Wow, just wow! Think about it. 30 other major league teams, cities, and fan bases do not have their team in the World Series. The team that I was born rooting for, the St. Louis Cardinals are in their 18th World Series. They call this one the Quest for 11. 11 wins, of which the Cardinals already have 7, equals the amount of postseason wins they would need to win the World Series. This would also be the Cardinals 11th World Series Championship. And of course it is 2011. If there are any numerologists out there, you can analyze this all you want; all I know is that it is cool and maybe a sign from above that this is the Cardinals year!
The NLCS was a very interesting series. The Milwaukee Brewers competed hard most of the time and really did not make fools of themselves on or off the field. I actually think that most of the Brewers started to get it. I say most. I saw in the last game, Yuniesky Betancourt still lagging around at the plate with his shirt half tucked in. I sure hope that wasn’t done on purpose. His parents would be ashamed. If anyone ever sees Josh on the baseball field at any level in an unfit uniform, please feel free to reprimand him. This is your permission. I do not think Josh would ever do it on purpose, and I hope Mr. Betancourt did not either. Still, look professional and act professional.
I give kudos to the Texas Rangers. They have set up standards in their organization to include having their pitchers go deeper into games in the minors so that their arms will strengthen as they develop. I applaud Nolan Ryan in instilling that their players need to toughen up and be real ballplayers like they were in his heyday. Nolan Ryan was always one of my favorite players to watch because I would never want to face him in a batters box. Could any player ever really dig into the batters box to face him? His style would be frowned upon in today’s baseball, but he has adapted and proved that with proper training, team concept, and the right mix of players, good things will happen. The Texas Rangers are back to back American League Champions. I also applaud the Rangers for celebrating with Ginger Ale due to the fact that one of their star players, Josh Hamilton, is a recovering alcoholic. They are a team that is to be reckoned with and have intense desire to make-up for last year’s World Series loss.
I had the pleasure and honor of going to game 5 of the League Championship Series as a guest of Mike and Barb Rohman. They are great friends and a good time was had by all, including their extended family during the carpool ride to Busch Stadium. We had beautiful seats and we got to see a great Cardinals win putting them up 3-2 in the series.
What amazed me in the LCS is that no Cardinals starting pitcher pitched past the 5th inning. Tony LaRussa and Dave Duncan managed the bullpen well and the pitchers stepped up and performed at a national level. I don’t care what LaRussa says, Jason Motte is the Cardinals closer. He should also be starting in spring training no matter what happens in the World Series. It was also refreshing to see local St. Louis kid, David Freese, explode and have an amazing series. His performance earned him the series MVP. Freese and every member of the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals have endeared themselves in the hearts of Cardinals Nation.
I originally thought the Detroit Tigers would make it to the World Series and win the Championship over the Cardinals. Well, I was wrong. And since the Tigers lost, I guess
that means that either Texas is much better than them or that the Cardinals cannot be beat. I will go with the latter and say Cardinals in 6.
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