The Cardinals leave the second leg of their 10-game road trip from Philadelphia in a series that wasn’t a complete loss, but also was an example of problems of both the past and current showing their head. Adam Wainwright and Lance Lynn authored fantastic efforts in two wins, yet in the games in-between two winnable games were booted. On Friday, Jaime Garcia looked like the version of him that has been most criticized; the one that was killed on the road. However, Sunday night’s loss was the most detrimental, with another late inning failure that lost a winnable game and continued to keep the club floating around .500.

Yet at the same time, they did manage to split another series on this tough East Coast road swing, and remain close to the picture atop the National League Central. How long they can remain there however, considering the amount of issues that are being to peak late in games, is anybody’s guess. As they begin a return to Washington DC, here are three things to look back at from the series that was.

1. Bogged Down: The resounding moment from the weekend was yet another implosion from Mitchell Boggs on Sunday night. Entering a tie game in the eighth inning, Boggs was blitzed to the tone of four runs on four hits, including the game breaking RBI single from Ben Revere, and the following nail in the coffin, three-run homer from Eric Kratz (who entered the at-bat hitting .190 on the year). This raised Boggs ERA on the year to 12.46, and became his fourth late-inning collapse in three weeks.

If there’s one thing to take away from the sudden assault that ended Sunday night’s ballgame is that it cleared up the dilemma of who is going to close games down, because Boggs has to be out of the picture now. Whether it’s a mechanical issue or something more, it can’t be worked out in high pressure situations, and Mike Matheny has to recognize that. Boggs broke down and began throwing by the time Kratz hit his home run, and looked lost in the woods. The frustration of his effort has derailed him to the point where it’s clear that he can’t pitch the last inning, but what type of game situation will be safe to utilize him in at all? How this situation is handled in the upcoming games will show a lot about if there is potentially another long-term issue in the pen regarding utilizing Boggs in any capacity.

2. Crisis Averted: On Sunday night, Matt Adams stepped to the plate having already reached base twice on the night, and sporting a .565 average and with the bases loaded ahead of him. Although it has become nearly a habit for him to destroy the ball in any given situation, this time he struck out looking on a Chad Durbin cutter, which if he’d connected on in his usual fashion, would have taken the push for more at-bats to him to a code red explosion level. He’s hit in every situation thus far, and went 2 for 3 on Sunday with his third double of the year. While he continues to be a dangerous presence off the bench, and a once per series starter, the torches that his growing group of supporters for an everyday position are waving may have gotten thrown into Mike Matheny’s office if he’d come through in that moment. Considering the amount of controversy on the who’s, when’s and where’s that are already in play, that would have been the last thing needed right now for him.

3. Beltran’s Back: While the offense as a whole continues to struggle to get on the same page at the same time, perhaps Carlos Beltran had his turning point versus a team that he has been particularly brutal on over his career. Beltran launched three home runs in the first three games of the series, raising his career totally vs. the Phils to 30, his most against any team in his career. For the weekend, he hit .437 (7 for 16), and has hit .375 over the past week.

Fourteen games in, the Royals are 8-6 and only a half a game out of first in the A.L. Central. Overall, the team is playing well, but so far they’ve given up 18 home runs, which is fourth in the A.L. and 6th in the Majors. Meanwhile, they’ve hit just five home runs, which is last in the A.L. and 29th in the Majors, just ahead of the woeful Miami Marlins with only three team home runs.

Of the 18 home runs given up, the starting rotation gave up 13, with Jeremy Guthrie (5 HR) and Ervin Santana (4 HR) being the top offenders. The bullpen gave up five homers, with Kelvin Herrera giving up three of them, all in one inning of Tuesday night’s game against the Atlanta Braves.

Of the 18 homers given up, 15 are solo shots, two are two-run homers and one is a three-run homer. In the games the Royals didn’t give up a home run, they’re 4-2. In games where they only gave up solo shots, they’re 3-2. In multi-run homer games, they’re 1-2. What’s interesting are the games where the opposing team hit multiple solo home runs in a game. In those games, the Royals are 2-1.

So why is the Royals pitching staff giving up so many home runs? For Guthrie, it appears he throws a bad pitch once in a while and hitters take advantage of it. So far, he’s 2-0 with a 3.20 ERA with 17 strikeouts and three walks, giving him a 5.67 SO/BB ratio.

Over his career, Santana has a tendency to give up homers and he’s keeping true to form. But he’s got a 2.45 ERA and he’s struck out 19 batters while walking five, giving him a 3.80 SO/BB ratio.

As for Kelvin Herrera’s three homers he gave up, the Royals think he tipped his pitches when he gave up his three home runs against Atlanta. Herrera is a fireball pitcher and they tend to give up home runs.

While the Royals are giving up a lot of home runs this season, how does it compare to last season? In the first 14 games of 2012, the Royals gave up 14 home runs, seven of which were solo shots, six were two-run homers and one was a three-run homer. When they didn’t give up any home runs, they went 2-5. When they only gave up solo homers in a game, they were 1-1. When they gave up a multi-run homer, they were 0-5. Meanwhile, the Royals hit 12 home runs, seven more than this year. But after 14 games, they were 3-11 and in the middle of their 12-game losing streak. Compared to this year, the 2012 Royals gave up more multi-run homers, their team ERA was 4.66, they struck out 105 batters and walked 51, which gave them a 2.06 SO/BB ratio.

The 2013 Royals team ERA is 3.30, which is third in the A.L and fifth in the Majors. They have 122 strikeouts, which is third in the A.L. and fourth in the Majors. The Royals gave up 33 walks, which is second best in the A.L. and fourth best in the Majors. This gives the Royals an impressive team 3.70 SO/BB ratio. Yes, the Royals pitching staff gives up home runs, but otherwise they’re pitching well.

