It gets lost in the shuffle sometimes just how important of a Cardinal Scott Rolen was. And with his career perhaps coming to a close this week, it’s a ripe time to take a look at why. Perhaps it’s because it ended on such a dismissive note that what he represented in St. Louis at such a high point in the franchise’s history.

How will he be remembered? Overall, he’ll stand up tall with the people that watch his era. Not to the statuesque level of Chipper Jones, but really, there’s not many, if any, that played the hot corner in the last 15 years that were any better than him. A seven-time All-Star, 1997 Rookie of the Year and owner of eight Gold Gloves. But it’s the glove that truly stands out, because with the exception of Brooks Robinson’s escapades on the hot corner, nobody has ever done it better. There are some that would say he ever surpassed Hoover in the glove game, a claim that could amount to blasphemy by some, but has some credence with many. But the ground that Rolen could cover while standing at 6’4″, and combined with one of the best infield arms ever, makes it valid.

But what is it about Rolen that makes him not be more revered as a Cardinal? Was it the silent, perhaps even standoffish way he went about his business? Dig a little deeper, because he has some legit claim to be in the discussion for greatest Cardinal third baseman ever. That’s a not too shabby group that includes Ken Boyer, Mike Shannon and Whitey Kurowski. After being acquired as at the trade deadline in 2002, he embarked on a remarkable six year run with the club. Among all third baseman in franchise history, he is second in second in home runs (111) and doubles (173) and fourth in RBI with 453 despite hitting behind Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds the majority of his time with the club and missing much of the 2005 season.

He returned in time to help the club rebound from that disappointing 2005 season. He played huge, and slightly forgotten, role in taking the club to its second World Series in 2006; one where he built up eight hits in 19 at-bats, including a home run and three triples. This was his crowning moment as a Cardinal, but soon shoulder injuries would keep him off the field for much of the rest of his time with the club. While he has gone on to have strong campaigns with the Toronto Blue Jays and Cincinnati Reds, his career truly peaked as a Cardinal, and reached a point where he showcased just how great he truly could be.

So what is it that keeps Rolen from being a more embraced member of the franchise’s history? He doesn’t really get an exceptional reception from fans when he returns, especially considering what he contributed to a very recent era. Perhaps it’s the way he faded away at the end, or that there was nothing of great lasting return received for him. Maybe it’s the feud with Tony LaRussa that kept him from relishing many returns with the club. Perhaps it’s his affiliation with the club’s fiercest rival the last few seasons in Cincinnati, that hasn’t allowed for many moments of reflection.

Whatever it may be, if his decision to decline coming to Spring Training with the Reds, a team he recently said is the only one he’d consider returning to this year, it’s time to embrace the man more in St. Louis. He’s a virtual baseball nomad by a career sense; he could never go back to Philadelphia to a warm reception, and he spent the shortest tenures of his career in Toronto and Cincinnati. St. Louis is where he deserves to come back to eventually, for the recognition an outstanding player of his level deserves. Maybe, with some time and reflection, both sides will learn how to properly place each other.

Unless you have been hiding under a rock for the last few weeks, you are aware the St. Louis Cardinals are in the middle of a very bad stretch of baseball. Before Monday’s win at New York, the club had dropped 5 straight and if you take out the sweep against the AAA padres on a 4-17 stretch of baseball.

Bad.

For whatever reason, I do not believe the sky is falling and all is lost for either this season or the future of the organization. Perhaps it is because I like Mike Matheny, and want to believe he will get it turned around. Perhaps it is that Mozeliak has earned some trust that he makes moves for the long-term good of the club, and not just knee-jerk reactions to fix immediate needs. Perhaps it is because I believe in the talent and leadership of this team, and understand what they have been up against with all the injuries. Or perhaps, I have allowed a paradigm shift to take place this season to take the long view and not get so caught up in the “window is now” mentality that has pervaded the Cardinals organization for the last several years.

It solidified in my mind last Friday night as I was on Conversations with C70 podcast. As I was talking with host Daniel Shoptaw, he reminded me the importance of getting out of that “all-in” mentality that it’s this year or nothing. Should fans have the expectation to put a winning product on the field? Of course. Is expecting to win a World Series or deep playoff run every year realistic? No. And again, do not take this as I am throwing in the towel on the Cardinal’s chances for this season. Just trying to provide some perspective.

