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Another gem by Wainwright & he hits a homer. Holliday is out of his mind, Cards are looking real good.
***Official 2009 N.L. Central Thread*** Congrats to the Cardinals***
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by arstyle27,
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Until they get down to the last 2 in the rotation.......Hopefully that last game by Lohse was the beginning of his regular season.
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I don't know man, I still think Lohse = Loss
The offense needs to go nucleur for him to stand a chance.
The offense needs to go nucleur for him to stand a chance.
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i want to know what happened to wandy yesterday
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YADI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for being soo FREAKIN AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for being soo FREAKIN AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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and we suck
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we're winning, and the redbirds are winning. Not a good sign.....
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Redbirds.
Holliday.
Holliday.
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Lohse = Loss
Hopefully the Cards don't lose any ground.
Hopefully the Cards don't lose any ground.
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Well....he almost blew it but ludwick--Yadi and rasmus came throught to win it with a walk-off home rum.
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Originally Posted by wildKYcat
Redbirds.
Holliday.
pulling the plug on your team and jumping on the St. Louis bandwagon?
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Cards still looking like the team to beat in this division. Cubs and Brewers have fallen short as of late this month. I am hoping the Cardinals can keep thispace up, I want to see some good postseason baseball. A Cards vs. Pil/LA series in the playoffs would be +*!+#+! awesome.
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nvm
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pacmagic2002 wrote:
Well....he almost blew it but ludwick--Yadi and rasmus came throught to win it with a walk-off home rum.
Lohse looked terrible as usual, I wish there was some way we could shelf this guy for the remainder of the season. He's a good young pitcher,he just doesn't have his stuff since the injury. I think this off season will be a good time for him and I am more than confident that he will return toform next season. That comeback was, especially after the 2 rain delays.Looks like that's what the Cards needed. Off to Los Angeles now, Cards have to keep this play up!
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CARDS win with an absolute GEM by Carp and the Padres come back to beat the cubs. (MLB network turned it on RIGHT on time for me to see the tying run and thegame winning HR)
6 game lead in the NL Central!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have a feeling this thread is about to be a ghost town for a few days, lol
6 game lead in the NL Central!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have a feeling this thread is about to be a ghost town for a few days, lol
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Absolutely terrible.
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Well this one really stinks. I can't be mad or fed up anymore, because this season has been full of disappointment. I told everyone way back in SpringTraining, no, way back since last October, that I'm absolutely through with getting my emotions and hopes all high with this inferior team. This loss righthere, is not only a total team loss, it's a total organizational loss. Everyone is to blame for this miserable Cubs season.
I'm ready to call it quits, pack it up and wait until Spring Training. Everyyear, it's either the Cubs or idc who wins it all. I'll be watchingthe postseason but only as a spectator.
Congrats in advance to the 2009 NL Central Division champion St. Louis Cardinals. There I said it. See you next spring.
* if somehow the Cubs do make it to the postseason via wild card or division, I'll paypal all the usual Cub fans on here (CP1708, truthmain,arstyle, Flintgrey and anyone else I didn't mention), $20 My word is bond guys.
I'm ready to call it quits, pack it up and wait until Spring Training. Everyyear, it's either the Cubs or idc who wins it all. I'll be watchingthe postseason but only as a spectator.
Congrats in advance to the 2009 NL Central Division champion St. Louis Cardinals. There I said it. See you next spring.
* if somehow the Cubs do make it to the postseason via wild card or division, I'll paypal all the usual Cub fans on here (CP1708, truthmain,arstyle, Flintgrey and anyone else I didn't mention), $20 My word is bond guys.
arstyle27
Supporter
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It's a wrap...
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ACTIVATE STEALTH MODE!!!!!
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^^^ I feel you man. see my comment a couple of pages back. i myself have called it a wrap after the recent phillies series. this team is justaverage and even if they get in as a wild card, they can't compete. no depth in relief pitching and hitting is a hit or miss. like i said......
wait til next year............again.....
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^^^ I sometime thinks that the last marlins series where gregg blew 2 saves just took the wind out of our sales. the cubs were never the same after that.
its just frustrating............
its just frustrating............
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[h3]Carpenter, Cards boosted by two homers[/h3]
Franklin seals save No. 30 after Pujols, Ankiel go deep
By Matthew Leach / MLB.com
08/18/09 2:12 AM ET
Box >
LOS ANGELES -- The Cardinals got eight strong innings from the surest thing in their starting rotation, Chris Carpenter. They got a home run from the surest thing in any starting lineup in baseball, Albert Pujols. Then they turned to their newest lock, and he didn't disappoint.
Just as he's done 29 other times this year, Ryan Franklin closed out a win for the Redbirds on Monday night, and this one wasn't easy. Franklin retired Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake, two hitters who have tattooed him over the years, to secure a 3-2 victory over the Dodgers that was St. Louis' fifth in a row.
The Cards have won nine out of 10 for the first time since April 15-27, 2005, when they won 11 times in 12 games. And they stretched their lead in the National League Central to six games over the Cubs, who lost to the Padres on a walk-off home run.
And while you can point to many reasons for the Cardinals' success -- Carpenter and Adam Wainwright at the top of the rotation, Pujols' sustained excellence, a lineup deepened by midseason trades -- Franklin must surely rank somewhere near the top. He's converted 30 of 32 save opportunities while posting an eye-popping 1.16 ERA.
Whereas the ninth inning was at best a tossup and at times an absolute mess for the Cardinals in 2008, this year it's been a breeze.
