Cardinals

Once, there may have been no job in America that Lee Thomas would rather have had than general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. But that was nearly a decade ago - in a very different time, before Thomas ever left the Cardinals to become general manager of the Phillies. Yesterday, however, Lee Thomas' onetime dream job opened up again when the Cardinals fired Dal Maxvill after nine years as GM. And one of the first names to pop to the top of the rumor circuit, naturally, was that of James Leroy Thomas.

Tonight at 8:15 at Lincoln Financial Field. TV: 6ABC, NFL Network; Radio: WYSP-FM 94.1,WIP-AM610. Line: Eagles by 3. THE MATCHUP EAGLES CORNERBACKS VS. CARDINALS RECEIVERS The Defenders It?s mandatory to have three quality cornerbacks when playing the Cardinals, whose trio of receivers are the most prolific in the NFL. The Eagles do in Asante Samuel, Sheldon Brown and Lito Sheppard, but Samuel is listed as doubtful after...

Recent history: The Eagles lost to the Cardinals, 27-21 on Dec. 24, 2005, in Phoenix. The Eagles lead the series between the franchises, 53-54-5. OFFENSE Eagles: 349.5 yards per game (9th) Cardinals: 390.7 yards per game (2nd) Quarterback Eagles: Andy Reid tried to kick-start the offense in the second half Sunday by benching struggling Donovan McNabb and going with Kevin Kolb. But that didn't work, and now he's going back to McNabb, who has turned the ball over seven times in the last six quarters and has a miserable .526 completion percentage in the last 5 games.

Cardinal Dougherty used a stifling zone defense to hold visiting Archbishop Wood to 22 points in three quarters en route to a 59-38 Catholic League Northern Division victory yesterday. The Cardinals (3-0 league, 9-3 overall) used a 9-point first quarter performance by forward Tony Fleming to take a 17-7 lead. The Cardinals extended their lead to 34-17 at halftime. Fleming led the Cardinals with 13 points, while guard Bob Coppolino added 11. Center Rodger Tabb had 10. Center Ray Schultz paced Wood (0-4, 3-10)

By most standards, the Eagles have one of the most effective defenses in the NFL. The numbers are telling - third in the league in total defense, first in the NFC. In the postseason, the Birds are first against the pass. That sets up interesting matches in Sunday's NFC Championship Game between Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald against Eagles corners Sheldon Brown and Asante Samuel. Both Brown and Samuel are 5-10. Fitzgerald is 6-3. With Anquan Boldin out against Carolina last Saturday and questionable this week because of a hamstring injury, Fitzgerald likely will be the main focus of the Eagles' defense.

St. Louis isn't out of the National League East hunt yet. The Cardinals picked up a game on the division-leading Cubs yesterday and, with a little help from the Phillies, could gain another game by the time tonight is over. Going into today, the second-place Cards trailed the first-place Cubs by four games. If the Phils beat the Cubs at Wrigley Field this afternoon, that lead will be reduced by a half-game. The Cardinals could then come to within three games with a win over the visiting Mets tonight.

8:15, Busch Stadium, St. Louis. TV: Channel 17. Radio: WPHT (1210-AM); WUBA (1480-AM) Spanish. Pitching matchup: RHP Roy Halladay (9-3, 2.56) at RHP Kyle McClellan (6-3, 3.96) HALLADAY vs. CARDINALS: This is Halladay's first start against St. Louis this season. He faced them once last season, allowing two runs in seven innings of a 7-2 win at Citizens Bank Park. Halladay took a no decision in the Phillies' come-from-behind win over the Marlins last Wednesday. He'll get his second crack at reaching double digits in wins tonight.

FAST STARTS are becoming routine for Lance Lynn and the St. Louis Cardinals. Lynn won his 10th straight decision, allowing one run and five hits in seven innings yesterday to lead the Cardinals over the visiting Cincinnati Reds, 4-2. Lynn (5-0) struck out five and walked two, improving to 10-0 in 10 starts and one relief appearance since losing to Milwaukee on Sept. 7. He became the NL's first five-game winner. "It's early - but it's fun so far," Lynn said. He was 6-0 with a 1.48 ERA through May 7 last season, then went 12-7 with a 4.46 ERA the rest of the way. Leading the NL Central at the start of May for the sixth straight year, St. Louis has won six of its last nine.

