The St. Louis Cardinals might have finally cut ties with one veteran right-handed reliever Friday when they sent Mitchell Boggs back to the minors, but they need to say goodbye to another.

Sure, Boggs gave up a back-breaking homerun to Kansas City Royals pinch-hitter Jeff Francour in the ninth inning of Thursday night’s epic and took the official loss, but his successor just made matters worse.

Victor Marte came in with Royals leftfielder Alex Gordon, who Boggs walked, on first base. Marte promptly hit shortstop Alcides Escobar in the hand, and made a throwing error on the next play to load the bases.

To top things off, first baseman Eric Hosmer hit a high chopper over Cardinals first baseman Allen Craig’s head to drive in the deciding two runs in what became a 4-2 Royals win before Marte intentionally walked pinch hitter Chris Getz.

Mercifully, Mother Nature sent a massive rainstorm that required a four-and-a-half hour delay to prevent Marte from allowing the Royals to do anymore damage. Joe Kelly, who might have been a better option to start the inning anyway, came in after the game restarted at 3:04 a.m. and quickly got three outs.

Obviously, Boggs wasn’t manager Mike Matheny’s best choice to try and close the game since he deemed regular closer Edward Mujica unavailable because he had pitched in each of the four previous games, but Marte obviously wouldn’t have been any better if he’d have started the inning.

The Cardinals have an incredible stockpile of young pitchers in their organization, including four who they have used in the bullpen. Why not use them? Sure, the Cardinals had only a 2-1 lead heading into the ninth inning, but the rookies have done nothing so far to prove they can’t handle that type of situation.

Boggs has, many times.

The Cardinals tried to make him their closer to start the season after Jason Motte suffered a season-ending elbow injury in spring training, but Boggs allowed 16 runs in 13 games with 10 walks that led to two blown saves and another two losses.

That led the Cardinals to send Boggs to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds on May 2, and he remained there until the big club recalled him May 19.

His performance wasn’t much better the second time around, either. He allowed a homerun to San Diego Padres outfielder Will Venable, the first batter he faced, May 20 in his return. He also gave up a run five days later against the Los Angeles Dodgers before Thursday’s meltdown.

Meanwhile, the team has had phenomenal success with pitchers such as Trevor Rosenthal, Seth Maness and Carlos Martinez. The team recently sent Martinez back to Memphis to condition as a starter, but those three pitchers have a combined 2.92 earned-run average in 45 appearances.

Marte’s first appearance of the 2013 season came Thursday, but it didn’t look much different than how he fared in 2012. The Cardinals picked the 32-year-old up off the scrap heap after he spent 2009-10 with the Royals, and he actually pitched pretty well in the first half of the season with a 3.82 ERA, 12 appearances in June when he allowed just five runs, combined.

However, by the time the season ended his ERA had ballooned to 4.91, and he did not make the postseason roster. The Cardinals used young pitchers such as Shelby Miller instead.

And that’s what they should do again in 2013. They called up Keith Butler from the Double-A Springfield Cardinals to replace Boggs, and they’ll soon need a replacement for Marte, if Thursday was any indication.

That decision will be easier once right-handed starter Jake Westbrook returns to help lessen the burden four rookies have carried in the starting rotation this season.

It might not be desirable to have so many young pitchers on the staff, but Matheny shouldn’t hesitate to use them in important situations because right now they are simply the best option.

“That was the closest 9-4 ballgame I’ve ever seen,” said USA Baseball CEO Paul Seiler, just minutes after I ran into him behind the USA dugout, following the United States’ critical, do-or-die victory over Canada this afternoon at Chase Field in Phoenix.

He couldn’t have summed it up much better. It absolutely was a nailbiter. It always is, when Team USA and Canada meet on the diamond (as described in my book Miracle on Grass, when Canada shocked Team USA in the very first game of the 1999 Pan Ams, 7-6 in extra innings).

Only when Team USA’s Eric Hosmer ripped a bases-clearing double in the top of the ninth, with Team USA ahead 6-4, did anyone in the USA dugout feel comfortable.

The Americans were literally six outs from being ELIMINATED from this World Baseball Classic. They trailed Canada 3-2, going to the 8th inning. Yes, it would have been a natural disaster had Team USA lost this game. MLB was counting on them for higher TV ratings and higher ticket revenues for the next round in Miami, and possibly the finals in San Francisco.

