With the Hall Of Fame election announcement coming on January 9, 2013, it is time to review the ballot, go over the names, and decide who belongs in the Hall Of Fame.

There are twenty four men on the ballot for the first time this year and we will take a look at each one individually prior to official announcements. You can find all of the profiles in the I-70 Baseball Exclusives: Cooperstown Choices 2013 menu at the top of the page.

In this article, we take a look at Shawn Green

Shawn Green
Green’s 15 year major league career spanned four franchises, most notably the Blue Jays and Dodgers.  He would be named to two All Star rosters, in 1999 as a Blue Jay and again in 2002 as a Dodger.  He would also win a Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove in 1999.

Why He Should Get In
Green had a span of five to seven years of top production.  His career numbers in doubles (445), home runs (328), runs batted in (1,070) and hits (2,003) paint him as an elite ball player.

Why He Should Not Get In
Elite ball player is accurate, but he would have needed a few more years to translate that into being an all time great ball player.  His numbers are good, but not quite good enough for Cooperstown.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball
Follow him on Twitter here.

The St. Louis Cardinals have been looking for a left handed relief pitcher this off season.  Today, they got their man.

Cards sign Choate to 3 years, $75 million contract

Randy Choate is a 37-year old left handed relief pitcher that has pitched for five teams in his twelve year major league career, spanning back to his rookie season in 2000 with the New York Yankees.

Choate is a true LOOGY (Left-handed One Out GuY) and exactly what the Cardinals were looking for.  He has lead the league in appearances two of the last three seasons with 85 in 2010 and 80 in 2012.  As the term suggests, however, many appearances do not lead to a ton of innings.  Choate threw just 38.2 innings last season.

Tough against lefties, he has held them to a .201 batting average over his career while compiling a 3.52 strikeout to walk ratio as well.

He split time last year between Florida and the Dodgers, having been part of the Hanley Ramirez trade.

Here’s a quick look at his career statistics, as well as his 2012 splits, courtesy of Baseball Reference:

Career Splits:

2012 Splits:

The Cardinals will turn their focus to the middle infield now, where there appear to be shopping for an upgrade at second base or a long term answer at shortstop.

The St. Louis Cardinals have just come off a road trip, a key one, at 4-6. They still have the second Wild Card spot, thanks to the Pirates and Dodgers having some rough series of their own (up by 1/2 a game on LA and 1.5 on Pittsburgh, as of 10 AM Mon. 9/3), but it’s safe to say that the Cards probably didn’t get the job done.

Carlos Beltran slides in an attempt to field a ball hit by Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond. The play would result in a 2-run RBI single. (Source: AP)

After taking 3 of 4 from Cincinnati, the Cardinals went 2-5 in their last seven games. In a four-game stretch on the road trip, the Cardinals were outscored 32-1 by their opponent. Thankfully the Cardinals didn’t lose much ground in the Wild Card chase, but the team definitely could have used a little more breathing room heading into September.

The expanded rosters may just be the kick that the Cardinals need to push on to the playoffs. Reports are flying that top prospect Shelby Miller will be called up, and Chris Carpenter has begun throwing again and feels good.

In their remaining schedule, St. Louis faces just three teams with winning records: the Dodgers (Sept 14-16 in LA), Nationals (Sept 28-30) and Reds (Oct 1-3).

The narrative seems now to have pushed from a bad bullpen and streaky offense to bad pitching, a severely-slumping offense, and injuries with bad timing. Rafael Furcal may be out for 4-6 weeks or the rest of the season, no matter how long that happens to be. Whoever replaces him will be a downgrade, and just another hole that the Cards can’t fill.

Only time will tell what happens now, whether the Cardinals right the ship and stay in the playoff hunt or play themselves out of it. There aren’t any signs pointing in either direction at the moment, but it shouldn’t take long to find out what the rest of the season has in store for our beloved Redbirds. Where’s the Rally Squirrel when you need him?

The St. Louis Cardinals have spent seemingly endless weeks playing inconsistent baseball that keeps the team from moving out of its third-place slot in the National League Central Division. The next two weeks will likely decide whether or not that is where they finish the season.

Following their weekend series against the Pittsburgh Pirates and a day off Monday, the Cardinals embark on a 13-game stretch against four teams, three of which have winning records.

