Results tagged ‘ Fernando Salas ’
Saturday tidbits: Scattershot
First, permit me a personal note: Happiest of birthdays to my dad, who turns 70 today. He’s the biggest reason I am a baseball fan, and therefore one of the biggest reasons I have this amazing job. Thanks and happy happy.
Now to the baseball. It’s a steamy hot day at Busch Stadium, with first-pitch temp listed at 95 degrees. Here are some tidbits that didn’t make it into today’s notebook at Cardinals.com…
* Allen Craig will start tomorrow in place of Berkman. I asked TLR about Craig being out of the lineup for two straight days, and he noted that he wanted Jay/Rasmus/Berkman all in the outfield against Wells, and that the heavily left-handed Cubs lineup made it a less-than-great idea to play Craig at 2B.
He also said that Craig’s “leg is barking,” but downplayed it and said, again, that Craig will be in the lineup tomorrow against Zambrano.
* Albert Pujols downplayed his 100th home run at Busch Stadium when he was asked about it this morning. Pujols is the only player with 100 homers at the new park, of course.
“We got the win, that’s the most important thing,” he said.
* I also brought up whether the skipper had seriously considered getting Yadier Molina a rest day over the weekend, and TLR noted the upcoming off day Monday. and that until this weekend the weather hadn’t been that bad. Tony Cruz will probably start Wednesday in Houston, when Lance Lynn is expected to pitch.
* Fernando Salas remains the man they’re going to funnel save chances to, at least for now.
TLR quote: “I think if everybody’s rested, I think he’s got more command of more pitches. But I feel good about Sanchez. If it were the right guys, I’d pitch Motte. Batista’s not afraid of anything.”
* The manager admitted that Skip Schumaker was rushed a bit coming back from the disabled list.
And, finally, a summer-y playlist:
TLC, “Waterfalls”
The Cars, “Magic”
Neneh Cherry, “Buffalo Stance”
The Police, “Every Breath You Take”
Prince, “When Doves Cry”
-M.
Saturday tidbits: the ever-evolving bullpen
The tarp is out right now at GABP, but from people I’ve talked to, it sounds like we should be OK for the game.
* We had a long chat with Dave Duncan today, about a lot of different aspects of the bullpen. I’ll be writing on it at some length later this afternoon, but a couple of main things came out of it. One, for now, it appears that Eduardo Sanchez’s role is going to change for a while. They feel he’s pitched differently in the ninth than he did when he was pitching in other situations. So although he’s likely unavailable today, he probably wouldn’t be the guy to close a game even if he were fully fresh.
* Two, the two guys they WOULD aim toward, at least for now, are as mentioned a few days ago: Mitchell Boggs and Fernando Salas. Though Boggs’ profile has dropped quite a bit since that one rough game in Houston, Duncan maintains that he likes what he’s seeing from Boggs, and that there’s a good chance he would be the guy to close out today’s game. Duncan is also very pleased with the way Salas is throwing. The complication is that Salas threw two innings yesterday — however, he only threw 17 full-effort pitches (plus four on an intentional walk).
* Matt Holliday still has some soreness from hitting his left foot with a foul ball yesterday, but he’s OK to play and is in the lineup.
* Ryan Theriot, as noted in the lineup post, is back in there after missing some time with a sore right oblique. Nick Punto is out but will likely start at third base tomorrow. Lance Berkman will play tomorrow against lefty Travis Wood.
And, finally, the playlist:
Sleeper Agent, “Get It Daddy”
Tokyo Police Club, “Your English Is Good”
Beck, “Cellphone’s Dead”
Gang Gang Dance, “Mindkilla”
TV On The Radio, “Will Do”
(all stuff I heard on Sirius XMU and Alt Nation on the drive over here yesterday)
-M.
Friday tidbits: Westbrook, Schumaker, storms and more
It’s starting to cloud up at Busch Stadium, and it sounds like we’re going to get some weather. The question is how severe, and for how long.
