Reyes Gets the Win

Who would have thought?  The once mighty St. Louis Cardinals, clearly on the decline (according to the “experts”), start the 2008 season 6-2.  Maybe the ease of the April schedule should get some credit for the hot start. Obviously the outstanding pitching performances from the starting five weren’t going to last forever.  Most of us would have been happy to be a .500 club right now.  Either way, a win is a win.

Credit this one to Anthony Reyes.  After starter Brad Thompson ran up his pitch count in the third, he was only able to go four innings, striking out five, but leaving the game down 3-2.  Tony La Russa called upon Reyes for long relief, who faced only one over the minimum in three innings of work. His only blemish was a two out triple given up to the slumping Hunter Pence, before inducing a ground out from Lance Berkman.  Reyes now has half as many wins as he did in all of 2007.

Cardinal third baseman Troy Glaus provided the two go-ahead RBI on a double in the eighth.  Ryan Franklin pitched a scoreless bottom half, and Jason Isringhausen closed it out with his fourth save of the season in as many chances.  Here’s the full box score.

If tonight was an audition for Thompson to keep his spot in the rotation, he may have failed.  I’m not disappointed in his outing by any means, but it’s been reported that Joel Pineiro, after his rehab assignment, would slot into the rotation for Sunday, Thompson’s spot.  If that were the case, one would assume that Thompson joins the guys in the bullpen, and Kelvin Jimenez would be optioned back to Memphis.

The Cards have a chance tomorrow to start the year with three straight series wins.  Braden Looper gets the ball for the Redbirds, opposed by Houston’s Chris Sampson.

Finally, according to Matthew Leach, the Cardinals’ beat writer for MLB.com, lefty starter Mark Mulder is another step closer in his battle back to join the rotation.  Find that story here.  A healthy Mulder would displace another Cardinal starter, most likely Todd Wellemeyer or Braden Looper.  The way things have started, I’d be hesitant to replace any of them.

Nationals @ Cards – 4/6

The Cardinals have already won two of three against Washington in the second series of the young season. Today, starting pitcher Kyle Lohse hopes to continue the trend of effective outings by Cardinal starters, and help complete the sweep.  In his first appearance, Lohse threw five shutout innings against Colorado, striking out three while giving up just three hits.

Washington counters with left-hander John Lannan, just recalled from AAA.  Lannan was the Nationals’ Minor League pitcher of the year in 2007.  He’s appeared in just six major league games, compiling a record of 2-2, with an ERA of 4.15.  View all of his stats here.  Over the past couple of seasons, the Cardinals haven’t fared well against pitchers they’d never faced, but the new-look Redbirds may continue to surprise.

By now you’ve probably heard that veteran reliever Russ Springer has been put on the 15-day DL, and Kelvin Jimenez has taken his place in the pen.  The move looks as though it will make for an easier decision as to who comes off the roster when Joel Pineiro returns to the club.  Jimenez still has options.  The question remains, however, as to which starter gets bumped to make room for Pineiro in the rotation.

“These five have the opportunity right now to nail that spot down and not give it up,” said Tony La Russa. “There’s nothing wrong with feeling the pressure of the others coming back.  There’s everything right about it.  The reality is you pitch the five best guys you have.”

For more on Pineiro and the mending pitchers, check out Derrick Goold’s article, here.

We’ll meet again soon.  It’s about two hours from game time, and the lineups should be available shortly.

Update (1:00 pm):  And now, the lineups:

Washington

1. Guzman  SS
2. Milledge  CF
3. Zimmerman  3B
4. Johnson  1B
5. Kearns  RF
6. Lo Duca  C
7. Lopez  2B
8. Mackowiak  LF
9. Lannan  P

St. Louis

1. Barton  LF
2. Ankiel  CF
3. Pujols  1B
4. Glaus  3B
5. Ludwick  RF
6. Molina  C
7. Kennedy  2B
8. Lohse  P
9. Izturis  SS

Looks like Tony’s going with the same lineup as yesterday.  That never happens.

Pujols’ Elbow Holding Up

The Cardinals traveled south to face the Baltimore Orioles in Ft. Lauderdale today.  The game comes after a rare off day, where manager Tony La Russa whittled his roster down to maintain only a couple of question marks.  With the final outfield spot merely a technicality, only one spot on the 25-man roster isn’t accounted for.  The final right-handed relief role remains a competition between Kelvin Jimenez, Cliff Politte, Chris Perez, and Kyle McClellan.

Brad Thompson got his first career Grapefruit League start today, going four innings, and allowing two runs on three hits with two strike outs.  The Cards provided plenty of offense for Thompson, finishing the game with 12 runs on 15 hits.  Cardinals’ slugger Albert Pujols put notions of an injured elbow to rest with a productive day at the plate, including a two-run homer in the first, a hit-by-pitch in the second, and an RBI single in the third.

Other highlights include scoreless innings from both Jason Isringhausen and Ryan Franklin.  Leadoff candidate Skip Schumaker continued to make his case, going 3 for 6, with 3 runs scored.  Although I’ve been enjoying ripping on the Cardinals’ new shortstop Cesar Izturis lately, he did manage to go 2 for 4, with a stolen base and 2 runs scored today.  No errors from Cesar today either.  What should I bitch about?  The Cards won 12-3.  Here’s the box score.

It appears Izturis is the starter, regardless of how poorly he performs (or how well Brendan Ryan performs). According to Derrick Goold, Tony La Russa has named Izturis the Opening Day starting shortstop.  Read the full story here.

The Cards are back at Roger Dean tomorrow.  Braden Looper gets the ball, as he tries to get back on track against the Marlins.

Spiezio Released

Shortly after the Cardinals learned of a warrant being issued for the arrest of utility man Scott Spiezio, the team officially released him.  Sources say that Spiezio is wanted in Orange County, California on six different charges, including driving under the influence and assault, all stemming from an incident in late December.

Spiezio missed over a month of the 2007 season while receiving treatment for substance abuse.  It was thought that he had gotten past those problems and was ready to take back his role with the ‘08 squad.

“I was out of control for a while,” Spiezio said late last season.  ”I learned a lot and I’m ready to start contributing in a good way now.”

I wish Scott the best and hope he can get the treatment he needs to get his life in order.  I also think this was a smart move for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. There were too many non-baseball stories accompanying last year’s team, and more off the field trouble is the last thing La Russa and the Redbirds need.

With Spiezio now out of the picture, an opportunity presents itself for one of the other infielders to make the club out of camp.  It would seem that no one has quite the flexibility of a Scott Spiezio, but there are some candidates that can play multiple positions, including Brendan Ryan and D’Angelo Jimenez.  We’ll soon have a better idea of what the opening day roster will look like.  The Post Dispatch has more on the Spiezio story here.