[情報] Grading the Cardinals

看板Cardinals作者azure0920 (WS Champ STL Cardinals)時間19年前 (2006/11/10 23:21)推噓0(0推 0噓 0→)

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Source: http://stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/ 14AFC38702CC51FD8625721D001C3A7C?OpenDocument 11/05/2006 Change for the better Regular season With the exception of Chris Carpenter's 15 victories and Jeff Suppan's 2.34 second half ERA, the rotation never found any degree of consistency. Designated for assignment July 7 after making 13 starts, Sidney Ponson finished with the second-best ERA (4.52) in a group that suffered an overall 4.79 mark. Mark Mulder's rotator cuff tear coincided with a downturn that began in late May. The Cardinals were 20-12 in Carpenter's starts, three games below .500 behind everyone else. Carpenter and Suppan accounted for 37 of the team's 74 quality starts. Jason Marquis won 11 games by July 7 but went 3-10 the rest of the way. Carpenter compromised his chances for a second consecutive Cy Young Award by ending the season with back-to-back losses in which he failed to hold three-run leads. Acquired to replace Ponson, Jeff Weaver followed monthly ERAs of 6.46 and 5.67 with a 4.35 mark in September, when he started four of the Cardinals' last nine wins. The Cardinals handled rookie Anthony Reyes like a fragile commodity until starting him on short rest on the season's final day. The abortive 26-pitch start skewed an otherwise acceptable finish. Reyes remains vulnerable to home runs, giving up 17 in 322 at-bats. (Marquis led the league by allowing 36 home runs in 764 at-bats.) A year after leading both leagues with an overall 3.49 ERA, the Cardinals fell to ninth in their league at 4.54. Grade: C Postseason Carpenter, Suppan, Weaver and Reyes conspired for a 2.63 postseason ERA. Carpenter won twice in the first round. Suppan was named NLCS MVP. Weaver led the starters with a 2.43 ERA in five starts and proved a monster in the World Series. Reyes' Game 1 start in the World Series permanently altered its tone. Grade: A+ ========================================================================= Pleasant surprise Regular season The renovated bullpen was considered a huge question mark when the Cardinals broke camp and it became an even larger riddle as veteran lefthander Ricardo Rincon broke down in April and closer Jason Isringhausen battled inconsistency associated with a deteriorating left hip. Isringhausen labored to 33 saves before getting shut down on Sept. 6. Rookie Adam Wainwright emerged to become the group's late-inning mortar, striking out 72 in 75 innings. He allowed righthanded hitters a .182 average, compared to a .302 mark by lefthanders. The Cardinals converted 38 of 57 save chances. Cincinnati Reds reject Josh Hancock led the staff with 75 appearances but showed signs of wear late. Manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan never fully trusted veteran Braden Looper, who won nine games but was bypassed as closer when Isringhausen went down. Lefthanders Tyler Johnson and Randy Flores worked well in match-up situations but often proved vulnerable when asked to work innings rather than one or two hitters. Promoted July 2, 27-year-old rookie Josh Kinney pitched his way onto the playoff roster by holding opponents to a .189 average while striking out 22 in 25 innings. Brad Thompson finished the season well but was barely visible in October. Grade: B Postseason Three rainouts allowed La Russa to aggressively work his bullpen with little fear of overtaxing it. He carried a seven-man relief corps but used five for 37 2/3 of the bullpen's 41 2/3 innings of work. Wainwright saved four and won one in the postseason while striking out 15 against two walks. Randy Flores and Josh Kinney were unscored upon in seven appearances, and rookie Tyler Johnson struck out 12 in 7 1/3 innings. Grade: A ============================================================================ Better at the end Regular season Unlike his rookie season, Yadier Molina didn't shake a sluggish offensive start and finished with a .216 average that ranked lowest in the league among players with more than .400 at-bats. Molina hit .152 in April and .206 in May while failing to find a consistent stance or approach. Molina's tendency to attack early in counts eventually led opponents to pitch him out of the strike zone. Still, only Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen had more doubles than Molina's 26. A powerful arm made Molina a Gold Glove candidate; he threw out 41 percent of would-be base-stealers compared to 55 percent in 2005. He also picked off seven runners, leaving him with a major league-best 16 the last two seasons. But