The Cardinals managed six hits in two games at Coors and they're 1 and 1. Part of that is Carpenter and the Rockies pitching of course and maybe there's some bad hitting there too. However there were a couple of at-bats on Tuesday where the ball just didn't seem to carry the way it used to. Actually the ball didn't seem to carry the way it does at Busch III. While it's well-documented that the humidor is having this kind of effect, it's a little different seeing it with your own eyes when your own team is playing.

My hours were a little messed-up from the Dodgers series, so I didn't see the Monday game against the Rockies on TV. It was just as well, I suppose. The best positive spin on Reyes's progress is that he's being remade into a major league pitcher, that he's a work in progress. Unfortunately in my own personal hell, I'm imagining LaRussa trying to teach Reyes how to sing "The rains in Spain fall mainly in the plains." If this keeps up, then I may need to skip another Reyes start and watch the original Rex Harrison/Audrey Hepburn version instead.

Tuesday's game had all kinds of plotlines. Carpenter's a great pitcher and Pujols did what needed to be done again. Isringhausen finished it his way and Rolen had another defensive gem, a ridiculous throw from the muck. The Rockies broadcast crew brought up Rolen's Hall of Fame case, and I'd like to check that out. But what got my attention was Clint Barmes extending his hitting streak to 13 games. As you may recall, a couple of weeks ago Barmes was the only major league regular with a worse OPS than Yadier Molina. ESPN.com's sortable stats do in fact show that Molina's 581 OPS is dead last among qualified batters, trailing Ronny Cedeno of the Cubs by about 15 points at this writing.

So here's the question I had for the Lahman database: How have young players with a 400 AB season with a sub-600 OPS fared historically? By young, I mean under the age of 24 and I'm only looking at player since WWII. I've compiled a list of such players, and it's an eye-opening stroll down memory lane:

I didn't realize Brooks Robinson was that un-accomplished as a hitter, even adjusting for era. I also didn't realize Reitz was that bad. Back to Molina, it's not that promising, but what really got my attention is that there's only one catcher on that list, John Bateman. Bateman played for the 1963 Houston Colt .45s, a bad club only in its second year. Now I assume Yadier will improve as a hitter, maybe soon enough to make this list moot, but he still is an odd duck. What the Cardinals have done and are doing with him is unique and it's remarkable that they're doing it while competing for pennants.