So About All That Extra Rest For The Pitching Staff

Going on WebMD is pretty much never a good idea. But I wanted to do a little research and see if excessive rest had any negative side effects.

Boy, does it.

Back pain, depression, heart disease, obesity, headaches, diabetes… DEATH – all linked to too much sleeping?

It’s true!

That last symptom is pretty ironic, considering how, you know, the Cardinals pitching has been getting killed the past week. HIYOOOOOOOO!

Seriously, though. Raise your hand if you though some extra rest was going to turn the entire Cardinals rotation into middling batting practice arms.

Anyone?

In case you missed it, the Cubs beat the brakes off the Cardinals for a second straight night. They’ve put 17 runs on the Busch Stadium scoreboard against Lance Lynn and Mike Wacha the past 2 games. And over the past 6 games (1-5, BTW) the Cardinals have surrendered 38 runs for an average of 6.3/game.

Oh. My.

Coach Mike saw an opportunity this past week to get some extra rest for most of the starting rotation and that plan has been put back in his face like a shaving cream pie.

The BFIB are not happy.

https://twitter.com/KingBFIB/status/641432838772932608

https://twitter.com/KingBFIB/status/641433418824159232

Baseball has been struggling – hard – on what to do with the glut of arm injuries that litter the pitching roster of every MLB roster. See Harvey, Matt.

Score one for overthinking things, it seems. Or as grandpa used to say ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.

This week has pretty much smashed any hope of eclipsing 105 wins and finishing with the best record in team history. It’s also submarined the Cardinals chances of breaking many pitching records they were in line to achieve.

Maybe that’s a good thing.

Maybe now they’re a bit more comfortable just going out and playing some ball. They’re still in first place. And with a week worth of the Brewers (I know, they’re playing well, but still) and Reds on tap, plus a 4.5 game lead on the Pirates, they can get back on track ASAP.

Starts today with Carlos Martinez.

A win and the Cardinals only lose a game to the Cubs in the standings and ensure they survive this extended Labor Day massacre with a minimum 4.5 game lead in the division.

Photo: Tribune