Mr. IWS
07-11-2009, 09:03 AM
Big Al Mcmordie
At 4:10pm our member selection is on the St. Louis Cardinals over the Chicago Cubs. There are plenty of All-Star snubs to point out this year (Russell Branyan and Nick Markakis in the American League; Adam Dunn and Jason Werth in the National League) but when it comes to pitchers (who are chosen by the coaches and not the fans) perhaps the one name that stands out the most is the Cardinals' Chris Carpenter, who pitched yesterday vs. the Cubs' Rich Harden. After all, we're talking about a former Cy Young award winner who came back this season from major surgery to put up phenomenal numbers so far, despite a short stint on the shelf with an injury. And we're also talking about a guy who has pitched the last seven seasons of his Major League career in St. Louis, the host city of this season's mid-summer Classic. In contrast, today's starter for the Cubbies, veteran Ted Lilly will not only be at the All-Star Game in St. Louis next Tuesday, but he will be the Cubs' lone representative to the game. Pretty surprising when you consider that many people picked Chicago to win its division and perhaps go much further this season. But the offense really hasn't clicked so far for Lou Piniella and company, and Lilly and his teammates will certainly have their hands full this afternoon against one of the most potent offenses in the league. The Cardinal bats are really heating up lately, and it's more than just Albert Pujols doing the damage. Rookie outfielder Colby Rasmus has been punishing the ball. Of course it doesn't hurt that LaRussa has been batting Rasmus directly in front of Pujols so he's getting some pretty good pitches thrown his way. Take the Cards. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
At 4:10pm our member selection is on the St. Louis Cardinals over the Chicago Cubs. There are plenty of All-Star snubs to point out this year (Russell Branyan and Nick Markakis in the American League; Adam Dunn and Jason Werth in the National League) but when it comes to pitchers (who are chosen by the coaches and not the fans) perhaps the one name that stands out the most is the Cardinals' Chris Carpenter, who pitched yesterday vs. the Cubs' Rich Harden. After all, we're talking about a former Cy Young award winner who came back this season from major surgery to put up phenomenal numbers so far, despite a short stint on the shelf with an injury. And we're also talking about a guy who has pitched the last seven seasons of his Major League career in St. Louis, the host city of this season's mid-summer Classic. In contrast, today's starter for the Cubbies, veteran Ted Lilly will not only be at the All-Star Game in St. Louis next Tuesday, but he will be the Cubs' lone representative to the game. Pretty surprising when you consider that many people picked Chicago to win its division and perhaps go much further this season. But the offense really hasn't clicked so far for Lou Piniella and company, and Lilly and his teammates will certainly have their hands full this afternoon against one of the most potent offenses in the league. The Cardinal bats are really heating up lately, and it's more than just Albert Pujols doing the damage. Rookie outfielder Colby Rasmus has been punishing the ball. Of course it doesn't hurt that LaRussa has been batting Rasmus directly in front of Pujols so he's getting some pretty good pitches thrown his way. Take the Cards. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.