Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
Here’s a question I’ve been pondering the last few days: does anyone deserve to win the National League Central?
Thanks to the Astros’ stunning self-destruction, the division race has been pared down to a pair of teams: Saint Louis and Cincinnati. Be honest – has either team played well enough to earn the right to hoist that Division Champion banner up a flag pole?
August is prime time as far as the pennant races go. As any baseball broadcaster or pundit will tell you, it’s the time of season that separates the contenders from the pretenders. Heading into tonight’s games, the Reds boast an 11-11 mark for August. And yet they’re only a game out of first place, thanks to the Cardinals’ 8-13 showing in August.
Glancing at the post-All-Star Game stat lines for both teams, I’m thinking the Reds might be able to steal this one from under the Super Genius’ nose. Not because the Reds have suddenly morphed into a group of world-beaters, but because the Cardinals have become suddenly very ordinary.
Since the Mid-Summer Classic, the Redbirds are right in the middle of the pack in runs scored and OBP (174 and .333, respectively – good for eighth in both categories). Their team OPS in the second half stands at .775, sixth-best in the league, but only a hair better than the Cubs’ .774. Barely outperforming a team that featured way too much Neifi isn’t a good thing.
The Cardinals have been better in August (.811 team OPS). But the Reds have been keeping pace this month; their .809 OPS is in line with their post-All-Star .810 mark. In fact, the Reds have the most fearsome second-half lineup in the Central.
I know that’s not really an impressive feat. But the Reds will need all that hitting to help overcome their pitching. Even with the steady (if unspectacular) Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang, the team ranks in the bottom half of the league (second half stats, that is) in ERA (tenth), WHIP (twelfth), runs allowed (twelfth), and batting average against (fifteenth).
As mediocre as that sounds, the Cardinals are keeping pace with the Reds – thirteenth in ERA, ninth in WHIP, seventh in runs allowed, thirteenth in bathing average against. For the month of August, the Reds have allowed the most runs, the Cardinals the fourth-most.
It’s no surprise that the Reds pitching has been taking its lumps (just as it’s no surprise the Reds lineup is handing out its share of lumps, too). What surprises me is how bad the Cardinals staff has been this month. The team’s 5.16 August ERA is easily the worst in the league, and only Chris Carpenter has pitched effectively.
But I guess it should have been expected. I mean, is it a surprise that Jason Marquis has a 5.70 ERA? Or that Jeff Suppan and Jeff Weaver would get lit up? Uber-prospect Anthony Reyes hasn’t lived up to the hype, posting some Cub-like numbers (44-27 K-BB ratio, 12 HR in 64 IP).
Not even recent scrap-heap acquisitions Preston Wilson and Jose Vizcaino can make up for pitching this bad. If the Super Genius can’t come up with a brilliant idea soon, the only thing Cardinal Fan will have to look forward to in October is the start of another exciting Saint Louis Blues NHL season.
Thanks to the Astros’ stunning self-destruction, the division race has been pared down to a pair of teams: Saint Louis and Cincinnati. Be honest – has either team played well enough to earn the right to hoist that Division Champion banner up a flag pole?
August is prime time as far as the pennant races go. As any baseball broadcaster or pundit will tell you, it’s the time of season that separates the contenders from the pretenders. Heading into tonight’s games, the Reds boast an 11-11 mark for August. And yet they’re only a game out of first place, thanks to the Cardinals’ 8-13 showing in August.
Glancing at the post-All-Star Game stat lines for both teams, I’m thinking the Reds might be able to steal this one from under the Super Genius’ nose. Not because the Reds have suddenly morphed into a group of world-beaters, but because the Cardinals have become suddenly very ordinary.
Since the Mid-Summer Classic, the Redbirds are right in the middle of the pack in runs scored and OBP (174 and .333, respectively – good for eighth in both categories). Their team OPS in the second half stands at .775, sixth-best in the league, but only a hair better than the Cubs’ .774. Barely outperforming a team that featured way too much Neifi isn’t a good thing.
The Cardinals have been better in August (.811 team OPS). But the Reds have been keeping pace this month; their .809 OPS is in line with their post-All-Star .810 mark. In fact, the Reds have the most fearsome second-half lineup in the Central.
I know that’s not really an impressive feat. But the Reds will need all that hitting to help overcome their pitching. Even with the steady (if unspectacular) Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang, the team ranks in the bottom half of the league (second half stats, that is) in ERA (tenth), WHIP (twelfth), runs allowed (twelfth), and batting average against (fifteenth).
As mediocre as that sounds, the Cardinals are keeping pace with the Reds – thirteenth in ERA, ninth in WHIP, seventh in runs allowed, thirteenth in bathing average against. For the month of August, the Reds have allowed the most runs, the Cardinals the fourth-most.
It’s no surprise that the Reds pitching has been taking its lumps (just as it’s no surprise the Reds lineup is handing out its share of lumps, too). What surprises me is how bad the Cardinals staff has been this month. The team’s 5.16 August ERA is easily the worst in the league, and only Chris Carpenter has pitched effectively.
But I guess it should have been expected. I mean, is it a surprise that Jason Marquis has a 5.70 ERA? Or that Jeff Suppan and Jeff Weaver would get lit up? Uber-prospect Anthony Reyes hasn’t lived up to the hype, posting some Cub-like numbers (44-27 K-BB ratio, 12 HR in 64 IP).
Not even recent scrap-heap acquisitions Preston Wilson and Jose Vizcaino can make up for pitching this bad. If the Super Genius can’t come up with a brilliant idea soon, the only thing Cardinal Fan will have to look forward to in October is the start of another exciting Saint Louis Blues NHL season.
posted by Bob at
8:35 PM
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