Be Careful...

One of my least favorite sayings in the world is: "Be careful what you wish for."

I heard it used just a couple days ago in a conversation about Tony LaRussa possibly leaving. For some reason that statement got my attention. But I regress...

I thought about that saying again Wednesday night after I saw the results of the Philadelphia/Cincinnati baseball game. I had watched the first four innings of that affair. Cincy's pitcher couldn't get ahead of any Philly hitters; meanwhile Roy Halladay was perfect through four. I had to leave, but honestly I wasn't surprised when I got home and heard the story. It was obvious that nobody was going to beat Halladay on that night. In fact, he no-hit the Reds; an amazing feat in the post-season. (But nothing compared to Don Larsen in '56.)

Umm, Cardinal fans...that could have been us.

Can you imagine our weak-hitting, inconsistent lineup going against Halladay Wednesday night? Because there is no doubt that the winner of the weak Central Division would in fact have been paired with the Phillies, the club with the best record in the National League.

Can you imagine the embarrassment of watching Halladay no-hit the Cardinals? Heck, it probably would have been a perfect game against the undisciplined Cardinal attack. Can you imagine the Cardinals wilting again -- watch what happens to Cincy -- and being swept again in the first round of the playoffs? Would that not have been more painful then spending the last week of the season without a care in the world, watching the Redbirds beat up on the hapless Rockies?

Oh, and that reminds me of something else. As much as I have hopped aboard the "Don't Come Back Tony" train, watching the Rockies during the last week helped me gain some perspective.

The Rockies, clearly a better hitting club than the Cardinals, and one of the better lineups in the National League, were clueless against our second-tier pitching. They just weren't hitting. They didn't have a great first half of the season, then got hot in August and lifted themselves into the Western Division race. But then their bats just fizzled, and they dropped like a...well, like a rock.

The same ailment affected the Cards this season. Our team should have won the division, but we were just too inconsistent. We just couldn't hit. Our bats just went cold too often. It's not that we didn't try, or that we didn't care. Don't get me wrong, some members of the Cardinals need to hustle some more, but I mean as a team, we didn't quit. It just wasn't meant to be this year. Some years it's meant to be; say, 2006? We limped into the post season with barely a winning record, but we got hot at the right time and won it all. This year wasn't meant to be. Some seasons you aren't supposed to win. Some decades you aren't supposed to win; ask the Pirates.

There is no way the Cardinals would have won the World Series, or any series, even if we had made the playoffs. Getting there is great, but how do you think Cincy fans feel this morning? How will they feel when they are bounced out on their butts by the Phillies, who I really think will win it all. We got there last year, but spent the entire winter trying to make excuses why we stunk so bad. So think about how much better we feel today, not having faced Roy Halladay last night.

I guess it's true when they say "Be careful what you wish for." Ok, I get it now. So, I guess it's goodbye, Tony.