After an exciting 7 game NLCS series (and a week off after an ALCS sweep of the Oakland A's) the Detroit Tigers met the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2006 World Series. Check below for all kinds of information on the history of this rivalry, photos and reports from each of the games and links to all kinds of Detroit Tiger blogs, news and forums.

Packed House by amazingbrian

Game 4: Proof that Baseball is a Game of Inches

"This is what the brink looks like. It looks like a ball flying over your head and you chase it running backward and your legs go out from under you, like someone pulled the tablecloth, down you go, down in wet grass, and you scramble to your feet but the ball is coming down, too late, too late, a sure out has turned into a double. Your uniform is wet. Your face is red."

From Slipping Away by Mitch Albom

A slip, a drop, another E1 and now the Tigers are down 3-1, needing to win the final 3 games of the series. (recap) Difficult? Certainly. Impossible? Ask the '68 Tigers about that. It's all on the line tonight in St. Louis with Verlander facing Jeff Weaver. ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski says that no Kenny means no chance for the Tigers. but backup cather Vance Wilson over at Tigers.com says that the Tigers will fight back with Verlander leading the charge. Detroit Tigers Weblog wonders what feels worse, the fact that the Tigers are down 3 games to 1 or the fact that it is exactly where they deserve to be? Mack Avenue Tigers can't seem to find reason for optimism. Can you?

Carpenter dealing by mdimmic
Also see World Series Game 3 Set

Game 3: That Chris Carpenter isn't half bad either

Jeff Sackman over at Hardball Times writes: "before the World Series began, all the pundits agreed: if the Cardinals were going to have a chance, they'd need to shut down the Tigers offense. Three games in, the Cardinals pitching staff has allowed exactly five runs. Thanks to an outstanding eight-inning performance from Chris Carpenter, not one of those runs was tallied Tuesday night." Carpenter was dominant in a 3 hit, 5-0 complete game performance. Leading off his must-read roundup, Billfer at Tigers Weblog says the Detroit offense has to do something - anything - and lays out his ideas for shuffling the lineup around.

Over at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch they are starting to loosen the corks, and it won't surprise many to know that Michigan's leading sports pessimist is getting ready to throw in the towel, saying the Tigers appear to be collapsing under the weight of the heavy expectations of the favorite. Is it time to panic? Mack Avenue Tigers writes that despite the fact that Detroit has had underperforming defense, awful offense, and pitching that could be better, they're only down 2-1 in the Series. MAT also points to the Daily Fungo, a Tiger blog that is running an in-game chat: check it out!

That's What I'm Talkin' About by UrbanTiki

Game 2: The Unhittable Mr. Rogers

I heard that they're talking about calling it "The Chevrolet Player of the Game brought to you by Kenny Rogers". Once again, Kenny was nearly untouchable, extending his streak of post-season shutout innings to 23 (tied for #3 all-time behind only Lew Burdette and Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson). The Detroit News says that the Gambler is still dealing, Mack Avenue Tigers tries to put Kennygate to bed, Tiger Tales says "let's not forget about Carlos Guillen". Get the rest at the Detroit Tigers Weblog roundup. Finally, in Freeze by Mitch Albom (the photo is the reverse angle of Bobby's to the right!) Rogers relates:

"When it came to pressure, I used to be the poster boy for failure. I used to get caught up in that, thinking I needed to be better than I am. I knew tonight was a big game and I wanted to pitch well. But I'm learning not to let the situation dictate how I feel. It took a lot of failure to figure that out."

Tigers Live at the Freep reminds us that Christy Mathewson pitched his 27 scoreless innings in three complete games in one series in SIX DAYS but also points out that Kenny Rogers is one of only 17 pitchers in baseball history to throw a perfect game. Skipping School for Schoolboy Rowe is a neat story from the 1934 Tigers/Cards series.

America The Beautiful by B0nes

Game 1: You Win Some...

