What they’re saying in Cardinal Nation

With no game today, I’ve found myself reading a few of the newspapers and blog in Cardinal Nation about tomorrow’s Game 3 in St. Louis.

The Belleville News-Democrat had an interesting piece on Pujols’ homer in Game 1 and what the Tigers should do when they pitch to Pujols in Game 3.

Pujols’ homer make a big impression in Detroit. (Belleville News-Democrat)

The Southern Illinoisian had a story about Kenny Rogers’ mysterious gem in Game 2.

Early Dividends

Seems like everyone, according to the Evansville Courier-Press’ Tom Wywrich, wants to know what was on Kenny Rogers’ hand in Game 2 during workout day in Detroit.

I didn’t get a chance to read the Post-Dispatch today, but I’m pretty sure that there’s a wealth of information on last night and “Smudgegate”.

Chris Carpenter will get the ball tomorrow night against Mr. Gum Time himself, Nate Robertson. This will be Chris Carpenter’s first World Series start as well as Robertson’s.

There’s gotta be a guardian angel somewhere for these Cards

When I was a boy, there was this wonderful baseball movie that came out called “Angels in the Outfield”, which was a remake of the 1951 movie with the same name that starred Tony Curtis.

The remake of this movie featured two kids that were fans of the California Angels (this movie was made in 1993, they didn’t change names until 1997) and the Angels were remarkably bad in the first part of the movie.

That is until the two kids began seeing angels in the ballpark.

And then all of a sudden, the Angels begin playing excellent baseball, so excellent that they made a comeback for the ages in the movie and dethrone their nemesis, the Chicago White Sox to win the pennant.

The one thing that stuck out in that movie for me, a movie that I actually saw on last Wednesday at home, was a scene in which the kids’ foster mother said to the Angels’ owner (who was loosely based on former Angels owner Gene Autry) that everyone wants someone to care for them, someone to love them, someone to be an angel for them.

I brought up that point because as I said yesterday, this Cardinal team was written off for dead a few days ago when they lost to the Brewers on Thursday night and it seemed as though as the Cardinals were going to be on that not-so-notable list of collapses in baseball history.

I mean, the columns that I read in the Post-Dispatch were pretty brutal, most of which hinted the fact that there’s no way in hell that the Cardinals are going pull it off.

The thinking that everybody in Cardinal Nation had on Friday morning was that the 2006 edition of the St. Louis Cardinals were going to join the 2004 Chicago Cubs, 1995 California Angels, 1978 Boston Red Sox, and the famous 1964 Philadelphia Phillies, the team that the Cardinals leaped over to win the pennant that year as the latest addition to the biggest chokes in baseball history.

Well, that didn’t happen.

When Albert Pujols hit that homer Friday night, that same thought I had when I meditated over the Lick Creek bridge in my neighborhood was that whatever higher power, supernatural forces, or guardian angel that I may have, let’s hope it’s on the Cardinals’ side this weekend.

Apparently on yesterday, while I sat in Bigfoot Lodge on South Second Street, the guardian angel or whatever higher force there is these days, seems to be on the Cardinals’ side.

For now.

It’s just a matter of who or what it is.

Just beileve, kiddo

A few days ago, I was pissed off in this blog about what was about to be one of the biggest collapse in the history of baseball when the Cardinals lost Tuesday’s game against the San Diego Padres in their final game of a three-game set in St. Louis.

Then when the Brewers beat the Cardinals rather soundly, I kept thinking about the threat that my ex said to me when we broke up back in 2005.

“The Cardinals will never win the pennant again.”

And for awhile, I figured that the Curse of the Aquarius Girl was about reappear again as the Cardinals needed to win on Friday night and then Saturday afternoon as well as Sunday afternoon to win the division.

And hope to God that they could get some help from the Braves as they faced Houston yesterday evening.

On Friday morning, I went down through a walking trail in my neighborhood and said a prayer for the Cardinals while I stood on the bridge that is over one of the small streams in my neighborhood.

And the last thing that I said, under my breath, was that if there is a guardian angel or whatever higher forces there may be, hopefully they’ll be on the Cardinals’ side on Friday night.

And in one evening, a game that was seemngly set for disaster and the death knell for the Cardinals’ season, the Cardinals with the help of Mr. Pujols restore faith in the Cardinal Nation.

Of course, before today’s game even started, I said again the same thing about today’s game, in which a Cardinals victory would shrink the magic number down to one and put added pressure on the Astros as they played later tonight.

That whatever guardian angel I might have or whatever higher forces that are working now, let’s hope that person or force is a Cardinals fan this weekend.

Since I had to leave for my normal routine down at Galloway, I couldn’t stay and watch the game.

But in an eerie situation, the screensaver on my computer cycled to the picture of the chocolate cutie, myself, and my two goofball friends from this past season down at Autozone Park.

Of course, I didn’t make much of it as I headed out the door.

I knew what that picture meant for me, the Cardinals’ chances of winning the division title was pretty much shot.

While I was discussing the Tigers-Vols game with a few people who attended the game and talking about the possibilty of having a book published within the next year or so, I told them that I was a Fan Radio broadcaster for the Redbirds and I repeated that quasi-famous home run call while I was eating my cheeseburger.

And apparently magically enough, Scott Spiezio hits a 3-run triple that gave the Cardinals lead in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Right after I said that quasi-famous home run call to the people I was talking to.

With one out to go and the tying run on first, I kept thinking to myself the same doubts and fears that I had this summer.

I know how these things end for me.

You size people up and they throw you on the heap.

You start believing in things and it all goes to shit.

Not this time.

The 27th out of game 160 for the Cardinals restored my faith in this season.

And this team.

Doubts aside, the doubting and fearing that I had on Thursday night and Friday morning was all gone when the Cardinals shrank their magic number to one and possibly the 20th postseason appearance in the history of the team.

When the game was over, there was one thing on my mind.

Wherever or whoever my guardian angel is or are (not sure if it’s correct grammar or not), they’re on the Cardinals’ side.

I guess.