It’s week two of the I70 Baseball Royals Power Rankings, and to say this week didn’t go well would be an understatement.  The Royals defense was atrocious and their hitting and pitching weren’t too far behind. Let’s take a look at the power rankings through May 12.

#5 Ervin Santana- (Previously: #2) Santana saw his ERA “balloon” to 2.79 with a couple of mediocre starts this week. The right hander gave up seven runs on 15 hits in 12 1/3 innings of work against the Orioles and Yankees. On the positive side he only walked one in the two starts and now sports a 39-6 K-BB ratio.

#4 Lorenzo Cain- (Previously: #1) Cain was due for a cold streak, and boy did he find one. He was just 4/20 on the week with two walks and five strikeouts. Cain is still amongst the team leaders in most every offensive category, but he only has one RBI in his last seven games.

#3 James Shields- (Previously: #5) Shields moves up in the rankings after allowing two runs over 16 innings in two fantastic starts. The week started off in controversy for Shields when he was pulled after 8 shutout innings against the White Sox. Of course, the bullpen lost that game and set the tone for a treacherous week. Shields now sits at 2-3 with a 2.48 ERA and 53 Ks in 58 innings.

#2 Jeremy Guthrie- (Previously: #3) Guthrie didn’t have his best stuff against his former team, but still managed six innings with only one run allowed. He’s now gone 18 starts without a loss and leads the team with a 2.28 ERA. One concern for Guthrie moving forward is his recent control issues. He’s averaged nearly three walks per outing in his last four starts.

#1 Alex Gordon- (Previously: #4) Alex Gordon responded to being moved to the three-hole with a bang and a hot week rose his average from .306 to .320. The 29 year-old right fielder now leads the team in doubles (8), home runs (6), RBI (28), average (.320), and slugging % (.548). Gordon has been the lone bright spot in an increasingly bad offense.

Honorable mention: Luke Hochevar- Before you throw anything at me, yes Hochevar has been terrible at letting inherited runners score BUT he’s been outstanding outside of that. In 12 1/3 innings, Hochevar has allowed 10 baserunners and struck out 13 batters. He has an ERA of 0.73 and a WHIP of 0.81. If we could simply convince Ned Yost not to bring him in with runners on, Hochevar may actually be an asset.

Our friends over at InsideSTL spent last week hanging out at a picnic table, and eventually under a tent, in Jupiter, Florida and talking with any Cardinal players that came by and were willing to sit down for a few minutes.

What resulted were some great candid shots of the guys as well as a very candid interview with Adam Wainwright about his contract situation.

The images below were posted to their website and are being shared here with their permission.

Carlos Beltran

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

I’ve not lived up to my name lately, and for that I apologize. Actually I shouldn’t have to apologize; David Glass and Dayton Moore should do that for me. Since they’re obviously not going to, I’m sorry. I’m going to try to fix that this week with five reasons to be optimistic about 2013. It’s not easy right now, what with the Tigers heading to the World Series, to think that this team can compete for a title in 2013. They can, and here’s how:

1. While I’ll agree with anyone that David Glass is a miserly old man, he’s still a business man. He knows he has to acquire starting pitching that makes a difference this offseason or is cash cow may be slightly less profitable. I don’t think that means that Glass breaks the bank, but I do think the pressure is on Allard….er Dayton Moore to bring in a good starting pitcher. Not someone that could be good, but someone that is. Whether this happens by trade or not, the pitching will improve in 2013, you can count on it.
2. The offense is going to take another step forward. Salvador Perez and Alcides Escobar may not be able to improve on 2012, but Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas sure will, in a big way. You have to remember that these two will both be under 24 for a majority of next season. They have a lot of maturing and improving to do, and we’ll see some of it next season.
3. Jeff Francoeur will likely improve or get cut. I’ve been saying it all winter, and I still believe it. Frenchy will be your starting right fielder on Opening Day. The difference this year is that the Royals can cut bait without having next year hanging over their head. My expectation is that Frenchy starts until the super two deadline passes and then right field is handed over to Wil Myers. Frenchy will most likely get the choice of being a role player or being cut.
4. We will see more power from this club in 2013. I love Kevin Seitzer as a former Royal and especially as a person. I thought it was a complete joke that the Royals fired Seitzer while keeping Moore and Yost. But still, his up the middle/opposite field approach sapped a lot of power away from the like of Moose, Hosmer, Gordon and Butler. I would not be surprised in the least if three of the four set career highs for home runs.
5. The Royals were better than their record in 2012. Even their Pythagorean record comes out to 74-88, but beyond that…imagine this team with Salvador Perez for a full season. He posted a 2.8 WAR in half a season. Imagine this team if Danny Duffy and Felipe Paulino aren’t lost for the season. Imagine that bullpen with Joakim Soria. Are the Royals going to have injuries in 2013? Of course they are. But the likelihood that they have as many significant injuries at key positions is very, very low.

