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.
