St. Louis Post-Dispatch
July 6, 2002

Morris Has More Trouble Handling Prosperity

By Tom Timmermann

Times are getting tough for Matt Morris, the Cards' No. 1 starter and lone selection for the All-Star Game. And he knows it.

For the second straight start, he couldn't hold on to a sizable lead. After squandering a six-run lead on Sunday, he let a three-run lead get away on Friday as the Cardinals lost to the Dodgers 6-5 before 41,447 on an oppressively hot and humid night at Busch Stadium.

"I stink right now," Morris said. "I feel like I'm regressing. It's frustrating. The team kept battling, putting me ahead. I'm the one who's supposed to shut the door. Right now it's frustrating that the team is working so hard and has nothing to show for it."

"He was in the middle of the plate," Cards manager Tony La Russa said. "His location was not good. He suffered and we suffered."

The loss cuts the Cardinals' lead in the NL Central to two games over Cincinnati. The Cardinals had a good chance to pull the game out in the ninth inning against Dodgers closer Eric Gagne when they loaded the bases with no one out after a single by pinch-hitter Miguel Cairo, a double by Kerry Robinson and an intentional walk to Fernando Vina. But Gagne got Placido Polanco to hit a chopper back to the mound that went for a double play from home to first. Then, with two outs, runners on second and third and Albert Pujols on deck, Jim Edmonds completed an 0-for-5 night by flying out to the warning track in left to end the game.

Morris' next time on the mound will probably be at the All-Star Game on Tuesday in Milwaukee, but that's about the furthest thing from his mind right now. When he pitches again is uncertain; with the All-Star break extended by a day this year, Morris may not pitch again until Friday or Saturday, giving him almost a week off between games.

"We're still charting that out," La Russa said. "He's picked us up so many times, we've got to pick him up now. He's not himself."

Morris knows something is wrong.

"It could be everything," he said. "Ultimately, it's all mental, but it feels physical right now. Somehow, I've got to get them to work together. I'm not executing consistently and then you start changing your game plan because of it. I have to pick up the mental part of the game. I'm fighting myself.

"It felt like my first day in the big leagues tonight. Pathetic."

Morris got off to a 10-4 start before suffering a tough 2-0 loss to Milwaukee on June 25 in the emotionally charged return of the Cardinals to Busch Stadium after the death of Darryl Kile on June 22.

His past two starts, however, have seen big problems. Against the Reds on Sunday, he was given a 6-0 lead after the first inning. That should have been a lock for Morris and the Cards, but he gave up three runs in the second and two in the third. He left the game after five innings with a 7-5 lead, which the team's bullpen couldn't hold in what turned out to be a 12-8 loss. He allowed five runs and nine hits in five innings.

On Friday, he gave up a run in the first without the ball leaving the infield but then was given a 4-1 lead after two innings. But he gave up two runs in the third and then three runs in the sixth. This time, he allowed six runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings in what are easily his worst back-to-back appearances of the season.

"I'm just not making the pitches right now," he said. "I'm embarrassing myself."

The Cards wasted another big game from left fielder Albert Pujols, who homered and doubled to drive in three runs. His home run in the first inning was his 20th of the season, making him the first Cardinal to begin his big-league career with back-to-back 20 home run seasons.

Pujols also drew gasps from the crowd when he took a fastball to his left hand while hitting in the eighth. He stayed in the game and La Russa said he would have hit in the ninth if needed. Pujols said he would see how swollen his wrist was before today's game before a decision would be made on whether he could play.

Pujols' homer, which put the Cardinals up 2-1 in the first, was his fourth in his past five games. The Cardinals got two more in the second on a two-run single by Vina.

In the third, Morris hit Paul Lo Duca and gave up a double to Shawn Green before Eric Karros drove in two runs with a single to make it 4-3. Morris kept the inning from getting worse only by throwing out Karros trying for second after Eli Marrero's throw to the plate was high and wide.

Pujols, who was snubbed for the All-Star Game twice this week, first by manager Bob Brenly and then by the populace in an Internet vote for the final player, gave Morris some more breathing room in the fifth. Polanco singled with one out and after Edmonds struck out, Pujols doubled to left center to make it 5-3.

But Morris fell apart in the sixth. He gave up a leadoff single to Brian Jordan and after Adrian Beltre flew out, Mark Grudzielanek hit a ground-rule double to put runners on second and third. Cesar Izturis hit a fly ball to center that Edmonds juggled but caught, and Jordan tagged and scored. (An appeal by the Cardinals that Jordan had left early because of Edmonds' bobble was denied. A baserunner can advance on a fly ball as soon as an outfielder touches the ball, not when he completes a catch.)

Alex Cora, batting for Perez, hit a hard grounder just inside the first-base bag that went for a double and scored Grudzielanek with the tying run, and then Roberts hit a single just past the outstretched glove of Vina to drive in Cora and put the Dodgers up 6-5.