That's actually a terrible headline because it suggests the two are mutually exclusive.

Seriously, though, what the heck is this St. Louis Cardinals fan thinking? Even if he didn't intentionally misspell Nyjer Morgan's name so he could ignorantly wield it as a slur behind ESPN's set at Busch Stadium, he still took the time to make a sign and bring it to his team's World Series game so he could taunt a player who was a complete non-factor in the NLCS. Meanwhile, the fans around him lift a chant likening Morgan to a vacuum.

What am I missing here? I'd understand if the fan was taunting the Texas Rangers, who the Cards, you know, beat 3-2 on Wednesday night. Or even all the Chicago Cubs fans sitting at home because they're the other half of a historic, if lopsided, rivalry.

But Nyjer Morgan? The Milwaukee Brewers outfielder is baseball's equivalent of a buzzing gnat. Bothersome for a bit, but easily swatted away and forgotten about. Maybe Cards fans are still really upset about Morgan's tweets at the beginning of September. (And to be fair, Morgan's spelling skills are also about as good as his ability to filter. So perhaps this misspelling is just brilliant satire and got lost in translation.)

But for a franchise that has won 10 World Series championships and is three wins away from its 11th, you'd think that Morgan would already be dismissed and forgotten about.

To this ill-informed fan and his chanting brethren, I suggest they follow the advice of another Internet superstar with roots in Cardinals fandom.

Big BLS H/N: Larry Brown Sports, Twitter

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Cy Bentley Marty Bergen John Bergh Nate Berkenstock Bill Bernhard

Talk about some bad hops in Boston.

On Wednesday night, the Boston Red Sox denied a local report by WHDH-TV that pitchers Josh Beckett, John Lackey and Jon Lester drank beer in the home dugout at Fenway Park during games this season. The report comes about a week after a story in the Boston Globe said the same three pitchers drank beer in the clubhouse and ordered out for fried chicken during games when they weren't pitching.

The clubhouse, the dugout. What's next, while warming up in the bullpen? On the pitcher's mound in the top of the second inning? Homestands turning into keg stands?

[Related: Red Sox finger-pointing officially begins]

WHDH, citing claims of two unnamed (of course) Red Sox employees, said the dugout drinking happened on multiple occasions, regardless of the game's score, when Beckett, Lackey and Lester were not pitching. Check out this ... hastily written excerpt:

Beckett, Lester and Lackey would exit the dugout as early as the 6th inning, walk back to the clubhouse, and fill cups with Bud Light beer. They would then return to the dugout with cups of beer and drink while watching the game. [...]

One Red Sox employee described the routine like this: "Beckett would come down the stairs from the dugout, walking through the corridor to the clubhouse and say 'It's about that time'. Becket was the instigator but Lester and Lackey were right behind him. [...]"

A second Red Sox employee said Beckett, Lester and Lackey appeared "bored on nights they weren't pitching and this is how they entertained themselves."

Grown men, acting like beer zombies, with Beckett as the lead zombie. The players, along with former manager Terry Francona, issued flat denials via the team's website. Said Lester:

"The accusation that we were drinking in the dugout during games is completely false. Anonymous sources are continuing to provide exaggerated and, in this case, inaccurate information to the media."

Team president Larry Lucchino said the team accepts the denials as truth, and went a step further, calling the WHDH report "a reckless, unsubstantiated accusation from 'anonymous sources' to mislead the public."

Right. Drinking in the clubhouse during the game ? we're looking into what happened, and we're implying that we're sorry about whatever it was? but drinking in the dugout? Preposterous!

The players put themselves and the team in this position by their own behavior ? which they've all admitted to. So there's no reason to have any sympathy for them. Lester has said there's no correlation between the bad behavior and Boston's epic swan dive in September, but even allowing for that dubious assertion misses the bigger point.

Imagine yourself sitting in the stands at Fenway, trying to get through one of Beckett's agonizing four-hour-long starts, or any appearance by Lackey, without downing at least one beer. Insanity would set in. But seriously, does it even have to be said that fans pay to watch the Red Sox, and the players are supposed to be working ? even if they're not playing at the moment? And Bud Light?