The messaging from the media and front office the last few seasons has created a sense of urgency to “win now”. The conversation always centered around the need to win before Albert Pujol’s free agency, or before Tony LaRussa retired, or while Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen were still producing at a high level.

We are in a different era now.

Yes it would be nice to get Berkman, Carpenter, and Beltran another ring; but this team has positioned itself to be a contender for a long, long time. There is good talent at the major league level, and the deepest farm system in years. That farm system is being bolstered by another solid draft

*Quick aside: I was overall happy with the Cards draft, and think they can sign a bunch of players based on where they slotted…but my gosh wouldn’t it have been nice to see one completely risky pick on a raw high schooler with a ton of talent? Isn’t that the point of having 5 of the first 59 picks, you get to risk one of them? Dan Kantrovitz played it safe in his first draft. Time will tell if he plays it this safe in every draft. I sure hope not…he was sitting on an incredible opportunity this year to take a very high upside but risky player, and didn’t do it. *

Heading into the Mets series, the Cardinals boasted the 3rd best run differential in MLB, and best in NL. Pitching has obviously been more problematic than offense during the May/June slide. But here is the main problem as I see it. Lack of veteran presence within the bullpen.

Some would say Mozeliak went all-in with a bunch of second year arms in the bullpen and that was foolish….that the club made a huge mistake letting Dotel walk. Be careful before quickly jumping to that conclusion. Yes, Dotel is a great pitcher, but Mozeliak had an experienced left-handed reliever in Marc Rzepcynksi coming off a great 2011. He also added two veteran relievers in the off-season that should have provided the needed veteran presence: Scott Linebrink and JC Romero.

Unfortunately, Romero severely underperformed and was released. Rzepcynski has struggled, and Linebrink got hurt. What is Mozeliak supposed to do? The Memphis roster has already been depleted due to the huge number of injuries this season. Should Mo trade off top prospects for bullpen arms this early in the season? It seems the approach is to ride out the tough stretch for the time being and allow players to get healthy, and deal from a position of strength and not urgency.

My plea to Cardinal fans is to take the long view. Realize the window to win is big, and a knee-jerk move to shore up a short-term problem may not be in the best interest of the organization for this year, and certainly over the long-term. The Cardinals will figure it out. A veteran presence is needed in the bullpen, perhaps Linebrink is one piece and we trade for another in July. But all is not lost.

The window to win is bigger now than ever.

Sunday’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch included a story on St. Louis Cardinals outfield prospect Oscar Taveras. Taveras opened eyes last season when he posted the highest batting average in the Midwest League since 1956. Taveras hit .386 with an on-base percentage of .444. Manager Mike Matheny admitted the batting mark caught his eye and has given Taveras a handful of at-bats with the big club this spring.

For many years the Cardinals built their major league club through trades or free agency rather than with players the team drafted and developed in its own system. From the pennant-winning teams of the mid-2000s, Jim Edmonds, Chris Carpenter, Scott Rolen, Adam Wainwright, Jeff Suppan and Mike Matheny all came to the team via a trade or as a free agent. There were two mainstays, of course, who did come through the Cardinals system in Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina.

Now, though, it appears the Cardinals have lots of help in their farm system. In ranking the Cardinals’ system 3^rd in the major leagues, Baseball Prospectus used this line, “They’ve suddenly become a drafting and development beast, with plenty of help coming beginning in 2013.” On the current big-league team Jaime Garcia, Tyler Greene, Jon Jay, Allen Craig and Jason Motte are among the players who came through the Cards’ system.

Virtually every top-10 prospect list includes Shelby Miller, a right-handed starting pitcher out of the Lone Star State who fits the stereotypical mold of the Texas flame thrower. MLB.com puts Miller at #5 of the top-100 prospects. Predictions have Miller competing for a place in the big league rotation in spring training 2013. Carlos Martinez is another highly ranked right-handed starter. MLB.com has Martinez ranked #30 in its top-100 list. Martinez is just 20 years old and Miller is only 21.

