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OOTPRealTime · 03-14-2014, 03:46 PM

Our “ace” Michael Wacha will get his longest leash of the spring, now allowed to stretch it out to 80 pitches. We’re all excited to see how he responds against the Pirates today.

LINEUPS

CARDINALS (5-7)
1. Leury Garcia, 2B
2. Oscar Taveras, CF
3. Allen Craig, RF
4. Yadier Molina, C
5. Matt Holliday, DH
6. Matt Adams, 1B
7. Nelson Cruz, LF
8. Matt Carpenter, 3B
9. Pete Kozma, SS

SP: RHP Michael Wacha

MM: Getting a look at guys in their backup positions - those who have them. Never know when we’re going to need them to play there. Obviously, Yadi needs to catch Michael and really doesn’t have a second position. Matt Carpenter is now vying for a starting spot over David Freese as far as I’m concerned. I’m happy that we’ll get a look at Francisco Liriano, who handled us pretty well last year.

PIRATES (7-5)
1. Eduardo Nunez, SS
2. Jose Tabata, LF
3. Starling Marte, RF
4. Neil Walker, 2B
5. Michael McKenry, DH
6. Travis Snider, CF
7. Josh Harrison, 3B
8. Russell Martin, C
9. Juan Miranda, 1B

SP: LHP Francisco Liriano

------------------

WACHA SURRENDERS 10 HITS; CARDS OFFENSE STYMIED
By: Derek Gold, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Sure, it’s just Spring Training and the stats and even the game itself doesn’t matter - but don’t tell that to Cardinals Manager Mike Matheny. Matheny was clearly perturbed more so than a normal mid-March loss, but why? Well, the team fielded a “starter filled” lineup against the Pirates and their “ace” on the mound. You’d expect better than a 5-0 beating at the hands of mainly backups in the Pittsburgh lineup. There is more to it than that. “A lack of effort. We only have nine more tune-up games before we start playing for real. They just went out there and went through the motions today. It’s time to start showing what we can do,” said Matheny.

It’s not just the field manager that took the loss hard. Cardinals GM Parker Campbell had a few quick jabs at the players who they fielded today, “Just no passion was shown by any of the starting nine. Joe Kelly was the only player I’d give a passing grade to today.”

Kelly, who is battling for a spot in the bullpen - and remains a long shot for the rotation, relieved starter Michael Wacha and looked like the “ace” of the staff in comparison. Kelly tossed 3 ⅔ scoreless frames with two walks and two strikeouts, not allowing a hit. Wacha, however, struggled. He gave up 10 hits and five earned runs. He didn’t issue a walk and struck out six in his 5 ⅓ innings, totalling 84 pitches (58 for strikes). “We were excited to get our first extended look at Michael today and he completely flopped,” said Matheny.

The offense wasn’t much more inspiring. The most glaring example came in the bottom of the seventh, facing a 5-0 deficit, though loaded the bases with nobody out. Pete Kozma, who has all but lost any chance of winning the starting shortstop job struck out looking - dropping his Spring average to .083. He had two strikeouts on the day. That was followed by a Leury Garcia infield pop-out and then an Oscar Taveras weak ground out to end the “threat”. Matt Holliday’s struggles continued with an 0-for-3 day with one whiff. He’s now hitting .133 this Spring. Holliday was also picked off first base to end the sixth innign with Matt Adams at the plate and runners on first and third. Spreaking of Matt Adams, he continued to hit the ball at a nice pace with two hits - the only Cardinal with multiple hits.

“Sloppy. Just slop. We had a caught stealing (Garcia’s 2nd of the Spring), got picked off (Holliday) and even found a way to see just three pitches in an inning, with three weak ground outs,” Matheny piled on. That was in reference to a fourth inning in which Pirates starter Francisco Liriano got the heart of the Cardinals order out on three pitches. Allen Craig grounded out on a three hopper to second base; Yadier Molina followed that with a routine grounder to shortstop and then Matt Holliday - not to pile on - swung at the first pitch and grounded to third base. “It was like we were hitting them infield practice,” joked Campbell.

Neither found even their own quips very funny. They stopped short of saying that the focus may have been more on getting out of the complex and to dinner and/or the beach. Regardless, the Cardinals can put this one behind them and come out behind Adam Wainwright tomorrow against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cardinals will look to break a three game losing streak.

---------------------

A very frustrating performance today. It’s one thing to get beat. It’s a whole other thing to be embarrassed by a divisional rival who didn’t even play most of their starters. Wacha ran into some bad luck but Matt Holliday looks downright disinterested. Either way, we’ll just have to put it behind us and come out to play tomorrow.

