***Official 2009 N.L. Central Thread*** Congrats to the Cardinals***

[mjs24chicago]

This is a good division. Should be close.

 

[CP1708]

 

[CP1708]

Sori heard me.

 

[pusha x vinsanity]

Let me be the first to congratulate Tony LaRussa on really putting an effort into finding a quality closer to replace Izzy, this offseason.

...[/sarcasm].

So are we gonna do this all over again, for another season? Really?

%!%$#$$ pathetic. It's the Pirates.

 

[tylerdub]

Well, That is a good start!!
I knew that was in Sori's wheelhouse the second that pitch left Oswalts hand.

 

[CP1708]

Z walking the first batter of the season.

He and Sori are the keys to the season. I want Z to have 34 starts, with NO ISSUES!! Every year he has a great month, or 2 or 3 months, but always has amonth where he just stinks. I'd like to see a solid season from April thru November from him.

 

[pacmagic2002]

Originally Posted by PUSHA x Vinsanity

Let me be the first to congratulate Tony LaRussa on really putting an effort into finding a quality closer to replace Izzy, this offseason.

...[/sarcasm].

So are we gonna do this all over again, for another season? Really?

%!%$#$$ pathetic. It's the Pirates.

Its simple.....we just can't beat the pirates.....they have our number. They shoulda paid for a closer......we blew 30 saves last year.....we would havehad 110-120 wins if we had a shut down closer

 

[youngmoney]

ilove the NL CENTRAL. go brewers

 

[tylerdub]

I have a confession.... I love Hunter Pence, no ayo.
I hate to say it 5 innings into the season, Fukudome does not look very good. Hopefully he proves me wrong in short order.

 

[shabooyah1124]

Z is looking good

 

[statis22]

As usual no run support for Roy

Gonna be a long summer

 

[wisconsin 4 life]

Cardinals

Enjoy the basement

 

[jdcurt2]

Tough day for the Reds, I think the pitching is gonna be consistant all year but we can't hit at all

 

[pacmagic2002]

Originally Posted by Wisconsin 4 Life

Cardinals

Enjoy the basement

I know you are pretty stupid and dont know much about anything.......so ill just tell you now...........there are 161 games left in the season.

Dont start talking about the basement homie..........You guys dont even know what the top looks like

 

[wildkycat]

Originally Posted by jdcurt2

Tough day for the Reds, I think the pitching is gonna be consistant all year but we can't hit at all

i mean...it was Johan...

that ball Bruce hit was a LASER.

 

[joe billionaire]

CUBS!!!!!!!

 

[jdcurt2]

Originally Posted by wildKYcat

Originally Posted by jdcurt2

Tough day for the Reds, I think the pitching is gonna be consistant all year but we can't hit at all

i mean...it was Johan...

that ball Bruce hit was a LASER.

Yeah i know, but we didn't hit at all in spring training either, so... And when Bruce hit that ball I thought it was gone I got up outta my seat as soon ashe hit it

 

[wildkycat]

***%, from where i was sitting, when he hit it, i thought it would two hop the wall....and it hit 8 feet up the wall...

 

[Retroballer]

going to be a long season for us astros.
least Wandy is pitching at home tomorrow

 

[arstyle27]

Soriano Gets the Season Started Right
Cubs beat Houston 4-2

HOUSTON - After finally ending his Opening Day drought on Monday night, Big Z let out a big sigh of relief.

Aided by solo home runs by Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez, CarlosZambrano pitched the Cubs to a 4-2 win over Houston at Minute Maid Park, earning his first Opening Day victory on his fifth attempt.

"It is [a relief] ," he said. "I feel good. I feel happy. It finally came true after five years. It's nice to have the win, especially forthe team. One thing that I was impressed by was Milton Bradley was 0-for-3 and he came in happy. That's a good sign. Everybody was happy… Kevin Gregg gaveup a run and came in with the same attitude.

"That's important for the team. It doesn't matter what they do-they just care about the team."

There was much for the Cubs to be happy about Monday, including clutch relief pitching by Aaron Heilman, who induced a double-play grounder in the seventh tobail Zambrano out of a jam. Heilman, Neal Cotts and Carlos Marmol got the Cubsinto the ninth, where Gregg was nicked for a run but managed to post the save.

"The way we drew it up before the ballgame is how it played out," manager Lou Piniella said. "Goodformula."

Zambrano allowed one run in six-plus innings, striking out six and getting stronger as the game wore on. He was able to relax thanks to the slugging of Sorianoand Ramirez, the designated goats of last October's playoff debacle.

Soriano started the game with a second-pitch home run off Roy Oswalt, and Ramirez added a line-drivehomer in the second, the 250th of his career. Ryan Theriot's sacrifice flyin the fourth scored Mike Fontenot , and the Cubs were home free.

