"That's a Winner!" - 19

Nice win. VERY nice sweep! I know it was only two games and I know it was the Pirates, but a sweep is a sweep and the Pirates are no slouches. (Alright, they're sort of slouches.)

Anyways, Todd Wellemeyer impressed for the first time in awhile, and that is good news. Also, ... well, ...

Let me just get something off my back: RYAN FRANKLIN has been the best closer in baseball so far! Three closers in Major League Baseball are perfect so far in 9 save opportunities. Two have 0.00 ERAs. One has the lowest ERA among the 9-save closers (0.45) and he also has the highest K/BB among 9-save closers (5.50). That closer's name is Ryan Franklin. To those of us following the Cardinals, this shouldn't be news. Still, SI.com's Cliff Corcoran is not convinced. Corcoran thinks that the Cardinals are 29th in closer rankings. THAT IS 29TH OUT OF 30 MLB TEAMS! Corcoran bases his rankings on "reliability." RELIABILITY!?!? I am sorry to get so emotional, but this is entirely ridiculous! Look at the stats, correct me if I am wrong.

Oh, btw, the same outfit that thinks the Cardinals have the second worst closer in baseball, SI.com, thinks that the Cardinals are the second best team in baseball without a suspended slugger. They also think that the Cardinals have the best manager in baseball. Shocking stuff.

Anyways, like I said: "Nice win. VERY nice sweep!" GO CARDS!

"That's a Winner! - 17

A very nice win! No time now to get into it as much as I would like. Bear with me.

Home runs from the 2, 3, 4, and 5 hitters. A quality start from Wellemeyer. Good defense too.

It was a great night at the ball park. Tons of Cardinals fans in attendance, including two very funny brothers sitting right behind me. I will post pictures and more later.

"That's a Winner!" - 16

Thursday night's game was closer than it should have been. Thank goodness for Julian Tavarez, right? Dude sucks.

Albert Pujols' home run couldn't have gotten 30 feet off the ground. It might not have been 25 feet even. What a laser. Eight home runs and 28 RBIs. Manly.

Ankiel had a nice game too. Respect.

I think I am about 24 hours away from announcing that Mitchell Boggs should start over Wellemeyer when Carp returns. We'll see.

"That's a Winner!" - 15

Game summary from Dave (text messages he sent me while he watched the game in person and I played kickball):

- "We look so terrible. Mid 2nd no score." - True.
- "Down 1-0. We lose. We will not score a run. I hope we get a hit at least." - I messaged back: "Shit." Then: "Are we doing anything offensively?"
- "1-1!" - Exclamation point completely merited.
- "3-1 braves mid fourth. Wain looks terrible" - Wainwright still hasn't hit his stride. 5 innings just isn't good enough.
- "5-3 US mid fifth" - Amazed when I received this text! Overjoyed!
- "Same score. End fifth. Wain has 100 pitches"
- "We are in an eighth inning jam, same score. I think we've walked like seven guys. I am nervous" - I got home at this time, ran to my computer, and I was thankful to see that Ryan Franklin delivered. Again.
- "Shaky pitching but I will take it! Hell yeah!" - Ditto!

The St. Louis Cardinals have the best record in baseball: 15 - 7.

The St. Louis Cardinals have the largest division lead in baseball: 3.5 games.

Meanwhile, the Washington Nationals have the worst record in baseball (by far).

I am excited to see the next 4 games (3 in person, Thursday's on tv).

"That's a Winner!" - 14

I know he looks more than a little girly in this picture, but J.P. was a MAN on Monday night in Atlanta. Before an announced attendance of 16,739 (pathetic), at least two of whom I regard as very good friends, J.P. pitched efficiently and scored the winning run. The Cardinal defense, which has been abysmal to date, was also very good, and Rick Ankiel produced with the bat (2 RBI singles). A nice win, all things considered.

Depending on what the Dodgers do tonight, we could wake up in the morning to the Cardinals being in sole possession of the best record in baseball. Very proud of this ball club and the April they are putting together.

"That's a Winner!" - 13

Mitchell Boggs was pretty darn good, right? I'd bet he'll get a few more starts between now and Carpenter's return.

But enough about that, the show-stealer was Mr. Pujols. You have to see the video of Pujols' grand slam to believe it! Unreal! Eight more runs from the Cardinals, four on one amazing swing. I am really stoked about this team right now!

According to ESPN this was the first time in 3 seasons that the Cardinals beat the Cubs in two consecutive games. I wonder the last time the Cardinals won three in a row against the Cubs . . . ?

"That's a Winner!" - 12

This is what a winner looks like doing what it takes to win. A lot of stuff happened in tonight's game, but this was the play of the game. (Note: I am referring to the winner with the red hat, not the loser wearing blue.)

"That's a Winner!" - 11

Twelve runs complete the sweep! Eighteen hits, including 5 doubles and 3 dingers from the top 5 in the lineup. OFFENSIVE JUGGERNAUT!

Lohse wasn't great, but he was good enough. Two runs, only one of them earned, over 5 IP isn't bad, but 90 is too many right before a 3-game series against our arch rival.

With the Cubs' loss to the Reds today, they fall to 4th in the NL Central, 2 games behind the Cardinals. This a nice thing.

"That's a Winner!" - 10

It is simple math:

Plus


Equal

"That's a Winner!" - 9

Eleven hits and 7 walks, plus 4 innings of 1 hit relief ... glorious victory! I almost missed the entire thing, but since getting home I have discovered that Wellemeyer was basically crap, but that Perez was too. That'll do.

Oh, also, Ryan Franklin is 3-for-3 in save attempts. I am thinking the job is his until he loses it.

Suggested reading: Derrick Goold's Bird Land/10@10 pieces on StLToday.com. Interesting tidbit he pointed out: Albert Pujols has swung and missed only 8 of the 229 pitches he has seen thus far this season. Awesome.

