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 Jeff Conine

Jeff Conine
Conine played for 17 years in the major leagues, joining the rosters of six different teams.  Conine’s most notable years were as a member of the expansion Florida Marlins, where he finished third in the 1993 Rookie Of The Year voting and was selected to two All Star rosters.

Why He Should Get In
Conine was “Mr. Marlin” when he arrived on the scene, giving the team a legitimate star in it’s early years.

Why He Should Not Get In
Being the best player on a bad team can take it’s toll.  Conine found himself as an average player on below average teams for a good portion of his career, leading to a memorable name attached to lackluster career numbers.  While a generation can tell you who Jeff Conine is, his production will not find him in the Hall Of Fame.

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

KANSAS CITY, MO (October 24, 2012) – The Kansas City Royals today named Jack Maloof as the club’s Major League hitting coach and Andre David as the assistant Major League hitting coach.

“We are extremely pleased that both Jack and Andre will be joining our Major League staff,” said Royals manager Ned Yost.  “Both bring valuable experience as Major League hitting coaches.  In addition, they have worked closely with a majority of our young hitters from the moment they signed and that creates a comfort level that should prove very beneficial for all of us.”

“The Royals were fortunate to have a talented group of hitting coaches within our organization,” said Royals GM Dayton Moore.  “Jack and Andre have done a tremendous job developing young hitters throughout their careers and are highly-respected amongst both the players and their peers.”

Maloof joined the Royals in 2008 as the club’s Special Assistant to Player Development and Minor League Hitting Coordinator.  The 2013 season will mark his second stint as a Major League hitting coach, having served with the Florida Marlins in that capacity from 1999-2001.  With Florida, he helped the club’s batting average rise in his first season by 15 points while the Marlins increased their home run production from 114 in 1998, the year prior to his arrival, to 166 in 2001.  In addition to his time with the Marlins, Maloof has also worked in the San Diego and Atlanta organizations.  Maloof played eight minor leagues seasons and one more with the Seibu Lions in Japan in 1979 and was named Topps Minor League Player of the Year in 1971 after batting .402.  He and his wife, Joan, make their home in Chandler, Ariz., and have two children, Justin and Jessica, and two grandchildren.

David will be in his 15^th season in the Royals organization in 2013.  David most recently has worked as the hitting coach with the Surprise Royals in the Arizona League for the past three seasons.  He was the Royals Major League hitting coach from May 30, 2005 to May 1, 2006 and also served several seasons, beginning in 2001, as the club’s minor league hitting instructor.  David played for parts of two seasons in the Major Leagues with the Minnesota Twins in 1984 and 1986.  He resides in Surprise, Ariz., with his wife, Lisa, and their two daughters, Brittany and Tanner.

Under the coordination of both Maloof and David, the Royals have developed several of the top hitting prospects in the minor leagues including 2012 American League All-Star Billy Butler, 2006 Baseball America and Topps Minor League Player of the Year Alex Gordon, 2010 Baseball America Player of the Year finalist Eric Hosmer, 2010 minor league home run leader Mike Moustakas and 2012 USA Today, Baseball America and Topps Minor League Player of the Year Wil Myers.

For most of the last quarter of a century, the Kansas City Royals have done something more difficult than achieving success…they’ve avoided it completely.

Royals fans are very well aware of the last time their favorite team played a post-season game. It was October of 1985, and there is a large group of Royals fans that have been born and graduated college and maybe even gotten their first promotion that have never witnessed this feat. This is truly a remarkable feat, especially when you consider the following things that have taken place in major league baseball since October of 1985:

