"Chris Carpenter can relax now, three days, four days, whatever he needs.

The Cardinals' righthander put aside rest as an issue by beating the Texas Rangers and guiding the Cardinals to an improbable World Series championship win Friday. The questions about his ability to work on anything less than standard rest are no longer relevant.

No doubt more than a few Cardinals fans experienced stomach upset when they learned sometime Friday afternoon that Carpenter would be the club's Game 7 starter. The 36-year old Carpenter pitched seven innings Monday at Texas, and previously had demonstrated some problems working on short rest.

The only shortwave assignment of his career came in the division series. Carpenter faced the Philadelphia Phillies on short rest and it turned out to be a short start. He lasted just three innings, allowing five hits and four runs.

Nonetheless, with one game to win, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan did not hesitate to hitch the World Series wagon to Carpenter.

"Dave and I had a heart-to-heart with him to gauge just how ready he was to pitch, not mentally but physically," La Russa said. "He's the guy our club wants to have out there. Plain and simple, he's our guy.""