The Online Source for St. Louis Sports
ISSUE #91
Copyright © 1996 St. Louis Sports Online
Reproduction Prohibited Without Permission of Publisher [StLSports@aol.com]
Edited by Mark Bausch
St. Louis Sports Online is an online sports weekly that aims to provide
St. Louisans (and transplanted St. Louisans) with an additional source of
news, information, and humor about St. Louis-area sports events and St.
Louis-area sports teams.
Contributors to #91 include Jim Hunstein, Randy Hu, Brian Stull, and contributing
writer Mike Rainey.
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St. Louis Sports Online OCTOBER.96.1 CONTENTS
1.0 StLSO News and Notes
2.0 StLSO Sports Shorts
2.1 Cardinals News
2.2 Blues News by MIKE RAINEY
2.3 Rams Report by JIM HUNSTEIN
2.4 StLSO Headlines of the Week
2.5 StLSO Paragraph of the Week
2.6 StLSO Quotes of the Week
3.0 StLSO Features
3.1 Cards-Padres Game One Pre-Game Notes by BRIAN STULL
3.2 Andy Benes Q and A by BRIAN STULL
3.3 Blueprint by RANDY HU
3.4 Blues Quotes
3.5 1996 Late-September Baseball, Tony La Russa Style
4.0 StLSO Recaps by JIM HUNSTEIN
4.1 Cardinals Series-by-Series Summaries
4.2 Rams-Cardinals Summary
4.3 Mistake-Prone Bears Lose Their First Game
5.0 StLSO Numbers
5.1 Cardinals Statistics (final)
5.2 MLB Standings (final)
5.3 Rams-Cardinals Statistics
6.0 StLSO Media Views by MARK BAUSCH
7.0 StLSO Interactivity
8.0 StLSO Editorial: Cardinals-Padres Game One Impressions
St. Louis Sports Online OCTOBER.96.1
1.0 StLSO News and Notes
After some hesitation, Tony La Russa said that his team's starting pitching
led the club's turnaround from their season low water mark of nine under
.500 in mid-May. After giving credit to the pitchers themselves (and to
the fielders behind them), La Russa generally mentions the influence of
pitching coach Dave Duncan, saying that he's the "best in the business".
After this year, that's hard to argue with.
La Russa also believes that the Cardinals '96 infield defense has been underreported
this year...and he may just be right about that. In particular, 3B Gary
Gaetti has provided the best defense at St. Louis' hot corner since the
days of Terry Pendleton. Of course, La Russa saw Gaetti a dozen or so times
a year for the past 15 seasons in the AL...while Cardinal fans got a glimpse
of the Centralia IL native only in the 1987 World Series.
To say nothing of Gaetti's bat. "I'm not surprised by anything he does,"
said La Russa about Gaetti's first-inning blast in G1 vs. the Padres. Look
for Gaetti to wear a Cardinal uniform in 1997.
It hasn't been talked about much...but the slippery/loose turf in Busch
Stadium's outfield MAY...repeat MAY...have played a role in the rotator
cuff injury suffered by CF Ray Lankford. Lankford suffered the injury while
catching a rather short fly ball in the season's last series (vs. the Reds).
In the opinion of some, Lankford got only an average jump on the ball, and
in his zeal to recover, lost his footing and slipped to one knee before
righting himself and charging in to make the diving, tumbling catch. Lankford
did land awkwardly, which probably resulted in the shoulder injury.
The Rams lost to Bill Bidwill's Arizona Cardinals. The Rams lost to Bill
Bidwill's Arizona Cardinals. The Rams lost to Bill Bidwill's Arizona Cardinals.
In other Rams news, TE Troy Drayton was traded to the Miami Dolphins for
offensive lineman Billy Milner. Milner is a 6'5" 293 pound second-year
player who was the Dolphins first-round draft selection in 1995. An important
point--Dolphins czar Jimmy Johnson is seldom wrong about evaluating young
talent. Rams GM Steve Ortmayer isn't sure where Milner will see action with
the Rams...perhaps at guard as well as tackle.
The surprise of the Blues camp has to be defenseman Libor Zabransky. Zabransky,
who was the 209th selection in the 1995 Entry Draft, is a strapping twenty
year old Czech native who, according to Mike Keenan, "doesn't make
make mistakes". While both Zabransky and the more highly-touted Jamie
Rivers are expected to make the Blues opening night roster, in light of
injuries to Al MacInnis and Igor Kravchuk, look for the two youngsters to
trek back to Worcester soon.
Forward Paul Broten and defenseman Ken Sutton are two players brought in
last season by Keenan to provide depth. Both have contracts that pay them,
during the 1996-97 season, in the neighborhood of $300K. In the words of
one Blues insider--"[Keenan] found out last year that neither guy can
play." Add the names of Broten and Sutton to the list of players that
the Blues are paying to play elsewhere....a list that includes Brendan Shanahan,
Craig Janney, and Dale Hawerchuk. Reportedly, the Winnipeg IHL entry agreed
to take Broten and Sutton off the Blues hands (the Blues still own their
rights)...the Blues agreed...and Winnipeg is responsible for a less-than-50%
fraction (only one-third is what we hear) of their salaries.
2.0 StLSO Sports Shorts
2.1 Cardinals News
*Dates and St. Louis times for the Cards-Padres series:
National League
San Diego vs. St. Louis
#1: Tuesday, Oct. 1
San Diego at St. Louis, 3:07 p.m. (ESPN & KPLR-TV)
#2: Thursday, Oct. 3
San Diego at St. Louis, 4:07 p.m. (ESPN & KPLR-TV)
#3: Saturday, Oct. 5
St. Louis at San Diego, 7:37 p.m. (NBC)
#4: Sunday, Oct. 6
St. Louis at San Diego, 10:07 p.m., if necessary (ESPN & KPLR-TV)
#5: Monday, Oct. 7
St. Louis at San Diego, 4:07 p.m., if necessary (ESPN & KPLR-TV)
*If the Cardinals advance past the Padres series, here's the schedule (all
games on FOX, St. Louis times):
Wednesday, Oct. 9
At Atlanta (at St. Louis or West if wild card advances), 7:11 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 10
At Atlanta (at St. Louis or West if wild card advances), 7:11 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 12
At non-East team or wild card, 3:15 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 13
At non-East team or wild card, 6:30 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 14
At non-East team or wild card, 6:09 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 16
At Atlanta (at St. Louis or West if wild card advances), if necessary,
3:15 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 17
At Atlanta (at St. Louis or West if wild card advances), if necessary,
7:11 p.m.
*On the eve of the start of the playoffs, the Cardinals left-right differentials
are worth a gander:
--as a team, the Cards are hitting .269 vs. lefties and .266 vs. righties...and
several players (Willie McGee, Luis Alicea, Royce Clayton, and Mike Gallego)
put up similar numbers against LHPs and RHPs.
On the other hand...
