RetroSimba

Why Cardinals gave up on a World Series hero

July 25, 2018 by retrosimba

Two years after he established the tone for the 2006 World Series, pitching a Game 1 gem and propelling the club toward a championship, Anthony Reyes and the Cardinals were eager for a divorce.

On July 26, 2008, the Cardinals traded Reyes to the Indians for minor-league reliever Luis Perdomo and cash.

Reyes, 26, was with the Cardinals’ farm club at Memphis when the deal was made. He began the 2008 season with the Cardinals, clashed with pitching coach Dave Duncan, sprained his right elbow and got demoted to the minor leagues.

Disillusioned, Reyes was ready to be traded and the Cardinals were prepared to accommodate him.

“He needs a change of scenery,” Cardinals outfielder Skip Schumaker said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Said Reyes: “When you get overlooked and you feel you’re pitching well, you want to go to a place that’s a better fit.”

Hot prospect

Reyes pitched at the University of Southern California and was selected by the Cardinals in the 15th round of the 2003 amateur draft. In 2004, Reyes pitched for two clubs in the Cardinals’ system and had an overall record of 9-2 with 140 strikeouts in 111 innings.

Before the 2005 and 2006 seasons, Reyes was named the top pitching prospect in the Cardinals’ organization by Baseball America magazine.

He made his major-league debut on Aug. 9, 2005, in a start against the Brewers at Milwaukee and got the win, yielding two runs in 6.1 innings of a 5-2 Cardinals victory. Boxscore On June 22, 2006, Reyes pitched a one-hitter for the Cardinals against the White Sox, but lost, 1-0, on a Jim Thome home run. Boxscore

Though he was 5-8 with a 5.06 ERA in 17 starts for the 2006 Cardinals, Reyes was the Game 1 starter in the World Series because veterans Chris Carpenter, Jeff Suppan and Jeff Weaver were unavailable after pitching in a seven-game National League Championship Series against the Mets.

Matched against Tigers ace Justin Verlander in Detroit, the odds didn’t favor Reyes, but he delivered a masterpiece, limiting the Tigers to two runs in eight innings and earning the win in a 7-2 St. Louis victory. Reyes retired 17 consecutive Tigers batters. Boxscore The Cardinals went on to win four times in five games and clinch their first World Series title in 24 years.

Steps backward

After the postseason, the Cardinals allowed Suppan, Weaver and another starter, Jason Marquis, to leave as free agents, figuring Reyes would help fill the void, but Reyes lost his first 10 regular-season decisions with the 2007 Cardinals and finished the season at 2-14 with a 6.04 ERA.

The Cardinals and Phillies discussed a trade of Reyes for outfielder Michael Bourne, but the proposed deal unraveled, the Post-Dispatch reported.

Reyes was prone to using high fastballs to entice batters to swing and miss. Duncan wanted him to pitch to contact rather than try for strikeouts. Reyes didn’t embrace the concept and “became a point of frustration” for Duncan, the Post-Dispatch reported.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said reports of a disconnect between Duncan and Reyes were “nonsense” and caused a distraction. “I regret the fact people mentioned he was not a Dave Duncan style of pitcher,” La Russa told the Post-Dispatch.

The Cardinals moved Reyes to a reliever role in 2008 and he was 2-1 with a save and a 4.91 ERA before spraining his right elbow. After a stint on the disabled list, Reyes was sent by the Cardinals to their Class AAA farm club at Memphis.

“Reyes came to represent the risks of holding on to a young player too long,” the Post-Dispatch reported. “Aware of Duncan’s frustrations with Reyes, some within the organization advocated trading the pitcher after his celebrated win in the first game of the 2006 World Series.”

Fresh start

After the Indians acquired Reyes from the Cardinals, they sent him to their Class AAA affiliate at Buffalo. Working with pitching coach Scott Radinsky, a former Cardinals reliever, Reyes was 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA in two starts for Buffalo before getting called up to the Indians.

Reyes made his Indians debut in a start on Aug. 8, 2008, against the Blue Jays at Toronto and got a win, yielding a run in 6.1 innings of a 5-2 Cleveland victory. Boxscore

“He had a good heartbeat, made pitches when he needed to and was very efficient,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said to the Akron Beacon Journal.

