oh, there they are

last night we got a little reminder that this team did limp into the post season. as evidenced by the series versus the padres and the first three games of the nlcs, they are capable of some stunning baseball. as perfectly shown by the play in which edmonds, belliard, and (correct me if i'm wrong) eckstein watched a ball fall that any one of them could have caught. we were an offensive force last night, but we were up against an offensive juggernaught.

it doesn't matter, though. everything so far this series has been a bonus for a team that finished the season only a few games over .500 in a division full of weaklings. it's now a three game series. we stand a chance in a three game series, just as any team would (hell, the royals swept the tigers at the end of the regular season... anything could freakin' happen).

now, if the new driver we hired will shut up today about the met blowout, we can all move on. just a three game series.

dear god

two stratospheric home runs
+seven rbi
+one blown save
______________________
=another outing in the season
of continuous throbbing pain

seriously, all i'm saying is that i wouldn't be surprised to see weaver and izzy sporting blacked eyes today, and bruises the exact size and shape of god-like dominican fists.

woo hoo. go mulder.

maybe his bad rehab starts were just a ruse to put other teams off. maybe he'll come in tonight and throw 101 mph left handed heat, and curveballs that look like they're headed for the upper deck dropping in for strikes in the inside corner. that must be why we're bringing an ailing veteran in for a rookie who will be a key rotation guy next year, and could use all the major league experience he can get.

maybe during batting practice, sir albert can knock shawn green's plane out of the sky so there's not one more met home run threat to worry about.

why is it that we've struggled so mightily with one of the worst teams in baseball? why do left handed rookies look good when they play us? why do both scott rolen errors in a year come against the fucking cubs?

i think dusty's poisoning our water coolers.

whatever... the remainder of this series will go the cardinals way. even this game wasn't without merits (like JEnc's homer), it's just that every time we could have made some headway, the cubs played world class baseball for a few seconds, then dropped back down to their usual caliber.

looking forward to a day game massacre... it seems we're much better at day games than night... that doesn't bode well for the playoffs, but it makes for a great finish to this series, anyway.

oh yeah, and amaury marti (my future favorite cardinal) went three for four with a homer in springfield... can we get this guy up to memphis soon, please?

oh, snap

a rather inauspicious beginning for weaver, i would say.

perhaps the whole thing wasn't his fault. after all, randy flores did come back from injury just in time to suck against a tough opponent. josh hancock wasn't the pitcher i've been touting all year, and josh kinney gave up a couple more home runs to go with his first major league pitch.

it's the anemic offense that upsets me most. facing the offensively hottest team in the nl right now, i could have accepted losing that game 15-9, but not 15-3. what is our problem with left handed pitching? are we destined to make it to the divisional series, only to have (hypothetically let's say) the padres trot out a few aa lefty starters and have us cool petco park with our patented new high powered fan system?

let's hope the guys (including jeff weaver) put it behind them and move on. i can't take another losing stretch right now.

shel·lac also shel·lack (sh-lk) KEY NOUN:
1. A purified lac in the form of thin yellow or orange flakes, often bleached white and widely used in varnishes, paints, inks, sealants, and formerly in phonograph records.
2. A thin varnish made by dissolving this substance in denatured alcohol, used to finish wood.
3. An old phonograph record containing this substance, typically played at 78 rpm. TRANSITIVE VERB:
1. shel·lacked , also shel·lacked shel·lack·ing , shel·lack·ing shel·lacs , shel·lacks To coat or finish with shellac.
2. Slang
a. To strike repeatedly and severely; batter.
b. To defeat decisively.

i think both of the slang definitions apply to last night, don't you?

we already knew ponson was having issues, but without at least a tolerably decent mulder (and for that matter, brad thompson), we are in serious trouble...

before jack was born, i would have taken great pride in staying up to hear every minute of these west coast games on the radio, 9:15 starts be damned. these days, i'm just glad it's a day game today so i can hear all the way to the end.

that first one was ugly, and i'm kind of glad i slept through the six run inning. last night was good, so i wish i had made it for the last couple of innings, but it all worked out for the best.

the first inning last night made my argument for me again, though. short rest marquis! make him pitch three simulated innings before taking the mound! tire out the sinkerballer! (especially since we might not have him next year...)

and i must say, i'm really pleased that neither marquis or mulder gave that toltec-headed slugger his record setter, aren't you? keep the flame alive, carp.

last night i went to sleep during the rain delay. when i awoke for jack's 1am feeding, i went to check gameday on the computer. it's a good thing jack was already awake, because i would have woken him up.
jeff, every walk is costly. last night, you found out just how costly.

what's with all the errors? with our groundball pitching staff, errors, especially from infielders, are costing us games. is it just coincedence that it all seems to be happening at once, or is this indicative of some clubhouse issue? whatever the case, i hope they get it out of their systems soon.

i have to say, i'm glad we're in first, but not by much. the last two years, when we were so far out in front of the rest of the central division, i, like a lot of cardinal fans, thought it hurt our drive going into the playoffs (i.e. we weren't the team with "something to prove"). frankly, i hope the division race stays closse the whole season, and that's only slightly because i used to be a reds fan.

mulder/trachsel should be interesting, especially if mulder can keep them in the park.