Notes: Blustery night at Busch
07/20/2006
ST. LOUIS -- A powerful storm with 84 mph winds and blowing rain forced a two-hour, 12-minute rain delay before Wednesday's night game between the Braves and the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
Only a few minutes before the scheduled 7:10 p.m. CT start time, the skies darkened and heavy winds started at the new ballpark. The grounds crew immediately brought out the tarp and heavy rains started to fall a few minutes later.
"It was terrible," fan Jen Klimer said.
Tornado warnings were issued in three counties in the metropolitan St. Louis area and more than 300,000 homes lost electricity. According to several sources, 30 people suffered injuries at the ballpark and five were taken to the hospital.
The storm also wreaked havoc throughout the new park, shredding parts of the field tarp and destroying the plastic sheeting in the press box. The FOX studio was tipped over and demolished.
Fans also had to avoid debris while taking cover.
"I was standing behind one of the field posts, and one of the trash cans came flying across and a beer cart fell down," Jenn VanderBol said.
The players weren't immune to the damage. Several players, including starter Chris Carpenter, called their families before the game. Carpenter's family and Jim Edmonds' family were among those who lost power.
"That was as bad as a storm as I've seen," Carpenter said.
The dugout was flooded with ankle-high water. Inside the clubhouse, several places, includes the family area for players' children, incurred water damage. Things could have gotten worse, but Cardinals personnel contained the flooding.
"We have a terrific staff," La Russa said.
Several players, including Chris Duncan, came out to survey the damage during the delay. After the rain stopped, the umpires, grounds crew and several Cardinals front-office members, including general manager Walt Jocketty, met at home plate.
After the meeting, the grounds crew cleared the field and spent about 15 minutes fixing the drenched home-plate area, easily the worst part of the field.
"You have to give a high-five to [umpire crew chief] Joe West," La Russa said. "He knew exactly what needed to be done. He told the grounds crew exactly how they needed to prepare the plate for the game. "
If the game wasn't played Wednesday, both teams would play Thursday afternoon at 1:10 p.m., at which time the predicted heat index was expected to be above 100 degrees.
"West was aware of tomorrow's weather," La Russa said. "Give Joe West credit."
The game resumed at 9:22 p.m. CT.
Luna sees start: Hector Luna got a start against Braves right-hander Jason Shiell on Wednesday night. Luna, who sees the majority of his playing time against left-handers, played second base and batted eighth.
Aaron Miles, the other half of the Cardinals' second-base platoon, is the usual second baseman against a right-handed starter.
"I just wanted to play [Luna]," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "I just look at the [starter] and sometimes it's close and other times it's not so close."
La Russa didn't indicate if Wednesday's start could yield more at-bats for Luna against right-handed pitchers.
"I think the more [Luna's] at-bats looks like Albert [Pujols'], Scott [Rolen's] and David [Eckstein's], the more playing time he will get," La Russa. "He does well, but he needs to be more consistent."
Luna bests Miles in nearly offensive category, batting .302/356/429 (average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage), while Miles is hitting 260/324/333. Miles actually slightly bests Luna in overall production against left-handers, while Luna -- albeit in fewer at-bats -- carries better offensive numbers against right-handers.
"Every chance you get, make an impression," La Russa said. "Both are doing pretty well."
Throughout his career, La Russa generally favors the veteran over the younger player. Miles has more than 1,100 career at-bats, twice as many as Luna.
"It's just experience," La Russa. "Young players don't figure it out as quickly. Except for Albert, he was the exception."
La Russa discusses Marquis: On Tuesday night, Jason Marquis suffered through one of the worst starts by a Cardinal pitcher in La Russa's tenure.
Marquis allowed 12 runs in five-plus innings, the second time this season he has permitted at least 12 runs in a start. On June 21, the right-hander was scorched for 13 runs in five innings by the White Sox. La Russa said he didn't want Marquis to suffer the same fate twice, but had no other choice.
"You just take one game at a time, and if a guy is struggling, you would like to get him out of there," La Russa said. "No doubt, if a guy was getting beat up, then you hope to do something else. ... There wasn't another option, unless you walk into [Wednesday's] game with nothing."
La Russa still has confidence in the right-hander. Without those two starts, Marquis (11-7, 5.97 ERA), would be 11-5 with a 4.59 ERA.
"He started the first game of the second half, when he struggled he has still gotten the ball," La Russa said.
