In light of the Los Angeles Dodgers beating the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS to earn a date with the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS, not to mention being four wins away from their first World Series appearance in 21 years, I have three words to say...
I was wrong.
I honestly didn't think that L.A. would sweep the Cardinals, due to the fact that those Redbirds had two aces in Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, a legitimate slugger who had a great season in Matt Holliday, and baseball's best player in Albert Pujols.
Little did I know that the Dodgers would beat both Carpenter and Wainwright, and for the most part contain Pujols, taking the bat out of his hands by intentionally walking him three times during the series.
Little did I know that Holliday would cost the Cards game two when he dropped what would have been the last out at Dodger Stadium, opening the door for L.A. to rally and score the winning runs.
Although I was extremely glad at the turn of events, I felt for Holliday—I hope the Cardinal fans don't turn on him the way that Red Sox fans turned on Bill Buckner after he let that ground ball go through his legs in 1986.
And little did I know that Andre Ethier would come up big with the bat, hitting two home runs, including one in Game Three, and that Manny Ramirez would finally come through with a 3-for-5 performance in that same Game Three in St. Louis, in front of a Cardinal faithful that was—I'm sure—pumped up and a bit hostile.
That will teach me not to underestimate or have doubts in the team I've been following since age 10.
Now that they are in the LCS, I think they have a shot, particularly with the way they have been playing.
If L.A. keeps on playing as inspired as they have, there's no reason why they can't win the pennant and make the Fall Classic.
It won't be easy with Philadelphia being the defending champions and all. They are not only led by Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Pedro Feliz at the plate, but have been galvanized by the pitching of Cliff Lee, the Cy Young Award winner who was acquired from Cleveland in midseason and has since pitched brilliantly.
But as I have said, I think the Dodgers have a legitimate shot.
And who knows? If the Angels do their part and beat the New York Yankees in the ALCS, we would have something that Southern Californians have been dreaming about for nearly 50 years—a Freeway World Series.
Which would certainly be exciting.
So let's see how things unfold.
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