It Has To Be Said

I was not confident about the Cardinals' chances going into Game 2. They had Jeff Weaver on the mound, and lefthanders have hit him like they were all Miguel Cabrera (.340 AVG, .395 OBP, .609 SLG - that's an OPS of 1.005), against the Padres, who had a lineup consisting of SEVEN lefty position players.

On the other side, you've got David Wells (he's been a great pitcher, so I'll refrain from weight and/or gout jokes), and the Cardinals have hit lefties like they were a lineup full of So Taguchis. Which would seem to suggest trouble. Of course, I'd decided to just enjoy the fact the Cardinals were even in the postseason, as it sure beats the hell out of hearing about Roger Clemens and how this might be his farewell (I believe the Astros coming up just shy of making the postseason was the Baseball Gods' way of telling him to get lost). And the Cards had taken Game 1, so they were already ahead in the series, having taken home field advantage.

But you know what? Weaver came through. 5IP, 2 hits, 3Ks, 3BB, no runs. And Albert Pujols did what Albert does the best, driving in Preston Wilson for the first run. Heck, Jim Edmonds even defied his year-long slump against lefties (OPS of .479 this year) and drove in Albert later for another run.

But Weaver's solid, if unspectacular start is what impressed me the most. For a guy who looks like he's always frustrated, or doesn't really want to be out there, he did good.

However, this doesn't mean I'm happy about the idea of you pitching a Game 5 on short rest. Soup, Carp, you guys better wrap this thing up in the next two games. Don't worry though, you've got Albert Pujols, and really, do you need much more than that?