--Gary Gaetti hit .248 vs. LHP (with 3 HRs in 105 ABs) and .281 vs. RHP
(with 20 HRs in 417 ABs)
--Ray Lankford hit .246 vs. LHP (with 0 HRs in 122 ABs) and .284 vs. RHP
(with 21 HRs in 423 ABs)
--Brian Jordan hit .343 vs. LHP (with 3 HRs in 108 ABs) and .301 vs. RHP
(with 14 HRs in 405 ABs)
--Ron Gant hit .202 vs. LHP (with 5 HRs in 94 ABs) and .258 vs. RHP (with
5 HRs in 325 ABs)
--John Mabry hit .351 vs. LHP (with 3 HRs in 97 ABs) and .285 vs. RHP (with
10 HRs in 446 ABs)
--Tom Pagnozzi hit .303 vs. LHP (with 3 HRs in 76 ABs) and .263 (with 10
HRs in 331 ABs)
*On the pitching side of things:
--opposition lefthanded batters, when batting against Cardinals pitchers,
hit .279 (with 69 HRs in 2,045 ABs)
--opposition righthanded batters hit .259 (with 104 HRs in 3,452 ABs)
--lefthanded batters posted a .316 batting average vs. Alan Benes. with
12 HRs in 313 ABs). Vs. Alan Benes, righthanded batters hit only .227, with
15 HRs in 409 ABs)
--lefthanded and righthanded batters hit .296 and .259, respectively, vs.
Dennis Eckersley
--Donovan Osborne was much more effective vs. lefthanded hitters (.216 average),
as compared to righthanded hitters (.260 average)
--Todd Stottlemyre was much more effective vs. righthanded hitters (.198
average), as compared to lefthanded hitters (.272 average)
2.2 Blues News by MIKE RAINEY
*The NHL waiver draft came and went Monday without the Blues gaining or
losing anybody. The Blues had left veterans Adam Creighton, Yuri Khymlev,
Basil McRae, Mike Hudson, and Rob Pearson unprotected for the draft. After
none of those players were selected by other NHL teams, the Blues assigned
Creighton, McRae, Hudson, and Pearson to Worcester of American Hockey League.
That means youngsters like Robert Petrovicky, Jamie Rivers, Libor Zabransky,
Harry York and others made the opening night roster. C&GM Mike Keenan
said the youngsters were more impressive in training camp than the demoted
veterans.
*The Blues open their 30th season Friday night at Kiel Center against the
defending Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche.
*Free Agent Ron Sutter who was trying out with the Blues this preseason
was cut on Monday. Also former 50-goal scorer Gary Leeman, who was for
some reason protected in the waiver draft, is expected to be assigned to
Worchester this week. Leeman signed a two-way contract with the Blues last
Thursday.
*Last week rumors were circulating that the Blues were trying to reacquire
Brendan Shanahan from Hartford after trading him there last summer for Chris
Pronger. Shanahan has stated publicly that he would prefer not to play
for Mike Keenan again, and a deal seems unlikely anyway since Hartford would
want a boat load of young talent and the Blues are short in that area.
2.3 Rams Report by JIM HUNSTEIN
*The Rams made a move to bolster the offensive line with a trade announced
on Tuesday. They sent TE Troy Drayton to the Miami Dolphins for ROT BIlly
Milner.
Milner was the Dolphin's first round draft choice last year but lost his
starter's job when Jimmy Johnson took over. Drayton hasn't been setting
the world on fire for the Rams, but then, they haven't had much use for
a tight end in their current offensive scheme.
*In other news, the Eagles have reportedly signed ex-Rams QB Mark Rypien
to a one-year contract.
2.4 StLSO Headlines of the Week
*From the 10.2.96 P-D: "BLASTOFF!"...with the sub-head "Gaetti's
HR Launches Cards To 3-1 Win"
*From the 10.2.96 Chicago Tribune: "Alomar thanks Oriole fans for support"
2.5 StLSO Paragraph of the Week
*From Jerome Holtzman's On Baseball column in the 9.2.96 Chicago Tribune:
"This is not an American League mater, it's a major league problem,"
said [Hall of Famer and ESPN commentator Joe] Morgan. "Outside of a
few of his teammates, I don't think you'll find one player who would defend
Alomar. "If I was still a player, I wouldn't want to be associated
with Alomar. You know what happens: The fans paint everybody with the same
brush."
2.6 StLSO Quotes of the Week
*KFNS personality Charlie Edwards, on their air Wednesday morning: "[Roberto
Alomar] didn't do anything wrong...it was no big deal."
*Gary Gaetti, in Game One post-game comments about the Joey Hamilton pitch
that he propelled deep into the left-field seats: "I do know it was
not his really good fastball."
3.0 StLSO Features
3.1 Cards-Padres Game One Pre-Game Notes by BRIAN
STULL
Despite what may seem like a pressure situation, LaRussa also stated that
the playoffs are time to have fun. "Eight teams are getting ready to
play in the month of October and the Cardinals are one of them. You want
to be sure you know how to handle that fun, but part of that fun is going
out there and thinking 'Why not the Cardinals? Why can't we be the ones
to get to the promised land?' So we're gonna take our shot."
It was suggested to LaRussa that now was the time to turn it up a notch,
a suggestion not exactly met with great favor by the skipper.
"Who says that?" began LaRussa. "I mean that's terrible.
Because what does that mean, that meant that all regular season you were
really a notch or two below what your best was? One thing I'm comfortable
at, ever since April we've been talking about taking our best shot and that's
one reason I thought we played well in August and September--we'd already
been putting the pressure on ourselves and we took our best shot."
"And you don't try any harder, in fact, I think at this point is if
your a pitcher, say like Toddy (Stottlemyre), and you say I'm gonna try
and make my slider the best it's ever been in it's life and my best fastball
and if our hitters say I'm gonna hit a little harder, a little farther you
end up doing much less. So we were trying our best to begin with and just
have to make sure we don't accept the division and not try to go any farther."
Having fun was a sentiment was echoed by Todd Stottlemyre. "Today
you're supposed to relax and get your work in, it's not time to be worried
about what their lineup can or can't do or trying to focus on it this early
in the day. I'm sure that the clock will turn tonite and as I lay down and
go to sleep, I'll wake up tomorrow, hopefully be ready and go out and give
it my best shot."
3.2 Andy Benes Q and A by BRIAN STULL
Monday afternoon (one day prior to game one of the Padres-Cards series),
the Cardinals held their final workout before beginning the playoffs at
home on Tuesday.
Pitching can dominate a short series. Cardinals workhouse Andy Benes battles
Andy Ashby on Thursday.
After the workout, Andy Benes had time to discuss the upcoming post-season......
Q: Well, Andy, for the second season in a row you're in the post-season.
You're on the team you wanted to be with and you're playing the old team--what
kind of special feelings are going on for you?
A: Well, it's a great feeling to know that you contributed to a team getting
to the playoffs for the whole year. It's been real exciting and it'll be
a little different playing San Diego, at the same time, you know we have
a job to do and it didn't really matter who we played, we were excited to
have the opportunity and we expect to go out and win.
Q: Can you talk about the comparisons and differences of getting into the
playoffs this year versus last year and the sort of ride you went through?
A: Well, last year in Seattle it was kind of crazy because we came from
so far behind and we had a playoff game. We had an extra game against California
and the winner was in and the loser was going home so, it was really hectic.