All of this is on Beckett, Lackey and Lester. They need to quit crying in their beer and start acting like professionals again.

Follow Dave on Twitter ? @AnswerDave ? and engage the Stew on Facebook throughout the playoffs

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Charlie Atherton Al Atkinson Ed Atkinson Henry Austin Frank Bahret

ST. LOUIS ? If the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Texas Rangers in this year's World Series, there remains a possibility that this season could end just like the last.

The similar finale, of course, would be of a bearded closer celebrating his perfect postseason by lifting his National League squad over a powerful Rangers lineup, all while watching his Q rating rise on the game's brightest stage.

But don't worry. Though the Yukon Cornelius beard of Cards closer Jason Motte may invoke some memories of Brian Wilson's whiskers in 2010, Motte says he has no plans of letting his chin rug grow nearly as wild as the San Francisco Giants star.

He'll never face any allegations of coloring it, either.

"I'm just au naturel man," Motte laughed during Tuesday's media session at Busch Stadium. "I've got some reds, browns, grays, black. I got it all in there. I'm just a big mess."

You can also be assured that Motte's beard isn't just a ploy for attention or a September superstition designed to generate good luck for the playoffs.

"I've had a beard since 2008," Motte said. "We were talking the other night: There's probably no one on this team that has seen my real face. It's always been there."

OK. So while we've drawn a real line of demarcation between both closers, it's actually worth noting that Motte has a shot at replicating what Wilson did in 2010. Though he never really "owned" the Cards' closer job like Wilson has in San Francisco, he has been just as perfect in the postseason as Wilson was. Maybe even more so.

In 2010, Wilson threw 11.2 innings over three postseason series, recording a 0.00 ERA, a 0.771 WHIP, 11 strikeouts and six saves. He faced a total of 44 batters and only let six of them reach base. He was on the hill when San Francisco won its first World Series.

In comparison, Motte has faced 25 total batters over his two series in 2011. He has a 0.00 ERA, a 0.125 WHIP, seven strikeouts and four saves over eight total innings pitched. He could well be the man on the mound when  St. Louis wins its 11th World Series title.

Not bad for a guy who still hasn't officially been named the closer. Or, as Jeff Passan detailed in an excellent column, can't even really see the catcher's mitt.

"I attack hitters. I go at them," Motte told Passan. "I try to locate and execute my pitches. I'm a max-effort guy."

In a minimum amount of time, so far.

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Tom Carey Lew Carl Hick Carpenter Chick Carroll Cliff Carroll

Charlie Atherton Al Atkinson Ed Atkinson Henry Austin Frank Bahret

By putting his team ahead with a pinch-hit RBI single for the second straight night, Allen Craig not only set a World Series record, but he also set himself up to be considered among the most legendary of St. Louis Cardinals.

And then the Texas Rangers caught up to the tortoise-owning Craig and flew past the Cards for a 2-1 victory in Game 2 at Busch Stadium on Thursday night. Texas' ninth-inning rally had reduced Craig's doubly impressive feat into a merely amazing footnote.

Watch Craig come through again

Still, he seemed pretty astonished that the same situation as in Game 1 ? tie score, two outs, same pitcher in Alexi Ogando ? presented itself again. Even if it came in the seventh inning, instead of the sixth. As he was quoted in the New York Times:

"I couldn't believe that it was the same exact situation against the same guy," said Craig, who lined outside fastballs to right field in each at-bat. "I kind of had to snap out of it and refocus a bit because that doesn't really happen that often in baseball, that it's the same situation, coming up with the same guys getting on base, the same guys coming in."

Oddly, in both cases, Craig drove in David Freese, who reached first before being moved over to third by Nick Punto.

Odd, and record-setting. Research by Baseball-Reference shows that Craig is the first player in World Series history to come through with two go-ahead, RBI pinch hits. Imagine how epic that would be if the Cardinals had won 1-0. For a while there, Craig had ascended with the highest-flying Redbirds:

? Enos Slaughter making "The Mad Dash" to win Game 7 of the 1946 World Series.

? Bob Gibson striking out 17 Tigers in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series.

