Royalties & Cardinalate

Will it happen this weekend?

Word is that TLR will play Roger Cedeno over Reggie Sanders in LF. Not a huge deal, but having the same 1-8 throughout the playoffs has been very cool. Cedeno is 10-for-23 (.435) with three doubles and six walks against Roger Clemens. (Sanders is 1-for-5.) It is not exactly like Bob Brenly playing Danny Bautista in Game 7 of the World Series over Reggie in 2001. Similar though. I’m down with it.

What the hell is gout? Sounds awful. But it is presumed to be what is primarily ailing Steve Kline, which is actually good news. Trainer Barry Weinberg said Kline “had further tests on his finger that revealed no further damage to the tendon. There is a likelihood that the excess swelling is gout-related. He has gout, and that's one of the places gout goes, the extremities. So he's on his gout medication, and usually that takes about 48 hours and he gets some relief.”

Perhaps Barry loves that word, but he could have explained that it is merely an inflammation of the joints, similar to arthritis but only short-term.

If STL must deactivate a player for the World Series, they would go with Randy Flores, who has been with the team for such a reason, as has Al Reyes, Cody McKay, Bo Hart and Ray Lankford. Technically, it is still possible for Ray Lankford to hit a walk-off, championship-winning homer in his final Busch Stadium at-bat.

Does not look good

It has been raining nonstop here in St. Louis for several hours. Though it is not a heavy rain, it is constant. No let up in sight, at least, for a few hours. But rain delays are no problem for me, I just hope they can play. I'm unclear what the alternative is, but hopefully they would just wait and play on Friday, perhaps in the afternoon. But a rainy game could be cool to watch (very surreal at night), as long no injuries occur. Should Rolen play in the wet field?

Though he is a superstar, I kind of hope the Astros keep Beltran. With Pujols, Dunn, Kearns, Prior, Wood, Zambrano, Patterson, Overbay, Sheets, Oswalt etc. already here, the Central could be pretty rockin' for the next decade. Oh, and Ricky Ankiel too!

Backe is now target No. 1

So it will be Brandon Backe on three-days rest, not a well-rested Pete Munro for Houston. During the regular season, Backe was 4-1 with a 2.61 ERA in 17 appearances at home and 1-2 with a 6.52 ERA in 16 appearances on the road. He did pitch very well in his last start vs. the Braves, going six good innings (2 ER) and throwing just 79 pitches. Backe has a 2.77 ERA in six games this season vs. STL, including two late-season starts. I’d rather see Munro, but he likely will pitch Game 2 anyway, before we get Clemens-Oswalt . . . It’s about time for Jimmy Edmonds to rob someone . . . Seeing Pujols vs. Beltran is a real thrill. Two best young players in MLB . . . How in the hell are both LCS' being played at the same time on Wednesday night? Inexcusable stupidity.

Tasty NL Central duel on tap

Game 1 of the NLCS is one of those games where if you ran an accurate computer simulation of 100 such games, the Cardinals would win about 80 times. Astros starter Pete Munro (4-7, 5.15) allows 1.5 runners per inning and is not likely to last past the fifth inning even if he pitches well. The worn-down Houston bullpen should not get much rest given the status of its already-limited rotation. The Astros will be playing their third game in three cities in four days and Roger Clemens and Roy Oswalt pitched on three days rest each to start the week. It seems the Astros are as vulnerable as a team can be at this stage. Plus, they’ve just experienced the biggest breakthrough in franchise history and a letdown seems feasible. So in the name of Billy Hatcher, I hope feisty Phil does not pull out a stunner. I hope Game 1 is never referred to as the dreaded ‘Munro Game’ at some point in the future. I feel good though.