But how long can the Royals pitching staff keep up their low ERA and SO/BB ratio? So far, the Royals are lucky, mainly giving up solo home runs. But they can’t run on luck all season. If they start walking more batters and throwing less strikeouts, more runners will get on base, which increases the chance of multi-run homers. Pitching coach Dave Eiland needs to work with the pitching staff and cut down on the home runs. Meanwhile, hitting coaches Jack Maloof and Andre David need to get the offense hitting more home runs. If this doesn’t happen, the 2013 season could end up being like the 2012 season.

2011 saw the Royals’ top hitting prospects take a step forward, while many of their pitching prospects took a step sideways, down or out.

Spring training saw a similar result, as many of the position players the Royals are banking on flourished, while pitching remained the big question mark.

As of Friday, the games count. But the results from spring training are worth some analysis as the Royals head north with high aspirations.

The Royals’ opening day starter, Bruce Chen, probably deserves a pass this spring. He’s been through this countless times, and he wasn’t pitching to win a spot in the rotation. He was doing what he needs to do to be ready for the season.

Courtesy of Minda Haas

That said, Chen was not good in Arizona. He surrendered 37 hits in 22 innings, including an alarming six homers. Opponents batted .378 against him, and his ERA was an unsightly 9.41.

Another lock to start, Luke Hochevar hopes to put his roller-coaster highs and lows behind him. He was very solid in spring, surrendering just a 2.84 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. Best of all, he allowed just one homer in 19 innings pitched.

The stud of the spring was undoubtedly Luis Mendoza. I predicted back in late February that Mendoza could provide the surprise boost the Royals pitching staff needs. The 28-year-old righty got credit for four wins in the spring. Opponents could barely scratch out a hit against him – 11 in 16 innings. His ERA was just 0.54 and his WHIP was 0.84.

If Mendoza was the stud of the spring, then Mike Montgomery was the dud. While KC had a list of about 8 guys who were seriously in contention for rotation slots, the door would certainly have been held open for the 22-year-old Montgomery. But Montgomery flubbed the opportunity and manager Ned Yost was noticeably disappointed in the big lefty. I wrote last week about why Montgomery might be headed in the wrong direction (link).

Not far behind Montgomery was second-year candidate Danny Duffy. The Royals stood by Duffy during his painful learning experience in year one. But this spring, he looked no less lost than in 2011. He struggled his way to an 8.31 ERA and a 1.92 WHIP.

Duffy was terrible, and his main competition, Felipe Paulino, was equally bad. Paulino will start the season rehabbing an injury, most likely in Omaha, and he’ll have to earn a return to KC after posting a 7.71 spring ERA.

Horrifyingly, Duffy and Paulino were not the worst pitchers in Surprise (aside from Chen). That honor goes to Jonathan Sanchez, who got bombed this spring after coming over from San Francisco, supposedly to give the Royals an “ace.”

Sanchez gave up 17 hits and 13 runs in just 11.1 innings. His 2.03 WHIP led all Royals with more than 10 innings pitched. He was even worse in the exhibition game in San Diego, where he allowed two home runs in just two innings.

Last year’s All Star rep Aaron Crow made the switch to the rotation, made one start, then switched back after Joakim Soria blew out his arm. Crow was solid, allowing opponents to bat just .238 in the split role. He looks comfortable back in the bullpen and will look to put to rest fears that he was a half-season wonder.

Crow’s fellow closers, Jonathan Broxton and Greg Holland were equally solid in Arizona. Likely bullpen mates Tim Collins, Louis Coleman were ok as well.

Two other pleasant revelations were relievers Kelvin Herrera and Jose Mijares. Herrera has been lights-out at every level, and he was no less dominant in Surprise. He struck out 15 hitters in 13 innings, and his ERA was just 1.38. He gave up just five walks and no homers. I expected him to start the season in Omaha, but the Royals found they just couldn’t leave him behind.

Mijares also will start the year in KC after posting a 0.82 ERA and 1.36 WHIP in Arizona. He struck out just six in 11 innings, but hopefully will continue to lock down left-handed hitters in the big leagues.

One guy KC appeared ready to give up on made a solid case for himself in Arizona – Sean O’Sullivan. The big righty allowed opponents to bat just .268 against him, and his WHIP was a an impressive 1.13. He’ll start the season in Omaha, but hopefully will prove a reliable insurance plan as both a starter and reliever if needed in KC.

The relievers performed about as well as expected in Arizona. Crow shifted to the pen when Soria was lost, and Herrera and Mijares should make the bullpen collection dynamite.

But the rotation candidates, other than Hochevar, performed worse than was imaginable. Were it not for the incredible work by Mendoza, the spring would be a complete failure for the starters.

Only time will tell if Mendoza is as good, and Sanchez is as bad, as the numbers from Surprise would say they are.

When Mike Moustakas banged a homer in just his second game as a big leaguer, hopes soared. And when he had a .385 average with four walks after four games, it looked like he was on his way to a great rookie season.

Mike Moustakas by Erika Lynn

But things went sour from that point on. By the time September rolled around, you had to wonder if Moustakas could hit big league pitching. He had not homered since his second game and had just 18 RBIs and an anemic .232 average.

But the big third baseman had struggled to adjust at every level, so the Royals stuck with him.

The show Moustakas put on in September is, the Royals hope, a preview of things to come. He batted .352 for the month and popped 4 homers, driving in 12 runs.

We all know what we WANT from Mike Moustakas. We WANT another George Brett. We want 30 homers and 100 RBIs and a .300 average every season.

But rather than talk about how it’s unfair to expect Moose to be George Brett, Royals fans might look around to see what other, mere mortals are doing at third base.

