Tag: pirates

Cardinals NLDS opponent: Cubs or Pirates?

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Tonight, the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates take aim at each other for the final undecided playoff spot in the 2015 postseason. The NL wildcard spot. While they duel, the St. Louis Cardinals await the victor at Busch Stadium for Game 1 Friday night. As we wait for the skies to go dark and the final order of regular season business to be resolved, I ask you this question Cardinal Nation. Who are you rooting for? Who do you want the Cards to face in the NLDS? Let me tell you who I want.

I’ll take the Cubs and for a few reasons. 

*Big bats have little experience in the postseason. The majority of this Cubs offensive attack is green when it comes to playoff experience and that means something. It’s a different beast in the postseason. The crowds are louder. Every at bat means something. The stakes are as high as ever. The opportunity to acquire something special looms over the regulars. You can tell me how good Jake Arrieta has been in the second half or how polished Anthony Rizzo has become at the plate, but they haven’t tasted the playoffs yet. They don’t know what it’s like. The only thing Rizzo knows about the playoffs is making ill-advised predictions. Jason Hammel has three starts in the playoffs. Dan Haren hasn’t pitched in October since 2009. Jon Lester has the most experience. A lot of these Cubs are new faces in the postseason.

*The Cubs rotation is weaker than the Pirates, not by much but enough. After Arrieta, Jon Lester is the likely candidate to start the NLDS. At most, Arrieta will pitch one game in this series. While they only hit .216 off Lester, the Cards beat him three times in 2015 and hit three home runs. He isn’t invincible, and neither is Hammel or Haren. If the Cards get Kyle Hendricks, they beat him in their one start. The Pirates have Francisco Liriano and J.A. Happ, two Cardinal killers, waiting for the Birds. The Cubs starters, while posting the third lowest ERA behind the Cards and Pirates, aren’t as formidable in a short series.

*The Cubs bullpen is weaker than the Pirates. Pittsburgh’s bullpen ERA of 2.67 led the Majors in 2015. The Cards had the 3rd best bullpen ERA. The Cubs have the 8th best, which is solid but not as scary as the Pirates. In the playoffs, the bullpen efforts are magnified. There are tons of small leads and the Cubs bullpen is more likely to break. If I have to chose between Tony Watson and Pedro Strop, I’ll take Strop. If I have to choose between Jorge Soria or Fernando Rodney, I’ll take Rodney. If I have to choose between Mark Melancon and Hector Rondon, I’ll take the latter. And so on so on. The Cubs’ late inning crew isn’t as formidable and has less playoff experience to boot.

*The Pirates are a better overall hitting team. They ranked 11th in runs scored(697), 9th in batting average(.260), 9th in on base percentage(.323) and slugged two points less than the Cubs as a team. While the Cubs can hit the long ball, the Pirates are more balanced and can break through against many pitching staffs. They have speed in Starlin Marte, Gregory Polanco and Josh Harrison and home run bats in Pedro Alvarez and Andrew McCutchen. The Pirates played the Cards better overall in 2015.

Both teams have very good managers in Joe Maddon and Clint Hurdle. Each field is an extremely loud and difficult place to play baseball games in.

I understand losing to the Cubs would be a very bad ending to the 2015 campaign. Depressing in fact. There’s something sinister in that potential result should the two teams meet in the Division Series. The Cubs were supposed to be playoff ready in 2016 or 2017 but instead used a very good second half and an unreal Arrieta to earn a Wildcard play in spot. The gap is closing and with a playoff victory over the Cards, the rivalry would be as fresh as ever. A loss to the Pirates would be unfortunate but more of a year to year build from Hurdle’s bunch after seasons of falling short. Let’s be honest. The Cards don’t need to lose to either of these teams, so in the end it’s a matter of which poison you want. All three teams had amazing seasons. Both batches are potent. Which one stings the most?

In the end, the Pirates pack a better all around punch. Sure, they don’t have their breakout talent in Jung Ho Kang anymore or have a 100% lethal A.J. Burnett, but still have a great rotation and lineup that hits Cardinal pitching well and played a lot of close games this season. More than five games between the Cards and Bucs ended in a walkoff this season. A playoff series would be very similar and for my money, their bullpen is what separates these two clubs. Plus, the Cubs are more free swingers, strikeout prone and can be locked down.

