October 2006 Archives

In no particular order:

a. Let's give credit where credit is due
Scott Rolen and Yadier Molina were invaluable in this Series. Not to take anything away from MVP David Eckstein, but I thought Rolen probably deserved the award. Then again, there were a number of players who deserved it. At the very least, ScottyRo should have stood up on the trophy platform with Pujols. He batted .421 in the WS with a .737 slugging % and .476 on-base %. Easily the best numbers on the team, though others came close. His 10-game hitting streak shows that he was consistently valuable. And Yadi - Yadi! 3-4 last night, .500 on-base % total. This from one of the worst hitters in the league. Also, I want to cred the rookie bullpen: one run in 29 postseason innings, 37 strikeouts, 9 walks. Lights out.

b. One for the record books
The worst team in MLB history to win the World Series won on the back of the shortest MVP in MLB history. When I say "worst," I mean worst record, in no way an indication of how well they played in the postseason. But it's still unheard of that a team with two 8-game losing streaks and one 7-game losing streak should go all the way. And their MVP Eck is pushing 5'7".

c. All I want for Christmas
is for Soup, Dream, and Jimmy to come back to us next year. I don't care how Californian they are. I want them back.

d. Retribution
comes in the form of Jeff Dream Weaver. What a story. Booted from the Tigers originally, then literally pushed out of the Angels organization by the emergence of his bro, Jered (who was present at the game last night). Now here he is, coming of age with the Cardinals, pitching 8 nearly flawless innings with 9 strikeouts and providing the chance for a win. Yeah, he was teary-eyed afterwards.

e. My pre-World Series analysis
sorta came true, sorta not. I decided that the Mets batters were fearsome, but not their pitchers, and that just the opposite was true of the Tigers. With the exception of Sean Casey and Brandon Inge, I was right. However, the Tigers pitchers turned out to be a liability despite their solid pitching: they committed 5 errors in 5 games. That's a World Series record. I agree with the ESPN radio commentator who said that postseason baseball is based on momentum just like basketball or football; thus, all the pitchers seemed to be psychologically affected by each other's errors. How else do you explain such an anomaly?

f. Cardinal tenacity
"Eckstein played through a hyper-extended shoulder that hurt so badly, he was scared to swing and miss. Every day, Edmonds visited the needle before visiting the batting cage. Pujols was concerned about his hamstring blowing out at any step.

And Kenny Rogers didn't pitch a must-win game in Detroit [he meant St. Louis] because his manager was concerned about the 'adverse atmosphere.'" - Tom Singer
Note: I have a lot of respect for Jim Leyland, but he should have had the mojo to pitch KR in game 5, if for no other reason than to give us Cards fans even more cause to celebrate.

g. This is why baseball is among the top 3 sports in the world.
"We're the first to admit we didn't predict the scene we witnessed last night. But who cares? That scene is why they bother playing the games. The predictions are just our way of reminding you -- and us -- that baseball's foremost allure is its ability to rise above any attempts to apply logic to just about anything." - Jayson Stark

h. Postseason crush update (allow me a bit of shallowness)
Um...apparently all the Cardinals are married with children. So let's just say I have a crush on the whole team and leave it ambiguous. But if I had to pick: Jeff Suppan with his rally cap and champagne goggles. (Well, okay, I couldn't find one where he's actually wearing his goggles - just imagine it).

i. Last but not least
I'd like to buy this t-shirt. What do y'all think?

Time to sink into PPW: Post Postseason withdrawal. I'm glad this happened now. Never in my life has my team won in any major sport - EVER! I will not go as far as some and admit this is the happiest day of my life, but it ranks right up there.

Just for kicks, some adorable father-child moments:

El Hombre and son AJ with World Series trophy.

Scotty Ro and Raine

Gooch and unnamed irresistable Japanese son

Pujols and Rolen having a moment:

La Russa and Eckstein having a moment (!):

And finally, the team having ITS moment:

More later. 24 years in the making, baby. Wish I could have been there.

The Cardinals have to win one more game to become World Series champs.

Okay, I needed to write that down just to believe it.

Tonight's game featured some strange plays. Once again, a Tigers pitcher committed a costly error. Pujols made another boneheaded baserunning gaffe. Encarnacion (WHY did La Russa put him in????) struck out, but advanced the runner to second since it was a wild pitch.

Yet, we still won. We won without Suppan pitching well. We won without a hot bat from Pujols. We won without ESPN's token cynic Keith Law saying we would - oh wait, he never says that. And he's an idiot. Does this guy have some axe to grind against St. Louis? I just don't get it.

We did win on the bat of David Eckstein (so glad he stole the show from Sean Casey-at-the-bat). We won on the timely hitting and fielding of Preston Wilson. And we won despite everyone's predictions to the contrary. This is the lovely thing about the Cardinals - someone different steps up every night, and it's so unpredictable.