More specifically, Royals fans can ask “What are other teams in the division getting from their third basemen?”

The Royals sights should be set on becoming the best team in the division. They need some of the parts of their whole to become the best in the division. And believe it or not, Moustakas is not that far off from being the best third baseman in the division.

This season, the Tigers plan to play Miguel Cabrera at third. No one can expect Moose to be Cabrera at the plate, but Cabrera’s work at third remains to be seen. This experiment may not turn out as well as the Tigers hope.

The third basemen in the division consist of, basically, four youngsters trying to develop into solid big leaguers, and one of the best hitters of the last decade who isn’t really a natural third baseman.

For Chicago, 24-year-old Brent Morel has a couple of years of big league experience to build on, but hasn’t blossomed yet. In Cleveland, 23-year-old Lonnie Chisenhall hopes to take the position from last year’s starter, Jack Hannahan. And in Minnesota, the Twins look to 26-year-old Danny Valencia to provide the power they lack in their lineup.

It may not tell a lot to analyze last year’s numbers. But based on them, Moustakas wasn’t far from the others in the division, even with his struggles to adjust to the majors. If you average the numbers posted last season by Morel, Hannahan, Valencia and Brandon Inge of Detroit, you get numbers Moustakas could easily match.

The averages of Morel, Hannahan, Valencia and Inge, compared to Moustakas:

If Moustakas plays 123 games this season, there is no reason to think he can’t blow those numbers out of the water.

Interestingly, the guy being drummed out of a job – Hannahan – actually put up the best OBP, SLG, OPS and WAR: .331/.338/.719 and 2.2. The guy who played the most – Valencia – posted the lowest WAR (-1.1) even though he led the group with 15 homers and 72 RBIs.

The Royals find themselves in the same position as the Twins, White Sox and Indians. Each has a third baseman with minimal experience who they hope can make dramatic improvement.

Moustakas has started slowly this spring, but he won’t be moved out of the lineup by anything but injury this year. The Royals, like three other teams in the division, will wait patiently for their third-base prospect to develop.

Cabrera may post big offensive numbers this year, but the Royals hope Moustakas is the division’s best long-term.

The Zack Greinke trade of last December was aptly dubbed a “blockbuster,” meaning that several players changed hands in the transition. So to evaluate the trade requires more than just a one-to-one comparison.

Photo Courtesy of Minda Haas

One of the centerpieces of the trade for the Royals was Alcides Escobar. Their arsenal of top prospects lacked a hot shortstop, and fans lusted for a change from whipping boy Yuniesky Betancourt.

Betancourt was not a centerpiece of the trade. He was a throw-in. Or more accurately, he was a throw-out. The Royals wanted rid of Betancourt, and the Brewers were willing to swap shortstops to get Greinke.

But what if the Royals had had the opportunity to trade Betancourt for Escobar even up during last off-season?

Certainly they would have jumped at the chance. Escobar’s struggles in his debut season in Milwaukee hadn’t completely tarnished his top-10 prospect ranking. Betancourt, on the other hand, couldn’t even get credit for hitting three of the Royals’ four grand slams in 2010. No one liked him, and his chances of emerging from the doghouse in KC were nil.

Looking back now, however, would a trade of Betancourt for Escobar, even up, be such a good idea?

It didn’t always look like a good idea. Like when Betancourt hit .333 with a homer and 5 RBI’s in the National League Championships Series. It didn’t when he scored five runs against the D-Backs in the previous playoff series.

But it did when he muffed an easy ground ball that opened the floodgates against the Cardinals in game 5. And it did when balls that would seem playable by average shortstops eluded his reach repeatedly throughout the playoffs.

Such is life with Betancourt. But under close analysis, is Escobar any better?

Comparison of a few of their numbers would show there wasn’t much difference between the two during the 2011 campaign.

Escobar’s batting average during the first two months of the season would have embarrassed Mario Mendoza. But he heated up to finish with a .254 mark. Yuni, meanwhile, posted a .252 average. No difference there.

Escobar’s .290 OBP was just 10^th among AL shortstops – well below average. But Betancourt, who has a career .292 OBP, managed just .271 this year. Advantage Escobar.

Slugging is where Yuni has a decided advantage. Like him or not, you can’t debate that Yuni has developed some pop. His slugging percentage in 2011 was an acceptable .381. Not great but just .007 behind someone named Derek Jeter. And last year, he slugged .405. Escobar on the other hand? An anemic .343 last year. Advantage Betancourt.

After knocking 16 homers in 2010, Betancourt popped 13 more this season. After Ned Yost bragged about Escobar’s power in the spring, his shortstop managed just 4. Big advantage Betancourt.

But while Betancourt begins to look like the better player, we can’t forget to look at the total package. Escobar far outshines Betancourt in the eye test. Who can forget the lazy showing on fly balls? Or the strikeouts with runners on base? Or the lack of speed or range?

Those headache-inducing defensive statistics seemed to back up the perception that Escobar is the far superior fielder. He scored higher in fielding percentage and in putouts + assists per 9 innings. Yost boasted that Escobar’s “runs are in his glove,” meaning that he is taking away an inordinate number of runs from the opponent. His arm is certainly one of the best, and he seems to move much better than Betancourt.

And speaking of moving, Escobar can move on the base paths as well. He was third among AL shortstops with 26 stolen bases. Betancourt has just 30 steals in his 7-year career. Escobar also led AL shortstops with 8 triples. Betancourt has a decent number of triples in his career, but just five in the last two years combined.

So in addition to fielding, Escobar has a definite advantage in two areas – 1) speed and overall athleticism, and 2) age.

Escobar is just 24 and looks lithe and agile. Betancourt is 29 but looks like he’s 39.

