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 The Cardinals savior was supposed to return last night. Well.....let's not say savior, but some semblance of a real life starting pitcher. Instead, we were welcomed with what we had come to expect from Mark Mulder in the last few years as a Cardinal, inconsistency. Mulder, who had rotator cuff surgery last year made his first start since August 29, 2006 . In all honesty, I wasn't expecting much from Mulder. In fact, I wouldn't expect much from him until next year. It always seems that it takes nearly two years for a pitcher to recover from major surgery. But, with the Cardinals starting rotation in shambles throughout the year, the return of Mulder was a welcome and much touted story. And in the end, a let down.
Mulder was not very impressive in his 59 pitch outing. He threw strikes but was knocked around pretty hard by what can only be considered a weak Pirates lineup. The Pirates ended up with an 8-2 victory while pushing the Cardinals back to .500 and back to 2 games back of the Cubs. Mulder went 4 innings with 8 hits allowed, 6 earned runs, and only 1 K. He was consistently in the 90-92 range while hitting 95 once throughout the night, which is a good sign. There was a rain delay before the game started so that could have had some kind of an effect on Mulder. We'll have to wait and see if Mulder can be more competitive next time out.
The return of Mulder also somewhat ushered in La Russa's plans for a 6 man rotation over the next two weeks. The awkward rotation is right down La Russa's wheelhouse of strange idears and is meant to give Adam Wainwright and Braden Looper some extra rest during the closing stretch. Luckily, Kip Wells most likely is not a part of this ginormous rotation. It looks like the Cardinals will have a combo of Wainwright, Looper, Pineiro, Mulder, Maroth, and a draw out of a hat winner of Thompson, Wellemeyer, and Reyes.
Mulder was the second pitcher to make a comeback from rotator cuff surgery this week as the Mets Pedro Martinez also made his first start since last year. It's frustrating to know that Mulder stunk and Martinez pulled out a nice start and win after having the same procedure done. I'm not comparing the two because before the surgery Martinez was one of the greats of all time while Mulder was a really good pitcher for a few years. I'm just saying....
In other related news: Rick Ankiel hit another home run and collected his 21st and 22nd RBI of the season in only 77 ABs. Maroth is starting today as he is now off the DL. Just the guy we want in a must win situation!!! AHHH. Scott Spiezio may still return this year after battling some type of mystery addiction (coke?). More gossip to this story located here. The Cardinals moved the On-Deck Circles due to the Encarnacion situation. Albert Pujols was once again the Cardinals nomination for the Clemente Award.
 In completely unrelated news: Roger Federer beat Andy Roddick again last night at the US Open. The score was 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4), 6-2. For those of you that are Tennis illiterate, the numbers inside the () is what Roddick had in the tie-breaker. Go to 7, win by two. It's called a 12 point tie-breaker because 7 + 5 = 12. Federer won the tie-breaker 7-5 in the first set and 7-4 in the second. You learned something today....Good for you. I watched the first two sets of the match before I fell asleep. Let me just say that this was some great tennis being played. Both players held their serves throughout the first two games. Roddick was hitting laser beam serves that you could barely see. Federer was hitting shots that other players only dream about! I still don't know how he can have all his momentum going one way and hit a winner on the complete opposite side of the court....with either ground stroke! His all around game is amazing, fluid, and looks as it takes no effort. I can only imagine how the third set went. No way that Roddick could have won it after the first two sets. Every other point Federer would hit a great shot and you would just see Roddick's face screaming WTF!!!!!!!!! Nadal is out of the tournament, so here's your champ, Roger Federer. Big Surprise.
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But Mulder is so pretty! That should make having him back more than worth it - even though he's been a total bust for the Cards ever since they got him from Oakland. Priorities.
Hmmmmmm. Dan Haren would be looking good right about now. Not looking good in your sense, looking good as pitching well.
Yeah, unless we're talking about the Yankees, pitching well isn't as important as looking good - and Mulder wins that competition easily. But hey, that should make you feel better.
Buck, let's hit the court and I'll show you how to hit a shot where you "have all his momentum going one way and hit a winner on the complete opposite side of the court....with either ground stroke" Federer has the best footwork around which helps but also extemely quick hands to snap off these shots.
I'll completely dismantle you Dickie Doo Da. MP hasn't beat me once this summer. He has no shot at it either. No one does with my Roddick like serve and resurgent forehand. And my two-handed backhand is creaking back to life. I almost entered the Akins tourney last weekend but was committed to the golf tournament instead.
Footwork is the hardest thing to get working and makes a huge difference. I am still a long way from having that in tact for most of a game.
Trust me Mr. Bedford Tennis Team Guy, you wouldn't be able to touch my serve as the high kicker goes over your head. I haven't picked up the racket but once in 2 years but still know I have the ability to take you down. all I need is an extra long warm up to get some timing down that and maybe some shoulder repair from years of those kicker serves.
My second serve kicker will decimate you! That's if I miss my first one.