The Chris Moeller Archives

Warriors rest

Three of the greatest St. Louis Cardinals of all-time, three of my favorites, and three of their teammate's favorites as well-- Matt Morris, Jason Isringhausen, and Jim Edmonds-- have experienced precipitous performance declines in 2008.

---
Morris, who aced the pitching rotation for much of his tenure in St. Louis from 1997 to 2005, was released by the Pirates on April 27th after failing to win any of his five starts to begin the season and allowing 24 earned runs in 22 1/3 innings. The Long Island, New York native announced his retirement upon the release with plans to become a full-time dad to a baby girl born last fall, turning down offers to go to the disabled list, move to the bullpen, or take a front office position.

During the early part of the decade, "Matty Mo" was probably the biggest of all the little brothers to Darryl Kile on the Cards' staff. When Kile died in June of 2002, it was Morris who represented the team at the All-Star game the following month and hung his mound mate's jersey in the National League dugout. A huge music fan, Morris missed few of the rock and alternative acts that would roll through St. Louis during his time there, and nobody enjoyed the rivalry with the Cubs more than he did, or was involved in as many of the frequent brushback episodes. "Those were great times at Wrigley and at Busch," he said last week, "The intensity that Tony (LaRussa) brought and maxed it out, whether it was Dusty (Baker) or whoever was managing the Cubs... It was a true rivalry, the Cardinals and the Cubs. But the Cubs started to abuse me when I left (St. Louis) and then it wasn't much fun."

Research done by the Post-Dispatch last week found that only nine other pitchers in history with as many as Morris' 120 career wins and a winning percentage bettering his .568 retired at such a young age (33), but Matty says he's done throwing-- "I don't have any (next) moves. That's the beauty of it. I'm moveless. I'm not looking for anything. I'm not building a mound in the backyard to make sure I get the ball down."

---
Jason Isringhausen is growing tired of dealing with his recent failures on the diamond as well. The Cards' reliever has been all too human coming out of the team bullpen this season. Though the team's all-time saves leader tops the Senior Circuit with 11 saves and is just 8 shy of 300 for his career, "Izzy" has blown 4 chances in his last 7 appearances, his ERA climbed to 7.47 Friday night, and he was pulled from the closer's role this morning.

Quite unusually, he had asked his manager to make the change, delivering some of the more blunt post-game comments in recent Cardinals' history after Friday's loss-- "I'm just getting sick of embarrassing myself and letting the team down. I remember in '06-- (when he had hip surgery)-- I had an explanation. I just wasn't telling anyone. Now I don't have an explanation. I'm pitching like a second-grader... It's just time for them to figure out-- we should have five more wins games in the win column, in my mind. We should be out there in first place even more. It's not a whole lot of fun, especially when you let down 25 guys day in and day out. It's the end of it."

Isringhausen and the team's coaching and training staff seem to agree that his problems on the hill are mechanical and not physical, but in that case, the decline is rather striking since the hurler blew just 2 of 36 save chances last year, posting a 2.48 ERA.

---
And as for Mr. Edmonds, the team apparently made the correct decision in shipping the 37-year-old outfielder to San Diego this winter. "Diamond Jim" lasted just 26 games as a member of the Padres before being released Friday. He had hit one home run and had driven in six while batting .178 in 90 at-bats. Just as importantly, Edmonds' one-time defensive prowess, which has earned him 8 Gold Gloves during his career, had slipped badly. His battered and bruised body had reportedly lost a step or three after more than a decade of crashing into walls, sprawling his muscular frame almost daily onto the outfield grass, and after numerous foot and shoulder surgeries.

Though the Southern California native is still looking to catch on with another club, the obituaries for his career were rolling in on Friday. "Jim Edmonds was the greatest center fielder I've ever seen-- ever," said Milwaukee Brewers' coach and long-time scout Ted Simmons, "He did things on a baseball field that I've never seen any other center fielder do. That's not hyperbole. That's fact." Edmonds hit .285 in eight seasons with the Cards, clubbing 241 homers, willing the Cards to the 2004 World Series with his play on the field, and to the 2006 World Championship with his leadership in the clubhouse.

On Friday, Cards fans were composing their own Jim Edmonds tribute haikus on message boards, many alluding to the player's controversial sense of fashion. Here are just a few, for an unforgettable player who inspired a little style in all of us:

I had hoped to see
your spectacular catches
but alas, no more

Fists pumped in the air
Walk-off home run in game six
oh, the memories

Dive, young Jimmy, Dive
Gliding swan-like through the air
Wearing your half-shirt

Edmonds highlight reel
Great American owner
Tal's Hill is his too

Jim has a half-shirt
Pretty gay, yet part of him
Rolen had one too

The half-shirt, so free
Wind cools your belly button
Whole shirts are so lame

I never understood
How to write
These

I love you Jimmy
Let's party at Pattio's
Next to your picture

Great Jimmy Ballgame
Running fast, straight for the wall
All for Bottenfield

posted by CM @ 5:16 PM