They certainly faked out everyone. Waino is pitching no matter what. Wonder if that was a deek to get Cole to pitch?

Ya I thought he would of thrown at least a couple innings no matter what. But it probably doesn't matter much either way.

Waino in LA
Lynn in LA
Wacha/Lackey/Miller for 2 starts in STL

Lackey has a good history of pitching in the playoffs. Wacha was lights out last year and those last 4 innings were damn good. Miller has been spectular in his last 4 starts at BushIII.

Who do you think gets the start in the 2 games at Bush?

Miller gets Game 3 and Wacha Game 4. With Wacha, you want the pen to be able to go on a day where they wouldn't have to pitch the next day, so that means either Game 2 or 4.

I want no part of Lackey pitching in the playoffs.

I think the main motivation of Mo in the Lackey for Kelly/Craig deal was to move Craig. He thought he was done. That contract was a bunch of dead money. Matheny was going to keep running Craig out there. If that happened, we don't make the playoffs.

Second part was to shake up the clubhouse. They were way too comfortable. We won the division so that worked.

Third part was to get a playoff experienced pitcher.

All that being said................if you don't pitch Lackey was the deal still a good one?

Winner. I guess we should have played these backup guys all week.

Pham running into a wall on a foul ball in a game that doesn't matter to either team. I want to see more from him. :thumb:

They turned it around after the trade. I don't remember anyone predicting 90 wins and a division title the day before the trade. Losing Molina for 6 weeks. Wacha for months. Here lately. You Gotta give it up for this team. They find a way to get it done every year.

I'd be pretty surprised if Lackey isn't starting a game in the first series.

Moving Craig was two-fold: 1) it was a salary dump and 2) it attempted to force Matheny's hand to play Taveras. Little did he know, Matheny would play anyone else on Earth there before Oscar.

Me too. That means Wacha or Miller sits. After last year and the way he has pitched down the stretch, how can you sit Miller again in the playoffs?

Why are the Cardinals the only ones not to wear the goggles during the champagne/ beer celebrations? Are they all pussies? Or are we being too macho?

Our guys built up a tolerance to bubbly in the eye burn.

If someone is sitting this year, it ain't Shelby.

How would they be wimps for not wearing goggles? Maybe their eyes are used to the champagne/beer flowing through their eyes.

That alcohol burns bad. Spend the whole night with blood shot ass eyes! lol

ooh yeah, and im ready to do this again! Shitty the series dont start until Friday. We basically had 7 days off. Kershaw had to throw a simulated game today.

The other teams are wimps.

Sometimes a man has to endure a little discomfort to avoid looking like a pussy.:rolleyes:

i wouldnt have the super big ass goggles. I'd take them little ass ones that swimmers use! Then again, it guess it depends on the person. Im sure some peoples eyes are more sensitive then others. On celebrations like that, you will see a guy with no goggles, then 5 min later, he will have them on. lol FIrst time, i would probably go commando no goggles. If it burned that bad, **** it, call me a pussy, it burns haha

Someone should tell them they look like pussies and lame as hell with those big ass goggles.

The Cardinals have been to the playoffs 10 of the last 14 years. Plenty of opportunities to get champagne in your eyes. But, we also have a lot of new players especially with the Sept. callups. They weren't wearing the goggles. Defintely peer pressure at work.

I dont really think at the time they care what they look like. lol That should be worry 10,045 on the list going into the play offs.

Can't wait to end LAs season again.

Hopefully not, our offense is playing out of its mind right now. Well up to the ability they are capable of. We score 10 runs like its a random tuesday lately, even our triple A call ups are crushing it.

To be fair, Kershaw was pitching lights out when we beat him twice in the playoffs. Including the deciding game last year. Kershaw is all world. the real deal. But, even Koufax and Drysdale have off days.

The Cardinals, more specifically Jeff Suppan, were the first team to start wearing those goggles.

He threw alot of innings last year, he should be fresher this season, since he missed 6 starts earlier in the year. Should be a fun series. Our bullpen is complete trash though. Really really bad.

I just read right now that Lately the Dodgers havent been taking Batting Practice before games. Thats kind of odd.


https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.n...51949474_o.jpg

Hey St. Louis, PC 'Merca hates your cracker ass.

http://deadspin.com/this-cardinals-f...1640119460/all

triple distilled cuacasity, indeed.

