UCB Roundtable: First Installation

As promised, the first installation of the United Cardinal Bloggers’ Roundtable discussion has been posted over at The Cardinal Virtue.

John’s question for the group was this:

I’ll start us off with what I feel is an “easy” topic. A big question for this offseason was answered with the resigning of Lohse. Was this the right move? Do you think he’ll have the same performance he did this year? Better? Worse? If this wasn’t the right move, who should we have picked up? Okay. Okay. There were 5 question marks in there, but it’s all one idea.

You can read everyone’s responses (including yours truly) by going over to John’s post of the collective answers.


Filed Under Cardinal Blogs, Kyle Lohse, United Cardinal Bloggers

Leave a Comment | Posted on October 7, 2008 by PHE | Subscribe!

Kyle Lohse gets paid

Ok, save the “duh” comments.  I know I’m behind the news here.

Fact is, my tardiness was somewhat intentional.  I’ve set myself down at the keyboard several times since Sunday night/Monday afternoon, all set to unleash my true thoughts on the Kyle Lohse signing, only to think better of it and continue to read other opinions across the web.

At long last, I think I’ve done enough reading, and I’m here to offer my opinion to my loyal readers (all three of you).

I really like the Lohse signing.  More than I thought I would.  In fact, I think they got a pretty good deal on Lohse.  John Mozeliak should be praised for making a proactive move before Lohse hit the market.  Lohse deserves a lot of credit in this situation as well, supposedly having initiated the talks between his agent Scott Boras and the Cardinals to get to this point.

I’m not going to get too deeply statistical on this note - when probably I should - to prove my point.  What I will do, is offer anecdotal evidence (I suspect that it is all I have to support my argument in this situation) that can show that at worst, Lohse’s contract will not be a ‘collar around the neck’ of the Cardinals.

Here we go.

First off, Lohse’s performance for 2008.  Sure, he’s never produced as he did this past season, but who is anyone to say that he never will again?  Dave Duncan has surely made pitchers out of throwers and head cases in the past, and I suspect he may have found a live arm/weak head project again in Lohse.  Duncan made a very similar transformation in Todd Stottlemyre in Oakland and St Louis from 1995 through mid-1998.  Stottlemyre proved to be successful, at least successful enough to justify what they’ve paid Lohse in today’s market, for the four years between age 29 and 33, which happened to be his last year with the Cardinals.  Stottlemyre was consequently handed $8m per season for 1999-2002, which is more per season than Lohse will make in 2009.

Cardinal fans were beside themselves when Walt Jocketty let Jeff Suppan walk, supposedly without so much as a phone call.  Suppan will make $5.375m more than Lohse ($7.125m) in 2009, and $3.625m more ($8.875m for Lohse) in 2010.  Suppan will be 34 next season, Lohse will be 30.  Suppan was 10-10 this season with a 4.96 ERA, in 177.7 IP.  Lohse was 15-6 with a 3.78 ERA in 200 IP.  Innings are obviously a valuable commodity, not only for the Cardinals, but in all of Major League Baseball.

Jason Marquis is due to make $9.875m next season.  This is not a club option or player option, this is guaranteed.  Cardinal fans couldn’t get rid of this guy fast enough two years ago.  Enough said.

Adam Eaton signed a big four-year contract with the Philadelphia Philles in 2007, when he was 29.  He will earn more than Lohse in 2009 and 2010 ($8.5m and $9m).  Eaton is 14-18 with an atrocious ERA and has only averaged around 140 IP per season, mostly because he was sent to triple-A midway through the 2008 season.

Obviously, as I’m writing, I realize these cases provide just as much of a cautionary tale as they do a reason to sign Lohse to this contract.  Lohse has been a consistent innings guy.  He’s been a healthy pitcher.  He hasn’t always produced statistics to match his 2008 effort, but the hope is that the Cardinals either found something in his mechanics or found something in his head that they have righted to produce the 2008 we all saw.

With all of that said, I have my complaints with the deal.  I don’t like the no-trade clause.  Why in the world would the Cardinals give in to this senseless demand from a pitcher who couldn’t even command a multi-year contract last season?  Why not give him a couple years no-trade with a couple years of limited no-trade?  The no-trade has a potential to really hamstring the Cardinals in years 2011 and 2012.  Here’s hoping that they won’t need to worry about trading him.

