***The OFFICIAL Cardinals vs. Astros NLCS Thread***

[Voltron87]

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I knew the Astros would take this series. It's just their time and they wanted it so bad.

I do have to give the Cardinals fans props for their class after the game. When the last out occurred and the Cards fans started chanting "Let's go Astros" I really gained a new respect for them.

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Most Card fans are too nice. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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my friend who goes to school in st louis tells me that most of the cardinals fans are middle aged ladies. he went to a cards game and he was it was basically an AARP meeting, everyones really nice, wants to show you pictures of their grandkids, falls asleep in the 6th inning, etc.

[Clarkmeister]

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I knew the Astros would take this series. It's just their time and they wanted it so bad.

I do have to give the Cardinals fans props for their class after the game. When the last out occurred and the Cards fans started chanting "Let's go Astros" I really gained a new respect for them.

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Most Card fans are too nice. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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my friend who goes to school in st louis tells me that most of the cardinals fans are middle aged ladies. he went to a cards game and he was it was basically an AARP meeting, everyones really nice, wants to show you pictures of their grandkids, falls asleep in the 6th inning, etc.

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yeah. I can tell you this. The Card fans who live in St. Louis are soooooo nice it makes me vomit. Fortunately, as a Card fan growing up in Chicago, I properly learned how to hate. [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[SammyKid11]

I am seriously so giddy right now I can't stand it. I've waited my whole life for this...been an Astros fan since I was old enough to know who they were. I'd just turned 7 years old when my dad took me to Game 6 of the '86 NLCS, the 16-inning classic with the Mets. I've endured all the pitiful seasons since...all the dismal, pathetic playoff runs since. I went to Game 4 of last year's NLCS, saw Beltran knock in the game winner on Tavarez, and watched the ensuing idiocy. After Backe pitched that stunner in Game 5 to give the Astros a 3-2 lead, I knew it was our year. I saw them give away Game 6, but was confident that with Clemens on the mound in 7 they'd get it done. And then I watched as the Cardinals stole my heart away in Game 7.

Last night, I thought they'd done it again. Call me a pessimist, but I was really afraid that Houston would go back to Busch and get manhandled for two games en route to another playoff debacle.

Enter Roy Oswalt from the third base dugout. No matter the psychological state of Brad Lidge or the team at-large, the kid with Mississippi Mud coursing through his veins walked in and carried this team on his back. What a performance...for the second straight start against the Cards (and third straight in the playoffs), he absolutely dominated the competition. His fastball was electric, his breaking stuff worked when it mattered...and all the while, Biggio, Lane Ausmus, Berkman were chipping into the demise of Busch Stadium, hit by hit, run by run...slowly building a lead that could not be overcome.

For the last two or three innings, I started to internalize, as I had at the end of Game 5. I could taste the Series once again, but I wouldn't let myself believe it until the final out was made. And when that harmless fly ball was in Jason Lane's glove, I let out a series of deafening screams and popped the top on a bottle of Dom.

How SWEET IT IS, Houston.

To the Cardinals fans...I have the following to say.

First of all, as always, Cards fans were gracious and full of class. I know they were in many ways cheering for the end of an era at Busch Stadium, and for their team who'd given them a great season...but I feel in other ways, there were some fans who were genuinely happy witnessing the joy of a franchise finally crossing the precipice into October history. They didn't leave, even though their team was vanquished and their stadium scheduled for destruction. They stood and cheered, and it drips with class. Thanks for being good adversaries, year after year, and thanks for being good fans of baseball.

Also, this series turned on a few very key things...and it truly could have gone either way.

Injuries - obviously, Scott Rolen was a big loss. Larry Walker's neck pain has been an issue all year, but never was it more apparent than during this series. I felt bad watching him swing the bat, and I'm glad his final AB was a hit. Reggie Sanders spill was ugly, and it took guts and determination for him to get back on that field...he wasn't the same player afterward. And Abraham Nunez's injury played a big role, as well...as did Al Reyes', who the Cards certainly could have used in Games 2, 3, and 4. Clearly, Bagwell's injury hurt the Astros, as did Pettitte's in Game One...but the injury bug bit St. Louis much harder.

Calls - Yeah, the calls went the Astros way, as well. The Phantom Tag was bad...Edmonds getting tossed was bad. I'm sure there were a couple more that went against St. Louis as well, but I'm a little too drunk to remember it all. But granted it hurt their cause.

With all that said, however...the Astros proved themselves the better team over this 6-game span. The pitching was phenomenal, and the offense was scrappy...while the defense was timely and very important.

