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| 2005 Mitchell Boggs card, by Bowman |
When
Chris Carpenter went on the DL with an
oblique injury, I must admit to feeling more than a little nervous about the Cardinals' rotation. There was some decent talent, yes, but the depth? Not really there. "If the Cards have to start reaching into the minors to try and fill the void on the pitching staff," I thought, "things could get ugly in a hurry."
So far, though, that hasn't happened.
Look at the performance
Mitchell Boggs turned in the first time he started in place of the Cards' injured ace. Before Boggs,
P.J. Walters
came up and battled in his first major league start, overcoming a
pretty serious case of nerves to post a representative line against the
Cubs in Wrigley.
Pitching against Chicago on April 25, Boggs threw 5.2 innings
of effective ball, giving up a single unearned run on six hits,
walking one and striking out three.
Five days later, against the
Washington Nationals,
Boggs was impressive, striking out nine Nats in six innings. He did get
hit around a bit, but showed an ability to miss bats that had never
really been apparent before. His last time out, Boggs fought mightily
against himself, walking five
Pittsburgh Pirates in only 4.1 innings, but kept the Cards in the game, with only two runs allowed.
But what's been most impressive about Boggs so far this season is just how far he seems to have come since last year.
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