I woke up this morning as I do every game day morning this time of year. Energized with a giddy, hopeful sense of anticipation. Not exactly like a kid on Christmas morning…more like a kid on Christmas Eve morning, knowing that Santa is gearing up for his big trip and the payoff is near. I become distracted and obsessed as the regular season begins to close and coming into today’s double header with a Magic Number of 2 only amplified my post season symptoms. My loved ones are already highly annoyed with me.
So Game 1 of the double header is in the books, a Pirates win and a Cardinal loss. Strangely, I don’t feel that upset. Given that I knew I wouldn’t be able to watch more than an inning or so of the first game, I think I was secretly hoping the first game would be a bust and the Cardinals would clinch in the second game so that I could watch and indulge in every nail biting moment. Before you die hard fans crucify me for these selfish feelings, I want you to know that I am completely aware that I am committing a cardinal sin of a true fan. And I make no apologies.
So here we are, with a couple of hours to spare before THE game I have been looking forward to all season begins. The game that ends with champagne corks popping, hopefully the first of four games that will end that way. It’s hopeless for me to try to focus on anything other than baseball at this moment, so I figured this would be a good time to bring up a couple of thoughts that have been going through my mind recently and throw them out there for your consideration.
First of all…Adam Wainwright’s unforeseen comeback? After tearing his left Achilles tendon while coming out of the batter’s box in a late April game, Wainwright was said by everyone to be finished for the year. Wainwright was 2-1 in four starts with a 1.44 ERA at this point, our ace pitcher, and the diagnosis wrenched the hearts of Cardinal fans everywhere. But, in true Cardinal fashion, Wainwright defied the odds and came off of the disabled list today….four to eight months before he was expected to. He pitched one inning and gave up a run, but the impact of his return is huge. There is no doubt that the more playing time he has, the stronger and more comfortable he will grow on the mound. This is the guy who used to be our dominating weapon out of the bullpen, stepping into the closer role in September of the 2006 season. Do I need to remind you of how Game 5 of the World Series ended that year? The implications of this during the upcoming post season are exciting to say the least.
How about that Matt Carpenter guy? You know…the one who leads the team in home runs and all of the national league in doubles? This guy has been one of my favorite players since I watched him in the Springfield Cardinal/St.Louis Cardinal preseason exhibition game his rookie year. You just knew by watching him play that he was something special. I have found myself embroiled in a lot of debates this season about his effectiveness and where he should be batting in the lineup. Some say that he would be more of an asset batting second or third, given his numbers. I say leave him as lead off. It has been shown that, for whatever reason, he does not produce nearly as well in any other spot. You can talk all you would like about RBI opportunities and utilizing your good hitters, but the fact remains that he STILL leads our team with 84 RBIs…batting LEAD OFF.
Oh Trevor Rosenthal. I think in a former life you must have been a roller coaster engineer. Do you love lifting people up to astounding heights, only to plunge them downward, free falling, sending their stomachs into their throats in a matter of seconds? Congratulations to Rosie on his record breaking season as a Cardinal closer. In a club that has a rich history of incredible pitchers, Rosenthal’s joining, then surpassing, the 47 game save mark set by Lee Smith and Jason Isringhausen is enough to declare this year a personal success for the fastball throwing right hander. There is no doubt that his contributions as a closing pitcher have been integral in our season of comeback games. Having said that, if we go to the bottom of the ninth tonight with less than a four run lead, I don’t know if I will be able to watch. Not that I would rather anybody other than Rosenthal be on the mound (except for maybe Wainwright), I’m just saying I don’t know if my heart can take it.
Thank you, fellow fans, for indulging me in my between-game musings…I could probably go on on all night, but it’s pregame and time to slip on my Molina jersey and the traditional STL playoff socks. We have a game to win and a title to seize! Let’s do this!
cardinal chick 