You good?
I know I needed Sunday off. After 13 innings of heavyweight baseball on Friday night, we had a good ol' fashioned pitchers duel a mere 15 hours later.
1-0 in less than 2:40? I thought MLB passed a rule against that.
The big question, though, is what did we LEARN? What are the lessons that we can talk about all day on Monday around the office or school that will make us look like idiots (probably) on Tuesday?
1) Fellas, if you're thinking about making a proposal to your lady, DO IT. You do not want Mike Wacha getting a look at her in the off-season. Because at that point, it's too late and he'll be deciding what your relationship will be with her moving forward.
There's exactly 1 (maaaaaaybbeeee 2 with Verlander?) pitchers that can give a lead-off triple to a team and not let the runner score. His name is Clayton Kershaw. He will win the NL Cy Young award this year. And Wacha thrust himself into the national bad ass pitcher conversation by countering Kershaw's gem with a SUPER gem.
2) No wonder people hate St. Louis.
We're sitting here thinking about a rotation of Wainwright, Wacha, Kelly, Miller & Garcia for the 2014 World series, when 26 other teams are still wondering what went wrong in 2013.
"I mean, this year is pretty satisfying and all… BUT HOLY SHIT… how about the next DECADE!"
Yeah, I'd probably hate us too.
3) Speaking of putting a ring on it, Carlos Beltran is out of his head right now.
He did it all Friday night. Literally. All the RBIs. A great outfield assist to preserve a lead in extra innings. When it's all said and done, this might be the game that defines his career. And he might just be making a final push for a Hall of Fame berth.
4) Guys… we're 2 wins from the World Series.
Oh, and our ace is pitching Monday night against a rookie. Oh, and we beat their best 2 starters – the reason that anyone even picked them in the first place. Oh, and we're doing this without the team MVP Allen Craig.
Seriously people.
Craig was insanely good for the Cardinals this year. He goes away and doesn't even get mentioned anymore. It's like the Cardinals are playing next man up, but you don't want to go down, because the next man up is better than you.
5) If the Cardinals don't win the NLCS, it's going to be pretty devastating.
All they have to do is win 2 of 5 games, with 2 of those being in St. Louis. It's not going to be easy, but that doesn't sound too daunting. I'd take the Cardinals 100% of the time if you gave me that proposition at any point in 2013.
It's good to be in Cardinal Nation today. It's hard not to use we. St. Louis is ALL in now.
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