My sincerest congratulations to the St. Louis Cardinals and their fans. The Cardinals went out and outplayed the Tigers. St. Louis is a great, historic organization with a tremendous fan base. Enjoy the next year as defending World Champions. You earned it.
27 thoughts on “Congratulations Cardinals”
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Great Season Guys. Thanks for the ride. We’ll get ‘im next year!
-Sam
This stings pretty badly, but it’s right to give the other guy his due, so, Bilfer, that’s a very classy move to congratulate the Cardinals.
Let’s hope the guys exceed expectations as much next year as they did this year.
What a ride, it was great fun and brought back life to Detroit Baseball. 157 days until Opening Day 2007.
Wow! It’s been fun. How many of you remember coming so close to EVEN MAKING the playoffs back in ’81 and having the Brewers crush our hopes? This year … we made it all the way to the World Series! It’s been unreal. Awesome! I just want to start enjoying this every single season!!! Thanks to Jimmy Leyland and all his boys for one outstanding season.
10 World Series wins for the Cards. 2nd most all-time. That’s a fact I was unaware of. Congratulations to them. They played solid baseball and beat us easily. It was a fun year for a Tiger fan, though. Let’s hope it’s the start of a new era of Tiger baseball.
Hey Bilfer, thanks for everything. It’s been a lot of fun this year, a lot more fun than I imagined would be possible after the firing of Trammell last year.
Off season should be interesting. Here’s hoping our pitchers all take extra fielding practice the next couple of months!
I’m not sure what to say. I know my reaction should be “good try tigers! you guys did better than anyone could have expected all year! Maybe next year!”
But right now I don’t think any of those things. I’m so angry I don’t know what to do with myself. The Tigers sucked all series…period. I’m not a professional athlete, I never will be, and I don’t doubt for a minute that everyone on the Tigers (and most everyone that plays any sport at any level) wanted to a win a title. But they still sucked.
I’m angry at Joe Buck and Fox. I’m angry at Gene W. and his smarmy articles on ESPN the last few days. I’m pissed at all the announcers/experts/columnists/everyone who strutted around saying “the Cardinals will be lucky to win a game” just so when something like this happened they’d be able to sheepishly admit their error, act like this is a huge upset, and stretch their article of 500 words to several of 1000 words.
I’m angry that just like this week, the Tigers were so streaky all year. That in the end they just weren’t that well built offensively. Those of us that actually FOLLOWED them this year knew this kind of mess was possible because it’d happened too many times during the year.
I’m angry that they’ll get chalked up as a fluke because everything has to be labeled and dumbed down these days and that’ll be the easiest sell to the rest of America. I’m nauseous knowing that we’re less than 2 hours away before the first “Weaver is vindicated and showed the Tigers who gave up on him” articles appears.
I hate that MLB is set up so that my experience as a fan is fundamentally different than that of a Yankees or Red Sox fan. It makes it too hard to accept the reality of an inexperienced team or look to next year when this opportunity seems like a one in a million shot.
Strangely, one of the few things I’m not upset about is the errors. They were huge mistakes and lapses, but this isn’t a fundamentally poor defensive team. This wasn’t some team weakness exposed. Baseball is a game and this sort of stuff happens. I can live with that.
I can’t imagine what it’s like to be a player right now, this has been such a whirlwind for me as a fan. It’s the first time in my life that I’ve been all-in 100% behind any team and watched them succeed. I’m not a Yankees fan so I’m left figuring out how to handle success and now failure with very little point of reference. I’d like to start looking optimistically to the future, but for all their faults, this was a special combination of young and old Tigers and I think it’s unlikely they’ll be able to carry that over another year. I foresee the sort of changes the Red Sox and White Sox have made (and the Tigers do need to get better offensively) this off-season. And in the end, even if they start the season looking better on “paper”, it also means all bets are off as recent history has shown.
I’m sure this will all seem better in the next few days, but it sucks right now.
Nick
Since everyone else is being so optimistic and generous and I’ll feel bad tomorrow if I don’t join in…you’re right.
The Tigers had a great ride, and I really felt like I was watching a great group of guys that I could be happy to support. I hope to never learn otherwise (like a Cowboy’s after the super bowl years for example).
The Cardinals played well enough to beat the Tigers of this week. They avoided the mistakes the Tigers made, and their pitching somehow came through. Congrats.
