We're on the verge of seeing extra innings tonight

I sent a text to a cards buddy of mine earlier tonight asking him if they've been bad all year with runners in scoring pos or just the last two nights and this answers my question.




And no extras now i think

Nice to see Ludwick as the hero tonight after the mess last night.

Nice win for the Cards after last night's bullshit.

Some serious stones by Wainwright (who is our Ace, BTW, but don't tell anyone because the national media still thinks it's Carpenter).

We needed that CG from him. He should've won the CY last season and he's keeping himself in the running this season.

Ultimately, we end up losing tonight if we had won yesterday. LaRussa would've benched the whole stinking team and WW would've come out of the game in the 7th. LaRussa just doesn't care about sweeping teams.

So ultimately, I'm inclined to call last night's loss a non-entity at this point.

I think you are right. All LaRussa cares about is wining the series. Which I suppose in the end is how you make the playoffs and win in the playoffs.

I still think the ace of the staff is clearly Carpenter, when healthy, but Wainwright is damn close. Outstanding that JD Drew netted Wainwright.

In the playoffs, perhaps I would consider Carpenter my ace because he's slightly (and I mean very slightly) more likely to take the mound with no-hit stuff.

But over 162 games, Wainwright provides more sustained excellence. He'll throw more innings even if Carp throws 35 starts because his build allows for deeper pitch counts. He has a better out pitch than Carp (his curve's arguably the best out-pitch in the league). And ultimately he's developed the same killer attitude that Carpenter has. Carp will have days like he had against Milwaukee where he loses his balance, hangs everything and gets blistered. When WW doesn't have his stuff, he's more capable of getting outs and keeping his team in it than Carpenter is. His size and his delivery (he hides the ball well) make him hard to hit even when he's not on his game.

Wainwright is criminally under-rated even by his own fans. The kid struck out 200+ batters last year despite being completely out of synch for the first month of the season.

Sorry, but if both guys were making the same $$ and we learned that the world was going to end in December of 2010, I'd trade Carpenter before WW and not even think twice about it. If that's the case, WW is my ace.

Is it fun having a competitive baseball team? What is it like?

I'd say we get a little more pissed off about stuff than you fellas do.

Expectations can be a real bitch.

But otherwise, it's pretty tits.

Yeah I agree with much of that. IMO Carp is still the ace of the staff but Wainwright is extremely close behind. Carp was incredibly good last year and is the vet with the CYA. Obviously a great situation to be for us fans.

I was just checking out the standing, the Pirates are in second place a game back.

Cubs under .500 after dropping a home series to Houston. *snicker*

While I would agree before this season I have to say the difference is Wainwright is ascending and Carp is likely descending a bit considering the point they are at in their careers.

Carp is past his prime likely, and Waino is in his prime.

And don't forget Waino has never had a serious injury and Carp has had several so it's hard to say Carp is healthier overall.

Waino can throw and throw and throw. Carp has a limit.

I will say I like Carps demeanor on the mound better. Love watching him pitch.

Wainwright is our ace. Carp is still awesome, but showing his age.

Boy, I'd be hard pressed to identify a distinction between the two.

They're both 100% focused out there. If anything, I think Carpenter's more likely to lose his composure than WW. Those guys are just absolute bulldogs out there.

Carpenter may have taught WW his mound presence, but WW has been a spectacular student.

Ultimately I think that WW is our ace while Carpenter is our leader.