* Jake Westbrook will start Sunday’s game, assuming that it’s the third game of the weekend. That is, if either today’s or tomorrow’s game is rained out, they would adjust things, and Westbrook would not pitch Sunday. But if the games happen as scheduled, it’ll be Westbrook.
* Skip Schumaker took groundballs today for the first time since his injury, but he remains a good ways way from returning to the lineup. He said he’s hoping his total time away will end up being 3-4 weeks.
* Though TLR made some noises earlier in the week about possibly adding a lefty reliever for this series, the club decided it didn’t make sense. For one thing, they just didn’t really have any viable options.
* Daniel Descalso gets the start at second base today. It looks like that will be a mix-and-match position for the time being.
* TLR is getting better as he recovers from conjunctivitis, or pinkeye. He’s able to open his eye a little bit, which is progress.
* Fernando Salas is likely unavailable tonight. It’s only been two days since he pitched three innings.
And, finally, the Earth Day playlist:
R.E.M., “Fall On Me”
Joni Mitchell, “Big Yellow Taxi”
Marvin Gaye, “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)”
The Pretenders, “My City Was Gone”
Jack Johnson, “The Horizon Has Been Defeated”
-M.
Cardinals confirm Augenstein and Tallet both to DL
PHOENIX — The Cardinals confirmed Wednesday that both Bryan Augenstein and Brian Tallet are being placed on the 15-day disabled list due to injuries they suffered in Tuesday night’s game against the Diamondbacks.
Fernando Salas and Eduardo Sanchez have been recalled from Triple-A Memphis to take their places on the roster. Both Salas and Sanchez are available for Wednesday night’s game.
Augenstein suffered a strained right groin during Tuesday’s game, while Tallet has a fracture in his right hand. Tallet was injured when he and Stephen Drew became entangled on a play at first base.
Salas, 25, pitched effectively in limited duty for the Cardinals in 2010, posting a 3.52 ERA in 27 appearances. He made three scoreless appearances for Memphis in 2011 prior to his recall. Sanchez, 22, will be on a big league roster for the first time. He has pitched three shutout innings over two games for Memphis this year. In 2010, split between Double-A Springfield and Memphis, Sanchez recorded a 2.38 ERA, 58 strikeouts and 20 walks in 53 innings.
-M.
Reyes to DL, Salas back. Again.
Motte to DL, Salas back again
ST. LOUIS — The Cardinals placed right-handed reliever Jason Motte on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday due to a shoulder injury and recalled right-hander Fernando Salas from Triple-A Memphis to take his roster spot.
In a release on Wednesday, the Cardinals referred to the injury as an “AC sprain” in Motte’s right shoulder. The disabled list move is retroactive to Tuesday.
Motte, 28, felt something amiss in his shoulder on Monday night, and underwent an MRI exam on Tuesday. However, he expressed little concern about the condition on Tuesday when he spoke with reporters.
In the Cardinals’ Monday night against game the Astros, Motte reported discomfort in his shoulder to the Cardinals’ training staff but not the coaching staff. He received heat on the joint after pitching the seventh inning, then came out to pitch the eighth.
In the eighth, though, he was not the same pitcher. Motte issued walks to the first two batters of the eighth, throwing balls on his last five pitches.
Motte has been an integral part of the Cardinals’ bullpen this season. He’s 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA, two saves, 42 strikeouts and 16 walks in 43 1/3 innings. He has the most appearances of any right-hander on the St. Louis staff.
Salas, 25, will be with the Major League club for the fifth time this season. In 10 appearances covering 11 2/3 innings, he has a 2.31 ERA, nine strikeouts and four walks.
-M.
Ludwick to DL, Greene up, Salas down
Cardinals make two moves
CHICAGO — The Cardinals made a pair of roster moves on Saturday, going to 13 pitchers for the time being.
Salas forces his way into the picture
It’s unwise to put too much stock into Spring Training stats, with one notable exception. In Cardinals camp, appearances, innings and at-bats can tell you an awful lot.
Matthew Leach
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