And some you don't. In the first Game 1 in World Series history started by two rookies (Justin Verlander and Anthony Reyes), things started off well enough. However, whether it was the layoff or the great pitching of Anthony Reyes, Saturday night was not the Tigers' night. Bob Wojnowski says that Game 1 was shockingly easy for the Cardinals. Mitch Albom says that (for the first time in these playoffs) Verlander looked more like a kid than a man (some nice photo galleries too!).

Over to the blogs, as usual we get a great rundown of the coverage on sports sites and other blogs from Detroit Tigers Weblog and also says that in the Tigers, he saw a team that was very aggressive early in the count against a pitcher that didn’t have a put away pitch. Mack Street Tigers agrees and adds that while you want to win games in your own stadium "the only thing that’s changed is that St. Louis has a 1-0 series lead. Otherwise, the Tigers maintain all the advantages they had before. Just gotta keep playing games and see if they win out." Over in St. Louis, Viva El Birdos says:

1 down, 3 more to go. But the road ain't easy. '68 the Cards won games 1, 3, and 4 and then went on to lose the 5-7 to the Tigers. And this '06 version looked pretty tame after losing game one to the heavily favored Yanks before winning their next 7 to get here. This team still has a lot of fight in it, I'm just glad the Cards could set the tone by punching the big boy square on the jaw. Now it's time to brace ourselves and see how well the Tigers can counter.

Spirit of Detroit by Jason Yoder
More in his 2006 Tigers Set

Tigers / Cardinals Rivalry
2006 will mark the 3rd time the Tigers have faced the Cardinals in the World Series. The first meeting occurred in 1934 with the Cardinals taking home the trophy and beating the Tigers 11-0 in the final game. The second meeting was in 1968. This time, the Tigers came out on top thanks to series MVP Mickey Lolich and Tiger greats including Denny McLain, Bill Freehan, Willie Horton, Norm Cash and Al Kaline. Both of those World Series meetings went a full 7 games. With those games now in the history books the Tigers look to break the tie and claim victory in 2006. Go Tigers!!!

Check out The Official Web Site for the World Series

Governor Granholm's Friendly Wager with Missouri Governor

For historical reference visit these sites:

• 1968 World Series Detroit Tigers vs. St. Louis Cardinals - Audio & Video on MLB.com
• 1934 World Series Detroit Tigers vs. St. Louis Cardinals on MLB.com
• Read History of the World Series - 1968 in The Sporting News
• Read History of the World Series - 1934 in The Sporting News

World Series Schedule

Gm 1 STL @ DET Sat Oct. 21 7:30 pm FOX
Gm 2 STL @ DET Sun Oct. 22 7:30 pm FOX
Gm 3 DET @ STL Tue Oct. 24 8:00 pm FOX
Gm 4 DET @ STL Wed Oct. 25 8:00 pm FOX (rain, makeup FRIDAY, Oct 27)
Gm 5* DET @ STL Thu Oct. 26 8:00 pm FOX
Gm 6* STL @ DET Sat Oct. 28 7:30 pm FOX
Gm 7* STL @ DET Sun Oct. 29 7:30 pm FOX
Detroit Tiger Links!

There’s no way we’ll get them all - please add any more you like in the comments!

• Photos: Keep an eye on the Detroit Tigers photo group
• You have to go to Detroit Tigers Weblog after every game.
• Mack Avenue Tigers is an excellent Detroit Tigers blog
• So are TigerBlog.net, Roar of the Tigers and Bless You Boys.
• If you‚Äôre looking to talk it up with other Tiger fans, check out TigersCentral.com (great history there too!) and MotownSports.com‚Äôs Tiger Board
• The Tigers official web site through MLB always has great photos and video
• St. Louis Cardinals official site and two blogs: Viva El Birdos (Spanish speakers - can we get a ruling on that?) and Redbird Nation.

What did we miss? Let us know in the comments!