New Sully Baseball Video - Raining on Pujols' Parade

The latest Sully Baseball video is live.
In this one, my wife and I went to a little league park in the rain to shoot my thoughts on Albert Pujols' defection to sunny California.

It might be a sad day now... but in 10 years it will be the Angels who regret it.

To see the rest of the Sully Baseball videos, check out the ShortForm TV channel.

I experienced a Cardinals fan nightmare in Orange County this weekend

I was in San Clemente this weekend seeing some of my wife's cousins and watching a production of the original play Christmas in San Clemente.

While waiting to go into the theater, I saw a guy at a local coffee shop wearing an Angels cap.

Now this was the first time I had been in Orange County since Albert Pujols signed with the Angels. And seeing that I was about to go the next few hours into in laws and Christmas mode, I didn't mind doing a little baseball talk before the play started.

(PLEASE note that I am lucky to have terrific in laws and I love Christmas time. I just know that this was my lone chance to break down the AL West.)

I said to him "You an Angels fan?"
He responded. "Oh yeah. I'm a big Angels fan."

That's what he said. I'm NOT making that up. That becomes an important detail.

I said "You must be really excited."
At first he looked confused and then said "Oh yeah. They made some moves."

I grinned.
Some moves?
That's like Noah saying "Yeah, I think it is going to rain."

Even though I was 1,800 miles from St. Louis, I could hear Cardinals fan scream.

"Yeah," I said. "They made a few moves."
"Who was it again?" He asked.

Now look. I understand being a casual fan. I do. I'm a casual hockey fan. If my team, the San Jose Sharks, made a big trade I might not know the name.

But if San Jose got Sidney Crosby, I would be able to place the name.
And if I couldn't, I wouldn't call myself a BIG fan.

I decided to answer.

"They got Albert Pujols." I said.
He nodded. "He's pretty good, right?"

And that my friends is the Cardinals fans worst fear.
Not only did they lose Albert Pujols, but they lost him to an indifferent fan base.

Sorry Angel fans. That's your reputation. The Angels have a fan base that does indeed show up to the games but needs a monkey to tell them when to cheer.

A fan base that wants their team to win, but didn't give Adam Kennedy a standing ovation when he returned to Anaheim this year as a member of the Mariners.

Remember Kennedy was the MVP of the 2002 ALCS (the only pennant the Angels have ever won.) And after years of coming close to the World Series and never getting in, Kennedy hit the go ahead homer off of Johan Santana in the clinching Game 5. Oh guess what? He hit THREE homers that day.

Like Pujols, he hit three homers in a single post season game. He led them to the World Series and helped win it all.

He came up to the plate last season. There wasn't even a buzz.

In Boston, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Baltimore, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Milwaukee, San Francisco, Kansas City... even the Dodgers... he'd get a standing ovation.

And that fan base got Albert Pujols.

So here's my message to the big fan in San Clemente.

Yeah. He's pretty good.

Shame on any Cardinal fan dumping on Albert Pujols

Hey Cardinal fans.

Tell me that these are just a few bone headed isolated incidents.

Please tell me that nitwits like this guy don't speak for you.

Show some dignity and have yourself heard over these idiots.

I respect the hell out of St. Louis fans so tell me that you are making fun of this person.

I shouldn't be calling them the Cardinals.

They are THE DEFENDING WORLD CHAMPION ST. LOUIS CARDINALS.

So tell me that you remember that...

That you remember Pujols getting 3 homers in Game 3 and getting the double that started the game tying rally in Game 6.

In fact I am not going to insult Pujols by listing his amazing resume.

He's Albert F*cking Pujols!

He just gave the Cardinals 11 brilliant seasons.

And guess what? The Angels will be paying for his twilight years.

Pujols didn't owe St. Louis fans a damn thing.

People comparing this to LeBron?

Did I forget LeBron's two championships in Cleveland?

Did I forget LeBron leaving it all on the floor the way that Pujols played his guts out for the Cardinals?

For more than a decade Cardinal fans had the privilege of watching the most exciting player of this generation in his prime... no positive tests... no scandal... multiple championships... What more did you want?

Should Reds fans have burned Pete Rose's jersey when he went to the Phillies?

Your reputation as classy fans are second to none, Cardinal Nation.