For one day at least, Piniella would not have to answer any questions about why he bats Soriano in the leadoff spot.

"How about that?" an incredulous Piniella said.

It was Soriano's 50th career homer leading off a game, third in baseball history.

"You guys don't like to see Alfonso leading off the game," Ramirez said. "You guys are always talking about that. But he's one of thebest. He's going to struggle, just like everybody. But when he's playing, we're a better team."

Soriano has been hitting well for the last three weeks and knew he was going to look for a pitch to hit out in his first at-bat.

"That's what I've been doing for how many years, eight?" he said. "I'm very happy that Lou is keeping me batting leadoff, andI'm going to try and do my job."

But Zambrano's streak-ending win was the real story. He caused some concern when catcher Geovany Soto thought he wassuffering from a cramped finger on his right hand, though Zambrano shrugged it off afterward.

"Geo is the one that should have Lasik's surgery," he joked. "It was his second Opening Day. He has to get more mature."

Zambrano's only struggles were at the plate, where he went 0-for-3. Piniella didn't ask him to put down a bunt with a man on in the seventh and a 3-0lead, saying he wasn't sure if Zambrano even knew the sign.

"That would be a good quiz," Piniella said.

"I don't know the bunt sign," Zambrano said with a grin. "There is no bunt sign for me."

 

[joe billionaire]

coach cooper predicted 90 wins for the astros for this season

 

[arstyle27]

Pujols' Big Day Spoiled, Cards Blow Another One
Pirates Win 6-4

ST. LOUIS -- On Monday at Busch Stadium, familiarity assuredly bred contempt. A too-short outing by a starting pitcher, too many men left on base andninth-inning struggles added up to a 6-4 Cardinals loss to the Pirates on Opening Day.
All of the foibles were familiar, and the final result could have been plucked from nearly any month of the 2008 season. A big hit here, another inning ortwo from Adam Wainwright there, and especially a stop in the ninth could have yielded a victory in front of 45,832 damp and chilly fans in downtown St. Louis.Instead, the Redbirds are 0-1 for the third year in a row.

"Two-run lead going into the ninth, gave up four," manager Tony La Russa said when asked for his assessment of the game. "[And] we had somechances early in the game with runners in scoring position."

The ninth-inning struggles by rookie Jason Motte drew the most attention from reporters, and will surely dominate the call-in shows, message boards and anyother outlet for fan displeasure. And not unfairly, since Motte was touched for four runs on four hits, three of them doubles. His greatest sin was throwing apitch close to the strike zone with an 0-2 count and the bases loaded, a pitch that Jack Wilson drilled for a three-run, game-winning double. But for much ofthe inning, Motte's problem was getting into deep counts.

"I felt like I got behind guys and got into predictable fastball counts and I had to throw it," Motte said. "We talked about it before thegame. These guys are a good fastball hitting team, so if you get in those kind of counts and throw fastballs up there, those guys are going to hitthem."

But as was so often the case in '08, if the bullpen had been given a little more room for error, it might not have mattered.

Wainwright pitched effectively but inefficiently for St. Louis. He allowed two runs on four hits, striking out seven, but he equaled a career high byissuing five walks in 5 1/3 innings. He needed 94 pitches to record 16 outs. The right-hander's last two walks proved costly, as both runners scored on aNyjer Morgan single off Trever Miller.

Wainwright scuffled in the first two innings, allowing four hits and a walk. But he settled down in the third, retiring nine out of 10 batters from thethird through the fifth before getting into trouble in the sixth. Holding a 2-0 lead with a chance to get into the game's final third, though, Wainwrightstumbled.

He struck out Adam LaRoche, but Andy LaRoche worked a full count before drawing a walk. Wainwright held an 0-2 advantage on Brandon Moss before losing Mossto a second straight walk. Wainwright was lifted in favor of Josh Kinney, who walked pitcher Paul Maholm, before Miller surrendered Morgan's tyingsingle.

"I had [Moss] 0-2 and I made four of the worst pitches of my entire life in a row," Wainwright said. "Andy LaRoche, I felt like I made apretty good pitch on 3-2, but you can't wait to 3-2 to throw a good pitch. I had him put away too if I would have made some nice pitches. ... I could getanother out right there and put that in the books and carry the team hopefully another inning even after that if I can get Moss out right there."

The score remained tied into the eighth, when Ryan Ludwick drilled a solo homer that gave the Rebdirds the lead. David Freese's sacrifice fly stretchedthe edge to two runs as Motte warmed up for the save chance. Motte allowed a leadoff double to Freddy Sanchez, struck out Nate McLouth and got Ryan Doumit toground out, putting him one out from shutting the door.

