A Tale of Two Pitchers

Last night, Jason Marquis continued his long losing streak by getting trounced by the Pirates, which has spurred much debate about his fate on the Cardinal message boards. I was one of those that hoped he'd get traded in the offseason last year, because some of the supporting numbers indicated that he'd gotten lucky to post the ERA and wins that he did. He was able to work out of trouble a lot last year, which was helpful. Unfortunately, it's caught up to him this year.

The knee-jerk reaction is to put Marquis in the bullpen and call Anthony Reyes back up to take his spot in the rotation. While interesting in theory, Reyes has a history of injury problems and has already thrown more innings this year than ever before in his career. I'm not sure that you want to bring him up and have him pitch every 5th day. A spot start here and there in September? Fine. But a regular rotation slot? I don't think that's wise.

And if Marquis isn't getting anyone out as a starter, why do you think he would in the bullpen? That's actually a bit unfair--a few of the starts in his losing streak, he's pitched well but not gotten much support. But his ERA for August is closing in on double-digits, so he's got to shoulder some of the blame for the lack of success as well. Some of the quotes coming from management last night indicated that LaRussa and Duncan weren't happy with him, but that might blow over some. I figure they'll give him at least one more start, then perhaps skip him occasionally in September. If his bat wasn't so handy (he's hitting around .375, which is amazing for a pitcher), I'd say he wouldn't be on the post-season roster. I'm still not so sure he will be.

Then tonight Chris Carpenter pitches the Redbirds to a victory. Carp is putting together a Cy Young-like season. Robert, Andy and I have debated Clemens vs. Carpenter for the award, and it's a tough call in my mind. Clemens's ERA is astounding and the run support issue is strong, but pitchers have had that combination in the past and not garnered much support. The new statistical age we are in may mitigate that somewhat, but I still think Carpenter's 18 wins and low-2 ERA with (almost) the league lead in strikeouts will make for a close race. If Clemens's ERA climbs up to 2, I think Carpenter's a lock. But with it sitting at 1.53 or so, getting it to 2 is going to be a tough chore. Plus, I just traded for Clemens to help my ERA, so I don't want him to get shelled too often.

Pujols homered tonight, breaking a string of 9 games without a long ball. It'd be nice to see him get on a hot streak, though he's still keeping the average up. And Tony LaRussa tied Cincinnati and Detroit icon Sparky Anderson for third all-time in wins by a manager. That's a lot of wins! Tony's never gone through a long stretch with uncompetitive teams. A couple, three years is about all. He gets a lot of criticism, but I'm glad he's in Cardinal red.

On the personal front, got my front yard mowed today, using the borrowed mower still. I took mine into the shop today (finally) and we'll see what they come up with. Hopefully it's not something terribly tragic. It was nice to get some cloud cover while I was mowing. I hope to do some more tomorrow, but last I looked the heat index was supposed to close in on 110, so I may sit that one out.

Benjamin is still doing great. Last night I grilled some chicken out in our back yard. The door leading from the den out there is mainly glass, so he stood up using it as a brace and watched me. I'd tap on the glass and he'd laugh and start smacking his side. It was a lot of fun, except when I needed to come inside. He hasn't figured out how to get out of the way yet!

That's plenty for today. Maybe something deep and meaningful tomorrow, but I wouldn't count on it.