Don't spoil it by acting like spoiled petulant kids.

sullybaseball on Twitter">

Uh oh Cardinals fans... Pujols to the Angels makes sense

I have felt for the past few weeks that Albert Pujols was bound to go back to St. Louis. It made the most sense for his career and it made sense for the Cardinals to keep him. The stability of Pujols on the team moving on to defend the World Series title and the end the LaRussa era and the beginning of the Mike Matheny years was critical.

And the main suitors were dropping off.

The Dodgers? Nah. They have unstable ownership and already spent big time on Matt Kemp.

The Cubs? Not going to happen. They have too many hole to spend $25 million on a first baseman, no matter how big a star he is.

The Mets? They are a nickle and dime small market team.

The Marlins? I equated their Pujols pursuit with the Herman Cain Presidential bid. It was for publicity. Plus they spent all their money on Mark Buehrle, Jose Reyes and Heath Bell.

Seriously, his return to St. Louis was all but assured.
But now it appears that the Angels want to bring Pujols to Anaheim.

Don't get comfortable Cardinal fans.
This makes a lot of sense for everyone.

Arte Moreno is not beneath spending money and making a splash. Last year's big pick up, Vernon Wells, was a turkey.

But the team has excellent pitching with Jared Weaver and Dan Haren leading the way. And they have some good veterans like Torii Hunter and Howie Kendrick.

They have some excellent young players like Mike Trout, Jordan Walden, Peter Bourjos and Mark Trumbo.

Put Pujols in the middle of this team and suddenly the young players have an MVP to look up to, veterans have a superstar to take pressure off them and pitchers know that some more runs.

And if the Rangers take a step back, then the Angels could be the favorite in the AL West.
And Mike Scioscia is a Hall of Fame caliber manager.

And Southern California is a nice place to live. Both Los Angeles AND Anaheim.

So be a little nervous, Cardinals fans.
Pujols has been your team's angel... but he COULD be an Angel.

I still think he will be a Cardinal, but the Angels actually make sense.

The Marlins, Albert Pujols and Herman Cain

Am I the only person who doesn't buy the 10 year deal the Marlins are offering Albert Pujols?
Am I the only person who thinks it is just a show?

I think the Marlins made their big splash with Jose Reyes and Heath Bell but they want to keep excitement up in Florida... oops sorry... Miami and sell more season tickets in their brand spanking new stadium.

It's kind of like Herman Cain's "Run" for President.
Come on. He was never REALLY running. He was building up his fame and most importantly his ability to charge on the public speaking circuit.

And it worked!
Did YOU know who Herman Cain was?
If you answered yes, I can only assume you are in the Pizza business.

But now we all know who he is now.
Heck he is even in a Sully Baseball post!

And the Marlins are courting Pujols but NOT REALLY!
They are wining and dining him and offering 10 years.
It's 10 years, $40 thousand a year. BUT it's 10 YEARS!

Create the appearance of spending for Pujols... that's all the Marlins need to do.

Maybe they'll take him to Godfather Pizza along the way.

Mike Matheny?

Look, I am sure Mike Matheny is a good solid baseball guy.
I have no doubt that he has the chops to become a big league manager.

And as a former St. Louis Cardinal, he played 5 years under LaRussa, won 3 Gold Gloves and played for the 2000, 2001, 2001 and 2004 playoff teams.

But call me crazy, shouldn't the Defending World Series Champs be managed by someone with managerial experience?

Is Matheny going to be the manager at the All Star Game?
He was a minor league instructor. He wasn't even on the coaching staff! (Jose Oquendo, anyone?)

"Hey, you might be a good managerial candidate. You should get your feet wet."
"Great. Do you mean with the Batavia Muckdogs? Or the Memphis Redbirds?"
"No, we were think of The Defending World Champion St. Louis Cardinals. That's a good place to get started."

Since 1981, the Cardinals have been managed by Whitey Herzog, Joe Torre and Tony LaRussa.
Whitey is in the Hall of Fame. Joe and Tony are working on their speeches.

Red Schoendienst managed for a few games in 1990. He's in the Hall of Fame.
Mike Jorgensen was an interim manager in 1995 when they were waiting for LaRussa to become available.

But for the last 30 years, save for Jorgensen keeping the seat warm, the Cardinals managerial post was filled by experienced man who will be in the Hall of Fame.

Now they are giving it to someone who has as much managerial experience as Lisa Kudrow.

He might turn out to be great.

Maybe the Cardinals know something I don't.
But call me crazy, but the first line up card you fill out should NOT be the Defending World Champs.

