Results tagged ‘ Kyle Lohse ’
A few more Monday Warm-Up tidbits: Lohse and Freese
Just about to go hear what Carlos Beltran has to say, but in the meantime a few nuggets from Kyle Lohse and David Freese.
* Lohse said John Mozeliak did call him about the trade rumors that swirled in December, and it was clear that Lohse was unfazed by the whole situation.
“When he [Mozeliak] talked to me, he was like, ‘ I realized that I probably should say something to you just so you are clear on what’s going on,’” Lohse said. “The way he put it to me was, teams are inquiring, and he’s got to listen. It’s all part of the business. I’m not going around with my feelings hurt that someone is talking about trading for me.”
Of course it helps that Lohse can’t be traded without his permission.
* Lohse also had raves about the Carlos Beltran signing.
“Have you seen his numbers on me? I think he’s the greatest player in the history of the game. … It’s going to lower my ERA at least half a point.”
Beltran is 22-for-39 with 10 extra-base hits against Lohse.
* David Freese is very excited about his health, saying he has no hesitation or concern about his ankles for the first time in a long time.
“I guess publicly we didn’t talk about it a lot last year, but there was times where Tony would give me rest in games,” he said. “It helped that Descalso is a Gold Glove-caliber third baseman, so it was a win-win. You could throw [him] in there and keep him fresh. But I think 2012 will be different in the sense that it will be like, ‘Hey, Dave, just go play and do what you can do.’ Each day, each year, I get more healthy. There’s still room for improvement, but that’s the exciting part.
Asked about a target number of games, he said:
“I’d like to say I can handle 162. I’m not going to throw a number out there. … But the way I feel now, I’m not nervous, and that’s a good thing. That’s a feeling I don’t have. I’ve had that feeling for a long time with my legs and stuff. A year ago today, there was that feeling, a nerve-wracking feeling going into camp. To pull that off my shoulders is a great thing.”
-M.
NLDS Game 3 tidbits: Optimism on Holliday
* Matt Holliday took batting practice on the field today and said that he’s definitely improving in his recovery from tendinitis in his right hand. He had not been hitting on the field, and in the past couple of days had not been hitting pregame at all. He is considered available to pinch-hit and there seems to be at least some hope that he could do more than that at some point. I’ll have a good bit more on this on the site later this afternoon.
* TLR acknowledged that, as reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, he was fined for his remarks on television during Sunday night’s game. He expressed contrition and said he had no issue with the discipline.
* Today’s lineup is the same as Sunday’s, except that Lance Berkman is back in right field with Allen Craig in left. And, of course, Jaime Garcia on the mound.
* Today is the birthday of both TLR and Kyle Lohse.
And, finally, the playlist, which is the last five songs of “Exile On Main Street” today. Just because.
“Let it Loose”
“All Down the Line”
“Stop Breaking Down”
“Shine a Light”
“Soul Survivor”
-M.
Monday workout day tidbits: Holliday, Pujols, Jackson, and lots more
It’s an absolutely perfect day in downtown St. Louis, and if the next two days are like this, we’re seriously in luck. Not a cloud visible, temperatures, in the mid-70s, just spectacular.
* The Cardinals are waiting to hear an update on Matt Holliday, and it could be any minute now. Holliday went to see a specialist to check on his ailing right hand. There still doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of optimism, but all opinions were guarded until the club gets the results of the latest exam.
* Albert Pujols is dealing with pain in both his left ankle and left heel, but neither is severe enough to keep him off the field. Per both TLR and John Mozeliak, nothing has really changed regarding Pujols’ status.
* TLR confirmed that, as expected, Edwin Jackson will start Game 4. Of course if there is a Game 5, Chris Carpenter will start it. That was the whole reason behind starting him on short rest in Game 2.
* Various Cardinals personnel downplayed the potential effect of shadows for Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s late-afternoon games. As of 4:10 or so today, both home plate and the pitchers’ mound were covered in shadow, with a band of light between them. As I write this, at about 5:20, the entire infield is covered in shadows. So if there are any problems, it should only be in the first hour or so of Game 3, and none in Game 4.
* Mozeliak said that he spoke briefly with someone in the Commissioner’s office on Sunday night regarding TLR’s in-game TV comments about home plate umpire Jerry Meals, but that he was merely asked if he knew what TLR had said. He has not heard from New York since then.
* TLR acknowledged that he could have a slightly different lineup for Cole Hamels than he did for Cliff Lee, but didn’t really divulge what that might entail. Hamels has a reverse platoon split this year, though, so that could be a factor.
* Kyle Lohse could be available to pitch in relief in Game 4.
And, finally, the playlist:
Sugar, “The Act We Act”
Nirvana, “Serve the Servants”
The Clash, “Spanish Bombs”
The Rolling Stones, “Live With Me”
Pearl Jam, “Mankind”
-M.
Tuesday tidbits: Freese, Craig, Lohse and more – UPDATED
Greetings from a warm, sunny afternoon at Busch Stadium. Looking forward to a fun series.
* To address the single most-asked question I’ve gotten on Twitter in recent weeks, Allen Craig is at Busch Stadium today. He’s going to go through a good, thorough workout, and it’s possible he’ll be added to the roster tomorrow.
6 pm update: Craig came through his workout with no issues, and TLR made it sound extremely likely that he will in fact be activated tomorrow.
* David Freese is back in the lineup. He said he feels 100 percent normal, and that in fact the last test he really had to pass was on Sunday in Miami when he did some extensive running.
* The rotation for the next several days has been announced. It will be Jake Westbrook tomorrow and Chris Carpenter on Thursday against Milwaukee, pushing Kyle Lohse back to Friday against Colorado. Jaime Garcia will then go on Saturday against the Rockies, with Edwin Jackson getting the last game of the homestand.
