Thursday's First Raes

Thoughts and things to think about for the Thursday off day, June 1st. (This is the second time I have typed this post...after the first one was deleted because my internet disconnected. I hope no one has to feel the pain I'm feeling right now.)
(1) It looks like Jim Edmonds will end up spending some time on the disabled list regardless of what is officially determined to be wrong with him. The latest word is the he has a mild to moderate abdomen strain. (Is there an actual difference between mild and moderate? Isn't that kind of like saying a person has a large to big bruise or something?) There has yet to be a determination as to how long he'll need to recover, and no determination seems to be on the way. In the mean time, the Cardinals can't afford to keep playing with a short bench while he takes things day-to-day. Hopefully, like the injuries Sidney Ponson and apparently Chris Carpenter, this will prove to be a short setback in a long season.

(2) Speaking of injuries, when David Eckstein was hit on the hand by a Mike Gallo pitch in the bottom of the eleventh inning a horrific image flashed through my mind. It was the image of him somehow landing on the DL. Just think about the way the lineup and the infield would look without Eckstein. Scary. With his two hits today he is now hitting .330 for the season which is a significant 45 points above his career average. More importantly for the leadoff man, his on-base percentage is currently .402 also well above his career average of .354. (X-rays taken after the game confirmed he suffered no broken bones.)

(3) With Thursday's extra innings 4-3 win over the Astros, the Redbirds avoided losing their first series in the New Busch Stadium. Considering June has begun, that is a significant statistic. I would also like to point out that the eleventh inning rally was started by a one out Yadier Molina double. Just saying.

Since we just completed a series against Houston and since everyone else is talking about it, I'll say that Roger Clemens return to the Astros is fine by me. I have honestly believed since the start of the season this would be the eventual outcome. Of course I don't look forward to facing him, but I will take any team's best shot. (Easy for me to say...I don't have to step into the batter's box against him.) The most surprising thing about the whole process was how joylessly Clemens seemed to go through the motions at today's press extravaganza. Regarding his return to baseball he said, "I don't need to or want to, but I'm committed." Ok, then...I guess that's all he needs.

(4) Jeff Suppan provided another quality start today--pitching six innings while allowing three runs. The bullpen then took over and returned to form by pitching five scoreless innings. Adam Wainwright and Jason Isringhausen threw two innings a piece while Braden Looper backed up yesterday's impressive performance by pitching a perfect eleventh. He also picked up the win.

(5) Because nothing is better than premature baseball banter...

It is hard to imagine the rest of Adam Wainwright's career going as smoothly as the first two months, but his success has got me thinking out of the box nonetheless. Wainwright's minor league numbers exclusively as a starter, while promising, were not exactly the numbers of a prolific prospect. Still, his early season success and his 2.03 and shrinking ERA have many people penciling into next year's starting rotation. I'm am certainly not against that line of thought, but I think there is another option to consider.

Apparently his pitches have been of a higher quality during the short outings he enjoys as a reliever, and if the pressure is getting to him he has yet to show it. (However, it should be pointed out that each of his outings, according the Cards' broadcasters, have begun along with an inning. He has yet to enter a game mid-inning, therefore he hasn't inherited any runners or outs for that matter.) Still, if the Cards are able to retain or obtain five quality starters over the winter I wouldn't have a problem with him remaining a weapon in the late innings. I am in absolutely no hurry to replace Jason Isringhausen despite his ability to regularly cause my blood pressure to rise, but right now it's not hard to envision Wainwright as a power closer down the road. Or maybe I'm crazy. Time will tell.

Link of the Day! A column discussing how Houston signing Clemens could and should affect St. Louis management.