I give Mo a ton of credit. Even more for the whole Pujols thing.


In the end it was about the Cardinals. Pujols wanted it to be about him. The Cardinals are bigger than one player.


I think this team has a bit of a chip on it's shoulder. Everyone counted them out because they lost Pujols.

I just don't see how they are gonna score runs.



Ramirez to protect Bugeyes? No way.

Every year is our time.

Young kids are hungry to hit today.

Not sure about throwing Motte here. Guess he wanted to get him some work.

Well thats a winner.

Shit, forgot this was one. Watched all of yesterday's beatdown, and missed this one. DAMMIT CARL :cuss:

He hadn't pitched since Miami, probably just to give him some work.

See, I just don't agree. A lineup of Weeks, Hart, Braun & Ramirez can still score a lot of runs. A lot does depend Gamel's development, but their rotation & bullpen are good enough to win a lot of low scoring games. I think they're better than the Reds.

That said, I think the Cards are better.

Ramirez is a shell of his old self. I like Weeks, but Hart is hit and miss.


I just don't see that as a lineup that is gonna produce alot of runs.

Well, we put up 4 in the first tonight.


Westbrook struggling to throw strikes.

!@#$ers can hit, can't they?

Just an incredibly deep lineup.

Talking about the first inning?

Whats crazy is that potentially one of our better pure hitters is on the DL right now. Gonna be a fun year.

That was an incredibly stupid throw to 1st by Westbrook.

When we get Craig healthy, this lineup 2-8 is gonna be scary. I just don't know how we are gonna get him in the lineup.


Is he gonna play RF and move Beltran to CF?

Albert who?

Off to a good start.


Did you guys see Randy Wolfs comments after last night?


Said something along the lines of "I hope that team is peaking right now, cause thats a scary lineup."

I think they'll have to see how well Craig recovers. I think the plan is to alternate Beltran out of the lineup to give him some rest days. I think we'll see some lineups with both Beltran and Craig in there. Will be interesting to see if Beltran still has the coverage to play center.

I have trashed Mo on here as often as anyone but you have to give Mo props for the job he has done.

I am guessing they will try to keep Beltran fresh so they will have Craig switch with him. Craig may also play some 1B and give Berkman a break as well.

As for CF, I would like to see if Shane Robinson can hold up as a utility OF through the year. He can cover some ground.

They will just move Craig around different positions to give guys rest and get him his ABs. I could see him playing LF, RF, 1B and maybe even CF. Then obviously if there is an injury he will fill in a position more permanently. It's good to have depth like that.

He is starting out this season much like he did last year. Double plays and a whopping .214 average 0 HR, 1 RBI

We'll never forget you Alfred!

Albert's bat has seemingly broken apart in mid air. SCARY!!

There will be some injuries; there are always injuries.

Craig will get 300 ABs by the time all is said and done, IMO. He'll be our primary PH option and start against every lefty. He'll spell Holliday against the occasional hard-throwing righty (high heat can still tie Matt up pretty good). He'll get Berkman a breather at 1st on a fair occasion as well (especially if Robinson can continue to play center and tread water offensively; Berkman has a pretty pronounced split against lefties as well).

They'll find Craig the ABs. Carpenter, OTOH, may not get as many as I'd like.

This team is better equipped to deal with injuries than most. Who knows if Carpenter and Robinson can keep up their hot streaks but having a deep bench is a nice problem to have.

He will get his. No way he fails to continue to be a great player for at least another 3 years.

Beltran with another homer in the first tonight.

They had a chance for a huge first, but a Molina double play with em loaded ended that.

Yeah i saw that on the side tracker on the game feed.

Damn, Greene leads off with a double and Lohse can't bunt him to third.


Jay then flys out deep to right.

Freese with a bomb.

Didn't think that ball would carry out.

I didn't either.

damn, Descalso is such a good defender. Theriot doesn't get close to that popup

Descalso needs to just hit a little tiny bit better, which i think he will.


We don't need an all star, but he needs to be respectable. He is really good at second base.

Stupid MLB blackout rules, game is blacked out here for a Braves game.

Rolen with his warning trck, well not even that, power now. What a shame, who was it He Sop Choy that ****ed his shoulder?

I know there is a story about it in the SPD but once again watching tonight how the hell is Cincy going to pay those recent contracts when they cant even sell out games against the Cards.

What a joke.

Presumably their thought process is just "The Dodgers sold for $2.15B so we're totally going to get way more TV money." Which is a great way to justify taking on big long-term risks!

How bout that Berkman slide! :)

I freaking love Freese... he is inching his way to being one of my favorite all-time Cardinals.