• The Florida/Miami Marlins have managed to enter the league as an expansion team, and win 2 World Series titles
• The Colorado Rockies emerged as an expansion team and have qualified for the playoffs 3 times and played in one World Series
• The Arizona Diamondbacks entered the league as an expansion team and have qualified for the playoffs 5 times and won one World Series title
• The Tampa Bay Rays entered the league as an expansion team and have made 3 playoff appearances and one World Series appearance, and are currently on pace to make the playoffs again this year
• The Cincinnati Reds have made 3 playoff appearances and won one World Series title, and are currently on pace to make the playoffs again this year
• The Minnesota Twins have made 8 playoff appearances and won two World Series titles
• The Baltimore Orioles have made 2 playoff appearances and are currently on pace to make the playoffs this year
• The Pittsburgh Pirates have made 3 playoff appearances and are currently in contention for a playoff spot this year
• The Toronto Blue Jays have made 4 playoff appearances and won 2 World Series titles
• The Cleveland Indians have made 7 playoff appearances and appeared in 1 World Series
• The Oakland Athletics have made 9 playoff appearances, 3 World Series appearances, and won 1 World Series title
• The Seattle Mariners have made 4 playoff appearances
• The Milwaukee Brewers have made 2 playoff appearances
• The San Diego Padres have made 4 playoff appearances and one World Series appearance

The 14 organizations listed above are all similar in market size to the Royals.  Most of these organizations have had multiple runs of competitive/championship baseball in the time that the Royals have not even been able to put together one. The only organization that has managed to go longer than the Royals without a playoff appearance is the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals.  However, they are all but assured of making the playoffs this season.  While Royals fans likely are ready to throw their computers out the window after reading this, it provides some good perspective on just how pathetic this organization has been over the last 25+ years.

After two come-from-behind wins against the Florida Marlins heading into the All-Star break, things were looking up for the St. Louis Cardinals. Starting pitching was performing very well, guys were getting healthy, and the bullpen was finding some semblance of normalcy. Hopes were high for after the break, with as near a healthy roster as the Cardinals have had all season, and 9 straight games within the division to start the break.

Kharma is a funny thing.

It’s like the baseball gods dumped a ying on every yang used up during the 2011 historic run. The now healthy Cardinals stormed out of the second half gate in not-so-impressive fashion, getting swept by the Reds. Then they dropped two of three in Milwaukee. And the one game they did win required a two run ninth-inning rally to take the lead. The five games lost were lost by a total of six runs.

I can not resign myself to blame solely kharma, the baseball gods, luck, or small sample sizes. Something is going on with this team. A few  observations on the team and then observations on Matheny.

1. Who is providing leadership to this team?
Much was made during the 2011 season about the right “clubhouse mix”. Chris Carpenter was the unquestioned fiery leader of the team who could give a good kick in the pants when needed. His energy on the mound during the stretch run and playoffs was desperately needed for what seemed like three months of constant elimination games.

I would contend that Carpenter’s presence and leadership has been sorely missed this year.

Also, Lance Berkman provided great leadership as well. Though funny and able to keep things light when needed, he also would stand up in the tough times and answer the hard questions . He brought about a great culture of ownership and accountability instead of blame. He has been out of action since mid-May and is struggling mightily in his return. Providing leadership is challenging while rehabbing and trying to get yourself to an acceptable level of performance.

Albert Pujols (while often seemingly aloof and privy to a separate set of rules) no doubt commanded excellence from his teammates, and hated to lose. Even during a down season, he was still a feared hitter that could carry the team on his back for stretches at a time.

Those are 3 key pieces missing this season, along with a rookie manager and inexperienced pitching coach.

Could lack of leadership, this intangible quality unable to be measured by statistics, play a key part in the reason why the Cardinals are second in NL run  differential, but have the 7th best record?

2012 National League Run Differential

Washington     +65     record 53-36

St. Louis           +64     record 47-45

Cincinnati       +43      record 51-40

Pittsburgh       +34     record  51-40

Atlanta             +28     record 49-41

Since a 20-11 start, the Cardinals are 27-34. Over that stretch, they have been held to 3 or fewer runs 33 times. Hardly the record of a team leading the league in most offensive categories, and surprising for a team that has received 14 quality starts over the last 17 games. What is going on?

I don’t know if the team is tired or Matheny’s more relaxed style has created a real or perceived lack of urgency. I’m waiting to see someone, please anyone, stand up and get angry to put a fire under this team.

