Miklasz: Edmonds in a Cubs uniform? The thought is mind-boggling

Bernie, Miklasz, Saddam Hussein, Jim Edmonds and Will Leitch...it’s a damn qualudfecta!

And if this tryout lasts, we’ll see Edmonds at Busch Stadium on July 4, when the Cubs open a three-game series in St. Louis. What will Cardinals fans do?

I asked my pal Will Leitch, the editor of deadspin.com and a passionate but reasonable lifelong Cardinals fan.

“I don’t think Jim understands what this means,” Leitch said. “By signing with the Cubs, he may be thinking he’s getting back at Cardinals management. But the fans who loved him — we’re the ones who will feel this. The fan base is forever.”

So let’s move ahead to July 4 ...

“Can we really give Edmonds a standing ovation when he’s wearing a Cubs uniform? Can we do really do that? I’m not sure we can,” Leitch said. “Any other uniform, sure. It’s easy. But that uniform?

“And if we do give him a standing ovation, he’d better strike out and sit down.”

Cardinals Notes: La Russa requests scoring change

The Cardinals on Friday submitted a formal request to the commissioner’s office requesting an infield single during Thursday’s loss be re-examined as a possible error against Ryan. A change would absolve starting pitcher Kyle Lohse of four earned runs.

“I’ve never done that before,” La Russa said of the formal request. “But that’s four earned runs. You can have a tough time overcoming that as a starting pitcher, especially early in the season when you’re trying to get it going.”

Or is it that Mozeliak has Lohse on his struggling fantasy team?

SportTicker: Cardinals’ Molina, La Russa ejected

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina and manager Tony La Russa were ejected in the fifth inning of Monday’s contest against the Milwaukee Brewers. Both were ejected by plate umpire Paul Schrieber for arguing balls and strikes.

Upon getting ejected, Molina took off his catching gear - his shin guards and chest protector - and left it, along with his glove, at home plate.

Isringhausen Out as Closer

Izzy - you’ve been great.  Just not this season.

Franklin and Springer will split time in the 9th for now, where they can be no worse than the current situation.

Q + W Jeff Luhnow

Pete Kozma wasn’t considered to be a “sexy” pick at the time he was drafted. A lot of different media outlets said that while he had solid tools across the board, other then power, he possessed no real standout tool. Yet so far Pete has been played extremely well. Are you surprised at how well Pete’s performed early?

If we wanted a “sexy” pick, we would read Baseball America, read Keith Law’s articles, and pick based on their opinions. But we don’t, and neither do any other clubs, because while the journalists are doing a good job of expressing their opinions based on the information they have, we have to live and die with our selections and the future of the organization is impacted by these picks. If the journalist is wrong, he just admits it (maybe) and keeps writing about the next guy or the next draft. They will still sell papers or get eyeballs. If we are wrong, we’ve missed a huge opportunity to make our organization better, and nobody wants to do that.

Pete’s performance is not a surprise to me or to our scouts. I’m happy he is doing well and I sure hope and expect he will keep it up. I know he will have his rough patches as he goes through our system, everybody except Albert does. By the way, a player with average tools across the board who plays a premium position is incredibly valuable! When we as scouts say “average”, we mean average at the major league level. Theoretically, he would be in the top 15 shortstops at the major league level if that were true. Those players get paid well because they are so valuable.

STL Post-Dispatch: Redbirds let a win flutter away

Rather than rationalize his fourth loss, Isringhausen suggested a meeting today with manager Tony La Russa, pitching coach Dave Duncan and general manager John Mozeliak to find at least a temporary alternative to using him in the ninth inning.

“I’m just getting sick of embarrassing myself and letting my team down,” Isringhausen said.

Friday’s collapse came with two outs and none on in the ninth inning. Consecutive base hits and a walk loaded the bases before Weeks sent a single to left that in turn sent Isringhausen from the field with his head down and twitching his glove.
...
“I remember in ‘06, I had an explanation; I just wasn’t telling anybody. Now, I don’t have an explanation,” he said. “I’m just pitching like a second grader.”
...
La Russa, Duncan and Isringhausen insist there is no physical problem.
...
“They can’t keep sending me out there when I’m pitching the way I’m pitching. We’re going to have to figure out some kind of remedy. I’m sure that remedy will give me some time off from that role and we’ll get somebody in who can do a better job right now,” [Isringhausen said].

