Self induced torture

     I don't get it.  I just don't.  After years of being a St. Louis Cardinals fan....no, check that....after years of being a disappointed St. Louis Cardinals fan, I continue to torture myself with the idea that, "This year, could be the year we win the World Series!"  Like I said, I don't know why I do it.  Maybe that's because 5 years ago, it actually was "The Year".  Maybe it's because I was born and raised a St. Louis Cardinals fan, and my father would be disappointed in me, if he believed that, I believed, we weren't able to win it all.  Maybe it's because every year, the Cardinals start to show that, just maybe they are the best team in the National League.  The bats start to come alive, the pitching is lights out for a good solid 2-3 weeks, and the Cardinals put together a stretch where they win 12 out of 14 games.....and it looks like nothing can stop them!  Then reality sets in.  The players that were producing at a career high clip, realize that they wouldn't be starting on any other team, and they are backup players at best.  The handful of players that are on the team, that could start for any other team, start to play as mediocre as the rest of the team.  The manager, (who will be discussed in another blog shortly), starts to get tight.  And manages tight.  His players feel this, and respond to this by playing tight.  Errors are committed in the field, that aren't usually made.  Hitters start to expand the strike zone, helping the opposing pitchers get themselves out.  The front office isn't immune to this sense of urgency.  They make moves that are viewed throughout the baseball world, as "questionable", "short term fixes".  http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/jeff-gordon/article_238288cc-d3f4-11e0-98c2-001a4bcf6878.html 

So, with a little over a month to go....and the Cardinals about 10 games out of first......I start to throw up my hands, and say, "Thank goodness football is here!"  Then the Cardinals go out and sweep the first place team.  Win three games in a row, against a good team, and do it in convincing fashion.  http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/cardinal-beat/article_55b212f6-d4c4-11e0-86ac-001a4bcf6878.html  Then I start to say, "Well, maybe we aren't out of it just yet."  I start to feel this way, not just because of the last three games, but because they look like a different team!  Players that were discussed in potential trades, because everyone written off this lifeless team....all of a sudden, found some life.  Even the announcers notice the difference.  They begin calling the games as if they are back in the middle of a playoff hunt.  They've seen the look in the eyes of the players on the field now, before.  The players are sharks.  They smell blood in the water and have sighted in the team right above them in the standings. 

And then they do it again.  Literally, as I was writing this piece, the left handed reliever viewed as a "lefty-specialist", and "tough on left-handed hitters",  http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rzepcma01.shtml,
gives up a go ahead two-run home run to a left handed hitter!  And then reality sets in.......