ISRINGHAUSEN'S DAYS IN ST. LOUIS NUMBERED?

by Moondog, The World According to Moondog

The closer is baseball's version of the one man every manager hopes can distinguish himself among all the other members of the bullpen.

With the advent of defined roles the one that has become the most problematic for the St. Louis Cardinals this season is which pitcher can manager Tony La Russa trust to close out games.

Since arriving in St. Louis prior to the 2002 season, Jason Isringhausen has been the closer but not without many tense moments. He isn't the type of pitcher that will consistently come into the 9th and get three consecutive outs to end the game.

So far this season Isringhausen has been a complete disaster, blowing seven saves and seeing his ERA balloon to 6.15 entering Wednesday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers.

There were signs of Isringhausen's decline over the past two seasons, blowing 10 saves in 2006 and ultimately being placed on the DL with a hip injury. Adam Wainwright stepped into the closer role and made people forget about Isringhausen as the Cardinals would go on to win the World Series.

Be it mental or physical, Isringhausen doesn't seem to have the stuff to be a major league closer anymore. It's reached a point where Isringhausen's presence is doing this team a disservice by giving him the ball and watching him blow two, three, and four-run leads time after time.

Isringhausen's last save came on May 5, 11 days before he went on the disabled list because of his inability to get people out and a self-inflicted right hand laceration.

He had blown six of his last nine save opportunities, including four in a row when he was given the ball in the ninth this past Sunday where he promptly gave up one run on three hits to the Padres.

He's actually been worse than the numbers indicate. The four-run lead he gave up before the All-Star game against the Pirates was technically not a save situation.

Being an avid Cardinal fan and watching nearly every game they've played this season, Isringhausen is directly responsible for losing 11 games. That's a huge swing from their current record of 57-46.

Isringhausen's place on the team was enough of an issue for the pitcher to seek a meeting in La Russa's office after last Thursday's 4-3 win over the Padres.

La Russa said recently that having a defined closer is "the best scenario, but this season, you take the circumstances that have developed. We got to the point where we lost Izzy. We're trying to get him back. We're trying to win games."

If La Russa wants to win games, then he has to arrive at a definitive decision on Isringhausen. Considering the Cards' have blown a MLB-high 24 saves and Isringhausen has shown no signs of being capable of getting the job done, it may be time to end his association with the club.

Moreover, his $8 million salary is a lot of money to spend on a pitcher who can't get anybody out. A year ago Isringhausen said he would refuse to waive his no-trade clause if the club sought to trade him during a lost season. This past Friday, he allowed for the possibility. The Atlanta Braves are believed to be in search of a closer.

"It's difficult for me to say anything about that unless they put something in front of me," Isringhausen said. "So far, that hasn't happened."

Frankly, if the Cardinals can find a taker for Isringhausen, they need to jump on the opportunity to send him out of St. Louis as fast as they can.