I believe the Royals are a team on the way up. It’s hard to see that sometimes, especially with all the losing over the years, a disappointing 2012 season and the sometimes questionable moves of General Manager Dayton Moore. But the team is much better than it was just a couple of years ago and there’s plenty to be thankful for.

Except for second base and right field, the position players are in good shape: Yes, Eric Hosmer had a down year and Mike Moustakas cooled off after a good first half of the season. And Lorenzo Cain‘s injury-plagued season featured a just serviceable Jarrod Dyson in center field. But solid contributions by Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, Alcides Escobar and the limited playing time of Salvador Perez showed promise. If Hosmer, Moustakas and Johnny Giavotella improve, Cain stays healthy, Wil Myers takes Jeff Francoeur‘s place in right field, and the lineup hits for more power, the Royals will have a young, potent lineup. There’s still a lot of ifs, but there’s less ifs than just a few years ago.

The Royals have one of the better bullpens in the American League and they’re young: The Royals bullpen ERA in 2012 was 3.17, which was sixth overall in the Majors. They were second in the Majors with 535 strikeouts, just behind the Colorado Rockies with 589. They also pitched the second most innings at 561.1, just behind the league leading Rockies at 657.0 innings. Throwing that many innings showed the weakness of the starting rotation, but the fact the Royals bullpen pitched that many innings and still had a decent ERA and strikeouts shows they more than held their own.

And most of the bullpen is under 30. Joakim Soria, who’s been with the Royals for six seasons and a “grizzled” veteran, is only 28. bullpen standouts Kelvin Herrera and Tim Collins will be 23 next season. The oldest bullpen pitcher in 2012 was 32 year old Ramon Colon, but he only appeared in three games, pitching a total of eight innings. If the starting rotation were as good as the bullpen, the Royals would be a much better team.

The Royals are making the effort to improve the starting rotation: The starting rotation was bad, ranking 26th in the league with a 5.01 ERA and pitched a total of 890.0 innings, 28th in the league. The pitcher with the lowest ERA outside of Jeremy Guthrie was journeyman Luis Mendoza with a 4.23 ERA.

The team knew they had to improve the starting rotation this offseason, so they made a trade for Ervin Santana and just signed Guthrie to a three year, $25MM deal. Yes, both pitchers aren’t aces and the Royals know they need a front of the rotation starter. But Santana and Guthrie are dependable, league average pitchers who will provide innings, keep the team in more games and not overwork the bullpen. There’s little chance the Royals will sign Zack Greinke, but they might have a chance with Anibal Sanchez or Shaun Marcum. The team is also willing to trade prospects for a veteran starter. The question is what prospects are the Royals willing to give up, what pitchers they’re looking for and how much of a risk they’re willing to take. The starting rotation still needs work, but they’re already better than 2012′s rotation.

The Royals aren’t the Miami Marlins: Fans like to gripe about team owner David Glass, but at least he’s not Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria. How would you like to be a fan of a team who spent almost $634MM on a stadium, most of it publicly financed? Then sign free agents Heath Bell, Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, trade for Carlos Zambrano and Carlos Lee, which ballooned payroll to around $155MM, resulting in a 69-93 record, last in the National League East?

The Marlins traded away players Haney Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, Omar Infante, Randy Choate, Edward Mujica, Heath Bell, Reyes, Buehrle, Josh Johnson, Emilio Bonifacio and John Buck for a bunch of young, unproven players, dumping a total commitment of $220MM in salary and making the Marlins a N.L. version of the Houston Astros. And don’t forget the Marlins Park $2.5MM home run sculpture that looks like the result of a Hunter S. Thompson all-night bender. Hey, at least the Marlins have outfielders Giancarlo Stanton and prolific Twitterer Logan Morrison (well, they are willing to trade Morrison). Between the two teams, the Royals have a much brighter future than the Marlins.

Finally, I have the opportunity to write about the Royals for I70 Baseball: I’m having fun writing about the Royals, despite 2012 not living up to expectations. I’ve learned a lot more about the players and coaches on the Major League roster, Royals prospects, the game of baseball and statistics. I’m thankful Bill Ivie gives us Royals and Cardinals fans the chance to write about their teams and being able to share it with other fans is an honor. And I look forward to writing about the Royals during this offseason and 2013.

As I listened to Dayton Moore’s interview with Soren Petro of 810 WHB last week I found many things hard to stomach. For one thing Petro’s questioning was so timid that it started a #ToughQuestionsForDayton hashtag on twitter that sarcastically made fun of him. If we can’t askMoorethe hard questions at this point, when will we? Second, I hated hearingMooremove the goal line once again by suggesting that 2014 will be the year the Kansas City Royals start competing for the playoffs. I thinkDaytonthinks as long as he keeps saying we’re at least two years away there will never be any consequences. Unfortunately, as long as he continues to line David Glass’s pockets, he’s probably right.

