The King Has Returned (Ryan Means Little King) and So Have the Cardinals

I haven't written much this baseball season. I'm partially glad for this, as this season has been incredibly frustrating. Lance Berkman has returned close to his prime form, Kyle Lohse has a 13-8 record, and Yadier Molina is having a career offensive year including 13 bombs. And yet, the Cardinals sit 5.5 games behind the Brewers for the NL Central lead and 4.5 back of the Braves for the NL wild card spot. And sure, lots of things have gone wrong too. Adam Wainwright hasn't thrown a pitch for the team this year due to needing Tommy John surgery. The Cardinals have blown 23 saves. If games were only eight innings long, they'd be running away with the NL Central. Even with just half of those games back, they'd have a sizable lead over the Brewers and we wouldn't even be watching the Braves and Mets on the scoreboard. Oh, and hitting into 160 double plays and counting hasn't exactly helped matters either.

As those of you that read me regularly (when I post regularly) know, I was ready for Tony La Russa to call it a career after last season. Sticking with Ryan Franklin as the closer at the beginning of the year was a terrible maneuver that cost the team at least the difference in the wild card race, but probably more as it caused the team to sputter terribly out of the gate. A 2-4 home stand to begin the year against the Padres and Pirates, two teams that are currently a combined 38 games under .500, is not the way to start a season.

Of course, La Russa's biggest mistake of this season was probably believing that Ryan Theriot would be adequate defensively at shortstop. The Cubs and Dodgers were aware of this, but somehow the manager that ranks third all time in wins wasn't? No, I'm sure he knew that Theriot was subpar at defense. What he didn't know was that his offense that started out hot would greatly diminish and could no longer overshadow how poor his defense has been. It's also worth noting that the defensive specialist that we dumped for some low level prospect, Brendan Ryan, is only batting 24 points lower than Theriot, with two more homers and three fewer RBI. Ryan's also done this in the lower part of the Mariners' lineup while Theriot has been in one of, if not the best, offensive lineup in the majors. And while I love the Mariners (they're my favorite AL team), I'm not blind to reality like La Russa. I know they suck and I know their lineup sucks. But their defense at shortstop does not. And the redbirds took far too long to address this problem.

Rafael Furcal has done a great job since coming over from the Dodgers. He made an over the shoulder catch against the Brewers to send a game in Milwaukee to extra innings that to my naked eye, appeared to defy physics. The Cards went on to win that game. He's also shown that he still has some pop, hitting six bombs in 41 games with the Cards, compared to just one in his first 37 games with the Dodgers.

Retaining Furcal would be a huge plus for the team going into next season and should be more of a priority than resigning Berkman. We can always throw Allen Craig in right field and probably get 25 bombs with a little below average defense. We can't throw anyone on the roster or in the minors over at short and get defense that will protect the pitching staff other than Furcal. I'd be for a one year deal if he's willing, but he might be happier with a two-year deal. The fact of the matter is, that shortstop is probably the most important position on the baseball field and the Cards haven't had a plus player there since Edgar Renteria left after the 2004 season. I know everyone loves David Eckstein (myself included), but he was below average on defense due to his range and while he was a solid lead off man, getting some power from a shortstop that can't play defense at a high level certainly helps the team. Furcal can hit for average, power, play defense, and even steal  a few bases. Aside from retaining Albert Pujols and getting Wainwright back, keeping Furcal is the key to a successful 2012 season.

As for the 2011 season, it's still not over. The Braves mild collapse and a recent hot streak by the Cards has made things interesting. Due to an angry tweet after yet another game that the Cards blew late, I have agreed to run a marathon next year if they can make the playoffs. I'm totally up for it still, but they have a lot of work to do if they want to get me running. They have a four game set with the Phillies, which they're currently leading the opener of 2-1 in the eighth, followed by three at home with the Mets, three at home with the Cubs, and three in Houston. Realistically, they can afford one more loss, two tops. Aside from the Phillies, those are three extremely beatable teams. And with the Phillies being so far ahead of the Brewers and Diamondbacks for home field throughout the playoffs, they're not even the team they normally are as they're resting some starters. Ryan Howard didn't start tonight, for instance. I've done some stupid things in my day for my fandom, including saying I'd dye my Chris Carpenter playoff soul patch red if we made the World Series in 2006, matching the facial hair of Scott Spiezio. Well, they did and I did. I'd love an excuse to do something else stupid, like run run 26+ miles at one time. I hope the Cardinals make me do it. Oh, and if they do, Ashley Rupkey, you can feel free to tell me you told me so. And so can all the pro-Colby Rasmus trade people. That would be some magically delicious humble pie.