[情報] High (and low) fives for the Cardinals

看板Cardinals作者keyboardmm (大學四年過好快啊..)時間16年前 (2009/04/01 11:36)推噓7(7推 0噓 2→)

留言9則, 4人參與討論串1/2 (看更多)

The Cardinals might be better than most experts project this season. Or they might not. As usual, the annual spring exercise produced mixed results. Several positive developments give fans hope for a fun summer of playoff contention. But the negative developments raised doubts about this team’s ability to topple the Cubs this season. First, here are five breakthroughs to feel good about: STARTING PITCHING HEALTH: Chris Carpenter missed most of last season with assorted arm/shoulder problems. An unusual hand injury wiped out Adam Wainwright for a big chunk of the season. Joel Pineiro opened on the disabled list and never really got rolling last year. All three veterans felt good and pitched well through spring training. SKIP SCHUMAKER’S MOVE: The experiment continues, but he progressed well enough to open the season at second base. This shift keeps a good leadoff hitter in the batting order and allows Tony La Russa to start three power hitters in the outfield. With Chris Duncan and Rick Ankiel coming back from injuries and Colby Rasmus moving up from Memphis, the Cards are loaded out there. Look for La Russa to protect Schumaker by frequently shifting him to the outfield during his late-inning maneuvering. JASON MOTTE’S EMERGENCE: La Russa won’t give him the title of closer, but the rookie’s progress from last summer is notable. He can command his “plus ” fastball and his short-arm delivery makes it even more effective. He is making progress with his second pitch, so he should be able to at least show it to hitters this season. Also encouraging was Josh Kinney’s continuing comeback from Tommy John surgery. He has an 0.87 ERA this spring. Motte and Kinney, plus Ryan Franklin and newcomer Dennys Reyes, make the Cards better in the late innings. KHALIL GREENE’S SPRING: The Cards’ news shortstop was a horrible hitter last season at San Diego. But the needed scenery shift and Hal McRae’s coaching are doing him good. He should become a solid supporting cast hitter this season, adding 15 to 20 more homers to the pile. He offers a huge run-producing upgrade over Cesar Izturis. ORGANIZATIONAL DEPTH: Outfielder Jon Jay showed plenty this spring (hitting .349) and had no chance to make the team. Shortstop Tyler Greene was in a similar spot. Both will prep at Memphis for bigger roles next season -– and potential fill-in work this year. Top ’08 pick Brett Wallace made just a cameo appearance in the big league camp, but he continues destroying the ball. Top relief prospect Chris Perez will open as the closer in Memphis and the Redbird rotation will feature five big-league prospects. Now, here are five concerns to fret over: ROTATIONAL SLIPPAGE: Todd Wellemeyer has posted an unsightly 7.36 earned-run average this spring. Kyle Lohse has allowed 30 hits in 25 2/3 innings. Neither looks ready to pitch deep into games, which would be a problem for a team with few days off during the first five weeks of the season. Kyle McClellan (9.00 ERA) hasn’t looked ready to help in the long-relief role, either. TROY GLAUS’ SHOULDER: Each day he sounds more like Mark Mulder sounded last season. This is not good. Although the Cards have ample options at third base, starting with David Freese (hitting .333 this spring), the Cards offense could become a wrecking crew with a healthy Glaus batting fifth or sixth. As it is, there is no telling if he’ll play at any point this season. RYAN LUDWICK’S SLUMP: Is he an All-Star outfielder or just a pretty good player? We still don’t know. Fans realized he would have a tough time matching last season’s breakout success. He has become a focal point of opposing pitchers. But his flailings this spring (.209 average, 12 strikeouts in 67 at-bats) suggest he could lose some at-bats in La Russa’s four-outfielder rotation. JOE MATHER’S SLUMP: He made a late push to secure his spot on the 25-man roster, boosting his batting average to .222. But his earlier struggle cost him the chance to become Glaus’ full-time replacement at third. Now La Russa is hoping Mather can lock in this week and get ready to provide some much-needed power off the bench. On a team with so much lefty hitting, Mather needs to locate his stroke and balance the attack. The alternative, keeping another light-hitting infielder instead, is not exciting. CHRIS PEREZ’S SPRING: He came to Jupiter with a sore ankle. Along the way he developed shoulder stiffness, too. As a result, he didn’t get enough work in. So the team’s potential closer will start the season in the Memphis bullpen instead. Cards fans hope this is just a minor setback. The positives seem to outweigh the negatives, overall, but enough questions remain to make the first weeks of the season interesting. The Cards may have to rely on their improved organizational depth more heavily than anybody anticipated. We’ll see soon enough if this team has really transformed itself into a player development machine. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 今年先發真的讓人難以猜測，5個裡面有3個去年動過手術，有一個類似痛痛人，但是去年投了快200局，另外一個更難猜測，要他複製去年成績，只能說太難，因為我們去年二游金手套等級的，已經掉到湖裡面，變成兩個鐵手套，所以.....他自己要自求多福。但是如果3個動手術都可以投出不錯成績，那位痛痛人，今年沒有痛痛這樣看起來Rotation好像還不錯.....真是謎樣啊.... -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 140.114.207.222