Wow! It's hard for me to believe. The Cards are the 2006 World Series Champions! WHAHOO!
A few of my favorites from the night:
Favorite signs hanging around the stadium:
-The Experts are Idiots
-Hit it to the pitcher
MVP award should have gone to the Detroit Defense.
Within ten minutes of the final out there were fireworks being shot off in my neighborhood to celebrate the win. How cool is that?
I'm too scattered brained tonight to write a legit recap... but congrats to the Cardinals. Against all predictions and odds, they played good fundamental baseball. They saved their best baseball for the last month. It was a thing of beauty.
According to my calculations, there are 154 days till Opening Day 2007!
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Friday, October 27, 2006
Game Four
-This was the best game of the series so far if you are simply a fan of the game. Back and forth it went there at the end. This was the first game where both starting pitchers pitched at about the same level... no one blew it open. Fun to watch for everyone else... high blood pressure game for me. Gut wrenching game for a Tigers fan.
-In my mind, this was the Tigers game to win. Their hitting was better than the Cards. Their pitching was better than the Cards. The two areas where the Cards were better: defense and timely hitting... which is much different than just hitting. The Tigers pretty much gave the Cardinals five outs in the 7th inning. It must have been brutal to watch.
-I know I sound like a broken record... but Encarnacion is terrible. He couldn't have had a poorer at-bat when he pinch hit late in the game.
-I didn't get a chance to watch the Tigers play much this year... so I can't say this with confidence... but it sure seems like they were uncomfortable defending small ball. Defense on bunts and dribblers have been brutal for them. I imagine that American League ball doesn't necessitate small ball as much as in the National League. To be honest though, I'd rather watch a team manufacture a run like that than see a home run. So last night's game was very interesting to me.
-Class Acts: Jim Leyland: Love this guy. I want nothing but the best for him except in this case, of course. Sean Casey: Always been a tough out for us... plays the game with respect for his team and his opponent. Curtis Granderson: Could have blamed the rain and the slick grass but decided to dodge excuses and assign the blame to himself. (Didn't have to do it, I know how much rain we've gotten, I imagine the field was very slick.)
-Verlander vs. Weaver: My heart says that the Cards will win tonight by a score of 6-4. My head says that Detroit will win by a score of 6-1. I don't think Verlander will be bad two times in a row. I think Weaver will give us about the same type of outing. (To be honest, I wouldn't even be going with Weaver... I'd probably go with Reyes again after his game one performance... but that's why they pay LaRussa the big bucks.)
-In my mind, this was the Tigers game to win. Their hitting was better than the Cards. Their pitching was better than the Cards. The two areas where the Cards were better: defense and timely hitting... which is much different than just hitting. The Tigers pretty much gave the Cardinals five outs in the 7th inning. It must have been brutal to watch.
-I know I sound like a broken record... but Encarnacion is terrible. He couldn't have had a poorer at-bat when he pinch hit late in the game.
-I didn't get a chance to watch the Tigers play much this year... so I can't say this with confidence... but it sure seems like they were uncomfortable defending small ball. Defense on bunts and dribblers have been brutal for them. I imagine that American League ball doesn't necessitate small ball as much as in the National League. To be honest though, I'd rather watch a team manufacture a run like that than see a home run. So last night's game was very interesting to me.
-Class Acts: Jim Leyland: Love this guy. I want nothing but the best for him except in this case, of course. Sean Casey: Always been a tough out for us... plays the game with respect for his team and his opponent. Curtis Granderson: Could have blamed the rain and the slick grass but decided to dodge excuses and assign the blame to himself. (Didn't have to do it, I know how much rain we've gotten, I imagine the field was very slick.)
-Verlander vs. Weaver: My heart says that the Cards will win tonight by a score of 6-4. My head says that Detroit will win by a score of 6-1. I don't think Verlander will be bad two times in a row. I think Weaver will give us about the same type of outing. (To be honest, I wouldn't even be going with Weaver... I'd probably go with Reyes again after his game one performance... but that's why they pay LaRussa the big bucks.)
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Game Three
Due to a serious computer problem... I have not been able to do any kind of a Game Three wrap up until now. Though they are late... here are my thoughts on game three.
