I would also like to send thanks to Velocity Sports Performance in Carlsbad, Calif. Thank you to Brent Callaway, Todd Williams and Stefan Alsop, who made me into a better athlete. God bless you guys.

Let's get started!

Since then, my offseason has been part vacation and part hard work. I went to Puerto Rico for three weeks and then came home and started to work out. Getting ready for Spring Training is important to me. My workouts have been running, weight training and yoga.

With all the outfielders in camp, it looks like I have a fight on my hands to make the team this year. But I have been working out, transforming my body, getting faster and stronger to be prepared for Spring Training. You know me, I'm a fighter and nothing in my life has ever been given to me.

I've always had to prove myself, and once again I have to do that. Being under pressure is what drives me to become the best. I'm up for the challenge, so let's get started.

This is amazing, amazing. This is the best feeling in the world right now. We have an impressive group of guys that just love each other. We just fed off each other for the whole playoffs and all of the emotions. It's incredible right now.

Jeff Weaver threw outstanding. All of our pitchers threw outstanding, from the starters to the bullpen. They all did a great job. All of our players did a great job.

This is amazing, being with the entire team and enjoying a champagne shower. I could do this all year. I can get used to this. I have been dreaming about this all my life.

We're going to go out there and not take anything for granted. We're going to go out there like it's Game 7 and just do what we do best, which is to play Cardinal baseball.

Even though I didn't get a hit, I got an at-bat in a key situation tonight, and that's something that I wanted. My timing is a little off, but that's fine. I'm not going to make any excuses. I'm going to go out there and if they put me in that situation again, I'm going to be even more focused to get it done.

The crowd here tonight was beautiful. I love it. I love it so much. That's why you all need to come out again tomorrow and make sure you bring the same energy, because we need it.

I'm going to sleep well tonight. But I'll definitely make sure that I wake up early, make sure I get things done, eat a good breakfast and just come ready to play.

It was a great night all around, from introductions on through the game. It's an amazing feeling, as a fan, as a player, as coaches, anybody that's here for the first time and is experiencing this for the first time, it's just joyous. It's definitely one of the best feelings I've ever had, just to stand there and see the sea of red and hear them cheering for us. It was amazing.

You know what's funny? With Carp, and at times when Jeff Suppan and Jeff Weaver have pitched like that, or when Anthony Reyes pitched in Detroit, the game just went by so fast that we couldn't even enjoy what he was doing. When the sixth, seventh, eighth inning came along, we looked up at the scoreboard and we were like, "Are you serious? It's that late in the game already?"

Usually, we pinch-hitters start getting ready around the fifth or sixth. But those pitching performances have been top-notch, to where we were surprised -- not by their performances, but by how we didn't recognize where the game was.

Now they really can't win it in three. But we just let people say whatever they're going to say about us being up 2-1. We're going to stay within ourselves, within our family and go out there and play our best baseball.

It was 43 degrees at game time, but as far as we're concerned, the weather is beautiful. We're thinking of it as Hawaii right now.

This will be my first World Series home game -- me along with probably half the team. Especially with it being in the new ballpark, the fans are probably just going to go crazy. I expect them to be crazy.

We're going to have fun with it. It will be a great experience. But first and foremost we've got to go out there and play hard and win. I've got family coming in town, so it's going to be even more exciting.

Critics were saying that they were going to beat us in three, when we've got to play four. Let them keep underestimating us, and let us continue to be the underdog, because we love it right now.

It was amazing to be introduced for the World Series. Having the camera go by my face and knowing that my family and friends were watching was incredible. Knowing that I came from the projects. I came from having nearly nothing. I'm the only one from my neighborhood to be in the World Series or even go to pro ball. It's a very big deal to me, a very big deal to my family and friends. They're behind me 100 percent, and I'm sure they were going crazy after that third out in the ninth inning.

We didn't spend any time talking about making up for 2004 or anything like that. We never talk about the past. We always look forward. Just like we haven't talked about our regular season. Things change. Once you cross those lines, and it's playoff time, everybody is even. The records are even and there's nothing like that to be thinking about.

We went out there and felt how the weather is going to be like. We're going to have to battle the weather. We're going to have to battle the fans. And we're definitely going to have to battle Detroit. So it's going to be very interesting. I expect us to go out there and play our best baseball and just battle, go to war like we did against San Diego and we did against the Mets.

Going onto the field last night was probably the best feeling in the world, just knowing that we were going to the World Series. We went back into the locker room and had a big champagne fight, spraying everybody who was in that place. After that, the feeling was still the same as we rolled to the plane. We had a lot of funny stories, people singing, we ate well and we slept a little bit. It was only about an hour and 15 minute ride, so some of us took a little power nap and then we got to the hotel. We rested up, and then we came to the ballpark for practice.

