The month of September was a beauty for the St. Louis Cardinals, the race for the wild card spot in the playoffs and the pressure that was put on the Atlanta Braves was incredible. The regular season was no doubt a roller coaster ride and one of the best comebacks I have seen in a very long time. I really tip my cap to Tony LaRussa and his coaching staff, and to the players for playing a hard 9 in every one of those games, toughing it out and capturing the wild card on the very last day of the regular season. How about the fantastic Cardinal victory in Game 5 versus the Philadelphia Phillies to win the National League Division Series?! Chris Carpenter was dynamite in making that 1 run from the very first two batters of the game for the Cardinals hold up through 9 complete innings. It will go down as a classic game in baseball history.

The Cardinals did exactly what they had to Monday night in leaving Milwaukee with a 1-1 tie in the NLCS and their Happy Flight back to St. Louis. That was some hitting display by Albert and the whole lineup. How about last night? Busch Stadium was full of energy as the Cardinals gained control of the series 2-1 over Milwaukee. Let's hope they win Thursday and Friday for their 18th Pennant. There is no question that this is going to be an offensive series and whoever has the strongest starting pitching and bullpen will be the National League Champion. Looking at the American League I think that the Texas Rangers are a very tough team to play against and they have a really strong bullpen. There are several factors with winning the World Series, but one of the biggest factors is the closer. Out of the four teams remaining in baseball right now, the team whose closer pitches the best will win the 2011 World Series title.

Let's not forget the trades made by John Mozeliak. Edwin Jackson, Mark Rzepczynski, Rafael Furcal, and Octavio Dotel have really helped this team get over the hump. The veterans also were an enormous boost during the stretch along with the youngsters. And they're having fun, they're cheering for each other, and they're playing great offensive and defensive baseball. That's what it takes for a Championship team and that is why we are playing baseball still in October. Let's hope that Mr. Mozeliak can win his first world series as the General Manager for the Cardinals.

Looking back to March in Spring Training, the Cardinals were underdogs then and if you look at the predictions and articles, several people counted the Cardinals out of being contenders in the playoffs. If it wasn't for how this organization played in September, the predictions of the Cardinals not making it would have been true. You never know what will happen in baseball when you walk between those white lines and the Cardinals proved to the country and Major League Baseball that this is a team who gets up when knocked down and will fight to win until the last out.

I look forward to tonight's game and seeing you at the ballpark or at Shannon's for a beverage and meal - which is always fantastic, but tastes even better after a Cardinal win! Let's go Cards!

October 13
Cardinals vs. Milwaukee - Game 4 NLCS
Busch Stadium

October 14
Cardinals vs. Milwaukee - Game 5 NLCS
Busch Stadium

October 14
Downtown Ball & Gala
Peabody Opera House

October 16
1st Annual Family Fall Festival
Downtown YMCA

October 23
Rock and Roll St. Louis Marathon
Downtown St. Louis

October 30
St. Louis Rams vs. New Orleans Saints
Edward Jones Dome

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