Renteria Regains Form, Impresses LaRussa
Rick Hummel
Post-Dispatch
May 25, 1999
The Edgar Renteria the Cardinals traded three of their best prospects to get last December is starting to take flight.
Renteria, bothered through spring training by the effects of a bruised knee suffered late last season when he played for Florida, performed at about three-quarters speed for the first weeks of the regular season but now is flashing the speed and range that was advertised, and his bat has come alive, too.
Renteria had three hits in each of the last two games of the recently completed series with the Dodgers, and in the second game, each of his hits, two-out singles, drove in runs.
"This is pretty close to who he is," manager Tony La Russa said.
"The guy is a complete player. Outstanding defensively. Hands. Throwing arm. Instincts. Outstanding stroke. Instincts. Outstanding baserunner. Speed. Instincts. He's probably getting where he's going to be. I'm not sure he's there yet.
"He's fun to watch. Anybody who appreciates good baseball will enjoy watching Renteria play. They've got a pretty good history of shortstops in St. Louis. I think he'll carry the banner."
Renteria is hitting .280 and has stolen five bases in his past eight games.
"I couldn't play before because I didn't feel good," Renteria said. "Now I'm healthy. When I'm healthy, I can play like this. My speed has come back. From now on, I can steal bases."
Renteria has hiked his average 30 points in his past five games.
One of the primary reasons the Cardinals spun their wheels for much of last season was their inability to hit in the clutch. They had a .243 average with men in scoring position.
This season, one of the reasons they have been reasonably more successful, notably on the road, is a remarkable upturn in tight situations. As they prepare for the San Francisco Giants tonight, the Cardinals have a .324 team average with men in scoring position.
Fernando Tatis is at .475, Shawon Dunston at .440, Joe McEwing at .425 and Eric Davis at .364.
La Russa and new hitting coach Mike Easler spent considerable time this spring addressing the mental and physical approaches to delivering clutch hits, and apparently they had some listeners.
While La Russa appreciates Easler's message and his ability to deliver it, he wants credit to go where it is due.
"I dread for anybody but the players to get the credit," La Russa said. "The reason we're doing so well with men on base is that the hitters are going up there with good concentration and putting good swings on pitches they have a chance to drive.
"They're staying in control. And by that, I mean their strike zone is in control. They're not overswinging at bad pitches."
Tatis, who has 41 runs batted in for 42 games, said, "When I see somebody on base, I just concentrate a lot more. Part of my job is to drive those runs in."
Last year, Tatis hit .211 with runners in scoring position.
Tatis hit six homers in six games at Dodger Stadium. "I like the park. Looks like the ball carries pretty well here," Tatis said.
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