The Cardinals will get a three-game home series against the Houston Astros as an opportunity to build some collateral before they head out on a three-city road trip to play the Cincinnati Reds, Pirates and Washington Nationals.

The Reds and Pirates are the Cardinals two competitors for the NL Central this season, and the Reds might have the division title already locked up. They led the Pirates by 7.5 games and the Cardinals by 8.5 heading into play Sunday.

That means the Pirates and Cardinals are likely left to battle for the second wild-card spot behind the Atlanta Braves. The Pirates held a one-game lead over the Cardinals heading into play Sunday.

The Cardinals have a relatively easy September schedule. After the series in Washington, the Cardinals play just two series against teams with a winning record. They head to Los Angeles to play the Dodgers for four games Sept. 13-16 and finish the season with a homestand against the Nationals and Reds.

All of that means the Cardinals could finish the season strong, but the next two weeks will likely determine whether or not they are within shouting distance for those wins against bad teams to matter.

The Cardinals have struggled against good teams this season. They had a 25-26 against teams currently with a winning record heading into play Sunday. They will have to play at least .500 against the Reds, Pirates and Nationals in the next two weeks to remain in strong wild-card contention, and they will have to do a lot better if they still want a shot at the NL Central title.

Unfortunately, this team currently doesn’t show any signs that it will go on a sustained winning streak anytime soon. The Cardinals can play wonderful baseball for two nights, as they did Tuesday and Wednesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, but then they look like a team that doesn’t know how to win the next two nights, losing 2-1 to the Diamondbacks and Pirates.

That inconsistency is going to have to stop at some point. Even if the Pirates fade in September, the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants are both good teams and could easily take the second wild-card spot.

Overall, the Cardinals starting pitching has been superb. They now have four pitchers with more than 11 wins, including Adam Wainwright with 11, Lance Lynn with 13, and Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook with 12.

But, as has been the case the entire season, the bullpen to be better and the offense has to be more consistent. Jason Motte was the latest to implode. He has been a reliable closer this year, but he single-handedly gave away Thursday’s game against the Diamondbacks by allowing back-to-back solo homeruns in the ninth. He also nearly lost Saturday’s game against the Pirates, who had the tying run on third base when the Cardinals got the final out.

The Cardinals’ offense has the highest batting average, .274, of any National League team, but they still go through stretches when they can’t score more than one or two runs in consecutive games. Even though the Cardinals won 5-4 Saturday against the Pirates, they still left eight men on base. That isn’t going to work against the good teams up next on the schedule.

Every part of the team is going to have to be consistently productive in the next two weeks if the Cardinals want a chance to have an exciting rather than excruciating final month of the season.

Major league teams head to spring training about the time the NBA rolls into its second half. It’s a time ripe for optimism for baseball’s downtrodden, and fans need look no further than what’s going in with the New York Knicks to find hope.

While we baseball fanatics are set to scour spring training reports, the story dominating sports headlines is that of NBA reject-turned-phenom Jeremy Lin.

Whether you’re a basketball fan or not, you can’t help but be captivated by the overnight sensation of an Ivy Leaguer who sleeps on a sofa every night after lighting up the likes of Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitski.

A guy no one had ever heard of has led his Knicks back from the grave, and the world is tuning in to watch them rocket into playoff contention.

The Kansas City Royals could use a Jeremy Lin.

Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and others didn’t fly under any radar. They didn’t arrive without fanfare. We all waited breathlessly for their arrival, then heaped unnatural expectations upon them. They are the hope for the future in KC, but they can’t do it alone.

Kansas City needs a Jeremy Lin if something magical is going to happen.

When I was a kid, 20-year-old Fernando Valenzuela came from out of nowhere to lead the Dodgers to a World Series win over the Yankees. “Fernandomania” rivaled “Linsanity” at its time. And the same could happen again at any moment. Could it happen in KC?

If it does, it won’t be Hosmer or Moustakas or Danny Duffy or even Mike Montgomery or Wil Myers shocking the world. It will have to be someone from whom nothing is expected.

I see just the candidate in pitcher Luis Mendoza.