Tough times for Dodgers pitchers. The team announced Tuesday that righthander Chad Billingsley will have Tommy John surgery this week and miss the rest of the season, the latest setback for Los Angeles' rotation. Billingsley, 28, will have the elbow-ligament transplant operation Wednesday in Los Angeles. The team said it typically takes about 12 months to return to competition. Billingsley, who was 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in two starts this season, joins a crowded Dodgers disabled list.

YADIER MOLINA drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning, backing Shelby Miller's strong start Monday night, and the St. Louis Cardinals returned to the site of their Game 5 NLDS victory last season with a 3-2 victory over the Washington Nationals. The other big hit for St. Louis was Allen Craig's two-run double in the third. Miller (3-1) struck out eight in 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and four hits. All the Cardinals' runs came against Dan Haren (1-3), who gave up three runs and six hits in five-plus innings.

FOR MOST of the night, a palpable feeling of discontent radiated from the otherwise frigid stands. Citizens Bank Park is a great place to play when you are a member of a winning team. But when expectations are not being met, the frustration in the stands can create some cringe-worthy moments. In the fourth inning on Sunday night, a boisterous section in the leftfield seats zeroed in on 25-year-old rightfielder Domonic Brown after a blooper fell a couple feet in front of him for a base hit. At first there were boos.

Charlie Manuel was locked out of Citizens Bank Park on Sunday morning. After his offense was silenced Saturday, the Phillies manager left his electronic key card on his desk. There was no one to open the door at 10:30 because the first pitch of a 7-3 victory over St. Louis was more than nine hours away. Manuel waited about 20 minutes and thought about his lineup. Once inside, he went to his office and, well, thought about his lineup. "I write everybody down 100 times and I look at it," Manuel said, "and I still come up with the same names.

Cliff Lee threw his 41st pitch of the third inning, a curveball Daniel Descalso whiffed at for strike three, and the pitcher darted from the mound Saturday as he does at the end of any inning he throws. This was not a quintessential Lee inning - or night. Lee dashed from the wreckage of four runs on three uncharacteristic walks and three singles. The Cardinals built an insurmountable lead, won 5-0, and swiftly eradicated whatever enthusiasm generated by a Phillies victory the night before.

It's amazing what a revived Roy Halladay and the ability to earn a free pass can do for the Phillies' fortunes. Halladay was effective for the second straight game, and the Phillies drew their first walk since Sunday during Friday's 8-2, seven-inning, rain-shortened win over the St. Louis Cardinals before 34,092 at Citizens Bank Park. Halladay allowed just two hits - solo home runs to Carlos Beltran in the second inning and Matt Holliday in the seventh. While he appeared to labor in the seventh inning, when he threw 26 pitches, Halladay didn't lose his velocity, with his fastball remaining in the 89-92-m.p.h.

After scoring two or fewer runs in their previous five games, the Phillies scored more on Thursday night. True to the way this season has gone, though, the slightly higher output still wasn't enough in a 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies (6-10) have lost four in a row. They had 13 hits but failed to draw a walk for the fourth consecutive game. "We had chances and couldn't cash in on it," said manager Charlie Manuel, whose team left eight runners on base.

THEY SHOWED signs of life, which was more than you could say after most of the previous six games. Against a Cy Young-caliber pitcher who has given them plenty of trouble in the past, the Phillies' offense managed nine hits and twice rallied to tie the game. But the only victories were the moral ones as a ninth-inning rally came up short and the Phillies fell to the Cardinals, 4-3, to drop their fourth straight game. "That's the best we've hit in a while," manager Charlie Manuel said.

Cardinal O'Hara's Thaddius Smith, a quick-footed junior wide receiver and defensive back, orally committed to play at Boston College in a Monday afternoon news conference. "I like everything about the school - the academics, the city, the campus, the coaches," the 5-foot-11, 175-pounder said. "Coach [Steve] Addazio recruited me the hardest of anybody. " Smith, a three-star recruit according to Rivals.com, chose the Eagles over runner-up Temple. He also had interest from James Madison, Massachusetts, Rutgers, Toledo, and Villanova.