Isringhausen blows another one

Train of thought going through La Russa’s mind in the middle of the ninth.

“Hmm. One-run lead; who should I go with? Hey! How about the guy with the ERA of 6.60 and 4 blown saves already? That sounds good!”

MLB: Mulder sidelined by rotator cuff strain

Holy escalating death-fetishist!

Currently in the Minor Leagues on a rehab assignment, Mark Mulder was diagnosed with a mild rotator cuff strain of his left shoulder on Wednesday morning. The Cardinals left-hander had been scheduled to pitch again Saturday against Triple-A Tucson, but he is now set to rest for the next week to 10 days before a re-evaluation.

After experiencing shoulder fatigue following his rehab start in Triple-A Memphis on Monday, Mulder returned to St. Louis for a follow-up visit with team physician Dr. George Paletta, who performed shoulder surgery on Mulder in both September of 2006 and 2007.

“I think it’s just Mother Nature saying slow down some,” manager Tony La Russa said Wednesday. “He should get all [the time] that he needs. We don’t need him to get here. We need him to get here and pitch like he can. He should get all the time he needs to make that.”

STL Today: Mulder struggles again at Memphis

This whole phenomenon could be a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a government agenda - or not.

“Obviously it wasn’t an outing where he could just breeze through it. I feel that at times it lacked effort — or intensity may be the right word,” Mozeliak said. “There’s still some work to be done.”

He wants to believe.

The Big Lead: An Interview with Buzz Bissinger

It takes a really big #### to admit when he’s almost wrong…

Q: The internet is agog over the HBO special. When you walked off the stage, did you have any idea of how big of a deal this would become? Did your cell phone blow up, and your inbox get clogged? And what was the overall reaction from friends and colleagues you spoke with? And what’s your reaction to the masses who think that you and Costas - longtime friends - were in cahoots against Will Leitch?

The initial reaction was quite positive, more than quite positive from those I immediately spoke to–fellow panelists and members of HBO with the exception of Costas (Bob was friendly but muted in his response to my performance. He is one of the most thoughtful people I know and I think he was mulling that I had gone way too far.) What I began to realize by the next afternoon is this: What the fellow panelists thought (at least the ones I spoke with) were not remotely a representative group. When I came home from New York, my wife simply told me that I had been over the top and undignified. Then I started reading emails sent to me. The majority were predictably vindictive — ########, ###########, #########, windbag, ugly, stupid, etc. But what struck me far more is that many of the emails were smart, not laced with personal invective, and made cogent points about sports blogs and the Internet. It was also abundantly clear that I had disappointed people who had been fans of my work. That hurt terribly. They were also right.

Thanks to Dodger Thoughts.

N.Y. Sun: Kahrl: Barry Bonds Treatment Of Pujols Helping Cards

And so did Pujols scoring from second on a grounder to 2B tonight!

Even so, Pujols has this reputation as an RBI guy, and it’s been earned, however flexible the label itself might have to be on a year-to-year basis — whether he’s been among the best or not, he’s always been above average. Indeed, Pujols’s reputation is so important to the Cardinals that manager Tony La Russa has gone out of his way to maximize the value of Pujols’s at-bats with men on base by increasing the number of opportunities that Pujols might get hitting in the third slot of the lineup, doing so by batting his pitcher eighth and having a position player — usually shortstop Cesar Izturis — bat ninth. The math gets a bit involved, but it’s a solid proposition that having an essentially powerless position player, such as Izturis, swap places with the pitcher should theoretically help you score a few extra runs. Since this is what La Russa’s doing, who’s geeking who?

If you look at Pujols’s non-teammate-dependent stats, he’s been remarkably consistent in terms of average and power, in both his counting stats and his rate stats. The far more important news for fans in St. Louis is that their franchise slugger has been surrounded with an extended group of power sources that have helped the team move past the decline and subsequent disposal of former critical components such as Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen. There’s enough in the track records of Rick Ankiel, Chris Duncan, and Eric Ludwick as power sources to make the gambit of walking Pujols intentionally a bad bet, and that’s without getting into whether or not former All-Star Troy Glaus can warm up to his new league. The Cardinals’ offense ranks second in the NL in on-base percentage, and second in Major League Baseball in BP’s total offensive metric, Equivalent Average. With Pujols on base and nevertheless still contributing the power for which he’s known, it’s not implausible to suggest they’ll be a better offensive ballclub than they were last year.