When Canada’s Michael Saunders launched a 2-run homer in the second inning of USA starter Derek Holland, we were already off to a bad start. But the Americans battled back and tied it 2-2 in the 4th. Canada went back ahead 3-2 on a base hit by Adam Loewen, and it stayed that way until the critical 8th. That’s when Orioles star Adam Jones came up with the biggest hit of the event so far for Team USA, drilling a one out, two-run double into the left-center gap off Canadian reliever Jim Henderson. It gave Team USA a 4-3 lead.

But, just as they always do (see my column here that I wrote prior to the WBC starting): Canada fought right back, and had cut the lead to 5-4, with the bases loaded and two outs. Joe Torre went to relief pitcher Steve Cishek, to face Canadian pinch hitter Tim Smith. In what was the game’s most critical moment, Cishek got Smith to ground out to second base, securing the 5-4 lead.
The Americans then blew it open with four runs in the 9th, and all of the Canadian fans began to gather their things and walk out up the aisles and out of the stadium, as soon as Hosmer’s double cleared the bases. Craig Kimbrel came on to secure the final three outs, for Team USA.

It was a rousing way for Pool D to come to an end, and this will be remembered for the raucous fight between the two teams that failed to advance: Mexico & Canada, along with the surprising Italian team, that beat both of those squads to join the Americans in Miami.

Incredibly, Team USA came ever so close to being knocked out of the event and finishing in last place in the pool. Instead, they won Pool D outright and will meet the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Italy later this week in Florida.

I’m excited that they have advanced, but – if they wait as long as they did here in Phoenix to put their game faces on – I’m afraid they might not make it to the finals in San Francisco. The DR is my favorite to win the next round, and it will be up to the other three teams to decide which one grabs the second flight to California. Should be fun to watch. I will blog again during the second round. That’s all from here in Phoenix.

Here are some photos from today’s action between Team USA & Canada (use the navigation arrows to view all seven images):

Anthems

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 7

National Anthems before the game.
Follow David on Twitter @miracleongrass.

David Fanucchi is the author of “Miracle on Grass” – How Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda led Team USA to a shocking upset over Cuba, capturing the only Olympic gold medal in USA Baseball history. He was the official Team USA Press Officer for both the 2000 USA Baseball Olympic Team and the 2006 USA World Baseball Classic Team. More information about Fanucchi and Miracle on Grass can be found on his website at www.davidfanucchi.com. Follow him on Twitter @miracleongrass.  

With inter league play about to be in full swing the Kansas City Royals seem to be in a pretty good position to make a move in the later part of the month of June. With scheduled off days in the right spots Ned Yost will not have to worry about filling out a 5 man rotation for a few weeks, a luxury for him since not everyone has been up to par on the mound lately. The one snag that he could run into is the recent “injury” of starter Felipe Paulino who may or may not miss his next scheduled start.

Photo Courtesy of Minda Haas

On the other hand it may light a fire under one player and one player alone. Eric Hosmer, whom has been showing much improvement over the last couple of weeks, will have to continue to progress or he may get bumped if Robinson comes up and kills the ball. The Royals need one of them to step up and hit for some power for the team to come out in top of their inter league schedule.

The one thing that I know I am worried about and may be in the back of the minds of many of the Royals faithful is if we had another Kila Ka’aiahue on out hands. A guy that displayed a lot of power in the minor leagues and never could cut it in the big league. As we saw even more evident when the offensively challenged Oakland Athletics cut the “slugging Hawaiian” earlier this week. So if he is like Ka’aiahue he would be a bust but the difference is the fact that Robinson has hit for better averages all throughout his career. With Kila it seemed to be extra base hits or bust but Robinson can get the base knock thrown in their with the power to go with.

As a lifelong Royals I always love when the longtime minor leaguers who have paid their dues over years of bus rides and 2-star dining finally get their big chance to shine. Now don’t get me wrong I love the stars that come up after only a few years of development but it’s the guys who had not complained staid by and waited there turn who seem to not let it go to waist. Like fans saw earlier in the season with Irving Falu maybe Robibson can shed some light on a dark offense of the past. In the words of Rex Hudler. “You go ahead, Clint Robinson, you take Kansas Itt by storm.”

