This Week's Reading And No Surprises

Leviticus 20-26.


The season's unfolding has been worse than even I forecasted.

So far this year, in 25 games played, the Cardinals have scored:
0 runs 3 times
1 run 7 times (including the last 3 games)
2 runs 3 times
3 runs 2 times
4 runs 2 times
5 runs 1 time
6 runs 3 times
7 runs 2 times
8 runs 1 time
9 runs 0 times
10 runs 1 time

They've scored 10 runs this week in 7 games.

I believe this is all due to the absence of Carlos Beltran.  The presence of Beltran for 2 years made opposing teams pitch to this lineup differently.

This year there is really no one to fear.  And by that I mean no one with any power to hit home runs consistently.  So pitchers can throw strikes without fear of severe consequences.

Which isn't bad if you have pitching, speed and good defense to counter your anemic offense.  The 1980s teams had only one power hitter in the lineup and did just fine, because they had all three of these attributes.

This year's team is loaded with pitching, but so lacking in the latter two categories that I fear this is a .500, or worse, team.

It reminds of the late '70s Cardinals again.  Which is not a compliment.