The St. Louis Cardinals finished second in the National League in hitting last season, but they also had plenty of stretches when the lineup didn’t score more than two runs, even when the pitching staff threw a great game.
And that trend has already continued into 2013.
The San Francisco Giants scored just one unearned run Friday off of Cardinals starter Jake Westbrook, who threw a very solid 6.2 innings and pitched well enough to earn a win, but the Cardinals couldn’t score any runs off of Giants starter Barry Zitoand lost the game 1-0.
Yes, Zito is the same lefthanded pitcher who shut the Cardinals down in Game Five of the 2012 National League Championship Series, but the Cardinals have already shown signs of a team that will go through weeks when it struggles mightily to score a run, while other weeks it hits homers at an incredible rate.
In just the first four games of the season, the Cardinals scored 15 of their 17 runs in two games. They were held to two runs by Arizona Diamondbacks starter Ian Kennedy in the season opener, and then Zito and the Giants shut them out Friday.
This pattern is certain to cause frustration among fans who see starts such as Westbrook’s Friday outing wasted because the offense can’t score.
It’s also not a prototypical pattern of success. In fact, it was one of the biggest reasons the Giants beat the Cardinals in seven games in last year’s NLCS. No pitching staff is going to be able to carry an offense that scores one run in the final three games of that series.
The Cardinals actually scored 52 runs combined in their seven playoff wins last season, but they scored just five runs in their six losses.
And that one day hot, one day not syndrome carried into 2013. The Cardinals even showed inconsistency at the plate during the month of spring training games. They scored seven or more runs in nine of their 16 wins and scored three or fewer runs in 12 of their 15 losses.
Those numbers show the offense might be the most important factor for the Cardinals this season. Sure, the pitching staff has to pitch quality games more often than not, but the numbers say the Cardinals win-loss record is primarily defined by how well the offense hits.
When the Cardinals hit the ball well, they win. When they don’t, they lose.
That’s a pretty simple formula, but it’s also a scary one since the Cardinals have injury-prone hitters such as Carlos Beltran, Allen Craig and David Freese as important pieces of their lineup.
Beltran is playing through a fractured toe and has had trouble moving in the first week, Craig nearly injured his knee again by sliding into a wall in Arizona and Freese started the season on the disabled list with a back injury.
Those issues have surely played a part in the offense’s early struggles, and none of those figure to be major problems for the Cardinals throughout the season. Freese’s return by, hopefully, Monday’s home opener against the Cincinnati Reds will help, but the entire offense is going to have to be more consistent throughout the course of the season.
That means they’ll likely have to score more runs by playing small ball and moving a runner along the bases without getting a hit. Craig and Matt Holliday did a great job of manufacturing a run in the fourth inning of Tuesday’s 6-1 win over the Diamondbacks, which also happened to be the Cardinals only win of the season heading into play Saturday.
Centerfielder Jon Jay led off the inning with a double, Holliday then grounded out to second base to advance Jay to third and Craig followed with another groundout to score Jay.
The big homeruns and innings filled with bunches of runs might be fun to watch, just as a roller-coaster is fun to ride, but the steady, consistent innings that produce a run or two every day will more likely determine the Cardinals final record.
One of the men most responsible for the St. Louis Cardinals’ 2011 World Series championship is currently locked in a battle with the team to be paid more like the star he is becoming, but this isn’t the type of battle that should raise serious concerns.
David Freese is one of the most talented young position players the Cardinals have, and he has plenty of potential to grow into another St. Louis baseball superstar. So far, the team has gotten an incredible bargain with Freese, who has made just $1.7 million total in his four-year career and is currently the 16th highest-paid player on the team.
It’s time for Freese to start earning more money. In his four years with the club, Freese has hit .296 and his power numbers have increased exponentially each year. He finished with career highs in hits, homeruns, doubles, runs scored and RBIs in 2012. And don’t forget he has a career .345 postseason batting average and was the MVP of the 2011 National League Championship Series and World Series.
He could fairly easily make a case that he deserves more than the $3.75 million he is asking for this offseason. The Cardinals have countered with a $2.4-million offer. The case will go to arbitration sometime between Monday and Feb. 20 if the two sides can’t strike a deal.