Heidi and I started out the night at the Blarney Stone, but we couldn't handle the crowdedness and the poser Tigers fans playing pool next to us. They kept whistling loudly and ordering giant cocktails. I was getting bad qi from the place, so we left and listened to Andrew and Andrea's commentary over audiochat the rest of the game. Better even than Mike Shannon, I must say.

To all those cynics out there who probably don't read my blog, or to anyone who might say the Cardinals are just lucky cuz the Tigers can't seem to field a simple grounder, take heed: tonight was the FIRST night that an error actually affected the outcome of the game. In the others, we would have won regardless.

I'll save my cheesy post for when we win the WS.

P.S. If you wonder when I get my schoolwork done, stop wondering: it manages to get done somehow. I think the homework fairies are responsible.
P.P.S. I PROMISE I'll blog about something besides b-ball once the season's over. This is more for my memory's sake than anything.

Here are some gems from one particular user on vivaelbirdos.com, written mostly in response to Kenny Rogers' violation of all that is good and right in baseball.

This is some of the best blog reading I've ever done:

Cheater Slicks

Noticed it the first time the TV went to Kenny going to the mouth. Why not the dugout! No TV. They have it in the Tigs. Evident the wash!
Watch the heads of Enc & Wilson when they bat, do you ever see an hear hole and only thte face when they swing! Thus the KO! Wear is Mc the Ray!
Speaking of hear holes, that's is exactley where I would have put the 1st(L)to Casey!!!!
I'll take a splint anyday!
PS What would Gibby have done!

Goin home to glory!

Country Hard Ball

It is a non issue!
Stick it in his ear!
Who TF are we afraid of!
We win because we are the Cards!
If Rodgers plays again, it will be to utmost dieing shame, if fron of a most appreciative crowd!
That will not solve our problems, nor have alrady established who is the better TEAM! Just as we did in MY!
STick in his eat, play country hardball, Ask Gibby what he would do! No! Do what you would think Gibby would do! I love the Cards and have for over 40 years!!

Country Hard Ball

Take one for the team by leaning into a pitch, score a run, and the next one is in your ear, maybe we talk chin music after that! After you get HIP!
We win because we are Cardinals. We win because we are a team! Because we are professionals!
because
Pride!

Country Hard Ball

Winning is the color of our blood!

How I played the game

Country Hard Ball!
Kenny beat us! Why did he think he needed the juice?
The rest is how I thought the Cards should answer!

(Note: another user commented that the phrase "the rest" sounds like something Jack the Ripper would scrawl on London walls, and another one now uses "Evident the Wash" as his tagline.)

Pujols slams a two-run homer in the Cards 7-2 victory over the Tigers.

Two keys to the win:
1) Rookie pitcher Anthony Reyes nearly finished a complete game and totally dominated the Detroit lineup, at one point retiring 17 in a row.
2) Pujols, Rolen, and Edmonds came alive. Finally.

We'll see what those ESPN "experts" have to say about this.

For the second time in three years, the Cards have sweated their way into the World Series. I am sooooooo beyond happy. I know we'll get destroyed by Detroit, but that won't start happening until Saturday. Until then...man, I just wish I had more fans with whom to celebrate.

My prediction for Suppan as MVP came true! Unbelievable. He kept us in this game, dominating the Mets lineup. It wasn't until Yadi's SWEET homerun in the 9th that we finally capitalized on an opportunity and came through for Soup. So glad that Rolen could get that single in the 9th. He was struggling and needed to make amends with La Russa

Well, it's been a crappy season, but here we are in the Fall Classic. No one could have prophesied this. We managed 83 wins this year. 83! The Mets had 97, best in the NL. I don't know how many times any team with this poor of a record made it this far. Can't be that many. This is why baseball is beautiful - the unpredictable outcomes and variables that affect games in short series, and in turn affect the whole series.

Just listened to Mike Shannon's call of Adam Wainwright's game-ending strikeout against Beltran (of all people - usually a bane for the Cardinals). How many times does he have to mention the words "mob" and "Yadier Molina" in one sentence? The Cards just won the pennant, for goodness' sake; make it a little more memorable.

Okay, sorry to keep blogging about baseball. I am aware that stuff is going on in North Korea and Iran. But the Cards are still playing, and we're gonna keep watching. After this series, anything can happen.

P.S. Last year, I got David Brooks, a Mets fan, to sign my Bobos in Paradise, saying "To Laura: Go Cardinals!" Not sure why I did that, but it seems so appropriate now.

Cards pitcher Jeff Suppan could have won game 3 of the NLCS all by himself tonight. He pitched 8 shutout innings, and in his first at-bat, hit a dinger off Steve Trachsel, his second homerun off Trachsel in two years. I'd like to see some stats about whether that's been accomplished before. At times like these, I love the National League. The AL's DH rule can go...crawl in a hole somewhere.

