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After Gregg blew that save in San Diego with a 1-0 lead, I knew our season was done.
***Official 2009 N.L. Central Thread*** Congrats to the Cardinals***
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by arstyle27,
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If it were TLR making excuses for the loss, he would say the offense should have scored more runs than just one. With the cubs offense, i think that would bea good assessment.
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Originally Posted by wildKYcat
when you're 17.5 games back...there really isn't much to say. go Cards.
Is Dusty gonna get axed?
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Lohse on the DL, this guy is having a #$##+$ year with bad luck. Hope he gets healthy.
I don't think the Reds should fire Dusty, nobody in their right mind thought the Reds were going to win this division this season.
I don't think the Reds should fire Dusty, nobody in their right mind thought the Reds were going to win this division this season.
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Good win byt he cards to go 8 up in the Central..........But what the hell is up with albert striking out 3 times in the game?? Is this dude not seeing theball or something??
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^he is human. dude is allowed to go soriano once in a while. I really hate my cubs right now. i can't stand this team except for lee and theriot.
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Albert has been playing like trash since the All-Star break. If it wasn't for Holliday, we wouldn't be near where we are right now.
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"I swear, I'm not a machine". "Why didn't you eliminate them Albert?"
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I guess now is as good a time as any for a token post. I swear, I never thought the Cards were gonna pull away like this. Probably gonna win the division bydouble digits. SMH.
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There is still a lot of baseball left tylerdub, anything can happen.
[h3]Smoltz fans nine in dominant debut[/h3]Cards' newest righty shuts down Padres in finale
By Matthew Leach / MLB.com
08/23/09 9:27 PM ET
Box >
SAN DIEGO -- It's safe to say John Smoltz's stuff is still intact. So, evidently, is nearly everything else that has contributed to his Hall of Fame-worthy career.
Smoltz, making his Cardinals debut, pitched five outstanding innings in a 5-2 win over the Padres at PETCO Park on Sunday. He struck out nine, including seven in a row at one point -- a number that according to some outlets is a club record, though the Cardinals could not confirm that. Smoltz also beat out a double-play ball to keep a pivotal rally going, and scored his team's first run by hustling home from second on a single.
"He did what he's been doing for 22 years," said Albert Pujols, who homered in support of his new teammate. "He's a great competitor. He knows that he still can pitch and he showed it out there. Throwing 93-94 miles per hour with a good split and good bite on his offspeed, that's pretty good. That's impressive. Hopefully he can continue to do it and help us to win the division."
Released by the Red Sox earlier this week, Smoltz looked like the pitcher Boston thought it was getting, rather than the one who struggled to an 8-plus ERA in eight starts. His velocity was just fine, his slider was sharp and his split-finger pitch baffled one hitter after another.
Over five shutout innings, Smoltz allowed three hits and didn't issue a walk. He struck out nine Padres, with the seven straight coming from the end of the first through the third inning. It was a most auspicious St. Louis debut for the right-hander, who is scheduled to start again on Friday.
"I haven't had many chances to feel this way, so I'm not going to get carried away," said Smoltz. "If I had mediocre stuff, I wouldn't have chosen this place. I could have probably chosen a lesser place with less pressure and just regained my confidence. Because I want to pitch next year. But I truly believed the whole time that I have what it takes. My fastball is good enough, my split's good enough and my slider is as good as it's ever been."
Meanwhile, just like teammate Chris Carpenter a night earlier, Smoltz received plenty of run support very early. The Cardinals hung four runs on wild rookie Cesar Carrillo in the second inning, with Ryan Ludwick's two-run single being the big blow in the rally, but Smoltz's infield grounder the pivotal point.
With one out and Yadier Molina on first, Smoltz grounded to third base. Molina was out at se cond, but Smoltz kept charging the whole way and beat out the relay. Skip Schumaker singled him to second, and when Brendan Ryan singled to shallow center, the 42-year-old hoofed it home. Smoltz also singled on a sacrifice attempt in the third inning.
