JAMIE GARCIA WINS CY YOUNG

KDSGZJ528KSV

This  young lefthander has really shown good moxy on the mound. Garcia has pithed like an ace of a staff. He has pithed 13 innings and has given up one earned run and has struck out ten while walking five.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                        This maybe the best young lefthander the cardinals have had in their system ( that they have drafted and raised as their own) in a very long time.Will he be the next freak(tim Lincecum) or will he be the Rick Ankiel and fold under the pressure of being succsesful. I think Garcia will be just fine he seems to have his head on straight unlike Ankiel.



I am real excited to watch Garcia come along this season and grow into a real big league  starter in the game.

MARATHON GAME ENDS AFTER 20 INNINGS CARDS LOSE 2-1 TO THE METS

ST. LOUIS (AP)—Jose Reyes needed 20 innings to get something done at the plate.


Reyes hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly to help the New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 in 20 innings on Saturday night in the longest game in the majors in two years.

“That’s the happiest 0 for 7 I’ve ever had in my life,” he said. “I played good defense, got the RBI, and we won the game. And finally, it’s over.”

Francisco Rodriguez (1-0) got the win despite yielding the tying run in the 19th and starter Mike Pelfrey(notes) finished for his first career save in a game that included 19 pitchers and lasted 6 hours, 53 minutes.

It was the longest game in the majors since Colorado beat San Diego 2-1 in 22 innings on April 17, 2008.

“This was crazy,” Pelfrey said. “I’ve been involved in some wild games but this was really something. I thought it was never going to end.”

Rodriguez said he threw as many as 100 pitches in the bullpen. He began warming up in the eighth and spent the next three hours getting up and then sitting down.

“I got up more than 10 times,” he said. “Pretty much every inning.”

Jeff Francoeur(notes) also had a sacrifice fly for New York in the 19th, snapping a scoreless tie, but Yadier Molina(notes) singled in Albert Pujols(notes) with two out in the bottom half.

St. Louis left the bases loaded in the 10th, 12th and 14th and stranded 22 runners, including 14 in extra innings. Molina caught the whole game and went 3 for 9.

“The outcome was disappointing but the heart that the club showed was amazing,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “I give them a standing ovation.”

It was the longest scoreless game in the majors since the Los Angeles Dodgers and Montreal Expos went 21 innings without a run on Aug. 23, 1989, according to STATS LLC. The Dodgers won that one 1-0 on Rick Dempsey’s leadoff homer in the 22nd.

New York manager Jerry Manuel felt the key was the extra effort by Pelfrey, who threw a side session earlier in the day.

“Pelfrey asked to pitch. He stepped up and said, ‘Hey I can do this,”’ Manuel said.

Utilityman Joe Mather(notes) (0-1) became the first position player to lose a game since shortstop Josh Wilson(notes) for the San Diego Padres in a 9-6 setback in 18 innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks last June 7.

Mather hit for Colby Rasmus(notes) in the 10th and played center and third before taking the mound in the 19th for his first major league pitching appearance.

Angel Pagan(notes) started the 20th with an infield single and advanced to third on Mike Jacobs’(notes) base hit to right. Reyes followed with a fly ball to center field to give New York a 2-1 lead.

It was the Mets’ longest game since they lost 4-3 to St. Louis in 25 innings on Sept. 11, 1974, and the fourth longest in franchise history by innings. It was New York’s first win in a game that lasted at least 20 innings.

It was tied for the second longest in Cardinals history.

Johan Santana(notes) started the game for New York and struck out nine in seven innings, allowing just four hits.

“I spent more time as a spectator than I did pitching on the mound,” Santana said.

Rookie left-hander Jaime Garcia(notes) gave up just one hit in seven innings for St. Louis—a bloop single by Pagan leading off the sixth.

Infielder Felipe Lopez(notes) also pitched a scoreless inning for the Cardinals, and starting pitcher Kyle Lohse(notes) played three innings in left field.

NOTES: Pujols walked four times, two intentionally. … St. Louis pitcher Adam Wainwright(notes) and Molina were presented their Gold Glove awards before the game. Pujols will receive his NL MVP award and Silver Slugger bat before Sunday’s game. … Mets 3B David Wright(notes) walked twice, giving him a major league-leading 16 total. … Cardinals OF Matt Holliday(notes), mired in an 0-for-16 slump, struck out three times. … Reliever Pedro Feliciano(notes) made his 373rd appearance with the Mets, moving into fourth on the club’s career list. … Mather became the first St. Louis position player to register a decision since Jose Oquendo got the loss in a 7-5 setback against Atlanta on May 14, 1988.

