7 up

This game really comes down to one thing...which Cardinals team will show up?  

Will it be the regular season team, that went into frequent offensive slumps and once they got down basically rolled over?  Or will it be the new resurgent playoff team that battles and creates offense up and down the lineup?  

I agree with glen above, getting on the board early is a huge advantage.  If they would have scratched out a run or two against Maine in that first inning last night, I have a feeling he might have unraveled.  

Knowing what a head case Perez is, get a few runs in the first few innings and watch him come apart.

I agree with lboros - if Suppan gets the win tonight and looks even half way decent, he's the series MVP.

Does anyone want to venture a guess as to how much money that would translate into in a month or two when he signs as a free agent with team X?

Here's hoping he can pitch himself out of the price range of the Cardinals!

(You know what I mean.)

I am sick of the stats though. He has put up good numbers in the past against a few of these pitchers, but hasn't done much this series. If he is in the game tonight, he better produce big or I want to see the Spiez take over.

keep in mind that 3 weeks ago the cards chances of surviving the regular season were not too good, let alone the nlds.  regardless of what happens tonight, i think we can say that taking the mets to a game 7 of the nlcs after a season that supposedly marked the beginning of the end for this cards dynasty is pretty amazing...that being said, here's to a trip to detroit on saturday!

Just a few weeks ago, it seems like a season ago, we would have been elated with the prospects of a game 7 versus the Mets. My how times have changed! With Soup on the mound, our chances of pulling off Part II of the postseason saga are pretty damn good. Find some fingernails to chew, something to kick, and some cold brewski's, and thank the baseball gods that we aren't fans of the teams that couldn't make it to the playoff's. Go Cards...this Bud's for you.

...I don't think he's going to shut them out.  They need to score a few runs early for him so the Mets can grind a little on their at bats.  Most of the Cards have been there, most of the Mets haven't.  I think the short rest might affect Perez a little, but only if we get him in the right spots.  I agree that Rolen and Taguchi need to start, especially for defensive purposes.

I know, last night hurt.  But, behind every great, life-long Game 7 memory is a heart-breaking Game 6 defeat.  Not to worry.

One of the things about this series for the Cards has been this:  If we had won Game 6, who would the MVP have been.  Not only do we not have 1 guy that is playing great.  We don't really have ANYBODY who is playing well.  Everybody is sort of mucking along in 3rd gear.

Game 7 will fix that.  Bert, Belly and Incky will come up big, but the MVP will be Soupan.  16 consecutive scoreless innings in the LCS against this lineup is my recipe for an MVP performance equal to any in history.

I'm pretty damn proud of these guys.  We've all heard about the clubhouse bickering, drama, and lack of speaking.  One thing though, these guys don't quit.  We have not went away yet.  In game 1, we kept hitting the ball hard against Glav, just no holes were found.  We followed up the implosion sunday w/ a 2HR at bat the next half inning.  Last night we got a couple off Wags in the ninth, causing him to throw 24 pitches.  Granted, emotion and adrenaline takes over in game 7's, but those 24 pitches could come in to play tonight...

have done very well just to get to this point.  You've got two DFA'ed guys on the roster, one of which, against the odds (Weaver) has come through big time in the post season.  Mulder got hurt.  Isringhousen got hurt.  Edmonds missed a bunch of time.  Pujols missed time. Rolen isn't 100% Two eight game losing streaks and a seven gamer.  Yet the Cards are one win away from going to the big dance.  Win or Lose, the players on that team have found a way to get through A LOT of adversity to get where they are.  You should be proud of your team, win or lose.  (with your pitching advantage tonight, I would think they will win.)

Good luck tonight.

were telling before the game last night.  The Fat White Guy interviewed him, I think - not sure.

"I'm as healthy as I can get right now."

"who knows how well I can play?  I can play as well as I can play."

Stuff like that.  

But I'm enjoying this series a ton.  I had very low expectations going into the postseason - against San Diego and then against the Mets.  Heck, I voted on the VEB poll that the Cards would lose in the NLDS.

I based it on the personnel of the team, not the personality of the team.  I thought too many DFA pickups, too many free swingers, too little pitching, starters and bullpen.

THe Cards' performance has been an elevation of their game.  They have played phenomenally better than I expected.  Games like last night seem to me to be more of a regression to the mean.

I love their grit, from Scott Rolen's double in Game 1 vs. San Diego, to last night's 9th iniing vs. Wagner.  This team has been fun to watch in the postseason.

And TLR has been fantastic.  Some moves were questionable, but logical in the larger contaxt.  In game 5, I was surprised to see Duncan PH vs. a lefty, until I thought about saving the RH batters for later inning, higher leverage ABs.

I missed last night's game as I was flying from NYC to SF.  Met up with a great group of Cardinal fans to watch Game 5 at Dewey's Flatiron.  Made watching the game fun.

