6-2 Game 4 Win for Redbirds!!

I apologize for taking so long to post this - Blogger and I weren't getting along this morning. Anyway, last night was our first postseaon clinch in the new stadium! Oh! What a night! Although, this isn't late December and it isn't 1963; it is early October, 2006 and the Cards are well on their way to winning a World Series. I'm confident that we can walk away with the whole shibang this year. We walked away with the NLDS in a game 4 victory, outscoring the Padres 6-2.

Carp started with a shaky first inning, but recovered quickly after Belliard's (yeah, he's da man) two-run single in the bottom of the first to tie the game. Carp didn't deliver much to the Padres after that as it remained a tied game until the 4-run sixth inning. Then, (for those of you that weren't so happy about acquiring Encarnacion) Juan Encarnacion's tiebreaking RBI helped in the run-packed sixth inning closing the game with a victory for the Cards.

Last night, the Redbirds were "crowned" the NLDS Champions with the game 4 victory, which means we're headed to the NLCS for the 3rd straight year and the 5th time in the past 7 years. In my opinion, we've become quite comfortable with the NLCS, so let’s surpass that this year! In the NLCS, we’ll be playing the Mets in hopes of reaching the Fall Classic and winning a lovely, diamond-studded ring! I'm 100% confident that we can do that this year. We may have limped into the postseason, but we're healing fast! From what I hear, Pujols won’t rest until the World Series is back in St. Louis. He has been quoted as saying, “that’s our goal for the fans”. Oh, he loves us, he reeeaally loves us!

Unfortunately, and fortunately at the same time, the Mets are the heavy favorite for the NLCS. You know the Yankees were the overwhelming favorite against the Tigers and they were beat out in the first round. I'm hoping that jinxes the Mets - but, we can always just beat them flat out. For one, we’re better off now, in the postseason, than we were when we played the Mets in the regular season. Mulder, Marquis and Izzy are playing much less significant roles in the postseason and I feel that heightens our chance against the Mets. It sounds like the Mets are relying, solely, on Carlos Beltran. Don’t they know, we’re not too terribly scared of Beltran? Don’t they know we overcame him in the NLCS in 2004? Just know that we’re not intimidated by Carlos Beltran and I refuse to be intimidated by him this year because he’s with the Mets. As a matter of fact, I refuse to be intimidated by the Mets as a whole. Good luck to them, but they are sorely mistaken if they think they'll be able to just roll over us. They are underestimating the Cards and I think that may come back to bite them in the arse.

I appreciate that everyone assumes our team consists of two guys - Albert Pujols and Chris Carpenter. But, while everyone is intent on focusing on those two, we have several other players that could stun the Mets. The guys to watch for the NLCS are, of course, Albert Pujols and Chris Carpenter, but also Ronnie Belliard, Juan Encarnacion, Scott Spiezio (or Rolen), and I’ve grown fond of Aaron Miles myself (I mean, not JUST because he’s a hottie). I think we have a fighting chance at this.

We open up the NLCS at New York on Wednesday and it looks as though our buddy, Weaver, will be our opener. I hope he shows the Mets what he’s got, because they are banking on taking our first two games since Carp won’t be able to start until the 3rd game in St. Louis. So, until Wednesday, GO CARDS!!!!

Oh yeah, here's a hilarious article from The Onion - and my Lord, if it isn't true, I don't know what would be. He he :oP