Okay, okay, fine. I admit it. Publicly.

Posted By: Peter DavidPosted On:

The prospect of a Cardinals/Rangers World Series did nothing for me, as I made clear on this very site. But my God, what a great game that was last night. I tuned in when some Rangers fan on Facebook said, “Only two outs to go!” and, oh my freaking God. Up by two runs, down to the last strike, and they couldn’t get it done. Next inning, up by two runs, down to the last strike, couldn’t get it done. Climaxed by a walk off home run that a poor Cardinals jersey wound up giving its life for when it was ripped off the back of the hometown boy who was the hero not once, but twice in the same game. David Freese won’t have to pay for a drink in any bar in St. Louis for the rest of his life.

There were probably so many Rangers fans banging their heads against the wall that it registered on the Richter Scale.

PAD

32 comments on “Okay, okay, fine. I admit it. Publicly.”

  1. As a St. Louis fan, I loved the game last night and the whole series. I’m still in awe of the game last night.
    The Rangers have been tough and kept us on our toes.

    Tonight is the night when it is all decided and I expect it to be as exciting as last night if not more. Go Cards!

  2. Kudos for the new statement Peter. It’s funny: I will watch and root against the Yankees in each round of the playoffs, but I never want them (or the Cardinals actually) to make it to the World Series since then they could actually win. The Series on its own is such a great sports tradition, regardless of what teams are in it, the games themselves determine the level of entertainment it provides.

    Brent

  3. I was awake up to the 7 at which time I went to bed.
    As usual, I missed out on the best part of the game.
    Now we go to 7.
    As for those Ranger fans registering on the richter scale, I hear Tennessee had a rumbler the other day…2.2.
    Probably not related…Probably.

    Looking forward to the last game.

    1. My Facebook entry:

      Dear Texas Rangers Fans. Re: Game 6. Been there, done that. Love, ’86 Red Sox fans.

  5. My second favorite team is always the team that plays the Cardinals. Go Not-Cards!

    That said, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a game that enthralling in the Fall Classic.

  6. I’ll root against the Cards every year in every game up to the NLCS. Once in the World Series is another matter. Go National League team!!!!!

  7. Well, close games and surprise results always make far more excitement. To go out of sports a moment, when there’s a runaway on JEOPARDY (when the lead has more than double the money of the next closest person and can’t be caught unless they choose to risk enough money to lose (and has that ever happened, apart from Cliff Clavin on CHEERS?)), it makes the Final Jeopardy segment incredibly dull because you already know who’s going to win. But when it’s a close game — especially when the players are within a thousand or two thousand dollars of each other — then it gets exciting.

    The Cardinals were pretty much written off in this series, and they managed to come back — bringing the closeness, unpredictability, and excitement with them. Even if they lose tonight, they certainly made it exciting again.

  10. What broke me up was when the Cardinals tied it AGAIN in the 10th inning and one of the announcers said in wonderment, “They simply. Will not. Go. Away.”
    .
    PAD

    1. If the Rangers don’t recover from this, nelson Cruz’s name will live on forever in infamy for his costly gaffe. Not that he didn’t just catch the bar. But, unlike, his two fellow ranger outfielders, he was playing in too far. The one thing you absolutely cannot allow to happen is what he did – you can’t be playing so far in that a ball can be hit over your head.
      .
      He should have been playing so deep that the only way a ball would be hit over his head is if it was hit over the fence.
      .
      This is basic stuff. Whatever ball falls in front of you can’t hurt the Rangers in that situation. The only thing that could is what did: a ball it over an outfielder’s head that results in a bases-clearing triple.

      1. But by the same token, in the 10th inning they were playing TOO far back. The announcers pointed out that, with a man on second, any ball out of the infield and the base runner “could walk home.” It was an exaggeration, but not by much.
        .
        So it’s really a dámņëd if you/dámņëd if you don’t scenario.
        .
        PAD

      2. True. Except one guy walking home would not have made a bit of difference in that situation. The guy on second meant nothing. It’s the guy on first who would be able to tie it.
        .
        If Cruz had played deeper, the Rangers would be having a victory parade today. Right or wrong, unless the Rangers win soon and he plays a major part in that, this is what hëll always be remembered for.

    1. To this day, even though the Mets benefited from it, I feel sorry for Bill Buckner. The moment that ball rolled between his legs, he must have thought, “That’s it. Nothing else I’ve ever done in my career is going to matter. This is all I’ll be remembered for.”
      .
      PAD

      1. When part of Boston’s Big Dig was named The Ted Williams Tunnel, one beantown talk show host suggested it should be named the Bill Buckner Tunnel — with a giant statue of Buckner over the entrance and all the cars driving under his glove.
        .
        J.

