Planning my recent trip to STL began a couple of weeks ago when I heard that my cousin Lois might be in town when the Cubs and I were going to be there. I figured a midweek, four-game series might offer a better chance at reasonably priced tickets. More importantly, I’d be able to hit SLAM (St. Louis Museum of Art) for Roaring: Art, fashion, and the automobile in France, 1918-1939.

After getting a general idea of ticket availability, I contacted the Cardinals ticket office and got a great seat with the help of Jacy. I was astonished at the availability of tickets for this particular series-given how well Cub fans travel. As it turned out Lois had a room at a local (not downtown) hotel where I could bunk down for the night. The hotel was reasonably close to the art museum and a five-stop ride on the light rail from Busch. Parking in and around Busch is an expensive nightmare to be avoided at all costs.

The 6:45 first pitch would allow me a little down time between the museum and the game and the prospect of97 and sunny wasn’t something I was looking forward to. Even though I’m not a car guy, I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit and that it was well curated. Everything was sleek. Aside from the obvious difference in size, STL and Greater Chicago are very different. We had been dealing with high 90’s the past week or so and it completely wiped people out and we complained. In STL everyone knows it’s miserably hot, but they operate at 1/3 the speed and nobody says boo.

Digital ticket and zoomless camera in hand, I hopped the blue line (only $2.50 each way) and arrived at the ballpark in 13 minutes. The moment I got off the train I sensed something was different. There weren’t hundreds of Cub fans wandering the streets looking for refreshment and making noise. Generally speaking, it’s easy to spot Cub fans in STL-we’re all wearing Cubbie blue. And not that all Cardinal fans keep 9-5 work hours, but I was surprised at the lack of street activity around Busch. At some point in this recon, I made a misstep and almost fell, but because of my superior balance and catlike quickness, I avoided serious injury. However, I was severely hobbled. Editor’s note: I don’t know if my ankle is either twisted or sprained.

While the folks running the Cubs would never admit to it, much of the Ballpark Village and environs is a precursor to what the Cubs have built in and around Wrigley (see Gallagher Way) for better or worse. STL and the ballpark used to feed off the neighborhood (Charlie Gitto’s, Mike Shannon’s), and has gone the contrived route. Even if you aren’t a Cards fan, a walk around the stadium is worth the 10 minutes. I appreciate how each team honors its heroes and that they determine who warrants a statue or plaque. However, I don’t feel it’s necessary to pay to visit their HOF. They have a nice selection of smaller statutes on one side of the park. Because they aren’t life size, it’s easier to navigate the slalom. I do have a quibble with the size as the Bob Gibson statue doesn’t capture the ferocity and presence of the man. They chose the perfect pose though.

For my pregame meal/entertainment, I chose a favorite of mine, Paddy O’s, located a long pass from the players parking lot. Paddy O’s is similar to Murphy’s or Bernie’s. And as much as I enjoyed my toasted ravioli, beer, the atmosphere and muted pre-draft coverage on 20 TVs I was shocked at the lack of Cub fans. Just as I was heading to the park, it began to rain-yikes! Visions of 2024 when the Sox-Cards game I attended was hampered by a 3-hour rain delay. Thankfully, this had no impact on the game, nor on the heat. Dang!

Considering how the Cards had taken the first two games of the series I was surprised by the Cards fans lack of cockiness or confidence. However, the folks I heard were thinking sweep. It never felt like only 2.5 game separated the two teams. Furthermore, the game was both U of I night and Mizzou night and neither school was that well represented. The Cards were pushing all the buttons, and they only drew a little over 30K.

Because of the heat, pregame Naval induction ceremony and prior drubbings the Cubs didn’t make an appearance on the field until 6:20 or so. As such I headed to the outfield concourse to check out Freese’s Landing, an all-inclusive, premium deck beneath the videoboard and adjacent to where his homer in landed in Game 6 of the 2011 Series. Like the majority of ML ballparks, I’ve visited, circling the entire park is possible and recommended. That’s one of the drawbacks of Wrigley. After working up a sweat and second wind, I grabbed a Freddy’s melted custard. As it would have been Dad’s 106th birthday, I figured it was a good way to honor him. He would have taken only 40 seconds to inhale the treat, but I did okay in about 2 minutes. I finally made my way to a nice seat down the left field line in the shade (sort of).

All Fedde up: The game finally.

Last year, I famously and unintentionally saw the White Sox play games in STL, Cleveland and Milwaukee. Coincidentally, Erick Fedde started all three games for the Sox and as luck would have it the 3-6 Fedde was on the bump for the Cards. His mound counterpart was 6-3 Matthew Boyd, a most pleasant surprise and the Cubs most consistent starter.

After a final first pitch from former NFL head coach, Jon Gruden, the game got under way, with a bang. On the first pitch of the game, Ian Happ laced (the game-winning) a homer.

Despite assurances from some guy in front of me, the Cards never managed to match the Cubs first run. In fact, they tacked on three more in the second (on a Reese McGuire two-run shot, another in the third on a Kyle Tucker solo blast, and two more in the fourth before Fedde was finally relieved of his duties. As I don’t think anyone in the park was old enough, I was probably the only one experiencing Jason Marquis flashbacks. The former Cub and Cardinal had to wear a few games for TLR and a Cubs manager and it wasn’t because he was a decent hitting pitcher.

While not unhittable, Boyd was excellent in six shutout innings of work. As good as they looked in games one and two, they were equally inept in Wednesday night’s game. For the first time in memory, I have no idea when I finally left the game. And despite the Cubs 8-0 lead I was in horrible pain-such that another custard or bottle of water wouldn’t do the trick. I had to get some first aid in order to walk out of the park and catch the light rail back to Casa Bob.

Based on what I saw from afar and witnessed firsthand, I have no idea why there were so few Cub fans in town for the four-game series. Amazingly made it home after a near sleepless night and lack of an iced tea. While I couldn’t replicate the 307 mile in 4 hours and 30-minute ride down, I made it back in a little over five hours. I’ve only just bounced back from a grueling schedule, but seeing the Cubs turn things around against the dreaded Cards made it all worthwhile.

Boyd improved to 7-3 on six shutout innings of three-hit ball and three guys named Moe held the Cards to one hit over the last three innings.