As angry as that made me, nothing irked me as much as when the conversation turned to Wil Myers, and of course Jeff Francoeur. It became pretty clear at that point the Frenchy is going to be the starting right fielder for the Royals on Opening Day 2013 and there’s probably not anything Wil Myers can do about that. We should have long known that Myers has no control over his own destiny. After all, he’s hit 33 home runs in 106 games between AA and AAA this season andMoorestill acts as if he has much to prove. He’s not just shown power, but patience as well, walking more times already this season (51) than Frenchy’s career high for one season (42). Now, everyone already knows thatDaytonloves Frenchy, but my question today is, why?

Don’t get me wrong, I like Frenchy too. He’s such a nice guy, he has a cannon for an arm, and he’s apparently a great leader in the clubhouse. All wonderful qualities, but can that really be the reason? IsDaytonthis attached to someone he drafted a little over ten years ago? Did he fall for his tools and remains too blinded by that love to see the facts? If so I’d like to lay them out for him:

-         Frenchy has had two seasons in his eight year career in which he played more than 70 games and had an OPS+ of 100 or better. For a right fielder, that is disgusting.

-         This great leader has made two postseason appearances ( .171 average/268 slugging %) and his arrival inAtlantacoincided almost exactly with the demise of the Braves dynasty.

-         His incredible arm has been far outweighed this season by the fact that he’s developed Jose Guillen range in right field.

-         He is currently having his worst season as a pro, his incredible -2.8 WAR may not even do justice to how terrible he’s been.

-         If the Royals are really two years away from beginning to compete in the worst division in baseball, they have no reason to let Jeff Francoeur stand in the way of their best offensive prospect.

I’m just beating a dead horse now, and we’re stuck with this dead horse for at least another year. Don’t worry though Royals fans, he won’t stand in the way of winning. We are now, and will always be, two years away from competing.

I know, I know, this is a baseball site dedicated to the Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals.

Every now and then, however, we read something that transcends.  It sheds light on athletes, athletics, faith and even life.

Garrett Weber-Gale is a world class athlete and was a favorite to head to London as part of the 2012 U.S. Olympic team.  His dream fell short.  It is not an easy thing to handle as an athlete, as you will soon see.

I cannot due the mood, emotions or situation justice myself.  Below are Garrett’s own words, taken from his site with his permission, and shared here with our readers.

Thanks to Garrett for sharing his thoughts with our audience, and God bless you, young man…your journey is just beginning:

Olympic Trials Recap

A week away from the US Olympic Trials and I’m still blown away by the result. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought I would miss qualifying for the 2012 Olympic Games. Throughout the course of my career I have always been extremely consistent in my training, and dedication, to excellence in the sport of swimming. Going into the 2012 Olympic Trials I believed I would be in the running to win the 100 freestyle and be in the top three or so of the 50. As I write this, my mind still tries to figure out the meaning of the situation, to grasp the fact that I am sitting home while my former USA teammates are preparing for the Olympic Games. It feels like I’ve been stung by a huge bug, this hurts.

My career has always been about hard work. I’ve never thought I was the most talented swimmer. I’m certainly not the biggest, nor the strongest. My success has been a direct result of my absolute determination to do as many things right as I can, to put myself in position to be successful. Whether I’m refining my nutrition, stretching, getting to the weight room early, watching video of my stroke, working tirelessly on my start, going to bed every night at 9pm, or being a freak for keeping my shoulders healthy with physical therapy, I’ve done everything I would have ever known to do to promote fast swimming.

Last summer at the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai I went 48.19 in a time trial of the 100 freestyle. At the same meet I anchored the prelim of the 400 medley relay with a time of 47.3, which was the second fastest relay split in the world. When I got back to Austin in the fall of 2011, my coach Eddie Reese and I decided the way for me to go faster was for me to get stronger. I’ve always battled getting stronger and this was the area I needed to finally overcome. From September, straight through March of 2012, I literally killed myself, four days per week, in the weight room. I was getting stronger, and believed my goal of once again going 47 in the 100 freestyle was approaching.

On top of swimming super fast in 2011, I made a crucial realization in my life. I learned that for me to be successful, and swim fast, I need to be happy. Looking back at my best swimming, I’ve always been really happy, and positive about life. Inevitably there were times when I wasn’t happy, and my swimming definitely paid the price. Going into the summer of 2012 I knew my happiness was going to be a key to my success. Luckily for me, I was as happy as I could ever remember being in my entire life. The pieces of my happy puzzle were in place; my sister lives nearby and we hang out a lot, I have a phenomenal girlfriend, my body was healthy, I was getting tons of great sleep, my nutrition was and still is the best it’s ever been, I was on great terms with both of my coaches, and all the hard work I’d put in in the weight room had paid off because I was stronger than I’d ever been. Being happy and positive I had on lock down.