It is a team of talented, yet seemingly laid-back guys. None of us are in the locker room to know what goes on behind the scenes, but we can see what is happening on the field. Which player has vocalized anger about a sustained period of mediocre play? Why is Tyler Greene telling Fox Sports Midwest that he’s not disappointed with his performance this yea?  Who among David Freese, Carlos Beltran, Yadi Molina, Adam Wainwright, Rafael Furcal, Matt Holliday, Lance Berkman, Skip Schumaker, Jon Jay, and Jason Motte is going to stand up and and say it’s time for something to change?

I don’t expect it from Freese, Beltran, Holliday, Schuamker, or Jay. They seem like pretty laid-back even keeled guys. I would suggest Molina and Wainwright realize it is their time to step up and challenge this team to play to its capability. 47-45 is simply unacceptable for the amount of talent put on the field night in and night out.

You may say I’m being unfair because of the injuries and inexperienced bullpen. The bullpen has not been the problem over the last 6 games, or this month even. The club has a 1.78 bullpen ERA for the month of June. The problem is good hitters not stepping up and getting timely hits. The team hit .178 (8 for 45) with runners in scoring position over the first five games back from the break. Think about that for a moment, 45 ABs with RISP in 5 games and only 8 hits.

Veteran defenders have been botching routing plays (which leads into my next point)….somebody needs to wake this team up.

2.Beltran and Furcal look tired, or are at least playing tired
Carlos Beltran hit 19 home runs in his first 198 at-bats this season. He has 1 over his last 117 through July 18th game. He looks tired. He needs a rest. Watching him run down balls in right field is not pretty. He is slow and laborious. So instead of Matheny resting Beltran after admitting he was exhausted after the All-Star festivities in Kansas City, he starts him 4 out of 5 games. Two of those starts were in center field, which takes a lot greater defensive toll on a player. It makes no sense.

On June 10, Rafael Furcal was batting .304/.358/.421/.779. Since then, he has hit .207/.309/.223/.532 with 0 HR and 8 RBI in 121 AB. He has also made several key errors in the last two series, including two in yesterday’s disastrous 4-run 1st inning. Unfortunately, Tyler Greene has not lived up to Mo’s expectations even without LaRussa and Descalso has not hit well enough to spell Furcal much at short.

This was the risk the club took filling these two spots with veterans, and although they have played in a lot of games, the level of play is starting to wane. Hopefully Beltran will not experience the same second half fade Berkman did last-season (but that is next week’s article.)

3. Matheny factor
No reasonable human being expected Mike Matheny to be Tony LaRussa during his first year on the job. But Mozeliak wanted him, and he assured Mozeliak he was ready for the challenge. He inherited a 116 million dollar payroll team, poised to make a deep run at a World Series repeat. This was not a normal gig for a rookie manager.

In evaluating managers, I tend to look at 4 key areas they provide the most contribution:

1. Player motivation   2. Game prep and planning   3. Tactical in-game decisions   4. Keeping players fresh and performing at their best

Underlying all of that is the level of innate leadership ability to be able to rally the troops and lead them in each of the 4 areas above.

We were promised Matheny had that leadership ability and everything else could be learned on the job. To me that meant #’s 1 and 2 above could be handled well from day 1. I assumed #’s 3 and 4 would be learned on the job.

In regards to #1, the players like Matheny. But there is no doubt a different pressure level than under TLR. Maybe in the long run, this will pay off. Right now, there are a lot more L’s than W’s piling up.

#2 I can’t really speak to much from where I sit.

#3 has me constantly puzzled. It’s easier to play armchair quarterback than make the tough calls in the heat of the moment, but my gosh, Matheny has made a lot of calls that have Little League managers scratching their head. The team runs into a lot of outs at home plate on infield ground balls, there have been a lot of double steals gone wrong, and very interesting roster moves where he uses up a hitter early in a tie game, or leaves a reliever in for an extended period of time for unfavorable matchups. Also, there was the decision to play Carlos Beltran in center field in back-to-back games while telling the media he is exhausted and needing some time off.

The latest in-game decision that really had me scratching my head was pinch hitting Berkman yesterday with the bases loaded, two outs, and down by a run in the 9th inning. Berkman has looked terrible since coming back from the DL. He admitted after the game that his bat speed is not back to what it used to be.

