As in 100 victories for the St. Louis Cardinals - National League Central Division Champs once again!
Why do I root for the Cardinals when the Diamondbacks are in my backyard?
I lived in St. Louis for 13 years. You can't help but pay attention to the Cardinals.
St. Louis is a baseball town. Many contend that the best baseball fans in America can be found the the shadow of the famous Arch.
St. Louis fans know good baseball when they see it. They frequently applaud the visiting team for a good play. But there is no doubt about the team they support - a Cardinals home game sometimes feels like a college football game with nearly the entire stadium decked out in red.
Most ball clubs are more than happy to reach the 90 win plateau. That the Cardinals surpassed that mark this season is amazing.
No team suffered more injuries to key players than the Cards. Top players Adam Wainwright, Matt Holiday and Matt Adams missed significant playing time. Other regulars missed games due to injury.
But because of pitching depth and the best farm system in baseball the Cardinals hardly missed a step. Minor leaguers who were being groomed for the big team stepped in and performed well. The team continued to grind for runs. A strong defense helped to limit the opposition from running up crooked numbers on the scoreboard.
September has been a pretty average month for St. Louis. But because they played so well so early in the year the Cardinals managed to hold off every winning streak the Pirates and Cubs managed to put together.
How will the Cardinals do in the playoffs?
Well, even though they won 100 games the experts are suggesting that the Dodgers, Mets, Cubs, and Pirates are in better shape to blow through the playoffs than the Cardinals.
I don't know about that. Every time I thought St. Louis would fold, due to another loss of a key man, they would find a way to win.
I hope that formula holds true culminating in a World Series championship.
Play (more) ball!