And this is the second high profile franchise to fill their managerial post with someone with NO experience. (Hello Robin Ventura and the White Sox!)

And somewhere Chris Chambliss is saying "I can't even get an interview!"

The (Arthur) Rhodes less traveled

Arthur Rhodes was going to get a World Series ring no matter what.
He was a member of both the Rangers and the Cardinals this year. But no doubt it will be sweeter that he got his ring with the club he actually played for in the World Series.

20 seasons in the bigs... and this was his first trip to the World Series.

He was a respected veteran who put up a few tremendous seasons as a middle reliever.
I know it isn't cool to talk about win totals, but he DID go 19-4 between 1996 and 1997, both playoff seasons for Baltimore.

Between 2001 and 2002, he went 18-4 with the Mariners, including the '01 Division Winners.

He was an Oriole when Ripken passed Gehrig and Jeffrey Maier interfered with Jeter's flyball.
He played along side A-Rod, Edgar Martinez, King Felix and Ichiro in Seattle.
Played with the three Moneyball aces in Oakland.
He relieved CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee in Cleveland.
He played with Howard, Utley, Rollis, Ruiz and Cole Hamels in Philadelphia.
He was teammates with Hanley Ramirez in Florida.
He was on the Reds team that finally made it back to post season in 2010.
And of course with BOTH pennant winners in 2011.

But something struck me about his career.

He made his big league debut as a member of the Baltimore Orioles on August 21, 1991 against Texas.

Some of the batters he faced that day included Julio Franco, Brian Downing and Gary Pettis.

On August 27, 1991 he pitched his first home game in Baltimore.
NOT in Camden Yards. He was pitching in Memorial Stadium. His career predates Camden Yards!

On September 10th, 1991, he was playing New York, a full 10 years and 1 day before the attacks.

He faced a Yankee team filled with mismatched parts as they were floundering through the Stump Merrill years.

Steve Sax, Roberto Kelly, Hensley "Bam Bam" Meulens, Matt Nokes, Pat Kelly, Randy Velarde, Alvaro Espinoza and Pat Sheridan were all in the lineup.

Poor Don Mattingly, stuck with such a rotten team.
(The lead off hitter was a young Bernie Williams, a preview of better days for the Yankees.)

But something struck me about the box score that day.

Dwight Evans played that game for the Orioles. He came in as a pinch hitter for Sam Horn (yeah, THAT Sam Horn).

Evans played his final season in Baltimore. Arthur Rhodes was his teammate.
A pitcher in the 2011 World Series was once on the same team as Dwight Evans. It seems like it was 4 or 5 generations ago that Evans played.

Arthur Rhodes pitched before the Yankees got to be good again, before there was a Camden Yards and played along side Dwight Evans.

Think of the young players from this Cardinals team.
24 year old Daniel Descalso can now be connected to Dwight Evans in one move.

Let's hope Daniel plays as long as Arthur Rhodes.

Congrats on your World Series ring, Arthur.
You have truly earned it.

Sully Baseball Salutes... Bob Forsch

In the wake of Cardinals euphoria after the World Series title, there is sadness in St. Louis.
Bob Forsch, a mainstay in the Cardinals pitching staff for 14 1/2 years, died yesterday.

He was never an All Star (although he was a Kellogg's 3D All Star, which is cooler) and never got Cy Young consideration.

But he WAS steady, reliable and could be from time to time brilliant. He threw the only two no hitters in the Concrete Donut Busch Stadium's history.

And he was a good hitter, twice winning the Silver Slugger award.

He won 20 games in 1977 and seven times gave the Cardinals 200 innings. In Game 1 of the 1982 NLCS, Forsch threw a 3 hit shutout (walking nobody) against a hard hitting Atlanta Braves team. The Cardinals would go on to sweep Atlanta for the pennant and later win the World Series.

He would pitch for the 1985 and 1987 National League champion Cardinals, winning Game 3 of the 1987 NLCS and Game 4 of the World Series out of the bullpen.

Bob Forsch seemed to be with the Cardinals forever just like his brother Ken Forsch was a mainstay in Houston. It must have been confusing when Bob finished his career as an Astro.

The Forsches are the only two brothers to each throw a no hitter.

Bob Forsch threw out the first pitch before Game 7 of the World Series this year.
Now he's gone.

