If you came here for the silver lining, forget it.
Move on to the next site. Google 'inspirational quotes'. I'm sure someone in your circle is already talking up Mike Wacha in GM6… go IM with them.
Because here?
Here we're a bit more realistic.
The Cardinals took a 2 games to 1 lead in the 2013 World Series with the next 2 games at home, 1 of which was started by their 75 million dollar 'ace'.
2 days later and it's back to Boston with 2 elimination games on the agenda if the Cards are lucky. 1 is more probable.
The Cardinals weren't watching the 75 Viagra commercials we were during the telecast, because their GM5 performance couldn't have been much more limp. Sans a Matt Holliday HR, I'm not sure what you take away from this game other than a deep hatred for Jeremy.
Turn off the fucking phone Jeremy.
The offense? Brutal. Didn't work the count. Couldn't get guys on base. And when they did, surrendered more easily than a French Cubs player.
The Pitching? Middling. Wainwright knew that the Cardinals couldn't back him up, so he surrendered a run early and a couple of runs late. Can't say that it was a bad performance, per se. 7.0 IP/ 10Ks. At the same time, it wasn't a dominant one either. You'd think after all the talk about how Wainwright was 'more ready than ever' for this game, we'd see something special.
Didn't.
The managing?
Oh, shit… The MANAGING.
1) Why? Why Pete Kozma in the 8th inning? Dude is 0-8 in the World Series. Has already been benched once. And you've finally got a little something going with a David Freese double. You're down 3-1 and have 5 outs left. I'll never understand this move with Descalso on the bench. Never.
2) Then you have Adams face Uehara? Let's just say you had the ability to build the perfect pitcher to face Matt Adams. You know what he'd look like? Koji Uehara. The dude kills it low and outside, which Adams has been terrible handling all season long. Again, Descalso, sitting on the bench, at least would have tried to work it to the top the top of the order.
3) 2 nights in a row, you leave your starter in 1 batter too many. 2 nights in a row, you get tagged for insurance runs that your team can't overcome. Check out Tim McKernan's column where he breaks down TLR's pitcher usage (scroll to middle) from the 2011 postseason run. It's night and day.
4) Jon Jay? You JUST BENCHED the dude earlier today. If you wanted him to hit when it mattered, why start Shane Robinson in the first place? What's the point? Now you've pretty much ruined 2 egos with one at bat. Oh, and Jay? He did exactly what we expected him to do.
I'm not the lunatic fringe, either. At least I hope I'm not. But those are 4 decisions that I questioned at the time they were happening. And none of them worked.
Not one.
And I really hate to go #RedWedding on skip, but barring a Mike Wacha clinic and a ton of luck on Thursday, the Cardinals are going to go home ringless. Again. And I'm just not sure if Tony LaRussa was in the dugout these past two games, the Cardinals aren't planning a parade down Market St. at this very hour.
Prisoner of the moment?
Probably a bit.
Fair or not, though, it's what Ron Washington is getting in Texas and what Mike Matheny is in for this off-season. Good guy. Good regular season manager. Maybe, just maybe, not the guy that this team needs in the postseason.
Again. I told you to move on if you wanted puppies and rainbows.
We'll see what happens this week in Boston. Can't say that the odds are in the Cardinals favor. And I'm not alone in that assessment.
Maybe I'll just check on this Rams game I DVR'd…
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