LATE BRUNCH WITH BERNIE
Where do I start?
With the starter.
Not that this is breaking news … but it does fit into the category of “breaking the pitcher.”
The Angels turned their baseball bats into pellet guns – metaphorically, of course – in Tuesday’s first inning. Liberatore wasn’t wearing Kevlar. No, he just threw like a guy trying to throw a baseball with a limited range of motion while wearing a protective vest.
Only six batters into his assignment at Anaheim, Libby had been zipped for five hits, a walk, a homer, and five runs.
The Cardinals were staring at a five-run deficit. And given the reality – scoring five total runs is about a week’s worth of production for a highly obstructed, low-energy STL offense – the visitors were doomed.
The ferocity of the attack was especially vicious. Take a look at these exit velocities, which became exit wounds in Liberatore’s ERA.
I’m not saying the lefty was serving up meatballs worthy of Gitto’s on The Hill, but a dapper waiter could have delivered the pitches to the hitting zone and put them on a tee at home plate.
— Zach Neto (1B) 100.8 mph
— Mike Trout (1B) 106.5 mph
— Jorge Soler (2B) 96.4 mph
— Vaughn Grissom (1B) 99.3 mph
— Jo Adell (HR) 110 mph
The Cardinals made a furious rally (!) but the determined Angels barely held on for a narrow 5-1 victory.
In two consecutive losses to the American League’s worst baseball club, the stonewalled Cardinals scored 3 runs in 18 innings, had one extra-base hit in 67 plate appearances, and struck out 22 times.
I don’t think Liberatore is tipping pitches; because of the weight of his 5.18 ERA, he’s just tipping over. That ERA is the fourth worst among left-handed MLB starters that have flung the ball for at least 90 innings this season.
This season Liberatore has been awful in the first inning, strong in the second and third innings, and tends to pitch batting practice in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
Liberatore’s first-inning ERA is 7.20. In the second and third innings, the ERA calms to 2.56. Then … during innings four-five-six the ERA bloats to 6.69. He’s been roughed for multiple runs in an inning 12 times when working the first, fourth and fifth frames.
Of course, Liberatore’s performance against the Angels played to supportive reviews. The Cardinals love to hand out medals to a bad starting pitcher who remains in the game – after the game is essentially lost – to donate innings to lessen the responsibilities of the bullpen.
I would prefer a quality start.
The Angels did not plate another biscuit after ganging up on Liberatore in the first inning. So he survived for an additional 4 and ⅓ innings.
Wait a minute. What’s that sound? Oh. The noise comes from Bob Gibson who is snarling from above.
I like what a great Cardinals’ fan, Cigar Mike, said about this subject on X: “I don’t know who needs to hear this, but it doesn’t matter if you pitch 4 and ⅓ scoreless innings if you give up 5 in the other one you pitched. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.”
Right on.
The first inning has been a heavy crime district for three Cardinal starters this season. Libby’s 7.20 first-inning ERA faces competition from Dustin May (6.75) and Andre Pallante (6.16).
STUFF +
— If lefty pitching prospect Quinn Mathews isn’t deemed worthy of cracking this St. Louis rotation, perhaps Chaim Bloom should trade him for some offense. Because the Cardinals need a lot of offense. They’re flatlining. I’ll update that here in a bit.
— With this three-game set already lost to John Mozeliak’s Halos, the Cardinals have won just seven of their last 18 series.
— I wonder if Mike Trout presented a game ball to “Mo” in an emotional postgame setting.
— Since the quick start that shaped an impressive 28-19 record through their first 47 games of the season, the Cardinals have won 23 of their last 53 for a .434 winning percentage that ranks 10th in the National League and 23rd overall.
— The Redbirds have won only 14 of 35 games since June 11 for a .400 winning percentage that’s tied with the Mets for 14th in the NL over that time. Over the last 42 calendar days only one big-league squad, the Athletics, have a more miserable record (10-23, .303) than St. Louis.
— The Cards have won 11 of 29 games since June 17, and their winning percentage (.379) through this dull and losing stretch is tied for 14th in the NL and 29th overall. And over the last 29 games the Redbirds have smacked the fewest home runs in the majors (26) and rank last in the National League in slugging (.355), OPS (.656), batting average (.230) and wRC+ (84, which translates to 16% below league average offensively.)
— During more recent times (since July 5), the Cardinals are 4-10 (.286) which ranks 29th overall and is the worst winning percentage in the NL. Not only that, but the Redbirds rank last in the majors in batting average, OBP, slugging, isolated power, OPS and wRC+. Per wRC+ they’re 39 percent below league average offensively during their extreme downturn.
