It Costs A Lot of Money to Suck

I write this post just mere minutes after watching Colby Rasmus launch a walk-off home run deep into the right field bleachers for a much needed Cardinal victory.




Of course, if the Cards could hit, Colby’s homer wouldn’t be necessary and Adam Wainwright would have been rewarded for his great pitching performance. So many men left on base yet again, but this time it stings as the Cards were getting men on base against potential All-Star, Matt Cain. Nine men were left on base. The back breaker coming when Chris Duncan struck out on three pitches with the bases loaded to end the Redbird threat.

Runs are clearly coming at a premium this year and are in high demand. But how much exactly are Cardinal fans who come to Busch Stadium to watch a game paying per Cardinal run? More than they should be.

In 43 home games this year, the Cards have scored 173 runs, which averages out to four runs per game. The average ticket to a game at Busch Stadium is $29.43.

Before I get into the hardcore math, I would like to take the time to state that one of the reasons I went to the World’s Finest School of Journalism at THE University of Missouri was because I hate math. Hate may not even be a strong enough word. I DESPISE math, almost as much as I despise Keith Hernandez (view YouTube video). So, doing this article says a lot about how much I love sports. I’m willing to do math problems to talk about sports. You’re welcome.





Back to the topic at hand. $29.43 divided by four runs per game averages out to $7.50. That’s right. Cardinal fans are paying $7.50 per run. To put this into perspective, a beer at Busch costs $7.75. If the Cardinal offense were much worse, they would owe me an ice cold Bud Light when I come to the ballpark.

So how does this compare to the rest of the teams in the National League Central? Let’s take a look.






These numbers left me with two questions:

1. Can I afford for the Cardinal offense to continue to stink?

2. Who the hell is paying $47.75 to go watch the Cubs in that dilapidated stadium?

The second question was easy to answer: THESE GUYS!


And no, I can’t afford to pay $7.50 per run. I can barely afford $2.50 per gallon of gas. I’m an unemployed college graduate with a journalism degree. Even if I do get a job, I still don’t think I can afford the outrageous price for a run. This is why I need the Cardinal offense to get going. When they’re hitting, runs are so much cheaper.

Let’s go back five years to the awesome season of 2004 and what was, what I consider, the most consistent and best offense the Cards have put on the field in at least the last 20 years. The average ticket price back then was $23.76 and the Cards were averaging 5.11 runs per home game. This comes out to $4.64 per run, which is a very affordable price. If we take that 5.11 runs per home game and insert the 2009 average ticket price into the equation, the price is still much better: $5.94 per run.

Even if the Cards could average just a half run more per home game, the price goes down almost a dollar to $6.54, which is still pricy, but hey, at least that would mean they were hitting at home again.

There is some good news for Cardinal fans however. And that news is that Cardinal fans are not Yankee fans. The Yankees far and away have the most expensive ticket, which averages $72.97 for a home game in the new wiffle ball field that is the new Yankee Stadium. These tickets are so expensive that no matter how good the Yankees are, runs are still very expensive. New York is averaging 5.68 runs per game, which is great. But it costs $12.62 per run! At least Cardinal runs are affordable when the offense is good!


*Thanks to baseballreference.com and baseballprospectus.com for providing me with ticket price information.

Struggling Pitcher? Cards Can Cure What Ails Ya!

The acquisition of Mark DeRosa should give Cardinal fans hope, but in his Redbird debut, DeRosa fell victim to the same hitless plague that has infected the bats of everyone on the roster (with the obvious exception of Albert Pujols). Francisco Liriano is the latest struggling pitcher that has turned into Cy Young while facing St. Louis this year. Going into the game, Liriano had compiled a 3-8 win-loss record with a whopping 5.88 ERA. Throwing statistics aside, Liriano found a way to make the baseball disappear as it crossed the plate as he pitched seven innings of one run ball using only 97 pitches to get there.

The Cardinal offense isn’t exactly the hardest to tame, but what’s amazing is the after-effect that mastering the Cards seems to have on struggling pitchers. After a pitcher does his best Nolan Ryan impression against St. Louis, he continues to pitch like a hall of famer afterwards. In a way, the Cardinal offense jump starts the opponents struggling pitchers. Here are a few examples.

JORGE DE LA ROSA










Before pitching against St. Louis, De la Rosa hadn’t won a single game and had compiled an 0-6 record. Leading up to the game, De la Rosa hadn’t made it passed the fifth inning in his previous three starts. But against the Cards, he managed to go six and two-thirds in an 11-4 Colorado Rockies victory. Since mastering the Redbird’s lineup, De la Rosa is 3-1 and has gotten passed the fifth inning in three of his four starts.


AARON COOK
After De la Rosa’s performance, Aaron Cook knocked the Cards bats out the very next day, pitching eight innings and only giving up one run in a 10-1 Colorado beat down. Before that, Cook was having a sub par season accumulating a 3-3 record with an ERA close to 5.00. Since then, Cook has won four straight decisions and his season ERA is 3.77. If this isn’t finding your groove then I don’t know what is.


Of course, this could just be because the Rockies have decided they only want to lose once every ten games. But let’s look at a team that the Cards recently paid a visit who is still struggling: The Cleveland Indians.

CLIFF LEE
The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner got off to a fairly rocky start this season, losing three of his first four decisions and compiling a 5.25 ERA. But as the Cards have proven this season, statistics mean absolutely nothing when you can’t hit. Lee pitched a complete game shutout against St. Louis and only gave up three hits the entire game. Since then, Lee has gone at least seven innings in his two starts since and has given up a total of five runs combined. His season ERA now stands at an impressive 2.92.

DAVID HUFF

OK, you could argue that Cliff Lee is the reigning AL Cy Young winner, so he was bound to come around. But what about unproven rookie David Huff? I know what you’re thinking: “An unproven rookie pitcher with an ERA over six beat the Cardinals? I don’t believe it!” Well, it definitely wasn’t the first time it’s happened this year and, with the way things are going, it definitely won’t be the last. Before going seven and a third against St. Louis in a 7-3 win, Huff’s ERA was 8.71. In fact, in that game alone, the Cards helped Huff lower his ERA by OVER A WHOLE RUN! Since that game, Huff has started three games, during which his ERA has been 2.00.

So will this trend affect Francisco Liriano as well? We’ll have to wait and see. And what can the Cardinals themselves do about this? I suggest that they start charging pitchers to pitch against this team so the opposition can get their groove back. Why not make a little money off of your struggles? You’re helping people get their careers back on track, it’s only fair that you share in some of the profit. Besides, Bill DeWitt could use the extra cash to build a new softball field.