Cards vs. Brewers 8/17 Post-Game

The Cardinals lost tonight to the Brewers, with the final score of 3-2. It appears that the Brandon Phillips incident did not boost the team's fire as much as most thought (including myself). After losing their last series to a very sub-par Cubs team, the Cards continued their losing streak tonight. They seem to be back to their classic, under-performing, 2010 form.

THE GOOD: Albert Pujols and his 31st HR, Pujols remains a threat for the triple-crown. Also, the wild pitch by the Brewer's John Axford got Brendan Ryan home for the Card's 2nd run of the night. And because there was not much else on the "good" side tonight, I will give some recognition to Jaime Garcia. He was able to get himself out of some jams tonight. Garcia, in 6 IP, gave up 5 H and 0 ER. Garcia was hurt by errors, but was not perfect as he gave up a HR to Casey McGehee.

THE BAD: The Cardinals' bats. Brendan Ryan was the only player to get two hits tonight. The team was 0-4 with runners in scoring position, and there were 5 LOB. Once again, the Cards can't cash in with runners on base; this has been a reoccuring story all season.

THE UGLY: Felipe Lopez. It is clear that Lopez has been in over his head at 3rd base lately. His 2 errors tonight resulted in runs scored. Brandon Inge is looking like a better option everyday. Inge is injury prone, but does anyone really care at this point? Take a chance, it can't be worse than what we have at 3rd base now; and if he gets hurt, then at least we tried. In a division race that is this close, every game counts in September; and Lopez is a liability that we can not afford in September. I'm sure that batting slumps, injures, and a strggling back-end of the rotation will contribute to some losses in September; there is no room for more losses as a result of bone-headed errors on defense.