(Special post in addition to the normal game summary from Sunday)

Thoughts on the 20-inning Marathon

Before I get to my normal routine and sum up Sunday night's refreshing win over the Mets, I must address the controversial 20-inning marathon the Cardinals played on Saturday against the Mets, especially since I didn't give a very proper game summary for Saturday's post.  

It was inevitable that Tony La Russa would get bashed by fans and onlookers of that game.  This game stood out as one of TLR's more controversial games as far as managing decisions go.  I didn't agree with everything either, but I don't see the reason to scutinize La Russa for how he managed a game in mid-April given the circumstances.  The Cardinals are clear favorites to win the NL Central-- run away with it, in fact.  When your team is a heavy favorite to make the postseason, the season becomes a marathon.  That's how La Russa played it on Saturday.  He was concerned about the long run.  He decided to go with position players to pitcher over starter Kyle Lohse because he wants to prevent his staff from wearing down, and there's nothing wrong with that approach.

The Mets needed to win that game far more than the Cardinals.  They are desperately looking for any win they can get to help turn the tide of a season that has started off on the wrong foot for a team that could compete for a playoff spot.  To add to that, Mets' manager Jerry Manuel (surprise, surprise) is fighting for his job.  Every win matters for the Mets right now, even though it is just April.  The Cardinals were 7-4, and the matchup for Sunday night clearly favored St. Louis.  Tony La Russa is certainly not fighting for his job.  The Cardinals are in an entirely different boat than the Mets. The Cardinals would easily be happy with a 2-1 series, and look what happened.  Does that 'L' really mean that much?

And it means nothing to me when I hear any rant that says, "Well, if the Cards' lose the division by one game, then this loss is going to really mean something, now won't it?"  Oh, really?  If the Cardinals lose the division by one game, it was THIS game that ultimately lost it for them?  What about other games they lose?  Do those not matter?  I can easily say in that hypothetical situation that, "If the Cardinals lose the division by one game, it's because La Russa didn't have the proper game plan to hit Bud Norris in that April game against the Atros," or "It was because La Russa went with the wrong relief pitcher in the ninth inning against Cincinatti/ Milwaukee in those early April games."  You can't just look back at your season and pick out one game and say it was the key to how the season turned out.  No game is any more meaningful in a 162 game season than the next.  If the Cardinals DO manage to lose the division by one game, it will not be because of Saturday's loss.  It will be either because the Cardinals either severely underperformed, or because they happened to lose some core players for an extended amount of time due to injuries.

On Saturday, La Russa did what he felt was best.  And you can't just ignore all of the missed opportunities the Cardinals had to win the game.  You can't blame management for bad execution and horrendous at bats in big situations.  La Russa's managing was strange, yes.  I didn't agree with the call to have Ryan Ludwick steal in the 19th inning.  With Albert Pujols up and the pitcher's spot due up after Pujols, leaving first base open is about the worst thing you can do, and La Russa probably shouldn't have tried it.  

Oh well, let's get over it.  It's one game, and the Cardinals are still in great shape.  Winning last night behind a complete game by Adam Wainwright removes the sour taste of the night before, which leads me to wrap up this post with a short summary of last night's game.

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Game #12

CARDINALS 5, METS 3

Adam Wainwright does what an ace does.  He picked up a team that came up empty after a tough day playing 20 innings of baseball.  Waino went all nine innings, and his only bad inning was the second.  All three of the Mets' runs scored in that inning, two were earned, and the other was scored on a throwing error by Wainwright.  Afterwards, Wainwright was dynamite and only allowed one hit for the remainder of the game on his way to his third win of the season.

The Cardinals continued their trend using home runs as their primary source of scoring.  Colby Rasmus tied the game with a three run home run in the fifth inning, and Ryan Ludwick hit a two run shot in the eighth to give the Cardinals the lead.  Some slumping Cardinals showed some much needed life last night, including Rasmus and Ludwick.  Matt Holliday, who was dealing with flu problems all week long and had been hitless at Busch Stadium for the young season prior to last night's game, had a three hit night that included a double and runs scored.  Ludwick's go-ahead home run was his first of the year.

The Cardinals head west for the week and will take on some of the league's best in this road trip.  Danny Haren, Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain will be tough chores for an offense that is struggling to manufacture runs.  This trip also should include Edwin Jackson and Barry Zito, no slouches in their regard.

I hope you enjoyed the read.  This was my first "special" post of the year, and that game was worthy of some extra elaboration.

Boxscore courtesy of mlb.com.