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Monday Night With The Cards (And Mom)

We sat in section 147. That is essentially field-level, to the right of home plate. We could hear the pop of the catcher's glove, and the crack of the bat. It was plain to me that the umpire at home was "squeezing" the pitchers; that is, he wasn't calling strikes. As a result, the score was 3-3 after 2 innings. The Mets as a club are in a bad way. They didn't have a chance without the extra walks granted by the stingy umpire. In all frankness, I did say that both Stevie Wonder and Ronnie Milsap could better call the game. In my defense, I did not yell this at the umpire; I merely shared it with my mother.

Lance Lynn, who was the starting pitcher for the Cardinals, shut down the Mets for 5 consecutive innings before the Cardinals scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 7th. They pinch-hit for him in that inning, so he was correctly and justly awarded a win. Those runs were the winning margin.

There is a magic to baseball, and to these Cardinals. It is very early, but the Cardinals have a record of 24-13, leading the National League Central, (and all of baseball) and they look like a team that can win the whole thing. They will win this division, and they can beat anyone they meet in the playoffs if the pieces fall just right.

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