The Cardinals finished April with a club-high 18 wins, although they also played a club-high 29 games for the month.
Manager Tony La Russa felt good about the 18-11 mark but said, "You don't exaggerate it either. If it's the last good month we have, then nobody's going to be too happy with '08 club." Skip Schumaker has rebounded from an 0-for-16 start to compile a .413 on-base percentage. Schumaker has reached base as a leadoff man in 21 innings. The Cardinals have scored 21 runs in those innings.
Schumaker, in his first season as a regular, may be emblematic of the new-look Cardinals.
"There are a lot of guys in this clubhouse playing with energy and maybe a little chip on their shoulder, out to prove to people they can play here," Schumaker said.
"I think that might be a little different than maybe the atmosphere was last year. We're out to prove people wrong."
Aaron Miles, echoing the prevailing sentiment, said, "A lot of people didn't know what to expect. A lot of people didn't expect this. ... we are a lot better than people who write about it, or blog about it, thought we would be."
La Russa, enjoying this team more than some others he's had in St. Louis in 13 years, said, "The mind-set has been outstanding, and I don't see that changing. We're going to keep trying. We'll see how good we are."
