The story is as well written as it is well told. Where, but on The Cardinal Nation Blog, can I get such a quality read? Thank you!

The story needs to be copied and pasted onto an email which would actually be read by Roy. The price of the “third chance” is actually a reasonable, relative modicum of contractual sacrifice. If he continues to overplay his hand, the dream will never be actualized….

It starts back in ’96. A lot happened that year and one of those things was the White sox picking 3rd baseman Joe Crede from Jefferson City, Missouri in the fifth round. The other thing was the Astros using their 23rd round pick to get a high school pitcher named Oswalt.

As happens sometimes, the 23rd rounder worked out better quicker, and Oswalt had already been a serious rookie of the year and Cy Young candidate, and a 20 game winner, when his Houston Astros rolled into Busch Memorial, Home of the Cardinals, for the 2004 NLCS.

The cards had won 105 during the season and took the first two at home, while Roy bided his time, waiting for his chance. He got it in game 4, after Houston had won game three behind Clemens. First chances don’t always work out like we dreamed and this was one of those. It lasted a third of an inning. That’s when Albert Pujols stepped to the plate with Larry Walker at first and one out. Albert already had two homers in the first three games so Roy was being careful but it didn’t help. Albert knocked it into the seats and Roy was on his way to a line of 6 IP, 8 H, 5 ER. The Stros came back and won but not for Roy, he got no decision. It ended up going seven games, then Roy went home to watch the World Series on television.

2005 brought another 20 win season and that longed for second chance at World Series glory. And, oh, what glory it would be. The Stros rolled into Comiskey for the Series and promptly lost two, behind Clemens and Pettitte. So back to Houston where 42,000 turned out to see if Roy could stop the bleeding and turn things around. For four innings he lived the dream. Two hits, no runs. He had a four run lead and a date with destiny.

While all that had been going on, the fifth rounder from Missouri, JoeCrede had made it to the big leagues. He hadn’t won his silver slugger yet and it would be a few more years before his all star appearance, but he was the starting third baseman for the American League champs. When he stepped to the plate to lead off the fifth inning against Oswalt he probably didn’t know about Roy’s date with destiny, but there he was. Oswalt had walked him in the second but not this time. Joe put it into the seats and Roy’s dream went straight down hill from there. And it was de ja vu all over again, 6 IP, 8 H, 5 ER. The Sox took it in 4 and Roy went home. No World Series Glory. Not in ’05, nor any time soon as the Houston club entered a period of decline. If a third chance was to be, he’d have to go out and get it.

“If Bill DeWitt can make it work, because it comes down to Bill DeWitt basically saying, “$120 million? Well, you kids have been awfully good this year,” that’s great. It’d be a delight to see Roy Oswalt in a Cardinals uniform, and he’d be an asset, though certainly an expensive one, for the year and a half he’d be around. But even if the Cardinals can use Shelby Miller to get Houston to hold onto some of the salary they’ve been trying to dump, they’ll be spending that money again on a fourth starter in 2013″
- Viva El Birdos

http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/