— For the Redbirds sake, I hope this isn’t avian influenza. Wait. That’s right. These baseball players aren’t actually Cardinals. As in the real birds. I get confused sometimes.
— In July, Ivan Herrera (.268) and Lars Nootbaar (.265) have a more anemic slugging percentage than Masyn Winn (.276).
— How far has Herrera fallen offensively? He peaked on June 13 with a two-homer game at Minnesota. At that point he had a .270 average, .400 OBP, .437 slug and an .837 OPS.
— In his 137 plate appearances since June 14, here’s where Herrera ranks among 174 qualifying MLB hitters:
No. 165 in batting average (.188)
No. 124 in onbase pct. (.299)
No. 170 in slugging pct. (.248)
No. 168 in OPS (.547)
The Buffet …
— Preparing for a potential secession from the NCAA union, SEC commissioner and commander Greg Sankey has quietly informed associates he’ll dispatch his army – led by Generals Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard and Joseph E. Johnston – northward, heading to Manassas, Va. to cut off the advancement troops led by Union General Irvin McDowell and various Big Ten leaders. “We’ll call it ‘Bull Run,’ ” Sankey told Paul Finebaum.
--- Well, none of that really happened, even though Commander Sankey has the media eating sowbelly and corn bread out of his hand. But if it happened, and the SEC revolted and declared war, on CFB, it would be the Battle of Bull Crap Run.
— Herrera needs rest. Period. Playing him every game this season (until now) was cuckoo.
— I don’t know what the hell the warring political factions are sniping and whining about on social media about the controversial film, “The Odyssey” … but my gosh shaddup already. I assume this is just another culture-war poop fight. But after seeing so much insanely overheated dialogue going back and forth over it – well, you can’t make me go see it. You just cain’t. Not a chance.
— Why is just about every damn thing in this nation framed through an overly sharp political lens? Go see the dog-damn movie, OK? If you like it, great. If you hate it, great. No one should care except for you.
— I just recommend ice cream. Not movies. Ice cream is a happy subject.
— So get yourself some Blue Bell Oatmeal Cream Pie ice cream and think of me when you’re savoring the first spoon.
— And whatever you do, DO NOT work your way into the velvety Blue Bell dish while having your TV tuned into one of those shrieking-lying-loon political debate shows.
— It’s astonishing how much Sankey and the SEC snotties have been rattled – they’ve become mentally unglued – by Indiana crushing Alabama during CFP playoffs on the relentless march to winning the national championship. This was coach Frank Cignetti’s masterpiece. He’s got Sankey cracking.
— Per Baseball America update, five of the Cardinals Top 30 prospects are shortstops. Probably a good idea for Masyn Winn to reverse his offensive decline. Winn had a 104 OPS+ as a rookie in 2024, tailed off to a 91 OPS+ last season, and that’s plummeted to 81 so far this year. So Winn has gone from being 4% above league average offensively in 2024 to 19% below league average in less than two full seasons. The shortstop spot in today’s MLB is no longer a defense-only position.
— I have decided that Steely Dan’s “Aja” is a great album – but it’s also overrated. And both opinions can be on the mark. Sorry for the random example, but my mind works in peculiar ways. So think about the 2006 National League MVP award. Ryan Howard had a truly great season. But Albert Pujols should have won the MVP vote for many reasons.
— Pujols led the NL with 8.1 fWAR. Howard had 5.9 fWAR which means he wasn’t even the most valuable player on the Phillies; Chase Utley had 7.2 fWAR in 2006. Pujols topped Howard in batting average, onbase rate, slugging, OPS, adjusted OPS and was 12 percent better than Howard offensively per wRC+. Pujols also won the Gold Glove for his defense at first base; Howard was a terrible first baseman defensively. But Howard had more home runs and RBIs, and the Phillies were a “buzz” team. By then Pujols had already won his first of three MVP awards – so there was a natural rush to Howard’s newness, and he was credited with "leading" the Phillies to a division title with his "clutch play" in September. (OK, but didn't the games in April and May count?) Nothing stops a sportswriter-pushed narrative onslaught, and Howard was a hugely impressive presence in the lineup that season. But winning the MVP vote over Pujols and Utley made him overrated.
— Baseball America put Cardinals’ catching prospect Leo Bernal on their “blocked prospects who could be traded at the deadline” list.
