Speaking of the Cards
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Woody Williams has the fewest victories of any Cardinals starter. But he, and not Matt Morris, will get the honor of starting their playoff opener.
"More than anything else, he's feeling physically the best he's felt all year," manager Tony La Russa said Saturday. "We think it gives us the best shot in case there's a Game 5."
The rotation had been aligned to give Morris (15-10, 4.72) the nod in Game 1, and Williams (11-8, 4.18) had been scheduled to pitch in the regular-season finale on Sunday and then go in Game 3 on the road. Instead, Dan Haren will fill in on Sunday and Morris moves to what had been Williams' playoff slot.
Jason Marquis (15-6, 3.66) will pitch in Game 2 and Jeff Suppan (16-9, 4.16) will work in Game 4. The Cardinals are without Chris Carpenter (15-5, 3.46), who's been sidelined with nerve damage in his right biceps since Sept. 18 - the day they clinched the NL Central.
Carpenter likely would have pitched Game 1 if he was healthy.