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• Austin Jackson scored a run in each of the Tigers' first six games this season. That was the longest streak by a Detroit batter to start a season since Darrell Evans crossed the plate in each of the first eight contests in 1986. And it's the longest streak by a Tigers leadoff hitter since 1939, when one of Jackson's center field predecessors, Barney McCosky, also scored in the first eight games of the season. In game seven on Friday, however, Jackson was on base only once (he walked in the eighth) and was stranded at third.
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  Duane Burleson/AP PhotoAustin Jackson is having a solid season for the Tigers early on.
  The Red Sox managed to blow a three-run lead in the ninth and a two-run lead in the 11th in losing a wild one to Detroit on Sunday, 13-12. It was the first time Boston had scored a dozen runs and lost since May 31, 1970, when they were on the wrong end of a 22-13 slugfest with the White Sox at Fenway.
• Alfredo Aceves gave up all three ninth-inning runs in Sunday’s game without retiring a batter, making him just the second Red Sox pitcher in the live-ball era to work zero innings pitched in each of his first two appearances of the year. Guido Grilli faced one batter each in the first two games of the 1966 season, and didn't get either of them out.
• The Tigers used eight pitchers in that 13-12, come-from-behind win over the Red Sox. It marked just the second time in 70 years that Detroit had come back to win a game in which their starter surrendered seven-plus runs without getting through the third inning. Omar Olivares was the starter in 1997 when the Tigers rallied to beat Baltimore 11-8.
• On Sunday, the Yankees managed just three hits -- all doubles. That same day, the Twins had just two hits as Jason Hammel posted the longest no-hit bid of the year so far. Both Minnesota knocks were doubles. It's the first time in almost three years that two teams have done that on the same day. But then … the Royals did it against Oakland (three hits, three doubles) on Monday … and the Athletics did it against Kansas City (one hit) on Tuesday.It's the first time since at least 1917 that there have been three straight days where a team had every hit be a double.
• On Sunday, Jeff Samardzija (making just his sixth career start) was afforded the chance at a complete game. He had to be pulled after giving up a two-out homer that pulled the Nationals to within a run. Four days later, Matt Garza was en route to a shutout against Milwaukee, but was pulled after committing a two-out error that allowed the inning to continue. So the Cubs had two pitchers this week leave the game after 8.2 innings pitched.The Cubs hadn't had two pitchers work exactly 8.2 innings in the same season since 1995 (Jaime Navarro and Frank Castillo).
• In Sunday's Cardinals-Brewers game, you could say the teams spread it around. In the 9-3 Milwaukee victory, the 12 runs were charged to eight different pitchers. In fact, every hurler who appeared in the game ended up with at least one earned run on his record.It's the first game in eight seasons where the teams combined to use eight or more pitchers, and every single one of them got charged with at least one earned run. The last time that happened was on Sept. 9, 2004, when the Royals erupted for a 26-5 victory over the Tigers in the first game of a doubleheader.
• James Shields got called for a balk Wednesday on an illegal pickoff throw to third. That was in the bottom of the fifth -- after Justin Verlander had been called for his own balk in the top of the fifth.It was the first MLB game to feature balks by both teams in the same inning since Aug. 16, 2004, when the Rangers' Mickey Callaway and then-Indian CC Sabathia committed them in the fourth inning of a 5-2 Texas win.
• In that same game, Verlander threw eight shutout innings before getting tagged for four runs and the loss in the top of the ninth. He became the first pitcher to throw eight scoreless innings, then surrender four (or more) runs in the ninth to take a loss since Tim Hudson did it for the Braves on Sept. 22, 2005. Hudson allowed a three-run homer to Shane Victorino of the Phillies for most of that damage before Macay McBride had to come in and get the final out.
• In Monday's Yankees-Orioles game, Derek Jeter went a perfect 4-for-4 for the visitors, while Matt Wieters went a perfect 4-for-4 in the home dugout. It was the first game this year to feature two players with four-hit games.Since the start of 2010, there's been only one other MLB game where a player for each team went a perfect 4-for-4 or better -- and it was between the Orioles and Yankees. On July 30, 2011, Vladimir Guerrero’s 4-for-4 was the bright spot for Baltimore as the Yankees -- led by Robinson Cano's 5-for-5 -- demolished them 17-3.
• In Yu Darvish's much-anticipated major league debut on Monday, he allowed five earned runs, four walks, hit a batter, threw one wild pitch -- and won the game because the Rangers spotted him eight runs.He's the first pitcher in the live-ball era to win his major league debut while giving up all of those stats (or worse). Even take away the wild pitch, and only one other hurler has hit five earned runs, four walks, one HBP and a win in his debut. That was the Blue Jays' Matt Williams on Aug. 2, 1983.
• Jeff Gray of the Twins earned the first one-pitch victory of the season on Wednesday. Gray threw his one and only pitch to Peter Bourjos to end the top of the seventh, after which the Twins took the lead in the bottom of the inning. The Twins, conveniently, recorded the last one-pitch win last season, by Matt Capps on Sept. 23.
• Speaking of pitching oddities, the Royals-Athletics game was finally called in the top of the eighth inning on Tuesday after its second rain delay. Aaron Crow, who had pitched the seventh for the Royals, was credited with his first career save. Technically, he does meet the save criteria set forth in the rule book, notably that of being the "finishing pitcher" in a game his team won.The last player to be credited with a save prior to the ninth inning was Tony Sipp of the Indians, who received one in a rain-shortened affair with Tampa Bay on July 23, 2010. That also remains Sipp's only career save.
• On Tuesday, Freddy Garcia of the Yankees famously threw five wild pitches to tie the single-game American League record for such a thing. He was also the first pitcher to throw five-plus wild pitches in an outing of less than five innings. But two of those wild pitches scored runs for Baltimore. Another run scored on an error. That made the Orioles the first team in two years to score four-plus runs with one or fewer RBI. (The one RBI they did get came on a home run.)For the Orioles, it was just the second time since moving to Baltimore that they scored four runs on one or zero RBI. The other was in their inaugural year: On June 27, 1954, they scored three times on errors by the Athletics before finally walking off on an RBI single in the bottom of the 11th.
• Oakland "walked off" in unusual fashion on Wednesday when Jonathan Broxton plunked Yoenis Cespedes and Jonny Gomes to force in the winning run in the bottom of the 12th. It was the first game to end with back-to-back hit batters since Sept. 2, 1966, when Stu Miller of the Orioles hit Al Weis and Tommie Agee of the White Sox in the bottom of the 11th. (I admit that Elias found this a lot quicker than I would have.) However, Gomes became the first Athletics batter to get hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in extra innings since at least 1947. (It had never happened in the Baseball Reference "play index" era.) It's also noteworthy that Oakland scored its two runs in the 12th without a base hit. The three runners ahead of Cespedes reached on two walks and an error.
• Before Friday, there had been 36 double-digit strikeout games by teams this week (including seven games where both teams did it) but not one by a single pitcher. Max Scherzer's 11-strikeout outing on Friday afternoon broke that string.
• In Wednesday's 17-8 eruption between the Giants and Rockies, there were four pitchers (Tim Lincecum, Jeremy Guthrie, Guillermo Mota, Jeremy Affeldt)who all gave up at least six hits and at least five runs. It's the first time that that has happened since July 17, 1998, when Seattle dropped an 18-5 score on the Royals at the Kingdome.(It is also very intriguing that, in that game, both teams posted a seven-run inning. Except I don't know of a good way to search line scores.)
  
