The problem I have with nostalgia is that it makes people emotional. Having an in-depth conversation with whoever is right next to “pulp” on my list of things to actively avoid. If you’re going to melt into a puddle of tears, I need a The minimum buffer is 5 feet, and I will slowly return the bike to the nearest exit.
So when the Cardinals announced Albert Pujols would be returning for one last ride with the old crew – basically just Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright – I jumped in awe, and I’m a Cardinals fan. I fully expect this season to be a never-ending series of retirement and average baseball gifts, maybe a playoff win, but certainly not a divisional title, to dot on the top of the leaderboard.
I can keep my distance and let the remaining fans of St. Louis wiped each other’s tears and wept as they enjoyed worldly swan songs while I gave up caring and coldly moved on as men are supposed to. And that plan extends through the All-Star Break, and by the time Pujols starts hitting home runs, it’s just as important to his pursuit of number 700 as it is to follow. chase the team’s NL Central.
Like a tune you can’t hear enough of, I must have watched the double hit he hit the Cubs last weekend dozens of times. Pujols needs five more runners to join the exclusive 700 home run club and it would be great if he got there, but it’s not a record.
However, the other two-thirds of the exes on the list will be standing alone, atop the mound where they’ve had so many behind-glove conversations before. Molina and Wainwright link the MLB record for starting like Thursday with their 324th together. The next time they play, September 14 at home against the Brewers, they will break the record set by Mickey Lolich and Bill Freeman of Detroit.
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It’s not a particularly well-known record, and it’s more of an oddity than a true demonstration of greatness, but it’s been representative of Cardinals baseball for over 15 years. Molina and Wainwright have settled on rotation and a staff as well as any pitching coach could ever have. It’s only been two years, out of 17 of them on the roster together, that the team’s ERA is above the league average. It may not be the most startling stat, but it makes sense.
They have also reached post-season 11 in those 17 years, and they are likely to go 12 this season. If you’re petty like me, you point out that Molina’s 12 post-season appearances and Wainwright’s nine injuries are still more than Pujols’ eight.
While what if surrounding the Pujols is more obvious to the casual baseball fan, what if involving Wainwright’s torn Achilles plays a large part in the team’s trajectory. Before the injury, which happened in one appearance (and the only one I envy DH), Wanio was in an All-Star three in four years, and scored 19-plus winning 4/5. .
In the years that followed, his ERA hovered on all fours, although he has been in the lows of the past few seasons and even threw a few gems in the knockout stages. (It was all in vain thanks to the help of running the cure of anemia.)
Part of the Cardinals’ Devil’s Magic – a phrase coined in 2012 to describe the Red Birds’ ability to win matches where they weren’t supposed to – is due to the team’s ability to make good use of it. most journey pitchers. Molina will regain confidence from Kyle Lohse or someone and close the gap until it’s the ace’s turn. (Usually Wainwright.)
That formula hasn’t worked in the knockouts lately, but the fact that a spin more or less headed by Molina and Wainwright is still turning into a meaningful baseball game in October tells you what it’s all about. you need to know about those two. The funny thing about this duo since Wainwright’s return from injury in 2015 (he hit the playoffs the same season he tore his Achilles net) is that they would occasionally throw it back, humming through The innings and pitch are the same as in 2013.
As for the positive vibes, the comfort of Wainwright’s oil paintings that Molina framed for him has been more pervasive than any other painting during its long and current history. at theirs. They now also have a background for the outstanding career spin that began when Wainwright came out of the bull cycle and beat Carlos Beltran in the NLCS years ago.
Of the many grudges I have with Pujols that have admittedly faded this year, I think the one that annoys me the most is that this is no longer his team. It’s been with Molina and Wainwright since his departure, and they better deserve the closing calls that seem to come at every home game. So I couldn’t be happier that their names would be engraved on the top of a record book.
It’s hard to establish an all-time mark in baseball. Doing anything the most in a sport that has been running for so long that records are contested for lack of paperwork takes as much luck as it does for talent. For Molina and Wainwright, their luck and talent have come together at a random moment 324 times.
