Postseason Award Predictions

My preseason picks can be found here.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Rookie of the Year: Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
Most Valuable Player: Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers
Cy Young Award: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Rookie of the Year: Jeremy Hellickson, Tampa Bay Rays
Most Valuable Player: Curtis Granderson, New York Yankees
Cy Young Award: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

It's interesting to note that Kershaw and Verlander both led their leagues in Wins, Strikeouts, and ERA. It's the first time since 1924 that two pitchers have won the Triple Crown in their league respectively.

2011 World Series Champions

What a ride it has been for the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals. Due to Shabbas, I could not tweet, facebook, or any of the social media type stuff but we had our TV on Fox. I DVR'd SportsCenter and ESPNEWS for postgame highlights, etc.

David Freese earned the World Series MVP by saving our season not once but twice on Thursday and getting the game-tying RBI with a double in the first inning last night. After Allen Craig hit the home run to take the lead at 3-2, I thought we're going to need some more runs. I did not think those runs would come by way of a Texas Rangers meltdown by walking in the runs or hitting players to bring runs in that way. It was in the 5th inning when all that happened and I started to think that we're destined for the championship now.

For this team, it's destiny. A year when we were not supposed to win the World Series, let alone even try to contend for the series, we won it all. Down 10.5 at the end of August, what a wonderful ride it was. Watching the Braves collapse and looking at the standings, I thought maybe we make it in and get crushed by Philly. We made it alright. Thank you, Atlanta.

Carlos Marmol of the Cubs should be thanked as well for blowing a save in the bottom of the 9th on a Saturday afternoon game.

In my lifetime, the Cards have won the NL pennant 5 times: 1985, 1987, 2004, 2006, and 2011. We won it all in 2006 and 2011.

What a marvelous ride it has been.

FSN Midwest will be live-streaming the parade online along with MLB.com. It should have been earlier in the day but blame the Rams game for that.

Freese and Berkman on Edmonds

Via Tim McKernan

Freese: "As I was rounding the bases, I was thinking of Edmonds, because he did that same thing. I remember that." Berkman: "So do I."

Is it ironic or pure coincidence that Freese was acquired for Jim Edmonds?

What a game!

David Freese saved the St. Louis Cardinals twice tonight. In the bottom of the 9th inning, he tripled to bring in Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman.

In the 11th, he scores the game-winning walk-off home run to win the game for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Freese joins postseason lore with Kirk Gibson, Carlton Fisk, and Joe Carter with a walk-off home run to end the game.

This is an unbelievable season. Down 10.5 at the end of August, the Cards were thought to be out of the postseason. Nope. Atlanta started losing while the Cardinals started winning.

Like in 2006, I'm not getting any sleep.

Getting ready for Game 6

I'm watching ESPNEWS and Tony's presser was just on. He commented about Moneyball, and all he really said was "good acting." One has to remember that the movie really leaves out much of the star players on the Athletics such as Tejada and Chavez.

Tonight's St. Louis lineup for Game 6:
1. Rafael Furcal, SS
2. Skip Schumaker, CF
3. Albert Pujols, 1B
4. Lance Berkman, RF
5. Matt Holliday, LF
6. David Freese, 3B
7. Yadier Molina, C
8. Nick Punto, 2B
9. Jaime Garcia, P

I don't have problems with that. It's obvious Jon Jay has struggled as well as Matt Holliday.

I'm with every P-D writer in that Chris Carpenter has to start on Friday if the series goes to 7 games. Carp says he is ready to start.

Aaron Boone just called the Cardinals to win tonight.

Redbird Roundup

Jon Heyman writes why he thinks Albert Pujols will stay a member of the St. Louis Cardinals.

One person who knows Pujols well suggested he could not envision the superstar leaving St. Louis for even $20 million more in total dollars. Pujols, who attended high school and community college in the Kansas City area, has his home and his foundation in St. Louis and perhaps most important of all, he has his legacy wrapped up in being a Cardinal. (He also wants to win and couldn't reasonably make the case he's going somewhere else to win more, as the Cardinals have more postseason wins than any National League club since he arrived.)

"If he stays, he's Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock and Red Schoendienst all wrapped up in one," one National League executive said, naming four other Cardinals icons. The person who knows Pujols agreed, saying he's not giving that up for 10 or 15 percent more money, which could only amount to $1-to-2 million dollars more per year after taxes.

Meanwhile, Chris Carpenter has called himself available to start a potential Game 7 for the St. Louis Cardinals. It's amazing just how many fans prayed for a rainout for the sole reason to see Carp start a Game 7.

Bernie writes that the delay has a mixed effect.

Albert Pujols has defended the botched hit-and-run play.

"I don't have a problem with that play," Pujols said during an impromptu news conference at his locker. "I know there was a lot of discussion about 'If he put the play on why didn't he swing?' Look at the pitch. It was high and away and I wouldn't have been able to touch it. If I would have been able to put the bat on it, I would have swung at the ball.''

Pujols called the play on an 0-1 pitch and recognized that flailing at it would have left him in an inferior count.

"You don't want to be in that situation with a great pitcher on the mound," he said. "It was one of the things that didn't go our way. If he had thrown the pitch down, I probably would have put a good swing on it and it would have been a different story."

Dan O'Neill notes that there are a number of Cardinals who may not be playing for the team next season.

Albert Pujols stands foremost in a crowd with an uncertain future, a shadow that has been discussed at length, a topic that will get more attention in the days ahead. Pujols' pending free agency also is integral to a conversation regarding the rest of the group.[...]