Unfortunately what I failed to understand is that with all my added work in the weight room, I would need even more rest, before my big meet, to recover from all that work. Swimming at the University of Texas I have always been a huge taper swimmer. I swim fastest at the end of the year when I have plenty of time to let my body and mind rest from the rigors of training. In the past, I generally would begin resting and compete about every month or so to judge my training as we approached the big taper meet. In 2008, for instance, I gradually got faster each meet I swam, right up to the 2008 Olympic Trials. As I swam faster, I was able to fine tune my skills, adjust my training appropriately, and gain confidence along the way.

This year I was so broken down from all the training that as I approached the 2012 Olympic Trials I was barely getting faster at all in my meets. Even though I was doing everything right to swim fast, I had worked myself into such a deep hole that I couldn’t climb out of it. I hate to say it, but I over-trained. Essentially, all the hard work is pointless if you don’t give yourself the time to recover from it. Your body needs time to heal and rebuild.

The finals of the 100 freestyle at the 2012 US Olympic Trials arrived. I warmed up and was super excited to race. I definitely had some nerves, but felt pretty good in warmup, and was ready to race. The summer before, when I went 48.1 in the 100 freestyle, I went out in 23.0 at the first 50, and came home in 25.1 the second 50. In the semi-finals of the 100 freestyle at the Trials I went out in 23.4 and went 48.9. I knew I needed to be out a bit faster, in the finals, to be in the race and give myself a chance to swim really fast. The gun went off and I was going for it. In no race do you go completely all out right from the get go. I built into the race and went out it 23.1. Off the turn I could tell I was in the race and needed to have a great second 50 to finish in the running. I began building the effort on my legs and worked to maintain the same tempo of my arms. With about 20 meters to go I started to seriously hurt. I have always prided myself as being one of the toughest racers, and not ever giving into the pain. I pushed and fought as hard as I could, and at the end it felt like my arms were full of lead. As I approached the finish I could barely move. After touching the wall I had an idea of the result before even looking at the scoreboard. Never in my life had I died that hard in a race. My mind knew that I would be lucky to get in the top six after hurting that bad the last 25 of the race. I went out in 23.1 and came home in 26.1 on the second 50. I finished in eighth place and missed making the Olympic team. Ouch is an understatement.

I went to the side of the pool and slowly got out. My body was battered and my mind deflated. For years and years I had worked tirelessly towards my Olympic dream. I felt like a failure. The only thing that kept me from crying was the fact that I was in complete and utter disbelief and shock. How did this happen, I thought.

Not only was I saddened and disappointed, but I was embarrassed. I believed I was one of the best sprinters in the world, and I couldn’t even get in the top six in the USA. Not to mention, USA Today had just featured me in their sports section about how much my diet makes a difference in my training and performance. I felt like a fraud, that everything I had worked so hard to do with my nutrition, in the pool, and with my food business, AthleticFoodie, was discredited.

Since I was a young boy, after every meet, I would always get together with my family and have dinner. The Olympic Trials was no different. After the 100 freestyle final I went back to the hotel and my parents had dinner waiting for me in their room. I ate with them and we talked about the result. I really didn’t even know what to say. Just like always, my parents were there with the utmost love and support. They were disappointed for me. Their positivity and love never wavered. All they’ve ever wanted was for me to be happy.

The next day I swam in the semi-finals of the 50 freestyle but barely missed qualifying for the finals. This just wasn’t my meet.

My poor result at the Trials was not because I didn’t work hard. Not because I didn’t do everything I knew how to do in order to swim fast. I was happy. I was excited. The problem was that I just didn’t get nearly enough rest to recover from the brutal training we did throughout the year. I should have toned down my weight lifting regimen much sooner. My lack of success at the Trials does not discredit my attention to detail in my diet nor my AthleticFoodie concept. The truth is that my refined diet, and the belief that healthy and nutritious foods can and do make a huge difference in performance holds true. By eating healthy and fueling for success I was able to get stronger than ever. The only thing stopping me was my lack of rest –not sleep, but time to continue working at an easier pace while my body healed itself. My diet paved the way for me to gain strength I never before had. Unfortunately I just couldn’t do anything about the fact that I didn’t have enough time to rebuild my muscles and nervous system before the big races.

I am sad. This experience definitely stings. Yes, I have felt embarrassed, and like a failure. However, as I get further and further away from the Trials I gain greater perspective and realize that this is the farthest from the truth. I followed my dream, and I pursued it with the utmost tenacity, care, focus, and resilience that I knew how. Along the way I have tried to be the best person I know how to be, and make as many positive differences in as many people’s lives as I could possibly touch. Swimming has never, and will never define me as a person. I still have an unbelievable life with family and friends who I love and love me back, a girlfriend who is an absolute angel, and many goals I am excited to now begin working to achieve. AthleticFoodie is at the top of my priority list now. It’s time for me to help as many people as I possibly can to become healthier and feel the dramatic difference nutritious foods can play on the quality of their lives.

