What happened to the bats?

[CrazyEights]

Lohse had a good game, but the offence and bullpen let us down. Kyle Mcclellan looked good for an inning. I think he might end up being a nice starter for us, and he's a hometown boy. The only run came from Yadier. Now I know we have some good hitters, but they needed to step up for an Opening Day win. Hopefully they can make up for it tonight.

[love_that_reefer]

They scored five runs in 3 innings the day before. The bats are there.

[CrazyEights]

They scored five runs in 3 innings the day before. The bats are there.

Francis' control helped out on Monday, but you're right the bats are there. Pujols, Glaus, Duncan, and Ankiel are all very good hitters. This team can hit, and they will. One would think that they could hit off of Kip "17 game lsoer" Wells of all people.

[CrazyEights]

Here is a story on McClellan

McClellan makes a memorable debut
By Derrick Goold
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
04/02/2008


There was a moment during Kyle McClellan's arduous return to baseball when he did not know if he could trust his elbow to throw a curveball. Now he finds it difficult to believe where his pitches are taking him.

McClellan made his major-league debut Tuesday night in a less-than-ideal situation that he made into a more than memorable moment.

The Florissant native relieved starter Kyle Lohse to start the sixth inning with the Cardinals leading 1-0. The three batters coming up for Colorado that inning each had at least 25 homers and 110 RBIs last season. He retired them in order, striking out Brad Hawpe with the ninth pitch of the at-bat for the final out.

On Sunday, manager Tony La Russa said he would prefer to find a nice, late inning with a comfy four- or five-run lead to have McClellan "get his feet wet." A day later, La Russa described McClellan as an understudy for his set-up righthanders. On Tuesday, he was a set-up righthander.

Add to the list of his sudden promotions this spring in a month he calls unbelievable.

McClellan's first major-league inning came without him throwing a pitch in Class AAA, where he expected to start this season. And it came less than two years after he lost another season to injury. It was a curve that did it. His elbow ligament blew like a tire when he tried to throw one back in 2005 during a Class A game.

The righthander, a Hazelwood West grad, had two years of rehab following ligament replacement surgery and a second elbow operation to transpose his ulnar nerve. Through his rehab, he worked out with Albert Pujols and others in the St. Louis area. Baseball may have been all around him, but baseball also seemed distant.

When he finally did take the mound and get clearance to throw his curve again, McClellan hesitated.

He said he didn't trust his elbow.

After a few tries, trust came and eventually so did a new role. Groomed as a starter since rejecting a scholarship offer to Mizzou to accept the Cardinals' draft offer in 2002, McClellan switched to reliever for last season. The work he did to rehab his elbow also strengthened his arm. Where once he was throwing in the high 80s, as he took to his new role and his repaired elbow, McClellan's fastball hit 94 mph and his slider cruised in the 80s. Consistently.

Working as a set-up reliever in Class A and Class AA last season, McClelland had a 1.81 ERA over 59 2/3 innings. He struck out 54.

It took him a couple of batters to get his first strikeout as a Cardinal.

The batter who welcomed McClellan to the majors was Colorado's Matt Holliday, who drove in 137 runs last season and finished second in the league's MVP voting. He grounded a 2-2 pitch to third. Next up was Garrett Atkins, who had 111 RBIs and hit .301. He fell behind 0-2 and eventually flew out to center. Then McClellan faced Hawpe.

The lefthanded hitting Rockies outfielder drove in 116 runs last season and hit 29 home runs. McClellan's first three pitches were balls. Hawpe fouled off the next five pitches and swung over pitch No. 9, an 81 mph slider.

dgoold@post-dispatch.com

[CrazyEights]

Here is a story on McClellan

McClellan makes a memorable debut
By Derrick Goold
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
04/02/2008


There was a moment during Kyle McClellan's arduous return to baseball when he did not know if he could trust his elbow to throw a curveball. Now he finds it difficult to believe where his pitches are taking him.

McClellan made his major-league debut Tuesday night in a less-than-ideal situation that he made into a more than memorable moment.

The Florissant native relieved starter Kyle Lohse to start the sixth inning with the Cardinals leading 1-0. The three batters coming up for Colorado that inning each had at least 25 homers and 110 RBIs last season. He retired them in order, striking out Brad Hawpe with the ninth pitch of the at-bat for the final out.

On Sunday, manager Tony La Russa said he would prefer to find a nice, late inning with a comfy four- or five-run lead to have McClellan "get his feet wet." A day later, La Russa described McClellan as an understudy for his set-up righthanders. On Tuesday, he was a set-up righthander.

Add to the list of his sudden promotions this spring in a month he calls unbelievable.

McClellan's first major-league inning came without him throwing a pitch in Class AAA, where he expected to start this season. And it came less than two years after he lost another season to injury. It was a curve that did it. His elbow ligament blew like a tire when he tried to throw one back in 2005 during a Class A game.

The righthander, a Hazelwood West grad, had two years of rehab following ligament replacement surgery and a second elbow operation to transpose his ulnar nerve. Through his rehab, he worked out with Albert Pujols and others in the St. Louis area. Baseball may have been all around him, but baseball also seemed distant.

When he finally did take the mound and get clearance to throw his curve again, McClellan hesitated.

He said he didn't trust his elbow.

After a few tries, trust came and eventually so did a new role. Groomed as a starter since rejecting a scholarship offer to Mizzou to accept the Cardinals' draft offer in 2002, McClellan switched to reliever for last season. The work he did to rehab his elbow also strengthened his arm. Where once he was throwing in the high 80s, as he took to his new role and his repaired elbow, McClellan's fastball hit 94 mph and his slider cruised in the 80s. Consistently.

Working as a set-up reliever in Class A and Class AA last season, McClelland had a 1.81 ERA over 59 2/3 innings. He struck out 54.

It took him a couple of batters to get his first strikeout as a Cardinal.

The batter who welcomed McClellan to the majors was Colorado's Matt Holliday, who drove in 137 runs last season and finished second in the league's MVP voting. He grounded a 2-2 pitch to third. Next up was Garrett Atkins, who had 111 RBIs and hit .301. He fell behind 0-2 and eventually flew out to center. Then McClellan faced Hawpe.

The lefthanded hitting Rockies outfielder drove in 116 runs last season and hit 29 home runs. McClellan's first three pitches were balls. Hawpe fouled off the next five pitches and swung over pitch No. 9, an 81 mph slider.

dgoold@post-dispatch.com