This year was a little different because we clinched it five days before
the season was over so they were different. Last year, I kinda felt like
I was temporary and I was there to help the team get over that hump, which
is fine with me--it was a great experience and I loved it. This year's been
different, it's been real special because there's a whole group of guys
that were thrown together and we've been through some really tough times
together and so it's made the good times even sweeter.
Q: Really the new additions coming in: you, Stottlemyre, Gaetti, and Gant--a
good mix of veterans with the young guys and I know some of those young
guys said they were really going to draw on you now, especially in the post
season because you've been there.
A: Yeah, it's important for the older guys that have been there kinda talk
to the young guys-- it's a lot different I think than anything you experience
as a professional and going through it the first time can be pretty nerve-wracking.
But, it's an exciting time and we're a pretty close knit group of guys for
a group that was just thrown together without really knowing each other.
You knew who their names were, but you didn't actually know who they were
personally. It's been a real fun time and I think we do have a good mix,
consequently, I think we have a good chance.
Q: Someone brought up to LaRussa about "turning it up a notch"
and Tony corrected him right away and said what's important is that you
play the same type of ball and don't try to hard. Is there that pressure?
Do you just want to put the team on your shoulders and make every pitch
perfect?
A: Well, I think that can be the tendency and each guy has to go out and
just do what he can do. We talk all the time about just giving it your best
shot and seeing what happens and if each guy does that, we've been under
a lot of pressure all year because it wasn't like we ran away with the division,
it was a dogfight the whole year. So, we battled through some adversity
and it seemed like we'd have certain guys that stepped up at different times
in the year, but we've had pressure all year and I don't think this will
be anything different. We just need to concentrate on going out and doing
our job-- nothing more than that and nothing less.
Q: Touch on San Diego for a minute if you could, they've got a very powerful
lineup with Henderson or Vaughn, Gwynn, Caminiti. What can you do as a pitcher?
Just offer your best stuff or is there a gameplan?
A: I think they have a really good lineup. At times they've had trouble
scoring runs, you look at their team and really with Caminiti, he's the
only real power guy. Finley has had a pretty good power year, but you have
a bunch of guys, they're the type of team that can get three or four hits
in an inning, so obviously getting the first guy out is going to be key.
Getting ahead in the count and just executing. All the guys that are starting
and pitching against them have pitched against them this year and we had
a good record against them. So, it's just a matter of making good pitches
and getting ahead in the count-- if you don't do that, it doesn't matter
who you play you're gonna have a tough time with them. They have a very
good lineup, they've been through a long hard battle and I'm sure they'll
be ready to play so we'll have to be at the top of our game.
Q: Thanks Andy, and good luck.
A: Thank you.
3.3 Blueprint by RANDY HU
As the Blues set sail on their 30th season this week, the S.S. Keenan is
springing leaks in its fragile Hull from a never-ending barrage of public
relation torpedoes. Head coach/GM Mike Keenan continues to be a controversy
waiting to happen, as he begins his third season behind the bench with his
alternating overachieving/underachieving team. One thing remains consistent--Keenan's
constant revolving carousel of players and shifting organizational plans
will always leave his teams predictably unpredictable, in the one-shot world
of the National Hockey League.
Two summers ago, Keenan escaped from New York and arrived in St. Louis with
Gretzky-like fanfare. Blues management rewarded Keenan with an annual
salary of $2 million a year and subsequently lost 99-point man Petr Nedved
as compensation to the Rangers. A steep price to pay for steering the Blues
to a record of 60-49-21 in the last two regular seasons and a 10-10 mark
in the playoffs by way of one series win in three tries.
Crunching the numbers show a regression in terms of sheer statistics. In
Keenan's first year, the Blues had a winning percentage of .635, compared
to a .488 clip last season with a supposedly improved lineup. Also down,
were goals scored (4th best to 24th overall), power-play scoring (16th to
18th), home record (4th to 20th), and a mediocre 14th overall goals against
ranking.
One perennial category that Keenan is among league leaders in is team payroll.
Among the offensive newcomers last season, the bang for the puck was downright
embarrassing. Shayne Corson (46 points), Geoff Courtnall (40 points), and
the since-departed Dale Hawerchuk (41 points) combined for a meager $55,000
per point. Add in Joe Murphy's incredulous $3.3 million contract and the
average doesn't expect to improve. And this doesn't include marginally
improved defenseman Chris Pronger, who added 25 points and a minus 18 rating
on the heels of a new 6-year, $14 million contract.
Home crowds were generally sleepwalking through most of the regular season
until Keenan paid a King's ransom in the ill-fated Wayne Gretzky debacle.
The Blues not re-signing Gretzky captured the essence of Keenan's tenure
here and upset the once untouchable Brett Hull to the point that Hull half-expected
a trade during his tremendous performance for the United States in the World
Cup tournament this summer. It turns out that Hull's salary ($4.4 million),
age (32), impending unrestricted free agency in two years and local marquee
value are stumbling blocks in any deal.
Like two men behaving badly, Hull and Keenan have been Kung Fu fighting
in the press for a couple of years now, but appear to be buddies for the
moment. Inevitably, friendly fire can only be a four-game losing streak
away. Hull, who can be as subtle as a nuclear strike, once said that "Keenan
will stab you in the back, right in front of your face." (Note: It
doesn't look like Hull will return for his popular radio show on KFNS this
season, but fan favorite Tony Twist seems to be the logical replacement).
As far as any trades go, Keenan's rumored attempts to bring back Brendan
Shanahan to St. Louis are a shallow smokescreen to save his sinking PR rating.
He doesn't have the depth of players within the organization to trade
from. Ditto for the exiled-in-waiting Jeremy Roenick, who Keenan would
love to have for a reported $5 million a year.
So what is the plan this year? Through the exhibition season, it looks
like a combination of veterans and youth will comprise the lineup. Youngsters
such as Robert Petrovicky, Jim Campbell, Harry York, and Libor Zabransky
have shown promise of making a contribution now or in the near future.
But Keenan's formula always seems to be shuffling his players throughout
the regular season and then assembling a playoff team for the stretch run.
This allows his squads to bond and in theory, overachieve in the playoffs.
Goalies. The relative strength of the team will be defense, particularly
incumbent goalies Grant Fuhr and Jon Casey. Fuhr, 34, the masked medical
marvel who is coming off major reconstructive knee surgery, needs to demonstrate
the stamina he displayed last year for the team to have a chance. Casey
is a strong backup who played brilliantly after game 2 in the Detroit playoff
series.
Defense. Blues defensemen will be forced to carry the puck more frequently
and create more plays due to the elimination of the "tag up"
delayed offside rule. Their overall lack of speed will hurt them, but the
additions of journeymen Trent Yawney and Marc Bergevin add much needed depth
to Murray Baron, Pronger, and the injured tandem of Al MacInnis and Igor
Kravchuk. Zabransky was a pleasant surprise, having the training camp that
hot prospect Jamie Rivers did not.
Forwards. The team's weakness is at the center position, where the Blues
have more defensive specialists than playmakers. Simply put, Hull, Corson,
Murphy and Courtnall will have to dramatically improve on a powerplay unit
that ranks in the lower half of the league.