Reyes used the media attention his win attracted to express his frustrations with Duncan and the Cardinals.

“When I’d get sent down in St. Louis, no one ever told me what I was supposed to work on,” Reyes said to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “It wasn’t like it was anything mean, but I was going crazy trying to figure out if I did something wrong. Did I step on someone’s toes?”

In comments to the Beacon Journal, Reyes said, “I felt like I didn’t fit in over there. They didn’t like anything I was doing. It made for some long years.”

After Reyes earned a win in a start at Cleveland against the Royals on Aug, 19, he told the Beacon Journal, “I think I’m getting there. I got in a lot of bad habits the last couple of years, so coming here gives me a chance to get rid of them.”

Elbowed out

Reyes continued pitching well for the 2008 Indians, but on Sept. 5 he was pulled from a start at Kansas City because of elbow pain. Sidelined for the remainder of the season, Reyes was 2-1 with a 1.83 ERA in six starts for the 2008 Indians.

In 2009, Reyes made eight starts for the Indians and was 1-1 with a 6.57 ERA before his right elbow gave out. On June 12, 2009, Reyes underwent reconstructive elbow surgery and never again pitched in the major leagues.

Reyes pitched in the Indians’ farm system in 2010 and 2011. At 30, his final professional season was in 2012 when he pitched for the Padres’ Class AAA Tucson club managed by former Cardinals catcher Terry Kennedy.

In 67 big-league games, Reyes was 13-26 with a 5.12 ERA.

Reyes became a firefighter for the Los Angeles County Fire Department in California in 2017, following in the footsteps of his father, also a firefighter.

Posted in Games, Pitchers, Trades | 2 Comments »

Cardinals stint enabled Wayne Garrett to showcase skills

July 22, 2018 by retrosimba

(Updated Nov. 14, 2021)

Wayne Garrett, who had some of his best games against the Cardinals, finished his major-league playing days with them, producing a sustained stretch of solid hitting for St. Louis and positioning himself to earn an opportunity to extend his career in Japan.

On July 21, 1978, the Cardinals purchased Garrett’s contract in a waiver deal with the Expos. The Cardinals envisioned Garrett, a left-handed batter, for a pinch-hitting role, but he performed well when given the chance to substitute for slumping third baseman Ken Reitz and ended up being used in a platoon with Reitz the remainder of the season.

Playing almost exclusively against right-handed pitchers, Garrett batted .333 for the 1978 Cardinals, generating 21 hits in 63 at-bats. He hit .389 (7-for-18) with runners in scoring position.

The Cardinals were impressed and wanted Garrett, 30, to return in 1979 as a utility player, but when he and the club couldn’t agree on contract terms, Garrett departed as a free agent.

Cards connections

In 1965, Garrett was selected by the Braves in the sixth round of major-league baseball’s first amateur draft. During his stint in the Braves’ system, Garrett caught the attention of Mets scout Bob Scheffing, who recommended him to management. In December 1968, the Mets took Garrett in the Rule 5 draft and he opened the 1969 season with the major-league club.

Garrett made his big-league debut for the Mets on April 12, 1969, against the Cardinals at New York. Batting third and playing second base, Garrett had a single and walk against Dave Giusti, who pitched a shutout in a 1-0 Cardinals victory. Boxscore

The next day, April 13, Garrett again got the start at second base and had a double and walk against Bob Gibson, who pitched the Cardinals to a 3-1 triumph. Boxscore

Garrett eventually was shifted to third base and platooned there with Ed Charles.

On July 2, 1969, Garrett had his first four-hit game in the majors. He was 4-for-6 with four RBI, a walk and a run scored in the Mets’ 6-4 victory over the Cardinals in 14 innings at St. Louis. Garrett drove in two runs against Giusti with a double and a single, added a RBI-single against Chuck Taylor in the eighth and drew a bases-loaded walk from Ron Willis in the 14th. Boxscore

Garrett started 63 games at third and 34 games at second for the 1969 Mets, who supplanted the Cardinals as National League champions, and batted .218. The rookie got into two games in the 1969 World Series against the Orioles.

