Pujols sets World Series history

Albert Pujols has had hits in four consecutive innings to set a new World Series record.

Meanwhile, the 16 runs are a new St. Louis Cardinals postseason record.

With his home run in the 9th inning, Albert not only tied Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson with his third home run in a World Series game but he became the first player since Paul Molitor to have a 5-hit game in the World Series.

As for the 6 RBIs tonight, Pujols became only third player in World Series history joining Bobby Richardson in 1960 and Hidecki Matsui in 2009.

Pujols set a new record with 14 total bases.

A weekend recap

The New York Daily News profiles the role that Jason Motte is playing in the World Series.

Motte has become one of the more recognizable faces of this baseball postseason, his furry mug getting close-ups on national television as he's closed out games during the St. Louis' Cardinals run to the World Series. But when he played at Iona from 2001-03, Motte wasn't a pitcher. He was just a college kid who always got his uniform filthy, who loved catching and hoped to make it to the big leagues, but wearing a mask instead of a Grizzly Adams-beard.[...]

Brian Beyrer, the sports information director at Iona who attended the school at the same time Motte did, says in the postseason he's been "getting texts from college friends asking, 'Were we in school with this guy?'" Al Zoccolillo, the longtime Iona coach who ran the program when Motte was there and retired in 2005, says he's been watching Motte in every game this October.

"I knew he would succeed because of his determination in this game," Zoccolillo says. "You have the talent, go for it. He had the drive. He was Mr. Baseball. This kid was meant to play baseball, he really was."

Just not as a catcher, at least in the major leagues. He was terrific at Iona, so good that opposing coaches would come up to Zoccolillo and ask, "Where did you get that catcher?"

Zoccolillo clocked Motte's throws to second as low as 1.76 seconds – most major leaguers do it in 1.9-2.0 seconds. His arm was so strong that when Iona trained a radar gun on Motte's throws from his knees, he threw 85 miles per hour.[...]

Motte excelled behind the plate in the Cardinals' system, throwing out 49% of the runners trying to steal against him over four seasons. But he didn't hit enough – his career OPS in the minors is only .453, and he struck out 205 times in 614 at-bats. A thumb injury also helped push the Cardinals toward asking him to pitch, and he converted to the mound during the 2006 season, though he hadn't pitched since he was in Little League.

Two years later, Motte made the majors and he's been a key cog in the Cards' bullpen, even taking over some closing duties this season, though, despite saving Game 1 of the World Series with a perfect ninth, he got the loss in Game 2 when he blew the save. He's now the first Iona pitcher to appear in the World Series since the Royals' Dennis Leonard - a three-time 20-game winner - did in 1980.

Bernie offers his thoughts on the Cubs' hiring of former Red Sox GM Theo Epstein.

The NBC affiliate in Dallas-Fort Worth has all the bets made for the World Series.

The USA Today covers the playoff beard.

"I have a beard," says Cardinals reliever Mitchell Boggs, "because I hate shaving every day. My facial hair grows at an incredible rate. It's easier to deal with."

Indeed, what chafes the players more than a dull Gillette blade is the notion that there is some metaphysical connection to their beard and their success. St. Louis closer Jason Motte says he tires of outsiders remarking on "his playoff beard."

"Well," he said, "I've had a beard since 2008. People on this team have never seen my face."

Another simplistic reason for why ballplayers rock the beard: Because they can.

Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn says minor league players in the organization aren't allowed to grow beards, so it's seen as a bit of freedom.[...]

Motte acknowledges he's let his go a bit in the postseason, but won't soon be achieving Wilson-esque length or color. "That's a little too long. I'm au naturel, man," he said. "I've got reds, grays, browns. I'm good with right where I am."

100 Things...

If you have not read Derrick Goold's book, 100 Things Cardinal Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, you really should.

By the time I finished, I did not have a dry eye. I laughed, I cried, I cheered.

Published in early 2010 by Triumph Books, Goold covers just about every important player and event in St. Louis Cardinals history be it the Stan Musial Society or all the numbers retired in team history.