"That's a Winner!" - 8

Suck on that, Cubs. (I know it isn't poetry, but this is how I think.)

Wainwright still hasn't found his groove, but he was good enough yesterday.

Very nice holds from McClellan and a good save by Franklin. No drama = happy Russ (and happy rest of you, I am sure).

Our bats keep on a rattling. Twelve hits, including three dingers - good stuff. Ankiel is really the only regular that isn't off to a decent (or better) start, and he hasn't been that bad.

Milton Bradley is a lunatic. (Although, to be fair, the pitch he was called out on with the bases loaded and only one out was clearly off the plate.)

I told you the first team to 5 would win.

Finally, let us also observe a moment of silence for Chris Carpenter's left oblique. It isn't the end of the world, but my guess is 4 to 8 weeks will be more like 8, and that he will be swinging the bat like he is afraid of hurting the baseball for the remainder of the season. That said, I am inclined to agree with my friend Dave, who told me this morning that he would be satisfied if the Cards played .550 ball until they get Carp back. The Cardinals are already 5 games over .500, they just need to maintain.

"That's a Winner!" - 7

Lots of runs. Twelve of them. Very nice. Every starter but Khalil got a hit (o-for-6, ouch), seven got an RBI. Very nice win. I am glad these bats are rattling before the Cubs series.

Pineiro was not as good today as he was in his first start. He was a lot worse, in fact. Five runs in 5 IP ain't no good. Still, it's a win, and Chris Perez (2 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, and 2 Ks) and Jason Motte (2 IP, 0 H, and 1 K) performed well. Motte has had three sonsecutive scoreless innings, by the way.

Bring on them Cubbies!

"That's a Winner!" - 6

A good start from Wellemeyer! Seven hits and no walks over 7 IP, only 87 pitches thrown. I could be happier, I suppose (fewer hits allowed?), but Wellemeyer FAR exceeded my expectations. Two holds and a save from the bullpen. Nice night, all things considered, for the Cardinals hurlers.

The game also featured home runs from Mr. Pujols and Brian Barden, who was drafted by the Diamondbacks and picked up off of waivers by the Cardinals in 2007. A nice moment.

Cards win! Cards win!

"That's a Winner!" - 5

Kyle Lohse was by all accounts "superb" today, beating the Astros with a 3-hit shutout. It was arguably Lohse's finest start of his career. Offensively, Greene, Ludwick and Duncan did the damage.

"That's a Winner!" - 4

Two dingers and seven RBI for Pujols. Seventeen other hits for the Cardinals. Pretty impressive day for the Cardinal bats. Pretty darn impressive. Can't wait to see the video of Alber's 1st homer again! Man-sized!

Wainwright still concerns me though. His first 3 innings were pretty dreadful. Sure, he did a good job of limiting the damage, but 79 pitches through the first 3 innings is pretty dreadful and it puts an awful strain on the bullpen. He was much better in the 4th and 5th, however, and I am hopeful that Wainwright will find his stride soon and have many more 10 or fewer pitch innings and far fewer 20+ pitch innings.

"That's a Winner!" - 3

First off, before I get to a very good Cardinals victory, I just want to acknowledge the Blues clinching a playoff spot. The Wild beat the Predators, the Blues beat the Blue Jackets, and the St. Louis Blues, against all expectations, clinched a spot in the playoffs. Also, depending on what the Ducks and the Blue Jackets do, the Blues could also finish 6th or 7th in the Western Conference. Good stuff.

As for the Cardinals, they got a good performance from their number 5 starter, J.P. If you would have told me before the game that J.P. could pitch 6.2 and allow 2 runs then I would have taken it. Btw, isn't J.P. the number 4 starter in light of Wellemeyer's performance? Anyways, J.P. performed well and Ludwick and Schumaker were the offensive stars. The only real bit of intrigue from this one, as far as I can tell, is the closer situation. Motte wasn't great, though he wasn't as bad as his first appearance. He got replaced by another right-handed pitcher though, so that should tell you something. Whatever the case, this is clearly going to be an issue for a some time.

"That's a Winner!" - 2

This fella really exceeded expectations today, I think. Awesome. Exciting. Grrrrreat!

I am very thankful the Cardinal bats woke up in the bottom of the 7th. How awful would it have been if the Cards lost that game 1 - 0?

Please also note: The Blues have two games to play and they are tied with Anaheim with a two point lead for 7th/8th in the Western Conference playoff race. Nashville is 2 pts. back and play tonight at Detroit and tomorrow at Minnesota. Speaking of The Wild, they are 3 pts. back and play Nashville on Saturday (I just said that) and at Columbus on Sunday. Feeling good, real good.

"That's a Winner!" - 1

Maybe I'm NOT an Idiot: Soooooo ... remember earlier today how I said that I expected Lohse to give the Cardinals 7 innings, 2 or 3 runs allowed? (Actual: 7 IP, 3 R, 2 ER) I also expected Pujols, Molina and Duncan to contribute offensively. (Actual: 1 HR apiece, 5 RBI) I also guessed that Snell would stink (4 IP, 6 ER) and Morgan would do most of the damage for the Pirates when he got on base (2 of Pittsburgh's 3 runs). So have I been wrong about anything? Yeah, Nate McLouth, who I have twice been concerned about, has twice gone hitless.

Also worth noting:
- Rasmus got his first 2 hits as a pro (good); and
- Schumaker went hitless and tallied his first error as a second baseman (ungood).

Enough recap, I am off to buy a lottery ticket.

NOTE: The Blues are 2 points ahead of Nashville for the last playoff spot. I won't pretend to be a regular season Blues fan, but I love me some playoff hockey. Watch those NHL scoreboards, folks.