I really just don't know what else to say, to be perfectly honest. Az said it all last night when he said the Cardinals had to go out and get the sweep, plain and simple. No time to dilly dally around with anything less.
Well, we won't be seeing the good kind of sweep this series, at least. Whether or not we see the other kind is still entirely up in the air.
How fitting was it that Russ Springer, the team's best reliever this year, was the man on the mound when that ball headed off into the left field seats? I'm sure that some would take issue with the decision to let Springer face Berkman in that situation, with the significant splits that Fat Elvis has, at least power wise. Personally, though, I'm actually inclined to say that it was the exact right decision in that case. I realise that the Crawford Boxes are awfully close, and hell, that's essentially where Berkman has made his living ever since he first saw that short porch.
At the same time, though, I (and many others), have consistently campaigned all year for Tony to use his best reliever when it matters the most, regardless of the handedness matchup or any other such small time nonsense. Russ Springer has been the team's best reliever pretty much all year, and I'm perfectly comfortable with the ship going down with him at the helm. You can obviously make the argument for a different pitcher there, but I think I'm okay with the move. If you're going to get beaten, at least go down using one of your best bullets.
I'm going to have to make this a short one this morning, folks. My apologies.
With that in mind, I thought this morning we might all discuss what players we need to hold on to from the current squad. There will be plenty of time later to talk about what players the Cardinals need to try and go out and acquire this offseason in order to make this thing back into a big time contender, but that's not what I'm interested in this morning. What I want to know is which of the players from this Cardinal team do you think are the most important to retain. Which of this year's players do you feel represent a big part of the team's future?
There are a fair number of free agents coming off the books from this team in the offseason. Who needs to be back if the Cards are going to keep this thing moving in the right direction?
Discuss. Please forgive the brevity.