Notes from Game 4

I want to start out by giving, not just Albert, but the entire Cardinals team, credit for an amazing game three. Watching Albert realize that amazing flare for the dramatic is truly magical. I'm convinced that first homerun would have traveled back to Busch Stadium if there wasn't a wall in front of it.

With all of the magic that was Saturday night, Sunday was equally depressing. Derek Holland created what will no doubt be his best memory of his entire baseball career by going 8.1 with only two hits. He deserves all of the credit.

With that being said, watching the Cardinals last night, it really appeared they spent the entire night swinging for the fences. While the only two hits of the night went to Lance Berkman, it should be noted that he was swinging to get on base. He wasn't taking homerun chops at the ball. While it's a ton of fun to watch balls fly out of the field and the crowd clamor and fight for them, singles and doubles win baseball games. Singles and doubles are what got the Cardinals where they are. The run from Aug. 25 to the World Series was not dominated by longballs, but by manufactured runs. That's what we need to see tonight. Furcal and Jay need to turn it on as well. They were pivotal in getting the team where it is today it's their job to get on base so the 3-4-5 crew has something to drive in (which they need to do as well).

As far as pitching goes, the night wasn't as bad for the Cardinals as it feels this morning. Edwin Jackson, despite keeping my stress level up with guys on the bases via 7 walks, did the job of a number 4-5 starter. Keep the Cardinals in the game. That means give up less than three runs and go 6 innings. He got in several jams, but he always managed to pull out. Boggs, despite that first high fastball, had a great outing. If only Tony could have stalled about one warmup pitch longer!

Tonight is Chris Carpenter's opportunity to truly become a Cardinals legend. We desperately need to see the Carp that drove the nail in the Phillies coffin.

The one caveat to all of this is that whoever wins this series will be doing it in St. Louis, and that, my friends, will be fun to watch. Tickets can still be had, but they're high and probably going to get higher. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see the first game 7 since 2001 happen right in our backyard.

Don't forget to join in on our LIVE World Series chat at http://www.dailystatesman.com/2011ws There will be live chat during each game to offer up your two-cents.