Monday, May 02, 2005
OH MY GOD
I stared at the TV in disbelief.
There was no way. They were down six runs with the 8, 9, 1 hitters coming up. Yadi? Yeah, right. Nunez? The Reds crumpled him last game. Eckstein? Well, you'd think he's coming up with two outs and have a gritty at-bat, but ultimately (at most) get stranded on first.
But oh, goodness.
My only hope was to get Pujols to the plate. He might, might, have a chance to make it a little closer. And then, and then, and then! One man after another got on base. What was happening? Did they think there was a shot to win this? LaRussa often says that the team plays all nine innings. That's nice, but come on. A complete implosion by the AAA bullpen plus termites to overcome? I thought they might be able to make a sad, feeble attempt, but ultimately fail. And, really, they way they've been hitting, who could blame me?
I wanted them to get blown out (see the comment I made over at Red Hot Mama). Something to shake them up. I guess it didn't even take a whole game. For the first time in a long time, the boys looked like they knew what needed to be done, and knew they could do it. That is what I remember. That is the team I know. When they say there is no "one" guy on this team-believe it. Mabry, who had been out with a bad hamstring for pretty much the whole season, hit the game winner. Edmonds had gone 0-3 (all K's) until a single, and then he hit a big homerun. Biggest ninth inning come back in Cardinals history.
Relentless.
Now, tomorrow they could totally suck. But it won't take away from the sweet and improbable victory tonight (and the sweetest part was so many of those ninth inning runs were with two outs).
By the way, if for some reason you did not read the comments in the previous post, or haven't gone to Red Hot Mama, do so-now. This is going to be a fun season.
There was no way. They were down six runs with the 8, 9, 1 hitters coming up. Yadi? Yeah, right. Nunez? The Reds crumpled him last game. Eckstein? Well, you'd think he's coming up with two outs and have a gritty at-bat, but ultimately (at most) get stranded on first.
But oh, goodness.
My only hope was to get Pujols to the plate. He might, might, have a chance to make it a little closer. And then, and then, and then! One man after another got on base. What was happening? Did they think there was a shot to win this? LaRussa often says that the team plays all nine innings. That's nice, but come on. A complete implosion by the AAA bullpen plus termites to overcome? I thought they might be able to make a sad, feeble attempt, but ultimately fail. And, really, they way they've been hitting, who could blame me?
I wanted them to get blown out (see the comment I made over at Red Hot Mama). Something to shake them up. I guess it didn't even take a whole game. For the first time in a long time, the boys looked like they knew what needed to be done, and knew they could do it. That is what I remember. That is the team I know. When they say there is no "one" guy on this team-believe it. Mabry, who had been out with a bad hamstring for pretty much the whole season, hit the game winner. Edmonds had gone 0-3 (all K's) until a single, and then he hit a big homerun. Biggest ninth inning come back in Cardinals history.
Relentless.
Now, tomorrow they could totally suck. But it won't take away from the sweet and improbable victory tonight (and the sweetest part was so many of those ninth inning runs were with two outs).
By the way, if for some reason you did not read the comments in the previous post, or haven't gone to Red Hot Mama, do so-now. This is going to be a fun season.
