The State of the Bullpen...

Well the Cardinals keep hustling and scrapping. Every game is exciting. Who didn't get excited when Aaron Miles hit the walkoff grand slam? I DEFY YOU TO SAY YOU DIDN'T GET EXCITED ABOUT THAT!!! Even last night against the Brewers, the Cardinals kept working and tied it up in the 9th. The point I'm making, and the common theme of these games (and the Pirates series before the break) is our bullpen continues to blow it!

Last night all our hard work was wasted in the top of the 10th, when we gave the lead right back. They gave an amazing statistic during the game, that our team had only won like 55% of the games we've led after 7 innings! FIFTY-FIVE PERCENT!!!! That is probably a difference of about 8-10 games in the standings. The Cards would have a sizeable lead in the division, and maybe have the best record in baseball, if only we had a better bullpen.

So instead of rehashing the problem, let's look at the root of the problem:

1) IZZY - 6.27 ERA, 5 losses, 7 blown saves!!! Enough said. If this was this Izzy of old, who saves around 85% of his games, it would be about a 6 game difference in the standings. The Cards would be in first place, and the rest of the bullpen would fall into line (somewhat). I love Izzy, he has been a big part of the Cards success in recent years, but to say he has struggled is an understatement. Having said that, who else takes some of the blame?

2) No lefty relief - Josh Howard of the Phillies says thank you very much... our two primary lefties have struggled for the most part. Flores has a 4.95 ERA and, but a closer look at the numbers (and the scary part) is his WHIP (walks + hits per inning pitched) vs. left handed batters is 1.84 and lefty batters are hitting .388 against him. He is on the team to get out left handed hitters (like Howard) and lefties T off on him (I will spare you his stats against right handed hitters, they're actually worse). Our other lefty reliever, Ron Villone, has an ugly ERA of 4.75, with a WHIP of 1.57 and lefties hitting .294 against him. In Villone's defense, he has been a bit overworked because the rest of the bullpen has been so bad, and he has been better lately. The bottom line, this is an area that needs some fixing! The problem is, where will the help come from? Good bullpen help is going to cost something.

3) What about the rest - McClellan (2.84 ERA), Franklin (3.69 ERA, 14/18 on saves), and Springer (2.03 ERA) have been pretty good. They would be really good working the 7th and 8th if we had a good closer. Perez (4.18 ERA) has been brilliant and terrible, which you expect from a young guy. I think trying to stretch him out and have him pitch 2 innings, when he has been a 1 inning closer all his life, is stupid. I also think he needs to be working a consistent role, since he is the apparent closer of the future. This would only help him.

In summary, I think this is going to cost the Cards a shot at the playoffs. Mark my words, if they don't do something to fix the bullpen, all the hustle and dramatic comeback won't matter. You can't expect to compete if you keep blowing leads late in games. Hopefully the Cards will make a move!