September 18, 200521 yr The first team to clinch a division title. Congrats Cardinals! Cards officially clinch Central title CHICAGO (AP) -- They waited two days to celebrate their NL Central championship and then the St. Louis Cardinals cut loose. In a wild and raucous clubhouse with champagne and beer flowing and spraying, the Cardinals doused one another and toasted a title they had actually clinched Thursday. They decided to put off the partying until their 95th victory, which they got Saturday by beating by the Chicago Cubs 5-1. Now there's no chance the second-place Houston Astros could tie their win total with a miracle finish. "It never gets old having the opportunity to throw some champagne. This is so much fun," said shortstop David Eckstein, a key addition after the Cardinals lost Edgar Renteria. "Everybody talks about how great it is, but you don't really realize it until you get to come fresh to this city [st. Louis]. It's amazing," a soaked Eckstein said. "Now you know why when someone comes in, they don't want to leave." For a while, the Cardinals didn't want to celebrate. With a victory on Thursday night, St. Louis had already clinched the division title because even if the Astros had tied, the Cardinals held the tiebreaker on the basis of winning the season series against Houston. But they were able to celebrate in their own time, in their own way. After Saturday's victory, manager Tony La Russa stood by the first base coaches box and hugged his players as they walked off the field. A large contingent of red-clad Cardinals' fans cheered from around the dugout. Minutes later, inside the clubhouse, it was bedlam. Abraham Nunez, who'd never been to the postseason in eight years with the Pirates, got to pop the first cork. A relatively dry La Russa was conducting his postgame news conference in his office with a towel on his shoulder when he was escorted to the center of the tiny visiting clubhouse at Wrigley Field, surrounded and then drenched from all directions. "You don't have much room in this clubhouse to get away," first baseman Albert Pujols said. "It's a real dream come true to win here," La Russa said. "Roland Hemond once told me to enjoy the moment and that's what I'm going to do. The hardest thing to do is win the division. It takes six months. Now we can look forward to playing in October." St. Louis, swept by Boston in the World Series last year, has won four of the last six division titles. "Another opportunity for the World Series. A lot of players retire and never get the opportunity for this," Pujols said. Mark Mulder (16-7), another key offseason acquisition, allowed eight hits and a run in seven innings and helped himself with a squeeze bunt and single off Greg Maddux to get his first win since Aug. 22. "Everyone was making such a big deal about when we would clinch. Now we can concentrate on moving on to the playoffs," Mulder said. Maddux (12-13) will get three more starts to try and keep his remarkable streak of 15-win seasons intact. He won at least 15 games for a major league-record 17 straight seasons, a stretch that started in 1988 in the third year of his first stint with the Cubs. The 39-year-old right-hander, who has 317 career wins, hasn't had a losing record since going 6-14 in 1987. Manager Dusty Baker said after the game that Maddux would get the third and extra start. "I don't care if we're out of it or not, if I've got a chance to pitch, I want to," Maddux said, adding that the 15-victory plateau is not that big of a deal. "Probably not. For me, it's always been about pitching," he said. "It's always been about trying to find out how good you are. Every fifth day, you try to find out, 'How good can I be today?' If I get to do that an extra time this year, I'm more than happy to do it." Maddux went 6 1/3 innings, giving up 10 hits and five runs. The Cardinals manufactured runs in the first and second innings. David Eckstein led off with a single and on a hit-and-run reached second as Jim Edmonds hit back to Maddux. Admin Walker's two-out single made it 1-0. Mark Grudzielanek walked in the second and after Abraham Nunez forced him at second, Einar Diaz dropped a single to right to put runners at first and third. With Nunez breaking for the plate, Mulder dropped down a perfect squeeze bunt for a 2-0 lead. Edmonds' fly to center hit the top of the ivy and bounced off for a third-inning double as Cubs center fielder Corey Patterson looked up and apparently thought it was a homer. Edmonds then made third on a grounder and scored on Walker's second RBI single. Jeromy Burnitz hit his 23rd homer in the sixth to end Mulder's shutout bid. But Mulder beat out an infield hit and scored all the way from first on Eckstein's double off the left-field wall for a 4-1 lead in the seventh. Edmonds followed with another RBI double to finish Maddux and give the Cardinals a four-run cushion. Game Notes Cubs OF Jerry Hairston has a deep bone contusion after fouling a ball off his left knee Friday. Trainer Mark O'Neal said he's not sure when Hairston can play again but added he doesn't expect him to miss all of the final two weeks. ... Pujols, trying to catch Chicago's Derrek Lee for the batting title, went 1-for-4. Lee was 1-for-3 and hit a hard smash to short in the fifth and was thrown out on a great play by the 5-foot-7 Eckstein, who snagged the high hop and saved a run. Pujols is batting .335, Lee .341. Link
September 18, 200521 yr I didn't see this coming.... 951419[/snapback] :lol :lol :lol This article explain everything this team has been about. CHICAGO -- Abraham Nunez stood in the middle of the St. Louis clubhouse with his T-shirt soaked with champagne and a smile as wide as they come, and paused for a moment to find words for his first division title experience. The situation was a tad overwhelming for the Cardinals third baseman. After his team beat the Cubs, 5-1, on Saturday to clinch the National League Central Division, Nunez was given the first bottle of champagne to pop and asked to make the speech. Now, just a few minutes after the celebration had begun, he was trying to find the words for what this honor meant to him -- and for that, it took a bit of time. "You can't explain those feelings," Nunez said with eyes sparkling from the tears. "Coming from a manager like Tony La Russa and having me pop the first bottle ... he made my career right there." "It was his first time, and he's been so critical for us," La Russa said. "That was a really memorable moment right there. He made a little speech, and that's a keeper. It's an extra-special day."
