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Rivalry Resumed, Game 1: Schumaker Wins It With Walkoff Home Run

Game # 30 Fri. May 2, 2008

Cardinals 5 Cubs 3

Did you know…

The Traffic Light, the modern day Bra, the Ford Model T, and Instant Coffee have all been invented since the Cubs last won a World Series… Thought you Cardinal fans would love that one…

Friday, the rivalry between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs resumed. For most of Cardinal Nation, it is the biggest rivalry for St. Louis. Me personally, I prefer the Cardinals/Astros rivalry. I do not enjoy the Cub games as much. I don’t like the Cubs and I love to see them lose. Well Friday, I got my wish.

Skip Schumaker, who seems to be Mr. Clutch this season, provided the heroics with a walk off home run to dead center. The Cardinals had a win in their grasp in the 9th inning, only to see Izzy blow the save when Alfonso Soriano hit a game tying home run. I will give Soriano this, he can hit. But he is by far the WORST left fielder I have ever seen. He make Chris Duncan look like a gold glover. Twice Soriano horribly misplayed balls that should have been outs. But we will take it, especially against our arch rival Cubs. The only frustrating thing was to see Adam Wainwright stuck with a no-decision after a brilliant outing. Here is my analysis of the game:

Performance of the Game: Adam Wainwright / Skip Schumaker

What Went Right:

1. Patience at the Plate - The Cardinals loaded the bases and then got an RBI, all via walks in the first inning. Pinella was so peeved that he pulled his starter, Rich Hill after only 2/3 of an inning. Albert Pujols walked twice, once intentionally. And he is on pace to have 172 walks this season!

2. Adam Wainwright - He was his normal self…spectacular. He allowed only 1 run on 4 hits in 6 1/3 innings of work. He threw 85 pitches on the night and struck out 5. It is so frustrating to see him get stuck with ANOTHER no decision. He also did great at the plate, lacing a double and raising his average to .316 on the season.

3. Tony’s decision to put Schumaker in for Barton - With a lefty on the mound, Tony had decided to give the left handed hitting Schumaker a night off, with the day game tomorrow. But when Hill was yanked in the 1st inning, La Russa made the wise decision to put Skip in. And aren’t we all glad he did. He is much better defensively than Barton. He had a major catch in leftfield to prevent a Cubs rally. And I don’t have to tell you what he did at the plate to send us all home.

4. Yadier Molina - He was 2 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI’s. He also threw a runner out at 2nd, although the blind umpire called him safe. No matter, we won anyway.

5. Ron Villone - He has a really nice slider!

What Went Wrong:

1. Izzy - Question…What do you call a cutter that doesn’t cut? I don’t know either, but Izzy sure threw that to Alfonzo Soriano and paid dearly for it. Blown win for Waino, blown save for Izzy.

2. Cesar Izturis - He went 1 for 5, reducing his pathetic batting average to .212 on the season. I know we got him for defense, but he is NOT helping us at the plate. And especially when we are playing a team as good as Chicago, I would have played Ryan at short, and Kennedy at 2nd. But that’s just me.

3. LOB - I have to harp on this again. St. Louis is leaving far too many ducks on the pond to expect to win consistently.

The win puts us at 19-11, and 1 1/2 games in front of the Cubbies. Tomorrow Lohse gets the start for the good guys in an afternoon game, the FOX game of the week by the way. See you tomorrow Cardinal Nation!

This entry was posted on Friday, May 2nd, 2008 at 11:27 pm and is filed under 2008 Cardinals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.