best three years

by sdesserman on Dec 15, 2006 10:03 AM EST

i was just thinking that the last three baseball seasons '04, '05 and '06 have been the three most enjoyable cardinals seasons in my lifetime. between the two 100 win seasons that were just fun to watch and the ws championship this year, i don't know that i've experienced a better three year run. '81 and '82 were awesome, but '83 was pretty forgettable. ws appearances in '85 and '87 were tremendous, but '86 was painful. '96 through '98 were pretty good, but don't stack up. i don't even like thinking about the '70's. while '67 and '68 occurred during my lifetime, my 1 - 2 year old brain didn't really register their success.

i know it's sort of a random thought, but it's easy to get caught up in who they've signed or not, traded for or not, whether they've improved or not, and what they should do next, but...

it's been the best three years of my life to be a cardinal fan.

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I couldnt agree more

They have been three of the best seasons i.ve seen but we.ve been on a role since 2000 i mean going to the playoffs every year since 2000 except for one thats pretty good hopefully we can keep it going.

by Calhoun on Dec 15, 2006 10:54 AM EST reply actions

i'm with ya essman

it's really no contest.

along with everything you named above, this 3-year period has produced two dramatic game 7 victories in the nlcs, as well as edmonds' game 6 walkoff in '04 and pujols' unforgettable (if ultimately meaningless) season-saving homer off lidge in game 5 of the 2005 nlcs.

there also was the season-long celebration of busch II last year, which made it that much more special of a season.

by lboros on Dec 15, 2006 11:44 AM EST reply actions

Yup

Plus the high pressure regular season games at the end of '06. Spiezio's triple against the Brewers, Pujols' walk off double against Lidge, Busch faithful pulling out the tomahawk chop on the last day of the year...

This double-oughts Cards run has really been something elsed. We're really, really lucky to be fans at this particular time and place.

Cheers

by Alxfritz on Dec 15, 2006 11:46 AM EST reply actions

Amen

This kind of every other decade ride doesn't happen for most teams, especially mid-market mid-west teams. That's why I'll be fine if they risk a playoff spot this year to see what they have in Reyes and Wainwright. If this year is a wash (and I'm not convinced it will be), they'll be back in 08. If you believe in history as a repeating cycle (I sometimes do--depends on what side of the bed I crawled out from on a given day), they'll have at least one more World Series appearance before the end of the decade. And even if that's crap, one thing is for sure: savor it fully now, folks--it can't last forever.

by rockin redbird on Dec 15, 2006 12:17 PM EST reply actions

yeah

Just in the playoffs, I've seen the greatest fielding play of my lifetime (Edmonds game 7), two amazing walk-off homers, great pitching performances from unlikely sources, and just about everything else I could possibly ask for.

by DanUpBaby on Dec 15, 2006 12:20 PM EST reply actions

Man

Just Yadi and So's homeruns in this years NLCS were enough for me.

I'm starting to think that the 2006 NLCS is becoming incredibly underated.

Cheers

by Alxfritz on Dec 15, 2006 12:52 PM EST up reply actions

That's because

With the 2004 NLCS, I forget the next series ever happened.

I wonder if we'll ever play that series against the Red Sox?

by DanUpBaby on Dec 15, 2006 12:56 PM EST up reply actions

That said

That backup curveball(!?) from Wainwright to end the series was about as good as it gets.

by DanUpBaby on Dec 15, 2006 12:57 PM EST up reply actions

As was

the Yadi HR.

I've watched game 7 three times this week and I keep waiting for the outcome to change. There is no freaking way we win that game -- It just wasn't in the cards for us (Endy's catch, Scotty's error...) -- and yet, there it was, a big wiesse W; Just unreal drama.

2004 was a different beast altogether. I honestly believe that it was the best Cards team we will see in our lifetime. The end of the season was just so... sad? anti-climatic? I don't know.

It's almost as if the shock and awe of the '06 Champs was sent by the baseball gods to counteract us being such good sports and taking one on the chin for all of aseball while we watched Boston win the '04 Series.

One of the reasons I'm not particuarly worried about this offseason is that the core -- Scotty, Albert, Jimmy, and now Yadi and Eck -- have always played with such a swagger. They know that they're the class of the NL -- Kind of what the late 90's Yanks were to the AL (only without all of the ultimate success, unfortunatly). While I like to think of Larry Walker as the Paul O'Neil of the '04-'05 clubs (ie. the guy who would throw a fit if the cards were down by two runs to the freaking Pirates!), it's nice that we still have a core of vets for a few years to come. Guys who know what it's like -- how great it is -- to win. And now know what a World Series Championship parade feels like.

(And in some of the guys cases, also knowing the perks that come with said championship over on the east side.)

Cheers

by Alxfritz on Dec 15, 2006 3:02 PM EST up reply actions

Ive Been

a Cards fan my whole life. My first Major League game was at Busch II. I was raised to be a Cardinal fan. My grandfather, who I am named after, used to listen to games and get just as riled as I do. There is nothing in the world like rooting for the Cards. I was so thankful for the WS win this year. 04 felt like there was nothing we could do, they were destined to win it. But, the baseball Gods knew we did our time and rewarded us with a hard earned victory. The season was never all that pretty but that trophy is the most beautiful thing with the words "St Louis Cardinals 2006" etched in it.

by JBagKY on Dec 15, 2006 4:19 PM EST reply actions

I carry my Cards wherever I go

it has definitely been the greatest stretch for me in my Cards history. I was born in STL in 1980, so the last truely great seasons i remember were 85 and 87. so this has been the greatest time in my life. i ran down the street and woke up all my new florida neighbors when wainers gave us the trophy!!!