As for position players, Zack Cox and Matt Adams are promising players for the Cardinals. Cox is a 3^rd baseman and Adams plays 1^st base. Kolten Wong is a 2^nd baseman and a product of the University of Hawaii. The team made Wong its 1^st-round draft choice in 2011. He played alongside Taveras at Quad Cities after being drafted last year and hit .335 in an abbreviated season.

It’s always exciting for fans to see players their team drafted, developed and brought through its system. Hopefully Cardinals fans will see plenty of these players in Busch Stadium in the future.

Aside from Aramis Ramirez no other NL Central third basemen surpassed the 100 games played mark. Only David Freese sniffed the 100 game mark in 2011, falling just short at with 97. Though it’s tough basing everything off of a post season run Freese showed the kind of hitter he can be in the postseason. It is dangerous evaluating off of postseason hype, but Freese should have had this breakthrough in seasons prior. Assuming health, which for him could be a big gamble, he can put it all together and be a .280-25-100-90 work horse on the hot corner.

As it stands now Freese is more of less in a class by himself among the NL Central third basemen. Not quite at the Ramirez and Rolen level, but well above the likes of what takes the field for the Astros, Cubs, and Pirates. Here is who he be measured against moving into 2012.

Ian Stewart split the 2011 season between the Rockies and Triple-A Colorado Springs, totaling two stints in each spot. He batted .156 with six doubles in 48 games with the Rockies and hit .275 with 14 home runs and 42 RBIs in 45 games in the Minor Leagues. A change of scenery might help Stewart, who hit 25 home runs in 2009 and was considered a rising star but never gained a solid footing in the Majors.

Reds third baseman Scott Rolen was limited to 252 at-bats in 2011, hitting .242 with five homers, one stolen base, 36 RBIs and 34 runs scored.  Rolen continues to deal with injuries and shoulder problems which again cut short a season. The 36-year-old has only reached 350 at-bats once in the past four campaigns and is a significant injury risk for 2012. When healthy he is one of the game’s best at the hot corner and his defense alone will keep him on the field.

For the Astros Jimmy Paredes hit .286 with a pair of homers, five stolen bases, 18 RBIs and 16 runs scored in 168 at-bats during his rookie season. Paredes didn’t distinguish himself in his initial Major League action but he didn’t look out of place either. The 22-year-old didn’t hit for a lot of power in the Minors so his upside for 2012 isn’t very high from a power perspective but Paredes has shown he can hit for average. Which for the Astros happens to be the case for most of the roster.

Aramis Ramirez completed his sixth season with at least 30 doubles and 25 homers. He got off to a slow start, hitting two home runs in the first two months of the season. Ramirez has a career .261 average in April and playing in Miller Park early in the year could help him boost those numbers. Ramirez has a lifetime .270 average and .503 slugging percentage at Miller Park, hitting 15 homers and 25 doubles there.

Pedro Alvarez was a big disappointment in 2011, as he hit four homers, stole one base, drove in 10 runs and scored eight times while hitting .191 in 235 at-bats.  Alvarez entered 2011 as a budding prospect but got off to a slow start and was eventually sent to the Minors. He didn’t show much more after returning to the Bucs in September and is a major question mark heading into 2012.  The addition of Casey McGehee gives the Pirates another option at third base, though the club has insisted that Pedro Alvarez will get the first crack at holding onto the starting role.

Our towns David Freese missed time early in the season due to a broken hand but produced reasonable numbers when healthy. In only 97 games in 2011 Freese hit .297 with 10 homers, 55 RBIs, 41 runs scored and one stolen base.  He set a postseason record with 21 RBIs, which has everyone drooling about a possible breakout campaign in 2012. From time to time he still shows he has room to grown defensively but a full offseason and being healthy going into 2012 should help.

By the time 2012 is said and done here is how I see things shaking out amongst the NL Central three baggers.

