Cardinal Madness! Match-ups 5 and 6
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Hello friends! Today we have two very exciting Cardinal Madness Match-ups as the number 4 seed 1946 team against the 29 seed 1927 team and the 13 seed 2004 Cardinals against the 20 seed 2002 team. As we saw yesterday, upsets are very possible in these tournaments. Is today the day that a lower seed Cardinals team advances? Details after the jump.
1946
The 1946 World Series champion Cardinals are known for what has become a historic moment in baseball. In game seven against the Red Sox, Enos Slaughter hit a single in the bottom of the eighth. Neither of the next two hitters could advance him, but on a liner to center field by Harry Walker, Slaughter tagged second and rounded third on a bee line for home plate. Red Sox shortstop Johnny Pesky assumed Slaughter wouldn’t run for home, so he checked Walker at first before throwing home. Slaughter scored the winning run and the “mad dash” became a historic moment in baseball. Joining Slaughter as future Hall of Famers from the ’46 season were Stan Musial and Red Schoendienst.
1927
The 1927 Cardinals are the perfect example of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were a strong team on paper, but the Yankees in this era were a juggernaut, and the Pirates were a force in the National League. As such, the Cardinals strong play was overshadowed. The ’27 roster featured future Hall of Famers Pete “Grover Cleveland” Alexander, “Sunny Jim” Bottomley, Frankie Frisch, Chick Hafey, Jesse Haines, Rabbit Maranville, and Billy Southworth. It was the first season as a Cardinal for Frisch as the Cardinals traded Rogers Hornsby for him in the offseason in a very controversial move.
Tale of the Tape
1946 | 1927 | |||||||||||||||||
Batting Order | Batting Order | |||||||||||||||||
Player | Pos | R | HR | RBI | BAA | OPS | OPS+ | Player | Pos | R | HR | RBI | BAA | OPS | OPS+ | |||
1 | Red Schoendienst | 2B | 94 | 0 | 34 | 0.281 | 0.665 | 86 | 1 | Taylor Douthit | CF | 81 | 5 | 50 | 0.262 | 0.713 | 87 | |
2 | Harry Walker | CF | 53 | 3 | 27 | 0.237 | 0.638 | 78 | 2 | Billy Southworth | RF | 52 | 2 | 39 | 0.301 | 0.752 | 97 | |
3 | Stan Musial | 1B | 124 | 16 | 103 | 0.365 | 1.021 | 183 | 3 | Frankie Frisch | 2B | 112 | 10 | 78 | 0.387 | 0.858 | 124 | |
4 | Enos Slaughter | RF | 100 | 18 | 130 | 0.300 | 0.838 | 133 | 4 | Jim Bottomley | 1B | 95 | 19 | 124 | 0.303 | 0.896 | 133 | |
5 | Whitey Kurowski | 3B | 76 | 14 | 89 | 0.301 | 0.853 | 137 | 5 | Les Bell | 3B | 48 | 9 | 65 | 0.259 | 0.746 | 94 | |
6 | Dick Sisler | LF | 17 | 3 | 42 | 0.260 | 0.668 | 86 | 6 | Chick Hafey | LF | 62 | 18 | 63 | 0.329 | 0.990 | 157 | |
7 | Joe Garagiola | C | 21 | 3 | 22 | 0.237 | 0.620 | 73 | 7 | Frank Snyder | C | 7 | 1 | 30 | 0.258 | 0.590 | 55 | |
8 | Marty Marion | SS | 51 | 3 | 46 | 0.233 | 0.643 | 80 | 8 | Tommy Thevenow | SS | 23 | 0 | 4 | 0.194 | 0.484 | 28 | |
9 | P | 9 | P | |||||||||||||||
Bench | Bench | |||||||||||||||||
Player | Pos | R | HR | RBI | BAA | OPS | OPS+ | Player | Pos | R | HR | RBI | BAA | OPS | OPS+ | |||
