Follow Game 5 of the World Series from St. Louis with baseball reporter Jim Masilak HERE beginning at 6:45 p.m. And while you’re at it, click on Jim’s name below to send him your questions, thoughts and comments as the Cardinals try to win their first title in 24 long years.

Top 9th: Cardinals 4, Tigers 2: Wainwright gets Inge swinging and that’s it! The Cardinals have won the World Series, four games to one, over the Tigers. It’s the 10th title in franchise history and their first since 1982. As Jack Buck would have said, Go crazy folks!

Top 9th: Cardinals 4, Tigers 2: The Tigers stay alive. Polanco, without a hit all series, works the count full before drawing a walk. It’s all up to Brandon Inge now…

Top 9th: Cardinals 4, Tigers 2: An excuse me swing from Pudge, and he hits it right back at Wainwright. He checks the runner and throws him out. One out left…

Top 9th: Cardinals 4, Tigers 2: Not so fast. Casey works the count full and then cracks his third double of the night to right-center. Here comes Pudge…

Top 9th: Cardinals 4, Tigers 2: Ordonez grounds out to second–via Wainwright–for the first out. Two to go…

Top 9th: Cardinals 4, Tigers 2: It’ll be the heart of the Detroit order–Ordonez, Casey and Rodriguez–to face Adam Wainwright in the ninth. The atmosphere at Busch is positively electric.

Bot 8th: Cardinals 4, Tigers 2: Molina flies out to center, but this half inning is just a prelude to the ninth.

Top 8th: Cardinals 4, Tigers 2: Weaver gets Guillen swinging and the Cardinals are three outs from the title. What a performance!

Top 8th: Cardinals 4, Tigers 2: Weaver retires the first two men in the eighth, and the Cardinals are just four outs away. He may just go all the way, and what a story that would be: from the scrap heap to the top of the heap.

Bot 7th: Cardinals 4, Tigers 2: After a walk to Wilson, Pujols and Edmonds each fail to deliver. But Rolen comes through, singling to right off Fernando Rodney to double the Cardinals’ advantage. That’s a big insurance run for the home team, even if the Tigers don’t have Duncan to pick on any more in right.

Bot 7th: Cardinals 3, Tigers 2: Eckstein gets another cheap “hit” when Guillen double clutches on a grounder to short. A hustling Eckstein–is there any other kind?–beats it out. He could win MVP on the strength of three or four gifts from the Tiger fielders…Melissa will be happy to hear that Preston Wilson is pinch-hitting for Duncan.

Bot 7th: Cardinals 3, Tigers 2: It’s so cold I haven’t checked my E-mail in some time…but lo and behold I’ve got one! Melissa can’t understand why Duncan is on the field: “Can’t blame that on Duncan; La Russa should have already pulled him for defensive purposes after the Cards took the lead. If Chris is still in the field next inning, you know it’s nepotism at its finest.” There are about 47,000 Cardinal fans who couldn’t agree more. I heard one speculate that he’ll be playing first base next season…for Tampa Bay!

Top 7th: Cardinals 3, Tigers 2: Gomez lifts what should be an easy fly to right, but this is Duncan we’re talking about…but he makes the “routine” catch and that’s it for the Tigers in the seventh. Six outs left.

Top 7th: Cardinals 3, Tigers 2: The crowd is abuzz as Pujols makes an incredible play to rob his friend Polanco of a hit. He dives to his right and then skips the ball to Weaver from his backside for the put-out. Inge then strikes out and there’s two away. That means seven to go. Alexis Gomez pinch hits for Verlander.

Bot 6th: Cardinals 3, Tigers 2: Where was Yadier Molina’s bat during the regular season? He drops a single down the line in right for his third hit of the night. Who’s your choice for MVP at this point? Eckstein? Molina? And who would have guessed they’d be the likely favorites should the Cardinals finish this off tonight? And how many questions can I pack into a single post? Eh?

Top 6th: Cardinals 3, Tigers 2: But Weaver, cool as can be, doesn’t let the mistake affect him. He whiffs Pudge to end the inning, and the Cardinals are nine outs away now.

Top 6th: Cardinals 3, Tigers 2: Oh, dear. Casey lofts one to the warning track in right, but a backpedaling Duncan misjudges it and it flies over his head for what is most charitably ruled a double. In the meantime, Duncan, a former first baseman, must be looking for a hole in which to crawl.

