The 2011 World Series starts a couple of hours from now, just ten miles from where I am writing. Saint Louis is hosting the Texas Rangers and the world tonight. Gone are the halcyon days of Indian summer that we had grown all to use to over the past few weeks. Rain, cold, wet and raw has turned the weather inhospitable for baseball tonight, but the show must go on. Speaking of the weather, I have been under it for the past two days, with a cold.

Even though the leaves have only just begun to change, the color red has sprouted everywhere you turn. A splash of red seems to accent almost everybody’s attire these days. Saint Louis is a baseball town that really loves its Cardinals. Other sports teams have come and gone, but the Cards endure. The organization has been playing baseball in Saint Louis since 1892. They were first known as the Brown Stockings (not the Saint Louis Browns), and then the Perfectos, before in 1900 becoming the Cardinals. In the intervening years, the Cardinals have rewarded their fans with 10 World Series titles, more than any other team, save the vaunted Yankees. It would be nice to see the Cards make it 11 in ’11.

Anne was in the high school yesterday, when one of her students announced that he was going to tonight’s game. He had bought two tickets at $250. He had earned the money by mowing lawns and shoveling snow. Also, he will be treating his dad to the game tonight. The Post had a human interest article in the paper today. Martha Dittle, 98, of Belleville, IL, remembers all 10 Cardinal World Series titles, all the way back to 1927. So, win one more for Martha is the cry from the east side. Another article interviewed Whitey Herzog, the one man who has managed both the Cardinals and the Rangers. At 80, he lives in Saint Louis County. He doesn’t have to many kind words about his stint in Arlington, primarily because in 1973, the Rangers were a pretty lousy team. He doesn’t pull any punches with the Cards either, but does offer these words of encouragement, “I think that they are a team on a mission. I think that they are going to win it.”

Win or lose, it is nice to play the game. It is of course still nicer to win. After the speeches, after the National Anthem and after that last round of commercials, Anne and I, we’ll be sitting together on the couch, in front of the TV. Nestled under blankets, we will await the umpire’s, “Play ball!” We’ll root for the home team from the first pitch to the last out, because we are Saint Louis Cardinal fans.

PS – I hope that J. Jay has especially nice game tonight and tomorrow too, because tomorrow is our Jay’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Jay!

PPS – Be sure to click on the American flag photo, it is animated.

PPPS – Happy belated Birthday to Brian and Andrew! I don’t think that either of these gentlemen read this blog, but their parents do.