MVN - Most Valuable Network

Izzy or Isn’t He?

Game # 43   Thurs. May 15, 2008

Pirates 11 Cardinals 5

Thursday afternoon’s game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates was a wet, sloppy mess.  And it may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back in regards to Izzy.  He was terrible, again.  And a failed bullpen combined with leaving 13 runners on base spelled disaster for the Redbirds.  Here is my analysis of the game:

Performance of the Game:  Troy Glaus

What Went Wrong:

1.  Jason Isringhausen - Izzy struggled in 2006, but it was because of a bad hip.  Last year, he was money in the bank, converting 32 of 34 save opportunities.  But this year, he is struggling again, and mightily.  He already has 6 blown saves and this time he can’t blame it on injury.  He admits he isn’t hurt, and that he is pitching like “a second grader.”  His pitches lack any movement and his cutter stopped cutting weeks ago.  He just has a bad case of “blown save-itis.”  He was put on the disabled list after Thursday’s performance.  He may be headed for a minor league assignment, in which case his career with St. Louis could be over, because he would have to clear waivers.  Personally, I would like to see Chris Perez get a chance.  He has been being groomed for the closer’s job eventually, and as it turns out eventually might be sooner rather than later.

2.  LOB - Here I go again, talking about leaving “ducks on the pond.”  The Cardinals (as of Tuesday) were third in batting average in the National League.  So we are getting on base.  The problem is, we are stranding them on base.  And we will not win if we continue to leave double digits on base everyday.

What Went Right:

1.  The Offense - Every spot in the batting order except for the pitcher’s spot had a hit Thursday.  The offense was not the problem at all.  Chris Duncan, Albert Pujols, Troy Glaus, Yadier Molina, and Brendan Ryan all had multiple hit days.  Troy Glaus had 3 hits, raising his average to .264.

The loss puts the Cardinals at 24-19, in third place behind the Cubs and Astros.  Tomorrow, we have the daunting task of taking on Tampa Bay as we begin Inter-League play.  They are one of the hottest teams in baseball, and will no doubt pose a challenge for us this weekend.  But I think we can easily take 2 out of 3 and get back on the winning track.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 15th, 2008 at 11:46 pm and is filed under 2008 Cardinals, Jason Isringhausen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.