Winning Is Boring
Let's talk about the Cardinals for a second. 
I don't want to be the turd in the punch bowl, but has there ever been a more boring run to the playoffs? After gorging myself on football the past 3 days, I made an effort to watch the Cards take on the Astros Tuesday night.
I fell asleep.
When I woke up I saw the Cardinals had handed the Astros their 105th loss of the season. They scored 4 runs. 1 came from a sacrifice fly. Another from a fielder's choice. Yet another from a single.
According to ESPN.com's boxscore, 16K+ people showed up to watch. Houston might just be the most boring place on earth.
The Cardinals aren't a lock for the post-season. Their 7-1 run (so far) against the Cubs and Astros the past week and day has put them in the drivers seat for the last Wild Card spot. Barring a complete meltdown the last week of the season, they'll be in a one game playoff in Atlanta.
This should be titillating.
It's not.
Maybe when the Cards come home for the final 6 against the Reds and Nationals, the intensity will pick up? Doubtful, since both teams are in full in health protect mode.
Maybe for the one game playoff in Atlanta? Perhaps, but knowing that city, they're not even going to be able to sell out that game.
I'm ready to turn up the juice. Let it rip. But when is the right time? It's like this run against terrible teams couldn't have come at a better time... but it's sucked all the fun out of wondering what's going to happen.
Anyone else feel the same way?
It's difficult to not jump forward to the prospect of a one game playoff with Atlanta. While I understand that the mere thought of coasting into the newly created "2nd Wild Card Slot" will invariably haunt me with jinxmares, I must admit that I've been looking forward to the matchup for quite some time. Will the Braves knock down the Cards in mighty fashion, laying vengeance upon the team that overtook them on the last night of their epic collapse? (I'll never forget the 2011 MNF Rams trouncing that was made palatable by Chipper Jones's error in the Dolphin lights followed by Omar Infante's walk off home run.) Or will the Cardinals once again bedevil the once-mighty Bravos and steal away their post season hopes? Let us hope that time will tell. As we have all learned, the beauty of the post season really lies in the fact that it is such a gradual process -- each game laying the path for the next, placing rungs on a ladder that ends in bitter defeat or sweet, incomparable victory. Or an embarrassing fly ball to the ball fly. If we hold serve, our boredom will quickly disappear and once again we will see the path to glory. Stay strong, gents and ladies. Let us not go quietly into the night.