IMO, Game 1 lineup should be:

Carpenter
Jay
Holliday
Peralta
Molina
Grichuk
Adams
Wong
Wainwright

Playoff Roster Should be:

SP (5): Waino, Lynn, Shelby, Wacha, Lackey
RP (7): Rosenthal, Neshek, Martinez, Freeman, Scroate, Maness, Lyons (long man)

Position Players:

OF (5): Holliday, Jay, Bourjos, Grichuk, Taveras
IF (6): Carpenter, Peralta, Wong, Adams, Kozma, Descalso
C (2): Molina, Pierzynski

Los Doyers are going down.

Agree with lineup.

I like Gonzalez as the long man. Otherwise agree on the pitchers.

I think Matheny is going to want Cruz on the roster. We may lose Kozma to make room. I sure hope not but its "his" guy despite him hitting 6 of last 40 AB's.

Hey Fruit Ninja,

Do you think there will be any retaliation for the fastball to Ramirez's ribs last year in the playoffs?

I don't think there was any HBP this year when we played each other this year during the regular season. Am I remembering correctly?

http://i.imgur.com/33egSZM.png

Cool play off bracket. Friday is to far away! lol

Interesting to me that Peralta ended up tied for 10th in all of baseball for defensive runs saved this year. Not bad for a guy we were told didn't have a glove.

Yep. also add Taveras could play CF. As Hamas said, his ceiling is Hollidayesque. He does have a better arm. His lines to get to a ball needs a lot of work. But he definitly can hit the ball. A future .300 hitter and All-Star. You only have to hit .292 to make the the top 10 in BA in the NL.

No matter what happens this post season, we need more offense.

Where do you change out or upgrade?

Molina - ROFL
Holliday - No trade clause
Carpenter - Core player
Peralta - Not next year
Wong - Too much upside if he gets consistent.
OT - Too much upside if he gets consistent. But could be piece in blockbuster trade.

Jay - Prime trade bait IMHO. His value is the highest it will ever be. Entering into high $ arbitration years.
Grichek - Shows a lot of potential but needs consistency.
Adams - high upside but curious lack of power and looks awful against LH pitching.

I think we should trade for a power hitting 1B or 3B...........

Jay and Adams for a top quality 1B with power. Grichek moves to CF. OT in right. Bourjas is 4th outfielder with Piscotty in the bullpen.

Jay and Wong for a top quality 3B with power. Carp moves to 2B. Same outfield positions as above.

Pirates havent even put up their fists to punch back yet! Fail.

Hurdle seems to think this is just the first game of the series. He's managing with no urgency, not that it really matters, because Bumgarner is completely ****ing unhittable.

That's the killshot.

A slaughter now. I thought Pitt had this easy peasy because they Giants Stumbled into the Play offs.

Goes to show you that how hot you were getting into the playoffs doesn't mean shit. Both times we won the WS in 2006 and 2011 we backed into the playoffs looking like shit.

Big mistake to pitch Cole on Sunday.

You've gotta do what you can to win the division. The worst team in baseball could play the Angels in a play-in game like this and eliminate them a third of the time. It's just too damn risky. Avoid the play-in game at all costs.

Hurdle left the righty in to face Belt with bases loaded and another lefty on deck in Crawford. What's the deal with all the bad management in baseball lately.

Same teams in the NL show up almost every year for the last 10 years LA, Giants, Cardinals and some East team.

Some of those guys are taking a shot at the "CUETO" chant. It might not work.

So your saying compared to these guys, Matheny is a genius? :Poke:

It's the equivalent of leaving Maness in the same situation with Choate or Seigrest ready to go. And I could totally see a Matheny pulling some crap like that.

Doesn't matter what managerial moves happen when u score 0 runs lol. 100 percent chance at a loss lol

What do you guys think about the A's Donaldson? Rumor mill is that he is available. Could be BS, But anyway..............Wong, Taveras and Gonzalez makes it happen?

WTH you would give up Taveras for Donaldson? :doh!:

Because of this number: two.

That's the number of people who have put up more WAR over the last two years: Mike Trout and Andrew McCutchen

I probably don't make that move because of his age, but you would have him for the next four years, and he would be well worth his arb dollars.

You check his WAR? He still has 4 years left. We need some bats with pop. We have to hit more home runs.