Chicago Tribune: Star-crossed evening for Soriano (RR)

Cubs manager Lou Piniella was left without answers on Friday when trying to explain the puzzling pitching of Rich Hill and the clueless defensive play of Alfonso Soriano.

While Soriano was able to make up for his defensive lapses with a game-tying, two-run home run in the ninth inning, Hill’s ineptitude forced Piniella to remove him in the first inning and use almost his entire bullpen in a 5-3, 11-inning loss to St. Louis.

“Hill can’t start like this in the big leagues,” Piniella said. “C’mon. Every time he pitches, it’s an adventure. He’s doing his best, but we have no bullpen. I don’t know what the solution is, but I can’t start him any more until this thing gets taken care of.”
...
“I’ve got no explanation for those left field plays [by Soriano],” Piniella said. “I really don’t.”
...
Piniella said he may insert Sean Marshall into the rotation next week, with Scott Eyre almost ready to return from his minor league rehab stint.

Cards’ Barton is a Space Case

Left unprotected in the Rule 5 draft, Barton fell to the Cardinals, manna in the form of a 6-foot-3, 190-pound outfielder with pop, speed and, best of all, brains. He has settled in as their fifth outfielder, though he has played plenty in manager Tony La Russa’s mix-and-match scheme. He’s batting .324, scored four runs and driven in four in 37 at-bats.

And though teams coveted Barton for his tools, he sees something else paramount to his early success.

“My strongest asset is mental,” Barton said. “I work on being patient and always being ready, and you have to be in this role.

Yahoo! Passan: Count on it

Wainwright, La Russa and other political PAP.

Adam Wainwright just had thrown 126 pitches, and his right arm did not fall off. It hung unencumbered, Wainwright eschewing standard postgame procedure where starting pitchers mummify their throwing arms in ice packs. He prefers going au natural with his appendage, figuring ice constricts the blood flow that promotes healing.

“I do have exceptions,” Wainwright said, walking toward the St. Louis Cardinals’ trainer’s room. “I am going to ice today.”

...Damn the numbers, La Russa seemed to be saying, and he confirmed as much after the game.

“We don’t get caught up in that pitch-count stuff,” he said. “I think it’s overplayed. It’s a measure of conditioning. You watch the game sometimes, a guy is worn out after 70 or 80. Some days, it’ll get up around 130, 140. But this is April, and you don’t want to.”

...All subjective measures, which suffice for La Russa. Pitch-count students prefer objective analyses, and those emphasize that pitch counts can help prevent injuries. Little League instituted pitch-count rules last season. And Baseball Prospectus’ latest incarnation of Pitcher Abuse Points, also known as PAP, tries to improve upon an initial theory that rang somewhat hollow in trying to link the number of pitches thrown with future arm trouble and ineffectiveness.

Top 7 :: Best Long Term Baseball Contracts

Chan Ho Park is still upset he didn’t make the list of Worst Long Term Baseball Contracts

This week, showing that we’re not all about negativity, here are the best long-term contracts ever signed in terms of the value that they returned.  For the purposes of the list, it does not count when a guy is just coming into the league, they would have to sign a contract afterwards, so Prince Fielder’s rookie contract can’t be on here even though it’s about as good of a deal as you can have.  The same goes for fliers taken on a guy - Chris Carpenter’s deal with the Cardinals would top that list.  These are long-term deals that actually ended up working out well, and they are kind of hard to find.....

5. Manny Ramirez
When he turned down Cleveland’s deal and signed with Boston for 8 years and $160 million, it seemed like an insane amount of money, until two things happened—A-Rod signing for almost $100 million more, and Manny being…a guy who was worth it.  He has finished in the top 20 of MVP every year including the top 10 each year but one (plus he would be the MVP so far this season), has two titles, and a World Series MVP.  He also has 260 homers and a batting average well over .300.  It’s amazing that even in the last year of such a massive deal that he is still giving them value.

