The waiting game

ST. LOUIS -- Jeff Suppan spends no time fretting about when he'll pitch next. The same goes for Jason Marquis.

After combining for 29 regular-season victories for the St. Louis Cardinals, neither has pitched during the postseason.

"That's the reality of the postseason," manager Tony La Russa said. "You have to deal with it, and you can't give in to it."

St. Louis had had an optional practice Monday in preparation for Wednesday's opener of the NL Championship Series rematch against Houston.

Suppan (16-10) and Marquis (13-14) joked about their status during Saturday's clinching celebration at San Diego, saying the "No. 4 starters" should pose for a picture. St. Louis swept the Padres 3-0 -- Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan said Suppan would have started Game 4.

"That's how it goes," Suppan said. "You can't control it."

La Russa's pitching plans are complicated somewhat by the line drive that went off left-hander Mark Mulder's pitching arm in Game 2 Thursday. After Chris Carpenter in Game 1, the Cardinals could go with any of the other four.

"Dunc and I haven't talked about it," La Russa said.

Trainer Barry Weinberg said Mulder made a "big improvement" on Monday, throwing about 40 pitches in the outfield.

"He's still got to throw off the mound, but today was a real positive day," Weinberg said. "He's gone from not being able to lift his arm to playing catch."

Suppan's first playoff start last season came on 10 days' rest, and he pitched the first-round clincher in Game 4 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He also worked the clincher in the NLCS to beat the Astros' Roger Clemens.

Suppan was 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA in the final month of the season but hasn't pitched since throwing eight shutout innings against Milwaukee on Sept. 25.

Marquis emerged from a dismal midseason stretch in which he won only one of 13 starts, throwing consecutive complete games at Washington and Houston. He was 3-1 with a 2.84 ERA in September.

His last outing was in relief on Sept. 27 against the Astros, when he allowed a solo home run in two innings.

"Obviously, the more you pitch the sharper you're going to be, but you just have to try to get your work in," he said. "Obviously, it's tough to do that not knowing when you're going to pitch, so you just play it by ear."

Of course, all of the Cardinals starters are getting extra rest these days. Chris Carpenter, starts Game 1 against Andy Pettitte, will be pitching on six days' rest instead of the normal four.

"It's all in your mind," Carpenter said. "It has nothing to do with how much rest you have. Concentrating on what you're doing, that's what makes you successful."