* The Cubs have won eight of their last 12 games in St. Louis, although they are just 1-2 on the road against the Cardinals this season.
* Friday’s matchup features the two best hitting pitchers in the majors this season – Carlos Zambrano (.362) and Braden Looper (.355).
* Jim Edmonds has four career home runs in games played on the Fourth of July – tied for the second-most among active players.
* Carlos Zambrano comes off the DL to make his first start since June 18. He has been brilliant in his road appearances against St. Louis in his career (4-1, 1.05 ERA), allowing no more than two runs in any of his eight starts.
* Aaron Miles’ current 15-game hitting streak is tied for the longest active one in the majors. He is batting an even .400 during this streak.
* Braden Looper had a very strong month of June, going 3-1 with a 2.92 ERA in six appearances.
Copyright 2008 STATS LLC
Comments
During Edmonds first at-bat tonight, you had a paper staff-writer supposedly quoting Tony's comments regarding Jim's comments in yesterdays St. Louis Post Dispatch. The writer neglected to fully quote La Russa and was not up to date on the latest on this subject, thus taking this whole matter further out of context. These comments he attempted to get right were old news as this was further dealt with earlier today.
From the MLB site... La Russa said, "He (Edmonds) was very clear, he made several quotes. He wants to be identified with the Cubs during the 2008 season. I don't see anything wrong with that, but I wouldn't go out of our way to put him in a tough position. He wants to deal with the present, that's OK."
La Russa initially made his views clear in an article with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that ran on Friday. Prior to the game, he went so far as to say the Cardinals should not honor Edmonds until he retired.
It was a strange misunderstanding because, for eight years, Edmonds and La Russa respected each other and helped lead the franchise to two World Series appearances.
La Russa said he interpreted Edmonds' comments as saying he wanted to distance himself from the organization and forget about his eight years in St. Louis. Edmonds said the quotes were taken out of context.
"Why would I do that?" Edmonds said. "I spent the best years of my life here. Why in the world would I ever do that?
"The thing that disappoints me is he would believe I would say anything about the organization in a negative light. ... Did I ever say anything about not wanting to be a Cardinal? All I said was, 'You guys leave me alone, I'm a Cub now, hopefully I'll be accepted.'"
La Russa was quoted in the Post as saying "...that's what Edmonds wants." Tony's comments weren't from his heart, but responding to what he had misinterpreted from what Jim had actually meant.
Jim is a Cub now and doing the team good. He did the same for the Cardinals for 8 years and it's a bit of salt in the wound of his fans he left, that he went to the largest of their rivals. But, it's part of the job. The press should be careful so as to contribute to the old fans hurt by using him or his relationships, past or present, to heat up the rivalry. It is very likely he won't be playing 8 years for the Cubs and likely not earn near the respect in Chicago that he has in St. Louis. It would be horrible for him (or any player) to retire and have lost fans that he earned while at another team over press inflating rivalry issues. Fans should continue to respect him for what he did for their team(s) in/for which he played.
Posted by: Scott C | July 4, 2008 8:41 PM
I want to say happy birthday to my husband Sam Bedolla #1 Cubs fan!!!!
Posted by: Christina Bedolla | July 4, 2008 9:50 PM