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.

CAN YOU SAY CHOKE

Tuesday night, Jaime Garcia didn't have his best stuff. In the beginning of the game, he didn't need it. Pujols and Berkman each hit a bomb, and the Cardinals had some unlikely sources come through in a 3 run 5'th inning. The Birds were up 6-1 going into the bottom of the 5'th when Ryan Theriot forgot how to use his glove.

Brendan Ryan was our shortstop in 2010. Brendan is one of the best defensive shortstops in the game today, but he couldn't hit worth a crap (at least when he was wearing a Cardinals uniform). So we sent him packing to rainy Seattle and the Mariners, and traded Blake Hawksworth to the Dodgers for Theriot. Theriot came in, and from Day 1 of Spring Training you could see that the guy knows how to get on base. He's batting lead-off for us, just finished a 20-game hitting streak, and is hitting .296 on the year.

On the field it's another story. Theriot's fielding skills are pretty pathetic. We're not even at the halfway point of the 2011 season and he has already made 13 errors. Watching him Tuesday night made me want to cover my eyes or hide my head under the blanket. That seems to happen a lot lately...There were 3 balls hit to him in a row, and he couldn't make a play on any of them. At one point he booted the ball and was crawling on his hands and knees with it in front him, but he still couldn't pick it up.

Nobody is perfect, and Theriot is trying his best. It just seems that having a sound defensive shortstop who is also a solid hitter is impossible, at least in St Louis anymore. I am by no means saying that the loss on Tuesday was all Ryan Theriot's fault. Although his defensive miscues were difficult to watch, he contributed at the plate with 2 hits and 2 walks. No, for last night's disaster I blame the Cardinals bullpen...

Miguel Batista was a Washinton National in 2010. He started the bottom of the 7'th inning in relief of Jaime, with a 4 run lead. All he needed was 9 more outs. Instead, Batista, Miller, and Motte combined to give up 6 runs, and all of a sudden we were down by 2.

The bullpen has been shaky all year. It makes me wish that our starters could throw complete games every time out, so that we never have to hand the ball over to the guys in the pen. I know that being a relief pitcher in the Major Leagues has to be hard. Sometimes you only get one shot to get a guy out. But here's a news flash: it's your job, so do it!

Yes, once again I am bitter. The best news from yesterday came out of Wrigley Field, where the Cubs came from behind and beat the Brewers 5-4 with Starlin Castro's walk-off single. This is even more frustrating, because St. Louis should have picked up a game on Milwaukee, but thanks to Theriot and the bullpen, we are still tied in 1'st place. Can't wait to see what the Cardinals have in store for us tonight...(sarcasm, like always)