While it helps immediately, I’m not sure I agree with the back-loading of the deal.  Lohse is due to earn far more in the last two years of the contract than the first two - obviously this could well be a moot point if the Cardinals’ plan to build from within comes to fruition and they can get more production from less out of young players in those years.

I’m not sure what the Lohse deal means for the rest of the off-season and the Cardinals’ ability to sign more starting pitching.  Lots of folks would love to see Braden Looper brought back.  Still others are expecting a AJ Burnett or Ben Sheets type of signing (keep dreaming about CC Sabathia folks).  There just isn’t the money (or perhaps the availability) of those guys realistically in the Cardinals’ budget.  Burnett is likely to command $16-18m per season.  Sheets is far too injury prone, much less the fact that someone is bound to throw $15m at him regardless.  Looper might come back, but he’ll still ring up around $7-8m per season, if I had to guess.  I, for one, wouldn’t mind seeing Looper come back around $6-7m if it could get done.  I don’t advocate depending on Chris Carpenter for any amount of innings.  I think the Cardinals could reasonably get a pitcher or two from Memphis to throw some reasonable innings in the fifth rotation spot.  Who knows what is going on in Mozeliak’s wheelhouse.

I should add at this point that I realize I’m looking on the sunny side of life here.  For all of the positive comparables, there are also the Jose Lima’s, Ricky Bones’, Sidney Ponson’s, and (gasp) Joel Pineiro’s of the world.  Lohse is going to have to continue to work with Duncan, have to continue to concentrate during games, must continue to strengthen his mental approach to pitching in the National League.  For some reason I am confident.

I leave you with this:

Lohse’s most comparable pitcher at ages 25 and 26 (according to baseball-reference.com)?  None other than Chris Carpenter.  Carp was hurt at age 27, missed the season during age 28.  Lohse has pitched through those years, hopefully growing as he did.  Carp blossomed at age 29, 30, and 31 under the tutelage of Dave Duncan.  If the Cardinals could get anywhere near the production out of a 29, 30, and 31 year old Lohse, this contract will be a bargain.

Braden Looper: To sign or not to sign?

That is a question on many a Cards fan’s tongue as the season winds to a close.

As Braden Looper prepares to take the mound tonight, in the Cardinals’ final series of this wildly entertaining (and similarly frustrating) season, it could be his final appearance wearing the Birds-on-the-Bat.

It can be argued that Looper’s conversion from reliever to starter has been a rousing success.  Braden has posted a 24-26 record over the last two seasons, sporting a 4.49 ERA.  Perhaps just as importantly, Looper has averaged 183.1 IP over two seasons, a number that is obviously certain to increase based upon tonight’s start.  Durability has become a very valuable commodity among starting pitchers, and Looper has been durable while at times showing flashes of brilliance.

Looper is 33 years old, not young by any stretch, but by today’s pitching standards certainly not ready to hang ‘em up either.  Again, even at age 33, Looper has shown no signs of serious arm trouble, fatigue, or losing his stuff.  In fact, it could reasonably be argued that Looper is still settling in to being a starter, still learning how to manage a game, etc.

The Cardinals find themselves in an all-too-familiar precarious position heading into 2009.  It is safe to say that most Cardinal fans have adopted Adam Wainwright as the de facto ace of this pitching staff, with Chris Carpenter’s status again up in the air, depending on his pitching shoulder.  That leaves Joel Pineiro and the arbitration-eligible Todd Wellemeyer as the only remaining holdovers from this year’s rotation.  That means there are two spots to fill, because I will go ahead and pretty much guarantee you that John Mozeliak is not going to pay what Scott Boras wants for Kyle Lohse after the Cards resurrected his career in 2008.

So what to make of Looper in the situation?  It would be foolish at this point, given history, for the Cardinals to count on Carpenter for any sort of contribution in 2009.  They were burned by that premise this season, and can ill afford to do so again.  So that leaves Waino, Pineiro, and Wellemeyer.  The Cardinals have indicated that a top-flight starting pitcher is atop their wish list this off-season, and with a lot of expiring salary to spend, one would hope they could accomplish that goal.