CARDS DEPTH NOT VERY GOOD

The Cardinals came out of spring training knowing that they have the best 1-2 starting pitching punch in the National League in Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. They knew also that their 3-4 offensive combination of Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday was second to none.

But they probably have an issue of depth.

The infield reserves are very capable offensive players -- switch-hitting Felipe Lopez and Julio Lugo -- and catcher Jason LaRue is a tried and true backup to Yadier Molina. LaRue, in fact, might be needed quite a bit at the start of the season if Molina's strained right oblique, suffered with 10 days to go in spring training, doesn't heal quickly enough.
But the Cardinals were set to enter the season with youngsters Joe Mather, Allen Craig and perhaps Nick Stavinoha manning the backup outfield spots. And they had no left-handed presence on the bench for late inning matchups with tough right-handed closers other than the switch-hitting Lopez, who wasn't even here until the club signed him in mid-February. A veteran left-handed hitter bench man is likely to be sought with more urgency later in the season.

The rotation beyond Carpenter and Wainwright, who combined for 36 wins last year, is solid enough with veteran right-handers Brad Penny, signed as a free agent, and Kyle Lohse. Left-hander Jaime Garcia, who missed most of last season as he recovered from Tommy John elbow surgery of the season before, was the standout in camp and appeared to have pitched himself into the rotation at the start of the season.

Barring some long-lasting injuries, the Cardinals would appear to be the odds-on favorites to defend their National League Central Division title and make their eighth playoff appearance in 11 seasons.

But Pujols was sidelined twice this spring, once more briefly than the other, with back ailments, and Molina was nursing a sore right side as the season approached. Those two players probably are the most indispensable on the club.

THE CARDINALS WILL CONTEND IF ...: Their key players have their normal seasons. Given good health, Carpenter and Wainwright can be expected to win 32 to 36 games between them, and Pujols, Holliday and RF Ryan Ludwick can be counted on to knock in 300 or more runs. Nobody else in the division can match up with either of these two groups of players.

PRIMED FOR A BIG SEASON: CF Colby Rasmus is much more at home in his second season after admitting he felt stressed last year, knowing that a couple of veteran outfielders were unhappy he was taking some of their playing time. Rasmus should stretch his 16 homers to 20 or more and his RBI total from 52 to 75 or 80.

ON THE DECLINE: It would be hard for RHP Ryan Franklin to duplicate his 38-save season, in which he also sported a 1.92 ERA. Franklin doesn't have to be that good, but fans are hoping his poor September/October of 2009 doesn't carry over

CARDS FARM SYSTEM DIMINISHED A BIT

With the Cardinals having stripped some of the top layers of their farm system last year to acquire Matt Holliday and Mark DeRosa, chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., while very high on his current club, acknowledges that the farm system needs to be refurbished as quickly as possible.


"We've given up a lot of young players and elevated players, so our system has been depleted," DeWitt said. "We brag about it when the rating is high. When it's low, we should acknowledge that we've taken a hit. This is a year for us to restore that as well."

DeWitt said the club, whose big-league payroll will be somewhat over $90 million, was likely to spend more heavily in this year's amateur draft after paying above slot to last year's first-round pick, high school pitcher Shelby Miller.

"We're going to spend a bunch of money in the draft," DeWitt said. "We have two extra picks (for losing DeRosa to the Giants and Joel Pineiro to the Angels). That's great, but it's costly, too.

"The system needs to be replenished. We knew this when we traded for the players we did. We were pretty solid with young players like (Adam) Wainwright and (Yadier) Molina. Some of the kids, (Colby) Rasmus and (Brendan) Ryan, have a year under their belt. We don't have those questions. It's more what the next level of kids will turn out to be."

The Cardinals are likely to have several products from 2009 Pacific Coast League champion Memphis on their club at the start of the season, including David Freese. Others who have a good chance of sticking are outfielders Nick Stavinoha, Allen Craig and Joe Mather, and pitcher Jaime Garcia

CARDS WIN 6-5 WITH WALKOFF HOMERUN

JUPITER, Fla. (AP)—Former Mets infielder Ruben Gotay(notes) hit a walk-off home run off Kiko Calero(notes) in the bottom of the ninth inning Saturday to give the St. Louis Cardinals a 6-5 win over New York.


The Cardinals got five shutout innings from starter Adam Wainwright(notes), who struck out six while scattering two hits. He did not walk a batter.

“This was the first time I’ve trusted my delivery and mechanics this spring,” Wainwright said. “It’s the first time I’ve pitched without regret. I finally had life on my pitches.”