One of the things I plan to do over the offseason is read some of the books that Goold mentions in the bibliography, starting next with Rick Hummel's book, Commish and the Cardinals: The Most Memorable Games, as Covered by Hall of Famer, available via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch store.

The experts are wrong

Remember that sign from the 2006 postseason? Guess what? They're back!.

Of all the ESPN experts, very few have the Cardinals winning the World Series. Only Matt Meyers and Eduardo Perez have the Cards winning in 6 games. Both Karl Ravech and Gene Wojciechowski have the Cardinals winning in 7.

Everyone else has Texas.

10 reasons...

Paul Sullivan writes 10 Reasons why a Cardinals World Series win is good for baseball. Check it out here.

A World Series Poem

This was written by Jason Motte's glove, SirGloveAWilson:
Twas the night before the World Series, when all through the clubhouse
Not a player was stirring, not even a Lohse.
The championships were hung by the flagpoles with care,
In hopes that Bud Selig will soon put another one there.

The mascots were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of 3 run homers danced in their heads.
And La Russa in his glasses, and I on Jason’s hands,
Had just settled our minds for all the Cardinals Fans.

When out on the field there arose such a clatter,
It was Albert Pujols, our team’s best batter.
Away to the dugout I flew like a flash,
Made sure I was not where one of those balls crashed.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen sod
Gave the lustre of mid-day of this Glove’s great bod.
When, what to my two eyes should appear,
But a great ballclub who the Rangers should fear.

With Big Mac as a coach, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment he can still swing the stick.
More rapid than eagles his hitters they came,
And he flexed, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Descalso! now, Freese! now, Berkman and Craig!
On, Holliday! On, Punto! on, on Theriot and Jay!
To the top of the stands! to the top of the wall!
Now smash away! Crash away! Blast away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild Adron Chambers flies,
When they meet with an obstacle, harder Don Tony tries.
So up to the ballpark the balls they flew,
With the bucket full of seeds, and and Cracker Jacks too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the speaker
Shannon and Rooney calling each Cardinal squeaker.
As I drew in my mitt, and was turning around,
Down the steps Fredbird came with a bound.

He was dressed all in feathers, from his claws to his head,
And his jersey was white with birds in Cardinal Red.
A bundle of Bats he had all in his hand,
And he looked like Stan Musial, or Stan the Man

His eyes-how they were round! his beak so yellow!
His hat was huge, his demeanor not so mellow!
His pointy little beak was drawn up like a gasp
In awe of the Machine’s sky scraping blasts!

The stump of a tree is what Pujols swings,
And when he hits one out, Shannon always Sings.
Get up get up, get out of here ball!
Out of the stadium, see you later, over the wall!

He was happy and jovial, a right jolly old man,
And I laughed when I saw him, because I know he’s a fan !
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Means a pickoff by Yadi, runner’s caught dead.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his room,
A sweep of Texas and we’ll bring out the broom.
And laying his hand on every ball game,
This manager is going to the Hall of Fame!

He sprang to his step, to his team gave a shout,
Game 1 is tomorrow; LEAVE NO DOUBT.
I heard him exclaim, yelled in all of his might,
"The World Series is ours, and it starts tomorrow night!"

Don't talk free agency

There's a key subject that Pujols does not want to talk about. It's free agency.

USA Today:

"Lets talk about something else," said Pujols, bristling from beneath his backward Cardinals cap as news reporters asked him about his future with the team. "I don't think about (being a) free agent right now. Let's talk about the World Series and how I can help the Cardinals to win it. That's my main goal."

The Cardinals have won the World Series four times since 1946, and Pujols in his his prime helped bring the title back to St. Louis in 2006.[...]

"Last week, I was able to rub on him and (ask) him to give me some of those postseason hits he's still got left in him," Pujols said. "I don't think anyone in this organization is ever going to be compared to him. Stan is 'The Man.'"[...]

USA TODAY has reported Pujols spurned a nine-year offer for roughly $195 million last offseason before ending negotiations with the club during the season.

