Re: Who's your nl mvp
The Cardinals do have a weak lineup (on paper at least, but not in heart, pride and desire)
With that being said, I'm not sure what Pujols OR Jones have to do with their respective pitching staffs. Last time I checked, neither had logged any innings.
And I never said the Braves hadn't been putting together a patchwork lineup (for the most part), I was simply responding to a post that implied that the Cardinals had their entire lineup, in the primes of their careers, together for the entire season, which is absolutely not true.
But, since I made that point, the discussion has done a 180 and turned to the pitching staffs. Now, the last time I remember, Jeff Suppan, Matt Morris and Jason Marquis don't exactly strike fear into opposing lineups. Heck, the Braves and their infinate pitching wisdom banished Marquis to the minor leagues before shipping him off to the Cardinals (along with a good lefty reliever and one of their TOP pitching prospects, who they had also gone sour on, for J.D. Drew and Eli Marrero, but I digress). And you know what? The guy is a flake. He is dillusional. When he pitches the way he's told to, he's unhittable, but he wants to do things his own way, which is why he didn't win a game for over a month and a half this year.
If nothing else, the pitching staff has benefited the most out of the offense's success. They simply keep the team in the game until the offense scores enough to win. Simple. Not overpowering.
If you compare the teams, the Cardinals have scored more runs (4.95 to 4.77) and given up fewer runs (4.04 to 3.82) per game than the Braves. And they have ten more wins to show for it.
Ok. Now the Cardinals have scored 30 more runs and have given up 29 less runs than the Braves this year while playing 1 more game. A difference of about .4 runs per game.
Why is this?
I would say the advantage in pitching would go to the Cardinals. The rotation has been healthier and they have Chris Carpenter going every 5th day. And the closer has been consistant. I wouldn't say the bullpen is anything great (heck, it's been downright awful at times), but the success of the starters and the ability of the offense to bail it out has disguised that deficiency.
And in my opinion the Braves and the Cardinals lineups are similar (the only difference being that the Braves are mostly playing rookies/prospects and the Cardinals are playing journeymen and career minor leaguers). Seriously, you can't tell me that that Cardinals lineup is 30 runs better than the Braves lineup. I won't accept it.
(I also want to make the point that rookies and prospects are supposed to be good. While journeymen and career minor leaguers are what they are for a reason. They have consistantly failed.)
So, why have the Cardinals scored more runs than the Braves? And when you answer that question, you might reveal who is the most valuable player to his team.
Originally posted by VTek33
The Cardinals do have a weak lineup (on paper at least, but not in heart, pride and desire)
With that being said, I'm not sure what Pujols OR Jones have to do with their respective pitching staffs. Last time I checked, neither had logged any innings.
And I never said the Braves hadn't been putting together a patchwork lineup (for the most part), I was simply responding to a post that implied that the Cardinals had their entire lineup, in the primes of their careers, together for the entire season, which is absolutely not true.
But, since I made that point, the discussion has done a 180 and turned to the pitching staffs. Now, the last time I remember, Jeff Suppan, Matt Morris and Jason Marquis don't exactly strike fear into opposing lineups. Heck, the Braves and their infinate pitching wisdom banished Marquis to the minor leagues before shipping him off to the Cardinals (along with a good lefty reliever and one of their TOP pitching prospects, who they had also gone sour on, for J.D. Drew and Eli Marrero, but I digress). And you know what? The guy is a flake. He is dillusional. When he pitches the way he's told to, he's unhittable, but he wants to do things his own way, which is why he didn't win a game for over a month and a half this year.
If nothing else, the pitching staff has benefited the most out of the offense's success. They simply keep the team in the game until the offense scores enough to win. Simple. Not overpowering.
If you compare the teams, the Cardinals have scored more runs (4.95 to 4.77) and given up fewer runs (4.04 to 3.82) per game than the Braves. And they have ten more wins to show for it.
Ok. Now the Cardinals have scored 30 more runs and have given up 29 less runs than the Braves this year while playing 1 more game. A difference of about .4 runs per game.
Why is this?
I would say the advantage in pitching would go to the Cardinals. The rotation has been healthier and they have Chris Carpenter going every 5th day. And the closer has been consistant. I wouldn't say the bullpen is anything great (heck, it's been downright awful at times), but the success of the starters and the ability of the offense to bail it out has disguised that deficiency.
And in my opinion the Braves and the Cardinals lineups are similar (the only difference being that the Braves are mostly playing rookies/prospects and the Cardinals are playing journeymen and career minor leaguers). Seriously, you can't tell me that that Cardinals lineup is 30 runs better than the Braves lineup. I won't accept it.
(I also want to make the point that rookies and prospects are supposed to be good. While journeymen and career minor leaguers are what they are for a reason. They have consistantly failed.)
So, why have the Cardinals scored more runs than the Braves? And when you answer that question, you might reveal who is the most valuable player to his team.
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