The Day After

I have to admit it: try as I might, it’s awfully difficult to find anything to add to the moment from last night, just the perfection of the moment of fans and a franchise who’d been denied and cruelly taunted – by fate and by Yankee fans – for eight decades – finally making it to the top of the mountain. Just a few thoughts:
*The Cards had to do the most staggering roll-over-play-dead in the World Series since the 1999 Braves or maybe the 1990 A’s. It looks like Game One really was the turning point; after the Cards couldn’t get over the hump, they just never got anything going. For a team that took the National League by storm, that was shocking, especially on the offensive side.
*Nice job by Jason Marquis to keep the Cards in the game last night; I’m skeptical of Marquis because he’s a high-walk pitcher who doesn’t compensate by overpowering people, but after getting on the ropes early he did manage to avoid the KO.
*More, much more on this (and other bigger-picture questions) later in November and December – after this morning, I will probably shift into politics-only here through next Wednesday or whenever it is that the election is resolved – but you have to figure Curt Schilling is suddenly, improbably closing in on a pretty solid Hall of Fame case. Of course, you would have said the same thing (and I know I did) about Jack Morris after Game Seven of the 1991 Series.
*Manny Ramirez matching Hank Bauer’s record 17-game postseason hitting streak and winning the Series MVP just feels odd – Manny never did bust out with the big longball, and didn’t even drive in a run against the Yankees. Yet again, as always, his overall postseason numbers were less impressive than his regular season stats. Yet, somehow, he just kept poking a hit here and a hit there, and it added up to good things.
*If you own stock in Dan Shaughnessy, sell. (Bruce Allen has the full Boston media roundup)