Well, well, well. Between watching Game 2, work, watching Game 3, work, travel, sitting through what was to be Game 4 in the rain, running errands (since I'm not in St. Louis much anymore, gotta get my local flavor while I'm here), and witnessing the glory of the Real Game 4, there hasn't been much time to think about writing about this stuff. It's a shame, really, because a lot has happened in the past four days, with Pinetargate (my opinion: there's nothing that can be done about game 2 now, so why whine about it? If there's a game 6, Rogers cannot risk his hand being anything but spotless, and the Cards' hitters should be licking their chops.), the Busch Stadium Lockdown on Wednesday, and the major defensive issues for the Tigers' pitchers and outfielders last night all being newsworthy events. Most importantly, however, the Cards are up 3-1 in the World Series with the chance to close it out at home tonight.

As I write this, I can hear the fairly heavy rain on the roof. It's supposedly on its way out of town, but forecasters aren't quite sure at what point it will stop for good. So, tonight's game is still a bit up in the air - I believe it will happen tonight, although the start will likely be delayed.

The rain has played a huge part in this series as well as the Cards' playoff run as a whole, allowing pitchers to be moved up in the rotation on a few occasions due to the extra day of rest. Tonight's scheduled starters are Jeff Weaver, who (presumably) was scheduled to start Game 6 in Detroit before Wednesday's game got postponed, and Justin Verlander, the loser in Game 1. Given the way things played out the past two days, I am of the opinion that the Cards' rotation for the rest of the series should be set in stone barring further rainouts. That rotation would be Weaver tonight, and Anthony Reyes in Game 6 and Chris Carpenter in Game 7 if needed. If all of the games had been played as scheduled, the scenario existed where Suppan would've been able to come back and start in Game 7 on three days' rest after Carp started Game 6 on short rest. However, since Suppan started last night, and Weaver is scheduled to start tonight, Reyes and Carpenter have to pitch the last two games. So, why start Carp on short rest when you're not able to bump someone else up for Game 7? Also, would you rather have a rookie pitch in a Game 6 with Carpenter going behind him, or a Game 7 with everything on the table? Apparently the Cards have not announced their rotation for the rest of the series, citing the potential for another rainout, which is understandable. Yes, my points could be moot altogether if the Cards win tonight. But I'm not taking anything for granted - the Cards were the last team to blow a 3-1 lead in the World Series in '85, and also blew a 3-1 lead to Detroit in '68. If tonight's game is played and a Game 6 is required tomorrow, starting Carpenter on short rest could be a huge mistake.

In other news, it seems that Mr. Carpenter's methods have been called into question. Iron microfibers! Magnetic gloves! Oh, the humanity!

The folks in section 367 last night kept saying how amazing David Eckstein is, and Tom Verducci agrees. Two of his three doubles last night would probably have been easy flyouts had the Tigers' outfielders not been playing so shallow, but a 4-for-5 game is a 4-for-5 game, especially on the biggest stage of them all. The guy just gets it done, in whatever way possible, and because of that we give thanks. How's Edgar Renteria looking now, Red Sox?

Speaking of the Red Sox, it never ceases to amaze me how classless their fans can be. Oh well - hopefully we'll get ours this year.

One final note: I'm generally not the superstitious type, but the past few months I've been obsessed with whatever lucky charms I could conjure up for the Cardinals. This is the first year I've grown a playoff beard - needless to say, if we win, it's going to be an annual tradition (and no, that's not my site). I've had two $1.50 red wristbands that I wore to work with my Cardinals gear the day of every playoff game. I wore the exact same outfit to watch Games 5, 6, and 7 of the NLCS because it "worked" in Games 2 and 3. I purchased red sneakers back in August to wear to games; they've hardly left my feet this month (and will probably be ruined because of the rain here, but I could care less if we win). I even bought my plane ticket back here for this week after the first game against the Padres, when it was apparent that we'd be seeing a different Cardinal team in October. Evidently, whatever the hell I've been doing has (in my head, anyway) given the Cards the luck they needed to beat teams that were clearly superior to them over the course of a 162-game season. Nobody gave the Cards a chance at the beginning of every round, but somehow each time we found a way to win - and now our team stands on the brink of the first championship many of us have ever seen. Yes, a whole generation has grown up without a World Series victory parade down Market Street, and that wrong is about to be undone. If we win this thing tonight at home, St. Louis will truly be Baseball Heaven.