Cardinals Bust Through Mirrors On Way To Series Win Vs. Phillies

The Sam conundrum is real. 

Do the best cards win, or does the best manager make it win?

If so, how much?

If so, how much does luck enter into it?

Is Sam's ability to play this game like what Bum Phillips once said about Don Shula "He'd take his-un and beat your-un, and then take your-un and beat his-un"?

Is Sam's team as bad as he says, meaning that his lofty record comes down to sheer brilliance on his part? Or is it a little bit the team and a little bit that Sam is a good manager.

After eight games against the Phils this year I can confidently say this: Sam has an average team this year. And Sam is a very good manager. He calls it smoke and mirrors. I call it craftsmanship. But if you don't get the rolls, all the savvy in the universe can't help you.  

So there we were last night. I'd say my team is better than Sam's team is. I'd say Sam is a better, if not more experienced manager than I am. And I got just about every roll including the elevator which was at the 4^th floor when I called for it at the end of the night.  All of this made for a 3-1 Cardinals series triumph. Remember, Sam took three of four from me when we last met.  So a season split for us. Which is pretty much where we should be.

GAME 1

Cardinals 9

Phillies 3

WP: Gausman

LP: Gore

The goings on: The tone for the series was set in the first inning. The cardinals had two on with two out. A CFX turned into a two-base error by Marsh that scored both baserunners. It didn't get better for the Phils. Gausman was brilliant for the Cards scattering four hits through six, striking out eight. Sam got homers from Lindor and Bleday, but at that point the game was out of reach. A Freeman grand salami in the 7^th pretty much put the game away. William Contreras had three RBI without recording a hit. Try that one at home.

GAME 2

Cardinals 4

Phillies 0

WP: Irvin

LP: Parker

The goings on: Again the Phils got four crummy hits as they were blanked by the redbirds. Once again St. Loo got two runs in the first and coasted. Harrison Bader drove in two runs while Iglacias got two more hits to raise his average to .330. In our last 30 games, he is 28 for 69 (that's .406 for you scoring at home) and has buried his poor start. Irvin won his team-high seventh game.

GAME 3

Cardinals 7

Phillies 5

WP: Waldron

LP: Suarez

S:  Walker

The goings on: Sam, to his credit remained calm. Again the Cards scored two in the first and sailed to victory.  This time it was Ben Waldron whose knuckler mystified the Phils giving up just two runs in six innings. The Cardinals let 7-2 before sam got three in the ninth off of matsui to make it interesting. Ryan Walker came on to spoil the fun.  With Skenes on tap for the series finale, things did not look good for the Phils.

GAME 4

Phillies  5

Cardinals 3

WP: Nola

LP: Skenes

S: Suter

The goings on. This time the Phils got two in the first from an Altuve homer. Sam added runs off of Skenes in the 2nd, 5^th and 6th. Harper who had a tame series added a homer. And the Phills were able to hold off the Cards to salvage a single win in the series. Sam out-managed Todd severely in this one as we had to bat Alex Burleson against lefties twice because I had no other first basemen on the bench. Newly acquired Ozuna had the chance to tie the game in the ninth, but he failed a ballpark single to end matters.