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[John Galt]

Cardinals secure first title since 1982
Weaver pitches gem, and Eckstein plays pivotal role yet again
By Matthew Leach / MLB.com


ST. LOUIS -- It didn't take 80-plus years. It only felt that way.

The Cardinals won their first World Series championship since 1982 on Friday night, topping the American League champion Tigers, 4-2, in Game 5 of the 102nd Fall Classic. It is World Series title No. 10 in 17 tries for one of baseball's signature organizations -- the most of any National League team.

For a franchise accustomed to roosting atop Major League Baseball, the 24-year wait seemed like ages. To many fans, it surely felt every bit as interminable as the generations of longing that MLB's last two champions endured. In 2004, the Red Sox ended an 86-year drought, and last year, the White Sox won for the first time in 88 years.

David Eckstein's fourth-inning RBI groundout brought home the winning run as the Cards continued capitalizing on Tigers mistakes. Three St. Louis runs were at least partly set up by Detroit errors. Jeff Weaver gave yet another brilliant playoff performance, twirling eight innings with just four hits and two runs -- one earned. Weaver, known for postseason letdowns before this year, pitched as effectively, as consistently, as any Cardinals starter this October.

The much-maligned Cardinals, the team that came into the World Series with the second-worst record of any pennant winner in history, played poised baseball for a solid week -- and truthfully, throughout all of the postseason. The 95-win Tigers, meanwhile, hurt themselves repeatedly.

The Cardinals have won the World Series more times than any team but the New York Yankees, breaking a tie at nine with the Athletics organization. Manager Tony La Russa, who coincidentally wears No. 10, joins his mentor Sparky Anderson as the only skippers in the history of baseball to win world titles in both leagues.

Making it even sweeter for the Redbirds was closing it out at home, in front of 46,638 chilly but delirious believers. New Busch Stadium is the first park since 1923 to house a world champion in its first year of existence, when the Yankees defeated the Giants. It's also the first first-year ballpark in the history of the World Series to see its home team close out the title on home turf, because the Yanks finished off the series at the Polo Grounds.

That's a home team that won 83 regular-season games, by the way. At 83-78, St. Louis had the worst regular-season record of any World Series winner in history. Not that it matters when you're hoisting the trophy with the 30 flags.

In fact, that difficult regular season may have prepared the Cardinals to win "The Ring," as La Russa calls it (as opposed to "a ring" for the pennant). After a year filled with plenty of tough times, the Cardinals showed poise throughout the playoffs. Tough situations didn't rattle them.

The Cards played better defense than the Tigers, and when there were miscues, the pitching bailed the fielders out more often than not. The Redbirds took better, longer, more composed at-bats. And when faced with adversity -- such as a 2-1 fourth-inning deficit in the clincher -- they responded.

In short, the Cardinals played like they'd been here before. And in many cases, they had. Eleven of the 25 players on the St. Louis active roster had appeared in at least one previous World Series. For Detroit, the number was two -- and it was evident.

Yadier Molina, a hero for much of October, started the first rally with a single. He took second on a sacrifice and third on Weaver's groundout, then scored when third baseman Brandon Inge threw away a grounder from Eckstein. The shortstop was credited with a single and an RBI, but the play likely should have been made.

Still, one run wasn't enough to put the Cards in the clear. Right fielder Chris Duncan's error put Magglio Ordonez on second base in the fourth, leading to Weaver's only slip-up of the night. On the next pitch, Sean Casey hit a two-run homer, giving Detroit the lead. Still, as they've done all postseason, the Cards responded immediately.

Molina and So Taguchi slapped consecutive one-out singles, and Weaver laid down a sacrifice attempt. But in the running subplot of the entire series, a pitcher's defense killed the Tigers. Detroit starter Justin Verlander attempted to throw Molina out as the lead runner at third, but committed a throwing error that allowed the catcher to score and put men on second and third. With the score tied, Eckstein grounded to short for the deciding run. Scott Rolen poked a two-out RBI single to right in the seventh for an insurance tally.

[Prog]

:tu: :tu: :tu:


"Duh-troit in 3!" :rotf:

[Classically Liberal]

Didn't bother watching. Hate the Cards, hate short series.

[smo69]

only 10 world series titles? pffff...

[ADPolitics]

Prog wrote: :tu: :tu: :tu:


"Duh-troit in 3!" :rotf:

Betting odds for the series were:

Detroit: 21:1 Favorites
St. Louis 1:18

If you bet $210 on Detroit, you'd get $310 total, if they had won.
If you bet $100 on St. Louis, you'd get $280 total, and they DID win.