Why would Matheny put him in that spot knowing that? Worse yet if he didn’t know it and put in a player at less than full strength in a game-deciding situation? He acted like a novice roto ball manager instead of manager of the defending world champions trying to win a division.

See Beltran comment above in regards to #4. However, Matheny has attempted to give guys regular days off, and for that I applaud him. There just doesn’t seem to be any kind of rhythm to it yet. I hope it comes soon.

What bothers me the most in regards to Matheny are his comments to the media. Same canned responses night after night. “We have a good team”, “We haven’t played our best baseball yet”, “We are going to get better”….

How late in the season do you get by with the “we haven’t played our best baseball yet” argument? We are staring August in the face. I know this seems pretty harsh towards Matheny. I have been a vocal and adamant supporter since day one. He needs time to develop in-game management and getting the most from his lineup day in and day out.

But he was brought to the Cardinals to lead. Now is the time. Show us some emotion that you are unhappy with the way things are going instead of the nightly platitudes about how good you think this team is.

Instill a sense of urgency. Find your mojo, Matheny. The Cardinals desperately need it.

In part 4 of this multi-part series, we take a look at the trades of the Dayton Moore administration that were made in 2009 for the Kansas City Royals.

Click the years to see the previous articles:

2006
2007
2008 

As we move on to 2009 and beyond, it is important to note that the data begins to become a little less reliable.  The reason being that there are fewer years on which to judge a player.  If the Royals traded an established major leaguer for a good prospect that has yet to break into the major leagues, based on the formula we use, the Royals may not get any credit for the trade.  But overall, it should even out both ways, especially when we combine the WAR scores for all of the years at the end.

As was illustrated in last week’s column, 2008 was a bad year for Dayton in terms of trades.  Injuries were to blame for part of this, as was plain bad luck.  Even so, by 21st century Royals standards, 2008 was not that bad of a season.  For one, they didn’t finish in last place.  Finishing 75-87, it was the Royals best season since the fluky “smoke and mirrors” 2003 season.  With Zack Greinke ready to take the leap into superstardom and an elite closer in Soria, there was some positive momentum going into 2009.  On top of this, right after the 2008 season, the Royals dealt for speedy centerfielder, Coco Crisp, and slugging 1B Mike Jacobs.  There was definitely an attitude amongst Royals people that they would have an opportunity to compete for the division in 2009.  So let’s see how Dayton fared in his trades in that year…

April 1, 2009: The Kansas City Royals traded Ross Gload and cash to the Florida Marlins for a player to be named later. The Florida Marlins sent Eric Basurto (minors) (May 13, 2009) to the Kansas City Royals to complete the trade.

A journeyman bench player, Gload spent 2 pretty meaningless years with the Royals, so seeing him get dealt was neither a blow nor a surprise.  One might have thought the Royals could have gotten more than a 40th round pick in Eric Basurto, but apparently not.  Basurto, to his credit, is still playing baseball in the Royals organization and spent last season in Double A Northwest Arkansas.  He likely has little to no upside, so this trade was pretty meaningless.

Gload: 1.3 WAR with Marlins (2009)

Basurto: 0.0 WAR (has yet to appear for Royals)

Marlins win trade by 1.3 WAR

July 10, 2009: The Kansas City Royals traded Derrick Saito (minors) and Dan Cortes to the Seattle Mariners for Yuniesky Betancourt.

The critics came out of the woodwork for this one.  At the time, the Royals needed a shortstop in a bad way.  After Mike Aviles was injured early in the season, they were left with a combination of Willie Bloomquist and Tony Pena Jr.   Many would make the argument that by making this trade the Royals worsened their shortstop situation.  And the numbers would support that.  Not only was Betancourt carrying a relatively hefty contract, but he absolutely positively sucked.  In 2009, he was far worse than replacement level. Rumor has it Seattle fans were laughing when the Royals traded for Betancourt.  In his defense though, he was much better in 2010 than in 2009, even leading the team in home runs that year.

Saito: 0.0 WAR (never appeared for Mariners and appears to be out of baseball)

Cortes: -0.1 WAR with Mariners (2010-2011)

Betancourt: 0.0 WAR with Royals (1/2 of 2009 and 2010)

Royals win trade by 0.1 WAR

September 3, 2009: The Texas Rangers traded Tim Smith (minors) and Manny Pina to the Kansas City Royals for Danny Gutierrez (minors).