Prognosis. The Blues will grind it out most nights with heavy forechecking,
a la the Florida Panthers, and rely heavily on their special teams to keep
things interesting. The ability of Fuhr to duplicate his season of last
year will keep the Blues in most games, as the parity gap between NHL teams
shortens. Look for a middle-of -the-pack team during the regular season
and a winger and a prayer in the playoffs.
Season ticket renewals are down 15% this season and less-than-capacity crowds
could be commonplace early on. The opening of the Blues season coincides
with the Cardinals making the playoffs for the first time in nine years,
as they meet the San Diego Padres in the first round of the baseball playoffs.
Coupled with Ozzie Smith's final farewell tour, baseball fever in St.
Louis has been rejuvenated and the hot stove league will be heating up all
winter. The Rams are not quite buried yet, so it'll be awhile before widespread
hockey interest is generated.
The Blues need to improve on two basic factors that were glaring problems
a year ago. Win at the Kiel Center and score more goals.
Then, maybe Iron Mike can smile.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Randy Hu is the sports columnist for The Riverfront Times.
3.4 Blues Quotes
...from Mike Keenan after the recent Blues-Blackhawks pre-season game:
--on the Hull-Corson-Courtnall line: "The three of them played together
last year for a stretch, and I thought they played very well at that time.
I thought they played as well as any line in the league. That was prior
to the Gretzky trade...so I think that they picked up where they left off."
--on the team's rookies and newcomers: "The important thing for them
is that they're still here. As long as they're here that means things are
very positive for them."
--on Grant Fuhr's recovery and progress: "He's 100% right now. His
reflexes are pretty much right where he left off as well. He's done an outstanding
job, it's history in the making for someone to come back that quickly. First
of all to come back at all...there should be some medical journals on it.
I'm serious. He should be studied."
--on RW Jim Campbell's abilities: "He continues to impress. He has
a real sense for the net and has exceptional speed. He utilizes it pretty
well and he has a real hard shot. He seems to be able to break through a
seam pretty well. He can read it very well. He seems to be able to get through
there with a great deal of confidence."
--on Fuhr's Vezina snub last year: "At least he should have been nominated."
--on Gary Leeman and why he was protected: "...a highly skilled player
as well...we felt that we wanted to have depth with the skilled players.
We feel we've covered ourselves with the skilled players. We could lose
as many as three players that were unprotected today...but we feel we're
covered off with character-grinding style of players and we wanted to incorporate
the skill into our lineup so for that reason we protected the skill players.
Even if we lost three of the unprotected there are still two or three players
that we have to choose from."
--on rookie defenseman Libor Zabransky: "He continues to impress us
as well. The fact that he's playing a tougher position...and he has very
little experience. He and York have little experience compared to the other
youngsters that are vying for positions. I guess the position is more difficult.
[Zabransky] doesn't do anything flashy and plays very steady and doesn't
give up too many opportunities. He's not a high-risk player."
3.5 1996 Late-September Baseball, Tony La Russa
Style
--On what he said to the umpire, after Brian Jordan, while caught in a rundown,
intentionally positioned himself so that a thrown ball would hit him (a
la Reggie Jackson): "I told the umpire...'if I don't come out, people
think I don't care'."
--On how he would set up his lineup in the last two games of the regular
season: "We're going to play hard the next two days and see what happens.
It's almost mandatory that we keep things going."
--On players reaching certain statistics levels: "There are certain
plateaus. If the number has a nine behind it...you want to get to a zero.
You always feel better if you hit .290 instead of .289....240 instead of
.239...30 HRs instead of 29. It's just human nature...I'm right there the
coaches...we're [the players] biggest fans...so whatever makes them happy.
You just don't want...and the way that we've been doing it...you just don't
want to play for stats...nobody's foolish and trying to push stolen bases....we're
just trying to play the game and let the stats happen. That's the way I'm
sure it will continue."
--On Rich Batchelor's 1996 performance as a Cardinal: "I think Batchelor's
good enough to pitch on the post-season roster...but whose place is he going
to take? As it is, Cory Bailey deserves to be on the post-season roster...and
he's not on it."
--On the post-season preparation: "That's really....talk about fun.
You work out before the first game of the playoffs...what time do we leave
after the game on Thursday...that's great stuff!
--On the importance of a veteran manager in the playoffs: "Since it's
a players' game...Tom Kelly was a rookie manager and he beat Sparky Anderson
in the ALCS to get there. It's not a manager's series...just like it's not
a manager's game. The players....it depends on the type...some guys walk
in and when they get out...'boy, I learned a lot'...other guys the first
time they get in they're better than the next time. It just depends on the
individual."
--On post-season media coverage: "Now that's different. But I think
you can talk about that as a team. I don't know how it's going to be here
with the playoffs. But that's...the first time...you know, if you're not
careful...the key is to make sure that they're out there real early and
accessible for a period of time...but when it's time to work and play..."
4.0 StLSO Recaps by JIM HUNSTEIN
4.1 Cardinals Series-by-Series Summaries
4.1.1 Cardinals at Pittsburgh (Sept. 24 &
25)
IN THE ARCHIVES: The Cards wrapped up their first division title in 9 years
with the 7-1 win over the Pirates in G1.
ON THE SCOREBOARD: G1: 7-1 Cards (That's a winner!!) G2: 8-7 Cards (It
took 11 innings)
GOING IN: Who cares?
COMING OUT: A mortal lock for first place in the NL Central. Everyone else
is headed home by the time you read this. Of course, so are the Cards, but
that's because they host the NL West champs.
AT THE PLATE: Gary Gaetti homered (his 23rd) to lead off the 7th innings,
tying the score at 1-1 but breaking the seal on scoring. The Cards got one
more run to take the lead but it wasn't easy. They lost three runners on
the bases, two at home. Luis Alicea, who had doubled, scored on Ray Lankford's
single, which would be the game winner and title nailer. They scored 3 more
in the 8th (the first on Brian Jordan's 17th home run) and another pair
in the 9th. To show the relative importance of the two games, note the batting
heroes in each. G1 featured Alicea's 3-for-4, Lankford's 3-for-5, and Gaetti's
2-for-5 with a homer. G2 headliners include Terry Bradshaw at 4-for-6 (2
runs scored, 3 driven in) David Bell's 2-for-5, and some guy named Mike
DiFelice (a catcher) going 2-for-4, his first major league hits.
ON THE BASEPATHS: Crummy running in G1, all 3 outs being made on the basepaths,
and 2 of them at home. Alicea not only scored the winning run, he stole
a base in each game, running his total (get it?) to 11. Royce Clayton (#33),
Mark Sweeney (#3), Bell (#1) and Bradshaw (#1) also had steals in G2.
ON THE MOUND: It doesn't often work out that the best pitcher on the staff,
the guy whose turnaround season mirrored that of the the team, not only
gets the chance to close out the season, but gets it done. Andy Benes went
6 innings in G1 and scattered 5 hits and 3 walks. The only run came on
a 3rd-inning homer by Jeff King. Benes improved his record to 18-10, the
second best record in the NL behind Atlanta's John Smoltz. And the Cards
are the second NL team to clinch their division behind the Braves. It's
all done with mirrors. Little brother Alan didn't fare as well in G2, giving
up 6 runs on 5 hits and 4 walks in only 5 innings.