Now, while all of this sounds as though Freese and the Cardinals can’t see eye-to-eye on his worth, this is more of just a typical baseball business deal. Nobody will have their feelings hurt too no matter how the case finally plays out. The Cardinals have already finalized similar deals with relievers Jason Motte, Mitchell Boggs, Edward Mujica and Marc Rzepczynski.
Even if the case goes to arbitration and the Cardinals win, Freese will be in line for a big-money contract within the next three years. He won’t be a free agent until 2016. By that point the Cardinals will know whether Freese is going to be a franchise cornerstone at third base or if he will succumb to his substantial injury history that has kept him from playing 100 or more games in all but one season.
However, the Cardinals would still be smart to lock Freese up with a long-term deal as soon as possible because player salaries will only continue to rise throughout Major League Baseball.
The Cardinals made a smart decision early in Albert Pujols’ career to sign him to a 10-year, $110-million contract in 2001, and that deal was considered a bargain by the time it expired at the end of the 2011 season. Pujols’ next contract was worth more than twice that amount when he signed a 10-year, $240-million deal last year with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Freese and the Cardinals would both be in better positions if they could work out a long-term deal sometime soon, but right now the organization has other pressing matters. Namely, Adam Wainwright’s contract.
Wainwright is scheduled to be a free agent at the end of the season, and his asking price will likely be astronomical if the Cardinals can’t sign him to a contract before he hits the open market.
The Cardinals did sign catcher Yadier Molina to a five-year, $75-million contract last offseason, so they will have a strong core group of position players for the next few years.
And that’s what makes Freese’s contract situation a tad bit irrelevant. The difference of little more than $1 million this year shouldn’t have much of an effect on future negotiations.
Freese will get paid what he is due at some point. How soon the Cardinals will be willing to make that commitment is what will be the most interesting part of this situation.
The St. Louis Cardinals went into the offseason with a very short shopping list. Solidify the bullpen, which they accomplished with the signing of Randy Choate, and upgrade the middle infield.
The rumors have flown and the team has been attached to just about any shortstop that was even rumored to be available. While rumors and pundits wondered what direction they would go, they have quietly stood their ground. Whether that is by choice or by force, the team has not been able to pull the trigger and the options have gotten slim.
The most active rumor was concerning Cleveland’s Asdrubal Cabrera. Now that Cleveland has completed a deal that sent Shin Soo Choo to Cincinnati, most expect them to keep the soon-to-be free agent for the time being. Cabrera offered a large upgrade offensively as well as an above average glove. Possibly the player that would have made the most impact for the team, Cabrera seems to be off the market and out of the question.
While very few rumors surfaced surrounding the young Dodger shortstop Dee Gordon, it seemed like a logical fit when the West Coast Yankees expressed interest in utility man Skip Schumaker. Alas, the Cardinals got a shortstop in return, but it was in the form of former fifth round draft pick Jake Lemmerman. The move provided St. Louis with a much needed addition in depth at the minor league level, but leaves them contemplating what to do at the major league level still.
Further rumors connected the Redbirds to the player that proved to be a thorn in their side in this year’s National League Championship Series, Marco Scutaro. Scutaro had the unique ability to provide an upgrade at either short or second base and could have added some veteran leadership to a club that continues to get even younger. Scutaro proved that his loyalty was to the team that brought him his first championship and signed on the dotted line to remain in San Francisco.
Possibly the largest rumor of them all had the Cards looking to bring Texas shortstop Elvis Andrus to the Gateway City. Andrus represented an increase in offensive productivity, he would be a step back on the defensive front. Texas has the youth to make such a move, but as the winter has gone on, they have seemed like they do not have faith that they are ready to make that move as of yet. News breaking of Josh Hamilton‘s new contract in Anaheim will have Texas looking to hold on to the offensive weapons they have. They are in the market for pitching, which the Cardinals have an abundance of, but the price may be too steep overall.