The 28-year-old Mendoza has been waived twice and traded twice (Lin was only cut twice), and he’s labored the last six years at the Double and Triple-A levels of the minors. (Heck, Lin only spent part of a year in the NBA’s Developmental League).

But before you write off Mendoza’s chances, take a look at what he did last year. While KC’s pitching staff was scuffling along, Mendoza posted a sterling 2.18 ERA, going 12-5 in Omaha.

When he finally got a chance in KC, Mendoza was nothing short of Lin-like. Two starts, two wins. A 1.23 ERA.

Sure he’s been too prone to surrender walks. And sure he’s not been a strikeout artist at any level All the more reason to believe he could catch lightning in a bottle.

This spring the media will be focused on Aaron Crow’s conversion to starter and on newcomer Jonathan Sanchez. Duffy and Felipe Paulino will duke it out for rotation spots. Montgomery and Jake Odorizzi will have their every pitch scrutinized.

But if KC is to have a little Linsanity of its own this year, my bet is it will come from Luis Mendoza.

It was supposed to be the free agent rush of the short century: the best player in the game, maybe ever, was available to the highest bidder. No matter where he went, he would make his new team vastly better than they were last season and attract thousands upon thousands of new fans who wanted to get an up-close look at our Babe Ruth.

Yes, teams would fight like sharks in a fishbowl for Albert Pujols and for all the benefits he would bring to their teams with RBI on the field and jersey sales off of it. And after his contract negotiations went awry with the team he had been with for 11 years, many reasoned he wouldn’t return. But now I ask you, who will take him away?

There are only so many teams that can afford to pay Albert the huge contract he is looking for after being underpaid for 11 years now. Look at all of those teams* and tell me which he would go to.

The Yankees are baseball’s richest team and, if they had not signed Mark Teixeira at first base in 2009, would be an almost-certain destination for Albert. But Teixeira is there, and while the Yanks will be in need of a designated hitter come 2012, even they won’t be giving said DH over $200 million to come off the bench four times a night and sit back down.

Besides, New York’s GM, Brian Cashman, ruled out such a signing two weeks ago, saying, “Despite him being fantastic, it’s not an efficient way to allocate our resources. Offense is not an issue here. Our priority this offseason is pitching.”

So, how about the Boston Red Sox, the next-biggest wallet in the Big Leagues? Well, they signed the mighty Adrian Gonzalez to play first base last year, so there’s no room for Albert there either. And again, they wouldn’t give $200 million to a DH, especially with rumors that they will resign the one they have soon.

The big market Dodgers should have the capital needed to go out and get some big time free agents, but the McCourt disaster divorce is impeding that this offseason as the team looks for new ownership. They have enough to re-sign Matt Kemp, but that’s about it.

Next is the Cubs, where every writer needing a good storyline picked him to go. After all, the North-Siders have their new GM, the brilliant Theo Epstein, have plenty of money to spend–and wouldn’t it be something if Pujols went to the rivals of his career team, the Cardinals? It was just too perfect if you were a Cubs fan.

Unfortunately, if you’re a Cubs fan, you will lose here too. Epstein’s focus this year and next will be to get all of the bad contracts off the books that were put there by the old regime. Factor in that Pujols probably doesn’t want to be a loser for the rest of his career and the Chicago Cubs are off the list.

The Mets are in the same boat as the Dodgers in that they are in a prime location, New York, but have mismanaged their finances enough that they cannot even re-sign their star shortstop Jose Reyes, let alone add Albert.

The Phillies are next up and are already spending an exorbitant amount of money this offseason before anyone else, but Ryan Howard is playing first there.

The San Francisco Giants need offense and a first baseman badly, but they are yet to even hit the rumor mill, minus their Chief Executive saying in a curiously-redacted piece in the LA Times, “[Relying on the farm system has] been a winning philosophy. That’s a good template. Don’t interpret that as we wouldn’t go after a premier free agent, but I don’t think we wake up in the morning and say that’s the first choice.” Hardly convincing.

The Rangers were looked at as a likely landing spot, but team owner Nolan Ryan said, “Making a seven-or-eight year deal for [Prince Fielder] or Pujols is not something our organization is prepared to do. I very much expect Mitch Moreland to be our first baseman next year.”