This is one of those trades that cannot be fairly judged using the WAR statistic.  The Rangers have absolutely nothing to show for this trade, while the Royals have likely their backup catcher of the future in Pina, along with Smith who is still in the organization.  But the advantage is only 0.1 WAR so the impact is minimal for the purpose of this study.  Despite what the #’s below say, this trade was a big win for Dayton and company.

Gutierrez: 0.0 WAR (never appeared for Rangers and appears to be out of baseball)

Smith: 0.0 WAR (has yet to appear for Royals-played last season in Double A Northwest Arkansas)

Pina: -0.1 WAR with Royals (2011)

Rangers win trade by 0.1 WAR

November 6, 2009: The Chicago White Sox traded Josh Fields and Chris Getz to the Kansas City Royals for Mark Teahen.

This one is interesting.  When it was first made, it looked kind of good.  Teahen’s production had begun to tail off signifcantly in Kansas City.  Many believed that it was because he had gotten himself so mentally screwed up by the constant changing of positions.  This may have been true.  So the White Sox acquired him and signed him to a multi-year deal to make him their everyday 3rd baseman.  The Royals were picking up their new everyday 2nd baseman in the speedy Chris Getz, and Josh Fields, a 3b/OF who had hit 23 HR as a rookie in 100 games in 2007.  Fields quickly did nothing in KC, and Getz proved himself to be nothing more than a steady defensive 2B with some speed and no power.  And when I say no power, I mean NO power.  In 2 years with the Royals, Getz has a total of 18 extra base hits.  His 3 home runs in 2009 with the White Sox is starting to look VERY suspicious.  Teahen  picked up right where he left off with the Royals, and eventually continued to regress.  He was eventually sent off to Toronto in the middle of last year, and is currently without a team.  So this trade, which at the time was a very important one for the Royals, turned out to be pretty meaningless for both teams involved.

Teahen: -1.2 WAR with White Sox (2010 and 1/2 of 2011)

Fields: -0.1 WAR with Royals (2010)

Getz: 0.6 WAR with Royals (2010-2011)

Royals win trade by 0.7 WAR

Based on the study, the Royals lost by 0.6 WAR on 2009 trades.  The good news though, is they gave up very little.  Perhaps Dayton was scared off by what happened in 2008, or perhaps he learned from it.  One might argue that they missed an opportunity to get more for Teahen, but at least they weren’t burned by it.  They added Pina, who while maybe not a huge part of the future, is a part of the future nonetheless.  Getz is still with the ballclub, though his role for this coming season is in question.  Next week, we take a look at Dayton’s 2010 trades.

With the Hall Of Fame election announcement coming on January 9, 2012, it is time to review the ballot, go over the names, and decide who belongs in the Hall Of Fame.

There are twenty seven men on the ballot 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 2012 menu at the top of the page.

Tune in Saturday, January 7, 2012 as I-70 Baseball Radio will host a panel of writers discussing the Hall Of Fame Ballot in a 2-hour special.

In this article, we take a look at Tim Raines.

Tim Raines
The career of Tim “Rock” Raines took a few twists and turns between his 1979 debut with the Montreal Expos and his final season in 2003 as a member of the Florida Marlins. His consistent play and statistics have kept him on the ballot over the last three years and he hopes the fourth time is a charm.

Why He Should Get In
This may be the year that Rock arrives in Cooperstown. One of the premier base stealers in Major League Baseball, he has the numbers to prove that he, at the very least, deserves serious consideration. Above his 808 stolen bases, he also drove in 980 run in his 23 year career. He totaled 2,605 hits and 430 doubles while playing for six different teams. His 2,605 hits and .294 batting average keep him in the conversation as well as his 1.571 runs scored. He finished as the runner up to the Rookie Of The Year Award in 1981 and racked up seven All Star Game appearances, all consecutive, from 1981-1987.