If the Cards lose tonight, I won't be upset.  They were up 3 to 2 with their two best pitchers going.  Perfect set up.  It means the Mets beat our best.  You would have to tip your cap to them.

That being said, I like our chances tonight.  Supp may not be as good as he was in Game 3, but with Perez on short rest, I don't think he needs to be.  Rolen got a good hit last night.  I like the way things are set up for the Cards tonight.

Let's go Cards.  Keep up this improbable run to the next round!

against lefthanded pitching, does anyone think it's possible that the Mets will throw out the tag-team of Perez-Oliver-Glavine to get through seven innings or so?

And like several other posters this morning, I'm ready to accept whatever transpires tonight. I never expected the team to even make it to the NLCS, much less being in Game 7.

Sure, I'd be disappointed if we lose, but not upset. We've been rolling the dice with house money since the San Diego series.

Here's to hoping we don't crap out.

Go Cards! Go beards!

Have you noticed the last few years in the NLCS, we have done very well against the closers. You think Wagner will pull a Lidge and fall apart now?

How else could you explain the Cardinals getting to a game 7 (and could have won in 6) given these stats:

Cardinals averaging just over 4 runs a game vs. a battered Mets' pitching staff
Pujols with only 1 RBI
Carpenter with 2 starts and 0 wins

171 games into the season and we are still playing.  If you are a fan of baseball, it doesn't get any better than that.  I think I'll break out the Kool and the Gang before the game to see if it brings us some luck.  Go Cards!  

Maybe this is a stupid question.

Why does this team struggle against lefthanded starters?    Correct me if I'm wrong, but as a hitter, don't you want to hit righthanded against lefty starters?  And almost all of our hitters are righthanded.

I looked up Pujols and Beltran as examples.  

Pujols has a slightly higher higher average against lefties but a noticeably higher OPS against righties.   Kinda weird.

Beltran has a higher average and a much higher OPS against righties, as I'd expect.  

Edmonds would be another example that popped into my head - MUCH better against righties.

I think I understand what the statistics SHOULD be, but I don't understand why, in the real world, our team's hitting performance against lefty starters is so poor.

Good Morning, fellow Redbird fanatics...

As long as we're discussing So Taguchi starting in LF tonight, why not also start Aaron Miles?  He's 2-3 in this series, with a 3B in Game 5.  Although he's not got the arm strength of a Belliard, Belliard isn't exactly tearing the cover off the ball (.227 in 6 games) like he was against the Padres.  I'd go with this lineup:

Eckstein SS
Taguchi LF
Pujols 1B
Edmonds CF
Encarnacion RF
Rolen 3B
Miles 2B
Molina C
Suppan P

Thoughts?

Last Soup start, we had Speezer in LF and Wilson in RF.  Last Perez start, we had Speezer in LF and Inky in RF.  Those two starts, Speez 1-7, Wilson 1-3, Inky 1-4.  So, pick your poison.  Three of the Muts hits vs Soup were to RF, including a Reyes triple.  So, I'd start SO in LF and Wilson in RF (and flip the two if So can play any RF at all).

Gotta go with Belly, and Eck, but I'd LOVE to get Miles into this game.  Does he have ANY time at third?  Rolen only had 2 balls hit to him in Soup's last start, so maybe you can stick Miles there with no real defensive expense.  And I think he's likely to hit better than Scotty.  So say Miles, Eck, Belly and Bert on the IF.

Soup and YoMo as your battery, and

THERE'S YOUR ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

Cards win 6-2.  Soup is MVP of the series.

ps:  I've had a funny feeling all series.  I just think Bennett is going to do something special.  Watch for some heroics from the Snow(cone) Man!

This will be their 21st pennant, making the team legal imbibers!

:-)  (hickup)

Team   G   AB   R   H   2B   3B   HR   RBI   TB   BB   SO   SB   CS   OBP   SLG   AVG  

St. Louis Cardinals 6 196 25 50 6 4 8 24 88 26 26 4 1 .348 .449 .255
New York Mets 6 202 26 50 11 1 8 26 87 18 30 5 0 .315 .431 .248  

LOB:  Cards 99, 83  (don't like you children look at this stat!  It's definitely NC17 stuff)

Looks like a couple of evenly matched teams to me.

Belliard    2-3, 0RBI, 2TB, 0R, 0HR, 0BB
Eckstein     2-3, 1RBI, 5TB, 1R, 1HR, 0BB
Molina             2-3, 2RBI, 5TB, 1R, 1HR, 0BB
Edmonds     1-3, 1RBI, 4TB, 1R, 1HR, 0BB
Encarnacion     1-3, 1RBI, 3TB, 0R, 0HR, 0BB   
Rolen         1-3, 0RBI, 1TB, 0R, 0HR, 0BB
Pujols        0-3, 0RBI, 0TB, 0R, 0HR, 0BB
Spiezio            0-2, 0RBI, 0TB, 1R, 1HR, 0BB
Duncan             0-1, 0RBI, 0TB, 0R, 0HR, 0BB

and am rewatching Game 7 in 2004 from my Busch Stadium DVD set (thanks again for posting the link to that sale Hardcore!).