Big hits

In the book “After the Mircale,” Garrett told teammate Art Shamsky that at spring training in 1970, Mets manager Gil Hodges wanted to know who taught him to swing down on the ball. Garrett told him it was Charlie Lau, a manager in the Braves’ farm system who later became a respected hitting coach in the majors.

“So Gil said, ‘I don’t want you hitting down anymore. I want you swinging on a little upward plane,’ ” Garrett recalled.

Garrett made the change and began hitting more consistently.

On Sept. 1, 1970, Garrett had another four-hit game for the Mets against the Cardinals. He was 4-for-5 with a walk against Gibson and scored twice in a 4-3 Mets victory in 12 innings at St. Louis.

In the 12th, with the score tied at 3-3, Garrett led off with a single against Gibson. With Cleon Jones up next, the Mets signaled for a hit-and-run, but Jones swung and missed at a high fastball. Garrett swiped second and continued on to third when catcher Ted Simmons’ throw clanked off the glove of Milt Ramirez for an error on the shortstop. Jones followed with a sacrifice fly, driving in Garrett with the go-ahead run. Boxscore

Garrett hit .333 versus Gibson in his career, with 22 hits in 66 at-bats and 10 walks, and had a .421 on-base percentage against the Cardinals ace.

In 1973, Garrett had his best big-league season, batting .256 with 16 home runs and 58 RBI as the third baseman for the Mets, who won their second National League pennant. Facing the Athletics in the World Series, Garrett hit solo home runs against Vida Blue in Game 2 and Catfish Hunter in Game 3. Batting leadoff in all seven games of the World Series, Garrett produced five hits, five walks and was hit by a pitch, but he struck out 11 times and batted .167.

The Mets traded Garrett to the Expos in July 1976 and he platooned at second base with Pete Mackanin the remainder of the season. In 1977, Garrett was plagued by shoulder and leg injuries and was a backup to Larry Parrish at third and Dave Cash at second.

Packing a wallop

By July 1978, Garrett seldom played for the Expos. He was batting .174 for the season when the Cardinals acquired him in a transaction that attracted little attention.

Soon, Cardinals manager Ken Boyer decided to start Garrett against right-handed pitching because Reitz batted .183 overall in June and .226 in July.

On Aug. 13, 1978, Garrett was 3-for-4 with a walk, RBI and run scored in a 6-1 Cardinals triumph over the Mets at New York. Boxscore

A couple of weeks later, on Aug. 31 at St. Louis, Garrett batted for pitcher Aurelio Lopez and hit a ninth-inning grand slam against Reds reliever Doug Bair, though Cincinnati won, 11-6. The ball Garrett hit landed 20 rows deep in the bleacher seats beyond the right-field wall, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Boxscore

It was Garrett’s second major-league grand slam. The first occurred on Sept. 29, 1976, against former Mets teammate Tom Seaver in a 7-2 Expos victory at New York.

Overseas adventure

Garrett played his final big-league game on Sept. 26, 1978, going 2-for-4 in a 3-1 Cardinals win over the Mets at New York. Boxscore

“We got to make some decisions on him,” Boyer said. “He’s looking for a long-term contract, like three years, and we want to see whether we should enter into that kind of deal with him.”

The Cardinals decided to pursue free-agent Pete Rose rather than invest in a multi-year deal for a utility player. Garrett became a free agent and drew interest from the Brewers, but his best offer came from Japan.

Adrian Garrett, Wayne’s brother, went to Japan in 1977 after eight seasons as a utility player in the major leagues with the Braves, Cubs, Athletics and Angels. Adrian hit 35 home runs for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in 1977 and 40 home runs for them in 1978.

Wayne Garrett followed his brother’s career path, signed with the Chunichi Dragons in the Japan Central League and played for them in 1979 and 1980.

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Trades | 2 Comments »

Aaron Miles and his walkoff slam for Cardinals

July 19, 2018 by retrosimba

(Updated Dec. 21, 2024)

At 5-foot-8, Aaron Miles lacked size, not stature, as a Cardinals contributor.

On July 20, 2008, Miles stunned the Padres with a walkoff grand slam in the ninth inning, carrying the Cardinals to a 9-5 victory at St. Louis.