Barring a complete collapse, it looks as though the Kansas City Royals will not finish in fourth or fifth place for the first time in ten years and the second in fifteen. They need to play one game over .500 in their next 32 to finish with their best record since 2003. They should comfortably surrender their lowest run total since 1995 while posting an improvement in wins for the third consecutive season, something they haven’t done since 1992. All of this begs the question, is this progress?

In terms of “The Process”, you would have to say that yes, this is progress. The Royals will head into 2013 with nearly an entire line up of players that are either homegrown or traded for while they were still unknown quantities. Nearly all of these players will either be locked up under a club-friendly deals or not yet eligible for free agency. The only real exception is Jeff Francoeur, who will most likely get one last chance to start in right field and prove exactly who he is toDaytonMoore…at least until after next year’s Super Two deadline. Francoeur and Bruce Chen will both be back in 2013 at a combined cost of $12 million. Still, what Moore has always told us is that once you have a majority of the team composed of your guys, under contract on your terms, then you can have the resources to go out and spend free agent money on one or two pieces where you need them. Mr. Moore, you have exactly that heading into 2013 with a club that I’m certain you’ll sell to us as improving, so where do the Royals need pieces?

In terms of position players there are two clear weaknesses in the Royals lineup. One of them we’ve already mentioned, right field, will be manned by Jeff Francoeur, and has a clear succession plan in Wil Myers. In other words, there is absolutely no reason to go add a right fielder. The second, and more glaring, weakness is at second base. Johnny Giavotella would have to hit a ton to make up for his defense, and to this point he hasn’t shown the ability to do that in the majors. Chris Getz, the likely starter in 2013, would have to be a gold glover to make up for his bat and he is not. The most prominent free agent at second base is Robinson Cano…even if the Royals had all the money in the world; I don’t think he’s coming toKansas Cityunder any circumstances. There are no other guaranteed upgrades over Getz available on the free agent market so it seems unlikely the Royals will add a major contract for a position player in 2013.

Obviously, the Royals major hole is in the rotation. In fact, their two biggest holes are in the rotation. They have a nice collection of 4 and 5 starters, but no one that figures to be a 3 or better in 2013. With a bullpen that is set and a lineup that isn’t changing, this is where all of Dayton Moore’s attention should be focused this offseason and he’s said as much. There is no telling how much money Moorehas to spend, but let’s just use $20 million. Why that number? That’s the prudent estimate of profit for the club in 2012, and you know David Glass has always said he’s just looking to break even. There are a lot of Royals fans dreaming about Zack Greinke, not only do I think that would be a pipe dream, it would also be ill-advised. Greinke will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 million, best case scenario about 100% of the Royals free agent budget. One pitcher with a 2.3 WAR does not make this pitching staff that much better. The Royals need to go out and get two pitchers at approximately $10 million a piece. I’m not going to get into who they should or shouldn’t be until the offseason, but the Royals should have them all scouted and should go hard after the two pitchers in that range they think best fit this rotation. Just throwing out two names off the top of my head, a rotation of Shaun Marcum-Jeremy Guthrie-Bruce Chen-Mendoza/Hochevar-Odorizzi/Smith could be a competitive rotation. Even better, the club would have the possibility of Danny Duffy or Felipe Paulino in July. That would be progress. But back to the question, is this progress? 2012? It is, but like everything else involving the Royals, it won’t mean a thing unless Glass and Moore take advantage of it.

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.

After just a horrendous month of July, the Kansas City Royals start off the month of August on a good note.  A sweep, after a bad road trip and an even worse 30 days, is exactly what the Royals needed to get them back on the winning side of the game of baseball.  With timely hitting and some pretty good pitching the Royals started the month of August with two momentum shifting wins.