  By the way, on their next two games on Thursday and Friday, the Giants promptly had two pitchers (Madison Bumgarner and Matt Cain)carry no-hit bids into the sixth inning. The only team to have bids in consecutive games last season was also the Giants. That happened on May 8 and 10 by Ryan Vogelsong and Lincecum.
• The Orioles and Blue Jays combined to hit seven home runs in Baltimore's 7-5 victory on Friday. All were solo shots. It's the first game with seven-plus home runs that were all solo since a July 20, 2010 game at Camden Yards between the Rays and Orioles.
• There's always one guy left out.In the 10-9 "pitchers’ duel" between the Twins and Angels on Thursday, 17 of the 18 starters recorded at least one base hit. Howard Kendrick was the lone collar, going 0-for-4 plus a walk.
  
  It's the first nine-inning game this season to have 17 different starters record a base hit. There were three games last season where all 18 did.
• Minnesota got a four-hit game from Denard Span and three-hit games from Joe Mauer, Josh Willingham and Danny Valencia. It's the first time the Twins have had four players with three hits, including at least one with four, since they dropped a 20-1 score on the White Sox on May 21, 2009.

Last year, You Can't Predict Baseball came up with bold predictions for the year. We had a lot of fun coming up with them, and then laughing at how hilariously wrong they were at the end of the year. This year, we're bringing these predictions to SweetSpot, along with explanations for some of them. Keep in mind, these predictions are supposed to be bold, but not insane -- even we know the Orioles aren't going to the playoffs in 2012.

Los Angeles Angels: Kendrys Morales stays healthy all year.

Houston Astros: Bud Norris is top five in K/9 in the NL. We figured something good had to happen to the Astros, right? Norris actually has a pretty nice career K/9.

Oakland Athletics: Yoenis Cespedes is their starting center fielder by Memorial Day.

Toronto Blue Jays: Brandon Morrow makes the jump to elite starting pitcher. He's struck out more than 10 batters per 9 innings two years running, though his ERAs have remained ugly. We think this is the year his results finally match the stuff, especially considering his declining walk rate.

Atlanta Braves: Julio Teheran has more wins than Tim Hudson.

Milwaukee Brewers: Rickie Weeks leads the team in home runs. He was fourth on the team last year, with 20. In front of him were Corey Hart with 26, Ryan Braun with 33, and Prince Fielder with 38. Fielder is gone, and for this prediction we'll assume Braun will miss a third of the year due to a suspension. It's not too bold to think Weeks could pass Hart in 2012.

St. Louis Cardinals: Carlos Beltran outproduces Albert Pujols from last year. Albert Pujols was great last year, but not quite best-player-of-his-generation Albert Pujols. If healthy, it's not absurd to think of Beltran outproducing Pujols' 5.1 WAR in 2011.

Chicago Cubs: Matt Garza isn't their best pitcher. It'll be Ryan Dempster, who had great peripherals but bad results last year.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Aaron Hill will be good again. He was great with them in limited time, and Arizona's park is quite hitter-friendly.

Los Angeles Dodgers: James Loney will be a top-three first baseman in the National League. Many thanks to Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness for somewhat alerting us to this one. We just decided to take it semi-absurdly far.

San Francisco Giants: Madison Bumgarner is their best pitcher. In terms of ERA, he already wasn't very far behind Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum, and his K/BB ratio eclipsed theirs by quite a bit.

Cleveland Indians: They'll have the best pitching in the American League Central. We're banking on Ubaldo Jimenez, making a major comeback to something closer to what he was in 2010, and the rest of the staff displaying the good that they did in 2011. We're also counting on the Tigers' starters not being very impressive behind Justin Verlander, which is bold but not quite insane, and the pitching of the White Sox, Twins and Royals not being able to keep up with Cleveland's.

Seattle Mariners: Jesus Montero catches 100-plus games. The Mariners probably aren't going to compete, so why not try and play him where he'll accrue the most value?

Miami Marlins: Despite all their new acquisitions and the hype, they still finish fourth in the NL East. When you think about it, this one isn't so crazy. If Josh Johnson isn't healthy and maybe even if he is their pitching still trails that of Philadelphia, Washington, and Atlanta; even with Heath Bell, we don't think their bullpen is as good, either. Their offense might be better than some of those teams', but the Marlins were quite a bit below league average offensively last year and we're not sure how much Jose Reyes is going to make up for that.

New York Mets: Mike Pelfrey is the worst starter in the NL. Pelfrey's been pretty terrible two of the past three years, and now they're moving the fences in at Citi Field. He was far better in his huge home stadium, but we're guessing with the moved-in walls he'll be significantly worse at Citi. Here at YCPB, we actually don't think the Mets are going to be quite as dire as many are saying, even if they do come in last place in the NL East - but Pelfrey won't be a bright spot.

Washington Nationals: Stephen Strasburg has a 17-strikeout game.