Escobar’s stock appears to be trending up, while Betancourt’s is decidedly headed down. Escobar took off after his horrid start and improved drastically over the course of his second season in the bigs. Betancourt, on the other hand, seemed on the decline. I have little doubt that Betancourt will be replaced within the next couple of years and probably won’t even be in the big leagues when Escobar peaks.

Before the season, I wrote the following:

With the proper expectations, Escobar has a great chance of being one of the best in team history. If Escobar could hit .250 with 10 homers and 30-plus stolen bases in a season, he’d fall right in with the best offensive shortstops the Royals have ever had. If he plays excellent defense, it would be first time in a decade the team had that at short.

If he performs any better than that, he could go down as the greatest shortstop in Royals history.

(See the whole article about KC’s history of shortstops)

While he didn’t exactly blow anyone’s mind with his play last year, I’ll stand by that statement. I saw enough potential from June to September to believe Escobar is a significant upgrade over Betancourt. I believe he is Kansas City’s answer at short, and I believe he will be a fixture on great Royals teams for the next decade.

The same could never have been said about Yuni.

When this phrase is uttered you can bet someone is about to do something that might not end well. Watching the Royals can be like that. In fact I bet some of you didn’t know the Royals played baseball games after the All-Star Break. I personally have not seen one since 2006, but I hear that they happen. Usually by this time I have moved on to following teams that are playing or play-off spots. I hear about September Call Ups and other late season happenings with the Royals through regular media outlets. This year might be different for me. I have come up with a few reasons to watch.

photo by Minda Haas

The Trade Deadline: These few weeks leading up to July 31st are some of my favorite of the year. You never know what’s going to happen. Not just with the Royals, but with all teams in baseball. Dayton Moore has said in more than one interview that the Royals won’t be all that active. I personally do not believe anything a baseball executive tells the media, especially when it involves trades or negotiations. I could write an article about what I think might happen. But I find such articles as lame as NFL Mock Drafts. As in, I don’t read them, so I won’t write them. What I do know is the trade deadline can be like Christmas. It could also be like a kick in the jewels. Like learning Yuneski Betancourt is on your favorite team, and that your team gave up some pitching to get him. You don’t know what’s going to happen, and that’s why it’s fun. This will be my first Trade Deadline with Twitter. That should add to the entertainment.

Moore Prospects: When are Mike Montgomery, Lorenzo Cain and Johnny Giavotella getting called up? Moves at the trade deadline will have an impact on this. I’ll be upset if they just get a September cup of coffee.

Rookies: Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer, who as I was editing this article hit a game winning 2 run homer against the Twins, Alcides Escobar, and the young arms in the bullpen. How will they improve? Danny Duffy certainly has some things to work on. How will they adjust to playing more games than they’ve played their entire lives? How will they handle the losing? Will they make adjustments? Do you notice questions are constantly surrounding this team?

Kyle Davies: Just kidding. In fact, I plan to not watch, listen, or attend any Kyle Davies start. As long as he in this rotation you cannot tell me the front office is actually serious about contending.

The Schedule: No interleague play from here on out. That means the Royals will be playing the majority of their AL Central schedule in the second half. The Royals still have nine games left with the Indians. I single out the Indians because they are relatively the same age and development of the Royals. They destroyed the Royals earlier in the spring. The Royals really need to battle back against them, and at least give me hope that the division title doesn’t go through Cleveland in the next few years. The schedule also includes back to back series against the Yankees and Red Sox August 15th-21st. And just to make things more fun, 41 of the Royals final 71 games are on the road.

Finally, you should watch the Royals because it’s baseball. But be careful, you might hurt yourself.

[From an article on EM]

For anyone that’s never made the journey, five hours of driving past nearly 300 miles of corn, porn and fireworks isn’t exactly what would be referred to as a traditional vacation. But when you have old friends to meet and your favorite baseball team to see, the trek from Kansas City to St. Louis down I-70 is slightly easier to swallow.

I made it to my friends’ place on the outskirts of St. Louis in the afternoon. We hung out for a bit and went to eat at a pizza place in town, where I saw Lance Berkman‘s 24th homer of the year on TV. (Every TV in town has the game on). I got back to their house just in time to see Kyle Lohse give up a back-breaking four-run homer, only three of which were answered to by the Cardinals. 7-6 Diamondbacks.

* * * * *

The next afternoon, we passed the ballyard in all its shining glory. To a denizen of the city (most of them being clad in the red of the hometown 25), it’s there every day. But when you have only seen it in person twice, never in the daytime and at home only when the team is on nationally, it’s a sight to see. The crimson block letters that resemble those on the Budweiser Brewery pronounce the brick and black steel building’s designation: BUSCH STADIUM.

We were heading to Crown Candy, a little restaurant–I guess you’d call it–built into the corner of a run-down, abandoned block on the south side of the city whose presence was hidden from the eyes of the Arch by a number of skyscrapers. I guess plenty of other people shared my friends’ enthusiasm for the place since we waited nearly an hour to get through a 20-foot-long line in which everyone was compacted together like a trash cube waiting for one of the 20-something tables to open up. After hearing a brief reminiscence of an old man and his St. Louis Browns who didn’t recognize the name “Pujols” on the back of one of my friends’ jerseys, we finally sat down. The hot dog drenched in chili, cheese and onions is essential to the story as you can well imagine.

We exited the old, corroding neighborhood with its collapsed and graffitied houses, empty shops, collections of druggies and homeless men under an overpass literally feet away from the nicer stone, steel and glass buildings of the upper district. We breached into bustling downtown, where we strategically entered into a makeshift parking lot beyond the third base side without engaging any of the heavy traffic around the Stadium a bit short of two hours before first pitch. While we drove down Spruce Street, I looked up from the back seat at the bright red neon lettering symmetrically divided by the line in the middle of the road that read “St. Louis Cardinals” in the same font on the fronts of the teams’ uniforms.