? Ozzie Smith hitting the home run to win Game 5 of the NLCS that made folks "go crazy," (or Jack Clark's pennant-winning homer the next game).

? "Allen Craig's pinch-hit déja vü in the World Series," they might have said.

Craig's single continued a remarkable run as a pinch hitter in the postseson; overall he is 4 for 6, including a two-run single against the Brewers in Game 6 of the NCLS to help clinch the pennant. He's not just the proud owner of a tortoise!

But with the World Series shifting to Texas ? where the DH will be used for three games and the Rangers are scheduled to start three left-handed pitchers ? Craig probably will be put into the starting lineup. That's OK for the Cardinals, because Craig hit .315/.362/.555 (!) with 11 homers in 219 plate appearances this season. A 27-year-old who is finishing up his first full season in the majors, Craig said he'll be ready for whatever.

"You know," said Craig, "I'm just going to do whatever they tell me to do. I want to play and I'll do whatever it takes to play. I don't really care where it is."

Follow Dave on Twitter ? @AnswerDave ? and engage the Stew on Facebook throughout the playoffs

Jim Canavan Tom Carey Lew Carl Hick Carpenter Chick Carroll

That's actually a terrible headline because it suggests the two are mutually exclusive.

Seriously, though, what the heck is this St. Louis Cardinals fan thinking? Even if he didn't intentionally misspell Nyjer Morgan's name so he could ignorantly wield it as a slur behind ESPN's set at Busch Stadium, he still took the time to make a sign and bring it to his team's World Series game so he could taunt a player who was a complete non-factor in the NLCS. Meanwhile, the fans around him lift a chant likening Morgan to a vacuum.

What am I missing here? I'd understand if the fan was taunting the Texas Rangers, who the Cards, you know, beat 3-2 on Wednesday night. Or even all the Chicago Cubs fans sitting at home because they're the other half of a historic, if lopsided, rivalry.

But Nyjer Morgan? The Milwaukee Brewers outfielder is baseball's equivalent of a buzzing gnat. Bothersome for a bit, but easily swatted away and forgotten about. Maybe Cards fans are still really upset about Morgan's tweets at the beginning of September. (And to be fair, Morgan's spelling skills are also about as good as his ability to filter. So perhaps this misspelling is just brilliant satire and got lost in translation.)

But for a franchise that has won 10 World Series championships and is three wins away from its 11th, you'd think that Morgan would already be dismissed and forgotten about.

To this ill-informed fan and his chanting brethren, I suggest they follow the advice of another Internet superstar with roots in Cardinals fandom.

Big BLS H/N: Larry Brown Sports, Twitter

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Scrappy Carroll Kid Carsey Bob Caruthers Doc Casey Ed Caskin

Congratulations are in order for the St. Louis Cardinals after winning the National League pennant in six games against the Milwaukee Brewers. Good luck and best wishes are also in order, because the reward for their achievement is a trip to the World Series and a meeting with the buzz saw known as the Texas Rangers.

I don't think anyone would deny that this is an uphill battle for the Cardinals. The Rangers have been an unstoppable force in the postseason offensively, sending one weapon after another to the plate. But the Cardinals have been fighting uphill for the better part of two months, so this challenge will be nothing new to them. And now that their climb is nearly complete, it would be foolish to assume their momentum can't carry them all the way to the top.

Here are the five reasons why St. Louis can overcome the Rangers' strengths, expose their weaknesses, and shock the world with a World Series victory.

1. Chris Carpenter is available for two starts and possibly more:

There were several advantages to the Cardinals wrapping up their NLCS victory in six games. The most important? Lining up Chris Carpenter to start Game 1. That gives manager Tony La Russa the option of bringing his ace ? and the best pitcher in this series ? back twice on short rest in Games 4 and 7, or starting him in Game 5 and potentially having him available in relief in Game 7.

It all depends on how things shake out early in the series, but the flexibility La Russa can enjoy with a well-rested (and reportedly healthy) Carpenter is a potential series-changer.

Update: According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Carpenter was dealing with inflammation in his elbow following his Game 3 start in the NLCS. He required daily treatment leading up a potential Game 7 start, and is unlikely to throw on short rest in the World Series. That puts a little dent into the Cardinals plans, but they should still get two starts out of their ace.

