The more things change, the more they stay the same.
With all the news this week around the Cardinals, it’s easy to forget that they’re still playing games. But Wednesday night they made a rare Minneapolis appearance and trotted out the same tired tropes that have plagued the team over the past few years.
Light hitting? Check.
Wong, Carpenter and Peralta (batting 1-2-3) combined for 2 hits and 0 walks in 12 ABs. When the top of your order can’t do anything – beyond the too late rally in the 9th – it’s hard to get any momentum going. Pete Kozma got a rare start and went 0-2 and was pinch hit for by Jon Jay who struck out and lowered his average to a paltry .226.
PWND by a lefthander? Check.
Tommy Milone had this start circled on his day planner for a couple of weeks now. And after going 1-2 in his past 3 starts (16 IP | 9 ER), the lefty promptly twirled a gem against the Cardinals.
7 IP with 1 run and 0 walks. Milone’s start wasn’t a surprise. If you have a left arm and can throw a baseball, you too could get called upon to pitch against the Birds.
Wasting a good start? Check.
Carlos Martinez was good. Not his best start of the season, but 6 2/3 with 2 ER should at least earn you better than the L he was tagged with. There are more than a few contending teams that would love to get that start 7 days a week. For the Cardinals, though, it was just another game.
Sigh.
Nights like tonight are a stark reminder that the Cardinals are down two power bats when you could argue that they didn’t have enough pop to start the season. Sooner or later the team is going to have to make a move – after all, it’s not called grinding out a win because it’s easy.
And it’s hard to picture this team being able to ever get a 17-0 result.
Photo: Populous
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