--Manager Tony La Russa held a meeting shortly after the players arrived Wednesday. The theme was, basically, play with what you have and don't worry about what you don't have. "This is the lineup we've got," La Russa said. "And we can win with this lineup. What you do is take care of your own business. You can stop and think that our chance to compete has been lessened. We've got some key guys who aren't in there, but we can still compete. And that's the message."
--SS Khalil Greene hit one ball 400 feet for an out, but an 0-for-3 night Wednesday dropped his average to .217, just four points above where he finished last season when he broke his hand in San Diego. "I've done that many times unfortunately," Greene said of the long out. "I kind of got used to doing that in San Diego, hitting balls well in the gap and watching them get caught. It's kind of frustrating. It's definitely been a difficult process for me to have some consistency." --RHP Todd Wellemeyer had given up only two homers in his first 40 innings, but he served home runs in the fifth inning Tuesday to Pirates 1B Adam LaRoche and RF Brandon Moss.
BY THE NUMBERS: 4 -- Cardinals rookies who have hit their first major league homers -- OF Colby Rasmus and INFs Joe Thurston, Brian Barden and Tyler Greene.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I'm lucky to be walking today." -- CF Rick Ankiel, after losing his balance and taking on the left-center-field wall at Busch Stadium.