The grand slam was the second of Miles’ big-league career, but his first walkoff home run at any level. “That’s a feeling I never would have expected to get _ a walkoff home run,” Miles told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa summarized Miles’ achievement in two words: “Fantasy Island.”

Unforced error

The grand slam turned despair into joy for the Cardinals.

In the eighth inning, Troy Glaus hit a three-run home run against Heath Bell, giving the Cardinals a 5-3 lead, but the Padres rallied for two runs in the top of the ninth against Jason Isringhausen and Brad Thompson, tying the score at 5-5.

Padres manager Bud Black sent Bryan Corey to pitch the bottom of the ninth and he got the leadoff batter, Jason LaRue, to ground out to third.

Corey, pitching for his fifth team in his fifth big-league season, walked the next batter, Albert Pujols, on four pitches.

Thompson, the pitcher, came up next and third-base coach Jose Oquendo met him at the plate and instructed him to bunt. Padres catcher Luke Carlin noticed Pujols stretching his lead at first base in anticipation of a Thompson bunt.

As first baseman Adrian Gonzalez moved in toward the plate to be in position to field a bunt, second baseman Edgar Gonzalez started to move toward the first-base bag,

When Thompson didn’t offer at Corey’s first pitch, Carlin snapped a throw toward first base, but the ball arrived before Edgar Gonzalez did and sailed into right field. Pujols raced to third on the two-base error.

“Luke Carlin was throwing to a bag that had no one there,” analyst Mark Grant said on the Padres’ television broadcast.

“It was just a stupid play by me to throw the ball,” Carlin told the Associated Press. “I tried to be overaggressive and unfortunately it hurt us.”

Mighty mite

With Pujols in scoring position, La Russa called on catcher Yadier Molina to bat for Thompson with the count at 1-and-0. Molina ran from the bullpen to the dugout, grabbed a bat and went to the plate.

The Padres, looking to set up a possible forceout at any base, elected to intentionally walk Molina as well as the next batter, Skip Schumaker, loading the bases with one out. Schumaker had hit into 11 double plays for the season, but the Padres decided to take their chances with Miles.

A switch-hitter, Miles stood in from the left side against Corey, a right-hander. Miles was batting .327 against right-handers for the season.

The first pitch was called a ball and Miles swung at the second delivery and fouled it off. The third pitch missed the strike zone, making the count 2-and-1.

Corey’s fourth pitch was in Miles’ wheelhouse and he swung, driving the ball over the right-field fence and into the Cardinals’ bullpen, where it was snared on the fly by joyous teammate Ryan Franklin.

After he connected, Miles dropped his bat at the plate, watched the ball soar and pumped his fist as he headed up the first-base line. Cardinals players poured out of the dugout to mob him at the plate. Video

“Of all the ways you look for Aaron Miles to maybe beat you, that’s not the first thing to come to mind,” said surprised Padres TV play-by-play broadcaster Matt Vasgersian. Boxscore

Rare feat

The home run was the third of the season for Miles. He would finish with four for the season and 19 in a nine-year career in the major leagues. His other grand slam was hit right-handed for the Rockies against Marlins left-hander Al Leiter in the fourth inning of an 8-1 Colorado victory on May 8, 2005, at Miami.

The walkoff home run by Miles gave the Cardinals their first four-game sweep of the Padres since 1990 and moved St. Louis 14 games above .500 for the season. It was the 10th walkoff grand slam all-time by a Cardinals batter and the first since Gary Bennett did it against the Cubs on Aug. 27, 2006.

Cardinals with walkoff grand slams before Miles did it were Pepper Martin (1936), Joe Cunningham (1957), Carl Taylor (1970), Joe Hague (1971), Roger Freed (1979), Darrell Porter (1984), Tommy Herr (1987), David Eckstein (2005) and Bennett (2006).

Since then, Cardinals with walkoff grand slams are Matt Carpenter (2017), Paul Goldschmidt (2022) and Nolan Arenado (2024).

Miles hit 14 of his 19 major-league homers from the left side. Overall, he hit eight homers for the Cardinals, eight for the Rockies and three for the Dodgers.

