-The topic of the day is how the Cardinals finished off the Tigers to pull off a big upset and win this year’s World Series in five by sweeping all three games at Busch Stadium- walking away with a 4-2 Game Five clincher last night. Sure. It’s true that they took advantage of every Detroit mistake. How many errors could their young pitchers make? Yikes. But it doesn’t take away from how well St. Louis pitched and outside of Chris Duncan’s adventure in right last nite, they played very well in the field and also got enough key hits to take home their 10th World Championship (2nd to only the Yanks’ 26).

Perhaps it wasn’t the crispest Series and won’t be remembered too fondly. But for all the bitterness we read in today’s NY Post, maybe those same beat writers have short memories because the 2000 Subway Series was far from a Fall Classic and lasted the same five games. Oh. And there’s this. Outside of the big viewership here, much of the rest of the country tuned out that series. A series in which the Yanks cashed in on every Met mistake to easily win their fourth WS in five years. So, for those writers such as Mike Vaccaro and Joel Sherman to complain about how the two NY teams blew it seems like sour grapes. Fact is the “ninth seed” Cards proved to be better than the Mets in the biggest spot. And those Tigers dismantled the Yanks embarrassing them in the process. To be honest, that’s not such a bad thing for baseball. In a sport where many fans complain about how much a few teams spend, it’s not always about how many big stars they wind up with. The games still have to be won on the field. Some might point out that the Cards didn’t exactly have a low payroll. And that would be true. But anyone who thinks they couldn’t have won without World Series MVP David Eckstein or rookie closer Adam Wainwright didn’t watch this postseason. The talk was that the only way a flawed team such as St. Louis had a chance was if Albert Pujols carried them on his back. How wrong they were. The big man will be remembered more for a great defensive play at first Friday than for his bat. Go figure.

Speaking of Wainwright, how cool was this guy under pressure? You have to wonder whether Cards’ skipper Tony LaRussa will really convert him to a starter next Spring. With how well he pitched out of the pen and Jason Isringhausen no sure bet to return to form due to surgery, it might be wiser for them to keep the unflappable pitcher in the pen. That curve was downright nasty all October and kept hitters off balance.

Maybe the best story of October and especially last night was ex-Yankee Jeff Weaver’s reemergence. Dealt for by St. Louis for just a minor leaguer because they needed another pitcher, the AL’s worst hurler suddenly rediscovered the magic which made him an effective starter when he began his career with Detroit. Whatever pitching coach Dave Duncan and he worked on, the results down the stretch were spectacular. Weaver went from being maybe almost out of the league to St. Louis’ second best starter. And with the chance to finish off his ex-club, he pitched like a man possessed, going eight allowing just a two-run homer to Sean Casey while fanning nine. Maybe the most emphatic K was of Pudge Rodriguez late. Up only a run after Casey doubled thanks to another Chris Duncan misplay, Weaver responded by striking out Rodriguez on three pitches. It was as impressive a sequence as you’ll see. And how did Weaver finish his night? By getting the last two swinging. Awesome stuff. Somewhere, Yankee fans who saw the same pitcher break their heart three years ago must’ve been contemplating other thoughts. You have to be happy for Weaver though. Given up for dead, he silenced the critics and may have scored a big deal when he becomes available on the market next month. If he’s wise, he’ll stay where his career was reborn.

One thing we haven’t said is how much we admire Eckstein. Not the biggest in stature (5-7, 160), the shortstop who took home the MVP trophy along with a brand new yellow Corvette has always made up with it with a huge heart, playing the game as hard as possible and getting the most out of his ability. It was fitting that such a gritty, hardworking overachiever was rewarded. It’s also the second World Championship he’s been an integral part of. He also was right in the middle of another surprising WS winner four years ago with the 2002 Angels.For more on what makes this sparkplug special, we suggest this AP article:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AqhyJtgblcjycDdBBWKE2KURvLYF?slug=ap-worldseries-cardinals-mvp&prov=ap&type=lgns

-Final thought on the Cards’ improbable run to a championship. Many will look at their 83 wins and say they’re not worthy. But when you consider some of the injuries to key players including losing Pujols for a month, it all contributed to their second half struggles. Had they been healthier, they win at least 10 more games and nobody would be saying anything. Still, in order to be the best at the end of the day, you have to deliver in the biggest games. That’s what LaRussa’s ballclub did. They swept the 88 win Padres and then beat the 97 win Mets in seven and the 95 win Tigers in five. It’s not easy to win three rounds in the baseball playoffs. The Cards beat three pretty good opponents and deserve all the accolades that come with it. Congrats go out to them, their fans and LaRussa on doing a superb managing job and also becoming the second manager since Sparky Anderson to ever guide a team in each league to a World title. Great job!

-If you’re up 17 on Navy with the game completely under control, you kick the field goal and try not to show up your opponent on its own home field. Not if your Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis apparently, who opted to go for fourth and goal from the three and watched back Darius Walker come up a yard short. There was nothing to gain here. Especially in a game the Fighting Irish won handily 38-14 against a foe they defeated for the 43rd consecutive time. Why do that?

-So I guess USC isn’t going to quite make it this time.