Trailing 5-2 in the ninth, the Mets rallied for three runs on five hits off Cardinals reliever Jason Motte(notes). Rookie Ike Davis(notes) tied the game with an opposite field home run to left center. It was Davis’ third home run and 10th RBI of the spring.

Mets starter John Maine(notes) bounced back from a poor outing against the Florida Marlins last week in which he was touched for five runs in just 2-3 of an inning. Maine surrendered a two-run homer to Cardinals center fielder Colby Rasmus(notes) in the first inning but followed with three shutout innings to lower his spring ERA from 23.14 to 11.37.

“It was a step in the right direction,” Maine said. “Obviously, it’s a lot better than the last time out. In the spring, it’s all about getting your arm strong so you can go back out there and throw 100 pitches. The shoulder’s not an issue.”

Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez(notes) was touched up for two runs on three hits in his one inning of work.

St. Louis shortstop Brendan Ryan(notes) made his spring debut after undergoing wrist surgery Feb. 9 and went 2 for 3 with a double and a stolen base.

POTENTIAL STARTER JAIME GARCIA

Jaime Garcia, who pitched just 37 2/3 innings in the minors last year after recovering from Tommy John elbow surgery, came to camp with an outside shot at a big-league starting job.


However, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan might consider having him open the season in the bullpen, a la right-hander Adam Wainwright, who spent all of 2006 in the bullpen before joining the rotation the next year.
"As long as (Garcia) is in the conversation, it counts," La Russa said. "He's in the conversation."
In his first relief outing of the spring, Garcia walked the first hitter he faced and then set down nine in a row. In his second, on a windy day, Garcia walked three but still was impressive.

"He threw the ball very well again," La Russa said.
"My main goal coming into camp was to be like everybody else, be a normal guy, to do a lot of work and not have any limitations," said Garcia, who had the operation late in the 2008 season. "I'm ready for whatever they have for me."

Duncan said "it would be impossible to ignore" what Garcia had done early in camp.
"You certainly take note of it," Duncan said. "Where does that take you? It's hard to say because it's still early, but he's been impressive."
Garcia has made only one relief appearance in four minor league seasons, although he had nine relief outings for the Cardinals in 2008.

"I've started my whole life," Garcia said. "Obviously, I'd rather start. But if they think they need another lefty in the bullpen and they think I'm the guy, I'll go."
Garcia helped Memphis win the Pacific Coast League championship last summer after returning to action.
"I was real satisfied," Garcia said. "I wasn't even close to where I am right now. I was still at a point where I was having ups and downs and still taking time to recover."
But now Garcia says, "I've never felt this good. I feel I'm where I need to be. My pitches are where they need to be. It's about learning, making adjustments and gaining experience."

PUJOLS BACK IN THE SWING OF THINGS

JUPITER, Fla. (AP)—Albert Pujols(notes), who returned to action after taking a week to rest a sore back, hit two hard singles in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 8-5 victory against the Houston Astros on Saturday.


Pujols said his back did not bother him when he swung and it did not get tight.

“That’s the two things I was looking at and I didn’t feel any of that,” he said.

Pujols lined the first pitch he saw into deep center. The ball was hit so hard he was held to a single. His second single was a hard line drive to left field.

“Five days off, two swings like that,” manager Tony La Russa said. “You can’t do that unless you’re a great player.”

After playing in just two games and going hitless in five at bats, Pujols awoke last Sunday with a sore back that he said felt like a spasm. Since, he has been undergoing treatment, including chiropractic adjustments.

“It was a little rough missing five days without being able to do any running,” Pujols said.

The NL MVP was encouraged by his first two hits, which came on a pitch down and away and an inside slider, and a high fastball that he fouled back before walking in his third at bat.

“If anything were going to happen it would have happened on that pitch, a fastball up,” he said.

Julio Lugo(notes) drove in three runs with a double and a home run for the Cardinals and Ryan Ludwic(notes) hit a solo home run.

Astros starter Felipe Paulino(notes) pitched two scoreless innings before Wesley Wright(notes) allowed four runs, two earned, on four hits in 1 1-3 innings.

Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter(notes) threw 58 pitches over three innings. He gave up two runs on four hits and a walk, including Chris Shelton’s(notes) two-run homer to deep centerfield in the second inning.

“I felt like my command was better. I felt like my breaking ball was better,” Carpenter said. “I got my pitch count up and I felt more comfortable with my delivery on the mound.”

The high pitch count was partly due to a strong wind that made it an adventure for the fielders. Several balls were wind blown into hits during the game.

“It definitely makes it difficult but you deal with it,” Carpenter said.