At the beginning of the offseason, the Angels were my biggest fear when it came to potential Pujols pilferers, but their new GM, Jerry DiPoto said last week, “You have to be open to the possibility, but it’s not something we’re going to aggressively pursue. I don’t think you’re going to get a financial bargain swimming in that pool.”

That’s about it, really. The Marlins, whose payroll will shoot up with the new stadium this year, made an offer to him on Friday night, but Joe Frisaro reported, “The Marlins certainly would love to add Pujols, but those connected with the club said the first offer probably isn’t close to being enough to lure in the biggest prize on the free agent market.”

The next teams on the list outside the top 10 probably cannot afford him. Besides, the White Sox have Paul Konerko at first, the Twins have Justin Morneau and the Braves have Freddie Freeman.

This brings me to the obvious conclusion: Albert has nowhere else to go. Sure, if he desperately wanted out of St. Louis, which he doesn’t, he could sign a lesser contract with Miami and wear orange the rest of his baseball days. (Or at least until Jeff Loria orders him traded after a few years.) That might be bad news for him once the Cardinals realize this (if they haven’t already) since they know that they are his best option.

*In order based on Forbes’ 2011 team values

The discussion as of late has began to center around improvements that need to happen to the 2012 team. Even the Cardinals front office has started working towards next season. The rotation is set, potential veteran free agents are having open discussions about possible returns, and everyone is beginning to focus once again on Albert Pujols.

In the midst of all the September call-ups that should be getting playing time to determine if they are, in fact, ready for the big leagues, another player is slowly establishing himself in a key 2012 role for the team.

Jason Motte has become a closer.

He was one of the few back of the bullpen guys to not get a shot early in the season when Ryan Franklin fell apart. The pitchers that the team went through were generally given a few games to see what they could do. While Motte was being used in late inning situations, he was not being given the opportunity to close the door for the team. In the midst of it all, Motte started stringing together an impressive 2011 season. Consider some of the facts…

The most obvious show of dominance has occurred from July 26th through September 3rd. During that time frame, Motte would make 21 appearances over 18 2/3 innings pitched without being credited with a single run allowed. He would inherit 15 base runners, allowing one to score on August 22nd against the Dodgers in St. Louis. His command, which has frequently been in question, would stabilize as he would strike out 15 batters over this stretch of the season while only walking two.

Overlapping that time frame was a span of games from July 26th through August 28th in which Motte would pitchin 14 1/3 innings and only surrender one base hit. Gaby Sanchez would reach on a line drive that hit Motte on the sixth of August as the Cardinals played the Marlins in Florida.

This month alone, Motte has made eight appearances, striking out seven hitters over 8 2/3 innings, walking one, surrendering one run, and compiling a record of one win and six saves.

In short, Motte has started becoming the dominant pitcher that the Cardinals have hoped he would become. His control has been much better and his effectiveness has risen to the challenge.

When it comes to 2012, the Cardinals may not need to be looking for a closer to nail down the bullpen.

Seems to me, they already have their guy.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.

On this night, the fifth place Cardinals would play the West Division leading San Diego Padres in the second game of a four game series. Even though the Cardinals were in fifth place in the East, they were only 6 games out of first. Both divisions were up for grabs. The Cubs would catch fire later in summer and win the East while the Padres would hold on and win the West. None of that mattered right now, the Cardinals and Padres had a game to play.

The Cardinals were in the middle of a rough transition. Gone was Keith Hernandez, one of the best players in recent years. Terry Pendleton had yet to make his major league debut. The Cardinals pitching staff was decimated by injuries, especially among the starters. At this point, Danny Cox, Dave LaPoint and Bob Forsch were all injured and unavailable. Over the course of the next week, Kurt Kepshire would make his major league debut and Rick Ownbey (part of the Hernandez trade) would make his Cardinals debut. Neither would make much of an impact. Whitey Herzog was so desperate for starters that he was using Ken Dayley and Neil Allen, just to have somebody take the mound in the first inning.