Mulder, Bennett, Bigbie updates: Mark Mulder continues to rehab from his inflammation in his left shoulder. The tall southpaw hasn't pitched since June 20. He threw a bullpen session Wednesday afternoon.
"He did some mechanics Wednesday," head athletic trainer Barry Weinberg said. "He will have a day off Thursday and throw again on Friday."
Weinberg said Gary Bennett, recovering from a strained oblique muscle, didn't have any pain after catching all nine innings Tuesday.
Larry Bigbie, recovering from an umbilical hernia, continued his rehab. After spending several days at Class-A Quad Cities, the outfielder moved up to Double-A Springfield. He went 0-for-4 as the S-Cards' DH Tuesday night.
Greene wins award: Tyler Greene was named the Midwest League Player of the Week after hitting five homers and 11 RBIs from July 10-16. Recently demoted from Class A Palm Beach, Greene has found new life with the Swing, hitting eight homers and driving in 20 runs after 14 games.
Baby 'Birds: Triple-A Memphis took a tough loss, 10-9 to Round Rock, after rallying from down 9-4 to tie the game. Brian Martin had three hits and drove in two runs, while Alan Benes pitched four innings of shutout relief. Travis Smith was drilled for nine runs on 10 hits in two innings. ... Double-A Springfield was pounded by Wichita, 11-1. Shaun Boyd and Juan Richardson had two hits each. ... Jaime Garcia gave up five runs on eight hits, striking out three against four walks over six innings, as Class A Palm Beach lost, 7-2, to Tampa. ... Class A Quad Cities lost, 7-2, in 12 innings. Adam Daniels (5-8) fanned a career-high 11 batters, the highest total from a Quad Cities pitcher this year. ... Short-season State College captured a victory, 3-1, over Lowell. Gary Daley, Jr. earned the victory after tossing 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball. ... Rookie league Johnson City won, 11-9, over Kingsport. Christian Lopez delivered the most damage, contributing three hits, two runs scored and a RBI.
Player of the day: Cody Haerther. One of the top prospects in the Cardinals organization, the S-Cards outfielder has struggled this season, batting just .255. He enjoyed one of the best games of his pro career Tuesday night, going 4-for-5 with two homers and six RBIs.
Source: http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/
ST. LOUIS -- A powerful storm with 84 mph winds and blowing rain forced a two-hour, 12-minute rain delay before Wednesday's night game between the Braves and the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
Only a few minutes before the scheduled 7:10 p.m. CT start time, the skies darkened and heavy winds started at the new ballpark. The grounds crew immediately brought out the tarp and heavy rains started to fall a few minutes later.
"It was terrible," fan Jen Klimer said.
Tornado warnings were issued in three counties in the metropolitan St. Louis area and more than 300,000 homes lost electricity. According to several sources, 30 people suffered injuries at the ballpark and five were taken to the hospital.
The storm also wreaked havoc throughout the new park, shredding parts of the field tarp and destroying the plastic sheeting in the press box. The FOX studio was tipped over and demolished.
Fans also had to avoid debris while taking cover.
"I was standing behind one of the field posts, and one of the trash cans came flying across and a beer cart fell down," Jenn VanderBol said.
The players weren't immune to the damage. Several players, including starter Chris Carpenter, called their families before the game. Carpenter's family and Jim Edmonds' family were among those who lost power.
"That was as bad as a storm as I've seen," Carpenter said.
The dugout was flooded with ankle-high water. Inside the clubhouse, several places, includes the family area for players' children, incurred water damage. Things could have gotten worse, but Cardinals personnel contained the flooding.
"We have a terrific staff," La Russa said.
Several players, including Chris Duncan, came out to survey the damage during the delay. After the rain stopped, the umpires, grounds crew and several Cardinals front-office members, including general manager Walt Jocketty, met at home plate.
After the meeting, the grounds crew cleared the field and spent about 15 minutes fixing the drenched home-plate area, easily the worst part of the field.
"You have to give a high-five to [umpire crew chief] Joe West," La Russa said. "He knew exactly what needed to be done. He told the grounds crew exactly how they needed to prepare the plate for the game. "
If the game wasn't played Wednesday, both teams would play Thursday afternoon at 1:10 p.m., at which time the predicted heat index was expected to be above 100 degrees.
"West was aware of tomorrow's weather," La Russa said. "Give Joe West credit."
The game resumed at 9:22 p.m. CT.
