Remember When Mark Mulder Was Awesome?

Apparently, recent reports saying that Mark Mulder was going to retire are not exactly accurate. According to his agent, Gregg Clifton, "Mulder has not made a decision." However, Milwaukee Brewers' pitching coach Rick Peterson and former Oakland Athletics teammate Eric Chavez have confirmed the rumors.

Either way, the oft-injured lefty probably should just call it quits. The Big Three days are long gone, and I think most of us were under the impression he already did, anyhow.

Mulder, 32, was the American League's Cy Young Award runner-up in 2001 when he led the league in shutouts and wins, and went on to become an All-Star in 2003 and 2004 when he led the league in complete games.

Remember Marky Mark?

Remember when Mark Mulder was awesome?

The St. Louis Cardinals lefty returned to the mound Monday night, not to start (Lohse dominated that position) but to finish. And after two shoulder surgeries, maybe he's just lucky to be back on the hill.

Mulder, 30, made his first career relief appearance, doubling as his season debut against the New York Mets, serving up a scoreless ninth in his team's 7-1 victory. He allowed two hits before getting Jose Reyes to fly out to end the game. Welcome back, buddy!

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Mark Mulder Rusty in Return to Mound

Mark Mulder's season debut was best summed up in his own words,

"Not what I was hoping for."

Following a 49-minute rain delay, the St. Louis Cardinals lefty was roughed up by the Pittsburgh Pirates for an 8-2 loss Wednesday night.

After an injury-plagued 2006 season in which he went 6-7 with a 7.14 ERA before undergoing rotator cuff surgery, Mulder lasted just four innings in his first game back. He kicked off the game with a nine-pitch first inning before running into trouble, serving up six runs on eight hits with a walk and a strikeout.

Bucs backstop Ronny Paulino was 2-for-4 with a base hit and a three-run jack for his 8th hit in his last 11 at-bats.

Remember Mark Mulder?

You may or may not have completely forgotten about St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Mark Mulder, who had rotator cuff surgery last September, just in time to miss the World Series.

Mulder will rejoin the Cards' rotation for the first time this Wednesday, now just in time for the road to the post season.

In 2005, the lefty won 16 games in his debut season with St. Louis, arming their starting rotation with the 1-2 punch of himself and Chris Carpenter. Spending 85 days on the 15-day DL and going 6-7 with a 7.14 ERA last season, he finally elected to have the surgery on Sept. 12th.

In his fourth rehab start on Friday, Mulder allowed two runs in five innings for the AAA Memphis Redbirds.

Fellow lefty Mike Maroth is also expected to return to the rotation following a successful rehab stint from elbow tendinitis. He is 0-4 with a craptastic 11.08 ERA, but he'll get another shot with the loss of one terrible pitcher, Anthony Reyes.

Reyes lasted just one inning in his last start on Friday. He has been moved to the bullpen indefinitely.

The Cardinals are sitting just two games behind the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central with plenty of time to catch up. The two teams will meet September 10th at Wrigley Field for one game before their final three-game series of the season beginning on the 14th at Busch Stadium.

[SI.com]