Mid-way through spring training, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa named veteran lefthander Donovan Osborne as the Redbirds' Opening Day starter.
On May 6, Osborne was the starting pitcher for the Cardinals 27th game of the '99 season.
His pitching line?
Four innings pitched, seven hits, four earned runs, and his third loss of the year, as the Cardinals lost to the Pirates, 13-3.
As a result of the loss, the Cardinals 1999 record stands at 15 wins and 12 losses, leaving them in second place, two games behind the NL Central-leading Houston Astros.
But Osborne's lackluster May 6 performance was blamed, in part, on shoulder stiffness...a problem that resulted in his placement on the disabled list.
And so, after exactly one-sixth of the regular season has elapsed, the Redbirds' search for a number one starting pitcher continues...a search that began in earnest when Andy Benes signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks, when Alan Benes had two surgeries on his ailing right shoulder, when Todd Stottlemyre signed with the Diamondbacks, and when Matt Morris's ailing elbow necessitated Tommy John-type repairs.
A calculator, paper-and-pencil, or even a slide rule tells you that one-sixth of 162 is exactly 27.
And there are six months the baseball regular season.
So, after 27 games of the '99 season, it's a good time to look at the Cardinals record and stats.
Starting with, naturally, the starting pitching.
Beginning with Osborne, the pitcher who stated in spring training that, if healthy, he was looking forward to being the team's number one starter.
Donnie's numbers tell the tale: ERA over five; batters hitting nearly .300 against his pitches, ten walks and 29 hits in 44+ innings.
For Osborne's sake, if he's not hurting...then his time left as a big leaguer may be short.
And the Cardinals hold the option on the last year of Osborne's contract, w
As for that number one starter...can you say Kent Bottenfield?
Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan certain can...he extolled his virtues in March of '99.
With an ERA under three and a 4-1 W-L record, Bottenfield is making Cardinals fans forget about his mediocre seasons spent toiling for the Chicago Cubs.
But it remains to be seen whether Bottenfield is up to the task of facing the Randy Johnsons, the John Smoltzes, and the Curt Schillings of the National League.
The only other Cardinal starter with an ERA under four is none other than Darren Oliver, who, along with Fernando Tatis, is making last summer's trade with Texas (Oliver and Fernando Tatis for Royce Clayton and Todd Stottlemyre) look as one-sided as...well, not that one sided...not yet.
But the lefthanded Oliver, in five starts, has averaged more than seven innings per start, and has been surprisingly effective with his Greg Mathews-finesse-type repertoire (fastball-changeup).
Says here that Darren Oliver could turn out to be a decent number three big league starter in '99.
But with the Cardinals pitching staff, Oliver may be asked to do more.
The strapping righthander, Jose Jimenez, had a 3-0 record in September of 1998...and has opened the '99 season in the starting rotation.
Jimenez, a 26-year-old rookie who skipped the AAA level on his way to the major leagues, has been inconsistent in his five starts...posting a 2-2 record.
In spring training, Cardinals farm director Mike Jorgensen noted that Jimenez was a late-bloomer physically, growing from 6-2 /170 lbs to 6-5/225+ lbs after he reached the age of 20.
But opposing batters are hitting .300 against Jimenez, and as the righthander makes his way through June and July of this season, he will test the baseball truism that things are tougher the second time around the league.
For the first one-sixth of the '99 season, lefthander Kent Mercker has attempted to fill the role of the team's number five starter.
Opposition batters are hitting .351 against Mercker, who, in 21+ innings, has allowed more than two baserunners per inning.
Not surprisingly, Mercker's ERA (seven +) is among the league's worst--and in the Cardinals 27th game of '99, he was asked to relieve for the first time.
It seems likely that Mercker's tenure in the starting rotation may be at an end...with perennial prospect Manny Aybar waiting in the wings.
Bottenfield, Oliver, Jimenez...and some combination of Aybar, Mercker and pitchers to be named later...that's the Cardinals rotation as the second sixth of the '99 season commences.
Not a rotation that scares anyone, except perhaps the Cardinals and their fans.
But Cardinals management, including GM Walt Jocketty, maintained throughout the off-season and spring training that the team's revamped bullpen would "save" the day.
After 27 games, how does the Cards bullpen look?
Statistically speaking, Ricky Bottalico and Manny Aybar have been the team's two best pitchers...two developments which may dramatically alter the appearance of the starting rotation.
Aybar, who was 10-0 at AAA Memphis in 1998, has little left to prove at that level, and his likely destination as a major leaguer is in someone's starting rotation.
Aybar's early-season '99 results (2-0; 2.00 ERA; 15 hits and 1 BB in 18 innings) warrant his insertion into the St. Louis starting rotation.
