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Edmonds says no evil, but he thinks it
HOUSTON -- St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Jim Edmonds took a subtle shot at umpire Phil Cuzzi after the game without having to mention his name.
In talking about the umpiring crew, he praised crew chief Tim McClelland and umpire Wally Bell as two of the best in the business. Omitting Cuzzi showed where he stood in Edmonds' appraisal.
"I was mad to get tossed without saying much,'' Edmonds said of his eighth-inning heave-ho with a 3-2 count. "We're supposed to be able to argue and go back and forth and be professional. I wasn't trying to make a scene or show him up. It was pretty loud [in the stadium]. It was an unfortunate incident.
"That crew is a veteran crew and do a good job. Just a tough day right there. This was a big game. I just want to be treated fair. Wally and McClelland are about as good as they get -- on and off the field.''
SNEAK THIEF: When Larry Walker took advantage of the Houston Astros snoozing in the ninth after tagging out Albert Pujols trying to score on a ground ball, he took a chance that somebody might notice him trying to go from second to third. Walker started out on first when the grounder to third baseman Morgan Ensberg resulted in Pujols being thrown out at the plate.
If the Cardinals had tied or won the game, Walker would have been a hero for getting to third with one out. Instead, it didn't matter when the game ended on a double play.
"It could have been a really dumb play, too,'' Walker said. "If I get thrown out, I'm an idiot. The crowd noise was to my benefit.''
BOUNCING BACK: Andy Pettitte, who starts for Houston tonight against Cy Young Award candidate Chris Carpenter, acknowledged there remains swelling in his right knee. Pettitte started Game 1 of the National League Championship Series despite being hit in that knee during batting practice by a Roy Oswalt drive. Pettitte doesn't expect the knee to be a factor and hopes to be much better with his location than he was in the loss Wednesday.
"I left a lot of balls right in the hitting zone,'' he said. "I was so bad, I can't get a read off that.''
Pettitte said he wouldn't run the bases during BP today.
KING ALBERT: Character is supposed to be one of the factors that MVP voters consider. In that case, some voters might want to change their votes based on how Pujols has conducted himself in the NLCS. While Pujols is almost certain to be the NL MVP with writers already having cast their votes, his actions in the Cardinals' clubhouse Saturday after a 4-3 loss were disgraceful.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Pujols badgered the few media members in a deserted clubhouse.
"Media, get in a corner,'' Pujols said. "Get in one of the corners so we can walk through.''
The paper added that Pujols directed sarcastic remarks toward reporters trying to ask questions of third baseman Hector Luna, whose throwing error was a big turning point in Game 3. The Post-Dispatch also noted that Pujols has refused to take questions after losses to the Astros in Games 2 and 3. He did talk after the Game 4 defeat.
OFF BASE: Some Florida papers have been speculating that New York Yankees bench coach Joe Girardi could turn down impending managing offers from both the Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Devil Rays in order to keep his options open to replace Cubs manager Dusty Baker after the 2006 season.
"There's other opportunities I'm thinking about that could possibly open up later,'' Girardi told New York's WFAN. "I'm not sure.''
It's still unfounded speculation at this point to even imply that the Cubs would have interest in Girardi as a manager. With Baker going nowhere for the near future, Girardi is much more likely to accept a managing job before Baker is finished in Chicago. Girardi interviewed Sunday with Devil Rays officials. Marlins officials would like to see Girardi in more of a hurry to commit to them than he has shown so far.
HOUSTON -- St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Jim Edmonds took a subtle shot at umpire Phil Cuzzi after the game without having to mention his name.
In talking about the umpiring crew, he praised crew chief Tim McClelland and umpire Wally Bell as two of the best in the business. Omitting Cuzzi showed where he stood in Edmonds' appraisal.
"I was mad to get tossed without saying much,'' Edmonds said of his eighth-inning heave-ho with a 3-2 count. "We're supposed to be able to argue and go back and forth and be professional. I wasn't trying to make a scene or show him up. It was pretty loud [in the stadium]. It was an unfortunate incident.
"That crew is a veteran crew and do a good job. Just a tough day right there. This was a big game. I just want to be treated fair. Wally and McClelland are about as good as they get -- on and off the field.''
SNEAK THIEF: When Larry Walker took advantage of the Houston Astros snoozing in the ninth after tagging out Albert Pujols trying to score on a ground ball, he took a chance that somebody might notice him trying to go from second to third. Walker started out on first when the grounder to third baseman Morgan Ensberg resulted in Pujols being thrown out at the plate.
If the Cardinals had tied or won the game, Walker would have been a hero for getting to third with one out. Instead, it didn't matter when the game ended on a double play.
"It could have been a really dumb play, too,'' Walker said. "If I get thrown out, I'm an idiot. The crowd noise was to my benefit.''
BOUNCING BACK: Andy Pettitte, who starts for Houston tonight against Cy Young Award candidate Chris Carpenter, acknowledged there remains swelling in his right knee. Pettitte started Game 1 of the National League Championship Series despite being hit in that knee during batting practice by a Roy Oswalt drive. Pettitte doesn't expect the knee to be a factor and hopes to be much better with his location than he was in the loss Wednesday.
"I left a lot of balls right in the hitting zone,'' he said. "I was so bad, I can't get a read off that.''
Pettitte said he wouldn't run the bases during BP today.
KING ALBERT: Character is supposed to be one of the factors that MVP voters consider. In that case, some voters might want to change their votes based on how Pujols has conducted himself in the NLCS. While Pujols is almost certain to be the NL MVP with writers already having cast their votes, his actions in the Cardinals' clubhouse Saturday after a 4-3 loss were disgraceful.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Pujols badgered the few media members in a deserted clubhouse.
"Media, get in a corner,'' Pujols said. "Get in one of the corners so we can walk through.''
The paper added that Pujols directed sarcastic remarks toward reporters trying to ask questions of third baseman Hector Luna, whose throwing error was a big turning point in Game 3. The Post-Dispatch also noted that Pujols has refused to take questions after losses to the Astros in Games 2 and 3. He did talk after the Game 4 defeat.
OFF BASE: Some Florida papers have been speculating that New York Yankees bench coach Joe Girardi could turn down impending managing offers from both the Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Devil Rays in order to keep his options open to replace Cubs manager Dusty Baker after the 2006 season.
"There's other opportunities I'm thinking about that could possibly open up later,'' Girardi told New York's WFAN. "I'm not sure.''
It's still unfounded speculation at this point to even imply that the Cubs would have interest in Girardi as a manager. With Baker going nowhere for the near future, Girardi is much more likely to accept a managing job before Baker is finished in Chicago. Girardi interviewed Sunday with Devil Rays officials. Marlins officials would like to see Girardi in more of a hurry to commit to them than he has shown so far.
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