Rally Squirrel Featured On Cardinals' World Series Rings

This weekend the members of last years champion St. Louis Cardinals team received their World Series rings. Featured on the rings is an important unofficial member of that team, the Rally Squirrel. If you look between the St. Louis logo and the home plate superimposed on the two crossed bats, you can see the squirrel:

And here is the Rally Squirrel in action last fall:

If you are a baseball fan, you will remember that the squirrel, which had been first seen in the stadium by many fans in he previous day's game, ran across the field and briefly disrupted play during a Skip Schumaker at bat in game 4 of the Cardinals' National League Division Series against Philadelphia. At the time, St. Louis trailed the Phillies two games to one in the best-of-five series. When the Cards came back and won the division series, and then went on to take the World Series, the squirrel was credited by many as a good luck charm.

In addition to its place on the World Series ring, the squirrel is also featured on Cardinals outfielder Schumaker's 2012 Topps baseball card.

The Rally Squirrel was later trapped and taken to a refuge in the St. Louis area, where he or she is hopefully enjoying a comfortable retirement.

Joe Paterno Should Leave Immediately

I am, without question, a college football fan. I have never particularly been a fan of, or closely followed, Penn State, and I am not among those who have until recently idolized Penn State coach Joe Paterno. I am most definitely among those who are now horrified by the revelations about child sex abuse within the Penn State football program by former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

Paterno has announced that he will retire at the end of the current season. The coach has said that he is "devastated," that the case is a "tragedy" and that he wants to finish this season with "dignity and determination." He also stated that he wishes that he had done more in 2002 when he found out about Sandusky's behavior.

Paterno's regret and remorse is understandable, but it is not enough. I read a portion of the text of the Grand Jury indictment of Sandusky. You can read it here. I want to be clear: this is an excruciating, disturbing document that describes in graphic detail Sandusky's sexual assaults of eight young victims, all boys under the age of 15.

What is clear to me is that the whole chain of command at Penn State, from the graduate assistant who witnessed Sandusky's rape of a boy in a locker room shower on campus, to athletic director Tim Curley, to university Vice President Gary Schultz, and, yes, Joe Paterno, failed in their moral obligations to make sure that Sandusky not have the opportunity to assault any more young boys.

It has been pointed out that Joe Paterno followed the letter of the law by informing his superior, Mr. Curley, when the 2002 rape was brought to his attention. But it is clear that Paterno failed to follow up on the incident. Any reasonable person, informed of such a monstrous act going on almost right under his nose, being committed by a person who he interacts with on a daily basis, would not only report the act, but would take upon himself or herself the responsibility to make sure that such a thing never happened again.

Joe Paterno did not accept this responsibility.

He should never coach another college football game. The powers that be at Penn State should see to it that the coach is given a choice: resign immediately, or be fired.

Furthermore, if Coach Paterno is allowed to finish the season, then the schools on the remainder of Penn State's schedule should take a courageous step: refuse to play the Nittany Lions if Paterno is present as head coach. If the authorities at Penn State refuse to make clear that there is no tolerance at their institution for anyone who helps, in even the smallest way, to cover up child rape, then the rest of the schools that make up the NCAA should do the right thing, even if it means taking a forfeit.

Congrats to the Cardinals

Last night the St. Louis Cardinals won game seven of what may have been one of the most exciting World Series in recent memory. The Texas Rangers, who were favored to win, came within one pitch of victory twice during game six before losing to the Cardinals in the eleventh inning. Then last night in game seven the Cardinals won it all 6-2 behind a masterful pitching performance by Chris Carpenter. Although as I said here a few days ago I grew up an avid Texas Rangers fan, I am not all that disappointed about the outcome.

The Cardinals celebrate an improbable victory in game 6
as Rangers catcher Mike Napoli walks off the field

For several years I have very deliberately ignored major league baseball. In the early 2000s I became so disillusioned with the dominance of steroid use in the game that I finally couldn't stand to watch any more. Idiotically bulked-up slugger-robots like Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds routinely hitting sixty, even seventy home runs in a season may have been exciting to some, but to me and many others this spectacle destroyed the character of the game of baseball.

I have been aware for a couple of years now that the steroids era has finally passed. This is not so much because of any trust in the people who run the major league baseball front office or the player's union, but because the batting statistics, the numbers that tell the real story, have returned to a realistic level. This season the American and National league home run leaders, Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays and Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers, hit 43 and 39 home runs respectively.

It took an exciting World Series, together with the assurance that the role of steroids in major league baseball has been curbed, to convince me to start taking an interest in the game again. Perhaps next spring I will start following the Rangers, and root for them to return to the World Series for another try at the championship. Until then, congratulations to the St. Louis Cardinals. Any team that is inspired to victory by a squirrel can't be bad!

The Rally Squirrel inspired Cardinals players and
fans in the National League playoffs

Squirrel Facts: The Rally Squirrel

I grew up a Texas Rangers fan, and until about ten years ago I would have been ecstatic to see the Rangers in their second consecutive World Series, and this time favored to win it all. However, I pretty much lost interest in baseball around the early 2000s, in the midst of the steroids era. And now, just as I'm starting to think about giving the game another chance and rooting for the Rangers, along comes the Rally Squirrel.

For those who do not follow baseball, the squirrel made its first appearance in game three of the National League Divisional Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Philadelphia Phillies, when it was seen running around in foul territory. Then, in the fifth inning of game four, the squirrel ran from the first base dugout area across home plate, just as a pitch was being thrown, and then into the stands. The squirrel seemed somehow to spark the St. Louis team and fans, and the Cardinals went on to win the divisional series, then the NL Championship series against Milwaukee, putting them into the World Series.

The St. Louis fans have embraced the "Rally Squirrel" and even have given it a name, Buschy, so called because the team plays in Busch Stadium.

After the game four appearance, Cardinals' management had there squirrel--actually the four squirrels that had taken up residence in the stadium--trapped and then released at a nearby wildlife preserve. There the Rally Squirrel will live a long life and one day tell its grandchildren how it helped the Cardinals go to the World Series.

I'll still pull for the Rangers, but I have to count myself a fan of Buschy, the Rally Squirrel!