FROM THE BULLPEN: Cory Bailey, the third pitcher in G2, got the win, his
5th. He lasted 3 innings (8-10) and gave up only 1 hit and 1 walk. TJ Mathews
followed him with a perfect 11th inning for his 6th save.
IN THE FIELD: So there was an error in G2, Eric Ludwick's first. Ain't no
thing.
OVERALL: I hope everyone with kids had them gathered around the television
watching the end of G1 as the Cards clinched their title. Speaking of watching
on, a couple notes on the media coverage. This division title did not sneak
up on us. We knew it could happen, especially as the magic number was systematically
reduced. So you'd think the various media outlets and their mouthpieces
would have thought ahead and had something profound, clever, or at least
clear to say. The Post headlines on the front page: "That's A Clincher!"
The sports page headline: "They're Back!" [visualize italics].
Was that the best they could think of? But the worst was Bob Carpenter on
the Ch. 11 broadcast. As the last out fell into Jordan's glove, Carpenter
said "Jordan has it and the Cardinals are in post-season!" Huh?
It sounds like they just passed through menopause, not just won their first
division title in 9 years. I realize he has to do his job instantly and
doesn't have the advantage of mulling it over, but he must have thought
about what he'd say when the moment came. If he didn't, then he should have.
If he did, and that's the best he came up with, then he doesn't belong up
there. Which, by the way, he proved when he was left alone in the booth
as Al Hrabosky set up shop in the celebratory locker room. (By the way,
he did a wonderful job in there, even though his questions tend to run on.
And on.)
CATCHALL: Donovan Osborne may have hurt his chances for post-season play.
He reportedly gashed his thumb on the wire of a champagne bottle in the
celebration that followed the G1 clinch. Stitched were not needed. Bradshaw
had his first 4-hit game for the Redbirds in G2, but then he had special
cheers to encourage him. Every time he came up, the Pittsburgh crowd chanted
"Let's go Steelers". Why? You figure it out.
IN THE HOUSE: G1: 8,611; G2: 20,022
ON THE CLOCK: G1: 3:00; G2: 3:43 (for 11 innings)
ON DECK: 3-game series, the final homestand of the regular season, against
the Reds.
IN THE HOLE: Best of 5 divisional playoff series with the winner of the
West, the Padres. First 2 games on Tues and Thurs in St. Louis.
4.1.2 Cardinals vs. Reds (September 27 - 29)
IN THE ARCHIVES: The Cardinals wrapped up the regular season with a 2-of-3
sweep of the Reds in front of packed Busch Stadium, the 1982 champs, and
a host of dignitaries to salute Ozzie Smith.
ON THE SCOREBOARD: G1: 2-1 Cards (in 11 innings); G2: 5-2 Cards (Combined
3-hitter on Ozzie Smith's day); G3: 6-3 Reds
GOING IN: 86-73, 6 games ahead of the Astros and Reds
COMING OUT: FIRST PLACE!!!!! (well, duh) The Redbirds finish the season
88-74, 6 ahead of the Astros, 7 ahead of the Reds, 12 ahead of the Cubs,
and 15 ahead of the Pirates.
AT THE PLATE: With the title clinched, the line-up turned into an all-skate
although for the most part the regulars started. They were 1-hit through
5 innings in G1 until John Mabry doubled to lead off the 5th. But the big
hit of the first game was a different 2-bagger when Luis Alicea (smelling
playoffs since he's a .600 post-season hitter) came off the bench to hit
one off the wall in the 10th. He scored on Ron Gant's 2-out single up the
middle. Turns out that despite rapping out 9 hits in the game, only Mabry
had 2. Willie McGee offered his own tribute to Ozzie in G2 by going 3-for-4
to push his average over .300 for the year. Gary Gaetti was also 3-for-4
and Ron Gant smashed a homer off former Cardinal Mike Morgan (loser of the
game) to give him a nice round 30 on the season. McGee, Gaetti, and Mabry
all had a pair of hits each in G3 in a losing effort.
OFF THE BENCH: After Alicea's pinch double (which missed going out by a
mere 18 inches) to set up G1, all else pales. Except maybe when Ozzie Smith
pich-hit in the 6th inning of G1 to a standing O. He popped out to first
actually in foul territory, but who cares.
ON THE BASEPATHS: In possibly the only call like it all year, Brian Jordan
was called out on runner's interference while running to third when he was
hit in the head with a thrown ball. When Ray Lankford scored in the 7th
inning of G1, it was his 100th run of the year. He's the first Redbird to
reach triple digits since Vince Coleman scored 121 runs in 1987. Miguel
Mejia stole his 5th base of the year in the 4th inning of G3 when he pinch-ran
for Gaetti. He was then driven in by Mabry's double scored the final regular
season run of the year for the Cardinals.
ON THE MOUND: As with the hitters, the regulars got a rest and the new guys
got a chance. Mark Petkovsek started G1 and certainly held his own. He went
5 innings and yielded only 1 run on 4 hits while striking out 4. He didn't
get a decision since the game went 11. As did McGee, Danny Jackson paid
his own tribute to the Wizard with 7 innings of 1-hit ball. He also fanned
6 to win and even his record at 1-1. September call-up Eric Ludwick, acquired
from the Mets in the Bernard Gilkey trade, got the call in G3 but it turned
out to be a wrong number. Several wrong numbers. He was shelled for 5 runs
on 7 hits (3 homers, 2 by Barry Larkin who wanted the St. Louis fans to
know there was another shortstop in the house) in only 5 innings.
FROM THE BULLPEN: The regular relievers did their usual exemplary jobs.
It was the interloper who blew their perfect series. Andy Benes came in
for Jackson in G2 to preserve his 1-hitter and promptly gave up 2 runs on
2 hits in 2/3 of an inning. Rick Honeycutt came in for the final 1 1/3 innings
to earn his 4th save. Todd Stottlemyre also did a cameo, albeit a much more
successful one, in G1. It was his first relief appearance since 1994 when
he was a bird of a different color; a Blue Jay. He was perfect in 2 innings
(7th and 8th), fanning the first 2 he faced. Rich Batchelor pitched the
10th and 11th, also whiffing a pair (and I don't mean socks) and got his
2nd win of the year. A stream of closers (and wannabes) filed through in
G3 after Ludwick failed, including (and in order) Dennis Eckersley, COry
Bailey, TJ Mathews, and Batchelor.
IN THE FIELD: Mabry continues to shine at first. He has gotten too good
at making the sweep tag on bad throws. Too good because he's had too many
opportunities. He also made a huge heads-up play in G1 to stifle the Reds.
Willie Greene hit an RBI double. Mabry cutoff the relay home and had Greene
hung up between second and third. The runner headed back to second since
no one was covering. Mabry ran him down and tagged him out with a diving
tag.
OVERALL: Ozzie was gracious enough after G3 to take a victory lap around
the field to say good-bye to all his fans. They also got a chance to say
good-bye to him. That was probably more touching than all the staged celebratory
events. On hand before G1 were members of the 1982 World Championship Cardinal
team. They included Ozzie, McGee, Tommy Herr, Bruce Sutter, NLCS and Series
MVP Darryl Porter, Bob Forsch, manager Whitey Herzog, Red Schoendienst,
and others.
