Rotation has finally taken shape
The Cardinals finally have their pitching rotation figured out -- more or less.
Jeff Suppan, former Fens denizen, will start Game 3 tomorrow, with last night's emergency reliever (and occasional pinch runner), Jason Marquis, going in Game 4.
But because St. Louis went with Matt Morris on three days' rest yesterday and used Danny Haren for nearly four innings on Saturday, Marquis pitched to five batters out of the bullpen last night, throwing 25 pitches.
"I think Marquis can pitch a little bit and still start Game 4," said manager Tony La Russa.
Fielding questionsNow that the Series is shifting to St. Louis, the Cardinals figure they'll have an advantage, since the Red Sox aren't used to having their pitchers bat or their designated hitters play in the field."The pitcher is involved in the game and that's not easy for him," said La Russa. "Some guys make it work like it's no problem, but it's not normal, it's not easy. You have to run the bases. And usually, the American League lineup has a DH guy that may have a tough time playing a position. So there's a couple of edges that you lose." As for the Red Sox? "If [David] Ortiz was incapable of playing defense, that would be a big blow to them," La Russa said. "But I don't see any reason why they can't play him."
Support staff? Except for Marquis, who's hitting .292 with nine RBIs and six doubles, the Cardinals' pitchers aren't exactly ripping the horsehide off the ball. Woody Williams is batting .180, Morris .161, Suppan .070. As for the Boston starters, who were a combined for 2 for 15 this year, Derek Lowe is .250, Curt Schilling .143, and Pedro Martinez, and Tim Wakefield both .000 . . . Getting back to Busch Stadium for three games figures to help the Cardinals, who were 53-28 there during the regular season (the best record in the National League), are 6-0 there in the postseason, and have won seven of their last 10 Series home games, including all three in 1987 against Minnesota. All time, though, St. Louis is only 24-22 at home in the Fall Classic, including the 1968 nightmare, when the Redbirds dropped the final two at home to Detroit (by an aggregate 17-2) after going up, 3-1. This postseason, though, the Cardinals are dramatically better in their own yard, where they're hitting .311 and averaging more than seven runs a game . . . History said that the Cardinals couldn't go down, 0-2, last night and survive. Whenever they have (in 1928, '30, and '87) they've lost the Series. When they've split the first two games, they're 9-2, most recently in 1982, when they beat the Brewers in seven. In its two previous October meetings with Boston, St. Louis split both times (at home in 1946, in Fenway in 1967) and won in seven. Last night's loss was the Cardinals' eighth in a row on the road in the Series since 1985, tying Brooklyn (1916-41) for the second-longest streak ever. The longest is 14 games by the Senators/Twins from 1925-1991 . . . Just because Ortiz walked twice after bashing his first-inning homer in the opener doesn't mean St. Louis will be giving him the Barry Bonds treatment. "We don't like telling our pitchers they are not good enough to get somebody out," said La Russa. Last night, after Ortiz walked in the first (and scored on Jason Varitek's triple), the Cardinals retired him three straight times . . . Reliever Steve Kline wasn't enthralled about being left off the Series roster, especially since he found out about it from watching ESPN. "I'm not a happy camper," he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Kline, who had a 1.79 ERA in 67 appearances, has a torn tendon in his left index finger but felt he could still perform. 