I listened to yesterday’s Cardinal and Braves Wildcard Playoff Game on KMOX radio, so I couldn’t see all that was going on, but it sounded pretty wild, even for a Wildcard game. Yesterday’s one game playoff series is a novelty of this year’s baseball season. Major League Baseball added a second wildcard spot and this one game playoff with the object of increasing the importance to teams of winning their division.

The Braves jumped out ahead with a 2-0 lead. The Cards came back with three runs, capitalizing on a Braves error. Two more Braves errors later, by the bottom of the eighth, the Cards were up 6-3, which turned out to also be the final score. The Braves were threatening, with men on first and second. The batter hit an easy pop-up, but confusion between two Cardinal fielders led to the fly being dropped. This didn’t matter though, because the umpire had invoked the infield fly rule.

I’ll leave understanding the infield fly rule as a homework assignment for the discerning reader. Commentary has criticized the timing of this call and to a lesser extent the call’s correctness. The Atlanta fans erupted in a twenty-minute temper tantrum, throwing trash on to the field and delaying the game. Play restarted, with the Red Birds eventually winning.

On Sunday, Saint Louis will host the Washington Nationals. I expect Saint Louis to be a more hospitable town than Atlanta was to us. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:

GO CARDS!

Dan texted Anne these three photographs. The paparazzi, meaning me, managed to eventually get his hands on them. Hardwood floors, bright lighting and plenty of windows make this place look pretty nice.