News-Leader: Cardinals turn analytical for draft decisions

As Dave Duncan has one look at this...and heads to Shannon’s for his draft decisions.

Then there is Sig Mejdal, whose role is much more complex than the compact title that appears next to his name in the media guide: senior quantitative analyst.

He holds bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering and aeronautical engineering from the University of California-Davis. He also earned master’s degrees in human factors engineering and industrial and systems engineering (emphasis on mathematical modeling) from San Jose State University.

The Cardinals brought in Mark Johnson for that role in 2004, but his departure opened the door for Mejdal, whose hiring in March 2006, in effect, ramped up Luhnow’s push for computer-driven analysis that would compliment the traditional analysis provided by scouts.

In layman’s terms, Mejdal uses computer-based models to project the talent of amateur players available in upcoming drafts.

“You can’t control the outcome in baseball, but you can control the process. And I feel very good about the process that we have,” Luhnow said. “Really, if we do that and we play this game over, over and over again, eventually we’re going to end up with a better pile of players as opposed to someone who doesn’t do it that way.”

Hall of Very Good:  Bruce, Goose…Lee Smith?!?

Right now, Trevor Hoffman is the all-time saves leader. Truth is, he was the first one to 500 and every time he nails down another…it gets mentioned on SportsCenter. But before Hoffman was the all-time leader...Smith was.

For 13 years.

Oh…and his 478 saves dwarves the 310 and 300 that recent Hall inductees Goose Gossage and Bruce Sutter notched.

STL Today: Pujols admits his patience is wearing thin

Brewers reliever Salomon Torres paid Pujols the ultimate compliment when he walked the Cardinals’ No. 3 hitter on four pitches with the bases loaded in an 8-6 game.

Two innings later, Pujols couldn’t take it anymore.

After leading in the count 3-0 against Guillermo Mota, Pujols took a strike, then swung at two low pitches to strike out for only the seventh time this season. “I felt I didn’t want to walk, and I took myself out of the strike zone to swing at that pitch,” Pujols said. “The 3-0 pitch was a little low. But I tried to push too much. I should’ve taken my walk. It’s something you learn. You press. It’s the way the game goes.”

...Manager Tony La Russa played down the topic before Tuesday’s game, “especially when we’re six games over .500. If he’s scoring runs, he’s helping us win games.”

Hitting .352 does not help when he is rarely challenged in run-producing situations. “I’m really seeing the ball good. I’ve really been feeling good at the plate,” he said. “I thought last year, when I was pressing at the plate too much the first two months, really helped me out in my career.”

Me bold, me laugh.

AP: [Pujols plays 2B,] Kapler singles in winner as Brewers top Cards in 12

Slugger Albert Pujols wound up playing second base for the first time in his big league career.

Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen (1-1) walked Gabe Gross with one out. Gross then easily stole second, with Pujols covering the bag.
...
Pujols began the game at first base, and shifted over in the bottom of the ninth after shortstop Cesar Izturis left because of a bruised right forearm. The Cardinals were carrying 13 pitchers and were short-handed, so Aaron Miles took over at short, catcher Jason LaRue moved to first and Yadier Molina came in to catch.

Country Genius: Cobb’s Player of the Day: Rick Bosetti

Ricky Cobb breaks down the career of ‘70s whiz kid Rick Bosetti:

The one factoid everybody seems to know about Rick Bosetti is that he liked to urinate on the field. Perhaps it’s an urban legend, but you will hardly ever find any extensive comment on him that doesn’t gleefully remind you this dude was regularly watering grass and turf across North America. Some stories even say he did this during the games, concealing the dirty deed with his glove. I’ve also seen several sources that indicate his career ambition was to empty his bladder on every MLB playing surface ... Wrigley Field was apparently tops on his hit list. He played in this cathedral only once: September 5, 1977. I shudder to think what happened in left field that afternoon.

Country Genius: Cobb’s Random Player of the Day: Terry Hughes

Ricky Cobb examines the brief career of forgotten Cubs phenom Terry Hughes.