1 | Clyde Kluttz | C | 8 | 0 | 14 | 0.265 | 0.631 | 76 | 1 | Johnny Schulte | C | 35 | 9 | 32 | 0.288 | 0.994 | 160 | |
2 | Erv Dusak | OF | 38 | 9 | 42 | 0.240 | 0.700 | 95 | 2 | Heinie Schuble | IF | 29 | 4 | 28 | 0.257 | 0.641 | 67 | |
3 | Terry Moore | OF | 32 | 3 | 28 | 0.263 | 0.665 | 85 | 3 | Specs Toporcer | IF | 37 | 0 | 19 | 0.248 | 0.635 | 67 | |
4 | Buster Adams | OF | 21 | 5 | 22 | 0.185 | 0.619 | 73 | 4 | Wattie Holm | OF | 55 | 3 | 66 | 0.286 | 0.737 | 92 | |
5 | Del Rice | C | 10 | 1 | 12 | 0.273 | 0.680 | 89 | 5 | Ray Blades | OF | 33 | 2 | 29 | 0.317 | 0.864 | 127 | |
Starting Rotation | Starting Rotation | |||||||||||||||||
Pos | Pitcher | IP | W | L | ERA | K | BB | ERA+ | Pos | Pitcher | IP | W | L | ERA | K | BB | ERA+ | |
1 | Howie Pollet | 266.0 | 21 | 10 | 2.10 | 107 | 86 | 165 | 1 | Jesse Haines | 300.2 | 24 | 10 | 2.72 | 89 | 77 | 147 | |
2 | Harry Brecheen | 231.1 | 15 | 15 | 2.49 | 117 | 67 | 139 | 2 | Pete Alexander | 268.0 | 21 | 10 | 2.52 | 48 | 38 | 159 | |
3 | Murry Dickson | 184.1 | 15 | 6 | 2.88 | 82 | 56 | 120 | 3 | Bill Sherdel | 232.1 | 17 | 12 | 3.53 | 59 | 48 | 113 | |
4 | Johnny Beazley | 103.0 | 7 | 5 | 4.46 | 36 | 55 | 78 | 4 | Flint Rhem | 169.1 | 10 | 12 | 4.41 | 51 | 54 | 91 | |
5 | Ken Burkhart | 100.0 | 6 | 3 | 2.88 | 32 | 36 | 120 | 5 | Bob McGraw | 94.0 | 4 | 5 | 5.07 | 37 | 30 | 79 | |
Bullpen | Bullpen | |||||||||||||||||
Pos | Pitcher | IP | W | L | ERA | K | BB | ERA+ | Pos | Pitcher | IP | W | L | ERA | K | BB | ERA+ | |
CP | Ted Wilks | 95.0 | 8 | 0 | 3.41 | 40 | 38 | 102 | CP | Hi Bell | 57.1 | 1 | 3 | 3.92 | 31 | 22 | 102 | |
RP | Al Brazle | 153.1 | 11 | 10 | 3.29 | 58 | 55 | 105 | RP | Art Reinhart | 81.2 | 5 | 2 | 4.19 | 15 | 36 | 96 | |
RP | Red Barrett | 67.0 | 3 | 2 | 4.03 | 22 | 24 | 86 | RP | Carlisle Littlejohn | 42.0 | 3 | 1 | 4.50 | 16 | 14 | 90 | |
RP | Max Lanier | 56.0 | 6 | 0 | 1.93 | 36 | 19 | 180 | RP | Vic Keen | 33.2 | 2 | 1 | 4.81 | 12 | 8 | 84 | |
RP | Red Munger | 48.2 | 2 | 2 | 3.33 | 28 | 12 | 105 | RP | Fred Frankhouse | 50.0 | 5 | 1 | 2.70 | 20 | 16 | 149 |
The next matchup features two similar teams as the 2004 Cardinals take on the 2002 Cardinals.
2004
After doing research, I really wish these two match-ups were scrambled, as the ’04 Cardinals had the same “wrong place, wrong time” issue as the ’27 Birds. On paper, the ’04 Cardinals were the best team in the league, but in the World Series they came head to head with the Red Sox team of destiny. The front office made a trade for Larry Walker mid-season to join the MV3 group of Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, and Scott Rolen, who had possibly their best season as a group. Edmonds, Rolen, and catcher Mike Matheny won Gold Gloves.
2002
2002 was a dark season for the Cardinals. The team lost long-time broadcaster Jack Buck and, four days later, starting pitcher Darryl Kile was found dead in his hotel room before a game against Chicago. The team rallied around the tragic losses to win the division. They defeated the Diamondbacks, but lost to the Giants in five in the NLCS. Second baseman Fernando Vina, shortstop Edgar Renteria, third baseman Scott Rolen, and outfielder Jim Edmonds all won Gold Gloves.
