I haven't read through this whole thread to see what you guys have been saying', but JEEZ, have there been some bad pitch calls tonight or what? I swear to God I'm seeing the exact same pitch being called different things (usually a strike as our guy begins to trot to first and then a ball for the Cards).
As far as the ump, he has been inconsistent for both sides. But seems most calls are in favor of the Cardinals. The same can be said for the NY/Boston series, the umps are calling inconsistent games.
Dude, I said I liked the way Dierker managed his starters...notice I questioned him pitching to the number EIGHT hitter with the pitcher due up next, walk Bako in that situation force the other team to pinch hit or let the pitcher hit. Dierker was not above being questioned for sure, but I liked the way he used his starters....how is that flip flopping? I have a different strategy on what to do I guess, how does that make one a bandwagoner or a flip flopper? As for your opinion about arm chair managers versus bandwagoners versus smiley faces....whatever, just keep being your own fan and I will be mine, just don't condescend to calling other fans names because they are more passionate than you, that is simply annoying. DD
"Hell, when a man's life's on the line, the fat lady ain't singin' if it ain't over!" Imaginary bonus points to the person that guesses that quote.
At least we lose in relative anonymity. There are probably at least a million Redsox fans waiting to drink the kool aid.
The thing is, a dominant offense like the Cardinals will expose a mediocre bullpen almost every time. The Braves are hardly the Cardinals, and they kind of exposed our bullpen already. The only way well win this series is if our starters can essentially pitch lights out and shut down their lineup. Backe pitched decent, but he didn't shut them down. And with 93 pitches on 3 days rest, its hard to tell if Backe had anything left. As far as Qualls go, Garner might let him try to get back into a groove by pitching some mop up innings before he puts him back in a tight game. Hard to say. We don't have many alternatives. Qualls stuff is better than anyone not named Lidge or Mideli IMO, as far as the bullpen goes. Overall, I don't think you can win a 7 game series with 2 1/2 starters and 1 1/2 bullpen guys (Lidge and Miceli). Especially against a hot hitting Cardinal team. So if Qualls can't pull it together, its going to be a hard series for us to win.
Can we save the "I am a real fan" arguments for another thread? It is kind of annoying here. But Qualls cannot come in again. Even if he has the talent, his confidence is completely gone at this point. He wouldn't be human if it weren't.
