Chris Carpenter	Dan Haren

The temperature is relatively mild, as far as recent nights go, so Carpenter should only sweat through 2 jerseys tonight.

Carpenter is bruised and fuming on the inside, no doubt.  I'm sure the best medicine for getting drilled on the pitching forearm would be some RUN SUPPORT.  As this Gamethread is born, the Cardinals quickly jump out to a 2-0 lead.

Random note...how many times have we played the Diamondbacks this year, seriously?

Commence the eeling.

Whilst the hot stove is percolating and the void in left field looms larger by the day, I thought it might be fun to do a "Separated at Birth" post, which includes players currently on the 40-man roster, as well as some memorable faces from the past.  Let me know what you think about my match-ups and feel free to contribute your own!

It's going to be a long winter, so we might as well entertain ourselves!

This post is going to be a work in progress...

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We all remember the off-season saga that was the signing, un-signing, and then signing of Trever Miller.  To think, the Cardinals almost pulled the plug on the deal because of Miller's shoulder issue.  I can't even imagine where we would be in the standings without him consistently retiring left-handed batters (and occasionally some right-handed ones).

So, how good has Trever been this year?

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We've all read the "sign Hudson, Furcal, and Fuentes" posts on the various Cardinal forums across the internet, but let's be realistic!  Spend wisely and we can fill multiple holes on the roster while still being thrifty.  Assuming Villone will not be back and the future of Flores and Johnson is still in flux, the Cardinals will be looking to go outside the organization for a left-handed reliever.  What about Brian Shouse?  He is due to become a free agent if and when the Brewers are eliminated from the playoffs.  Sure Shouse is 40 years old and he's had a terrible September, but his splits this season against lefties are fantastic.  In 100 AB's, lefties are hitting just .180 against him.  Looking back from 2005-2007, lefties hit a mere .219.  Over the last 3 years, he has struck out 3 times as many lefties as he has walked.  Point is, the guy makes lefties look foolish. 

He seems to be getting better with age and could definitely help the Cardinals from the left side.  I'd say he's worth a 1 year deal, anywhere between $2 million and $3 million.  If the team decides to bring Springer back, the two could be a very solid 7th or 8th inning shut-down combo to get it to the closer (whomever that may be).  There are definitely other arms out there (Fuentes, Eyre, Ohman), but Shouse seems to be the most affordable and reliable.  Any thoughts?