The final hope may be a player they have expressed interest in already this offseason, Stephen Drew. Drew has drawn interest from multiple places. Most experts expect him to land back in Oakland but no movement has been made to that direction as of yet. Drew would be a risk investment as the Cardinals would hope that his offensive production could return to levels previously shown in his early career. He also poses a bit of a health risk which may not be that much better than what they currently have. There has been talk of Drew being willing to play second base, which makes him a bit more attractive in the long run.
The club has stood by the fact that it would wait to hear how current shortstop Rafael Furcal‘s injury was progressing before they would pursue any other options. What few reports have surfaced concerning Furcal have been positive.
If, in fact, this team wants to upgrade in the middle infield, it may be time to do it or miss out.
As the San Francisco Giants showed in their run to the 2012 World Series title, a good pitching staff is possibly the biggest factor in winning a championship. The St. Louis Cardinals have good, young pitchers, but they could also use an upgrade at shortstop.
To make that improvement, the team will likely have to give up some of its stock of young pitching talent no matter what type of trade it pursues, but especially if it wants an established shortstop such as Cleveland Indians’ Asdrubal Cabrera or the Texas Rangers’ Elvis Andrus.
There aren’t many free agent options at the middle infield positions this year. The Giants will likely resign National League Championship Series MVP Marco Scutaro, and the next best options are Placido Polanco or Adam Kennedy, neither of which would be very attractive signings.
That means if the Cardinals really want a solid option at shortstop for 2013 and beyond, they’ll have to look toward the trade market. Cabrera is probably the more likely choice. The Rangers don’t have nearly as many needs as the Indians, and the Cardinals’ young talent is likely much more appealing to the Indians.
However, the Indians could command a high price for Cabrera.
Cardinals minor-league first baseman Matt Adams is a likely trade chip because Allen Craig will remain at first base for the big club for the foreseeable future. Losing Adams would not be a huge deal, but the Indians are sure to want some pitchers, as well, considering their 4.78 team earned-run average last year was worst in the American League and only the Colorado Rockies had a worse ERA in all of baseball.
So who should the Cardinals be willing to give up? People have mentioned Lance Lynn as a possible trade chip. His 18 wins in 2012 make him attractive to other teams, and the Cardinals saw a few areas that still need to be polished if Lynn is going to be a consistent starting pitcher. He certainly pitched well for much of 2012, but he also had the league’s highest runs support and melted down in the playoffs.
One pitcher and Adams also likely won’t be enough to pry Cabrera from the Indians, but the question of who to trade gets even more difficult behind Lynn. Joe Kelly pitched great after he was called up to fill in for Jaime Garcia in June, and he has potential to be a key piece of the Cardinals pitching staff for many years, as would Lynn.
Garcia’s shoulder troubles will keep him off the trading block, and the Cardinals would be absolutely foolish to part with Trevor Rosenthal after he posted a 2.78 ERA and 25 strikeouts in his 22.2 innings pitched while consistently throwing 100 mph or higher.
Shelby Miller is another young pitcher who would be attractive to a team such as the Indians, but the Cardinals have also ranked him as their top pitching prospect for several years now and may not want to lose him now that he has made it to the big leagues.
The Cardinals also have pitching prospects such as Carlos Martinez who they have implicitly deemed untouchable in a trade.
In any case, the Cardinals will have to give up good players who will likely become long-time productive major league players, if not stars in the future. However, a shortstop such as Cabrera combined with up-and-coming second baseman Kolten Wong could finally end the carousel of middle infielders the Cardinals have had for about two decades.
But as the Giants showed by winning two of the last three championships, pitching is the most valuable part of a baseball team.
The St. Louis Cardinals made several changes to their coaching staff this week before free agency gets started. That’s not huge news, but it might be more than the team changes to its player roster during the offseason.
Hitting coach Mark McGwire said Friday he will take the same position with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cardinals also announced earlier in the week that bullpen coach Dyar Miller had not been offered a contract to stay with the team.
The team will replace Miller with Blaise Ilsley, who had been the pitching coach for the AAA-affiliate Memphis Redbirds, and it is expected to promote John Mabry next week from assistant hitting coach to McGwire’s old position as hitting coach, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The team will likely fill the assistant hitting coach position with someone already in the organization.
