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."

Cardinals are in the World Series!

Okay, so this post is a couple of days late. But to my credit, I've been in a bit a shock about the whole thing. The St. Louis Cardinals are in the World Series after winning game 6 of the NLCS.

The NLCS was not pretty by any means. In fact, the Cardinals relievers pitched more innings than their starters. That's...unnerving. But, at the same time, the bullpen really stepped up. However, one has to wonder how they'll manage the World Series. We could use some good outings from our starters, particularly Carpenter, Lohse and Garcia. Jackson was taken out of game 6 of the NLCS after 2 innings! Though to be fair, the Brewers had to pull Marcum after the 1st. Game 6 was pretty ugly when it came to pitching, the Cardinals just ended up pulling out more offense.

Also, the Brewers made a ton of mistakes. There were so many fielding errors in this series. While I'm happy to see my Cardinals in the series, I do feel bad for Milwaukee. They are a better team than the one we saw in the NLCS. But, as we seem to see every year, teams that get hot late in the season can be very dangerous. And if there is one thing I've learned from the 2011 Cardinals team, it's that they have heart, passion and drive to succeed.

So, here we are. Tomorrow is game 1 of the World Series, in St. Louis (thanks to the NL's win in the All-Star game) against the Texas Rangers. The Rangers don't scare me for some reason. I'm not saying they aren't good, they most definitely are. Nelson Cruz scares me a bit since he's been hot in the postseason. But the Rangers pitching has not exactly been lights out. They are beatable.

We'll see how it goes. I am just thrilled to see the Cardinals make it this far. Of course, I hope they win and if they lose I'll probably be in a bad mood for a few days (come on, there is nothing worse than seeing your team make it to the big game only to lose. Believe me, I know. Superbowls XXXVI and XLIV still hurt). But I will know that this was a team that was never expected to get this far, and they performed far better than I had hoped (at least as of August of this year. You never give up hope, but certainly in August I thought it was a total long shot).

So, let's do this Cardinals. Bring St. Louis that 11th World Series title. 11 in 2011!

Is This Thing On?

Remember when I thought it was an awesome idea to have a blog? Right. Last time I posted something in this blog the St. Louis Cardinals were thought to be completely done for the season. This week they just beat the Philadelphia Phillies in a nail biting game 5 of the NLDS to advance to the NLCS against division rival, the Milwaukee Brewers.

Just goes to show you, never give up. I am truly amazed and proud of my hometown team. This team really pulled it together in the last month and half of the season and every day, there seems to be a new hero on the team. Sure, Pujols, Carpenter and Molina are still leaders. But did you see that amazing play bu Furcal in the game on Friday? And how about Theriot's hitting?

Or maybe it's the rally squirrel. Have you all heard about this? A squirrel ran across home plate right as the pitch was being delivered. See the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsQYS5zS5u4. Brave squirrel, indeed.

It's very exciting, and I'm so happy to see my team have the chance to make the World Series. And strangely, enough, the last time the Cardinals were there they played the Detroit Tigers. Who are currently competing in the ALCS against the Rangers. Potential for a Cards-Tigers rematch? Perhaps.

The Brewers are good. This is going to be a very tough series, for both teams. The Cardinals have this amazing momentum though. Anyway, game 1 is tomorrow and I am looking forward to watching the series.

In football...my teams are both 0-4. The Rams had such promise going into the regular season. Sure, they've had to play the Eagles, the Giants and the Baltimore Ravens and haven't played a single division rival in the NFC Worst yet but wow, has it been ugly. They actually had a chance to beat the Redskins, but the offense is lacking. Not sure what's going on there but changes are needed.

In Colts land, they lost Peyton Manning for the season due to him having to have a 3rd neck surgery. Isray hasn't said he's out for the season, but he is. It's a 2-3 month recovery time, and since he had the surgery right before the start of the season, out for the season.

The Colts pulled Kerry Collins out of retirement to try and lead the team but it's been pretty disastrous. Collins got injured, and Curtis Painter, who looks more like the poster child for a surfing championship than a QB, had to step in. The Colts actually had some life last week against Tampa Bay. Painter threw 2 long TD passes to Pierre Garcon. But, LaGarette Blount was able to run through Indy's D and ultimately TB won. Was nice to see some life in the Colts offense, but it seems to be the "suck for Luck" sweepstakes.

Which isn't a bad idea for the Colts. Peyton is one of my all-time favorite players. But he's had 3 neck surgeries in the last year. That's very troubling, not just for fans, but for him as well. He needs to rest and take care of himself and hope that he's able to play next year.

