How Fast is Bourjos??

Growing up his high school was new and did not have a track team, so Peter Bourjos never ran the 50 or 100 yard dash competitively. But on Wednesday night, you didn’t need a stopwatch to see the speed of the St. Louis Cardinals centerfielder in action.

Bourjos hit his first triple of the season, but even more impressive than his acceleration around the bases was a catch he made in the 7th inning to rob Philadelphia’s Chase Utley of an extra base hit. According to a press box source who tracks such plays, Bourjos covered 107 feet from where he started, which was shaded in left center, to make the catch on the warning track in right center.

“I have a pretty good idea, usually it’s just whether the wall’s going to get in the way or not,” stated Bourjos of knowing his range to go and get fly balls. “Obviously, that depends on where you’re playing guys but tonight I felt like I had a good jump and just tried to get back there as quick as I can and luckily it was just in front of the wall so I could make a play on it.”

“We talk about how good his defense is but you see the closing speed in person when you watch that ball go in the gap, very impressive,” praised Mike Matheny, who didn’t think it was going to be caught. “No, when you look up and see how the ball’s carrying and you see how far he is–how much ground he’s got to cover. There’s not many guys in the league who are gonna make that play.”

Besides the RBI triple in the 5th, Bourjos added a single in the 6th inning for his first multi-hit game since September 16th of last season.

STANLEY TO BE OPTIONED

–Following Wednesday’s victory, Cody Stanley made the rounds to shake hands with teammates in the clubhouse. He will be optioned to Memphis to make room for Thursday’s starter, Tim Cooney, to be added to the roster.

In a professional move, Stanley was willing to answer questions about what he had gained from his first experience in the big leagues…

photo credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports