In raining on the Cardinals snow-filled Opening Day parade, the Pirates scored five of their six runs on two hits, each coming on a pitcher’s count. Nyjer Morgan (career GPA: .257) slapped a two-run single in the sixth on a 1-2 count from lefty Trever Miller, and Jack Wilson (career GPA: .234) hit the game-winning three-run double on an 0-2 count in the ninth. Were the Cardinals simply unlucky? Perhaps. But even subpar major-league hitters have their strengths, and Morgan and Wilson made Cardinal pitchers pay for not respecting theirs.

Let’s look at each in turn, first with Morgan. FoxSports has a “Hot Zone” graphic that depicts how well a hitter does by pitch location (using batting average). Here’s Morgan:

So pretty much anything on the outer half of the plate is in Morgan’s wheelhouse. Where did Miller throw his 1-2 slider? Let’s look at Gameday:

Now low and away might be a safe place to live for some hitters, but for Morgan, he’s batting .500 there (.500-plus, after today).

Fast forward to the coup de grace, Wilson’s double off “baseball’s best fans’” favorite Jason Motte. As Bernie Miklasz noted, “You do not throw Jack Wilson a high fastball … he loves ‘em.” His “Hot Zone” chart:
Where did Motte, whose control was as varied as the weather in St. Louis the last week, throw his 0-2 fastball? One of the few places where Jack Wilson hits like Albert Pujols:

Mistakes like those happen. They prove how even the slightest errors make a big difference in baseball. And it’s annoying to watch pitchers “nibble” once they get ahead of batters. Still, these mistakes cost the team the ballgame today. Pitchers not executing is one problem. But this is also the responsibility of catcher Yadier Molina, who needs to remind pitchers that, while they may not want to waste a pitch, they also want to avoid the one place where batters will punish them. Wilson swung through Motte’s first pitch, which was low in the zone (where Wilson is weak). Wilson fouled off the second, which was a bit higher. At that point, Molina should have reminded Motte to keep the ball down at all costs.

The two-strike pitches marred an otherwise beautifully scripted game, which included a strong if imperfect outing from Adam Wainwright (seven strikeouts and five walks), a home run from Ryan Ludwick and aggressive baserunning from Joe Thurston and Skip Schumaker. The good news is, at the beginning of the season more than ever, there’s always tomorrow.

As is our custom, we’ve cranked out some "sabermetric" stats for the Cardinals’ camp that aren’t typically published. Today we’ll look at the final tallies for the batters; next up will be the pitchers. Below you’ll find Runs Created (RC, basic formula), Runs Created per 27 outs (RC27), Gross-Production Average (GPA) and Batting Average on Balls In Play (BABIP) for Cardinal batters with at least 10 plate appearances. For those unfamiliar or perhaps rusty on the definitions, please see our glossary page.

Some comments on a few of the numbers:

BABIP for Khalil Greene, Brian Barden and David Freese: All three of these guys had a super camp; looking at BABIP, it’s easy to see why: An abnormally high rate of the balls they put in play fell for hits. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But those BABIP rates are unsustainable and will regress closer to the .290-.300 range, thus lowering their batting averages, as well.

Ryan Ludwick’s GPA: In the same way that the aforementioned trio of outfielders got "lucky" in large part this spring, Ludwick was somewhat snakebitten, with a .230 BABIP. Still, that doesn’t tell the whole story about his subpar .225 GPA, which is a weighted OBP + SLG measurement. Conventional wisdom is that Colby Rasmus made the team to provide backup for Chris Duncan. Given Ludwick’s spring, it’s possible that it was as much for Ludwick.

Brian Barton’s GPA: Barton was an early cut, but his sabermetric numbers show that that might have been a mistake. He had a .280 GPA despite the horrible "luck" of a .200 BABIP.

RC27 for Rick Ankiel, Albert Pujols and Chris Duncan: The team will count on those Big Three to create the bulk of runs this season, so it’s reassuring to see them get off to a healthy start in spring.

Dodgers (89 wins): The Dodgers, who were very average offensively last year with a .333 OBP, will benefit from a full year (presumably, anyway) of Manny Ramirez. The’re solid, if not spectacular, up and down the lineup, and any unsteadiness in their rotation is offset by a strong bullpen.
Diamondbacks (88 wins): Webb-Haren is as good as it gets in 1-2 punches in the rotation. After that, it’s a bit dodgy, but their young team is a year more experienced. Losing Adam Dunn probably meant losing the division. Out on a limb: Curt Schilling pulls a Roger Clemens and returns to the team after the All-Star break and leads them to the playoffs.
Rockies (74 wins): If Todd Helton regains his old form for a career coda, the Rockies’ offense, projected by BPro to score the second-most runs in the league, will keep them in some games. And catcher Chris Iannetta is underrated. But as a Cardinal fan, we’re required to be skeptical of any team that pencils in Jason Marquis as their third starter.
Giants (74 wins): Can a team with Randy Johnson and Barry Zito in their rotation finish below .500? Yes, if it’s 2009 and the lineup projects maybe one player to hit above .350 OBP. The good news is that, as the Giants fade farther out of contention, Zito’s Tweets-per-day will increase.
Padres (67 wins): This regrouping club has become the Pirates of the West. They at least nullified some of their dislikable index brought on by Brian Giles’s off-field idiocy by bringing in David Eckstein. But all bets are off after Jake Peavy starts, given that the once-dependable Chris Young has yet to recover from his Albert Pujols devastation.