1. Aramis Ramirez
2. Scott Rolen
3. David Freese
4. Ian Stewart
5. Jimmy Paredes
6. Pedro Alvarez

Looking ahead: There is still a lot to prove for Freese in 2012. The NL Central already has an established senior class of third basemen in Aramis Ramirez and Scott Rolen. Rolen’s defense, for now, keeps him ahead of Freese and Ramirez’s ability to do it year in and year out keeps him atop the class at this point. If Freese can stay healthy enough to play 145+ games and sure up his defense even a little look for him to overtake Rolen amonth the pecking order of NL third basemen.

Follow Derek on Twitter @SportsbyWeeze

Many theories have been advanced as to why the Cardinals seem to swoon late in seasons these days. I can’t help but wonder if the root cause is in how the roster has changed.

At the end of the 2006 season, the Cardinals had been in the playoffs three consecutive years, the NLCS every year, the World Series twice, and were the reigning World Champions. Since, they have not won a playoff game. The 2007 team saw a lot of injuries, and after that season two stalwarts of those mid-decade juggernauts left via trade: Jim Edmonds (to San Diego) and Scott Rolen (to exile, er, Toronto).

Looking back, St Louis had seen this before. In 1987 the Cardinals concluded their most successful run of sustained superior baseball since the El Birdos teams 20 years earlier. In six years, they had won the National League three times, the World Series once, and narrowly missed two other titles. But times were changing in St Louis, and with Gussie Busch taking a back seat to Fred Kuhlmann cost became the primary driver on roster decisions. Jack Clark, a free agent after the 1987 season, was not re-signed; he went to the Yankees. Tommy Herr, in his last year with the club, was traded to Minnesota for Tom Brunansky.

It should be emphasized the drivers for these sets of roster moves were different. Edmonds was traded because his injury history had caught up to him, and he was no longer the productive player he had been in 2005. Rolen’s significant shoulder injuries sapped him of his power; although the primary driver for his relocation north of the border can be traced to his acerbic relationship with manager Tony LaRussa. Clark and Herr left because the club did not want to pay them.

But the impact on the roster of losing these players was immediate and long-lasting. Clark was the lone power threat on the Whiteyball teams of the 1980s; St Louis never really did replace his production. Herr was a clubhouse leader. His departure was hugely unpopular in St Louis, and the team suffered for his loss. Save the 1989 season, the Cardinals didn’t finish within 10 games of first place in their division until they won the NL Central in 1996.

And today’s Cardinals? The 2008-2010 teams have been more competitive than their forebears of 20 years ago, but they have not succeeded either. Third base has been a revolving door since Rolen left. Colby Rasmus appeared the heir apparent to Edmonds in center until this July. Despite having strong personalities on the roster like Albert Pujols, Chris Carpenter, and Adam Wainwright, the Cardinals seem to suffer from a lack of leadership in the clubhouse – a role Scott Rolen certainly filled, and Jim Edmonds definitely did (look no further than his actions during the 2006 playoff run).

Every team, every assemblage of people working towards a common goal, needs leadership. Senior leadership can drive the problem, but only so far. The manager cannot be everywhere all the time. Peer leadership is required; and in important ways, essential. The manager can set the standard, but he is unable to lead by example. When a player is dogging it, the manager can call that guy into his office and talk to him, but it is that player’s peers that drive the message home. Men like Jim Edmonds, Jack Clark, Tommy Herr, and Scott Rolen led by example. They drove the message home.

When they left the St Louis Cardinals lost something special, and something essential. It was true 20 years ago until management and the roster rolled completely over. It is true today. The Cardinals did not replace Tommy Herr’s leadership until LaRussa brought character guys over from his Oakland A’s teams. These Cardinals have not found a replacement to Scott Rolen’s example. Until they do we will continue to see swoons in August.

Thanks to Bob Netherton for his assistance with this post.

Mike Metzger is a life-long Cardinals fan who currently blogs about the San Diego Padres.

At some point Albert Pujols will bat tonight. He may start, or it might be during a pitching change in the 6^th inning. If the St. Louis Baseball Gods have their say it will be a pinch-hit AB in the 9^th with the game on the line. Regardless of the situation, more importantly regardless of the outcome, Pujols will receive a Hero’s welcome. From listening to local sports radio today it is as if El Hombre, The Mang, was returning home victorious from conquests afar. In similar fashion, local TV news outlets paint a picture of Pujols riding into Busch Stadium atop a magnificent steed with the head of a dragon in his saddle bag.

