This guy is an utter moron in numerous places. Just thought everyone might enjoy seeing some r****dedness...saying Izzy is better than Lidge? How about how often the opposing team has gotten to the other team's closer? We own Izzy. How bout the 'stros taking the last 2 against the Cards and thus having the momentum? Among other things.. ------------------------------------------------- Cards on another levelBy Phil Rogers Special to ESPN.com Why St. Louis could win: It's been a long time since the NL has had the most dominant team in the majors for any extended period of time -- not since the Big Red Machine, to be exact -- but these Cardinals could change that with a World Series victory. They've already won 225 games the last two years and have a chance to push that to 233. No other team has won more than 204, and the Astros have won a mere 190. The Astros are good, but they're not on the level of the Cardinals, who can win games just about every way you can win games. The Astros won't be able to stop the lineup that scored at least six runs in all three games against San Diego. Why Houston could win: Look no further for your sentimental favorites. In Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte, the Astros have a terrific collection of veterans trying to bring the World Series to Texas for the first time. All are capable of coming up huge when they are called on, as Clemens showed with those three shutout innings of relief in Sunday's 18-inning classic against Atlanta. Biggio and Bagwell, previously known for postseason futility, are hitting a combined .292 with four homers and 15 RBI in Houston's 16 playoff games the last two years. Late innings: Conventional wisdom gives Houston the closer edge over anyone it plays, but we don't. As strong as he is, Brad Lidge will have to pay for throwing 85 pitches in a four-day span, including 45 on Sunday. The surprising reality is that Lidge has been outpitched by St. Louis' Jason Isringhausen over the last two seasons. Izzy has piled up 86 regular-season saves in 2004-05, 15 more than Lidge, and held opponents to a .202 average this season, better than Lidge's .223. Getting leads to Isringhausen is not as simple as it once was, however, as the Cardinals are without Ray King and Al Reyes, their top set-up men. The bullpen allowed eight runs in 8 1/3 innings against the Padres, giving Tony La Russa something to worry about. That's OK. He's a man who needs something to worry about. Style points: Look for the Cardinals to come through with the big at-bats. They led the NL with a .290 batting average with men in scoring position. So Taguchi (.407), David Eckstein (.373), Yadier Molina (.330), Albert Pujols (.329), Mark Grudzielanek (.308) and Abraham Nunez (.300) have been rock solid in those situations. ... The impending implosion of Busch Stadium could heighten the angst of St. Louis fans if the Astros take a lead in the series. ... Will La Russa use Jason Marquis as a pinch hitter? He was 6-for-12 with one homer against Houston pitchers this season. ... The Cardinals miss the injured Scott Rolen in the field. They allowed 74 unearned runs, the most in the NL. ... The Cardinals are 6-5 in postseason series under La Russa. ... Pujols could be ready to explode after finishing second in the NL with a .330 batting average, third with 41 homers and second with 117 RBI. Head-on: The Cardinals made the Astros wear it this year, going 11-5 in the season series, and have a 23-18 edge over the last two seasons. ... Chris Carpenter and Marquis were a combined 8-0 against Houston this season. ... Phil Garner has shied away from using Chad Qualls the last two postseasons but ought to consider a heavy dose of Qualls in this series. The right-hander is 4-1 against the Cards the last two years, as many wins as Clemens and more than Roy Oswalt. Writer's block: If the Astros keep knocking on the door, don't they have to get admitted to a World Series sometime? This is the ninth time the franchise has gone into the postseason and its fifth time in the championship series. It has won only two of 10 playoff series. It's time to bring a World Series to Texas. Prediction: Cardinals in six
Although his specifics are wrong, in general he is right - the Cards are on another level. But that just means it will be even sweeter should the Astros beat them.
If they're on another level, it's not much higher. Since 5/24, about the time Ensberg started playing the way he played the rest of the season and about 2 weeks after Berkman got back: Astros 74-43 Cardinals 71-46 It's going to be a very tough and close series between two evenly matched teams, IMO.
can anyone who has insider give a brief summary of what the article on Brad Lidge says? (Besides that he's a badass that kick the cards ass)
The Cardinals put it on cruise control the last couple of months, they didn't have to win like the Astros did. The Cards scored 171 more runs than they allowed. The Astros only scored 84 more than they allowed. And, of course, the Cards won 11 more games. That's another level, but each team starts the playoffs with a clean slate.
I like this part: How about the fact that the Astros scored seven runs in all three of their wins?? Forget to mention that?
Can someone tell me when the 5th time was they were in the NLCS? 1980, 86, 2004, & this year is all I can remember. 1981 wasn't the NLCS. It was a divisional playoff between the first half winner (Dodgers) and the second half winner (Astros) that the Dodgers won. Would be nice if he could at least get that right.
You are right, that was a stupid comment he made. Not to mention, the Padres pitching staff is a joke compared to our pitching staff.
Conventional wisdom gives Houston the closer edge over anyone it plays, but we don't. As strong as he is, Brad Lidge will have to pay for throwing 85 pitches in a four-day span, including 45 on Sunday. The surprising reality is that Lidge has been outpitched by St. Louis' Jason Isringhausen over the last two seasons. Izzy has piled up 86 regular-season saves in 2004-05, 15 more than Lidge, and held opponents to a .202 average this season, better than Lidge's .223 That has got to be one of the most idiotic comments I've ever read. Lidge didn't become a full-time closer until about a third of the way through the season. So right there the stats are skewed. But he did convert 29 of 33 save opportunities while Isringhausen converted 47 of 54. Isringhuasen had more blown saves. In 2004 Izzy had only 71 SO w/ a 2.87 ERA while Lidge had a whopping 157 SO to a 1.90 ERA. When they butted heads in the NLCS last year, Izzy had a 4.70 ERA, converted 3 of 4 saves with only 3 SO. Lidge on the other hand, an ERA of 0.00, converted both his saves with 14 SO. Well what about 2005? Isringhausen had a 2.14 ERA, 39 of 43 saves and 51 SO. And Lights Out: 2.29, 42 of 46 saves and a 103 SO. Plus I do believe that Astros accounted for 2 of Izzy's blown saves. Thank you but I am quite happy with the lights out
On paper, the cards are better than us. So if we win, it will be an upset. But, also on paper our pitching was what was supposed to get us past the braves in the first round. So crumble up the paper, wipe your ass with it and throw it away. Go Astros.
What i dont get is how they had been in the NLCS 4 times if last year was when their won theirs first series???????????
Prior to the advent of the Wild Card, there was only one series before the World Series. That was called the AL or NLCS.
no, it was intense. very intense. i didn't initially prefer the wild card. i do now. the league championship series have always been great. but the premium in MLB has always been on the regular season...on making THAT be the deciding factor. that's why they play 162 games. and it's why baseball lets in less teams in the playoffs than the other major sports. i find that far more exciting.
The part where he says Lidge was outpitched by Izzy is the most idiotic comment I have ever read. You ask every co-ard and co-ard fans to a person there is not one who thinks Izzy is better than lidge. the only person who compares to lidge is rivera, and he is just in a class by himself. This guy needs to do his homework before he writes articles.
