[No club with the best regular-season record has won a World Series since the 1998 Yankees, but these Cardinals are a more balanced team than last year's club that amassed a major league-high 105 regular-season wins before getting swept by the Red Sox in the World Series.] You want to know why were better? ... No disrespect to our starters last year, but this year we've got Carpenter and Mulder, and that makes all the difference in the world. |
And we'd better get it done quick, because it's only going to get more expensive. |
Any time we go into the ninth with the bottom of the lineup coming up, ... all we're trying to do is get a hit, get a walk, get a couple of guys on -- because we know: We've got to get Albert up there. |
As long as they keep calling down there, I'll keep going out there, and I'll give up another home run, I'm sure. That's just part of it. |
Carp is doing something special, |
He has a degree in psychology, so he's very cerebral about pitching and mechanics and things like that. He would make me think more than I usually did, which is sometimes bad for me. |
He jumps down and he gets in their face. That's like the No. 1 rule ever, you never teach your kids to jump down and get in your dog's face. He does it. |
He worked his butt off for eight innings, and I go out there and give up the lead not once but twice. |
I came in here and watched it. It was right down the middle. |
I give up one or two home runs a year and now I've given up two in the first week. They're not really taking any bad swings at what I throw up there. I'm sure people are saying I don't have anything left in the tank ... whatever. I feel like I've got enough to get people out. I just have to go out there and use it to the best of my ability. |
I had bad mechanics (against) the first two guys. I thought I could get in on him with my best pitch, get a ground ball and try to get a double play. I didn't get in there far enough. |
I know good and well what's going through his mind. But it's the playoffs. As a pitcher you just have to deal with it, take a shower and forget about it. |
I know I've got good enough stuff to get people out. It's about making good pitches, and I haven't been able to do that yet. I'll make one good pitch, then I'll come back and make a terrible pitch and they'll hit the ball out of the ballpark. |
I made that one bad pitch today and he hit it out. If he pops it up, it's a different story.... If I make a better pitch, he doesn't hit it out of the infield. |
I make one good pitch then come back and make a terrible pitch and they hit the ball out of the ballpark. One of these days maybe they'll pop one up. But right now, they're putting good swings on the bad pitches I'm throwing. |