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents | 2 Comments »

Holy smokes! How Cardinals got singed in Atlanta

July 16, 2018 by retrosimba

A midsummer evening in Atlanta got too hot to handle for the Cardinals.

On July 20, 1993, a fire erupted in an unoccupied club-level suite at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium before a game between the Cardinals and Braves.

Smoke poured through the press box and into the concourses, burning debris fell onto field-level seats and five suites were destroyed, according to multiple published reports.

The fire burned for 25 minutes before it was extinguished. One firefighter was taken to a hospital suffering from heat exhaustion and as many as 10 others were treated on the scene for heat-related issues, the Associated Press reported. No fans, stadium personnel or team personnel were injured.

Eleven fire engines, with water-pumping equipment, and six fire trucks responded and about 3,000 spectators were evacuated while firefighters battled the blaze.

After it was determined the stadium structure was sound, spectators were allowed back in and the game began two hours after its scheduled starting time. A section of 10,000 seats were declared unavailable. The fire started from a Sterno can used to heat food, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Smoke no joke

Most Cardinals players and staff ran to the outfield as the fire raged. KMOX broadcaster Mike Shannon and engineer Colin Jarrette, though, were in a radio booth and too close for comfort to the fire.

“Colin and I had to inhale the smoke when it broke out,” Shannon said to the Post-Dispatch. “We could see the fire 200 or so feet from us. Then the smoke got in behind us and trapped us in. The smoke came through the rafters and hallway behind us. We couldn’t see anything. The security guards yelled at us to get out.”

Shannon was able to escape the booth unassisted, but the smoke hampered Jarrette.

“The guards came up and had to escort Colin out,” Shannon said. “They put a towel around his head. I wasn’t frightened that I wouldn’t make it out. There was only about 15 feet from where we were to get out the back, but it was a thick, black, nasty smoke.”

The game was supposed to be shown on the Cardinals’ television network, but the telecast was canceled because several cables got burned by fire. KMOX did carry the game on the Cardinals’ radio network, though it was difficult for the broadcast team to work in the damaged radio booth.

“We really never should have done that game,” said broadcaster Jack Buck, who was on the field when the fire started. “Everything was covered with soot. It was dirty. It was filthy.”

Said Jarrette: “There was a lot of smoke damage. There were ashes settled all over the equipment.”

Shannon wore a surgical mask for parts of the game; Buck didn’t, and the next day, “I was spitting up black stuff all day long,” Buck said.

Boom, boom

When the fire started at 5:55 p.m., 90 minutes before game time, the Braves were taking batting practice and the Cardinals were doing stretching and warmups on the field. An explosive sound sent players and staff from both teams scurrying to the outfield as the suite burned above the third-base line.

“We were trying to get as far away as possible,” Cardinals manager Joe Torre said. “I was just afraid that after the explosion there would be some glass flying.”

Braves player Otis Nixon told the Associated Press, “It was like a 60-yard dash to the outfield. I never saw (manager) Bobby Cox run so fast.”

Fire department officials determined the loud sound was a girder breaking, the Post-Dispatch reported.

Show must go on

The game matched starting pitchers Tom Glavine of the Braves and Rene Arocha of the Cardinals. The Cardinals scored three runs in the fourth and two in the fifth and led 5-0 until the Braves rallied in the sixth against Arocha on a three-run home run by Jeff Blauser and a two-run home run by Fred McGriff, tying the score at 5-5. McGriff was playing in his first game for the Braves since being acquired from the Padres in a trade.

“You throw it belt-high here and a lot of bad things can happen,” said Torre.

In the eighth, the Braves scored three times against reliever Rheal Cormier and won, 8-5. Boxscore

The Cardinals were held scoreless over the final 4.2 innings by four relievers _ Steve Bedrosian, Greg McMichael, Mark Wohlers and Mike Stanton.

“I hope this is an omen that the Braves will get hot,” Braves owner Ted Turner, who attended the game with wife Jane Fonda, said to the Atlanta Constitution.

Posted in Games, Opponents | 2 Comments »

How The Rat and Da Coach came together in St. Louis

July 13, 2018 by retrosimba

In a pairing of two of the most successful and colorful sports leaders of the 1980s, Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka spent an evening with the Cardinals as a guest of their manager, Whitey Herzog.

