if you know me, you know i have 3 baseball teams teams that i root for every year. before you call me an opportunistic fan, know that these teams all have one thing in common and that is, they are teams from cities i live in, or once lived in. this fact gives me an undeniable right to claim the team as my own and i am often fortunate enough to find one or more of these teams playing in the post season. this year was no exception although the route to an eventual st. louis world championship was a very unlikely scenario. my current hometown team, the twins, made it obvious that this was not a year for which they would contend, losing nearly 100 games and becoming the doormat for the rest of the a.l. central. the red sox, although very talented, saw a team that was ensconced in inner turmoil and personality issues, folded late and failed to reach the playoffs. the cardinals on the other hand, battled back from 10.5 games back in august, claimed a playoff spot on the last day, and than proceeded to go on an unthinkable run that saw them beat the favored brewers, phillies, and ultimately, the rangers to capture the world series championship. i had the fortune to attend my first ever game at the new busch stadium this past august and when i left town, the cardinals looked far from a team that would eventually be a playoff contender, let alone a world champion. fans were questioning, and even booing manager tony larussa for decisions he would make, or not make. something that i had never heard of happening before in st. louis. they then proceeded to go an epic streak that culminated with an eventual championship. a world series like this one, proves that talent alone can never predict the winner. it comes down to chemistry, timing, and sometimes acts of god (see rain out in game 5). in the end, the cardinals never-say-die attitude, coupled with strong pitching, and timely hitting, proved that it doesn't matter who's favored to win, it's about getting it done when it matters the most, and that's what they did. congrats to the cardinals for another world series ring. a great team, great fans - a great baseball town!
1 comment:
Tony'd departure with class - decided two months ago to step down. Rain out like you said in game 5 was BIG but would not have made any difference without the guts of Carpenter. Berkman & Punto getting their "rings" was worth it all - if Pujols goes off to the wild blue yonder - so be it - you can't take away a world series where the best team dosen't always win but the team that plays the best does - dad
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