Besides Pujols, the Cardinals will make hard decisions on whether to retain or abstain on pitchers Edwin Jackson, Arthur Rhodes, Octavio Dotel and Kyle McClellan, infielders Rafael Furcal, Nick Punto, Ryan Theriot and Skip Schumaker, catcher Gerald Laird and outfielder Corey Patterson. If a 25-man roster is the denominator, and Pujols is included, that represents a 44 percent slice of the pie.

The particulars involved vary from player to player. The Cardinals have options to honor contracts on some, such as Furcal, Rhodes and Dotel. They can choose to tender or non-tender arbitration offers to others, such as McClellan and Schumaker. They would have to negotiate new deals with others, such as Jackson, Punto, Theriot, Laird and Patterson.[...]

"But with that said, our rotation should be intact. You have two young pitchers that might look to compete for a spot, with (Marc) Rzepczynski and Lance Lynn in the rotation. In terms of just dramatically reshaping this club, I think we're pretty fortunate as we look to 2012 that we have a lot of the key components that we can just put into play."

Mozeliak made preemptive strikes to extend veteran pitcher Chris Carpenter and slugging outfielder Lance Berkman before winter arrived. The Cardinals are sure to have Matt Holliday, Yadier Molina, David Freese, Allen Craig, Jaime Garcia, Mitchell Boggs and comeback-minded Adam Wainwright aboard. Reliever Jason Motte is first-year arbitration eligible, but his salary scale will not be prohibitive.[...]

Dotel, who turns 38 in November, is completing his 13th big-league season with his 12th big-league team. Only 29 of his 695 major league games have been spent as a Cardinal but they have been some of the most rewarding games of his career. He'd like a few more.

"I do want to come back," said Dotel, who was 3-3 with two saves and a 3.28 earned-run average for St. Louis. "I love it here; it's great. I feel good that I helped this team to be where we're at now. It makes me proud."

If I'm Mo, I'd want to field the best possible team to contend next season. I would pick up the option on Furcal and Dotel for sure. Dotel has shown that he can take care of Ryan Braun.

Whether or not they do play for the Cards next season, I especially thank them for their time spent wearing the Birds on the Bat. Especially this past season, which has taken one of those turns that nobody saw coming. Not with Wainwright out for the year.

Adam Wainwright looks back on the past and looks ahead to the future.

"I feel like I'm the guy who only has one job and that is to make sure the bench doesn't go silent," Wainwright said Wednesday, a few hours after Game 6 had been postponed to tonight because of the threat of rain. "I have to make sure we're up for every moment of the game. I haven't had to do that much because everybody was top-stepping (standing at the dugout rails) the entire time.

"I've tried to be a motivator," he said. "I've tried to be inspirational."

During this postseason run, the Cardinals officially notified Wainwright and his agent that the options for 2012 and 2013 on the righty's contract have been exercised. The promised move recently became an official move, general manager John Mozeliak confirmed Wednesday, and it will pay Wainwright $21 million over the next two seasons. The club expects Wainwright to have a normal offseason and be cleared for full workouts come next spring training.

Must read article

Tim McKernan wrote a must-read article on what it is all about. If it does not bring goosebumps to your body, then you must have some sort of problem getting goosebumps. Seriously though, you need to read it.

That answers that question....

This answers why Lance Lynn came in to walk a batter intentionally.

"Well, what happened was that twice the bullpen didn't here Motte's name. they heard Rzepczynski and they didn't get Motte. I looked up there and Motte wasn't going. So I called back for Motte and they got Lynn up. That's why he wasn't supposed to pitch today, so I wasn't going to let him throw to that hitter. He just threw the warmups and walked him and Motte was ready. I don't know if it was noisy, probably real noisy. They just didn't hear the second time.

"They heard Rzepczynski and they didn't hear Motte and when I called back I said Motte, they heard Lynn. So I went out there, wrong guy. He's not going to pitch today. I said, 'Go back, get Motte ready.' We'll walk the guy because I don't want Lynn to -- he's not supposed to pitch. I didn't want to hurt him. And then Motte came in. That's why -- it must be loud. I give the fans credit."

Dan Caesar thinks that Holland's Harry Caray was a hit. I beg to differ. His Caray was more of Will Ferrell's Caray than the actual legendary broadcaster.

Quote of the Day

"I'm into tradition. I want to see Pujols remain with the Cardinals. I think he's a great, an all-time great. They have Stan the Man and they have Gibson and he's in the class of Hornsby. He should stay a Cardinal."
--Reggie Jackson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 23, 2011

LINK

The morning after...

It's the morning after. Like many of you, I couldn't exactly fall asleep last night after watching something historic. Pujolsian as it may be, we may never see a performance like that ever again. To the guys in the press box, it was a chance to be there to report on history. It's amazing how social media like twitter has changed that. I don't get FSN Midwest where I live. The Saturday FOX games mean keeping my TV on FOX for 25 hours because of Shabbas.

Even then, nothing makes a game better than looking at twitter and seeing what my fellow friends in Cardinal Nation are saying.

Matthew Leach did justice to what happened last night. Others covering the historic night: Joe Strauss, Bernie Miklasz, Bryan Burwell, Reid Laymance, and Dan Caesar. Meanwhile, Derrick Goold covers Ron Kulpa's mistake.

In other news, Tony La Russa is not commenting on next season. Not yet, anyway.