If I had to choose which team I’d like the Cards to face in the NLDS in 2015, I’d take the Chicago Cubs. You can’t tell me that series wouldn’t be thrilling. As my dad said after a Cards comeback victory over the Cubs this season. “We gave them a taste. Now that’s enough.” If the Cubs make it out of Pittsburgh with a victory, it will be appropriate for the sheriff in town to quickly shut them up.

That’s my take. What’s yours? Tell me in the comments section and thanks for reading. You can also find this article on KSDK Sports page.

2015 Cardinals are the most resilient team you’ve ever seen

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imageThere they were. Standing over their fallen teammate in the outfield. Kolten Wong, Matt Carpenter and Peter Bourjos looked like a ton of bricks just fell on their shoulders. Stephen Piscotty was down and out, barely moving after a collision with Bourjos in the 7th inning of Monday’s hotly contested series opener. After being carted off the field on a stretcher and giving the proverbial “I’m okay” wave, Piscotty’s absence hung over a team that came into the game with a MLB best 98 wins but seemed bruised and removed from competition for the moment. An hour later, they had a piercing 3-0 win that trimmed the magic number to 2. The Cardinals are officially the toughest team in baseball. They take hits and seem to move faster and more efficiently than before.

There was Mark Reynolds pumping his fist after a two run home run that silenced PNC Park even more than the Piscotty collision did and even elicited some boos. His blast emptied the lower levels of the ballpark and stamped a expiration date on the chances of the Bucs catching the Cardinals. Monday night showed baseball fans why the game can be so frustrating and uplifting at the same time.

It wasn’t pretty. The Cardinals tried to lose the game multiple times. They gave the Pirates ten walks, free passes to score. The Pirates loaded the bases four times and couldn’t score. This was the ugliest shutout in recent memory. Lance Lynn, the up and down rotation cheddar dispenser, gritted his teeth for five stout pressurized innings. He escaped jams with pop ups, strikeouts and amazing defense that included a Jason Heyward assist in the second inning. Heyward’s cannon shot from center field to nab the Pirates risky attempt at an early lead seemed to swing things back in the Cardinals direction. It’s just the following events didn’t play out that way.

Pirates starter J.A. Happ(owner of one of the best earned runs averages in baseball since coming over from Seattle) shut the Cards down for six innings. A maddening stretch that totaled 13 innings of shutout baseball over two starts from Happ on the Cards. When he left, it felt like Sandy Koufax was taking a holiday. Okay, maybe not, but the man was dealing.

The Pirates bullpen, one of two teams with a better ERA than the Cards’ backend arms, denied the Cards access for two more innings before the 9th inning. Mark Melancon, owner of 50 saves and a build that reminds me of Ken from Street Fighter, took the mound and quickly dispatched Greg Garcia on a strikeout. His cutter, which he picked up from Mariano Riveria in New York, was filthy and was causing roadblocks in the Cards lineup all season. He was the slightly less hopeless divisional rival behind Aroldis Chapman. Matt Carpenter poked a single to right center. Jon Jay followed with a seeing eye single that caused Gregory Polanco to fumble it and Andrew McCutchen to also mishandle it, allowing Carpenter to score from first base. Reynolds followed with the smoker and it was time for Rosenthal.

Following back to back outings of serving up heartbreaking losses, Rosenthal immediately lit fires around the hearts of Cardinal Nation in the 9th inning. He walked Cutch and then Starlin Marte got a single. Neil Walker came up and seemed to take a 20 minute at bat, which nearly ended with a groundout but Walker pleaded with the umps that he fouled it off his foot. Too bad he faked it by hobbling on the wrong foot. Rosenthal blew him away with a 98 mph heater tailing away to send him walking back to the dugout. Francisco Cervelli lined out to Heyward and then it was Aramis Rameriz, the famous Cardinal killer nicknamed the Sith Lord by my good friend Daniel Shoptaw. Rameriz lined out. It was over.

The Cardinals crossed Heartbreak Ridge again with a narrow victory that looked more like 3 to 2.5 plus blood, sweat and tears rather than a 3-0 shutout. Rosenthal picked up his 48th save, which gives him the single season record for a Cardinal. He did so in classic Jason Isringhausen fashion, putting runners on and playing with St. Louis fans blood pressures and nerve endings. Would we have it any other way? Don’t answer that.

