Looking Forward to the World Series

Every year I hope for a Cardinals World Series.  When I was five, I saw my first Cardinals game in October 1964 when the Cardinals beat the Yankees in the World Series.   When I was eight, the Cardinals won again in seven games over the Red Sox.  Then, in 1968, I listened to KMOX radio as Jack Buck and Harry Caray called the Cards as they romped to their second straight pennant behind Bob Gibson's 1.12 ERA.  I would listen to Gibson's games on the radio and they would nearly always be over before I fell asleep... by 9:00 or 9:30, because Gibson would throw a three-hit or four-hit shutout that would last two hours or less.   The Cards lost the Series that year, but Gibson threw what is arguably the greatest World Series game by a pitcher ever -- yes, even better than Don Larsen's no-hitter -- when he struck out 17 Detroit Tigers in a Game One shutout. 

The Cards weren't in the playoffs this year.   It was a weird year.   When a team with Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright -- four of the top dozen or so players in baseball, in my estimation -- also plays a Pedro Feliz down the stretch at third base, there's something wrong with the team's makeup.   On the other hand, any year in which this man -- The Man -- turns ninety, ought to count as a good year in my book:

November 21, 1920 was a very blessed day in Donora, PA.  

Anyway, Gibson made me a fan of great World Series pitching.  So I am really really looking forward to a Cliff Lee versus Tim Lincecum matchup in Game One of the World Series on Wednesday between the Giants and Rangers.   The casual fan might like the long ball; I want to see a 1-0 or 2-1 game where those two matchup over eight or nine innings of nail-biting baseball.