The Tiger clubhouse

ST. LOUIS -- While the thunderous victory celebration rocked Busch Stadium, it was so quiet inside the Tigers' sprawling clubhouse after the game that the loudest noise came from the young assistants knocking mud off of the players' spikes.

Several players stood in front of their lockers, talking quietly, answering questions about what it felt like to lose the World Series by hitting poorly and, most amazingly, fielding like Little Leaguers in front of 46,000 spectators and millions on TV.

Manager Jim Leyland chatted with coaches inside his small office. Willie Horton looked like he was ready to cry.

Justin Verlander, who had made the latest costly error by a pitcher, was philosophical.

"I wouldn't say we gave it away," he said. "We've got a good team here. We'll be back. This is only the start. It's a building block."

Verlander said Leyland told the team to keep their heads up, "that we had a hell of a year." He said Leyland assured them it was a honor to lead them.

Sean Casey, who came back from an injury to be the Tigers' best hitter, was stoical, smiling and almost upbeat.

"We have no excuses," he said.

Leyland sounded a similar note.

"I make no excuses," he said. We didn't play well enough."

Leyland added: "I'm a little embarrassed we didn't represent it a little better, but we were very proud to represent the American League."

When you walked out of the Detroit clubhouse, it got very noisy, and the first thing you heard was "YO! CARDS!"

And all the way to the airport, the Tigers' bus would have been engulgfed in a sea of red partying people.

It was a harsh conclusion to a charmed season.

By BILL McGRAW

The celebration

ST. LOUIS -- The Tigers' dugout is empty.

By BILL McGRAW

The end

ST. LOUIS -- They're erecting a stage by second base. Baton-wielding cops have taken up positions in the outfield. The Cardinals are jumping into a big pile in the infield. Confetti is flying. Fireworks are thundering through the night sky.

The Cards have won the World Series.

The Tigers' magical season is history.

By BILL McGRAW 

Ninth inning

ST. LOUIS -- It's the top of the ninth. No one is sitting. Everyone, it seems, is yelling. The Cards need three outs.

By BILL McGRAW

10, 9, 8, 7...

ST. LOUIS -- Now that's it's the bottom of the seventh, and the Cards lead, 3-2, Busch Stadium is getting ready to pop. Many fans are standing, and the noise level is increasing.

By BILL McGRAW

How to pronounce Gratiot

ST. LOUIS -- When you look out the back of Busch Stadium, you see a cityscape that could be Detroit: Old, dark-brick warehouses, steeples, chimneys and freeways.

St. Louis and Detroit have a lot in common. They were both founded by a French guy in the 18th Century. They both haved lost more than half of their population since 1950. They both are trying to breathe life into their downtowns, with some success.

And they both have a street called Gratiot.

In St. Louis, they pronounce it GRAD-ee-ott.

By BILL McGRAW

Comerica and Busch: The music

ST. LOUIS -- One area in which Comerica Park seems to have the edge over Busch Stadium is music. (See previous post.)

The tunes played at Comerica tend to be more contemporary, or hipper. But fans at Busch sing along with some lines from the songs played there, which turns them into cheers, and that produces an atmosphere like a giant pep rally.

By BILL McGRAW 

Comerica vs. Busch

ST. LOUIS -- Now that I have watched 2 1/2 games at Busch Stadium, I can observe that Busch and Comerica Park, while new, are different.

The biggest difference is the sense of intimacy. Busch, which opened this year, is more intimate. Its grandstands appear to be closer to the playing field than those at Comerica, which opened in 2000. While its outfield is open to the downtown skyline, like Comerica's, Busch's outfield opening is smaller, which heightens the feeling of enclosure.

As a result, Busch is noisier. It holds the roar of the crowd better than Comerica, whose soup-bowl design, as Todd Jones described it, lets the noise escape.

By BILL McGRAW 

Fans mocking Tigers

ST. LOUIS -- Cardinals' fans are simply making fun of the Tigers, now that another pitcher has committed a run-scoring error.

"They are just handing us the game now," said one fan after Justin Verlander's throwing error. "This is incredible."

By BILL McGRAW

Magic moment

ST. LOUIS -- Game Five's magic moment took place before the game when Albert Pujols and Carlos Guillen aproached each other behind second base and hugged.

By BILL McGRAW