No, this isn't a post about the movie starring Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin. (Although that was a great movie). This is about the St. Louis Cardinals!!! Duh! Well, the Birds on the Bat did it!! They clinched the Central Division League Championship title! After 3 LONG days of having the magic number at 1, the Cards finally clinched the division. And in spectacular fashion too. Coming from behind to defeat the Colorado Rockies (who are vying for the wild card spot) 6 to 3. Adam Wainwright was fantastic going 8 innings. Yadier Molina was lifted from the game after taking a foul ball on his left knee. Backup Catcher Jason LaRue entered the game and went on to hit a solo homeun which broke the tie in the 7th inning. This solo home run was the game-winning hit, and secured Wainwrights 19th win!! It was fate, although I was upset (as were many Cards fans) that Molina was hurt. LaRue came in and got the job done. Brendan Ryan went on to hit a double in the ninth which paid off when Ryan Ludwick hit a 2 run homerun which added a nice cushion to keep the Cards ahead When John Mozeliak took over as the new General Manager for the Cards, I was a little dubious in regards to his ability in handling the Birds on the Bat. However, Mozeliak has made some major moves that have paid off big time. He started off by trading Chris Duncan for shortstop Julio Lugo. Then came Mark DeRosa, Matt Holliday, and vetran starting pitcher John Smoltz. Mozeliak has made all the right moves at the right time. Although I miss our former GM Walt Jocketty, Mozeliak has demonstrated the agressiveness towards making the right trades that the Cards needed. When spring training started, nobody saw this particular team going to the playoffs. Skip Schumaker was no longer an outfielder, he was going to start at second base. Brendan Ryan also made a change from second base to shortstop; now he is recognized as one of the best defenisve shortstops in both leagues!! Chris Carpenter went from not pitching for nearly 2 seasons to having a phenominal season with 16 wins! Joel Pinero has 15 wins! Most teams have one star pitcher, the Cardinals have 3!! First baseman Albert Pujols now has some backup in the line up in the form of Matt Holliday. Before Holliday came, a lot of pitchers would intentionally walk Pujols to get to the 4th batter. They can't do that now, as Holliday is just a big of a hitter as Pujols. Now with a great team, the St. Louis Cardinals are entering the playoffs for the 8th time in the 14 years under Manager Tony LaRussa. The goal: to go deep into October with a World Series win as the ultimate goal!
Por Siempre: Let's Go Cardinals!!!!
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