Game 3 Preview

Everything you read about LaRussa indicates the man is passionate about winning. He spent hours absorbing all he could from Sparky Anderson and other great, late ‘70’s managers. He agonizes over losses, eating his post-loss meals by himself, quietly disecting what went wrong. He brings a football like intensity, albeit internally, to baseball. And he does it 162 games a year.

I always figured at some point TLR would go “Beautiful Mind” on us at some point. I figured Duncan would find him in the basement of Busch with matchup statistic sheets taped together to form patterns. All the while mumbling something about Kirk Gibson’s HR off Eck.

We might see it this series.

It’s been a stressful four weeks, with the Cards nearly blowing the division. In the back of Tony’s mind, he’s got to be thinking about starting the rookie Reyes Sunday. That won’t bring up fond memories. He also has the prospect of Weaver on three-days rest. He’s gotta be feeling it right now.

Plus, Steve Trachsel is simply frustrating.

First, he’s known as the human rain delay. He’ll spend more time behind the mound than on it. It’s maddening to watch. He’ll give Tony plenty of time to think between pitches. I’m not sure that’s safe for our skipper.

Second, the Cards stats against Trachsel could lead the manager to overthink. Rolen has more at-bats against Trachsel than any other Cardinal. He’s hitting .241 with 10 K’s. Not good, so you sit him, right? Well, Spezio is hitting .143 against Trachsel. Duncan would normally start against a righty, but Wilson is hitting .400 against Trachsel, with 3 HR in 20 at-bats.

Encarnacion has been awful against Trachsel, so I’m not ruling out an outfield of Wilson, Duncan and Edmonds. Edmonds is 2 for 12 lifetime against Trachsel. I usually discount Edmonds carreer numbers. He’s so streaky, he’ll hit anyone when he’s on, and no one when he’s not.

Albert has been Albert against Trachsel, hitting over .350 with a double and five walks.

My prediction of the lineup? Eckstein, Duncan, Pujols, Edmonds, Spezio, Wilson, Belliard, Molina, Suppan.

We’ll see if the opportunity for creativity, on the eve of starting a rookie, starts to get to Tony.

Suppan has had success against the Mets lineup, but little against them in Met uniforms. Only LoDuca and Chavez are hitting over .300 against Suppan with more than 10 at-bats. Only Valentin has more than one HR, he has four. For more stats regarding Suppan and the Mets, see the “Mets Lineup” post below.

We have our best pitcher not named Carpenter going tonight. He’s facing a mediocre pitcher in Trachsel. The Met bullpen threw 112 pitches last night. We are at home. It’s a game you could almost argue we are favored to win.

The Cards should be looking to take two here in STL, and win game 6. If we’re gonna win two, tonight should be one of them. If not, look for Tony in the basement.