Matchup/Game Thread Game # 89 vs. Cardinals

Chris Carpenter	Andy Pettitte
7 - 4, 2.88	7 - 9, 5.37

Just a quick shout out to Jose Jesus de Ortiz, who elected to take a page out of the Richard Justice playbook and write a piece heavily critical of management at a time when constructive solutions are required, not pointless sniping.

Not that the players haven't done some sniping of their own, but it's really hard to see what good comes of his piece, which takes Phil Garner to task mightily for leaving Oswalt and Biggio off the All-Star roster.

It almost seems as if Ortiz is trying to foment rebellion. I might even believe that that was his intent, if I didn't figure Ortiz knows most players don't read The Chronicle anyway.

So you have it, my opinion is that Oswalt should have been a Final Vote candidate, but I also thought that Garner's explanation was very reasonable. He took the job of filling the roster out very seriously (perhaps too seriously), and as a result, I think he avoided coming out of the whole process looking like a clown, which is what his opposing manager in the All-Star tilt did.

Ozzie Guillen loaded the AL roster with his guys, and the rebuke for has been pretty universal, and I'd say well-deserved.

Ten bucks and national respect for the job Phil Garner did will get me into that Pirates of the Caribbean when I finally break down and go see it, but I think we'll all credit it a good thing when your manager doesn't look like a self-serving bozo.

Ortiz seems to feel that Phil should have found a way to get Biggio onto the roster, but the fact is, despite Craig's high level of play for a 40-year old, he's NOT been the best second baseman in the NL this year. Nor has he been the second best. Craig, bless his heart, is sixth amng NL second sackers in OPS. And of course we know he makes up none of that ground with his defense.

So how was Garner supposed to tell the rest of America that Biggio belonged on the team?

He wasn't, and he doesn't, and end of story.

Ortiz is trying to rabble rouse for reasons best known to him, and all I can say is that if he's trying to develop a relationship vis-a-vis Garner like Justice has developed with McLane, he's off to a good start.

*** Lost on this Scapegoat Sunday was an ironically even-handed and fair appraisal of Lidge and Ensberg from Justice. I actually thought he was a little too forgiving of Lidge, but hey, point is, the man s capable of good work. *** Haven't said much about tonight's game, and I'll leave it that way. Carp is pitching like the Cy Young winner he is, and Andy. . . well Andy's more like Jayson Stark's Cy Yuk (although I think it was Oliver Perez that actually "won" it).

Good luck, Andy. Pitch well.

Please.