As the Cardinals limp home from a rough road trip, I would prefer to focus on the enshrinement of Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols in the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame this weekend. However, there are still games to be played and 3 of them over the weekend will be against the Chicago White Sox who will hopefully give St. Louis a glimpse at what might be their not-so-distant future.
Pitching Matchups
(NOTE: As of this writing, the Chicago White Sox have not officially announced their starters, but these pitchers are projected based on recent rotation)
Friday night, September 11 – Matthew Liberatore (LHP 5-14, 5.57 ERA, 144 SO) vs Erick Fedde (RHP, 8-8, 4.00 ERA)
Saturday night, September 12 – Kyle Leahy (RHP 10-4, 3.41 ERA, 124 SO) vs Anthony Kay (LHP, 9-8, 4.47 ERA)
Sunday afternoon, September 13 – Michael McGreevy (RHP 6-9, 3.92 ERA, 106 SO) vs Sean Burke (RHP, 8-7, 3.58 ERA)
Former Cardinal Erick Fedde has won 2 of his last 3 starts including September 4 when he threw 5 innings against the Minnesota Twins allowing just 3 hits and no earned runs. Anthony Kay has lost 2 of his last 3 starts including the most recent on September 5 against the Twins where he threw 4 1/3 innings allowing 6 hits and 5 earned runs. Sean Burke is 1-1 over his last three starts as he took the loss in his most recent start on September 8 against the Pirates allowing 8 hits and 7 earned runs.
Who are the Chicago White Sox players to watch?
Colson Montgomery: Leads the team with 31 home runs, 83 RBI’s with an average of .209
Munetaka Murakami: Also a home run threat with 30 home runs, 62 RBI’s and an average of .208
Miguel Vargas: Vargas also has 30 home runs plus 79 RBI’s and an average of .250
Andrew Benintendi: Has 14 home runs, 70 RBI’s and an average of .244
Randal Grichuk: Former Cardinal has 12 home runs, 34 RBI’s and an average of .286
The Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals look like two organizations going in completely different directions on paper, but an optimistic person would also point to the quick turnaround of the White Sox as a possible near-future glimpse of what the Cardinals could be. This season, though, these teams are in different worlds. The Chicago White Sox sit atop the American League Central with a record of 75-69. The Cardinals record isn’t all that different as they’re 72-75 but they’re near the cellar of the National League Central only a couple games above the lowly Reds and they’re 6.5 games out of the final Wild Card which might as well be 20.
Let’s be realistic and stop concerning ourselves with Wild Card hopes. The St. Louis Cardinals expect to get JJ Wetherholt back in the lineup this weekend vs the White Sox. Perhaps he’ll catch fire offensively to give himself a better chance at winning some Rookie of the Year votes. The real highlight of the weekend will be the enshrinement of Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina and Bill Sherdel in the Cardinals Hall of Fame. That ceremony will begin at 5pm Saturday, September 12 and everyone with a game ticket can enter the stadium early to witness it. Let’s hope the young Cardinals on the current and future rosters will soak in that moment and see what they can aspire to.
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
- Fewer ads
- Create community posts
- Comment on articles, community posts
- Rec comments, community posts
- New, improved notifications system!