Another player from my youth is no more.
You are good fans, Cardinal Nation. Salute Mr. Forsch. Give him his due.

Selig's main requirement for a new Dodger owner: SIGN PUJOLS!

I don't believe in random events.
I don't believe in first causes.
I don't believe that actions take place in vacuums.

Even me typing this blog post is the result of a long chain reaction of events.

And a chain reaction of events could be conspiring to bring Albert Pujols to Dodger Stadium.
I have no evidence to back up these theories. But I still think it makes sense.

- Albert Pujols launches 3 home runs in one World Series game, putting him in World Series history with Reggie Jackson and Babe Ruth. And he helps spark one of the World Series saving rallies in Game 6. (The fact that he was basically a non factor in the other World Series games is forgotten by everyone.)

- Albert Pujols is a free agent... a perennial MVP candidate and one of the few marquee stars in the game. Plus he is a class act, free of scandal and has multiple rings in St. Louis. He's probably staying in St. Louis with his father figure, Tony LaRussa.

- LaRussa retires, ending his career with his crowning achievement. He can spend his days saving animals and writing his Cooperstown speech.

- SO Pujols has nothing left to prove in St. Louis. He can leave St. Louis on top and take on a new challenge and more money than any of us can ever dream of. ($30 million a year?)


Meanwhile in Los Angeles...

- The Dodgers fiasco might be finally grinding to a halt. Frank McCourt, in denial like William H. Macy's character in Fargo, might finally realize that he ISN'T just one deal away from keeping control of the team. MLB might take over the Dodgers. They did that once before with the Expos.

- This is a different scenario. That was saving a team from contraction and getting them to Washington DC. The Dodgers need to be lifted from the humiliation of bankruptcy and mismanagement. The Dodgers SHOULD be one of the glamorous franchises. And it would behoove baseball to have a big west coast superpower (sorry Giants fans. Your team isn't a superpower.)

- So if MLB takes over the Dodgers, they can hand pick whomever takes over the team. They will have to be committed to turn the Dodgers back into a powerhouse, make L.A. as baseball crazy as New York and Boston and bring some star power to Dodger Stadium.

- The Dodgers just HAPPENED to have a hole at first base (sorry James Loney). They just HAPPENED to have an MVP candidate to protect Pujols in the lineup with Matt Kemp. They just HAPPEN to play in a winnable division. (Sorry Diamondbacks.) And unless Juan Uribe has more pull than I thought, #5 just HAPPENS to be available in Los Angeles.

- The Dodgers also just HAPPEN to be a team in a desperate situation to have some positive press after all the off the field embarrassment. And they need something, besides a face who ISN'T Frank McCourt, to jumstart season ticket sales.

- If MLB can control who buys the Dodgers, they COULD make "Will you make a big push for Albert Pujols?" a requirement. It would be good for the franchise and could make the Dodgers a marquee franchise again.

Fans are going to show up in St. Louis. It's a new era there anyway.

Pujols (paired with NL MVP candidate Matt Kemp and Cy Young candidate Clayton Kershaw) could have his new challenge.

Bud Selig, someone NOT above colluding, could be in a unique position to handpick someone to bid on Pujols.

Where else is Albert going? Sure Theo Epstein wants to make a big splash with the Cubs, but he has to weed OUT big contracts before bringing in a new one. The Mets are a mess. And maybe the Marlins would make a run at him, but they are a dark horse at best.

Of course the Rangers, White Sox, Nationals and Orioles are never shy about throwing money around. But I can't see Albert going to any of those places.

The Dodgers are the most logical landing place in many ways.
It's a boost to the franchise.
It's a bump in West Coast baseball's interest.
And it could make Albert even more marketable than he is now.

Don't think this ISN'T going through Bud Selig's mind.
It's a chain reaction of events... and it could lead to the image of Albert Pujols playing first base for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

(For the record, I think Pujols is staying put... but you never know!)

TITO!!! CALL ST. LOUIS NOW!!!

The World Champion St. Louis Cardinals have a job opening!
Their Hall of Fame manager is leaving on top.
They have the foundation of a great team being left behind.

They can hand the reigns of the team over to a coach like Jose Oquendo or Dave McKay or Joe Pettini.

Maybe long time pitching coach guru Dave Duncan can manage the team.

Or 800 pound gorilla Mark McGwire.

OR they can insert a respected manager who happened to have a bad month.
Someone with two World Series titles of his own... including one at the expense of the Cardinals.