As Roger Federer said yesterday in reference to Andy Murray’s defeat at Wimbledon, “It’s not the end of the world, it’s the start of something big.” This is not the end of Garrett Weber-Gale, this is just the beginning of a new stage in my life that promises to bring exciting and meaningful opportunities.

I want to sincerely thank each and every one of you who have followed and supported me throughout the years. I would never have been able to accomplish anything great without your continuous love and support. I have absolutely loved swimming the past couple years and have truly enjoyed the ride. There’s no question that I did not reach my potential this summer, and that leaves me wanting to get back after it! What I know for sure is that I’m going to continue living the dream as I always have. I will follow my passions, and continue to work to do everything at the absolute highest level. The opportunities for the future are endless!

This fall I have several speaking engagements already lined up, and will be kicking off an AthleticFoodie tour of swim clinics and events. (After all, I do have two Olympic gold medals and was a key part of one of the most famous relays ever!!!) Working with kids, and helping people be healthier is a huge passion of mine. One way or another I will be in a pool.

If you would like to bring an AthleticFoodie clinic or event to your team or city please email or call us from our AthleticFoodie contact page. Thanks y’all and I hope to see you soon!

After the free agent signing of relief pitcher Jose Mijares in the off-season, many fans of the Kansas City Royals thought that the young arm of lefty Tim Collins may be in trouble.

Mijares brought in for his left-handed specialty which was the job of Collins in 2011, may be able to light a fire under Collins and make him step his game up.  Collins may have taken the signing a little more personal than that thought.  After a season where he had struck out many and almost walked just as many, Collins knew that he would have to bring more substance to the table to be a part of a bullpen that has the potential to be the best in the Major Leagues.  And improve his resume he has.  In just under a year Collins has gone from the guy who will only face left handed hitters to a guy that can punch guys out with any of his three pitches.

In 2011, Collins seemed to struggle with the free passes giving up 48 walks in only 67 innings, while striking out 60 hitters in that stretch.  Yes, the strikeouts are tremendous but the walks were definately a red flag for general manager Dayton Moore and the Royals organization going into the off-season.  So, in turn they went out and got another lefty specialist in Mijares for many reasons.  If things did not pan out with Collins they could just simply give Mijares that job but that is not what ended up happening. At least not in the way that they thought it might happen. Mijares does now have the role of left handed specialist but it is because Collins has hit his stride and not only thrives against lefties but now is dominant against righties too.  This accomplishes many things for Ned Yost and his bullpen.  Yost can now save more of the pitchers in his bullpen because he does not have two left handed pitchers that can only throw to lefties but now has Collins who in the beginning portion of the season has just mowed hitters down.

Facing 96 hitters this season, Collins has struck out 38, which leads the league among relief pitchers, walked 7, and is giving up a .188 battin average.  The misleading thing about the batting average is the fact that his overall batting average against is lower than what he is giving up against left handed batters.  So maybe Collins is not just a lefty specialist like he was last season.  He, along with his fastball, change-up, and killer curveball, has turned into an arm in the bullpen that can be called upon in any situation with any batter coming up.  Hitters just seem to have trouble seeing the ball out of his hand with the whip action that he throws with and the high leg kick that hides everything in his approach to the plate.

The thing that impresses most about Collins is the way that he carries himself out of the mound.  And like the wonderdog, Rex Hudler, says body language is a big key to the game.  Now, no matter what the program at the team store says Collins is just over five and a half feet tall.  Now for a gu to be that small and have such a commanding presence on the mound is what makes him the pitcher that he has now become.

His de facto nickname since he stepped onto the outfield at Kauffman Stadium in 2011, has been “Tiny Tim.” The problem that I have with that nickname now i the fact that he is pitching liek something else out on the moudnd.  Over the past month and a half “Tiny Tim” has turned into King Kong out on the bump.

“The Process”, as Kansas City Royals General Manager Dayton Moore has often referred to the Royals’ journey from cellar dweller to perennial contender, is dependent on many things happening, and many players producing. One of those players is First Baseman, Eric Hosmer. If the Royals are to make any waves in 2012 and beyond, it is critical that Hosmer build off of his strong 2011 rookie campaign.

Hosmer, who will be only 22 years old for the entire 2012 season, is likely the most hyped player to wear the Royals uniform since Bo Jackson, who was patrolling center-field for the Royals in the year Hosmer was born. He is represented by “super-agent” Scott Boras, who has made it clear that he will not be advising his client to commit to any sort of long-term deal with the Royals prior to hitting free-agency in 2018. So assuming Hosmer does not make up his mind on his own to remain a Royal for his career, the Royals will have him for 7 more seasons. And they need to get maximum production out of him during that time.

