"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”

O.K. Michael Corleone, I know how you feel.  I have not posted since last May, but I have been sucked back in by the St. Louis Cardinals.  The baseball season came to a close for me and the San Francisco Giants at the end of September, but then I happened to watch the Cardinals, the team I grew up with in St. Louis, as they defeated the Phillies in game five of their National League Division series.  It was a compelling game, a 1-0 victory, and I was hooked watching Chris Carpenter and company.

What can I say.  I am a fair weather fan, but I have been riding this wave with the Cardinals, with Carpenter and "King" Albert Pujols, as well as Lance Berkman, Matt Holliday, Yadier Molina, Rafael Furcal, and Alan Craig.  Add Dotel, Rzepczynski, a name I can spell, and Motte.  Add a vegetarian manager. too.  So, I sit in front of the television set, transfixed. I even watch the MLB commentary with Al Leiter giving me insight on pitching.

Oh, it hasn't been easy.  Last night's loss was painful.  Albert struck out at a critical moment on a ninth inning hit and run play and called a hit and run play earlier that ended poorly. Watching on TV is difficult, too, because I cannot abide Joe Buck, and I only tolerate Tim McCarver because he was Bob Gibson's catcher.  Give me Jon Miller,  or even John Smoltz and Ron Darling, who did well in the playoffs.   And still I watch until the final out, enjoying the pleasure of having a team to follow and root for in the World Series.  There's still hope, too, with the team returning to St. Louis for game six.

Win or lose, it's been a great ride, and I have a new explanation for my affliction, thanks to a good friend, Dr. Thomas Singer, who grew up in St. Louis, as I did.  Tom is a psychiatrist and Jungian psychoanalyst, and he has explained my attachment to the Cardinals in Jungian terms.  I am caught up in the “urobotic mysticism” of my birthplace, the St. Louis swamp and its baseball team.  Yes, I am caught up in a state of tribal mystical identity symbolized in animal form by the bright red Cardinal.  As Tom says: “The Cardinal red signifies to those of us who participate in its mystery the experience of oneness between ourselves, our souls, our baseball team and our city.”

To understand all this, I suggest you read Tom's excellent article,"Long Live The Fever: Baseball and The Soul of St. Louis," which he wrote a few days ago for the St. Louis Beacon. http://stlbeacon.org/arts-life/neighborhoods/on-the-cardinals/113696-analysis-cardinals-are-essential-part-of-citys-soul

A postscript:  My last posting before this was about Toby, our ancient and esteemed Norwich Terrier.  I must report now with great sadness that the old guy left us several weeks ago, and we all miss him very much.