That was from an article in the Post Dispatch sometime last week or the week before that.

Bookies were probably very pissed off.

[Cal-Pak]

I'm not too surprised. Having been a Cardinal fan since before I was born there, 30 some odd years ago. :)

I was talking to my brother, who lives in St. Louis, on the 21's, the first World Series Game.
When it occurred to me, how St. Louis was the underdog team this year. That the Cardinals came within 1 game last year of going to the World Series 3 years in a row. ( I still say there were robbed, because Chicago could not beat St. Louis, but they could beat Houston. :-D You know, Chicago not having title in years like Boston thing)

So I don't think people really give them credit for being as good as they are.
We finally made through the end of a season with an intact team. I know Mulder and Isringhausen were out, but they had enough time to find the guys to fill in. And those guys did an excellent job.

[Cal-Pak]

sorry double post. :) :woo: Cards Win :woo:

[b.scheller]

I didn't realize that the United States of America was now considered as encompassing the whole world.

I'm glad this whole thing people consider to be a sport is over for the year. At least I won't have to be bothered seeing a mili-second of this ultimate crap while flipping through the sport channels.

I really don't understand the hype with the sport. From what I've seen, it seems like half of the "emotions" are staged. The quarrels between the umpire and players make the soap opera commonly known as wrestling as B-movie acting. The fact that the governing body has done nothing to stamp out the widely popular steroid use is just mind boggling, but hey I won't bother trying to understand it.

It just seems funny to consider that America is now the world and that every city in America that has a franchise team is considered to represent a huge chunk of the globes population.

[ADPolitics]

b.scheller wrote: I didn't realize that the United States of America was now considered as encompassing the whole world.


We don't, but don't tell the government that.

[Plato & Socrates]

World series? World f**king champions? The St Louis Cardinals? Baseball? Why do you Americans take the piss? How dare you have the audacity to call a game and championship entered only by U.S and 1 Canadian teams, the world series? Do you guys have any concept of what a world championship should look like? Forget calling a sport played only by Americans (bar a few latino countries and those confused Japanese) This is what a real world champion looks like.



This true all American hero can rightly and with respect, call himself a world champion. This man over 17 rounds, traveling to these places.
MOTOGP CALENDAR 2006
DATE EVENT VENUE;
Mar 26 SPANISH GRAND PRIX JEREZ »
Apr 8 QATAR GRAND PRIX LOSAIL »
Apr 30 TURKISH GRAND PRIX ISTANBUL »
May 14 CHINESE GRAND PRIX SHANGHAI »
May 21 FRENCH GRAND PRIX LE MANS »
Jun 4 ITALIAN GRAND PRIX MUGELLO »
Jun 18 CATALAN GRAND PRIX BARCELONA »
Jun 24 DUTCH TT ASSEN »
Jul 2 BRITISH GRAND PRIX DONINGTON PARK »
Jul 16 GERMAN GRAND PRIX SACHSENRING »
Jul 23 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX LAGUNA SECA »
Aug 20 CZECH GRAND PRIX BRNO »
Sept 10 MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX SEPANG »
Sept 17 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX PHILLIP ISLAND »
Sept 24 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX MOTEGI »
Oct 15 PORTUGUESE GRAND PRIX ESTORIL »
Oct 29 VALENCIA GRAND PRIX VALENCIA »
has become world champion. Not only was this an amazing feat by itself. But he also had to beat a living legend on the track, over many rounds to achieve it. A man simply know as the Doctor, A.K.A Valentino Rossi.


Nicky Hayden (the Kentucky Kid) should be given America's highest honour for what he has achieved, for he is a true world champion. Go Go Mr 69

[mr crunchy]

didnt the guy on the bicycle go to high school with brian boitano and greg lougannis??

this cards team was the worst team ive seen ever win a world series.

[KalRhael]

b.scheller wrote: I didn't realize that the United States of America was now considered as encompassing the whole world.


Here have a look at this, taken from wikipedia :-D

"The explanation is that when the term "World's Championship Series" was first used in the 1880s, baseball was almost exclusively confined to North America, especially at a highly skilled (and paid) level. Thus it was a "given" that the winner of the major league championship was also the "world champion". The title of this event was soon shortened to "World's Series" and later to "World Series".

Old habits die hard. :lol:

[SLYSTROKE919]

it is true about the American rider to be called a world champion. i think it is only right to be called champions of the world if the tournament/competition is international.

[L.o.c.k.e]

(I'm just trying to keep this line going so don't be hating for my off subject) I think football is stupid and apparently so does the rest of the world. have you noticed that only America plays football. comments pleaz!