Tale of the Tape
2004 | 2002 | |||||||||||||||||
Batting Order | Batting Order | |||||||||||||||||
Player | Pos | R | HR | RBI | BAA | OPS | OPS+ | Player | Pos | R | HR | RBI | BAA | OPS | OPS+ | |||
1 | Tony Womack | 2B | 91 | 5 | 38 | 0.307 | 0.735 | 91 | 1 | Fernando Vina | 2B | 75 | 1 | 54 | 0.270 | 0.670 | 79 | |
2 | Larry Walker | RF | 29 | 11 | 27 | 0.280 | 0.953 | 143 | 2 | JD Drew | RF | 61 | 18 | 56 | 0.252 | 0.778 | 106 | |
3 | Albert Pujols | 1B | 133 | 46 | 123 | 0.331 | 1.072 | 172 | 3 | Jim Edmonds | CF | 96 | 28 | 83 | 0.311 | 0.981 | 158 | |
4 | Scott Rolen | 3B | 109 | 34 | 124 | 0.314 | 1.007 | 157 | 4 | Albert Pujols | LF | 118 | 34 | 127 | 0.314 | 0.955 | 151 | |
5 | Jim Edmonds | CF | 102 | 42 | 111 | 0.301 | 1.061 | 170 | 5 | Scott Rolen | 3B | 37 | 14 | 44 | 0.278 | 0.915 | 139 | |
6 | Edgar Renteria | SS | 84 | 10 | 72 | 0.287 | 0.327 | 88 | 6 | Tino Martinez | 1B | 63 | 21 | 75 | 0.262 | 0.776 | 105 | |
7 | Reggie Sanders | LF | 64 | 22 | 67 | 0.260 | 0.797 | 103 | 7 | Edgar Renteria | SS | 77 | 11 | 83 | 0.305 | 0.803 | 113 | |
8 | Mike Matheny | C | 28 | 5 | 50 | 0.247 | 0.640 | 65 | 8 | Mike Matheny | C | 31 | 3 | 35 | 0.244 | 0.630 | 68 | |
9 | P | 9 | P | |||||||||||||||
Bench | Bench | |||||||||||||||||
Player | Pos | R | HR | RBI | BAA | OPS | OPS+ | Player | Pos | R | HR | RBI | BAA | OPS | OPS+ | |||
1 | Yadier Molina | C | 12 | 2 | 15 | 0.267 | 0.684 | 78 | 1 | Mike Difelice | C | 17 | 4 | 19 | 0.230 | 0.660 | 75 | |
2 | Marlon Anderson | IF | 31 | 8 | 28 | 0.237 | 0.649 | 66 | 2 | Eli Marrero | IF | 63 | 18 | 66 | 0.262 | 0.777 | 104 | |
3 | Ray Lankford | OF | 36 | 6 | 22 | 0.255 | 0.774 | 99 | 3 | Miguel Cairo | IF | 28 | 2 | 23 | 0.250 | 0.660 | 75 | |
4 | John Mabry | OF | 32 | 13 | 40 | 0.296 | 0.867 | 122 | 4 | Kerry Robinson | OF | 27 | 1 | 15 | 0.260 | 0.660 | 75 | |
5 | So Taguchi | OF | 26 | 3 | 25 | 0.291 | 0.756 | 95 | 5 | Eduardo Perez | OF | 22 | 10 | 26 | 0.201 | 0.744 | 94 | |
Starting Rotation | Starting Rotation | |||||||||||||||||
Pos | Pitcher | IP | W | L | ERA | K | BB | ERA+ | Pos | Pitcher | IP | W | L | ERA | K | BB | ERA+ | |
1 | Matt Morris | 202.0 | 15 | 10 | 4.72 | 131 | 56 | 91 | 1 | Matt Morris | 210.1 | 17 | 9 | 3.42 | 171 | 64 | 117 | |
2 | Jason Marquis | 201.1 | 15 | 7 | 3.71 | 138 | 70 | 115 | 2 | Jason Simontacchi | 143.1 | 11 | 5 | 4.02 | 72 | 54 | 100 | |
3 | Woody Williams | 189.2 | 11 | 8 | 4.18 | 131 | 58 | 102 | 3 | Woody Williams | 103.0 | 9 | 4 | 2.53 | 76 | 25 | 159 | |
4 | Jeff Suppan | 188.0 | 16 | 9 | 4.16 | 110 | 65 | 103 | 4 | Andy Benes | 97.0 | 5 | 4 | 2.78 | 64 | 51 | 144 | |
5 | Chris Carpenter | 182.0 | 15 | 5 | 3.46 | 152 | 38 | 124 | 5 | Darryl Kile | 84.2 | 5 | 4 | 3.72 | 50 | 28 | 108 | |
Bullpen | Bullpen | |||||||||||||||||
Pos | Pitcher | IP | W | L | ERA | K | BB | ERA+ | Pos | Pitcher | IP | W | L | ERA | K | BB | ERA+ | |
CP | Jason Isringhausen | 75.1 | 4 | 2 | 2.87 | 71 | 23 | 150 | CP | Jason Isringhausen | 65.1 | 3 | 2 | 2.48 | 68 | 18 | 162 | |
RP | Cal Eldred | 67.0 | 4 | 2 | 3.76 | 54 | 17 | 114 | RP | Dave Veres | 82.2 | 5 | 8 | 3.48 | 68 | 39 | 115 | |
RP | Julian Tavarez | 64.1 | 7 | 4 | 2.38 | 48 | 19 | 181 | RP | Steve Kline | 58.1 | 2 | 1 | 3.39 | 41 | 21 | 118 | |
RP | Ray King | 62.0 | 5 | 2 | 2.61 | 40 | 24 | 164 | RP | Mike Crudale | 52.2 | 3 | 0 | 1.88 | 47 | 14 | 214 | |
RP | Steve Kline | 50.1 | 2 | 2 | 1.79 | 35 | 17 | 241 | RP | Mike Timlin | 61.0 | 1 | 3 | 2.51 | 35 | 7 | 160 |
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