Back... and to the Left

Our next-door neighbor, a St. Louis native, informs us that there's a counter to the Curse of the Bambino, that is killing the Cardinals...

The Cardinals have walked 14 Red Sox batsmen, plunked three others and put runners on the bases like they were making donations in the Sunday basket. The Red Sox have plated 17 base runners in the Series, while stranding 21 base runners. They have had more opportunities than Tony Danza.

It's not like our boys. We have been missing location, missing bases, missing in action. Boston was nothing but bad weather, bad hotels and bad karma.

It's the curse, I tell you, the Curse of Keith Hernandez.

This franchise has not won a world championship since it dealt Hernandez to the New York Mets for Neil Allen and Rick Owenby on June 15, 1983, just months after winning the 1982 World Series. Tangibly speaking, that trade didn't go well for our side. The hard-throwing Allen was a bust in St. Louis, first as a reliever and then as a starter. After three seasons, and a 20-16 record, he was sold to the Yankees.

Hernandez, who was a National League MVP and batting champion for the Cardinals in 1979, became a cornerstone for the Pond Scum. He set a major league record for game-winning runs batted in (24) in 1985. He helped guide the Mets to a world championship in 1986.

The "Curse of Keith" worked against the Red Sox in that one. Boston was on the verge of a World Series title in the 10th inning of Game 6, two outs, nobody on, when the Mets rallied for a 6-5 victory. Hernandez was criticized later when it was discovered he already had retreated to the Mets clubhouse to drink a beer when the improbable uprising occurred.

What actually took place is perfectly clear now. At precisely the time Hernandez pulled the tab on a cold Budweiser, Mookie Wilson's ground ball eluded the otherwise sure-fielding Bill Buckner and the series turned around.

Coincidence? C'mon.

Since trading Hernandez, the Cardinals have had two previous World Series chances to add to their nine world championships. They lost both times under extenuating circumstances. In 1985, the Cardinals lost their base-stealing catalyst Vince Coleman to injury when he got his leg caught under the mechanized tarp at the stadium. Weird.

Still, the Cardinals were about to close out the Kansas City Royals in the "I-70 Series" when umpire Don Denkinger blew the call on Jorge Orta. Once again, the crucial, series-turning play developed at first base, Hernandez's old post. Happenstance? Me thinks not.

In the 1987 World Series, the Cardinals made it back to the World Series against the Minnesota Twins. But again, their chances were diminished when they lost slugging first baseman Jack Clark to injury. The club still managed to win three in a row at Busch Stadium and went back to Minnesota with a 3-2 lead, one victory away. But the Twins won Game 6 behind a grand slam by Kent Hrbek, who just happened to be a first baseman with the initials "K.H."

The Cardinals then lost Game 7 as well. The pitcher who saved the game, Jeff Reardon, was a teammate of Hernandez's in New York, probably popped a beer with him at one point or another.

Personally, I think Hernandez's entire aura was gone after he failed to score with Elaine during that two-part appearance on Seinfeld.