Cardinals call on Suppan to slow his former teammates

ST. LOUIS -- Last year, Jeff Suppan had the Boston Red Sox behind him when he pitched. In Game 3 of the World Series on Tuesday night, he'll be starting against them.

Regardless of the magnitude of the game, it's not something that makes him uncomfortable.

"Coming up through that organization, it was actually more strange for me to go back there last year than it is for me to throw against them this year," Suppan said Monday. "Going back last year and seeing ushers I hadn't seen in forever, that part was strange."

The St. Louis Cardinals, who face a 2-0 deficit in the best-of-seven series, are Suppan's fifth team. Besides being acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates at the trade deadline last year, Suppan also pitched for Boston from 1995-97. The Red Sox took Suppan in the second round of the 1993 draft pick.

Last year was not a happy homecoming. He was left off Boston's roster for the first round of the playoffs and, although he was active, he did not pitch in the AL championship series.

"Probably because I didn't pitch very well," Suppan said.

Although he won 13 games overall, he was 3-4 with a 5.57 ERA for the Red Sox.

"He's done a good job of working hard and getting back on track," Boston general manager Theo Epstein said. "A third of a season does not a career make."

Now it's all old news for Suppan.

He's been the Cardinals' most consistent pitcher in the postseason with a 2-1 record and 2.84 ERA. He was the winner in the clinching victory in both the division series and NLCS -- besting Houston's Roger Clemens in the latter. That success followed a career-best 16 regular-season victories.

"Suppan is a pitch-maker," manager Tony La Russa said. "He's made pitches. He's just done a really good job of pitching at his level in some key playoff opportunities."

As the playoffs have progressed, Suppan has moved up in the pecking order. He was No. 4 in the rotation for the division series, then third in the NLCS. He's third again in the World Series, with the thought that he would also have to pitch Game 7 if needed.

To think, he might have been left out of the playoff rotation -- again -- had Chris Carpenter been healthy. Carpenter was 15-5 and emerged as the Cardinals' ace before being sidelined with nerve damage to his right biceps on Sept. 18. Heading into the playoffs Woody Williams, Jason Marquis and Matt Morris all were held in higher regard by the team than Suppan.

"I didn't spend any time worrying about it because the way we play as a team," Suppan said. "Whatever role I was put in I was going to do the best I could.

"Everyone threw well in our rotation and everyone deserved the chance to get the starts, but obviously numbers played a part in it."

Now, everyone is not pitching so well. Williams lasted only 2 1-3 innings -- his shortest outing -- in Game 1. Morris pitched on three days' rest in Game 2 and left with one out in the fifth.

The Red Sox have scored 17 runs in the first two games off a pitching staff that finished second in the NL in ERA, only one earned run from finishing first.

"One of our strengths has been the starter going out and giving us a chance," La Russa said. "That's probably been the thing that has been a little different in the postseason: We haven't been clicking off the quality starts."

The biggest piece of advice pitching coach Dave Duncan will have for Suppan: throw strikes. Cardinals pitchers totaled 14 walks in the first two games.

"I wouldn't call it nibbling, but maybe they're trying to make the perfect pitch rather than making the hitters do the work," Duncan said. "That's not the style of pitching we had all year long."

His old teammates are anticipating that Suppan will challenge them.

"The guys in Boston know him very well," manager Terry Francona said. "They also know there's a reason they're pitching him in Game 3."