So assuming that they sign someone to fill a #2 or #3 slot in the rotation, that still leaves one more open slot.  Jaime Garcia seemed to have the inside track to the best shot at filling it, but he is now facing a long-term absence with a Tommy John elbow procedure.  Mike Parisi didn’t impress starting at the big-league level.  Mitchell Boggs could fill the spot in a stopgap role, but I’m not sure the Cards are ready to hand him the job full-time just yet.  Chances are that someone could impress at Spring Training a la Kyle McClellan, but by that time the ship will have sailed on most other available free agent starting pitchers.  (Notice that I’m not even giving any credence to the idea of McClellan starting?)

So again I ask, how does Looper potentially fill in?  I have to admit that I hated his deal when the Cardinals originally signed him.  I thought they were paying far too much to a guy who wasn’t going to be a closer, and for that matter hadn’t been 3 years/$13.5 million worth of impressive as a reliever period.  In hindsight, his deal (from Cot’s Baseball Contracts):

Braden Looper rhp
3 years/$13.5M (2006-08)

  • signed as a free agent 12/05
  • 06:$3.5M, 07:$4.5M, 08:$5.5M
  • $1M annually in performance bonuses (GF & other categories)

hasn’t been too bad.  Obviously, had Looper known he was going to be starting those last two seasons, he may have negotiated differently.  Therein lies a big part of the problem with resigning Looper, however.  Loop is bound to command far more than the $5.5M he’s earning this season as a starter next year.  He has professed his preference to remain a starter, and I’m sure some team, whether the Cardinals or not, is sure to oblige.

So what could Looper be looking at for a payday?  Given his age, I can only assume he’d be shooting for another three year contract.  Certainly within reason.  The money is a bit more cloudy.  He has, after all, only been a starter for two seasons.

One quick comparison that is easy to make is Pineiro.  Joel has struggled this season both with injuries and on the mound.  He has given the Cardinals far less than Looper at around the same payday ($5M for Pineiro).  The difference is that Pineiro has another year on his deal at $7.5M.  So let’s assume that’s at the very least a jumping off point for Looper.  Can the Cardinals afford to sink that much into a guy at the back end (maybe #3) of their rotation?  I’ve argued all season that the Cardinals have more needs to fix than just one or two arms or positions (please stop with this ridiculous ‘Cardinals should sign Francisco Rodriguez stuff).

So is it worth the Cardinals to give Loop somewhere from $7.5M-$9M for the next three years?  I’m not sure what I think, but I know Looper has earned my respect by how he has taken on this new challenge in his career.  It’s soon to make him a much more wealthy man.

What to do on Sept 1

This has been a tough season to really understand.  At the beginning not much was anticipated.  Rotation seemed shaky with Carpenter out and three rookies in the outfield and an injury prone 3B taking over for perennial gold glovers Edmonds and Rolen, together with all the uncertainty of Pujols’ elbow, tempered expectations to say the least.  Then the season got started and things began to roll the Cardinals way.  What that did was to raise expectations.

All of a sudden we became believers that the Redbirds could actually do this again.  By the trading deadline we could start seeing cracks however and the Cubs soared to the top and kept right on going showing no signs of slowing down.  In the meantime the Brewers went to the trading well and came up big with CC.  As Sheets struggled CC dominated and the Brewers got hot.  The Cubs however pulled away and it seemed to become a race for the wildcard between the Cards and Brew Crew.

With the wildcard hanging in the balance the Cards seemed to have things going their way.  They were coming home to face the lowly Pirates and Braves and then square off with the Brewers to close the gap.  Splitting with the Pirates was the first sign of doom although they looked good vs the Braves.  So the stage was set with a two game series with Milwaukee and a chance to close the gap.

So how did the Cards respond to that big game situation?   A day of rest, Wellemeyer on the mound, Pujols hot, a home game, and BAM! a 12-0 loss in one of the ugliest games of the year.  It seemed winnable until Pujols threw the ball into the outfield allowing the 3rd run to score.  At that point you could just feel Sheets and the Brewers get the confidence they needed.  All I can say is that I’m glad I missed the rest of that game as the 9th inning must have been a train wreck as they allowed 7 runs.