2. The offense will stay hot: The Redbirds can't count on getting help from the Rangers defense like they did from Milwaukee's (LCS record nine errors), or at least I hope they can't. That's not all that fun to watch. But I do think they will continue their offensive roll against another pitching staff that has yet to establish itself in this postseason.

C.J. Wilson is scuffling a bit and, according to everybody, the impending free agent's value seems to fluctuate with every pitch. Derek Holland has excellent stuff, but is still searching for consistency. That leaves Colby Lewis and Matt Harrison, a pair of reliable options, but no more intimidating than Shaun Marcum and Randy Wolf.

The Texas bullpen will keep St. Louis from maintaining their seven-run average from the NLCS, but Albert Pujols and friends will keep the pressure on Texas to continue scoring.

3. Tony La Russa's masterful maneuvering: I'll never be the president of La Russa's fan club, but I'll be the first to give credit where it's due. He did a tremendous job guiding his squad through the NLCS without a single outing from a starting pitcher lasting into the sixth inning. That's something that's never been done before ? at least not successfully.

La Russa stated during his in-game interview in Game 6 that he hasn't enjoyed having to pull so many strings. I don't believe him ? he loves being in the middle of the action, and we know he's going to continue being aggressive in creating good matchups for his pitching staff. With that in mind, I'm not convinced Ron Washington can match wits and or keep up over the course of a seven-game series.

Now, if this were a dugout dance-off, I'd give Washington the slight edge. Anything baseball related, I'll go La Russa.

4. Home-field advantage: Hopefully, St. Louis left Prince Fielder a thank-you note on its way out of Miller Park. Of course it was Fielder's three-run home run ? ironically against C.J. Wilson in the All-Star game ? that affords the Redbirds home field in the World Series. That's a big advantage should it go the distance, because home teams have won the past eight Game 7's in the Fall Classic. It also gives St. Louis a comfortable setting to start and finish the series, and could play into the following:

5. The pressure is squarely on Texas: The Cardinals are playing with house money. They were left for dead back in early September ? as this tweet from Nyjer Morgan indicates ? and have gone on an improbable two-month run to end up here. Obviously they're going to want to win while they're here, but they're not expected to.

On the other side, the Rangers are the favorites and they're looking to avoid losing back-to-back World Series. They come in realizing it's rare enough to get a second chance, and that a third would be an extreme long shot. That gives us two teams with two completely different mindsets going in, which could develop into a mental edge for St. Louis if it starts the series with a couple wins and/or come home with a chance to win it.

I'm not saying the Rangers will fold, but they could press. If so, the Rangers will end up stunned, like Philadelphia and Milwaukee before them.

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Fred Crane Sam Crane Bill Craver Sam Crawford George Creamer

By putting his team ahead with a pinch-hit RBI single for the second straight night, Allen Craig not only set a World Series record, but he also set himself up to be considered among the most legendary of St. Louis Cardinals.

And then the Texas Rangers caught up to the tortoise-owning Craig and flew past the Cards for a 2-1 victory in Game 2 at Busch Stadium on Thursday night. Texas' ninth-inning rally had reduced Craig's doubly impressive feat into a merely amazing footnote.

Watch Craig come through again

Still, he seemed pretty astonished that the same situation as in Game 1 ? tie score, two outs, same pitcher in Alexi Ogando ? presented itself again. Even if it came in the seventh inning, instead of the sixth. As he was quoted in the New York Times:

"I couldn't believe that it was the same exact situation against the same guy," said Craig, who lined outside fastballs to right field in each at-bat. "I kind of had to snap out of it and refocus a bit because that doesn't really happen that often in baseball, that it's the same situation, coming up with the same guys getting on base, the same guys coming in."

Oddly, in both cases, Craig drove in David Freese, who reached first before being moved over to third by Nick Punto.

Odd, and record-setting. Research by Baseball-Reference shows that Craig is the first player in World Series history to come through with two go-ahead, RBI pinch hits. Imagine how epic that would be if the Cardinals had won 1-0. For a while there, Craig had ascended with the highest-flying Redbirds:

? Enos Slaughter making "The Mad Dash" to win Game 7 of the 1946 World Series.