We turned a corner and went straight in as we passed the notorious(ly ugly) Stan Musial statue. As I said, I had only been to the place twice, but never early enough to tour it. I took a walk to see the backdrop beyond where the mythological St. Louis Cardinals do battle 81 days out of the year and passed thousands of people dressed similarly to myself in their various Redbirds paraphernalia, the hundred or so vending stations and food stands and thousands of Little Leaguers and their parents coming off the field and filing up the zig-zagging ramp that enthralled me in my very first visit a few years ago.

My friend and I made our way back to our seats in the left-center bleachers, where we waited in 90-something-degree weather for the game to start.

Everything started according to plan when Albert Pujols gave us an early lead in the first. Then, it all fell apart in an instant. I was seeing my favorite pitcher, Chris Carpenter, start in person for only the second time. I picked a bad day. Only moments after the should-be All-Star singled in that first run, Carpenter loaded the bases and with two outs and gave up a hit to the freaking pitcher; which wouldn’t have been so bad had Colby Rasmus not charged the ball. But he did. And it got by him. 3-1, Arizona.

Chris Young blasted a double past Albert to increase the deficit one more run. Kelley Johnson doubled in the sixth to crush everyone’s spirits and make it 5-1. Figures this is the game I get to see in my tentatively annual visit to Busch. The bases-loaded double play in a two-run inning didn’t do much to lighten my spirits, either. Ryan Roberts drove in yet another D-Backs run on Jason Motte in the top of the seventh. 6-3.

I should have been having more fun since I was with my friends in one of my favorite places on this earth; but I wasn’t. How could I? A comeback seemed impossible at this point.

But, my guys gave me a hint of something to root for. Ryan Theriot hit a fly ball deep to center–right in front of me but still well over the grass. Young looked up and had his glove ready, but dropped the ball right after catching it. Theriot was out, but Jon Jay scored from third. There’s always a little hope, I thought.

I looked over at the scoreboard to see that the Pirates, who the Cards were unbelievably tied with before 6:15, had given the Cubs the go-ahead run. Next thing I know, I’m looking at the other end of the barrel on a Pujols game-tying bomb 50 feet away from me.

I saw the blue ball loop into the away bullpen. I don’t know why it was blue or why I didn’t hear the rest of the crowd when he hit it. But when it was airborne, I waited until it touched down. Then, I lost it. (My voice is still cracking a bit.) Me and everyone around me went hysterical as the baddest hitter on the planet just gave our team a back-from-the-dead, tie-game hit. 6-6, Cardinals. (Yes, we were in the lead.)

I didn’t have another coherent thought all night. It’s something special to see your favorite player do something like that. Who’s washed up now? But it wasn’t over yet. With these relievers, it’s never over.

But, Tony LaRussa pulled out all the stops. The team’s best relievers: Mitchell Boggs, Lance Lynn and Fernando Salas were all used to preserve the tie. But that meant that if the game went into extra innings, Tony would be flushed of his best relief men. The game had to end in the bottom of the ninth.

Lance Berkman led off with a hit, and Yadier wasn’t far behind with a walk. In comes the only bat left on the bench after Jay, Skip Schumaker and Nick Punto were used: Tony Cruz and his three RBI. (Notably absent was his Ke$ha walk-up song.) Well, it isn’t the end of the world if he gets out. My brother, a casual baseball fan, asked me “Who’s Tony Cruz?” He found out.

This time, I yelled before the ball hit the ground. Utility man Tony Cruz had just hit a walkoff double to right! The crowd, naturally, was even louder this time after their guys came out of a three-run ditch. Me and my friends couldn’t stop talking about what we had just seen. I high-fived the Cool Papa Bell statue outside before celebratory Imo’s was ordered. Man, I love baseball.

* * * * *

We said our early-morning goodbyes, said hi to my uncle after a conversation disparaging my boy Razz and left on the long trip for home. On the way, caught the day game and Iceman’s game-winning bomb on a TV at TGI Fridays in Columbia and three different radio stations. And now I’m back.

Postscript: Hit me up at my site

This story begins on May 1, 1954. A little over two weeks into the season, the National League was bunched up, with nobody making a strong early run. The New York Giants were in St. Louis for an early season double header. They were not prepared for what the Cardinals would unleash on them. Or, more specifically, a Cardinal.

May 1, 1954

The Cardinals would get out to a quick lead in the first game, helped by a Stan Musial solo home run in the third inning. The Giants would roar back, taking a 5-4 lead of their own on back to back home runs to start the fifth inning. The lead would not last long when Stan Musial answered with his second home run of the game – this time a 2 run shot. Later that inning, one of the best nicknames in baseball, Peanuts Lowrey, would pinch hit for Cardinals starter, Gerry Staley.

Stan the Giants Killer

Al Brazle would take over for Staley, but would also be unable to hold the lead. With the game tied at six, the outcome of the first game would be determined when Stan Musial steps up to the plate in the 8th inning with 2 on and nobody out. Musial hits a three run homer, to give the Cardinals a 9-6 lead. The Cardinals would tack on another run, but it was Musial’s blasts that made this game so special.

Stan would go a perfect 4-4 with a walk, three home runs and 6 RBIs.

Oh wait, there is still another game to be played.

That one would not be so kind to the Cardinals. Joe Presko and two relievers gave up 8 runs in the top of the 4th inning, and the Giants would win the game easily. The 9 Giants runs are not the story here, it is the 7 runs the Cardinals would put up.