Terry Francona... Cardinals manager.
St. Louis is just as great a baseball city as Boston without the grief or inferiority complex.

The inferiority complex is in Chicago... and who is running the Cubs now? THEO!

Oh this could be a NEW wrinkle in the Cubs/Cardinals rivalry!!!

Become the Cardinals manager, win a World Series title in St. Louis... be beloved forever and rehearse your Cooperstown speech.

Give them a call.

Hats off to Tony LaRussa

I've never been a Tony LaRussa fan... but man you have to respect him.
He is probably the greatest manager of our time. If he's not, he's in the conversation.

And he retired as a World Series champ.
No backstabbing, book writing, passive aggressive swiping at management here.

This isn't Torre or Francona's ending where you need to remind people of the good times.

He's out on top after winning the best World Series in a decade.

He has three World Series titles. No need to apologize for not winning more. He has as many World Series titles as Leo Durocher, Earl Weaver and Whitey Herzog combined.

I was never a fan.
But man I am an admirer.

Ozzie Guillen, Bruce Bochy, Charlie Manuel, Joe Girardi, Davey Johnson, Mike Scioscia and Jim Leyland are the only current managers who have won a World Series title now.

None more than one.

Who will take the title of "Best Current Manager?"

We'll see.

The Big Bad Cardinals

Let’s take four big league franchises and look at what they’ve done in the past 10 seasons.

Franchise 1 from 2002 to now.
Won 2 World Series Titles.
Won 3 Pennants.
Appeared in the LCS 5 times

Franchise 2 from 2002 to now.
Won 2 World Series Titles
Won 2 Pennants.
Appeared in the LCS 4 times.

Franchise 3 from 2002 to now.
Won 1 World Series Title.
Won 2 Pennants.
Appeared in the LCS 4 times.

Franchise 4 from 2002 to now.
Won 1 World Series Title.
Won 2 Pennants.
Appeared in the LCS 2 times.

Franchise 1 clearly has been the most dominant team of the past 10 seasons.
Franchise 2 had a great stretch but hasn’t been in the World Series nor LCS as much as Franchise 1.
Franchises 3, and 4 each won a title and a few pennants but were hardly dominant.

Which franchise do you think is which?

Franchise 4 is the Giants.
Franchise 3 is the Yankees.
Franchise 2 is the Red Sox.
Franchise 1 is the newly crowned World Champion Cardinals.

Next time in this off season you hear someone crow about how the Yankees win it every year and how they and the Red Sox just buy pennants, remember than in the past 10 years the team that dominated was actually in St. Louis.

The three other teams I mentioned had a monumental face plant in that span of time. The Giants blew the 5-0 lead in a potential World Series clincher in 2002. The Yankees had the 2004 ALCS. The Red Sox had the 2003 ALCS and the great collapse of 2011.

What was the faceplant for the Cardinals?
Where was their classic choke job?
Who was their Aaron Boone? Dave Roberts? Scott Spiezio?

The Cardinals have had the Jim Edmonds homer, Pujols against Lidge (yeah Houston won that Series… nobody remembers Game 6.)… Wainwright striking out Beltran… Carpenter shutting down the Phillies… and Game 6 of the 2011 World Series.

They broke the Padres hearts… the Astros hearts… the Mets hearts… the Tigers hearts… the Phillies and Brewers and Rangers hearts.

Remember that… the big bad Cardinals have won it again.

Sharing an all time classic with my dad

The Game 6 classic was truly one of the greatest baseball games I ever saw in my life. It was insane. It was bonkers.

By the 6th inning with all the errors I thought "This is one nutty game."
Then the home runs...
Then the Cardinals came back down to their last strike...
Then Hamilton homered...
Then the Cardinals came back down to their last strike AGAIN...
Then they won.

It was so obviously a classic. I was kind of shaking when the game was over. And I desperately wanted to talk to someone.

I called my dad. Now I had no idea if my dad was watching the game recorded.
"Yeah."
"Dad, how much time did you leave at the end?"
"Normal length. Why did it go long?"

I paused. I knew there was NO WAY he was going to record the whole thing. He would be watching it and somewhere it would run out.

"Yeah dad. It went long."

So I proceeded to tell my dad all about the game.

I could build the suspense and hear my dad saying "No!" or "Oh my god!" as I told him how the Cardinals kept creeping closer and coming back.

And then I described the finale.
Long pause.