* Today is the last day of Yadier Molina’s suspension. He’s slated to return to active duty tomorrow.
* TLR talked some more today about the question of “head games” and whatnot. I won’t try to summarize it here, but I’ll have something on it in my notebook on the site tonight.
And, finally, the playlist is a celebration of “Watch the Throne” and the two gentlemen behind it:
Jay-Z and Kanye West, “No Church in the Wild” (my favorite from “Watch the Throne” after a few listens)
Jay-Z, “The Ruler’s Back”
Kanye West, “Blame Game”
Jay-Z, “December 4″
Kanye West, “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” (the Jay-Z remix, of course)
-M.
Tuesday tidbits: Holliday, Berkman and much more
* Matt Holliday is out of the lineup today due to an illness. What EXACTLY he’s dealing with is not clear, but it’s something in a stomach bug-flu kind of realm.
* That’s PART of why Lance Berkman is back in the lineup, one day after sitting out with discomfort in his right rotator cuff. Ideally they might have given Berkman an extra precautionary day, but with no Holliday, that equation changed somewhat.
* TLR declined to describe the shortstop situation right now as a true platoon, noting that Ryan Theriot started against a RHP in Pittsburgh. Still, he acknowledged that Theriot is fighting it against right-handers right now, and that means more time for Daniel Descalso. The manager also said he’s been impressed by what he’s seen defensively from Descalso at SS.
“Like happens to virtually everybody, his stroke is not quite there,” TLR said. “So while he works to get it right, you give somebody else a chance to get some at-bats.”
* Kyle Lohse threw a bullpen session today and said he’s feeling better than he did at this time on his last turn through the rotation. He didn’t put a great deal of strain on his sore finger, however.
* TLR didn’t put much stock in the contention that the field played a big part in last night’s result. It was, of course, the first game played at Busch Stadium since the ballpark was re-sodded following the July 17 U2 concert.
His quote: “Colby didn’t fall. He made a diving play. I saw the guy [Hunter Pence] probably lost it in the lights, break in, misjudge it, we’ve seen that happen on fields that I don’t know if it’s slippery or not. I didn’t see anybody else slip out there. I’m not saying he didn’t. I think that the field is not 100 percent what it’s going to be, or maybe it is, if it stays hot like this. But there weren’t guys slipping all over the place yesterday. I wouldn’t make that conclusion it’s a slippery field because guys were not slipping. That was an awkward play.”
* John Mozeliak on trade possibilities (more to come on this topic on the MLB.com trade deadline blog):
“I think we’re like many clubs. We’re exploring a lot of different things right now. As far as we approach Sunday, we’re going to continue to work and look at ways we can find to improve this team.”
* Mozeliak also said he believes there’s a good chance that Eduardo Sanchez will in fact pitch before the season is out.
And, finally, the playlist:
Pearl Jam, “Ghost”
The Hold Steady, “Joke About Jamaica”
Tanya Donelly, “New England”
The Replacements, “Valentine”
R.E.M., “You’re In The Air”
-M.
Note of the night/Stat of the day, April 10
Note of the night: On just about any other day, Kyle Lohse would have been the hero of my game story. He was simply outstanding, allowing virtually no hard contact through the first six innings. His stuff was strong, his command was excellent. It was a superbly pitched game.
However, when a team scores as many runs in one game as it had in any previous two games, the story is the offense. So Lohse was relegated to second-fiddle status in the game story. Here on the blog, though, a little tip of the cap to Lohse.
When asked about the difference between now and when he was compromised physically, Lohse always points to command. He’s able to locate the ball much more than he was before. But it shows in his stuff, as well. His sinker was particularly impressive on Sunday, moving not only down but left-to-right.
“That’s [the] spin,” he said. “I might have been able to throw it 90 [mph] or whatever it was the last couple years, but there’s a difference between finishing a pitch and just kind of putting it out there and not being able to finish it. I might not have the sinker that you see as huge, but it’s late. That’s part of it and that’s part of why I’m encouraged the way I am right now, is I’m able to do that.”
Dave Duncan also pointed to the late movement on Lohse’s sinker. It’s one way you get weak groundballs, and that’s something that Lohse got plenty of on Sunday.
Lohse stopped short of saying that he can have another year like 2008, but he didn’t rule it out. And while I still think a fairer expectation is for him to return to the slightly less impressive form he showed for most of his career before ’08, I wouldn’t entirely rule out another ’08 either. One thing that’s sometimes forgotten: before Lohse got hurt in ’09, he was off to a very strong start. He had a 3.98 ERA when he first injured his forearm.
Again, it would be somewhat silly to predict a repeat of a guy’s career year. But it would probably also be silly to rule it out.
Stat of the day: The Cardinals are 14th in the National League in batting average, 14th in OBP and 16th in SLG, but they have the third-most walks in the league and the fewest strikeouts.
-M.
Wednesday Tigertown tidbits
Greetings from a really neat ballpark — Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland. It’s been renovated, but it still has the classic field of an old ballpark. Cool place for a game.
Saturday Chess Match: Gone in 90 pitches (and a bonus)
Sunday camp tidbits: Lohse, the fifth starter, Ludwick
It was cloudy all day here at Port St. Lucie, but fortunately the rains never came. They weren’t so lucky on the other side of the state, and it sounds like there’s at least a possiblity that we may get it tomorrow. For now, though, a small victory.
Monday camp tidbits: Back in the saddle
Hello, all. Took a couple of days to go home and square away some various matters, but I’m back on the beat as of this morning. You can tell I played catchup today by the fact that this post is going up after 6 p.m. ET, rather than early afternoon.
Matthew Leach
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