-To the writer that thought the Tigers would win in three... well, it looks like they are going to need five games now!
-Chris Carpenter was a delight to watch. All his pitches were working. The Tigers had no idea what pitch he was going to throw. Many of their swings were weak 'guess' swings. This is why he won the Cy Young award last year... he is a tremendous talent. I looked closely at his hand too and I didn't see any type of dirt or dark substance at all. So either he's cleaner than Rogers by nature... or he's less of a cheater. The world will never know, I guess.
-I think Jim Edmonds is worth his option next year. Memo to Cardinals ownership: Keep Jimmy Ballgame around... you won't find anyone better for the price.
-Belliard in the five hole? LaRussa... you must be nuts!
-Encarnacion on the bench? LaRussa... you must be a genius! Is there anyway we can trade this guy?
-Zumaya can throw a 100MPH heater, sure... but does it matter if he can't play defense?
-Game Four will be a key game... Obviously, I like our chances if we win. My gut says that if we win, we win the series in five or six. But if we lose, I see us losing the series in seven. Who the heck really knows though? It's fun to predict.
-Suppan vs. Bonderman: Soup's been good... but Bonderman scares me with our free swinging, undisciplined line-up. I'm expecting a 5-4 type game... but we'll see.
-Here's a little picture that's going around St. Louis... thought I'd share...
-To the writer that thought the Tigers would win in three... well, it looks like they are going to need five games now!
-Chris Carpenter was a delight to watch. All his pitches were working. The Tigers had no idea what pitch he was going to throw. Many of their swings were weak 'guess' swings. This is why he won the Cy Young award last year... he is a tremendous talent. I looked closely at his hand too and I didn't see any type of dirt or dark substance at all. So either he's cleaner than Rogers by nature... or he's less of a cheater. The world will never know, I guess.
-I think Jim Edmonds is worth his option next year. Memo to Cardinals ownership: Keep Jimmy Ballgame around... you won't find anyone better for the price.
-Belliard in the five hole? LaRussa... you must be nuts!
-Encarnacion on the bench? LaRussa... you must be a genius! Is there anyway we can trade this guy?
-Zumaya can throw a 100MPH heater, sure... but does it matter if he can't play defense?
-Game Four will be a key game... Obviously, I like our chances if we win. My gut says that if we win, we win the series in five or six. But if we lose, I see us losing the series in seven. Who the heck really knows though? It's fun to predict.
-Suppan vs. Bonderman: Soup's been good... but Bonderman scares me with our free swinging, undisciplined line-up. I'm expecting a 5-4 type game... but we'll see.
-Here's a little picture that's going around St. Louis... thought I'd share...
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Game Two
• Not as much fun to watch tonight. We looked like the Tigers did last night.
• Kenny Rogers is frustratingly good. Though I’m not sure about that foreign substance on his hand. I would like to know what that was.
• Craig Monroe wasn’t able to hit a homerun the rest of the night because he hit his chest so hard after his first home run… I think he pulled a muscle or something. What was that about? It wasn’t a walk off, buddy. Take it easy.
• Juan Encarnacion takes some of the worst at-bats I’ve ever seen. He’s not a smart baserunner… and he plays a terrible defense. I can’t believe I have to watch him play for another two years. Terrible.
• So close at the end… So close… nice job by the Cards to at least mount a little resistance there in the top of the ninth. Hopefully you Tiger fans were a little nervous... it was probably the only time you were nervous all night.
• Carp vs. Robertson in game three. I’d feel confident, except that Robertson is a lefty and we suck against lefties.
• Kenny Rogers is frustratingly good. Though I’m not sure about that foreign substance on his hand. I would like to know what that was.
• Craig Monroe wasn’t able to hit a homerun the rest of the night because he hit his chest so hard after his first home run… I think he pulled a muscle or something. What was that about? It wasn’t a walk off, buddy. Take it easy.
• Juan Encarnacion takes some of the worst at-bats I’ve ever seen. He’s not a smart baserunner… and he plays a terrible defense. I can’t believe I have to watch him play for another two years. Terrible.