If there is one thing we know about Tony LaRussa, it is he likes to make decisions. And a lot of them. I can only imagine this guy at Olive Garden trying to navigate their “Taste of Italy”, poor waiter never stood a chance did he. Asking for more bread sticks when he should have switched to salad and sending back the lasagna for chicken parmesan while swapping out the Alfredo with his wife. Only to get home and lament with regret the soup that got away.

Tony’s managerial approach follows similar logic. Sure the decisions pay off from time to time and in most circles around baseball he is thought of as a “genius” and “master strategist.” However, often at the peril of his own team he cannot get out of his own way at times. His inability to sit on his hands and allow the natural course of things to play our around him is excruciating at times.

The point is not that TLR should not make moves, adjust his line-up or try to out think the other manager. The point…is that TLR is like a child with A.D.D. on a sugar rush who cannot sit still and leave well enough alone. His though process, that if he’s not making moves he’s not managing or giving his team the best chance to win is ludicrous. A move for the sake of a move or a decision for the sake of a decision is just that and counter-productive at best.

Can you just hear his inner conversations, “if I know that he knows that I know that he thinks that I think if he has the pitcher spot come up he’ll take out Hamels.”….”yeah, I’ll IBB the 0-for the series catcher and take my chances with a gassed out pitcher already extended against their pinch-hitter. It’s so crazy it has to work.” Ball game. You just out managed yourself Tony…well done.

Here are a few decisions made in this NLDS whose effects were felt almost immediately still impact the series as game 5 nears. Starting Chris Carpenter on three days rest; letting Garcia bat with runners at 2^nd & 3^rd with 2 out in the 6^th, Starting David Freese over Daniel Descalso in game 4 (ESPN reported that it was a game time decision not to go with Descalso over Freese) and sitting Theriot in favor of Schumaker in game 4.

Granted there have been numerous others to examine. But as this is a blog post and not a dissertation on chaos theory I thought it best to narrow the selection.

Starting Carpenter on 3 days rest for the 1^st time in his career after just throwing a complete game in Houston raised a few eyebrows. Rightfully so, had never tried it before and had just thrown 106 pitches. This was clearly done to avoid having Garcia start on the road in Philly, which is understood. However it should have been Edwin Jackson in game 2, bring back Carp for game 3 on normal rest and then you have Garcia rested and ready at home for a game 4.

You are still ensuring Carp gets his turn to make sure the series goes four and you avoid starting Garcia on the road. Those that argue the fact that now the Cardinals get to use Carp twice and have him for the deciding game 5 are using faulty post hoc ergo propter hoc logic. Just because it worked out does not mean it was right. Because just a easily one can rationalize that starting Carp in game three could have wrapped up the series by giving the team a better chance to win in BOTH games 1 & 3.

On to the afore mentioned game 3. Most are focusing on TLR’s decision to issue the IBB to Philly catcher Carlos Ruiz. Yes, Ruiz has killed the Cardinals in the past. But the Cards are not Garcia, and it’s not as if Garcia has been the one pitching to Ruiz in every game. And besides Ruiz had been held hitless in the NLDS thus far. No this is about his decision to bat Garcia in the bottom of the 6^th with runners at 2^nd & 3^rd and two outs.

Up to this point Garcia had given TLR more than he could have hoped for through six innings. Scattering a few hits and no runs. Based on, well, the entire regular season Garcia struggles going beyond six innings and down the stretch even getting that deep into a game was not happening. Here you take the New England Patriots approach. It is better to let someone go too soon and get value rather than hold on a bit too long.

With Holliday, Schumaker and Chambers all available to hit this is where you use them. This was the turning point in the game. Allowing Garcia to bat forced TLR’s hand in the 7^th and was the first domino to fall leading to the Francisco PH home run.

Two big decision were made prior to game four and both worked out in the end. ESPN reported last night that TLR discussed sitting Freese in favor of Descalso at third base. Through three games Freese was hitting .167 in the NLDS with six strikeouts. TLR elected to stick with Freese and in paid off to the tune of a 2-3 game with 4 RBI, including what ended up being a game-winning 2-run home run. One of the few times TLR didn’t tinker and it paid off.

Unable to leave well enough alone for long. TLR did pull Freese for Descalso after the 6^th. This was surprising for two reasons. Freese was playing well defensively at third and had the game become tied or the Cardinals fallen behind you would not have Freese to bat in the 9^th.

