Alex Reyes made his Major League Baseball debut last night for the St. Louis Cardinals. The hype couldn’t get hype-ier. Fans were at 100. And then Reyes took the mound and over delivered.
He gave us 101, to be exact…
Yeah, @AlexReyes_67's @Cardinals debut was pretty good. https://t.co/XB5v595SYs pic.twitter.com/s6gBH6jyUG
— Cut4 (@Cut4) August 10, 2016
Normally a brutal loss to a bad team at home in the midst of chasing a playoff berth would put a rancid taste in the mouth of Cardinals fans.
But Reyes’ singular, dominant inning is all that people will be talking about this AM. The future of the team has arrived.
And he’s a badass.
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Michael Wacha used to be the future.
Drafted in 2012 in the spot that the Angels surrendered for singing Albert Pujols in the 2011-12 off-season, Mr. Wacha wasted no time getting to The Show.
By the time his first professional season had ended, he was already in Springfield (AA). He was invited to spring training in ’13 where he struck out 15, walked 1 and gave up only 1 earned run. He was sent to Memphis (AAA), but only until the end of May.
All he did after getting called up?
You don’t come in and do professional hitters dirty like that and not get everyone’s attention.
Wacha started the ’14 season as one of the super-elite starters in MLB. A foundational player that you don’t just win games with – you win World Series with.
Yesterday, less than 3 seasons removed from being the NLCS MVP, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak had this to say about Wacha after announcing he was headed to the DL:
“Ultimately that’s what we have to work on between now and next season. When you’re looking at the connection between when this occurs to someone you’re trying to get 200 innings out of — I don’t think we’re comfortable making that bet long term at this point.”
His season may or may not be over.
But the likelihood of him becoming a perennial Cy Young candidate has been greatly reduced. The path to a complete recovery is murky. A change in his overall mechanics might be needed. A switch to the bullpen could be in play. His career is at a crossroads without any easy answers on where to turn.
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There still is hope, though, for Wacha’s career.
Prince Fielder, on the other hand, will retire from professional baseball today.
#TexasRangers #RangersNation #mlb Rangers' Fielder to end career after second neck surgery https://t.co/bTfww7o4PA
— Texas Rangers Fans (@TexRangersChat) August 10, 2016
His career is being cut short because of a second neck surgery. It’s a sudden exit stage left for a star who just last year made the All-Star team and was 13th in AL MVP voting. A player that was going to be a centerpiece of the Rangers postseason aspirations in 2016 and beyond.
Baseball is a cruel partner that pauses for no one.
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The Cardinals have been celebrating the 10th anniversary of their 2006 championship with promotions and events all season. 2006 was the year that Fielder won NL Rookie of the Year honors.
It’s also the 5th anniversary of the Cardinals 2011 World Series triumph. A year where Mike Wacha was finishing up his college career at Texas A&M.
Last night, Mike Matheny elected to use Matt Bowman in the 7th inning of a tied game. He promptly gave up 3 earned runs and got tagged with the loss. Then Reyes appeared an inning later and, well, you saw the highlights above.
Would Reyes have played the same thing in a tied game? Who the hell knows.
But holding back now in order to be better later is a strategy that doesn’t work now, nor will ever work later. I know it’s ‘prudent’. I know it’s ‘safe’.
Nothing in this game is ever promised, though. Ever.
If you’ve got talent… use it.
If you’re seeing greatness… appreciate it.
Because one day you’ll turn around and everything that you thought you knew won’t be there – baseball has already moved forward.
Photo: KMOX
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