How far will they go?

[CrazyPooja90]

I think they could go all the way, except I'm worried about them maybe facing the Giants in the playoffs. They always seem to struggle with them.


thoughts?

[Pogotheostrich]

Not really worried about anyone in the NL except the Cubs. Luckily we won't have to face them in a short series. For a team to beat the Cards they will have to shut down the offense. But really anything can happen in the playoffs.

[StlSluggers]

I try not to think about it at all. This team is on a role, and I'm afraid of anything that could jinx them - like letting up when they're playing poor teams such as Montreal.

[SaintsOfTheDiamond]

All I'm worried about is the SP. None have really had much playoff experience, and I'm not sure how they will handle it, since playoff baseball is a totally different animal than regular season. I still think the offense and defense can and will (have to?) carry them, and the bullpen will be pretty good if they don't get blown out. The great thing about the big lead is Larussa can set the rotation and bullpen however he wants, unless the race for home field gets real tight down the stretch. I think they stack up just as good against any AL team they could face in the WS really since they have a steady set of SP's (not big name like NY or BOS) which is sometimes just as good as the big time SP's. They're better offensively than all but maybe NY and BOS, and far superior defensively to 95% of all teams out there. I think the real challenge will be making it to the WS, the Dodgers and Cubbies scare me the most though. I'm predicting NLCS probably and if they survive I like their chances in the WS.

[CrazyPooja90]

A cards vs yanks WS would be fun as hell to watch.

[SaintsOfTheDiamond]

A cards vs yanks WS would be fun as hell to watch.

I'd rather see a STL/BOS series or STL/OAK. I want to see how they handle a great pitching staff. Or the best would be STL/TEX, the best IF of today against the best of tomorrow, that would be awesome.

[StlSluggers]

I'd rather see a STL/BOS series or STL/OAK. I want to see how they handle a great pitching staff. Or the best would be STL/TEX, the best IF of today against the best of tomorrow, that would be awesome.

I agree. I've spent the last couple of weeks explaining to my wife (or attempting to explain) how much fun a STL/TEX World Series would be.

Back to the original topic, I have to say that series like this one are what show my true feelings about this team. Obviously, the team is going great - couldn't be better. I am so concerned that the team will let up against the "fluff" teams, lose a series to them, and then go into a nosedive afterwards. After the first game of this series, I was right back to being concerned again, but after last night I came to the realization that this team has not let up one bit against Montreal and the first loss was just a single loss. I really think this team can go all the way, but I'm just not 100% convinced yet.

I guess my issue is that I was only 4 years old when the Cards won the Series in '82. I've seen a couple of "almosts" and some NLCS disappointments, but I've never really been a fan when the team was playing like a World Series champion for this amount of time. I guess this is uncharted emotional territory for me (their unbridled success), and it's tearing me up inside.

Maybe I have St.-Louis-Blues-phobia: Fear of hope for the postseason because they never win the game that counts.

Whatever the case, I'm still going to camp out for World Series tickets when they come to the city.

Go Cards!

[CrazyPooja90]

I've never been alive when the Cards won a WS, it would be an entirely new phenomenom for me. I bet the city would go crazy. Do y'all live in st. louis too?

[Pogotheostrich]

I was only 3 when they won it in 82 but I remember the Series in 86. The whole city went nuts.

[StlSluggers]

I was only 3 when they won it in 82 but I remember the Series in 86. The whole city went nuts.

They must have been nuts because '86 was the year the Cardinals became the first team ever to finish last in their division the year after making it to a World Series. If I recall correctly (and I may not), I believe the Marlins became the second team to accomplish that feat in '98, but don't quote me on it. I also believe that the "pond scum" Mets won the Series in '86, again, if memory serves.

We went to the Series in '85 and got screwed over by the ump in Game 6 to lose in Game 7, and then we played the Twins in '87 and lost that one in 7 games also (with each team winning all of their home games). I was only 7 and 9 years old, respectively, for those Series. I'm ready for my first World Series as an adult. I've got my camping gear and vacation days ready. I'm getting tickets no matter how long I have to wait.