The other major move was inserting Skip Schumaker into the starting line-up over Ryan Theriot. No stranger to the discontent of Cardinal fans Theriot came out swinging in the NLDS. Through three games he was 6 for 9 against Halladay, Lee and Hamels. Hardly giving TLR a reason to sit him. In addition to that neither Theriot nor Schumaker had match-up data one way or the other against Oswalt. Knowing better as he always does (sarcasm) TLR decided it was Skips turn. Chalk up another one for the skipper as Skip (see what I did there) went 2 for 3 with a run scored.

It has been an up and down, roller coaster ride of a season. So why would Cardinal fans expect the playoffs to be any different. There will undoubtedly be buttons to be pushed and decisions to be made on Friday. Here is to hoping TLR leaves the deciding game 5 and a berth in the NLCS in the hands of his players and out of his mind.

As always these are just my thoughts…keep on reading and you’ll get up to speed.

Derek is on Twitter @SportsbyWeeze and also writes for the Rams at RamsHerd.com

Also on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/SportsByWeeze

Over the last few weeks, the United Cardinal Bloggers have been collecting their top stories from the 2010 season. While each contributor had a slightly different list, the emergence of Jaime Garcia was included by nearly every writer. The youngster had a remarkable rookie season and Cardinals Nation is anxiously awaiting the start of his sophomore campaign. Thirty-five years ago, the Cardinals farm system produced another pair of remarkable lefties. Everybody knows about Steve Carlton, but one year before “Lefty”, another youngster had a historic rookie season. That pitcher was Larry Jaster and this is his story.

Busting Out

On September 17, 1965, a torch was passed, although we did not know it at the time. Ray Sadecki and Curt Simmons were a pair of lefties that helped the Cardinals win the World Series the previous year, and both had struggled this season, going a combined 15-30. Neither would finish next season in St. Louis as they gave way to a new pair of young lefties who would take the Cardinals to their next World Championship. On this night, Curt Simmons had battled one of the best in the game, Don Drysdale of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Typical of Simmons 1965 season, he had pitched well, certainly well enough to win the game, but found himself on the short end of a 3-0 score when he was taken out of the game for a pinch hitter in the fifth inning. A bases loaded single and sacrifice fly was all Simmons allowed, but it was just enough to earn him another tough luck loss.

Relieving Simmons in the sixth inning was a hard throwing left-hander named Larry Jaster. He was making his major league debut, and it was brief. He would face the tail end of the Dodgers batting order, but Jaster made quick work of them, retiring the side in order. We (and the Dodgers) would see much more of this in 1966, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves – the 1965 season is far from over.

Jaster’s performance against the Dodgers was good enough to earn him a turn in the rotation. The Cardinals were so far behind the Dodgers in the standings, manager Red Schoendienst might as well start figuring out what he had to work with next year. Jaster’s first start would come against the Houston Astros, who were even farther back than the Cardinals. Jaster got the first two batters out, but then started having trouble finding the strike zone. After two walks and a stolen base, Bob Aspromonte, who would break up Al Jackson’s no-hitter in 1967, grounded out to end the inning.

Houston starter Jim Ray was in a similar situation as Jaster, making his first major league start after one impressive inning of relief. He didn’t fare as well as Jaster through. Bobby Tolan would lead off the game with a single. The Cardinals would score their first runs of the game on a very rare event, a two run homer off the bat of Curt Flood. Flood would also homer off reliever Dave Guisti later in the game, only the second multi-homer game of his career.

Those were the only runs the Cardinals would need as Jaster settled into a comfortable groove. In the first eight innings, he would only surrender two hits, a two out single to Sonny Jackson in the second inning and lead-off double by Chuck Harrison in the fourth. His control improved as well, giving up just one more walk in the game, to Jimmy Wynn. If there was an Astros hitter to be careful with, it was the “Toy Cannon”.

The young lefty would take a shutout into the top of the ninth inning. The man he had been so careful with all night long finally got the hit that he’d been looking for: a clean lead-off double by Jimmy Wynn. A tiring Larry Jaster would get Chuck Harrison to fly out, but the pesky Bob Aspromonte would get the fourth and final Houston hit as he singles home Jimmy Wynn. Disappointed, Jaster toughened and ended the game on a high note, a Dal Maxvill (in for the injured Julian Javier) to Jerry Buchek to George Kernek double play. What a first start for the 21 year old, a four hit complete game and two outs away from a shutout.

There would be more like this, and before the end of the 1965 season, and perhaps even more impressive than the first one.

