I must confess, I really did not expect the St. Louis to make this kind of run. I left them for dead in the Division Series and after they had lost game one in Philadelphia, I was sure that I had made the right call. I should have been a lot smarter about my prediction, however. After all, the Cardinals have probably faced the most adversity out of any team in the postseason this year.
Let’s go back to Spring Training. The best player in Major League Baseball, Albert Pujols, decided that there would be no contract talk during the season after not being able to agree to a contract extension with the front office. Shortly after Pujols and the Cardinal organization made this announcement, the team learned that they would be without their best pitcher in the rotation as Adam Wainwright underwent Tommy John surgery.
With the subtraction of Wainwright and the uncertainty looming with Albert Pujols, the team still had to deal with a questionable singing of Lance Berkman in right field and whether starting pitcher Kyle Lohse would bounce back after missing most of 2010 with a forearm injury.
Fortunately, the acquisition of Berkman and the resurgence of Lohse paid dividends right away but injuries and inconsistencies still surrounded the Cards. Pujols’ fractured wrist and Ryan Franklin’s inexplicable meltdown once again left St. Louis in a precarious situation. Nonetheless, the team managed to keep its head above water and was in a position to buy at the trading deadline. Again, in a not-so-popular move, the Cardinals sent their young disgruntled centerfielder Colby Rasmus to Toronto and acquire a flurry of much-needed relief pitching.
The September collapse of the Atlanta Braves and the resilience of this Cardinals team allowed them to punch their ticket into the dance. Their first task was not an easy one, as they would face the best team in baseball, the Philadelphia Phillies. The daunting task of having to face Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, and Roy Oswalt was surprisingly manageable. The Cardinals defied all odds by defeating the Phillies in five games. The series was highlighted by Cardinals de-facto ace Chris Carpenter who out-dueled his former teammate Roy Halladay by tossing a complete game shutout of the Phillies in game five. The next step was to face their division rivals the Milwaukee Brewers who not only had a very good lineup but an exceptional rotation as well.
The National League Championship Series was a back-and-forth contest for the first four games as the teams split 2-2 going into game five. All series long, the bullpen kept this Cardinals team in each game and game five was no different. Starter Jaime Garcia and the rest of the bullpen allowed just one run on nine hits in a 7-1 victory. The Red Birds again pulled the upset during this 2011 playoffs as they defeated their division rivals and division-leading Brewers in six games.
There is no telling whether the Cardinals will win the World Series this season but I’m now sure that this ball club will do whatever it takes to put up a grueling and frustrating fight against the American League Champion Texas Rangers. Good luck to both teams and may the best team win.
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