You can be of two schools after the Cardinals return home tonight from a 10 game road trip:
1. The Darkside
- Cardinals lost 2/3 series.
- Cardinals most important player is now injured with 9 days until October.
- Cubs straight up punk’d the Cards on Saturday after calling them out Friday.
2. The Brightside:
- Cardinals managed to salvage a 5/5 record on the road even after starting 0-3.
- Cardinals only lost .5 games in the standings during the road trip.
- Matt Adams, Matt Holliday and Randal Grichuk all participated in games.
Can’t fault you for having either of these opinions about this road trip. Everything typed above is true.
The most important takeaway from the trip?
https://twitter.com/BBTN/status/645389565902110720
For the 5th consecutive year, the St. Louis Cardinals will be competing for a World Series championship.
Doesn’t feel like a big accomplishment? It’s a franchise record for consecutive playoff berths.
+++++
What about the games, though? The ones in Chicago especially?
We can parse out Saturday’s game play and bemoan the fact that if the Cards had pushed just 1 more of those runners across the plate early in the game or if Addison Russell doesn’t rob Piscotty in the top of the 9th, the Cardinals have a real shot at an epic comeback (and series win).
We can talk about Jason Heyward making the team’s defensive play of the year and pushing his next contract higher than the Cardinals expected it to be.
I LOVE YOU JASON HEYWARD! #STLCards #SignHeyward pic.twitter.com/iOOsh7nQPt
— The Birds On The Bat (@BirdsOnTheBat13) September 20, 2015
But, Yadi.
Matheny said he's "concerned" over thumb injury to Yadier Molina. The #STLCards catcher will have an MRI tomorrow.
— Jenifer Langosch (@LangoschMLB) September 20, 2015
Yadi’s bat won’t be missed.
In the past 15 games, he’s batted .162 with a .250 OBP and 2 runs scored. Tony Cruz, in case you were wondering, is at .161 and .188 respectively.
Counting today, Molina would have 18 days before the divisional series started. According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, recovery time from a strain is anywhere from 3-4 weeks.
https://twitter.com/tmckernan/status/645954114971549696
But lest anyone think that the Cardinals are going to do serious damage in the playoffs without Molina, I encourage you to try to convince me (and many others) in the comments below.
We’ll be over here waiting.
Everyone will know more after an MRI is performed later today, but the fact that Molina managed to catch Rosenthal through the bottom of the 8th inning lends some hope that he’ll be able to play again in 2015.
So are you on the brightside? Or the darkside?
Chances are you’re with me – waiting to make the call after we see Yadi’s x-ray.
Photo: FSWM
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