But don’t expect a similar amount of changes to the Cardinals roster during the offseason.
The Cardinals offered a $13.3-million qualifying offer Friday to starting pitcher Kyle Lohse, but it would be shocking to see Lohse accept that offer or remain with the team heading into 2013. Lohse’s value is very high right now given his 16-3 record in 2012 and a weak free agent class.
But other than Lohse, the Cardinals will likely trot out a team very similar to the 2012 squad. Lance Berkman won’t return, but every other position player on the team’s regular postseason lineup is under contract for next year.
Following the Cardinals disappointing seven-game loss to the San Francisco Giants in the National League Championship Series, many people have trumpeted the need for improvements at the shortstop and second-base positions.
However, those yearnings for new faces up the middle might be misguided.
Assuming his elbow is healthy heading into Spring Training, Rafeal Furcal should be back for the start of the 2013 season. Regardless if people think he is the best possible solution, he is an accomplished veteran who can handle the position. That takes care of shortstop, and Pete Kozma can be Furcal’s back up.
Many also seem to think Kozma was a one-hit wonder down the stretch last season, which he very well might be, but he certainly played well enough while in the big leagues to earn serious consideration as the team’s back-up shortstop.
That is also a much cheaper scenario than signing a mid-level free agent such as Stephen Drew or Alex Gonzalez.
Second base is a tad more tricky. Skip Schumaker did not play well in the second half of the season, but he is still under contract for next season and has proven in the past that he can be an everyday starter. Daniel Descalso is the best fielder on the team besides Yadier Molina, but his surge at the plate in the postseason will have to become his norm for him to hold the second-base job for an entire season.
The Cardinals also have highly touted prospect Kolten Wong, who will have a shot to play second base for the Cardinals, perhaps as soon as 2013. Even if he needs more time in the minor leagues, he figures to be the team’s long-term plan at that position.
Maybe a veteran could fill the spot until Wong is ready, but this year’s free agent class at second base includes players such as Placido Polanco, Marco Scutaro and Adam Kennedy. The Cardinals have already had Polanco and Kennedy earlier in their careers, and both are surely in the final steps of their careers.
Scutaro might be an option. He played great for the Giants this year, hitting .362 in 61 games after he was traded mid-season from the Colorado Rockies, but he is a career .276 hitter. That’s not bad, but Schumaker is a career .288 hitter and does a fine job defensively.
All of that means the team that sneaked into the playoffs, made a miracle comeback to win the division series in the playoffs and missed the World Series by one game will likely be the same team that takes the field on Opening Day 2013.
Changes are always interesting and exciting, but St. Louis fans probably won’t have many of those feelings this winter.
The current team, with supposedly full seasons from Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter and a large group of talented, young pitchers, already has the pieces to create expectations that it should at minimum be in strong playoff contention at the end of the season.
The St. Louis Cardinals entered Game 5 of the National League Championship Series on Friday up three games to one on the San Francisco Giants, just one win from securing a spot in the World Series. All they had to do was beat Giants starter Barry Zito, who hasn’t had an earned-run average under 4.03 in six years.
That sounds doable enough. The Cardinals scored eight runs the night before against 2008 and 2009 Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum. Instead, Zito, who did win a Cy Young award with the Oakland A’s in 2002, shut the Cardinals down for eight innings, and the Giants won 5-0.
That means instead of a free weekend to rest and prepare for Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday at home against the Detroit Tigers, the Cardinals had to trek back out to San Francisco. Additionally, they will face Ryan Vogelsong and Matt Cain in games 6 and 7, against whom the Cardinals have scored a combined four runs in their first starts of the series.
The Cardinals could have wrapped up the NL pennant Friday, but no, that wouldn’t have let them win in their typical pull-your-hair-out, blood-vessel-bursting excitement and drama. This is the 2012 Cardinals, who are an extension of the 2011 Cardinals. They do things the hard way.
The Cardinals could’ve wrapped up the second wild card spot by beating the Cincinnati Reds in the second-to-last game of the season, but they didn’t. They lost 3-1 and had to rely on the Giants to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers later that night to clinch the NL Central.