His next start would come against the Giants in San Francisco. The Giants were within a game of first place and battling the Dodgers for the National League pennant. This one was going to go down to the wire, but not tonight as Jaster would mesmerize the Bombers from the Bay. Jaster came out firing early and set the tone for the game. Unlike the Astros in the previous start, the Giants did hit him hard, but every time they did, Jaster bore down even more and retired the next batter, often by way of the strikeout. The lone Giants run would come on a Willie Mays solo home run in the eighth inning. Mays did that once or twice in his career, so the youngster shouldn’t have been disappointed when Mays took him deep.

On the offensive side of the game, Jaster was involved in two key plays, one of them being among the most exciting plays in baseball. In the top of the second inning, Jaster steps up to the plate with two outs and two runners on base: Mike Shannon on third and Julian Javier on first. Jaster is a combined 0-fer his career so far, so manager Red Schoendienst decides to steal a run. Literally. Javier breaks for second base and as the catcher makes the throw, Shannon breaks off third. The Giants are unable to get either runner. A double steal and a run – it doesn’t get much more exciting than that.

In the top of the sixth inning, Jaster delivers the knock-out blow – with his bat. Again he steps to the plate with runners on the corners and two outs. Again, Javier steals second, but this time Tim McCarver was the runner at third and he stays put. Then the young lefty gets his first major league hit, a 2 RBI single scoring both McCarver and Javier. The Cardinals lead was now 6-0 and Jaster was cruising.

Any questions about Jaster getting lucky against a weak Houston team were silenced when he records his second complete game victory against a contender.

Jaster would get one more start in 1965, against the team he beat in his first start, the Houston Astros. This time Houston would get off to an early lead, but Jaster would settle down and the Cardinals bats, largely silent all season, came alive to give him his third complete game victory in as many starts. In three complete games and one inning of relief, the young lefty would give up just 5 runs for an ERA of 1.61.

Rookie Sensation

With Bob Gibson, Ray Washburn, Curt Simmons and Ray Sedecki set in the rotation, Jaster earned the fifth spot out of spring training, but he would not stay there when the rosters got trimmed down in May. But not before Jaster would pitch one of the best games of his young career, shutting out Claude Osteen and the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 25. In that game, Jaster would strike out 7.

Jaster’s next break would come in late June when the Cardinals sent Curt Simmons to the Cubs for cash. The rookie would take the veteran’s spot in the bullpen, until July 3 when he would get a start against the same Don Drysdale and the Los Angeles Dodgers that he faced in his debut. To say that Jaster eclipsed his one previous inning against Drysdale is an understatement. He would throw a complete game, 3 hit shutout and beat the Dodgers 2-0. Interestingly, the 2 runs Drysdale gave up is exactly the same as in Jaster’s debut. The difference is that this time, Jaster pitched the entire game.

The young lefty’s inconsistency would continue, sometimes he would would dominate in long relief and other times he might get a quick hook from the Cardinals manager.

The turning point in Jaster’s rookie season would come in the next series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and again it would be against Don Drysdale in St. Louis on July 29. Drysdale was a bit less effective, giving the Cardinals 4 runs on the night. Jaster, however, was lights out with another complete game shutout, striking out 8 and surrendering just 5 hits.

Jaster would stay in the rotation for the rest of the season and pitch quite effectively. Including the July 29 victory against Drysdale and the Dodgers, he would go 6-3 down the stretch with 55 strikeouts to just 28 walks. His ERA for the period would drop to 2.71 – that’s in Bob Gibson territory. Overall he would finish his rookie season with a record of 11-5 with an ERA of 3.26. He would also throw for 151 2/3 innings, which isn’t bad considering he spent 7 weeks in the minors.

But there’s just a bit more to his rookie season.

Jaster would face the Dodgers two more times in 1966. The next would be in Los Angeles on August 19. This time he would face left hander Claude Osteen whom he had beaten 2-0 back in April. The results would be nearly the same this time. Osteen would spot the Cardinals 4 runs while Jaster threw another complete game, 5 hit shutout. This time he would strike out 7.

The last time the young lefty would face the Dodgers would be on September 28, in St. Louis. This time it would be future Hall of Famer Don Sutton that would fall victim to the Legend of Larry Jaster. Sutton would pitch brilliantly, but Jaster was just a bit better throwing another complete game shutout.

