The game was delayed a few minutes in the bottom of the sixth inning while plate umpire Joe West waited for ballpark personnel to change the rolling advertising panels behind the plate.

Cardinals second baseman Aaron Miles said he was having trouble seeing the ball against the white backdrop, which manager Tony La Russa said was turning to black when the Astros were in the field.

“That’s against the rules,” La Russa said. “They were very hard-headed about changing it. I kept thinking they’re messing with the wrong guy. You don’t mess with Joe West.”
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On pitching to The Smirking Goon

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“[I was] coming off the field and he approached me,” Backe said. “I don’t know. It’s apparent that we don’t like each other. That’s OK. There’s plenty of people I don’t like in this game. It doesn’t matter. It’s baseball. It’s the way it goes. The competition between he and I just escalated and it’s OK. It’s no big deal. This is what makes it fun.”

Backe said. “I felt like he confronted me at the wrong time. I don’t think it was very professional on his part. It’s OK. Cooper was there, and he heard everything. It wasn’t going to go any farther than what it did. He had to say his piece to me, I said my piece to him and that’s it.”
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Chris Sampson missed Monday’s home opener after catching the flu bug that’s been circling around the Astros’ clubhouse,…

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Cooper surmised that Valverde might have been “pumped up” a little bit — maybe too much. Valverde, however, said he simply didn’t have good control of his fastball. … Asked what he learned from Valverde’s performance, Cooper answered, “I’m going to go to Valverde every time in the ninth inning, if he’s available. That’s why he’s here — he’s our closer. No ifs, ands or buts. I’ll run him out every time. If he’s available, he’s our closer in the ninth inning.” Link

Flashback, April 3, 2007Read More