CATCHALL: Wouldn't it be cool to have a Cardinals-Orioles World Series?
It's as close as we'll ever get to a subway series (unless someone digs
a tunnel to Kansas City). This time the real St. Louis team would whup the
evacuees.
IN THE HOUSE: G1: 39,730; G2: 52,876 (SRO to bid Ozzie farewell); G3: 51,379
ON THE CLOCK: G1: 2:44 (pretty short order for an 11-inning game); G2:
2:40; G3: 2:47
ON DECK: Best of 5 series in the divisional playoffs against the NL West
champs Padres, whom the Cards beat 8-4 in the regular season.
IN THE HOLE: The winner of the Dodgers-Braves series for the NLCS
4.2 Raising Arizona: Cardinals Defeat Rams by
Jim Hunstein
They say revenge is sweet, but in this case it tastes like sour grapes.
(And isn't bitterness tasted on the same tongue?)
They also say revenge is best served cold. But it was 95 degrees at game
time and 115 degrees on the field. (It's not the heat, it's the humility.)
And Shakespeare his own self (who used to call some pretty creative plays
for the old Globe Theaters) said that "The whirligig of time brings
in his revenges." But it will take some time before this whirligig
is forgotten.
This was supposed to be the revenge for St. Louis football fans where their
new team goes out and beats up on the old team that abandoned us. This was
the game that showed that old owner (we won't mention his name again; we
already lost this story once in the nether regions of the Internet and you-know-who
has something to do with it.)
But the Arizona (nee Phoenix, nee St. Louis, nee Chicago) Cardinals beat
the St. Louis (nee Los Angeles, nee Cleveland) Rams 31-28 in overtime out
in the desert southwest. The worst part was that the Rams played exactly
the kind of game the old Big Red used to foist on us; play pretty well for
a while but eventually just poorly enough to lose.
The Bighorns had their bright spots, though, starting with the new starter.
QB Tony Banks showed remarkable poise in the pocket when it wasn't collapsing
around him. He completed 10 of 18 passes for 186 yards and 3 TDs. He also
had one interception and a couple fumbles. His long strikes went to wide
open receivers. Banks wasn't nearly as sharp laying the ball in on tight
coverage.
If 10-of-18 doesn't sound like many pass plays, consider that the Rams only
ran 42 plays all together for 226 total yards. And if that doesn't sound
like too many plays, consider that the Rams only had the ball a third of
the game. In the second half, they only had the ball for about 7 minutes.
Compare those numbers to the Cardinals' 89 total plays for 498 total yards.
And get this; the teams were tied for yards at 188 at the half. This means
that the Cardinals picked up 310 yards in the second half (and overtime)
while the Rams managed a measly 38.
Another positive in the game was the special teams. Rookie WR and punt returner
Eddie Kennison took his second return of the game and ran virtually untouched
66 yards for the first score of the game. He averaged 32 yards on four punt
returns and 19 yards on 3 kickoff returns. Todd who? P Sean Landeta must
have enjoyed the dry Arizona air as he was bomming his punts. He averaged
(yes, averaged!) 51 yards for 5 kicks. That's the longest of the day for
most mortal punters. 'Deta's longest was 62. He put 2 inside the 20, one
rolling to a stop at the 6.
And WR Isaac Bruce had his second 100-yard game in a row. He caught 4 passes
for 117 yards and 2 touchdowns. His scoring catches of 46 and 49 yards were
the longest plays from scrimmage for the Rams this year. Kennison also caught
a 34-yard TD pass. Quick math exercise: take those three bombs away from
the other stats and Banks was 7-for-15 for 57 yards and the entire offense
gained a total of 39 plays for 97 yards. All of a sudden, the average gain
per play drops from 5.4 yards to 2.5 yards.
The running game continues to be a running joke and possibly an oxymoron.
Rookie RB Lawrence Phillips didn't start but managed to play some. He rushed
5 times and managed to gain 1 yard. A french fry. He has yet to show much
more than a 6th round draft pick instead of the 6th overall. RB Harold Green
started and gained only 39 yards on 10 carries.
The Cardinals, on the other hand, put some impressive numbers on the board.
QB Kent Graham was 37-of-58 for 366 yards and 4 touchdowns. Of Arizona's
27 first downs, 23 came on passes. His favorite receiver was RB Larry Centers,
who has caught more passes than any other running back in the NFL in the
past 3 years or so. For some reason, the Rams didn't believe he was for
real or at least never bothered to put anyone on this guy. So he caught
13 passes for 83 yards and a touchdown. Graham also hit WR Rob Moore pretty
much at will. Moore, working on CB Anthony Parker, caught 9 balls for 143
yards and one TD.
The defense did manage to stop, for four full quarters, RB LaShon Johnson,
who gained 214 yards last week. But the Rams held him to just 34 yards on
11 carries. That was in regulation, though. In the overtime period, he ran
one play for 66 yards.
There was nothing wrong with the defense that a little rest wouldn't cure.
Sure, they gave up a ton of yardage (actually more than a quarter of a mile),
the bulk of it in the second half. But most of the problems were fundamental
(more mental than fun) breakdowns on the part of key players. On several
key plays, including a fourth down near the end of the game, the Rams jumped
offside. And a couple players, notably LB Cedric Figaro, forgot how to tackle.
He was playing air linebacker on Johnson's overtime jaunt, trying to tackle
with his shoulder pad instead of putting his hat on the guy's number.
In fact, the defense started the game very well, keeping the Rams in it
despite Banks's fumbles. The rookie passer opened the game with a nifty
roll to the right and toss to Bruce for 11 yards; first down on the first
play. He picked up another 11 on third and 2 with a quarterback draw to
the 50-yard line. On the next play, he fumbled the snap and managed to fall
on the ball. On the next play, he fumbled it again but didn't manage to
recover it, LB Jamir Miller did at the Cardinal's 43.
Arizona went to Johnson, naturally. But he was completely upended on first
down and stopped colder than a mackerel at the line on second down. After
an incompletion, the Cardinals punted. On the next St. Louis series, Banks
showed some veteran talent. On second down, he was flushed from the pocket
and, pumping the ball as if to throw, scrambled and got out of bounds for
seven yards and the first down. He ran into more trouble a few plays later
and threw the ball away. Had the ball been on target, it might have been
six. Instead, it was a punt.
The Cardinals started at their own 20 and went backwards. On fourth down,
they punted and Kennison took the ball to the Ram 25. But an offensive holding
penalty forced a rekick. This time, the rookie from LSU caught the ball
at his own 34 and took it all the way back for a touchdown and the Rams
led 7-0.
The St. Louis defense once again held the Cards to just a few yards and
forced a punt. Another penalty caused another rekick and Kennison brought
it back to the Ram 42 just before the end of the first quarter. On the first
play of the second quarter, Banks found Bruce wide open up the middle for
a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
The teams traded turnovers; Parker recovered Centers' fumble at their 46.
Three plays later, the Rams regifted with Banks' only interception. He was
scrambling to the left and tried to throw back across his body and floated
it over Kennison and into the arms of DB Brent Alexander. The Cardinals
refused to give it back, instead putting together their first real drive
of the game. It covered 67 yards in only 7 plays, capped by a 24-yard touchdown
pass to Moore. This was the first first-half Arizona touchdown this season
and they trailed 14-7.