A Promising Rookie

Rick Horton

Younger fans may know Rick as one of the Cardinal announcers on Fox Sports Midwest. A very pleasant announcer with an ever present smile, Rick has become a very good broadcaster. He often speaks of his time pitching, always downplaying his abilities – especially his 82mph fastball. While that may be what White Sox and Dodgers fans remember, Cardinal fans know differently. Rick Horton was a very good pitcher for his first four years in St. Louis. And I mean very good. He didn’t have the flair of Joaquin Andujar. He didn’t throw hard like Ken Dayley or Todd Worrell. He couldn’t dominate game after game like John Tudor or Danny Cox. But Rick Horton was still a very good pitcher. He was crafty with a capital C. In those four seasons, Horton would put up a 24-12 record with an ERA that stayed under 3 runs per game, except when excessive mop up duty inflated it just a bit. He was used mainly out of the bullpen, but would be the occasional spot starter when needed. Tonight was one of those nights.

The 24 year old lefty made the team out of spring training. Up to this point, he had been used mostly in mop-up assignments. While not the most glamorous role, they gave him time to develop his major league game. At the same time, those appearances gave Whitey Herzog and Mike Roarke time to evaluate his talent. And there was plenty to be happy about. Horton would get his first start on June 12 and combine with Neil Allen for a nice win against the Phillies, picking up his second win of his short career. He would be hit a bit harder on his next start against the Mets, but together with Bruce Sutter, they would hold the Mets off for another win.

Rick would suffer his first loss on June 24 against the Cubs, although he pitched well enough to win. He had the bad fortune of facing Rick Sutcliffe in the beginning of his 16-1 run to his Cy Young Award (to go with his 1979 Rookie of the Year). Sutcliffe would shut out the Cardinals, striking out 14. Not a lot that the young man could do against that kind of performance. Very quietly though, Horton was putting together a nice season. His ERA to date was 1.75.

June 24 – St. Louis at San Diego

Eric Show

Rick Horton (3-1) would face the right hander Eric Show (7-5). Show was the Woody Williams of the 80s. Fairly durable, Show would throw a lot of innings but not a lot of strikeouts. He would win 15 games twice, and 16 in his best season, 1988. But he would never have that monster year that we thought he was capable of producing. How would he do tonight ?

Show was impressive from the first pitch. He would strike out the first two batters he faced. Willie McGee would end the inning grounding out to long time Dodger, Steve Garvey at first.

Although not as dominating, Horton was just as effective in his half inning, getting two fly outs and striking out Garvey to end the inning.

The Cardinal bats would wake up in the second inning. Darrell Porter would lead off with a double. He was unable to advance when Steve Braun flied out to left (Steve, you are supposed to hit the ball to the other side of the outfield with a runner in scoring position and less than 2 outs). Mike Jorgensen would single, but Porter was held up at third. With Art Howe at the plate, Jorgensen is caught stealing in a broken hit and run. It was so bad that Jorgensen isn’t even credited with a caught stealing. Howe then flies out to end the inning.

In the San Diego half of the second inning, Horton shuts down the Padres. The ball never left the infield. When Horton was on, he could nip the corners. With his ability to change the speed, hitters never got a good swing on anything near the plate. So far, Horton was in very good form tonight.

In the third, the Cardinals would put a run on the scoreboard. Ozzie Smith, hitting eighth at this point in his career, leads off with a walk. Horton bunts Smith to second. Lonnie Smith follows that with a single, easily scoring Smith from second. Show would limit the damage, but the Cardinals had an early 1-0 lead. Maybe that would be enough with the way Horton is pitching.

The Padres third inning was much like their second, nothing leaving the infield. Three up and three down. One time through the order and Horton retired all nine.

Show settles down in the fourth. Steve Braun would fly out. Mike Jorgensen would single, but Art Howe would hit into an around the horn double play: 5-4-3. In the Padres fourth, nothing. Tony Gwynn and Steve Garvey finally got something out of the infield, but the ball fell safely into the gloves of Cardinal outfielders.