With Jon Matlack, John Mayberry, Ted Simmons, Bobby Grich, Vida Blue, Dave Kingman, Don Baylor and others on the board in the 1967 draft the Cubs took this guy. Yes, I’m being a little unfair. Blue, Kingman, and Baylor didn’t go until the second round. Of course, the Cubs blew that pick too by taking Jimmy McMath, Arithmetic Boy! McMath got only two career hits himself, both as an 18-year-old, and never again sniffed the majors. Two picks, three base hits. Thank God Jay Mariotti wasn’t around back then.”

AP: Earthquake awakens Giants manager—on road

Imagine the confusion of San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy, awakened in his hotel room by a Midwestern earthquake early Friday.

“I had to think whether I was in San Francisco or on the road,” Bochy said before the Giants opened a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals. “I don’t know if you ever would have thought we’d leave San Francisco and have an earthquake.”

A 5.2 magnitude quake, believed to have involved an extension of the New Madrid Fault in the Missouri Bootheel, struck before dawn.
...
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, whose home is in northern California, slept through the earthquake. He didn’t feel any of the aftershocks, one of which had a magnitude of 4.6, either.

“I know a lot of people did, but I didn’t,” La Russa said. “Nope.”

MLB.com: Lincecum, Bowker star in Giants’ win

John Bowker continued his outstanding start and Tim Lincecum pitched six strong innings as the San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-4, on Sunday to split their four-game series.

Bowker became the first San Francisco Giant to homer in his first two games, slamming a two-run shot during a five-run rally in the fourth inning against Joel Pineiro, who was making his season debut.

Bowker drove in four runs on the day, adding a single and sacrifice fly as the Giants won their fourth in six games.
...
Lincecum (2-0) became only the second Giants starter to earn a victory, joining Kevin Correia. He allowed two runs on six hits over six innings, walking one and striking out 11, one off his career high and the third time he’s struck out 10 or more in a game.

MLB.com: Cardinals get last blow in slugfest

No-hit through six, down 5-0 through six, win 8-7 in 10.

Chris Duncan’s two-out single in the top of the 10th inning gave St. Louis a wild 8-7 win over the Giants at AT&T Park on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals rallied from a 5-0 deficit, then let a 7-5 lead get away in the bottom of the ninth before finally finishing things off.

Through six innings, the Cardinals not only trailed by five, but they had been held hitless by Matt Cain. But Albert Pujols’ double ended Cain’s chance at history, and Adam Kennedy and Rico Washington hit RBI singles to get the Cardinals on the board. Duncan hit a solo homer and Rick Ankiel a two-run shot in the eighth, and Ryan Ludwick hit a go-ahead jack in the ninth.

Great fangraph, too.

Sportsline: Miller: Gibson’s 1.12 ERA one of baseball’s greatest feats, mysteries

Including a fascinating study done by baseball historian...Dusty Baker.

“A 1.12 ERA ... that’s not one bad start,” Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker says. “That’s just unbelievable. One thing you knew, when he was on the mound that day, your batting average was going to take a beating.

“And equally as devastating, as soon as you gave up two runs as a pitcher, it was game (over). You almost had to pitch a shutout to beat him.

“And what’s so amazing were the hitters he was facing. That era probably had more Hall of Famers per capita than any other. Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Billy Williams, Joe Morgan, Pete Rose ... and guys like Joe Torre and Jimmy Wynn.”

MLB: Pujols, Backe quarrel during Batting Practice

And, oddly, at the same time in the Phillie bullpen...Brad Lidge was seen twitchin’ n’ blinkin’ like Gerry Cooney encountering a jab.

Pujols and Backe exchanged words as the Astros exited the field during batting practice prior to the series finale at Minute Maid Park. Pujols stopped Backe as the two crossed paths near first base, and, according to Backe, expressed his dissatisfaction that Backe “kept pressing on” about an incident that happened during Tuesday’s game.

“[I was] coming off the field and he approached me,” Backe said. “I don’t know. It’s apparent that we don’t like each other. That’s OK. There’s plenty of people I don’t like in this game. It doesn’t matter. It’s baseball. It’s the way it goes. The competition between he and I just escalated and it’s OK. It’s no big deal. This is what makes it fun.”

...The bad blood between Backe and Pujols may go back several years. According to a source close to the team, Pujols took issue with the premature jubilation spilling over in the Astros’ dugout during Game 5 of the NLCS. Pujols won the game for the Cardinals with a three-run homer off Brad Lidge and later commented that Backe was “already popping the champagne” before the Astros had sealed the win.

