I'd like to go on the record and say that it is not my fault. We've got two Cardinals "experts" that are on staff and would likely provide much better coverage of "their" team than "that idiot Cubs fan" would.
With that said, welcome aboard Prof. Freivogel. Thanks for the clicks, and if you'd like, you can click on an add and help us get paid.
And now, onto the baseball stuff.
The Cardinals (11-5) enter baseball's best rivalry in first place as they continue to ride the hot bat of first baseman Albert Pujols. The Machine is batting .345 with 6 homers and 21 ribbies and a ridiculous OPS of 1.184. I know it's only April, but it is at the point where I constantly wonder why pitchers even throw him strikes anymore. You wanna take a pitch low and away for a seeing eye single down the right field, cool. But it's not cool when a pitcher lays a slider that doesn't slide and it ends up as a souveneir.
Adam Wainwright (tonight's starter) is a heck of a pitcher and Ryan Franklin seems to have found a niche at the back of the bullpen. But everything in between is muddled. If the Cubs can somehow pinpoint that weakness, they could take two out of three just like they did last weekend.
As for those Cubs (8-6), they find themselves behind Pittsburgh and Cincinnati in the standings. Ath this point, all I can say is yuck! Pittsburgh's got talent, but not enough of it. Cincinnati is still managed by Dusty Baker. So while the Pirates could stay long enough to pester some folks in the NL Central, but the Reds, ha! That's laughable. It won't be long before Dusty ruins the golden arms Johnny Cueto, Edinson Volquez and Aaron Harang, so no fan of a club outside of Cincy should worry.
But as a Cubs fan, there is lots to worry about. Milton Bradley can't play because he's hurt and because he's going to be suspended. Bradley's batting .043 with his only hit being a homer in Milwaukee. He's shown a great eye at the plate, too good at times. Everyone knows about Crazy Uncle Milton's antics toward figures of authority, but I feel as if he could summon that aggression toward a 90-mile-per-hour fastball, it could lead to a boost in production.
Then there's Crazy Uncle Milton's replacement, Micah Hoffpauir The Great. Cubs fans love "The Hoff" because he's left-handed and he hits for power ... two things the Cubs haven't had since Henry Rodriguez. And while Cubdum treats him like a young pup, few seem to realize he's 29 and many 29-year-olds don't magically realize their potential during what is supposed to be the prime of their career.
And he doesn't play defense well. At all. Think Daryle Ward without consuming two tons of donuts between half-innings.
The big issue with the Cubs is their bullpen, or lack of it. Carlos Marmol is doing fine and Kevin Gregg isn't terrible when he's not facing the heart of a really good line-up. Same with Aaron Heilman.
But the rest of the 'pen, is a joke. And not one of those good, hearty jokes. One of those played out, boring jokes your friend tries to use on a girl that he's trying to pick up at the bar that only end up c-blocking you in the end.
Neal Cotts is bad and should be taken out to the pasture and left there. Angel Guzman is a flop and should have been dealt when opposing GMs still thought his arm had value. David Patton isn't worth the jersey they throw on his back every day.
If the Cardinals can expose the joke, then Cardinal Nation will be laughing all the way to the bank this weekend.
Each game has a pitching match-up that is honestly worth a damn. Which is nice. No one wants to see 4th and 5th starters go up against aces. Mismatches make rivalry games boring.
Game 1 pits Ryan Dempster against Adam Wainwright. Can Dempster rediscover the magic that made him an All-Star pitcher last season or will "Cy" Wainwright continue his dominance over the Cubbie blue bats.
Sean Marshall and Mitchell "Almost Typed Wade" Boggs square off in Game 2. Both youngsters have something to prove here. Boggs has been very highly regarded in the Cardinal minor league system, while Marshall needs to prove his worth to the big club before he gets shipped out in exchange for Jake Peavy.
Game 3 seems like a mismatch on paper with Rich Harden taking on Todd Wellemeyer. But it all depends on which pitcher shows up to the bump. If the good Harden, which doesn't have shoulder problems or control issues, shows up, then the Cubs will be in great shape. If bad Harden shows up, they're screwed. Same as Wellemeyer. If the nightmarish Wellemeyer shows up, the Cubs won't be able to wait to step to the plate. But if he takes Dave Duncan's advice and applies it, the Cards will be just fine.
So, sit back, relax and strap it down. The National League's best rivalry comes to you starting at 7:00 p.m. central time.
Don't miss it.
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