St. Louis Report Card

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Welcome to today's Report Card, today we're going to focus on the Cardinals Manager and Starting Pitching Staff
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Ok let's start with Tony La Russa

In my opinion which is going to be bashed by one reader, I feel that La Russa is one of the best managers in the game today. This Cardinals club was told in the beginning of the year that they didn't have a chance since the Astros and the Cubs were still in their division and what does this team do they go and after one half of the season their in first place in the National League Central, 7 games up on the Cubs. Hell they have the best record in the National League, and there is only one person who I believe can take credit for this an dthat has to be Tony La Russa.
Grade A-
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Let's Start with Chris Carpenter

Chris in my opinion is a great pitcher, he showed that when he was with the Toronto Blue Jays. Carpenter is 9-4 with a 3.87 era. He's pitched 111.2 innings in his 17 starts. He averages 6.5 innings each time he pitches which is great for any National League club to have the feeling that you can keep a pitcher in the game this long instead of hitting for him.
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Now let's move on to Matt Morris

This season Matt is 10-6 with a 4.20 era. He's pitched 130.2 innings in his 19 starts. This is an incredible average of 6.85 innings per start. Matt Morris has helped the Cardinals by striking out 79, while only giving up 5 unearned runs. He's thrown a complete game and his WHIP is 1.22. When the Cardinals win the National League Central the key reason would be their Ace Matt Morris
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Moving on to former Sox Bum Jeff Suppan.

As we know I've never been a fan of Jeff Suppan because of how horriably he pitched when he was with the Sox. But he proved once again that he pitches much better in the National League than he does in the American League. He's 8-5 with a 3.33 era. He's pitched 105.1 innings in his 17 starts for an average of 6.18 innings per outing. Jeff Suppan has a few flaws this season, he's walked 28 while only striking out 65, which is an average of 2.32 strikeouts per walk which is extremely low. Opponents are batting a .257 and his WHIP is a 1.24. For the Cardinals to continue their success they need to have Suppan turn it up a notch.
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Moving on to one disapointment for the Cardinals this year would have to be Woody Williams.

Woody Williams this year is 6-6 with a 4.09 ERA. He only averages 6.06 innings per start. He only averages 1.73 strike outs per each walk, he's only pitched 103.1 innings while having a WHIP of 1.40. He really had a tough start when he went 0-2 in April, 2-3 in May, but since then he's 4-1 and his ERA has been 2.81 in June and 2.19 in July. Wood Williams is going to have a very strong second half.
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On to Jason Marquis

Jason Marquis is 9-4 with a 3.88 ERA. He averages 6.24 innings per start. He averages 2.09 strikeouts to walks. His WHIP is a 1.43, but his opponents are batting a red hot .280. He's allowed 117 hits in only 106.2 innings pitched. He's only allowed 2 unearned runs, while strikeing out 73.
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On to the Cardinals Closer; Jason Isringhausen

Jason has bene a great closer for the Cardinals, he has 21 saves, a record of 3-2 while pitching in 40 games. His era is 2.76, WHIP of 1.11 and an OBA of .200. He averages 2.3 strikeouts per walk. And he's only allowed one unearned run. For the Cardinals to continue their success they need to keep Isringhausen 100%, suppan to take it up a notch, for Williams to continue the red hot streak he's on.
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The Cardinals pitching staff gets a B+
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Tomorrow the Red Sox Hitting and Fielding report
~Chaggy