Let’s put all of this together. Larry Jaster would face the Los Angeles Dodgers 5 times, and shut them out each time. These five shutouts would also give him the league lead for the 1966 season. But these shutouts weren’t thrown against a team in the bottom of the division – the Dodgers were the reigning World Champions and would go on to win the 1966 National League Pennant. Jaster’s five consecutive shutout victories against one team in a single season is still a major league record.

Simply amazing. Here is the breakdown of Larry Jaster versus the Dodgers.

The remainder of the staff would go 3-10 against the Dodgers with 2 of those victories by Al Jackson, who was nearly as stingy as Jaster. Bob Gibson and Ray Washburn would combine for an 0-6 record with an ERA over 5.00.

An amazing rookie season. But there’s more.

Nearly Perfect

Jaster would put up nearly identical numbers in his sophomore season in 1967. His pitching was actually a little bit better, but he was not getting the benefit of much run support, so his 9-7 record is a little bit misleading. Not only did he do well as a starter, but also in relief late in the season as Red started getting his post-season rotation in order.

1968 would be something of a different season for Jaster, but not all of his doing. When the Cardinals broke camp in 1968, they had a surplus of exceptional arms, although one of the best, Dick Hughes, was injured late in spring training and would be used sparingly this season. With a healthy Ray Washburn joining Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton, Nelson Briles and Mike Torrez, Jaster became a forgotten man on the roster. He started the season in the bullpen as a long reliver, often in a mop-up role.

Jaster’s next break would come in late May, during a particularly brutal part of the schedule where the Cardinals did not have many off-days. Instead of taxing his rotation at this point in the season, Schoendienst gave Jaster a spot start against his favorite team on the planet, the Los Angeles Dodgers. And he did not disappoint. In 9 innings of work, Jaster allowed just two hits, a single to light hitting Paul Popovich in the fifth inning and a two out single by Wes Parker in the ninth. An unearned run ruined the shutout, but magic that Jaster had shown in 1966 and much of 1967 was back. Not only did he get a much needed win, but he saved a bullpen that had been used up in the previous start by Steve Carlton.

But that did not prepare us for what came next.

After a heartbreaking loss to former Cardinal great Larry Jackson and the Philadelphia Phillies, Jaster would face Tom Seaver and the Mets in New York on May 31. A huge crowd of over 41,000 fans piled into Shea Stadium hoping for a Bob Gibson/Tom Seaver pitching duel. Instead they nearly witnessed a piece of baseball history, and nobody left the ballpark disappointed.

The reigning NL Rookie of the Year (shared with the injured Dick Hughes) was brilliant. Seaver gave up just two runs in the third inning as Lou Brock, Curt Flood and Mike Shannon did all the damage. But the story of the night was Jaster. He would retire the first 23 batters he faced, taking a perfect game into the bottom of the 8th inning. With two out, light hitting Greg Goosen hit a clean single, ending the perfect game and no hitter. Jaster couldn’t relax because he only had a 2 run lead, and Seaver was getting stronger as the game went on. He coaxed a fly ball from Phil Linz to end the inning, preserving the shutout. Jaster would retire the first two batters in the ninth inning before the even lighter hitting Don Bosch got the Mets second hit of the game. Jaster got the dangerous Cleon Jones to hit into an fielders choice to end the game – one of the greatest pitching performances in my lifetime.

This was a special game. This was something we hadn’t seen out of Jaster since early in his career. He just went after every single Mets hitter, matching Seaver pitch for pitch. His control was so good on the night that he didn’t even get to a 3 ball count on any of the 29 batters he would face.

This game couldn’t have come at a better time for the Cardinals. With Dick Hughes still nursing a sore shoulder, Jaster would take his spot in the rotation and help carry the Cardinals to their second consecutive pennant. Jaster would pitch effectively, running his record to 7-4 with another dominating performance against the Los Angeles Dodgers. At this point in time, the Dodgers were wishing we would trade Jaster to the American League where they would never have to see him again.

That’s when the trouble started. He would have two rough outings to end July, although a rare offensive explosion by the Cardinals bats would make him a winner of one of those games. The wheels came off in August when he would lose all 5 of his starts, although pitched well enough to win one or two of them. Other than two more starts against the Dodgers, which he would lose both, Jaster spent the remainder of 1968 in the bullpen. Ironically, Jaster’s last win for the Cardinals would come in relief of Dick Hughes, whose injury gave Jaster the opportunity to start against the Mets in his near-perfect game.