Luna sees start: Hector Luna got a start against Braves right-hander Jason Shiell on Wednesday night. Luna, who sees the majority of his playing time against left-handers, played second base and batted eighth.
Aaron Miles, the other half of the Cardinals' second-base platoon, is the usual second baseman against a right-handed starter.
"I just wanted to play [Luna]," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "I just look at the [starter] and sometimes it's close and other times it's not so close."
La Russa didn't indicate if Wednesday's start could yield more at-bats for Luna against right-handed pitchers.
"I think the more [Luna's] at-bats looks like Albert [Pujols'], Scott [Rolen's] and David [Eckstein's], the more playing time he will get," La Russa. "He does well, but he needs to be more consistent."
Luna bests Miles in nearly offensive category, batting .302/356/429 (average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage), while Miles is hitting 260/324/333. Miles actually slightly bests Luna in overall production against left-handers, while Luna -- albeit in fewer at-bats -- carries better offensive numbers against right-handers.
"Every chance you get, make an impression," La Russa said. "Both are doing pretty well."
Throughout his career, La Russa generally favors the veteran over the younger player. Miles has more than 1,100 career at-bats, twice as many as Luna.
"It's just experience," La Russa. "Young players don't figure it out as quickly. Except for Albert, he was the exception."
La Russa discusses Marquis: On Tuesday night, Jason Marquis suffered through one of the worst starts by a Cardinal pitcher in La Russa's tenure.
Marquis allowed 12 runs in five-plus innings, the second time this season he has permitted at least 12 runs in a start. On June 21, the right-hander was scorched for 13 runs in five innings by the White Sox. La Russa said he didn't want Marquis to suffer the same fate twice, but had no other choice.
"You just take one game at a time, and if a guy is struggling, you would like to get him out of there," La Russa said. "No doubt, if a guy was getting beat up, then you hope to do something else. ... There wasn't another option, unless you walk into [Wednesday's] game with nothing."
La Russa still has confidence in the right-hander. Without those two starts, Marquis (11-7, 5.97 ERA), would be 11-5 with a 4.59 ERA.
"He started the first game of the second half, when he struggled he has still gotten the ball," La Russa said.
Mulder, Bennett, Bigbie updates: Mark Mulder continues to rehab from his inflammation in his left shoulder. The tall southpaw hasn't pitched since June 20. He threw a bullpen session Wednesday afternoon.
"He did some mechanics Wednesday," head athletic trainer Barry Weinberg said. "He will have a day off Thursday and throw again on Friday."
Weinberg said Gary Bennett, recovering from a strained oblique muscle, didn't have any pain after catching all nine innings Tuesday.
Larry Bigbie, recovering from an umbilical hernia, continued his rehab. After spending several days at Class-A Quad Cities, the outfielder moved up to Double-A Springfield. He went 0-for-4 as the S-Cards' DH Tuesday night.
Greene wins award: Tyler Greene was named the Midwest League Player of the Week after hitting five homers and 11 RBIs from July 10-16. Recently demoted from Class A Palm Beach, Greene has found new life with the Swing, hitting eight homers and driving in 20 runs after 14 games.
Baby 'Birds: Triple-A Memphis took a tough loss, 10-9 to Round Rock, after rallying from down 9-4 to tie the game. Brian Martin had three hits and drove in two runs, while Alan Benes pitched four innings of shutout relief. Travis Smith was drilled for nine runs on 10 hits in two innings. ... Double-A Springfield was pounded by Wichita, 11-1. Shaun Boyd and Juan Richardson had two hits each. ... Jaime Garcia gave up five runs on eight hits, striking out three against four walks over six innings, as Class A Palm Beach lost, 7-2, to Tampa. ... Class A Quad Cities lost, 7-2, in 12 innings. Adam Daniels (5-8) fanned a career-high 11 batters, the highest total from a Quad Cities pitcher this year. ... Short-season State College captured a victory, 3-1, over Lowell. Gary Daley, Jr. earned the victory after tossing 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball. ... Rookie league Johnson City won, 11-9, over Kingsport. Christian Lopez delivered the most damage, contributing three hits, two runs scored and a RBI.
Player of the day: Cody Haerther. One of the top prospects in the Cardinals organization, the S-Cards outfielder has struggled this season, batting just .255. He enjoyed one of the best games of his pro career Tuesday night, going 4-for-5 with two homers and six RBIs.
Source: http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/
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