All You Need Is Carp (And Albert)

Get an MVP and a Cy Young together and what do you get?  A victory—at least these days for the Cardinals.

Last night's game was a wonder to behold, but it usually is when Chris Carpenter is on the mound.  It's amazing that all the expectations and all the hype we've had about Carpenter the last few years, while he's been hurt and unable to pitch, were actually understatements.  He's been as dominant as any pitcher I've seen and he does it without (usually) a high number of strikeouts.  He just knows how to pitch and it's special every time he takes the mound.

(Speaking of special, two complete games last night between him and Aaron Harang? How often does THAT happen these days?  Very cool.)

If he keeps up this run, how much will the month off for the oblique injury hurt him in his chances for another Cy Young?  And, if Carpenter won another Cy, how long would it take to get a statue of him outside Busch?

Carpenter was impressive, but without Albert Pujols, he might have suffered another tough-luck no decision, or even loss.  Pujols went yard and drove in all three runs.  All that, plus his base-running was on display again as he completely deked out Brandon Phillips from second, causing him to throw wildly to first (and then Pujols took third on it). 

The Cards didn't score out of the situation, but that wasn't his fault.  We already know there's going to be a statue of him outside Busch. The question is, will they make it the same size as the Musial one?  I'm thinking it has to be.

For the Goat, we'll give it to Joe Thurston, who went 0-3 with three left on.  Thurston's been hitting pretty well, but everyone has an off night.

Off the field, it was a little busy as well yesterday.  For one thing, Kyle Lohse does appear headed to the disabled list, but they've not put him there yet.  Instead, they put Blaine Boyer on waivers as a DFA so they could bring up Jess Todd.

I am guessing that John Mozeliak knows the market for Boyer and expects him to clear waivers and head to Memphis, but it's possible that Boyer's five innings on Wednesday may be the last we see of him in St. Louis.  If so, at least he left on a fairly positive note.

Personally, I'm pretty excited to see Todd.  Not only is he a guy that's rocketed through the minor leagues, but he was an Arkansas Razorback, the same as your author (though, of course, all my time was spent in the Business Department, not the ball field).  There might be a few "Woooo Pig Sooies!" in Busch tonight if he gets into the game.

Mozeliak talked a little about the trade market and various other things with Jeff Gordon.  Not that he tipped his hand much, but it's still worth reading.

Tonight, the Rockies come into Busch, having just broken a four game losing streak.  The Rocks are struggling, sitting last in the NL West with a record that's 11 games under .500.

They will send out Jorge de la Rosa, who's not having the best of seasons.  He hasn't been historically that great against St. Louis either, though Pujols is just hitting .250 against him.  Look out for Ryan Ludwick, who has two home runs in four at-bats against de la Rosa.

The Cardinals counter with Adam Wainwright.  Wainwright seems to have found his rhythm, though he was a little shakier last time out than Cardinal fans would like to see.  

The Rockies haven't seen him a lot, but they have hit him a decent clip.  It'll be interesting to see if Garrett Atkins uses this series an audition, as he's been rumored to fill the Cardinal third base hole.