But the fact remains that Painter is not the future of the Colts team, so taking advantage of this wash of a season to draft Luck? Smart investment. Peyton could come back and give another 3-4 years of greatness. Or, he could be completely done and have to retire. If it's between playing and risking paralysis or not, would you do it? Not saying it will happen but it's possible. 3 neck surgeries is serious.

I hope Peyton is back. I want to see more. Either way, he won't go away. Peyton will be a coach one day, I'm sure.

In other sports news, hockey is back, and the NBA may not happen. No NBA? But what will Ron Artest, excuse me, Metta World Peace do? Dancing with the Stars of course! Oh but wait, he was so terrible he was the first one voted off this season. Stick to basketball Metta.

That's all I have folks. Hope to update this a little more frequently. GO CARDINALS!

Football is Officially Back!

Hello sports fans!

Football pre-season has begun! I cannot tell you how exciting it is to actually watch an NFL game, even if it is just the pre-season.

My two NFL fan bases, the Rams and the Colts met up on Saturday night. Not surprising to me, the Rams won and did so by a really nice margin. I had predicted this, because the Rams played more of their potential starters, and the Colts? Well Manning and Freeney didn't play for one, and the rest of their main starters (Wayne, Garcon, Clark, Addai) didn't really get much play either. Also, the Colts are known to lose in the pre-season yet win in the regular season.

I'm glad it was a pre-season game because it is SO hard for me to choose between these 2 teams. Growing up, I had no allegiance to any team because the Cardinals moved to Arizona when I was 4, and the Rams moved to St. Louis when I was just starting high school. So I've always been a football fan first. We have a good family friend, Pat Leahy, who was the kicker for the NY Jets and we followed the Jets in the years he played. Also followed the 49'ers a bit since I have some family who live in the area and Green Bay, because my mom loves the cheesehat. And we had friends in Wisconsin.

In other words, it's hard for me to figure out who my long term favorite team is. The Rams are the first team I really followed regularly because they came to St. Louis at a time where my sports fanaticism peaked. Sure, they were terrible in the beginning. We had to endure Chris "the concussion king" Miller and Tony Banks as QB's. They were rough years but I got to go to live NFL games finally!

I always had been a fan of college football. My family just always had their favorites (Notre Dame, UCLA, Virginia Tech, Mizzou to name a few) and I used to get such a kick out of watching all of the bowl games back when they all were on or around the same day and you could watch several games at the same time (if you had multiple TV's, like my uncle, or went out to a bar/restaurant).

That's where the Peyton Manning love begins. He was so fun to watch at Tennessee (even if I wasn't rooting for the team, he was fun to watch). Then he chose to sign with the Colts, and I was going to college in Indiana at the time. I didn't want to become a Colts fan, because the Rams were my home team.

But as time went on, and I ended up living in Indianapolis for several years, my respect for Manning just kept increasing. And I found myself rooting for the Colts more and more. I then decided that the Rams would be my NFC team, the Colts my AFC team and should they ever meet in a Super Bowl I'd be totally screwed and would have no idea who to root for.

Anyway, that's just a bit of background of me. So the Colts and Rams pre-season game was obviously of strong interest to me.

I'm not worried about the Colts yet because this is what they do in pre-season. The Rams, however, impressed me a lot. Bradford looked sharp, Dahl, Mikell and Hines all got interceptions (okay, it was Painter and Orvlovsky, but still nice to see good defensive plays). Cadillac Williams ran for a TD and Bradford threw a TD pass. And how about Josh Brown kicking a 60 yard field goal? Did Brown's stock just go up in fantasy football after that? I think so.

Okay, it wasn't just the Rams and the Colts this weekend. Cam Newton made his debut in Carolina and looked good, and so did the Brown's Colt McCoy (one of the best football names, BTW) . The Patriots has a field day with the Jags, Mizzou alum Blaine Gabbert didn't have the best outing but there's time still.

Am looking forward to watching how the pre-season unfolds.

There is this thing called baseball going on. The Cardinals are currently 5.5 games behind Milwaukee, and at this point if they want any hope of making the postseason, they have to win the division. That's going to be really tough. Have to hand it to the Brewers, they've been playing spectacular lately. The Cardinals trade of Colby Rasmus for Edwin Jackson isn't panning out so well so far. If Colby were here would the Cards be in a better position? Doubtful. The pitching is a big problem, so I don't think Rasmus is a factor. However, am sort of feeling like the Cards jumped the gun on that trade and we should have gotten more for him.

