Cardinals can relax a bit after Arizona sweep

ST. LOUIS -- Bob Brenly came away impressed after watching the St. Louis Cardinals sweep his World Series champion Arizona Diamondbacks in the first round of the playoffs.

"The Cardinals have a great chance regardless of who they play the rest of the season," Brenly said after St. Louis' clinching 6-3 victory Saturday night. "They have a group of disciplined, unselfish hitters, they get runners on base, they advance them, they strike out rarely and they take their walks."

Oh yeah, Brenly also likes the way the Cardinals run the bases. Leadoff hitter Fernando Vina was 9-for-15 to spark St. Louis.

"Even though this is not a prototypical Whitey Herzog jackrabbit team, they've got great speed," Brenly said. "And that speed usually ends up showing up in close ballgames."

The Cardinals got a day off Sunday after the clincher, and a workout is set for today. They will play the winner of the San Francisco-Atlanta series in the NLCS, beginning Wednesday. That series is tied 2-2.

St. Louis would open at home Wednesday if the Giants win the series, but would open on the road if the Braves prevail.

"It doesn't matter who we play," said closer Jason Isringhausen, who had two saves against the Diamondbacks. "We've just got to play our game."

Manager Tony La Russa also spoke with confidence after the Cardinals knocked out Randy Johnson and outlasted Curt Schilling, Arizona's Cy Young favorites, then got another stingy day from a bullpen that allowed two hits in 4 1-3 innings in the finale.

"I feel like we're never at a disadvantage," La Russa said. "We just have a good team. We have a real good team."

They finished off the Diamondbacks before Johnson and Schilling could pitch again despite the loss of third baseman Scott Rolen with a sprained left shoulder in Game 2. Rolen's availability for the second round is undetermined, although during the team's champagne celebration Saturday night he said he was improving.

"I'm doing OK," Rolen said. "I'm doing better now."

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, quoting unidentified sources familiar with tests performed Friday, reported Sunday that Rolen sustained multiple sprains, which would probably keep him out of the NLCS.