Baltimore Orioles: Matt Wieters is the best catcher in the AL. A lot of people are so obsessed with Wieters not matching the hype that they didn't notice he became a plus offensive performer last year, to go along with very good defense. His taking the next step isn't that bold as predictions go, especially if Joe Mauer has to move off catcher.

San Diego Padres: Luke Gregerson is a top-three closer in the NL.

Philadelphia Phillies: Cole Hamels is their best starter. And this isn't meant to be a slight to Roy Halladay or Cliff Lee, but considering their ages and the fact that Hamels is pretty darn good himself, plus a possible boost from a contract year...

Pittsburgh Pirates: Charlie Morton is their All-Star.

Texas Rangers: Yu Darvish isn't their best starter -- but he's still good. And we think he'll be pretty good, we just think Derek Holland will become more consistently good, or Matt Harrison will put up numbers like his 2011.

Tampa Bay Rays: James Shields will have no complete games. Predicting someone to have no complete games might not seem bold, but it is when it's a guy who was known as "Complete Game James" last season. Shields did have 11 complete games in 2011, an almost unheard-of number these days, but he had no complete games in 2009 or 2010.

Boston Red Sox: No one hits 30 home runs. This might seem crazy when you consider their great offensive numbers last year, but only one player on their team hit 30 home runs and it was Jacoby Ellsbury with 32.

Cincinnati Reds: Brandon Phillips is the best second baseman in the NL.

Colorado Rockies: Jamie Moyer will have the best HR/9 on the staff.

Kansas City Royals: They reach .500. While their pitching won't be great, their offense will take a big step forward this year. Combined with the rest of their division being the Tigers and some dumpster fires, it's not that difficult to see it happening.

Detroit Tigers: They score fewer runs than they did in 2011. Yes, that’s even with Fielder. It's not improbable that Jhonny Peralta, Alex Avila and Delmon Young regress quite a bit from their numbers with Detroit last year, and that Prince Fielder's production "only" makes up for the offensive loss of Victor Martinez in 2012. They'll still have a very good offense, though.

Minnesota Twins: Joe Mauer hits 15 home runs.

Chicago White Sox: Robin Ventura gets ejected more times than Ozzie Guillen. Look at the state of the White Sox. We'd get ejected too.

New York Yankees: Hiroki Kuroda leads the team in ERA.

You Can't Predict Baseball is an affiliate of the SweetSpot network.

Let's face it: Like it or not, money is the driving aspect of this great game. And the best player on the planet is Albert Pujols. Mr. Pujols, as you might have heard, has set a negotiating deadline of Feb. 16, 2011, and he's all done giving the Cardinals a hometown discount. According to FanGraphs.com, Pujols has "delivered" nearly $270 million in "value" while being paid only $89.5 million to date in his amazing career. That's a darned good return on investment.

Pujols is threatening to become the highest-paid player in baseball, and as a Yankees fan, I know more than a little bit about highly paid baseball players. Rumor has it that Pujols wants a multiyear deal for a lot of money -- maybe 10 years at $30 million a year. That's more than a lot of money. What team could possibly afford to pay Pujols that much money?

We're Yankees fans and we're not completely stupid, so maybe the better question is: What other teams could afford to pay Pujols that kind of money?

Let's give it some thought. Some of you may be old enough to remember the 10-year, $252 million contract that Alex Rodriguez signed with the Texas Rangers in 2001. History's judgment is that this contract crippled the Rangers -- that after signing A-Rod, the Rangers lacked the wherewithal to do anything else. If we do the math and figure that the Rangers' payroll was around $100 million in the early years of A-Rod's contract, that would mean that the Rangers had about 25 percent of their payroll committed to one player. Let's establish a rule of thumb and say that no team should devote more than 25 percent of its payroll to any single player since the 25 percent allocated to A-Rod was enough to stifle an organization. This is simple asset allocation theory with a baseball application. Quick math indicates that if Pujols is going to make $30 million a year, then only teams with a payroll in excess of $120 million a year should sign Pujols.

This is not to say that there will be some new owner, or lovestruck owner, who will ignore this basic business premise and decide that having Pujols on their team is a risk worth taking, even if it means allocating 40 percent of the organization's liquid resources toward one asset. Put nothing past the owners. How else could you explain Mike Hampton, Barry Zito, Alfonso Soriano, Jayson Werth, etc.? It only takes one. And the one owner I'm personally scared of is Tampa Bay Rays owner Stuart Sternberg. If he can rationalize 40-plus percent of his payroll to one player, look out!

What teams are we talking about?

There were only six teams with a 2010 Opening Day payroll of over $120 million: the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, Phillies, Mets and Tigers. I'll add the Angels to the list of teams that might sign Pujols, since the Angels' 2011 payroll will exceed $120 million, plus this team seems to be willing to spend money without reason. I'll add the White Sox to this list, since they play in Chicago and ought to be able to spend money like a big-market club. I'm tempted to add the Rangers to this list, only they have already signed Adrian Beltre and Josh Hamilton to big contracts this year, plus they already have one unhappy, highly paid infielder more than they know what to do with.

I'm going to scratch the Mets off the above list, because the only way Pujols is going to get millions out of the Mets is if he lost money investing in Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme. The Mets have Ike Davis at first, and he'd be an attractive trade target if the Mets were able to spend at will, but that's not the case. Shea goodbye.

I'm going to scratch the Tigers off the list because they have $20-plus million annually committed to Miguel Cabrera to play first base for them through the year 2015, plus $12-plus million annually committed to Victor Martinez to do something for them through the year 2014. Pujols might have the ability and desire to move back to the other side of the diamond and man third base again (he started 89 games at third base back in 2001-02). Putting Cabrera and Pujols together could be as great a 3-4 batting duo as baseball has ever seen, but the Tigers' existing commitments seem to rule out this pairing.

I'm going to scratch the Phillies off the above list, because they have upwards of $25 million committed annually to Ryan Howard to play first base for them through the year 2016. Also, they don't need a DH. Also, they don't want to admit (yet) that the Howard contract was probably a mistake.

I'm going to scratch the White Sox off the above list, because they probably did not belong on this list in the first place. Also, they have both Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko signed to huge long-term contracts. General manager Kenny Williams is unpredictable, so maybe he can Jedi mind-trick Pujols into moving back to the hot corner … but I doubt it.

