And so it goes.
The baseball season, more than any other sport, is a marathon. The season is now, before the spring and then, after the fall. It’s all about pace. And then, when you really want to sprint out, you remember it’s all about pace.
To that extent the Cardinals knew coming into 2012 that Chris Carpenter was going to need to be held back. At 37 and coming off a 237+ inning regular season and a 36 inning postseason (understatement: where the innings tend to be a bit more stressful) the team was well advised to make sure the heart and soul of the 2011 championship team was eased into the grind.
Turns out, his body was already on the same page.
The day before yesterday Carpenter admitted to neck stiffness and today reports have surfaced that more information will not be available until after the weekend.
The pragmatists are asking who amongst us hasn’t woken up with a stiff neck? I bet he had shitty pillows in his hotel room. Damn you Double Tree!!!
A few of us keep muttering in a very low voice… Petyon Manning. Peyton Manning. Peyton Manning. I mean, he had a minor neck issue about a year ago, too. (We’re not quite there yet, but still, we didn’t think he’d be in for 4 neck operations and leaving the Colts a year later either.)
It’s far too soon to know the extent of how this neck thing will slow down Carp. Perhaps it’s for the best if he misses most of Spring Training. Those games don’t count. But I still think it’s time to reconsider blowing this news off as nothing.
The Cardinals have never been forthright when it comes to reporting injuries and Carpenter has had a well documented plethora of ailments that have kept him out… including the entire season after the last championship the Cardinals won, ahem.
We’re keeping an eye on this.
Now, the Friday Links…
- YouTube Hall of Fame: The Wire. LINK HERE (via Fresh WC)
- 61 degrees. LINK HERE
- It’s the Spring Training WAG bracket match-up. LINK HERE (via Fresh WC)
- Ikea job interview. LINK HERE
- I’m sorry to report this to be 100% true. LINK HERE
- NES screens. The website. LINK HERE
That’s it. That’s the week. We’re looking forward to seeing those UK Cats getting the #1 overall seed and the MSU Racers getting a #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament bracket reveal on Sunday night. If you’d like some free money, you can join our little group via the post below. Have a big weekend everybody.
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