Trailing 8-3 in the fifth inning, Red Schoendienst would lead off the inning with a triple. Stan Musial would follow that with a 2 run homer, his fourth on the day. His RBI total is now 8. He is not done. Leading off the seventh inning, Musial would hit his second home run of the day off Hoyt Wilhelm, establishing a new major league record of five home runs on the day.

Sitting somewhere in Sportsman’s Park that day was an 8 year old with a dream to play in the major leagues. That little slugger was Nate Colbert. Little did he, or anybody else in attendance know, 18 years later, Colbert would match one of those records and shatter the other.

Off to Houston via Rule 5

Nate Cobert

That youngster watching Stan Musial put his name in the record book grew up to be a big strong first baseman/outfielder. He would be drafted by his hometown team, the Cardinals, in 1964 where he would start his professional career playing in the Rookie League in Sarasota, alongside future MLBers Gaylen Pitts and Sal Campisi. Colbert would spend 1965 in Cedar Rapids where he would hit a respectable .274 with 7 doubles, 2 triples and 9 home runs.

Following Colbert’s solid season in A-ball, his career would take an unexpected turn when he was selected by the Houston Astros in the Rule 5 draft. The Rule 5 draft was first introduced in 1959 and was intended to replace parts of the “bonus baby” rules that came into play when a team signed a prospect to a large initial contract.

The Rule 5 draft takes place in December, and it allows teams to select a player from another team’s farm system that is not protected by being on the 40 man roster. The drafting team must pay the original team a fee, now at $50,000. There is a catch, and it comes from the “bonus baby” legacy: the drafting team must keep the player on the major league active roster for the entire following season. After that, the new team controls the player’s contract and can option them back to the minors. If the drafting team does not keep the player on the active 25 man roster, the player must be offered back to the original team for half of the Rule 5 fee.

As it so often happens, that just took place in St. Louis.

Brian Broderick

Last December, the Washington Nationals drafted right handed pitcher, Brian Broderick (11-2, 2.77 ERA, 2 complete games, 1 shutout) from Springfield(AA). After a few appearances out of their bullpen in 2011, the Nationals decided not to keep Broderick on their active roster. Since they could not option him to AAA, they had to offer him back to the Cardinals, and the team gladly paid the $25,000 to get him back.

The situation was much different in 1965 when Houston drafted Nate Colbert. Teams carried fewer pitchers, and as a result, they could hold on to an infrequently used bench player longer than teams do today. Add in that Houston was still in building mode after entering the National League in 1962 as an expansion team and you have all of the ingredients to a successful Rule 5 pickup.

The 20 year old Nate Colbert would join the Houston Astros for the 1966 season. As expected, he was used infrequently – mostly as a pinch runner. Following the 1966 season, he would be optioned to AA to play with the Amarillo Sonics, where he would light up the Texas League with a .289 batting average, 28 home runs, 67 RBIs and 26 stolen bases. That prompted a late season promotion to Oklahoma City (AAA) where he would spend most of 1968.

Drafted Again ?

After a short injury call-up in July 1968, and a longer look in September, the Houston Astros lost their Rule 5 draftee when the San Diego Padres selected Colbert in the 1969 Expansion Draft.

It was in San Diego that Colbert would experience his best years in major leagues. In those 6 years, he would hit .253 with 163 home runs and 481 RBIs. A bunch of those would come on August 1, 1972.

August 1, 1972

The 6th place Padres would face the 4th place Atlanta Braves for a double header to start the month of August. Although the Braves had managed to stay close to .500, neither team had any hopes of catching the Cincinnati Reds on their first of five NL West titles over the next 8 seasons. That didn’t mean that they couldn’t still play some meaningful baseball.

Nate Colbert

The first game of this doubleheader was a curious one. Clay Kirby of the Padres would pitch a gem, where Ron Schueler of the Braves didn’t even make it out of the third inning. The scoring would be one sided, and the runs would come in bunches. And always when Nate Colbert came up to bat.

With one out in the top of the first, back to back walks to Dave Roberts and Larry Stahl led to the first of Colbert’s blasts. This one was a three run homer, and it gave the Padres all the runs they would need to win this game. But Colbert was far from done.

Roberts and Stahl would get on base again to start the third inning. This time it was some small ball from the bat of Nate Colbert, as the slugging first baseman hits a single, scoring Roberts. That’s four RBIs.

Colbert would hit a solo home run off Mike McQueen in the seventh inning, giving him 2 on the day to go along with five RBIs.

All in all, a good day for Colbert. Then came Game Two.

Like the first one, game two was a total slugfest, and also pretty one-sided. A late inning rally by the Braves makes this game look a lot closer than it was. It was all Padres, and pretty much all Nate Colbert.

With the Padres leading 2-0, Colbert would come up to bat in the second inning with the bases loaded. Pat Jarvis, from Carlyle Illinois, would make a mistake to the the Padres cleanup hitter, and cleanup is exactly what Colbert did. A grand slam homer, his third on the day, and RBIs six, seven, eight and nine. That blast broke the game open for San Diego, but more importantly, those RBIs tied Stan Musial from 18 years ago.

After a ground out in the fifth inning, Colbert came up to bat with one man on in the seventh. He would hit his fourth home run on the day, extending his single day RBI total to 11.

With two men out in the ninth inning, Nate Colbert comes up to the plate with Larry Stahl on first base again. He takes Cecil Upshaw for another 2 run homer, his fifth on the day. That would tie Stan Musial’s record from 1954. It would also give him 13 RBIs in the doubleheader, establishing a major league record that still stands today.

There are still two more St. Louis tie-ins to this Nate Colbert story, but it will require looking ahead 21 years, to September 7, 1993.

