Game 6 Open Thread: April 9, 2006

ponson marshall
0-0, 0.00 0-0, 0.00

well, that's a shame; the cubs really tried to hand the cardinals a game, and the cards spurned the offer. i'm less concerned about the loss than i am about chris carpenter's back, which will probably loosen up as the weather gets warm . . . . but carpenter also had spasms last september, which forced him to leave his previous wrigley start after 4 innings. no reason to freak out about it at this point, but this is still gonna be on my mind long after i've forgotten today's ballgame.

michael barrett, not an experienced pinch-hitter, says he followed john mabry's example yesterday to get himself prepared for his 7th-inning at-bat vs josh hancock. . . . . .

both encarnacion and miles helped ryan dempster in the 9th inning by hacking at the 1st strike they saw . . . actually, it's debatable whether or not encarnacion ever saw a strike. a modicum of patience and he'd have been ahead 2-0 or 3-0 in front of albert. the free-agent outfielder class of 2006 hasn't distinguished itself so far:

• en'cion, 4 for 19
  
• jeromy burnitz, 4 for 22 with 7 strikeouts
  
• jacque jones, 0 for 12 with 6 strikeouts
  
• rondell white, 2 for 19
  
• matt lawton, suspended
  
• ken lofton, disabled

brad wilkerson, an off-season favorite of this blog, is also off to a slow start -- 5 for 27 with 10 strikeouts. detroit's craig monroe, an oft-rumored trade target, is 2 for 20.

april. whatever.

ponson debuts tonight. i don't have such a good feeling; it's unfortunate that his official coming-out as a sober ballplayer has to take place on national tv. good luck to ya, sid.