They also could’ve knocked out the Washington Nationals in Game 4 of the Division Series but lost 2-1 on a walk-off homerun by Jayson Werth. That led into a 6-0 deficit in Game 5 that required a miracle comeback just to make the National League Championship Series.
The Cardinals could have saved lots of stress and heartburn for their fans had they won Game 5 Friday night, but that’s not how the Cardinals operate. They seek out the most tense moments possible and still prevail. Sometimes it feels like the Cardinals are in on a big prank where they know they will win, but they want to make that victory as dramatic as possible.
That now might have to be how they win the NLCS. Vogelsong and Cain are very good pitchers, and the Giants will have both games at home. Of course, the Cardinals will counter with Chris Carpenter and Kyle Lohse on the mound, but gosh it would’ve been nice to wrap up the series at home with a little bit of a cushion.
The one benefit of all of the close, back-against-the-wall victories is that they are certainly fun to celebrate. Thankfully, the Cardinals have won every one of those games in the last two years, but that possibility of a loss looms over those games larger than a Directv blimp.
But with Friday’s loss, they once again opened the door on the possibility that Game 5 might have been the last game in Busch Stadium this year.
The Cardinals knew going into the series the Giants wouldn’t be easy to eliminate. San Francisco has a very good team that pitches well and can generate runs without having to hit the ball out of the park. That’s going to make the remainder of the NLCS fun to watch for baseball fans, especially fun for the winning team’s fans and heartbreaking for the losing team.
The Cardinals have once again let a postseason series head toward the brink of an elimination, win-or-go-home game that will be seared into the memories of Cardinals fans forever.
Drop by our friends at Pitchers Hit Eighth, C70 At The Bat, and Aaron Miles’ Fastball to vote in the Musial, Smith, and Gibson Regions of the tournament. The turn out to this point has been outstanding and we move forward today with the opening of the second round of the tournament. I-70 is the home of the Buck Region, and the bracket now looks like this:
Which brings us to your participation.
Voting for this round closes Wednesday night at 8 p.m. Central Time.
It’s time to get the Buck Bracket down to four teams and we need your vote in the following four games:
The top seed in the bracket, the 1942 Cardinals, posted a shut-out in their opening match-up. It is important to note that this is the most successful team in Cardinal history. With 106 wins (most in franchise history) and a decisive 4 games to 1 victory over the mighty Yankees. The 1942 team was the beginning of one of the few dynasties in Cardinals history, which would see the team play in four of five World Series and bring home three titles. A young rookie named Stan Musial had joined the team and pitcher Mort Cooper would bring home a Most Valuable Player Award for his performance.
The 1957 Cardinals were the loan “upset” in our opening round in the Buck Region, knocking off the 1947 team placed just ahead of them in the seeding. The team that year would finish in second place, watching the Milwaukee Braves represent the National League in the World Series. A winning record of 87-67 would not be enough for an offensive heavy edition of the Birds-on-the-bat as Stan Musial would once again lead the team in production.
Round 2 Game 1
(1) 1942 (92%, 11 Votes)
(9) 1957 (8%, 1 Votes)
Total Voters: 12
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The fifth seed in our bracket, the 2005 Cardinals, breezed into the next round, and rightfully so. A great team at a low-seed, the 2005 edition produced 100 wins before losing in heart-breaking fashion to the Houston Astros in the National League Championship Series. That series produced memorable moments for many Cardinal fans despite ending prior to reaching the pinnacle of the game. The team was so dominant that they would bring home a Cy Young Award for Chris Carpenter and a Most Valuable Player Award for Albert Pujols.
Our number four seed, however, is part of the dynasty that we discussed with our number one seed in the tournament. If the 1942 Cardinals started the dynasty, the 1943 Cardinals were the only stumbling block. They won 105 games, second most in franchise history and Stan Musial would bring home the Most Valuable Player Award. They were dominant from wire to wire, until they reached the World Series. The only team in the 1940′s run to not win a World Series, the team was very successful otherwise. The match-up of two great teams that couldn’t win the World Series promises to be one of the best in this bracket.