I am as happy as any Cardinal fan that Pujols’ return is coming much sooner than expected, but let’s pull back on the legendary-career-defining-moment talk. Pujols is a “Machine” yes, and has been very durable and tough throughout the first ten years of his career. The more likely explanation in this case however is that the injury is not as severe as originally diagnosed. Remember it took three X-Rays to find the fracture in the first place, so let’s not act as if his wrist was hanging on by the tendon. And strong as my feelings are as a fan, and blogger, about his early return and the positive message it sends to the team…especially the younger players. They are even stronger about the Cardinals and their medical staff’s mismanagement of player injuries.

If his injury is aggravated, wow…look out, this will be the biggest egg-in-the-face moment for a proud franchise. We have seen it too many times in recent years. See: Scott Rolen seeking out the opinion and aid from another team’s medical staff for his aching shoulder; Chris Carpenter pitching in only 1 game in 2007 while the fans were fed lines that he was coming back multiple times that season; or look no further than this year and the handling of Matt Holliday’s quad injury. Cases like these are too plentiful for my liking.

Pujols coming back early is not a sign of super human recovery but rather another example of misdiagnosing or misrepresenting an injury. This is not Willis Reed coming back for the Knicks, Ronnie Lott cutting off the end of his finger to come back into the game or Al Macinnis coming back in game 7 against the Canucks. In those games, in those situations, the players were still hurt and played through it and with it. If Pujols IS STILL hurt, then we have a new story to cover and one that I venture will cost people their jobs.

Pujols got hurt and got better. And now he is now going back to work. Nothing more…nothing less. Just like the rest of us who miss time at work. When we get better….we go back. So if you want to applaud Albert upon his return, please feel free. But understand you are applauding for nothing more than someone doing his job and getting paid A LOT to do it.

As usual these are just my thoughts…if you’re smart you’ll most likely agree. If not keep on reading and you’ll get up to speed.

Follow me on Twitter @SportsbyWeeze or check out my thoughts on the Rams at RamsHerd.com

St Louis just completed a three-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles, winning last night 9-6. Lance Berkman hit two home runs and drove in three. Jon Jay also homered for the Redbirds.

When these two franchises get together – and it has only happened twice, the other occurring over a lazy weekend in 2003 – nostalgia aficionados think back to when both teams played in St Louis, and the 1944 World Series. The Browns moved out of St Louis following the 1953 season, partially because they were cash-strapped, partially because the American League was tired of Bill Veeck owning the team.

Very few folks remain in St Louis who saw the Browns play and it is safe to say no one in Baltimore, unless they moved to Maryland with the Browns, cares they were St Louis’ other franchise some 58 years ago. Anyone hoping the Orioles would dress up like the Browns during this series was disappointed. That did happen once though – during Baltimore’s lone visit to St Louis.

June 7, 2003 found the Cardinals 4 games over .500 and in third place, 2 games behind Houston. Baltimore was 2 games under and in fourth, trailing the Yankees by 5 and a half. Garrett Stephenson and Sidney Ponson started for the Cardinals and ‘Browns’, respectively, and in a sign of things to come Stephenson gave up a first-inning home run to Melvin Mora, staking Baltimore to a 2-0 lead. The Cardinals came right back; after leadoff singles by Miguel Cairo and JD Drew, Albert Pujols doubled to score Cairo. Drew, however, was thrown out at home trying to tie the game. Ponson walked Jim Edmonds next, then got Scott Rolen looking and Edgar Renteria on a lineout.

The Orioles immediately pushed the lead back to two in the second, thanks to a leadoff home run from Deivi Cruz. The score would stay that way until Cruz returned to the plate in the fourth and homered again. It was the second, and last, multi-HR game of his career. Stephenson gave up a third HR – in the sixth, to Jeff Conine – and was lifted by Tony LaRussa two batters later instead of facing Cruz a third time. Kiko Calero came in and struck out Cruz to end the sixth.

