Good news: Albert had three hits, including a big, message-shot homer; the Cardinals put up some runs; Isringhausen looked sick, flashing a suddenly-moving 93 mph fastball and the old Curveball of Death; Adam Kennedy showed off his outstanding glove and great positioning once again.

Bad news: still not enough. I can not get over how extravagantly stupid this team can be, sometimes. Keeping Skip and So around on a team with severe offensive issues? Seriously? A defensive specialist with no bat is a luxury on a good team with an outfielder that either needs to be rested regularly or is completely inept with the glove. Since Edmonds is being platooned, more or less, and Duncan is startlingly improved on defense, the Cardinals fit neither criterion all that precisely. But it is now April 19, and the Cardinals have two fifth outfielders without the slightest clue about hitting on the roster.

Down in Memphis, John Rodriguez, Rick “four home runs and nine hits in 47 at-bats” Ankiel, and Ryan Ludwick have all shown sparks with the bat. They can all play center field. Presumably they have passed the tests necessary to earn their “bunt unselfishly” and “hustle out those ground balls” licenses. So what are all three of them doing in Memphis? A case could be made that carrying any of the five outfielders currently on Memphis’s roster (Rodriguez, Ankiel, Ludwick, Eli Marrero, and Nick Stavinoha) would upgrade the Cardinals bench.

This sort of thing could be accepted when MV3 was performing on all cylinders and the supporting cast could hit. But this is a deeply flawed offensive club, and La Jock can’t continue to waste spots and at-bats on functionally useless players. If they do, these games–the winnable ones, where there are just a few rough spots and setbacks–will continue to fall into the loss column.