September 7, 1993

The Cardinals would visit Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati for a late season showdown between two teams that were well out of contention. The small crowd that witnessed this Tuesday night doubleheader saw one of the most entertaining games of the season, if not the decade.

The first game was a wild one, with a capital W. The Cardinals would use 21 players and the Reds would counter with 20 of their own. 41 of the 50 eligible players would see action in this game, and surprisingly, it would finish in regulation. The Reds would win the game, 14-13, thanks to a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth on a Reggie Sanders triple that center fielder Mark Whitten misplayed. Perhaps driven by that poor defensive play, Mark Whitten would go on to have a legendary second game, but before we look at that one, there is one plate appearance in game one that needs some attention.

Mark Whitten

That at-bat would take place in the top of the 8th inning. Trailing 9-6, the Cardinals had roared back against Reds reliever, Scott Service. Rob Dibble had come into the game and gave up the tying run on a single by Gregg Jefferies. He would then walk the bases loaded, before turning the game over to Scott Ruskin. The first batter he would face is Mark Whitten. Ruskin walks Whitten, forcing in the go-ahead run. Even though Whitten would be hit-less in the game, that RBI would soon be very significant. Not to the outcome of the game, but to writer of the major league record books.

While Whitten went 0-4 in the first game, he would demolish the Reds in the second. Cincinnati starter, Larry Luebbers, would be Whitten’s first victim, and it would come in the first inning. With bases loaded and two out, Whitten hits a grand slam to give the Cardinals a 4-0 lead. As with Nate Colbert in 1972, that would be enough runs to win the game, but Whitten was only getting started.

In the third inning, Luebbers would do what no other Reds pitcher could do in game two, retire the Cardinals slugger. He would get Whitten to pop out to third base.

Mark Whitten would face Cincinnati reliever, Mark Anderson in both the sixth and seventh innings. Both times, Todd Zeile and Gerald Perry would be on base. And both times, Whitten would hit a home run. That would give Whitten three homers on the day, and 11 RBIs. With any luck, he would have one more chance to tie, or perhaps even break the single day record for RBIs.

That chance came in the ninth inning. With Gerald Perry on base, Whitten hit a Rob Dibble pitch deep into the dark Cincinnati sky. It cleared the outfield wall by inches, but by doing so, it game Whitten 13 RBIs on the day, tying the major league record, set by St. Louisan, Nate Colbert, back in 1972. The four home runs in a single game also tied a major league record, held by many players.

No Thanks to Gilkey

There is one more St. Louis aspect to this game, and it requires a second look at the seventh inning of Game Two to find it. It turns out that some exceptional hustle on the part of Bernard Gilkey, also a native of St. Louis, cost Mark Whitten the single day RBI record.

With two outs in the seventh, Bernard Gilkey starts the Cardinals rally with a single. Todd Zeile follows that with a single, but Zeile pulls the ball into left field so Gilkey could not advance to third base. It is the Gerald Perry infield single that alters baseball history. The play was very close at first base, and the Reds were not paying attention to Gilkey who they thought had only advanced to third on the play. When he rounded third base, he never stopped running, and scored when the Reds hesitated. Gilkey’s hustle was the right play, but it also cost Whitten a 14th RBI when moments later, he hit a second home run of Mark Anderson.

Nate Colbert and Stan Musial’s record of five home runs in a double header still stand today. Colbert and Mark Whitten’s 13 runs batted in for a double header also stands as a major league record. Whitten’s 12 RBIs in a single game also ties him for the major league record, shared with yet another Cardinal: Jim Bottomley on September 16, 1924.

I love it when the Cardinals are in first place. Absolutely, positively love it. Mostly because it means exactly what it is: The Cardinals are in first place. But, I also love it because it of what it infers: The cubs are NOT in first place, and trail the Cardinals in some capacity. I admit to being a homer, I even said to a friend earlier today that I “am not drunk on Cardinals Kool-Aid, but I do drink the stuff.”. Having said that, I want to look back at the general feeling in Cardinal nation at a couple of intervals, then look forward.

Feb 23rd: Cardinals fans (in general) figured they’d have a fight on their hands, but if things went just right for the redbirds, and just wrong for the Reds & Brewers (and cubs, depending on who you spoke with), the Cards could win the National League Central division. Then came the Wainwright news on the 24th. Hearts in Cardinal nation sank, hearts (and players) in Cincinnati sang, and lines in Vegas shifted. Suddenly, the Cards “had no shot”.

Chris Carpenter talks to Jake Westbrook while Kyle Lohse & Kyle McClellan look on

March 30th: Fast forward five weeks Opening Day. By & large, the general consensus for the pitching staff was: Carpenter (#1) would need to be the Cy Young contender that he’s been in recent years, and with Waino on hielo, the Cardinals could ill-afford to waste a single Carpenter start all year. Westbrook (#2) made sense to move to the second slot, more on that in a moment. He had a solid 2010 second half with the Cards, and with a little run support (4 runs) he very well could’ve been a perfect 8-0 in a Cardinals uniform-he pitched that well. The assumption was that his performance wouldn’t be that different, and having just signed him to a 2-year deal in the offseason, his importance is now huge, with Wainwright out. Garcia (#3) certainly had success as a rookie, but he probably takes more losses in the 2 hole, and to make him third is significantly better in terms of match-ups during the year, not to mention the starting rotation’s only southpaw fits comfortably sandwiched between two righties ahead of & behind him. Then there were two big questions at the back of the rotation. Where on the spectrum of 2003/2008 Kyle Lohse to the Lohse we’ve seen over the past few years, would the 2011 Kyle Lohse (#4) be pitching from? The answer would likely play a big role in the Cards success level this season. Finally, Kyle McClellan (#5) would emerge from spring training as a starter, for the first time in his major league career. Although he “stretches out and acts like a starter every spring training”, we’d yet to see how he would perform in the starting role. Being the 5th man takes a lot of pressure off, and quite frankly, it’s the only realistic slot for him. Speaking of “Frankly”, I think we all knew Ryan Franklin was going to be the closer, and most fans probably thought little of that, until thinking about late August. Other minor chatter surfaced here & there about the ‘pen, but nothing major.

