La Russa waits to name starters

ST. LOUIS -- Struggling Kip Wells' role on the St. Louis Cardinals' pitching staff remained in limbo Wednesday. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa postponed a decision on the makeup of a six-man rotation for the final month of the season.

Wells is 6-16, tied for the major league lead in losses, with a 5.75 ERA. He lasted only 3 1/3 innings in an 11-0 loss to the Pirates on Monday and has a 10.80 ERA in his last three appearances.

Pitching coach Dave Duncan said Tuesday night that he and La Russa had talked about the situation. La Russa said Wednesday that the two were still talking, leaving Sunday's starter at Arizona undetermined.

La Russa didn't want to talk about his thought process, preferring to concentrate on that night's game. The defending World Series champions were one game out of first place in the NL Central and had a chance to move two games above .500 for the first time all year, but failed when they lost to the Pirates on Wednesday evening.

"I don't want us to get distracted, I don't want our pitchers to get distracted, I want to talk about two days against Pittsburgh," La Russa said. "This is an opportunity for us to see if we can truly become a winning club."

Duncan said Tuesday night that the Cardinals likely would stick with a six-man rotation for a while to give first-year starters Adam Wainwright and Braden Looper extra rest. Wainwright is the de facto ace after injuries to Chris Carpenter and Mark Mulder, who made his season debut Wednesday. Wainwright is 13-9 with a 3.78 ERA, while Looper is 12-10 with a 4.45 ERA.

St. Louis is in a stretch of playing 35 games in the final 34 days.

The Cardinals had a handful of alternatives, especially after September call-ups. Brad Thompson made 13 starts earlier in the year and Todd Wellemeyer has made eight starts.

Anthony Reyes, 2-13 with a 5.63 ERA, likely was not a candidate to get plugged back into the rotation.

Maroth is getting another chance despite going 0-4 with a 11.08 ERA in eight games, six of them starts. La Russa said the elbow injury no doubt factored into Maroth's struggles.

The Cardinals had been targeting Maroth for relief in September, before Reyes' meltdown.

"If he can prove that he's healthy and he can be what he's been in his career, he can be an asset in the last month," La Russa said. "If you put him in the bullpen, when do you use him? This way he knows he's pitching Thursday and it's the best way to get a guy ready."