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Originally Posted by dylanmarsh
I wouldn't go so far as to say Petey is "washed-up." Washed-up is a term saved for Rick Reed or John Burkett or Ramiro Mendoza. Pedro is still capable of pitching 6 to 7 strong innings and hitting 97 on the gun then droppping a 75 mph curve for strike three. I'm not exactly sure what his deal is lately, but, like D-Lowe, he's pitching for a few extra million on his contract with this upcoming start.
Papi at 1st is a scary thought, I'll give you that. Two things to point out here, though: 1. Paul Molitor with his beat-up 40 year old body was still able to play first for the Jays in the early 90's World Series; 2. The Sox have proven that errors don't matter much to the outcome of the game. Ortiz played quite a bit of first base early in his career for the Twins, so this won't be a foreign concept to him. (See the pic below, he's even a got a nice glove.)
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Washed up is a relative term - I meant he wasn't anywhere near as dominant as he used to be, and is IMO on the decline pretty rapidly. I don't think he has the endurance to last more than 5, maybe 6 innings against the Cards if our bats get going. Plus, with the Sox planning on not using Schilling again (or so ESPN reports; that certainly caught me off guard, but apparently the treatment they are using on his ankle can't be done another time), Arroyo will probably be saved for his game 6 start. I think the Cards can win if they can exploit Perdo's lack of endurance and then blast the middle relief of the red sox - Foulke has been Gagne-like this post season, so I'm not counting on any bottom of the ninth rallies off of him.
On an unrelated note, Ortiz looks a LOT smaller in that photo than he does nowadays... maybe its just me. I'm sure he won't make any amazing plays, but on the same token I'm not expecting him to be another Manny.
Guccilvr, I agree - the Cards need all 3 wins at Busch to have a realistic shot at winning the series. I disagree about their defense, though - I think it is going to catch up to them, especially in an unfamiliar ballpark. I think even more important than the defense is that they now have to play with a hole in their lineup - thats something they aren't used to dealing with, and I think that how well they adapt to that will determine whether they win or lose (that and if they can keep Manny from making too many defensive blunders).