The Rams came right back, starting with great field position courtesy a
46-yard Kennison kick return to the 41. On third and 2 on the Cardinal 34,
Banks found Kennison all alone in the end zone, having toasted FS Kwanie
Lassiter for another six. The point after gave the Rams a 21-7 lead.
Arizona replied in kind with a scoring drive of their own, this one covering
78 yards in 9 plays and scored on a 2-yard pass to Johnson. He had lined
up as the lone wideout to the right and no one bothered to cover him. That
made the score 21-14 with just over a minute to play.
The Rams had a chance to run the hurry-up offense, but Green fumbled on
the first play, giving Arizona the ball on the Ram 23. Two sacks and two
offensive penalties later they tried a 48-yard field goal, but the ball
sailed wide right. The Rams headed to the locker room fortunate to have
a 21-14 lead.
The second half started innocently, if ineffectively, enough with both teams
exchanging a pair of punts. On the Cardinals third chance to kick, it was
fourth and four on their own 49. But they ran a fake with the ball being
snapped to Johnson as the up-man. He ran tight into a pile and couldn't
get outside due to good containment by DBs Keith Crawford and Mike Scurlock.
The Rams took over on the 49 and Banks immediately went deep to Bruce who
had to stop and wait for the ball at the 5. Then he waited for Lassiter
to sail bay and walked in for the touchdown and a 28-14 lead.
The Cardinals started to drive but stalled after only 9 net yards due to
penalties and a sack. They punted and the Rams had good field position at
the Arizona 30 due to another outstanding Kennison return. But the Rams
went backwards from their due to a sack and had to punt. That's the one
that stopped at the 7.
Then came two marathon drives that became trails of tears for the Bighorns.
The first, starting at the beginning of the fourth quarter, covered 93 yards
in 19 plays. It also ate 10:22 off the clock and more than a few pounds
off the defense. Along the way, the Cardinals converted a pair of fourth
downs, the second on fourth and goal. That one resulted in a 5-yard pass
to Centers, who was wide open over the middle in front of Parker and Arizona
trailed by a touchdown at 28-21.
The Rams finally got a chance to run some plays but had to start deep in
their own end at the 13. They made it to the 21 and might have tried something
on fourth and 1 but two 5-yard penalties erased any hope. Landeta had to
punt for real and nailed a beauty that was covered well by Crawford, who
hit the return man Dowdell immediately.
With 3:49 remaining, the Cardinals were back in business and once again
began to march. They were already to the Ram 23 by the 2:00 warning. They
faced fourth and 9 at the 20 when DT Jimmie Jones was called for offsides.
That was bad enough, but play continued and Jones (and others) did not and
Graham, under no pressure, managed to hit Sanders at the St. Louis 8 for
first and goal. Had Jones and company kept playing, they might have just
given up the five yards for the penalty and Arizona would have had to still
convert a fourth down. As it was, their inaction gift-wrapped the tying
score. Three plays later, and with just 15 seconds remaining, Sanders pushed
off Parker (a penalty not called) and was open in the end zone for a 5-yard
TD strike from Graham.
A personal foul called on the Rams let the Cardinals kick from their own
45. Rather than send it through the end zone, they chose a squib kick that
Kennison brought to the 22 where the Bighorns had time for one play. Rather
than down the ball and head to the overtime, they opted to try a desperation
pass. Unfortunately, and as it happened at the end of the first half, the
Rams fumbled as Banks had the ball stripped. They dodged a bullet as time
expired while the Rams recovered the ball.
LB Robert Jones got to call the coin toss for the overtime period. He called
heads, it came down tails and the Rams had to kick. This meant the exhausted
defense had to once again take the field to hold the game. But this time,
they gave it up on one long play instead of a sustained drive. On second
down, Johnson broke free on a simple run and broke a number of would-be
(and Jenkins as a phantom) tacklers on a 66-yard blitz to the St. Louis
2 before being caught from behind and dragged down by Crawford. After a
12-men on the field penalty, the Cardinals quit messing around and kicked
the 24-yard field goal to win the game 31-28.
This was the chance for the Rams, now 1-3, to get back to .500 before facing
the division leaders, both tied at 3-1, in the next two weeks. They play
the 49ers (who beat the Falcons 39-17) next week at the Trans World Dome
and the Panthers (who lost to the Jaguars 24-14) in Carolina the week after
that.
4.3 Mistake-Prone Bears Lose Their First Game
Washington University lost their first football game of the season on Saturday,
a 48-27 loss to Illinois Wesleyan University at Francis Field. The non-conference
loss drops the Bears' overall record to 3-1 on the season. The Titans improve
to 2-0. The all-time series record, dating back to 1899, still leans the
Bears' way at 8-4.
Illinois Wesleyan scored touchdowns on their first possession and their
last four possessions as well as the last five of six drives. Two of the
last TDs were scored on runs by senior QB Lon Erickson. He entered the game
as the seventh rated passer in Division III. He was behind the Bears' own
junior QB Thor Larsen at number six with a rating of 175.4.
Erickson was the better passer on Saturday although the numbers don't show
much difference.. He finished the 18 of 30 for 228 yards and one touchdown
pass. He also rushed for 57 yards on 14 carries for the two scores. Larsen
was 17 for 38 for 264 yards and two TDs. He was also the top WU rusher gaining
48 yards on 6 carries. But Erickson seemed sharper, his passes more crisp.
Larsen's receivers weren't able to hold on to some easy balls. And Erickson
guided the Titans to 500 yards of total offense to the 416 compiled by the
Bears.
There was another Larsen in the game, IWU's senior WR Eric Larsen, Erickson's
favorite target. He caught 7 passes for 110 yards and one touchdown. The
leading Washington receiver was junior WR Vernon Butler, who had five catches
for 91 yards and one touchdown. The other receiving six-pointer for WU was
by sophomore WR Wes Cummins, who had 75 yards on only 2 receptions.
The main Titan weapon was senior RB Deon Hornsby, who came into the game
as the second leading rusher (based on average yards per game) in DIII after
only one game. He was named the DIII player of the week after rolling up
244 yards on 14 carries in the Titan's first game against Thomas More College.
He trailed only Marietta University's Dante Brown who gained 583 yards in
two games, a 291.5-yard average. Hornsby rushed for 188 yards and 2 touchdowns
on 30 carries and caught 2 passes for 52 more yards.
The 48 points scored by Illinois Wesleyan was the most ever scored on the
Bears under head coach Larry Kindbom, who took over in 1989. The last time
a team scored this many points on the Bears was Rhodes College who, in the
fourth week of 1988, beat Washington (then under Ken Woody) 49-14.