"When our season ends, we'll touch base with all our free agents," general manager John Mozeliak says. "I'm not really prepared (to discuss it). Right now, he's still very much a part of this organization.

"If we end up at a point where (he's) not, I think we have a very high quality of core players in place."

Arrive early!

Fellow fans, if you are attending Game 1 tomorrow night, make sure to arrive early!

Things to note, via the MLB press release:

The gates open at 4:00 p.m. Central
On-field ceremonies begin at 6:20 p.m. Central[...]

Do not bring anything that you would not be allowed to bring on a plane.
The rules for what items you can bring into the ballpark will be the same
as TSA restrictions which you can find at www.tsa.gov as gov. Any items
surrendered at the gates will not be returned.

That's a winner!

That's a winner! 2011 World Series, here we come! Go Cards! It's time to mess with Texas!

Magic Number: 5

The Cardinals' magic number this season is 5, as that is the number of wins remaining to take home the 11th World Series championship.

They have a chance to win their 18th NL pennant this evening in Milwaukee, where they have won 5 of their last seven at Miller Park.

Bernie notes:

The Cardinals were, and are, the top-hitting road team in the majors this season. They rank first in MLB in runs per road game (5.14), road batting average (.277), road on-base percentage (.341) and extra-base hits. They rank second in road slugging percentage (.443) and fourth in homers per road game (1.15.)

Moreover, the Cardinals have a respectable starting-pitching ERA of 3.98 on the road, which puts them sixth in the NL.

The Cardinals became a more formidable road unit after GM John Mozeliak acquired significant bullpen help in the trade that sent outfielder Colby Rasmus to Toronto. Relievers Octavio Dotel and Marc Rzepczynski came to St. Louis as part of the deal, and Mozeliak later signed free-agent reliever Arthur Rhodes.

Mozeliak's in-season bullpen makeover was extreme.

When the Cardinals opened the season, the bullpen had five righthanders: Ryan Franklin, Jason Motte, Mitchell Boggs, Bryan Augenstein and Miguel Batista.

Today their six-man righthanded relief group consists of Motte, Boggs, Kyle McClellan, Dotel, Fernando Salas and Lance Lynn.

The early-season lefthanded relievers were Trever Miller and Brian Tallet; both were shipped off in the Rasmus deal and replaced by Rzepczynski and Rhodes.[...]

The restructured bullpen has made a tremendous difference in the Cardinals' road form. Before the Rasmus trade, the Cardinals' bullpen had a 4.73 road ERA and allowed an average of 1.58 runners per inning. After the trade and the Rhodes signing the bullpen's road ERA is 2.41. And there's been an enhanced strikeout rate and fewer runners allowed per inning (1.26.)

What a difference a trade makes.

Joe Strauss takes a look at Edwin Jackson's past performance this season against the Milwaukee Brewers.

ackson has seen the Brewers four times since the Cardinals acquired him from the Chicago White Sox on July 27. Since surrendering 14 hits and 10 runs in a take-one-for-the team setting Aug. 3, Jackson has allowed the Brewers five earned runs in 21 1/3 innings. The Cardinals have won his last seven appearances, including a ninth-inning cameo against the Houston Astros on Sept. 27 and two postseason starts. Jackson stopped short of saying familiarity with the Brewers works in his favor.

"There's neither an advantage for a pitcher or the hitters," he said. "There's no secret what I have. There's no secret what they can do. It's just a matter of execution. I'm not going to change up my game plan. I'm going to go out and attack the strike zone and take my chances with them putting the ball in play."

Skip Schumaker plans to be available for the World Series.

As for the ratings? St. Louis wins them in a knockout.

St. Louis beat Milwaukee in NLCS television ratings for the fourth consecutive time, with Game 5 on Friday being seen in 28.9 percent of area homes with a TV according to The Nielsen Co. The Milwaukee rating was 21.4. The overall number for the series now stands at 29.4 in St. Louis and 24.5 in Milwaukee.

Chris Narveson has praise for the Cardinals.