I don't know how, but I was just once again blown away by Jimmy's catch in the top of the 2nd.  Right now it's the bottom of the 2nd, and I'm eagerly awaiting Scotty's homer off Clemens in the 6th.

We're going to win tonight.  We must win tonight.

Go Cards!

We have to win tonight.

Suppan needs to show up like he did on Saturday.

Our offense better show up.

As hard on So as I've been, I want him starting in LF or RF.

Put Speezer at 3B.

Although at times we have disagreed on certain issues, I have found your writing (and your co-conspirators) to be informative and enjoyable. Many thanks for making it a manadatory daily read.

Tonight will determine whether it's summer for another week or so.

For all of the TLR detractors out there, this is the 6th time in the last 11 years the Cards have played for the right to go to the World Series. In my book, that's pretty darn good, given the vagaries of baseball.

I also learned after Game 7 of 1985 the sun does come up the following day.

The numbers against Perez don't really matter that much. Either we light him up early, and he'll be gone quickly--and if we don't, they don't mean anything.

I'm hoping for a 6 run first inning--but I wanted the same thing last night too. Maybe I sure make it clear--I want a 6 run inning for the Cards.

At least Josh and Adam should be fresh if they need to pitch.

Go get 'em Jeff.

Dave

as measured by the cummulative runners stranded by each batter.

According to my calculator, that's 1.79 per inning; in other words, a guy on first and a guy standing 19 feet on the first base side of second.  Hmmmm, why doesn't the Mut pitcher pick that .79 guy off at second?  Something to think about, anyway.

Actually, since its a AB stat, it works out to .5 per AB . . . wow.  That means, statistically, everybody on the teams gonna get up to bat with 1 or more guys on tonight, ant that means CHANCES!  So keep it up boys, the more chances, the more chances somebody pokes one through the hole.

Stop worrying about the Puppy Kicker's "explosive" offense and start doing a little exploding of your own.

b/t/w:  lose the stupid shift.  It's cost us more hits than it's saved, by my count, 5-2.  

Cards win 6-2; MVP SoupCan

nice post lboros, and if as you correctly point out rolen is getting on at a .350 clip this series, and we basically have to start him anyways given how this whole "benching" drama is developing, so why not bat him in front of albert?  

it makes sense too for later if we decide to pinch hit for the guy should a tough righty come in [i.e., chad braford or heilman].  it would work out nicely with our options as spiezo, duncan, or anyone else.  we have to find a way to either get albert in when he gets on, or at the very least put the bat back in his hands.  it's not like we have too many other guys who are looking good up there right now besides albert and yadi.  just an observation.

so my vote for the line up:

Eckstein
Rolen
Pujols
Encarnacion
Wilson
Edmonds
Belliard
Molina
Suppan

so far things things in 2006 haven't really gone according to plan, so why not?

also, any chance you guys think we might see anthony reyes in relief tonight?  might be a nice 7th inning strike out guy as an alternative to thompson/hancock, in case we need a bridge to kinney/johnson for the 8th and then wainright in the 9th.

guess we're gonna see what we're made of tonight.  it's all about heart, and tonight i think suppan, edmonds, eckstein, and rolen will show they have that heart.  i believe we'll win tonight.

cards win: 6-4.

Thanks for the post, Iboros; you are not just a great webmaster, also a good baseball therapist.  I too am more calm any more after a loss (if not during).  But I hope to be cheering madly this evening with my neighbor in Kaneohe.  I too vote for So in left.  When he does well, people in Hawai`i pay attention!

was rummaging on Itunes after last night's debacle, and at #71 is a song from Mat Kearney, suited for the occasion ...

"Nothing Left To Lose"

Something's in the air tonight
The sky's alive with a burning light
You can mark my words something's about to break

And I found myself in a bitter fight
While I've held your hand through the darkest night
Don't know where you're coming from but you're coming soon

[bridge]
To a kid from Oregon by way of California
All of this is more than I've ever known or seen

[chorus]
Come on and we'll sing, like we were free
Push the pedal down watch the world around fly by us
Come on and we'll try, one last time
I'm off the floor one more time to find you
And here we go there's nothing left to choose
And here we go there's nothing left to lose

So I packed my car and I headed east
Where I felt your fire and a sweet release
There's a fire in these hills that's coming down
And I don't know much but I found you here
And I can not wait another year
Don't know where you're coming from but you're coming soon

[bridge]

[chorus]

