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Game 147 Open Thread: September 14, 2005

let's take stock of the last two evenings. for starters, the cards have been outhit 24-13. of the nine runs they have scored, one came home on an error; another, on a wild pitch that barely dribbled past the catcher; and two others on bloop hits to the opposite field. their mvp candidate has gotten only two at-bats; their cy young-type pitcher got rudely reintroduced to the fat portion of hitters' bats, suffering his 2d-worst outing of the season; and their bullpen has done nothing to soothe the jittery nerves hereabouts. even the two luminaries assigned to the countdown detail in the right-field corner -- jackie joyner-kersey on monday, dave ricketts last night -- were both a tad on the wan side.

it goes without saying that the cardinals won both games on walkoff base hits. of course they did; of course. it has been that kind of season. stl now has 93 wins, which is the total that i, back in april, predicted they would have at the end the year . . . . win 94 may be the clincher.

just a couple of quick notes: eckstein up in the bottom of the 9th last night, two outs, rbi situation --- you all know the drill: he was hacking. swung at the first pitch and put a pretty good cut on it too, fouled it off. situational aggressiveness, my fav'ite eckstein trait; he ended the game on the next pitch . . . . eckstein is very quietly having a career year --- personal bests in slugging percentage (.390), isolated power (.102), walks (52), triples (7), and extra-base hits, plus near-bests in batting avg, on-base pct, homers, and ops. he stands 3d on the cardinals in runs batted in. . . . .

eckstein also showed off his arm on what ranks as one of the most gorgeous plays of the season, the 8-6-2 relay to nail ty wigginton at the plate in the 4th inning monday night. those of us sitting in section 248 had a perfect angle on the play, which ended with eckstein's 180-foot peg to molina --- arriving on the fly, ankle high, and right on the baseline. picture perfect. baseball fans stare at stat lines so much in this era, trying to tease out vectors and arcs in the data, that we sometimes underappreciate the pure vectors and arcs that unfold on the field, balls traveling through space and baserunners in orbit. when it all comes together as beautifully as it did on that play . . . . as i said at the time, that alone was worth the price of admission.

both of these games echoed this game from may 24, when the pirates outhit st louis 11-6 but still fell in 12 innings, 2-1. . . . . before last night, this was the last time walker, edmonds, and sanders all started together in the outfield . . . .


marquis             perez
12-13, 4.11        6-5, 6.16


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2005
this 2005 team may grind out 100 wins, which is remarkable if you consider the fact we havent ever got on a huge run this season. whats our biggest win streak?

we just been consistently winning series'. and winning series' advances you thru the postseason.

i like this teams chances more than the blessed 2004 season, which seemed fantastical. the 2005 team doesnt rely on magic to win, they steal the win from you.

by 2ndprize on Sep 14, 2005 9:56 AM EDT   0 recs

I wonder if there really is something
special about playing for the Cardinals.

While there are exceptions, it seems to me that veterans tend to play better when they first arrive in St. Louis, and players who are traded seem to play worse. Larry Walker perked up after arriving from Colo., as did Eckstein. Vagabond John Rodriguez obviously likes it there. McGuire famously raved about the environment, and then, of course, there is Eckstein.

Meanwhile, Renteria is practically persona non grata in Boston, and Tony Womac, after a career year in StL., was sucking wind in baseball's Mecca last I checked.

Not a lot of data points, but I think there is a reason why teams like New York and Chicago (Cubs) don't necessarily win despite their fat payrolls.

by Red in Chicago on Sep 14, 2005 10:05 AM EDT   0 recs

Not to mention
that Jim Ed was considered a "cancer" in the Angels clubhouse, and has been nothing short of spectacular with the Birds. Plus, he's become a leader on the team, as is Reggie. Maybe there really IS some mystique...

by cardsrul on Sep 14, 2005 11:33 AM EDT   0 recs

Don't forget about
Ron Gant, the Big Cat and their ilk, however.  I think some of it is TLR and Duncan being very good at dealing with veterans, some of it is having the pressure removed because they aren't the lone players in the lineup, some of it may be playing in front of a non-hostile crowd (could you imagine starting for Philly?) and some of it just good ol' chance.