Pujols was conceived on the DeathStar!!!

by GoGoCards on Dec 15, 2006 10:25 PM EST reply actions

And a more positive attitude to recognize it

This is a great site. While I visit often I rarely post. Frankly it geats a bit old reading all the second guessing and negative posts about certain players, manager, coaches, management, etc. However, this site (more than any other I've found) does an excellent job of providing information and insights. (Keep up the great work.)

My first memory of the Cardinals would be a game in 1960 or '61. My father and grand father took me to Sportsman's Park to see the Cardinals and Giants (Musial and Mays). I've been a strong Cardinal fan ever since... not only for the teams I've seen myself but also from reading a lot of the club's history.

Cardinal fans today are blessed and lucky. We have a core of players that includes 3 or 4 with legitimate chance of getting into the Hall of Fame, a manager that certainly will, plus an incredibly capable pitching coach and GM. This combination is extremely rare. We should all savor it while we can.

I certainly agree about the last 3 years and would suggest the team and organization during this period stacks up very well with any other period in Cardinal history. (I'm certainly not trying to start another debate about different teams in different eras... just trying to recognize that it doesn't get much better than this... and, it can only last for a finite amount of time. Personally, I plan to enjoy the hell out of this for as much longer as the baseball gods will allow.)

Go Cards

by jason095 on Dec 16, 2006 9:33 AM EST reply actions

I'm suprised that noone has offered

'66-'68 as an alternative--the first year of Busch, a World Series title, and Gibson setting the modern-day single season ERA mark seems roughly as fantastic as what we're going through now. I'm twenty six, so I can't really compare, but I'm a bit suprised.

by Valatan on Dec 16, 2006 2:45 PM EST reply actions

I'm not sure if this tops '85-'87

but if it doesn't, its awfully close. As painful as the end of '85 was, few would dispute they were the best in baseball that year. '86 was a let down of course, but that just made '87 all the sweeter.

The thing that I do like more about those teams is that the Cardinals had such a distinctive style of play: For example in '85 the Cardinals were 2nd to last in HR with 87, but offset that with 59 triples and over 314 stolen bases! Perhaps more importantly, the Cardinals of that ERA were filled with "everyman" type players like Willie McGee and Tommy Herr. IMHO, these were guys that fans could more easily relate to than guys like Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen.

by Zubin on Dec 16, 2006 9:05 PM EST reply actions

to expand upon your point

the cardinals of the 1980s usually had the 4th or 5th highest payroll in their division (out of 6 teams) --- yet they beat the high-priced, star-studded mets two years out of three. that's part of what you mean, i think, by saying those cardinal teams were "everymen."

they were remarkable teams, and loads of fun to watch, but i don't think they could beat pujols & co.

by lboros on Dec 16, 2006 9:29 PM EST up reply actions

Well the payrolls are part of it, I guess,

but thats not really what I was driving at. Physically, guys like Willie McGee and Tommy Herr seemed more like an average guy walking down the street than Albert Pujols or Scott Rollen. (This is why the Gooch, despite his limits, is one of my favorite Cardinals at 5'11, 165#, he is a pretty good homologue.)

As for the notion that the teams of the '00s are beter than the 80's, I only agree to an extent. The level of talent and overall quality of play- especially batting, seems better now than it was then. Put another way, atheletes are bigger, stronger, faster and more athletic than they were 20 years ago. However if you make adjustment for the different eras, I think Whitey's clubs would have stood up well to the present day team.

by Zubin on Dec 17, 2006 1:19 AM EST up reply actions

I agree with your point

although you should have mentioned the great companionship you had for the World Series

by tdawg on Dec 18, 2006 6:06 PM EST reply actions

AMEN AND AMEN!!

I have to say that I've been a Cardinal fan since 1967(I was in the 5th grade in Oklahoma) and we were able to watch the games during class!Lou Brock became my favorite player then and even til today he is STILL the best for me!! The 60's were during the time of pretty bad racial stuff but I never let that be a part of my life then nor now! I don't care what color sweet Lou is(or any one else for that matter!) he is the best and I use his number 20 in my eBay and other online ID's just because!

I have to agree with the last three years being pretty spectacular!! And with this WONDERFUL Chaampionship I am TRULY thankful to have lived to see another Cardinal Championship trophy presented by the commish! I am 49 years old and the only thing harder than winning a Championship is repeating as Champs! That's why I keep writing about this "Weaver Campaign"...I just want them to put themselves into a position where they can field a team that has a great chance to repeat!

Just look at what an ordinary year they had last year and how they came alive in October (instead of the October duhs they have displayed recently) and looking ahead to 2007 if they can play like they are capable of they could crush the division again! But, too, playing .500 ball and eeking out the division probably kept them humble enough to perform to a greater level!

They learned that going in to the season it wasn't a given that they would be playing in October... and they almost didn't get in to the tournament! So '07 looks pretty promising....personally I'd like to see Waino left as closer til Izzy can prove that he's over last year's funk and injury...over-all the bullpen looks terrific!!

Long story short: I to have loved the 04-06 years...ESPECIALLY the CHAMPIONSHIP...but the 'Lou Brock' years will always be dear to me and especially '74 when he SHOULD have won the MVP!!!

GO CARDS!!!!!!!!! I'm still Lovin' it!!!!

A FOREVER fan!!!!
daNNy :O)

GO CARDS!!! LET'S GO BACK-TO-BACK WITH A WORLD SERIES TITLE IN '07!! PHAT ALBERT MVP!!! *** CARDFAN20 (LOU BROCK)

by cardfan20 on Dec 18, 2006 9:46 PM EST reply actions