• So close at the end… So close… nice job by the Cards to at least mount a little resistance there in the top of the ninth. Hopefully you Tiger fans were a little nervous... it was probably the only time you were nervous all night.
• Carp vs. Robertson in game three. I’d feel confident, except that Robertson is a lefty and we suck against lefties.
Game 1
Okay, I officially declare this week to be 'World Series' week on my blog. I'll finish up my Disney Trip Report next week... Considering that I've had more comments on my congratulatory post to the Cards than I have on just about any other post I've written... I thought I'd go this direction for awhile.
Here are just a few thoughts from last night's game: First... to Keith Law and that idiot that wrote the Tigers would win in three and that the hardest thing for the Tigers to accomplish in this series is to keep a straight face:
Were the Cardinals bad in regular season? Yes and No. They had two eight game losing streaks and one seven game losing streak. That is a total of 0-23. They finished five games above .500... which means that if you take those prolonged streaks out of the equation, they played 28 games above .500.
The core of this team is still intact from the last two seasons when they won 100 games or more. Yes, they won 83 games all year... yes, that is pathetic... but it was enough... and it is irritating to hear media guys pass the Cards off as some minor league team. Last time I checked we had the reigning MVP and the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner. Last I checked, we had glove glovers in center and third... and probably future gold glovers at first and catcher.
I'm not saying that the Cards are going to win this series. But they will, at very least, put up a fight.
Last night's game was fun for me to watch. Rolen's homer was a good sign. The Tigers actually pitching to Pujols is a good sign... though I don't expect it to last. Edmonds got a couple of hits. Anthony Reyes was stellar. He was supposed to be a 'throw away' starter... only starting game one because every one else had taken a turn in the NLCS. Coming into the series... I wanted the Cards to steal one in Detroit... and I thought their best chance would be game two... so now I'm greedy would love to take both.
One observation I made about the Tigers last night... their line up is deeper than the Mets... but the Mets had scarier hitters. I wasn't near as nervous when the middle of the Tigers order came up than I was with the Mets. Of course that might have been because none of the Tigers' hitters were patient last night... and most of them had the whole infield pop fly down pretty good.
However, the Cards have big time trouble with hitting finesse left handers. Rogers is among the best of those. I predict that we'll score less runs than last night and the Tigers will score more. We'll see what happens...
Here are just a few thoughts from last night's game: First... to Keith Law and that idiot that wrote the Tigers would win in three and that the hardest thing for the Tigers to accomplish in this series is to keep a straight face:
Were the Cardinals bad in regular season? Yes and No. They had two eight game losing streaks and one seven game losing streak. That is a total of 0-23. They finished five games above .500... which means that if you take those prolonged streaks out of the equation, they played 28 games above .500.
The core of this team is still intact from the last two seasons when they won 100 games or more. Yes, they won 83 games all year... yes, that is pathetic... but it was enough... and it is irritating to hear media guys pass the Cards off as some minor league team. Last time I checked we had the reigning MVP and the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner. Last I checked, we had glove glovers in center and third... and probably future gold glovers at first and catcher.
I'm not saying that the Cards are going to win this series. But they will, at very least, put up a fight.
Last night's game was fun for me to watch. Rolen's homer was a good sign. The Tigers actually pitching to Pujols is a good sign... though I don't expect it to last. Edmonds got a couple of hits. Anthony Reyes was stellar. He was supposed to be a 'throw away' starter... only starting game one because every one else had taken a turn in the NLCS. Coming into the series... I wanted the Cards to steal one in Detroit... and I thought their best chance would be game two... so now I'm greedy would love to take both.
One observation I made about the Tigers last night... their line up is deeper than the Mets... but the Mets had scarier hitters. I wasn't near as nervous when the middle of the Tigers order came up than I was with the Mets. Of course that might have been because none of the Tigers' hitters were patient last night... and most of them had the whole infield pop fly down pretty good.
However, the Cards have big time trouble with hitting finesse left handers. Rogers is among the best of those. I predict that we'll score less runs than last night and the Tigers will score more. We'll see what happens...