In the meantime Ponson was cruising. Following the Pujols double he retired 21 of the next 22 hitters, allowing only an Edmonds single leading off the fourth. Dustin Hermanson relieved Calero to start the eighth and promptly gave up singles to Luis Matos and Mora, both of whom scored when Conine followed with a double. St Louis got multiple runners on in the bottom of the inning on a pinch-hit single from Orlando Palmerio and a double from Cairo, but Cairo managed to get hit by Drew’s ground ball to short. Pujols struck out looking with runners on the corners to end the inning.

Baltimore tacked on a meaningless unearned run in the ninth, and Ponson completed what he started, winning 8-1. Ponson threw 29 complete games in his career, and this was the first of three he threw in 2003.

What makes this game memorable? Two things. It is currently the only game the Cardinals have lost to Baltimore. And, it remains the only time since 1953 the St Louis Browns played the St Louis Cardinals.

Mike over at Cards Droppings does a great job breaking down the series as they come up. We are glad to share that information with you here on I-70 and ask you to click the link at the bottom of the article to read the rest of the material on the home site.

After a quick 3 games in 28 hours, the Cardinals move on to take on their bitter rivals, the Cincinnati Reds. There are so many subplots here. Let’s take a look at just a few of them:

• Johnny “Karate” Cueto basically ended Jason LaRue’s career last year after his infamous kick-assault on our backup catcher.
• The Cardinals fired Walt Jocketty, and he’s now the general manager of the Reds. He absolutely has every right to want to beat the Cardinals after he was shoved out of an organization to which he brought so much success.
• Johnny Gomes, after hearing about the Adam Wainwright injury this spring, reportedly was celebrating in the Reds’ spring training clubhouse. He denies this, but knowing Gomes, I am sure that the reports of him being amped up were spot on.
• Scott Rolen was basically pushed out of town due to his failed relationship with Tony LaRussa. Although he’s out for game one of this series, it’s certain that Rolen LOVES giving his old team trouble whenever he can.
• Troublemaker Brandon Phillips has been tweeting like crazy ripping on St. Louis: ”My teammates ask me if I knew where some good places 2 eat at in St. Louis! I said, “Yea, come with me 2 the store 2 get some Lunchables!” and “Just landed in St. Louis! Sad face… But these wins will make me happy! On our way 2 the hotel & I hope its not Hilton at the BallPark! Lol”
• Mike Leake turned into a petty thief recently, stealing $60 worth of shirts at Macy’s. Matt Sebek, over at JoeSportsFan.com, has done a brilliant job of getting us ready for this series. He’s come up with an awesome shirt to taunt Reds fans. Read all about it here.

Read the rest of Mike’s breakdown of the series by clicking here.

Believe it or not, there are a few.

No one wanted to see the St. Louis Cardinals start their season by dropping consecutive series to the San Diego Padres and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Albert Pujols and several other key hitters are slumping (or pressing…or whatever polish you want to apply to “hitting like crap so far”), the defense has mostly been as bad as feared, and the team has just been inconsistent if not uninspiring since Opening Day. It is the first time since 1919 they’ve gone this deep into the season without scoring more than three runs in any game.

Yup…it’s bad. But I have to find some things to be excited about, even if only to keep my interest up.

For instance, I happened to be in attendance for both Cardinal victories at Busch Stadium. So, you know…you’re welcome.

–Has anyone noticed how solid David Freese has been at the Hot Corner so far? The Cards have a long tradition of great players manning third base, and Freese has a long way to go before he can fall in line with guys like Scott Rolen or Terry Pendleton. But he has turned in some gems already this season, and on less than 100% ankles. As his legs get stronger, so should his defense.

–Although the bigger offense stories on this team are the negative ones, it is encouraging to see Skip Schumaker hitting near .300 again. His on-base (.308) and slugging percentage (.320) could be higher, but he certainly looks less like the player he was early in 2010. And that leads me to believe he should be in the leadoff position every game, regardless of which hand the opposing starting pitcher uses to throw the ball. Ryan Theriot is still searching for his stroke, and if the true goal is getting as many runners on base as possible in front of Pujols, Holliday, etc. then it shouldn’t matter if two lefties—the other being Colby Rasmus—hit first and second.

