Memory Made

Last nite was beautiful weather, but after the Cardinals stunning 2-out, ninth inning, comeback victory over the Astros, it wasn't a good nite for sleeping. My mind is still overcharged from the wattage flowing from Pujol's bat.

In games like these, Kerri can't stand to watch the television. Matt and I were watching it, and the game played out very slowly. The Cardinals took an uncomfortable 2-1 lead late into the game. You had a sinking feeling there was no way the one run Cardinal lead would hold up. Especially in the "Juice Box"

Then on a weak swing, the Astros' Berkmann connects for a 3-run, opposite field home run into the short porch "Crawford Boxes" 318 feet away in left, giving the Astros a 4-2 lead. With the Cardinals now having to deal with the Astos lights-out bullpen in the 8th and 9th innings, things looked grim.

It was closing in on 11:00 PM, way past Matt's bedtime, and we're watching the Astros methodically erase the Cardinals hopes. I was getting close to turning off the television and sending Matt to bed, but this was one of those times when it seemed more important to let him stay up watch the game together, win or lose, til the end.

In the 9th inning, the Astros came with their closer, Brad Lidge. He dominated the first two Cards' in the ninth, J-Rod and John Mabry, with fast balls hitting 97 miles per hour and sliders that were exploding down in the strike zone. The Cardinals were down to their final out, trailing by two runs, facing the hardest thrower in major league baseball, and Tony LaRussa couldn't have had things set up better for a Cardinal comeback.

The next batter was David Eckstein. I'm thinking to myself: there's no way Eckstein lets himself make the last out in this Cardinal's season. Lidge gets him to two strikes, but then Eckstein grounds sharply into the hole between short and third for a single. The Astros were within one strike from going to their first World Series ever, but now they would have to face at least one more Cardinal. Enter Jim Edmonds. The Astros fans were going crazy. They had been on their feet screaming since the 8th inning.

Edmonds had been in a similar situation last year, coming to bat in game six of of the NLCS against Houston, winning the game with a walk-off home run and sending the series to game seven. But this time, the Cardinals didn't need a home run; they needed another base runner. Fox starts going nostalgic on Busch Stadium, retelling some of the great moments about the soon-to-be-demolished ballpark.

Edmonds stood in against Lidge, and Fox announcer, Bob Brenly, a former major league catcher, notices something off in Lidge's rhythm. Edmonds works Lidge for a walk, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate in Albert Pujols. Earlier in the game, Fox showed a sign hung on the stadium wall that read "Walk Pujols". The Astros infield and pitching coach met on the mound to ready Lidge to face Albert. Brenly says, "Better not get those wrecking balls out just yet..."

On the first pitch, Lidge fools Albert with a wicked slider down in the zone. Strike one. The Astros fans are going nuts. On the second pitch, Lidge hangs a slider out over the middle of the plate. Throughout the series, the Cardinals were swinging at bad pitches, and taking good ones. Not this time. Albert had a bead on the ball, and he connected with it in classic Pujols fashion.

On slow motion instant reply, Astro's starting pitcher Andy Pettitt mouthed the words "O-h m-y g-o-d". With a one strike count, Pujols launched a monster 3-run home run shot that went over the stadium wall beyond the left field grand stand, landing on the silly train tracks that run high above the Crawford Boxes. Matt and I jumped up and exchanged "High-5s". Upstairs, Kerri could hear shouts of celebration coming through the open windows of neighbor's homes up and down the street.

The Cards had a 5-4 lead. They never gave the dimensions of the home run. It might have travelled 500 feet. The Astros fans were crestfallen. From deafening cheers to stunned silence with one mighty swing of the bat. Watching from a luxury box, Nolan Ryan had a look of total disbelief on his face.

Cards closer Jason Isringhausen took the 5-4 lead into the bottom of the ninth and pitched flawlessly. He shut the Astros down 1-2-3, securing the victory and sending the Series back to St. Louis.

We went upstairs and talked about the unlikely win for another half hour.

Eckstein the spark plug. Edmonds the seasoned veteran. Pujols the legend. It was all too much to believe. There wouldn't be much sleeping tonite. At least for me. We sent Matt to bed, and he was out after about five minutes. I'm not sure if I ever really made it into a deep sleep the whole night.

I think I am starting to understand why people love baseball. It's not so much whether your home team wins or loses. We just love the game. Memories are made. The love of the game is passed on from one generation to the next. Late at nite. Past bedtime. We want the season to continue. Everything comes down to one pitch, one out, one game, win or lose. Last nite, the Cards won it.

Now it's one more game for Busch...maybe two, maybe more...

Excellent article on Pujol's heroics: ESPN-How Pujols Changed the World