North-Siders Keep It Interesting

I have a friend whose job puts him in close contact with the Cardinals AA franchise here in town and from time-to-time he hooks me up with tickets to the ballgame.

A couple of weeks ago he let me know that he could get me tickets to the major league Cards game against the Cubs tonight in St. Louis. Wow. He knew I was looking for a way to get up there with Number One Son before he heads off to college.

However, 18-year-old young men (boys) have several things on their minds in addition to live professional sporting events. Prom, for example. And that is where Number One Son is right now. I told my buddy I would, for the sake of my boy and his date, forgo tickets to the St. Louis game tonight against the long-time rival Small Bears of Chicago. My friend mentioned he could get tickets for another game that Jacob and I could go to in a couple of weeks and I said I would take them.

So we will see the Tampa Bay (don't call me Devil) Rays in St. Louis. Make that the first place Rays of Tampa!

Tonight, however, I did see the Cards and the Cubs on the TV and it was a Whale of a game. (I just made a vague reference to baseball history. Do you know it?) It was one of those games which either team would be sick to lose. St. Louis scored first and put up a 2-0 lead. They had several opportunities to score more, but could not push the runs across the plate. Chicago managed to get one and then St. Louis got one more. In the top of the ninth, the Cubs tied it at 3 on a two-run homer from Alfonso Soriano. The Cards won in the tenth on a two-run homer from Skip Schumaker. Tough loss for the Cubs as it would have been for the Cards - as it stands, though, it's a terrific win in the division against the favorite and a rival. The Cardinals, in first place in the NL Central, hold a one-game lead lead in the loss column over the Cubs.

The Cubs' starting pitcher did not get out of the first inning after issuing 4 walks in the span of six batters. But credit the Chicago pen for holding the Cards down for most of the game. The fact that St. Louis got into the Cubs' bullpen so much tonight might be helpful the rest of the weekend.

As for the vague historical reference: In 1914 and 1915 another major league played a baseball season in addition to the familiar and, by that time even, established National and American Leagues. It was called the Federal League and it's Chicago entry was called the Whales in 1915.

And, in case you are wondering (I was), St. Louis also fielded a team in the Federal League - the Terriers.

There you go.