Round 2 Game 2
(5) 2005 (58%, 7 Votes)
(4) 1943 (42%, 5 Votes)
Total Voters: 12
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The dynasty of the 1940′s continues with our fourth seed, the 1944 Cardinals. Matching their previous year, the team would win 105 games and, this time, would not disappoint in the Fall Classic. The second World Championship of the decade would find it’s way home to St. Louis as Stan Musial continued to become a household name. The World Series would never leave St. Louis that year as the Cardinals would defeat the Browns four games to two.
The 2009 Cardinals were expected to be a force when they reached the playoffs after winning 91 games during the season. Unfortunately, when they arrived at the National League Division Series, the team seemed over matched and out of place. The Los Angeles Dodgers sent them home quickly and brought a disappointing end to another strong season under Tony LaRussa.
Round 2 Game 3
(3) 1944 (83%, 10 Votes)
(6) 2009 (17%, 2 Votes)
Total Voters: 12
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Our final game pits our number seven seed, 1935, against the number two seed. The 1935 group is yet another promising team that did not play in the World Series. With 96 wins, the team fell four games back of the league winner that year, the hated Chicago Cubs. This team would see Dizzy Dean finish second for the Most Valuable Player Award, three spots in front of teammate Joe Medwick.
Our namesake here at i70baseball, the 1985 Cardinals, may be the emotional pick and one of the best, non-championship teams in our bracket. A team built on speed, defense, and fundamentals, the 85 crew was lead by Willie McGee and his .353 batting average and two hurlers that would finish in the top five of the Cy Young voting – Joaquin Andujar (4) and John Tudor (2).
Round 2 Game 4
(2) 1985 (100%, 12 Votes)
(7) 1935 (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 12
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There you go, run and vote and share with all your friends. Visit the other sties above to cast your votes in their brackets and help us decide who the greatest Cardinal team of all time is.
A bit of a teaser from Nick at Pitchers Hit Eighth today: Also, stay tuned to the United Cardinal Bloggers website later today for a fun contest you can participate in along with the Tourney!
Since the St. Louis Cardinals won their 11th World Series title in October, the team lost the city’s most beloved star and brought in a former Cardinals killer.
The Cardinals signed Carlos Beltran to a two-year, $26-million contract Dec. 22 to fill in some of the offensive production lost when Albert Pujols left to sign with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
If somebody had said in 2004 or 2006 that less than seven years later St. Louis baseball fans would have more positive things to say about Beltran than Pujols, that person may have been sent to the nut house.
Beltran put together two of the best postseason performances in history when he played for the Houston Astros in 2004 and the New York Mets in 2006. Each year he terrorized the Cardinals in the National League Championship Series. He had a combined .357 batting average with seven homeruns and nine RBIs in those 14 games.
Just the mention of Beltran’s name back in those days was enough to raise a Cardinals fan’s blood pressure. Now he will make their hearts race for a different reason.
All of a sudden Beltran could be the new hero in St. Louis while Pujols is the enemy.
This type of move certainly isn’t unprecedented. The Cardinals signed Lance Berkman last offseason, and he quickly became a fan favorite in St. Louis. However, these moves continue to prove that loyalty is a tough sell in the current baseball world.
While signing Beltran, who began his career in 1998 as a Royal, might go a long way toward keeping the Cardinals in the hunt for yet another World Series title, it’s unfortunate the current financial system in Major League Baseball forces teams to reload regardless of how successful the team plays the previous year.
Part of what made being a Cardinals fan so much fun during the last decade is the fact that there was always the star player that usually created memorable moments whether the team was in the playoff hunt or not. The attachment fans build toward their favorite players is part of what makes the game so fun.
But, that attachment is harder to build in today’s sports world because of the economics of the game. It is much harder now to put together favorite players and non-favorite players because they could eventually end up on nearly all of the 30 teams at some point in their career.
Unfortunately, the sport feels a little more watered down when situations similar to this offseason happen. That’s the direction Major League Baseball has headed for a while now, and soon there might not be much difference between the American and National leagues. It takes some of the culture out of the sport.