The following day the Cards rebounded playing Cardinal baseball and won a nice ballgame with Perez closing it out be striking out the side.  The Cards really seemed fired up after some trash talking by the Brewers.  So you’d think going into Houston the Cards would be on a roll, but again the bats go silent and they lose 3-2 with only 5 hits in the game and waste a strong effort by Lohse as Berkman takes Springer deep in the bottom of the 9th.  The Brewers didn’t wast their opportunity and beat the Pirates 3-1 to extend the wildcard lead over the Cardinals to 4.5 games and the Phillies are now only a half game behind the Cards for the wildcard as well.

This all sets up tonights game.  Looper takes the mound coming off 5 staight games of 7 IP and giving up no more than 3 runs in any of them.  So what happens of course is he gets spotted a 3 run lead and then gives up 6 runs in the bottom of the first inning!  So what is up?  Why can’t the Cardinals seem to win when it matters most?  Are they being outplayed?  Do the young players on the team tighten up during the important games?

As of now the Cards are losing 6-3 and the Brewers are up 2-0 and the Phillies have already beaten the Cubs 5-2. If it stays this way then the Cards are 5.5 games back with no games left vs the Brewers.  So should they take a look at the farm system down the stretch or keep playing the regulars?  They’re not winning with the regulars anyway, so I say let’s take a look at some younger players.  Let’s see Garcia get some starts in September and get some of the youngsters some playing time.  Maybe this would even be a good time for Albert to get his elbow reconstructed.  Probably a good idea if they fall a few more games behind since that elbow isn’t going to repair itself.

What do you all think?

Bob Watson has lost his mind

As I was watching Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, watching the Cards squander another opportunity for a sweep, I saw something that I hadn’t seen from a Cardinal hurler all season.  I saw Kyle Lohse stick up for someone on his team.  Granted, it was himself he was sticking up for, but he showed some moxie nonetheless.

Edinson Volquez had buzzed Lohse in the top of the fifth, high and tight under the chin, and it was clear Kyle didn’t like it, glaring out at Volquez.  Edinson, for his part, played the role he’s supposed to in that case, stomping around like he was upset with himself for losing the pitch up there - he didn’t intend to do it.  And he’d have a good argument - Volquez is among the league leaders in HBP.  He walked four just in this game as well.

Whether he meant to come in on Lohse or not, Volquez quickly saw a very similar pitch from Lohse when leading off the bottom of the fifth inning.  Said Lohse after the game:

“Same spot,” Lohse noted, referring to his reply pitch. “Wasn’t trying to hit him, though.”

Umpire Greg Gibson quickly popped out from behind the plate, warned both dugouts, and the game went on.

“Well I’ll be danged” I muttered to myself.  All too often this season, opposing pitchers have taken liberties with Cardinal hitters, all-too-conveniently plunking them after a St Louis home run or clutch hit.  For all of the reputation that LaRussa has as a head-hunting manager, I sure haven’t seen any proof this season.  Even in this instance, I don’t believe LaRussa was behind it.  Whether you see it every outing or not, Lohse does have a competitive fire in his stomach, and I’m virtually certain that this buzzer to Volquez was all Kyle’s idea.

So,  no harm no foul, the game plods on to the top of the seventh inning.  That’s when Volquez got too far inside on Felipe Lopez and hit him in the small of the back.  While half-way expecting (and hoping for, because Volquez was cruising) an immediate ejection from home plate umpire Gibson, he made what I still to this day believe was the right call.  The pitch was not intentional.  Lopez took his base, Tony argued a little bit (but you’ll note not much, as you’d think he would if he really believed Volquez wanted to hit him), Volquez remained in the game, and they went on.  The funny thing is that not once did I think to myself “he was throwing at him, he should’ve been tossed.”  And I can admittedly be an over-reactive type, when it comes to things like that.

So, at the end of the day, the Cardinals took a loss, Lohse stood up for himself, and the umpires had gotten it right.  Cooler heads had prevailed.  Or so I thought.

The news came down yesterday that Bob Watson, vice president of on-field operations for MLB, had suspended Lohse for five games.

Um, what?

So for once this season (in the midst of heated battles between ownership and the umpires’ union over replay) your umpires had played their cards right, had let the game be decided by the players and not their rash decisions, and now you’re suspending a guy who wasn’t even kicked out of the game?  Come again?