      2. As a Cardinals fan, I’m thrilled that they came back from behind to win the series. As a Red Sox fan, I feel extremely sorry for the Rangers. I know what that feels like. I didn’t watch baseball again for YEARS after the ’86 series.

      3. For the record, I always blamed Bob Stanley more than Bill Buckner. The Mets had three guys on base when Stanley threw the wild pitch that led to the tying run. The Sox had been one strike away from winning the series at that point. If Buckner *hadn’t* made his error, the Sox still would have been tied. Even with the error, they could have corrected it by pulling a win in Game 7, but didn’t.

      4. Which is really a shame for quite a few reasons:
        1.) Buckner, once he moved to first base on a permanent basis, was known as having one of the lowest percentage of errors at the position, EVER. Something that didn’t get much publicity is that he held a record for 24 years (broken, ironically enough by Albert Pujols in 2009) for most assists by a frst baseman in a season.
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        2.) Buckner was actually one of the most terrific hitters of his time, borderline Hall-of-Famer though most put him a slight notch below.
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        He won the 1980 batting title, batted over .300 four times and finished his career with a .289 average and over 2,700 hits. He also had over 1,200 RBIs.
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        3.) This would have never happened had Red Sox manager John McNamara decided to do what his gut told him was right rather than get sentimental.
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        Buckner was a gamer who missed very few games. In 1986, his bat was as potent as ever. In September of that year, he .340 with eight home runs and 22 RBIs. Yet his chronic ankle soreness had become acute it was becoming commonplace for him to be replaced in the late innings by Dave Stapleton.
        .
        In fact,Buckner had become the first major league player to wear Nike high-top baseball cleats professionally in an effort to relieve pressure from his ankles.
        .
        His bat was a key reason the Red Sox won the AL East and as he went, so went the Red Sox. When he batted .111 over the first four games of the ALCS against the Angels, the Red Sox found themselves in a 3-1 hole.
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        He was 0-for-3 in Game 5 before singling to start the rally that turned that series around.
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        he was having a lousy game at the plate in that Game 6 against the Mets and it seemed that it would be a foregone conclusion that when the Sox scored two runs in the top of the tenth, Stapleton would be brought in as he had been in Games One, Two and Five.
        .
        Boston manager John McNamara chose to have Buckner take the field in the bottom of the inning instead of bringing Stapleton. he would later say he wanted the veteran Buckner to be on the field for the final out so he could enjoy the feeling of winning the World Series on the field.
        .
        Buckner would have been a lot better off had McNamara not decided to be “gracious”.

  12. And the Cards win the series. 11 in ’11. 🙂 Even though I’m not a baseball fan; I can’t help but get into the spirit of my town’s team!

  13. I hear that the confetti they dumped on them at the end was manufactured from the shredded dreams of Rangers fans…
    .
    PAD

  14. Grats to the Cards on pulling it off.

    Even more congrats to the guy who was in Vegas at the start of the playoffs, and saw the long odd on the Cards making it to the World Series, and the even longer odds on winning it.

    He placed 2 $250 bets(one on each).

    Cards made the World Series, $125,000 payoff.
    Now that they won it, another $250,000

    Hats off to you dude

      1. Naw. If he was that lucky, he would’ve never been caught and would be in the Hall of fame.

  15. Time to get off my ášš…because I’ve been beating around the bush, writing wise. One part of me is really pìššëd – wanting to kiss myself in the rear, I want my life to get traction, but I spend most weekends watching movies on my PC – while another – because my doesn’t have traction, is SO tired. (And frankly, depressed.) Anyway, tonight the kick-ášš part is winning the battle. (Thank, Erik Hazelhoff-Roelsema. Don’t ask, it’s a long story. To long for a blog post that is being written on semi-autopilot.) So, after this, I’m gonna start turning the first four chapters of me book from handwritten into a computer file. By the way, I haven’t shaved in a couple of days. And I would give (almost) anything for a couple of beers and a stockpile of cleaned carrots right now. (What ? Healthier and cheaper then smoking.)

    PS….What ? I’m Dutch….I know jack about Baseball.

  16. I don’t think Cruz missing the catch was quite a Bill Buckner / Scott Norwood level gaffe, but I bet they were wincing in sympathy.

    1. I’m a Giant fan, but I never saw Norwood’s miss as a “gaffe”. A 47-yard field goal is hardly a chip shot.

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