The Cardinals have won back to back games for the first time since early June. Thats big.

More important than that, however, is the way in which they won yestderday’s game. Down two runs with two outs in the top of the 9th, the Cardinals came back and tied the game against the Astros’ closer Brad Lidge. Izzy came on and locked down the bottom of the 9th. Thats even bigger.

Albert Pujols, the first batter in the top of the 10th, smacked his 29th homerun off Roy Oswalt who had come on in relief of the demoralized Lidge. Izzy, who has been less than solid of late, then polished it off by shutting down the heart of the ‘Stros order earning the win. Put all those tidbits together into one game and its HUGE.

The Cardinals just finished their worst month in recent history. They havent won back to back games since early June. The bullpen (especially Izzy) has been porous and has seen their ERA balloon into numbers you’d expect from the Royals not the Cardinals. Izzy was blowing saves seeminly every other day. Not this time. Not last night.

Spezio blasted Lidge’s pitch out and reminded the Cardinals “Hey, remember the playoffs? We own this guy.” In the top of the 10th Oswalt buzzed Pujols with a “purpose pitch”. You knew right then what would happen. I turned to my fiance and said “That was stupid. You don’t do that to Albert.” And Albert didn’t disappoint. As the Fox camera zoomed in on Albert waiting for that second pitch you saw it in his eyes. That sly little smirk told everyone watching “Oh I got this.” We saw a shot of Gardner who seemed resigned to what was about to happen next. Oswalt’s very next pitch was deposited into the seats and the Cardinals had their swagger back. It was like the suddenly remembered how to win. I had no doubt Izzy would shut it down. He couldn’t do anything less.

In contrast Lidge has once again been demoralized by the Birds on the Bat. Pujols’ homer during last years NLCS was a punch in the gut. Lidge has dealt with questions about the lingering effects throughout the first half of this year. He’s been less than “Lights Out Lidge” and now this. This rips open that wound. Reminds everyone that Lidge can’t shut down the Cards. We own him. As Pedro put it, he can only “Tip his hat and call [the Cardinals] his daddy.”

Sure, we’re only halfway through the season. Sure it was just one game. However, there is no doubt this game meant so much more. LaRusa emptied his bench to win this game. He was willing you use Molina, still suffering from the effects of a concusion. He understood that this one was special. The team might not have bounced back from a loss here and a win, especially in this fasion would ressonate for the rest of the year. “We can come back and win. The game is never out of reach.” After the regular season when the Cardinals look back, they will view this game as the one that got them back on track.

Other Notes: Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood apparently has a torn rotator cuff. Just wanted any Cubs fans that read this to hear it one more time. Who had July 8th in the Woods Injury Office Pool? Hey, give ‘ole KWood some credit. He’s finally living up to Cubbie Nation’s expectations.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 9th, 2006 at 3:12 pm and is filed under Cardinals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

The Cardinals have won back to back games for the first time since early June. Thats big.

More important than that, however, is the way in which they won yestderday’s game. Down two runs with two outs in the top of the 9th, the Cardinals came back and tied the game against the Astros’ closer Brad Lidge. Izzy came on and locked down the bottom of the 9th. Thats even bigger.

Albert Pujols, the first batter in the top of the 10th, smacked his 29th homerun off Roy Oswalt who had come on in relief of the demoralized Lidge. Izzy, who has been less than solid of late, then polished it off by shutting down the heart of the ‘Stros order earning the win. Put all those tidbits together into one game and its HUGE.

The Cardinals just finished their worst month in recent history. They havent won back to back games since early June. The bullpen (especially Izzy) has been porous and has seen their ERA balloon into numbers you’d expect from the Royals not the Cardinals. Izzy was blowing saves seeminly every other day. Not this time. Not last night.

Spezio blasted Lidge’s pitch out and reminded the Cardinals “Hey, remember the playoffs? We own this guy.” In the top of the 10th Oswalt buzzed Pujols with a “purpose pitch”. You knew right then what would happen. I turned to my fiance and said “That was stupid. You don’t do that to Albert.” And Albert didn’t disappoint. As the Fox camera zoomed in on Albert waiting for that second pitch you saw it in his eyes. That sly little smirk told everyone watching “Oh I got this.” We saw a shot of Gardner who seemed resigned to what was about to happen next. Oswalt’s very next pitch was deposited into the seats and the Cardinals had their swagger back. It was like the suddenly remembered how to win. I had no doubt Izzy would shut it down. He couldn’t do anything less.

In contrast Lidge has once again been demoralized by the Birds on the Bat. Pujols’ homer during last years NLCS was a punch in the gut. Lidge has dealt with questions about the lingering effects throughout the first half of this year. He’s been less than “Lights Out Lidge” and now this. This rips open that wound. Reminds everyone that Lidge can’t shut down the Cards. We own him. As Pedro put it, he can only “Tip his hat and call [the Cardinals] his daddy.”

Sure, we’re only halfway through the season. Sure it was just one game. However, there is no doubt this game meant so much more. LaRusa emptied his bench to win this game. He was willing you use Molina, still suffering from the effects of a concusion. He understood that this one was special. The team might not have bounced back from a loss here and a win, especially in this fasion would ressonate for the rest of the year. “We can come back and win. The game is never out of reach.” After the regular season when the Cardinals look back, they will view this game as the one that got them back on track.

Other Notes: Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood apparently has a torn rotator cuff. Just wanted any Cubs fans that read this to hear it one more time. Who had July 8th in the Woods Injury Office Pool? Hey, give ‘ole KWood some credit. He’s finally living up to Cubbie Nation’s expectations.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 9th, 2006 at 3:12 pm and is filed under Cardinals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.