It was an innocuous and slightly comical event to those of us watching the game. A cute little squirrel went scampering across home plate, allegedly distracting Philadelphia pitcher Roy Oswalt. Shortly after the scamper, David Freese hit a two run blast, sending the Cardinals to a Game 4 win and back to Philadelphia for Game 5.
Prior to Game 5, another squirrel related incident had a squirrel taunting the same Oswalt before scurrying away. The Phillies groundskeepers claimed to have captured "Rally," but the results said otherwise. Chris Carpenter pitched arguably the best game in a do-or-die situation in the history of the postseason.
Since these incidents, more light has been shed on the situation. This was no ordinary squirrel foraging for food, but was, in fact, a squirrel in love with a tortoise. Specifically, that tortoise belongs to Cardinal outfielder Allen Craig. Rally was doing nothing more than looking for her lost love.
Can a love between a squirrel and a tortoise be enough to keep Albert Pujols in St. Louis? How in the shell do you make that connection, you may be inclined to ask.
This inspirational romance has apparently ignited the entire Cardinal baseball team, as they have not only stalked the Braves form 10.5 games to earn one of the most implausible playoff berths in MLB history, they then went and faced the greatest rotation ever assembled.
And in that series against a team of aces, they sent their own ace to out ace the acest of all aces. Chris Carpenter's duel with Roy Halladay was one for the ages.
After that series, they went to Miller Park, where Beasts roam free, and there, they released the monster slayer, Albert Pujols, who slayed them all with his mighty bat, scorching four extra base hits and tying a Major League record in the process.
In so doing, the Red Birds claimed home field advantage in the NLCS against the team that had the worse road record of any team in the playoffs. They send the aforementioned Carpenter, who threw a complete game shutout the last time he faced the Brewers, to the mound tonight.
Then, in Game 4, they have a decisive pitching advantage again, as the Cardinals send Kyle Loesh to the mound to square off against the slumping Randy Wolf. Finally, in Game 5, they have the inverse of Game 1. While Jaime Garcia will again face off against Zach Greinke, the advantage is switched. Garcia now is the one who will be pitching at home, and Garcia's home splits are considerably better than his road numbers.
It's possible that Milwaukee has played their last home game this year. It's possible that this series will never get back to Milwaukee.
It's no guarantee certainly, but it is well within the realm of possibility.
If the Cardinals do go the World Series, riding on that magical tortoise meets squirrel, tortoise loves squirrel romance, what does that do for Albert Pujols, his free agency and his own courtship with the Cardinals? What happens, gasp, if they win?
Does that, as some suggest, jack up Pujols' free agency value? Would he be able to get 300 million anywhere he wants to go?
First, let's keep a few things in perspective here. Albert Pujols has not arguably had the best first 11 years by a hitter in the history of baseball; he's had it without argument. Pujols has the most home runs, the most runs, the most runs created, the most total bases in his first 11 years. Additionally, he has the most runs produced and the most RBI since integration.
Furthermore, he's won three MVPs. He's led the Red Birds to the playoffs seven times, the NLCS six times and the World Series twice (and possibly thrice). He has won two home run crowns, an RBI title and one batting championship, making him the first NL player to have won all three since Joe Medweick of the Cardinals won a triple crown in 1937.
Over the course of that time, he has worked his way into the top 10 all time postseason leaders in home runs, RBI, total bases and and runs. He's close to being there in hits, only needing seven more. By the end of this postseason, he could very well be the NL's all-time leader in all of those leaders but hits, where he will likely be second at season's end.
Lest you think that he has only done things with the bat, be reminded that he has won the Fielding Bible Award four times and the Gold Glove twice. He has the third best range factor as a first baseman in history. He has more fielding WAR runs (runs prevented over an average fielder) than any first baseman in history except Keith Hernandez, and next season should surpass even him.
So not only are we talking about a player who has established himself as the greatest hitter of his generation, we're talking about a player who, by the time he retires, could be the greatest hitter of any generation, the greatest postseason player in National League history, if not MLB history, and the greatest fielding first-baseman of all time.
In fact, many of those arguments can be made now.
So really, in perspective, does he need another World Series to convince anyone of his value? I think not.
However, what it might do is give the Cardinals the excuse they want to spend the extra money. After all, the recent revelations are that the teams are far closer than anyone realized, about $1.5 million a year and one year off. Surely a World Series is worth $15 million, right?
Additionally, Pujols has claimed that what matters to him more than money is a chance to win. Nothing convinces a player that he has a chance to win a championship like actually winning a championship. St. Louis has already taken steps to secure this team for at least another year, and his longtime teammate Chris Carpenter as well.
Other key players like Yadier Molina and Matt Holiday were previously inked to deals to keep them around. Most recently, the Cardinals agreed to a deal with Lance Berkman. They are doing everything they can to keep the team that Pujols feels can win.
Adam Wainwright, who is normally the co-ace with Carpenter, is due back next spring and already throwing.
Yes, there's everything that Pujols needs to believe that not only is this team a team that can win this year, but one that can keep winning next year.
In essence, winning a World Series would give the Cardinals what they need, namely the money to sign Pujols, and winning it would give Pujols what he wants most: a chance to win it all. That's how a nutty romance between a bushy tailed squirrel and a tortoise saved Albert Pujols from leaving the Cardinals.
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