We're almost to mid-August, so about a month and half of regular season left. Still a lot of games to play and anything can happen. It'll be interesting to see how it all ends.

I think Philly takes the east, the west? Arizona is in the lead at the moment but I think the Giants will pull off another division win. The Yankees and BoSox? One of them will win the division and the other will be the wild card. The Rangers and the Angels race has been fun to watch. I'd like to see the Angels pull it off. The central? Still could go to Detroit, the White Sox or Cleveland. Nice to see a close race to keep the competition going.

And...that was a long sports rant for me, so I'm going to leave it there. Happy NFL is back, disappointed in the Cardinals but still hoping! More in the world of sports soon!

Free Agency Madness

It was certainly interesting to see all of the moves that were quickly made once a deal was made and the NFL was up and running again. On top of that, the trade deadline for MLB was on July 31st and with the NFL back and running free agency signings seemed to happen every hour. I'll admit, it does make me VERY excited about the NFL season this year.

Quick baseball update...so the Cardinals traded Rasmus, which only time will tell if it's a good deal or not. On top of that, Cards signed former Dodger Rafael Furcal. Furcal is certainly an upgrade at shortstop. I was trying to think of the last time the Cardinals really had a strong shortstop. David Eckstein was really more of a 2B guy than a shortstop (though he does get an A+ for effort. There is a reason why he won MVP in the 2006 World Series), and Edgar Renteria was decent. It was probably back to Royce Clayton, who took over after Ozzie Smith retired in the mid 90's. Wow.

We'll see how he does, if he stays healthy, he can be a big benefit to the team through the end of this season. Would be surprised to see him re-signed next year though. Think he is a short term fix.

Cardinals are currently 3 games behind Milwaukee. They are hanging in there, but I'd really like to see the Cards take the division. It's August, so the time to buckle down and really play like you're playoff potential is now. The Cards have a shot at a wild card spot but I'd rather see them win the division. I'll be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out.

So much craziness in the NFL. Where even to start?

The Colts signed Peyton. I have to admit, I've always had a lot of respect and admiration for Peyton, but he really upped the ante with how he handled his signing. He made it clear he wanted to stay with the Colts but also wanted the team to have the money to keep the team competitive. After signing Manning the team was quick to sign Joseph Addai (who, IMO isn't the best running back out there but he is a great blocker on the field) and get some other players set. The Colts haven't made a ton of moves in free agency, so I'm not sure how they are going to fare this season. The biggest problem is their run defense. They'll have to figure out some way to get the defense together to stay competitive. I still think the Colts are the best in their division, but Houston may end up giving them a good run for the division title.

As for the NFC Worst, I mean West...like a lot of the changes the Rams have made, and think they are definitely positioned to be a better team, though they are going to have a tough time this season. They do not have the easiest schedule. Their home opener is against the Eagles and boy are the Eagles looking scary.

The Rams have signed Walker as a receiver, who I like and just recently signed Cadillac Williams as a potential back-up running back to Steven Jackson, which is a move I also like. Seattle managed to grab Rice, but who is going to throw to him? The Cardinals got Kolb, which means Fitzgerald will have someone to throw to him but the Cards also lost some key players. And the 49er's? Well, they didn't do much. So who do I think has the best chance of winning the NFC West? The Rams. The Rams have amped up their defense and offensive line, they have Bradford coming off of a pretty amazing rookie season, and quite frankly, the competition in the NFC West, as it has been, is still not that high.

There were a lot of interesting moves, of course. Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson is a Patriot. I suppose of all people to possible keep Chad in line, Bill Belichick is the one. They also picked up Albert Haynesworth, 'nuff said. Randy Moss decided to retire (or at least, that's the last I heard). Plaxico signed with the Jets. Personally, I'm just glad he's not in St. Louis. Plax can see if he can find a rhythm with the Jets but he was too much of a gamble. I like that the Rams signed Sims-Walker, he's young and I think he could be great with Bradford.

Other important news? My second favorite NFL player of all time, Marshall Faulk, was entered into the NFL Hall of Fame this weekend. What an amazing and humble athlete he is. He's had an amazing career, and I'll admit, until Marshall came around, I couldn't name a Rams running back. Quarterback? Wide Receiver? Of course. RB? Nope. Faulk made me appreciate the skill and importance of a RB and boy, was he fun to watch. He deserves this honor, so happy for him. He's the first St. Louis Ram to enter the hall (I said St. Louis, not Ram) and I know he's going to be followed by other greats like Bruce, Warner and Holt. I have so much respect for him. Thank you Marshall, for what you brought to the game, and for being an awesome person inside and out.