Lost the last game against the Reds today - apparently Scrabble got beat up in the bottom of the 9th.

Oh well - 5-2 road trip to open the season. Works for me. :thumb:

I'll take 5 out of 7 on the road any time

Can't win em all.

We need a Hamas "Scrabble is ****ing worthless"...

Not the greatest managerial job by Matheny in that last inning, IMO.

He got way too hung up on the fact that Scrabble throws lefty and let it dictate his decisions. Scrabble can retire righties and can do so a hell of a lot better than Salas right now (who's elevating everything). The decision to walk Ludwick was stupid in its own right; Ludwick isn't going to do anything with that sinker from a lefty. Matheny just saw the platoon setup and decided to walk him. Then the decision to go get Salas was again based on nothing more than the L/R matchup.

He was too formulaic there. Had he given Scrabble the green light to just attack that inning, I'm fairly confident that he'd have gotten out of it. He threw a strike on 0-0 to Votto that the umpire called a ball despite giving it to Chapman all day. Then he got too much of the plate trying to figure out the strike zone. He still looked plenty filthy to Bruce and had more than enough stuff today to take care of Luddy and Heisey.

Bad managing; hopefully Mike learns from it.

I think at this point last season that prick Franklin had already blown three or four saves.

Man I'm glad that turd is gone

Especially against our two biggest divisional rivals.

Well and he got bit by waiting so long to give Freese and Beltran a rest to try and get them two days with Berk straining his calf. May not have been the most popular decision but why not sit one then and sit one in the home opener if you want to get them both 2 days. The Cubs are a trainwreck so its not like you should need them both to handle your business.

Sitting a starting healthy player on opening day? :LOL: GTFO :banghead:

We have an issue with some players being a little long in the tooth. We need to keep them fresh and ready to roll in September. We also need to give the young guys an oppertnity to prove they belong or at least can be trade deadline bait.

I'd rather sit one of them against an awful Cubs team in the home opener than both against a Reds team that thinks this is their window if my goal is to get him two rest days in a row. Nobody is going to remember that you sat someone in the home opener in September if you're cruising to a division title. I'd rather have better odds of winning both games than making sure everyone gets to play in the home opener.

New look Cardinals clicking as they return home

ST. LOUIS (AP)
So far, the St. Louis Cardinals are doing just fine without Albert Pujols. And they don't seem to miss Tony La Russa, either.

The World Series champions are off to a nice start heading into Friday's home opener against the Chicago Cubs. During their impressive 5-2 start on the road under new manager Mike Matheny, the Cardinals have gotten plenty of clutch hitting and pitching.

They take it personally, too, when it's mentioned that there are no big names anymore.

''What do you mean?'' pitcher Adam Wainwright said with mock seriousness. ''We don't have Carlos Beltran and Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman? Lance Berkman is a Hall of Famer potentially, Matt Holliday should have won the MVP in `07 and he's a batting champion.''

Checking one website's top 10 power rankings prior to the season, the 6-7 right-hander took note that the Cardinals weren't on the list.

''It's hilarious. It doesn't matter who was on our team before and who wasn't, we're never favored and that's fine,'' Wainwright said. ''We seem to embrace that.''

Wainwright won 39 games in 2009-10 before missing last year with reconstructive elbow surgery. He leads a rotation that's been strong early without injured co-ace and postseason stud Chris Carpenter.

''What don't we have in names?'' Wainwright said. ''Maybe we don't have overhyped players.''

That could have been a knock at Pujols, perceived nationally as the player who made the team tick with all others relegated to second banana status.

''You can't replace a guy like Albert, 40 home runs in the middle of the lineup, the consistency,'' said Berkman, who's getting used to first base with Pujols gone. ''But we're not chopped liver. There's really no soft spot in the lineup, there's no breaks, and that leads to mistakes and that leads to big innings.''

The Cardinals lead the National League with a .301 average and their 12 home runs, 37 runs and .371 on-base percentage were the best in baseball through Wednesday's games. David Freese and Rafael Furcal are hitting above .400, Kyle Lohse is 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA and Jake Westbrook didn't allow an earned run in his first outing.

Wainwright will be pitching at home for the first time since Sept. 19, 2010, and working his second home opener. He started the season opener in 2009.

''I know when I arrive four hours before the game they're going to be out there tailgating, cooking hamburgers and having cold pops,'' Wainwright said. ''This whole town is excited about what we did last year and what we're going to do this year.''

Berkman could miss the weekend with a left calf strain that he said was much improved from a day earlier. Matheny said Matt Carpenter and Daniel Descalso would fill in at first base.

