Oh, Brother: Missing More Than Cards-Royals Repeat

October 18, 2014 @ admin → No Comments

October 18 was going to be special this year. In a way different from what it had been for all those years since early childhood.

October 18 was going to be special because it was going to be the day the St. Louis Cardinals clinched the National League Championship by winning Game 6. It was going to be the day the Cards advanced to the World Series to play the Kansas City Royals. And it was going to occur on the birth date of my brother Rob. As if to pay homage to him.

Ah, but the best-laid plans/dreams often fail to become reality.

Such is life.

Rather than the Cardinals beating the San Francisco Giants in Game 4 of the NLCS to even the series 2-2, St. Louis lost. And lost again in Game 5. Meaning end of series and no game on October 18. Meaning end of dream.

That’s OK. I can live with that. Even if — as a Cardinals fan (which I have been for as long as I can remember, if not longer) — it means not seeing the Cards play on.

What I have greater difficulty living without is my brother, who died last December. My last phone conversation with him was on October 18, 2013, to wish him a happy birthday when he was in the hospital (which meant it mustn’t have been all that happy).

The first World Series game I ever attended was with my brother: Cardinals-Royals in 1985 at Busch Stadium. He had the tickets. I had the ability to travel from Chicago to my hometown for the game. We sat in the upper deck for what was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The outcome of the game is almost meaningless, as tends to be the case in instances of brotherly bonding. What mattered most was the shared experience.

Such is life.

I probably will root for the Royals because I have friends from Kansas City.

I will miss the Cardinals being in the World Series, but certainly nothing compares to how much I miss my brother and miss being able to wish him a happy birthday.

Such is life. And death.

***

Speaking of the almost Cardinals-Royals 2014 World Series, here are some odds for the Giants-Royals Fall Classic from the fine folks at Bovada, (www.Bovada.lv, Twitter: @BovadaLV).

Bovada.lv sports book manager Kevin Bradley offered this observation:

“Despite the Giants battling the Dodgers all year for the NL West, they hung around in the mid-teens in terms of Odds to Win the World Series and we took quite a bit of bets on them throughout the season. In fact, they took in almost double compared to the Royals, even though Kansas City was as high as 50-1 at one point. While the series price is close with the Royals as slight favorites, I expect to be taking quite a bit on the Giants game-to-game as we have seen throughout the playoffs. We will clearly be Royals’ fans in the World Series.”

Video below of Mala Bryan. Nothing to do with baseball.

2009 WORLD SERIES – SERIES PRICES
New York Yankees -210 (10/21)
Philadelphia Phillies +175 (7/4)

2010 WORLD SERIES – SERIES PRICES
Texas Rangers -135 (20/27)
San Francisco Giants +115 (23/20)

2011 WORLD SERIES – SERIES PRICES
Texas Rangers -155 (20/31)
St. Louis Cardinals +125 (5/4)

2012 WORLD SERIES – SERIES PRICES
Detroit Tigers -175 (4/7)
San Francisco Giants +155 (31/20)

2013 WORLD SERIES – SERIES PRICES
St. Louis Cardinals +120 (6/5)
Boston Red Sox -140 (5/7)

2014 WORLD SERIES – SERIES PRICES
Kansas City Royals -120 (5/6)
San Francisco Giants EVEN (1/1)

Exact Series Result
San Francisco Giants 4-0 12/1
San Francisco Giants 4-1 6/1
San Francisco Giants 4-2 5/1
San Francisco Giants 4-3 9/2
Kansas City Royals 4-0 12/1
Kansas City Royals 4-1 11/2
Kansas City Royals 4-2 4/1
Kansas City Royals 4-3 15/4

Odds to win the 2014 World Series MVP
Pablo Sandoval (SF) 8/1
Buster Posey (SF) 17/2
Lorenzo Cain (KC) 9/1
Eric Hosmer (KC) 10/1
Mike Moustakas (KC) 10/1
Alex Gordon (KC) 12/1
Hunter Pence (SF) 12/1
Madison Bumgarner (SF) 12/1
James Shields (KC) 14/1
Alcides Escobar (KC) 15/1
Brandon Belt (SF) 15/1
Jake Peavy (SF) 15/1
Santiago Casilla (SF) 15/1
Greg Holland (KC) 15/1
Travis Ishikawa (SF) 16/1
Billy Butler (KC) 16/1
Joe Panik (SF) 16/1
Norichika Aoki (KC) 20/1
Yordano Ventura (KC) 25/1
Brandon Crawford (SF) 25/1

***

Here is where to go for a daily dose of non-gratuitous video (thanks to the editorial and video departments at ElliottHarris.com and their interesting interpretation of “gratuitous”):