Cards' Notes -- June 26

By Caleb Breakey/MLB.com

NEW YORK -- Scott Spiezio reminisced as he walked into Shea Stadium on Monday, thinking back to the night the Cardinals were crowned National League champions.
It didn't take long, however, for those glory moments from a year ago to fade into reality: The Cardinals are in third place and several regulars are injured.

"No matter if we had the same guys or not, it's a new season and nothing is written in stone," Spiezio said. "Just because we won last year doesn't mean anything. You have to prove yourself, and we haven't been doing that right now."

"It does seem like a long time ago [that we beat the Mets]. We've been struggling, and when you're struggling, seasons seem long."

With a 33-39 record -- 8 1/2 games behind Milwaukee in the National League Central -- the Cards look forward to players returning from injuries. Help is on the way, as Chris Carpenter, David Eckstein and Yadier Molina get closer to coming off the disabled list.

Spiezio did say, however, that the team's injuries are no excuse for the way the Cards have played so far this season.

"As players, we don't want to go and say that we can't win because so and so is not back," he said. "A good team has depth, and a good team picks up for the guys who are injured. It's really not an excuse, but as far as getting those guys back, that's a different story."

Manager Tony La Russa said getting his team back intact before or around the All-Star break would give the Cards a shove in the right direction.

"We're getting close," La Russa said. "We'll get some key guys back before the break, and some more after the break. We can have a good week. We haven't been celebrating, but we could have been buried and so far we haven't been."

Izzy not affected: Closer Jason Isringhausen hasn't had a save opportunity in over two weeks, but the right-handed stopper said he doesn't think it has affected the way he pitches.

"We'll find out when I get in a save situation," he said. "I've been getting in enough work, so I just have to keep working and pitching in every situation like it's a save situation."

Isringhausen's 1.50 ERA leads all Cardinals relievers. He has only been scored upon in four of his 29 outings.

With the Cardinals in a third-place funk, however, Isringhausen said there are more pressing needs for the team than for him to record saves.

"I've been in there long enough to know that I'm pitching for my team and trying to get wins, and just getting some work when there's work," he said. "Saves come in bunches, so you just have to relax and get them when they come."

Miles' multiples: Aaron Miles has been seeing multiples lately. He has collected two or more hits in five of his last seven starts, and he has hits in 13 of his last 15 games.

One hit just seems to lead to another for him -- at least recently, Miles said.

"When you're going good and you're hitting the ball good, you're definitely more confident," Miles said. "If you get a hit, you feel good about yourself and you're more likely to do good the next time up."

Baby Birds: Rick Ankiel hit his 20th home run of the season and added a pair of doubles for Memphis against New Orleans on Sunday, but it wasn't enough as the Redbirds lost, 6-3. Travis Hanson recorded two hits and Joe Mather hit his first Triple-A homer with a solo shot in the ninth.

At Double-A, Casey Rowlett had three hits, which included a leadoff homer in the bottom of the fifth, to power the Springfield Cardinals past Tulsa, 6-2.

Brandon Buckman hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the 10th inning to lead the Palm Beach Cardinals past Fort Myers, 4-3, on Sunday.

Coming up: The Cardinals take on the Mets in the second contest of their three-game series at Shea Stadium on Tuesday. Todd Wellemeyer gets the start for the Cardinals while the Mets counter with left-hander Oliver Perez. Game time is set for 6:10 p.m. ET.