Thursday, October 12, 2006

Cards/Mets - Game 1

I ended up not watching this entire game as I thought I would. Instead, I was down at the Yard House in Gaslamp helping a buddy celebrate and reminisce before he heads off to Iraq. Gonna play with the EOD folks looking for IEDs. Kind of sobers you up, doesn't it? So there won't be much on the funny tonight. Especially with the 2-0 result.

Can't say this result surprises. Jeff Weaver did, in fact, pitch his butt off for 5 2/3 innings, but that one pitch sent me into convulsions, and revived memories of Beltran wearing that hideous alternate Astros jersey two years ago, You know, the one that makes them look like the Dairy Queen Astros. What's he hitting now, .700 against the Cards in his playoff career?

Other things to ponder going into Game 2:

- Do you really think LaRussa agonized over giving Carp the start tomorrow on normal rest like the papers made it out he did? C'mon. Even for an over-thinker like LaRussa, that decision was a no-brainer.

- So much for AP's vaunted base running. Got to be better tomorrow.

- Having Rolen start again tomorrow makes sense for this reason - the Mets start a rookie. Here's a chance for Rolen to get his hacks against a kid. I would really like to see him drive the ball tomorrow night, even if the hit turns into just a loud out. Would probably do him a world of good on the confidence scale. If he looks as pathetic tomorrow as he did in Games 2 and 3 of the NLDS, LaRussa should start Spiezio for the rest of the series at third. I'll take the defensive hit. We need another bat in the lineup.

- At least we had some hard outs. But the Mets are a better defensive team than I thought. No breaks tonight at the plate. The Cardinals need to be more patient at the dish. They should have known Glavine would try and paint that damn outside corner all night, with the occasional inside pitch. You have to work the count to have success against him, and they really didn't. With a rookie going tomorrow, and all that adrenalin, he could be all over the place. They'd BETTER be patient. Hammer the good pitch when you get it. Remember, the Dodgers ate this guy up early in the game.

One more thought: Last year Carp beat the Astros 5-3 in Game 1. Game 2: Oswalt shuts down the Cards 4-1. To anyone who knows anything about the game Oswalt was (and is) the Astros ace. Just like Carp is St. Louis' ace. Now I'm not such a rah-rah Cardinals fan to suggest that Weaver/Suppan/Reyes backing up Carpenter are the equivalent of Pettite/Clemens/Rodriguez behind Oswalt, but there's a parallel here. Our ace is pitching tomorrow. All the road team ever wants out of the first two games is a split. Houston did it last year and went to the World Series. We can still do that. And, as we took 2 of 3 from NY(N) in our park earlier this season, we're very much in this series. Suppan's 7-2 at home, Reyes is a tough hombre with a plus fastball and changeup, Weaver has thrown 10 2/3 innings this postseason with an ERA under 2. Win tomorrow, take 2 of 3 at home, and bring Carp back on regular rest for Game 6.

I said it before the series, and I'll say it now: Cards in 6. As Captain Caveman might say, your comments are welcome.

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