Cardinals Manager

The sellout crowd in the Miami Marlins' new ballpark cheered the introduction of their starters, who were accompanied by women dressed as Latin showgirls. There was another roar for Muhammad Ali, who delivered the first pitch. Then Kyle Lohse and the World Series-champion St. Louis Cardinals went to work, and the place grew quiet. Lohse held Miami hitless until the seventh inning and pitched into the eighth to help the Cardinals win the first game in Marlins Park, 4-1, Wednesday night.

Kyle Lohse saw all the zeros on the scoreboard. St. Louis teammate David Freese was counting the outs to go. And in the seventh inning, the Miami Marlins knew they still didn't have a hit in their new ballpark. Lohse finally gave up a single to start the seventh, but he combined with three relievers on a four-hitter and helped the World Series champions open the season with a 4-1 victory Wednesday night. Lohse led the Cardinals in victories and ERA last year, but he only got the call for opening day because ace Chris Carpenter is sidelined with nerve irritation that has caused...

All-Star slugger Lance Berkman is out of the lineup again for the St. Louis Cardinals in the opener of a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs. Berkman, who leads the National League with 27 home runs, was hurt Sunday in the ninth inning at Pittsburgh. He singled to left field and said when he got to first base, he felt a mild strain in his right rotator cuff. He did not play Monday, then started Tuesday but played just four innings before being lifted. The six-time All-Star had an MRI on Wednesday and received a cortisone shot in the muscle.

The sellout crowd in the Miami Marlins' new ballpark cheered the introduction of their starters, who were accompanied by women dressed as Latin showgirls. There was another roar for Muhammad Ali, who delivered the first pitch. Then Kyle Lohse and the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals went to work, and the place grew quiet. Lohse held Miami hitless until the seventh inning and pitched into the eighth to help the Cardinals win the first game in Marlins Park, 4-1 Wednesday night.

ST. LOUIS - After Major League Baseball pulled the plug on Game 6 of the World Series last night, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said he planned to go see the movie "Moneyball," even though he despises the concept the film is based on. Whether he really went was another matter. Unfortunately, there are no tips in the movie concerning communications with your bullpen. La Russa has managed 33 consecutive seasons but had never experienced the miscommunication he had with his bullpen that contributed to a 4-2 loss in Game 5 Monday in Arlington, Texas.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said he deserved to be fined for criticizing an umpire in a televised interview during a playoff game. Major League Baseball fined La Russa an undisclosed amount for his remarks Sunday night. Early in the game against Philadelphia, La Russa told TBS that plate umpire Jerry Meals had "two different strike zones," prefacing his remarks that he knew there might be disciplinary action. La Russa also said a few choice words to Meals after the umpire came out to break up a mound conference with Chris Carpenter.

CHICAGO - The Cubs will gladly pardon the interruption of their 10-game trip. Chicago got 17 hits yesterday during a one-game stopover at Wrigley Field, helping Ted Lilly win his 15th game and beating the St. Louis Cardinals, 12-3. "It is weird," said Aramis Ramirez, who homered twice and had four hits. "We were supposed to be in Houston having a day off today, and we're here playing a game in Chicago. " Ramirez wasn't complaining, just happy to see teammates join him in a rare offensive outburst.

In his last few days as Cardinals manager, Tony La Russa went about his business with an air of serenity, even as his upstart team sought to nail down a World Series championship. La Russa's often grumpy demeanor with reporters dissolved into friendly, almost comedic banter, and he took a genuinely inquisitive tone at times, when in the past he could be dismissive. Now there would seem to be an explanation for that sudden burst of relaxation for a manager more commonly thought of as relentless.

ARLINGTON, Texas - Albert Pujols, the best player in baseball for virtually his entire career, had not performed well in the World Series prior to Game 3 against the Texas Rangers last night. In 11 previous World Series games, the St. Louis Cardinals star had one home run and two runs batted in while hitting .222. "That was never going to last," Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter said. "Albert is too good. He's one of a kind. " Pujols emphatically made that point last night with a historic performance, hitting three home runs and driving in six runs...

Albert Pujols' 465-foot home run got the St. Louis Cardinals started. The bullpen made sure the longest drive at six-year-old Busch Stadium was not wasted. Jason Motte and Octavio Dotel escaped major jams in the sixth and seventh innings in relief of Edwin Jackson, who exited in the sixth with hamstring cramping in a 6-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday night. Dotel struck out Troy Tulowitzki and Todd Helton with the bases loaded in the seventh and Colorado trailing by two. "I don't want to give credit to those guys," Dotel said.

