Alex Crisafulli 5/7

Jul 13, 2018
4 min

The 10.5: Busch Stadium, old Cardinals, Ozzie Smith and strikeouts

Busch Stadium Listening to the broadcast last Friday, someone in the booth made a casual reference to Busch III, which, of course, is the...

Checking back in on Matt Carpenter's production vs LHP

Alex Crisafulli

Jul 10, 2018
3 min

Checking back in on Matt Carpenter's production vs LHP

In February, based on a comment in the 2018 Baseball Prospectus Annual, I wrote about Matt Carpenter's 2017 numbers versus left-handed...

BotB Shorts: Luke Weaver perfect game, pros and cons

Alex Crisafulli

Jul 6, 2018
1 min

BotB Shorts: Luke Weaver perfect game, pros and cons

Pros: I have never watched a perfect game from start to finish. It would be the first perfect game since Félix Hernández threw one in...

The difference between the Cardinals and the Cubs

Alex Crisafulli

Jul 5, 2018
5 min

The difference between the Cardinals and the Cubs

I was driving home on Monday from a mini-vacation with my family when my phone started buzzing with Twitter alerts to the point that it...

Play Index: Jack Flaherty is striking out a lot of batters edition

Alex Crisafulli

Jun 23, 2018
3 min

Play Index: Jack Flaherty is striking out a lot of batters edition

Jack Flaherty struck out 13 Brewers last night in seven innings plus of one-hit, one-run ball. The Cardinals still lost, of course,...

What is going on with this anti-Cubs t-shirt?

Alex Crisafulli

Jun 21, 2018
2 min

What is going on with this anti-Cubs t-shirt?

The Cardinals are not in a good place right now. Losers of six of eight, and with those six losses running the gamut from blowouts to...

The 10.5: A special Red Schoendienst edition

Alex Crisafulli

Jun 15, 2018
3 min

The 10.5: A special Red Schoendienst edition

Cardinals constant and legend Albert Fred "Red" Schoendienst died a little over one week ago at the age of 95. He was the oldest living...

The dumbest moments from a 2018 Cardinals preview

Alex Crisafulli

Jun 11, 2018
6 min

The dumbest moments from a 2018 Cardinals preview

I write the Cardinals season preview every year for the baseball blog Banished to the Pen. It's the one thing I look most forward to...

BotB Shorts: I was watching the Cardinals game but now I'm watching Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood

Alex Crisafulli

Jun 9, 2018
1 min

BotB Shorts: I was watching the Cardinals game but now I'm watching Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood

I was watching the Cardinals game earlier, which is never a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Especially when they are playing the...

Alex Crisafulli

Jun 3, 2018
2 min

An ode to Michael Wacha

The 2013 St. Louis Cardinals team is remembered for a lot of things. Hitting .330 with runners in scoring position, an...

The 10.5: The Rizzo slide, Alex Reyes, Mr. Cardinals

Alex Crisafulli

Jun 1, 2018
5 min

The 10.5: The Rizzo slide, Alex Reyes, Mr. Cardinals

The Rizzo slide As you surely know by now, a couple of days ago Anthony Rizzo stirred up controversy when he made contact with Pirates...

Play Index: Teams aren't trying to steal on the Cardinals, but... edition

Alex Crisafulli

May 29, 2018
2 min

Play Index: Teams aren't trying to steal on the Cardinals, but... edition

Opponents have only attempted to steal 19 times against the Cardinals in 2018. That is tied for the fewest in the league with the Angels....

BotB Shorts: The juiced ball cost the Cardinals the 2015 World Series

Alex Crisafulli

May 24, 2018
2 min

BotB Shorts: The juiced ball cost the Cardinals the 2015 World Series

(Actually, probably not, but let's not worry about that right now.) You may have already heard, but Rob Arthur, Harry Pavlidis, and the...

When did Cardinals pitchers last have such great back-to-back starts?

Alex Crisafulli

May 22, 2018
2 min

When did Cardinals pitchers last have such great back-to-back starts?

The Cardinals bullpen in 2018 has been pretty bad. We don't want to name names, but as a collective group they rank in the bottom third...

BotB Shorts: Red Schoendienst really is the ultimate Cardinal

Alex Crisafulli

May 20, 2018
2 min

BotB Shorts: Red Schoendienst really is the ultimate Cardinal

So this is sort of cool. If you were watching yesterday's game - in which case, peace be with you - you probably saw the team honor the...

Play Index: Francisco Peña was a triple away from the cycle edition

Alex Crisafulli

May 19, 2018
2 min

Play Index: Francisco Peña was a triple away from the cycle edition

Francisco Peña hit a single, double, and a home run in his first three plate appearances in last night's 12-4 romp over the Phillies. It...

The 10.5: Ricky Horton, the '87 Cardinals, and Piscotty's heartfelt home run

Alex Crisafulli

May 18, 2018
3 min

The 10.5: Ricky Horton, the '87 Cardinals, and Piscotty's heartfelt home run

During Wednesday's win in Minnesota, Cardinals announcer Ricky Horton bemoaned the fact that Mike Matheny removed starter Mike Mikolas...

The Cardinals aren't taking advantage of hitter's counts

Alex Crisafulli

May 17, 2018
4 min

The Cardinals aren't taking advantage of hitter's counts

During Tuesday night's game, in what I believe was his second plate appearance, Marcell Ozuna quickly found himself in an 0-2 count...

The Cardinals should stop trying to steal bases

Alex Crisafulli

May 10, 2018
4 min

The Cardinals should stop trying to steal bases

In the bottom of the 2nd inning during Tuesday's uninspiring loss to the Twins, Greg Garcia drew a walk and moments later was thrown out...

The 10.5: Former Cardinals play with their eyes closed, Carlos Martínez dominates

Alex Crisafulli

May 3, 2018
5 min

The 10.5: Former Cardinals play with their eyes closed, Carlos Martínez dominates

This is the second edition of the 10.5. For an explanation of the series, you can read the introduction to the first post here. Carlos...