Lohse, upon learing of his suspension said:

“My intent wasn’t to hit anybody. My intent was to make the opposing pitcher feel as uncomfortable as I did the at-bat before. The way they interpreted it, it seems like they feel I was trying to hit him.”

For a guy who has only 39 walks this season and has hit only two batters, I don’t think I’m too naive to believe that Kyle could have that sort of command of his pitches.  Throw it high and tight, don’t hit him.  To his credit, Volquez responded in kind:

“I don’t know if he really tried to hit me,” he said. “Maybe he was trying to take me out of the game a little bit, and mess with my concentration on the game.”

An excellent deduction.  Volquez was cruising, and Lohse had the ultimate spot and reason to fire off that pitch.  More from Volquez:

“I don’t want to hit a pitcher,” said Volquez, who received no discipline. “If I’m going to hit somebody, it’d be position players. In that situation, that wasn’t on purpose. I had two men on base and two outs. If I hit him, I have to face the No. 9 batter. I just tried to throw inside and the ball went up close to him. I think he got ticked off. That’s part of the game.” [bolding is mine]

Two things strike me here:  First, he’s right, he had nothing to gain by hitting Lohse, and I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, based upon his statistics indicating he can get wild, that he wasn’t trying to hit Lohse.  However, he also says that he thinks Lohse got upset with the pitch regardless, and (at least the way I read it) understands why he might have seen a similar pitch in the bottom of the inning.

That’s part of the game.  Even Dusty Baker was surprised:

“Five games and they didn’t even kick him out of the game. Wow,” Baker said. “The umpires don’t kick him out but the league suspends him. That’s a first, isn’t it? I haven’t seen that.”

Well, apparently not the way Bob Watson sees it.  So in a situation that was completely diffused by the players’ behavior and the calm rationale of the umpiring crew that day, Watson has stepped in and handed down his sentence on Lohse.  Five game suspension and an undisclosed fine.

Of course, Lohse will appeal, and I have to believe that the suspension will be reduced.  SInce he is a starting pitcher, the suspension is likely to have little to no affect on his regular turns in the rotation anyway.  In my mind, that is beside the point.  If Lohse deserved this penalty, Volquez deserved at least the same.  Again, the umpires did not see fit to eject anyone from the game, yet Lohse gets five games and Volquez nothing.  It’s almost as if Volquez is being rewarded for often being wild and having a track record for hitting batters.  Yet I should reiterate, I don’t believe that either player really deserved punishment, but how can you single out one and not the other as well?

Richie Sexson went bonkers earlier this season, charging the mound and throwing his helmet and several punches at a pitcher.  He got six games that was later reduced to five.  How in the world does Lohse’s *almost* hitting a batter come even close to comparing to Richie’s inexplicable display?  Fascinating.

As I said earlier, this will likely (hopefully, assuming that more intelligent heads prevail during the appeal process) be reduced and have little effect on Lohse at all, save for the fine taking a chunk out of his pocketbook.  But the precedent or example being made here is wrong.  Bob Watson needs to let his umpires make the decisions on field, using the knowledge they have of game situations and being in the heat of the moment itself, not by watching on video in his cushy office three days later.

This time the umps got it right.  Maybe they should use instant replay for determining who should be in charge of doling out the suspensions.

Jarrod Washburn: Appearing at a stadium near you?

Apparently Jarrod Washburn has been informed by the Seattle Mariners that he was placed on waivers and some team has claimed him.  The claiming team has yet to be outed, but by waiver rules, the Mariners can work out a deal with the claiming team.

Could we be seeing Washburn in a Cardinal uniform soon?  Buster Olney and Seattle Times writer Geoff Baker both have speculated that to be the case.

Check out the latest updates on this post over at MLBTradeRumors.com (I’ll try to keep this one updated too as I scour for more info).

Does this make sense for the Cardinals?  With several off-days coming in the next few weeks, they can get by with a four-man rotation for a number of series.  Could this be an indication of their expectations for Chris Carpenter the rest of this season?  Would this continue to reinforce the original plan by the Cardinals to ship Adam Wainwright back to the bullpen upon his return?  Or perhaps worse, they aren’t seeing any progress from Waino?

