Todd and other Cards fans...

[DowntownDawg]

...Carpenter's stat line today: 7 innings pitched. 1 hit. 1 run (unearned). 2 walks. 7 strikouts.

Not bad for an old man. Cards leading 2-1, still batting in the bottom of the 7th.

 

[PBRME]

We need Carp to come back strong this year if we're going to keep up with the Cubs.

 

[Todd4State]

Sweet! Hopefully he can get 31 more starts like this one. (I'm thinking that's the max number with a five man rotation, but I could be wrong, but the number 32 starts sticks out).

I was kind of hoping that LaRussa would put Motte in to get the save to see how he responds, but I see that Reyes got the save.

 

[DowntownDawg]

...what's the story on him? With the twins the last three seasons, he's had decent numbers, just not a bunch of innings. I assume he was middle relief there?

 

[graddawg]

We need <span style="font-weight: bold;">Carp???</span> to come back strong this year if we're going to keep up with the Cubs.

 

[TheHorrorTheHorror]

used as a lefty specialist for the twinkies. when youve got joe nathan, you dont need a chubby reyes to close out games for you. i hope motte gets his head straight....
excellent for carp to have that clean of a game. i kept having mulder flashbacks...

 

[MissStFan87]

Had him reaching on a lot of pitches. I also heard one guy drop a pretty loud 17-bomb after one strikeout. He had them frustrated through most of the afternoon. It was fun to watch.

I know it's the Pirates and it's only one start, but that was very encouraging. I also liked that he got a lot of groundball outs.

 

[Dinkle]

,

 

[Todd4State]

...what's the story on him? With the twins the last three seasons, he's had decent numbers, just not a bunch of innings. I assume he was middle
relief there?

He was a good LH set-up/match-up guy with the Twins among other teams. He played for Mexico in the WBC and the Cardinals signed him supposedly with the intent on being another LH reliever to go with Trever Miller.

 

[Todd4State]

used as a lefty specialist for the twinkies. when youve got joe nathan, you dont need a chubby reyes to close out games for you. i hope motte gets his head
straight....

excellent for carp to have that clean of a game. i kept having mulder flashbacks...

If you're a young player and you have a bad game, he won't play you. He would rather pitch someone like Sidney Ponson than a guy with a 12-1 record and a 1.42 ERA at AAA. See Todd Wellemeyer.

If I were LaRussa, I would have pitched Motte in the ninth to see how he responded to his last outing, with a really short leash. Now Motte has had four days and counting to think about his last outing. Sometimes the best way to remedy that is to go out again and put it behind you. Thing is, that's life as a closer in the big leagues. Everyone has bad outings- heck even Eckersley gave a legendary home to a crippled Kirk Gibson- but it's how you respond the nest time you're out there. It happens to practically everyone- except maybe Brad Lidge last year and Gagne a few years ago.

Motte has one bad outing, and Isringhausen and Franklin had how many chances last year?

 

[MissStFan87]

I was wanting him to go ahead and get the 2nd chance. Hard to argue with a 1-2-3 9th inning, though.

 

[Todd4State]

I was wanting him to go ahead and get the 2nd chance. Hard to argue with a 1-2-3 9th inning, though.

But the only problem I see is the Cardinals would lose a LH relief pitcher, when they specifically brought the guy in to face LH's. So, I don't know if LaRussa is planning on making Reyes the closer or what. You never know what is going through his head.

Honestly, I'm guessing he wants to pitch Motte in a 2-3 run save situation next time, which he hasn't really had a chance to do yet. I bet he at least gets an inning against the Astros, if nothing else to let him pitch some.

To be honest, I'm much more worried about Wellemeyer. Mainly becuase he had a rough spring and now has had a rough start. He claims it was because of poor head position. I think it's because he tries to strike too many guys out and ends up getting hit and ends up throwing a ton of pitches. Bottom line, he just isn't that good of a pitcher. I'm keeping my eye on Mitchell Boggs and PJ Walters at Memphis and praying that they are even halfway ready to take his spot.