Redbirds Clubhouse

Be back soon......

STL_Cardinals, originally uploaded by Spydawebb.

Back when I was a kid, there were five TV Channels and they would usually shut down for the night at about 1 am. They'd play the National Anthem with some patriotic scene on the screen and then...... nothing. The station would go dark until 6 am when the news came on.

Well boys and girls, the clock has hit 1 am here at the Redbirds Clubhouse. It's time for me to do some other things for awhile. I'll still follow the Redbirds religiously and you'll still find me at the games.... I just won't be posting for awhile.

In the meantime, I'd value your comments and suggestions about what you like about the site, what you don't like, and features you'd like to see here at the Clubhouse once the clock hits 6 am again.

Thanks for visiting!

Barden's first blast leads Birds

2009-03-30 St. Louis Cardinals Brian Barden
Originally uploaded by rosepetal236

Mon 4/13/09 - Cards 2 D'Backs 1 - With family, friends, wife and daughter in the stands, Brian Barden hit his first major league home run (a solo shot in the eighth in inning) that turned out to be the game winning run. Albert Pujols also hit his fourth homer of the season in the fourth inning.

Not to be overlooked is Todd Wellemeyer's strong outing on the mound. He bounced back from a rough start against Pittsburgh last Wednesday to hold Arizona to one run over seven innings.

BOX SCORE HERE

GAME STORY HERE

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Next Game: Tuesday, April 14, 2009

St. Louis @ Arizona (8:40 pm)

Chris Carpenter (1-0, 0.00) vs. Max Scherzer (0-0, 0.00)

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Redbirds Clubhouse Notes:

• Streakers - Ryan Ludwick has a career high 17 game hitting streak that dates back to the end of last season, while Chris Duncan has a 7 game hitting streak.
• The Redbirds pitching staff compiled a 17 inning scoreless streak that finally ended last night in the fourth inning.
• Tonight's starter Chris Carpenter is 3-0, 2.54 ERA in his career vs. the Diamondbacks

Lohse masterful as Cardinals sweep Astros

Kyle Lohse, Cardinals
Originally uploaded by danny wild

Sun 4/12/09 - Cards 3 Astros 0 - Kyle Lohse filled the scoreboard with Easter goose eggs on Sunday when he threw a three hit complete game shutout. He needed just 2:10 minutes to lead the Cardinals to their first series sweep of the season.

Khalil Greene supplied most of the offense as he went 3-4, stole a base, scored a run and drove in another.

BOX SCORE HERE

GAME STORY HERE

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Next Game: Monday, April 13, 2009

St. Louis @ Arizona (8:40 pm)

Todd Wellemeyer (0-1, 9.00) vs. Doug Davis (1-0, 7.20)

What more can be said about Albert Pujols?

Sat 4/11/09 - Cards 11 Astros 2 - Albert Pujols - 2-4, 2 HR, 7 RBI! The Cardinals collected 19 hits on the afternoon and Adam Wainwright earned his first victory of the season with five shutout innings.

BOX SCORE HERE

GAME STORY HERE

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Fri 4/10/09 - Cards 5 Astros 3 - Joel Pineiro threw a strong 6.2 innings while Ryan Ludwick homered, doubled, and drove in two runs in the Redbird victory.

BOX SCORE HERE

GAME STORY HERE

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Next Game: Sunday, April 12, 2009

Houston @ St. Louis (1:15 pm)

Wandy Rodriguez (0-0, 1.50) vs. Kyle Lohse (1-0, 2.57)

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Albert Pujols' performance in yesterday's game was one of those things I used to read about in those cheap paperback sports books when I was a kid. Beloved sports hero steps to the plate and homers to win the game. The thing is, we're watching the real thing day after day here in St. Louis. Bernie Miklasz talks about the magic of Albert Pujols in his column today.

, originally uploaded by Dizfactor1980.

