Like a Kid Again...

"We just wanted to give them a false sense of security."

Who? The Tigers? The media? The world?

This can be the only explanation (and the rash of injuries that plagued the Redbrids) for the sub-par regular season and dominating post-season.

THE CARDINALS ARE WORLD CHAMPS! Its a good feeling. And now for some icing.

Here is a list of media who picked the Tigers (this is not a complete list so feel free to put their names in the comment box and I'll add them on):

How do you like your crow,
from ESPN,
Philips-Tigers in 5?
Olney-Tigers in 5?
Caple-Tigers in 5?
Crasnick-Tigers in 6?
Law-Tigers in 5?
Gammons-Tigers in 7?
Stark-Tigers in 6?
Neyer-Tigers in a sweep?
Kruk-Tigers in 6?
from Sportsline,
the name we don't speak of-Tigers in a sweep?
Mccarthy-Tigers in 5?
Rosen-Tigers in 5?
Mack-Tigers in 6?

I can't find the experts picks for Foxsports or SI. If anyone can point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it.

But tip your cap to:
Ravech-Cards in 7.

There are some similar comments at Fungoes.

As for those who say, "It was a poor series" or "The best teams weren't in it" or "It was a boring series" or "The Tigers threw the game away" you all are probably the same ones that would like to see a 17-15 game as opposed to a perfect game. Good defense DOES NOT mean a bad game. And that is what the Cardinals had: Good Defense; i.e., good pitching. Note that the errors might have made the difference in ONLY ONE GAME. If you need me to elaborate on this, then didn't watch the games.

Here's to the Cardinals: World Champions!

Cardnilly put it best: WOOOOOOOO!

Bellyitcher says: "Pinch me!"

Birdwatch "can't believe what happened."

Get up, Baby is getting into tailoring.

All in the Cards tell "how sweet it is!"

Like the Cardinal's Diaspora, I too love it when I am asked "how does it feel to be world champs""like I had something to do with it."

The 26th man "still can’t fully comprehend it."

Redbirds Fun says, "That's a winner!" and give a list to all who contributed this year.

RedbirdRamblings hollar, "WOOOOOOOOOOO!" too.

Redbirdbrain is "still floating."

The Red Crush call them a "Team of Destiny."

In Walt We Trust claims that "all is right with the world."

FYC is still "awrapped in joy."

The Capital City Cardinals (I live in KY too!) give a Queen'esque salute!

So too does Rockin' the Red!

Cardinal Girl proclaims that its time to "revel."

Party Like its 1982 is currently doing just that.

In the Cards is "basking in the Glory."

The Cards deck gives an hommage to Jack.

YNOT a Blog gives the current Cubs vs. Cardinals WS count.

Having Sobered up, Stan Musial's Stance is ready to talk.

Go Crazy, Folks is St. Peter for Halloween as we are welcomed into Baseball heaven!

As for me, I feel like a kid again.

-CJ

Rain Rain Go Away

"To rain or not to rain?", that is the question! There are some pluses and minuses concerning the rainy weather in general.

Minuses
1. It hurts momentum.
2. Gives rest for Tigers' bullpen who pitched several innings on Tues.
3. Gives rest for Kenny Rogers and MAY even include the chance that he appears two more times this series. (However, his status was probably not changed due to the rainout last night as the travel day is simply eaten up. Yet, if the Tigers lose game 4, I wouldn't be surprised to see him in game 5 on short rest.)
4. Gives the Tigers' bats a chance to regroup.
5. "The War at Home"

Pluses
1. The Cardinals will be resting comfortably in their homes while the Tigers sit in a hotel one day and get relocated another.
2. Gives rest to Weaver and Carpenter.
3. Gives the Cardinals' bats a chance to regroup as they have been only slightly better than the Tigers in the past 3 games.
4. Carpenter could pitch 2 more times. If there are rainouts until Fri or Sat it could be glorious for the RedBirds.
5. Those who were saying that the layoff hurt the Tigers will have to agree that this could hurt them more.
6. I didn't have to tape "Lost."

We'll just have to wait and see.
-CJ

CARP COMES CORRECT!

Great outting by Carp. Only one batter got to ball 3. Only one batter saw more than 4 pitches (and he saw only 5). Only three baserunners all night! No walks! Carp goes 8 innings on 83 pitches. That is one of the more dominant pitching performances in the World Series--EVER. While there were a couple of hard hit balls, they were few and far between. The three hits just found holes. If Soup has half the game Carp did, I will be pleased. One might say he has really overachieved in the NLCS, but he has been the hottest pitcher since the all-star break. That said, I feel good going into game four. Add in the Cardinal's success against righties (Bonderman goes tonight) and I like their chances even better. The Tigers can still make it a series. If they are able to snag one in STL, then they have his Pineness for game 6. If Reyes is going in game 5, then the Tigers have a good shot. I sincerely doubt that he will have a similar type performance that he had in game 1--however, I would love to be wrong.

What's up with playing "We will rock you" after Pudge got hit hard with a pitch? The Cardinals have more class than that. Whoever is in charge of the music and sound effects inbetween pitches and at-bats needs to be more sensitive. In football, everyone shuts-up and takes a knee. In baseball, it should be the same. I couldn't hear any applause when Pudge got back up (over the TV). Anyone that was actually there here any applause? If not, then I'm dissappointed in "the best fans in sports."

The people who are complaining that this is a boring series, are the same people who were complaining that the Cardinals don't have any pitching. Warm up the ovens, Folks. Prepare to put the crows in the oven.

