The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Thoughts on the Cardinals and the Cubs
Dear Editor;
It is amazing how the Cubs have remained in the NL wild card race despite injuries to two of their top pitchers (Prior and Wood) and their talented shortstop, Garciaparra. With their return, the Cubs should be able to narrow the gap with the Cardinals.
The main reason the Cubs have had the highest batting average in the NL is Derek Lee. During the last week of July, he was hitting .370, was leading the league in homeruns (2) and was 2nd in RBI's (81).
He could be the first triple crown winner since Yastrzemski in 1967. He was also leading the league in doubles (31), hits, on-base and slugging pct.
Besides these outstanding offensive stats, he has been playing like a gold glover at first base. Unlike Sosa last year, who seemed primarily interested in Sammy, Derek is a good team player and he is one of the few who is underwhelmed by his accomplishments.
The one most important person in the Cardinals outstanding season this year is their general manager, Walt Jocketty.
He has assembled an outstanding pitching staff with the NL's lowest ERA (3.38) and their starters presently lead the majors with 54 wins. Their hitting line-up has to be as good as any in baseball.
The Cardinals outfielders' age (Walker-38, Sanders-37 and Edmonds-35) is a concern. The rookie Rodriguez, who was recently called up, appears to be the real thing and was hitting well over .300 as a replacement. One of the big positives for the Cardinals this season has been the development of their young catcher, Molina, who has started to hit much better.
More importantly, he works well with the pitchers. he was recently throwing out over half of potential base stealers.
Another important addition has been their new shortstop, Eckstein, who has been an idea lead-off man.
He is always hustling and gets on base a lot with walks, etc. (unlike the Cubs who have the fewest walks in the league).
Talk about a contact hitter, he has missed less than four percent of pitches he has swung at! (Best since Wade Boggs in 1988).
With Rolen injured a lot and Sanders out indefinitely, others have stepped up. Pujols, like Lee, is having an outstanding all around season, which is usually for him. He is also very interesting to watch, as he is a true team player and gives an all out effort.
One final thought: Do not fear Cardinal fans, even though the Cubbies may draw closer, in September they generally are like opossums (they roll over and play dead at home and then get killed when they get on the road).
A final trivia question for Cardinal fans: Who was the only one to play for the St. Louis Cardinal football team and the St. Louis Cardinal baseball team in the same year? Ernie Hayes, the organist!
Weyman George
Macomb