WHERE DO I BEGIN...

I have 2 days worth of games and events to discuss today, but I don't know where to start. Let me warn you: the things I have to say aren't good.

Let's start with Tuesday night. Kyle McClellan was 6 outs away from beating Roy Halladay and walking away with the W. That's pretty impressive for a guy in his first season as a starter, going toe to toe with the best of the best.

Tony lifted K-Mac in the 7'th for a pitch hitter, so it was up to the bullpen to close out the game. Kyle had gotten 21 outs at that point, while only giving up one run. Unfortunately, the game was far from over. The Cardinals bullpen deteriorated before my eyes. It took 64 pitches from 5 different relievers to secure 3 outs and get to the bottom of the inning. The top of the 8'th began with the score 2-1 Cards, and ended at 10-2 in favor of the Phillies.

Don't get me wrong - I'm angry that the pen gave up 9 runs in a single inning. I think the most frustrating part though was how they gave up those runs. I wouldn't be happier if the Phillies smacked us around, but it would be much more understandable. Instead of throwing quality pitches, we beaned batters and walked in runs.

Tuesday was the Cardinals first of several games without #5 in the lineup. A win would have been a huge confidence booster, both for the team and the fans. Instead, we witnessed a meltdown to remember.

How did the club react to the embarassing 8'th inning? They announced yesterday that Miguel Batista has been released. I don't agree with that move one bit. Batista is 40 years old and way past his prime, I will admit that, but he was a veteran presence in a very young bullpen. I know that his strikeout to walk ratio was pitiful, but I'm pretty sure that he wasn't the only problem!

Batista was supposed to be the long-man in the bullpen. He could eat up innings for us. Tony had already used him once as a spot starter. I think that he was a valuable piece to the bullpen, and we gave up on him a little too early. He really wasn't doing that bad for us. However if John Mozeliak has decided to start trimming the fat, when can we send Ryan Franklin packing??



As for Wednesday night, the Cardinals couldn't muster anything against Cliff Lee. He pitched a 6-hit shutout, and St. Louis was handed their second consecutive loss. It's a good thing that the Brewers keep losing when we do. Remarkably, we are only 1/2 game out of first place. The Reds are 2 games out though, and closing fast.

We have an awful lot of rookies on the team right now. We have an inexperienced bench, and our best player is injured. The good news is that Nick Punto and David Freese are both doing well in their rehab assignments. Hopefully both will be back with the big club soon.

The announcers last night kept saying that playing against Halladay and Lee wouldn't give us a fair indication of how our team will perform without Albert, because they are 2 of the best pitchers in baseball. Al, Dan, and Rick, I hope you're right.

Hang in the Cardinal fans...

RYAN FRANKLIN NEEDS TO GO

Ryan Franklin started the 2011 season as the Cardinals closer. In fact, he assumed that role in May of 2008 and has manned the post ever since. It's pretty obvious to me that his glory days are over now though. Take Opening Day of this year for instance and you will see Exhibit A (Blown Save #1). Returning home from the first road trip of the season, Franklin was actually booed by the Busch Stadium crowd. I think we all remember his response to the media after that one. Ryan, take it from Jimmy Dugan: "There's no crying in baseball!"

It took 4 blown saves in 5 chances before La Russa finally demoted him. I'd like to be able to tell you that moving to middle relief solved the problem and everything is great. Unfortunately, that statement is far from the truth. Does everyone remember last month when Mitchell Boggs was optioned to Triple A Memphis to work on his stuff? I recall reading Matthew Leach's Cardinals inbox where the question was raised "Why stick with Franklin over Boggs?" Matt answered the question by informing readers that we can't send Franklin down: the only way to get rid of him is to make it permanent (release him).

Well ladies and gentlemen, I think that time has come. I think Ryan knows it too. It has to suck to be kept away from games that are on the line. The only times he pitches now are when we need someone to eat innings while we are getting blown out. We're less than a month away from the All Star Break, which means that the season is almost halfway over. If we want to contend with the surging Brewers and those pests in Cincinnatti then we need pitchers who can come on in relief and slam the door on the opposition.

Ryan Franklin is no longer that guy for us. I understand that he has a long and proven track record with the Cardinals. He has been there for us over the past couple of years, and we really didn't have to worry about him. The fact of the matter is: "That was then and this is now". Franklin is 38 years old. If this were 22 year old Eduardo Sanchez or 26 year old Fernando Salas, the club could simply send him to the minors and figure out what was going wrong.

As stated before, we can't do that here. A lot has been said over the years about Tony La Russa and that he is almost loyal to a fault. I can't say enough good things about the Cardinals skipper of the past 16 years, but I think that he needs to open his eyes. It's time to cut the cord.

With that being said, Franklin was one of many problems for the Redbirds last night. The Nationals and Livan Hernandez kicked our butts. Being shutout 10-0 while only mustering 3 hits is pathetic. I'll give credit where credit is due: Livan pitched a hell of a game. I had the pleasure of meeting him during Spring Training this past March, as you can see from the picture below. Let's be realistic though: Hernandez isn't Roy Halladay. We should have played a lot better than we did.

5 straight losses isn't good. On the plus side, Matt Holliday comes off the DL tonight. Hopefully the Cards can win tonight and avoid 2 straight sweeps...