The Cardinals have acquired righty pitcher Joel Pineiro and cash from the Cardinals for a player to be named later.  Pineiro has struggled this season as a reliever for the Red Sox as he was 1-1 with a 5.03 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP in 31 games.  Pineiro tossed 34 innings for the Red Sox and he allowed 41 hits, walked 14 batters and whiffed 20.  The Cardinals will probably try to make Pineiro a starter as that’s where they have a need.  He has pitched in 216 games (148 starts) in his major league career and he has a 59-56 record with 1 save, a 4.50 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP.  He has tossed 1030 career innings in the majors and he has allowed 1074 hits, walked 341 batters and whiffed 678.  This was a nice addition to the Cardinals as their isn’t much risk involved seeing how the Red Sox will be paying him.

Chris Carpenter will undergo Tommy John surgery soon and it will cause him to miss the remainder of this season and a large part of next season.  This is a gigantic blow to the Cardinals in the near future as Carpenter has been one of the best pitchers in the National League since the day he arrived in St. Louis a four years ago.  From 2004-2006 Carpenter compiled a 51-18 record with a 3.10 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP as he was a true #1 starting pitcher which is what the Cardinals now lack.

The Cardinals have placed Scott Spiezio on the 15-day disabled list with an infected index finger.  Spiezio has played in 62 games this season and he is 48 for 171 (.281 avg, .773 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 3 homers and 27 RBIs.  The Cardinals have recalled Brendan Ryan to replace Spiezio on the active roster.  Ryan has played in 18 games for the Cardinals and he is 13 for 46 (.283 avg, .753 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 2 homers and 5 RBIs.

The Cardinals have place righty starter Todd Wellemeyer on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right elbow.  He has pitched in 12 games (8 starts) since he’s been with the Cardinals and he’s 3-1 with a 4.19 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP this season.  He has thrown 43 innings and he has allowed 46 hits, walked 20 batters and whiffed 32.

Adam Wainwright, Brad Thompson, Braden Looper and Kip Wells have all had their problems this season.  Kip Wells has been the main offender in the rotation.  The Cardinals brass felt that Wells had the stuff to be their #2 starter and they said that his career record was the result of playing on bad teams.  They felt he could succeed in the same way that Jeff Suppan did for them but they were way off on their projections based on the first half that Wells turned in.  Wells was 3-11 with a 5.92 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP.  His biggest problem has been throwing strikes as he has walked 47 batters in 92.2 innings this season so if he can tighten up his control he might be better in the 2nd half of the season.  The Cardinals decided in the off-season to convert Adam Wainwright back into a starting pitcher after his fine 2006 season in the bullpen.  Wainwright is having a rough season so far as he is 7-7 with a 4.66 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP.  Look for Wainwright to pitch better in the 2nd half of the season as he is a better pitcher than he showed in the 1st half.  Brad Thompson was also converted into a starting pitcher and he hasn’t done too well.  If you look past his 6-3 record you can see that his record was lucky as he has a 4.90 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP.  He will need to be better to hold onto his rotation spot in the 2nd half.  Braden Looper also was a converted relief pitcher and he started the season like a ball of fire but it appears that he has hit the wall as he already has thrown more innings than he ever has in a season over his entire career.  Looper is 6-7 with a 4.72 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.  Don’t expect much from him in the 2nd half of the season.