Adam Wainwright's Injury Shuffles The Cards

The Cardinals already had a rough start to the season with not getting a deal done with Albert Pujols. As spring training began and the hope was in the air like every other team in Major League Baseball that this would be their year came to a crashing halt.  Adam Wainwright hurt his elbow and is undergoing Tommy John surgery putting him out for the remainder of the season. If the Cardinals were a college freshman, they would already have two underages before the school year started.



Wainwright has been straight filthy with having over 15 wins in the last two seasons. He ended up being a Cy Young runner-up in the last two years.Wainwright's ERA has been dangerously low with being well under three in the last two years, and just a touch over three in 2008. If you look at some his advanced statistics, they are just bananas.  Wainwright's K/9 was over eight in the last two years.  He barely walks anyone having under three walks per nine innings. HR/9 in 2010 was under one. Not meaning to add on to the Cards fans who are slicing their wrists reading this, opponents batted under .250 in the last three years.

Even though Cris Carpenter is considered the ace of this staff, statistically Wainwright is the true ace. He is more valuable then Carpenter by a longshot. I know as Brewer fan, I hated seeing Wainwright on the pitching matchups when we faced the Cards. Carpenter worried me but the Crew had success against him, not so much with Wainwright.  He has the combination of a powerful fastball with a knee-buckling curveball..

While Wainwright is irreplaceable, I refuse to count out a Tony La Russa ball team. He is a good manager who knows how to get results. I assume they will get Joe Blanton or Scott Kazmir to assist their pitching staff because right now, there is no one worthy of that five spot. Both of those guys will help but they are no Adam Wainwright

-Charlie.