Summertime

Classic baseball: the Cubs against the Cardinals in St. Louis on a 94 degree afternoon. It's a rivalry that goes well beyond the city limits. The Cardinals and the Cubs are regional teams, drawing from all over the heartland from Kentucky, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana and the deep south. In some cases it's a generational tie; you are a Cubs fan because your father and his father were Cubs fans. But for them it may have been a question of which radio station came in clearest on those summer nights and afternoons. Pop was a Cardinals fan and KMOX was the station his massive box radio was always tuned to.

Yesterday's Fox Game of the Week was the Cubs against the Cardinals and despite the early June date the heat and humidity were mid-August all the way. By the late innings, the home plate umpire was soaked and I'm sure the beer vendors made a killing. The game itself was vintage Cubs-Cardinals, a seesaw battle with a bit of everything. The starters for both clubs were out by the sixth inning. Only problem was the game went 12.

Albert Pujols, who had already hit one home run and a double won it in the 12th with a walk-off home run off Cubs sixth pitcher of the day. The last pitch was a slider, and not a bad one, but Pujols was ready for it. In fact, everyone in the ballpark probably knew what was coming. And when Pujols guesses right, you're not going to get it by him, even if it's your best pitch.

And so the rivalry continues. The sons and grandsons and daughters and granddaughters of the farmers and railroad men who tinkered with their radios until they got the game just right can tell their kids they saw Albert Pujols hit one out.