The Joe Kelly playoffs begin tonight, in which as many as four different Major League Baseball franchises will try to take down the King of Baseball™, Joe Kelly.
The first? His former employer. The St. Louis Cardinals.
You could call our hero “Oedipus,” playing off the concept that he’s going to take down the team that brought him into this league, but the Cardinals were more a vessel than a creator, and they don’t have a wife unless there’s something going on between them and the Blues I don’t fully understand. Instead, let’s call Joe Kelly by his own name, and tell it like it is: Joe Kelly came up through the Cardinals organization. Now, they are a gnat on his road, his road to another postseason of Major League Baseball dominance.
We forget, sometimes, that Joe Kelly has won two of the last three World Series. That’s pretty impressive, when you think about it. Not a lot of people have won two of the last three World Series. If he wins a third of four, here? Well, the Hall of Fame talk won’t get quieter, I can tell you that much.
One thing to watch for tonight is when and if Dave Roberts uses Kelly. It’s possible Kelly won’t actually pitch, and will instead loom in the bullpen, peering out towards the Cardinals dugout now and then to strike terror in their bones. It’s also possible he’ll pitch the highest-leverage innings imaginable, most likely the sixth and/or the seventh. There’s a chance, of course, that this will go to extras, and that free from the runner on second base Joe Kelly will throw even harder, perhaps touching 200 miles per hour since he’ll no longer be holding back for fear of the runner advancing to third as the baseball incinerates Will Smith’s glove. We can’t say for sure, but in any case, it’s going to be dramatic.
I’ll see you there. And by there, I mean, I’ll be watching on TBS like most of the nation, and I’ll see you on the other side. Godspeed.
