The worst part of the draft for me is the wait between draft day and when we actually get to see these guys in uniform for the system. It was a long first day and I would like to extend thanks and congratulations to Erik - he worked hard all day long in providing us all with great information on each of the picks and it turned into the best day, traffic-wise, that FR has ever had (and it isn’t even close).
A couple of old friends had an outstanding evening for the major league club as Joe Mather hit his first big league homerun and Mark Worrell pitched two scoreless innings and blasted a three run homer in his first major league at bat. Who knew?
The system went 3-1 on the day, all the details are after the jump.
- Colby launched a homerun and stole a base on his way to a 1-4 evening.
- Jarrett Hoffpauir also went deep - he was 2-4 tonight, as was David Freese.
- Bryan Anderson was 0-2 with a walk and he threw out 2/3 runners stealing. Actually one of the CS appears to be a play where Anderson snapped a throw behind a runner at third after a pitch, getting him into a rundown. It might have been a broken squeeze play (because usually you wouldn’t risk a snap throw to third). Was anyone watching or listening to this game that can give any more information on this play?
- Anthony Reyes auditioned started tonight and went five innings, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk while striking out five.
- Jason Motte’s struggles continued as he gave up a run on a walk and two hits in his inning of work. He didn’t strike out anyone. Perhaps he misses his bullpen mates: Chris Perez and Mark Worrell.
- Jess Todd had another strong outing, but this time he actually gave up an earned run. For shame. He also gave up an unearned run (he committed two errors himself on bad pickoff throws) and seven hits, while striking out four. If Scott Gorgen can be Jess Todd, Jr. I think we’ll be ok.
- Man, Myth and Legend Steve Hill crushed another homerun in going 2-4. Mark Shorey also went deep. He was 1-4.
- Shane Robinson continues to find hits every night, going 2-4 today.
- Mr. Excitement, Daryl Jones led the way tonight by going 3-4 with a homerun and a stolen base.
- Daniel Descalso and Brian Cartie each went 1-4 with a stolen base.
- Brad Furnish had a nice outing, going seven innings (what happened to the piggyback at Palm Beach) and giving up two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out five.
- Cardoza Tucker struggled, giving up three hits in a third of an innings, but Josh Dew rescued him by pitching 1.2 perfect innings with three strikeouts.
- Quad Cities only mustered four hits on the evening - they sure could use an infusion of young offensive talent. Where might they find some?
- Francisco Rivera was 2-3 with a double.
- Brian Broderick pitched five innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits and a walk.
- Wayne Daman gave up a walk-off homer in the tenth.
Filed under: Daily Farm Reports
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Steve Hill did crush that homerun highest point on the OF wall. Todd looked really good kept the ball down almost all night and including those 2 miscue throws. Ill have more on the game in the morning.
I went to the Springfield game tonight.
The Drillers hit pretty well off of Todd in the first, but he settled down after that until the 7th inning. The interesting thing I noted is that it seemed like Todd gained momentum on his fastball after the first 3 innings. Batters started to swing and miss more often on his fastball from innings 4-6 than they did from 1-3. I couldn’t get a good read on his slider due to where I was sitting until the 6th inning. The biggest thing that impressed me with Todd is his command of the strike zone. I hope he stays in the rotation because I see a lot of potential in him.
Steve Hill looked very solid. He still has some holes in his swing, but he’s going to hit for avg and very good power. I just hope he improves his defense to the point where it’s worth keeping him.
Mark Shorey hit the shot of the night off of the scoreboard, but he looked terrible in his other 3 plate appearances.
Shane Robinson looked solid in the outfield and at the plate. He has a strong arm in the outfield. Eric Young Jr., who has a lot of speed, hit a ball down the left field line about a foot fair, and Robinson threw him out at 2nd base with time to spare. It surprised the heck out of me because I didn’t think he’d have a chance. Robinson also has a very good judge of the strike zone and hit a couple line drives for hits, but I don’t see him becoming anything more than a 4th outfielder. Not that I haven’t been wrong in the past.
One other note on Todd: One of the two errors that resulted from pickoff throws was catchable at 2nd base. Martinez(?) was too focused on trying to tag the guy out than making the catch.
