Viva El Birdos, a St. Louis Cardinals community

Grin not included. Towels recommended. With most players ticketed for a three-day layover at home, first baseman Albert Pujols concluded a strange but productive first half by taking the team's four other All-Stars to Anaheim, Calif., along with him on a private charter. Like many high-profile athletes, Pujols purchases blocks of time. Left fielder Matt Holliday, catcher Yadier Molina and pitchers Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter were glad to accept. "Very nice," said Wainwright, on his way to his first midsummer exhibition. "I mean ... very nice." P-D Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina polled his teammates on what they planned to wear to interviews and other festivities. Chris Carpenter said a collared shirt and jeans. Matt Holliday said a collared shirt and jeans. Adam Wainwright, an All-Star rookie, said what they said. They all knew what Albert Pujols would wear. P-D via Leach: TwitPic WILL TWO CARDS PITCH? PROBABLY NOT The Cardinals have two pitchers on the National League All-Star team for tomorrow night's 81st renewal of the midsummer classic but first-timer Adam Wainwright is more likely to pitch than Chris Carpenter. Wainwright, who finished just ahead of No. 6 Carpenter, was chosen as one of the five NL starters on the players' ballot. And National League manager Charlie Manuel of Philadelphia isn't apt to employ two starters from the same team, if he doesn't have to. "I hope it doesn't come down to me or Carp. . . but we probably aren't both going to get a chance. Do we play them any time soon?" said Wainwright, knowing the answer (the teams have four games in St. Louis next week). "He might want to do it on purpose then," joked Wainwright. "I have no expectations or no understanding of how this works. I'm used to watching on TV while I'm making a hamburger." Wainwright said he had watched last year's All-Star Game and many others on TV. Had he ever seen the National League win? "I'm older than 13," said Wainwright. "But it's been a while (1996) hasn't it?" The All-Star experience highlight so far for Wainwright, he said, was riding from Houston on the private plane arranged by All-Star teammate Albert Pujols. "Pretty awesome plane," said Wainwright. "Beats flying coach." Pujols smiled when Wainwright's praise was relayed to him. "I'm sure he's going to be on a few more of these teams and maybe someday he'll be doing that," said Pujols. With the All-Star Game being in the shadows of Hollywood, Wainwright was asked his favorite actor. "Val Kilmer. He played the very best movie role of all time in 'Doc Holliday, Tombstone.' I also like Matt Damon for all his action flicks." P-D Part 1 - Carpenter (video) Part 2 - Wainwright (video) Wowed by the media attention aka Kevin Millar (video) "I'm excited to be here, obviously," said Carpenter, "but I'd be more excited watching [Wainwright] pitch." And how did Wainwright celebrate the night before his first All-Star Game? After watching the Home Run Derby Monday, he went home and ordered room service pizza for his his wife, Jenny, his two daughters and himself. "Nobody was really feeling like going to any galas or anything," said Wainwright. P-D video of Cliff Lee's interview, Cardinals families in the Red Carpet Parade in background "I’m not going to call any shots," Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright said. "I just know we have a team that’s good enough to do it. No billboard material coming from my mouth." But? "It would be nice to throw the AL a whuppin’." FoxSports andrewdmoses I'm with half of the people in my feed right now, bring in the one they call Waino. #ASG about 11 hours ago via web Waino es bueno (video) Jam? What jam? (video) No big deal, except for the little fact that one month ago, Wainwright faced Wells for the first time in Toronto, and Wells blistered him for two home runs. So that was Wells' career line coming in against Wainwright: 2 for 2, with two home runs. You better believe that's what the Cardinals righty was thinking about as he walked the high-wire attempting to help deliver the NL an historic victory. "It's hard to get that out of your brain," Wainwright said. CBS BJRains Wainwright had to wait around a long time after warming up before coming in to pitch. Wonder if that mattered at all. about 11 hours ago via web MatthewHLeach This just in: Waino es bueno. #nasty #asg #stlcards about 11 hours ago via web "I just know what you see on TV," Wainwright said. "I've never faced [Torii Hunter] before. I know he's a good breaking-ball hitter when you leave it in the zone, and I know he's a pretty good fastball hitter when he's looking for it. So I just tried to make good quality pitches. "If he's going to hit a good, quality pitch out of the park, that's fine. But I was just trying to not leave anything over the middle." Mothership Torii Hunter on being pwned (video) "I was going to make him hit my stuff and in a spot like that, he’s probably looking to get big and maybe win the game right there with a three-run homer," Wainwright said. "I was going to try and be as nasty as I could down in the zone. "This is an experience that I can look back to 2006 and remember that I’ve been in big spots before. I’ve had to work with adrenaline like that before and you do that starting too, but especially out of the bullpen in big games when you have guys on base, big situation - you have so much adrenaline and luckily I had done that in the past and could draw on that. I knew how to control my emotions and my adrenaline and make quality pitches." FSM "I told myself I was pitching in the ninth inning of a one-run game," said Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals, who wriggled through the tightest spot while pitching the seventh. "I made it interesting," said Wainwright, a starter these days but the closer who made the final pitch when the Cardinals won the 2006 World Series. "I sort of have a flair for the dramatic." ... "There was some definite intensity," Wainwright said of the mood in the bullpen and mound. "I had to hold myself back from fist-pumping there in the seventh. The NL is not a league that needs to be walked on." USA Today "There was a lot of chatter in the dugout," Wainwright said. "These guys wanted to win this game. The manager and every player in this room wanted to win. The National League is not a league that needs to be walked on over and over again. We came out here and finally won a baseball game. McCann is a very good friend. Like me, he's a good ol' Georgia boy." Mothership "I'm good friends with McCann," said Wainwright, a native of St. Simons Island. "I didn't want to ruin his MVP, man." He said it was good to see McCann get his opportunity and come through in dramatic fashion. "I've thrown to McCann in the past when I've gone to Atlanta sometimes, to visit friends. Brian will catch me in the bullpen or whatever," Wainwright said. "He's a very good friend of mine. Georgia boy. We've got Georgia in our blood." Atlanta Journal-Constitution BJRains Wainwright says he may have a new pitch after talking with Tim Lincecum about his changeup during the game. Almost threw it in the game. about 10 hours ago via web miklasz Waino said Lincecum showed him new grip on the changeup. And added: "Dave Duncan, I may have a new pitch." about 10 hours ago via UberTwitter "Right before I went on the mound to warm up, I got with (Tim) Lincecum on his changeup," Wainwright said. "I thought he was throwing it one way so I’ve been working on it all year and I couldn’t quite get it. He actually showed me the grip that he uses, and I gotta say, Dave Duncan, I may have a new pitch." The right-hander toyed with the new changeup in the bullpen and almost threw it a few minutes later in the game. "I actually thought about it," Wainwright explained. "I almost threw it to Swisher in the very first at-bat of the inning. I almost threw it. Brian McCann actually called it and I was like ‘I don’t know.’ I like the pitch." FSM In the postgame: the bullpen of his heart (video) "We've won every time I've been here," Wainwright quipped. P-D