Chris Carpenter pitched hurt and led the team to a World Series victory. Adam Wainwright not so much.

Everyone pales in comparison when being compared to Carpenters grit and toughness.

JFC, that stat is on the road innings.

Carpenter was tough. He was also really, really good, and he had a better fastball and cutter than Wainwright. Makes a big difference when you can bring 93-4 instead of sitting at 91.

Yep, best of 7.

My point is Wainwright is trying to be that guy when clearly he can't because he relies on his breaking stuff to much.

So this is on management more the Wainwright.

I don't know.

I can see the argument for him nibbling too much, but at the same time, Matheny has ridden him into the dirt. Verlander went from the best in the game to a marginal #4 overnight because of workload. Wainwright doesn't have the best mechanics anyway, so it's not surprising that we would see decline both with age and overuse.

A lot of his struggles in October this year were sewn in 2013 as well. Too many ****ing innings.

True with all great players, at some point there will be a drop off in their skills.

I'm sure that Alan Craig, Freese, Franklin, Mujica, Salas, etc. were trying their best to be successful again but sometimes as an organization you just need to realize there is an issue and they are not what they once were.

Rosenthal calls out Waino. Has doubts the story we are being sold about Waino is true.
http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/c...senthal-101214

Hey Ken, the medical staff is for shit in St. Louis. They give us BS stories about players health every time there is an injury. They hide the injury, play it down, downright lie about it. So, Ken welcome to our world.

Something positive from Hummell's column

The good news for the Cardinals is that the last two times they lost the first game of the league championship series, they won not only that series but the World Series.

In 2006, the Cardinals lost the first game at New York, 2-0, but won the next game and then the NLCS in seven games before beating Detroit in the World Series.

In 2011, the Cardinals lost the championship series opener at Milwaukee, 9-6, but won the second game and then the league championship series in six games before outlasting Texas in seven games in the World Series.

Yeah, but both of those games were on the road. We've lost HFA. Tonight is the season.

Yep, I put this game in the "must" have column. Going to San Fran down 0-2 will be a hill too big to climb. Yet, I can never just write off this team in the playoffs no matter how they look until its really over.

<s>@</s>MLBONFOX: Jake Peavy is 0-2, with a 9.88 ERA in 3 career <s>#</s>postseason starts vs the <s>#</s>STLCards.

He was a tough son of a gun... However he did lose 2 of the four games in the 2012 NLCS against the Giants.

I don't get this. What has Grichek done besides the homer in game 1, inning 1. What difference has he made in RF? I don't remember any plays made in RF that were not routine?

OT is this years Miller. Benched in the playoffs without a real explanation.

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images...fb_normal.jpeg Bernie Miklasz @miklasz · 32m 32 minutes ago

Matheny on Taveras (3/3): "And we may need him in a different role, but right now Randal's doing a great job in the outfield."
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https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images...fb_normal.jpeg Bernie Miklasz @miklasz · 32m 32 minutes ago

Matheny on Taveras (2/3): ... "And we know as a pinch hitter what he can do for us... "
0 replies

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images...fb_normal.jpeg Bernie Miklasz @miklasz · 33m 33 minutes ago

Matheny on Taveras (1/3): "Oscar's going to stay ready. He could step in at any point if we needed him to... "
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Bernie Miklasz @miklasz · 34m 34 minutes ago

Matheny on lineup (RF for Game 2): "We're sticking with what we used right down the stretch, and defense is a big part of that."