by Valatan on Sep 14, 2005 11:50 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

All true...
and I think the respect of the fans is huge for them. Remember the standing O Larry got for his first at-bat? A strikeout! Think that would happen in Boston or NYC or Chi or Philly? Not a chance. That's gotta make a vet feel at home.

by rockin redbird on Sep 14, 2005 12:00 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Hhhmmmnnn...
Memory fart--was it a strikeout or a can of corn? Regardless, the point is the same.

by rockin redbird on Sep 14, 2005 12:09 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Game 147
perhaps has more to do with the type of person the club brings in. although does seem to work for some of the misunderstood in the press, like edmonds and jack clark. but it failed spectacularly with tino martino.

by thatsawinner on Sep 14, 2005 1:14 PM EDT   0 recs

lineups have been posted
and pujols is back!
matty fred is a weblog.

by matty fred on Sep 14, 2005 1:29 PM EDT   0 recs

Grudz & Pujols back
Eckstein SS
Grudzielanek 2B
Pujols 1B
Gall LF
Taguchi CF
Seabol 3B
Diaz C
Luna RF
Marquis P

by STLEdge on Sep 14, 2005 1:29 PM EDT   0 recs

marquis
should be batting 2nd in that lineup.
dum loquimur fugerit invida aetas

by Neth on Sep 14, 2005 2:06 PM EDT   0 recs

Perez
got tossed for hitting Luna. Hmmm....

by cardsrul on Sep 14, 2005 2:59 PM EDT   0 recs

and there goes
Oliver Perez.  He must've said something bad about Eric Cooper's mammy. Either that or it was a preemptive strike to keep the simmering Cards-Bucs rancor from exploding.  Probably a good move, although I would've liked to have seen Duncan vs. Perry II:  The Redemption!

by Hummingbird on Sep 14, 2005 3:00 PM EDT   0 recs

Anyone watching or listening to a broadcast?
I'm keeping track on Gameday... and am curious about the ejection... although the way the Pirates pen pitched last night... not optimistic.

by Matt on Sep 14, 2005 3:19 PM EDT   0 recs

I am
it looks like the ump thought it was intentional or perez may have said something. w/e it was, mackanin didn't argue too vociferously.

by cardsrul on Sep 14, 2005 3:24 PM EDT   0 recs

It's time
Do it Albert!!

by Matt on Sep 14, 2005 4:41 PM EDT   0 recs

Eldred versus Eldred
No telling what could happen from this.

by Hummingbird on Sep 14, 2005 4:55 PM EDT   0 recs

Why is Luna always the target?
Isn't there somebody who hits better that they can throw at? No wonder they're in the cellar.

P.S. With the Reyes-Reyes matchup against the Mets, and the Eldred-Eldred matchup against the Bucs, I think something funny may be going on.

by Red in Chicago on Sep 14, 2005 4:56 PM EDT   0 recs

Lloyd McClendon probably
told them before he left to keep punishing Luna for sending their 2b to the DL.

by Matt on Sep 14, 2005 5:02 PM EDT   0 recs

bottom of the ninth coming up
this is where we win, right>
dum loquimur fugerit invida aetas

by Neth on Sep 14, 2005 5:16 PM EDT   0 recs

When October rolls around...
IMO we need to start calling on Eldred to pitch the 8th instead of Julian. He is scaring me on a regular basis.

by Matt on Sep 14, 2005 5:19 PM EDT   0 recs

oh snap
Albert's got another shot at heroism.

by Hummingbird on Sep 14, 2005 5:21 PM EDT   0 recs

rats...
Guess we couldn't expect to have the fairy tale ending three days in a row...

by DCRedbird on Sep 14, 2005 5:31 PM EDT   0 recs

silver lining
we get to clinch in Chicago now.

by VanRam on Sep 14, 2005 6:19 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

ball game.
Yeah, I guess it's too much to expect to give up that many hits, make that many errors, leave that many guys on base and STILL win.  Not a bad outing for Marquis qua pitcher, although not as dominant as his last three starts.  No walks, 5 Ks.  I'm really interested to see how the playoff pitching roster shapes up.

by Hummingbird on Sep 14, 2005 5:33 PM EDT   0 recs

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