San Francisco Giants at St. Louis Cardinals
Series: 1-1
Time/Place: 4:00 p.m., Busch Stadium
SB Nation Blogs: McCovey Chronicles and Viva El Birdos
Media: FOX
Pitching Matchup: RHP Matt Cain (16-5, 2.79 ERA) vs. RHP Kyle Lohse (16-3, 2.86 ERA)
Brisbee on four key roster moves for the Giants:
Then he [Gregor Blanco] played. On June 7, he was hitting .288/.390/.468, which is a player you'd give a $100 million contract too. Of course, he couldn't keep it up, and he went back to his low-average, good-patience, low-power ways, with a side of fouling off a zillion pitches in every at-bat.
...and pure frustration at Viva El Birdos:
Because they were—they were outplayed in a way that doesn't even require that the other team play very well. Chris Carpenter was undermined by balls in play and poor defense, but all that mediocrity took because he couldn't find then strike zone; his command, the very skill that makes him Chris Carpenter, wasn't in evidence, and he couldn't continue pretending he had it indefinitely.