Déjà Vu and What’s Next?

I thought that by waiting a full day and a half before writing about Game 5 of the National League Division Series, I would be able to write about it without feeling like my heart was going to explode.  I am only a man in my mid 20’s, but still I feel like each game is pushing me closer and closer to some sort of myocardial infarction.  How do elderly fans or people with preexisting heart conditions watch this team play?

All joking aside, this was the most exciting, frustrating, and amazing games I have ever seen.  It brought flashbacks to Game 6 of the 2012 World Series.  I remember telling anyone who would listen that the Cardinals and the Rangers played the best and most exciting game I had ever seen.  Watching this last game against the Nationals made me realize a few things about that Game 6… It was absolutely miserable.  For some reason, all of the excitement at the end of the game caused me to forget how horrible and frustrating the beginning and middle of the game could be.  Just like in Game 6 last season, the Cardinals seemed to do nothing right.  The only reason why they were still in the game in the end was because of the wildness of Gio Gonzalez once again.

It is a strange thing to watch this Cardinals baseball team.  Even when they play horribly for 6 innings, they still have a chance to win the game.  I would say this is because they have a talented and powerful offense, but that can’t be considered the real reason for why they seem to come back.  This just would not make sense considering it was the very non powerful Pete Kozma and Daniel Descalso who were the heroes of the night from an offensive stand point.  We could point to the Cardinals young and powerful arms out of the bullpen, but then again, the hardest throwing of the Cardinal bullpen arms was the one that gave up a run in the bottom of the 8^th inning which almost made the deficit to the Nationals a death sentence for the Cardinals.

The truth is that to point at one reason why the Cardinals seem to come back in games like these or the different series that they play in cannot be isolated to any particular strength of their team.  Instead it is more the mentality of a team that has been there before, and knows how to handle the big spot.  This team is populated mostly by members of a team last season that would not give up when they were down by 10 games in the standings or down by 2 runs in the bottom of the ninth inning against one of the best closers in the game.  Yes, this team has its issues with hitting with runners in scoring position.  Yes there are players on this team such as Matt Holliday who look like they are trying so hard that they are paralyzed by the effort when they need a big hit with runners in scoring position. 

Yes, with the exception of Kyle Lohse, every starting pitcher in this Cardinal’s rotation is either making his first postseason start of his career (Lynn) or pitching with surgically repaired arms that do not allow them to throw with the type of stuff they once were used to (Wainwright and Carpenter).  Their bullpen is also filled with young guys with little experience in the regular season not to mention the postseason.  There seems to be just about every reason in the world why this Cardinal team should not have advanced this far, nor should they have any chance at making it any further than this series.  These are the exact reasons why the Giants and the rest of baseball should not want to face this Cardinals team. 

There is just something about this group that does not make any sense.  They are too good when they should not be, and by that same token, they can at times disappoint everyone by performing worse than expected.  There is no telling what this series against the Giants could have in store, considering the Giants are a similar type of mysterious miracle team also after coming back with three victories on the road in Cincinnati.  One thing is for sure, it should be an exciting and roller coaster ride for fans of each team.  I have no idea what is going to happen, but the possibility of anything happening is going to make this series one to watch for sure.