As a Boston Red Sox fan living in the heart of St. Louis, Missouri, I felt both the heartache and jubilation of the 162nd games of the 2011 Major League Baseball season. The Red Sox lost the wild card in pre-2004 cursed fashion while the Cardinals massacred the Astros to capture their playoff spot. On August 25, the Red Sox led the Rays by 9.5 games and the Braves led the Cardinals by 10.5. The Red Sox did not win consecutive games in September while the Braves ended 2011 on a season-worst five-game losing streak. The Red Sox had a September record of 7-20, tying their worst September in franchise history, while Braves did not do themselves any favors with a 9-18 final month. These monumental collapses opened the door for the playoff births of the Tampa Bay Rays and St. Louis Cardinals. The Fenway faithful will feel this big Boston blunder for a while, but Cardinal country is excited for only their second postseason in the last five seasons after reaching it six of the seven previous years.
Both Boston and St. Louis are two of a select few cities to have a MLB team for over a century. Red Sox and Cardinals fans are among the most knowledgeable in sports. They live and die for their baseball teams. Moreover, Wednesday, September 28 will live in infamy for the northeastern city, but will be the culmination of a historical comeback for the Midwesterners. Fortunately for Boston fans, they can take solace in the two Red Sox World Series wins in 2004 and 2007. If this collapse had happened before 2004, it would have reaffirmed the curse. I doubt anyone can consider this the ‘Curse of Andino’ yet no matter how many times people have retweeted Jon Heyman’s (Sports Illustrated) witty phrasing. New England can now look forward to the Bruins raising their 2011 championship banner on October 6, the Patriots’ chase for their fourth Super Bowl trophy and a possible Celtics season with the Big Three.
Meanwhile in St. Louis, A friend of mine who breathes for Cardinals baseball actually counted them out in mid-August when the St. Louis ballclub was faltering. He was already pessimistic entering this season once Adam Wainwright was done for the year after he had Tommy John surgery in February of 2011. In addition, early in the year, Matt Holliday, David Freese, Skip Schumaker and Nick Punto all spent time on the disabled list. Then in June, Albert Pujols fractured his left forearm and all of St. Louis was worried that the team would be in trouble for years to come. However, Busch Stadium welcomed back their franchise player on July 6 after only about two weeks away from the lineup. This was a miraculous recovery for the best MLB player in the last decade. The Cardinals proceeded to play better as the season continued and they did not endure any more major injuries. In fact, St. Louis improved their team with two trades that brought in Rafael Furcal, Edwin Jackson and Octavio Dotel. The new-look Cardinals meshed well and finished the season in a very strong way. Now their sights are onto the Phillies, who ironically beat the Braves on the final day of the regular season.