Tonight, the NLCS begins, and improbably, the Cardinals have scrapped their way once again into the League Championship Series.

It was pretty doggone cool to watch the Cards pull a 2011-style comeback against the Nationals Friday night. I really had given up when they were down 6-zip in the 3rd. Unlike last year though, I kept watching, repeating my mantra that they only needed one run an inning to get back to even. And little by little, that’s what they did. And twice, it was a painful watch to see the Cards down to their last strike of the season… and then to fight out of it. Frankly, watching the air come out of the stadium once we tied the game, and subsequently going up by a pair in the top of the ninth, well… it was fun to see.

Is this the beginning of “twelve in twelve”? Maybe. Maybe not. But there are least four more games in Red October this year!