On July 19, 1988, at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Ditka got into a Cardinals uniform, took batting practice with the team and brought out the lineup card to umpires at home plate before the start of a game against the Dodgers.

Ditka came to St. Louis to promote Herzog’s restaurant at Union Station. The management firm that ran Herzog’s restaurant also operated Ditka’s restaurant in Chicago.

Bringing Ditka and Herzog together created the media attention the restaurant managers sought.

Ditka led the 1985 Bears to a NFL championship, winning 15 of 16 regular-season games and all three postseason games. The Bears qualified for the playoffs in seven of his 11 seasons as their head coach. A popular “Saturday Night Live” comedy sketch at the time featured actors playing blue-collar Bears fans who spoke with Chicago dialects about their devotion to “Da Bears” and to Ditka, “Da Coach.”

Herzog led the 1982 Cardinals to a World Series championship and followed that with National League pennant-winning seasons in 1985 and 1987. Dubbed “The White Rat” during his playing career because of his light-colored hair and resemblance to a Yankees pitcher with the same nickname, Herzog transformed the Cardinals into winners by emphasizing a style of play, called “Whiteyball,” featuring speed, fielding, relief pitching and fundamentals

Fan of The Man

Ditka was named Michael Dyczko when he was born Oct. 18, 1939, in Carnegie, Pa. The surname was changed to Ditka during his childhood because it was easier to pronounce.

As a youth in Aliquippa, Pa., where the family moved in the 1940s, Ditka became a Cardinals baseball fan because their best player, Stan Musial, also was from western Pennsylvania.

“I’ve been a St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan since I was a kid, basically because of one man, and that was The Man: Stan Musial,” Ditka told the Chicago Tribune in 1988. “Musial was from Donora, Pa., and I was from just outside of Pittsburgh. In the bottom of my heart, I’m still a Cardinals fan. I have to root for the Cubs every once in a while.”

At Aliquippa High School, Ditka played football, baseball and basketball and was coached by Press Maravich, the father of future college and NBA standout “Pistol” Pete Maravich.

Though Ditka was a catcher and outfielder for the high school baseball team, and later for the University of Pittsburgh, he knew his future was in football. “My fondest memories of baseball were playing in Little League and then in Pony League and then American Legion, because we competed pretty good in the state of Pennsylvania,” Ditka said.

After excelling as a receiver and punter for the University of Pittsburgh football Panthers from 1958-60, Ditka went on to become a top tight end in the NFL with the Bears (1961-66), Eagles (1967-68) and Cowboys (1969-72). He was inducted as a player into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988.

Ditka was head coach of the Bears (1982-92) and Saints (1997-99).

“We always enjoyed playing the Cardinals in football,” Ditka said. “St. Louis went through a great era of football down here when Don Coryell was here and Jim Hart and Dan Dierdorf … They were about as good a team as there is in the Eastern Division.”

That’s entertainment

When Ditka got to the Cardinals baseball clubhouse to meet Herzog before the game with the Dodgers, he was issued a uniform with No. 89. That was his uniform number during his NFL playing days.

“Ditka and Herzog appeared to enjoy each other’s company,” columnist Kevin Horrigan of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch observed, but both “appeared to be just the least bit embarrassed by what their business partners had gotten them into.”

The Cardinals had lost 10 of their previous 11 games, prompting Herzog to tell Ditka, “Let’s don’t joke around with this too much. Bad as we’re going it doesn’t pay to joke too much.”

Ditka stood 6 feet 3 and weighed 230 pounds, and when Herzog saw him in a size 48 Cardinals jersey, he called Tom Brunansky to come over and said to the strapping right fielder, “He’s going to take batting practice. If he hits one out, I may have to move you out of cleanup.”

Replied Brunansky: “He can have right field as far as I’m concerned. Anything for some run support.”

Brunansky, acquired by the Cardinals from the Twins three months earlier, went to his locker and came back wearing a Minnesota Vikings football T-shirt. “What do you think of this?” he said playfully to Ditka.

Hit and miss

In the batting cage, Ditka, 48, hit “a couple of soft-liners, a couple of semi-loud fouls,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Ditka hit “one drive to the warning track after several swings and misses.”