"You know he's going to go in there and get it done," said Rick Ankiel, whose two-run homer in the seventh inning was the game-winning knock. "You have confidence. Whenever you have that, I think it changes the overall morale of the team. It's a good thing to have for sure."
This one was a little bit different for Franklin, but it still worked out. After eight solid innings from ace Carpenter, manager Tony La Russa turned to lefty Trever Miller to get the first out of the ninth, on left-handed hitter Andre Ethier. Then he summoned Franklin to face Ramirez and Blake.
For his career, Ramirez had been 5-for-14 against Franklin with two homers, while Blake was 6-for-11 with three extra-base hits. A combined .440 batting average was looking straight at Franklin.
"I don't exactly know the numbers, but I know they have hit me in the past," Franklin said. "But I think I'm a different pitcher than I was back then. That was when I was starting. I'm trying to get a little smarter as I age. I think I'm, I wouldn't say completely different, but a lot different pitcher than I was back then."
He showed it right away, when Ramirez popped up to first base on the first pitch. It was a little harder against Blake, who took a fastball outside before driving another heater deep to center. But Colby Rasmus corralled the ball, and the Cardinals had their 68th win.
"The reason that was a tough matchup, for any pitcher in baseball, is because they're both excellent clutch hitters," La Russa said.
For Franklin, No. 30 had special significance. It's not the same as, say, 20 wins, but it's a defining number in a reliever's mind -- equivalent perhaps to 30 home runs or 100 RBIs for a hitter.
"If you'd asked me at the beginning of the season if I'd have 30 saves, I'd have said, 'I hope,'" Franklin said. "To think that I'd have it in mid-August, no way. It's cool. It's a big deal."
Of course, it took a lead for Franklin to have the chance at No. 30, and that came courtesy of Carpenter, Pujols and Ankiel. The two sluggers went deep into the seats, and the ace went deep into the game.
Aside from the two homers, Dodgers starter Charlie Haeger kept the Cardinals very much in check. But two pitches cost the knuckleballer the game. Pujols cranked a 1-0 pitch into the left-field stands in the fourth inning, tying the score at 1. And after the Dodgers moved back ahead, Ankiel jacked a two-run shot to right in the seventh to put St. Louis ahead for the first time. He drove in Ryan Ludwick, who had been hit by a pitch one batter earlier.
"You get a 2-1 lead in the seventh inning, you feel like you have a leg up against any ballclub," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "Unfortunately, we couldn't take it home."
Carpenter won his eighth straight decision to improve to 13-3 on the year. He has pitched at least seven innings in seven straight starts and has allowed two or fewer runs in seven of his past nine games. He allowed five hits and a walk and struck out eight. The 2005 Cy Young Award winner did find himself in trouble at times but worked out of it every time.
In the first inning, he faced the bases loaded with one out but held Los Angeles to a run, thanks to Ludwick's superb play. Blake hit a liner to right, and though the ball scored Rafael Furcal from third, Ludwick threw out Ethier trying to advance from second to third.
"I just threw the ball," Ludwick said. "I knew I probably didn't have a chance at Furcal, because he has good speed, obviously. I knew the runner behind him would be running, with where I caught the ball. So I took a shot at third and I'm just glad it was on line."
Carpenter stranded James Loney at second base in the fifth after an RBI single and stolen base with no outs. And Carpenter's last out of the game was a strikeout of Orlando Hudson with the tying run on second base. Then he turned it over to Franklin, who brought it home. Again.
"Look at his numbers and the stuff that he's done all year," Carpenter said. "He's been great. He comes in pounding the strike zone and not scared. That's what it's all about. He's done a great job. You can't say enough about what Frankie's done."
Matthew Leach is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Cardinals actually beat a pitcher they haven't faced yet, too bad I don't feel positive about the Boggs - Billingsley match up, offense needs to get a lot of runs tonight.
[h3]Cards interested in free-agent Smoltz[/h3]Veteran released by Red Sox after refusing assignment
By Matthew Leach / MLB.com
08/17/09 11:06 PM ET
LOS ANGELES -- The Cardinals maintain an interest in veteran right-hander John Smoltz, who was released by the Red Sox on Monday. Smoltz is a free agent and can sign with any Major League team. He had been designated for assignment by Boston, and declined a Minor League assignment.
"I know that he's one of the guys we've been looking into," manager Tony La Russa said. "He's healthy, and when he's healthy, he's a weapon."
Smoltz was starting for Boston, but it's more likely that he'd fit as a reliever for the Cardinals, who have some question marks from the right side in front of closer Ryan Franklin. Pitching coach Dave Duncan acknowledged that the likely Hall of Famer holds some interest, but that there's some question as to the night-to-night resiliency of his arm.
La Russa said he had not placed a call directly to Smoltz to lobby the veteran but didn't rule out a selling job if it was needed.
"I'll do whatever I'm asked to do," he said. "I think it's enough to say that we've got interest, and we have since the day he was designated. I know Mo's [general manager John Mozeliak] been looking."
As for another free-agent relief option, Duncan expressed little enthusiasm for Justin Speier, who was recently released by the Angels.
Matthew Leachis a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
I wonder what will come of this
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The cubs have been killing me this season. They should NEVER gave up Derosa or Kerry Wood. I remeember going to the playoff game where Ryen Demster pitched adDerosa hit a home run(only player who actually did something in the playoffs)
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^^ DeRosa leaving hurts.
i wonder if the cubs are also thinking about adding Smoltz.
hmmmm...........
i wonder if the cubs are also thinking about adding Smoltz.
hmmmm...........
