This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Oct. 8, 2012 - Well, brrrrrr! It was a nippy 54 degrees at Busch Stadium Sunday as the Washington Nationals threw cold water all over Game 1 of the National League Division Series.
As the Nats scored 2 in the top of the 8th inning, a couple of Cardinals fans sitting on the "Left Porch" near Big Mac Land were second-guessing Cardinals Manager Mike Matheny’s decision to bring in reliever Marc Rzepczynski. (You can read the details here.) You’d have thought it was 2011, and now-retired Manager Tony La Russa was still in the dugout.
And so it goes with Cardinal Nation, which convened in full strength to observe the 3-2 loss, embracing both the old and the new of October baseball in St. Louis.
The sea of red flowed as usual down Clark Street and into the stadium where the 2012 edition of rally towels was being distributed.
Outside the stadium, a familiar character -- Reginald Harwell of O’Fallon, Ill. -- happily held court in his "Cardinal Nation” attire greeting fans still celebrating the Wild Card victory in Atlanta on Friday.
Vivian Kaminski of St. Louis posed with Harwell in her "winning” ensemble that includes sunglasses adorned with glittery Red Bird ornaments.
"I wore the same stuff last year,” she said.
Harwell showed off a few additions to his costume: a 2011 World Series bandana draped around his neck and a Rally Squirrel clinging to his shepherd’s staff.
Lil Ezell of St. Louis sat on the curb, next to her Husky named “Zala,” who wore a Cardinals cap. Zala was being photographed as much as the 2011 World Series trophy on display at the pep rally across the street.
Ezell said she didn’t have tickets to the game, but she and Zala had come for the party.
“We’re here supportin’ the Birds,” she said.
So far this postseason, there have been no Rally Squirrel sightings, but there was an addition to the usual medley of "Go Cardinals” and "12 in 12" chants at the pep rally:
All together now, "Infield Fly Rule!"
NLDS Game 2
* Game starts at 3:37 p.m.; stadium gates open at 1:15 p.m.
* Pre-game pep rally at 1 p.m. at the Ball Park Village lot at Clark and Broadway.
* On the mound: southpaw Jaime Garcia for the Cards vs. righty Jordan Zimmermann for the Nats