Looking forward, I’m very skeptical about short term success for the Tigers, but I hope they stay the course and continue building a first class organization with a deep farm system. Detroit isn’t a small market baseball town and we can be competitive year in and year out. I hope that happens. It might help me be more rational in the future!
Thanks for all the work on the blog…it’s really added to my enjoyment of this season. I can imagine it’s a labor of love and it reflects in your effort.
Thanks again,
Nick
From a Cards fan, congrats to the Tigers for an excellent season. You have a class organization with great players and unfortunately, share in the shame that Midwest teams earn so little respect from the national media. The reason baseball becomes part of our DNA is because of the passion of the players, managers and fan. Detroit, in all of those pieces showed incredible heart. I wish your all good luck next year, when i hope we can do it all again.
From a Cardinals Fan–
Well done on a great season. Getting to the WS from a 119 loss season a few years ago is an amazing accomplishment, and with that talented young pitching staff your team will be in the mix for awhile. Even though today is disappointing, your future is bright and exciting. Good luck to you next year, and if the Cards don’t make it back, you’ve got a fan in St Louis–classy team, classy management, and classy organization.
to jeff weaver, tony larussa , the cardinal orginaztion and especially to all their fans….congratulations, celebrate like it’s 1982. i couldn’t bear to watch any of your happiness because my beloved tigers were at that expense….to anybody that says this world series wasn’t exciting or fun, i say two things 1… you must live on a coast 2….this was the best series i’ve seen since 84
Thank you, Detroit fans. Despite how happy I am for the Cardinals, I feel your heartbreak. Your manager is a class act, as were the Detroit players and fans. Thank you for a great series. Let’s make the advertisers crazy and do it again next year!
Congratulations to the Cardinals Organization and to their fans( except to those morons who mailed Billfer after the 2nd Game with crap mails), who waited even longer than the Tigers. You earned the title even though that the Cards regular Season record was a mere 83-79. They were at top Form when it counts.
Congratulations to all at the Tigers Organization for a wonderful season (with it’s highs and lows, but nevertheless wonderful).
This was my first World Series since 1990 in which I was “personally” involved as a Tigers Fan since 1990. It seems over the last week my blond hair was getting grayer and grayer. So many errors, what would’ve been without “some” of them?
I want to thank Billfer for this excellent Blog. It was a must read for me every day the whole season long, although I have posted only twice or so because I don’t want to annoy you with my (sometimes “tricky” ) English, it’s a little bit rusty over the Years . But today I give it a try to thank all of you to make me proud to be a Tigers Fan from Germany.
Greetings from Germany
Dirk
Well said….if I didn’t have tickets for game 7 I might not be so bitter but like you said it’s a shame the nation (especially us) saw them at their worst. Luckily, this team looks like it should be competitive for years to come which is all that us true fans have really been waiting for anyway. I think if we’re going to take it to the next level we need a legitimate leadoff hitter, preferably center. Move Granderson over to left, Monroe to right, and Mags at DH. Thames will probably be gone anyway. Another lefty reliever would be nice, and maybe some off-season trouble with the law for Rodney so he won’t be back next year j/k
As a lifelong Cardinals fan reveling in an amazing and unexpected postseason, I must say that the one thing that gives me pause is the fact that we beat a really great team that has awesome fans. It was truly inspiring to see the Detroit fans respond to the ALDS and ALCS victories with such class and enthusiasm. It’s normally very easy for me to find something to hate about the teams that the Cards come across in the post-season, but not this year. Throughout the series, I really, really felt for the fans and the team, because while the losses may be understandable, the weirdness of how they happened is very difficult to process. You guys have a very, very good team that will hopefully remain competitive for years; it is a team filled with classy, gritty players with intelligent management. It will be my pleasure to root for you to win your division next year. Consider me a fan who is loyal until we find ourselves playing again in October.
We went through a lot of pain in 2004: your time will come, and soon. Love your team, they deserve it. And best of luck next year.
As a Cardinal fan, I salute the Detroit Tigers and their classy fans for being respectful opponents. Mets fans have literally threatened me for just being a Cards fan, so it’s a drastic change going from the Mets fans to the Tigers fans, and one that I thoroughly appreciate.