May 11th: Six weeks into the season, and here’s my take on how much things have changed since Opening Day. Carp just notched his first win of the year, and it took him 8 starts to get it. Granted, that’s not entirely his fault (only one of those 8 was in Arizona, after all), and sure we’re looking at Ws & Ls…a somewhat faulty benchmark anyway (SABR Alert!). So much for making every Carp start count. Fortunately, we’re in May, so a lot of the “He’s on pace to…” talk is over, and we don’t have to listen to how he’s on pace for 4 wins this year. (Oops!) Westbrook? Other than the ERA near 7, triple the number of earned runs as Jamie Garcia, less than 40 IP in 8 starts, and a K/BB ratio of 1, he’s been mediocre. Garcia, 4-0 with a 4 K/BB, and sub-2 ERA, has been nothing short of outstanding thus far. Can’t say enough about the job this kid has done to this point-could be a legit #2 guy on a lot of clubs with what we’ve seen so far. #4 guy, Kyle Lohse is healthy, and looks very good! He’s rocking a 2.9 K/BB and 0.860 WHIP to go along with his 4-2 record. One of those losses was a 107-pitch outing where he went 8 strong, scattering 6 hits, giving up only one run. Unfortunately, this was during a 14-inning streak where the Cards were no-hit, and Lohse got no run support in that last outing. K-Mac has also seen the right mixture of lucky & good so far. At 5-0, his control has been less-than-ideal at times, but he’s gotten the job done, and has proven to be as reliable a 5th starter as the Cardinals could have hoped for.

Dave Duncan talks with Molina (left) and Jamie Garcia

On Tuesday, long time close Trevor Hoffman announced his retirement. Despite the fact “Hells Bells” collected his 600th save this year, it was probably one year too late.

Don’t get me wrong. As a Cardinal fan, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Trevor serve up meatball after meatball in 2010. For instance, I was at the April 11th game in Milwaukee when he gave up back to back homers to Pujols and Holliday allowing the Cardinals to come from behind and tie it up in ninth. It was a terrific turn of events. That is until the bottom of that frame when McClellan gave up a homer to end the game.

My favorite Hoffman/Cardinals memory was from August 2009 when he blew a save against Holliday. The game seemed all but over until Pujols was walked and Holliday followed up with a go ahead two run homer. It was fun and thrilling, for Cardinals fans that is.

But more often than not, Hoffman did his job. He was a precise pitcher and a fierce competitor. He’ll always be associated with greatness and should arguably be a HOF inductee one day. I wish him well on his retirement from Major League Baseball.

With a shut down closer like Hoffman, a team can more often than not shorten the length of a game. Meaning; all you have to do is get to the ninth inning with a lead. At that point you can count on your closer to shut down the game. This, in essence, only gives the opposition 8 innings of scoring opportunities. You don’t have to be a baseball expert to know what kind of an advantage that is.

Trevor Hoffman’s retirement leads me to ponder state of the closer position on the St. Louis Cardinals. It’s been a hot topic over the last few seasons. Ever since “Izzy” broke down in 2008, the position has been in question.

Sure, Ryan Franklin has taken a strong hold of the reins. But there are many, myself included, who do not feel comfortable with Franklin. There is always that sense that he is one game away from an epic meltdown that could spiral into season long meltdown. He’s never had a dominating fastball. He pitches to contact. That can be good if you are only giving up ground balls. But if you start elevating your pitches, disaster awaits.

His performance in 2009 was stellar. That year, Franklin had an ERA of 1.92 as batters hit a paltry .220 against him. He collected 38 saves that year. His first half was so dominant he was voted onto the NL All-Star roster.

Most of his earned runs were earned in the second half of the season. But that’s been the problem with Franklin, hasn’t it? He starts out the season strong but clearly gets winded by the end of the year. It’s concerning because heading into the playoffs your best from your closer.

In 2010, Franklin’s numbers went up. He posted a 3.46 ERA as batters hit .230 against him. He saves dropped from 38 to 27. He had some epic blow ups, too. Coors field comes to my mind but I won’t go there.

So going forward, who will be the closer of the Cardinals if Franklin can no longer get the job done? Traditional thinking says it should be Jason Motte. He certainly has the fastball for it. Jason can reach the upper nineties on a good night. And he has the “moxie” to be a closer. He yells, he shouts, he tries to intimidate. The issue with Motte has been control and a second pitch to compliment his fastball. His numbers definitely improved last year. He dropped his ERA from 4.76 in 2009 to 2.24 in 2010. If he can continue to develop a second pitch and get his control mastered, he could become a dominant closer.

There has been some discussion about Kyle McClellan becoming a closer. He did collect two saves last year. And, he has shown some brilliance coming out of the bullpen with a 2.27 ERA. But I tend to see him as a potential starter or a long reliever. I think using him for three outs at the end of the game would be wasting his talent.

Toward the end of the 2010 season there were a lot of people clamoring on internet message boards and chat rooms for Fernando Salas to take the closer role. He definitely had a promising rookie season. The righty pitched in 27 games with a 3.52 ERA. With more experience he could work his way up to the role of closer if Motte can not take a strong hold of the position.

Finding an heir to Franklin will have to take place soon. I am inclined to think one of the names mentioned above will be taking over before the Cardinals look outside of the organization. Money is tight and the talent is in St. Louis already.