The sellout crowd in the Miami Marlins' new ballpark cheered the introduction of their starters, who were accompanied by women dressed as Latin showgirls. There was another roar for Muhammad Ali, who delivered the first pitch. Then Kyle Lohse and the World Series-champion St. Louis Cardinals went to work, and the place grew quiet. Lohse held Miami hitless until the seventh inning and pitched into the eighth to help the Cardinals win the first game in Marlins Park, 4-1, Wednesday night.

Retired St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is ready to look back on his amazing career. William Morrow announced Monday that "One Last Strike: Fifty Years in Baseball, Ten and a Half Games Back, and One Final Championship Season" is tentatively scheduled to come out this fall. The book will be co-written by Rick Hummel, a longtime reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. La Russa retired last fall after managing the Cardinals to a dramatic World Series title, when the team beat the Texas Rangers after coming within one strike of elimination.

In his last few days as Cardinals manager, Tony La Russa went about his business with an air of serenity, even as his upstart team sought to nail down a World Series championship. La Russa's often grumpy demeanor with reporters dissolved into friendly, almost comedic banter, and he took a genuinely inquisitive tone at times, when in the past he could be dismissive. Now there would seem to be an explanation for that sudden burst of relaxation for a manager more commonly thought of as relentless.

ST. LOUIS - He is the poster child for professionalism, not just because he won the clinching game of the World Series Friday night - hurling six strong innings on three days' rest - but for what he did during the course of the season, taking it upon himself to be there after the Cardinals lost their No. 1 starter, Adam Wainwright, to elbow surgery before the season. The Red Sox pitchers, as they figure out how to repair their image, could take a chapter from Mr. Carpenter. Study not only his actions but his words.

Allen Craig drifted back, reached up and made the catch, setting off a stampede from the dugout. The St. Louis Cardinals, the team that wasn't even supposed to be here, had won a most remarkable World Series. A day after twice being down to their last strike, the Cardinals became champions by beating the Texas Rangers 6-2 in Game 7 on Friday night, boosted by another key hit from hometown MVP David Freese and six gutty innings by Chris Carpenter. "It's hard to explain how this happened," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said.

In a World Series game played like a spring-training slopfest, Texas reliever Alexi Ogando forced in the tying run with a bases-loaded walk to Yadier Molina, leaving the St. Louis Cardinals and Rangers 4-4 after six innings Thursday night. With Texas ahead 3-2 in the Series and one win from its first title, the Rangers wasted 1-0, 3-2 and 4-3 leads. The Cardinals made three errors in a Series game for the first time since 1943, and Rangers first baseman Michael Young made two, with each team allowing two unearned runs.

PHOENIX - In black magic marker, a scuffed baseball told the details of the biggest game of Stephen Drew's career. Five hits and a cycle - the first in Chase Field history. The Arizona Diamondbacks needed every hit in an 8-6 comeback victory over St. Louis yesterday. "I'm kind of in shock right now," said Drew, who carried his keepsake baseball into the postgame interview room. "I'm just trying to put good 'ABs' together. It was meant to be. " Drew wasn't the only Diamondbacks player who had a big day. Newly acquired David Eckstein singled home the winning run, and Adam Dunn, Chris Young, and Mark...

No congratulatory phone call from Reggie Jackson was likely for Albert Pujols after Game 4. Mr. October called the St. Louis Cardinals star following Game 3, when Pujols joined Jackson as the only living players to hit three home runs in a World Series game. A day later, Pujols was 0 for 4 Sunday night as the Cardinals managed just two hits and four balls out of the infield in a 4-0 loss to the Texas Rangers that left the World Series tied at two games apiece. "I got some good pitches to hit. I missed it," Pujols said.

The Texas Rangers took 40 seasons to reach this position. After such a long climb, they were ready to wait one more day for a chance to win their first World Series title. Game 6 was postponed Wednesday because of a wet forecast, delaying their bid to win the championship. Ahead 3-2, they can close out the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night. "It's just a rainout, that's it," said Texas star Michael Young, in his 12th year with the team. "I don't know if people think we're going to sit in our hotel rooms all night biting our nails.

ST. LOUIS - After Major League Baseball pulled the plug on Game 6 of the World Series last night, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said he planned to go see the movie "Moneyball," even though he despises the concept the film is based on. Whether he really went was another matter. Unfortunately, there are no tips in the movie concerning communications with your bullpen. La Russa has managed 33 consecutive seasons but had never experienced the miscommunication he had with his bullpen that contributed to a 4-2 loss in Game 5 Monday in Arlington, Texas.