Before all the baseball "talk" gets started in the STL today, I'm going to let Cardinal Nation in on the truth about what happened last night at Busch Stadium. Adam Wainwright just didn't have it. He left a lot of pitches up in the strike zone, and he got lit up by Major League hitters, who get paid a lot of money to smash mistakes. Add the fact that the Reds had simply played embarrassing baseball the two previous games, it was inevitable that somebody had to pay. That somebody turned out to be Waino. He threw a ton of pitches in his last start, well over 100, and maybe his arm was still a bit fatigued. Maybe he didn't warm up properly last night. It's unclear why he didn't have his best stuff last night, but one thing is certain. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Yadi wasn't catching for one night.
Yadi is GREAT. He's the best catcher in baseball right now, without question. That said, Waino is also a Major League pitcher. Heck, he's an Ace these days. He should be able to pitch to Ham Porter, if he's back there in the gear. It really shouldn't matter who is catching him. It's not as if he's a knuckleballer like R.A. Dickie. There are only a hand full of catchers out there who can catch a guy like that, which is why those pitchers typically pitch to one catcher every outing. Not to mention, Rob Johnson is a Major League catcher too. No, he's not Yadi, but he wouldn't be in the Major Leagues, if he couldn't catch good pitchers, and if he hadn't earned the position. There is too much money involved.
So as you listen to the talk shows today, and as you listen to the excuses for Waino's implosion, just understand that the guy had a bad night. We have all had a bad day at work. We don't blame our bad day on the fact that a co-worker called in sick. It had nothing to do with Yadi getting a day off. Mike Matheny played that card very well in fact, giving him 2 days rest with Thursday being a travel date. At some point, you may hear someone imply that Matheny just gave that game away, because he didn't play Yadi. Please understand that Major League Managers do not give games away. Every day they make a lineup, and they believe those 9 guys can go out there and win the game. People seem to think there are games that don't matter in a 162 game season. While there is no way to win all 162, fans need to understand that they are trying to win them all. There are no throw away games.
Don't believe the hype, and don't buy the excuses. Just accept it for what it was. Simply a bad day for Adam Wainwright. Enjoy your day off Cardinal Nation. The biggest test of the season begins Friday night in Pittsburgh, and we can only hope the Cardinals bats stay as hot as this St. Louis weather.
SPz Y
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