? Bob Gibson striking out 17 Tigers in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series.

? Ozzie Smith hitting the home run to win Game 5 of the NLCS that made folks "go crazy," (or Jack Clark's pennant-winning homer the next game).

? "Allen Craig's pinch-hit déja vü in the World Series," they might have said.

Craig's single continued a remarkable run as a pinch hitter in the postseson; overall he is 4 for 6, including a two-run single against the Brewers in Game 6 of the NCLS to help clinch the pennant. He's not just the proud owner of a tortoise!

But with the World Series shifting to Texas ? where the DH will be used for three games and the Rangers are scheduled to start three left-handed pitchers ? Craig probably will be put into the starting lineup. That's OK for the Cardinals, because Craig hit .315/.362/.555 (!) with 11 homers in 219 plate appearances this season. A 27-year-old who is finishing up his first full season in the majors, Craig said he'll be ready for whatever.

"You know," said Craig, "I'm just going to do whatever they tell me to do. I want to play and I'll do whatever it takes to play. I don't really care where it is."

Follow Dave on Twitter ? @AnswerDave ? and engage the Stew on Facebook throughout the playoffs

Fred Corey Tom Cotter Roscoe Coughlin Ed Crane Fred Crane

The ball will find you. It always does.

Usually, that saying is intended to be cautionary, warning that someone with inferior defensive skills or playing out of position will eventually have to prove his merit and field the ball.

But at the end of the Texas Rangers' Game 6 victory over the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS, the ball found its way to the player who took his postseason struggles and smacked them all over Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Who else should have made that final catch but Michael Young?

Even though the Rangers were winning games, taking 2-0 and 3-1 series leads, Young was a black hole in the middle of their lineup. Sandwiched between Josh Hamilton and Adrian Beltre, in the batting order that just keeps on going was Young, who seemed to be killing big innings for his team by not getting hits.

In the first four games of the ALCS, Young was 2-for-17 with one RBI. In the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays, he hit 2-for-15. The question hovered over the Rangers as the series progressed. How can Ron Washington keep batting Young at cleanup? But he stood his ground, sticking by the guy who hit .338 during the season, drove in 106 runs, and led the majors with 213 hits.

Young finally justified his manager's faith in him by breaking out when his team, ballpark and fanbase were ready for a clinching victory. He showed signs of working out of his slump with two hits and an RBI in Game 5. He was catching up to that outside fastball that he was late on earlier in the series. He was turning on the inside pitches that previously tied him up.

In Game 6, it all finally clicked back into place for Young. With Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer reeling in the third inning, Young threw a body blow with a two-run double that tied the score at 2-2. As the Rangers batted around in an explosive nine-run inning, Young came up again and hit yet another two-run double, this time to right field.

Two doubles and four RBI in one inning. Young made up for his postseason slump in two at-bats. In doing so, he became the first player in LCS history to get multiple extra-base hits in the same inning.

But Young wasn't done yet. Against Brad Penny ? the Tigers' equivalent of a white flag ? he crushed a home run to dead center field. It was the punctuation mark (an exclamation point) on a game in which the longest-serving Ranger gave his team that last boost toward a second straight American League championship and World Series berth.

Not that he would've had any reason to do so, but Young didn't have to carry that American League championship trophy sheepishly during the Rangers' postgame celebration. But I'm willing to bet he felt a lot better about hoisting that prize over his head after doing his part to win it.

If Young came into this postseason seeking redemption, he certainly found it on Saturday night.

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Steve Brodie Dan Brouthers Lew Brown Jim Brown Robert Brown

A wild throw home. A close play at the plate. The missed call at first base. Mike Napoli was in the middle of almost everything that went wrong in the fourth inning for the Texas Rangers in a 16-7 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night. Playing first base for the first time in this World Series, Napoli made a rushed throw home in the fourth that sailed past catcher Yorvit Torrealba for an...

Scrappy Carroll Kid Carsey Bob Caruthers Doc Casey Ed Caskin