AP: Scott Spiezio pleads guilty to DUI, gets 3 years probation

Scott Spiezio pleaded guilty Monday to misdemeanor drunken driving and hit-and-run charges stemming from a December car crash in Orange County… Spiezio was ordered to serve three years probation, undergo a three-month alcohol program, attend two Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and complete 80 hours of community service.
...
“The penalty… is fair, and permits Scott to move ahead with his career,” Spiezio’s attorney, Paul S. Meyer, said in a statement. “Scott appreciates the opportunity to demonstrate his good faith and his commitment to a successful season.”

Yahoo!: Passan - Cardinals fans take flight

St. Louis Cardinals fans love to tell anyone who will listen how they’re the smartest in baseball, and on Wednesday night they may have proven it.

They knew better than to show up and watch this team.

Oh, the Cardinals won, an 8-3 romp over the National League champion Colorado Rockies, and that was well and good if not for the huge pockets of empty seats at the new Busch Stadium. For the first time in 165 games, and since the stadium opened in 2006, the Cardinals didn’t sell out. They were nearly 8,000 heads shy of capacity, a rather damning indictment seeing as the season is two days old.
...
“There’s been a lot of change,” Isringhausen said, “but change is good. The guys that are gone, some wanted to be gone. We’ve got a bunch of young energy now. We’ve got guys who haven’t been in the big leagues before, and it’s fun to watch them succeed… We’re not throwing out the team we threw out a few years ago when we won 100 games. Everybody realizes that.”

True enough, though the Cardinals seem stuck in that abyss of mediocrity that swallows so many teams. New GM John Mozeliak sees enough in the cupboard not to clear it out completely, and so Pujols delays the inevitable Tommy John surgery that will keep him out for a year to play with a team that will acquaint itself with mediocrity only under the most fortuitous of circumstances.

The Cardinals’ self-awareness in this respect isn’t nearly as keen as the fans’. The Gameday magazine sold at the stadium features an unfortunately tight photograph that lets you see every pore on La Russa’s proboscis, complemented by the headline: The Face of Change.

Pitching change after pitching change after pitching change, they surely meant.

Dugout Central: Ehrke: Could Ozzie Smith Have Played in Today’s Game?

(quickly thumbs through Backflip Magazine looking for latest advancements in contemporary flipology, comes up short)...Uhhh, dunno.

So what would Ozzie Smith do today? He would have a hard time keeping a job. This isn’t to say that Smith wasn’t a great player or that he doesn’t deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.

The reason Ozzie Smith enjoyed a long career is because he was a tremendously talented fielder who was given ample time to develop into an effective hitter. Although it took Smith years to hone his hitting skills, he played at a time when teams expected shortstops to generate far less offense.

There’s a point where a player, no matter how talented in the field, becomes such an offensive burden that he loses his job. That’s why there are no .100 hitting gold glove shortstops.

Early in his career Smith was a horrible batter, especially his second through fourth seasons in San Diego. But he kept his job because of his fielding proficiency. However, the level of tolerance has changed. With so much more offense expected from shortstops, most teams wouldn’t be patient enough to suffer through Smith’s early struggles.

Rocky Mountain News: Rockies get another shot at Lohse

After the started-but-postponed Monday game, the Rockies and Cards try again Tuesday with a stellar Opening Day matchup of, umm, Kip Wells versus Kyle Lohse.

Rain forced postponement of the Rockies’ scheduled opener against St. Louis on Monday afternoon at Busch Stadium. The game was rescheduled for tonight, forcing the clubs to scramble for starting pitchers.

The Cardinals picked Lohse, who had been scheduled to pitch a simulated game today against St. Louis’ affiliate in the Double-A Texas League.

Lohse is behind the other Cardinals pitchers because he was unemployed three weeks ago.
...
Lohse said he “is ready to go” and said it is “weird” for him to get the start. Lohse cut off further questions, citing a policy of not talking to reporters on the day before starts.

Roger Clemens followed a similar policy during his career, which included 354 wins and seven Cy Young Awards. Lohse is 63-74 with a 4.82 ERA lifetime and had a monumental collapse against the Rockies in last season’s National League Division Series.