There is no evidence whatsoever that Descalso has better range at 3B, at SS or 2B, sure his range would be better than Freese, but his reaction time is slower than Freese and he’s not particularly good at guarding the line. Great are though, fun to watch that zip across. There really isn’t enough data to draw strong conclusions, but the available data show Freese is an above average 3B and descalso is not. In any case, the difference in defense (even if it was postive, for which there is no evidence) is tiny compared to the difference in offense, putting in Descalso in close games (where you might need to score more runs) is a net negative.

Regarding the bunt. It was unorthodox sure, but I was in favor of it. Garcia has been swinging the bat much better lately. The bunt drew the infield in, and may have helped on Garcia’s ball. Sure it was an error, but the ball was well hit, and with the runner on second and third, Hairston knew that he couldn’t just get in front of the ball and knock it down, cause the runners would be moving on contact. Before Punto bunted, I was wondering if LaRussa would have the nerve to take the chance with Garcia coming up, he did and it paid off. Kudos Tony.

Except for all of the bullpen action…LaRussa has done a great job of minimizing his lineup tinkering that typically plagued the Cardinals boxscore in September. Last night there wasn’t a single double switch, taking Freese out is still silly because Descalso isn’t a defensive upgrade and is far worse with the bat….but I’ve given up hope that he’ll stop doing that….ignoring the wholesale changes at the end of the game 2 blowout…I think TLR has only pulled one double switch…and has mostly left the best players in for the entire game (except for Freese), which has been a breath of fresh air.

I thought pulling Garcia was the right move and was glad to see LaRussa make the move…as soon as Hart singled I said, “dang, if Hairston reaches, this is going to be a tied game”…because that really is how Garcia rolls. If LaRussa left him in, he probably would have had him IBB Braun to get to the lefty-lefty matchup….obviously, LaRussa felt better with Dotel against Braun…and that is a good decision not because of the personal history of that matchup, but because Dotel has been destroying all righties….letting Dotel pitch to Fielder the next inning was surprising, but the bases were empty…so minimal possible damage could result.

And the Cards won by 6 (with several runs being unearned) so it’s not like that move was a stroke of genius.

In the 2nd inning, Berkman led off the bottom-half with a knock. After a Holliday flyout, Greinke hit Freese with a pitch to put runners on 1st-2nd. Yadier Molina followed with a deep fly to right that Hart tried to track down but the ball glanced off his glove for a run-scoring double, putting runners at 2nd-3rd with still only one out.

This is where Little Nicky Punto first stepped into the box. LaRussa avoided the temptation of dialing up the squeeze play, instead letting LNP swing away. Punto turned on a pitch that he lined towards a diving Hairston at 3B, who snagged it for the out but unable to get to 3B in time to double up the runner. So with 2 outs and the pitcher spot coming up Greinke & the Brew Crew were about to escape with minimal damage… but THIS is where Garcia’s groundball found its way thru Hairston’s legs for a critical 2-out error that brought home 2 more runs. Brewer Buzzkill.

Later on, with the Cards still up 3-0, TLR *did* have LNP put down a sac bunt with one out. This was indeed a bit of a curious move, to give away an out in only the 4th inning with the pitcher spot coming up, but after scrappy little Nicky Punto got the bunt down to move a couple runners over, the contact play was on & Garcia brought home an early insurance run with an infield ground ball.

So TLR did find a way to press the issue with a move from the dugout, as we’ve become accustom to, but the real story in this game was the Brewers’ shoddy defense which put them in a hole all night. Or maybe it’s just that Greinke doesn’t know how to win on the road. In any case, it sets up for an interesting final couple games back in Milwaukee.

Garcia’s ball through Hairston’s 5-hole did happen in the 2nd, but not after the Punto bunt. It was after Hairston had made a great diving play to snag a Punto liner.

Didnt you blog this game?