Carpenter and Redman

Well, we have two more shots to split this series with the Cards, something that I think would be immeasurably great for this team's confidence. Tonight we're going ace vs. ace as Redman and Carpenter have been both team's best pitchers this year. As good as Redman has been, we need him to bounce back from his last two starts, both which have been bad starts by the standard he set early in the year (the start against the Yankees seemed good, but he gave up 9 hits in 6 and 2/3 and he struggled with the strike zone quite a bit in that game). With a strong outing and a win tonight against NL Manager LaRussa, he might be able to lock up an All-Star berth, without a win tonight I don't think it's happening because I don't see a starter under .500 getting the nod for the All-Star Game. Mark needs to study the Dave Williams tape from Thursday and see if he can mimic what Dave has done against the Cards this year, because he's been effective.

Of course Redman's effectiveness might not matter tonight with Carpenter on the mound. He's been better than both Mulder and Morris this year, and he's finally feeling 100% after battling arm injuries for the last few years. If Suppan dominated us last night, let's just say I'm a bit worried about Carpenter, especially since David Ross will be in the lineup tonight (at least I'm assuming so since Marky Mark will be on the mound). We need a win in one of these next two, but tonight doesn't look good.