Cards Sign Lohse

Yesterday, I lobbied for the club to add starting pitcher Kyle Lohse, and several others agreed (see Bernie Miklasz, Viva El Birdos, and Rockin’ the Red).  Today, the Cardinals agreed to a one-year deal with the free agent, pending tomorrow’s physical.  The contract is worth a guaranteed $4.25 million, with $100,000 in incentives for each of 160, 170, 180, and 200 innings.  Joe Strauss has more on the story.

This is good news for the Redbirds.  They needed another starter that can take the ball every fifth day and eat innings.  Kyle Lohse is just that guy. The trick now is going to be getting him game ready in only three weeks’ time.

Lohse joins a rotation of Adam Wainwright, Braden Looper, and the best two of Todd Wellemeyer, Anthony Reyes, and Brad Thompson.  Four other starters are still trying to get healthy.  If all the cards fall into place, by mid-season the team will have a surplus of starting pitchers, and that’s not a bad problem to have.

According to Derrick Goold, backup catcher Jason Larue, a former teammate of Lohse, thinks the pitcher has great stuff, but needs direction.  If that’s the case, the Cardinals should be a perfect fit.  Under the direction of Dave Duncan and Yadier Molina, Lohse should be able to put it all together to become a more complete pitcher.

And how about the Cardinals’ brass?  Way to go Mozeliak and Dewitt for not dragging their feet on this one. Although we’re not ready to start printing playoff tickets just yet, I think the move will put Cards fans at ease for a little while.

Cards Win First Grapefruit Game

The Cardinals opened their Grapefruit League play with a win over the New York Mets today by the score of 7-0.  After yesterday’s beating of St. Louis University, the Cards are now 2-0 in the early going.

I was at the opener for the second straight year.  It’s a fun time to be a Cardinal fan.  A fresh season brings new hope.  Although the Redbirds aren’t predicted to contend for the division title, I can never discard a team in the spring, especially one managed by Tony La Russa.

It was cold in Jupiter today.  With the temperature only getting into the mid sixties, I had a hard time holding onto my beer.  I got to watch the end of the Cards’ batting practice and all of the Mets’.  Anthony Reyes took the mound for the first pitch at 1:05. Knowing how much is riding on a productive Reyes, I was anxious to see how he’d do today.  He did great. Reyes went 3 innings, allowing two hits, and striking out one.  He escaped trouble in the first when Mets’ third baseman David Wright drilled a ball to deep center, but was robbed of extra bases by Rick Ankiel’s acrobatic catch at the track.  Reyes walks away from today’s game with something good to build on.  He needs to continue to boost his confidence throughout the spring, and today was certainly a step in the right direction.

The defense to start the game for La Russa could closely resemble the one we’ll see on opening day.  Yadier Molina was the only regular who didn’t start.  Backup catcher Jason Larue took his place, hitting ninth.  Old timer Juan Gonzalez was penciled in as the DH, and went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored.

The most exciting part of the day was when Colby Rasmus came into the game.  Rasmus reached base in all four of his plate appearances in yesterday’s game.  He entered today’s game as a pinch runner for Albert Pujols in the fifth.  He doubled in his first at-bat, and walked the next time up.  Rasmus has now reached base in all six of his appearances.  He’ll be with the big club sometime in ‘08, but if this keeps up you’d have to think he’ll be heading for St. Louis when the team breaks camp at the end of March.

A few other notes from today’s game:

• Troy Glaus had a nice barehanded play but the throw wasn’t in time – three people around me simultaneously said, “Rolen would have made that play.”
• Skip Schumaker was 3 for 4 with a stolen base.
• Hugo Castellanos pitched well but I wouldn’t mind seeing the radar gun on him – looks very slow.
• Girls that drink beer are more attractive than ones that don’t.
• Mets fans were pleasant.

Aside from the cold, it was a great day at the ballpark.  Feel free to check out some of my pictures.  For all the stats from today’s game, check out the box score.  Tomorrow the Cardinals will head to Port St. Lucie to play the Mets again.  The starting pitchers will be Adam Wainwright and Johan Santana.  Go Cards!

Happy New Year

So, it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything new.  What the hell?  Well, it’s been a crazy couple of months. Here’s the short version:

The second biggest Card’s fan and I recently broke up, and although I haven’t stopped following the team’s day to day happenings, lately I haven’t had the energy or drive to do anything with this blog.  So, after a few weeks of burying my head in the sand (I still live in South Florida), trying to get my mind right, and with the advice of family and friends, I’m back to give it another go.

Meanwhile, instead of trying to recap on everything that’s been going on in Cardinal Country over the last two months I think it’s best to direct you to a few others around the Cardinal’s blogosphere for their insights on all the latest Redbird’s news.  The biggest stories include the Jim Edmonds trade, the signings of Cesar Izturis and Jason LaRue, the non-signings of David Eckstein and So Taguchi, the Rule 5 pickup of Brian Barton, and the minor league deals for an infielder and a few pitchers.  Catch all of the news from C70, Cardinals GM, and Cardinal Nation Globe.  Also, I stumbled across a video that really got me excited for the ‘08 season, and you can check it out here.

Well, let’s hope the Cardinals continue to improve the squad before Spring Training.  Also, I’ve got a couple of other interesting fill-in stories, so check back tomorrow.  In the meantime, Go Cards!