Don’t worry about your Tigers, they will be back next year. We were completely heartbroken in 2004, after finally making it out of the NLCS after so many years only to get crushed by the Red Sox in 4 games. Don’t let this one slip lose an ounce of faith in your team; they made it as far as they did because they are a great team. No luck involved. They stopped two great teams in the Yankees and Athletics, and they are the AL Champions: the very best that the American League has to offer. They’re a young team, and they’ll learn from it, just as our guys learned from their 2004 failures. Even though we got swept, I wore my NL Champions shirts proudly–and still do, because it’s something to cherish. The Tigers are back, and I’ll be rooting for them and their fans for years to come… as long as they aren’t facing my Cardinals. 🙂
Don’t lose hope, because that team you’ve got is one of the very best–you don’t accomplish what they accomplished if you’re not one of the 2 best teams in baseball. Go Cards, Go Tigers in 2007!
Thanks for all your kind words, Cards fans. I wanted my Tigers to win this series, more than anything. Words cannot express how much I wanted them to win, but if it couldn’t be my Tigers, I’m glad it was the Cardinals. Great team, great city, and as you all have shown, great fans. Congratulations.
PS–your stadium is beautiful, at least from what I could see on TV. Especially the skyline view with the arch, very nice. Kinda reminds me of Comerica (well, not the arch part); modern in all the nice, convenient ways, but very respectful of tradition. I’d like to catch a ballgame there sometime, maybe next October? 🙂
Much respect to the Cardinals and their fans. Our mutual history in the World Series in ’34, ’68, and now ’06, links us. Both are old, great fan bases where grandparents tell their kids about the ’34 Series, then their kids tell theirs about ’68. Now, our stories will be passed down again. Congratulations, Cards. Until next time…
Very true, Nick, very true. It’s a tradition that transcends tossing a ball 50 yards for a touchdown, in my opinion, and I’m sure a lot of folks in Detroit agree. There’s great pride and integrity in the game of baseball; it’s not just a sport here, it’s the heart of our city. I’m sure the sentiment rings true in Detroit, as well. From Stan the Man to Ty Cobb and the Wizard of Oz to Al Kaline, these guys are bigger than what baseball players are supposed to be. I’m sure Pujols and guys like Granderson will provide us with many more happy moments to share with our children and our children’s children for many years to come.
The new Busch is very nice, Anne. I attended the three game sweep of the Pirates in April (when we were the best team in baseball–what a terrifying season…), and I really enjoyed the look and feel of the stadium, but something was missing. “This place needs some memories before it feels like home,” I told my girlfriend. Looks like we kicked it off with about the best memory anybody could ask for. I was lucky enough to attend Game 4, and it was electric (it usually is, but everyone was just living and dying on every single pitch… amazing feeling). It hit me at that time that we were going to win it at home, and thus have our footnote in the new Busch’s history. Definitely try to make the trip down sometime, the fans always treat out-of-towners nicely down here.
My gal is from Michigan, so we come up to Bay City all the time… I have yet to attend a Tigers game (my wallet is kicking me for not going after the 119 loss season, since I’d imagine ticket costs are skyrocketing at this point), but I will definitely correct that ignorance next summer! Definitely take a stroll through Tigers Stadium, as well.
Zoop,
You seem like a very knowledgeable fan (as I’ve found the vast majority of Cards fans to be). And you’re immensely gracious. While I’m trying to be gracious too (the Cards BEAT the Tigers, no question), I have to say that it ruffles my feathers (pun) that you mentioned the Wizard of Oz.
If you would have told me that the Tigers traded Alan Trammell straight up for Ozzie Smith any time between about ’81 and ’90, I would have been throwing things at walls. Yet, one is in the Hall and the other isn’t.
Sorry, dude, we are on a Tigers site after all.
Thanks Nick. I’m actually not as respectful as most Cardinal fans–it really all depends on which team I’m referring to. The Mets? I’ve said some wickedly mean things about their fans this past month… all deserving, but I’ll bite the bullet of my folly, nonetheless. 😉
Sorry, but I don’t get the hate on the Wiz? I understand that he was originally drafted by Detroit, but I had no idea you guys held a grudge over it, assuming that’s what it’s about (apologies if not–call it J.D. Drew/Phillies syndrome). He’s definitely one of the best guys to ever play the game (and shares my dislike of Tony LaRussa–I’ve never been a fan of his, but he made all the right moves this year, so respect is due), and a very nice guy in general. Sorry to boil the ol’ blood, I hadn’t a clue. I believe both should be in the Hall (let it be known that I’m a bleeding sucker for hometown heroes–why Willie McGee is missing from the Hall is absolutely beyond me, and the fact that we never retired 51 is the biggest travesty is our long franchise), although I’d take the Wiz over Tram in a heartbeat (hey, I am a Cardinal fan, after all). I cannot deny the awesomeness of the backflip. 😉
Just because I love baseball discussion in general, and this is a Detroit forum, what’re you guys’ thoughts on the Jeremy Bonderman trade rumors? Think the Tigers should trade him for a bat? I’m hearing Texas is a possibility. Personally, I feel if you’ve got a hard throwing 24 year old that can pitch 200+ innings per season, the last thing you should do is trade him for a bat. Is Detroit as outraged over these (very premature and off-base) rumors as I’d be?
