by Steve Dunford
First of all, the Cardinals have made a roster move optioning I Paul DeJong to Memphis. Who they are calling up has not been determined, and will be announced until closer to game time.
DeJong went down to get at bats. It was obvious in the Philadelphia series that Matheny was not going to give him any playing time. He needs to develop more patience at the plate, as he did not draw a walk the whole time he spent with the big club. I was very impressed with his glove. He will be back.
Speculation in the St. Louis media, claims it to be either relief pitcher Sam Tuivailala or OF Randall Grichuk.
The theory behind Tuivailala getting the call is for the extra arm in the bullpen for the DH this afternoon. Grichuk getting the call comes from comments from General Manager John Mozeliak that he needs to either “sink or swim.”
In my view, Tommy Pham has won the LF job. I have no problem with Grichuk coming up and being a fourth outfielder. At one time I thought he was the Cardinal cleanup hitter of the future. I just don’t see supplanting a .300 hitter that has played stellar defense, for a guy that has struggled. Maybe he was rebooted in the minors and will put up big power numbers.
Let me throw a name out there at you that has not been mentioned, Carson Kelly. If Yadier Molina’s back is not better, Kelly could be brought up to catch Marco Gonzales in the second game of the double header.
Whether the Cardinals are buyers or sells at the trade deadline, I can see Kelly up with the big club well before the September call-ups arrive.
If Gonzales pitches well tonight, he could be an integral part of the Cardinal bullpen the rest of the season, as all three lefthanders in the St. Louis pen have struggled.
As of now the Brewers have not mentioned the pitching parings for the whole series. Craig Counsell is one of the best upcoming managers in the game. He might still look like a rookie middle infielder in the dugout, but he is very sly.
Counsell is a skipper of a Brewers team that consists of mainstay Ryan Braun, Eric Thames, who is smashing the ball, and a bunch of hungry kids. Coming into this season, I thought they were one year away. I had the Reds pegged as the team that could possibly contend with the Cardinals and Cubs.
I thought the Cubs would run away with the Central, with the Cardinals poised for a wild card spot. The Cubs starting pitching has been awful, with their bats starting to heat up. The Reds can score a lot of runs, but their pitching overall has been horrible. The Pirates so far have been a train wreck, but they have one their last three.
The Cardinals come into play today with a 29-32 record, 2 1/2 games behind the Brewers. They are one back in the loss column though. A series sweep by St. Louis, and they would be in first place. If the Brewers sweep they would be 6 1/2 back, and likely in the cellar of the central.
A Cardinal sweep would mean Mo would go out and get a bat. A split or one of the teams taking three out of four, the Cardinals would still have a wait and see approach. If Milwaukee sweeps, the Cardinal front office will be running a lot of K-Mart Blue Light Specials.
It has been a long time since there has been an urgent series like this in June. Lets hope it is a “happy flight” to Baltimore, with the Cardinals in first place.
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