Can the Stros win it all? I don't know. But I know the World Series is coming to Texas, and I know I'm going to the World Series...so for today, I am ecstatic beyond all belief.

THANK YOU GUYS...GO 'STROS!!!!!!!!!!

[bugstud]

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Congrats to the Astro's on a very well played series! Good luck in the World Series! You will have many fans here in St Louis. The Sox will also have many fans as Mark Buerle is from St Louis.

St Louis is an awesome baseball town and many will be rooting for both teams. I will favor the Astro's but do like the White Sox also.

Thank you,

Jim Kuhn
Catfish4u
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You are too nice.

Teams I'd rather die than root for:

1. Cubs
2. Mets
3. Astros

Add in the fact that the Sox winning would make all true Cub fans suicidal and I wouldn't dream of rooting for the Stros.

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once the angels lost the only way for a cubs fan to survive would have been multiple plane crashes, and that's not cool either.

[GuyOnTilt]

SammyKid,

I got goosebumps reading your post. Oh man. I am so [censored] pumped for Saturday.

GOOOO 'STROOOS!!!!

GoT

[SammyKid11]

GoT...glad you enjoyed. I'm going to at least one of the games in Houston. Time to bring it all home.

GO STROS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[pokerdirty]

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I knew the Astros would take this series. It's just their time and they wanted it so bad.

I do have to give the Cardinals fans props for their class after the game. When the last out occurred and the Cards fans started chanting "Let's go Astros" I really gained a new respect for them.

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It sounded like "Thank-you, Card-inals" to me.

[jakethebake]

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I knew the Astros would take this series. It's just their time and they wanted it so bad.

I do have to give the Cardinals fans props for their class after the game. When the last out occurred and the Cards fans started chanting "Let's go Astros" I really gained a new respect for them.

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I grew up in Houston and lived in St. Louis for 8 years so I was torn on this series. I was never a big baseball fan until I moved to St. Louis. It's just such a big baseball town, unlike Houston, whose fans tend to be much more fair-weathered as far as the Astros go.

The Cardinals fans are always classy. I've heard retired players from other teams interviewed saying they always loved playing there because the fans there just love good baseball, and respect all the players.

[MyTurn2Raise]

Good series and good luck to the Astros

I'm sorry the Stros fan base kinda sucks, but I'm happy to see the few who have solidly supported the team get a chance to enjoy the series. Believe it or not, the Astros support base dwarves the White Sox.

The breaks, from foul lines to dink homers to injuries to calls went against the Cards, but you make your own breaks sometimes. kudos to the Stros for taking advantage. I'm still not ready to call Houston a better team, but they did play the better series and most definitely are playing better than the Cards over the last few months.

Oswalt was the difference. Manimal performance. He gained my utmost respect. Plus, he doesn't take 4 hours on the mound like Pettitte, who has too many 't's in his last name anyhow.

I have some pictures from game 6 , but they are from a decidedly Cardinals, last game at Busch viewpoint. Maybe, I'll post a few for you guys.

BTW-I was drinking at a bar the other day and the waitress was saying how she hoped for a white sox-Cardinals series, since both teams are chokers and one would have to win. Turns out she is 19 and from Belleville, IL (a St. Louis suburb). It struck me as ridiculous, until I thought about it. In 85, my mind says the Cards won the series, but the record shows that Denkinger's call did happen and the Cards blew a 3-1 lead. In 87, the Twinkies took games 6 & 7 to overcome a 3-2 Cards lead. In 96, the Cards had a 3-1 lead in the NLCS, but lost in 7 games. In 2000, the Mets dominated the Cards in a 4-2 NLCS. The Cards went down on the last out to the Diamondbacks in the 2001 NLDS. In 2002, the Cards were 0-for a lifetime with RISP as the Giants dispatched STL 4-1 in the NLCS. In 2003, the Cards fell apart so bad down the stretch that the Cubs won the division. 2004 was a world series sweep to finish. 2005, well, we know what happened there. 3 times in the last 6 years, the Cards had the best record in the NL with 5 playoff appearances and 4 NLCS appearances. But, there has been only 1 world series and 0 world champions. Have the Cards become chokers? I don't like it. I guess from her 19 year perspective, they are.

Solution: blow up the stadium and start over. The Cards will be back next year asstrokeoffs and you guys just made the list. Cubs, first. Astros, second.

BTW-Please beat the Sox Astros. My proximity to their approximately 50 fans makes them unbearable at the current moment.

[Ulysses]

"We all know if the team was full strength, you know, what the outcome probably would have been."

Yeah, Astros in 6, bitch. Nice .167 w/ 8 Ks, Reggie.

AS TLR said, "It wasn't a health problem, it was an Astros problem."