The month of July ended with the Royals trading their closer Jonathan Broxton to the Cincinnati Reds for two pitching prospects. The prospects look to be a good return for a guy that would, it seems, only be a Royal for two months.  Turning a two month closer into two guys who may or may not make it to the majors seems to be very welcoming by fans in Kansas City.  In the trade the Royals received Class AA right-handed starter J.C. Sulbaran and Class AAA lefty reliever Donnie Joseph. Joseph seemed to be the straw that broke to camels back in the trade.  A guy who by all accounts is a strike out king who may pair well with fellow lefty Tim Collins in the bullpen of the future.  Sulbaran projects to be a back of the rotation guy who won a state championship with first basemen Eric Hosmer in 2008 at American Heritage High School in Florida. So the Royals continue to put guys on a team that have won together before and could win together in years to come.

With Broxton gone and Joakim Soria recovering from season ending Tommy John surgery, right handed reliever Greg Holland assumes the role of closer which he stepped into Wednesday night as he got his first save of the season against the Cleveland Indians in a 5-2 Royals victory.

The stand out development of the Royals beginning to the month of August is the benching of both second basemen Yunieksy Betancourt and right fielder Jeff Franceour.  The problem with them being on the bench is that they may not see much more playing time since both Chris Getz, who took Betancourt’s spot in the order, and Jarrod Dyson, Franceour’s spot, have taken their opportunity by the reigns and excelled with it.  Getz went 3-9 with 4 runs scored and 3 RBI in the three game sweep of the Indians while Dyson went 7-12 with 2 runs scored and two RBI both contributing to run production with stolen bases in the series as well.  So the spots that seem to have been lost by the lack of productivity by Betancourt and Franceour have been given away and so far earned with Getz and Dyson.

After a road trip that saw barely any offense outside of designated hitter Billy Butler, the start of the home stand saw a resurgence in the Royal’s offense, scoring 20 runs in the last three games, with the absence of Billy Butler’s bat.  Butler having only two hits in the series and only driving in one run. The brightest spot, outside of the fact that the Royals came back from the dumps and have now won three games in a row, of the sweep of the Indians has to be the walk off win the Royals secured on Thursday.  After jumping out of the gates with 6 runs in the first, highlighted by a lead off home run by Alex Gordon and a three run shot off of the bat of Eric Hosmer, the Royals and struggling starter Bruce Chen let the Indians all the way back and it took extra innings to seal the win.  But it is how they won it in the 11th inning that stands out the most.

After late game at bats in crucial situations that did not see any success, manager Ned Yost had to keep reiterating that the need for shortstop Alcides Escobar to get the experience of late game at bats that could win or lose a ballgame for the Royals club.  Well that all came to fruition on Thursday.  Escobar has come up with clutch hits late in games all season long but none bigger than his walk off single in the 11th inning. It has been a season of firsts for Escobar after his first multi-homerun game of his life, as he stated, and now his first walk off win in the major leagues. To top all of that off he is having a season at the plate that no one saw coming but it needs to continue.

The Royals have done it once again.  They have hooked everyone right back on to what they are doing.  Now that does no mean that they have a chance at the division, which would take a Herculean effort from all 25 men on the roster, but they can give us that little tease that gets us all hyped and ready for the 2013 season.  Maybe then it will be “Our Time.”

Since being only 3 games under .500 and sniffing the top of the division the Kansas City Royals have done nothing but struggle.

The pitching has been horrendous while the bats have seem to come alive a little in the month of July.  The batting order has produced the best average in the major leagues for the month of July.  The biggest problem with that is the lack of extra base hits when needed and hitting with runners on base so that when they can put a team away they can do it without relying on a pitching staff that has not helped out at all.

The question surrounding the organization now is how to keep fans interested one and even more how to get them to go out to the K to watch a team that is everything but mathematically out of the playoffs.  One way that they Royals can make some noise with their fans is by making a trade or two over the next five days before the non-waiver trade deadline on Tuesday afternoon.  One trade that would help fan get excited would the to tade away right fielder Jeff Franceour.  Now Frenchy is a fan favorite and also a good clubhouse guy but not only is he terrible at the plate as of the last few weeks but he is blocking players that seem to be the future in Kansas City.  At the big leauge level alone, he seems to be blocking Jarrod Dyson from getting any playing time not only because he is taking up an outfield spot but the team just cannot afford to have center fielder Lorenzo Cain out of the lineup right now.  The biggest Royal’s commodity that Frenchy seems to be blocking from he major leaues is number one hitting prospect Wil Myers.  Over the last few weeks in AAA Omaha Myers has regressed some but everything out of Omaha says that he is seeing a lot fewer fastballs and just hasnt adjusted to seeing all junk while at the plate.  Matter of fact is that whether he can hit a curveball right now or not he could probably at least hit somewhere north of the .242 mark that Franceour is currently sporting.  Not saying that he will be an instant success but at least it would be a development process and not a guy who seems to not know what pitches to swing at and which ones to take.  .242 is not good at any level especially when it is in front of guys who need to be in Kansas City to prepare for their future.

