It’s hard not to get stoked about the prospects of watching the Cardinals in the playoffs. With a chill in the air, a cold beer in your hand, and 45,000 of your best friends by your side; there is nothing better than October baseball in St. Louis. When the Birds enter tournament play,
Cardinal Nation turns it up a few notches. After a two year absence, The Lou is ready to dance.
The Cardinals lead the NL Central by 9 games with 37 contests left. In addition, their closest pursuer, the Chicago Cubs, are a complete and utter mess. The Cardinals could coast to the postseason, but there is still a lot at stake for the Birds. The Cardinals are now competing with the Dodgers and Phillies to capture home-field advantage until the World Series.
Although Manager Tony LaRussa would never admit it, the 2009 Cardinals are going to the playoffs. Barring a monumental collapse, the Birds will be flying in October for the first time since their improbable run to the World Series Title in 2006. This time the Cardinals will enter the postseason as one of the favorites to represent the National League in the Fall Classic.
GM John Mozeliak has done such a good job of putting this team together that it is hard to find anything to complain about. The offense has struggled at times, but the pitching has been so good that the team continues to win anyway. This team has the players it needs to be more consistent offensively. If these guys can ever get going at the same time, the lineup will be scary good. The bullpen has been a little shaky at times, but Trevor Miller and Ryan Franklin
have been spectacular.
The Cards are going to the playoffs. Now it is up to the team to fight for home-field advantage. With Tony cracking the whip, a let-down is out of the picture. Football season is getting under way and the playoffs are just around the corner. Get your fall Cardinals gear ready. The magic number is 27.
Extra Innings:
-If he wants to be, Chris Carpenter will be a great pitching coach someday. First, he figured out Adam Wainwright’s arm slot problem after watching one pitch, and now John Smoltz credits Carp for finding a flaw in his delivery. It seems like the pitching thing is working out pretty well for him too.
-It’s probably a bad sign for the return game that Samkon Gado was returning kickoffs for the Rams on Thursday night.
Pete Eichholz plays sportswriter on Thursday nights; you can read him here on Fridays.
slippery11pete@yahoo.com