In Spring Training 2011, Hosmer tore the cover off of the ball and probably warranted making the opening day roster. However, the Royals had committed to giving Kila Kilahaue a shot at holding down the First Base job. So, while Hosmer went down to Omaha and continued to rake, Kila could not hit a lick. After just over a month of the way through the 2011 season, the Royals decided that Hosmer had forced their hand, and they had to bring him up. He immediately became the everyday First Baseman and finished 3rd in the Rookie of the Year voting, putting up the following numbers;

Games: 128
At-Bats: 523
Avg : .293
HR : 19
RBI : 78
SB : 11
SLG : .465
OBP : .333

You might look at those numbers and say “yeah, they look pretty good, but they don’t jump off the page”. Then you have to remember, he was only 21 YEARS OLD!! He is literally still learning the game. According to baseball-reference.com, there is one player that most compares to Hosmer at the age of 21. His name is Eddie Murray, and he is in the Hall of Fame. Does that mean I think Hosmer will be a hall of famer? It is entirely too soon to tell. But it is very clear that the sky is the limit for Hosmer.

It is entirely possible that Hosmer could progress as a hitter this season, have an all-star caliber year, and the Royals still stink because other things went wrong. But it is nearly impossible to envision a scenario where Hosmer regresses in 2012 and the Royals have a winning season. It is for that reason, that he is as important of a player as any for the Royals in 2012.

Not many Major League baseball players have to opportunity to sign a long term contract after playing only 51 games above the AA level.  That is exactly what Kansas City Royals catcher, Salvador Perez, got the chance to do this past week and he took it and ran with it.  The financial security for him and his family played a big part in this deal obviously but it also gave the Royals the chance to lock up a potential all star with an back end heavy contract that will allow the Royals to do many things.

First, it allows them to reward a player that they believe to be able to develop into an all star.  With the talents that he has shown at every level in which he has played many are comparing his abilities to a young Yadier Molina. Molina as a young catcher, like Perez, was sought after for his stellar defense but was not a highly touted hitting prospect.  Over time he has proven that his development at the Major League level paid off for the St. Louis Cardinals. If Perez pans out like the Royals think he will, this non high risk contract could end up being one of the biggest steals in franchise history.  Just after Perez sign his contract with the Royals, Molina signed his own 5 year deal worth, reportedly, up to 75 million dollars.  If Perez if able to live up to his potential then the two contracts could be a good comparison in the years to come and show the Royals how much money, say 68 million dollars, they saved by signing an all star leader like Perez early. Signing such a incentive latent contract means that Perez has to perform.  If he does not work out in the long run than they only spent seven million dollars. This gives the Royals the security both financially and on the field because they can use this as motivation not only for Perez but for other young players on the ball club.

What this kind of a contract does to the psyche of the young players on the Royals roster is as positive as it gets.  While Perez has not played as much as a Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, or Lorenzo Cain, the signing shows that if these young guys step up to the plate do what they are ask and perform, the Royals are ready and willing to reward them for the actions. Though, the deals for these players may not be as club friendly as the Perez deal but if the three previously mentioned players are performing to a high enough standard that they require big money to play then that means this team could be winning some ball games and a lot of them. These are the types of things that if the Royals prove that they are willing to lock players up with long term contracts, the young players will not only want to play in Kansas City but that they will need to play in Kansas City. As evident by the tweet of one pitcher Danny Duffy stated, #burymeaRoyal which took Royals fans, following Duffy on twitter, by storm. Could this be the sign that these young guys not only want to win but that they want to do it in Royal blue? This is a question that can be answered over the next 5 years on the field and in the size of the Glass family checkbook.

The final accomplishment are the fans.  The fans are the ones who get to enjoy the play on the field.  They are the reason that sports are possible because without fans the money would not be there.  So, for Royals fans, a deal like Perez’s could be the sign that they may want to go all in on the Royals regime.  But not so fast my friends, this is just one deal and yes it is a good sign for the future but this is a signing of a 21 year old from a small town in Venezuela who would have loved nothing more than to be able to take care of he and his family.  His new contract does that and will provide him with a great life after baseball. But, Scott Boras may have something else to say when his clients start hitting the negotiation table with the Royals.  He is what I call a bleeder.  Although his client may be happy with the team and happy with the contract that has been offered, he is going to bleed every last penny out of an organization until they are seeing the bright light and then he will sign. So as fans yes encouraged is a good thought to have right now with the way things have started in early Spring but will the Royals put their money where their mouth is when the time comes and goodness how much money that will have to be.

Before we get going, I have a confession to make. Prior to last night’s game, I was planning on writing about the need for Albert Pujols to step it up offensively and have a big impact on this series. I was getting ready to tell you he hadn’t hit a homerun since September 22^nd, how he’d only driven in 3 runs since then, and that the drought needed to end. I was even going to go as far as to suggest he could no longer work over playoff-quality pitching at the clip he once could.

The prosecution would obviously like to strike all that from the record.

Monday night in Game 2 of the NLCS, Albert put on a display for the ages. How’s this for stepping it up offensively?

