Rick Ankiel has seven games in hitters parks against weak pitching. Can you say exploitation?

Welcome to Leading Off, Sports Grumblings’ weekly column that takes a look at some of the series on the baseball schedule in the week ahead, and offers you a comprehensive look at various ways you can exploit that schedule for the benefit of your fantasy team. Looking over the various match ups on the schedule next week, there is one team whose next seven games jumped out at me. While there are plenty of other nice match ups I could write about, the next seven games for the St. Louis Cardinals is particularly interesting for several reasons. First, they play four games at Coors Field against the Rockies. Then they play three games in Milwaukee’s Miller Park against the Brewers. That would be seven games in two of the most hitter friendly parks in all of baseball. Then there are the teams themselves, which present some interesting advantages for the savvy fantasy manager. So, I’m going to throw you a changeup this week, and tell you all about the seven games the Cards have next week, and I will let you in on just how you can turn that to your advantage if you happen to own Cardinals players on your fantasy team, or can acquire them.

Series of the Week – St. Louis Cardinals vs. the Rockies and Brewers

The St. Louis Cardinals have surprised many people with their start to the 2008 season. On paper they did not look like a competitive team, primarily because several of their star pitchers are currently on the disabled list attempting to come back from injuries that required surgery. However, never underestimate the influence of pitching coach Dave Duncan. He has consistently taken pitchers that others have given up on, and turned them into serviceable, useful starting pitchers. Some his latest projects, Todd Wellemeyer, Kyle Lohse, Joel Piniero, and Braden Looper are all performing far above most people’s expectations. The team has an ERA of 3.55, third best in the National League, and their starters have the second best ERA in the NL at 3.51. The Cardinals are currently 19-12 and in first place in the NL Central.

In terms of hitting, the Cardinals have the fourth best team batting average in the NL at .276, and are ranked third in OPS at .784. The Cardinals are currently ranked fifth in Sports Grumblings’ Team Power Rankings. They bring their powerful hitting attack to Coors field this week against a Rockies pitching staff that has the worst home ERA in the National League at 6.14, with opposing teams batting .289 against the Rockies at home.

The Rockies pitchers scheduled to pitch against the Cardinals are Ubaldo Jimenez, Mark Redman, Jeff Francis, and Jorge De La Rosa. None of those four pitchers have an ERA below 5.00, and De La Rosa was just called up from the minors and was released by Kansas City after spring training. The four pitchers have a combined record of 4-9 in 19 starts.

Things are a little bit better in terms of pitching in Milwaukee, but it has truly been a mixed bag for the Brewers. The pitchers scheduled to face the Cards next weekend are Manny Parra, Ben Sheets, and Jeff Suppan. Parra has an ERA of 5.86 and has given up 17 walks in 27 innings of work. Suppan hasn’t been much better, with an ERA of 5.19. While he has not walked nearly as many as Parra, he does not really strike anyone out either, and he has been smacked around in his last two starts. Ben Sheets has pitched well this season, but has had trouble working deep into games, and, get this, the Cardinals have his number! In 23 career starts against the Cardinals, Sheets is 5-14 with a 4.30 ERA.

So to summarize, the Cardinals have been mashing, the Rockies pitchers have been awful, the Brewers pitchers have been just as bad, and you should have every Cardinal on your roster active for the next week. By the way, the Cards do not run much as a team, with only 11 stolen bases; however, the Rockies have surrendered 25 stolen bases and caught only 5. If you can acquire Skip Schumaker (.303 avg. 3 stolen bases), or Adam Kennedy (.310 avg. 2 stolen bases), they might get some steal opportunities. If you have, or can acquire Rick Ankiel (.280 avg. 5 HR. 16 RBI), Ryan Ludwick (.303 4 HR, 15 RBI), or even Chris Duncan or the underachieving Troy Glaus, they all might have a fantastic week. You will notice that I did not mention the great Albert Pujols. My assumption is that you know he rocks, and he is not available in your league. I also assume you would have him active if you own him.  Good luck this week; do not forget to play your Cardinals!