God Bless You Joel

They say big players make big plays in big situations. Maybe the biggest play of my postseason was made at 7 p.m., right after Cousin confirmed that game 5 would be played on Tuesday.

My phone rang again. It was my second older brother, my family's oldest friend Joel.

"Sip," he said. "Whats the plan for the game tomorrow?"

"Probably just head over to AFOMG's house," I replied.

"Change of plans," Joel shouted. "All you need to do is be at my office by 1:30 and I will take care of the rest."

3 p.m. flight to St. Louis to catch our boys in the biggest game of the season. Joel, I love you.

Not a lot has changed in a day. The big talk is about Glavine now being able to pitch on full rest and Albert Pujols' tweaked hammy.

With Glavine, I gotta say, I don't know if this is as big of a plus as it may seem. Of course Tommy is better on full rest. Steve Phillips threw out his first meaningful contribution to baseball in years, Monday night, when he relayed the following stat.

Glavine in the postseason:

3 days rest: 2-5,6.75 ERA
Full rest: 12-10, sub 3 ERA.

This gives us reason to be excited.

But the thought of facing Jeff Weaver on short rest the night after sticking a perverbial fork in the chest of the Cardinals bullpen also had the Sip excited too.

As always, this is why they play the games. We will know Tuesday night if Mother Nature was rooting for or against us.

As for Pujols. Well, this could be something. It seems like every at bat this series he has either walked or hit a ground ball through the right side of the infield for a single.

If this guy is banged up, hallelujah.

My concern is that this is just a ploy by La Russa and the Cardinals to hint at the idea that we actually go after this guy.

Truth is, until he is out of any game, I don't think this injury really means much.

Game 5 is going to be huge. We don't want to give Carpenter a second chance with the possibility of ending the series.

So as I venture to the land of red, really nice people and fans who dance in the 8th inning when down 7 runs, I am at peace with myself.

My biggest concern right now is my flight. I hate flying. But after that, I am feeling good.

As I said on Monday, there is now way too much pressure on Tommy G. I don't think the outlook can change. If he gives us 6 innings and 3 runs he has done his job.

Our bats, as they have all season, are going to need to carry the weight.

I really hope the next time I address our little Met family here, I will be back in New York and getting ready for a clincher.

If not, this team is meant to win 2 in a row at home.

Vaya con dios.

Sip