I’m not saying Cardinals fans shouldn’t root for Beltran now. He will be a fine player and likely help the team remain one of the best in the National League.
However, that part of baseball that turns us all into hopeless romantics is also the part that makes me wish Cardinals fans had the chance to root for Pujols for his entire career and Beltran could remain the guy who nearly thwarted two of the team’s World Series appearances.
You can read the official press release from the club, by clicking here to read a PDF file.
Forsch is best remember in St. Louis for his place in the pitching rotation through the successful “Whiteyball” years. A Cardinal from 1974 until an August trade in 1988 sent him to the Houston Astros for Denny Walling, Forsch was a staple in the starting rotation.
I-70′s resident historical writer, Bob Netherton, had some thoughts on Forsch:
I was saddened to hear the news of Bob Forsch’s passing. He was always a fan favorite, and for good reason. We know all about the two no-hitters, but the fact that he was the only player that Herzog kept from the 70s team to last through all three NL Pennants says far more about him as a player and person than those two magnificent games. Forsch was a mirror of the team he played for, never seeking the spotlight, probably wasn’t the best at his position, but he gave it everything he had each time he was called on. From the rotation, to the bullpen, back to the rotation – whatever the team needed, Forsch was there.
Forsch was a stingy pitcher who walked few but also did not strike out many. A pitch to contact hurler in a spacious Busch Stadium, Forsch was also a work horse that threw over 200 innings seven times in his 16 year career. He would also post double digit wins in all but five of his seasons on the mound, winning 20 games for the one and only time in 1977.
A steady pitcher that anchored many rotations, Forsch was never regarded as the ace of the staff. In fact, he led the league in one category one time in his career with a 1.4 walks per nine innings in 1980. He was also regarded as a very good hitter and would retain two Silver Slugger awards, 1980 and 1987, for his commitment at the plate.
More from Netherton:
My favorite Forsch moment came in Game Three of the 1987 National League Championship Series. The Cardinals were being bullied around by Will Clark and Jeffrey Leonard. Forsch came into the game and immediately took control but hitting Leonard with a pitch. It put a runner in scoring position, but Forsch never let that runner cross the plate. It started one of the greatest comebacks in Cardinals postseason history. What a competitor.
Forsch would throw two no hitters in his time with the Cardinals. His first would come on April 16, 1978 against the Philadelphia Phillies, the second on September 26, 1983 against the Montreal Expos. As impressive as it was for Forsch to throw two no hitters in his career, it was a game that he did not pitch that would etch his name into Major League Baseball’s record books. Almost one year to the day after Bob threw his first no hitter, his brother Ken would throw a no hitter for the Houston Astros on April 7, 1979 against the Atlanta Braves. They are the only brothers to every throw no hitters in Major League Baseball history.
Most recently, Forsch has been serving as the pitching coach for the Rookie League affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, the Billings Mustangs.
Netherton’s final thought: Bob Forsch was one of my favorite players, and he will be missed.
Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.
Editor’s Note: I feel compelled to include a few Tweets from around Cardinal Nation this morning:
I've always heard stories about Bob Forsch from his playing days. R.I.P. Sad news. #stlcards
Andrew Brown put together an impressive season for the Memphis Redbirds this year, being chosen as a Pacific Coast League All Star in the process.
Photo Courtesy of Erika Lynn
The corner outfielder would post a .284/.382/.501 slash line while driving in 73 runs and hitting 20 home runs. He had become a strong hitting prospect within the organization since his 18th round selection in the 2007 amateur draft.
Brown was also involved in a collision with Shane Robinson shortly after the season began in 2011. Both players have recovered since then, with Robinson taking the more severe injuries. You can read (and see) more about that in i70baseball’s early article found by clicking here.
Before the beginning of the 2011 National League Championship Series, the Cardinals made some roster adjustments. In one of those moves, Andrew Brown was placed on waivers and Lance Lynn was added to the 40-man roster.
According to MLB Trade Rumors, Brown has been claimed by the Colorado Rockies organization. Their report can be found by clicking here.
Brown joins former Cardinal outfielder Joe Mather in Colorado for the 2012 season.
Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.
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