Another thing that could put the fans in their seats is if the Royals go out and get some kind of pitching that is not Jeremy Guthrie.  Nothing against that trade or the fact that it could end up being an okay thing for this season but that is not a name that is going to bring people to the ball park.  If the Royals were to show that they are committing to this town and this team with a blockbuster deal that would help for not only the next two months but also for the next 24 months or so people would get excited. The names have been thrown around the league of guys that are available but will the Royals bite.  They have the prospects it seems that would attract teams to answer the phone when general manager Dayton Moore comes a calling.  Not only that they could trade guys like Jonathan Broxton, Yuniesky Betancourt and Franceour, get prospects for them and then flip those prospects for a guy who is in the bigs already and coud help the team now and in the future.

Th simple fact is this.  The Royals would have to do something miraculous to play into October this season.  But they could keep everyone interested by making a late season run of good baseball along with the addition of a guy or two that will help in the future.  Training Camp is open in St. Joseph, Missouri for the Chiefs this week and if the Royals do not try and keep the fans interest, the fans will focus their attention to the other side of the Truman Sports Complex and just wait for Opening Day 2013 for a fresh start.

The Kansas City Royals find themselves in an all too familiar place at the 2012 trade deadline, as they are once again in “sell” mode.

Reality is starting to sink in. 2012 is certainly not appearing to be #OurTime. The Royals currently sit at 14 games under .500 (40-54) and 11 games behind the 1st place and surging Detroit Tigers. And after going 3-7 on their most recent homestand, are now only ahead of the lowly Minnesota Twins by 1/2 game. It is time to once again start looking toward next season, and what can the Royals spin off at the deadline for players that can assist the ballclub in 2013 and beyond. And while the Royals should be open to any deal that makes them better in 2013, 2014, and 2015, for any player (except for Sal Perez), they should be very aggressive in looking to move the following players.

Jeff Francoeur
After having an excellent season last year, and then signing a 2 year extension with the Royals, “Frenchy” is having a fairly miserable year offensively. He still has a dangerous arm though and would bring excellent leadership and presence to a contenting team, particularly if he was in a platoon role. His contract makes him tough to deal, but with Will Myers ready to step in as the everyday right-fielder, the Royals almost have no choice. They should willingly eat most or all of his salary for something marginally useful in order to get Myers regular at-bats. This would immediately make them a better offensive team.

Jonathan Broxton
The signing of Broxton has proven to be a good one. Once Soria went down, nobody really knew what to expect from “Johnny Drama”. But he has been more than serviceable as the closer and is the type of player that will certainly draw interest as the deadline nears. Teams looking for a closer will likely pursue the 1st tier guys before a guy like Broxton so if he gets dealt it will likely not be until right before the deadline.

Jarrod Dyson
This is a player whose name has surprisingly not come up much but would make a lot of sense for the Royals to look to deal, especially if they can’t find a taker for Francoeur. A speedy pinch-running 4th outfielder is a luxury the Royals cannot affor right now, and one that several teams (like the Yankees) could absolutely use. He is not a player that should look to be dealt for just anything, but if someone comes calling, Dayton should be listening hard.

Yuniesky Betancourt
He’s a free agent after this year. If Dayton can obtain a lottery ticket for him, he needs to say yes before the other GM even completely gets the question out of his mouth.

Chris Getz
Getz has been a very serviceable player for the Royals, especially this season. But it is difficult to see them becoming a championship team with him as the everyday 2nd baseman. If the Royals can get anything for him, they should strongly consider moving him.

Jose Mijares
A left-handed situational reliever who is performing well is always a hot commodity at the deadline. Plus he’s a free agent after the season. Plus the Royals have a surplus of bullpen arms. There is no way he should still be on the roster come August 1.

