The season of light, or of darkness?

April 07, 2009 | mriehn | Comments 7

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by Michael Riehn
Whiteyball staff

Is it too soon to give up on Motte?

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.  Our fatal flaw of 2008 (the bullpen monster) reared it’s ugly head and laughed at us for thinking it was behind us.  Jason Motte showed us that developing home grown closers is a tricky business (no matter how much success we had with Wainwright in 2006).  Was this a sign of things to come or just a bad start to the season?

After attending my customary tailgating, I was feeling pretty good about the game.  Sure it was 35 degrees, but I had layered my clothes (to the extreme) and had even convinced myself that it wasn’t so bad.  I was ready to kick off the baseball season and the dark clouds couldn’t dampen the sunshine of that reality.  My tickets were in the upper deck, in section 452 behind home plate (some of my favorite seats), where I could get a full view of the field and the ballpark.

One of my best friends had flown in from Chicago to attend the game with me after my wife gave up her seat.  For some reason, she had decided that 35 degree weather, snow and baseball don’t mix and was pretty happy that I found someone else to take the ticket.  I can’t say that I blame her.  I also figured my son would enjoy his opening day party at preschool more than surviving the elements.  I would rather that he look forward to going to the ballpark instead of remembering it as the place where he lost a few of his toes to frostbite.

The game was actually pretty good.  Maholm was pitching well, but it seemed like the Cardinals were a hit away from breaking the game open.  Wainwright was pitching behind most of the day, but the results were good, and Ludwick put his terrible spring training behind him with a big home run. Other players hit the ball on the nose (Khalil Greene, Rick Ankiel, Yadier Molina) but didn’t have much to show for it.  It always seemed like it was just a matter of time before we broke through.  The four runs should have been more, but it should have done the job.

Pujols showed us why he is the best hitter in the game, going 3/4 with a walk.  It always amazes me how far back the outfielders play him.  That is something you don’t experience on TV.  The outfielders are hugging the warning track when he hits, and they would probably take a couple of steps behind the wall if they could.  The second row of the left field bleachers seem to be the best place to play Albert.   He hits the ball really hard.

I was excited to see Motte pitch the ninth, but had a bad feeling about the game when I saw him sprinting from the outfield bullpen like he had forgotten to take his Ritalin medicine.  The man’s body language screamed excitement and I thought he would try to throw his first pitch 150 mph.  Maybe this is why La Russa likes to break his rookies in a bit more slowly.  At the very least, the Cubs trade for Kevin Gregg looked a little better than it did during the off-season (he closed out the Cubs 4-2 9th inning lead).

Saying this, Motte needs another chance.  One game is not enough time to evaluate his role on the team (especially how well he did in spring training).  The game is magnified due to the fact that it was opening day, but we shouldn’t put too much importance on it.  If this meltdown would have happened after Motte dominated for 2 months, we’d all just chalk it up to a bad game.  It will be interesting to see how he reacts to the next save chance, but he should be given that opportunity.  Hopefully he won’t come out timid, and be aggressive without being too amped up.

A good closer will forget about the loss before the next game, no matter how bad it was.  It is a big test for the young hurler.  Lets face it, this was a TERRIBLE blown save and a multiple run 9th inning shouldn’t happen to a closer more than 3-4 times in a season.  Blowing a one run lead is understandable (every once in awhile), but blowing a two run lead and putting your team in a 2 run hole is a cause for concern.  Let’s hope he just got his bad game out of the way early this year.

Motte wasn’t the only player with the yips.  Brian Barden (the infielder) looked terrible in his at bats and Brendan Ryan looked like he couldn’t contain himself during the opening ceremonies.  Ryan jumped out of his motorcade for the first base line at full sprint without even taking a glance at the Hall of Famers.  La Russa had to tell him to go shake their hands and I can only imagine what he was thinking.

While Ryan’s batting line from last season was bad, I’m sure the hand held camera that he was sporting in the motorcade was striking fear in the Pirates pitchers (end sarcasm).  Not to pile on Ryan, but his first 2 at bats, I believe he saw 2 pitches total, which is definitely NOT the approach that you want your lead off man to take (that and his .307 OBP last year made him a curious choice to begin with).

As long as Brian Barton (the outfielder) and Joe Mather are swinging their right handed sticks in the minors, and Troy Glaus is doing his Scott Rolen impersonation (on the DL), this team is going to have trouble against the sinister side (left handed pitchers).   Luckily we face a right handed pitcher today and should see our “A” lineup (minus Rasmus).

Lastly, I’d like to focus on a positive note.  Through the cold and the flurries to the terrible loss opening day, my day was worth the experience.  Mike Shannon started the game off right by hilariously describing “the beautiful Chevy trucks” going around the field (they were Ford).  I was able to hang out with one of my best friends and I saw two of the greatest hitters to ever play the game.  Not a bad day.

Pujols was his usual self, but I was really happy to see Stan Musial making his way around the stadium.  He smiled and waved to the fans before flipping the ball to Red Schoendienst, who threw out the first pitch to Pujols (which was neat to see).  Musial is not able to do his trademark swing anymore, but I love how the crowd comes alive when they see him.  I really hope he is with us through the All-Star game because the man deserves more awareness throughout the league.  He may be the greatest living hitter in the game and needs to be mentioned in the same breath as Mays, Bonds and Aaron.

Just remember that this is only one game and we have 161 more to right the ship.  I’m still optimistic on the season, and so should you.

(P.S. I’ll have some pictures up from the game on Friday)

Photo courtesy of Dustin Mattison

Filed Under: Baseball • Uncategorized

Tags: Jason Motte • Mike Shannon • Opening Day 2009 • Red Schoendienst • Stan Musial