“He’s got a short stroke,” said Herzog. “He’s got potential.”

Ditka gave Cardinals players Bear caps to wear during batting practice. “You know what?” said Herzog. “We hit better with them Bears caps on.”

Wearing his Cardinals uniform with the name Ditka on the back, the Bears coach joined Dodgers coach Bill Russell in presenting team lineup cards at home plate to umpires Tom Hallion, Joe West, Bob Engel and Charlie Williams.

The Cardinals went on to beat the Dodgers, 3-2, that night. Brunansky, batting cleanup, contributed a single, a walk, a stolen base and scored a run. Boxscore

Three days later, Ditka was back with the Bears for the opening day of training camp in Wisconsin.

Posted in Managers | 2 Comments »

How Cardinals suffered epic collapse vs. Pirates

July 10, 2018 by retrosimba

The Cardinals produced 22 hits, four walks and 11 runs in a game against the Pirates, but it wasn’t enough to compensate for an ineffective bullpen.

On July 12, 2008, the Cardinals had 10 extra-base hits and led 8-3 after six innings, 9-4 after seven and 10-6 after eight, but lost, 12-11, to the Pirates in 10 innings.

“That’s a game that you can’t lose that we lost,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Jason Bay, who hit a pair of two-run home runs for the Pirates, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “It’s one of our more amazing games that I’ve been involved in. I’ll never forget it.”

Getting weird

The Saturday night game at Pittsburgh matched starting pitchers Todd Wellemeyer of the Cardinals against Yoslan Herrera, making his major-league debut for the Pirates. The Cardinals scored six times in 4.1 innings against Herrera. Ryan Ludwick did the most damage with a two-run home run and a run-scoring triple.

With a 10-6 lead, the Cardinals turned to the franchise’s all-time saves leader, Jason Isringhausen, to close out the ninth. After Isringhausen struck out Jose Bautista, Jason Michaels walked, Jack Wilson got an infield single and Nate McLouth hit a three-run home run, cutting the Cardinals’ lead to 10-9. “We’re all in that dugout, the whole inning, believing this can happen,” McLouth said.

La Russa said Isringhausen’s biggest mistake was issuing the walk to Michaels with a four-run lead.

“It didn’t seem like it mattered what we threw,” Isringhausen said to the Associated Press. “They got a hit or something weird happened.”

Isrnghausen threw two pitches, both outside the strike zone, to the next batter, Luis Rivas, and was relieved by rookie Kyle McClellan. “The home run (by McLouth) really bothered him,” La Russa said in explaining why he lifted Isringhausen before he finished pitching to Rivas.

McClellan yielded singles to Rivas and Ryan Doumit. With runners on first and third, one out, Bay followed with a ground ball to shortstop Cesar Izturis, who threw to Aaron Miles at second base for the force on Doumit. Miles pivoted to make a throw to first to complete a game-ending double play, but he couldn’t get a grip on the ball. “I knew I had to get rid of it quick,” Miles said. “I just couldn’t get it out of my glove.”

Rivas raced from third base to home plate on the play, tying the score at 10-10, and Bay reached first uncontested. “We had a chance to get out of it and we didn’t get away with anything,” said La Russa.

McClellan got Xavier Nady to pop out to shortstop, ending the inning and sending the game into the 10th.

Walkoff win

Troy Glaus led off the 10th for the Cardinals with a home run against Denny Bautista, giving St. Louis an 11-10 lead.

In the bottom half of the inning, Raul Chavez singled, prompting La Russa to take out McClellan and bring in another rookie, Chris Perez. After Jose Bautista popped out to shortstop, Michaels hit a two-run home run, giving the Pirates a 12-11 victory. It was the first walkoff home run for Michaels as a professional ballplayer. Boxscore

“Big situation, coming in like that, chance to protect a lead. I just blew it,” said Perez.

The Cardinals with 22 hits and four walks stranded 12 runners and hit into three double plays. The Pirates had 13 hits, two walks and a hit batsman and left four on base.

Said La Russa: “I don’t care how many hits we had. We got beat. We’ve had games where we pitched and couldn’t get runs. We got runs today and we couldn’t pitch.”

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers | 2 Comments »

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