Who gets dropped from the rotation if Carp does make it back?  This would almost surely rule out any extension with Kyle Lohse for next season, with Washburn owed over $10M for 2009.  Could the Cards be giving up something significant in order to convince the M’s to pay most of that tab?

Yikes, lots of questions, few answers.  I’m sure it will come clearer in the coming hours, but one thing is virtually certain.  The Mariners are almost a lock not to pull Washburn back.  He has worn out his welcome there and needs a new locale.  Could Dave Duncan work his voodoo magic again?

I’m not sure I agree with panicking here and adding just to add - the Cards seem to have plenty of arms to throw into a rotation next season, not to mention a burgeoning number of dollars under their ~$100M or so expected payroll that one would think they could be spending on seemingly better free agents than Washburn.

I’ll keep you all posted…

UPDATE (4:27p) - Apparently I’m a little slow on the uptake, as CardsClubhouse.com forums have Olney saying this morning on ESPN that it was either the Tigers or the Twins.  MLBTR had claims that the Twins weren’t on Ibanez, so that would mean they want Washburn?  Seems an unlikely move for Minnesota without the M’s kicking in on that salary for next season, but they have climbed back into the AL Central race.

UPDATE (4:40p) - My buddy Jon Heyman has the scoop over at SI.com, Washburn claimed by the Twins, will remain a Mariner.  So Olney apparently had it right this morning, Tigers claiming Ibanez, Twins on Washburn.  Surprising that the M’s wouldn’t just let Washburn walk.

UPDATE (4:53p) - Derrick Goold has also refuted the rumors, quoting a Cardinals source as saying “his name has not come up.”  Can’t say that I’m disappointed.

UPDATE (5:01p) - Because the question was asked below, I thought I’d link to a great post by Padres’ Assistant GM Paul DePodesta that explains at a high level how the waiver claim and trade process works.

Shut Carp down - now

The news at ESPN.com is that and MRI has revealed that Chris Carpenter has a strain in his pitching *shoulder*, not a triceps strain as previously thought and reported.

LaRussa and Duncan are already preparing to use either Brad Thompson or Jaime Garcia in Carpenter’s rotation slot on Friday.

In yet another setback for a Cardinal starting pitcher returning from injury, the Cards have a lot more on the line with this one.  Carp is owed $15M per season for the next three years, each of which they desperately need him to be their ace.  There is absolutely no reason to try and rush him back to pitching again this year.  In what is quickly becoming a floundering playoff push (I’m still optimistic, but cautiously so), the Cardinals need to protect their investment in the future years of Carp’s contract.  It even makes me cringe a little to read “…will rejoin his teammates in Florida, where he will receive treatment from the team’s medical staff.”  Great, so they’re going to let Dr Paletta(nother pitcher’s arm implode) work on him.  Fabulous.

In a sick twist, this has at least brought the Cardinals’ brass to their senses regarding Adam Wainwright, according to STLToday.com.  Waino’s next rehab start is being pushed back to Saturday, where he will pitch for AA Springfield (not Memphis, as in his previous two outings) and get in 65-70 pitches.  This is good news, in my book.  However, the yo-yo-ing continues with this team.  Is he going to pitch in relief or start?  I realize situations are dictating responses in this case, but the guy has to get in the right mental state to know when and how he needs to pitch.  Sure, I give the benefit of the doubt to Wainwright and his mental strength and testicular fortitude, versus say a Joel Pineiro or even a Kyle Lohse, but I reckon it’d be helpful for him to know one way or another.  Hell, it’s probably even better for his arm if he prepares specifically one way or another.

The Cardinals, for better or worse, put their eggs in the Carpenter/Wainwright basket at the trade deadline.  Unlike a lot of Cards fans, I wasn’t terribly disappointed at the deadline, I think they were just being realistic about the capital they had to use in a trade, and where this team is headed for the next five seasons.

But if that was their excuse then, it has to be their approach now.  Don’t make a Mark Mulder story out of Carp, who has a history with his shoulder as it is.  Shut him down and hope that the rest of the Cardinals can pick up the slack.  After all, they’ve done it all season…

One outing does not a closer make

Fresh off of a two-inning, one hit, no runs performance yesterday afternoon, Jason Isringhausen is hopefully feeling a little better about himself.