My dad said "Wow."

And then we started talking about the greatest World Series games we ever saw.

Clearly this was a top 5 game for me.
And my dad experienced it with me telling him the highlights by cell phone.

And in a wonderful way, I got to experience it again... but this time it was a gift to my dad.

And THAT is a Fall Classic.

Hey Colby Rasmus! Where did you watch the game?

Hey! If you could have not pulled a Diva act and whined your way out of St. Louis, you might be a World Series champ!

But I'm sure you made the right decision.

These Cardinals seemed like a really tough group to play with.

And yeah, the Cardinals made such a bad move dealing a pain in the ass player with one pretty good season under his belt for pitching depth.

Rasmus is going to get a World Series ring.
I hope LaRussa presents it to him on his middle finger.

If this WAS Pujols' last game... you can not blame him

Pujols is probably going to return...
The Cardinals could finally become a National Brand.

But it also makes sense if he says "I've done EVERYTHING I can possibly do in St. Louis. Maybe I need a new challenge."

The new owner of the Dodgers would want to show the fan base that they spend money on the team instead of on their homes. (And I assume they won't blame victims when they get beaten in their poorly lit and lightly secured parking lots.)

Bringing in Albert Pujols makes all the short term sense in the world for the Dodgers.

If he goes to Chavez Ravine, then I not only don't want to hear CARDINALS fans boo him but I also want to hear nobody in all of baseball boo him.

If he wants to get top dollar, he has done everything he could have possibly done in St. Louis.

But I said all of that before.

Was this Gerald Laird's last ever game as a member of the Cardinals?

Salute him.
It could be the end of an era.

I think Arthur Rhodes prefers THIS World Series ring

No matter what, Arthur Rhodes was going to get his first World Series ring.
He played for the Rangers AND the Cardinals.
If the Rangers got that last strike last night, it would be a Rangers ring.

Call me crazy, I think this will be sweeter for him.

He has pitched over 20 years in the bigs with 9 different teams.
Now he has a World Series ring.

I feel good for Arthur Rhodes.
How could you not?

This could be the best video ever on the internet

I love this video.
I have never seen a "Fan shot video at the ballgame" that has included all the emotions of an amazing dramatic moment more than this.

It's shot from left field with the Cardinals down to their last strike in the 9th inning and David Freese facing Neftali Feliz.

The crowd is nervous.
Then the fly ball to right field and there is a combination of tension, hope and possible sadness as it looked like the Rangers were going to win the World Series.

Then the delirium that not only was the game NOT over... not only were the Cardinals still alive... but somehow the game was tied.

The fans going insane... then the camera zoomed into the Rangers fans.
That slumped look of disgust...
I know it well. The feeling of "I thought I was about to jump up in the air with all of my baseball wishes fulfilled... and instead I am pissed.

So much in this one video.
So much of it perfectly captured.

Please don't take it down, YouTube.

This was NOT a great game

Calling this game great is a damn insult.
This was an all time "where were you when it happened" classic.

I am exhausted.
I have no clue what can be said.

But folks, if you aren't watching this World Series I truly pity you.

Bed time.
Posts tomorrow.

For one day I am a Cardinals fan

I have a history of rooting AGAINST the St. Louis Cardinals.

I wanted the Giants to win the 1987 NLCS and the Twins to win the World Series.

I rooted for the Padres to beat St. Louis in 1996.

I rooted for the Mets to beat St. Louis in 2000.

I rooted for the Diamondbacks to beat St. Louis in 2001.

I rooted for the Giants to beat St. Louis in 2002.

I rooted for the Red Sox, obviously, in the 2004 World Series against St. Louis.

I rooted for the Padres in the 2005 Division Series against the Cardinal.

I rooted for the Padres, Mets AND Tigers to beat the Cardinals in 2006.

I rooted for the Dodgers against the Cardinals in 2009.

I rooted for the Phillies, Brewers and Rangers against St. Louis this year.

I SWEAR I don't hate you Cardinals fans. It just happens I like to see the Cardinals lose in the post season.

That being said, I am rooting card for the Cardinals for tonight.

It's been 9 years since baseball has seen a seventh game of the World Series.

There are teenagers with no memory of a Game 7 of the World Series.

It's been an amazing September and October. Now it needs a grand finale.

In order for THAT to happen, the Cardinals need to win.

So... for tonight only...

GO CARDINALS!