Posted on August 1, 2007 at 9:55 AM
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Pittsburgh Pirates
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St. Louis Cardinals
A winning streak! Wow, what's that? This is the second time since July 7-16, 2006, when they won seven in a row, that they've won four straight. I didn't get to see any of the game (for some reason, it wasn't being shown here), but it looks like it was a regular beating of the Pirates. The Cards are 38-15 in PNC Park since it opened, so this was a great place to continue the illusion, as it were, that the Cards are getting better and are in the race. (Unfortunately, the Cubs and Brewers both won as well, so no ground was gained.) Adam Wainwright continued to show he's the best pitcher we have with Carpenter down. It's always nice to have at least one guy that, before the game, you feel like can win the game for you on a regular night. Some of the rest of the rotation, it's "well, if everything goes right, and if this and if that, he can win tonight."
Tonight's matchup features Braden Looper vs. Tony Armas. Looper, actually, is one of those pitchers I'm referring to. At the beginning of the year, he was lights out, the only guy winning games. He seems to have hit a wall, though, which is not surprising since he was a reliever up until this year. I honestly think moving him back to the 'pen next year would be the best idea, though there's no guarantee that will happen. Anyway, if he pitches like he did last time, the Cards should get #5. If he blows up, well, it's still the Pirates and the game's still in Pittsburgh, so the Cards might be able to hang in there anyway.
Left over from yesterday's trade deadline extravaganza is this piece of information: the Cardinals were close to bringing Matt Morris back before Pittsburgh stepped in and took him. While I enjoyed Matty Mo as a Cardinal and will always be fond of him, I don't know that he was the missing piece in the puzzle. When he left a couple of years ago, it seemed to be the right time and he's not done much since then to change that opinion. So, barring the sentimental boost of bringing a long-time Redbird back into the fold, it's a good thing this deal didn't get done.
Then again, it's strongly possible he'd be better than Pineiro.
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