Then it got hairy. Adam LaRoche singled Sanchez home. Eric Hinske doubled LaRoche to third, and Motte hit Moss with a 2-1 pitch to load the bases. Still,that brought up Wilson, who is not known for his power. Motte got an 0-2 count on the shortstop, then left a fastball up and over the plate -- but not highenough. Wilson smacked it for the winner.
"I didn't get it up and out enough," Motte said. "It was a bad, bad, bad, bad, and bad."

 

[Retroballer]

Originally Posted by Joe Billionaire

coach cooper predicted 90 wins for the astros for this season

i heard that

i can only hope for another late season push

 

[pacmagic2002]

Originally Posted by arstyle27

Pujols' Big Day Spoiled, Cards Blow Another One
Pirates Win 6-4

ST. LOUIS -- On Monday at Busch Stadium, familiarity assuredly bred contempt. A too-short outing by a starting pitcher, too many men left on base and ninth-inning struggles added up to a 6-4 Cardinals loss to the Pirates on Opening Day.
All of the foibles were familiar, and the final result could have been plucked from nearly any month of the 2008 season. A big hit here, another inning or two from Adam Wainwright there, and especially a stop in the ninth could have yielded a victory in front of 45,832 damp and chilly fans in downtown St. Louis. Instead, the Redbirds are 0-1 for the third year in a row.

"Two-run lead going into the ninth, gave up four," manager Tony La Russa said when asked for his assessment of the game. "[And] we had some chances early in the game with runners in scoring position."

The ninth-inning struggles by rookie Jason Motte drew the most attention from reporters, and will surely dominate the call-in shows, message boards and any other outlet for fan displeasure. And not unfairly, since Motte was touched for four runs on four hits, three of them doubles. His greatest sin was throwing a pitch close to the strike zone with an 0-2 count and the bases loaded, a pitch that Jack Wilson drilled for a three-run, game-winning double. But for much of the inning, Motte's problem was getting into deep counts.

"I felt like I got behind guys and got into predictable fastball counts and I had to throw it," Motte said. "We talked about it before the game. These guys are a good fastball hitting team, so if you get in those kind of counts and throw fastballs up there, those guys are going to hit them."

But as was so often the case in '08, if the bullpen had been given a little more room for error, it might not have mattered.

Wainwright pitched effectively but inefficiently for St. Louis. He allowed two runs on four hits, striking out seven, but he equaled a career high by issuing five walks in 5 1/3 innings. He needed 94 pitches to record 16 outs. The right-hander's last two walks proved costly, as both runners scored on a Nyjer Morgan single off Trever Miller.

Wainwright scuffled in the first two innings, allowing four hits and a walk. But he settled down in the third, retiring nine out of 10 batters from the third through the fifth before getting into trouble in the sixth. Holding a 2-0 lead with a chance to get into the game's final third, though, Wainwright stumbled.

He struck out Adam LaRoche, but Andy LaRoche worked a full count before drawing a walk. Wainwright held an 0-2 advantage on Brandon Moss before losing Moss to a second straight walk. Wainwright was lifted in favor of Josh Kinney, who walked pitcher Paul Maholm, before Miller surrendered Morgan's tying single.

"I had [Moss] 0-2 and I made four of the worst pitches of my entire life in a row," Wainwright said. "Andy LaRoche, I felt like I made a pretty good pitch on 3-2, but you can't wait to 3-2 to throw a good pitch. I had him put away too if I would have made some nice pitches. ... I could get another out right there and put that in the books and carry the team hopefully another inning even after that if I can get Moss out right there."

The score remained tied into the eighth, when Ryan Ludwick drilled a solo homer that gave the Rebdirds the lead. David Freese's sacrifice fly stretched the edge to two runs as Motte warmed up for the save chance. Motte allowed a leadoff double to Freddy Sanchez, struck out Nate McLouth and got Ryan Doumit to ground out, putting him one out from shutting the door.

Then it got hairy. Adam LaRoche singled Sanchez home. Eric Hinske doubled LaRoche to third, and Motte hit Moss with a 2-1 pitch to load the bases. Still, that brought up Wilson, who is not known for his power. Motte got an 0-2 count on the shortstop, then left a fastball up and over the plate -- but not high enough. Wilson smacked it for the winner.
"I didn't get it up and out enough," Motte said. "It was a bad, bad, bad, bad, and bad."

Alright now...........Remember this when the cubs continue their 100+ year drought.......I dont wanna hear all that "stop posting those damnpics" crap.........

 

[arstyle27]

A. I stated nothing but facts. The posts are identical except for the fact that my team won.

B. It's a tradition that I do a Cardinals post when they lost their first game of the season. I'm not doin it again until the season approaches itsend.

C. It wasn't about posting pics, it was about quoting the same pictures on the same page.

D. Get over yourself.