Tony La Russa is thinking about lefty-lefty match-ups right now. He’s just staring off into space while a clubhouse attendant is talking to him, thinking about a left-handed pitcher throwing to a left-handed hitter. Sometimes it’s his hitter, and he gets all clammy. Sometimes it’s his pitcher, and he feels warm and comfortable. This is what he does.
Cardinals Lineup For Game 4 About What You’d Expect
Luckily for him, the lefty-beating lineup he gets to deploy against Randy Wolf is pretty much the standard Cardinals lineup, sans Lance Berkman. It's not like La Russa has to put Joe Crede in place of Jon Jay, or something.
1. Rafael Furcal# - SS
2. Allen Craig - RF
3. Albert Pujols - 1B
4. David Freese - 3B
5. Matt Holliday - LF
6. Yadier Molina - C
7. Ryan Theriot - 2B
8. Jon Jay* - CF
9. Kyle Lohse - P
Jay is pretty much the same hitter against lefties when it comes to average and on-base percentage, though his power takes a huge hit. He's hit only one homer off a southpaw in his career, and it was off Brian Matusz this year, which means Jay is tied with me, your Uncle Marty, and Henry Kissinger for home runs hit off Matusz this season.
Everyone else in the lineup? Right-handers, which as you'd expect, hit Randy Wolf well compared to lefties. The Cardinals can hit. But they can really hit against left-handers. The Brewers are right to be a little nervous.
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