I'd talk about Tiger Woods golf news but I honestly don't care. Is that bad? Perhaps. I'm anxious for NFL to start and for the Cardinals to gain some games on the Brewers so they can get back into first place.

And that's it for now sports fans. More of my thoughts on the sports world to come soon!

Rasmus Trade & NFL is BACK!

Hello sports fans!

Only have a few quick moments, promise a longer post later this weekend.

Colby Rasmus trade: Expected, but did not turn out the way I thought. I like that the Cards picked up some pitching, which they need desperately but not sure it was worth dealing off Rasmus. However, maybe his issues with LaRussa were bigger than we thought. Starting to make me wonder if it might be time for Tony to retire. We just gave away our biggest hitting prospect for what? Maybe a chance to win the NL Central this year. But next year? And the next? Who knows. Maybe Rasmus will do better in a different environment, maybe not. We'll just have to wait and see.

NFL is BACK! Thank goodness I don't think I could have survived without the NFL this fall. Since the lockout has ended so much movement going on it's crazy! But kind of fun to see hour by hour what happens.

I have a lot to say about what's going on but have to keep this short for now.

First, Rams just signed Mike Sims-Walker and I like this. The Rams needed a veteran wideout. We weren't going to get Rice, and I'm on the fence about Plaxico and Edwards. Sims-Walker is young and I'm interested in seeing what Josh Daniels can do with him, and how he and Bradford work together.

In Colts news, Vinateri and Bullitt have been signed. Peyton Manning...still waiting. Isray has insisted that he wants Peyton to be the highest paid athlete in the NFL. Peyton today said that he'd take less money if it means he gets a deal signed and that the team has money to sign other players. Wow. Talk about a team player. Are you listening Albert? I have always had so much respect for Manning but this is really admirable. Hell, he makes enough off of endorsements anyway!

That's my quick update for now, more later this weekend when I have time to actually write.

Are you ready for some football?

Talkin' Baseball...

The All Star Break is over, so we are more than half way through baseball season. The Cardinals are still hanging in there, right now it's a 3 way race for the NL Central between the Cardinals, the Pirates and the Brewers. However, pitching is still a major problem.

The Kyles, Lohse and McClellan have struggled lately. The last 14 games started by either Kyle? Cards are 1-13. Ouch. Bernie Miklasz has a great article about this here.

As the trade deadline looms it is clear that Mozeliak needs to focus on finding some pitching or else the Cardinals are really going to struggle down the stretch and any hope of playoff contention may be out the window.

There has been lots of talk about the possibility of trading Colby Rasmus. I have mixed feelings about this. For one, the Cards have invested a lot in him and it would be a shame to trade him only to see him succeed elsewhere. On the other hand, there is the drama of the Tonys. Tony Rasmus, Colby's dad, and Tony LaRussa, Cards manager. Colby has been struggling lately at bat, certainly not at the level that Cards staff or fans hoped. Bernie thinks that it might be wise to send him back to AAA Memphis for awhile, if the Cards decide to keep him. Perhaps that may help. They have to do something. Can't let him continue to slump and just watch him fail.

If they do trade, they can't trade low, it would have to be a great deal, and my personal opinion is unless there's some top notch pitcher out there that we can get and possibly sign at the end of the season to a longer term deal, I don't know if trading him is the best idea. I'd hate to see Colby traded for a short term fix that may or may not pan out.

Many professional players are sent back to the minors to help them focus on things they are having problems with and they come back stronger and better players. So that is my hope for Colby. If the Cards really want to keep him, then let's find a way to help him get back on track so he can be the player we all know he can be.

NFL news...the owners have come to an agreement to end the lockout. Now, the players have to come to a decision. That's going to take a lot longer, and it looks like the opening preseason game featuring the Rams and the Bears is going to be cancelled, which is a total shame. I was really looking forward to the Rams getting some high profile coverage, it being the first game of the NFL season (and televised nationally) but things were going to be postponed or cancelled, we all knew it.

I just hope a deal is put in place soon. I don't know how I would survive the fall without NFL football. I'm already reading to start planning my fantasy football teams.

At least, I know for sure, college football will be in full gear shortly.