This Wasn't In The Script (C70 At The Bat)

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This Wasn't In The Script

Posted on October 9, 2009 at 9:01 AM
Filed Under: Los Angeles Dodgers | St. Louis Cardinals

OK, wait a minute. Back up. Let's look at this again, because something isn't going quite as planned.

You are telling me that the Cardinals lost BOTH games that Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright started? The one big advantage this team had and it's been squandered? At least you could put some of the blame on Carp for his outing, because he definitely didn't have it. Waino, though? How tough of a loss is that for the warrior?

A lot of people are focused on Matt Holliday's error this morning. Which is understandable--if he catches that ball, the game is over, the Cards have split, you feel good about going home with Joel Pineiro vs. Vicente Padilla and you can count on a rested Carp for a Game 5, if necessary.

Like Don Denkinger's blown call, though, it was one of those things that you can and should get past. After that play, the Dodgers walked, singled (tying the game), moved up on a wild pitch, walked again, and then blooped another hit. Any one of those could have ended the game in favor of the Cardinals, but they didn't get it done.

The biggest problem in the Cardinal dugout, though, is the inability to get runs in. That tone was set early. When you have bases loaded and no outs in the first inning of the first game and only get one because a bloop falls between the second baseman and the outfield, it might be a sign that it's going to be a long (or, rather, short) series.

I don't know what else to say about this team. Either they'll get some hits and score some runs or they won't have to worry about packing again this season. I wouldn't go to the level of calling them Cubs, but maybe that level of insult will wake them up and get them playing.

Is this team dead? Obviously, they have the talent to win three straight. As Albert Pujols said, they could win 11 straight. They aren't going to do that. Without some sort of resurgent offense, it's going to be tough enough to win three, especially since they can wait and throw Randy Wolf (who, granted, St. Louis was able to get to somewhat on Wednesday) and make the Cardinals beat a lefty.

Since the Divisional Series format was put into play, the Cards have played in it eight previous times, posting a record of 20-5 and only losing one other NLDS, the 2001 tilt with Steve Kline allowing that little flare to Tony Womack, keeping the Diamondbacks on the path to their eventual World Series title. So the Cardinals have that going for them, which is good.

However, with two members of that 2006 squad on the other side in this series, it may be a sign that fortune has switched sides. We'll find out Saturday.

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Heroes

Albert Pujols (28)

Ryan Ludwick (15)
Colby Rasmus (13)

Adam Wainwright (13)
Yadier Molina (12)
Chris Carpenter (11)
Rick Ankiel (9)

Joel Pineiro (9)

Brendan Ryan (7)
Matt Holliday (6)
Mark DeRosa (4)
Kyle Lohse (4)
Skip Schumaker (4)

David Freese (3)

Nick Stavinoha (3)

Todd Wellemeyer (3)
Chris Duncan (2)
Ryan Franklin (2)
Khalil Greene (2)
Julio Lugo (2)

John Smoltz (2)

Tyler Greene (1)
Jason LaRue (1)
Trever Miller (1)
Joe Thurston (1)

2008 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (25)

Goats

Rick Ankiel (13)
Todd Wellemeyer (13)

Colby Rasmus (12)

Chris Duncan (10)
Ryan Ludwick (9)
Jason Motte (9)
Albert Pujols (9)

Yadier Molina (7)
Joel Pineiro (7)
Joe Thurston (6)

Mark DeRosa (5)
Ryan Franklin (5)
Kyle Lohse (5)

Matt Holliday (4)

Kyle McClellan (4)
Dennys Reyes (4)
Skip Schumaker (4)
Adam Wainwright (4)
Josh Kinney (3)
Brendan Ryan (3)
Nick Stavinhoa (3)

Brad Thompson (3)

Brian Barden (2)

Mitchell Boggs (2)
Chris Carpenter (1)
David Freese (1)
Khalil Greene (1)

Tyler Greene (1)

Jason LaRue (1)
Julio Lugo (1)

Trever Miller (1)
Chris Perez (1)
Skip Schumaker (1)
John Smoltz (1)
PJ Walters (1)

2008 Top Goat: Troy Glaus (13)

Cardinal Nation Approval Ratings (March 2009)

Albert Pujols 97.9%
Yadier Molina 93.4%
Mike Shannon 91.6%
Dave Duncan 84.2%
Rick Ankiel 83.9%
John Rooney 80.9%
Bill DeWitt 80.2%
Tony LaRussa 79.1%
Kyle Lohse 77.3%
Chris Duncan 69.1%
Colby Rasmus 66.0%
Al Hrbrosky 53.9%

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The Baseball Bloggers Alliance was formed in 2009 to foster communication and collaboration between bloggers across baseball. Member blogs are encouraged to use one another to deepen their understanding of the game and the teams that play it. While no formal requirements for membership exist at the current time, participating blogs are asked to keep their blogs current and to link to other member blogs on their blog roll.

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