They know pitching was for the birds

They knew that their batsmen would get them a bunch of runs, one way or another. Larry Walker, their one-time wanna-be hockey player, would get a bunch of hits. Maybe Tim Wakefield's knuckler would flutter out of the strike zone for a few walks. Manny Ramirez might do a double twisting layout vault in the outfield.

What Cardinal pitchers Woody Williams and Julian Tavarez were supposed to do was keep the Boston sluggers in the ballpark. When they didn't, they took the blame for last night's 11-9 loss in the World Series opener. "No excuses," said Williams, who gave up seven runs in 2 1/3 innings. "I just didn't pitch well. The bullpen did a great job. The team did a great job coming back. I couldn't have asked for more. But I left them in a big hole. It was completely my fault."

As soon as leadoff man Johnny Damon rapped a double to the left-field corner, the evening went sour for Williams, who had been 2-0 with a 2.84 earned run average in the postseason. He hit Orlando Cabrera with a pitch. He watched Manny Ramirez jack a ball toward the right-field foul pole that Walker barely tracked down. Then David Ortiz took Williams out past the pole. Kevin Millar doubled to left, Bill Mueller singled through the hole at short and it was 4-0.

Then, after St. Louis had grabbed a couple of runs back, Williams put four men on in the third (two on walks) and three of them scored. "He wasn't locating well," said manager Tony La Russa. "A lot of times he gets into a groove. He never got into it."

In came Danny Haren to eat 3 2/3 innings. The Cardinals got three more runs after Wakefield walked the bases full in the fourth. A couple more in the sixth, a couple more in the eighth and it was tied 9-9. The Redbirds were back.

Now came Tavarez, who'd busted his left hand in a fit of pique in Game 4 of the NLCS after giving up a homer to Carlos Beltran. He'd been lights-out since, winning Game 6 and pitching a perfect setup inning in the clincher.

He got Mueller on a grounder to second. He could have gotten Jason Varitek, but Edgar Renteria couldn't handle the ball at short. Up came Mark Bellhorn, who'd gotten on three times and had two Yankee Stadium homers on his recent resume.

Tavarez knew exactly what he wanted to throw him. "I wanted the ball down," he said. "A backdoor slider." He left it over the plate, and watched in dismay as Bellhorn lofted it toward the Pesky Pole. "Not the location I wanted," he said. "When you don't make a pitch, you get hit. That's what happened to me today."

A stiff wind was blowing in from center field, and for a moment, Tavarez thought it might save him. "I saw the flag blowing that way," he said. "I was hoping it was foul." Tavarez waved anxiously with his hand, hoping to guide the ball to the right of the pole by telekinesis.

When he saw it stay fair and bang off the pole, he hopped off the mound in a frustrated dance. "I didn't make the pitch," Tavarez said. "What happened today, there was nothing I could do about it."

In the clubhouse, while his teammates ate a midnight meal, Tavarez played the homer again and again on the video. "I watched it over and over and over, so I can keep it in my head," he said. "I can't let it happen again."

Not since 1903 had the Red Sox scored 11 runs in a World Series game. Most days for St. Louis, nine would be enough.

But not inside the Fenway bandbox.