Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Pregame Report

The St. Louis Cardinals have added Jose Vizcaino to the roster. He'll be taking jersey #35. Mulder is expected to come off the DL, and with Eckstein going to the DL, my guess is that Timo Perez is the one who gets sent down to Memphis.

Former President Bill Clinton attended last night's game and I imagine he was pulling for the Cardinals. With his wife being a Cubs fan, it is interesting to note that that marriage has actually worked out...
"We grew up with the Cardinals," Clinton said as he stopped outside of the visitors' clubhouse. "I go way back. I'm so old, I remember Harry Caray calling the Cardinal games. There weren't any baseball teams in Texas back then. So we had KMOX and (a Chicago station). I remember I did all my homework listening to the Cardinals."

Clinton and his brother, Roger, attended Tuesday's game between the Cardinals and the New York Mets, and the former president implied the Cardinals' presence was at least a part of the inspiration to attend a ballgame. About an hour before first pitch, Clinton entered the Cardinals clubhouse.

He circled the room, shook hands and signed baseballs.

"It was an honor to meet him," pitcher Chris Carpenter said.

Clinton, whose wife Hillary Rodham Clinton is a Senator from New York and a well-publicized Chicago Cubs fan, said that when he watches television all he watches are "sports and movies." Before entering the clubhouse, Clinton posed for a picture with Cardinals third baseman Scott Rolen. He then spoke for a while with Lt. General Franklin "Buster" Hagenbeck, the superintendent of West Point.

Sporting a polo shirt with a Cardinals' logo on it, Lt. General Hagenbeck had spent batting practice chatting with Cardinals' officials, including La Russa and general manager Walt Jocketty.

Hagenbeck told Clinton how he became a Cardinals fan, and the president said he and his brother grew up listening to Cardinals games.[...]

"Stan Musial came to the White House once," Clinton told a group that included Hagenbeck. "Musial taught me how to crouch to hit."
Mark Mulder takes the start this evening. His record stands at 6-5 with a depressing 6.09 ERA. He'll start against the Mets' Steve Trachsel (12-5, 4.79), best known for giving up home run 62 to Mark McGwire in September 1998.

Mazel tov to the family of Jason and Debbie Marquis on the birth of Andrew Michael Marquis on Jason's 28th birthday this past Monday.

Milestone Watch:
Albert Pujols needs 16 home runs to tie Ken Boyer for 2nd on the Cardinals all-time home runs list with 255.
Albert Pujols needs 7 runs to have his sixth consecutive season with 100 runs, 100 RBI, 30 home runs, and at least a .300 batting average.
Jim Edmonds needs 1 home run to pass Ray Lankford for 4th all-time as a Cardinal.
Jason Isringhausen needs 4 saves for 250 career saves.

Post game recap:
Again, with the game on the line, why does TLR decide pinch hit So Taguchi for Chris Duncan? For starters, Mark Mulder was about as bad as pitchers get today. I honestly think that he needs shoulder surgery or somthing because he couldn't even last five innings and was pounded.

Jose Vizcaino went yard for the second time this season. Preston Wilson hit his 11th and made the #1 web gem on Baseball Tonight. Scott Rolen hit his 19th.

Farm Watch:
Reyes went six innings, striking out nine. Where was that Reyes in the majors?!?

St. Louis 8, N.Y. Mets 10
Losing pitcher - Mark Mulder (6-6)
HR: Scott Rolen (19), Jose Vizcaino (2), Preston Wilson (11)

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