News From Terre Haute, Indiana

Given to Fly

July 15, 2006

Given to Fly: Halfway home, can the Cards do it?

TERRE HAUTE — The St. Louis Cardinals are good enough to win the National League Central, but they need to make a move to get to the next level.

However, the Cardinals do not have what it takes to win a pennant, let alone a world championship. No disrespect whatsoever to what this successful organization does year in and year out, but they will win the division by default. What could have been one of the best divisions in baseball, has turned into a second-rate division this year.

Unfortunately for this long-time NL fan, the American League Central is the best division in the majors, and it’s not even close. The Detroit Tigers are no mirage; manager Jim Leyland’s club is for real. If there’s any Detroit fans out there, check out Detroit band Natives of the New Dawn. They’ve got an excellent song called Who’s Your Tiger (Detroit’s a Winner).

The Tigers are playing great baseball, but I think the White Sox win the division, leaving Detroit with the wild-card spot. That should leave the New York Yankees at home for the playoffs. (Insert favorite I hate the Yankees adage here.)

Back to the league in which the pitchers bat.

The Cardinals have a four-game lead after Thursday’s thrilling extra-inning affair with the Dodgers. The Reds solidified their bullpen with the additions of Gary Majewski and Bill Bray, but they gave up Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez to do it.

The Astros, with the addition of left-handed bat Aubrey Huff at third base, are the team whom the Cardinals should be worried. Roger Clemens and Roy Oswalt have been leading Houston’s charges in the late season and expect them to get Houston in the playoffs again this year.

General Manager Walt Jocketty is confident that his starting pitching staff can get him through the season, assuming Mark Mulder overcomes his rotator cuff troubles before the season ends.

If you count the big southpaw and the acquisition of Jeff Weaver, manager Tony LaRussa will have a total of six starters. The others are Chris Carpenter, Jeff Suppan, Jason Marquis, and Anthony Reyes.

While you can never have enough pitching, I would find out what the Washington Nationals’ asking price is for Alfonso Soriano and give them anyone except for Carpenter.

I I I

n Congratulations to Athletic Director Ron Prettyman on gathering three distinguished finalists for the vacant baseball coach position at Indiana State.

From what I’ve read and heard about these three men’s backgrounds, Prettyman cannot make a mistake by choosing any of these three.

n Rants — I’m tired of the constant stories about Dusty Baker’s future with the Chicago Cubs. It’s not Baker’s fault, but maybe next year he and general manager Jim Hendry can prepare the team to win without Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. Waiting around for Wade Miller is another lost cause.

n Ride Across Indiana — A group of 20 men from Terre Haute participated in the Ride Across Indiana bicycling event Saturday. The riders began at the Illinois-Indiana state line and finished at the Ohio state line, pedaling a total of 160 miles.

The men all had the goal of making the ride in less than eight hours. Seven of them accomplished that goal, a few others ran into mechanical problems caused by another rider’s crash, Terre Haute attorney and one of the cyclists Tom Newlin said.

“We’re just a bunch of amateurs, having fun, trying to stay in shape,” Newlin said.

The men who participated and began training in January were: Steve Fleschner, Scott Thomas, Tom Newlin, 67-year-old Dave Voltmer, Ed Pabst, Brent Vanlandingham, Dave Fouts, Troy Charters, Andy Bent, Tom Standers, Bruce Aukerman, Mike Knepper, Craig Reynolds, John Mullican, Aaron Crawn, Chris Wiggins, Drew McCulley, Jeff Miller and Mike Russell.

Congratulations guys.



Craig Pearson can be reached by e-mail at craig.pearson@tribstar.com or by phone after 4 p.m. at (812) 231-4356.

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