St. Louis Cardinals decide to sit Matt Carpenter in NLCS finale – NLCS News
The St. Louis Cardinals' manager Mike Matheny on Monday, October 22, decided not to play Matt Carpenter as the club was to take on the San Francisco Giants in the National League Championship Series finale.
The decision which was made public before the commencement of the decisive Game 7 was due largely to the range of experienced and skilled hitters available to the Cardinals. The youngster who has exhibited impressive talent was probably outdone by the experience of fellow hitters.
With Matt Holliday to be brought in the Game 7, a night after he had lower back tightness and was pulled off, Carpenter is to rest in the crucial game despite the fact that he had a good record against the Giants’ Matt Cain.
The fact that he has had 5-for-6 mark against Cain did not ultimately go to his favour. That is understandable given the Cardinals cautious approach and the decision not to experiment anything at a critical time.
Asked about the decision, Cardinals' manager Mike Matheny had his point of view quite clear about the whole subject.
"We've done this all season," Matheny said. "He's been a great fill for whatever we need. But you started looking at him playing in the outfield in the corners, and you've got Matt Holliday and Carlos Beltran, and Allen Craig and David Freese on the corners in the infield.”
He added, “Those are guys that have all been valuable parts of our lineup. We don't deny what Matt's been able to do against Cain, but if anything does happen with any of our guys along the way, we've got a good option."
Carpenter grabbed media attention after performed an extraordinary feat in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, smashing a two-run homer, after he replaced Carlos Beltran due to the latter’s knee strain.
With the knack of going for big hits, Carpenter’s absence might well be felt in Monday’s finale. However, it will be rather more interesting to see how the players who are performing as the Cardinals eye the World Series, a championship that they are to defend.
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