I hope that Tony doesn’t feel the same. Sure, Izzy finally put together some pitches, even throwing most for strikes. This does not in the slightest form mean that he should be allowed back near the closer’s role. LaRussa has maintained that he will employ a closer-by-committee approach, but that committee should not in the near future (or perhaps ever again) include Isringhausen.

Yesterday’s outing for Izzy was a good sign, nothing more, nothing less. It came with the Cards already facing a 4-1 deficit, the Cardinal offense rendered inept by Dodgers rookie Clayton Kershaw. Kyle Lohse pitched admirably in taking his fourth loss of the season, and giving further rest to this bullpen by logging another seven inning start.

Isringhausen threw twenty-five pitches in his two innings of work yesterday, with and astonishing twenty of them for strikes, even striking out three. This is a huge step in the right direction. Izzy seemed more relaxed out there (no doubt aided by the “no pressure” situation, knowing he couldn’t take the loss) and more confident in his pitches.

I believe that if he really refocuses, lets go of the prospect of returning to closer this season, lets go of the 300 save plateau that, at this point, seems just out of reach - he can still be a contributor for this ‘pen. Think of him in the seventh or eighth inning, with a little less pressure than the closer role, and Ryan Franklin opposite him in the other inning. Folks have quickly forgotten how effective Franklin was in the setup role before Isringhausen went on the DL and he was thrust into the closer role. At this point, it seems safe to say that Izzy and Franklin will be with this team for the duration, so rabid haters can bag their “DFA them” routine. If Izzy can build on yesterday’s outing, I would love to see him get the ball in the seventh or eighth. Sprinkle in some Kyle McClellan and Russ Springer and those two innings could, dare I say, turn into positives for this club.

Think about it this way. The starting rotation is beginning to pick up its game - Braden Looper is going for his third straight seven inning start today in Chicago. Lohse has been routinely going seven. Joel Pineiro went seven on Wednesday, perhaps feeling the pressure of the return of the Cards’ top two starters, Chris Carpenter (who looked like he could’ve gone nine Tuesday night, if not for rain) and Adam Wainwright.

Spun the right way, I really do believe that LaRussa can make shine out of spit here. The less work the bullpen has to do in the coming weeks, the more flexibility he has. Izzy comes in and walks the first batter? No worries, yank him for Springer. Ron Villone gets a lefty in the seventh, Jaime Garcia gets one in the eighth. They could even employ a bullpen rotation of sorts (obviously there are a lot more variables than I’m caring to acknowledge here, but…) where Isringhausen gets the seventh one day, and McClellan the next. Springer gets the eighth one day, and Franklin the next.

You’ll notice I have yet to discuss the ninth. Chris Perez has got to be the man. The ninth inning should be his to lose at this point. Now, that being said, the same opinion I issued for Isringhausen earlier applies to Perez here. One outing does not a closer make, but damn was CP63 impressive on Wednesday. He’s got to continue to do it, but if that save didn’t instill confidence in LaRussa and Dave Duncan to use him in that role, the kid is up against it worse than I thought. Isringhausen and Franklin have been offered the chance to fail over and over again this season, so I would hope that the same opportunity would be extended to Perez. Sure, he’s going to struggle at some point - but let him work through it.

I’d love to see this trial by fire be Perez’s audition for the 2009 closer role. Imagine the flexibilty offered to John Mozeliak in the off-season, with arguably a lot of free agent cash to throw around, if he has his closer locked down at the league minimum before spring training even starts. I cherish the thought.

So, with all of this said - I guess you can put me squarely in the glass-half-full camp. I’m still just like any other Cards fan, I cringe when the bullpen comes in with a “less-than-one-swing-lead”. Anything less than five runs, I’m wary. Yet I think there is a real opportunity here for LaRussa to do the right thing. Sticking with Perez in the closer role seems to just set the rest of the bullpen up almost too nicely. We’ve seen what Isringhausen can do with the pressure off - give him some more two or three runs down (or preferably six or seven runs up) situations to get the kinks worked out, then install him in that almost as valuable setup role. Let Franklin throw some earlier innings no runners on to get his head straight, and then let him loose back in what should’ve been his role all season.

This just might work out yet, kids…

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