5 St. Louis Cardinals You Can't Help But Detest
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - Let's face it, nobody likes seeing the same teams in the playoffs year after year, unless it's your team.
In the National League, the Cardinals and Giants have been dominating postseason play in recent years, and that means fans around the rest of the country are having a hard time choosing who to root against. Fortunately for Giants fans, the decision is easy, not just because the Cardinals are the latest opponents, but because these teams have postseason tensions dating back to Jeffery Leonard calling St. Louis a cow town in 1987. The Cardinals got the better of things then, but the Giants have punched tickets to the World Series in the last couple of meetings. Now Giants fans looking to pile on.
So whom do we boo as the Cardinals play at AT&T Park this week? Here are our picks:
John Lackey
Giants fans have seen the Game 3 starter hurling postseason pitches in a red and white uniform before - though they may - have blocked it out. As a rookie, Lackey was on the hill for Game 7 in 2002 when the Angels closed out the Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent-led Giants, who were just a handful of outs away from the first San Francisco title before coughing up game six. Lackey and his bullpen never gave them a chance in game seven. We'll take some revenge in this series, please.
Matt Adams
The guy is pretty clutch in the postseason, but if you thought his 8th inning homer Sunday was hard to watch, chances are you found the celebration after downright repulsive. It's enough to get him on the list.
Matt Holliday
Remember the Giants riding Marco Scutaro's resurgence to the 2012 World Series Title? Remember how Matt Holliday's "aggressive" slide in the NLCS nearly ended that? We're still waiting for the apology, but if we don't get it, we'll settle for the pennant.
Jose Oquendo
The 3rd base coach? Yep. Punching Will Clark gets you lifetime membership in the Giants fan dog house. In 1987, Oquendo who had just one homer all season, blasted a key longball against the Giants in the NLCS. So he and teammate Ozzie Smith weren't exactly popular before the 1988 brawl that ruined a perfectly good Sunday afternoon, but not one single Giants fan has offered him a garlic fry since he started swinging at the seated Giants legend. He'll be on the field the whole time the Cards are batting. Be sure to let him know how you feel.
A.j. Pierzynski
Backup catcher A.J. Pierzynski was once, briefly, a San Francisco Giant. They got him in exchange for future future star Joe Nathan, as well as starters Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser. He was never a fan favorite and rumors were that he didn't have a ton of friends in the clubhouse. The Giants let him walk after the 2004 season. After Nathan and Liriano blossomed, the trade was considered perhaps the worst ever made by Giants G.M. Brian Sabean. That deal will be even farther in the rear view mirror if the Giants take another pennant from the Cardinals.