First Inning: Home Run, 2 RBIs

Third Inning: Double, 2 RBIs

Fifth Inning: Double, 1 RBI (the aggressive base-running led to him scoring on a wild pitch)

Seventh Inning: Double, Run scored

Eighth Inning: Groundout to 2^nd, Milwaukee crowd gives home team a mock-ovation for finally getting Albert out. Resident pest, Milwaukee centerfielder Nyjer Morgan, sure didn’t waste much time backpedaling on his “Alberta” comment, saying after last night’s game:

“He’s special. I’ve never said anything about how (Pujols) plays. It was just talking smack. He’s still that special player, one of the best and greatest hitters around. You tip your hat to a guy who does his work like that.”

It was as if Morgan just then realized that it’s probably not such a great idea to poke the sleeping bear… especially a bear who nearly has as many career home runs (445) as Morgan has hits (467). Both Pujols and Morgan are 31 years old.

But it doesn’t take Morgan’s comments to cement the fact that it was an absolutely dominant performance, and awaiting in Game 3 is a pitcher in Yovani Gallardo that Pujols tagged for 2 home runs in a game just last month.

The Pujols v Gallardo matchup is just one of the many things the Cardinals have going for them as the NLCS returns to St. Louis for the first time since 2006.

Carpenter Pitching Twice: Splitting the first two games in Milwaukee was huge for the Cardinals, especially considering how much Milwaukee has struggled on the road this season (more on that in a minute). But the big boost comes in the form of Chris Carpenter, who after putting on one of the best lock-down pitching performances last Friday, is now set to take the mound in 2 of the remaining 5 games in the series (if necessary). Even though he’s going up against Brewers ace, Yovani Gallardo, in both games, you still have to feel good about the Cardinals’ chances of winning those games. Carpenter shutout Milwaukee on 4 hits in September, and went 8 innings allowing just 2 runs in a Cardinals win in mid-August (one of just 2 losses handed to the Brewers over a 21 game stretch at the time).

Braun’s Bat Neutralized: Milwaukee outfielder, Ryan Braun, is one heck of a hitter. With all due respect to Prince Fielder, Braun is probably the most frightening postseason hitter the Cardinals have seen since Carlos Beltran’s in the 2004 NLCS. Every time he comes up, it feels like he’s going to stroke a double into the gap… at least in Miller Park, that is. For whatever reason, Braun has been a much better hitter at home this postseason, as have most of the Brewers (though admittedly, it’s a small sample size). But that has also been the case over much of the regular season, so we’ll have to see how it all plays out here during these next 3 games in St. Louis.

Road Woes: The Brewers went 39-42 on the road this season, not a terrible record considering how bad of a start they got off to, but here’s what is bad: Including the playoffs, Milwaukee is now 10-21 against teams who made the playoffs this season. Considering Carpenter’s dominance the past 2 times the Brewers came to Busch, and Jaime Garcia’s near-miss at no-hitting them at Busch earlier this year, Milwaukee might need to win Game 4 if they plan on bringing this series back home for a possible Game 6 and 7.

Starting Edge: There’s really no reason to believe that the Brewers will have the upper hand for the rest of the games in the NLCS from a starting pitching standpoint. We’ve already been over what Carpenter and Garcia have done to the Brewers (Game 3, 5, and 7 starters), we’ve already touched on Pujols’ success against Yovani Gallardo, who the Cardinals beat twice in one week early last month (he’s slated for Games 3 and 7). In game 6, you have a rematch of Game 2… and we all know how well that worked out for St. Louis. That leaves only game 4 where the matchup might be even… but Kyle Lohse has been hot the past month and a half for the Cardinals, and Randy Wolf, the Brewers’ #4 starter, just got bombed by the Diamondbacks in the NLDS.

With that said, I leave you this fair warning: The Cardinals and Brewers are not simply tied at one game apiece… they’re tied 10-10. In 20 games this year, the teams have split them evenly. So despite home field advantage, the Brewers’ road woes, and the Cardinals’ apparent pitching edge… don’t expect the Cardinals to wrap this series up at Busch and coast into the World Series. What you can expect, more than likely, is another heart-stopping, nerve-wracking, intense as all get-out Game 7 at Miller Park.

On a recent broadcast, Royals TV announcer Ryan Lefebvre remarked that no one is complaining about shortstop Alcides Escobar’s feeble bat thanks to his spectacular defense so far this year. His defense has rightfully been universally lauded. Escobar looks like a gold glover, seemingly making a jaw-dropping play every game. After the horror show that shortstop defense has been in KC for the last decade, Royals fans are giddy to finally have a terrific play-maker at short. It does make it easy to overlook how pitiful Escobar has been with the stick. The glove is so good that Escobar’s bat could be merely bad and Royals fans would be thrilled. But unfortunately, Escobar has not been just bad with the bat. He has been an abomination. And it is getting to the point where it can no longer be ignored.

photo by Minda Haas

Escobar had 690 plate appearances with the Brewers between 2008-10, and put up a line of .250/.298/.335 (72 OPS+) in that time. Nothing to get excited about, but those numbers look Ruthian compared to his start this year: .221/.245/.253 (42 OPS+). There might need to be two Escobars playing shortstop to prevent enough runs on D to make up for the out-machine he has been at the plate.