5.0 StLSO Numbers
5.1 Cardinals Statistics--Final
5.1.1 Batting
BA SLG OBA G AB R H TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E Bradshaw .333 .381 .417 15 21 4 7 8 1 0 0 3 3 2 0 1 0 Jordan .310 .483 .349 140 513 82 159 248 36 1 17 104 29 84 22 5 2 McGee .307 .417 .348 123 309 52 95 129 15 2 5 41 18 60 5 2 5 Mabry .297 .431 .342 151 543 63 161 234 30 2 13 74 37 84 3 2 8 Difelice .286 .429 .286 4 7 0 2 3 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 Smith .282 .370 .358 82 227 36 64 84 10 2 2 18 25 9 7 5 8 Clayton .277 .371 .321 129 491 64 136 182 20 4 6 35 33 89 33 15 15 Lankford .275 .486 .366 149 545 100 150 265 36 8 21 86 79 133 35 7 1 Gaetti .274 .473 .326 141 522 71 143 247 27 4 23 80 35 97 2 2 10 Pagnozzi .270 .423 .311 119 407 48 110 172 23 0 13 55 24 78 4 1 8 Sweeney .265 .371 .387 98 170 32 45 63 9 0 3 22 33 29 3 0 3 Alicea .258 .382 .350 129 380 54 98 145 26 3 5 42 52 78 11 3 24 Gant .246 .504 .359 122 419 74 103 211 14 2 30 82 73 98 13 4 5 Young .241 .241 .353 16 29 3 7 7 0 0 0 2 4 5 0 1 1 Sheaffer .227 .333 .271 79 198 10 45 66 9 3 2 20 9 25 3 3 6 Bell .214 .276 .268 62 145 12 31 40 6 0 1 9 10 22 1 1 5 Gallego .210 .224 .276 51 143 12 30 32 2 0 0 4 12 31 0 0 3 Mejia .087 .087 .087 45 23 10 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 10 6 3 1
PITCHERS W- L ERA G GS CG GF SH SV IP H R ER HR BB SO Batchelor 2- 0 1.20 11 0 0 7 0 0 15.0 9 2 2 0 1 11 Fossas 0- 4 2.68 65 0 0 11 0 2 47.0 43 19 14 7 21 36 Honeycutt 2- 1 2.85 61 0 0 13 0 4 47.1 42 15 15 3 7 30 Bailey 5- 2 3.00 51 0 0 12 0 0 57.0 57 21 19 1 30 38 Mathews 2- 6 3.01 67 0 0 23 0 6 83.2 62 32 28 8 32 80 Eckersley 0- 6 3.30 63 0 0 53 0 30 60.0 65 26 22 8 6 49 Osborne 13- 9 3.53 30 30 2 0 1 0 198.2 191 87 78 22 57 134 Petkovsek 11- 2 3.55 48 6 0 7 0 0 88.2 83 37 35 9 35 45 Andy Benes 18-10 3.83 36 34 3 1 1 1 230.1 215 107 98 28 77 160 Stottlemyre 14-11 3.87 34 33 5 0 2 0 223.1 191 100 96 30 93 194 Jackson 1- 1 4.46 13 4 0 3 0 0 36.1 33 18 18 3 16 27 Alan Benes 13-10 4.90 34 32 3 1 1 0 191.0 192 120 104 27 87 131 Urbani 1- 0 7.71 3 2 0 0 0 0 11.2 15 10 10 3 4 1 Ludwick 0- 1 9.00 6 1 0 2 0 0 10.0 11 11 10 4 3 12 Barber 0- 0 15.00 1 1 0 0 0 0 3.0 4 5 5 0 6 1 Busby 0- 1 18.00 1 1 0 0 0 0 4.0 9 13 8 4 4 4
East Team Won Lost Pct Gb Home Road East Cent West Streak Y-Atlanta 96 66 .593 - 56-25 40-41 32-20 38-23 26-23 Lost 1 Montreal 88 74 .543 8 50-31 38-43 24-28 39-22 25-24 Won 1 Florida 80 82 .494 16 52-29 28-53 25-27 33-27 22-28 Lost 2 New York 71 91 .438 25 42-39 29-52 25-27 28-33 18-31 Lost 1 Philadelphia 67 95 .414 29 35-46 32-49 24-28 21-40 22-27 Won 1 Central Team Won Lost Pct Gb Home Road East Cent West Streak Y-CARDINALS 88 74 .543 - 48-33 40-41 29-32 37-15 22-27 Lost 1 Houston 82 80 .506 6 48-33 34-47 33-28 24-28 25-24 Won 2 Cincinnati 81 81 .500 7 46-34 35-47 27-33 25-27 29-21 Won 1 Chicago 76 86 .469 12 43-38 33-48 31-30 19-33 26-23 Lost 2 Pittsburgh 73 89 .451 15 36-44 37-45 25-36 25-27 23-26 Won 2 West Team Won Lost Pct Gb Home Road East Cent West Streak Y-San Diego 91 71 .562 - 45-36 46-35 39-23 28-33 24-15 Won 3 Y-Los Angeles 90 72 .556 1 47-34 43-38 38-24 33-28 19-20 Lost 4 Colorado 83 79 .512 8 55-26 28-53 28-33 36-26 19-20 Won 1 San Francisco 68 94 .420 23 38-44 30-50 28-33 24-38 16-23 Lost 1
East Team Won Lost Pct Gb Home Road East Cent West Streak Y-New York 92 70 .568 - 49-31 43-39 32-20 37-24 23-26 Lost 1 Y-Baltimore 88 74 .543 4 43-38 45-36 29-23 34-26 25-25 Lost 1 Boston 85 77 .525 7 47-34 38-43 33-19 23-37 29-21 Won 1 Toronto 74 88 .457 18 35-46 39-42 22-30 30-32 22-26 Won 1 Detroit 53 109 .327 39 27-54 26-55 14-38 19-42 20-29 Lost 6 Central Team Won Lost Pct Gb Home Road East Cent West Streak Y-Cleveland 99 62 .615 - 51-29 48-33 40-20 32-20 27-22 Lost 1 Chicago 85 77 .525 14 1/2 44-37 41-40 37-25 24-28 24-24 Lost 2 Milwaukee 80 82 .494 19 1/2 38-43 42-39 26-33 32-21 22-28 Won 3 Minnesota 78 84 .481 21 1/2 39-43 39-41 30-31 21-31 27-22 Won 2 Kansas City 75 86 .466 24 37-43 38-43 27-34 22-30 26-22 Won 1 West Team Won Lost Pct Gb Home Road East Cent West Streak Y-Texas 90 72 .556 - 50-31 40-41 42-20 30-31 18-21 Won 2 Seattle 85 76 .528 4 1/2 43-38 42-38 31-30 31-30 23-16 Lost 1 Oakland 78 84 .481 12 40-41 38-43 24-38 32-29 22-17 Won 1 California 70 91 .435 19 1/2 43-38 27-53 30-31 25-36 15-24 Lost 2 Y-Clinched Playoff Berth
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT F Rams 7 14 7 0 0 28 Cardinals 0 14 0 14 3 31
Rams Cardinals
First Downs 10 27
Rushing 3 3
Passing 7 23
Penalty 0 1
Third Down Eff. 3-9 9-20
Fourth Down Eff. 0-0 3-4
Total Net Yards 226 489
Total Yards 42 89
Average Gain 5.4 5.6
Net Rushing Yards 60 150
Rushes 22 27
Avg. per Rush 2.7 5.6
Net Passing Yards 166 348
Sacks-Yards 2-20 4-18
Gross Pass. Yds 186 366
Punts-Avg.Yds 5-51.0 6-42.7
Time of Possession 20:06 41:48