Oh, they've got power hitters, just no production.
The fact that they're winning is due almost entirely to the small-ball they've been playing and the amazing slew of pitchers they've got.
Twice they stranded the bases loaded last night, though, and that's just not good baseball. You can pitch 'til the cows come home (and I'm looking at you, Adam Wainwright), but you've got to bring those guys home somehow, someway.
Maybe you've noticed that when Izzy gets the job done, I usually have little or nothing to say about it. That's because I still consider him to be automatic, so the only time I notice him is when he hiccups. Well, he hiccupped last night.
The shaved head worked for a couple of games, but there was nothing doing when he took the mound in game three against the Rox. I'm no pitcher, so while I might be able to recognize a good pitch or tell when a guy misses his location, I can't tell you what causes a pitcher to give up hits. I don't understand how he can have a good game one night and a bad game (against the same team) two nights later. I wish I had some insight so I'd feel better about future games, but I don't. He just didn't have "it" last night.
Ryan Franklin gave up 3 runs the night before and slashed our lead down from 4 runs to 1. Anthony Reyes got sent down to AAA at least partly due to the 2 runs he gave up when he came in to relieve in late innings in a 7-0 Cardinals lead. But Izzy gets sent out there when there's a lead of 3 runs or less and can't afford to make 2 or 3 run mistakes. It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it.
I still love you, Izzy.
