, gets caught up in the immediacy of social media and says things like the Red Sox pre-season hype went to their heads. The age we live in has brought about such immediacy that every game of a 162 game season becomes a do or die event.

How can people already be writing off the Boston Red Sox? Again, this age we live in allows baseball people the ability to look stuff up immediately such as that no team that has started 0-5 has ever made the playoffs. After five games, is that really a reality just because it's never happened before? It's only five games. Sure, a part of our human nature is to have some glee when a team goes out and tries to buy a pennant only to start on their caboose, but come on! The Red Sox weren't supposed to beat the Yankees in 2004 when they were down three games to zip either. That's why you play the games. It isn't what happens after five games, it's what happens after 162.

After picking up a lot of friends who follow the St. Louis Cardinals, it's wryly amusing to see how flustered they are by the lack of Cardinal offense. Albert Pujols has a ten year history to look at, not just six games. Is he going to be batting under .100 a week from now, never mind a month or two from now? It's just a few games! Of course, Tony LaRussa's reaction was a little over the top. He's got to know the age we live in. Heck, he's on Twitter himself. But the man has a point. How can people be questioning the offensive make up of his team after just six games?

The Giants were in fourth place last year on July 15th. They won the whole kitten caboodle. So why then is there such panic with a 2-4 start? They have some of the best pitching in baseball. Six games tell us nothing, especially in a division where nobody is going to run away and hide.

All of this emotional roller-coasting is one reason why this space has been avoiding stories on players having good starts or bad starts. Those stories would sound blindingly stupid by August when the landscape will be completely different. As a passionate fan, it would be easy to get all excited or worried about players based on their results out of the gate. But history has to temper the immediate reactions. Sure, maybe we can start to look at trends. Sure, we can begin to wonder if the Rangers and Reds are going to be the best teams in their respective leagues. But both teams can just as easily lose five games in a row next week. If they start like the Tigers did in 1984, well then that's pretty interesting. But even those Tigers stumbled in the second half and limped into the playoffs. They won a hundred plus games, but they didn't set any records or anything.

The rational thing to do is to keep reminding yourself that it's still early. Baseball has entertainment value over the course of a long season and at most, results at this time of year should be looked on with interest and amusement. But to make bold statements or to get hopes up too high or down too low is premature. And teams need to simply smile when faced with stupid questions based on such small sample sizes. Let's just watch and see what happens, shall we?

Take a Deep Breath Cardinal Nation

Today's social media often brings unexpected results. One of them is this writer in northern Maine becoming acquainted with bloggers and baseball fans from areas of the country that normally wouldn't ever cross the Fan's path. Two favored writers are from Toronto and from following their work and interacting with their fans, an appreciation has been built for Toronto baseball. In the last few months, the same social media has taken another funny path and acquaintances have been made with avid St. Louis Cardinals fans. Many of them gather on Blog Talk Radio for podcasts that include chat. Under the banner of Ivie League Productions (run by blogger Bill Ivie and often hosted by BBA president, Daniel Shoptaw) these wonderful folks have become familiar greetings and though this Fan doesn't share their passion for the Cardinals, they are baseball fans, and that binds us all together. Obviously, the past month has been tough on these folks. When one such fan (Angela) mourns the loss of Brendan Ryan, how much more so is an injury to Adam Wainwright going to hurt? And of course, the Pujols contract distraction hasn't helped their anxiety any. The Fan has one message for his new buds in Cardinal Nation: Relax, it's going to be okay.

Of course, it's easier to say that being an outsider with no emotional stake to the outcome. But it is reality too. It wasn't long ago when the Cardinals won a World Series after finishing with a record near .500 and having one quality pitcher in their rotation (Carpenter). For a team like the Cardinals in their current division, there is no need to panic or hang heads. Here are some valid reasons to stay optimistic:

1. The NL Central - There are no clear cut powerhouses in this division. Yes, the Reds won the division last year. Yes, they still have Joey Votto. But this Fan isn't convinced you can count on their rotation of Volquez, Arroyo, Cueto and the rest. Volquez and Cueto have never been able to consistently go out there start after start and shut people down. And there are other reasons for doubting the Reds. First, Scott Rolen had an enormous year for the Reds last year. He keeps getting older, has a history of injuries and this Fan can't see a repeat of that success. Both their catchers hit over .300 last year. Can't see that happening again. They have questions at shortstop and at least one outfield position. This Fan just doesn't see them running away and hiding. The Cubs got better, but how much better? They have to hope Aramis Ramirez bounces back and Soriano has something left and so on. Beyond Dempster and Garza, who can shut down teams consistently in that rotation? The Brewers have improved dramatically and should be a contender. But they aren't a perfectly constructed team. Weeks has to play well and Braun has to stay healthy and if they don't start off quickly and stagger a bit out of the gate, fur will fly. So the Cardinals could win 86 to 88 games and be right in the thick of things.

2. They still have a strong front three of Carpenter, Garcia and Jake Westbrook. Those three should win their fair share of games. That leaves two spots to fill and they have some internal candidates like Lance Lynn and others that can step up. The rotation won't be quite the same without Wainwright, who has been one of the five best pitchers in the NL the last three or so years, but it's still good enough to compete.

3. The Cardinals still have the best player on the planet. It may be for just one more year or it may be just another year in a career with the Cardinals, but Albert Pujols is going to win you some games in 2011. He is a force that no other team can match. The Fan doesn't know about you, but when you have the best guy in the world, a lot can fall in place behind him.

4. Best case scenario: Holliday, Berkman, Pujols knock the snot out of the ball. Eww. Sorry for the yucky graphic on that one. But it's true. If all goes according to plan, you have three guys in the middle of the line up that are going to be a force. Even if Berkman doesn't hit the same way as his peak years, he'll get on base because he's one of the most patient hitters in baseball. Add a (cross your fingers) healthy David Freese and an improving Colby Rasmus and you have five guys in your line up that can do some damage. If Molina gets some offense back and Theriot has a good year (not counting on that), then this team will score a lot of runs and not need to win 2-1 games all season.

5. Love him or hate him (the Fan leans toward the latter), Tony LaRussa is a proven commodity. He's taken teams to the promised land on many occasions, and as one of the Fan's new friends said last night, LaRussa seeems to do his best work when things are a bit of a mess. Now certainly qualifies. Whenever you have LaRussa in your dugout, you should never panic.

Yes, Cardinal Nation, this injury hurts. It's a big loss from a big stud who has been the rock for the Cardinals the past few years. But there is no reason to panic. 162 games is a long time and a lot can happen. If the Cardinals can stay in the race and sneak into the playoffs, they have just as good a chance as anyone else. Cheer up. Things can always be worse. The Cardinals are still viable contenders in a fluid division and one injury, no matter how important a player that guy is, is not going to automatically mean a ticket to the bottom of the division. Not in that division, and not with that manager.