Skip to main content

Second Verse Same As The First

Cardinal nation was a little apprehensive about Jason Isringhausen's first appearance since last season's hip surgery. Would he pitch the same?

Isringhausen allowed two hits, was charged with an error, escaped a resulting bases-loaded jam without allowing a run...


Phew! Izzy's back. Pass me the Maalox.

I've actually become intrigued by the Dennis Dove story:

Reliever Dennis Dove had just thrown a fastball clocked at 97 mph, struck out two of the three batters he faced with gnarly sinkers, and got the third batter to pop up weakly to first base.

It was the kind of outing that turns a prospect into a contender pitching for a big league job, and when pitching coach Dave Duncan was asked about him, his answer was a shock:

"I would think that we're probably going to send him out tomorrow. You can't pitch like that in the big leagues."

Duncan paused.

Then revealed his sarcasm. "That's too good. We don't like those guys that throw 95, 96."

Dove has been lauded as one of the finer arms in the Cardinals' organization for several years, but a move to the bullpen has improved his command, and Dove is vying for a shot in the big league bullpen. Several days ago, Duncan said he was worth watching for "the future." After a save this week and a perfect ninth Thursday, Dove has done more than rev his fastball. He may have sped up the future.

His spring stats: 5 1/3 innings, one run, three hits, no walks and four strikeouts.


As I stated in the comments of a Southlandish post, the Cards have pitching depth in the organization that I've never seen before. I got sort of used to our first option in the minors being the likes of a Jason Simontacchi. No offense is meant to Simo, but he was never gonna overawe you with his talent. You could have said the thing about the entire organization over the last 20+ years.

Now it is different...thank God. A couple of ill timed, long term injuries could still do us in this season, although the culprit in that situation would be the inexperience of the possible replacements and not their lack of talent.

Remember when the success or failure of a Cards season would be predicated on whether they could get the likes of Kent Bottenfield to turn in All-Star performances? Aren't you glad to see the end of those days?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Early Thoughts on City 2025

There are few things harder to keep track of than an MLS side in their off-season, at least for me. Despite the fact it takes place roughly during the time the MLB Hot Stove season is in full swing, it is nowhere near as easy to follow along with as baseball. Part of it is how disconnected MLS is with the international soccer calendar. St. Louis City SC is still digesting the moves it made last summer even though those players have already played important games for the club. It is all weird and disjointed, and I always feel like I am playing catch-up. Happily, the moves made in the off-season this year were not numerous.  German Timo Baumgartl comes over from Europe as an option at center back, which is good because that was a position that was a little rocky for City last season. Given his own troubles over the last few seasons (cancer and uneven play in the aftermath of that), a spell with City can give Baumgartl a chance to have a re-set. Given his pedigree and the fact City si...

A Note of Optimism About the Note

 If you have been trying to watch the St. Louis Blues attempt to play hockey of late it would be hard to believe the word optimism could ever be in play. The losses continue relentlessly, often in the "never in the game" style, but increasingly in a "lose from winning position" flair which is enough to make someone turn on the news for an upbeat change of pace. (Wow, plane crashes and LUNACY!) This team still can't score with the regularity needed to win consistently in this league. The coaching staff knows they have precious few natural goal scorers (one is precious few), so they attempt to make up for it by getting what I call "process" goals, i.e. goals scored by virtue of constant pressure, crazy bounces, accidental deflections, etc. Basically, any goal you can get from a player who doesn't have the knack for scoring them on their own. The Blues are something like zero for their last 12-15 breakaway chances, and zero for their last 25-30 2 on 1...

Blues Beat Bugbear

 The St. Louis Blues have not had many out-of-character results so far this season. For the most part they have been handling the teams they usually handle and doing nothing against the teams that seem to always have their number. There is some solace to be had just knowing that you are going to probably beat Calgary, and will probably lose to Columbus, just as the sun will most likely rise in the East tomorrow. Granted that isn't an ideal set of affairs for a sports team, but Blues fans have learned to take what they can get. Which is why it is fair to say last night's victory over Utah was unusual. The Blues do not play well against that collection of players. Ever. So, any victory would be noteworthy in this matchup, but the resilience they showed last night was an added bonus. The Blues still have crappy puck luck, but last night they didn't let it get them down and, miracle of miracles, the puck luck evened out for the game. For a change the PK wasn't always runnin...