I felt quiet and sure the entire game. We were sharp. We did everything right. Suppan was brilliant. Pujols was precise and productive. Jimmy Ballgame executed the sacrifice bunt and made an amazing game-ending catch, adding a little flair to the Cards' 5-0 victoire.

I like the Birds this year because we haven't been dominant. In fact, our season was downright awful, and we won just enough games to make an appearance in the playoffs. The past couple years, we enjoyed undisputed status as the #1 team in the National League, owning the best record and all that. Yet neither year did we play like ourselves in the playoffs, and though we had minor success, our play rarely mirrored our regular season success. This year is different. We are not ourselves, and that's a good thing. We're playing like we should have been the past couple Octobers. We're playing like we got nothin' to lose, cuz we don't. Could it be that La Russa actually wants to win? Unbelievable!

Now we're up 2-1 on the Mets/Muts/Pondscum. I'm seeing the end-of-the-tunnel light. I could be eating my words in a few days, but it doesn't really matter, because I'm happy with what I've seen in the last 7 games of the postseason - Pujols' resilience at the plate, Spiezio's uninhibited swing, Taguchi's miracle homerun, the bullpen rats (Brat) coming through in the clutch, Rolen proving he can play through an injury. I suppose I just want to remember this feeling I have right now, a feeling of complete sastisfaction. What more can a tortured Cardinals fan ask for?

P.S. Heidi pointed out that a lot of baseball managers are Italian - La Russa, Francona, LaSorda (retired), Torre - and yet very few players are any more. Hmmm.

I'm actually glad that game one of the NLCS has been postponed until tomorrow night (reportedly because of the weather exclusively, and not because of Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle's plane crash). I have too much stacked on my plate. Why, oh why did I go back to school?

Heidi has responded to a query about Cards fans in Boston on www.vivaelbirdos.com and has already gotten some more response re:getting together to watch the games. I should have done this last year, when I was forced to make myself an anomaly at Guido's bar. Why, oh why do the Cardinals make it so far into the postseason every year?

Sorry that I end up posting primarily about baseball this time of year. It's my only sanctuary from the stress of school - oh wait, it's more stressful than school. At the very least, La Russa has gone with Reyes instead of Marquis to start game 4 on the mound. Scratch one serious source of frustration-inducing heart-stopping material off the list.

The Cardinals have disproven their naysayers. John Boddie, I am speaking directly to you. Those long MLBTV days in June are a distant memory. Thanks for that, by the way. Oh, and um...where are the Red Sox?

The Mets sans Pedro Martinez will prove a vulnerable though challenging opponent. This year's NLCS will be a reprise of the 2004 showdown between Pujols and Beltran, and we all remember who came out on top. I like the new look of the Cards' bullpen, ever since Isringhausen (miraculously) got injured. Blessing in disguise, some would say, but I secretly longed for this Izzie-less day to come. Heidi and I have newly-sprung MLB postseason crushes on Adam Wainwright, mostly because he packs a mean punch at the end of every game.

Spent another evening at Sacco's Bowling Haven in Davis Square for a friend's birthday party. It's my third time in the past year. Heidi and I took Storrow Drive at sunset, and after a beautifully warm day, the silhouettes of towers along the river softly welcomed the glow of evening. The towers dwarfed the river boats, dark forms bidding adieu to the sun and settling in for the night. The city seems more hospitable and familiar at times like these.

This weekend, the Hawkeyes failed to topple #1 Ohio State, but the Cardinals squeaked into the playoffs for the umpteenth year in a row. Iowa could have won, and St. Louis probably shouldn't be in the playoffs...but the cookie crumbles.

But on another plus side, my church softball team won the Boston church metro league championship. I wasn't there to participate, but I'm still proud. Not only do Reformed Christians dominate theology, they are the most athletic! (Just a joke, of course). I wasn't at the game because I was attending cousin Mary Catherine's wedding shower in Kempton, PA, with sisters and cousins and Aunt Sara. It was fun hanging out with them and Keith Riley's mom and Jon Schimpf's parents, and of course Jon and his cousins and all of the Schimpfs' animals - Levi the llama and several battering rams and bees and even a bear-at-large. Didn't see the bear, but that didn't erase the drama of wheeling a golf cart around the farm and by the woods, leery of suspicious sounds and shadows.

We drove into NYC on Sunday and had lunch with Ben and Aaron and all of the little tots, before Aaron hauled them off to the Natural History Museum. Ben showed us the quadruple-decker he's been working on, half a block caddy corner from their compound. He is now a full-time developer in Queens. I asked him to save one of his renovated apts. for me, though it's still a couple years down the road. We drank coffee on the sunny front porch and left for Boston.

Anna's here now, about to leave for Belgium. She is so bright in her neon green Washington, D.C., hoodie. I will miss her, but at least Heidi and I will have a place to stay next summer when we live in London and take a weekend trip to Brussels.