2019 St. Louis Cardinals

#551      
Didn't realize until someone else mentioned it that the crew chief in this Cardinals-Braves series is Sam Holbrook, who has a rather interesting history with both of these teams being involved in a playoff game:

 
#553      

IlliniFan85

Colorado Springs, CO
Said on radio today Bader will be benched and Carpenter will be in.
I think problem is we are allergic to starting pitching on offensive side of things. I mean come on, our fricken offense hides when Flaherty pitches. Its so frustrating. I can see us scoring 1 or 2 runs in each of these next two games and being eliminated. I hope I'm wrong.
 
#554      
Tomorrow's matchup is the most interesting of the series IMO. Veteran vs rookie. Good home pitcher vs good road pitcher. Playoff experience vs no playoff experience. Should be another close one.
 
#556      

BillyBob1

Champaign
Can’t get rid of Martinez fast enough.

Sick of the homer Turner announcers.
 
#557      
Martinez pitching....another mess up. He almost lost the game the other day with his less than stellar performance....WHY DOES SHILDT KEEP PITCHING MARTINEZ in clutch.....enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
#558      
Martinez pitching....another mess up. He almost lost the game the other day with his less than stellar performance....WHY DOES SHILDT KEEP PITCHING MARTINEZ in clutch.....enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can ask the same question of other players. I don't think Dejong and Fowler should be playing right now either. But now is not the time for experimenting. Gotta roll with what got you here at this point.
 
#559      

Ryllini

Lombard
That one hurt, but we go again tomorrow. Carlos needs to get right in between the ears. We have pieces on this team, no question, but unless we get some offense we are cooked. We only had one hitter with a significant amount of AB's hit .300(Edman) this year. That wont cut it this year or next.
 
#563      

IlliniFan85

Colorado Springs, CO
Can't win if the offense doesnt want to score. It's what I said other day. We'll lose these next two games because we can't score runs. I am half way to being correct.

Against Braves starters we have scored 2 runs.
 
#564      
Schilt's idea of " got your back" seems to be more important than giving us the best shot of a W. Yes, we need offense, but to get to two outs in the ninth and then toss it away is tough to take. We can hold a lead with two outs in the ninth...just need the right pitcher in there.
 
#565      

SycIllini

Sycamore, Illinois
I would have preferred to leave Miller in there to start the 9th. He only faced one batter in the 8th and got the out. I know it sets up the force play and Swanson was 0 For X against Martinez but, I am not a fan of putting the potential winning run on base. With two outs no less.
 
#566      
I would have preferred to leave Miller in there to start the 9th. He only faced one batter in the 8th and got the out. I know it sets up the force play and Swanson was 0 For X against Martinez but, I am not a fan of putting the potential winning run on base. With two outs no less.

Yea, never put the winning run on base. MAKE them beat you, don't DARE them to beat you.

Martinez sucked, but winning 1-0 in the playoffs in 2019 is almost impossible. Score some dang runs!

Obviously in a do or die spot, but if the Braves throw Kuechel on short rest today, then the Cardinals have Flaherty on normal rest for game 5, they are still in a decent spot. They've won 2 games in a row with worse pitching matchups before.
 
#568      
Can't win if the offense doesnt want to score. It's what I said other day. We'll lose these next two games because we can't score runs. I am half way to being correct.

Against Braves starters we have scored 2 runs.
I have never been a fan of the launch angle / go for the hr or strike out trying method. I long for the days when batting average was more important. I realize it's tough to string together 3-4 hits in an inning but baseball was more exciting when St Lou lead the league in doubles. Getting a hit or walk plus a couple of doubles in an inning was a lot more fun than watching 1 batter get a hr and 3 other guys ground out or even worse strike out.
I guess I am a grouchy old guy who doesn't like change. I'll go back and sit in my corner again.
 
#569      
Mcann was hitless for the night/Swanson was 2-3/ putting the winning run on base/ its Carlos Martinez/ I'm still butt sore about it, the list goes on hahaha
I'.m a fan of, don't let Carlos think too much. Quit callng all the taking too much time between ptches to psych the other team out. Clearly Carlos gets as fugged up as the opposition.
 
#570      
Carlos first pitch in the ninth is.....( drum roll)...double to Acuna deep......geez..this guy. Acuna's on third with two outs......cant take this guy anymore in pressure situations.
 
#572      

SycIllini

Sycamore, Illinois
I could only follow the game on my phone but, pretty sure the organization is out to get me. Errors, loading bases with Braves while clinging to a one run deficit multiple times, stranding runners, two out hit to tie, and then bringing in Martinez again! Not good for my health.

And now do it all again Wednesday. 😬
 
#573      

dgcrow

Kelso, WA
I could only follow the game on my phone but, pretty sure the organization is out to get me. Errors, loading bases with Braves while clinging to a one run deficit multiple times, stranding runners, two out hit to tie, and then bringing in Martinez again! Not good for my health.

And now do it all again Wednesday. 😬

Agreed. Lotta stress in this series. Several near strokes for me. o_O
 
#574      

the national

the Front Range
Mikolas was a sight for sore eyes when he came in and made the 10th look easy. Why Cant Carlos learn how to do that? Either way, THANK GOODNESS for Yadi getting two big hits to tie and then again to get the winning run in. I dont know how many times we had Goldy stuck on 2nd with no help getting him in. The number of stranded runners this team has kills me! But at least its better than last years Error total.

Speaking of Errors, I felt that they should have pulled Carp and shuffled the outfield with bader and move Edman to 3rd. After the ball hit the bag, Carp just didn't seem to hustle and that really bothered me. Then the bobbled ball out of bounds...he absolutely should have called Yadi off. Carp had a rough day.
 
#575      
Game time for Wednesday will be dependent on the result of tonight's Dodgers-Nationals game. If the Nationals win, the game will start at 4:02 PM CT. If the Dodgers win, the game will start at 7:07 PM CT.