Why He Should Not Get In
His power numbers are weak, including a surprisingly low 113 triples in his career. His seventh consecutive All Star appearance was also his last, though he played another 15 seasons. The later part of his career seen him become a singles machine that was not as much of a threat on the base paths. Raines was also not the most friendly player and has a rough relationship with the media.

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.

Royals prospect John Lamb is climbing through the Kansas City Royals Minor League affiliates, spending this season at the Double-A level as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.

Our friends over at MLB Reports have had the opportunity to sit and discuss parenting with James Lamb. The following is directly from their website:

”What Can a Parent Do: A Guide to Being a Baseball Parent“, By James O. Lamb

I had the pleasure of meeting James Lamb through social media this year. As parents and through our mutual love of baseball, we have enjoyed several baseball discussions and debates. As a professional scout for the Florida Marlins, James is very active in Major League Baseball and is extremely knowledgeable on the sport. Many of our discussions though centered on parenthood, including being a baseball parent. James own son, John Lamb, is a prospect with the Kansas City Royals. Having been through the process of having a son drafted to a major league team, James’ story is a fascinating one. I learned about James also through his websites,http://pbdad.com and http://baseballpg.com. Being a father myself to a five-year son with another baby boy on the way, I started discussing with James the journey of becoming a baseball parent. That is where the concept of this article was born. We are very fortunate to have James Lamb as our MLB Guest Blogger today. For all current and future baseball parents, you will find James insights and tips extremely valuable. We proudly feature on the reports, James O. Lamb, with ”What Can a Parent Do: A Guide to Being a Baseball Parent“.

Drop by their site to read the full article, which is a very interesting look inside of the mind of people affiliated with professional baseball players.

When a fan asks a question and we can find time to provide a in depth answer, we jump at the chance here on i70. Such an instance jumped out at me while on Twitter.

Shortly after the game ended Saturday night and the Cardinals had put the finishing touches on a two to one victory over the Florida Marlins, a tweet came across my screen that caught my eye.

I'd like to know how many times Albert has hit a home run and Carp has gotten a win in the same game over the years. Its a lot. #stlcards

August 6, 2011 9:09 pm via Twitter for BlackBerry®ReplyRetweetFavorite

@FishSTL

Michael Fisher

Michael, I am glad you asked. It is a valid question and caused a little digging into some stats.

The two superstars of the St. Louis Cardinals have played together in St. Louis since 2004. There have been injuries over that time but when you put two players of their caliber together, you expect some results. Those results are not disappointing.

Chris Carpenter has pitched in 184 Games for the St. Louis Cardinals and according to Baseball-Reference, posts an impressive record. The Cardinals veteran ace has won 91 games as a Cardinal while losing only 41. A 3.09 career earned run average since joining the team, 19 complete games, 8 shutouts, and 276 walks to 1003 strikeouts makes him one of the most dominant pitchers in recent memory for the Cardinals. As dominant as he can be, does it mean that a player like Albert Pujols performs at a higher level for him? Maybe not, but the team certainly benefits when the two are on the same page.

The simple answer here is 47. That would be the number of regular season games that Chris Carpenter has pitched in since joining the Cardinals that Albert Pujols has also hit a home run in. Slightly more than 25% of the time when Carpenter takes the mound, Pujols will leave the yard in the same game. What may be most impressive is a deeper look into the stats.

Albert seems to be on his “A Game” during these 47 games, for sure. Over the course of regular season games that Carpenter pitches and Albert homers, Pujols is hitting .460 with 54 home runs, 86 runs batted in, and 76 runs scored. Carpenter is no slouch, when the Cardinals first baseman puts one over the fences, Carpenter posts a 3.34 earned run average with 260 strikeouts, 31 wins and 5 losses.

The Cardinals as a whole enjoy it when Carpenter is pitching and Albert goes deep, they have won 39 games and only lost 8 when this occurs.

The post-season has only seen this occur twice, though one of them was memorable. Both times that Carpenter has pitched on a day when Albert homered in the post-season, the Cardinals would win. Carpenter would receive the win in the contest with the Padres on October 3, 2006. Perhaps the most memorable post-season game for this to occur would put a win in the Cardinals hands, if not their starting pitcher’s. That game happened on October 17, 2005 when Albert ruined Brad Lidge‘s night in Houston and quieted the home town crowd who thought they were witnessing their team reaching the World Series, just to see that postponed due to a long home run from the Cardinals’ Most Valuable Player.