And yeah, sorry to be invading your forum–hope you don’t mind the discussions.
Zoop, You are very well spoken, and I appreciate you being a Cardinal fan and picking Ozzie over Tram. But, you have stirred a hornets nest one this one. Many of us are incredibly bitter that Ozzie is in and Tram is not. Chose him because you love him, because you can’t choose him when comparing stats. Tram was hands down better at the plate, and vastly underrated as a fielder. Further, Tram had to toil under the imense shadow of Cal Ripken for years, where Ozzie has no such contemporary in the NL. Once Smith was elected every single picture on every news stand was of Smith doing a backflip. Since when is backflipping an intergal part of the game? Trammell was a better hitter by far, with fantastic post season stats. Smith was a fantastic fielder who couldn’t hit a lick, but gets elected because of his dog and pony show, and for being a nice guy. It is not widley known, but if you talk to people affliated with the Hall Of Fame, most members of the Hall think Smith does not deserve to be there…. I agree. Congrats on a fantastic season and enjoy the Championship. I am rooting for La Russa for the Hall, while trying to maintain the Hall’s intregrity by getting Smith removed.
Ouch! Such harshness. Ozzie’s batting average was lower than Alan’s, IIRC, but he had more hits in less playing years and was arguably better at flashing the leather. To say Tram should be in is obvious; the man put up amazing numbers and is likely one of the three best players to ever don a Tigers jersey, but to say that Ozzie should be removed is absurd. It’s understandable that Ripken built a solid reputation throughout the years as an amazing defensive stopper, but the facts are the facts, and Ozzie won 13 Gold Gloves. I think that’s more than deserving of the Hall–no comparisons to go on. 13 Gold Gloves are 13 Gold Gloves, no matter how you look at it. Beyond that, there’s no reason for hostility; why can’t multiple amazing Shortstops be allowed into the Hall? Why must one be removed to justify the other? With all due respect, I do not understand your logic.
I, personally, feel that if you’re one of the three best players at your position in your generation, you should be in the Hall (5 best if it’s a good period, like the late ’90s Shortstop overload with Omar, Nomar, Jeter, and A-Rod). I don’t see how it’s even remotely arguable that Ripken, Jr., Ozzie, and Tram weren’t some of the best of their eras.
Thought you’d all like to know the the Tigers and their fans received a standing ovation at the parade today. 🙂 You guys deserve it.
Zoop, well said, but you assumed a little much with regard to my argument. I did not, nor am I, advocating Trammell to be in the Hall and Ozzie to be removed. For as much as I love Trammell he, in my opinion, is on the bubble whether he should be in. My vexation is that Smith is in and Trammell is not. Either both should be, or both should not be. Smith was a great fielder, but it takes more than fielding to be a HOFer. His offensive stats are not deserving of enshrinement. 13 gold gloves are impressive, but enough to get elected in my opinion. It takes more than that. All the more Ozzie had were backflips, and that just isn’t baseball. Trammell’s glove was not as good as Smith’s, but then again Trammell played on grass, Smith got the benefit of playing on turf. Many argue that turf is harder to play on. Having played on both I can tell you that once you get used to the ‘hops’ playing on turf it becomes easy to make plays for the balls hit at you never differ. That is not the case on grass. Further, it is easier to win 13 gold gloves when you have inferior competition in your league. The gold gloves Trammell could have won (in a couple of cases should have won) went to Ripken. I am not dogging on Cal. He DESERVES the hall. But going into a playoff series would you rather have Trammell or Smith? I know you answer, and don’t blame you for it. Loyalty is important. But most other baseball people would rather have Trammell’s bat and glove, than just Ozzie’s glove. Trammell should maybe be in. Smith should not. To temper my argument a bit I say either both should, or both shouldn’t be in. In any event it is a lively debate, please don’t read any hostility in, because there isn’t any on my side.
I am nethier a Cardinal or Tiger fan…but the cardinals should have won the world series one game before they did. the reason they didnt was cause the dickhead kenny rogers cheated
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