Ned Beatty Redux

Banjo hitters galore

It is almost as unbearable to look at the bottom of our lineup today as it is to watch that awful, iconic scene from Deliverance. LaRue .067, Miles .250, Lohse .111, Izturis .182. If the 6-9 slots get 10 ABs and muster a HBP, a sac bunt and a ground ball that advances a runner, it'll be a sterling offensive performance that will leave me squealing in delight....

...9th Inning Update: Well, smack my ass and call me Judy. The banjos are 6-15, 1 BB, 0K, 3R, 3 RBI and Izturis even added the ever crucial HBP I was hoping for.

More Lohse

The Goat e-mailed me a dissenting view of the Lohse deal:

I really have to disagree with IM's post regarding the Lohse
signing. Yes, the Cardinals suck this year and everyone knows we're going to suck but we are a far cry from the Kansas City Royals. Having two top of the rotation starters (Carpenter and Mulder) injured doesn't make you the Kansas City Royals. If Carpenter doesn't go down at the beginning of last season we're in it until the end (and possibly win the division). You can't possibly prepare for that kind of injury especially when you don't have the payroll flexibility or farm system of the Yankees or Red Sox.

All we can hope for is to somehow keep our heads above water until those two guys (and Clement) are healthy and that's what the Lohse signing is all about. All I have to do is look ahead one season and I have a pretty big smile on my face when I think about the possibility of having a healthy Carpenter, Wainwright, a healthy Mulder (we still hold an option), and a healthy Clement anchoring the rotation with a talent like Colby Rasmus waiting in the wings.

2008 will be a long season and I have been fully expecting that since we lost 9 straight and fell out of the race last September. But something tells me that Royals fans are NOT looking ahead to the 2009 season with a great deal of excitement.

I wish I had more optimism that Mulder and Carpenter will return to even some pale imitation of top form. But I am ever the pessimist and the Illini proved me wrong in the Big Ten Tourney. I didn't see that one coming.

Lohse

From the PD:

The Cardinals addressed an innings-short starting rotation Thursday by reaching agreement with durable free agent righthander Kyle Lohse on a one-year, $4.25 million contract, pending Lohse's passing a team physical this morning.

The move occurred three days after the Cardinals said four of the five pitchers projected as starters during the season could be unavailable for the March 31 opener.

Loshe is a poor man's Jeff Suppan. (Just allow that to sink in for a moment.)

Adding Lohse will improve this rotation. (Just allow that to sink in for a moment.)

Digested that? I'll wait while you attempt to choke down some Pepto Bismol.

Lohse, 29, amassed a 9-12 record and 4.62 ERA while splitting last season between the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies. Just as important, he made 34 starts and worked 192 2/3 innings. The Cardinals investigated trading for him in 2006 before the Minnesota Twins shipped him to the Reds.

"He's got a really good arsenal of weapons," manager Tony La Russa said. "He's gotten our attention before."

Lohse's best seasons came with the Twins in 2002-03, when he won 27 games combined. Just as significant, Lohse worked 201 innings in 2003 and 194 in 2004. He has made at least 30 starts in five of the past six seasons.

The club expects Lohse to report this morning.

Mozeliak took issue with describing the agreement as a panic move.

Would the word "desperation" really improve matters?

UPDATE:

From Cardinals Diaspora:

It’s not a bad move, especially on a one year deal. At this point, warm bodies capable of pitching for 150+ innings are exactly what the Cardinals need. Win now? Pfft. Compete now? Pish posh. We need pitchers to make it through the season, and that’s exactly what this is.

I can't argue with that at all.

But it leaves me wondering as to when exactly we became the Kansas City Royals.