–Speaking of Rasmus, he too has good offensive numbers early. His batting average is over .300 and his on-base percentage is pushing .500 after reaching three times on Friday. Unfortunately, Pujols has become the double play machine so far this year, so Rasmus gets erased a lot. But if Rasmus can continue the trend of hitting and taking more walks than strikeouts, it will really boost the team when Pujols finally snaps out of it.

–The Cards are pretty middle-of-the-pack when it comes to team pitching stats, but Chris Carpenter, Jaime Garcia, and Kyle McClellan have turned in pretty strong first starts. Garcia, of course, pitched the best game of his career on Sunday, and though he doesn’t have a win to show for it, Carpenter looks to be close to mid-season form with a 2.08 ERA and 10 strikeouts over 13 innings pitched. But aside from one bad inning, Kyle Lohse was at least able to turn in seven innings. And Jake Westbrook recovered from his disastrous debut to give up a slightly more respectable three earned runs over five and two thirds on Friday to bring his ERA back under 10 for the season. I guess the real silver lining here is that everyone in the current rotation is healthy, and three-fifths of the rotation has been very impressive.

–Matt Holliday had a great Spring Training and carried it over to Opening Day by going 3 for 4 with a home run, then promptly disappeared from the lineup for an emergency appendectomy. But just over a week later, he has traveled with the team and appears poised to return any day now. That would be huge for this team, especially if Holliday can pick up where he left off. And don’t look now, but utility glove Nick Punto has made his way to extended spring training to begin rehabbing. No return date has been floated yet, but it won’t be long. And that would boost the defense off the bench.

Unfortunately, that’s about as good as it gets right now. Just look at it as a dose of sunshine on what has been, for the most part, a gloomy start to the season.

A game that started off so well ended up being painful to watch.

Let us start with the shocking: Albert Pujols grounded into three double plays yesterday. Three. First time in his career he’s ever done that. According to various reports, the Cardinal record for hitting into double plays in on game is 4, held by Joe Torre. Joe Torre did indeed ground into 4 DP’s in one game, but as a New York Met (21 July 1975). Reported on twitter by me, but I’m willing to bet Derrick Goold beat me to it. No doubt someone will have figured that out by now. Four is the Major League record.

The Cardinal record is indeed 3, which Pujols tied today. It’s been done twice before, by Scott Rolen, and Orlando Cepeda. Interestingly St Louis won the game that day in 1966 when Cepeda did it, but that may be because Bob Gibson was on the mound.

The other aspect of Pujols’ day that will have folks concerned is his oh for 2 with RISP. He also came up with a total of 5 guys on and didn’t drive any of them in. Good thing Matt Holliday had a big day, or this game might not have gotten to extra innings. It is only one game, but one wonders if all the contract talk weighs on him a little bit.

Despite the errors and lack of hitting – they ended with 12 hits but only 3 runs – this was a game they should have won. They did enough. We can blame Ryan Franklin for surrendering the bomb to Cameron Maybin in the ninth that tied it, and Ryan Theriot for taking his eye off Jon Jay’s throw in the eleventh that allowed Padre catcher Nick Hundley to scamper home with the go-ahead (and eventual winning) run, but that is not really fair. This game was lost when the Cardinals left 8 men on in the first 9 innings, when they had Tim Stauffer on the ropes while putting the first three men on the fourth, and the first two in the sixth, yet only scored one run total in those two innings.

Chris Carpenter looked good, and was efficient. Seven innings, 98 pitches, two earned runs (although by rights it should have been only one; how Skip Schumaker does not get charged with an error in the fifth when he didn’t hold the ball while tagging Ryan Ludwick out stealing is beyond me). Miguel Batista was Miguel Batista. Both Trever Miller and Brian Tallet pitched well. Augenstein struggled but that’s somewhat understandable for his first game back in the majors in over a year (and his defense betrayed him too).

We ought to tip our cap to the Padre defense. Rightfielder Will Venable made several outstanding plays in the field. The new Padre keystone combo looked mighty good turning 4 double plays, and they individually made several solid plays. This game is put away early on without the stellar glove work by San Diego.

The Cardinals get an off-day tomorrow, then return to action Saturday, when Jake Westbrook squares off against Clayton Richard.