Ok here it is. I've been thinking about our upcoming series with the Cardinals and then remembered last year when we played them towards the end of the season. We were in a tight race and La Russa rested alot of his everyday guys through out the series, which was huge for us because we were in the thick of the WC race and ended up sweeping that series. I for one am hoping that La Russa does the same this year, but on Baseball tonight they were saying that LaRussa will manage those games like a playoff game because no one wants to see Oswalt,Pettitte and Clemens in a playoff series. We;ll have to wait and see I guess!!!
Roll over is too strong a word. Their pitchers will try their best and we've got to score some runs. LaRussa and the position players won't exactly be inspired, but beating them still won't be easy. If we just steamroll the Cubs like we should, the Cardinals games won't matter.
I got two words for you. Clemens Pettitte Oswalt The Cards are doing all the wondering right now. They have no chance.
I think they'll play a bit soft when the play against us, but we still have to beat them. Atlanta was 'kind' to the Phillies.... I'll assume that we'll get the same treatment.
St. Louis, actually, benefits much more from us being the WC than any other team.... mainly because if we win the WC, they get to play the mediocre San Diego Padres team in the first round, instead of an upstart/momentum-filled WC team like the Phillies or Marlins. Thus, based on that, I will say they won't be "totally into it" this next series.
But StLouis' goal is not to win their opening series - its to win a WS. I don't think you'd want to face the Astros in a 7 games series, where 6 of the games could have Oswalt, Pettite, or Clemens pitching, especially with Carpenter now struggling a bit. Besides which, St. Louis is known for never taking a day off - they play hard all the time. That's part of what makes them so good. Some of their starters may be resting, but whoever's playing will play 100%.
Well... I would believe that St. Louis doesn't care about the first round, if it was a best of 7 matchup. When its best of 5, anything can happen... and thus, you always want to get the easiest matchup possible to assure that the other team can't steal one. Look at the Marlins in 2003 vs. the Giants... the Giants were the best team in baseball, focused on the WS... and then here comes the Marlins who went on a feverish run to win the WC. In reality, the Giants should have played the Cubs last year (who had a worse record than the Marlins), but b/c of the rules, they had to play the WC and ended up getting beat horribly (of course, they could have also lost to the Cubs...) Plus, I'm not so sure that St. Louis is really as scared as we would all hope them to be in facing our great pitching. They already know they can get to Clemens... and they know they can beat Oswalt (as seen in last year's playoffs). They don't know about Pettite, and he may be our true x-factor, but overall, I think they have a ton of confidence in being able to handle our offense with their somewhat spotty starting pitching, as well as do enough to beat our great pitching. They might end up fearing teams like Atlanta and Philadelphia more because those two can most definitely put up runs on the board consistently (whereas we're solely based on timely hitting), and they could exploit their pitching in the playoffs just like Boston did to them in the WS.
They will come to play....no question. I agree with Major - I think that if there is one team they don't want to see in a 7 game series, its us. That being said...we need to steal one and root for the Mets.
not sure how any of you guys could think that larussa doesn't want to demolish the astros this series. there is no way he wants the team with the best pitching in the league in the playoffs.
The Cardinals are a team that plays to win every game, period. As are the Astros, which is why these two teams have such a classic and friendly rivalry. Neither team would expect the other to just lay down for them. That being said, because this isn't a must-win situation for them, I wouldn't be surprised if Larussa rested some of his starters. And the threat of facing Clemens, Oswalt and Pettite in a series is fear-inducing to most teams. But the Cardinals aren't most teams, as they clearly are the best club in the NL. Plus they've dominated the Astros this year, Clemens hardly gets run support and Oswalt is susceptible to the bad game. And given their starting rotation, bupllpen strength and offensive power (and our lack thereof many times), they're one of the few teams (if only in the NL) capable of beating the Astros in a playoff series. So I don't think they're too worried about facing Houston. And if they are thinking about playoff matchups then I do believe they'd rather face a .500 San Diego team in the first round followed by the Astros or Braves in the NLCS. Why? Cause the Cardinals are 2-4 against the Phillies and 11-3 against the Astros.
The Cards did not roll over for us last year at the end of the season. They played most of their regulars and we still beat them.
Last year, there were several weird things in the final home series that we swept that almost made one believe St. Louis was, ahem, sticking it to the Cubs. Cardinals baserunners getting picked off. Bad fielding decisions. Bad throws. Edmonds looking human against us. Poor overall play you never expected from them. This year, with the Cubs out of it, and no other NL team to worry about facing besides the Astros, St. Louis will probably just as soon go after us to get the pitching out of the window, plus Carpenter's Cy is practically assured if he shuts us out (and not that hard against the Astros). With the almost certain loss tomorrow, tonight's game is huge.
As much as I bleed Astros brick red, I know the Cards will stomp, squash, and make simple fodder of the Astros. There is no hope. And I'm generally a positive person.
I thought you were talking about the Texans for a second. Oh yea, you are! And thats, Mr. Brightside to you, kiddo.
i've been posting it for quite some time. mostly to point out how ridiculous it is to be a naysayer after every loss...or after every lost series.
