Baseball is Back!

What does Carlos Beltran, David Freese, Yadier Molina, Matt Holliday and Shane Robinson have in common?

They all have at least one homerun (Freese, Beltran, Holliday & Molina have 2), which is one more than Albert Pujols has. Albert's first at bat as an Angel? Hit into a double play, which I couldn't help it, I laughed.

Albert won't be like that all season, he'll get back into true Albert form. But, part of the reason why the Cardinals lead the league in double plays last season was due to Albert. So it was a bit of poetic justice to see him hit into a DP after bailing on the Cards to join the Angels.

I know, as a Cardinals fan, I shouldn't really care about Albert. And I don't, really. However, it is nice to see that the Cardinals are doing just fine without him so far, and proving to the critics that this team is good and will do just fine without Albert.

The Cardinals have looked fantastic so far, sitting at the top of the NL Central at 4-1. Hitting, starting pitching and defense have all been solid. And this is without Carpenter and Craig. This is good news. Granted, it is still very early in the season and things will change. You never know what will happen with injuries, players get into slumps, etc.

I'm going to make a bold prediction here. This team reminds me a lot of the 2004 Cardinals so far, only this team seems to almost have a better vibe overall as far as the players getting along, working together and having fun. So, with that said...I think this team will get 100 wins. I think they win the NL Central but it will be a close race with the Brewers.

Really excited about the season and can't wait to see how things turn out this fall.

This week starts the NHL playoffs, which lasts about a millenia. At least it feels like it. The NHL playoffs lasts at least 2 months. Round 1 starts Wednesday and doesn't end until April 25th. Then there's 2 more rounds before the Stanley Cup. Baseball and Football both manage to get the playoffs done in about a month. The NBA is just as bad as the NHL when it comes to playoffs.

Oh well. The Blues have a a solid chance at making it far into the playoffs. They are the #2 seed and will face The Sharks, which won't be easy but they have home field advantage and hopefully get their first playoff win since...I think I heard 101 ESPN say this morning since 2002. Wow. That's a 10 year drought. Time to break that trend boys.

The NBA season is winding down too, and soon we'll be knee deep in NBA playoffs as well. The big talk seems to be about the Bulls, the Heat and the Thunder, but odds are the Lakers will make it to the playoffs and could be a potential contender. Both the Lakers and the Clippers are neck and neck right now. Should be interesting to see how it all turns out.

At least they aren't Charlotte, who I saw has only won 7 games. OUCH. Sometimes it's easy to take for granted what you have. The Lakers may not win a title this season, but fans still saw a lot of good basketball. If you live in Charlotte, or New Orleans for that matter, you probably aren't buying tickets to basketball games unless LeBron or Kobe is in town and you want to watch them, because the hometown team isn't going to do squat.

And that's all I have for now. Very excited about baseball. It's so nice to be able to listen and watch games again.

Couldn't Write a Better Script...

Game 6 of the 2011 World Series will go down in the history books as one of the most memorable games in history. The game played out much like a movie script, though I'm not even sure Hollywood could write a better one.

First off, you set the scene. Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals. The air is cold and crisp, as it typical in fall in St. Louis. Hometown fans are nervous, as they know it's do or die time for their team. Visiting team is confident, having a 3-2 series lead and coming off a win at home.

Game begins and right off the bat, Garcia, the starter for the Cards gives up a run. Not to worry, the Cards come back in the 1st with 2.

The game continues with back and forth scoring, and silly errors committed by both teams. Holliday drops a fly ball. Salas has a bad throw to 2nd. And so it continues, until the game is tied 4-4.

Top of the 7th. Texas strikes big scoring 3 runs. The hometown crowd is stunned, but still hanging in there knowing there's 3 more at bats for the Cardinals. Bottom of the 7th, Cards get no runs. Suddenly, a dark cloud forms over Busch Stadium for the home team.

8th inning. Cards shut Texas down, but only get one run out of the inning. Score now 7-5, 2 run deficit.

Cards escape the top of the 9th without giving up a run. Theriot strikes out. Texas is 2 outs from winning their first WS title as Albert "El Hombre" Pujols comes up to the plate. Pujols hits a double and the tying run is at the plate. Berkman walks. 2 on. Craig strikes out. 2 on, 2 outs. It's all up to hometown boy, David Freese, who triples, scoring Pujols and Berkman. Tie game.

It's now in extra innings and the vibe is tense. Jason Motte, the not-quite-officially-named closer is up, trying to get a 1-2-3 inning. Pop up. 1 out. Then, Elvis Andrus hits a single. 1 on, 1 out. Next batter flies out. 1 on, 2 out with Josh Hamilton limping to the plate. Homerun, 2 runs score and now it's 9-7 Texas in the 10th.

But the resilient Cardinals would not back down. In the 10th the 1st 2 batters single, and with the pitcher's spot up Lohse sacrifice bunts and advances the runners to 2nd and 3rd. 2 on, 1 out. Theriot grounds out, and here comes Albert Pujols. They walk him. Lance Berkman is now the last hope for the Cardinals. Down to the last strike for the win for Texas, Berkman hits a line drive and the runners score. Game tied 9-9.

Top of the 11th. Cardinals bring in Westbrook, a pitcher who's hardly seen any postseason time. No problem, the Cards get through the inning with no runs and now it's the bottom of the 11th.

David Freese is up to bat. He had been money in the 9th, driving 2 runs in. Here's the pitch...swing and back back back...we will see you tomorrow folks! Freese hits the game winning home run, forcing a game 7 to be played tomorrow night in St. Louis.

Even Disney can't write a script like this. It is so...indescribable. This Cardinals team, who came back from 10.5 games behind in the wild card as of August 24th, just won't quit, as Joe Buck stated. They would not accept defeat and somehow, with their backs to the wall over and over again, they delivered. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything like it.

And I know I've never seen a game like game 6 of the 2011 World Series, and probably won't see it's equal ever, or at least not for a long time. It might be the craziest game I've ever seen.

And now we look to game 7. In St. Louis. At Busch. With potentially ace Chris Carpenter starting on short rest, thanks to the rain out on Wednesday. I like the odds. I think the Cardinals have a real solid chance of pulling this off.

After all, after a win like that, how can momentum not be in your favor? Plus you have the home crowd behind you?

Anything can happen of course, but one thing this team has taught me is to ALWAYS believe.

And I do believe. I said Cardinals in 6, but I'll take Cardinals in 7.

We'll all know the answers soon. For now, as the legendary Jack Buck would say "that's a winner!" and we'll "see you tomorrow night."