MR CLUTCH! (IT'S ALL IN THE SOCKS)

Last night's game against the Kansas City Royals was exciting to say the least. The best part about the eventful evening was that the Cardinals FINALLY came out on top. I would have preferred to win by more than one run, but beggars can't be choosers.

Who was the man of the hour? Matt Holliday of course! We were down by a run with 1 out in the bottom of the 8'th inning. I had a bad feeling that the game would end like the rest of the past week's worth, in bitter disappointment. Luckily Holliday had other ideas, and his 2 run bomb to straight center field gave us a lead that we would not relinquish. The Cardinals desperately missed their left fielder when he was on the DL, and last night he reminded us why. 

As we all know, our boys were in a 7-game losing streak heading into last night's game. It's common knowledge that baseball tends to be somewhat of a superstitious affair. Yadier Molina, Ryan Theriot, Skip Shumacher, Matt Holliday, and several of the guys on the bench decided that it was time to switch up their routine, because the team couldn't snap out of their downward skid. Enter the high socks...

I'm all for teams doing whatever works for them. If they believe in it, then go for it. High socks, shaved heads, and rally caps are cool with me. Some guys like Pedro Cerrano from "Major League" take it a little too far. The only thing I ask is that they wash their underwear, because dirty sweaty undies aren't lucky: they're gross.

The socks worked. I for one think they're kind of goofy. I guess Pujols and Berkman felt the same since they didn't rock the socks. Baseball isn't a fashion contest though. The only thing that matters is the end result: who goes home with the W. Last night it was St Louis, even though we won by a thread. I'm hoping that that's all the inspiration the team will need to right the ship. I want to see them come out swinging today. Get the lead fast and don't look back. With Jaime Garcia starting, there is a good chance that they can make that happen for me.

Another thing that impressed me yesterday - Tony La Russa and John Mozeliak finally agreed with me on something: Tyler Greene stinks! I was wondering how many more errors the guy would make before the club would finally do something about it. I have a baseball with his autograph on it from Spring Training. I got it because he was a first round draft pick at one point, so I figured it was a good investment at the time...I doubt I could get 50 cents for it with the way he has been playing. I might have to pay someone to take it off my hands instead. Friday night, he struck out twice in the same inning. I guess that performance earned him a one-way ticket back to Memphis!

I'm a Cardinals fan. I don't want to see guys like Greene or Ryan Franklin struggle. I feel for them, just like I'm sure their coaches do. However, enough is enough. They have jobs to do and games to win, and players are either assets or liabilities for their clubs. Let's write Franklin off next! I want to see my Birds doing this dance again come the end of October.

WHO HAS THE BEST RECORD IN BASEBALL? COME AGAIN? HOW DID THEY PULL THAT OFF?

The St. Louis Cardinals have the best record in all of baseball. They have also had 1/2 of their starters on the DL at different points throughout these first few months: Nick Punto missed all of spring training with a hernia. Shortly thereafter the club announced that staff ace Adam Wainwright would undergo Tommy John surgery and miss all of 2011. Ouch,

They started the season at home, and just like many had predicted, the Cardinals had a hard time figuring out how to get a "W". Matt Holliday blasted a homer on opening day and was diagnosed with appendicitis later that night. Closer Ryan Franklin couldn't save a game to save his life.

In Arizona, we lost 2 relief pitchers in the same game: lefty Brian Tallet broke his glove hand, and rhp Bryan Augenstein strained his groin. Skip Schumaker and Allen Craig hit the dirt too. David Freese and Gerald Laird were both hit by pitches and both broke bones in the process. Schumaker came back up before he was ready because Punto got hurt yet again.

Starting pitching surprise Kyle McClellan started the year 6-2 and ended up (where else?) on the DL with a strained hip. Then Matt Holliday messed up his quad, and Allen Craig ran into the wall last night in Houston and had to be helped off the field.

With all of the aforementioned injuries the Cardinals have suffered in the first 2 months of the season, you would think that 2011 would be a wash. Yet the question remains: how in the hell do the St. Louis Cardinals have the best record in baseball?? The answer my friends lies on the farm...

The Cardinals Triple A affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds, have to be hurting. Half of their roster is now with the big league team. Guys like Daniel Descalso, Tyler Greene, Mark Hamilton, Pete Kozma, Eduardo Sanchez, Fernando Salas, Matt Carpenter, Lance Lynn and Tony Cruz have all been given a chance to shine.
Sure, some have seized the opportunity while others haven't made much of a splash, but all have had Major League debuts to remember.
How many times has Daniel Descalso knocked in the go-ahead or game winning RBI? How many games has Fernando Salas entered with the bases juiced and shut the door on the opposition?

I'm not giving all of the credit to the minor leaguers. I do have to say though that there was one game last week where our lineup resembled what should have been the Triple A team's, save for Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina. Guess what? We won that game. And several before that. And hopefully a lot more after that.
Chris Carpenter is 1-5. Kyle Lohse is 7-2. If you said that you saw that one coming I wouldn't believe you. The Cardinals took a chance on Lance Berkman, who most said was way past his prime. Look how well that's paid off. Albert Pujols was choking early on, but is coming into his own with 5 home runs in the last 4 games. It's just weird seeing the starting defense out there with Carpenter, Greene, and Descalso sharing the infield with the King. Who the heck are those guys again? With their rag-tag group of misfits, St Louis has the best record in all of baseball. Cardinal fans wouldn't have it any other way.