World Series
We Love Lance!
It’s no secret that Lance Berkman has become our family’s favorite baseball player this year, for many reasons. Yes, he’s an awesome player, but it goes deeper than that. He was “supposed” to be something of a has-been at this point, and he shocked most of the baseball world this season as one of the Cardinals top batters, and even won an award as the “NL Comeback Player of the Year.” I love it when people defy the odds! He’s also got a great sense of humor–something Ryan appreciates, being a practical joker himself. And he’s a good, Christian guy, someone the children can admire with good reason, and that’s no small feat in the world of sports and entertainment.
Even with all of his accolades as a six-time All-Star, National League Player of the Month and Week, (on several occasions!), and a World Series appearance as an Astro, he’s never actually won been on a winning team in the Fall Classic. Now, as much as I love Torty Craig, I say we put aside the whole “do it for Torty” thing, and focus on Berkman. We in Cardinal Nation need to get behind our team, and get this guy a World Series ring.
Do it for Berkman!
Unexpected in October
This year’s MLB postseason has been nothing if not surprising.
The Cardinals weren’t even “supposed” to be here. They were so far behind the Braves in the Wild Card race that they shouldn’t have even been a threat. But the Braves started losing, and the Cards kept winning, and all of a sudden, the Redbirds had clinched the Wild Card spot, without even having to play a tie-breaker game.
Then the Cardinals had to face the Phillies, a team they had actually cheered on in beating the Braves to assure that they could avoid that tie-breaker. Most sports writers were confident that the Phillies would win, and many thought it would be a sweep. So the Cards weren’t “supposed” to win the NLDS, either, and yet they took it to game five, and won the series.
The Cardinals next opponent was the Brewers, a team that they struggled against all season. Again, most predicted that the Brewers would win, although they did admit that it would probably go to six or seven games. But the Cards were definitely not “supposed” to win against the team with the best home record in baseball. It did take six games, but the Cards came through again, and won the pennant.
I have no idea what predictions there are about the World Series, but at this point, I no longer care. In this unexpected postseason, it seems as though anything can happen, and most usually does. But if anyone tells me that the Cardinals aren’t “supposed” to win the Fall Classic, I’ll just laugh. What they’ve done best this season is everything that they weren’t “supposed” to do!