I'm going to scratch the Yankees off the above list, because they have a $22-plus million annually long-term commitment to Mark Teixeira, plus a long list of aging players that will need to share the DH position until most of us are receiving Social Security. Not to mention, one of those aging players is A-Rod, who ripped up the balance of that $252 million contract only to get Hank Steinbrenner to panic and up that contract when no one else was within $100 million.

The Cubs stay on the list. They have committed $10 million this year to Carlos Pena to play first base, but that's a one-year commitment. The Cubs' salaries for Aramis Ramirez and Kosuke Fukudome come off the books in 2012. So, the Cubs will have both money to spend and the need for a first baseman when the 2011 season comes to an end. Not to mention their new ownership who might be very eager to make a splash.

The Angels stay on the list. Given the way that Moreno has reacted the last few years about the front-line free agents he didn't get, I can't see him going the extra yard to land Pujols. He spit the bit on Carl Crawford and pitched a fit about it. But just because I have my doubts doesn't mean we take them off the list. The team has $75 million committed to the 2012 roster, but that ignores many arb-eligible players due for nice raises, like Kendry Morales, Jered Weaver, Erick Aybar and Howie Kendrick. Adding in an estimated $25 million for those four guys puts the team's payroll at $100 million. Are the Angels prepared and able to afford a $150 million payroll? Ask Arte.

The Red Sox stay on the list. True, the Red Sox already have Adrian Gonzalez (assumption that he signs this spring) and Kevin Youkilis manning the corners for years to come. But come 2012, J.D. Drew and David Ortiz will be free agents. The Red Sox will need another big bat in the 2012 lineup, and they'll have some money to spend to acquire that bat. The team has shown an ability to surprise with the Carl Crawford contract, but keep in mind, the Red Sox already have over $101 million committed to the 2012 roster, and that doesn't include Gonzalez's pending deal and the escalating arbitration costs of Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz.

The Yankees go back on the list. No way the Yankees let Pujols go to the Red Sox without a fight. OK, maybe the Yankees don't need Pujols, maybe there's no place for him to play. But the Yankees would pay Pujols $30 million a season to replace John Sterling on their radio broadcasts before they'd let him go to the Red Sox. Brian Cashman could whisper: "Albert, we will beat every other offer, but you need to be willing to move to third base four days a week, with a day a week at first with another day or two at DH to keep you fresh."

If Albert Pujols doesn't re-sign with the Cardinals, then he's going to become something else for the Yankees and Red Sox to fight over, even if there's no obvious "need" at either club for his services. I'm still of the belief that he remains in St. Louis the balance of his career. Any other place would be a huge upset. But, if Pujols is truly going to test the free-agent market, prepare for an epic showdown of the league's financial super powers.

Jason Rosenberg is the founder and lead writer of "It's About The Money," a SweetSpot Network member. IIATMS can be found on Facebook and on Twitter. Larry Behrendt contributed to this article and can be followed on Twitter.

Interesting notion from Fungoes:

Now that Lance Berkman is in the fold as the Cardinals’ putative third outfielder, among the several questions that the acquisition has prompted is this: “Will he play left field or right field?” As far as we see it, it’s the second false choice in as many weeks; Big Puma can and should play both.

Not at once, of course. Berkman, who by all accounts is an inferior fielder to Matt Holliday, should play in right or left conditionally. That is, if the conditions of the game dictate that more athleticism is required in right, Berkman should play left. If left requires more running, he should man right.

The precedent comes from not less than the best player in the game’s history, Babe Ruth. Ruth, the majority of whose career 172 Wins Above Replacement undoubtedly came without the help of his glove, played most of his career alternating between left and right fields on a per-series basis, based on the ballpark.

It's funny, just a week or so ago Craig Wright wrote about Ruth's odd sort of platooning. I've known for a while that Ruth played a great deal of both right and left fields, but figured he was switching fields depending on area; that is, he played left field in small left fields (Fenway Park, for example) and right field in small right fields (Yankee Stadium, for one).

But that wasn't it. As Craig reported in a recent edition of A Page from Baseball's Past, Ruth shifted between positions depending on which was the "sun field." In an era of day baseball (exclusively, during Ruth's career), the sun was a real problem. There were flip-down sunglasses, but the Babe didn't want to bother with them and he hated looking into the sun. So his managers -- first Miller Huggins, and later Bob Shawkey and Joe McCarthy -- simply kept him out of the sun field.

Did it work? Well, the Yankees sure won a lot of games.

It could probably work in St. Louis, too.

But I think it won't happen because (among other reasons) it's simply too unorthodox, even for Tony La Russa. When Miller Huggins did it, the move was not manager-driven, but player-driven ... and the player was the greatest player anyone had ever seen. Within barely defined limits, the Yankees would do whatever it took to keep Ruth happy.

There aren't any such concerns here. Holliday's presumably happy to play right field, Berkman's presumably happy to play left field, and probably the only way to really annoy them would be to ask them to switch spots every few games.

It's fun to think about, and they probably could do it, thus saving the Cardinals six or eight runs next season.

But they won't.

A lot of people are wondering if the Cardinals are daft for thinking Lance Berkman can be their every-day left fielder. Bernie Miklasz doesn't go that far -- Miklasz generally tends toward temperance -- but he does have some legitimate concerns:

* Obviously, Berkman's health and viability are a source of legitimate concern. He'll be 35 on Feb. 10. He's had knee trouble. He's been on the disabled list four times in his career. The physical issues were a significant factor in Berkman's major drop in production in 2010. Berkman told Post-Dispatch baseball writer Joe Strauss that he's lost 13 pounds this offseason, so obviously he's made a commitment to enhanced conditioning.

* I respect Berkman for wanting to play the field, and wanting to be a National League player, instead of sitting in the rocking chair as a DH in the American League.

* That said, it's fair and natural to wonder if he can handle a corner outfield spot. The Cardinals apparently will use Berkman in LF. He hasn't played any outfield at all since 2007, and hasn't been in LF since 2006...Legitimate concerns, all. There's no reason to think Berkman will be average in left field, and adequate might be a stretch.