Adding On

The Cards would stir up trouble in the fifth. Ozzie Smith would ground out to start the inning, but Ricj Horton would follow that with a walk. Walking the opposing pitcher is always a bad idea, and it generally comes back to haunt the other team. Lonnie Smith would fail to advance the runner, flying out to right. Tommy Herr would single, bringing free swinging Willie McGee to the plate. Show would throw a pitch to the backstop, moving the runners to second and third. Willie McGee would would single to left, scoring both Horton and Herr. McGee would advance to second when Carmelo Martinez misplayed the ball. Darrell Porter would end the inning with a strikeout, but the Cardinals now led 3-0.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Padres would get their first base runner when the just victimized Carmelo Martinez leads off with a walk. He is quickly dispatched when catcher Terry Kennedy hits the ball back to the pitcher and Horton starts a nifty 1-6-3 double play. Not only had Horton been getting it done with his arm and bat, now he is showing off a bit of leather. Kevin McReynolds would ground out to end the inning.

And On

More trouble for Show in the sixth inning. With one out, Mike Jorgensen would walk and Art Howe would hit a single. Ozzie Smith would single home Jorgensen. Once again, Horton lays down a good bunt, moving the runners to second and third. The young lefty was putting on quite a clinic tonight. Lonnie Smith would follow with a single, scoring Howe. Ozzie Smith would be thrown out in a close play at home. The Cardinals now led 5-0.

Absolutely nothing was happening in the bottom of the sixth. Another solid Horton inning. A pop up to short, a pop up to second and a ground out to short. Three batters, nothing leaving the infield. Through six, no Padre hits.

Andy Hawkins was in to replace Show, who had been lifted for a pinch hitter in the previous inning. Hawkins did what Show had not been able to do – retire the Cardinals in order. The bottom of the seventh was a repeat of the sixth. Three Padre batters, two infield grounders and a strikeout. Nothing left the infield. Through seven innings, Cardinals 5, Padres 0 – and no Padre hits.

The Cardinals went fairly quickly in the eighth. Two singles, a fly out and rarity: Ozzie Smith grounding into a double play.

Horton Hears a Hit

Kevim McReynolds

Rick Horton takes his no hitter into the eighth. He strikes out Carmelo Martinez and gets Terry Kennedy to pop out to third. With two outs, Kevin McReynolds ends Horton’s no hitter with a clean double. A disappointed Horton gets Graig Nettles to ground out to short, preserving the shutout.

The Cardinals go quietly in the top of the ninth. A very tired Rick Horton takes the mound, working on a one hit shutout. He gets Garry Templeton to ground out to his opposite number for the first out. Pinch hitter Kurt Bevacqua walks. Leadoff man Alan Wiggins would get the Padres second hit, with Bavacqua stopping at second base. Tony Gwynn, one of the games greatest hitters, would end things by hitting into a 4-6-3 double play.

What an amazing performance by the young lefty. A 2 hit shutout against the West leading Padres – a team that would go on to the World Series. Horton was four outs from throwing a no hitter in his fourth major league start. Only five balls would get out of the infield, the two hits and three harmless fly balls. This was as masterful a game as Cardinals fans had seen in a very long time.

The Rest of the Story

Horton would finish his rookie season with a 9-4 record, posting a modest ERA of 3.44. He would be equally impressive in the next three seasons, going 3-2/2.91 in ’85, 4-3/2.24 in ’86 and 8-3/3.82 in ’87 (with 67 appearances, 61 in relief).

Horton would be traded to the White Sox, along with speedster Lance Johnson after the 1987 season for Jose DeLeon. DeLeon was an amazing talent that no pitching coach had been able to figure out. The Cardinals would soon be added to that list as DeLeon gave us 4 1/2 frustrating years. Horton failed to impress the White Sox and he was dealt to the Dodgers in a last minute deal before the end of post season eligibility. Horton would return to the Cardinals in 1989 and retire at the end of the 1990 season.

Lance Johnson would go on to be one of the better hitters in the American League. He would routinely lead the league in triples as well as stealing 30 or more bases a year. That’s one we sure wish we had back.

The next time you hear Rick Horton talking about his pitching days, know that he is being modest. Horton was one heck of a pitcher. And on this night he almost pitched his way into the Cardinal record books.

From the first week of Spring Training, it was pretty clear the Cardinals’ offense was going to have to carry this team and win some high scoring games. Adam Wainwright went down, Jaime Garcia and Jake Westbrook struggled, and Kyle Lohse was a huge question mark. The bullpen essentially lost two horses from last year’s stable: Kyle McClellan to the bullpen and Blake Hawksworth to the Dodgers via trade. Two of the team’s anchors on the pitching staff, Chris Carpenter and Ryan Franklin, are in their late 30s. Yet so far, the bats have come up noticeable short in the Cardinals’ 1-3 start to the 2011 campaign.

