(W) Cards 20 - 12 vs Rockies 12 - 19 7:35 pm CT start GDT

[Schwahalala]

Lets keep it going.

[Schwahalala]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/preview;_ylt=AlGIV2Bu0I7JfWFGR_2Fiq0RvLYF?gid=280505127

St. Louis (20-12) at Colorado (12-19)


Preview | Box Score | Recap

• Currently: Denver, CO
  Temp: 43° F
• Game info: 8:35 pm EDT Mon May 5, 2008
• TV: FSMW, FSRM
• Add to Calendar | Buy Tickets

By KATE HEDLIN, STATS Writer 7 hours, 29 minutes ago

• Buzz Up
• Print

Coming off a losing season, the St. Louis Cardinals can empathize with the Colorado Rockies’ struggles this year.
The last two National League champions begin a four-game series on Monday at Coors Field, with St. Louis hoping to take advantage of Colorado’s dismal start.
After winning a World Series title in 2006, the Cardinals (20-12) struggled last season, finishing 78-84. The Rockies (12-19) appear to be undergoing a similar letdown after making their first World Series appearance in 2007.
Colorado is 3-11 in its last 14 games and is tied for the fewest wins in the majors.
St. Louis, meanwhile, has appeared to rebound from last season. The Cardinals, who have the second-best record in the majors, have won six of eight, including two of three over the weekend against the Chicago Cubs.
St. Louis won Sunday’s series finale 5-3 to increase its NL Central lead to 1 1/2 games.
Series at a Glance

2. St. Louis at
   Colorado
   Mon, May 5 - 8:35 pm ET
3. St. Louis at
   Colorado
   Tue, May 6 - 8:35 pm ET
4. St. Louis at
   Colorado
   Wed, May 7 - 8:35 pm ET

“There’s a lot of tough teams in this division and I just want us to be one of them,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “We’re playing tough and it makes for exciting baseball.”
Albert Pujols, whose two-run double gave the Cardinals the lead in the fourth inning Sunday, has reached base safely in all 32 games this season - one shy of the longest such streak of his career. He went 5-for-10 at the plate when the Cardinals took two of three from Colorado in St. Louis to start the season.
The Rockies avoided a three-game sweep by the Dodgers over the weekend, winning 7-2 on Sunday.
Scott Podsednik and Matt Holliday each had two hits, and Holliday drove in two runs to help Colorado snap a three-game losing streak.
The Rockies, who went 51-31 at home in 2007, improved to just 5-8 this season at Coors Field.
“We need to bring more energy to the park and put a streak together, and not put ourselves too far in the hole,” first baseman Todd Helton told the Rockies’ official Web site.
The Rockies will send Ubaldo Jimenez (1-2, 5.90 ERA) to the mound on Monday. Jimenez is winless in his last four starts after failing to pitch out of the sixth inning in any of them.
The right-hander allowed two runs and three hits in 5 1-3 innings against the Giants on Wednesday, as he did not receive a decision in the 3-2 loss.
St. Louis will counter with Joel Pineiro (2-2, 3.75), who is looking to win his third straight start.
Pineiro has been impressive in his last two outings, allowing just one run and five hits in his last 14 innings of work. On Tuesday against Cincinnati, he pitched seven innings of one-hit ball in a 7-2 Cardinals win.
St. Louis and Colorado split their four meetings at Coors Field last season.

[Jeffro]

I deleted mine. Go Schwa go.

[ElviswasaBluesFan]

What time does this start? 835 EDT is 735 here right?

[Jeffro]

What time does this start? 835 EDT is 735 here right?

Right.

[cardinalgirl]

let's win another series!!!!!

[Schwahalala]

I deleted mine. Go Schwa go.

Thanks Jeffro.


I will do my best to bring home a winner.

[Jack Daniels]

let's win another series!!!!!

No, lets sweep!

[Schwahalala]

It's a 7:35 start - sorry.

Eight game road trip - Rockies and Brewers -

Right now two splits would be okay with me - and anything above that is gravy. I am hoping for 5 - 3 which would put the cards 10 games over 500.

