Tyler Lyons up, but at what cost for Cardinals?

The old phrase says you can never have enough pitching.

This is true. But when the St. Louis Cardinals bats are so anemic, shouldn’t you try to keep them all together as much as possible?

The Cardinals brought up Tyler Lyons from Triple-A Memphis, with the excuse being the bullpen needed a break after weeks of taxing work.

The problem was Greg Garcia, a hitter who showed some signs of a hot bat, finds himself back in Memphis with little else to prove.

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Let’s review:

According to The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Lyons has been up four times this season and has an 8-5 record, 3.21 ERA and 90 strikeouts at Memphis. However, he is 4-9 career in the major leagues with an ERA of 4.72.

Garcia, meanwhile, is 7-for-20 (.350) in his major league career. Even though five of his hits have come as a pinch hitter, Garcia is still hitting. And he is an infielder, which means he could anchor first base as needed.

Yet the Cardinals sent Garcia down.

What gives?

The Cardinals have had the worst luck trying to find hitting to balance out the lineup. Pitching is not the issue here. The team may say it wants fresh arms, but what about fresh bats?

Look, I’m not questioning the logic of general manager John Mozeliak or manager Mike Matheny. There is a reason why they are in their jobs and I am in mine. What I question is why a team demotes a hitter when it could stand to have more hitting options.

Pitching is not the answer. The Cardinals have 70 victories and a six-game lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

A few more shutouts on offense and that lead could vanish, especially with Pittsburgh coming up in a crucial three-game series this week.

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