Top 6th: Cardinals 3, Tigers 2: Weaver shows the Detroit bumblers and bunglers how it’s done, snaring a comeback liner off the bat of Ordonez. Ten outs left to claim.

Bot 5th: Cardinals 3, Tigers 2: Pujols strikes out and the Cardinals go down in order in a rare easy inning for Verlander. Still, just 12 outs separate the Cardinals from the championship, and they can feel it here in St. Louis. Whether they can feel their fingers or toes is another matter entirely.

Top 5th: Cardinals 3, Tigers 2: Weaver makes minced meat of the bottom of the Tiger order, setting down Inge and Verlander via the strikeout.

Bot 4th: Cardinals 3, Tigers 2: But he pops up and that’s it for the inning. Two unearned runs put St. Louis back in front. Is it too early to say that the Cards are a mere 15 outs from winning it all?

Bot 4th: Cardinals 3, Tigers 2: Eckstein hits a chopper to short, bringing home the go-ahead run. The Cardinals are back in front and Duncan steps in with a chance to make amends for his own embarrassing gaffe…

Bot 4th: Cardinals 2, Tigers 2: That, quite frankly is incredible, Weaver drops a sac bunt down and Verlander, throwing to catch the lead runner at third, commits the FIFTH error by a Detroit pitcher in this series. He chucks it past Inge and down the left-field line, allowing the tying run to score. Now Eckstein is up with two men in scoring position. The Tigers’ pitchers are wholly incapable of throwing unless it’s to the catcher–and even then they have problems.

Bot 4th: Tigers 2, Cardinals 1: Molina has really found his stroke here in the postseason, and he singles to left with one out as the Cardinals aim for parity–or more–in Game 5. Taguchi follows with a single up the middle and the Cards are in business with one out. There’s a meeting on the mound here as Verlander gets help cleaning his cleats. What, these guys are so spoiled they can’t clean dirt out of their shoes themselves?

Top 4th: Tigers 2, Cardinals 1: The Tigers take the lead! There’s little doubt about this one as Casey turns on an inside fastball and hits it 388 feet and well over the wall in right. It wasn’t fair by much, but was well within the fair pole, as I like to call it. Sarcastic applause follows as Duncan holds onto a fly ball from Rodriguez. Polanco grounds out to end the inning, a costly one for the home team.

Top 4th: Cardinals 1, Tigers 0: This is why anonymous scouts call Chris Duncan a butcher in the outfield. Ordonez lofts a towering fly ball into right-center. There’s confusion between Edmonds and Duncan and, as Edmonds gives way, the ball hits off the heel of Duncan’s glove. Ordonez is safe at second and that brings up Casey, who homered last night…

Bot 3rd: Cardinals 1, Tigers 0: OK, that wasn’t supposed to happen like that. As Edmonds strikes out swinging, Pujols breaks for second and is caught out in a rundown. Oops. Rolen then pops up to second to end the inning.

Bot 3rd: Cardinals 1, Tigers 0: Pujols leads off with a single as the Cardinals look to incresae their lead here in the third.

Top 3rd: Cardinals 1, Tigers 0: But the Tiger left fielder grounds out to Rolen at thirdm and Weaver gets out of his first real spot of bother so far tonight.

Top 3rd: Cardinals 1, Tigers 0: Granderson singles to center, and this game should be tied. Instead, the Tigers have men on first and second for Monroe…

Top 3rd: Cardinals 1, Tigers 0: Never has hot cocoa tasted better than it does right now. Inge doubles to left over the head of Taguchi with one out but is then caught between second and third after Weaver fields a Verlander comebacker. Now the Tigers have a runner on first with two out. A costly sequence, perhaps, for Detroit.

Bot 2nd: Cardinals 1, Tigers 0: There’s something about Eckstein that turns the Tigers into mush. After a single by Molina, a sac bunt by Taguchi and a groundout by Weaver, Eckstein rips one down the first-base line. Inge makes a great stop diving to his right, but his throw is well wide of Casey at first, allowing Molina to score and Eckstein to go to second. The Cardinals are in front and the crowd is going wild.

Top 2nd: Tigers 0, Cardinals 0: Weaver picks up where he left off, fanning Magglio Ordonez and Sean Casey en route to another spotless inning of work. Is that Jeff or Jered out there?

