Cardinals Strive for 11 in ’11
The St. Louis Cardinals are on a roll, winning thirty of their past forty-three games on their way to the franchise’s 18th World Series.
“We have a good chance to win it all,” sophomore Jonathan Israel said. “The team has been playing really well. I think the series will go six games, we will win four and Texas will win two.”
The Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, thought by many to be the favorite to win the championship, in the playoff’s opening round. From there, the Cardinals took down the Milwaukee Brewers, winning the seven games series four games to two, getting revenge against the club that finished 6 games ahead of the Cardinals in the National League Central Division.
Junior Richard Reynolds was glad to see Milwaukee knocked out of the playoffs as Saint Louis advanced. “Milwaukee did not look good at all in the [National League Championship] series. This shows that the Cardinals are actually the better team. I’m glad Nyger Morgan lost, most of all,” he said.
This 2011 Cardinals team is reminding many fans of the 2006 team. Both teams got into the playoff bracket on the last day of the regular season and advanced to the World Series. In 2006, the Cardinals finished the season off with their National League record 10th World Series championship, something Cardinal Nation hopes can repeat this year against the Texas Rangers.
“I don’t usually follow the Cardinals very closely,” said junior J.J. Hiebert. “But this postseason, I jumped on the bandwagon. It’s awesome to watch them play so well against the top teams.”
The Cardinals unofficial new mascot, the rally squirrel, has made quite the entrance. Fans first saw him run across home plate during the Division Series, and since then many fans have attributed the team’s improbable success to having the rally squirrel on their side.
“I think the rally squirrel definitely is good luck and it got fans excited and cheering for the team. I hope we win,” said junior Maggie Wisniewski.
St. Louis has embraced this Red October. Now the fans and players alike hope that this improbable run can end with 11 in 11: the Cardinals 11th World Series championship in the year 2011.
By Kevin Graeler