September 18, 200521 yr :tv watch as the Cards Celebrate.. Spirits soar By Joe Strauss ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 09/17/2005 CHICAGO ? The last pitch belonged to Jason Isringhausen, and the final out fell to Albert Pujols. When it was all done and the Cardinals had mathematically, categorically and irrefutably clinched the National League Central title Saturday with a 5-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, Tony La Russa handed the first bottle of champagne to Abraham Nunez. "Today," said Nunez, a symbol of his team's resilient season, "the manager made my career." A cheering crowd of Cardinals fans gathered on the first-floor concourse outside the clubhouse. Drenched players appeared in clusters to acknowledge them. "I was part of winning a division in Oakland, but it wasn't like this," said Isringhausen, a Brighton, Ill., native. "Days like this are why I'm here and why I don't want to leave." With two exceptions, Saturday's lineup was a carbon copy of the one that started the home opener on April 8 against the Philadelphia Phillies. A stomach virus sidelined catcher Yadier Molina, and Rolen hasn't been with the club since undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery Aug. 29. Molina, so sick he could not stand after reporting to the clubhouse at 8 a.m., recovered in time to enter the ninth inning with Isringhausen. "This was very special to me," Molina said. [More in URL]
September 18, 200521 yr Congrats to the Cards... I think we're looking at our 2005 World Champs right here....
September 18, 200521 yr Author Congrats to the Cards... I think we're looking at our 2005 World Champs right here.... 951692[/snapback] If they make it to the WS, I'll cheer them on.
September 18, 200521 yr The Cards are a team that makes very few mistakes and plays with heart. If only the Marlins could follow their example. The talent on the Cards isn't terribly higher than the talent the fish have.
September 18, 200521 yr Congrats to the Cards... I think we're looking at our 2005 World Champs right here.... 951692[/snapback] Man I hope so.. That bitter taste is still in the Cards from last year.. That's why the celebrating wasnt that big in Chicago because they know this is only one step and we've been here before. That bitter taste will all be gone if they can come back this year and win it all. I admit, I'm still not over last year :lol
September 18, 200521 yr Congrats to the Cards... I think we're looking at our 2005 World Champs right here.... 951692[/snapback] Man I hope so.. That bitter taste is still in the Cards from last year.. That's why the celebrating wasnt that big in Chicago because they know this is only one step and we've been here before. That bitter taste will all be gone if they can come back this year and win it all. I admit, I'm still not over last year :lol 951753[/snapback] I know how you feel. I'm still not over the 1993 season, when the Giants won 103 games and missed the playoffs by one game. That Giants team had two 20 game winners, five gold gloves, the league leader in saves, and the league MVP but somehow never made it to the postseason... :banghead :banghead And the Braves had no business being in the NL West to begin with!!!! Anyways, my dad has been a Cards fan all his life... so if the Marlins don't make it, I'll be rooting for them all the way.
September 18, 200521 yr 2005 World Series Champions: The Houston Astros You heard it here first. 951970[/snapback] They cant even beat the Cards this year though.. Dont see how they could in the playoffs. It's possible though.. Anything is in the playoffs..
September 19, 200521 yr The Phillies are going all the way if they make the playoffs... 952100[/snapback] Yeah, "if".. but they won't.
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