Looks like AJ is out. Cruz is on the roster and AJ is not. I just don't get this. Cruz is 6-40. He can't throw out runners. AJ can pinch hit. He has great numbers against Grienke. So we get Delcasco off the bench as our LH bat.

Gonzales, Kozma makes the roster.

Lackey gets game 3. Miller gets game 4. Wacha to the bullpen.

You didn't really think Matheny would go into the playoffs without his buddy Descalso did you? Just wait until you see him pinch hit with a game or a series on the line, because you know it's gonna happen.

Having Cruz instead of AJ is absolutely reeruned. They both suck at throwing out runners and AJ bats around 100 points better than Cruz. It's easy math but AJ isn't a Matheny guy.

Thats the bottom line isn't it. He's our buddy. **** putting the best players on the field. We want our buddies by our side.

I'm sure it's been said, but how much fun would an I-70 series be on CP? ROFL If wishes came true, everyone would die of EbolAIDS.

In reality the Cards fans would be fine with whatever happened for the most part, I would have a hard time feeling too bad losing a WS to the Royals (again). On the other hand the Royals fans would be mostly unbearable with either outcome.

Royals fans resent the shit out of Cards fans to an unhealthy level.

We won't beat the dodgers, so it's wishful thinking.

Thats what "everyone" said last year.;)

Our offense is just flat terrible. Against that pitching staff, it's gonna be ugly.

Well we have a pretty solid pitching staff also. We may stink it up. Get swept. Thats a possibility. Kershaw and Grienke are top shelf.

But, If you haven't learned by now, you never will........... Never count the Cardinals out in the post season.

You may very well be right.

But, most of those teams could hit an score runs consistently.

This one, can't.

Our rotation is kinda set now.

Kershaw, Grienke, Ryu and either Kershaw/Haren in game 4.

So glad Ryu made it back, was really worried for a second that we might have to throw fausto lol

The worst Cardinal offense of a generation is going to need some ridiculous luck with hit sequencing to win any series, because they have no gap or HR power.

It's gotta be approach. Looking at individuals they should hit for more power

Isn't that what they did to win the central?

They should, but this team doesn't have power, and no one can handle an inside pitch, aside from Peralta.

If this team wants any offensive success, they need a more patient approach at the plate. That means working deep into counts and being willing to foul off marginal pitches. Their approach right now is obscene.

I still think a lot of that is approach though, Mabry has th all trying to go the other way or whatever.

You can teach slap-hitting horseshit while still instilling a patient approach in the hitters. Not only does Mabry teach a power-averse style, the hitters have almost no discipline in their approach.

FWIW, Mabry should be fired, but he's also a convenient whipping boy for several players who have just flat out sucked offensively.

Especially against the Dodgers, its going to be all about pitching. We need to win those 1-2 run games. They will be close. We have been pretty damn good in 1 run games this year.

We need to get past the starters, get to their middle relief guys for a couple of runs. Our starters give up 1 run through 6-7 innings. Bullpen hold the lead.

Our margin for error is razor thin. On paper, we have no chance. We will see.

Sure.

They don't have a patient approach and I'm curious as to who the players you are speaking of offensively?

Our bullpen is not that good and record in one run games is completely luck-driven.

You are just a bundle of joy.;)

I'm not saying the Cardinals can't win, but the best argument is really just, "we have to get lucky."

This is closer to a .500 team. We actually outperformed our expected W/L by a hefty margin this year. It's easily the worst team since 2007.

If we pull a 2012 Giants-sized rabbit out of our hats offensively, then it's possible, but for that to happen you need a basehit off of a bat that has been broken in three spots and a shitbag like Marco Scutaro to turn into Robin Yount for a week.

our bullpen is probably worse. lol The only guy thats solid is Jansen and he struggled a little at the beginning of the year.

I'M PUMPED!

We beat Kershaw twice in the playoffs last year. To expect to beat him again, is quite the stretch for sure.

I hope they come out swinging. Don't try to run up the count and get him out of the game in the 5th/6th. Sit on that fastball and take your hacks.

Dodgers Lineup For Game 1 Of The NLDS
2B Gordon
CF Puig
1B Gonzalez
RF Kemp
SS Ramirez
LF Crawford
3B Uribe
C Ellis
P Kershaw

Dodgers line up tonight!

Anyone watching live? Or has everyone DVR'd the game for later?