Everything has been great so far. So far the media and Detroit have welcomed us with open arms. We'll see tomorrow, because I'm sure tomorrow some people will change their minds.

What a feeling. St. Louis, I know you guys are going crazy back there. We did it. We're going to the World Series. We're going to play Detroit.

What can I say about this Game 7? It came down to the wire. A guy who was big for us defensively, but struggled somewhat offensively, came up big for us in the National League Championship Series. Yadier Molina, I can't say enough about that guy. It's his third year in the league, but he plays like a veteran back there.

Jeff Suppan, what can I say again? That dude was masterful today, just masterful. The all-around team effort was just incredible. The feeling is magical. It's magical.

Coming in there in the ninth, Adam Wainwright allowed the first two guys to reach, but our closer then retired the next two batters. The next guy walked, but after that it was over. It was just like an epic story right there, a childhood dream. You always dream about that -- as a pitcher or a hitter. A 3-2 count, seventh game -- if you're the pitcher, you're trying to strike the guy out. As a hitter, you're trying to hit the game-winning home run. It just came down to the last strike.

I'm speechless right now. It's just an amazing feeling.

On Thursday, obviously, there is a Game 7. It started out as a best-of-seven. Then it became a best-of-five, and a best-of-three, and now it's just a best-of-one-series. Whoever comes up victorious is the NL champ. We've got to come out here and focus and execute the little things.

We're looking forward. We're not looking behind us. We're just staying positive. That's what we have to do.

I've never been in a Game 7 before, and it's going to be a dream come true -- just like for the other guys who haven't been in the postseason or haven't been in a Game 7 before. It's going to be an experience that you can't explain unless you're here. It's going to be very exciting.

So we've got to maintain our focus, maintain our confidence and make sure we stay within ourselves. We can't worry about the crowd and how loud it's going to be. Right now, we're up three games to two. They're not. Right now, they're on the ropes. So we've just got to go out there and make sure we get things done.

When we got the first run on Albert Pujols' home run tonight, it was big. Especially coming from our big man. We've been doing that all series, and even against the Padres. Once we let a team score, we come back in the next half-inning and score. It's always a positive to do that.  But hopefully tomorrow we'll score and they won't score.

The atmosphere and the chemistry of this team is unbelievable. I've never seen anything like it.

We had a chance last year against Houston to win the pennant here in St. Louis. But we were down three games to two. It's going to be a test for us going back to New York and seeing what type of team we are. We all know what type of team we are, but we have to show it.

The flight is going to be awesome tonight. But like I said, we've just got to stay focused. It's definitely good that we don't have an off-day before the next game, because we just want this momentum to keep going. We feel good about ourselves right now and we've just got to keep this progression going.

We now know we're definitely going back to New York. But I think that if we win Monday, we've got Chris Carpenter going in Game 6. It's just something where we have to come tomorrow, stay focused, stay confident, concentrate and just go out there and play a hard nine.

The weather forecast for tomorrow looks terrible. They were saying it's going to rain all day and all night. We'll figure it out. But either way, I think we're leaving for New York on Tuesday. So it really doesn't matter that much. If we don't play tomorrow, we'll play on Tuesday and leave after the game.

It would just be another day off if it rains -- but an earlier one. Either Monday or Tuesday we have the day off. So we've just got to take it all day by day.

The first thing about this game: Jeff Suppan.

The second thing: Timely hitting. We scored our runs.

Third thing: Suppan.

Fourth thing: defense.

Fifth and final: Suppan.

It was just a beautiful thing by us as a team. Wow. What can you say about Suppan? Like we said, we were going to come back home and do what we have to do, but hopefully not make it so interesting. That's exactly what happened Saturday night.

I do just want to say one thing to the fans, though. I want to hear all of you just a little bit more. We heard them, but not quite as much. I want to hear them a little bit louder tomorrow. I want that red sea to come out. Everybody wear red T-shirts, red sweatshirts, red jackets, whatever. Just bring it all out tomorrow.

We didn't give up. When we talk about a hard nine, that's the way we play. A hard nine innings. Chris Carpenter didn't have his good stuff today, but he kept us in it. We got big key hits from Yadier Molina, a two-run double, Jimmy Edmonds with the two-run home run, and Scott Spiezio came up big twice. And, of course, Guch, So Taguchi, with that go-ahead home run. Just the resilience of this team is incredible. We never give up. That's just the power of this team.

I definitely appreciate seeing a guy like Josh Kinney, who had a long road to the Major Leagues like I did, succeed on this stage. From Josh to Adam Wainwright to Tyler Johnson, all those guys who are rookies in our bullpen are putting in their work in the bullpen and doing their job. Those guys are coming up big for us.

Now it's a best-of-five series, and we've got the next three at home. The ball is in our court now. We've just got to go out there and play like we did today. But we need to go out there and make sure we don't make it too interesting, like we did today.