Scott Rolen really needs to find his power stroke in the 2nd half or the Cardinals are going to be in trouble.  Rolen is hitting .267 with 35 runs scored, 4 homers and 38 RBIs.  Just important to the Cardinals will be reviving the bat of Jim Edmonds when he returns from the DL.  He is hitting just .238 with 20 runs scored, 7 homers and 24 RBIs this season.  Without the support of Rolen and Edmonds in the lineup teams will probably start pitching around Albert Pujols and that would be big trouble for the Cardinals.  The Cardinals were expecting much more from Adam Kennedy on offense but he has disappointed them big time.  He is only hitting .210 this season with 18 runs scored and 14 RBIs.  It’s possible that Kennedy will lose his starting job to Aaron Miles if he doesn’t get his season turned around soon.

Adam Kennedy is lucky that his pal David Eckstein got injured or Aaron Miles was going to start taking his playing time away at 2B.  Kennedy has been awful with a bat in his hands this season.  In 52 games, Kennedy is only 37 for 175 (.211 avg, .544 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 12 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  Kennedy better get it together before Eckstein comes off of the disabled list or he will be watching a lot of games from the dugout.

So Taguchi has been awful with the bat lately and it could start to result in less playing time.  In his last 6 games, Taguchi is only 2 for 17 (.118 avg, .387 OPS) with 1 run scored and 1 RBI.  With the Cardinals struggling to score runs they have to play whoever has the hottest bat and Taguchi has not stepped up.

Yadier Molina is playing good defense again for the Cardinals but he’s not hitting at all.  With other guys slumping early in the year Molina’s weak bat is really hurting the team.  Still, Gary Bennett isn’t a better overall player than Molina so the Cards will keep putting his name in the lineup.  He has played in 15 games so far this season and he’s only hitting .213 with a .585 OPS.  He is 10 for 47 with only 2 runs scored and 3 RBIs so far this season.

Jim Edmonds just hasn’t looked like himself so far this season.  Edmonds is only hitting .195 with a .503 OPS so far this season and that’s a big reason why the Cards are having problems scoring runs.  He’s only 8 for 41 with only 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored.  The Cardinals really need his power bat to get cranking if the offense is ever going to get firing on all cylinders.