Red Sox Hoping to Follow Same Cycle of Success Cardinals Showed With 2011 World Series Win

The St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series in 2006. Five years later, they won this year's Fall Classic. Can that fact provide a little bit of initial optimisim for Red Sox fans looking forward to 2012?

Of course, if the Red Sox follow the same five-year cycle that the Cardinals did, then 2012 will be one incredible bounceback season for Boston, which dispatched of the Colorado Rockies in the 2007 World Series.

Time will tell if the Red Sox win everything again next season. But if they do, Red Sox fans will be celebrating like the Cardinals fan depicted in the cartoon above by Will O'Toole.

Since graduating from Seton Hall University, Will O'Toole has been doing cartoons for over 30 years for a number of papers (USA Today), magazines (College and Pro Football Weekly) and websites (CBSSportsline.com). He is believed to be the only national cartoonist to have voted for the Heisman Trophy and the Wooden and Naismith Awards.