03-14-2014, 03:46 PM	#160
OOTPRealTime Minors (Double A) Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 147	Spring Training Game 13 - 3/14/14 - vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Our “ace” Michael Wacha will get his longest leash of the spring, now allowed to stretch it out to 80 pitches. We’re all excited to see how he responds against the Pirates today. LINEUPS CARDINALS (5-7) 1. Leury Garcia, 2B 2. Oscar Taveras, CF 3. Allen Craig, RF 4. Yadier Molina, C 5. Matt Holliday, DH 6. Matt Adams, 1B 7. Nelson Cruz, LF 8. Matt Carpenter, 3B 9. Pete Kozma, SS SP: RHP Michael Wacha MM: Getting a look at guys in their backup positions - those who have them. Never know when we’re going to need them to play there. Obviously, Yadi needs to catch Michael and really doesn’t have a second position. Matt Carpenter is now vying for a starting spot over David Freese as far as I’m concerned. I’m happy that we’ll get a look at Francisco Liriano, who handled us pretty well last year. PIRATES (7-5) 1. Eduardo Nunez, SS 2. Jose Tabata, LF 3. Starling Marte, RF 4. Neil Walker, 2B 5. Michael McKenry, DH 6. Travis Snider, CF 7. Josh Harrison, 3B 8. Russell Martin, C 9. Juan Miranda, 1B SP: LHP Francisco Liriano ------------------ WACHA SURRENDERS 10 HITS; CARDS OFFENSE STYMIED By: Derek Gold, St. Louis Post-Dispatch Sure, it’s just Spring Training and the stats and even the game itself doesn’t matter - but don’t tell that to Cardinals Manager Mike Matheny. Matheny was clearly perturbed more so than a normal mid-March loss, but why? Well, the team fielded a “starter filled” lineup against the Pirates and their “ace” on the mound. You’d expect better than a 5-0 beating at the hands of mainly backups in the Pittsburgh lineup. There is more to it than that. “A lack of effort. We only have nine more tune-up games before we start playing for real. They just went out there and went through the motions today. It’s time to start showing what we can do,” said Matheny. It’s not just the field manager that took the loss hard. Cardinals GM Parker Campbell had a few quick jabs at the players who they fielded today, “Just no passion was shown by any of the starting nine. Joe Kelly was the only player I’d give a passing grade to today.” Kelly, who is battling for a spot in the bullpen - and remains a long shot for the rotation, relieved starter Michael Wacha and looked like the “ace” of the staff in comparison. Kelly tossed 3 ⅔ scoreless frames with two walks and two strikeouts, not allowing a hit. Wacha, however, struggled. He gave up 10 hits and five earned runs. He didn’t issue a walk and struck out six in his 5 ⅓ innings, totalling 84 pitches (58 for strikes). “We were excited to get our first extended look at Michael today and he completely flopped,” said Matheny. The offense wasn’t much more inspiring. The most glaring example came in the bottom of the seventh, facing a 5-0 deficit, though loaded the bases with nobody out. Pete Kozma, who has all but lost any chance of winning the starting shortstop job struck out looking - dropping his Spring average to .083. He had two strikeouts on the day. That was followed by a Leury Garcia infield pop-out and then an Oscar Taveras weak ground out to end the “threat”. Matt Holliday’s struggles continued with an 0-for-3 day with one whiff. He’s now hitting .133 this Spring. Holliday was also picked off first base to end the sixth innign with Matt Adams at the plate and runners on first and third. Spreaking of Matt Adams, he continued to hit the ball at a nice pace with two hits - the only Cardinal with multiple hits. “Sloppy. Just slop. We had a caught stealing (Garcia’s 2nd of the Spring), got picked off (Holliday) and even found a way to see just three pitches in an inning, with three weak ground outs,” Matheny piled on. That was in reference to a fourth inning in which Pirates starter Francisco Liriano got the heart of the Cardinals order out on three pitches. Allen Craig grounded out on a three hopper to second base; Yadier Molina followed that with a routine grounder to shortstop and then Matt Holliday - not to pile on - swung at the first pitch and grounded to third base. “It was like we were hitting them infield practice,” joked Campbell. Neither found even their own quips very funny. They stopped short of saying that the focus may have been more on getting out of the complex and to dinner and/or the beach. Regardless, the Cardinals can put this one behind them and come out behind Adam Wainwright tomorrow against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cardinals will look to break a three game losing streak. --------------------- A very frustrating performance today. It’s one thing to get beat. It’s a whole other thing to be embarrassed by a divisional rival who didn’t even play most of their starters. Wacha ran into some bad luck but Matt Holliday looks downright disinterested. Either way, we’ll just have to put it behind us and come out to play tomorrow. __________________ OOTP in Real-Time - St. Louis Cardinals View Current Organizational Depth Chart (dynamic) Last edited by OOTPRealTime; 03-14-2014 at 03:47 PM.