[Schwahalala]

New-look Cards dealing winning hand

La Russa has youngsters playing like veterans
By Troy E. Renck
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 05/05/2008 12:17:38 AM MDT





His office screams of preparation and winning.
Tony La Russa sat behind his desk on opening day, books behind him and mail scattered about. La Russa is a voracious reader, always looking for ways to motivate his team. To his left, flopped over the back of a chair was a New England Patriots sweat shirt — yes, a gray hoodie — from friend Bill Belichick, wishing him well.
This figured to be a club with which La Russa needed all the help he could get. The Cardinals were coming off a losing season and counting on a pitching staff that had more questions than an episode of "Jeopardy!" Yet, they begin a four-game series tonight at Coors Field as one of baseball's most surprising teams. They sit atop the National League Central, and their 20 wins rank second in the NL to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
"The fans are not going to be embarrassed by our effort, how hard this team plays," said La Russa just hours before the Cardinals began the season against the Rockies.
True to his word, St. Louis has been fundamentally sound, a characteristic that took shape as the team basically won out during the final two weeks of spring training. But doing little things well doesn't mean much without big performances off the mound. St. Louis' starters have been remarkable, entering Sunday with a 15-6 record and a 3.51 ERA, which was tied for second in the big leagues. Compare that to the Rockies, whose rotation is 9-11 with a 5.43 ERA.
What gives? Isn't this basically the same Cardinals staff that imploded last April, setting the tone for a forgettable season?
"I believe there is a combination of in-house competition and game preparation from (pitching coach Dave) Duncan. Most of our starting staff began to feel that nobody was giving them any credit, as if to say, without (Mark) Mulder or (Chris) Carpenter that it was simply going to be a long year," said John Mozeliak, the Cardinals' first-year general manager and a University of Colorado graduate.
"They feel they have something to prove and have approached each start that way."
The statement began early, as in the opening week against the Rockies. The Cardinals' rotation posted an 0.54 ERA as St. Louis claimed the series. Looking back, Kyle Lohse provided the most significant outing. The Cardinals didn't win the season opener he pitched, but he fired five scoreless innings. Lohse was signed midway through spring training to a one-year, $4.25 million deal, and has helped stabilize the rotation around ace Adam Wainwright and increasingly steady Braden Looper.
"The group has performed above expectations," Mozeliak said.
Offensively, these are not your father's, or even your brother's, Cardinals. Gone are David Eckstein, the 2006 World Series MVP, third baseman Scott Rolen and center fielder Jim Edmonds. The lineup is now heavy on organizational grinders like Skip Schumaker, Ryan Ludwick and Rick Ankiel.
"A lot of us played together in the minor leagues, so it does create a strong bond," Schumaker said.
As for an identity, the Cardinals have morphed into a team that's more body blow than haymaker.
They have hit just 23 home runs, including only one from third baseman Troy Glaus, but rank second overall in on-base percentage. Mozeliak singled out Schumaker for helping change the team's approach as a catalyst from the leadoff spot.
"He's one player that has surprised me. He's done a great job," Mozeliak said.
Albert Pujols, hitting .358 and reaching base more than half the time, remains the hub of their universe. He's not putting up prodigious power numbers, but he is either scoring runs or driving them in. Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said that while no one changes a game as Barry Bonds once did, Pujols is "the elite of the elite."
It has been a remarkable transition for the Cardinals — from 2006 world champions to defying gloomy 2008 predictions.
"It's a long season," Mozeliak said. "But Tony is adjusting his lineup and playing the matchups." Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or [email protected]

http://www.denverpost.com/rockies/ci_9153151

[Schwahalala]

Kip Wells is having surgery on his hand and has been demoted to the bullpen.

http://www.denverpost.com/rockies/ci_9153758

[kah]

The rule to winning championships is to take two out of three at home and split in the road.

So let's hope for a split. Although given the shitty baseball CO is playing, three of four would be super.

[joe_w]

The rule to winning championships is to take two out of three at home and split in the road.

So let's hope for a split. Although given the shitty baseball CO is playing, three of four would be super.

Let's take 'em one game at a time, boys and girls.

Let's concentrate on starting off 1-0.

[Guppy]

Color me stupid and correct me if I am wrong, but Wainwright is a started that was converted to closer and came back to starter was he not?

[Schwahalala]

I think you are right Guppy.