This will be the third opener for the Cardinals, after spoiling the first game at Marlins Park and then knocking off the Reds. Although the Marlins opener had a wow factor with women dressed as show girls and Muhammad Ali participating in the first pitch, Cardinals players believe nothing touches the St. Louis experience.

Players get a parade lap around the warning track on the backs of flatbed trucks before being delivered at home plate, and the team's six living Hall of Famers participate.

It's anticipated that La Russa, who retired after 16 seasons and two World Series titles in St. Louis, and former pitching coach Dave Duncan will participate in the ceremonial first pitch. The team's last four championship trophies will be displayed, along with representatives from each of the teams from 1967, 1982, 2006 and 2011.

For the first two games, the uniforms will feature gold letters and numbers.

''The fans are genuinely excited and you can feel it as a player,'' Berkman said. ''The history, the tradition, the Hall of Famers, that's what separates a Cardinal home opener from the rest of the league.''

As for the Cubs, well, they get to watch.

''You give everybody the respect they deserve,'' new manager Dale Sveum said. ''They're the best in the world right now. They're the best team in baseball. You're going to be out there, you're going to have to watch it, but you want other people out there watching you do it someday, too.''

The Cubs batted just .221 while losing five of their first six games at home in their worst start since they were 0-14 to begin 1997. They struck out 12 times Wednesday, before knocking out Brewers ace Zack Greinke in the fourth inning on Thursday.

Marlon Byrd enters the series in an 0-for-19 slump.

''It's so early in the year, we just have to keep our head up,'' catcher Geovany Soto said. ''There are a lot of games left, we just need to get in a good rhythm and keep playing ball.''

The Cubs have led in all but one of the games and lost a pair of 2-1 decisions.

''A lot of close games. That's a good thing,'' pitcher Ryan Dempster said.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/N...-home-89391694

I'm not very happy about the start time (afternoon game), or the fact that since they're playing the ****ing Cubs, I'll get blacked out of the Cards broadcast and have to watch the World Series rings presented listening to the douche Cub announcers. **** yous all around to MLB and DirecTV. All the money I pay for Extra Innings, I should be able to get Cards announcers regardless of who they're playing. :#

**** the cubs...step on their throat as early as possible.
sec

They stomped the shit out of the Brewers today.

I always hated having the ESPN broadcasts blacked out even though I'm 270 miles from STL.

Holy crap, we're getting beat like rented mules. Down 8-0 in the 3rd. :banghead:

It takes most pitchers 18 months to return to "normal" after the surgery. To expect Wainright to shave 1/3 of the recovery time off the rehabilitation time is unrealistic. Waino was all over the place. His breaking ball was up in the zone, the cutter was flat and the fastball lacked life. Even the Cubs and Royals can take advantage of a pitcher throwing like that at the MLD level.

Maybe its karma, we shit on the Marlins and Brewers opening days.... karma payback?

Waino's looking shitty so far. Sign Oswalt for goodness sake. Stop pussyfooting around.

Every single starter on the Cardinals has had the tommy john surgery. No need to panic.

You let your future CY Young winner work through the final stages of rehabilitation. Payback a plenty will come back to us when we really need him in September/October.

9-3 now

You're right, but games in April are as important as September/October's. It would be nice if we didn't have to comeback from a 10-game deficit to make the playoffs again.

The reason the Cubs will never win is they build their season to beating the Cardinals. The Cardinals know its not just about games against one team.

9-5. Things are getting interesting.

Comeback.

This.

Highway robbery

What's with the gold on the jerseys? Have they done that before? That doesn't look good at all.

2007. We got blanked by the Mets on opening night and lost Carpenter for the rest of the year and 2008.

Dont think so. Purists will hate it.

It's an opening day thing after the win of a World Series.

They did it on opening day 2007 after the 2007 win. They are wearing them today and tommorrow when they are presented with their WC rings on the field.

Nice 5-1 smackdown to make up for yesterday. :thumb:

It was interesting listening to Larussa while the game was playing. He seemed a lot more pleasant now that the pressure is off.

Lynn has looked really good in his two starts, might be the silver lining to Carp's nerve troubles is we get a good long look at Lynn starting.

So whats the story with Freese and Berkman?

both are minor. Freese with a finger injured in at a bat. Berkman with a calf legging out the triple the other day.

So they both are expected to be back soon?

They're both probably sitting until Tuesday. Freese could potentially play today though.

Seen where Berk is available to PH today, Freese is likely out though.



Off to a good start. This team can really hit.