Heading North

The Cardinals had a difficult decision to make entering the 1969 season. With four new teams entering the league, they left Jaster unprotected, hoping that the decline at the end of the 1968 season would scare off the expansion teams. Unfortunately, that backfired when Montreal selected Jaster as the 47th pick in the draft.

1969 would not be kind for the former Cardinals pitcher. While he didn’t pitch poorly, the expansion Montreal ball club was hardly the reigning NL Champion and they played poorly behind him, dooming the former star to a dismal 1-6 record, but not before he would enter the baseball record book two more times. On April 14, facing his former team, Larry Jaster threw the first major league pitch in Canada. He would also give up the first hit, a scorching double down the left field line by Curt Flood.

Jaster would spend the next season in Atlanta, in relief. He would never regain his dominance, and after five seasons of bouncing between Atlanta and their AAA affiliate in Richmond, Jaster would retire in 1974.

Life after Baseball

That would not be the end of his baseball career though. After taking a few years off, Jaster would return to baseball as a pitching coach in the Atlanta minor league system, from 1986 to 1993 and then return in the Baltimore Orioles system from 1997 to 2007.

Bob Netherton covers Cardinals history for i70baseball.com and writes at Throatwarbler’s Blog. You may follow Bob on Twitter here or on Facebook here.

1985 World Series

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Kansas City Royals

Game 6 – October 26, 1985

Location: Royals Stadium, Kansas City, Mo.

Attendance: 41,628

Recap: This game is remembered for “The Call,” an infamous blown call by umpire Don Denkinger in the ninth. But few fans now remember another blown call that went the Cardinals’ way: in the fourth inning, Royals second baseman Frank White was called out attempting to steal second base, even though replays showed he beat the tag (the next batter hit a single, meaning White may have scored if the call had been correct). The Cardinals scored the first run of the game in the eighth, and with a 1-0 lead the Cardinals progressed to the bottom of the ninth with the championship hanging in the balance. Kansas City manager Dick Howser sent pinch hitter Jorge Orta to the plate to lead off the inning against Todd Worrell. Orta hit a squibbler down the first base line to Jack Clark, and Clark flipped the ball to Worrell covering first. Worrell beat Orta to the bag by a step, but umpire Denkinger called Orta safe. The next batter, Steve Balboni, hit a routine pop-up in foul territory, but the catch was bungled by Clark and catcher Darrell Porter. Balboni then hit a single, advancing Orta to first. When Jim Sundberg tried to bunt the runners over, a quick-thinking Worrell threw to third and got the lead runner (Orta), leaving a runner on first and second with one out. But Porter allowed a passed ball, and the runners advance. Pinch hitter Hal McRae was walked to set up the double play. With the bases loaded, pinch hitter Dane Iorg hit a single to right. Onix Concepcion, running for Balboni, scored, and Sunberg slid around Porter’s tag for the winning run.

Line Score:

TEAM R H E

St. Louis 1 5 0

Kansas City 2 10 0

Winning pitcher: Dan Quisenberry

Losing pitcher: Todd Worrell

Notables: The Royals piled on 10 hits in the game, despite scoring only two runs; pinch hitter Brian Harper knocked in the only run for the Cardinals; The Cardinals’ Danny Cox and Kansas City’s Charlie Leibrandt started the game, and both pitched extremely well: Cox gave up no earned runs and struck out eight in seven innings, while Leibrandt gave up a single run in 7.2 innings; according to reports, a bad coincidence added insult to injury for the Cardinals: in preparation of their pending victory, the team’s locker room was filled with champagne on ice – and the champagne was waiting for them when the Cardinals walked into the locker room after the loss.

Tomorrow: A recap of Game 7.

Matt Kelsey is a Royals writer and the content editor for I-70 Baseball. He can be reached at mattkelsey@i70baseball.com.

1985 World Series

Kansas City Royals vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Game 4 – October 23, 1985

Location: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Mo.

Attendance: 56,634

Recap: John Tudor dominated the Kansas City Royals’ lineup in Game 4, throwing the best game of any Cardinals pitcher in the 1985 World Series. Tudor, the St. Louis ace, allowed only five hits (just one for extra bases) and one walk while striking out eight. Offensively, St. Louis finally found their power stroke – Tito Landrum and Willie McGee hit solo home runs early to set the tone for the game. Royals pitcher Bud Black lasted five innings and gave up three runs on four hits. With the win, the Cardinals were just one victory away from securing a World Series title.