This is a relatively low-risk deal, though: one year, $8 million. If Berkman's healthy and doesn't embarrass himself in left field, he'll be worth -- well, probably not twice that much money, but more than $10 million, anyway. If he's not healthy, or embarrasses himself in left field ... Well, again, it's only $8 million. And if he can't play left field but he's hitting, the Cardinals can trade him to an American League club.

Remember all the talk about teams shifting away from offense and toward defense? Well, it's long been a truism in baseball that if you can hit, you can play. Berkman's proving that, just as Pat Burrell did with the Giants, just as Adam Dunn did with the Nationals. You might think that 14 American League teams would be enough for all those guys. But apparently they're not.

Meanwhile, with Berkman aboard, (relatively) young Allen Craig would seem to be moderately expendable, and a lot of teams could do worse than working out a deal and handing him a first-base (or DH job).

There's nothing like an old ballplayer ripping young ballplayers. Bernie Miklasz:

The Cardinals' late-season collapse and three consecutive losses to the Cubs clearly put retired first baseman Jack Clark in a grumpy mood. Speaking on 101 ESPN radio before Thursday's Padres-Cardinals game, the big fella ripped the Cardinals for their lethargic play.

"I'm really tired of watching the effort, that's for sure," Clark said. "I'm not seeing a lack of (effort) I'm seeing a pathetic effort. These Cards fans deserve much better. That's just awful. They won't admit it, that they're quitters. If you can't put a better effort out there on the field, take 'em all out, back up the truck, ship 'em all out and get somebody in here that wants to play baseball."

Jack "The Ripper" was just heating up: "We've got one team here (San Diego) going for the title and we've got our team going for the toilet. They've got poopy in their pants," and he went on to make another off-color remark about what's "in their britches."

Clark recalled his one season (1988) in New York and evoked the memory of the late Yankees owner, George Steinbrenner. "When George Steinbrenner was alive, may he rest in peace, he would never let this (happen). As an owner he would be down in that clubhouse telling them to get their head out of you know where, start playing baseball, and it better start right away, or some heads are going to roll. And they won't have to worry about putting those heads where the grass doesn't grow."

Poopy?

OK, then.

Whether you agree or disagree, this is funny stuff. Clark doesn't hold back and I respect that. And I'm sure a lot of fans would generally agree with his sentiments.

Yes, this is all quite entertaining.

For the sake of our younger readers, though, it's probably worth mentioning that in 1988 when Jack Clark played for the Yankees, George Steinbrenner's brilliant leadership resulted in a fifth-place finish. That was the Yankees' seventh straight season without reaching the postseason; the streak would eventually reach 12 seasons.

Meanwhile, the St. Louis Cardinals have reached the postseason in seven of the last 10 seasons.

Soon, it will be seven of 11. But if you had a choice between the management team of the Yankees in the 1980s or the management team of the Cardinals in the Aughts, which would you choose?

The Cardinals are having a rough season. But if Albert Pujols' next contract doesn't bust the budget, they'll be back, soon.

Dipping into the ye olde mailbagge ...

Noticed on your SweetSpot blog you said no one can match Pujols and Holliday in your argument for Cardinal supremecy over the Reds. I disagree with Pujols - Holliday part of the argument Joey Votto certainly has been every bit as good as Pujols this season at the plate. But Scott Rolen has also nearly matched Holliday(.383 to .384). Aside from that When comparing the rest of the roster the Reds have been a better offensive club by wOBA. Check it out on Fangraphs. I exported the current leaders and filtered to the Cards and the Reds. If you want to make an argument that the Cardinals will catch the Reds use the Carpenter/Wainright reason. And they have a better scoring margin than the Reds. If the Reds don't make the playoffs it won't be because they couldn't match Pujols and Holliday. It will be because their starting pitching faltered.

Thanks.
Scott (Oklahoma City)

Fair points, Scott. Regarding Pujols/Holliday vs. Votto/Rolen -- and you know I think the world of Scott Rolen, will happily support his Hall of Fame candidacy someday -- I will note that 1) the Pujols/Holliday combination has the higher WAR (10.6 vs. 10.2) and 2) if I'd asked you four months ago which pair you would rather have, I'm pretty sure you'd have taken the Cardinals' dynamic duo. And considering that all four of these guys are veterans, four months shouldn't really be enough to change our minds (absent injuries, of course).

But that's not really your point, is it? Your point -- and again, it's a good one -- is that it's nonsensical to look at pairs of players as if they're the only ones who matter. In real life -- as opposed to mere Sophistry -- all the players matter, because all the players play. And the Reds currently rank first in the National League in slugging percentage, second in on-base percentage, and (pay attention now, class) first in runs.

Dynamic duos, indeed.

How have the Reds done this? How have they gone from 11th in scoring last year to first this year? Obviously, a lot of it's Votto and Rolen (and since it's been a while, major kudos to Walt Jocketty for picking up Scott Rolen, a move that none of us really understood at the time). Some of it's Brandon Phillips. Some of it's the Cincinnati catchers; last year they finished with the second-worst OPS in the league, and this year they've got the second-best OPS in the league. And it's also Cincinnati's bench. Looking at their top five non-starters (including backup catcher Ryan Hanigan), all have been above-average hitters this season.

I'm just not sure that all of these things are sustainable. I'm not sure that we can expect an offense that performed so miserably just one year ago to continue performing so brilliantly this year. I think the true Cincinnati offense isn't quite this good, and that we'll see a small tick downward in September. Whether the Cardinals are good enough and lucky enough to take advantage ... Well, that's something nobody can know. Which is why we watch.

Considering they're in a death struggle for a playoff spot, the Cardinals' continuing search for a third baseman is pretty interesting. Joe Strauss:

A protracted skid by regular third baseman Felipe Lopez caused manager Tony La Russa to briefly modify his stance regarding Allen Craig's fitness for third base.

On the same day the Cardinals moved opening day third baseman David Freese to the 60-day disabled list, Craig made his first major-league start at the position in Sunday's series finale against the Chicago Cubs.

La Russa made clear it wasn't his preference but it was necessary in order to spell the slumping Lopez.

"I don't think this is really doing (Craig) a justice," La Russa said. "It's one of those moves you make because you have to make it, not because you want to make it. I don't hesitate to make it because I really think this guy is a gamer, a talented gamer. ... It's not really good for our club if he has to do it."

