| Judith A. Culp. 30th June, 2005 - 4:33 pm
 The great thing about the Cardinals’ two game series sweep of the Cincinnati Reds is that they were solid w’s.
Sure, the Reds are not a very good team, perennial NL Central cellar dwellers, but they had beaten us handily on our recent trip to Cincy. So, it was quite refreshing Tuesday night for Mark Mulder to come out and keep their lineup under control. He pitched a strong game resulting in a 2-1 victory for the Redbirds, thanks to the hot bat of Reggie Sanders. Mulder upped his season record to 9-5. The big lefty had not had a great month; he exits June 2-3.
Wednesday’s game was another victory for a surprisingly good Matt Morris.
Morris’ strong performance resulted in a convincing 11-3 win for the Cards. Matty Mo is now 9-1 for the season – nobody in Cardinal Nation would have believed that based on his performance in 2004.
Larry Walker was back in the lineup thanks to a cortisone shot. He hit two two-run homers and it was phenomenal to have him back on the field. He has said several times that he will retire if the Cardinals win the World Series this year. Redbird fans everywhere aren’t rushing him into retirement, but vindication from last year’s World Series debacle would be sweet.
The Cardinals are 49-28 and open up a four game series against the struggling Colorado Rockies. A sweep would be a powerful statement. Not because arguably the best team in baseball would be beating up the worst team in the league – but because it is time for the Cards to go on a run; the type of run that sees the better team imposing its will on weaker opponents. As it stands, the national media still has hopes for the Cubs to make a run and win the NL Central. Yes, it’s ridiculous but Tim Cowlishaw said it, not me! It is time for the Cardinals to establish themselves by being consistent and dominant. Yes, 49-28 is a great record, but they’ve done this without Pujols getting hot yet. This makes me believe the best of the season is yet to come. |