There were a few notable games that popped up while digging through box scores for the information on the two superstars.

- April 9, 2004 - Carpenter would go six innings, giving up five runs, walking one and striking out three. Albert would hit a solo home run but go on to score three times on one hit and two walks. When the dust settled, the Cardinals would beat the Diamondbacks 13-6 and Chris Carpenter would gain his first victory while wearing the birds on the bat.
- June 14, 2005 - Pujols would hit a two run home run in the contest against the Blue Jays in Toronto. Carpenter would show his old team just how dominant he could be as he posted his first double-digit strikeout total in a game where Pujols would homer, striking out 10 Blue Jays. He would also grab his first shutout and throw his first complete game in such a game.
- June 25, 2005 - It would not take long for Carpenter to repeat that feat and do it one better as the Cardinals played the Pirates in front of the sea of red in Busch Stadium. Carpenter would once again throw a shutout, going the distance and striking out eleven while Pujols would hit a three run shot in the seventh inning of that contest, his 20th of the season.
- September 8, 2005 - The two superstars were well on their way to winning a Cy Young Award and a Most Valuable Player Award in the 2005 season when September rolled around. This time, the Busch fans would witness the first multi-home run game for Albert while Carpenter was on the mound. In addition to seeing Albert leave the yard twice, the fans would also see Carpenter throw seven shut out innings, striking out seven Mets, and winning his 21st game of the year.
- June 4, 2009 - Our final game to point out was one that seen Carpenter go toe-to-toe with Reds hurler Aaron Harang in a pitcher’s duel that would see both starters go the distance for their teams. Carpenter would only surrender one run and Harang would only struggle with one hitter. Albert would hit a two run home run in the bottom of the third and add another run batted in on a double in the sixth giving the Cardinals the only three runs they would get that day. It was the only three runs Carpenter would need.

With two top quality players on the field for their eighth season together, it seems it would do the team a lot of good if they could match up on a few more games down the stretch of the 2011 season.

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.

The Cardinals have settled into a pattern of winning. That is great news for them and for the fans, but it makes it tough to come up with fresh material for a blog post such as this one. There is no real controversy, other than the continued beating of the dead horse that is Ryan Franklin. So while trying to think of something new and exciting to write about today I says to my self, “Self—instead of one story, why not touch on several?” Away we go…

–The Cards have now won eight of their last nine series, and the ninth one was a split of a four-gamer against a pretty good (no, really) Florida Marlins club. Entering Friday’s action the Cards were 22-16, which is good for third-best in the National League behind the Marlins (told ya) and the Philadelphia Phillies.

–The series against the Cubs was an interesting one. Going into the series, the two teams were #1 and #2 in the majors in team batting average. The Cardinals scored a total of 19 runs on 36 hits; the put up Cubs 16 runs on 39 hits…but the only home run in the three-game set was the solo shot that landed in the street by Matt Holliday in Thursday’s finale.

–Speaking of Holliday, he was the only member of that game’s starting lineup that was not drafted and developed by the Cardinals’ farm system.

–A lot of Reds fans hate the Cardinals. I mean, really hate them. During the series at Busch, I spent the entire game online both crafting a blog post and monitoring Twitter topics #stlcards and #reds. The vitriol coming from Reds fans was really quite unbelievable. It was hate the Cardinals this, little bitches that, expletives and wishes for injuries to various players…it was non-stop. I thought maybe this was something every rivalry experienced, and I know the fringe is often the loudest no matter how many of them there are. So I did the same thing for one of the games against the Cubs. I did see a lot of “Cardinals suck” and things of that nature, but nothing like what was coming from Reds fans. Maybe those people are not truly representative of the majority of Reds fans. But I even saw this after the series was over! What could be the cause of this hatred? Is it resentment because of all the time the Cards spent winning division titles, league championships, and a World Series over the past decade or so? Did all of that really stem from the fight last season? If anything, I would think Cards fans would hate the Reds rather than the other way around. After all, the Reds were the ones doing all the kicking and screaming. Of course, some fans understand what it means to win with class…

–If you have not seen the video of Kyle Lohse’s impersonation of Tony LaRussa on Thursday, your assignment from me is to go to the cardinals.com video page (after finishing this article, of course) and watch it.

