Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Games People Play

As I said, I'm not going to get excited.

But last night's game was a big step towards the World Series for the Cardinals. Tony LaRussa, except for when he insanely ordered his cleanup hitter to bunt in the fifth inning, largely resisted his overmanaging urge, and the Cardinals pulled off a nice victory against the Mets' best starter. Tony even showed a bit of the "genius," pinch-hitting Chris Duncan in a situation in which Duncan normally hits about .100. He homered.

Even though game six (and game seven, if necessary) is at Shea, I honestly find myself liking the spot the Cards are in. Tonight it's Cy Young candidate Chris Carpenter against...um...non-Cy Young candidate John Maine. Though Carpenter was not sharp in his last outing, you can't like this matchup if you're a Mets fan. And if it goes seven, you likely have Jeff Suppan, who was spectacular in game three, going up against either Oliver Perez or Darren Oliver. Or perhaps Oliver Stone. Or Oliver from "The Brady Bunch." One doubts the Mets would go to Trachsel again after the game three disaster. In any case, all the future pitching matchups heavily favor the Cardinals.

Okay, maybe I'm starting to get a little bit excited. Why do I do this to myself? This can only end badly. I should get out now while the gettin's good.

Oh, and at one point the Fox crew cut to a shot of a dude wearing a John Calvin t-shirt. You don't see that very often; even less so at major sporting events. Which reminds me: whatever happened to that guy with the rainbow hair and the "John 3:16" sign? I thought I remembered he went to prison or died or something horrible. I guess that's the tradeoff for great seats.

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