So it's come down to this: the Cardinals hold a three game lead in the race to see which teams earns the right to be in a play-in game with the Braves for the so-called Wild Card spot. 162 games of work will be whittled down to 9 innings for 4 teams, 2 in each league. St. Louis will play their final 6 games at home (good) against the teams with the two best records in the league (bad) but both of those teams, the Nats and the Reds, have already clinched and don't have much to play for (good.) Meanwhile, the Dodgers (the team chasing the Cards) have 6 home games of their own against Colorado (bad) and the Giants (not so bad.) I don't know where this leaves me as a fan exactly, except that I still hate Bud Selig and everything he's done to the league.
Who is this week's victim, and why do we care? Paul Casanova was a catcher who was an All-Star in 1967 and once caught a no-hitter by Phil Niekro. Catching a no-hitter by a knuckleballer should earn you, like, three catcher no-hitters. Contrary to what his name would lead you to believe, Casanova was actually quite unlucky with the ladies and once took his best friend's sister out on a pity date.
Why does this card exist? Casanova spent most of his career with the Washington Senators, but apparently they wanted no part of him once they moved southwest to Texas and dealt him to Atlanta in exchange for one Hal King. This picture of Paul Casanova may well be a shot of him alone in RFK Stadium after the team had already packed his bags and moved.
Airbrushed Fridays is a weekly feature as the name seems to imply. If you know of a card with an altered photograph that you'd like to see featured, please contact me. You probably won't win anything other than a hyperlink and a position as a future NFL replacement official, but you never know!
Actually the NATs do have something to play for. Sure they clinched "a" playoff spot, but have not clinched the Division yet (if they lose and Atlanta continues to keep winning they will have to play the Play-In game vs guess who?) They are close to clinching the division at a magic number of 3 with a four game lead over the Braves who have won their last 5 games and their final 6 are against the Mets and Pirates. They will not likely lose to the Mets. The Nationals on the other hand have this weekend vs Cards which will not be easy for them, and they finish the season with the Phillies who have been a major thorn in the Nats side forever. This is the first time in 9 seasons that Phillie hasn't been at the top of the NL East. Us Nats fans are VERY nervous right now.
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