Is Reyes in line for the start next week. Parisi aint gonna get it after today and it sounds like Piniero is still struggling with the groin? Any guesses on what they do?
also when does rookie ball begin?
On the CS from third…RR had runners on first and third with two out, and the runner from first went with the pitch. Anderson bluffed a throw at him (very convincingly — he didn’t give away what he was doing at all), and the runner from third broke before he realized it was a fake.
Rasmus’s homer as a screaming liner into the second row in right. Hoffpauir’s wasn’t gone by a lot, but there wasn’t much doubt — it hit the rail on front of the bluff.
Motte still just has one pitch. He seems to be trying to throw something else from time to time, but it’s not effective yet.
The Birdhouse is saying Mitchell Boggs to St. Louis. No word on who’s being sent down, but you gotta think it’s Parisi.
Boggs, im fine with that. Parisi just isnt gonna cut and i dont think there is any room for him to improve. If it is Boggs it shows just how much this club has soured on Reyes.
poorcollegeguy, even though I don’t think they would have called up Reyes anyway, he pitched last night and they need a fresh arm for this weekend, so Reyes wasn’t really an option.
It’s not absolutely urgent to replace Parisi with a starter, as the Cards have an off day on Monday and that slot in the rotation can be skipped. Better would be to bring up a useful reliever — if there was one, but it stretches the point to call Jimenez “useful.” Is Boggs on the 40-man? I don’t think so. Motte is, but he isn’t going to fare any better against major-league hitters than Parisi, which is a scary thought.
John Mozaliak is on The Morning After right now (a morning sports radio show on 1380 AM in St. Louis, for those out of town) and mentioned that after Parisi’s performance last night, they need to make a move - most likely at Mike’s expense. He said since Reyes had just pitched that ‘it will most likely be Boggs’ that gets the call, though he still has to call Memphis and discuss.
As Perez and Mather have learned, things often happen last-minute, but a pre-emptive congrats to Mitch!
-RBB
Pierce - apologies, didn’t see your earlier post. I guess Mo’s comments should be seen as confirmation of your (and the Birdhouse’s) scoop.
-RBB
the only reason why i thought of reyes was because he and parisi are pitching on the same days, so he would be able to fill right in. I forgot about the off day on Monday and the ability to skip the spot anyway, so that works too.
i went to the redbirds game last night…here are some thoughts:
bryan anderson played really well behind the plate…he did have a passed ball(though it as scored as a wild pitch, still not sure why though)…his play to get the guy at third was a really heads up play; it completely fooled the guy at third…he also showed a good eye at the plate and made some good contact(though he went 0-2)…i was really excited to finally get him play, and though he didn’t get a hit, i was not disappointed
colby’s homer was a LASER…i bet it did not get 30 feet off the ground…a lot of times, homeruns are just flyouts that carry out of the park…in this case, it looked like one of those miguel tejada specials….had it not gotten out, it would have been a definite double, maybe a triple
he got on base with an error in the 8th…i told my dad he was gonna steal second…my dad was suspicious since we were down by one and there was one out…of course colby took off…got an absolutely great jump and beat the throw pretty easily…but the ump missed the call, because rasmus slid over the bag and came off of it and the ss still had the tag on him…should have been called out.
his strikeout was on three pitches…he looked completely lost at the plate in that at bat, but that is to be expected from everyone once in a while(well…not pujols)
speaking of being lost at the plate…duncan is just guessing…he is not reacting to pitches at all and he is really suffering because of it…he did get on base in the 8th on what the scorer deemed a shortstop error…i think that was a little unfair…the shortstop would have had to make a great play to get duncan…duncan did run the bases well though and advanced to second when the shortstop threw to third trying to get colby(the ball got away)
i really think motte thinks his secondary pitch is a fastball in the dirt…he really really needs a breaking pitch or a change…he would get to 0-2 on a guy by throwing high heat and then not be able to put him away…by then the guy had timed up his fastball, so motte gave up to opposite field doubles(though one of them may could have been caught by a plus defender in lf, but duncan was out there and he crashed into the wall for no real reason….it would have taken a great play though)
Love hearing about Colby’s line drive homerun, more proof that the tools are still there. Hopefully he can share in some of the success the other 05 1st rounders have at the major league level.