I thought he should have pinch hit him for Wilson in the 8th with 2 on and no one out. LaRussa may have thought the Mets would have brought in Wagner at that point to face Duncan just b/c of the day off tomorrow and the fact that Wagner probably wouldn't have too much trouble going 2 innings.
Taguchi misplayed Delgado's RBI double, not saying he should have caught it, but he could have. He completely muffed that Reyes flyball and he did not look great at the plate either. As for Preston Wilson, last I heard of him he was having knee surgery and setting the record for most Ks in a 3 game series (13-14 in a 3 game set vs Milwaukee last year)
Cards07Champs wrote:This comes from LaRussa being a tool. His black book says that young lefties cannot possibly improve against lefthanded pitchers, therefore they shouldn't be allowed to try (see: Drew, J.D.)
Wilson and Taguchi have no business making the Royals, let alone a team with playoff aspirations.
In a few weeks, Taguchi and Wilson will be exposed as completely worthless and LaRussa will have no choice but to start Duncan against lefties. Encarnacion will be back soon enough to provide a decent RH bat (against lefties, he sucks against righties), that could free LaRussa up to take a chance by putting Duncan in. Or at least that will be his rationale, nobody could possibly suck any more than Preston Wilson....except for So Taguchi.
Duncan will get his ABs in due time.
Is this tool the defending World Series champion manager? And is this the first time he's seen Taguchi? Why would he discover that he's worthless now as opposed to last year?
I agree that Duncan will see more time, but I'd work under the assumtion that selective platooning along with being pulled for defense at every opportunity is in his near future.
"Apr 1 Chris Duncan was not in the St. Louis Cardinals' opening-day lineup Sunday night, a nod to New York Mets' starter Tom Glavine.
Advice: Manager Tony La Russa said Duncan, who hit 22 home runs in a half-season as a rookie in 2006, would get the majority of playing time in left field. In the opener, the Cardinals went with So Taguchi in left field instead and Preston Wilson started in right field. Duncan played sparingly against left-handers last year, batting .170 in 47 at-bats with two homers and three RBIs. He hit .318 against right-handers in 233 at-bats with 20 homers and 40 RBIs"
I think it had more to do with Glavine being dominant against lefties than anything...and yea, it is LaRussa after all.
Duncan doesnt even think he should have started against the lefty! He said something about Larussa gave him a chance in ST to hit them and he couldnt...He couldnt hit lefties last year (.170) and HE STILL CANT HIT LEFTIES so Taguchi starts. That said here is some news that says he wont be sitting much.
News: Chris Duncan, who hit five homers in spring training and 22 last season but didn't play in the season opener against the Mets, will be in left field Tuesday night when the Cardinals play the Mets in the second game of the season. Duncan batted only .170 against left-handed pitchers last season and the Mets started left-hander Tom Glavine. Right-handed batters Preston Wilson and So Taguchi started in the outfield against Glavine and each had a single, but Wilson fanned twice and Taguchi made two fielding mistakes. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said his choice on Sunday does not mean Duncan is a platoon player. "I said he would be an everyday player," La Russa said. "And that means he's going to play the good majority of the games."
Duncan, who was held out of the lineup on Opening Day against left-hander Tom Glavine, got the start and homered off southpaw Wandy Rodriguez tonight. He added doubles in the sixth and eighth. The showing likely will earn him extra starts versus lefties, at least until Juan Encarnacion comes back.
Duncan's been swinging a hot bat lately and has some nice protection in that lineup. I hope this means he will be the everyday player and not get benched occasionally against lefties.
I picked him up, but I'm hoping they don't platoon him when Encarnacion gets back.
If you're a battery, you're either working or you're dead....
TLR likes to play the bench more than most managers so he'll still see some days off. It is still unknown when/if Encarncion will be ready to play again. It doesn't sound like his wrist is getting any better.
Does anybody know if Duncan will not start tonight??? I know STL is going up against a lefty tonight, so I guess I'll bench Duncan -- but my luck he'll play and hit 2 HR's!!!
I can't find word on tonight's lineup, so if anybody finds out please let me know, thanks!!!!
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by p32bars » Mon Apr 02, 2007 1:37 am 
