St. Louis Post-Dispatch
July 20, 2001

Morris Credits Duncan for Game Preparation

By Rick Hummel

Matt Morris did the work on the field Thursday in his 4-1 win over the Houston Astros, but he said much of the effort was exerted well before the game when he sat down with pitching coach Dave Duncan.

"Dunc and I set a game plan," Morris said. "He knows how I pitch, that I've got to keep the ball down and I've got to mix in my breaking ball for strikes.

"We went over hitters and hitters' tendencies and (tried) to attack them and get ahead early. Once you get ahead, you can dictate what pitches you can throw. You don't have to throw the ball over the plate.

"With a lot of the tapes we watched together, I was able to execute. ... The coaching staff prepares you pretty well. Usually they know what they're talking about."

Morris wanted to make sure Duncan - and for that matter, manager Tony La Russa - received their proper due.

"They've been getting booed the last couple of days (in St. Louis), for no reason," Morris said.

Morris tied his season high by throwing 117 pitches in eight innings.

"A couple of times I went up to Dunc and told him I was OK," Morris said. "I tried to lobby for the ninth, but there was no way I was going to get that."

Mark McGwire's game-winning home run was his 12th homer of the season and fifth in nine games.

"There's only a couple of hitters who hit that ball 440 feet," La Russa said. "It wasn't a bad pitch.

"But he's dangerous and he's clutch, and he's starting to feel better at the plate. He's getting his swing back to normal."

McGwire, "up" to .204, finally is hitting like a cleanup man. "I've been (cleanup) all the time but I haven't done anything," McGwire said. "But ... you don't need to talk about me. Let's talk about the team. I'm tired of talking about me."

Second baseman Fernando Vina, who failed in aggressive plays both on the bases and in the field in the fifth inning of Wednesday's 17-11 loss to Houston, took the same approach Thursday.

He turned a single into a double in the sixth inning when shortstop Julio Lugo couldn't handle a throw from center fielder Richard Hidalgo.

This was the start of a three-run inning, but it could have been the second out.

"That's a good play," La Russa said. "Over the course of a year, if you're aggressive offensively, as long as it's with good sense, you're going to come out so far ahead. I thought it was a hell of a play."

Vina said, "I'd do it every time. Put pressure on them and make them throw you out. It takes a perfect throw to get you. You just try to slide hard and see what happens, right?

"It was tied up, 1-1. You've got to do it. You've got to take a chance sometimes."

Despite the 17-11 loss on Wednesday, La Russa said he "felt as good about (that) game as any one this year. We had a rain delay (Tuesday in St. Louis), we get in here at 4 o'clock in the morning, they jump ahead of us 6-2 and we played our butts off. I felt as good about that as winning this game."

The division-leading Chicago Cubs and the Astros, their closest pursuers, will play four games in Houston beginning tonight. The Cardinals will wait to see where the pieces fall.

"I think it's better if Houston wins three out of four," said Vina.

"I think you pull for a split and then have them even while we (try to) take four," said Morris.

The Cardinals actually have three games with Pittsburgh at home while the Cubs and Astros are playing.

With Mike Timlin's save, three Cardinals pitchers - Timlin, Steve Kline and Jason Christiansen - have earned a total of five saves since closer Dave Veres' last save.

"This is Veres' job," said Timlin, smiling. "He's just pretending he doesn't want to do it right now."