The problems begin with the person you’d least expect them. For a decade, he was a beast, but by the time you’re done reading this article, Albert Pujols may very well have hit into another double-play. I don’t think 2 for 16 with 1 RBI was the start Pujols was looking for to cash-in that $300 million dollar deal. Another few weeks of this production and Albert will be changing his tune on his “I don’t discuss contracts during the season” policy.

It’s hard to pinpoint why the rest of the team can’t put together some runs. It’s just one rally-killing at-bat after another for these guys. The club’s $107 million dollar payroll through 4 games has yet to put up a crooked number in any of its 37 innings, scoring just 11 runs in the process. The team hasn’t plated more than 3 runs in a game, and ironically the Cardinals’ only win came when they put up their least amount of runs (2). And much like last year, the Cardinals are getting shutdown by no-name pitchers. Be honest, who could name the 4^th starter for the Pittsburgh Pirates before tonight’s shut-down performance? He’s about as anonymous as Mizzou’s new head basketball coach. Yet that starter, Charlie Morton, who went 2-12 last season with a 7.57 ERA, shut the Cardinals down.

One run. Three hits. 6 innings. Countless wasted opportunities.

The sky, of course, is not falling just yet. Matt Holliday is a big part of the offense and will be missed for likely another 5-10 days. But clouds are moving in, and the other guys need to pick it up. There’s no way a lineup featuring Albert Pujols, Lance Berkman, and Colby Rasmus can’t get some big hits at home against the tail end of the Pirates’ rotation. Here’s hoping the Cardinals take advantage of James McDonald (who?) and get back on track before hitting the road for the first time in the young season.

August heats up for the Cardinals and everyone currently predicts they will still be in the hunt of things when it does.

If in fact the Cardinals do find themselves deep in the division competition, one of the predicted top of the division foes will be the Milwaukee Brewers. The two teams will surely find some separation this month as they face of eight times in the Midwest heat.

The Cardinals will also find themselves on the road for most of August and facing other division foes like the Cubs and Pirates who, despite their records, seem to do a good job of playing spoiler.

August Breakdown:

Total Games: 28

Home: 13

Road: 15

Vs teams with winning records in 2010: 10

Vs teams with losing records in 2010: 18

Vs teams in the NL Central: 18

Key Series:

August 1-3 at Milwaukee, 9-11 vs Milwaukee, 30-31 at Milwaukee – the Brewers will look to untuck the Cardinals playoff hopes before September arrives while the boys in red will attempt to prove that all the pitching help Milwaukee employed during the off-season will not help them win a pennant.

While the Brewers were the most improved team in the NL Central this off-season, many pundits question whether they did enough. Over the course of these three series in August, we should find out just what the team is made of.

August 22-24 vs Los Angeles – The boys of Dodger Blue come calling near the end of the month and may have a chip on their shoulder to prove as well. A team stuck in the middle of a youth movement and a contender, the Dodgers may or may not find themselves in the thick of things by late summer depending on who you ask. Either way, these two storied franchises will challenge the thermometer to keep up with the play on the field as they light it up for a Summer classic in St. Louis.

Key To a Hot August:

The August schedule is an interesting one. There are teams the Cardinals should, and honestly have to, beat as well as contenders and division foes. It will be a challenge for the Cardinals as the season really heats up. This is the month that lineups and rotations have to prove they are healthy and can compete as their bodies are giving out.

At the end of August:

If the Cardinals have 14+ wins… they are not playing well enough to win this division. With 18 games against teams within the division, the Cardinals have to over-achieve a bit in August.

If the Cardinals are above .500… they have a start towards a playoff run. Honestly, this team does not need to finish above .500 in August, it needs to finish well above .500 in August. Anything less than 18 wins and September will be real interesting.

If the Cardinals are below .500… the season is looking down a barrel of the nastiest kind. If this team is under-achieving to this level and expects the Pujols contract not to be a distraction, everyone is fooled. If the Cardinals want to keep Pujols on the back burner and the season in focus, they cannot lose the month of August.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
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