--snip--

The Cardinals have meanwhile intensified a search for help at the position. General manager John Mozeliak has tried to lower expectations for a trade, but the club retains interest in Detroit Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge, an above-average defender who recently returned from a fractured hand.

A pending free agent, Inge tied a career high last year with 27 home runs and set a personal best with 84 RBIs. He entered Sunday hitting .256 with seven home runs and 43 RBIs.

The Tigers are expected to put Inge through waivers this week.

Allen Craig can hit. I mean, really hit. He's played 203 games in Triple-A and has a .322/.380/.551 line. Someday the Cardinals are going to trade him and he'll become a first baseman or a DH. There is a wide chasm between Craig's hitting talents and Felipe Lopez's.

Still, I don't see La Russa putting up with Craig's defense for long. Granted, theoretically speaking the difference between Craig and Lopez -- or for that matter, Craig and Inge, or Lopez and Inge -- isn't more than a game or so over the rest of the season. But psychology comes into play, and I'm sure the Cardinals' front office doesn't want to deal with La Russa's psyche if Craig and/or Lopez are throwing baseballs into the stands two or three times per week.

Of course, Inge isn't much of a hitter. But it's easier for a manager to deal with a .315 on-base percentage than a .943 fielding percentage. Personally, I'd like to see La Russa make do with the materials at hand. Isn't that what Hall of Fame managers are supposed to do?

Suddenly the hot rumor is Roy Oswalt and the Cardinals, and our friend Craig Calcaterra was one of the first (if not the first) with the news (or rather, the rumor). Craig:

Of course, the big issue everyone has been talking about today has been Oswalt's desire that his 2012 option be picked up. That's $16 million, and that ain't hay. My source tells me, however, that Oswalt would be willing to work with the Cardinals to make the option more palatable, possibly in terms of deferring some money. The sides aren't quite that far yet.

As for that option: my and everyone else's sense on this as the news spread about it today was that wanting the option exercised would effectively scuttle any deal. If Oswalt is willing to be flexible on it, however, it wouldn't be daunting. And let's not forget: Oswalt bargained hard for a no-trade clause, and one of the things he gave up to get the security that he'd stay in Houston was a guaranteed pay check in 2012. If he's going to lose in-season home he's come to love in Houston, it's not unreasonable to expect that someone is going to have to pay for it.

So that's the state of play: The Cardinals are hot for Oswalt, and Oswalt likes the idea. Now let's sit back and see if these kids can work something out.

Can the Cardinals afford Oswalt's $16 million salary next season and spend whatever it takes to keep Albert Pujols?

I don't know.

I do know that a rotation including Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright and Roy Oswalt -- is going to win a lot of games, almost regardless of who's playing first base.

If management is pessimistic about locking up Pujols after this season, spending $18 million on Oswalt next year -- his $16 million salary, plus a $2 million buyout -- might be fairly easy to justify. Exercising that 2012 option might even be justifiable, because if you're not going to score a ton of runs you've got to save them. Plus, they might as well make a big World Series push now, while they still have their first baseman.

If management is optimistic about locking up Pujols, spending $18 million (or perhaps $36 million) might not be justifiable, simply because the revenue's not there (the Cardinals already sell a lot of tickets and their market limits their ability to raise ticket prices).

But Optimistic and Pessimistic aren't the same as Zero and One. There's a lot of room in the middle, which is what makes this thing tricky. Nobody said it was supposed to be easy.

From Fungoes:

After enjoying some All-Star Game inaction, Chris Carpenter pitched like one of the league’s best on Thursday. The Jekyll-and-Hyde routine continued, as "good Carp" — that is, circa 2005-06 — emerged as the big Cardinal righty struck out only a modest share of the 27 batters he faced (six) and, more importantly, walked none ... Oddly enough, Carpenter didn’t miss a bat to a non-pitcher, though, until the sixth inning, when Matt Kemp went down on strikes, two of which were swinging. But one particular stat revealed that maybe it wasn’t the vintage Carpenter: He allowed 10 fly balls. So we’re reluctant to claim that he has regained his old form — the 2010 Carpenter is still very much a hybrid.

Even leaving aside the usual variability that's inherent in pitching statistics, Carpenter's had a roller-coaster of a career.

There are the Blue Jay Years (1997-2002), in which Carpenter went 49-50 with a 4.83 ERA.

There are the Cardinal Years (2004-2010), in which he's gone 78-27 with a 2.95 ERA.

In between, there was 2003, when Carpenter didn't pitch because of a torn labrum.

And in the midst of the Cardinal Years, Carpenter missed most of 2007 and '08 with various elbow issues (including Tommy John surgery).

Before 2007, Carpenter's numbers with St. Louis included a 3.10 ERA and a 4.1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Since 2008, he's got a 2.62 ERA (2.24 in 2009, 3.16 in 2010) and a 3.4 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Carpenter's slightly lower (though still excellent) strikeout-to-walk ratio in these past two seasons hasn't hurt him because he's been exceptionally stingy with the home runs.

That's not really right, though. This season he's given up a perfectly average number of home runs: 15 in 134 innings. Last season, though, he was practically supernatural, giving up only seven homers in 193 innings. That ratio is not sustainable. Not even for a crazy extreme ground-ball pitcher. Which Carpenter isn't.

Carpenter was lucky (or something) last year. Only 3.4 percent of the fly balls he gave up turned into home runs. Even with that mark, his percentage as a Cardinal, entering this season, was exactly twice that: 6.8 percent. This season he's at 8.6 percent (which, as these things go, is not significantly different from 6.8 percent).

So, yeah. Carpenter's probably given up an extra home run or three this season, but I think this is basically who he is. He might not be a great pitcher. But he's very, very, very good. And when you've got a pitcher like Carpenter and a pitcher like Adam Wainwright, you don't need a whole lot else.

Bernie Miklasz on the Cardinals' newest (and oldest) starting pitcher:

Presuming that a tentative agreement is finalized, Jeff Suppan will be returning to St. Louis to pitch for the Cardinals.

He comes back several years older and with a battered, black-and-blue ERA.