I can still hear the trains out my window
From Hobart Street to here in Nashville
I can still smell the pomegranates grow
And I don't know how hard this wind will blow
Or where we'll go

One thing that I have noticed as everyone else has as well, is that our bats will absolutely shut down in the NLCS, especially on the road.  Last night's game gave me nightmare's of Brandon Backe.  Maybe I am like Pujols, but I refuse to give credit to pitchers like Maine that our lineup decides to choke on applesauce against. It's tough  to see us watching fastball after fastball go by, then swinging at offspeed pitches out of the zone that he couldn't throw for strikes.  It's frustrating to see our hitters not take quality at bats, yet we've got pitchers out there that our keeping us in every game (except 4).  That being said it's been so much fun watching this team compete, and watching our young players mature.  Here's to one more great start from Soup, and some clutch hitting, closed out by another sick hammer from the Rook.

DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Done, Done, D-O-N-E DONE with the Cardinals.

I hope the Cardinals clean much of the house this offseason.  Although I have been a fan my whole life and like everyone here, very proud of their post-season run, I would like to see most of our players leave, assuming the FA market is rediculous high like last offseason.  

No one wants Marquis, period.

Edmonds isn't worth the 12 million.  At 6-7  I might consider, but not 10-12.

I hope that Walt doesn't sign Weaver at 6-7 million a year just because of 3 good games.  He has performed, but I think he is still only worthy of 3 mil at most.

Rolen is going to be a big question... His defense is always great, but the offensive fall-off since July has been brutal.  Something more is wrong with that shoulder, and I don't know if 'rest' will fix it.

Anyways, I like the young bullpen and would just like the management to make a few smarter picks.  Why keep paying 35 year olds on the downslope when we can lock a younger player in for years with more upswing as they approach their best years?

a 3 run homer by Edwards in the 1st......Suppan goes 8 1/3, gets pulled after giving up a solo home run to one of the Carlos's.  Kinney pitches a scoreless 2/3 inning.  Then Wainwright throws only six pitches to retire the side in the ninth.  That's good, isn't it?  I really want to see Edwards involved in my dream win!

You just beat me to it.

And here's to him going out on top.  I really don't want this to be his last game as a Cardinal.  I agree that he's not worth 10mill in guaranteed money.  I do think he's worth 7 mill though, and that's essentially our option.  Granted he's a little hollywood, but like one of you said earlier this week, "He's our hollywood".  Here's to OUR HOLLYWOOD

I mistakenly called Jim Edmonds, Jim Edwards, and you all didn't skip a beat.....called him Edwards, too.  As my son would say, LOL!

well shoot i had to get a new cat for the wife since i killed her other one last night!!! i spraypainted this one red so lets see what happens!! great point by our esteemed moderator  after the games are over win or lose our lives do not drastically change i hardly slept at all last night i was in shock we lost that game but tonight im just gonna enjoy the show win or lose im so proud of this team for comming so far this year!! homnestly this playoff run has been more exciting then any ive ever watched except 1982  oh what a year that was!! do you all remember?  i was downtown dancing in the street still a young man haveing the time of my life!! this year ive been watching with my 14 year old daughter and we have over the course of the last 2 weeks been bonding like never before it has been absolutly wonderfull!! she become my buddy not just my kid and its because of this goofy game of baseball we have found new ground to grow together on!! well i feel very relaxed and confident tonight we are getting 100 hot wings and even my old man is comming over to watch with us!!!  ill be on at 11 pm to celebrate with all of cardinal nation tonight   my  daughter sais that Albert and Jimmy Baseball will steal the how tonight so we will see!!  by the way give jimmy the 7 million next year hes such a delight to watch in center field i wish people would get off his back hes a great player border line hall of fame material  lets not be like the unclassy boorish new york crouds. we love the CARDINALS!!!!!

So do I have to change my name??? GO CARDS. I get off work in 3 now 2 minutes and then its BUD TIME!

I keep thinking the former 2004 candidate.

That said, I hope Jim EDMONDS comes up big tonight

will tell a lot. I just can't see Oliver Perez coming out and pitching well on short rest. If we get 1 or 2 early that'll get in his head.

Hitters gotta try to take everything to opposite field. Play station-to-station baseball. Just see the next pitch, just get to first base.

Here's to a great game from the best team to cheer for in baseball, and a game thread that is on par with the greatness that this game will bring!

At what time should I begin to drink tonight?

I was thinking I should start about 1 hr before game time, just to take the edge off.
Then, traditionally, it depends on what the cards are doing.
Trailing big after the first?  Start drinking more!
Winning big after the first? Start drinking more!
Anything in between?  Drink more.

I am not a big drinker, believe it or not, but Cards playoff baseball kills me each year.
I swear I put on 10 pounds each year from bad food and good drink during the playoffs.

Am I crazy?