Amid the confusion emanating from a lineup card snafu, catcher Yadier Molina‘s dramatic, game-tying two-run homer in the ninth inning Monday night was somewhat lost in the shuffle. But Molina wasn’t overlooked Tuesday as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Miami Marlins 5-2

Homering for the third game in succession, Molina put the finishing touches on a five-run first inning keyed by two Miami errors by smacking a 3-2 pitch from Carlos Zambrano for a three-run homer.

As the Cardinals extended their winning streak to a season-high five games, their strongest All-Star candidates all had leading roles.

Besides Molina, shortstop Rafael Furcal, in line for his first fans’ election as an All-Star, turned in a remarkable defensive play to take the Cardinals out of a tough spot in the sixth. Furcal snagged left fielder Logan Morrison‘s bad-hop, high-hop smash to his left and dashed to the bag to start an inning-ending double play to help right-hander Kyle Lohse to his seventh victory.

And right fielder Carlos Beltran, a sure All-Star starter, knocked in the Cardinals’ first run of the game with a single in the first inning.

Lohse (7-2) has had four straight starts of at least seven innings.

Molina, showing he is the best all-round catcher in the National League, is just two homers off his season high of 14, achieved last year. “I don’t think about that,” he said. “I think about winning games.”

Manager Mike Matheny said Molina’s offense added to his defense make him “the best in the game” at his position. Matheny said pitchers have so much trust in Molina that “you go into the meetings and some of the guys are snoozing because they know Yadi’s going to take care of them.” Lohse said, “A lot of people are paying attention to what he’s done at the plate. But I don’t remember the last time I shook him off.”

Items of note
–RHP Chris Carpenter, whose throwing session was canceled on Monday when his shoulder felt weak, said he felt stronger on Tuesday. He said that after a couple days of rest he could be cleared to resume throwing again. But he also said he still expected to consult with doctors when the club returns to St. Louis after Wednesday’s game.

–RF Carlos Beltran, who leads the National League in homers with 20, said he had not yet been approached about participating in the Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game and didn’t know if he would accept such an invitation. Chances are that Beltran would accept, though, because he spent seven seasons playing with the Kansas City Royals, hosts of this year’s All-Star Game.

–RHP Kyle Lohse has beaten the Miami Marlins twice in two meetings at the new stadium in Miami. The Cardinals opened this season there with a one-game series. Lohse took a no-hitter into the seventh inning that night and scored a 4-1 victory. “People forget he led the team in wins and ERA last year,” said manager Mike Matheny. “People kind of overlook him a little bit, which is understandable because we’ve had some big-name pitchers who have had big years.”

–3B David Freese, riding a six-game hitting streak, got a scheduled day off. Freese will be back in the lineup on Wednesday night.

–LF Matt Holliday, who had hit .556 (20-for-36) over his last nine games, went hitless but drew two walks and also reached base on a Miami error. Holliday has a good chance of being named an All-Star reserve for the National League.

–SS Rafael Furcal, contributing his strong offensive play after a recent 2-for-39 nosedive, reached base on a single and a walk and scored the Cardinals’ first run. He also made the game’s best defensive play, a double play to end the sixth inning, after fielding Miami LF Logan Morrison’s angry, high-hop smash to his left. “He’s been playing at Gold Glove caliber,” said manager Mike Matheny. “It looked like he just threw his glove in the air, anticipating a high hop.” Said Furcal, “I didn’t have time to get in front of it … that ball was hit so hard.”

BY THE NUMBERS: 8 — Consecutive wins by the Cardinals over the Marlins in the last two seasons, including seven straight in Miami.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “Anytime you give up a ball hit that hard, you aren’t expecting anybody to catch it.” — RHP Kyle Lohse on a stellar double play turned by SS Rafael Furcal to end the sixth inning.

MEDICAL WATCH:

–LHP Jaime Garcia (left shoulder strain) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to June 6. After further examination, it was determined that he has tearing in his rotator cuff. He won’t throw until at least late July and is out until at least mid-August.

–1B Lance Berkman (torn meniscus in right knee) went on the 15-day disabled list May 20. He had arthroscopic surgery May 25, and no ACL damage was found. He might be able to resume baseball activity in late June

The only good thing about the Cardinals’ 1-4 trip is they returned home still in first place in the National League Central Division, albeit only a half game ahead of Cincinnati.