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Pumpkin Patch Visit
Even though there are things we have not enjoyed about having a day care in our home... one of the things we enjoy very much is the fact that Melissa has decided to guard her Fridays and not work at all. That is also my day off... so we are going to try and take advantage of all of us being together on a weekday for as long as it lasts! Last Friday, we went to the pumpkin patch... here are a few pictures from that adventure:
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Disney Trip: Day 3
We started the day at the Animal Kingdom. One of my favorite moments of the entire trip happened first thing when we went on Kilimanjaro Safaris. Emily was picked to be an Honorary Game Spotter. She got to ride in a seat right behind the driver; she was given a pair of binoculars to help her 'spot' the game; and the driver interacted with Emily the entire trip. So the twenty other people in on our bus heard the driver say Emily’s name a few different times. The driver asked Emily what her favorite animal was; Emily said that hippos were her favorite animal. When we passed by the hippos, the driver specifically pointed out the hippos to Emily. At the end of the trip, we were given a little card that said that we had experienced a Magical Moment at DisneyWorld… and they put Emily’s name on it. It’s part of a new celebration that have going at Disney about fulfilling dreams. Pretty cool. Emily really enjoyed it.
Another attraction that we saw on this particular day was a show called The Festival of the Lion King. This was a tremendous show that Emily just loved. She especially liked the “tumble monkeys.” (men dressed up as monkeys that did cool gymnastic tricks) This was the first day that we encountered a ‘character.’ We ran into Rafiki… Emily got her picture taken with him… and we bought her an autograph book. She ended up getting around fifteen or twenty character autographs by the end of our trip. That was fun for her.
That night we went back to Epcot. We ate at San Angel Inn, which is the full service restaurant located in the Mexico pavilion. It’s one of my favorite settings. You are sitting inside… but it makes you feel like you are outside at night in a courtyard. We got a really nice table that overlooked the water and the Aztec pyramid. (The water was for a little boat ride… but it was pretty neat.) I’m not a huge fan of Mexican food… but it was alright… especially since every bit of it was free.
Later, we got Fast Passes for a newer ride called Soarin’. It was a very cool ride… they lifted you up off the ground in front of a screen that showed you images of flying over California. They pumped in different smells like pine tree and oranges. It felt like you were hang gliding over the scenery. It was pretty cool. It’s a very good addition to Epcot.
That night was the Extra Magic Hours for Epcot. Disney Resort guests like us were able to stay in the parks an extra three hours after the official closing time. I’ll write my full thoughts on this in a future trip report post… but I’ll summarize by saying that I don’t think I’ll ever try to take advantage of this again… because it tends not to be worth it.
The kids went back to the hotel with Grandma and Grandpa… and Melissa and I stayed after to ride a few of the rides that stayed open. We saw ‘The American Adventure’ which is a show about the history of America… which I really enjoyed. We rode a small flume boat ride at Norway. Our favorite ride at Epcot, without a doubt, is Test Track. That was the last thing we did… and it was pretty fun to ride it at night too. We also took in Illuminations, which is my favorite nighttime show at Disney World.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Disney Trip : Day Two
We started the day by going to Epcot. I wanted to start with a tame ‘dark’ ride that would help Emily make the transition from the stuff she rode at Disneyland to now. It didn’t start great… because I forgot that there is a small simulated thunderstorm at the beginning of the Living with the Land boat ride. She whimpered for a little bit… but the ride lightened up and so did she.
Next on the agenda was to watch two shows… one was an educational show about conservation that used the Lion King characters, and the other was a little show called ‘Turtle Talk with Crush.’ You know… the sea turtle from Finding Nemo… the one who talks like Bill or Ted. The show is very funny and very innovative. Somehow they have created a computer animated image that can be interactive with the audience. In other words, there’s a dude behind a wall somewhere that is talking into a microphone like Crush… and as he talks… the computer animated image mimics the words that are said. It appears like Crush is actually talking to the audience. They even have cameras hooked up so 'Crush' can see his audience... he can single people out by what their wearing... It was a very cool show… and it was Emily’s favorite attraction at Epcot… by a long shot.
