A Game of Inches

Bases loaded.  One out.  Albert Pujolsat the plate.  Everything you’d want, as a Cardinals fan, in a scoreless game.

Two out.  Runner on first.  Adam Wainwright on the mound.  As a Cardinal fan, you feel pretty good about getting out of the inning.

Yet neither of those situations panned out the way that Cardinal Nation was hoping.  Pujols did get a sac fly out of the deal, driving in the only run of the night, but if he hits the ball a little better (the game story quotes him as saying that was one of his worst at-bats of the year) that could have been his record-setting grand slam.

Wainwright had been brilliant all game long, looking to push to the forefront of the Cy Young race after Chris Carpenter’s slipup on Sunday and Tim Lincecum’s down time with injury.  Instead, the curve ball to Dan Uggla, while still a good one in my opinion, didn’t drop enough and the ball carried over the wall.

So instead of a tight 1-0 win with the magic number slipping into single digits, the Cardinals instead gave a game back to the Cubs.  It’s not quite to 2006 proportions yet, but after going a month-plus without allowing any ground to Chicago, the Cards have now lost three games in a little over a week.  Another loss this afternoon coupled with a Cubs win and this weekend becomes a little more interesting for the baby bears.

Last night’s Goat had to be Matt Holliday, who had probably his worst game as a Cardinal.  He went 0-4, struck out twice and left five runners on, including the two left after Pujols’s sac fly.  A solid hit there might have changed the game outcome as well.

I missed the last couple of innings, but it sounds like Mitchell Boggs made an impact coming out of the pen last night.  I still wonder if they won’t make Boggs the fourth starter in the playoffs if Kyle Lohse can’t go and they want John Smoltz as a reliever.

Because I missed logging the opener of the series, let me quickly hit that game.  Hero would be Colby Rasmus, with his three hits including the big home run that put the game out of reach.  Goat would be Todd Wellemeyer, who likely won’t be seen in October after an outing like that.  And as a note, Pujols had an interesting night.  Two for two, which is normal, but the other at-bats were a collection of how to have a plate appearance without getting an at-bat: walk, sac fly, hit by pitch.

Another afternoon game before a day off, giving the Cardinals a lot of rest (and sends fans scrambling for things to do).  Joel Pineiro goes for St. Louis.  The Marlins have done well against him in the past , so we’ll see if the general 2009 rule of ignoring past results for Pineiro works this time as well.  He didn’t face Florida earlier in the season.

The Marlins throw out their ace, Josh Johnson.  Johnson’s having a very good year and has already faced the Cardinals once, allowing three runs in seven innings and getting a no-decision.  He’s had tolerable success in the past against St. Louis (for example, Pujols only has one hit off of him, but it was a home run) and could befuddle this offense once again.

Lots of general housekeeping stuff.  First off, Fox Sports Midwest is running their live blog during today’s game, with the best comments or questions making the TV broadcast.  Also, it appears that Joe Strauss will be doing his weekly chat during the game, which would be a first, I’d think.

Tonight, it’s the weekly UCB Radio Hour .  This week it’ll be yours truly along with Mike from Stan Musial’s Stance .  If the technology works the way we think it will, we’ll have some of Mike’s interview with Viva El Birdos founder Larry Borowsky, talking about a possible playoff matchup with the Rockies.

Unlike prior years, when we at CardsClubhouse would e-mail reporters, dig up news and piece together the Cardinals’ upcoming schedule, this year MLB released all the 2010 schedules at the same time.  Nice to see the Cardinals getting to go to the traditional opener in Cincinnati, but I’ve often said that I think the “crown jewels” of baseball, teams like the Yanks, Reds, Red Sox, Cardinals, maybe a couple of others, should always open the season at home.  Just seems right somehow.

Tom Verducci has named his all-decade team and Player of the Decade.  I don’t think you’ll be shocked to see his results .

Enjoy afternoon baseball and maybe when we gather again, the magic number will be that much closer to zero!

Daniel Shoptaw is the founder of “C70 At The Bat,” where he regularly writes about his beloved St. Louis Cardinals.  You can find more of his work here .