But Aybar's '99 performance may determine whether or not his long-term future is as a Cardinal...or with some other team...his penchant for throwing the wrong pitch at the wrong time is not looked upon too highly by the Cardinals braintrust.
Through 27 games, Bottalico has clearly provided the team's best relief pitching...in contrast to the "relief" provided by designated closer Juan Acevedo, whose ERA (five +) and baserunners allowed (13 hits and 8 BB in 12+ innings pitched) may make his tenure as team's closer a short one.
Of course, Acevedo has made his intentions clear: he would rather be a starting pitcher.
His lack of quality appearances as a reliever, combined with Bottalico's apparent return to prominence as a dominant reliever AND the injuries/ineffectiveness of the Cardinals starting staff...may transform Acevedo's wish to return to the rotation into reality.
The trio of lefties that reside within the Cardinals bullpen (Scott Radinsky, Mike Mohler, and Lance Painter) all have ERAs above six and collectively have allowed 42 hits and 19 walks...in 33+ innings pitched. One thing seems clear: Tony La Russa will continue to call on this threesome of lefthanders for important '99 outs.
Probably the most surprising aspect of the Cardinals '99 offensive performance, after 27 games, is Mark McGwire's rather anemic power production: six HRs is a pace that would result in a rather un-Big Mac like total of 36 for the 1999 season.
Let's take a look at the infield.
McGwire's rather "ordinary" production has been outshined by that of 3B Fernando Tatis, who, while appearing in all 27 games, has clubbed eleven homers and driven in 32 runs.
"Utilityman" Joe McEwing joins Tatis as one of two Cardinals to play in all 27 of the first 27 games. And McEwing, to this point, makes GM Walt Jocketty's decision NOT to trade for Brewers 2B Fernando Vina a good one, because most of McEwing's playing time has occurred at the second base position.
In addition to playing respectable defense (at 2B as well as in the OF), McEwing leads the team in several offensive categories...and his timely hitting has not gone unnoticed by manager La Russa.
SS Edgar Renteria has, surprisingly, recovered sufficiently from his well-chronicled knee ailments to make appearances in 25 of 27 games.
While still moving gingerly at times, Renteria's batting average (.241) and general defensive performance (four errors, but several above-average plays) seem to put the Cards SS position in much-improved hands.
Reserve infielders Shawon Dunston and Placido Polanco have both seen significant playing time (50 and 61 at-bats, respectively), thanks in part to superior performances from both.
Polanco, in particular, plays with an urgency that suggests his long-term future as a Cardinal may be very bright. Dunston's versatility (he has seen action at 3B, SS, 1B, LF, and CF) makes the ex-Cub All Star SS an integral part of Tony La Russa's '99 Redbird squad.
The Cardinals' outfield, in the first 27 games of 1999, has been riddled by injuries.
J.D. Drew, Ray Lankford, and Eric Davis have appeared in only 20, 12, and 23 games, respectively.
Lankford's knee injury, though, appears to be healing, and the speedy OF has made the most of his limited plate appearances in '99, with 22 total bases (including two homers and 5 doubles) in 24 at-bats.
Drew's injuries, and what appears to be an aversion to off-speed breaking pitches, are more problematic. The youngster's '98 September call-up was free of injury, and presented evidence that Drew was ready for prime time, both at the plate and in the field.
But, at the one sixth mark of the regular season, J.D. Drew's performance has been sub-par, when compared to the expectations that many had for him.
Perhaps some combination of nagging injuries (including a strained quadriceps) and the always-necessary adjustments that all rookies go through have been responsible for Drew's slow start.
Eric Davis, after a very slow start, has rounded into form with decent offensive production. But Davis will be looked upon to provide more power, in the next 27 games, than the one HR that left his bat in the first one-sixth of the '99 season.
In addition, Davis' defense, as well as Drew's, has not been exemplary. At least in the case of Drew, the defensive lapses have been surprising.
The Cardinals OF injuries have resulted in substantial playing time for OF reserves Glenn Bragg and Willie McGee. In particular, Bragg has as many at-bats as Davis (79) and more than Lankford and Drew.
Unfortunately, Bragg's batting average has hovered near the Mendoza line.
McGee, on the other hand, keeps rolling along...with 13 hits in 42 at-bats (.310 avg).
But with the starting pitching in disarray, and the bullpen production at least somewhat questionable...and Mark McGwire coming back to earth, Tony La Russa and Walt Jocketty are no doubt concerned that the two game deficit that separates the second-place Cardinals from the first-place Houston Astros...is in serious danger of expanding.