One last thing, do you realize that this is the fastest the Cardinals have gone in the post-season since 1987. What does that say about they 2004 and 2005 Cardinals.....hmmmm?

Edit: I've added a truck load of links to some new Cardinal blogs. There seems to be more popping up then ever before. Some of them are REALLY good. Check em out. But please, always come back.

-CJ

Smile it is 1 and 1

The Cardinals waltzed into Detroit using their two weaker pitchers and they came out even. Now the scales are tipped in our favor. 3 games in StL. Carp and Soup for the first two. That's right kids, even if we only win 2 in StL then we have a distinct advantage going back to Detroit. The stuff on Rogers' hand sure made for an odd atmosphere, and I'm sure that TLR played it down cause his hand appeared to be clean after the first and because of the apparent coziness between the two ball clubs. However, if that wasn't pine tar, I don't have a blog. Tootsie rolls? AVS is dealing some serious bologna. Every pitcher I know is very particular about their grip. I think a sticky melted chocolate would have been cleaned off. Plus, tootsie rolls don't have a yellow hue. However, he got away with some serious mistakes. Several linedrives were picked up by the outfield, and Pujols and Molina both barely missed going yard. As for Scott Miller, this is the last time we mention his name on this blog. He is a hack of a writer who no longer deserves my attention on this blog. When I said he was like the squirrelly reporter from 61*, I was dead on. As for Scott Rolen, he appeared to be seeing the ball well, and I like to see some added protection for Pujols in the lineup. As for Encarnation, get him out of there. He is NOT seeing the ball--in the box or in the field. He bobbles nearly every ball that comes his way. He takes angles on balls like he has never played the outfield before. And frankly, he looks like he just doesn't care to be out there. Put in J-Rod or put happy feet Speizio or deer in the headlights Duncan. It may not be pretty when they are out there, but they haven't cost us runs yet. Even my wife said, "It looks like he is deciding to swing before he even sees the ball. And then just throws his bat out there." Pretty sad endictment if even my wife (remember the swastika incident?) noticed that detail. All in all, we are looking good. We almost won that game last night, despite some wicked pitching by Rogers. I just can't stand that guy.

"A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings."
-Earl Wilson


If that's true of a regular game, then I wonder what a World Series game is.
-CJ

Allow me a few moments...

...to celebrate. Great game. Good pitching, despite the media punks. The pitching was so good against what was supposed to be the best lineup in the bigs(save the Yanks). Now it appears the Cardinals have a chance. I'm not going to go out on a limb and say that the Cardinals WILL win it. But I will say it won't be 4 or 5. I called the Mets series, and don't see the Cardinals going down that hard. Wouldn't it be strange if this underachieveing 83 game winning club went farther than the 105 club a few years ago. And we don't have destiny to fight against this time. My prediction: Cardinals in 6. "What?!" you say. I went ahead and said it. Its not a guarantee. Only a prediction. Play semantics all you want.
-CJ

5 left

One more to get there, four after that. Scott Miller http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/story/9736310 gives a laughable turnaround from the previous night's rantings. This guy should have a blog somewhere, not a sportsline.com column. Errr wait. It looks like Weaver is a solid post-season pitcher-home or away. The infield wasn't positioned as well as it was in Game 1 for the Mets. That was the only difference between Glavine's start then and last night. Pujol's homer wouldn't have cleared the fence in Shea. Kenney looked good--then bad. I don't see the Cards dropping 2 at Shea with Carp and Soup against Lobster and TBA. Duncan was due. I said it right before his swing. Don't believe me? I have witnesses.
-CJ

He wasn't all that good...

Glavine watched screaming linedrive after linedrive get snagged by an impressive infield. We all watched as he fell behind in the count only to be bailed out by poor at-bats. Sure, that might be due to his quality, but it didn't look it. Weaver was certainly the better pitcher that day. Add in the horrible strikezone and you have a mediocre outing by Glavine. And to Jon Heyman, what's Pujols' BA against the Mets... 286! That's over 4 games! Anyone can have a 286. Add in the fact that he has had at LEAST 3 scalding linedrives snagged by leaping infielders. How many runs does that account for? Let's be honest folks, the Mets showed up for game 4. Hancock is certainly not the answer for middle relief. But if Weaver pitches like last time (I know it was a road game) I think the Cardinals have a good shot. Sure we have to go back to NY, but Carpenter is on the mound against Maine. As to the drama regarding Rolen and TLR...give it up media! Nobody wants to be benched. Nobody wants to start an injured player. Since your daytime award winning Yankees are gone you have to try to stir up trouble elsewhere. Yes, Scott Miller. You are the sniveling little reporter in the movie 61*. Reading your article on Sportsline.com killed more braincells then an entire college binge night. Not an ounce of evidence to prove that there was the turmoil that you are making it out to be. "I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."-BM

-CJ

To all the doubters...

How do you like your crow served? To all those who said, "we'll get there but we won't do anything when we do." Nya nya! I know we haven't done that much, but its something. Here's to the real STL Cards showing up! GO CARDS!
-CJ

DANG IT LR!

If he has a player hit and run with the pitcher at the plate one more time, I'm going to scream.
-CJ

To the Doubters...

There WAS a whole lot of doubting going on amongst the supposedly "best fans in basbeball." The phrase heard most often was "but they won't do anything in the post-season." With the best player in all of baseball plus a legitimate ace, the Cardinals can do more than "nothing." Mark you caledars, today you heard it here on The Cardinal Virtue: The Cardinals will win the NL. That may not be saying as much as that normally means, but its more than anyone else is.
-CJ