BOSTON - Woody Williams didn't give the Cardinals a good start Saturday.
And tonight they'll be using Matt Morris on short rest for the first time since ... well ... "a Wiffle Ball game when I was 10."
Since losing Chris Carpenter to injury in September, the Cardinals have been trying to piece together a rotation. And after having to go to a seventh game Thursday to win the pennant, they are having trouble getting it all to fit.
With Williams starting the opener and Jeff Suppan, probably their ace right now, not available until Game 3, their choices for tonight were Jason Marquis, who is struggling so much the Cardinals think he must be tipping his pitches, and Morris, who has had an up-and-down season but is available because he threw only 80 pitches in Game 6 Wednesday.
The decision to start Morris was made as much for a possible Game 6 start as for tonight.
"We had an edge and we decided to play it," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "He has a lot of road postseason experience and that's this one, and if it goes to a Game 6, that's where he would be. We felt like he was the best shot."
Morris said he is willing to give it a try.
"There's nothing to rest for ... it's all or nothing right now. I'm not saving myself for anything," he said. "I don't know what to expect, but I expect that I'm going to go out and make pitches. My body doesn't know at this point what short rest is."
Suppan will pitch Game 3, and a potential Game 7, and Marquis will start Game 4.
DEVIL RAYS CONNECTION: Al Reyes didn't make much of an impression during spring training with the Devil Rays, getting reassigned to minor-league camp in the first cut.
He pitched well at Triple-A Durham, but was released June 1. The Cardinals sent him to their Triple-A Memphis team, where he also did well, leading the Pacific Coast League with 23 saves, and got called up in late August.
Saturday, he got added to the World Series roster, taking the place of injured left-handed reliever Steve Kline.
Without Kline, who has an injured index finger, the Cardinals have only one left-handed reliever, Ray King.
"Nobody roots for guys to be hurt ... but in saying that, I'm really excited that we don't have to face Steve Kline out of the bullpen," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said.
Kline wasn't happy about the decision: "I'm dumbfounded, shocked. You get to the end of the rainbow and there's no pot of gold for me. I could have had surgery a month ago."
The Red Sox also made a change, adding infielder Kevin Youkilis and dropping reliever Ramiro Mendoza, who had been their 11th pitcher.
WORTH NOTING: Boston's David Ortiz was the 28th player to homer in his first Series at-bat. Most recent was Anaheim's Troy Glaus in 2002. ... Ortiz's homer was the first Red Sox World Series homer at Fenway since Carlton Fisk's famous 1975 shot. ... St. Louis' So Taguchi was the third native of Japan to start a Series game, joining Tsuyoshi Shinjo and Hideki Matsui. ... St. Louis' Larry Walker was the second Canadian to homer in a Series game, joining George Selkirk of the 1936 Yankees. ... Boston's Tim Wakefield tied two Series records by walking the first three and four overall in the fourth.
MISCELLANY: Cardinals second baseman Tony Womack left the game after being hit on the collarbone by a ground ball in the seventh. ... A pregame moment of silence was observed for Victoria Snelgrove, the college student killed near Fenway Park after Wednesday's pennant-clincher. ... Saturday's game was the 37th Series game played in Boston, fourth most behind New York (188), St. Louis (50) and Chicago (40). ... The Cards and Sox each had four players with Series experience. ... St. Louis' Reggie Sanders and Boston's Curt Schilling are the 30th and 31st players to make the Series with three different teams. Only Lonnie Smith did it with four.
