UCB Project: Top 5 Stories of 2010

The Cardinal’s 2010 season was quite the journey.  It was a testimate to how luck sometimes is against you.  The Reds had an incredible year.  They have some talented guys.  But I can’t help but think that the Cardinals should have run away with it.  Writing my Top 5 Stories of 2010 list, for the UCB, made me think hard about the year that just passed, and what could’ve been.

1) Cardinal’s Holliday: My top story happened at the very beginning of 2010, and brought joy to all of Cardinal nation.  The Cards signed their big midseason acquisition, Matt Holliday to a 7 year, $120 Million deal.  Yes this happened before the start of the 2010 season, but it happened officially on January 7, 2010.  Remember the light at the end of the tunnel?  Remember how hopeful you were for the dangerous tandem of Pujols and Holliday?   Were you as hopeful as I was?  I was ecstatic.  I had dreams of the Cubs walking Pujols to load the bases,  Holliday crushing a mammoth grand slam onto Waveland Ave., and the Cubs fans rushing to the exits.  This picture brings back the memory of the hope I had. 

Holliday may have gotten a slow start, and he may not have done what he did at the end of the 2009 season for the entire year, but I didn’t expect him to.  Holliday was the consistent big league hitter we thought he was.  He led the team in batting average, ended the season with 103 RBI, and won a Silver Slugger.  Some fans complained about his clutchiness(not sure that is a word…), some of the fans at Busch even booed him at a game I attended.  But few can deny, that at the end of the year looking back, Holliday is a beast.  He offers more protection for Pujols than the Cardinals have had for several years.  His defense in LF was shaky at times but for the most part, I think he is an average defender, who works hard at coming up for throws.  Either way, NICE WORK MO!

2) Jamie Garcia: The Cardinals came into the 2010 season with a major question about their rotation.  Who would be their 5th starter?  They had Carp/Waino for the 1/2 punch.  They had signed Brad Penny to a 1 year deal in hopes of settling the 3rd spot.  Kyle Lohse was going to be back, healthy this time, hopefully to compete with Penny for that 3/4 hole.   But who would be #5?  Kyle McClellan? Rich Hill? Jamie Garcia?  Though McClellan pitched well, the Cardinals decided to leave him in the bullpen and call on young Jamie to take the empty rotation spot.  Jamie was a surprise to everyone.  I was hesitant to buy into Garcia’s success. But in his first 4 starts, he had pitched 26 innings and given up only 3 earned runs.  His ERA was microscopic, among the league leaders.  He showed no signs of frustration, no sign of anyone rattling him.  He had a wicked curve, and a rapport with Yadier Molina that made you think they had known each other for decades.  When Penny and Lohse would eventually go down due to injuries, Jamie was called upon to be the #3.  I can’t imagine the pressure of following Wainwright and Carpenter.  Jamie took it in stride and continued to pitch his way to a #3 finish in the Rookie of the Year balloting.  Some would argue for a higher finish…However you feel about the ROY, one thing is undeniable, Jamie Garcia had an amazing rookie season, and provided stability in an area that was unstable for most of the year.  He answered the call.  He answered it with a 13-8 record with an impressive 2.96 ERA.  And on August 22nd vs. the eventual World Series champion SF Giants he pitched a complete game 3 hitter that would be his season’s gem.  He faced 28 batters, one over the minimum. Remember?

3) Yadier Molina ain’t yo’ bitch, and kickin’ Cueto.  Beginning on 8/9/10, the 3 game series between the Cardinals and Reds was all set to be an important one.  The Cardinals, with a sweep, could close the small gap between the teams in the standings.  The fans, players, coaches, and media knew that this might be the biggest series of the year for the Cardinals.  Could they beat the upstart Reds down before their threat got out of hand?  Would the Reds put it to the Cards and widen the gap between them?  As a fan my thought going into the series was that the Cards needed to win 2 out of 3.   The first game saw Carpenter take on Leake.  Brendan Ryan was late to the field, Carp got mad, and yelled a little, nothing new.  The Cardinals got to Leake in the 4th inning for 7 runs including a Skip Schumaker grand slam.  That was plenty for the Cards, who won game one 7-3.  End of story right? WRONG! Before the game the Reds 2nd baseman had decided to say this…

“I’d play against these guys with one leg. We have to beat these guys. I hate the Cardinals. All they do is bitch and moan

about everything, all of them, they’re little bitches, all of ‘em.  I really hate the Cardinals.

Compared to the Cardinals, I love the Chicago Cubs. Let me make this clear: I hate the Cardinals.”

