Thanks, Houston!

I got to do a really cool thing today--I got to watch a Cardinals game from a luxury box! My wife was lucky enough to get a couple of tickets to the company box to see the final regular season game at Busch Stadium. In my lifetime, I don't think I've even ever gotten to sit anywhere behind homeplate, let alone in one of the luxury suites.

Unfortunately, my wife was a bit lax with her puppeteer strings today, as the Cardinals lost to the Brewers 5-3. However, St. Louis scored those three runs off of three home runs in the bottom of the ninth inning when my wife's attention was completely fixated on the game. Previous to that, she was enjoying the comforts of the suite and oblivious to the game going on outside. Coincidence? I think not!

Despite losing however, the Astros also lost today, allowing St. Louis to clinch the National League Central Division title and a spot in the playoffs by virtue of their evaporating, but still superior regular season record. Probably the oddest thing I saw today was, in the bottom of the fifth inning, the entire stadium erupted in the tomahawk chop as the Astros were down to their last out halfway across the country in Atlanta. To make matters even more confusing, the Cardinals had their blue caps with red bills on today, which sort of made them look like the Braves if one was really drunk on Budweiser.

I don't know what to expect in this postseason, but at least St. Louis can savor yet another appearance in the playoffs. It appeared that the Cardinals had no qualms in celebrating their division title in the locker room after the game, despite the loss today. As usual, champagne was flowing liberally. I especially liked how pitcher Chris Carpenter prepared for the festivities--notice his goggles below: