Final week storylines

Thursday, September 25, 2008 | Posted by Kujo

I guess I'm a bad blogger. I'm going to have to take another day off today to focus on my third test in two days. It's nothing I'm worried about, but I want to make sure I get it down. As we enter these final four days of Cardinals baseball, I'm excited for the off-season to come but sad to see our 2008 season go. It's been a wild ride throughout the whole season, a ride that's been much more memorable than 2007.

Final stories as we finish off this week in baseball:

How will Kyle Lohse fare in his final start, due to be September 28th? He's playing for money and we're aiming for a Type A classification, so both sides are hoping for the same outcome in his final start - domination.

Will Albert Pujols get the 5 more runs he needs to reach 100? And will he be able to pad his numbers enough to draw some MVP bids?

Can Troy Glaus get to 100 RBI's and thus put himself in the Gold Glove race with David Wright? He's at 94 now.

How will Felipe Lopez end his tenure as a Cardinal and will that be enough to get another contract here?

Is this Adam Kennedy's final week as a Cardinal?

Is this Ryan Ludwick's final week as a Cardinal? (see VEB for an explanation)

Who's going to end the season in better favor with TLR, Chris Perez or Jason Motte?

Can we count on Josh Kinney for the 2009 bullpen? So far, that answer is yes.

Food for thought: The Cardinals' 3 rotation question marks - Matt Clement, Mark Mulder, and Chris Carpenter - started a total of 4 games and pitched 14.2 innings this season. Who else would rather see the Cards not pursue a damaged arm this off-season? Me too.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's sad that offensive numbers are taken into consideration for the gold glove awards ... some argue that they are not, but we all know better (i.e. Yadi).

Motte seems to be performing better than Perez currently. Motte sure has a nice presence on the mound, just needs a second pitch. As long as he can hit his spots with his fastball, he is quite effective.

I think Kinney has been good, but can he hold up over a full season? We'll probably find out next year for sure, he'll be in the pen.

I too would like to see the Cards get a "real" starter instead of depending on damaged goods all the time. Lohse needs to be back in our rotation next year.

8:55 AM, September 25, 2008  
Kujo said...

Unfortunately, David Wright probably has the advantage due to being in New York and having superior offensive numbers. Has he actually been better defensively? I'm not so sure.

Motte used his slider at times last night and had moderate success. At one point he threw a 101 mph fastball and a 84 mph slider consecutively, both for strikes.

The Kyle Lohse situation is interesting given Carp's uncertain status for 2009, but I think our best move is going to be letting him walk. Re-signing Braden Looper is a stronger possibility now than it was halfway through the season, and of course there's always the option to pursue CC or Sheets.

9:15 AM, September 25, 2008  
Pitchers Hit Eighth said...

Doesn't Lohse have to qualify as Type A already?

15-6 with an ERA under 4? Lesser pitchers have been rewarded much more.

7:50 PM, September 25, 2008  

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