With a win Tuesday, the Cardinals would collect win #100 and clinch the National League Central division. It’s that close, ladies and gentlemen. The worries of a long hard 162 season coming down to one last win. The mark seems more special this year due to the numerous injuries and setbacks.

The Cardinals have been dealing with loss since last October, when the team lost young phenom Oscar Taveras in a brutal drunk driving related car accident. The death rocked Taveras’ best friend, Carlos Martinez and the clubhouse. In March, Tommy Pham injured his quad in spring training. Jaime Garcia went down in March also with a leg injury, not returning until May 21st. In April, Adam Wainwright and Jordan Walden went down. In May, Matt Adams tore his quad. In June, Matt Holliday tore his quad. Jon Jay was injured for the majority of the season. Reliever Matt Belisle missed 2.5 months. Randal Grichuk injured his elbow in August. Now Piscotty goes down. The Cardinals just keep winning, making this 2015 group a truly special band of brothers.

Word on Piscotty is all tests for concussion and other head related injuries came back negative, meaning the kid will be sore today but otherwise escaped a more drastic setback. Finally, a bit of luck for the Birds.

Tonight, it’s Michael Wacha and Charlie Morton, a matchup heavily favoring the Cardinals, which is why you should expect a 1-1 game in the 9th inning. With this team, anything is possible. They take “You Never Know” to a whole new level.

As Joe Buck said in 2011, “What a team. What a ride.” I have a feeling this October will be even more memorable. Stay tuned for more roller coaster theatrics.

Remembering Roberto Clemente: Baseball’s “Good Guy”

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21. A number that signifies complete freedom for young people, the final breaking of the leash and new beginnings. For Pittsburgh Pirates devotees and baseball addicts, it’s a bittersweet reminder of one of the game’s true heroes. Roberto Clemente died on December 31st, 1972 in a plane crash delivering aid to Nicaragua, who were the victims of an earthquake. He was 38 years old. Like St. Louis Cardinals legend Stan Musial, Clemente’s greatness reached outside the game. He was a knight, someone who cared more about others than himself, a lesson that should be taught in a manual to every rookie in the game today.

All 30 MLB teams honored Clemente on Wednesday. His #21 will be mowed into every field and jerseys will carry it as well. Every game will have a special nod to the player who signified charity, love and passion inside the Steel City for 18 seasons. While he was one of the best off the field, Clemente was quite good on it. He was a 12 time All Star and a 12 time winner of the gold glove in right field. He won the MVP in 1966 and finished in the top 10 in voting 8 other times. He collected over 200 hits and hit over .350 twice in his career, finishing with a lifetime batting average of .317 and an OPS of .834. If you want to go with WAR, Clemente’s cumulative WAR was 94.5 over his career. All the while, he also led the league in smiles, something that so many ballplayers forget to do these days.

The Roberto Clemente award is what brings out teams and players tonight in honoring the ballplayer. The Cardinals nominee is their ace pitcher, Adam Wainwright. A man who stops at nothing in helping his community and team grow in ways previously thought impossible. Wainwright started a fantasy football league that donates all of its funds to charity. Throughout every season, Wainwright goes to area hospitals seeing kids and meeting with families. He takes what Clemente did very seriously. When you wear a jersey for a city, the reach it provides one person with is remarkable. Carlos Beltran, a native of Puerto Rico as well, won the award in 2013.

Many people don’t know about the remarkable story that connects Pirates’ second baseman Neil Walker to Clemente. Walker’s dad was going to get on that plane with Clemente and the man told Walker’s dad to stay and enjoy the party. Due to that advice, he went on to have a family and four children, including the current Pirates second baseman. In an instant, Roberto Clemente showed how one small bit of advice can extend a life.

He died doing what he loved. Showing support, care and truly helping his hometown in Puerto Rico as well as other Latin American countries, full of people who drastically needed the supplies he was delivering. He was taken too soon but didn’t die in vain. Many baseball players and human beings around the globe have taken his acts of kindness and pushed it further. That’s where the award comes from. The award is given to the player that  “best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contribution to his team”. Fans and the media vote on the award, and you can place your vote right here.

I never got to watch the man play baseball but, like Bob Gibson and Stan Musial, Clemente is at the top of my list of people to travel back in time to watch play once I find a time machine. He was truly one of the best players to ever step on a baseball field and also one of the game’s most legendary humanitarians. His influence will be felt for decades. This award is a way to honor and remember one of the game’s “good guys”.