--snip--

And if pitching coach Dave Duncan can fix Suppan this time around, then it’s probably time to send Dunc to the Gulf Coast to see if there’s anything he can do about that oil spill.

Suppan is a beloved figure in St. Louis, as he should be. He’s a great guy who had three good seasons (2004-2006) for the Cardinals; this team wouldn’t have won two NL Pennants and the ‘06 World Series without him. Suppan’s resolute performance in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS — his dogged ability to make pitches and hold the NY Mets off — was unforgettable.

And that was 2006; this is 2010.

Bernie goes on to recite the horrors of 2010 (so far), most especially Suppan's 7.84 ERA and $12.5 million salary. So why do the Cardinals want him? Because they need a starter and they don't trust rookie P.J. Walters or rookie Adam Ottavino. It's tempting to argue that La Russa and Duncan just flat-out don't trust rookies, except Jaime Garcia is a pretty powerful counter-argument. If they think Jeff Suppan is better than Walters ... well, I'm tempted to give them the benefit of the doubt.

But Jeff Suppan's ERA since leaving the Cardinals is 5.08. If Suppan really is good enough to stick in the rotation and help the Cardinals reach the playoffs, I think Dave Duncan should give his Hall of Fame induction speech the same day Tony La Russa does.

Remember when the Cardinals were overwhelming favorites to win another division title? Well, they're not so overwhelming anymore. Not with Brad Penny down for a few weeks and Kyle Lohse down for ... well, nobody seems to know but this doesn't sound good. Joe Strauss:

Cardinals starting pitcher Kyle Lohse is suffering from a rare condition that either requires surgery or necessitates a permanent role change, say sources familiar with the diagnosis given Lohse on Wednesday by an Anaheim, Calif., specialist.

Hand and wrist specialist Dr. Steven S. Shin met with Lohse for less than an hour at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic about 90 minutes north of San Diego. Shin found Lohse to be suffering from exertional compartment syndrome, a condition in which the sheath covering a muscle in the pitcher's forearm fails to allow it to expand.

--snip--

The Cardinals appear increasingly likely to examine trade and free agent options should Lohse indeed be lost for a significant portion of the season. Rookie P.J. Walters is scheduled to make this afternoon's start against the Padres in place of Brad Penny, who is on the disabled list with a strained muscle in his upper back.

Manager Tony La Russa insisted before Wednesday night's game that no decision had been made on who will inherit Saturday's start against the Chicago Cubs. Adam Ottavino could be promoted from Class AAA Memphis to make his major-league debut, or Blake Hawksworth or Kyle McClellan could be assigned a spot start.

None of these guys are jokes. Before this season, Hawksworth, Ottavino and Walters were ranked by Baseball America as the Cardinals' 8th-, 11th-, and 23rd-best prospects. But Hawksworth doesn't have a reliable third pitch, Ottavino's got a 4.62 ERA in 35 Triple-A starts, and Walters hits 90 on the speed gun only after a couple of bowls of Wheaties.*

* One thing I don't know: Why isn't Lance Lynn a candidate, too? He entered this season just behind Jaime Garcia on the prospects list, and has a 3.31 ERA in nine starts with Memphis.)

Which isn't to suggest they can't pitch. But it's hard to win with two Triple-A starters in your rotation. One, sure; lots of teams have a questionable No. 5 starter. But if Brad Penny doesn't come back strong in June, the Cardinals are likely to get into the Roy Oswalt / Cliff Lee sweepstakes, and hard. Unfortunately, the Cardinals don't have a great deal of talent in their farm system, so putting together an attractive package might be problematic. They probably just have to hope Penny's healthy and cobble together starts as necessary.

Leave it to Posnanski to come up with the best thing anyone's written about Tony La Russa and his 20 innings of managing:

I must admit: I do get a kick out of overmanaging. Sure, mostly it's like a kick to the sternum... but there's something utterly human about overmanaging that I can appreciate. A baseball manager has so little he can CONTROL on a baseball diamond. He can't design a play -- hit and runs and wheel plays don't satisfy. He can't make halftime adjustments. He can't substitute players in-and-out or change up his lines. You don't think about this much -- or I don't -- but perhaps the biggest thing is that a baseball manager can't even put his best player in position to make the big play. In basketball, you get LeBron to take the last-second shot. In football, you have Tom Brady throw to Wes Welker on fourth down. In baseball, sure, you can put in your closer. But you can't just send Albert Pujols up there with the winning run on third base. And even if you DO happen to be at Pujols place in the lineup, they will walk him.

It's just a whole different type of game, and I think overmanaging really is a natural reaction to the frustrations of the job. Tony La Russa has been managing baseball games for more than 30 years -- he has managed almost 5,000 games in his career. And even now, he HAS to use the most pinch-hitters, and he HAS to change around his lineup, and he HAS to use a lot of relievers, and he HAS to move runners, and he HAS to sacrifice. It's his nature. He has to attack the game before it attacks him. Why? I think it's because he knows the limitations of the job. And he can't help but rage against them.

--snip--

TOP OF THE 19TH INNING: Because Lopez is on a pitch count, he moves to third base... and Mather comes in to pitch. It is clear that at this point, La Russa is just flailing against the wind. Mather walks the leadoff man. There's a sacrifice hit. La Russa orders an intentional walk of David Wright, which seemed pretty bold considering the guy on the mound is not a pitcher. La Russa simply cannot help himself. Mather then hits Jason Bay. He then allows a sac fly to Jeff Francoeur. La Russa then orders ANOTHER intentional walk, this time of Henry Blanco. It's an overmanaging thing of beauty. And this time it works -- Mather gets out the next batter, pitcher Raul Valdes, to end the inning.

BOTTOM OF THE 19TH INNING: And, in this over-managing masterpiece, here's Mona Lisa's smile... Ludwick leads off with a walk against Francisco Rodriguez (yes, the Mets still had their closer available). This brings up Pujols. There's no way that La Russa can overmanage this situation... so he overmanages this situation. He calls for the hit and run. Yes, the hit and run, with Albert Pujols at the plate. Now, remember, Albert Pujols is the best hitter in baseball. La Russa has the pitcher's spot coming up next. It's the bottom of the 19th inning, and he has no pitchers available, and he has a utility man pitching. The hit and run. To the very end, the man can't help himself.