Comparing Escobar to his light-hitting AL shortstop brethren does not make him look any better. Of the 15 qualifying AL shortstops to date, Escobar is far and away the worst hitter. Escobar is last in BB%, OBP, wOBA, wRC+, WPA, WPA/LI, and RE24:

2011 AL shortstops through April 27

Win probability added (WPA) is not a great measure of a hitter’s talent since it is dependent on many things out of his control, but it is significant that Escobar’s lack of hitting hurt his team’s chances of winning more than any other player in 2010. And now he has jumped out to have the worst WPA in the majors so far in 2011. Combine 2010 with early 2011, and things get really ugly:

Using WPA divided by leverage index (WPA/LI) to strip away some of the chance/luck factor, Escobar still looks like the last player you want batting for your team (adding 2010 and early 2011 again):

How about the worst hitters from the start of 2010 through the present day by weighted runs created plus:

Make no mistake about it – Escobar has been the single worst hitter in baseball since 2010. I am pretty sure no level of defense could make up for that. The good news is that surely he is not this bad. His minor league line over six years was .293/.333/.377. The updated ZiPS projection sees him improving to the tune of .253/.294/.328 by season’s end. I think the Royals could be happy with even that modest production. I love the glove and arm as much as anyone, and am certainly not suggesting Escobar should not be the everyday shortstop for the rest of the year. The Royals have to give Escobar every chance to become an acceptably bad hitter. But as the season wears on, it is getting harder and harder to overlook just how damaging Escobar’s bat has been to the offense.

You can listen to Aaron Stilley discuss this article and more as a guest on the Broken Bat Single podcast, and follow him on Twitter: @KC_Baseball.

Of all the Cardinals starters, perhaps none is more important than Yadier Molina.

Molina does so many things well on defense. He understands Dave Duncan’s philosophy and his staff’s strengths/weaknesses. His arm is lethal – he has thrown out 49% of would-be base stealers in his career. Last season runners faced a coin flip when trying to steal; they had a 50/50 shot of making it (51.4% success, 48.6% failure). It goes almost without saying he was ranked the #1 defensive catcher in baseball for 2010. Any contribution he makes at the plate is icing on the cake, and his numbers had improved steadily 2010.

He is a 3-time Gold Glove and 2-time All-Star. He is the defensive rock of this team.

Molina was the 113th pick of the 2000 draft, taken as a seventeen year-old from Maestro Ladislao Martinez HS in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico. He spent one year each in Rookie, A, AA, and AAA ball. His offensive numbers were never great – his best ‘year’ was 37 games at AAA Memphis, where he posted a .302/.387/.372 line – but he was a stud on defense. Molina threw out 45% of all runners who dared to steal while in the minors. The Cardinals deemed him ready and promoted him, at the ripe old age of 21, to the majors, after Mike Matheny went on the DL with a strained muscle in his side.

He started his first game on June 3 against Pittsburgh, singling and doubling in 4 trips to the plate. His hot start didn’t last, as he hit .229/.349/.297 over the next 11 games. Still, the Cardinals decided to keep him on the roster when Matheny returned and sent Cody McKay down. Molina appeared in 4 games during the 2004 post-season, getting 1 hit in 7 PA. He was involved in a memorable (at least to me) verbal ‘discussion’ with Manny Ramirez during Game 4 of the World Series, after it appeared Ramirez was tipping pitch location while standing on second base earlier in the game.

Matheny left for San Francisco following the 2004 season, making Molina the starting catcher. He did split time that season with Einar Diaz and Mike Mahoney, appearing in only 114 games, but he got 421 PA, and caught every inning of the Cardinals 2005 playoff run. He caught 126 games in 2006, but his bat continued to slumber, and even regress, until another memorable moment – this time, his Game 7 ninth inning HR propelling the Cardinals into the World Series.

After that his regular season hitting statistics started to climb, and he posted OPS’ of 85, 95, and 100 in each of the next 3 seasons. 2010 was the first year since 2006 that his hitting regressed, and he finished with an OPS of 84. He still caught 136 games before being shut down due to a variety of nagging injuries.

St Louis has seen fit to keep a veteran catcher on the roster as Molina’s backup, usually an average defender with no bat at all. Because of this, and the fact those men have been an average of 34.8 years old, Molina has caught a ton of innings early in his career. Molina’s defensive ability and offense are well-known quantities. The Cardinals desperately need to keep him on the field, but they also need to conserve him so he does not break down late in the year again like he did in 2010.