Molina's offensive struggles caused the Cardinals to ponder whether he projects to be a 120-game player. Grade: C Postseason Molina thrived when the postseason afforded him a clean slate. He batted .358 with a team-high 19 hits and drove in eight runs while striking out just five times in 53 at-bats. A jumpy hitter for six months, he became more patient. His ninth-inning home run in Game 7 of the NLCS transformed him from the regular season's tragic figure into an indelible part of an unlikely postseason run. The organization hopes what Molina proved to the nation, and himself, carries over to his third full major league season. Grade: A ============================================================================ Consistent production Regular season All three starters who lasted the entire season were voted or named to the NL All-Star team. First baseman Albert Pujols will be involved in another close finish for league MVP and third baseman Scott Rolen was beaten out by Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Nomar Garciaparra for Comeback Player of the Year. Shortstop David Eckstein hit .292 and committed only six errors in 123 games. Pujols had only one more strikeout (50) than home runs (49). In his third season at first base he also cut his errors to six and became a Gold Glove winner. Rolen hit 22 home runs with 95 RBIs the season after undergoing shoulder surgery. The seven-time Gold Glove winner again led his position in fielding. Eckstein labored after suffering a concussion against the Pittsburgh Pirates in June. An oblique strain in August and a hamstring strain in late September further hindered him. A year after hitting .373 with runners in scoring position, Eckstein drove in only 20 of 136 runners from second or third base while hitting .255 in those situations. Acquired July 30 from the Cleveland Indians, second baseman Ronnie Belliard gave the Cardinals more defensively than offensively. Grade: B Postseason Playing through a shoulder strain, Eckstein began the playoffs in an eight-for-50 funk and ended as Series MVP. Belliard was the unofficial MVP of the first round thanks to a .462 average and brilliant defensive play. Rolen, benched twice in the first two rounds, finished the postseason on a 10-game hitting streak. Pujols became more of a run scorer (11) than a run producer (6) in the postseason. Pujols struck out 10 times and walked 13 times in 16 games. He struck out only 50 times in the regular season. Grade: B+ ============================================================================ Revolving door Regular season The Cardinals never discovered an everyday left fielder and watched center fielder Jim Edmonds hit .257 in 110 games and right fielder Juan Encarnacion play through much of the season with an injured wrist. The result was 40 home runs and 170 RBIs from the three most oft-used outfielders (Encarnacion, Edmonds and So Taguchi). Edmonds and Taguchi combined for only 212 at-bats in the second half as Edmonds dealt with various maladies and Taguchi's time was divided between Chris Duncan and Preston Wilson. Encarnacion labored early, hit .367 in June and 302 in July but eventually lapsed into the impatient tendencies that hindered his start. He also dealt with the lingering wrist condition. He managed 79 RBIs. Duncan filled a power void with 22 home runs in 280 at-bats but remains lacking defensively. La Russa took exception to Edmonds' talk about his pending option and later became frustrated over his prolonged absence due to post-concussion syndrome. Wilson lived up to his reputation as a free-swinging veteran. GRADE: C- Postseason Edmonds led the team with 10 RBIs and became a motivator in the clubhouse. So Taguchi led the team with a .400 average and won Game 2 of the NLCS with a ninth-inning home run to break a 6-6 tie against Mets closer Billy Wagner. Taguchi homered twice, doubled and singled in his first four postseason at-bats. Encarnacion labored through much of the postseasonhtal when Isringhausen went down Sept. 6. Chairman Bill DeWitt and Jocketty never exhibited loss of trust in the team or its manager, reminding that the core remained from the team that had won 205 games the previous two seasons. They were rewarded when Eckstein and Edmonds returned for the playoffs, Wainwright showed a veteran's nerve as closer, and the young bullpen proved to be a postseason asset rather than a liability. Weaver, Jorge Sosa, Wilson, Jose Vizcaino, Spiezio and Hancock were acquired after being designated for assignment. The team delivered. The ownership criticized as penny-wise received vindication Grade: A -- 出國就是為了回國入團就是為了脫團 (煙~) -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 70.246.133.241