Line Score:

TEAM R H E

Kansas City 0 5 1

St. Louis 3 6 0

Winning pitcher: John Tudor

Losing pitcher: Bud Black

Notables: The Royals’ only extra base hit came from the bat of pinch hitter Lynn Jones; Willie McGee had the only multi-hit performance of the game with a home run and a single; Joe Beckwith and Dan Quisenberry combined to pitch three scoreless innings of relief; Tudor’s shutout was the only complete game for the Cardinals’ pitching staff in the series.

Tomorrow: A recap of Game 5.

Matt Kelsey is a Royals writer and the content editor for I-70 Baseball. He can be reached at mattkelsey@i70baseball.com.

The Royals and the White Sox played a doubleheader on Saturday night and an afternoon game on Sunday, completing 31 innings of baseball in a mere 24 hours. All three games went into extra innings, all three games were won by one run, and all three games were fun to watch. For fans of the Royals – the team that won two out of three games in the series – this was baseball at its very best.

And it wouldn’t have happened except by chance.

The Saturday doubleheader was the result of a rainout. In fact, pretty much all doubleheaders these days are the result of canceled or postponed games. They’re hardly ever pre-scheduled.

That wasn’t true in the past. Doubleheaders were common occurrences in the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s, hitting their peak during World War II when rationing regulations were instituted. Fans could save gas and ballparks could save money by hosting two games on one day instead of two games on two days. But by the ‘60s and ‘70s, doubleheaders had started to fade away for good. Even Ernie Banks’ famous cry of “Let’s play two!” couldn’t save the doubleheader.

'Let's Play Two!" - Ernie Banks

But there’s a strong argument to be made for re-instituting the tradition of the doubleheader, and the argument was summed up perfectly this weekend.

Doubleheader baseball involves a great amount of strategy. National League fans, you think having the pitcher hit takes strategy? That’s nothin’ compared to doubleheader strategy. When managers are deciding whether to send up a pinch hitter for the pitcher, they have to think one or two batters, or at the most an inning or two, ahead. When you’re planning doubleheader strategy, you have to think one, two or even three games ahead.

Consider this weekend’s series between the White Sox and the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. The two teams split the doubleheader on Saturday, and all the players, coaches and managers dragged into the ballpark on Sunday for an afternoon game.

In the bottom of the 10th, with the score tied and the winning run on base, Jason Kendall came up to bat. Scott Linebrink was pitching for the White Sox. Ozzie Guillen visited the mound before the at-bat.

We don’t know what they talked about, or what was going through Ozzie Guillen’s head. Maybe he thought he was out of pitchers in the bullpen. Or maybe he was tired and didn’t realize that Jason Kendall is a .538 career hitter against Linebrink.

You read that right. Jason Kendall has a .538 career average against Linebrink.

But Guillen left Linebrink in the game. Two pitches later, Kendall lined the ball to left center and the winning run came home.

This was a strategic failure on the part of Ozzie Guillen (the kind that might have gotten him fired earlier in the season when he was on the hotseat). But it’s also a strategic victory for the Royals.

And the Royals haven’t had a lot of those in recent decades. (Trey Hillman would have probably pinch-hit for Kendall in that situation…)

So for the Royals, at least, the doubleheader was a good thing.

And more doubleheaders would be good for all of baseball.

Here’s a proposal for Major League Baseball: pre-schedule between 10 and 14 doubleheaders for each team each season.

On the plus side, this would do a few things: first, it would add another element of strategy. Second, it would shorten the season by a couple weeks, which is probably good since the NFL is considering expanding to an 18-game schedule, cutting even more into the end of baseball season. Third, doubleheaders would do exactly what they did during World War II: save money for baseball fans.

Unfortunately, this probably won’t ever happen. The MLB Player’s Union would never allow it; they’ll say it puts too much strain on their players. And today’s fans, who have shorter attention spans, probably don’t want doubleheaders. They don’t go to baseball games to watch baseball. They go for the hot dogs and the fireworks and the playgrounds and the Sunday Fun Run and T-Shirt Tuesdays.

But forget all that. Baseball should do it anyway. It would make the game better.

In the words of Ernie Banks: “Let’s play two!”

Matt Kelsey is a Royals writer for I-70 Baseball. He can be reached at mattkelsey@i70baseball.com.