"I'm not a good hitter anymore, but I think I can battle," he said. "I can make the pitcher throw a lot of pitches. I always believe I can get bunts down, do those little things. Running things out, there's times when you should and times you probably shouldn't. Today was one of those where I felt like if I could beat it out and turn the lineup over, you never know."
Handed the lead, Smoltz didn't waver. He struck out the side in order in the second and third, and worked around leadoff base hits in the fourth and fifth. He got 15 outs on 75 pitches, with more than 70 percent of those pitches (53) going for strikes.
"I think he did a good job of keeping the splitter and slider down," said Padres infielder David Eckstein. "When you've got someone with the ability and experience he has ... He knows how to pitch," Eckstein said. "And I'm sure there's a comfort level of being back in the National League. I think it was a great move for them."
The Redbirds tacked on more in the fourth with a milestone homer. Pujols drilled a 1-1 pitch from reliever Edward Mujica 377 feet to right field for a homer. It was Pujols' 40th home run of the season, marking the fifth time in his career that he has reached that milestone. It's the 11th 40-homer season in franchise history.
The Cardinals finished their West Coast road trip with a 5-2 record and moved to a season-best 18 games over .500. They remain eight games ahead of the second-place Cubs in the National League Central.
Matthew Leach is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Smoltz looked real good, but it was against the Padres afterall. Pujols with his 40th homer, he will probably finish around 46. Big 9 game homestand coming up Stros, Nats & Brewers.
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Sucks being a Cubs fan right now
but oh well, "there always.." ahh f it
but oh well, "there always.." ahh f it
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no.Originally Posted by sickickz23
Originally Posted by wildKYcat
when you're 17.5 games back...there really isn't much to say. go Cards.
Is Dusty gonna get axed?
Jay Bruce, Chris Dickerson, Joey Votto, Ramon Hernandez, Micah Owings, Aaron Harang, Jonny Cueto, Alex Gonzalez, Edinson Volquez, Nick Massett, Jared Burton,Edwin Encarnacion, and now Scott Rolen....all of these guys have spent significant time on the DL. Harang is done for the year, and Volquez may not pitchagain until July next season. Brandon Phillips is the only starting position player not to go on the disabled list this season, tho he has missed games witha broken finger.
we don't have the talent/depth to stay competitive with all these guys out. now, no one expected us to win the division or anything...but we played above.500 ball for a good while with the majority of the regular guys on the field.
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I am pretty sure Scott Rolen gets his mail forwarded to the DL, ol fragile *%% huckle berry
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c'mon FB....yeah, he gets hurt a lot...but let's be fair about this one: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=5880783&c_id=cin
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Rolen getting hit in the head was unfortunate, however the dl is where he spends most of his seasons.
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Hopefully he takes some time off the dl next season.
Now Dickerson and Hanigan are being put on the dl and we get to see Corky Miller and Darnell Macdonald!!
arstyle27
Supporter
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The Cards gettin Holliday was big. I had a real bad feeling when i saw they traded for him, and sure enough he's been a monster ....ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhh atleast we have Soriano....lmao
Sam Fuld though....i like him
Sam Fuld though....i like him
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Pretty much.......I think he went on the DL 2-3 times as a cardinal.
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At least, I was so glad when we got rid of him. He is a straight bust
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Well.....I wouldn't say he was an all out bust, we did win a world series with a little help from him.......Now Glaus on the other hand hasmissed the entire year, HE is a bust.Originally Posted by FIRST B0RN
At least, I was so glad when we got rid of him. He is a straight bust
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I meant he is a bust from what was projected for him when he came into the league. He did help the 06 win it all, but he hurt us real bad in the04 World seriesOriginally Posted by pacmagic2002
Well.....I wouldn't say he was an all out bust, we did win a world series with a little help from him.......Now Glaus on the other hand has missed the entire year, HE is a bust.Originally Posted by FIRST B0RN
At least, I was so glad when we got rid of him. He is a straight bust
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Wain with a GEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
9 games up....Barring a tremendous comeback by the cubbies.
FB.......any word on our magic number??
9 games up....Barring a tremendous comeback by the cubbies.
FB.......any word on our magic number??