— BA wrote: “The Cardinals have one of the deepest catching groups in all of baseball with Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages established at the big league level already, top prospect Rainiel Rodriguez in Double-A and recent graduate Jimmy Crooks taking on a prominent role in the majors already. This leaves Bernal somewhat in no-man’s land despite being in the midst of the best hitting season of his career (.272/.357/.453 with 11 home runs in 74 Triple-A games).
— What is Bernal’s appeal? “Bernal projects as a fringe-average defender, but he has a plus arm and projects to add enough offensively, especially against lefthanded pitching, to eventually become a valuable major league contributor behind the plate. Even so, with the depth the Cardinals have ahead of him, he’s unlikely to be able to carve out a role with the club. However, given the dearth of catching around the game, he could draw interest if the Cardinals seek to bolster other areas of their major league roster.”
— It’s been a tough go for reliever Ryan Helsley since the Cardinals traded him to the Mets last summer. After finishing the 2025 season in bad form with the Mets, Helsley signed a free-agent with the Orioles for two years and $28 million. But he’s been on the IL twice already this season because of right elbow inflammation. He missed 1 and ½ months the first time, and was recently placed on the 60-day IL when the elbow flared up again.
— In 39 appearances (combined) for the Mets and Orioles, Helsley posted a 5.86 ERA and allowed a .356 OBP, .493 slug, and a robust home-run rate of 1.8 HRs per nine innings.
— Tyler O’Neill? Since we’re talking about Helsley and the Orioles let’s catch you up on the former Cardinal. Before the 2025 season Baltimore gambled $49.5 million on a three-year deal for O’Neill. The results so far: 115 games played, 116 days missed to injury, four different stints on the IL … plus a .202 average, .294 OBP and pedestrian .377 slugging percentage. “T.O.” has 15 home runs to go with his 102 strikeouts as an Oriole.
— Jesus Baez was the key asset acquired by the Cardinals in the Helsley move. The left-side infielder, age 21, is having a noisy season offensively across two levels. In 74 games (combined) for High A Peoria and Double A Springfield, the right-handed hitting Baez has cranked 22 homers, 14 doubles and a .520 slugging percentage. He doesn’t walk much, but has good control of the strike zone as shown by his low 18.8% strikeout rate. Baez has abundant pull-side muscle for launching deep shots down the left-field line and to the left-center alley. The Cardinals also like pitcher Nate Dohm (part of the Helsley trade) but Dohm is absorbing some bruises at Double A Springfield.
Thanks for reading …
–Bernie
Bernie was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2023. During a St. Louis sports-media career that goes back to 1985, he’s won multiple national awards for column writing and sports-talk hosting – and was the lead sports columnist at the Post-Dispatch from 1989 through 2015. Before that Bernie spent a year at the Dallas Morning News, covering the Dallas Cowboys during Tom Landry’s final season (1988) plus the sale of the team to Jerry Jones and the hiring of Jimmy Johnson as coach. Bernie has covered several Baseball Hall of Fame managers during his media career including Tony La Russa, Whitey Herzog, Earl Weaver, Joe Torre and (as an interim) Red Schoendienst. In his career as a beatwriter and columnist, Bernie covered Pro Football Hall of Fame coaches Joe Gibbs, Tom Landry, Jimmy Johnson and Dick Vermeil on a daily basis.
Bernie has covered and written about many great St. Louis sports team athletes including Albert Pujols, Kurt Warner, Brett Hull, Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright, Jim Edmonds, Marshall Faulk, Scott Rolen, Mark McGwire, Orlando Pace, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Al MacInnis, Brian Sutter, Bernie Federko, Chris Pronger, Keith Tkachuk, Dan Dierdorf, Jackie Smith and Aeneas Williams. Bernie covered every baseball Cardinals’ postseason game from 1996 through 2014 and was there to chronicle teams that won four NL pennants and two World Series. He provided extensive coverage on the “Greatest Show” St. Louis Rams and has written extensively on the St. Louis Blues, Saint Louis U, and Mizzou football and basketball. Bernie was/is a longtime voter for the Baseball Hall of Fame, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Heisman Trophy and the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.
You can access his columns, videos and the podcast version of the videos here on STL Sports Central, catch him regularly on KMOX (AM or FM) as part of the Gashouse Gang, Sports Rush Hour, Sports Open Line or Sports On a Sunday Morning shows. And you can catch weekly “reunion” segments here at STL Sports Central featuring Bernie and his longtime friend Randy Karraker.