Ancient Wisdom

There's a saying that I've heard floating around the last couple of years. Don't know where it came from or how long it's been around, but it's amazingly accurate.

"Momentum is tomorrow's starting pitcher."

When Jason Marquis is that pitcher, the momentum is not the good kind. Marquis, assuming he doesn't pitch again this season, will finish with a 6.02 ERA, the worst in Cardinal history (among players who qualified for an ERA title). I advocated trading Marquis after his first season in St. Louis, on the basis that he'd really overachieved and, with the pitching market the way it was, the Cards could really get something for him.

That said, he's shown flashes, at least in the past, of being potentially at least a good pitcher if not a dominant one. But this year, when he's been off, he's been off, as in when you see the Cards down 7-0 in the third you think, "Ah, Marquis must have pitched tonight."

Of course, Houston had to continue to win, so now the lead is half a game and the magic number stands at 4. I'm guessing Houston loses at least one game this weekend, and the Cards win at least one. Unfortunately, that's not enough for the Cards to get into the playoffs. They still have the lead, but they don't have the momentum, since Houston's starting pitcher today is Roger Clemens and the Cardinals have the enigmatic Jeff Weaver. Another of those that can turn in a good start, but can also have some rough outings, especially against left-handed batters.

Momentum is not in our favor right now.