After looking at the fish tanks, we saw Ellen’s Energy Adventure… which was freakin’ loud. I had to cover Aaron’s ears and Melissa had to cover Emily’s ears because the film portion of the ride was so loud. We stopped for lunch… and used our free dining plan for the first time on the trip. The total bill was around $30.00. We finished our morning at Epcot by visiting Spaceship Earth… the huge geosphere that is the park’s icon. I have always enjoyed this ride… even if it’s about the history of communication… it’s still pretty well done. It needs a major update at the end of the show to reflect the last ten years or so… but other than that… it’s fun.
We tried to give ourselves some time each afternoon to nap, relax, go to the pool, or whatever. Each afternoon break got longer and longer as the week went on. I was very tired by about day three. I’ll definitely rethink doing the parks five days in a row next time around.
That evening, we went to dinner at the Contemporary Resort at a little place called the Concourse Steakhouse. I ordered the Filet Mignon which cost $29.00… but our meal plan covered it… along with an appetizer, a dessert, a drink, and the tip. The bill for Melissa, Emily and I came to $110.00. Much more than we would have ever spent for a meal at Disney… but the free dining plan was really, really cool.
Once we finished our meal, we took the monorail around to Magic Kingdom and took in the Country Bear Jamboree (which Emily really enjoyed) and the SpectroMagic Parade (which Emily really enjoyed, except for the times when there were Disney Villians on the floats.) We tried staying around for the fireworks… but the Magic Kingdom was extremely crowded on this particular night. (not a big surprise, I know) We decided to leave in the middle of the fireworks… which was kind of disappointing to me, as Disney firework shows are among the most unique, well timed, and well themed shows that I’ve ever seen. Oh well. I learned in a hurry that we wouldn’t be able to see everything...
Next on the agenda was to watch two shows… one was an educational show about conservation that used the Lion King characters, and the other was a little show called ‘Turtle Talk with Crush.’ You know… the sea turtle from Finding Nemo… the one who talks like Bill or Ted. The show is very funny and very innovative. Somehow they have created a computer animated image that can be interactive with the audience. In other words, there’s a dude behind a wall somewhere that is talking into a microphone like Crush… and as he talks… the computer animated image mimics the words that are said. It appears like Crush is actually talking to the audience. They even have cameras hooked up so 'Crush' can see his audience... he can single people out by what their wearing... It was a very cool show… and it was Emily’s favorite attraction at Epcot… by a long shot.
After looking at the fish tanks, we saw Ellen’s Energy Adventure… which was freakin’ loud. I had to cover Aaron’s ears and Melissa had to cover Emily’s ears because the film portion of the ride was so loud. We stopped for lunch… and used our free dining plan for the first time on the trip. The total bill was around $30.00. We finished our morning at Epcot by visiting Spaceship Earth… the huge geosphere that is the park’s icon. I have always enjoyed this ride… even if it’s about the history of communication… it’s still pretty well done. It needs a major update at the end of the show to reflect the last ten years or so… but other than that… it’s fun.
We tried to give ourselves some time each afternoon to nap, relax, go to the pool, or whatever. Each afternoon break got longer and longer as the week went on. I was very tired by about day three. I’ll definitely rethink doing the parks five days in a row next time around.
That evening, we went to dinner at the Contemporary Resort at a little place called the Concourse Steakhouse. I ordered the Filet Mignon which cost $29.00… but our meal plan covered it… along with an appetizer, a dessert, a drink, and the tip. The bill for Melissa, Emily and I came to $110.00. Much more than we would have ever spent for a meal at Disney… but the free dining plan was really, really cool.
Once we finished our meal, we took the monorail around to Magic Kingdom and took in the Country Bear Jamboree (which Emily really enjoyed) and the SpectroMagic Parade (which Emily really enjoyed, except for the times when there were Disney Villians on the floats.) We tried staying around for the fireworks… but the Magic Kingdom was extremely crowded on this particular night. (not a big surprise, I know) We decided to leave in the middle of the fireworks… which was kind of disappointing to me, as Disney firework shows are among the most unique, well timed, and well themed shows that I’ve ever seen. Oh well. I learned in a hurry that we wouldn’t be able to see everything...
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