Cubs (93 wins): Offense is still stacked, though much hinges on the health of Milton Bradley, which usually isn’t a winning strategy. While their pitching staff, when healthy, is dominant, the first four in the rotation are all on the wrong side of their peaks.
Cardinals (88 wins): Khalil Greene may be an upgrade at shortstop, but the team will find it difficult to repeat the 2008 seasons of Ryan Ludwick and Troy Glaus. They will contend until Carpenter’s motor blows, and a Rick Ankiel deadline trade will benefit the club long-term but incense the shortsighted fan base.
Reds (78 wins): Despite losing the unappreciated Adam Dunn, the Reds will surprisingly decent, with promising young players in the outfield and first base. Their starting staff, assuming Aaron Harang regresses to his usual self, is as deep as anyone’s in the division.
Brewers (78 wins): When the most complimentary adjective you can give your starting rotation is “innings eaters,” you’re in for a long season. Losing CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets, who accounted for 12% of the team’s Win Shares in 2008, the Brewers might see a nine-game falloff from their 87 Pythagorean wins last year.
Astros (76 wins): We look down the lineup and see age. Carlos Lee, Miguel Tegada, Lance Berkman and Ivan Rodriguez would’ve made for an All-Star team in the early 2000s but now epitomize the decline of the division’s one-time pride. Berkman will still produce, but not enough to compensate for a rotation that includes Mike Hampton and Russ Ortiz.
Pirates (66 wins): The Pirates have a few bright spots, and actually outscored division foes Houston and Cincinnati in 2008. But even if Nate McLouth repeats, Nyjer Morgan and Brandon Moss together won’t create as many runs as Jason Bay does in Boston.

For Schumaker, a position revamp isn’t lone fortuity out of leftfield.

An infielder’s glove isn’t the only new thing that Cardinal second baseman Skip Schumaker will be trying on for the 2009 season. On Wednesday morning, Schumaker announced that he’s going to play the upcoming season under the name “Cinco Cinco.”

“I figured that, with the new position and all, why not change the name, too?” Schumaker said. “It’s a whole new me.”

Schumaker acknowledged that the unconventional moniker, Spanish for each of the digits in his uniform number, would be strange at first for fans but noted that it wouldn’t be without its benefits on the team.

“Sometimes in the dugout it gets confusing, people saying ‘Skip’ and meaning [manager] Tony [La Russa]. So I’m going with Cinco Cinco. It’s just easier.”

Schumaker follows in the footsteps of the Cincinnati Bengals’ Ocho Cinco, formerly known as Chad Johnson, who changed his name to his uniform number — 85 — last season.

“Hey, it worked for, you know, what’s his name — that guy who plays wide receiver for the Bengals.”

Schumaker informed the team of his decision yesterday, and the club has already issued a set of revised jerseys.

“‘Mo’ [GM John Mozeliak] understood. I’ve kind of had an identity issue all my life, honestly,” said Schumaker, whose birth name is Jared Michael. “My family and people who don’t know me call me ‘Jared’ and fans call me ‘Skip,’ so this simplifies things. All they have to do is look at my jersey and remember the Spanish word for five.”

Cinco Cinco figures to bat numero uno on opening day and play position quattro for the first time in his major league career. The Cardinals and manager Tony La Russa are just hoping he can avoid a sombrero.

“I’m going to write in number 55 at the top of my lineup card, so it works either way for me,” said Tony La Russa, now the team’s sole Skip. La Russa noted that he’s already planning to rename several of his pets with Spanish numbers.

Teammate and Dominican Republic native Albert Pujols accepts the new name.

“It’s funny that a guy with a Swedish [Schumaker is actually German] name would want to change to a Spanish one,” said Albert Pujols. “But as long as he doesn’t change it to El Hombre, I don’t judge, you know what I’m saying, mang?”

Upon hearing Schumaker’s announcement, MLB commissioner Bud Selig issued a statement Wednesday morning, saying, “Baseball isn’t just America’s game, anymore. Cinco Cinco’s bold decision shows how far we’ve come in reaching out to global markets. We’re doing a lot to diversify the fan base. I’m very proud of that.”