Been a while since I visited over here but after reading this thread, I give full marks to this conversation which is high quality and pretty brutally realistic. In a way, i is refreshing. I should read here more often. As a complete Cards Baseball junky, this year is ripping my heart out, like it has for many here. Obviously, an admitted junky is not going down easy, lol................and I will certainly watch whatever we do, closely.
Pitching.....................gulp
I suppose it was too easy to believe a 6' 6" closer whose arm basically never failed us in his various roles - including being our Ace this season - would simply tire from the amount of work we have demanded. I suspect this is the root of Michael's problems, now tossing batting practice to red hot Virginia and Clemson in consecutive games. If indeed this is the case, then we put a cap on the bottle of the season, imo. Missing Albanese as we have is Part 2 of the dismal potential gone 180 degrees of bad.
Luke Smith seems to believe it is a myth that he needs to keep the ball closer to the ground. Among our gopher ball pitchers, Luke, Kuhner and Adam have competed for the record of horridly bad pitches on 2 strike counts. That, my friends, is completely embarrassing. Is Roger calling for the wrong pitch?? Perhaps. It's not as if his record (Burdi, twice) is that sterling, frankly. This season he succeeded in making me nervous as hell. Without overpowering pitching, of which we have never had NOT ONE dominator, this staff has encountered some stiff headwinds,
And Lord knows the overall affects of the hopelessness of the relief core up to now. Throwers unable to even throw strikes, much less hit their spots, made the defense sit back on their heels interminably, victims, actually, of a pace designed to deflect any interest at all in the game. I think this cancerous worm snuck into our psyches and have weakened us in ways which might even be strictly psychological. If so, there is little that is more corrosive.
The legacy of this team is still being written. I take some heart there. Obviously, we have talent, even on the mound. I would like to think tweaking Kirian's mechanics could somehow bring him back into his loop. I have no idea how sure or unsure I should be regarding Albanese, but if my some miracle he comes back and does well, that also changes the look. Seed is frankly a terrific #3 - he always keeps you in ball games. With the return of Poland, Corbett and Prosecky, we cover for the disastrous elements which made opposing hitters lick their lips when we needed relief.
But it will take pitching to being this team back. The hitters are in a bruised and battered position after the layoff and then brutally failed pitching which threatens to end things. All things. I hold out hope - there is a month left. Lots of crap can happen.