Rivalries and Reactions

Well, perhaps the rivalry with Houston is not dead yet. During the last couple of years, the Cardinals and Astros have been going in different directions. While the Cardinals have been maintaining their high level of play behind their solid core of superstars (Pujols, Carpenter, Molina, Wainwright, etc), the once fearful Killer Bees have been dismantled. Gone is Jeff Bagwell. Gone is Craig Biggio. Gone are Derek Bell, Brad Ausmus and Brad Lidge. Only Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt remain from the once great core of Astros, and until this week, Berkman was limping along as a mere shadow of his former self.

But a new crop of Astros has emerged to sting and burst the air of invincibility once surrounding this year’s Cardinals team. Bud Norris pitches with baseballs laced with Kryptonite. Michael Bourn is the latest “B” to buzz around the top of their lineup and annoy the St. Louis pitching staff. And shortstop Jeff Keppinger seems to get at least one huge hit in every game the Astros play against us.

And let’s talk about overreactions and consequences. In yesterday’s game, Carpenter got into a mini-mess in the third inning. A walk to Bourn, an infield hit by Keppinger, and a hit by the reviving Berkman started the damage. With one out, Carlos Lee came to the plate with one run already in, and two runners on base. On the first pitch, Lee pops out. But in his frustration, he curses and slams his bat down. Sounds normal, right? Batters have been cursing and slamming their bats since cursing and slamming were invented. What’s the big deal, right? Well, Chris Carpenter took offense to Lee’s actions. Huh? He chirped at Lee about respect, and Lee buzzed back. Next thing you know, there were a bunch of Astros on the field buzzing about, and a lot of Cardinals on the field chirping and flapping their wings. Huh? And this isn’t the first time this happened between an Astros hitter and a Cardinals pitcher this year. Brad Penny had the same reaction earlier this year when Michael Bourn slammed his bat after an unsuccessful swing against one of Penny’s pitches. I just don’t get this. I’ve been watching, coaching and umpiring baseball for years now, and I’ve never heard of this “unwritten rule” (more on those this weekend). But supposedly, Penny and Carpenter, and presumably the whole Cardinals pitching staff, perceived it as a lack of respect when a hitter shows their frustration. In both cases, the Cardinals pitcher said that the Astros hitter shouldn’t have reacted as though they expected to hit the ball out of the park. Total overreaction, and I’m not talking about Bourn or Lee. Penny and Carpenter should ignore it. Or smile and enjoy it!!! If I’m pitching and I get somebody out, and that batter reacts in disgust, that would delight me! I would smile (on the inside, of course) and take pride that I caused that kind of reaction in the batter. But I just don’t get the huffing and puffing by the Cardinals pitchers. . . . And to finish the story, what happened next in yesterday’s game? Carpenter, perhaps still fuming over the incident, gave up a three run homer to the next batter, Hunter Pence. Now the score was 4-0 instead of 1-0, and the final score ended up 4-1 Astros. Carpenter might have fussed and fumed his way right out of a victory. Calm down and pitch boys. That’s what you do best.

The Astros came into St. Louis with the worst record in the National League. They took out their brooms and swept the Cardinals under the rug, and ironically, three wins later, the Astros are STILL the worst team in the league at 13-21. Just don’t tell the Cardinals. Our home town birds now have to fly to Cincinnati and rediscover their mojo. The Reds await, licking their chops, only one half game out of first place. The Cardinals will likely pitch well this weekend because, well, that’s what they do. (And Lohse won’t be pitching during the series). But can the bats rebound? Ludwick is hot, Holliday is heating up, and I wouldn’t bet against Albert Pujols this weekend either.