–The Cards have a chance to put a little distance between them and the Reds this weekend, and if recent history holds true they will do just that. The Cards won two of three at Busch Stadium a couple of weeks ago and 12 of 18 throughout 2010. The Reds won the NL Central crown, of course, and that’s what ultimately matters. First place is nice but means very little in May…remember, the Cards were in this position this time last year. It will truly come down to which team stays healthy. The Reds just got Scott Rolen, Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey back from the DL, so they will likely get a boost. Likewise, the Cards have had most of their success with key players like David Freese, Skip Schumaker, and of course Adam Wainwright on the shelf. Unfortunately, Freese and Schumaker will not see action for quite a while yet this season and Wainwright will not be back at all. So it will be interesting to see how sustained the Cards’ attack will be, and what will happen should anyone else go down.

–Barring something unforeseen, I do not expect any extracurricular scrapes between the Cards and Reds this weekend. I probably would not think this way if Cueto and Chris Carpenter were facing each other in this series.

Chris Reed also writes for InsideSTL Mondays and Bird Brained whenever he feels like it. Follow him on Twitter @birdbrained

The Cardinals travel to the north side of Chicago to rekindle a rivalry that fans everywhere support. Cardinal fans hate the Cubs. Cubs fans hate the Cardinals. The teams always find a way to be competitive and to challenge each other despite the standings or the individual records.

The series will start Tuesday night and take on a intense side almost immediately as Chris Carpenter and Carlos Zambrano take to the mound. The two hurlers are some of the most hot-headed pitchers in recent memory. From hit batters to fights with water coolers, these two pitchers are listed in the dictionary under “intense”.

The problem here is not that Chris Carpenter is intense, it is that it has become the only thing that he is. Carpenter is still a solid pitcher and a guy that can carry a team through some rough patches, but most of his games have turned into a debate over two questions: Who is going to get hit by a Carpenter fastball and What will piss off Carp this time.

In his last outing against the Florida Marlins, tempers flared as the game was played, to be honest, the way it should be played. A potential double play was broken up with a hard slide that caused Yadier Molina to throw a ball into right field. Hanley Ramirez stayed near the plate after the play to check on the Cardinal backstop and Carpenter took exception. After words were exchanged, it appeared that our first question would be muttered and the second one had been answered.

Later in the game, on a play at first, Carpenter took exception to the umpire’s call of safe and turned to argue. This produced Tony LaRussa from the dugout, presumably to take up the argument for his starter. I am not sure I have ever seen a manager come to the field of play and simply say one or two sentences to his pitcher and turn and go back. I cannot tell you what was said, but it seemed to be along the lines of “the call was right, go pitch”.

Carpenter is a veteran pitcher that has brought home championships and Cy Young awards to St. Louis. He has always been a tough competitor and always been a pitcher that would stand up for his team. Recently, however, it seems that he is more focused on the unwritten rules of the game than he is on keeping the ball low in the strike zone and getting the ground ball outs that makes him successful.

The downside to all of this is showing up in his record and his consistently high pitches this season. A pitcher that has made a solid career in pitching low in the zone and inducing ground balls, Carpenter is surrendering more fly ball outs and struggling to keep his pitches low in the zone to get the ground balls that make him successful. His counterpart in Tuesday’s game is a glaring example of what can become of a pitcher that allows his emotions to run his game. The emotion can capture a player and become the focus of every moment of the game.

There becomes a real problem when fans, writers, opponents, and teammates start focusing on something other than the athletic ability of the player in front of them. Carpenter is still a talented player on a winning ball club. He is dangerously close to becoming a distraction for a team that is playing well above anyone’s expectations at this point, despite some needed adversity.

What does it take to get Chris Carpenter his first win and what advice should be given to the Cardinals starter? I think it’s simple:

Shut up and pitch.

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.