This year the Cardinals have Gerald Laird in camp, who is at least younger than the previous backups (he’ll be 32 in November). Laird brings recent experience as a starting catcher, having caught 135 games with Detroit in 2009. The fans seemed impressed with his work, as he was ranked #11 among catchers entering the 2010 season. Laird had a terrible year at the plate last season and was eventually replaced by Alex Avila. If he can recapture some of his former ability he represents a significant upgrade from recent backup catchers.

So for the Cardinals, it’s not so much a question of what the team needs from Molina, it’s more a question of what the team can do to keep Molina in the lineup all season. The main thing they can do to assist will be to give him more than the occasional day off, and get him out of games that are no longer in doubt. Molina is the key to their success in 2011. He has to stay healthy all season.

This Cardinal club went into the All Star break a second place ball club. While many things were going right for the team going into the break, many questions were raised about their efforts until that point in the season. Just before they took that three day sabbatical from playing games as a team, they were able to salvage a win against a team in Houston that is on the verge of complete rebuild. That victory, though not an easy one, gave the Cardinals yet another series victory against a team that you would expect to win two-of-three games from.

That was before the break. The Cardinals came roaring out of the gate after the All Star Game and the Dodgers fell hapless victims to a team on a roll. Chris Carpenter pitched like the ace fans have come to expect, Adam Wainwright continued his sheer dominance at home, Jaime Garcia was not as dominant but efficient nonetheless and Jeff Suppan put together his best game of the year. The offense started to click, the team showed it could come from behind, and along the way they completed a four game sweep of a team that dominated them in last year’s playoffs. It seems the Cardinals have turned a corner.

If that corner has indeed been turned, they will be tested this week in a four game series with the Philadelphia Phillies. A team that is expected to be a major player in October again this year, the Phillies are a team much like the Dodgers that will test the level of dedication of the Cardinal ball club in a time period that begins to set aside the contenders from the also-rans.

Game 1 – Monday, July 19 – 6:05 P.M. CST
Kyle Kendrick (5-3, 4.44 ERA) vs. Blake Hawksworth (3-5, 4.73 ERA)
It seems to me that these are the games that are waiting to blow up in the Cardinals’ faces. While Blake Hawksworth is a serviceable arm that can be run out there to the mound every five days to buy some time until the injury bug has subsided. That being said, the longer the injury bug is getting drawn out, the more apparent it is becoming that the team is trotting a relief pitcher to the mound once every five days. Something will have to be done.

Kyle Kendrick has owned the Cardinals in his young career. With a 4-0 record and a minuscule 1.67 ERA over 27 innings, he certainly has held the Cardinals to very little production against him. Looking at current Cardinal hitters facing him produces a small sample size, but at the same time reveals that he may be a pitcher that Skip Schumaker is happy to see. Skippy is hitting .556 in 9 at bats against Kendrick with a solo home run to brag about. If Skip is happy to see Kendrick, Felipe Lopez is not. Flip is only hitting .182 against the Phillie right-hander with a single run batted in.

The Cardinals’ Blake Hawksworth has only pitched 4.2 innings against the Phillies, though they were not with the best results. Blake has a loss and a 7.71 ERA to show for his work against the Eastern Division juggernaut. The one thing Blake may have going for him is that the Phillies simply have not seen him, with a collected total of eight at bats against the Cardinal starter.

Game 2 – Tuesday, July 20 – 7:15 P.M. CST
To be determined(0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Chris Carpenter (10-3, 3.16 ERA)
Chris Carpenter has been this team’s ace for quite a few years now. Seeing him take a line drive off of his pitching side forearm caused the entire fan base to gasp. Watching his next two outings, complete with what appeared to be a “flat” curveball, had speculation of an injury running rampant. When Chris took the mound against the Dodgers this past week, he put rumors and speculation to rest and the Cardinals found their staff ace once again.

Carp has not pitched at his peak when facing this ballclub, posting a 3-2 record and a 6.59 ERA over his career against them. He will face challenges against the duo of Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard, as they both hold a .333 lifetime average against the Cardinal ace.

Game 3 – Wednesday, July 21 – 7:15 P.M. CST
To be determined(0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Jaime Garcia (8-4, 2.27 ERA)
Jaime Garcia has shown what just about every rookie shows around this time of the season, it is quite the long season, indeed. Jaime has pitched well, but not as well as his early success suggested. No no expected the youngster to continue on his torrid pace, though many fans made those wishes that he would and placed them under their pillows late at night. Jaime has still produced a season much better than expected when he won the job out of Spring Training and continues to dazzle teams and fight through tough starts, showing signs of a future ace in the making himself. Jaime struggled his last time out and did not make it through four innings and will look to regain some footing here against a team, much like any other, that he has limited experience against.

Game 4 – Thursday, July 22 – 1:15 P.M. CST
At press time, neither team has publicly announced a starter
At this time, no pitching matchup for either team has been officially announced, though the Cardinals will expect to hand the ball to Adam Wainwright in this game.

There are many unnamed pitching assignments for this series at this time….check back with i70baseball.com as we update this article late Monday afternoon with more complete information from the ball clubs.