La Russa moves Ludwick to No. 2; Carp named Game 4 starter
ST. LOUIS — In an apparent attempt to goose the timely hitting in his offense and protect Albert Pujols with bookend sluggers, manager Tony La Russa will shake up his lineup this afternoon and bat Ryan Ludwick second.
La Russa also announced that if there’s a Game 4, Chris Carpenter will start for the Cardinals vs. Chad Billingsley of the Dodgers. It would be the first time in his career he started on 3 days rest.
The Cardinals are 3-for-22 with runners in scoring position during this series, and the Los Angeles Dodgers have boldly proclaimed they have no interest in pitching to Pujols, even when he represents the go-ahead run. They would rather put him on base than risk the crooked number he can produce with one swing.
With both the Cardinals’ offensive struggles in mind and the Dodgers obvious game plan, La Russa swapped Ludwick and rookie Colby Rasmus. Rasmus’ double in Game 2 gave the Cardinals a lead that only the ninth inning could erase. Rasmus is hitting .500 in the series, and his at-bats have been among the most consistent on the team. By putting Rasmus No. 5, La Russa also shifts the island of righthanders in his lineup.
Here are the lineups for Game 3 of the NLDS:
CARDINALS
- Schumaker, 2B
- Ludwick, RF
- Pujols, 1B
- Holliday, LF
- Rasmus, CF
- Molina, C
- DeRosa, 3B
- Ryan, SS
- Pineiro, P
DODGERS
- Furcal, SS
- Kemp, CF
- Ethier, RF
- Ramirez, LF
- Loney, 1B
- Blake, 3B
- Belliard, 2B
- Martin, C
- Padilla, P
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(2 votes, average: 3 out of 5)
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Derrick Goold said he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was really drawn to MU sitting between two major-league cities. Goold joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after working for The Times-Picayune and Rocky Mountain News, covering sports from LSU to NHL and every level of baseball in between. 
Tony has a reason for everything. I hope that once this series is over, he will explain his logic behind Molina in the 6-hole. It makes absolutely no sense to me. He has a high OBP, but because he never strikes out and is slow as molasses, he hits into more double plays than anyone in baseball. I don’t like the trade off in the 6 spot. Let’s go Cards! I hope I eat crow and Molina goes 5-5! Let’s play a hard 9.
It sounds like the only way Torre would pitch to Pujols is if he is forced to do so, with the bases already loaded. Even that is only a “maybe,” but it’s a circumstance that’s not as likely to happen with Pujols batting third. The way DeRosa’s hitting so far, why not go Schu-DeRo-Ludwick-Pujols-Holliday?
I don’t like Molina 6th, either, Uncle Charlie. If you hit DeRosa 6th, Molina 7th, at least you have a chance of disrupting a DP with DeRosa’s speed. With Molina 6th, it just increases the chance of an immediate rally kill.
Perhaps he should’ve started this lineup experimentation in September, when they needed to start some momentum.
Anyway, I hope it works and we can shift the momentum and get back to L.A. for a Game 5, eventually.
And how many DP’s has Molina hit into this week? I seem to have missed them.
Not enough of a shakeup. I agree with Uncle Charlie about Molina. No way he should be batting sixth. Time to move Albert to cleanup. If they want to walk him, hopefully there would be more people on base in front of him. If you bat Holliday third, he might see better pitches and feel a little less pressure knowing Albert has his back. Is Glaus able to play? If so, bat him him fifth behind Albert. Need more punch and some timely hitting. DeRosa is not getting the job done either. I give Tony credit for making the change, but its not enough. Here’s hoping Piniero is at his best. Go Cards!
Yadier has to bat somewhere in the lineup and perhaps he is a double play candidate whenever he comes to bat. But consider this, if the leadoff hitter in this batting order comes to the plate to start an inning, then Yadier can’t hit into a double play unless the lineup has already scored at least one run.
I like Ludwick 2nd. He does not hit into many double plays. I do not like Molina batting 6th, too many double plays.
When LaRussa started Daryl Kile on 3 days rest in the play offs, he got hit hard and we lost the game. Why did we bother getting John Smoltz if LaRussa will not use him ? He should have relieved Franklin.
I agree on Molina hitting lower and Derosa in 6 spot! Either way this is game 1 of sudden death elimination. Go birds! We Will Win This Series!
To answer the double play question - Yadi grounded into a double play with the bases loaded in the first inning of game one that totally killed any momentum the Cardinals offense had. I, too, wonder why he is batting sixth. DeRosa, even with the bad wrist, has more power than Yadi.
So they are losing because of Tony ? You people would be funny if you weren’t so sad.