The Little Team that Could
Before the World Series began, Rodger told me, "the Tigers are a team of young kids, they haven't lost a game in the postseason yet. All we have to do is win game 1." And it made sense. And it came true.
The entire theory behind that came true. The Cardinals weren't going to win this World Series, they had to capitalize on mistakes, and let the Tigers lose it. The storyline of the World Series to most of the rest of the nation will be the errors by the Tigers, as though the Cardinals simply weren't there. And I will be the first to agree, this team had less talent and less promise than the Cardinals had.
But, as wins so often in hockey, the Cardinals this year had grit. They had willpower, where the Tigers did not. They were a hotshot young team, they had everything going their way, and came in expecting to skate. And then, the gutty performances of the Cardinals started showing up.
The starting pitching was phenominal, nothing overpowering (save Carpenter), but Reyes, Weaver, and Suppan got in there and gave everything they had. And for all the talk of the young guys of the Tigers, it was young guys of the Cardinals who stepped up, Molina, Reyes, and Wainwright. The veteran Cardinals put their faith in their guts, in wanting it so bad it couldn't not come true. Rolen, Pujols (defensively), and Spiezio all gave powerful performances as well.
Finally, before the Series, everyone was talking about the managerial duel, and being a fan of the moves of the game, and why they happen, I was not surprised that La Russa made all the right ones. I was shocked that Leyland made so many bad ones. I agree with him on starting Verlander in Game 5, at least to the point of having to win 3 games. The public will forever mock him for that, but it was sound. Rogers had yet to pitch in the postseason in a park other than Comerica. He had a ton of drama surrounding him, and he has a history of responding badly to drama.
Before the World Series began, a customer came into the station wearing a "National League Champions" shirt. I said, pretty bluntly, "what're you doing? You don't buy the NL champs shirt until after the World Series." The customer laughed and said simply, "that's okay, it won't make a difference." You see, it does. Because now that guy just bought a shirt he's worn for two weeks, and will never wear again, because today he's going out and buying another one.
Secretly, from talking to many people before Game 5, St. Louis was hoping for Rogers. Going into Game 5 was the first time the fan base was confident, and perhaps the Cardinals themselves. We wanted Rogers, because we didn't just want to beat the Tigers, we wanted to beat the cheater.
But, I'll take it as I get it.
This championship means more to me than the Rams' Super Bowl, in part due to history, in part due to a greater love for baseball than football. A customer at the station was gracious enough to loan me a tape of Game 5, and despite the fact that I knew everything that happened, the 9th still had me anxious, and I was smiling from the start of the inning.
Don't really know what else to say. I'd stick some sappy closing line here, but I'm not really that kind of guy. Instead, I'll just go back to enjoying the moment, and figuring out the finances to obtain a World Series' hat.
The entire theory behind that came true. The Cardinals weren't going to win this World Series, they had to capitalize on mistakes, and let the Tigers lose it. The storyline of the World Series to most of the rest of the nation will be the errors by the Tigers, as though the Cardinals simply weren't there. And I will be the first to agree, this team had less talent and less promise than the Cardinals had.
But, as wins so often in hockey, the Cardinals this year had grit. They had willpower, where the Tigers did not. They were a hotshot young team, they had everything going their way, and came in expecting to skate. And then, the gutty performances of the Cardinals started showing up.
The starting pitching was phenominal, nothing overpowering (save Carpenter), but Reyes, Weaver, and Suppan got in there and gave everything they had. And for all the talk of the young guys of the Tigers, it was young guys of the Cardinals who stepped up, Molina, Reyes, and Wainwright. The veteran Cardinals put their faith in their guts, in wanting it so bad it couldn't not come true. Rolen, Pujols (defensively), and Spiezio all gave powerful performances as well.
Finally, before the Series, everyone was talking about the managerial duel, and being a fan of the moves of the game, and why they happen, I was not surprised that La Russa made all the right ones. I was shocked that Leyland made so many bad ones. I agree with him on starting Verlander in Game 5, at least to the point of having to win 3 games. The public will forever mock him for that, but it was sound. Rogers had yet to pitch in the postseason in a park other than Comerica. He had a ton of drama surrounding him, and he has a history of responding badly to drama.
Before the World Series began, a customer came into the station wearing a "National League Champions" shirt. I said, pretty bluntly, "what're you doing? You don't buy the NL champs shirt until after the World Series." The customer laughed and said simply, "that's okay, it won't make a difference." You see, it does. Because now that guy just bought a shirt he's worn for two weeks, and will never wear again, because today he's going out and buying another one.
Secretly, from talking to many people before Game 5, St. Louis was hoping for Rogers. Going into Game 5 was the first time the fan base was confident, and perhaps the Cardinals themselves. We wanted Rogers, because we didn't just want to beat the Tigers, we wanted to beat the cheater.
But, I'll take it as I get it.
This championship means more to me than the Rams' Super Bowl, in part due to history, in part due to a greater love for baseball than football. A customer at the station was gracious enough to loan me a tape of Game 5, and despite the fact that I knew everything that happened, the 9th still had me anxious, and I was smiling from the start of the inning.
Don't really know what else to say. I'd stick some sappy closing line here, but I'm not really that kind of guy. Instead, I'll just go back to enjoying the moment, and figuring out the finances to obtain a World Series' hat.
posted by Kindralas at 7:12 AM
1 Comments:
All this talk about the Tigers' mistakes ignores the fact that they mean nothing unless the other team is in a position to capitalize on them. The Cards had men on base to put on the pressure that caused those throwing errors. It was fun to watch!
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