The 1-4 trip followed a 1-4 homestand, giving the Cardinals eight losses in their last 10 games. In three of their four losses on the trip to San Francisco and Los Angeles, they scored five runs, which would have been enough to win earlier in the season. But the bullpen let them down Sunday in a 6-5 loss at Los Angeles.

Left-hander Marc Rzepczynski struck out the only really dangerous hitter in the injury-riddled Dodgers lineup when he fanned right fielder Andre Ethier with two on in the seventh inning. That was the second out. Rzepczynski had only to get St. Louisan Scott Van Slyke, a minor league call-up who was pinch hitting.

After falling behind 3-0, Rzpczynski laid in a changeup. Van Slyke had the green light from manager Don Mattingly and the son of former star outfielder Andy Van Slyke, popped his first big-league home run, a three-run shot, to left.

“My plan was to go with sinkers away early and see if he could hit a ground ball,” Rzepczynski said. “Then I threw a 3-0 changeup, thinking he’d be a little bit out in front of it, I just left it up a little bit up, and it was right in his wheelhouse.”

The Cardinals ran themselves out of two innings although television replays indicated catcher Yadier Molina was safe in the sixth inning after trying to advance on a bloop hit by first baseman Matt Adams.

Adams’ performance in his first major-league game was notable. He had two singles in four at-bats as he replaced injured first baseman Lance Berkman.

“He’s a pretty mature hitter for his age and experience,” manager Mike Matheny said of the 23-year-old Adams. “He has a short, powerful swing and the ability to stay within himself and not try to do too much. He has the ability to go to both fields. Power is a rare commodity and he’s got some. Defensively, he does a nice job, too.”

NOTES
–1B Lance Berkman was placed on the disabled list Sunday. He will find out Monday the severity of his right knee injury suffered Saturday night. “If I’ve re-torn my ACL or something like that, I’d certainly get it fixed but you don’t know how psychologically you’re going to come back from something like that,” Berkman said. “I’m not talking from the standpoint of being scared of hurting it again. I’m talking about doing everything it takes to come back and play again at an elite level. I think that’s a legitimate question I’m going to have to answer if, in fact, it turns out to be something more serious than we hope that it is.”

–Rookie 1B Matt Adams was purchased from Class AAA Memphis to replace 1B Lance Berkman. Adams, a 23rd-round draft pick from Slippery Rock University in 2009, was hitting .340 with nine homers at Memphis and he singled on the first pitch thrown to him in the majors and added a second single on Sunday while playing flawlessly in the field, even starting a double play.

–RHP Kyle Lohse was denied his sixth victory by a bullpen letdown. Lohse, over 5 1/3 innings, pitched around many of the Dodgers’ 11 hits off him.

–3B David Freese, already locked in an awful slump, hit rock bottom on Sunday, fanning four times on four at-bats, mostly on high fastballs. Freese is 3 for his last 34 with all three hits coming in the same game.

–2B Skip Schumaker continued his impressive hitting as a part-time player, suggesting that perhaps he should play more. Schumaker tripled in two runs in the fifth and also drew a walk.

BY THE NUMBERS: 8 — Consecutive losses by the Cardinals to the Los Angeles Dodgers over two seasons.

QUOTE TO NOTE:  From the Chicago Tribune, “If this team has shown anything, it’s that it’s resilient enough to hang in there. We realize no matter who it is, we’re going to be right there. I still feel that way.” — 1B Lance Berkman, after he went down with a right knee injury, further cluttering the Cardinals’ disabled list.

MEDICAL WATCH:

–1B Lance Berkman (right knee injury) was placed on the disabled list May 20. He will find out this week the severity of the injury suffered May 19.

–RHP Kyle McClellan (strained right ulnar collateral ligament) left the May 17 game and returned to St. Louis to be examined by team doctors. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list on May 18 and will be sidelined at least 10 weeks.

–RF Carlos Beltran (sore right knee, plantar fasciitis in right foot) did not start May 14-17, though he pinch-hit three times. He returned to the lineup May 18.

–CF Jon Jay (sprained right shoulder) went on the 15-day disabled list May 15.

–RHP Scott Linebrink (right shoulder capsulitis) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 30. He felt tightness during an April 30 bullpen session, and he didn’t appear close to a return.

–RHP Chris Carpenter (weak right shoulder) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 26. He isn’t likely to begin a real throwing program until sometime in May and probably won’t pitch until at least June.