clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Game 156 Open Thread: September 24, 2005


mulder glover
16-7, 3.43 3-4, 6.70

boys and girls, that was a dispiriting loss -- and not just for the fans. the sight of their ace blowing up took the starch out of the cardinals; after carp lost the four-run lead (2d time that's happened in three starts) they didn't get a single man on base and only drove two balls out of the infield. word from mlb.com is that carpenter tweaked his back in his last start:
Carp's OK: La Russa said Friday that Carpenter sustained some back soreness in his last start, Sunday against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, and that factored into the decision to remove the right-hander after four innings. However, both the manager and head athletic trainer Barry Weinberg said that Carpenter is now good to go and will face no unusual restrictions in his final two starts.

"In his last start he was a little sore," said Weinberg. "But the last three days, he's been normal.

"He slipped on the mound, just tweaked it a little, during the Chicago game."


miklasz had the same information in his online pressbox last night -- and wondered why, if this is true, la russa left carpenter in for 106 pitches. the cy young's gone, but so what; the larger concern is whether the cards still have a #1 to lead them through the playoffs. on that count, i have nothing to add to bellyscratcher's well-worded lament. for the record, carpenter has allowed 27 hits and 17 runs in his last 15 2/3 innings. better now than 11 days hence, eh? let's hope. . . . . there's really nothing else to say about this; if he is toast we'll find out soon enough. and sooner than we'd like.

wild card update: the phillies look like a team of destiny, if such an appellation is allowed for a 2d-place club. their dramatic 5-run 9th in cincinnati last night drew them to within a game of the astros. today's pairings: houston at cubs, zeke astacio vs carlos zambrano -- that's a loss for houston. phillies at reds, eude brito vs eric milton -- crap shoot. but whoever wins, probably another 11-10 game.

Update [2005-9-24 18:25:21 by lboros]: houston ahead 8-3 in the 9th --- big win for them. their "magic #" is down to 7 with 6 to play: four more against the cubs, two vs the cardinals.