Cards/Cubs series kicks off tonight. Smoltz is going against Lilly - I don't like our chances in this one. Smoltz is 1-1 since coming here a month and a half ago. Lilly was the Cubs lone all-star at the break... regardless of the "every team gets one player represented" rule at the All-Star game, Lilly can pitch. Our hitting is a little better than theirs, as well is our bullpen, but that's just how I see this one going.
That's all the credit I'll give the Cubbie bears. I think the Redbirds will take the final two games of the season series quite handily. I am most excited about Saturday's game where Cy Young candidate Chris Carpenter takes the mound at 3pm CDT. I will be at this game with our friends Ray and Ali and several people I know will also be in attendance. In fact, Brad Bierman miraculously won a raffle to throw out the first pitch, so we will be seeing that as well. If we all meet up afterward and have our usual night of debauchery, good times are promised. Yes, I will be in town, but, no, I will not have time to do much of anything else. In fact, I am blowing off my 10-year high school reunion to go to this game. Sunday I am celebrating my birthday with my nephew, who graciously shares his birthday party with me every year for the past 6 and counting.
This Cards/Cubs series doesn't hold a lot of playoff implication, since the Cards are pretty heavily favored to win the NL Central by the landslide margin they currently maintain. Even if the Cubs were to sweep this weekend - which is highly unlikely, even though they play well at Busch - they would still be a full 3 games behind. I don't think they have enough left in the tank to catch up. And they are closest, so even if they did beat us down this weekend, no one else is even close enough to touch us either. The rivalry is still fun and these games are great to go to!
So even though there isn't a lot on the line for the birds, I am still excited to go to the game, see some friends and family, and cheer on my Cardinals from the hometown stands! Go Cards!
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Aren't we nine games up, so if the Cubs sweep they will still be six back? Anyway, hope to catch up with you something this weekend. I have a wedding on Saturday, but hopefully will be out later that night.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Matt.. I was doing my math using the magic number rule (one game per win/loss), not the standings rule (1/2 game per win). So we look even better than how I explained it!!!
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