Stellar '09 debut for Chris Carpenter

Thur 4/9/09 - Cards 2 Pirates 1 - Thursday's game started on a cloudy dreary day and ended two and a half hours later in a steady rain. However, fans in Cardinal Nation could be seen patting one another on the back, laughing and smiling as if the sun were shining and the birds were chirping. Why? The "Ace" had returned!

The story on Thursday was Chris Carpenter who earned his first victory since 2006 in convincing fashion. Seven innings, one hit allowed, seven strikeouts. He threw 61 of 92 pitches for strikes and induced 10 groundouts. No matter how you slice it, Carp was money on Thursday. Welcome back big guy!

BOX SCORE HERE

GAME STORY HERE

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Next Game: Friday, April 10, 2009

Houston @ St. Louis (7:15 pm)

Mike Hampton (0-0, 0.00) vs. Joel Pineiro (0-0, 0.00)

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It's difficult not to be optimistic after Chris Carpenter's performance on Thursday. To understand what an impact his health could have on this team, take a look back at the 2005 Cardinals and see how Carpenter boosted the performance of the entire rotation.

Chris Carpenter, originally uploaded by danny wild.

Wellemeyer not sharp - Cards lose

Wed 4/8/09 - Pirates 7 Cards 4 - Todd Wellemeyer's night got off to a rough start and never got better. He escaped a rough first inning, stranding runners on second and third. Unfortunately, the Pirates scored four in the second and never looked back. Brad Thompson entered the game in the sixth and gave up a double and a home run to push the Pirate tally to seven.

Frankly, the Cardinal offense wasn't much better than their pitching. Joe Thurston and David Freese had two hits apiece, but the rest of the lineup would hit safely only three times. The Cardinals did receive five walks on the night, but only one of those walks would turn into a run.

BOX SCORE HERE

GAME STORY HERE

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Next Game: Thursday, April 9, 2009

Pittsburgh @ St. Louis (12:40 pm)

Ross Ohlendorf (0-0, 0.00) vs. Chris Carpenter (0-0, 0.00)

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Despite the fact that the game was basically over before it started, there's nothing quite like attending your first game of the season. When you get your first glimpse of the green field, you know winter is finally over! Last night was chilly once the sun went down, but the full moon was quite beautiful. And one thing is still true - despite costing an arm and a leg, beer just always seems to taste better at the ballpark!

Busch Stadium, originally uploaded by indiepepe.

Bird bounce back, bomb Bucs

Tue 4/7/09 - Cards 9 Pirates 3 - Memories of Monday's Opening Day debacle were wiped away when the Redbirds fired off their big cannons Tuesday night. Chris Duncan took the first shot when he launched a two out, two run homer in the bottom of the first to give the Cardinals a lead they would not relinquish. Two innings later, Albert Pujols fired his first volley of 2009, a two run shot. Not to be outdone, Yadier Molina popped a solo shot in the fifth.

Started Kyle Lohse was the recipient of the power display and he delivered a solid performance as well going seven innings while giving up just five hits and striking out four. Reliever Dennys Reyes pitched a scoreless eighth in his Cardinal debut, and Brad Thompson closed out the game with an uneventful ninth.

BOX SCORE HERE

GAME STORY HERE

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Next Game: Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Pittsburgh @ St. Louis (7:15 pm)

Zach Duke (0-0, 0.00) vs. Todd Wellemeyer (0-0, 0.00)

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Congratulations to Cardinal rookie Colby Rasmus on his first major league hit. Props should also be awarded to Cardinal pitcher Joel Pineiro, the perpetrator of a major league prank involving Rasmus' keepsake first hit ball.

Colby Rasmus, originally uploaded by danny wild.

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Redbirds Clubhouse Notes:

• Check out the sharp, clean new look of the Baseball Reference website.
• A new baseball movie Sugar is getting rave reviews. The story of a Dominican pitcher trying to make it to the big leagues is set at Modern Woodman Park, home of the Cardinals Midwest League affiliate Quad Cities River Bandits.
• Speaking of the River Bandits, they are offering unique Van by the River promotion this summer.