And Gee Willakers

From 10.5 games out of the post-season race in the last week of August, the St. Louis Cardinals completed their ridiculous comeback by winning Game 7 of the World Series, 6-2, over the Texas Rangers.  It is the 11th for the franchise and the first since 2006.

Ready to go Robin Ventura on somebody

It looked like another grinder as the teams were tied 2-2 through the first couple of innings when Ron Washington took a page from the Tony LaRussa playbook and went to the bullpen early to remove Matt Harrison after four innings and three runs.  The Cardinals looked invigorated by Thursday night's improbable win while the Rangers, who had not lost two consecutive games since August, picked an unfortunate time to run out of gas.  They got their two runs early off Chris Carpenter, who started rough but quickly dialed in and found his groove, and from then on the Rangers were not much of a threat.

Texas bbq, St. Louis style

Lance Berkman, Allen Craig, and David Freese all had a World Series you would expect Albert Pujols to have, but for his contract negotiations, regardless where they take him, he needed this World Series win the most.  After slow starts the last couple of years because of injuries, Pujols's stock has slowed, if not flatlined.  A great player to be sure, the favorite of hack broadcasters who insist on handicapping early Hall of Fame votes, but for all his years only one championship ring.  Statistics are wonderful toys and even with his prodigious talent Pujols was still one ring behind Manny Rodriguez, whom nobody is extolling for class.  Teammate David Freese took MVP for both NLCS and World Series and arguably Chris Carpenter, Lance Berkman, or Allen Craig deserved the WS MVP just as much if not more.  But that puts Pujols not into even the top four performers for the Cardinals, and though his presence alone is problematic enough for the opposing team, it is not a lock that his play is consistently dominant as the talking heads would have you believe.  Mariano Rivera is continually posted as a can't fail, but even if that were true his team still didn't get past the first round.

"Rzepczinski?"

So now that nobody on the St. Louis side remembers the bullpen telephone incident, it's on to the off-season to enjoy a hard-earned trophy and to ponder what this team will look like next year, specifically LaRussa and Pujols.  For the Rangers, it will be the echo of "one strike away" for the winter months, hoping CC Sabathia opts out of his Yankee contract, wondering how their bank-vault closing pitching could let the big prize slip away, not just once in the same game, but the two final games. 

And the even bigger question, how do you face Nolan Ryan?