Of course Pujols misses the pitch. Of course Ludwick is thrown out stealing -- though it is close, and Ludwick makes a lousy slide. Of course Pujols promptly bangs a double and later comes around to score what would have been the winning run rather than the tying run. Of course.

20TH INNING: Mather gives up another run. And the Cardinals get runners on first and second... but lose when Ludwick grounds out to end the game.

When it ended, there were many ready to rip Tony La Russa... and that's fair. But to me that game was vintage La Russa. He has never apologized for the overwhelming way he manages baseball games. He never will. He tries to win, all-out, all the time. Hit and run. Pull the pitcher. Send in a pinch-hitter. When you manage baseball games that way, like a heavyweight boxer throwing haymakers, you win some and you lose some, and you make a lot of people angry. But one thing is for sure: You never go to sleep wishing you had tried harder.

Look, I think La Russa's arrogant. Most men at the top of their fields are. I believe that he tries too hard to prove how smart he is. Most managers do. You know what, though? I'll bet his batting average is no worse than the typical manager, and probably a little better. (Love to see somebody check someday.)

I know -- thanks to Chris Jaffe book -- that throughout La Russa's career, he's done an excellent job of getting his hitters into the optimal spots in the lineup.

I know that Bill James once wrote this: "There is one indispensable quality of a baseball manager: The manager must be able to command the respect of his players. This is absolute; everything else is negotiable." How many managers have been more respected than La Russa by their players?

Nobody's perfect. John McGraw was a martinet and (when he could get away with it) an enthusiastic cheater. Joe McCarthy lost the pennant in 1940 because he didn't know when Frank Crosetti was finished. Earl Weaver let Tony Muser bat nearly 600 times for the Orioles. Bobby Cox ... Well, I can't think of anything he's done wrong, except for losing all those postseason series. And not beating some sense into John Rocker.

Something else I know: If he wants to, La Russa is going to win more games than McGraw. I don't know exactly what that means, except I'm pretty sure that La Russa's faults are more than balanced by everything else.

You heard about Albert Pujols hitting two home runs Monday. Yawn. Just another day at the office. Did you hear about Chris Carpenter giving up two home runs? After allowing only seven in 193 innings last year? Worry not, St. Louisans; Carpenter had an excuse. Tom Groeschen:

Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter complained afterward that the baseballs were not prepared properly. Major League Baseball rule 3.01 (c) states that before every game, an umpire must properly rub down the required number of balls to remove the gloss of newness.

For more than 70 years, the same substance has been applied -- Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud.

Carpenter said the balls at Great American Ball Park are too clean and slippery.

“We had this issue last year and again today,” Carpenter said. “There was absolutely no question. I got balls that there was nothing wrong with.”

Meaning, too slick.

“[Either] they make an adjustment or look into it, (or) ultimately, somebody’s going to get hurt,” Carpenter said. “Something’s going to get away, or whatever, and end up getting somebody in the head. I hope that doesn’t happen.”

For the record, Rule 3.01 (c) does not require the umpires to rub down the baseballs. Here's what it says: "The umpire shall inspect the baseballs and ensure they are regulation baseballs and that they are properly rubbed so that the gloss is removed. The umpire shall be the sole judge of the fitness of the balls to be used in the game."

For many years, the umpires did indeed apply the Lena Blackburne Mud; usually the junior man in the crew got the assignment. At some point, though -- and yes, it's probably a union thing -- the umpires began handing off this dirty chore to team employees. Now some kid has to spend an hour before every game, rubbing up a few dozen shiny baseballs for the convenience of the pitchers. But whether it's an umpire or a kid, it's not a difficult job and anyway it's still the umpires' responsibility to make sure the gloss is taken off the balls.

If this is really a problem in Cincinnati, it should be exceptionally easy to fix. Then again, if it was a problem last season -- and Monday the St. Louis TV broadcasters said it was -- why hasn't it already been fixed? The only thing I can figure is that somebody with the Reds has told the umpires that it's not the club's job to rub the balls up, and the umpires have said it's not their job, either.

That's the most interesting explanation, anyway. The truth is probably quite mundane.*

* What's more, I can't confirm that umpires don't still rub up the baseballs. That was just a tossed-off comment by one of those St. Louis broadcasters that rang true.

OK, so here's a real trade ... and here's Joe Strauss on what it means for the Cardinals' roster:

The Cardinals have traded infielder Julio Lugo to the Baltimore Orioles for a player to be named or cash considerations, pending approval by the Commissioner’s Office.

Manager Tony La Russa and Lugo confirmed the deal. La Russa felt confident enough about it to have already notified outfield candidates Joe Mather, Allen Craig and Nick Stavinoha that they all have made the Cardinals’ season-opening roster.

--snip--

The deal creates an avenue for the Cardinals to retain all three contenders for what was previously believed to be two outfield spots. Craig and Mather have experience at third base while Lopez is considered an option at second base, third and shortstop.

I admire the Cardinals for 1) somehow finding room on their roster for three extra outfielders, and 2) not holding a grudge.

Let me explain.

Nick Stanvinoha turns 28 in a few weeks. He's gotten a couple of shots with the Cardinals, and after 152 plate appearances, he's got a .215/.232/.313 line. A lot of teams would have dumped in the 4-A bucket by now. But not the Cardinals.

Joe Mather was awful last year. The last player cut in spring training, he wound up batting .176 in 39 Triple-A games but missed most of the season on the DL, thanks to food poisoning and a couple of wrist surgeries. In 59 at-bats this spring, he's hitting .220 with one home run. He turns 28 this season, too. A lot of teams would have seen enough already. But not the Cardinals.

Compared to those guys, Allen Craig is a baby; he'll be 26 in July. He thrived last season in his first exposure to Triple-A, and is good enough to start for a lot of teams. But not the Cardinals, who are profoundly set at both left field and first base (Craig's best positions).

A lot of teams, when filling out their roster with spare players, would look for some real balance. But not the Cardinals. Stavinoha, Mather, and Craig are all right-handed hitters who don't throw (or field) particularly well.

I'll tell you what, though: When those enemy managers bring in those left-handed relief pitchers in the eighth inning, Tony La Russa will be ready.