Bot 1st: Tigers 0, Cardinals 0: Verlander pumps his fist in joy as Guillen goes to his left for a grounder up the middle and just gets Belliard by an eyelash. What an escape that was by the Tiger rookie.

Bot 1st: Tigers 0, Cardinals 0: With his 28th pitch of the inning, Verlander walks Rolen. Ronnie Belliard comes up with the bases loaded and two out. The Tiger bullpen is warming up in a hurry.

Bot 1st: Tigers 0, Cardinals 0: Edmonds lofts a lazy fly ball to left, but the second pitch to Scott Rolen is wild, and the runners move into scoring position.

Bot 1st: Tigers 0, Cardinals 0: Verlander doesn’t come close to throwing a strike to Pujols. He walks, and Jim Edmonds steps in to face the struggling rookie.

Bot 1st: Tigers 0, Cardinals 0: Duncan walks, and here comes Albert Pujols with a chance to do some damage. The first pitch is in the dirt and two feet outside, gets by Rodriguez and Duncan goes to second.

Bot 1st: Tigers 0, Cardinals 0: Last night’s hero, David Eckstein, leads things off for the Cardinals. We’ll see if the Tigers have learned to run, throw and catch since their Game 4 choke job. Eckstein flies out to Monroe in left, and that brings up Duncan.

Top 1st: Tigers 0, Cardinals 0: Brandon Inge flies out to left and it’s a 1-2-3 inning for Weaver. Amazing that this guy was designated for assignment just a few months ago by the Angels.

Top 1st: Tigers 0, Cardinals 0: Weaver strikes out Granderson, then does the same to Craig Monroe. Dream Weaver? We’ll see.

Top 1st: Tigers 0, Cardinals 0: Granderson fouls off the first offering from Weaver, and we’re under way.

7:30 p.m. update: It rained most of the morning and afternoon here in St. Louis. The precip has since abated, leaving a bitterly cold wind in its place. It really is a nasty night–the wind chill is 38–as the Cardinals take the field.

7:20 p.m. update: It really will be interesting to see how Cardinals righthander Jeff Weaver performs tonight after being given the starting nod ahead of Anthony Reyes. Weaver pitched reasonably well while taking the loss in Game 2, but he worked his way out of a lot of trouble in the process.

The anthem has been sung, the fans are on their feet and we’re about 10 minutes away from the start of Game 5. Or Game 4, as the tickets for this game all say. Lesser mortals than your correspondent might be confused by such things.

7 p.m. update: Detroit manager Jim Leyland has confounded many of us in the media by sticking with struggling rookie Justin Verlander as his Game 5 starter rather than handing the ball in a must-win game to Kenny Rogers, who has been untouchable in the postseason by hitters and baseball cops alike.

Leyland says the Tigers have to win three games, not just one, to win the series. That’s true, Jim, but it’s difficult to win the second and third games if you lose the first. Leyland–someone should check his precious smokes to see just what’s in ‘em–said he wasn’t going to pitch Rogers, whose gunky hand has been the story of the series, “in this atmosphere.”

OK, so let me get this straight. He’s going to start a rookie instead. Rogers is 41 years old. You’d think he’d be able to handle some taunts and barbs from the St. Louis faithful. Then again, this is the guy who went berserk on a cameraman last year for no apparent reason. So maybe Leyland knows what he’s doing after all.

Pre-game thoughts: Hello and welcome to frigid Busch Stadium, where in about 45 minutes the Cardinals will attempt to upset the odds and win the World Series. It wasn’t long ago that everyone in the baseball universe was picking the Tigers to sweep their way to the title. I bet they all feel pretty silly right now. But let’s not forget, the Cardinals have a disturbing habit of blowing 3-1 leads. They did it against the Kansas City Royals in 1985 and against these same Tigers in 1968. There. Now I’ve gone and done it, haven’t I?

The Cardinals will once again start Chris Duncan in right, with So Taguchi favored over fellow Game 4 hero Preston Wilson in left. Tony La Russa said he flipped a coin to make that decision. If so, that really undermines his “genius” image in my book.

All St. Louis needs to do as best I can tell is keep hitting the ball at the hapless Tiger pitchers. They’ve committed four errors in the series, one in each game, and seem incapable of making a simple throw to first or third base. It’s a wonder they ever manage to get it to the catcher.