I wonder how the Cardinals liked this mental giant’s comments.  For some reason, they didn’t appreciate it…at all.  The Cardinals would find out about this moron’s comments after game one.  What was already an important series just took on a whole other angle.  What would happen?  How would the Cards react?   Would Jamie Garcia, the game 2 starter, hit Brandon Philips during his first at bat?  Well as it turned out, he never got the chance.  Phillips decided, with his infinite wisdom, to tap the shin pad of Yadier Molina as he led off the bottom of the first inning.  Yadi didn’t think too much of it, stood up and it was on. 

Nobody knows what exactly was said here, but I have had thoughts on the subject, I’m sure you have also.  If you’d like, you can enter your own transcript of the conversation in the comments, I won’t mind.  Whatever was said, it was clear that the two of them were not making plans for an after-game cocktail.    In the ensuing scrum there were a lot more things discussed, more dinner plans made, and a few kicks from Cueto.  Before this I thought Bronson Arroyo was the only Reds starter with an annoying leg kick.  Turns out Cueto can kick just hard enough with spikes to force Jason Larue into retirement.  Although he was the only one who did any punching, or kicking for that matter, he received a ridiculously small 7 day suspension.  He missed 1 start.  I’m still pissed.

 

The Cardinals swept the series and left Cincinnati with serious momentum.  It made no difference.  Cardinal nation’s collective hope, that this would give the team a jumpstart, didn’t pan out.  They played a bunch of teams they should’ve beaten, and didn’t.  They lost the NL Central to Brandon Phillips and the Reds…Have I mentioned I’m still pissed?

4) David who?  Freese?  OH! Our 3rd baseman… David Freese started the year with HUGE expectations, unfortunately due to injury he would not meet them.  He was to be the Cardinals everyday starting 3rd baseman.  He was to provide another bat with pop behind the likes of Pujols/Holliday/Ludwick.  He had a reputation of being a plus defender at third, with power to all fields.  Cardinal nation had caught a glimpse of that after his call up at the end of the 2009 season.  After a shaky defensive start, David Freese settled right into his role.  He was Mr. RBI.  He came to bat with runners in scoring position a lot, and rarely failed to drive them in.  He was CLUTCH!  Then this happened:

On June 5th going into 3rd base he rolled his ankle.  The Cardinals didn’t immediately DL him, hoping to just rest him up a little and that his ankle would heal.  Unfortunately they were wrong.  They eventually did DL him, gave him so rehab starts, and patiently awaited his return.  Everyone thought he was coming back towards the end of July, and the Cardinals were anxious to get his bat back.  They were so confident in his return that they made the move that is my number 5 story.  But he didn’t return.  Instead, he dropped a weight on his toe and, in a rehab start, messed up his other ankle.  He wouldn’t return for 2010.  His defense, pop, and RBI were sorely missed.

5) Cardinals trade Ryan Ludwick:  In a move necessitated by the injuries of Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse, the Cardinals made a 3 team deal with the Indians and the Padres.  A team that was struggling to find run support for their pitching staff, traded one of their biggest bats.  Their reasoning that Freese was about to return, and the platoon of Jay and Craig, would be an adequate RF replacement had a major flaw.  Freese never returned.  Ludwick, a fan favorite and excellent right fielder was gone.  What did they get in return?  Jake Westbrook.  Westbrook would be a consistent starter, and keep the Cardinals from depending on Blake Hawksworth or Jeff Suppan.  Westbrook is a good quality starting pitcher, and fits the Dave Duncan pitching style of pitch to contact.  He is a good fit and I was impressed by his performance as a Cardinal.  The Cardinals retained him this offseason, and my end opinion of this trade is dependent on Westbrook’s 2011 performance.  If he can continue to pitch like he did at the end of 2010, then I think I will be ok with this trade…reluctantly.  I REALLY liked Ludwick, and missed seeing him in the 2nd half.  But players come and go.  Unfortunately.  Plus the sight of this makes me sad:

But the idea of a Carp/Waino/Garcia/Westbrook top 4 gives me hope for 2011.  Plus, you never know about Lohse.  If he returns to his pre-injury form that earned him that big contract, then we could have a nice starting rotation.  I’m more than a little skeptical about it though.  But Westbrook isn’t to blame for Ludwick being gone, and I am hopeful for a full year of him in our rotation.

Well that is it.  I know, I didn’t include someone.  I reluctantly left out Pujols.  He had another monster year, but with Albert this isn’t news.  Ho hum.  Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, 2nd in MVP.  You know, normal stuff.   I would’ve loved to include news about his monster contract, but unfortunately they haven’t gotten the deal done.  So, in closing PAY THE MANG!!!  Get it done Mo.  Cardinal nation is literally begging you.  I for one, can’t stand the thought of Albert doing this anywhere else:

Till next time….JM